"Can you please act normal, if even just for tonight?"
Maka stood at the door with her head tilted sideways, a look that communicated her own brand of disdain, mixed with a genuine sense of concern. Her emerald eyes were pointed straight at Blair, who stood with a confused look on her face.
"For what, hm?"
The girl's eyes slanted and her teeth rocked against each other. "For Soul..." She replied, a hint of hopeless anguish within her voice. It clicked within the catlady's mind, before she rubbed the palm of her hand against her temple.
"Oh, that! Absolutely, you can trust in me, nya!" She proudly exclaimed, winking. Maka replied by giving a nervous thumbs-up, before stepping out of the door and into the hallway, her voice trailing off behind her. At last, she found herself alone, staring at the beige ceiling that held itself throughout the complex. They'll be fine. They'll be fine.
…
Soul lay in his bed, the comforter and sheets lazily pulled up to his waist. His scarlet eyes lazily stared up at the ceiling, nary showing a hint of movement other than when he blinked. A box fan idly hummed in the corner, circulating a nice breeze throughout the room. He didn't really notice it, though, he used it for the noise. Something about that soft hum always helped put him right to sleep, way more than any meds ever could. He clutched the blankets tighter, as the dark room seemed to fade before him, always being preceded by the flowing of the motor. His mind's thoughts washed away in a sea of black, before he muttered something to himself. Sleep… sounds nice…
His eventual slumber was quickly snapped out of him, as he jolted in place, his eyes scanning the room. Something was moving, something was stalking. He propped himself up slowly on one hand, his groggy mind forcing his eyes to dart from side to side.
"W-who's there…?" He inquired, to no one in particular; there was no one to answer. There didn't seem to be a soul, one that he could see. The light switch was on the other side of the room, and there was little more than sliver of light that softly flowed in from the hallway. No, something was there, he knew it. That something was crawling up the bed; he could feel it's weight shifting indentations in the mattress, as he slowly leaned back into the pillow as it got closer. Closer. Closer. Close enough to where he could feel whatever it was' breath on his face, it breathed evenly, smoothly, quietly; it wasn't nervous, it wasn't out to get him. Still, his body tensed up, he was on the edge of morphing his arm into a scythe and plunging it into whatever was in front of him. Finally, as the tension rose to it's peak, he felt a something soft brush past his face, and he felt something grab the upper part of his arm.
"Whaaaat are you doing in here, my little scythy boy?"
Soul breathed a sigh of relief, before becoming indignant and jerking back, falling back on his pillows with a thump. He didn't need to see her to know her voice, it made goosebumps appear all over his arms and chest.
"What are you doing here, Blair?"
She sat up, running her hands along the part of his legs not covered by his athletic shorts. "You've been in here all day, I just wanted to check on you."
"I'm fine." Soul snapped back.
"Are you sure? Your eyes are more red than normal, and your face is completely flushed."
He stared up at where he thought her head would be with a confused and slightly disturbed look. She giggled in response to this change, before he figured it out. Her eyes are a cat's.
"O-okay, that's creepy. What do you want?"
"I just want to know why you've shut yourself in here and why you were crying. Was it about Maka and Crona…?"
He grit his sharp teeth and glared sideways at her, slightly satisfied internally now knowing that she could actually see him. Still, it quickly fell from his face, as he internally reasoned that he didn't really have much to lose by at least abiding by her constant need to pry for info.
"Got me all figured out, don't you? What, you came to flash your tits and laugh at me?" He angrily charged, throwing himself on his side, facing away from her. She was knocked back a bit, and tilted her head at his angry figure.
Of course, that wasn't the only reason, life at the DWMA wasn't exactly stress-free, but Crona had certainly thrown a wrench in the works. He was completely nice and likable, and he more than pulled his weight around the apartment, but his closeness to Maka worried Soul. At first, it was just simple stuff, a weird smile here and there, but before long they were holding hands constantly. Soul and Maka did that all the time, but it seemed different with them, something more intimate, something more than just friends. That was a few months ago, and now their dates were constant; she would always be available in that silky smooth black dress, and he would swoop in a three piece suit. I helped him pick that out… Soul internally complained.
