Love, After The Fighting's Over

A/N: Yes, the title is a reference to the last episode of Disgaea: Hour of Darkness of the same name. I thought it was equally fitting here. What follows is an epilogue of sorts to the anime ending of MÄR.

Ginta stood on the familiar sidewalk path, his eyes focused on the sky above him. It was just as she said, it was indeed snowing, though it was far too late for snow to fall. He turned his head to Koyuki, who was still clinging to his arm. "Wait... so... what does this mean?", he asked, bemused by the trickle of pure white flakes around him. She only smiled and laid her head on his shoulder. She looked up to sky for a brief moment before answering, "Snow is Koyuki... and Koyuki is Snow... Didn't I tell you that?".

Ginta's brain lurched back to memories of just a few days before. The terrible revelation he experienced while inside Snow's mind, the reason for her existence and, for her connection to Koyuki. In all their days together in MÄR Heaven, the thought had occurred several times, but the words she spoke back then still unnerved him to his core. Snow was a magically conceived clone of Koyuki, made solely to tear a rift between the worlds so the King and Queen could conquer Earth.

But... Snow had died, burnt alive by the King. Ginta would never forget how she faded away in his arms. How she confessed her love to him as she disappeared, but he could not find it in him to say what he had wanted to say. He had the idea to try resurrecting her, as he had done with his father. But it wasn't possible, his father still had a body to return to, whereas Snow...

He looked down at Koyuki again, "What are you trying to say?", he inquired, not taking his eyes off of her. She looked back at him, gazing into his eyes and replied, "We've merged... no longer half and half, but now one and whole". Ginta's heart skipped a beat, somewhere in the back of his mind he had suspected it, but thought it would be too good to be true. The Queen herself had said that they shared a soul, and now the two parts were one.

In the midst of trying to understand, he asked her, "That's... wow... what is it like?". She looked back to the sky, where the soft snow continued to drift slowly down a river of air. "Well, at first it was... jarring. To have two different sets of memories colliding together", she replied, tightening her grip on his arm. "I'm trying to get used to it, but it's all so much. I keep forgetting things about this world... I even forgot how to use chopsticks the other day...".

Ginta nodded, trying to piece it all together in his head, he chuckled, "So... if you're one. What do I call you? Snow or Koyuki?". She chuckled a bit too, responding, "Heh, I... still don't really know. They both seem... right", she looked back into his eyes, "That's probably because they are both right". It didn't really answer his question, but Ginta knew there was something more important he needed to say. He blushed profusely and turned his eyes to a nearby empty park.

"Hey, why don't we sit down over there?", he asked, pointing towards the park. Koyuki nodded and the pair walked across the road, Koyuki still clinging to Ginta's arm. The park had been damaged in the battle against the Orb. Swings were ripped off from their sets and the slide had broken in half, but the simple wooden bench seemed as fine as ever. Seeing the damage provoked a bit of sadness in Ginta, this was one of several parks the two of them played in as children.

The pair sat on the bench, which faced directly towards the sunset. Before Ginta could speak, Koyuki looked down and said solemnly, "Ginta... thank you...". He looked down her, simply responding with a confused "Hm?". She fidgeted a bit before continuing, "You kept coming for me... you saved me from the Chess twice... and even once from myself... even though I was useless. And even after you knew the truth... you didn't abandon me...".

Ginta stared at her, he wanted to say something then and there, but somehow knew she wasn't quite done. As expected, she continued, "When... I died... I was so scared... scared of never seeing you again. Scared that I would fail to do anything... I told you I was never supposed to exist... I was scared that my existence would be meaningless...". Ginta swallowed a lump that had formed in his throat. The urge to speak up grew larger still, but he waited once more.

"I wanted your praise... I wanted your approval more than anything. Anything that would make me feel useful... make me feel like my existence had purpose... I tried so hard, I really did. But it didn't matter, even after all the training, all the promises... I kept failing...", she went on, tears rolling down her cheeks. Ginta's own eyes were starting to water, all of her feelings were coming out at once.

"I told you... that I love you. Seeing those visions of this world... I was jealous of my other self... even if I would forget them later... seeing you made me feel like I wasn't alone... the day I finally met you for real was... the happiness moment of my life, even if I couldn't remember why... I tried so hard because... I wanted you to rely on me... just like you always relied on her...", her words were soft-spoken and heartfelt.

Ginta gritted his teeth, he couldn't hear any more with saying something. He pulled his arm out of her grasp and grabbed her by the shoulders, pulling her towards him. "Snow... you aren't useless. You're not worthless... you gave me strength when I needed it most. Every time you cheered my name, I felt a surge of courage. When you watched me fight, I knew I couldn't lose no matter what", he said in the most matter-of-fact tone he could manage.

