Soul was barely cognizant by 6 AM but the buzzing in his lap jolted him back to something close to alert. Maka had stopped and was inside the convenience store in search of coffee that had a taste better than battery acid. He was tired, and he stank of blood and sweat, and God did he not want to answer the phone for Wes. With a long, withering sigh, he hit accept.

"What the hell happened?" And while the words could be rage-filled they were not, just exploding with concern.

"Uh," Soul reached for a story but found none, the wheels in his brain unable to turn. "Look, I got in a fight." He paused, waiting for the regular rush of disappointment from the other end, that instant barrage that his parents were so good at. Wes was simply silent, waiting on storytime. "It was just luck because when I got there, Maka was cornered by some guy. He was going to hurt her, Wes. Really ended up hurting me instead. Not the best end result but way better than the other option. I'm sorry-"

"No, don't be sorry!" Wes was pleading over him. "Is Maka alright?"

"Yeah, she's with me, driving me back." Soul hesitated, unsure of how this next step worked since when was the last time he asked for brotherly advice? "Look, I… I don't think either of us is in the shape to just show up at the house. Do I take her to a hotel? Is that going to fuck with your day today?"

"You bring her here. I'm going to text you the address, get you a room." Wes already sounded busy in the background, the scribbling of a pen, the movement of paper. "And neither of you are going to consider our mess your first priority today."

"Wes, I want to be there." There was a level of pleading in his voice that he never thought was available to him.

"And you will be." And for the first time since childhood, Soul felt soothed by his brother's voice, the words instantly settling into him. "But your health and Maka's are more important."

"OK," Soul's voice wavered, a strange threat of tears overwhelming him.

The words continued to iron out Soul's concerns. "Change your course to the new address. We'll be here when you get here."

"Bye, Wes."

"Bye, little brother."

It wasn't a second before the message blinked on his screen, the new address there for him. He saw Maka paying and while he tried to will it away, a couple of tears did manage to come out of his eyes. By the time the door opened, he was gingerly trying to wipe at his left eye without inducing another wave of pain and nausea.

"I'm not even sure you should have another cup of coffee, Soul, but I…" She trailed off, her eyes narrowing at his face. "What happened?"

"No, just, it's fine." He grabbed both coffees from her, letting her get the rest of the way in and close the door against the frigid morning.

"Crying is fine?" Maka took one of the napkins from her pocket, carefully fussing over his face with it. "Are you in pain? Do you need anything? I can run back in for aspirin if you don't want to take the stuff the doctor gave you."

"No, really, it's fine, Maka." Regardless of the bodily misery it elicited, Soul leaned over, planting a soft kiss on her lips. I guess I really have everything I need to soothe my pain.

Soul should have guessed, honestly. It never could just be some regular, run of the mill Holiday Inn, but this wasn't exactly what he would have pegged as a Wes place. If the weather had been worse that morning, Soul probably would have been struck with the haunted look of the house, one of those looming Victorians that started off any good horror flick. At first glance, it could probably be considered dull in its coloring, a range of greys and purple hues, but as Maka pulled the car up to the front, Soul couldn't help but feel like it was warming, welcoming with its unobtrusive nature.

Wes, the mother hen, was already out on the deck as soon as the car stopped, clunking down the stairs and opening the door for Soul before he could even manage it for himself. "It looks worse in person, I promise," Soul croaked as he leaned out of the car and onto his aching legs. Before he could even get all the way to his feet, Wes was holding him, hugging him again in a little more desperate way than when he had in the restaurant. Soul blamed the fresh watering of his eyes on the squeeze to his ribs. "Come on, my ribs are bruised, too."

"Sorry!" Wes pulled him away to finally examine Soul's unfortunate face. "You weren't kidding."

"Not this time."

Wes didn't have another word, rushing over to Maka. She had just paused from opening the trunk, allowing Wes to give another squeezing hug. "I'm so sorry, Wes, for doing this."

"No apologies, Maka, really," Wes waved her off, snatching the bags from the trunk before she even had the opportunity. "Come on, it's freezing out here." Elizabeth appeared, opening the door just as Wes got to the top of the stairs. She let a soft hand touch Soul's shoulder as he walked past her and ended up wrapping her arm around Maka's shoulder as they met.

