Maka Albarn did not believe in "meet cute."
As far as she was concerned, the entire concept could be consigned to the same trite pile where ideas like love at first sight and soul mates had gone to die. It was a fantasy that was nice for a sappy romcom or a particularly lighthearted romance novel and not a whole lot else.
Speaking of romance novels…
She was badly in need of a new beach book. The two or three (or possibly thirteen) books she had brought along with her on her visit to her mother at her new seaside home in California had carried her through the first month. However, after getting the call from Patti that she wasn't really needed back at the precinct for awhile, and "Kiddo understood that she hadn't seen her mom in a really long time so if she wanted to take some more time off to stay with her, that would be just fine," Maka had found that the remainder of her stay was going to be critically low on reading materials.
And that… well, that just wouldn't do!
Which was how she had ended up in this deliciously musty little independent bookstore just east of the boardwalk, scouting for a bit of light reading to tide her through lazy afternoons under the pergola behind her mother's house. It was one of those fantastic little places where the books didn't seem to be organized by any particular system, and yet the proprietress (an adorable old Mexican woman with a pair of purple-framed glasses perched at the end of her nose) seemed to instinctively know where each and every tome in her collection could be found.
The woman listened solemnly to Maka's explanation of what she was looking for, then with a thoughtful little smile, pointed her towards a cluttered series of shelves in a back corner of the store.
The selection was surprisingly good, for such an eccentric collection. In fact, in addition to a few intriguing new books, she also found the next title in a series she'd been avidly following for several years.
The catch? The only copy in stock, as far as she could tell, was on the absolute top shelf.
Maka was not a tall girl. She didn't have a prayer of reaching it, and looked around, hoping she might find a conveniently-placed stool or stepladder (which, in her opinion, really ought to be mandatory anywhere with shelves because not everyone was a damn giant after all!). No such assistance was forthcoming, however, and the owner of the bookshop seemed to have disappeared into some back room.
She eyed the shelves speculatively. They looked sturdy enough… and she didn't weigh much…
Ah, fuck it.
She placed her foot on the bottom-most shelf and reached up to a higher shelf to hoist herself up further, climbing the shelves themselves like a ladder. A fair amount of dust was dislodged in the process, which made her cough, but she hauled herself determinedly up a few more levels.
The book she was climbing for was nearly in her reach, her hand stretched out to grasp it, when suddenly a deep male voice right behind her said, "I don't think you're supposed to do that."
Maka jumped in fright, lost her grip on the shelf, and her feet slipped. She fell with a squeak, her feet hit the ground awkwardly, and she was tipping backwards… but then she was crashing into someone instead of hitting the floor, a pair of sinewy arms wrapping around her to steady her.
"Whoa, you okay?" that same warm voice asked in her ear.
Heart racing at a thousand miles an hour, Maka jerked away and turned to look at her quasi-rescuer.
Her first thought was that he must be albino, with that ghost-white hair and shockingly red eyes, but he had that California tan, so she wasn't sure. He was tall and skinny, all sharp angles and lean muscle, and he was observing her with an amused grin on his lips.
"Fine," she said breathlessly, still recovering from her fall. "You scared the crap out of me!"
He chuckled. "Sorry about that," he replied, not sounding sorry in the slightest.
"No you're not."
His grin widened into a cocky smirk. "No, I'm not. But, I mean, it's not every day a pretty girl falls for me."
Maka groaned. "Oh my god, that was so cheesy."
He seemed to mentally replay the last few seconds, and winced. "It sounded a lot better in my head," he said apologetically. "Um… which book were you going for?"
"The Sinai Code," she said, pointing.
His eyebrows rose. "Hard sci-fi, huh? I'd've figured you for a horror enthusiast."
That was actually not entirely inaccurate. She shrugged. "Gotta change it up sometimes, right? Honestly, I read a lot of things, I don't like to limit myself to one genre."
"Smart," he said. "Variety's the spice of life or whatever." He turned and put his foot on the lowest shelf, reaching up for one of the shelves above his head.
"Wait, what are you doing?" she asked.
"Getting your book for you, what's it look like?" He gave her a no duh look over his shoulder.
"I can get it myself!" she protested.
He hoisted himself up to plant one foot on the second shelf. "Yeah, obviously, but I'm taller, so it's easier if I just do it." As if to prove his point, he grasped the spine of the book with minimal stretching, then jumped down gracelessly.
"Here."
He held the book out, looking absurdly proud of himself, and she had to laugh. "Thanks," she said on a giggle. "What's your name?"
"Soul," he said, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"I'm Maka," she replied.
He gave a bob of his head in a belated greeting. "Nice to meet you," he said, in the awkward manner of somebody who has been taught good manners but hasn't bothered to use them in a good long while.
"Likewise," she said, charmed despite herself.
"Hey, um, are you doing anything right now?" he asked.
She blinked, somehow caught off-guard by the loaded question despite the obvious chemistry between them. "Nothing urgent," she offered cautiously.
"Well, um, maybe this is really forward, but would you like to go grab a coffee with me? Or lunch or something? I promise I'm not a serial killer or anything," he added hurriedly.
His expression was more or less relaxed, striving hard for casual, but there was a hint of something in his eyes as he peered at her from under choppy white bangs, that might possibly have been… shyness, maybe? She wasn't completely sure, but whatever it was, it was very endearing.
She shrugged. "Sure. I could go for a bite to eat."
As they walked out of the bookstore once Maka had paid for her selections, she couldn't help but think that maybe, just possibly, meet cute wasn't quite as far-fetched as she had thought just a quarter of an hour earlier. And many, many months later, when Soul finally admitted to her just how hard he had fallen for her almost immediately, Maka found herself revising her positions on love at first sight and soul mates as well.