Wow I suck. So sorry for the long delay. I hope to do better from here on out and not disappear again. As usual, I don't own anything.
Soul woke up to an empty bed, his clock telling him it was nearing 0300. He felt tons better, fever free, and refreshed, though he was covered in sweat. He must have just been exhausted. He showered and headed to the kitchen to help Liz make pancakes for Christmas breakfast. He grabbed up the box of candy cigarettes he'd gotten her as he went.
Maka had caught him smoking after the Army Games and had forbidden him from doing it. They had had a substantial fight, but in the end, he had given it up. Liz, in a fit of loyalty, had decided to quit too. Besides, Kidd was making an effort for her, so she wanted to do something for him. Now, 5 months later, Liz was still struggling and would cave here and there just to curb her need for nicotine, but she had done well and Soul thought at this point she may not kill him for his joke.
Liz was surprised when she saw him walk in the kitchen. "I thought you were sick, that's what Star said. I'd resigned to doing this myself."
Soul shrugged, thinking about his short illness as he pulled on his hairnet. "I think I just exhausted myself and my body knocked me on my ass for it. It worked, I got a ton of sleep and I feel great."
"Good, you were starting to look like the undead. What's this?" She caught the small box Soul tossed her. "Well ain't you a bitch!"
Soul could tell by the smile on her face that she wasn't mad. "I didn't give Maka my present though. The only time she let me be awak was to open Wes's present. He and Blair are pregnant!"
"Really? That's awesome!" Liz was smiling again, something softer this time.
"Yeah, but he stole my thunder. I guess I could always do it later." Soul shrugged as he stared at the pancakes cooking in front of him.
Liz stopped her mixing of batter long enough to hit him in the back of the head. "No, you idiot! It's still Christmas! You can do it today, it'll just be a little different than you planned."
Soul thought about how to give Maka her Christmas present all morning, excluding when she came to check on him, worried he might still be sick.
After breakfast, Maka insisted Soul return to his bunk, just in case, though she did bring along her present to him. He was shocked to open another record, this one better than the one Wes had gotten him. "I know it's probably not that exciting, considering Wes got you a record too. But he helped me pick it out, and he said it was one you'd like. His is probably better, he paid more. We found them in a pawn shop and he talked the guy down for me." Maka was rambling nervously until Soul cut her off with a kiss.
"I love it, I promise. Wes took care of you. That guy didn't know what he had, so Wes got it cheaper for you. But this is amazing, I've been looking for it for years! Do you mind if we play it?" He looked up from marveling at the record to see a blush dusting Maka's cheeks.
Maka shook her head, catching his infectious smile, "No, I'd like to hear it, Wes said it was good."
Soul's smile widened, eyes lighting up. He moved to put the album on his turntable, before pausing. "First, I'd like to give you your present. Black Star is visiting with his parents, but they could all pop up at any time. Could you, um, wait in the bathroom for a sec?"
Maka shot him a confused look, but complied. She heard a lot of moving around, a few bumps, and some swearing before Soul was opening the door for her. When she came back into the room, there was a keyboard set up in the middle. Soul led her to sit on the bed, then he took up his place at the keyboard, which was angled so she could see the profile of his face, but also see his hands as they played.
When he started playing, she was immediately captivated. His hands flew across the keys, the music he created was both beautiful and eerie. *AN-the song he plays is the piano version of 'Resonance', the theme song* When he finished, he sat staring at the keys for a moment longer before finally meeting her gaze.
"I promised to play for you. I composed that for you. I call it 'Resonance', because I always feel like I'm resonating on the same wavelength with you. Shit, that sounded cooler in my head." Soul glanced down at his hand where it rested on his thigh, cheeks blushing. Look, Maka, I wanted to play that song for you because I wanted you to know how you make me feel: crazy, and confused, and constantly changing, but always happy. And I never want to stop feeling that. So, Colonel, think you could marry a Sergeant?"
