I really apologize for how long this took! I promise I haven't forgotten about this fic. Just got sidetracked by the fantasy AU.

They sat at the cramped kitchen table with their laptops side by side, both calendars glaring from the screen. Maka had made tea uselessly as if the chamomile would actually calm the building anxiety of all the holiday mishaps Soul was inventing in his head. "So, Catherine said…?"

"Her preference was Christmas Eve for that goddamn party," Soul grimaced.

"Which is fine," Maka let a gentle hand smooth back his hair. "We'll head over a few days before-"

"A few days?" Soul spat. "One is enough."

Maka let her eyes bat open and shut slowly in order to resist the urge to roll them. "Soul, if we're spending a few days at Papa's it's only fair to give your parents the same option."

Soul heaved forward with a groan, letting his forehead meet the table with an unsatisfying thunk. He spoke slowly and agonizingly to the floor, "OK, but we tell them about the engagement at the last possible moment."

"Deal," Maka conceded easily as she continued to pet his hair. "Then Christmas to just before New Years' Eve Eve we're with my family since Mama promised she'd make at least a day's worth of an appearance."

"But we're telling them day one," Soul bit his tongue to keep a sigh from following that.

"As soon as Mama's there, yes." She planted a soft kiss at his temple to soften the blow, watching his legs fidget under the table regardless. "And then it's all over. We're free. We get to celebrate New Years' Eve and beyond wherever we want."

That finally brought a grin to his face as he lifted his head to show it off. "Which will be where?"

"Well…" She tried to temper her smile and not give away the fact that it'd been one of her foremost thoughts over the past couple of days. "Let's hold off on anywhere big."

"And the reasoning for that is…?" Soul took Maka's hands in his, his fingers instantly toying with the band of her ring.

Her eyes fell to the emerald as a peaceful smile pulled at her lips. "Well, because we have a wedding on the way and I kind of want to save the over the top things for that."

A satisfied grunt rumbled in his chest as he inched closer, his lips getting dangerously close. "You're going to marry me."

"I did agree to that, yes." Maka got one short giggle out before the rest were closed off by his kisses.

Soul was desperately watching the window for Wes. This was all poor planning on his part because their only current option was listening to Catherine prattle on about fuck knows. Instead of giving in to the agitation he caught Maka in the corner of his eye, fiddling with her hand in his as he couldn't help but rub a finger over the band around hers again. He caught the twitch at the corner of her lip, that subconscious acknowledgment that she was thinking the same thing: We're getting married.

Now, the two of them had deliberated this until they were blue in the face, Soul opting for the cut and run while Maka wanted a calm sit down and the ultimate decision still hung in the air between them. There were only two days to come to some kind of certainty and Soul was sure that Catherine would find some way to try to destroy the moment. Soul had practiced plenty of biting lines but Maka had made him promise that none of them would come from his mouth. Instead, she was in charge of rebuttals even though the mere idea made his skin crawl.

In a blessed reprieve, Soul saw the SUV pull into the driveway. With a squeeze of apology, Soul dropped her hand and rushed for the door, grinning as he heard Catherine's voice dropping off with a huff. Suddenly Soul was five again, practically jogging through the hallway to the front door and erupting onto the landing before thudding down the stairs. Wes was quick out of the car, ready to meet Soul with open arms. "Congratulations, little brother," he made sure to murmur, his eyes scanning the door to see if he had to hold back his excitement.

"Still can't fucking believe it," Soul laughed before clapping Wes on the back.

"I'm not at all surprised." Wes was grinning ear to ear as he let Soul go, pushing him right into Lizzie's open arms.

"Congrats," Lizzie echoed. "And tell me you didn't leave our poor Maka in there all by herself."

"Sorta," Soul turned just in time to find Maka in the doorway. "Sorry, babe."

"Uh-huh," Maka gave him a sour smile. "I see who's more important."

"Hey," Soul grumbled but Maka was already hugging Lizzie tightly, their voice falling to sinister whispers that he knew were up to no good. He turned back to Wes, trying to not worry about the hum from the wives. "Everything quiet with you guys?"

"Currently just smooth sailing," Wes shrugged. "Lizzie has officially started at her father's company, which means we've started the house-hunt. Nothing to speak of yet." They started after Lizzie and Maka, climbing the stairs and back into the house to hear Catherine's voice already starting to Louis.

"You, uh, looking far?" Soul offered anxiously, feeling that childish urge to grab onto his brother. It came easier now, this idea that he could cling to Wes if necessary, but mostly Soul still tried to tramp it down.

Wes smiled softly, "A little further north. I believe the neighborhoods Lizzie's been looking at are on the way to Maka's parents."

