CHAPTER 12

A/N – And so we're back to the weekly updates, now that things have chilled a bit… so there it is, the latest update. Seems that this time I have managed a bit longer chapter… Enjoy and don't forget to let me know what you think!

She lay in bed with her eyes open, staring blankly at the eerie shadows cast by the solitary burning candle bud on the dark ceiling. What the hell had that been, the first time they'd tried the whole weapon thing? Was the tension getting to her, like never before? The first practice session had gone well, the blonde thought. And the one after that, in fact it had gone well every night for the whole week, even if a bit exhausting. Their soul resonance was working perfectly – just as Kid had anticipated - but it felt weird in a way she could not describe. Like they were too close, like this was simply… too much to handle on her behalf. Maybe it was because she wasn't used to being vulnerable like that – she'd had this kind of 'becoming one' thing before with Soul, but still, she was in control, she was making the decisions, she was the one actually doing the fighting. And she'd never asked her partner how that made him feel – had it ever made Soul feel as helplessly passive as it was making her feel? And that wasn't the only issue – her whole current relationship with Kid was throwing her off balance.

When we get back – if we get back – to Death City he'll go back to living in the Gallows Mansion with Liz and Patty and be their meister, while I'll just go back to my room, lie in my bed all alone and just… just think about how he'll never sleep next to me again…

Maka couldn't really explain these thoughts or why they had been pestering her incessantly for the last few nights. It wasn't like she was developing a 'liking' for her friend, that wasn't possible, was it? After all, she had never liked anyone before, not that way… And with Kid it was just absurd. He was a Death God and the other meister had given quite a lot of thought to the notion lately. They were powerful and magical… despite any apparent vulnerability or human weakness. And they were simply way out of her league.

And now here she lay, all the moments Kid had held her in his arms soothingly pressing heavy onto her heart. In the quiet of their small room the blonde listened to his steady breathing as he slept peacefully next to her, so close that she could simply reach out and touch him. Could it be… that I actually… like him?

Maka had not slept at all. There were surely dark circles around her eyes and she must have looked like all hell, she thought fleetingly while smoothing her hair as best as she could and draping the black veil over it. But she didn't care. Maybe she should have cared? The pressure in her chest was still present, hard to ignore. But what was this feeling?

She walked all the way to the kitchens in a half-dazed state, for once not worried about the Older One and his suspicions. After all, maybe he could smell her fear and if she didn't fear him, if she just ignored him, maybe he would ignore her in turn. She wasn't wearing anything but her dress today, even if the weather remained a tad chilly, so there was no reason for the head-brother to be picking on her again.

"Wait," he said, walking up to her just as the blonde had picked up the breakfast tray. "Here," the massive man placed a small bowl on her tray and turned his back on her without another word.

Maka stared at it curiously for a moment – it had fruits in it, a sort of dark red berries, but nothing like she'd ever seen before. It went through her mind had she hadn't had anything fresh like fruits in a very long time, but it was just impossible now to put anything in her mouth. Hurriedly, she went back to their room and slipped inside quietly, abandoning the breakfast tray on the table. The blonde then left to her duties, in dire need of being alone to think.

By the time Maka finished her daily tasks at the Temple it was getting dark, even darker than it should have due to the menacing clouds piled onto the spring sky and it had begun to pour. She stepped outside and stared in doubt at the place near the stone railing where the old woman sat motionless, her ragged clothes soaked and water dripping from her gray, tangled strands of hair. Without thinking any further, she padded over there and kneeled in front of her, seeking her eyes.

And only now, as the beggar raised her head to look back at her, Maka noticed that the woman's deep brown irises were rimmed with gold. What did that mean? She smiled lightly, encouragingly, but the blonde meister realised she didn't really know what she wanted to ask her. She gulped, trying to find her words. Ask her something, anything!

"I…um… h-how did you end up married to a Death God? And what's it like, to… be married to a Death God?"

The woman's lips curled into a wider, cunning smile. "If I'm not mistaken, child, you are yourself acquainted with one, are you not?" she asked. "I am not blind, you know. So what the hell do you think it's like?" This time the beggar laughed openly and sincerely, as if nothing in the world could have been more amusing. Maka frowned.

