Maka's heart was in a deep, fearful abyss.
For five long years, she has lived a double life. One where she spent time with her lively, loving friends. She got to be a young adult, have fun, be human. And her second- a life as a traitorous angel who scrounged the world for human souls to collect, and, a demon for her to slay. In a city like the one she resided in, death was everywhere. Car accidents, shootings, murder, suicide, housefires, accidents of all kinds, you name it- it crawled the streets and left hundreds upon hundreds of human souls in need of collecting. Perhaps "in need of collecting" wasn't the correct way to put it, Maka figured. "In need of collecting for her debt." That was a much more accurate way to phrase it. A much more truthful way, at least. She
She hid every collection of souls from humans. Especially from her best friend, her roommate. Especially from Soul.
They had met at a music store- the name of the store now long forgotten. Maka was only a few months into her instating into the human world. The only reason she had gone was to find some "music taste"- something to talk about to humans. As of now she was completely socially clueless, and completely without friends. She didn't understand what humans found so endearing about notes being played in an arbitrary sequence, and how defensive some humans got over their favorite genres. She must have been outwardly expressing her confusion, because Soul had sauntered up and started to help her find something she liked, mistaking her confusion of human culture for confusion on what music to select. Soul hadn't even worked at the store, he just wanted to help out. Maka actually learned her first human slang word from him.
"Cool."
He threw the word around in almost every conversation the held, even through calls or texts. He used it to describe himself, and though rarely, Maka. They had seemed to hit it off, and Maka ended up leaving the store with a new acquaintance, his cell contact, and a CD of the best piano singles the store had. They started texting, and in all honesty, never really stopped. She learned so much from him. Though their personalities clashed, they grew a bond that seemingly no one or nothing could break, and they both knew it.
Now, in this moment, with her secret laid out like spilled milk, and as time stood still in utter painful silence, she started to doubt that.
"Maka..." Was all Soul could manage at first.
Frantically, with eyes as wide as dinner plates, Maka deactivated her glamour, abruptly transforming back to her "normal" form.
"S-Soul, I-" Maka choked, but her mouth wouldn't allow a single more word to come out.
"'Maka, what the FUCK WAS THAT?!" Soul screamed, voice a painful mix of confusion, betrayal and hot anger.
Maka instinctively put her hands up defensively, wanting more than anything to just make her mouth work correctly. "S-Soul, I can- I can e-ex- explain, I-" Maka squeaked.
"Then EXPLAIN! Because NONE of this shit makes sense! I just saw you magically transform into some goddamn magical girl and fight and fight a magic CAT!"
"I-I know! I know, it-it looks so bad but-"
"BAD?! Are you kidding?! This is the weirdest shit I've ever seen! Maka, you CHOPPED SOMEONE IN HALF!" Soul stepped forward, throwing his hand in the direction of Blair, who was watching them as if a fascinating soap opera was going on right in front of her. "And HER! What the fuck was she even talking about?! Deals?! Demons, angels, what the hell does all that shit mean?!"
"JUST LET ME EXPLAIN!" Maka suddenly shouted, eyes shut in frustration.
Soul blinked in surprise at the outburst, while Blair daintily covered her mouth with her hand.
Maka took a deep breath, fighting back tears. "Let's go home first," she weakly rasped.
Soul looked miffed for a moment, before face flashing with more anger. "No, I want you to tell me NOW, Maka!"
Maka snapped her head up, her eyes tired and hurt, welling up with tears. "Please. I'll explain at home, just...please, let us go home first."
Soul stood silent for minutes on end.
"Fine," he finally mumbled in a defeated tone.
Maka nodded softly, stepping over to and past Soul, making the familiar trek home that now seemed like it was hundreds of miles longer. Neither of them said anything the entire journey.
When they finally, mercifully returned to their apartment, Maka closed the door behind them, leaning against it. Her head dropped low, hair completely closing off the view to her face. Soul took a few steps then quickly spun around.
"Well?" He growled in an expectant tone.
Maka gave a ever-so slight flinch at the severity of the tone, before slowly looking up. Her green human eyes met Soul's briefly. She quickly looked away, feeling a squeeze of guilt on her very soul at the angry and hurt expression he bared.
