She felt something cold and wet drip onto her cheek. She opened her eyes, slightly confused. Soul was leaning over her, his face close to hers. The water had dripped from his newly washed hair.
"Hey sleeping beauty, I thought you said no naps?" Soul teased.
"Oh no! I never meant to fall asleep, how long was I out for?" She asked as she stretched out in the bed.
"Couldn't have been that long. I was only in the showers for like fifteen minutes."
"Okay good," she said as she sat up and grabbed the hairbrush from where it had remained unused on the bed beside her. She roughly brushed out her hair and let the damp strands fall loose around her shoulders. She walked over to examine her reflection in the mirror. Other than the purple smudges forming under her eyes from lack of sleep she felt like she looked okay. The bruises from the thug in the alley were fading. She felt that attempting to look at all good would be wasted effort the moment she sat next to any of the women she met today. Especially Tsubaki with her statuesque figure and shiny black hair.
"When you're ready we can meet the others. It's almost dinnertime," Soul said nodding towards the digital clock on her bedside table.
"I guess we might as well," she sighed trying to forget her inadequacies.
Soul's stomach chose that moment to growl pointedly. "We don't really have a choice at this point," he said poking his own belly with a pout.
They wandered out of the residents' area to the main room they had passed through when they arrived. The majority of the group was hanging around the large table, but Blackstar was in the farthest corner of the large room. Soul hadn't noticed it when they initially passed through, but there was as small gym area in the corner. There was a set of weights on a large metal unit, and a punching bag hanging from the ceiling. There were mats on the floor, and throwing himself around the mats was Blackstar. Tsubaki looked over at them from her spot at the table as they walked over.
"He trains longer than most of us," Liz grumbled from where she was seated across from Tsubaki.
"And what exactly is everyone training for?" Soul asked, suspicion creeping into his voice.
"Well most of us have targets on our backs now that we have been in the future for awhile. That and we keep trying to infiltrate Medusa's organization. Inciting civil unrest, and the like is not exactly tolerated under Medusa's rule," Kidd stated in a matter of fact tone.
"So, just getting here wasn't enough?" Maka sighed.
"Unfortunately not," Tsubaki said with a sympathetic smile.
"Don't worry about it today. The Doc will work you guys over plenty tomorrow," Patti said cheerfully.
"Yeah, and everyday after that," Blackstar said loudly, appearing suddenly at the table.
Soul did not like that sounds of that. All he wanted was a safe place to find some answers. Maybe some hot meals. Bringing down someone with an ominous name like Medusa, was not on his list.
"Alright folks! Supper is ready," Marie said cheerily as she pushed a large cart of food into the room from a door on the other side of the table.
Almost instantly Soul could smell deliciousness. He felt his mouth start to water as the others rushed to line up in front of the cart. There were two levels to the cart. The lower of the two covered in stacks of dishes and cutlery, the top piled with food. As he got closer he saw a large pot of rich looking stew, likely the source of the smell, a basket of soft dinner rolls, veggies for dipping, and so much more of everything than he thought could ever fit on that cart.
Him and Maka watched as each of the others picked up bowls and spoons from the bottom shelf and ladled the delicious smelling stew from the pot. He let Maka go ahead of him before serving himself, despite the angry growls coming persistently from his stomach. When he was finally able to join Maka at the table the only seat left was next to Blackstar. He and Maka sat quietly and he took in the dynamics of the surrounding group. All of it was severely overwhelming. The loudness and activity of some of their new found peers was almost too much to bear. He could feel himself shrinking away from people again. The safety he felt that allowed him to be himself when it was just him and Maka was starting to crumble away. Marie, who seemed to have a calming effect on the group, had long since served herself and had taken her food back through the door she came through.
"She usually eats with Stein if he is too busy to join us at the table," Kidd had said as she walked away.
The rest of supper went by in a flurry. Blackstar threatened to fight who ever went up for seconds before he got a chance to do so, and Patti almost knocked her stew into Maka's lap several times. Even the primped Liz got loudly annoyed with Kidd several times for trying to keep the table settings symmetrical. And all these strange new people had fired several questions at him and Maka. Luckily Maka was willing to answer for both of them and he could just keep his head down and enjoy the stew.
