A/N: Aaah, sorry that this took so long. You have no idea how happy and amazed I am that you're still sticking around to read this fic. Your reviews, faves and alerts make me so giddy. I love you guys. And on with chapter ten. Enjoy and your feedback is very much appreciated.

Chapter Ten

Of dry phases, of jealousy and finally!

It was her fault. She had been careless and now she was paying for it. She was frozen in place, her limbs heavy and numb as she watched Liz, who looked like she was having epileptic seizures of some kind. Maka grimaced and clenched her fists. She needed to do something or Liz was surely going to tell everyone else and...and she didn't want to think about the chaos that would ensure if they found out, too.

She gulped. "Liz," she began tentatively, but her meek voice went unheard.

Liz's blue eyes flashed and she grinned at them widely, rubbing her hands together gleefully. Soul let out an annoyed groan next to her, and she sought out his gaze, silently trying to apologize for messing up like that, though he didn't look that perturbed. He just shrugged at her and sighed, the corner of his mouth lifting in a resigned half-smile.

How could he be so calm?!

Liz just saw them lost pretty far in foreplay territory. No, no, no, no! She couldn't have the chatty blonde tell everyone else. She liked Liz, but Liz liked gossip, and Maka didn't, especially not if she was the center of the gossip. Dread rose in her her chest, icy shivers running down her spine.

"Liz!" she yelled and finally caught her attention.

"What is it, Maka?" Her smile was impossibly big and showed far too much tooth, and Maka most certainly did not like the deranged glint in her eyes. "You have no idea how happy I am. I have been shipping you two together since the Chrona incident!"

What?

Shipping?

Soul and she exchanged a confused glanced and silently agreed that they would not ask for clarification of that term, which she usually connected with...ships and couldn't fathom why Liz would compare them to buoyant marine vessels.

"Hey, Liz," she said, steeling her voice and bracing herself for the indignation she was going to be confronted with, "Liz, you-you can't tell the others."

"What?! WHY NOT?!"

Maka winced. "Because..."

"Because we don't want you to go tell the others shit," Soul said, looking remarkably calm for someone who had been walked in by someone as he was about to screw his girlfri─ no, no, no, no. Not girlfriend. Damn it, why was that word even floating in her mind in association with what she and Soul had; she was the one who had set the rules up! And now she was the one who was thinking in labels. She groaned tiredly.

"But...," the happiness in Liz's voice faltered, confusion settling in her eyes. "...why do you want to keep this a secret? If you're scared that the others won't like it, you don't have to worry. Everyone has been waiting for you to hook up since forever!"

"Eh?"

Maka carefully rubbed her temple; the next she needed to know was that people were placing bets on when she and Soul would get it on. She gritted her teeth, before she let her expression soften, making sure her eyes looked big and pitiful and water. This tactic worked on her papa and Soul very effectively and she had yet to try it out on Liz, but there was a first time for everything.

"Liz, please, don't tell the others," she said stepping into Liz's personal space. Maka made sure to pout a little, feeling incredibly ridiculous, but she couldn't fight down the glimmer of victory when she saw her friend cringe painfully.

"Oh, don't give me that look, that's unfair."

Maka threw a glance over her shoulder, silently signaling Soul to fucking help her, damn it! He sighed dramatically before his expression morphed into his ridiculous puppy dog eyes that had her biting her lip in restraint, lest she tackle him into a hug. It really made her want to wrap him into a blanket and feed him chicken soup.

"We really don't want the others to know yet," he said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "So could you maybe keep this to yourself?"

Liz whimpered. "You're both horrible you know that? Giving me these kicked puppy looks." She glowered at them, clenching her fists before she sighed. "Not even Patti or Kid?"

"No way! Patti can't keep a secret and...and...just no," Maka mumbled, gulping anxiously.

"Fiiiiiine," she groaned loudly. "I was so looking forward to this. Not to mention I won the bet against Tsubaki, but now I can't say anything."

"What bet, Liz?" Maka asked, eye narrowed.

Liz let out a nervous chuckle. "Nevermind! I'll go and leave you two alone to...to have fun and stuff. Bye bye!"

