We're almost there. You only have to hate me for a little longer. Probably only two more chapters ;) (I also imagine you'll be pretty happy with Liz this chapter.)

There was no falling asleep after that, the idea that Soul would call her practically from another girl's bed ringing through Maka's head. Sleeping in the same bed doesn't mean sex, but her mind instantly jumped back, How naive! They're not twitterpated preteens! She spent at least thirty minutes arguing that moot point with herself, coming up with the conclusion that she wanted to believe that they weren't because anything else was unbearable.

Her mind then fell into the trap of replaying the moments before he'd left, the way that they had fallen into the pattern that was intrinsically them. No hiccups, no uneasiest marring an evening like what she used to consider their usual date night led her to believe it was possible that things weren't irreparable. If I can show him, maybe remind him that I'm here, that I'm not going and I'm just his. That last thought made the heat come to her face, half from the love but also from the embarrassment, the shame of him still belonging to someone else.

She got dressed quickly and checked the apartment key on her ring like it would have gone anywhere before rushing out the door and into the night air. Maka was lucky the city offered mostly anything you needed twenty-four hours a day and she only had to stop between two stores to get everything she wanted before returning to the house still covered in the night. This was a strange hour, but breaking the spell of instantly crying after hanging up the phone seemed to give her new energy especially with the particular intent of winning him back in her mind.

When Maka got back to the apartment it was straight to work in the kitchen. Since they were fifteen, she always attempted some culinary creation for his birthday and finally settled into a decent cake recipe by last year. This year Maka was promising herself it would be properly decorated, not lopsided as all years before. This year it would be perfect because the route to a man's heart was through his stomach, right?

First, it was the batter and then the rounds before slipping them in the oven. She forced herself not to watch, to just set the timer and walk around the apartment on a repeating track. Sitting and reading sounded like a good idea in theory but the nerves had her in a vice, her mind no longer occupied by recipes and lingering back into where he was right now. Did he wake her up when he went back to bed? Does she get to hold onto him, to tangle with him because all I've been brave enough to do is that one hand on his chest and-

She let out a strangled, frustrated scream that barely cut off the thought. To wipe away the rest she continued on the track, counting her steps so the numbers were the only thing that filled her mind until the timer went off. The rounds actually looked perfect and she left them on the cooling rack while she went to work making her icing. This was the part she usually messed up, either too liquidy so that it made the cake slip askew or too thick so that hunks pulled apart while she tried to cover the cake. Instead of remembering the woes, Maka reassured herself this was her year and got to work.

By the time the icing was ready and waiting, this time a consistency that struck Maka as perfect, it was a decent enough hour to actually call Tsubaki. Liz would be a lost cause for at least another hour, probably closer to two, but at least hearing one familiar voice would help to soothe her through the morning. Maka was right in her assumption, only taking two rings before that soft, sweet voice answered, "Hello?"

"Tsubaki," Maka cooed.

"You're home!" came as a much needed peppy little cheer in her ear.

A sigh of relief passed from Maka's lips, another feeling of normalcy warming her heart. "I am, and can I please see you?"

"If you have coffee, I can be there in ten minutes," Tsubaki laughed.

"Then I'll see you in ten!" For the moment, Maka could forget that things weren't entirely back to normal as she unlocked the front door and set out the coffee cups on the counter. She wasted the last few minutes by cleaning up in the bathroom, pretending that she had slept the night and maybe just woken up.

"Hello!" The happy call interrupted Maka as she was examining herself in the mirror, urging her back in the hallway to the sight of Tsubaki taking her shoes off in the entryway.

"I'm so happy to see you," Maka gushed as she rushed down the hall, running headlong into Tsubaki's arms.

Tsubaki tried to saturate the hug with as much warmth as she could muster, making sure to rock them back and forth before even contemplating letting go. "I missed you! But please, coffee, and then you're going to tell me all about the baby and your mom."

Maka led her into the kitchen, pouring her cup and handing it off to her before moving them to the living room. Tsubaki eased herself onto the couch, using her free hand to grasp at Maka's. "Anything new with Black Star?" She hoped to hold off on herself, wanting to be reminded of home for a little longer.

"No, no, same old 'wahoo' King of the World." Tsubaki laughed, "And you'll hear all about him when he sees you tonight at Soul's party. What I want to know is how is being a big sister? And your mom, you finally got time with her, just like you wanted."

