Hello, everyone! So sorry for the wait! I just want to take a minute to thank all of you for reading, reviewing, favouriting, and following. I was really nervous, as this is my very first story I have had the courage to upload, so I am ever so thankful for your support.

So, without further ado, here's chapter three!

I do NOT own Soul Eater or any of its characters.

Enjoy!

Much Love,

K.T.

Chapter Three: Sleep Next to Me

Soul couldn't help but think that he had to put up a wall between Maka and himself after the way she had looked at him. He always prided himself in being a gentleman, so when he felt that it was questioned or threatened, he would become somewhat reserved without meaning to. In this case, however, he was feeling guilty. It was understandable that she would want to keep her distance in this kind of situation. A delicate young woman, alone with a rather large and somewhat terrifying looking man who had stripped her in her sleep, basically trapped in his apartment ... yeah. He could understand. He had to give her space.

He stood under the steaming water, trying to settle his nerves. She hadn't really been concerned about him undressing her, she knew it was to help save her life. He knew that that was how she felt, yet she had looked at him as if he had done something; as if he were an entangled mess or perverted thoughts and unwelcome caresses, and in that moment it stung. He wasn't sure what it was that he was feeling, the ache swelling in his chest. He was unaccustomed to it. Was this some form of anxiety? Perhaps a blow to his pride? Whatever it was, it was getting to him. Usually, he'd pay no mind to what other people felt about him and wouldn't feel anything for them in return, but Maka was different somehow. Maybe it was because he had saved her life, but ... then why did he feel indebted to her?

He grimaced at the thought. Damn this ambiguous inner conflict. This was exactly why he preferred to be alone. Interacting with others always became complicated and frustrating and he never knew how to act when it personally mattered.

Shaking his head to rid himself of such thoughts, Soul finished getting ready for bed after taking his shower, drying off and brushing his teeth. He dressed himself and exited the bathroom with a cloud of steam surrounding him to be met with Maka sitting on his bed, patiently waiting for him.

"Oh, uh ... I thought you'd be asle-... " He was cut off when Maka stood up abruptly, sternly.

"Did I do something?" she asked, concern swarming her orbs.

"Uh ... what?"

"I know we don't know each other very well at all, but ... you seemed to have changed when I asked about my clothes," she stated.

" ... " Soul opened his mouth only to close it again. He hadn't realized he had made her upset. Well, at least not by giving her what she wanted, no, what he assumed she had wanted. He thought that he was doing it for her, giving her space, but he might have just been acting cowardly. How embarrassing.

"I just feel that I should make myself clear, so that there isn't a misunderstanding." She took a steadying breath and continued. "There's a locket in the pocket of my jeans." She stated, trying to make him understand. "It belonged to my late mother..." Maka looked to Soul who was staring at her intently. Her eyes shot to the ground, her hands clutching the front of the hoodie. Why was he looking at her like that? She was caught off guard when she heard a chuckle. Was he laughing at her? Did he see this as comical?

"I see." Sweet relief. A simple explanation from her and the unknown weight in his chest had vanished. Soul smiled as his eyes were cast to the floor. Pushing a hand up to his tired face and through his damp hair, his features contorted as he thought back over the night. He had been such an ass. " ... I apologize for my atrocious behaviour this evening. I thought you had questioned my character." Her head shot back up to look at him, her towel falling, letting her long hair scatter around her.

"Absolutely not!" she let out loudly, surprising both of them. "I ... I mean ... " What was this nonsense? She was usually confident when she spoke, yet this man had somehow liquefied her cemented poise. Words were her thing. He had corrupted her thing! She slowly closed the distance between them, earning a curious look of sparking scarlet. She halted a single step in front of him and lifted her right hand to his chest, eyes downcast.

"You saved my life ... I would never," she spoke softly. Soul relaxed under her touch, relishing in the feel of her delicate and chilly hand over his shirt. He suddenly and subconsciously pulled her into an abrupt embrace, forcing from her squeak of surprise.

"S-Soul?" came her muffled inquire. He was a very large person. She could nearly disappear into his hold. Her head only came up to his chest, but it was comfortable and warm and she welcomed it. When there was no response, she wrapped her arms around his back as she sighed into him. He held her for a moment more before pulling away quickly in realization, leaving Maka feeling a tad too chilly for her liking. It was strange how normal it felt - to be held by him.

