A super long update! It's a much-needed romantic/fluffy evening for our pair, and a deserved respite for you, readers, from being scared for their lives. **sexual content ahead**

The items on the list of things that could spell out 'Sorry I got you stabbed' were innumerable to Soul since there was no bottom to that well of guilt but he reined himself in. He bought supplies for a dinner he knew he could manage and not burn, champagne since she hadn't wrinkled her nose over it at Eibon's party with a back-up of a nice bottle of gin just in case, and, even though he'd never actually seen her enjoy them, a nice bouquet purples and yellows because he couldn't bring himself to buy the cheesy dozen roses. Everything else he worked over in his head, trying to narrow down the right words to say that might explain that tonight wasn't just a fluke. While murder and grievous bodily harm had taken up a little too much of their recent time, it wasn't going to be forever.

Getting home he was sweating bullets. His hands were shaking as he put the tonic and champagne into the fridge. Standing still was impossible, making his legs jitter as he was chopping vegetables in the kitchen. Even as his preparations drew to a close and he sent a quick text to Black Star to send Maka back over, Soul couldn't stop his fingers from crinkling anxiously into the cellophane wrapper around the bouquet. He was sure it couldn't get worse but felt the rise in his heartbeat as Black Star and Shelley led a blindfolded Maka up the stairs.

"Whose fucking idea was that," he grumbled as he opened the door.

Black Star let out a wolfish whistle as he pulled at Soul's tie.

He gave him a menacing stare but kept quiet.

"Can I look now?" Maka's attentions were in the direction that she guessed Shelley was as she squeezed the little hand.

"Yes!" Shelley chimed, obviously pleased with her place in the farce.

Maka freed her hands to bring them to the back of her head, careful not to pull out her hair as she untied Shelley's knot and let the ribbon puddle in her fingers. Her eyes opened slowly but shot wide at the sight. "What…?" Not that he wasn't always groomed, but tonight he'd put extra effort into containing the mess of spikes. That paired with the button down and tie along with a bunch of flowers being nervously worried away between his fingers left Maka with nothing more than a gaping mouth.

"Let's go, Shel," Black Star tugged his sister by the back of the shirt. There were short complaints but they were quickly cut by the close of the door behind them.

"You look beautiful," he tried out regardless of the way his brain was saying it was a boring repeat.

Maka blinked and looked down, realizing she was in a dress but hadn't exactly planned on it. "Shelley told me I had to dress up for the tea party that we had which I'm guessing now was just some clever ruse…"

"Yeah, surprise," he cleared his throat. "I, uh, well, I'm kind of new at this so take it easy on me tonight, OK?" With that as a preface, he offered her the flowers, letting them settle in her fingers before he took her by the elbow and started the walk to the kitchen.

She was almost too busy inspecting the flowers, sniffing and trying to identify each in its beauty. "New at what?"

"Well, a lot of things…" He got ahead of her so that he could pull out her chair from the table. It felt antiquated, but he'd be damned if his Nana's ghost was going to haunt him for the rest of the night.

"You cooked?" Maka looked at the well-set table before gaping at him again.

"I can cook," he couldn't stop the snip.

Maka's face exploded into a grin as she let out a short laugh, "No, you had two bowls when I moved in with you."

"Which just means I don't cook, not that I can't," he muttered as he scooted her into the chair. He took the flowers from her hands and grinned as a short huff of protest left her mouth. "I'm just getting them in water," which was decidedly a sentence he never thought he'd say. Soul had been smart and hunted out a vase beforehand, one of his Nana's favorites, and only had to pop the flowers in before bringing them back to her to the far left of the table.

Maka was instantly picking at them again, that smile plastered easily on her face. "So flowers, cooking, what else do you have planned?"

"One thing at a time," he chastised. "You want champagne or a gin and tonic?"

Her ohing and ahing brought a blush to his cheeks especially as she brought her eyes to obviously inspect him again. "I'll have what you're having."

"Champagne it is, then." Soul played it extra safe, throwing a towel over top of the bottle that he'd pulled from the fridge. The pop elicited a laugh from Maka and there was only a little bit of fizz that he caught in the sink. He poured two glasses halfway since he'd be damned if he was going to spill on the way to her. The glass made it safely to her hand without losing a drop while his other hand came across the table to grab hers.

"A toast?" Maka couldn't help the girlish giggle because the joy was already starting to bubble in her chest. He's trying so hard. I don't think he realizes how adorable his nervousness is.

