A.N: A slightly shorter chapter than I intended to write but...I think it was a good ending.

Enjoy.

In turmoil

Kratos landed heavily in a quiet area of the plateau surrounding the great tree, away from the mass of newly freed half-elves embracing and rejoicing at their freedom. Setting Raine down gently the angel sank to his knees, panting.

Raine was at his side in a second white hands pressing against the wound across his abdomen, trying to staunch the steady flow of blood from the injury and Kratos inhaled sharply at the contact.

"Sorry," Raine apologised surprisingly quickly "but we need to stop…"

He waved her sentence off with his hand, already knowing, his left hand joining hers to press at the gash. Calloused, rough finger tips brushed against long digits, a subtle jolt of warmth passing from flesh to flesh.

Raine's lips parted, trying to form something, anythingto say to the man knelt beside her that would just vaguely hint at what she felt for him.

What was it that Yuan had said? A 'beautiful reunion of two people who didn't realise they were in love'.Which meant that...Kratos felt the same way she was realising she did but…would either of them be able to admit it?

A quiet grunt from Kratos alerted Raine to the fact that now was not the appropriate time to enter into that discussion. The man was injured for a start, and that would have to be attended to even before they sorted out the mass of half-elves over the other side of the area.

"Dad! Professor!"

Heads turned simultaneously at the shout from Lloyd as he ran over, Genis and Regal just behind him. The young man skidded to a halt beside them.

"You guys ok?"

A nod from Kratos, an eye-roll from Raine.

"It's not worth worrying about." Kratos stated, having seen Raine's response to his nod.

"Of course. The fact that you're wounded and bleeding obviously isn't worth concerning myself over." Sarcasm dripped from her voice and Kratos stood up abruptly, making Raine jerk back slightly.

"It is not an issue."
"Yes, it is."

"Raine, I appreciate your concern but..."

"No you don't!" she cut him off "Letting me heal that for you would be appreciating my concern."

"Actually that would be pandering to your concern."

"Don't get pedantic with me," she jabbed a finger at the man who towered over her "It needs healing."

"There are others who need aid more so than myself. I will survive."

"Yes, you will, but you won't be able to help us get that lot sorted out if you're weak from blood loss."

Lloyd held up his hands placatingly.

"Uh guys…you'd be a lot more useful if you'd stop arguing and come and help."
"We're not arguing," Kratos stated, drawing himself up to a fuller height "We're.." he was cut off by a burst of pain and he looked down to see Raine's hand pressed firmly against his abdomen once again, a glow emitting from her pale hand, healing the wound.

She pulled away after a moment.

"It's not fully healed, but it's enough to stop the bleeding," she looked up to meet Kratos' eyes "Now stop being such a child and come and help."

And with that, the half-elven professor turned on her heel and stormed off towards the masses.

Regal smirked, then bit his lip, attempting to stop himself from laughing at the sight of Kratos Aurion being reprimanded by a woman almost a full foot shorter than him, and he promptly followed Raine back to the other elves, sniggering as he went. Genis went with him in much the same manner, leaving father and son alone together.

"So…you and the professor like each other, huh?...It's really not easy to see."

"Wh…then how did you…?"
"Ah…Yuan woke up for a bit and I think he's sort of…delusional or something. He keeps talking about you two."

"Does he now?"

"Uh…yeah, he does."

"That was a rhetorical question Lloyd," Kratos sighed, seeing the confused look on Lloyd's face "It did not require an answer because the answer was obvious, thereby answering itself."

"….right…I think we should go help."

The younger Aurion pointed to the crowd of half-elves and Kratos nodded, walking alongside his son as they returned to the masses.

--

Lloyd sat high in the branches of the Kharlan tree, watching over the area that was swamped with half-elves, Zelos sitting quietly by his side.

Or at least they were supposed to be watching over the area. They were actually watching Kratos and Raine as they made their way through the crowds, the human splitting up large groups of half-elves so that his half-elf companion could heal them and send them on their way.

Not that they were leaving them to fend for themselves so soon after escaping of course, but they were slowly siphoning off groups of ten at a time, healing them and then handing them into the care of Regal who would then walk them to the edge of the plateau. From there the half-elves were taken in by either the Renegades or Mizuho who had, somehow, been alerted to the fact they were required.

There were several other people running around, healing people too, others merely being taken off straight away into the care of the organisations.

Yuan had been taken back by the Renegades a few hours ago, his subordinates showing shock and worry over the state of their leader and he had been quickly carted off for intensive care, along with the half-elves in the most dire of states.

Lloyd and Zelos watched as Kratos took hold of Raine's upper arm gently to gain her attention, speaking to her quietly.

Raine stared back at him incredulously.

"Well that's a relationship that'll go well if it ever occurs." Zelos snorted, running fingers through wet, freshly washed hair.

"Yeah you're not kidding."

Raine yanked her arm out of Kratos' grip and the seraph took a step back, giving her some space but he continued speaking. Lloyd wished he knew what they were saying.

To both his and Zelos' surprise, given the reaction she had just given Kratos, she looked away and nodded before meeting his eyes again. Kratos nodded approvingly, pointing to a quiet area of the plateau and guiding her away, calling out to someone along the way.

The couple passed under the tree, right beneath Lloyd and Zelos' feet and as the red-head leaned over to mutter something to his friend, Kratos looked up sharply, giving a warning glare to him before continuing on his way with Raine.

