A/N: Hey, guys! Give Jessie and me some props for major multitasking - we wrote this chapter while we were babysitting her baby sister! 8) Hold the applause, just throw money. Hehe. Anyway! This is one of the last chapters; after this one will be the epilogue, and oh god that's so bittersweet. This story has been a journey for both Jessie and me, and oh so fun to write. Thank all you lovely reviewers and readers for supporting/encouraging us the entire way! We appreciate every single review, thank you all so much! And now... JESSIE TAKES THE STAGE!

*backflips into the spotlight* Allo! Seriously though, guys, you would not believe what we went through to get this chapter to you. Taylor had to write with Dora the Explorer, horror of horrors, playing in the background, and my sis threw little toys at me while I was typing. We got that talent. Anyway! I don't like goodbyes, and there's still one more chapter anyway, so I'm going to hold off on that. But we really do appreciate you guys more than you can know! Thank you and enjoy the chapter!

Over the course of the day, the students at DWMA instantly noticed Maka's absence and deemed it unusual; Maka was perfectly punctual and always made a point to keep her record of being given the Perfect Attendance Award. And not only was Maka gone, so was her partner. This was the talk of Shibusen that day, especially among Soul and Maka's group of friends as they all stood in the lunch line.

"Looks like I'm the one getting the Perfect Attendance Award this year," Ox smirked smugly, his competitive rivalry with Maka forever intact.

"Nerd," Kim scoffed, giving a roll of her emerald eyes as she took her tray and hurried away with Jacqueline.

Ox was instantly crushed by this and ran after her without even bothering to take a lunch tray, wailing, "Kiiimmm! You don't mean ittt!" Harvar sighed and shook his head, taking two trays for the both of them before following.

Kilik glanced over his shoulder at the others inquisitively, his brow furrowed. "Well, I hope they're okay."

Liz picked a salad, musing aloud, "Maybe they had to go on a mission for Lord Death or something."

"I never heard anything from Father about the sort," Kid chimed in from behind her and Patty pensively, his voice a clear indicator that he was deep in thought about the situation.

Patty was bouncing up and down, repeatedly poking her sister's arm as she squealed, "Sis! Sis! I want chocolate pudding!"

"You can't have just chocolate pudding for lunch, Patty. That's dessert." The words were deadpan and rehearsed, as if Liz repetitively chided Patty for this kind of thing every day.

Patty suddenly halted all movement, turning to face the others with big, innocent blue eyes. "Maybe Soul and Maka just skipped school!" she blurted out, obviously the type to say something as soon as it came to mind.

There was a moment of silence, then chortles reverberated throughout the group.

…Well, Black Star was all-out laughing, as per usual. "HA HA HAAAA! As if Goody-Goody Bookworm Maka would do something like that!"

Tsubaki was always quick to come to anyone's defense. "Well, Patty has a point. Soul and Maka could both be sick," she pointed out. "Why don't we give Lord Death a visit after lunch and see if he knows anything about the situation?"

Black Star snatched a tray indignantly, whining loudly, "Jeeez, what's the big deal?! So Soul and Maka aren't at school, big deal! They're totally stealing my spotlight today and they're not even here, those attention hogs! I'LL TEACH THEM TO UPSTAGE ME! HA HA HAAAAA!"

Everyone sweatdropped.

Lord Death was starting to think that being a death god wasn't all it was cracked up to be. First, his weapon was a complete lunatic. Next time he was searching for a death scythe, he'd have to demand psychological references or something. There was no way he could work with another Spirit. It was too exhausting.

But as if dealing with the emotional estranged father wasn't enough, there was another knock on the door, and Lord Death just knew it spelled trouble.

"Father," Kid greeted, walking in like he owned the place (but then again, he kind of did). Liz and Patty were close behind as always. Patty was smiling brightly, and Liz looked bored.

"THE MIGHTY BLACK STAR HAS ARRIVED!" Black Star bellowed, doing a backflip into the room as if to reassert that he was the star of the show. Tsubaki sighed, though she was used to her partner's antics. The unlikely partners followed in step, but they were quite noticeably lacking a third pair in their group, and Lord Death knew why they were there. He should have seen it coming, really.

"Father, did Soul and Maka take a mission without my knowledge?" Kid asked. The question was polite, but underneath the calm tone, there was a challenge that dared Lord Death to be anything less than truthful.

Lord Death chuckled. "Nope! Maka and Soul are perfectly safe! …at least until Spirit catches up to them."

Kid raised an eyebrow, and everyone shot each other incredulous looks. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Black Star exclaimed.

"Are you sure they're safe, then?" Tsubaki's dark eyes sparkled with concern.

"Death Scythe…catches up? Where are they?" Kid demanded.

"Soul and Maka? Oh, they skipped school! They went to dinner and an amusement park. They even got caught up in a parade, but I believe they're at the Hidden Lakes right now. They've been having a wonderful time! In fact, I – ah… Are you kids all right?"

