Feedback: supercooladi900 – She tends to do that a lot, eh? :P Thank you for all your reviews!
ScriptAngel – Thank you for your reviews and your enduring support, Angel. I hope you like this last chapter. :)
yanna-boo – Don't cry, I will cry too then! Thank you so much for your lovely reviews! :3
BetterofUnknown – Thanks for your reviews! I hope you like this chapter. :)
Guest – Thanks for your reviews! This is the last twist in the story, I promise. Okay, maybe not the last one. :P

Disclaimer: I do not own Hayate the Combat Butler or its characters.

[Nagi speaks...]

I was never good with sling shots. They would hit me back in the face every time. No matter how carefully I planned the shot, measured the distance and held the sling away from me, it always, always, always hit me in the face. It's the same with life decisions. I make plans, consider their outcome and believe in myself for the minute. And it always shoots me back in the face. Maybe I am just bad at sling shooting and life.

Cue snowfall. People everywhere seem excited for a white Christmas. It is that time of the year when you receive presents and your family pretends to love you. People have good reasons to look forward to Christmas. Last year and the years before, I did too; this time, I am blank. Nothing has been going my way ever since I heard Hayate say that he doesn't love me. To not let the memories of my beautiful past be tainted with the harsh reality and truth, I bid him farewell. Then the dead bastard Shouma introduced a humongous twist. For a moment there, I thought it was the end. Pain must have clouded my sanity but I think I saw my mother's hands. However, it was not the end. I was saved, loved, trained and made to feel I had found my peace. But then Hayate came looking for me. And he wouldn't leave. And he wouldn't stop saying that he loved me. And it drove me mad! Why could he not love me when I loved him? Why now? Why love me when I have spent months to wipe you out of my mind? And why, oh why kiss me back? Was it not enough that I was lost without you? Was it not enough that I thought of you every breathing moment?
"Miss, are you alright?"
The police man is asking me something. I better smile,
"Yes"
"Good. Merry Christmas then", he says and rides away on his bicycle.
Where the hell am I? Maria knew that I couldn't stand to watch while pieces of my life were being auctioned. So she asked me to take a stroll.
"Shop for something you may like. It's Christmas tomorrow"
We have agreed to stay in her new apartment which she will get as part of her retirement gift. I smile on recalling -
"Don't call it a retirement gift! I am not even 25!", she said.
Where are the good old days, Maria? I wish I could go back in time, kick this stupid vending machine and run away when a blue-haired boy tries to talk to me.
"This..."
I am here. No matter how much I criticise the decisions in my life, of all the places in the city, my feet brought me here. This is where it all began.
"Are you alright?", he had said.
I pass a gloved hand over the old wending machine. Now it's broken and you can't put a coin in and buy a hot drink. You can only stand in front of it and ponder the directions you have wandered off into.

