"... and so he got away," Beruka finished.

"Ah," Ananias said, nodding understandly. "That's too bad."

"Yes," Beruka stiffly concurred. "It is."

"Huh."

Beruka turned to him. "What?"

Ananias nonchalantly shrugged. "You actually sound a bit frustrated over this."

Beruka looked down and contemplated over this. "Frustrated?"

"Er, well," Ananias scratched the back of his head, "frustration is sort of like a combination between disappointment and... annoyance?"

"Disappointment," Beruka mused. "Annoyance. Yes, I suppose I was at least a little disappointed when that man got away."

"Were you now?"

Beruka nodded. "Yes. This now makes it the second time that he has escaped from me." Her lips tightened narrowly as she shook her head. "I am usually not so... sloppy."

"Well, every dog has its day," Ananias reassured her. "I'm sure that you'll get him next time."

"Really?" Beruka eyed him questionably. "How can you be so sure?"

When Beruka didn't elaborate further upon this, Ananias sighed, thought about it for a moment, and asked, "Should I not be?"

"By all accounts, no, you shouldn't," Beruka said. "After all, this marks the second time that he has escaped me and as far as we know, there have been no outside factors that could have affected such an outcome, so it is only natural to conclude that either my abilities as an assassin have diminished or that this criminal is far above others in terms of escaping capture."

"Um, well, yes, I guess that's fair," Ananias admitted. "But if that were the case, then there's nothing we can do about the latter, right? And do you really believe that your skills as an assassin have diminished that much? Because I can't."

Beruka shook her head. "It's not a matter of whether you can or can't, but whether it is or isn't," she smoothly countered. "Who knows? Perhaps my time here has slowly made me into lesser of an assassin."

"But then, that's good, right?" Ananias asked. "I mean, that's what you've always kind of wanted, isn't it? To be less of an assassin and more of a human?"

"Yes, I suppose that's true, to an extent, but," she looked solemnly at the ground, "if my skills continue to diminish like this, then of what use will I be to lady Camilla?"

"I'm sure lady Camilla values you more than just as a retainer," Ananias softly reassured her.

"Perhaps," Beruka admitted. "But still, if I am not to be her weapon, then what I am supposed to be?"

Ananias simply shrugged his shoulders and answered, "Whatever you want."

"Whatever I want," Beruka murmured to herself. She took a moment to ponder on such an idea before her eyes inadvertently began to water. "Whatever I want." Tears slowly began to fall down her face.

Ananias' eyes widened in surprise. "Whoa! Hey," he wiped the tears off of her face, "what's wrong?"

"Whatever I want," Beruka began to sob, trying in vain to wipe away her own tears and force herself to stop crying before helplessly shaking her head. "I don't know what I want!" She then began to sob uncontrollably, burying her face into her hands as her entire body shook.

Ananias let out a tiny gasp before awkwardly placing his hands onto her shoulders and whispering, "Hey, come on, don't be like that! You're a tough cookie! I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually."

Beruka shook her head. "Y-You d-don't... know that!" she sobbed.

"Yeah, I kind of do," Ananias gently insisted. "Look, when I was little, I was expected to be a merchant, and when it became obvious that I just wasn't cut out to be one, I was scared too! But eventually, I figured out what I was meant to do, and you will too! You've just got to give yourself a little more time to figure it all out!"

Beruka shook her head. "B-But... I'm... not," she hiccuped, "... you!"

"Yeah, you're right! You're stronger than me! You're the greatest assassin that I've ever met, bar none! If there's someone who can figure out their place in the world, it's you!"

Thankfully, that seemed to calm her down a bit, as Beruka, while still obviously quite distraught due to the redness of her eyes and the occasional sniffing of her nose, noticeably stopped shaking as intensely as she had mere moments before. "But," another sniff, "being an assassin, that's all I've ever been. How do I... how would I move on from that?"

"One step at a time," Ananias answered. "That's the only way you can. That's the only way anyone can."

Beruka took a moment to process that before asking, "All by myself?"

Ananias shook his head. "No, of course not." He carefully and gently held her hands and rubbed them comfortingly. "I'll be right here if you need me. The same goes for lady Camilla and everybody else here. You don't have to do this alone. We'll help you out in any way we can." He gave her a resolute nod. "That's a promise."

Beruka stared long and hard at him before shaking her head. "No." She drew her hands back from Ananias' and folded them protectively in front of her as she turned her back to him. "That is a promise that you cannot keep."

Ananias let out a small gasp before asking, "W-What do you mean?"

Beruka wiped her eyes with the back of her hand before explaining, "I know of the arrangement you've made."

Ananias blinked in confusion. "What arrangement?"

