Hi everyone! I have not forgotten about my other stories but I wanted a break from smutty M's and wanted some fresh characters. Lo and behold from the heavens descended a Netflix recommendation that was to change my fanfictiony future! Soul Eater! Which is righteously awesome. I'm only through like the first fifteen episodes and have read two fanfics already. Love love LOVE the characters and Soul and Maka are the freaking cutest little heart-string pullers on the planet! Eee!

Please review and let me know what you think (like if the characters have the potential to carry a whole story as I write them), keep me updated about how I'm holding each character and their relationships.

XOXO

Az.

"Flat."

"Not!"

"Flat."

"NOT!"

"Then prove it."

"Like hell!" Maka Albarn thwacked Soul Eater Evans with the hard leather-bound book she held.

But not, he noted with no small amount of amusement, with the spine. In some very suppressed way Maka was enjoying their banter. Granted someone without prior experience with the two would think she was just being violent but hitting Soul with the cover and not the spine was downright flirting for Maka.

"Maka. If you don't prove it then protesting just reinforces that you're… flat." He gestured to her chest.

"… Fine." She carefully slid her book back into her bag, like it was fragile and precious, despite that she'd just tried to brain him with it.

"Fine?" Soul gave her a trepidations sideways look and willed no blood to rush to his cheeks. "Sooo you're saying you're going to flash me."

The book was utilized as a tool for Soul-destruction once again, this time with the spine.

"… ow."

"I'll just ask Kid. He's a neutral enough party and not only will he give you a cup size but also he can tell us about how perfectly symmetrical they are." She stuck her tongue out at her weapon and skipped down the street, in a different direction from their apartment.

"I… Wait… He's not neutral!" Soul yelled after her, sprinting to catch up.

"No?" Maka glanced over her shoulder, using her meister senses to keep from running into obstacles.

Soul thought about Death the Kid's comments on Maka's apparently perfectly symmetrical eyes and nose and hair and body. He couldn't be sure if Kid really thought about Maka that way, not with Patty and Liz right there, but he certainly spent a fair amount of time looking at her from what he said.

"No! He's a guy! … granted a really weird metrosexual OCD guy but still!" Soul caught her by the strap of her bag. "Any guy we ask is biased, scouts honor."

"You were never a scout."

"The point still stands."

"But if I ask a girl to back me up then you're going to assume she's just taking my side with no evidence." Maka rocked back on her heels and Soul released her bag, letting her lean against a wrought-iron fence post.

"Hey I wouldn't-" Soul paused, thinking it over. "Yeah okay I would."

"So what do we do? I still vote Kid."

"Absolutely not." Soul held up his arms in a big cross to reinforce his conviction. "How about we just drop it."

"If you didn't like the idea of Kid fondling my girl bits than you shouldn't have brought it up in the first place." Maka huffed, turning to head back in the direction of their apartment.

Now that she was looking away the blush that Soul had been swallowing rose full-force, making his face feel hot enough to fry an egg on. "Could we stop talking about anyone fondling or in any other manner handling your… girl bits?"

"Don't accuse me of being flat-chested without being sure." She spun and gave him a serious look. "Just because I'm out-shone by all our other female friends doesn't mean I'm still built like a boy."

Soul looked away, staying a step behind in the shadow of a building and giving his blood time to relocate from his face. He'd never be able to tell her that nobody, nobody outshone her.

And when did she start giving a damn about how she was built anyway? This used to be a safe topic for banter. He thought irritatedly. "Let's just go home Maka. It's been a long day and we're supposed to be getting our next mission tomorrow."

They walked the few blocks home in relative silence, broken only by Maka's quiet humming as she looked around at the barren winter city-scape.

"You think it will snow soon?" She asked earnestly, pulling Soul from his distracting thoughts.

He had to blink a few times to clear the image of Kid with a clipboard and set of scales with a disembodied set of breasts on them. Strange conversation spawned stranger mental images. "Maybe."

"Will you have a snowball fight with me when it does?" Maka unbuttoned her long black coat and hung it in the hall closet.

Soul felt the tug of his shark's smile at the familiar annual question. Every year Maka asked him and every year he gave her the same answer.

"As long as I look cool when I kick everyone's ass." He hung up his coat next to hers and they put scarves, gloves and her hat on the hat rack by the door.

"No promises, last year you looked pretty dumb when Black Star hit you with that mega-snowball."

