Note: I don't own Soul Eater or any of it's characters, I think this has been established well enough but I guess I have to keep reestablishing it because rules and stuff. ANYWHO, rated T for some angst, nothing serious. Just a little drabble. Enjoy.
They were fifteen the first time she ever saw him break down due to anything other than her or the stress of school. It was such a strange thing to see. Soul, without pretenses.
His door had been slightly ajar, beautiful, calm music leaking out. The violins were enchanting.
Then she heard muttered curses and what sounded like papers scattering. She was worried. She didn't know what had happened, so she slipped into his room to find him sitting on the floor at the foot of his bed, a letter with his name on it, crumpled and shaking in his hands. The violins sung softly in the background of his inner chaos.
She saw him trembling. Just as she was about to reach out to him, he crumpled the letter and threw it at his Ipod doc so hard the music stopped. He breathed a sigh of relief that seemed to feel heavier than lead in his lungs, shoved his face into his hands, his head shaking from side to side as if to say, no, no, no, this is not my reality, I belong somewhere else.
She pulled his fingers away from his face, smoothed out the little crescent shaped indentations from his blunt nails with her fingertips.
He slowed his breathing enough for it to stop stuttering, and took one of her hands in his.
"What happened?" she asked him, prepared to help in any and all ways she could.
"I….I'm an uncle. I've been for two years now I just… I w-was so scared to open the l-letters.."
He had begun to shake again. In that moment she knew, knew there was nothing she could do to take back what had already been done, replace time lost.
So she held him until he fell asleep in her arms, his eyes puffy, but breaths calm.
His niece's name is Alexis, they found out a week later, when they made the trip she booked. Soul adores the little girl, Maka could see and feel the guilt within him for not knowing this wonderful little being earlier.
At night, he shook once more, the guilt and grief tearing at him. So she held him to her tightly.
"No more running. You're here now. That's what matters."