He makes his way to the Great Hall where the crowd of student is most dense. They're all too busy to notice him, he believes, until the amount of giggling in the hallway increases. Soul looks down, walking faster.
Normally, he doesn't feel this shy. He has his books to hold as a shield, and friends who circle him away from the pushing mass. However, there are no side conversations for him to tune into in favor of the rumors, no person to glare at the perpetrators into silence. He would just have to soldier on and hope that Maka and Kid are already waiting for him outside of the Hufflepuff commons.
When he reaches his destination, the two are nowhere to be found, and Soul can already feel the stares on his back, questioning why a Ravenclaw was standing outside of another house's territory. In a way, the people watching him have already decided on the answer.
Slumping against the wall, struggling to make himself appear unbothered and effortless. He examines his wand, pretending to flick a couple of practice spells from his classes, anything but show that he was interested in what the others were saying.
They speak ill of Maka; that's the most common complaint that he could hear in the building. Her dad, one of the professors in school, caused the most damage to her reputation, even before she entered school. It wasn't her that they knew, but the transfiguration professor's nightly activities as told by parents who had the same habits as their children. Maka both denies the rumors and her relationship with her dad, but Soul knows differently. He sees her leaving the dinner table early on some nights that Professor Spirit isn't present at the front, taking a plate of food and a goblet of juice with her.
She is kind and considerate. For a slytherin, people will follow with after.
What other atrocities did they say about her? Other than about how she was similar to the most promiscuous professor on campus? They call her easy, yet prudish in the same breath. Stern and bossy. Bright and overachieving. A halfblood. A slytherin.
Soul feels himself growing more anxious the longer he stands. The stories begin to mix in his name and Kid's. He hears how picky she is, but how she leads men on with sweet words and flirtatious giggles. They offer personal recounts about how Soul was seen with Maka last weekend in Hogsmeade, and then how Maka was studying with Kid in the library late into the night. Finally, they sneered about why Soul is waiting for her in front of a commons that belonged to neither him nor her.
They didn't come close to the truth.
Soul wishes that Maka and Kid would come out sooner, chastising himself for coming earlier than their appointed time. He checks his enchanted pocket watch and focuses on the clouds that move across the background. It's gift from Kid, charmed to show the state of the sky above Soul with deadly accuracy. He has a unique hand in magical objects, possibly a skill that he received from his stepfather, Professor Eibon.
Involuntarily, Soul remembers that Kid is another student plagued with the same animosity that Maka faced. Kid, the son of the headmaster, the stepson of another professor, is fated to be another hot topic in the hallways. From eccentric to tedious, and nit-picky to unaware, Kid has been called the entire spectrum of labels by those who couldn't quite wrap their heads around him.
Perhaps that's why they avoid him, Soul thinks. Despite him being in one the house most reputable for their hospitality and warmth, Kid prefers to stay with his unique group of friends rather than anyone else. He makes no effort to conform, and that's probably why Soul doesn't hide himself in front of Kid either.
A rumbling sound alerts his attention to his left side. The barrels beside him quiver, expanding until a nice opening is formed, and out comes Maka, and then Kid.
"Soul!" Maka says, bouncing to his side and hugging him tightly. "You came early."
It is a wonder how Maka isn't the one who belongs to Hufflepuff; her smiles should've easily given her the clear. He reaches to carry the basket hanging off from her arm, but she slaps him away.
Soul sighs, "I wasn't waiting long. Are you two ready?"
Kid nods to him as a greeting. "The sky is clear today. It should be optimal weather."
"Look at what the house elves gave us! Lots of sweets and finger foods. I can't wait to eat them."
"Be patient," Kid says, plucking the basket away. "The last time we had something planned, you ate half of the basket before we reached our destination."
She pouts, "The courtyard is close this time."
As he watches their banter, Soul couldn't help but to notice other voices overshadowing theirs.
She just wants to marry into power, the whispers carry. Anyone would do, so long as they were rich.
Plot twist, the two guys are dating instead.
So who do you think she'll choose? I prefer the moody one.
How weird is it to date someone outside of your house, though? Let alone the both of them, at the same time.
"Soul?" Kid calls.
Maka looks behind her in worry.
He realizes that he's stopped in the middle of the hallway, and moves his feet again. "Sorry, what were you saying?" His mind still pricks with annoyance and anxiety.
Instead of answering his question, Kid waits for Soul to catch up, and he says softly, "Don't worry about them. You have us." He slips his hand into Soul's, who then squeezes it tightly.
The space on his other side is immediately filled, too. Maka holds his hand and grins. "Fuck 'em. Let's go eat good."
Once they reach the courtyard, they lay a blanket on top of the grass and climb onto it together. Maka uncaps a muggle thermal mug, while Kid frets about whether there really is enough food for all three of them. Maka hushes him, handing him a cup of warm tea, and tells him that he is the one who packed the basket. He is over prepared, as always, she jokes.
Before Soul could lay down, Kid passes his cup to him, raising an eyebrow. It doesn't seem like Maka is pouring another one, so he takes it, sipping on it and blushing at the thought of an indirect kiss. They call him silly, but endearingly so.
The three of them continue their date beyond the eyes of the people around them, and Soul knows that their love goes further than the spread of whispers.
Written for Soul Eater Polyamory Week 2018
Day 3: Kisses
Prompt:
- "turns out hogwarts students only give you weird looks when you date multiple people from multiple other houses huh who knew" au