Freefall
by. Poisoned Scarlet
8a
She used to room with Tsubaki before the girl decided to become independent and rent her own apartment. It wasn't a problem before, either, since her papa paid for her rent as a result of feeling guilty – or as he constantly told her, "because my little girl should be focusing on school, not when the next rent payment is due!"
But now she was royally screwed for depending on him so much.
He had told her this tidbit of information far too late into the month, and she had a feeling he had been withholding it for a while now. But, then again, Maka thought, she hardly answered her father's phone calls because his 'emergencies' usually consisted of not being able to speak to her and his job taking up most of the time he could be using on her. Although Maka firmly knew he meant his lady friends at his favourite cabaret club and not her.
"What do you mean you got laid off?" Maka gaped into the receiver. It was strangely quiet today and Maka realized, belatedly, it was because Soul had gone home last night instead of staying as he usually did. He'd told her something about needing to revise a few tracks and going to work early. He made the offhanded comment of bringing his laptop with him next time so he wouldn't leave. Maka did not comment on it: she sort of liked having him around. He kept things fresh even though sometimes all he did was lay around and sleep. "Papa – why did you get laid off? Because your boss hates you – that's such a lie! I bet it was because you always go to work late with a huge hangover!"
At his sheepish tone, Maka knew this to be true and threatened to deck him in the stomach the next time she saw him for being an irresponsible idiot.
Maka looked over to her clock, swearing under her breath.
She had to leave now if she wanted to arrive to her lecture on time.
She wondered where the hell Soul was: he promised to drop her off. He had been doing so for the past few weeks. Just because he left for the night did not change this cycle – at least, Maka hoped so, because she wouldn't be able to make it on time by public transportation anymore.
"Look – can we talk about this later? I'm going to be late for my ten o'clock lecture – !"
The front door opened and Maka glanced to see Soul walk in, ruffling his white hair as though he had just woken up. Judging from the way his jeans hung low on his hips and his eyes drooped lower than usual, she wouldn't be surprised if he had.
"No. I'll – I'll deal with it later, don't worry about it." Maka sighed, shifting on her other foot. "I can get a job. I think you need the money more than I do right now – just focus on getting a job, alright? Don't come over. Bye." She hung up while he was in mid-rant and heaved another sigh.
"What was that all about?"
"Papa just got laid off work." Maka informed, weary. "And now I need a job to pay for the rent if I don't want to be evicted."
His brows rose a bit but his overall expression stayed blank. She wondered how he did that. "Job?"
"My papa paid my rent for me since he wanted me to get through college first. But now that he's been laid off, he can't. He can give me this months rent, but I'll need a job so I can pay next months." Maka explained, already formulating a plan for how she would make a living for the next few months. "I'll have to cut down on a lot of my usual costs...maybe cut the cable? Or house phone, I hardly use that..."
"Or I could just move in with you and pay half to help you out." He pipped.
"You...you would do that?"
"Yeah, sure." Soul shrugged, nonchalant. He pointed to her flat-screen television enthusiastically. "As long as I can use that all I want, I'll even pay for the cable bill."
Maka glared instantly, the thought of that's actually pretty sweet of him crashing and burning along with her hopes of lazy weekday evenings. "It's nice to know you'd help me out only to use my TV, you jerk."
"What? Oh." He chuckled at her surly tone. "You're nice, too – OUCH!"
He never saw that punch coming.
He usually never did.
"Shut up, let's just go. I don't want to be late." Maka grumbled, grabbing her own set of keys off the table. Soul rubbed his bruised arm furiously. "Even if you do move in with me, it doesn't take care of my money issue. I'd still have to get a job to pay for my half of the rent."
"But the load'll be easier." Soul offered, closing the door behind him and locking it as Maka walked down the hall, checking through her bag in case she forgot anything. "You wouldn't have to stress as much."
"I guess..." Maka trailed off, her eyes resting on his motorcycle parked on the curb for a moment. "But good luck convincing the land lord to let you keep that."
"It's a chick, right?"
"The land lord? Yes, why?"
"No prob, just give me five minutes with her. She'll be cutting down your rent before you know it." Soul grinned when Maka slowly turned to him, disturbed by the mental image of Soul sweet talking her old land lord. Soul swung an arm around her neck, bringing her into a headlock she didn't bother trying to escape from. "I'm kidding, Maka – that's just gross and uncool. You really need to learn how to take jokes."
"Ugh, you've been hanging out with Black Star too much!" Maka grumbled, trying once to escape his hold then stopping. "That sounds like something he'd do."
"He tried, once."
"Really?" Maka laughed at the thought. Soul dragged her along toward his motorcycle. "Did it work?"
"Actually...it did."
"Oh, god." Maka grunted when she tried to remove his arm from around her neck. He always did that: bring her into a headlock, watch her squirm and wiggle around with the effort to escape. "That lady must have been... desperate!" Maka sighed when Soul tightened his arm around her neck, amused. "Soul, let me go! I don't want to be late – Professor Stein won't let me in his class if I'm tardy!"
"That lady was asking for it." Soul continued, ignoring her request. The shine of a car caught his eye and Soul looked toward the black Jaguar parked down the curb. He caught a wisp of blonde hair, spark of crystal blue eyes, and that was all he needed to pull Maka up so his arm rested around her waist instead. "Too bad she didn't get any."
"I don't even want to know what Black Star did to convince her." Maka shuddered, looking up at him with her wide, jade, eyes. He looked down at her and Maka opened her mouth to ask what he was staring at so intently before he bent down and kissed her.
