Confusion was what first overwhelmed Maka when she woke up the next morning. Well, that was a lie, the first thing she felt was the crick in her neck and the soreness of muscles she hadn't used in years but she was used to that. Training and countless battles have made that a customary morning ritual throughout most of her life.

But in the haziness of regained consciousness she couldn't recall what town she had crashed in for the night and whether or not she had recovered Kid's latest message. Cracking her eye open she saw the fire place and the memories of what had transpired the previous day flooded back to her in a rush.

Now fully awake, Maka sat up and frantically looked around the room. Her eyes stopped on a sleeping Soul and she let out a sigh in relief when she noticed the slight rise and fall of his chest.

Regardless of what she did now, it would yield a negative outcome.

She could leave before he woke, brace Mirkwood and the forest on her own and possibly become so turned around that she died a slow painful death, or she could sit her until wait until he wakes up and bear with the awkwardness until one of them made a lame excuse for her to leave.

Groaning she laid back down on the cot which, now that she could see it in the daylight, was more of a glorified chair. In fact, the whole dwelling looked different in the daylight. Last night she could have sworn his home was dark and cave-like but she had failed to notice the beautiful, tall gothic windows with stained glass panels at their peaks. From the corner of her eye, she could see a separate room with pots and pans. Her stomach ached at the thought of food, she was extremely hungry. All of her food was in her bag that those assholes trashed and left behind at the river.

Hunger getting the best of her, Maka stood up and tip-toed toward the kitchen when a moan of pain stopped her in her tracks. Turning around toward the source, Soul had his hand covering his face with his jaw clenched, baring his teeth.

"How are you feeling?" Maka asked, already knowing the answer.

"It's not that bad." He forced out but Maka wasn't fooled.

"Oh really? Is that why you're clenching?" She knew this wasn't the time get smart with him but she honestly couldn't help herself. Last night she thought she broke through his walls when he let himself be vulnerable in front of her but now he might as well be the same bastard who picked a fight with her.

"Just waking up." He attempted to sound drowsy, he even tried to feign a yawn.

So that's how he wanted to be. Two could play that game.

"Uh-huh, so I was going to wash off but I couldn't figure out how the facet works."

"You just turn the handle-"

"Yeah I tried that but I just couldn't get it. Could you show me?" He cracked an eye to look at her incredulously.

"You want me to turn the handle for you." Maka tried to give him her best innocent, doe-eyed expression as she nodded; he had to see through her ruse. But just like her, he was too stubborn to admit defeat.

"Fine." He grumbled as he attempted to try to sit up to move out of bed.

He tried. He honestly tried. And if he wasn't so obviously in pain, Maka would have found his floundering humorous.

"Hey." She had seen enough. Placing one hand on his shoulder and the other on his back she helped maneuver him to a sitting position before arranging his pillows behind him so he could relax.

"I hate this." Soul sighed.

"You can't take care of yourself while you heal." He attempted to interject but her glare shut him up. "There's no question about it. Do have anyone that take care of you until you're vertical again?"

"There's my brother but there's no way I could ever mention I got into a fight and directed a human back to Mirkwood, I could get banished."

"Just have a friend cover for you, say that you guys got in a fight with some big bad humans and they carried you back." It was a simple and probable solution. At least that's what Maka thought.

"I'm not exactly a people person."

"You mean you don't have any friends?"

Maka noticed his eyes clouded over with some unreadable emotion as he simply muttered, "No."

You could stay and help him, her conscious whispered. But she couldn't waste any more time. Kid and the Thompson sisters would be on the move again making her fall weeks behind from reunion. This was her mission and she couldn't fail.

Alternately, she was gambling her life away if he couldn't lead her through the forest, and she still hadn't asked her pressing questions about elf culture and the old world.

Not to mention she couldn't leave him like this. He was pathetic and couldn't fend for himself. If she wasn't there to help, he would either die from dehydration or from bleeding out while moving around.

She bit her lip before making her final choice.

