I Do not own Soul Eater

Chapter 1

Maka sighed as she walked into the hotel room with Soul following her. They were on a mission in the middle of Paris. Soul watched as Maka walked around the room looking at everything before moving to the balcony. She pulled open the French doors and gasped as she moved the balcony quickly. "Soul! Come look at this!" She called making him slowly make his way to her side. Looking out he found a clear view over the buildings to the Eiffel tower not far in the distance. "Isn't it beautiful?" She smiled as she searched the scenery as Soul glanced at her. At seventeen years old she had grown into a beauty more than Soul had ever thought possible. He had always thought she looked like a kid, that she was flat chested and not even close to what he would go for but as time went on he found himself pulled to her.

It had been a year since the war on the moon. Maka and Soul had been working with their fellow Spartoi members to figure a way to fix it and save Crona. A year since Maka and Soul had become even closer partners. He could not keep his eyes off her. He knew he had feelings for her. He knew he wanted to be with her, not just as her weapon. He just did not know exactly how she felt about that. He knew her outlook on men was damaged because of her father and he knew a relationship between weapon and meister was something she saw as impossible, again because of her father but Soul wanted to change that. He just did not know how to show her he could be trusted with her heart.

Maka turned to look at him with a bright smile as the sun began to set behind the tower. "It's so beautiful."

"I've seen better." Soul said softly before he could stop himself. Maka looked up into his red eyes wondering what he meant as he horridly threw his hands in his pockets. Before he could say anything more, a knock on the door made them both turn back into the room. "I'll get it." He said glad to veer away from the previous comment. As he opened the door, he found a young man with a cart that had a red rose, champagne and two glasses.

"For the newlyweds." He smiled. Soul looked at him confused before he remembered the mission. The two were on a high mission to find three sister witches who had gone against the order and started attacking students on their missions from death city. Kid had held a meeting with his top advisors and the Witch council when his students had been coming home injured or stranded on their mission near death. The grand witch had told him of a group of witches who had opposed the treaty and had formed their own coven. She had given Kid permission to hunt down these witches and use them as he see fit as punishment for trying to break a treaty so hard fought for. The grand witch and Kid made a deal to share information and work together to get the witches. It was then that it was agreed that any witch trying to break the treaty would be used to make a death scythe for the Shibusen. A rumor led them to believe the three sisters were staying in Paris preying on newlyweds to turn into monsters and attack the students. So it was given to Maka and Soul, with much protests from Sprit, to go to Paris as Newlyweds on their honeymoon to capture and bring back the sister.

Soul moved out of the way and let the man through with the cart. "What's this?" Maka wondered as she walked over.

"It's complementary with the room for the newly married couple." The man explained as he turned and left.

"Well that's nice." Maka smiled as she looked over the champagne. "Although, we shouldn't be drinking. We're still too young and we're on a mission." She shrugged. "I'm going to get a shower and go to bed." She turned and paused. There was only one bed.

"You can have it. I'll crash on the floor." He told her and only watched as she shook her head and looked at him wirily.

"We can share the bed. We're both adults we shouldn't be childish about that." She said as she turned away trying to hide the blush that fluttered up her cheeks as she quickly gathered her things and went to the bathroom. Soul smirked as he sat on the bed. She was so mature, so smart but the thought of sharing a bed had her cheeks bright red. He shook his head before changing into pajama bottoms and climbing into bed falling fast to sleep. He did not even wake when Maka carefully climbed in next to him. He only awoke to a feeling of something warm and soft against him. His sleepy brain did not even register that it was Maka's back as he dosed back off.

The next morning Maka blinked her eyes only to see Soul's face very close to hers. She tensed as she realized they had moved to the middle of the bed. She had her hand wrapped around his arm that was tucked under his head and he had his arm draped over her waist. As she lay there watching him sleep she relaxed. He was sound asleep. Carefully she pulled her hand free and reached out touching his soft white hair. She gave a little smile. He really did look handsome. Nineteen and he had grown into a very attractive young man. Maka felt her heart speed up when he would say nice things to her, or the way he had begun to look at her whenever he thought she could not see. He was always at her side and she knew she would not have been able to make it as far as she had without him. She tried to push away the feelings that floated around when she was with him but they always bubbled back to the surface. As she lay there watching him she could feel them beginning to overwhelm her. She knew there was no way to stop the feelings but the refused to let them take over and leave her heartbroken like her mother. Maka quickly pulled her hand away, closed her eyes, and pretended to be asleep as he stirred. She could feel him tense as he realized the way they were sleeping. She knew what he was thinking, it was the same thing she had been thinking when she first awoke as well.

Soul watched her a minute before he gently pulled his arm back and rolled away. Maka cracked her eyes to watch what he was doing. He sat a little bit away looking at her. He reached out, brushed her bangs from her forehead with a soft smile, and gently kissed her forehead. Maka felt her heart beat faster and faster as he slowly stood and started for the bathroom. Once she heard the soft click of the door, she rolled onto her back, stunned. Soul had kissed her forehead. He really kissed her head. She blushed and could not fight the little smile but she soon forced it all away with thoughts of the what if of her parents situation. All she could do was lay there as he showered. When she heard the door slowly open she quickly closed her eyes again and listened as he walked over to the side of the bed and looked at her. Again, he could not help himself as he reached out to touch her bangs.

