As always, thanks for all the love, and happy reading!

Soul sighed as he adjusted once more, trying to get comfortable. First he rolled onto his back, tucking his nose under a root. Then he tried rolling onto his side with his back pressed against his tree. He tried curling up again, but couldn't get into a comfortable position that way either.

Something wasn't right. Being linked to the magic of the woods usually didn't bother him, but that night, with how uncomfortable he was, he hated it. Several minutes later, he finally got to his feet, too twitchy to sit still any longer. Slowly, he walked around the clearing, listening hard. He tried hard to reach out and find the disturbance that was messing up his nap.

Eventually, he felt the difference. A chunk of the woods seemed to be wholly focused on something, so intent that it was even affecting the plants. That was an unusual occurrence, but once he figured out it was the direction of Death City, he huffed and sat down. If a dumb human wandered into the woods again, it wasn't his job to save them.

An image of blonde hair in pigtails came to mind and his body tensed. No, she wouldn't be out there. She was smart, there was no way she'd actually come back out now that she knew all those stories were real.

Right?

Soul leaned forward, focusing hard on anything he could hear and following the shift of the magic. There were a lot of popping noises, as well as growls and crashing. Whoever had gotten into the woods was doing well to outrun their pursuer if he could hear them this clearly. There was a particularly loud crash and then he heard a muffled, feminine screech. He bolted forward, his long legs eating up the distance.

He was almost certain it was her. The wolves were clearly trying to steer her away from the center of the woods, more than likely to keep the meal away from him. Not that he cared, but if it wasn't her, he'd probably still eat whoever it was. He wasn't particularly hungry, but if she could get this far, the others weren't worthy of the meal.

As he jumped onto a large fallen tree, the human ran smack into him and fell backwards. Soul barely managed to catch her with his mouth before she hit the ground. When he heard the gasp as his mouth closed, he realized he'd been right.

A dozen wolves made a half circle in front of him, staying well out of range as they growled. Some of them were blinking and rubbing their eyes, clearly in distress but not willing to back down. That many might be a problem to fight if he was also protecting Maka, but it could be done. Keeping his mouth relaxed so that his teeth didn't dig into her, he lifted his head and glared at the wolves, waiting to see what their choice would be. The biggest two looked anxious, but the rest appeared too scared to attack. Taking that as consent to let him go, Soul carefully stepped back onto the ground before reaching back and depositing Maka on his back.

"Eeewww." Soul waited until she'd gotten settled before resuming his walk, a small smile on his face.

I see you've returned.

"What was that?!" she whisper shouted. "You tried to eat me!"

If I had tried to eat you, I would have succeeded. He glanced back at her. I don't eat people, remember? Just souls. He hopped over a small creek, drawing a shriek from Maka as she tried not to fall off. And your soul is much too bright for me to eat anyway.

"What does that-"

So what was all that noise? Soul asked, cutting her off.

"Huh?"

I heard strange noises while you were running. What was it?

"Oh, you mean these?" She threw something nearby, causing a small flash of light and a bang. Soul jumped, surprised. "They're poppers. The kids play with them on the nights we have fireworks."

Fire works?

"Yeah. You know, colorful bursts of light in the sky."

Soul frowned. I have no idea what you're talking about.

"Really?" She leaned sideways so she could see his face better. After studying him for a few moments, she sat up straight again. "They're going to be doing the fireworks show tomorrow night. You wanna come? It's really gorgeous. I think you'd like it… Maybe?"

Soul chuffed. That'll be awfully difficult, don't you think? I can't just stroll into your village like this.

"You won't have to." As they entered the clearing, Maka hopped off, landing with surprising ease. "They go up really high in the sky. You can see them from the edge of the woods." Soul didn't respond as Maka walked across his clearing towards the tree.

She was an interesting human. The few times he'd encountered humans, they'd been awful, crazed people who hungered for blood or power; or worse, both. Still, as evil as they were, they'd recognized him as far more dangerous than themselves and pleaded for their lives. He'd scared big men, strong men, conniving men, even one claiming to be a renowned monster hunter.

Then there was Maka- short, skinny Maka with a spirit so strong and bright it almost made him break out in hives just to be near her. He was a being of evil and darkness- he had no right to be close to someone like Maka.

