A/N: This fic is set roughly nine years after the ending of the manga, which means Maka and the gang are about twenty-four years old.

Merry Christmas all!

An Evans Family Christmas

"Maka!" Spirit Albarn said, his hands outstretched towards his daughter as he walked beside her on the sidewalk. "You really shouldn't be walking home!"

Maka shot him a look of annoyance. "I'm fine, Papa," she said, turning her attention back to the road in front of her.

"But—!" Spirit began.

"I said I was fine. I'm not helpless!"

Spirit gaped at her for a few moments before rounding onto Soul, who was walking behind her. His eyes narrowed. "How could you let my Maka walk?" he asked. "It's your fault she's like this!" He gestured at her for emphasis.

Soul snorted. "Pfft," he said. "Like anyone can let Maka do anything."

"That's right," said Maka, scowling at her father. "And my son is no one's fault." She rested a hand on her belly for emphasis, shooting Spirit a dirty look as she continued to waddle down the street towards her and Soul's house. Spirit's eyes widened as he realized what he had just said and jogged to catch up with her as she walked past him, waving his hands wildly in apology.

"No—Maka—I didn't mean that—Papa's just worried, you know. About you, and my grandson, and—."

Maka came to a stop and rounded onto him, mouth open and finger upraised. Soul, recognizing this as the start of one of the temper tantrums that had plagued his life for the past few months, stepped forward, gently taking her wrist. He caught her just as she drew in a breath, about to launch into what was no doubt going to be a very long, very loud tirade.

It was the 21st of December, four days before Christmas, and the part of the DWMA that functioned as a school was officially on a break. The part of the DWMA that acted as more of a military organization wasn't, hence the fact that Soul and Maka were walking home at the end of the day despite there not being a class to teach. Contrary to whatever it was that Spirit believed, Soul had actually offered to drive to work that morning (no point in buying the car if they weren't actually going to use it), and Maka had taken that about as well as she was taking Spirit's concerns now, talking about how she wasn't so fragile that she couldn't walk to the campus the same way she had walked to it almost every day for the past eleven years and so on and so on until he honestly stopped listening.

He honestly wasn't sure he would survive the next month until the baby was due.

Soul found himself already bracing for the backlash as she looked back at him, a scowl on her face. He tried to soften his expression, but it was a difficult task. After all, he was tired too.

"Come on, Maka," he said. "Just calm down."

"You're taking his side," Maka accused, narrowing her eyes at him.

Here we go again…

"I'm not taking his side," Soul said. "I'm not taking anyone's side. But come on, we're almost home."

He glanced pointedly at the rooftop of their new house, visible now from around the corner. Maka followed his gaze and let out a huff, pulling her wrist out of his hold and striding up to it. Or at least, that was probably what she was attempting to do. In Soul's mind, it looked more like a waddle.

"Maka," Spirit said, his hand extended out towards her. "Wait—."

Soul glared at him. "Just go home," he said, walking up to the house. "Otherwise this isn't going to end well for either of us."

Spirit followed anyway. Soul stuffed his hands into his pockets, doing his best to ignore the older Death Scythe as he followed Maka up the steps and into the house, stopping only at the mailbox to pick up the mail and at the front porch to pick up the packages that had been left there.

The house was modest by American standards, but it was still the largest place Soul had lived in since starting at the DWMA as a student, and it felt odd to think of himself as actually living here. They had just moved in a month ago, and certain sections of the house didn't quite feel lived in yet, boxes still piled up in the corners. To Soul, it didn't feel like home the same way their old apartment had, but their apartment just wasn't big enough for two people, a transforming cat, and a baby, and so the apartment had had to go.

"Why are you still here?" Soul hissed at Spirit as he set the packages down, looking through the letters.

"Just making sure my darling Maka has everything she needs," Spirit said from the doorway, glancing at the letters in Soul's hands. "Oh, is that a letter from Maka's mom?"