"Maka." He said softly as he moved he hand to her shoulder to gently wake her. "Maka, it's time to get up. Come on, we have to get moving." Maka nodded as she climbed from the bed and began to get ready. The two held idle chitchat as she changed and moved around the room. Soul raised an eyebrow as Maka walked over to him with a little pouch. "What's that?"

"They're rings." She pulled out three rings and placed them in her palm. "We're supposed to be newlyweds to pull the witches in. No newlyweds would be caught without their rings. Here, this one is you wedding band and this is my wedding band and engagement ring." She handed him a simple gold band while she slipped a simple one-diamond engagement ring followed by a rose gold band.

"Where'd you get these?" Soul asked as he followed suit and stared down at it.

Maka smiled as she looked from the rings to Soul then back again. "Professor Stein and Ms. Marie loaned us yours and this engagement ring, and the band was my mothers. Ms. Marie said we should play the part as much as possible, but since my father began convulsions, she and Stein offered to help a little. They said we have to look and act the part as if we were really on a honeymoon site seeing. Once we're pulled in, Kid has several students in the city looking for the witches, they don't know about our mission here, so they won't slip or make it look like they know us. There's one team who knows and they are waiting for our signal to bring the others in."

"This is not going to be easy."

"Well for now we can relax and just have a vacation. We have to make it look real anyway." She smiled brightly making him smirk.

"You're the coolest partner, Maka, always getting us the best missions." Maka just gave a smile before she turned away.

"So." She said happily, as she pulled out a map of Paris. "Where do you want to go first? There is the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe, there's chapels and gardens… there really is a lot to do. What do you want to do?"

"You're the one all excited. Why don't you just pick." Soul shrugged her off as if he did not care what they did, all he wanted was to have Maka enjoy this little bit of freedom they had been given.

"I don't know." She shook her head looking over the map intensely.

Soul smirked. "Well why don't we just walk and go to whatever we come across?" He offered and watched her face light up as she nodded quickly. The two left the hotel and started wandering the streets, taking in the sites and soon they were both taking in as much of this time as they could.

Maka sat on a bench at a little ice cream shop not far from their hotel. They had visited a couple little places as they gained suggestions from locals and wandered the streets and they were already worn out. Maka sat beside him and handed him his ice cream cone. He took it but could not help but notice exactly how close she had sat. He did not say anything, not wanting to make her move but he shifted to lean flat on the back of the bench and their shoulders were pushed together. Maka did not seem to mind, or she did not notice as she continued to eat her ice cream.

Once they finished their ice cream, they started back to their hotel. "Well looks like today was a failure." Soul commented but Maka just smiled and shook her head. "We didn't get any clue as to who the witches are or where they're hiding."

"But we had fun." She smiled. "How often can you say we have time to do what we want, to have a vacation somewhere that we can just go where we want and have fun?" Soul just shrugged. "Besides we were given two weeks to find them and take care of them."

"Wow, who are you and where's the real Maka?" She just rolled her eyes before walking faster to stay several steps ahead of him. Soul watched her walk in a black skirt the same style as her usual one, with black flats and a fitting grey shirt. He had trouble keeping his eyes away all day and now she was flaunting everything in front of him. He watched her take several more steps before he set his mind. He was going to use this mission as a way to show her how much he cared for her, how much he wanted to be with her. He was going to prove that not all men were like her father. By the end of this vacation, he was determined to have her answer, either way.

The next week went the same as the first, more wandering, more fun, no witches, and the partners became closer and closer. It had been eight days and still not one clue about the witches. Soul woke up early on the ninth day and let Maka sleep as he went onto the balcony. As he leaned on the rail looking out at the rising sun his cell phone rang. Answering it, he found Black Star on the other line.

"No luck yet?" Black star asked.

"Not yet. There's no clue as to where they are or who they are. We must be doing something that is turning them away." Soul mused aloud. "Any ideas?"

"Hmmm." The line went silent for a minute before he heard Black Star calling to Tsubaki and explaining what Soul had asked.

"Soul?" She asked and he just responded 'yeah'. "I think I might know the problem. What exactly are you two doing?" Soul paused a second before explaining how they have been sightseeing and wandering the city. "Well maybe you need to add a little… romance? I mean like dates, hugging, and stuff. Maybe at the big public places show how much you love each other. That should really draw them out."

Soul thought a minute. "I'll let Maka know your idea." He told her finally.

"I better go; Black Star wants to head out to find a mission for us." She paused as the sound of Black Star's voice faded. "Maybe you should try to show your feelings for Maka on this mission. Nothing sells a story like the real thing." Soul did not respond, he did not know how. "If you need anything, just call us. Good luck and I'm positive Maka will realize too." Soul could hear the smile in her voice before she hung up.

