Soul stares at the dog currently occupying his bath tub in near defeat. He smacks his face, an anguished groan coming from his mouth. Cerberus looks happily at his master, his tail wagging back and forth.
He sighs as Cerberus sits in the bath water. Now he has an unbathed little girl and a wet dog to deal with. He pulls the bathtub plug with a yank, glaring at Cerberus as the dog jumps to his feet now that his master's face is at eye level. "Don't you even dare," Soul warns, "How come you like bath time so much now?"
A giggle echoes from elsewhere. Soul calls out from the open bathroom door. "Corrie, you know it's supposed to be you in there, NOT Cerberus!"
His little girl doesn't answer him, instead she giggles again. Any other time, it melts Soul's heart, as his daughter's existence often tended to do. But Maka had charged him with bath time duties after he'd scoffed when she'd complained that bath time with Corrie was difficult. He had accepted her challenge with confidence, sure his little girl would be no problem for him, and Maka had left to the store with a knowing smirk.
He understands now.
The moment Maka had left Corrie had bolted from the play area, disappearing off to who knew where in the apartment. Soul had figured she'd come out eventually and he had started running the water. But when the bath was ready and Corrie still failed to appear, Soul had gone to search the apartment. He'd rushed back to the bathroom when he heard a splash, thinking his daughter had finally decided to come out and then panicking thinking she could have fallen in the water.
And now here he is, guiding Cerberus out of the tub, his little girl still nowhere to be found. The draining tub is still half-full as he turns to his dog. "Stay here, Bear," he says sternly.
Cerberus wags his tail once and sits down on the bath mat, staring at Soul adoringly.
"You are such a dork," he sighs as he gives him a pat on the head and walks out of the bathroom. He peeks in the rooms he's already looked in, giving them a onceover. It is beyond him how his daughter can find a hiding place in their shoebox of an apartment but she's managed it. As he finishes searching his and Maka's bedroom and still no sign of his daughter, he flops on his back on their bed. "You win, I give up, Cor." He figures that if he cedes victory to her and waits patiently, then she'll come out eventually-her curiosity rivals her mother's.
Sure enough, a few minutes later he hears the padded whisper of sock-covered feet drawing close to where he lays. He closes his eyes, pretending to sleep. Slowly, he breathes in and out, making his chest rise and fall rhythmically. He can't overdo it or Corrie, who is also as perceptive as Maka, will see through his bluff. He senses two eyes on him and a few moments later, he feels the bed move as his daughter stealthily (at least to her) crawls atop of it. She pauses for a second once she's gotten her balance, waiting to see if Soul woke up.
Soul gives a little snore and he hears her snicker quietly as she crawls across the bed. There's a pause as she finally reaches him and Soul has to repress a smile.
Then she leaps on top of him. Soul lets out an involuntary groan as the breath is knocked from him. Her knees force themselves into his diaphragm as her hands poke his face impatiently. "Wake up!" she demands.
He squints his eyes open. "I thought you were hiding from me, Cor."
She blows a lock of her unruly hair out of her face, her green eyes bright. "I got you good, Daddy!"
Soul gives her a wide grin. "You mean…like this?!" He flips her back on the bed, tickling in her stomach.
Corrie screams in laugher. "Daddy…no!"
He stops and gives her a noisy raspberry on her cheek. "That's what you get for hiding."
She pushes herself up, brushing her messy hair from her face. Corrie sets her face in a stubborn look and crosses her arms, suddenly serious. "I don't like bath time."
Soul has to keep himself from laughing at her. Corrie's stubborn look is reminiscent of Maka's but it marvels him that she looks so much like him. Although she has her mother's wide green eyes, she has his white hair (which she likes to where wild and free, much to Maka's dismay) and his tan complexion. When she yawns, so wide that her eyes snap closed, she could be his twin when he was her age.
He didn't think he would go absolutely head over heels for his child, like Spirit used to do with Maka (still did actually), but then Corrie was born and quite simply, his world turned itself on its head.
He feels a tug on his arm and looks down to see his daughter staring at him. "Daddy, why is your face all weird?"
Soul slaps himself internally as he realizes he just went slightly Spirit on his daughter. He ruffles her already untidy hair. "Nothing, Cor. And now it's time your bath or your mother is going to kill me."
She crosses her arms again, jutting her bottom lip out willfully. "I don't wanna."
He decides to resort to bribing. Soul surprises her by nodding in agreement. "All right then. But then I guess there won't be ice cream either."
Her eyes light up. "Ice cream?"
Soul nods again. "But only for little girls who have taken a bath."
She bites her lip, thinking. He can see the ice cream tempting her and then- "Okay!"
He cheers in victory in his mind. "Good choice, Corrie. Go find your pajamas and get ready." He gives another raspberry. She squeals and pushes his offending lips away before scrambling off his lap and running for her room.
Stretching, Soul rises from the bed and heads back to the bathroom. Cerberus is still sitting on the bath mat though he gets up excitedly when he sees Soul. "Oi, back on the mat, Bear. You're soaking wet," Soul says, pushing the dog back. Grabbing a clean towel, he kneels down and begins to dry Cerberus. Then, a scream nearly stops his heart.