"Who is on dish duty?" Blackstar said after a particularly loud belch.
"You. Dumbass," Patti said, undoing the top button of her pants and sighing contentedly.
Blackstar slumped into his seat, "Can't be, I just did 'em."
"By just did them do you mean last week? Because that means it is your turn all over again idiot," Liz said grumpily.
"It's alright Blackstar. I'll help you," Tsubaki said smiling at him as he rubbed his bloated belly.
"Why do you always enable him Tsubaki," Liz said rolling her eyes.
Maka sat there quietly taking the dynamics of the group in. It seemed as though Tsubaki was quite patient with Blackstar. She might've thought they were together in a sense, but the girl also came across as a bit like a doting mother, so it could go either way. She let her eyes wander around the table until they met Soul's. It looked like the noisier interactions were wearing him thin and he needed time to wind down. He gave her a small forced smile, but continued to cringe every time the others got particularly loud. Maka found herself feeling a little sorry for him, remembering how he seemed to prefer solitude in most of his memories that they had revisited.
Maka cleared her throat, "Thank you for having us, and taking us in… and feeding us. We're kind of…wiped now though. Had a bit of a long day."
"Of course you did, you've worked pretty hard to get here," Tsubaki said with a kind smile. "You are both welcome to turn in for the night. We won't wake you up at a particular time, but breakfast is at about 10:00 a.m. tomorrow okay dear? After that you will have to spend some time in the lab with the Professor Stein," she averted her gaze and her smile wavered slightly at the mention of the lab. Maka looked around the table and noted the unease in all the others' faces.
"Okay, sure. We'll uh. See you then," Soul said quietly as he stood up. Maka followed his lead, stacking their dirty plates together on the cart. She heard the others' whispering among themselves as they walked back to their room. She and Soul exchanged an uncomfortable look.
As soon as she closed the door of their room behind her she turned to Soul who had already slumped onto his bed, his head hanging and his silvery hair falling to cover his face. "Are you okay?" she asked as she sat down on her bed facing him.
"Yeah," he grumbled. "It's just that I got used to only being around you, I forgot how anxious I get around other people." He sighed and it looked like he was going to collapse inwards on himself.
"We only just met them, and they're all used to each other. You'll get used to them eventually. Besides, didn't you say that you see this as sort of a new start for you? You can be as confident as you want. Just set the tone for yourself going forward. They don't know about you, or your past, you can be whoever you want, you know?" Maka said, trying to be encouraging.
"Yeah, I think you're braver than me though," he said granting her a small smile and looking up at her through his pale eyelashes.
She felt a small blush creep across her cheeks as she responded, "Hey, it's a new start for me too."
"I guess you're right. I will try to play well with others, but mostly I wanted to be away from all the noise. That blue haired kid especially. Blackstar? He seems nice enough, but holy shit was he hyper," he said with a chuckle.
They both turned and faced the door in response to a small knock. "Um, come in," Maka called as she stood up and took a few strides towards the door.
Tsubaki peeked her head in through a small crack. She gave them a small smile, "Hello, sorry if I am bothering you, just thought I would come talk to you briefly. I could tell dinner made you a little uncomfortable. We are a lot to take in I'm sure."
"Oh," Maka gave a nervous giggle, "It's fine. We just forgot how to be around other people. And, we don't know ourselves well enough to know if that's a new thing or if that's just how we always were."
Tsubaki smiled, "Give it time, it'll all come back soon enough. Not all of it wanted mind you, but still." Her smile slipped a bit as she continued, "That's part of the reason I came here. Stein's methods are effective, very effective. So you'll remember what brought you here essentially, and unfortunately we all have some of that in common… I heard that Soul already knows what happened to him right?" She looked to Soul for confirmation.
He nodded quietly in response before she continued, "But you still haven't remembered Maka?"
She nodded solemnly, having a rather grim theory about why she was among the 'chosen' to be brought through time.
"It can be a little traumatic Maka, I am not going to lie. But it is all very important information to know about yourself. And I just want you to know, that now that you're here you have the unwavering support of all of us. We've all been through our different hardships. And unfortunately, it's been pretty messy for all of us, but that means we can all be of some assistance, if you ever need it. And that goes for both of you," she said looking back to Soul meaningfully.
