Soul rumbles into the DWMA hospital, his shirt soaked with blood. His Meisters blood. He dashes in, cradling the unconscious girl.
"Take her!" He screams, thrusting her at a pair of surprised doctors. "She's bleeding heavily. Small caliber bullet. Didn't go all the way through but it hit something and why are you just standing there!" His voice shocks them into motion, sending them hurrying to get her into an operating room. Soul jogs along behind them, feeling the wet slap of his bloody cotton shirt against his chest with every step.
"You need to leave." One doctor tells him as the other ushers in several more men and women in surgical scrubs. Soul clenches with fury but obeys, flopping down on a hospital chair. The minutes tick by like years, and he spends every moment of it berating himself. You should have told her to stay. You should have followed.
You should have been there.
That last thought echoes around his skull. He should have been there. She always got in trouble when he wasn't there for her. When he couldn't protect her. He had too many scars to show for his devotion, illustrating in brutal detail exactly why he always has to be there.
"Why am I such an idiot..." He mutters to himself. "It was a fat guy with a gun and I get her shot." She was so confident. She had even been happy about the assignment, planning what to have for dinner afterwards. And now he had fucked it up. The clock ticked on, and after an hour a nurse with bloody hands came out.
"We stopped the bleeding and sewed it up. She's awake now, and she asked about you." No hesitation, Soul rushed in. Maka almost burst into tears when she saw him.
"Oh you're ok." She says, sniffling. "Oh you're ok." Soul goes up and wraps her in a rough embrace, careful to avoid the arm.
"Of course I am. Shh. Shh shh." Soul replied, cradling the girls head in his arms. Someone brings him a chair and he sits down, clutching her hand.
"I... I felt you get scared-" Maka sobs "and then I heard the building explode and... and..." He strokes a hand through her hair.
"I'm fine. I'm fine, I promise." He smiles weakly, trying to show confidence he doesn't feel. Maka sniffs and tries to regain control of herself.
"If I find out you're hiding something..."
"Yeah yeah." He mutters, feeling the warmth flow from her hand into him. She always had been his source of strength. Soul clears his mind of everything but his feeling of confidence. TIme to give some of that strength back. He resonates, mixing her mind with his. The worry and fear hit like a punch to the gut, but Soul keeps his mind clear and focuses on courage. It's all going to be all right. Slowly but surely the storm of Maka's mind calms and slows. Soul almost sighs with relief and is about to terminate the link when-
"Don't go." Maka murmurs, seeming half asleep. "Keep me company."
"All right." Soul mutters, but the girl has already dropped off. He stares at her, affection mixing with relief and worry. She was going to be okay. But he can't get his mind off one thing. Just before Maka had fallen asleep, he had felt something. Not worry, not pain, not anything she had been feeling before. Like soft, slow, deep notes, echoing in the expanse of her mind. Like caring and passion and joy twisted too close to be separated. Like love. But... that shouldn't be. They had promised eachother not to even consider that. Too much to worry about. Caring too much could threaten their friendship, their trust, their very bond as Weapon and Meister. And the really scary bit? He had responded, like a singer finishing an incomplete verse. But he couldn't. He shouldn't. If he did everything they had could disappear. And Soul would never let that happen. So when he squeezes her hand it's for the last time, and he scoots his chair back to the wall. He would always be there. But not too close. He would never get that close. She was too important to risk.