Soul scowled, glancing at it. It was, but he didn't want to admit that Spirit had noticed something like that first. He took his time looking through the mail, frowning as he read through a postcard from Black Star and Tsubaki and glancing down at the packages addressed to them.

"Maka, letter from your mom," he called, tilting his head back so that he could see down the hallway. Sure enough, Maka reappeared a moment later, shooting both Spirit and Soul dark looks as she snatched the letter out of his hand. Soul took the opportunity to hand Tsubaki's postcard to her as well. "Here, from Tsubaki. Looks like she and Black Star are gonna make it for Christmas. She says she sent us some baby things too."

Maka seemed to brighten up at that, a smile appearing on her face as she studied the post card and looked down at the packages. "Aww, that's so sweet of Tsubaki-chan," she said. She started to squat down awkwardly to pick them up and Soul's eyes widened as he moved down to help her. He handed the packages to her and she hugged them to herself, smiling now as she turned away. "I'm just going to go put these in the nursery. I'll be right back."

She moved up the stairs at a speed that Soul was reasonably sure she wasn't supposed to be moving at, and Soul's eyes widened, his hand extended towards her before she rounded the corner and disappeared from sight. He drew his hand back to himself, using it to scratch the back of his head as he stared up the stairs after her.

"Tch, Maka…" he muttered under his breath, looking back at the letters.

Most of them were bills and junk mail, but the last piece of mail he actually cared about was a Christmas card from Wes, addressed to him. The usual apology was written inside the card—Wes would be spending Christmas with their parents and couldn't come over, he was really sorry to miss their first Christmas party in the new house, but of course he would come over when the baby was born…etc. He tucked the card back into the envelope, still trying to decide whether he was disappointed or relieved at that, when he heard a crash coming from upstairs.

His eyes widened, as did Spirit's, who was, for some reason, still lingering by the door.

"Maka?" Soul asked, raising his voice. "Are you alright?"

There was silence from upstairs for a moment and then Maka's voice rang out, a mixture of concern and urgency. "Soul…?"

He ran for the stairs, ignoring Spirit, who was following close behind him. Soul took the stairs two at a time, emerging in the upstairs hallway. He ran to the nursery to find Maka leaning against the crib, Tsubaki's package on the floor beneath her and a pained look on her face. He quickly slid an arm around her back to support her and she leaned into him, breathing hard.

"What's wrong?" Soul asked, his eyes wide.

"Soul, we need to go to the hospital…" Maka said, her eyes wide as she took another breath.

"What?" Soul asked, not quite understanding for a moment. And then Maka narrowed her eyes, giving him a very pointed stare, and suddenly he did. His eyes widened further. "Now?!" he asked, incredulous.

She closed her eyes and nodded, leaning her head against his chest. Soul stared down at her, dumbfounded. "Are you sure?"

"What do you mean, 'am I sure'?! Of course I'm sure! Soul!"

"Okay, okay," said Soul, pulling her towards him to help support her as he started guiding her towards the stairs. His heart was pounding so quickly in his chest that it felt as though it was going to escape, but he somehow managed to walk them both towards the stairs, dodging Spirit, who had figured out what was going on by now and was hovering around Maka like a particularly loud, particularly large fly.

"Maka, are you alright?" he asked. "Breathe, Maka, breathe!"

"It's too early," Maka mumbled into his chest, shaking her head. "Something's wrong. He's too early—."

"Calm down, Maka, it's going to be alright. Papa's here! Breathe—."

"Soul, I can't do this. What if something's wrong—?"

"Don't you dare let go of her, Soul Eater—here, Maka, it's okay. I'm right here—."

Soul grit his teeth, the combined effect of Spirit and Maka making it difficult to think. He drew in a breath, trying to tune them out, and when that didn't work, he lifted his head.

"Calm down!" he said, his voice cutting through both of their tirades. The family resemblance between the two of them was often difficult to spot, but they looked very similar in that instant as they both turned towards him, blinking. He exhaled, looking from one to the other. "It's going to be fine, just get in the car! Yes—," he added, after helping Maka into the front seat and seeing Spirit still watching him mutely from the front door of the house. "—you too."