"I suppose I should begin," Maka mumbled, "with the fact that I'm an angel with a human disguise."
Soul's expression remained stiff. "I guessed that much."
Maka sighed, trying to ignore his coldness. Maka didn't really blame him for it, though. "I was banished here on Earth for...breaking rules and I can't go back until I've collected ninety-nine human souls and one demon's soul. That's why I was fighting that woman...though, she turned out to not actually be a demon..."
"You're collecting souls?" He looked a bit horrified.
Maka looked up quickly. "I don't kill anyone, I swear! I just wait for people to die naturally, then I put their souls into this..." She showed off her cross necklace. "It safely collects them."
"No wonder you never take that damn thing off," Soul said dryly.
Maka simply nodded slowly. "...angels, demons, heaven, and hell all exist, Soul." She met his eyes again. "A lot of angels and demons walk among humans and no one would be any the wiser. Humans always wonder about the afterlife and stuff like that, but...it's not what it's usually made out to be. When people die, their souls just float around, until someone comes along and takes it. Angels take them to heaven and demons to hell. Souls don't actually have feelings, so all the eternal paradise and eternal torture stuff is...well, bullshit. I'm just trying to send the souls I can up to heaven so I can return."
Soul raked his hand through his hair, seeming tense. "I can't believe this all. I can't believe that you're, what, an angel? An angel banished to earth who kills demons. And heaven and hell are real but also bullshit."
"Well, I've never actually fought a demon before..."
"Still! This is too fucking much for me to comprehend right now, Maka." Soul gripped a fistful of his hair. "All this magical bullshit just suddenly popped into my life, and I didn't ask for it to. I only went back to check on you because you were acting weird and I was worried, is that so fucking wrong?" The question was more to the world than Maka, or some other being behind his misfortune. Soul wished he could just forget.
"I know, it's unfair...I never meant for you to find out. I knew humans wouldn't take these things well..."
"Well no shit, Maka!" Soul snapped. "You just told me that literal demons waltz around the world and you're magical!"
Maka shut her eyes. "This is why I didn't wanna tell you. Now you probably hate me."
"You did lie to me for five fucking years, Maka. And now my life can kind of never be the goddamn same." Soul said lowly, tone silently voicing spite.
Maka clenched her fists. This was it. She had lost her best friend and he hated her. She knew how badly she messed up. Everything was ruined. Maka tried her damnedest to keep the tears in her eyes from falling.
"But...I don't hate you, Maka."
Maka snapped her eyes open, her lips parting in bemusement.
"We're friends and, as hard as this shit is for me to understand, I kind of understand how you feel, I guess. I mean, if I had a secret like that I'd be afraid of what people would think too."
"So...you don't hate me?" She asked meekly.
"I just said I didn't, yeah." Soul shrugged. "But, yeah, I'm still upset as hell. This is too much, I have so many questions..." Soul trailed off, his anger fading into complete stress. "Jesus Christ, this is too fucking much..."
"I can give you time alone, if that's what you need." Maka offered, sadness seeping into the edge of her voice and soul.
"Yeah, I think...I think that would be good." Soul had a distant, tired look in his eyes that Maka unfortunately recognized. She knew that she wouldn't have any luck comforting as of now. She only saw that look when things were really bad.
Maka nodded, silently leaving the room and shutting herself up in her room. She soon heard the door to Soul's room shut as well. She curled up on her bed, hugging one of her pillows to her chest tightly.
Guilt, regret, anxiety and pure, untainted fear all trickled through her blood like poison. She felt it all flow it's way to her heart, making her chest feel cold, and tight. She spent an entire hour motionless. She had nothing to focus on but her mistakes, and her healing wounds, though the pain she felt because of the bruises wasn't anywhere near the pain in her soul. Right now, she didn't care about the bruises.
Though she desperately did not want to, she knew she had to contact her superiors to at least explain what she had done, what had went so horribly wrong.
Maka rose from her bed, walking over to the mirror hanging above her dresser. She exhaled a hot breath against the surface, writing in the numbers thirty-six, thirty-six, then three sevens in a row. A small jingle fogged the back of her mind, reminding her of when she first learned the number from her parents.