Soul shook his head as he moved to follow her. Pessimistic thoughts were the worst. He didn't want to waste his time on them. There was no point anyway- he was just a novelty to her. Their companionship would only until she either grew bored with him or she told someone about him, thus forcing him to kill her. Until then, however, he planned on enjoying the novelty of not being lonely.

Soft music began to fill the night air just as he rounded the tree to find her sitting with her legs hanging off a root, playing the little music box she'd given him. He sat on the ground, leaving a comfortable distance between them as she played. Without knowing why, he found himself wondering why she looked so sad.

"I have something for you," she said suddenly. Soul cocked his head as she carefully set aside the music box and opened her bag.

I hope it's not food, he said as he smelled something sweet from her bag. He hated sweets.

"It's not. I did bring myself a snack for later, but that's it." She pulled out a rather large box and then dug around until she pulled out a long stick. She stuck her hand in once more and then began to attach the two together. "I, uh… you said you like music, but obviously you can't play your own, and I know my music box- uh, this little box, is too small for you to use, so I got you this." She finished and then hopped down and brought the box over to him.

What is it?

"A music box! It's a bit bigger, though, and this one you crank all the way and then it plays the music until it can't anymore. Then you just crank it again and it'll play the music some more." She held the box up for him to see. "I extended the crank so you can… you know, so you can hopefully find a way to crank it yourself. Then you can have music whenever you want."

He was too surprised to say anything as she set the box down. She cranked the handle several times before stepping back. The song that played was unfamiliar, but beautiful. Soul's chest began to feel warm, and despite not wanting to, he felt his long dead heart sluggishly thump once in his chest.

"Are you… okay?"

No. No he was not okay.

He was a Demon Weapon. A lost soul chosen to guard and police this forest filled with the most loathsome beings in the area. Demons, monsters, evil beings filled with vile thoughts and desires of all kinds, feared Soul Eater, because he was the most evil of them all. Normal people should be beyond terrified. They should see his sharp teeth and his blood red eyes and run in the opposite direction. They should fear and avoid him, just like everything else did.

But not Maka. Not only had she negotiated with him to lead her out of the forest, she'd come back. She'd given him a gift; something that hadn't happened since Medusa first turned him, 'gifting' him powers to make him strong. Not only that, she was watching him with an expectant expression, waiting for him to react to her gift.

No one had ever cared about his opinion before. No one had ever given him a gift before. No one had ever thought about what he liked or tried to spend time with him just to spend time with him before.

As the music slowly died, Soul continued to stare wide eyed at Maka, frozen to the spot. She looked more uncomfortable the longer he stared. After she picked up the now quiet music box, she began to chat as she walked towards the tree. "Tomorrow they're having fireworks because it's the anniversary of the founding of Death City. We've been around for a hundred and forty two years. There will be stalls all along the street selling food and the shops will have tables set up on the road selling souvenirs and trinkets.

"My idiot father's the mayor, so he'll be busy most of the day. Kid's out of town with Liz and Patty, and since they're really my only friends- besides Tsubaki, of course- I probably won't have anyone to hang out with. The good news is, after tomorrow, the rest of the poppers will be available for me to stock up on so I can use them more often when I come out to visit."

…You are lonely. Maka jerked in his direction, her eyes wide. That is why you are visiting me and inviting me to watch the lights with you. Am I wrong?

Maka looked away, her fingers worrying the little music box. "Well, I mean, a little… but I really just wanted to invite you because…" She sighed. "I think you're lonely, too."

Soul's eye twitched, the only outward indication that her words had any effect at all. Maka opened her mouth, rushing to explain, to diffuse the situation, but he wasn't listening.

Lonely…

Was he lonely? He'd never thought about it before. For as long as he remembered, he'd always been alone. His first memory was waking up to Medusa, congratulating him on his new position and explaining to him his new powers and how to eat. From then on, she'd only checked in a few times, but never for long. He patrolled the woods every so often, took care of trouble when it surfaced, and prevented the evil from spilling over into the surrounding areas. All on his own.

