The Venice Incident
by Apple-chan

Disclaimer: insert witty disclaimer remark here

LysergXJeanne. Waff, fluff, maybe a bit of angst, and a really annoying Marco. Set approximately 10 or so years after the Anime (so Lyserg's about 22 and Jeanne's 18). Set in Venice, Italy. Falling over a gondola into the Grand Canal: disaster, or blessing in disguise? We'll find out.^_^

Spoilers: The whole Anime series, and I think the first half of the Celebrations Arc. It is absolutely necessary to have at least gone that far in order to get this, else everything will be extremely confusing.

Warnings: PG-13 for adult situations and mild swearing.

Epilogue - Happy Christmas!


Christmas, two years later

Diethyl Mansion, London

Cradling a half-filled wine glass in her hand, twenty-year-old Iron Maiden Jeanne watched the bright, silvery snowflakes fall from the sky, and travel down to the second floor windowpanes, right in front of her very eyes. She observed as several of the little patterned white objects paused for about thirty seconds at the glass, and then, they floated, fluttered slowly downwards, like little sheets of white paper cut-outs, to the grand front patio of the Diethyl Mansion.

A soft smile played upon her lips as a female figure with long silvery-blonde hair, wrapped in a white silk cloak, glided towards the front steps of the patio, to the garden, her bright blue eyes gazing up at the sky. Another figure--male, taller, and with light-brown hair this time, followed the silvery-blonde haired one soon after, holding a dark green coat in his arms. Moving a step closer until he was directly behind her, the light-brown haired man placed the coat gently around the silvery-blonde haired woman. And then, going further, he wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on top of her blonde head. She leaned against him, tilting her head and smiling up at him, her hands reaching out to stroke his face. Returning her smile, he clasped her hands with his, and then, slowly bent down...and captured her mouth in a long, sweet kiss.

Jeanne chuckled slightly as she watched this whole scene unfold. She took a long drink from her wine glass, musing all the while over the events that had taken place ever since that time when they had all seen each other in Venice, two years ago. In particular--the fated meeting of the silvery-blonde haired Sister Sarah and the light-brown haired Luc. The nun and the detective.

Sister Sarah...rather, Sarah, that is...and Luc. Ever since that first meeting, they've been thrown together quite a number of times, by means of coincidences, prolonged rainstorms, instances involving chance...and on certain occasions, through Luc's incredible persistence. Persistence, patience, and perseverance that could rival those of the strongest warrior ever known. Persistence that would go all the way to the ends of the Universe. Patience that knows no limits...unmindful of futility, unheeding of the impossible. And...a perseverance that never fails. In Luc's vocabulary, forfeit and defeat did not exist...not even if the rival happened to be the ever-knowing, all-powerful God--as it was, in his case.

Anyway, after more than twenty-four months of chasing, pleading, waiting, and reasoning, with the help of Lyserg and Caesar, Luc's efforts finally paid off last October, when Sister Sarah officially submitted her resignation from the Westminster vocation to the High Directress. After six long years of service, sacrifice, and offering her life for the love of God, the silvery-blonde haired woman gave it all up for the sake of love.

Yes, indeed--love. Throughout the course of those two years, Sarah had clearly observed Luc's unceasing and tireless methods to win her heart, and without even knowing it, the deep, odd affection she's always had for the detective gradually developed into something more...and the inevitable happened: She had finally fallen hopelessly, helplessly in love with him.

The High Directress Estella had been reluctant in allowing Sarah to quit the nunnery, and would have gone as far as consult the Archdiocese of the Church of England or even the Pope himself, if not for the dauntless determination that was written all over the nun's face when she had given her resignation. Well...that, and probably also the fact that the whole Westminster might be afraid of what Luc was capable of doing if they don't allow Sarah to make her own decisions. It was very much clear that the detective was truly, madly, deeply in love with the nun, considering the lengths he had already gone through just for her sake. And since he already knew then that Sarah reciprocated his feelings, prohibiting her to quit from the vocation would have meant risking being subjected to the ire of, not just Luc, but the whole division of the detective agency he was a part of, Lyserg and Caesar included--them, who had been incredibly supportive of Luc and Sarah's relationship from the start (since practically the whole lot of them were people with extraordinary abilities who weren't much partial to God and the Church).