"More like a promise," he tipped his glass towards hers as their fingers intertwined. "Things have been… I guess 'moving fast' is an understatement since I doubt most relationships get tested exactly like this, and I've said before that I can't seem to promise you that this will get better because each time I do we seem to get a new problem. What I want to promise is that while there are going to be things outside of our control, the stuff I can do, I will. So here's to our first official date since I refuse to count the one we had to ditch halfway."

"To our first official date," Maka beamed in agreement as she clinked her glass to his. She stopped at a sip but had to smother a laugh as he took a healthy gulp. "So what did you make?"

Soul pulled the foil off the two dishes, one with pieces of roasted chicken and the other with potatoes. "And then salad," he motioned towards the bowl before balling up the foil and shooting it towards the trash can. "I bet this is overcooked because I spent a fair amount of time panicking about pink chicken, but the rest should be safe."

"Does this mean my time as cook is over?" Maka smirked as she started to arrange food on her plate.

Soul leaned back in the chair to give her ample time to finish, "Depends on whether or not I give us food poisoning tonight."

"Soul," Maka rolled her eyes, "You really are the most dramatic. And a worry-wort."

"Exactly what I expected, being made fun of on our first date," Soul nodded solemnly.

"Pour yourself more champagne, drama queen." He followed orders as Maka arranged her first bite on her fork. She waited until he had a full glass in his hand before putting the food to her lips, smiling as he watched tentatively. Out of the pure need to torture him, she chewed slowly as he took another swig. With her mouth cleared of food she nodded, "Delicious. I'm officially retiring as chef."

He chuckled and finally allowed himself to pile food on his plate as she got back to hers. The food must have been acceptable because Maka kept conversation to a minimum, more intent on excitedly chewing. The first hurdle safely jumped and at least two glasses of champagne flowing through his veins got Soul to settle, his legs no longer busily jittering under the table. When she'd cleared her plate he found that the nervousness had melted away to excitement as he smiled at her, "Ready for the next part of the plan?"

"Yes, but…" Maka started to stand from the table, grabbing his plate before he could even reach. "I'm going to do the dishes first."

"Maka, you can't, it's a date, just-"

"No," she urged back at him. "Date night doesn't mean our rules get thrown out the window. You cooked, I do the dishes. Even, remember? And I don't want to do them tomorrow." She bustled past him and got the dishes to the counter before she felt his hand softly touch at her hip. Maka turned, letting her hand rest under his chin as she leaned down to plant a soft kiss on his lips. "Find something to do for a little," she blessed him by letting her hand slip down and loosen his tie, "and I'll get these done as quickly as I can."

Grumbling and complaining would be useless because that determination was stamped across her face. "One more kiss," he suggested as his hand drifted down the fabric of her dress.

Maka allowed it, a chill running down her spine as his hand caressed the bare skin of her thigh. "Don't get too lonely without me," she murmured.

Soul wanted to laugh as she drifted away from him but with the way his hand wanted to hold on to her he wasn't sure if he could exactly comply. He forced himself out of his seat and didn't offer her another glance before heading to the living room. Finding the old record player had thankfully been a task from the week before but he was happy he'd saved the actual reward of listening to it until this moment. It was hard to pick which one of the records to play first and he let himself slowly peruse to waste the time away from her. Once that had been selected, he took the lighter out of his pocket and began lighting the candles on the mantle.

Originally, this idea had seemed ludicrous to him, overkill like some dime-store romance novel, but as he stood back and turned off the lights in the room he had to begrudgingly admit that it set a tone. He set the needle on the record, a contented sigh as the hiss and pop gave way to one of Chopin's many waltzes and a record that Nana had to buy at least three times since she couldn't stop wearing out the track. At that moment, he let the last of the world at large wash away as his only thought was set on waiting for her.

Maka quickly covered the gasp with her hand but Soul caught it anyway and held onto it as his reward. He turned to her and held out his hand, "Care to dance?" Her hand in his was enough of an answer and he pulled her closer than necessary with his hand resting in the small of her back. This was cheek to cheek territory and he took full advantage of it, getting his lips right next to her ear. "This is how close I wanted to dance that first time."

"Why didn't you?" The wonder in her voice was giving way to amusement as her hand drifted from his shoulder to his chest.

