Morning dawned too soon. At least, every muscle she had was protesting the hour, as was her head. She murmured a protest when her warm, solid pillow moved but soon sighed her relief when she felt him press two aspirin and a cold glass of water into her hand. Then he was back in bed with her and she was dozing back off, cocooned in his arms again.

The second time she woke it was to see him standing over her with a tray of food and a slightly giddy smile and she sat up slowly, watching in something like awe and something like confusion as he sat down the lap tray with it's plate of eggs and bacon and toast and apple juice.

"Morning," he murmured softly, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Morning yourself," she replied. "What's all this for?"

"You," he said with that same soft smile.

"I kinda gathered that, but why?" He leaned down and captured her lips in a tender, yet intense kiss.

"Because I love you, so much, and I never want to see doubt in your eyes again." Oh. The events of the evening began to slowly trickle back into her mind and she froze, but with her love, her partner gazing down at her she forced herself to take first one bite, then another. Soon it was taking all of her strength to eat the admittedly delicious breakfast without letting him see her inner turmoil. Eventually, though, she was done, and though she knew he could tell through their souls that she was mildly perturbed, when she dismissed it and said she was fine, that she just remembered there was something she was supposed to be looking up for one of her classes, he just grinned at her and said "That's my Maka," before taking her dishes and leaving her to her morning. When she was in the shower all of her worries, everything she hadn't felt the night before, came to her with a vengeance, and she struggled to hold herself together. Slow, deep breaths and then she was drying off and getting dressed and walking out to the living room where her weapon was already flopped on the couch playing a video game. It was simple enough to grab her backpack and head out the door with a wave and an "off to the library" and then she was outside and her smile faded and she headed to the DWMA to ensconce herself in books – the one place she always felt comfortable. She never saw the worried look her partner gave her as he picked up on her soul wavelength and the fluxes it was experiencing.

She didn't come home that night.

Or the next.

Or the next.

She asked Lord Death if she could be excused from classes for a few days as she was working on an extra credit project and she was ahead in all of her studies anyway. It was impossible for her to gauge his true expression thanks to the ever-present mask, but he accepted her proposal, told her to take the time she needed, and said he would inform her teachers.

She timed her return home so that she knew no one would be in her house, and she snuck in to take a shower and gather some other things, and then she headed back to the library once more.

The morning of the fifth day, she was startled blearily awake by what smelled like a cup of strong coffee in front of her nose. Looking up she saw Professor Stein in front of her, setting the cup down and looking her over critically.

"You look horrid."

"Thanks."

"Your friends are worried."

"So worried that they've come to see me. I understand."

"Sarcasm only works if you're awake enough to be witty." He motioned to the coffee. "That should help." The enigmatic man walked away and she eyed the caffeinated beverage before her warily. Still, the scent was tantalizing and she had to admit she felt more alive after she'd drained the last drops. Unfortunately, being awake meant facing her thoughts.

...is it cheating if you're both doing it?..what was I thinking?..it was Tsubaki...why did I let it go so far?..what on earth do I do now?..how do I face either of them?..Soul...Death, I love him so much...but, I was...with them...why would he want me anymore?..why did it feel so...right?..

Like a kitten chasing its tail until it wears itself out, she finally collapsed after three more days. She woke up in her own bed and the panic that filled her had no equal. The moment her eyes opened she saw the concerned faces of all of her friends staring down at her and burst into tears, unable to take their sympathy. She was tainted – she was an adulteress. She was no better than her Papa, with his string of women and the hurt looks he always put on her Mama's face. She screamed at them to leave until, one by one, they left. She burrowed into her blankets and cried until she passed into darkness once more.

