Next installment~! Not AU.

Title: Don't Give in
Inspired by: Hold On by Crystal Kay
Rating: T

This wasn't supposed to happen. They were careful dammit! They were always so fucking careful. So, how the hell did something like this even happen! She was supposed to be invincible! She always fucking acted like it! How was he supposed to deal with this?

Soul sat out in the bitter cold of the winter and sat on the edge of a fountain in the abandoned park. He had just walked out of the funeral preparations for his meister. He just could stay in there any longer. It just didn't feel right. How could she not be here…?

"Soul."

Said person looked up and found Spirit walking up to him. He just looked down again, stuffing his hands deeper in his small pockets.

"What do you want, Death Scythe?"

Spirit made a little face. "Since when did you start calling me that?"

Soul didn't answer, and felt a presence sit next to him.

"You can't just ignore me like that Soul. It happened to me too, you know."

"Don't you dare try to start with that 'I know how you feel' bullshit, because you don't know how I feel. No one knows how I feel."

Spirit sighed deeply. "Then why don't you tell me how you feel."

Soul took a deep breath. "Why?"

"Because I'm left in the dark, and I want to know how you're feeling Soul."

Soul looked at him, and then looked straight ahead. "I feel lost without her. I feel as though a huge piece of me is missing. I feel like even though I'm alive, I'll never live again. I feel as though I've been left behind to suffer without her. I'm the walking dead, Spirit. My heart is broken, and can never be repaired. That's how I feel."

Spirit looked at Soul. "That's deep. You really loved her, didn't you?"

"I still love her. But what does that matter now? She's gone…"

"It still matters. It means she'll always be in your heart."

Soul stood up. "That was sappy."

"Are you going back?" Spirit asked.

"No, I'm not going back. You and Kami can take care of it right?"

"But, Soul-"

Soul looked at Spirit with tired eyes. He hadn't slept since it happened, Spirit could tell. "Please, just don't make me go back there… I can't… This is the one thing that I just CANNOT do, Spirit…"

Spirit looked at Soul with sympathy and sighed. "Fine. Go home. Get some rest. And remember, Soul…"

Soul got a questioning look about him. "What Spirit?"

"It's okay to cry."

Soul turned away, and started walking. How the hell could he be so calm? His darling daughter was gone, and she was never coming back. It wasn't like some vacation, or some mission. She was NEVER coming back! Did he not understand that?

Soul almost turned around to tell Spirit what he was thinking, but he was much too tired to do that. He decided to just go home and try to sleep. He hadn't slept in two weeks. Or maybe more, because of the time she was in the hospital.

Soul sighed. He didn't want to think about something like that. Even if it did happen… He wanted nothing more to forget that she was gone.

Soul got home and opened the door and was met by the cold empty apartment. He almost shivered from how cold it was. He wanted nothing more to crawl into bed and sleep this off like a bad hangover, or a horrible dream that his blood was manifesting. But he also feared that if he went to sleep, he would wake up and reality would crash down around him. And that was not something he was ready to face.

Soul took out his phone, and turned it back on. He was half expecting a new message from her that he would promptly ignore, giving the excuse that he would just answer later. He was just glad that he had a habit of not erasing anything that came through his phone from her. Then he looked at the few messages that were on the phone.

One was from Black Star, telling him Tsubaki was still very shaken up. He himself couldn't even believe it. Soul couldn't listen to much more, but he still powered through it. Black Star ended by saying that he really did feel for him, and he felt as though his actual sister was gone. He said that if there was anything Soul needed, he would be there for him.

The next was from Kid, who basically said the same thing. How Maka was going to be missed, and that he felt that Maka was his best friend. How the girls were holding up (Which was not very good, but that was to be expected).

Soul slammed his phone shut and threw it on the couch, trying to contain his anger. Why the FUCK was everyone so goddamn calm about this! It wasn't fair! It should have been him! She wasn't supposed to go! It was HIS job to make sure that she stayed safe!

…But he failed. And because of it… she…

Soul decided to leave his phone out there and head to his room. He lay on the bed, fighting off sleep. But after two (plus) weeks without sleep, sleep eventually won out.

