A Weekend at the Circus

Once it was time for bed, Maka had been ready to drive into town and check into a hotel, but Soul had insisted she to stay with them. Even prepared for it. Liz had already vacated her bed at the bunker bed and changed the sheets for her. Liz had cosied up with her little sister on the top bunker and Patty snored peacefully.

She could barely believe the amazing evening she had spent with Soul. He made her feel so… good. Every time she caught him smiling at her, her stomach would stir and her face would heat up. He… he made her feel more than any of the few suitors in her life had ever combined.

And the kiss! What a wonderful kiss it was. It elicited all the delicious sensations she had read about in romance novels. It was the perfect setting and with a perfect guy. She couldn't have asked for a better first kiss with Soul. It had left her longing to kiss him again and again and again and again.

Her fingers feathered over her lips and her eyes fluttered shut.

There was something special about him. Maybe it was in his smile. Or his eyes. Or the way he could make her laugh at any given moment. She hadn't a clue. All she knew was whatever he did, it made him unique and she really liked him. She had grown feelings for him and she could see herself putting in more effort in them than she had ever done in any of her past relationships.

A smile spread on her lips as she lowered her hand. She couldn't wait to see what tomorrow had in store for them.

…

Lids banged together loudly and she was violently startled awake, eyes scanning the area in alert as if a fire alarm had gone off.

"Wake up everybody!" Black*Star shouted at the top of his lungs as he kept on banging the lids together. "We got work to do!"

"God damn it Star!" Liz sneered and a pillow hit him right in the face. "It's Saturday you moron!"

Maka rubbed her eyes and Black*Star tilted his head in confusion at the two sisters in the bed above her. "It is?"

"Yeah, fuck face. Now go to bed."

"Oh shit. My bad. Thought it was still a weekday."

"It isn't. Now go to bed dick head," Liz growled under her breath. She heard the sheets rustle above her and she could only guess the sisters had gone back to sleep.

Black*Star exited the trailer where the women slept in and quietly shut the door behind him. Luckily for Patty, her light snores filled the trailed.

She sighed heavily and flopped back in her bed, groaning as she turned on her side. She was tired as it was and she had slept badly the night before. She could've used the extra sleep but of course the blue rowdy asshole had to ruin it for her.

Sleep simply wasn't in her cards now when she had been startled awake like that. She threw her blanket off her and swung her legs over the ledge of the bed. As quietly as she could, she pulled out a hoodie and a pair of denim pants to wear. Once she was dressed she tiptoed out of the trailer with her wellington boots Soul had provided for her. Silently she closed the door and put on the boots.

The circus was a whole lot more different now when the sun was dawning and the morning rays lit up the place. The ground was a whole lot muddier than she originally thought. She could easily detect the path the audience had taken to the circus. The makeshift "parking lot" was all mud mixed with patches of grass. She could only imagine how beautiful this meadow had to have been before the circus arrived.

She headed away from the women's trailer and headed toward the bonfire where they had been seated, to her surprise, the guys were already awake. Kilik was cutting some vegetables while Black*Star was whisking something in a bowl and― her eyes fixated on Soul's bare chest. He heaved heavily as he dropped wood in the circles of stones. His muscles were perfectly toned and a thin layer of sweat covered his abs. She couldn't help but to stare at his mouth-watering abs as they rippled under his skin for every breath he took.

Oh dear death!

Kilik was the first one to notice her and waved. "Maka. I didn't think you would be up," he greeted her with a knowing smirk.

Her mouth opened and closed and for once, she was reduced to a little girl spying from afar at her crush and had been caught looking by one of her friends. It only grew worse when Soul's head snapped toward her and his mouth slightly parted. "Maka," he whispered before he flashed his toothy grin. "Good morning."

"G-good morning," she stuttered as she shoved her hands deeper into her pocket on her hoodie. She kept her head low, away from the delicious view of Soul's amazingly sculpted body. She gasped in surprise when Soul rounded the bonfire, arm snaking around her waist. Her gaze met his soft one.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked.

