Spit and Sweetness

Just a tribute fic for one of the coolest anime pairings... I'm not sure, but there's something beautiful in their relationship. I didn't want to push it, but an idea came in mind while in the train. Hope this long shot one shot adds to all the other beautiful stories out there. HAHAHA! Enjoy.. And I'm not really sure if I'm gonna make a follow up, maybe if i have another crazy idea...

for now... enjoy... and i don't own Soul Eater by the way...


"Oh, hey Soul! Dinner's almost ready, just wait a bit, kay?" chirped the scythe meister.

Said boy standing behind her grumbled to affirm, and then took a step closer. Maka felt his presence and looked at him from the side. Soul didn't appear like he was on to anything, or if he was he was doing a pretty good job at hiding it behind his usual grumpy face. The girl just shrugged and continued chopping vegetables.

Seconds later, he took another step.

"Can I help you with something?" Maka asked with hints of annoyance.

There was only about a few inches of space between them, but even that close Soul wasn't projecting anything from the unusual. He casually shook his head in response to his meister who was growing more and more suspicious. Maka had her hands on her hips and was tapping her foot. With the apron around her waist and a spatula clutched in a fist she was clearly giving an impression. But whatever it was, it was enough for Soul to brave another step.

"Alright, you stop right there mister! Just what are you up to?" Maka asked, pointing the spatula on Soul's face.

"Nothing." the boy said.

"Why are you acting so weird then?"

"What do you mean weird?"

"THIS weird!" she gestured her arms towards the entirety of Soul, "Shouldn't you be watching t.v. or something?"

"Nah, I prefer standing here." Soul said.

"Why?" Maka asked, no longer threatening with a tone of irritation and a ready-to-bash spatula.

"What do you mean 'why'? Is there something wrong with it?"

The situation wasn't, but the occasion was somehow off for Maka. She tilted her head at Soul and studied him.

"Well, nothing wrong, really, but..." Maka fumbled for words, not understanding what was going on. Soul just returned her inspection, looking at her from toe to top.

"Whatever," Maka said, surrendering to whatever scheme he was trying to knit, "stand there if you want, just make sure you won't be bothering me."

"Kay."

Soul walked closer towards his meister's back. The girl stopped, and realized Soul was standing right behind her. She would've rattled his brain with a book or two, but that would be uncalled for, since he hasn't done anything. Not yet anyway. She decided to ignore it. As for Soul, well, he really didn't have anything in mind. But as minutes passed by and Maka seemed to have forgotten he was standing right behind her, things began to progress.

She was about to hum some bad tune from some bad song when she felt two hands gently land on her shoulders. Then it hit her, Soul was still right behind her, and it occurred to her he had been for a good ten minutes. The things she have been doing and the murmurs she told herself, the scratches she secretly made on her belly and some other stuff you'd only do when your back is turned against a crowd- she began to wonder how much information her weapon now has about her.

"Soul…" multiple veins began popping at the back of her head as Maka did her best not to crush the cabbage in her hand.

"Now what?" Soul responded with a question as if he was the one being bothered. This caused another vein to swell in pretty Maka's pretty little head.

"Your hands are on my shoulders, that's what!" she said, looking at him from the corner of her eyes.

"So?"

"Argh!" she began shaking her shoulders to force him off, owing to the vegetable she has on one hand and the knife she had on the other, which would've been a preference to force him off had she been reasonable. "Get off!"

"Why?" Soul asked, lifting his hand to watch his meister dance.

"What do you mean why? How about some personal space?"

"Oh, ok."

There was little to consider in how Soul resigned to her so quickly. He took a step back, although it wouldn't have been enough to appease his fuming meister. Maka scowled at him and stuck out her tongue for emphasis but none of that seemed to have shaken the calm boy even by the tiniest bit. She proceeded to stir the vegetables, mindful of the searing trickles of oil that could fly her way. She was standing to close to the stove, so Maka deemed it safer to take a few steps back. Before she was able to curve her body down, her butt got in contact with something soft.

"Some personal space, please." Soul said, still behind her.

"Go away! Can't you see I'm cooking?"

"I'm not blind, of course I can see that."

"Then quit being such a prick!" Maka was beginning to yell, something which seemed to have tugged a little satisfaction at the boy. Soul wasn't able to hold down a grin.

"Should I take another step back?" he asked with his tooth bearing mischievously.

"How about a mile, can you go that far? I swear to Death, Soul, if I screw up tonight's dinner you'll be doing the cooking FOR A WEEK!"

