Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater nor the lyrics to Salt Skin by Ellie Goulding.
Freefall
by. Poisoned Scarlet
You're as sharp as a knife and you fit like a glove
That is no way to live, that is no way to love...
You're as bright as the sun and as bold as the moon
I don't know when you'll break but it's gonna' be soon...
And I won't tell the truth unless you want me to.
1a
"That scar..." She whispered, pressing her palm against his chest. She kept in her groans when he took hold of her leg and bent it toward her, angling her to meet his thrusts. "How...how did you get it?"
"Fight." He grunted, ducking his head as they both quickened their pace. The pressure built, steadily, and they were short of breath and their hearts beat in unison with their rising voices. In his haze, he saw her back arch with her palm pressing against the headboard to give her the extra push she needed, lips quivering as she struggled to swallow her cries. "Maka..."
She let out a pitched whine in reply, her fingers digging into the humid skin of his shoulder. "F-faster – faster, Soul!" She breathlessly gasped, meeting his thrusts with a mutual desperation.
The moonlight cast a pale glow over the bed, illuminating their sweat-slick bodies as they performed the ritual older than either could fathom. With strangled cries, muscles aching with the flame of their passion, they gave into one another for the night; they crushed their mouths together with reckless abandon, they shuddered as the jarring impact of their release shook them both to the core.
With trembling hearts, shaken breaths, they clung to each other – her neck a smooth curve, his lips leaving hot trails where they roamed. His fingertips would leave bruises on her skin when she awoke in the morning, her nails would leave new scars on his flesh when he looked in the mirror after a hot shower.
"That fight." Maka whispered, as she caught her breath. The muscles in her thighs would burn the next morning when she awoke, as they always did. "What was it for?"
"You're real persistent." Soul grinned briefly, resting his head on her shoulder as they both came down from their high. "Black Star and I used to be in this motorcycle gang when we were younger – stupid, I know." Soul added, upon hearing her breath catch. "We got in trouble because one of the members robbed a store, and he blamed 'Star since they'd always had a rivalry going on."
"Black Star isn't the easiest person to get along with." Maka admitted, knowing from experience. Only now was she beginning to put their differences aside to get along.
"You can say that again." Soul snorted, blinding reaching for the sheets. He pulled them out from under them, smiling slightly when Maka grunted and arched her body so he could pull out the sheets. He swung them over their joined bodies, going back to his makeshift pillow on the soft flesh of her neck. "Anyway, Black Star doesn't take shit from anyone. It was supposed to be a clean fight, but..."
"It wasn't?" Maka guessed.
"He pulled a knife on him." Soul explained, with a heavy sigh. "I backed up Black Star and got the bad end of the deal. Some of the other guys ended up grabbing me and that bastard cut right down my chest with the knife before 'Star lost it. If it hadn't been for the bartender and the boss, Black Star would have killed him."
"He... he was that out of control?" Maka asked, tentatively. It painted a frightening picture, Black Star with that wide grin and cold eyes.
"He's all bark, no bite, most of the time, Maka." Soul said, quietly. "He comes off as this big guy, but he just has a complex from being put down a lot when he was a kid. Don't get me wrong: he'll kick your ass if you call him out on it, but he's a good friend in the end. He has his heart in the right place, that's all."
"Well, with the way he acts, he doesn't convince me!" Maka stubbornly said, his chuckles reverberating within her own chest cavity. It felt nice, she noticed, to have his laughs vibrate with her pounding heart.
"You're just being stubborn." He leaned up, his hand cupping her cheek; stroking her flushed cheeks which darkened in color upon her noticing his unusually soft crimson eyes. "You've got your heart in the right place, too."
"You, too." Maka quietly said, staring into those clean-cut ruby eyes of his. They seemed to refract the bright moonlight, casting an array of ringlets and flecks within them. It was enchanting. "You just like hiding behind that cool attitude of yours."
"You shouldn't be talking." A sharp, crooked, grin made her feel short of breath again. "Out of the both of us, you're the one least likely to open up to me."
"I... have no reason to."
He was silent for a moment, breathing her in just as she did, before he said: "I can give you a reason to."
"That – that doesn't mean I will!"
"You can try."
Maka dropped her eyes, unable to stare into such open eyes. She saw things she didn't want to see; she felt things she didn't want to feel. She was only more aware of their joint bodies, how natural it felt to have him hovering over her; to feel his heated skin press against her own.
"...Okay..." It came out pitifully; barely escaping the borders of her lips, barely able to hear it herself. Yet he heard it, he must have heard it, because he kissed her but it was different this time.
