It was a clear sunny day when Maka requested her father for a walk. He complied, since Maka was so hostile towards him the last few weeks that having her suggesting they have a civil small talk was a wonder. He secretly wished Maka would hug him and told him she loved her papa like she did when she was a child.
"Papa, I'm going to move in with Soul."
That simple sentence managed to slap Spirit Albarn out of reverie, his heart crumbling and his mind shattering. The impact was enough to send him falling over DWMA balcony had he forgot to grab the railings.
"What? Wha- Nooo! My precious little Maka! You're just 13! It's too early to live with a boy!"
Her eyebrows twitched when his sorry excuse of a father wept unabashedly.
"You're overreacting. It's common for meister and weapon partners to live together. Now that we're starred students, we would get more field missions. It's more convenient this way."
"But Maka-chan, if you're going to quit school dorm, it'll be much better for you to live at home!" He reasoned, giving her his best smile. Maka didn't budge.
"Mom filled a divorce against you, right?" she replied bitterly. He winced. "You'd be busy with all the details. You should be glad I still decide to tell you this."
"But...but..." He was loss of words, mumbling incomprehensible string of protests.
"I have told mama last night. Oh, and one more: Soul and I have been saving up and we've found the right place. You don't need to worry about me anymore."
Spirit was practically bawling at the floor right then. "Papa loves you and mama the most!"
"You should be thinking about that before you go cheating on mama," she remarked dryly.
Thinking that nothing was left to be said, she walked down the grand staircase of DWMA, heading to the cafeteria where Soul was waiting.
[soul eater]
"How's your old man's reaction when you told him the news?" he grinned, offering a glass of lemon tea to her. She accepted graciously, taking a sip before answering, "Big baby as always."
"Too bad I miss the scene. Have you told him the address?"
"I kinda forgotten about that. Well, it could wait."
He laughed.
"Okay then, now that you've finished your business...shall we go to the apartment?" he flashed a silver key in front of her. Her eyes widened.
"Soul! I thought they confiscated your key?" she asked, somewhere between surprise and awe. Soul was just 14, only a year older than her. The police caught him when he was riding his bike to his favorite record store. Needless to say, he wasn't too thrilled when his prized possession was raided from him.
He laughed again. "Courtesy of DWMA. The faculty told them I'm a starred student and I might need it in my mission and stuff. Basically they made an arrangement so I could get my license if I passed the driving test."
She nodded, for once understanding how convenient it was to be DWMA student. As the exchange of endangering their lives in daily basis, they were treated as good as possible even if that meant bending some rules.
"So?" She didn't really ask. She knew the answer, but Soul would appreciate her doing that.
"Being a cool guy I am, I passed. Now, come on for a ride."
[soul eater]
It was one year after the beginning of their partnership. Due to Maka being extremely diligent ('extremely nerdy', as Soul would put it) and Soul being cooperative (as long as it's not written exams) they quickly rose through the ranks, gaining their first star at the beginning of their second year in DWMA. It was quite a feat and Maka was proud of it.
DWMA rules stated freshmen must live in the dorm for easier adaptation. Students came from all over the world so it was to encourage multicultural interactions as well. Starting from second year, they were free to stay anywhere within Death City, although they could stay in the dorm if they wanted. Very rarely though, for a pair to live in the dorm until graduation.
Soul and Maka grabbed the first option at the first chance. Some people waited until they reached higher resonance level, some people didn't have enough money, but those were never Maka and Soul's problem.
They passed a moderate-sized apartment with a big 'available for rents' posted a few months ago and decided it was time. He was afraid his family would buy him a home in Death City so he would never be able to get away from them, Maka was stressed with all the fights her parents had every single day. A perfect excuse to escape from their dysfunctional families.
[soul eater]
Two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen and a bathroom. Not too big, not too small. After stupid debates spanning over a week, they had reached a compromise on house decoration. Fortunately, they were both no-nonsense person, content with just bare necessities so they had enough money to buy everything they needed with leftovers to satisfy Soul's request for an old-school gramophone.
The place needed a little bit of work. Rent was cheap under a condition: they would have to tidy it on their own. She estimated about a week until it's ready to live in. Didn't stop Soul from slouching, had made himself a comfortable spot at the couch, curling like a ball. She reached for her trusty dictionary.
"Wake up, idiot."
"Ouch! What was that for?"
"You're supposed to help me move things! This couch should be at the living room! That chair is going to the kitchen!"
"I'm moving, I'm moving. Keep that dictionary away, woman."
[soul eater]
Living together was supposed to help meister and weapon to know each other better, to strengthen their resonance. She was very excited tor this new experience. Currently, their interactions were limited only to classes, trainings, and missions. How would it like living with him? Like having a brother? She didn't have any sibling so she couldn't compare.
