Hey guys! :3 I got sick a while ago and it WILL NOT GO AWAY. :C But despite my sickness, I decided to write a tear-jerker chapter for all the sensitive readers out there. XD Shout-outs to: SoulEaterLover123123, SniwTamashi Ai, Cherryberry998, Anime-tv-manga-books, PrincessNeshh, Artistic-Resonance, kityybby101, Depyriouse, FruityUnicorn01, and SharkAttack. Read on! x3

Soul woke up to a quiet sniffle from Maka in her sleep. He smiled down at her and held her to his chest, noticing that they hadn't moved from the position they were in. Usually they ended up facing the other way, but not this time. He shifted in the bed, trying not to wake her up, as he attempted to stand up and get dressed. She did wake up though, yawning and stretching her tired arms. "S-Soul...?" she yawned, her eyes barely opened. He smirked at her.

"Morning, beautiful," he said, cupping her cheek and kissing her. She smiled and giggled a little bit.

"Go brush your teeth, dude," she laughed. he rolled his eyes at her and laughed too. Soul suddenly realized how cold it was. He shivered and walked to the kitchen, where the thermostat was. He looked at it confused, as it was still set to a nice seventy-two degrees. Fear entered his mind, thinking that it might be broken. Soul, for one, didn't know anything about fixing thermostats or heating. He then found a letter that was slipped through the entrance of his door. He picked it up and bit his lip at the sight. Soul trudged back to the room and showed Maka the letter.

"W-What...?" her eyes widened as she ripped it open and read it. The electricity had been turned off on account of the bills not being paid. She frowned and looked up at Soul. "What are you going to do?! It's going to get real cold soon and you don't have anywhere to-" She stopped. Soul shook his head, for he knew what was coming next.

"No. No way am I going to live under the roof of that ballistic father of yours," he shook his head.

"I know he's terrible, but come on. It's your only choice, Soul." He sighed, seeing as his options were very limited. He knew that his friends might let him crash over at their places, but would he really rather sleep there than with Maka? HA. No. He sighed again and nodded.

"Alright, fine. Call that old man of yours; I guess we're skipping school today," he said. Maka nodded and dialed her dad's number, explained the situation to him, argued for a little bit, and finally hung up. It was all set: Soul would live with Spirit and Maka until he could find a relative to live with or something.

Maka and soul got dressed together and looked around the room for things that he would need to pack. Maka shoved some of his clothes into a duffel bag as Soul went through the dozens of shoes he had. They sorted through everything he owned, talking about what could have happened to his father and why he would just leave without saying anything.

"What if he just went on vacation?" Maka suggested. Soul scoffed.

"Yeah right. A vacation to hell, maybe." Maka looked down at a pair of Soul's boxers sadly.

"Well maybe he went to find your mother," she said. Soul pondered this for a moment.

"You know, it's possible, but I don't think so. My dad always said she was a pain."

"Maybe he got a new girlfriend and is happy now."

"Maybe he killed himself because of how much of a dick I am and how he can't find anyone to live with him or support him and my mother's dead too because she decided that running away wasn't the best idea."

There was a newborn silence between the two, creating an awkward energy that consumed the whole house.

"Maybe," was all Maka said after about ten minutes.

After everything was packed and the room was nearly empty, a feeling of freshness and new things was open to Soul. He welcomed the feeling, deciding that maybe this wasn't the end of the world. He got to live with his girlfriend, after all. And even if it wasn't legal and Soul was supposed to be staying with a relative, he didn't really care. Who would get him in trouble, anyways? Spirit? ...Probably.

Maka slung a bag over her shoulder and held two other bags in her arms while Soul carried the duffel bag, the bag full of shoes, and a plastic bag full of toiletries. He sighed, pressing on towards the door. It swung open, and as Maka stepped out and he was left behind for a second, he smiled. For his dad, anyways. he thought that maybe that vacation wasn't to hell, and perhaps his GPS actually worked for once.

He then closed the door and stepped out into the cold, breathing in the fresh air and watching the golden leaves dance in the wind. okay, maybe it wasn't that poetic a sight, maybe there was litter lining the streetsides and a dead branch on the rose bushes, but that's not the point. It was a time for new things. A time for one chapter to end, but another to begin. Maybe this chapter wouldn't be such a sad one.

Soul and Maka walked to her house, the already heavy bags seeming to get heavier and heavier. Once they finally got there, Maka kicked the door open and dropped everything on the floor, exhausted. She collapsed on the couch and sighed into a pillow, happy to just be alive. Soul laughed at her from the doorway as he set everything down too. He laid down on top of her on the couch, hugging her belly and kissing her neck. Spirit walked in, pried Soul off of her, and threw him back down on the floor while he scolded him.

"Nice to see you too, Mr. Albarn," Soul muttered, sighing. Spirit angrily puffed out his cheeks at him. "Well, I shouldn't be mad at you considering what happened to your father..."

"I...don't know what happened to my dad," Soul said suspiciously. What if this psychopath killed him or some shit like that?! Soul thought, getting a little tense.

"It was on the news, but I guess since...heh...your power went out...you haven't seen it." Soul and Maka immediately looked up at him.

"What?!" they both asked simultaneously. Spirit sighed.

"The cops found 'im in the ditch...dead..." there was a mournful silence following that statement. Maka held Soul close to her as a tear rolled down his cheek.

Now, Soul didn't usually cry. In fact, he was so obsessed with his "tough guy" image that he portrayed. Nevertheless, it's impossible to keep back tears when you just found out that your dad, the one who raised you and taught you everything you know, was dead. And they kept coming, too. They wouldn't leave him until all the stages of grief had gone, and that wouldn't be for quite a while.

Soul sat down and held his head in his hands, the tears falling onto the carpet. Spirit quietly slipped away to let Maka and him to be sad together. She rubbed his back, laid his head on her shoulder, and cried alongside him. Because for some reason, when you're crying, it's just slightly less terrible when someone can cry with you. Even though Soul just received the news, and he knew a long time ago that this was probably what would happen when he left, he couldn't help but just now feel lonely.

Yaaay another short chapter. Maybe it wasn't as terribly sad as I wanted it to be, but whatever. XD It was sad; you all know it was. But if I get one comment saying "well that escalated quickly dur hur hur" I WILL PERSONALLY JUMP OUTTA THIS COMPUTER AND SMACK YOU. XD Come on,guys. That's my style of writing GET OVER IT! XD Anywhore, thanks for reading. :P Review, follow, or favorite and you'll get a shout-out in my next chapter. :3