OK, huge update and maybe now you all won't hate me as much. (I still love all of you, especially the reactions thus far.) I also took a chance on this one and made Spirit a sorta good dad. I don't hate it.

So far so good, Maka tried to reassure herself as she bobbed her head along with the conversation. Ox was telling some story that she was supposed to be deeply interested in but Maka was still occupied with scanning the room, trying not to look at Soul or Nova because that was a disaster from the beginning. Maka and Soul had come together but as soon as he entered not only was he spun into the spotlight but Nova instantly had her arms around his neck, cooing about 'the birthday boy' and making sure to add a few lippy kisses. The worst part was that since that moment, it felt like Soul hadn't even acknowledged her existence, his eyes always on that girl and her stupid- No, stop, it's not her fault. It's you. It's the two of you.

But Maka's dislike wasn't totally rooted in the problem, more fed by the traits that Liz had already pointed out. Nova's voice was often booming over the music and the snippets of conversation that Maka overheard were endless overshare as if the girl had no shame. Maka's deepest hope was that she could avoid any possible interaction and, for the most part, she'd succeeded especially since her attention was wanted by many in the room. A whole year away had left her with many friends to catch up with and between Black Star and the rest of EATs, there was never a quiet moment.

It was what Maka would consider half-way through the night when her exhaustion started to catch up with her. Not sleeping at all had been a poor choice but hindsight would always be 20/20. This led Maka on a search for a coffee pot since the dorm auxiliary room usually had one hidden away in the shelves of the side kitchen. She slipped into the tiny galley kitchen, effectively its own little side room off of the main hall where people were meandering, and set about looking in the cabinets.

"So you're Maka." The words were a threat but the tone was pleasant, almost sing-songy.

Maka turned quickly, her back pressing against the countertop as she focused on a face that she wished she didn't know as well as she did. "And you're Nova, right?" She tried to be just as peppy, but the smile trembled on her lips.

"Right," Nova gave a sharp nod. "You know you're pretty famous. Almost as important tonight as the birthday boy since I hear you're back from a one-year hiatus."

"I'm happy I could be home for this," Maka could at least let that out unwavering. "I've never missed Soul's birthday."

"Cute," Nova smirked. "What a devoted meister. You were his partner, right?"

She knows the answer to that, so why is she asking? "I technically still am," she tried not to make that a murmur, to set that statement out knowingly instead. "I know you're not partnered with him."

Nova let out a short laugh, "No, he has a rule about that. You don't mix dating with work."

"That must be new." Maka couldn't help but feel the hackles rise on the back of her neck as she turned back to the cabinets, trying to give the conversation the attention that it deserved which was a bare minimum. She hoped that would send its own message but as she finally put her hand on the coffee pot and brought it to the counter she found Nova standing next to her, eyes narrowed.

"You know, he doesn't talk about you half as much as I expected him to," she cooed. "Lots of people told me he was a lost cause but I'm not sure his past keeps him up at night as much as it used to."

Maka let out a weak laugh, her mind instantly ready to point out the record of 3 AM phone calls. Don't. You're not here to fight with her. You're here to be with him. She's not part of your plan. "There's no reason for him to talk about me," Maka strained.

"But you were his first, weren't you? Some cute little teenage romance that maybe got a little hot and steamy before you left?" Nova was leaning into her now, planting her hand on the counter between Maka and the coffee pot, but the real threat was in her words. The idea had already cut her right to the core, her eyes feeling hot with tears she tried desperately to refuse. "Was he as prudish for you as he was for me? He takes a lot of work, but-"

The fist to the door made them both jump.

Technically, Soul was watching Nova, and not exactly staring but that looking without looking he'd perfected over the years of trying to catch as many glimpses of Maka as he could. It was a constant effort not to let his eyes flit to Maka, but at the very least he could make sure that there was no interaction, no headbutting between the two. And now you're just proving Liz right. You're protecting Maka who you said didn't need protection. He watched Nova flutter around, the social butterfly act that he definitely couldn't force himself to enjoy. She liked the limelight, that was for sure, and that was one of those things he lived with.

Ask yourself right now, Soul, do you even really like her? Soul tried not to grimace at the idea, knowing that party Soul meant a constant smirk on his features. And what about Liz's reaction to the letters? Maka would have told her for sure, no matter how embarrassing which means- Soul cut off that thought as he watched Nova's eyes follow a line before walking intently in that direction. He hadn't caught sight of whatever her target was but watched Nova go into the little room off the main hall, that kitchen that was too small to deserve to be called a kitchen.

