Author's Note: Hey everyone, we've finally reached the final chapter of the Summer Affair , but after this I do plan to write an epilogue to wrap things up so be on the lookout for that! Once again, thanks to everyone who has provided feedback, favorited, followed, and have been silently reading along; I appreciate all of you!
Final Chapter: Chapter 25: Separate Ways
Neither Maka nor Soul made a move to stop the incessant ringing of their bedroom's alarm once 6 am finally arrived.
'Today can't really be the day, can it? Will we really be back at home tomorrow afternoon?' Maka thought drowsily, as she cracked her eyes open slightly before turning back over in the sheets.
Soul grumbled tiredly as he eventually lifted his head from his pillow. "Maka, turn off the damn alarm already, it's starting to give me a headache."
"Why should I do it? The alarm is on your side stupid." Maka retorted back sleepily.
Soul let out a groan as he moved his hand lazily out from the covers to blindly search for the alarm in the darkness before he eventually found what felt like it and shoved it to the ground harshly.
Maka nearly jumped at the sudden banging of the alarm against the floor and turned back over to give Soul an annoyed look.
"Geez Soul, there's no reason to be so grumpy. It's not a good idea to destroy the hotel's property on the day we check out since you might end up paying for it."
Soul only shrugged as he made himself comfortable again in the bed. "It's not broken so it'll be fine. I just need 5 more minutes of sleep."
'We'll end up being late if we continue to stay in bed…' Maka mused, as she finally moved out of bed and went to open the curtains to let in the small amount of sunlight to piss off Soul even further.
"Come on Soul, you'll have plenty of time to sleep on the airplane. We need to at least eat some breakfast before Stein and Marie take us to the airport." Maka warned.
Soul yawned as he sat up and glanced down at the alarm clock to see it was about 6:10 am. "What's the big hurry? You know they don't start serving breakfast until 6:30, right?"
Maka rolled her eyes as she picked out her clothes she would wear for the long day ahead from the closet. "Yes Soul I know that, but I don't want to make Tsubaki and Black Star wait on us like they've been having to lately."
"It's not like we're going to be late since it's only a 5 minute walk, in fact, you could even save time by just staying in your pajamas instead of changing. It's not like your pajamas reveal much of your hidden figure anyways-"Soul was swiftly cut off as Maka balled up his clothes and threw them at him.
"Stop making excuses and just change already or I'll use my book next." Maka grumbled out, as she walked towards the bathroom to change.
"I give her a compliment and she still hits me and on top of that, I'll have to re-iron my shirt and jeans now." Soul muttered with a sigh.
At breakfast, Black Star and Tsubaki had already begun self-serving themselves when they saw Soul and Maka approach them and grab a plate.
"Hey you guys, are you two already packed up and ready to go?" Maka asked them with a smile.
"Well I am, but Black Star here still has some clothes he needs to pack up." Tsubaki mused, as she gave a side glance towards Black Star who was putting some scrambled eggs onto his plate.
"Don't worry about me Tsubaki! You know it will only take me like 5 seconds to have everything zipped up and ready to go." Black Star stated proudly.
Maka leaned back comfortably in her seat once everyone had gotten their food and settled down at their usual favorite spot to eat at by the terrace.
"You know, it's funny how just a few months ago Tsubaki and I never would have imagined we would be sitting here eating with you guys." Maka considered aloud, as she finished taking a bite from her pancake.
Black Star grinned and nodded his head as he looked up from his plate. "Oh yeah, but back then Soul and I knew you were both secretly into us."
Maka and Tsubaki arched an eyebrow at that. "Uh, actually we both pretty much hated you guys and thought you were annoying. I'm not sure where you got that idea from…"
Soul smirked as he wiped away some jam from his lips. "Oh Maka, don't deny that you started to fall for me once you realized how cool I was when I wrapped up your bandages from that fist fight you got into with David and Victor."
Maka blushed slightly and glanced off towards outside with a huff. "I can't believe you're bringing that up…"
"It was the first time we had a conversation without really insulting each other…sort of." Soul realized with a chuckle.