"Thirty-six, thirty-six, seven-seven-seven. Whenever you desire to see the kin of heaven."
The mirror let out a cheerful ring, pulsing white ripples extending from it's center. She never really understood why mirrors were a way to contact heaven. It seemed like a random connection. She had heard from whispers in heaven that demons contacted their superiors in hell the same way, but, of course, with a different number. The featureless head of one of the members of the Council of God graced the mirror.
"Angel Maka, report."
Maka stood much more stiffly. "I mistook a cat with demon abilities for a demon, Council Member. I apologize for my ignorance. I have reason to believe all my human souls have been confiscated."
"You are correct, they have, and rightfully so. At this rate, you'll be on Earth for many more years to come." The member robotically threatened, no sense of emotion at all to their voice. "Anything else in need of reporting?"
Maka bit her lip. She should tell them about Soul witnessing her, but...
"No, Council Member."
"Very well," they said, "Do not let these incidents occur again." The mirror went black for a moment, before slowly fading back into its regular state. Her reflection stared at her, and Maka stared right back. It was almost funny. Maka thought her guilt and shame could never become more severe if she sought out to make it so.
Maka was completely proven wrong, right there and then.
Soul didn't talk to her for two days.
The only interaction they shared was passing glances when either of them left their rooms for food or otherwise- which was a rarity in of itself. Most of their time was sent sulking, or thinking. The lot of the sulking was done by Maka.
The morning of the third day, they were pulled from the suffocating drowning of the silence. At first, Maka couldn't register Soul was even speaking to her.
Soul was in the kitchen, early, leaning over the counter. He didn't turn his head towards her when he spoke.
"What do you want for breakfast?"
It was a simple question. No deeper meaning or real significance, just a simple question. But it made Maka's life since the incident seem so much more normal. Like things were okay. It brought a warm comfort to her. A ghost of a smile appeared on her lips.
"Bacon. You make the best bacon."
Maka saw an ever so slight flash of a white smile from Soul.
"Coming right up." Soul went through their cabinets and their fridge, gathering all the ingredients and supplies.
Maka strolled to their couch, sitting down and watching Soul cook idly. She didn't quite understand yet why he seemed more friendly, but she definitely was not complaining.
Soon, Soul brought Maka her bacon on the usual brand of cheap paper plate, placing himself next to her on the couch with his own plate. They ate in silence for a while. She didn't want the silence to come back between them, especially after they seemed to make progress.
"So, Soul," she tentatively began. "Are you...ready to talk to me now?"
Soul gazed off into nothingness for a moment, before nodding slowly.
"Yeah, I think so. I've had plenty of time to myself by now."
Maka offered him a weak smile. "Yeah. I can answer any questions you need."
Soul thought for a moment.
"I have a lot of questions."
"Yeah, I know." Maka's smile faltered.
Soul sat back in his seat, looking up at the ceiling. "Alright. Well, starting off...how exactly does heaven work? You said you got banished, but from what?"
"Heaven has five angels running it. Their group is called the Council of God. There's also the Discipline Force, which is basically heaven's equivalent of a police force. The Council of God makes all the rules, and they're who decided I should be banished. They're..pretty repressive. I mean, it's illegal to speak unless spoken to there."
"So...what'd you do to be banished?"
Maka felt a drum of pain at her soul. She knew this would come up. "Well, I...I basically spoke out against the unnecessary rules. But y'know, with more...uh, curse words." She let the information sit.
After a moment, Soul cackled, which caused Maka to glare at him.
"What are you laughing at?!"
Soul didn't answer for a moment, too enwrapped in his chortling. "It's just that-" he snorted. "You never change. You cussed them out. Maka, you don't do that to fucking tyrannical dictators."
"I know that dammit! It- it was different in the moment!"
"You cussed out dictators!" Soul burst out in laughter again.
Maka's cheeks flared red in embarrassment, and she stay fuming for a few moments, only able to listen to her roommate's irritating laughter.
Once Soul's last chuckles died down, he looked over at Maka. "Dude, I don't think I can take you seriously again. You got banned from a holy paradise for being a brat."
Maka huffed out angrily. "Fine, fine, very funny. Can we move on now?"
