Usual disclaimers apply~ Now this is my favourite chapter so far~ 8D
MAKA----
Damn Kiel for destroying my CD player, she thought as she tossed and turned on her bed at one twenty-three in the morning, for destroying my lullaby.
It was a day ago that she almost killed said person for acting like he did and heartbreakingly watching each piece of the disk fall bit by bit on the concrete beside her.
Damn Kiel's fault that I'm not getting any sleep!
She remembered how bad she had been at school today, totally unfocused, a worried Tsubaki trailing after her wherever she went. Black*Star even straightforwardly called her a zombie, laughing loudly even as an encyclopedia found itself dug in his cranium. But the sight of Kiel shriveling away from the three was utterly precious, and it gave her a little energy for the day.
Sitting up suddenly, Maka decided to go and grab herself a drink from the kitchen. As she was about to jump off the bed in irritation, she saw her small phone resting peacefully on her bedside table. Swiping it from its sleeping state, she quickly flipped it open as she walked to the kitchen, checking for any messages or missed calls from the only one who knew her number.
Nothing.
Stupid Soul. Why hadn't he called? It's been three days since he left and there wasn't even a message. Wasn't he supposed to check up on her?
What if…he failed in his mission? No way! He'd never let himself fail a mission this easy. But he doesn't have a meister with him to wield him. She knew she should've gone with him! No, there just might be no signal over in that place…or he forgot to charge the stupid phone. Or it got destroyed in an accident…?
The questions disturbingly spun through her thoughts and started to worriedly produce an unnecessary fear.
Too worried about Soul to go to bed, she sat herself on the couch, tucking her knees in front of her and stared at the phone's screen she was holding. She should call him. Y'know, just to make sure he wasn't dead in a ditch somewhere.
Oh god…
The thoughts were plaguing her and she tried her best to control the fear, telling herself that she was thinking too much. Inhaling deeply, she looked at the only number dialed in her phone book. She didn't use it much because it reminded her of her Papa's face when he gave it to her - proud, as if he'd retrieved her a bucket full of gold - puppy dog eyes asking for approval and loving appreciation. Loving her Papa's various reactions and facial expressions, she teased him, telling him that she'd 'never, ever use it…', that was until Soul exchanged numbers with her when he moved out of the apartment.
Finally, after a deep breath to control her panic, she pressed the single phone book entry, her breath caught as she watched as the screen abruptly changed, displaying the words 'dialing: SOUL'.
SOUL----
It was around two AM. Who in their right mind would call this early?
Feeling for the phone he left by the bedside table of the infernal king-sized bed he slept on, he squinted at the bright screen, the vibrations of the device on his hand slowly waking up the sleeping cells in his still sleeping body. When he decided that his eyes couldn't adjust to the glow of the screen, he immediately answered by pressing the answer button and placing it beside his ear and flopping back down on the bed, an arm draping across his temporarily blinded eyes.
"Hello?" It annoyed him that he had to talk using a raspy voice.
"S-Soul?" The quiet whimper unbelievably woke up every cell in his body instantly. It was Maka. But why was she calling at this time with such a tone of voice that sounded as if she was about to cry? My god, what's happening to her? he thought worriedly.
"Maka? What's wrong!?" He had himself sat up now, fearing for her answer, a hand clutching his hair and pulling gently at his scalp to prevent him from panicking wildly.
"Stupid Soul!" Shocked, even though the shout wasn't even loud, he wondered what the hell he did. "You said you'd call! You idiot!" Her voice sounded as if she was trying her best to keep her voice steady despite the threatening whimpers that told him the tears were coming.
"What? H-hey? Maka, are you crying?"
"No!" And she sniffed. And a sob escaped her. Soul had the greatest urge to laugh at how cute she was being, but he didn't for the sake of her pride.
"Sorry," sincerely saying so without showing even a hint of his amusement was a hard feat, but he succeeded.
Had she been expecting him to call her? It wasn't like he forgot her though, the three days he was here, people in the house or visitors seem to crowd around him and Wes, seeming to have heard of both their accomplishments - and of their arrivals - they were the only things he could do while waiting for the arrival of the relic. Lunch, tea, dinner. Every single one of them they had to spend with visitors or in other people's mansions. And he had been reluctantly going to each and every one of them for a reason unknown to him; he guessed that he still had the gentlemanly behaviour from his childhood and that he was reliving it. And every night, he just flopped down to sleep, thinking of ways to escape the next day's visitors and managing to get himself something to eat.
Hearing his meister's voice now, currently swallowing her tears, he felt guilty for not sparing her any time when it was he that promised to check up on her.
"Hey Maka," he muttered in a pleading tone, "Look, I'm sorry. Can you just stop it with the crying?"
After a few breaths, he could hear her forcing herself to calm, the whimpers eventually subsiding.
"Good girl," Soul made sure to made it sound as if he was smiling, which he was. Maka was so obedient when it comes to him; the same way that he would only do stuff for his meister. "Now are you better?"
"Uh-huh," she quietly affirmed with a wet sniff.
Soul snickered silently; she was just so…cute at the moment.
"So what's wrong? Are you okay?"
"No," she said stubbornly. Soul was about to apologize thinking that it was his fault but she quickly finished what she wanted to relay to him. "I can't sleep, Soul." She drawled out his name in a long whine.
