So I definitely got grounded to eternity and back. Like, for the reals. I'm not even supposed to be here (I'm writing this during the unholy hours of the morning because I love you all THAT MUCH.) Shhhhhh, don't tell my mom…

Anywhom, this is an apology story; a story to say "I'm sorry that Summer Excitement won't be coming out until further notice." Yeah, yeah, I know I promised, blah, blah, blah, had a deadline of two weeks, blah, blah, blah, I'M SORRY, okay? I'm only human, forgive me? Hugs and kisses? Alright, good. See ya when I turn thirty.

Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater.

The Seal Lullaby

My daughter, Amelia Evans, has to the most rambunctious five-year-old in all of Death City – next to Jade Star, son of my best pal Black Star. She is currently hanging from the ceiling fan in our new apartment. How she got up there is beyond me, but something tells me she's gonna be spending less time with Jade Star from now on. I try to threaten her with her mother's deadly chops to the head, telling her stories – more specifically memories of all the times my skull has come in contact with those hard-cover encyclopedias her mother always seems to have with her. She doesn't believe me, of course. Maka's a freaking teddy bear around Amelia, but I know better.

"Amelia Evans, you get down from there right now." Maka scorns, glaring at the five-year-old like the devil I know she is. If my hollow threats of Maka-chops don't scare her, maybe Maka's realistically demon-like glare will. Not to mention the utter frustration in her voice; it's almost get me scared. Maka huffs, crossing her arms and swearing under her breath. "You're not going to be able to play with Jade Star tomorrow if you don't get down."

"I don't care!" Amelia yells from the fan. "He called me stupid yesterday! I don't wanna see him!" I wouldn't expect anything less from the son of Black Star. I thought maybe Tsubaki would teach him better, but if Jade Star's anything like his father, simple scolding won't work anyway.

"C'mon, Amelia, if you don't wanna do it for you lame-o mom, then come down for your cool dad." I smirk, snaking an arm around my peeved wife's shoulders. I'm not sure whether or not I insulted her just to see the cute face she makes when she's angry, but whatever I said seemed to catch my daughter's attention. Letting out a hearty chuckle, I back away before Maka's book becomes intimate with my cranium. I look up to my daughter, who is now sitting on one of the fan's blades making chopping motions into the air.

Oh god no. Maka's taught her. I notice said woman giggling next to me, giving Amelia a big thumbs-up.

"Keep it up, sweetheart! Try it on your dad next!"

"Don't encourage her! You really are a lame-o mom." Her face perks up in the most peculiar way, almost like she's happy that I just made fun of her again. For a moment I fear for what's coming next, then I recognize the devious smirk her face curls into; she's planning something.

"Amelia~," Maka calls in a sickeningly sweet voice that she only uses when she wants money from me, "Mama will buy you ice cream if get off the ceiling fan."

That's it, game over. She jumps off the fan and into Maka's outstretched arms, smiling like this may just be the best day of her five-year-old life. Maka, also grinning like a victorious idiot, grabs her purse in one hand and Amelia's much smaller hand in the other. I grab my wallet, because I know that Maka's not going to pay, and my jacket and follow my ladies out the door.

Amelia – 0, Maka and I – 1.

We don't arrive home until it is well past Amelia's bedtime. In other words, it's around eight o'clock. This also means that we spent four hours getting ice cream and at the park. Maka just had to stop and talk to every person she saw. Does she know every woman in Death City? And Amelia! You'd never think that a five-year-old would know every other student in her kindergarten class. And she's still full of energy. Shouldn't any other sane toddler be exhausted by now?

"Papa! I don't wanna go to bed yet!" Amelia complains. I'm currently is forcing her into her nightgown, trying to calm our screaming child with soothing words. "I'm not tired!" This girl just won't give up! Maka gave up trying to help me a while ago, and much to my dismay. But, I'm far too concerned with our protesting toddler to be upset with her at the moment.

"Papa I wanna wear this one!" Amelia yells, pulling out another gown from Shinigami knows where. It's the new one we bought her while we were out. Knowing better then to argue with her, I grumble out an okay and proceed to fondle with the tag on the collar of the gown. Where are the darn scissors? I can't get the tag off. It's one of those super-burglar-proof ones. What kind of burglar would want to steal a children's nightgown, anyway? I can think of a million better things to burgle. Deciding to give up my hunt for a pair of the accursed blades, I take the easiest route and transform my arm into a scythe. Cutting the tag off with ease, I grin at the small victory. That is, until I hear the all-too-familiar wailing of a certain five-year-old.

"Mama! Mama!" Amelia cries. She runs from her room and into her mother's arms. She's bawling and I'm not too certain why. What did I do to scare her so badly? "P-Papa's scary!"