"Tsubaki, what was it about me that made you fall for me? How awesome I always am? My devilishly handsome good looks? My strength?" Black Star suddenly asked curiously.
"It certainly wasn't for your brains…" Maka interrupted dully, causing Black Star to send her glare and Soul to snicker.
Tsubaki laughed and shook her head at all of Black Star's options. "To be honest, it was when I saw you playing soccer with those little kids on Las Ramblas street that I began to see you in a different light."
Black Star scowled at Soul and Maka's smug grins. "Nothing about my looks attracted you?"
Tsubaki blushed and fidgeted slightly in her seat before sighing. "I never said that."
Black Star grinned and pumped a fist victoriously into the air. "Aha, I knew it!"
Maka sighed as she watched Tsubaki attempt to calm Black Star down before he decided to hop onto the table to celebrate and cause people to stare in their direction.
"Do you think he'll keep on acting like this even when we get home?" Maka asked Soul.
Soul took a sip from his water before he nodded his head. "It doesn't matter where Black Star is for him to try and make things all about himself, but I have noticed that he takes things at least more seriously since being with Tsubaki."
~X~
"Did you guy's all double check to make sure you left nothing behind in your rooms? I would hate for any of you to be at the airport and realize that you forgot something." Marie questioned.
Everyone nodded their heads to Marie's question. "One of the bellboys even did a room inspection to make sure everything was in order before we checked out." Maka explained.
Stein glanced over everyone's luggage before sighing and moving to pick up a bag. "I hope all of this luggage will fit in the van."
"Why would it not? There's only one bag per person." Tsubaki inquired.
Marie's golden eyes brightened as she shook her head in disagreement. "Actually, Stein and I have our own baggage in the back also."
"And why did you guys pack up? Are you planning to come with us or something?" Black Star asked with a chuckle, as he brushed away some dust from his dark grey top.
Stein closed back the trunk of the van and gave Black Star his usual wicked grin. "We are coming with you; I'm surprised Marie didn't at least tell one of you over the phone."
Marie smiled sheepishly as she felt all eyes turn on her. "Oops, I may have left that part out, but it was supposed to be a surprise until Stein ruined it!"
Maka shook her head as she adjusted her turquoise blouse with a laugh. "It's no big deal really. What makes you want to head back to Death City with us though?"
"Well, taking you guys around the city got us to thinking, Stein and I haven't really gone on vacation in a long time. The only time we're really not working is when it's the weekend or some national holiday and it would be nice to see our old friends again." Marie concluded.
Stein sniggered as he turned the screw in his head in amusement. "That may be why Marie wants to go back, but I believe I've left behind some of my old experiments in my lab that I would like to investigate over once again."
Maka shivered uncomfortably as she backed away from Stein a bit. "I guess that's something to look forward to also…"
"It's nice that you guys want to get away from it all for a bit too. How long do you guys plan to stay?" Tsubaki asked.
Marie looked towards Stein who only shrugged his shoulders. "I guess we really aren't too sure yet. I'm pretty sure it will be at least for a month or so."
"Anyways, we can continue conversing in the car, let's head to the airport and get all our stuff checked in." Marie added in, as she headed inside the van.
After getting their luggage secured onto the plane and going through security, everyone relaxed into the seats by the terminal to wait until it was time for boarding.
Black Star watched as Tsubaki contently gazed at a few passing airplanes take off and land on different runways before scowling. 'That's right; I still have no idea what the hell I'm going to do in terms of a college major. I should take some time during this long flight to at least read up on something.'
"Tsubaki, I'm going to head over to the news stand to pick up a few magazines. Do you want me to get you anything?" Black Star questioned.
Tsubaki looked away from the passing planes and tapped her cheek thoughtfully. "Um, well if it's not too much trouble can you get me some gum? I don't want my ears to pop as much as they did when we first came here."
Black Star gave her a thumb up and set his carry-on luggage next to her before he walked off in the direction of the store.