When she woke up again it was dark, and she could sense them all out in the living room. She felt like eighty pounds of hammered shit piled into a ten pound bag. A hot shower helped a little but she still couldn't face herself, let alone them. Still, she knew she couldn't hide as she had been. Someone would take notice, would force her to go back to classes, routines. Better to do it on her own. Far fewer questions that way. Her friends were surprised when she resumed her normal schedule, and even more surprised when it became obvious that outside of class she didn't want to talk to any of them. She still slept in the library. The librarian had given up on trying to shoo her out and instead just checked on her every evening with a sad sigh and a shake of her head. She wouldn't look Soul in the eyes, even while they were practicing, and their resonance level dropped to lows unheard of for the golden girl and her weapon. She just...couldn't. She was not good enough anymore. Not for him.

The months passed, and one night as she was settling into her usual corner, soft footsteps had her looking up. Expecting the librarian – who had already come to do her silent glare-stare-sigh-head shake, she was floored to see a familiar black-clad form, the white stripes in his hair standing out in the lowered lights.

"Kid," she said, her voice emotionless.

"Maka. You need to stop doing this."

"I don't want your advice."

"You're getting it anyway." He sat down beside her, leaning back against the bookshelf as well and fixing her with his golden gaze. "What's wrong, Maka? You've got us all scared shitless." She scoffed.

"Yeah. I can tell. You're all so worried that you haven't bothered to come see me. Very scared, I can tell."

"Fuck you." Her eyes widened, her jaw dropped. Kid had never spoken to her like that, that quiet vehemence, that insulted tone, the vulgarity.

"Who do you think has been leaving you food and drinks? The magic fucking Library Faerie?" She thought back and realized that she really never wondered about it – she'd just assumed it was the Librarian. Or Stein. Or someone sent by Lord Death.

"Kid, I -"

"I'm here if you want to talk, but I have to tell you, I never took you for being such a self-centered little bitch." He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, releasing her from their near mesmerizing hold. She opened her mouth again, decided she didn't know what to say, closed it again. Rinse, repeat a few more times. But when she finally found her voice it didn't say the things she'd planned to say at all.

"I'm a whore." He slowly raised his head again, turning the full force of his golden gaze on her.

"Says who?"

"Everyone, I guess. Me. Anyone who knew what I did."

"Maka, I hate to break it to you since you obviously seem to love your misery, but a threesome with your best friend and your boyfriend does not make you a whore."

"You know?" He sighed in exasperation.

"Of course I do. As soon as you started not coming home Soul called us all, panicking. He and Tsubaki told us everything that happened." She moaned and dropped her head back down onto her arms.

"So everyone knows I'm a whore."

"Maka..." She could hear the frustration bubbling under the surface of his even tone. "You're the only one who thinks that." She snorted, and suddenly his hands were lifting her head, holding her so she couldn't escape the burning intensity of his gaze. "You can believe me or you can not, but there is not a single one of us that would ever consider you a whore. That's all you. And I really wonder what your basis for comparison is, Miss I-Don't-Have-Time-To-Think-About-Pointless-Copulation."

"My father," she spat bitterly, glaring at him as he held her head steady. "I'm turning into my fucking father and it's disgusting." To her shock he rolled his eyes.

"Please. Try again, Princess." She jerked free of him and stood up, blood boiling.

"What the hell do you know? Did you cheat on your partner? Did you have sex with someone else in front of the person you love? Shut the hell up, Kid. I don't need your attitude." He stood slowly, gracefully, and even in her anger she took a step back, realizing he was easily head taller than her, lean and just as much of a fighter as she was – more so, really, as he was a reaper and didn't need a weapon to engage an enemy. She gulped as he took a step towards her, then another, and she backed up in tandem with his walking until she felt the solid bookshelf behind her back and was unable to go any farther. Looking up into his two-tone eyes, she watched his expression go from decidedly blank to...decidedly not. She didn't have time to decide what it was that she saw, though, because in the next second he had her pinned, his hands on either side of her head as he leaned down to her eye level.

"To put it bluntly, my dear Maka – you wouldn't know how to be a whore if someone gave you a book on it."

