Have you ever been so afraid to lost something you love that you refuse to love anything?
She was like the moon, part of her was always hidden away.
All my love for you,
Take it now.
Leave nothing in my heart,
Fill me only with what I need to fight.
Maka smirked widely to herself as she left her room to head over to the breakfast area with Tsubaki, well aware that Soul would not be found in there, though she didn't mind. She had trouble wiping the uncharacteristic smile from her face thus it caught the attention of the raven haired girl beside her.
"You seem in a g-good mood today, Maka!" Tsubaki said, a smile playing at her own lips when Maka looked up in surprise.
"I do?" Maka asked. "I don't know, I guess I just feel a little more positive today. Meds must finally be kicking in."
"I'm glad to hear that," Tsubaki laughed, covering her mouth as she did while the two entered the dining area.
Maka fought her smile as she sat at the table and ate her cornflakes, idly listening to the chatter around her from the other patients and her friends. Well, the people she stuck by the most. She didn't understand why Soul letting her accompany him made her as happy as it did. He was without a doubt intriguing, to anyone. Though the reason she was drawn to him like she was is due to how he reacts to herself. He struggles to shy away from her and bite his tongue to not expose all of his dark secrets even though she knows full well he'd rather she didn't know. But he cannot help but tell her.
The fact that he cannot control himself around her excites her in a way it shouldn't, in a way that is foreign to her. She'd never liked a boy in her life, nor has one ever shown interest to her except from one when she was fourteen though he abandoned her due to not wanting to be seen near the schools favourite bully victim. He wasn't a nice boy, in personality or looks. So, for a boy who looks like he's stepped out of some dark modelling magazine to take at least some slight interest towards her just bewilders her. What would a boy like that see in a girl like her? It didn't make any sense.
Regardless of her wandering mind, she got through the next three hours with little difficultly. It was very easy to slip away at twelve since it was free time so her absence wouldn't be noted until their next session. She had memorised the way to get to the eerie piano room unconsciously since she knew how to get there easily, though it was in a rather inconspicuous side of the building.
As she came to the two large, heavy doors, panic finally took her. What are they going to do for the rest of the day? Is there enough things in the world to even talk about to fill the time they have? She bit her lip, her palm resting on the cold metal of the door before she finally chased her fears away, scoffing to herself. Since when did she worry about things like this? This was so typically teenager like it made her gag. She shook her head before pushing the door open and stepping in, letting it slam behind her as her eyes adapted to the dim lighting.
As the room became clear, her awe at it from the first time she came, hit her once more. The checked, crimson and black tiled floor, polished to perfection. The blood red curtains that covered all of the walls, making the room much darker and more menacing and the shiny black ceiling, giving the illusion there was no end to the room.
Dropping her eyes from the ceiling they landed on the white haired boy- No, man, sat at the glorious grand piano sitting on the small stage. His head was bowed and the pianos lid was lifted, his long pale fingers trailing over the keys.. Maka swallowed thickly before making her way forward, the bottom of her shoes clicking on the tiled floor before she stood beside the piano bench, tilting her head.
"Hello Maka," Soul drawled suddenly, the sudden rumble of his deep voice sending shivers down her spine as the side of her mouth pulled up in a smirk.
"Hello Soul," she replied, leaning on the piano to look at his face as he lifted his head.
He was smirking as usual. The corner of his mouth pulled up in that cocky, half smile that caused her chest to tighten. She could clearly see the amusement in his eyes though she did her best to hide her reaction to him. He tilted his head to the side, eyeing her up and down before looking back up to her face, his smirk growing.
"Something the matter, Ma-Ka?" he asked, chuckling lowly and Maka rolled her eyes, shaking her head.
"Shut up," she muttered, he slid to the side slightly on the bench so she could take a seat. She eyed it warily before sitting down, as far away from him as she could. He did not seem to mind.
"So," she continued, folding her hands on her lap before turning her head to smile at him. "You gonna play for me or what?"
Soul's brows shot up. He wasn't expecting that. "You want to hear me play? The piano?"
Maka rolled her eyes. "No, Sherlock I want to hear you play the tambourine - Of course the piano!"
Soul chuckled before running a nervous hand through her hair, eyeing the keys through narrowed eyes. "I don't know," he murmured. "I don't really play for people. But we do have a lot of time to kill and…"
Maka raised a brow. "And?"
Soul sighed before looking over to her, not masking the slight awe in his gaze. "And you already know more than anything. Don't see what harm this could do."
Maka's stomach clenched. She haden't expected that. She gulped again before looking away, pressing a key experimentally before looking back to him.
"I want to hear you play." She said firmly. Soul sighed loudly before looking to the keys once more.
