You Know You Trust Your Partner...
by. Poisoned Scarlet

...when you believe she'll make it through the night.

"Don't touch me." Soul hissed at Marie, who froze mid-way placing a comforting hand upon his shoulder. He said nothing else and put a foot of space between them, glaring at the wall opposite to him. His silvery hair was in disarray; messier than usual, falling over his eyes haphazardly from the many times he had run his fingers through the strands in distress. Dark crescents took residence under his eyes, indicating his lack of rest, and his skin held a sickly pale pallor to it; worsened under the harsh, white, lighting of Patchwork Laboratory.

"Soul... sweetheart, please, it's three in the morning." Marie quietly pleaded, the laboratory silent at this time of night. If it became silent enough, one could hear the soft click of a scalpel hitting against metal that came from Professor Stein's ominously dark room. "I'm sure Maka—Maka will be okay. She wouldn't want you to—!"

"Shut up, you wouldn't know what she would want! I'm her partner – I would know." Soul nastily replied, casting her withering look. "Leave me alone. Your concern over me won't help in anything."

"I..." Marie quiveringly began but hung her head when she realized nothing she said would soothe the agony he was in. She stood up silently and walked into the kitchen, leaving Soul alone in the brightly lit living room.

This was his fault.

He clasped his hands together to keep them from shaking. They were dirty, caked with her blood. The majority of his clothes were spattered with her blood but he refused to change. He refused to leave her alone for a single second.

He had been hasty; he had failed in his duty to protect his meister. Although Maka struggled to keep him out of danger, Soul knew she wouldn't be able to do that for long. There would be times when risking ones skin was necessary and he would first take the knife in the heart than allow his meister to be hurt. He would fulfill his duty as a weapon first and foremost.

But he hadn't; not this time.

Maka grabbed the little boy by the shoulder and shook him, startling him out of his terror. She shouted for him to run, to get out of the fray, and gave him a rough shove forward, watching him sprint away down the street as if the devil himself were on his heels.

"Soul—!"

"Now!" Soul shouted, but she wasn't ready, and when he transformed to fall into her hand, she barely caught him. By the time Soul realized Maka was still reeling from nearly shedding innocent blood, the Kishin roared and bared its teeth in fury.

"MOVE, YOU IDIOT!" Soul bellowed, diverging out of his scythe to block the attack even if it meant his arm would be mutilated by the beast.

"No! - DON'T GO BEING A HERO AGAIN!" Maka shrieked, and pushed him out of the way. He saw it with terrible clarity: the way the beast sunk its teeth into her neck like an animal and the way her mouth opened in a silent scream.

Apathetically, he glanced down at his hands.

He rubbed his fingers, watching her blood turn into coppery dust right before his eyes.

"Maka—shit, Ma-ka!" Soul's voice cracked in his panic, as she gurgled blood. Her hands clutched her brutalized neck, eyes revealing her terrified panic as she struggled to breathe. She couldn't breathe, he realized with mounting horror. "Maka...Maka, shit, no—Maka!" He reached forward impulsively and helped staunch the wound on her neck with his hands, feeling hot blood gush through his fingers.

There was too much of it.

Abruptly, he stood and walked to the door where he knew Maka was being kept. Casting a cautious glance over his shoulder, as Stein had warned him of not entering Maka's room yet, Soul carefully turned the knob and shifted inside.

He closed it behind him as silently as possible, stilling for a moment and, once he was sure no one had heard him, slowly looked toward where Maka was being kept.

Under the opaque light of the moon, she appeared corpse white. Her lips chapped, her eyes closed, skin stretched taut across bony cheekbones, Soul swallowed the lump that formed in his throat at how utterly hopeless she appeared.

On her neck, layers and layers of gauze wound around, red bleeding through the white. She would need to be changed out of her bandages soon. Scratches were apparent on her pale skin, across her elbows and hands and thighs, he knew, because she had slid along the gravelly floor when the kishin leaped on her.

