Maka. When Soul heard the name, he twitched. Just thinking of Maka gave him goosebumps. For as long as he could remember, he had feelings for her. He put on a mask of lies saying he was, too cool for a flat-chested girl like her. He really wanted nothing more than to hold her in his arms and protect her. He had sacrificed himself for her on multiple occasions and would do it again without hesitation. Why couldn't she see that? Despite his efforts, Maka was clueless as to how Soul felt about her. He was at his breaking point. Soul didn't know how much longer he could go on living without telling Maka how he really felt. It was uncool. He was so used to girls fawning over him his entire life that he had forgotten what it was like to really impress a girl. Maka didn't see him as just a good looking guy. She saw him as a person. She saw the good heart he had inside his chest, not just his looks. Since becoming a Death Scythe, he had put on more muscles, gotten taller, and his hair had grown shaggier which seemed to woo the girls of Death City even more. Even so, no girl in Death City could even compare to Maka. Since his charm wasn't working with Maka, he had decided to use the truth. The flat out truth. How he really felt. He stared at his feet. Trying to think of the exact words he would say to her the next time he saw her. He couldn't do it tonight, no, he had to think this over. After pondering what to say and how, the phone in his apartment rang. After a couple rings he looked up, shocked that he hadn't noticed the high-pitched noise. Dazed, he stood and dragged his feet over to the phone.

"Yeah?"

He said in a sleepy tone.

"Soul! Are we still on for tonight?"

It was Maka. He wasn't at all prepared to tell her how he felt yet. He couldn't go through with it. He needed more time.

"Ah, Maka! Listen… I don't think I'll be able to make it tonight. Something kind of important came up.."

He trailed off, thinking about the gravity of the situation he was about to put himself in.

"Damn Soul! You do this every time! Well when you figure out when you have some free time, CALL ME. I really need to talk to you!"

"Yeah, okay Maka. Sorry. I'll make it up to you I promise!"

He sheepishly smiled to himself.

"Alright Soul. I'll talk to you later. Bye."

There was a click on the other line. Maka was gone. He repeated the conversation to himself again in his head. Did he do the right thing? He stood staring at the pale countertop for a good minute then realized he was still hold the phone to his ear. He slammed it into its holder then shuffled back to the living room and plopped down on the couch. Living without Maka for the past two years had been hard, but she was out living her dream, exploring the world. She was finally coming back, thus the reason Soul had been thinking about his feelings for her so deeply latly. He knew why he needed to talk to her so badly, but why was she itching to talk to him? Was it because she had feelings for him too? No. He couldn't be thinking these thoughts. Getting his hopes up was the last thing he needed. He blinked several times, ridding himself of his thoughts. He sat up and paced the room. It was quiet like every night in the dark apartment but for some reason it seemed more unsettling than usual. Had he gone mad? WHY was this so hard for him? Why couldn't he just say, Maka Albarn, I LOVE YOU. and be done with it. He tugged at his hair, digging his nails into his scalp. A deep growl from inside his chest emerged. He threw his hands down and panted,

"THAT'S IT. I'm going to her apartment NOW to get this over with."

He grumbled in anger to himself. Striding to his bedroom, he grabbed his coat. After looking himself over in the mirror, he slipped his shoes on the heading out the door. Half-way through, he stopped. Should he call first? No, this was urgent. He couldn't delay it any more. He slammed the door shut, not even bothering to lock it and glided down the hallway and stairs. Upon exiting the building, he looked up at the sky. Snow? For the first time in a year, it was snowing in death city. Snowflakes drifted from the clouds and landed on his head and shoulders, sprinkling the powder in his hair, making it damp and heavy. He shook his head like a dog, ridding himself of the undissolved flakes. His face grew brighter, as a smile slowly appeared. He started walking towards Maka's apartment, swiftly passing by children playing in the snow and couples as they cherished this rare occurrence. He glanced into shops as he walked. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flower shop. He stopped, whirling around and stepping backwards to get a better look at the shop's name. Lucky's Flower Shop. An appropriate name. He could use some luck tonight. He used his shoulder to whip open the door. A chime from a group of bells hanging from the door rang out, alerting the employees that they had a customer. He peered down the corner of the first isle and saw a vase of 12 roses. He approached it slowly, ignoring the greetings from workers. As he grew closer, he saw a card attached to the vase. I will love you until the last rose dies. Upon further investigation, he discovered that one rose out of the 12 was fake, meaning whomever this bouquet was given to, would have everlasting love. It was perfect. This would show how Soul truly felt about Maka. He lifted the vase off its shelf and brought it to the register at the front of the store. An old man with a wrinkled face glanced at the foliage in front of him then smiled.

