Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater or any of its characters.

Side note: This story is based off a few years after the group all graduates, not really compliant with the manga or anime with the love connections I have going, so can be considered AU.

Halloween Party

Part I

He stared hungrily at her. She looked ravishing tonight; on nights like tonight she was fit for a god to devour. A simple black dress that really showed off her long legs and other nice assets, light make up and her hair down and lose for once. It wasn't uncommon to see her like this, with all the events and parties thrown around here it was only natural that she change out of her usual look. It was just his excuse to explain his thoughts on her, or give her a compliment.

It was nights like tonight when he found himself staring at her a little bit longer than normal, or lingering behind the group to catch a few words with her. On nights like tonight he found that he would fight his instincts hard. Black Star wasn't one for fighting instincts. So despite his wandering eye he would do something rash to distract himself, often times getting thrown out of the party was his best option. It was like him, completely in character, and it saved him from acting out towards her.

He couldn't recall when this urge towards her had first started. It might have been long before their school days as meisters, or it might have started recently. He wasn't positive when, it didn't really matter. He could never act out on it. She had her partner, her weapon that she seemed to be very much in love with and despite their current standing he would never disrespect her feelings. He could never do anything that would upset her happiness. He might be a self-centered narcissist but he wasn't a complete jack ass.

He had his reasons why he never tried anything with her. She was his best friend, his oldest friend, and as much as they fought at times, he truly treasured their friendship. Her partner, the one he was sure she was in love with, was also a close friend. One he would even go as far as call a brother at times. He could never do anything without upsetting one or the other, and he refused to be the one to put a wedge in any friendship. She wasn't his type, she was quiet, calculating, and a total bookworm. But as much as he tried to act like she wasn't his type, he found that often times he would tease her, try to get her to react to him, because when she was fired up so was he. He could spout that reason all he wanted, but he was a god, he didn't have to limit himself to a type. Anyone would fall in his shadow.

The real reason, the reason that stopped him dead in his tracks more so than their friendship, was simple and plain; Rejection. He might not always understand Maka, might not always be on par or agree with her, but that wasn't enough to stop him. The fact plain and simple was he knew she would reject him. She would laugh, ask if he was serious, and then kindly put him down. He was a GOD for godsake. He wasn't one to be rejected… and that is why he never tried with her. He knew deep down he couldn't handle it. He couldn't jeopardize his relationship with her or handle her rejection.

"Black Star?"

Had he really been zoned out? He blushed and quickly downed the drink in his hand in a swift motion as a small distraction before smiling at Maka. She had called out to him and brought him back from his thoughts. Their friends had all paired up along the dance floor, swaying and dancing the night away. Soul was waltzing with Liz, Kid and Patti twirled in a chaotic but somehow rhythmic pattern, Tsubaki was chatting with a group of girls in the corner, and everyone else were faceless mobs of bodies as they danced across the floor. He wasn't sure why he hadn't noticed this and had gotten lost in his thoughts, or why he hadn't made a huge distraction yet. He didn't have a lot of time to analyze the situation. Maka was studying him; her face was pinched as she looked him over like something was wrong.

"Distracted," he mumbled in excuse at her unwavering gaze, turning so that he didn't do something terribly stupid… like kiss her (he seemed to be fighting that urge more and more lately). She followed his gaze and her features softened. Although he had been looking at nothing in particular, the general direction was enough to catch Maka's attention.

"It's hard to believe right?" she asked smiling softly at Soul and Liz's swaying bodies. "I never really saw it coming, but as long as they are happy…"

He followed her gaze to where her attention lied and discreetly flipped Soul a thumb's up of approval, laughing to himself when his white haired friend blushed and turned his partner away from him. He eyed Maka wearily as her expression tightened yet she kept her smile in place. Anyone looking at them would never guess anything was wrong, her smile looked real to people who didn't know her well enough to pick up on the slight differences.

"I thought for sure he was into you," he laughed, his volume control was gone and it caught several peoples' eye. It made Maka blush and it was her turn to take a large sip from her cup.

"Yeah…" her gaze tightened and her smile wavered before she managed to quickly put it back in place.

He might be an idiot at times, but not when it came to his friends.

