The Fairy Cakes and Fiction Awards 2009

Title: Downbeat
Author: MarshmellowDragon
Category: Um…good question. I'll take Most Original…? Or Best Humor?
Summary: Everyone leaves at some point, right? Some just sooner than others. Pre-series genfic.

"Hey, don't write yourself off yet
It's only in your head that you feel left out,
Or looked down on."

-Jimmy Eat World, "The Middle"

"Take me on a date." Maka had seen him shirtless before, so the effect of the toned abs and firm shoulders was lost somewhere in her stubborn glare. Just try and turn me down, her eyes seemed to say. Not that her target was anywhere close to proficient at reading significant gazes, but hey, it was the thought that counted.

"Huh?" Was Black Star's dignified response. The twelve year old was halfway through a bench press of some unidentified weight, and as he stared in confusion, the barbell began to shake in his hands, a sign that while the brain may have been distracted, the muscles sure as hell weren't.

Sid, who'd been spotting the assassin before Maka's impromptu arrival, immediately and correctly identified the matter as one he'd never understand without help. It was obviously some sort of bizarre and highly extreme female mood swing. Wisely, he vacated the area to search for Nygus and have her explain it to him.

…but not before taking the wobbling barbell off of Black Star's hands.

"Put this on," the blonde tossed Black Star a shirt that he vaguely remembered owning, "spray some deo, and we're leaving." Obviously already impatient, Maka folded her arms across what was supposed to pass as her chest and began tapping a foot.

"But I'm…training…?" As if shaken out of a stupor, the blue-haired assassin blinked exaggeratedly. "Yeah! I'm training! You can't bother me while I'm training to surpass God!" He began the motions to shoo Maka out of the gym, though she twirled under his arms with ease and managed to grab an ear. Black Star crumbled easily after that. Victory was hers.

"I'm not bothering you." She stated as she dragged her captive from the room. "I'm expanding your experiences in life."

They'd been to this same diner before. The waitresses knew them as regulars, and shooed them to their standard haunt in the back corner without a second thought. But when Maka actually asked for menus, then they started getting looks. Both of them knew the rotation of the daily specials by heart, not to mention the rest of the menu. Quietly, waitress Annie questioned hostess Dezi if she'd heard anything about Maka suffering a random bout of amnesia recently.

"Pick up your menu, Black Star." And instead, he was fiddling with the ketchup packets. Building a fort…to protect himself from Maka.

"But I know what I'm getting already!" Same as always, it was a Friday, so it was burrito burger night. Just because Maka had made him wear a shirt with a collar didn't mean that he had to go and change his diet or anything.

"Pick. Up. The. Menu." Hah. Yeah right. Like he was gonna listen to her. Just because she was paying didn't mean that she was the boss. Especially if she didn't actually know she was the one footing the bill…

"No." He refused while leaning over into the adjacent booth to raid their ketchup packets. Fort Amazing needed a tower. Maybe a cannon too…?

Frowning, the blonde tried to covertly convince him otherwise by use of a well-aimed kick under the table. Unfortunately, she'd forgotten that this was Black Star she was sitting across from. Not only did he dodge the thing, he returned it. Because he was just that awesome.

"Hey! That hurt!"

"You started it! And of course it did! That's the point!"

"You shouldn't kick your date."

"…You started that too." Pouting because she had no immediate comeback to that, Maka could do little more than glare. He only grinned and continued to raid other tables for their ketchup packets.

"You kids finally ready?" Waitress Annie hadn't bothered getting out her pad. The jig was up.

"Usual Friday fare." Maka sighed, toying with the edges of the plastic menu. She didn't bother looking at Black Star for confirmation. His grin of triumph was practically audible, just like the rest of him.

Well, a romantic dinner was out. But there was always…

…The movies.

"Eep! Black Star!"

"What the-? Why are you-!?" When the monster had leapt, so had Maka. Though, while the creature from beyond the swamp's graveyard had gone for the attractive female protagonist, Maka had set her sights on something a little closer. Namely, Black Star's hand.

"I'm scared!" She half wailed, half hissed. "You're supposed to comfort me! Squeeze my hand in reassurance!" Black Star only snorted in response, and even Maka had to admit she'd been laying that on a little thick. But only a little. Really.

Funnily enough, they'd been to this same movie theater too many times to count as well. Well it wasn't her fault. There were only so many places that were within walking distance of both their places. Normally they could've biked, but Maka hadn't wanted to risk it in the nice pleated skirt she wore. It was like asking for trouble.

