This fills me with such melancholy. Sorry, readers.

The drive to Spirit's had been white-knuckled by Soul, who had refrained from starting any discussion, and while Maka made a few attempts none successfully launched. Thankfully their late-night, or technically early morning arrival meant that Spirit greeted them in pajamas and just shuffled them to the upstairs room. Maka had already had the argument with him weeks prior that she and Soul would be staying together in the same room and she was thankful that all involved seemed too tired to revisit it.

Maka was dead to the world as soon as her head hit the pillow but Soul was never going to be able to turn off his thoughts. He still tried laying next to her, memorizing different aspects of the room that apparently had been hers since childhood. It became a game to look at an item and create a Maka-story for it as if everything in the room in some way embodied her. That lasted him for an hour or two but even with all the fictitious yet at least still positive stories he was unraveling he was nowhere closer to sleep. At about 3 AM his screen lit up, a silent call from Wes blinking across the screen.

He grabbed the phone and started a swift but quiet exit from the room. He was careful to shut the door gently and try not to pound down the stairs. As he reached the bottom he accepted the call. "Give me a second, Wes," he whispered.

"I wasn't even thinking you were going to be awake." Wes offered a sharp laugh, "Who am I kidding? You haven't slept at all, have you?"

Soul unlocked the front door and walked out onto the deck, hunkering down on the stairs before inhaling slowly, "Can't. Won't. Tomorrow, or really today is going to be a fucking shitshow, I just know it."

"That's just a self-fulfilling prophecy, Soul," Wes reminded with a rhythmic trill.

"Alright," he sighed. "I hope it's not a shitshow. I hope her parents act like real fucking people, whatever that means. I just… damn it, Wes, did I do the right thing?"

Wes laughed softly, "Of course you did, little brother. And that's the reason why I called in the first place. You two kind of ran out on the party before I could tell you that I'm proud of you."

"Fuck," Soul croaked as his throat turned to gravel. The heat hit his eyes and he reflexively pressed his fingers to the sockets, trying to negate the tears.

"You did an amazing thing, Soul," Wes's voice was pressing through the phone, destroying any last chance Soul had of not crying. "And you shouldn't doubt yourself just because you can't control the outcome. Your decision was right for you, for Maka, but what Mother decides is her choice."

Soul trembled through choking down a sob before making a sad attempt at clearing his throat. "You think she's going to…?" he let that warbled off into a miserable sigh.

"Well," Wes's sigh was refreshingly not desperate, "she was very shaken when you left. Still obviously stayed in hostess mode but, to be honest, she was not deflecting when it came to congratulations on your news."

He sucked in a few more breaths before daring another sentence, "I guess it's too much to ask that she'd be happy."

"Unfortunately, both of us know that's asking for too much."

Soul kicked his heel at the edge of the step as if the answer was there, giving his stomach time to roll over on itself. "The truth is, and fuck does this just feel crazy and wrong, I don't think I want to lose her."

"Not crazy," Wes quickly reassured. "But, as I said, you shook her. Give her time."

"Time," Soul echoed with a sigh.

"Try to let it go for right now, little brother. I know that sounds impossible, but try."

Soul hesitated, scraping his toe against the edge of the stair and concentrating on that raw feeling instead of the one in his heart. "I love you, Wes."

"I love you, too, Soul," Wes's came with nothing but warmth and Soul could feel the burn of tears again. "I'm going to go. Feel free to call me."

"I will." Soul's voice felt small and far away and he brought the phone from his ear and hung up. The phone clattered to the step next to him but none of that was at the forefront of his mind. Instead, he pressed his elbows into his knees and the heels of his palms to his eyes, trying to will himself back to something that was close to normal if there ever was that for him.

Even though he heard the door he didn't move, he didn't dare unplug the leak yet. He expected a soft hand in his hair or maybe a delicate press of lips to his temple but all he heard was a clink and then someone settling down next to him. Soul finally brought his hands away and the widening of his eyes pressed back any last threat of tears. "Coffee," Spirit motioned towards the cup that had produced the sound that now sat between them, a second cradled in Spirit's hands.

"Thanks," Soul whispered bewilderedly. He examined the cup for another second before picking it up, copying Spirit in holding it to suck out the warmth between his fingers. "Uh, sorry if I woke you."

"Technically thought I was catching you doing something you weren't supposed to be doing," Spirit smiled sourly. "Thought you might be calling another girl."

Soul's forehead wrinkled and it took everything he had not to snarl. "Sorry, just late-night talk with my brother, Wes."

Spirit shrugged as if that answer was still negotiable before pausing to take a sip of his coffee, wincing at the battery acid quality. "Something up?"

He was disarmed by Spirit's casual air after such a flagrant accusation. "Just family bullshit," Soul barely managed to mutter out.