"Want to step outside and get some fresh air?" he asked.

He did ask for her, despite how pleased he was that he would get to spend time with her alone on the balcony away from prying eyes. He tried to push his more dangerous thoughts away as Maka nodded. He grinned and grabbed her hand, tugging her away from the party and to the cool October air.

Once they made it outside she let out a deep breath, and her smile faltered.

"Don't do anything stupid now, like cry. You're tougher than that," he barked. She turned to glare at him, her cheeks rose in color.

"I know that!" she spat. "Why would you assume I was going to cry?!"

"You're wearing that pitiful expression," he mocked.

He walked further unto the balcony past Maka and leaned over the railing slightly. The wind was refreshing as it tousled his hair playfully. He closed his eyes and relaxed as Maka started to fume beside him. Despite his bluntness he knew she needed his company and that she needed to hear what he had said. She was naturally upset by his statement but she wouldn't do anything rash besides yell at him. Had they been in a more private setting or younger she might have assaulted him with several punches, but he could handle that. Yelling at him would make her feel better, and then she would go back in much more collected and he would be left to his own devices. He wasn't surprised when he heard her strangled sob, but he didn't turn right away. After a few moments when he knew she would be more collected he sighed, and tilted his head to give her a sideways glance.

"What's up with you Maka?"

He knew. He knew she was hurting, that she was trying her best to put on a brave face for her friends. That was what had made tonight so hard for him, why he was tempting himself so much. There could be a window of opportunity, but really he just wanted her to be herself. He wanted her to be happy. He hated this mask that had been on her face for the past few weeks. If she was in love with Soul she just needed to spit it out and go tell him. She needed to clear the air; she needed to be happy; he needed her to be happy. His question wasn't what was the situation, but why she wasn't being her normal self. He knew the answer to that too. He had heard what Soul had said to her, he had been there. It was so similar to what he could imagine Maka telling him in such a situation. 'I am so happy you approve. I love you like a sister so of course I want you to be honest!' in his case he would get the brother bit. It would be the last thing he'd want to hear, and he knew how crushed his friend was feeling because of it. She was forced to play the part of a happy friend, while inside she was distraught and she felt like no one understood. When forced with that hard truth she had just smiled and continued telling Soul how happy she was for him. Black Star was surprised the weapon didn't pick up on his meister's biggest lie. Although granted, she might be genuinely happy for him; she was definitely hurting from this. She wasn't happy for herself.

"I…" she started and stopped.

She was searching for the right words because she didn't want him to bluntly make her face however she phrased it. She fiddled with her dress, before she hopped up on the rail and gracefully swung her legs over the side and sat with her arms bracing her so that she could lean back and glance up at the stars. He grinned at her, turning so that his back was resting on the railing he draped his arms over the side, and then he tilted his head back to give her his best lazy listening face. They were both more comfortable like this.

"I don't really want to talk about it," she said after a moment.

"Then don't," he told her.

He caught her sideways look. Her eyes shone in the stars, her face flushed, but she smiled at him. She was happy, at least, that they were friends, and who the hell would he be if he tried to take that away from her? No, whatever thoughts he had of proclaiming his undying love vanished, and his restlessness returned. First and foremost he was her friend, and he wanted to cheer her up.

"I know what will make you feel better," he told her excitedly as he stood up and tugged her down with him.

She slipped gracefully backwards into his arms, and he might have held her for a moment longer than necessary but he righted her quickly to her feet and pulled her towards the potted plants on the side. His hand somehow looped with hers and their fingers intertwined, she didn't say anything or pull away. He left that alone as he proudly scooped up one of the potted plants and tossed it carelessly over the side of the building.

"What are you doing?!" she hissed smacking him roughly upside the head.

He was starting to wonder if she was going to hold his hand as long as he wanted. That could be dangerous, for him at least, so he slowly pulled his grip away from her as he scooped up another plant.

He laughed and thrust a pot into her hands.

"It'll be fun, just don't tell Kid," he teased.

"Are you insane? This breaks at least a dozen school rules!"

"We aren't exactly students anymore," he reminded her with a soft smile.

