Ugh, chapters four and five were both done before three... I gotta stop doing that... And I failed to mention that Soul and Maka are eighteen in this story. Again, I must apologize for the slow update. Please read and review! I don't own Soul Eater or the original characters. I own the OCs.
Maka wakes to find Georgia looking down at her. "You alright, dearie?" the woman asks worriedly.
It takes the blonde a moment to remember what happened. The second she remembers, her face turns beet red, and she shoots up in the bed she lays in. "Soul and I are-! What?" She buries her face in her hands to hide her flaming face. "When did...? Why did...?" She nearly faints again before Georgia takes her hand.
"Soul explained it all to me," she begins to explain. "I guess my daughter read Soul's letters wrong. She thought you were getting married..."
Now it begins to make sense to Maka. It explains why she and Soul are expected to share a room. "Did he set her straight?" she asks concerned.
Georgia steps back and is silent for a moment before speaking again. "Did you ever wonder where my husband or Jeremy's parents are?" she asks sadly. Maka gives her a look of surprise. She hadn't thought of them. "Jeremy's mother was never married. She was pregnant in high school and has taken care of him all on her own. My husband was going to take her to the airport to pick up Jeremy when he came back from Germany a little while ago. But there was an accident... They never made it to the airport..." Maka stares at her hands in her lap. Georgia and Jeremy hadn't let on that something tragic had happened recently. And why hadn't Soul told her about it? "Alecia was so upset... She's trying to be strong, and the idea of you two getting married makes her forget her sorrow. So... I'm going to ask you two to play along. We can tell her the truth after Christmas is over. Please?"
It would be easy for her to pretend to be in love with Soul considering she is already head-over-heels in love with him. She'll go along with it so long as he will. But would he?
Soul enters the room and stands next to the bed. "Granny, mind leavin' a sec'?" Georgia nods and leaves the two alone. "You about have a heart-attack?" he asks her. She nods. "Sorry... guess she took the word 'partner' the wrong way." He gives her an apologetic look. "Granny wants us to go along with it... Should... should we?" He braces himself for whatever violent reaction she'll make.
A tiny blush paints her cheeks. "For your mother..." she answers in a tiny voice.
He is surprised. Whatever he'd expected her answer to be, it was far from her real answer. "You sure?" She nods sheepishly. "We should probably let the family know you're okay..." He holds out a hand to her embarrassed. "So... shall we?" He looks about frantically for Spirit to show up as she takes his hand. The man doesn't appear. Soul breathes a sigh of relief and leads her to the family room, fingers laced in hers.
Her mind is racing. "So this is how couples are?" she wonders. His hands are warm and soft compared to her hands, made rough from fighting. She's not soft and delicate as a lady should be. She's straight-laced and bossy, strong and stubborn. Far from the perfect wife, or girlfriend for that matter. That thought reminds her that he wouldn't be holding her hand if they didn't have to fool his mother. But how could the woman believe they were engaged? Marrying at eighteen wasn't exactly socially acceptable. Although, how many fourteen-year-olds of opposite genders share an apartment? And how many of them also room with a magical cat?
Worried faces await them in the family room. Alecia rushes up to the two and says, "I'm so sorry! I didn't realize you weren't ready to tell anyone..." She glances at Maka's left hand. "You don't have to hide the ring now, Maka. Go ahead and show us!"
maka stares at her ring finger in horror. No one would believe Soul had proposed without a ring. He is much too classy for that. So she fixes up a lie quickly. Letting out a gasp, she turns to Soul and says, "Soul, I must have lost it on the plane!"
his look of confusion goes undetected as he changes his expression quickly and responds, "It's fine. It's just a ring. Doesn't mean I love you any less without it." He doens't know what else to do to make his statement convincing. The notion to kiss her flickers through his head. They're supposed to be pretending, so she wouldn't beat him or anything... would she? He begins to lean in, knowing there will be consequences later on for him.
"Do we really have to watch your make-out session?" Wes' voice stops Soul who then blushes madly. He looks at Maka and wonders if his face is as red as hers. She doesn't give him any indication that he's in trouble, so he gives a tiny sigh of relief.
"I'll get you a new one soon. I promise," he says, squeezing her hand slightly. Suddenly, the whole family gathers around them, congratulating, shaking hands, and exchanging hugs. Worried, Soul looks at his meister to see if she'll faint again. She's laughing and hugging everyone and having a good time. He smiles slightly, wondering if it'd be the same if they were really engaged.
No one but Maka notices Jeremy leave for the kitchen. As soon as everyhting quiets down again, she follows him, concerned. She finds him at the small table, staring at a ring in his hand. The blonde sits next to him and quietly asks about the ring. "My father gave it to my mother. A promise ring. It was shortly before she found out she was pregnant and he left. They were only in high school..." He looks up at the ceiling. "Aunt Alecia mentioned a ring, and I was reminded of it. I usually wear it on a necklace. Makes me think of her..."
"Your mother?" Maka asks. He nods. "Your grandmother told me what happened... I'm sorry..."
"I... didn't even get to say goodbye... The day I left for Germany, I had to get up early. Mutti war kronk. She was sick," he corrects himself, "and I didn't want to wake her. So, I never said goodbye..."
Suddenly, her arms wrap around him. "I'm... so sorry..." she says, beginning to cry. She thinks she has it bad with divorced parents, but he lives with the fact that he doesn't know his father and his mother recently died.
"You've done nothing to apologize fore," he says comfortingly, wiping away a small tear. He stares at his mother's ring for a moment before holding it out to her. "Here. Take it," he says. She's startled as he places it on her hand. "You need a ring to convince Aunt Alecia, right?"
"Wait, how do you know-?"
"Soul wouldn't marry thing young, and Alecia likes to spin romantic stories," he explains. "I won't tell anyone. I promise." He places a kiss on her hand, causing her to blush.
Neither notices Soul leaning in the doorway of the kitchen. He watches them sadly before walking out and down the hallway. They're sort of together now (only because it's pretend) and already he's losing her. He leans against the wall and runs a hand through his hair. Jeremy is a gentleman and a brainiac. Soul smirks as he notes he is better looking, but the smirk dies away as he realizes that Maka probably prefers brains to looks. His thoughts are interrupted as she walks up to him, Jeremy now gone.
"You okay? You don't look so good," she states, placing her hand to his forehead.
"Just... tired... Long day..." he mutters, pulling away from her hand.
"Here, let's get you to bed." She takes his arm and leads him to their room. "I'll sleep on the floor tonight, 'kay?"
He smiles a bit. He may be the weapon, but she is exceedingly loyal to him. He may not have to worry about Jeremy at all.