"Million reasons," Soul chuckled. "Technically, that was work. Had to be on my best behavior."

"And I bet I can guess the rest." Maka felt like all of her was sinking into him, fitting like a puzzle piece so perfectly. "How long do I get the pleasure of doing this, then?"

"As long as you want," his soft sigh heated up her neck. "I'm happy making up for lost time."

It wasn't anything close to a real waltz, just one of his hands in hers while the other searched along her back as they swayed. Maka kept her hand on his chest, testing his heartbeat as if it told her his thoughts. There was no loosening, unfolding of the two of them until the record hit its end, the arm clicking back into place. It was only then that Soul released her, paying the price of letting her go with a soft kiss. "I'm going to get us more champagne," she murmured as she stole one more kiss before prancing out of the room.

Soul moved to change the record, breathing out a long sigh of relief before letting a small section of his mind panic. I should check the locks again, but he swatted it away, knowing Black Star was practically hanging out of his window with binoculars tonight just to keep the peace.

As the new music started to drift around the room, Maka returned with two full glasses and motioned towards the couch. "Let's sit this one out."

"Alright…" The cushions felt dangerous, Soul's body mostly exhausted from being tightly wound since the afternoon, and he couldn't fight sinking into them. Maka didn't seem to mind, simply lifting his arm and throwing it around her shoulder.

He looked amused as she nibbled at her bottom lip and took a sip before letting the words out, "What was your grandmother like?"

Soul blinked through processing the question, surprised at the vein she was tapping. "Hopefully, she doesn't haunt me for this," he muttered, "but she could be a real bitch, and I say that in the nicest way."

"That is definitely grounds for a haunting," Maka shook her head.

Soul shrugged, "I don't know how else to describe her. She rubbed my dad the wrong way. My mom and her basically hadn't said more than a few nice sentences to each other since my mom was a kid: everything else was a fight. She tolerated Wes, my brother. For some reason, though, she liked me."

"What do you think was different about you?"

He offered nothing but another roll of his shoulders which in no way seemed to satisfy her. While taking a long sip from his glass, he watched the cogs turning in her brain.

Maka tapped her chin thoughtfully, "What did she and your mom used to fight about?"

This took some digging, especially as he found these memories compacted tightly as they had been buried deep. "I told you my mom was, but Nana wasn't born rich. Neither was my Grandfather. He made it big by inventing some necessary parts for some kind of weapon and was smart enough to patent it. They'd both been dirt poor so I guess when my mom was born they made sure she had every last thing she wanted. Or at least, my Grandfather did. He spoiled her and Nana was pretty much the opposite. She used to say my mom had only learned to take, never to give."

A strange spark of understanding lit up her eyes. "And your dad, same thing?"

Soul narrowed his eyes, trying to read where she was going but coming up empty. "Dad's old money. I don't think he's ever been told 'no.'"

"And you've always been like this?"

"Like what?" His eyebrows were furrowing even more and Maka had to giggle at the wrinkle that she delicately poked with her finger.

"Like you, your personality, you've always been the Soul I know now?"

"Mostly." He wanted to grab her finger but refused to abandon having her wrapped up in his arm so he leaned into her hand, thankfully finding that the poke moved to a caress over his cheek. "Doubt you'll believe it but I talked less when I was a kid."

"Impossible!" Maka feigned a gasp as he tried to force a frown.

"Between Mom, Dad, and Wes there were enough voices in the house." Even with that painful thought, the frown he had been attempting dissolved as he brought the next part up from his memories, "Nana used to make me sit and talk for a solid thirty minutes before we did anything. She used to say my voice would atrophy at the rate I was going."

"Then dancing?" Maka took a slow sip as she gave herself time to put the last parts of the puzzle together.

"Yeah, then whatever else she wanted to do. I wasn't picky." Soul examined the corner of her lips, seeing the smile she was hiding. "Alright, spit it out, Albarn. What do you think you know?"

"Hey," she balked, "I know a lot, and I told you before, you're not as enigmatic as you think you are."

"Then what am I?" Soul raised his eyebrows.

"Your Nana liked you, loved you because you are the opposite of your mom. I'm not sure you know how to take, and when you do, it's not things, it's usually just enough love to keep yourself going for a while." She leaned in and pecked his dumbfounded lips that could barely reply with anything other than a gape. "And the weirdest thing about it all, you constantly call yourself selfish, which is really the opposite of all that. You just think it's selfish because you feel like you shouldn't have anything at all."

