I blink awake at the sound of the kitchen sink running, squinting in the dim light of Soul's bedroom. I try to sit up, but find myself unable to; my boyfriend's arm is pretty much pinning me down at the waist. A sigh escapes, as well as a smile. "Oh, Soul..."

He tightens his hold on me, but doesn't stir otherwise.

Carefully, I reach over and very lightly drag the edge of my nail across his cheek.

He twitches, releasing me in favor of rubbing his face to stop the tickle from my light touch. Success!

Without shifting the bed too much, I slip out from under the blanket. ...I think I'm in the clear.

So, barefoot and clad in an oversized t-shirt and shorts, I make my way to the door and sneak out. "Morning, Maka," I greet with a yawn, padding into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Arielle," she beams. She's been really smiley since Soul and I started dating. I'm glad she approves, but it took some getting used to. "How's French toast sound?"

"Fantastic," I reply. "Want some help?"

"No, I've got it. Is Soul still asleep?"

"Dead to the world."

She flips a slice of bread in the egg, then turns to look at me. "Can you go wake him up and ask if he wants any? Seems like you're the only one who can get him out of bed without a fight." She says the last part with a laugh.

I know she's not kidding; Soul gets cranky when Blair or Maka try to wake him up. "Sure thing," I comply, already forming an evil plan. "Just don't freak out if you hear screaming."

"I stopped reacting to random screaming after the second week."

Grinning, I head back into Soul's room as quietly as possible.

He's still asleep, face up and snoring away. Like I said: dead to the world.

"Hee-hee, wakey-wakey, Soul..." I murmur, tip-toeing closer to the bed. I stop for a second and watch him, noticing for the umpteenth time how cute he is when he's asleep. ...Alright, back to the mission.

Very carefully, I ease myself onto the bed and straddle the sleeping albino, smiling the whole time.

...

"WAKE-UP, WAKE-UP! IT'S CHRISTMAS MORNING!" I shout, shaking him. "TIME TO OPEN PRESENTS!"

"AAAAAAAGH!" Soul bolts upright, nearly knocking heads with me, eyes wide from my yelling.

I blink and smile innocently. "Oh, good. You're awake."

He gapes at me, probably still in shock. "What? But, you just-" He shakes his head to clear it, then grabs at my arms. "What the hell, Ari?!"

I squeal with laughter, trying to squirm away.

"I told you I'd get you back next time!" He yanks me back and rolls so I'm trapped between him and the bed. "Now you're gonna get it." His glare turns into an evil smirk just before he reaches for my sides.

"Eeeeek! Aha-ha! S-Sooouul! Noooo!" I grab his wrists, trying to push them away. "Stop it! Haha-ha! N-No fair, ahaha-ha!"

"Consider that payback," he says, stopping his assault so I can breathe. "You're gonna gimme a heart-attack one of these days..."

I sit up as he backs off, a grin still on my face. Once I'm upright, I crawl into his lap, one leg folded next to each of his. "I'm sorry. It's just... I can't help it. Our play-fights are fun."

He sighs, lacing our fingers and pressing our palms together. "You're the weirdest girl ever. You know that?"

"Mhmm. And you're the weirdest guy ever for liking me. It's perfect!" I chirp.

Soul laughs and squeezes my hands. "Yeah, I guess it is. ...Huh."

"What?"

"It's a month today, isn't it?"

I smile slowly and reply, "Impressive, Soul. No offence, but I was pretty sure you wouldn't remember."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Aw, now he's pouting.

"Not because you don't care, silly. I just figured you wouldn't think the whole 'one-month anniversary' thing was a big deal."

He smirks. "Heh, sure it's a big deal. We've gone a whole month without killing each other."

I giggle, planting a tiny kiss on his nose just to make him blush. "Kudos to us."

He scowls at me as the rosy tint appears on his face. "So... do you wanna do anything today?"

"To celebrate, you mean? ...I hadn't thought about it. Why? Do you?"

He shrugs, playing with my fingers. We're both so indecisive, it's horrible. Makes choosing a movie a major pain sometimes.

"...How about, for now, we just get through breakfast? After that, we'll just do whatever we feel like. It'll be an 'us' day."

He stares at me for a few seconds before answering. "I thought girls were really big on anniversaries and all that. I figured you'd wanna go out."

"Well... I mean, I guess you're right; most girls get excited over this stuff. I think it's because we were friends for a while before we started dating. We saw each other all the time, so even now, it just feels like another day 'cuz we're so used to it," I ramble, not too sure myself.

Soul smirks and shakes his head, then says, "Either way, an 'us' day sounds good."

" 'Kay. Oh, Maka's making French toast. You want some?"

"Yeah, thanks."

I stare at him, my head tilted a little. "...Hey, Soul?"

"Hm?"

Without any warning, I lean in and catch him in a lip-lock. I'm sure I've caught him off-guard again.

After a second, he snaps out of whatever stupor he'd been in and reciprocates, tightening his hold on my hands.

When I pull away, I smile and look right into his crimson eyes. "Happy one-month anniversary."

He smiles back and kisses me, harder than before. Afterwards, he touches his forehead to mine and replies, "Happy one-month anniversary, Arielle."