A Maka for All Seasons
By DarkAngel
Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater.
Author's Notes: This is the sequel to the last chapter. Thank you to everyone who commented saying they wanted to see a sequel. :D I hope this is to your liking.
[19. Uncomfortable]
To say things were awkward between them would have been like saying Black Star's ego was overlarge, or that Kid had a little symmetry related problem: the most grandiose of understatements. Maka, to put it in plain terms, felt like shit. Never had she had to sit through such an awkward dinner; never had she woken up several times from her fitful sleep in a sweaty terror; never had she felt less motivated to do anything other than stay in her bed and pray that she could pass the whole weekend away here, unnoticed.
Rubbing blearily at one sleep encrusted eye, she looked from the digital numbers on her alarm clock to the shafts of sunlight beaming through her window. Ugh. She'd overslept. Her original plan had been to wake up early and make breakfast, go jogging, and then settle in for an afternoon of studying. It was now close to lunchtime. She closed her eyes again with a defeated groan.
She knew that sooner or later, she would have to leave her bed and face the world outside her bedroom. Sooner or later, she would have to come face to face with Soul once more. Her heart thudded dully. She squeezed her eyes together, her fingers curled tightly into the comforter. Soul. He was always so good at hiding his emotions, so good at keeping things under the surface. Over the years of their partnership, Maka was proud of the fact that she'd slowly deciphered almost all the minute facial tics and shades in his eyes so that she could read him almost as well as one of her beloved books. But last night had been different. It had been as if a shutter had gone over his eyes, and aside from the brief flash of pain that evening, he'd displayed nothing but a blank slate; something she couldn't even begin to decipher, much less read.
Checking the clock again, Maka frowned. A whopping two minutes had passed since the last time she'd set eyes on it. She sighed. Courage. It was what she was noted for. Courage would get her through the day, through the weekend. Slowly, she sat up. Her head felt as though cottons balls had been packed in there, her mouth felt disgustingly sandpapery. She rubbed at her head. Standing up, she made her way to her bedroom door, stopping at it, resting her head against the cool wood. There were no sounds of life out there. Was Soul in his own room, sleeping? Biting her lip, she turned the knob.
A blur of dark fur shot into the room, making Maka stumble back in surprise. The dark bundle hopped lightly onto her bed and peered at her with curious golden eyes. "Blair," Maka whispered, holding a hand to her chest. "You startled me."
The cat twitched an ear at her. "I'm sorry Maka. I was just coming to tell you breakfast was ready, but you opened the door." She looked at Maka in concern. "Are you all right? You look like you're under the weather."
Maka made a hoarse sound that barely passed for a laugh. "I'm not sick."
"Hm." The magical cat bounded off the bed and blurred into her human form. "That's good." Blair bent down so that her oversized breasts were in Maka's face. She lifted a manicured hand up to touch Maka's forehead and made a small grimace. "But you're covered in sweat and you really do look pale. Did something happen?"
It took everything to keep her lip from trembling at that. The only thing that kept her from going over the proverbial edge was the years of ingrained endurance. She was not weak; she would not crumble so easily. "I'm fine Blair," she said, proud at the way her voice came out – steady and strong. "I just had a rough night, that's all."
"Oh." Blair's ears twitched downwards. Then she perked right up again. "Well, breakfast will make you feel better! I made a toasted fish sandwich! I even made scrambled eggs!" Maka's stomach lurched unpleasantly. "Thanks Blair," she managed. She hesitated. "Is Soul up already?"
"Soul?" Blair tipped her head to the side. "He left a note saying he was going out for a while. He said he'd be back later."
"Oh." Maka looked down. She didn't know whether to feel relieved or aggrieved. She tugged at a pigtail that had come loose in her sleep; she'd been so out of it she hadn't loosened her hair when she'd gone to bed last night. Stepping out of her bedroom, Blair behind her, she made her way into the kitchen. Her nose wrinkled at the smell of slightly burned fish and eggs. Her eyes flicked from the burned mess on the kitchen table, to the ingredients littering the countertop and stove. She sighed inwardly. "You know, Blair, come to think of it I'm not so hungry. You can eat the rest. More for you, right?"
The cat woman looked at her in concern. "Are you sure, Maka? You're a growing girl and all..."
"I'll be fine." She shot the feline a look that she hoped was convincing. "I'll just get myself a bowl of cereal or something. Thanks, though."
"Oh." Blair's ears flattened on her head, but she perked right up again. "Okay! Blair shall make lunch too, when Maka feels hungrier!"
Maka smiled weakly at her feline roommate. "Um... that's all right, Blair. There was something I had in mind for lunch today, anyway." Something that didn't involve burnt fish, but Blair didn't need to know that. "Just be sure to clean up the kitchen when you're done, okay?"
