Author's note: So this is the fifth story in the Realms of Resonance series. I've realized that I have been kind of writing this Star Wars style...the original trilogy first, followed by the prequel trilogy. It's probably a bit confusing, but I figure whichever order you read it in, it'll still get the gist of the storyline across. Therefore - here ya go!

"Just because you've finally hooked up with Maka doesn't make you a bigger man than I am!" Black Star's voice rang out across the pool and Maka exchanged a glance with Tsubaki, both girls rolling their eyes. It was a wonderfully warm summer day and the entire group was over at Kid's house relaxing and enjoying the fact that, for the first time in ages, they had a break from being busy. The two girls were stretched out on towels, loving the feel of the sun caressing their skin. Beside them were Patty and Liz, the former laying on her stomach and snoring lightly while her older sister reclined on a chaise lounge and slowly stroked nail polish over her fingernails. The three guys were in the pool, mostly just swimming around, but with Black Star everything had to be a competition and now here he was trying to goad Soul into another one.

"Being with Maka doesn't make me bigger than you – I do that all on my own," the white-haired weapon rebutted from his place reclining against the stairs. Kid snorted quietly and Tsubaki groaned, knowing how her meister took to challenges. Sure enough, it took about a second and a half and the ninja was standing in front of Soul, confident belligerence on his features.

"Come on, Soul. You know you don't stand a chance. I could beat you with both hands behind my back."

"As if." Soul closed his eyes and leaned his head back.

"Well, let's do this then!" Black Star's voice was firm, and Soul cracked one eye open to regard his friend with a look full of tolerant annoyance.

"What, exactly, is it that you two are going to be doing?" Kid interjected from his spot on his (perfectly symmetrical) floating lounge.

"Really? You want to do this now?" The exasperation in the weapon's voice was obvious.

"Absolutely. Unless, of course, you're afraid to lose. I wouldn't blame you. You're never gonna beat me." Black Star stared smugly at his apparent adversary, who simply sighed heavily and closed his eye again.

"Fine. But if you're going to push this issue, don't you think you'd better at least ask Maka first?"

"Ask me what?" The blond rolled over from her stomach to her back and propped herself up on her elbows in time to see Black Star gaping at her partner.

"You didn't tell her? Man, I thought you would have by now."

"Nope. This was your fucked up idea. So you get the honors. Besides," Soul said with a grin, "it'll be nice to not be the one getting Maka-chopped for once." Immediately the female meister was apprehensive, and Tsubaki and Liz joined her in staring across the pool at the confrontation taking place.

"But she's your bedwarmer!" Black Star blustered, obviously trying to take control of the conversation once more.

"So's your girlfriend on occasion, but I wouldn't presume to try and tell Tsubaki something like this." Soul still hadn't opened his eyes but Maka could feel his amusement.

"What are you two talking about?" Maka demanded, and she was treated to the odd sight of Black Star swallowing hard before turning to face her.

"Well..." he began, and suddenly she was very curious about what they boys had been discussing. Black Star was never hesitant. After a few moments of silence, Soul just sighed and sat up, raking a hand through his already tousled hair.

"What Mister Big here is trying to not say, apparently, is that he told me he could do a much better job in satisfying you sexually than I can."

Cue cricket chirp.

"Black Star?" Maka asked, slight disbelief and speculation flavoring her words. The boy in question snapped out of whatever nervous state he was in and was once more the brash, overconfident fighter he normally was.

"Absolutely. See, I've had a lot more experience than your weapon here -" he jerked a thumb towards Soul, who just smirked, "- and I figured I could make you scream in ways he wouldn't even know how." Everyone was sitting up at this point, watching the interactions of the three in question. Even Patty was awake, her usual babble uncharacteristically overruled by the curiosity infusing them all. Maka just blinked.

"So, what, you guys bet on who was better in bed?" Maka's voice was even, giving no hint of her thoughts whatsoever, and Kid snickered.

"That's just...funny," he said evenly. Black Star looked over at him.

"What, Kid, you think you could do better?"

"Oh, I know I could. But I'd never presume to make a lady the subject of a wager." The factual tone of his voice combined with the mild rebuke made the blue-haired boy sputter.

"She's not a lady – she's Maka!" he shouted...not seeming to realize what had just fallen out of his mouth without his conscious permission. Liz groaned out loud, and even Soul shook his head.

"Dude..." the weapon whispered, his hand coming up to cover his eyes. "That was really stupid."

"What? She's Maka! We've been friends, like, forever, and yeah, she's sexier than hell but she's no lady." The wincing was universal this time.

"So nice to know you think so highly of me," the blond in question murmured. No one had noticed her rising to her feet but now she was standing at the edge of the pool just across from the big-mouthed ninja. He missed the sarcasm in her voice.

"I do," he nodded. "You're one of us. You're a lot of things, Maka, but lady? No way. You're too cool to be a lady." She blinked, realizing that in his own way the boy was actually complimenting her. She shook her head.