Maka let out a heavy breath, watching Liz dash through the door warily.

"Do you really think she'll be able to keep it to herself?" Soul lightly nudged her side, eyes questioning and completely calm at the same. "She really does like her gossip."

She nodded, gulping down her panic. "Yeah, I'm sure she won't tell anyone...I hope."

The next few days were the most awkward in her life. Maka couldn't shake off the suspicion that the others knew everything, even though Liz had promised and repeatedly reassured her that she hadn't let anything slip to anyone, despite it being "pure torture".

It didn't help that Soul hadn't really touched her since Liz had walked in on them. At first, Maka thought it had all to do that he wanted to avoid anyone seeing them going at it again, but considering how calm he had been when Liz saw them, Maka was beginning to have her doubts. That and Soul liked being affectionate with her. He liked to randomly touch her, to put his hand on her arm or shoulder, to ruffle her hair or run his finger through it; sometimes, he didn't even shy away from a hug or a small kiss on her cheek.

It was only now, after she was deprived of his tender gestures, that Maka realized how much she...liked them. She didn't want to admit that this sudden distant nature of his upset her. Well, it wouldn't be as bad if he'd at least give her a proper explanation. She wouldn't be feeling this down if he straight up told her what his problem was. That was what she was trying to tell herself, however unconvincingly.

They were on the beach again, and it was oddly calm since Patti and Black*Star were absent, gone somewhere to get food for dinner later. Liz had gone with them because leaving those two alone could only bring disastrous consequences. The afternoon was a little chilly, at least compared to what they had been used to so far; the sea slightly unruly, waves bigger and more forceful from the days before. It didn't deter Tsubaki from snorkeling, only to resurface with starfishes and sea shells. Maka, Soul and Kid were leisurely killing time by reading, or listening to music in Soul's case, off in his own world. She peeked at him over the edge of her book, hoping he'd somehow sense her unease and talk to her.

She had no such luck and soon she finished her book, even after stubbornly refusing to turn the second to last page so she'd have a means to stare at Soul discreetly like a creep. She did this for ten minutes before she put the hardcover book to the side with a heavy sigh.

Screw this, she'd ask Soul later. Sulking like this would get her nowhere. She offered to play cards with Kid, to which he agreed. He made an effort with poker, but she called the game off when he got increasingly twitchy. Really, she appreciated that he was trying his hardest not to let his unease show, but Maka could handle only so many minutes during which she had to fear that he might just whack her over the head in a symmetry fit since she had suggested they play poker and had inadvertently doomed him to having to deal with five cards.

Arranging the cards into a neat pile, Kid put them to the side out of his periphery and they fell into a casual conversation about books, and much to her delight Maka got Kid to agree to lend her some of his prized books.

Tsubaki returned from her snorkeling, and Kid agreed to head back to the house with her, finally giving Soul and Maka the opportunity to be alone. For a moment Maka feared that Soul might want to leave too, but was relieved when he only cracked an eye open and waved at Kid and Tsubaki.

As soon as Maka was sure they were gone, she didn't waste any time scooting closer to Soul in what she hoped was a subtle manner. Her thigh lightly bumped against his, and he opened his eyes again, watching her curiously.

She smiled shyly. "The wind is getting cold," she said as she cuddled up against him, throwing an arm over his torso, tangling their legs together.

"Uh, we can go in─"

She held back a groan, her fingertips lazily trailing over the curve of his shoulder. "Actually I had something else in mind."

He blinked dubiously. "Oh, oh."

Her smile was coy as she gave up all pretenses of wanting to snuggle and draped herself over him, sighing at the sensation of his warm skin and hard muscles against her body. Before he had the chance to say something, her lips were on his, moving languidly, her hands all over his body, caressing every patch of skin they could find. Her fingers raked through his hair, his earbuds falling out in the process. He was laying stiffly beneath her, and his lack of participation scared her a little. But then his arms came to life, wrapping around her waist, and he was kissing her back with as much passion.

