Usual disclaimers apply~ enjoy your read!!

WES----

Everyone in the hall, including Wes, were in their sleeping attires apart from their guests. Two in the morning and a loud knocking was heard at the front door.

What met them was the sight of a boy, two girls and a man in a wheelchair, the dark blanket of the night almost swallowing them from behind.

The boy almost blended with the night, what with his ebony coloured hair and attire, yet his golden eyes reflected the light flooding out from the inside of the house. The two girls looked and dressed alike apart from their bottom clothes - one wore long pants and the other wore shorts - and the taller one had longer hair than the younger girl.

The man…he looked familiar…

It was only then that he realized whom he was when Cordelia sprinted towards the prone form in haste and crouched in front of him, frantically calling out his name. "Charles!"

Charles…?

Father?

MAKA----

Refreshed. That's how she felt.

She has to thank her partner for that. Soul had considerately watched over her all day yesterday - feeding and keeping her company. Much like how they acted around each other years ago when they were still housemates.

Actually, he was being pretty strange yesterday. There was something different in the way he had been acting but it was too subtle to label what it was. There were occasional bouts of silence as he stared over her head or something and he was also pretty close, always brushing into her, always patting and ruffling her hair. It was uncomfortable but likeable.

Exiting her room with the intent of taking a shower, towel over her shoulder and new clothes clumped around her arms, she took notice of the door beside hers a little ajar. This room was Soul's old room, a room she hadn't entered in ages. Why would it be open?

Peeking inside she found the answer to her question, eliciting a small smile from her. A form was sprawled across, face down, on top of the bed. It was too recognizable though, what with the obvious shock of white hair, so she needn't worry about who it was. Walking close to the sleeping form of her partner, she took the liberty of taking off his shoes for him.

She guessed that he stayed late at night, since he was still wearing the same clothes from yesterday, just by taking care of her and knowing that his old room was still vacant, he stayed there instead, probably too tired to walk all the way to his own apartment. Well, he's always welcome here, she thought with amusement.

Crouching down near his head, she observed his calm and undisturbed features in sleep, a bit of drool crawling down the corner of his mouth, which made her silently giggle. His bleach white bangs gently fell around his face, almost invisible strands of silver poking out at random places. His hair band was still in its place on his head and it looked uncomfortable.

Looking at him now and knowing what he had been to her - a fiancee - caused her to notice new things about his appearance. How actually attractive he was. How lucky she was to have him - a kind and caring partner.

Gently, she slid the band off of his head, his long hair tickling her skin yet it was soft and smooth to feel. He seemed to have felt it since he shuffled underneath her hand, groaning huskily at the bed. The sound made her blush profusely and it made her feel a familiar discomfort - it gave her this strong urge to exit the room as quickly as possible before he ended up completely awake.

Quickly standing, she immediately shuffled to the door in haste but was frozen in her steps by a quietly uttered sound.

"Maka…?" Soul's questioning voice was raw from sleep but to the meister it sent a warm feeling to course throughout her body. A shuffling was heard behind her signalling Soul's awakening, and not wanting to be rude, she had to turn around.

"Morning Soul," she said gently as she watched him rise off of the bed and saunter towards her, scratching at the back of his head as he did. "Nice sleep?"

Soul only nodded in reply as he stood, swaying, just in front of her frozen form, eyes still blinking away the morning daze.

Being so close to him, she saw the small trail of drool and at that she gently laughed, gaining a puzzled look from him. Sacrificing her own towel, she rubbed it against the spot, cleaning the little trail and waking up the dazed Soul.

"Wha--?" Soul suddenly spluttered, surprised at the sudden action.

As Maka took the towel away, she giggled as she pointed at the edge of her mouth, mirroring him, and muttered, "Morning drool." With that, she turned and headed into the bathroom, hiding the flush that had just invaded her skin, turning her features pink.

SOUL----

That was the best start to a morning that he ever had, he thought. To be greeted by the sound of his meister's gentle laughter filled him with such warmth.

He wanted to watch over her all night but he also needed sleep - it was just so handy that his old room wasn't disturbed or changed and it allowed him to stay there for the night.

What if he moved back here in this apartment? It wasn't such a bad idea, especially since he had this growing need to just be right next to her. He wondered whether he should inform anyone of what this feeling was. Should he inform Maka?

What? That he liked her? What if he gets rejected? What if it gets awkward? The awkwardness was already there when the engagement was announced. So the best thing would be to keep his feelings to himself at this moment.

What a coward… How uncool…

His attention was drawn to a vibrating sound coming from behind him, and he surmised that it could only be his phone. It was only seven in the morning, getting a call this early…who could it be? The phone was located on his old bedside table, vigorously quivering, the LED light blinking rapidly. Grabbing the crazed object, he flipped it open, revealing his brother's name. Immediately, he put the phone to his ear.