"Alright here's this thing." She propositioned. "I will stay and help you while you recover if," she emphasized. "If you tell me all about the elves and the lost history of the world prior to the uprising of men."

Soul stared at her in shock.

"That's ridiculous." He was kind of a lone wolf, and introvert; basically, the idea of having someone else constantly present sounded worse than-well, bleeding out in the middle of the forest.

"If anything it's plausible. I can't leave this forest without you or I'll die and I can't stay anywhere else in this place because I'm a human and- based off of what you've told me- that means they will try to kill me. So fine, don't let me help you but I'm staying."

If he could, Soul would hang his head in frustration, knowing how right she was, but he was too stiff in pain. He couldn't even sit up in bed without help nonetheless get out of bed and fend for himself.

"So you want to know about elves?" he relented, looking up to catch her excited smile.

"And the old world." She teased but her tone was void of the threat and callousness it once held.

"I guess I owe you that much for saving my life."

She offered him a half smile, before her stomach let out a loud grumble.

"Well, I don't know about you but I'm starving. Do you have anything to eat?"

"I just restocked a few days ago, should be plenty."

"Hm…"

Soul nearly jumped when she reached out and touched his face.

"Nope," she affirmed dropping her hand. "No fever, that means you still don't have an infection which is good." And with that she marched her way into the kitchen to finally eat.

As soon as she disappeared, Soul reached up and placed his hand where hers had been moments ago. Her touch was odd, he had briefly noticed it last night as well. It brought him an odd sense of warmth and a few other things he just couldn't put his finger on. He didn't like it- but at the same time, he wanted it.

"*"

Over the next few days Maka waited on Soul hand and foot. She simmered down vegetables to make hot broth, ground up an herbal remedy that countered the pain tremendously, and kept his living quarters tidy.

Soul was able to open up to Maka almost effortlessly and was actually enjoying their conversation if only for her wide-eyed reaction to the simple questions she asked.

"So what do Elves…do?"

"Well, for work, we typically either go into three different branches of work. Defense, which is what I do, typically consists of fighting potential intruders and enemies, supplying our lines with functioning and innovative equipment, and maintaining the cloaking spell. Then there's Medical which deals with sickness, injury, prevention, nutrition, and obstetrics. Lastly there's commercial which deals with the maintenance of town, store keepers, suppliers, and the like."

Maka nodded holding on to every words as if he was explaining the meaning of life.

"But what do you do for fun?"

"Many elves enjoy playing music, some enjoy painting and sculpture-"

"But what do you do?" Soul scratched his head in embarrassment.

"I play the piano."

Of course this opened the door for more personal questions.

"Do you have a family?" She asked while redressing his wound.

"I have a father and a brother." The answer was guarder, he knew what her naturally inquisitive nature would have her ask next.

"…Do elves not have mothers?" And there it was.

"They do. Elven families hold the same dynamic that human families do. My mother, returned to Valinor shortly after my birth. I don't even remember her, I never even received a straight answer about why she left." Soul reported almost mechanically.

Maka finished wrapping and dropped her hands from his chest, avoiding all contact sensing that she may have toed an emotional line. She then tried to back step to a more generic question.

"Where's Valinor, is that where you all come from?"

"It's a little hard to explain but for all intents and purposes, elves are immortal. We may still die from disease or a mortal wound but we will never perish from old age alone. When we tire of life we transcend to Valinor and live in the immortal lands."

"Wait- you guys are actually immortal? I thought that was just folklore!" she cried out gleefully, a full and brilliant smile spread across her face with a twinkle in her eye that made Soul's heart thud against his chest. Her gasp broke him out from her spell.

"How old are you?"

"Guess."

"80" she guessed excitedly.

"Pffft." Soul scoffed. He wasn't some prepubescent child.

"Higher?" He nodded.

"Um…" she pondered worrying her lip between her teeth. "100 years?"

"Maka, I am six hundred and seventy five years old."

Her jaw dropped and he was pretty sure she had stopped breathing.

