A/N: Full A/N at end.

Also, I didn't edit. I really hate editing. So excuse me for stupid grammatical errors or typos.

Warning: Sexual implications. (Do people still write warnings for this?)

Dedicated to: Poisoned Scarlet, nightsong12, Mtsr, xxAmeterasu, inquiete, grayqueen, CherriiBee216, SAHCB, Alik Takeda, xXSoulessEmotionXx, AliceUnknown, kaykay, CookieTheif, mietze, cloudy eve, crazychick1313, vanila-chan, saphren, firefairy412, ZombieChick422, xJETx, Charyii, JLuvForbidZ, Pugy the Fluffy, Ironinkpen, MakaEvans95, Kisumido, natabee, XxhoneyleafxX, simpleprod, KHloverxcyn, Seddie star, NightRules, IJustAD, sleep-silent, cheng, GoldenHeart333, SOMA. 3, She'sThunderstorm, Saop, Ochibi4me, PrankK1ng, Rising Twin Dragons, mayakat99, goodviibes, Shaded Moon Alchemist, Well then, lilanimecrazy88, Chocolate devil, OtakuGirlsOUO, AsphyxiatedSoul22, xxXSweetMelodiesXxx, Flamin-Massacre, HevenlyDemonicAngel, Jiin-Chan, haha, Rimivi, XxTwilightteamEdwardxX, Chedtim, Glass In The Trees, sherry yuki, NaLu xxxx, AlyCatt14, Mrs. Rivaille, I'mnotsorryforleaving, EndlessSky26, Acemoneybags, TheSilverSandwich, Crimson Orbs, emachookie, DarkShadow1704, Thunderbreeze, TiffaChan, animefreak2119, E.C Silence, Emmamoons, ElectricStars, CheeseyWonder221, IceCreamCookie, SuperVict, DazeDandBoreD, fanfic critique, bluemacaroons, Jewelz Experimental, internetchicken, Kageroudays, Kiki1770, Annabelle, TheSecretMarauder, missmena-nya, MYMYTHEGREAT, Yama-chan, roan, keltieful, princessarmstrong, Princess-Orlaith, Nat the Kat.

Chapter 17: The One With The Happy Ending

"Maka, look this way!" An impatient voice from above her asked, before he started rapidly clicking the top of his camera. "Show more emotion, it's okay to smile!"

Maka groaned inwardly and forced a smile upon her face, finding it hard not to blink when the lights flashed. Her legs were stiff from being stationary in that one specific spot, and her back ached, but she remained frozen as the man in front of her proceeded to take more pictures.

"Maka, we only have fifteen more frames left, you're doing great. Just bend your leg a little more towards me," the man instructed followed by rapid shuttering.

'Just a little more...just a little more and you're done.' Maka encouraged herself, as she struggled to contort her legs in the perfect position.

"Finished!" The photographer declared, a little louder than necessary. Maka sighed in relief, as she positioned her legs in a more comfortable position. She looked up when she saw a hand stretched out in front of her.

"It was a great honor working with you, Maka." The photographer gushed, as he fiercely shook Maka's hand.

"Oh no, no. The honor's all mine." Maka replied modestly. It was her fourth year into this business and she knew better than to express her true feelings on her face.

XoxOxoXoxOx

"Here, I brought you some coffee," a chestnut haired man nonchalantly said, as he handed a steaming cup to the musician. "You're going to collapse of sleep deprivation at the rate you're going."

"Thanks." The white haired pianist flatly said, as he took the cup. He could smell the bitterness of the coffee from its strong aroma and opted to just leave it on top of the piano in front of him.

"What're you up to?" His brunette friend asked him, as he plopped down on a chair next to him. He glanced over, saw the colorful magazine his friend was absorbed in and sighed. "Oh god, not again."

The exhausted response caught the attention of the silver haired musician. "What?" He slit his ember colored eyes in defense.

"Soul, dude, you're always looking at the picture of that same model. Don't you ever get sick of her? I mean, I know she's hot and all. After all, she is the Maka Albarn, but this is starting to get obsessive."

"Blah, what do you know?" Soul retorted back, as he immersed himself in the fashion magazine once gain. He grinned when he saw a picture of a particular blonde smiling brightly, showing off the brand clothes she was wearing. She looked happy, and in turn that made him happy. "This is so uncharacteristic of you, pigtails." He muttered under his breath as he smiled one of his signature crooked smiles.

"What did you say?" His friend inquired.

"Nothing to you," Soul bluntly replied back.

"Whatever, man." His friend shook his head in defeat. "I just don't get you – despite all the fans and love letters you receive on a daily basis, you choose to be alone. I don't understand why you're just hung up obsessing over a model that doesn't even know who you are. Ha, in fact, instead of obsessing over her in magazines, why don't you just go and meet her? I'm sure she'll love to meet you. After all, you are the Soul Eater Evans."

Soul shuffled around in his chair. "What do you mean by that? That I'm the Soul Eater Evans?"

"Oh come on now," his friend snorted, throwing Soul a dirty look. "Let's not pretend we're all modest good-guy over here. You know for a fact that you're the entire package – smart, handsome, and the best musician in the country, if not the world."

"What?" Soul asked, sincerely surprised by the way he was being described - especially the last part. "You really think I'm the best musician in the country?"

