The delay on this has been absurd, and I'm so sorry. Honestly, I technically have the ending written, but here's the problem: I do and don't want to end the fic. I might end up being a jerk and doing an ending + epilogue like I did for Jealousy. Let me know if you'll hate me for that.

There was no word in the dictionary to properly describe the tumultuous mix of emotions Maka was currently swimming in. She was watching him fix his tie as she smoothed her hands over the new dress he'd given her for her birthday. Maybe the first of the mix was shame, knowing that this should only be worn for their trip, even though he had assured her seventeen different ways that it didn't matter. Then anxiety because how could he be so calm? Soul, whose mother could make him fly off the handle with a simple word, was probably the most level-headed she'd ever seen him beside the expected amount of nervousness. He was meeting her mother for the first time, after all, and he was lucky that Spirit didn't somehow elbow in.

"Ready?" He asked the mirror.

"Yup," Maka tried to add the light and airy pep as she bounced off the bed.

"You know," Soul mused as he turned a smile to her. "I guess it kind of works out for me. I do get to take you on two special dinners."

"Soul…"

"And the dress fits perfectly." He ran a hand over her hip to the small of her back, pulling her a step closer. "And you look beautiful."

Maka sighed, "Thank you."

Soul tucked a tendril of hair away from her face. "Don't think about it, OK? Promise me you'll try."

"Of course I'll try," she murmured. "Being able to do is a whole other thing."

"It'll be easier once you see your mom." Soul tipped her chin, letting him plant a soft kiss on her lips. "Should be here any minute, right?"

"Hopefully," Maka blew the word out with a sickly breath.

He stole one more kiss, calling forth the ring of the doorbell because he always had to be interrupted. "Go get it. Try not to scream too loud or the neighbors will complain." Maka gave a breathless laugh before she dashed past him and into the hallway. Soul waited, listening to the scuttling and soft cries as the front door opened. He took a few more breaths, straightening his tie with the thought that the only story her mother had actually heard was probably the New Year's mess. Don't mess this up.

As soon as he was in the hallway Maka was pulling her mother forward. "Soul, this is my mother, Rin." Honestly, the only difference between her and Maka was the age and the wave to Rin's hair. It was surreal, finally giving Soul a taste of the medicine everyone else got when they looked between him and Wes.

"Nice to meet you," Soul held out a hand and was happy she didn't hesitate, touching his hand lightly with icy fingers.

"Same, Maka's had a lot to say. As well as Spirit," Rin chimed the last sentence.

Hopefully, you like me better, but that was a thin hope.

Thankfully, Soul didn't have to create something appropriate to say as Maka grasped Rin's now free hand. "Mama, let's go, the reservation is for six and the car's already here."

"Alright," Rin acquiesced, letting Maka lead her back to the door. She threw her head over her shoulder. "You're wealthy, then?"

Soul let out a sharp laugh, "I work hard."

"Soul works at least two jobs and school, Mama," Maka's tone said that was a reminder, not new information.

Regardless, Rin ignored it, letting the second line string from her mouth, "But your family is."

"Sure," Soul shrugged. He wanted to continue to list the trials he'd been through in an effort to maintain on his own but he let it go, especially as Maka's soft eyes came to him warmed by a smile.

Rin was seemingly waiting for a comeback, her steps hesitant down the stairwell. Instead, Maka filled the silence with conversations on the ins and outs of their lives. Soul could almost enjoy the bubbling stream of their happiness if it weren't for Rin's glances at him, the over-critical glare tearing him limb from limb. The drive was the worst, leaving him with only the two of them to look at, trying his best to focus on Maka and let his smile undulate with her retellings.

Try and concentrate on what she's saying since she's gushing about you. Honestly, you should be embarrassed, blushing. And he was. Hearing her pick apart every last thing he'd done and by extension, they'd done fed a new kind of pride in his chest, especially as her voice took on this beautiful sure quality. Even the blank face that Rin used to acknowledge it couldn't penetrate the feeling. He rode that all the way to the restaurant before flipping back into gentleman-mode, opening doors and offering helping hands. Maka rolled her eyes at it, bringing his smirk back to life.

Soul knew the restaurant was nothing more than another show of opulence, seeing Rin's eyebrows raise as they entered, but he gave up and gave in, taking a page from Wes's playbook and ordering wine for the table. If she thinks I'm some spoiled brat, let her. Hopefully, it's a better impression than getting the shit kicked out of me. That thought offered him some amusement as the waiter poured their wine.

Maka finally let go of the reins, offering her mother space in the conversation. "So, Mama, how has work been?"

Yeah, Rin, how's that job that keeps you from calling, from seeing your daughter? Soul tried to keep the sourness from his face.

"Busy, as always, but we've been expanding, so it's understandable." Rin offered a smile to Maka, one that seemed like a hollow echo of the beautiful one her daughter could produce. It was the first in a list Soul was making to disprove his original theory of mother and child being carbon copies. "And with that comes some good news. They're opening another office on the East Coast and I've opted to transition there."

