More story development but a nice addition of *adult content* since I haven't done that for a while in this fic! Enjoy.


Saying dinner was tense was an understatement, the only voice loud and clear being Maka's, who flitted through conversation with herself like a professional. After all, she did spend years with Soul as a mostly silent partner, so creating conversation had become her forte long before. After the food, the groups split, Rin leading Maka off into the living room while Soul was stuck in the kitchen with the task of clearing the table with Spirit. Soul could feel the hair on the back of his neck stand on edge as Rin had shooed her out, taking her away. The idea that he couldn't hear the conversation was making his teeth almost snap from the clenching.

"So, you're in the doghouse," Spirit started as he handed over the first freshly rinsed dish to Soul's toweled hands.

Soul studied his face and when he found no smugness offered the information, "With Rin, yeah. Maka, no."

"Interesting." Spirit's attention turned back to the soapy water, fiddling with another dish. "What'd you do? We haven't even seen you since yesterday."

"You haven't. Rin came by the apartment," Soul muttered.

Spirit sucked his teeth, his head shaking in the process. "Rin always has to have it exactly her way."

Soul sighed, fighting with himself about the urge to stick his head into the living room before forcing himself to stay put, to actually have a conversation with Spirit. "I didn't keep my cool. Said shit I definitely shouldn't have said."

"That isn't hard to do that with Rin," Spirit shrugged. "Again, it's usually her way or the highway. Keeping your cool can be impossible in that situation."

Soul used the excuse of shelving the dish to pause, to let the fact that Spirit was agreeing and even having a commiserative conversation wash over him. He turned back to Spirit, seeing the outstretched hand with another dish. Before grabbing it, he took a deep breath, trying to be as careful as possible with his tone, "I get leaving after the divorce, but… Maka misses her. She doesn't talk about it much but when she does I can feel how much it hurts."

Spirit stretched a sigh from his lips, wishing his hands weren't stuck in soapy water so he could run his fingers through his hair. "If you're trying to ask me why Rin hasn't been around I can't help you." He wanted to be immune to the anger but it swelled in him like a wave, threatening to crash over the entirety of the coolness he was trying to take with Soul. "Rin had this tendency to walk out when things got rough. Always needed to 'clear her head' in the middle of a fight."

A tingling fear slithered up Soul's spine at the phrase, the echo of Maka saying it playing in his mind. "Maka… she almost did that."

"To you?" His eyebrows flew up, his mouth a little agape. "She walked out?"

"Tried to," Soul kept his eyes on the towel, rotating it in his hands.

"Well…" Spirit planted his hands on the edge of the sink, his focus turning to Soul as he tried to imagine that moment without painting him and Rin overtop of the two of them. "You stopped her though?"

Soul found half a smile cracking from his lips, "I'm not too proud to beg."

Spirit chuckled, "Maybe that's where I went wrong. But you… don't let her get away with everything, OK? And…" He paused for a moment, gauging whether or not his first bit of advice had been thrown to the wayside. Soul was just standing, blinking at him, hands outstretched for the next dish and the next suggestion. "You're going to be a dad soon, and you sure as hell won't be able to forget that but don't forget Maka exists. You'll have a million different new jobs but one of them will still be just being with her."

In all honesty, Soul had almost missed the entirety of that bit of guidance after 'to be a dad,' both his stomach and mind flipping at the reminder. That would mean a million new things he'd have to do, to learn to do and he had about eight months to do it but of course, he'd never forget about Maka. That seemed like a statement that only required a 'duh' in reply but the reality hit him like a ton of bricks. When was the last time I had sex with her? They'd started the process just before Spirit and Rin showed up but that obviously put a damper on it. Did they touch each other since the pregnancy results? Holy shit, not since before we knew, that morning before she made me go to school. That thought hit like a punch to the stomach.

Obviously that wasn't exactly what Spirit had been alluding to, especially since the idea of that white-haired punk touching his daughter still set his teeth on edge but it had started the mental process in the right direction. Soul was looking back and it was sinking into him that no matter what the world looked like on the outside, what it was doing to them in the process, he had to be there for her, with her, and reminding her of that neverending want he had for her. While he was ashamed of the realization, Soul felt a sort of resolution drifting over him.

