Perfect Symmetry
(Still working on that new title)
I still don't own Soul Eater. If that changes anytime soon, I'll let you know.
Thanks for the reviews guys! It totally motivates me to write more, even though I should be sleeping!
I'm already sure this fic is going to get itself plopped into the "M Rated" category eventually, but not right now.
Also, I noticed I had written in two different tenses from time to time last chapter. Whoops! I'll look through and fix those sometime. First person is kind of shitty to write! (Actually, I just lack skills.)
I swear to god, I had more of me rambling than actual story in the first chapter. -facepalm- Eventually, I'm just going to have chapters titled, "Author's Ramblings" that are all me talking about crap that shouldn't be in the intro but currently is, to avoid the very problem I'm having right now. Anyway, to avoid that again, (Though I think it's too late) I'm just going to start the story now.
As Maka and I walked, side by side back to my mansion, I was feeling uneasy; The closer we got, the tighter the knot in my stomach became. Would I be able to handle it? Black*Star and Soul were the ones who shifted my things, who knows what else they could have done! What if Black*Star had signed his name on something? It would never come off of the white walls! My breathing picked up, and as I reached for the handle of my door, I was damn near hyperventilating.
"Kid, are you sure you're okay?" Maka peeked up at me, concern in her eyes. I tried my best to smile at her at least a little, but that failed. I chewed my lip, hand shaking the knob of the door, creating a small rattling noise. "Kid, you're really freaking me out right now." She gently rested one of her hands on my arm; a comforting gesture, but it didn't really work.
"Oh! Uh, S-sorry Maka! I guess I'm just...Haha...ha..." I inhaled sharply, holding my breath as time seemed to stop. I might as well get it over with. No point in standing out in the sun all day. Mustering what seemed like all of my willpower, I pushed the door open, cautiously stepping inside. The hinges groaned ominously, a thin stream of light illuminating the floor. Otherwise, it was pitch black in the house, and I fumbled for the light switch, despite knowing exactly where it was. I must look like such an idiot right now. I finally flicked the light switch upward, finally letting myself breathe as I noticed my entryway was still perfectly symmetrical.
"Hm, just like I remember it!" Maka looked in, examining the black and white interior.
Oh, that was right. Maka had been in my mansion once for a party; but had never gone further inside then the living room. Now she was visiting when the symmetry was off! It was embarrassing and unforgivable. Next time we played basketball, the usual wager was off. Maybe a better deal would be to give Soul a new scar to match the one already on his chest, going the other direction. Oh, the irony. Making a mental note of that, I stepped further inside, looking around at everything like I thought a monster could be hiding anywhere. Everything seemed alright up the stairs and around the halls, until I stepped into my study. There, above the candles, the painting that had once been perfectly aligned, was very slightly to the right. Maka stepped in, and looked around.
"It looks symmetrical to me. Maybe they took pity on you." She raised her eyebrows and looked at me.
"N-no...that painting...It's..too far to the right..." My eye twitched, and I could feel a nosebleed coming on. No, I wasn't going to pass out! I could handle this, I was stronger than that!
Maka walked up to the desk, and rested her hands on it, leaning forward examining the painting closely. "Oh. I guess it is a tiny bit to the right." She reached up, giving it a small poke with one finger. The action pushed it to the left, to correct it.
I appreciated the gesture, and she had just overdone it a little. "Now it's too far to the left!" Unable to help it, and strode over to the desk, closing one eye and making a slight adjustment to the right again, just a hair. But no! Now it was too far to the right again! "Damn it!" I ground my teeth, and tried to right it again, only to have it be too far to the left. Maybe I needed a measure tape, that would help...
"I can see why it took you so long to get this perfectly symmetrical." Maka laughed nervously, but I had mostly tuned her out. Making this room perfectly symmetrical again would require my undivided attention. Finally, I thought I had it. I stepped back, and looked at it closely. It seemed to be alright...but how could I be sure? I had to check!
"Kid. It's fine."
I turned and stared at her like a deer in headlights. "Oh. Do you think so?" I took another look at it. No, it isn't. But I didn't want to fight with her."Uh, yes. Perfect." I could feel it, a buzzing in the back of my brain just wouldn't accept it. It could wait until after she left, I hoped. I hadn't noticed, but she had sat on the desk, and was kicking the wooden frame with her boots, making an rhythmic thud-thud-thud. If that painting had been just right, the whole scene would have been perfectly symmetrical, even with Maka in the picture. She really was beautiful.
"That wasn't so hard! It looks perfectly symmetrical to me." She smiled at me, and I couldn't help but smile back, and chuckle a bit.
"I guess it really wasn't. But I'm sorry to make you come all this way for seemingly nothing; that took no time at all." I sat down next to her, and my smile turned sheepish. "Can I make you some tea, so your trip isn't a complete waste of time?"
"I didn't think it was a waste of time at all! I got to see what you're house looks like, and it's pretty cool." She stood up, and fixed her coat. "But I would like some tea, if you're willing to make it!"
"Of course." I couldn't cook to save my life, but I could at least make tea. It was easy, Just boil water, and put the tea bag in. I even had a very special kind, the design on the bags was perfectly symmetrical black and white design, and I quite liked it. I hadn't had tea in a while, though. What flavor was it again? I vaguely recalled it being something cinnamon. I led her to the kitchen, although I hadn't used it much, it was well stocked and full of things; though almost none of it was food. No matter where I looked, I couldn't find the tea. "Where did I put it? I could have sworn it was over here." but, the cabinet that should have held my tea didn't. But, Maka just sat patiently waiting on me. "I'm sorry to make you wait Maka, I can't seem to find that damn stuff." I finally gave up, huffing as I dropped into a chair. She took a seat across from me, smiling pleasantly.