"Think? Dude, I know. And you should too, why else would you always be on newspapers, magazines, advertisements…I could go on." His friend stopped for a brief moment and looked at Soul with an accusing face. "Wait a minute…you're not asking me all these questions because you want me to compliment you now, are you?"

"No, what the hell man. I'm not that uncool." Soul rolled his eyes. "It's just…I made a promise to a girl. I wonder if I could fulfill it now. I wonder…if I could finally see her now?"

"A girl?" His friend widened his eyes at the prospect of Soul being even remotely interested in another person. For the past five years he knew Soul, he didn't even bat an eyelash at another girl, no matter how hot or how desperate. "What girl?"

"The love of my life," Soul chirped, his eyes softening in a way that the brunette never saw before. It completely threw him off.

"Ha." The brunette managed to choke out. He was still trying to recover from a love-stricken Soul. "Be careful now, Maka might get jealous." He joked, pointing to the magazine where the gorgeous blonde girl smiled.

"Nah, she'll understand." Soul smirked, before he decided to make a few calls to determine the location of his next concert.

XoxOxoXoxOx

"GUYS GUYS GUYS GUYS!" Maka heard the squeal from a mile away. Her green eyes darted towards the door, where sure enough she found the tall blonde girl jumping up and down in excitement. Maka noticed she was tightly clutching a newspaper in her hand.

"What is it Liz?" The other blonde asked her sister, her eyes wide in wonder.

"Patty, Maka, today is the best day of my life!" She decided as she hugged the two in happiness. "Guess what beautiful thing I read in the newspaper today!"

"They found a cure to cancer?" Maka unenthusiastically replied back. If there was anything she learned about Liz in the past five years she had known her, it was that she overreacted to every little thing.

"No, no!" Liz shook her head, the excitement in her eyes dulling. "Who cares about stupid scientific things like that?"

Maka cringed. Spoken like a true model.

"Stop keeping us waiting and just spill the beans!" Her hyperactive sister encouraged, as she impatiently jumped up and down. "I hate waiting!"

"Well you know that super hot musician I'm completely in love with?" Liz started, and Maka could feel her hands already start to sweat and clamp up. "Soul Eater Evans?"

Maka suddenly found her throat constrict and dry up. Her heart beat rapidly, and she felt beads of sweat start to form at the top of her forehead. She quickly excused herself from the conversation, and headed to the washroom.

She avoided the topic of him as much as she could. In fact, she avoided even thinking about him. It always ended the same way – her in tears, crying in the arms of her dark haired best friend who stuck with her all those years.

The first few months after his departure were awful. Everyday felt like a slow-motion movie. More than once she found herself in the corner of her dorm room clutching onto the telephone, tempted to call him. Just to hear his voice, to hear him tell her that everything was going to be okay in that smooth voice of his. To know that he was thinking of her as much as she was thinking of him, and to let her know he would come back to her life again. It was pathetic, she had to admit, but what could a teenage girl who had issues with love and commitment do when she finally did find the right one and he left?

But then one day, everything changed. It was the day she heard his name again after many months had gone by. He was in the newspaper for being a "blossoming" musician everyone in the music world had their eyes on. There was something about his dark yet soothing melody that captivating all those who heard his lively melodies. It was at that exact moment that she decided she needed to stop all this madness. She was drowning in her sorrow; staying at the same place she was when he had left while he was making something of his life. Everyone was moving on and she was the only one who stubbornly wanted to stay. It was all going to change.

And it did. Her life would never be the same after that trip in the mall she went on with Kid. She was looking for some art supplies for that art class she took to complete her art minor. A man went up to her and asked her if she had ever thought of modeling, because she had the perfect legs and body for the job. She scoffed at the absurdity of it all, but after hearing of the benefits she couldn't help but take it up as a part time job. She was paying for university all on her own – she didn't want any of her father's "dirty" money – and modeling was a perfect way to earn that money fast.

But deep inside she knew the true reason why she took the job. If it was only for the money, she could have quit a long time ago. The pay was ridiculously high, especially since she became somewhat of a popular model, and now she had enough to attend university twice if she wanted to. The real reason was…

The white haired musician she felt so fondly for flitted through her head as she thought about being in magazines. It would be her way to telling him that she was okay – and maybe, quite possibly, if she became famous enough she would be good enough for him in the public's eyes. When he came back to her, she would be a famous model – fitting for such a superstar such as him.

Maka turned off the faucet and looked at herself in the mirror, water dripping down her face. She came to the bathroom to wash her face and clear her mind, but she ended up thinking too much again. She examined her appearance and sighed. What did people see in her?

She traced the outline of her reflection in the mirror as huge green eyes stared back at her. Time had been kind to her, and she grew from a clumsy yet pretty girl to a remarkably gorgeous woman. Her silky blonde hair grew out and they cascaded down her back in soft curls. Her green eyes still maintained their innocence and sparkled back at those who stared at her. Her cheeks were tinted a rosy red in contrast to her porcelain white skin, and her lips were irresistibly kissable. There was no denying the depth of her beauty, yet when she looked at herself all she saw was the same plain girl from high school. She sighed once again.

"Maka?" A voice softly called out, interrupting her thoughts. Maka looked up at the direction of the voice, startled before calming down as she saw whom the voice belonged to.

"What's up Liz?" Maka forced a smile on her face, complementing her pretty features.