"You're alright?" Elizabeth whispered softly to Maka, a comment only for her.

"Fine, thank you," it sounded generic, but Maka blamed it on the tiredness rather than the guarded feeling she was nursing from all of Soul's questions in the car.

Wes completely bypassed the front desk, nodding at the receptionist as he led the group towards the back of the house. The hallway was dotted with portraits, people from assorted families and times, adding to the disjointed homeliness of the spot. "Your suite's back here. During the summer it has a beautiful view of the garden, but right now it'll do. Elizabeth and I are staying upstairs, room five."

Soul found himself slowing down until he could feel Maka's fingers wrap around his. "Mom knows you're here?"

"Sort of," Wes shrugged before dropping the bags at the door marked two, taking a key from his pocket. "I never gave her the exact place, you know. It took a lot of convincing, but I told her you were here last night. That I'd forgotten about the party and offered to have you stay to spend time with me." The door opened to a room painted in soft blue, one of those ridiculously extravagant canopy beds taking up most of the immediate view.

"Thanks for covering."

"That's what brothers are for," Wes laughed jovially before picking up the bags again and moving them to the bed, leaving the key on the bedspread. Soul pulled Maka into the room as Elizabeth waited at the threshold of the door.

"Look, I'll get cleaned up and I'll come right over to Mom's OK?"

"No," Wes offered back firmly. "You'll both stay here today and the four of us will have breakfast in the morning to discuss the rest."

"But Mom'll fucking flip, Wes," Soul started back, but Wes put up a firm hand, a borrowed gesture from their father that didn't at all seem as awful when coming from Wes.

"Turn off your phone. Relax. Elizabeth and I will survive your absence and excuse it." Wes put the hand down, turning his attention to Maka. "Please make sure he relaxes."

"Hey," Soul griped.

"I'll try," Maka smile was back, already adding to the relief that Soul needed.

"Alright, we're off," Wes turned back to Elizabeth, taking her hand. "Again, I expect that you rest until tomorrow. 9 AM breakfast, understood?"

"Alright." Soul resisted the urge to move forward, to cling to his brother as if he were a kid again. He opted for his broken smile instead, giving a soft little wave.

Wes let Elizabeth pull him from the room, the door shutting quietly behind them.

Maka's breath broke the silence as if she had been holding it since they left her father's. Without a word she turned to him, starting to unbutton the morbid shirt. He offered no objections and no immediate help, just watching as her fingers worked. When the shirt was done, she helped him shrug out of it, the vest, and the jacket, throwing the mess to a corner of the floor. "You do the rest, I'll run the water." She didn't wait for an answer, just disappeared into the bathroom.

Soul sighed out, preparing himself for the stretch of getting off his t-shirt. It wasn't half as bad as he expected, just eliciting one piercing ache from his side as he stripped off the cloth. His shirt, along with his pants and underwear, fell on the dirty pile before he plodded in to follow Maka.

She was kneeling next to the tub, the water pooling as her fingers tested the temperature.

"I can take a shower," it was a weak offering and Maka's firm headshake negated it immediately.

"I think a bath would be better."

"So I can pass out and drown?" He quipped.

"That's why I'm staying here," she murmured, motioning him towards the water. "Get in, no more arguments."

Soul offered a short hmph but nothing more. The water wasn't scalding, but enough to elicit the stereotypical intake of breath between his teeth. Easing in was glorious, and as he reached the full soak level he was definitely appreciative of her suggestion. "You win," he grumbled, sinking to his chin.

With a playful finger, she splashed a little water at him. "I know." She watched him passively, her fingertips still dangling and feeding off the heat. "Thank you."

"Hm?" He didn't mean to become so unfocused on her but between the water and his own exhaustion he was lost, drifting in a haze.

"Nothing," her soft smile kept him from questioning any further. Now wasn't the time to really bother Soul, watching him finally relax from the tightness he had held since the alleyway. He'd saved her in more ways than one today, and while she could thank him now, explain it to him, it didn't exactly feel like there was a rush to do so. Maybe for the first time, it felt like regardless of the mess, maybe he wasn't planning on leaving.