Spirit was busy examining Soul's face again, slowly seeing the fourteen-year-old boy he remembered merging into the man he was looking at now. The height had changed, the muscle, maybe even the length of hair, but it was more than that, finally seeing the solidity that had always been radiating from Soul. Suddenly, Spirit realized he didn't have a chance anymore, that inevitable truth he had tried to avoid since Soul became Maka's partner so many years ago. "Soul, I'm sorry."

"Huh?" The befuddlement could not be more genuine from Soul, his mind still reeling from the last realization and barely lighting on this one.

The clot in Spirit's throat barely budged, even with the cough that he used to try to expel it. "You're good for her, and I don't think I ever even tried to show that, let alone say that." He cleared his throat again, eyes focused back on the dishes and scrubbing a pot that didn't need all that attention. "But that's the first and last apology you'll ever get out of me. Savor it."

Soul shelved the last thought just in time for a throaty laugh to tumble from his lips as he shook his head slowly. "Yeah, OK." It was strange to stand on even ground with Spirit, and just for a second Soul felt a surge of pride regardless of the lame word choice. I am good for her. She's good for me. And I'm going to be better.

"Go take your stupid grin into the living room." Spirit waved him off with a soapy hand. "I can finish up here."

Soul chuckled again, discarding the towel on the counter before doing as he was told, moseying slowly into the living room. I'm going to be good to her, he repeated again in his mind just as his eyes laid upon her, seeing those green orbs blinking up at him. "You OK?" she mouthed it more than said it.

Soul stopped short in the entryway, keeping his eyes from even lighting on Rin, solely focused on an even more confused Maka. "Can I borrow you a second?"

"Sure…" She glanced at her mother before standing, walking towards him only to be intercepted, pushed into the hallway towards the room she hadn't lived in for years.

Soul moved her into the sunny yellow room, the room arranged as a snapshot of preteen Maka, old posters and pictures still adorning the walls, a vanity with a mirror cluttered with post-its and cards of book quotes. As she stared at her old self scattered around the room, Soul reminded her of what she was now, one hand snaking around her middle, pulling her back to his chest while the other smoothed away the hair from her neck, leaving a path for him to plant a few strategic kisses.

Maka relaxed into him, a wistful sigh parting her lips. "Did something go wrong with Papa?"

"No," he grunted a laugh. "This isn't something bad, so enjoy it for a second."

"Oh?" She felt his hand at her chin and combined with the movement of his arm around her waist Soul turned her, bringing her lips to his in the process. He started off feathery soft, lips barely touching before easing her lips apart, deepening into a kiss that made her legs feel weak. That tight arm around her waist gave her enough lift to stay stable until he closed with a playful nip at her lower lip. Maka slowly blinked herself back to reality, breathless as she focused on that widening grin of his. "What was that?"

"Something I should have been doing," he whispered before stealing a ghost of another kiss. "And I should have told you one more thing about what I said to your mom."

Maka tried to resist the furrowing of her brows. "What's that?"

"We're going to change," he couldn't stop the quiver in his voice, a little bit of fear still threatening every time he thought about that part. "But the way I feel about you, how much I love you, that never will." Tears instantly started at the corner of her eyes and as soon as Maka blinked the liquid started a slow crawl down her cheeks. "Hey, don't do that," Soul murmured, starting to clear the trails off her cheeks. "It's happy stuff, Maka."

"I am happy," she hiccuped through a soft sob. "I love you, too."

"Good." He tilted his head, giving her forehead a soft kiss. "That's why when we get home, if you're feeling up to it, I'm going to undress you and you're going to tell me how you want to be touched."

It didn't matter the number of times they'd had sex, a blush still came to Maka's cheeks at the thought, at the image he'd laid out for her. "Do I get to return the favor?" Maka laughed softly.

"I was hoping you would, but again, only if you feel up to it." His hands were softer now, moving from that firm hold at her waist to ease up her back. "I know you haven't been feeling so hot."

"I think I'll feel better once we're naked." Her laugh was only intensified by his, another bit of contagious joy between the two of them. It was another little piece of proof that when it was them, they could be happy.


They were barely through the doorway to the apartment when Soul scooped Maka up into his arms, a romantic attempt that dissolved mostly into the comical as the goal became avoiding smacking her head against the wall in the process. At the very least it brought them back to themselves, that infectious laugh starting between the two of them and continuing until he'd laid her out on the bed. "No undressing?" Maka giggled as Soul slowly eased himself next to her.

