Soul saw Maka shiver as they arrived at their destination. They had been told to go to a small town in northern Italy called Tirano; there they were to find a Kishin seed by the name of Simone Pianetti. He had murdered countless people and had disappeared. Lord Death thought that sending Maka and Soul to search and defeat the man would be the best and safest idea, considering their ability to find souls and their skills in combat. Maka looked around the tiny town searching for any sign of the Kishin egg they needed to capture. Soul signed as he took in the nasty looks they were receiving from the people. It was going to be another job to do on their own, no help at all and maybe even a few people working against them. Somehow, they always managed to be placed on these kinds of jobs. He looked back at Maka who seemed to have noticed the lack of a friendly look.
"Hello there!" They heard making the spin around to see a boy and a girl both with bright smiles. They could not have been much older than eleven or twelve but they smiled and walked over to the partners. "Are you from the academy?" The girl asked.
"Yeah." Maka smiled back.
"Good, then we've completed our mission." The boy said. "Come on. We have to take you to a place to stay. Our death scythe gave us orders from the academy to find you and take you to a place to stay. She also said to help you find information."
"That's great. Thank you." Maka smiled brightly at the two as the girl reached out her hand. "My name is Elettra and this is my meister, Reiner."
"I'm Maka and this is Soul." Soul stood silently besides her taking everything in before they followed the two children to the place they would be staying.
"The town is small and they only have so much available." Elettra explained as they entered a rather small building. "We were able to secure this place for you. It's a little hut but it should work for what you need it for." They walked in to find a small kitchen connected to a dining area slash living room. The bathroom was off to the side, next to the doorway of the one bedroom.
"Um, there's only one room." Maka said softly looking at the little girl who nodded.
"It was the only place available for you." She smiled up at her as Maka and Soul glanced at each other, trying to devise a plan of sleeping arrangements. "Come on, it's still early. Let me show you around the town." She took Maka's hand and started pulling her with her as Reiner walked outside and leaned against the building. "Reiner, we'll be back!" She called as she and Maka started walking away. Soul paused to glance at the boy before he followed Maka and the girl, who showed them around the town and began explaining why the partners had been sent to this town in particular, as the sun began to sink and they reached the little home again.
"So Simone grew up here? That would explain why everyone is on his side, it's like they're protecting a friend." Maka sighed. "This is going to take a lot of time to work around."
"We can't take too much time." Soul told her as he took a seat in a wooden chair at the table. "This guy could come out and kill again and with the protection he gets here, there's no telling how many he could kill and get away with." Maka nodded as she sat next to him.
"Okay, well that's the entire town and all the information Reiner and me have gotten. We will keep looking and if we find anything, we'll let you know. We will be staying on the other side of the town for a few days before returning to our base." The girl said cheerfully before turning to look at her partner. "Let's go Reiner!"
"Yeah, yeah." He waved her off as she skipped from the building with him following slowly.
"Those are some strange kids." Soul said once they were left alone. "That girl was just too happy and the other kid. He didn't want anything to do with this stuff."
"Well they are young." Maka shrugged as she looked at the time. "I think we should get a few hours of sleep before we start looking around."
"Yeah, I guess you right. I'll take the floor." He told her as he stood up. "I hope they at least have some extra blankets and pillows." He grumbled as he walked into the bedroom. He found two blankets and a pillow to use, so he laid them on the floor and climbed in as Maka climbed in the bed. she had offered to let him take the bed and she had even brought up sharing the bed but that just left both blushing as he declined. It was better this way.
Soul had known for a while that he had deep feelings for his meister. He had begun to realize slowly ever since their fight with Crona. He had thought about it many times and after he accepted the realization he could see his feelings all the way back to when they first fought Stein and he covered her to protect her. He loved her but he did not want to ruin the great friendship they had, especially since he was one of the only males she trusted. He was not going to screw that up. He could not help but wonder though. He looked over to see her turn in the bed, trying to get comfortable.