For Jeanne's part, she had been content with being Sarah's main pillar of strength and emotional shock absorber during those two years. She was witness to the former nun's hesitation and reluctance to admit her feelings during that first year, and she was witness to the transition Sarah had made within herself during the days, weeks, and months that followed after. The silvery-blonde haired woman had gone from shy, unsure, confused, and sad...to confident, determined, decided...and extremely happy. Extremely in love...and it was all because of Luc. Jeanne was happy for her former superior...and of course, the fact that she got to see Lyserg more often than usual (being that he was Luc's constant companion in visiting Sarah) just contributed to her happiness twenty-thousand fold.

And...the fact that Marco was safely tucked away in Egypt at that time, unable to interrupt them, made everything all the more perfect.

Jeanne took another drink from her almost-empty glass, enjoying the immaculate white winter, her eyes darting occasionally to Luc and Sarah, who were still kissing down below, their arms wrapped around each other, both of them oblivious to the falling snow all around them. Sarah's hand moved up around Luc's neck, caressing his hair...and the glare of the moonlight shone brightly on the slender, diamond-encrusted band on the former nun's ring finger. Luc had proposed to Sarah about two weeks ago, and their wedding was to take place at the end of December. Jeanne could feel herself grinning as she remembered the event surrounding Luc's proposal.

After officially quitting the vocation, Sarah had remained a missionary, assisting Jeanne and everyone else with the activities in the Church. That day, Luc had rushed inside the missionary house like a whirlwind, took Sarah's hand, and, after several deep breaths, announced to everyone that after much thought and contemplation, he had decided that, now that the love of his life was a free woman, he wanted to be able to spend the rest of his life with her in the most ultimate sense, and as soon as possible. He did not give Sarah the time to react as he slipped the engagement ring on her finger and declared that he would love her for always.

After that, Sarah had merely nodded, the surprise evident in her face as she stared at the ring, her mind still obviously processing what just happened. When she had finally realized, she had run towards Luc's side and jumped into his arms. At the time, the startled Luc had just finished announcing to the whole world that it was about time a certain fellow detective of his by the name of Lyserg Diethyl got his act together and ask his dearly beloved Jeanne to marry him already, thereby ending everyone's misery. He had punctuated this with a pointed look at Jeanne, and at Lyserg--who was at the missionary house that day to pick her up. Anyway, he was abruptly stopped from saying anything more when Sarah had proclaimed in her soft, beautiful voice that yes, yes indeed, she'll marry him. He and his newly-acquired fiancée had exited the missionary house right after that to celebrate their engagement somewhere, leaving Lyserg, Jeanne, and everyone else to deeply contemplate over what Luc had just said, not about him and Sarah, but about Lyserg and Jeanne. And marriage.

Upon that final memory, Jeanne gave a small, wistful sigh. Love was one thing, marriage was...quite another. Finding time to be with Lyserg these past couple of days had been extremely difficult, owing to the fact that Marco just got back home, incredibly healthy and alive, newly-returned from Egypt. She had been under tight surveillance this past week...and it was a wonder she was even able to go to this Christmas party that Lyserg was hosting for all of his friends. But then again, she had only been allowed to go because Marco and a couple of the sisters and missionary volunteers were with her. And for the early duration of this party, Marco wouldn't leave her side alone for even a second, thereby preventing Lyserg from even inhaling the scent of a single strand of hair from her head. If Marco even left her side, it was during those times when he was absolutely certain that the green-haired young detective was too busy to approach her.

However...Marco's presence didn't stop the two of them from communicating, though. For one thing, Caesar was there to be their telepathic messenger, and for another, she and Lyserg only needed their eyes and eyes alone to able to speak to each other wordlessly. Having been officially together, and Marco-free for more than a whole year enabled them to practice wordless, unspoken communication.

