A-yo! BBP here, back for Day 2 of SoMa week. I really had fun with this one. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Day 2. Nosebleed

To The South

When they were still kids, Maka wondered if Soul had an illness concerning his nose. It bled uncontrollably on certain occasions and it had her worried. Whenever she would ask him, he would say it's nothing. Now though, Maka lived long enough with Soul to know what caused her partner's nosebleeds. She found it weird how Soul's still alive after losing that much blood. It wasn't a daily occurrence but when it did happen, he explodes and faints on the spot for a few seconds.

After months and months of analyzing, she figured out why: sexy women.

She came to that conclusion after a lot of encounters with Soul's nose bleeding like a turned on faucet.

Like that time he barged in Blair's pumpkin house only to find her taking a bath…

…or the times when Blair would walk around the apartment in full nude…

…or that time Maka walked in on him and Black*Star looking the Female Weapons Magazine…

Her list can go on for hours, talking about how Soul's nose shoots out a fountain of blood when he sees or interacts with sexy women.

What made her think about this was a conversation she and Tsubaki had just earlier on the phone. They were talking about that incident during the Book of Eibon because Maka heard from Liz that Tsubaki was the last one to transform back into a girl. They had a good laugh about it when all of a sudden; Tsubaki asked why was it that she got a nosebleed when she turned into a guy during the Lust chapter. Tsubaki even mentioned that that was a very 'Soul' thing to do. After their conversation was over, she ended up pondering about this nosebleed issue.

She remembered Soul out of the blue. While Maka was annoyed at the fact that it's disgusting to look at and it's so messy (don't get her started about scolding him to clean it up), she felt curious. She wondered if she can make his nose bleed.

Maka knew how Soul just made it clear that she absolutely had no sex appeal because she had tiny tits and fat ankles so, as soon as she pondered about it, she dismissed the thought of even trying. Soul might just laugh at her anyway if she tries on sexy outfits. Plus, what was the reason behind it? It's not like she wants Soul to think she's sexy, right? Yeah, there's really no point to it.

Then again, did Soul really find her that unattractive? She may not have huge tits but, she's still a girl. There must be something… anything she could do.

She had always been competitive and this one isn't something she's going to give up on. It was unfair that she found Soul's body really hot and sexy while he doesn't appreciate hers.

Okay, so she did like her weapon and maybe, she was doing this because she wanted him to like her the same way. But, in all honesty, she's also curious whether Soul, the coolest guy on Death City, can get a nosebleed from her. If she could do that, that's one achievement she'll be proud of especially since that will make Soul eat his words about her lacking the sex appeal.

"I'm ho-ugh! What?" Soul dropped his bag as soon as he entered their apartment. He was with Black*Star earlier, playing basketball at the court. But, that's not really relevant to why Soul dropped his bag all of a sudden with his jaw slacked and eyes wide open.

His meister was wearing a spaghetti strap tank top and a really, really short shorts. What's more surprising was that she's sprawled on the couch, browsing through the television channels. She looked up at him and Soul couldn't decide whether that smile falls under the adorable or the feisty category. All he knew was that she looked remarkably stunning. "Hey Soul." She said in a not-so-Maka-ish voice. He watched as his meister slowly sat up from her lying position and he noticed that her hair wasn't up in its usual pigtails. She let it down. He also noticed how the left strap of her tank top slowly loosened and slipped from her shoulder.

Soul stood rooted on the spot where he's standing, he didn't how he should react. Should he mention that she's so damn hot or should he point out that her fucking strap is off her shoulder? He goes for the latter. "Hey, ugh, wow…" He looked away, scratching the back of his neck. "Man, am I hungry... Got something to eat there? I forgot to grab lunch earlier." He said, noting how uncool he sounded.

He looked back to her only to watch her raise that strap that's been bothering him in more ways than one. He wondered if he's been hanging too much with Kid and he's gained OCD too for reasons he can't explain or it's just because Maka looked so inviting at the moment. She stood up and nodded. "Let me just cook for you then." She then moved to walk towards the kitchen only to hit the throw pillow with her hand which made it fall to the floor. "Oh. Wait, lemme get this."

Soul's eyes grew to the size of plates when she started to bend down to get the pillow. His mind stopped functioning as he watched the scene unfold before him. Maka's exposing way too much skin. Why didn't she just crouch down instead of doing that? And why did she have to face the same way he's facing? Can't she do it sideways so Soul won't get a good look of that ass of hers? Soul noted though, she really has a nice ass to boot. Then there are those legs that look so smooth and tempting even as she straightened up and placed the pillow on the couch again, her bottom looked so round and firm and it was sexy.

"Ah! I'll go to my room first to change!" He mentally cursed himself for sounding so flustered. He picked up the bag he dropped earlier, got another look at Maka's little peep show, before running over to his room.

