Title: look close and find hope

Rating/Warnings: Teen

Word Count: 1,989

Character(s): Soul Eater, Maka Albarn, Black Star, Tsubaki, Crona, Liz and Patti Thompson, Death the Kid

Pairing(s): Maka/Soul, Tsubaki/Black Star, and slight Liz/Kid

Summary: "What is gonna make you happy?"

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Author's Notes: I was watching One Tree Hill, and one of the quotes really got my attention, so I decided to split it up and use it in here. Hopefully everything matches up with everything, and hopefully you all enjoy!

"What is gonna make you happy?"

Is it how you look?

Liz pretends like the cold, biting wind isn't making her freeze. Because admitting that would mean admitting she wanted to go back to the motel and going back to the hotel would mean going back empty. Patti would be fine with it, she wouldn't care, at least she wouldn't voice her unhappiness, but Liz would know by the way her stomach growls and her hair gets greasier.

So Liz grits her teeth and smiles at a young man with fat, nice pockets, and lures him into that alley, thanking her mother for those good looks and pretty blue eyes. While that woman may have been useless at about everything under the sun, it was the stuff at night she was good at, and she'd taught Liz well. Like how to reach into someone's pocket without them noticing, and how to fake a moan, or a laugh, or a smile.

This isn't the most ideal life, but Patti's stomach doesn't growl for a few days and they can pay for another night at the motel.

Or the car you drive?

Maka had been so against it that he absolutely had to do it, because they were in the stage of their partnership where Soul received monthly allowance from his family and when he and Maka would disagree about everything. So when she said, "Soul if you buy that, I'll chop you into the next century," he had to buy it.

Now, as he rides away from Death City, scowl marring his face, his meisters furious yells echoing around in his head, Soul doesn't regret buying the motorcycle. It makes him look pretty goddamn cool, for one, and it was his money, so Maka had no right to complain about him 'wasting' it on useless shit.

There is an ache in his gut and he knows he'll have to turn around and ride back home and apologize. But he drives a little farther anyway.

Or the people you know?

Crona watches the way the girl smiles and he sees the way Marie's eye brightens at certain things, and he wonders what they would do if they knew he betrayed them.

But he ignores that thought and pushes it to the back of his mind and thinks happier things, like Ragnarok's blade cutting through something or-or uh...um Maka's smile. Yeah, that works, that's safe it's not insane. No. Not at all.

Ragnarok cackles in the back of his head, and Crona needs to find a nice dark corner.

Is it money?

Her first thought is wow we'll make a lot off this prick, and her second thought is I'm tired.

Kid gives them a smile that might be to reassure them, but Liz is already planning how they'll get in and out of this one. He's got to be fucking loaded, being Death's son, being a Grim, so it may take a year of luxury to run the dumb prick dry, but Liz doesn't mind. Soaking in hot tubs and sleeping on silk sheets sounds like a wonderful fucking life.

Even his symmetry thing, while annoying and terrifying, is worth it. He buys them matching outfits and gives Liz his credit card, telling her to treat herself and her sister, and she smirks and Patti grins, immediately buying a giant stuffed giraffe.

This could be the life. This will be the life, she thinks vehemently. She deserves this, Patti fucking deserves this.

Or celebrity?

There is a grin on his face as he stands on the picnic table, hands on his hips. And despite the silence that surrounds him, Black Star knows he's the star right now. Knows that he's the fucking center of attention.

Someone squeaks, and Black Star glances down to see Tsubaki's face reddening, her eyes glistening, and maybe yelling out that she's secretly a pervert wasn't the smartest thing to do, because suddenly everyone is laughing, and his own laughs sound hollow and they begin to fade. She won't look at him, but he watches her jaw tense, watches her push away from the table. Maka goes after her, leaving with a fierce glare over her shoulder at him.

"Looks like you got what you wanted, man," Soul says, but he's shaking his head and sighing, and the laughter surrounding them sounds too loud and too mean, and Tsubaki's face is stained behind his eyelids.

Or power?

When Kid wears the cloak, he feels invincible. He thinks, nothing can stop me, and he thinks this is what I'm meant to do.

People treat him like an adult, they confide in him and trust his judgement, and his father doesn't act like a foolish child when he's wearing the cloak. He trusts Kid and the power the younger Grim feels surges up within him, fills him with something euphoric.

But he thinks maybe he's forgetting something. And he realizes when his hands clasp on a warm shaft. Something is unbalanced, and it's certainly not Soul's fault. But Kid is used to handling twin guns, not a scythe.

Or accomplishments?

"I made Soul a Deathscythe, Mama." Maka grins and she sucks in a breath, ready to be told how wonderful she's done and how proud her mama is of her.

Mama casts her glance toward Maka for a second, before looking back at her father. At her stupid, useless papa, who is still as a stone, his face emotionless. "That's so incredible, baby," but the words don't have feeling in them, and Maka's smile feels rubbery, fake.

I don't think it's enough. Love, I think.

And that love can be for a boy.

Soul watches the moonlight cut a path across her skin.

Sometime during the night she'd kicked the blankets down to their waists, and her tank top had rode up some, showing the creamy, milky skin of her abdomen. Soul can spot tiny, almost invisible scars that shine a little brighter in the moonlight, and he desperately wants to trace his finger over them, erase them from her skin, but he also likes her imperfections, likes that she has something that makes her a little tougher, a little less girly.

