Rating: T

Pairing: Soma/Soul Eater x Maka Albarn

Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater.

Word Count: 1502

Title: Nothing, Something, Everything

Description: Soul Eater One Shot – Fluff

Maka is doing some homework when Soul shows up and interrupts everything.

A/N: Let me know what you think!

Maka

I take a deep breath of fresh air before exhaling slowly and looking back at my homework. I'm sitting out on the balcony at the academy since the weather is nice. I was hoping a change of scenery would help me focus on this archaic reading assignment. Unfortunately, I've been stuck rereading the same paragraph for the last half hour, and I still have no clue what any of it actually means. I shift the book to the side as a shadow blocks my light.

I look up to find Soul standing over me.

"What are you doing out here?" he asks, leaning over to look at my book.

"Trying to read," I mutter.

"I brought you some food."

"Really?" I blink and look up at him.

Any kind of distraction is welcome at this point.

"Yeah. Here."

He sits down next to me and hands me a box of chicken and vegetables along with chopsticks. We eat in silence, and I start looking at the text again, setting the box of food in between us so I can pick pieces out of it without having to hold it.

"Is it that interesting?" Soul asks after a minute.

"What?" I glance at him.

"Whatever you're reading. It looks like it must be fascinating for you to stare at it like that."

"More like impossible." I frown.

He's quiet again, and I lean over the book a little more, as if being closer will make it more logical.

"Hey, Maka?"

"Yeah?" I answer without looking at him.

"Could you hold my hand?"

"Yeah, sure." I set my chopsticks down, and he grabs my hand with his larger one.

"Is everything okay?" I ask, sitting up and looking over at him. "I mean, is something wrong?"

"No." He shakes his head, and I blink.

"Then why did you want to hold my hand?"

He grins, and I stare at him, waiting.

"I just want to hold your hand, Maka. That's it."

"What? Why?"

"I just do." He shrugs.

"Well, then…no."

"Why not?"

"Because…because…"

Because holding hands is romantic, and we're…just partners. He's Soul. It would be… He doesn't think about me like that. I mean, I've thought about it, but Soul… He's never acted like…

"Just because!" I try to pull away, but he won't let go. "Soul! Let go of my hand."

"Uh-huh." He smirks. "You offered it to me, and I'm keeping it."

"Soul, I need to—I'm trying to read–" I tug against his grip, but he's stronger than me. "Quit! You're going to knock over my food."

"Why don't you want to hold my hand?" he asks, pinning me with a look.

I swallow and look away, half-heartedly tugging on my hand again.

"Maka?"

"It feels…"

"Right," he says softly, "and it scares you."

He's right. Holding his hand is like…soul resonance. Everything is in sync all of the sudden, and it terrifies me.

"Soul…"

"It scares me, too," he goes on, "but I don't want to fight it anymore."

"But…"

I feel panicky, and I start to pull away again. He moves the box of food before I can move, and then he tugs sharply on my hand and my entire body follows it sideways. I fall into him, and he rolls onto his back, taking me with him. I land mostly on top of him, my cheek against his chest, our still-linked hands next to his head, his other arm around my back.

"Much better," he mutters.

I stare at him for a second trying to figure out what just happened.

"What are we doing now?" I ask, squirming against him.

"Nothing," he sighs, closing his eyes. "We're lying here, holding hands, and doing nothing."

I lick my lips, and take a slow breath. I can hear his heartbeat, and I can feel his chest moving when he breathes. His fingers squeeze mine, and I never want them to let go. His hand on my back moves a bit, and I gasp as my stomach flips wildly.

This isn't how weapons and meisters interact. This is… This is like being a couple.

Right?

"Soul?" I murmur, lifting my head to see him better.

"Mmm. Yeah, Maka?"

"This doesn't feel like nothing," I say carefully.

His fingers move around my hand, intertwining with mine.

"You're right. It's not nothing, I guess."

"Then…what is it? Are we…what are we?"

