Liz stared out the window of her window and sighed as she climbed out of bed. BlackStar and Tsubaki would be returning today and they were going to meet them. She quickly dressed and started down the stairs when Patty came running from her room.

"Mornin' sis!" she greeted her cheerfully.

"Good morning," Liz replied with less enthusiasm. She was not a morning person.

"Are you excited to see BlackStar and Tsubaki?" she asked as she descended the stairswith her big sister.

"Yeah, of course! It'll be nice to have another girl here."

"There are already more girls than boys here already," Soul added as they walked into the main room. "BlackStar'll be a breath of fresh air. Are you girls ready to go?"

"Yep! Let's go get 'em!" Patty shouted as she ran out the door.

Liz only laughed at her sister's early morning energy. She had to admit she rarely seemed to tire. If she was going to find a suitor for Patty he would have to be a pretty amazing guy. Soul followed her out the front door and locked it behind them. Kid and Maka were out doing some shopping, they had taken to days off after the others had urged them out of the house the first time. Patty walked between her sister and best friend as they walked down to the meeting spot. She failed to notice the effort either one took to not look at the other. Soul kept his eyes forward while Liz allowed even the smallest detail to defer her attention.

"And when we finish we'll al go and get some..."

Patty stopped talking, not that either weapon noticed. She looked from one to the other, something inside her telling her they were not listening to her at all. Was the street really that much more interesting? Patty scratched her head, confused with their strange behavior.

"Hey! Liz, Patty!"

Liz looked forward and a large smile stretched over her face when she saw the black haired weapon waving to her.

"Tsubaki!" Liz called back.

Patty ran over to them, unable to hold in her excitement any longer. The two weapons embraced as the others reached them. Soul greeted BlackStar with a clean, updated version of their childhood high-five. Liz hugged Tsubaki and the reunited friends started to talk of the recent events.

"It's so good to be back," Tsubaki said as they walked down the street. "I can't wait to get into the rush with you all."

"Actually, Maka and Kid have calmed down recently," Liz sighed. "They're spending more time together relaxing now."

"Yeah," Patty agreed. "They go out a lot now."

The women talk on now about the bridesmaid dresses Maka had picked out for them to wear. Tsubaki seemed to agree that the dress would look nice on all of them if she was picturing it right. The men on the other hand..

"It's been really busy being stuck with all these women for the past two weeks," Soul sighed, glad for the male companion. "Kid's been to busy with Maka to do much else."

"And you haven't been?" the blue haired assassin replied skeptically.

Soul shook his head. "I'm not suicidal BlackStar."

"What are you talking about? Just go upto her and say it! Is it really such a big deal?"

"Yes, it is! This isn't someone you just walk up to and say whatever. That might have worked for you, but she isn't like Tsubaki."

"Whatever you say," he sighed. "I just don't understand what's so hard about it."

"Can we talk about something else? She is walking right in front of us.." Soul suggested shamefully.

Tsubaki stopped and turned to face the men with a bright smile. "Hey, guys, what do you think about splitting up for a bit? It's been a while since we've seen eachother and I'm sure we want to do things together that everyone wouldn't exactly agree to."

"Like what?" BlackStar demanded.

"Like going shopping~!" Patty chirped excitedly.

"We'll see you guys later then," Soul said without a second thought. "We'll meet back up at the mansion or my place."

"The mansion," Liz called back.

"Alright, catch you later!"

The groups split up, neither giving a second glance behind them. Tsubaki pulled the sister pistols into the nearest clothing store. Time to get to work! She started with questions of when she first started to feel the way she did about Soul. The way she talked about it there was no doubt that she was really inot him. Patty listened, her confusion plan on her face.

"You like Soul?" Patty gasped.

"Ah- Y-Yes Patty, I like Soul.." Liz admitted nerously. "Please keep this between us."

"Yes, Patty, you can't tell him because Liz is going to very soon," Tsubaki stated with a smile.

Liz blushed a light red at that. How soon? Liz was suddenly regretting talking to Tsubaki about everything.

"O-Okay," Patty said, putting a hand over her mouth.

"Now, let's get serious," the weapon said. "You have to get alone with ihm to find out how he really feels about you."

"There's no way I could stand being alone with him," Liz whined sadly.

"Of course there is! Now, when you two go out-"

"Go out?! Wait, I thought I was finding out if he liked me or not!"

"Calm down Liz! What you're looking for is any sign of hesitation or reactions to something you do. Listen carefully when he talks to you. Is it soft or is it his usual careless way of speaking- these things matter!"

"I don't think I can do this," the pistol whined, tears brimming in her eyes.

"Of course you can sis! You're so strong, you can d anything- I believe in you," Patty exclaimed.

