A/N: Huge thanks to all you readers and reviewers. I just finished chapter 15, and am (maybe) halfway through! Individual reviewer responses are at the end of the chapter!
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"You're my favorite place to go when my mind searches for peace." - Kristen Corley
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Kid was putting away his cufflinks when Maka's distress smacked him through their bond. It was followed a moment later by Maka herself, who tore through the mirror in his closet like the hounds of hell were after her.
"What's wrong?" he asked, catching her by the shoulders and rubbing them soothingly. He looked her over anxiously, trying to figure out the source of her trouble.
"Look at this!" she shrieked, holding up a notebook. Kid recognized it as the one she used for their resonance team notes. It looked fine to him, but apparently it was causing a major problem.
"I—"
She cut him off, "All of this! I've put so much thought into this."
"You—" he tried again but to no avail.
"We've all been killing ourselves out in the fucking desert trying to make the new technique work!" she shook the notebook so furiously that Kid had to lean back to avoid being hit in the face, "I'm trying as hard as I can!"
She stopped, overcome by emotion, and Kid was finally able to get an entire sentence in.
"I know you are!' he exclaimed, dodging the flapping pages, "Did my dad say something to you?"
Maka's indignation disappeared as if by magic, leaving her deflated and desolate. She hugged her notes against her chest for a moment before answering him.
"Not him. My mom," she said quietly, "I got an email from her. She doesn't….she's unhappy about us."
Now it was Kid's turn to look freaked out. The look accompanied a cold, sinking feeling in his stomach. He didn't doubt that Maka loved him, but she'd loved Kami even longer. Would she leave him if Kami demanded it?
"We've been going out for a year and a half!" he exclaimed, "And she's just now getting around to voicing her disapproval?"
He abruptly turned back toward the cufflink box. Saying something nasty about his girlfriend's beloved mother wasn't going to help matters, and he needed a moment to get himself under control. He carefully returned the white gold skull links to their proper place on the black velvet lining, first checking to make sure there wasn't any sand stuck in the clasps. All the while, he wracked his brain trying to figure out how to respond to the shocking development
"I know," Maka tossed her notebook onto the central island and pushed her dirty hair back, "I sent her an email about our trip to see the whales, and that's what I got back. She's worried that we're getting too serious or something."
Kid lowered the etched glass lid on the cufflink box and closed the drawer it resided in.
"Well," he said slowly, "She's not the only person who believes that. Your dad and Professor Stein probably agree with her."
Maka shook her head, "They're both overprotective and crazy. My mom isn't, so if she thinks we…" she broke off and flung herself wildly into Kid's arms. He rocked backward with the impact, then hugged her tightly to steady himself emotionally as well as physically.
"I value her opinion so much," Maka said into his shoulder, "But I'm doing all I can! I'm not goofing around with you instead of doing my best. I swear I'm not."
Kid rubbed the back of her tense neck, "No, you're not. Just the opposite. If she was here instead of on assignment, she'd see how hard you're working. She'd be telling you to take it easier instead of worrying that you're distracted and not doing enough! Christ, Maka, you're already killing yourself."
She inhaled shakily, and when she let it out, Kid felt her bottom lip tremble against his chest.
"Well, she's not here," she said, "Maybe she has more perspective than I do. Than either of us does. We try hard not to let ourselves be distracted, and I don't feel like we are, but what if that's not true?"
"It's not true," he promised her.
Maka's fingers twisted into the back of Kid's shirt, inadvertently pulling the tails out and freeing the sand trapped beneath them. The grains danced across the ebony floorboards and made a small pile at his heels. It broke their solemn mood, and for once he was grateful for their filthy work environment.
"Okay, now I'm distracted," he announced, squirming, "and I need a broom."
Maka peered over his shoulder, "Yeah, that's kind of a mess,"
"And that's just the sand that didn't go down the back of my pants," he complained.
"I keep telling you to work out in a swimsuit like Soul and BlackStar do." she reminded him, reaching under the shirt to brush the remaining sand off his back. Kid made a face that encompassed both the additional mess and her suggestion.
"So not me," he said, "They're more about comparing their tans and getting off on the explosions than they are about making this happen. I dress for work because this is the most important job we have right now."
Kid stepped back and tipped Maka's chin up, "I know this technique is more on you than it is on me, but I want to back you up as much as I can. We need the weapon, but more importantly, I don't want to let you down."
Maka caressed the hand that held her face, "You have never let me down." she said, then gave him an impish smile, "Except the time you abandoned me at that Russian factory. There was that."
"We were in ninth grade!" Kid protested, "And I was a crazy ass on top of it. Do you...did you really feel like I abandoned you?"
"I'm teasing you," her smile became gentle, "I swear one of these days I'm going to get you to figure out when someone is just, pardon the term, kidding around."
"I'm always serious when it comes to you." he said, kissing her knuckles, "And I know how serious you are about your work. Dad and I both know that you're giving a hundred and ten percent. No matter what your mother says, you're doing the best job anybody could do, okay?"
The mention of her mother knit Maka's eyebrows together in a pensive frown, "I guess I know that. I just hate to think that she doesn't understand us. I couldn't get through any of this without you. I don't just love you; we're a team just like Soul and I are."
Kid leaned down and gave her a slow, deep kiss, letting his soul speak to hers as he did.
"Well, okay, not exactly the same kind of team Soul and I are." she murmured when their tongues were back in their respective mouths. She felt him smile against her lips before he pulled her head down to her shoulder. He cuddled her for a while, wrapping her wavelength with his and steeping her in tenderness before he spoke again.
"Would it help if I wrote to your mom?"
"Mmmm. Maybe." Maka was relaxed now, and felt able to think critically again, "I'll email her back later and explain things. I've been telling her a lot more personal stuff than she's used to, so maybe she got the wrong idea. If we both tell her, it might make her feel better."
She snuggled her head into the crook of his neck and made a small, contented noise, "You know, I'm not sure I'm up to eating out tonight, and Nadine's not planning on us for dinner here. Soul's going to that concert with Liz; how about if we go to my place and cook?"
"Sounds great to me," Kid answered. A little domestic closeness sounded just right, "I have to shower first, though. I'm way too disgusting to touch food."
"Same."
"Would you care to join me?" Kid asked, giving a formal half-bow and gesturing toward the bathroom. She gave him a saucy grin.
"If I do, are you going to scrub my hair and rub soap all over me?" she asked, running her fingers down his chest and hooking them into his belt loops.
"Only if you return the favor."
"And once we're all clean...you know how you pick me up and I wrap my legs around your waist?"
"I'm familiar with the maneuver, yes." Kid took one of her hands and curled it over his growing erection, "The one where I slide this inside you, and we make love in all the steam and hot water and then decide we shouldn't do it again because we almost drown when we come?"
"Yes," Maka's eyes glittered with lust and mischief, "That's the one. Can we do that?"
Kid reached down and yanked her tank top over her head, heedlessly spraying more sand across his closet floor.
"Oh, we're definitely going to do that."
Responses!
multyfangirl20: We're definitely on the same wavelength! And thanks for letting me use that great line you gave me!
bqdtc, hs9fp, sJajY, & wGftF: Thanks!
BlackKrow: Kami definitely has a hold on Maka, but there are some other factors that will be contributing to her stress level. And Kid's!