First Impressions Chapter 6 Part 2 and Epilogue

Maka winced as she slowly became aware something bright was hitting her face. Grudgingly, she carefully opened her eyes to get a face full of sunlight. She winced again, blinking slowly, before being able to see. Immediately what greeted her sight were the blood red walls of Soul's room.

Instead of feeling weirded out, it made her inexplicably happy. She sighed dreamily as a goofy smile crossed her face. For a man that hadn't had sex in the past five years he certainly knew what he was doing. He did things to her body, made her feel things, that she never thought possible. Nothing was safe from his passion, the bed, the floor, hell even the shower at one point. The man certainly had stamina.

She turned her head and faced Soul's sleeping face. It was so handsome, so without worry. Her heart swelled in happiness at being able to lie next to this man. She frowned a little though when she came to realize he wasn't next to her. When she tried to move, she soon became aware of a barrier between the two of them. She looked down to see three little heads, Ty on Soul's right, Essie in between Soul and Maka, while Alex was to her left. They too were also asleep, looking like peaceful little angels.

At first Maka was starting to freak out but then became aware that she had clothes on. She looked down confused; she was wearing Soul's shirt and, if she felt right, she was wearing a pair of his shorts as well. Her mind tried to frantically recall when Soul could have put her in his clothes. 'Let me think… I remember the great sex…. We did it one last time… in his bed?... then I… passed… out….' She blushed deeply in embarrassment, had she been so satisfied from their sex session that she wasn't even able to wake up when he put her in clothes? And then be able to hear the doorbell for the kids? Damn….

Alex shifted, snuggling closer to her as he threw an arm over her waist. He muttered something she couldn't hear but Maka smiled as she wrapped her arms around him to keep him from falling off the bed. She looked at everyone around her, feeling more like she was a part of a family than she had in a long time. This was true happiness.

She was about to fall back asleep when she got a sudden idea. As a little girl, before the divorce, her mother would always make her breakfast in bed on her birthday. And today was Essie's birthday….

With a stealthiness that she didn't know she possessed, Maka was able to maneuver herself out of Alex's grip and slip out of the bed. She scooted Alex closer to the center of the bed before covering him in the sheets. On impulse she leaned down and kissed the boy on the top of the head before quietly slipping out of the room.

When she entered the living room, she looked out the window, noting that the sun was now just a little over the New York skyline. She figured that it was late morning or early afternoon which worked perfectly for her plan as she scurried off to the kitchen. As quietly as possible she drew out some pots and pans out of the cupboards under the counter. She winced whenever the shiny, metal pans would fall when she moved one and she vowed to herself that she was going to organize them one of these days.

Once she had her supplies from the food pantry and the refrigerator, while making sure no one woke up, she got to work. She started with the eggs and soon was working her way up with other food items; bacon, toast, the typical breakfast items. The room wafted with the delicious food that she really hoped it wouldn't wake the household.
Maka was just beginning on Essie's favorite breakfast food, chocolate chip pancakes, when a little voice startled her. "Ms. Maka?"

Maka nearly jumped a foot in the air as she spun around, seeing the white haired five-year-old standing at the entrance of the kitchen, rubbing her eyes. She looked absolutely adorable in one of her father's large shirts that fell past her knees. Her small feet were bare and her hair was in slight disarray, showing she had just woken up. Her green eyes were slightly blurry as she looked up at Maka with a curious expression. "What are you doing?"

Maka smiled though slightly disappointed that she had not finished making breakfast in time. Feeling that the food would be ok to be left alone for a few seconds, she went over to the little girl. "Making breakfast," she replied in a quiet voice as she picked the girl up. "Woah! You're getting too big for this."

The little girl in her arms giggled as Maka took her over to the counter. "Papa says the same thing."

"Speaking of Papa, is he or your brothers awake?" Maka asked as she went back to flipping the pancakes.

Essie shook her head. "Nope. I was really sneaky! They all still asleep!" She covered her mouth to keep her laughter at bay as she watched Maka.

Maka was very happy at that.  "How was your birthday party last night?"

"It was awesome!" Essie whispered happily. "I got so many birthday presents! Papa took them upstairs this morning when Ms. Kami dropped us off. Then he said we could lay in bed with you guys."

"That's wonderful. I can't wait to see them." Maka then noticed the child frown and her eyebrows knit together. "Essie?" Maka asked in concern. "Something wrong?"

