PART FOUR: November "I Wanna Be the One"

The official story for why Marie can no longer make her final cross country business trip is that she has a nasty bout of food poisoning. The truth is morning sickness so bad that she'd had to be hospitalised for dehydration. And that's how Maka found herself sitting in a largely deserted departure lounge at ten to midnight, having skipped dinner, waiting for a flight back home that had already been delayed three and a half hours. Most of the other flyers had left already, calling it quits and accepting airport sourced accommodation. Not Maka. She was going to sit in this departure lounge until she was thoroughly disgruntled and offered an upgrade to business class. After the slap-dash day she'd had, she felt she'd more than earned it. She grumbled and fidgeted with the hem of her tight pencil skirt. In her last minute rush to get ready and make it to the airport in time, she had grabbed for clothes blindly, accidentally grabbing a skirt that no longer fit.

"Stop fidgeting, you're making me nervous." Next to her, Soul's knee nudged hers.

Maka nudged him back."I am not fidgeting."

"You keep wiggling."

She glared at him unseen as his attention was focused on the DS in his hands. Slumping back in her seat, Maka checked her emails for the tenth time in five minutes. She had been patiently awaiting more news on Marie and was feeling more than a little skinted. Having fielded a phone call at five-thirty in the morning from a strange man using Marie's phone, demanding she get to the airport immediately, that she pick up Soul Evans and his tricked out presentation system on the way, and oh by the way deliver the presentation you've never practiced before yourself in Marie's stead before even bothering to explain who he was and why Marie couldn't make the trip on her own! Well, Maka felt she was owed at least a brief update on how Marie was feeling. Maybe a thank you for pulling this off and landing a new client. She huffed again and ignoring her grumbling stomach, tugged at hem of her skirt, wondering if she should risk trying to lengthen the tiny slit up its side for some more space.

"For God's sake, Maka. Go buy anything other than that skirt and change."

Maka stared at him blankly and felt herself flushing. "And just exactly what are you looking at?"

He turned back to his DS. "Just borrow my sweats or something. I'm not sitting next to five hours of this."

"You're really bossy for support staff, you know that right?"

Irritated, he replied darkly, "You do know that half the reason we got that sale was how your ass looks in that skirt, right?"

Maka shot up, hands on her hips. "Excuse me?"

Soul slumped further into his seat. "Not saying you didn't do a good job, just saying that exec wasn't paying attention."

She stood there sputtering for a moment before snatching his bag and stomping off towards the toilets.

"What the hell are you doing now?" he called after her.

"Changing!" Maka called back.

How he had the foresight to pack a bag with extra clothes she'd never know. It was supposed to be a one day turn around. Fly in first thing, meetings all day and then home for a late dinner. She had only grabbed her purse on her way out the door and had postponed eating expecting it either on the plane or once safely home, and she was regretting it now. She slammed Soul's bag down on the bathroom counter and started rifling through the mess of charger and connector cables that dominated most of the space. She stole some gum when she came across it, tongue rolling over her fuzzy teeth at the thought of feeling clean again. After a moment's hesitation she also opted to borrow a shirt. She couldn't stay in her stiff work blouse all night. Once she was changed and the drawstring of the sweats pulled tight, waistband rolled over twice and the long legs rolled up ridiculously over her ankles, she took a deep breath and emerged. Feeling immensely better with minty breath and comfortable sweats, she started to calm down. It wasn't fair to take her frustrations out on Soul. He'd had her back the whole day, helped prep her on the flight over, fed her coffee periodically, and staged audio-visual problems as a distraction whenever she faltered or lost her place in the unfamiliar pitch. Now, he'd even leant her a change of clothes.

She sighed and re-tied her hair into a higher ponytail. Somehow since Halloween, Soul had become an increasingly present figure in her life. She could even call anyone in IT for help now thanks to his influence. Not that she did unless she had to. Most of her computer problems were easier to solve in person and he always arrived with coffee or something to eat. She didn't necessarily get the most work done while he was there, but she enjoyed his visits all the same. She should have been sick of him, really. Half the time he followed her home too, for takeout and whatever new popular TV show was airing at prime time. Usually for a debate following too and sleepily kicking each other in rebuttal before occasionally falling asleep cramped on the couch. There was no other way to explain it. Somehow, they'd actually become friends.

Back at their spot in the departure lounge, Soul sat quietly immersed in his DS game. Sitting next to him on her chair was a large McDonald's bag.

He glanced up at her approach. "Thought you might need this."

