Yuri was well and truly excited. It had been Flynn who had pushed him to invite her out with them, but he was certainly not regretting agreeing to do so. He had been noticeably falling for the pretty brunette for awhile, and Flynn had finally given him an excuse to ask her out. Because no way was he going anywhere with just Flynn and his banshee.

Yuri could not deny that he had been a bit nervous about the whole thing, to begin with, but now that actually asking her out was done and over with, he was looking forward to the evening.

All those months of bloody physiotherapy were finally paying off, in more ways than one. Flynn would agree. Yuri had been single for quite awhile. It was not that he was never asked out, far from it in fact, but it was more than no women ever interested him. The sorts that had asked him out had all been the weaker-minded, shallow type, who were more interested in being arm-candy to a hot guy than actually...being. It sickened him.

But Tear, Tear was different. Sure, she was damn hot, yet she had never used that to her advantage. In fact, the girl was so down-to-earth at times that he had almost feared she lived under a rock.

He was about to learn differently, anyway.

When he picked her up that night, he could not help but stare. He had known she was pretty, but seeing her dressed up was something else. Staying true to herself, she was dressed in a neutral brown that still managed to accent her features perfectly.

When they met up with Flynn and Sodia, Yuri grinned at the evil woman cockily. Clearly, she had not been expecting this. Well, that was fine by him.

Somehow, the night passed without any fighting between him and the banshee. It was a first, but Yuri was just not interested in conflict with Tear there. He had wanted this date to go well.

It did.

Very well.

"Thank you, Yuri...I had a really nice evening."

Yuri loved it when Tear blushed, and right now she was doing a splendid job of it.

"So, you'd be willing to go out with me again, then?" The way she smiled at that had his heart leaping.

"I think I could be talked into it."

"Hm, if that's the case, think I could talk you into coming over for a bit?" The redness that brought to her face brought a smirk to his lips. "Don't worry. I won't ask you to do anything...indecent. I was thinking more like...a movie, or something."

"Well, it is quite late."

"Yeah, I know," he replied, shrugging. "But we're both off tomorrow, aren't we?"

He had her with that, so the two headed back to his apartment.

When Yuri opened the door, they were greeted by Repede, Yuri's oversized, blue-and-white dog.

"Oh! So this is Repede. Yuri's told me a lot about you," Tear told the creature, bending down to let him sniff her hand. With a snort, the dog turned and sauntered away.

"Uh, yeah. He does that. He'll warm up to you in time," Yuri muttered, scratching his head. Honestly, Repede was one for bad first impressions all right.

"So, this is your apartment?" she asked, straightening to look around. "It's cleaner than I expected."

He knew she was just teasing him. With a laugh, he replied, "Well, yeah. Flynn helped me clean all day yesterday."

"H-he knew you were going to have me over?" she demanded, face reddening again.

Yuri snorted. "We're adults, aren't we?" Pausing, he let out a soft sigh. "But like I said, I'm not going to ask you for anything you're not comfortable with."

The subject was dropped at that.

While Yuri got them something to drink, Tear browsed the rack of movies. When he returned with two steaming glasses, one of coffee and one tea, she held out her choice. Quirking an eyebrow, he grinned a bit.

"Journey of a Star? Not a bad one." Popping the movie in, they settled down to watch. At first, Yuri paid attention to the film, yet gradually his attention wavered to the woman next to him. It was cute how into the movie she was. When they got to the part where the group was exploring a ghost ship, however, things got really interesting.

At first, the brunette held her own, clearly fighting down any scared reactions. However, when the bars slammed down from the ceiling, she squeaked a bit and latched onto him. Grinning, he wrapped one arm around her.

"Not a fan of ghosts I take it?"

"D-don't be ridiculous. I just...thought it was going to hit him! I don't...like gore?" The last part hit him as more a question than anything else. The movie's rating hardly allowed for gore. He did not press the matter, though. Teasing her might be fun, but he did not want to risk ruining the evening.

It did not matter, anyway. By the time the movie was over, she was sound asleep on his shoulder. Smiling to himself, he flicked the television off and tossed a blanket over them both before settling down himself.

He just did not have the heart to wake her.

Just over a year later, they were out on date number...well, Tear had long lost count. Unusual for Yuri, he was taking her to a rather nice restaurant. Well, she was not complaining. She had certainly fallen in love with the man's wilder side, having long since figured out that he was not an idiot, just carefree and...free.

"So, what's with the change of mood?" she finally asked over dinner, curiosity getting the better of her.

"What, and a guy's not allowed to treat his woman to a nice meal now and again?" he teased, grinning.

"You? No."

"Ouch, guess you pegged me there."

At that, Tear watched curiosity as this man, one she knew to be utterly fearless and indestructible, hesitate.

"Yuri?"

She honestly did not know what to think when he got up, took her hand, and knelt before her.

Heart pounding in her throat, she held her breath as removed a small, velvety box from his pocket.

"Mystearica Aura Fende...will you marry me?"

There was nothing else to do but throw her arms around his neck, voice coming out in choked gasps.

"Yes...yes, of course." Never in her life had Tear been quite so happy. Truth be told, she had been dreaming of this moment four quite some time, but having it actually be...real? Talk about overwhelming.

"I-I love you, Yuri," she breathed, looking up into his onyx eyes.

Gently, he stroked her face with one hand, after placing the shimmering ruby on her finger. "And I you, Tear. More than anything." Leaning up, he pressed his lips firmly onto hers.

She had never been happier. Really.

Eleven years later, she smiled as she watched Yuri and a now very-old Repede racing their nine-year-old son across the beach. The scar on his leg was plainly visible, and though it disfigured him and left him with a permanent limp, she could not help but love it.

It had led her to the only man for her.

Lame ending? Yep! Hope you enjoyed anyhow, though. :3

Thanks to all who reviewed. Hope that maybe I'll hear from you again in the future!