I don't own Soul Eater

Ribbons

"Maka, wait for papa!" The red headed father huffed, sprinting for excrements then power walking to catch up to his sandy blonde daughter who ran just a little faster and just a little out of his reach along Death City's cobblestone roads. Once every couple of months, Spirit had promised to take his darling daughter to work with him. Of course he always took a day off for that because he didn't want to risk "corrupting" her. They would always go into the older part of the bustling city and would shop for whatever her little heart desired at that moment. The day would finish up with ice cream and a new story.

It was one of Spirit's favorite things to do with Maka. He loved seeing her face light up at the colorfully lit window displays and the beautiful smile that would spread across her face when he handed her the decorated bag filled with whatever she had previously begged for. If there was anything the man was proud of, it was his daughter. She was gorgeous with her gleaming emerald eyes, thankful with big heart, but most of all, she was innocent. Innocent with every fiber in her being- and he wanted to keep it that way.

"I'm faster than you!" Maka teased as the exhausted man had caught up with his victorious child. Her cheeks were rosy red from the chilling wind. Spirit bent down to the small girl's level and gently flicked her nose.

"Of course you are!" He said and swung her into a bear hug. Maka giggled away as she clung to her father's back for a piggy back ride. "Now where does my Maka wanna go?" He added as the two passed a vendor selling some kind of fruity smelling perfume. The blonde girl tugged at her father's red hair to adjust herself as she felt herself slowly falling.

"I wanna go to," Maka briefly let go of her father's shoulders to wrap her coat tighter around her petite body. Her green irises scanned around for a place that she thought that they might both enjoy. Clothing stores she enjoyed but her papa could never buy anything there. The same for the cute toy stores that seemed to harbor a whole section of the minuscule strip they were on. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a dimly lit building that seemed to ooze of wonderful feelings. The red brick building looked old with the single sign above it reading books in blue paint which was peeling. Each step away from it they took it seemed to whisper for her to come back. "That's it!" Maka exclaimed tugging her father's hair like reigns indicating that he stop.

"Hm?" Spirit asked as he turned around. "What is it?"

"I want papa to take me there!" She exclaimed and pointed the direction of where she wanted to be at. Spirit shrugged his shoulders, unsurprised that she had chosen to go there. When he was still a student, he had spent a lot of time there semi-studying with his old partner Stein, before he had met Maka's mama. As he pushed open the door, causing a bell to chime and warm air to surround them. The store smelt of iced cinnamon rolls and freshly brewed coffee with a hint of dust. The place hasn't changed one bit. Maka's mouth made an O shape.

"Have fun kiddo!" Spirit lifted her off of his back and let her feet skim the ground before picking her back up. "But promise me something."

Maka rolled her eyes impatiently but nodded. "What is it?"

"Promise me that you'll get something you really like. I might just read it to you when we get home. Okay?"

"Promise!" Maka exclaimed as her feet hit the floor with a resounding clack. And just like that, the little girl shuffled off into the place of her dreams.

An hour later, Maka returned to her father who was waiting for her in the conjoined coffee shop. He had in hand a box of freshly baked, cream cheese frosted cinnamon rolls (her favorite) and a half empty plain black coffee. Maka, in her hands held a single book. A chapter book that looked like it was about fairies and faraway castles. Secretly she had always loved a happy ending.

After paying, the two walked back the way they came. Only this time the bustle of the crowd had died down and some stores had flicked off their lights for the night. The click of the street lamps turned on filling the alley with a sense of emptiness. The blonde girl skipped along the curb gleefully while her father lagged behind giving her a sense of some freedom. Cars weren't allowed so he had no fear of her getting hit and almost everyone had left.

Almost everyone.

There was one more place Spirit had in mind to take his previous daughter to before they called it a night.

After factoring in brief stops and walking time, the two had traveled five minutes. They had arrived at the lone shop that hadn't closed for the day. Spirit bent down and whispered to his daughter: "I want you to close your pretty eyes until I say so, okay?"