As Nova disappeared through the door, Soul tried to stall. Whatever, it's probably to get more drinks from the fridge or- He cut himself off again as he let his eyes scan the entire room, looking for the blond head and feeling his heart start to pound as he kept coming up empty. Soul didn't finish the full sweep before his feet practically broke into a run for the doorway to the kitchen. His first sight was Nova leaning into Maka, slick words slipping off her lips, and Soul couldn't stop himself from punching the door frame. "What are you doing?"

Maka's eyes were the first to shoot to his just in time to let a few tears fall down her cheeks, her mouth gaping silently.

"Nothing," Nova shrugged. "Just meeting your friend."

Soul charged into the room before grabbing Nova's wrist, pulling her a safe step away from Maka. "What did you say?"

"Nothing, just girl talk," Nova cooed. "Don't be so uptight."

He tossed her hand but when he reached for Maka she side-stepped him, banging her hip into the cabinet in the process of trying to maneuver in the tight spot. "Maka-"

"Don't," Maka yelped as she ran out of the kitchen.

Soul started the steps after her but felt his shirt catch. "Where the hell do you think you're going?"

He didn't even bother to snap his head back, just forcing his shirt out of her grasp with his forward motion. "I'm taking her home. I'll be back."

"You're not leaving!" She tried but he was already out the door, just hearing the dregs of her voice over the music as he got back to the party at large. She wasn't on the floor, and Liz and Tsubaki were still intact, thankfully with backs to the entire situation. He started for the stairwell, knowing she'd at least have to go that way to leave and crossed all his fingers and toes.

He found her at the bottom, her sobs muffled by a hand pressed to her mouth. She released it as soon as he put his hand to her shoulder. "Don't," she repeated weakly. She was trapped, having pressed herself into the little alcove at the bottom of the stairs so she had no choice but to turn towards him as her hands tried to get rid of the last of the tears on her face.

"I'm walking you home," he sighed.

"It's your party and you-"

"I'm walking you home," he repeated a little louder as if the problem was she hadn't heard it. To prove his point his hand came out, not waiting for hers but grabbing it and pulling her a step forward. "Let's go."

Maka shook her head, trying to resist because it was all true, all of the thoughts in her head validated by that girl. "Go back to the party."

"No," he answered flatly. "I'll come back after but I'm dropping you off at home first."

Soul saw the gears working in her head and Maka was about to open her mouth again when she heard the quick footsteps on the stairs. "You walked away from me!" Nova shouted before instantly shooting a hand out at Maka. "And now you're down here holding her hand?"

"I'm taking her home," once again it was that blank, steady answer. "Then I'll come back and we'll talk."

"No, she's part of this so why don't you just get it over with right now?" Nova took a few rushed steps down the stairs, leaning over the rail towards Maka. "You're the reason why he can't fuck anyone, after all. Some stupid little fantasy-"

"That's enough," Soul interrupted as he planted a firm hand on Nova's arm, yanking her back to look at him. "Be ready to talk when I get back."

"Why can't you be man enough and do it now?"

Because the things I would say to you would hurt her, and no matter how much I think I might fucking want to, I can't. Soul forced a shrug with a sigh before pulling Maka behind him, making sure to keep her out of grasping range before turning to press her out of the stairwell and into the hallway. Maka's eyes were like a deer's in headlights as he kept a hand clutched to her elbow to lead her along.

No matter how much he wanted the embarrassment to come all he could feel was that ringing sadness that threatened to engulf him.

There weren't words she could think of that could apply to this moment and silence was all he gave for the entire walk. It didn't feel fair to be hopeful especially with how embarrassing she imagined Nova's outburst had been to him, but she couldn't deny that it meant something to her. It could all be a figment of Nova's imagination, but if she had thought Soul was distant because of me, then maybe…

Soul only let go of her elbow to open the apartment door, having kept a firm hold for every second since the stairwell. He motioned for her to go first and Maka moved as fast as she could into the sanctuary of their space.

"Soul…"

He put up a weak hand, "Not now, OK? I just… I have to go back and then…" That hand moved up to sweep through his hair, a desperate sigh escaping his lips.