Soul was suddenly down on one knee in front of Maka, a box open on his palm, a gorgeous ring inside. It was small, but ornate. The band was thin, and had 4 paisley designs carved into the sides, small diamonds at the meeting points of each set of swirls, then a larger diamond in the middle, flanked by 2 smaller ones. The whole arrangement was beautiful, but Maka loved that it was low profile and wouldn't be in the way of her work.
"It's not cool to leave a guy hanging, Maka." Soul chuckled nervously, still on his knee, clearly interpreting her stunned silence as rejection. "It's, uh, it's ok if you say no. We, uh, we can wait. Shit, just say something, Maka!"
"Soul... this ring. It's gorgeous!" Maka's eyes were fixed on the ring, not even noticing how fidgety her boyfriend had become.
"The ring? Maka, I asked you to marry me! Yeh, the ring is amazing, but I'd really like an answer." Soul was pleading for her attention at this point. When Maka finally looked up at him, she was shocked to see the worry plain on his face.
"Oh, Soul!" Maka reached out and pulled him into her. "I didn't think I could ever trust a man the way I trust you, or love him so much, not after my Papa. You found someone I didn't know I was." She kissed him, which he allowed for a moment.
"Wait, so is that yes? Or is this an elaborate breakup and that was just a last kiss?" Soul asked, breaking the kiss and leaning back.
Maka gave him a look of fake irritation, chopping her hand on his head. "Yes, of course it's a yes! I love you, idiot!"
Soul's face broke out in a grin so wide it split his face in two. Taking Maka's left hand, he slid the delicate ring onto her finger. "Cool. It would have been embarassing if you'd said no."
"Embarassing to who? Who all knew about this?" Maka was a little worried then, afraid of how many people knew about them.
"Well..." Soul began, scratching the back of his head, "Black Star and Liz were helping me plan for last night, and Wes helped me figure out how to do it, and..."
"Wait, last night? What was last night?"
Soul looked sheepishly at her. "I had planned this cool proposal during the party, with our friends around. But then, like an uncool idiot, I got sick. Though I'm kind of glad, considering you didn't say yes right away." Maka noticed his face was as red as hers felt. "I figured I'd have to scrap the whole thing, but Liz convinced me to still do it, just with some adjustments. Blair obviously knew because of Wes. That's it, except for your dad."
Maka choked. "My Papa knows?"
"Well yeah." Soul smirked at her, his cheeks finally losing some of their blush. "I am a gentleman, you know. It's not cool to propose to a lady without her father's permission."
Now it was Maka's turn to smirk. "I thought you hated being a gentleman."
This time even Soul's ears were red. "Maybe I just needed the right lady" he mumbled. "And besides, it was my Granny who taught me that, and if I'm giving you her ring, I should honor her."
Maka looked down at the ring sparkling on her finger. It looked strange and out of place on her calloused hand, but also right at home. Soul had once told her about his Granny, on his mother's side and as rebelous as Soul himself. She felt honored to wear the woman's ring. "In that case, it'd be wrong not to let them know how it went. Let's go show it off."
Soul popped up, eager to follow his new fiance and share their news. "And call Wes! We have a lot to talk about."
Maka just nodded as they left the barrack. "I'm actually surprised you spoke to Papa and lived. You did make an enemy out of him at the Gala, and you beat him in the Games. Plus, you're dating his daughter, pretty much guaranteed trip to the shit list."
Soul showed off his sharp teeth as he smirked. "I think we communicated man to man. Once you beat a man after he's broken your arm, you get an understanding about each other."
The side eye Soul received told him she didn't believe a word, but he refused to let the expression fall. "He threatened you, didn't he?"
The jig was up. "Full court marshall and a promise that my body would never be found." Maka just smiled. Sometimes her Papa wasn't so bad.
Since it was Christmas and there was no training for the day, the newly engaged had found their friends, and even Black Star's parents, at the post's basketball court. After reliving the proposal in agonizing detail and showing off the ring for the girls, the duo had joined in a few games.