Maka blinked in confusion as she looked up from her crossword puzzle to watch Black Star leave. "Uh, since when does Black Star ever want to read anything?"
Tsubaki took a seat next to her and shook her with a smile. "He got this idea into his head that I'll think less of him because he has no idea what he wants to major in for college."
Maka laughed lightly at that. "Oh, is that all? A lot of people change their minds between majors when their freshman."
"That's one of the things I told him about, but you know how he is." Tsubaki mused with a wave of her hand.
Maka nodded her head in understanding before glancing across from them at Soul who had his skull-shaped headphones in and appeared to be asleep. "Well at least he's trying to be productive, unlike some people…"
"Do you think he heard you say that?" Tsubaki asked teasingly, as she observed Soul stretch his shoulders out a bit, but still keep his eyes closed.
Maka rolled her eyes as she thought back to the other night. "I wouldn't be surprised if he did. I've learned he likes to pretend to be asleep to eavesdrop."
Maka sighed as she closed up her puzzle book and admired some of the morning light that hit against some of the passing plane's wings.
"This is really it, huh?" Maka mumbled out softly.
Tsubaki nodded her head as she flicked a loose hair away that had fallen onto her purple top. "Truth be told, I've been dreading and looking forward to this day for a while. It will be nice to see Angela in person again, but I'm only going to be able to hang out with you and the rest of the gang for like a week more before we all split up for a good while."
Maka leaned her head against her palm dejectedly. "I know, but we'll make the most of it like Black Star was saying and try not to be so sad about it."
"You guys aren't going to same college/university?" Marie cut in from the side curiously.
Maka and Tsubaki shook their heads as Marie frowned before perking up as a thought came to her.
"When Stein and I first moved to Spain, the beginning few months of adjusting was hell for me. Not only was there the change in culture and language, but it was also the homesickness I got of having Stein as my only real friend." Marie mused.
"So how did you learn to cope and get past it?" Maka asked in interest. 'After all, I'm going to be pretty much experiencing that same situation except for the language and cultural issue…'
"Ah, well basically I'm sure you've already been told it before, but you just go out and make new friends and do new activities to basically keep yourself busy." Marie reasoned.
'Well that's obvious. I guess though since Soul won't be that far of a drive away I'll adjust okay." Maka pondered.
Marie looked between Maka and Tsubaki's sad expressions and felt her frown deepen. 'Looks like my intentions to make them feel better backfired.' "I'm sorry, it seems like I made the situation even worse by causing you guys start thinking all negatively! I'm sure you guys will be able to keep in touch just fine with all the new forms of communication!"
"Try giving them some positive news Marie." Stein chimed in with a smirk.
Marie huffed and blushed slightly at Stein's teasing. "Err; well at least this flight is only 14 hours so we'll reach Death City by about 1:10 pm tomorrow! I think you guys said it took longer coming here, right?"
Maka and Tsubaki sighed and shook her heads in unison. "You really are bad at this."
~X~
Spirit groaned nervously as he paced back forth outside the terminal where he would expect to see Maka and Tsubaki coming out of in just a few minutes.
'Oh, I hope Maka didn't change too much from being on this vacation. I'm not sure how much that Soul fellow could have corrupted her…' Spirit pondered before he felt a tap on his shoulder interrupt his thoughts.
Spirit turned and was greeted with Kid giving him a friendly smile. "There's no need to be nervous."
Spirit chuckled slightly as he brushed a hand through his red hair with a sigh. "I know, but it's been 3 months since I've actually seen her. I'm pretty sure she wouldn't care either way if I was here or not."
Kid shook his head at Spirit's assumption. "You two may not have the best relationship, but she doesn't hate you."
"Yeah, Kid's right Mr. Albarn and besides, you have us here as support too!" Kim added in excitedly, as she started to hold up their welcome back banner a bit more when they saw people beginning to exit from the plane.
Everyone waited a few more minutes in anticipation before Jacqueline saw Maka's familiar blonde pigtails and ran up to her eagerly.
