content warning:
a little bit of explicit swearing in this chapter, plus a potential hint towards a past abusive relationship

"You sure you don't want some milk?" Soul teases her. "C'mon, it doesn't taste so bad."

"Alright, fine," Maka grumbles and he pours some into her cup of coffee. "But only because you insisted on paying," she declares.

It's the afternoon following her impromptu dinner with Soul, and he's asked her to have a short meeting with him at the Deathbucks downstairs. "Trust me, it's work-related," was all he'd typed back when she'd asked him what for.

Now, in the midst of the bustling cafe itself, they're settling down into one of the tables and she's opening up her notebook. "Alright," she says, all business. "What's up?"

"Well," he says, just as serious as her, "I figured we should officially establish the start of our partnership."

"Seriously?" She quirks an eyebrow and feels a little annoyed. "How is this work-related?"

"Hear me out," he insists. "It's because everything we do in life, including the choices we make and the thoughts we have, is simply a series of habits. So if we want to change how we think about ourselves, we're gonna have to create some new ones." He opens his own notebook and turns it around so she can see.

"What is this?" she asks, her annoyance replaced by curiosity. As she glances at the page, the first thing she notices is there are several boxes with numbers that look like calendars going down the left side of the page, except each box starts with 1 on the top-left "Sunday" and ends with 28 in the bottom-right "Saturday", and almost all of the numbers are crossed out with an X. Above each box is a simple title – "Work out for 15 mins" , "Drink 1L of water" , "Read for 20 mins" – and to the right of each box is a list of reasons pertaining to each box's title – "You'll look better" , "It's good for your body" , "You'll be able to have deeper discussions with other people" .

"This is my daily new habit tracker," he explains, slightly sheepish. "It's based off of a system I saw online. Each number is a day and every day you do your new habit, you get to cross it off. Every day you don't, you have to write a note why."

"And it works?" Maka asks, unable to keep the doubt from her voice. It sounds too good to be true.

"Somehow, yeah." Soul shrugs. "It's simple, but effective. Every time you feel discouraged, you look at the reasons you wrote down and think of why you originally wanted to make or break that habit. And then once you reach 28, or 50, or whatever other significant number of days, you share your progress with others. Eventually, you'll have a new habit – and proof of your progress," he adds, "to shut up that doubtful voice in your head."

She doesn't say anything, but she is intrigued. Wordlessly on her own page, she starts drawing out the exact same numbered grid, four rows of seven, 1 to 28. She then pauses and blankly looks back up at him. "What new habit should I start with?" she asks, uncertain.

"Well, how about regularly reviewing a list of recent accomplishments?" he suggests. "You could keep a list up at your desk and whenever you feel unsure about yourself, you can look at that as proof that you deserve to be where you are today."

"That's a good idea but I don't know about making that a daily thing…" She laughs a little at how silly it sounds, then internally asks herself why she thinks that. "You know what, I'll do that anyway, but not as a mandatory daily," she concedes, scribbling it on a corner of her notebook as a reminder to do it later.

"Then how about you start off with something like leaving the office by 5:30pm latest?" Soul suggests. "And once you hit 28 days of that, you can change the time to earlier or try establishing a completely new habit."

"I like that." She nods, then jots down a few reasons: having more time to read, having a concrete benchmark for knowing when she's overloading herself, eating dinner earlier and having room for dessert.

"Cool." Soul grins when she puts her pen down. "And since this is a partnership, I'll start a new habit too." He shows her his new grid of uncrossed numbers as well, titled "Play piano for 15 mins" . "And in 28 days, let's come back and see how much progress we've made, alright?" he asks.

"Cool," she mimics him. As they exchange a smile, she takes a big sip of her coffee and thinks that it really doesn't taste bad at all.

They're snacking together at 4pm on a Wednesday when Maka has her epiphany.

