Usual disclaimers apply~

SOUL----

Damn Maka…

I just came home, clearly with the intention to apologize and fully explain those actions and lies. But what does she do, he thought as irritation started to throb across his head, she goes to her damn lesson, that's what.

He sat himself at the rooftop, staring out at the desert horizon, recalling Maka's suddenly escaping form as she heard the bell for third lesson ring. She could've atleast ignored it like she did for the second lesson's bell.

The single thought that was meant to have been a inner joke warped dangerously in meaning, and he was only glad that she didn't escape from him then, that she hadn't pushed him away, although she did show signs of anger directed towards him. She hadn't forgiven him, he guessed.

Although he had given her a hard time with all his lies, she still acquiesced to stay, to listen to his pleading apologies, to hit him with the anger and hurt that he let her feel. Ones that he deserved.

"Maka suits you."

The calm, knowing tone of voice shocked him from his reverie as he found his brother sitting next to his own form on the roof's floor, suits and all. But that was the least of their worries, clothes and manners didn't matter as long as they were away from public sight or from the family household. Wes easily copied his little brother's slouched position, legs crossing underneath them, watching as the sun crawled its way up to its zenith.

"What?" Soul asked in a dumbfounded voice, his brother's question tricking his mind with its little play of words. Maka suits him. Of course she does, in resonating terms that is. But other meanings - romantically influenced meanings - wound itselves around the short phrase, confusing Soul into an inner frenzy.

"It amused me back there, the burning in your eyes when you looked at her gaping at me. You were jealous, right?" Wes wore a smile that didn't match his elegant visage - it was goofy, careless, and homely. This was the Wes that Soul spent his childhood with. The kind - well, brotherly kind, however you think a brother acts toward their sibling, very natural, straightforward and yet caring and protective all the same.

"No I wasn't!" Why was he being defensive? He wasn't jealous. Wasn't he? Seeing the smug look on his brother's face, it felt like he could see through any of his lies. That and the way his face was turning red because of the truth. He had been indeed jealous. He tried to think of why he had been though; it wasn't as if Maka fell in love at first sight with his brother right. Right?

Oh god. Why was he thinking like this?!

A large hand fell on Soul's head causing the spiky white hair to flop down his eyes, momentarily blinding him in a curtain of white. A defensive outburst formed at the tip of his tongue but it was stopped short by Wes' unexpected confession.

"I almost thought you couldn't answer Maka's question just then. About who her fiancee is," he laughed freely, "I debated whether if I should interrupt and introduce myself as the fiancee… but I thought that it'd be much harder for you if I did." Gaping at his brother's revelation, Wes chuckled at the hilarity of how Soul's features were formed: his usually calm half-lidded eyes were bugging out in panic, his eyebrows knitted together so much that they seemed to meld together, his mouth forming a tight line.

"I'm still wondering why you'd want to stop the engagement though," he said calmly.

Soul blinked at him. Why did he have to ask when it was so obvious! Or was it? "Maka doesn't want to go through something like this so I will do everything in my power to… spare her this arrangement," the weapon said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Wes snorted at him, causing Soul to give him a confused glare. "How do you know she doesn't want it?"

Huh? Why does it seem like his brother wants the engagement to proceed? Weren't they both against it before? "W-well… her eyes say a lot…" It felt embarrasing to him, saying something…private like that. Reading her eyes wasn't something he does a lot, he only captures glances and sees how her emotions show clearly in those emerald orbs. But he becomes too flustered if he looked into them for longer than a glance – if he becomes drawn in, he wouldn't be able to escape.

"What if you're misreading?" Soul heard that clearly - the smug certainity in his voice. His older brother knows something, as always, and he never tells.

"What's up with you? Aren't you supposed to be against this wedding thing too?!" Soul exclaimed, blushing in embarrassment.

Wes posed in a deliberating way - slouching while sitting crosslegged on the floor, one of his hands fingering his chin in mock thinking, his other hand resting on his knee, an eye crinkled shut deep in thought, his face looking as if it was wincing. Soul could've laughed, if it wasn't for the seriousness of his own question. Why the heck was Wes playing mind games with him?