That was threatening enough, even for the Evans boy. "Fine." He grumbled. He could smell well fried vegetables mixing with Maka's scent. It smelled funny, funny enough to make him snicker. The girl mumbled some curse towards nothing, knowing full well that saying anything else will only trigger an argument which he is most likely to enjoy. It might not be normal for Soul to suddenly decide to be an amazing jackass with his antics, but for him to brave the corners of a dangerous alley called 'A Very Pissed Maka', there's something brewing here. Nevertheless, Maka, as smart as she is, would never be able to think straight while half of her brain is in scary fury mode.

Maka would've been done after a minute or so, if Soul hadn't made another outlandish gesture of putting the same living hands on her hips, completely capturing her belly.

"Soul!" the girl shrieked, a bit alarmed that Soul would go that far.

"What, I'm not invading your personal space." The boy rightfully declared, even hinting pride in his voice.

"Tell that to your hand! Hey! Stop that!"

Soul began moving his hand up and down his meister's torso. He knows very well she wasn't the ticklish type, at least not on this part of her body. But she certainly wouldn't want anyone grabbing her like this. He grinned wider, realizing holding her like that felt like taking a pillow, his hands just clasped together around her completely without even straining. She was very soft too, which surprised even the boy considering the stunts she could do whenever she fights.

"Maka, you're so skinny. Maybe if you eat some more you'll put be able to put a little fat on that chest of yours."

"Makaaaa.,."

"W-wait, I was just kidding, c'mon!"

"...CHOP!"

Maka enjoyed her dinner well, and although the rest of his night was spent in fixing his shattered skull, Soul thought it was gratifying enough to have teased his meister to such an extent.

"Serves you right, creep." Maka said, fixing herself by the sink in the bathroom. She could see on the glass Soul, still dizzy and wrecked, cleaning up the table. He passed by the open door and for a moment they caught each other's eyes. Maka would've stuck out her tongue again if her mouth wasn't full of foam from brushing. She then just gave him the most murderous look she could make with that little face of hers, resulting in a rather childish display of a pout. Soul's toothy fangs exposed in an arrogant smirk were indication enough that it wasn't effective.

"Hahaha! Tiny tits!" he retorted.

"DIE!"

Unfortunately she didn't need to have a foam-free mouth to throw that bottle of shampoo straight through Soul's brain, causing devastation reaching to ancestral origins.

Evening of the following day...

"Hey, I'm bored. Can I come in? I promise I won't bother you."

"Um, sure."

Soul saw no trace of yesterday's aggravation on Maka's freshly bathed features. Earlier morning she was still in a bad mood, even after he made her favoured cheese omelette, even after he invited her to his room just to show how diligent he was at cleaning it, even after he offered to carry her bag, and even after offering a massage, which she refused with a dangerously thick book in hand, Maka was still mad. You don't have to be a genius to anger the girl, but Soul prides himself for last night's success if it was able to reach that far on her meter.

To placate this sulking girl all you needed was three consecutive exams from three difficult subjects which all of the students immediately dammed to hell without hesitation. All students, except for Maka and Ox. In regular situations, Stein wouldn't be giving an exam on account of quizzes prepared by Marie and Sid prior to the schedule posted in the faculty room. But just for the heck of it, the three decided to push their fun and burn some extra brain cells in their beloved students. And as far as they know, at least two of them wouldn't be complaining.

As a matter of fact, they couldn't ask for anything else. What's better than taking a test for Maka? Beating Ox's score. Better yet, actually seeing her weapon get a B+ in one of the tests, which Soul thought was a miracle in itself. Maka's first impression of course was that he cheated, but she wouldn't deny the feeling of pride at Soul's attempt to pass. The meagre grade was enough proof he wasn't able to pull any strings, considering also that with Prof. Stein proctoring, there wasn't even room to breath without him knowing it. True enough, Soul Eater actually passed a test without cheating or intending to. Indeed, today's events were enough to make Maka Albarn's day and forget the bountiful reasons to further attack her weapon.

Soul literally threw himself on Maka's bed as the girl continued her reading. Her pillow was a bit too hard, but he had no intention of sleeping there anyway. With arms further cushioning his head, he turned towards his meister who was deeply engrossed in another large book.

"What's so great about reading a book, Maka?" he asked as if he had never asked before.

Maka took a glance at him to see if he was reverting to annoyance mode again, but the obviously bored 14 year old lying on her bed didn't seem so.

"Well, for one thing, you learn a lot by taking on another person's point of view."

"Tch, you're such a nerd …"

The book plummeted on Soul's face before he could continue with that remark.

"It's good for a weapon too." Maka said, feeling some stress disappear with that assault.