Maka watched Soul relax on the floor, looking at the ceiling. She thought back to earlier when she had offered to share the bed with him and she blushed again. She did not know what she was getting worked up over. They were mature enough to be able to share a bed for a night or two. It was not as if it would lead to anything. She shook her head and looked at him. He seemed to be thinking, she wondered if it was about their mission or if he was going over the same thing, she was. Maka had tried to ignore the feelings she had for her weapon for too long. She had felt a connection since they became partners but she realized what that connection grew into when she had almost lost him to the wound Crona gave him. She had told herself that it was just her feelings as a best friend that was why she became so upset. Time and again she continued to come up with some excuse, pushing off what was growing in her heart. After they defeated the Kishin almost a year and a half ago, she had decided not to push those feelings aside. She had seen how easy it was for life to be taken away and she was willing to give her feelings for Soul a chance. After all, he was about the only male she trusted. She rolled over and closed her eyes as sleep took over.
"Soul. It's time to get up. We have to see if we can get any leads." Maka said as she knelt beside him and shook him awake. "Come on. The sooner we finish the sooner we can go home."
"Yeah, yeah." He yawned. Slowly he got changed and walked out to find Maka had made some breakfast for them. The two ate as they discussed they their first move would be. "We're not going to get anything out of the town's people."
"No, they will try to keep him safe." Maka agreed. "Maybe if we start searching around the outside of the town we'll find something."
"It's worth a shot." Soul said before they were off on their search.
It took them all day to get nothing. It was now early evening as they started walking back towards the place they were going to be staying. Suddenly Maka stopped with a gasp. He looked at her confused a minute before she spun around looking at a small trail that led into the snow covered mountains. He smirked, she had found the evil soul, this guy could hide behind as many people as he wanted, he would never be able to hid from Maka's soul perception. Silently they started for the trial walking slowly as to keep themselves hidden until they came to a house, about the same size as the one they were staying in with smoke coming from the chimney.
"He's in there." Maka told Soul softly. "He seems to be alone but-." She cut her self-off and spun around. Silently she walked back a little bit to a mound of snow and grabbed the two children by the back of their shirts. "Just what do you two think you're doing?" She scolded. "This isn't the place for two kids who are only information gatherers."
"But… but we can fight too." Elettra said and gave a smile. "We're trained to protect ourselves when we're collecting data."
"It doesn't matter." Soul broke in. "This isn't a soul you can just sneak around. We're miles from the town already, what happens if he find you? You have nowhere to run."
"What about you? Acting all cool, but you're in as much danger as us." Reiner stepped up looking at Soul.
Soul smirked as he put his hands in his jacket pockets. "That's true, but the difference is you're a kid and I'm an adult. Not to mention I'm a death scythe." The two children looked up in awe as he looked at Maka who crossed her arms. "Maka's right. This isn't a place for you two."
"You may be a grown up but you can't underestimate our fighting!" Reiner hollered angrily making Maka jump and Soul tried to quickly cover his mouth. It was too late. The door to the house flung open and a tall man with neatly parted black hair and a thick mustache walked out. He stopped as he caught sight of the four.
"Run." Maka told the two children who just looked at the man as his stance changed. His body language gave off the feel of death, before long barrels slowly slid down from his hand. "Soul." He nodded as he quickly transformed and landed in her hands as she moved in front of the children. They stood in shock as she spun Soul around and planted her feet, ready for a battle. "Soul and I will take care of him. Run!" She yelled as she ran at the man. He pointed the barrels at her and made a motion as if pulling a trigger. Maka shifted to dodge being hit before she swiped at him, cutting the barrel in half. However, as soon as she did that the rest fell to the snow covered ground like a sheath to reveal a shimmering blade. Before Maka could move he swung, but she was able to pull Soul up to block before jumping away.
"How many weapons does this guy have?" Soul complained as they eyed their enemy.
Maka glanced over to see the children still standing in place. "It doesn't matter all it takes is one miss step and those kids are dead." She told him. "We have to stop this guy."
"Right." Soul agreed before once again they charged in ready to attack. She swung and was able to catch his arm before he swung back. She shifted to avoid the hit, spinning her body and bringing Soul back around for another attack. She was blocked and he pointed a small barrel at her. Maka ducked and swiped at his legs as he fired making him miss but as she turned he pulled large barrel from his chest with a grin.
"It doesn't matter who you are. You will all parish in the flash of my fire!" He yelled. Quickly Maka tried to attack. He jumped back and turned to face the children to the right and pushed his arms from his chest out straight quickly, firing off the cannon like gun in his chest. Maka ran and pushed the children out of the way, but she was hit by a few of the pellets in the spray making her connect with the ground with a wince.
"Maka!" Soul yelled and was about to transform when she pushed up to her knees.
