Still rolling forward! Enjoy the update!

Soul made good on all his promises and he couldn't help but notice how the handkerchief remained pressed in her palm for the entirety of the night. Lizzie, of course, had blessed the wedding party with their own table, Soul only having to stomach the likes of Chase and Vincent who were actually refreshing in comparison to his mother. He was also very sure he wasn't going to have the patience for Catherine to get anywhere near pressing Maka close to tears again. If that happened, he wasn't sure he could guarantee his temper.

"Soul," she cooed in a low voice next to his ear. "Kind of killing my hand."

"Sorry," he muttered as he relaxed his grip.

"Instead of thinking, why don't we dance?" Maka didn't wait for the answer, just getting from her seat and forcing Soul to follow. This was new, the only dance they'd ever almost had interrupted by Wes before they were even dating. Thankfully for Soul, it was a slow song since while his tempo was always on point the only body part that had ever synced up with that were his fingers, leaving him a piss-poor gyrator no matter how much Black Star tried to coach him.

As soon as they were far enough on to the dancefloor, Soul swept her into his arms, eliciting a sweet laugh of surprise from her mouth. "You always have the best ideas."

"Sometimes," Maka tried to be modest but her smile was ear to ear.

His fingers played along her lower back as his other hand intertwined with hers. "Can we call tonight a success?" He raised his eyebrows at her.

Maka stole a glance at Lizzie and Wes, seeing them still making the rounds to the seemingly endless amount of tables. "I think Lizzie and Wes are almost done saying hello to each one of their millions of guests, so maybe that's a success. They got married without any major meltdowns, that's definitely a success. And I think I actually see them starting their food finally, which would be a success if there was actually enough of it on the plate."

Soul chuckled as he strummed his fingers along her back again. "How about for us?"

"What did we have to be successful at?" Maka blinked.

"Well, I guess…" Soul's eyes roamed the room for a moment, unsure he could collect the right words without melting for those green eyes. "Can we at least say it went better than yesterday?"

"I didn't have to yell at Catherine today," Maka chirped, "I'll call that a success."

"Yeah, Lizzie certainly didn't need your help," Soul laughed.

"And it was… kind of nice to hear. Obviously not Catherine's thing but Lizzie didn't have to do that, didn't have to have me in the picture in the first place. She could have never called me over and never even had to raise her voice to Catherine, but she did and I…" Maka could barely clear the tightening in her throat and found herself struggling for air.

"Hey," he whispered before leaning down and pressing his forehead to hers. "Last thing you want is more of those tearful wedding photos, right? So breath."

"You were right," she murmured when just enough oxygen hit her lungs.

"I always like to hear that." She missed his smirk because he was still pressed close to her, secretly wishing that this could be a kiss, regardless of the show.

"Maybe it doesn't matter what Catherine thinks." Maka dipped her head back, careful not to give in to the temptation for a kiss. "And maybe I'm going to start acting that way."

"Oh, sounds like a threat!" Soul's smirk was starting to hurt his cheeks, the reach bordering on the absurd. "What's first on the 'Catherine can shove it' list?"

That was the pinnacle of Maka's gusto and she let out a slow sigh, "I don't know yet. Just, she can't decide what happens between you and me."

"Already knew that," Soul squeezed her hand. "And technically you've-"

"Mind if I cut in?"

Soul would have especially if you added in the being cut off if the voice wasn't Wes's, his older brother now standing just behind Maka, making history repeat itself. "Uh," Soul looked down at Maka's amiable face as she gently shrugged her shoulders. "Sure, Wes. I'll go hang with Lizzie for a bit." Soul handed her off, trying not to be perplexed at the request as he wandered off in search of the bride.

Maka was experiencing her own strange situation as Wes took Soul's place, definitely not as close and without the wandering hand but oddly alike in vibe as if love glowed off the two of them. "I didn't mean to interrupt. We just finished all the rounds and I assumed this would be the last minute I'd have to give you a moment of individualized attention."

"Oh, you didn't have to, Wes," Maka smiled sweetly. "Did you even get to finish your dinner?"

"Just about," Wes chuckled softly. "I'm sure Lizzie will save it from the vultures until I get back."

"Unless Soul gets to it."

"Perhaps it's lost then," Wes continued with the jovial trickle from his throat before clearing it. "Maybe it's strange, but I wanted to apologize for the incident during the photographs."

Maka tried to cycle Soul's threat through her mind again. Don't cry, ugly pictures. "No, Wes, that's not necessary."

"It is," Wes quickly corrected. "I know Soul has been worried since the very beginning of your time together that Mother would be unfair and it seems without fail she has proven him right time and time again." Maka was about to interject again, reiterating how needless this was but Wes pressed through. "I had foolishly thought after you'd been together long enough, Mother would mellow but that has most certainly not been the case. I've tried to impress upon her how important you are-"

"Wes," Maka croaked. "Thank you, but please, it's really fine." She had to stop him or else there would most certainly be tears and she was already trying to find a distraction as her eyes moved around the room.

"It's not," Wes pressed. "But I didn't come over to upset you. I suppose I came over because while Lizzie can speak for the both of us, I wanted to make sure this sentiment came from both of our mouths. You're our family now. You're his family." Maybe Maka wasn't going to be the first one to cry, Wes's voice starting to crack under the pressure. "What you've done for him, for us can't be repaid but the least I can do is assure you that my mother doesn't speak for all of us."

"Wes, I…" Maka blinked up at him, knowing that any amount of modesty would be rebuked. Instead, she squeezed Wes's hand in hers. "Family takes care of each other, right? That's all I was doing, Wes. I look forward to doing a lot of that, just you, Lizzie, Soul, and me."

