A/N: This is the result of a request from tumblr. The actual prompt was Pretending to be Married...and well, it kind of turned out differently. Hope you like it! Enjoy :)

Title: Partner

Summary: Vampire AU! He was no hero, he wasn't hunting them because he wanted to make the world a better place. Not necessarily. But Arachne was dangerous and he'd dispose of her once and for all. He just needed to convince a pretty blonde to assist him in this mission.

"You're asking me to help you infiltrate my own kind, so you can kill them?" Maka scoffed, the green of her eyes shimmered in the dim light of the room, leaf green turning into a toxic shade of viridian. Soul gulped as she crossed her legs, pale columns of perfection. He forced himself to look away. "Pray tell, why should I help you, Evans?"

"Because you have always been helping me," Soul said casually- at least he hoped it was casual, and crossed his arms over his chest. "How is this different from giving me all the information I need about my newest bounty?"

"I am a knowledge broker," she stated blankly, turning away from him as her fingers moved fluidly over the keys of her laptop, the screen flickering. "I need to earn my money, too, somehow. But what you're asking of me is active participation in a plan to kill someone of my own kind."

"Come on, Maka." He stepped close to her desk, placing his hand close to hers. "You hate that woman as much as I do. She's dangerous."

"I'm surprised anyone dared to place a bounty on her head to begin with."

"Hey, don't try to change the topic." Soul placed his hand firmly on her wrist, making her halt her frantic typing. "Did you forget what she did to your family. You father and mother and─"

"I know what she did!" Maka tore her hand out of his grasp, growling under her breath. "I don't need a puny human like you to tell me that!"

His eyes grew wide for a moment, but he knew she wouldn't attack him. Maka Albarn knew better than to harm her most regular customer and partner. However, Soul also knew not to push her buttons too far; as much as she tolerated him to the point they could speak of their partnership as a shaky sort of friendship, Maka was deadly, even if her pretty round face concealed that well. He had after all seen her rip a man's throat apart once without so much as a blink.

"I'm sorry," he said, sighing heavily, as he took a few steps back. She needed some space now. "But think about it, okay? We could be rid of that woman once for all and the streets would be safer for everyone."

He paused at the door, pulling the zipper of his black leather jacket up to his collarbones, and put his riding gloves on. Before he could leave her tiny inconspicuous office that belied very much the far-reaching network of informants Maka Albarn had her hand on, her soft voice drifted towards him just as he was turning the doorknob.

"Aright. Just this once. But don't come to me dressed like that." She sniffed as she pointed at his biker attire with a scowl. "Wear a suit. Leave your bike home. I'll take her of our vehicle."

The Albarn clan once used to be at the very top of the food chain in this wretched world, and they ruled the streets of this city with an iron fist, which arguably had made them safer than they were now. Even if Bloodsuckers were still roaming the streets, harassing humans, there had been an alliance that was supposed to keep such incidents at a minimum. The day the head of the Albarns, an impressive young woman going by the name of Kami (but nobody was sure if that had been indeed her name) was murdered, the shaky truce between humans and Bloodsuckers ceased.

Apparently Spirit Albarn was quite the chatterbox when properly inebriated and sexually satisfied. It had been no secret that he preferred the bed of other women to that of his own wife. Rumours said that he had been, in spite of his infidelity, devastated by his mate's death, even more so when he found out that if he had kept his mouth shut, Arachnophobia would have never had the opportunity to slay Kami.

"You may not speak until you're spoken to. And I will probably have to drink some of your blood at one point if you want to pass off as my pet," Maka explained calmly, her voice almost bored. Soul gave a noncommittal grunt as he resisted the urge to leer at her legs. He already knew the rules, but he didn't know that Maka Albarn cleaned up this nicely; not that she was unattractive to begin with, but she was especially a delight to the eyes in that sleek, form-fitting dress of hers. The slit at the side of the skirt was a nice touch, revealing a lot more leg than Soul was used to.

She looked like one of them- which she admittedly was, having been spared by Arachne in an act of pity? Indifference? Kindness? Nobody knew for sure, but Maka was the last surviving Albarn. Perhaps it was foolish of him to ask her for help, but she was the only Bloodsucker (a term he made sure to never use in front of her) he trusted. Maka would draw more attention than the pet she had chosen to bring along to this fancy gathering and Soul could corner Arachne without drawing too much attention to him to kill that woman.

