I'm proud to have another finished one on the books. Please enjoy the fluffy ending!

Soul was laying in bed listening to her move around the apartment. He hadn't slept well, or really at all, just replaying possible scenarios in his head. The best option felt like just tearing off the band-aid, waking up and walking into the kitchen and just forcing the 'I love you' right off his tongue. Or maybe it was better to leech what happiness he could out of the day before that terrifying leap. Or maybe he was looking at it all wrong, maybe he should wait until the day after, giving himself just one more perfect birthday with Maka. Or maybe he could put it off until next year. Nineteen was a good age.

He rolled over in bed, smothering his face so that the groan only got as far as the pillow. Nineteen wasn't any good. Tomorrow wasn't either. He'd ruin the entire day if he sat on it, let it fester, and it was bound to just backfire. He would have to do it now, or soon, or-

"Soul, get up!" It was a down the hall from the kitchen yell, not too shrill to be annoyed but not exactly sing-song, happy-birthday-happy.

One last groan for good measure and then Soul was out of the bed, stumbling towards the bathroom to add the only normalcy to his day. Brush teeth, shower, do what could only be loosely considered grooming to his hair before going back to the bedroom for dressing. He let his mind panic over clothes only for a second before forcing himself to finish off an everyday outfit with his signature headband. I'm going to look stupid, sound stupid-

"Soul!" This call was annoyed so he threw all of his other hesitations to the side and started the slow plod down the hallway.

She had been in the kitchen since he could smell the hints of vanilla, maybe cinnamon. He followed his nose to the living room where Maka with an iron-grip on a coffee cup greeted him. There were two plates of pancakes on the coffee table, one set punctured with a dozen little candles, all lit with wax dripping almost to the fluffy treats below. "Happy birthday," it wasn't a resounded cry, it never was, but the softest, sweetest urging that melted his heart every time.

"Thanks," he barely choked out before hunkering down next to the flames.

"Unless you want waxy pancakes, you better blow. Don't forget to make a wish," Maka managed a giggle before cutting it off as she pressed her lips to her coffee cup.

"Kids make wishes," he grumbled but still crossed every finger and toe as he blew. Just let it all be OK.

"What did you wish for?" She prodded his side with her foot, laughing as he instantly swatted it away.

"Doesn't telling ruin the wish?" Soul started the slow task of picking out the candles, trying to count each one to slow the beat of his heart. When's the perfect moment? Is there even such a thing as a perfect moment?

Maka set her coffee down on the table before sliding off the couch, joining him on the floor. "You're no fun."

Soul picked up his fork and started to work apart the pancake until he piled it high with a suitable bite. It was perfect, Maka's expertise definitely better suited to breakfast food than baked goods, but the taste was only made better by the satisfaction on her face as she watched him chew. "I thought today was all about making my wishes come true. Now you're trying to ruin them."

"Don't accuse me of that," Maka huffed. She definitely wasn't inhaling the pancakes in the same fashion, just pulling off little edges with her fork and barely letting them past her lips. She had a little better luck with the raspberries she had thrown on the plate, but her stomach was still in flux, the food bittered by her rising anxiety. Her hand slid under the table, fingers searching for and finding the gift bag she'd hidden underneath. She just pressed the paper between her fingers before sliding her hand back, leaving it unseen.

He tried to watch her without staring, stealing glances as soon as her eyes moved to her plate. "The pancakes are good, Maka, thanks." Soul wanted to see the pride swell again, but it was only a minute flash, her smile only on her mouth and never touching her eyes.

"Better than last year's cupcake," she produced a short laugh.

"That wasn't your fault," Soul shrugged. "Black Star's practical joke of switching the salt and the sugar was poorly timed." The memory definitely elicited a laugh, the epic battle afterward of Maka chopping Black Star into eternity. That was probably one of the best birthday presents, besides what he was going to try to get himself today. Or at least I hope.

"In his opinion, perfectly timed," Maka sighed before tapping her fingers on the table, having abandoned her fork and all thought of finishing the pancakes. "Do you want your present?"

"Sure." Soul shoved the last of his food into his mouth before dropping the fork, rubbing his hands together in expectation.

Maka slid her hand back under the table, freeing the blue bag filled with wisps of white paper. There was no preamble, just Maka tipping it towards his leg to let Soul snatch it from her. He tossed the first bit of paper, unearthing a thin, long notebook. Soul stole one glance at her, seeing Maka focused intensely on the wood grain of the table, before turning back to the book and opening the first page. Each page was split in two, her handwriting along with some scribbled patterns adorning each box she'd made. "Good for one free wake-up call. One free pass to miss training." He flipped the page even as he heard the sigh from her mouth. "One get-out-of-jail-free card for messing up my hair." It was a strange kind of relief, the literal way she had taken each 'this' and Soul found himself laughing, not just another weak production but a belly full of it.