"Eventually," he grinned. "Taking it slow." Soul's hand and eyes moved to her top button, starting the slow process of unbuttoning each in the long line down the front of her dress. Regardless of the call to delay, Maka undid the tie at her waist, giving him better access and letting the dress fall open as he undid each one. "You should get dresses like this more often," Soul murmured. "Especially for the slow undress."

"The buttons take forever," she grunted a laugh.

"I don't mind." Soul parted the fabric to the side, letting his finger drift a line from her belly button to her bra. "Where first?"

Maka's skin lit up under his fingertip. "More of that but add a kiss or two."

"Or three, or four," he murmured back before pressing his smirk to her lips. Soul's fingers ambled along, trailing soft lines along her collarbones to drift over the peak of her bra and then down to her stomach again. There his hand fanned out, letting his mind just flit momentarily to the kid before urging himself back to the matter literally at hand. He smoothed across the line of her panties, dipping to her side before tracing back up, finally resting on top of her bra. "Here?"

"Take it easy," Maka replied with a sigh. "They're… I don't know, they kind of hurt."

Soul pondered this, deliberating as if it were a battle he needed to win. The front closure to her bra today was a win for him, and she allowed him to struggle with it for a few minutes in deep thought before she intervened, popping the two cups apart. "Gentle," he repeated to himself before leaning in, not to capture her lips with his but to dip his head to her chest, placing a few feathery kisses from her collarbone to her nipple, his tongue finally lapping at the peak.

"That works," Maka breathed out before punctuating it with a moan as his mouth latched on to her.

His hand moved beneath the swell, doing nothing more than cupping, keeping her breast steady as he made delicate motions with his tongue. Soul was all about equality so he lifted himself up, scooting her to the middle of the bed so he could lounge on her other side, giving her other breast the same flicks of his tongue. This was also another calculated decision, now having freed his dominant hand to linger down her stomach, playing with the line of her panties again. He unlatched his mouth, playfully adding one last flick of his tongue to her nipple. "This or kissing while I…" he let his finger tracing between her legs finish the sentence for him.

Maka debated for a moment, running her fingers through his hair. "Stay there for now."

A smirk started to pull at his lips, keeping his mouth off task as his hand came back to the band of her panties, pushing them down. Maka helped on the other side, getting them low enough that she could pull her knees up to get them the rest of the way off herself. He was watching her intently as her legs came back down to the bed, spreading slightly in anticipation. His touches were no longer tentative, knowing exactly the motion he wanted to take against her, that firm glide right between her folds to press against her clit. Maka's eyes shut, a soft pant of air leaving her lips as her fingers tightened in his hair.

That's all he wanted to see before he could turn back to her breast, latching on to suck gently as he pulled his fingers back, applying pressure as he stroked back. That was his motion, the easy forward and back slide that made her hips start to rock against him, forcing her breath out in little spurts accented with gasps and groans. Soul was enjoying it too much, the sounds, the way her fingers flexed into his hair, and he had to remind himself how much he wanted her to linger in this pleasure, for it not to be over so soon. He eased the pressure, using the momentum to bring his fingers inside her, stroking slowly.

He let go of her breast again, eyes focusing on her face before she pulled him up with her hand at the nape of his neck, bringing his lips back to the place they almost always wanted to be, pressed against hers. It was quick, a gasp breaking the contact as he plunged his fingers in her again. "I want to hear it," he was a little embarrassed at the requirement he was laying out, his voice coming out as a murmur. "Don't hold it back."

"Not gonna be hard," she whispered back breathily and he opened his eyes in time to see her green orbs glowing with a healthy mix of amusement and ecstasy.

Soul pressed his lips to her jaw, trailing kisses to her neck where he added a soft nibble as his fingers fell back on that tested and true motion, feeling her hips move in perfect time with each stroke. He had just pulled another nip of skin between his teeth when her hips locked and the long, breathy moan erupted from her throat, his name thrown in as a passionate addition to the sound. That had him aching inside, wanting to hear his name like that a million more times from her mouth. "Thank you," he murmured against her neck.

"Hm?" Maka was barely aware of the words and when she could process them added a laugh. "I think it's supposed to be the other way around. Me thanking you."

"Not yet," he added his own contented chuckle before lifting his head to get a better look at that afterglow that he cherished seeing in her face. "Give it like ten or fifteen more minutes."

