Just when Maka thought she couldn't take it anymore, the bell rang. She sighed with relief and went to open the door. A grinning Black Star blocked her sight, but the quiet "Hello" she heard behind him revealed that Tsubaki was there too. "Beware of the mighty Black Star, who came to please you with his presence !" Without any hesitation, he ran into the apartment and jumped on the sofa next to Soul, immediately talking and laughing with his friend. Tsubaki sighed while she stepped in as well, smiling friendly to Maka and Soul as she did so. "I apologize for Black Star" "Doesn't matter, I know how he is" Maka laughed while she signed Tsubaki to sit down, and went to the kitchen to grab some snacks. "Hey, where's Crona ?" Black Star suddenly yelled and Maka looked at him while she threw some snack in his direction and sat down next to Tsubaki with the rest of them. "He's out for a walk, he wanted to be alone" she answered and Black Star nodded, only to show he heard her. "He's quiet upset about it, isn't he ?" Tsubaki whispered. "Mh, we all are. I really hope it doesn't happen again, I don't want him to get hurt" she sighed. "And Soul-" Tsubaki nodded to the white haired weapon "How's he ? I heard some rumours Crona almost suffocated him" Maka nodded shortly before she spoke. "I think he's fine, although he doesn't really talk to me about it." She smiled weakly. Saying that out loud made her realise how little he talked to her. They had been growing apart these days and that kiss didn't make up for anything. He didn't like her or anything, he was just frustrated and some physical contact helped him relieve stress. That would be it. She cursed under her breath when she felt the tears well up in her eyes, but remained seated hoping she could blink them away. Tsubaki noticed it and she laid her hand on Maka's shoulder, trying to comfort her. This made the tears well up again, this time faster than before, and in no-time a tear hit her cheek. Maka quickly got up and walked to her room, where she plopped on her bed and let the tears run free. She felt so damn weak, and she hated herself for giving in to her emotions so quickly. She was Maka Albarn, and she never cried. Not when she was in pain, not because she was emotionally hurt, certainly not over a boy and never because of Soul,except for that time when he got his scar. She didn't even know if she liked him ,she never thought about it. But Soul was with her every minute of the day, they had been friends for years and you can't deny it, Soul was pretty damn good looking. Wasn't it only natural for her to want his attention ? She roughly wiped her tears away when she heard a knock on the door. "No" She sounded like a little kid, but she didn't care. People shouldn't see her cry. Soul opened the door anyways, he had knocked to be polite, but was determined to come inside. When Maka noticed that, she quickly grabbed a tissue and dried her eyes completely, hoping the red around her eyes would fade and she would look a little normal, at least. Soul closed the door behind him and looked at her for a few seconds. "Shouldn't you keep Black Star and Tsubaki company ? It's not nice to keep them waiting" Soul shook his head; "I send them away" "Why ?" "Why did you run away ?" he asked, ignoring her question. "I forgot something in here" "You didn't" Maka looked up, a tiny bit annoyed. She wanted him to stop asking questions, forget about it and get lost. "Yes I did" "No you didn't" He raised an eyebrow. "Stop lying" Maka got angry, she didn't want to talk to him, she wanted everything to be normal again, before he kissed her, before she even started thinking about liking him. She hated how vulnerable people were when they liked someone, and she refused to let that happen to herself. "Why ask ? You don't care anyways" she snapped, her eyes almost spitting fire while she looked at him. Soul didn't expect her to say something like that, what did he do wrong this time ? He was just worried about her, and she gets mad at him again. "Why-" "Just shut up !" He didn't have to take this crap. "What the hell, Maka ? What are you yelling for ? I didn't do shit !" "You know what, I really don't feel like fighting with you. Just leave" Soul stepped closer, now he was getting angry. "You're the one who started it ! You're always picking fights with me for no fucking reason, I came to ask you what's wrong and once again you're acting like an ignorant piece of shit !" "Just leave" "No ! I always have to deal with your crap and now you can listen to mine ! You're always telling me how ignorant I am and how much of a jerk I am, but you're not one bit better !" He took a quick breath before continuing. "Why do you think we're growing apart, huh ? It's because of little Crona and how you keep protecting him from me like I'm some kind of monster. Everything he says or does is right and everything I do is wrong, you don't even care about me anymore ! It's all Crona, everyday and even night !" While she slowly processed Soul's words, a tear escaped her eye and hit the ground hard, scattering into tiny drips. He was right, it was all her fault. "Stop crying" he harshly said when he noticed the tear, but those words caused her eyes to water even more, tears dripping on the floor with great speed. Soul cooled down, but now he was filled with stress. He made her cry. Suddenly something his brother told him years ago invaded his mind. "Soul, promise me something. Promise me you'll never make a girl cry like dad made mom cry. Even when you're really angry, when a girl starts crying you just shut up and comfort her, you saw what happens when you don't. Making a girl cry and physically hurting her are the lowest things a man can do. Don't become like dad" Soul just stood there, looking at his silently sobbing meister, who desperately tried to hide her face by looking down. She wiped her tears away but it didn't matter, they kept falling anyway. "Maka stop" He didn't know how to act, he had never comforted someone and was honestly not planning on doing it anytime soon. But now he had to, he couldn't just leave her here. "Please stop crying" Should he hug her ? Kiss her ? Talk to her ? He didn't know. He could be such an idiot sometimes, thinking he knows it all but actually knowing nothing. After a few seconds, he awkwardly sat down next to her and sighed deeply before putting an arm around her shoulder and pulling her in for a hug. She was surprised at first, but then she buried her face in his neck and grabbed his waist, causing Soul to feel a little uncomfortable. He had never held her this way before. Sure, they had hugged, but never like this. Not when she was crying, not when her face was in his neck and not when her arms were actually around his waist, holding him firmly. "Sorry" he mumbled under his breath, as he felt how the tears that fell on his shirt slowly started to lessen, and she tried to stop sobbing to listen to his words. "I never meant to make you cry" She slowly loosened her grip and looked up with red, swollen eyes. Soul smiled weakly and his meister did too. He was about to say something when they heard the front door open, and both looked up. "It's probably Crona, I'll go take a look" he mumbled and he walked out of her room. It was Crona. But he wasn't alone.