2:30 AM.

Soul leaned against the kitchen counter and kept his arms crossed as he sighed and closed his eyes. He should be sleeping. Why the hell couldn't he? It's not like he wasn't tired. He was just... thinking.

He was terrible at telling people how he felt. It wasn't esteem or anything like that at all - there was just no one that he thought that he could trust enough with his feelings. He did trust his meister, Maka, to an extent, but would he tell her? No, never.

However, he had to let it out eventually. He had been paired with Maka for long enough, and it can only be assumed that his emotions were pent up for a bit too long - last week, he had asked her out on a date. She had agreed. And now...?

He was dating her. A thin girl with no chest, dark green eyes, and tannish hair always up in pigtails. All she ever seemed to do was read and write and just be uninterested in anything he did, basically cutting herself off from the outside. She never meant to - she was sweet and kind, if not easily annoyed. And he knew way to well how much she cared for him. After all, he had saved her life. He had almost died, but she would still stay by his side and pray that he was alright.

No wonder that she loved him back. He was the closest thing to family that she had, and she freely told him anything. She never seemed to mind sharing living space with him, or cooking for two, or anything of the sort - she was just happy to have his company.

Scratching at his head, Soul bit his bottom lip with his sharp teeth. He had surely thought that Maka had higher standards than him - maybe someone stronger, or someone into books as well, but no, she had willingly partnered and stayed with him. Just the other day she had mused that he was attractive, saying that his spikey white hair and dark red eyes made him unique and rather handsome.

Seriously, handsome? Soul looked down at his body, then back up, shaking his head slightly. Decent, yes, handsome, probably not. He had shark's teeth, red eyes that were always half-shut, messy white hair that he never bothered to comb, and a large scar running across his chest. Not that great, right?

Now bored, Soul began to look through the cabinets of their small kitchen. He had to keep quiet - wouldn't want to wake Maka up - as he dug through them, searching for something small to eat. He had skipped dinner by taking an after-school nap, which only now was affecting him.

"God... we need to go to the store," he said quietly to himself. His stomach growled from beneath his orange and white pajama shirt as he shrugged, closed the cabinets, and went to fish out a piece of bread from the breadbox. "Toast... dammit. It's somethin'."

He sighed and lazily plopped the piece of bread into the toaster, sitting down at the small kitchen table to wait for it to pop back up again. He had been thinking about something before hunger interrupted him... what was it again?

Oh yeah. Maka.

He had thought she was cute for a long time. But he couldn't say that, no - he wouldn't want to ruin his image by dating someone that looks like she does, would he? Absolutely not. No wonder he kept quiet about it for so long. His ego kept him away from her for long enough, but at least he didn't have the giant ego of some other people he knew.

Besides - she was an amazing dance partner. Even if she did step on his foot once or twice. The first time they had danced was one of the first times he had been able to hold her, and it made him feel like a sort of protector. Then again, that was his duty, he felt - to keep her safe at his own expense. Not just because he was her weapon, but because he loved her --

A small metal click made Soul jump slightly, jarring him from his thoughts once more. His midnight snack was done. Tiredly, he made his way three feet over to the countertop again and grabbed his toast, stuffing it is his face quickly. He just wanted to go to bed - all of this deep thinking was slowly lulling him to sleep.

Wait a sec... which room was his?

He looked at the two doors opposite the kitchen - one leading to his own room and one leading to Maka's. He was a little delerious, and after shutting off the kitchen light, he headed toward the last door he saw before the light went out - his partner's.

The door was already slightly ajar, and he felt his way around and inside in the darkness. Alright... he mulled to himself, squinting to try and improve his vision, There's the wall. That's the dresser. The closet... He stopped when a soft plush hit his fingertips. Bed. Finally. I can sleep.

He tiredly crawled into the right side of the bed, pausing slightly as his eyes ajusted to the darkness, causing him to notice the sleeping meister. Crap... he thought, biting his lower lip. Should he really just get into bed with her? She'd probably smack him with one of the books on her nightstand if he woke her up - after all, she had done that to him before.

Sighing, he dropped his shoulders and covered himself with the blankets, lying down right next to Maka. He turned on his side to face her, as she was already facing him, and nudged himself slightly closer. He was freezing. She was warmth.

The movement caused Maka's eyelids to flutter open, a small tired groan escaping from her. She rubbed at one of her eyes, "Soul...?" she asked in a slight whisper, "What are you doing...? Your room's on the other side of the..."

"I know," Soul replied, blushing slightly. He moved himself closer to her, setting his head right underneath her chin, and wrapping his arms around her lazily. "I've just been thinking for a bit about some things, Maka. Besides, you're kinda cozy." He smirked and looked up at her with his red eyes, "You mind me being so close to your tits, or are you gonna hit me?"

"Well," Maka said, laughing slightly, "for now, I'm going to trust you to not do anything weird, okay? No licking or groping or anything." She smiled and nuzzled at the top of his head, blushing, "Okay, shark?"

Soul stuck his toungue out at her in a fake pout, "No lovebites? But I thought you liked lovebites..." He smiled and nuzzled into her a bit more, still blushing, "As long as I can bite you once, we've got a deal. I couldn't grope you anyways, you barely have anything."

Maka ruffled his soft, fluffy white hair, "Hey, barely anything is better than nothing." She sighed, rubbing at the side of her neck with her free hand as her cheeks reddened even more, "But I guess you can... they don't hurt that much anyways. At least they're not hickies."

"I could do that instead, if you insist," Soul taunted.

"No! J-just, only a bite, okay?" Maka stuttered out, flustered.

"I know, I know," Soul responded, chuckling. "I was only playing with you. Don't freak out." With a smile, he sat up slightly and nuzzled at her neck before biting at it lightly with his sharp teeth. With a small surprised sound coming from Maka, he let go of her, kissing the bitemark before lying down again, still keeping his head under her chin. "There. Done. Now can I sleep here?"

Maka nodded, wrapping her other arm around his shoulders, "Yeah, you can stay." She sighed tiredly, covering the two of them with her bedsheets as she buried her head into both her pillow and the weapon's hair. "Before you go to sleep," she mused, still blushing, "Why are you sleeping under me? That's what the girl does, not the guy..."

Soul looked back up at her with a solemn expression, "Does that really matter? You're still my partner. You're still my meister." He nuzzled at her collarbone, rubbing her back softly with his fingertips, "I know that we're dating and all, and that it should be the other way around. But I'm still just your weapon. You basically own me." A small smile came to his lips, "Besides. I can hear your heart beat if I stay here."

Blushing, Maka nodded, kissing his forehead and ruffling his hair again. "I love you, Soul," she whispered to him tiredly, shutting her eyes once more. "As long as that's not an excuse to keep your face in my boobs, that is."

"It's no excuse," Soul said to her, closing his eyes as well. "Love you too. Goodnight."

Of course, Maka was already dozing off. Pushing himself closer, he nuzzled at her again and began to finally fall asleep, for the first time that night.

Morning, 7:30.

Soul woke up first. Flicking his eyes open, the first thing he saw was Maka's green pajamss and a little bit of her chest and neck. He smirked and sat up a little, kissing her cheek as he rubbed sleep out of his eyes."Hey. Wake up, Maka... 'S morning."

Maka mumbled a little and turned over in her sleep, not waking up at all. He smiled, showing his teeth. At least talking with her a little helped get rid of his sleeplessless. She was an amazing partner, after all. And that's what he loved her for.