tw: character death, descriptions of murder
Soul had been staring at his phone screen for the last fifteen minutes, spilling over the line Kilik had sent in a continuous tumble of panic.
[Stay inside. Maka's walking tonight.]
His eyes finally peeled away from the screen to the window, the sun barely holding on and leaving everything outside blanketed in a rosy hue. His strength drained with the ebbing light as his feet felt cemented in stone at the side of the bed. Even though every last wave threatened to take him, Soul managed to raise his voice to call, "Reggie?"
It was as if his nephew had been pinned with an ear to his door because as soon as the shout left him, little footsteps were scrambling behind his door. Within a breath, Soul's bed bounced with the weight of the boy as he scrambled across its surface. "What is it?"
"C'mere." Soul scooped him off the bed, cradling him in his arms as he often did when Reggie was little.
Reggie just barely allowed it, his eyebrows furrowing. "I'm not a baby."
Soul snorted weakly. "Sure ain't. Almost six. Jus' two months now."
The little boy cuddled into him, cheek pressed against Soul's t-shirt as Reggie's fingers reached up to play at the collar. "Do you think Granmama will have a party?"
"Always does," Soul murmured softly as he dipped his head to plant a quick kiss on Reggie's forehead. "But how 'bout we have our own lil' party? I think we can talk Nana Rung into hostin'- your papa'll come and obviously the twins, maybe you can talk Mr. Star into showin' up…"
Reggie's lips pursed together before he whispered, "I want Maka to be there."
Soul nodded. "She can be. You ask 'er- I'm sure she'll say yes." He tried to even out his voice as it threatened to crack with a clearing of his throat. At the same time, he was upending Reggie, sitting his nephew up in his lap. "Alright, Reggie, I owe you an explanation."
"What's that mean?" Reggie blinked at him as he settled on Soul's knee.
"I did get angry at Maka." Soul let out another lengthy breath as he ran a hand through his hair. "'cept I did what we're not supposed to do: let gettin' mad get in the way'a lovin' someone. Remember when we talked 'bout that? Gettin' mad and gettin' scared and lettin' it hurt someone else?"
Reggie nodded thoughtfully.
"So I hafta apologize to Maka, but you know how that goes. It's up to the other person to accept it or not, but Maka's not gonna do what I did. Her bein' angry at me doesn't mean she's angry at you, and she ain't gonna take it out on you. No matter what, you and Maka're the same as always, alright?" He moved his hand from his hair to Reggie's, clearing back the mess from Reggie's forehead.
"Alright," Reggie answered with a tentative smile.
"Don't sound like you believe me," Soul pressed.
"You don't lie." Reggie shook his head firmly before looking back at him inquisitively. "But I want Maka to be your friend too."
"Can't make 'er," Soul murmured. "It's jus' a wait-and-see type'a thing, Reggie."
"I don't like wait-and-see."
Soul chuckled. "I know you don't." He pulled the boy to his chest, cradling him through a few deep breaths until he started to squirm. "Alright, alright, I'll stop the mushy stuff." He chided himself as he released his nephew, trying to plant him on the floor but finding the tiny hands clasping tightly into his shirt. "What is it?"
"Why did you get angry with Maka?" There was a slight sheen to his eyes, leaving Soul dumbfounded for a moment.
The truth. Give 'im the truth. "Maka was talkin' 'bout your mama. Not in a mean way, but askin' 'bout 'er and… Reggie, I always get scared and sad when I think 'bout your mama." He expected his chest to constrict, for the words to strangle him, but as simple understanding dawned on Reggie's face, Soul was able to take a deeper breath.
"But when she talks about you it's always nice." Reggie's words came as an admonishment, his little brow furrowing.
"I said Maka wasn't bein' mean…"
"No, when Mama talks about you, it's always nice," his nephew quickly corrected.
Soul was lucky for Reggie's grip because if he wasn't clinging he would have been dropped to the floor as Soul's muscles withered uselessly. "You mean when you hear 'er when Maka's talkin'?" The desperate whisper warbled from his throat.
Reggie nodded vigorously. "She always starts with 'I love you, I love Papa, I love Soul. We're your family.' Do you think she means Maka too?"
The question had nowhere to latch in Soul's mind. You would still say you love me? Is it jus' to protect your boy's heart or…?