She smiled against his lips, elation and relief washing over her. Oh, she had missed this and it had been only what? Three days? She nearly squealed when it was his tongue seeking out hers first, sliding against her lips before she decided to stop the teasing and start to suck faces properly. Her body was on fire, her skin prickled and she needed him so much; her hips had a life of their own, rolling against his crotch as she rubbed her breasts against his chest, her bikini top askew and barely covering her tits. Not that she was planning to stay dressed.

"Maka, mmh, w-wait─" She let out a whine when instead of groping her ass as she had expected, his hands stilled her hips.

"What is it?" she whispered, "It's been so long, Soul." She didn't even realize that she was in all seriousness complaining about the lack of sex during the small span of two days.

"Isn't this what got us in trouble in the first place...you know, with Liz?"

She groaned. He had a point but screw that. "Nobody is here though, and I don't think anyone will come to look for us when Liz is there to...to you know, stop them and stuff."

Her mouth was on his again, her hand sliding down his chest, but then he grasped her by her upper arms and pushed her slightly away. His chest was heaving, his hair in disarray and his eyes dark and clouded.

"Okay, that's enough," he said firmly.

She bit her lip, hanging her head. "But why? I mean, we were all over each other two days ago and then you stop touching me altogether."

He sighed, squeezing her arms a little. "Look, you know what happened with Liz and─"

"Bullshit!" Her head snapped up, eyes furious. "Don't give me that lame excuse because you did not care at all that Liz found out about us. You couldn't have been more indifferent and calm about it! Don't try to deny it, I think I can read my partner enough to know that."

"Uh..."

"Soul, what's wrong?"

He broke their eye contact, heaving another sigh. "I'm just not...in the mood for it, I guess."

"O-okay...is it because I did something or─"

"What? No! Don't worry about it. Everything's fine."

She sniffed, gulping her worry down. "No, it's not. It's one thing if you're not up for sex, but another when you seem to be ignoring me."

"I'm not ignoring you," he muttered lowly, looking uneasily to the side. "Okay, maybe I've been a bit distant, but it's not because of something you did. I just...I just need a bit space to think and...yeah."

"W-what?" She gasped. He was going to leave her! You don't say stuff like that without having that ulterior motive. Why else would he need space from her to think?

"Oh, wait! It's not what you think! This is not a breakup or anything...there's just something I need to figure out on my own. That's why I didn't tell you anything."

Her heart calmed somewhat at his admission; her hands stopped shaking. Maka inhaled deeply, her brain fuzzy as she tried to make sense of his words. "What is it that's bothering you this much, Soul?"

"I...I wouldn't call it a bother actually, but I'll tell you when I'm ready okay? And sorry for ignoring you. That wasn't cool of me."

She didn't know what to say to this; she was confused but also somewhat relieved and maybe she should climb out of his lap if he craved some distance, but he was still holding her by her arms. He leaned in and hesitated for a second before he pressed a soft kiss on her lips, making her heart flutter in her chest.

He grinned wryly. "Trust me on this one."

Maka had looked forward to returning to school, but was a little queasy since Soul and she had neglected their regular training pattern a bit. Although, they sure had gotten in a lot of another kind of training, she thought to herself with a blush as she took her stance on the field. Black*Star grinning smugly as he practically juggled Tsubaki's weapon form in an amazing display of irresponsible and dangerous weapon usage.

Maka's eyebrow twitched and Soul transformed, making a sound between a snort and sigh as he landed securely in her gloved hands. The weight of steel and blade and soul was comforting─ cool even against her worn gloves. She took a deep breath and glanced at Doctor Stein as he gave them the sign to start practise.

Black*Star let out a loud howl and didn't waste any time with strategic maneouvres; he was a blur of blue and white, fast and noisy and flashy with his moves. Maka's eyes had a hard time keeping up with his steps, barely managing to dodge a swipe aimed at her legs when he zigzagged towards her.

She hissed, cursing her clumsiness and growled when Black*Star made a jab at her slowness in his most irritating voice. She would have none of this! She remained on the defensive for the most part because attacking Black*Star head on would not yield good results. She did manage a kick in his crotch, before she kneed him in the side, distracting him long enough to perform a spectacular soul resonance with Soul.