"You don't say…" Soul had to gather his consciousness after that, praying as well that his nose won't be permanently disfigured.

He conditioned the bridge of his nose to make sure it won't be looking like a stick horribly snapped. Still lying on Maka's bed, he fidgeted on her sheets and placed his face flat on her brick of a pillow. Surprisingly, it was quite comfortable. The softy insides felt like it was hugging the frame of his head. Maka saw how he was rubbing his face on her pillow.

"I thought you said you weren't going to bother me." Maka in the middle of her reading.

Soul shifted his head to be able to see her frowning.

"Your pillow smells weird."

"Yeah? Well that's because I drool on that while I sleep." She said, hoping such a lie would spare her precious plushy from another person's face.

"Really? Would you mind if I drool on it too?"

"That's so gross, Soul. I wasn't even serious. Quit that, will you?"

She would've struck him again, but that might cause more bodily fluids too ooze from his fang-ridden face. Thinking about it, she realized Soul drools a lot compared to a normal person. What's even more curious is that it doesn't really make him look messy. Is it the teeth? With edgy molars like that he's bound to have some oral handicap. Maka gave up the thought. Soul doesn't actually drool without the involvement of some food or a soul to consume. Soul eating a soul, the pun made her eye twitch.

He was a little disappointed when Maka preferred the business of her book over him and his smothering her precious pillow. But not all antics are successful. He was too lazy to push it anyway, so he just turned to his side and resorted to watching Maka flip from one page to another.

Minutes flew by in comfortable silence between the two. Soul was well aware that his meister can go through a day just reading, at first he thought it was just her being smart, then he thoughts it was kind of cool, finally he decided she was just unreasonably crazy about literature. Between Soul's occasional yawns and some street activity outside, there was very little sound to perceive. That's why, as the boy took a good look at his busy meister, he had a lot to think about.

"Hey Maka…"

"Hmm?"

He had to study that hum, making sure she wasn't already pissed before he has even done anything. The book must've been a good one to put her in a tamed disposition. Her face seemed brighter too. He decided it was safe.

"Dancing's good for matching soul wavelengths, right?"

"Yep, so they say." she said, flipping through another page while beaming.

"What do you think kissing will do?"

That caused Maka to raise her head from the crevices of words she was absorbing and raise an eyebrow at Soul. There was hardly any thought in between those two questions he just posted, but she could tell the idea he was trying to form.

"I suppose it is a possibility. Some theories would suggest that the deeper the relationship the greater the soul resonance."

Soul shifted on the sheets to comfortably lay on his side with a hand supporting his head. Trust Maka to suddenly make the topic sound so boring. If only she wasn't such a know-it-all in her way of speaking, maybe she'd really be an interesting person. Sadly, oftentimes the only interesting thing about her is the strange, unknown dimension from which she is always able to pull a large, LARGE book.

"Wanna kiss?" Soul offered with a devilish grin that seemed to have accented the twisted side of him. If he was trying to look sweet it certainly wasn't working well with Maka.

She furrowed her eyebrows and stared at Soul with a blend of annoyance and disinterest at that offer.

"No way." She said, snapping back to her book.

"Why not?" Soul shot up without intending to, feeling a tug of insult inside for his lack of appeal.

"Think about it Soul," she began, "As far was we know, our soul's wavelengths match just fine. We don't need to go to some fanciful step like that, there's no point. Besides, the fact that we already know each other is enough to deepen our relationship."

"I guess you're right. And setting aside the fact that you really haven't reached two things: being a three star meister and puberty." He began laughing at the thought of that, but stopped shortly after Maka pummelled his face again with the spine of her book.

"Can't you take this a little more seriously, Soul?"

"Alright, humour me." he dared, recovering from the facial devastation, "What part of 'knowing each other' is supposed to deepen our relationship, thus improving our resonance?"

"Tell me this: why do you think I like reading books that much?" she asked, adjusting her chair so she's facing him on her bed.

"Because you're a nerdy, know-it-all meister with tiny-tits?" he said, inquired, commented, whatever… all that's certain is that he wouldn't be Soul if he gave even a half-decent answer. Of course, Maka knew well enough to expect that, so just as Soul is being true to his idiotic self, Maka did not hesitate to punctuate his creepy slash reasonably charming features with another thick collection of papers and wood.

"….owsh… becosh ye hav parenthall complesh and mish de wonsh deshent ash of a fother you had." Translation: ouch… because you have parental complex and you miss the once decent ass of a father you had.

"Ahem… ok, that's good." Maka dusted off the literary piece of arsenal and turned towards Soul on her seat, no longer feeling any bit of apprehension towards him. "Would you like to tell you why you don't like to use your real last name?"

