A super sweet beginning of the week treat!
Maka was desperately cursing her body as she heard the door open, the heavy shuffling of his feet echoing in the hallway to the living room. "I'm home," he offered almost skeptically as he found her pressed facedown on the couch, her legs kicking in frustration.
She barely surfaced for air, "If I could get up off of the heating pad I would."
"Oh," he dropped his things in the hallway just as the million other thoughts running in his mind. "That bad, huh?"
"I would request that you put me out of my misery but I think you've refused before."
"I don't do mercy killings," he chuckled as he made his way to the side of the couch and hunkered down next to her. Soul leaned in slowly, letting his lips brush hers. "Something else I could do?"
A forlorn, sigh that morphed into a groan left her lips. "Another kiss and then… maybe by the time you shower the painkillers will make me functional." One wasn't enough, certainly not for Soul and Maka wasn't using her lips for complaining instead. He spent as much time as she'd let him feathering soft kisses on every corner of her lips as his hand smoothed through her hair. "You still smell kind of piney."
He snickered, "Think I still have sap behind my ears."
Maka reached out and tugged on his earlobe with a smile that wanted to wither under the pain in her gut. "It's not bad, but make sure to scrub."
"Bossing me around already," he faked a sigh before catapulting to his feet, making sure to send her a clear view of his smirk as he eased out of the room.
He's so cute, that swelled high but sunk her lower as he disappeared around the corner. She tried to concentrate on the wonderful glow of artificial heat searing away some of the absurd cramping but the way he kissed kept creeping in. I was going to… take a step when he got home. I sort of made a promise with that phone call that a shower would lead to me sitting him down and… but he obviously wouldn't be touching her any time soon, not at this stage of her period at least and while she most definitely wanted to pamper him it wasn't like she could even concentrate on the TV, leaving her sure that she'd be fumbling through her first blow job.
Even letting the word glance over her mind brought a blush to her cheeks and a yearning that only succumbed to the next wave of pain. It was a perfect catastrophe between the ache, bloating, and that lovely patch of ache that had come to life on her chin. All as soon as he comes home. With that tragic thought she pushed her face back into the pillow and let it muffle another groan. She wheezed in air and tried to will away the discomfort, the entirety of being a woman.
Who knows how long ticked by before she heard his footsteps again, the unceremonious plop next to her and the feeling of his hot breath against her ear. With all the steamy baritone he could offer, Soul whispered, "Pizza or Chinese?"
The laugh had a life of its own and it took her, forcing her to bring her face from the pillow to gulp for air to replace it. "Pizza."
His grin grew another inch. "Perfect answer." Soul was back on his feet almost immediately, plodding out of the living room. Maka could hear him shuffling in the kitchen and the echo of his voice as he detailed their standard order to the usual pizza spot. She was fairly sure the delivery boy knew Soul's credit card number by heart at this point. Even after he stopped talking there was clattering in the kitchen and Maka tried to concentrate on reading it, trying to envision what he was doing in her mind's eye.
Soul entered sometime later with two mugs brimming with amber liquid that gave off that grassy but still slightly floral scent. As he put the mugs down he settled next to her on the ground, tossing an arm over her and instantly playing in her hair. Soul seemed content just to zone out at the screen but Maka cleared her throat, bringing him back to reality. "How was the mission?"
He let his head fall back on the couch before rolling on his shoulder, his eyes focusing on her as he continued to stroke his fingers through her blond locks. "Long. Practically a waste of time except for the last couple of days. I swear I never want to go back to Russia again."
"That's a pretty giant place you're nixing," Maka laughed.
"Don't care. Too cold. Too big. Too…" he shrugged which bobbed his head, at a loss for continuing the complaint.
Maka rolled her eyes before letting it all collapse into a smile, "And Kid? You two are getting better?"
"Sure." That was his conversation killer, but instead of Soul following it with his usual eye wandering or blank apathy, a slow smile started to spread on his lips. "I, uh, missed you. You know that?"
Her cheeks pinked and his fingers drifted there, making it flush even closer to red. "I miss you, too. I'm… I'm sorry I don't feel good."
"Sorry?" his eyebrows furrowed.
"I, um, thought, well, it's been a few weeks and I said…" She was rolling her eyes at her stuttering, feeling the heat come to them as tears threatened to mock her.
"Hey," he tapped her cheek with his pointer, urging the motion of her eyes back to him. "I've been dying to be home, to just be in your space. If that means eating too much pizza and spacing on the couch, I'm happy. But you know what I've wanted since that phone call?"
"What?" she squeaked.
He swallowed slow, building up the strength to ask for something that almost seemed more dangerous than all the others. "I wanted to sleep next to you. All night."
"Just… sleep?" Maka blinked as if her eyes would suddenly find the deception on his face or the joke would somehow materialize.
