Freefall
by. Poisoned Scarlet
3a
"Aw, shit, don't do this to me..." Soul groaned under his breath, staring moodily at the vending machine. He pressed the button again, scowling when nothing came out. "Damn it, c'mon." He pressed it a few more times before giving up and aiming a hard kick to the side. Something bumped inside, clamoring down the chute, and he gave it another hard kick. "Ha, success!" He reached down to take out his soda when he heard footsteps approach him.
The footsteps were speedy, rigid.
Soul knew that type of sound anywhere: he'd been around it more times than naught, when he and Black Star were juvenile and immature and they'd joined that waste-of-time motorcyclist gang because they perceived it as 'cool'.
Being in a gang came with a few benefits, though: it sharpened one instincts, and taught you the ropes of the underworld, things that had saved his life more than once.
"Got a problem?" Soul asked, coolly, when Hiro strode up to him. He opened his can of soda while Hiro spoke:
"Yeah, I do, actually. I want to know what's going on between you and Maka." Hiro demanded. "I want the truth."
"What's it to you?" Soul deflected, taking a long drink. "It's none of your business anymore."
Hiro pinked but narrowed his eyes, growling: "I'm concerned about her, that's why! I went out with her for a long time, so I care about her! And I don't want her dating some – freak like you! You'll ruin her!"
"Ruin her?" Soul snarled, his eyes darkening. "Like you should be fucking talking – I wasn't the one who cheated on her after knowing what she went through!"
Hiro furrowed his brows. "What she went through?" Then he pressed his lips together, adding roughly: "And those times – we were on a break! It didn't count as cheating – I've never cheated on Maka!"
"You're so full of shit." Soul sneered. He crushed the can in his hand, tossing it into a nearby trash-bin. "And if you don't know what I'm talking about, then it's probably for the best. You'd feel like a real shithead if you did." A twisted grin marred his face, as he added: "And at least now we both know just which one of us matters the most to her. I'll give you a hint: it's not the idiot in the leather pants."
And Soul walked past him calmly, his hands jammed in his jacket's pockets, smirking when Hiro turned around and cursed him out.
But it didn't matter.
He got the last laugh.
3b
Two weeks later found him spinning a key ring in his finger, watching the keys clink and clank idly while Maka dug around her backpack fervently for her own.
"You want me to open it instead? It'll be a lot faster," Soul drawled, but he didn't wait for her reply before he stuck the key into the keyhole and opened her apartment door. He smirked and gestured her in, earning a look.
"I gave you those keys because I'm leaving to visit my mama for a week in Tokyo." Maka reminded him, firmly. "Not for your own entertainment!"
"Doesn't mean I can't use them for my own entertainment," Soul sniggered. His eyes landed on the cat that padded up to Maka and wove between her legs affectionately before galloping toward him and doing the same. "Hey, Blair."
"Just be sure to feed her twice a day, and change her litter box every other day." Maka told him, running to her room. "And only come in to feed her and clean her litter box! I don't want you coming in here, dirtying up the place, because you're too lazy to go back to your own apartment, Soul!"
He nodded with a roll of his eyes, following after he picked up her cat, scratching between her ears and watching Maka open her luggage and sift through it again for the sixth time. She was just too strung up: he'd have to fix that.
Stress wasn't good for the body or mind, Soul knew.
"Maka, it'll be fine. You didn't forget anything – you made me go through the list three times." Soul rolled his eyes. "Remember?"
"I'm just making sure I don't forget anything!" Maka hastily told him, zipping up the bag. She placed it on the floor by her bed, wringing her hands. She would be leaving tonight and she was a wreck of nerves. When her mama abruptly invited her over to Tokyo, via her papa, claiming she had a very big surprise for her, Maka had grinned so widely it hurt her cheeks.
Soul had told her she looked like an idiot.
She hadn't cared; too excited she would be seeing her mother again. After so many years, she would see her again; she was in contact with her again! So many things had gone through her mind in that instant: how was she now? Why had she suddenly cut ties with her, had it been intentional or accidental? Had she changed at all? Was she still as recluse and detached as she remembered her to be...? What was this 'big surprise'? Was there any way they could repair their broken relationship...?
Maka pushed away years of hurt in favour of looking forward to a seemingly bright future.
Things were being fixed by themselves, slowly but surely.
No, Maka thought, calming for the slightest bit. Things have been looking up ever since Soul... But she pushed the thought away for later and fixed her gaze on her nightstand.
"Maybe I should bring my alarm clock – ?"
"Maka, you don't need an alarm clock. You have a cellphone, remember? Just use that." Soul reminded, firmly. He dropped Blair, the cat mewing and bouncing away back down the hall, and came up behind Maka, pressing his hands firmly on her shoulders. "You'll be fine. Jeez, you're just going to see your mom. It's not like you're getting married or something."
Maka frowned at that. "I haven't seen my mom in a long time, Soul..." She dropped her eyes, fidgeting with the hem of her skirt suddenly. It was starting to really set in, now that she had only a few hours to go before meeting her. "I-I don't know what to expect. It's been...so long..."
"You'll be fine." He whispered into her ear, eliciting an involuntary shiver. "Just keep it cool." His hands ran down her arms, gripped her hips. She stiffened when she realized there was no space between them anymore: his chest pressed against her back, she could feel the pound of his heart and hear his ragged breathing.
Maka swallowed. "Soul..."
"A week is a long time." Soul continued nonchalantly, hooking his fingers on the waistband of her skirt. She felt him tug it down but she made no move to stop him, captivated by the husky drawl of each word he spoke: "What am I supposed to do for a week? I haven't hung out with my friends since I met you..."
"Th-then meet up with them and – !" She jumped when her skirt pooled around her ankles, conscious of how his hands hovered before they ran up under her shirt; across her flat stomach, dragging the shirt up over her head with excruciating slowness. " – and do whatever you used to do before... before me."
"Hanging out with them..." Soul grabbed the cups of her bra and pushed them up, allowing her breasts to fall into his hand. They fit in them exactly, her nipples pert in his fingers. "... isn't much fun anymore. You're cooler." She cried out when his teeth bit into her neck, his tongue running over the swollen skin like a seal. "Even if you spend all your time reading books and nagging me."
Maka reached up and pulled on a tuft of hair, warningly.
His chuckles reverberated in the cavity of her chest, reminding her just how nice it felt to have someone.
And when all her clothes were off and he pressed a hand over her eyes and his breath tickled her neck with murmured words that made her heart thunder in her ears, Maka realized something that she hadn't before.
She would miss him - more than she would miss any one else in her small circle of friends.
But she pushed that thought away for later, too.
The last thing she needed were her complicated emotions ruining whatever it was they both had together...
A.N: Considering the number of reviews I got regarding her age: Maka's age is mentioned in Stopgap, the Blair chapter. Remember? Blair thought she was sixteen, heh, but she wasn't. It was my favourite chapter to write out of all of them – well, not really... It's hard to choose. I had fun with all of them.
I noticed this entire last arc is much steamier than the other two combined. What the hell is up with that? Man, that's weird (why, yes, she has at least six chapters already written right now. Problem? Haha!) And, for the record, Soul and Maka have a weird... friendship... thing going on. I plan on developing this further in the next chapters, worry not. Right now, they're stuck in a physical relationship, but its slowly transitioning into something more, if any of you have noticed (I hope or else I fail).
Oh, and FFN is being glitchy again. I can't reply to any of your reviews. I keep getting this 404, 'link is expired', crap x.x
Scarlett.