Not even she was expecting her slap to echo that loud. Nor was she expecting him to simply stand there as she punched and kicked him, never fighting back but never once giving ground either. How long she battered at him she didn't know, but suddenly she just...couldn't do it anymore. With a defeated cry she slumped to the ground, but never made it because the guy she'd just been beating on caught her as she crumpled. Tears began to stream down her face and after he'd maneuvered them into a sitting position on the ground once more, this time with her cradled on his lap, his arms loosely around her, she buried her face in his shoulder and sobbed like her world was ending. It was a long time later that she began to quiet enough to hear his murmured words, words of comfort, of friendship.

"Maka, come back to us. We're so worried for you." She felt his lips brush against her hair once, twice.

"Why?" she sniffled. "I'm...I'm..."

"I swear, Maka, if you call yourself a whore one more time I am going to drape you over my knee and spank you until you can't sit for a week." The aggression in his tone startled her, had her looking up into his yellow-gold eyes.

"But..."

"Do you doubt that Soul loves you?"

"No!" she said with quiet certainty.

"Do you doubt that you love him?"

"Never," she vowed just as steadily.

"Then what is the problem? You will never leave him, nor he you. So if you find something you both enjoy that hurts no one, what's the harm?"

"But, my Papa -"

"Is not Soul," he said softly. And laying there against him, feeling his heartbeat, letting his words sink in, it dawned on her that...he was right. For a long time she lay there, part of her feeling guilty for ruining his shirt with her tears and mucus – ugh, she thought absently – but mostly just soaking up the feeling of being cared for again. It was a feeling she thought she was going to have to live without.

"Kid..?"

"Yes?"

"Why did you say...I mean, you're never so..." She couldn't figure out what she wanted to ask, but he understood anyway.

"Every time any of us have tried to talk to you lately you've shut us out or ignored us completely. I had to say what I did to make sure you listened." He shrugged. "And it worked."

"I'm sorry – I've been such a problem -" His fingers pressed against her lips, shushing her.

"Maka, no one expects you to deal with this easily. It's not something you've ever experienced, and the only thing you've ever known of having different lovers is the pain your father brought to your life. What worried all of us was that you didn't want to talk about it – didn't seem to want to deal with it at all. We were all scared when you ran away, and more scared when you came back but kept yourself closed to us. Soul's a basket case."

"Oh, Soul..." She shuddered in shame, and he coaxed her to look at him again.

"Not because of what you three did. He's scared to death that he's somehow driven you away."

"What? I...no...he's my...I love him." Kid nodded.

"I know that. But he seems to think that your...experience...has driven him out of your heart forever."

"Never," she said vehemently. He just hummed and held her closer, and she felt...peace...for the first time in ages.

"Kid?"

"Yes?" Slight amusement in his voice this time.

"How did you get so smart about all this?" she asked his collarbone. She felt his chuckle, and it was a good feeling.

"I am a meister with two very...active...weapons." His voice was smooth, and a bit smug, and Maka gasped aloud as she caught on to what he was implying. Sitting upright, she couldn't help but look at him, shocked.

"You mean you...and Liz and Patty..." He truly did laugh then, the warmth of it sending ripples through her, and he squeezed her hand once.

"Yes."

"And...it works for you? There's no...you don't feel..?" Despite her inability to speak, he knew what she was asking.

"It's a situation that works for all of us."

"But...how..?"

"You should know. Tsubaki says you're quite the agile tigress," he said, his tone teasing and calm. She could feel herself blushing, knew she must look like a tomato. A tear-streaked, disheveled blond tomato sitting in the lap of the most precisely attired guy in all of Shibusen. Suddenly everything struck her as funny and she began to chuckle quietly. Soon enough she was laughing, and he was laughing along with her. Just like that, all of the fear and strain she'd been hauling on her back began to dissipate and she sagged against him, weary but content. He held her to him for a bit longer, then kissed her forehead gently and urged her to her feet.

"Go find Soul," he said as he stood with her. "He's been a mess without you." Her guilt came back full force, but his finger on her lips once more silenced her. "You had to figure things out. He understands. It's okay. But he's worried that you might not love him now, and nothing any of us have said has been able to convince him otherwise."