Spirit blinked at him, then quickly shut the house door, running towards the car. Soul started it while the older Death Scythe clambered into the backseat, quickly backing out of the driveway and rushing to the hospital as fast as he dared.

"What do you mean, Maka's having the baby?!" Kid asked, his eyes wide as he rounded onto Liz, who was holding her phone and giving him a slightly impatient look. Behind her, Patty grinned, raising her hand as she leaned to the side and peeked out behind her older sister.

"Pretty sure it means she's having the baby!" Patty said, helpfully.

"But what about the Christmas party?" Kid asked, turning around to look at the (symmetrical) pile of brightly wrapped presents on the long table of Gallows Manor behind him. "I don't have a present for the baby!"

"So…uh, don't give him a present?" Liz asked, raising her brows at him. If Kid were normal, she might have pointed out that four days was plenty of time to do some last minute shopping, but considering that it had taken him months to find the 'perfect presents' for everyone on his list (the Christmas List, not the other List), she knew that that was a little too much to hope for at this point. "I mean, the kid's gonna be what? Three days old? He's not even gonna remember this."

"But what kind of friend would I be if I didn't even get my best friends' son a Christmas present?" Kid whined, already in full-on meltdown mode. He was crouched on the floor, his hands over his head. "I should have foreseen this. I'm a terrible person…"

"Yep, pretty awful!" Patty said cheerfully.

Liz elbowed her in the ribs. "You're not terrible, Kid," she said, crouching down beside her. "Look, uh…why don't you just get the kid something small? Like…a rattle or something?"

Kid sniffed, looking up at her. "A symmetrical rattle?" he asked.

"Sure, whatever, it can be symmetrical," said Liz. "Or like, a teddy bear or something. I mean, he's a baby. He'll be happy with literally anything."

Kid paused, thinking about it for a moment, and then, to Liz's relief, actually seemed to calm down, sitting up. "Alright," he said, taking in a slow breath. "You're right. Of course. There's still time. We just have to go find a gift." He stood up and adjusted his suit, beginning to walk down the hall.

"Liz, Patty, with me," he said. "We have some last minute shopping to do."

Liz sighed, falling into step behind him as Patty grinned, humming a nursery rhyme to herself.

For all of their sakes, she hoped the baby store or wherever it was they ended up going had a large stock of perfectly symmetrical items.

Rei Evans was born on the evening of the 21st of December, close to midnight on the longest night of the year. Maka lay back in the aftermath, exhausted, and slowly released her vise grip on Soul's hand. Soul drew his hand back, slowly rubbing the feeling back into his fingers, his eyes fixed on the activity at the foot of her bed. Maka held her breath in the silence that followed, trying to prop herself up on her arms to see what was happening.

The sound of her son's cry, echoing through the room a split second later, was in that moment the most beautiful sound she had ever heard.

"Soul," she said, catching his attention. She reached for him, wrapping her fingers lightly around his wrist. "What's happening? Is he okay?"

"Yeah…" Soul spoke in a hush, his eyes still on whatever was happening at the foot of the bed. "Yeah, he's okay."

A nurse came up to the bed a moment later, carrying something wrapped in a blue blanket. Maka's breath caught as she drew her hand away from Soul, turning towards the nurse to receive it. She held out her arms as the nurse laid the small bundle in them. The baby's eyes were open, fixed on her face, still the dull gray of newborn eyes. A tuft of ash blonde hair peeked out from underneath the folds. A hand had slipped out of the blanket, a perfect little hand with five little fingers that wrapped around hers as she tried to tuck it back in, and Maka's breath hitched like she was about to cry.

"He's perfectly healthy, just a little early," the nurse was saying. "We'd like to do a few tests before we release him, just in case, but we'll leave you with him for a minute."