"What?" She blinked at him.

"In a little while, I'm going to do that all over again," he smirked before leaving a kiss on the confused line of her lips. "In the meantime, take off the rest of this."

Maka continued to ponder him but did as requested, fidgeting in the bed back and forth until she managed to get free of the dress and her bra. "Again?"

"As long as you feel up to it." His fingers drifted along the freed skin of her arm.

"I feel fine, great, but…" Maka eased herself onto her elbow, pushing him back on the bed so that she could start the process of undressing him, returning the favor with his buttons. "Again?"

"Girls can do that, right?" Soul was starting to worry about this locker room information.

"Well, yeah, but I've never…" Maka blinked at him. "We've only ever done one and one."

Soul smirked, "Yeah, and we're going to break that record today."

Maka finished with his shirt, fingers still lingering on the t-shirt underneath. "Get this off."

"Don't worry about me just yet." Soul playfully ran his fingers over her stomach again, getting a slap on the hand as a reward. "Hey!"

"Get undressed," this wasn't coming as a request.

Soul felt that little rush of want and he tried to force himself to be slow to follow the order. He'd never admit it out loud, never for her ears to hear but, Death, did he ever love it when she ordered him around, both on the battlefield and here in the bedroom. He got down to his boxers before his eyes caught her movement off the bed and he just barely grabbed at her, catching her wrist. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Give me a second," she murmured with a coy smile.

Between her naked body turning away from him and the smile he was still recovering from, Soul was aching to get out of his boxers. There wasn't slowness to it anymore and he anxiously waited for her to come back, listening carefully to her movements around the apartment.

When Maka emerged again she was carrying a small bottle in her hand with a towel in the other, bringing it back to bed with her as she sat next to him. "Sit up."

Soul was easing up on his elbows, eyeing the bottle in her hand. "Maka-"

"Just do it, please," she added the last bit of sweetness but her voice still came as an order.

He played annoyance well, throwing in a huff for good measure before sitting up against the backboard. "What are you up to?"

Maka laughed softly, "I don't exactly trust my gag reflex."

"Told you I wasn't important right now," Soul muttered but still watched her with interest as she opened the bottle and gave him the cap before pouring a little of the silky liquid in the palm of her hand. She gave him the bottle and he closed it, putting it on the nightstand.

She smiled before pecking his lips softly. "I get the 'let's spoil Maka' attitude, but I'm not going to let you get away with just the regular."

"Hey." He didn't let her lips get away, sinking a hand into her hair to keep them connected. "Nothing that happens here is ever regular to me."

Maka sighed wistfully, "Always with the cool guy lines."

Soul's chuckle ended with the air sucked back in through his teeth, feeling Maka's slick hand grasping at the head of his shaft, spreading the lube down to the base in a smooth, tight stroke. "Fuck," he groaned out.

"Too tight?" Maka murmured, her voice now right next to his ear as she moved her head towards his neck to plant a kiss.

"No, just… fuck, do that again." His head tapped against the headboard as she slid her gripped fingers back to his tip, starting a slow up and down motion. This was far from regular, the perfectly slippery pressure making his toes curl. Soul gripped her neck, pulling it from the hiding space so he could at least return some of the pleasure, his tongue desperately searching against hers as soon as their lips locked. She was always tricky like this, making his mind wander away from its purpose and he found himself having to grab at her wrist to stop that growing tightness in his legs. "Feels a little too good."

"Isn't that the point?" She nibbled at his lower lip.

"Think you'd be OK on top?" Without even thinking his hand left her wrist and touched her stomach, something that was becoming a gut reaction for him.

She humored his worry, still finding it cute but in her mind noting that the future was going to be filled with this. "I think I'll manage." She moved to swing her leg but he stopped her.

"Give me a second. Condoms are still in your drawer, I think." Soul went to stand but she pressed him back against the headboard.

Maka laughed softly, her hand patting his chest again. "I don't think we need them."

Soul blinked at her, ready to form an argument about being safe but his mind caught up, forcing a laugh from his mouth. "Yeah, right." He touched her leg softly. "And you're the only person I've been with."

It was funny, before that moment he'd never said it, would probably never admit for a million years that Maka was the star in all of those big moments of his life, but the smile he got as a reward made it worthwhile, her beaming grin pausing to press against his. "Only you, Soul."