"You said it yourself, the after's the best," he sighed softly as he rubbed his thumb just below her lip. "And… Maka, sometimes, after we're together, just…" he tripped over it and she waited as he ground the nervousness between his teeth. "When you go back to your bed I don't want you to go."
Maka let out a wavering sigh, her bottom lip pouting as she tried to refuse the tears. "You're too cute."
"Cute?" he scoffed. "I'm not cute."
"Adorable," she cooed.
He made that incredulous little snort again as he moved that thumb to pinch the curve of her cheek. "Not cute."
"Ow," Maka complained as she pushed at his hand, getting him to intertwine their fingers rather than pull at the tender skin. "But what if I drool?"
A devious grin started to curl his lip, "You do."
"I do not," she snapped back.
"And you snore," he leaned closer, his eyebrows challenging her with a rise.
"Liar!" she practically gasped but it scattered away to a laugh. "Then why would you want to sleep next to me, huh?"
A dreamy gust of breath left his lips, "Because I love you."
"Cute!" She quickly hid her face in the pillow to save her cheeks from further assault.
"Maka Albarn," he growled as he inched closer. Normally, this would be the time to pounce, but instead, his hand gently fell to the back of her neck, playfully smooshing her just a little further into the pillow. "Say cute again and I'll eat all the pizza myself."
Her lips barely snuck out from the fabric. "You wouldn't."
"You want to test that?" he eased back quickly.
She eyed his grin helplessly before she sighed, "I love you, Soul." He beamed a little brighter as his lips invaded the little bit of space she left between hers and the pillow. "So tonight, you can come and sleep in my bed."
"Your bed?" he murmured back before pulling far enough away that she could see his eyebrows curled inquisitively.
She could hear the heavy insinuation of we never go to your bed because it was the truth. In a way, it was an unspoken parameter, and while she'd often blame it on enjoying the smell of him enveloping his sheets, it was also the power to come and go as she pleased, drawing lines. "This way you can stay as long as you want."
His eyes screamed of the weight of it and his fingers quickly went back to working in her hair, a desperate act of soothing for both. "Thanks, Maka."
"Not sure it's a thank you thing," Maka murmured.
"Still, thanks," his smile wrinkled around the edge, losing its hold as he leaned into her again, trying to pull surety out of a kiss.
Even in the pitch-black Soul could make out the perfect curve of her earlobe, the line of her jaw. He'd promised himself sleep and his body was definitely hearing the siren call with her warmth glowing against his chest but he wanted just a few more minutes of watching her, of memorizing this moment. He needed to break it down to the cellular level, every last nuance of the way her delicate sleeping frame fit into his collected as the most important of remembrances. It was etched into his soul and he was sure he'd never have enough of it, snoring, drooling, or no.
Maka stirred slightly and with the tiny catch of a yawn she murmured, "Why are you still awake?"
"How can you tell?"
"Your soul's humming," she laughed softly, the words still tainted by delirious sleep. "You buzz. A spiky little strum."
"I can't tell if you're making that up or not," he chuckled.
"I'm not." Even in the tightness of his grip, Maka rolled over and he took the opportunity to run his hand up and down her back, tracing a line on her spine. "You can't sleep?"
"I will, in a minute." As his hands drifted and her eyes started to flutter closed again he let his mind wander, wondering what that buzz was like, hoping it was music to her ears.
He was sure she was asleep but her voice started again, loud in the small chasm between them in the bed. "You know I trust you more than anyone."
"Same," he answered quickly.
"With everything," she murmured.
"I think we went over this," he let another short laugh leave his lips before using them to press a kiss to her forehead. "Go to sleep, Maka."
In clear defiance her eyes flickered open. "Do you think you'll love me forever?"
A snort of a laugh swiftly left his nose before he left another kiss for her at her hairline. "I think you're half asleep and dreaming but… I hope so. I want to." The pause was heavy in his gut and he wanted to slam shut every last inch of that door but the way her fingers tightened into his t-shirt made him sure he'd never be able to pry her grip on his heart. "I want to pretend we're invincible but I worry. That's what I do, I guess."
"You can worry." As she tilted her head the breath ran hot against his neck before he resituated his head on the pillow, letting her come face to face with him. "Since I'll always be there to tell you for sure."
Their lips found each other in the dark, locking effortlessly just like their souls so often did. A tremble in his broke the kiss, a shaky breath taken and exhaled over hers. "Tell me again."
"It's a forever sort of thing, Soul," she murmured. "You're stuck with me."
One more quivering touch of their lips before he went back to running his hands along her spine. "Close your eyes."
Maka was obeying but her eyebrows were still slightly furrowed. "You promise to go to sleep?"
"Like I said, in a minute." He still needed a few more memories, pulled like the warmth from her skin. He needed every last picture of this in his mind to heal over the worry, to try to convince himself that wasn't some sleep-addled nonsense from her mouth. A forever sort of thing.