Ever since earlier today, they have been speaking wordlessly to each other...and she had been feeling a sense of deep anticipation inside her, because of the meaningful glances he kept giving her each and every time they were able to catch each other's eye. As of the moment, Marco wasn't anywhere near her...maybe because Lyserg was downstairs, too busy entertaining the rest of his guests to bother about her. She wondered if Caesar had already told him where she was. She wondered if he--Lyserg, that is--might be planning something...something special. For her. For the two of them.

...Marriage. Somehow, that word still hovered above her mind, and she didn't even know why. Well...maybe she did have an idea why. The subject of marriage had come up in between her and Lyserg a million times than she could count, but neither of them had ever really seriously thought about it. Maybe they didn't have to. Maybe they couldn't, now that one of the greatest obstacles to their complete happiness was back. Marco would probably say "over his dead body," if ever Lyserg gets the inclination to ask her hand for marriage. She wondered if he had ever seriously thought about it...because she was certainly thinking about it seriously now. Maybe she can ask him, instead of the other way around. After all, she already knew she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him, and maybe he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her too, so the only thing they had to do was make it all formal, right...?

A strong pair of arms wrapped around her waist, startling her for about half a second...but she sighed contentedly upon realizing who it was, and her whole being melted blissfully against him. "Did Caesar tell you where I was...?" She murmured questioningly, inclining her head slightly to look up at him.

"Uh-hm." Lyserg's breath felt warm against her skin as he kissed the side of her neck. "He said you were broadcasting so loudly that he could hardly hear his own thoughts." He chuckled, tapping her now-empty goblet of wine thoughtfully. "I do believe that's your fourth glass, is it not?"

"Why, yes it is. How did you know?" She gave him a sweet smile.

"I guessed." His lips moved to brush a kiss to her cheek. "...I can tell by the ways your cheeks flush." His lips traveled even further to kiss the corners of her mouth. "...I can still remember that time at the Onsen, the year before. How drunk you had gotten..." Finally, he pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "If you get that drunk again this time around, I'll end up carrying you to bed again..."

Jeanne chuckled dryly. "And is that supposed to be bad for you?" She murmured, turning her head to receive his kiss fully.

"I didn't say that." He countered defensively as he kissed her once again, longer this time. "I'll definitely enjoy having you in bed with me, but...Marco-san..." His voice trailed off.

"Lyserg..." She turned around to face him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "This has nothing to do with him."

"No. No, it doesn't," He agreed, tightening his hold around her. "But it's necessary to get his permission."

"Get his permission to sleep with me?" Jeanne gave him an incredulous look. "I decide what to do with my body, not him!" She frowned darkly. "And besides...even if we've actually come...too close to reaching that point more times than we can ever count, you've never been anything less than honorable to me..." Her face softened. "Even if it's already hurting you, you've always been such a gentleman and I--" A finger pressed against her lips, silencing the rest of her sentence.

"That's the thing, Jeanne," Lyserg confessed. "I'm...I'm tired of being a gentleman. I am darn bloody tired of it," he declared with conviction. "I...I want you, and you want me, and we both want each other, but I respect and honor and love you too much to do it just like that." He took a deep breath. "I have too much values...I have too much self-control, and I can't stand the way that long-haired lunatic bastard twin brother of Yoh-kun's keeps on saying I've taken over the cowardly throne Ren-kun left when he got married."

"Lyserg...what are you saying?" She gave him a puzzled look. He was ranting. He usually ranted when he was nervous. What exactly was he trying to say?

"I don't know!" He burst out with frustration. "I mean...I uh..." He rolled his eyes to the ceiling, exasperated at himself. He had planned this so well. He had talked about this with Luc and Caesar. Why in the world was he losing his nerve right now? "Jeanne, what I'm trying to say is...oh, CRAP, I give up! Morphin! I need you!" Pulling away from her, he summoned his power spirit impatiently and unleashed his pendulum from its haven.