"Thank you, Kid." Maka couldn't begin to put her thanks to words, but he understood and kissed her forehead once more.

"Anytime, Maka. Now, go find your man and give him the ride of his life." As she stood there doing her tomato impression once more, he scooped up her bag, packed her stuff neatly inside it, and placed it in her hand. With a firm, yet gentle, push, he urged her towards the door. She was going home.

It was dark in the house. The smell of day-old takeout assaulted her nose but she ignored it. Her bedroom door was shut, just as she'd left it, but Soul's was partially open. Dropping her bag to land where it would she walked to his door and pushed it open. The sight before her broke her heart. Soul was curled up, not even laying under the covers, shivering in the chill of the night air from the open window. He was just wearing a pair of boxers, no shirt, and she could see the goosebumps on his arms. She could also see that he'd been crying. Walking slowly to the bed, she sat down on the edge of it and was startled that he didn't react in the least.

"Soul..." she whispered. He jolted upright, stretching out with such force that she had to catch herself quickly or fall off the bed. His eyes focused on her, wide and disbelieving, and he mouthed her name silently. Those crimson orbs she loved so much were full of emotions – hope, fear...love. Wanting to say something but not even sure what she could possibly say to make everything better, she thought of Kid's last words to her and made a decision. Standing up, she walked into the bathroom and washed her face, wiping away the last of the tears and redness. Turning off the light again she walked back out to her weapon who hadn't moved a muscle, still staring at her like he was afraid she was some sort of hallucination. With trembling hands she began to work the buttons of her shirt open, and when it was done she let it flutter to the ground. Her skirt was next, and then she was kicking off her shoes and climbing up on the bed beside him. He whispered her name once, a benediction, a plea, and she smiled. Leaning forward, she captured his lips with hers in a careful kiss...and everything exploded.

His hands were in her hair, tugging out her ponytail holders with a gentleness belied by the way he clutched her frantically to his chest. Maka wasn't being very passive herself, having yanked and tugged until his boxers came off and she had her small hands wrapped around his shaft. They didn't speak – they couldn't, as neither of them had words, but her bra and panties joined the floor shortly after and then she was begging him with her body, pulling him into her with a fevered desperation. She cried out when he slammed into her, arching against him, and the pace he set would leave her aching in the morning, but she didn't care. All she cared about was her love, her partner...her life. And she had him back, and with every thrust, with every whimper and moan she swore to herself that she would never put herself through this again – that she would never hurt him this badly as long as she lived. To no one's surprise it was a short coupling, her gasping his name as she climaxed and him bucking hard into her as he poured everything he was into her warmth. He collapsed on her and rolled, pulling her against his chest and his arms were shaking and she realized that he was crying.

"I'm so sorry, Maka." His voice was a whimper as he clung to her, terrified that she'd leave again. "I'm so sorry." Her arms clamped around him and she murmured soothing words in his ear.

"No, I'm the one that's sorry. I didn't know...I didn't understand..."

"I just...I love you so much, Maka," he whispered as she stroked his hair.

"I love you, Soul. And I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I just...I didn't know how to deal."

"I promise, never again, I won't ever try and make you -" She shut him up with a kiss.

"You didn't make me do anything. And now that I've had some time to think it over, maybe...well..."

"We'll discuss it later," he said firmly. "Right now, you're mine and I'm yours and I never ever want to go through a separation like this again. Ever." He gazed at her. "I'd rather die than to lose you again." She sighed and curled against him, tangling her legs with his and feeling his slowing pulse against her cheek.

"I'm here. Forever, Soul. I'm not leaving you again."

She reached out of bed wearily and fumbled around until she found her cell phone. Seeing who it was that was calling, she growled into the receiver.

"Kid, you'd better have a damn good reason for calling me this early." She heard the reaper's soft chuckle on the other end.

