"If there is a sin against life, it consists perhaps not so much in despairing of life as in hoping for another life and in eluding the implacable grandeur of this life"
-Albert Camus

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Seven Sins
Chapter #1: Sloth
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Soul was lazy. Always was and, Maka predicted, always would be.

His free time at home was spent either zoning out in front of the television or laying half hazardly on his (unmade) bed with his headphones cranked up unhealthily high. Sometimes, usually when Black Star was over, he would at least get some stimulation from whatever video game was currently 'cool'. Even then, he would complain of sore thumbs hours later.

Point was, Soul was lazy because he just simply loved to be lazy. A perfect day for him consisted of doing nothing - sleeping was preferred. And Maka just couldn't wrap her head around it. A moment doing nothing was a moment wasted. A moment to study and expand her knowledge or catch up on a favorite book. A whole day . . . well, given a day a person could save the world.

Or, in today's case, save her home from Soul's negligence.

A smelly film was beginning line the sink and the remains of the dinners he cooked that week decorated the stove top and surrounding counter space. Meanwhile, the dust bunnies Soul was suppose to vacuum up two week ago had evolved into something rabid and was beginning to crawl up her curtains. It was, all in all, disgusting. Disgusting and, more importantly, not her mess.

She gave his door a loud knock but let herself in when she didn't receive a response. No doubt he was listening to his music. When the door swung open, sure enough, she caught him reclining on his bed with his faithful headphones glued to his ears. With his eyes closed and his hands laced casually behind his head, he could have passed for sleeping if it weren't for his left foot tapping to a beat she couldn't hear.

Maka sighed, rolling her eyes. "Soul." She didn't receive a response so she called him again, this time emphasizing with a small jab to his ribs with her broom handle. "Soul!"

His eyes blinked open in surprise and one hand reached up to remove the headphone from the ear closest to her. "Hey, what's up?" Maka would never understand how he could stay so cool all the time. If someone had snuck up like that on her she would have either found herself kissing the ceiling or punching the perpetrator.

She thrust the broom toward him, watching him stare at it like it was some kind of foreign object. For him, it probably was. "You're going to help me clean."

Pale eyebrows pinched but he didn't reach out to take the cleaning apparatus from her. "It's friday night, we had classes all day. Leave the cleaning for tomorrow."

A soft growl of frustration escaped her lips. "Why do tomorrow what you can do today? You aren't doing anything now so why don't we just get it over with?"

"Why do today what you can do tomorrow?" He challenged, a toothy grin threatening to overtake his face. "Besides, who says I'm not doing anything?" He stretched his arms over his head languidly, "I'm actually quite busy at the moment."

Maka snorted, arms crossing over her undersized chest. "Oh yeah? Doing what?"

His level stare settled on her face long enough for her cheeks to warm and her heart to flutter. She nearly choked when he scooted over to one side of his small bed. "Lay down with me and I'll show you." There was a challenge in his eyes, a knowing smirk on his lips, that told her he knew exactly how flustered the current situation made her.

Unfortunately, he also seemed to know that she would never back down from one of his challenges.

With flaming cheeks she laid in the empty space he made for her, desperately trying to keep their bodies from touching. The twin mattress didn't afford much room for her extra body however, and she found that it was impossible to keep her knobby elbow from grazing his ribs. Fidgeting, she smoothed her skirt modestly before lacing her tense fingers over her stomach and staring up at the ceiling. She willed herself not to look at him until the heat in her face dissipated. "Well?" She pretended not to notice how high pitched her voice had suddenly become.

Soul chuckled, and from the very edges of her vision she could see him shake his head. "Come on Maka, you're doing it all wrong. You gotta relax."

She had half a mind to point out that she didn't know what 'it' was but thought better of it. Knowing him - which she did, intimately - he'd just tell her to do as he asked. Soul had always been one to show instead of tell, had been since that very first day they met and he pounded out the notes that made up the very essence of Soul on the ivory keys of the ball room's piano.

She remembered the cacophony of sounds and, looking back, finds it ironic that such energy came from someone as lazy as him. Had she known him first, she wonders if she would have believed that the music was his. Somehow she doesn't think she would have and for a moment the realization makes her disappointed. Then, she is marveled by how just that one change in their mutual timeline could have made everything between them so different - so much less than what they had now.

Her mouth parted and she turned her face towards his, wondering if he knew. The words faded on her tongue though when she found him staring down at her. At some point during her revelation he had turned on his side and propped himself on his elbow to watch her. His mouth was curved into an expression so tender compared to his usual toothy grins and crooked smirks that for a moment her heart forgot her.

He knew, he had always known. From the moment his long lithe fingers stroked the piano keys, he showed her who he was so she would never have to guess. So that even when his outer appearance seemed to say otherwise she would still know him. So she would always know him.

"Looks like you figured it out."

Startled, she blinked at him; feeling the warmth in her face returning as she realized she had been staring. "What?"

He chuckled, grin quickly growing into something more familiar as he shook his head. "You know, for someone who thinks so much you never really stop to think." He poked her in the forehead playfully. "You know, use that shriveled up part of your brain that isn't being crammed with DWMA crap and use it to be philosophical every now and then. Maybe even, dare I say it, day dream?" When all he received was an evaluating stare as a response his brow furrowed and his grin faded into a frown. "What?"

She knew Soul, he had laid himself open to her like a book. Sometimes it was in a language she couldn't understand and it took her a while to interpret, but it was always there. So how was it that he was still able to read her better than she could him, when she had given him nothing? She wanted to ask him, but the only thing that managed to escape her lips was an inquiry of when he learned what philosophical meant.

He rolled his eyes, but the half smirk curling his lips told her it was in good humor. "Don't know, maybe after all the yapping you do some if it actually took." She smacked his arm, too softly to hurt, before beginning to get up. His hand caught her wrist. "Hey, where you going?"

His frown puzzled her, and the tips of his fingers on the underside of her wrist made her feel strangely warm. "Um, clean?" She gestured to the broom with her free hand. "It's not going to move itself." It was a half truth at least, cleaning would give her the opportunity to dwell on her newly found thoughts.

He shook his head, "Nope, lessons aren't finished." He gently tugged on her limb until she conceded with a sigh and laid back down. When after a few long moments of silence and his fingers still clasped around her wrist, she raised her eyebrows. He smirked back at her. "Lesson the second." He yawned, showing off rows of amazingly sharp teeth. "Learn to enjoy the little things in life - like naps."

"Soul, it's eight o'clock."

A chuckle escaped his lips, though it was already drenched with sleep. "So? Extra long nap then; just means we might get some dreams as an added bonus." He raised a drowsy eyelid. "You do know how to dream don't you?"

It was another challenge, one that Soul knew she wouldn't turn down. She never did after all.

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As you may have guessed, each chapter will be focusing on one of the seven deadly sins. My goal is to turn each sin around into something not quite so . . . well, sinful. If that makes any semblance of sense. Each chapter will be independent of the other but at the same time (hopefully) make a cohesive story. Updates will, most likely, be sporadic.

Thanks in advance for any and all reviews!