"Maka!" Kim whispered, frantically, as she finished her healing spell. She helped her sit up, pushing her head to the side so she could spit out the blood that had pooled in her mouth. "Maka, look at me – you've lost too much blood. I'm going to call Dr. Stein and tell him to have blood bags set ahead for you. What's your blood type?"

"O positive." Soul replied for her, hoarsely.

Kim looked at Soul, who was staring, pale-faced and blank, at his meister. "Soul, I need you to carry her back while I call Stein – can you – ?" But Soul was already taking her from Kim's arms, ignoring the way he heard blood splat beneath him. He didn't wait for Kim as he ran.

He had never run as fast as he did that day, his mind abuzz with her name and only her name, he remembered.

By the time he made it to Stein, the doctor had prepared for a blood transfusion and he took her from his arms wordlessly. But he still saw it, under the sticky blood and dirt: the indents of sharp teeth that racked down delicate skin and sunk deeper than a knife, the bloodred that had begun to break through the feebly thin web of skin Kim had managed to recreate over the wound in her haste.

His fingers brushed over Maka's cheek, resting against the cold skin. Stein had said nothing, even after they had her relocated to his laboratory for surgery. He had walked out of the room, slipping his bloody gloves off and tossing them into the nearby trashcan without so much as a blink.

He had crowded around him, desperate for answers, and had only been rewarded with a vague, "We'll see in the morning", which made his stomach plummet and his face turn paper white. Nothing good ever came out of such a reply.

"Wake up." Soul whispered, pressing his hand against her cheek. "You better wake up, Maka, or I swear I'll... I'll fail all my classes at Shibusen and ruin your record." He emptily threatened. She didn't so much as twitch. He had never wanted her to hit him with her book so much as he did in those moments.

He heard the door open behind him but he ignored it, caressing her cheek with his hand again.

"Soul?" Marie's small voice reached him. "Would you like some tea? It's quite chilly tonight..."

"...No, thanks."

"Oh. Well...I-I'll leave it right here just in case." Marie hastily said, and placed the cup on the table beside Maka's bed. "Ah..." Marie sounded as if she wanted to say something before she shook her head and gave a pained smile Soul didn't acknowledge. "Maka is a strong girl. I know she'll pull through – I just know it! Stein is one of the best doctors I know, even if he's a little sadistic, but I'm positive he did all he could to save her! She—she'll be fine." Her voice cracked. "I know she will...but if she isn't—!"

"She will." Soul fiercely said, startling her. "She's not gonna' die. She can't. She still has to train me – she won't leave me half-finished. She'll wake up." He added, confidently. He purposely ignored Marie's pitying gaze. "She'll wake up."

"Yes...of course." Marie glanced at the ajar door, where she could see Stein through the slit. She saw him beckon her over with a finger and she nodded. "Well, try to get some rest, Soul. I've laid out some blankets in the living room since Stein doesn't have an extra room. You can sleep on the couch when you get tired. Okay?"

He didn't reply.

"Okay." Marie struggled to keep her voice light. She slid out of the room and Soul silently walked to the door when he was sure she had left. Marie hadn't closed the door totally so he stood broodingly by it, listening to their whispered conversation with rapt attention.

"...assuming she makes it through the night, the next few days will be hard for her." Stein stated, passionless. "It tore up her jugular – it's a miracle Kim had gone with them or Maka wouldn't have made it. Kim managed to heal most of the damage done to her artery before the bacteria stalled her spell, but what really concerns me is how much blood she lost during that time..."

"But, the blood bags...you preformed a blood transfusion, right? She should be fine..."

"Her body may reject the blood." Stein casually said. Marie gasped. "Some of the kishin's saliva entered her blood stream and it's making it difficult for her body to heal itself. If her body can't combat the intrusive bacteria, she may die of exsanguination - among other things." He added.

"E-exsanguination?"

"Essentially, bleeding to death. As I said before, the bacteria in the kishin's saliva is making it difficult for her body to coagulate blood, even if Kim managed to heal up most of her injury before the bacteria fully took over. If the blood does not coagulate, the wounds she bears will keep bleeding, until there's not enough blood in the body left to sustain itself. Because of it, I couldn't heal other internal injuries – the risk is too high. And, as it is, her body may reject the blood I gave her. That comes with it's own set of consequences, but it's the most I can do to keep her alive now."