He drops the towel and runs into the hall, heading for Corrie's room, Cerberus at his heels.
Corrie bursts from her room, running towards him. "Daddy, Daddy, fix it!" she screams as she near impales him accidentally with her transformed arm.
Soul catches her in his arms, hoisting her up. He gazes down at the green and silver blade that used to be her right arm. His heart swells in pride for a second before the sobs of his daughter registers in his ears. He rocks her like when she was a baby, patting her back while Cerberus paces anxiously around him. "Shh, it's okay, Corrie. You're okay, sweetie."
Corrie looks at him, sobs slowing but tears still flowing. "No, I'm not! I'm gonna die!"
Shifting to her to one of his arms, he says, "No, you're just like Daddy. Look." With a flash, he transforms his arm to a scythe up to his elbow like her.
Her tears stop as she gapes at Soul's blade. Then she looks back at her own transformed arm. "You mean," she says sniffling as she wipes her tears away, "I'm not gonna die?"
"Of course not," Soul tells her comfortingly. "You're just special, like me."
"O-okay," she hesitantly accepts. With that, her tears stop completely. Then a questioning look comes upon her face. "How do I change it back?"
Soul places her back on the ground, where Cerberus licks her face eagerly, and squats down to face her, eye-to-eye. He raises his own blade for a demonstration. "You kind of relax and close your eyes and you let your arm be an arm again." His blade flashes and turns back into an arm. "See?"
Corrie looks doubtfully at him. "But what if I can't do it?" she asks in a whisper.
"You can," Soul says, looking into her eyes. "Do you remember what it's like to color with your hand, how it feels when you pet Cerberus?"
She nods a little, her normal arm wrapping around Cerberus' neck for comfort.
"Good," he says. "Picture that, Cor. C'mon, let's try now." He transforms his arm again. "We'll do it together."
She looks a little less scared and a little more confident when she sees Soul's blade, which relieves him, considering he has no idea if this will work or not. Then, she nods in agreement determinedly.
"All right," Soul puts a hand on her shoulder. "On the count of three. One…close your eyes…two…relax…three."
There's two flashes of light in the hallway. Corrie yells excitedly when she sees her blade is an arm again, triggering another licking spree from Cerberus.
Soul smiles proudly. "See? I knew you could do it."
She grins back, just as proud. The clock from the living room suddenly chimes, marking the late hour.
"Oh no," Soul groans, picking her up. "Maka's gonna kill me!"
"Who's Maka?" Corrie asks curiously.
He's about to answer but he gets distracted when he feels something wet on his feet. He realizes his mistake as he stares down at the growing puddle surrounding Cerberus, who is still soaked. Shaking his head, he decides the more important thing is to get Corrie bathed and continues down the hall.
As he gets her into the tub, finally, she continues to pester him about Maka. "Uh, Maka is your mama's name," he says absently as he squirts shampoo in his hands. He pushes a nosy Cerberus out of his way. "Down, Bear."
She squeezes her eyes closed as he rubs the shampoo in her hair. "I thought Mama was her name! Does that mean I can call her that?"
Soul panics a little at the thought of Maka's reaction if Corrie called anything other than "Mama" and panics a little more thinking of what would happen to him when she found out where Corrie had gotten her information. "No, no you are certainly not allowed to call her that, young lady."
She pouts her lips a little but doesn't protest. Soul thanks Shinigami for small parenting miracles. All in all, given the surprise his daughter's just given him, he's not doing too badly, he thinks. He manages to get her showered without stuffing his foot in his mouth again and finishes brushing her hair just as Maka opens the apartment door.
"I'm home!" she calls, shutting the door.
"Mama!" Corrie yells as she runs out the door, Cerberus following her.
Soul hastily runs out to the hallway with a towel and mops up the water before going out to meet his wife. He finds her in the living room, holding Corrie who is excitedly talking a mile a minute and pointing at her arm. Cerberus circles the two happily.
Corrie gestures towards Soul as he enters the room. "And Daddy can change too!"
"Oh, can he?" Maka says interestedly. She looks at Soul. "Seems you two had an adventure while I was out."
"You don't know the half of it," Soul says, rubbing a crick in his neck.
"Another weapon in the family will be interesting," Maka muses as she rubs her daughter's damp hair. "Your grandpapa will certainly be pleased."
"Can we call him now?" Corrie asks eagerly.
"That will have to wait till morning, Corrie. It's time for little girls to get to bed," Maka says firmly.
Corrie's eyes widen defiantly. "But Daddy said I could have ice cream, Maka!"
Maka's eyes, on the other hand, narrow dangerously. She looks at Soul. "What did she just call me?"
Soul offers, "Um, you really don't know the half of it?"
The look on her face marks him for dead later but he's safe for now as she reluctantly takes their daughter into the kitchen for her ice cream, while telling her in no uncertain terms that Mama is the only name she's allowed to call her.
Soul feels Cerberus walk up to him and lick his hand. He decides that, despite the chop to the head he'll most likely be receiving later, bath time is his favorite time.