Feeling his moist hard body pressed against her was very distracting. "I-it was okay."

"Good. I hope you're ready for a full day of fun."

A full day of fun with Soul. It was exactly what she wanted and needed. A smile grew on her lips and she nodded. "Yes."

"Hey love birds!" Maka jumped when suddenly something hard hit her. Her eyes fluttered in confusion and she spotted the piece of carrot on the ground that had to have hit her. "Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to help out?"

"Black*Star," Kilik sighed and shook his head disapprovingly. "How many times haven't you snuck away from your cooking duty with Tsubaki? Give Soul a break."

"Come on, it's not that many times," Black*Star whined.

"Still more times than Soul. He has never skipped cooking duty." Maka looked over her shoulder and saw Kid coming walking over to them, fixing his tie and his hair wet.

"Oh come on! It will leave more work to us!"

Kilik sighed heavily and murmured something under his breath before he spoke to them. "Just go. We'll take care of this."

"Thank you." Soul nodded gratefully at his friends. "Let's take a walk around the area."

A smile grew on her face and she nodded. "Okay."

Soul unlatched himself from her and grabbed his discarded t-shirt on the log before they headed off. Unfortunately for her he put on his shirt, but now she knew what lay hidden underneath his t-shirt and how she wanted to see it again.

His arm wrapped around her waist and brought her close to him. "I had a very good time yesterday."

A smile spread on her face and she wrapped her arm around him, giving his hip a squeeze. "Me too… It truly was something special."

"I'm glad you feel the same way," he sighed with relief as they rounded a corner and headed toward the edge of the forest. "I laid awake yesterday and I couldn't stop thinking about you."

Her cheeks heated and she came to a stop just by the beginning of the forest. "I couldn't sleep either because I was thinking of you."

He chuckled heartily as he embraced her and pulled her into his arms. She returned the hug heartily as she buried her face in his hard chest.

"I had planned to have this discussion tomorrow before you left but… I've pretty much made up my mind."

"You have?" Maka's eyes fluttered as she looked up into his soft red eyes.

"Yeah. I enjoyed our time together a lot yesterday. It felt right being in a romantic setting with you and I… if you feel the same, I would love to… you know, make us official."

She couldn't help but to grin wide with joy to the point her cheeks started hurting. "Are you asking me to become your girlfriend?"

He nodded. "Yes I am."

"And after we have just been on one date. You sure move quickly."

He let out a quick laugh. "You got to move quick if I'm going to be able to propose to you in a week." He winked at her.

She couldn't help but to laugh with him. "Alright, I'll be your girlfriend."

"Really?!"

"What? Is it so unbelievable that I want you to be my boyfriend?"

"No." His hand wandered up her body and he ran his large strong hand through her hair. "But with your big brain I thought you would object to making us official so quickly."

"When it feels right, it is most likely the right thing to do."

"Most likely?"

Maka rolled her eyes. "I'm a psychology professor. Nothing is absolute in the world." She leaned closer to his face. "Beside, we have been talking for over two months. You know me and I know you. There're no red flags and you are a genuinely a good guy."

"Lucky me." They met half-way and their lips locked. His hands lowered from her hair and cupped her cheeks, pulling her closer. Her nails dug into his back as the kiss deepened. His lips elicited the sweet and delicious sensation she had only gotten the taste for and now… she wanted more. Her hands were everywhere. His hair, face, chest, back and hips. She wanted to touch him everywhere. Her hands sneaked under his t-shirt and her hands finally was acquaintance with the mouth-watering abs she had witnessed earlier.

Soul suddenly pulled away and backed away from her, leaving her surprised and hands already missing his abs. "We got to stop."

"Stop? But we were just getting started," Maka purred as she neared him.

"Oh no, no, no." He grabbed her shoulders and kept her away at an arm's length. "Not here. Absolutely not here."