She looked at the door that closed behind her. It didn't look like Soul got a nosebleed from what she did. Maka sighed and plopped down the couch again. What the hell was she even thinking? "Haaah… might as well stop and just start heating Soul's food." She groaned, exhausted from her little show.

Her eyes were glued to the pan after she started up the fire from the stove. "He didn't even look affected after what I did." She pouted. All of a sudden, Maka felt so annoyed at Soul but she can't really be mad at him. What did he do anyway? It wasn't his fault that she didn't have any attractive bone in her body. She grunted, cursing under her breath. Sometimes, she just wished that Soul would stop noticing everything about her so he won't comment on how she looks; most of the time though, she wished he paid attention to her.

"Stupid Soul." She grumbled, feeling a bit down. Normally, Maka didn't really pay heed on matters like this but now that she's determined how much she likes Soul, she felt gloomy especially after what she just did. Of course, she's still a girl. She'd like to be noticed by that one guy she likes. She wants to be seen as sexy by him. It didn't really matter if the other people find her unappealing or flat as a board. All she wanted was for Soul to look at her properly.

To her, it didn't really matter if he finds her sexy or not. She just wants Soul to see that she can be pretty too…

Then again, maybe, she isn't pretty. Soul's voice calling her tiny-tits and fat ankles rang in her head and she felt annoyed almost immediately. "Why am I sulking over this?!" She began to cook some pasta for Soul, using it as a medium to release her stress.

Soul came in the kitchen not long after. She glared at him, placed the pasta she's cooking on a plate, walked over to him and slammed the plate on the table, causing Soul to look at her as if she's gone wild. "Enjoy your meal. I'm taking a bath." She harrumphed, leaving a very confused Soul in the kitchen.

As soon as Maka stepped in the shower, she can't help but smile after hearing a faint shout from outside. "WHAT KIND OF PASTA IS THIS?! WHY THE HELL IS IT SO SPICY?!"

She believed in Karma but she didn't really believe how fast it would get back at her. She forgot to bring her clothes to the bathroom and only had a towel with her. She rubbed her face with her palm, scolding herself for being so stupid and careless. She wrapped the towel around her body and slowly opened the door, peeking from left to right.

When it seemed like Soul was nowhere to be found, she began to sneak to her room. Maka felt relieved that she was already halfway to her room without any mess-ups. "I don't suppose anything bad will happen. Soul seems to be in his room." She mumbled before speeding up her steps to get to her room faster.

Apparently, life decided it was the time to play with her. She was almost there when all of a sudden, her foot, still wet from the bath she took earlier, slipped on their floor and she lost balance. She gave out a surprised yelp before landing on the floor on her butt with a loud thud.

"Maka? What was that?" A shout from Soul's room came and to her horror, Soul opened the door. Their rooms were just next to each other so Soul immediately saw her. That was also the time that her towel unclasped itself from her body, revealing her in her full glory.

Soul's jaw dropped as he watched the towel fall, only to return his gaze on Maka's body. His face went red when he realized that he shouldn't be looking. Soul looked at her face only to see her red as a tomato as she stared at him, shock written all over her face. His red eyes met her green ones and they stayed like that, not knowing what to do.

When Maka got over her shock and realization came flooding in, she immediately grabbed the towel and covered her bare body. "D-Did you see it?" She asked, mentally slapping herself because she knew the answer all too well and yet she still went on to ask him.

Soul gulped, finally finding his voice. "Y-Yeah…"

"Ugh!" Maka threw the towel at his face, in need to hurt him for making her more embarrassed than earlier. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE BEING SO HONEST RIGHT NOW!" She shouted before running into her room.

Her heart was pounding so fast. She couldn't believe that that happened! How she wished she could just go jump into a hole and live there for a century. Soul saw her naked! Not only was it a glance but he actually stared at her for a few good seconds! "Kill me now…" She groaned, leaning her head against her door.

"Come to think of it…" Maka mumbled, sliding down to the floor and leaning back to stare at her ceiling "…if that was Blair, he would've bled to death on the spot." She sighed, closing her eyes. "What the hell am I thinking?"

Maka stood up and marched to her bed, plopping down and grabbing the nearest pillow she can reach. She then, placed it on her face. "AGH WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME?!" She shouted, making sure she's released every bit of annoyance about the fact that she was wishing that Soul liked what he saw just a few moments earlier.

She didn't go out of her room until it was already 7:30 in the evening. Maka didn't really have a choice. She was hungry and really frustrated at herself because she's being really weird.

When she went out of her room, she found Soul on the couch. Her face probably turned different shades of red when he turned to look at her. "I just ordered some Chinese take-out, if you don't mind. It's on the table." He said.

"You could've at least called me." She whispered under her breath, proceeding to the kitchen to grab her food. She didn't want to make it seem like a big deal so she sat next to Soul on the couch.

There was an awkward atmosphere looming around them and Maka was really getting suffocated by it as she ate. She just focused on whatever was showing on the television – some movie about a guy whose family has been kidnapped – and tried her best to ignore that heavy pounding of her heart against her chest.