"Leave it to Bu-tan! I clean this all up in two shakes with my kitty magic!" Blair made a swipe with a closed fist, like a cat batting its paw at her. Maka smiled faintly.
Now what to do? There was that test coming up on Monday, but she honestly couldn't say that she would be able to concentrate on studying now. She bit her lip. Besides, she hadn't taken any notes. Soul had said he'd taken them in her place, but... Her eyes wandered to his room. He wasn't home. She could just slip in, take what she needed, and get out. She swallowed thickly. The events from last night flashed through her mind.
"We're partners... friends."
"Is that it?"
"Is that all I'm ever going to be to you?"
"I did it to protect you."
"As your weapon."
"That's all."
No. Maka squeezed her eyes shut, digging the heels of her palms into her eyes. No. It wasn't supposed to be like this. They'd always been partners, nearly always been friends. She didn't want any of that to change. She hadn't thought it ever would. But the hurt in Soul's eyes had told her loud and clear that she had been the only one thinking like that. From what she gathered of her friends, they'd been seeing what Soul had been seeing. How long had this been going on?
She stumbled to Soul's room. Shoving open the door with her shoulder, she looked around for his bag. Spotting it by his bed, she nearly dove for it. She found his notebook easily enough and flipped through it. He really had taken notes. They were all there, in his untidy scrawl. She felt a lump burning its way up her throat.
"Always the look of surprise."
She really had underestimated him. All along, she'd thought she knew him better than anyone else, but when it came down to it, she hardly knew anything about him at all.
Soul still hadn't come home by the time lunch rolled around. Maka's attempts at studying had been near futile. She would stare at Soul's notes and all she could think of was him. It was stupid. The way he slanted the crossbar over his letter ts shouldn't have made her recollect the way he would stay close by her at school; or the way he would laugh when something struck him as funny, his normally low voice taking on a more childish pitch. Seeing his heavy penmanship shouldn't have dragged her thoughts to the way he would always make her hot chocolate just the way she liked it; or how he would catch her sleeping on the couch and when she'd wake up, there would be a blanket wrapped around her and a pillow placed under her head.
The worst of this whole ordeal was, she had no idea how to deal with any of it. She wasn't used to being indecisive: if a problem arose, she found a way to work around it or else knock it clear into next Tuesday.
Soul had put his cards on the table. Well, sort of. She was more than 90% sure of how he felt about her, but the question was, how did she feel about him? Oh, they were partners, of course. Friends, yes. But could she possibly mean more to him than that? She shuddered. This was how Mama and her stupid Papa had started out. Just like this. And look at them now, Maka thought bitterly. Her mother was Death only knew where, and her father was still working his way through all of Death City's eligible (and then some) women.
She slammed the notebook shut. Forget it. This wasn't going anywhere. Grabbing what she needed, she yelled to Blair that she would be out for a walk and bolted out of the house, the door slamming loudly behind her.
Tsubaki was looking at Maka with something between sympathy and pity in her eyes. Maka bit down hard on her tongue; the last thing she wanted to do was snap at her best girl friend, especially when she was the only one she could talk to about this. She sighed, running her finger over the steaming mug of tea Tsubaki had made her. She looked around. "Where's Black Star?"
"He went out with Soul-kun. I think they're at Kid-kun's house right now." Maka nodded at this information. So that's where Soul was. She took a sip of the black tea, letting it warm her.
"You spoke to Soul-kun last night," Tsubaki started. Maka gave a tiny nod. "I assume it didn't go well?"
"No." Maka laughed, feeling hollow. "It didn't go well." She sighed for what felt like the hundredth time. "And now he's avoiding me. I don't know how we're ever going to resonate again." It wasn't a joke. She'd heard of couples who'd broken up and ended up not being able to resonate together after it was all said and done with. And the stupid thing about all this is we're not even a couple. She didn't think she'd felt this low in a long time. This was worse than when they'd found out Soul had consumed a cat's soul. Or when Medusa had betrayed them. Or... Well, point being, it was pretty bad, and she didn't see the situation getting better anytime soon.
As if reading her thoughts, Tsubaki touched her arm. "He'll come back, Maka-chan. And then you can work through it together. You're too strong together to be apart for long."
If only it were that simple. Maka was on the verge of telling Tsubaki just that, but didn't want to dim the hopeful look in the other girl's eyes and merely nodded. After some silence, Tsubaki spoke up again. "Maka-chan?"
"Mm?"
Tsubaki paused, biting on her lip, her eyes clouded. She looked as though she were trying to find the best way to say something. "Do... do you know how you feel about Soul?" She flushed upon getting the blunt end of Maka's hollow eyed stare. "I mean, it's pretty obvious he cares about you, and not just as a partner. I was wondering if you felt the same." She fidgeted with her fingers. Maka shook her head, sighing.