Morphin flew up on top of his hand, smiled at Jeanne, and gave her master a questioning look. "...Help me out here, please? Do what we talked about, alright?" He pleaded to the pink fairy spirit.

Morphin gave a sweet smile, fluttering above Lyserg's head as if to say yes, and then, she fused with the crystal pendulum.

"Lyserg, what are you..." The expression on Jeanne's face was priceless as she watched the love of her life wave his hand around, suspending the crystal object in midair, then, making it zigzag in front of them, forming a specific pattern that was brighter than the sun, shimmering inside the whole room. After a couple of minutes, as the pattern was completely finished, his hand stopped, and so did the pendulum.

Then, nodding his head towards the pattern, he sighed. "I'm sorry," he told her quietly. "...I just couldn't say it out loud. Maybe...maybe Hao's right. Maybe I really am a coward..."

"No, you're not." She turned his head towards her and leveled her eyes with his. "You're not a coward. You're just..." she gazed back at the pattern that his pendulum and oversoul formed. A pattern which spelled out words that she'd been wanting to hear from him, for a long time. "...unique," she declared. "One of a kind. And I don't think I'd ever want you to be anything else." She smiled wistfully. "And when we get married, I really hope you'll never change. I hope you'll always remain as the boy, the teenager, and the man I fell in love with." She rose up on tiptoes and kissed him.

Lyserg kissed her back briefly, his arms automatically sliding around her waist once again. "...Is that a yes?" He gave her a hopeful look.

Jeanne chuckled. "That depends. What is it you were asking again?" There was a teasing note in her voice.

"Well...you know..." He gestured at the shimmering words his pendulum formed. "That."

"...Will you read it aloud for me?" She gave him a sweet smile.

Lyserg paused. And then he gave a brief, hesitant nod. "Uhm...Jeanne," he began, "I've loved you my whole life...and I...uh..." he scratched his head and gave her a sheepish look. "Well, to cut it short...will you marry me?"

Jeanne nodded, smiling brightly at him. "Yes. I will. Of course I will." She snuggled closer in his arms.

"Really?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, REALLY."

He heaved a sigh of relief. "Good. I mean, wonderful. I mean--" Lyserg never got to finish the rest of his sentence because at that moment, her mouth had captured his in a long, sweet kiss. He surrendered himself to the kiss wholly, wanting nothing more than to prolong everything that was happening between them for the rest of his life. It has never felt this good...never felt this wonderful.

They broke apart, moments later, both breathless. He touched his forehead with hers, gazing deeply into her eyes. "I love you." They both declared, in unison.

"I love you too." They said again at the same time.

Lyserg chuckled, kissing her briefly once again before turning his head to his power spirit. "Morphin, the ring."

The pattern of words formed by the pendulum gradually vanished in the mist as Morphin fluttered towards her master and dropped a tiny maroon box into his hand. He smiled gratefully as the fairy spirit floated happily towards his bedroom. "Just to make this official," he told Jeanne with a smile. He opened the box to reveal a slender, white-gold band encrusted with lots of tiny diamonds. He gently slipped it onto her ring finger, kissing her hand reverently as he did so. "...What do you think?"

Jeanne held up her hand and gazed at the beautiful band with awe. "It's beautiful..." she murmured breathlessly. "Thank you."

"Glad you liked it," He pulled her close against him, stroking her hair with his fingers and pressing a soft kiss to her lips. "...Not even Marco-san can stop us now," he declared emphatically, before kissing her even more deeply.

At the mention of the name, Jeanne froze. "...Marco." Her eyes widened, and gazed around her frantically, in search of her guardian. "Lyserg...where is he?"

A grin. "Downstairs. He's being held captive by Caesar and the rest of our friends." He added meaningfully.

"Did you plan this?" She gave him a curious look.

"...Kind of." Lyserg answered with a sheepish smile. "I mean...Caesar and his brother, and Luc and his brother and I did..."

"And does Marco know about this?"

