I wouldn't mind kissing Soul… – the realization was hard and shocking as it hit Maka. Her mind was going a 100 miles an hour trying to process the things she had been feeling but suppressing till now.

She watched her partner sleep as she pondered on it. Did he feel the same way? Her gut instinct said yes, but all those times she called her flat-chested, 'tiny-tits', came unbidden to her mind too. How he told off even her father for suggesting that a cool guy like him would settle for someone like her. But then again, there were so many other times when he would have sacrificed himself for her, protecting her, the way he cared for her during these past few days. The way he opened up to her like to no one else.

Soul wasn't that good with people, Maka knew that well. He hid behind his weird tastes and sarcasm to ward everyone off. The meister knew that before he had met her he had a hard time even touching someone, like holding hands or hugging, always keeping a distance both physically and emotionally. Except with her. Despite being completely different people their resonance was remarkable as partners. They understood each other on such a deep level that baffled almost anyone that knew them. Maka chuckled to herself at the times she read books on music to try and get to know her weapon more, since that just wasn't her forte. But it was something important to Soul so she tried her very best. Of course they had their bickering moments, but who didn't.

Was all that just regular weapon-meister stuff or something more?

Soul sniffled a bit in his sleep, pulling the blanket closer to himself. Maka felt an urge deep inside her to comfort him, to make sure he was alright but didn't act on it, since she didn't want to disturb him.

Okay, no denying it, I love Soul. – the ash-blonde girl smiled as she made that abundantly and irrevocably clear to herself. No wonder she felt so rejected yesterday when he had ran out on her without an explanation.

Speaking of rejections. What was up with him then? Should I bring it up, or just let it be? He seemed to have gotten past whatever was going on by now. Given that he came down with a cold this morning it could quite possibly be that he was unwell already in the evening too.

But why had he been avoiding my gaze? Did he just want to hide the fact he was getting ill to spare me from feeling guilty? He did let up with it after I found out too… Not that he could have denied it with his already low voice becoming even lower and all rough. It was actually quite sexy, in her opinion, the thought making her squirm.

Blushing at her own reaction she decided to read instead to take her mind off of things. The problem was that do that she had to reach over Soul since her book was on the nightstand on his side of the bed. Inching really carefully she managed to grab it without waking her partner up but as she settled back in bed he stirred.

"Ugh, too hot." – the red-eyed boy groaned as he threw the covers half way off of himself, even though he seemed to have been cold just a few minutes ago.

"You are supposed to stay warm, remember?" – Maka turned towards him, propping herself up on her elbow.

Soul squinted at his partner, just barely opening one eye. The pot calling the kettle black. But grudgingly he pulled the blanket back up to his chest.

"Come, let's check your fever." – the ash-blonde girl leaned back over her weapon to retrieve the thermometer, her torso brushing slightly against his as she stretched to reach it, getting Soul all flustered and blushing at the close contact.

"Open up." – she nudged him when he kept staring at her. After another few seconds later he obliged, never taking his eyes off of her.

She seems happy. Or at least at peace. – Soul concluded to himself. – What the hell happened while I slept? Did I say something unconsciously? Is she still feverish? She does seem quite flushed still, but she looks relaxed, less miserable than yesterday.

"100.2" – Maka announced once it beeped. – "That's not too bad."

"Your turn." – the white-haired boy insisted when he saw that she was about to place the thermometer back in its place.

"Okay." – his meister agreed without a second thought, already popping the stick in her mouth. Soul's eyes went wide.

"I was only joking earlier!" – he exclaimed loudly, which made him cough so he turned his head away. Maka didn't reply since her mouth was occupied at the moment but her eyes spoke of great amusement on her part. I really am missing something, right? Or her brain just overheated already?

He snatched the thing out of her mouth as soon as it beeped, wanting to see it for himself. 101.3.

"Satisfied?" – she lied back down on her pillow with a smile on her face.

"Not exactly but I guess it's better than yesterday." – Soul concluded as he put the thermometer back and made himself comfortable again in bed, facing Maka.

