Knocking on her apartment door was the hardest thing he had ever had to do. More so than the two grueling years at the Academy, or confronting Yzak after deserting during the First War.

He could feel his heart almost stop beating as he raised his fist to knock on the door.

He knocked once, twice, thrice. Miriallia was never a fan of people pounding on her door. Almost immediately, a wave of panic washed over him. He had not even checked if she was going to be there that night. She could have been in her studio, for all he knew; she always had been a little bit of a workaholic. Or she could have been out with her friends, since she never had a shortage of adoring friends wanting to spend time with her. Or worse, what if she had been out with a new guy? Even worse, what if she had been in with a new guy? He did not sure if he would be able to survive the heartbreak of seeing her answer her door, scantily clad, with a new male figure standing behind her.

He closed his eyes and clenched his fist. After a few seconds of silence, he heard soft footsteps approaching the door and literally felt as though his heart was going to stop. This was the moment of truth. The footsteps stopped about two feet in front of him, and he heard a faint gasp from the other side of the door.

After what felt like an eternity, the door opened slowly.

It had been two years since he last saw her. She had not changed much. Lost a few pounds, perhaps, but other than that she was exactly as he remembered. The expression on her face was an indescribable mixture of shock, pain, and if he dared to believe it, the slightest hint of affection.

"Hi."

His voice was raspy and nervous, and he could feel his heart pumping in his head. He was almost tempted to turn around and run away like he had two years ago, but he clenched his fist and fought the urge. This was the one last battle he had to fight.

"…What are you doing here?"

Her voice was slightly lower than he remembered, and it reminded him of the amount of time they had spent apart. They were both different people from the two terrified teenagers they were when they parted. Being nineteen might not have made them adults, but they were definitely closer to it than when they were seventeen.

"I wanted to see you."

She stared at him for a few more seconds with probing eyes. She still seemed completely bewildered by his sudden appearance, but after what seemed like an eternity, she shifted in the doorway to let him in.

xoxox

Dearka silently sat on the kitchen stool while Miriallia placed a kettle on the stove. The last remnants of prepubescent awkwardness that laced her actions had completely disappeared, and now she moved with the grace of a grown woman. They had not exchanged any words since he stepped foot into the apartment, and the only noise that filled the air was the quiet clinking of mugs and spoons.

"Miriallia."

She froze with her hand still on the kettle. He could not see her expression hidden under a soft curtain of her hair. He had dreamed of this moment for much too long, contemplating every word that he would say to her when he saw her. He had a speech carefully planned out, because he knew that what he said could decide whether he would be happy for the rest of his life. But the silence was suffocating, and the soft hissing of the kettle would not let him concentrate. What ended up coming out of his mouth was much more clumsy and unpolished than what he originally had in mind.

"I still love you."

He almost winced as the sound left his lips. He used to be much more suave back in the days. Yzak could vouch for the number of girls he seduced with his sweet words during the days of the military academy. But those were the days before he met Miriallia, who had reduced him to a silly, bumbling, love-struck boy.

He supposed this was more like him.

"I'm sorry for being an ass. And being extremely immature. I'm sorry for being insecure and stupid and a coward. I'm sorry that I didn't understand what you wanted to do back then, and I'm sorry for ever doubting that you cared about me. And I am sorry that I ran away instead of trying to fix what I did wrong. I am a huge idiot."

She quietly let go of the kettle and turned towards him. Her face was stiff.

"Yes, you are an idiot."

She spoke slowly, deliberately, as if she was carefully choosing her words.

"I'm sorry, Mir. And if there is any chance of you forgiving me…give me a second chance."

"Dearka…"

"I never stopped loving you. There wasn't a day that I didn't think about you."

She glared at him for a few moments, and he felt like his heart was going to stop. But before his brain could fully comprehend her response, her expression turned into one of incredulity.

"I knew you were an idiot, but I didn't think you were that much of an idiot."

It was Dearka's turn to be dumbfounded.

"I don't understand."

"So you come back here, two years later, to tell me that you want to be with me again?"

By then, a hint of amusement had crept up into her features, and Dearka was completely lost. He had thought about the different reactions he would receive, but incredulity was not one of them.

"I guess so you could put it that way?"

"What is this, some kind of stupid romance novel? Really, Dearka, really."

Miriallia sighed and sat down on a stool across from his. A faint smile crawled on her face. She looked tired; the kind of expression that would have been more appropriate on a seventy year old than a girl of barely twenty. But then, again, he knew he looked like that too. Everybody from his generation did. The two wars had taken much more than lives. They were all worn, exhausted –all they wanted was some resemblance of normalcy.

"I missed you too, Dearka."

"Mir…"

"It wasn't just you. I know I was immature as well, and I should have handled things better. But do you think things would be any different now, just because we're older? I'm a little too tired to try something, get emotionally invested, and then find out later that it won't work after all."

"Don't say that, Mir."

"All I want is something stable. Someone who will always be there. I'm tired of saying goodbyes."

The kettle started to whistle, and Miriallia stood back up to turn the stove off. Her shoulders seemed frailer than he had remembered.

"I can do that."

She paused, but did not turn around. He stood up and took two steps towards her. All he wanted to do was to holder her in his arms, but he knew she did not want that that. It would be easy to pretend like nothing had ever happened, and allow that one part of them that still vividly remembered what life had been like together take over. But things had changed since, and certain things had to be made right first.

"How do I know that you can?"

Her voice betrayed the smallest hint of uncertainty. He could tell that deep down, she wanted to believe as well. He just did not know how he could actually convince her. What was it that actually motivated him to come all the way down to Orb, anyway? Miriallia had called his actions worthy of some "stupid romance novel," but he knew that he was not just some star struck idealist.

The war itself was part of it. The war had made him crave for something normal, something peaceful –and he found out the hard way that there was no hope for him to achieve any kind of internal peace without her. Shiho Hahnenfuss was another part. Watching Yzak try to rebuild his world after her death made him realize that he never wanted to lose Miriallia the way Yzak lost Shiho.

In the end, he decided to keep it simple.

"You mean the world to me, Mir. I will be here for you because I can't bear the idea of losing you again, and can't imagine living the rest my life without you."

He then reached for her shoulder and turned her around. She slowly met his gaze. And there they were, her soft, green eyes: the same gentle hue that he remembered so well.

The faintest smile crept into the corner of her lips.

"You are a huge idiot."

He could feel his expression softening as well. He replied with a chuckle.

"You already said that."

"I know."

Miriallia looked down and continued, her tone a little more serious.

"Promise me one thing."

"Whatever you want."

"You are going to make this work. We are going to make this work."

She looked up again, this time with a wider smile. Dearka slowly reached out to her, unable to control the smile on his face either. And when he felt Miriallia's thin arms around him, he knew everything had fallen into place. It had taken them years to figure it out, but at the end of it all, they did. And if only for that one, short moment, everything was right in the world and nothing could have ever fazed them. Just like the past had been filled with challenges and misunderstandings, there were going to be problems in their future, too. But this time, this time, they were going to get through. They were together, and that was all they ever really needed.

It had been a long, long journey back home.

SO. Here goes. This is the end of Loose Ends. Thank you all for reading and supporting this fic to the end, I know the updates were not consistent and it took me a long time to complete the you again, and, as always, reviews are very much welcome!

As I mentioned before, this is a spin-off of a much longer Yzak/Shiho fic called Remembrance that I've been writing... If any of you are interested in the back story, or are curious about the few allusions to Yzak/Shiho I made in this fic, please check it out as well! I also plan on having this Dearka/Mir pair have a cameo appearance in the epilogue of Remembrance.