"Only 200 words left."
It was late at night in Death City. Almost everyone was asleep, but Maka Albarn was still up working on a paper for school.
"Shouldn't you be asleep?"
The noise startled her and she looked up to see her pajama-clad partner, Soul Evans. She was touched that he cared, but she wanted him to leave. She couldn't sleep and the very thought of him made her heart race and sent jolts of electricity up her spine, which would not help her situation. Maybe she could convince him to leave.
"You're up," she retorted.
"But that's different."
"I don't see how. Why are you up anyways?"
He doesn't like questions. "Insomnia."
Not having a response to that, Maka squinted at the paper in front of her. It was getting closer to midnight and the words were starting to blur. She rubbed her eyes in an attempt to see the words better, but she still couldn't.
"You shouldn't work on homework so late."
He thought he could tell her what to do?
"You're not the boss of me," Maka replied indignantly.
"You can't even read this late." He always knew her so well.
"Fine. I can't sleep, what do you want to do?" Admitting that much was probably the best option.
"Dunno." Soul sat down on the edge of her bed.
There goes trying to sleep. Her heart was beating so quickly she thought it might burst out of her chest. Maka threw the papers off the bed, muttering that she'd do it tomorrow.
"Good, you shouldn't work on homework this late."
"You shouldn't be in my room this late."
"What are you gonna do about it, kick me out?"
There goes getting him to leave. The room was dead silent for a few minutes.
"Can I just sleep with you tonight?" Soul asked as he lay down on her bed. "Just being around you is relaxing."
Maka's eyes widened, but she nodded slowly. This was drastically different than what she had expected him to say. Something along the lines of, "You work too much, Nerd," would've made more sense. She moved over beside Soul and laid her head on his chest. The rise and fall of his chest beneath her head calmed her. She realized her home wasn't a place that could be found on a map; it was wherever he was. Everything was better when they were together. It always had been.
"You know what?" Maka asks.
"What?"
"This my favorite place."
"What is? Your room? The apartment?"
"No, here. Beside you. That's my favorite place."
The room was silent as they lay listening to each other's breath and beating hearts.
"Well, you know what?" Soul asked quietly.
"Hmm?"
"I think I love you."
Is he joking? Never would she have thought he would say he loved her—he'd always said she was flat-chested and temperamental and reckless and didn't know the first thing about music.
"Really?"
"I mean, uhm… if you don't like me, that's cool, too." The words alone seemed to pain him, as if saying it hurt. He must have meant it.
If he was being honest, she was going to be honest too.
"No, no. That's not it, I just always thought… that you considered me nothing more than your partner." She smiled. "I love you, too."
"For someone so smart, you say some of the dumbest things, Maka."
That was more like his usual comments. Maka giggled softly at this. "I don't want to sleep alone tomorrow, either."
Soul nodded sleepily, and both of them fell asleep within minutes. They had finally managed to find a moment of peace in their crazy lives.