"Yeah," Maka nodded as she slowly sipped at her coffee.

"That sounded a little underwhelming," Tsubaki's eyebrows furrowed. "You didn't enjoy it?"

"No, I did, well, part of it," she pressed the air through her lips slowly. "My baby brother, Dameon, he is amazing. I swear he's just a perfect little replica of Mama. And Mama, well… she's definitely still opinionated."

"And what opinion did she have?" Tsubaki glanced over Maka. "You didn't change your hair or anything."

"About Soul," Maka sighed out.

"Oh." Tsubaki took a minute to sip at her coffee trailing her eyes along the coffee table as she collected her thoughts.

"I know…" Maka bit at her trembling lip. "He's told me everything over the past year and I've been honest too…"

Tsubaki's will finally crumbled as her hand squeezed Maka's tightly. "But you can't be happy with it, Maka."

"No," Maka warbled.

The door made Maka jump as it shook on the hinges. "OK, I'm here," Liz's exhausted voice filtered from the hallway.

"I called her when you called me," Tsubaki shrugged. "Mostly because… well…" Tsubaki waited until Liz rounded the corner. "Liz, it's time to talk about Nova."

"Oh, that bitch." Liz only paused in her vitriol long enough to give Maka a crushing hug, stealing a sip from her coffee in the process. "First of all, she is nothing compared to you. A piss-poor meister who couldn't make a Death's weapon to save her life."

Maka sighed, "Liz-"

"No! I get to do this now," Liz huffed as she crossed her arms. "I've had to hold it in this entire time but now that you're here this bullshit is over. Second, she doesn't treat him right. She hangs all over him in public, makes him talk to people, oh, and she cannot shut her fucking mouth. Like it's Excalibur grade sharing constantly, and it's not just her business but his. Like it's appropriate to share what color underwear he wears."

"Oh," Maka withered at the idea.

"Maka, I didn't mean," Liz sighed. "But, honestly, she's staked a claim, you have to know that. That's her boyfriend for sure. And you need to be prepared for tonight."

That slithering doubt settled into her stomach, "And he's definitely… he's with her right now, you know? We were together last night, just us, and he still left." Maka didn't even have a second to try to collect herself before the tears rushed from her eyes, saturating her cheeks.

"Oh, Maka." Tsubaki handed off her coffee cup to Liz who happily accepted it before wrapping both arms around Maka, pulling her closer on the couch.

"Well, that's going to fucking change," Liz hissed before taking another swig of coffee.

"We can't break them up," Tsubaki reminded her even though it had been a constant theme in the conversation between the two of them leading up to Maka coming home.

"I'm still all for planting a pair of Black Star's boxers in her bed at the dorm," Liz smirked. "But, no, OK, no sabotage, but you're home now, so this idiot charade is over, right?"

Maka cleared some of the tears from her face, her voice warbling, "I want to show him that I love him, that we can still go back to what we were."

"Show him?" Liz almost shrieked. "No, we are way past that. You tell him. That's what you two got wrong in the first place. Neither of you can man up and say anything, just think that your cute little hand-holding and fully clothed co-sleeping was enough."

Her teeth worried at her lips before bringing back one of the worst moments of the past year, "I might have… I told him that he didn't need me because it wasn't like we were in love."

"You what?" Liz was thankful for the porcelain in her hands instead of one of those to-go cups or else she'd be wearing the coffee instead as her fingers clenched into the cup. "You told him you weren't? On what planet did that seem like a good idea?"

"Liz-" Tsubaki tried to soften as she held onto Maka a little tighter.

The tall blond wouldn't be silenced, "Your Soul, the guy that you've pined over since you started considering the opposite sex, you told him that you didn't love him?"

Maka sighed, "I said we weren't in love. I wanted him to tell me I was wrong."

Liz narrowed her eyes at Maka as the puzzle pieces snapped into place. "That's what your damn fight was about, wasn't it? Not just the year extension but you had the nerve to lob him that poorly tossed softball and instead of knocking it out of the park he threw it back in your face!"

"Without the softball terminology," Tsubaki requested.

"Maka was hoping he'd do the romantic thing and confess but he flew off the handle instead. Did I miss anything?" Liz punctuated her completely unnecessary question with a self-satisfied sip of her coffee.