"It was a very long time ago," she went on, sighing softly," And I was almost as young as you are now. I had come here to die, because my father and master was cruel and he'd already arranged a marriage with a man much older than me and whom I loathed. Back then I saw no other way out of it – since I'd run away from home I could have gone anywhere else, but I was much too afraid and so I chose to come here. It was a coward's path, I know… I thought the Death God would just give me the cup and his embrace and it would all be over, all the pain and the fear. But instead he asked me "If you're so willing to throw your life away, why not give it to me?" I was scared, but I did not dare refuse him. And then he simply took my soul"

"But you said that you love him…?" Maka whispered."I mean, I'm not just 'acquainted' with a Death God, I am… um… married to him actually. It was a convenience marriage at first, well it still is but… I think… I think…" What the hell do I think, exactly? "I think I… like him"

"If you say so…" the beggar said, with an all-knowing smile.

The blonde gulped."I can't tell him that though," she said quickly."I'm so afraid… I think, I mean I am so beneath him and I shouldn't dare…"

The old woman laughed again, this time even harder. "Don't worry so much, child. In the worst case he'll throw a fit or something. Isn't that what they usually do?"

Maka stood up abruptly and walked away, scowling. It probably took a very long time being married for someone to end up finding the throwing of fits amusing. And the last thing she needed to deal with was one of Kid's tantrums, not to mention what the hell had she just said? Had she just confessed to a complete stranger that she liked him? 'And then he simply took my soul…' Had this really happened? Had the young shinigami taken her soul, gradually, secretly, without her even realising it?

As soon as she stepped inside their room, Maka was hit by the sudden thought that she'd completely forgotten about dinner. However, that was far from being the current issue. Kid stood next to the table - on which the bowl of berries was untouched – with his arms crossed and an unreadable, cold expression.

"I'm sorry…" she muttered faintly, glancing down at her feet and not really knowing what she was apologizing for. The blonde flinched when the reaper stepped closer and lifted her chin with two fingers, searching her eyes.

"Maka, what's wrong?" he asked gently and she saw that his expression had visibly softened.

The other meister took a deep breath, forcing herself not to stutter. "I don't know what's with me, I just… This morning I left like this and now I forgot about dinner…"

"Which is not necessarily a bad thing," Kid observed neutrally, pulling away from her and returning to the table. He fidgeted a bit and cleared his throat, his gaze darting back to the bowl of fruits. Being in that weird state all day, it hadn't occurred to Maka that something could have been wrong, or suspicious about it, but now… She stared at it too, unable to figure out what the issue was.

"Maka," her friend began, an unexpected hint of cautiousness in his voice, "you said that the Older One asked you some questions about our marriage. I was wondering what it was exactly that he wanted to know?"

The blonde shrugged, confused and hoping that Kid wasn't testing her or something. "Not much really… I mean he only asked one question – he wanted to know how you are treating me. And I said fine. That was it, he didn't ask anything else afterwards!" she hurried to say. "So what's with those berries? He just gave them to me this morning and said nothing. I thought it was sort of nice, you know? To give us some fresh fruit…" Why the hell did I say that, am I stupid?! Something must be very wrong with this!

"Did you eat from that bowl?" Kid asked calmly, but it was obvious he was hiding something.

"No, why? Are they poisonous or something?"

Kid crossed his arms again and frowned. "No, but they seem to have other effects about which I was kindly enlightened earlier… Surely, I suppose it was very nice of them to provide this"

"What do you mean?"

"Surely the Older One must have somehow drawn the conclusion that you were unhappy," he explained,"and he sent this fresh fruit to… make you happy. Yes, they are said to work that way"

Maka scowled, staring hard at the mysterious bowl of fruit and trying to figure out the hidden meaning in what Kid was saying. "Oh, I get it!" she said at last. "These are supposed to work for me the way Black Water works for you, right? That or they must give a vitamin boost or something," the blonde decided sternly.

The young shinigami looked completely puzzled for a moment, before he unexpectedly burst out laughing. "A vitamin boost?"

The other meister's temper instantly flared at his reaction and she angrily tried to push past him and reach for the bowl. She grabbed a handful of the tiny, crimson colored berries, but Kid caught her wrist, trying to get her to drop them.

"Maka, please don't!" he pleaded, still chuckling.

"Why the hell not? Why wouldn't I resort to this sort of completely irresponsible tricks to 'soothe' myself as well, make myself happy?" she snapped back, managing to free her arm and stuffing them in her mouth. They tasted fairly sour, even slightly bitter and they were utterly flavorless. The blonde grimaced, but swallowed them stubbornly, ignoring the look of disbelief on Kid's face and the fact that he'd covered his mouth with his hand. He was still amused, though.