He smiled to himself; if this mission proved to be successful, he could live a comfortable life with the bounty that had been placed by some anonymous source on Arachne's head. Not that Soul could blame that person. Arachne's web was probably more widespread than Maka's, and she was cruel as she was unforgiving.

"Soul? Soul, are you listening?"

He perked up, confused and startled, but then he eased back against the cool leather seat of the limousine. "Sorry, what were you saying?"

Maka's eyes narrowed. "You can't allow yourself to be this careless. Not only are you endangering your mission, but also me. Maybe it was a mistake to agree to his," she muttered, biting the pad of her thumb.

"The pay will be worth it." He grinned rakishly.

"Oh please, as if you're my only customer," she said, snorting loudly, and raised her chin, looking very much like the haughty creature she was born as.

"You're wounding me, Maka. I thought what we had was special." Soul clutched his hand in front of his heart, waggling his eyebrows, irrationally happy when her lips curved into a mild smile. It did funny things to his stomach whenever he managed to make her smile or grin.

"Tsk, no. I am available for everyone who needs information. I do not discriminate in that regard, so you're not getting any special treatment from me."

"Oh and here I thought I was taking you to a ball, pretending to be my wife, basically helping me with my job."

"First─" She help up her forefinger, her eyes full with unconcealed irritation, "─I am taking you to the ball. Second─" her middle finger followed, "─I am not pretending to be your wife, or date, or mate, but you are pretending to be my pet. The difference is important, Evans. You need to know your place or our cover will be blown as soon as we step into that building."

"I know, I know." He waved a dismissive hand as he leaned his head against cool glass of the car.

"You know nothing," she snapped and stood up, leaning forward and gripping by the lapels of his jacket. She swiftly undid the two top buttons of his blood red shirt before she sat down on her own seat again, crossing her lean arms in front of her. "A pet's neck can't be covered like that, Soul."

He blinked slowly, unconsciously touched the collar of his shirt as he tried not to blush at her smug little smile.

They had no shame. At all. Soul willed his pokerface to stay in place, even when there were Bloodsuckers all around him, almost all of them with their pets, hanging on their arms as they fed on the humans.

Maka drew all attention to herself as he had expected, and he felt perhaps a little bad for getting her into this. But he didn't know how else to get close to Arachne and around her bodyguards and overpower her on top of that. If his plan were to fail, he'd make Maka's safety his main priority; he owed her that at least.

Arachne's heels clicked loudly against the dark marble floor as she approached Maka with hasty steps, her blood red lips curved into a polite smile. "Maka, my dear!" She took Maka's hands into her gloved ones, and pressed her white cheek against Maka's, feigning enthusiasm. "It's been quite awhile. How have you been?"

Putting on her best smile, Maka easily fell into the routine of idle chitchat, doing a great job of sounding respectful. She looked almost comfortable, but her shoulders were tense, her eyes pools of green venom as she spoke to the woman who had her family killed. Maybe this was the reason, Arachne hadn't killed Maka? To be able to look down on her? To hold her alleged mercy over Maka in a cruel display of her power?

"Ah, and who might this handsome young man be?" Soul almost flinched when Arachne put her hand against his cheek. He lowered his eyes quickly, recalling Maka's instructions about how a real pet was to act. Don't look them in the eyes, don't speak until you're being directly addressed. It was humiliating, but he'd swallow his pride and gloat later when he sliced this woman's throat in half. "Your pet, I assume?"

"Yes," Maka growled, flippantly pushing Arachne's hand away. "He's mine."

Arachne's finely arched brows furrowed, violet eyes flickering with anger at Maka's insolence, but Maka stood her ground, had her fists clenched by her sides, and met the older woman's glare steadily. Soul didn't dare to look up, not wanting to draw more attention to himself than he already had now. The entire ballroom had fallen silent, nobody moved. He could feel their stares, disdainfully focused on Maka and some directed at him. An icy shudder ran down his spine as he discreetly watched the Bloodsuckers and their pets from the corners of his eyes. He needed to finish this job quickly or he'd be their next meal.

"Of course, my dear," Arachne eventually amended, patting Maka on her shoulder. "Enjoy your stay, and don't hesitate to ask if you need something."

"Thank you."

