Epilogue

Soul breathed heavily as he pumped his arms, messenger bag thrown over his shoulder as he ran as quickly as he could. Wind blowing through his hair as the strong Nevada sun gazed down upon him.

He was late. He was really late.

He cringed the moment he saw their car pulled up outside of the townhouse Maka and he had bought a couple of days ago. Quickly he crossed the road, ran up the driveway and up the stairs to the quirky blue door.

"I'm home!" Soul called, breathing heavily as he supported himself on the doorframe, resting his hand on his knee.

"Finally!" Maka called from within their new home. "I started thinking you had left me to do all the work."

Soul followed her voice until he found her within their kitchen unpacking utensils and placing them in the upper drawer. He went up to her, wrapping his arms around her waist, hugging her from behind and he kissed her cheek.

"Sorry. It took longer than I thought fixing the kid's grades," he whispered into her ear as his embrace tightened.

"It's okay." She patted his hand and leaned into his touch. "Is everything ready for the kid's graduation?"

He nodded against her head, nuzzling his face into her neck. "Yeah," he breathed. "You'll come and watch me right?"

"I wouldn't miss your first ever graduation as a teacher." Her hand climbed up and cupped his cheek, holding his face close to her neck as his lips feathered over her sensitive neck. "Are the kids excited?"

"Very." He planted a kiss on her neck. "I hope you didn't miss me too much while I was gone."

"A little," she admitted. "Black*Star swung by and he helped me carry some of the things inside."

Soul raised his eyebrow. "He did?"

"Yes, Tsubaki and Black*Star took a walk to check out the house and they helped carry some things inside."

"Could Tsubaki even carry anything with her pregnant belly?" he asked.

"Correction, Black*Star carried everything while I gave Tsubaki a little tour of our home." She turned around in his arms, hands climbing up his chest until she entwined her fingers in his wild white hair. "Black*Star was very pleased with the house and he couldn't wait till we would spend Christmas at our place."

Soul chuckled as he let his thumb caress her spine. "Sounds like him."

"And Tsubaki can't wait until our kids can play together in the backyard. I already told her your plans of building a swing in the oak tree for them."

This was his life.

Everything changed the night he ran into Maka. They held each other the whole night until Wes arrived back home from his date. The moment the front door clicked shut, Maka had ripped away from his arms in favour of taking swings at his brother. Even though her phone number changed and she moved, her email address never changed. She cursed him for not giving it to him so he could reach out to her sooner. It was never Wes's duty to police them, what they had was between them and them alone. Nobody else was to get involved and play gatekeeper. The next person in line was Black*Star and he got a (well-deserved) punch that had Tsubaki spluttering in worry.

Once Maka got it out of the system, they never parted. The first month they always had lunch and dinner together and took turns sleeping at each other's places every night. They did it until Soul decided to move in with her which she had no objections to. They loved each other dearly and nothing would stop them anymore.

Well, obstacles appeared.

He loved her dearly, oh death knew there wouldn't be another woman he loved as much as he loved her, but they still had their problems.

His memories. They weren't coming back. He cared and loved her so much, but he had lost seven years of his memory. What they had was completely new to him, but to her, it was just a continuation of what they had. It had bugged him in more ways than he thought it would. He wasn't the Soul she remembered before the accident and he wasn't the unstable mess after the accident, he was him. A new Soul. As much as he wanted her love, he wanted her to love him. To not generalize him from the man he was, but to accept and love him for the man he had become.

He knew she couldn't help but do it in situations. She couldn't help the fact she didn't hurt her head and he did. There were just some things she did without thinking like when she made them grilled sandwiches and she had given him mustard on his when he hated mustard. It was those small details that reminded him how lucky she was for keeping her memories, to remember every little detail about him even though everything didn't apply to him anymore. It was difficult for her too. To relearn everything about him and some things just got tangled together and mistakes happened, he got that, but it still hurt.