"Ouch," he let out a weak whistle. "Anything else?" Do I want her to point out anything else? Preemptively, he swallowed the rest of his champagne down in one gulp.

"Well, you're wrong." She offered this so nonchalantly, her shoulders rolling against his arm as she patted softly on his cheek.

Even with the wind knocked out of him he managed, "I shouldn't have asked."

"I think part of you already figured that out, though," Maka narrowed her eyes at him. "Or else we wouldn't be here, be like this. But I think it's important that you hear it. I don't think you're selfish, I never have. Honestly, most of the time, I don't think you ask for enough from anybody, me included. So if there's one thing I want, moving forward, is for you to ask for more. It doesn't have to be big stuff right away. You can practice with little things."

"Like?"

Maka thankfully took the glass from his hand and leaned behind them, putting them on the fancy console table he'd hidden behind the couch to make room for the dancing. Soul didn't let his hand stay free for long, his fingers leaving a little trail of perspiration from the glass along her neck. "I guess I don't know because sometimes I have no idea what you want." He couldn't tell if she was playing coy or not but she dipped her head into his touch, encouraging his fingers to move to her cheek.

"How about…" This was where the devious smile should take hold, but even as his mind seemed five steps ahead and already mentally working to undress her, he suddenly found that thought of selfishness again. Right now, maybe, I was about to prove her wrong, but all that can wait. "I want to know about you."

"What?" She had already been fantasizing in the touch especially since he'd been deliberately gentle since the accident, opting not to renew any vigorous activity.

"You figured me out, right?" His fingers were coming back down, resting at her neck as they smoothed over her skin. "How about: why do you like reading so much?"

He wasn't surprised by her confusion but the tiny instant of panic flashed over her green eyes intrigued him especially as she opened her mouth with a tenuous smirk, "Really, I should ask you why you don't like reading."

Soul couldn't decide whether he wanted to be amused or annoyed and instead put the energy into reading any movement on her face. "You're avoiding my question."

"You're…" the playful tick of a smile to her lip withered. "You're right. I am. It's an easy question, right? And it should be an even easier answer." Maka sucked in a long breath, holding it in her lungs until it started to burn. "Ever since I can remember, Papa would read to me. Every night, without fail, and usually at least once during the day, too, usually when he got home from work. It was the first thing he'd do: grab me, grab a book, and make sure that I understood every last bit."

She waited for him to inject but he left her with silence as his eyes waited expectantly. "So when I read, half the time I hear it in his voice and it reminds me of when… when I felt like there wasn't a flaw in his entire body. He was my favorite person and those were the best moments, but now he is what he is." While her mind was frantically trying to slide the lid back on her heart didn't agree especially as Soul ran a thumb along her jaw. "And I wish we could go back, I really do. I wish I could forget the pain he caused in the middle because… as an adult, I know there were problems before the infidelity. You can probably guess that just from the fact that Mama chose to desert both of us."

"You've been holding that in," he murmured.

"And that's just an inch of it," Maka warbled back weakly.

Soul tightened his grip around her shoulder as he paused only to brush his lips against hers as reassurance. "Then keep going. I'm listening."

There was that chill again like he'd run his hand over a sensitive piece of skin but instead, it was that look, the utter concentration on her that spoke to the fact that Soul had left the rest of the world behind and she was now the entirety of his center. "Mama was always so stubborn - that's where I got it from - but hers was to a fault. She'd never agree with Papa, it was her way or the highway, and I think he just… oh, damn it, I don't want to give him an excuse for cheating but… maybe he just wanted someone to tell him he was good enough because I don't think Mama ever let him feel that way."

Soul hated to throw an obstacle to her continuing but he couldn't help himself, "Is that why you made me that promise? About praise when it's due?"

"Sort of," Maka smiled softly. "Part of it was because you did deserve it, but, yes, for a second, I wondered if I was being like my mom. And what's really funny about that is that you absolved me of that not that long after. You told me that I didn't strike you as the kind to be unavailable."

"Still don't," Soul had to punctuate that with a kiss that she accepted eagerly.

"I'm not," she murmured after the rejuvenation given by his lips. "And I think I'm starting to get comfortable with the idea that we're not my parents, even with the stupid mistake I made."

"Anyone would have thought-" Soul started with a sigh but her hand thumped against his chest, halting the words.