When Soul woke up the light was starting to dim, the room illuminated in a cool rose hue. The ache in his body was a little more steady now, like a hum from his face and side, and he contemplated the concept of those heavy painkillers for another moment before dashing it away. At the end of the day, he might be numbing more than just that, and honestly, he wanted to be as alert as he could for the fragile Maka that had finally emerged. Albeit, he was sure she'd already started to squirrel that part away again, yet another reason why he should have all of his wits about him.

He reached out a blind hand, expecting to come in contact with her body and when there was nothing, a panic so deep set in that he fumbled to get himself out of bed. Of course, this motion was much too breakneck for his body, sending his stomach lurching and head spinning. "Maka?" The frantic tone sounded booming in the room. No answer came and his hand stretched across the bedspread, trying to feel for a hint of warmth or sign she'd even been there.

That's when the pad on the nightstand finally caught his eye, covered in handwriting smooth and neat like her notes. Ran out to get us food with one ridiculously cute, small heart in the bottom left corner. Short, simple, to the point, and a fountain of relief. He collapsed back on the bed, reaching for the remote as his endorphins would keep him from any further sleep for now. The doctor may have said something about screens, but Soul ignored the thought and turned on drivel to fill his ears and the time.

It felt like an eternity. It was probably closer to fifteen minutes, and by the way Maka came back showering apologies it wasn't even supposed to be that long. "I thought I'd be back before you even woke up." She put some of the bags on the small table by the window, turning towards a large wall cupboard that opened to uncover a mini-fridge, since heaven forbid you ruin the aesthetic of the room with modern technology other than a TV. After she had unloaded a bag there she was back on the bed, her fingers seeming to examine every inch of him. "Do you still feel nauseous? Did you at least take some aspirin? Any new pain or-"

"I'm fine." He tried to grin as convincingly as his lip would allow before reaching up to sink his fingers in her hair, to bring her down to him.

"Your lip," she murmured.

"Be gentle, then," he whispered back.

She was, silky, airy, tempting before stealing it all away, making his hands fall uselessly from her. "Are you hungry? You should at least eat a little something and then an aspirin."

"What did you get?" His stomach had recovered from the panicked jostle of before and he could feel a little grumbling there.

Maka was starting to unpack containers, laying them out on the cramped table. "For tonight, Chinese. I also got some groceries, bread, peanut butter, milk, ice cream."

"Ice cream is a staple?" Soul laughed softly before starting the slow crawl to a seated position.

She forgot the food for a moment, coming to meet him at the edge of the bed, hands ready to steady him. "It's been a hard week, ice cream is a must."

Soul took her hands, regardless of how ridiculous and unnecessary the help felt, and let her bring him to his feet. Thankfully, all parts of him behaved and being on his feet felt fine, at least for now. She walked him to his seat and then settled in her own. They ate quietly, the din of the TV entertaining neither of them. Soul really couldn't focus on it, too preoccupied with trying to read her like a book in another language. He wished his brain didn't feel so clouded, his tongue so thick in his mouth or he would just try to force it all out of her.

"Soul…"

"Yeah?" He stopped pushing food around.

"Don't be angry."

"That's never a good way to start," the words rushed out of his lips without really a thought. They felt fragile right now, and that phrase never seemed to be a good way to start a conversation.

Maka was fiddling with her sleeve, a small smile daring to pull at the corner of her mouth. "Look, I know we both decided nothing for Christmas, but I did kind of, well, I have something I was going to give you when we got back to school but since we're together now…"

The relief came out as a short laugh, his hand reaching across the table to grab hers. "It's OK, I broke that one, too. You'll have to wait, though, unless…" Thinking back to his lucky streak, Soul stood up from the table, walking over to his bag that lay collapsed on the floor. He hadn't rummaged all the way through it, but sure enough, when he searched through a couple of compartments, the box was there. "Fucking Marina."

"What?" Maka tried to move to get a better view, to peer at what was in his hands.

"I'm not very creative, so I have one hiding spot, have since I was little. Marina, my nanny, she knows anything that's important goes in there and me being predictable hid your gift there." He turned the box over in his fingers before slowly getting back up, moving back to his chair.

"But why bother bringing it with you?" Maka blinked. "I was going to meet you at the house…"

"I was betting I wasn't going to make it that long without seeing you," Soul laughed but saw the way her eyes started to water. He wasn't ready for her hurt, he wanted her to just have a moment without thinking about last night being her fault. "Come on, let's clean up, then we'll switch."

