After a failed romance last year, tears; then fighting and the nastiness; followed by a slow, painful reconciliation starting earlier this year. Yahoo and Microsoft have finally — finally — united with an advertising deal, All Things D reports.

The pact will be announced within 24 hours, reporter Kara Swisher writes. It's been a long time coming. Given the two companies' stock performance (see chart below), and the level of, uh, charisma their CEOs posses, it's no wonder it took this long to screw up the courage to take on Google together. Should be entertaining to watch.