My last fanfic of 2009!! I'm ending it with SoulxMaka fluff and love! Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to all! Please enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater.
Dance With Me
"It's New Years Eve!" Maka chirped happily.
"Well, yeah, genius." Soul muttered. "Where have you been the past 364 days?"
"Oh, shut it!" Maka huffed. If she had had a book right then and there…
Maka and Soul were on their way to the Thompson's sister's mansion, where Death The Kid was throwing a New Year's party for all Shibusen students.
And just the students.
Meaning, Maka's perverted, embarrassing father would not be there to humiliate her beyond the point to where she wanted to crawl into a hole and die. This, Soul thought, was part of the reason why she was so perky tonight.
The two partners had been meeting one another numerous times in the demon's room inside Soul's soul recently. Somehow, when Maka opened her eyes and was outside of the room and back in reality, she would find herself still wearing the black dress that he always gave for her to wear. So this was what she was wearing tonight, and her partner was dressed in his black suit and red shirt underneath.
When they arrived at the mansion, Black*Star had already arrived with Tsubaki, and her hyperactive Meister had already began putting a dent in the buffet while his weapon blushed, embarrassed, nearby. Death The Kid, Liz and Patty did their best to greet each of the guests. Although, frequently, Kid got distracted with the fact that it was snowing and that no two snowflakes were the same. Thus, he went on periodical rants on how they were not symmetrical. Patty was busy making snowmen on the porch where they were waiting to greet people, and Liz was shivering and praying that she would not get frostbite.
The party was planned to be short, as it began and 10PM and only lasted until a little after midnight, since Kid assumed people would want to go home and celebrate afterwards.
It was a Friday night, and since there had been no school that day, Soul had persuaded Maka to take a nap so she would not collapse from exhaustion at the party that night. She was glad that she had listened to him, because presently, she was practically skipping through the ballroom, tugging Soul by the arm behind her. Her partner was a bit less enthusiastic about all of this, but he was still prepared to have a good time. Almost everyone they saw there was dancing with someone else, while some others just sat, ate, and chatted.
First, Maka and Soul tested their appetites, since they had not eaten dinner that night as to eat their hearts out at the buffet. The food was exquisite; nothing short of what they would expect from Shinigami-sama's son's party. Obviously, Kid wanted to ensure that all of his friends ate like kings and queens for the last night of the year. But after her second dish of small morsel's Maka began to feel queasy, so she found an empty seat and sat down, breathing deep and calming breaths to keep her stomach from flipping. It was a pity since she hardly ate anything and it had all tasted so divine.
"Oi, what're you doing?" Soul's hand came down on her shoulder from behind and Maka squeaked in surprise and jumped, sending a not-very-pleasant feeling twisting through her stomach.
"Soul!" she gasped, turning to face him. "Don't sneak up on me like that, you jerk!" her hand flew to her heart as it slowed its thundering pace.
"You seem out of it." He observed. "Are you okay?"
"Just a little food poisoning I think." She confessed with a blush, knowing he would think of her as a glutton.
"Idiot." he mumbled. "Don't get yourself sick on New Year's Eve."
"Sorry. It's not like I wanted to, you know." She pouted.
"Well just relax and take it easy for now." He suggested. "Try to get better before midnight." He patted her shoulder and walked off to where Black*Star was scarfing down food like a starved hyena. Maka stared at the hyperactive, blue haired boy, half in disgust, half in jealousy. How does he do that? She wondered.
Sighing, Maka stood to her feet and sauntered over to the balcony. The nighttime air was not freezing, but it was cold and it sent a chill up her spine. She hugged herself and shivered for a moment, before the cool breeze felt normal to her skin. Then she leaned over the balcony, resting her chin in her hands, shuffling her feet in turn to keep her ankles warm.
The snow was falling slowly in big flakes and she could hear the distant voices of her friends in the ballroom as well and Kid's and the twins' echoing around from the front of the house. Before her, stretched a vast expanse of white blankets; to the far right was an alabaster forest and to the left, Death City could be seen.
Maka just stared out into the distance and enjoyed the beautiful scenery, absorbing the exciting and delightful atmosphere. She breathed in deeply, letting the frosty air fill her lungs and give her body the sense of being clean and pure. Her food poisoning had faded away for the most part and now she stared up at the dark violet sky. The glowing moon was in the shape of a cat's claw, giving off an eerily calming light that made her feel as though she were in another world. The stars were faint winking lights that resembled the snowflakes falling around her, only much hotter and much farther away.
Absentmindedly, she wondered what the time was and thought about heading back inside to find out, lest she was standing outside in the cold when the New Year passed. But as she turned around, she bumped right into her partner who had just been in the middle of a greeting when she spun into him.
