A/N: So this chapter is a bit different… I'm including perspectives from everyone else (well almost everyone… jk just a few) involved in this story as a special addition for chapter 13 being released. YAY! So Maka's 3rd person will not be included but I will be giving you guys a peak over at Kid's side… I think this may be the only chapter I will write that will be from Kid's 3rd person perspective so enjoy it! Now unto the next chapter!

Odds and Ends

Lucky 13?

Stein shifted uneasily in his seat. The tight leather couch squeaked unpleasantly with every move he made, reminding him in an almost torturous way that the insides of this couch and been left untouched since its creation and that simply could not do. How could he know what he was sitting on if he didn't poke around on the inside? Nearly anything could be in this over stuffed couch. He drummed his fingers impatiently against his knee as he flicked his gaze back to the clock that hung perfectly above the wooden French doors.

The study wasn't his. He couldn't stand the lack of … disorder in the room. Down from the mahogany desk to the perfectly maintained book shelves with each book lined in order of size of the actual book, the author's last name, and the size of the print on the cover, everything was too chaotic for his tastes. He liked when things looked used, when stitches showed that someone had at least peered on the inside to see if it was good or bad. He mad musings were interrupted at the soft knock on the door.

He fumbled in his pocket for his cigarettes and lighter as he mumbled a dull acknowledgement.

Since he was sitting behind the desk and facing the doors, when it cracked open and did not revealed a person Stein was confused, but that only lasted for a second as a perky black cat sporting a witch hat hopped neatly unto the desk and started grooming itself. He took a long drag of his smoke.

"Are you done playing games yet?" she snapped, she paused mid-lick on her tail to glare at him before resuming her grooming habits.

"You'll get a hair ball," Stein warned.

"And I'll scratch out your eyes if you so much as think of putting a scalpel near me," Blair growled threatening.

"Jumping to conclusions aren't we?"

"Past experiences," she sniffed flicking her tail away so that it knocked over the nearest object, which just so happened to be a pen holder filled with pens. They splattered all over the desk and floor but Blair, acting as a cat, simply took a surprised step back and settled back down to glare at him.

"We both learned from that one," Stein mumbled glancing at some fresh pink marks along his arm. She hadn't scratched him deep enough to give him stitches but it was a few weeks later and the angry marks had yet to fade.

"Lord Death is getting impatient. He wants to know if they are ready for the second phase of the project you have given them," Blair announced as if she had merely just walked in and this was her first time addressing him.

Stein sighed, tapping his smoke against the provided ash tray for his temporary use of the office, as he tried to think of a delicate way to phrase what he was going to say next. He slowly reached down to one of the drawers and pulled out a small stack of papers, placing them neatly on the desk so that they only showed a few words to the prying cat, before he masterfully covered them and drummed his fingers against them with a sense of purpose.

"It's all coming together. They will get the job done," he said slowly, "but I'm not exactly happy with this… arrangement. I want to—"

"When they get back," Blair interrupted, "then we can tell them everything, but for now…" she paused looking uncomfortable. "I really miss her," she whispered at last with a defeated sigh.

Neither of them had to say her name out loud, and that was both helpful to ease their stress (as the both knew who she was talking about) yet harmful to relieve the tension.

"Even when Soul was home to bother he is a pain in the ass, all he did was hang out with that stupid Black Star kid and half the time he didn't even react when I did naughty things with my –"

"And you miss Maka because…?" Stein interrupted with a growl, pushing the cat off his desk as she morphed into her human form.

"Well for starters at least she acknowledges when I do something wrong. She'll yell at me or something…" she sighed and sat on the corner of the desk.

Stein squinted at her. Hadn't he just pushed her off the desk so she wouldn't do that?

"I told them they have less than a week to get the task down. They'll be back before you know it," Stein averted, standing slightly before ushering the cat to the door.

"Has something gone wrong? Is Kid not attracted to—"

"No nothing has gone wrong… per se, but uh, Kid is attracted to someone else. It has thrown the whole plan off," he said giving her a friendly push towards the door again.