"Well, fuck."

Now she had been with him for five days and they had fallen into a comfortable co-inhabitance. While he rested she would read one of the few English books he owned next to the open windows overlooking the forest.

Occasionally she would gaze out the window and on occasion, he would gaze at her.

He hadn't noticed but Maka was watching him too. As he slept, she would smile at the peaceful, soft expression on his face. She redressed his wound more than needed just to have an excuse be near him, to touch him.

She had never felt this way before. Her only friends were the Kid, Liz, and Patti and she never needed such physical proximity to them. In fact, she hadn't thought about her mission since she decided to help Soul get back on his feet.

She didn't like this, this wasn't like her. She was Maka Albarn, fierce, ruthless, and determined; not some love-sick puppy who—love?

She flushed at the thought, digging her nose into her book.

She had never even had a crush surely she wasn't in love with such an arrogant ass.

But he wasn't that, really. It was merely his front, what he put up to keep others out. Slowly she had been crumbling his façade, finding a friend underneath. Yeah, a friend, that's what he was becoming.

Surely this brief infatuation would pass, right?

"Hey Maka," Soul called out breaking her free from her mental rant. Sitting up ramrod straight, Soul noticed a slight blush upon her cheeks. "Uh… you okay?"

"Fine!" She interjected quickly, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I was just wondering why you were in the middle of the forest when we first met, it's quite a ways from Morte."

This was the first time that he had asked her a personal question about her life beyond these walls. He knew little things like her name, that she was smart, caring, strong, and cunning and that she was a warrior from Morte but that was about it.

"I'm out exploring the world, trying to gain as much knowledge as possible." He gave her a doubtful glance at her bogus answer causing her to sigh in defeat.

"I guess ever since I stopped being a warrior, life in Morte had grown stale. I had exhausted my resources and had grown bored and restless. Then, my best friend's dad tried to sell her off to some rapist-murderer. She ran away, taking her sister with her only leaving a note behind for our other friend, Kid.

Eventually, Kid sought after them and left me a note explaining his plan to find Liz and Patti and start a new life somewhere else. He explained how he would leave notes behind in each town if I choose to follow them."

"So you're searching for your friends?" She nodded solemnly.

"When they all left, I officially had nothing left in Morte."

Soul could tell that deciding to up and leave her home town had been hard.

"My only friend left too." He whispered, empathizing with her pain. "Tsubaki and I had been friends since we were only children. Besides my brother, she was the only person I could talk to. Recently, she ran off and married some ostentatious dwarf-prisoner and because she freed him, she is now banished too."

"Why don't you go after her, then?" Maka wondered aloud. If Tsubaki was that important in his life, it would only make sense to leave with her.

"She left before telling me. By the time I got her note, she was long gone. She still writes to me, though, but it's just not the same as having her here."

"Are you in love with her?" It sure sounded like it! The unwarranted jealously bubbling inside Maka showing through.

Soul simply laughed at the irony. Here he had been questioning the same thing for weeks but now he knew it was further from the truth.

"Not at all." His soft eyes met hers. "Besides, if I had run after, I wouldn't know the joy of your obnoxious presence."

She scoffed in mock offense.

"Well maybe if you did, I wouldn't have lost my books, my maps, my compass…" she rambled on, the humor still evident in her voice.

"Are you saying you regret meeting me?"

Maka froze at the serious turn this had taken.

"Well, I regret dealing with those imbeciles and I regret you getting hurt but I-" she paused trying to keep the anxious tremor out of her voice. "I do not regret saving you and I do not regret the time spent with you, Soul." She gave him a small smile. "I've learned a lot." She added for good measure.

"I don't think I've thanked you enough for what you've done for me, even if it is partially because you're trapped here until I get better. Regardless, I've enjoyed my time with you also."

His gaze sought her soul and she felt her breath hitch. He may be on the other side of the room, but at this moment, as they held each other's gaze, she felt like he was so close to her, lighting her heart on fire.