"We're not doing anything wrong. Beside, nobody can see us." A smile spread on her face as her hands placed on his.

"It's not that. It's just… I don't want to get sexual when we're here. I want it to be special, you know. Perfect date, flowers and candles and all of that stuff." His hands squeezed her shoulders. "You're special to me and I don't want to ruin it by moving even faster and not making it special."

"Aww, you're too cute." She steered his hands from her shoulders and entwined their fingers. "If you want it to be special, we will make it special."

"You probably think I'm silly."

"No, not at all. It's very touching knowing how much I mean to you." A smirk grew on her face. "Besides, I hadn't in mind to sleep with you or even touch your crutch a few minutes ago."

His eyes widened. "Y-you didn't?"

"Nope, I just wanted to feel you up."

"Geez woman," he chuckled. "You had me riled up."

"Good to know I have the ability to turn you on."

"And the question if I have what it takes to arouse you will remain unanswered for now."

A smile spread on her face. "You don't have to worry about it. You have the gift."

"Then I guess it was answered." He leaned down and kissed her forehead tenderly. "We have covered a lot of ground already."

Her eyes fluttered shut and enjoyed his lips for a moment. "Yes we have."

"Yeah… how about we return to the others. Breakfast should be ready soon."

…

After breakfast the crew was already in full swing with the daily work. Since today was the last day to perform, they started packing down the few things they could. Maka helped Soul out as much as she could before they had to start practicing for a new routine. While he trained, she took the moment to do some work on her own. Beside, working on her lesson plan and reading comments her colleagues had left on the latest experiment while watching Liz and Soul work was great background noise. A very distracting background noise when he was wearing his sparkly show spandex, hugging his body so perfectly.

The day went too fast for her liking. Between his training and show and the quick kisses shared, the show finally ended and the door to the women's trailer opened. Her head snapped up and a wide smile awakened at the view of Soul standing by the doorway.

"Isn't the show in full swing still?" she asked as he kicked off his wellington boots and hurried over to her and smashed his mouth to her. Instantly she returned the kiss and the papers in her lap were forgotten. They rustled as they fell on the ground and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Their lips smacked as his hands touched her waist, hips and back.

He pulled away and he rested his forehead against hers. "I can't believe it's already night. Soon morning will come and then you will have to leave."

"You know we will still talk to each other every day and it's only one month left of your tour," she whispered as she petted his neck.

"I know… but one month without you being here is a long time." His thumb caressed her cheek. "It's just… with past girlfriends I hadn't any trouble leaving them for work but now… it feels so hard."

"It will get easier with time. We're in our honey moon phase and once it passes, it will get easier for us to be apart from each other."

He chuckled. "Always so professional…"

"But it is true. Besides, why live in the future and spoil the present."

"That's something I can stand behind." He planted a quick kiss on her lips. "Can I spend the night with you?"

"Of course, but you got to take a shower first, and you might have to ask the others if it is okay."

"They're cool with it. They understand our position. It's not like we will have sex or something."

"No, but they would probably appreciate the gesture."

"Don't overthink it." Soul waved it away. "What matters is we have more time together." His fingers brushed her face as he tucked a hair strand behind her ear.

A smile spread on her face and she pulled away from him. "Now get going and take a shower. I'll get prepared for bed."

And he did. She prepared herself for bed even though it was quite early, she didn't mind. She had to get up early tomorrow and drive back home. It was a long way back and she had to make it back in time to pick up Blair from Kim's house.

After she had gotten changed and packed down her work things in her bag, the door creaked open and Soul slipped inside, hair wet and wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt. She slipped under the blanket and soon Soul joined her. The bed was small. Too small for two adults to sleep in the same bed comfortably, but she didn't mind. The lack of space forced them close to each other. Soul lay facing her, hands entwining with hers as he entangled their legs. A smile spread on her face at the closeness.