"How? The only person there with him is…. Oh…" the cat perked up and grinned mischievously at the professor. "You knew he had feelings for her didn't you?" she asked, her smile growing wider.

"Maka was picked as his partner because of the infinite potential she has," Stein said clearly and slowly. He pushed the rim of his glasses further up on his nose as he settled with glaring at the cat with as much force as possible. "She was the only logical choice that would be able to effectively give Kid clear advice on the next step of the assignment as well as further develop her own skills without being hindered at school or some other task when she gets back," he said rephrasing what he had said when the cat's expression did not change.

"You may leave now," he added reaching for the door.

"Oh no, I'm not. I can't wait to see what Spirit says about this," Blair cackled leaping out his range in which he could just grab her and shove her out the door.

"I'm not leaving yet until I see Spirit," Blair hissed when Stein managed to get a firm grip around her arm and dragged her back to the door.

"You can see him after his appointment with me," Stein growled back, grinding his teeth together in agitation as he opened the door.

Much to his disappointment, but not to his surprise, Spirit was waiting at the other end. After all he had been asked to speak with the other man on behalf of Lord Death, not that the reaper couldn't handle him but because… well Spirit got rather annoying when it came to his daughter and Stein was due for some punishment for deviating from the plan.

"Ah, that's not how you treat a lady Stein," Spirit interrupted with a mocking, scolding tone. His bright smile seemed to only be directed towards Blair as he held out his arm for her in the doorway and redirected her back in to the room.

Kid is going to kill me, Stein thought as he gently closed the door behind them not even bothering to dispute his longtime friend as the cat gave him a triumphant look over his shoulder.

()()()()()()()()(KiMa)()()()()()()()

Black Star squinted at the surrounding forest with disdain, he was perched on the highest tree, his view stretched out for miles of thick green forest tops, and yet he couldn't see his long time best friends. "MAKA!" he bellowed, "KID!"

Tsubaki, perched on the tree next to him, sighed and mumbled something about not being very covert if they were screaming. Black Star ignored her, swinging wildly on his perch so that the whole tree shook violently as he checked the surrounding area once more.

"You look like a monkey!" Patti shouted up to them, giggling wildly and clapping her hands together in what can only be described as an innocent joy.

Black Star growled, "I don't see you getting your ass up here to search for those two."

"She doesn't need to," Liz snapped from beside her sister, effectively stopping the younger girl as she snagged the collar of her shirt and yanked as Patti had reached for the nearest branch, "Maka and Kid would be responding to your loud ass mouth by now," she added with half attempted malice.

Liz, Patti and Soul were at the bottom of the tree, scanning the ground uneasily as the jungle around them teemed with noises of its inhabitants. The group as a whole looked tired, the girl's perfectly manicured hair looked frizzy in the humidity (even Tsubaki's normally neat ponytail was slightly untamed) while both of the boys tied their shirts around their heads to let the stifling and rare breeze assault their chests. Their faces all flushed from the heat while their eyes all seemed puffy and red from lack of sleep. This had led to the group getting a little tense of the last few hours, and a few of their more annoying traits starting to grate on each other's nerves. Liz leapt to her sister's back as a large cat of some sort let out a roar not too far away and it echoed around their small clearing. Soul rolled his eyes.

"Scared-y cat here does have a point. Those two wouldn't ignore us if they knew we were around."

"Soul is right—"

"For agreeing with you?" Patti teased but Liz ignored her and kept going.

"For all we know they could be in the tundra!" Liz protested calling up to the two partners as another cry from the large cat resounded through the forest. Liz let out a whimper and buried her face into Patti's shoulder.

"Shut up you big baby," Black Star growled as he leapt down gracefully out of the tree with soft thump beside them.

Liz squealed in surprise, clinging to her sister so they both tumbled to the ground. Tsubaki landed next to them and politely pulled them to their feet, brushing of the sisters' backs as they started to fling insults at one another.

"This is so uncool," Soul mumbled whipping his forehead with the back of his hand, "literally and figuratively," he added eyeing his friends with a disdain he reserved especially for their antics.

()()()()()()()()(KiMa)()()()()()()()

"I'll join you," Maka squeaked.