Letting her hear his short chuckle, he replied, "Is that why you wake me up?"
Finally, she chuckled weakly in response, "Sorry. Y'know I fall asleep with that CD sent to me by my…fiancée?" For some reason, his heart started swelling in his chest so much that he almost couldn't breathe, knowing full well that she acknowledges him - well, she doesn't know its him but she seemed to not hold any anger towards the fiancée(him)…only awkwardness. Nodding in affirmation, he forgot that it was a phone call and he voiced his shaky 'yeah'.
"Well, I don't have it anymore. That's why I couldn't sleep, my…uh, lullaby is gone." Lullaby? Really? The white haired weapon smiled in delight for a reason that he couldn't fathom - he was just happy. Maka was one of the few who appreciated his very strange way of playing - and even without knowing it, she was still fond of his playing - his old style of playing - his own composition. But his happiness was only momentary. She thinks its someone else's playing, she might like that more than his current musical style. Still, if it makes her happy…
"What do you mean gone? Did you lose it?"
A pause. "Yeah, kinda."
"Man, and you think you're the organized one…" That statement procured a small, mock offended 'hey!' from her. "Look, I have an idea. But it will cost us quite a lot in the phone bills."
"Oh, don't worry, Papa's paying."
"Good enough. Now I'll get back to you in a minute." Standing up he felt the cold of the laminated floor cover the entirety of his unprotected bare feet. Luckily, he had slept wearing the dress shirt and slacks from this dinner and he needn't change in case some maid sees him in his pajamas or something.
He exited the room, which had been offered to him and into the hallway. Remembering the rooms in the house as he went down a flight of stairs, he sneaked toward the room, which was at the far end of the corridor, the one with the giant oak double doors.
Pushing them open gently, trying not to make any loud noises, he was met with the correct room: it was the ballroom, the largest in the house, taking up almost two-fifths of the entire first floor. The floor looked like it was made of marble, gleaming pink with the light of the moon, which was entering from the wall of glass windows at the edge of the room. He smirked as he found the object he had been looking for, at the corner of the room, raised above the floor by the podium.
There the grand piano stood elegantly, showcasing its beauty and majesty to the whole of the dance floor. It glistened in the moonlight, further emphasizing its beauty and dark sheen.
Closing the double doors, his dull tread echoed against the walls of the room, his feet frozen yet still keen on arriving at its destination.
Being close enough to the beautiful object, he let a hand glide smoothly just above the surface of the grand, feeling the coolness it was emitting. Sitting himself down on the bench and raising the keyboard cover, he returned the phone to his ear.
"Get yourself comfortable Maka." He solemnly commanded.
MAKA----
Hearing his voice after their parting, it warmed her soul, the thought that he was safe calming her down.
She didn't know what he was about to do but she obediently followed him and entered her room. Lying down, she wrapped herself in her duvet, relieving herself from the cold that she felt while on the living room sofa.
"You ready?" Soul's husky voice sounding from the other side of the phone. The sudden utterance and the way it was delivered made her shiver - it wasn't that cold though, was it?
"Yep," came the tired reply.
There was a short clattering sound for a moment before the real thing began.
A familiar sound resounded in her ear, echoing around the room in a very familiar way.
A piano?
The key G…
It began, the dark tune resounding through the hollow area. She could almost imagine the last time she watched Soul play, fingers drifting fluidly along the ivory and ebony keys. The memory of how he looked when he played for her became very clear in her mind, as if it was only yesterday when he played. So…magical.
Relaxing as the music wrapped itself around her like a tight embrace, her eye lids closed as she felt the weight of her fatigue, which had built up from yesterday's insomnia, overwhelm her. Unconsciously, she hummed a familiar tune, noticing the miniscule similarity even in the languid state that she was currently drifting in and out of. This similarity grew, the humming synchronizing with the piece he was playing, only bits and pieces being drowsily understood.
He was playing 'Soul mates', although in a very different style, his own freer style - one that she had wanted to hear since she received the disk. With sleep finally capturing her, the last incomprehensible yet remembered thought she had was 'how did he know how to play it?'.
Finally asleep, the composition continued, slowly entering the last movement in the piece, harmonious throughout. Ending the piece in quieter tones, there was a short scuffling sound on the other line and Soul's raspy voice resounded, the sleeping meister unable to hear.
"Sweet dreams, Maka," thus ending the call.
A/N: filler chapter. Hopefully fluffy filler chapter? ...i cant write fluff as well as others T.T
guess we have to thank Kiel for destroying the CD? xDD
My chemistry exam was today…awaugh! *withers and dies in a corner somewhere*
I write all the chapters in advance, see, and it was a week ago when I wrote this. I couldn't study~ I just wanted to write XDD I hated chemistry anyway…
reading all your reviews and rereading all the chapters ive already made...
i realized...my plot is so confusing T.T and its so hard to get to the climax (which i believe is still a long way away~) in a realistic and logical way xDD;;
i appreciate it though, people telling me what i miss helps a lot =w=;;
thank you all once again for taking your time to review~ i cant thank you all enough...
and 50+ reviews too! i didnt even think i'd get that many TwT
maybe i should draw something to commemorate it xDD;;
hope you guys review~ ENJOY!
~Rune~