Afterwards, they went in search of Spirit, who very confusingly cried about how happy he was as glomped Maka, while simultaneously threatening all that Soul held dear.
Now they were in the office, having called Maka's mother and currently crowded around the phone with Wes and Blair on the other end. "I can't believe you're having a kid!"
Wes chuckled at his brother. "I can't believe you're getting married! My too cool little brother finally found someone who will put up with him."
"It's a Christmas miracle!" Maka cut in. "Blair, how do you already know it's a boy? When are you due?"
This time the giggle on the line was feminine. "I'm already 12 weeks, due in early July. It was so hard to keep it from you, but we wanted the announcement to be special. And they did a lot of tests to make sure the baby was healthy since we don't know my family's history, so we got to find out early!"
The girls took over most of the conversation from there, the guys only jumping in here and there. They were just wrapping up the call when Wes seemed to remember something. "Oh, Soul, do you want to tell Mother your news? She's asked about you. I can ask her to come here for a moment, Father wouldn't know. I'm sure she'd like to hear it from you."
Maka watched as Soul's previously smiling face shut down. "I have to go. Congrats on the baby." Soul was already moving his ear from the phone when Wes yelled out to stop him.
"Wait! Soul, don't go! She's trying. It takes a long time to figure out how to be a parent. It's just taken her 28 years. But she really does care about you, she just doesn't know how to show it."
Soul sighed through his nose. He was having such a good time, and now it was ruined. "Wes, I know she's trying, with you. I talked to her in August, but only because she called you while I was with you. She didn't bother to be around this whole time to tell me Merry Christmas. Why do I need to go out of my way to tell her I'm engaged?"
Wes was getting angry now, he could hear it through the phone. "Damn it, Soul! She's your mother! Stop acting like a child who didn't get his way!"
Soul didn't want to yell at his brother, he really didn't. But that didn't stop him from doing it. "She sure as Hell doesn't act like a mother! She doesn't call to see how I am, she probably doesn't remember Maka's name! Maka's mom, whom I've never met in person, sent me a gift, just because I'm important to her daughter. She made sure she spoke to me when we called earlier. Hell, Nygus cried and hugged me when she saw Maka's ring. My mother can't even remember her own son's birthday, don't act like you didn't tell her, if you didn't just straight up lie about her remembering at all. If I tell her I'm engaged, she'll act like she's happy, but she'll be disappointed because an officer in the Army isn't who she saw her son being married off to. Then when she finds out about the ring, she'll resent us both because it's the ring Granny gave to me, the one Mom tried to take from me after she died. I love the woman, I do, but I can't keep expecting things from her and being let down." Soul gave the phone to Maka then, turning and walking out the door without a word.
"Soul? Soul!" Wes's voice shook Maka from her stunned stupor.
"Wes, he's gone. I'm sorry."
"No, Maka, it's me who's sorry. I really thought she wanted to try. I didn't realize she was only really trying with me. She and I have talked about Soul, it's hard for her to get away from Father so she can talk to him, and I guess time passed without her realizing how long it had been. I don't think she knows how to talk to him, and what's important to him. She's used to barely speaking to him, she doesn't know what to say and when to say it. Soul's strong, he always has been, but he's hurt, and she doesn't understand. I'm going to talk to her. This has to change. I'm sorry you and Blair had to witness this. Merry Christmas." With that, there was a click as Wes hung up the phone. Maka was quick to set it back in the cradle before bolting out the door after her fiance. She found him at the storage shed where his bike was kept, already preparing to take off, her helmet behind him, waiting for her.
A few days later, Soul received a call from his mother. Though reluctant, he gave her a chance, and they had the best conversation that Soul could remember. Isabella refused to say if Wes had spoken to her after Christmas, though Soul deeply suspected that to be the case. What she also didn't say was that in addition to a lecture from her eldest son, she also had a phone call from one Colonel Albarn. Needless to say, she had been set on the right path.