Soul shrugged, still grinning. "Sure, of you're gonna be salty at me." Maka rolled her eyes. "Alright, well...what about hell and demons and all that?"
"Well, I don't know much except for what rumors there were in heaven, but...I can try." Soul nods. "First off...Demons do basically the same thing as angels with human souls. They collect them from dead humans, and take them to Hell. Though, demons will kill humans in order to collect souls. Demons also have powers angels don't. For example, they can make deals with humans in exchange for something for the demon wants. That woman I fought was a cat who made a deal with a demon for power. I have no idea what kind of demon would bargain with a cat, but I had never heard of it happening before, it kinda caught me off guard."
"What kinda things can demons give people?" Soul asked.
"A lot of things. Power, money, material things. Some people ask for demons to kill someone for them or have someone fall in love with them."
"That's fucked up." Soul furrowed his brow.
Maka nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it is. And what's worse is that just the wording of a deal can give the demon an unspoken advantage. Like, if a person asks for a million dollars, a demon might ask if they want the money with them right now. If the human says yes, the demon may make it a million dollars in pennies and crush them to death under the coins. That kind of petty stuff."
"Wow, that's...even more fucked up."
"Yeah." Maka sighed. "I don't know anything about what Hell is like, though."
Soul nodded. "So what was that scythe thing? Your necklace?"
"It collects souls." Maka took off the necklace and held it up for Soul. "It also has a glamour, which keeps it in the necklace form until I need to use the scythe to fight. Glamour is a spell or object that makes what it enchants appear to be a different form, by the way."
"That's what makes you look human, right?"
Maka nodded. "Right."
"I think I got most of that...Man, that's a lot to take in...there's all this stuff I never knew was happening all the time. To be honest, I never really believed in God or heaven or anything like that."
"That's understandable," Maka offered. "A lot of humans don't. What people believe really doesn't affect what happens to their soul in the end. But religion and stuff brings comfort to some humans, so angels really don't have an interest in changing those beliefs. It sucks, but what happens to humans when they die is entirely up to luck." Maka's eyes grew flaked with grim reality. "Even for those that do believe, everything is...different. We're actual creatures and not just holy beings. It's...all twisted around most of the time."
"So Maka..." Soul began, brow furrowed slightly as he frowned. "Can angels die?"
"Yes. Demons can too. Angels and demons both are technically living things. But when an angel dies, their soul becomes light and their body fades away..." Maka gripped the fabric of her shirt right above her heart. "And they...stop existing. I don't know what happens to demons."
"Have you seen that happen..?" Soul asked gently.
Maka closed her eyes, letting out a shaky breath. "Yes."
Soul put a firm hand on her shoulder, meeting her green eyes. "I'm sorry."
Maka let his hand sit, regaining her composure and pushing bad memories down into her mind. She had plenty of time to cry about those things when she was alone.
They both stayed still and quiet, the passage of time meaning nothing to the two as they simply dwelled in each other's presence. They didn't need, or even know the words right to say. Soul gently took her hand, a symbol of affection they rarely indulged in. Maka squeezed his hand gently, closing her eyes gently.
"I'm sorry I yelled at you the other day, it wasn't cool of me." Soul finally murmured.
Maka opened her eyes, shaking her head. "No, I understand. It was a really confusing time for you. It's natural you'd be upset."
"I guess, but I shouldn't have taken it out on you."
"Let's just agree that we both made some mistakes and we're both sorry."
"Sounds good to me." Soul grinned, earning a small smile from Maka. She gripped his tan hand tightly, feeling comfort swell in her chest. It was silly of her, really, to ever doubt him. He really was the most reliable guy she knew.
Maka let her smile fade. "I hope that you'll be able to forgive me for keeping...that from you all his time."
Souls half-shrugged. "I forgive you. I'm still upset and I think you should have told me but I forgive you."
Maka's smile returned. "Thanks, Soul."
"What are friends for?"
Maka gently punched his arm as a sign of affection. "Don't know, but wherever you're doing can't be right," she joked.
"Oh, look who's talking. Aren't angels supposed to be nice?"
"I got kicked out of freaking heaven and you're expecting nice?" Maka grinned.
