1. Ring
She says she doesn't want to get engaged before being married, because the practice is antiquated and sexist and besides, it didn't exactly work wonders for her parents, but Soul swears he sees the tiniest hint of regret in her mouth as they pass the jewelry store by.
2. Hero
He knows that she feels guilty that he needs to save her so often, but he still can't quite bring himself to tell her that she saves him every second of every day.
3. Memory
'What makes you think that hitting me over the head with a friggin' dictionary is going to help me remember where I left the keys?'
4. Box
'If you persist in calling it … that, I swear to God, Soul, you'll never see it again!'
5. Run
Maka is faster, but he has always been able to go for longer, and eventually he catches up, grabbing her shaking forearm and letting her cry into his chest.
6. Hurricane
Her anger, her sadness, her friggin' PMS; he can deal with those, but it's her madness that throws him, scares him, knocks the breath out of him (turns him on?).
7. Wings
She wonders if he resents that he can only fly with her help (secretly, she knows that she would).
8. Cold
Smothered by the humid air, Maka rests her brow against his blade, too tired to react to the disgruntled look he shoots her at having her face so close to his.
9. Red
Forehead injuries always bleed far more than their actual severity warrants, and although he knows this, Soul can't help letting out a sigh of relief when he pulls her fringe back to reveal a cut one centimeter long and less than half as deep.
10. Drink
As much as he can understand not wanting to be bested by Black Star, and as amusing as it was watching her gradually lose her inhibitions, Soul does not appreciate Maka's hysterical proclamations of love to everyone they pass as he half-carries her home, nor is he particularly grateful for the vomit next to his bed that he finds with his foot the morning after.
11. Midnight
The church bells behind her toll, and she can almost feel his grin as he says 'Let's go, Maka!'
Her lips compress and twist in contemplation, and Soul is faced with the sudden, inexplicable urge to straighten them out with his tongue.
13. View
Despite it putting her out of action for a few months and making her throw up every morning, pregnancy has its advantages; she now drops things on purpose just so he'll pick them up.
14. Music
'Oh, please don't stop for me; keep playing!'
15. Silk
It's all he can do not to explode right then and there as she places her chin on his shoulder, the fabric of her dress brushing against the skin on his neck.
16. Cover
'Yes, Liz, I do think it's cold enough for a scarf,' he says as Maka tries her best to stifle her giggles.
17. Promise
She feels him squeeze her small hand reassuringly just before he turns into her weapon, and Maka knows that she's in the best of hands (even though, technically, he is in hers).
18. Dream
Propped up on her bed by his elbows, Soul can hardly believe it's real, that it's actually happening, the moment he sees his Meister standing nervously before him in a plain white bra and panties, evidently embarrassed at her state of undress yet still holding herself high.
19. Candle
He looks almost handsome, she thinks the first time the two of them face a blackout together, as the flickering light casts shadows across his face, sharpening his features.
20. Talent
'That's what comes of dating a pianist,' he says cockily as he kisses her thighs, her chest still heaving and her throat raw.
21. Silence
No matter how much he calls out to her, no matter how many times he angrily shakes her limp body, Maka won't make a sound and Soul can feel his world crashing down around him.
22. Journey
Their one-year anniversary of living together rolls past unnoticed by them both, because it feels as though they have been in that small apartment since forever, each having almost forgotten their painfully awkward beginning.
23. Fire
There's a light in her eyes that speaks volumes to him, and he feels a courage he could never produce on his own envelope his soul as she charges out to battle.
24. Strength
She looks weak the first time he lays eyes on her, but he regrets thinking that the moment he is on the receiving end of one of her Maka-Chops.
25. Mask
His hand slides over the smooth porcelain covering her cheek, and an odd calm settles over him – a calm that comes from knowing that everything will be OK, because although the clown may be insanity incarnate, she is Maka
26. Ice
It's slippery, and she falls, but he is able to grab her hand just in time – about to make a smug remark, Soul's next step ends with his front foot several uncomfortable feet in front of his back foot, and Maka laughs rudely, the ungrateful little so-and-so.
27. Fall
He says he can handle it, and she believes him – really, she does; it's just that, there's always that fear in the back of her mind that, one day, the Black Blood will rob her of her partner.
