For the dissenters out there, I've actually been planning this since the beginning. I even foreshadowed it way back in chapter 17 with Liz's reactions when she was alone on the staircase.

The next chapter may be delayed due to life and writing problems as I figure out how to bridge the gap between this arc and where I want the next one to go. As always, I'm open to suggestions, and thank you all. *bows*

(Also-also: The poll over on Silver is closed, and the winner is more KidStar and TsuLiz~! Yay!)

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He knocked on the door repeatedly, not caring how loud or annoying it was. It was ripped from beneath his knuckles and gray-blue eyes glared out at him before realizing exactly who it was. Liz sighed, "Sorry, things are sort of busy here. Did you need something?"

"I need to talk to you. Now."

There was no playfulness in BlackStar's eyes. There was a seriousness that Liz wasn't used to seeing in the blue-haired boy. But then, she thought, none of us have much reason to feel playful, do we? She took a breath and stepped aside, leaving the door open for him. "Come on, we can talk in the bedroom."

The livingroom was a disaster area and Patty waved them by happily, Pushi lagging behind a solid two seconds, learning by copying everything the younger sister did, matching smiles on their faces. Blair's golden eyes narrowed on them as they walked past, attention momentarily distracted from teaching Pushi and Patty how to feel for their magic.

Liz looked away and led BlackStar to the room she shared with her sister. He didn't hesitate to sit on Patty's bed, apparently unbothered by being surrounded on all sides by multitudes of stuffed animals. She sat on her own bed, hands on her knees, and waited for BlackStar to say what he'd come here for.

He didn't look at her, didn't look away from the box he'd brought with him that rested on his lap. His hands tensed, tightening their hold on the mysterious box, "She never told me. Why didn't she ever tell me? I never hid anything from Tsubaki. None of my worries, none of my nightmares, I never held back anything. So why... why didn't she tell me? Why didn't either of you tell me?!"

BlackStar's head snapped up, pinning her in place with blazing eyes full of green fire. Liz sucked in a harsh breath. She had never felt like this in BlackStar's presence before. She tore her gaze away with a scoff, "What are you talking about, dumbass?"

BlackStar's left hand shot out, a delicate golden chain wrapped around his fingers, from which dangled-

Liz's eyes widened as her whole world narrowed down to the small golden locket that swung back and forth on the end of the necklace. There was no thought in the action, just instinct as she reached out for it, BlackStar pulling it away with reflexes that far outstripped her own, rolling off the bed and to his feet to avoid her lunge. She rolled over on Patty's pink bedspread, unable to look away from the heart swinging so close, "Where did you get that?!"

"It, and her clothes, were all that was left. Why?! Why, Liz?! Why did I never know?"

Her expression tightened at the look of blatant pain that flashed in green eyes, looking away as it echoed something broken deep inside. The silence was heavy, uncomfortable, unbroken. She sat up and leaned her head into her hands, elbows on her legs. BlackStar had no idea. Like she'd wanted to hide it? Like she'd wanted to be treated like some dirty little secret? Like it hadn't torn her heart to pieces day after day?

But even in spite of all that, she'd known the reason for it all, and she'd understood.

Liz sighed, "We... we couldn't. No one knows. Well, no one but Patty. No one else could know."

"Why?"

"Because! Because... it was either tell all of you, or none of you, and... we weren't that cruel." BlackStar's quickly sucked in breath told her he understood instantly what she'd meant. She looked up at him, unashamed of the sheen of tears in her eyes, "How could we come out in the open, show our relationship so openly, so happily, when you were suffering in silence so close? It was always you and Kid, right back to the time we first met. Even with Patty and I as his Weapons, as his partners, it was still 'Kid and BlackStar'. Even when we left to train.

"Then we get back, and there she is, able to put up with your shit and smile when I wanted to kill you and Kid both for your idiocy. And it was still 'Kid and BlackStar' but then, left behind everytime you two went off, it was 'Liz and Tsubaki'. She was calm in the storm, she was the quiet in the crowds, she was-"

"An anchor."

Liz smiled up at him as the first tears rolled down her cheeks, "It's hard not to love someone like that, isn't it? Because she put up with me, too. She didn't mind going on dates where Patty tagged along, didn't mind the times we did nothing more than laid out on the bed together and talked about what it was like putting up with you two. Tsubaki made me calm when I was upset, she made me happy when I was down, and she- she made me brave when I was afraid." Liz reached up to her neck and pulled up a gold cord matching the one BlackStar still held perfectly. Taking it off and opening the locket, she held it out to show him.

On the left side was a picture of her with Patty and Kid, Patty looking overjoyed, Liz herself down in front of the both with a strained smile as Kid looked at them both from the corner of one eye assessing, the other closed as he straightened his tie. And on the right side was a matching picture to the one in the locket he held, Liz's chin perched on Tsubaki's shoulder as she held her wrapped in her arms.

"And I can't show anything. I can't cry. I have to keep up so no one notices, because I was her friend. But dammit! It hurts!" Liz shook her head and glared at him through teary eyes, "Half my heart is gone and I'm sorry we never told you, before, okay?! But afterward things seemed just a little strained, with Kid once again going off to be with you and I had to fucking stand there and s-smile because that's what was exp-pected of me!"