"Touché." Soul grinned back widely. They both laughed, the familiar feeling of comfort and easygoing togetherness returning to their apartment once again.
They were by the chorus of "Pumped Up Kicks" blaring at them at full, almost painfully obnoxious volume.
Maka and Soul both stared at each other for a second before Maka's eye slowly twitched.
"We were having a moment, and your stupid-ass ringtone ruined it."
"What can ya do?" Soul asked, picking up the cellphone and answering. "Y'ello?"
"Who is it?" Maka inquired, shaking her head as their bonding moment was ruined. Ruined by Pumped Up Kicks, of all things.
Maka could hear screaming incoherent sentences from the other end. "Nevermind."
Soul nodded, cringing slightly as he held the phone farther away from his ear. "Say again? This time with less screeching, Blake."
There was slightly quieter talking on Blackstar's end now. Key word being slightly.
Maka could make out a couple words, but nothing really important enough for her to guess what he was saying, so instead she simply waited for Soul to tell her.
After a minute of listening, Soul turned his head towards her. "Liz texted him and Tsu and says we need to get our asses over to Marie's at the end of her shift."
"For what?"
"He said Marie had something important to tell us."
Maka grew a bit worried. She hoped it was good news. Marie had always been like a mother figure to the entire group, especially Liz and Patty, getting them both jobs at her little coffee shop to try to help them with their financial problems. Marie was always so kind to everyone, and was always open to listen to Maka's worries over a cup of tea when she needed it. Of course, she never told Marie about her status as an angel. Regardless, she shared some personal things with her, and Marie never even vaguely told anyone about it. Maka would be heartbroken if something bad happened to her.
"Is she okay?" Maka asked quickly, trying to keep the anxiety out of her voice.
"I don't know, probably. Blackstar don't seem that concerned."
Maka rolled her eyes. "That's cause he's Blackstar. He's never concerned."
"True." Soul leaned back into his phone. "Do you know what she needs?" He asked Blackstar. He paused for a couple seconds. "She's okay, right?" He listened for a bit again. "Alright, thanks Blake. Yeah. Seeya." Soul puts his phone back in his pocket, turning back to Maka.
"She's okay," he told her. "But Blackstar says whatever it is that it's important. But he doesn't really know what this important thing is either so, guess we'll find out tonight."
Maka nodded softly. "What do we do until then?"
Soul predictably shrugged. "We've had a hard couple days. We can just chill and watch some movies."
Maka smiled softly. "That sounds good."
Soul got up, walking over to their tv and kneeling in front of it. He searched the bottom shelf of their TV stand. "What kinda movies you thinking?"
"Something maybe not depressing?" Maka monotoned.
"Soooo, not my biography?" Soul quipped, grinning softly.
Maka snickered. "I mean, who would wanna watch that."
Soul pretended to be offended, gasping dramatically. "Rude."
"It's not rude if it's honest," she teased with an evil smirk.
"You should really file for becoming a demon. You'd fit right in." Soul turned around, wide toothy grin plastered on his lips.
"You can't file for being a demon." Maka glared a bit. "You just become one. If anyone's a demon, it's you. You're the one wth red eyes and sharp teeth."
"Once again, rude, I'm albino. And second of all, my teeth aren't even that sharp. They're like, slightly pointy."
Maka waved her hand. "Oh whatever, Soul. You can deny it all you want. Since you know I'm an angel now, you can tell me if you are one."
"I'm not a demon, dammit."
Maka sticks out her tongue. "Just pick a movie, Satan."
"You'd best not start calling me Satan." Soul threatens, glaring daggers.
Maka pretends to think for a moment. "Hmmm, well it was gonna be a one time thing, but since you said not to call you that, I kinda wanna call you that."
"God damn it, Maka!"
After thirty minutes of empty bickering, they finally agreed on a Disney movie marathon. Their little insults and playful arguments had become something of a way to bond between them. It had become habit, a tradition to tease each other in a way that would seem cold and angry to outsiders looking in, but neither of them ever really meant what they said. Even if they did, they would make efforts for each other to improve or come to a compromise.
Halfway into Mulan, there was a loud knock at the door before it was slammed open. Soul and Maka jumped in surprise.
