Author's Note: Okay so here we are again! Miss me guys? Haha kidding, kidding. This actually was one of the first long one shots I had planned but I ended up finishing Unexpected first followed by opposites. Originally I was going to post this one as chapter seven but ah well, at least I took the time to edit and rewrite. It should be readable now. I'm not very happy with the end, but I'll try again later. As always, leave a review with your thoughts or critiques please :)

Anyways, hopefully you guys like this one too. I'm really sorry if fanfiction net messes up the paragraphs again. I still haven't figured out how to fix that problem. As soon as I do though I'll go back and fix all the chapters so they're easier to read. For now...read and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I. Do. Not. Own. Soul. Eater! Although I really wish I did…I'd add a whole other arc instead of 51 freaking episodes. (And make major changes to episode 51 while we're at it!)

~--Uncertain--~

Maka sat at a lone park bench, stocking clad legs dangling over the edge and fingers grasping the edge of the seat loosely while she leaned her back against the wood. Her soft green eyes hidden behind a pair of dark sunglasses. Every so often she'd allow a finger to mess with the frayed edge of her skirt, dropping the strings she plucked onto the ground below. The book she'd been reading moments ago lay forgotten in her lap, a small mp3 player laying over the cover of the large tome and the vague sound of acoustic guitar and piano playing from the single yellow ear bud hanging around her neck. She'd been sitting there in the park for at least two and a half hours, focusing on anything but the one thought that seemed to agitate her most. She would have gone back to the apartment, at least she could brood in peace and relative privacy instead of having to assure every elderly man or woman who passed her that she was perfectly fine sitting on this park bench looking 'so alone.' That couldn't be farther from the truth. She knew though that if she went back to her apartment, she would drive herself crazy with her own thoughts.

After all, every time she looked down the hall she'd see his room and then that would be it. Normally the sight of anything that belonged to Soul would not bring out such hostile thoughts in her, unless she was particularly annoyed with him. But today she had a pretty good reason to be cursing his name. He was out. On a date. Yes, a date. With some upper classmen in their school. She didn't remember if she was a weapon or a technician. At the moment it didn't really matter. What mattered was that he was out on a date with some girl. Not to say she was jealous. She almost scoffed at herself for even thinking it. No, she was not jealous. Annoyed, yes. But not jealous. Maka sighed softly, fingers slipping from the edge of the bench to clench the edge of her book carefully, standing up from the bench and allowing her legs to stretch. It would do her no good to sit here and brood all day long. She had better things to do with her time anyway. She wasn't the type to mope around in front of strangers or people in general for that matter. Sighing, she slipped her book and mp3 player into the small aqua colored tote bag she'd brought with her, hiking it up her shoulder and exiting the park.

Maybe when she got home Soul would be home already, and he would tell her all about his date and how horrible it was. She almost laughed a little at the thought, shaking her head as she walked down the gravel path leading out of the park and towards the stone streets leading up to the apartment buildings. Along the way she slipped both ear buds in and hummed softly along, waving to fellow Shibusen students who passed by every so often until she was finally at the apartment complex she and Soul lived in. "Thank god, one of the guys got to me and said get your butt here ASAP." Maka sang, knowing perfectly well everyone in the lobby was out and she could easily get away with singing aloud now. She jumped up onto the steps leading to the elevator, shaking her hips a little with an amused smile on her lips as she reached the elevator. "I know you've been dumped and all that shit, but your attitude sucks you gotta admit." She sang one more verse; pressing the up button and waiting, letting her foot tap to the beat pumping through her ear phones.

Once the metal doors slid open, she beamed to herself and skipped inside, spinning on her heel and pressing her back against the wall of the elevator as the doors slid shut once more. Less than two minutes later she was on her floor, shuffling along down the hall and humming again this time since she could never be sure who was around on their floor. After digging around in her tote for her keys, she found them deep down in her bag and unlocked the door, closing the door behind her with her foot and depositing her ear phones into the bag after shutting off her mp3 player. She looked around the quiet apartment, a small frown replacing the bright smile that had been there only moments ago. She heaved one more sigh, folding her arms over her chest and letting her tote slide onto the crook of her elbow. She made her way to her room, pushing open the door and leaving it open as she ventured toward her desk to drape her bag over the back of her chair. Maybe she should clean the apartment from top to bottom until Soul came home. That would probably do her some good and it would be nice to have a clean apartment again. It was getting a little cluttered lately.