"Hush, Amelia," Maka croons, rubbing the small child on the back, "What happened?"

"Papa got angry and – a-and made his arm all scary!" She screams, letting out another round of sobs. Maka glares at me and I stare back unknowingly.

"Soul!" She hisses quietly. "You know better than to make your arm a scythe in front of Amelia!"

"It's not my fault the tag wouldn't come off –!"

"Shush! I don't want your excuses!" She turns her attention back to the sobbing toddler and shushes her quietly. "It's okay, Amelia," Maka sooths, "Papa's not going to hurt you, okay?"

She sniffles again and buries her head into Maka's chest.

"Soul, will you heat up some milk?" Maka whispers as she rubs our daughter's back once more. I nod and head to the kitchen. I rummage through the cabinet and find Amelia's favorite sippie-cup, filling it up with milk and popping it in the microwave. I try not to concentrate on the wails coming from our daughter, so I decide to listen instead to the whirring of the microwave. It's strangely soothing. I listen until something else catches my attention: Maka's voice. More specifically, her singing voice. She knows how to calm Amelia down better than anybody, and the best way is by singing a lullaby of sorts. It's a good thing Maka can sing, cause my music isn't the best for calming toddlers. I don't recognize the sweet tune my wife in singing, but whatever it is, it's beautiful.

Oh! Hush thee, my baby, the night is behind us,

And black are the waters that sparkled so green.

For someone as musically illiterate as her, Maka sure does have a gorgeous voice. I smile.

The moon, o'er the combers, looks downward to find us

At rest in the hollows that rustle between.

This song sure does have a weird range. It's all over the place. Sounds like something between high A flats to low Bs – it's incredible she can hit them all. I decide not to pay attention to the beeping of the microwave as it doesn't seem to bother my singing wife or our sleepy daughter.

Where billow meets billow, then soft be thy pillow;

Ah, weary wee flippering, curl at thy ease!

The storm shall not wake thee, nor shark overtake thee,

I think this song's doing a better job at putting me to sleep than it is to Amelia. Maka's voice in intoxicating, I could listen to it all night. She looks beautiful in the moonlight as well, the soft light streaming in from the window illuminate her features perfectly. This is the woman I fell in love with all those years ago. This demoniac, violent, hot-headed, beautiful, paradisiacal, amazing woman.

Asleep in the arms of the slow-swinging seas,

Asleep in the arms of the slow-swinging seas.

As the captivating cantabile comes to an end, I pop open the microwave and remove the lukewarm sippie-cup. Walking over to my two loves; I place the cup in Maka's hand and kiss Amelia lightly on the forehead. "That's was beautiful, Maka." I whisper, careful not to wake the sleeping one.

"Oh!" She exclaims, almost as if she just noticed I sat down next to her. Even under the dim moonlight I can see the adorable shade of red her cheeks are flushed with. "T-Thank you…"

"Who knew you knew anything about music?" Her expression quickly changes from flustered to frustrated. It then shifts into something like a look of defeat, like she should have seen the insult coming. She sighs as if to confirm my thoughts. I chuckle. She knows me too well.

"Shut up…" She mutters halfheartedly. Removing the sippie-cup from Amelia's mouth, she pads off to our daughter's room and places her in her bed. I'm quick to follow. Maka carefully wraps Amelia with the comforter and kisses her lightly on the forehead. She exit's our toddler's room and shuts the door quietly. "Let's go to bed too, I'm beat."

"But Maka!" I whine. "It's only nine thirty!"

"Hey, if you want to sleep on the couch tonight, then by all means, stay up." Though I'll never admit it, I'm pretty tired as well. I don't even remember the last time I haven't felt exhausted before nine o'clock. I'm gonna say it was approximately five years ago. I not-so-reluctantly follow Maka into our room and shut the door behind us. After brushing my teeth, I crawl into bed as tiredly as I do every night. Maka does the same, now lying across from me in our king-sized bed. Kissing her gingerly on the lips, I say, "I love you."

"I love you too." She half-says-half-yawns back. I cradle her in my arms and fall asleep, inhaling the scent that is Maka. I'll cherish this moment until Amelia decides it's time to wake up tomorrow morning.

I definitely just wrote that in three hours.

If you're wondering what the song was, it's called "The Seal Lullaby", for which this fic is rightly named. It's by Eric Whitacre.

FAVORITE. COMPOSER. EVER. *goes into intense fan girl mode* I LOVE HIM.

Well, I've had that song stuck in my head since I first learned it at the beginning of summer. It's one of the pieces for All-State this year (which is in ONE WEEK by the way) and it's just beautiful. I actually sing the soprano II part, so I had to go get my music and find the whole of the text because my part doesn't sing all the words XD

Anyway, until the next time I can sneak onto a computer!

~phyre