Their combined wavelengths roared, their souls entwining so strongly she almost lost her grip on Soul. She gasped, her partner's surprise painfully palpable, as she tried to regain her composure, feeling gleeful at the blatant display of awe on Black*Star's face. The resonance felt different, she could feel it in her bones, her blood pumping steadily in her veins, their wavelengths fused together, a thick rope of power and strength.

Her boots dug into the gravelly ground below, her shoulders felt heavy, the muscles in her arms tensed as she dashed forward, eyes fierce as she swung the scythe around and─

"That will be enough! Maka, Black*Star, you can stop now!" Doctor Stein bellowed, his glasses glinting in the sunlight as he watched her with a detached, clinical curiosity.

"Hey! We haven't even started yet!" Black*Star yelled as Tsubaki materialized next to him, putting an appeasing hand on his brawny shoulder.

Stein waved his hand dismissively. "Wait until it's your turn again. Ox, Harvar and Kim, Jackie, you're up next," he said, and then turning to them, he added, "Oh, Soul and Maka? I'd like to speak to you after class."

"Huh, what does he want?" Soul mumbled more to himself than to her as they made their way to the edge of the practise fields, plopping down heavily.

Maka sprawled her legs out in front of her, careful with her short skirt. "I have no idea."

Actually she had an inkling of what Doctor Stein wanted to talk about with them. Their soul resonance during class was very strong and it came basically out of nowhere; Soul had to have felt it too. She was about to ask Soul a random question just to fill in the silence and maybe make some smalltalk because she was unnerved by her partner's quietness lately. At least he was talking to her again, but it wasn't the same as...it was weird. He wasn't exactly distant, but...she wasn't sure, she couldn't quite put her finger on it. They still talked, ate together, watched movies, and sometimes when he was in the mood for it, they made out but never got further than second base. She couldn't help but feel that there was something amiss despite their conversation. As short as they were by now, he never seemed to be paying full attention to them, as if...he was constantly distracted, and Maka really didn't want to think too much about the reason (read: a female person that wasn't her) Soul might be so preoccupied.

She knew she was being silly. He had told her to trust him, which she did from the bottom of her heart, even if this thought process of his made her more than a little antsy and insecure, and he had assured her that he wouldn't break up with her. Was a breakup even a possibility when they weren't a real couple? She didn't know, neither did she know why she was still desperately clinging to the friends with benefits label when it was clear that...that...urgh.

Coming back to school after a very eventful break had been nice and awful at once. Maka was happy to see some of her friends again, but she loathed to see those other people who bugged her partner in the hopes he'd leave her to be with them.

Soul had shown no signs of interest in other girls, but oh, those annoying fangirls never failed to make their interest in her partner blatantly clear. But even if Soul did wish to date someone, Maka had no reason to become so...embarrassingly territorial with him. She'd just accept it and wish him the best and all the happiness in the world.

She sighed, barely acknowledging Doctor Stein as he sauntered into the room without so much as a greeting, straddling his chair so he was looking at them from above the backrest, his arms comfortably folded on top of it.

"I'll make it quick," he began, eying her first and then Soul, "I'm sure you must have noticed this too, especially you, Maka: your resonance rate on the practise field today was very high, which in itself wouldn't be that surprising if you had been partners for longer, a decade maybe. I doubt that you've gone through enough of an intensive training regiment during your summer break to achieve such a heightened rate of soul resonance, either. Which led to one conclusion," he paused, lit himself a cigarette. Soul was fidgeting, while Maka felt like she could faint on the spot. "You two had sex."

She choked on her spit, her voice shrill and panicky, her cheeks steaming as she quickly began to deny her teacher's totally correct conclusion of things. Oh God, what if he told her papa?! She made a squeak, waving her hands in front of her helplessly.

"Maka," he said, puffing out smoke; he was the very epitome of indifference, "You don't need to lie to me and quite frankly, I don't care if you're having sex, just make sure it doesn't affect your performance on the field negatively, and no, I won't tell your father either." This calmed her down somewhat, but if Stein didn't care then why had he─ "I just need to know if you're taking any hormonal type of contraception, that is─" his glasses glinted as he fixed them both with a pointed look, "─if you do use any contraceptives."