"Who was that?" He heard making him turn to find Maka wrapped in a throw blanket.

"Tsubaki had some ideas for us to try to open the witches up." Maka looked intrigued. "She said we should… we should do… date…stuff. Like dinners and all and she suggested that in the public places we, uh, hug and stuff like that." He was becoming more and more uncomfortable with this as he realized how much of his real feelings could come out before she was ready to deal with the situation.

Maka blushed as she thought about what Tsubaki had suggested. "Maybe she's right. I mean we have to play the part right?" She asked softly, keeping her eyes cast out at the city as she tried to push the growing blush away.

"Uh, yeah, I guess but it means…" He trailed off

Maka nodded and turned to look at him finally. "Yeah, but we're best friends and I…" She stopped herself and looked away quickly. Soul furrowed his brows as he watched her try to shrink away, to hide. "I think we should do what we have to for the mission." She added quickly before running back to the room, out of his sight. Soul stood confused. He could have sworn she had something else on her mind as she locked her green eyes with his red one. But she ran away. That was what he was afraid of. She was going to run away from any thought of being with someone. He gave a sigh before they went about their routine of getting ready for the day and heading out. After a few blocks she slipped her hand into his making him look at her confused but she just smiled like it was something they did all the time. Although they did hold hands quite a lot, it was usually only when they were going into a dangerous situation, where he might need to transform quickly. As the day went on Soul was surprised at how close she would walk, stand, or sit. She continued to grab his hand and pull him off into different directions. Soul smiled as she stopped and looked up at the arch of triumph with wonder.

"It's a memorial of sorts for those who fought and died for France in the French revolution and the nepolianic wars." He explained making her look at him stunned. "What? I know stuff?" He crossed his arms making her smile before she took off, running up to the arch to look at it closer. He followed behind her, happy to see her enjoying herself.

"This is so beautiful." She whispered.

"Nah, there's better." Soul said looking around not paying much attention to what he was saying.

"Really? Where?" She asked making him look at her.

After a minute, he saw the sun setting and he vaguely remembered someone telling their husband about fireworks above the Eiffel tower tonight. Soul smirked as he grabbed her hand. "Come on, I'll show you." The two walked hand in hand back to the hotel. Maka was beyond confused as he led her to the balcony as the sun made its final decent. "Just look." He told her moments before the first firework burst in the sky. She gasped and moved to lean on the rail and watch, enthralled with the show. Soul smiled, he could help but smile at Maka, it was becoming more and more frequent instead of his cool guy persona.

"Soul! Look!" She pointed out at the sky before grabbing his wrist and pulling him closer to the rail, making him stand directly behind her. "It's so pretty!" She looked at him over her shoulder before being drawn back to the fireworks. Soon Soul was drawn closer and closer until he had a hand on the rail on either side of her as they watched the fireworks burst one after another over the Eiffel tower. She smiled as she turned to face him. She froze looking up into his eyes as he could only look into hers. "This is… amazing." She told him softly.

The wind blew, gently moving her hair that she had been wearing down into her face. Soul reached out and brushed it out of her face, brushing his fingertips against her soft cheek. The two stood frozen in time before slowly moving closer and closer until their lips met. It was a quick peck at first before he cradled her jaw in his hand and pulled her closer, giving her a deeper kiss as the fireworks continued in the background. As they pulled apart, they looked at each other stunned. "Maka… I…" Soul went to step back only to have Maka grab his shirt and stop him, shaking her head. She looked at him with a shy smile. Soul did not know what to do but everything in him was telling him to move closer to her again. As he did, she looked up at him, their faces so close again. Soul bent and captured her lips again.

"Soul…" She said as they parted again. She rested her hands on his chest as she looked at them splayed over the tone muscles covered in a black shirt. "I… I don't want to be like my parents. I don't want to ruin our partnership, our friendship…" She had tears in her eyes as she looked up at him.

He reached out to gently wipe one away as it trailed down her cheek. He shook his head. "Maka, we've gone through more than you're parents, and beside I'm not some womanizing creep. Cool guys don't cheat on… the woman they love." He whispered making her look at him quickly. He tried to stumble through words to try to cover what he had let slip but she just gave a little smirk.

"Do you mean it?" She asked as she turned to a serious face. "All of this, isn't just because of this mission or something like that, right?"

"No." Soul shook his head and touched her cheek. "Maka…I…" He sighed. He did not know what to say. Some cool guy he was, trying to explain himself and just making himself look like a fool.

"Soul… promise me, on everything we have, this isn't just something for the mission. I can't… I can't just be used to help the mission. If that was the case, Soul we couldn't be partners anymore."

"I promise." He told her before he even thought about it. "I wanted to tell you but… everything stemmed back to your father and how he cheated on your mom. I didn't want to hurt you and end our partnership, I can't lose you as a friend, a partner… I can't lose you. I, love you." He told her.

Maka looked up at him a minute before she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. "I love you too." She whispered into his ear. They pulled back slightly before Soul pulled her to him in a deep, loving kiss.