"Young love, eh? Well, you're never too young to be in love I suppose."

He chuckled to himself as he rang up the roses. Soul smiled. Although he was only 18, he knew he was in love. He had always known. The man slid the roses out of the vase and gently placed them into a plastic wrapping, ready for delivery. He handed the bouquet to Soul, who had, once again, a dazed expression on his face.

"Hey kid, you gonna take these to your girl or what?"

Soul's head snapped up at the now grinning geezer.

"Oh, thanks old man! She is going to love these!"

Soul grabbed the bundle of roses the headed swiftly out the door.

"Hey, I ain't that old you punk!"

The old man scoffed and folded his arms as he watched the white haired boy stumble out the door with the goofiest of faces on.

"Kids these days…"

He smiled to himself then went back to work on another bouquet of flowers. Meanwhile, Soul rushed down the streets of Death city, getting more excited by each step he took. Maka's apartment was in view. He sped up his pace and in a matter of seconds he was there. He stood, looking wide eyed at the apartment building, gulping. He yanked the door to the building open and shuffled in, almost slipping on the tile flooring. Impatiently, he hurried towards the elevator and furiously slapped the up button. After what seemed to be a century, the elevator doors opened and Soul crept inside, slapping the buttons furiously again. The elevator began to rise. Soul began to get nervous. He began to shake, thinking of the worst possible scenarios. No, no, no! The worst thing that could happen would be that Maka would reject him. He could deal with that just as long as she knew how he really felt! His confidence began to build up again and by the time his mini-breakdown was over, he had reached Maka's floor. He stepped out of the elevator and into the long narrow hallway. Taking baby steps, he began to walk toward Maka's door. He stopped and turned toward the rusty door that read 108 in bright red letters. He lifted his hand in a fist, ready to knock, but stopped. Was this really the right choice? Even if Maka feels the same way, she isn't staying in Death City forever. She had to finish her dream of traveling the world. Shaken by fear, Soul backed away from the door. After zoning out, he shook his head and pounded his fist on the door without hesitation. From inside, he could hear a set of voices get quieter, then louder as they debated who should open the door. Did Maka have company? The door flung open to reveal a tall, pale, lanky man dressed in all black.

"K-Kid? What are you doing here!?"

Soul softly yelled at the Grim Reaper. Why was Death The Kid in Maka's apartment?!

"Soul… I didn't know we had company coming over."

Kid glanced over his shoulder at Maka, who had an astonished and embarrassed look on her face.

"We? What do you mean you didn't know "we" had company coming over?"

He shot his troubled gaze at Maka who now looked worried.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?"

Soul shouted into the apartment.

"Um, Soul. I guess now would be a good time to tell you since we are all here…"

Maka trailed off, looking away from Soul's intense glare.

"Me and Kid are getting married, and traveling the world together."

Maka gave a side grin to Kid, then glanced back at Soul, who had his head hung down low. The bouquet of roses then caught her eye. With her mouth dropping and eyes widening, she gasped. Covering he mouth, tears began to well up in her eyes.

"Oh, S-Soul. I had no ide-"

"Save it."

Soul cut her off. He dropped the bouquet onto the ground and backed away from the door. Kid did nothing but stare at the ground. As Soul turned to head back down to the lobby he began to reach out to Soul, then drew his arm back in, nixing his idea. A single tear rolled down Soul's face, and dripped onto the card that settled with the roses on the cold tile ground. He began to saunter down the hallway, uncaring of everything going on around him.

"Soul wait!"

Maka called out from inside the apartment. When she heard no response, she pushed past Kid and threw herself into the hallway, only to see Soul's tear filled eyes as the elevator door shut. She looked down and squatted next to the bunch of roses. Picking up the card she read it out loud to herself,

"I will love you until the last rose dies."

She clapped her hand over her face to keep in the screams that welled up within her. A tear drop smudged the ink on the card, and she ran her thumb over it. Why Soul? Why couldn't you have told me sooner? She thought to herself. I have always loved you Soul. But I never knew you felt the same way. But now it's too late. I have ruined everything. Maka hung her head as tears flowed rapidly down her face and onto the pile of now withering roses. What have I done? She thought. What on earth have I done…