Someday
by. Poisoned Scarlett
Independence Day.
"Maka?" Tsugumi calls timidly, poking a plain cookie from the tray with troubled eyes. She watches as Maka smears them white with frosting, starting to draw the US flag upon them with careful hands. There are dozens of the same kind packed up into boxes. This was the last box before Maka handed them off to the sisters and they sold them in the evening. They'd agreed that as long as Maka made them, they'd take care of selling them.
"Yes, Tsugumi?"
"How come you like that scary guy?"
Maka pauses and looks at the little girl. "What do you mean, Tsugumi? You don't like Soul?"
"He's mean to me," she says, sourly.
"He's mean to everyone," Maka snorts.
"Except you."
Maka turns back to Tsugumi, watching her wipe crumbles off her mouth with the back of her hand. She's pouting. "He's mean to me, too, Tsugumi. He just knows I'll kick his ass if he doesn't watch himself."
"He's nicer to you!" she persists. "I like Hiro better..."
Maka studies her for a second before she smiles, asking, "How come?"
"Because he's really nice to me and he buys me stuff! Last time he bought me an ice-cream cone!" Tsugumi enthusiastically replies, causing Maka to chuckle. Maka packs the last batch of sweets in a container, sealing it up and stacking it along with the rest.
"It isn't always about who buys you the most things, Tsugumi," Maka tells her gently, squeezing some frosting onto her finger. "Soul's a very nice guy, he just has trouble showing it. But he is a very sweet person," Tsugumi watches her eyes grow soft, almost fond. It's a weird look, not like how Maka looks at her when she's being cute. It's deeper, something else. Tsugumi doesn't know what to call that look. "You should give him another chance. He's not very good with people because of what he is. Remember what I said about him?"
"Not all warlocks and witches are bad, they're just misunderstood. I know, I know," she mumbles, slumping over the table. "But he's still a meanie!"
Her emerald eyes twinkle with mirth. "That's the spirit – now go home for a bit, Tsugumi, I've got to go drop these cookies off with Liz and Patty! It's time for you to eat lunch, anyway," Maka adds before she could protest. "Come on, out!"
"Not yet, not yet!" Tsugumi whines, evading capture by hiding behind her counter. She peeks over at it and shouts, "You're gonna' blow up firecrackers with me at night, right?"
"Of course, the instant the sun goes down!" Maka laughs when Tsugumi cheers and rams into her, hugging her tightly. Then she runs out the door, waving at her a few times before slamming it behind her. And so Maka continues her task alone, loading up her car with boxes upon boxes of cookies and heading over to Liz and Patty's apartment to unload them there. She only stays long enough to have some lunch with the girls, leaving the instant she begins to see the sun lower on the horizon. Tsugumi was an impatient child, and would no doubt burst into tears if she arrived just when the sun left the sky.
It's well into the evening, after she bathed and changed into something lighter, that Tsugumi enters her apartment with the key's she'd been given and finds Maka slipping on some sneakers. And it isn't long after that the little girl drags her down the cobblestone streets of Death City, down closer to where everyone has gathered to pop their firecrackers together. It's a lot more crowded than Maka remembers it to be, so she holds onto Tsugumi's hand just in case and leads the way to the firecracker site.
"Look, Maka!" Tsugumi laughs, pointing at the screamer that spins and spins on the ground, sparking colors like red and white and blue. She squeals when it goes out with a shower of red and blue. Tsugumi pulls off her bag and drops it on the floor, kneeling so she could take out all of the firecrackers her parents had bought her. Maka helps her, dusting the bag and holding it for the girl as she rummaged through her collection of firecrackers for the right one. "Here, Maka! You try one, too!"
She takes out a lighter from her back pocket, igniting the firecracker. "Okay, step back!"
"Wow! It's so pretty!" Tsugumi squeals, handing Maka another one to use while some children gather around to watch as well.
Hiro finds them an hour into the event, taking post next to Maka while Tsugumi and a few other children wave around sticks of sparking fire; giggling when it fizzes out soon after and they ignite another one. Maka had bought Tsugumi three boxes full of those, more than enough to entertain her for an hour. But even watching them laugh and light more doesn't deter Hiro from trying to strike up conversation with Maka, nor do her awkward smiles deter him from coaxing her into accompanying him to a family dinner next week. That's a big request to ask, being his date for a family dinner and all, but he insists it would just be a dinner party. She'll enjoy herself, meet his parents and siblings, and he'll always be there in case she's too timid to speak to his family members.
