Reflex

By Vivalarapture

Authors note- I do not own Soul Eater or Little Lion Man (originally) by Mumphord and Sons. This story was inspired by the version by Tonight Alive and Eerie-Innocence42 from a serendipitous Tumblr post.

Chapter one, Tremble

"Weep, little lion man,
You're not as brave as you were at the start.
Rate yourself and rake yourself,
Take all the courage you have left,
And waste it on fixing all the problems that you made in your own head.
But it was not your fault but mine,
And it was your heart on the line.
I really fucked it up this time
Didn't I, my dear?"

-Little Lion Man, Tonight Alive

It wasn't like they hadn't done this before. Their entire partnership was a balancing act; one person cool, calm and collected, the other a bundle of determined energy and blunt force. They were opposites in many aspects, and they were always butting heads, from things as minute as whose turn it was to cook dinner, to why he shouldn't throw himself in the line of fire on behalf of her.

They would never understand the others reasoning behind that one.

It had started as a normal mission, nothing the three-star meister and her death scythe couldn't handle. Two days in England tracking down the monster eating souls in the slums of the outer city and they had found him slurping the last of some poor womans life source.

The pre-kishin was bulbous and grotesque, but not as formidable as they had anticipated. His weapon of choice had been a rusted old scythe, the handle wrapped in duck tape and the blade worn thin by nicks and scratches.

Maka had to fight down the urge to take it personal as the curved blade whipped past her face. She knew it was silly to be bothered by it, but seeing as how the scythe she was wielding was her closest companion, she was taking this fight more seriously than usual.

"Maka! Would you watch where you're going?! That thing nearly cut your head off!"

Maka spun around to throw a glare at the reflection of her partner in the face of the blade before launching herself upwards to avoid another blow by the pre-kishin. She snapped her wrists back and threw herself toward the monster, the end of Soul's blade getting stuck in the cobblestone. She threw her head around to find where the pre-kishin went, only to get flattened as he landed on top of her.

Her breath was crushed from her lungs as she struggled to wiggle her way out from under the fat rolls smashing her into the ground. The pre-kishin snickered happily, raising his raggedy scythe upwards and twisting around so Maka's side was exposed.

"MAKA!" Soul screamed, his metallic voice vibrating through Maka's eardrums, "MOVE!"

Maka began to fidget manically, attempting to free herself. The pre-kishin swung his fat arms downward just as Maka began to squeeze her way out from under him. The blade carved through the exposed flesh between her oxford shirt and skirt, slicing through through layers of skin.

Maka hissed, grabbing her side and rolling backwards, finally able to get out from under him.

"We need to get out of here, now. You're badly injured and this thing is going to kill you if you keep going."

Maka clenched her teeth, pressing a hand to the wound on her side, "I am fine! We need to finish this!"

She could practically feel Soul's anger radiating from the cold steel in her hands. "You are in no condition to fight. Why do you have to-"

Soul was cut off as he was swung through the air, the tip of his blade barely nicking the monster rushing forward to finish what he started. Maka sprung backwards to avoid another parry from the pre-kishin. It seemed to be getting faster, the more blood Maka was shedding. It cackled with glee, hopping from foot to foot as he attacking a slowly weakening Maka.

"Maka! Get the fuck out of here! Listen to me for once in your life!"

Maka jumped in the air, swinging Soul down and once again missing the pre-kishin. "I will not stop! We have a job to do! Stop distracting me!"

She heard Soul roar in anger before the creature was once again in front of her, the scythe in his hands slicing deep into her calf. Maka bit down on her tongue to stop from crying out in pain. She would not give it the satisfaction.

She gripped the shaft of her scythe tighter in her hands, her breathing in a harsh pant. She settled her feet before springing forward, charging in hopes of catching it off guard. Such a trick did not work, as the pre-kishin swung forward quicker than Maka thought he was capable of, slicing deep into her chest.

Maka flew to the ground, her breathing ragged and short. She pushed a hand onto her chest, feeling blood soak from her collar bone. She struggled to get up, and she jumped awkwardly out of the way of his next move, her calf burning with the effort.

"I swear to Death, if you do not leave right now I'm transforming and dragging your stupid ass out of here by your pigtails."

Maka swung madly, steel clashing as the monster blocked every attempt she made at gaining contact with blubbery skin.