There's this tiny area in Soul's head that deliberately shuns away any ounce of seriousness, save for when it involves Maka's safety. He looked at her now interested face, then turned the other way.

"I don't think I've ever told you that." He said, in a manner suggesting avoidance.

"You never had. 'Dwelling in the past ain't cool.' Isn't it that what you said? Despite of how much you care for your family, there are just some shadows you don't want following you."

Even Soul had to admit, he never knew Maka has seen that side of him. As Maka was giving her that gentle, well-meant smile he feels reserve specially for him, he couldn't help but give a descent one himself. Of course, that would also mean he has completely lost track of the argument at hand, thus forfeiting any bragging rights to her triumphant mister.

"You see, my poor, dim-witted weapon," she said, tapping the boy on the head in a way you'd pat a dog, "there's actually no point in any extracurricular exercise such as that."

Soul growled while Maka continued to pat him, and when she didn't stop after barring his fangs, he acted like the way he was being treated and tried to bite her hand. It was Maka's turn to rain laughter at him. Funny how refreshing a girl's laugh can be, especially when you're the cause of it. Soul's exact thoughts, unfortunately it was also his ego that got mutilated, owing to the superficial glee of his miester.

Then something about what Stein said before struck a bushel in his mischievous brain. As Maka was done with her fit and was slowly going back to the wonders of her book, Soul decided to pluck one of her strings which he knows leaves her vulnerable to a lot of attacks. He turned over on his side, head still resting on his arms, nose still wafting the mild, girly delight that is the scent of Maka's skin left on her bed.

"Oh well, I guess Stein's right." He said, sounding disappointed.

"Yeah, the professor often is."

Maka blinked a couple of times before registering the past discussion. She couldn't squeeze the crazy genius into it. Was he striking another point, pulling another prank, or doodling another façade? Whatever… She cautiously glanced at her weapon who, as if feeling the reprehensive mind-set, returned a look of his own.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, though unsure if she wanted to.

"He said you're smart, but too cautious for your own good."

"Did he now?" she stood up, and Soul was so sure he was bagging this. We'll clarify that after a few paragraphs. For now, as Maka placed both hands on her hips, already taking the bait, she carried the pride of an academician threatened by the unqualified remark of whom she believes must be the greatest asset of in the line of Lord Death.

"Yep… too bad, eh? He said you're impressive, but not that great. He was also babbling about the difference between a scholar and a true miester. I don't know, I wasn't really paying attention."

Soul loves Maka, so much in fact, but what he loves greater still are the little flaws that make her more lovable than she could bare to be loved for. Little flaws which he has learned also to twist and turn to his own advantage

"You're making that up!" Maka accused with a finger. Soul defended with an act that fully reflects his character. He yawned.

"Not that I'm admitting I'm a dimwit, Maka, but I don't think I'm smart enough to cook up something like that." He said while picking his nose.

He flicked that proud roll of something plucked from his nostrils then dared his miester with another toothy grin. This time, with the way Maka's helpless scowl grew redder with frustration, he could now take another step. He flipped himself up with an easy toss of his legs, and stood an arm's length away from her. The girl was slowly realizing how cleverly she was being pulled into what she felt like was a trap on one of Soul's jokes, but she couldn't just ignore her mentor's remarks. She carefully eyed the meagre presentation of Soul's half-smiling face and understood that perhaps he means no real harm, and by real we meant something that could cause her to dismantle his cranium.

Her considerate eyes landed on his lips, then grimaced when she saw his dimples.

"Kiss?" Soul provoked, and the fangs in that mouth almost frightened the poor girl.

"Ugh, will it hurt?"

She was clearly clueless, but Soul couldn't boast any better. All he could do was lick his lips in order to hide the fangs, and to soften her expectations. "Nah, you won't feel a thing." It somehow backfired; Maka perceived him to be some hungry, fluffy puppy… couldn't come up with a better description, sorry.

"Mhm, maybe I shouldn't!" Maka whined, crossing her arms on her chest and turning away from him.

Soul sighed with the excitement somehow dying now that Maka was once again playing the wuss. Was he really that scary looking? But she's gotta be used to him by now, right? He braved another step and huskily tempted his miester through a voice of lure.

"C'mon! You're not going to back away now, are you? Not when you could do something daring for once."

"Hey, I do daring stuff all the time with you whenever we're hunting Kishin eggs."

"Pft, lame! Those were like assignments. This time, you're the one whose bagging the big ball, you know, doing something no simple meister would have a chance to do."

