Here you are, my loves! Sorry, that took so long. I've been super busy with real life problems lol not to mention I've been writing all of my Halloween/ Trinity Contest stories for this month. I hope to upload more by tonight, but I'd have to finish writing the chapters and beta reading them first, so we shall see!

If you haven't heard, I'm hosting a contest in which you in can win a story written for you based completely off of your own preferences/specifications. This also includes any and all fandoms and genres and you can make any request for the story if you win. If interested, check out the details on my user page!

Without further ado, here's chapter eight! Enjoy!

Chapter Eight: Tease.

Rigid ice pelted down on her small, naked form. She hunched over and brought her knees up to cover her face, being buried in the white death. She looked up, hoping to find someone, anyone, but she was to weather the storm alone. The wind picked up, forcing her hair to tangle and her eyes to quickly shut as she ducked her head back down. She was helpless. What else was there to do but accept defeat and ... She gulped. Death.

When all seemed lost and she felt nothing could be done to fight the cold, she was met with a sudden heat rising up. Suddenly, the snow became hot and began to burn her. She looked up to find herself surrounded by flame and darkness. She held her head and screamed, tears running down her freckled face.

"You're still here," she heard a voice echo and looked up once more, eyes wide. Lava had consumed the fire around her. She jumped up, afraid she'd be swallowed along with the flames, but it didn't make to touch her. It simply put out the wretched burning and flowed past her.

"You're alive, you're breathing, and you're warm, and... I will take care of you..." She heard the last of the statement almost as if it had been whispered into her ear. It was then that she felt a large blanket cover her form and strong, reassuring arms envelope her, making her relax back into a broad chest.

Maka's eyes fluttered open, revealing beautiful biscay. She felt extremely hot, but not in a bad kind of way. It was in that taking a nice bath or sitting outside in a steaming jacuzzi in the middle of winter kind of way. She widened her orbs a smidge in surprise, as she was met face to face with a sleeping Mr. Sullivan. Why did the name seem to ring a bell? She attempted to ponder on it for a brief moment before she saw mephiston red awake. Not being able to avert her eyes, she watched Soul as a vicious yawn overtook his face, slowly turning to check the time and then settling his lazy gaze back on her form.

"Good evening." He murmured, allowing his eyelids to rest once again before they shot open and he moved to rise above her. Both of his arms had been wrapped protectively around her, enabling him to move too far, as his right was tucked under her.

"You're awake!" he stated emphatically. "How are you feeling?" Soul asked, bringing his left hand up to test her temperature.

"Mmm..." She let herself relish in the feel of his large hand, skin meeting skin. "Kind of weak," she replied after he had pulled his hand away, seemingly content with the outcome.

"Mm. That's to be expected." He nodded, laying his head back down, not paying attention to the close proximity. "You were out for two days," he informed her. Maka wanted to jump out of bed and run around the room like a chicken with its head cut off. Two days?! She was most definitely fired…

"Two days?" she whispered. He nodded, moving a stray hair out of her face.

"You woke up in short spurts, needing food and water, ... to use the bathroom, etcetera. I was really worried for awhile. You don't remember any of it?" he asked. Two and a half days since she had fainted and, lucky for her, the angry war of snow and wind had yet to cease. It had taken over New York, forcing everyone to stay indoors. Severe weather alerts broadcasted on the news, letting all inhabitants know of the less than appreciated weather conditions. She hadn't missed much.

Maka tried to think back. She vaguely remembered an incident involving the difficulty of using a bathroom, but nothing else. She slowly shook her head in the negative.

"Well, you're awake now, that's all that matters." He scanned over her features, catching the bags under her eyes despite her non-stop slumber, and the streaks of her tears that had fallen from her eyes in recent nightmares. He could also feel the slight stick of sweat that glazed her skin when he made contact. He had decided not to bath her again, in fear of ... another awkward bathroom incident occurring in the process. "I made some vegetable soup for you. Are you hungry?" She nodded, but snuggled into his chest, actions contradicting herself. She was still tired; drained from all of that battling with germs and what not.

"Later," she mumbled into his sweatshirt. Soul fell limp for a moment before tightening his arms around her.

"M'kay." It didn't take long for them to fall back into a deep, comfortable sleep. Soft breaths intermingling as dreams swept them away. Maka's head resting on Soul's shoulder, fitting perfectly as if ... as if it was made for her. What a silly thought.

Soul awoke the next morning hugging a pile of pigless blankets. He lifted himself off his pillow and swung his legs over the mattresses' edge. A yawn drew the slightest of tears from his eyes as he scratched the back of his head.

