the delta sun burns bright and violet
by. Poisoned Scarlett

He didn't see her again.

He stood outside on deck for hours when he had nothing to do. Sometimes he went to his room and gazed out his window there so he was not so obvious. But she never appeared and there was a sort of weight in his chest, something like grimness mixed with frustration mixed with aching mixed with depression. There were two reasons, he deduced, for why she had not appeared again: one of them was she was afraid because of what happened to the other mermaid and the other was he was leaving and it would make things a lot easier if she just stopped meeting with him so much.

He knew with an awful clarity that it was the second reason.

Goodbyes were hard.

He would know.

Like Harvar would scare her away like that, anyway. Despite her delicate appearance, she was tougher than iron and built for a war. When he'd asked her if she'd drowned any men of her own, she'd given him this look—dangerous amusement—and he promptly shut up. She was not one to be tampered with, he knew then and there. Her offhanded talk of drowning him in the beginning held some truth after all. She could have killed him anytime but by some miracle she hadn't and he was still alive and she'd saved him more times than was considered cool and somehow, despite all his sharp retorts and smart-ass remarks, she still wanted him.

Be mine, she sang in his mind.

He would follow her into the water even if she didn't sing.

That was the irony of his life.

And then there was that uncool bad luck of his, as he stood on the edge of the dock while everyone else unpacked. He already had his duffel bag by his feet, hands jammed into the pockets of his jacket as the day was cloudy and gloomy—much like his mood. He could hear Sid and Kidd discuss about splitting their earnings behind him. Soon he would pick up his pay and leave the sea. He'd have to never look back. There was no way he could fit in another year, no matter how much he begged Sid, and there was no way a regular boat would ever take him that close to mermaid territory without breaking a few laws.

"Yo, Soul!" Kilik shouted, bringing his attention away from the sea to the cook. "Clay, Star and I are planning on going to the pub after this! You in? You look like you need a drink," he added with a sympathetic smile.

"Yeah! Just gimmie a minute," he turned back to the sea for one last look. The ocean was tame today, the wind rippling the surface and picking up the tides. He could hear them crash on shore, white sea foam dragging back in and flowing out continuously. He heard someone call his name and he looked over his shoulder, expecting to see Clay waving at him to hurry up. But no one looked his way.

"Soul!"

He looked back out to sea, his heart picking up. Nothing. Great, now he was imagining her, he scowled. He'd just picked up his duffel bag when he froze, staring down between two planks. He stared into a wide bright green eye and then he slowly looked up to where Sid and Kidd were—where Harvar was, browsing through his phone with Ox leaning on the wall beside him, yawning into his hand.

A very average scene.

He hoped his poker face would brave through.

"Stay there," Soul hissed at her. "Don't move, just stay there!" And he grabbed his bag and quickly walked off the dock. He did not spare a glance at Harvar and neither the man to him, although Ox cast a grim look between both of them.

"Soul!" Sid shouted, freezing him mid-step. "Where are you going? Unless you want me to keep your share, get your ass over here!" He laughed.

Shit, I forgot! Soul cursed but headed back quickly and hoped Sid wouldn't make too much talk. The captain counted the money in front of him and grinned at Soul's surprise. "Five thousand! We hit jackpot with the mermaid!" His smile was rather grim but Soul understood there was nothing that could be done about it now. "Spend it wisely."

"Yeah, thanks."

"Good luck out there," Sid told him. "Don't be a stranger, either, stop by sometime!"

Soul nodded. He looked at Kidd and the man smiled at him. "It was a pleasure working with you, Soul, you should consider joining the DWMA. They need men like you in their forces."

"Yeah, that's one option."

"Just make sure to collect 100 impure souls before the deadline," Sid advised. "DWMA is very strict about deadlines."

"I hate deadlines."

"You and I both," Kidd added just as wearily.

"But it's nothing I can't handle... it's just 100 souls."

"That's what they all say," Sid snorted.

Soul smirked in return and took a step back, already waving at them. "Just watch, I'll get all 100 by the end of the year easy! I'll see you guys later, I gotta' go. The guys are waiting for me," and they bid their goodbyes hastily and Soul finally got away from them. When he was sure no one could see him, Soul ran around the back where he knew the shoreline was at. He caught sight of Kilik and the others hanging around the boardwalk that would lead to the pub just down it. But, before they could see him, he ducked down to the edge of the boardwalk, tossing his duffel bag on the sand and sliding down until he reached the edge, where water and sand met.

