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"When did you-" Maka's voice dropped off, meeting the confused red eyes of her partner. They were plopped down on the sofa, window pushed open to let the summer air blow through their apartment. After waking up late on a Sunday, Maka, too bleary to cook, had simply tucked herself onto their couch with a cup of water as she awaited her partner, who had gotten up maybe an hour late and headed straight to her shower. Now, Soul was lying with his head in Maka's lap, staring up at her as she ran her hands through his still damp hair with awe while her cup sat, abandoned, on the coffee table.
"What?"
She smoothed back his bangs to see him more clearly, spiking them upwards. "Your hair gel. You're not using it anymore."
"Yeah?" Soul blinked up at her. "It's been like that for a while, actually. It was too much work in the morning, and we were always on the go..." He trailed off. "Did you just notice?"
"Yeah." Maka's voice was soft, hands pausing for just a moment. "I just never realized it. It's a good look on you."
A beat passed between them, and Maka realized that Soul didn't appear even a little bit surprised. "You think?" he asked, although it sounded like he already knew what her answer would be.
She huffed, a quiet flush working its way up her neck. "You were spending too much money on hair gel in the past anyway," explained Maka instead, her fingers continuing to comb through the thick strands of his hair, pulling it away from his face so she could see him a little better. She swallowed at the how bright his eyes seemed despite their still sleepy quality and shadows just under his lids, the curve of his nose, the line of his chin. "Your hair's getting kind of long too, Soul," she said, trying to distract herself from her already very distracting partner. "You may be in need of a hair cut."
He scoffed at the very idea. "It's fine."
"It's not fine, Soul. If it gets much longer, you won’t be able to see."
"Maka, I don't need to see in battle," chuckled Soul. "That's your job."
An idea sparkled briefly in her mind, and Maka tried to smother her own smile, earning her a suspicious look from her partner. His eyes narrowed, and Soul opened his mouth to say something but Maka was faster. "My job, huh?" She slid a hand down to cover his eyes, laughing as he huffed out some choice words under his breath. "What? I thought you said you didn't need to see?"
"Maka, I just woke up," he said flatly. "Doing this is practically begging me to fall asleep in your lap."
Which wouldn't be awful at all, if she was being honest. Soul had always had a habit of napping wherever he was, a truly impressive feat, and he'd fallen asleep on Maka more times than she could count. It was never really that bad (unless he started to drool, of course) but there was a towel between the cushion of her thighs and his head so she was sure she'd be fine.
"Not that it would be hard," Soul was saying, tilting his head a little upwards, looking at her as though he could see her. "You're crazy comfortable."
She glared at him even though he was blind to it. "That better have not been a jab at my weight."
"Me? Make fun of my absolutely gorgeous meister with comments about her weight just to bug her?" His grin reminded her of the Cheshire cat, sharp-toothed and sly. "Never."
"You're lucky I've got thick skin, Soul Eater," warmed Maka. Soul opened his mouth to say something else and she quickly slapped both hands over his lips, sealing them tight. "Don't. Even." The corners of Soul's eyes crinkled just so in amusement. "I know what you were going to say, and I don't want to hear it."
She frowned at him a little as his muffled laughter drifted out from between her fingers, but the sound alone was enough to unwind her. It was so soft and genuine that she eased up, palms sliding off his lips to cradle his face. "You must think you're so cute, huh?" she muttered under her breath. He fluttered his pale lashes at her dramatically. "Laugh it up, Soul. If you wake up bald one day, don't blame me."
"You like my hair too much to cut it off." The accusation, though absolutely true, had Maka shaking her head.
"Nope, not at all."
"You do," he sang.
"Don't test me," she said, leaning down and squeezing at his cheeks. Her hair slipped past her shoulders and fell like a curtain around the pair of them. The sunlight turned her hair golden, like straw spun by Rumpelstiltskin himself, but she only had eyes for Soul, who only had eyes for her. She’d have felt the beauty and intimacy of the situation more, she supposed in the back of her mind, if her weapon wasn’t being such a child. "I will shave your head."
He stuck his tongue out petulantly, only proving her point further. “Fine,” he got out through puckered lips.
“Glad you see things my way,” she said simply, kissing his forehead and leaning back into her comfortable corner of the couch, hands returning to their home in Soul’s white locks.
Maka had almost fallen back asleep on the couch when she felt Soul turn his head in her slackened hands. He called to her softly, as if he was unsure if she was still awake at all.
“Yeah?”
“Do you want me to start breakfast?”
“You mean lunch?” she mumbled into the pillow. Maka could feel Soul chuckle against her thigh.
“Sure. Lunch.”
She shook her head, messing up her hair and not really caring about it. “No.”
The response was enough to draw a laugh from him. “You don’t want to eat?” The question, like the ones before it, carried with it affectionate familiarity, something that only relaxed her further. They’d had this conversation a million times before and would likely have this conversation a million times more.
“Five more minutes?”
He gave in just as easily as he always did, and soon enough Maka was snoozing away on the couch once more, oblivious to her partner’s contented smile. Some things never changed.