"Maka?" he called out as he stood, to which he was awarded no reply. He turned to look out the ceiling to floor window to find that the storm still ran rampant beyond the glass. She couldn't have gone home. He sighed and rubbed his eyes, turning back and walking to his bathroom. He had intended to take his morning piss; however, when he opened the ajar door further, he was met with a flood of steam. Vision and mind still hazy from sleep, he scrunched his face in confusion and distaste for a moment. 'Huh, that's unusual.' He was taken aback briefly until the realization that Maka was bathing set in all too late. So much for avoiding another awkward bathroom encounter because - hey, ho - here they were again. Soul had waltzed into the humid room to stop in front of the large Jacuzzi tub that was full of hot water and bubbles - thank God - a small champagne mop of hair sticking up with the satisfied face of his guest.

Tease.

Wait. Tease? He must still be tired.

Was this a bad idea? Probably. Why was he standing there watching her smile in content like an idiot? He hadn't a clue. Was he going to leave? … Apparently not.

There wasn't a perverted thought running through his mind as he looked on at the petite woman in his tub. He registered a slight gasp before the mossy orbs that had found him, and he merely yawned again.

"So, you're feeling better. That's awesome." He nodded with satisfaction, eyes basically closed as the lack of sleep from the past two days weighed heavily on him. Who knew taking care of a small sick person could be so much work.

"I'm gonna go pee." He turned away from her before she could really answer either statement, earning him an odd look as he left.

'Well, that was weird...' She thought. Maka sunk deeper into the abyss of bubbles and bath salts she had found tucked away. Much earlier that morning, Maka had awoken and immediately went on a search for food, finding some form of brothy sustenance to fill her tummy that Soul had made for her. He was so, so very sweet. After she ate, she realized just how utterly disgusting she felt. A few days of sickness sweat layered over her was not exactly a welcomed feeling, so she decided to take a shower. When she entered the bathroom, though, she was reminded of the ginormous tub that Soul had and decided that that would feel much better than a shower. After some digging around for bath salts and bubbles, she ran her bath and relaxed in the hot mess of refreshing scents and warmth. She hadn't expected him to come into the bathroom, nor had she expected that reaction once she had seen him. He had seemed dead to the world and completely desensitized to the fact that she was naked under all those bubbles. That fact that he hadn't been affected by her at all was semi-upsetting.

Soul shut the door behind him and stalked toward the guest bath, a bright red stinging his face. He was no longer sleepy. He hadn't really seen the scene play out before him until he had left the room; his memory giving him a front-row seat to the awkward endeavor. He could have gotten a glimpse of her naked body. Not that he hadn't already seen it, of course, but this was a completely different kind of situation. He wasn't saving her life. There was no need for him to see her bare skin. He locked the guest bathroom door behind him and relieved himself of the bodily fluids that had built up over the night. Flushing the toilet and washing his hands, he stopped to look himself in the mirror. Time for a pep talk.

"Alright," he stated as he stared himself down. "You were tired, discombobulated, couldn't be held accountable for your actions. You didn't even see anything, but you will apologize and it will be forgotten." He held eye contact with his reflection, attempting to convince himself that he shouldn't be playing with any possible lewd thoughts, until he finally nodded and splashed water over his face. He slowly traveled back to his room and splayed across the bed, an arm over his eyes as he tried to forget the embarrassment. His pep talk was for not, guilt building up in his gut. Soul stayed there for a good while, wondering how the earlier incident would affect the atmosphere between them. Soon, he could hear the water draining and turned to lie on his right side, facing away from the bathroom. Maka exited the bathroom and quickly left the room.

After about another half an hour, the water had begun to cool, so pruney Maka decided to get out. She began to drain the water and dry herself off, wrapping the ginormous towel around her as she stepped out of the bathroom. She realized that she didn't feel as awkward as she thought she would wearing nothing but a towel in front of Soul. A sleeping Soul, but none the less, she felt moderately comfortable. She silently made her way to the laundry room where she had started a load before her bath. She took the clothes from the washer and put them in the dryer and hung up her undergarments. Then she proceeded back to Soul's bedroom closet in search of more clothing. She stopped at the doorknob, not sure if she should just rummage through his belongings without permission. She drew her hand away from the door and placed a delicate finger over her lips in contemplation.

"Need more clothes?" Maka was startled out of her stupor by the gruff voice. She whipped around to find Soul staring at her in a cross-legged sitting position on his bed. She hadn't even heard him move. His shirt hung loosely off of him as well as his sweatpants, making him look thinner than she knew him to be. She briefly pondered over the size of his current clothing before she saw a smirk spread across his face.