"Your parents?" Spirit kept wheedling. "Maybe your mom, you used 'she' a lot."

"Did you listen to the whole damn conversation?" Soul snapped.

Another roll of Spirit's shoulders and Soul was on the verge of boiling until the most nonchalant of questions graced Spirit's lips, "Your parents are pissed about the engagement?"

"The what?" Soul croaked back, all the air sucked from his lungs.

"Maka doesn't wear jewelry," Spirit sighed. "Never has. Only started wearing earrings when you gave her that pair last year. Showed up tonight with a ring on her finger that matched. She wouldn't wear it unless you gave it to her. I assume you gave it to her for a reason that's not just to have another sparkly thing to wear. You may not believe it, but I know my daughter. Now I'm just trying to figure out my soon-to-be son-in-law."

A shuddering sound of confusion and misery left his lips. Should I be happy? I mean, it's not like I told him so Maka can't be mad about that and… just what the fuck do I do now? Against his better judgment, Soul felt his raw, injured heart pushing forth the spite. "Thought you had me all figured out."

"OK, maybe I deserve that," Spirit nodded slowly before sipping at his coffee again. "Also, guess this is a free opportunity to say 'you never even took any chances to get to know me.'"

"You barely have the time to be with your daughter," Soul forced that into a grumble and then pressed the cup to his lip, trying to stop the stream.

"Alright, you're really digging in, huh?" Spirit's chuckle sounded more forlorn than anything else. "Want to make a comment about my failed marriage, too?"

Soul sucked his teeth before forcing another sip.

"Thanks for not taking that shot," he sighed. "Rin'll take it when she gets here anyway. How'd meeting her go?"

He couldn't help but eye Spirit skeptically as he took another sip. "Fine, I guess. I don't think she has a great opinion of me either."

"Did you get the shit kicked out of you in an alley for her, too?" Spirit raised his eyebrows.

Soul let out a dry laugh, "No. You ever going to let me live that down?"

"It'll be a story for the grandkids, that's for sure," Spirit grinned grimly.

He snorted out another barely-there laugh, "And if you're going to ask, she's not pregnant. I asked her to marry me just because. No shotgun necessary."

"I guess that's good to hear," Spirit sighed. His fingers tapped to the porcelain of the mug as he leaned against one of the posts of the deck. Strangely the silence fit instead of driving them to internal smoldering and both of them fell into a pattern of sips and breathing. "So, how do I act like a 'real fucking person'?"

Soul rolled his shoulders, "Maybe ask Maka that question. The shit with my mom…" For a second he trapped it tight behind his lips, sure there was no purpose in letting it back out in the world other than to scrape another layer of hurt across his heart. Instead, he thought about Maka, that need to protect her loosening his tongue, "That's my problem because she's my mom. Your reactions will matter more to her than they ever will to me. She loves both of you, wants both of you in her life even if I don't necessarily get that, so I hope you both treat her like you deserve it."

Spirit made a non-committal noise before letting the conversation drift into another long silence filled only with sips. He was almost down to the dregs of his coffee before he sighed, "I guess if you can promise me that you keep taking care of her the way you have been, I'm going to put in an effort not to be a total asshole to you."

Soul nodded slowly, "Deal."

One accusatory finger shook between them. "But the second you fuck up with her-"

"I wouldn't expect any less," Soul managed a chuckle. He chewed on the words as he rolled the coffee around the interior of the cup, watching it ripple. "I'll do the same if you can promise to see her a little more."

Spirit had to clear his throat to press out a sigh. "Yeah, sure. If she wants."

"She does." Soul hated to admit it especially as the grin started to develop on Spirit's lips.

This break was quickly interrupted not by either of them but by the door, a completely bewildered Maka hesitating in the doorway. "What are you two doing?"

"Drinking coffee," Soul offered along with a hand.

Maka took it as her eyebrows furrowed, letting him pull her out of the doorway to the steps between them. "Papa?" she asked after she settled, seating shoulder to shoulder with them.

"What, you don't trust your fiance to answer a question?" Spirit laughed.

"My what?" Maka turned to Soul, nudging him in the side.

"Don't get at him." Spirit took her hand, his fingers instantly toying with her ring. "Just followed the clues."

"Oh," Maka let quiver off her lips as she stared at the ring.

"You happy?" Spirit offered quickly at the tail-end of her breath.

Maka blinked before narrowing then relaxing her eyes at her father, revolving around the suspicion. "Yes, Papa, I am."

"Then fine." Spirit shrugged before glancing past Maka and jutting his chin at Soul, "Welcome to the family."

"Thanks," Soul added almost obligatorily.