Soul wasn't sure whether or not that was entirely comforting and let his teeth nibble the inside of his cheek as he let it settle. He didn't have much more than a second to his thoughts as Catherine started again from the top, giving Wes and Lizzie a recap of all that Maka and Soul had already had to sit through. While Wes and Soul had to feign attention, Lizzie had quickly thrown away the dutiful daughter-in-law act to sequester Maka in the corner of the room, whispers passing actively between the two of them.

"Have you been dress shopping at all?" Lizzie raised not so innocent eyebrows.

"No," Maka laughed. "We haven't even talked about what it'll be and don't you have to do that before you make decisions like that?" She made sure her voice was the lowest of whispers, trying not to let her eyes flick to Catherine because that would be a dead giveaway.

Lizzie leaned in, letting her lips barely eke out the words, "My bets are already on elopement."

"Lizzie," Maka tried to scold but it was useless as giggles left her lips. "We'll see. Right now the only plan we're making is how we're going to let the parents know."

"Oh, that's easy," Lizzie shook her head at Maka's foolishness. "Especially with this party at your disposal."

Maka narrowed her eyes, "What do you mean?"

"You announce it at the party," Lizzie grinned. "It's perfect. First, you'll actually be playing a very Evans family part, making a grand, formal announcement at a social event. Second, you'll be stealing Catherine's ability to throw a fit since she wouldn't dare. Third, it's perfect payback for New Year's last year and that foolish party she tried to throw to auction off your future husband."

She was blinking in Lizzie's face as she tried to process the danger in this plan. "Do you think that would actually work?"

Lizzie shrugged, "It's a suggestion, probably the most dramatic option but I think you deserve to have a victory, Maka. We both know you've been mistreated."

"It's been…" Interesting, hard, trying, but how much is too much? "Well, I'm sure Soul and I will talk about for at least an hour of bedtime tonight," Maka sighed.

"Ah, our little worry-wort," Lizzie chuckled as she threw her head over her shoulder to eye the man in question.

Soul noticed the eyes on him and raised his brows. Maka shook her head, only earning her more skepticism from him before he let his eyes drift back to his mother. "Every day I think he just gets worse."

"Imagine when he's a father," Lizzie had to check her laugh with a hand to her mouth. The motion already called too much attention, dissolving the little forcefield around the girls as Catherine turned her focus to Lizzie.

Maka was happy to still be ignored.

Even though he was sitting on the bed, Soul was rocking on his heels, trying to find a way to spend the nervous energy. When Maka returned in a towel, there was a very clear path he should take but there was no way his mind would clear long enough.

Maka was obviously reading him like a book, tucking the knot of her towel tighter. "Am I getting dressed?" she smiled playfully.

"Don't hate me, but between being in my parents' house and the idea that we still haven't decided on the engagement announcement, I think I'm out of commission." He gave her a pathetic smile as he made a sweeping gesture towards his crotch, a rueful laugh following it.

She shook her head with a smile as she opted to lounge on the ridiculous chaise that ran parallel to the bed. "Well, let's talk again and see what happens."

"Again," he huffed back. "Sitting and talking with her and dad is just setting us up to have an argument with the two of them and since I've been ordered to be quiet, you're asking for me to have a stroke."

Maka could still laugh at the dramatics and while he was panicking in that under the surface way that she adored he was still examining her. She bent a knee and happily caught his eye that lingered over the line of the towel even with all his excuses. "Lizzie suggested something today."

"Lizzie?" Soul was fond of the way his sister-in-law refused to settle with his mother but the idea that any other scenario existed unsettled him.

"I don't know how I feel about it," Maka shrugged, "but I think it should be part of the conversation."

"OK," Soul answered weakly.

Maka tested a few facial expressions, wavering between a smile and a nervous bite to her lips. "We announce it at the party."

That hit Soul like a smack to the face, "Like without telling them first? Just announce to all of their friends?"

"Right," Maka gave one swift nod.

"Uh," that was elongated from his throat somewhere between wonder and a groan. Even though he was hoping it would buy him time to put together a concrete thought, nothing was actually coming to his mind.

A giggle tumbled from her lips and saved him, "I like the idea that there couldn't be an argument, not in front of that many people, but is it fair? Not that Catherine hasn't embarrassed either of us, but I'm not sure I want to play the game of revenge."

Soul blew a huff of air between his lips, "Well, it's kind of an all or nothing."

"What do you mean?" Maka tilted her head.

"She either finally accepts it or well…" He was surprised how much it made his chest ache for the words to sit on his tongue. "She lets me go." That didn't sound like the right words because they didn't match the pain.

