Author's notes: For those of you who are wondering, Dulcinea is the name of Don Quixote's "damsel" in the novel of the same name. I just thought that since Nida was a little Quixotic, then he should call Fujin by this pet name. On a more serious note, this is the last chapter, so for those of you who have been enjoying my NiFu so far, I thank ye! I have but one request for my fellow authors and readers: make more NiFus!!! So far, I think I'm the only author who's written a NiFu, so I want to see more!! Show me a good Nida/Fujin pairing! Oh, and if you liked this, check out "Mind and Body" and "Fenrir", two more of my stories that have a few unorthodox pairings. Enjoy what's left of the story!

Chapter Nine: How We Handled Life

What happened after that was a whirlwind of ups, downs, strange happenings, plenty of super-mushy romance (aww, who cares?!), a little bit of angst and depression, and more wacky adventures than you can shake a stick at! Okay, okay, so Fujin and I didn't do a whole lot of wild and crazy things once we got together, but that's mostly because neither one of us were suited for that kind of thing.

I can say that I went into the Instructor business for a little while. I mostly taught future students about battle tactics, managing a behemoth Garden, and how to fly said beast. Most students were there so they could learn how to fly the thing, but I made it clear that there was more to my job than navigation. You can guess how many actually passed that class. Xu also occupied her time with something very similar, and I wryly noted that we were both getting ready to retire from our positions at a very young age (she was about four years my senior).

Things in the Garden settled down to a dull roar once all the fighting was over. I couldn't keep track of what happened to everybody, but I can say that more than one person lived happily ever after. People were either connecting romantically, or else moving on to another part of their life, or both. Edea and Cid reunited and began to build their lives up again, Squall and Rinoa bonded, Irvine and Selphie got close, blah blah blah. Like I said, I couldn't keep track of them all! I was too busy with Fujin--heh heh!!!

Seriously, though, that sparkplug of a girl took up a lot of my time, and I loved every second of it. I was perhaps one of the few people who really treasured and understood her, and though she insisted that I deserved somebody better, I would always counter by saying that she was the better one. Now don't start vomiting, it's true! And doggone it, I loved that woman, so I have a good excuse for being mushy!

Well, anyway, I was relieved of my services to the Garden when I turned twenty-one, so I decided to go into another line of work. Business, diplomacy, economics, the military, management… none of it seemed too unappetizing. Fujin, who had found a good job in a local hospital, persuaded me to take some kind of job in the economy, and this is where I ended up. Xu ended up working for the same company that I did, so we see each other a lot. She eventually got married, and last I heard, her first kid's on the way.

Speaking of which……… Fujin said "yes", if you know what I mean…!

And so here we are, four years into our marriage, with one little kid romping around and another on the way, I think. You wouldn't know it at first, but Fujin is really great with kids! She's got a warm heart, and she's unbelievably delicate to the young ones, and they aren't scared of her in the least. But who could be? My Fujin, my love, my wife (oh how good that sounds!) is a beautiful angel, both inside and out, and I know that better than anyone!

We prospered over the years, both economically and romantically, and from time to time we see old friends from Balamb and even places beyond. I still can't boast about knowing what happened to Raijin or Seifer, or any of the people that went up against Ultimecia, but I'm sure I'll find out next year when the reunion rolls around. Oh, uh, we have a little "SeeD reunion" every five years, and of course I plan to attend! Fujin's adamant, of course, so we'll probably get into a minor argument about going. I'll probably win it, heh heh!!!

Okay, okay, enough fooling around. I really shouldn't be so mean to my poor Fujin, bless her heart. She really is wonderful, and so full of love. It's hard to imagine that at one point, I was actually scared of her! And now we're married with a kid! Mr. and Mrs. Franks! Who knew?! Well, I guess with that said, my story is pretty much wrapped up. Honestly! What else is there to say, except that Fujin and I are as much in love now as we were "back then"?

There's been a lot that's happened, and I can't say that our marriage wasn't perfect. There were times when Fujin would get mad at me for some reason, and she's shut herself away for days on end. And other times, I'd get fed up with her, and I'd say… "things"… that I didn't mean, and I'd have to shut myself away too. But of course we loved each other, even though at times we didn't see eye to eye… or is it eye to eyes? Whatever.

But for the most part, we're just two crazy lovebirds who will always be infatuated with each other! And screw anyone else who doesn't like it! Fujin is my Lady, and I her knight, and though no romance can ever be perfect, I'm happy just knowing that I can put all of my faith in this wonderful woman. Life has changed, and it's changed quite a bit, but from the end outcome of things, I can safely say that we've handled it pretty well.

Now if you'll excuse me, I do believe that I shall express my love to my wife in terms of physical affection--if you know what I mean! Oh, now don't give me that look! We're married! It's perfectly legal!!!

Until we meet again!!!

The End