"That's wonderful!" Maka gushed and Soul tried to give her a glowing smile that came close to matching hers, but his doubt was dissonance in his head.

And when she's that close and ignoring you, won't it hurt more? Soul ran a quick hand through his hair before trying to keep himself from gulping the wine. Don't get started on that. You're getting defensive. You're going to blow before you even get to appetizers. "Means you'll be close? It'd be nice for Maka to have more than just her Dad within visiting distance." Swallowing after that was hard, hearing the bitterness that he'd tried to wash away and seeing the annoyance register on Rin's face.

"Closer," Rin vaguely corrected. "And Spirit has said you take up most of Maka's time as it is."

"You know Papa," Maka tried to laugh it off but she wasn't blind to the stiffening between the two of them. "Sometimes it feels like we barely get to see each other as it is. Soul's working a lot and I was accepted into this Master's program that I applied for so I've been prepping."

"A Master's program?" Rin raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

"It's this great hybrid program…"

Soul was thankful she could once again rein in the moment, but it brought with it a strange realization. This is what she does. Defuses. I bet she did it for them before the divorce and when we started that's what those phone calls were for, weren't they? The ones from her dad that used to set her off? She eases the tensions but it becomes her job and I'm forcing her to do that again. Soul waited for Maka's sentence to dwindle before he picked up where she left off.

Maka blinked at him at first, but she knew he'd heard the description enough times to be able to recite it in his sleep. And for the entirety of ordering and the subsequent wait for dinner, Maka found the job of speaking and mediating the friction was stolen away from her as Soul continued to spout one happening after another. She wasn't sure she'd heard him speak so much and again she was struck by the way that he wasn't just keeping his cool but showing it, that vague apathy uplifted slightly by the half-strength smile on his lips.

When she found a space to speak again, it was balanced by him, not trying to speak for her but to take half the weight as Rin seemed to ease into the divided discussion. Maka wanted to blame it on the wine, the buzz in her head of the dissonance from the usual reality of her life: she was always responsible for keeping her mother and father in line. Except, suddenly, there was a second voice, another hand in the fight that didn't so much seem like a battle anymore because it wasn't solely on her shoulders. As dinner turned into dessert, she looked at Soul and realized it was her partner she was looking at. Not just a boyfriend or a lover but someone invested.

As they walked out of the restaurant she could even laugh at Rin's final complaint. "Darling, I think he talks far too much."

Maka eased into bed, a lengthy sigh parting her lips as she rolled over to face him. Soul always seemed half asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow and when she reached out and touched him he startled. "Soul…"

"Maka…" he copied as his hand reached out to grip at her waist and pull her closer. A contented sigh broke his lips as he finally got her shimmied close enough that he could wrap his arm all the way around her, bringing her head to his chest.

"I'm sorry," she murmured.

This sigh wasn't half so content, "For what?"

"What you had planned… it wasn't something small, was it?" Her fingers worried into his t-shirt.

"Nope." Soul pressed his lips to her hairline. "But, like I said, no big deal, Maka."

"But I ruined it."

"It's not ruined," he laughed that one out as he patted her back softly. "You're acting like you wanting to hang with your mom is a crime. I get it. This kind of visit takes priority especially since I know it's been a while."

"But she's just as impossible as my dad and I know you're not having a good time, even though you're trying." Maka felt the sting in her eyes and was happy to hide her face against his shirt.

"I am having a good time," Soul corrected. "Maybe not with your mom, sure, but you being happy is what I consider a good time, so if that takes stomaching a few not-so-appreciative comments then so be it. For fuck's sake, compared to Catherine-"

A short sob choked from her throat. "But, Soul-"

"Hey," he stopped her as he pulled back, letting that arm move from its protective hold to dry her cheeks. "Are you happy when you're with your mom? Be honest."

"Yes," she murmured.

"Then I'm happy," he urged back as he rubbed another line of tears from her face. "Just, I guess that means you can't complain when you get a little extra spoiling at Christmas. Consider it rescheduling the big show from your birthday." A cheesy grin punctuated that comment and Soul was hoping against hope that she would mirror it.

Instead, Maka pressed her lips together to quell the trembling. "What was it?"

"Ah, Maka, come on." He tried to pull her close again but she resisted.

"Tell me," she urged.

"If I tell you my master plan, how am I supposed to reuse it?" He tried the grin again, letting it fade as it failed a second time. "Maka, I don't want you thinking about what could have been and letting it ruin this time with your mom. We've got plenty more chances for vacations."

Maka didn't bat an eye before the new questions tumbled off her tongue. "So it was going somewhere? Were we going far?"

Looking at those emerald eyes made him crumble. "I had plane tickets."

Maka huffed, "Soul…"

"Which I talked Dad into buying off of me," he shrugged. "So, again, no big deal. No loss. I mean, I feel like there's an irony to Mom getting to go on our romantic getaway, but I'm trying not to think about that."

"You used the r-word." That finally produced a grin from her and Soul savored it.

"I was trying." Soul backtracked over the panic of planning in his mind as he was finally able to laugh at himself. "I know just about anything was going to blow last year's absolutely nothing out of the water, but I was looking to set a precedent, you know? Asked Lizzie and Tsubaki."