Snow's face was bright red and stained with tears, she couldn't believe it. She was... worthless, she couldn't do anything and yet, he was still comforting her. She listened intently as he went on, "When you were captured... it was all I could think about. I almost gave up without you... I wanted to ditch the War Game and save you right away, but I kept at it and I did what nobody thought possible... I defeated Phantom. And I did it for you. I knew I'd never see you again if I didn't... you gave me the will to fight against all odds, Snow... that's far from being worthless...".

Snow's tears kept coming, her eyes were turning as red as her face. His words were starting to turn her, these words she desperately wanted to hear, words more valuable than anything. One more push... and she might start to believe it herself. She looked at him with watery eyes as he finished, "Snow... maybe you were never supposed to exist... but I'm sure as hell glad you do". And with that, he pulled her in close and held her tight.

Snow, still shocked from all his kind words was slow to return the hug. When she did, she muttered quietly, "You... You're not lying. You... mean all of that?". Ginta hugged her tighter, "Of course I do. Like I said back then... you are precious to me. Whether in one world or the other... I've always relied on you...". Snow smiled, not the widest of grins, but a genuine, warm smile.

"Snow, I should've said this back then... when you were dying... I should've returned your feelings then and there but... with you dying right there in my arms, I just... couldn't work up the nerve...", he said in a calm, warm voice. Snow perked up her ears, could this be it? The words she craved to hear, ever since she was just a lonely little princess dreaming of another world?

Ginta realized there was no turning back now. What he was about to say would change the two of them. They would become something more than teammates, something more than friends... Ginta took a short moment to look inside his heart, and deciding this was the course that he would take. He pushed her away so he could look at her face, a face still so pretty despite the tears. He'd always thought she was cute but... looking at her now... he noticed things he never had before. He couldn't figure out what was different, but he knew it was there. Or... maybe... it had always been there?

He swallowed hard and leaned in to whisper in her ear, "Snow... I love you".

Snow gazed into his eyes for what seemed like forever, and she could feel her heart beating harder and faster than it had ever before. "Ginta... You... would choose me?", she said in a soft, hopeful tone. Ginta stared at her, she was blushing all over and nervously fidgeting in her seat. He closed his eyes for only a brief moment, as if envisioning the future they could have together. When he opened them again, he stated simply, "Yes".

Snow wore a peaceful face as she fell onto his chest. Try as she might, there were no words to describe this feeling. She pressed against his chest, to hear his heart beating in sync with her own. He loved her... that was it. She no longer felt worthless, because... she meant something to him... everything to him. For the first time since learning the truth of why she was born... Snow was truly happy to be alive. She was no longer just a tool in the plot of an evil queen. She was... a person.

She closed her eyes as a gentle breeze blew through her hair, "Ginta... I... I'm going to be the best girlfriend for you... because you... are precious to me". She should've expected it, but it still took her by surprise. Ginta lifted her head up, leaned in... and kissed her. She kissed him back, as if by instinct. They had kissed before, twice in fact, but this was different. This wasn't an accident. This wasn't a kiss brought on by gravity... this was a kiss brought on by love.

A whole minute passed before the embrace ended. And before she knew it they were walking again, they were going back to his mother's apartment for dinner. They took the long way back, Ginta said he wanted to give his parents a bit time alone together, afterall this was first time they had seen each other in years.

The four of them ate dinner together, talking and reuniting. Everybody was happy to see each other. Snow was so entranced by what had happened earlier, she didn't even notice what she was eating, though she was sure it was good. It was a long meal, everybody had a lot of catching up to do. But it soon became late and Snow... or rather Koyuki knew she'd need to return home soon.

She was surprised when Ginta's father said she should spend the night. His mother gave him a puzzled look at first, but seemed to understand soon enough. They hadn't told them what happened in the park, but Ginta's father somehow seemed to figure it out on his own. She and Ginta found themselves in his room as night fell.

She was given a separate futon, but as the minutes turned to hours she realized she couldn't sleep. Snow turned and glanced back at Ginta's own futon. She sighed, she knew why she couldn't sleep. She needed something after all that happened today, but blushed at the thought. She couldn't just...

As she was in mid-thought, she heard footsteps coming toward her. He probably just needed some water, she thought. But to her surprise, Ginta kneeled down and got under her covers. Shocked, she rolled around to face him, blushing profusely. "You can't sleep either, right?", he whispered. Her eyes fixed on his, Snow nodded.

He pulled her in close, embracing her as he muttered, "I love you, Snow...". She smiled and leaned in, briefly kissing him on the cheek. She managed to whisper back, "I love you" before quickly falling asleep in his arms.

A/N: There will be more. Possibly 5 or 6 chapters total. This is really kind of a dedication for me as GintaXSnow was the very first pairing I ever shipped way back when.