The child bit her bottom lip as her eyes met Maka's shyly. "Ms. Maka…. Why were you and dad in the same bed?"

That stopped Maka short. Frantically her mind tried to think of an excuse other than… that. "No reason," was Maka's lame excuse. She was just happy her voice didn't crack because of the tightness in her throat. "Why do you ask?"

Essie cast her eyes away, looking anywhere but at her. "Because Papa always sleeps somewhere else when guests come over. He says only Mommy and Daddy's sleep in beds together."

Maka felt her panic melt away a little and give way to a warm feeling inside her. Again Soul was being symbolic by sharing a bed with her, telling her he was ready for the next step. Though it should have frightened her, and it did a little, it didn't really because deep down she was ready for it too. But it was going to be awhile before it came to that because even though they loved each other, she didn't want to jump into anything so fast.

"Well…," Maka said turning back to making breakfast. "That's true. But…." She took a deep breath, gathering her courage to say the words that she had wanted to say a month ago. " Papa and I have become… more than friends recently so it's ok…. And honestly I… I wouldn't mind if you called me 'Mama.'" She cast a glance at Essie to see the wide-eyed expression on the girl as she stared up at her.

"Really Ms. Maka?"

Maka offered the girl a nervous smile. "Really. In fact, I'm doing something my Mama used to do for me when I was a little girl. Every birthday she would make me breakfast in bed and since it is your birthday today I thought it would be a good idea… to start this family tradition with you."

Out of the reactions she was expecting, she was surprised when Essie jumped off the counter and grabbed ahold of Maka's leg, hiding her face. "Essie?" Maka kneeled down, causing the young girl to let go. She cupped the child's cheek meeting her watery gaze. She didn't know what to do; the girl looked like she was going to cry but her eyes held happiness instead of saddenss. "Would you like that Essie? If you called me 'Mama?'"

"Y-yes! I would like that so much Ms. Maka! I've wanted you to be my mama for a long time!" Maka barely had time to process the confession as the young child launched herself into the older woman's arms, wrapping her own around Maka's neck.

Pure happiness ate at Maka's heart as she held the little girl, burying her head into the child's hair. To know that this child had wanted her to be a mother to her made everything inside Maka just want to laugh and cry. If Essie wanted to call her Mama, did that mean the boys did too? That would just be the icing on the cake.

She took another deep breath again and noted that something was different in the air. Something burnt. "OH!" Quickly she stood, remembering the pancakes, and frantically tried to save the meal. Essie giggled, wiping her face of her tears, as she watched the display.
Maka huffed as she placed the partially burnt pancake on the plate. "Well. It doesn't look too bad," she said, looking down at Essie. "Hope you don't mind it's a little burnt."

"Of course not, Mama!" Essie replied without skipping a beat. Maka beamed, liking how that sounded.

After that, both of them finished making breakfast, with Essie calling Maka 'Mama' every chance she could get, the both of them set up the food onto a tray they found and made their way back to the bedroom. Entering the room, Maka almost laughed at the sight. With the girls out of the bed, the boys had made a mess of the sheets, wrapping themselves in them. Soul had moved toward the center of the bed along with Ty. The sheets were wrapped around his hips, showing off his scarred chest while Ty and Alex had smashed themselves on either side of their father, their black heads peeking just out of the sheets.

Maka looked down to see Essie smirking up at her. Catching on, Maka smirked and nodded her head. Instantly the five-year-old ran over to the bed, climbed on, and standing up before jumping up and down. "Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" she shouted happily.

Maka did laugh as all three boys groaned, the twins moaning their sister's name, while Soul forcefully opened his eyes. He yawned, showing of his sharp teeth, while stretching. He smirked up at Essie as he sat up before suddenly grabbing the girl and bringing her into a hug. "Happy Birthday, you!" Soul laughed as he tickled the girl.

Essie responded in a fit of giggles which made her brothers finally sit up and watch the greeting.

Once Soul had stopped tickling Essie and the young girl had calmed down, Essie immediately sat up and beamed at Maka. "Mama made me breakfast!" she shouted.

Soul stopped short as well as Ty and Alex. "Mama?" both boys said in confusion and a little bit of excitement.

"Yeah!" Essie said, waving her arms in the air as she looked at her brothers. "Ms. Maka said that we can call her Mama and it would make her really happy too!"