But the hardest obstacle for them to climb was the memory gap. For her, they had been together for so long and she was more than ready to pick up where they left off before the accident. She wanted to get married again and have kids, but to him, they had only known each other for a little over a half year before they divorced. He wanted to take it a little easy and get comfortable in their relationship before they took those steps. Don't get him wrong, he wanted kids and marriage, but their relationship was completely new to him. He loved and cared for her to the moon and back and he knew they would stay together forever. It shouldn't be a problem for him to jump into the baby-making and get hitched, but it was. All he wanted was some time with just them. Alone. Enjoying each other's company and finding their way to a healthy relationship before they complicated it with children.

In his mind even though he knew he was almost thirty, but in his heart it still felt like he was somewhat in his early twenties. He didn't remember living the life with Maka and it certainly didn't help him when he was around people in their twenties. He felt like he belonged with them, but at the same time not. He knew he should've felt so old hanging around them and going to college and all that, but he wasn't. He had barely lived and he was thrown into this committed relationship, don't get him wrong, he wanted it. He didn't complain about being with Maka, he just wished he had his memories of them together so… so it would be easier taking those big steps back into their relationship. He wanted to make her happy and she wanted kids so badly.

It was a hard issue to resolve. Maka didn't want to wait much longer, she was ready and she wanted kids so badly with him, but he wasn't ready just yet. It was an issue that had them questioning even if they loved each other so much, but if being together meant someone had to abandon their happiness, was it worth it? Breaking up was out of the question. Not after all they had gone through. They weren't going to walk away from each other because of it. They loved each other and they were ready to fight for what they had.

So they came to a compromise.

Maka agreed to the fact he should feel ready when they started creating a family and he acknowledged the fact she wanted to take their relationship further. They got married and this time, they had a wedding ceremony in front of their family and friends. In exchange, Maka would give him time. The date was set, they would start creating their family the summer after his first year as a teacher so he could get his education and get some experience within his field and if everything went according to plan, he would manage to teach one more year during her pregnancy.

The time had come. They were moving into their home where they would raise their children and graduation was right around the corner, leaving them plenty of time to make the kid and get settled in their new home.

Even though she had been given more time than he thought she would ever give him, he was still so nervous. What if he wasn't ready to become a father? What if he messed everything up? Could he even be a good father to their kids? The job would fall on his shoulders since Maka brought in more money and his job was so flexible he could teach kids how to play the piano within their own home. What if he couldn't do it?

He was still doubting himself.

He couldn't doubt himself now when the time had arrived. He wanted kids. Wanted them with Maka. But he was still so nerve-wrenchingly worried.

She beamed at him, rising on her toes and kissed his nose. "Come on, we've still boxes to carry inside from this load."

A shaky smile grew on his face. "Right."

They parted and they went outside of their home. The car was still to his surprise, quite full. She must've managed to carry a whole car full of boxes before this one considering Black*Star had helped him out carry a few of them inside. They carried the boxes inside of their new home, unloading them in the big open space of the living room. If everything went according to plan, they would be ready to start moving their furniture to their home tomorrow so they could spend their first night in the house.

Which would mean, their first night starting to make the baby.

Soul returned to the car and grabbed the bigger one of the last two boxes in the car.

"No!" Maka exclaimed. "That's my box!"

Soul raised his eyebrow. "You're seriously going to call dibs on boxes?"

"Yes. It contained my book."

Soul chuckled and handed over the box to her. "Alright. Carry it."

He grabbed the last box out of the car and closed the door with his hip. They both headed side by side inside of their townhouse with the quirky blue door he had told her he wanted.

She suddenly bumped her hip against his, gaining his attention. "You can carry the box inside of our bedroom."