"This really was a waste of time for you, wasn't it? I'm really sorry, Maka."
"No! I don't think this was a waste of time at all. I'm enjoying myself a lot, actually."
"Really? Well, I'm glad, then. Unfortunately, I don't have much left to offer you. I don't cook my own food or anything, you see, so this kitchen is virtually empty, though I have all the utensils I could ever need."
"If you aren't good at cooking, why do you have so much stuff?" She tipped her head in the most adorable way. Looking at me with eyes like an affectionate dog. Is that weird, that I just compared her to a dog? Would that offend her if she knew? Probably. I hadn't received a book to the skull yet, and I wasn't planning on it happening.
"My mother liked to cook. Or so I'm told, anyway." Maka looked horribly apologetic, like I'd be offended somwhow. Maybe if I was younger, I would have been. It didn't bother me now; I had accepted that my mother was gone as a part of life. There was a lot I didn't know about her, though. My father would always give me a half-answer and change the subject, his usual way of avoiding something he didn't want to talk about. "I'm quite awful at it, really." I left out the fact that it all burned; mostly because I set the timer for eight hours, eight minutes, and eight seconds. I actually didn't try and do that on purpose, it just happened without me noticing. Honestly! "Liz is always too busy with her nails or something girly like that, and well, I don't think Patti could cook anything without having something awful happening. Burning down the house, poisoning me, the possibilities are endless, really. I've never been brave enough to find out what exactly would happen. I suspect I might turn into a zombie like Sid." I had been drumming my fingers on the table, distracted from my rant only by Maka's giggling. "What?"
"You!" Her giggles turned into laughter, and she struggled to keep it in check. She had such a cute laugh, one I had the privilege of hearing often. It always made me feel a little better, and the world seem a bit brighter. I couldn't help but laugh with her, even though I had no idea what was so funny. It was just contagious.
I finally stopped laughing enough to ask, "Why am I so funny?" I rested my chin in my hand, leaning on the table, an amused grin refusing to leave. "Was I rambling?"
"Yeah, you were. But really, just the way you said everything!" She let out a small hum as her fit passed, and she glanced at a clock on the wall nearby. "Oh crap! It's late!" It was amazing how Maka could go from one subject to another.
"Hm?" I looked up at the clock, reading that it was around 10:30 p.m. "We have school tomorrow, don't we?" That's disappointing. too bad she can't stay longer.
Maka nodded furiously, "I have to get home! I don't want to be tired tomorrow in class!" She flew out of her chair, and ran out of the room. I stood up slowly as she entered the kitchen through a different doorway. She stood dumbfounded for a moment.
"I'll show you the way out." With a wave, I led her through the hous,e to the front door. Was it really that complicated? It seemed simple to me. Maybe she had just been rushing and forgot. As we stepped outside, I looked up at the moon. It was late, alright. "Would you like me to walk you home? It's dangerous for a girl to be out this late." Truly, I knew she didn't need an escort. She could kick more ass than any girl I had ever met. It was just an excuse to spend more time with her, on my part.
"Sure, I'd like that." She nodded. "As long as you hurry."
"In that case. I'll see you tomor-" Wait. She had said yes? I was certain she'd say no. "Oh. Well, let's go then. No need to waste more time." We started down the steps in silence, the only sounds were the sound of our feet against stone and the morbid cackling of the moon overhead. I wanted to say something, but I didn't know what.
After a few long moments, she broke the silence for me, "So, are you very close with Liz and Patti?"
That seemed like a stupid question, the answer being, "Of course." Maka didn't need to ask a question like that. Unless she was trying to get a little deeper. Suddenly, I saw what she was doing. "But, it's more of a mutual respect, a bond of weapon and meister. Nothing more, nothing less." I looked over at her, and she seemed to be a bit more relaxed. Relieved, even.
"Yeah, it's like that with me and Soul, too. Though, everyone seems to think otherwise. I do love him, but as a partner, not a..." She seemed to struggle to find a word, finally deciding on, "lover. He's just so aggravating sometimes!" She looked up as she walked, taking a left off the main road. "I wonder if he feels that way, too. If I annoy him sometimes. I know he's not telling me everything he feels. It's frustrating sometimes, when he tells me half-truths or nothing at all. But, I guess it's just the kind of guy he is."
I soaked up every word, thinking it over. So, Maka loved Soul as a partner, but she definitely needed breaks from him, and visa versa. As I mulled it over, she stopped, and I realized we were there. I looked up at the colorful apartment. It was interesting, though completely devoid of any form of symmetry. Disgusting.
"Well, this is it. Thanks for walking me home, Kid." She smiled, and wrapped her arms around my waist. I hugged her, giving her back a small pat. Almost every time we parted ways we shared a hug, but this time, she seemed unwilling to let go.
"Any time. It was my pleasure, Maka." We finally stepped away, and she entered the apartment with a final wave as I turned around to head home. I realized, though, that I had been so wrapped up in my own thoughts that I had no idea where I was, exactly. I knew most of Death City's roads and streets by heart, but this was really out of the way. "Crap."
It took a while of meandering around, but I eventually found a place I knew, and started home. It seemed I might have a chance with Maka after all. She didn't have romantic feelings for Soul, she seemed more like a mother to Crona than a love interest, and Black*Star? That was just out of the question. He was just as egotistical and annoying to her as he was to everyone but Tsubaki. Feeling a bit better, a smile crept onto my face, and it stayed that way the entire walk back home. I really don't live that far away from their apartment. The walk there seemed to be a lot shorter than the walk back though. "That's because I was a bit lost, obviously." I muttered to myself, and pushed my door open, quietly entering the house. If Liz and Patti were sleeping, I certainly didn't want to wake them.
"Now it's time to fix that painting."
If you can think of a better title for this chapter, please let me know. The current one is so much fail!