She spluttered before she regained her composure. "O-of course! Who do you take us for? And no, no hormonal contraception."

Maka didn't think she could become anymore more mortified at this point. She just wanted this be over with and preferably erase this occurrence from her mind with bleach.

"Why do you want to know?" Soul asked suspiciously, his shoulders tense.

Stubbing out his cigarette in the ashtray on his desk, Stein twisted the screw in his head as he said, "Hormonal contraceptives can have negative side effects on the body and it is in your favour if I am informed about it too, if necessary, advise you against using them. But since this is not the case, you're free to go." He waved his hand dismissively, and Soul and Maka didn't waste any time remaining in the constricting office any longer.

"Well, that was awkward," Soul said as they were walking safely through the halls, away from prying, creepy doctors. "And I didn't think that sex actually helps improve resonance rate was true; I thought that was more of a wishful thinking than anything and an excuse to fuck."

"I read about that somewhere─" Soul interrupted her with a loudly snorted 'of course' and she tried to silence him with a glare, but couldn't fight off a stupid smile because she was stupid Maka, and was feeling stupid things because of his stupid smile and her stomach felt weird and fluttery and nopenope, she definitely did not have the case of butterflies in the belly. "Sex can help you with resonance, but only if you have already mastered it with your partner, so it's not an easy and quick way to get a stable resonance done and it might actually mess stuff up if the sexual relationship complicates more than it helps."

"Good thing we can screw and fight, huh?" He chuckled, though it sounded more forced than anything, worrying her all the more. But Maka refused to let this moment pass because it was the closest to normal conversation they'd had since they came back from Malibu.

She forced out a giggle and nodded. "Heh, yeah. I guess it makes the resonance stronger because not only do you join souls and see each other inside out but also see each other at your most vulnerable and...yeah..."

She really didn't mean to make it sound so...romantic? Intimate? It was just sex and...nothing else.

She made the mistake of looking up, of looking straight into his warm, red eyes. She felt her heart jump into her throat, the fluttery feeling in the pit of her stomach increasing, her head spinning as her body felt feverish all over. She should point out that he was standing very, very close to her and that he shouldn't in a hallway like this where everyone could see them. She carefully pushed this thought away because her mind couldn't handle more than the expression in his eyes right now, monopolizing her every braincell and thought. She took a shaky breath and didn't pull away or make an attempt to push him away when he put his hand gently on her upper arm.

His heavy-lidded gaze was hypnotizingly alluring.

"Maka."

Oh, her heart might have left her body completely, because she couldn't really pinpoint what was happening in her chest, her lungs burning as she struggled for breath. His hand on her cheek was soft and tender, his lips hesitant and shy as he kissed her, and Maka realized in that moment that her heart was most likely still where it should be, pumping blood through her body, thudding strongly in her chest cavity as she tried not to lose her balance because of her weak knees.

What was going on? What-what had happened to him needing his space. He sure as hell was not attempting to put distance between them right now. Surely, the space he had needed to think didn't entail how to surprise with his sudden affection, did it?

He breathed out her name again when he pulled away, and she couldn't fucking handle his eyes, his fucking voice, the way he caressed her cheek because fuck, she knew what he might say and it scared her shitless, even if she had been craving this closeness,She had so painstakingly worked on this arrangement, something that enabled them to be with on a level that most partners weren't and keep stupid, useless feelings like love out of the way. She tensed up. Her face paled the moment thatword crossed her mind.

His countenance changed in an instant, he took a step back, his hands dropping to his sides and she really didn't want to analyze the gush of cold against her skin when he hadn't really touched her much in the first place. Even now when coherent thoughts seemed not to be a possibility, she could tell he was trying to salvage his slip up, his mouth opening and closing. He kinda looked like one of those weird fishes, and oh no, she couldn't just break out into laughter just to prove that any mental health she had left was wavering quickly.