"Yeah. He does." Lyserg nodded. "I told you, I asked him first. Had to make sure he wouldn't do anything to stop me from proposing..."

"How did you manage to convince him?" She wondered.

"Well uh..." The green-haired Englishman laughed. "It's kind of funny, actually..."

~*Flashback: Several Days Ago*~

"You WILL NOT marry HER!"

"...WHAT THE BLOODY F**K?!? Lyserg, you want me to just kill him? Because you know, that's bound to make everything a LOT easier." Luc flexed his knuckles and, while sitting down, he threw the blonde, bespectacled man towards the wall of the makeshift torture chamber--a place they had set up in the detective agency especially for him.

Lyserg gave his friend a warning look as he tightened his pendulum around Marco to break the man's fall. "We can't kill him. Jeanne wouldn't like that." Then, turning to Caesar, he asked, "...Is he still after my blood?"

The redhead stretched out his arms and yawned. "He'll always be after your blood, Lyserg." He settled down on his seat and watched Marco with a calm, cheerful expression on his face.

Lyserg sighed with resignation. "Marco-san," he began, "if you would just please cooperate with me--"

"Cooperate?" Marco interrupted with a dry, sarcastic laugh. "Lyserg-kun, you have me bound. You and your friends went short of kidnapping me. And you expect me to COOPERATE?" He ended in a shout. "I can sue you for this."

"Oh, yeah?" Luc raised an eyebrow, folding his arms arrogantly across his chest. "In case you forgot, we're detectives. The police come to us. They consult us." He flashed Marco a triumphant look. "If you sue us, who do you think they'll believe--us, or you?"

"I have proof."

"No he doesn't!" Caesar piped up cheerfully. "He's bluffing."

Marco glowered at him. "How do you know?"

Caesar smiled sweetly. "Empathy." He answered matter-of-factly.

"What THE--"

"Marco-san," Lyserg interrupted impatiently, "...can't you just cooperate with me so that we can get this over and done with? I mean, God knows how much time we've already wasted--"

"Unhand me this instant, Lyserg-kun," Marco demanded in between gritted teeth, absolute ire lacing his voice. "Unhand me, or I swear, Jeanne-sama will hear about this."

"OKAY THAT DOES IT!" Luc stood up and glared menacingly at the blonde man. "I say we kill this bloody git right now, Lyserg."

"I agree," Caesar announced, rising up as well and resting an arm around Lyserg's shoulder. Leaning forward, he said in a low tone, "If we don't do something now, this could go on forever. Let's just allow Luc to kill him, I'm sure Miss Jeanne wouldn't mind--" he paused abruptly, an incredulous expression crossing over his face as Lyserg shook his head. "Why the bloody hell NOT, Lyserg?"

"No one needs to DIE," the green-haired young man proclaimed with emphasis. "...and certainly not him," he inclined his head at Marco. "And besides, Jeanne would be very sad if he dies." He added as an afterthought.

"DAMN right she would be." Marco muttered.

"Hey!" Luc barked. "Don't flatter yourself."

"Hmph." Marco glared at him. "...Nun molester."

"WHAT THE BLOODY F**K?!?" Luc hurled the other man across the room forcefully and sent him crashing onto the floor with a hard bump. "Say that again," he said in between clenched teeth, eyes blazing as he walked threateningly towards Marco. "SAY. THAT. AGAIN."

"Luc...NO...wait..." Caesar rushed forward and held the other man by the shoulder, evidently trying to restrain him. "He's just trying to infuriate you..."

"...LET ME GO!" Luc struggled hard out of Caesar's grasp. "...I'M GONNA BLOODY KILL HIM, I SWEAR TO GOD I WILL!"

Lyserg rolled his eyes to the ceiling and sighed helplessly as Luc continued to struggle. He suddenly felt the urge to rap his head against the wall. He gazed at Marco on the floor. "Marco-san, PLEASE. We have absolutely no intention of killing you. I just need you to cooperate with me, and hear me out for a second." He gave the older man a pleading look. "Please?"