"I just-"

"Maka, please," this was begging his hand falling to his side as a tremble started in the lower lip of his frown.

"It's not about that," she murmured as she busied her hands at the hem of her shirt. "It's just that before you go back, I want to give you something."

A slight gape parted his lips before his eyebrows narrowed. "You mean, like a gift? For my birthday?"

"Yes," Maka couldn't keep her voice small, a little of the excitement starting to trickle into her veins as she watched him not instantly be turned off by the idea.

A short puff of a laugh left his throat. "OK."

"Can you go to the living room? I'll meet you there." Maka pressed past him into the kitchen and waited until she heard his footsteps recede in the hall. As soon as she knew he was far enough away she went into the fridge, taking out the careful arrangement of leftovers and condiments that she had used to hide the perfectly iced cake in the corner. She put it on the counter before fiddling in the drawers, once again moving items she had specifically put in front of the candles and matches. The finished product was more beautiful than she could have imagined and Maka let herself stand for just an extra second more admiring it, hoping that it wasn't the last good feeling of the night.

She left the plates and the serving knife in the kitchen, planning a second trip after the initial shock and awe wore off. With a hand carefully placed in front of the flames, Maka made her way down the hallway and into the living room. Soul was sitting on the couch, his head rising when she entered, the confusion rinsing instantly from his face with a wash of utter surprise. She set the cake down in front of him before slowly easing next to him, her thigh pressed to his. "Happy birthday."

"It's not lopsided," he laughed before pressing a hand to his mouth like he needed to catch it.

"No, it's not," she beamed, still letting an ounce of that pride come back. "Blow out the candles."

"And make a wish," he whispered softly to himself, Maka only watching his lips move and barely catching the sound. Soul tried to get them all in one blow, finding none of the candles giving into his breath. He tried again before laughing, "Trick candles?"

"I thought I was going to have another disaster cake on my hands, so I thought I'd have to make it interesting," Maka laughed shortly, the nervousness choking the end.

She watched as Soul reached out his fingers, fizzling one of the lit candles out between his pointer and his thumb, a little bit of a hiss sucking between his teeth. Maka waited for him to look at her but he didn't, eyes focused so intently on the rest of the flames.

"Soul, I…" again, there was a short choke, especially as his eyes stayed intent on the cake. "I'm sorry if I ruined tonight but I never would have missed this for the world. You are… you were right when you said that I had another family and I know now that it's with you, that being with you is the family I'm meant to be with, that I feel right with."

Soul's jaw clenched before he blinked out a tear but his eyes refused to move.

Maka slowly brought her hands up, cupping his cheeks to both clear away the liquid and turn his head to her. Soul allowed it, eyes finally focusing in on her as her thumbs cleared another wave of tears. "I want to always stay with you." Maka closed her eyes, her head tilting slightly as she tried to bring him closer.

Instead, his hand grasped at her throat loosely, stopping any motion and shooting her eyes open in surprise. "Stop," he murmured.

It was strange to see what Maka could only read as rage in his eyes, and she found the panic started to tremble in her heart. "Why?"

His jaw gritted again, "I'm still with Nova."

"Why?" she repeated again, this time coming as a forlorn cry.

The sound of it must have snapped something in him because the hand tightened, grit digging into his words. "Because you can't change your mind. You can't just ignore me, throw away my letters, and then change your fucking mind." He added a rough shake to her head, his eyes burning as his jaw went back to working on itself.

Maka's head was spinning, her skin burning under a touch that she'd never experienced from him before. It was actually starting to hurt, a sensation that Maka hadn't felt unless he was engulfed in that Madness. "Your letters? Soul, I never got any letters."

"You don't have to lie to me-"

"I'm not lying!" she immediately pleaded back.

"You're full of shit!" Soul instantly released her, getting to his feet and rushing for the hallway. He hesitated, turning on his heels to stare at her, his lips trembling as if to let out one more scream. Instead, it was a guttural groan as if his innards were being ripped from him before he charged the rest of the way into the hallway, the slam of the door coming only seconds later.

Maka held her breath, staring at the candles as they started to wobble in her tear-filled vision.

Go back.

Go back!

GO BACK!

Soul's mind was nothing more than a whirlwind of those words and a million others.

