Rehabilitation: Bubble Tea
The coolness of the window pane felt nice against her cheeks as Maka sat on the ledge, staring out the window. It was already after sunset, and the darkness outside combined with the rain made it easier for her to see her own gloomy expression reflected on the glass.
On rainy days, she had the tendency to recall memories she'd rather forget, so she'd usually immerse herself with studying, chores, or homework. Feeling a sudden chill, she grabbed a woollen blanket from the couch, threw it over her legs, and sighed. I'm done chores and homework, and I don't feel like studying. So now what? Am I just gonna bore myself to death?
Five agonizing minutes passed as she continued staring out the window, each second closer to wallowing in self-pity. Although she wasn't particularly deep in thought, it surprised her when she felt a cool sensation against her other cheek. Maka looked up and saw Soul, holding a cup of bubble tea to her face.
"Here," he said.
Wondering when he'd appeared, she took the drink from him. She swirled the cup, watching the tapioca spin around in circles as Soul sat down heavily on the couch. Turning around to look at her, he frowned. "Maka, aren't you gonna drink it?"
"Uh, yeah." She brought the straw to her lips, and her face lit up when she drank the first sip. "Hm! This is good! Is this honeydew flavour?"
After staring at her for a second, he looked away, sipping his own peach-flavoured bubble tea. "Yeah," he sighed. There was a long pause as he hesitated. "…You don't have to pretend to be all cheerful just from bubble tea, you know."
That took her by surprise. As she tried to blink back the sudden tears, she was grateful that Soul was facing away from her. Crying in front of others was humiliating, and even though she'd never actually said that out loud, he could sense it through her soul.
He was trying to be thoughtful in his own way.
Wiping her tears with the blanket, she smiled slightly. "Y-yeah."
The two of them sat in silence, until Maka asked, "Soul, did you go out just to buy this?"
Soul smirked. "Nope. I made it myself." Glancing back at her, he grinned. "Drinking bubble tea when you're upset will cheer you up. And since you're the kind of person who'd need a lot of bubble tea, I figured the easiest way was just to learn how to make it myself."
Maka paused as she tried to make sense of his words. "So you're saying…I'm more depressing than the average person?"
"That's right." As soon as he said that, he quickly got up and stepped back, putting down the bubble tea and bringing up both hands to his head.
"…What're you doing?"
"I'm preparing to defend myself from your Maka-chop," he answered seriously.
Maka sighed, but not out of depression this time. Looking down at her homemade drink, she smiled gently. "I'll let it go this time." When she saw him slowly lowering his hands, she quickly glared up at him. "But just this once."
"Oh, phew. For a second, I thought the depression messed up your brain and-"
"Maka-chop!"
Even after landing on the floor with a thump, he couldn't help but feel a bit happier now that his partner had cheered up. Rubbing his head, he winced. She didn't have to use an encyclopaedia though.