"I wasn't aware one ten in the afternoon was 'early', but maybe I don't keep time like you do." Bleary, Maka looked disbelievingly at the clock.

"Wow," she muttered, and he laughed out loud.

"I'll let you get back to Soul, but I wanted to say that we're all going to be at my place at eight tonight for movies and games and we'd love it if you could be there. But it's up to you." In his voice she could hear the understanding guy that had helped her through so much the night before, and she sighed happily.

"We'll be there," she assured him, and she could almost feel him smile.

"Very good. Now go wake Soul up. If you're still able to talk coherently then his job isn't done yet." Despite everything that had happened lately, Maka still felt a blush begin to work across her cheeks.

"Kid!" she scolded, laughing.

"Seriously, though, everyone will be thrilled that you're going to be here. Talk to you then." The line clicked and she set her phone down, looking over at the nude, toned weapon that was currently stretched out across most of the bed, his light snores echoing in the room. With a happy sigh she stretched out against him and felt him stir. She looked up to see his eyes open, watch them fill with love as they focused on her.

"Morning," she murmured.

"Morning," he replied, and she felt his hand stroking her hair. "Who was on the phone?"

"Kid. We're going over at eight for movies." His eyes lit up with happiness.

"Really?" Maka thought he was adorable when he was happy. She brushed a kiss across his chest and felt him tense, heard him moan.

"Really." She flicked her tongue out against his nipple and heard is deep intake of breath, his slow exhale.

"What time is it now?"

"A little after one."

"Well, allowing for time to get showered and dressed, that means I have..." He paused, pretending to count on his fingers. "...about six hours to make you scream."

"Who says I'll be the one screaming, love?"

"Oh, that sounds like a challenge."

"It just might be, now that I think of it." She squealed as he shifted quickly and pinned her to the bed.

Mornings were the best. Even when they came in the afternoon.

The door opened and Kid smiled warmly.

"So glad to see everything's okay." Maka smiled up at Soul before turning to her friend.

"It is," she murmured. He stepped forward to give her a hug and she clung to him briefly.

"Thank you," she whispered in his ear. He kissed her forehead – something she felt might be becoming a habit with him – and smiled down at her.

"We all love you, Maka. It was the least I could do." He turned to Soul and the two shared a grin.

"Hey, are you guys gonna stand in the doorway or are we gonna play?" Black Star's voice rang out from the living room and the three friends just chuckled. "Unless you're scared, which I can totally understand. I mean, I'm the biggest guy here. None of you stand a chance."

"Oh yeah?" Soul asked. "So I guess you were just letting me win last time?" They walked into the house, Kid shutting the door behind them, and Maka paused when she saw Tsubaki sitting on the couch beside her outspoken meister. It seemed that the entire room froze as the two girls stared at each other, and Tsubaki ducked her head meekly.

"Maka, I'm so sorry -" But Maka wasn't having any of it. With firm strides she walked over until she was standing in front of the couch, and the way she cleared her throat had the brunette weapon looking up at her, hesitance and sorrow in her eyes.

Without a word she leaned down until she was on eye level with her friend, and just as tension was at its highest, just as Tsubaki's eyes began to fill with tears, Maka made her move. She leaned forward slowly, smoothly, and pressed her lips against the other girl's. She reached up to tangle her fingers in Tsubaki's dark hair and tilt her head, taking full control of the kiss, relishing the moment that the startled weapon gave in and began to kiss her back. After a few moments she stood back up, seeing the dazed, happy look on the brunette's face. Looking around she saw her friends – her friends, that cared for her and loved her and worried for her and fought and would die with and for her – and she knew she was where she belonged. This place, these people, this was the family she'd been longing for her entire life. With a grin she squeezed herself onto the couch between Tsubaki and Black Star and reached across the meister to grab a game controller.

"I don't know what you guys are talking about – I'm gonna kick the crap out of both of you. So come on, who's playing?"

The night filled with laughter and hugs and warmth, and Maka knew she had found her home.