I have a hundred essays to grade (that's not hyperbole) but still, I offer you this humble update.

How he was supposed to go back to life as normal was beyond him, still lost in a daze from the holidays. Dropping her off at home had been utterly heartbreaking, especially since once again Spirit was nowhere even after a screaming phone call had transpired before the drive even started. Hate wasn't a strong enough word for what Soul was starting to feel for that man, regardless of Maka's assurances. Soul almost refused to leave her there, but Maka finally got him to go after the promise he'd pick her up in two days.

Even school this semester seemed far from normal, with no Bio 101 to bring them together during the school day. The weekdays were spotty with visitations, especially since Maka had scheduled her classes late afternoons to evenings since she had, between all their visits there, picked up a part-time position during the day at the museum. Soul used this as an excuse to produce more music during the week, but while this was nicely padding his pocket it was leaving his heart empty.

The only pattern they both managed to keep was Fridays and Saturdays when Maka would bring whatever she needed to study to the bar, listening to Soul play while finishing whatever work was left for the week. After he would take her back to the house and more often than not talk her into staying for the night which never took much convincing besides the request. He cleared her out a drawer and by the first month of the semester it was filled, ready for her to stay just about every weekend.

And that was supposed to be the plan that Friday night, but as Maka entered she saw Soul sitting at his piano, a blond woman leaning against it as she seemed to close the distance between the two of them. Maka's swallow came to a shuddering stop and her hands clasped into the fabric of her skirt.

But Soul had been half watching for Maka just like he always did, and the moment she walked through the door he was excusing himself and barely making it away from the piano without touching that woman. "Hey." His kiss was slow, delicate as if he had seen the fragility on her face. "Look, I need you to come to the back with me for a second."

Maka took another look at the woman who was intently staring, playing with her braided hair. "OK…"

Soul slipped his hand to its spot and guided her past the bar. Maka waved at Patty and Liz who both had ears perked wide as they passed. All that behavior received from Soul was a grimace and a wave off just like he would buzzing flies. He got her into the storeroom, a cramped dank spot but the only option for quiet, furtive conversation. Soul sighed as soon as he shut the door, leaning his weight against it to stop any interruption. "Her name is Medusa."

She didn't need to play coy, to ask who. "Do you know her?" Regardless of what she was telling herself, the ache was starting as if she had already caught them doing something. It was irrational and completely idiotic to even think that Soul was anything like that, but it was there, that little gnawing worry.

"By reputation." Soul reached out looking for her hand and Maka acquiesced. He tugged at her, bringing close enough that he could wrap his arms around her waist. "And it's not a good one. She's a maneater, for sure, and she doesn't know how to keep her hands to herself."

"Soul…" Maka hated how her lip was already starting to tremble, that idiot thought growing.

"I'm not going to lie to you, Maka. I know this isn't what you want to hear, really, and I know what's probably already starting in your mind but lying is only going to feed it, and I refuse to do that." Soul let his fingers glide along her back for a moment, waiting to see if he needed to move them to clear away tears. "But she also has enough clout in the business that putting my name on, producing some of her songs could mean something. Long story short, while my personal preference would be to tell her no, my business sense is telling me yes."

She got a handle on her lip with a deep breath, but the ache was still there, rational Partner Soul explanation or no. "And she wants you to work with her?"

Soul nodded, "Tonight, after work, because I'm not absolutely tired as it is." He took a few breaths' time to watch her face, looking for the struggle that he knew was there. "You have choices, and I'm not offering them because I don't think you trust me or because I don't trust myself. First, you can ask me to say no. I know that'll be your least favorite choice because it's money, it's business, and you'll feel guilty. Second option, I'll drop you off at the house and I'll come home to you as soon as I can. Final option, you can come with me. I've been meaning to show you the studio anyway."

Maka grimaced, digging her fingers into the fabric of his shirt, bundling it at his chest. "What if I just go home now and I'll see you tomorrow?" she offered.