"Welcome home Maka and Tsubaki!" Kim and Jackie cried out together as they tossed some confetti onto them.
Maka beamed as she returned her friend's hugs happily. "You guys didn't have to do all this for us!"
Tsubaki pulled a few streamers out of her hair before calling out towards Black Star and Soul who had been standing off to the side watching silently.
"So, we finally meet you guys in person, huh?" Ox Ford mused curiously, as he glanced over Soul and Black Star's attire.
Kim rolled her eyes and pushed Ox Ford aside slightly. "Stop being so weird Ox! There's no need for you to examine them so closely."
"It's nice to finally meet you guys outside of a computer screen." Jacqueline mused, as she shook Black Star and Soul's hands with a smile.
"How come you didn't throw any confetti to greet us?! I'm just as deserving!" Black Star asked sharply.
Jackie narrowed her eyes slightly at Black Star's question. 'So this is what Maka meant by Tsubaki's boyfriend being full of himself…'
Spirit twiddled his thumbs nervously as he waited patiently for Maka to look in his direction and broke into a wide grin when he saw her finally turn his way and start to smile.
'Maka finally sees me! And could it be, maybe she is actually happy to see me?!' Spirit thought anxiously, as he watched her walk in his direction only to find she went directly past him towards Kid.
"Kid, I didn't expect you to be here either! I figured you would be busy with work." Maka exclaimed, ignoring her father's crying from nearby them.
"Actually, I do have to work this evening, but I thought I could stop by to at least see you in person again before college starts." Kid explained.
Liz walked up from behind Kid and sent Maka a smirk. "I see you've gotten a bit of tan, huh Maka?"
'Why did they invite her to come greet us; doesn't she still hate me?' Maka wondered, before she sent Liz a grin back.
"Yeah, I did go to the beach quite a bit, but I still found time to do plenty of different activities. I even brought everyone back a small souvenir."
Liz gained a surprised look at that before frowning suspiciously. "Oh, really? That would mean everyone except for me then I assume?"
Maka shook her head as she set down her backpack and pulled out a package that had her name on it. "I got all the girls a scarf in their favorite color."
Liz blinked in shock once she opened the package and was greeted with a light pink silk scarf before she gazed back up at Maka. "I don't understand why you would do this knowing the history we've had with each other."
Maka shrugged as she put her backpack back onto her shoulders. "True, but you're friends with my friends and I don't see any good out of holding onto a grudge, do you?"
Liz glanced over the scarf again before nodding her head with a smile. "Just when I think I've figured you out Maka, you surprise me with this."
"I'm taking that as we can finally start to move beyond the past." Maka replied back, before she felt an arm wrap around her.
"I figured I had lost you in the crowds." Soul mused, as sent a nod in Kid's direction.
Maka laughed and shook her head. "What crowd? There's only like 10 of us here."
"Whatever, I've been trying to find you ever since your dad started sending me dirty looks." Soul stated.
Maka frowned and looked amongst their friends for him. "Where is he, wasn't he right beside me a few minutes ago?"
"Actually, I'm behind you two." Spirit grumbled, startling them.
Maka sighed and cracked a small smile for him. "Hi Papa, how are you?"
"What do you mean 'how are you?' I know you saw me a few minutes ago, but you chose to ignore me as usual!" Spirit cried out sadly.
Soul rolled his eyes at Spirit's childish behavior. "Is this how he always is?"
Maka nodded her head with a scowl. "Fortunately, he's not acting as bad as he normally does."
Spirit eventually managed to calm himself down and glowered when he realized Soul had his arm wrapped around Maka this whole time. "Who said you could get so close to my daughter?!"
Soul arched an eyebrow before grinning wickedly. "Well, it's not like she's stopping me from having my arm wrapped around her and besides, we've gotten much closer than this in the past…"
Maka blushed and elbowed Soul's side quickly. "Stop it, are you trying to piss him off and give him a heart attack at the same time?!"
Soul smirked as he watched Spirit's face move from anger into one of horror. "I think it is for the best that he found out now rather than later, though I'm not sure how he couldn't have already figured it out based on your last phone call."
