Soul gave a half smile down at her, leaning down. Maka stared into his dark red eyes as he lowered a callused hand to her, his palm dry and soft. "Hey," he greeted. Maka cocked her head, taking his hand. He yanked her up to her feet, and they stood there for a moment in silence. Maka blinked, squinting slightly.

"Soul?" She said again. Soul raised an eyebrow, smiling slightly.

"Yes?" He said, mocking her confused tone.

"Did you come with me?"

"You're such an idiot," he laughed, nestling her head. She furrowed her eyebrows at him. "Come on," He said. "It's going to start raining soon-" Soul was interrupted by a bright flash of lightning, immediately followed by a crackle of thunder that echoed and bounced off the buildings. Maka leaned down and grabbed her book, then swung her purse over her shoulder and across her body. She didn't need to be told twice. Soul walked with her out from under the tree and made their way home, hurrying to avoid being stuck in a sudden downpour.

They walked together, keeping pace with each other. They would naturally speed up and slow down with one another, without having to communicate verbally. They didn't even need to look at each other. That was one thing that they had developed over the years of being partners.; they could know what the other was thinking without having to be told. But that was crucial to being weapon and meister- in order to work together, they needed to be able to understand each other. It had brought them closer together, but sometimes they got into heated arguments over the littlest things; sometimes it was over fighting techniques, other times it was over strategies. Sometimes it was even over who last did the dishes. But despite everything, neither one of them could deny that they needed each other. Even if they sometimes hated each other, they still cared about one another. Neither one of them needed to say it, because they both knew it.

"What were you doing out here?" Maka asked, despite knowing full well why he had come to the park. She just needed the silence to be broken between them. It was a relatively long walk home, and she hated walking with him when they didn't have anything to talk about. She felt anxious whenever they walked in silence.

"I planned to invite Black Star to play basketball with me," he explained, motioning to the ball that rested on his hip. "But he was sleeping in."

"Of course he was," Maka rolled her eyes. "What else would you expect from him? He's rarely up early."

"I suppose," Soul sighed. "I was just desperate for something to do." Maka turned to him, raising an eyebrow.

"I would've stayed to wait for you, but you were asleep," Maka explained. "I didn't know how long you'd be sleeping in." Her cheeks grew red from embarrassment. "I don't even know when you got to the park. I must have fallen asleep a couple minutes after I started reading."

"You always fall asleep under that damn tree," Soul laughed. "You did it just the other day!" The air between them grew tense at Soul's mention of Maka's sleeping episode just a couple days ago. Maka had had a nightmare, and Soul had comforted her. He'd grabbed her hand and hugged her. He still remembered feeling her heart beat against his own chest, and smelling the collar of her shirt as they hugged. She had smelled like the fresh cut grass, and she smelled warm from the sun. He breathed slowly, trying to push the thought out of his head. He glanced at Maka out of the corner of his eye. She looked uncomfortable, and her face was contorted in embarrassment. Her cheeks were turning a light shade of pink. He could tell she was thinking about it too.

"Sorry," Soul finally muttered. "I shouldn't have brought it up." Maka felt her face grow even hotter, if that was physically possible. Was it obvious that she was embarrassed? She shook her head, looking down at her feet as they walked.

"No, it's fine. I was careless," She laughed half-heartedly, trying to break the tension between them that was as thick as honey. Her heart felt like it was pounding out of her chest, even though it was beating normally. Her breath felt shallow and borderline ragged. "I don't know what's wrong with me lately," she breathed shakily. "I've been sleeping at least fourteen hours a day... I'm so tired all of the time." She brought her hand to her cheek, trying to get ahold of herself.

"You're fine," Soul said gently, bouncing the ball as they strolled. "I talked to Stein about it the other day; you're probably just exhausted. The battle left you hurt and beat-up, and you way over-exerted yourself. Your body's just recovering." Maka looked up from her feet at him.