"It's stupid!" Maka tried to snatch the book back but he moved it out of her reach.

Soul protected the book against his chest but leaned forward, smirk well-fed from the actual amusement that was coursing through his veins. "Why do you think it's stupid?"

"Because it's not right, is it?" She snapped at him, the white of both of their eyes flashing a little more. "I'm sorry," and that's when her hands came up to her cheeks, just catching the first wave of tears. "I tried, I really did I thought about it but-"

"Hey, don't cry." He dropped the book in his lap and grabbed at her wrists, wanting so badly to do the job of clearing them away but letting her keep at it. "You did try. Hell, every page of this is full, right? You didn't even have that many 'this' hints to choose from, so I bet you thought up some great stuff. Not to mention it must have taken you all month, Maka."

"But none of it's what you wanted," she took a long, shaking breath. "And this was… today was supposed to be perfect, Soul."

"I'll give you one more hint." The heart in his throat made that sentence a whisper.

"Soul…" she started with a groan.

"Trust me, OK?" He let go of her, picking the book back up from his lap and turning to the second page. His first instinct was to rip, but Soul couldn't bring himself to harm all her hard work. Instead, he pointed to the coupon. "I want to use this one."

Maka cleared away the last of the tears as her eyes dried from the sudden confusion. "My hair?"

"Yeah, get rid of the bun." He gently put the book on the table before locking his eyes with hers.

She was slowly lifting her hands, fingers just clenched into the hair tie. "If you're just going to mess it up-"

"I don't want to hurt you, so take it out." That left her blinking even more even as she released the tie, letting her hair fall to her shoulders. "Now close your eyes."

"Why am I closing my eyes?"

It took every last ounce of control he had to make that genuinely annoyed as his mind was screaming to be terrified. "Do you want your hint or not?"

A sigh broke warbled from her throat as she stamped her eyes shut. "I swear if you're putting gum or something in my hair…"

He chuckled, "Not even close." Only the churning in his gut was stopping him and he took one sharp breath to satiate it. His hands moved past the tear-stained cheeks and into her hair, definitely not the rough-housing of their first morning of May but a trembling caress. The fear screamed again that he should stop there but his hands planted, steadying her as he leaned forward. He almost didn't want to close his eyes, afraid that this was the part where they'd bump foreheads or clack teeth so he waited until his lips had met their mark before easing his eyes closed.

Now he understood the movies, the way that hero always seemed to be trying to swallow the heroine whole because, Death, did the urge to just taste every last bit of her swell up in his chest. It took everything he had just to keep it to a soft toying with her lips. At first, Maka was frozen, mind racing as his fingers sunk into her hair. It wasn't until she felt his breath against her lips that her whole body relaxed with the knowledge of what was coming. Shouldn't it have been the other way around? But this might as well have been resonating, every last piece of her falling perfectly into place with him. It was natural, it was fluid, with him taking the lead being the only strangeness to it, even though the firm guidance of his lips were so welcome.

Maka never wanted it to end and found herself sighing as he finally parted their lips. "That was…" he sounded agonizingly breathless, "Your last hint, OK? I want this." Tears sprung from her eyes while the laughs trickled from her mouth, a strange mixture that sent Soul into a panic. "Maka-"

She silenced him with a finger over his mouth, not trusting her own lips to hush the alarm. Her hand reached blindly for the book, bringing it between them and flipping to the last page. "I guessed it," she murmured.

Soul looked down at the page as she removed the hand from his lips, "One free admission." He blinked and shook his head slowly. "Admission to what?"

"Wrong definition," another laugh trembled from her throat as she cleared a few more tears from her face. "Admission, as in a confession." Maka dropped the book, her hands moving to his shirt to clench into the fabric. She loved the little bit of leftover blinking confusion on his face and a new kind of exhilaration sprung to life in her chest. "Because today I promised myself that I'd tell you that I want more, Soul, because I can't pretend anymore that I only love you as a partner."

"Close enough," Soul laughed.

"What?" Maka pressed her hand into his chest. "This is us, isn't it?"

He couldn't control himself anymore, his hands bringing her back in to taste at her lips again. It was a hint of vanilla in his mouth, a lightning strike to his spine, a radiant warmth in his chest. "It was more that I wanted you to see how much I love you," Soul choked out a laugh, "But I'll take it. Getting your love and giving you your first kiss, best birthday presents ever."