"Dear lord, nononono..." Marie whispered frantically, pressing a hand over her mouth. Tears welled in her eyes as she shook her head; terrified for her student. "S-Stein! You have to do something – you have to – !"

"I've done all I can. Sadly, I've treated many meister's who have been injured similarly. I'm afraid to say it's often fatal." Stein took off his glasses, wiping the lens with the hem of his shirt. Marie released something of a cross between a cry and a whimper. "Especially with the amount of blood Maka lost prior to being healed by Kim, and the blood she is losing currently. If she's still alive by midday, there's a chance her body is combating the bacteria and she'll pull through."

"But if she doesn't... oh, god, Soul..."

Stein said nothing; merely gazed calculatingly at Marie's shaking frame. He reached out and patted her head, stilling when she gave a loud cry and lunged forward, catching him in a crushing embrace. Stein made no indication she was just about cracking his ribs: he rested his palm on her head and quietly allowed her time to mourn.

Soul was pale and wide-eyed, hand clamped over his mouth in horror. He didn't care if they knew he had eavesdropped: he slumped back against the door, slamming it shut. He slumped down to the floor, swallowing down the choke of emotions that spurned from the very bottom of his soul.

His eyes darted to Maka's bed, remembering the blood that he saw bleed through the white gauze. Her body wasn't closing up the wound, coagulating the blood, because of that beasts lethal saliva. If she didn't fight it, she would die. She had very little chance she would survive the night, with the pitiful amount of blood left in her body.

"Maka..."

She was dying.

Hey. I can help her, you know.

Soul froze. How could he have forgotten?

She's done for if you don't do something. Just leave it to me. I'll heal her for you – there are many ways to utilize the power of the Black Blood. Eliminating the disease that's poisoned her blood would be a piece of cake for me.

Soul was tempted. He stared at Maka, her unmoving frame, the way her skin seemed to be losing its color the more time ticked by, and returned his attention to the little beast that dwelled in his subconscious.

Just give me the word and I'm there...

But he knew the risks, and it was a risk he wasn't willing to take; a risk Maka would never want him to take.

"...No." Soul hoarsely said, the hardest decision he had ever made.

No? What do you mean 'no'? You want to let her DIE, you stupid brat? Oh, no, wait, I see now. That's how much you care for her, is it? Not even enough to save her from certain death – some partner you are!

"You piece of shit, you know exactly what would happen if I said yes to you." Soul hissed harshly, voice thickening. "I'm not abandoning my reason to save her. That'll get us nowhere – I'll lose it, and you'll drag her down with me. And you know it, you fucker."

...Humph. Well, no matter. She's your lady.

Soul didn't reply. He stared at a corner of her bed, unwilling to get a wink of sleep as long as her life hung in the balance. But the monster in his head was right: if he didn't do something, anything, she would die. The image of the soaked-red gauze flashed behind the lids of his eyes and he buried the heels of his palm into them to rid himself of the mental picture. That seemed to be the tipping point; what convinced him to seek other options, even if it meant losing his sanity to save her.

"Let's say," Soul softly began, bumping his head against the wood of the door. "Let's say I do use the black blood to save her. What's the catch?"

Oh? Interested NOW, are you?

"Answer me!"

Well, of course, I'm not asking for much. Just a little free time, you know?

"You're gonna' have to elaborate, you bastard." Soul harshly chuckled. "Quit playing around. What do you want?"

You're no fun. Well, I want your body.

"Heh, who doesn't?" Soul humored, painfully. "My body. You want complete control."

Yes.

"How about...no, and I just use the black blood?" Soul suddenly said. "It's my blood, right? I can do whatever the hell I want with it."

Wh-what? You stinking brat! NO! IT DOESN'T WORK THAT WAY! YOU CAN'T EXPECT ME TO SAVE HER AT NO COST—!