She almost burst into tears with gratitude. He'd gotten her the biggest meal deal on the menu, drinks and all.

"You didn't have to. I was being a-"

"Quit your whining and give me a fry." He muttered, face downturned and hidden behind his hair.

She offered the bag up to him before digging into it herself. Around them the airport was already decked out for Christmas. She supposed that wasn't so bad, as it was the last week of November. At least the decorations hadn't gone up the moment Halloween ended like in most places. Still, if it wasn't for the deliciously chemical-ketchupped burger in her mouth, it would have left a sour taste. Her holiday season was spent alone with her father, desperately trying to recreate the same feeling from her childhood. It was depressing every year.

"How's your town going?" she asked between mouthfuls of burger.

"Better now that you're not distracting me with your twitching," he replied, without looking up from the screen.

"And you call me a nerd."

"Animal Crossing is not nerdy."

Maka laughed. "It's a game for little kids! You're twenty-four years old."

"Twenty-three."

"Same difference."

Soul stared at her over his DS, pouting adorably. "But Makaaaa, my town needs me."

"I need you." Maka felt herself flush violently. Had she actually said that? Out loud?

He quirked an eyebrow at her, the corners of his mouth twitching. "You need me?"

"Who else is going to bring me coffee and fight the good war against my raging computer?" She huffed primly, resolutely ignoring her blush.

"You know the others will help you out now." She wanted to wipe that smug smirk right off his face. And she wanted to bleach her treacherous brain for supplying a number of non-violent options for how to achieve it.

"Well, no one else will watch Hannibal with me."

"I barely watch that freak fest with you. How you always get hungry and want to eat through it astounds me."

"I rest my case." Maka munched loudly on some fries, eyeing him sideways, not sure if he's smiling or smirking anymore.

His voice wasn't so much teasing as hopeful when he answered, "Well, if you need me."

"Oh, just get back to your silly Shibusen town, Mr. Mayor."

He chuckled from deep in his throat, the sound comforting and thrilling all at once, before turning his attention back to his game. There was something endearing about his lingering smile and Maka couldn't help but wonder if it was entirely due to the game.

Fifteen minutes later Maka was munching on her last chicken nugget and Soul had abandoned his DS to fiddle with a camera instead. He pointed it at her and before she could swallow and protest, the flash had gone off.

"Soul!"

He smirked at her. "Just testing. I'm deleting now."

"I don't know why you keep doing that." Sighing, Maka rolled up her trash.

He shrugged. "Marie liked my work on Halloween. Wants me to keep practicing."

"Not on me."

"Don't worry, Albarn, nothing online. I know the drill."

He smiled at her over the camera, but didn't lower it. She stuck her tongue out at him, turning away when her phone beeped with a message alert. She fumbled with it in her haste for news about Marie. Her brow furrowed.

"Is the boss alright?" Soul asked, not missing a beat.

"No. I mean, I still don't know. It's from Mama."

"Everything okay?"

Maka sighed and put her phone down. "The usual. Just another list of approved business programs and a financial plan for me to get there."

"That's your dream, right?"

Maka shrugged and pushed her fringe back from her face. "I'd be good at it."

"I'm good at things I don't want to do for a living."

"Good for you… Oh, I'm sorry that sounded really mean."

Soul shrugged. "You're really tired. It's been a long day."

"You can say that again." Maka rested her head in her hands.

"You're really tired. It's be-"

"Not literally." She tried not to smile, but failed rather miserably.

Soul stood, reaching for her trash with one hand and patted her head with the other.

"Maybe we should call it quits for the night then. The airport'll be closed soon. There's no more flights leaving till tomorrow. Might as well sleep on a bed somewhere."

Maka hung her head in defeat. "Alright."

Maka set her purse down on the bed by the window and shrugged out of her thick winter coat before letting herself sink onto the bed beside it. On the matching bed beside it Soul let out an audible sigh of relief as he too sunk into place. Not even the concierge's assumption that they were a couple and the resulting embarrassment and flailing explanation that they needed twin beds, not a queen could rile her up at this point, not when sleep was suddenly such an achievable goal.

"We should probably take our shoes off or something," she muttered, kicking carelessly.

"Mmm."

"Soul, don't fall asleep before you take your shoes off."

"How d'you know I haven't," he mumbled.

"Know you."

"Fair."

She heard an anguished moan and then shoes thumping to the ground.

"Better?" he asked.

"Better."

"You're a picky nag. You know that right?"