"Uncle?" Reggie shook him from his thoughts. "Mama loves us, so she must love Maka, right?"
"I-" Even just the vowel raked up his throat, bringing tears to his eyes. "I think your mama would if she knew 'er."
Reggie was searching the lines of Soul's face, gripping as much as his young mind could to the moment.
He wants to see his mama. He wants to know 'bout 'er 'cause we- I'm jus' as much to blame for sweepin' 'er under the rug. "Reggie," his voice fluctuated with the burn of tears. "Can I show you somethin'?"
"Show me what?" Reggie answered eagerly.
"Here…" Soul lifted him and effortlessly placed him on the bed next to him. As soon as he was free, Soul slid off the edge, bending to get under the bed and to snag the box he'd hidden. It was one of the few places in this house covered in dust, obscured and tucked away between his nightstand and the headboard. He pulled it out and began clearing away the wisps of forgottenness from its cardboard cover. "After your mama died, I put all this away, but I think you're old enough that I can show you."
"What is it?" Reggie was quick to hover over the box as Soul placed it on the bedspread and flicked the top open.
"All our memories," Soul croaked in reply. A few tears were already dribbling down his cheeks and he used the back of his hand to smear them away. "Pictures, mostly, but…" His thoughts trembled off as his eyes fell to the stack inside the box. Viv was smiling up at him, a broad-brimmed sun hat on her head while the waves crashed behind her.
"That's Mama!" Reggie cried joyously as he reached towards the picture. His hand stopped suddenly, eyes coming to his uncle. "Can I?"
Soul's hand trembled as he grabbed the small fingers, stilling them momentarily. "Reggie, let's make a deal."
"OK," Reggie agreed eagerly.
"I know what you asked Maka for…" His heart clacked against his ribs, making the words crumble on his tongue momentarily.
"I'm sorry," Reggie immediately jumped into the silence as he clutched at Soul. "I'm-"
"No, it ain't somethin' to be sorry for." With the last bit of strength Soul could muster, he pulled Reggie from his spot on the bed, bringing him back into his lap. He kept Reggie facing the box, moving to place the little hands on the open ledge. "I want you to know your mama." Soul pressed one hand into Reggie's hair as he tried to smooth away his nephew's hurt along with his own. "But I wanna try this way first. We look at this box together, whenever you want, and you can ask me 'bout anythin'. I'll tell you what I can."
Reggie's voice was quiet as his finger traced the edge of the box. "You promise?"
"Cross my heart," Soul answered with a quaking laugh. "Like this one…" He reached in, picking the first picture off of the top. "That was the first time she took me seashellin' with 'er. I always thought 'cause she brought back so many that she jus' grabbed whatever she saw, but she took so much time- pickin' through the sand for jus' the right ones."
"She liked special things," Reggie murmured as he gently ran his finger along her glossy cheek.
Soul hummed out his agreement before whispering, "That's why she loved you so much."
Maka stood at the lake's shore, the shell pressing a pattern in her palm as her fingers tightened around it.
Blake wandered next to her, kicking at weeds as he eyed the determination on her face. "You think this is gonna work?"
She risked a glance at the house in the distance. "Kilik said Soul didn't want to see, and I assume if I walked like normal, that's where I'd go." Maka heaved a sigh as she started to pull back her hair, twirling the strands into a bun. "But this is where she pulled me the first time. I think if I'm at least at the center of it, I can see- just like at the church. You said I didn't move that night but I saw everything. Hopefully… Viv will be strong enough to show me everything from here."
He nodded along with her explanation while continuing to meander along the shore. His eyes sat on the ripples for a moment before snapping back to her. "I ain't doin' mouth-to-mouth, so the minute you hit that water…"
Maka nodded.
"Alright." Blake reached out, slapping a hand to the back of her neck. "I got you."
"I know you do." Maka offered him a glimpse of a bright smile. "Just- no matter what, make sure I don't go to Soul." I don't want to hurt him- to push him. No matter how much I think I'm right it's not what he wants, and I have to respect that. The bitter flavor of swallowing her pride made her grin disappear.
"Let's get started," Blake prompted as he released her. He took a step back, settling away from the shore as if she needed the room.
Maka shut her eyes, pulling in a slow, determined breath. What did I say the last time? I don't know you, but I wonder what you were like. I know you loved Reggie. I know you loved Soul. So show me what happened to you. Her fingers relaxed, giving room to toy with the whirls of the shell. Slowly following the pattern built the static in her head.