"Oh, you will." Soul cuttingly said, suddenly struck with an idea. The idea made a grin blossom on his face; made his confidence swell obscenely. "You will because you need me, remember? If she dies then I go with her and you do, too!"

...You can't be serious. That's your big threat? Killing yourself?

It sounded unnerved despite trying to act nonchalant.

Soul grinned, rather maniacally. "I'm as serious as I can get. If she dies, I'm dying with her. I rule over you – there's nothing you can do if I decide to go get myself killed." His grin grew a little more. "You feel it, right? I'm not kidding. You know it. Unless you gotta' a death wish, too, I'd obey me if I were you..."

Okay, okay! Relax. Let's all take some deep breaths here - no need to get hasty! Let me get this straight: if I decide not to help her, you're committing suicide?

"Yeah."

But if I help her... you live and it's back to square one for me?

"Basically."

There was a strained silence where the rustling curtains from the window and the soft sobs of Marie were the only things seeping through the room, until the little demon spoke once more, sounding surly.

Tch. I see. I'll get you one day, Evans, one day. But that day isn't today.

Soul smirked.

Alright, get your ass up and go over to her – quickly, her wavelength is weakening as we speak.

Soul hastily stood up and ran to her side, leaning over her uneasily.

Now, force resonance with her. I'll handle the rest.

"No fast ones, alright?" Soul warned, pressing his forehead against Maka's. "Or else I'll burn you to hell and back with her Anti-Magic Wavelength. I know you hate that."

Yes, yes, I'm aware. Now shut up and do it already! Before I decide dying is the lesser of the two evils!

Soul grunted and closed his eyes, forcing a resonance with her soul. The next time he opened them, he was sitting in a cushioned armchair within the confinement of the Black Room. His eyes darted around the room, to the phonograph that was silent; the velvety curtains that were still; the spotlight that made the polished checkered tiles glimmer brightly enough to sting his eyes.

"She'll live."

Soul snapped his head to the little demon that sat demurely atop of a piece of furniture, his long arms crossed over his chest in displeasure. "The black blood is flowing through her veins as we speak and healing all the damage. Of course, her Anti-Magic Wavelength is slowing things down but as long as you don't stop resonating, the black blood will continuously flow into her until all of her injuries are healed. This may take some time, but she'll live."

His shoulders relaxed and he weakly slumped into his chair, breathing out in relief. She was alive; she would live. That was all that mattered to him.

The Ogre watched him, hawk-like. "Does she mean that much to you? That girl?"

"Asking dumb questions again, huh?" Soul taunted. "I wouldn't be risking my skin right now by using the black blood if she didn't. What about you? You don't look like you like her much, aren't you supposed to be apart of me?" He asked, suspiciously.

"Apart of you, yes, but I don't share the same infatuation with her as you do." Little Ogre replied, smoothly. "I respect her, if at all. She was the one who allowed you to go crazy for a day." He shrewdly added.

"Guess that's better than nothing." Soul muttered, glancing up at the black ceiling. It seemed to go on indefinitely. "How long's this gonna' take again?"

"Soon." Little Ogre replied, absently. He was now holding a glass of wine, Soul saw. "She's healing up nicely although that nut Stein is in the room now."

"What? Stein's watching? Shit!" Soul swore, hoping the professor wouldn't interfere. He wasn't against hurting him if he tried to prevent him from healing Maka, but...

"Calm down, boy." Little Ogre boredly said, taking a swing of his wine. "He's merely watching. He appears interested in what's happening, which is the rapid healing of her body. He won't interfere." He took another swing, longer this time, and Soul wondered if he was drinking out his misery, when he suddenly said: "Finished."

"Maka's healed?" Soul paused. "What about her blood? She lost a lot of blood, right?"

"Yes." Little Ogre nodded. "Her Anti-Magic Wavelength will purify the black blood that has replaced the quantity she lost in her veins by tomorrow... pity. But she's all healed up and ready to go." Deflated, he waved spindly fingers toward the formidable door of the Black Room. "Now, scram. She's all nice and healthy again, no need to get yourself killed as you so-eloquently allowed me see. Christ, boy, no need to kill yourself in such gruesome manners...there are simpler ways."