"I'm fine." She said softly as she held her side. Blood oozed from several small wounds on her side and her arm. She looked at the children to see them tearing up at the sight. "Don't worry. This is nothing. Now run back to the village and stay there until we come back. It's not safe here." She gave a small smile as the boy stood up and nodded roughly. Reiner grabbed Elettra's hand and pulled her behind him as they took off.
"Maka, you okay?" Soul asked as she used the scythe to stand up. "If we have to retreat-."
"I'm fine Soul." She said and she pulled him in front ready for another attack. "We need to give them time to get far enough away anyway. We just have to avoid being hit by that cannon and get close enough to take him out."
Simone fired off another round and she rolled out of the way. Turning he fired again making her dodge again. Again and again he fired off the cannon like barrel in his chest, but Maka continued to dodge. After each blast she got closer and closer until he fired one off that send a cannon ball at them, the blast knocked her back but not before she had wrapped the bade around him and pulled. She did it. They were able to defeat yet another evil soul. They heard rumbling and the ground began to shake. Maka turned to see a wall of snow rushing at them.
Soul transformed and pulled her with him as he tried to out run the falling snow. Their legs could only move so fast but they tried with all they had before Maka's foot slipped on some ice making her fall. Soul wrapped his arms around her and tried to twist to find safety when the ground beneath them gave way. The two fell nearly two stories. He turned so he took the landing into the snow, protecting Maka from extra injuries.
"Soul." She said softly as she pushed off him. She saw him wince as he shifted to sit up with her still on top of him. The two locked eyes and paused; it was as if neither of them were breathing before Soul shifted again and looked away making their position sink in. Maka quickly climbed off but did not get very far, as she dropped to the ground holding her side again. Soul looked over and could see the snow beside her becoming stained with her blood.
"Maka." He moved closer to her. "Let me see." Gently he pulled her hand away and looked at the damage. It was definitely deep but it looked like the bullets just sliced through and never went into her. He reached down grabbing a handful of snow. "This is gonna hurt." He warned before he placed the snow against the wounds on her side, as they were worse than her arm. Maka gasped and grabbed his free arm tight. He glanced up to see her close her eyes, trying to control the pain before he pulled his arm back and he grabbed her hand. "You need to get these cleaned off. The cold will help stop the bleeding too." He explained.
"Yeah." She nodded. "I know…. it just…" She let out a slow breath.
Soul threw the blood soaked snow to the side. "There's one nasty one here that I have to get to." She nodded as he took another handful of snow and put it on the largest of the wounds making her whimper and fall forward a bit. As she came forward, her head rested on his shoulder. Instinctively he wrapped his arm around her as she grabbed the arm of his jacket and clenched it tightly. He ripped part of her trench coat and put snow in it before rolling it into a pouch and using it to wipe of the wounds. Maka cried out softly as her grip on him tightened even more. "I'm sorry Maka." He said softly.
"It's…. it's okay." She gasped out as she tried to stop herself from crying. "It's not your fault."
"No it was those damn kid's fault." He grumbled as he tried to hurry up and finish. "If they had listened, or even stayed the hell away in the first place you wouldn't be hurt like this." He ripped another part of the coat and made a make shift bandage to cover the wounds on her side before taking another small piece and tying it around her arm wounds. The two sat in silence, as she just held on tight.
Maka's grip started to loosen. "It's not really their fault. They didn't understand the situation. They're just kids, and they want to show they can take care of themselves."
"But they proved they couldn't when you jumped in front of that blast." He told her as he felt her shake her head. "Look, don't worry about it right now. Just relax; I'm going to see if I can get us out of here." He felt her body relax and he laid her down. She had been fighting with consciousness since he cleaned her wounds. The blood loss added to the stress and the pain…. she lost her battle to stay awake. Soul gently laid her down before he turned to finding a way out. Above them was feet upon feet of snow and it looked like they had gotten lucky and fell into a pocket under the frozen ground. He glanced at Maka as she shivered. He was going to have to find a way out and soon or they would be in big trouble. With a sigh, he begin trying to figure out what to do to survive until they could get out. First was a fire. He looked around not finding anything. Walking around the pocket, he found some wood that must have fallen in with them from the house Simone had been using. He dug around collecting all he could find before he used a rock and his transformed hand to start a small fire for at least some warmth.