He was getting more and more convincing, just as he was edging closer and closer to her. The thought of submitting to his whim crossed her mind, but she was still justifying an escape. What's so good about kissing your weapon? Maybe Kidd has ever done it? Or perhaps BlackStar.

"Yeah, and I would think Kidd had done it with his weapons as well. You know, considering how strong the three of them are."

"Ah! Quit getting in my head!" Maka pushed him away, but he has already grabbed on her shoulders, not that he intended to.

But we have to review the facts here: what would be the reason for the kiss? The original purpose was for the sake of resonance, and they both desperately tried to convince themselves of such. Soul just thought of toying with his miester, seeing her flustered and powerless against something she couldn't understand and have never experienced before. Maka wanted to shove up Stein's and everyone else's the fact that even the likes of her can do something stupid, scratch, daring for once.

He gave another chuckle while staring her down, and in certain cases of their day to day arguments, that would mean his win.

"Fine. But be gentle, ok? If I feel even a tiny bit of pain…"

"As far as I know Maka, no one has ever died because of a kiss."

"Just as no one has ever tried kissing a shark before!" Maka declared, angrily raising her head at him, "Can we just get it done already?"

Soul could ask for nothing else, especially with that tingly sensation of her moist breathing provoking him to indulge in the moment in a slower fashion. Although the pout was very much appreciated, he couldn't help but think she was less than prepared for it.

"Maybe we should sit down." Soul suggested, considering her and the situation rather expertly. Maka stomped her feet like a child and whined.

"Agh, what now?!"

"Well, I just don't think it would be a good idea to kiss while standing."

"Oh, for the love of- look, we're going to be using our mouths, Soul, not our legs. I'm pretty sure I won't get tired from kissing you."

"Hm… I don't know."

Maka felt annoyed at how contemplative he was being of the factors relevant to the situation. As for Soul, he wanted things to be perfectly staged, and not rushed. It's not everyday Maka gives herself, albeit unwillingly. Soul stared at the matress, soft and cushiony, then pointed it with his thumb. Before any recommendations could be made, Maka has already struck him square on the face with her fist.

"Any more bright ideas and you'd find yourself daring the pits of hell! Now, are we gonna kiss or not? Because I seriously want to get this over with and go back to my book."

"Fine, you asked for it!"

And so, ladies and gentlemen, without any further ado, our delightful teens kissed. The end. Not! No, it wasn't really a kiss: Soul just forced his puckered lips on Maka's unprepared ones. It was more like a bump, really, like you unintentionally hitting something. But having no experience what so ever, they thought it was over before it barely begun, and Soul withdrew with only 2 seconds of service time.

"There, how'd you like that?" Soul boasted. Like I said, no experience.

Maka blinked at him for a couple of times, before taking in any sensation, any feeling, any wonderful experience her heart could be telling her. Unfortunately, there was none. She scratched her head in curiosity. Well, she never wanted to participate in it in the first place, but it was somewhat ridiculous how fruitless this so called kiss is. Soul noticed her unimpressed, thought-absorbed countenance, and felt a small tug in his ego.

"Was that it? I don't feel any different." Maka said, tapping her torso and her chest to see if anything has changed.

Soul could not but have the same opinion. For all the effort it took to have Maka play with him, this was badly disappointing.

"Yeah, me neither. Maybe we did something wrong. Should we go again?" Soul offered, not even considering where he was coming from. And in such ease of resignation, Maka gave him a nod, which he did not find surprising.

"Maybe you should try going a bit slower, this time." Maka offered, which Soul acknowledged.

And slowly he did. Slowly… slowly… his head moving closer and closer to her.

"Erm… could you close your eyes, please?" Soul respectfully asked. Maka frowned at that request, and began to doubt his intentions again.

"What, and have you pull a smart one on me again? No way!" she strongly declined.

"Oh, cmon! Look, I'm gonna close my eyes too as soon as we begin to kiss, ok?" Soul said, hoping it would entice more trust on her part. Thankfully it did. After leaving a sceptical moan, she finally decided to close her eyes, and tilt her head upward.

"You better not be up to something, Soul Eater."

For some reason, reason unbeknownst to the weapon-boy, the sight of her anticipative, vulnerable sweetness was turning stuff inside him upside down. A weird, churning sensation was slowly building up, and he was so sure it was not an upset stomach. But he was too preoccupied with their activity to have to register those concerns. For now, his Maka was waiting. His… Maka… what the heck?

