A Maka for All Seasons
By DarkAngel
Disclaimer: It aten't mine, and not all the headology in the world es gonna make it mine, see?
Summary: It's a special day for Blair, Maka and Soul.
[39. Pet]
"Hey Maka, do you know what today is?"
Maka looked up from her reading. She hadn't had much time to attend regular classes since making Soul a Death Scythe and becoming a member of Spartoi. That's why she'd taken it upon herself to do her reading and assignments at home, never mind what Soul said about her not needing to do the assignments. Spartoi member or not, two-star meister or not, it wouldn't do to flunk out of Shibusen before she got what she needed to done. If only Soul could feel the same way about it... Setting those thoughts aside, she looked down at the little bundle of black fur at her feet.
"What day it is? It's a Wednesday if I'm not mistaken. Why do you ask?" The book in her lap shifted, threatening to slide right off as Blair jumped up onto it. Maka made a hasty noise and scrambled to catch the book and keep the cat in her lap. Blair giggled, nimbly dodging Maka's hand and making a leap onto her head. The book flopped out of Maka's lap and landed with a rustle of pages onto the hardwood floor. Maka sighed.
"It is a Wednesday, but that's not what I'm getting at." Blair's tail curled around Maka's neck, the end of it flicking against her throat. Maka squirmed. "Think anniversaries."
"Anniversaries?" Maka gave her feline companion's tail a flick, and Blair obediently wrapped her tail around herself.
"Mm hmm. A very important day for you and me and Soul too." There was a smug, pleased note in Blair's voice. Maka tried to think of what this day could mean. It wasn't anyone's birthday. She glanced at the calendar on the wall but found no clues there. An important day... for the three of them?
From the top of her head Blair sighed. "I see I'm going to have to give you a little hint." She leapt down again, landing lightly in Maka's lap. Golden eyes peered at her beseechingly. "It doesn't matter what shape it is or what it looks like. What matters is the soul." Maka blinked at the gruff voice.
"Is that... supposed to be Soul?" Blair grinned at her and Maka laughed. He wouldn't appreciate the imitation. "He did say that, didn't he?" She thought back to their early hunting days. Those had been good days. Hectic and frustrating; and had argued a lot. Well, maybe that part of their relationship remained the same. Maka's lips twitched up in a rueful, resigned smile. But they had come out of it stronger and closer than before.
"You know, I don't think I ever thanked you."
"Hm?" Blair's ears twitched as Maka's fingers scratched behind them. She purred, nuzzling her head into the girl's hand.
"We were so close to making Soul a Death Scythe. But now that I think about it, I don't think either of us would have been prepared for it." They had been so young then. They were still young, still kids, but back then they had been even younger. Thinking of the responsibilities they had now, she knew they wouldn't have been able to handle them nearly as well back then. She wondered how Justin had coped with it – and he had been alone. Maybe that was part of what had set him adrift.
"You're warm, oh so warm." Blair's voice interrupted her musing. She headbutted the palm of Maka's hand. "Think of a very specific day he said that about souls."
"Hm? Well..." Maka tried to refocus her thoughts. They'd been close to their first set of 100 souls, right? They had defeated a demonic soul and the only thing they'd had left to do was... "Ninety-nine demonised souls and one witch's soul." Maka blinked. She looked down at the cat. "That was you." There had been reports of a witch taking up residence not far from Death City. Nobody had bothered to give the matter more than a cursory glance and so Maka and Soul had gone hunting, thinking that they were out to get a witch.
Blair grinned, showing Maka a set of sharp white teeth. "You've figured it out then?"
She thought some more. She blinked again. "Is today the day we met you?" The words came out slowly, cautiously. Had it really been the first day they'd met Blair? It seemed like such a long time ago that she couldn't pinpoint the exact day, but now that she thought about it, it had been early summer. Soul had been eagerly triumphant, crowing something about being the coolest of the cool... and being able to skip out on school once he became a Death Scythe. The perfect start to a summer vacation, or something like that.
"Bingo!" Blair giggled, batting her paw teasingly at Maka's nose. "It took you a while to figure out. You're supposed to be smart, meow?"
"Oh shut up." There was no venom in the words, however. Maka gave Blair a fond pat on the head. She thought about it for a moment. They had tried to hunt Blair and lost. Their soul collection count had been reset. Blair had moved in with them. The last year and a bit had been spent getting Soul back up to count. She jerked. Blair looked up at her curiously.
"Did..." She blushed. "Er, did I ever apologize for trying to kill you?"
Blair's eyes widened. Maka grimaced. Okay, that hadn't been the best segue in the world.
But Blair only giggled. "Oh, Maka, I forgave you a long time ago. And besides," she said, slanting a look her way "I tried to kill you too. I was serious about it at the time, you know."
"Oh." Maka gulped. She'd seen what Blair was capable of when she was serious. The run in with the Flying Dutchman at the abandoned factory in Russia came to mind. But Blair only laughed again. "Weeeeeellll, I may have gone a little easy on you. That might have lost me one life. But it's a small price to pay." Blair nuzzled into Maka's stomach, mewling. "Do you know what life was like for me before you came to my little house?" When she shook her head, Blair said, "You know how I said I'm a cat with extraordinary magical ability?" Maka nodded. "I had an owner before... a long, long time ago.
"I loved her very much, but while humans generally live longer than their pets, the magic I was born with pretty much guaranteed that I would outlive her." Blair gave a soft mew. "I tried a lot of things over the centuries, but I generally did it alone." She pawed at Maka's face. "Most people just want a house cat. They don't want a house cat that can talk back or abracadabra things out of thin air. And you're not the first person to fall under the impression that I'm a witch."
Maka swallowed the lump that suddenly threatened to block the air from her throat. It was hard to imagine what Blair's life might have been like before. She was always so happy and carefree. She couldn't imagine Blair being anything more or less than what she was now.
"Thank you, Maka," Blair said when Maka told her this. "That's one of the nicest things I've ever heard."
"But why didn't you tell us earlier? I mean –" Maka did a brief run through in her head. "It's been over a year. You could have told us that first year you came to live with us."
"I would have, but you and Soul were busy with other things then." Blair didn't look sad or upset at that. "And it doesn't matter. What matters is here and now."
"Yeah." Maka smiled, stroking Blair's head. "Well, Happy Anniversary." She deposited Blair on a couch cushion. She bent down to pick up her book. "Say Blair?"
"Hm?"
"How do you feel about having a special dinner tonight? I'll make your favourite dishes." Blair knew how Maka felt about fish, and her eyes widened for just a fraction of a second before she squealed in delight. "Really?" Blair batted golden cat eyes at her. "Even bouillabaisse?"
"Yeah. Even bouillabaisse." Maka nodded. Blair let out a happy squeal.
Had it really been just over a year? It felt like so long ago, those days she and Soul had spent trying to make him a Death Scythe. And so much had happened. Blair had come into their lives. They'd met Kid and the Thompson sisters. Asura had been resurrected. They'd defeated a real witch. So much had happened in a just that short space of time. And who knew what would happen to them in another year?
As Maka set to work preparing the ingredients for Blair's anniversary feast, she looked over to the cat who'd become such an integral part of their lives. Her eyes crinkled in a smile. She had no idea what would happen. But as long as she had friends like these, she was sure she'd be able to make it through anything.
Author's Notes: It's been a long time since I've written anything, and I'm definitely feeling it! I'm not satisfied with the way this fic turned out – there's something missing from it. The spark I feel with some fics isn't here in this one. Ah, well. It's all part of the recuperative process. I need to start writing – period – before I can start writing well again. :)