Ever since that night out grabbing ramen and the subsequent Deathbucks meeting, the time that she and Soul spend together at work has increased drastically. They now speak at least once everyday over Deathchat – sometimes about work and their feelings of inadequacy, sometimes about other things – and their brief goodbyes to each other have now lengthened to either regular hour-long sessions of working together in the lounge (despite their work never overlapping) or brief walks around the block.

Other people have started to take note. "Maka-chan, are you going to sit with Soul-kun now?" Tsubaki asks one day as she stands up and unplugs her laptop.

"Me? I am! How did you know?" Maka laughs, trying to hide her flustered expression. Then, more seriously she asks, "Did you need me to stay at my desk to help with something?"

"Not at all." Tsubaki gives her a gentle smile. "It's no trouble. In fact, Maka-chan, I'm glad that you're spending time regularly with Soul-kun! Everyone needs a break, and it sounds like he provides you with a lot of stress relief."

"Thanks, Tsu." Maka gives a small smile back, but inside she feels a little concerned. She knows that Tsubaki won't ever question her intentions or spread gossip, but she's not sure about some of her other coworkers, and if Tsubaki has noticed then it's not implausible to assume that others have as well.

Now, as she and Soul are sitting together in the lounge, quietly munching on a bag of chips from the kitchen and tapping away at their laptops, she's slightly conflicted. She knows that having positive relationships at work isn't just good but also necessary to maintain her professional stature. And, independent of that, she really is glad that she got to know Soul better – she genuinely likes him and, heck, maybe she could even consider him a friend outside of work too, if they had met some other way.

The problem, though, is that she maybe likes him too much.

Maka glances over at him and takes in his appearance – lean frame slouched slightly against the couch while his eyes focus intently on his screen – before diverting her eyes quickly so he doesn't catch her staring. She feels the beat of her heart skip and stutter a little and wonders what is happening.

No, she knows what's happening. The furtive glances, the excessive thoughts she has about him, the way her heart involuntarily speeds up whenever he's around… She's experienced attraction before, knows what it feels like.

But this time, she will not act on it.

Obviously, she could never run the risk of letting something personal ruin their professional relationship as well as both of their public reputations in the industry. But, Maka considers, even if one of them quit she wouldn't dare follow her feelings. After all, is she really attracted to him for who he is? Or is it more of the fact that he possesses an uncommon characteristic like her, that his heritage is half-Japanese?

And even if she is attracted to him for that reason, what if she's just as easily mistaken about the kind of person he is if who she thinks he is is wrong? She already knows, thanks to her father firsthand, that – to quote her favourite phrase – "men are trash". What are the chances that Soul is different, that he treats her nicely as a friend but the complete opposite in a romantic relationship? Why put herself in that position?

For that matter, is she herself in a position to be in a relationship at all? Maka shakes her head. No, absolutely not. She's not ready and probably won't be for a while – and, based on past experience, no one should have to put up with her or her behaviour either.

No. She'll swallow any feelings even if it's the last thing she does at this job.

"Are you okay?" Soul's concerned voice breaks her out of her reverie. She blinks – thankfully she had just been staring at her computer screen – and glances over at him. Despite his busily typing hands and his eyes being glued to his own screen, he notes, "You look pretty anxious."

"I'm fine!" she says cheerily, but the way he finally looks up at her makes her think he can tell she's lying. "Just thinking about what to write next."

"Do you need some help?" he asks, turning towards her, but before she can say anything else the quiet atmosphere is suddenly disturbed by a, "YOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Maka's eyes almost roll out of her head as BlackStar seemingly appears out of nowhere, jumps over the back of the couch, and plops himself right between both her and Soul before yelling, "Sup, nerds!" and leaning back against the couch with his arms spread out.

"What do you want?" Soul deadpans, sharing her sentiments, and Maka swears his eye looks ready to twitch out of his skull. "Where are those test specs you promised me, by the w–"

"I see that you two have been spending a lot of time together recently," BlackStar cackles, completely ignoring Soul's request. Maka's insides shrink a little in fear. So she isn't expecting the next thing that comes out of his mouth to be, "Which is perfect because now I don't have to repeat myself an extra time! You're both invited to celebrate my one-year SSL anniversary tonight!"