Maka swallowed audibly before responding, "Thank you Tsubaki, that means a lot. We are pretty…confused by all this, so the support will be helpful. Thank you."
Soul found himself liking this girl despite his earlier anxieties around the group. "Yeah, thanks," he heard himself say gruffly. He looked from Tsubaki to Maka, who gave him a small smile. He suddenly felt very glad that he had made it this far and that Maka was there with him. The group of people he met was loud and full of activity, but if Tsubaki was any indication, they would all be good people to have around. And, Maka was starting to feel like a good luck charm. She helped to bolster his confidence, and made him want to be braver.
"Goodnight guys, welcome to the team," Tsubaki said as she backed out of the room and closed the door behind her. The word team hung in the room even after Tsubaki had
They sat in silence a moment after Tsubaki left. Maka sat back down on her bed and they looked at each other for a moment in silence before he decided to speak up, "So, we should get ready for bed then?"
She nodded and got up and walked over to their shared dresser. He waited a moment and then rifled through the vanity to find a toothbrush and toothpaste. He started brushing his teeth and had spaced out when Maka interrupted, "Will you just stand in a corner and look away while I change? I don't want to go across to the bathroom to change."
He rolled his eyes in an exaggerated motion at her before standing in the corner by the door. He waited until all the rustling around stopped before trying to talk to her around his toothbrush, "Are you done yet?" He slurped by the toothpaste that was about to drip from his mouth.
"Yeah yeah, you're good," she grumbled.
He turned around as she pulled her second sleeve into place. "Took ya long enough," he managed before spitting into the sinking.
"You're one to talk buddy, I still gotta brush my teeth."
He shrugged before going to turn on one of the bedside table lamps and climbed into his bed.
"So this is all extra weird. Things just keep happening, is it possible that I've been in shock since crash landing in the desert? Did that even really happen?" Soul rambled on as Maka hit the overhead light and crawled into her own bed.
"I don't even know what to tell you," she sighed heavily as she reached over to turn off the lamp. "It's been…nonstop."
"And, it hasn't even been a week since we met in the desert," he added.
"You're right…" she said quietly. He turned onto his side facing Maka, her face lit faintly by the red glow from the alarm clock on the bedside table. Seeing her a few feet away from him, in her own bed, made him notice how cold and small his bed felt now. It hadn't taken long, but he had gotten used to sharing a larger bed with Maka. He was going to point it out but felt the heat creep into his face at what she might think he was implying.
"Soul?"
"Mhmm."
"I'm a little scared of what the professor might do tomorrow. Have you noticed that they all get a little weird about it? I feel like it's gonna hurt somehow," she admitted in a hushed voice. It made him feel like she was telling him a secret, and he liked it.
"Yeah, I noticed. I don't like it… but I think it's what we have to do. It kind of feels, necessary?"
"I know what you mean. It's weird missing a whole past, it feels like that tip of the tongue syndrome thing," she replied.
"Oh la la, tip of the tongue, I've never heard of it, sounds sexy though," he said trying to sound as sultry as possible.
"Ew, what the hell you perve," she said as she took her pillow, reached over, and hit him over the head in a quick fluid motion. "That is not what I meant."
"Jeeze Maka, I know, I was just kidding," he said seeing stars. How did she even hit that hard with a pillow.
"Hmph," she replied as she rolled away from him.
He felt emboldened by the fact that she was no longer facing him so he voiced his earlier thought, "Is it weird that I kind of got used to sharing a bed?"
She remained still for a moment without responding. He started to get a little uncomfortable by the drawn out silence.
"I don't share beds with perves," she said grumpily. "Especially perves who derail serious conversations with their perving."
He rolled his eyes.
"I could hear you roll your eyes," Maka said as she rolled back over to face him, a grin in place.
"Oh and I am the weird one," he grumbled back.
"Goodnight Soul," she said in a sing-song voice.
"Night Maka."
He woke up disoriented several hours later. He looked over at the clock flashing that is was 3:00a.m. That's when he heard whimpering, likely the sound that woke him up.
