Disclaimer: I don't own it blahblah
Author's Note: I know it's a little early for something Christmas themed but I'm unusually pumped about the holiday this year. Which is saying a lot, because normally I really hate Christmas. Anyway, I kind of forced this out so it's definitely not my best work... I'm a little overworked in school and part-time job so I've lost a will to write. But hopefully, my next updates will be better and be a little more inspired.
Thank you for the reviews Lizzie, SilverStella, and Lucy Ashley from Fairy Tail! And thanks for all the views and follows. :) Every little thing helps me.
"I can't believe we're already settin' the tree up, Maka. It's not even December yet." He snorts and places it not-so-gently in their new tree-stand. He struggles to pull his hands off of it because of the amber-stained sap that drips over his needle-nicked hands. He considers turning his arm into a scythe and just slicing the pine to pieces like an onion on a chopping block, but resists the urge and saves his head from an oversized book for now.
"I have a strict schedule and doing this early is a big part of it," she responds like it makes absolute sense.
Soul grins and steps over to her, wiggling his sap-soaked fingers threateningly. "Is this part of your plan, too?" He laughs at the fear in her eyes.
"Don't come any closer or I swear I will -" She trips mid-sentence over her box of ornaments and sees no escape.
"Or you will what?" His fingers hover dangerously close to her face, and some tree-residue slides onto her scrunched-up nose.
His answer is a firm kick to his crotch and pain that will cause him more grief than the scar slanted across his chest.
After an hour of "uncool" whining and holding an unflattering bag of ice to his groin, he grudgingly decides to assist Maka in hanging her tiny box of ornaments, if only for fear of another incident resulting in an inability to have kids in the future. The coffer at her feet of festive ruby-coated ribbons, old candy canes, and other jingling objects seems old, untouched. Dust sits on the edges of much of the decorations and he can't help but wonder why.
"I found these in my closet the other day," she murmurs as if in answer to his unspoken question as she stoops down to pick through a few glitter-stuck fake snowflakes. "I didn't realize I had even brought them with me. These are from when mama and papa and I used to hang these up together. Most of them are pretty old." She laughs, though it sounds somewhat forced. "Some are even broken because papa is such a klutz. Mama always used to get so mad." She sighs. "But the fixable kind of mad. He'd always run to the store to buy a new one to replace whatever he broke."
Maka pulls out a long string of multi-colored lights and starts to thread it through the branches. When she finishes, she plugs them in and stands back with satisfaction in seeing that they still work, even after years in hiding in the dark of her closet. Soul smiles to himself when he sees her viridian glow with the twinkle of the lights. He'd rather stare at her than the gaudy tree, but turns back to shuffling through the ornaments when she throws him an inquisitive glance.
He picks out a reindeer with a red nose and hides his blush behind its fake glow as she grabs her tufts of golden and scarlet garland.
"Hey, Soul," she starts as she weaves that around the lights, "did you ever do this sort of thing with your family?"
He can tell by her intense gaze at the tree that she does not require – or even expect – an answer out of him. He's always had his lips tightly sealed about his past, and she's always been open about hers. That is their greatest contradiction, he thinks in the quiet that settles on them like the grime that resides on her older garnishments rolling around in the box. Her need to know everything possible and his need to hide all he can within reasonable limits.
He glances at her out of the corner of his sanguine eyes, and takes her in highlighted by the red-and-green radiance. He is amazed, once again, by both her overflowing curiosity but how she keeps it in check for his sake – she won't push him for the information she wants. And that, he realizes, is why he has grown to love her so much. Her reverence for every single thing that owned a beating heart.
She treats even Blair, a cat who may or may not have at one point horsed around with her unfaithful father in human form, with the same respect she treats him, who has stood by her side for years and years now. And in becoming aware of that, he decides to open up, if only a crack.
"We sort of did," he admits, "but only to impress the neighbors, to keep up our 'good family' image for all of my family's music junkies. My parents never did it for Wesley, or for me, but for a public image, so it was really no fun." He pulls out another reindeer and places it next to the last one he hung up.
"I see," she says. She smiles, dazzling like the star she situates on the top of the pine as she turns back to him. "Then we'll do this every year, just for you, Soul. It'll be like our own... family tradition."
He shakes the embarrassing thought of their children from his jumbled mind and grins in return. "It's a deal."
"Oh!" Maka grabs a bag from the corner of the room she'd explicitly told him not to touch in the past few days. "I bought this for you, by the way. I didn't want you to be left out since all these ornaments kinda belong to me."
She presses a box into his palm and eagerly awaits his expression upon opening it.
He plucks a mini, satin-covered record from the package and smiles warmly. Painted on the back in his partner's somewhat messy scrawl is his name and the year. He places it proudly on the tree between some of the blinking, tiny lights.
"I hope it's okay," she says nervously. "You know I don't know much about music but it seemed nice..."
Soul walks over and gives her an unexpected bear hug. "Thanks, Maka. That was real cool of you."
She leans into his tight grip, and they both admire the tree.
This wasn't part of her plan, but it's a much better result than she hoped for.