"Is everything alright?" The blonde model asked worriedly, looking at the dripping wet Maka. "You just ran off, I was worried something happened."

"No, no," Maka reassured her. "I'm fine, just a little tired."

Liz's suddenly worried face was replaced by a cunning smile. "Let me guess, Kid kept you up all night?" She winked at the mention of her dark haired best friend and smiled as she watched Maka's face turn bright red.

"N-no!" Maka stammered out loud, her eyes bugging out of her face. "I told you, Liz! Kid's not like that! He's just a good friend!" Patty, who had just walked into the bathroom, scrunched her face up at the mention of the raven-haired tycoon.

"Friend?" Liz laughed out. "Is that what they're calling it now?"

Maka's face grew increasingly redder as she tried to think of how to reply. There was no winning with this girl. She was convinced that her and Kid were an item, as well as a bunch of other magazine editors, as seen in the tabloids. When the media got ahold of the information that Kid and her went to the same high school, and they were well known as the best of friends, the media went crazy. Especially because of who Kid was.

Over the five years since Soul had left, Kid took over his family's company and became known as a ruthless businessman who despite his cold heart, was acknowledged as a business genius. He had quickly lifted his company from the top ten wealthiest businesses to the top three, refusing to stop working so hard until he reached number one. Maka and Kid still frequently kept in touch, since Kid still showed only his goofy, symmetry-obsessed side to Maka.

So it was an inevitable thing that the media would eventually catch them grabbing a quick bite together, or attending parties together as a couple. Those around them were startled at how carefree and almost childlike Kid turned in front of the famous supermodel, and speculation of their relationship were always splashed across the headlines of the most famous gossip magazines. Caption after caption were sewn onto each picture: "Business Tycoon Kid's Frozen Heart Melted by the Beautitful Supermodel Maka?" "Kid's Kid Side Shows When Together with Maka!" "Maka and Kid: Engaged?"

Maka had to roll her eyes at every new headline involving them together. Although people were overwhelmingly supportive of the two couple - "They are so perfect for each other!" - Maka and Kid both knew they would never be an item. But people were people, and no matter how many times they both denied a romantic relationship, they only heard what they wanted to hear and see what they wanted to see.

Maka had to admit she was a bit nervous that a certain white-haired person might have seen the articles as well, but she figured he knew her well enough to know the only person she loved was him. Maka's heart started to constrict once again at the thought of him. As much as she wanted to deny it, she was slowly starting to forget things about him. How he sounded, how he smelled, how he looked even. But the one thing she could not forget was the way he made her feel, and that feeling was so overwhelming, so powerful that it was all she needed to faithfully remain waiting for him.

"—is that okay with you then, Maka?" Liz asked suddenly, waking Maka up from the little trance she was in. She subconsciously nodded her head at the question, not fully aware of what she was asked. She quickly became alert when she heard squeaking coming from the two sisters.

"Wait, what?" She asked. She had no idea what they were talking about, but suddenly both of the sisters looked extremely excited, and they were giggling to themselves hysterically. If the past was any indication of the future, Maka knew this behavior was nothing but trouble.

"Too late!" Liz grinned, taking Maka's hand. "You already said you would!"

"I would what?" Maka asked, starting to get a bit irritated.

"You said you're willing to go on that blind date I've been trying to get you to go on. You know, to prove you're not with Kid!" Liz grinned even wider, with Patty in the background nodding happily in support.

"Wait what?" Maka asked again. She was fully aware of what they said but she couldn't believe the absurdity of it. "No! I wasn't paying attention to what you were saying before, my mind zoned out! I told you I can't go on any blind dates, I refuse!"

Liz squinted her eyes and pursed her lips, slowly swirling her blonde hair with her neatly done nails. "Why can't you go on any dates, huh? Is there a specific reason? Or particularly a specific someone?"

"I told you there was!" Maka cried out. "I told you there's someone I love, very, very much."

"Lies!" Liz argued. "Ever since you've been in this business, you keep telling us that but we have not seen a single picture of him! You barely talk about him, and every time he comes up, you just try to avoid the conversation. We never see you talking to him, he's never in any of your photo launch parties, hell, we don't even know his name!We've been friends with you for four years, and you can't even tell us that? Just be honest Maka, he doesn't exist!"

Maka squirmed uncomfortably in front of the two blonde sisters, one looking very angry and the other looking offended. "He does exist…" she started slowly, her eyes downcast. "I just…there's a reason why he's invisible in my life at this moment. It's just…we made a promise…"

"Is Kid the person you made that promise to?"

"Huh?" Maka looked up, surprised from Patty's soft voice. "What? No…"

"Then it's settled!" Liz decided. "You're going on that blind date, no excuses! If you don't go, then I'll never talk to you again! Well…okay, not ever again. But for a long, long time!"

"Ugh…" Maka groaned, knowing there was no way she could worm her way out of this one.

XoxOxoXoxOx

"Here are the files you asked for, Soul," the brunette haired man sighed, dropping a manila envelope on top of said white haired man.

"Thanks." Soul grinned, opening the package in front of him. He had six more hours on the plane before he arrived at his destined location, so he figured he might as well read the files.

"You have no idea how hard it was to get this information," his assistant slash friend groaned, rubbing his temples together. "She's a very private person. We had to seriously use almost all our connections to find out where she lived."

"Good job." Soul simply stated, smiling his sharp-toothed grin.

