Maka thought she was seeing things. Perhaps the stress of the day was getting to her. In addition to the meeting with Crona, she had to deal with no less than three crises, one involving the overenthusiastic Black*Star and one very flustered Tsubaki.

But, there was no denying its existence. Placed right in front of where she usually parked her car was one very large stuffed animal, bearing a Merry Christmas card. But of course, Soul had to show off his male perverted side once in a while because there were other…appendages than arms and legs.

Ever so slightly amused, she got out of the car, eyeing the stuffed animal. She made her way to their house. "I'm home!" she called as she opened the door, looking around for Soul.

"Well, hello there." Donned in one of his suits, Soul laid rather suggestively on the couch. Maka smiled and shook her head, pausing to take off her shoes from her aching feet.

"Did you see my present?" Soul sat up.

Maka gave a chuckle, strolling up to him. "It was kind of hard to miss." She rubbed one of her shoulders, tense from stress.

Soul walked behind her and massaged her shoulders. Maka gave a little sigh. True, she wasn't as fond of his suits as the real person but his metal fingers worked magic on the many knots in her muscles.

"Did you like it?"

She smiled. "It's certainly unique."

Turning around, she gave Soul a playful look. "But why don't you take off that mask so I can greet you properly?"

He shook his head. "No can do."

Suddenly suspicious, she gave him a look. "Are you in the workroom?" Without waiting for an answer, she strode to the staircase.

"Nope, you can't come down here, radiation leak." The suit followed her down the stairs. "Uh huh," she said, ignoring Soul. She came to the bottom, finding Soul at his work bench, talking into some machinery that obviously controlled the suit. "Sure there is."

Soul gave a sheepish grin and gave a little wave, the machine mimicking him exactly. "Hi, dear. That little beauty is Mark 42. Promising but still a prototype." He waved his hand. It flew to the opposite side of the room and turned off.

Maka looked at Soul's exhausted face. "Have you been working here all day?"

Soul looked back to his work. "I did take breaks to eat."

Shaking her head, Maka suddenly noticed their dinner for two set out on one of the side tables. Only most of the food was gone. "You ate without me on date night?!" Her fingers gave a twitch for the notebook she always kept on her.

"I didn't know when you were going to be back…it was getting late and…I was hungry," Soul finished rather lamely, shrinking at Maka's cold glare.

Her patience had almost run dry. "You practically live down here and I hardly see you anymore."

Not looking at her as he spoke, Soul's hands trembled a little. "Well things haven't been the same since…that…since New York," he bit off the last two words fast, as if he couldn't stand having them in his mouth.

A little sympathy diffused her anger but Maka spoke her feelings- things had gotten way too out of hand. "You don't think I haven't noticed? That I don't notice the way you come down here at night? That you've created more suits in recent times than before? That isn't a hobby, Soul, that's an obsession!"

Maka bit her tongue before she could say something she would regret later. "I'm going to take a shower." She began walking back up the stairs.

"Wait. Please don't go." There was a desperate edge in voice that she hadn't heard before. Maka paused and turned, looking expectantly at him.

His scarlet eyes were slightly widened, giving Soul an almost scared look. "You're right. On all of it." His face worked for a moment, like he was trying to dredge out the words. "I can't sleep. Not since New York. Every time I close my eyes, it's like I'm back there. Like I never left. That nothing will be ever be safe again. And that's why I spend all night down here, working on these suits. Because there's one person that I can't live without with, one person that I want to protect. You."

All the anger drained out of Maka. Walking back down the stairs to Soul, she wrapped her arms around him. She held him for a moment. Then she released him. "I'm going to take a shower."

She enjoyed Soul's confused face for a moment before adding, "And you're coming."

Soul smirked. "Well, that's better."

Through his suit, Soul looked in stunned horror at the armada of ships around him. Aliens. Grimy, bloody aliens everywhere.

Hiding in their invincible ships in the depths of space, which, thanks to the wormhole, was only a hairsbreadth away from Earth. Where everything he loved was. Which, considering he probably wouldn't make it back through the ever-shrinking wormhole, he would most likely never see again. The screen went black as his suit shut off.

He fell forever.

Maka woke to Soul thrashing beside her. Heart pounding, she tried calling his name. "Soul. Soul! Wake up!" She laid her hand on his shoulder to shake him awake. Soul's eyes flew open, still lost in the nightmare.

Then a metal gripped her shoulder, pushing her back. She gave a surprised scream as she looked in the blank eyes of Mark 42's mask.

Finally awake, Soul waved his hand and punched the suit apart. "I'm sorry, I must have summoned it in my sleep…"

Maka had had enough for one night. "I-I'm going to sleep on the couch." Grabbing a blanket, she left the room.

Soul ran his hands through his hair, breathing shakily. He didn't blame Maka. Things had gotten out of control when he summoned Mark 42 in his sleep.

Lying down, he traced the scar across his chest, a friendly reminder of New York, to the arc reactor above his heart. His heart was still there all right, still beating a nervous rhythm. So, why did he feel so hollow?