If I could spend the rest of the night standing here by this machine, I would. Because the best thing that ever happened to me, it happened here. I resent the day I met him and everything that followed, yet I know in my heart that I wouldn't trade those memories for anything. In fact, I came back to meet him again and tell him I was sorry for all the horrible things I said to him in Ryujinshi. And there was a tiny speck of hope that he would tell me again that he loved me and I would nod and say I loved him too. It would be a happily ever after then.
"Aw, so cute!"
"Yes! You go first"
"No! You go first!"
Two squeamish voices are whispering loudly to each other. I turn to see the girls in their stockings, jackets and mini-skirts. They are lurking behind a pole and arguing over something.
"Let's do it together!", they decide.
I watch them steal up on a guy near the lamp post. He is wearing a black overcoat and his head is drooping. The two girls say,
"Excuse me, mister?"
He turns and the street lamp throws some light across his face. My heart...
"Would you... would you..."
It is him. He is here tonight. Of all the places in the city, he too is here. In our niche.
"Yes?", Hayate says.
"Would you, uh, would you", the brunette says, "Would you please go on a date with us?"
"I am sorry I can't"
"B-but why?", the shorty asks, "Please, just the three of us"
"Sorry", he begins to leave.
But the girls are persistent. They block his way and my nostrils flare up.
"Mister, please... AAAAH!"
Kick-a-pow, little shits!
"Get going! Do you hear me?", I growl.
They look up at me and shout in unison,
"Who the hell do you think you are?!"
"I am the one who will give you multiple fractures if you don't get going right now"
The girls glance once at Hayate, then at each other's faces where imprints of my feet are visible, and take off. That was harsh but one shouldn't have mercy on a harasser just because she is a girl.
(Daichi's voice echoes in my mind,
"I taught you well" )
I turn back to Hayate. He is wearing a look of surprise and faint cologne. He exclaims,
"Miss Nagi... you are... you came back"
"I did"
Don't you dare to cry, Nagi.
"Why?"
For you, stupid! Do I have to write it in the skies so that you understand?! This does it!
I take a step back and point to him. There is a lump in my throat but my voice is steadier than ever,
"I want you"
His eyes glisten in the dark of the night. We are both trying not to cry.
"I want you very badly"
He says,
"Why me?"
If this isn't true, nothing is,
"Because I love you"
To hell with it. I am crying but I don't care. I love him and I will love him no matter what comes our way. I say,
"For everything I ever did and said to hurt you, I am so..."
"No. I am sorry"
My sobs come out muffled against his shoulder,
"Do you love me?"
"Yes. God, yes"
And we stand in a tight embrace, under the street light, near the wending machine... right where the happily ever after began.

Sometimes, pain is just a doorway to something beautiful. No matter how bad the odds are against you, no matter who pulls you down, love will save you. When that happens, you will forget every tear you have shed and every beat you have skipped, for love now flows through your veins. Don't ever let go of the one you love. The spell might make you dizzy, but the promise is worth it in the end.
I am Nagi Sanzenin, bank balance: $100, mood: elated, relationship status: madly in love with Hayate Ayasaki.

[Hayate speaks...]

Maria and I are blushing. She asks,
"Are you sure about this?"
Miss Nagi nods,
"Yep! I don't have much stuff left so it will fit easily in Hayate's small apartment"
Ouch.
"Besides", she adds excitedly, "You and Tojou will need some privacy!"
Tojou melts down into the corner, a pink blob. Maria tries to laugh it off,
"It's not what you think it is!"
"Save it, Maria. Tojou?"
He regenerates into his human form,
"Yes, Miss Sanzenin?"
"Take good care of Maria. If you hurt her, I will hurt you twice as much. I can fight very well now, remember that"
"Yes, Miss Sanzenin"
I look at my wrist watch,
"It's time"
Maria smiles at us both,
"Now you two be good. Don't fight and don't let go of each other ever again"
"We won't", I answer for us both.
Miss Nagi and I exchange goodbyes with Maria and Tojou. Their apartments are right next to one another. He is going to utilise that, I guarantee it.

"Shall we, Miss Nagi?"
"Yep. Boost the engine, Hayate", she says and hops on.
"Okay", I smile, "Let's go home"
She rests her head against my chest,
"Yes. Let's"
And so we set off on my bicycle, with her belongings packed in a suitcase on the carrier. The girl I love is moving in with me. I have a new job. We are drifting into the sunset. Everything is going to be great, I believe. All our troubles are over.
"Hayate... are we going to sleep in the same room?"
Except for this one.

A/N: That's all, folks! End of story. I am very grateful to all the wonderful people who read and supported this story. Also... mwahahaha! April Fools! Of course, I am going to write a sequel to this! Ouch, ouch! *ducks from shoe shower*
That was a low blow, I know. :P
Well, if you are willing to stick around with this creepy writer for a few more weeks, she will publish the sequel sooner. I hope you all enjoyed reading this story because I definitely enjoyed writing this. Love, love, love, love to all! ^_^

Regards,
AskForXYZ