Maka nodded mutely, her eyes still on the baby. The nurse backed away, and she ran a finger gently down the side of her son's face, watching as he hiccupped, his eyes still on her. She activated her Soul Perception and saw his soul flare up brightly in her vision, a small light near the center of his chest. An entirely new soul.

"Hello, Rei…" she said, speaking through the sudden knot in her throat. They had decided on the name almost as soon as they found out that they were going to have a boy. She'd said it a few times before, but saying it now felt different, more real. "It's so good to meet you."

She felt a hand land over her shoulder and glanced over to find Soul leaning forward, trying to get a better look at the baby. Maka smiled, looking into his red eyes, and was suddenly overcome by a surge of affection for him.

"He looks like you," she said, her voice thick.

"He does not," Soul said. "He definitely looks like you."

"That's your nose," Maka said.

"Your hair," Soul countered.

"Your eyes," said Maka.

"How can you tell?" Soul asked, frowning as he squinted at Rei. "They don't have any color yet."

"I just have a feeling," Maka said. She looked back down at Rei, then smiled up at Soul. "Do you want to hold him?"

Soul looked taken aback. "What—me?" He glanced at the doctors uncertainly, and then back at her, and his eyes were suddenly wide, with a mixture of excitement and apprehension. He looked, to Maka's eye, like a kid at Christmas. "Can I?"

"Of course," said Maka, holding Rei up to him. "Here, just…remember from that class. Support his head. Careful, he's small…"

Soul peeled away from her, Rei tucked into the crook of his arm. He stared down at the baby, whose eyes had closed, and turned away from Maka. She heard his breath catch suspiciously.

"Soul…?" Maka asked, frowning at them. "Are you…crying?"

"I'm not," Soul said, his voice sounding thick despite his protests. "Cool guys don't cry. Isn't that right, Rei…?"

Maka smiled, shaking her head.

"He seems healthy," said Stein, pulling his stethoscope back from the small bassinet that had been wheeled in next to Maka's hospital bed. "A little small, but that's only to be expected under the circumstances. He has a strong soul, so I don't see any problems." He stepped back, turning his bolt with one hand and not quite looking at her.

"Dad says we had to come because he doesn't trust the doctors here," eight-year-old Shelley said, kicking her feet back and forth from her perch at the foot of Maka's bed. Like her father, she had silver hair and glasses, but her eyes were her mother's gold. She wore her hair currently in two low pigtails, and was wearing a white dress, a teddy bear in her lap. "Mom couldn't come, though, because she's still working on—."

She cut herself short suddenly, her eyes widening. Maka frowned at her.

"Working on what, Shelley-chan?" she asked.

"Umm…"

"Just a quick side mission for the DWMA," said Stein, smoothly. A little too smoothly, in Maka's opinion. She frowned at him in suspicion, but was distracted by a soft cooing noise from the bassinet. She held her breath, but thankfully, Rei didn't cry.

Shelley looked over at the sound, a curious expression in her gold eyes. She leaped off the bed, trailing her bear behind her, a bear that Maka noticed was sporting significantly more stitches then the last time she had seen it. Shelley tugged at Stein's lab coat, and he automatically picked her up, setting her on his shoulder so that she could get a better look. She rested an arm on his head, staring down at the baby.

"He's so small…" she said. "Was I ever that small, Dad?"

"I'm sure you were at some point," said Stein. "But by the time you were born, you were a little bit larger."

"Is he a weapon like me?"

"He might be, but it's impossible to tell right now," said Stein. "We won't know until he starts to transform."

Shelley frowned down at Rei, as if she was trying to put together a puzzle. Her brow furrowed in concentration, and then her eyes lit up, widening in wonder. "I did it!" she said. "I can see his soul, Dad!"

"Good job," said Stein. He winced as Shelley moved, knocking his glasses askew, and carefully set her down, adjusting them. Shelley pouted, but didn't ask to be lifted back up.