He sat down next to Maka as he tried to devise a plan. Another ten minutes passed before Maka slurred. "So cold." She said as her teeth began to chatter. She sat up slowly as her side began to hurt with quick movements. "I guess I passed out. My side hurts so bad." She looked at Soul confused as he moved closer. He pulled his jacket off and wrapped it around her. "Soul… you're going to freeze."
"I'll be fine. I'm always hot anyway." He said as an excuse. They were stuck for, god only knew how long, he was going to do everything in his powers to keep her alive until they got out or help arrived. "Come here." He said as she shivered again. She edged closer wondering what he wanted before he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close to him. "I don't think we can dig ourselves out, so we're going to have to keep warm until help gets here."
"Then at least share." She said opening his jacket to wrap around both of them. It would not go around both of them so Soul gently pulled her into his lap and wrapped it around him and held it closed in front of the startled Maka.
"Relax; I'm not going to do anything." He said with a smirk but she turned and glared at him before settling back onto his chest. She had not realized how comfortable he could be until now. As she thought about it her mind drifted to the two of them at home, cuddling in bed and she shivered at the thought. "The fire is small but it will give off some heat. It should get a little warmer soon." Maka just nodded, and kept her face straight to hide the blush that crept across her cheeks.
"I guess we just have to wait for Elettra and Reiner to get help." Maka whispered as she leaned her head back against him and closed her eyes.
"If they get help. You told them to go back and wait for us remember."
"Yeah, but I'm sure they saw the avalanche. If we're not back after a few hours I'm sure they'll call someone." She said. Maka felt him tighten his hold around her, pulling her closer as they fell into a comfortable silence.
Soon the two had drifted off to sleep; Maka had her head leaning on Soul's shoulder while he had dropped his forward on hers. Soul shivered, waking him up. The fire had nearly died out, he put another piece of wood on to get it going again, and he felt Maka shaking. He pulled her closer and turned her a bit, trying to cover her as much as possible. She began to wake but neither one spoke. They just sat in the silent cold, holding onto hope that someone would find them, and that they would get out safe. Soon Soul felt his eyes drooping and the cold had grabbed hold of both he and Maka, making them shake.
"Maka." He said and he heard her hum in answer. "We have to stay awake. The cold is getting too much. It won't be good if we fall asleep."
"Wha-what do we do then?" She asked as she shifted a bit. "I don't think I can stay awake."
"You-you have to o-or we could fr-fr-freeze to death."
"I never thought I w-would be in this k-kind of si-situation." She smirked. "To think w-we're stuck in an ice trap wi-with nothing really to keep us wa-warm. We've e-even resorted to-to holding each other." She gave a small laugh hearing him chuckle.
"Not what I e-expected when I said I wa-wanted to die cool." Maka giggled at his joke making him smirk. They needed to keep awake. They needed to keep talking. He had promised to protect his meister and he had sworn to himself he would never let something happen to the woman he loved. Loved. If they really were going to be stuck in this hole and were going to die, maybe it would be a good idea to get everything out. The two were silent as Soul thought about his options.
"Soul?" Maka whispered. "Ar-are you still… still…"
"Yeah, Maka." He readjusted his hands so one sat at her waist and the other on her shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm n-not going anywhere."
"G-good. Cause I d-don't think I could handle that. I-I would be really s-sad. You know?" Soul tightened his grip for a moment before nodding. "I-I think we should talk…. T-to stay awake."
"I think I-it will help." Soul shivered. "W-what do you want to talk a-about?"
"I don't know. A-anything. Anything that w-will keep us talking." Soul's mind went to their feelings. That would have them talking for a while but it might also have her moving away from him. "C-can you thi-think of anything?"
Soul did not know what to do. He did not know if it would be right to talk about it now, but he did not want to miss the opportunity to tell her how he felt if this really was it. His mind went in circles until he felt her body begin to relax. "Maka." He said rough. "D-don't fall asleep."
"I-I'm sorry I just… I-I'm so tired. And I'm s-so cold."
"Keep talking to me. P-please. Just stay a-awake." Maka tried to cuddle closer to him but tensed as she felt pain in her side. "Y-you okay?"
Maka nodded. "Yeah m-my side just hur-hurts." Soul let out a long breath. "Wha-what are you thinking about? I c-can always tell when y-you're thinking hard about something i-important."
"I'm just tr-trying to think of what to talk a-about."
"What comes t-to your mind first?"