"You talked to Stein?" She asked. "What- when did you do that?"

"Hm?" Soul looked down at her. He glanced up, thinking. "Jeez, I don't know... I guess it must have been a couple days after Asura was defeated."

"Why'd you talk to Stein?"" Maka stopped walking, looking at Soul. "Were you... Worried about me?" Soul stopped in his tracks, turning towards her. He sighed, closing his eyes. He knew he shouldn't have brought it up; now she'd know. He took a breath. Well, he thought. I might as well tell her the truth.

"Of course I was." Soul said quietly. Maka was silent for a while, looking at Soul with a confused expression. Suddenly, she turned around and continued walking. "Wait-" Soul stuttered. "You're not going to say anything?" His mouth was agape. He knew she might react in a strange way, but he didn't think she would not react at all. It caught him off guard.

"Nothing needs to be said," Maka stated bluntly. She didn't sound irritated or embarrassed, she just sounded like she was having a normal conversation with her weapon. "I was just curious." Their apartment appeared around the corner, and they climbed the steps as train slowly began to drizzle from the sky. Maka twisted the key in the lock and dashed inside while Soul leisurely made his way up to the door. Maka quickly went into her room and closed the door behind her. Her heart was pounding in her throat, her hands were shaking. Her face felt steaming hot, and her breath was shaky and slow. She covered her mouth, leaned against the door, and closed her eyes tightly as she heard Soul walk in. Maka's heart thumped against her rib cage.

There's that feeling again, she thought to herself. It was a feeling in the pit of her stomach that had been in the back of her mind for a couple weeks, but the more time they started spending together while classes were canceled, the closer they got. Maka had always had a deep connection with Soul, and she thought of him as her best friend. But lately, these feelings have... Developed into something else. Something more than just a feeling of trust. But what was the difference between this emotion and the one she first had? The first one was more happiness. This one was just nervous. But it was a good nervous; it was like a desire for something more than a hug. What was it? What did she want from him? She asked herself these questions everyday, but she knew the answer regardless. Of course she knew; she just didn't want to admit it to herself.

She wanted him- all of him. She wanted to be with him

She heard Soul's footsteps tap across the hall, getting closer to her room. He knocked lightly on her white, wooden door.

"Maka?" His voice muffled through the barricade. "What're you doing?"

"Just- um, I'm just-" She stuttered with her words, even her mouth was shaking from nerves. "I just wanted to change." She pressed her back against the door. Soul was quiet outside, until finally he just replied with a slow and confused "okay." She heard his steps grow quieter as he head for the living room, and heard his body flop onto the sofa. Maka let out a sigh as her body slid down the door, and she sat on the floor. She hugged her knees to her chest and rested her forehead on top of her knees. What a great excuse, she thought sarcastically to herself. I'm such an idiot.

Soul laid on his back, his hands folded behind his head. He stared up at the ceiling, losing himself in thought. Now she's pissed, he thought. She probably was irritated at him butting into Maka's personal business, and he should have seen it coming. He didn't blame her for being uncomfortable; she seemed to be kind of distant lately, especially after that one afternoon- when she had that nightmare. Soul felt like he probably stepped out of line; Maka like to have her personal space kept personal. He felt like he was intruding on her, and he felt bad. Now she was in her bedroom, probably distraught.

And she was- but not in the way Soul thought. She held her hands over her temples, staring at her floor, her knees against her chest. She felt like she was losing her mind again. All this confusion and complication over a guy- and a guy she's known for years. It was stupid. She was stupid- at least she felt incredibly stupid. And she was sure Soul thought she was.

Maka breathed slowly, using the door as support to help her stand. She padded over to her dresser to change, the floor creaking quietly beneath her feet. She glanced out her window, seeing the rain pound on the street and neighboring buildings. Had they been out much longer, they probably would've gotten caught in the rain. Maka didn't want to think about the awkwardness that kind of situation would bring.