Here went nothing.

"Fuck! Fuck that's cold!" Soul shuddered as he wadded through the water. Once underneath the boardwalk, he searched for any sign of her. "Maka? Hey, Maka!" He called out and stopped when he saw something appear beneath the rippling waves. He squinted and gasped when she suddenly burst out of the water, squealing out his name and throwing her arms around him before he could even utter hers. He staggered back and nearly lost his footing but managed to stay upright, holding her for the first time—feeling her skin beneath his hands, cold but as soft as he imagined it'd be. She smelled like the sea and something else—something impossibly sweet—and he tightened his arms around her and pressed his cheek against the side of her head.

"I had to see you one more time!" She rushed into his shirt. "Before I go!"

Soul tightened his arms around her. He had her there, in his arms. He was not letting go for a long time. "Wait a second, why so soon?"

"You're leaving," Maka mumbled, looking up at him reluctantly. He looked down, into her sad green eyes, and decided he'd have to muster up the balls to follow her into the ocean within the next twenty four hours. Or twenty seconds. "Soul?"

"Come with me," he told her and added before she could protest, "Just got a few hours. You can do a few hours, right? I'll bring you back before the sun breaks," he coaxed and tightened his grip around her. "Just for tonight," he told her. She looked hesitant, definitely unnerved by the idea of leaving the sea for something that was so foreign and strange and absolutely dangerous to her. "Maka…"

"J…just the night!" she mumbled and he grinned.

"So, how does this human thing work?" Soul asked as he backed up with her in his arms. She helped him, guiding him so he didn't bump into any of the rocks or wood foundations. "Do you just like… suddenly grow legs or something?"

"You'll see, just keep walking!" Maka told him and rolled her eyes when he grumbled. "I don't know myself, Soul, all I know is that if I touch land, I change!"

"Does it hurt?"

"What did I just tell you?" Maka snapped.

"It was just a question, no need to bite my head off!" He grumped and rolled his eyes when she huffed at him. But she couldn't hide the smile from him even if she tried. When he reached the edge again, Soul let her go and pulled himself out. He sat on the edge and reached down for her and when he gripped her and pulled her out he saw what she meant. The instant he placed her on the sand, it was as if the skin that made up her tail disintegrated. It slipped off her like silk and then before him were two very human legs—two impossibly sexy long and sculpted human legs.

This was just not fair, he thought blankly.

"Uh," he coughed, quickly averting his eyes. "Can you walk?"

Maka got on her knees tentatively. He stood up as she tried to but her legs shook and she ended up plopping back down on the sand. Soul shrugged off his jacket and wrapped it around her, muttering about just carrying her until she learned. She pulled it close to her, inhaling his spicy scent, and watched him bend down to pick her up. She did not weigh as much as he thought she would and, although he had trouble juggling her and his duffel bag, he managed.

Then another problem arose.

The guys. The pub.

Aw, shit.

He needed a ride and any other time this would not be a problem. Except how was he supposed to explain Maka? He knew they were still rather unsure of how to deal with the fact that he caught the interest of a mermaid. They acted like they weren't affected by it, but Soul was aware of their troubled glances. His eyes caught Sid walking to his rented car from across the parking lot and, without any more thought on it, Soul ran to him before he could leave. He frightened the man nearly half to death when he suddenly appeared at his window.

"Jesus, Soul, what is…oh no," Sid stared at the girl in his arms, smiling cheerfully at him. "No, no! Soul, you did not just take her with you! No, put her back! She can't live out here like us, you idiot, she'll die if she's out for too long!"

"I know that!" Soul said, aggravated. "It's just for tonight!"

Sid stared. "Boy, are you stupid or are you retarded?"

Soul glared. "Neither, Captain, just cut me a deal and take me back to my place before anyone sees. Like Harvar," he hissed and Sid pressed his lips together disapprovingly. "Look, I have a plan, okay? Just go with it. Sid, I know what I'm doing!" He held his stare sternly. "I just need to figure something out first."

Sid held his stare for a second longer before he sighed and muttered, "Get in the fucking car!" Soul grinned. He tossed his duffel bag on the floor and opened the door with some difficulty, placing Maka inside first. He tossed his bag in the back and rounded the car until he was inside on the other side—and Maka, trembling, scooted closer to him. Soul zipped up the jacket so she wasn't so cold, aware of Sid watching them from the rear view mirror.