"What happened to your bear, Shelley-chan?" Maka asked, indicating the stitches.

"I ripped him on accident," said Shelley, holding up the bear so Maka could see. "Dad helped me put him back together. He had to go into surgery."

"It was touch and go for a minute," Stein said, pulling his glasses off his face and squinting at their alignment. "The patient lost a lot of stuffing. He needed a transfusion." He wiped the glasses off with his lab coat, putting them back on. To Maka, he added in a soft voice, "Shelley's not quite in control of her transformations yet."

"I'm getting better though," said Shelley. "And Dad taught me how to make stitches. See, I made this one!" She pointed at a small stitch near the bear's right arm, slightly messier than the ones that covered the rest of the bear.

Maka smiled, placing her hand on the girl's head. "That's great, Shelley-chan," she said.

"We have a bear for Rei too!" said Shelley, picking up a red and green gift bag from the floor and handing it to Maka. Inside was a small white bear, with a little red Santa hat. "Mom said to bring it. She'll come by soon. He's too young to play with it, though…"

Maka's smile widened. "I'll put it right here," she said, setting it on the end table beside her, "And we'll put it in his room when he gets home, okay?"

Shelley opened her mouth to say something else, but was cut off by the door opening again. Stein caught her wrist and drew her away from the bed as Soul walked in, his phone in his hands and a scowl on his face. He picked Rei up carefully from the small crib, walking over to the window on the other side of the bed and sitting down on the small couch beneath it, still frowning.

"How's Wes?" Maka asked.

"The same," Soul said, not quite looking at her. "Said congratulations, asked how you were doing. He'll come by after Christmas. More of the usual." He looked around the room, frowning. "Where'd Blair go?" The cat had been napping in a patch of sunlight when Soul first left the room to make the call.

"Home," Maka said. "She said it smells like old people in here. What about your parents?"

Soul didn't answer. Maka frowned at him.

"Soul, you have to tell your parents," she said.

Soul shrugged. "I figure we could just, like, tell them on the Christmas card or something."

"Soul, Christmas Eve is in two days. We don't have time to make another card. Just pick up the phone and call them."

"It's not like they'll care anyway," said Soul, frowning. "Maka, you know I don't get along that great with my family—."

"How's my favorite grandson?" asked a loud voice from the door.

Rei made several very alarming hiccupping noises at the sound. Soul's eyes widened and he sat up, bouncing Rei up and down to quiet him while shushing him. He looked up as Rei settled back into sleep, him and Maka both turning to glare at Spirit.

"Can you not do that?" Soul asked.

"Oops." Spirit gave them a sheepish grin, scratching at the back of his head. He lowered his voice to a whisper, leaning in through the open door. "Sorry. Look who I found in the lobby!"

Maka looked over with interest, watching as her father carefully pulled someone into the room behind him. Her eyes widened and she sat up as Tsubaki came into the room after him, carrying a duffel bag and a plastic bag filled with take-out.

"Tsubaki-chan!" Maka said.

Tsubaki smiled at her, approaching the bed and setting down her cargo. "I hope you don't mind, but I made a stop at your house to pick up a change of clothes and some things for both of you," she said, tugging at the strap of the duffel bag. "Blair let me in. I brought food too."

"You're amazing, Tsubaki. You didn't have to do that," said Maka, pulling her in for a hug. Tsubaki hugged her back and smiled shyly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I thought you guys might need some things, because this was kind of a surprise," said Tsubaki. "Sorry. I didn't have time to cook, though."

"Are you kidding? This is great," said Soul, handing Rei to Maka and beginning to unpack the food. Maka smiled, cradling Rei close to herself.

"When did you guys get in?" she asked.

"Just a couple of hours ago," said Tsubaki. "We were on our way back when we heard. Black Star decided to move faster. Is this Rei-kun? He's so cute, Maka-chan. He looks just like you."

"Where is Black Star, anyway?" Soul asked.