He couldn't help but to smile at her. As great as a boss like ever. "Alright, alright." He headed passed the open area of the living room and the kitchen, reaching the door to their room. Cautiously he squeezed the box under his arm and he opened the door. His jaw fell open when he laid his eyes on a king-sized bed neatly decorated with fluffy pillows and a blanket thrown over the bed. Rose petals were scattered over the surface and battery lit candles were spread throughout the room on the window sill and the floor.

He put the box down and Maka's arms wrapped around his waist and she planted a kiss on his shoulder. "You like it?"

"I-I do," he stuttered, feeling the nervousness rise in his body. "But I thought we were going to move the furniture here tomorrow."

"I made some changes so we could spend the night today instead," she almost purred into his ear as her hands started to wander.

Soul gulped, the pieces finally falling into place. "That's why Black*Star and Tsubaki were here, right? You and him carried the bed inside."

"Caught me." Her hands slowly started pulling his dress shirt out from his pants and under it her fingers ran over his stomach, a finger trailing his happy trail downward.

"U-uh," he gulped. "Do we even have food here?"

"Tsubaki brought some with her."

"Do we have the essentials?"

"They're somewhere in the boxes."

Her hands slowly pulled out from his shirt the moment it was going to wiggle under his waistline and she rounded him. Face completely taken with desire and she slowly started to pop every button on his shirt, exposing the tattoo he got of his vows to forever remember his love toward her. "Are you nervous?" she asked.

He nodded. "I'm…" he gulped, grabbing her wrists to stop her from advancing. "I'm scared."

"Me too…" she entwined their fingers together and she pressed her body toward him. "But we will be okay."

He shivered when her lips started to feather over his neck. "No, Maka, can we just… talk?"

She pulled away from him, eyes fluttering. "Okay?" She pulled him toward their bed and they took a seat on the edge of it.

"I'm…" he started, taking a deep breath. "I'm really nervous about this."

"I know it is. I am too."

Soul shook his head. "It's not just nervousness."

"Soul…" Maka breathed. "Is this about you not being ready?"

"… maybe," he admitted.

"You've had two years to get ready for this." She squeezed his hand.

"I know and I'm really grateful for it, believe me I am. I'm more ready for kids now then I was then. I really want kids with you, it's just…" he trailed off.

"The memories." She filled in.

He nodded. "I just wish I remembered our time together…"

"It's okay." She leaned toward him, pressing her lips to his forehead.

"No, it's not. You're so ready to have kids and even now when you gave me so much time to get used to this, I'm still like this. I want to give you those kids but…"

"Hey…" she softly spoke, cupping his cheek. "It is okay." A smile started to play on her face. "Because I've a gift to you."

He raised his eyebrow. "A gift?"

"Yeah." She pulled away and got the box he had placed on the floor. She returned to her seat beside him and handed him the box. "Happy 30th birthday."

"But my birthday isn't in two weeks."

"Considering I've tried to give you this gift for the last year but it wasn't quite ready, I think we can bend the rules slightly."

He chuckled and he opened the brown moving box, only to find all of her lingerie and a wrapped gift. "Really? Your lingerie, you shouldn't have."

"That is for later." She grinned. "I might've picked out an outfit for you to wear when we start, so you will have to do the same."

He couldn't help but to laugh. "Let me guess, you want me to wear a suit."

"Yes." She purred as her arm snaked around his waist. "It's hanging in the closet."

He had no clue how she managed to keep her hands off him when he was wearing his suits on a daily basis. In a moment of intimacy, she had whispered how much she enjoyed seeing him in a suit and how the trousers had perfectly hugged his ass and the blazer had enhanced his broad shoulders. His wife certainly turned into a tigress ready to pounce the moment she laid her eyes on him in a suit. If there ever was a moment he wanted to have some alone time with her, all he needed to do was put on a suit.

"Open up the gift, I think you'll like it."

"Oh boy, what did you come up with this time?" He grinned as he pulled up the gift, placing the box on the ground. It was quite heavy. And dense too. It was quite movable, but at the same time stiff. He unwrapped the gift and found two books thicker than dictionaries on his lap.