He blinked once, startled, realizing as he blinked again the second time that she had been serious. His rapidly darkening mood paused at the shock of her offer before it started to twist in to something akin to sinister as he eyed her wearily.

"You can shower first if you would like," he offered.

This was dangerous ground, something that had been torturing his mind with every kiss they shared, he simply could not tempt himself further. This is getting dangerous… she doesn't know, she couldn't possibly understand that I can't control myself. That she is in danger...

Maka didn't say anything but took a step closer, her hand reaching out to clasp his. He wished that his body would react and move away from her, but her scent overcame him and like always he seemed to lose control of a situation that he should be fully in control of. He felt his body lean forward silently urging her to kiss him, and felt a mixture of relief and anxiety as Maka's warm lips complied. One of her hands slipped behind his neck while she timidly pressed herself closer against him, his hands automatically traveled down to her hips to lock her in place. A shiver ripped through both of them as the kiss grew more heated, more intense, and more desperate. After several torturously pleasant moments, Maka pulled back slightly to gasp for air. Is it wrong that I want more? He mused smiling at her puffy lips and glazed eyes. He released a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding as he gently untangled his hands from her waist and took a hurried step away from her.

"I'll join you," Maka stated more firmly. "Trust me, Kid," she added when he opened his mouth to protest.

But should you trust me?

He thought back to a few days ago, when he hadn't been able to help himself when he had gone too far with teasing her. It had been a morning a lot like this one, so similar that it left a bitter taste in his mouth now that he realized that. He wondered if things would have been different had he not teased her. Seeing her with her shirt stuck over her head, her flat stomach revealed, and knowing how nervous she was… he couldn't help himself. It scared him, because he literally could not control his body in that moment, he had just wanted to keep kissing her, teasing her… and that was what had caused this whole mess. They wyvern would have never hurt Maka had he not embarrassed her to the point where she stormed out and stumbled upon it. He had known that Maka was flustered with their encounters, that he should be reassuring her that he liked her, that there was no rush to do anything she wasn't comfortable with, but when he tried to voice those thoughts he would wind up kissing her, staring at her, making her feel uncomfortable. Like now as they stood awkwardly across from each other, Maka waiting impatiently for his response with her arms crossed and her face flushed.

Dammit, she is cute.

Kid cleared his throat. Maka suddenly lunged forward, her arms out stiff in front of her as she started shoving him towards the bathroom.

"No protesting, get in the damn shower," Maka growled. He balked for a second before he let out an uneasy chuckle.

"Shouldn't this be the other way?" he teased. She huffed in response but didn't let up until the bathroom door swung shut behind them.

Once they made it in she dropped her arms as if she had been shocked. He hadn't realized just how small this whole shack was until now. They were practically pressed against one another and it looked like Maka was now trying to avoid that as she maneuvered carefully around him so that she could get to the head of the shower. He tried to press himself further against the wall as she bent over to start the shower, but despite his effort Maka's backside brushed against him. She straightened with a slight jump, having obviously felt something she wasn't accustomed to... He blushed darkly.

"Strip," she commanded, looking away with a blush.

He didn't listen at first, instead he chose to cross his arms over his chest and give her a hearty glare. He really should have control over this situation. He really shouldn't be letting this happen.

"Kid," she growled lowly in warning, as her face darkened in a deeper blush. "Strip," she commanded again.

He let out a soft sigh but slowly pulled his shirt over his head, and with a deep breath quickly tugged down his pants and stepped out of them, but he left his boxers on. He felt rather than saw Maka looking at him. He timidly opened his eyes to catch her gaze as she smiled slowly at him. Without missing a beat she peeled off her shirt and pants, leaving her in a bra and underwear matching his semi-nudity.

"Get in," she told him gesturing to the steaming shower.

"Ladies first," he teased pulling back the curtain as he mockingly bowed. She laughed but wasted no time hopping into the warm water, even with the steam the air around them was cold.

He swallowed nervously and followed her in.