Now that had definitely made him feel things ... perhaps a tad bit less than innocent this time. He forced himself to hold back the urge to pull her into another hug, though it almost felt wrong not to. He didn't want her looking at him like she had in the kitchen earlier, however; so he took in a deep breath, holding it and then allowing the air to escape in hope that his desire to wrap his arms around her again would vanish along with it.

It didn't.

"I'm sorry," he said, patting her head. "Goodnight." He ruffled her damp locks as he turned to leave the room, glancing back at her as he reached the door. She hadn't moved from where he had left her: her back to him, looking at the large bed. He watched as she shuffled uneasily as shivers erupted through her body time after time.

She sighed and mumbled a soft, "It's a little chilly in here." His eyebrows met in concern. Was she really still that cold? He had the heat turned up much higher than he usually did, sweeping him with hot flashes on occasion. He shook his head slightly. Was he stupid? Of course she was still cold. She had almost died the day before in the worst blizzard he'd ever seen.

She didn't seem to realize that he had yet to leave. Soul slowly walked up behind her, reaching around her head with his right arm to determine the temperature of the skin that lay just under her bangs. He heard her gasp in surprise and then felt her relax under his touch as she realized what was happening. Her skin felt like silk, smooth and cool.

"You're still pretty cold, huh?" he said knowingly.

"Yeah," she admitted as he pulled his hand away, shivering once again. Soul scratched his cheek as he contemplated how exactly to go about asking this. They had just 'made up' and he didn't want to do or say anything that would jeopardize the comfort that came with her company a second time.

"So ... uh ... " he stammered out. "I could … sleep here, just for the sake of … warmth?" Was that a question or a statement? He wasn't sure, but he waited for her reply patiently, hoping that she hadn't taken it the wrong way. He backed away from her a few steps when it registered just how inappropriately close he was to her back, putting a fair amount of distance between them. Her body trembled from the lack of heat that had been radiating off of him.

"Um! ..." She turned to him quickly after a while of contemplation. Maka seemed to falter as their eyes met and a slight blush danced across her cheeks. "I ... I would appreciate that." She mumbled a bit too softly for him to make out as she relieved herself of his devilishly handsome features.

"What?" he asked. Had he not heard her? What does he mean 'what?' Come on! Why was he being difficult, this was hard enough for her already.

"Sleep next to me," she all but demanded, orbs becoming indignant as she looked at him again. She found her sudden courage crumble slightly, however; when she was met with the mischievous look on his face.

"If you insist," he shrugged, slowly turning to stalk towards her in an almost predatory way. This could either make or break their new … connection as two people who were rather fond of each other. It was a weird idea, but the way she had said 'sleep next to me' had been a little too heavy for the situation. He was already feeling less than innocent things toward her in that moment, but telling him, in that particular tone of voice, to sleep next to her, in his bed … it would have been too much to handle without some childish distraction. He prayed to God that this worked.

Maka stepped back only to realize what he was planning when Soul playfully lifted his hands and began to purr as he got closer to her. She giggled as he rolled his shoulders like a lion ready to pounce.

"What are you doing?" she laughed.

"Hide-and-go-seek-tag," he chuckled. "or as I call it, Cat and Mouse. Loser cooks breakfast." He smirked slyly as he awaited her response.

She looked at him with amusement and nodded. "Deal."

Maka squealed when he jokingly roared at her and she jumped up onto the bed, crawling across it in an attempt to escape. She barely made it, for his oversized body could almost reach all the way over the mattress to her. She laughed again as he got on all fours to creep over the sheets slowly after her. She ran to the walk in closet and closed the door behind her. The light was still on so she switched it off and ducked into some hanging clothes, hoping to raise her chances of not being caught. Soul seemed to be giving her a moment to hide properly before she saw light spill in. What a gentleman.

"This is a marvelous hiding place. I applaud your survival instincts." Maka had to work to hold in the giggle that dared to reveal her position. After a moment of silence, Soul added, "Quite the resolve you have, too, but it won't save you..." He slowly stepped into the closet, shutting the door behind him. They now sat in pitch black as she listened for any movement from the predator. Little did she know, his night vision and hearing were fantastic. Two of the many perks of being a member of the secret weapon society. He stilled a moment to let his eyes adjust to the dark and then looked around. He walked slowly past her, ears catching a small breath. He smirked as he said, "Fee-fi-fo-fum" in a much deeper voice than normal. She suppressed the urge to laugh once again, biting her lip as she began crawling back towards the door, one hundred percent planning to lock him in the closet. He heard her begin to move as he traveled farther into the clothes. Knowing her intent full well, he made his way down the long line of clothing in the opposite direction of her.