Maka started to blush and it made Soul's heart pound against his chest in that peculiar way again. This was all very strange. He hadn't let anyone in like this since Tsubaki yet it felt completely different. He felt more vulnerable and more involved. He was starting to care deeply for this woman and he had only known her less than a week.

Is this love? Some part of him in the back of his mind wondered. He highly doubted it. Him in love with a human, especially such a crass and annoying human, it was ridiculous. These emotions were just a result of the lack of affection since Tsubaki's departure. He had gone so long without camaraderie that now his heart was on overdrive.

He couldn't be in love with a human. He wouldn't allow it.

Suddenly, there was a loud banging at the door and Maka jumped up in fear.

"Get under the bed." he whispered and she obeyed instantly. "Mani naa ta?" Soul called out.

"It's Weslyn, may I come in?" Wes called from outside the door.

Crap. Soul wasn't sure how to explain any of this to Wes. "I mean yeah, I guess." And just like that the door swung up and there was his brother gazing down at him in confusion.

"Soularis, what happened? Are you ill?" Soul simply shook his head desperately trying to think of some excuse for his injury.

"I-uh-I think I broke a rib." He muttered out lamely. Soul knew Wes and Wes liked detail, a lot of detail.

"From what?" He asked incredulously. "Soularis, I swear if you got into another fight that did not involve training I will-"

"I fell out of a tree!" Soul interjected. Wes sighed and hung his head.

"You were thinking up in a tree again?" He could tell his brother was still concerned but for a whole other reason now.

"Yes, but not for what you think. Actually, I think the fall has knocked some clarity into me." He wasn't completely lying, he had reached some clarity about his feelings toward Tsubaki and love but it was the sprightly blonde under his bed that showed him the light.

"Good." Wes smiled in relief. "I guess that's why you haven't been training with the Elite swordsman for the past week, huh? And here I was thinking that you were deliberately shirking your duties." Teasingly he mused Souls hair.

"Auta miqula orqu." Soul grumbled in frustration.

"Woah there little brother!" Wes chuckled in shock. "Save some of that anger for the battle field. Now how are you getting by, can you take care of yourself, do you need help?"

"I'm getting by alright, if you could just have the market deliver a shipment of food in a few days, that would help a lot. You know, stairs and stuff…"

"I'll see what I can do." Wes started making his way to the door but turned back for a brief moment.

"You know I'm really proud of you for getting back out there after what happened five years ago. I know how hard it is, how easily you lose control and shut down, but I hear you've powered through it. I just, it means a lot and I know Raedlyn would be proud too."

With that, Wes turned back around and resumed his cheerful manner. "I'll be back in a few days to check on you, brother. Feel better!" The door slammed behind him and the dwelling fell uncomfortably quiet.

Maka slowly crawled out from under the bed and sat down upon it.

"So that's your brother." Soul nodded, his mind somewhere else –she could tell- his eyes gave him away.

"He seems nice, and caring." When Soul didn't respond she stood up and sauntered off to the kitchen. "I'm going to fix us something for dinner before the sun goes down."

The remainder of the evening had the same awkward silence filling the air. Maka would try and try to bring up light hearted conversation but he would only nod or flat out ignore her. Eventually she got frustrated and gave up.

By the time they finished their pin-drop silent meal, the sun had set and only the fireplace gave off any light.

Maka couldn't help but replay Wes' last words in her head over and over again. What did any of that mean?

Later as she checked the wound's stitching and applied oils and herbs, she took her chance.

"Soul?" she stopped her work and looked up at him. He simply cocked one of his eyebrows at her.

"Earlier, what did he mean—I mean-" she stuttered suddenly nervous to ask him such a personal question. "What happened five years ago?"

"Don't." Was his flat response. His eyes empty and void of emotion.

"Sorry." She whispered out and quickly tried to redress the wound.

Soul couldn't ignore her flinch as he snapped at her or how her nimble, expert hands now fumbled as she attempted to bandage him.

"It's okay, it's just hard to talk about."