"The arrangement you've made as a retainer and as a soldier in our army," Beruka explained. When even that did not seem to clear up Ananias' confusion, Beruka sighed and added, "After all of he fighting is over, you're going to leave."

"O-Oh," Ananias said softly. "THAT arrangement."

Beruka nodded. "Here you are again, making rash decisions in the heat of the moment. Making promises you can't keep."

"O-Of course I can keep it!" Ananias insisted.

"How?" Beruka asked, her voice cracking due to the tears that were threatening to once again fall down her face.

"I'll... I'll...," Ananias furiously scratched his head as he racked his brain for any possible ideas, "I'll come to visit every once and a while!"

"Wishful thinking," Beruka muttered.

"And why's that?" Ananias demanded. "You're important to me, Beruka! I wouldn't just abandon you like you weren't!"

"We live in completely different lands," Beruka quietly countered. "This will never work."

"I'll make it work!"

"Even if you have no other reason to come here?" Beruka asked.

"You'll be my reason!"

Beruka shook her head. "Ridiculous," she muttered.

"What's so ridiculous about caring about someone you love?!" Ananias cried.

Beruka's eyes widened as she let out a surprised gasp. "L-Love?"

Ananias blushed furiously, but refused to back down all the same. "Yeah, that's right! I love you! There! Is that a good enough reason to come back?!"

Beruka averted her eyes from him for a second before shaking her head and murmuring, "No. No. Just another one of your reckless decisions. You don't really mean that."

"I do!" Ananias said angrily. It was incredible. He couldn't remember the last time he was being this worked up about something.

Beruka simply continued to shake her head. "You'll regret saying that later once you've calmed down."

"That's not true!" Ananias insisted, grabbing her by the shoulders and looking directly into her eyes. "I love you, Beruka! It's one of the reasons why I've kept meeting up with you to help you figure out your emotions!"

Beruka hesitated for a moment before muttering, "You're just saying that."

"What have I got to say that'll make you trust me?!"

"..."

Ananias gaped at her before weakly repeating, "Nothing?"

Beruka nodded. "Nothing."

The two stared at one another before Ananias sighed and murmured, "Well, I don't care. I'm going to keep loving you anyway, whether you believe me or not."

Beruka let out a shocked gasp before tightening her lips and shaking her head. "No. No! This... this is too good to be true!" Unshed tears were once again forming at the corners of her eyes. "I shouldn't believe it, but... I want to believe it so much!"

"... Why can't you?"

Beruka simply shook her head. "I don't know, alright?! I just can't!"

"But why though? Is it because you can't imagine yourself being married, or in love, or in a relationship?"

"I... I...," Beruka sheepishly and protectively folded her arms and shook her head, "I can't!"

"You can!" Ananias insisted and pleaded. He reached out his hand to her. "And I can be there every step of the way! One step at a time! Just like I said! All you have to do is trust me."

The two were silent as they stared at each other, Beruka with a mixture of shock and awe and Ananias with a mixture of desperation and anticipation. They continued to stare at each other for quite a while before Beruka let out a relenting sigh and muttered, "Fine." She slowly took his hand. "I trust you."

Ananias let out a gasp of surprise. He could hardly believe it. "Really?"

Beruka nodded. "Really." She then paused before quickly and awkwardly adding, "And... I love you too."

Ananias took a moment to process the miracle that was happening before him before smiling gently at her and saying, "Yeah. And don't worry. You're not going to regret this."

Beruka smiled. "Of course."

Ending: Ananias and Beruka

Ananias continued with his humble life as a messenger almost immediately after the war had ended, his home being the only guaranteed place anyone looking for him could find him. Beruka was torn about leaving Camilla but enjoyed having enough emotions for them to conflict.

Author's Note #1: And there ends Ananias' supports with Beruka. I hope you liked them. The next supports after Beruka, will be Xander, followed by Azura, Flora, Odin, Laslow, Rinkah, Arthur, Silas, Leo, Keaton, and Subaki. Kanna's supports will be like Ophelia's and Soleil's, with Kanna being Odin, Laslow, or Selena's kid and Ananias being an honorary uncle to them. The supports will also be written as if Kanna is a boy, but will be generic enough to fit both genders. Got someone else you want to support with Ananias that isn't on this list yet? Request it. Remember, all Nohr first generation characters, Soliel, Ophelia, Anna, Kanna, Rinkah, Subaki, and Setsuna are allowed to support with him as well and it is a first come, first serve system.

Author's Note #2: The Fire Emblem Warriors poll is now officially up on my profile! Vote for which five characters you want for Ananias to support with from that game the most and, in the end, ten characters will be selected for Ananias to support with, so make your voices heard. Happy voting!