Alrighty, kiddies! This chapter is the finale to this saga(wrong word) of mine. I have loved the support I got from all of the people who followed, reviewed, and gave me feedback on this story. It has really encouraged me to write better stories - and more, for that fact. This was my first fic ever published, and it will always be dear to my heart. Sure there were times when the chapters were released in . . . lengthy periods of time, but in the end, it was worth it. I have enjoyed every second of working on this, and please, as the fans, I write for you, so if you have requests or ideas, send them to me. My readers are my biggest priority.

Hope to see you in the next one!

Ruby D. Ismean

Soul was starting to regret it. He had had so much confidence in himself when he turned back towards her house, but now he was sitting in her living room with the air tighter than it had ever been between them. It was suffocating him.

He might as well jump. "As I said - " He faltered a bit when his eyes met hers, her gaze steady " - I want to talk to you about what happened ten years ago. The day you left." He was not trying to sugarcoat this. "The day I screwed up." But he could try to apologize.

What was between them now was what he had wanted since the day he met her, even if he hadn't realized it himself. He was risking it all with this one. This could possibly ruin everything he had done for the past ten years, and even before that, to finally get her to belong to him. Like this. Not a partner, a meister. Just her and him. This could destroy his life forever. He would go back to wallowing in self-pity, day-dreaming about the one that got away, have a long, never-ending string of short-term relationships that were doomed from the start, trying to convince himself that he could get over her if there was just someone else. But there was no one else. She was Maka. He loved her, and he could never let her go.

But somehow, this possibility didn't weigh too heavily in Soul's mind. He felt strangely reassured that it would all turn out for the better. They would talk this through, figure it out, and they could be together.

"Where exactly would we start?" she asked. He realized then that she had said this simply to get him to talk, as he had just been sitting there for a while now, lost in his thoughts.

"Um . . . " Oh God, he hadn't thought that far. "Maybe . . . My - . . . shoot . . ."

"How about where it started?"

Soul shut up his blabbering. It made perfect sense.

"Okay, then." The room settled into a calm, almost therapeutic silence. He looked her directly into her eyes. "How about when we came into our apartment?"

"Yes." Maka closed her eyes.

"We were fighting . . . about nothing." He moved towards her.

"Nothing . . . " she echoed.

"I said something. Something that hurt you." He moved closer.

"Something . . . " Maka's eyebrows furrowed, like she was in deep concentration and pain.

Soul moved closer.

"You said something that hurt me." He was on his knees right in front of her now.

"I hurt you." She opened her eyes to look into his, his face an inch from hers.

He brought a hand up to gently touch her left cheek. He looked at it sadly. "I hurt you."

Warm silence befell them. Everything made sense, nothing unclear. Soul kept stroking her cheek with one finger, softly. After a long, comfortable period of not speaking, they felt anything could be said, but nothing had to be. Even so, Soul needed to get all these years of feelings across to her.

"It was my fault." Maka was quickly brought back from the haze Soul's finger had put her in to look at him with a newly kindled spark in her eyes. It was beautiful. "I never should have reacted that way."

She smiled. "You idiot. It was my fault. I never should have said something like that to you. It came out of a stupid fight, too. And on top of that, I ran away. Like a coward. I deserved it."

He held her face in his hands, pushing her eyes to meet his. "You never deserve to be hurt, Maka. Ever."

She wanted to say something, but his look caused her words to fail her. So she nodded. He kissed her. She kissed him back.

When they separated, she spoke. "People say things they don't really mean to each other all the time. Seems like we were just being dramatic about it." She giggled.

"I think it turned out for the better, don't you?" He smirked devilishly before kissing her again, deeply.

"Well, I don't think that will be a problem from now on." She smiled.

"Either way, I love you. And I mean that." He said it so simply, so plainly. Staring strongly into her eyes: looking for a reaction or simply trying to make her believe it, she didn't know.

She slowly put her fingers between his, and got up. He was still looking up at her with that look. She put on a blank face, let go, and walked to the door that led to her bedroom. It was slightly ajar as she stood facing away from Soul and towards it. Then she turned, smirked mischievously, and said, "I know."

Soul looked confused and a bit surprised.

Maka slipped off her jacket, letting it fall to the floor. "But you still need to prove it." She walked out.

Soul was left with his jaw slack in her living room. Once it sunk in, he smiled, and then enthusiastically ran after her.

Yeah, that wasn't going to be a problem anymore.

Oh my god, you guys! (Legally Blonde-that was for you, Carmen) That was it you guys! I struggled for so long with this ending, that's why it took me forever to publish it. I was so scared that it was going to end. I'm also sorry it's so short! I just wrote how I felt it, and I don't feel it needs anything more.

It got pretty flowery in the middle there, that's why I'm glad I thought of that slightly sexual moment at the end to make it a bit more suited to my tastes. I managed to write this entire chapter during my eternal tech rehearsal for Anne of Green Gables where I didn't have to do anything for 9 hours straight! I guess it's good because I wouldn't have been able to finish this if I didn't have it, except I'm still here! And we're only half way through my first scene! We're on a 10 minute break right now. Anyway, if you want to see my sweet, heartfelt goodbye to all the readers who have been with me through this, look at the top of this chapter.

I love you all. Thank you so much for making this a great year and a half.

KawaiiChibiHime33 - Ruby D. Ismean