A/N: This is a series of random events throughout Soul and Maka's relationship that all takes place under one AU so it will be bouncing around a lot. This happens before the previous chapter. Maybe I'll go back and date things so it'll make things easier. Thank you for reading and reviews are much appreciated.

Sanctuary

Since first arriving to Death University, Maka had two sanctuaries.

The first was her dorm room.

Her roommate was rarely in there so it gave her the kind of quiet she needed for doing homework or writing up the new alternate universe that had been bouncing around her head for the last three weeks. She was able to spend hours upon hours locked away in there until her eyes burned and fatigue finally overtook her. No one ever bothered her or even knew she was alive. Liz would text at least once just to make sure she was alive, but that was it. Other than the required ten minute phone call a day with her papa, she was left to her own devices there.

Death Library was her second sanctuary.

She mostly avoided the first floor unless she was in desperate need of coffee because she forgot to buy more at the store that week. The second floor was mostly filled with bookshelves and very little sitting areas that weren't occupied by school computers. But the third floor was where she liked to call home. The fact that it was a requirement to be absolutely silent and there were a few nice hiding places was appealing to her. Everyone who chose the third floor as their area of study, were considerate to each other by not taking over someone else's spot. It was the most ideal area on campus for her.

Both places she had held near and dear to her heart for the first couple months of living on campus. It wasn't until a certain someone decided to seek her out and bother her that it eventually changed.

Her study habits had gone from listening to dubstep pounding against her eardrums to hearing the ramble and cries of her boyfriend as he sat on her bed. She could no longer be observed into the world that she was writing for her fanfic because her boyfriend's voice always barged in. Or the brush of his fingertips as he gently tucked a loose strand behind her ear. It had become annoying that somehow this boy had barged into her personal space. That she had let it happen was the worse crime of all, though. Maka should have had better control over her relationship. She should have-

An orange-yellow drink had been set down behind Maka's laptop. Her fingers stopped their typing as she stared at it before turning around to the person who had done it. Soul loomed over her with his own drink in hand - some drink probably coated in sugar - and raised to his lips as he took a sip, never breaking contact with her. His thumb and middle finger held onto the cup while his other fingers rose as he tipped it to his mouth. Maka felt her lips tug up into a small smile as he did so.

"Why do you drink it like that?" she asked.

"Dunno whatchu're talking about," he retorted.

"No one drinks their coffee like that, Soul."

"Yeah, they do."

"Name one person."

"Uuhhh," he said as he scratched the side of his nose.

Maka snorted and shook her head. "See! Not even you know one person who does that! It's lame and you know it."

"Shuddup."

He lightly kicked the side of her chair before huffing down in the one next to her. Settling his cup on the table, he rested his chin in his hand as he leaned against the hardwood. There was a loving, playful glint in his gaze as he stared at her that she had seen far too many times before, but it still made her smile.

"So whatchu working on?" he asked.

"The next installment of my latest story," she said automatically.

"Readers getting antsy?"

"Yep," she sighed.

"Good. Because I need it too," he grumbled to the row of books in front of them as he dropped his head against the table.

"Are you the anon who keeps reviewing that fic begging me to update?"

"No," he said a little too quickly. "I'm the anon that sends you messages on tumblr to do so."

Maka gaped at him. "Seriously, Soul? Do you know how annoying that is?"

"Well, yeah. Your last response made that pretty clear - OW! Maka! What the fuck?!" He rubbed his side where she had pinched a bit of his fat and twisted it around to make it hurt even more. "Was that because I sent you a few anon messages?"

"You sent me twenty!"

"What was I supposed to do? You would have ignored me if I asked you in person."

"So you bothered me on my blog? I knew I never should have shared that with you. It's enough that you bother me in my personal life, I don't need that in my internet one as well."

She was staring at her laptop screen - the black line blinking at her as it waited for her to continue typing - but she still sensed Soul's pout. It was several seconds until his arm wrapped around her waist and tugged her closer to him. He rubbed his head against her arm before he snuggled his face into the crook of her neck to kiss along her flesh. Maka tried to hold her ground as he whispered his apologies against her skin, a tingle running up her spine as he kissed a sensitive part under her jaw. When he blew against her ear, she finally broke down into a fit of giggles and pushed him away from her.

"Okay, okay! I forgive you!" she laughed.