"It had a brick in the middle!"

"To his credit, he didn't know that at the time."

"He made a snowball at the construction site! He should have been more careful."

"You're one to talk Mr. yellow snowballs."

"It was FOOD DYE! How many times do I have to tell you?"

"What do you want for dinner?"

"… Huh?" He had to pause to process the lightening-speed change in topic. "Meat?"

"'Kay." She smiled and went to the kitchen. "You can have the bath first, it'll take me a few minutes to get all the prep work done."

Soul trudged to the bathroom, feeling like he'd somehow lost two banter sessions in a row. He turned on the bathwater and kicked the door closed but didn't notice the black cat in the witch's hat that slipped inside, her midsection stopping the door with a faint squeak.

Without the coat it was only two more layers to bare skin and soon Soul was staring into the mirror half-naked. He still wore his pants but even had the top button of those undone so he could trace the full length of the faint but serious scar that bisected his whole chest.

He had other scars, Maka did to—it was an occupational hazard for meisters and their weapons—but none as serious as this. It had nearly driven Maka and him apart, her nearly crazy with guilt that he'd been hurt protecting her and him crazy mad at her for being so stupid.

A weapon always is prepared to lay down his or her life for their meister. That's just how it works. He gripped the sink and glared at the mark. And I am damn proud of this scar, it shows everyone else just how cool I really am.

A knock at the door was followed by a gasp as it swung open on its hinges without resistance.

"Sorry!" Maka squeaked, spinning to face away. "I-I just wanted to ask-"

"I'm still mostly decent, no worries." Soul turned and leaned against the sink, arms crossed. "What's up?"

Maka turned, cheeks a pretty shade of pink as her eyes met his, then dipped down. He liked the way she looked at his chest, specifically at the scar. After reconciling her feelings of guilt she saw the scar the same way he did, as a mark of bravery and loyalty. Usually now the blush would fade and she'd smile at the scar like seeing an old friend but this time the blush stayed even as she smiled faintly.

"You've healed… well." She managed, the blush deepening.

He tilted his head at her. "Uh yeah, that WAS like years ago."

"Right." She shook her head sharply and smacked her fist down into her open hand. "Oh yeah! I wanted to ask if you wanted me to make enough for Black Star as well."

Soul shook his head. "That's a slippery slope Maka. You know if you do Tsubaki will show up with Black Star and you'll feel bad and call Kid and Liz and Patty so they don't feel left out."

The girl smiled sheepishly. He was right, for some reason on boys' night if she cooked enough for three then four would invariably show up. Some kind of cosmic effect or something.

"Okay, just the two of us then." She slid the door shut behind her, letting the lock click this time.

Soul stripped all the way, sinking into the tub as it filled. "Just the two of us." He murmured, eyes closing.

"And me!" A voice purred in his ear as someone very curvy and very naked slid into the bathwater. "Hey Soul, can I scrub your back?"

"AAAGH!" He yelped as Blair wiggled her butt on top of his feet. After a few years he had gotten so used to having a naked voluptuous woman in the apartment that the nosebleeds had stopped but she still occasionally got the drop on him when he had his guard down.

The door blasted open and Maka strode in, yelping in a similar fashion as Soul had when she saw his compromising position, face reddening again and she shut her eyes and took two steps forward and turned, relying on her battle instincts to have mapped out the room and both occupants' locations from one glance. Without any hesitation she reached out and grabbed Blair by the hair, which changed to the scruff as the cat transformed back into her true form.

She turned and nearly ran into the wall except for Soul's arm reactively shooting out to block her and turn her slightly so she was facing the right direction. She easily made it out of the room then, pulling the door closed behind her.

"Thanks!" Soul called out through the shut door.

"My pleasure." He heard her take a deep breath. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING YOU DUMB CAT?"

Soul sighed and relaxed into the bath, truly enjoying the sounds of Maka ripping a new one into someone besides him.

"I want kittens." Blair's whined response was now familiar. The feline apparently had her biological clock go into overdrive the previous month and life in the apartment had been hell ever since.

"THEN WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TRYING TO GET SOUL TO KNOCK YOU UP? ISN'T THERE A TOMCAT AROUND HERE SOMEWHERE YOU CAN GET IMPREGNATED BY?"

Soul sputtered a laugh, Maka was strong-willed and she really didn't see the point in subtlety when what she wanted was a straight-forward answer. Even knowing that she still could take him by surprise.