Soul's expression changes too, albeit to something more positive. "Damn dude, that's today?" he asks, then raises his fist for BlackStar to bump. "Congrats!"

"Congratulations, BlackStar!" she chimes in, relieved but also genuinely excited, and ruffles his hair affectionately. Even though BlackStar annoys her to no end, he's still a good friend, and the fact that he's been with the company for a year is a major milestone that she's proud of on his behalf.

"Thank you, thank you," he says mock royally. "But will you guys be there? " He turns and stares pointedly at Maka. "Every time I invite you to something, you say no!"

"That's because every time it's after work, it's something with the devs!" She huffs, slightly embarrassed at being called out. "I don't know them as well as you do. Plus, you guys always drink too much!" she adds indignantly.

"Yeah, well not anymore!" BlackStar says triumphantly. "Now you know Soul" – he pulls the other boy in with a large grin, causing him to sputter – and adds, "And I also invited Tsubaki!"

"What, Tsubaki?" Maka asks in surprise, but it's lost under BlackStar's rapid-fire whine of, "C'mon Mak, you never come! We'll do just drinks and it's right downstairs at Deathstaurant so you don't even have to go anywhere and you can leave whenever! Just this once to celebrate my one-year, please!"

She pretends to take a second to think about it, but she already knows he has a point. She may not like socializing outside of work, but she's not a bad friend. "Okay, fine," she finally acquiesces with a sigh, and he lets out a cheerful whoop. "Just message me when you're about to leave. And please go now so I can get some work done."

"SweeEEEEEEEET!" BlackStar hollers, pulling them both in for a hug. She lets out a surprised yelp and looks over at Soul, who is looking right back at her. As they make eye contact, he gives her a small grin, and she feels a little flutter in her chest.

She wonders what she's gotten herself into.

She has to admit she's having a pretty good time.

Maka has always gotten the impression that most, if not all, of her coworkers are pretty friendly and welcoming – or at least, they were on her first day and continue to be whenever she interacts with them. She'd still kept her standards low, expecting awkward silences after the initial conversation topics had dried out and she'd have nothing else to say. She even braced herself for the worst, sticking to BlackStar and Tsubaki and Soul while spending most of her time on her phone.

Now, however, she finds herself in deep discussion with Liz and Kilik as they dissect a recent book-turned-movie they've all read. At the other end of the table, BlackStar and Soul are advising Tsubaki about local places she can take her brother to when he visits from out of town, while Patty is preoccupied with a game on her phone but chimes in occasionally. From time to time Maka catches Soul's gaze and they exchange a smile. She's glad that BlackStar hasn't invited too many people, and that she's getting the chance to indulge in a common interest with some new acquaintances.

Eventually, as their current conversation reaches an end, Kilik takes a sip of his drink and casually asks, "So, Maka, you only joined SSL a few months ago, right? What were you doing before then, if you don't mind me asking?"

Ah, there it is, the inevitable question. "I worked at a health-tech startup," she replies. "I also did some client outreach for them. It was my first job out of college."

"Oh, really? That's pretty neat." Kilik nods. "Which startup?"

"Arachnophobia," she says, and she swears she can physically feel something change in the atmosphere the moment the word leaves her lips. In fact, she's pretty sure that Liz is giving her a strange look now; her face is so blank that it seems like she's intentionally trying to keep it that way.

Kilik, on the other hand, merely chuckles warily. "Damn, that place? The one with Ara Gorgon as the CEO, right?" She nods. "I've heard a couple of things about them, and none of it has been very nice. What was it like working there?" he asks.

Hearing that she's not the only one who feels that way about her former employer makes it a little easier to open up. Maka truthfully responds, "It wasn't that great. It's smaller than SSL but there was a lot of favouritism and gossiping going on, and the person I worked under was a huge micromanager." She shudders at the unpleasant memory. "I like working with you guys a lot better."