How wonderful this was. When she saw Soul for the first time in the ticket booth, never had she thought they would grow as close as they are now. Then he was just some person who she would want to avoid, but it was inevitable once she had apologized. Especially after they swapped numbers. There was nothing they could do. Soul… he was genuine. Even though they were so different, they were balanced. Both were busy with their work, and they respected that. He— he was the person she had wanted as a partner. For so long, all this time it was him she had been waiting for. Not a successful man and a lot to show for it, but a simple trapeze artist with a big heart.

"What are you thinking?" he murmured.

"You know… you. Us. Our journey and everything in between."

A soft smile spread on his face. "It is an interesting one. I never thought someone like you would be the right one for me."

"I agree. I'm pretty surprised too it was you who turned out to be the right person."

"You know what they say, opposite attracts."

"Oh no." Maka shook her head. "Science has shown couples who are more similar and share common values are more likely to survive than those couples with different views."

Soul chuckled. "So what you're saying is we're doomed from the very beginning?"

"No, but we do have to discuss the future and what we want. A relationship based on only passion wouldn't survive long once the everyday problems start putting a strain on our lives."

"Don't make it so gloomy." Soul squeezed her hands. "It almost sounds like you're already plotting our doom."

"But it is true. Science backs up my claims."

"I'm sure they are, but those facts don't exactly give our relationship any good vibes."

"Don't worry, the odds might be against us, but if we work hard enough, I know we can make it."

Soul entangled his hand from hers and placed his index finger against her lips. "I do like hearing your smart facts, but please, not now. You're sucking the romance right out of the moment."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to kill the moment."

"No worries." He linked their hands together again. "I know you didn't mean to, but we've just gotten together. I don't want it to be gloomy by fearing the future of us."

"There's nothing to fear if we work on our relationship." Soul raised his eyebrow. "I'm sorry. I'm doing it again."

"Don't worry about it." He brought her hands to his lips and tenderly gave every knuckle his lips' attention. "Now tell me, how many kisses did I earn for me performance tonight?"

She rolled her eyes at his eyebrows wiggling excitedly. "Oh please, how can I even grade you when I didn't even watch you?"

He pulled his hand away and grabbed a hold of her chin. "Then how about we just wing it." He leaned toward her and she met his lips. A smile grew on her face as their lips slanted. Her fingers ran through his moist hair and she pulled him closer to her, wanting to feel all of his mouth and—

The door opened and Maka catapulted away from Soul, even going to the length of pushing him out of the bed.

"My oh my oh my," Liz grinned wide as she stood by the door opening. "I wondered where you had taken off, but I should've guessed you would've been getting it on with Maka."

Maka's face was beet red before she knew it as she pulled the blanket up to her face. Oh dear. This was incredibly awkward. They had just been kissing heavily in Liz's bed!

"Good to see you to Liz," Soul murmured quietly as he rubbed his lower back. "Did you really have to push me out of the bed?"

"It was a reflex!" Maka squeaked.

"Why would you even have a reflex like that? We aren't exactly teenagers sneaking around―"

"Geez, you two already fight like an old couple." Liz shook her head disapprovingly while wearing a small smile. "If you wanted to borrow the trailer all you had to do was ask."

"I-it's not like that!" Maka exclaimed.

"Oh really? I didn't get the message with your tongue in my mouth."

"S-Soul!" Maka screamed.

"Relax." Liz waved it away. "Everybody knows you are in love and committed. Anybody with eyes can see that. It's not like you need to sneak around."

"We weren't sneaking around. We just wanted some privacy from other people like you who would put their nose in our business." Soul stood up and ran his hand through his hair. "You mind?"

"Actually I do." Liz leaned against the door frame. "While you two were here and enjoying yourself, we were busy packing down the circus tent. Now we're all exhausted and sweaty and you know what people do when they are stinky. They take a shower and they go to bed. This is the women's trailer for a reason."

"I'll just look away. It's not like I haven't seen you naked before."