"S-Soul?!" she gasped as she hit his chest and lost her balance, beginning to fall backwards as her high-heeled shoes tripped her on the icy ground.
"Oi! Watch it!" Soul reached out and caught her before she could go slamming into the rail of the balcony. He steadied her until she found her balance.
"S-Sorry!" his Meister apologized. "But you did it again!" She pouted.
"W-What the Hell did I do?" He protested.
"You snuck up on me again." She mumbled, avoiding his gaze bashfully.
"Oh, sorry. I guess I did." He admitted. "But you'll catch a cold if you stay out here in this weather all by yourself. Idiot." He scolded "Are you still feeling sick?"
"No, I'm better now." She stated. "The fresh air must have done me some good."
"Well that's good." He smiled in his shark-like manner. "Well its almost midnight and I just wanted to come and get you. Kid says they're gonna set off fireworks when the clock strikes." He informed her.
"Oh! Really? That's so nice of him!"
"Yeah, it'll be pretty cool." Soul agreed.
"How much time until midnight?" Maka queried.
"About 3 minutes." He shrugged.
"What?!" The girl began to panic. Was I really staring off into space for almost an hour?
"You're so gullible." He laughed rudely. "I'm just kidding. We've got at least 15 minutes, calm down."
"Soul!" she whined. "Stop being so mean! First you sneak up on me and nearly give me a heart-attack twice, and now you're lying to me! You're such a jerk!" She was obviously annoyed at him, but her voice was not angry or upset, just frustrated.
"Sorry, I just can't resist pushing your buttons sometimes." He confessed with a smirk.
Maka let out a long breath to control her urge to Chop him. "Well until then I just want to stay out here. It's nice out."
"Maka it's the middle of the freaking night in the middle of the freaking Winter." The boy reasoned. "How exactly is that 'nice'?"
"I don't know. The cold is just..." she searched for the word. "Refreshing." She concluded.
Soul stared at her for a brief moment.
"Whatever. But you're still gonna catch a cold. Come on, don't get sick for the first day of the New Year, moron."
"I won't get sick!" She defended.
"Oh yeah? How's that?"
"Well…" she looked slightly downwards and blushed, shifting her shoulders, similar to the way she had when she had been forced to ask her father out on a date after losing their basketball match. "Like you said, I'll be more prone to catch cold if I'm out here alone…but you're here with me now…" She let her voice trail off, completely shocked and embarrassed at herself that she had let herself speak the words. She waited for him to scoff at her or make some remark about her stupidity.
"Fine." He sighed. "Catch your death out here." He shrugged and turned around and began to walk away. Maka stared after him, stricken, with hurt in her eyes. This night was certainly not as fun and enjoyable as she had thought it would be.
But then Soul turned back to her, holding back a laugh.
"Oh come on, you didn't seriously think I meant that, did you?" Amusement sparked in his crimson eyes.
Maka's gaze snapped up to look at him in surprise.
"…You…You're so mean to me sometimes…" She whispered.
"I was just kidding, Maka." He went back over to her. "No cool guy would just walk away and let a girl freeze to death out here." He told her with a smile.
Maka lifted her chin and closed her eyes indignantly.
"Jerk…" She huffed and leaned back over the balcony, folding her arms on the rail. Soul chuckled and leaned down next to her. Staring out at the alluring white landscape before him, he instantly realized why it was Maka liked it out here.
"Oi, you're hands are shaking." He noted, casting a glance at her.
"Hm? Oh this? It's nothing." She grinned and clamped her hands together behind her back. Soul made a 'What-the-Hell-am-I-going-to-do-with-you?' face at her. He was about to suggest going back inside again, but he knew she would refuse. And secretly, she was right and he too was enjoying being out here amidst the falling snow. Instead, he suggested something else.
"Oi, Maka."
"What is it?"
"Dance With Me."
"…H-Huh?" She blinked, her heart fluttering. "T-That came out of nowhere…"
"Come on, it'll keep you warm at least. Did you just plan on sitting out here in the snow until midnight?" Maka opened her mouth to reply and defend herself but nothing came out, as she realized she had nothing to say to that. "Come on." He encouraged, stepping away from the rail of the balcony. "I'll lead you." He promised.
She had danced with Soul several times in the Dark Room, but they had never physically done so in the real world. Maka hesitated before slowly stepping up to him, her thoughts frantically buzzing around in her head like a swarm of insects. I can dance there but…what if I can't actually do it? What if I mess up? What if I do something stupid or step on his foot?? She fretted.