It lacked ravenous passion.
It was soft and sweet and so unlike anything she had ever felt before.
And when he pulled away, his fingers caressing down her cheek to her neck to the curves of her breasts, she saw what made her both freeze and swell with hope; both petrify and revive.
She saw love.
And it scared her just as much as it thrilled her.
1b
"I – I do not know, Hiro-san, Maka-chan is very private about her relationships – !"
"So she is going out with that idiot?" Hiro hounded Tsubaki outside of the gym, cornering the girl who could only bow her head and tremble under his furious stare. "What the hell? When did this happen?"
"I don't know..."
"You do know! You two know everything about each other!"
"Not anymore we don't!" Tsubaki protested but immediately subdued upon catching his irked look. "We... we haven't been speaking all that much recently. M-Maka-chan is very busy with her college courses and I have my own things to sort out as well..."
"Damn it!" Hiro cursed, turning away from the timid girl in a fury. He ran his fingers through his hair, rubbing away at his forehead in frustration. He was at a loss as to what to do. He had never been caught up in a situation where he could not get a hold of the girl he liked. "What does she see in that freak... he's not good for her! He's a bad influence – have you seen that guys teeth? He totally got those sharpened or something! And his hair – who dyes their hair white?"
"Um... I believe those are all natural character traits, Hiro-san..."
"What? Then he's a freak!" Hiro snarled. Tsubaki flinched. "Maka is going out with a freak!"
"He...he is very nice and understanding – !"
"Nice?" He rudely interrupted her. Tsubaki bit her lip, rubbing her arm uneasily. "Because that's the only way a freak like him can even get laid! He's taking advantage of Maka's kindness – damn it, how did I let this happen? Doesn't she realize that freak Soul is no good for her? Even his name is weird!"
"Oi, what's this I hear about Soul being a freak?" Someone drawled from behind Hiro, and he turned quickly. He automatically noticed his outrageous hair – aquamarine blue, spiked in the vague shape of a star – before noticing the turquoise eyes that gazed back at him coolly, with an inhumane quality that disturbed him. They shifted to Tsubaki for a split-second, her hunched and miserable form, before narrowing and frowning deeply at him. "What's going on here?"
"Black Star, it's nothing, we're just discussing – !"
"You friends with that Soul guy?" Hiro boldly asked.
"Yeah, what of it?"
"Then I have nothing to say to you." Hiro sneered, walking away from them both. "Not surprising freaks would hang out with freaks."
"Hey, you wanna' say that to my face, you bastard?" Black Star snarled, his eyes sparking like flint. He reached out to grab his arm, to show him he had no chance of beating him a fight, when Tsubaki leaped and grabbed onto his hand, pressing it against her chest instead. Needless to say, the fact that his hand was being squished to her soft assets was enough to disorientate him; diffuse his rage.
About everything.
It was amazing how a woman's body could render him incapable of even the most basic functions.
Even Hiro's reply was tuned out: he focused on his hand, pressed, now that he thought about it, right between her boobs. And it felt nice.
"...cannot tell Soul-san about this! Maka-chan will be so angry if she hears what Hiro's been up to!" Tsubaki fretted. "She's just been able to let go of him and have a shot at being happy! I don't want him to ruin that for her – I haven't seen her happy in a long time and I think Soul-san can fix that!"
"...Tsubaki..."
"Yes?" Tsubaki reacted instantly, hopefully. Perhaps he had an idea? Tsubaki knew Black Star was quite intelligent although he didn't show it. A lot of the time. But he was intelligent, she promised.
Black Star stared seriously into her eyes.
His fingers twitched but he didn't dare move.
"... What cup size are you?"
Tsubaki had never been more grateful for Maka's infamous 'Maka Chop' as she dragged a half-coherent Black Star across the parking lot to his car, said boy clutching his aching head and wondering how Soul dealt with this abuse whenever he opened his big mouth.
A.N: I love Black Star. That kid is hilarious.
Oh, my, Maka giving Soul a chance? Hm, wonder how that'll work out...
Oh, Hiro, he's finally realizing he lost something good. Too bad Soul hates sharing.
This final arc, by the way, will be longer chapter-wise. Word-wise, a few chapters may be long, but they will not exceed 3000 words. Just because I have a lot to say and I have to moderate it, you guys should know that by now. I think I'm the only author in this particular fandom who can cram 30,000 words into two chapters and post up a 6,000 word story the next day XD I don't know whether to be proud of that or not.
Scarlett.