"I don't like that option," Soul brought one of his hands from her back to her chin, lifting it to force her to look at him. "It might piss you off for me to say this, but I have to admit I don't trust you not to sit in the dorm and think about it the whole time."

It did aggravate her, but more so because it was a harsh truth she didn't really want to hear. It felt impossible that he'd know that, that she was so transparent. The level of trust was obvious in each choice, the first and last she didn't trust him at all, that she had to babysit him or force him to avoid temptation. The second choice was half credit, but what would she be like when he got home? "I don't know…"

Soul brought the hand from her chin to his chest, starting to untangle her fingers. "I don't want to distract you, but do you mind if I kiss you while you decide?" But he did, he wanted to take her mind off the choice for a second, to clear the slate and maybe let her see it without the overwhelming emotion.

Maka smirked, just falling short of a laugh before she leaned in, letting him play with her fingers while he explored her mouth. It wasn't some soft pecks, delicate and reserved, it was an ardent searching, trying to find some happiness tucked away and slowly succeeding.

When each finger finally lost its tenseness, Soul pulled back, his ruby eyes sparkling. "What's the call?"

"Second option."

"Alright, once the shift's over I'll take you over there, OK?" He moved his other hand to tuck the hair behind her ear. "And I'll try to be home early, but don't wait up if you don't have to."

She wondered if he knew how utterly ridiculous that suggestion was, the thought that she would even be able to sleep without him tonight ludicrous. "OK."

"I love you." Soul was always selective about when he said it, the words still feeling rusty from his lips, but every time he did say it there was a force behind it that Maka didn't think was possible. It was as if through sheer force of will he was drilling each word into her, to make it stick.

"I love you." Hers was always gracefully fell from her lips, smoothly soothing.

Soul wouldn't let her leave without another kiss, searching again for at least a little bit of bliss to leave her with.

Soul had dropped Maka off without issue, watching as Kilik let her in and ushered her into the bright and still noisy house. The recording, for the most part, had gone smoothly. Medusa's reputation was in no way wrong, and there was more than once he had to reiterate that keeping one's hands to themselves was a solid rule of the studio. But he had done it, his little name on a big track: that is if she bought it after mixing and post-production. He could only hope.

Unfortunately, it meant he was crawling in at 4 AM, a time way past Maka's bedtime and he was ninety percent sure she wouldn't be in bed but pacing a ditch into the floor of his room. None of the options he'd handed her had been one he wanted, but she'd ultimately picked the one he liked least of all. It meant she was alone, but Maka had chosen it and he, in his hopeful naivete, thought it meant that maybe, just maybe she trusted him.

As Soul rode up, he felt the concern twist in his stomach upon the realization that most of the lights in the living room were still on. Walking up to the door only intensified the feeling, the fact that he could hear conversation, borderline yelling even through the unopened window and door. As he turned the knob, the door uncharacteristically unlocked, Soul found himself holding his breath, waiting for a not so welcome surprise on the other end.

What he saw didn't seem to make any sense and he had to stand blinking until he released that full breath, giving his brain the prompting it needed. "What the fuck?"

Black Star was out cold, a line of drool slick down his face with a puddle started at the arm of the chair. Kilik was only in moderately better shape, half lying on the couch, a beer resting on his stomach. It had been girls he had heard, Maka in the middle of tipping back the rest of her beer with the enthusiastic coaching of the Kim.

Maka almost spilled the beer as she brought it from her lips, excitedly tossing her free arm up in the air. "Soul!"

"Are you… you're all drunk." Soul closed the door behind him, surveying the group again before walking around the couch to stand in front of that reaching hand.

"Yup," Kilik laughed, exaggerating the p. "Kim proposed Deadwood: the drinking game. Drink every time someone says 'cocksucker.'"

"You should have alcohol poisoning," Soul muttered.

"We had to do something! Couldn't just let Maka pace a hole in the floor." Kim tried to kick at him and Soul grabbed her foot, pulling her almost off the couch, just enough to trap her on her back. "Soul, that was awful, leaving Maka here, all sad."

