Hello! This is my first fanfic. Not much of a writer but I was inspired by Soul Eater. These were my thoughts after watching the anime. I will see how this does and if someone wants me to continue writing it I will finish it. If people read it and say eh, I probably will just not worry about finishing. Thanks for reading!

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN SOUL EATER!

After Maka defeated the kishin and everything was back to normal, Maka and Soul continued their quest to turn Soul into a death scythe. Two and a half years had passed and the team had finally collected all of the souls required to perform the transformation. Soul was now known as the eighth official death scythe (the second death scythe that was actually a Scythe) and the entire academy was buzzing with excitement. Maka and Soul left Lord Death's chamber and were surprised to enter a courtyard filled with cheering and applause. "Maka! Soul!" Tsubaki ran as fast as she could to congratulate the newly made death scythe standing before her. She was running so fast that they cringed in fear of a collision. "I can't believe it! You did it! This is almost as exciting as Maka taking on the Kishin all by herself and saving us," she exclaimed as she pulled them both in for a hug. Maka grinned, "thank you, Tsubaki! It was tough, and we almost blew it with the witch's soul... but it all worked out in the end." "You're going to have to tell me all about it," Tsubaki said with glee. Black*Star strolled up in a relaxed manner, "You guys did alright. But just wait until I turn Tsubaki into a death scythe. She's going to be the best death scythe ever because a star like me deserves the best!" He pointed to himself with a big goofy smile. Soul rolled his eyes and looked away; he wasn't in any mood to celebrate.

The team had many congratulatory greetings and smiles from various students in the academy throughout the entire day. They were the center of attention as everyone stared at them when they entered a room. "Quite the popular pair, you are." Death the Kid walked over with Liz and Patty at his side. "It's so awesome to not only know, but to be friends with the new death scythe! Everyone is talking about it," Liz said while patty smiled and jumped with excitement. Maka smiled and looked at Soul. Her weapon partner seemed unnaturally relaxed and disinterested given the current situation.

After they were out of earshot from nearby groups, Maka asked, "hey Soul, are you alright?" He jerked as if he was interrupted from deep thought. "Huh?" She stared at him intently. "I asked if you were alright." Soul looked away and quietly said, "yeah, fine." But Maka knew better. She swung around to meet his gaze. "What's wrong?" Soul didn't respond immediately and knew that she would only continue to pester him if he resisted telling her. Her persistence annoyed him but he wasn't in the mood to object to her questions. He knew that making up some lame excuse like he was sick wouldn't work. He finally sighed and gave in, "I…am depressed." Maka was a bit confused. "What? Why? We've waited so long for this…we've accomplished our goal! You're a death scythe now. You should be happy!" She waited patiently for his response, truly curious about his apathy. "That's just it, Maka. We've done what we came here to do. What now? Where do we go from here? Before, we had a reason to fight and a mission to pursue. And now, there's nothing. No motivation. Most of the death scythes separate from their meisters after the transformation. I... don't..." He trailed off and looked away, ashamed of what he was about to say. He wanted to crawl into a hole and die there. He knows the subject of Maka's father splitting with her mother was a tough one for her. She now hated her dad for the disloyalty he possessed in his marriage. But Maka seemed unaffected by that as she was quick to reply. "None of that is true, Soul. First off, we still have a duty as weapon and meister to protect pure souls from evil ones. Students at the academy look up to us." As soon as she said that, a group of younger girls passed by, obviously eying Soul and giggling. "Well...maybe just you. But secondly, C'mon Soul! I'm not going anywhere! Just because other partners part ways doesn't mean we have to! Look at Miss Marie and Professor Stein. They're even...um…together now!" She paused for a moment and looked at Soul. He was too enthralled by her speech to notice her cheeks growing red, so she quickly continued. "We support each other... and I wouldn't want any other weapon. Sorry but you're stuck with this meister for a while whether you like it or not. Now you should quit worrying and be happy. You've earned it." Soul looked at her and his mouth formed into a toothy grin. "Yeah, you make a good point. C'mon, let's go celebrate."

That night, Maka made steak and mashed potatoes, one of their favorite dishes. Soul cleaned the plate, clearly satisfied by the meal. He finished with a big yawn and got up to do the dishes. Maka could see how tired he was so she offered to do the dishes while he went to bed. He refused. "No. You made the meal, I clean up. That's how it is." She ignored him, and pushed him out of her way.

"No. It's okay, really. I don't mind."

"I'm not playing with you! Just let me do it!" He picked her up and moved her. She grabbed his waist and brought him down to the ground while he twisted around and held her so that she couldn't move toward the sink.

"Why are you being so insistent and nice all of a sudden? Go back to the old Soul who never helped out, it suits you better." She struggled to get out of his arms but he was too strong.

"What are you talking about? I've always been nice."

"Ha ha don't make me laugh, Soul."

"You know, you being like this is somewhat annoying."

"Being like what? I'm annoying because I want to do the dishes and give you a break?"

"Give me a break?" Soul chuckled and said, "You were the one that cooked. You're completely illogical."

"Me illogical!?" She was cut off by Blair who transformed into human form and found them lying on the floor.

"What on Earth are you two doing?"