"I know we already argued that, so bottom line is: you're not my father." She laughed softly to herself, "Even if the way you read to Shelley kind of reminds me of it."

His collar suddenly felt tight as the heat crept up to his cheeks. "I just… I never liked reading but Shelley always asks, so… that's why I used to be so late on Sundays. I'd stay and read to her before bed."

"You're good at it," Maka murmured. "You're especially good at taking care of other people."

"Other people that I love," he corrected with a swift capture of her lips. "I hope that goes for tonight, too."

"I am currently feeling very pampered, even with showing off my emotional baggage," Maka laughed softly. "But I guess a date's not a date without you finding out something you might not have wanted to know about the other person."

"Except I wanted to know. If I have to ask for more stuff, you have to tell me more stuff." Soul clutched both of her cheeks now, bringing her eyes wide as his stare drilled into her. "I might be quiet but you… you like to hide it under your loudness, Maka. You like to put on a good front, happy and ready to go, but underneath you've got a lot you're suffering through. Don't do it alone."

She shook her head slowly, half in disbelief but also mostly sure of the promise about to come from her lips, "I don't think I can anymore."

"So tell me what else I can do tonight because I was really hoping that this could ease a little of the pain you've had this month." Once again as he looked at her, touched her so gently because sometimes everything about her felt so fragile even in the face of all her bravery, Soul battled with the urge to just sweep her up into his arms and to have every last bit of her.

Maka leaned closer to him, "I want you to take me upstairs." It was barely a whisper, just her warm breath across his lips.

He had to clear his throat to keep a want-filled grunt from leaving his lips instead of the rational words, "I don't want to hurt you."

"Keep those needy hands away from my side and we'll be fine." Maka closed the space with a kiss before using her hands to ease his off her face so she could be free, standing quickly and offering a hand to him.

Soul flashed a pausing finger before he got up and went to the record player. He'd saved the record for last, had planned that after all the waltzes maybe he'd be drunk enough to serenade her even though there was no chance his voice could hold up to Ella Fitzgerald's. Instead, he put it on and dropped the needle in a spot that he almost knew too well. Even if Maka was the first girl he'd ever really loved in that adult, mature sense, that hadn't stopped him from pining away in his preteens, and this was always the song to do it to.

He'd turned up the volume too loud to stay in the living room which is why as soon as the music swelled he was at her side, pushing her back towards the hallway. "Stars shining bright above you / Night breezes seem to whisper, I love you / Birds singin' in the sycamore trees / Dream a little dream of me." Soul was a lost cause, his voice refusing to join in especially as she threw those burning jade eyes over her shoulder at him as the words followed them to the stairs.

"Say nighty-night and kiss me / Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me / While I'm alone and blue as can be / Dream a little dream of me." Soul was carefully unzipping her dress even before they'd ascended the stairs after no admonishment came from her. By the time they reached the top, he'd unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it on the knob of the banister.

"Stars fading but I linger on dear / Still craving your kiss / I'm longin' to linger till dawn dear / Just saying this." His t-shirt was only a second behind as her dress tumbled to the floor. It didn't matter that they still hadn't reached the bedroom, at least not to Soul, as he pressed her against the wall in the hallway because there wasn't another second he could go without kissing her.

"Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you / Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you / But in your dreams whatever they be / Dream a little dream of me." Maka wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his lips to hers as her bare back met the chill of the wall. The cold didn't last long as his lips seared lines from her mouth down her neck as his hands clenched desperately at her hips.

"Hold on to my neck," he was breathless against her ear. As her arms tightened around him, Soul shifted their weight, his hands moving to grasp the back of her thighs. It was one simple hop on Maka's part and she was entirely in his hands, legs wrapped around his waist.

A giddy laugh left her lips, "Don't drop me, please."

"I owed you this," he chuckled against her skin before planting a kiss. After one more temporary juggle to get her clasped perfectly in his hands, Soul started the walk into the bedroom. He glanced at the bed but, to her surprise, made for the desk, depositing her on top of papers and maybe even the corner of his laptop.

"You missed the bed," she admonished as she started to lift her hips to peel things from underneath her.

"This is a better height," he shrugged as he took advantage of her angled legs and tugged her panties to her knees. "Just keeping my needy hands away from your wounds." Maka did him a favor and kicked them the rest of the way off as he knelt next to the desk. She was still busy moving things aside, definitely starting to feel the pull of the way his fingers were playing along her legs when she felt the first tickle of his hair on her inner thigh. He was low enough now to easily kiss there, planting one after the other starting at her knee. Papers fluttered uselessly from her fingers.