"Or did you wanna waltz around in that towel?" She gasped as she watched his eyes rake over her form slowly as to emphasize her attire - or lack thereof. The look in his eyes sent a rush of sweet chills down her spine to sit in a heated pool at the bottom of her belly. Sleeping Soul: towel okayed. Awake Soul: more clothing needed. His eyes were truly a force to be reckoned with.

He was somewhat enamored by the look of her in her current state, hair damp as it sat messily atop her head, a large towel hiding everything except for her slight, creamy shoulders and long legs, her hands clutching from within the front in an attempt to hold the material tighter around her body as if it would somehow help her hide herself away. Her eyes were wide in shock as she looked at him, a spark of something he couldn't quite decipher coming to life.

Soul rose from his place on the mattress and strode toward her, stopping right in front of her petite form. His gaze was cast directly into her own, never leaving or wavering, almost challenging in a way. His form drew closer and his arm reached behind her, ever so slightly brushing the bare skin of her upper arm. She averted her anxious orbs downward as she registered the proximity of their faces. Her heart began to race mercilessly and she clasped the towel tighter to her form. Maka waited for something. What, she wasn't sure, but …

*click*

Oh. Stupid Maka. She turned her head to look to the door handle to find Soul's large appendage turning it and slowly opening the closet.

Tease.

It took everything in his power not to make a move on her. She was in a towel, for goodness sake! She had practically invited him to suckle and nip at her neck when she turned her head. It was a golden opportunity, but alas, he was a gentleman who knew how to suppress his *ahem* urges. Instead of doing what his other head so desperately tried to persuade him to do, he opened the closet to set about finding her more clothes. The way he had reached behind her had brought their bodies rather close, closer than they should have been.

"Pardon me," he whispered seductively into her ear. He hadn't meant it to come out sensual, but his body seemed to be fighting against his better judgment. Something about her was calling to him, his inner weapon seemingly being drawn in. This intrigued him to no end, as it was the first time he felt his true self react to one person so adamantly.

She moved quickly out of his way at the realization of his intended destination with a soft apology, her face burning bright red. She watched him retreat into the closet only to be startled by his head popping back out.

"You coming?" he inquired, slight humour lining his voice.

"What? Oh!" Maka stepped forward to help sort through the mass of cloth for something that could possibly fit her in some way, shape, or form. Hugging the large towel to herself, she followed Soul into the huge closet. They started from opposite ends and met in the middle. Maka was holding a pair of sweatpants that had a string in the waistband, Soul a large green hoodie that was too small for him and probably too big for her. He had taken to her in green, he couldn't get over how it made her interestingly coloured eyes pop even more than they already did.

He awkwardly stared down at her as she looked through a cabinet for a t-shirt. She was so oddly beautiful. He found that she had this adorable side to her most of the time, which he was becoming addicted to - it was endearing - and then every once in awhile, he'd find little things that she did, slight movements she would make, to be ever so enticing in an overly sensual way. What blew his mind was that she didn't even seem to realize it herself. She wasn't doing it to lure him in, no. It was always a natural reaction, just like how she had turned her head away from him earlier. He knew it to be an act of mild embarrassment, but the way her neck had been bare, a slight sheen of water from her earlier bath layered over her skin as the muscles and tendons physically stretched at the movement accompanied with the reddening of her milky, honeydew skin … it was sexy. And now she was calm, eyes surveying his clothing, but he saw slight discomfort begin to distort her features.

"Why are you staring at me?" she asked, not meeting his piercing gaze.

"Does it bother you?" He didn't make to redirect his ruby reds. Staring at her in a towel seemed to be semi-acceptable next to their earlier encounter. Especially since he was really only taking in her face.

"A little..." she answered honestly. "It's a tad bit unsettling." Her eyes quickly glanced to him and back to the hanging t-shirts.

"My apologies." Okay. If it made her uncomfortable, he would end his awkward studying of the side of her face. He looked away from her towards the door, feeling a little less content.