"STOP BEING SO WEAK!" She cried out, her voce sounding as rough as she looked. "I WILL NOT QUIT OR GIVE UP! STOP TRYING TO MAKE ME WEAK! WE NEED TO FINISH THIS!"

Maka screamed in fury, her wrists nearly cracking with the effort of smashing her partner towards the pre-kishin. It jumped to the side and up into the cold night air, raising the scythe nearly behind him as he reached back for his last hit.

Maka's calf took that moment to give up on her, sliced muscle having already taken too much strain. She fell to her knees, staring up into the fate that was about to cut her in half. Adrenaline coursing through her veins made everything hazy. It always did. It was always a strength for her in the past. It made nothing important to her except winning and not dying. But somehow that strength turned into a disaster.

She dropped her scythe, every tendon in her aching body giving out after such strenuous use, arms hanging lamely at her side. She was resigned to this fate. And in that instant, the only face she saw was Souls.

A blinding light flashed in her vision, enveloping everything in it's blue-ish hue. A clash of metal echoed in her head for what seemed like hours. When the light faded, all she could see was a whir of red and black steel.

Her vision was tilted, and she realized she was on the ground. She tried to tilt her head so she could see what was happening better, but her body wouldn't listen, and she stayed thrown to the ground, gravel digging into her wounds.

Soul was standing above her, blood dripping from his forehead and blades trembling from his shoulders. She couldn't seem to fathom the expression on his face, but she knew it had to be seething. She had called him weak. She had reached out into the most intimate places of his heart and ripped forth his most detestable fear.

She could feel tears dripping down her nose, pooling on the ripped cobblestone under her torn body. He sighed, blades morphing back into skin, and reached down to pull her into his arms to take her to a safer place. She bit down on her cheek as she felt the wounds open from the movement.

"What happened?" She croaked, blood caking her tongue.

"Don't talk." He replied, his tone curt and sharp.

Maka simply pressed her face into his shirt, trying to keep her breathing steady as they made their way away from the cataclysm they left in the wake of their fight. Her eyes were beginning to droop, blood loss and exhaustion taking its toll. Souls grip tightened on her, grunting at her in that same tone.

"Don't fall asleep. I don't know if you have a concussion."

Maka was too weak to argue, and pried her eyes back open, blinking in an attempt to make her vision clear again. "Where are we going?"

"I said don't talk."

Maka would have usually piped up about how demanding he was being, but this was not a normality. Guilt was welling up inside her, crushing her lungs much more fiercely than the broken ribs she likely had.

She heard him sigh again, but his voice was just as harsh as the last few lines he spoke.

"The hospital."

Maka nodded slowly against his bloodstained shirt, agreeing she was more than surely going to need a multitude of stitches and pain medication once the shock wore off. Every time she started to doze off, Soul would tighten his grip on her, lightly shaking her to keep sleep from taking her.

Being in a hospital was not an abnormality for any student from Shibusen, but walking into a civilian hospital carrying a tiny woman near death was not going to be a treat. As soon as Soul entered the emergency wing, he was surrounded by frightened nurses trying to pry the girls from his hands.

He managed to maneuver his death scythe badge out of his pocket, and growl angrily at the anxious staff that he was apart of Shibusen. They backed away, obviously aware of the dangerous situations they more often than not got themselves into. One of the nurses nudged him towards the hallway leading into the emergency room, a little taken back by the sight in front of her.

Soul followed the hallway and the nurse trotted away to find a doctor. Another nurse pointed him to a room and snatched a gown , following him into the cold, sanitized space. He placed Maka onto the bed as carefully as possible and turned to face the nurse. Her face was pale, but she had a determined look in her eyes.

"Go wait in the waiting room, please. A doctor is on his way to take care of her."

Soul grunted in agreement, walking towards the door. A hand grabbed onto the tail of his shirt, stopping him in his tracks. He turned around to see Maka with a pitiful look on her face, one that he was not used to seeing, and frankly, didn't like one bit.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, her hands shaking as her grip tightened on his shirt. He nodded, gently loosening her fingers and placing her hand back onto the bed. "I know." He said softly, eyes locking with hers for a few seconds before leaving the room.