She didn't know about the letters. Liz said it, she said it, both of them aren't lying to you especially since you know that isn't Maka. It's not like Maka to get a piece of one of your secrets and to ignore it, even if it's dark. You knew that all along, too, you're just-

"No," he groaned out, stopping right outside the dorm. He teetered on his heels before crashing through the door. There was no choice but to run up the stairs, barely making it back through the door before Liz met him.

"Where's Maka?" She hissed.

"I took her home," he murmured, a hand coming to his face to try to catch those tears from coming back. And I hurt her. I hurt her so badly.

"Why, what happened?" Liz pushed him back a step, leaving her hands steadied on his shoulder.

"You can say 'I told you so,'" Soul muttered before taking in a long, gasping breath, the tears breaking from his eyes again.

"Oh, honey, no," Liz continued the motion, bringing him back into the stairwell. "Why are you crying?"

"I hurt her," he croaked. "I…" he clenched his fists, remembering putting one around her neck, shaking her like he was overtaken with the Madness again. Even then he felt guilty, even without the control, but this he could have stopped, should have stopped. "Go to the apartment, Liz. Check on her, please?"

Liz shook her head, "Come with me."

"I've gotta do something first." Soul took one last second to clear the mess from his face before pushing past her, not wanting to catch another glance of that sorry look on Liz's face. "Go," he tossed over his shoulder before walking back into the party. He caught one or two glances but barreled through them, looking for that bright purple hair in the crowd. It wasn't a surprise that she was standing there staring at him, hands on hips as he shuffled over. Still feeling the burn of the shame, Soul forced his hands in his pockets, "Come to your room with me."

"No," Nova laughed. "I'm already fucking embarrassed since you left your own party. Just get it over with."

Soul sighed, "That's not how I want-"

"No, you want to go back and fuck your other little girlfriend," Nova snapped.

"Stop," Soul growled. "Come to your room with me, please."

"Tell me you didn't take her home and-"

"I didn't do anything," he screamed, trying not to notice how the spin of the room stopped around him. "And leave her the fuck out of it."

"Then do it," Nova pushed. "Look like the fucking creep that everyone's going to think you are after you dump your real girlfriend as soon as your make-believe one comes home."

"I'm not doing this for her," Soul hissed back, "and I don't give a fuck what they think, or what you think. I'm done because I want to be done. I'm over this stupid dating shit, I'm over swallowing my tongue, and I'm not going to do shit that just fucking hurts anymore. So I'm sorry, Nova, and don't you dare ever, ever talk to her again."

If you asked Spirit, his daughter crying would be the absolute top of the list of things he hated and he couldn't decide if it got worse with age. When he opened the door, he saw her at five with a skinned knee, ten with a broken finger, and now almost nineteen with a broken heart. The first two he'd been able to repair, had healed with time, but the fix to this kind of thing always eluded him. Worse yet, he was pretty sure this was becoming a chronic condition.

"What did the kid do?" Spirit sighed as he pulled her into the house, not even getting the usual resistance as he brought her into a hug. Sobs were his only reply, and probably the only reply he would get for phrasing the question that way since Maka was never one to throw Soul under the bus no matter how bad he'd been. Spirit held her like that for a few minutes, waiting for the trembling shoulders to relax. As soon as the heaving stopped he walked her to the couch and sat her down.

He started on the regular calm-Maka-down routine. He positioned the box of tissues in front of her, threw the comfiest blanket her way, and then mosied into the kitchen and started the tea. The only sound was the shuffle of his feet and the bubbling of the water, a relief washing over him that she wasn't still choking out sobs. When the tea was ready, he loaded up the tray and made his way back to the living room.

Maka was wrapped in the blanket, a tissue being worried to death in her fingers. "Papa, it wasn't his fault."

"Ah, Saint Soul, always the victim when my daughter is crying," Spirit muttered as he put the tray down on the coffee table. He sat down next to her, grabbing his cup in one hand and placing the other on the back of her head. "So what isn't his fault?"

"Everything," Maka shuddered out a sigh, bringing the tissue preemptively to her eyes to dab tears that weren't there yet. "Papa, sometimes I think he hates me. Not just that he's angry but he can't stand to look at me anymore."

"Which is why he wanted you to live there with him again, so he could mean-mug you and hate you?" Spirit smirked, receiving a weak eye roll from his daughter. "What makes you think he hates you?"