Maka raised her eyebrow at Soul, feeling a part of her grow bitter at what Soul was implying.

"Whatever. If you want a naked shock, stay where you are then. We'll be back in half an hour." Liz turned around and she closed the door behind her. The grin was back on Soul's lips as he crawled his way back into the bed.

"I started thinking she would never leave us."

Maka shied away from him as she sternly stared at him. "What did you mean when you said you had seen her naked before?"

"What? Can't you forget about it?" he almost purred as he reached for her.

"No." She grabbed his hand and steered it away from her cheek. "When have you seen her naked?"

Soul sighed as he pulled away, giving her space. "When we live close to a lake, we always go and swim together. We've all seen everybody naked multiple times. It's nothing new."

"Oh…" now she felt stupid. It was such a logic reason. They were all living on the road, going place to place to perform. Of course they would take advantage of staying close to the lake. It must be a nice thing for them to do for a change of pace. Going swimming in the lake would be like when the school held company parties and inviting investors for her to pitch her research ideas to. It was something that didn't happen often, just like swimming in the lake.

"You happy?"

"No," Maka sighed and she ran a hand through her hair. "I feel stupid. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it." A smile spread on his face and he reached out to her slowly, she leaned into his touch as he touched her cheek. "Let's just get ready for bed. When they return, I promise I'll keep my eyes closed."

"You are too sweet." She cupped his hand and caressed it with her thumb. "Come here." She welcomed his lips.

…

The back door closed loudly as Soul loaded her luggage. He closed the door and leaned against the car. The rather grey and dull sky grieved with them at her inevitable departure.

Soul sighed sorrowfully. "I can't believe how quickly this weekend ended…"

"Me neither," she murmured as she entwined her fingers with his. "It felt like I just arrived at the circus…"

"Agree…" He rested his forehead against hers. "It's only one month left of the tour and then I'll be stationed in Death City for around three months."

"One month," she sighed heavily.

"I know… one month seems like an eternity."

"Don't worry about it. A month will pass before we know it."

"No it won't." he murmured.

"Hey…" She cupped his face. "We will talk every day like usual. We won't be apart truly."

He pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "I know… but you won't be here."

A smile spread on her face as she caressed his cheek with her thumb. "It's just one month we have to endure and then we will have three sweet months to spend together."

He tilted his head and nuzzled her hand and planted a kiss against her wrist. Her eyes fluttered shut as she enjoyed the gentle gesture of affection. "I can't wait till I'm back in Death City with you."

Her eyes opened and she leaned in and captured his lips. Butterflies filled her stomach as he pulled her closer, running his hands through her hair. Her nails dug into his cheek as she prayed for it to never end. She wanted time to freeze. Stay in this moment and let reality and its responsibilities be put on hold.

The weekend came to an end too quickly for her liking. It felt like it was only an hour ago since she stepped out of the car and Soul handed her the red wellington boots. So much had happened and the weekend had been exactly what she needed― they needed. They knew what they felt. Knew what they wanted. They wanted each other and it was exactly what they got. This weekend was one she would never forget.

She pulled away and her hands slid down to his shoulders. "I have to go…"

He nodded slowly and pulled his hands from her hair. He opened the car door and she slid inside. He rested his arm against the window of the door as he leaned toward her. "Call me when you get home."

"I will." She slipped the wellington boots from her feet and offered them to him.

He shook his head gently. "Keep them."

"But don't you need them?"

"Nah. It was some spare boots we had. Nobody will miss them."

"Okay. Thank you." She couldn't help but to smile as she slipped the boots back on and tossed the ballerina shoes aside she had worn the day she arrived at the circus.

Before she knew it, Soul closed the space between them and planted a quick kiss. "Drive safely."

"I will."

Soul closed the car door and backpedalled. The engine roared to life and she waved goodbye to him. She turned the car around and she drove away from the circus, looking in the rear-view mirror at Soul standing at the same place as he waved goodbye.