A/N: HAPPY NEW YEARS EVE, ONE AND ALL! I don't think I'll have a chance to upload this later, since I'm supposed to be going to a party that starts in the morning, so here I am, posting a New Years fic at 1:50 AM on New Years Eve.... Anyways, have a good one, everyone, and enjoy the last day of 2008! And this fic, of course! ^^

Maka took a sip out of her champagne glass before letting out a sigh.

She craned her neck to glance at the clock hanging on the wall behind her. 11:57 it read. She vaguely wondered why there was a digital clock on the wall as opposed to a regular one as she sighed again.

Through her peripheral vision, she could see Tsubaki waving her over, with Liz and Patti standing next to her. Maka placed the glass--filled with sparkling grape juice, of course, if she was drinking actual champagne her father would be hounding her even more than he already was between his flirting with every single woman in the room--on the counter she was leaning against and walked over to the other girls.

Tsubaki, immediately guessing the cause for Maka's depressed demeanor, gave her shoulder a squeeze.

"Don't worry, he'll get here in time," she assured her friend. The blonde gave her a small smile of gratitude.

Liz suddenly pointed a finger at Maka. "You need to lighten up! It's New Years, you're supposed to be getting drunk off your ass and having fun! What if Mr. Perfect was somewhere in here and you passed up your chance to meet him because you were too busy moping about your weapon not being here?!" she asked, swirling the liquid in her glass around. Tsubaki blanched.

"Um, Liz, what are you drinking…?" she questioned.

Liz winked. "It's not sparkling grape juice, I can tell you that much."

Her sister started giggling loudly, before the group heard someone announce that there was a minute left of the year. They rushed into the other room to count down to the new year, dragging a reluctant Maka behind them. She settled into the back just as the countdown began.

"10..." she whispered as everyone else shouted it. She wondered where her weapon was-- she hadn't seen him since that morning,

"9.."

She was no longer counting down. Soul had just left as soon as breakfast was over that morning. He had said that he'd be at the party, but no one had seen him.

"8..."

She thought about last year. It was their first year as partners. They hadn't gone to the party, but all their friends had come over and they had a huge dinner and celebrated together. She couldn't remember a better New Years.

"7..."

Black Star had his arm wrapped around Tsubaki's waist, she noted. That was strange. Had they become a couple at some point without telling anyone? Well, whether they had or not, it was bound to happen eventually. They were perfect for each other. Maka suddenly felt cold.

"6..."

Her gaze wandered over to Kid, Liz, and Patti. Both of the sisters had grabbed one of his hands and all three were smiling. Maka noticed that Patti was standing slightly closer to Kid than Liz was. Her eyes wandered back to their hands, and she subconsciously clenched her own hands together.

"5..."

It seemed like everyone had someone with them. Her papa was surrounded by various women… and Blaire… she shuddered, looking away. Ox was standing with Kim, who seemed to be blushing about something he had just whispered to her.

"4..."

Next to Ox was Chrona, who was red as a tomato and holding hands with… Kilik? Woah. That was unexpected. Maka would have to tell Tsubaki later. Hell, even Stein had someone-- Marie was holding onto his arm, counting down loudly, and Stein was just smiling. Maka felt her eyes tear up as she realized just how alone she was.

"3..."

She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head, and there was Soul, smirking down at her with his shark-like teeth. Her mood immediately lifted, as she whispered, "Where were you?" to him. He held up a finger, which she understood to mean 'tell you later'. She joined back in counting.

"2!" she yelled, the corners of her mouth finally lifting. Soul's hand was still resting on her shoulder. Tsubaki and Liz had turned to smile at her. She waved at them.

"1!" the room chorused, and Maka quickly pulled a party popper out of her pocket.

"Happy N--!" she began, before she was whirled around and a pair of lips met her own. She froze for a second, before melting and returning the kiss.

Soul pulled away, grinning stupidly. She smiled back at him, trying but failing to keep the blood from rushing to her face.

"What was that for?" she asked, mentally smacking herself for the dumb question.

"First kiss of the new year," he replied.

She stood on her tiptoes-- when had he gotten so tall?-- and kissed him again. "Well, that was the second one, then," she said before walking off, leaving him standing there with that goofy grin still on his face.

She knew she was wearing an identical one on her own face.