Her eyelids hid the flutter of birds from her view, but the cacophony of songs started to reverberate down to her bones. The cry hit its peak, a blare that knocked the breath from her lungs in time for her vision to black even with eyes now wide. The sound suddenly sucked away, leaving the soft hum of static as ribbons of moonlight started to paint shadows over the world around her. As more illumination hit darkened crevices, it brought back the memory of carrying Reggie, bringing him to bed as unknown fingers hit a familiar doorknob.
A hand with fingernails delicately painted in periwinkle pressed through the door, unveiling a room that Maka had walked into before. Instead of the child's bed, there was a crib and instead of the gentle glow of the night, there was blood saturating the sheets. "No, no, no," hauntingly weak whispers started as Viv rushed forward. Those hands trembled as they clutched into the blankets, sticky and reeking of the metallic iron of blood.
You did this, a terrifying hissing whisper came from behind her.
Viv stayed silent and stiff, hands squeezing desperately into the lacy bedding.
Your son, your delicate baby… his blood is all over your hands.
"No," warbled weakly, saturated with tears that were now streaming down a face Maka couldn't see.
You did this.
She turned, dragging the stained sheets with her as she clutched them to her breast. The search for that hissing voice revealed the cold, reptilian face wavering in the darkness. The body was swallowed by the shadow of the hallway but the mask, a glimmering, inky green-scaled monstrosity stared with yellow, jeweled eyes.
What could you ever do to make up for destroying that little light?
Viv gulped air uselessly, the sobs stealing most of her voice. "Please, I don't remember…"
What a monster. Killing your son and not remembering. Maka's heart strangled at the playful tone there, the hint of teasing coming from between those fake fangs.
"Please," she begged again, shaking the blanket uselessly in hands clasped in desperate prayer.
The mask slipped back into the darkness, propelling Viv forward after it into the night. The hallway walls slithered, covered in black scales and writhing bodies. Viv moved through the winding coils in jerky stumbles, an awkward chase after the peeking glimpses of iridescent snakeskin in the dim glow of the moon. She clutched the banister as she stuttered down the stairs, watching a flowing bit of fabric against the marble at the bottom. The door opened to give a slight view of a body to join the mask, showing the curve of a feminine form.
Don't, Viv, please, Maka found herself uselessly pleading. That snake is fooling you, but how? How are you so easily believing this? And where is Reggie? Because I know he's alive!
"Please!" Viv called as soon as she broke through the door. When the figure didn't answer, she pressed forward on wobbly knees. The dew struck at her bare feet, sending a tremble of a chill from her toes to her spine. "Where's my baby? What did I do to Reggie?"
Nothing, Maka brayed internally. You love him! How can this thing make you think that?
"Reggie," Viv howled mournfully. "Reggie!" In stumbling steps, she clattered after the snake to arrive at the line of trees next to the lake. The frigid water lapped weakly against the shore.
What kind of mother could you ever hope to be now?
"Reggie," she moaned back.
Look at those sheets- look at what you did.
"Why?" Viv shook the fabric weakly in her fingers. "Why would I…?"
You wouldn't! Maka wanted to reach for her, shake her, but there was nothing but weakness in her muscles, that sapped molasses feeling overtaking her.
Suddenly, the horrible hiss was right next to Viv's ear, hitting at her core with an icy snap. Atone for your sin. A life for a life.
A mewling whimper fluttered from Viv's lips.
You stole Reggie from them; you deserve only death.
Viv's knees crumbled underneath her, her nightgown billowing and soaking into the water. "Please, where's my baby? Where's Reggie?" The red started to drain from the fabric, oozing in ribbons against the surface of the water. "This can't be- this can't be right. I need Wes- I need Soul- they'll-"
A taloned grip made its way to Viv's neck, forcing her face into the billowing fabric on the surface of the water. It sucked into her mouth as she tried to pull in air, instead uselessly gulping only wintry liquid.
Exhaustion was tearing away at each one of Soul's steps but he couldn't stop the motion. His eyes still prickled with the dryness from shedding tears and his breath still carried the shuddering quality of woe. Regardless, he moved forward, feet shuffling out into the darkness towards the light of Maka's kitchen. A figure was at the doorway, wavering there as he approached. Soul held his breath as the door opened, slowing his steps enough to give the person time to open the door.