Her worry showed on her face and Soul's mouth twitched upwards at the corners with amusement. "Maka, I'll lead you." He repeated reassuringly. She looked up into his eyes, crimson locking with olive for a second in time before she nodded with a determination as though she were about to be fighting the biggest battle of her life. Which she quite possibly could have been.
She gingerly slid her right hand into his awaiting left one. He watched her expectantly as she placed her left hand on his right shoulder with a softness that made him smile, her uncertain fingers lightly grasping his shirt. Reaching forward, Soul rested his free hand on her waist gently with a tenderness that cause Maka's heart to kick into a mad rush, thumping like a frightened rabbit against her ribcage. But his hand was warm, and that warmth made her shiver slightly, as though trying to expel all the cold from her body and welcome all of his warmth.
They were in the same exact positions they always took up when they danced in The Room.
The hand that Soul held was trembling and her eyes were flicking everywhere but to his face, unlike the times where they had danced within his soul, where she had been comfortable. But quite frankly, he thought her coyness was cute.
Slowly, Soul began to sway with the music playing from the ballroom. To start off easily for her, he did not move his feet and they just swayed liked they always did together. Maka was surprised that dancing here was just as simple as dancing all the other times with Soul. Her confidence mounted quickly as she realized that she had done this dozens of times before and that she would be fine at it. Soul felt her relax and her stiff shoulders sank a bit as she became more comfortable with the movements.
Gradually, Soul began to lift his feet and she tentatively followed. Their eyes met and Maka froze momentarily at the intense crimson irises so close to her. She quickly found great interest in the white marble floor. But the chilliness was ebbing from her body and she was feeling a lot better than her previous sick-and-freezing state. Yet being this close in proximity to Soul with so many other people around did make her feel a little queasy.
"You feeling alright?" Soul asked, as though reading her thoughts and breaking the silence that Maka had not realized she was starting to enjoy.
"Y-Yeah. I'm fine." She smiled, following him as he led her on, stepping backwards and then forwards, to the left then right then back again.
"Ya-hoo! The fireworks are starting!"
Maka jumped as she heard Black*Star's childish holler coming from inside the mansion. The guests had already filed out to the front where Kid and the twins stood, everyone staring up at the sky expectantly.
"Do you want to go out front with them?" Soul asked, halting their waltz, preparing to let go of her.
"N-No, wait!" Without meaning to, Maka tightened her grip on his hand and tugged at him gently, silently willing him to stay there with her. "Ah! I'm sorry…" She murmured, a pink tint in her cheeks. "You go. I just want to stay here." She slid her hand away from his, but Soul quickly grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand back to lay in his palm.
"Idiot. What did I say before? There's no way I'm gonna let you freeze out here all by yourself." He stepped a little closer. "If we freeze, we freeze together. And we'll do it in a cool way." He added.
"That was so not funny." She shook her head helplessly.
"And besides," he tugged her forward until she was pressed against him. "Who would want to spend New Year's Eve alone?"
"T…Thanks." Maka grinned.
Unexpectedly, Soul moved his hand up her arm and around her shoulders while the other found its way to the small of her back. Maka let her heart beat frantically for several seconds, self-conscious in knowing he could feel it. But then she shyly hugged him back, pressing as close to him as possible, accepting his warmth and sharing her own. She shivered and Soul's embrace on her tightened and he rubbed one arm up and down her back and shoulder to keep her warm.
Maka wanted nothing more than to curl up and drift off into sleep right then and there, comfortable, safe and warm in his arms.
They remained that way for a good few moments, until the excited shouts and cries symbolized the beginning of the fireworks. Then, above the loud blasts, they heard the voices of their classmates raised in the annual countdown.
Maka raised her head and looked up at the sky with Soul as green, purple and yellow fireworks lit up the stars and snow. A red one then formed the shape of Shinigami-sama's mask and she, Soul and everyone else laughed and cheered.
Finally, the countdown reached 5 and Maka felt anticipation and pure excitement bubbling inside of her. At 3 she felt her breath coming in faster, at 2 she was almost bouncing with enthusiasm and finally all the voices of Shibusen went up to the heavens: "HAPPY NEW YEAR!" Black*Star's voice rang out a bit louder than the others and Maka and Soul both laughed.
Maka knew that couples all over the worlds would be kissing and calling one another and trying to be the first ones to do anything and everything right now.
But she was perfectly content with just being there with Soul, feeling his arms around her, being in his presence, breathing his air…
Their eyes locked for a fraction of a second before they returned their attention to the sky and the exploding fireworks of every color imaginable and some not.
Soul hugged her again and she smiled, silently throwing her heart and feelings out into the sky with the fireworks to greet the New Year.
A/N: HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
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