"What's up, fuckers?!" Blackstar screamed, "Time to cheer up, your lord and savior is here-me!" Blackstar jumped onto their dining table, flexing heroically. "The sun itself is here to shine light on your lives!"
Maka took off one of her shoes and flung it at Blackstar, decking him directly in the head. He cried out in pain, jumping off the table grabbing the shoe from the ground.
"How dare you attack your god?!" He bellowed, glaring daggers.
Maka simply crossed her arms. "You were being obnoxious. Now do you wanna chill out and watch Mulan with us or are we gonna have to kick you out?"
A jet of black hair and pale skin popped out from the door. Tsubaki looked in meekly, smiling nervously. "I hope he didn't do anything too stupid. Are you two okay?"
Blackstar whipped around, jaw dropped. "Are THEY okay?! I'm the one who got hit with a shoe!"
"Speaking of, can I have it back?" Maka asked, looking extremely unamused.
Blackstar huffed, before tossing Maka her shoe back. It took little convincing from Tsubaki for him to join Maka and Soul on their movie marathon, Tsubaki joining as well once she had made the group some popcorn. They watched every Disney movie they owned. Soul made snide comments the entire time, while Blackstar was surprisingly the one most offended by his bashing of Disney movies. He had lectured Soul, loudly, many times about the "sacredness" of the Disney movie. Tsubaki agreed with him until he started to get overly violent. Maka and Tsubaki had to hold them both back from having a full on fist fight in the last ten minutes of Frozen. Another entire hour was spent in a heated debate on whether Frozen was actually good or not. Soul was obviously against it- and at Maka's support of him, Blackstar wouldn't stop screaming that she was a 'dirty traitor'. Needless to say, the day went by very quickly. In the end, they all made up, after several hours, all of them laughing at themselves for being so silly. They were just four friends having a blast, without a care in the world.
Well, until they were nearly at Marie's shop.
"Oh god, what if she's sick, what if she's dying?!" Maka mused anxiously, tugging at one of the ends of her ponytails.
"Maka, I'm sure she's not dying." Soul had tried to reassure her for the entire trip over, with absolutely no luck. How voice was monotoned heavily from the drag of saying the same few comforts repeatedly.
"But what if she is?!"
"Even if she was," Blackstar snorted, "I could save her life from my pure will alone! I can easily surpass death!" He grinned widely, and Tsubaki shook her head.
"You can't surpass death, you idiot." Soul responded, pursing his lips in irritation.
"Watch me!" He yelled back.
Maka and Tsubaki both quietly thanked their lucky stars as the shop came into view. They all entered, seeing no customers around. It was usual, for when the sky started to redden and darken with twilight, the shop began to drift to sleep with it. Liz was at the counter, smiling at their arrival. She waved at them, her silver bracelets jingling quietly.
They all voiced greetings, walking over to her. "What's going on, guys?" She asked casually.
"Miss Marie asked us to come." Maka answered, returning Liz's smile.
"Yeah, she told me to hang back too. Patty's in the back with her. Has she told any of you what the big deal is?" They all shook their heads. "Figures," Liz sighed. "That woman can be so stubborn."
As if on cue, Marie came out from a far door on the right side of the cafe, holding a tray with seven cups of a hot beverage on top. Her one caramel eye gleamed with excitement upon seeing the group. Her other eye was covered by a white gauze patch that she never took off. None of them had seen her without it, and neither have any of them been told why she has it. She smiled happily.
"It's good to see you all! I'm so glad you came, I was a bit worried you might have somewhere else to be. Sit down, I made you all some tea." She nodded her head towards one of the bigger cafe tables. They all took a seat, Marie elegantly placing a cup of tea in front of each chair.
Patty burst out from the door Marie had come in. "HI, GUYS!" She bellowed happily, practically throwing herself into a chair. They all jumped in surprise, say for Blackstar, who just grinned.
Marie giggled at her antics. "It's good that you're all here. I can tell you what's so important when Liz's shift ends, which is soon."
"You can't let her have five minutes off..?" Soul asked, eyes flattening.
"What kind of example as a boss would I be setting then?"
The door jingled, a customer entering the shop.