What had brought this all about, he couldn't be very sure, but she was fun and just as playful as he secretly was. Very few people knew of his true childish nature, let alone brought it out. For once he was enjoying himself. He had to thank her, she could have very well made this the most awkward moment of both of their lives, but instead, chose to go with it. It had been a rather odd plan on his part to distract them from the whole romantic air that had erupted during their earlier exchange of words. The hug especially had had a very rare and very real effect on Soul.

The two continued to move in opposite directions. To his advantage, there was a pocket door hidden on the far end of the closet. He skillfully snuck out before she could notice and quickly walked through a shorter closet, shutting the doors behind him and turned down a dark hall that led back to the living room. He snuck back into his room and waited for her to try and sneak out of the closet. He watched as the door knob slowly turned and she quickly opened, exited, and immediately shut and locked the door from the outside.

"Ha! Try and catch me now!" she yelled through the door.

"Clever, little mouse," he spoke from his perch on the bed. Her head shot around to look at him. She was absolutely flabbergasted. "But not quite clever enough."

"Wait! How did you ..."

"A magician never reveals his secrets," he stated, smirking slightly. "Now, ... where were we?" She squealed again as she darted past him for the living room before he could lurch forward at her. She ran from the room, Soul following shortly after. Maka only went where she had been, not knowing where dead ends might lead to her demise, and he chased after her.

Finally, after a few minutes or so of him having mercy on her and allowing her to escape his capture, he found himself wrapping his arms around her middle as she attempted to dart past him in the living room. He pulled her back into his chest and lifted her off the ground, whirling around and dropping to the floor. She laughed loudly, kicking her feet as he began to tickle her mercilessly. Determined to put up a fight, she forced her hands to find his stomach, rewarding her with a pause in his light, though malicious, torture. He retracted himself and retreated quickly. Maka sat up giggling and watched as Soul began to worm away from her.

"Are you ... ticklish, by chance?" Soul halted at her words only to begin shuffling faster towards his bedroom. "Oh, no you don't!" Maka got up, intent on tickling herself a giant teddy bear as she chased after him. He was standing when she got to the room, eyes pleading as his hands were outstretched, set on defending himself.

"Please, ... " he said. "I don't wanna hurt a girl." He couldn't help the smirk as it tugged at the corner of his mouth. He wouldn't hurt her on purpose, but he could not be held accountable for the harm of others if he was to be tickled.

Her smile turned sinister as she quoted, "Never give up. Never surrender." Okay, no. That was hot. What the Hell. Soul couldn't hold back the laugh that escaped his lips as she attempted to pounce on him, failing miserably as he was a giant and she was exceedingly shorter than the average person. He did, however, against his better judgment, catch her before she could fall and face plant. They ended up stumbling onto the bed laughing as they laid side by side.

"Well, that was fun and spontaneous," she stated. "Thank you for that." She smiled, feeling exceedingly warmer than before as Soul turned his head to the right to look at her. She was laying on her stomach, feet kicking as they hung off of the bed, hair in perfected disarray. Arms tucked under her, her hands in fists at her chest. She was almost glowing.

His legs were also hanging off of the bed, though actually reaching the floor. He was laying on his back, much in the same position as when he had collapsed on the living room floor earlier.

"No, thank you." He said. "It's been an unbearably long time since I last had this much fun."

She blushed furiously at the lava that seemed to burn through her. "Mm," she muttered as she averted her gaze. "Me, too."

He grinned at her reaction and sat up. If they kept going like this, the whole 'Cat and Mouse' idea would have been for not.

"We should get to bed, it's already almost midnight." She nodded and they began moving around. Soul stood before Maka called out to stop him again.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked playfully.

"Couch." He pointed in the direction of the living room as he looked back at her with a toothy grin plastered on his face. Ha, he thought he was so funny.

Maka rolled her eyes and tried to suppress a smirk. "Quit messing around, you mountainous mass of heat." She said. "I'm tired ... and cold ... " Her cheeks burned slightly and suddenly, she didn't feel quite as chilly as she had a moment ago.

He chuckled. "Is that all I am to you? A source of warmth?"

She pretended to be appalled as her hand met her chest, mouth gaping open. "Why, what do you take me for? Of course not. You also provide food and water." She joked.

He couldn't help but laugh. What sass. "Well, alrighty, then. I'll be right back, Your Highness." Soul went and turned off the apartment lights, only leaving a few night lights on here and there. He re-entered the bedroom with two glasses of water. "Your water, my lady."