For in that moment, every one of them was either paralyzed in shock, jaw dropped to the floor, or passed out on the ground.

All except a certain hyperactive blonde. "TOLD YOOUUUU!" Patty exclaimed then, sticking out her tongue and flashing a peace sign towards the gathering, then bursting into laughter.

I inhaled deeply, collecting my thoughts and trying to calm my frayed nerves. No big deal, I'd worn a swimsuit in front of Soul before.

Just not… a string bikini. In addition, that emphasized what I lacked rather than flattering what little I did have. …In my opinion.

I took another deep breath before summoning my courage and finally stepping out behind a cluster of trees, coming into view. I could see Soul already in the water, floating on his back with his eyes closed. One eye lazily opened as he heard my crunching footsteps approach.

Just please, please don't make fun of me… I inwardly urged, unable to form the words lodged in my throat. With courage I held his gaze for a total of two seconds before my spurt of determination ran dry and I averted my eyes, unable to gauge his reaction, feeling my cheeks burn red.

This was a mistake. Maybe Soul had been able to convince me that this looked okay in the dressing room earlier, but seeing myself in the mirror and showing myself to the person who mattered most to me were two different things entirely. Surely it's not like he'd been expecting much, anyway. We lived together, after all – sometimes he walked in on me changing (which he'd earn a Maka Chop for). He used to call me Tiny Tits, after all. But still…. I wanted to impress him. Even if just once. Just to see a nosebleed that wasn't directed at Blair or…

Suddenly there was a big splash, breaking me out of my stupor, and I swiveled my gaze around to see that Soul was now in the water facedown, floating motionlessly, and I could see some blood trickling into the water.

In that moment, I'm sure the pupils in my eyes were visible. "SOUL!"

I dove into the water, surging toward him and flipping him around, shaking him in a panic, wondering if he needed CPR and why was he bleeding, had he hit his head, was he okay, or… So help me, if he drowned when he'd survived the stomach wound Crona and Ragnarok had delivered to him, I WOULD KILL HIM MYSELF.

Soul coughed, his head lolling… and then I saw it. Blood was spurting from his nostrils.

…No way.

"You JERK! Don't scare me like that!" I didn't have a book on me (surprisingly), so I settled for a karate chop to the top of his skull, which sent him right back underwater. Increasingly feeling more self-conscious, but this time in a better way, I crossed my arms over my chest and waited for him to resurface.

And that he did. Instantly. His crimson eyes roaming me.

This was a new feeling. Embarrassment, mortification, flattery, pleasure? A mix of those. It was so weird.

"My eyes are up here," I hissed, the words foreign on my tongue. Wow, never thought I'd ever have to say that.

Soul cleared his throat, averting his eyes and reaching a hand up to scratch his hair. "Er.. it looks great. On you," he added quickly, and I stared at him incredulously. Seldom had I ever seen Soul acting anything less than suave and eloquent.

"…Thanks," I managed, rubbing the side of my arm, and an awkward moment stretched out between us as I tried to pretend not to notice him trying not to give me another once-over. In a desperate attempt to squelch the awkwardness hovering in the air so thick you could slice it like a knife, I flicked my hand and splashed some water at him.

Thankfully, that seemed to do the trick. He blinked once, twice, snapping out of his reverie before sending me a playful smirk that made my hair stand on end. "You're starting a dangerous game, Maka." As soon as the words left his mouth, he was spiraling water in my direction.

Too late to dodge it, I simply turned so that it would hit my back, and god, was it freezing! I hadn't gone under or grown accustomed to the iciness of the water yet, whereas Soul had, so I knew I was at a serious disadvantage.

"Soul-!" I spun back around, ready to retaliate, but he was gone. I did a full 360 in confusion. "Soul..? Where'd you go?!"

It was at that moment I felt smooth fingers lock around my ankle, and a shriek escaped my lips as the grip gave way to a sharp tug, pulling me under.

COLD COLD FREEZING FREEZING

I'm going to admit my resurfacing was not as slick as Soul's – his rising out of the water could be in the movies. You know, where they do a sexy hairflip and sparkle in the sunlight, posing provocatively as water droplets glistened on their chiseled bodies?

And me? Well… no. I was sputtering and gasping for air, flailing my arms in a furious frenzy and basically just overall spazzing as I broke the surface of the water, the aforementioned cut-off shriek now finishing where it'd left off.

Soul's laughter greeted my ears from behind. "Your ankles are so fat that I was able to grab them underwater."

At this point, the turn of events had gotten me good and pissed off. I about-faced in a rage, ready to scream at him and smack him with the nearest log I could find, but unfortunately for me, my teeth were chattering and I was shivering too hard to speak or move. Apparently my pitiful state made Soul feel a prick of sympathy, because his face softened as he surveyed me. Then he opened his arms. "Cold? C'mere. Let me warm you up."

