AN: Well, this is it! The last chapter! I've had so much fun writing this. I love exploring this side of Soul's character and his family. I hope you all enjoyed it too.

Without further delay, here's the last installment of this little series of mine!

Timeline: Post manga

Disclaimer: Don't own

Soul stared at his phone, mindlessly shifting it around from hand to hand.

It had been a crazy month. Asura had been defeated, Lord Death died, Kid became a full-fledged Death God (and thus the new headmaster of the DWMA as weird as that was), the witches were now their allies rather than their enemies, and Soul had been pronounced the "Last Death Scythe."

It was almost surreal. Things were changing. He had changed.

He was no longer that moody 12 year old whose only goal was to get away from his stuffy, high society lifestyle. He wasn't that arrogant fool who chose some random chick as his meister because…well, why not? He finally felt he had a purpose now. He didn't see Maka as someone he paired up with out of convenience anymore—she was his partner, his best friend, his confidant, and maybe his something more…

And the friends he made weren't just people he happened to associate with from time to time. They actually meant something to him…and he had come to realize he meant something to them too.

Soul remembered when he had discovered that bit of realization—the thought of having precious people who weren't family overwhelmed him so much he actually thought he'd have a panic attack.

The people in Death City had changed Soul for the better. Instead of trying to be what he thought was "cool," he allowed himself to just be—to just live. And not to sound like a lame afterschool special, but that was probably the coolest thing he had probably ever done.

He had grown to stop being afraid of who he once was. He was able to face his demons (some more literal than figurative), and move past all the insecurities that held him back. He wasn't even afraid of playing the piano in front of others now. For the first time in a long time, Soul felt…content.

True, he still felt his self-esteem drop sometimes. There were some mental scars you just couldn't heal. But he felt like he didn't have to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders anymore. He could be free. He could be himself.

There was just one last thing he felt he needed to do in order to come full-circle though…

Muscle memory had his fingers dial the number he knew by heart. He put the phone to his ear, hearing the hum of the ringer.

As always, the person he wanted to talk to picked up by the third ring.

"Soul! It's good to hear from you."

Soul smiled.

"Hey Wes."

There wasn't a lot Soul could say about the last 3 years of his phone calls to Wes. A lot of the time they were mundane, other times more emotional than Soul would have liked (he'll continue to blame his brother's dramatic flare for that). But in a way, Soul considered these monthly calls…comforting.

Wes was the tether to his old life. In the beginning Soul was reluctant to have Wes keep tabs on him because there was that lingering fear he'd spiral back into his old ways—closed off and reserved, never wanting to engage more than forced polite conversation, wishing for once they'd see Soul and not Wes's brother.

But just like with the postcards he sent to his beloved grandmother, the calls became a routine. It didn't matter what was currently going on in his hectic life-or-death lifestyle; didn't matter how pissed off at his family he was and how much he didn't want to speak to them ever again—Wes and his stupid phone calls managed to claw their way back to him.

It became apparent that the more he called Wes, the more at ease he felt. Maybe it was the lingering admiration he held for his brother—the one he wanted to impress with his piano music, who would check for monsters under the bed and sneak him extra deserts when no one was looking. Whatever it was, Soul found himself looking forward to their talks. Because no matter how posh or dramatic or annoying Wes was, he was still his big brother and Soul couldn't deny he wouldn't be able to go on without Wes's presence.

It was a cheesy thing to admit, and Soul would rather die than say it out loud (especially to Wes), but that's how he felt.

"How's it been?" Wes asked him.

"Kinda weird, but not in a bad way." Soul said and continued to give his brother an update since their last call.

"I admit," Wes sheepishly chuckled, "I was nervous when I noticed the moon being covered in some black stuff. I had to call Granny to keep me grounded so I wouldn't fly off the handle."

"Oh, wow." Soul said drily, "Wes Evans actually managed to keep a cool head long enough to wait for me to contact him first? It really must have been the end of the world."

"Oh, shut up. If it weren't for you texting me that you were okay you'd probably have seen me on the front steps of the DWMA."

Soul snorted, "Yeah, and Granny right at your heels chopping you with her cane trying to knock sense into you."

They shared a laugh at that because it was true. When the laughter died down, there was a companionable silence as Soul shuffled from foot to foot. There was more to this conversation than just their usual pleasantries.

"Hey…" he started, "I know you're on your tour, but when that's done have you booked any other concerts?"

Wes hummed as he thought it over, "The tour ends in June and I know I've scheduled an appearance at this gala hosted in New York City, but that won't be until late August. Mother and father have their usual parties but I'm not exactly obligated to go to those now since…you know."

Soul grunted in acknowledgement. He remembered that period of time when he refused to talk to Wes and the shock he felt when he later found out that not only had Wes moved out of the Evans Manor, but he had all but cut himself off from their parents. He only associated with them if and when necessary but he rarely ever made an appearance unless it was to visit Granny.

While he knew his brother cared about him, it wasn't until that moment that Soul genuinely felt his brother was on his side.

"Cool, so you'll be free sometime in the summer, right?" he asked, ready to move forward with his plan.

"Should be. Why do you ask?"

Soul tried not to feel embarrassed as he asked, "Well… Since it'll be summer break and pre-kishin activity has lowered since Asura was defeated, I'll be having a lot of free time. I was thinking that maybe…you'd want to clear your schedule and come down to Death City to visit?"

Soul held the phone away from his ear and winced in anticipation. Knowing Wes, the actions this request will lead to will either be tears or squeals of joy. Neither of which were cool…

Instead he was met with silence and Soul had to check to see if the line had disconnected.

"Uhh, Wes? Did you hear me?"

There was a sharp intake of breath as he heard his brother's mystified voice, "Do… Do you mean that?"

Soul chuffed, "'Course I mean it. I want you to meet everyone. Besides, Maka would chop me to death if I didn't finally introduce you two."

He could tell Wes was holding back his emotions, could envision his older brother's eyes tearing up and snot coming out of his nose. But of course, as always with Wes Evans, he'd manage to make the gross sobbing mess look attractive.

"I'd love to!" he finally screamed into the phone, "Let me get my calendar and make sure the week after my tour is clear. I'll have to look through hotels in Death City to see what would be best—I know your and your little meister's apartment is small and I wouldn't want to intrude. You'll have to show me all the sites once I come down. And Maka must accompany us as well. Don't want to exclude the little darling. Maybe I should bring her a gift? She likes books right? Oh, and I'll have to make sure the housekeeper knows to—"

"Hey, man, chill." Soul told his brother, playfully rolling his eyes at Wes's babbling, "There'll be plenty of time to figure this stuff out. We still got time."

Wes paused before letting out a cleansing breath.

"You're right. There'll be plenty of time."

He could tell his brother had a peaceful smile on his face. He should know because Soul had the same one plastered on his.

"Sorry to cut this short, but I gotta hang up now. We're all going to go and hang out this afternoon."

"I understand. We have rehearsals in an hour. I should be getting ready. Our performance is tomorrow night after all."

"Break a leg." Soul said, a teasing edge to his voice.

"Don't sound like you actually want that to happen!" Wes whined in mock irritation. Soul knew he wasn't serious when Wes laughed afterwards.

"Bye Soul! I'll talk to you soon. Love you!"

Soul gave a lopsided grin. His big brother could be so uncool.

But he wouldn't have him any other way.

"Yeah… Love you too."

AN: And then Wes really did burst into tears.

I want to thank everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited, and followed this story. It really means a lot to me and I appreciate you all so much for the support! Hopefully you found this final installment enjoyable as well.

Thank you again. Please review. Have a nice day!