A/N: I'm back, bitches! You thought shit was complicated before? Oh, we are just getting started. YEAH! ACCIDENTAL LONGFIC! I apparently have this habit of switching to present tense in the middle of a chapter now. Please point it out. It's driving me nuts.

A disgruntled Soul Evans disappeared into the bathroom to take the edge off of his arousal while Maka and Kid put groceries away. Of course, he didn't announce that was what he was doing, but the hiss of the shower was enough of a giveaway.

"How's he doing?" Maka asked as Kid handed her groceries to stow in the cupboards. She was trying to be nonchalant, but her voice wavered the slightest bit. Even though she had been expecting it, it was still jarring to walk into her apartment to find her boyfriend making out with one of their best friends. One of their male best friends.

"He's euphoric," Kid responded plainly.

"That's good, isn't it?"

Kid shook his head a little bit before he said, "It's normal, but it's not the end. The stages of grief apply to this new part of himself just as they would if someone close to him had died."

Maka frowned, putting away the last box of cereal before turning to Kid with her arms crossed.

"I don't understand."

"A part of Soul's identity died, Maka. Who he was, who he believed himself to be…it doesn't exist anymore. And he has to reconcile that fact with himself. He has to figure out who he's going to be now. He's working through it, but you know grieving isn't linear."

Maka nodded slightly, eyes downcast. Kid took her silence as permission to continue.

"He worked through denial pretty quickly. You saw the bite marks."

The blonde meister winced.

"He hasn't tried to bargain yet. We may not witness it, even though it'll happen. But he's bouncing around depression, anger, and acceptance like a goddamn hamster on speed."

"So, what can you do?"

"It's not a matter of what I can do, Maka. This is…it's…it's complicated. This isn't something I can handle on my own. I need…you have to help him, too."

"I don't know how," Maka whispered, turning her head from Kid to hide the wetness brimming in her eyes, arms crossed over her chest to hug her ribcage. "I see how you look at him."

The raven was taken aback by the quiet confession. And it was not that he was bothered by the fact that he had been ostensibly caught in his attraction. Rather, he was disturbed by the tone of hurt that colored Maka's words. Hurt that wasn't directed towards his attraction to Soul, but rather the inference that he wasn't attracted to her.

"Look at me."

She didn't. Not until a finger slid under her chin to turn her head towards him.

"Look at me," he implored her. And this time he was met with a dewy meadowscape. "Do you think I only look at him that way?"

"I…"

"Do you think I'm going to take him from you, Maka? That I'd want to do that? That he would ever consider leaving you?"

"No," she sniffled before she blinked, a glassy tear rolling down her cheek.

"Then why do you hurt? What are you afraid of?" Kid queried as his hands moved to cup her cheeks.

"Because I…I don't…I don't understand either."

"Which part?"

"Any of it! It was just talk! Stupid fantasies! It wasn't supposed to be…"

"But it is, Maka. It is. And he is what he is. Do you love him any less for that? Any differently?"

"Never!" she scowled at him.

"Then what's the problem?" Kid breathed softly, pressing his forehead to hers as his hands slid from her cheeks to her shoulders, all the way down her arms until he grasped her hands.

"She doesn't know how to share," a deep voice interrupted.

Soul was leaning against the entry to the hallway, a towel loosely wrapped around his hips, another piece of cloth draped over his shoulders to catch the stray droplets of water that fell from his hair. His wavelength was buzzing, trapped somewhere between arousal and jealousy as he took in the sight of the intimate position of his meisters. The moment was similar to when Maka had entered the apartment with considerably less humor in the air.

The demon weapon stood there a moment more, drawing his tongue over the top row of his teeth. The blonde and the raven watched that tongue snake along beneath his upper lip, unmoving, just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"Kiss him," Soul said easily.

Maka's eyes widened as she squawked out a, "What?!"

Her partner only shrugged as he responded, "Kiss him. See how you feel."

"Maka," the Shinigami began, "you don't have to do—mmf!"

The scythe meister had pulled the gun meister down without any further hesitation, soft lips colliding with those of a surprised reaper. And once he had control of his brain again, Kid kissed back with equal fervor, pressing the small woman into the counter top. His hips kept her pinned in place, but it was clear that she had no intention of trying to slip away, her fingers curling into the belt loops of his pants to hold him fast to her.

A low moan escaped the reaper, but being the exhibitionist he was, he didn't care. He reveled in knowing Soul was watching him. It sent fire rushing through his veins and that flame burst from his body in the form of his tongue sliding over Maka's, counting her teeth, tasting the roof of her mouth, stealing her breath away. It was absolutely exquisite.

"Yeah, she is," Soul spoke with a lopsided smile.

"Hmm?"

"You called her exquisite."

"Did I?" Kid chuckled as Maka blushed and turned her head. "Well, it's true. You are exquisite. Do you still think I only look at him that way?

Maka only huffed a laugh before flicking her gaze over to Soul. He seemed relatively at ease, though his wavelength was still conflicted. Not surprising. Hers and Kid's weren't terribly stable at the moment either.

"So…what comes next?" she asked. "I'm not exactly in my element here."

"None of us are," Soul snorted.

"I think, perhaps, we should all sit down and discuss over dinner. That seems like the best course of action, yes? Kid supplied.

The pair nodded, and Maka extricated herself from Kid's grasp while Soul…went to take another cold shower.

Useless idiot.