"What do you want to hear?" he asked and Maka smiled in triumph.
"I want to hear something of yours, your best piece. You compose right?"
Soul rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I compose, idiot." He took a deep breathe again before unclenching his fists. "Actually, there is a song I want you to hear." He said suddenly.
Maka nodded. "Okay… What is it?"
"My latest piece," he told her with a nod. "But also my best yet. I wrote it after our… talk." Maka's eyes widened at that, the breathe catching in her throat.
"So…" she choked out. "It was inspired by me?"
Soul winced, casting her a dark look before looking back to the keys. "I wouldn't say that." He told her. "More how you make me feel. My old music was so harsh and dark. My parents fucking hated me for it, it was that awful. But my music reflects how I feel, they made me feel that way so my music turned out that way. When you came here… I don't know, you made shit interesting, that's for sure," Maka giggled and he cast her a smirk.
"But it's been a while since I've felt any real… positive emotion. It's hard to with Oni, he won't let me. But it's almost like he can't take control when I speak to you, so it's easier." He shook his head at his own words, noticing how Maka's eyes were growing wider and wider.
"…I would love to hear it, Soul." She said finally, making Soul smirk without look up as he hovered his hands over the keys, barely touching them.
"Figured you might," he said softly, before he began to play.
The song was breathe taking. Impeccable. Maka didn't hear one single fault in the beautiful melody he played. It was beautiful but sad. Like a song she forget she knew until she heard it again. The melody was complicated, sometimes angry but longing. Souls hands danced effortlessly over the keys, his eyes closed gently, his brow not even furrowed. He was so content, and Maka shared the feeling while she listened to his song. He was right. It explained them perfectly.
(The song I imagined him playing when I wrote this was River Flows In You, so if you want to understand how gorgeous it is and how well it suits this story, listen to it!)
The song started to come to a close and it was like Maka could breathe again. It finished strangely, like the song wasn't really over. She was overwhelmed with emotion, finally understanding why people turn to music for comfort. The power in a simple melody was unbelievable.
Soul blinked as if waking up, he looked at the keys before a small, beautiful smile graced his lips. Not to Maka, to himself, though she saw it and it touched her heart. He swallowed thickly before looking over to her, arching a brow and chuckling at her expression.
"Soul," Maka choked out, a hand resting on her throat.
Soul chuckled again, "It was nothing really, Ma-"
He didn't get another word before Maka more or less threw herself at him. She wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug, burying her face there. She felt him stiffen before slowly snaking his arms around her waist, gently first before suddenly tightening as he dropped his head to rest in between her should and neck.
"I'm glad you liked it," he muttered into her neck, making Maka shake her head, tear pricking in her eyes.
"Like it, Soul I loved it. That was… That was something else." She couldn't get another word out as she tightened her arms around him.
She slowly came to the realisation that she was embracing Soul and his arms had loosened a while ago. She let go of him abruptly, jumping off the stage and stumbling into the middle of the dim room.
"I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have, I – I'm sorry," she went on, Soul watched his with an unreadable gaze before standing and making his way over to her, making her words die down slowly.
"Soul?" she asked as he came to stand before her, his expression questionable. "Soul, what are yo-"
She was stopped by the pair of lips pressing against hers. Embarrassingly so, she had shared a kiss with a boy before when she was fourteen, though it was small and sloppy and sweet, before he left her due to her unpopularity. But Soul was not sloppy or sweet. He was aggressive and passionate and Maka loved it.
He grasped her thin wrists in his large hands before backing her up against the wall roughly, the soft fabric of the curtain softening the impact as his lips slanted against her own. She never knew why that kiss with that boy never really made her feel anything. But right now, she finally understood since her not feeling anything was definitely not the case here. Her hands, which were on either side of her head as Soul kept a grip on her wrists against the wall, came loose to tangle in his hair as he tilted his head to deepen the kiss. He trailed his hands down her body, grasping her waist almost painfully as he pressed her more firmly against the wall.
Oh. So this was the kind of thing she liked.
His tongue tangled with hers as she tilted her head up to kiss him more easily. As they parted slightly for air, Maka didn't hesitate to drag him bottom lip lightly between her teeth, to which Soul released a growl – A good to honest growl before slamming his lips to hers again, hooking his fingers through the empty belt loops on her jeans to pull her closer, pressing their hips together as Maka mewled in delight as they kissed for a little longer.
After a few long moments Soul pulled back suddenly, almost making Maka want to groan in annoyance, though his expression stopped her. He jumped a few paces back, pulling her away from the wall before muttering lowly.
"Someone's coming," He let go of her to he walked a few steps back.
Then the doors slammed open.