Maka studied his face and suddenly Soul felt like she was seeing right through him again, details of the puzzle coming into clarity in her mind just by looking into his eyes. "Were we going out of the country?"

"Yeah," he whispered weakly.

"Soul," she groaned, "You talked to Lizzie, so it was France, wasn't it?"

"Thought that garden was a good place to start and then kind of let you lead the way through Lizzie's suggestions." His admission had the opposite effect of his intention and he watched helplessly as the tears started again. "Hey, Maka, come on, I told you-"

"To France, Soul?" She sat up quickly as her hands came to her eyes to clear away the tears. Her voice forced frustratedly from her throat, "You planned all that and I made you toss it out because my mom is here!"

Shit happens, is what wanted to come off his lips but he restrained himself. "Are you mad?"

"No," she warbled before she turned her eyes back to him. "But you should be."

"Me?" He raised his eyebrows. "I don't need to be mad."

"Yes, you do," she groaned. "It wasn't fair that you put in all that hard work and I just-"

Soul eased himself up next to her, grabbing her chin. "You didn't do anything. Your mom surprised you, remember? It's not like you took a look at my plans and said you had something better to do."

"I should have-"

"No," he cut her off quickly. "See, this is exactly what I didn't want. Don't compare it. Don't think 'we could be there' right now. It didn't happen and that's fine. I'm still making it work here, getting a little bit of my romance in." Soul let himself pause here, pulling her chin forward so their lips could meet shortly. "And I told you, important thing is you're happy. I see it. You wanted this, needed this probably more than some trip."

"I did want to see her," she murmured powerlessly.

"Yeah, I know." He nuzzled his nose to hers before sighing. "Please don't ask me to be mad, then, OK? This isn't some win-lose thing. I'm enjoying what I have and that's all." Something clicked and her head jutted back, her eyes staring widely for a moment at him. "What?" Soul offered a tentative smirk, trying to gauge what could have surprised her.

Maka was blinking slowly at him, her gears definitely turning as she let her mouth open and close a few times before the words were perfected. "Soul, is it ever going to be a win-lose thing?"

"What, you mean with stuff like this?" Soul furrowed his brows. "No, I don't like that way of doing things. We always talk it out. Maybe I overreact, maybe you hold onto things a little too long before spilling, but we always meet in the middle afterward, right?"

"I'm never going to lose," she murmured.

"Because we're always going to win," he offered back. "You OK? What's going on in your head right now?"

"Hypotheticals." Maka turned her head out of his grasp, running a hand over her face as she pulled up her knees. There was that feeling again, in the pit of her stomach, not the terrible kind, the one when you forgot your homework or you saw the boy you like kissing another girl, but that one during the drop in a rollercoaster when everything just slips out from underneath in a strange sort of exhilaration.

Soul's hand slowly touched her to her back. "You're scaring me a little."

"Don't be," she sighed as she rested her head against her knees. Maybe Maka was enjoying the feeling, that odd weightlessness because why shouldn't she? This was the kind of love people died for, fought for, and it had so easily fallen into her lap all because of a Biology class. "My parents were always the win-lose type. Mom had to be right, Dad had to be wrong, and that beat them down, hurt them."

Soul could only give a soft, "Oh."

"But, Soul…" Maka rolled her head, resting her cheek on her knee so she could look at him. "You promise that it's always going to be in the middle?"

"Always." Soul rubbed his hand along her back. "I love you too much to do anything else."

"So, hypothetically, if I got pregnant…"

Soul took a deep breath, trying not to let the confusion of a repeat conversation play across his face. "We'd figure out what was best for both of us."

A slow sort of smile was spreading across her lips, adding to that wonder on his face, "And if I got a job a million miles away?"

"A million isn't possible," he reproduced the words with a short laugh. "But the same. You and me, we work things out, Maka."

"And what if…" Maka squeezed her knees tighter, feeling his hand flex into her back as the pause lengthened. "What if I did want to get married?"

His hand froze and his eyebrows popped up as a sputter of a breath struggled from his lips. Soul couldn't cage his heart, feeling it shoot up into his throat because that hypothetical was too dangerous for him, especially with each worried moment since the subject was first broached. He'd almost been afraid that there would be no convincing, no happy ending like Wes and Lizzie, and that somehow he'd fail to show her. He did his best to bring air back into his lungs before squeaking out, "I guess I'd ask if we were talking about me or Simu Liu."

A sweet, soothing to his soul laugh trickled from her lips and Soul couldn't help himself, leaning forward and pressing his lips against hers. It was short and sweet, even though Maka had attempted to pull him in because Soul had to pause, had to clear the hair from her face, and look into those big green eyes before sighing out, "You mean it, Maka?"

"I could make a pros and cons list if you want," she murmured with a smile.

"Please don't," he pressed his forehead against hers. "You think about it that hard and you might go back."

Maka lingered over his lips for another moment before something close to contentment leaked out with her sigh. "I don't think so."