Maka had spent their morning classes as storm clouds on the horizon- grey and black with impending doom, threatening thunder and lightning just from the look of them. Soul was working double-time to maintain the cool guy exterior but internally, it was a bit of a shit-show. Nothing- repeat, nothing- fruitful had come from his analysis of breakfast which was when he first noticed the potential monsoon coming his way as Maka spent more time stirring her cereal than eating it.

Did I leave my towel on the floor again?

Nope.

Was it my turn to empty the dishwasher?

He checked Maka's annoyance-inducing chore chart and found it was not.

Did I somehow sleepwalk last night and go on some tirade that now means I can never be forgiven?

Welp, anything at this point was a possibility since no matter how much Soul searched his mind, there was no answer to the category-5 that was Maka Albarn today.

So, our master of strategy, the man- boy no longer fit here, or at least he hoped so- who always tried to balance his meister's ability to jump headfirst into any problem without a lick of thought first, planned to hide.

Technically, it had worked too. Maybe a little too well as Soul then started to have rainclouds of his own to pull around. I miss her. Yes, he was such a pathetic sap that an afternoon without Ms. Sunshine herself to bust through his own grumpiness left him sore. Heart sore. Soul sore. Since now it felt like if they weren't wrapped together, if her soul wasn't pieced in perfect with his, something was missing. What a pathetic sap.

That was definitely the resounding conclusion in his head especially after the two of them passed the evening in separate spaces. With the sun down and both his body and soul tired, Soul's mind kept him awake, preoccupied with creating the perfect apology. All the years with her were an absolute help in the construction of such a thing since he had to be exceptionally sorry for the myriad of idiot things he'd done over their time together. One might even go so far as to say that he was actually talented at their creation, since, thankfully, there had yet to be a moment where one had not won him Maka's forgiveness.

Who knows, though, today could be the day!

Soul pressed a painful groan into his pillow as he began the chore of suffocating in the fabric and making a detailed plea for her forgiveness.

It was then that this door opened without an announcement or a knock.

He rolled over, trying not to gulp for air even though his lungs were screaming for it since Maka was standing in the doorway, arms crossed tightly against her chest.

"Hey?" That wasn't meant to be a question but between his voice cracking and the panic, his octave had wavered enough to make it one.

"I'm sorry!" It was just as much an accusation as an apology.

Soul stared wide-eyed.

"I know you've been avoiding me all day-"

Soul raised his eyebrows and managed a "wha-?"

"All morning you were just doing that stare-and-think, so I know you were upset and I just couldn't- I still can't figure out what I did, and I don't know what else to say other than I'm sorry even though I know that doesn't make it any better!" The words were scrambling for supremacy, all of them almost blurring together at the end as a few tears ran loose down her cheeks.

He sat up the rest of the way, watching as his movement made her flinch, made her consider running, but that didn't discourage the rest. Soul stood, ready to sprint if she did, but Maka simply teetered foot to foot in her discomfort. Once he was close enough, he reached for her, getting a handle on one of her elbows to keep her in place. "Whaddya think you did?"

"I don't know," she pressed back.

"If you think you did somethin' wrong you prolly have a guess." His other hand grasped her other arm, getting her to fumble a step closer. "Don't think you'd apologize unless you think you actually did somethin'."

She huffed. "I-" There was that sway again and her eyes trailed away to the floor. "I've been ignoring you."

Soul sighed. "You think so?"

"I know so," Maka warbled tearfully. "I just- I-" She pulled one elbow out of his grasp so she could use her hand to clear away the tears, breaking her hard stance just as her resolve started to falter. "Soul, I don't know how to tell you, and I'm sorry."

"Though we always knew how to talk to each other." Soul couldn't stop the stutter of his own voice, but even without a second breath he continued, "Friends- partners do that."

With each one of those monikers, her wavelength pulsed.

"You don't think we're that?" he offered shakily.

"We are, but-" Another desperate fractured cry sparked between them.

Soul tightened his grip on her. "There ain't a but, Maka. I'm your friend. I'm your partner. If there's something else, it ain't a but." He heaved another sigh, his fingers trembling as he weakly shook their connection. "I thought you were mad at me, but that ain't it, huh? There's somethin'... somethin' wrong. Maybe has been for a lil' while. Makes me scared that there's somethin' else. So don't tell me there's a but, Maka, please."

She felt the fear explode from him, the tightly positioned mask slipping and letting that inky darkness that he always held at bay leak between them. "I'm sorry," she murmured again as she searched his face.

"Please, stop sayin' that," he pleaded back as another sickly wave of fear lapped between them.

"No, I'm sorry, I forgot…" Maka let her voice drift off as her hand lifted with a purpose, pressing firmly to his chest. The echo was clear, that moment that she'd promised in her heart to be braver, to make sure she never let him get hurt for her sake again. This time, she could look him in the eyes; this time she could make him a better promise. "There is a but- and it was only because I was afraid, except I can't let my fear hurt you. Which means…" She swallowed all of it- the terror, any bit of pride- and jumped like she always did. "I'm your friend, I'm your partner, but I'm also not going to ignore that I have feelings beyond that. I… was avoiding you because I was avoiding them. Looking at you, being with you, just makes me want more and I'm terrified that you don't want the same thing or that it hurts you. I can't really decide which would be worse."

While Soul's eyebrows were furrowed in thought, his soul was playing out a completely different song. "Then I gotta apologize."

For all her courage, Maka couldn't utter another word, just staring at his searching eyes and trying to decipher why his internal melody sounded so beautiful at that moment.

"'Cause I thought I was makin' it pretty obvious." His lean was slow, easing forward until their foreheads touched. It wasn't the first time they'd been this close, but it was the first time that his hands drifted cautiously towards her back, tipping her into him in a closeness that wasn't necessarily for comfort. "Friend, partner, and if there's more than that, it ain't a but. It's an and."

"Friend, partner, and…" The tilt of her chin came achingly slow, but the reward made their weeks, months, years of waiting worth it. After all, their first kiss definitely wasn't something to apologize for.