"That's what everybody wants to know, huh?" She slumped down so her face was on her knees. "That's what I want to know."
"You mean...?" Maka shook her head. Tsubaki tried another tack. "Okay, let's try it this way. I'm going to ask you some questions, and I want you to answer as honestly as possible. Is that all right?"
She sounded like Soul had last night, but Maka nodded. Anything was better than the limbo she was currently in.
"If Soul were to take up the offers he gets, how would you feel?"
"What?" Maka burst out, clutching the tea cup in a death grip. "He wouldn't. He has zero interest in those girls anyway." She could feel something nasty and bitter coil in her chest. She held a hand to it, rubbing at the burning ache that had suddenly flared there. Taking a vigorous swig of her tea to cool the sensations, she glared down at the table.
"It's just a scenario," Tsubaki said calmly. "I know Soul-kun won't take up any of those offers. And I think you know why." Before Maka had a chance to retort, Tsubaki threw another situation at her. "Soul-kun's pretty popular. He's been rejecting offers from other girls – partnership requests, offers to dance at the annual ball..." Tsubaki set down her tea cup and tapped a finger idly against the surface of the low table. "He's refusing them all now, but even as loyal as he is, he can only wait so long. Eventually, he'll realize that you won't reciprocate his feelings, and he'll move on. How do you think you'll feel when he's suddenly not at the apartment on Friday night because he's out on a date? Or if you hear him talking on the phone with his girlfriend? Or –"
"Stop!" She couldn't take it anymore. The more Tsubaki spoke, the more real those scenarios became in her head. And who was she to stop Soul from pursuing those things? He deserved happiness, and he wasn't in any way bound to her outside of their partnership and friendship. Friendship. The word left a bitter taste in her mouth. "What do you want me to do about it?" She suddenly felt sick. "I don't want to lose what we have, Tsubaki." But she didn't want to lose him. But she probably would, as Tsubaki was saying, if she couldn't make her choice in time. When had she become so greedy?
She felt a hand on her shoulder. "I can't help you find the answers you need, Maka-chan. But whatever happens with you and Soul, you know we'll all back you up."
And that was it, really. The ball was in her court. It was just too bad ball games had never been her forte.
By the time she got back from Tsubaki and Black Star's home, Soul had returned. She immediately stamped on the urge to turn right back around and closed the door behind her. "I'm home," she called out. Good. She sounded normal, not the slightest hint of a waver or hesitation in her voice.
But she got no response. Stepping warily into the apartment, she found he'd dumped his stuff on the couch in the living room but there was no sign of her white haired partner anywhere. She checked the bathroom and found no trace of him there. She glanced at his bedroom door. It was closed. So he was in there then. Maka paused in front of the door. She wanted to talk to him, to relieve them both of this awkwardness, but she had no idea where to begin. What could she possibly say to him to bring things back to normal?
She turned around, just about to go to her room when the door behind her opened. She turned back around, frozen to the spot. "Soul..."
He looked surprised for a brief moment before his became inscrutable once more. He nodded at her. "Maka."
They stood in an uncomfortable silence for some moments. Then Soul brushed past her. There was a faint hint of shower gel and shampoo that wafted to her nostrils as he passed by. She gulped. "How was the game?" she blurted out. Immediately, she felt the urge to punch herself in the face. How lame could she possibly be?
He stopped in mid-stride and turned around. "...it was all right," he said after a while. He gave her an appraising look, as though to see what it was she truly wanted from him. He shrugged. "Black Star had all our asses beat from the start."
A wave of relief crashed through Maka. She could handle this. "Sounds like Black Star." She rolled her eyes. "He doesn't know when to let up."
"Yeah..." Normally Soul would have chuckled. They'd have joked around a little more, talked some nonsense and hung out together. But things were different now, Maka was realizing with a wave of sadness. She couldn't just joke around with him and continue to act normally.
Soul sighed, sticking his hands deep in his pockets. "Look, Maka. About last night –" Soul shook his head. "Sorry I freaked you out. I lost control there. So uncool."
She could have smiled at his reiteration of the cool he worked so hard to keep. She shook her head at him. "No, it's all right. I'm sorry too." The tightness that had taken up residence in her chest was slowly uncoiling, letting her breathe easy once more. "And..." She paused, wondering if she should say it. There was that line between them. It had been crossed once, and they couldn't erase that fact. "Thank you, Soul. For always being there for me."
He chuckled. "We good then?"
"Yeah." She was so relieved she could have hugged him, but she stopped herself just in time. They'd just cleared things up between them – no need to go complicating things further with unnecessary contact.
They spent the rest of the day at their respective activities, and as evening rolled around, Maka went to sleep happy. They had gotten over this. She was stupid to worry that something like this could break their partnership.
As the week went on, she realized that she was wrong. It was so subtle she didn't even notice right at first.
