"Papà, Papà, Papà, Papà, Papà, Papà, Papà, Papà, Papà, Papà, Papà…"

Soul groaned into his pillow before lifting his head to eye the small girl whom was tugging on his sheets. Amara was eyeing him innocently, he long white her falling down her back in messy curls. He frowned before looking over to the bedside clock. 8 am.

"Maka non è ancora sveglia? (Maka isn't up yet?)" He asked gruffly as he sat and ran his hand over his face.

"Dice che non si sente bene. (She says she doesn't feel well.)" Amara told him, a hint of worry in her voice. It took Soul a moment to grasp her words before he looked back to his niece's face and stood.

"Oh yeah?" he asked lightly, rubbing his jaw. Maka never gets sick. "Where is she?

Amara grabbed his sleeve and pulled him from his room to the living room. Maka was laying on their oversized couch with what looked like Amara's blanket tucked around her as she seemed peacefully asleep.

"I gave her my blanket so that she doesn't get cold," Amara told him quietly. "I told Mamma to sleep but she won't listen, so I came to get you."

Soul smiled fondly before patting her head and bending down to kiss the top of it. "That was very nice of you, baby." Amara grinned and yawned. "Are you still tired?"

Amara shrugged, rubbing her eye with a small fist. "A little. Mara fell asleep late last night because she had a nightmare. Mamma stayed up with me until I fell asleep. Oh no!" She gasped, her eyes growing wide as her gaze landed back onto Maka.

"Mamma didn't get sick because of Mara did she?" she asked fretfully, her grasp growing tighter on Soul's sleeve, Soul chuckled.

"Of course not, Amara," he assured her. "I'm sure she'd just as tired as you are. Go back to bed and I'll take care of Mak- Mamma. Okay?" Maka nodded and lifted her hands up for a hug. Soul smiled and bent down to embrace the child before watching her climb the stairs to her room.

"I'll bring your blanket up," he told her as she disappeared behind the door.

He made his way back to his room to pull his comforter off of the bed. Making his way back into the living room, he gently tugged Amara's blanket from Maka's grasp and placed his over her snugly. She hummed lightly and buried her face in the sheets, earning an amused chuckle from Soul.

He made his way back into Amara's room with her cover, finding her sat, cross legged on her bed. Soul noticed the worry still in her eyes as he tucked the sheets around her and kissed her forehead.

"Get some sleep, babes," he muttered as he pulled away, stroking her hair from her face. "Maka will be up and about once you get up."

"You promise?" she asked, her voice slightly hysterical. Soul frowned, sitting on her bed and stroking her hair comfortingly.

"Mara, what's wrong?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

Her eyes suddenly welled up with tears, but she blinked then away. "Mamma isn't going to die too, is she? I don't want her to go too."

Soul's eyes widened as far as they could, his heart practically stopping and his chest grew tight. He made a small heartbroken sound and scooped the girl up into his arms, cradling her into his chest.

"Listen to me," he said. "Maka and I are going to be just fine. I know Wes and An- I know you other Mamma and Papa left to go to heaven but that isn't going to happen with me and Maka. We won't ever leave you, okay? So never, ever, worry about something like that, you got it?"

Amara looked up to his face with wide eyes until she visibly relaxed, nodding and burying her face in his chest.


Soul shut her door behind him once she had nodded off and made his way back down to Maka, the tight feeling in his chest still very apparent.

"Soul?" He looked towards the couch to see Maka sitting up. He smirked and shook his head, making her lay back down again.

"Amara told me you're sick," he said idly, sitting on the couch beside her. Maka huffed as she leaned back, using the arm rest as a pillow as she folded her arms.

"Nah, I should be fine," she told him with a shrug. "I felt a bit off when I first woke up but I think that was because my room was so hot. I forgot to put the air con on in my room so I may as well have woke up in a sauna. I came to lay on the couch 'cause it was cooler in here and I was sleepy."

Soul chuckled and shook his head. "Amara was pretty torn up. She thought you were really sick."

Maka frowned worriedly, looking over to the stair case that lead to Amara's room.

"Poor girl," she muttered. "She came down when I started dozing off, must have heard me stumbling about. She felt my forehead and everything." She chuckled, her lips pulling up into a loving smile.

Soul's chest tightened in a different way when his attention was converted to her lips. The lips that just last night he had been kissing. He swallowed thickly before looking back up to her bright green orbs.

"Maka," he managed. "Maybe... Maybe we should talk about what happened. You know, last night."

Maka's smile vanished and she eyes his expression warily, though his gave nothing away.

"I suppose you're right." She admitted, casting her eyes down. "I just... I don't know what to say, Soul. I don't want to ruin anything with how I feel, I jus-"

"What do you mean how you feel?" Soul rumbled, tilting his head. Maka open and closed her mouth, at loss at how to respond. Soul narrowed his eyes. "What do you feel?"

"S-Soul," she choked out, shaking her head slowly.