"Unhand me." Was the curt reply.

Another sigh. Then, Lyserg exhaled, and reluctantly loosened the hold of his pendulum around Marco.

"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!" Luc barked, nailing the blonde man forcefully down the torture chair the second he tried to rush to the door. "Don't you MESS with any of us, or YOU'RE gonna get it, you freaking son of a b--mmpph!" His eyes widened as a hand clamped over his mouth. He glared murderously at his offender.

"I don't think Sarah would appreciate such profane language, Luc," Caesar, the said offender, told him with emphasis.

Luc's face softened at the mention of the name, and he took a deep breath as the redhead let him go. Then, turning to Lyserg, he said, "Let's get this over with ALREADY. We've wasted a hell of enough time with this git. And YOU," he glared viciously at Marco, "you WILL LISTEN to Lyserg, else there's going to be a body floating over the Thames River by tomorrow morning, and it's NOT going to be either one of the three of us." He added pointedly. "...It's going to be YOU. Are we clear on THAT?" He waved his hand emphatically in the blonde man's direction.

Marco winced as an eerie rush of air whizzed directly past his face sharply. "...Yes." He muttered grudgingly.

Luc gave a satisfied smirk. "Good." He inclined his head meaningfully at Lyserg. "Go ahead. I'll hold him down."

Lyserg nodded. "Marco-san," he began once more, "I intend to marry Jeanne, and if I'm going to propose to her, I need to make sure that you wouldn't be interfering--"

"You WILL NOT be marrying her." Marco stated firmly. "I will not allow it. I will NEVER a--" he gulped as the sharp tip of Lyserg's pendulum aimed threateningly at his forehead. He struggled out of the chair, but his whole body was bound by the pendulum string, coupled with invisible shackles courtesy of Luc.

"...My intentions are pure and honorable," Lyserg continued, throwing the blonde man a warning look.

Caesar suppressed a snort. "Pure and honorable. Yeah, right." He muttered under his breath.

Luc smacked the other man on the head. "Whose side are you ON?" He demanded.

"Ouch." Caesar groaned and rubbed his head. "I was kidding."

Lyserg harrumphed, glaring at Caesar, before turning back to Marco. "I LOVE her," he said emphatically. "I love her, Marco-san...and she LOVES me."

Marco raised an eyebrow. "Does SHE?" He commented mockingly.

"Yes she does!" Caesar answered cheerfully. "...Much to the point of indecency, if I may say so." That comment earned him another bop on the head. "OUCH! Luc!" He whined.

Lyserg could feel his face flooding with color, but he ignored it and continued, "Marco-san...all I'm asking is that you give me a chance. Let me prove myself. To you. To her. If I fail to make her happy, or hurt her in any way, then by all means..." he paused, taking a deep breath, "...I give you the freedom to kill me with your own hands."

A look of hungry eagerness flashed in Marco's eyes. "You mean that?"

"Uh-huh." Lyserg nodded, his face the epitome of seriousness.

"He wants to kill you." Caesar whispered to his friend's ear.

"I know. I don't care." Lyserg whispered back. "...Marco-san? What do you say?"

Marco looked extremely thoughtful for a moment. And then finally, he nodded. "I shall accept your terms."

Lyserg heaved a sigh of relief. "Good."

"...On ONE condition."

Three heads snapped to attention. "What?" Lyserg asked hesitantly, feeling a bit of trepidation hovering at the back of his heart.

~*End of Flashback*~

"What was the condition?" Jeanne wanted to know.

"Twenty-one."

"Twenty-one?"

"He wants me to wait until you're twenty-one before we get married," Lyserg explained dryly. "I was honestly relieved. I thought he was going to ask me to give up my...well," he shrugged. "Let's just say I was glad that was the only thing he asked for." He wrapped his arms even tighter around her.

"I think he's trying to bid enough time to be able to stop our wedding from happening," Jeanne murmured. "That's why he wants us to wait this long."