Wordlessly, they agreed to categorize this slip up under 'never happened' and they awkwardly proceeded to walk down the corridor, the silence weighing heavily on her as she tried to will her stupid heart to stop beating so noisily because she really couldn't have that now.

Maka didn't like the silence and was reminded how she had tried to ignore him when she had realized how much she was desiring him. She didn't want to fall into that dumb pattern of ignore and keep quiet again. Not after everything that had happened. She wanted to talk with Soul, joke around with him and erase this feeling of distance she was sensing between them. So she tried. "I can't believe Doctor Stein found out so easily. Damn his soul perception and─wait!" She looked up at Soul with wide, desperate eyes because her stupidly complicated feelings weren't the only things to worry about and how could she have forgotten this?!

"What?"

"Does...does this mean...that Kid knows too?!" She groaned loudly, burying her face in her hands.

Soul's hand on her back did little to appease her as she continued to fret and and think of how she could make Kid shut his mouth about the matter. Kid was all in all a reliable person. She should try to remain calm about this.

"Nah, even if Kid saw our higher resonance rate, I doubt he made the same connection as Stein," he said, looking oddly calm.

"How so?"

"Because Kid has the sexuality of a potato."

She giggled despite herself. "Kid is perceptive though, I think...I think I'll talk with Liz just to make sure."

He sighed. "If it makes you feel better than go ahead and..."

"Um, excuse me? But can I talk to you, S-soul?"

Green and red eyes focused on a pair of shy hazel ones. Maka felt her heart drop because these kinds of things kept happening more often. Soul sighed, bracing himself for another carefully crafted rejection. His lips were already parted when Maka cut in.

"Oh, I...I really should go and talk with Liz and...and you two can talk...or whatever." She liked to pretend she sounded totally normal and not like a person that was close to a nervous breakdown. Before Soul had the chance to stop her, she turned on her heel and made a quick dash away from them.

She was being ridiculous and stupid and dumb and stupid and urgh. How emotionally incompetent could she be, running away from her problems again instead of facing them? Soul was usually the one she would go to if there was something on her mind, but whom could she turn to when he was the very source of her dumb feelings? Blair, although sometimes startlingly mature, like to tease her more than anything. Maka doubted she could handle any more sexual innuendoes right now. She wished she could talk to Tsubaki, but that would mean spilling the entire story to her and she wasn't sure if she was ready for that yet and...oh Liz! Liz knew! Well, sort of and maybe, maybe...

Maka shook her head, bumping against a giant of a guy who she recalled attended the parallel class. She muttered a strained apology and pushed the doors to the cafeteria open. It wasn't possible to overlook Kid, Liz and Patti, and she was really glad that Tsubaki and Black*Star weren't there with them. Kid was mature enough not to interrogate her if she didn't want to talk, and Patti didn't have much of an attention span for anything aside from giraffes.

Maka walked up to their table, asked Liz if they could talk in private, pointedly avoiding Kid's questioning gaze and Patti who really looked like she might as well just come with them. Liz blinked, nodded and stood up excusing herself from the table with a drawled 'later'.

They left the cafeteria silently, a sinking feeling in her gut as she felt Kid's staring at the back of her head. Oh God, what if Kid really knew more than he let on?

Kid did not know more than he let on.

Liz threw her head back as she laughed, her drink forgotten on the table. "Don't worry, Maka, Kid has no idea. If he knew, he'd have told me."

Maka breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good to hear."

Liz smiled. "Soooo, how are things between you and Soul going?" And her smile morphed into a grin.

Aaand the butterflies were back. Only to be killed when she remember that she had left Soul with another of his admirers alone.

"Um, fine I guess."

"You don't sound very happy. Did you already have a lovers' spat?" Liz asked.

"Wha? No, we did not have a fight if you mean that." She glanced down demurely, hating the scrutiny in Liz's eyes.

"Okay, Maka, spill it. Something IS wrong. Hey, if it's because that Norah girl has asked Soul to be her partner again today, don't worry. Soul would never─"

"I know that!" Maka snapped, eyes flashing as she looked up. "I know Soul isn't that kind of guy. I trust him, thank you very much."