"Okay!" Maka chirped happily in reply, her eyes squeezed as tight as she could make them. Spirit squeezed her hand and led her inside.

While the young girl couldn't see anything, she could certainly smell and imagine. Just from the smell (something sweet. Cookies perhaps?) she could see sparkly fairies fluttering around a bakery and a princess with a sapphire dress and long golden blonde hair cascading down her back. She longed to open her eyes but didn't because the girl knew that she had given her word and she couldn't go against it.

Her papa talked for a second with brief mention of colors and escorted her out. "Can I open my eyes now?" Maka inquired. She dug the toe of her red buckled shoes into the ground.

He chuckled. "Yes you may." And she did.

She looked around expecting to be in a foreign location but was actually in the same place where he had told her to close her eyes. She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted as her father stopped to her level and extended his hand.

Ribbons. Both a shade of pink that matched her dress. "Pretty." Those were the only words that came to mind. They were pretty. "I love them! Thank you papa!" The girl exclaimed and threw her arms around her father. He embraced his daughter in a hug before he carefully sat her down and swiftly changed his expression to something of a more serious nature. "What's wrong?" She bit her lip and pouted.

"Nothing princess! Sorry to worry you! Want me to tie those?" Maka nodded. "Alright, just a second... There!" The man shouted victoriously as he had tied one. The other pigtail was easier because he was used to it by now, kind of.

Maka had never felt so happy before. It was nice to have someone there watching over her. "Can we do this again soon?"

"Promise you won't get tired of me?" He grinned and swooped his daughter up.

"Promise. But can you put me down? I kind of want to walk."

"You sure?" Spirit stopped walking. "You know when you're my age you'd be begging for someone to carry you. You'll miss that when you get older."

"Get old?" The innocent child hummed as he sat her down. She grabbed his hand and skipped happily. "I don't want to get old like you."

A vein popped out in Spirit's neck but he steeled himself not to act on that. He was not old. He and Kami had Maka when they were 18, so he wasn't old. Maka was seven so he was... Suddenly there was a slouch in his walk the rest of the way.

She snickered in a mocking way that only she and her mother could. The two walked in comfortable silence until everything went uncontrollably terrible. "Spirit! Ooh you haven't returned any of my calls! Is this your daughter?" This woman had the face of the princess she had imagined in the book store. Long blonde hair, cerulean blue eyes, heart shaped face, Cupid bow lips, slightly upturned nose, peaches and cream complexion. The look she shot her sent chills down her spine. Something that should never have happened.

Maka pulled her hand back when the lady had thrown her arms around her father. Her papa. Her mama's husband. Who was this stranger and why was she hugging her papa? Something to the young girl that it wasn't the kind of hug that friends normally gave to each other. It seemed intimate. Like she shouldn't be there.

And wrong. The whole thing felt wrong.

"I'm not his daughter. Sorry!" Spirit reached for her hand but wasn't quite fast enough. Again. In the blink of an eye she had torn down the street towards the way home.

"I love you and mama the most. Maka, papa loves you! Please wait!" But she was gone. There were no tears in her eyes as she had run off. Her face was unreadable. The antithesis of earlier. She was gone. Despite the situation, he had meant the words he had shouted as she sprinted off. He really did love them. His blue eyes noticed something in the middle of the road. It was the book of happy endings. Single handedly, he had taken that away from her.

He had messed up. He had messed everything up.

And at the same time this was taking place, a little boy with hair as white as snow had sneezed lifting dust from the piano that sat in front of him.

"When you're ready, Soul."

Author's Note: Well, the first chapter would've been a oneshot but under fierce convincing, I decided to make this ongoing. For a little bit that is. Inspiration from these came from script writing which I hate, but I thought that they fit Spirit and Maka. One more thing, I have developed a new found liking for Maka. I always liked her but the fist of courage in the anime ruined it for me. Were they 18 when they had Maka? Dunno.