The sun was setting over Death City. The condescending giant was weary of the day, his eyes drooping as he awaited his old friend the moon to take his place in the sky. Maka Albarn sat on the roof of her apartment as she soaked in the evening. Her dirty blonde hair was tied into a ponytail that draped over her shoulder. It had been a few years since she graduated from her pigtails but less than a day since she had graduated from the Death Weapon Meister Academy. A lot had transpired in the last few years, but the memories flashed by in seconds. The gang had become a lot closer as they went through their prime teenage years, held tight by the bonds they formed through their trials and teamwork.

After the defeat of the Kishin, their lives had gone back to the normal grind of school life for the most part. Maka and Oxford continued to battle for the two highest scores on all the tests. Black Star never stopped causing a ruckus at any chance possible. Kid was as OCD as ever and the Thompson sisters continued to put up with it. The whole gang grew and matured as a unit, sharing a lot of their firsts of life's experience whether it be finally creating death scythes or their first relationships.

Maka sighed. A slight breeze rustled her blonde bangs. Everything was going to be different now. The group of childhood friends now had to embrace the world as adults which meant that their responsibilities would increase tenfold. Maka would have to support herself now that The Academy wasn't giving her an allowance to live on. Finding a job couldn't be too difficult. She was more concerned about the reality of Soul being reassigned to a different part of the world at the end of the month. Soul had become her closest friend over the years they spent as partners. For a couple years they had even been romantically involved which didn't surprise anyone in the least. As they grew older however their love faded. She couldn't deny that she had grown to rely on him though. She was so used to having his around to keep her company. She couldn't imagine living in the apartment all alone.

Maka got up from her perch and carefully moved to the edge of the roof, where she could easily climb down to her bedroom window. She crawled back inside her room just in time for Soul to poke his head in.

"Yo. Dinners ready." Maka nodded to her partner and he disappeared down the hall. She turned to shut her window and then she followed after him to the kitchen. She was always grateful when Soul cooked even if most of his impromptu meals were ones that could be prepared in the microwave. Even his lazy meals would be missed.

Most of dinner was spent watching Blair try to catch a bug that had been trapped in their apartment. Soul kept nagging her that it would be less trouble to just use her with powers to catch it but she refused. Her response was that his way was "no fun" and she continued to tease her prey while in her small feline body.

Maka got up from the table and went to clean her plate. Soul draped his arm over the back of his chair, his eyes following her path away from the dinner table. "You seem to like climbing on the roof a lot all of a sudden."

"Yeah," Maka scrubbed her plate with a faint smile "I just think better up there. It helps me clear my head."

"Yeah?" Soul turned his attention back to the remainder of his food. "Reminds me of something Black Star would do. He's always climbing up on things." He stuffed another bite into his toothy mouth.

Maka shrugged as she put the washed dish away. "I guess," she mumbled. It wasn't like climbing roofs was an activity that only belonged to her. She was glad however that Soul had not inquired about what had been plaguing her mind lately or the reason for her to escape to clear her head from said thoughts. Being blunt with her emotions wasn't something that came easy to her. This was a trait that Soul shared as well and they had both learned to read each other well enough to move past it.

There was a sharp sound as Soul dropped his fork on his plate, announcing that he had finished his meal. He pushed his chair back and stood up. "So have you thought about your living situation for next month yet?" He grabbed his plate and joined her in the kitchen.

How could he ask that in such a nonchalant tone? Maka filled up a glass with water and took a sip so she could stall her reply. She knew that her options were to either live by herself or to get a new roommate. Either way she was going to have to move out of her current residence since it was strictly student housing. The idea of living alone seemed terrible after having someone to always keep her company, but the idea of living with someone besides Soul seemed so unnatural to her. She set her glass down on the table.

"I'm not sure yet," she said. She immediately regretted the uneasiness that flowed out of her words and she could tell that Soul noticed too. The kitchen grew quiet and Maka slipped back to her room. For a while she read at her desk, her door cracked as to not completely shut herself away from her partner. When it grew late and she knew he had fallen asleep, she went ahead and closed herself in. She didn't even attempt to sleep and ventured back to the rooftop.

"HEY MAKA!"

Maka scanned the rooftops in view until her gaze fell upon her greeter. Only Black Star would scream across Death City in the middle of the night. Idiot. It didn't take long before he was next to her on the roof.

"Looking for some company?" Maka chuckled.

"Nah." Black Star sat down next to her. "This roof was just higher and a star like me should be higher in the sky than everyone else."

Maka grinned as a warmth filled her. "Yeah I wanted some company too." Black Star was still a spontaneous goofball, but he had calmed down over the years which made him tolerable.

"So what's bothering you, Maka?"

"I never said anything was bothering me," She replied.

"Aw come on Maka. I've known you for too long to not know if something's bugging you." Black Star's tone was proud.

Maka sighed. "Well, Soul is being reassigned at the end of the month and I have no idea where I'll be living after he leaves. I haven't even began looking for a new roommate. I don't even know if I want one."

Black Star frowned. "I understand. Tsubaki is being reassigned too."

Maka's heart sank. Tsubaki was leaving Death City too? She'd be losing another friend.

"Yeah I know that she's going to miss me a whole lot," Black Star continued. "Who wouldn't?"

Maka felt guilty. She had been acting so selfishly about losing her best friend. She wasn't the only one suffering. Black Star would never admit to it, but Maka was positive that he was upset about Tsubaki moving as well.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know she was being reassigned as well." Maka replied. "We're both in the same boat then."

Black Star nodded. "I don't really need a roommate though. A big man like me is fine living alone. Unless-" he paused to make eye contact with Maka.

"Unless what?" she asked.

"Unless a good friend of mine couldn't bear living without me of course! Who wants to live alone when they can live with me?"

Black Star's roommate? Maka had grown the patience to have ongoing conversation with him but cohabitation? That honestly sounded awful.

Black Star's smile filled his whole face. How could he stay so optimistic all the time? She wouldn't deny that she admired him for it. Perhaps Black Star was just the company she needed right now, as unlikely as she originally thought.

"At the very least we could help each other look for new apartments," Maka said. Perhaps spending a bit more time with him would help her through this. After all he was going through the same thing.

They agreed that they would browse the housing in Death City later on in the week. Then Maka snuck back into her room and Black Star left to return to his. She shut the window behind her and crawled under her covers with a smile.

Blood dripped down from the chuckling crescent above the sleeping city as he awaited his old friend to take his place in the sky.