"Downstairs," Tsubaki said. "He'll be up in a minute. He just wanted to…"

But Maka wasn't really listening. Her eyes were on Tsubaki now, looking at her through the filter of her Soul Perception. A small Soul Wavelength appeared in her vision, hovering somewhere in the vicinity of Tsubaki's abdomen. Her eyes widened.

"Tsubaki," she said, drawing out the word.

Tsubaki looked back at her, a flush spreading across her cheeks. She gave Maka another shy smile, her hands wrapping around her abdomen.

"Well," Stein said, glancing at her as well.

"What is it?" Shelley asked, squinting at Tsubaki. "I don't see anything, Dad. What is it?"

Stein shushed her. Soul looked between Maka and Tsubaki, and then his eyes widened in comprehension.

"How long?" Maka asked, still surprised.

"A couple of months," Tsubaki admitted, the blush spreading. "Black Star wanted to make an announcement…"

Before Maka could ask Tsubaki what she meant, a loud voice echoed from outside. "Attention, everyone!" the voice said, echoing through the halls.

"Wait, he's doing it now?" asked Soul, racing for the door. In Maka's arms, Rei twitched, screwing his face up at the sound. Maka stared at him in alarm, rocking him quickly as he started to cry.

Soul reached the doorway just as Black Star's 'announcement' started ringing out in full force, and Maka caught sight of a familiar head of blue hair just outside her door, a microphone clutched in his hand that appeared to be connected to the hospital's PA system.

"I, the Great Black Star, have an announcement! Very soon, my firstborn son will be—."

His announcement was cut off as Soul grabbed the mic out of his hands, flicking it off and turning towards him. "Are you out of your mind?" Soul asked. "This is a hospital, Black Star! There are sick people here!"

"Well, then my news will make them better," said Black Star, drawing himself up to his full height and scowling at Soul.

"You woke the baby!" said Soul, gesturing at Rei, who Maka was still frantically trying to calm. "How do you even know you're having a son anyway?! You could have a girl!"

"No way," said Black Star. "My first child will be a son! I've decreed it! He'll be just like me, and will become the warrior god of the new generation! And his name will be Bright Star!"

"Tell me you have a back-up name," Maka whispered to Tsubaki, shifting Rei to her other arm and trying to get him to go back to sleep.

"Ayame," Tsubaki whispered back, watching Soul and Black Star warily.

"I should have known you two would be making trouble in a hospital," said a voice from the other side of the door. Soul and Black Star turned towards the sound of the voice, loosening their holds on each other's collars.

Maka turned her head to see Kid walking into the room, Liz and Patty trailing along behind him. Her eyes widened. Each of the Thompson sisters was struggling under the weight of an armload of gifts. As Kid drew to a stop, they dropped them, the brightly wrapped packages clattering to the ground.

"These are for Rei," said Kid, gesturing at the packages with both hands.

Soul blinked at them, walking back into the room after him. "What, did you buy the whole store?" he asked.

"Just about," said Liz, wincing as she rubbed at a cramp in her lower back. "Freaking kid already has a silver spoon in his mouth…"

"I couldn't decide what would be appropriate," said Kid. "And as someone kept insisting, we were running out of time." He glanced at Liz, who waved him off with a hand, a scowl on her face.

"Oh, is that him?" asked Black Star, his eyes landing on Rei, who was finally beginning to calm down. He drew in a deep breath, yelling loudly in greeting. "Hey there, kiddo!"

Rei started to cry again.

"Black Star!" Soul said, turning towards the blue-haired man.

A nurse poked her head into the room, giving all of them a glare. "Shh," she hissed. "This is a hospital."

"Yeah, Soul," said Black Star, "This is a hospital. Come on, show a little respect."

Soul grit his teeth. "Why, you little—," he began.

Liz and Patty quickly surged forward to grab him as he lunged at Black Star, Tsubaki looking between them with a concerned frown on her face. Maka sighed, rocking Rei slowly from side to side as she tried to get him to calm down again.