Nodding to herself and the decision to clean she took her little mp3 player from within her bag and proceeded to connect it to her stereo set, last year's Christmas present from Soul. She sighed and started over the song she'd been singing to in the elevator and worked her way into the living room, dusting first and then organizing after that. It gave her a chance to settle her irritated thoughts and soothe her nerves. And because she knew she would be alone for a while longer, she cranked up the volume and sang to her heart's content; not caring that she was a little off pitch and couldn't quite keep up with the singer's chirping voice. After another hour spent cleaning she heard the door creak open and her ears perked up at the sound, lowering herself from her tip toes and leaning over to turn the stereo down as she craned her head, dirty rag hanging from her fingertips. "Soul, is that you?" She questioned, striding out to see that indeed her partner had returned. And not looking too enthusiastic either. She tried to squelch the smug feeling welling up in her chest.

"What happened?" She asked, maneuvering her way towards the kitchen and motioned toward the tea kettle once he was looking at her. Soul shook his head, grunting softly as he collapsed onto the couch and let his fingers clasp behind his head. "Not much, I can tell you that." He muttered, rolling his eyes at the thought before letting his eyes slip closed. Maka arched a brow and walked away from the kitchen, folding her legs underneath her as she sat down on the couch beside him after depositing the dirty rag. "Bad date?" She questioned, surprised at how civil it had come out. She'd been practically seething before. Soul smirked, but it wasn't an amused one, and cracked an eye open to look at Maka. "It was going well, until her boyfriend popped into the restaurant and began causing a scene. I think she was trying to make her boyfriend jealous by going on a date with me." He explained, shrugging as he let loose a small yawn and rolled his eyes up to stare at the ceiling above.

What he didn't say out loud was that he was feeling like a hypocrite for being angry in the first place. Maka seemed to sense there was more that he wasn't telling and urged him with her eyes to go on. He grimaced, not appreciating how intuitive she was to him. "Come on, a cool guy like you being used as bait? I can't believe it." She said a modicum amount of amusement in her voice. He opened his mouth to counter, but shut it right away. What was he going to say? That the only reason he'd gone out with the girl was to gain Maka's attention. No, that was not what a cool guy like him did and he would rather be caught dead before admitting it. He chose to shrug instead, lips firmly pressed together as he closed his crimson eyes once more. Maka pouted, letting a tiny sigh escape her as she uncurled her legs from under her and stretched them out. "Fine, don't tell me." She muttered sullenly, moving to stand up and return to cleaning. Soul's hand struck out to catch her wrist, a small smug smile reaching his lips as he detected the faintest hint of irritation in her voice.

"Why are you so concerned?" He asked as a sly smile appeared on his face, eyes open now as they watched her. She swallowed, avoiding his eyes as she bit the corner of her mouth. "I-I'm not concerned, I was just curious." She said, looking anywhere but at Soul's face. She could feel his fingers tighten around her wrist and did everything she could to ignore the surging heat traveling from their attached hands. "You can let go now." She said, willing her voice not to wobble. This only made Soul grin wider, fingers dancing teasingly over the skin of her wrist. "Why?" He practically sang, both eyebrows raised now and sharp teeth showing behind his wide amused smile. Maka growled, trying to shake him off as she took a step back from the couch. "Because I have to clean still." She seethed, green eyes narrowing as he shot her a triumphant smile.