"What…" Maka gaped between the two of them, her eyes studying both of their faces as each man seemed to concentrate on their coffee cup as if their lives depended on it. "Did you two… bond?"

"No," Spirit scoffed.

"Fuck that," Soul snorted.

"OK…" She continued the alternating glances, waiting for either of them to crack and finding both impossibly blank. "I'm… am I dreaming?" she muttered as she let her free hand touch to her forehead.

Soul grabbed it, lacing his fingers with hers. "No, your dad's just a real fucking person."

Maka was struggling to define them. Spirit and Soul were not a united front. Definitely not friends. But since she had found them in those early morning hours sitting together on the porch, neither of them were at each other's throats, even with the engagement out in the open. She'd expected some yelling, some backhanded complaining, but neither had snapped in any way, shape, or form. Both were a little more quiet than usual, which left her with goosebumps every now and then, but wasn't that a superior alternative to yelling? The thing she dreaded was the complication of her mother, and she only had until the afternoon to bask in the strange serenity.

She mostly wanted to blame Soul's reaction on his own mother, his mutism just an extension of that internal worry which was clearly manifested by Soul wasting most of his battery life on simply checking his phone screen for missed calls. But a few texts to Wes and her reassuring hand in his had placated a majority of that by mid-morning. Obviously he was still awaiting an answer, but it didn't entirely seem like agony. So Maka sat in the odd glow of her father and future husband not fighting.

Then who would have expected Spirit to assert that he was picking up his ex-wife from the airport, something that normal Spirit would have claimed a taxi could adequately do? Certainly not Maka and as Spirit grabbed his keys to leave the two of them in the house entirely alone and unsupervised for at least thirty minutes, she had no alternative than to pinch her arm and watched dumbfounded as he left. How could that moment get even stranger? As soon as the door clicked shut, Soul drifted his head down to her shoulder and sighed, "Hey, hold me."

That was not a normal order, but there was nothing Maka wanted to do more in this world especially as another sad, quivering breath passed his lips. "This is different," she murmured tentatively as she started reordering on the couch. He was pliable, letting her move one leg and arm behind him on the couch, pulling him to lay against her middle. One hand was rubbing against his chest while the other smoothed his hair out of the way so she could plant soft kisses on his forehead.

"Just give me a minute," his voice was hoarse and warbling as he pressed his face into her chest.

She couldn't sound anything other than heartbroken as she feared he'd crumble in her arms. "Take all the minutes you need."

Maybe he was falling apart. His breath stuttered and started, his lips moving against her skin but not in that sultry way she was used to but in some kind of wordless agony. Maka tried to let her hands speak for her, rolling over every inch in an attempt to spell out each ounce of the love she wanted to give to him. It took ages, fingers working through his hair and over his back without much of anything from him. "Tell me you're happy," he finally let out weakly against her neck.

"I'm not happy you're hurting," she sighed.

"But with me," he urged back.

"Always with you."

That seemed to placate him enough that the death-grip he'd been pressing into the sides of her shirt started to relax. "Alright," he muttered as he tried to pull away.

Maka did nothing but tighten her grip. "I don't think I'm done."

Soul offered a weak laugh, "I'm OK, Maka."

"Like hell you are," she murmured back as she pressed another firm kiss to his forehead that was simply another order for him to stay put.

His laugh strengthened just a smidge, "How long?"

"Until I hear Spirit's car in the driveway," Maka snapped back almost instantly, earning another chuckle from him. As he relaxed back into her, Maka gave up on her crushing hold and moved her fingers back to dedicated consoling. "I'm proud of you," she whispered sweetly against his hairline.

Soul snorted derisively, "Proud of what?"

She took a moment to sigh at his disbelief, reining in the need to shake him. "Have you noticed that you're not exploding right now?"

"Feel like it," he grumbled.

"But," Maka instantly jumped on his negativity, hoping against hope to tramp it down. "Normally I get quiet, quiet, more quiet, and then boom! And while I'm probably sure your brain still hasn't settled yet, you asked for me before we got to the wild gesticulating and yelling."

"Wild gesticulating," he snorted. "Your fucking vocabulary."

"And you're still able to joke," she practically sang out sweetly. "This is big, this is huge, and even with all the feelings I want you to take a minute to see it."

"I'm still… a fucking mess," he sighed hopelessly against her chest.

"A fucking mess that keeps proving me right." Maka's hand slipped to the back of his neck, tugging his hair just enough to encourage him out of hiding. Those beautiful ruby eyes batted at her, a hint of confusion starting a frown on his lips. "I told you at the shower, effort. You're trying, and I appreciate it. You're going to hurt, OK? That's normal and what I want more than anything is to take care of those hurts as they happen, rather than after you let them ruminate for a year or two."