Her scent was a lot stronger in the enclosed steamy space. He found himself intoxicated and immobile as she started to shower and rub down her body with soaps and wash her hair as if he wasn't even there. She turned to peak at him from time to time, facing away from the water and away from him as she scrubbed the areas she had to move her bra or panties to reach.

Whatever he had been expecting this hadn't been it.

"Are you going to wash up or what?" she demanded handing him his own wash cloth.

He grinned at her and accepted the cloth before loading it down with soup.

"This might take a while, I need to wash your back first," he told her.

"Wait… what?" she squeaked.

"The soap is all unsymmetrical, how do you expect to get clean if you don't wash properly," he told her calmly.

"I highly doubt that has anything to do with being clean!" she protested.

He playfully smacked his cloth against her, watching with hungry eyes as the soap suds splashed across her body.

"Are you scared?" he challenged.

"Of you scrubbing me to death or possibly drowning in this shower? Yes," she coyly replied.

He laughed, "At least let me get your back."

It took a few more minutes of playful urging before Maka finally relented and let him wash her back. He made short work of it, careful that he didn't touch her too long or in an area too sensitive. There was innocence in the air between them that helped him relax and for once he didn't see her as his partner or a girl he had a crush on since he had laid eyes on her. For once he enjoyed their friendship and the silliness that they could indulge in. He laughed as she reached over and flopped and giant pile of soap on top of his head, swirling it asymmetrically with her hands. After he (evenly) washed it out, the two took turns filling their hands with water and throwing that at each other, both playfully squealing and laughing as they shoved against one another to get to the stream of falling water for the better advantage.

After they calmed down, he slowly started to relax. Closing his eyes and he leaned against the shower with a sigh. He wasn't startled when Maka folded herself into his chest, just sighed again at the feeling of their skin pressing together slick and soft with water.

"Did you ever think this would be happening?" she asked quietly, the sound of the shower's rushing water would have drowned her out had she not been practically breathing into his neck.

"Not like this, and not right now…" he answered back just as quietly. He paused for a moment before sucking in a deep breath enjoying her fresh scent of soap and water. He steadied his nerves.

"You were testing me," he finally mumbled.

"You were testing yourself," she corrected.

He grinned into her hair as he wrapped his arms protectively around her. It helped ease him into all of this, Maka wasn't dull; she was bright, sharp. She understood things without them needing to be said, and he really liked that about her.

"Well how many people can say they just shower with a really hot girl?" he teased.

"Probably a lot of gay men," Maka quipped back. He couldn't see her face as it was buried in his chest but he could practically feel her grin.

"Harsh," he wheezed but he could barely contain his laugh. He reached behind him and dully turned the knob so that the water clicked off.

She leaned up on her toes and caught his lips in a kiss.

"Good thing you aren't," she teased her cheeks red from the shower as she moved around him to open the curtain. She hurriedly grabbed a towel and covered her body, making sure her scars were out of his sight.

He sighed as he caught a glimpse of them. They sent a chilling reminder that they were a lot like this shower. They could be warm for a while, but eventually the water would run cold, or the cold air would overtake them.

"I really don't want this to end…" he mumbled as he stayed where he was, dripping wet in the shower. She cast him a confused look for a brief second before realization came over her. He found himself interrupting her before she could ask him anything.

"That beast has to pay," he told her darkly.

"It will," she promised, "we trust each other," she added lamely looking towards her discarded clothes before gathering them in her arms.

Trust isn't enough, he thought as he studied her with a sad smile. She knew it and he knew it.

"This second half of the mission, its irrelevant now. I'm going to kill that—" he started.

"I know," she interrupted quickly, "I'm not forgetting it, or ignoring it. I know what happens next Kid."

"Maybe when this is all over we can go somewhere like a warm sunny island with lots of good books," he offered with a small smile to lighten the mood.

"Maybe," she agreed, but her eyes were distant. "I'm going to go change, you better wrap up before you catch a cold," she told him as she opened the door and stepped out of the room. A blast of icy air seemed to fill the room as she let heat and steam escape with her.

Suddenly it felt like a lot more than a wall and a door was separating them, and Kid had no idea how to fix that.