"Okay, different question," he drawled, though his eyes held slight amusement. "What did that kiss mean to you?" he asked bluntly.

Maka took a sharp intake of breathe. "Soul, don't go there. And don't mock my emotions, that isn't cool," she mumbled, looking down. Soul chuckled lowly and traced a finger under her chin, tilting her head up so that her eyes met his.

"Just tell me, Maka," he mumbled, tilting his head. "I wanna know."

Maka's eyes grew hard and fierce. Soul grinned.

"Why don't you tell me, Soul?" she asked boldly. "Since you seem to have me all figured out."

Soul smirked cheekily, his crimson eyes narrowing as he leant towards her slowly. Confident and cocky.

"I think you were excited, and no one has ever made you feel that way but me," he rumbled lowly. He leaned closer, missing her lips and hovering his own beside her ear. "You want to be consumed by it. You like the unpredictability. You want the danger and what you liked the most is that it was me who made you feel that way. I didn't know little 'ol me could make you feel that way,"

He leaned away again, his lips curled up in a cocky smirk as he met her wide eyes with a tilt of his head.

"But I do now. And by hell, am I going to take advantage of that."

Maka seemed to get over her shock, meeting his own smirk with one of her own.

"All right," she admitted. "You got me, Soul Eater. So what you going to do about it?"

He grinned before leaning forwards to press his lips to hers once more, the tightness in his chest subduing to warmth, bleeding throughout his body. He brought a hand up to run through her hair as she trailed her hands up his shoulders to finally cup the back of his neck, pulling him closer. His lips moved slowly with hers before he pulled away, pressing his forehead to hers without yet opening his eyes.

"So, what does this mean?" Maka asked breathlessly after a moments silence. Soul's brow furrowed and he swallowed thickly without opening his eyes.

"Whatever you want it to," he muttered and Maka scoffed, leaning away slightly.

"Do I need to spell it out or you?" she asked sarcastically. "Yes, Soul, I – I feel something for you. Something I didn't feel for you before now. Before Amara, you were my best friend, my weapon and partner. The thought that we could be... you know, like that, had hardly crossed my mind. But now... We're raising a child together, Soul. And that little girl has brought out a side of you I've never seen. A side I never knew existed. And I was lucky enough to see that, everything I could want in a guy, in my best friend."

Soul smiled softly and opened his eyes, cupping her face in his hands as he opened his mouth to speak.

"I've seen a side of you that I've never seen before too," he told her quietly, Maka held her breathe. "You've always acted in ways I've never seen in anyone, Maka. And I have always admired that way about you. But recently, you've been acting in ways I never knew you could, for Amara. I don't think I've met someone as caring, yet aggressive." She laughed lightly and he smiled. "But you have always made me happy, Maka. More than I ever thought I could be with all the shit I've gone through. My parents, my uncle, Wes, and yet you could always cheer me up. You're - You've always been something else. I've always adored you, but now... You know – " He swallowed audibly, narrowing his eyes.

"You know I'm no good with words," he warned her. "And despite all you've done for me, I'm pretty messed up in the whole relationship department. But that doesn't seem to be a problem with you. I've told you shit I thought I'd take to my grave."

Soul ran his hand through her hair again as he saw tears build in her eyes, a small building on her lips.

"I care for you, Maka." He told her quietly, closing his eyes again. "In a much different way than I used to. And if that grows, it'll be hard for me to say, but," he smirked, tapping a knuckle to her forehead fondly.

"If anyone can fix me, it's you."

Maka half laughed, half cried as she threw her arms around his neck in an embrace. Never has Soul opened up to her so much. He was right, he was definitely not a man of many words. He doesn't like to talk about himself, or his feelings but he was different with her, for her. And she was with him.

"We can... try and be a couple, if you want," he finally muttered into her hair. "But if this doesn't work out, we're not letting that tear us apart. Amara needs us both, always. So let's just see where this goes, alright? But whatever the outcome, we stay together one way or another."

Maka nodded into his shoulder, pulling back to grin at him. He matched her smile wholeheartedly and ruffled her hair.

"Mamma?"

The two adults turned to see Amara stood at the bottom of the stairs, her eyes lighting up to see Maka in a better state. Maka grinned and opened up her arms, Amara ran into them immediately.

"Stai meglio? (You're better?)" she asked, pulling back to eye her face. Maka laughed and hugged the girl to her chest. She had yet to be able to speak Italian correctly but she was much better at understanding it.

"Yes, baby, I'm all better thanks to you and Papa," she told her, resting her cheek on top of her head. Amara sighed with relief and grinned, Soul chuckled and ruffled her hair up.

"Told ya she'd be up once you woke up, didn't I?"

Amara grinned and near enough pounced on Soul so he fell back to lay on the couch.

"Yes, Papa! Thank you!" she said, placing a big kiss on his cheek to which he laughed gruffly at and cuddled her to his chest.

Maka sighed happily at the scene, bliss still swelling in her chest and her and Soul's new found relationship.