"Hey," Liz raised her hands in front of her, voice calm and soothing. "I know you trust each other...and man, I just wanted to know if you are so cranky because Soul is getting more and more partner requests."

Maka's fingers clenched in the fabric of her skirt, her nails digging into her thighs as she tried her best to ward off the thick wave of jealousy. As much as she wanted to deny it, she loathed the thought of those girls and some guys thinking they'd be with her weapon and not only in the platonic way, only to reprimand herself quickly because Soul was not someone she owned. Despite all if this, never once had she found herself doubting Soul's loyalty, even though some of the girls who asked him were gorgeous, smart and had very nice personalities to boot.

"No, I'm fine, Liz. Soul can do whatever he wants anyway. He's...he's not my boyfriend or anything."

"Wait, what? But I thought...but you were...Makaaaa? Are you denying everything again even though you've been going at it like rabbits?"

She groaned. "We're not a couple still. We just...have sex."

On one hand it felt really good to admit it, but the sinking feeling in her gut just doubled. Yeah, exactly. There wasn't anything deeper going on between her and Soul. She snorted. Just a physical relationship. It was supposed to be that fucking simple. She was an idiot.

"Uh, so, you're just fuck buddies?" Liz scratched the side of her head as Maka gave a barely noticeable nod, cringing inwardly. "Okay, but why?"

Maka bit her lip. "Because...it's better that way."

"Haah?"

"I mean, I mean we can have sex and not worry about feelings and relationships and breakups and all that useless stuff this way."

Liz blinked, tapping against the wood of the table. "Okay, and you are happy?" And then added in a much quieter voice, "And do you really believe that things will be less complicated that way?"

Maka felt like she was getting smaller and smaller in her seat, her shoulders slumped, her back in a slouch and her head bowed. If she were happy, she wouldn't be having these second thoughts, would she? She wouldn't get jealous either. And she certainly wouldn't chicken out whenever they shared a somewhat tender moment.

"Do you want a real relationship with him, maybe?" Liz asked. Maka was sure her silence had to have been enough of an answer for her previous question. She swallowed hard.

"I...I don't know," she said, hating how weak she sounded. She was no child anymore, damn it! "I just thought...we had the perfect arrangement this way but...but I dunno, I get...j-jealous whenever he gets these partner request letters, and I kinda like it when he hugs me and when we cuddle but when I think that he is going to tell me he wants more, I get scared. And I really don't know what I'm supposed to do." She laughed bitterly. "I think I am too much of a hassle for him to stick around with me for longer in a proper relationship. But he's still with me, even though he could do so much better."

It hurt to admit it out loud.

"Oh, Maka, don't be dumb. I'm sure Soul can decide for himself who he thinks is better for him. Besides, you really should give yourself more credit. You are cute, pretty, smart and a kickass fighter. You two are very compatible," Liz said, sounding almost conversational if it weren't for the tenseness in her arms. Maka felt bad for bombarding her with her dumb issues, but she really appreciated Liz's effort to help her and it really made her feel a little better even if Maka herself had a hard time with believing in her friend's supportive words.

"I don't know what to do."

"Do whatever makes you happy, hon."

Maka smiled faintly. "What if I don't know what makes me happy?"

"Well, then you gotta try shit out."

"Y-you mean...I should tell Soul? Tell him that I..urgh, I was the one who said there would be no romantic feelings involved, I even set up rules about snuggling so we'd be okay and now I'm the one who says to forget about those," she groaned lowly, giving Liz a pitiful look, "I'm such a hypocrite. I mean, okay, we never stuck to these rules actually but...but..."

"You set up rules so you don't do coupley stuff, but then decided to fuck it and did it anyway? And, uh, Maka, sorry to break this to you, actually no, I'm not sorry to break this to you but depending on who you ask you and Soul were pretty coupley already."

Maka blinked, not certain if this made her happy or just more panicky. Liz smiled, "Just talk to him, Maka. Tell him what is on your mind. It's better than being confused all the time. I'm sure you'll work things out when you're honest with each other...and shit."

"Heh, thank you for the advice." Maka giggled, making her decision.

Yes, she would talk to Soul.