"I actually think this arrangement to be more good than bad." The older brother released a chuckle when he looked to Soul. The young weapon could only imagine what his expression could've looked like: one eye twitching in disbelief, mouth hanging open, blood drained from his face. "Not to worry though. I'll provide my support whatever your decision would be. So if you're decided on stopping it, then I will try and convince mother. This whole mission thing is over anyway."

"That's actually our new mission: to convince her to call it off." The comment was spoken as soon as Soul was released from the clutches of his shock and it elicited a laugh from the elder sibling.

Wes made to stand and Soul raised his head uncomfortably to look at his brother.

"I should make my way back." Soul nodded in agreement. "I'll contact you if mother decides to change her mind." Wes smiled calmly down at Soul and reached down to pat his head again. "Fix up the problems with your fiancée," he ordered in a comical tone, turning to walk towards the exit, waving behind him as he walked away without looking back.

"See you, bro." Soul only watched his retreating back in silence, smirking at his brother's casualness around him.

----------

Crimson eyes glared into shaking green ones.

Kiel Lancet looked weak. Scared. Young. Inexperienced.

How on earth did Maka find this brat?

But he was also arrogant looking, as if he was as good as he says he is. Soul didn't like him.

"Soul," Maka's voice was as nonchalant as before – he couldn't tell what mood she was in, but she was still probably angry. "Don't scare him away."

"So," his voice directed itself in Maka's attention, but his eyes were fixed on Lancet's. "A knife, huh?" The meister only sighed in exasperation. Soul's tone was taking on a challenging note. He wanted to test the guy.

"Yeah," replied Kiel, slightly wavering. His eyes darted away from his blood red gaze, looking around at the empty courtyard infront of Shibusen to the cobblestones around his feet – anywhere but the Death Scythe in front of him. Soul had been waiting for his former meister at the entrance after school had ended and was surprised with the sight of her walking toward him with the weakling he had been scrutinizing.

"But you do know she's a scythe technician, right?" Soul said in a haughty and knowing tone.

From Kiel's side, Maka flashed her old weapon and secret fiancee a dark glare. "Are you implying that I can't use any weapon other than a scythe?"

Soul flashed a sharptoothed grin and inwardly hollered in laughter as he saw the fear cross in the younger weapon's features from the sight. "Maybe…" was the drawled, playful answer.

Glaring at him lethally, never taking her green eyes off his crimson ones, she stretched out her hand to Kiel and the boy looked at it confusingly. After a few moments frozen in that pose, Maka turned her head to face Kiel.

"Kiel, can you transform please?" Her voice was clenched in irritation, probably from Kiel's unresponsive reply: confusion.

Soul laughed in amusement, so hard that tears threatened to flow. He knew what she had wanted him to do. Whenever Maka reaches out her hand - his always automatically follows and he instantly transforms. The sight of Kiel's confusion was entertaining and he couldn't wait to see more of his mistakes.

"Oh! Sorry!" When Kiel touched Maka's hand, the brief moment froze in Soul's mind and the laughing ceased, the mood turning serious. His eyes burned in… something - most likely jealousy or anger. He didn't like the idea of Maka holding another person's hand - weapon or not. Maybe he should just enforce that rule on her since she is his fiancee.

What is he saying?

Was he being possessive? Again?

A bronze-coloured, four bladed dagger, forming a small cross, appeared in the air after the light of transformation appeared, Maka catching the weapon at the handle inbetween the blades. Each silver blade was decorated with swirls and rings, engraved onto the metal; all lengths were as long as her lower arm. A shackle appeared on her right wrist, a long chain connected from it to the handle of the dagger - Soul had no idea what kind of weapon Kiel was, only that he was a dagger weapon.

A smirk crawled itself into her features and her eyes looked to Soul's, burning with ferocity and excitement. All he could do was grin back with arrogance - she wanted to try her new weapon out and she was infront of the best training partner she could get.

Instantly, a light covered Soul's right arm, the scythe blade appearing with its jagged black and red design. But something had changed, near his shoulder there were strips of gold that helped line the jagged design, stopping where the zigzag turns and where the blade met the shoulder the metal seemed to split out, like small wings. It was his new form.

"Don't go easy on me, Death Scythe." Her tone was one that she used frequently during their fights when they used to hunt. Deadly.

"Heh, I know you better than to go easy on you." Although he knew that he wouldn't be as good a fighter as Maka, he could fight on his own, slower in speed yet precise in his own way.