"We all have our own demons that haunt us." Maka relaxed and her hands stilled, effortlessly wrapping once again.

"What's yours?" Something about her having a secret was thrilling to him.

"I'll tell if you tell." She bargained, putting the excess bandages away.

"Fine." Soul caved and patted the spot next to him on the bed.

Once she had settled he let out a nervous sigh and turned toward her slightly.

"I have never discussed this with anyone. Not Tsubaki, not Wes, no one." Maka could tell his nerves were erratic. She reached out and grabbed his trembling hands.

"It's okay." She comforted, rubbing circles on his knuckles with her thumbs.

"Five years ago, a group of extremely strong and armed men were able to breach the surrounding area of Mirkwood. My father, the Head Elf, sent in the Elite Line to wipe them out forthright. At the time I was one of the most decorated swordsmen in all of Mirkwood and was in charge of leading the front lines in for a surprise attack. But it all completely back fired." Soul paused to gulp, his memories getting the best of him.

"They were uh, they were counting on our attack and knew how to counter and get the upper hand. There- there was so much blood. The air reeked of death, I was covered in blood that was not my own and the cries- I can still hear the cries as I go to sleep each night. So many people calling my name, begging for help, for mercy. I watched-"

He was starting to lose it but Maka squeezed his hands reassuringly. "I held my brother's husband as he took his last breaths and I watched as the light left his eyes."

His lip trembled but he was still in control. "Out of the hundreds of swordsman and archers that fought, only 27 survived. Some survivors went to Valinor to deal with the grief, a few have left Mirkwood. Most of us just act like it never happened and continue on with our daily life." He squeezed Maka's hand back reassuringly.

"I haven't been able to fight properly since that day. Every time I try to spar I lose myself to the memories and panic, lash out and try to kill everyone surrounding me." Soul placed their hands on his chest, right over his injury. "The only reason I even have this is because I completely shut down and gave them the perfect opportunity to kill me."

The weary elf looked up to meet Maka's eyes for the first time and was shocked to see that she was crying.

"When I was nineteen," Her voice trembled with emotion. "I was leading a scouting mission to check on the neighboring towns and to ensure Morte's security." She sniffed, and squeezed his hands hard. "We were so close, so close to returning home with new riches and alliances but then it happened. We were ambushed by lingering orcs. They ruthlessly massacred everyone in sight. I could barely keep them off of myself, not to mention the 50 others! The smell of blood," She empathized "Is something I'll never be able to forget. It's such a gaging, death filled scent." He nodded in agreement.

"Only 20 of us survived and- and the worst part," her voice cracking, a fresh wave of emotion sweeping over her "the worst part was that I hadn't realized my mother d-died until we were doing the body count." She sobbed dropping his hands to cover her face.

Soul's heart broke at the sight. She was crumpled into herself and her sobs only became more violent. Reaching out he pulled her into his arms and held onto her tightly.

"I am responsible for the deaths of 30 wonderful people, of my own mother!" She cried out and hugged him back like a life line. He let tears of his own slide down his face for his regrets and blame, for the people he watched die and for their loved ones who still grieve.

"I couldn't deal with it," she spoke into his shoulder after her sobs had mostly subsided. "I couldn't even look at myself in the mirror so I ended up resigning, dropping my position as commander and gave up on being a warrior. I loved combat but I realized that it can only bring pain."

They continued to hold onto each other long past words were spoken as if they found some security in the other's experience that helped alleviate their own pain.

Eventually, with her head resting in the crook of his neck, Maka drifted to sleep. Soul, however was wide awake.

Having her so close, with his arms wrapped around her and his fingers idly running through her hair, he was intoxicated by her warmth, her scent of cedar. His heart swelled and he swallowed thickly.

Soul knew. He knew without a doubt that he was in love with her, truly and deeply, and he couldn't fight it anymore. Holding her made his heart ache and he cherished every second, she felt like home and he never wanted to let her go.

At last he had found his one true love, he had found his soul mate.