Author's Note: I don't own Soul Eater. This story is a bit all over the place, but I really like it. I decided to go really in depth with the way that Soul is a weapon and what that means when it comes to him fighting with Maka. I don't think it's easy, I also don't think it's a walk in the park, or that he doesn't get hurt, even in weapon form. I wanted him to be really perceptive of things, to be able to see things better. I don't know if I succeeded but I really like it. Please review! I also kinda forgot she wore gloves ... Sorry about that.
All in the Grip
by: Setkia
He can read her just from the way she holds him. A companion piece to All in the Form.
The first time they get partnered up and she takes his hand, he smiles his crooked, jagged-tooth smile and he can tell she's jaded from the way her fingers grip his tightly, like she's trying to break all the bones in his fingers in a single move. The grip isn't right because she's scared to let go, it's because she wants to force him to let go.
He doesn't though.
The first time she wields him as a weapon, he can feel her uneasiness. Her grip is tight, so tight her palms are sweating. If he were to transform into human form right now, one of her hands would be pulling off his arm while the other would be wringing his neck. She doesn't trust him, he can feel it with the way she swings and attacks. His blade hits the ground too harshly, he can feel the gravel scratching against his skull. She skids too long on the ground. She doesn't see him as a person, she sees him as a weapon. Or as a man. Either way, she has no true regard for either.
While she can't match him, doesn't mean he can't match her. He steadies his breathing and makes it ride the same wavelength as hers. He forces himself to adjust to the way she is because otherwise they won't be able to fight properly and she'll get hurt and as her weapon it's his job to make sure she's safe.
The first time her grip changes, it's because he does something he shouldn't have.
Weapons obey their Meisters, that's part of the reason why Wes can't understand why he decided to become a weapon, to work for a Meister, to be forced to submit to someone. Well, he's too cool to follow all the rules, isn't he?
It's a simple mission, Lord Death won't give them anything serious, not for a while. He knows they're not ready, Soul is ready to match her and go along with her but she won't follow him and she won't take the lead. She probably doesn't even realize he's doing it.
She messes up. Misses a step and he goes clattering to the floor. The Kishin towers over her and before he can think, he transforms back and runs to her defence. He crosses twenty feet in just enough time to stop the blow. He expects it to hit him full force, thinks he's prepared himself when he feels her hand on his arm and he's a Scythe again and she's fighting and it's brilliant and there's something different about her grip this time.
It's still tight, still tense, her palm is still as sweaty as hell, but she's more careful now. He doesn't hit the ground quite so harshly, his blade isn't forced through cobblestone until he dulls. She's being a bit more careful. It's the slightest change in grip that tells him she's starting to open up.
When it's over she thanks him in a quiet voice, barely audible.
She doesn't like having to admit she needed help, that's clear. The fact that she turns her head away and rubs her arm and mumbles her thanks instead of declaring it doesn't bother him. She's warming up to him and it's about time.
He tells her that it would be uncool to let her just die like that, so defenceless without even so much as a fight.
She gives him a Maka-chop for it.
It's subtle but now every time he transforms he can feel the difference, she's holding him with more care. Though he still hits the ground hard, she's getting better and the screw-ups are fewer in number. She uses him now for support, when she's going to fall and he pulls her back up.
It's when they're trying to fight a harder Kishin that he doesn't have the time to match her thoughts, to match her heartbeat and way of thinking but they still execute their routine perfectly.
It's later that he realizes why.
She matched him.
Before when she held him, she was silent. His ears were open, listening, calculating, predicting, but then she starts talking to him. In weapon form communication becomes possible and she talks to him. Her grip changes when she talks to him, it's tight as always, but in the way you hold someone's hand when crossing the street, firm, strong, tight and certain.
She trusts him now.
When Black*Star is around and she fights against him, she grips him tighter, but this time it's not like she's trying to break his bones, no, it's more like she's trying to keep him close to her. Black*Star takes interest in anything that can match his "godliness" and the last Death Scythe ever, well that's pretty impressive. She's being protective of him.
He appreciates it.
When Lord Death uses him, it doesn't feel the same. Not good, not bad, just different.
He likes being back in Maka's hands though.
He gets offers, of course he does, what's cooler than being the last Death Scythe? But he turns them down. He knows from personality how they will hold him and he doesn't like it. She's still rough, still too aggressive, but they've formed a bond and he doesn't think he could do Soul Resonance with anyone other than her.
He doesn't like to admit that it was hard to match her in the beginning, he doesn't want to have to match himself to anyone else. Now, despite how different they are, there's no adjusting, they're in tune, they understand each other.
When he goes to visit Wes, something he rarely does, his brother can tell. He asks him how he a managed to submit, asks him if she's submitted to him and Soul realizes that no one's submitted to anyone, they've just fallen into sync.
He's pretty proud of himself for that, it's cool that he can read her all in her grip.
When she holds him now he can tell she trusts him and since Maka doesn't trust guys, it's a pretty big accomplishment, not that he's bragging. Okay, maybe a little.
He's not stupid like Spirit, he isn't going to break that fragile trust she's given him.
No, he pays her back for her trust and maybe she doesn't realize it because he's doing what he's supposed to do, but he works hard for her. He's sharper, he trains a lot, he makes sure they're always on point so that Soul Resonance can happen at any given time. He makes sure he can match her and now she knows how to match him and they barely have to think about it.
It's good this way, he likes it.
He shows off a lot, he can admit that. He acts cocky, but he knows he's inferior to his brother. His brother has the musical talents, his music just sounds creepy. Funny, he always thought the violin was more eerie than the piano. He puts up a brave front, he's confident, he's cool, but when he loses faith, (which he'll never admit to doing) you can barely tell because she picks him right back up.
It's a give and take relationship. He tries to explain it to Wes; how they're so in-tune with each other that they barely even have to think when they fight, how he hasn't surrendered anything, he protects her and she keeps him steady.
She does wonders to his confidence.
And when it comes down to it, he can't find words to describe their relationship except he can explain everything in the way she holds him.
And once they're together, her grip is iron tight, not even the slightest trace of sweat. She won't let anything pull him from her grasp. He barely hits the ground anymore, she skids carefully and when she falls she trusts him to support her, which he does because he's cool like that.
And then one day when she holds him, he can tell without her even opening her mouth.
She loves him.
It's all in her grip.