Maka was still undecided about what to do, even though the conversation with Liz had cleared her mind somewhat. But the moment Soul stepped into the foyer, kicking his shoes off, she was dumbly standing in the living room, ready to talk but at a loss of what to say.

"We-welcome home," she breathed, heart gripped by fear and nervousness.

He gave her a curious look, an eyebrow raised. "Thanks. How did your talk with Liz go?"

For a moment she felt like her gut was going to implode before she realized what he actually meant. She shook her head, not feeling any calmer. "Good! Kid has no idea about us." She took a shaky breath, clenched her fists. Her hands were moist with sweat and she wanted to wipe it away on her skirt, but her mouth got ahead of her again. "What did that girl want from you? Did she want to be your partner again?"

"Uh, not exactly," he said, uneasily rubbing the back of his head. "She asked me for a date."

Her heart plummeted down to her knees. "Oh, did you accept?"

She didn't even have enough time to feel miserable because his head snapped up instantly. "No," his voice was firm, cutting through the darkness in her heart sharply. "Why would I?"

Indeed, why would he? Why wouldn't he accept to go out with a beautiful, talented and sexy girl, but instead stick with plain, boring Maka like her?

"But...she's pretty. You could have given her a chance," she mumbled and looked down dejectedly, kicking herself inwardly for whatever the fuck she was doing right now. Didn't she plan on coming clean with him?!

"Maka, what the─"

"I mean, you know, you don't have to think that you need to stick with me. It's okay, you know, if you want a real girlfriend and...not me. I...I'd be totally okay with that."

Wow, could she sound any closer tears? And could she be any more stupid right now? Why try talk him into giving another girl a chance when he didn't want to leave her in the first place?

She heard him growl. "What the fuck are you saying, Maka? Do you want me to go out with that girl?"

Her throat felt tight when she replied, "No, but does it matter?"

"Huh?"

She...she did not want to chain him to herself selfishly. Soul deserved to be happy, and she'd loathe it if he couldn't find that happiness because he felt like he was obligated to continue this half-assed friends with benefits thing they had going on. She might have said it out loud or he was so much better at reading her than she was aware of, but then he was right in front of her, lightly grasping her by the arms to make her look up.

She had some sort of deja-vu, or not, she wasn't sure. Her brain wasn't exactly functioning properly at the moment. His eyes were bright and warm, his lips set into a thin line and his eyebrows furrowed.

"What makes you think, I'd want to be with that girl? Or the others? Damn it, Maka, I don't want any of them! I...I─"

I only want you.

The unspoken declaration hung between them. He really didn't need to voice it, it was written all over his face and even she wasn't dense enough to fail to see it. Her first impulse, rooted in fear and insecurities, was to push him away. She had done it in the hallways earlier that day too, after all. As much as her doubts and suspicions tried to convince her to leave and not fall for him, it was no use; Soul's eyes were sincere, and no matter how many times she kept thinking back to her parents and their divorce and her papa's cheating, Soul had never once made her believe he'd be capable of the same thing. No, her fears this time stemmed from something else, something she had a hard time pinpointing and whatever it was, there was one thing Maka was absolutely sure about with a calming clarity: She didn't want to push him away. She wanted him, wanted him selfishly to herself and to glare at anyone else who dared to think they could have him.

She let him hug her and reveled in the warmth of his embrace. Slowly, she unfurled her fists, relaxed a little and wrapped her arms around his neck. She truly felt at ease for the first time since she could remember and she had yet to tell him what was on her mind. This alone made panic bubble in her stomach; she made sure to ignore it because this was important and she needed to get this off her chest.

Yes, she wanted him, but she was scared as well and he needed to know that.

His breath was warm against the skin of her neck, causing the fine hairs there to rise. She trembled a little, heard him whisper something against her ear, but his voice was so quiet she didn't catch his words.

"What? I'm sorry, what did you say?"

He reluctantly pulled away a little, enough to be able to look into her eyes effortlessly and still remain close to her. He looked uncertain, eyes flicking back and forth, his jaw tense. He inhaled deeply.

"I love you, Maka."