"I don't know, Hiro..." Maka reluctantly begins.
"It's just a dinner party, Maka!" Hiro coaxes. "Please? I've got no one else to ask!"
"But what about—?" But before Maka can get the sentence out, someone else interrupts:
"That kid is gonna' burn a finger off if you don't keep an eye on her."
Thankfully, Maka doesn't have to answer him because Soul strolls in at that very moment, hands jammed in the pockets of his jacket. Maka remembers when she gave him the jacket back with a shy murmur of thanks, eternally glad that she had been able to fight down her blush the entire time. She's still rather proud of that, although she'd insist Soul's none-too-subtle flirting had nothing to do with the reasons why she screwed up on her numbers at the bank later that day…
"Tsugumi, don't hold it so close to you!" Maka warns, the little girl's smile faltering when she notices Soul. But she listens to Maka and keeps it away from her. "Hey, Soul! Glad you could join us!"
"Hey, Maka," Soul greets her lazily, standing on her other side. "Who's the guy?"
"My name is Hiro," he introduces himself with a half-smile. He reaches over to shake his hand. "Nice to meet you… Soul, right?"
"Yeah, don't wear it out," he grins dangerously, both men trying to crunch the others hand into powder with each shake. Maka thinks Soul won because Hiro lets go soon after, clenching and unclenching his hand by his side with a grimace while Soul slips his into his jacket and sends her a triumphant smirk she rolls her eyes to.
The night doesn't get much better from there. If Soul and Hiro are together, anyway.
Maka sighs when she realizes the closer Soul stands to her, the closer Hiro moves to her to compensate. It's like a competition to see who can stand the closest to her without getting shoved off for invading her personal space. In order not to rise tensions, Maka squeezes out from between them and warns Tsugumi not to light four of those firecrackers at the same time, walking away from both boys and ignoring their ridiculous competition.
"Maka, can I go buy a cookie?" Tsugumi asks when she's near, holding out a five dollar bill. "Mommy gave me some money to buy some!"
"Sure, but where are they selling cookies around here?" Maka questions, looking around for a stand.
"Liz and Patty are selling cookie over there – I walked past them on my way here!" Hiro offers helpfully, pointing down the street.
"Oh! Oh, oh, can Hiro take me instead?" Tsugumi gasps, hoping up and down excitedly. "He'll be faster! We'll be right back, promise!"
"Well, I guess it couldn't hurt," Maka looks at Hiro, his torn expression. She smiles and asks, "Will you take her?"
He hesitates for only a second before sighing in defeat, unable to deny such a hopeful look from the little girl. "Yeah, sure…" He shoots Soul a look of warning before taking Tsugumi down to the vendors quickly. The instant Hiro isn't in ear-shot anymore, Soul deadpans:
"That guy has issues!"
"Stop baiting him, Soul, I really don't want to have to separate you two if he decides to take matters into his own hands!" Maka huffs, crossing her arms. The night has grown chilly with every roll of clouds across the moon. It would soon be time to light the last of the fireworks before heading back inside. "I'll let him beat you up if it happens."
"As if he could lay a finger on me."
"Just because you have magic—!"
"I can fight without magic, Maka," Soul loftily says. His eyes seem to glow in the dark, teeth catching the light in their razor edges. But when she had kissed him, his teeth hadn't been that sharp. Of course, with such a short time they'd had to themselves the last time, she didn't get a good feel of them. "The most that idiot can hurt is himself."
She laughs, rocking on her heels. "We'll see who wins if it ever comes down to that."
"Why do you keep him around if it's so obvious you don't like him?"
"Why do I keep you around?" She fires back.
"Because it's so obvious you like me," he cheekily replies.
She rolls her eyes at him. "It's not like that, Soul. Hiro is a good friend, even if he gets on my nerves sometimes. And Tsugumi really seems to like him!"
"She's nine."
"But she still likes him, although that may be because he bribes her with gifts and ice-cream..." Maka sighs, kicking a stone from her path. "She doesn't like you because you're mean to her."
"It's not fault she gets on my nerves," Soul grumbles. "She can't take jokes."
"Because she's nine, Soul!"
"The jokes aren't even about her, they're about you!"
"Tsugumi is really close to me, of course she'll defend me when you're being a jackass!"
He rolls his eyes but doesn't reply, turning his attention to the sky instead. She can see him from the corner of her eye, those teeth that glint under the starless sky. They catch moonlight perfectly. White, sharp, teeth. Maka wonders once more if she'd imagined their dullness that Easter day before looking up at the sky as well.