Soul didn't get much of a chance, getting shooed back to the bed. Maka cleared the table quickly, putting leftovers away in the fridge before throwing her duffle bag onto the bed. "You'll just have to shut your eyes. I didn't get a chance to wrap it since I wasn't expecting to get to give it to you today."

He did as he was told and held out his hands, hearing the movement of fabric until he felt the weight in his hands. It was supple, heavy, and before he opened his eyes he was already sure she had outdone herself. His old leather jacket was a constant and at this point looked it, a little moth-eaten and threadbare. In his hands was a brand new one, the styling very similar but the color smokey charcoal. His fingers felt along the lining, warm and silky. "Wow," the most uncool response for the coolest gift.

Maka tried to hide a laugh, one of her hands slipping over his. "It's OK?"

Soul squeezed her hand. "It's perfect." He forgot his face for a moment, leaning in to capture her lips with a not-so-gentle intensity. Maka tried to press against his chest, to ease him into another light, feathery kiss, but her pressure was ignored. He kissed her until he felt the prick in his lip again, pulling away since he was sure no one really enjoyed bloody kisses.

"I think you need that aspirin." She freed herself from his hands, walking back over to one of the bags from the grocery, going about the step by step process of unpacking the safety layers of the aspirin container. When she finally got it open, she popped two pills out, bringing them and the container back to the bed. She handed him the pills, leaving the bottle on the nightstand before going back to the fridge for a bottle of water.

"You're wasting time when you could be opening your gift," he grumbled, reaching for her as soon as she was back on the bed. He took the water and swallowed the aspirin. "Thanks. And thanks for the gift, too." He nudged the box into her fingers.

Maka paused, rotating the plain silver box in her hands. She had been conflicted, hoping he would and hoping he wouldn't even after she'd bought her own gift. The attention, the thought he gave to her felt overwhelming in the absence of it from most of the other corners of her life, a terrifying but invigorating possibility. "Thank you."

"You didn't even open it," he murmured back. Soul let a hand climb up her arm, caressing to the back of her neck.

She looked at the box again before slowly pulling off the lid, holding her breath as if taking a dive. It was two delicate emerald teardrops settled in golden studs. She felt her eyes start to swim as she stared at them, slowly letting one of her fingers glide over the earrings to verify their existence, the reality of this moment.

"I know I've never really seen you wear jewelry but I thought…" His train of thought derailed at the hitch of her breath, the tears plopping into her lap as she looked down at the box. "Maka, I just wanted you to be happy today. Just not think about all of it for a little while."

"That's not what's making me cry," she whispered with a sniffle, clearing some of the tears on her cheeks and letting him pick up the rest. "I'm happy." She lifted her head to him, planting a soft kiss on his battered lips. Stitching wounds closed can be excruciating, as Soul had experienced not even a day ago, and now Maka was feeling it, the painful mend of a gaping maw that she thought would never close.

"Merry Christmas." His voice was soft against her lips, his hand still playing at the back of her neck.

"Merry Christmas," she echoed. Maka gentle closed the box, placing it on the nightstand before pushing her duffle bag back to the floor. She took his jacket from the bed, getting up to put it on the back of one of the chairs at the table. He waited patiently, sinking down in the bed as soon as she came back to it, his hands reaching out to tell her it was in her best interest to join him.

Maka laid her head on the pillow next to him, letting her hand rest on his chest. "I love it, Soul, everything about today, the gift, this. Thank you."

In a terrifying moment, I love you almost tumbled from his lips, and maybe it was just the pain but all the nerves lit up in his body. It was just because she used that word, that the automatic reaction was to use it in turn. "I'm glad," he managed to croak out, but he pulled her in quickly for another kiss as if that would be enough to hide the range of emotion that was playing on his face and not simply add to it. Regardless of whether he wanted it to or not, Kilik's words echoed back into his head.

As she kissed him so gently that it was almost more painful, Soul was fighting a losing battle. It's only been two months. It's too soon. Our families are insane. We're practically still just kids and what the fuck do we know about stuff like that. It's hormones. It's just college romance. It's not love. The excuses had about as much force as her breath against his neck, useless against the anxious beat of his heart.