"Wes?" his voice was still husky from sleep.

"Soul. Soul, its father…" the static sounded urgent, panicking. His father? What could've happened?

"Charles?" Soul uttered blankly, hiding the panic in his voice from his brother. Compared to Cordelia who treated him coldly, Charles was worse – he treated Soul like a stranger and not like a son. So the only logical way to act towards him was to also treat him like a stranger. Charles was never home anyway – always on his excavations. Relics, relics and more relics. He cared about nothing else. It annoyed him. "What's up?" he asked nonchalantly.

"He's in a coma. It would be good if you visited home." A coma? That sounded familiar. Where had he heard someone being in a coma before? Although the news surprised him, he wasn't affected much by it. "Mother's distressed, she's in shock from what happened."

"Really, Wes, you should know what my answer to that would be by now… I won't come home. Especially for him." There was a scuffling on the other line, and it irked Soul into thinking that they weren't listening to what he had just said, until Cordelia's voice spoke up.

"Dear Soul. Please. Come home. We need you." The scythe felt his blood grow cold. His mother was begging? Begging for him to come home? Her voice sounded broken from crying and it made him feel guilty if he refused her begs any further.

"Mother…" he said, taken aback by her tone, "Get Wes back on the phone." And that she did. The clattering on the other side was ended when Wes' voice spoke up to convey his presence. "Wes. What's going on over there?"

"Truthfully, I don't know. I think mother just wants the whole family to be here--"

"Wes, tell mother, Charles is not dead. There is no need for me there and you know it too." His voice was strict and it reached his brother, eliciting a sigh from him.

"I know. I'll tell them anyway." There was an uncomfortable pause as Soul listened to what was happening in the background at the household – there were few people speaking but his mother's cries overwhelmed the other sounds. It scared him. But he didn't want to go home. He didn't want to see their father. "Soul, couldn't you at least put aside your problem with them just this time and come home to visit? Even for a day?"

"No, Wes, I can't erase the memories of how they treated me. As father said, he didn't have a monster for a son, so he's not my father." He said indifferently, his features arranged bitterly on his face.

A lengthy pause was broken as Wes sighed. "I got it Soul. I'll tell them that. Be careful over there."

"Got it." The call ended with a click and Soul looked at the phone in his hand, a small whisper suddenly escaping him. "Take care of them, Wes."

Closing the phone with a flick of his wrist, he turned around slowly and was met with the sight of an unexpected Maka, standing by the door, her sadness etched into her features. She just came out of the shower since her hair was wet and a towel was wrapped around her shoulders.

Sighing, he reached a hand back to scratch at the nape of his neck and he sat down with a plop on his old bed. He chuckled nervously, averting his gaze from his meister's. "You heard all that, huh?"

"No," she said gently, "Just the last few parts." She walked towards him and sat on the bed beside him, the bed shifting beneath their weight.

They stayed in silence for a while, with only their breathing being heard. Soul felt her warmth beside him, reaching out to gently caress his skin, and this eased the tension he felt from earlier.

Surprisingly, Maka gently trapped three of his fingers – little finger, ring finger and middle finger - in her small but warm hand and slowly turned it over, palm side up, to rest on her lap. Her other hand started to trace the lines on his palms with gentle feather light touches. What was she doing? Well, anyway, he wasn't complaining. He liked the contact.

"You're not a monster, Soul," she stated simply, shattering the silence, and the short statement made him gaze at her with intent, and so suddenly, longing. She peacefully observed his hand, a beautiful and calming sight and he felt a surge of relief knowing how lucky he was to have her. She immediately vanquishes all his stress like magic. He wanted to be closer to her than they were now.

But he had to have patience. If he rushed her, she might push him away - a fear that kept repeating in his mind whenever he felt affection for her.

So all he did was lean in, closer to her shoulder and just lay his head there. Comfortable. Close.

"You smell nice…" he uttered simply.

He felt her smile above him gently. "Thank you and you're welcome," she replied.

----~~~~----

"Shibusen…It's here isn't it?" A cold voice sounded across the silent desert night. The only lights to be seen were miles away, the ones that decorated the desert town of Death City.

There were two figures, both wearing identical hooded capes, both billowing in the light breeze.

"It's here." The second figure spoke, the voice more masculine that the other's.

"Have you located it's exact location?"

"Yes, boss."

The shorter figure of the two, the boss, coldly smiled. "Show me." And with that, the shorter figure walked towards the city, followed by the other, the moonlight casting their fearful shadows into the city.

A/N: fearful huh...
nothing much to say except that...i'll try and do something more exciting in the next chapter TT_TT

thanks to all that read and reviewed last chapter~
please dont forget to review again~