She supposed some things would never change.

"See, there's Death City," said someone in a hushed voice, "You can see the DWMA from here. That's where your parents work, and that's where I work too. And there's Chupa Cabra's…you're not allowed to go there until you're older. And there's Stein's lab…you probably shouldn't go there too…"

Maka stirred, opening her eyes slowly as the voices roused her from sleep. She had fallen asleep soon after everyone left the room and woke up now to find that it was already dark. Spirit stood by the window with Rei in his arms, pointing at things in the distance.

"Papa…?" Maka asked, rubbing at her eyes and sitting up.

"Hey," said Spirit, smiling as he looked back at her. "Just hanging out with the little guy."

Maka looked around, but Soul was nowhere to be seen. "Where's Soul?" she asked.

"Sent him off to get some food," said Spirit. "He was looking really rough."

With the large group that had assembled in the room that afternoon, Tsubaki's take-out lunch had quickly dwindled away. Maka smiled, leaning back against the headboard. "You really should give Soul a break, you know."

"Ah, he's not too bad," said Spirit, carefully taking a seat at the foot of Maka's bed. "It's just my job to heckle him. Honestly, you could have done a lot worse. Right, kiddo?" He shifted his grip on Rei, and Rei squirmed, starting to fuss.

"Okay, okay, I get it," said Spirit, getting up. "You want your mama."

Maka opened her arms automatically, letting Spirit place the baby in them. She held Rei close to herself, watching as he slowly started to settle down. "He's so small…" she said.

"Yeah," said Spirit, placing his hand on the headboard and leaning in to look at Rei. "Just wait. It's not going to be too long until he's running around and fighting monsters, while you have to stand by and let him."

Maka smiled, drawing in a breath from a throat that was suddenly, uncomfortably tight. She ran the tip of one finger across Rei's cheek, watching as he turned his head towards it. "I wish Mama were here," she said.

"Don't be so sure that I'm not," said a voice from the door.

Maka and Spirit's eyes widened, and they looked up, Spirit slowly getting to his feet.

It was a little over a day later when the hospital finally cleared Rei to go home, so Maka and Soul pulled into the driveway of their house just after sunset on Christmas Eve. The house was dark, its silhouette blending in with the Death City sky, the only light coming from a light in the living room that Maka assumed had been turned on by Blair. She got out of the car as it stopped, hugging her arms to herself in the wintry chill as she studied the house. Behind her, Soul walked around to the back to pick up the car seat, carrying it and the baby in one hand.

"So much for us hosting the Christmas party," she said, as he drew up next to her.

Soul shrugged. "Pretty sure they understand," he said, locking the car. He placed his free hand on the small of her back, guiding her up towards the house, and Maka smiled, walking to the front steps.

"Let's hope Blair didn't leave us too much of a mess," she said, searching in her pocket for her keys.

The door opened of its own accord, swinging inward. Maka's eyes widened, and she looked up to see a sudden flash of light, coming from the living room.

"SURPRISE!"

She stared. The living room had been decked out in Christmas lights, the tree that Maka had sworn she would decorate before the holiday now glowing with blinking lights in every color. A collection of brightly wrapped presents sat under the tree, and someone had made a lot of food, laying it out on the kitchen table. Just about everyone they knew at the DWMA seemed to be standing in their living room—Black Star and Tsubaki, Kid and the Thompson Sisters, Blair, Stein and Marie, Sid and Naigus, even Kilik, Fire and Thunder, who Maka could have sworn were nowhere near the DWMA. Even more surprising than that, her parents were standing there, in the same room if not exactly close together, and they didn't seem to be arguing. Instead, they were both smiling, watching her.

"Merry Christmas," said Marie with a smile, wearing a Santa hat on top of her head.

"Marie-sensei, did you do this?" Maka asked, eyes wide.

"Oh, everyone helped," said Marie, waving a hand dismissively. "Tsubaki-chan was very helpful. And Blair let us in."