"You love horror flicks." Black Star pointed out somewhat near quietly when the action bits had faded away to a rushed romance scene. "Or do you not remember the horror-flick-athon-that-must-not-be-named?" Of course she did! The nerve…

But you didn't talk about childhood movie nights when you were on a date. It just wasn't done. You were supposed to talk about your hopes and dreams, the future, your interests, the works. It was supposed to be some sort of connection, like sparks from a live wire.

Maka pointedly ignored the part of her that oh-so-sweetly brought up the fact that she and Black Star had already been through those parts of the conversation too long ago to remember, when they'd been too small to understand just how shackled they were to Shibusen.

Sighing, the blonde detached her hand from her…whatever the hell Black Star was at the moment. She'd just enjoy the flick. Think about the romance after the creature from beyond the swamp's graveyard had devoured everyone's faces.

But still, not all hope was lost…

…aw, who was she kidding. The walk home was just as doomed as the dinner and movie before it.

"ARGH! I don't get it!" Maka's words were accented by her fist as it met the bark of some poor unfortunate tree. The dent caved in a squirrel's home. "There's nothing special about this at all! I don't see what's so great about it!"

Of course there's nothing special about it, Black Star wanted to add. We've done it fifty bazillion times already.

Instead, he said, "That was a weird punch. You were off-center." Selecting a similar tree to the one the blonde had just terrorized, the assassin fell into the same pose that Maka had held. "You did it like this…" He demonstrated the punch in slow motion, stopping just before his knuckles made contact with the wood. "But you're supposed to do it like this." Cue a slightly different turn of the wrist when meeting bark.

The tree cracked in two.

For a moment, there was only the sound of crashing wood, and maybe the terrified yelp of an animal. And then, even worse, there was nothing. No praise! No cries of how great he was! She hadn't even bothered to yell at him. No random owl, no obnoxious crickets, just…silence.

"This is the part," the boy began slowly, "where you start arguing with me about how you did it better." Or just beating him into a bloody smear. But since she seemed to be having memory issues today, Black Star decided to steer clear of that one. Why ruin a good thing?

He didn't really have to worry. Maka only continued to stare blankly, as if he'd grown a second head or something. Black Star checked to make sure this wasn't what'd actually happened…just in case. No. Great. That left him back at square one.

"Yooo whoooo…Anybody home?" Waving a hand in front of his captor's face, the assassin frowned when said appendage wasn't slapped away. "Hey. God to puny mortal. You listening?"

And then she began to cry.

"O-oi! Maka!" Thanks to his super godlike ninja skills, the boy managed to catch his friend as her knees buckled, refusing to support her any further. From there, she sunk to the ground at a much more controlled rate, clinging to Black Star as if letting go meant the end of the world. The thick tears rolling down her cheeks definitely hadn't been there a few seconds ago.

Kneeling there with his arms awkwardly looped around her, the assassin had no clue what the hell he was supposed to do now. Seriously. Ninja Gods such as himself just weren't trained for situations like this. It wasn't his fault! He'd blame it on Sid for neglecting to instruct him on the proper way to deal with non Ninja-Gods.

"I'm sorry." She finally wheezed in between sobs, refusing to look him in the eye as she took refuge behind a wall of fingers. "This was stupid and…ugh. Just so stupid. I'm such an idiot." Damn, what he would've given for a camera to record such a priceless moment. Wasn't every day that supergenius Maka Albarn admitted to being less amazing than his godly self.

Is this really the time? Prodded a voice that sounded suspiciously like Sid. Stupid Sid. NOW his voice wanted to be all parental and helpful, only after the real awkward bit. Just do something already! Fine, fine. No need to get all grumpy about it.

"Um…you okay?" So much for caring. All he got in response was a shiver. No words, not even body language; violent or otherwise. "Maka?" Ah, there. Her name seemed to get her attention. Slowly, ever so horribly boringly slowly, the blonde raised her head to meet his stare.

"Mama moved out."

"Huh?" Smooth. Interjected the Sid voice rather unhelpfully.

"She left. For good." Oh. OH.

