#sefanfics

[ilovereadingandilovebreathing]

Hi! Hope you're having a good day or night depending! For the strangers meeting thing, could you do one for Soul and Maka?

Thank you; you, too! Holy CRAP I haven’t written SoMa in a long time, but I have been binging Soul Eater again, so I’ll do my best. Sorry the formatting is funky; I did it on mobile, and I’ve already had one format fiasco, so....

Young Adult!AU

“I swear to god this cat is gonna be the death of me.” Soul “Eater” Evans grumbled haughtily as he pinned up his last Lost Cat poster and began the weary trek back to his apartment. His brother had begged him to take Blair in last year when his long-time girlfriend, who was painfully allergic to cats, decided the pair should live together before getting engaged. Having no other family to willingly pawn the creature off on, Wes had turned to his bachelor younger brother. Of course, he was the one with the crazy cat lady landlady; she’d even offered to catsit for him.

Honestly, though, as much as he begroaned the circumstances of Blair’s adoption, he’d grown to like, maybe even love, the frisky little black cat. Her hours were as odd as his (night shift jobs screw up a sleep schedule), so they often kept each other company. As long as he remembered to put out her food and water and clean her litter box, she was really a low maintenance cat. Well, unless she was starved for attention. Then she’d rub herself all over him until he acquiesced to stroking her until she fell asleep, usually on his stomach so he couldn’t escape. Or unless she decided to vanish for a week without a trace. A few days was normal for Blair; Soul often suspected she had another family somewhere, but this long was unusual. Hence the posters.

Soul shoved open his lopsided apartment door, a frown pulling at his lips when he realized he’d expected Blair to come bounding over to him; maybe he did love her after all. He sighed and dropped his keys on the small table next to the front door, immediately slipping out of his coat and shoes. He collapsed onto his aging couch, allowing his head to fall back and his eyes to fall closed just as a loud buzz buzz buzz from his back pocket startled him upward again. He pulled out his phone to find an unfamiliar number.

[[phone]]

Hi, you put up wanted posters for a black cat?

[[phone]]

Missing? Yeah.

[[phone]]

Oh. Missing? NVM

“What the hell?”

Another message came through just as he was turning his phone off; another strange number.

[[phone]]

When did you put those signs up?

[[phone]]

Today

[[phone]]

Oh, okay. Good. Your can’t wasn’t with me, but I can’t promise anything from the others in the area. Hopefully she isn’t used.

[[phone]]

Fuck off, weirdo.

He blocked the number.

A few more ominous texts came in and one from his landlady expressing her wishes for Blair’s safe return. A few fellow searching pet owners asked him for leads on their pets, and he exchanged yeses and the same request. Just as he was going to throw his phone after another sick-headed black cat hater, a properly formatted message came through with a kinder message. Finally.

[[phone]]

Hey, I saw your Lost Cat posters. I’m really sorry to hear you lost her. I’ll be keeping an eye out for her; I’m pretty active in the area.

[[phone]]

Thank you I appreciate it

[[phone]]

No problem! I have a cat, too. Crona.

A photo of a small, sweet-faced but timid-looking kitten came through; it’s big blue eyes and stark white fur made him gasp a bit.

[[phone]]

Beautiful cat

I’m a little jealous seems to be the opposite of Blair haha

[[phone]]

Thank you! I just got him. He’s really shy but a good cat. What do you mean? What’s Blair like?I know you said “noisy asshole” on your poster, but…

[[phone]]

Haha gets peoples attention

Pitch black fur

Big yellow eyes

Needy and bossy as hell

Nah really she’s pretty good for the most part

My brother dumped her on me

[[phone]]

Crona has his moments, too, but she sounds like a handful! That’s no good, but it’s nice that you kept her! I hope you find her soon. I’m Maka, B. T. W.

[[phone]]

Soul

[[phone]]

That’s a cool name! Nice to meet you, Soul!

[[phone]]

Maka’s pretty unique too

Back atcha

[[phone]]

Like I said, I’ll be on the lookout, so let me know if there are any updates!

[[phone]]

Will do.

Thanks

-

A few days passed with silence about Blair. And from Maka. Soul didn’t know why he cared about that second one. He usually got bored with texting people, especially girls who talked a lot and formatted their texts perfectly, but something about Maka was the right balance.He shook his head and focused back on his TV. He didn’t even know Maka; how could he daydream about her?

As if on cue, his phone buzzed, and he picked it up, finding himself disappointed that it wasn’t Maka’s number, but his eyes widened when he read the text.