28. Forgotten
'You mean you've been here the whole time!' he yells at the cat as Maka tries to hide under the duvet.
29. Dance
She has just barely escaped Medusa's arrows, fought against the Demon Sword and now there's every chance a kishin could be released into the world – those are the reasons for her heart's hummingbird beat, nothing to do with the steady hand on the small of her back, nor with the way Soul looks in a suit.
30. Body
It's the first time he's ever seen a corpse before and he feels like throwing up, but Maka just stands there, explaining in a detached voice that, unlike Weapons and Meisters, humans don't dissolve after their deaths – her violently shaking hands give her away as she bends down to close the girl's eyelids.
31. Sacred
He's so furious, he can't even see Giriko properly – how could – there are some things that should never, that should never – how dare he.
32. Farewells
Of course she knows that he has other responsibilities now, and that this job is just a temporary thing, until her father's return - but seeing her partner in the death god's giant hands feels like the beginning of the end.
33. World
He covers her open textbook with a large map, and in a voice trying desperately to convey casual boredom says 'It's time we had a holiday.'
34. Formal
Maka is surprised by the woman's stiffness around her son, but, suddenly, a lot of things begin to make sense.
35. Fever
Although there is the occasional fight against a witch in a long dress made of blood, most aspects of the shared life of a Weapon and Meister are surprisingly mundane – he has now caught her flu, and due to her own bed-ridden state, she must grudgingly allow Blair to take care of them both.
36. Laugh
He wants to be angry with her for throwing him aside and jumping off a bridge after a friggin' werewolf, but then he sees her worn-out face split into a wide grin, and he gives up.
37. Lies
He neglects to mention his family to her, because what his brother is and isn't shouldn't have any affect on their relationship whatsoever (a small part of him knows that he is just afraid of Wes winning again).
38. Forever
When Maka shows him how their souls cling to each other during Resonance, Soul knows that their partnership is very much permanent – he couldn't be more delighted.
39. Overwhelmed
The little demon finally takes advantage of his dropped guard, and Soul is forced under, completely and utterly out of control – their bond is so strong that she is pulled down after him.
40. Whisper
He realizes that he should have chosen a more private place to tell her for the first time, as she asks him to speak up and, one-by-one, their friends turn to look at his quickly reddening face.
41. Wait
Sitting outside the infirmary, Maka comes to the conclusion that she must leave Soul to find a better Meister, because she is far too much of an incompetent liability – her resolve shatters the instant she sees his sleeping face.
42. Talk
'Please, my little Maka, be careful, because around your age boys start to have impure thoughts, dangerous thoughts,' her father says through the phone, but Maka is finding it hard to concentrate, what with a half-naked Soul licking and biting every exposed inch of her neck and all.
43. Search
He wants to tell her to stop looking for the meaning in music, to let it find her instead, let it wash over her – but that's just not how she operates, as he knows only too well.
44. Hope
Looking in the mirror, Maka think that maybe her bust – no, it's definitely bigger than before, only to see Soul's reflection sniggering at her; he is rewarded with a book to the head.
45. Eclipse
In those brief minutes of darkness, he feels her hand find his, a secret message meant just for him.
46. Gravity
Wrapping his arms tightly around her, he pulls her unconscious form to his chest, and prays that this will be enough to protect her from the rapidly approaching ground.
47. Highway
Although she tells him that it's dangerous and that he speeds far too much, sitting on the back of his bike with her arms wrapped snugly around his waist, head resting on his back and wind blowing her pigtails into disarray is one of Maka's favorite places to be
48. Unknown
It's she who gets sick of the resurfacing of their awkwardness first, and pulls Soul into his first ever kiss – all his recent worries about ruining a friendship and complicating their already unusual situation suddenly seem so trivial when compared to her lips and the fluttering heartbeat he can feel through his jacket.
49. Lock
Maka can't believe that she found the courage – the audacity – to do this, but she did and she's going to see it all the way through – the way his arms tighten around her middle tells her that he's going to as well.
50. Breathe
When the two come up for air, they discover that they can't quite look each other in the eye, not just yet – they also find that they're both grinning like complete morons, but that's another matter entirely.