Both boys stared at Essie for a moment almost not believing it, but when they looked at Maka's beaming yet nervous face, slowly they came to believe it. They turned their heads toward each other before a slow smile crept across their faces. They then turned toward Maka again and started moving toward her shouting "Mama!" with Essie shortly joining in.

As the kids continued to shout their excitement out, Maka made eye contact with a very shocked Soul. The expression he wore was one of shock, excitement, disbelief, and hope. Maka smirked at him, clearly conveying 'You-are-stuck-with-me-now. Better-get-used-to-it.'

After a moment, Soul smirked before leaning back against his headboard saying, 'I'm-cool-with-that.' Maka laughed as she came toward the bed and set the tray down.  The kids gathered around her and she gave each of them a quick kiss on the head before climbing onto the bed to join Soul.

The white haired man wrapped his around her shoulder as she leaned onto his own. Both of them watched the kids go to town on the food, content smiles on their faces as they thought the same thing,

'This is the life…'

Epilogue~ 1 year later

         Maka sighed happily as she watched party goers dance and talk. Everybody was having a great time, dressed in their best suits and dresses, as the sunset over the New York skyline. The area was decorated finely, almost with an old English feel to it. The walls were a lovely beige with painted murals of gardens in each corner of the room. White tablecloth tables, with exotic centerpieces, surrounded the dance floor while windows lined the walls, giving people a lovely view of New York City's Botanical Gardens. On one side of the room a pair of glass doors was open allowing even more guests to come and go as they pleased. It was perfect.

Then again this was her wedding reception so of course it was going to be perfect.

         She smiled as she smoothed out any wrinkles on her white, lacy, A-line, wedding dress. The entire day had been perfect in her mind, from beginning to now. She didn't really have any breakdowns throughout the day and she certainly had no regret about marrying the man she loved. She glanced down at the diamond, princess cut engagement/wedding ring.

         Maka Albarn Evans. That certainly had a ring to it.

         Her eyes searched the room until she found her husband talking with Black Star near the dance floor. She admired him, the way his pinstripe suit sat against his entire frame making him look even sexier. She had practically forced him into the suit because he wanted to go more traditional; she wouldn't have it though, the day he had returned home a year ago in that suit he had tainted her forever to any other suit. She did compromise though and allowed him to where a white shirt with a black tie (he refused to wear a bowtie, saying it was "uncool"). He didn't wear a headband like he normally would but managed to place his bangs out of his face, though now looked a little disheveled.

         Her own hair wasn't any better. She had let it down for the wedding, with just a simple veil with a floral ring that kept it in place. She had managed to make it look full and fluffy for the wedding ceremony but now she saw sure that it was flat again, and she had no veil to hide it. She didn't really care though. All that she cared about was the expensive dress and jewelry made it through the evening.

         She watched as Ty and Alex, both dressed in their finest tuxes and ties, ran up to their father. Quickly, they were followed by Essie in her white flower girl dress with a red sash around her waist. They spoke to Soul for a moment before running off to the dance floor. Soul looked around before making eye contact with Maka.

         She watched him smile as he quickly left Black Star's side to come over to her location. "Hey," he said coming to stand in front of her. He bent down and gave her a quick peck on the lips before smirking. "The kids want us to dance with them."

         Maka smiled. "I'll be there in a minute. I just had to take a break."

         "Better not keep the kids waiting. You know how they can get." He reached out with his left hand and Maka caught the sight of the platinum wedding band that rested on his ring finger. It matched her own band and she nearly beat Soul to a pulp when she learned that it was really platinum and not silver.

         He gave her hand a quick squeeze and she leaned up to give him a kiss of her own. "Then you better get going," she whispered when they broke apart, their faces inches apart. "They'll be happy with one for a bit. I'll be there soon. And watch out for those nasty business men. You may be the CEO of Rose Industry now but it's our wedding. I don't want you talking business."

         Soul chuckled in agreement as he leaned down and kissed her again before breaking off and heading toward the dance floor. Maka watched him as he joined his kids, catching Essie and spinning her around. The little girl laughed while her brothers danced around their father. Maka couldn't help but smile at the sight.

         A server with champagne passed her and offered her a drink which she immediately declined; after all she had to watch herself now. She looked back at her family and a small smirk spread across her face as she placed a hand on her stomach, wondering how Soul would take the news that another little Evans was on the way.