Ch 1

Peace. It filled the city to the brim on this summer's day. Golden midday rays fell silently on the vibrant green treetops that swayed joyfully in the hot breeze. Birds of every color fluttered from the trees to pledge their undying love to the sky. All seemed well on this perfect day but one person was not convinced, his red eyes scanning the happy scene suspiciously. He walked close behind a slender girl who had her sandy blonde hair pulled neatly into pig tails. She walked proudly with her shoulders back and at first glance seemed full of self confidence. On a closer inspection, the girl's eyes seemed to be glazed and she appeared to be shaking lightly. She staggered slightly, the sway so small a casual observer would have missed it completely but not her red-eyed companion. In a moment he was beside her lending support.

"Soul… I'm ok… really." She said in a tired and slightly exasperated voice. Soul looked at her with irritation and indignation.

"You're not ok Maka! You're in pain again. I can see it!"

Weeks had passed since their fateful run-in with Medusa. As always, Soul was constantly by her side but now, he was intensely over protective and suspicious of everything. He never let her out of his sight when he could help it and glared daggers at anyone that got too close other than those he deeply trusted. Maka had been released from the infirmary a few days ago, although she wasn't quite fully recovered. She had powerful pain medications and she still had to change her bandages regularly. Changing the bandages wasn't a big deal (especially with Soul's help) but getting Maka to take her medication was quite another. They made her very drowsy and the pint-sized workaholic hated sleeping the days away so she had developed a habit of not taking her medicine which angered Soul to no end.

"Maka! Why won't you just take your medicine?" Soul asked for what felt like the hundredth time.

"When are you going to quit nagging me about it?" Maka fired back through clenched teeth. She tried to glare at her weapon but a harsh throb forced her to close her eyes and lean heavily against her lover.

"When you stop being stupid." He replied matter-of-factly as he gingerly scooped her up and proceeded to carry her home.

"Soul! Let me go! I can walk by myself!" She squirmed and fought him as much as she could with the persistent throbbing in her chest. He easily ignored her protests, both physical and verbal, until she gave up and allowed herself to be carried to their apartment. Little had changed about their cozy home over the last few weeks except that Maka and Soul now shared a room.

Soul couldn't help but smile as he thought about it. His room was now their room. His bed was now their bed and her old room was quickly becoming the spare room, but now was not the time for such thoughts. He marched passed their room and into the bathroom where he sat Maka down on the toilet. First he got her one of her pain pills and a glass of water then returned with a stern look and an order to take it. Maka obeyed woodenly, taking a deep drink from the glass then set it on the sink ledge. Satisfied now that she had taken the pill, Soul kneeled on the tile in front of her and looked up at her with concern.

"Do they need to be changed again?" She nodded mutely and stared blankly into space, allowing Soul to gently remove her shirt. Her torso was covered with white gauze. Due to the position of the stab wound, Maka was unable to wear a bra. The ivory bandages snaked around her body over her right shoulder, between her small breasts and under her left arm then simply wrapped around her bust line. In the middle, just to the left of center from Soul's viewpoint the gauze was discolored with blood. Soul frowned as he touched the bloody spot lightly, making Maka wince.

"It opened a little again. I told you not to overdo it." He said solemnly as his long fingers gently undid the binding and began to unwrap the wound. Guilt pulsed through his veins as he loosened the bandages. Eventually, the final dressings fell away revealing the damage. Two identical red slices, one on her chest and one on her back marred her otherwise perfect ivory skin. They were stitched neatly but were inflamed and blood had oozed out between the stitches, dried clumps of congealed blood clung to the frayed cords.

Although they were not as ugly as and much cleaner than Soul's own jagged scar, it, like his did for her so long ago, served as a constant painful reminder of his failure. He did his best to keep his face the much practiced mask of neutrality but the sight of her injury was killing him inside. It had been a very close call. Just another inch or two further to the right and her heart would have been pierced by his blade. He must have been staring because Maka suddenly spoke up.

"It's ok Soul. It's not your fault." He quickly jerked his head, giving a shallow nod then returned to cleaning and re-dressing her injury. He knew that Maka meant well. He remembered telling her the same things when he had suffered his injury so long ago but this wasn't the same as that time. This was all his fault and he would never forgive himself; or Medusa.

Soul was so careful and slow re-wrapping the wound that by the time he was finished, Maka was beginning to feel the side-effects of the pain pill. She leaned heavily against him again and nearly slid off the toilet. Soul steadied her with a gentle hand and lifted her lovingly into his arms. He carried her to their room and gingerly laid her on their bed. She was already sound asleep, all consciousness forcibly stolen by pharmaceutical drugs. Soul smiled to himself, thoroughly amused by his beloved meister. He gently removed her pigtails and dressed her in a soft set of pajamas. He covered her slender sleeping form with a blanket then leaned in to place a tender kiss on her forehead.

"Goodnight. I love you, Maka." He whispered before turning to leave. He glanced back at her sleeping form before closing the door quietly behind him. Soul had a lot to be grateful for, he knew, but now he was most grateful that at least now, in this moment, he knew his meister was safe.