"See, there's even customers." She looked up at the boy who had entered. "Welcome!"
The boy looked back, pitch black hair falling into his eyes for a moment. He lifted a pale hand and offered her a wave.
He was eye-catching, to say the least. His porcelain-like skin contrasted his dark hair marvelously, matching the dark suit he wore. His clothing choice seemed a little stuffy, and you could tell he was fairly small in build due to the fitted jacket loosely wrinkling in places. The most striking thing about him, however, were his eyes. Pure pots of shining gold, only growing deeper as the color neared his pupil. His eyes were calm, shining, and simply put, beautiful. He was very handsome-looking, more in a feminine, mysterious and gentle way than anything else. Marie jolted a bit, seeming to recognize him.
"Oh, Kid! Welcome! It's so nice to see you! I was wondering if you were in town."
The boy simply nodded. "Yes, I am." With his hands shoving back into the pockets of his dress pants, he stepped over to the counter in front of Liz. She grinned.
"Hey, Kiddo. Here for the regular?" The boy nodded, and Liz reached under the counter, pulling up a small to-go back. She set it on the counter-top, and the boy took it.
"Thank you, as always. I can always rely on you, hm?" The boy smiled gently, and everyone at the table had to take a moment to recover from the sight.
"Well, I kind of owe you for taking me shopping like, all the time." She jingled her new silver bracelets. "And getting me nice things."
"Well, lord knows I can afford it." He joked, through his voice was still quite serious-sounding.
Liz laughed. "You're right about that, Kid. Y'know, Patty's been missing ya in the mornings. You don't show up for coffee anymore, what's up?"
"That's me!" Patty chirped loudly, leaning back in her chair so far, it was a wonder she didn't fall over. She waved her arm in huge motions at the dark boy. "Hi, Kid!"
Kid nodded at her with another small smile. "I know, I've just been really busy lately is all."
"Well, do you have time to sit for a bit?" Liz looked over at Marie, wordlessly asking permission if Kid could stay for the news.
Marie nodded with a smile, standing. "I'll get you a cup of tea as well." She walked off to do so, her shining sunset-gold hair flowing behind her.
"I do, that is why I came to pick up the pastries."
Liz snorted. "You're so obsessed with those."
"It is not my fault they're delicious." The boy rolled his eyes. "So what's going on?"
The small clock on the counter beeped, and Liz practically threw off the apron that was part of her uniform. "Marie has some big news to share, so she gathered a bunch of people she knows to tell them. Here, I'll introduce ya." The boy looked a little unsure, but still followed her to the table where the five sat. They all stood up a little straighter.
"These are all my friends, the ones I told you about." She gestures at them one by one. "You know Patty. This is Maka, Soul, Tsubaki, and Blackstar, but you can call him Blake if you want." Tsubaki smiled and waved at him shyly. The boy bowed his head briefly in a greeting.
"Hi, nice to meet you," Maka politely said.
"Likewise," the boy replied. Blackstar jumped up from his seat quickly, grinning in a way they haven't really seen from him before. The boy jumped a bit in surprise.
"What's up?! I'm Blackstar and I'm the new greatest person you've ever met!"
Tsubaki grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him back into his chair. "Blackstar!" She softly scolded.
The boy looked extremely confused. "I'm sure you are." He deadpanned. Or maybe that was his voice. No one could really tell.
"Aaaaanyway," Liz put an end to their brief antics. "Everyone, this is Kid. I have no idea if that's his real name."
"It is." He immediately confirmed.
Liz seemed to ignore his comment. "I've been hanging with him off and on for a while now, he's cool. I meant to introduce you guys sooner, but, y'know, life and shit." She threw her arm around Kid's shoulders.
He glared deeply at her. "Watch your mouth. Also, thanks for ruining my symmetry." The second sentence dripped with sarcasm.
"For god's sake Kid, I'm a fucking adult."
"What did I literally just say?"
Patty laughed loudly, while the others chuckled quietly. Though, Blackstar chuckles as quietly as Blackstar possibly could, which wasn't very.
Marie came back with a single teacup in her hand. She pulled up a chair to the table and set the cup in front of it. "Here you go, Kid-kun."