Maka sighed and was about to speak up again until they all heard Black Star call out to them. "Everyone is starting to head out now; we should go get the rest of our luggage."
Soul and Maka nodded their heads in agreement as they followed Black Star and Tsubaki to baggage claim leaving behind Spirit to collect his thoughts.
"I'm surprised that you honestly didn't know about the nature of their relationship." Stein said with a chuckle, as he approached his old colleague.
Spirit snapped out of his shock and sent both Stein and Marie a glare. "I knew about their relationship, but I didn't want to think that they were….that they were doing that! Why didn't you guys try to stop them, especially since you chose to come back to Death City with them?"
Marie smiled widely as started to shake her head. "We'll be honest with you Spirit; we encouraged both of their relationships to happen by taking them on tours around the city!"
"They're both adults now anyways, it's not like we should have interfered anyways. And you're not really one to talk considering what rumors go on about you and your many relationships." Stein added in, grinning when Spirit grimaced and looked away.
"I don't care if they are adults now; I still plan to keep an eye on anything that punk tries to do with her!" Spirit muttered.
~X~
Tsubaki frowned at the sudden silence that filled the air as everyone kept to their own thoughts on the taxi ride back into town.
'We were all so excited when we were greeted our friends at the airport, I guess all the jet lag and time zone differences are really starting to hit us though I still want to see Angela before I head back to the apartment to call it a day.' Tsubaki reasoned, as the taxi came to an abrupt stop.
Maka opened her eyes sleepily as she leaned her head up from Soul's shoulder. "Are we already at your place?"
Soul focused his crimson eyes before nodding his head and stepping out of the car to stretch. "That was quicker than I thought it would be. I forgot how close we live to the airport really."
Soul turned to help Maka get out of the car and frowned when he realized Black Star and Tsubaki were still sitting inside.
"Aren't you guys coming out? Particularly you Black Star since you live here?" Maka questioned.
Black Star shook his head as he pointed in the opposite direction of town. "Tsubaki and I are going to go greet Angela before we relax. You guys can start unpacking without us." He explained, before he closed the door of the taxi back.
Soul shrugged and nodded his head as he moved to pick up his luggage to carry inside with Maka hesitantly following behind him once Tsubaki sent her a nod to go on ahead.
Tsubaki hummed and turned to face Black Star as the taxi started to drive off again to her and Maka's side of the city. "Are you sure you didn't want to wait on greeting Angela until we both aren't feeling so tired?"
Black Star shook his head and sent Tsubaki a confident grin. "I still have plenty of energy and you and I both don't want to put off seeing her any longer. Does she even know that we arrived back today?"
"I don't think the director told her so I guess it will be nice to see what type of look will come onto her face when she sees me!" Tsubaki speculated.
Upon arriving outside the organization though, a rushing thought suddenly occurred to Tsubaki that made her pause from walking inside.
'I hope it won't seem like we're trying to push too much onto Angela again. Even though she seemed okay with greeting Black Star when we had our second FaceTime, I know her moods can change easily and it's been weeks since that last phone call…'
"You're not getting cold feet after all we've been through to get to this moment, are you?" Black Star asked from beside her, as he reached out and gripped her hand firmly.
"Of course not, I've been looking forward to this day for a long time!" Tsubaki replied back with a smile, as she led the way inside.
Ms. Johnson, the director had been filing some paperwork when she saw Tsubaki and Black Star approach her.
Ms. Johnson smiled and set down a file onto her desk. "Tsubaki, is that you? Have you come back early from your trip or has time really gone by that fast?"
"Nope, I'm not home early; time just went by so quickly that it was August before I knew it." Tsubaki answered back cheerily.
Ms. Johnson nodded her head as she stepped away from her desk. "Well, I won't keep you waiting any longer since I know why you're here. I believe Angela is at recess right now so good luck finding her amongst the crowds of kids running around."
Black Star scoffed once he and Tsubaki started walking down the hall that led to the playground. "How hard can it be to find Angela? I'm sure once she sees either of us she'll come running over."