Liz smiled and hugged her sister. She was so sure of her no matter what. Why couldn't she believe in herself like that? None the less, it was good to have someone there like that. Patty was always a good cheerleader. Liz took a deep breath then turned back to Tsubaki.

"This is one of those things that can't be ignored," Tsubaki said softly. "I know this may be one of the scariest things you've ever done-"

"Actually..." There were a few instances she could remember.

"but this will have a good outcome! Trust me Liz, I'll help you."

"Alright, I trust you Tsubaki."

"There's no way I'm doing something like that!"

"Why not? You want to tell her don't you?" the blue haired assassin asked. This whole thing was becoming to stressful.

"Well..." Soul rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "I was thinking that maybe it was okay if we just stayed like this."

"Like what," BlackStar asked with a frown.

"Just friends."

BlackStar stared at the white haired death scythe. Soul grew uncomfortable before BlackStar could muster a reply.

"No you can't," he said finally. "Things can't be the same anymore, even I know that. You have to tell her now."

Soul sat down on a park bench and sighed into his hands. Thing really were hopeless now. He thought that as long as he could accept everything that he could just live with it. Liz had said herself she didn't want to be dragged into long-term thing. What if he ended up wanting more from her? He knew if push came to shove she would drop him without a second thought if he proposed.

"Look, if you want, I'll help you out," Black Star offered as he joined him on the bench. "I don't like to see one of my followers in such situations, so I'm offering my guidance. You'd be a smart man to take it."

Soul looked up at the assassin. "I guess I would be."

Around noon they rondevued at the mansion and went in for lunch. Maka and Kid had returned and had taken the pleasure of cooking for lunch. Tsubaki offered to help but Maka refused. She was a guess and she had just gotten back from such a long, hard mission she deserved a homecooked lunch. The meister ushered her back into the living room and ran back to the kitchen to make sure Kid wasn't burning anything.

Kid looked up from the cake badder he was stiring. "Have you noiced anything strange about Soul lately?" he asked his fiance'.

"Hm? Strange beyond his usual behavior?" his meister asked. "What do you mean?"

Kid finished stiring and started to pour it into the prepared pans. "I mean, does he seem to act differently around anyone?"

Maka put the lid back on the soup and wiped her hands on her apron. "You mean he likes someone and you're trying to pry?"

"Yes," he answered flatly. "It's someone we know. I think it would be good for Soul to be in a relationship. Liz as well. She's the oldest and all this wedding preparation must be driving her crazy."

Maka smiled as she started to pull down plates from the cabinets. "You're so sweet how you worry about everyone even though you're the one getting married."

"I can't help it, I just don't want them to feel left out," he sighed. "I just want them to be as happy as we're going to be."

"Well, in that case I'll keep an eye out on any strange behavior. I wonder what kind of girl Soul would be interested in..."

In the living room the others were catching up. BlackStar was his usual loud self while the others just laughed. They didn't notice how quiet it was until they had come back after all. Liz had to admit she missed the eccentric blue haired man until then.

"Oh yeah~," Patty suddenly remembered something aloud. "We got a present for BlackStar!"

Liz searched through the bags as an excuse to hide her shaking hands. Just sitting in the same room with him was making her so nervous she could barely breath. She took out the black sleeves they had pickd out earlier that day. Liz went to hand them to BlackStar but ended up dropping them. She got up quickly to pick them up- so did Soul. He put his hand on them and her hand landed ontop of his. She looked up at him, containing her urge to runaway.

"I got it," Soul said calmly.

"Right.." Liz replied standing as he did.

Soul tossed them to BlackStar who opened the package without a second thought. The afore mentioned weapons went back to their seats, both obviously disturbed by the scene. Tsubaki smiled at Patty excitedly. I saw that~ she thought with a glance at Soul. I know everything I need to now. Time to set my plan into action!

Maka walked in untying her apron. "Alright everyone! Come on, the food's ready."

They followed her into the dining hall where Kid was laying out the plates. He pulled out the chairs for all the women before sitting himself.

"I hope you all like everything," Maka said cheerfully.

"I've always enjoyed your cooking Maka," Tsubaki replied honestly.

They all thank her for the food then started to pass around the dishes- it was a rather long table after all. The conversation started up on the mission BlackStar and Tsubaki had been out on. They had gone to retrieve the soul of a killer that had been taking the lives of children. Well, Maka cut BlackStar off after that and proceeded to talk about more pleasant things like getting to see the others for the first time in five years.

"I heard that Ox and Kim are married with kids and everything!" Maka said, still surprised by the news.

"Wow, that's good," Tsubaki said before taking another mouthful of rice.

"Yeah, if they're living so good it makes you want to do something big yourself," BlackStar stated, a sideways glance aimed at Soul.

"That's great," was all Soul allowed himself to say.

"Professor Stein and Marie are together to aren't they?" Liz asked.

"Really?!" Patty gasped. "Didn't see that coming!"