For one thing, he no longer sat near her. Oh, they still sat together in class, and Soul slept or doodled on his notes as he usually did, but it was the distance between them that she noticed. There was a good foot of space between them, as Soul had taken to moving his stool away from her. She was used to the fabric of his jacket brushing against her side, or the way he would sometimes poke her to get her attention before muttering something to her during the lecture. Now he just sat hunched over the desk at a respectable distance. Maka found herself missing his warmth.
Then there was the lunch period. It used to be that that they would hang out together after eating; he'd even come with her to the library once in a blue moon "just to kill time". Now he was constantly with Black Star or Kid or else by himself somewhere. Despite being with Liz, Patti and Tsubaki, she couldn't help but feel an ache in her chest when she realized Soul wasn't there with her.
He no longer screened her locker for letters. She found this one out quickly enough when after the weekend, she came into school and found several notes stuffed into it. She looked through them and found they were much the same as the ones Soul received; she was slightly surprised at the not small number of requests she'd received from girls as well.
But perhaps the worst of all of this was that she could no longer touch him. She never knew how essential touch was to their relationship until now. It was just the little things she'd grown used to every day, so minute that she didn't know they were there until she was deprived of them. Like the way Soul would touch the small of her back or tug on her arm when he was leading her somewhere. Or the way he would sometimes mess up her hair just to tick her off, or give her a playful shove, or high five her when they accomplished something as a team. None of it was there anymore. And it hurt Maka much more than she thought it could or would.
Today was a flight practice day – one that had been mandated for them by the teachers, not the lame excuse Maka had made up the other day. Already Maka could tell this would not go well – the first clue being Soul's reluctance to transform to begin their training.
"What's your deal? It's not like we haven't done this before. How is this any different?" She felt frustrated. The fact that they were being given concerned looks by sweet Marie didn't make things any better.
Soul shuffled, hands stuck deep in his pockets. "It is different," he snapped. "Just because you can remain unaffected, doesn't mean I can." He flicked a brief glance at her tights-clad legs before turning swiftly away. Maka could feel her blood pressure rising.
"Oh come on! It's not even like you can feel –"
He whipped back around again, pinning her with a glare that could have nailed her to the signpost they were standing near.
"You –" Maka whispered, her throat suddenly dry. Her cheeks felt hotter than the Sahara. "You can...?"
Soul looked away again. "I just got good at ignoring it most of the time, I guess." He shrugged, slouching down even further, as if in embarrassment. "So uncool," she heard him mutter. They were silent for some agonizing moments, all three of them: Maka, Soul and Marie. Then Soul let out an explosive sigh. Turning to their teacher, he waved a hand. "Sorry Ms. Marie. I'm going to take a walk." Can we do this some other time?"
Marie looked as though she was going to object, but Maka waved it off. "It's all right, Ms. Marie. We'll practice on our own later." She smiled wanly, though she knew that her smile was far from convincing. "I think we need some time to regroup."
It came as no surprise then, that they were called into the presence of Lord Death soon after that incident. The god of death was as chipper as ever, though Maka could tell that this was going to be a long meeting, if the low table and three cups of coffee sitting by the mirror were any indication.
"Well hiya heya hoya! What's up, what's shaking?" Death bounced jovially across the platform they were standing on. Oh dear gods. He'd even come out of his mirror. Maka forced back a groan. So Marie really had gone and told Lord Death about the problems they had been having.
Once they were seated – Soul seated a respectable distance beside her and Lord Death across them, he cut to the chase. "Well, well, I do hear from little birdies that there's trouble in paradise." Maka winced. Really, did he have to make it sound so flippant? From out of the corner of her eye, Soul took a calming sip of his beverage, face blank. She wished he could have his composure.
When it was clear her partner wasn't going to speak, Maka stepped up to bat. "It's nothing, Lord Death. We've just been having a..." A what? A lover's spat? A difference of opinion? A falling out? "We've just been going through a rough patch," she finished, somewhat lamely. Soul was still looking at his coffee as if it were the most fascinating thing he'd ever tasted. Maka glared at him. He couldn't help, even just a little? This was as much his problem as it was hers.
"Weeellll," Lord Death said, tipping his chin against his forefinger and thumb, "it's not unusual for partnerships to have their ups and downs. As a matter of fact, it's the natural course of things, and normally I wouldn't interfere." Then he spread his hands apart in a gesture of surrender. "But you see, your friends are so worried about you. And I must admit, I'm a teensy bit concerned too. You two usually get over your fights quickly and the last time you fought like this was that time in London with the werewolf Free."
This time Soul did react. It was minute, but his hands clenched around his cup and set it down on the table carefully, as though afraid he might smash it.