"Black Star, I still want to keep it a surprise to Angela that we're here! I have an idea of where she likes to play at the most usually based on the trips we've taken to the park in the past." Tsubaki stated.
Black Star shrugged and nodded his head as he opened the doors to outside only to be greeted with a vast sea of kids running around and playing a variety of games all over the area.
"What the? You didn't tell me that their playground was basically the size of Death City! How are we supposed to find her?!" Black Star complained.
Tsubaki laughed amusingly at Black Star's comparison as she carefully made her way around some running kids towards the grass.
"Let's see if I remember correctly, Angela's favorite place to go to first was the monkey bars followed by the swings." Tsubaki mumbled to herself before Black Star got her attention by suddenly grabbing her arm.
Tsubaki gave Black Star a mix of a bewildered and upset look before she recognized he was pointing out Angela who was swinging and talking happily with about 3 other girls nearby her.
'Oh, it looks like Angela really did make some friends; I'm so glad!' Tsubaki thought happily, before she noticed Black Star was heading straight over towards her without any hesitation.
"Black Star, hold on! What exactly were you planning to do by just walking up to her like that?" Tsubaki asked critically.
Black Star rubbed his chin thoughtfully before grinning. "I was going to go ask if her if she recognized who I was just based off my face."
Tsubaki sighed and shook her head. "I think a better idea would be to playfully sneak up behind her."
Black Star shrugged, but nodded his head in agreement. "If that's the plan you want to go with, it's fine by me."
Tsubaki waited until she saw the girls beside Angela get up to go do another activity before she carefully moved in and squatted down behind her and patted her shoulder gently.
"Guess who?" Tsubaki asked softly.
Angela's first action had been to freeze up in alarm, but she relaxed slightly when she recognized the voice. "Tsubaki…is that you?"
"Turn around and see for yourself." Tsubaki replied back, just as Angela twisted in her seat and jumped into her arms excitedly.
"You're home! You're home! I can't believe you're finally home!" Angela cheered out, as she snuggled into her arms joyfully.
Tsubaki smiled and soothingly rubbed Angela's back before Angela finally moved away from her slightly.
"Don't I get a hug too?" Black Star asked, drawing Angela's attention away from Tsubaki.
"You came to visit me also?" Angela questioned in surprise. Black Star nodded his head and was nearly taken aback when Angela moved away from Tsubaki's arms and into his.
"Thanks for coming to see me also." Angela mumbled into his ear.
Black Star chuckled and surprised Angela even further by picking her up and giving her a piggyback ride back inside to the lobby.
Angela laughed and started to pull on Black Star's hair. "Go faster!"
"Ouch, you won't get me to do anything by tugging on my hair!" Black Star grumbled, as he set her back down.
Angela smiled as she glanced between Tsubaki and Black Star. "When did you guys get here? Can I come home with you guys now or can you at least stay longer to play?"
"Whoa Angela, one question at a time; we only arrived a few hours ago so Tsubaki and I are still a bit tired to be honest." Black Star said.
"I can't take you home yet, but I'll try to make some settlement with the directors in the coming weeks." Tsubaki continued on.
Angela pouted, but seemed happy enough to just have seen Tsubaki again and nodded her head as she started to head back to her room before Black Star noticed something off in her walk.
"Angela, did you hurt your leg or something? It seems like you're limping." Black Star questioned.
Angela brushed her brown hair out of her eyes to gaze down at her feet properly. "Um, well a few days ago I did land on my feet funny when I jumped off the monkey bars."
"Did you tell the nurse that it hurts?" Tsubaki asked in concern. 'How could nobody have noticed she's been walking like this?'
Angela shook her head and watched as Black Star carefully inspected her foot before turning back towards Tsubaki.
"I think it's just a mild sprain since she hasn't been having much pain from walking on it. Tell the director that you would like some ice on it though to at least reduce some of the swelling." Black Star considered.