They gazed into each other's eyes for a while without saying anything, but the silence wasn't uncomfortable or awkward at all. Then all of a sudden Maka brought her hands up to her face and turned her head downwards to sneeze. Then again. And again. She resurfaced a bit later when she thought that the fit had passed.

"All done?" – Soul smirked in amusement. She wanted to answer him but instead hid again and went back to sneezing. – "Apparently not."

"Ugh." – she groaned frustratedly when she was finally able to breathe normally again. Her weapon kept looking at her with an unnamable emotion in his eyes. – "What?" – Maka inquired.

"Nothing…" – he blushed.

"Soul! Spill it." – the ash-blond girl insisted.

"It's just that your sneezes are kind of…" – his breath hitched as a sudden tickle overtook him too. – "Cute." – he managed to say before going into a fit of his own. His sneezed were less like Maka's small feminine ones. More forceful and loud, engaging all the muscles in his upper body.

"Bless you." – his meister offered once he calmed down too.

"This really sucks." – Soul whined so uncharacteristically of him as a shiver ran up his spine, making him feel cold once again.

"I know. I'm sorry." – she apologized as she brushed his bangs out of his forehead.

"Not your fault." – he maintained coolly.

"Kind of is." – Maka laughed at his attempts to spare her.

"Nothing could have kept me away, so not really." – the white-haired boy sighed closing his eyes as he relished in his partner's touch.

"How about I make some more tea?" – she suggested as she got back in a sitting position.

"You are still sicker than me, so I should do it." – Soul tried to insist as the green-eyed meister crawled over him to get out of bed.

"I feel okay now, so stay." – Maka pushed him back down firmly. She grabbed her warm knitted sweater off the back of her chair and threw it over her shoulders as she sauntered out of the room with the tray that held the remains of their previous batch of hot beverages.

In all truth she was feeling a bit queasy from her breakfast as it proved to be a bit too heavy for her stomach, so she decided on making a sweet ginger green tea with licorice and orange peel plus a hint of rosehip. Really a perfect blend for just this situation. While she waited for the water to boil she quickly tidied up the living room where all her yesterday's tissues were still scattered about. After giving her nose a good blow, she made her way back to her room only to find a truly hilarious scene.

"Hey, hey Maka! Maka look, I'm a burrito." – Soul called out to her goofily, bundled up in a big roll of puff that were her covers. Obviously he was feeling cold but this was just way over the top.

"All I see is a moron in a blanket." – Maka sighed a bit irked by her partner's shenanigans. – "In my blanket to be exact." – she added once she realized that they had shared that one so far. Without another word she left again once she set the tray down.

"Wait, where are you going?" – the weapon exclaimed, alarmed a bit by his partner's reaction for a moment but within less than a minute she was back with his covers and pillow that she had obviously gotten from his room.

"Here, so that we can be more comfortable." – the ash-blonde held out the stuff, waiting on Soul to unravel himself from that – burrito for lack of a better word – but he just shook his head stubbornly, refusing to return it to her. – "Fine." – Maka sighed after a few moments and pushed him up against the wall to make room for herself and bundled up with his blanket.

She could sort of smell her idiotic partner's scent on it. It was boyish and oh so familiar, comforting. Simply just him. The green-eyed girl snuggled up against it sighing contently while Soul eyed her in amusement.

"Something you like?" – he smirked to himself at her reaction while he undid that obnoxious burrito and just simply covered himself with the blanket.

"Very." – she smiled embarrassedly, blushing slightly. Is she flirting with me? For real? – Soul was surprised by her straightforwardness.

He just couldn't help but remember his dream-Maka again, making him blush and avert his gaze again.

"What is it, Soul?" – his meister got serious again, sitting back up, determined to get to the bottom of it.

"Nothing." – Soul huffed irritatedly.

"It's not 'nothing', you are doing it again." – she insisted, looking sternly at him.

"Doing what?" – he started playing dumb.

"Not looking at me." – Maka stated unwaveringly.