"That's all I can hope for," Wes's breath was full of relief. "Speaking of, why don't we find the rest of the family?"

"Yes, please," Maka smiled.

While the formality was nowhere near over, the night inched on with the four of them together.

Maka sat down with a huff, unsure if she could even get through braiding her hair. How a wedding that wasn't even her wedding elicited complete bodily exhaustion was beyond her. She threw a glance over her shoulder, seeing Soul open one lazy eyelid. "That wedding was too much."

He grunted, "I thought you said this place was dreamy."

"It is beautiful, but…" Maka finally produced enough energy to reach her hands up and start the process of twisting her hair into something manageable for sleep. "The people, the pomp, it was too much. I don't know how Lizzie and Wes stood it all."

"Then what would you do?"

"Huh?" Maka glanced back over her shoulder again, Soul's eyelids now firmly closed so as not to give away any secrets.

"A wedding - what would you want?"

Maka took the longest breath of her life, allowing her mind to touch on something that it hadn't come near since she probably planned it with stuffed animals on the floor of her childhood bedroom. "50 people maximum."

"25," Soul seemed to correct.

"25 to 50," Maka adjusted with a short laugh. "Better food. I feel like a place like this goes more for looks than the meal."

This perked one of his eyes open again, "You're still hungry, aren't you?"

"A little," she muttered. "It's just those frou-frou plates and hors d'oeuvre the size of your pinky definitely don't cut it."

Soul chuckled as he rolled on his side and reached his hand lazily into his suitcase. He rummaged around until he found the plastic bag full of treats he'd tucked away at the bottom. "Here."

Maka had just finished her braid and tied off the end as he nudged the convenience store stash against her back. Her eyes widened as she clutched joyously at the bag. "Oh, I love you!" she gushed as she collapsed on her stomach on the oversized bed, the bag now tumbling open between them.

"Just don't get crumbs in the bed again, please," he begged before resting on his back again, propping his hands behind his head. "OK, so a giant buffet of food."

"No, not a buffet," Maka mumbled as she weighed her options from the bag. "Have it at a place where food is what they do."

"You mean a restaurant?" he smirked.

She was tempted to toss the candy bar she was currently holding at him but huffed instead. "Duh, but a fantastic one. And no giant ridiculous cake. Do you know how much the cake tonight cost?" Maka opened the bag of popcorn first, munching through a handful as she waited for her answer.

"Doubt it was the most expensive thing," Soul shrugged as he watched her chew. "So, no cake, but little desserts?"

Maka waited for the last few kernels to clear from her mouth, "An assortment. Nobody likes the same desserts. Something chocolate, maybe a fruit tart, definitely a cheesecake or a creme brulee."

"So eating is the only thing at this wedding?" Soul watched her pop another handful of popcorn in her mouth.

Maka tapped her finger to her chin as she chewed through her mouthful. "I kind of like those stupid picture booths. I don't know why, but could you imagine what Black Star could come up with? It'd be hysterical. And you'd need something to do without a dancefloor."

"No dancing?" Soul curled an eyebrow questioningly. "You didn't seem to mind the dancing tonight."

"But you did," she murmured as her eyes suddenly became more interested at what was in the bottom of the bag than meeting his. "You'd be grumbly enough with being the center of attention a whole night, so imagine adding dancing onto that? No way."

"I'm included in this wedding?" He wanted it to be nothing more than playful, but his heart still lurched.

Maka tilted her head, smirking blithely. "Well, unless we're talking about my fantasy wedding to Simu Liu…"

"Hey," Soul complained as even the stupid joke punched him slightly in the gut.

She sighed, seeing that little tick of hurt at the corner of his eye. After ditching the popcorn in the bag and moving it out of the way she crawled up the bed, planting her hands above his shoulders to stare at him. "Would you wear a tux?"

He grabbed at her hips, coaxing her down on top of him. "A suit. Maybe tie."

"Maybe?" Maka smirked. "But you look handsome in a tie and I promise it wouldn't be some outrageous floral print or something."

"Maybe," he echoed as one of his hands started to flutter up and down her back. "What would you wear?"

Her grin exploded as a laugh parted it, "You know I would never tell you."

He sucked his teeth in reply, letting it tumble into a soft chuckle. "You're impossible."

"It's your own fault," she cooed. "You're too predictable."

On his trip up her spine, his hand slipped further to settle at the back of her neck, pulling her lips to his for a lingering kiss. "And you just love torturing me."

"Maybe…" Maka let their lips return to the kiss, trying not to let the movie she had been creating play in her mind. Soul in a suit, adorably nervous - because how could he be otherwise? - waiting for me at the end of some makeshift aisle since it wouldn't be a church, would it? Maybe outside or- She tried to put a lid on the dangerous daydream but it was as if he was feeding it, that grip on her neck tightening to deepen their kiss until she was drowning in the flashing imagery of the two of them.

Soul released the pressure, letting a sigh out across her lips. "You going to hate me if I call it here? I'm exhausted."

"Totally acceptable," Maka murmured as she pulled away from him, her jade eyes focusing out of the haze to stare in his.

Soul narrowed his eyes as he could swear there was just a little too much moisture puddling at the brims of hers. "What is it?"

Lying at this point was never easy especially as both his steady hands and ruby eyes refused to let her go. "That was…" She breathed out slowly, her fingers tentatively touching at his cheek. "It wasn't as hard to think about, Soul."

"Still not easy, though?" he whispered.

"No, not easy." Maka leaned her forehead against his. "But you definitely have me thinking."