"So in everybody's best interests, I have a proposal," Lord Death chirped on, as though he hadn't noticed a thing. "I'm going to send the two of you on a mission." Both Maka and Soul's heads jerked up. He held up a peremptory finger for silence. "It won't be a hard one. As a matter of fact, it's going to be sooooo much easier than the ones I've been sending you on recently. I just want you to track and hunt a wee little problem we've been having up in Washington state!"
Maka glanced at Soul, and this time, he glanced back. There was something in his eyes she couldn't read, but he only looked at her briefly before turning away again to look at Lord Death. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Soul said, speaking for the first time. "At this point, I'm not sure we can even resonate." She'd suspected the same thing herself, but for him to put it out there in words made a sharp stab of pain lance through her chest. She stifled a gasp into her coffee cup, taking an extra large chug of the black liquid to keep herself steady.
"It's because I'm worried about the stability of your partnership that I'm sending you on this mission, Soul," Death said, all pretence of light hearted brevity gone. "And as reluctant as I am to do this, I must give you both an ultimatum." Soul gave a hiss at that. Maka tensed.
"I would like you both to find the target and eliminate it. Simple, no? I highly doubt it's beyond either of your abilities to carry out." Death leaned in closer, looking at them both in turn. "If on the other hand you find you are unable to complete this mission..."
They both sat in their seats, frozen. If they couldn't finish the mission...?
"Then I will formally dissolve your partnership."
It was a miserable night. The threat of the dissolution of their partnership hung over them like a gloomy storm cloud. Maka couldn't even find it in herself to laugh at the fact that tonight's weather perfectly matched her mood: even in the thick blanket of night she could make out the grey clouds gathering together for a downpour. She stood on a rooftop, her Soul Perception stretched out as far as it would go, looking for their target. If they completed this mission successfully, they could stay together. But now that she thought about it, what would become of them even if they did? At the rate they were going, they would naturally drift would be forced to find a new partner, and Soul...
The thought of him finding a new partner made her heart thump painfully, her stomach feel as though it was being rent from seam to seam. She closed her eyes, trying to steady her breathing, to concentrate on the task at hand. Soul was transformed and in her hand, though they weren't resonating. If they had been, her perception would have had a wider reach, but she knew better than to ask it of him right now. Neither of them were in the best of shape all things considered.
And then, faintly, she felt it. Her eyes snapped open. To the south, a disturbance: it was there.
"Have you found it, Maka?" Soul asked. She nodded tersely. "Yeah. We need to move quickly." She was about to tell Soul to transform again so they could fly, but the words died in her throat. They could close the distance to their target in a matter of seconds using Soul's flying mode, but...
She took several steps back. "Maka, what are you -?" Before he had a chance to finish his sentence, she leapt off the edge of the roof onto the next one, taking three more them in quick succession. She hadn't had to do this in a long time – not since before they made Soul into a Death Scythe. She let her perception search out their target again. They were getting closer. Leaping with a flip down onto the pavement, she sprinted for the southeast corner of town, legs pumping hard.
They found it easily enough. Maka suppressed a wave of revulsion at the sight: that it had once been human was clear, but only because of the two arms and legs. Everything else had mutated beyond recognition, leaving behind the creature they faced. Its face was elongated and the jaw had become a maw of drooling hunger. Parts of the flesh were torn apart, revealing oozing wounds and even white bone in some places. Where the skin was undamaged, it was grey and bruised. White eyes stared with desperation at her, and from its ribcage she could hear the rattling gasps of a creature that had lost all sense but for its all-consuming hunger.
"Let's take care of this," Maka muttered. From the scythe Soul gave a grunt of assent.
Her first mistake was in thinking that this was going to be a cut and dry mission. Maka soon discovered just how wrong she was when she slashed at the demonised soul in a way that should have left it incapacitated if not dead, only to find to her rising horror that it just got up as though she hadn't cut it down. It let out a horrible screech, literally holding itself together. Maka then watched in horror as it began to glow. The wound she'd inflicted on it began to heal.
"Wha – no way," she gasped, jumping back to put some distance between the monster and herself. She looked up at Soul. "How are we supposed to beat this thing if it just regenerates?"
"Remember what Lord Death told us? It's not going down without you using your wavelength." He paused, the eye on his scythe closing briefly before looking down at her again. "I think that's why he sent us out here." He laughed hollowly. "He knew that we wouldn't be able to take this thing down without resonating."
"He wants us to force resonance?" Maka shuddered. Just what was Lord Death thinking? He knew as well as she did that it was nothing short of a miracle that she could still hold onto Soul now without any adverse side effects – she could still remember the burns she'd gotten from trying to hold him when they'd had their falling out, or the way he'd grown unimaginably heavy when Black Star tried to pick him up. For her to force resonance with him would undoubtedly leave them both in a state unfit to fight.