"I don't think so; the apartment looks pretty clean to me." He said, looking around and returning the smug smirk to his face as he looked back at Maka once again. "You're not jealous are you?" He asked, voice light and teasing as he pulled her wrist towards him, causing her to pitch forward. If it wasn't for her feet being firmly planted on the floor she would have fallen right into his lap. "What a stupid thing to say. I am not jealous!" Maka snarled, stumbling as she tried to regain her footing before falling onto the couch beside him instead. This earned another smug smile from the scythe weapon. "You certainly sound jealous." He chuckled, pinning her with a deep stare. "You're imagining things. I don't care who you date. I just think you can do better." Maka finally said with teeth gritted together, finally pulling her wrist free from Soul's grasp.

"You're right." He murmured, a knowing smirk appearing on his face as he turned fully to face her. The blonde meister could only raise an eyebrow herself and scoff. "I'm glad you think so." He continued as his hands reached out to grab her's again. Maka pressed her lips together in a firm line, eyebrows knitting together in frustration at the cryptic behavior her partner was showing her. "I was kind of wondering when you'd catch on, but I guess I have to spell it out for you like usual." Soul went on, his tone still carrying that teasing tone. If Maka's hands weren't still pressed firmly between Soul's she would have grabbed the thick encyclopedia on the coffee table and Maka Chopped him. "What are you-?"

"Let me finish." Soul interrupted, grinning in his trademark fashion before moving a hand up her arm to grip her shoulder. "Did you really think I was interested in that girl?" He asked, all teasing gone from his voice and a calm look replacing it. Maka faltered opening and closing her mouth before clearing her throat and shrugging. "I-I guess? I mean, you said yes didn't you?" She said, wondering what he was going on about. Maybe that girl had knocked some of his marbles loose. As if he could sense what she was thinking, and at this point she wouldn't put it past him, he scoffed and rolled his bright red eyes. "Maka, what am I going to do with you?" He muttered, lips twisting into a frown before squeezing her shoulder tightly. "For a girl, you certainly don't act upon those so called 'womanly instincts' I keep hearing about." Soul said, causing the frown on Maka's face to deepen. "If you're just going to insult me and confuse me further, I think I'll leave now." She snapped, trying again to wrench herself away from the strong grip Soul had on her.

He gave her a quick apologetic look, knowing he was really testing her patience here, and sighed softly as he squeezed her shoulder again. "Maka, I didn't like the girl, the entire date I wanted nothing more than to come home and see you." He bit out, willing the blood to stay away from his face. He couldn't believe he was really saying this. "I guess I'm being a hypocrite for getting angry, because I tried the same tactic." He finally admitted, staring at Maka with a strangely serious face. At first, Maka wanted to laugh and congratulate him on the good joke, but when he didn't crack a smile or burst out with a 'just kidding!' she had a hard time grasping his confession. Soul tried to make her jealous? She just couldn't believe it. And here she had been raging and cursing him the entire afternoon.

When she didn't say anything for a few moments, Soul felt his throat constrict and wondered if maybe he should tell her he was just pulling her leg and leave. A cross between a giggle and gasp escaped the girl and his eyes widened a bit as both hands flew to her shoulders, shaking her gently. "Y-You were trying to make me j-jealous?" Maka wheezed out, tiny giggles fully escaping her mouth now as she leaned forward to press her forehead against his chest as she laughed. He growled, albeit a tiny one, and attempted to shake her again. "Yeah, I guess I did." He muttered grudgingly. Of all the things, the girl laughs at him. As if his ego wasn't bruised enough. Before he could comment further she looked up, her giggle fit finally subsiding and gave him a true and sincere smile.

"Mission accomplished then, I guess I was a little." She confessed finally, reaching up to wipe a stray tear from her eye from all her earlier laughing. "I'm sorry for laughing, I thought you were joking." She went on, blinking her velvet green eyes up at him and grinned softly. "Men are so stupid, can't even tell a girl they want to go on a date with them and not someone else." She teased, wondering where all this understanding patience had come from. Soul simply smirked and let his hands fall from her shoulders; instead lowering to cup her face in his hands and bringing her head up so they were eye level. "You're stupid for not catching the hint ages ago. You really are clueless." He replied eyes bright and a mischievous smile on his lips. "Shut up and kiss me already." Maka shot right back, smiling brightly as her partner laughed. "Yes ma'am."