"You." He blurted out without thinking. Maka lifted her head to look at him curious making him realize just how close their faces were. He took a deep breath. He was going to have to explain. "I… Maka, y-you are really important to m-me." Her green eyes searched his red ones. "If we're g-going to… if this i-is the end, I wa-want you to-to know how mu-much I really care about you." He stuttered part from cold and part from nerves. Maka just watched as he looked down. He was afraid to say anything, he didn't want to ruin their friendship, and he had planned to hold off until the right time, but there' may not be another chance to say what he felt.
"So-soul, what are you sa-saying?" She asked as her heart started thumping faster and faster. He took a deep breath and looked back at her. If this was his last chance, he was going to make sure she knew.
"I'm tr-trying to tell you th-that I love you." He said sternly. He watched as her eyes went wide and she took a quick breath. "I ju-just wanted you to know, incase…. Incase this is-is it. It's not like yo-you have to return-" He was cut off as she leaned closer connecting their lips before either knew what was going on. Soul froze a minute before his one hand came up to cradle her head as he kissed her back.
The two parted and Maka looked up at him a bit startled at what she had done but a small smile slipped onto her lips. "I-I love you t-too Soul." Soul grinned before he leaned in kissing her deeply. As they pulled apart, again they rested their foreheads together. "I guess it wa-was a good thing we-we were trapped in here." She laughed before he pulled her back to him, letting her head rest on his chest as he leaned his cheek on her head.
"I gu-guess you're right." He smirked. "Help will come; I re-refuse to let this be it. N-not after we just said we lo-loved each other. I-I refuse to miss out o-on life wi-with you." He told her making her laugh and cuddle into him.
"To t-tell you the truth, tha-that was a lot easier than I-I thought it was going to be."
"I guess life and d-death situations really change th-things." He told her. "You kn-know your dad's going to-to freak when he finds out." He laughed and felt her shake with laughter.
"It's not li-like I need his permission. I will l-love who ever I wa-want to. He doesn't have a say." She smiled as she shifted in his lap.
"First thing we're go-gonna do when we get out of h-here is go out on a date wi-with some really hot food." Maka giggled.
"What do you mean you can't find them?" Spirit asked as he and Stein walked into the town with Sid and Nygus.
"Sir!" They heard a child scream as the two ran over trying to catch their breath. The adults could see they were roughed up, and scared to all hell. "Sir." Elettra breathed. "You-you have to….. You have to help them!"
"Help who?" Stein asked. "Are you talking about the two students from the academy?" The two nodded quickly as they caught their breath.
"We followed them to try to see what they found and then we were caught and the guy he had a gun and… and he shot but the lady, she didn't get hit and then the guy shot at us and the lady pushed us out the way. She got hit but she kept fighting so we could run and the scythe guy he was trying to keep everyone safe and we were almost back when we heard a really loud bang!" She rushed.
"And then all this snow came down and we were caught in it." Reiner added. "We tried to get out and get help but we were so stuck and then no one would help. Please! You have to help them!"
"Where?" Stein asked as he put a restraining hand on Spirit's shoulder. "Show us the path." The children turned and started running with the adult's right behind them. "How long ago?"
"Um the big bang was like six hours ago. They're way up there and hurt." Elettra said as she pleaded with them to hurry.
"You did real well." Nygus said softly as she knelt down in front of them. "Now go back to the house and wait for us there. Make sure it's nice and hot in there and that we'll have plenty of blankets." The two children ran off as the adults started on their way up the path.
"Stein!" Spirit called after a while. "Can you sense them? Can you sense them up there?" His fear was growing with each step; his little girl had been missing for almost eight hours now. The kids said she had been hurt and now she was caught somewhere in the snow.
"Not yet but they said the house was way up there." Stein said as he used all he had to try to search as far as he could for Soul and Maka's souls. "There!" He yelled after another minute. "Their souls are weak but I can sense them. They're up a little farther." Another twenty minutes of running, Stein stopped. "They're right below up, Sid."
"Right." Sid planted his feet and dropped into the snow, digging away until there was a hole behind him as he fell into the pocket. He pulled out his flash light and looked around, pausing as the beam flashed across the two teens. "They're here!" He called up before he ran over to them while the others cleared away more snow. Spirit dropped in next and ran over, stopping in his tracks seeing his daughter wrapped in Soul's jacket and sitting across his lap as he leaned against the snow wall in just a long sleeved shirt. "They're still alive, but they're unconscious." Sid said as he checked them.