"She has until sun break," Sid told him once they settled in. "I've read my fair share of mermaid folklore. If she was taken out at the break of dawn, she has until sundown. If she was taken out at sundown, she has until dawn. That's how it works."

"So, is that right on dawn or—?"

"Soul, if the sun breaks over that horizon," Sid met his eyes gravely. "She dies."

Soul swallowed and looked down at her. Maka noticed and offered him a tiny, happy, smile in return. He had his motorcycle parked inside the garage at his apartment so he had a mode of transportation. But she already looked rather antsy in the car, pressing to him when Sid started to back out. The motorcycle would either traumatize her or exhilarate her, Soul thought. He hoped for the latter.

They would have left immediately had Kilik not caught sight of him in the car.

"Hide her!" Sid barked.

"Lay down," Soul quickly told her and hid her head with a stray jacket of Sid's. She grumbled, he could feel her pinching his thigh at his rough treatment, but if the guys even caught sight of her, he'd be so dead trying to explain everything.

"Hey, man, I thought you were gonna' come with us to the pub?" Kilik asked and Clay ran up, too. Black Star was slower, rubbing the back of his neck and meeting his eyes warily.

"Yeah! You pussying out Eater?" Clay grinned toothily. "I wanted to see if I could beat you at drinking! I've gotten better now!"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Soul smirked at him. "Nah, I'm heading out early. I've got some stuff to deal with at home."

"Maybe next time then?" Kilik said, hopefully.

"Yeah, next time. Later, Clay, Kilik…" Soul looked at Black Star and gave him his signature grin. "Star. Better shut Clay up for me."

Black Star lightened up, seeing forgiveness in his friends eyes, and grinned. "You bet'cha!"

"Yo, hey, you better use those!" Clay winked at Soul and motioned to his duffel bag with a waggle of his brows. He rolled his eyes. That man was incorrigible. "Before they expire," he smirked and Soul glared in reply—probably a little too aware of Maka's breath on his thigh.

"Are we going or aren't we?" Sid grumbled, sending all his underlings the evil eye. "I've actually got things to do!" So after another few minutes of rambunctious laughter and promises to hang out sometime next week, Sid drove off and Soul let out a relieved breath.

"I don't think anyone noticed her."

"If they had, they would've said something," Sid told him just as Maka popped back out, fixing Soul with a huffy look. "That's just the type of men they are!"

"Why did you hide me?" Maka demanded.

Soul rose a brow. "You really want me to explain to them why I'm taking a mermaid home with me? They'd wanna' come just to interrogate you like Ox did last time." At her wince, he added, "Plus, knowing Clay, he'd pass it onto Harvar. Guys got a big mouth."

"No doubt," Sid sighed. "Same place, Soul?"

"Same place."

Maka glanced up at Soul curiously, his strong jaw and his smooth cheeks. She wondered how he got it like that, so smooth and slick, when other men always had the beginnings of a beard. Her hands reached up to touch him despite herself. He glanced down at her but let her caress his cheek curiously—then snorted when she prodded the buttons on his jacket, touched the seat of the car, dug her toes into the plush carpet. She was so mystified by everything that when they arrived to his apartment, she looked reluctant to leave the car only because she hadn't touched everything yet and she had so many more questions.

"Good luck with her," Sid chuckled when she slid her hand over the body of the car with shining green eyes. "She's a curious one."

"Never been out of the sea before, it's an experience," he dryly told him and watched him drive off. Soul looked back down at Maka and she looked up, beaming. He stared at her for five more seconds before he looked at the sky and figured this was probably the worst idea in the history of worst ideas only because he didn't think his self-control was that great and temptation had already made him his bitch…

"Oh! What's that? That black thing!"

"The trashcan?"

"What's a trashcan? Is it like the treasure chests we have?"

"Pfft," Soul snickered. "You're not gonna' find any treasure in there unless you're a hobo."

"What's a hobo?"

"A homeless person."

"Why are they homeless?"

"Cuz they're lazy?"

"But you're lazy and you have a home."

"No, I mean—gah, can you just shut up for a second?" Soul muttered and groaned when she pulled on his hair and growled for him to stop being a jerk. She caught onto their lingo quick, Soul noticed mildly, she had been using more and more of their modern words the longer she hung around the boat although she was still iffy on the curse words; not necessarily understanding how to use them and at what appropriate times...like now.