"I've been working on this gift for the last two years," she spoke as she grabbed the top book marked with a golden one, opening it to reveal a picture of them, but it wasn't a picture he remembered. He certainly looked much younger in the photo. It had to be taken years before the accident. In the picture, they were both beaming at the camera. "I knew you wanted your memories back so badly, and I want you to remember them too. Since I can't use some medical magic and just give your memories back, I figured I would write it all down for you."

His throat knotted as he changed page. "You wrote it all down?" he asked.

She nodded. "It was a lot larger project than I thought it would be. I started by collecting all the photos of us and wrote down everything I could remember revolving around them, but then Wes, Black*Star and Tsubaki joined in with pictures of their own they had of you and wrote down what happened. I then reached out to some old classmates of yours and asked them for pictures and stories and well, here it is. It's all the memories of your life you forgot I could collect."

He bit his lower lip as he flipped the page, seeing the text for the picture beginning.

"I know some memories could've been told better and I had to edit Black*Star's stories quite a bit since he either exaggerated it or blatantly lied."

Tears blurred his eyes and he quickly wiped them away before it could break free. "Thank you," he whispered. He released the page and it fluttered shut. He threw his arms around her neck, burying his face in her hair. "Thank you so much. I couldn't have ask for a better gift than this."

There truly wasn't a better gift than this, her taking the time to collect as many of his fractured memories and trying to piece them together for him to learn about again. No one else than her would've gone to this length and done such a beautiful thing for him. This truly was the ultimate gift she could've given him.

"How long did this even take you?"

"Around two years," she answered as she rubbed his back comfortingly. "I wrote as much as I could when I was either at work or when you were studying. It was really difficult trying to keep it a secret from you."

A smile spread on his face as he pulled away, wiping his tears away. "You're the best. Thank you. You couldn't have given me a better gift than this."

"You're welcome." She squeezed his side as she leaned her head on his shoulder. "I hope this gift is of any help to you."

"It is."

It truly was. Before when anybody would bring up a nostalgic memory, all he could say was he didn't remember and be excluded from the conversation unwillingly. Now with the help of her gift, he still couldn't say he remembered, but he could say he knew. He could still be a part of the conversation. He could still live and not be chained down anymore by the tragic motorcycle accident years ago. Now he could truly move on.

"You've no clue how much this means to me," he sobbed against her neck. "This means the world to me. There is no better gift you could've given me."

"I'm glad." Her grip on him tightened, hand rubbing up and down his back. "We don't have to start today if you don't want to. We could wait a couple of weeks more so you can read through the book and settle down in it."

He shook his head, pulling away slightly. "No. I don't need to wait anymore." He grinned wide toward her, his hand moving to one of the books on his lap and rested it on one of the blue binders. "With this gift, I don't have to experience everything head on anymore. I can learn about all the things we shared together and… we will still have time for ourselves during the pregnancy."

All the nervousness he had felt going inside of the bedroom was gone. The simple gift of his memories in the shape of those two books was truly enough for him. He wanted kids. Wanted them with Maka. There was no need to wait anymore. All he wanted was to fulfil their shared dream of a family.

"Let's start tonight. Let's start a family."

"Yeah…" she smiled wide toward him and tears glimmering in her own eyes. "Let's do it."

Soul leaned in toward her and they met halfway.

They had faced obstacles any normal couple wouldn't have to endure. They faced it and they found their way back to each other. Whatever life threw at them, he knew they would be okay as long as they had each other.

Thank you for reading this fic of mine! It was a blast writing Soul's journey as these two cuties got back together! It was never my intentions of this fic being as long as it became, but I hope you all enjoyed reading it anyway! I want to thank the Resbang mods for arranging this awesome event year after year. I want to thank my awesome partner in crime Chaoticlivi for being a super cool partner and producing such awesome art! Go and check out her art because it's awesome!

Thank you all for finish reading this piece of mine!