"You know…" The brunette started hesitantly. "I was just joking about the whole actually going up to Maka Albarn and meeting her, you know…I'm pretty sure what you're doing is kind of stalkerish…not to mention she has a boyfriend…"

"What?" The last bit caught Soul's attention, and his brilliant ruby red eyes narrowed.

"W-well," the friend stammered, a bit taken aback by the musician's icy stare. "Haven't you read any of the news headlines? That business tycoon Kid and Maka are an item, they're always being seen together in public."

"Don't. Ever. Talk. About. Symmetry. Again." Soul simply stated, staring straight at the frightened assistant, before going back to reading the files.

"Musicians really are crazy…" the chestnut haired acquaintance muttered to himself, before putting on his sleep mask, ready to sleep the six hour flight away.

XoxOxoXoxOx

"You heard the news?" Tsubaki asked the raven-haired person across from her, as she sipped on her chamomile tea.

"What?" Kid answered back lazily, setting down his cup of black coffee on the fancy china. "About that stupid white haired moron who made our best friend miserable for the past five years and a half? Asshole sure comes back with a splash."

Tsubaki chuckled, knowing full well that although Kid no longer had feelings for Maka, he was still overly protective over her. They were, after all, friends before she joined the crew. "I'm sure Maka's heard about it by now, but she hasn't said anything about it yet."

"That's because she avoids anything and everything that has to do with him." Kid shrugged. "Not that I blame her."

"You know…" Tsubaki thoughtfully said. "If he's returning to the states…does that mean he's here for Maka? He is, after all, an extremely renowned musician. He's one of the most famous in the country, if not the most."

"Probably." Kid curtly said. He jumped when Tsubaki squealed.

"I heard from my sources that he's on a plane here right now, he might even have landed! Oh this is so exciting! I wonder if he knows where Maka lives?"

"Wha-" Kid looked at Tsubaki suspiciously. "I have lots of connections from my business, so I knew about his flight…but what kind of sources do you have that you know of his actions?"

Tsubaki reddened so much, even her ears colored a red hue. "U-Umm, well that is…"

"Blah," Kid shook his hand dismissively. "I can already guess. Your stupid husband's a spy for government, isn't he? He probably knows as much as I do at this point, which is shocking since he was such an idiot back in high school."

"Ho-how did you know?" Tsubaki's eyes widened. One of the biggest requirements of being a spy was secrecy and sleuth, so Tsubaki refused to ever tell anyone what her husband did. She just told them he worked overseas a lot, and people seemed to be satisfied with her vague answer. She hadn't even told her two closest friends, yet one of them already knew.

"Eh, don't worry about it." Kid shrugged. "Your secret's safe with us. Besides, Maka and I already knew from the beginning that's what Black Star wanted to be, even before you did. He actually came to us, asking for advice since he knew it was going to be a tough life and he was afraid of dragging you into it."

"—And you're telling me this now?" Tsubaki widened her eyes at the new revelation. "I'm actually offended! I thought we didn't keep secrets from each other!"

"…And yet you didn't tell Maka nor me that your husband was a spy."

Tsubaki silenced immediately after that. Sometimes she forgot he was also "Kid the genius businessman," and he knew each and every little counterargument to anything he was thrown. No wonder he flew to the top, she thought wistfully, both proud and annoyed at her friend's accomplishments.

"You suck," was all she managed to tell him, before she told him she needed to return to the nearby elementary school, where she taught first graders. But she didn't miss the genuine warm smile he gave her, acknowledging her insult as more of a compliment, and she couldn't help but smile as well.

XoxOxoXoxOx

Maka sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time, as she stared at herself in her bedroom mirror. Liz and Patty had just stopped by with their makeup and dress crew, and they fancied up her all up for the blind date. She wasn't sure what kind of look they were going for, but if she had to sum it up in one word: smokinghot.

Okay, fine, smoking hot was not one word. But it was the best way to describe how she looked at the moment. She rarely ever found herself pretty, or even beautiful, but she had to admit she looked stunning the way she was right now.

Her silky blonde hair was done in soft curls, which loosely cascaded down the side of her head. The curls were all pushed to one side by a crystal butterfly hairpin, and a side waterfall French braid ran down the other side, before it was also clipped to the other side, joining the bed of curls. Liz had insisted she put on the smoky eye shadow look since it matched the dress. At first, Maka had vehemently refused both the makeup and dress for fear of looking like a hooker. However, the outcome was surprisingly wonderful. The smoky makeup accented the shape of her round eyes, while also bringing attention to the rich green in her bright emerald eyes. She had on bright red lipstick, and she had to admit she looked like one of those old, classic Hollywood movie actresses.

Maka stood up on her black pumps, and did a little twirl in front of the mirror. She had on a classic black dress that stuck onto her, showing off her desirable curves. To accessorize her dress, she put on a diamond necklace, along with a pair of diamond pearl earrings. The longer Maka looked at her outfit, the more uncomfortable she felt. She bit her lip, as she rotated her body in front of the mirror once more.

She was stunning, she knew at least that much. But it bothered her that a person who wasn't…a certain white haired person would see it. Was this considered cheating?

Maka nervously pulled at the hem of the dress. Suddenly it seemed too short, too showy.

"You better arrive at the Royal Palace Hotel Restaurant at eight o' clock sharp!" Liz's stern voice echoed in Maka's mind, reminding her she had an obligation to fulfill.