[[phone]]

Hey dude found your cat I think over near the market on Crescent Street she was bugging my girl for something to eat I think while she was waiting for me to get off work

A picture came through of a bright-blue haired young man with a wide grin and a sweet-looking lady with dark hair. The latter gently held Blair who looked up with wide eyes.

[[phone]]

Yup that’s her

Where are you?

[[phone]]

Outside the Limpin’ Imp Tavern on Crescent

[[phone]]

Cool be there ASAP

Soul jogged out the front door and down the steps. “Found Blair, Miss Ortega!” Soul called as he eyed his landlady sitting in her front window.

“Wonderful! I’ll have a treat for her when you return!”

“Thanks!”

He continued jogging toward Crescent Street, thankfully not too far from his house. He slowed when he neared the tavern, easily spotting the couple who’d contacted him.

“Hey!” Soul waved as he approached, eying Blair curled up in the woman’s lap. “I’m Soul. You’ve got Blair.” He laughed and the woman giggled in reply.

“Yeah we do! Totally saved your cat for you, as any good citizens would!” The man erupted, laughing loudly if not unnecessarily.

“Yeah…”

“She’s very friendly.” The woman cut in. “I figured she was a local stray until I saw her collar and Blake saw your posters.”

“Yeah, maybe I should save some time and paper and get her a license with my number on it.” Soul rubbed the back of his neck.

“Not like she’s a dog or anything.” Blake cut in. “Cats are way smarter. Unlike this one. Or maybe she’s just more stubborn.”

“Blake.” The woman rolled her eyes. “I’m Tsubaki, by the way, since you introduced yourself. Here.” She took Blair into her arms and carefully stood. “We have to get going, but I’m so glad we found her.”

“Absolutely. Thank you both so much. Here’s the reward.” Soul handed a wad of bills to Blake and took Blair from Tsubaki.

“Thanks a bunch! We’re off to a great dinner!” Blake laughed loudly and threw his arm around Tsubaki’s shoulders, drawing her against him as they walked away and planting a firm kiss on her head.

“Bye, Soul! Bye, Blair!”

“Bye!” Soul chuckled as the couple made their way down the sidewalk, idly chatting about their evening plans. “Time to go home, Missy.” Soul chided the cat but ran his fingers over her back. “You’ve been gone for too long.”

Blair just sat comfortably in his hold and purred as Soul walked them both home.

-

The evening hours found Soul and Blair lounging on the sofa, Blair curled comfortably on Soul’s stomach as he scrolled idly through Netflix. The companionable quiet was shattered when Soul’s phone buzzed loudly against the glass coffee table top, and he grit his teeth. He needed to take those damn posters down. However, his annoyance simmered out when he registered the familiar number.

[[phone]]

Hey, it’s Maka. Just checking in since it’s been a while. Any luck finding Blair?

Soul stretched back and snapped a shot of Blair sleeping on him.

[[phone]]

Yup

Just got her back a little while ago

[[phone]]

Aw awesome! So cute!!!

Maka sent an above shot of Crona snoozing on her chest, but Soul was fixated on the photographer. Big green eyes, a sweet smile, and smooth skin and hair made his heart flutter, and he swallowed.

[[phone]]

Really cute

[[phone]]

Ugh I know! He’s so peaceful when he sleeps. I love it so much.

[[phone]]

Thanks for checking up on us

[[phone]]

Yeah of course! I’m glad that she’s home! Maybe she and Crona will meet sometime, though he’s still not quite an outdoor cat yet.

[[phone]]

We could arrange it

Soul smacked himself internally. A kitty play date? Really? What was he, a cat dad?!

[[phone]]

True! It could help Crona develop confidence and social skills to meet in a controlled environment. Did you have anything in mind?

Shit. He didn’t really think she’d agree.

[[phone]]

Uh not really

[[phone]]

That’s okay! There’s this cool cat cafe that lets you bring your cat and keep it in a play area. We could try to rent a little space there or something!

This was becoming way more real and serious than Soul anticipated.

[[phone]]

Sounds cool

Though we don’t really know each other

[[phone]]

I promise I’m not a serial killer! Haha!

[[phone]]

You’d meet some random guy? What if I’m a weirdo?

[[phone]]

I’ll change my number. Easy.

[[phone]]

But really it’ll be fine! I trust my instincts if not you. L.O.L.

[[phone]]

Gee thanks lol

[[phone]]

😉

So….Is next weekend okay?

[Soul & Blair]

Sure works for me

[Maka]

Great! See you two then!

Maka sent a snap of an awake Crona and herself making a thumbs up. Soul’s breath stuttered.