"Huh." Blake smirked, crossing his arms over a laugh rattling in his chest. "I'm sorta surprised."
"'Bout what?" Soul raised his eyebrows, for a moment actually keen for the answer.
Blake shook his head while lamely wiggling his shoulders. "Dunno exactly how to put it, but I guess I thought you'd chicken out for a hell of a lot longer."
Soul let out an annoyed huff, "Thanks."
"All jokin' aside…" His face fell flat, eyes hardening at Soul. "She's not doin' so hot."
Soul risked the steps to bring him to the door, pausing only as Blake put a hand to his shoulder. "Don't worry; you're not gonna hafta feed me to the gators."
Blake snorted a weak laugh before he released his pausing hold. "Stay with her for a bit, OK?"
"Got it." Soul nodded as he turned the knob and slid into the kitchen.
Maka was staring at him, green eyes wide and bewildered while tears gripped her lower lashes. "Hi…" The sound barely made it out of her throat before another wave of water wet her cheeks.
Soul offered no greeting other than to move to her side, his hands coming steadily to her arms to pull her out of her seat. While she froze, he found his pliability as he eased her into his arms. Besides the little bundle that had once been Reggie, cradling wasn't exactly his forte, but Soul tried to translate all the comfort he could into the way he engulfed her. "I'm sorry," he murmured as he tried to transfer the message into his fingers as they stroked down her back.
All of her shook with a desperate sob, caught by his shirt as she pressed her face there.
"I've always been good at pushin' people away. Better to be alone than to know what it feels like to lose. I got more than enough practice before you came along, 'specially with Viv." Soul refused to let it choke him and he was rewarded by her hands weaving into the fabric at the hem of his t-shirt. "So that stubborn thought you had, that I'm good, that I don't hurt people, well, you gotta give that up, Maka." Relief crawled up his skin, warming him just as much as the breath on his chest. Even with all the comfort of her touch, the old festering wound resisted, the words still scratching up from his throat rather than drifting free. "I… the last thing I ever said to Viv was that I hated 'er."
She only trembled quietly through another sob.
"I wanted to hurt 'er." He paused again, trying to give his heart time to settle after tearing that way. "And it… you could bring 'er back, Maka, and she could tell me that nothin' I did made a difference, but that doesn't change the fact that I did it. And what's worse is I did it again- to you- 'cause I wanted you to think I'm as much a monster as I feel I am, which means I haven't really learned a damn thing. But… I talked with Wes."
"You two talked about her?" Maka voice quivered with sorrowful hopefulness and that daggered into his heart, making a glum smile steal across his face.
"Yeah, overdue, I know." His hand ran along her spine again as he pulled in a few breaths before continuing, "You pushin' me, expectin' me to jus' take forgiveness ain't gonna work. I'm gonna ask you tonight to let it go; make me a promise that even though you're stubborn, there's at least one thing you can let go of."
She nodded into his chest.
"It jus' happens to be one'a those things that I can only do for myself. Again, I don't need Viv for forgiveness, I kinda figure that I jus'- well, all I need is you for that." He let his lips fall to the crown of her head, letting his whisper fall there. "The help I was offerin', the everyday between the two of us was makin' me get closer to that. And I'm hurt," he murmured. "I wanna be mad at you and myself for a good long time, but I also wanna go back to jus' how we were, where we were. I want you to keep trustin' me and I'll trust you and we'll see where that goes. Hopefully whatever I'm lookin' for, whatever does fix this hate I got for myself will be somewhere along that path."
She tipped her chin just enough so the words weren't trapped against the cloth. "I want you to be happy."
His laugh was gentle even if it did grate against her slightly as it rumbled between them. "Don't you know that song? You can't always get what you want." It was a playful croon, nothing close to Mick Jagger but hazily satisfying in its own way. "Maybe that'll be the eventuality though. Wait'n see."
She pulled in a shaky breath. Please.
"Whatever you saw…" His fingers paused, tensing into her back. "It's alright. Whatever happened to Viv happened. When you're ready, I'll listen."
Lingering in his touch had overwhelmed her, but Maka forced herself back, her hands coming to his chest to create distance between them. She looked up at him, green eyes glossy. "I feel like no matter what I say, I'm going to hurt you."