When he opened his eyes again, he wasn't in his room at the apartment. He was in a big garden, full of different types of flowers, all of the beautiful scents combining into one. And for the first time in a long time, he felt completely calm. Something he felt he shouldn't feel at this point in time.

"Why shouldn't you feel calm?"

Soul widened his eyes and looked in the direction of the voice. There she was, her pigtails and all. There were little tweaks, like her hair was curled, and she was wearing a white tank top and a white skirt, but it was her.

It was Maka.

He rushed over to her and hugged her. He made sure to hold her so tight that she would never again leave him.

"Oh, Maka! I'm so glad that I can see you again!" Soul said into her hair.

Maka wrapped her slender arms around his waist, and he felt her tears wet his shirt and just held her tighter.

"I missed you too, Soul…" Maka said with a soft voice. "But we can't stay here… Not for too long…"

"No! I'm not letting you go! I'm staying here! With you!" Soul said. Maka quickly pushed away from him, tears still lacing her eyes.

"No! You can't! You can't stay here! This isn't a place for you!" Maka said. "You… please don't say that… I want to be with you too… but you can't…"

"Why not?" Soul said, tears starting to form.

"If you're here… you're dead… I'm pushing the boundaries right here… But Lord Death… he said that you had to see me…"

"L-Lord Death…?"

"He made this place… just for us… Because we needed to see each other… "

Soul looked at her questioningly. "So, he and Kid can see you whenever they want?"

Maka shook her head. "Kid can't see me. He's not powerful enough yet. But Lord Death can…"

"So, Maka, why can't I stay here…? Don't you want me here…?" Soul asked, wiping his tears away.

"I do! I want that more than anything! … But it can't happen… I can't take you away from the living… You still have an important role to play… You can't just give that up, okay? You can't just leave without things unsolved…"

"Maka… I can't live without you… I love you too much…"

Maka started crying again, and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. "I know… I love you, too… So much more than you can imagine…"

"What am I supposed to do…?" Soul asked.

"Just remember me. Don't stop loving me, Soul. Just keep holding on, okay? Remember that I'll always be looking down on all of you. Just believe that we'll be together again someday, I promise. Do you believe me?"

Soul looked at her. "Of course I believe you."

Maka smiled through the tears, and laugh/cried a little before kissing him on the lips. She wiped away another tear that started falling down Soul's cheek.

"Just keep living Soul. That's the best thing that you could ever do for me. And when it's your time, I'll be here waiting with open arms, okay?"

Soul felt multiple tears start to fall from his eyes. "This is going to be so hard, Maka… But I promise to live for the both of us…"

Maka nodded, and gave him another kiss. "It's time for me to go, okay…?"

Soul reluctantly nodded, and hugged Maka again, so tightly he thought that he thought he would break her in half. When he opened his eyes again, he was back in his room, his guitar looking at him. He heard the house phone start to ring, and he got up and went to the phone.

"Eater and Albarn residence." He said out of habit. He heard Spirit chuckle a little bit.

"Hey Soul. I just wanted to tell you that you don't have to come to the funeral planning if you don't want to. I know that you're still trying to cope with the accident."

Soul gave a little sigh. "No, I'll be there. I know what she likes and it's something I need to do."

Spirit gave a little smirk. "You seem to be feeling better. What happened?"

"I had to have a talk with a friend of mine. And they told me that I need to keep living on. I'll keep on loving Maka. It's not like I'm going to forget her. And I followed your advice. I cried. And it helped."

Spirit nodded. "I know. I've been crying myself to sleep for the last two weeks, and I know that Kami has only stopped crying for our meetings. It's not bad to cry every once in a while. It makes us human, and it's good for us."

Soul thought for a moment. "You're right, Spirit. Thanks. When's the meeting?"

"The same time as it was last night. I'll see you then."

Soul nodded and hung up the phone. He looked at a picture of Maka that was right next to the phone.

"Don't worry, Maka. I'll hold on, and I'll always love you."

So, I have to admit, I was about to cry during the reunion scene. I was listening to the song as I typed, and to me that song is just so powerful. You really should check it out. I just found it this past weekend, and don't worry, even though it's jpop, it's in English, so no looking up lyrics. Reviews are appreciated. Lots of Love~!