Spirit moved closer and saw how blue Soul looked compared to Maka as he held her tight in his arms. As he bent down to take his daughter Soul mumbled. His red eyes opened and he tried to focus on whoever was in front of him. "M-Maka, s-she's hurt b-bad and. I-I can't l-let anything happen to-to h-her." Spirit could see the worry and fear on Soul's face.
"She's safe now." Spirit said as he reached out and touched the young death scythe's shoulder. "We're going to get you both out of here and warmed up." Soul's head dropped back down as he lost consciousness again and Spirit pulled his hands apart to get Maka out.
"Wrap them in the rope and we'll pull you guys up." Nygus called down as she dropped a rope down. Sid helped Spirit wrap a rope around himself and Maka before stepping in the little loop at the bottom and Stein and Nygus slowly hoisted the two up.
Sid went over and pulled Soul up on his back before the others dropped the rope back down. "Whe-where's Maka?" Soul mumbled as he came to again.
"She's up with the others." Sid told him. Soul had always been a trouble maker, but Sid did have a soft spot for the kid, especially now, seeing how hard Soul was trying to fight to stay conscious to make sure his Meister was taken care of. Sid smirked, he knew this was not the fight of a weapon to protect the meister; it was the fight of a young man in love. Sid wrapped the rope around Soul and tied it. "Pull him up, I'll burrow!" He called up and watched as they pulled Soul out of the snow pocket before he got himself out.
"We need to get them back immediately." Nygus said as she checked over the two teens. "They'll survive but they need attention right away." She did not need to say any more as Spirit picked Maka back up and he was off running as fast as he could to get to the town. Stein pulled Soul up onto his back and the rest were off, following close behind Spirit.
Nygus walked out of the bedroom where Soul and Maka had been laid on the bed to be treated. The three men looked up as the two children ran over for any news they could get. "They definitely have hypothermia. Soul has a worse case and has some signs of frostbite since he had Maka wrapped in her and his jackets to keep her warm. Maka is doing all right, she has Hypothermia, but it's not major. They'll both recover."
"What can we do?" Elettra asked determined to help.
"All we can do is keep them warm and wait for them to wake up." Nygus said as she looked at the men. "We'll more than likely have to stay for a day or so until they are able to get up."
"I'll stay." Stein nodded.
"Maka's my daughter. I'll stay until we can take them home." Spirit added.
Sid stood up with a nod. "We'll report in and wait for you back at death city." Stein and Spirit nodded as Nygus and Sid left.
"You kids should head back to base." Stein told the two. "Maka and Soul will be fine. There is no reason for you to lay about here."
"But it's our fault." Elettra said as tears came to her eyes. "If we hadn't followed them."
"If I didn't yell at the scythe guy none of this would have happened." Reiner added looking sorrowful before he explained exactly what happened.
"I see." Stein said. "Well there's no reason to be upset about it now. They survived and will recover. Just take this as a lesson for anything in the future." The two nodded. "Now head back to your base." Again the nodded and slowly made their way out of the house. Stein looked at Spirit who kept his eyes on the door to the bedroom. "What's on your mind Spirit?"
Spirit glanced at him before getting up and walking to the doorway to look in at his daughter. "I could have lost her. If we didn't come when we did…. Maka would be dead right now."
"She would have lasted a while longer than Soul." Stein commented and Spirit looked at the young man lying on the bed next to Maka.
"Yeah. He gave her everything he could to keep her warm. He really saved her life." He said softly. "I can't believe the little octopus head really nearly died to protect her."
"Love makes you stupid." Stein said making Spirit look at him quickly. "What? You never saw how those two acted with each other? Or how protective they are with others?"
"You telling me that little freak in there is in love with my Maka?" Spirit asked, protective.
Stein smirked. "Come now, Spirit. Is that anyway to talk about the young man who saved your daughter's life?" Spirit glared at him. "They are good for each other anyway." He shrugged. "So I'll take the little couch thing, you can sleep on the floor." He laughed as Spirit walked back over to his cup of coffee on the table.
"I hope they wake up soon." He sighed as he sat down in his chair again.
An hour later, the two men heard a thud making them jump to their feet and run in to find Soul on the ground trying to get up. Stein knelt down and Soul looked up confused. "Where… where's Maka? Is she…. Is she okay?" He asked worried.