"You love it," Maka grunted to her pillow before sitting up.

Under her borrowed shirt Maka unclasped her bra and slid it out from under her sleeves, ignoring Soul's affronted stare, folding it neatly by her purse on the bedside table before laying down and turning to face him properly. He was a lump hastily buried under his blankets, only his bright eyes and shock of white-blonde hair visible.

"You look dumb," she giggled.

His voice was somewhat muted by the blankets, but Maka could understand him clear enough. "Says the woman drowning in my clothes."

"At least I'm not afraid of a bra." She smirked.

She watched the colour rise up what was visible of his face. "I am not afraid of a bra."

Maka laughed, "Could have fooled me."

"Maybe I'm just surprised that a tiny tits like you needs one, let alone one like that."

"Don't be crude." Maka eyed her plain white bra. It featured a simple lace overlay over the cups, but it wasn't anything spectacular by any definition, just a bra. Soul was being childish.

"I'm not the one stripping," Soul mumbled with superiority.

Maka scrunched her nose up at him and pulled the blankets up to her chin. "Don't make me throw something at you."

Soul grumbled and shot a glare at the bra. Maka ignored him and reached one-armed for her phone, determined to check it one last time before giving up completely. Unsurprisingly, there was still no news from Marie. She didn't want to worry, but a small part of her did.

"Your mom?" Soul asked quietly.

"No…" Maka answered, setting the phone aside.

"What's the deal with that?"

Maka was silent for a moment, undecided in what to say.

"You don't have to say. Didn't mean to be rude."

She smiled a little to herself. "It's okay. It's just not really something that comes up a lot."

Soul scoffed. "I can't get through a day without you bringing it up at least once."

Maka burrowed deeper under her blankets.

"Must sound like I'm trying to prove something."

She heard Soul shift under his blankets, his face now revealed. "You don't need to prove anything to me. I already know you're the best."

Maka blushed, very glad that she was still hiding under the covers.

"It's what my family does," she muttered.

"I know something about that," Soul whispered back.

Maka quirked an eyebrow at him in question and he continued, his voice shaking slightly.

"Whole family of classical musicians going back generations. I'm talking like twelfth century. Except I'm not so into that. I play piano alright, but I like movie soundtracks. I like to break the rules and try new things. I also like seeing how music can change things. So one day I just explode at the breakfast table, tell them I won't pursue classical music and that I'm going to film school and they can't stop me."

"That was really brave."

Soul laughed mirthlessly. "Maybe until I dropped out because I couldn't hack it."

"That's nothing to be ashamed of."

"I told my whole family to basically get fucked and then I didn't even see it through… Ah I'm sorry, I just made it all about me."

"No! No, it's fine."

They lay in silence for a moment. Maka chewed the inside of her cheek thoughtfully as if it may keep her from saying what she wanted to.

"I'm a drop out too." She spoke in barely more than a whisper, already anticipating the usual chorus of "what you? An Albarn? Maka "The Reaper" Albarn, Valedictorian?"

Soul's tone was even when he replied, "Your mom about as happy with that as mine are?"

Maka sighed. "She blames my dad. Thinks he was a bad influence. He is, but not for that."

Soul nodded sagely from his pillow.

"Guess we're a pair of fuck ups then."

Maka laughed despite the tears brimming at the edges of her eyes. She was too tired for this conversation, or maybe just tired enough. She hadn't told anyone she's met since leaving school that she dropped out. She'd always explained it away as a family emergency, or a change in finances. Neither were entirely untrue, but neither was the whole truth. Neither explained her mother cutting her off financially for getting a B, or her father's car accident, or how Maka used all of her savings to pay his medical bills when his own fell short. She wanted to tell Soul all of it, every last ugly piece of the truth, to risk falling for the chance that someone might understand and catch her. But not tonight. It's too late and she's been too long without sleep.

She sighed, long and melancholy. "Guess we are. A musical genius and a valedictorian reduced to IT and reception."

"I wasn't a genius."

Maka peeked her head over the covers and met his eyes. "You were. I can tell."

Soul blushed. "You don't know shit about music."

"I know you." She couldn't be sure in the dark room but, she thought his blush intensified.

"Go to sleep you sappy nerd" he muttered, disappearing under his blankets again.

"Good night, piano man."

"You're such a nerd."

"You love it," Maka murmured and flipped onto her other side.

There was silence for a while after that. On the verge of sleep, already feeling herself falling, Maka heard his voice again, solemn and quiet like a promise, "I do."