Soul smirked, standing up from his chair. He adjusted his tie smugly. "If I was gonna' go, I wanted to go with a bang." He waved, one had slipped into his pocket. "See ya' around."

Little Ogre took another long swing of wine before the Black Room deteriorated around Soul and he found himself staring into puzzled emerald eyes in the next instant.

"Soul?" Maka hoarsely asked.

"Maka!" Soul grinned, pressing a hand against her cheek in excitement. It felt warm, and he saw some color had returned to her face. His relief skyrocketed. "You're awake! And – !" His eyes strayed down to her neck, to the bandages that were soaked red now. He spotted black but he ignored it. "Your wounds should be healed... does anything hurt?"

"N-no..." Maka cleared her throat, confused. "What—what happened? Where am I?"

"Stein's lab. You—were attacked by the kishin we were sent to kill." Soul explained, somewhat reluctantly. "I forced resonance with you and had the black blood heal you – " At her wide-eyed look, he quickly added: "No cost. I struck a bargain with the demon and let's just say he didn't like the outcome if he rejected it..."

"So that means..." Maka struggled to sit up and Soul helped her, watching her press a hand against her neck. Her eyes strayed up and landed on Stein. "Professor! What are you doing here?"

"You're awake." Stein said, sounding intrigued. "That was an interesting technique there, Soul."

"Yeah, well, you said she wouldn't last through the night." Soul didn't look when Maka sucked in a sharp gasp. "I had to do something. I wasn't gonna' sit around and watch my meister die like you were."

A ghost of a smile flitted past Stein's face at his words. "I'll inform Marie of this sudden development – she's holed herself up in my room, you see, and it's very disconcerting. I must finish my research..." Stein walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

Soul stared at the door until Maka hissed: "Watch me die? I was going to die? Soul, what the hell happened while I was out?"

"I told you already – you got attacked by the kishin. It tore up your neck, don't you remember?"

"No..." Maka mumbled, troubled. "I just remember Kim telling me to sit up... then nothing." Maka touched her neck, the gauze, and Soul watched silently as she began to tear off the bandages to no avail.

"Here, stupid, let me." A blade manifested from below his arm and he sliced through the fabric cleanly. He tossed the bandages to the floor carelessly until there was nothing around her neck. His blade receded back into his body and Maka flinched when she felt his fingers graze her neck, press against the pulse of her heart on her neck. "Scar..." He whispered, more to himself than Maka.

"Scar? I have a scar on my neck?" She asked, alarmed, and pushed his hand away. Soul watched her hop off the bed, padding to the mirror. She frowned when she couldn't see and gasped when Soul switched on the lights, the bright light hurting her eyes. But now she could see her neck, the marks that ran down it nastily. Her fingers tremulously touched them, the ragged marks, but felt no pain.

"That bastard!" Soul snarled, once he got a good look at the gruesome evidence of her heroism. "He said you'd be healed—I knew he was going to do something! Damn it—!"

"No." Maka whispered, silencing him. "It's okay." She turned and smiled, somewhat pained. "We—we match now? See?" She pulled her gown down lower: the ragged marks reached down to her collar bone.

"Don't say that!" Soul snapped, striding over to her. She saw his eyes had became a dark burgundy; boiling with rage. "You wouldn't have that on your neck if you hadn't thrown me away! What the hell do you think you're doing? You can't just throw yourself in front of me like that – it's MY duty as your weapon to protect you and I CAN'T DO THAT IF YOU'RE TRYING TO SAVE ME!"

"I'm NOT going to let you get hurt again!" Maka savagely retorted, also on the verge of screaming. "I promised you that I'd get stronger so that this didn't happen – !"

"I don't give a fuck – no one said that the road to getting stronger wasn't dangerous! You're the meister – it's your job to defeat the enemy, not let it win by default! You're so retarded! It doesn't even make any sense – why would you kill yourself for your weapon?" He frustratedly shouted, running his fingers through his hair in agitation. "Why do you have to be so stupid?"