"She's fine." Stein told him as he helped him stand up and sit back on the bed. "She was laying right beside you when you decided to take a walk." Spirit pulled the blankets that had been on Soul, up to wrap them around the young man again. "You both have hypothermia. She's not as bad as you though. Seems you saved her a lot by giving her your jacket."
"She… she was cold…." Soul looked up at Spirit before his eyes drooped.
"Lie down and get some more sleep. You're going to need all the rest you can get to fight back the cold." Spirit told him as Soul lay down and both he and Stein left, stopping at the door. "Hey." Soul looked at him. "Thanks for taking care of my Maka." Soul nodded as he fell back to sleep.
The next morning Spirit woke to the sound of glasses clinking. He sat up from his place on the floor, rubbing his head and standing up before he saw Maka in the kitchen with a blanket wrapped around her as she made hot chocolate. He walked over as she turned and saw him. She gave a small smile. "Maka, you're okay." He said relieved as he wrapped her in a hug. He was stunned when she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug before going back to what she was doing. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm freezing." She said as she poured two cups of hot chocolate. "I'm hoping this will warm me up. I figured it might help Soul too."
"Why don't you just go lay back under all your blankets?"
"I put them on Soul. He was shivering when I woke up, I only really need one. I'm going to take this in to him to help him warm up too."
"Maka, you have to keep yourself warm too, or you're going to get worse." Spirit said as he followed her to the bedroom where he could see Soul shake every so often.
"I'll be warm, Papa. I just think Soul deserves to be taken care of first. He took care of my wounds on my side and got them to stop bleeding and he made sure I was warm."
"Yeah I saw that you had his jacket on."
"What?" She asked before she looked at Soul with a glare. "That idiot. He probably did that after I passed out." She sighed as her gaze softened and she looked back at her father holding the second cup of hot chocolate. Reaching out to take it, she felt a twinge in her stiff side making her wince.
Spirit reached out but she shook her head. "Maka, what's wrong?"
"It's just my side. My muscles are stiff and I'm a little tender where the stitches are."
"Stitches?" Spirit asked concerned. He had not been told of any wounds needing stitches.
Maka rolled her eyes. "There were a couple of kids that I pushed out of the way of an attack and I got hit a little. It's not too bad." She explained before looking back at Soul as he tossed a bit and looked around. She walked over and crawled onto the bed with a smile, ignoring her father was still in the room. "Here. Drink this. It will help." He held out the cup as he sat up and took it.
Spirit watched silently wondering if there was, any truth to what Stein had said the night before. Soul took a sip before looking at Maka. "You going to drink that? You have to start warming up too." He said as he put his now empty cup on the side table and wrapped several more blankets around her.
"Soul you need them more. Especially since you put your jacket on me when I passed out." She narrowed her eyes as he gave a small smile.
"You were cold. I told you I wasn't going to let anything happen." He gently pushed her bangs back as she gave a smile and blushed a bit.
"So you took care of my Maka." Spirit said becoming uncomfortable with how he was looking at his little girl. Soul quickly dropped his hand as he noticed Spirit. "Don't think you'll get off the hook for how you were holding her."
"And don't think I won't Maka chop you." Maka warned with a dark glare. Spirit held up his hands in defense as he took a step back while Soul started to laugh. "And don't think you won't get it either just cause you've got hypothermia." Soul grinned before he readjusted the blankets with a yawn. "Back to sleep." Soul looked at her about to protest but she shook her head. "We both need more sleep." With a sigh, he laid back down on his side facing her. Spirit smirked before he left while Maka readjusted the blankets, putting hers over the ones Soul had and climbing under all of them with a blush.
"You're getting pretty bold Maka." Soul said making her blush even more, her face went red as he moved closer, wrapping his arm around her waist but she repaid it by making him blush as she turned in his arms and cuddled into his chest.
Spirit walked back over to look in and was about to flip out when he saw how they were laying but Maka's voice stopped him. "Thank you for taking care of me Soul." She shifted under the blankets to get closer to her partner.
"Anything for you. I love you Maka." Soul said softly as he kissed the top of her head.
"I love you too, Soul." Maka said sleepily as Soul tightened his hold on her and the two dozed back off. Spirit was torn. He wanted to keep his daughter away from boys, and keep her as his little girl forever, but he knew she was growing up, knew that he had ruined many things for her. Most of all her trust in men and if she actually trusted Soul, then he decided he would try to have faith in the young man. He did prove that he would protect and take care of her even at the cost of his own life several times now. but that still didn't mean he had to like it.