"Black Star, you...have a way with words," she finished, rolling her eyes again.

"Yup, I know I do. So, how about it? Me and you, and I show this punk who the real big man is here."

"I can't believe you're serious," she said dryly.

"Absolutely. Tsubaki can vouch for me, can't you?" The weapon tossed her long braid over her shoulder and shrugged at Maka.

"Black Star is pretty good," she said, a grin on her face. Maka just shook her head, her voice coming out as a growl.

"I'm sorry, but this isn't even a possibility until I'm sure you know I'm not an object to be traded around." Grabbing her towel, slightly miffed at the entire situation, she turned her back on the group and walked inside, heading up to the shower in the guest room she and Soul used when they stayed over. She was out of her bikini and under the warm spray in no time at all, and she leaned her arms against the shower wall and closed her eyes, bending her head forward and letting the gentle percussion of the water massage her neck and back. What on earth would possess those two to even come up with such a stupid bet? she wondered, irritation coming to the fore. She shifted, standing up and leaning her face into the spray, feeling the drops cascading over her eyelids, her cheekbones. With the water drumming down on her head she didn't hear the bathroom door open, so Liz's quiet greeting shocked her.

"Hey, Maka, you okay? You seemed a little pissed." There was a thump as the meister knocked over the bottle of shower gel.

"Holy shit, Liz, you startled me!"

"Oh, sorry. Thought you would have heard the door."

"That's okay, I just didn't expect anyone to come in." She chuckled a bit.

"So, are you okay?" the blond weapon reiterated. Maka sighed.

"I know that everyone...well, that you all are more – let's say, open, with each other. And I'm kind of getting used to it, but it's still really hard for me. And then with this, with them making stupid bets about me behind my back...how would you feel?"

"Honestly? I'd go for it." Maka poked her head around the shower curtain, dripping water on the tile and staring incredulously at the girl who was currently sitting casually on the counter.

"What? Why?" Liz's grin was wicked.

"You have two hot guys arguing over who could please you more. You know that they'd both give it their all. So at worst you'd have to deal with two very determined lovers doing their damnedest to make you feel amazing. Of course I'd be down with that. What I can't figure out is why you're not." Blue eyes filled with amused curiosity met green ones.

"Because it's...well, it's rude. I mean, they didn't even ask me if I'd be interested!"

"I can understand you being ticked at that. But seriously...are you going to let a little irritation keep you from enjoying some bound-to-be-mindblowing sex?" Liz laughed at the blush that raced over Maka's face.

"I don't see you lining up," the girl in the shower muttered, ducking back behind the curtain again.

"I don't have to – this isn't about me. And besides, I've already had Black Star." Maka's head shot out around the curtain again, eyes wide.

"You what?" Liz nodded. "Seriously?"

"You said it yourself, girl. We're all a lot more open with each other than you are. In fact, at this point we're all just kind of waiting on you. We want you to be comfortable."

"What do you mean, you're all waiting on me?" Maka's voice was shrill, surprised, and Liz smiled wryly.

"Exactly what I said. You've been to bed with Soul and Tsubaki, and the rest of us want in on the action sometime too. But not if you're not cool with it. So it's all up to you. Join us, don't – it's all you, hon." The blond weapon pulled her legs up on the counter to rest her heels on the edge and lean backwards against the mirror, smiling at the expression on her friend's face.

"So...you, and Patty...Black Star...Kid..?" Liz just grinned.

"You already know about Black Star, thanks to his lovely outburst downstairs. And Patty and I would love a chance to take you to bed. Kid – well, he's insanely attracted to your symmetry."

"My symmetry?" Some part of Maka's mind was trying to wrap itself around the surrealistic conversation, and the rest of it was simply confused.

"Your tendency to wear side ponytails, for one. I know he'd love a chance to get his hands on that – he loves long hair on a woman, and those ponytails of yours would make excellent handles, if you catch my meaning." It took her a minute but Maka did indeed catch her meaning, and the images that flooded through her brain had her as red as a lobster. With a gasp she ducked back behind the curtain again, swearing to herself that she wasn't looking back out again for several hours. Maybe days. At the meister's abrupt dash for hiding, Liz threw back her head and laughed out loud.

"Well, hon, I'm gonna head back down to the group. You just shower and think about what I've said, okay? Have fun!" This time Maka heard the door shut and she slumped against the tiled wall.

Was she serious? I mean, I know that they've got a very...intertwined...relationship. Tsubaki's mentioned it a couple of times. So has Soul. I wonder if Soul wants to be part of it as well? He's never said anything to me – he always lets me choose whether or not to invite Tsubaki over, but he's obviously discussed it with the others. She lathered her hair with something that smelled like Hawaiian ginger. What if I did...go along with this? Black Star and I have been friends for as long as I can imagine. Would it be weird? Rinsing out the shampoo, she squeezed a blob of conditioner into her hand and began to work it through the wet length. By the end of her shower she still wasn't any less confused than she had been before. She dried off, got dressed, and couldn't put off rejoining the others any longer, not if she didn't want them to worry. Grabbing a book at random from her bag, she decided she was going to just sit and observe them all for a while under the pretext of reading. With hesitant steps she walked downstairs and back out onto the patio.