"Soul has such pretty silvery white hair and is such a strong weapon, he'd be excellent for breeding." Blair protested and Soul managed to both preen and wince at the same. Flattering though her comments were, they were not the way to get back into Maka's good graces.

"That's quite enough out of you cat." Maka's voice had gone deadly calm, a sure sign of a fatality or an ultimatum coming.

"You're so mean Maka! You just want to keep Soul all to yourself!"

Soul paused, soapy hands actually lifting him partially out of the bath to get closer to the door, but all he heard was the hinges of the pet carrier being opened and a soft thump as Blair was unceremoniously tossed in.

Blair could easily get out by changing into human form but it would leave a gridmark on either her face or butt—depending on which way she'd been facing—that wouldn't fade for a day.

"Maka's mean! Maka's selfish! Maka wants Sou-ooooooh!" The last taunt was smothered out by the sound of carrier being kicked into another room and the door to that room closing with a decisive snap.

Soul finished scrubbing and got out of the bath, drying off quickly and hopping to get his jeans on, he wanted to see what kind of mood Maka was in before it faded into something else.

"Stupid cat, stupid hormones, stupid kitten-meter, stupid procreation, stupid Soul-"

"The others I get, but why am I on your stupid list?" Soul rolled his eyes as Maka jumped and then cried out in pain as the knife she'd been using to chop vegetables bit into her finger.

"Ow. Ow. Ow. THAT's why." She grumbled, carrying her hand to the sink and turning on the water.

"I think that's a stupid Maka move, not a stupid Soul move." He sighed and stepped up next to her, frowning at the cut that bled freely down the drain, leaving a crimson trail as red as his eyes. "Jeez Maka, way to slice and dice yourself."

"Oh shut it." She snapped, hissing as she put her hand under water.

"I'll get the disinfectant."

"No! I mean, I'm fine! It's fine!" She paled as he still went into the bathroom, waving off her protests and ducking into the medicine cabinet to withdraw their white first aid kit.

"You cut raw meat with that knife didn't you?" He glared accusingly and popped the lid.

"… No." She fidgeted and wouldn't meet his eyes.

"You're a terrible liar." He took the brown bottle from the kit and unscrewed the top, noting her green eyes widen in terror. "Honestly Maka, it's not that bad, stop being such a sissy."

"I washed the knife AND the cutting board after prepping the meat! I'll be fine! Gangrene isn't really that bad!"

He ignored her and moved her hand from the stream of water so he could soap up his own hands, taking her injured one gently and scrubbing until suds covered it and they couldn't tell whose hand was where. For being so tall she had slender hands, long and slender, and Soul tilted his head to the side as he measured his own hands against hers. His were barely longer if at all but stronger and sturdier, masculine.

Quickly he washed the soap off and held her captive while he poured a measure of disinfectant on the cut. Maka hissed in a breath and squirmed as if to escape but he held her fast.

"Almost done, just be brave for a second longer okay?" He muttered, narrowing his eyes at the cut.

It was deep, but barely more than a scratch compared to the wounds they'd both received in battle. Maka just had a weird thing about wounds on her hands, she hated them and hated cleaning them and hated fixing them. It was a big part of the reason that she wore gloves when they battled.

Everybody has their own quirks, at least Maka doesn't have to spend more time on her ego than time in battle, if she had to make an entrance like Black Star every time she did… anything, I'd have swapped partners a long time ago. Soul hid a smirk and took a bandage from the kit, opening and wrapping it around Maka's now handicapped digit. "Done."

She grumbled and huffed as she flexed her finger, then retrieved the knife so she could wash it. "Hey Soul?"

"Yeah?" He flopped onto the couch.

"Thank yoooh what the hell? Go put some clothes on!" She turned and seemed to notice for the first time that he was only wearing jeans.

"Eh. Too much effort." He grinned and slid into the indent that his body had created in the couch over the years.

She threw her hands in the air and spun, facing the counter again and using her good hand to sweep the vegetables into the dutch oven, putting it on the stove and turning the heat on low.

Soul perked up as he sniffed the seared meat now simmering in broth. "Beef stew?"

"Yup. I put the beef in a peppery marinade last night so it shouldn't take too long." She unlaced her apron and hung it inside the pantry door. "I'm going to take a bath, don't let Blair out… ever."