And slowly he did. This time landing on her lips more gently, more affectionate than the previous pathetic attempt. And it was longer… more moist somehow. Soul could feel saliva travelling down his chin. That was normal. Then he suddenly had the urge to hold her face. That was weird. Weirder still was that Maka didn't actually mind, or if she did, she hasn't brought out the book from the great abyss. He felt her lips return a slight pressure, an ever so delicate response that gave permission for him to shift to her upper lip. She responded again, this time her entire head moved forward, forcing him back. Soul's hands has absentmindedly captured the back of her head, and the curve of her slender neck, smooth and exposed to the boy's callous yet gentle hands. Tenderly he caressed her, not knowing if she would object. Moments passed and oxygen was in demand. She placed hands on his chest and pushed him gently.

It was a solid two minutes: certainly a breakthrough. But two questions popped up on both their heads: what happened and what were they doing?

He tried quickly to catch his breath which was lost, but seeing the flustered, messed up features of his panting partner, it was difficult not to be breathless. Despite this, the strong twitch on the side of his lips was overpowering him, and pretty soon he found himself in an uncontrollable smile which he could not explain. When Maka tilted her head to verify the reason, to which he replied a subtle 'thanks'.

"Thanks too, I guess."

The moment she opened her mouth to speak, a small red spot began to form on her lower lip. It was a tiny wound, placed there perhaps during the second round. And by the way she was smiling, Soul could tell she hasn't felt it yet. Might as well come clean.

"Um, Maka?"

"Yes Soul?" it was bewildering how sweet she sounded in that response, like anticipating something nice to come her way from him.

"Err… there's blood on your lip."

Maka blinked a couple of times, then rubbed her left thumb on said lip. There was indeed a wound there, and for what just transpired there was certainly no other culprit than the person who declared no harm but apparently had too much razors in his arsenal to guarantee anyone's safety. She frowned. He panicked. She pouted. He scratched his head. What, no book?

"I hate you."

Of course she didn't mean it. But that wasn't the point. A tantrum? A sulk? From a stubborn childish Maka that's normal, but expressing it in such a way, there must've been a grave disappointment mixed with trust that was betrayed. He wasn't supposed to hurt her, but now he did… well, technically bit her to be more precise. She didn't even feel a thing, anyway. So now it's turned to some sort of drama where Maka would act like a spoiled princess for the next 24 hours and he would have to bend heaven and hell to make it up to her. He will not see the end of it.

"Let me fix it."

"What am I, a clock?" she declared, licking her own lips.

"No, I mean, I'll heal it."

"How?"

"…well… um… instead of you licking it, why not let me?"

"No thanks, I can take care of myself."

She was about to turn away from the offer when he insisted it while pulling up her face to have a closer look.

"You don't want a taste of blood. Let me see that… hm.. it doesn't look that bad."

"So says the culprit."

"Darn it, I'm sorry, ok?" he really did felt bad. The last thing he would want was to have Maka regret ever playing along with him. "Will you please let me make it up?"

He began to beg which doesn't normally work save for the times when he wanted to look foolish. Remarkably, though, it did, and Maka offered her head with a lean and a tilt upwards. Soul gladly took the princess's frame and began to see where to aim the target. It was a good thing Maka didn't play Ms. Difficult now, otherwise the next two mornings would be full of displeasure.

The flesh was still bleeding, making it easy for Soul so know where to lick. A few seconds of resignation, his tongue finally made a land on that swollen amber-like lip of Maka. After a while, a gush of blood came again. He gave another lick. It was pointless now how he would give her a lick then look if it was done with, so he just proceeded to lick her repeatedly. He was surprised to feel her lip, once soft and delicate, now taking a firmer touch into it. Surprising still was the bleeding which didn't seem to stop.

"It's not working. I'm gonna try sucking on it."

"Mkay."

He didn't notice the haziness in her eyes, nor the drunkenness in her voice, completely uncharacteristic and completely un-considered. Nevertheless, he captured the entire bottom lip and began to suck. He then felt Maka's sudden gasp of air, which he didn't find surprising… because he thought it must've hurt. Or did it? Regardless, he suctioned the flesh over and over again, changing the angle of her head to equate the muscles on his neck. Soon, drool again began to crawl down his chin. This time, the same thing happened with Maka's. the slightly parted lips gave way for saliva to escape. It wasn't a bother for Soul… in fact he felt rather at ease for having Maka join him in that somewhat unnatural exhibition.

One question came in mind, though: was he enjoying it? How about her? If she was just playing along, or if it was only for the sake of countering Stein's opinion on her, she was being very cooperative. As for him, if it was just for the sake of fun, he was certainly feeling very serious.