Kid took a seat nearest to Marie, on his other side, Patty sat. "Thank you, Marie-san."
They all gave Marie a confused look. "He's Japanese." She simply stated with a small shrug.
Kid nodded, taking a small sip of his tea. Liz also took a seat at the table.
"Now that we're all finally here, I can tell you the big news. Well, there really is two pieces of news." She took a moment to pause. "You all most likely know that I've been seeing Stein for some time now, and he and I have decided to become an official couple."
Everyone burst into smiles.
"That's great, Marie!" Maka cried happily.
Marie giggled. "Yes, yes, but that isn't even the best news. You see...I'm going to have a baby."
They all were shocked, silent for a long moment.
Blackstar was unfortunately the first to speak.
"YOU GUYS HAD SEX?!"
Soul, Liz, and Patty all burst out into hysterical laughter at Blackstar's reaction.
"WHAT?! ITS A VALID QUESTION!"
Marie placed her face in her hand, while Tsubaki and Maka had unyielding shocked expressions slapped onto their faces. Kid just looked extremely confused again.
"Yes, we did. That's how pregnancy works, Star." Marie hissed.
There was a long, painful silence.
"You're pregnant." Maka finally choked out.
Maka's world, at least for a moment, turned completely upside down.
One of the nicest people in her life, her role model, her mother away from her mother was having a baby. She was having a baby and Maka was definitely not ready for this. It was a baby. The beginning of new life. This wasn't her job. This was the complete opposite of her job.
"WE HAVE TO THROW A BABY SHOWER RIGHT NOW!" Screamed Patty, squealing with excited laughter.
"That's amazing news, Marie!" Tsubaki finally cried.
Maka's head spun. "A baby..." she mumbled in a daze. Soul had to shake her multiple times to snap her out of her trance.
Marie explained that she had manage to coax Dr. Franken Stein out of his shell slowly, and they decided they wanted to contribute to the next generation and finally chase happiness.
Maka had never really been around Stein for longer than a few minutes, but he definitely had a very intimidating and strange aura. His hair was completely gray, though he only was in late thirties. He had many scars of unknown origin veining across his face and body that Maka never dared to ask about. Marie had told her long ago that he was a 'retired' surgeon, who was apparently waiting for the right time to reinstate as a doctor. Marie had also told her that she intensely suspected that he had been fired for malpractice. He usually seemed distant and cold, but when he was around Marie, he somehow seemed...brighter. Marie just seemed to have that affect on people.
After spending the next thirty minutes or so chatting about the details, such as how long she's been pregnant. Spoiler: Two weeks. They also briefly got to know Kid, which went little farther than how he, Liz, and Patty met.
Apparently, their first true meeting was back when Liz and Patty lived on the streets. They had tried to rob him, and he instead made them a bank account and got them enough funds to start their life back over again. He disappeared for a while until they crossed paths again three months prior at Marie's cafe, and they'd been hanging out frequently ever since. It was obvious both girls seemed to share admiration, or gratefulness towards him.
Kid left first, pulling his dark jacket further around himself, leaving behind an empty teacup.
Then, Tsubaki and Blackstar left, Tsubaki seeming exhausted while Blackstar's energy never faltered. Liz and Patty told Maka and Soul to go ahead and go home without them, and that she and her sister had work stuff to do before they'd go. Finally, Maka left, Soul in tow.
They were just two friends without a care in the world.
They didn't notice the watching eyes planted on them.
Those red, sick eyes stared at the pair, pupils thin, like a deadly snake's. A venomous green and yellow prickled at the edges of the irises. A thin, demented smile stretched across the demon's face.
"It seems that angels can get into monotonous habits just as humans can." The woman's intimidating voice purred, chuckling with amusement. "I just had to stay right where I sensed her wavelength, and there she is. I was almost expecting a challenge." The demon sighed in mock disappointment, almost pouting. "At least the true fun can begin quicker."
Medusa Gorgan, an infamous demon among heaven and hell, smiled down at the unknowing two. Her crimes against demons and angels alike left her permanently banned from hell forever- now, the human world was her domain.
"I believe..." She breathed, "It's time we all begin a nice experiment together."
A twisted smile snaked onto her lips.!" He yelled back.