"Yeah, that sounds about right." Kilik sighs. "My friend is at a company that worked with them, said she got bad vibes from all their reps and that their business practices aren't very sound either." He raises his glass a little in an informal toast. "We're happy to have you at SSL."

"Yes," Liz finally speaks up, slightly raising her glass as well. There's a smile on her face, to Maka's surprise. "It's great to hear you're liking your time here so far."

"WHOA whoa whoa, are you guys toasting without us?!" BlackStar's voice is clear from across the table, and as Maka turns to face him she sees that everyone else is looking at them as well.

"Course not." Kilik gives a huge grin. "Congratulations, BlackStar, for having worked a year at SSL! And for the rest of us, no matter how long we've been here for, I'm honoured to work with you all." He holds his glass up again. "Cheers!"

"Cheers!" the group choruses back, and as they all drink, Maka can't help but feel honoured too.

They're splitting the bill when the devil herself shows up.

"Maka, is that you?" she hears, and she recognizes the voice even before she looks up. Her blood runs cold, but under the guise of normal civility she still stands up.

"Good evening, Medusa," she chirps back with a polite smile. "How are you?"

"Fine!" her old manager answers excitedly. "How are you?" Her gaze wanders to the rest of the group – a few people are still busy working together to calculate prices but most of them are looking up and watching the interaction. "Are you out with your friends?"

"They're my coworkers, actually." Maka gives a thin smile but hopes it looks real.

"Why, hello! So nice to meet the people from the company that stole Maka from us!" Medusa gives a large laugh, but no one joins in. Instead, everyone at the table is staring at her now, and Maka wishes the ground would swallow her up. Unperturbed, Medusa turns back towards her and states, "I'm surprised you're out at this time actually – you worked such long hours back in the day. Are you starting to slack off now?" She chuckles as Maka stiffens at the comment and feels the woods in her mind slowly begin to unravel, but Medusa doesn't seem to notice as she continues, "I was here having dinner with a coworker as well. You remember Riko, right? He joined shortly before you left?"

"Yes, I do." Unfortunately, she wishes she could add out loud.

"It's too bad that you two didn't get a chance to work together for longer." Medusa gives a sigh, then behind her she calls out, "Riko, look who I found!"

"What is it this time," a bored voice calls out, and up to the table walks a tall man with spiky brown hair and several piercings. His attention is originally centered on his phone in his hands, but when he looks up and sees Maka he says, "Sup, squirt." Then he takes in the rest of the table, and his grin turns devious as he calmly says, "Hello, Liz."

Maka's mouth drops open as she turns to look at the blonde. "Do you two know each other?" she asks.

"We do," Liz finally speaks up in a level tone, but her eyes don't move away from Riko. The strange look is back.

"My, what a small world–" Medusa begins, but before she can finish her sentence Patty has moved to stand behind Liz with her hand on Liz's shoulder, and she's facing Riko and clearly yet slowly saying, "Get your punk bitch ass outta my sight."

"What'd you say to me, you little shit?" Riko's eye twitches and in a second he's gone from looking smug to murderous. Maka is glad the rest of the restaurant is so noisy and that they aren't causing a scene, but the lack of external attention to a potentially dangerous situation also makes a bit of panic rise within her.

"You heard me, you no good, deadbeat asshole–" Patty's enunciation rings loud and clear on each syllable, and Maka takes a preemptive step forward, legitimately afraid for the younger woman's safety as Riko looks ready to jump her.

"Riko, please." The pleasant look is gone from Medusa's face as she cuts Patty's string of insults off, and she's glaring daggers at both of them. "Why don't you go wait outside," she suggests to Riko firmly.

"Don't tell me what to do," he practically spits at her, but restrains himself. He snarls one last time at the group and, looking directly at Patty, yells, "At least I ain't a fuckin' affirmative action hire."