"...I don't see that we have much of a choice." Soul's voice was flat, and Maka cringed. Fair enough. They'd fail this mission if they didn't do something, which would either lead to one or both of them wounded or dying, or both of them being separated. It was a rock and hard place they'd been put in, and she didn't see that she could do better than to pick a situation and see where it took them.
"Okay." She blew out a deep breath. "I'm ready if you are."
"Ready as I'll ever be," Soul answered, still maintaining his stoic demeanour despite the odds. Maka had to smile at that.
She concentrated on the feeling of her soul. It was flickering erratically, signalling her panic. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to calm down. She could hear the monster bearing down on them, but as she concentrated, time seemed to slow. Searching out Soul's wavelength, she concentrated on merging them. She could feel Soul try to do the same.
A spark flared between them and Maka winced as the unpleasant sensation of resistance battered her from all sides. She cried out when a jolt shot straight through her and nearly dropped Soul. She only just managed to get out of the way in time as the demonised soul reached where they'd been. Rolling and leaping away, Maka gasped for breath.
"We can't do it! Soul, I don't think we can do it!" She hated this. She hated feeling so weak, so helpless. Their partnership had been forged of hardship and mutual trust, and this one thing was going to destroy everything they'd built up between them. She could feel tears starting to sting at her eyes.
And now she could feel a heavy resistance in her arms and she realized with dawning dismay that he was getting heavy. Oh gods no. If this kept up, pretty soon she wouldn't be able to wield him at all, and then what? The monster made a swipe at her and she dodged, though her movements were slowed considerably by the heavy scythe in her grip. She cried out as she felt a sharp pain blossoming in her shoulder. "Maka!" Soul yelled. Maka staggered at the combined pain of the blow and Soul's weight.
"God damn it, Maka! Get yourself together!" Soul's voice reverberated in her head. In the background, she could hear the demonised soul's angry roar as it made to attack again. Soul was getting heavier by the second. With a groan, she could feel her fingers beginning to slip from his shaft. The eye on his scythe widened. "Maka!" he yelled again, and she could catch the panic in his voice now, a surer sign than anything that things had gone to hell and beyond.
"Soul..." She stumbled back. The monster aimed a punch and it landed true. With a muted cry, Maka could feel herself flying as Soul slipped from her grasp. She barely registered his cry. Everything felt so far away. Her mind felt as though it was stuffed with cotton; everything was muted, everything was moving sluggishly. She landed on her back, her head bouncing against the pavement. Even that pain was muted. Is this how it's all going to end? Am I going to die on a mission that I can easily clear under normal circumstances?
And what of Soul? If she died, he would find himself partnerless, alone. He'd once told her that he'd been afraid of getting close to people once. The funny thing is, now I'm afraid of being alone. He laughed, showing two neat rows of razor sharp teeth. Totally uncool, huh?
No. Soul had never been anything but cool, even when he was a drooling idiot who did stupid things to maintain his image or his pride. He'd always been there for her, even when her own father hadn't been around long enough to look after his "precious baby girl". He'd been willing to throw away his cool if it meant giving her the support she (and she had never admitted it) desperately needed. Over the years, he'd become everything to her. And yet I can't –
"Maka!" She jolted. Soul. He was shaking her shoulder, the look in his eyes desperate. "Get up, Maka!" He tugged on her hand. "Come on, we need to get out of here!"
"But –" She could feel tears starting to roll down her face. "If we do that, we won't be partners anymore. They'll split us up, Soul!"
"I would rather see you alive from far away than dead in front of me," Soul said grimly. His grip on her hand tightened. "We're getting out of here. Come on."
"No!" she yelled. Soul stared at her, wide eyed. "Don't you care about what happens to us? We won't be partners anymore. We'll have to find other people to pair with. I don't want another partner, I want you!" His eyes widened. "Don't tell me you want to break up?"
They were silent for what seemed like ages. Soul let out a breath. "That isn't fair, Maka," he muttered. "You..." He shook his head. "You really don't get it, do you?" At Maka's blank look, he smiled, the first genuine smile she'd seen from him in what seemed like weeks. "I don't care what Lord Death or anyone else says. I'm not leaving. Whether we pass or fail this mission, I'm not going anywhere."
"Wha-?" Before Maka could finish, Soul yanked her up. They dodged the fist that had come crashing down on them just in time.
"That was too close," Soul muttered. "Come on, Maka. You can run faster than that."
Under normal circumstances she would have chopped him for that. At the very least she would have snapped something back in reply, but now wasn't the time or place for it. Her only reply was to tighten her grip on Soul's hand. Something... something was happening between them. She was on the verge of grasping it. Something very important was happening, and she had the feeling that if she let it go now, it would take a very long time before she would be given the opportunity to look at it again. She tugged on his hand. "Soul, stop."