"She started it."

"DID NOT."

"Way to act like a 4th grader, Maka. So uncool."

"You both are acting like 4th graders," Blair shouted. "Now, what is this about?"

"I want to do the dishes to give Soul a break, but he won't let me."

"Are you kidding me," breathed Blair. "This is about dishes?" She giggled, "I've never known you two to fight about who does the dishes. It's usually about who doesn't do them."

"Maka cooked so I should clean them, right Blair? Tell her!"

"Hey, I have an idea," Blair looked at the two of them. "Why don't you both clean the dishes...together."

They looked at each other, still entangled in a pretzel formation from the quarrel. They nodded and Soul let go of Maka.

After the dishes were done, Soul and Maka both made themselves comfortable on the couch and stared at the blank television. They both looked at the remote sitting on the table inconveniently placed across the room away from them, causing them to simultaneously let out a large sigh. Soul put his hands behind his head. "You know what's weird about all of this?" Maka sat still staring blankly at the wall, "hmm."

"It doesn't feel real."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. After all this time and all that work, it's finally over...and it doesn't feel like it." Maka breathed for a couple seconds, then said, "you know, I have a pretty cool weapon now. I'm the envy of all the school probably."

Soul looked at her with a grin, "yeah, take pride in your awesome weapon." She laughed.

Soul then smirked and said, "I have a pretty cool meister. I'm sure a bunch of weapons are jealous that I have one that turned me into a death scythe."

Maka grinned and noticed her face was extremely hot. She was confused by this. Why in the world was she blushing? Why did she feel this way all of a sudden? Startled by the unexpected emotion, she sharply sprang up from the couch, alarming Soul. "What the hell?"

"Sorry" Maka quickly said. "I'm going to bed now." She abruptly turned and shuffled off to her room. "Alright, goodnight then..." Soul scratched his head in confusion. What the hell was that? Did he say something wrong? After a few moments of pondering the situation, he got up and went into his room. He replayed the entire scene repeatedly in his mind to figure out what upset Maka. He didn't think he said anything too terrible. Nothing to make her, all of a sudden, avoid him. He threw his hands up in frustration. "Why are girls so confusing?! They don't make sense. Completely illogical." He threw his shirt off and turned out the light.

It was so quiet in the small apartment. Soul heard Blair purring at the foot of his bed, where she normally slept. As he lay in the dark, his mind was racing with random thoughts. He was still contemplating about what he said to make Maka instantly want to go to bed. As he thought about that, his mind wandered back to when he threw himself in between Maka and the Demon Sword. He couldn't recall that moment in particular. He could only remember the sound of Maka screaming and the sight of blood on the floor where he lay. He lightly touched the deep scar that bisected his bare chest as he remembered what she said that day when Stein lit the candles that heightened their emotions.

This is about me getting stronger so I can keep you from getting hurt that badly ever again!

She was completely serious when she said that. He laughed out loud. "Stupid girl, she's crazy. She wanted to protect me. Weapons are supposed to protect their meisters, not the other way around." He looked up at the dark ceiling above him and pictured her face as a new thought slowly entered his mind. She wanted to protect ME. A meister wants to guard her weapon. What a twisted situation. She was angry because she didn't want me to get hurt for her. I was angry because she wanted to protect me even if it meant that she gets hurt. The fact that we both wanted to protect each other backfired on us and kept our souls from resonating.

Meanwhile, Maka had yet to fall asleep. What the hell is wrong with me? All she could think about was this feeling. What was it exactly? She wasn't thrilled about her body deciding to leap when she felt it either. I really hope he doesn't think I like him or something because that would be ridiculous. I would never hear the end of it!

Soul turned on his side. He never thought of it like that before. The thought of them caring about each other's well-being actually creating a barrier between their souls is absolutely absurd. Is that what is supposed to happen? Have other weapon/meister pairs experienced that? It's so messed up!

Maka rolled over. Stop it Maka, Stop it right now. Don't you admit it. You do NOT have feelings for Soul Eater. Why are you thinking this? Are you out of your mind?

Wait. Soul pondered another thought. No. That isn't normal. Does Maka have feelings for me? Like real feelings? She shouldn't care so much about her weapon's well being. She should only fight harder to make me stronger. Soul turned to his other side. No...She couldn't. She doesn't act like it in any way. Why did you think of something so stupid?

Maka tossed in frustration with her thoughts. MAKA! WHY ARE YOU THINKING OF SOMETHING SO STUPID?!

Something burned inside both of their chests. It felt as if someone had connected their bodies with a string. Soul opened his eyes really wide and sat up. Maka? Why did he feel as though she was right there? He couldn't explain it, not even to himself. He felt a spark of her soul wavelength. He understood the emotion she was feeling at that exact moment. Frustration. Exactly like he was.

Maka...

Maka sat up as well trying to figure out why she could feel Soul Eater. More importantly, his frustration. Was it in her mind or was it real?

Soul?

Maka pulled the covers off of her legs and shivered due to the chill in the air. She tiptoed over to the door and quietly pulled it open. To her surprise, Soul was already half-way out of his room staring back at her through the moonlit hall. Only able to gaze at each other, neither knew what to say…