"Thank you," she was answered with a curt nod as Soul muttered something about going to go get food. He left her to herself as he handed her the hoodie, giving her privacy to change. Maka sighed, pulling on a pair of Soul's athletic spandex, which were the closest things to her size, and then an undershirt and so on. She thought over the events of the day thus far. Soul had seen her in a tub of bubbles, his eyes and body telling her of his sleepiness, resulting in her seeing him as perfectly harmless. Perhaps this had led her to believe that strutting around in nothing but a towel would be somehow acceptable in her situation. Her reasoning had obviously been impaired. And then there was the way Soul had looked her body over, as if he wanted her to keep just the towel on - as if she looked delicious in it. There was the way he had come to stand mockingly close to her and had gotten her hopes up, deceiving her into anticipating something even slightly erotic to occur between the two. Finally, the way he had blatantly stared at her face for the better half of their time in his closet, seemingly enthralled in her features when it should be quite the opposite. What did all of this add up to, really? Was she mindlessly pondering over unimportant matters; instances in which things were felt, but had no real substance to them? It all struck her as odd but shockingly normal ... for them, at least.

She felt as if she were losing herself. Men were not her cup of tea or fortè. She'd much rather read a book with a literal cup of tea in her small studio apartment. Her age-old cat, Blair, in her lap as typical French music softly invaded her enough to appreciate, but not enough to distract. Yet this - this tall, gruff, slightly tanned, and drool-worthy attractive stranger had put all of her favorite things on the absolute bottom of her to do list. And the worst part? She couldn't care in the slightest. It was a comfortably strange and new territory to explore for her.

Maka sighed once more, attempting to convince herself to think of something other than the ruggedly handsome man who had saved her life. This task was apparently too difficult to carry out for too long, however.

Such a tease.

Once she was fully clothed, she stepped out of the closet, turning off the light and putting her towel back into the master bathroom. She sighed in contentment as she now adorned large warm clothing. Catching a whiff of something meaty and probably greasy, Maka made her way to the kitchen. She stepped out into the living room and followed the scent to find Soul standing over a sizzling pan. He was wearing what he had slept in, but his hair was up in a small ponytail and he had added a black and red apron. It suited him.

Soul caught Maka out of the corner of his eye, smirking slightly as he saw her expression. He adored how small and innocent she was and yet she consumed about as much food as he did. He could read her thoughts through expressions and right now, she was practically drooling as she stared at the food.

"Burgers and greens," he stated, making her jump with surprise. "Smells good, huh?"

A nod was her reply as she made her way to the stove to stand next to him. She looked down over the glorious food, making her mouth water. "Looks great, too."

Soul smiled down at her as she gazed longingly at the greasy goodness.

"Yeah, ... but now that I think about it, this probably isn't good for a sick person with an empty stomach, huh?" It came out mockingly with a hint of sarcasm as his hands came up to rest on his hips, feigning serious contemplation. He watched as she vividly froze and slowly turned to look up at him, forcing himself to hide his teasing smirk.

"You wouldn't..." Soul mocked innocence, claiming not to know what she was talking about. He reached to his right, grabbing her attention.

"I'm only concerned for your health," he stated, bringing the sprite and saltines into view. She grimaced at the sight, her face turning into a pout.

"I don't want that ... " Maka turned pleading eyes up to him once more, almost crushing his resolve.

"You'll get a tummy ache if you eat this juicy, greasy, delicious hamburger, Maka." Rude. "Small snacks would be better for you right now."

She shook her head in the negative. "I don't care, I want the burger." She purposely made her bottom lip quiver in a desperate attempt to manipulate him into submission. Sneaky. Here he was, attempting to clear the intoxicating sexual tension that had been in the air with the power of meat and she still tries to use her feminine wiles? How inconsiderate.

They stared into each other's eyes, neither backing down until Soul sighed in mock defeat. "Oh, alright. But don't come crying to me if your tummy hurts later."

Maka cheered and they continued to bicker playfully as he finished up their meal, laying out condiments and such. He prepared her a plate, placing it in front of her. "There you go, eat up."

"Thank you! ..." Maka's enthusiasm had been misplaced as her eyes fell upon a plate of crackers and a sprite can.

"You dingleberry!" She grabbed a saltine and threw it at him for emphasis, making him laugh. How cruel could he possibly get...

"Sorry, sorry. I couldn't resist." He turned and placed a steaming burger in front of her, grinning ear to ear. She smiled back at him as he watched her pile on everything from mayo and lettuce to pickles and onions to ketchup and mustard and so on. "Take it easy, smalls, or itty bitty could turn into blueberry umpa lumpa." She giggled as she took a bite, looking up at his retreating back as he went about preparing his own meal. She smiled dumbly, watching the muscles in his back flex through his shirt as he took off the apron.

Tease.

I hope you all enjoyed that! Again, I'm sorry that that took so long. Lots more stories to come, though! Two of six Halloween specials have begun, so make sure to check them out! Please review!

Until we meet again!

Much Love~!

K.T.