He nodded shortly, a sad smile stretching his lips. "Sure. Suppose no matter what it's gonna sting, but… promise me one thing, alright?"
"What's that?" Her fingers wrinkled the fabric over his heart in anticipation.
"Jus' lemme stay like this while you do it." Soul pulled her back in, trapping her against his chest as he rested his cheek on her head. "Consider it a lil' bit'a selfishness. I know you need the comfort but… I do too."
"This is alright?" Her whisper trembled against his chest.
"It's what I want." Those words felt alien on his tongue, but utterly freeing to let out into the world.
Her fingers flexed, her heart fluttering just as much of her breath. Maka had to close her eyes, trying to press away the flood that threatened to tumultuously crash one wave after the other. "Viv…" Now it was her turn to let the name strangle her, all of the love and the fear that came with those memories swirling in her chest. "She loved you. She loved Wes. She loved Reggie." Each sentence came as a desperate cry, rattling against his chest. "And all that was stolen from her."
There were no more tears to cry, but Soul felt the ache of them. "Stolen means… she didn't…?"
"No," Maka groaned out mournfully. "It was a woman- a woman in a snake mask. Taunting her and then-" The memory shook her down to the core, but his hands caught her and steadied her against him. "She was about to go to Wes- go to you, but then she was trapped!"
A snake. An adder waitin' to bite. "I wish I coulda-"
"No!" Maka was suddenly alive again, no longer trembling in tears but ripping away from Soul to shake him with her fists on his chest. "It wasn't you, Soul! It wasn't your fault!"
A lopsided smile hit his mouth, bitterness pulling it one way while hope brought it the other. "You already forgot, huh? Forgiveness ain't that easy, Maka, but it helps to know."
"You're impossible," she muttered as her eyes narrowed at him.
"Pot callin' the kettle black." His smile shrunk and fizzled even with the humor. "But you saw all that, had to watch as Viv…?"
Maka forced her lip firm before nodding.
Soul let out a withering sigh as one of his hands came to her face. "Stupid to ask if you're alright, so I guess I'll ask: what can I do?"
Don't let me go. The plea echoed through the entirety of her but left her only with the strength to let her mouth gape in a shaky breath.
Suddenly his eyes were off of her, snapping towards the entryway from the hallway. "Man must have radar."
"What?" Maka murmured mystified.
"Your papa's home." He slipped his arms away, letting them fall uselessly to his side as he turned to lean back against the wall. "Car pulled up."
Before Maka could answer she heard the footsteps and the squeal of the front door. "You heard him?"
"Tol' you, good ears." Soul shrugged off the comment as his eyes lingered in the doorway. "Want me to go?"
"Stay for now," she murmured with a huffing exasperation. "Hi, Papa." There was a pause in the footsteps but then a hurried return, the redhead peeking into the kitchen.
"I'm glad you're up." Spirit's soft eyes turned to stone as they hit Soul. "It's a little late for visitors."
"Tol' you: friendly neighborhood." Soul snickered as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Jus' invitin' Maka to the next potluck." Maka's elbow jutted back, striking him in the stomach but finding it did little to stop the scathing humor in him. "Since she's in need of a lil' family."
"As if yours is a shining example," Spirit spat back with the same sass.
"Is there a reason you're home?" Maka snipped in between their voices.
"Sorta thought this was my house too," he muttered under his breath, tossing it more towards the hallway as he ran his fingers through his hair. "But like I said, I'm glad you're up because I think we need to talk. Alone." Spirit punctuated that with a step forward, coming completely out of the shadows of the hallway into the glow of the kitchen.
"Guess that's my cue." Soul cleared his throat as he pushed off the wall, leaning so his lips settled close to her ear. "Call me later." His fingers touched softly to her elbow, gliding gently over her skin. "G'night."
Before Maka could pull in a breath to replace the one he'd stolen, Soul was at the door, opening it in a flash and disappearing into the night. She watched his exit silently, her heart thundering in the place of her voice.
His footsteps echoed the beats, crossing the kitchen to her. "What was he doing here?" Spirit waved a useless hand in front of her gaze, snapping her to attention.
"Being a good friend," Maka replied as flatly as she could manage. "It's been a rough week." I almost ruined things, but he let it go. He held on to me- for both of our comforts.
"Do you-" He reached for her, hands still hesitating in the space between them.