"Maka?" He said trying to wake up and figure out what was going on. She didn't respond, but instead cried out in her sleep. He stood up and slowly walked over to her bedside. She was curled up in a tiny ball and she was shivering despite the blanket. She whimpered again. Maybe I should wake her up…
"Maka," he said gently, shaking her a little. She continued to shake, and was practically crying at this point. "Maka! Wake up, it's okay," he said more insistently.
"Maka!"
She sat up with wide eyes and hair wild and tangled. She looked over at him, and the red light from alarm clock reflected off the tears welling up in her eyes. "Soul?" She breathed sounding confused.
"Are you okay?" He said as he sat down on the bed across from her.
"I think so…" she sniffled trying to hold the tears back.
"What happened?"
"Nightmare, it was…it was really sad Soul. I did not like that. It felt so real," she finished, the tears finally spilling over onto her cheeks.
"Well it's not real okay? You're here now with me, and I will keep you safe okay?" He said trying to soothe her. He reached over and brushed the tears off her cheeks with his thumb. The gesture was foreign to her, but not unwelcome. She didn't remember much about her past, but she knew she hadn't been afforded this level of kindness in quite some time.
She nodded her eyes cast down. "Thank you."
"No problem, now try to get some sleep okay? I feel like this Stein fellow is going to be exhausting.
He almost missed it when she spoke to him, she was so quiet he barely heard her over the rustling of his sheets.
"Soul?"
He stopped moving straining to hear her, "Yeah?"
"You were right earlier, it is kinda weird not sharing the bed, and that nightmare was horrible…"
He looked at her trying to comprehend what she wanted. "Do you want me to push the beds together?" He asked carefully trying not to blush.
"Is that okay?"
"Of course." He got back out of bed and started rearranging the furniture so he could push their beds together. "Just…just stop calling me a perve will ya?"
She giggled a bit, "Stop being a perve then."
He threw her a glare as he climbed into bed next to her. They settled back in, a small gap between them. They were silent for a few minutes, and he had started to doze off again when he felt ice-cold feet slide between his knees. "Oh my GOD, what the hell Maka?"
"I'm sorry…I'm just so cold. And you're so warm," she giggled as she wiggled her feet around.
"Why does bed time turn into battle with you? My feet are cold too you know. Here check it out," he said trying to put his toes on her back.
"Oh I don't think so shark teeth," she said deftly flipping them both around. He was really confused as to how he ended up face down with his hands behind his back with one of Maka's knees pinning him down square behind his shoulder blades. He tried to wriggle out of her hold but was met with her driving her knee harder into his back.
"Damn it Maka, are you a fucking ninja? How the hell did you do that?"
"Well…I took up self defensive martial arts not too long ago…I picked it up with surprising efficiency." He could hear her grinning through her voice as she responded.
"Okay well uncle, I'm tapping out, whatever you need to hear to let me go. You monster," he tried to muster as much force in his voice as he could despite his struggle to keep his face from being buried in his pillow.
She rolled off of him and onto her side facing away from him. "You still cold," he asked, hearing the petulance in his own voice as he spoke.
"Yeah, it wasn't that difficult beating you up. I thought it would be more of a warm up, but it was just so easy." He knew she was trying to get under his skin. He also knew that it was working.
Rather than responding he just grumbled complaints under his breath as he readjusted to snuffle up behind her.
"So the hot air from your complaining is going to keep me warm instead then?" She said sarcastically.
"Just hold on jeeze." He finally settled, his knees against the back of hers and an arm draped around her shoulders.
"This okay?"
"Mhm," she hummed quietly.
He was grateful for the dark now as he felt the blush creeping into his face.
"You're like a toaster oven," Maka said, interrupting his embarrassment.
"And you're welcome."
Several silent minutes passed and he was on the verge of falling asleep again.
"Soul?"
"Mhm," he replied drowsily.
"Thanks, and I'm sorry for waking you up."
Maka was almost uncomfortable when he didn't answer. She tensed up unsure of whether or not she upset him, until he snored.
She let out a relieved chuckle. Slowly in the quiet of their room her mind slowly returned to the memory of her horrible nightmare. She tried to shake it off, the visions of Soul dying, the flashbacks to the times she had been beat up the worst by her ex. She tried to shake it off and instead tried to focus on Souls slow rhythmic breaths as he slept soundly beside her. Eventually she felt the fog of sleep take over.