"I don't care," Lyserg said with determination. "He can try to stop it as much as he wants to--IF he can, that is," he added with a grin. "Caesar will know his plans before he can even get them completed." He chuckled. "...And when Caesar finds out, he'll tell me and Luc, and we'll--"

"--hang him upside-down and aim the tip of your pendulum at his head?" Jeanne shook her head dryly. "My future husband, the King of Torture."

"...Duke," He corrected. "Luc's the King of Torture. I'm just the Duke. Anyway..." he smiled affectionately at her. "Can we set the date at around, say, the second of March next year?" He kissed her softly.

"My birthday?" She murmured in between kisses. "...If that's the soonest we can get married, then it suits me perfectly."

"Good." He kissed her again, longer, deeper, and more thoroughly this time. "So...where do you want to go on our honeymoon?"

"Venice." Jeanne answered instantly. "I want to sleep at that hotel again," she declared. "...Among other things," she added with a mischievous grin.

Lyserg chuckled. "Venice it is, then." He caressed her cheek fondly.

He was about to kiss her once more when a loud shout sounded from behind, startling them both. "HAPPY CHRISTMAS!"

"...Caesar," Lyserg turned around, raising an eyebrow at his friend. "I should've known." He eyed the other man's arm, which was casually slung over the raven-haired Sister Vicki's shoulder. The redhead was also holding a bottle of wine in his hand. "...Is that your THIRD bottle?"

"Yes. It is." Sister Vicki answered for him. She smiled brightly at Jeanne, who had her arms wrapped around Lyserg. "Everyone was wondering where the two of you disappeared to."

"Quite right," A male voice announced. From the staircase, Luc appeared, with Sarah behind him, their hands clasped together. "Well, actually, Sarah, Caesar, and I knew you were here. The others don't, though." He grinned meaningfully at Lyserg, raising a knowing eyebrow as he spotted the glittering band on Jeanne's finger. "...Congratulations."

Jeanne smiled brightly, her face glowing with happiness. "Thank you." Then, she gazed with curiosity at Sarah, who was frowning at something down the stairs. "Sister...I mean, Sarah...what is it?"

The silvery-blonde woman managed a smile, but she pointed her finger down the stairs and gave everyone a look of caution. "...Marco's on his way up here. I don't think Caesar or Luc's brother can handle him any longer; they look pretty pissed." She squeezed her fiancé's arm and smiled apologetically at him. "I'm sorry. I know I specifically asked you to make sure they don't hurt him one bit, but it looks like..." Her voice trailed off.

"It's FINE, Sarah," Luc smiled reassuringly. "My dear older brother can handle it. Albert can handle it. They don't mind," he added wryly. He flashed Lyserg a questioning look. "So...when do we get to go to Japan and meet your friends there?"

"The second of March," Lyserg responded brightly. "Around two months after your wedding."

"Excellent." The light-brown haired man turned to the stairs. "You can bring him up here now, you two!" He called out.

In a moment, Jeanne's blonde, bespectacled guardian was in the second floor in a flash, with two men who looked very agitated behind him. One of the men had a striking resemblance to Luc, but with a softer face; while the other one had a striking resemblance to Caesar, but much more serious looking.

"Jeanne-sama!" Ignoring everyone, Marco rushed to Jeanne's side, glaring at Lyserg darkly. "Take your hands OFF of her," he snarled.

Lyserg gave him a sweet smile. "NO." He tightened his hold around Jeanne.

"WHY YOU--"

"Marco," Jeanne sighed with exasperation. "I forbid you to speak like that to my fiancé," she said with emphasis.

Marco's eyes widened. "F...fiancé?" He uttered with shock.

Lyserg rolled his eyes. "Marco-san, now's not the time to suffer a sudden bout of amnesia. I thought we've already talked about this."

"We...we have." Marco nodded, utter disbelief crossing over his face this time. "But...I never actually thought you'd..."

Jeanne raised her hand up in front of her guardian's face, showing him the ring as evidence. "He just proposed to me, Marco." She stated evenly.