She drew herself to her full height. She planted one hand firmly on her hip as she gave the plant a stern look, like she was about to lecture it at any second. He knew really that at any given moment he was in for a rather large Maka-Chop. Those normally went along with anything deemed stupid that was said by him to her. It surprised him when Maka shrugged, as if she had given up on the matter, and walked to the edge of the railing. With one last glance she tossed the plant over the side and leaned over to watch it fall to the ground with a splat.

She started laughing.

"That is the perfect explanation to how I feel right now," she muttered, "Broken and shattered like that poor plant."

He wasn't sure if she wanted him to catch that, but he did. He sighed and leaned on the railing next to her so that their shoulder's bumped in a friendly, chummy sort of manner.

"That was supposed to cheer you up," he grumbled.

She smiled, but her face was turned downwards as her gaze remained locked on the shattered plant below. Her eyes were hauntingly empty and void of emotions, he could barely make that out from the side of her face, but it was still there.

"Black Star, I'll always appreciate that you care about me, but really… anything you do won't help me right now. It'll just make it worse."

The silence consumed them as the wind picked up. Maka's bare shoulders felt cool to the touch and despite the fact that she wasn't shivering or showing any sign of being cold, Black Star found himself shrugging out of his jacket and placing it lightly around her. He stepped back so that there was a little room between them, but he was directly behind her as he moved her hair to the side to expose her neck. He was tempted to brush his lips on her inviting skin, but settled for what he intended to do. Maka's words… she didn't say things needlessly. She meant something by that.

"Is it because you happen to have a crush on me or something?" he breathed into her ear.

He couldn't see her face but her reaction was surprised. She didn't turn around but her posture became stiff and ridged. The breath he had released on her skin had drawn goose bumps along her long neck. He wondered for the briefest of a second if he had guessed correctly.

"Don't steal my line," she said eventually, her tone even and smooth; not hinting at what she could possibly be feeling.

Friends meddling with feelings could make anyone feel worse. That he knew, but he also knew that Maka was always happy to have a friend around, always happy to be cheered up when she needed it. So for her to say he could make it worse left this annoying festering hope bubbling inside his chest that he couldn't push down anymore. It wasn't that Soul and Liz were together that was bothering her so much, he realized, it was the fact that she had never had that with anyone. Despite everyone thinking she was nuts about her weapon they had never officially dated or anything. Once the thought was there he couldn't escape.

"That isn't an answer. You're always supposed to answer your god," he told her.

Her tiny fist slammed into his chest as she whirled around. He was surprised at first but caught her wrist when she tried to dash past him.

"I don't care if you don't feel like talking about it, you need to," he told her sternly when she cursed at him.

The silence engulfed them as a heated staring contest began.

Maka finally blinked and cast her gaze downwards. She pulled her wrist free and turned away to face the city's view.

"I fell in love a very long time ago," she whispered. "I never said a word. I never regretted keeping my feelings bottled up. I fell for that idiot."

He waited for her to continue as patiently as he could. Pacing forward he timidly took the place beside her on the railing again. Sneaking a sideways glance to notice that her cheeks were flushed a bright red.

"It's hard when you love someone and they think of you as your little sister. Then you move on, tell yourself it's over, only to have the exact same thing happen again with someone else. Only this time it isn't a surprise and it isn't really as strong. The new isn't really a replacement, more of a confusion and then suddenly it isn't anything anymore… it still hurts," she continued.

"And then that first love starts acting weird around you. Starts pausing or saying things that catches your attention, and then you're right back where you started. Struggling to push feelings down for him when you know, YOU KNOW," she yelled angrily to the sky mostly to the moon more so than him, "that everything you say or do is just perceived as being a little sister."

Her raged breaths weren't from tears but from the anger she felt at herself. She panted and tried to collect her cool. Black Star started to laugh.

"You're the idiot. Have you ever told anyone your real feelings for them? I mean I know you have trust issues because of your dad but not every man is like him. You need to stop being afraid," he told her.

"I'm not afraid," she snapped. Her jaw was locked and she refused to turn her gaze away from the sky.

"You are," he said calmly with a teasing smirk.

"Are not!" she hissed.

"Prove it," he challenged.

She swung around to face him, grabbed him roughly by the collar of his suit and smashed their faces together.