At midnight, there would be a giant fireworks display courtesy of the mayor of Death City, but Maka wasn't planning on staying that long. She could see the fireworks from her bedside window just fine. Another gust of air chills her and she tightens her arms over her chest, glancing down the street for any sign of her two friends.
"Why didn't you bring a jacket?" Soul asks when he catches her trembles.
"I didn't think it would get this cold. It was warmer yesterday," Maka admits, sheepishly. Soul watches her for another second before he sighs and shrugs off his jacket, offering it up to her with a flat look on his face. But she still smiles at him because she knows, as she'd told Tsugumi, while Soul didn't spoil her like Hiro did (or tried to, in her case) it was small gestures like these that made her warm up to him a little more. "Aren't you going to be cold?"
"Nah, I like the cold," he says as she slips on the jacket. The sleeve catches on a crooked nail in the wall and Maka pauses, turning to gently tug the sleeve off the nail. Eventually Soul helps her, mumbling something about human eyes being useless in the dark, and that sparks curiosity within Maka. She looks up and thinks maybe that's why his eyes glow in the dark. It's to help him see better – or perhaps they're like a cats eyes, fluorescent and able to absorb more light than normal human eyes can.
"What?" He asks when he notices her stare, reaching around her to properly drape his jacket on her shoulders.
"Your eyes glow in the dark. Does that mean you have better eyesight, too?" Maka asks, curious. He turns to her and she's conscious of how his hand falls down her arm and rests on her waist instead of going back to his side. Lights dance across his face from the fireworks. They make his eyes glow brighter. The lights graze past his lips, the sharp angle of his jaw. She can't help it: she feels more attracted to him in this form than in his disguise. She wonders if something's wrong with her: he's clearly not human yet she hasn't felt this aroused and shaky since, well, she can't even remember when. Maybe Easter?
"You can say that," Soul shrugs. Despite herself, Maka faces him and squints. He snorts a laugh in reply. "Even if they didn't, I'd still have better eyesight than you. Reading so much can't be good for your eyes."
"I read with the lights on!"
"I just meant reading in general," His hand on her waist beckons her closer silently and she obliges. She's walking into something that she scarcely understands, hadn't even been sure existed not too long ago, yet she doesn't feel the least bit scared. Maybe it's because she can't read his intentions, or perhaps it's something else totally, but she knows that when their lips meet again fully for the second time since Easter, she's never hated Hiro's timing more than she did there.
She never even get to feel his teeth, and who knew when she'd be able to have him alone like this again?
"I got you a cookie, too, Maka!" Tsugumi squeals from far-off, waving two cookies in the air happily. "Patty gave it to me for free! I got the biggest one!"
Maka pulls away from Soul instantly, slapping a hand over her mouth and trying her best to push down the heat from her cheeks. Soul only growls gutturally but gives her the space she silently asks for, schooling his expression into something resembling boredom. They're both pretending they don't feel a tingle on their lips, their hearts in their ears. Their desire is an ache that fades with the cold air and Maka pretends she hadn't been covering her mouth, but rather rubbing at her cheek when Tsugumi nears her with two cookies waving in the air excitedly.
"Here, here!"
"Thank you, Tsugumi," Maka clears her throat, glad her voice hadn't cracked like she had feared it would. She takes a bite and looks up at Hiro, his shadowed stare making her gut knot up because he could not have seen their kiss. He had been too far away and she and Soul were standing by a wall, set away from the sparking firecrackers. She looks away when his brows knit, blue eyes pinning her with an imploring question.
"What is it?"
"N..nothing, just thought I saw something weird is all," he laughs it off, the sound awkward and forced.
Tsugumi is looking between them curiously.
Soul glances at Maka, then shifts his eyes back to the sky.
But perhaps Hiro has supernatural eyesight as well, Maka decides, biting her lip thoughtfully.
A/N: I know this is an extremely late update, but I neglected to edit this chapter for 4th of July lol I was planning on updating on-time, before Anime Expo (which was why I posted until now, because today the con ended), but I realized I hadn't edited it at all. I decided to update today since I knew I wouldn't have time any other day and I'll make it up to you guys by posting the sequel to Ripchord tomorrow!
So, if you've read my zombie story Ripchord, keep your eyes open for the sequel, which will be posted sometime tomorrow! If you haven't read my zombie fic, you should check it out :)
Scarlett.