"I think this was very rude, Kid," Maka pointed sharply, swallowing hard and grimacing again as the taste lingered in her mouth. "You knew they were horrible and you did this on purpose! You know, if you keep acting like this and teasing me like this, this thing is so NOT going to work!"

Saying that she stormed out of the room, slamming the door in her wake, and ran down the corridor. Outside the rain had only gotten worse, but the blonde didn't care that her already damp clothes were now getting utterly soaked. She was so angry, how dared he, just now when she'd finally admitted to herself that she… well…

"Maka, wait! I'm sorry, okay?" Kid caught up with her and turned her to face him. "I didn't mean to laugh at you, but it was just-"His words died on his lips and his face dropped as he saw the tears already sliding down her flushed cheeks, mingling with the rain droplets. "What's wrong?"

The other meister sniffed, repressing a shudder and pressing a hand flat on her own chest, while the other rose to brush against the side of the young shinigami's face. "I feel… I just can't… I can't fight it"

Kid's eyes widened and for a while which felt like an eternity he simply stared into her green orbs, completely baffled. And then, abruptly, he pulled away from her hand, scowling. The reaper ran a nervous hand through his dampening dark strands and took a step away from her, propping his hands onto the wet stone railing.

"Maka, you know I'm your friend and I'd do anything for you! I'd do anything to protect you and to take care of you, but you can't… you can't like me that way!" he said choking and avoiding her gaze. "It's just not possible! This is wrong, do you understand? I'm not human!"

The blonde nodded slowly, weakly, feeling as if she'd been stabbed in the heart. "Of course…" she whispered faintly, shrugging. "I-I knew you'd say that… after all, I am only a poor human girl. I don't have your strength, or your beauty, or your magic… I am beneath you in every way." Tears blurred her vision and she hid her face in her hands, wishing for nothing else than the sky collapse and crush her in that very instant.

"What? No! No, Maka, you got this wrong! That's not why… Maka, shinigamis were created into this world with a very clear purpose – to serve and protect human kind – and nothing else! Like I said, we don't… and we are less than a human, how could you even consider… how could you consider me?!"

She removed her hands and opened her eyes slowly, only to see the infinite chagrin on her friend's face. He was in earnest – she knew – that was why he wasn't used to people doing things for him, or caring about him… Could it be that he was so oblivious to his own gifts, that he thought so low of himself, undeserving of her affection, precisely because he was a shinigami? It was heartbreaking.

"But do you want-…?"

"It doesn't matter what I want!"

"It matters to me."

Maka boldly stepped closer and cupper his face with both her hands, ignoring the tears which had begun sliding down her cheeks again, glancing up at him in a silent plea for the briefest moment. And then their lips met, shyly, hesitantly at first, then gradually more hungrily. She pressed her whole body flush against his, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, eager to feel more of him and subconsciously afraid that he was going to pull away again and say that this was wrong, that they shouldn't be doing it. But Kid only lifted her up so she could wrap her legs around his waist for better support and carried her inside, out of the rain.

But the blonde wasn't even aware of it, the next thing she felt was her own back being pressed against the soft mattress of the bed, Kid's lips still not leaving hers. But she wanted more, all the hurried, hungry pecks were just… teasing.

"Does this comfort you?" the shinigami whispered, his golden eyes observing her carefully. Comfort? He does say the weirdest things…

"Yes," the other meister whispered out of breath. "But I want more"

"Let me help you then," Kid offered, brushing his thumb over her lower lip and opening her mouth. He then placed his own mouth over hers, his tongue skillfully delving inside as his hands left her shoulders and Maka felt his nimble fingers beginning to undo the buttons of her dress. Her breath caught in her throat – now this was wrong, this really wasn't supposed to happen – but she was past the point where she could help it. Her own hands reached up to remove his cloak and the damp jacket of his suit as the wet garment was peeled off her slightly trembling body and replaced with the blanket. And then Kid pulled away, sliding off her.

"I hope this was not just because of those berries…" she heard him chuckle and her arm shot up to the side promptly, elbowing him as hard as she could.

"What the hell is so amusing about the berries anyway?" the blonde asked annoyed, as the young shinigami pulled her closer and nuzzled her wet hair.

"I'll tell you tomorrow. Now we should try to get some sleep"

"But Kid-"

"Tomorrow"

To be continued