"No." Maka let the word separate them as well as a step. "What did you need to talk to me about?"
Spirit abandoned the hope for connection as he sat with a sigh at the table. "Have you been seeing Stein?"
"Well, at least once a day…" Maka tossed flippantly. "Sometimes waving across the lawn, or almost always on the two days a week I take care of his daughter. Or maybe when he just comes to check in on me after work to make sure that I-"
"Maka, that's not what I'm asking," Spirit interjected as calmly as his jagged nerves would allow. Medusa's whispers were running through his head, nipping at his patience. "I ran into Dr. Delacroix today-" he cut off as he watched his daughter's hackles raise and her lips stretch into a grimace. "We're old friends, Maka."
The tightness left her smile, mellowing with melancholy. "What a guilty conscience you have…" Maka attempted to rub the tension out of her face with her fingers, realizing how much they ached from being captured in tight fists as soon as Spirit entered. "I don't care if- who you're friends with."
That brought an entirely unsettling silence, only broken by a desperate sigh from Spirit. "Please, Maka, I'm worried about you."
Maka let loose a bitter laugh as her hands collapsed from her face. "Worried about what? How I'm doing at school? Still all A's, Papa. How I'm spending my time? When I'm not babysitting Shelley, I'm with one of the Steins or-"
"The Evans boys," Spirit finished tersely. "And it's not just the kid anymore, is it? Even after I told you about him being married-"
Her laugh was a spit of venom as her hands clutched tightly at her sides. "Do you see the irony in you bringing that up? Not to mention there's a huge difference between being married, being engaged, and being what Soul is- a man threatened by his family to marry or else he loses what he actually cares about, his nephew." Maka didn't hesitate to continue to rattle away in her rage, even as Spirit's eyes opened helplessly wide and his eyebrows unfurled upwards. "And that has nothing to do with me. I am his friend and that's what he was here tonight being, a friend."
You don't see the way he looks at you, do you? Spirit let all of the shock drift out on a low sigh. Is it that you refuse to see it or you're scared to? "Honestly, what I'm talking about isn't even about him anyway. Medusa mentioned you still haven't come to see her- your medicine should have run out and you might be sleepwalking again."
"I'm fine." Each syllable was a hard strike.
Spirit shriveled with a sigh, his elbow hitting the table hard as his forehead hit his palm. "Maka, maybe you didn't know-"
"I know." Her words were a dagger to sever any voice he had left. "If you're trying to remind me about Mom's timeline, I'm well aware of every little detail of her medical charts. I know that you're about to say 'She wasn't much older than you when it started' and I suppose my only reply is: I'm not pregnant. Because it was my fault, right?" Maka cleaved that part of her heart, leaving it dissected on the table.
Spirit turned his head to her with the same horror in his eyes as if he'd seen the tissue ripped from her chest.
"Or that's the convenient thing the doctors say," Maka tried to hide her bitterness behind the words but each fricative rattled with it. "So I know. I don't need Dr. Delacroix to tell me, and Stein's been very open about his opinion on the matter. You can go ahead and take a guess about which one of those two I trust."
Spirit dropped his eyes to study the grain of the wood table, a sigh trembling from his lips. "Just tell me you're going to Stein. That he's at least prescribing your something- watching your symptoms."
"I'm fine." There was no fluctuation, no fear sitting behind those words. Instead, she could feel the ghost of Soul's arms around her, Kilik's jovial laugh, Blake's hand in hers, the Thompson sisters' smiles, and finally the soft call of the birds. "I'm not Mama."
Soul waited without an ounce of patience, the phone bouncing in his hand as his knee shuddered underneath it. I'm desperate, ain't I? Watchin' the phone since I… I've never felt so hurt but so whole all at once. I never thought I'd be able to hear 'bout Viv and not break apart, but bein' with 'er- bein' in 'er arms made it alright. That's… I know that's where I wanna be. He huffed out a shaky breath, letting his head fall into his hand. Alright, get it together, Soul Evans. She calls and you try not to sound like some love drunk fool.
The buzz of the phone practically urged him to toss it, the vibration entirely unexpected in his expectation. He could only force his thumb to hover for one more beat before he accepted the call and placed the phone against his ear. "Hey."
"Hi." There was still a hint of hesitation, a moment of trembling silence between the two of them. "I forgot to say- well, I'm sorry, too, Soul."