And with that the head of Arachnophobia left them and the world realigned itself as they became just two random guests in the mass of many others. But Soul could feel their lingering stares, their unnaturally bright eyes holding promises and threats he couldn't decode.

Soul groaned as Maka pushed him harshly against the wall, latching her lips onto his neck. His pulse jumped the moment her tongue darted out to taste his skin, his throat clogging up as he struggled to breathe like a normal human being.

"She's going to retire for the night soon," she whispered lowly, sharp pointy canines breaking his skin, making him gasp. Maybe they should have practiced this before. He had never been a victim of a vampire attack, didn't know what it felt like to have his life's essence sucked out of him. It didn't hurt aside from the first pinpricks of her teeth. His eyes drooped, his mind growing hazy as he gripped her hips tightly and pulled her roughly against him. Maka pulled away for the briefest of a second and placed her mouth right next to his ear, her breath making his limbs shiver. "Focus, Soul." She licked up his ear, her hand fisting in his shirt. "She's going to take the third corridor on the right. Pay attention and don't mess it up."

He shook his head, but his brain was still addled, his senses on fire, his heart going haywire at her touch. Biting back a groan, he forced himself to nod because yes, as delightful as it was to have this lovely woman pressed against him and her mouth working skillfully on his neck, he had a mission to accomplish and a bounty to secure. Ah, but this was so nice; her hips were perfectly shaped to fit into his hands, her waist tiny and elegantly curved, her voice the sweetest melody to his ears as she panted against him. He liked to think it wasn't because she was a great actress, but because she appreciated this closeness as much as he did. Her lips were back at his neck, her hands moving up and down his chest.

"Mmm, you need to follow her, but her bodyguards will be with her. You have to make sure they don't see you...or smell you." At this she pressed even closer, and his heart dropped when he realized why she was being overly touchy with him. Of course, if he smelled more like her, like a fucking Bloodsucker, he would less likely be discovered and beaten to an untimely death. "I'll help you."

Maka disentangled herself from him, her movements fluid and quick, not a pause in her step as she smiled at him from over her shoulder. He watched her retreating back dazedly, licked his lip when his eyes took in the creamy strip of her smooth thigh. Maybe when this was all done he'd ask her over to a cup of...whatever she liked to drink. But now, he had a task to finish.

Arachne studied him smugly, smirking as she casually fanned herself. Soul cried out pitifully when her pet kicked him in the stomach, knocking the breath out of his lungs.

"It takes a lot more to kill me, Boy," she said and came to a crouch in front of his prone body. She wrenched his head up by the chin, smiling coldly and just gripped him more tightly. "Others have tried it before you, people who were better than you. But you know, I do not like how you like to kill so many of my people, so I need you to be gone. Do you understand?"

Something had gone horribly wrong. He had stealthily stepped into the corridor Maka had told him to, but they had been waiting for him, not letting him any chance to explain himself. Oh God, where was Maka?! If they had him like this, she had to be in trouble, too. Maybe she had managed to make a quick escape. Or...maybe they had made sure to kill her on the spot. He should have never left her alone. He should have never persuaded her to smuggle him in.

"Where...where is Maka?" he asked, voice strained. Every movement, however slight, hurt. They hadn't wasted any time to display their superior strength, had punched and kicked him, nearly beating him to death before Arachne stopped them.

She looked almost rueful, as if she was genuinely pitying him. "Giriko, take him down. And make sure to chain him up. I don't want to risk him escaping."

Soul inhaled wheezily and almost fell down when she let go of him. His vision blurred, black dots appearing in front him, but before Arachne could leave he gripped the trail of her skirt.

"Where is Maka!" he bit out, sounding stronger than he felt. A searing pain shot up his arms as his fingers clenched in the black fabric.

Instead of Arachne gracing him an answer, Giriko crushed his hand underneath his dirty boot, cackling. "You still don't get it?" he laughed, kicking Soul again. "Why do you think we were already on you? Your precious Maka tipped us off."

"No."

No, no, no. He refused to believe that, refused to accept the possibility that Maka had betrayed him.

"She would never," he mumbled weakly.

"Our Maka is a true information broker through and through. She doesn't discriminate as long as the money is right," Arachne said.