She looked at it questioningly as he outstretched a cup to her. "I don't know about you, but I get thirsty at night," he explained as he handed her a glass, setting one down on a coaster on his preferred side of the bed. Maka snickered at what he had said, finding it erotically humorous, but decided not to comment on it. She peeled back the covers and laid down as Soul watched. At the annoyance her orbs held as she and the cool sheets made contact, he followed her lead and climbed into bed. He reached over and turned off the lamp, leaving them in the dark. Both lay there, listening to the other breath, trying to fall asleep to no avail.

" ... Soul? ... " Maka whispered. "Are you awake?" He turned over to face her. He could see her stiffen slightly at his movement. "Did I wake you?" she asked sheepishly.

"Honestly?" he grumbled. "No. Can't seem to go to sleep."

"Neither can I," she answered truthfully. "Can I ask you something?"

"Hm?"

"When I leave tomorrow ... " she began, "will we ever see each other again?"

Soul thought on that for a moment. He definitely wanted to see her again. He hoped that they could become friends. He glanced outside his massive window over her small form, street lights barely noticeable due to the heavy weather conditions.

"You mean if you leave tomorrow," he corrected her. "and yes, I most certainly would enjoy seeing you again," he answered, a gentle smile overtaking his features for the first time.

"What do you mean 'if'?" she giggled out. "Plan on keeping me here to serve you for the rest of my days as payment for saving my life?" she joked, earning her a chuckle from Soul.

"Now, that's not such a bad idea," he laughed. "But as tempting as that sounds, I was referring to the weather. If it keeps up, you'll be stuck here. There's no way they'll be able to start any cars with how cold it is and it's supposed to get worse. Or so says the weatherman." He rolled to lay on his back to stare up at the ceiling.

"You're kidding me ... " she said, almost hopefully.

"Why? In a hurry to leave?" He honestly wanted to know, perhaps she didn't really enjoy his company as much as he'd hoped.

"Oh, no!" she said, rising to look at him. "I have a cat at home that needs feeding is all, though she's surprisingly intelligent, so I'm sure she could figure it out for as long as needed," she explained.

"A cat, huh? I'm more of a dog person myself."

"As am I, however, Blair used to be my mom's, so ... " she trailed off, hoping he'd get the hint. Blair was one of two or three things her mother had left behind for her and she held each and every one of them close to her heart. Even if the dumb cat disrespected her constantly.

"Mmm ... I see. Wait, did you say Blair?" he asked, somewhat surprised.

Maka nodded. "Yup. Momma named her after this fictional human-cat from one of her books." She answered, thinking back to the days she would spend with her mother in silence as she wrote her novels. Maka would just sit and watch her. Those were the days.

"That's quite ironic," Soul laughed. "My brother's girlfriend's name is Blair."

Her eyes widened as she looked to Soul's silhouette. "You're kidding... wait, seriously?"

"I no lie," he joked. "She's tall with long black hair and hazel eyes. She's an aspiring model, actually," he informed.

"That really is ironic..." Maka muttered. A dull silence passed by them without much thought, neither being uncomfortable within it.

"Is she a pretty cat or is she one of those ugly flat faced cat's?" Soul asked abruptly. He smirked up at Maka, earning him a huff. He could see her trying to hide the smile that threatened to upturn her lips as she smacked his chest lightly at the comment.

"She's a beautiful black cat, not too fat, not too skinny, and she has these piercing amber eyes."

Soul laughed out again at the description. "Okay, this is getting weird." He shook his head.

"I agree! How could they be so much alike?" she giggled.

"How does she act? I'm curious to see how far this will go..."

She went on to describe Blair's odd mannerisms as Soul listened, his vision focusing on the outline of Maka's frame in the darkness. He admired how her tresses spilled down her body as she sat completely relaxed in his presence. She was certainly different from any other woman he had ever met.

They began to tell each other stories, mostly regarding their New York experiences in everyday life. Maka had hit some perverts over the head with a large book on train rides, Soul had found the best bakery in town and visited it frequently, and so on and so forth. They continued to talk about the simplest of things, being careful not to go too deep into the other's personal life, until finally, they both fell fast asleep, nearer to one another than they had been before.

And there it is! Hope you all enjoyed! I had originally planned to upload on the 3rd of every month, but that seemed a bit to long a wait?

So, what'd ya think? Let me know your thoughts!

Until we meet again!

Much love!

K.T.