"Soul…" Maka wasn't fooling around anymore as she dropped the playful leg and stood, walking over to him on the bed so she could touch his cheek. "It doesn't have to be that way."

He let out a long, low sigh as he took her hand from his cheek, clasping it to his and pressing it to his chest. "Maka, I kind of think it does." He tapped her hand against his sternum again as if he needed it to keep his heart going. "It's honestly not the first time I've thought about it but… all the energy I waste being angry with her for how she treats you, how she treats me, maybe we're just better off without it."

"So we do it at the party and then her reaction is the final decision?" Maka offered weakly.

"Ah," came out less thoughtful and more pained. "We announce it and then I talk to her by myself."

Her lips turned sour. "By yourself?"

"Yeah," Soul nodded weakly. "It started off just between her and me so maybe it should end that way."

Maka sighed as she unraveled their fingers. She moved to the other side of the bed, taking her nightgown out of her bag and throwing it over her head, following a little of his old behaviors, and tossing the towel absently at the end of the bed. "Come here," she murmured as she slid between the sheets.

It didn't take a second of thought for him to follow orders, falling into the bed next to her and curling up against her like he'd done a million times. He rested his head to her chest so she could let one hand drift through his hair while the other ran lines on his arm around her waist.

"That just seems too final," Maka murmured, "and I worry about how much it'll hurt you."

"Let me sleep on it," he sighed across her neck.

"Or not sleep," she scolded. "You're going to be up all night, aren't you?"

"Not if you keep that up," he nodded his head into her hand, forcing it deeper into his hair. She obliged, no longer being lazy with her touches.

The pinprick heat of tears threatened at her eyes, "Soul, I don't want you to-"

"Look," he cut her off quickly as his fingers tensed into her side. "I have Wes. I have Lizzie. I have you. And the more I think about the future, about having our own family, the more I worry about protecting all of it from my mom and dad and that… that's not how it should be, and I know that. If it can't change, if they won't, then I'm just dooming our kids to feeling the same way that I did, right?"

"Our kids?" Maka echoed.

"Shit," he grumbled as he raised his head to show a ring of panic around his red eyes. "I mean, I'm not saying we have to have kids, but if we did, if you wanted to."

"If we wanted to," Maka corrected as she furrowed her brow. "And, before we obviously get sidetracked, our so-far-imaginary kids would have us. But… I get it. I get you and the protective thing. So, in the short time you have, I guess, think about it but don't push yourself to do this, Soul. If we have to, we can even put off telling them until after the holidays."

"Nah, that was the whole point," he sighed. "We were supposed to tell all of them so that New Years was just unwinding. But how are we getting sidetracked?"

"You opened a can of worms, again, Soul Evans," Maka snorted a laugh. "Do you want kids?"

"Do you want kids?" he shot back even though he knew he had very little hope of deflecting.

Maka allowed her mind to dissolve into giggles which burst from her chest, "If I answer that I feel like either way I'm getting baby-crazy Soul next. You obsessed over marriage and now you're going to wear me down to have a baby."

"No," Soul shook his head firmly. "No fucking way."

"Then you mentioned kids but don't want any?" Maka raised an eyebrow.

"Oh fucking brother," he muttered as he pressed his forehead back to her chest. Maka didn't help, once again dissolving into laughter. Soul waited in vain and finally had to butt into her snickering. "Yes, OK, I want maybe one or two but definitely down the fucking road. I'm nowhere near thinking about that because I'm not sure I act better than a toddler some days."

"Now if you wake up tomorrow and start picking out names…" Maka let a few more giggles sneak through.

"Divorce me," he snapped back.

"We have to get married first."

Soul could finally offer something close to a chuckle against her skin. "Fine, what's your answer?"

"Definitely a later thing," Maka went back to smoothing his hair, her glee calming down for the moment. "But when I think about you as a dad, I kind of have to say yes."

"Me?" he choked.

"Yeah," Maka cooed. "Lizzie mentioned it today and I can totally see it. You're going to be cute."

"You are," he sputtered back.

Maka hummed thoughtfully, "I don't know. Maybe I'll be one of those moms that rule with an iron fist."

The idea broke the rest of the tension in him and Soul found himself picking up where she left off, settling contented laughs onto her chest. "That's ridiculous."

"I can be strict!"

Soul spit out another laugh.

"You're asking for trouble, Soul," she threatened.

He popped his head up, seeing the smile still on her face as he predicted. There was no more ache in his chest, just one in his cheeks as he held up the smirk in reply. "You know how much I love you, right?"

"I think so," Maka happily chirped. "You feel at least a little better?"

"'Course." He leaned in and let his lips linger on hers. "There's nothing you can't fix."