-

The weekend couldn’t come fast enough, but when it did, Soul found himself blindsided. Was he ready to meet Maka? They had only gone back and forth for a week, but the exchanges were multiple times daily, and he quickly found himself falling fast and hard for the girl in the photos and videos.

As he opened the door to the cat cafe, he gasped, ignoring Blair’s pitiful cries to be free of her cat carrier when he spotted Maka in the back corner. Her slender legs were folded over each other; her hair was pulled back into a neat messy bun (crazy how that worked somehow), and he could see her eyes quickly skimming over the pages in front of her. Smart and beautiful. He was done for.

“Hey…” He pulled up in front of her and pulled out the chair across from her.

She looked up and beamed, her eyes catching the dim glow of the Edison lights around them.

“Hey!” She closed her book and pointed to a low, plastic door. “The play area is over there. They have some toys in there, but I kept Crona with me until you guys got here.” She picked up Crona’s carrier from its guarded spot between her seat and the wall and led him to set their cats free.

Once they settled back in, Maka handed him a menu. “They have great coffee drinks here.”

“I drink mine black, so it doesn’t make a huge difference to me.”

“I could never. Why, if I may ask?”

“Lactose intolerance.”

“Ah.”

“This is so weird.”

“What?” Maka cocked a brow, a slight shadow of worry passing over her features.

“I dunno. It’s like we’re texting in real life now.”

“Texting is real. Just not in person.”

“You know what I mean.”

She giggled. “I do.”

That giggle confirmed it.

Soul would make sure their conversations were purely words and in person as often as possible.

“So, tell me about yourself. I wanna hear it all.”

Hope you liked it! Thanks for the prompt!

[ilovereadingandilovebreathing]

Soul-Eater Fics MasterPost

I don’t write for this fandom that often these days, but when I did, I wrote quite a bit. So, here’s a MasterPost of those fics for anyone who wants it! I did my best with organization, so I hope it’s not too messy and everything is properly labelled. Enjoy! :)

Anything with a * next to it has SoulxMaka (SoMa) romance 

|Headcanons|

Soul is Gifted (from my personal blog)

|Drabbles|

Angst

Crack: A Soul-Eater Headcanon

Hurt/Comfort with some horror

Insanity*

Fluff

Roommates*

The Glow of Fatherhood*

|One Shots|

Emotional Fluff

The Feelies*

Fairy, Fairy, Quite Contrary* 

This is All ProMa’s Fault (baby adoption concept) 

A Pair of Soul-Eater Fanfics (2 for 1 special because I could, I guess)

Breaking the News (pregnancy reveal) (mostly fluff)

‘Twas the Month Before Christmas (Soul hates Christmas)

Loyalty

Humor

A Little SoMa Art Fluff

Soul After the Dentist

Horror 

The Girl in the Mirror (*this was a submission to another blog, but it was my written piece) 

Pure Angst

Paradox (Asura only)

Song Fics

Without You (*this was a submission to another blog, but it was my written piece)

Paper Airplanes (*this was a submission to another blog, but it was my written piece) 

Shadows

Hurt/Comfort

Sick Day

Angst & Hurt/Comfort

Tether

Shadows of the Past (original)

Shadows of the Past (SoulxMaka re-edit)

Nightmares (collab fic with emloveswaffles (now avatarem))

Song Fics

Need You Now 

Alternate Universes

Howl’s Moving Castle

Wounds (Army AU)

Strangers Meeting b/c of Lost Cat AU

Misc. (aka I have no idea how to categorize these)

So This Happened (carnival visit)

109 Ways 

|Multi-Chapter Fics (Completed)|

First, Big Date

Prequel (Drabble)

Of Pianos and Panic

|Multi-Chapter Fics (WIPs/Unfinished)|

Alternate Universes

Psycho-Pass AU

MScale (pt. 1)

Miss Congeniality AU

She’s Beauty and She’s Grace...She’ll Shoot You in the Face (pt. 1)

Florist/Tattoo Shop AU

A Rose by Any Other Name (pt. 1)

Hospital/ER AU

Bedside Manner (pt. 1)

Boxer AU

Bandages (pt. 1)

Bandages (pt. 2)

College AU

Eggs and Black Coffee (pt. 1)

Dinner Dates and Music Tastes (pt. 2)

Chicken Soup, Green Tea, and Dead Poets (pt. 3)

The 3am Adventures of Captain Insomnia and the Barefoot Wonder (pt. 4)

Prompts

Things You Said Under the Stars In the Grass

[ilovereadingandilovebreathing]

Soul Eater SoMa for 6! "Things you said under the stars in the grass"

For those of you who don’t know or are reading this in the future, today is Valentine’s Day, and the precious human who sent this request is one of my favorite people on the planet. He’s an incredible friend, and I’m blessed to call him my platonic valentine this year. I’ve had this little diddy simmering in my inbox for weeks, but I decided today was as good of a day as any to FINISH this sucker. Also sorry not sorry that I cheated because no grass. *shrugs* Hope you like it, friendo. ♥

Summary: Soul’s still on a mission to get his promised date with Maka, even if they have to lose a few degrees to do it.

