Author's Note: Maka and Soul use Japanese honorifics. Did they even use them in the manga? I don't even know but here they are.

"Oi, Maka."

She turned her head to look at him, the ends of her pigtails lazily sitting on her shoulders. Her light blonde eyebrows were hidden amongst her bangs in surprise and her emerald/jade/forest (he could never decide, in fact he would be prepared to swear that her eye color changed with her mood) green eyes were wide as she took in her disgruntled-looking partner.

"What is it, Soul-kun?" Her voice did not betray her and she hoped she didn't put any noticeable emphasis on the suffix.

He simply stood there, uncomfortable, his hands deep in his pockets, looking away from her (what she didn't see was the blush on the back of his neck that he desperately tried to hide and the fact that his eyes were darting around to every direction except hers).

She turned back to the work in front of her in an attempt to make up work she missed when she went on a rather long mission with Soul.

"Yes?" she asked absentmindedly to assure her partner that she was still waiting for what he had to say (what she didn't know was that her very voice unnerved him).

"You busy?" He asked weakly (he silently prayed her wrath would not be great).

"Yeeeesssss…" Maka stretched the word out, wondering when her weapon would get to the point.

His words came out rushed, "Well if you're busy then I guess I'll just talk to you late-"

"Alright, what's wrong?" She snapped the book shut and whipped her head around to look back at him, her pigtails flying in suit. Her eyebrows were furrowed with suspicion and her eyes (Soul noted that they were getting darker by the second) flashed dangerously.

Soul internally cringed at how fast Maka had seen through him (what she didn't know was that he was very well aware that if he did this wrong he would end up very, very dead). Soul soon found that he couldn't take looking at her for too long; she was giving him her full attention now with her arms crossed, foot tapping, and that look in place (Soul both loved and hated that look, it was probably the only look in the universe that could produce guilt in him).

Maka pointedly raised an eyebrow but remained silent while waiting for her weapon to speak up (what she didn't know was that he was repeating his mantra: stay cool, stay cool…).

Soul cleared his throat and hoped Black*Star hadn't lost his Last Will and Testament.

"Maka, we need to talk."

Her ears perked up at hearing this. There it goes again, no suffix…

She fought back a blush and asked, "About what?"

"About us."

"What about us?"

"Exactly that."

"I'm confused." (What she didn't know was that he was fighting a heart attack.)

"What are we, Maka?"

She felt like she would go crazy if Soul kept using her name without the suffix (what she didn't know was that in that moment he decided he would never use a suffix with her again).

"We're friends," she said finally.

"Oh, really?" he asked, taking a step closer to her.

"We're partners: weapon and meister." She said this a little more firmly, eyeing the remaining distance between them (what she didn't know was that he had a secret weapon up his sleeve).

"That's not what you told me the other night." He said quietly.

She nearly exploded, her face immediately resembling a tomato. "Wh-what!?" She turned and began to walk away.

Soul followed her, no way was he going to pass up an opportunity like this, ''you remember."

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" She was picking up her pace now, Soul right at her heels.

"Really? Because I very clearly remember you telling me something before you passed out on the couch last night…"

"…" Maka tried hard not to hurl herself toward the door but Soul, anticipating this, beat her to it and stood before the door, effectively blocking the exit.

"…!" Maka's face refused to stop making tomatoes jealous of its color as she looked up at Soul with a huff. The weapon had grown taller than her over the years; he was now Shinigami's official Death Scythe and Maka was Shibusen's number one teacher and meister.

Soul was looking down at her in amusement. It was a rare sight indeed to see his meister so flustered. Upon seeing that she still refused to speak, he looked up at the ceiling and sighed.

"You were drunk."

''I was not drunk!" she cried.

"We got drunk." he stated matter-of-factly.

"Missions should be taken seriously! I would never drink during one!"

Soul leaned on the door. "Well this time, you did. We completed a complicated mission perfectly and we wanted to celebrate. It was Paris!"

"How'd I get drunk and not you?" she asked suspiciously.

"One," he held up his fingers as he enumerated. "You never drink so you have low alcohol tolerance. Two: girls get drunk way faster than guys. And three: you drank a lot more than I did."

"Then why didn't you stop me!?"

"That's like trying to stop the Sun. Besides, it was fun to watch."

"I hate you."

"That's not what you told me, Maka." He chimed.

Her fury swelled within her and she let it out by beating angrily on his chest. "What's with the 'Maka' thing? Who gave you permission to say my name without the honorific? I always knew you were lax with formalities but this is just plain rude! I mean-"

"You told me you loved me."

Maka froze as his voice interrupted her rant. He was looking at her now, wishing she would look at him rather than his chest.

"Is that true or was that the alcohol talking?"

Her muscles were tense and she refused to look at him.

"Maybe I'm taking it the wrong way, maybe you only meant it as a friend. I don't know." His voice was tinged with bitterness at this admission. He hesitantly placed his hands on her fist that still rested on his chest and gave them a tight squeeze.

"But I need to know Maka. What are we?"

She finally looked up at him, a hint of fear in her eyes, "What are you trying to say?"

Now it was his turn to blush. "Nothing, I just want to straighten this out."

"Straighten what out?"
"That's what I'm asking you!"
"Well now I'm asking you!"
"That makes no sense! If I knew the answer to the question I wouldn't ask!"
"What makes you think I know the answer?"
"Because you do!"
"What kind of an excuse is that!?"
"You're the one who said it!"
"Said what?"

"That you love me. Now answer the question!"
"I'm not answering that. You answer it!"

"What!? No, you!"
"You!"
"You!"
A stubborn, awkward silence overcame the two and they became very aware of the blush on the other's cheeks and their intertwined hands on Soul's chest.

Soul's gaze drifted to their hands and he murmured softly. "You first."
"N-no, you first." Maka replied just as quietly, amazed that she was stammering.
Soul began to feel a smile tug on his lips. "No, you first."
"You first!"
"You!"
"You!"
He chuckled softly as she let out a giggle. They were finally looking and smiling at each other now, a cheery silence enveloping the room.

Soul didn't know what to think when Maka suddenly made a face. He knew she was up to something by the mischievous look in her eye though.

"Soul-kun," she faked hurt, "so you're not going to tell me?"
"Tell you what?" He asked carefully.
"You know what." She said firmly.
"You first!"
Maka laughed, "I already did!"

Soul's eyes widened as realization sunk in. Before he really had time to think about it, he had her in his arms and was spinning her around.

"Soul!?" Maka yelped in surprise as he finally set her down, this was certainly not normal Soul behavior. He simply grinned at her, pleased.

"So?" Maka asked impatiently when she saw that Soul wasn't going to say anything.

"So what?"

"Aren't you going to tell me you love me?" She snapped with a deep blush.

Soul internally raised a brow, surprised that his meister had not put up more of a fight. But so far she had been a good sport so he decided that he had let her suffer enough.

He leaned in a little closer to her, "You mean it's not obvious?"

Her genuine surprise made him continue,"I've loved you since day one, Tiny Tits."

"MAKA-CHOP!"

"OWW!"

"Oh, sorry, force of habit!"