"What about a few months?" he offered with one of those annoying smirks that she wanted to wipe right off his face. She attempted it with a swift kiss but that only seemed to intensify the curve.

Maka gave a little tug to the hairs at the back of his neck, just enough for him to grunt half out of amusement and the rest out of the minute tingle of pain. "I don't know, you're setting a dangerous precedent by only taking a day this time."

Soul narrowed his eyes at her, "So what's my reward?"

Her eyebrows shot up before she let a laugh escape her throat. "Your reward?"

"Yeah," his smirk was insufferably strengthening. "Do a good job, get a reward, right?"

Maka hummed out thoughtfully, "A kiss."

Soul snorted incredulously, "A kiss?"

"What, my kisses aren't good enough?" She curled an eyebrow playfully at him.

"Oh, I'm in fucking trouble," he muttered mostly to himself as he tried to press his head back to his hiding place. Maka still had him by the hair though and instead of getting away he just pulled at his roots, leaving him wincing. "Fine, a kiss."

Maka relaxed her grip and pressed a firm hand to his chest. "I'll give it to you later."

"Later?" he balked but the fight fizzled instantly as the commotion in the driveway sprung Maka to her feet. "How the fuck are they back already?" Soul grumbled.

Maka giggled as she walked across the living room. "Admit it, Soul, we cuddled for pretty much half an hour."

"Cuddled," Soul scoffed.

"Not only are you a romantic but a softy now, too," she threw over her shoulder as she disappeared into the hallway.

Is softy an improvement? he grumbled mentally as he waited for the excitement that was bound to erupt from the hallway. It did, on cue, as he assumed Rin and Maka met each other in the doorway. He wasn't about to get up, not necessarily ready to leave the safety bubble that he imagined around the couch. This was the place that Spirit wasn't a dick, Maka was still holding onto him in his head, and Rin was absent. It was a dream that he knew was about to come to ruin, so he clutched to the last bit of it until Rin rounded the corner.

They arranged themselves awkwardly, Rin refusing to sit in the right place across from them with Spirit and insisted on sandwiching Maka between herself and Soul. He was quick to clear his throat and move in something he had hoped was a positive direction. "How's the relocation plans?"

"You're moving? That's the first I'm hearing of it," Spirit snapped.

"Because there's no reason to tell you anything about my life," Rin offered back quickly with a strange sing-songy sweetness before turning her attention back to Soul. "The firm has finally settled on a location so I'll start the apartment hunt soon."

Soul eased into the obligation to converse, only warmed by the fact that Maka took his hand in hers, squeezing out the approval. "Not getting a house?"

"No point." Rin sighed wistfully, "Maka's grown, so there's no need for me to keep extra space open."

Spirit waved exasperatedly towards Maka and Soul on the couch. "Might be nice to have if the kids want to come to visit."

"Well, Soul never hesitates at throwing around his money, so they'd probably rather go with a hotel."

"Mama," Maka chided.

"Having money is a bad thing?" Spirit whistled. "Remind me, Rin, what do you like? What's good enough for you?"

"Papa!" She was attempting yet again to be the parent in the room, hating the tone that was forced between them and the one from her own mouth. For a panicked moment, Maka was sure that this was the entirety of what they were capable of, just an endless revolution of spats.

"Hey," the word snapped from Soul's mouth firmly but no louder than his usual talking voice, zapping Maka back from her worry and forcing her parents' mouths shut for a moment. "We're here for a nice visit, so let's keep it that way."

Rin looked like she was about to parry but Spirit butted in, "Why don't you do your thing?"

"What thing?" Rin had no hopes in punishing Soul for his outburst, instead too confused at the development in her ex-husband.

Maka took her mother's hand, clutching it tightly. "Mama…" There was enough of a pause that Soul felt his stomach drop, but, as if she sensed it, Maka gave his fingers a light squeeze. "I'm glad you'll be so close because there's a lot of planning to do." He was relieved to see a blush climbing up her cheeks. "Soul and I are engaged, so…" she let that trail off with a sweet shrug before tossing a look over her shoulder at him.

"Engaged?" Rin echoed as her eyebrows attempted to hit her hairline.

"It was so sweet, Mama, the way he asked," she was gushing and it was his turn to let a little color grace his face. Even worse, she had taken back her hand, splaying out her fingers to show off the ring while she performed every last one of his lines down to the letter like she'd memorized the entire moment since she most definitely had.

Soul risked a glance at Spirit, catching him happily following Maka's beaming. Even Rin was starting to warm, at least smiling as Maka recounted every last detail. They're happy enough just because she is. That hit him like an arrow to the heart and he couldn't stop himself from compulsively slipping his hand into his pocket, angling the phone just enough so he could see the disappointing no missed calls.