"But I can't…" Maka whispered to herself, feeling more bothered by the idea of pseudo-cheating than breaking a promise. She was debating on whether she should at least see the person she was supposed to go on a date with and tell him about her situation, or simply cancel by phone and save herself the trouble, when she heard the doorbell to her penthouse apartment ring.

'Who?' Maka thought to herself, racking her brain trying to remember if she had any visitors she was expecting.

Lost in her thoughts, and not even bothering to turn on her camera to see who was at the door, she opened the door and –

Red eyes met green eyes.

Her heart stopped. Time stopped. Movement stopped.

It felt like hours had gone by before one of them managed to speak.

"…Wow." She finally heard the voice say, confirming that the person in front of her wasn't a mirage, an illusion, or the figment of her imagination. It was actually…

"Soul?" She unsurely asked, uttering his name for the first time in many, many years.

He grinned that shark-toothed grin of his that she loved oh so much and nodded. Before he could say anything else, she ran into him, almost knocking him off his feet with the force she used to fall into him.

He was taller, leaner, more muscular…more mature. But his spiky white hair, his lazy demeanor, his shark toothed grin and the gentle yet tight way he held her…it was all the same.

Tear started to fall down her eyes, and she didn't even realize she was crying until he broke their embrace and wiped them away with his soft hand, gently whispering, "Don't cry."

"Y-You're back." She stuttered, saying the words she repeated over and over again in her head night after night after he left, dreaming of the day she would be able to say it to him in person like she did just now.

"For good." He confirmed, giving her a reassuring smile, before locking her into another tight embrace. She broke into a huge smile, and hugged him back, feeling the happiest she had ever felt in her entire life.

"I missed you." She softy said, barely above a whisper. "I love you."

"I love you, too." He answered, holding her even tighter. She suddenly looked puzzled when he abruptly pulled away, and she knew immediately why when he glanced at her up and down.

"I—um." She hesitated, unsure of how to explain why she was so dressed up.

"So, little pigtails grew up to be a bombshell, huh?" He teased, instantly cutting any air of awkwardness between the two that may have grown over the long time they were apart.

She lightly pushed him back, cutely pouting with her seductive red lips puffing out.

"Stop staring, pervert!" She teased, lifting her arms to Maka-chop him. But her hands never made it to his head, as he grabbed them midair, and kissed her. First softly, and when he felt her kiss him back, he started to kiss her more passionately.

Their kisses started to get more heated up, as they both tried to sum up all their pent up, bottled feelings toward each other in the past five years into the kiss. But the gravity of such emotion was impossible to convey in just kissing, and before either of them could think, she felt herself dragging him inside her apartment building, leading him to her bedroom door. Thinking back on this memory in the distant future, she wondered how they were able to make it to her bed.

XoxOxoXoxOx

Soul felt like he was on top of the world.

"You're officially mine." Maka heard Soul whisper. She groaned as she felt Soul leave her entrance. He fell back down beside her on the bed, immediately taking her in his arms into a spooning position.

"Are you okay?" He breathlessly asked, tucking her loose strands of hair behind her ear.

"I'm fine," she lied, hoping if she squeezed her eyes tight enough, the pain would eventually subside. "But you could have gone slower, it wasn't a race." She flatly stated, a bit annoyed she couldn't enjoy both their first time as much as he did. She felt his warm breath as he chuckled, and she felt him kiss her at the back of her head.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, holding her even tighter. "I couldn't control myself, especially with the way you looked and the way you were dressed…which reminds me. I was going to ask you before we both got distracted, but were you on your way somewhere? Why were you so dressed up?"

Maka's eyes widened like saucers, and she gasped as she broke from Soul's embrace and immediately flew to the digital clock next to her bed.

"Oh my God, I'm so late!" Maka cried out, looking at the numbers that read 9:58pm. "I was supposed to go on a date today!"

Soul felt his heart drop, cracking into a million pieces. "W-What?" He managed to choke out, looking at her completely naked body, before looking at his own. "Maka, we just—"

"I know, I know!" Maka bit her lip, trying to find a way to properly explain the situation. "Look, I didn't say I was in love with the kid or anything."

"Oh. Like that makes it any better." He flatly replied.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she shook her head, kissing him on top of his forehead. "I have a friend named Liz who keeps pestering me about Kid. I told her I wasn't in love with Kid, and she wouldn't believe me, so she forced me to go out on this stupid blind date to prove it."

"And so you were gonna go?" Soul sourly asked. "Dressed like that?"

"N-no!" Maka quickly answered, trying to remember why she ever befriended that blonde troublemaker in the first place. "I was debating on whether I should just call to cancel or go there personally to tell him, when you rang my door."

"Huh." Soul replied, still visibly upset. He turned his head to the face the other way, grumbling some words under his breath about too tight dresses and the sexual implications red lipstick gave off. She sighed, a small smile tugging at her face. He was really cute when he was jealous.

She slyly got on top of him, quickly grabbing his attention, and whispered in his ear, "Soul, there's no need to be jealous. I love you and only you. You're mine and…I'm all yours."

Soul turned red at her words, and the fact that her bare chest was basically pressing against him. He stuttered, "I-I'm not jealous, you stupid pigtails."

Maka grinned at this bashful side of him, and was planning on poking some more fun at it, when she felt tight arms hold her, and swing her around so they switched positions and she was on the bottom and he was on top.