Tsubaki looked impressed at Black Star's knowledge as they guided Angela to the nurse's office before they headed back outside to the sidewalk. "How did you know what type of injury she had?"
"Oh, that? I've seen and gotten those types of injuries all the time from the different sports I've played over the years. The pain really must have not been bothering her though if she said it happened a few days ago." Black Star mused.
Tsubaki smiled gently at Black Star's easygoing explanation. "I think you've finally found something."
Black Star arched an eyebrow at Tsubaki's statement. "What are you talking about?"
Tsubaki shook her head at the fact that Black Star still didn't get it. "Your college major of course silly. You just kind of gave a small description of a sports related injury and how to take care of it; Sports Medicine or things in that category can be something you can look into.
Black Star said nothing back before his eyes brightened in realization. "Well, I'll be damned; I knew good things would come to me from dating you."
Tsubaki flustered slightly, but maintained her usual smile. "I better get heading home now."
Black Star frowned at that as he took a quick glance towards the horizon and realized it was already sometime around the mid to late evening hours.
"Alright, I'll let you go, but there's just one last thing we need to do." Black Star announced seriously.
Tsubaki looked confused for a moment before she nodded her head in understanding when Black Star gave her his usual smirk and leaned in towards her.
"I'll see you again soon." Black Star grumbled against her lips once they pulled away from each other.
Tsubaki nodded her head dazedly as she began to lean away from him. "I know I will."
~X~
"So, you're not going to even try to at least fold up your clothes neatly or hang them up properly?" Maka asked, as she watched Soul toss clothes into his dresser or closet.
Soul looked up from his luggage and scoffed. "More than half of these clothes need to be washed or ironed so I honestly don't care as long as I unpack everything."
Maka rolled her eyes, but nodded her head as glanced at his nearby clock and saw that it was already getting close to 5:30.
'Tsubaki is probably just now leaving the agency, so that means she's probably on her way home now. Meanwhile I'm here with my luggage still all cramped and packed together in the living room…' Maka mused.
"I would get done faster if you weren't just… I don't know sitting there on my bed watching me." Soul stated.
Maka shrugged her shoulders and got off Soul's bed to help him move smaller items to places she knew they belonged at least like his toothbrush or combs.
About half an hour later, Soul had pretty much considered himself 'done' for now and would better sort everything out later.
Soul laid back into his bed and sighed. "I don't know about you, but it's going to take my body a couple of days to adjust back to this time."
Maka smirked as she laid her head down next to his. "Don't get used to it for too long. New York is 3 hours ahead of us."
Soul groaned and covered his eyes with his arms. "Well, 3 hours isn't the same as the around 8 hour difference we just came out of."
Maka nodded her head as she snuggled into Soul's side "I can't believe this morning, well technically yesterday morning we were waking up in a hotel half way across the world and now we're back here at home."
Soul uncovered his arms from his eyes to gaze at Maka properly. "I'm glad at least we we're able to get in a good amount of sleep on the plane; I was expecting more turbulence."
Maka said nothing back as sat up slightly from bed and watched Soul with a peaceful expression. 'Even if they are things for me to do at home, I don't want to face the reality summer being over…
Soul noticed Maka's change in behavior and frowned. "What's wrong; is something troubling you?"
Maka sighed and moved to lie on top of Soul gently. "I'm not ready to go back home yet."
Soul felt tempted tell Maka that wasn't a big deal, but there was always the possibility that Maka would take that the wrong way and hit him.
Eventually, Maka moved off of Soul slightly, but was still fixing him with a mysterious look that Soul couldn't quite figure out.
"Maka, are you sure nothing else is bugging you because I-"Soul felt the rest of the words die in his throat as Maka moved in towards him and gazed at him knowingly.
"Shut up already." Maka breathed out teasingly against his lips.
Soul grinned as he sat up a bit and slowly let his thumb brush against her burning cheek along to her lips as he moved in to close the distance between them. Maka shivered lightly as Soul's lips brushed against hers before she leaned in more towards him to slowly apply more pressure. Soul quickly matched her force by tugging her head gently towards him before sighing and pulling away as the need for air came back.