The kind, inviting words themselves were enough to completely warm me all over. I evaluated him silently, watching as his eyes fell on my lips, and dared to take a step forward, my heart skipping a beat. I felt Soul's sturdy arms slipping around me and gently pulling me closer, and it wasn't long until his bare chest greeted my hands from where I'd been rubbing them along my arms in a feeble attempt to warm them up.

"S-Soul?" was all I could say, finally lifting my eyes to his.

Then Soul gave me a smile – not his trademark smirk that showed off his fangs. His real smile, that I loved. This smile, coupled with the look in his eyes, said everything he couldn't put into words. No words needed to be shared. By now, we knew each other well enough – from both living together and resonating souls as partners – to have conversations without speaking.

"Let's finish what we started."

And suddenly, he was leaning in. I always thought I wouldn't know what to do when the time came, that I'd mess everything up with the awkwardness that came to me way too naturally for my liking, but I found myself angling my head to meet him halfway purely on instinct.

"MAAAAAKKKKKAAAAAA! GET AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER YOU BASTARD ALBINO MOTHERFUCKING OCTOPUSHEADDDDD!"

I jerked back from Soul, my eyes growing wide. At first, I was shocked by the interruption, but once I realized it wasn't a Kishin trying to kill us, anger flared up inside of me like the fires of Hell. "Papa," I growled, and I think the temperature legitimately dropped twenty degrees.

Papa looked like he'd been trampled by a stampede of elephants, dragged through the forest by his feet, and attacked by a wolf. His clothes were dirty and tattered, and he was missing one shoe. Twigs were stuck in his red hair, and mud was splattered across his face. There was an insane glint in his eyes as he stumbled through the brush, desperately trying to reach the lake where, in his mind, the ultimate horror was taking place.

"Shit," Soul muttered, and I couldn't help but agree.

Papa finally broke free from the vines and face-planted right into the lake mud, which was sticky, slimy, and a particularly revolting brown. This didn't stop him, though, because he just jumped back up, flailing and sputtering, still trying to get to Soul and me.

"Papa, what are you doing here?!" I cried, angry and upset and just so freaking furious. I mean, seriously, what did I do to deserve this? Is it really so much to ask to kiss the love of my life? Was I doomed to be constantly interrupted? And by my psychotic father of all people? Oh, hell no. I may not have had a book earlier, but you can bet I somehow found one for this moment. "MAKAAAA…CHOP!"

I'm pretty sure my dear sweet Papa hit the bottom of the lake before he somehow came back up, coughing up water. "Maka!" he scolded. "How dare you skip school?! I am very disappointed in you, young lady. …YOU SHOULD HAVE SPENT THE DAY WITH ME!" he whined, his eyes going big and tear-filled.

"That's contradictory…" I grumbled.

And just when I thought the situation couldn't possibly get any worse, I heard a high-pitched girlish voice.

"HI MAKA! Aren't you glad to see us?" Patty squealed.

"Way to be subtle, Patty. What if we were interrupting some sexy time?" Liz chided, smirking.

Kid, somehow still looking perfectly sophisticated in a symmetrical suit, arrived behind them, and the three observed us from the lake's edge. I can only imagine how we must have looked to them, Soul and I too close together and my insane Papa splattered in mud. "We certainly interrupted something," Kid observed.

Tsubaki came next. "I'm so sorry, Maka! I told them to leave you two alone, but they just wanted to see you guys…" Tsubaki trailed off as she noted Papa's unfortunate presence.

Then I heard "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU TWO? HOW COULD YOU SKIP SCHOOL WITHOUT YOUR GOD?" and I just knew that someone up there really hated me. Black Star barreled onto the lake shore, but being the moron he is, he slipped in the mud and slid right into Tsubaki who slid into Kid who slid into Liz and Patty, and suddenly they were all in the lake, and I swear, I will kill them all.

"What the fucking hell, you guys? Why can't you just leave us alone?" I cried. Could this situation possibly be any worse?

Soul rubbed my back soothingly. "Calm down, Maka. It's okay."

"No, it most certainly is not okay! This is awful, and it's all your fault for getting me to skip school in the first place!" I snapped. I know. That part wasn't fair, but I was really stressed out at this point.

Kid was having a panic attack over how the mud on his clothes was asymmetrical, practically convulsing in the water.

"HEY LOOK MAKA'S WEARING A BIKINI!" Black Star shouted.

"A BIKINI?!" Papa wailed.

"Oooh, polka dots!" Patty approved.

"It's a pretty color. Very flattering on you," Tsubaki nodded.

"Looks pretty sexy," Liz agreed.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS, MAKA?" Papa bellowed.

And that was the last straw. I'm not exactly proud of what happened next, but then again, I didn't really see many options. I stomped out of the water, and I ran all the way back to Death City. And I may or may not have been screaming the whole way,

"BAAAASSSTTTAAARRRRRRDDDSSSSSSSSSSS!"