"I'm not sure exactly," he replies quickly. "But we're definitely something."

"What kind of something?"

"I don't know." He shrugs, and I feel it when he moves. "Something good, I hope."

What does he even mean by that? We're doing something good, or we are something good?

"Is this flirting?" I ask, feeling incredibly dumb. "Are you flirting with me?"

"No, I'm not… I don't think so," he mutters. "I'm not trying to. Or maybe I am?"

"Soul Eater Evans, what is going on?" I move off of him and sit up, though he doesn't let go of my hand.

"Fuck," he mutters, propping up on an elbow and looking over at me. "It's… I don't want to ruin things with us, but I want…more."

"More?" I echo hesitantly.

"Can't you feel it, Maka?"

I close my eyes for a second and let it run through me—the rightness of being like this with him.

"Yeah," I whisper.

"I know you don't really trust men, and it might not be fair to ask you this, but…I don't want you to hold anyone's hand but mine, you know?"

"You're only seventeen, Soul," I remind him. "I wouldn't quite call that being a man."

"Hey." He frowns.

"But…I trust you more than I trust anyone," I admit, looking at our fingers, "and I don't want to hold hands with anyone else anyway."

"Okay. Cool."

"That's it?" I raise my eyebrows at him. "You make this big dramatic thing out of holding my hand and all you have to say is, 'Okay. Cool?"

"Wait." He sits up fully. "That goes for kissing too."

"Um, what?" I blink at him.

"You can only hold my hand, and you can only kiss…me."

His face pales, and I blink in confusion.

Did he just say…

"You want me to kiss you?" I stare at him.

"What? No!" He yanks his hand from mine, and my stomach twists at its absence. "I mean, that's not—I didn't–"

"You do!" I jump to my feet. "You want to kiss me!"

Oh my God. He wants to kiss me.

"Maka, don't–"

"Why?" I interrupt him, feeling weird and kind of hysterical. "You're my partner, Soul. You're not supposed to want to–"

"Because you're everything, you idiot!"

"What?" I breathe as he climbs to his feet.

"You heard me. You're everything. You're my partner, my meister, my roommate, my friend… Maka, you're my family. If anything ever happened to you, I…"

"Soul…"

"I love you, Maka," he says in a low voice. "That's why I wanted to hold your hand."

"Oh."

That's all I can say, actually. I'm sort of stunned speechless in the wake of his enormous confession.

"Shit. I didn't mean to spring this on you," he mumbles. "I just… I was trying to see if you felt it, too, but…"

I blink, and he turns away.

"I guess I really fucked this up."

"Soul, wait!"

He turns back, and I grab his hand in both of mine.

"You…you wanted me to kiss you, right?" I ask nervously, my cheeks feeling hot.

"Maka…"

I kiss him before I can overthink it. It's short and gentle, and all I really can tell is that his lips are soft, but when I look at him, he's staring at me like he's never seen me before.

"You're everything to me, too, Soul," I confess, my heart racing. "So, I guess that makes you my boyfriend."

He blinks at me before his face splits into that stupid grin I love.

"Cool. Way, way cool."

What?

"Are you serious?" I glare at him. "I kiss you and tell you you're my boyfriend, and your response is 'Way cool?'"

"What do you want me to say, Maka?" He narrows his eyes at me.

"Oh, I don't know," I start sarcastically. "Maybe–"

"I told you I loved you," he interrupts, "what more do you want?"

"That's not—How can you even–"

"Don't you have homework?" He starts to walk away.

"Soul, don't change the subject!" I yell, following him.

"I'll see you back at the apartment."

"Soul!"

He stops at the door and looks back at me. "What?"

I take a short breath and glance over at my impossible homework.

"Give me a second to grab my stuff, and we can walk home together, cool?"

He grins, and I feel bizarrely shy.

"Cool."

Soul finishes the food he brought me while I grab my book. When I join him, he throws the box away and takes my book, reaching down to hold my now-empty hand.

"Let's go home, Maka."