It was weird, to be so open about this. He had never done something so bold in public: they kept their strange relationship under wraps, private. But she could not deny the flutter in her gut, the rush of heat to her cheeks despite having done this with him so many times before.
"You're adorable..." Soul whispered against her lips, causing her entire body to grow rigid. She was sure her heart skipped a beat. "...like a little kid." He stifled laughter.
He didn't see this punch coming, either.
Maka mounted the bike coolly, not offering a hand to help him as he swore up and down and clutched his aching arm. If it was bruised before, he didn't even want to see what it looked like now.
"Hurry up! I'm running late!" Maka snapped, shrewdly. "Asshole."
"You didn't have to hit me so damn hard! Jeez, you need to loosen up, Maka!"
"Just drive before I give you a reason not to."
But he didn't mind her violent outburst because when he revved his bike and he looked back to that black Jaguar, he saw the stony threat in Hiro's eyes and he replied with a snarky grin of his own.
Get lost, loser. It seemed to tell Hiro. His knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel, watching Soul smirk: She's mine.
"Not for long, you freak." Hiro hissed to himself, watching their retreating forms in his rear view mirror.
8b
As it turned out, her papa completely ignored her when she told him not to come over later that day.
He pounded on her door vigorously for at least two minutes. His shouts of her name could likely be heard all through her neighborhood. What made things worse was she could hear Soul's muffled laughter as she stomped to the door, throwing it open to hiss at her father:
"Papa shut up! I heard you the first time!"
"But, Maka!" Spirit sobbed. "I let you down! I promised I'd pay your rent so you could go to college and become a – a famous author!"
"Papa, that's my minor. I'm apprenticing under Professor Stein because I want to become an M.D., remember?"
"...but papa let you down! Now you'll never become one of those! I'm so sorry, Maka, my little angel – !" And he squeezed her in his arms, enough to cut off air-supply.
"P-Papa, you're crushing me!" Maka gasped, stumbling back by the force of his embrace. She growled when she heard Soul's choked laughter coming from her couch. "PAPA GET THE HELL OFF ME!" She shrieked, kicking him back out into the hall. Taking a quick breath to compose herself, Spirit looking up at her with big, watery, eyes, she continued in a much calmer voice: "It's okay. I've taken care of it. I already got a roommate, and I'll just get a part-time job so I can pay for my half of the rent."
"R-roommate?" Spirit sniffed. He seemed to suddenly regain his lost dignity: he stood straight and smiled eagerly: "Who is she? Is it that cute girl with the black hair?"
"No!" Maka glared. Spirit pouted. "But he is really going to pay the cable bill if he doesn't shut up!"
"Wait, he?" Spirit wheezed.
'He' popped up a few seconds later and waved patronizingly at her father, whom stared with something close to horror.
"Sup? Names Soul Evans. Nice to meet you, uh...?"
"...No." Spirit stated, without preamble; not bothering to grace him with his name.
Maka blinked. "What?"
"No. He's not moving in with you – I forbid it! Nope!" Spirit flatly decided. Maka's jaw slacked a little with disbelief. "You are not moving in with a guy, Maka. There's only one thing guys like him want and I refuse to have my little girl hurt because of some shitty octopus head!"
"What do you mean he can't - ?"
"Hey! Who you callin' an octopus head, you bastard?"
"What'd you say to me, you brat?" Spirit hissed, loathing.
"You heard me, you ass." Soul snapped with equal dislike.
"Say that to my face, you little fu—!"
"Quit it you two!" Maka snapped, stepping in front of her papa when he tried to near Soul, who scowled defiantly back at him. "Papa, I'm twenty one, I can room with whoever I want. And Soul – he isn't like that. We're, uh..." Maka faltered, searching for a word. Nothing came to mind. "We're just, ah..."
"We're just partners in crime." Soul easily answered, remote control in his hand as he rested his chin in the crook of his elbow. Maka breathed easy for the moment. "What're you so worried about, old man? You should be grateful I even agreed to this."
"What? You were the one who - !" Maka's angry retort was cut off by her furious father.
"You know exactly what I'm worried about, you little fuck!" Spirit snarled. Soul was unimpressed. "Like hell am I going to let you – let you have your way with my beautiful little Maka! You'll just end up dumping her after you get what you want but I won't let that happen!"
"You just described yourself every Sunday morning." Soul sniggered and Spirit sputtered, red-faced with anger.
"You son of a - !"
"Papa, he's not like that! Stop bullying him!" Maka grabbed her father by the lapels of his jacket and tossed him out into the hall again, hand on the door knob. She leaned down, whispered so Soul would not hear: "I've known him for a few months now and he's treated me... he's treated me far better in these past few months than you have in over ten years."
He froze.
"I'll be fine." Her smile did not reach her eyes; in fact, those brilliant jade eyes of hers were tired and dull. His chest ached at the sight. She had the same look in her eye that Kami had when she proposed a divorce. "I'm not a child anymore, papa... I can take care of myself. I don't need you to always look after me." She paused. "If I ever do get in trouble, Soul... he can help me. He will help me." She firmly said. "I know he will."
"Maka..." He breathed.
"Bye, papa."
And she shut the door.
And she wasn't surprised, as she walked into the kitchen for a cup of water, ignoring Soul's suspicious gaze, when she heard nothing but her father's quiet, dragging, footfalls as he left.