"You're not usually the one who instigates a kiss." Soul panted out, as he lightly stroked a hand through Maka's hair.
"This may be the last time we really kiss for a while." Maka replied back gently, as she lightly tapped her head against his.
"Though I guess I really should get going back home now." Maka finally mumbled out wistfully, after a few seconds of silence passed.
"Are you sure you don't want to stay here and keep straddling me?" Soul questioned, as Maka realized her position on him and moved away with a blush.
Soul watched as Maka hopped off the bed and brushed herself off before following her out to the living room.
"You sure you don't need my help lugging that suitcase downstairs once I call for a taxi?" Soul questioned with a smirk.
Maka pushed up the handle of her bag and shook her head with a laugh. "My clothes and some other random stuff don't weigh that much idiot."
Once Maka had her stuff all outside, she turned around to face Soul with one last smile. "I guess I'll see you in like a week or so at the airport again."
Soul nodded his head as he ruffled Maka's hair before she got into the cab. "Don't do anything too stupid or crazy in these few days of summer we have left."
"You should take your own advice for once." Maka chided back with a smile.
~X~
"Maka, how can you be leaving me again already when you've only been home for like a week and half?!" Spirit sobbed out.
Maka sighed and grudgingly patted her Papa's back tiredly. "This day was going to come eventually Papa."
Spirit nodded his head as he wiped his face before he sent both her and Soul an oddly serious look. "New York is an exciting place to go and I'm sure you two will see and learn a lot. Make sure to watch over each other.
Maka nodded her head and actually gave her Papa an honest smile for once. "Thank you Papa, we appreciate your advice."
Spirit gaped in shock and started to tear up again as Stein and Marie calmed him down.
"Hey man, you and Maka better send us any cool pictures or interesting stuff you find around the city!" Black Star snapped out.
"Why would we not?" Maka questioned with a laugh.
Black Star shrugged before smirking. "I'm just warning you now in case you guys felt like keeping stuff from us, I still have my blackmail of you two-"
Tsubaki secretly nudged Black Star to be quiet before he gave away his secret.
Maka and Soul sent each other confused looks before they turned towards Tsubaki suspiciously. "What blackmail is he talking about?"
Tsubaki only smiled sweetly and shrugged her shoulders. "I have no idea what he's talking about!"
Maka frowned at Tsubaki's seemingly innocent smile before sighing. "I'm going to miss you both so much; things won't be the same…"
"I know it will take some time adjusting to being without me, so I took the liberty of getting this for you guys!" Black Star stated, as he handing both her and Soul a signed autograph and picture of him.
"Why the hell would we want this?!" Maka snapped out while Soul just blatantly ripped his up.
Black Star scowled at his friend's actions and attitude. "One day those items were going to be worth millions of dollars and you just destroyed them like they were nothing!"
Maka rolled her eyes and was about to speak up when the intercom suddenly went off. "Attention passengers, we are now boarding customers sitting in sections D and E for United Airlines flight from Death City to New York. Please make your way to the line at this time."
"That's you guys, huh?" Black Star asked somberly.
Soul nodded his head as he gave one last handshake goodbye to him while Maka gave Tsubaki one final hug.
"Call us as soon as you land or are able to!" Tsubaki called out to them as they observed them join the line.
"We will, and keep us up to date on how things are going at home!" Maka yelled back as she watched them finally turn to leave.
'Don't cry, don't cry, there's nothing to be sad about…' Maka thought, as she bit her lip before Soul patted her shoulder comfortingly.
"I'm sure nobody wants to see us looking all depressed." Soul mused.
Maka nodded her head as she wiped away a few tears before a gaining a new look of resolve. "You're right; this is just the beginning of a new phase in our lives. I'm ready to see what's in store for us beyond the summer, aren't you?"
"Trust me Maka; I've been ready for a long time." Soul replied back with a grin.
~x~
Well everyone this was the final chapter, but an epilogue will be coming next! Feedback is always welcomed and as usual, thanks for reading!