"So you're all mine, right?" He smirked, outlining his sharp teeth with his tongue. Damn, he recovered fast. Maka felt flushed as he looked at her hungrily, lust clouding his eyes. "You know, five years is a helluvah lot of time…all this pent up frustration…"

She could feel her face get redder and redder, and she was wondering how many more hickies she could possibly cover up with makeup, when she heard the doorbell ring.

Ding-dong!

"Ignore it." Soul commanded, as he held her down even tighter.

"B-But Soul, I—"

Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong!

"What the he—" Soul glared, turning his head to the bedroom door, where he could see the main door, located quite a distance away.

Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong!

"If that's who I think it is," Maka groaned, "then believe me, we can't just ignore it - or rather - her."

Soul raised his eyebrows at her statement, but his questions were quickly answered by a loud, obnoxious voice that quickly followed the succession of rings.

"MAKA ALBARN!" The voice screamed, as the owner of the voice pounded on her door. "I know you're in there, you little vixen! You better open this door right now, or I'll break it down! You know I'm serious, you've seen me do it before …YOU KNOW I'LL DO IT!"

"…debt collector?" Soul jokingly guessed.

"I wish." Maka sighed. "It's the friend I was telling you about. My friend Liz. You know, the one who wanted me to go on that date."

"Oh." Soul replied, his sharp eyes narrowing. "That one."

"She's actually big fan of yours." Maka remembered.

"Is she now?" Soul raised his eyebrow up in amusement. "May I? Don't want to disappoint a fan."

"She's all yours."

XoxOxoXoxOx

"Maka…you…wench!" Liz whined once more. They were back at the studio, where they were getting ready for a joint photo shoot. It was around three weeks since they met face to face, since Maka deftly avoided her phone calls and Soul made it clear to Liz not to bother either of them at the apartment. Since Maka didn't have anything scheduled during those three weeks, - mostly because Soul convinced her to cancel plans - she found herself with rarely any excuse to the leave her apartment…especially with Soul with her the entire time, keeping her very occupied with activities…

"I can't believe you betrayed me like that!" Liz continued on her mini rant. "To think the person you were dating was…oh my god! That was why you avoided me like the plague every time I talked about him! You conniving wench!"

Maka just shook her head at the overly excitable blonde, but she couldn't help the small smile that curved up her lip. This did not go unnoticed by Liz.

"Look at her smiling dumbly like that! I mean, I would too, if my invisible lover – that I could've sworn was made up! – was none other than the super hot Soul Eater Evans! Ahhhh Maka you wench! How could you not tell me! Whyyyyy." Liz droned on.

"Liz, I already said I'm sorry!" Maka finally exploded, scaring the makeup artist who was carefully applying eyeliner on her bright green eyes. "Besides, I explained everything that happened between us and our whole high school story, didn't I? Don't I at least get some credit?"

"No!" Liz snapped right back. "If you had told me that Soul Eater Evans was the person you were with, I would've stopped pestering you about Kid all those years! The only reason why I bothered you so much about your love life was because Patty and I were both convinced you were in love with Kid, and it broke Patty's heart because she—" Liz immediately stopped when she realized what she said, and her hands flew on top of her mouth. It was too late.

"Patty likes Kid?!" Maka exclaimed, trying to digest in the new information. "No wonder you guys kept bugging me about Kid! Patty did seem especially down whenever there was a new news article about us two…"

"Yeah, but don't tell her I told you! It was supposed to be a secret," Liz made Maka promise. "She was afraid of telling you because she wasn't sure if you were lying or not about being Kid's lover. She's been stuck in this loop for so long, where she wants to be happy and pursue him, but at the same time really values your friendship so doesn't want to step over any boundaries. I guess now that we know for a fact you're with freaking Soul Eater Evans, she can finally pursue her crush!"

"Wow, I had no idea." Maka admitted, feeling a pang of guilt for hiding the identity of her lover and unintentionally causing distress for her friend.

"Yeah, but all's well that ends well! By the way," Liz quickly changed the subject. "You're having dinner with your lovah tonight, aren't you?"

Maka widened her eyes and blushed, not used to the way Liz called her high school sweetheart.

"U-uh, yeah. How'd you know?" She asked, genuinely curious.

"Overheard you on the phone," she simply said. Then Liz brightened up. "Hey, can I dress you up and do your makeup, like I did last time for the blind date you were supposed to go on?"

Maka bit her lip uncertainly, since Liz had a reputation for bold styles, but with a deep blush Maka remembered how much Soul had enjoyed her getup the last time Liz worked on her. Maka shrugged. What was there to lose?

"Sure!"

XoxOxoXoxOx

Soul waited nervously at the high-end restaurant where he asked Maka to meet him. It was a rooftop restaurant on top of a sixty-six floor high skyscraper. The view from where their seats were was majestic, since it overlooked the entire city. The lights from all the surrounding skyscrapers lit the entire sky up, as well as the rooftop restaurant. Although many believed it was impossible to see the stars in an urbanized city, when he looked up, there were thousands of tiny little stars, helping the artificial lights light up the dark night sky.

Soul had just finished practicing for his upcoming concert in the states, and although he was worn out from the rigorous hours of practice, he still felt an adrenaline rush when he thought of Maka arriving.