It didn't matter now. Crona sat Soul down a while ago and asked Soul if what they were doing was okay. He was a nervous sputtering mess the whole time, but he basically cried tears of joy when the red-eyed scythe told him that it was completely fine. "Just don't hurt her, or else." Was the only warning he ever gave the pink-haired child, and the matter was finished. The weapon was not brash, nor was he even an agent of jealousy; he got over that as quickly as he could. But still, that was his meister, someone he was supposed to protect with his life. It just felt off, he felt lonely now.
His ruminations were cut by the audible falling of Blair onto the bed next to him, their skin touching. He tried not to acknowledge her, debating with himself if he should or shouldn't. Her fingers grazed his arm, soft to the touch.
"Do you want me to turn the light on?" She questioned, beginning to slip out of bed, only stopped by his arm jolting to grab a hold of her's. It made both of them blush, even if it was only her who could see it.
"N-no, just stay there. It's fine, do whatever." He responded, trying to sound cool as he dropped back onto his side. She obliged, just trying to make him feel at ease. Her head rested on an extra pillow he kept propped against the one he slept on, and the soft fabric felt nice against her ears.
She turned slightly to speak easier. "Hey, remember when we were at that party at the reaper-boy's mansion, and he spent like twenty minutes complaining because he could never align the curtains completely evenly?"
The memory was quickly brought back to Soul's mind, the images of Kid sitting cross legged and having Liz and Patty adjust it constantly was still clear. It brought a small smile to his face. That was the first time Blair ever offered to do anything with the group. His mind traced thoughts of he and her standing drinking some fruity beverage, their arms locked (although it was hard to maintain given how much taller she was than he). The dress she wore shocked everyone with it's relative conservatism; it was gorgeous, elegant, yet certainly something she would wear. He remembered the cute way her ears twitch whenever he asks her something, the firm grip in which she would hold his hand, it was nice. They started going on "expeditions" (he refused to publicly call them dates), mostly on Blair's request; she had to get his mind off the other two. Slowly but surely, she learned a bit more about the world.
Her sharp nails dragged along Soul's arm, not hard enough to scrape, but to where he could certainly feel it, before he found her hand sitting in his. He decided to reciprocate, as she placed her other hand around him, and her head brought above his.
She spoke in a calm and quiet manner, trying to bring the boy closer to her. "You need to move forward."
Forward. The word reverberated in the boy's skull. He meekly shook his head, inadvertently falling more into her embrace.
"It's not that simple, Blair. You don't get it."
Her head backed away slightly, before she settled back down. It wasn't too long ago, she was just a house cat, most of the feelings and human customs she learned she obtained by observing other people. She never made much of an attempt to learn a whole lot more until she moved in with the duo, everything else was still new to her.
"You're right- I don't. I want to learn, though. I want to help you get through this. I also want something else."
He shifted his head to look back at her, his eyes drowsy. She hugged him tightly, her nails digging near painfully into his skin.
"I want you to be mine. I want you and I to be something. I've learned a lot since I started living with you guys. I think I get what it means to say that. I don't want you to be lonely anymore."
Both of them were slightly nervous about the situation, but she was relieved to feel a nudging nod against the pillow next to her. "I'm happy for them, honestly." The raggedy and cracking tone he spoke wouldn't inspire much confidence to the casual outsider, but he meant it. Those two were happy together, and he had since learned to accept that. He just wanted to be happy too; and in the cat-lady's arms, he found happiness. She smiled at his response, before leaning down to gently kiss him on the forehead.
"Maybe we should sleep together, tonight."
The comment bemused his addled mind. "We usually do, don't we?" He half-jokingly inquired, referring to when she would normally sleep as a cat at the foot of the bed.
She took one of her hands and held it up in the air, her index and thumb rubbing together. "No, I mean like this." She explained, snapping for effect. She heard the fluttering of cloth in behind him, and it was only then did he realize how hot her skin felt against his; the rest of the situation followed, as his face turned awash with crimson. He was surprised not to hear some creepy comment about sex from her; she just genuinely meant it for emotional support. Her skin felt so soft against his back, he just felt like sleeping now, his mind emotionally burned out. Despite the age gap, a fact that always sat at the back of both of their minds, it was her who had emotionally grown up. She snuggled as tightly as possible, her arms wrapped around the smaller weapon with intent to not let go. It was only after a lull that lasted a minute or two did she speak.
"I love you, Soul."
He swallowed nervously, before a big dumb smile was brought to his face, as he lowered his head into her arm.
"I love you too."
...