Soul wrapped his hand around her wrist and kissed her palm before laying his head back down on the table. "I knew that would persuade you."

"You can be so ridiculous sometimes," she mumbled. She scooted her chair back in front of her laptop and readied herself to continue typing. "Lemme just write another k, and then we'll go. Alright?"

"'kay."

"And be quiet! I don't wanna be kicked out of here because we were too loud."

"Maka, it's a Friday night. We're by ourselves. Even the nerds know they should be out partying and enjoying themselves."

"Then why aren't you out with them? I thought you were going to that Fall Out Boy concert with Black Star."

He pursed his lips, blinked, and rolled his head to the opposite side, completely avoiding her question. "Finish your story. I'm hungry."

She opened her mouth to prod him more, but thought better of it as she went back to writing. It was hopeless to bother him more on the subject when he made it clear he didn't want to talk about it, that much she knew. Occasionally she did steal a glance his way, the question still burning on her tongue, before she pushed it to the back of her mind.

Of course she was more desperate to know now more than ever why he was cooped up in the library with her. He had made it clear more than once that he hated being in the building, yet he still insisted on sitting beside her when she was there. They had only been dating for about a month now, but he had done it even when they weren't together. She knew - as did he - that he would prefer to be at his apartment or out with Black Star performing some scheme they had come up with.

So why did he willing choose not to?

About an hour before the library closed, Maka shut her laptop and slid it into her backpack. She pulled out a book she had borrowed a few days before for one of her classes and dropped it on the table with a loud thud. Soul's head popped up. He took in a deep breath, smacking his lips together, and looked around like a confused puppy.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yep," he said a little groggily. He scratched the back of his head, fluffed up his hair, and stretched his back out as he yawned. "Didn't realize I fell asleep."

"Yeah. I think the custodians are gonna figure that out when they clean tonight." She nodded at a drool stain on the wood where he had been sleeping, and giggled when he groaned.

"Not again."

Maka put on her backpack, tucked her chair in, and tugged at the back of Soul's shirt for him to get up as well. "Come on. If we go now, they won't figure out it was you this time. Unless you want to see Marie's wrath again for ruining her mahogany table."

"Nope! I'm good!" he said as he scrambled to stand up. "What time is it?"

"Um," Maka quickly checked her phone, "it's about 10:30. Did you still wanna get food?"

"Fuck yea! There's a diner by my apartment that's open 24/7. We can go there. If that's cool with you."

"Yeah. That sounds good." Her stomach grumbled. "I may not have had anything to eat since breakfast."

"Maka," Soul scowled, the same scowl she had seen one too many times in the past.

Before he could chide her on how important it was to eat three meals a day with snacks in between, she walked toward the doors that led to the stairwell. She heard Soul's annoyed sigh as he followed. They made it out of the library safely and into the bitter cold that came with attending a school that was located up north. Maka hugged her jacket tighter around her as Soul did the same, and they walked in silence to where his motorcycle was parked.

On the way, Maka slyly walked closer and closer to Soul, trying to shield her small body from the icy air that blew toward them. He got the hint as he wrapped his arm around her middle and tugged her close to him. When they passed by the fine arts building, he led her inside.

"Gotta make a stop real quick," he mumbled to her, but she didn't want to protest either.

The heat inside the building was much appreciated as it warmed her face, and she sighed in elation. She sat down on a bench inside the main area and swayed her feet side to side as Soul dug around his backpack. He pulled out a white sheet of paper that had lines on it and markings that she wasn't used to seeing.

"Forgot to turn in my homework for my music course. I'll be right back."

"Turning it in close to midnight. Typical," she playfully said.

"All the college students do it like that," he grinned.

"I would like to meet these mysterious college students who do all these things. They sound very interesting. But too bad they only live in your imagination."

"Haha, very funny. I'll be back."

"I'll be here."

His footsteps bounced against the walls as he made his way further into the building. Maka sighed as she sat there alone, glancing around at all the directions on the walls. All the medals that the school's band had won as well as the theater and solo musicians. Death University was one of the best fine arts colleges in America whose program rivaled that of Julliard's. It was one of the reasons Soul had chosen to come there instead of anywhere else. The other reason was because it ticked his dad off more than anything, and if anyone asked him, Soul would say that was a win alone.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she pulled it out to see a notification from Facebook. Apparently Black Star had posted new photos on the social media site. Being the curious person that she was, Maka swiped her phone to check them out. She scrolled through the album - noting that it was the Fall Out Boy concert that Soul had said he was going to that night. But rather than her boyfriend being in the photos with Star, it was Kid. The last picture was of them smiling, sweat dripping down their foreheads, wearing the same shirt with their arms around the others shoulders.