She charged. He remained planted in place, waiting. She was used to using the midrange scythe so the best weapon to give her apart from a scythe would be a spear. But this?

He was sure she'd be disorientated but suddenly the dagger blade shot out towards him, scratching him minutely at his left cheek, his features frozen in surprise at the unexpected move.

His gaze locked onto the blades, following them back to the meister who had created a wheel as she spun the dagger at her side using the chain. It looked like a circular saw blade, the movement smooth and swift that it created an illusion of a transclusent disk. She had just solved the problem he had only just been thinking of and in only twenty seconds flat. The range now was perfect for her. She was truly a prodigy.

Charging towards his side, she swiftly shot out the dagger, Soul only sheilding in time with his metal arm, deflecting it. He watched as the silver glint of the blade flew into the air, the chain stopping it from going further, dragging it to an arc as it swung behind her, returning to shoot out towards him again.

Deflecting it once again, he took this time to charge, his blade arm infront of him just incase the dagger returned to hit once again. He closed the distance shortly, raising his blade arm high in the air, ready to strike down, a brief flash of panic apparent in his fiancee's features. But this did not sway his attack, he knows she would be able to evade it somehow – if not… Maybe he should put less force on this attack--

She straightened the chain in both of her hands at the last minute, stopping the scythe blade from reaching her, wincing from the sound of metal screeching on metal. This reminded the scythe of how she used his form before for both for defense and offense - a flash of hurt was felt as he thought "So she's finally found a replacement for me…"

The distance of their faces as the blades were disabled was a handswidth away, so close that he could hear her ragged breathing, and see the thin sheen of sweat on her forehead. And the thin film of wetness shielding her hurt filled eyes, which made her look like she was about to cry.

Lightening his weight on her defense but keeping it there, he slowly bent his head towards her, the distance slowly disappearing. As if on reflex, Maka's eyes fluttered shut, a tear forced out due to the action.

His lips touched her left eyelid, letting it stay there. It was the most affectionate action he had ever shown to her, the contact sending jolts into his system, his heartbeat fluttering erratically in his chest as he did so.

Time stopped.

He knew that this 'training session' wasn't just for trying out the kid's form - it was to show how angry she still was at him and his secrets.

"I'm really sorry," he whispered against her eye, sending vibrations into her and he felt her slightly shiver underneath.

She lowered Lancet down and Soul's arm reverted to normal. He had the sudden urge to move closer to her and he was glad she wasn't moving away. Slowly, as the contact between his lips and her skin remained, he felt compelled by the moment to wrap his arms around her, gently laying his hands on her back and releasing his lips from her eyelid. He felt her wavelength shift erratically - panic, calm, anger, surprise, peace.

She didn't reciprocate but Soul remained where he was, trapping her inside his arms, gently resting his forehead on hers, both their eyes closed, savouring the moment. Their warm breaths being felt against eachother's skins.

Oh how he enjoyed the contact! The feelings that invaded him sent him into an inner frenzy. He had wanted to do this when he first arrived, but he didn't expect that the single action made him want to stay there longer, to appreciate the feeling he was experiencing.

Yes, he remembered that Kiel was still there, but he didn't care if he saw - he was even quite thankful that he wasn't reverting back to his human form, giving them the privacy they deserved.

"I'm sorry, alright? What do you want me to do for you to forgive me?" It was gentle but it contained his usual tone - arrogant yet apathetic.

"Just… stay," she commanded weakly. Finally, Maka returned the embrace by putting her arms around his waist, the shackle being felt burying itself on Soul's side. Her head moving away from his and lowering itself onto his chest, with him laying his chin on top of her head.

The position was comfortable.

Wes was right; Maka suited him, her form fitting into his perfectly inside the embrace.

A/N: I want to depict their romance as…naive, awkward and spontaneous… just something about them that makes me think that that sort of relationship suits them xD;;
i think i might draw the fight scene just so it would be visualised better~

exams are done! my summer holidays officially start now~
im just gonna go on writing and hopefully aim to finish this before september (its gonna be busy from then on o.o)
yes i have no life TwT i need a job too TwT

omg~ i just logged on and i was met with 100+ reviews for this story~
wow~ thank you to all those that reviewed~! really! i reach out my gratitude to all of you x3
of course as usual, i'll continue to do my best xD

please dont forget to review~ *hearts*