His fingers twirled around a worn out photo, and he looked at it endearingly. When he first arrived at Europe, he felt out of place and homesick. He was both surprised and delighted when he found the family picture of him, Maka and their flour baby in his sweater pocket. He kept the picture during all those years, fondly looking at it whenever he felt lonely or down.

"Mr. Evans?" A waiter called his name, waking him up from his thoughts. "Your guest has arrived."

Soul felt his heart race, and he found his throat turn dry. Why was he so nervous?

"O-okay." Soul stammered, wondering how it was possible one girl could make him go from a cool Casanova to a nervous blob. He heard the sound of her heels coming closer, and he looked up to find a view of Maka that made his heart race even faster.

He knew it when they were younger and he knew it when he saw her again five years later, but he was reminded of it once again as she stood in front of him, smiling that warm smile of hers.

She was beautiful.

"Soul," she breathed out, her eyes twinkling at the sight of him.

She was dressed in long, strapless white dress, that went down to cover her gold strappy heels. She had on a branch-shaped gold belt in the middle of the beautiful dress that showed off her thin waist. She put on matching gold leaf earrings, and a thin gold bracelet that perfectly accessorized her simple yet elegant outfit.

Her hair let down, and was styled in a wavy, intentionally messy way. She had light silver eye shadow on, with a tint of gold blended in, which emphasized the innocence of her crystal clear emerald eyes. She wore a light pink lip stain on her soft lips, which gave color to her smooth, milky white face.

While the dress she was wearing when they reunited was beautiful in a seductive way, the way she appeared in front of him now gave her an ethereal glow, making her look like an angel.

"M-Maka," he managed out. He found it hard to breathe, and he started to tug at his tie. He wondered how he was able to be apart from her for so long. He concluded it was a good thing she made him promise to never keep contact while they were apart, because if she didn't, he would have gone back to her immediately after they separated.

She nodded and smiled happily at him in return, as she took the seat across from him. She took a look around her surroundings and happily whispered, "This place is beautiful."

"Isn't it?" He grinned, happy that she seemed to be lost in the beautiful light show.

After taking a better look at the view of the city, Maka looked around the restaurant quizzically and asked, "This restaurant only serves one couple at a time?"

Although it was a rooftop restaurant, the rooftop on top of the building was huge, and it certainly looked like it could fit more than a single table. However, there was only a single table in the middle of the entire rooftop at this moment, which was occupied by them. Instead of more tables, the remaining space around them was surrounded by endless rows of different flowers, coloring the whole restaurant in pastel colors. It was a perfect juxtaposition of nature and city.

Little did Maka know that on every other night, the layout of the restaurant was completely different, with dozens of other tables that served other guests. But today was a special occasion, and Soul had purposely rented out the whole restaurant so he could spend the entire night together with her in privacy.

"Y-yeah," he lied, purposely crossing his fingers behind his back. He looked at her twinkling eyes once more and had to tell her. "Maka, you look really beautiful tonight."

A light hue of pink splashed across her face, and if it was possible, her smile got even bigger and more beautiful. "Thank you, Soul. You look very handsome in your suit too."

He grinned back at her, and cockily replied, "Of course I do."

She rolled her eyes at him, and he playfully winked at her. She was secretly glad things would never change between them, and they would always have a playful, yet intense love.

"But why such a fancy restaurant?" She wondered out loud, causing Soul to have a mini heart attack. "Usually we just stay at home with takeout and laze around…"

"A-actually," Soul stuttered, his heart pounding so hard he felt it might escape from his chest. He was planning on waiting until after they were finished with dinner, but he knew he would be a nervous wreck the entire time. To stop any further suspicion and prevent ruining the surprise completely, he decided it was now or never. He slowly pulled out an envelope and handed it to her. "This is for you."

"What is this?" Maka curiously looked at the fancy invitation in front of her.

"A wedding invitation." An unexplainable fear rose in Maka's chest, and she stared so intensely at the envelope, it seemed like she would bear holes into it if she stared at it any harder.

"Whose?" She finally asked, unsure if she really wanted to know the answer.

"Mine." He firmly replied back.

Maka's could almost hear her heart crack.

She suddenly found it very hard to breathe, and tears started to pool around her eyes.

Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry.

But she couldn't help the tears escape down her pretty face, and she lowered her head so he wouldn't see her tear filled eyes. She didn't want to see him, or anyone else for that matter. The world around her darkened as she thought about the past three weeks.

How stupid she had been!

She was blissfully spending those three weeks in her own made-up wonderland, thinking they were actually in love. Thinking he could actually still love her even after all those years apart. But he was just using her for sex, while he had a whole other life with another woman, who was actually worthy of getting married to.

But to think he had audacity to invite her? Did he think he was doing Maka a favor by telling her the truth before she found out some other way? How disgusting. No, she was beyond disgusted. She felt like throwing up.

Somewhere deep inside her, she knew that Soul truly loved her, and would never intentionally hurt her, but at that moment she couldn't think coherently. She was too shocked by the invitation that all rational thought she ever had was gone. All she could comprehend was the love of her life just gave her a wedding invitation she was unaware of. His wedding invitation.

Without saying a word, she got angrily took her stuff and started to walk away.

"Maka, wait!"

She felt a hand grab her, and she tried to pull it away, but his hold on her was firm.

"Aren't you going to open it?" He asked her, his voice soft but his grip tight.

The audacity.