Everyone was in the pool. She saw Liz look over and wink at her, and Soul smiled reassuringly. She saw Black Star and Kid talking at one end of the pool, and Patty and Tsubaki were having some sort of splashing war, apparently. With a sigh she settled down in one of the porch chairs, stretching her legs out in front of her and opening her book. She knew for a fact that Soul would see right through her subterfuge, but she'd stopped trying to hide things from him ages ago anyway. No one else really noticed that she seemed to be turning pages at random, that her face lacked the usual concentration it wore when she was as involved in a book as she was pretending to be. Or else they noticed but chose not to say anything. After a while, though, she dove into the novel with vigor as she saw Black Star hoist himself easily out of the pool and head in her direction. She prayed her expression wasn't betraying her. Eyes firmly ghosting over the words she wasn't actually seeing, she heard a slight scrape as he pulled up a chair beside her.

"Maka – I'm sorry." She blinked and gave up on her camouflage, putting the book on the table and turning to face her friend fully.

"I know you are, Black Star, but really...talking about me with my partner like I'm some sort of...conquest? That's not cool. It...it hurt a bit," she finished softly, looking away. "I mean, I'm still kind of new to all of this, and you know...well, you know about all the crap with my father, and I'm adjusting slowly but it's -" He cut her off by placing one finger over her lips.

"I understand, Maka. I never meant to hurt you. Soul, either. We just...well, we talk a lot is all. And it was a stupid idea but I really am interested – not just because I have something to prove!" he said vehemently when she raised a skeptical eyebrow at him. "I'm just digging myself in deeper here, I think, right?" She nodded, and he took a deep breath.

"Fact is, Maka, I've always thought you were cute. Even when we were little kids – I had this huge crush on you. But you never noticed, and then we ended up in the DWMA and you partnered with Soul and I found Tsubaki and now everything's just awesome! Except I really would like a chance to..." he trailed off, and she was surprised to see a very faint trace of pink on his cheeks, gone almost as soon as she noticed it. "But I promise, I won't bring it up again. No one will. I just didn't think it would bother you so much...being with me, I mean." This time it was Maka's turn to shush him, only she did so by placing a kiss on his forehead.

"It's not you I object to, Black Star. I think I might...eventually...be interested in, maybe, expanding my horizons a little...maybe with you. It was just that you guys were kind of...treating me like a prize to be won or something. It made me feel cheap."

"Not possible," he said, reaching out to take her hand. "You could never be cheap, Maka. Do you have any idea how important you are to all of us? We're great fighters, we work well together – but without you, we're all just kind of alone. You're the one that holds us all together – your determination, your drive. You reign in Soul and me when we're getting out of hand. Sometimes you manage to calm Kid's OCD just by talking to him. You make us a group. And I am so, so sorry for hurting you." He stood up and began to walk away, having said everything he'd come to say, but she stopped him by tugging on the hand she still held.

"Black Star..?" He turned to face her, and she saw friendship and affection glowing in his eyes, as well as a lingering shame.

"Yeah?"

"You're pretty awesome, you know that right?" She smiled as his shoulders squared and he visibly buried the rarely-seen angsty side of himself beneath the standard persona he wore like a cloak.

"Of course I am. I'm the most awesome guy here." He shot her a grin and squeezed her fingers, then darted back to the pool yelling "Black Star cannonball!" before flying into the water with a splash that reached her feet. She just chuckled and smiled to herself. He was a dork, but he was her friend. And maybe someday, he'd be a bit more. She had to admit that the idea wasn't as abhorrent as she might have thought it would be. With a sudden clarity of thought Maka had an idea. She made herself view him not as a friend but as a potential lover, letting her gaze follow him not as Black Star, eternal friend and the kid that used to alternately tug on her pigtails and offer her the bigger half of his cookies, but as Black Star, the strong, skilled fighter. She was shocked when she realized he was actually kind of...hot, in his own way. If her conversation with Liz hadn't happened she likely wouldn't have put any of her observations into a sexual context, but thanks to the blond's comments earlier she couldn't help but think of those muscles flexing, stretching...

With a jolt Maka realized that her pulse was starting to rise. She watched him in the pool. She knew his speed, knew his strength. Knew that if it came down to a purely physical struggle he could likely leave her tied in a knot around a tree without even breaking a sweat. And her disobedient thoughts immediately forced her acknowledgment of what that kind of power could mean in bed. He could hold her however he wanted her, and she wouldn't be able to struggle free. She'd be at his mercy. If that had been true of anyone else, she would have freaked out and immediately changed the subject of her thoughts. But it wasn't anyone else. It was Black Star, and she trusted him implicitly. He would never hurt her.

Suddenly the idea of giving in began to look...good.