By now they'd put a fair amount of distance between themselves and the demonised soul, though they could still hear it crashing about as it searched for them. Maka bit her lip. She knew they should deal with it before it started rampaging and hurting the townspeople, but this had to be dealt with now. She tugged on Soul's hand again, getting his attention. "Soul... what you said back there..." She fought down a blush. Her heart was pounding, and not just from the strain of the mission. There it was again: that feeling that she was sinking, there was that fear that dug its claws into her very heart, her very soul every time she thought of crossing that self-prescribed line she'd made between herself and her partner. That same fear she'd sworn she would never give herself the opportunity to feel after watching her father shatter her mother's heart.
But Soul is different. He would never do that to me. I know him better than anyone. I know Soul isn't going to betray me. And slowly, very slowly, she began to feel something in her chest thaw.
"We can talk about it later," Soul replied gently. "I haven't been honest with you, and it's hurt us." He stood up, pulling her up with him. "Right now we have a monster to deal with."
"But how can we fight him?" Maka whispered, despair blanketing her again like a dark cloud. "You felt it just as I did – you got heavier. I don't think we can resonate –"
"We can." The strong resolve in his voice made her look up. "We can, and we will." He smiled, that same look he'd given her all those years ago when they'd been forced to fight Stein at his laboratory. "I believe in you." He cupped her cheek in his hand. "I believe in us." He laughed at her burning face. "Never mind. Like I said, we'll talk about it later." He gave her a sharp-toothed, predatory smile. "Now how about we go and kick some monster ass?"
She couldn't help it: his grin was contagious. "Yeah." She could feel herself returning to normal. The fog that had invaded her brain was quickly clearing, her mind focusing on the mission ahead. What had she been so worried about? She glanced at her partner as they ran back to deal with their target. I was a fool. She'd been so wrong about so many things. And now she knew exactly what she had to do.
She held out her hand. "Soul!" He transformed like he always did, without her having to say anything more. The comforting weight of his weapon form in her hands gave her courage. The demonised soul was still there, but now it looked weak, powerless in the face of their combined might. She smirked. "I'll be taking your soul."
She swung her scythe down with a great cry. "Witch Hunter!"
"Well, well, well, this is good news! Great news! I'm so glad you're both back here safe and sound!" Lord Death clapped his overlarge hands excitedly, bouncing back and forth. Maka beamed broadly. "Thank you, Lord Death." She bowed. Soul stood beside her, hands in his pockets. She nudged him and he gave a grudging bow as well.
"I just knew you two would pull through!" he continued, ignoring Soul's rudeness. "After all, you've gone through so much together. It was a pretty foregone conclusion!" At that, Maka's smile faltered. She hadn't thought so herself at the time. She wondered just how much he and the others had seen that she hadn't, because she'd been too blind to see past her own fears and misconceptions.
They finished giving their report and left the Death Room. As they came up to the last guillotine, Maka turned to Soul. "What was that about?"
"What was what about?" Soul raised an eyebrow, his voice bland. Maka pursed her lips. "Don't give me that. You were clearly upset with him."
He snorted. "You should be upset with him too, Maka. He deliberately put us in danger so that he could prove some theory about our relationship right." He shuddered. "He's been hanging out with Stein too long."
"Maybe." Maka tilted her head in thought. "But it worked out in the end, didn't it?"
Soul blew an exasperated breath. "That's not the point –"
"It brought us back together, didn't it?"
Her partner went quiet at that. "Yeah," he said at last. "Yeah, it did." He looked her, his garnet eyes determined. "We should talk."
The atmosphere immediately grew pressurized. "Yeah. I guess we should."
"Let's not do it here." Soul gestured to the door of the Death Room. "I don't want anyone walking in on us."
The walk home was silent. When they'd closed the door to their apartment behind them, Maka sat nervously on the edge of the couch, hands fisted on her lap. "So..."
"Wait, Maka." He held up a hand. "Let me talk first." At Maka's mute nod, he started. "First... I'm sorry for keeping secrets from you." He looked pained. "I know what I did was wrong. I should have let you deal with those letters yourself."
Maka nodded. She kind of understood why Soul had done what he'd done. After all, she didn't like it when he got letters from his fangirls. There had been many a time she'd had to stop herself from ripping the letters out of his hands and setting them on fire. She supposed Soul had felt something similar. "You know I'm not going to find another partner," Maka said, putting a hand on his knee in reassurance. He looked down at her hand, his own reaching out to cover hers.
"I know." His thumb stroked over the skin of her knuckles; she suppressed a shiver. "It's not that I didn't trust you... It's just the thought of someone else being your partner..." He barked out a laugh. "So not cool, right?"
"...I don't know about that." At Soul's raised brows, she clarified. "I felt the exact same way when I saw the letters you'd get too, you know." She recalled trying to deal with it in any way she could, by pretending she didn't see anything, or by teasing Soul about his popularity. She felt a squirm of guilt wriggle in her stomach. There had even been a time or two when she'd lost her temper and stormed off, leaving Soul nursing a bruised head and wondering what had gotten into her.