"No," Maka lamented.

Liz studied her for another minute, lips pressed into a thin line. "Well, now I kind of get Soul's Don Juan act, but still, this bitch has to go." She drained the last of the coffee before clacking the cup to the table. "So let's come up with a plan."

Soul tried not to notice how tearful Maka looked on the couch as he slunk in at 10 AM especially since even his minutest reaction was being read by both Tsubaki and Liz. All he offered was a soft 'hey' and a toss of his hand that resembled a wave before continuing down the hallway to his room. The tears were just her missing her mom or being happy to see the girls or just whatever regular things she cries about. It has nothing to do with me. That thought did nothing to settle his stomach as it lurched at the mental image of her in the living room again.

He threw himself on the bed, hoping for a swift demise of suffocation by pillow. Of course, there was no such reprieve since before his lungs could start to burn the door opened, sending him shooting up on his elbows. "Ma-" he forced his lips shut before he got the whole thing out, his eyes focusing on Liz as she slammed the bedroom door behind her.

Liz sat at his desk without asking. "As if she'd come into your room without knocking."

"Yeah, she has manners," Soul grumbled before he collapsed back onto the bed. "What do you want? I'm tired."

"From being up all night at your girlfriend's? Lots of hot, kinky sex or something?"

"Or something," Soul sighed. "Again, Elizabeth, what do you want?"

Liz raised her eyebrows, "Full name treatment."

"I'm not in the mood," he groaned.

She huffed in reply, "Neither am I, so cut the crap, turn over and look at me so I can make sure you've listened to all of this."

Soul knew an order when he heard it and while Liz wasn't going to be his meister any time soon, he knew better than to disregard that voice. He settled in exactly as she asked, sitting crossed-legged on his bed. "I'm listening."

Liz crossed her arms, holding on tight while she let the words loose. "You're in for trouble tonight and I think you know that. First of all, that bitch-"

"Hey," Soul put up a hand.

Liz shook her head firmly, "Nope, I call it as I see it and she's a bitch, Soul."

Soul sighed, "Guess that's your opinion."

"Something tells me your opinion is not that far off, but that's a whole other discussion I'm not ready to have with you," Liz paused only for another gulping breath of air to get the rest out as succinctly as possible. "That bitch is going to start something with Maka. We both know it. And while Maka's a boss on the battlefield, she's not ready for this fight. She's not going to be able to take it between seeing you with her and whatever it is Nova is going to say or do."

Soul clenched his jaw tightly, getting one good grind in before hissing out, "Maka shouldn't have a problem with seeing me with Nova. She's the one who didn't answer my letters, didn't bother to answer me when I said I loved her, so why the hell should she be jealous?"

The shock flew across Liz's face, "You said you loved her?"

"Yeah, I tried, Liz," Soul threw up his hands as he continued to strain the words through his teeth. "That first letter I wrote her, right after the damn fight, I told her. All I asked was for her to say we were in love but by the time she got the guts to talk to me again all she could say was 'sorry' and here we fucking are."

Liz shook her head, her hands losing the urge to hold onto the bossy pose in the face of this confusion. "She didn't say anything about letters, Soul."

He jutted his shoulders quickly, "She probably didn't tell you because they're fucking embarrassing. Me pouring my damn heart out like a fucking uncool sap. She probably read the first one and threw the rest out."

"No," Liz urged, "that's not Maka and you know it. If she read that-"

"Liz, stop," that was a hair above a shout and he had to take a breath to rein in the volume. She got those letters. She read those letters. There's no other way it could have gone. "If she gets hurt tonight, it's her own damn fault and I'm not going to save her."

"Soul," Liz was revving up that voice that was stolen out of the mouth of every mother, the one that was loving while still wanting to kick your ass. "Saving her is what you do."

"What I did," Soul corrected. "I told you, she made it clear she doesn't need me anymore. We're friends. We're roommates. That's it." That only brought a flood of terror to his heart as if he needed to knock on wood, rub a lucky rabbit's foot, and throw salt over his shoulder all at the same time. That can never be it and you know it. You're talking a big talk right now but you're fucking weak.

Liz shook her head once more for good measure, "You're wrong. You're fucking stubborn and you're wrong, but I guess we'll see. Just don't hate me when I say I told you so."