He recalled how tense he'd been the first few days after Maka had shown up. Every sound of traffic on the road, every snarl in the woods, any shift in the attention of the evil surrounding him had had him on edge. He'd both feared, and strangely hoped, that she would come back. After a few days, he'd stopped expecting her, and if he allowed himself to think about it, he had been sad. He'd wanted her to come back. He'd wanted her to visit, to keep him company and distract him for a short time from his boring, monotonous life.

Did that mean he was lonely? Was that what lonely felt like?

"- presuming anything of course, I just- I just wanted to be friendly-"

I will come.

Maka's eyes widened. "You… you will?"

Yes. Soul nodded his head to make sure she understood him. I will go to the forest's edge tomorrow when the sun sets so we can watch the lights together.

"Really?!"

Later, hours, days, even weeks later, Soul would relive her response over and over again in his mind. He would remember how excited her voice was. He would envision her bright eyes and wide smile. He would try to recreate the heat of her body against his. But he would fail to recreate the moment every time.

Maka dashed forward and jumped higher than he thought possible to wrap her arms tightly around his snout. He jerked a little in surprise, but she clung to him hard as she chanted thank you against his fur. Confusion had him frozen stiff as he just experienced her hug; only the second one he'd ever gotten in his entire life, and both from her.

I can't breathe, he told her eventually. She immediately let go and slid back to the ground. She continued to smile widely at him and he couldn't help but be confused. Why are you so happy?

She shrugged. "I just am."

But why?! Soul rarely got angry, certainly never this suddenly, but in less than a moment he was filled with rage. He was confused and he hated it. There was absolutely no reason for this little human to get so excited about him agreeing to go see some stupid lights in the sky. So why was she?!

WHY?!

Unconsciously, Soul's hackles rose and he exposed his teeth. I am Soul Eater! I am a Demon Weapon created by a witch to police vile beings in these woods, which I can only accomplish because I am the most vile creature in these woods, and you are a weak little human! You've only ever seen me once before! So why are you so happy?! I could eat you in the span of a second and there is nothing you could do about it, so why are you not scared?!

Perhaps he was lonely. Perhaps he'd lost some portion of his sanity along the way, and Maka's presence had somehow revealed it. Perhaps he wasn't as scary as he thought, at least to beings who couldn't feel the magic the way he could.

Because Maka didn't blink, didn't even flinch, as he berated her. She merely watched him calmly, silently, until he'd finished.

He hated how breathless he was. He was huffing and puffing like he was going to blow her over and he hadn't moved a step. What was wrong with him?! After a few deep breaths, he'd calmed himself down in time for his embarrassment to catch up with him.

Soul scoffed and walked passed her to curl up next to his tree. How long are you planning to be here? I'm tired, he said as he averted his gaze.

Maka sighed and visibly relaxed as she stepped closer. When he continued to avoid her gaze, she moved to sit directly in front of his face. With steady fingers, she reached up and carefully pet the fur of his nose.

At a complete loss, Soul found himself wanting to cry. No one had ever touched him so softly, with care rather than fear. He didn't understand this human. She was so different from what he was used to, he just couldn't figure her out.

"I'm lonely," Maka said, cutting off his train of thought. "People in town either don't like me because I'm the daughter of the mayor, or they put me on a pedestal because of it. Some people hate me because I'm educated and that's not normal for a girl. Some people hate me because I'm abusive or because I speak up or because I defend others because they can't defend themselves. Some people hate me because they've been used by my father.

"No matter who they are, they all have their reasons, except for Kidd, Liz, Patty, Tsubaki, and my dog. I don't get to see Kidd much because his dad's the governor and he travels a lot and Liz and Patty always go with him. Tsubaki lives so far away now that I don't get to see her much anymore either, so it's usually just Black*Star and me, but I can't talk to him." She looked up at him. "I… I just wanna be your friend. Even if you take my soul at some point, I really only have my dog to live for, and honestly, he'd probably be happier with Tsubaki anyway.

"That's why I'm here," she said as she clenched her fists in the fabric of her skirt. "That's why I'm not scared. And that's why I'm happy you're coming to watch the fireworks." She smiled sadly at him. "I'm happy I'll get to spend time with you, even if it's just for a little while.

"Because then I won't be alone."

This took a turn I wasn't expecting. It feels a bit OOC, but at the same time, Maka is shown more than once suffering from insecurities, so it's probably closer than I think.

Stay safe everyone.