Maka let the moment play over in her mind again, a new wash of tears hitting her cheeks. "He yelled at me and I know he's yelled at me before, Papa, but not like this. He was just so angry. He said he sent me letters. Did he? Do you know?"

"Yeah," Spirit shrugged. "Marie suggested it to him when you left. I thought it was kind of lame but the kid liked it. Told Marie he sent you one at least once a week."

She racked her brain as if it would change the memories in her head. "I never got any letters, Papa. Not one. And I know they couldn't all get lost, I'm not that stupid, but that means… Do you think Mama would?"

"Rin?" Spirit let that question answer for a few breaths as he bit at his lip.

The lack of an answer made the hair stand up on her neck. "Would Mama keep them from me?"

"Fuck," Spirit muttered before pressing the cup to his lip, hoping for some strength from the tea but finding just bitterness.

"Papa, did she?" Maka had dropped the tissue and her hands were digging into the blanket.

Spirit sighed, "She didn't say she did that, but look…" He paused, taking the hand from her hair because at this point he was sure he no longer deserved the affection and settled it next to its mate on his cup. "At the wedding, Rin and I talked. She was pretty shaken up by the way you and Soul were and I tried to explain that, well, you two were you two and she should let whatever was happening happen, but she didn't like that plan."

Maka was once again reaching through memories, trying to recreate every possible sin that she and Soul committed during the wedding. We danced together, we talked, we ate, we slept together but that was normal, fully clothed and just in the same bed because I needed him so badly that night, that whole day. "What do you mean the way Soul and I were? What did we do?"

That frank smile came over his face as he sighed wistfully, a father not exactly wanting to admit his daughter was grown. "You were in love, Maka. Maybe that wasn't clear yet to you two but everyone else sees it. I've known it for a couple of years and Rin saw it. She was scared you were about to rush into something, make a mistake, and have history repeat itself. I wish she'd listened to me when I said that the two of you haven't been rushing anywhere."

A hopeless, trembling whimper broke her lips as the tears streamed down her face. "You knew?"

Spirit shook his head with a soft laugh, "Honey, like I said, everyone knows."

"It's not present tense," Maka corrected with a broken sob.

"What, you don't love him anymore? A few dates at Rin's and you're over him?" Spirit raised his eyebrows playfully.

She blew a long breath between her lips, "Papa…"

"OK, no joking," Spirit hardened his smile into something that resembled seriousness, "Do you still love him, Maka?"

Maka pulled the blanket around her tightly before letting her head fall back against the couch. "I do."

"So let's not make it past tense just yet, OK?" Spirit sipped at his tea, watching her eyes as they focused on the ceiling.

She let the thought sit in her mind, feeding just a second's worth of hope. Everyone else knew we were in love. "Papa, do you think Mama has those letters?"

"Don't know, kiddo," Spirit sighed.

Maka rolled her head to the side, staring Spirit down. "If I ask her, do you think she'll be honest with me?"

He needed to put down his cup so he could find her hands in the blankets and cradle them. "I'm going to ask you to let me do this, OK?"

"What do you mean?" Maka blinked at him as her fingers tightened.

"Let me handle talking to your mother about this." Because I'm supposed to be the bad guy. I drove your mother off, I cheated, and that hurt you just as much as it did her. I don't want Rin to hurt you, too.

"Why?"

Spirit shook the real reason from his head before smiling, "Consider it punishment for not putting my foot down at the wedding."

Maka let the skepticism fall away as she gave his hands another squeeze. "I hope she has them."

Me, too, but I wouldn't put it past her to throw them away. Oh, Death, she better not have. Spirit tried not to let that thought flutter out his lips. He took his hands back, replacing them with her cup from the tray. "Take this upstairs and get into bed. Stay here tonight and I promise we'll figure it out tomorrow."

She looked at the amber liquid for a moment before nodding. "Alright, Papa." It was a slow crawl off the couch and up the stairs. After dropping the tea off in her old room she moved to the bathroom, trying her best to get through the nightly routine. As soon she was back to the door of her room, she heard Spirit's voice drifting up from the kitchen. Instead of taking the step forward, she moved back, easing down the stairs in the long memorized pattern to avoid the squeaks. She made it to the entryway without alarming him, though, from the sound of him, she could have barrelled down the stairs and he never would have noticed.

"I can't believe you did that, Rin," it was just a hair below a yell.

