Maka stood in the kitchen cooking their dinner. Soul was sprawled out on the couch, their assignment book draped over his face.
"Hey, Soul? Can I ask you a question?" Maka called out from the kitchen. A mumbled sound that sounded affirmative drifted out of the living room. Maka took a deep breath. "Did my dad say something to you? You seemed… upset… earlier when you saw him at the basketball court."
There was a small crash, and Maka stuck her head around the corner to look into the living room. The book had fallen from Soul's face, and the teen was sitting upright on the couch now, his head in his hands. He jerked when he felt Maka's hand touch his shoulder.
"You know you can tell me whatever it was that he said. It's not like it matters anyway. Papa may be a death scythe, but it's not like he can do anything." Maka said, smiling.
"Maka, your old man didn't do or say anything to me." Soul said, collapsing back against the couch and propping his feet up.
"Was it Ms. Marie then?"
Soul just gave a sarcastic laugh. "You mean Ms. Marie, the only teacher known for destroying a toilet because it might cheat on her? Naw, I'd be dead if she'd been mad at me."
Maka giggled a bit. "Yeah, and if she didn't kill you, Professor Stein definitely would!" She leaned over the couch to look down at him and Soul cracked one eye open to glance up at her.
"Yeah?"
"Soul, you're hiding something from me. You know you can tell me about anything that's bothering you, right?"
Soul let out a huff of air. "Nothing's bothering a cool guy like me." Maka just stared down at him and Soul shrugged. "Is that dinner I smell burning?"
"Oh, no!" Maka fled back to the kitchen, grabbing the boiling pot of pasta off the stove. "It's ruined!"
"You're just trying to get out of your turn to cook." Soul called from the living room. "That's just uncool, Maka."
"Well, we're just going to have to order in today. Pizza?" She asked, leaning over the couch again.
"Whatever is cool. I'm going to sleep until it gets here." Soul's eyes slid closed. Maka just rolled hers, and retrieved a phone to order.
Soul was asleep when the pizza arrived. Maka carried it into the kitchen, grabbing a few pieces before retreating to her room. 'If he's going to be so stubborn about why he didn't sleep well last night, I'll just let him sleep now. He can eat when he wakes up.'
Maka sat down at her desk with one of her books open in front of her and slowly ate her dinner while she read. She finished, and took her plate back into the kitchen, throwing it away before grabbing a soda from the fridge. Soul was still asleep on the couch. Maka glanced at the clock and saw that she had actually spent almost two hours wrapped up in her book.
Sighing, the teen walked over to the couch to wake Soul and make him eat before crashing herself. The words died on her lips.
Soul's face was contorted in pain, and his right hand darted out, grabbing her wrist. She was pulled onto the couch, Soul wrapping his arms around her tightly, tears streaking down the boy's face. Maka held perfectly still.
'If he wakes too fast, he could sprout a blade!' She thought, panic showing on her face at the thought of one of Soul's blades impaling her.
"I'm so sorry, Maka…" The boy's whisper caught her attention. For a split second, Maka thought that Soul was awake. She looked up into his face and realized that he wasn't. "I'm so sorry I got you killed…" His voice was miserable.
Maka didn't move, she lay there until Soul's arms relaxed and he drifted into a deeper, dreamless sleep. Carefully, the girl extricated herself from Soul's grip; a blush spread across her cheeks. She went to the bathroom, washed her face, and changed for sleep.
Maka walked back to the living room after she had finished and stood looking at Soul for a second. Tentatively she reached out to tap his shoulder, and then shoved him a bit when he didn't wake up.
"Come on, Soul, wake up!" She poked him in the cheek and then slipped her finger into his mouth to pull his cheek and lips away from his teeth. He woke up pretty fast, Maka stumbling back giggling.
"About time that you woke up! The pizza's cold!" Soul just looked at her blankly. "You know, dinner?"
"Yeah, thanks." Soul stood up and walked into the kitchen, grabbing a slice. Maka passed him as she went to her bedroom.
"Good night, Soul." She called over her shoulder.
"Night." He mumbled through the pizza.
A/N: I don't own Soul Eater.