Soul wasn't talking and she sort of understood why. It's not every day that he sees her meister sprawled on the floor, naked. It must have been a shock to him. Maybe, he's trying to hold back his insults on how flat she really is? She scowled at the thought.

She stood up to put her trash away and returned to her seat next to Soul. He was still sitting casually, watching the television. She kept her distance because everything is just so awkward. Sure, they've walked in on each other while they were taking a bath in the past and they've pretty much helped each other get off their clothes with dried blood on it after missions but this time is different. Soul didn't just see 'something'. He saw everything.

Thinking about it now, she wanted to pop like a bubble and vanish in thin air.

Maka stole a glance at Soul from the corner of her eye. He isn't moving, his eyes were glued on the television screen and his hands were kept to his sides. Clearly, that meant he's keeping his distance as well. She wanted to talk to him to apologize… no, that wasn't her mistake, really. To explain… no, there's nothing to explain actually, what he saw pretty much sums it up. She just wants to… make things better but she's not really sure how to approach him because it's really embarrassing for her after what happened.

A warm feeling spread throughout her body when she felt Soul move closer to her, his arm around her shoulder all of a sudden. He wasn't looking at her but she saw a blush on his face. Somehow, that seemed to relax her. She just leaned against his arm. If nothing awkward happened earlier, they'd probably end up cuddling on the couch now. It had been some sort of ritual for them that whenever they sat down together on this couch, they'd be magnetized to each other.

"So…" Soul started, still not looking at her. "What's with that show you had for me earlier?" He asked, finally looking at her, with a slight grin on his face.

She glared at him, her lips curving into a pout. "I forgot my clothes in my room and slipped while trying to get there without being seen." She mumbled, her face felt like it was burning from the embarrassment.

"Serves you right for putting hot sauce on my food. Geez, what was that for. That was so uncool." He rubbed the bridge of his nose before continuing. "Anyway, that's not what I was talking about. I was referring to when I got home."

Maka stiffened and she nervously looked somewhere else where her peripheral vision didn't hit Soul. "What about it?" She asked.

Soul leaned closer to her face so that she could see him. "You perfectly know what I'm talking about Maka. To be honest, I enjoyed that little show of yours." He smirked.

To his surprise, Maka pushed him away." Ugh! You jerk! Don't lie to me!" She shouted which made Soul confused. "If you really enjoyed that, your nose would've been bleeding! I've already accepted it Soul! I'm not attractive enough. Even if I do show skin, I can't even make your nose bleed. Ahh! Why am I telling you this? You and your nose! You're so frustrating you know that?

If you saw Blair on the floor, naked, I bet you'd be shooting blood out of your nostrils already. But of course, you didn't because it's just little Maka, the tiny-tits and fat ankles. You've got a nerve to lie to me about you enjoying that show I put up for you earlier!" She growled at him, moving further away from Soul on the couch.

Soul, on the other hand, just processed everything Maka just said. He stared at her like a fish out of water and pondered on the many things that spilled out of his meister's mouth. There were a few points he'd like her to elaborate. "Did you just ramble about my nosebleeds?" He asked.

The realization of what she just blurted out dawned on him. Maka seriously wanted to hang herself at that moment. "I-It's just that… you know… I just proved to myself that I can't be sexy nor attractive." She said as an excuse.

"Uh-huh…" He rubbed his chin as he scooted closer to her. "And did you just say that you put up that show of skin for me?" He grinned at her.

"I TOLD YOU I WAS TRYING TO PROVE A POINT TO MYSELF!" She shouted, throwing the throw pillow from earlier at him. He easily caught it and grinned even wider. Their arms were now touching and Maka's heart started skipping after all the questions Soul was asking. She wondered what he'll be asking next but she didn't expect what he did. He pulled her to her, wrapping his arms around her neck. "S-Soul! What are you doing?"

"You're adorable, you know." He sounded embarrassed and flustered. "I can't believe you're worried about that, Maka." Soul whispered and she stopped resisting his hug. "I know I said some things in the past about how you look but, really, I'm just kidding. You're pretty."

Maka blushed ten folds after what Soul just said and she felt as if her heart is about to burst any minute now. "Are you hugging me because you don't want me to see your face?" she asked, returning the hug.

"Shut up." He grumbled. "Besides, about my nosebleed…" He cleared his throat and sounded hesitant all of a sudden. "…when it comes to you, I don't really get them. How can I when all the blood's travelling to the south?"

Later that night as she lied down her bed, she still tried analyzing what Soul meant about 'the blood travelling to the south'. When she got it though, she probably went redder than any tomato. She didn't know if she'll be happy or embarrassed about it. Well, at least now she knows why Soul's nose never bleeds when it comes to her.

A/N: There goes Day 2. I wonder what to write for Day 3? Thanks for reading! Leave a review if you can. See you!