BlackStar's hand lowered slowly and Liz's gaze dropped to her lap, grip so tight around the thin necklace chain that it dug unto her palm, "She's gone... Tsubaki's gone and I'm cold. I'm so cold without her here. I miss her. You heard Soul, right? How could I be so emotionless? What's there to get excited about now?! The world took Tsubaki from me, the school took our partner, the Kishin ruined our home; what is there to be happy about?! I'd rather be emotionless, because I don't think I can handle all the emotions those events would force on me otherwise. I like being numb." She shook her head, eyes closing as more clear drops fell, "Don't make me feel again, please. I don't want to feel anymore."

She didn't look up as the bed dipped next to her under BlackStar's weight. The silence pressed in on them again, minutes passing undisturbed. Time enough for the wetness to dry on her cheeks as she stared at nothing.

"Kid made a claim for me at the Partner Drive."

Her eyes shot wide, "And?"

"I... left."

She whipped her head around to look at him, "Are you insane?!"

BlackStar gave a choked off laugh, "Probably. What do I do? How can I take him from you?"

Liz sighed, "You idiot. You aren't taking him from us. The school took him from us, and it's not like they'll give him back if no one else steps up. Better you than anyone else."

His hands tightened on the box again, "How do I hide it from him that close?"

"You give it your all, and if it doesn't work, then you accept it and move on from there."

He looked at her incredulously, " 'Move on from there?' "

Liz turned and grabbed BlackStar by the shoulders, "Yes. Don't waste this chance. Don't waste any chance. Stay as close to him as possible for as long as you possibly can. It wasn't 'Kid and BlackStar' for nothing. You're right, we should have told you. So don't go making the same mistake we did. I l-lost Tsubaki, don't lose Kid. Besides," she closed her eyes and smiled, the way she remembered Tsubaki smiling at her, "would you really trust anyone else to keep him safe for you?"

Liz opened her eyes to see BlackStar look down at his lap, at the box, "...No, I wouldn't." He took a deep breath, "I won't lose anyone else."

Part of her wanted to believe him- and another, darker, more jaded part wanted to tell him how many times she'd thought that herself and then lost someone else. But Liz was just a street urchin, who was she to argue with the vows of someone who swore to surpass a god? That had always been one subject that came up time and time again between them.

A sigh sounded from the form in her arms, "I'm envious of BlackStar."

She scoffed, "What for?"

Tsubaki's hand tightened on her Liz's top, "I want to be that strong. That brave."

"You want to be too stupid to hear your survival instincts, too?"

Tsubaki's head whipped up so fast Liz felt a crick in her own neck in sympathy, before she saw the smile Liz had, "You..." Tsubaki gave her a closed-eye smile that made her face heat and chest feel tight, "You, too, huh, Liz-koi?"

She snuggled down further, "There's something to be said for fearlessness, even at the cost of all common sense."

Liz startled as something long and- and warm settled around her shoulders and neck. She looked up in confusion to see BlackStar expertly wrapping a familiar black scarf around her. He stepped back when he was done and looked away, "Don't stay cold. Tsubaki wouldn't want that. She always... always thought it was better to feel things, even if those things hurt. She was brave like that."

Liz closed her eyes as the door shut behind him, feeling warm for the first time since she'd heard the news. When she opened them, it was to the white box BlackStar had left behind. Curious, she grabbed it and took the top off, her past before her eyes. Her notes and letters to Tsubaki. Photos they'd taken, small presents she'd given the other girl, from a star keychain to remind her of her idiot partner to a Christmas ornament she'd picked up in the hopes they could hang it up together someday.

She pulled the scarf up farther, and didn't fight the tears that fell as she went through everything in the box. She focused on her memories, the good ones, and the bad ones, and lost herself in all the feelings they evoked.

BlackStar began his hunt, wondering how far he'd have to go to find him. Not very, it turned out. He found Kid walking down the hall in the opposite direction of his and Tsubaki's room. He'd probably been looking for him, and an uncomfortable bubble welled in his chest at the thought of Kid standing at his door who knew how long and trying to get him to open it when he wasn't even inside.

He ran faster, "Kid!"

The black-clad form stiffened and turned to face him. BlackStar slid to a halt in front of the young death god, panting from running all the way from Liz and Patty's back -how had they missed each other?- hands on his knees as he caught his breath. Kid blinked down at him, "BlackStar? What are you- where were you?"

"I -hah- needed some -whoo- advice." He straightened up, "And to to return something."

"What was it?"

He shook his head, "Doesn't matter now. What matters is that I have an answer for you." He sucked in a breath, ignoring that part of his mind screaming that he was about to ruin everything and that he should run far and fast, "Yes."

Kid's head tilted, "Yes?"

BlackStar nodded, "Yes: I'll be your partner."

Golden eyes widened before softening, and BlackStar finally understood why it was Tsubaki had always closed her eyes when she'd smiled, because the warmth and relief in Kid's gaze as he did the same took his breath away. Maybe it wouldn't be forever, and maybe he'd fuck everything up like he always seemed to, but Liz was right, this was worth it, and he'd cherish it for as long as he could.

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