"Come here." The soft touch on her leg became firm, starting to move her. "Backwards," he instructed, bringing her into his lap with her back pressed to his chest. This was always his favorite part, the first easing thrust into her and as she lowered herself onto him, Soul exhaled shakily into her back. It obviously felt different, no separation between them and between her and the lube it was a smooth glide.

"Why like this?" Maka tried to throw a glance over her shoulder but it was no use.

"Easier to do this," he murmured as one hand cupped at her breast, fingers only softly caressing at her nipple. His other hand moved between her legs, starting the same stroking motion from before. Maka leaned back into him, Soul accepting the weight and using the closeness to his advantage, placing slow kisses along her neck and shoulder. "You alright?"

"Perfect," she whispered back breathily, surprised to already feel that wave starting in her. Soul tilted his hips, creating shallow strokes that did nothing more than add fuel to the fire in her as he continued his quick finger movements. He was about to ask her for an update since he was starting to regret the position for the inability to see the passion take over her face, when the breathy gasps started, those quick little intakes of air trembling from her lips. "Soul…" She leaned her head back, her cheek coming to his as the quivering feeling exploded, eliciting less of a moan and more of a cry, a sharp call that was barely good enough to express the intensity.

His hand drifted up to her stomach, still pressing her to him as the aftershocks in her muscles made her body tremble against his. He kissed her shoulder again, letting out a soft laugh as her hand came up to absently run through his hair. "Brag-worthy?"

"Definitely," she murmured. "You can gloat for the next week."

"Only a week?" He smirked against her skin, nipping at it lightly.

"Don't press your luck." Maka patted his cheek before leaning forward, Soul's hands slowly drifting back to her hips as she rocked forward. She ran her fingers down his legs slowly, feeling the assortment of old scars, the memories of his skin. "Is this OK?"

"Please." Soul's fingers gripped into her flesh, helping her set a rhythm as she rolled her hips. He couldn't imagine a better ending, her taking control of him, riding out the pleasure he'd managed to give her. Her sweet sighs fed him as she continued to rock him in and out of her. He puffed out a few harsh breathes as he watched the curve of her spine, her shoulders dipping in a way that his mind could only see as absolutely perfect. The tingle started immediately after that thought, the ache of the want for her exploding in his gut, spurring a low grunt from his throat. He slowed her hips with his fingers, keeping her in place for a moment while he caught his breath, while the electricity in his legs subsided.

Maka picked up the towel, moving it to fill the gap between them as she detached from him. Instead of any quick moves she flopped on her stomach, still holding the towel tightly to her so as not to ruin the sheets. She let out an elated sigh into the mattress, turning her head to catch a glance at him in her periphery. Soul rubbed himself on the tail-end of the towel between her legs, lucky she picked one of the full-body ones before flopping beside her, fingers already starting a trail up her back. "What inspired that?" Maka murmured.

Soul grinned, letting a low laugh bubble from his throat. "Your dad."

"Ew," Maka groaned. "What? Spirit? Soul, that's gross."

"Not like I was getting pointers," Soul had to pause to laugh, pressing his face into the mattress to smother the volume. After enough dampening he turned his head, crimson eyes staring right into her. "He reminded me that you're mine. Baby or no baby, DWMA or family or the rest of the world fighting with us or against us, you're mine. Means I have responsibilities and I think in the face of all the fuss lately I might have been slacking on some of those."

Maka sighed, reaching out her fingers to smooth the hair back from his face. "You're always so quick to blame yourself, you know that?"

"Not blaming," Soul shrugged. "It's not like I said anything was wrong with the past few weeks. I think we've both handled it about as well as we can. We're idiot kids, afterall." He took her hand from his hair, clutching it tightly. "I don't think us, our relationship has been hurt though. Do you?"

"Maybe I love you more," Maka replied with a smile.

Soul chuckled, "I thought you loved me the most already."

"I said no one has loved anyone as much as I love you," Maka corrected. "Just setting an even higher standard. Now, no one will be able to compare."

He snorted in reply, squeezing her fingers again. "Thank you."

"Again, I think after today it should be me thank you," she laughed until he didn't echo it, his eyes growing soft with that hint of seriousness.

Soul inched a little closer, brushing his lips against hers. "Thank you for existing. For being mine."