"H-how dare you?" Maka sputtered, hot tears falling down her cheeks. "Did I really mean that little to you? Was I really that stupid? How could you do this to me?"

"Maka, listen. I—"

"No, you listen!" Maka interrupted, not done with her angry speech. "If you had even a little, a speck of respect for me, you wouldn't have done this to me! Do I mean nothing to you? I don't know if your mind changed in the past five years, and I wouldn't have blamed you if it did, but don't lead people on like that, Soul! You made it seem like everything was fine, perfect even. I was so happy these past few weeks, I was afraid of waking up to find that it was all a dream. I…I thought the feeling was mutual..." Maka whispered the last part, as more tears ran down her face.

Soul felt incredibly guilty for making her cry, and gently wiped off the tears from her face. He looked right in her eyes, and smiled a smile so soft she had no idea he was even capable of it. He then sighed, and rolled his eyes in amusement, which only angered her more.

But all thoughts and anger flew out the window when she saw him kneel down in front of her, bending one knee. His hand was still tightly holding hers.

"Of course you would make me propose to you in the most uncoolest way possible," he grinned. Maka's eyes widened and she suddenly felt her heart lift up. "If you had actually opened the envelope like I had hoped you would, then you would have seen it was my wedding invitation…getting married to you. It was our wedding invitation."

He continued. "I hoped that you would be so occupied reading the letter, you wouldn't have noticed me getting off my seat and kneeling down to propose to you. I wanted to ask you if you wanted to make that wedding invitation a reality."

Maka bit her lip down to stop herself from grinning foolishly. It didn't help.

"But of course, I should've known pigtails would be pigtails and nothing goes smoothly with you. But that's okay, because that's what I love about you. Life's exciting and an adventure when I'm with you. Besides, I don't blame you. I probably would've acted the same way, especially if I thought you were getting married to someone else. Actually, now that I think about it, this was one of the stupidest ways I could've proposed. In hindsight I'm an idiot. I'm sorry. But I'm hoping it's okay because my idiocy's what you love about me anyway."

Maka was softy laughing at this point, and nodded. Tears still fell down her face, but from a completely different emotion this time around.

"Maka, the time we were apart were incredibly hard for me. In the beginning, everything was really hard. Food had no taste. Things just weren't funny. Whenever I thought I couldn't see or hear from you for an indefinite amount of time, I felt lost. I wasn't even confident or sure I could make it. I couldn't stand it."

Maka looked deep into his ruby eyes, grateful he was willing to be vulnerable in front of her. He took those years apart as hard as she did.

"—But now that I thought about it deeply, I'm really, really thankful you did what you did. I realized how selfless you are. I know I'm not worthy of being loved by you, and I constantly wonder why you chose someone like me. I'm honestly terrified you'll one day realize you can do better, but the pain of losing you will be less than the pain of not having you at all in the first place. Although you might one day find someone you love more than me, or suddenly decide I'm not good enough for you, I'm confident enough to tell you that you'll never find someone who will love or treasure you as much as I will…besides, I'm hot and rich."

Maka laughed in happiness, and playfully nudged his shoulder lightly at his last remark. He grinned happily ear-to-ear, and their eyes never left each other.

"Maka, I want to devote the rest of my life making you happy. Do you think you can allow an idiot like me to be in charge of your happiness?"

Maka nodded her head happily, and wiped away her remaining tears. Soul took his free hand and reached into his suit coat pocket to pull out a tiny velvet box. He flipped it open, and in was a stunning ring with a radiant cut diamond center stone, accented by a brilliant cut trapezoid diamond on each side. Maka bit her lip in excitement.

"Maka Albarn, will you marry me?"

"Yes!"

Maka fell into Soul's embrace happily, as he slipped the ring on her fourth finger. Overwhelmed with emotion, they kissed under the beautiful night sky, as the stars and the city lights happily danced around them as a testimony to their love.

XoxOxoXoxOx

And a few years later, hanging up on the living room wall of their very large penthouse apartment, is a very old photo of the two when they were considerably younger, holding a flour baby in the middle. Right next to it is an identical, more recent family picture with the happy two except replacing the flour baby is a happy little baby girl.

End.

A/N: There are not enough sorry's in the world to apologize for the super long hiatus. The last time I updated was actually three days before I went off to college, and needless to say, college kept me extremely busy. Not only that, but a chain of events occurred that really broke me as a person. I wondered a lot about my self worth. A lot of days were spent laughing on the outside with my friends, but then going back to my apartment and breaking down in the shower. It took me a really long time to get out of this depressing rut and force myself to do other things. The only reason I'm still functioning as a human is thanks to my wonderful friends, who have been there for me through thick and thin.

Although this isn't an excuse, it is a reason for my lack of an update, and I sincerely apologize for the wait. I also sincerely thank everyone who was patiently waiting for me, or reaching out to me asking if I was okay. Thank you all, your reviews have never failed to make me smile. I hope this ending is satisfying, and while I can't promise anything, I'm actually planning a small epilogue after this chapter. I wanted to further explain what happened to everyone else. If I do end up writing an epilogue, I promise it will be uploaded within the next week. It not, I hope this ending was satisfying enough.

Once again, thank you all to everyone who reviewed, and I really hope you enjoyed this ending. It has been an incredible journey for me, and I hope it has been for you guys as well. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Forever yours,

Verveine.