"Soul…" the astonishment melted into need as he playfully nuzzled himself between her legs. All of a sudden there was no more urgency on his side, just hot breath and soft lips toying from one leg to the other and between. What started as a sigh fluttered to a moan from her lips as he traced a line with his tongue, teasing instead of parting. Her toes curled against the edge of the desk as she shimmied for a better angle as if she were just out of reach and it wasn't Soul enjoying himself.

That was answered by a chuckle between her legs. "Can't enjoy the slow, huh?"

"I can," she attempted to snap but her voice turned to jelly as he interrupted her with another lapping of his tongue, this time parting her just enough that a wave of electricity hummed up her spine. Maka was holding her breath, waiting for the next but she watched him pause to nibble at her thigh, his eyes meeting hers like a challenge. She tried to button her lip, to hold the stare as his hand caressed down the other leg, his thumb drawing a line like a seam to her center. Maka lost, letting another wavy production of his name curl off her tongue. "Soul…"

His thumb rubbed the same line that his tongue had abandoned while his teeth continued to graze her tender skin. "I want…" he started before pausing to breathe a tender exhale against her, pressing his cheek into her leg. "I want you to forget everything else for a little while."

Maka ran her fingers through his hair, trying to catch her trembling heart. "Trust me, you're the only thing on my mind."

She was relieved to see the smirk spread across his lips as he tilted his eyes back to her. "You ready?"

It was her hands that were needy now, clasping into his hair as she nodded. "Please."

"Just keep telling me you like it," he murmured before kissing her thigh again.

Maka was prepared to make a cute little quip here but it all fizzled to steam as his tongue was back at its work, this time diving to her core for the first real taste of her. In all their forays before, Soul had been the murmurer, the one who always followed his actions with words of assurance or requests for her undying love, but now he was leaving the job at Maka's door. It was a strange thought but all trepidation left her as he concentrated on her clit, a lap becoming a suck that stole the words right from her mouth. "Oh, Soul…"

She had always believed it ridiculous, like some bad porno, to let iterations tumble forth during these moments but with the freedom of his request, she let them go, each wave of ecstasy having its own voice. There were no more lazy motions between her legs as he slid two fingers, angling and massaging until a rush of a moan parted her lips when he hit the right spot. He toyed there on repeat, each trust leaving her unsteady breath scattered with words of encouragement. Maka's legs were trembling as that tingle inside her had started to grow to a roar. As his mouth latched on to her again, fingers still working desperately, there wasn't even a chance to warn him as the raw moan rattled out of her chest. Her hips locked but he continued, not letting any of the ecstasy dull. It wasn't until her calls stopped, the breath just ragged from her throat that Soul stopped his motions and went back to gently kissing her thigh.

"That was… way more than like." The words felt stupid and fuzzy on her lips but at least they elicited a laugh from him.

"Good, was worried I was out of practice." He let the trail hit her knee before he stood.

Maka couldn't help herself, even in the afterglow, "How out of practice?"

He snorted a laugh as he started to unbuckle his belt. Maka's hands were there quickly, taking over unbuttoning his pants. "You're so nosy." He ran a hand through her hair as she finished with his pants, dropping them and his boxers to his ankles. "The truth? More than a year."

"Since you had sex with anyone?" Maka gaped.

"Don't act so surprised," he laughed. His hands had moved from her hair to travel down her back, fiddling with her bra.

"You… oh, this sounds ridiculous, but you know you're hot, right?"

Soul enjoyed that a little too much, the laughter buzzing in his chest. "Thanks."

"So why?" She slid off the desk, pushing him to step out of the clothes puddled at his feet as he finally managed to unhook her bra.

"Easy." He forced a pause in her efforts to move him back to the bed as he peeled off her bra, his fingers moving around her collarbone and into the swell of her breasts. "If someone else was touching me I wanted something to that touch, because if it was just the thrill I wanted, I could do that myself. What's the point if you're not in love?"

Maka wasn't sure what stunned her more, his words, or the way he spun her onto the bed. She wondered if he was waiting for an answer as the silence lingered through him reaching into the nightstand and grabbing a condom. He was sliding it on as she stared quizzically at the ceiling, trying to find him an answer. "I love you, you know that, Soul."