"That's amazing," Tsubaki gasped. "A lot of things have changed so drastically over the years."

"Time waits for no one," Kid replied.

The conversation continued to jump all over the place from jobs to living space to relationships. Liz was relatively silent during that portion of the conversation. It was bound to happen with two couples present, but it didn't make the sting any less worse. After lunch Soul volunteered to clean up. Maka mentioned a desert of some kind before jumping up from the table and running to the kitchen.

"We don't have any icing for the cake," Maka sighed when she came back into the dining room.

"That's not a problem," Kid said as he stood. "Would you mind going down to the store to get us some Soul?"

Soul looked up from stacking the dishes. "Why me?"

"Because you're our personal chore boy," he replied whimsically.

Soul was starting to regret saying he would do anything they asked until the wedding. What had possessed him to say something like thta anyway? He sighed and went to grab his coat. Maka turned to Liz, her face worried.

"Would you please go with him?" she asked, her brow furrowed with genuine worry. "It's not that I don't trust Soul or anything, but.. you know.."

"I'll go just to make sure he gets the right kind," Liz sighed, getting her coat.

She looked out the window. It was raining pretty hard out there and she could see Soul walking without an umbrella. Was he really so stubborn? Liz grabbed her umbrella and ran out after him. All eye fell on Maka as the door was heard closing in the distance. She smiled sweetly.

"That was very clever," Tsubaki applauded the blonde meister.

"So it's Liz," Kid said with a smile. "I honestly did not see that coming."

Maka fit her arms around her shinigami fiance's neck and rested her chin in his black hair. "This is the perfect setting for magical moments. Friends, food, and cake."

They shared in a laugh as Maka picked up the plates. Soul woul probably be upset if things didn't go well, but if they did then, well the five had a lot to hope for when they came back.

"Why did Maka send you after me?" Soul asked, standing close for the umbrella's protection.

"Well, first off, you came out in this rain with no umbrella," Liz said. "Were you trying to get sick?"

"I was already outside by the time I noticed it was raining and I wasn't going to be gone long anyway."

Liz rolled her eyes. "Maka sent me after you to make sure you got the right kind of icing. You didn't even ask."

"I've known all of you for so long I'm retty sure I know what kind of icing everyone can tolerate or agree on," Soul replied.

"Well I'm here to make sure," Liz stated.

The rain started down harder and Liz moved in closer to Soul. Her umbrella was not very big, especially considering Soul's height, she would have to walk close to him. Soul tried to ignore the harsh beating of his heart as she pressed closer to him. He put an arm around her shoulder to pull her closer, er, get her under the umbrella more. Liz was startled at first but didn't move away, in fact, she leaned in closer to him. For all of those ten minutes everything actually felt okay for once in a while. They seperated slowly once they got under the covering of the store's cieling. Liz stared guiltily into his eyes. Soul caught her eyes then quickly looked away to shake off the umbrella.

"S-So what kind of, um, icing did she want us to get?" he asked distractedly.

"She wrote it down for me here," Liz said quickly coming out of her stupor.

Liz held out a piece of paper which he took as he walked past her into the store. She felt her heart sank at his sudden change. So it was only for the sake of her not getting wet and not him trying to make a move on her? Liz followed sullenly behind. Oh Soul, how quickly I forget how cruel you are sometimes... They made their way to the aisle containing spices and the things alike.

"I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable holding you like that," he said quickly. "It was your umbrella and all."

"Ah- No! I was fine," Liz replied. "Th-Thank you Soul..."

He smiled meekily before looking back over the shelves. Liz bent down and picked up a jar of creme cheese icing. Soul nodded and they went to stand in the line. Once they were through he reopened the umbrella outside. Soull held out a hand and drew Liz in, his arm over her shoulders. They walked back home this way, close, without a word shared between them. They got some glances from passersby that thought they were "a very romantic couple taking a walk in the rain". Soul removed his arm to open the door and let Liz in first.

"Welcome back~" Patty greeted them enthusiastically. "What kind did you get?"

Liz handed her the creme cheese icing and her littl sister reported it to Maka.

"Sorry about making you two go out in such weather," Kid apologized solemnly. "I didn't know the rain would get so bad.."

"It was no big deal," Soul replied as he put down Liz's umbrella.

"Yeah, we're fine," Liz added a little to cheerfully.

Soul walked away grinning like a cheshire cat and Liz was smiling as well. Something went well. Maka caught Soul on his way buy.

"Hey Soul, I found the icing,"she said. "It turns out we had an unused jar here. Sorry about sending you out in that rain."

Soul just kept grinning. "You're a terrible actress you know."

Maka smiled back. "Yeah, I know."

Liz fell onto the couch between Tsubaki and BlackStar, the smile stilll dominating her features. Tsubaki smiled knowing it had been a success in the end.