"S'alright," he murmured. "Not sure it's somethin' you should be sorry for. I know you meant well…"
"But meaning well doesn't excuse hurting you," she drove back with authority, bursting any will for him to argue. He gave her the stage and his silence. "And I know I have to try harder, to let you move forward the way you want to."
He laughed weakly, letting his hand drift up into his hair and pull the mess away from his face. "Feel like there's a 'but' in there somewhere."
Maka huffed, "But I just want to make sure- you said 'back to where we were.'"
"Yeah…" His hand slid down to clasp to the back of his neck, rubbing absently.
"And you made me that deal before, that you were opening up," Maka pressed.
"True." He punctuated that with a swallow as he tried to kill the arid dryness choking his throat.
"So I want to make sure you're going to keep-" She faltered since the words that wanted to spill from her mouth were nothing more than "keep staying with me" but the selfishness of it muted her.
Soul bit into his bottom lip as his mind filled in her silence with a million terrifying options. Finally, he managed to whisper, "How 'bout you treat it like the touchin'? You've never tol' me I had to hold your hand or anythin' else, you've always asked. Do the same with this." The laugh that followed tasted slightly rueful, but there was no sourness to it. "Not sure I've really ever been able to deny you what you want anyhow. Maybe I'm a bit of a sucker," he muttered off but a grin pulled at the corner of his mouth.
"So if I say I'm sorry, you'll forgive me?" The fragility of her voice frightened Maka almost as much as the answer.
His breath in reply fluttered like the breeze before he shrugged. "Guess if you lemme say it back, then sure."
"You don't-"
"Screamin' at you," he interrupted with a sharp sigh before he continued, "and I wasn't too gentle on your wrists, either. Wasn't tryin' to bruise you- hope I didn't- but…"
"I'm fine," Maka murmured.
"Pushin' you away wasn't fine, though." There was that urge again, the pull in his chest that told him holding her would make this easier, relief just within his grasp if he took it. "So I'm sorry, you're sorry, and we jus' go back to…" To me wantin' to kiss you. Me thinkin' maybe… maybe I can be worth it if I can jus' hold off hurtin' you like that again. Move forward, stop hatin' myself long enough to be good to you.
"To being Maka and Soul."
The absence of the other names struck a strange euphoria in him that melted off into a wash of shame at the pride of it. I don't think it's jus' us yet. I don't think I deserve that yet. I think there's somethin'... plenty'a somethin's I gotta do. He still let that echo in his mind, a dangerous lingering want following each iteration. "Maka, I… tell me you're alright. I meant it when I said I'd do what you need. I'll…" Sound like a lovesick fool, but I'll give you anythin' you ask for.
"I'm alright for tonight." Her gentle laughter on the other end made each word ring true. "If you were worried about Papa, don't be. I think Dr. Delacroix was trying to get in his ear, but… he can't throw his weight around like he used to. I'm not a little girl."
The name chased away any last bit of elation that was left. "I don't think it's good that she's lookin' 'round for you- tryin' to get to you. Whether your papa pulls the strings with you or not."
"Probably not," Maka sighed. "So I'm going to have to lay low for a little while."
"No walkin' then."
"Actually…" The octave of her voice shuttered high, leaving Soul ready for trouble. "I need to take care of Seren and Rhys. Seren has this bad habit of stealing me whenever she feels like it and if Dr. Delacroix gets wind of it- or Papa for that matter- I might not be able to convince anyone I'm not crazy."
"Stealin' you?" Now there was no calm to be had, Soul anxiously getting to his feet. "What's that mean?"
"Like Chi, just… I don't happen to have a say in it. Blake found me walking, found Seren using my body to look for Rhys."
The easy lilt of her voice hit him like a fork scraping a plate. "Maka, that's- she can't do that."
"Well, as per Blake: she 'is a bitch.' So I don't think she's going to listen to suggestions other than us getting her to Rhys. So I have to ask for your help again." Maka let a deflated breath leak over the line. "I swear I wasn't going to ask you right away, but since Papa had to go and be a pain in the ass-"
"Don't worry 'bout it," he cut in with a nervous huff. "We gotta get 'er to stop. I got somethin' in mind for Rhys. I hope you have a plan 'bout gettin' 'em together though. You can't be two people at once."
"I never thought I'd say this, but… we're going to try Blake's plan."