It looked like they had fun, but it still didn't explain why Soul didn't go. Though she knew Black Star had a small, tiny crush on Kid, she also knew that wasn't the reason behind him going over her boyfriend. There had to be another one. Soul wouldn't miss out on seeing his favorite band because his best friend wanted to take his crush instead. No matter how loyal Soul was, music always came first.

"You ready?" Soul asked, startling Maka away from her phone.

She stuffed the device back into her pocket, locking it as she did, and stood up. "Yep."

He dug out his keys and headed to the front door to go back outside, but before he could, Maka whirled around and asked the question that had been bothering her for too long.

"Soul, why didn't you go to the concert with Black Star?"

"Uuhhh." He scratched the back of his head with his bike key. "It was cancelled."

Even if she hadn't seen the photos on Facebook, she still would have known he was lying. When it came to her, Soul was a terrible liar. She knew every one of his tells because he made them so obvious.

"Star posted pics on Facebook, you know," she said bluntly. No hint of anger at his blatant fib in her voice.

Soul opened his mouth to say something, but then closed again, looking outside as he mumbled, "I didn't wanna go after all."

"Why not?"

"Dunno," he shrugged. "I guess I wanted to go with someone else."

The last bit was so quiet that if she hadn't been hanging on his every word in dire need of an explanation, she probably would have missed it. Her chest warmed at the small sentiment, and the meaning behind them. She wasn't sure what to do. She either wanted to jump around and squeal or yell at Liz that Soul would rather hang out with her in the library than see his favorite band ever in concert.

But she didn't do either.

Instead, she bit down on her lip and ran to hug Soul around his waist, burying her face against his chest. Her mouth pulled up into the widest smile she had ever had in her entire life. It was nice knowing that she had a boyfriend who cared about her so deeply. Soul had done so much for her since they started dating, and even before that. He was the nicest, sweetest, most caring boyfriend she had ever had. While anyone else would have ridiculed and insulted her love of writing for a fictional couple, he praised and encouraged it.

Maybe having Soul intrude in her sanctuaries wasn't that bad after all.

"What did I do?" he asked, a little shocked.

"Nothing. My nose was cold, and I wanted to warm it up."

Now she was the one lying.

"Oh, okay. Did you still wanna get burgers?"

Maka silently laughed to herself.

Soul was a sweet and caring boyfriend, but sometimes he was an idiot as well.

"Of course," she said as she propped her chin against his chest and smiled up at him. "I haven't eaten almost all day so I'm starving! You're paying by the way."

"When you're not eating the entire menu," he said.

She puffed out her cheeks in the way that she knew made him smile and playfully said, "If I faint and fall off your bike in the middle of the highway because I'm lightheaded from lack of food, it'll be your fault."

"You're a child."

"Takes one to know one." She stood up on her tiptoes, kissed his cheek, and wrapped her hand with his as she pulled him out of the building. "Now come on, I'm starving!"

Soul laughed at her. "You staying at my place tonight?"

"Can we marathon horror movies and cuddle on your couch?"

He grimaced. "Can we marathon Disney movies afterward?"

"Sure," she smiled.

"Then, yeah. Sure. Why not? We can watch your lame horror movies."

"If they're so lame, why do you always use me to hide from the tv?"

"If you tell anyone that, I'll deny it."

"I know." She paused in front of the doors and turned around. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she stood up to gently press her lips against his. "Don't worry. I'll save you from the all monsters," she whispered.

She felt his smile against her skin as he said, "Wouldn't have it any other way."

They left the fine arts building and walked to his bike entangled in the others arms as they tried to keep warm from the cold. Once on the bike, Maka pressed her face against Soul's back, pulled the hood of her jacket up, and slid her hands beneath his jacket. After they ate a late dinner, they went back to his place and watched movies until they both fell asleep on the couch.

Maka's favorite sanctuary, and most important one of all, was being snuggled up in Soul's arms with his gentle breathing lulling her to sleep. It made her feel safe and secure.