"Blair helped more than that, nyan," said the cat, jumping up onto the couch nearest Maka and licking her paw.

"I decorated the tree," said Kid, sounding proud. "You'll find that the lights are all exactly symmetrical."

"Come on, sit down," said Tsubaki, moving to help Soul with the car seat. "Have something to eat."

"But before that," said Kid, exchanging a glance with the others. "I need to show you my present."

"Your present?" Maka asked, looking back at Kid.

"You didn't give us enough presents?" Soul asked, arching an eyebrow. He reluctantly let Tsubaki take the car seat from him, but watched carefully as she set it down on the ground, well away from anything that might have been dangerous.

"Those were for Rei," said Kid, frowning. "I did have other presents planned, but this is really more of a housewarming gift."

He led Soul to the adjoining room, Maka following close behind. Inside the room, which had been empty of furniture when the two of them had left for the hospital, stood a sleek upright piano, wrapped in a red bow. Kid stepped to the side, looking smug as Soul stood there, transfixed. A group of expectant people crowded the entryway behind them, some of them exchanging knowing smiles.

"I—uh—," Soul began. "You didn't have to—."

"Save it," said Kid, raising his hands. He was smiling. "I wanted to. But you know, I think this means you owe us a song."

Soul blinked at Kid as if what he had said didn't really register. Then, something seemed to click and he grinned, shaking his head. "Alright," he said, pushing up his sleeves as he walked towards the piano. "One song."

The party lasted a little longer than expected, and by the end of it, Maka was exhausted. They managed to shoo off the last of their houseguests just a little before midnight, all but kicking Tsubaki out of the kitchen (she insisted on staying to clean up). Rei had cried twice during the Christmas party but finally seemed to be asleep now, so Maka and Soul had taken him up to the nursery after the last guest left, where they discovered a banner had been hung up over the crib, with "WELCOME HOME, REI" written on it in big block letters.

They set Rei down into the crib for the first time and stood there for a moment, watching him as he slept. Maka leaned into Soul and he placed an arm over her shoulders automatically, pulling her close as she closed her eyes and tried to fight off sleep. She watched Rei's chest rise and fall with his breaths, taking in the silence of the house.

For the first time since moving in, it felt like home.

"How are you feeling?" Soul asked, breaking the silence.

"Good," said Maka. "Tired. Let's not do that again for a while."

"The party?" Soul asked.

"You know what I mean."

Soul chuckled; she could feel the vibration deep in his chest. "We're going to have our hands full with this one anyway," he said, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. Maka leaned in closer, her eyes drifting towards the clock on the other side of the room.

"Hey, Soul," she said, after a few more moments of stillness.

"Yeah?" Soul asked.

"Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Maka."

"Merry Christmas, Rei," said Maka, smiling as she pulled away from Soul long enough to lean down, cupping Rei's hand carefully in her own.

"Yeah, Merry Christmas, kid," said Soul. And then, "Welcome home."

Maka smiled at the warmth on her partner's face, pressing a kiss to his cheek. He turned towards her, a familiar look in his red eyes that sent a thrill through her despite her exhaustion, and leaned forward, cupping the side of her face carefully with one hand as he kissed her.

She felt his smile against her lips, couldn't help but giggle into the space between them as he pulled away.

Their eyes met.

"Sleep?" Soul asked, grinning at her.

"Oh God, yes," said Maka, stepping away from the crib.

They left the room, turning the lights out behind them.

A/N: For more information about what happens to Rei, Maka and Soul, Black Star, Tsubaki and their child, please see my fic Rising Stars and Full Circles, which is still ongoing. Thanks for reading, and Merry Christmas!

B/N (Beta Reader Note): There was a hilarious prank for me in this one. Around where Black Star was talking about his fantastic "son," the author had changed the name from "his name will be Bright Star!" to "his name will be JOHN CENA!" I laughed for a good two minutes and then forced her to take it out, but I still wanted to share it with you guys. Merry Christmas~