He ran a hand through his hair as he nearly collapsed into a waiting room chair, a place he was in far too often. He clasped his hands together, staring intently at the calloused skin. His finger tips twitched as he tightened his hands into fists. He was trembling. He cursed himself under his breath, flinging his hands out to his sides to clench the arms of the chair. He didn't want to see himself be that weak.

He scowled into the distance, thinking about what Maka had said to him. "Stop being so weak!"

He felt his chest aching and the Little Demon start to whisper maliciously through the spaces of his mind. There were cracks in there, deep caverns that wracked his self confidence. He had never let anyone in before to see those issues; but Maka seemed to seep into every part of him, filling some scars in the wood work, and tearing others wide open.

He was scared.

Every time they went on a mission, his heart raced uncontrollably and uncomfortably. He was terrified of her getting hurt, so badly so, that he couldn't even focus on the missions anymore. Every thought was overencompassed with thoughts of Maka's body laying lifelessly on the ground.

He had to protect her at all costs, and it wasn't just because she was his meister anymore. She was a part of him. He chuckled in spite of himself, she had wormed her way into his heart, soul and life, and was stuck there irrevocably.

He knew he had to distance himself, but he didn't know how, or if he was even capable of doing so. Being away from her was a horrible experience. It felt like he wasn't complete if she wasn't around to scold him, joke with him, and smile at him with that magnificent glow.

Soul crossed his arms over his chest and slouched in the chair, his brows furrowed in frustration. In the beginning of their partnership, it had been easy. They were an amazing team because they both willing to do anything to win a fight.

He wasn't scared back then.

He clenched his eyes closed, willing the thought to go away. She was right, he was weak now. Though unlike what she had said, she was the one making him weak. She just had to find her way inside and start putting back together the pieces of his shattered being. He didn't feel so inadequate when her hands were wrapped in his.

"Sir?" He looked up to see a plump older woman with a light accent in nurses scrubs staring intently at him. He grunted in acknowledgment, sitting up straighter in his chair.

"You're all bloody as well. Wouldn't you like to see a doctor?"

Soul shook his head, popping the joints in his arms with a quick pulling motion. "I'm just fine, see? Most of this blood is hers." He said with a wince, realizing that he was still wearing a shirt covered in his meisters blood.

The nurse nodded, and padded off down the hallway. She returned a few moments later with a thin blanket and pillow. "I snagged these from an empty room. She's going to be in there quite some time, so you might want to make good use of them."

Soul smiled and thanked her, as it was not usual for people to be so welcoming to anyone from Death City, let alone Shibusen. The nurse smiled softly, "Is she your girlfriend?"

Soul choked on his own spit and was momentarily disarmed. He laughed after he caught his breath, and shook his head, "No, she's not. She's my partner. Which I sometimes think is more personal than just dating."

The nurse nodded, humming in agreement, "I've seen plenty of you Shibusen kids around here. I don't know how children like you can fight monsters like that for a living."

Soul bristled slightly, offended at being called a child when he had obviously grown at least 2 inches in the last year, and was so not a kid anymore. "Hey now, lady. I'm 18, not a kid. And to be honest, it can sometimes be intense to know your life will always be fighting evil. But that's why we have partners." He grinned, sharp teeth flashing in the florescent lights, "Besides the fact that we need someone to wield our weapon form."

The nurse chuckled, ruffling his hair, which in turn made Soul bristle more than a cat who just got its tail pulled, "It seems you and your partner are very close. She wouldn't stop asking for you before they sedated her for stitches. She's going to have a painful recovery, but I think she's going to be okay. You make sure you take good care of her, okay? I can't imagine how someone that tiny goes into battle against monsters."

She walked away, leaving Soul to his thoughts once again. He pulled the blanket up under his chin and pulled his feet in, trying to get comfortable in the chair. Soul smiled as he thought about the nurses words. He was about to rebut with something along the lines of, "She's one of the strongest people I've ever met." or "You should see her with a book!"

Before he was shocked by his own realization. Maka was more than capable of protecting herself. He knew that, he always had, really, but when someone starts to mean the world to you, it's hard to just trust them to be okay.

Even in that last battle, he hadn't been able to stop her from getting hurt. She was sliced open because he couldn't get his head out of his ass and just help. He may have transformed at the last minute, but he was only sitting here right now because his blades had subconsciously melded from skin and were up in the defensive position when the pre-kishin struck.