Maka's sudden soft moan and her shy grasp on his shoulder suggested an alternative reality other than the one he thought they were in. The sound of helplessness from the very same lips he was consuming was, in a way, pleasurable, more so when despite the complaint suggestive in the increase of volume from her, she forced her head forward.

"Uhgnnn… Souuul."

That last call struck the boy like a jolt of lightning sending a sudden enlivening heat across his body. It was also at that moment that her knee began to buckle and give way, sending her falling toward her ready weapon, who took her by her slim waist.

Maka's eyes slowly opened, and the first thing she was able to perceive was that cute bridge of saliva connecting their soaked and seemingly unsatisfied, reddened lips. The bleeding has certainly stopped, but so did the memory of air, as they both heaved in and out for lack of its supply. The bridge snapped, and Soul fell to the conclusion on how awesome Maka looked flustered, drooling, smiling angelic, and completely out of breath… he just wasn't sure if awesome is indeed the right term. For now, what is even cooler was the fact that he now has his meister in his arms clinging on to him, and that is without a ready book to distort his life span.

"Told you… we should… have.. sat down… hah…." Soul tried desperately to raise a point.

When all she did was brighten up her smile, he knew there was no argument here. But he was a gentleman enough to clean her messy features with a sweep of his tongue on her chin to her lips.

"Mmm…" was that sweet sound returning from her, which was gratifying in itself. When he finished, he licked his own lips to appreciate the remains of the taste, much like what you would do after indulging in a dessert.

The only image of her taste in his head was ice-cream. He couldn't explain why, but it was ice-cream no doubt… vanilla to be more specific. The flavour was sweet, subtle, yet also demanding. It was obviously Maka's characteristic taste.

His miester tasted like vanilla.

As they sat there huddled close to each other on the floor, still recovering, still without clear reason, Maka noticed her weapon was somehow gathering some thoughts. He looked so pleased, smug even. And the movement of his jaw with the unnoticed continuous escape of saliva suggested he was involuntarily doing something with his tongue while completely immersed in thought. She was about to throw a set of questions as to what perversion he was entertaining in his head when she saw the once clear liquid creeping from his lips to his chin slowly get a red hue.

"Um, Soul?" she asked, first quizzical, then curious, and as that liquid's redness turned darker, she began to wonder if he has bitten more than he could chew. She left Soul into whatever fantasy he was indulging himself in, in the meantime, that weird effect this kiss has gotten her into, she has business. She brushed that trail of drool tainted with blood using her finger and put it in her mouth. Soul broke out of his trance, and blinked at the girl. She seemed busy analysing him for some reason.

"You're bleeding." She said.

Soul felt that strange, iron-like taste then grinned at Maka.

"Hehe! I bit my tongue."

"My turn?"

Soul didn't understand what could provoke such strange, childish nature from Maka, nor have he ever seen her wear such a… hungry look. To top it all, she drooling, which is normally his job. But school-drugged Maka Albarn with no other concentration than academics and whatever dim-witted priorities she has, behaving weird and giving herself into something else- Soul would not pass this chance.

"Show me your tongue." Maka asked.

The boy obliged, though part of him didn't really see the logic of it all. Of course, at that point, logic and reason had nothing to do with any of it. He lost track of when he stopped questioning his and Maka's motives and just went with what felt right… what felt good… what felt so damn good.

The fuzzy condensed air in Maka's room dampened his tongue with a weird sensation of moisture and unrest, a combination that somehow made the boy conscious of the situation. Maka stared at the unbehaved, wiggly thing, waiting for some attention. Soul's eyes were closed, and Maka, though she wanted to question why, felt like breaking a surprise to an expectant 4 year old. The boy clearly was looking forward to it, and as much as Maka would like to believe that she was doing it mainly to return the favour, she couldn't but let the excitement drive her, since it was so strong anyway. God knows where it came from, but there she went.

Soul was getting uneasy. It's not fun sitting in the vulnerable, especially when he has his own insecurities with how his mouth appears. He was about to complain when something warm came with his shivering tongue, something soft and wet, something tasty… something vanilla.

Maka was licking his tongue in a slow and dangerously timid fashion… dangerously, because you don't use chopsticks to eat ice-cream, specially when it's being fed to you. For obvious reasons, Maka was simply trying to, ahem, stop the bleeding. But as Soul felt so genuinely please with the sensation and with the taste, not to mention the addicting breath moistening his nose, he just had to open his eyes to sneak a peek at his meister's business. And wouldn't you know it, Maka was too busy to have her eye open, and her share of concentration left again her mouth to drool.