"Giriko." Medusa's voice is dangerously low, and he finally whips around and stalks out of the restaurant. She turns back to the stunned group with a wide smile and, in a cheery voice completely opposite to her previous tone, says, "I am so sorry you all had to witness that." Then, turning to Maka she says, "Maka, dear, we do have to catch up some time. You'll have to tell me all the ups and downs of your new job." Somehow, her smile gets impossibly bigger as she ends with, "And remember, whenever you're unsatisfied with your new company, we'd love to have you back."

"O-okay." Maka gives the falsest smile she thinks she's ever mustered; it's the only thing she can do with the leaves in her mind crowding her vision, making her feel like it's hard to breathe. "Have a good night, Medusa," she finishes weakly.

"Goodnight! Lovely meeting you all!" And with a final wave, her old manager is gone, leaving the group in silence.

Eventually, BlackStar is the first to speak. "Alright, what the fuck just happened?" he demands, looking at Liz.

"Liz, are you okay?" Tsubaki asks more gently. Their office manager looks pale but manages to nod as Patty rubs her arm and quietly murmurs, "It's okay, sis, he's gone now."

"Yeah, I'm fine." Liz finally lets out a huge breath and puts a hand over Patty's. "Giriko is my ex-boyfriend. He wasn't… very nice, to me or Patty," she adds.

"He can eat a dick," Patty says flatly. "He's just mad that a girl can code better than him and gets paid more to do it, too."

Maka is shocked, both at the news about Giriko as well as the realization that Liz and Patty are related, and suddenly everything makes sense. "Yeah, he wasn't very nice to work with, either," she quips quietly after a few beats of silence. "But he got away with pretty much everything because he was the boss' favourite."

"Nice is a serious understatement." Soul finally speaks up. "Are you okay, Maka?" he asks, and she realizes that she's nervously clenching and unclenching her fists, feeling lost again. "No offense, but it sounded like your other old coworker wasn't that great either," he adds, and she realizes he's trying to divert attention away from Liz, who looks more upset by the second and is being quietly comforted by Patty.

"Yeah, what the fuck?!" BlackStar looks pissed off as he recalls Medusa's words. "'Starting to slack off now'... Does she even knowwho you are or what your work ethic is? And 'whenever you're unsatisfied with your new company' – hah, didn't she ever realize how miserable you were working for her?"

"Was that your old manager?" Kilik asks, and Maka numbly nods, too embarrassed to say anything more. "She sounds like such an encouraging leader," he says sarcastically.

"Kilik's right," Soul agrees. He puts a hand comfortingly on Maka's shoulder. "You don't need someone like that in your personal or professional life."

BlackStar stands up. "If I ever run into either of those clowns again, I'll fight them," he says seriously, looking first at Liz then at Maka. "No one fucks with my friends."

"Thank you, you guys," Maka slowly says. She had expected her coworkers to simply brush off the comments about her or, even worse, think they were true and prepare to bring it up with management. But seeing their solidarity – in Tsubaki's comforting smile, Soul's hand still warm on her shoulder, and everyone else's nods of agreement – makes her realize that maybe, she's not the one in the wrong this time.

The woods in her mind thin out, and she feels like she can breathe again.

Turning towards Liz, who looks a little calmer now and is also saying her thanks, she repeats Patty's statement. "Giriko can eat a dick," she says, and as Liz laughs and the uneasiness in both herself and the air slowly dissipates, she thinks that maybe it's okay to let people in sometimes.

endnote:

if you'd like to learn more about the "daily habit tracker" method that Soul was talking about in the beginning, feel free to either follow the link in the AO3 version of this fic. you can also do so by looking up "the x effect" on reddit; there's a link in the sidebar to the full instructions titled "The Post That Started It All".

a lot of people have reported success with this method, so if there's a new daily habit you're trying to implement, please try it out and let me know how it works for you!

thanks again for reading so far! :)