Trust was another issue. A whole year pairing with Soul had made her realize he wasn't one to take the word lightly. She wasn't ready to fully trust him yet, but clearly on the right way. Soul, on the other hand, trusted her with his life. Such feelings made her uneasy at times, so she hoped she could solve it within the upcoming months.
[soul eater]
She shoved a stack of paper to him. His nose crunched in disgust, thinking it was another set of assignment. He glanced at one and it wasn't.
"So we should set up cleaning schedule and stuff?"
She had prepared neat boxes to fill their name in, which would be posted on the fridge once they're finished.
"Uh-huh. Cleaning, cooking, buying groceries. We'll do them in turn."
"Sounds fair to me. Wait-what's this 'GS' thing?" he stared at her to-do list.
She glanced. "Group Study. We can do that every night to make sure you can catch up for every class you sleep in."
He groaned.
[soul eater]
The first few days were awkward, because they had to get used to the fact that they would meet each other from dusk to dawn till dusk again. It was slightly off their mind before. Girls and boys dorms were separated. They had to set up a meeting place every time they had to do anything together. Now, she had bumped into him at least three times in a single day. It wasn't even noon yet.
Then her father visited on the second day and it was total disaster. She reminded Soul to install new set of locks and doorbell afterwards, which he quickly complied.
Tsubaki and Black Star came at the third day, showering them with stupid gifts (who the hell give shurikens for New House celebration?). Black Star bragged about how lucky they were that the house was going to be blessed by his awesomeness while Tsubaki was apologizing non-stop, trying to stop her meister from scattering more autographs ("MAKE GREAT DECORATIONS FOR YOUR PATHETIC WHITE WALLS!"). By the time he left, they had to clean up all over again, agreeing to the fact that they had the weirdest friends.
[soul eater]
"Soul, it's still too raw!" She complained the first time he made them dinner.
"Huh? I like my steak rare."
/
"You're not supposed to walk around in your towel."
If he was embarassed, he did good job concealing it.
"'s that so?"
"You're living with a girl. Have some courtesy."
He raised an eyebrow.
/
"Maka, stop studying! Hell, that assignment is due next week and that quiz will not be in a month!"
"I have to have a headstart!"
"Now's three in the morning and we haven't get any sleep!"
/
"Are you freaking crazy? You can't understand Jazz by reading a book on Jazz!"
"I'm trying it my way."
"You're really something."
[soul eater]
There were fights over the most mundane things and Maka once again thought how much it resembled having a sibling but the thought was quickly dismissed since obviously, siblings wouldn't try to kill each other in daily basis. Right? Once again, she had to check this with Tsubaki.
They were right. Living together did wonder to understand your partner. She just wished it would involve less insults and he wished there were less Maka-chops.
Soul tried hard to keep his meister from being full-fledged study machine. He wondered if she was able to study in her sleep. He had heard about lucid dream but he wouldn't mention it for the sake of their sanity, just in case she got any idea.
Maka tried hard to get Soul took his classes seriously. He was skilled when it came to sparring tests, but failed miserably at other subjects had Maka didn't help. What frustrated her was the fact that he wasn't stupid. He was just lazy to boot.
Despite clumsy start, they eased into the routine after the second month. Everything became so natural, like they were already living together for a long time. She suspected their Soul Resonance played a part, because they were quickly able to read each other's minds like a book.
[soul eater]
She was at the kitchen when she heard a click from the door along with scurried footsteps.
"I'm home," he greeted, throwing two packs of groceries to the coffee table. "What is that you're cooking?"
"Curry," she replied. He was satisfied, turning his head around for TV remote, situating himself at the couch.
"Maka?" he called.
"Yeah?"
"You might want to tighten the lock. I saw your old man two blocks from here."
"He just won't listen, eh?"
"Ain't cool. I swear, if he doodle 'Gimme my Maka back' all over my bike again, I'm not going to let him go easily."
Maka suddenly felt so embarassed. Luckily they had a solid wall between them.
"He did that?"
"Why do you think it took so long to wash my bike yesterday?"
A comfortable silence passed between them. He turned on the TV, switching channels back and forth. She stirred the boiling curry before taking a sample. Salty and a bit spicy just as he liked it. Good.
She broke the silence a while after.
"Are you ready for tomorrow's mission?"
"99th, huh? One witch's soul and we'll be cool."
"Imagine, making a Death Scythe in our second year!"
"Nerdy as always. Why can't you think of better lines?"
"Say that again and you'll say goodbye to your dinner."
"No way! Meanie tiny tits-bookworm-"
"MAKA CHOP!"
[soul eater]
Things were normal around them. Whatever anxiety she was having when they first moved in, it was now erased. She knew she could trust him and they were going to be the best meister-weapon pair in the world. She looked forward to the future, ready to challenge everything on their way.
[soul eater]
AN: I had a lot of trouble with the pacing. Dialogue-heavy here and narration dense there, ugh. Review is much appreciated!