Was it safe to assume that Maka was enjoying herself? Well, after the licking turned into lapping, and the lapping turned into a messy fencing, and when everything else was damned to hell, and the excuse of, oh, it's not stopping, better suck on it, was scrapped, the two just went all out. It began when Maka, perhaps unsatisfied with how little progress she was having with the wound, began sucking on his tongue.

Soul knew he would be bashing Maka on how she stubbornly refused to do it on the bed, considering she actually broke from her stand. But when impatient Maka suddenly turned into a vacuum, sucking on Soul's tongue so strongly, he greatly regretted not having it his way. There was such domination of Maka, so much that their souls began to react… remarkably though, even with the slightly delightful pain, the effect was good. The resonance level was critically amplifying, and when Maka further added pressure on Soul's flesh, it was then he realized how powerful her soul was.

"Ughnnn…" Soul wanted to say something between 'stop' and 'more'. Again, he couldn't put it into words. He held on to her shoulder, refusing to admit that it was making him weak with pleasure, just as Maka must've felt when her leg first gave.

So much for the wound…

Reality snapped back into the two after Maka gave an abrupt stop. She seemed surprised, clearly flustered, and confused between panic and excitement. But then she had a good look at Soul's weakened, and apparently addicted, panting features. The great weapon, worn down and smug at the same time. Of course that doesn't mean Soul was completely wiped out, even when he had to lean at the side of Maka's bed to support himself. He mustered up the courage to smirk, not even minding the drool collapsing at the side of his face. Maka understood, and dove back at Soul.

This time, their tongues did most of the sound in the room, a sticky like voice in frictions of obvious aggression. Of course there were the occasional moans that one or both of them would release, but they were too focused on this 'exercise to even be bothered by it. The process went from their tongues wiggling around each other angrily, to their mouths masticating one another lips aggressively, and with the entire disregarded involvement of spit and sweat flickering all over the place.

But well, all good things have to come to an end… and so did the kiss after about a solid 1 hour of epic wetness from the two surprisingly unprofessional teens on the threshold between romance and denial, they finally gave in.

"Soul?" Maka began, recovering her strength on the familiar chest of her young weapon.

"Hm?" Soul responded, rubbing his face on Maka's hair. It was surprisingly soft, and he couldn't quite remember the last time he was this affectionate with a girl… save for Blair's lustful approaches, which were never taken seriously.

"Do you think our souls will be resonating better now?"

It was the last thought in Soul's mind. It scared him at some point, because it would be the first time he was not considering getting stronger. Perhaps, since in the past, it always involved Maka's safety at some point. Now, it doesn't really matter. What mattered was… Maka.

He further nuzzled his face on her brown strands and lazily responded… "Mhm…"

Maka didn't seem pleased with that, though she herself didn't actually had the urge to further push the thought. Something tingly inside her… something warm… it made her sweat, and made her want to trail stuff on his chest, which she so did gently without the use of mind.

"Soul…" it was a whine, and Soul got a little nervous now that Maka was pushing the thought which seemed in no way connected to this.

"Maka, I gotta tell you something… erm.. before you pull out your book." He retracted in defence since Mak caught his stubborn tone of voice and sharpened up his voice.

"…it's not so much for the resonance that I wanted to kiss you."

"Then what was it for?" Maka asked, disappointed and yet excited at the same time.

"…ugh… I don't really know… my chest just hurt when I suddenly thought of it." Soul said, lost for words, for reason, and for possible shield against that weird sensation Maka's closeness was giving him… its comfort, its warmth, its scent, it's Maka-ness.

"It did?" Maka softly raked his chest with her fingers, making Soul sheepish from embarrassment.

"Y-yeah… then, I sort of, well, wanted to make fun of you."

"Hmp?"

Her puffed up cheek seemed cute… but the thought of a book materializing out of nowhere took all that image away… so he had to continue…

"..but-but… let me explain… then… it suddenly… felt good."

"Good?" Maka took steps back… not sure how to understand it… not sure whether she wanted to understand it… but feeling like she had to.

"Good... no Maka, not just good."

Before Maka could crawl further back, Soul gently placed a hand behind her neck and pulled her. And this time, the kiss was strange, it was deeper… it was warmer… and felt more intense, even without the use of tongue. She could not understand why.

"…it was awesome…"

"But why?"

"Don't know… but… I think…" he made sure she would not be escaping, and would not be missing on that ridiculous risk of making himself vulnerable to her… more vulnerable than how he would've felt in the hands of a kishin half-alive.

He placed their foreheads together, and their lips close enough to brush, but far enough to breath and to speak.

"…Maka… I'm in love with you."

the end... for now...