He was willing to die for her, but what would have happened to her if he would have died? She would have been next. His hands clenched the blanket around him, and he nearly tore the thin fabric in his anger. She had always yelled at him about that. He had never understood, because he was being selfish. What would she do without him?

He rubbed his eyes with a fist, choking down the burning welling in his throat. Because what would he do without her? He didn't want her to feel the weakness he was hiding behind a thinly veiled persona of apathy. He sighed, crushing his head into the pillow and hoping to find some comfort to pull him into sleep while he waited for Maka to be okay again.

"Sir. Sir, wake up."

Soul was jolted awake, his nerves on fire. It was never a good sign to be abruptly awoken in a hospital waiting room. He looked up to see the same nurse shaking his shoulder. "What's going on? Is Maka okay?"

The nurse pulled on his hand, raising him from his makeshift bed, "You need to go see her. She's is.. Well, avid that you go see her."

Soul raised an eyebrow, knowing that avid for Maka was yelling and cursing, but flew down the hallway and had to grip the frame to keep from sliding past the door. Maka was sitting up in bed with her arms crossed lightly over her recently stitched chest, her bottom lip pushed out in that insanely adorable way she tended to do.

He let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, and walked slowly towards her bed. Her face broke out into a huge grin the moment she saw him, her emerald eyes shining brightly as they locked with his. A second later, she seemed to remember their previous predicament, and her lips turned downwards, her eyes wide and almost frightened.

He shifted awkwardly from foot to foot at the side of her bed, his hand running through his hair nervously. Maka reached for his hand and pulled him onto the bed, hugging him tightly. She pressed her face into his shirt, her voice mumbled as she rambled into the dried blood caking the front of his shirt.

Soul chuckled, gently prying her from his chest, "Don't put your face there, I haven't had a chance to change yet. What did you say?"

Maka puffed out her cheeks, a blush tinting her pale cheeks, "It's my blood, what does it matter? I said I was sorry." She bowed her head, her hands fidgeting on her lap, "I'm so sorry about what happened. I didn't mean what I said and I'm an idiot."

She looked back up at him, her eyes pleading, "You're not weak at all."

Souls lips twitched, smiling a crooked grin at her, "That's where you're wrong. I am weak."

Maka put her hands up to grasp the front of his shirt, her lips forming a small "o" of surprise, "It's not true! You are so much stronger than I give you credit for. You are-"

Soul put his hand over her mouth, laughing at the irritated face she made, "Stop it, Maka. Let me finish. I am weak, but I realized why I'm so weak. I need to trust you. I am so terrified of you getting hurt, I can't focus on anything else anymore. Protecting you is my only concern, and I need to learn to let you go. You can take care of yourself."

Maka reached up and wrapped her fingers in his hair, pulling his face towards hers. She placed their foreheads together, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. Souls eyes widened, but he stayed still, waiting for her to speak.

She lightly slapped his face, giggling when he sputtered angrily and tried to move away from her. Maka kept a firm grip on the back of his head, nuzzling their noses together.

"Don't ever say something like that ever again. I don't want you to ever leave me. This was all my fault, and I don't want you to be beating yourself up about it. I never, ever want you to cry because of 're allowed to show weakness sometimes. But even so, let's continue to get stronger, okay? We do everything together, you know that. But you're not allowed to leave, you got that? You had better always be by my side."

Soul felt his face flush, but he put his hands on the sides of her face, placing a kiss on her cheek.

"You're the meister, who am I to argue?"

He ruffled her hair, and Maka complained about messing up her hair.

"Oh, that's not a problem. Your pigtails are so screwed up right now. One looks like its hanging from the back of your head."

"You jerk!"

Soul leaned back on the bed, avoiding her half hearted punch, "Don't shoot the messenger. I think they look cute."

Maka's face immediately gained a rosy hue with his quip and the wink he followed it with. Soul laughed, and leaned forward again, wrapping his arms around her. Maka followed suit, her tiny fingers digging into his back as they finally got a chance to revel in the fact that they were both alive.

Soul snuggled his face into the crook of her neck, humming contentedly. "You know, I love you."

Somehow, Makas grip tightened around him, her smile just about splitting her face in half.

"I know."

Authors note- I'm just going to do stories based on songs for now, but if anyone has any suggestions, I'd be happy to write them. My Tumblr is under the same name if you'd like to submit them there.