His voice trailed off as he continued to gaze into my eyes. His breathing became rigid and sweat started to form around his hairline. My breath had caught in my throat making me feel like I was choking on air.

"...I did it because..." he mumbled.

I felt Tsubaki and Black Star drop their gaze to the ground as the tension between Soul and I built up with each passing second. It was strange that Black Star hadn't opened his mouth and stated the obvious: Soul was about to tell me how he felt towards me. I wasn't that stupid not to know, but I didn't want to be rude and interrupt him.

"Soul, just tell her already," grumbled Black Star.

"Yeah, holding back is never a good thing," agreed Tsubaki.

"Soul..." I managed to choke out.

He dropped his gaze to the ground and nervously ran his fingers through his hair. My hand instinctively reached out and lifted his head up, telling him he didn't have to say whatever it was right at that very moment with my eyes when he finally lifted his gaze. The smile he gave me, though weak, had thanks woven in it. I smiled back before straightening up and marching over to where Black Star and his partner were sitting.

"Umm, Soul isn't feeling good," I lied. "I'm gonna walk him home and make sure he gets enough rest. So if I'm not at my dads house I'm at Soul's. Cool?"

"Yeah, yeah. I got it," grumbled Black Star, clearly annoyed he didn't get to hear what Soul had to say to me.

"Thanks Maka," sung Tsubaki.

XXX

Soul and I sat across from eachother on the couch, neither of us wanting to speak. I could tell he wanted to say something, but was reluctant for fear of yelling it rather than calmly saying it. The house was a bit cold and I had grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around myself. Soul sat still, not shifting a limb even as chills visably crawled down his body. I offered to share the blanket with him, but he shook his head.

"Hey, Soul," I said just above a whisper.

His eyes flickered up to my face in responce.

"If you still have something to say to me, you can tell me now. You don't have to worry about others hearing it. And we can keep it between the two of us if that makes you feel better."

He sighed as he shifted his body a little closer to me.

"Listen, I don't want to hurt you or make you think differently of me when I say what I have to say," he finally said.

"It's okay. You won't change how I view you that easy," I gently replied.

"Well, you remember how I had called you everyday while I was gone for those 3 years? Yeah, that wasn't really cool of me to do because I should have known you wouldn't answer your phone."

"Oh."

"And," he said as he ran his fingers through his messy hair, "I was really stupid to have left you for that length of time."

"Just a little. You're already kind of stupid."

"Thanks Maka, you're so nice. But in those three years I realized something."

"And what would that be?"

Silence. And then a gentle sigh.

"That I really can't live without you by my side."

"It's stupid really. I mean when I become a death scythe I won't have you next to me every day. And you'll probably have found another weapon and forgotten about me."

I set my hand on his leg, drawing circles on it with my index finger. I felt my face twist into a shocked, confused expression as my eyes followed the path my finger was tracing over and over. He had laid back on the arm of the couch, his breathing shallow and shaky.

"Soul?" I asked. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just...I just knew you wouldn't have a response. I shouldn't have said that. I should have kept my mouth shut," he ranted. "I don't deserve to be your partner. I'm just a useless scythe who partnered up with a girl who knows how to get her point across in one sentence."

"Soul, you're not useless and if you hadn't approached me that day, I probably wouldn't have a weapon yet. You're really cool and funny and a lot of other adjectives. And you definetly deserve to be my partner more than anyone else in this stupid school."

He lifted his head half way into my litle speech, clearly happy that I didn't find him useless or unworthy of being my weapon.

"And," I continued. "I think I may like you just a little bit..."

Light flickered across his eyes as a wide grin dominated his features. For a moment, I thought I saw a hint of regret reflect in them. Regret for not having told me this before.