"BECAUSE YOU'RE MY PARTNER AND YOU CAN'T DIE!" Maka shrieked, voice cracking. "You can't die, Soul, you can't."

"So that means you can?"

Maka hesitated.

He rolled his eyes to heavenward, as if not believing someone this stubborn existed, before she was swept up into his arms. He turned her toward the mirror again and she watched her own frozen expression reflect against the glass. His was stern, staring into her eyes unflinchingly. She saw his hand rest carefully on the juncture of her shoulder and neck, fingers grazing the uneven skin where the beasts teeth had torn in.

"You almost died today." Soul coldly stated. She stiffened. "If I hadn't resonated with you, you would have died – look at me – and the only reason that stupid demon agreed to this was because if you died, I was going with you." He continued, unconcerned by her horrified look. "Get it? You die, I die. So quit putting yourself in danger – let me handle that."

"No! That's not fair!" Maka steeled her voice. "Then if you die, I die, too!"

Soul scoffed, derisively. "Don't be an idiot. You can't. You have too much to live for."

"You do, too! You have Black Star and Kid and your family – !"

"I can leave those things behind, as long as I die with the knowledge that my meister will live." Soul icily stated, causing her insides to frost at his logic. "But can you?"

Maka parted her lips, ready to rebuff his words, but nothing came out; only a wheeze of air. She stared, watery-eyed but determined, into cold and calculative red eyes that spoke the truth in his words. He could let go of everything; he could die without feeling regretful. But could she? Could she pass away with the knowledge that she'll never see her mama again? Her papa? Tsubaki, Liz, Patty, her friends? Could she pass away with the knowledge that Soul would be meister-less, that she had failed in training him to his fullest potential, as she promised?

Could she leave everything behind for him...?

"I...can."

"Liar." Soul sneered. His fingers dug into the tender, ravaged, flesh of her neck. "You can't. Do you get it now? It's not only my duty as your weapon that binds me to this, it's the fact that I can let go but you can't."

"Yes, I can!" Maka stubbornly fought, squirming to face him. She pressed her face against his chest, where she knew his scar lay, and squeezed her eyes shut. "I can... I was ready. If I had to die, that was the best way I could die!" Her voice dipped; rushed and uneven. "I would die for you, Soul. You're the only person I'd die for..."

He gazed down at her then rose his eyes to the mirror, which revealed her shaking shoulders. She was crying now. He felt guilty; it hadn't been his intention to make her cry but now matters had become complicated. She was bent on saving him from his own blunders; of having her life stolen away because he slipped up. He was determined to protect her even if it meant losing his soul in the process.

"We're both hopeless, you know that?" Soul heaved a sigh, wrapping his arms around her small frame and pressing his lips against the marks on her neck in defeat. "Can't live with each other, can't live without each other. Man, this is so uncool... we're gonna' have to work something out." He smiled, morbidly. "I take Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays to kill myself when you're in danger and you take the rest?"

"...No way," Maka mumbled into his shirt. "You get more days than I do..."

Soul burst out laughing, his laughter slowly rising in volume the longer they stood together. Soon she was laughing, too, with the wondrous thought that they were both insane for making this out to be a laughing matter. Perhaps it was the pressure, the knowledge that she had nearly lost her life, or the overall gruesome situation they had been placed in, that had fried their nerves and caused them to lapse into temporary insanity. But the insanity was welcomed if it made everything appear less grave and dangerous.

"What's so funny? I want in on the joke, too." Professor's Stein said from the doorway.

Soul's swallowed his laughter, noticing Marie stood paces behind of Stein, clutching her hands to her chest. She looked like she had been crying half the night.

"Sorry, doc, inside joke." Soul breezily stated, dropping an arm from around his meister but leaving one draped over her shoulder protectively. She didn't seem to mind, watching Marie draw timidly closer to her.

"Maka?" Marie tremulously said. "Are you really okay?"

"Yep!" Maka beamed, pointing to her neck. "Look! I'm as good as new thanks to Soul! It's all closed up now! See?"