Maka mumbles something in her sleep, and Soul worries that she might wake up and chop him for not letting her sleep, or for not sleeping himself, but she merely rolls toward him, inhaling deeply and letting it out through her mouth. She sucks in a snore, nose twitching up for a moment, and then she's looking peaceful again. Soul thinks it's really fucking cute that he just saw that, and he doubts he looks half as cute when he snores.

After a while Soul leans back, settling back down on the bed. His feet are cold and not being covered by the blankets because Maka is a cover hog, but he doesn't mind. He turns back to look at her, noting the way her fringe falls into her eyes. It's cute—she is cute, but more than that, his meister is beautiful, peaceful looking like this. Soul wishes he could stay here forever, which is so fucking cliché that he berates himself for being uncool and—

Something warm touches the waistband of his boxers and rises up his chest. Heat floods his nether regions, but not enough to give him a tent, and he looks to see Maka's arm curling around him. Her face presses against his neck and jaw, mouth pressing small, chaste kisses against his jaw. "Soul, stop thinking so much; sleep," she commands.

He looks at her, twisting around slightly, pushing her back so he can wrap himself around her instead. She hums appreciatively, smiling slightly. Her eyes don't open when she scoots back against him, tugging their blankets up to cover both of them.

Soul knows he could do this forever. Stay with this dumb girl. Maybe he will; he certainly knows that it's enough.

Or a girl.

Black Star kisses her with a tenderness she hadn't known he possessed. His lips are chapped but warm, and his hands don't seem to know what to do with themselves, but Tsubaki ignores that in favor of feeling his pressed against her.

"You're my shining stars, Tsubaki," he says when he pulls away, his eyes serious. "You make me shine."

He's being cheesy and cute, and Tsubaki wants to kiss him again, but she doesn't know if this is real, though she desperately wants it to be. She nods, gaze flitting from his hands that are now on her shoulders, and back to his eyes. She wonders how someone so childish and strong can look so peaceful. She likes it.

She gives him a smile and her cheeks heat. He returns the smile and kisses her again.

Or a place.

The steps are steep, but they've both been through worse, so at Ragnarok's flick to the back of Crona's head, they move forward.

When the DWMA comes into full view, something sharp and…happy fills Crona's chest, because this is his home now, this is where people accept him and love him and treat him like he's actually a person.

They both see people standing near the entrance of the academy, and one of them turns to him, a bright grin stretching across her face. A small, gloved hand rises in the air, and he hears Black Star's loud, "Finally, you're here!" And Crona knows this is right.

Or a way of life.

Adrenaline shoots through both their systems, pushing them farther, faster, and stronger. Maka grins something wicked, eyes narrowing at their target, a tall, skinny witch who has power over birds. Beside her, Black Star's loud, "YAHOO!" Rings through the air, only adding to her glee.

Soul's familiar weight is like holding air, and she leaps over fallen rocks and trees, using his staff to vault herself over. "You ready?"

It's three voices that answer her: Kid, who nods, Black Star who shouts, and Soul who gives her that smirk, appearing for a moment in the blade of his scythe.

Or even for a family.

Liz isn't entirely sure where Patti went, but she can't find herself missing the girl. She's got her legs stretched out on the couch, toes just brushing Kid's thigh, who is sitting on the opposite end, book in hand, though he's paying more attention to the reality TV show she's got on. "What does 'smoosh' mean?"

"Sex," Liz answers immediately, watching him colour slightly. It's cute when he's like this, trying to understand the shows she watches. She pokes him in the thigh, and prepares to ask him why he's watching her show while he should be study that book and passing the meister exam when Patti strolls into the room, giant camera hanging from her neck.

"Christmas pictures!" She shouts happily, a giggle following. "Come on, guys!"

"Uh…"

"Patti, what do you think you're doing?"

The younger blonde stares at the two of them for a moment, mouth hung open while she tries to come up with an explanation. After a few moments, she states, "Well, Black Star says he and Soul and Maka and Tsubaki always took Christmas photos and sent them out—"

"That's kind of lame—"

"Yeah," Patti nods vigorously, grinning, "So I thought since all our pictures with Kid are annoyingly symmetrical—"

"The way they should be!"

"—that we could just have a spur of the moment picture!"

Liz notices that Kid doesn't seem to enjoy this idea, since his face is slowly purpling, but Patti adds in a sad undertone, "Plus sis and me never got to take family pictures 'cuz mom was always out makin' money. So I thought since we got ourselves a new family, we could totally do one now!"

Now he's paling, probably internally debating whether or not he can do this. Liz on the other hand sits up, pulling her meister up with her. "Come on, Kid. Let's make my sister happy."

"Um…yes, alright."

Patti arranges them back on the couch, Kid sitting in the middle with Liz on his right, and the younger gun darts back to the camera, turning the timer on. "Ooooooookay!" And then she's back, leaning on Kid, grin on her face.

Something pangs in her chest, and Liz realises that this is her family now. This is her life, and she's definitely okay with this.

Liz smiles too, and the camera goes off.

But where you find it is up to you."

Whoa, that's a lot of line breaks.