Word Count: 3,470

Characters/Pairings: Soul “Eater” Evans, Maka Albarn; SoulxMaka 

Genres: Fluff, romance, with a splash of angst; College!AU

Warnings: divorce, bickering (let me know if there are others)

“Good Morning!” Maka breezed up to their usual table in the Commons, a light grin on her lips. 

“’Mornin’,” Soul replied between forkfuls of scrambled eggs.

“As suave as ever, I see.” Maka rolled her eyes good-naturedly, shrieking when the youth flicked said breakfast food in her direction. “Rude.”

“You started it,”the blond breathed out after taking a huge gulp of orange juice.

Maka merely grunted in return, setting off to get her food. When she returned, her table partner snagged a piece of bacon off her tray before she could protest. “Excuse you.” She swiped a slice of apple off of his plate.

Soul chuckled. “Take it.” He slid the bowl of fruit toward her. “ I hate fruit, anyway.”

“Fruit’s good for you, Soul, and you need to eat healthier after that nasty sinus infection you had.” Maka glared when she realized he was mocking her, his hand poised like a hand puppet mouth. “Fine, ignore me, but don’t blame me-”

“What’s got you so high-strung this morning?” Soul interrupted, brow quirked.

“What? Nothing. I’m fine. Why would you say that?”

He just hummed in reply, choosing to let this battle die before it was fought. “Here’s a better question:”

“Hmm?”

“Am I ever gonna get that date?” Soul asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

“You got your date, multiple times!” Maka replied, huffing and sending her bangs flying with a puff of air.

“What, being sick and going to Waffle House in the middle of the night count as dates?”

“I mean they might as well these days, right?”

“True…Well….What have you never done before? What’s something you’ve always wanted to do?”

“Mmmmm….” Maka sucked in her cheeks.

“What? What is it?”

“You’re gonna think it’s dumb.”

“No I won’t; tell me!”

She fiddled with her fork, staring at her plate. “….I’ve never been stargazing before.”

“Really?…” He mused, suddenly contemplative. “You know, I don’t think I have, either. We should definitely do that, then! When are you free?”

“Soul, we’re in the middle of a cold snap in winter; it’s too cold to go out at night!”

“We’ll be fiiiine! We can just bundle up in as many clothes as we can, hats and scarves, the whole nine, and get some blankets and stuff. I’ll figure it out. It’ll be great.”

“Soul-”

“Pleeeeease, Makaaaa? I’ll take care of everything; I promise!”

“….Fine.”

“Yes!” He grinned in triumph. “So when are you free?”

That Saturday night found her sitting on her couch bundled up in long johns, leggings, ski pants, 2 pairs of socks, boots, a long-sleeved thermal shirt, a sweater, a coat, a scarf, ear muffs, two pair of technology gloves, and a hat, waiting for him to text her that he had arrived.

Her phone finally lit up with the contact photo she’d assigned him (one of him giving her a pointed look when she tried to sneak a picture of him reading), and she swiftly swiped into the call.

“Hey, Soul. You here?”

“Yup, just pulled up. Sorry I’m late; took longer than I expected.”

“‘S fine.” Maka pushed herself up. “Took a little while to get layered up.” She quickly locked her door and set off down the stairs, giving him a wave when she eyed him on the way down. “See you in a sec.” She hung up and slid the phone in her pocket, a grin sliding across her lips. She couldn’t believed she’d let him convince her to do this. He might get sick all over again, or she might catch something, but….the allure of going stargazing, and on a perfectly clear winter night, was too tempting to pass up. “So,” she asked as she threw her leg over the motorbike. “Where we headed?”

“Little area right outside of town; no streetlights and lighter car traffic.”

“Sounds good.” She held on tight as they sped of into the frosty night.

—–

“What’s that over there?” Maka pointed to a strange orange glow a couple hundred yards away. “Not a fire I hope?!”

“How stupid do you think I am?” HSoulcalled back. “It’s a portable heater. I set it in front of our blankets to get them nice and toasty for us.”

They pulled up to their spot, and Maka couldn’t hold in a grin. There was a single, huge air mattress on the ground, blown up to capacity, and a huge stack of blankets sat next to it.

