Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater, its characters, or any related/associated stuff. I'm not making money off this, I just wrote it in my free time for kicks.

Heaven

A sigh escaped the young man's lips as he stepped through the front door of the apartment. Finally, sweet relief from the scorching summer heat. The heat usually didn't bother him too much as long as he stayed hydrated and wore clothing appropriate for the season. Even so, today was unbearable, and he decided the day would be better spent in the air-conditioned comfort of his home. It seemed that the rest of Death City shared his views; the streets had been all but deserted, and those few who dared venture outside kept their excursions brief.

Breathing deeply, he wiped the sweat from his brow, kicked his shoes off, and made his way into the living room. It didn't surprise him when he saw her napping peacefully in the large, overstuffed recliner, a book laying open, pages-down, over her chest. He rolled his eyes, a soft smile on his face. "Can't keep a bookworm from her books," he murmured as he made his way to the recliner. Though he could easily have slipped into the space between her and the left arm of the chair, he didn't. Instead, he leaned against the backrest, knowing that any motion or further noise would wake her. He did not fear her temper, as she wasn't very cranky when her naps were disrupted, he just hated the thought of disturbing her when she was finally resting peacefully.

She stirred the instant his hip came in contact with the chair. "Mm…Soul?" she asked, her green eyes fluttering open as she stretched her arms above her head.

Her voice was so soft, he barely heard her. "Go back to sleep, Maka," he murmured to her, brushing her hair out of her face. "I didn't mean to wake you."

She shook her head, a sleepy smile working its way onto her face. "I've been asleep since noon. It's time I woke up, anyway."

Soul rolled his eyes and sighed as she lowered the footrest and stood. As much as he disagreed with her logic, he wasn't going to argue with her. First, he would wind up fighting a losing battle, and that was uncool. Second, the argument would cause Maka stress, and that would just be asinine on his part. He'd been spending the past few months trying to keep everything as stress-free as possible for her, and he'd be damned if he did anything to screw that up.

He reached out, gently taking hold of her right arm with his left hand, removing the book from her hand with his right and laying it pages-down on the table beside the chair. "How was your day?" he asked as he wrapped his arms around her as best as he could.

She snorted derisively, hugging him tightly around his neck. "Boring. I'm going crazy, just sitting around like this all the time. I want to get out and do things, and I can't." Her voice trembled slightly, and Soul worried that she would start crying even though she hadn't been as overly emotional as he'd expected her to be. Still, he had a partial understanding of how she felt. He could still go out and do everything he'd always done, but with his meister practically under house arrest for the time being, he, too, was stuck at home while their friends went out on missions. As much as it frustrated him, he knew it was even worse for Maka.

Chuckling lightly – and offering a silent prayer in hopes that he wouldn't get hit – he kissed the top of her head. "I know. It won't be much longer, though. Just a couple more months." To accentuate his point, he loosened one of his arms and trailed his hand around her side until it rested over her stomach. Beneath his palm, something moved, and he leaned back to smile down at her. The quiet, but happy smile she gave him in response sent waves of relief through his person. Encouraged, he kissed her gently. "We've been patient so far. I think we can stand it til then." He then pressed a brief, but gentle kiss to her forehead before kneeling in front of her and undoing the last buttons of the dress shirt she'd swiped from his closet. Her arms loosened around his neck as he went lower, until her hands rested softly on his shoulders.

Now at eye-level with her swollen stomach, he wrapped his arms around her middle and kissed her soft skin, smiling a little when he felt a flicker of motion under his lips. "Just a couple more months, then we get to hold you," he whispered. Kissing Maka's stomach once more, he straightened and guided her to his piano. "What do you two want to hear today?"

As he took his seat beside her, Maka reached up to run her fingers through his hair. "Our song," she murmured.

A smirk appeared on Soul's face as he cracked his knuckles. "As you wish, my meister."

03 August 2009 - The idea for this bit me after spending the better part of a week at my girlfriend RegentShaw's place, and I wrote it for her. 3 Hope you like it!