"Oh, fuck me!"

"No, Maka, shut up. You're using it wrong!" Soul winced when she yanked on his hair again and demanded to know why. He dropped his duffel bag on the living room floor as she marveled his otherwise plain apartment. "Because you don't say that…like, now. You say that when you're uh I don't know…surprised beyond belief?"

"I am surprised beyond belief," Maka told him, seriously. "So fuck me."

This was, Soul thought numbly while Maka happily repeated the obscene phrase, possibly the worst idea in the history of worst ideas. Soul hefted her in his arms when he felt she was slipping and made his way to the bathroom, flipping the toilet seat down and sitting her on her. She wobbled a little, distracted with trying to look at everything inside at the same time.

"Wait here while I get you something to wear," he said and she nodded, thoroughly distracted with the towel hook. He shook his head but let her continue her touring. He raided his closet and drawers for anything that might fit her, but only found a pair of boxers he'd shrunk in the dryer once and never tossed out and one of his shirts. He figured the shirt would be alright and he hoped the boxers fit since she was really a tiny thing, now that he thought about it. He had been walking to the bathroom when she suddenly appeared at the door frame with her cheeks flushed from exertion and her legs gaining strength…

Bare-assed naked.

His jaw slacked and his nose bled a little before he regained his wits.

"Gah! Dammit, Maka, put the jacket back on!" He flushed a furious red and shoved his shirt over his eyes to shield himself from her. "Actually, put this on!"

"No!" Maka shouted back, wrinkling her nose at the shirt and boxers he tossed at her. "They feel weird and they make my skin itch! I don't want to!"

"You can't run around naked!"

"Why not?"

"Because…because it's not lady-like, alright? And what if someone sees you?" He sputtered and she leaned off the door frame, more confident on her feet. It had taken some getting used to but she had managed to get the feel for walking and, from observing how Soul walked, she copied his movements and found it wasn't too hard. Her legs were not weak, they were just untrained, she saw. And she had always been a fast learner!

"Who would see me?" Maka challenged him and then took her first tentative few steps into the hallway. "Ah! L-look, I can walk! Look, look, Soul! I'm walking!"

Soul exhaled as she squealed, watching her beam and take another step with affection softening his eyes. He smiled at her, knowing this otherwise boring action was something of a life achievement for her. He had been about to shove the shirt over her head when she suddenly clung onto him, her body pressing against his as she drew closer to his face.

"I've never felt so happy before," she whispered against his jaw and he dropped the shirt on the floor, staring at the wall with wide, nervous eyes.

"Th-that's nice! Uh, ah, here! Put this on!" Soul gripped her shoulders and pushed her three feet away from him. He fumbled for the shirt on the floor, barely able to keep himself from staring at her thighs and pulled his shirt over her head and ignored her squirming and whining. "Dammit, Maka! Put the damn thing on!"

"No, dammit!"

"Oi, watch it!"

"What? You use it all the time!"

"That's me! I'm cool enough to use it! You're not! So—dammit, Maka, put the fucking shirt on before I make you!"

"MAKE ME DAMMIT!"

"MAKAAAA!"

He crashed into the wall when she slipped out his arms and tripped him. Soul cursed, clutching his stinging nose. He sharply looked to the living room, finding her making her way to the window with a smug hum under her breath, kicking away the boxers on the floor. And like hell was he going to let her stand there and show the world her goods. He ran to her before she could push the curtains aside, hauled her over his shoulder, and tossed her unceremoniously on the couch, ignoring her furious glare to stick the shirt in front of her.

"You are you going to put this on," Soul told her, dangerously, "Or you're going back into the ocean!"

Maka gasped and sent him a reproachful look. "You wouldn't do that!"

"Try me," he sneered. He waggled the shirt in front of her and she looked at it intensely for a second before viciously ripping it from his hand. She reluctantly held it and then blinked when she realized there were four holes and it was weird and she had no practice with such things. Soul sighed at her stubbornness to not ask for help and helped her himself, fitting it through her head and letting it roll down her body until it covered all the necessary parts.

"Ugh," Maka grumbled. "It itches!"

"You'll get used to it," he told her, tone considerably softer. "Just don't go out like that, alright? There's a law against streaking, you can get arrested for it."

"St…streaking?" Maka asked, wide-eyed. "Is that being nude?"