"He...did?" As he stared at the white-gold band, a myriad of emotions flashed over the blonde man's face...astonishment, anger, anguish, frustration, sadness...and then, finally, awareness...and resignation. "C...congratulations, Jeanne-sama...Lyserg-kun..." he managed at last, in a whisper.

"Th...thank you, Marco-san," Lyserg said with surprise. He watched as the other man nodded in acknowledgement, and then, Marco turned around, walked away, and sat down on a dark corner. "...Will he be alright?" He whispered to his fiancée.

Jeanne nodded, smiling faintly at her guardian, before turning to her future husband. "He'll be fine."

"CONGRATULATIONS, LYSERG AND MISS JEANNE!" Caesar's loud, extremely drunk voice boomed. "...CONGRATULATIONS TO BOSS LUC AND SARAH TOO!" He added cheerfully as he chugged down the remaining contents of the bottle he was holding. "...Oops! Empty! Let's go back downstairs, Vicki dear..." he smiled sweetly at the raven-haired nun.

She gave a sigh. "...Okay. Careful, Caesar. We'll see you all back downstairs!" She called out as she assisted the drunk detective.

"HAPPY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!" Caesar called out behind him as he stumbled down.

"We'd better go down, too," Luc decided, frowning at the direction Caesar disappeared to. "Heaven only knows what Caesar might do to this mansion of yours, Lyserg. Let's go, Sarah." He smiled at Lyserg and Jeanne, then, turned to his brother and to Caesar's brother, Albert. "...Are you two coming?"

"Yeah," Albert responded shortly, walking towards Marco and pulling him along forcefully. "Come on up, you."

"Let's go, Marco," came the much calmer and softer voice of Luc's older brother Sasarai as he held out an arm to the blonde man.

Marco took the offered arm gratefully and stood up. With a final, sad glance in Lyserg and Jeanne's direction, he followed the two men down the stairs.

"We'll leave you two alone now!" Sarah told them with a smile as she, too, left with Luc.

"...So, where were we?" Lyserg grinned sweetly at his fiancée.

Jeanne grinned back. "I think we were right about here..." She murmured as she tightened her hold around his neck and captured his mouth with hers.

He chuckled against her lips. "...I thought so," he murmured as he continued to kiss her, his arms pulling her even closer against him. "Happy Christmas, soon-to-be Jeanne Diethyl..." he added before he kissed her again.

She sighed contentedly, murmuring these words as she kissed him back. "...Happy Christmas as well, future husband Lyserg Diethyl."

OWARIMASHITA.

End notes:

And so here ends The Venice Incident, a.k.a. Celebrations Side Story Number 1.^_^

Luc and Sarah's kissing scene is dedicated to EneriRenie, who's been bugging me (much to the point of death) to put one here. Reen, I hope this satisfies your Luc/Sarah fantasies. Or was that scene entirely too short for you...?*grin*

Once again, my excuses to those with firm religious beliefs out there. This is all a work of fiction. If the instances here offended you in some way, I'm really, really sorry! *bows head in sincere apology*.^^

[PLUG! PLUG! PLUG!]

Navy and Azure, a.k.a. Celebrations Side Story Number 2.

Summary: Their love knows no boundaries. Their love is limitless, timeless...endless. He completed her, and she completed him...in the most ultimate sense. Yet...love does not always automatically lead to a happy ending.

RenxPilica. Contains lots of waff, fluff, angst...and a really, infuriatingly annoying Tao En.

[END PLUG]

(Uhm, the YohXAnna one-shot side story was supposedly the one to come after this, but I'm too lazy to write a lemon right now. Maybe after.^^)

And uh...also, due to my insanity these past couple of days, I managed to write the beginnings of a Rated R outtake of sorts for Lyserg and Jeanne set a couple of months after the Celebrations timeline. I won't be posting it anywhere (since it's absolutely pointless and smutty) but if you do wish to see it, then by all means drop me a mail, okees?^^

As usual, reviews, reviews, reviews! *points below* Thankees!^_^