"So you got her drunk?" Soul felt a little bubble of annoyance until Maka's hand grabbed him.

"I'm tired," she murmured. Soul dropped Kim's foot and sighed heavily before he grabbed Maka, getting her just enough to her feet that he could sweep her off them. "Romantic," Maka crooned.

"Stop it, you." Regardless of his threatening, he was still grinning like a fool, carrying her around like a bride across the threshold. "All of you, go to bed!"

"Buzz-kill!" Kilik called.

"Party-pooper!" Kim groaned.

Thankfully, Maka didn't join in the cries, just circling her arms around his neck a little tighter. "How drunk are you?" Soul looked her over, noticing her eyes were still bright, just twinkly enough to tell him she wasn't that far gone.

"I drank water, too," Maka insisted. "And I don't like beer that much."

"You didn't seem to mind it just now," Soul grumbled. Negotiating through the doorway took finesse, Soul just narrowly missing ringing her head against the frame. He deposited her carefully on the bed before starting to undress down to his boxers.

He could hear her shuffling between the sheets behind his back. When her voice finally sounded it was muffled by the blankets. "How did tonight go?"

"I'd like to never work with her again." Soul tossed the last of his clothes in the hamper before sliding into the sheets. He honestly wanted a shower, but if he was being truthful, the feeling of wanting her in his arms trumped that. As if she could hear his thoughts, Maka tangled herself against him as soon as he laid himself back. "But the song seems promising. I'll have the finished product for her this week and, well, we'll see."

Maka was almost on top of him, her head resting on his chest as she tried to soak up all his warmth. "I'm sorry," she murmured.

"I don't know what for." Soul slid both hands under the back of her shirt, always delighted by this part of the night when he got free rein to touch her.

"I don't want you to think I don't trust you…"

Soul snorted out a short laugh, "Not trusting me would be sniffing me when I got home or wanting to check me for love marks or something ridiculous like that."

"I'd never," Maka gripped at him. "But I… I worried."

He let out a hmph, fingers creating a pattern in the skin of her back. "Do you feel less worried now?"

Maka planted a soft kiss on his collarbone. "I know nothing happened."

"Then it's fine." Soul let one of his hands drift down, rolling down to grip where her panties met her thigh. "Like I've said and I'll always say, Maka, it's only you." He took a deep breath, letting his hand go with only one squeeze. "Now go ahead, go to sleep."

Maka didn't move, didn't acknowledge, and for a moment Soul was sure she'd actual preempted him by falling asleep without his blessing. Instead, she was waiting, rolling the thought over in her mind before letting it out. "What you did tonight… it meant a lot to me, Soul. I know I can be difficult with letting you see that side but it's like you knew without me having to tell you and I… I feel really lucky."

"I don't think I can take that much credit." But that was false modesty since the pride had already started to puff up his chest minutely. Partner Soul had done the right thing, almost to the letter, no backfiring, no yelling, no fighting, all of it coming to a settled end without the fury. "I know this was hard for you, too."

"It shouldn't be," she muttered.

"Maka," he groaned. "You're not going to keep me up all night berating yourself. Can you just see that we did a good thing? We supported each other. Tonight worked. We worked." She lifted her head and searched his eyes, her green orbs trying to take in the satisfaction on his face. "We're fine, so only good feelings now, OK? And sleep."

"Good feelings?" Maka questioned playfully, her mouth meeting his just long enough to nip at his bottom lip.

"You're drunk," he murmured, a feeble excuse that was slowly unraveling as her hand came up to play in his hair.

"And not tired yet," Maka sighed happily as his hand clutched at her bottom again.

"You're impossible." Soul pretended to grumble but his body was already settling into the ache, sleep and everything else set aside. Making her happy wasn't really a difficult choice.

For Soul, the reality of the differences of going from every moment of every day to just barely twice a week was staring him in the face. He had tried to talk himself into being a rational human, into accepting that both of them had busy lives and existences outside one another. But as she lay half-naked in his bed, her eyes just starting to drift away to sleep, he wasn't feeling extremely rational. "Hey, Maka."