"And running through public places," he half-grinned. "Don't do it."

Maka pondered this, pondered everything she saw as Soul told her he'd be back. She clutched the material of his shirt in her hand and then let her fingertips graze over the smooth leather of what she was seated on. She believed Soul called it a couch. There were so many things she didn't know about this dry world and Maka didn't like not knowing. She knew everything about the sea, knew the stories and knew the history behind them. She practically knew everything that lurked in the sea—even the most historic of creatures, creatures they themselves were not sure existed anymore because the waters were too dark, too deep, and too cold for them to survive in.

But this, this was all new. This was all so painfully new to her and, although there was a pleasure in learning, it still irked her and embarrassed her not to know. She would need books, she decided, she could read as there were stone tablets that witches left behind and her kind had teachers who knew the language of this land and taught them strictly. She would not understand some things, she accepted, but it was nothing she couldn't learn in time! She prided herself in being one of the sharpest in her family of sea maidens, she would not disappoint!

"Hey, don't think too hard, you'll hurt yourself," Soul teased her when he returned and she stuck her tongue out at him.

"You're lucky we're on land or I would have spit water at you!"

"Ha ha," he sarcastically said. "Too bad for me." He sat down beside her, sinking into the couch with a long blow of breath. Maka watched him for a second, watched his body go lax and his eyes close and his chest rise and fall slowly. She shifted so she was kneeling and then crawled to him, frowning when his eyes popped open.

He sprung away from her, stammering out something about space and needing a break, and Maka frowned. Did he not like her? Was there something wrong with her? Maka watched him scoot away from her with troubled eyes. She knew she wasn't as…filled out as the others but…he surely liked her, right? She felt it, inside, that desire to be with him but maybe it only worked one way? Maybe it was just her and he…wasn't…

"What's wrong?" Soul asked, noticing her downcast eyes.

"…Do you like me?" She asked and the question took him by surprise.

"Wh…what?"

"Do you like me?" She repeated, firmer and fumbled with the tip of her hair. "Because you don't…look at me."

"What do you mean?"

"You don't look!" She repeated, frustrated. "Am I not…what you want?"

Oh, Soul realized dumbly. Right. She's a mermaid... She must be used to men succumbing to her, to men starting wars because of her beauty. How long, he wondered, must she had been out in sea just waiting for him? Waiting for someone to come along and take her away from that, away from all that violence?

"I know I'm not…that big…but um…" She mumbled, bowing her head a little more as she fidgeted.

"Idiot," Soul smiled fondly and reached over to place a hand on her shoulder. She looked up, eyes sad and troubled, and he tugged her a little. She complied and crawled over to him and curled up on his chest.

"It's not you," he told her, "It's just weird to see a girl walking around naked like that. Plus, over here, it's rude to stare," he grinned a bit when she nodded, storing that information to memory. "I thought you'd, I dunno, hit me again if I looked or…"

"Touched?" and then her face was too close to his and he realized just how close she was, able to feel her knee part his legs and her hands slid down his chest temptingly. Her hair had dried now, a tousled ash blonde mess down her shoulders, and her skin was so soft and her eyes so green. Soul's breath began to labor as she settled on his lap, her knees squeezing his waist. She fingered his shirt curiously for a second before she leaned down and pressed her ear to his chest.

"…It's fast," she observed and he cleared his throat, looking at the ceiling to hide his warm cheeks.

"Y-yeah…"

"I like you," she told him quietly. Soul looked at her and she shifted, her eyes meeting his strongly. "I know it's you. I feel it, inside."

He reached up and stroked her hair, feeling the soft skin of her neck and watching her arc to him like a purring cat. She gripped the sides of his shirt, her legs squeezing him and her breaths starting to heavy with every stroke. He felt his throat dry when she made a little noise in the back of her throat, his hand massaging down her back until he reached her thighs, where he felt the hem of his shirt and felt the swell of her bottom, inviting and softer than anything he'd ever felt before. Her skin was like satin, he decided, and he wanted to feel all of it.

"I think," he began with a small smile. Her lips rested on his jaw and she drew one hand up to caress his neck. "I think I do, too." His hand slid back up before he got carried away and he brought her into a tight hug, burying his nose in the hollow of her neck. "A lot more than I should."

Maka wrapped her arms around his neck and brought him closer, her cheeks pink and her smile bright.