It had felt like a stupid answer until the smile beamed across his face, his eyes finally coming back to hers to play over the length of her body. "That's why I'm going to enjoy every last minute of this." He gently parted her knees with one firm hand as he eased between them. He was careful to keep his weight to her good side, but Soul needed that pressure of being tangled with her in the bed, his chest against hers as he made up for all the kisses he'd lost while his mouth was busy elsewhere. Maka wrapped her legs around him and after a few wet glides along her, he tilted his hips just right to enter her.

There was no rush as the satisfied grunt slipped from his mouth to hers. Soul was in no way working towards an end yet, just holding on to the feeling of being inside her as he toyed with deep and slow thrusts. He was ultimately proving himself right as he let his mind wander over why she tasted so sweet or how her hair still filled his general space with that soft scent of roses. This wasn't a thrill, it was an immersion in joy that brought nothing but calm and comfort to him.

Maka's hands were making purposeful journeys along his spine, sending a beautiful warmth across his skin. Those fingers carried the same message she'd last left him with and even though he almost wished he could hear her say it on repeat those soft caresses were a close enough second. Unfortunately, he felt the fatigue in his arms, the tremble as he continued to try to angle himself and knew he lingered long enough. Soul started the untangle, sliding out of her as he brought himself back on his knees.

"Turn over for me." She nibbled at her lip for a second, a blush that left Soul smirking. "You good?"

"Fine, just…" Maka hid the blush by rolling over as he requested, letting her face press into the pillow momentarily. "This is new."

He chuckled as he grabbed her hips and pulled them up towards him. Soul was just leaning over when his mind wouldn't let go of the rosiness of her cheeks. "Sit up for a second." On her good side, his hand drifted from her hip to hook around her, helping her to come all the way up to press her back against his chest. "Guess I kind of want to practice a little more," he purred against her ear as he let his other hand drift between her legs, his fingers sliding between her lips.

"What about you?" She was instantly breathless, just that simple touch lighting her back up and starting the coiling in her gut.

"No harm in waiting," he pressed the words against her neck as his arm moved from steadying her to clutch at her breast. "I'll warn you after you're done again I'm going to bend you back over pretty quick."

"Again?" But the idea didn't seem as ridiculous as it sounded especially as he started to stroke her clit with a steady up and down. She hadn't realized how much she needed him to take her weight, her back adding pressure to his chest as her legs started to become rubber. A low moan passed her lips as he rolled her nipple between his index and thumb, pinching just enough that it sent a lightning strike to her core. "Keep doing that."

"Which that?" he teased back and he was lucky she couldn't see his smirk since it was the epitome of punchable.

"Both," she pleaded back desperately.

Soul's hand crossed her chest to her other breast and repeated the motion just as he added a hint more pressure to his fingers. Suddenly, it was all stars, her body buckling forward as she lost complete control in a wave that made the last seem less than a sneeze. As promised, Soul eased her down, his hands traveling back to her hips to pull her back to where he was waiting. There was no more lingering and while Maka breathed raggedly into the pillow he drove into her, hitting his depth with an almost musical sigh. His fingers tightened into her skin as he continued at a speed purely dictated by need. There was no hesitation to let it bring him to his end and with a choked groan the pleasure zinged all the way to his toes, making them curl in the sheets.

With a contented hum, he fell back on his heels, smiling as Maka slowly sunk into the bed with a huff. "You have no shame," she murmured from the pillow.

"What?" he laughed as he moved to throw his legs over the side of the bed.

"You weren't embarrassed for a second," she accused as she turned her head towards him, eyeing him skeptically.

"Nope," he shrugged before grabbing a few tissues from the bedside table and starting the cleaning process. "I'm supposed to be?"

"I don't know," her finger worried into the sheets.

Soul finished and tossed the remnants in the trash can. As he rolled over he scooted next to her, his face right next to hers. "I'm not going to be shy about making you feel good. Least I could do. Just consider the first few times warm-ups. This was the real thing."

She took a deep breath and blew her bangs out of her eyes, still trying to bring her heart back down from thundering. "That's what I have to look forward to?"

"Yeah, for…" he helped her out, moving the hair so he could get a clear look at those sparkling green eyes. "For as long as you want me, Maka."

Maka grabbed his hand, bringing the fingers to press to her lips before letting the words slip past them. "I think that's going to be for a very long time."