Crap. I'm really obvious, aren't I? – he remained stubbornly silent. The ash-blond girl sighed heavily when it became apparent that Soul was shutting her out again.

She reached for their mugs, offering one to her partner. The sweet gesture that came despite his difficult attitude at the moment warmed his heart. After a few sips he decided to speak up.

"I had a dream." – Soul began hesitantly. – "Yesterday." – he added just to make it clear.

"What about?" – Maka asked softly, without sounding too desperate to know, although curiosity was just about killing her now.

"You." – he stated curtly, trying to keep the embarrassment out of his voice.

The ash-blonde meister kept looking at him questioningly.

"A very… graphic dream." – the red-eyed boy blushed even deeper with the confession, giving up on trying to maintain any kind of cool appearance.

"Oh." – Maka hummed at first. – "OH." – she exclaimed suddenly as the meaning of those words finally sank in. Her instinctual reaction was to smack her perverted partner across the head with a book. A very heavy one at that, but as she swung her arm above her head to deliver the blow she hesitated.

Soul finds me attractive. – her earlier worries whether he would be able to return her feelings vanished with that and she began laughing, from deep inside her, with such joy and relief that she teared up, her book dropping from her hand.

Soul who thus far had been scrunching his eyes closed shut, preparing for her vengeance, allowed himself a peek when he heard her laugh. At first he was offended that she was laughing at his expense but studying her facial expression further he realized that she had no such intention.

"You idiotic…" – Maka began, leaning in and kissing her partner on his cheek between words. – "Moronic… sweet… innocent… partner of mine." – at that she fully kissed him on the mouth, breaking down whatever barrier they had erected between themselves by bottling up these things for so long.

Soul was speechless for a second, frozen in the moment then kissed her right back. Unfortunately it had to be cut quite short since both of them were breathless due to their less than healthy state.

"Geez, Maka, your fever is worse than I thought." – he jabbed at her teasingly as he scratched the back of his head to try and ease his awkwardness.

"No, you dummy, I love you." – his meister stated bluntly.

"I love you too." – Soul repeated flatly. It's not like they hadn't said similar things to each other just out of pure habit. It wasn't a secret between them that they cared about one another very deeply.

"No Soul, I love, love you." – Maka emphasized at which the red orbs of her weapon widened. Gathering his courage he kissed her again, a bit more fervently then muttered against her lips.

"I love you too." – it was almost only a whisper from his smiling goofy face but it reached Maka nonetheless.

Emotional breakthroughs are exhausting as hell. So no wonder that our recently discovered love duo was snoring away merrily for the rest of the morning, with their hands intertwined under the covers.

Around lunch time they were abruptly awoken by the sound of the doorbell going off.

"Who the hell is that?" – Soul groaned as he buried his head into the pillow trying to reclaim his theta brain waves.

"I have no idea." – Maka pulled her blanket over her head.

Wishing for whoever was seeking entrance to just get lost, they tried to fall back asleep when they heard the front door opening. Oh fuck… Blair… – both of them thought almost simultaneously.

They became even more alarmed when they heard the voice of the person the sexy kitty had managed to let in.

"Where is my Maka? Your daddy is here to take care of you! I brought soup!" – the loud and obnoxious man could be heard through the door from just across the hall, probably from the living room or kitchen.

"Oh, no!" – Maka whispered as both of their eyes shot right open, wide with horror.

They were lying together in a bed, in close proximity, holding hands. Given that they were sick they had no energy whatsoever to go beyond that, but even all things considered the position they were in just now did not look good. And Spirit was bound to over-react. Having finally realized their feelings for each other this was bound to be an awkward encounter.

But before any of them could move to rectify the situation, the door to Maka's room flew right open.

"I hope you are not feeling too bad, and that bastard Soul was at least half decent to take care of you!" – Death Scythe chirped cheerfully without really looking and only coming to realize the compromising position the youngsters were in right at the end of the sentence. – "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO MY DAUGHTER YOU FREAKING OCTOPUS HEAD?"