"Oh, Maka!" Marie wailed, and flung herself onto the girl. Maka caught her unsteadily, laughing as she patted her back and the woman cried into her chest. Soul smiled wryly at the emotional Deathscythe. Before long, Marie having cried herself out, she reluctantly detached herself from Maka and dragged herself back to Stein's side, sagging against him.

"Huh, so that's how you tire her out. Crying." Stein airily commented, not making a move to support her; she seemed to be doing fine by herself. "You wouldn't believe how difficult it is to get her to bed at night – she's like a hyperactive five year old. Can't stay still for longer than ten minutes."

Maka smiled cheerfully. Soul rolled his eyes.

"Stein, out." Marie rasped, pushing him out. "It's time for bed – it's seven in the morning! Maka, you, bed, now – Soul, the goes the same for you!"

"What? What's the point? It's already morning—!"

"NOW!" Marie growled, scaring him. Soul edged Maka closer to him, muttering from the corner of his mouth: "Hey, it's Sunday, your turn to die for me..."

Maka stifled giggles in her hand.

"Don't worry, ma'am, I'll have him in bed soon!" Maka promised, watching both her teachers exit the room; Stein half-dragging an exhausted Marie behind him. Maka turned to Soul, sternly. "You heard her – go to bed! It's morning and you haven't slept at all, have you?"

"What's the point?" Soul yawned, crossing his arms behind his head. "It's already morning. Might as well hold out til night." He glanced down at his clothes, rusty with blood. "'Sides, I need a shower. I stink."

Maka wrinkled her nose, also running her eyes down his filthy clothes. "You're right. Ew. I can't believe I hugged you like that." She dusted the front of her gown with a frown. "Now I want to shower."

"Whatever, I'm taking one first." Soul pivoted on his heel, heading toward the door. "If you're still awake, you can take one, too. Man, Stein better not have any of that hospital soap, or I'm gonna' be pissed...that crap makes my skin feel dry..."

"Soul, I love you."

Soul stilled by the door, hands still crossed behind his neck. He tiled his head to the side the slightest bit but made no other move. Then he tossed his head back and craned his neck so he could see her. He shot her a sharp-toothed grin. "Yeah, I know. I don't think anyone would die for me if they didn't."

"W-wait... then, do you...?" Maka uncertainly trailed off, shifting her weight to her other foot.

"Yeah... I love you, too." Soul mumbled, pink-faced. "Sometimes." He snickered when he heard her growl. "I'm kidding. I don't die for just anyone, you know." He kicked the door open, stepping out into the brightly lit hall of the laboratory. He turned to her, smiling lopsidedly as he always did. "I figure we could be hopeless together, right?"

Maka smiled back, feeling as if a great weight had been lifted from her chest. "Y-yeah..."

"Great." Soul yawned. "I'll be back in twenty. Try not to miss me too much." And he disappeared, leaving Maka with her own jumbled thoughts.

She sat on her bed, slightly dazed her unexpected – and definitely unplanned – confession had been dealt with and accepted so easily, before falling back onto the hard mattress. The morning light had slithered its way into the patient room, illuminating the glossy walls and vanquishing the night shadows that lingered in crevasses and nooks. It would seem another bright and shining day was on its way.

She curled on her side, closing her eyes and promising herself she'd wake up once Soul came out of his shower.

Instead, she was roused from her sleep by his minty breath near her cheek, the feathering words "go back to sleep" and the soft press of his lips against the corner of her mouth.

She decided a little nap couldn't hurt – not as long as he laid beside her the entire time because today was Sunday and she had to make sure nothing happened to him until midnight.

A/N: ...what is this? It's so – so romantic and fluffy – fluffy enough to rot your teeth! Fluffy enough to become your next favorite pillow! Fluffy enough to stuff animals!

I sorta' want to end this series with this last one-shot. It seems like a good closing, ya' know? They admitted their feelings and they live happily ever after until Soul forgets to turn off the stove and their dinner burns.

There's only one way to decide: who wants me to continue this collection or who's gotten bored of hearing from me and wants it to end it? The choice is yours.

Note: requested by Waterdog.

Scarlett.