--

"Have you spoken to the Renegades about Yuan?" Raine asked, plucking something from her clothing, nervously trying to make conversation.

"No, I felt his condition spoke for itself."

"I see….do you not want to be with him to watch over his condition?"

"I don't see that it is necessary. Yuan is strong enough to pull through this, I am sure. That aside, given his condition it would be most beneficial to him to rest without any interruption. My presence will only disturb him whilst he is sleeping."

"..Right."

The pair stopped at a sunlit patch of earth and Kratos took a seat on a nearby rock, watching Raine as she settled opposite him, pulling out a wrapped parcel of food. She tore into the sandwich hungrily as if she hadn't eaten in months.

After a few minutes she slowed her chewing, looking up at her companion.

"I can see why you disturb people when they're resting."

"How so?"

"Having someone staring at you is very disconcerting."

"My apologies, I did not wish to make you feel uncomfortable." He pulled his gaze away from her, letting it rest on something in the distance instead.

Raine swallowed, watching Kratos gaze out across the surroundings just she had watched him walk, and fight and heal and help and hurt for all those years she had known him. She had thought at first that it was a simple animal attraction that made her watch him so, for who could resist watching such an attractive specimen? Kratos exuded confidence, strength and beauty by the gallon so it was no wonder really…who could resist watching the liquid motion of his body? His amazing grace.

"You are lucky I am not as sensitive to be stared at as you are," Kratos commented, turning his garnet gaze back to her, clearly having caught her staring at him.

"Well, I…" she sputtered for a moment before locking eyes with him "I was trying to get revenge."

"By making me uncomfortable?"

"Of course."

"In that case, I suggest you change tack. I am no stranger to being the subject of people's attentions."

"Modest, aren't we?"

"I merely speak the truth."

"So what does make you uncomfortable? Or is revealing that one of the things which will make you uncomfortable and therefore you won't answer me."

A smirk tugged at Kratos' lips.

He kept his gaze steady on hers. "Yes."

"I see. So…" she settled back "What else makes you uncomfortable?"

"Why would I tell you that?"

"Because you've just told me that revealing things about yourself makes you uncomfortable."

"But you already knew that."

"True…how about I try to guess?"

"If you so wish, I'll play along."

"Good. Now…let's see," she tilted her head as if examining him and Kratos drew himself up under her scrutiny, lifting his head and closing his eyes.

"I think," she drawled "that growing close to people makes you uncomfortable."

He swallowed sharply at her words.

"Am I correct?"

"You realise that you are the only person I'd agree to this with?"

"Yes. But tell me…why is that?"

He opened his eyes and looked at her, as if saying 'Isn't it obvious?"

"So what's the answer to the question, Kratos?"

"Which?"

"Either."

"To the first…" he caught her blue eyes again and nodded slowly, looking away afterwards.

"I see." Raine stated again, placing her half-eaten sandwich on the floor and wandering over to the man in front of her, standing in front of him, regarding him as he refused to look at her.

"Then…" she whispered and Kratos' head turned back towards her fractionally "I hope this doesn't make you too uncomfortable…"

He turned fully back to face her lips parting in question.

"What…"

She pressed her lips against his cutting him off, hands resting on either side of the rock her was sat on, supporting herself as she leant into the act.

Kratos didn't respond to her and after an unbearable amount of time, she pulled away from him, eyes averted.

"I'm sorry," she breathed "I thought…Yuan said…"

"Raine…"

No response.

"Raine…look at me…please…"

She turned at the word, eyes lifting to meet his once again, and it took everything in her not to look away after such a rejection.

His hand reached up, cupping her jaw.

"Your action was…not unwelcome," an attempt at a smile flittered across his lips "I was merely surprised."
"…"

"But…"

"But…" Raine repeated, looking away.

"I am in two minds."

"How!? It's simple enough, either you do or you don't."

"Raine...it isn't. Not for me."

"Do you feel like I do? Did you want to respond?"
"…yes."

"Then why is this complicated?"

"Because of circumstance. Because of…my past, my existence, my sins…I am not mortal, I'm not even of a race that is supposed to be on this earth. And…because if I am to be with you, I allow myself to be happy and to forget about my crimes…I will no longer punish myself for the wrong I've done."

Raine almost rolled her eyes at the comment, stepping away from him.

"Don't you think you've punished yourself enough?"

"Would I have said what I just did if I did?"

"Fair point but…is fifteen years spent mourning the loss of your child not enough?...Is twenty years spent in agony from the loss of your partner not enough?"

Kratos tilted his head slightly, eyes straying into the distance. "Twenty years? I suppose that it has been that long…although…"

"It's nothing but a blink of an eye to you."

The seraph nodded.

"Alright…"

Raine turned away, walking back to where she had been sitting previously, eating her sandwich and she picked her lunch up from the rock she had left it on before turning back to the seraph whose gaze was still distant.

"I'm going back…and I'll leave you to think about…well," she waved her hand vaguely "this."

She headed back towards the camp, walking slowly away from Kratos, stopping after a few metres and twisting to face him.

"Just one thing Kratos.."

His gaze returned to her.

"Even if you are interested…just know that…I'm not going to wait forever."

And with that she turned again, walking back to join the other half-elves, her head full of thoughts and emotions.

Kratos stared after, heart and head in turmoil.

And all shall be resolved next chapter...worry not, my readers.

As always, please review.