Maka pressed against the wall, her ear angled towards the doorway as she held her breath.

"You're going to send over the whole damn box, overnight." Spirit instantly took in a huge breath and left a pause so short that Maka was sure that her mother may have gotten one word in reply. "I don't care how much it costs. You played a game with your daughter's heart, I think twenty bucks is a small price to pay."

So she did. There were letters and she kept them from me. The tears were immediate, springing up to completely obscure her vision.

"Of course it was a game and you were the only one who won," Spirit's warbling voice broke through Maka's own lamenting. "You can call me whatever you want, Rin, but don't act like I don't know my daughter. She was in love with him, and you didn't see that kid when she left. You didn't see him screaming, crying, his hands fucking bloody-"

Maka had to press her hands to her mouth to stop the sick wailing moan from leaving her lips. What did he do to himself? Oh, I want to take it back. I need to take it all back. I need to do it over again and not run, not foolishly listen to Mama.

"No, you're going to send them right now. I'm not kidding. I want to see them by tomorrow or I'll do everything in my power to keep her away from you." It was strange to hear Spirit threaten Rin, something that Maka had never heard even through the worst years.

She knew this was the time to move if she wanted to keep the illusion of not knowing as the conversation was obviously ending. As she shuffled quietly to the top of the stairs she heard the last bit of yelling, the clank of the phone against the receiver. By the time she was in her bed, he was walking up the stairs.

Spirit opened the door to her room slowly, taking a look at the unmoving Maka between the sheets. He sighed heavily and muttered something under his breath that Maka desperately tried to catch. The sound gave her an opening and she rolled onto her back. "Papa?"

"Just checking on you. Go back to sleep," Spirit murmured.

"Papa…" Maka sat up slowly, putting on a good act of blinking awake. "Can I have one more hug?"

Spirit didn't hesitate and rushed to her side to wrap his arms around her. He waited a few breaths, gauging whether or not there were new tears, and when none came he whispered. "At the risk of sounding cheesy, it's all going to be alright."

Maka managed to snort out a laugh, "I'll take cheesy right now." The next breath faltered, tears again threatening in her eyes. "I wish I'd never gone to Mama's."

"Thinking about the past isn't going to do a thing," Spirit sighed, finding a little too much irony in his comment. "You can only make decisions about now and I really suggest sleeping on that." He finally released her and cleared the hair from her face, looking at the delicate features he'd stared at maybe a million times. "Stay here tomorrow, too, OK?"

"Why, Papa?"

Spirit contemplated the truth before only offering her, "Give you more time to think, kiddo. Make a plan."

Maka nodded, "Alright, I'll stay."

"No argument? Just like that?" Spirit laughed.

She let out a small laugh as she leaned back into the bed, strangely content with feeling him tuck the blankets around her shoulders. "Good night, Papa. Thank you."

Spirit eased off the bed and moved back to the doorway, pausing before he got the door halfway closed. "If he calls, you want to talk to him?"

"Yes," Maka sighed. "If he calls."

"Sure, if." Spirit closed the door behind him before quickly ascending the stairs, bringing himself right back to where he came from. He picked up the receiver again, sighed deeply in preparation, and dialed the number.

Spirit didn't have to wait, the first ring barely finishing before Soul was practically shouting into the phone, "Maka, I'm sorry-"

"Have you been saying that to everyone that calls or am I the first?" Spirit couldn't help but laugh.

"Damnit, Spirit," Soul sighed.

Spirit wasn't exactly falling victim to Soul's woe, his optimism sparked by the idea that at least the letters existed. "She's here, just letting you know. Gonna stay at least part of tomorrow, too."

"I don't blame her," he grumbled. "She OK, though?"

"Crying," Spirit had to pause because of the frustrated groan erupting from the other end of the line. "She's somehow got it in her head that you hate her."

"Oh, fuck," Soul's voice warbled and caught.

"I know it's none of my business, but can I get confirmation on that?"

"Of course I don't fucking hate her," he snapped.

"Then do me a favor," Spirit dropped the humor, that steely quality coming to his voice. "Meet me tomorrow. Late afternoon."

"Why?" it came out like a scoff.

Spirit rolled his eyes for no one to see. "Ugh, both of you always asking for my motives. Just meet with me, idiot."

Soul sighed, "Fine, when?"

"After I get the mail."