"You said you wanted to know why I'd take your letters from you." At Maka's nod, he closed his eyes, breathing in deeply. "You don't have to say anything about this if you don't want to. It's not like I'm expecting a positive answer or anything... but I guess you should know." He opened his eyes once more and smiled at her, and she could feel something between them shift. Damn it, she was going to choke for lack of air if he kept looking at her like that. She turned her head away, but Soul stopped her.
"Maka, look at me." Oh gods no. Then he'd see the supernova that was her face. "Maka, please. This is important." Maybe it was the earnestness in Soul's tone, but she turned back to face him, biting down on her bottom lip. He smiled reassuringly, poking at her lip. "Don't do that, either. You'll draw blood." He chuckled. "I should know." She giggled. Soul's shoulders slumped, relaxing. "I figured I wouldn't say anything. I mean, I know your track record with your dad and how you feel about guys in general."
Maka shook her head. No. She may have felt that way long ago when she was a kid and she'd had to watch her family slowly break apart. And of course, there was still a huge part of her that was scared about the same thing happening to her. But Soul had proven to be the exception. Time and again, he'd proven himself. She opened her mouth, but Soul cut her off.
"I don't exactly know when, but I..." Soul flushed. Maka bit the inside of her mouth to keep from giggling. "I care for you. A lot. I mean, I care for you as more than just a meister, and as more than just a friend. I –" He groaned. "Damn it, I'm no good at this. Forget I said anything."
He made to stand up, but Maka grabbed his wrist. His gaze flicked to her, face still flushed. "Maybe I don't want to forget it." At Soul's widening eyes, she turned redder. Ah, great. They were a pair of perfectly ripe tomatoes now. At least they matched. She licked her lips nervously. "Maybe... Maybe I don't want to be afraid anymore. Maybe..." She remembered a line from one of the poetry books she'd read some time ago. "Maybe I want to walk in the sunlight with you."
"M-Maka..." And then he burst out laughing, a deep throated, shoulder shaking set of laughs that had him holding onto his stomach and crouching as though in pain. She looked at him in alarm. "What? Soul, what's the matter?" Had she said something strange?
He wiped at the tears that had welled in his eyes. "Maka," he wheezed. "That's so lame. Where did you get that from, one of your gloomy poetry books?" He laughed again, nearly bent double now. Maka could feel a vein throbbing at her temple.
"Makaaaaaaaaa... CHOP!" Her partner crashed to the floor in a pile of limbs and cursing. She glared down at him.
"What'd you do that for?" he yelled, rubbing angrily at the quickly forming bump on his head. Maka only crossed her arms. "You never learn, do you? Ugh, and here I thought you'd grown a little."
"What does that even mean?" Soul snapped. He leapt to his feet. "I was just joking around, Maka. You didn't have to get all violent about it."
"You didn't have to be such an ass about it!" she retorted. Ugh. What had she found so appealing about him? He was an ass. An insensitive ass whose humour was –
She let out an undignified squeak when she felt arms wrap around her neck from behind. The feel of his hair tickling at her neck made her jump. "I'd like to walk with you rain or shine," he muttered into her shoulder. Maka flushed. She laid her hand on top of his.
"I – I'd like that too," she whispered. She was terrified. She had no idea where they would go from here, or what they would become. She would probably have days where she would ask herself if there wouldn't come a day when she'd be disappointed. But the certainty of not knowing was far worse.
With Soul, she'd be willing to go against the odds. And perhaps that was all that mattered in the end.
Addendum: Whew. It's done. This took a long time to write, mainly because I couldn't figure out a good way for Maka and Soul to "kiss and make up", so to speak. Even now, this feels rushed in my opinion, but on the other hand, I didn't want to drag things out. This already takes up 23 plus pages on Word! Plus I get the feeling some parts would have just gotten superfluous with angst if I'd carried on.
Oh! And! I looked at the review count and I'm just one review away from 100! Thank you so much, everybody! In honour of the soon to be momentous occasion, I'm taking story requests! The first three reviewers to leave a request can have a fic written for them! There are only three conditions:
The main character has to be Maka and done from her point of view. There can be other characters or pairings in the fic, but Maka remains the star of this series. :)
2. I'd be much obliged if you helped me select from one of the themes I've yet to finish: Bite, Furious, Standing, Shower, Table, Nippy, Insatiable, Rrrip, Legs, Neck, Wrists, Eyelashes, Fortunate, Unfortunate, Love, Junkie, Hips, Rumours, Lies, Master, Morning, Dusk.
Basically, select one of themes and give me a Maka-centric story idea you think would work!
I do reserve the right to make final judgement calls.
I'm looking forward to hearing from you!