He would have been surprised if he hadn't been leading up to pushing Maka's emotions to get some kind of confession out of her. When she said that idiot, he knew instantly she was referring to him, and he wanted to laugh when she said that she thought he thought of her as his sister. It was annoying to think that if they had just actually talked to each other this whole roundabout way of finding out could have been avoided. He didn't care at the moment though; he was distracted by her lips.

He kissed her back. Their battle for dominance had him pushing her against the railing and helping her sit on it so he had better access to her mouth. He tilted her chin, finding that his hands were beyond his control as they explored her body. He pushed himself closer, he had to be closer, had to be near her. Earlier this evening he had felt as exactly as she had, and it was so hard to believe that both of them were too prideful to ever say that they liked each other. He wanted to show her, no needed to show her, that this was much more than just her feelings.

His hands stopped roaming and settled on her body. One found her waist as he pushed himself flush against her, while the other tangled in her hair. He hadn't been aware until now, but Maka seemed to be mimicking him and her hands pulled sharply at the ends of his hair.

"Mmmm Black Star," Maka pulled away panting, "we need to stop. People might see."

Her cheeks were flushed a bright red as she quickly averted her eyes away. He always had thought that when she was embarrassed she was pretty damn cute. He grinned and stole a quick peck on the lips.

"Don't be ashamed to be seen with me. I'm the Great GOD Black Star afterall!" he shouted.

He couldn't help himself. He was just so happy. He couldn't stop grinning either.

"You're such an idiot," she sighed as her palm came up to smack her forehead at his antics. She was still sitting on the railing, but he moved to help her slide off in a fluid motion.

"Feeling better?" he asked, choosing to ignore her comment.

She smiled and laced her hand with his.

"I think it is time we rejoin our friends party…"

"Maybe after a few more potted plants and discussions… I'm not quite sure I'm ready to share you this evening yet," Black Star growled huskily.

He pulled her back into his chest. Their eyes met this time, there was no anger no frustration or confusion, and they both knew that this was right. That it worked. The hungry kiss from earlier that been their confession, they had poured their passion and feelings into it. Black Star knew he would never be able to kiss Maka enough to show her how he felt, and he joyfully recognized that he would get to kiss her to try and show her as much as he wanted.

His hand found her hip and pulled her close against him before he leaned down and deftly caught her lips in a gentle kiss. This one was slow, almost hesitant, as if he was asking for her permission. She responded, slanting her mouth against his. Both inhaled sharply from the sudden jolt that seemed to race through them. Their lips moved in sync as he slowly twirled her so that her back was against the door, effectively stopping her escape.

Only right when he did so the door flew open and the pair stumbled into the room. Black Star's reflexes saved Maka's head from cracking open, as he managed to place his hands underneath her head. Sprawled out on top of her, he blushed as several wolf whistles greeted him.

"Oh, there you are. I've been looking everywhere for you two!" Lord Death proclaimed. "Come enjoy the party," he told them not giving them a chance to untangle before he left and disappeared into the crowd.

Maka's eyes were wide, her hair fanned around her and tangled in his hands, her breath rapid and deep. He couldn't resist leaning down and stealing another kiss before standing and helping her up.

"MAKA-CHOP!"

"What was that for?!" he hissed.

"You don't just kiss people in public like that-"

He grinned as he caught her lips in another quick peck. "Don't sweat it," he told her. "Come enjoy the party," he added when her face started turning a dangerous shade of red. He laced his fingers with hers and tugged her over to the drinks.

He honestly wouldn't have had it any other way. Thankfully Halloween was created for him and his friends just had to throw him a huge bash for the occasion.

A/N: A short one shot I couldn't shake out of my head for the life of me. This is a future fic... and I would prefer to not get flamed for the couple unless you have some valid points on my writing style that could use some correcting. Other than that I USE YOUR REVIEWS TO LIGHT UP MY JACK-0-LATERN mwahahahaha. And they don't bother me xD. This was written for my enjoyment and for anyone else looking to get some love for this couple :). Oh on another note, this says Part I because in the future (as in next year possibly) I might update. We'll see. If not then it is a stand alone one shot