"Hm?" Her eyelids slowly fluttered back open.

"I'm going to sound crazy…"

Maka stretched her arms out around the pillow, giving it a hug before bringing her elbows underneath her so she could lift herself. "How crazy?" Her fingers tapped underneath her lip.

He swallowed and took another second to examine the amusement on her face, to try to force that to make him feel steadier as he asked. "Have you thought about us, you know, living together?"

It was strange that it hadn't phased her and, in fact, that amusement seemed to spread. "Here?" Her voice was playful, sending him completely over his nervous edge.

"I don't know," he shot back automatically, this hand coming to cover his face. She gave him the moment he needed to take a breath. "I mean, here, or I know this place is insane at times so if you wanted us to get our own place I could understand. I don't know."

"Did you ask the others?" Maka hand snaked under his shirt, her fingers gliding up to his sternum.

Soul wasn't sure what was more unnerving, the way none of this seemed to affect her or the fact that the playfulness of her fingers had already set his body alight. Damn it, was he ever desperate. "I didn't." His hand planted over hers, stopping the sensation so he could concentrate. "I didn't want to jump the gun or anything… I thought you'd need to think it over first, that you might not even…"

Maka sighed softly, her head drifting back down to the pillow as if the matter were just about settled. "Why do you think I've been working?"

"What?" Anything else he had to say stuttered to a stop as he attempted to even think of answering that question.

"Spirit would have a conniption if I even suggested it, so I assumed he wouldn't want to really help me out anymore," Maka shrugged. "I've been pretty good at saving. By the summer I should have enough where we could figure something out."

Soul couldn't stop himself from rolling over, one strong arm pulling at her waist to bring her closer. "You're telling me you've been thinking about this since we got back?"

Maka relented, rolling to her side so he could press her comfortably against him. "Since you dropped me off at home." It was terrifying to be honest, to let that secret out, but the look on his face was her reward, that painfully wide grin breaking across his face.

"When were you going to let me in on the secret?" Soul was returning the favor from before, his hand under the back of her shirt, smoothing along the skin of her back.

"Before the summer." She closed her eyes, giving her the chance to focus on the feeling of his hand rather than the tears that were threatening. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to be alone this summer."

He tightened his grip on her until she hid her face against his neck. "Absolutely fucking not."

Maka snorted out a laugh. "That was a lot easier than I expected."

"Me, too," he pressed his lips to her hair. "I'll ask the group, see what they think, but, uh, the offer still stands that if you wanted we could, you know, just us."

Her fingers flexed against his skin. "Why are you still nervous?"

Soul blew out a breath across her hair. "Because I love you. Does that make sense?"

"No," Maka laughed.

"I think you moving in here would be great." Soul stalled for a second, collecting his thoughts as he placed another kiss on her head. "But there are three other people here, I don't know, to take some of your attention, your thoughts. If it was just us, the two of us, it's just me. What if… what if I'm not enough?"

"Soul…" She pulled away, tilting her head enough to meet his eyes. "We have to try, to find out, right? We have to move forward, even if it could hurt. But, honestly, I don't think that's going to be a problem."

"You say that now," Soul grumbled, "But wait until I leave my underwear on the floor one too many times or you catch me drinking straight out of the milk carton."

"Ew," her nose crinkled. "Do you?"

"No," he could finally offer a small laugh, "But you know what I mean, Maka. You could learn to hate me."

She shook her head firmly, her hand smoothing down his chest so she could get it out of the t-shirt. As soon as it was free she moved it to his hair, gliding her fingers through to watch the satisfying way his eyes closed with the pleasure of it. "Or love you more than I already do."

"OK, OK." Soul sighed, letting the words and her fingers reassure him. He was still worried, a panic that would be leftover even months after they moved in together, but it was done, she'd said yes and that had to be enough for now.

"So," she murmured as she leaned in, stealing a kiss before breathing the next few words over his lips. "By May I move out of the dorm and somewhere with you."

Besides I love you, those were the best words he'd heard all year.