"And I wanted to go with her. So much. And she just…just left! I don't know where she's going and Papa won't tell me anything. But I know. I know! It's all Papa's fault, 'cuz he's always going off, and now Mama's leaving both of us! She's punishing me too!" The sobbing, originally tapering off, was now getting worse. Much worse. Black Star wasn't sure if he was supposed to calm her down or not, but he didn't really get a chance to act anyway.

"I didn't do anything wrong! It's not fair Black Star! It's not! I didn't do anything, and now Mama doesn't…doesn't…" Distressed, the blonde returned her face to her hands, sucking in big gulps of air and trying oh-so-very hard not to hyperventilate. She was failing at the latter.

But Black Star wasn't concerned so much with the details. Life sucked sometimes. That much he understood. But…he gulped, suddenly nervous for no explainable reason. "You…you wanted to leave?"

Maka sobbed something that sounded vaguely like a yes. Yes. Yes. Definitely. She wanted Mama.

"You'd just leave me here?" Maybe she caught the anger that crept into his tone, maybe not. He wasn't sure. Still, it didn't matter, so he continued on.

"Then you wouldn't be being fair either y'know. Who would be left for me to hang with? If you leave, you'd be punishing me." The ninja snorted, for an instant sounding much older than his twelve years. "And the great Black Star certainly hasn't done anything wrong."

"Black Star?"

"You're not allowed to leave. I refuse. I reject. By order of the god that is myself, you're not allowed to run away to anywhere unless I'm ninja'd into your suitcase. And I won't leave either. Got it?" So what if there was no way that'd hold forever? For the moment, he was pretty proud of the corniness. A perfect 10 on the sappy scale. Girls loved that stuff, especially crying ones. Even he knew that.

"You can't say that." She muttered, sobs having tapered off to give way to melancholy. "What'll we do when we have partners? I'm not sharing extra-curriculars with you." Maka paused for a moment, eyes darkening. "What happens if we die?"

"Look," Black Star huffed, "I just gave you my godly word. I don't see why the hell you're worried about the future. We'll make it work! I'll make it work!"

"You won't." Ah, but now Maka was almost grinning. Almost. "But for now, it doesn't matter." Sorely tempted to retaliate for that comment (honestly, doubting his word!?), the ninja only barely restrained himself. He needed her not pissed at him to ask the question that'd been bugging him since the whole thing started.

"Sooooooo, why the date?"

Maka shrugged helplessly, a small-ish and rather bittersweet smile tugging at her lips. "I wanted to see what was so great about the crap that drove my parents apart. Going out with a guy, doing that adult stuff." Abruptly, her features twisted sourly, like she'd bitten into something rotten. "I don't see what's so great about it. I don't see how Papa could choose this over…over Mama. And me."

"Ahuh." Silence for a beat. "You're lying."

"I'm not!"

"Obviously," Black Star continued on as if he hadn't been interupted, "the sadness in your heart could only be cured by the shining radiance that is my presence! Don't worry Maka, you chose-urk..!" Note to self: Maka's moods did not impair her aim in any way.

"Like hell I'd willingly go to you for counseling!" Honestly? He wouldn't go to himself for counseling either. But that was for him to know, and Maka to never find out. Ever. Techincally, the Sid-voice piped up one last time, she did come to you for counseling.

Obviously a fluke. Or a sure sign of how few friends the blonde actually had.

"Come on, your dad's probably worried sick." Maka raised an eyebrow, and for a moment, Black Star wondered if he was about to get a lecture on how he didn't understand anything because her dad was technically the whole root of the problem.

"Do I detect a hint of fear? The great and glorious Black Star isn't scared of Papa's wrath, is he?" And instead, he was taunted. Great.

"Of course not!" He grumbled while offering her a hand up. Taking it, Maka pulled herself up, and the two began the long trek back in the general direction of the blonde's home.

Minutes passed.

"Black Star?"

"Mm?"

"Why're you still holding my hand?"

"…"

"…?"

"…W-well, it's what people do on dates, right?" Maka glanced to their clasped palms, then to the tree that Black Star had split in two.

"Right." She smiled. "So, we don't talk of this again?"

"Agreed."

I apparently have this thing for taking Maka, a very strong character emotionally, and making her cry. I'm a horrible person.

Anyway, this is something I've wanted to do for a while, and made time for now that I don't have time for anything. I mean, the two of them have known each other the longest, right? So I figured, Black Star was probably there when Kami left. I've just wanted some Maka and Black Star pre-series for so long that I ended up doing it myself :P

I'm proud to be contributing some gen :D