"Would you shut the hell up already?" – Maka exclaimed and threw her book at her father with perfect aim, having it land squarely between his eyes, making him fall back out on the corridor tiles. – "There are sick people here you know? You are making my head hurt!"

The effort left her panting heavily but she tramped out of bed anyway, making her way to the living room to tell Spirit off further, leaving an utterly stunned Soul behind. He could just about make out parts of the heated discussion out there.

"Was he taking advantage of you?"

"No, he wasn't."

"What was he doing in your bed?"

"None of your business."

"I'm your dad, of course it's my business if someone is getting all close up and personal with my teenaged daughter. Especially if it's that damned Soul Eater Evans."

"We are both sick, it's easier to take care of each other in one room, that's what partners do."

"You have no idea how a boy's mind works, do you?"

"Just freaking leave already."

"But I just wanted to take care of you like when you were little."

"Well, I'm not little anymore. So just go, I'm perfectly fine on my own."

"But-but, your daddy loves you, I can't stand to see you suffer."

"The only one making me suffer right now is you."

"Alright, I'll just leave the soup on the counter." – was the last thing the redhead had said dejectedly before the closing of the front door could be heard.

"Blair, please, don't ever let him in again."

"I didn't want to, but once I opened the door he was unstoppable.

"Tsk. Typical."

A frustrated and very tired looking Maka entered back into the room, practically collapsing on top of the bed, half across Soul's legs.

"Wasn't that a bit harsh?" – he asked disinterestedly as he propped himself up on his elbows to look at his partner better.

"But he is so freaking annoying. I can't stand him." – she sighed heavily, her voice muffled by the blanket.

"But he also wasn't wrong." – Soul pointed out. I can't believe I'm actually taking the side of that obnoxious geezer.

"You weren't doing anything that I didn't want. He will just have to live with it." – the ash-blonde meister stated bluntly. Consent isn't really the issue here. – Soul rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I did notice you didn't actually tell him. 'Taking care of each other, that's what partners do'." – to tell the truth he was a bit hurt by the fact that Maka didn't come out to her father with their newfound relationship. Although they haven't exactly gotten the chance to define its nature to themselves either, yet.

"We are still partners. That fact won't change. He will find out soon enough. I just really wanted to have this little bubble with just the two of us for a little while longer." – she peeked at him to see if he was actually upset.

"Don't worry, it's cool." – Soul gave her a wry smile.

As the last bits of tension and adrenalin left her body Maka began to feel really unwell.

"I think I pushed myself too hard." – she whined as her throat registered the effects of yelling and her head began pounding so hard it made her dizzy.

"C'mere, you stubborn girl." – the white-haired weapon reached over to Maka to pull her properly up on the bed and back under the blankets.

Her shivering form relished the warmth provided by both the covers and her partner's body heat, since they ended up under the same blanket again.

"Geez, you are burning up again." – Soul realized as he pushed her bangs back and felt how hot her forehead was.

"My head really hurts." – the ash-blonde meister admitted as she huddled closer to her partner, resting her aching skull on Soul's chest.

"Let's check your fever, okay? Then you can take something for it." – he offered while he stroked soothing circles at the back of her head, making her almost purr in pleasure.

"That feels nice." – she hummed, making Soul chuckle.

"Okay, open up." – the red-eyed partner nudged and Maka complied without a word. – "103.7. This is not funny, Maka." – he stated with a frown as the reading showed up on the thermometer.

"Mmhm." – Maka whimpered at the pain in her temples because Soul had stopped his wonder work with his fingers on her head while he got her the medicine.

"I know, I know. Here." – he offered her the pills and the glass of water that they had on the nightstand.

"Please, don't stop what you were doing." – she requested once she swallowed and lied back down.

"Yes, milady." – Soul chuckled teasingly but Maka was way past caring about his jabbing.

Under his masterful fingers she soon fell into a fitful sleep, hopefully at the end of which she would be feeling much better.

A/N: Burrito scene inspiration came from a little comic by Crashanomics on DeviantArt.