They had certainly broken some of his bones. He didn't know if his nose was broken, but he was sure that his face had to be littered with some colourful bruises. It hurt to breathe. Maybe he had a few broken ribs as well. His stomach turned when he moved too much, his head spinned whenever he tried to find a comfortable position.

Soul nearly burst out laughing. Finding a comfortable position in this godforsaken ancient dungeon? He was getting delirious. Maybe this was just some shit concocted by his insane brain? A nightmare or something. A hallucination? Anything, but the pain in his body was all too real, but it paled in comparison to the chilling wave of despair that threatened to swallow him whole when he thought of her.

The betrayal hurt more than anything. He had trusted her. Hadn't Wes taught him as early as in his first lesson that trusting a Bloodsucker was always lethal? But he had buried Wes a long time ago, and it wasn't like Soul had anyone left to trust. He thought Maka was different, had believed this since their very first encounter, when she had given a homeless a generous amount of money without an ulterior motive like many others of her kind had whenever they performed an act of kindness. Soul had been intrigued by her in that very moment and he hadn't cared as much about the information he had wanted from her.

Soft, light steps - too light to belong to Giriko - resounded throughout the dungeons; Soul didn't need to guess for long when a pair of familiar legs appeared behind the iron bars. His heart dropped down to his stomach, and he couldn't even muster up an insult or a curse.

"I had to do it, Soul."

He let out a bark of laughter, but it sounded more like he was wheezing like an old man dying of lung cancer. "Oh, really now?" His throat was parched; when was the last time he had been given water? Why hadn't they just killed him already? Did they want to laugh at him, too? See this confrontation unfold to their amusement?

"Yes, really," Maka said, kneeling down as she took the pathetic sight of him in. The great Soul Eater reduced to shivering, bloodied mess.

"I didn't know that….you loved money this much."

"It wasn't about the money. I...I...was tired of being a reject. Neither accepted by vampires, nor by humans." She carefully ran her hand through his hair, but he flinched away with a snarl.

"They killed your family and you want to be accepted by them?! That's rich. I always thought you to be better than the usual lot, but you're just a fucking...Bloodsucker like them."

Her sharp intake of breath was loud and he almost felt bad, but his broken bones and impending death made sure that he didn't give into the feeling.

"Why are you even here, Maka?" he asked tiredly. "So you can feel better about betraying me? Do you feel guilty? Well, you damn well should."

"You've been using me all the time, too, so don't pretend that we have been friends. I owe you nothing!"Soul didn't think he was able to fall further than rock bottom, but here she was twisting a dagger into his heart with her words and soft voice.

"And I am not trying to get back into Arachne's good graces," she spat disdainfully, her eyes narrowing. "I will kill that bitch," her voice dropped down to a faint whisper, and he had to strain his ears to understand her. "But first, she needs to trust me, Soul. Like you trusted me. I wish you were strong enough, I really do, but you are just human. You never stood a chance against her in the first place."

"So you're using me to get your revenge," he stated dully, his body sagging as his strength left him.

"I...I'm sorry." Maka reached out again, her arm sliding in between the bars, to brush blood-soaked bangs out of his eyes. He was too fatigued to fight her, too tired to continue talking. She brushed the back of her hand against his cheek, her fingers trembling. "Arachne placed that bounty onto her head herself. She needed to get your attention, she needed you to attend the ball. I agreed to help her, and I'd be pardoned. My identity as an Albarn would never be held against me again. Do you understand, Soul? I'll kill her when I can, I won't rush into the situation like you did and when I am strong enough, I will kill her." Her hand was so warm and he unconsciously leaned in to her touch. "Your death will not be in vain."

His blood ran cold, his jaw so tense it hurt. He thought he was in a way important to her, he thought she cherished him as a friend at least, but now she admitted to him that he had always been a means to an end. Nothing more, but an expendable life for her own goals. Wes had been right. His brother had always been right, that's why he had always been the better child.

"Soul? Soul, say something, please?" Her pained voice made him growl, made him want to tear his chains apart and wind them around her pretty little neck and strangle her. How dare she be in pain when he was about to be executed soon? How dare this little bitch pity him when she was the very reason he was in this mess?

"I'll say...something alright. I will get out of here, and then I will kill you. I will kill you all." It was a weak threat, but he would fight until the last drop of blood left his body, until he wasn't able to stand anymore, until he had his hands around her neck and watched the life drain out of her pretty green eyes.