“Wow…” She let Soul take her hand and lead her over to their setup, too enthralled to notice the blush on his cheeks. Once they were settled, he handed her a thermos.

“Hot cocoa.” He explained, popping open his own container to sip at the still-steaming liquid.

“Oh, but-”

“I know, no milk. Just water. I got you covered.” Soul grinned proudly as she smiled back and took a satisfied sip, humming with happiness from the warmth.

“Thank you.” Maka shivered as a breeze passed over them and reached for a blanket, cocooning herself in warmth. “Oooh…this is a nice blanket!” She rubbed her arms absently, looking at what designs she could see with the light of the space heater. Little foxes, it looked like.

“My Granny made it.” Soul smiled, but Maka detected just a hint of sadness in his tone as she looked over at him. Sure enough, though his lips were spread, his eyes were downturned at the edges.

“Oh, is she-”

“No, she’s alive,” Soul reassured her. “Just far away. She’s my favorite person in the whole world. Leaving her was the hardest part about coming to college, but….she wanted me to.”

“She sounds like a good person.” Maka tenderly placed a hand on his arm.

“She is.” Soul agreed, absently placing his own hand over hers as he stared into the space heater. “Anyway, she made that for me when I was little; I’ve had it for as long as I can remember.”

“Oh, well then, here-”

“No, it’s fine-”

Maka sighed not unkindly and threw the blanket over the both of them, taking another from the stack to wrap around her shoulders. “There.” She grinned up at him cheekily, and he stuck his tongue out, blowing a small raspberry. “You’re such a child.” She mumbled under her breath.

“Quit lookin’ at me, then, and look at the stars.” Soul jested, pointing upward as he laid down on the mattress.

Maka complied, staring up from her hunched position beneath the blankets, and she was glad she did. Thousands upon thousands, possibly millions of pinpricks of light hung above their heads, some large and glittering and some small and stable. The sun had just set, so traces of purples intermingled with the blacks and browns of the night sky, leaving tasteful streaks between patches of stars.

From there,Maka could swear she could see whole star systems, though astronomy was not her subject, so she couldn’t tell you which ones. She sighed, watching the bitter air curl before her like smoke, and soaked in the glory of galaxies. Suddenly, another gust of wind swept through the landscape, and she curled into herself, teeth chattering.

“Here.” Maka looked over, and Soul had his arm outstretched toward her, his eyes screwed up toward the stars. Without hesitation, she scooted next to him and snuggled into his side, her thermos cradled between her palms. He pulled her in close, giving her a squeeze before placing a firm, loving kiss on the crown of her head.

And then she froze.

Soul felt her muscles physically stiffen next to him, and he was at a loss for words. “Maka? You okay?”

“Y-yeah, I’m fine.” He felt her wiggle away from him a bit, placing the drink container between them, and he brought his arm back into his lap.

They sat in silence for a full minute

“I’m sorry if I….if that was too fast.” Soul muttered, his voice low.

Maka inhaled through her nostrils, unwilling to take her eyes from the sky to meet his.

“Maka, I’m sorry; it’s just….we’ve been hanging out for months…a lot….I dunno, I just thought…”

“You thought wrong.” She bit back, still not looking at him, and that comeback broke his resolve.

“Look.” He sat up, turning fully toward her. “You’ve been making weird comments all week. What’s your beef? Did I piss you off again?”

Silence.

“Maka-

“No. It’s not you. It’s….”

Soul waited patiently for her to continue, staring at her for a moment then up at the stars splayed above them.

Maka sat up and sighed shakily beside him. “It’s the anniversary of my parents’ divorce.” She grumbled, pulling the blankets tighter around her. “My mom always tries to send me a present to make me feel better. My dad used to, but now he just gets hammered and drunk FaceTimes me.” She chuckled harshly, bringing her thermos up to her face. “I know it’s stupid, but I just….I can’t help remembering. How they pretended they were okay even though I heard them arguing constantly. They tried so hard to pretend for me, and I just…I don’t know. It makes me cynical, I guess. Wonder if I’ll ever find someone, and if I do, will I be able to keep a relationship alive.”

“Maka…”

“But it’s nothing. Stupid. Just the whiny grumblings of a child of divorce.”

“Hey, it’s not nothing. It’s not stupid. You’re allowed to be upset about it, Maka. It’s a crummy thing to put your kid through.”

“No. Staying married would’ve been crummier. They hate each other.” Maka bit her lip. “They only got married because of circumstance. It seemed like the right place at the right time, and they thought they were in love. It was this whole movie-esque tornado of events. So I just…I don’t know. I’m afraid of things moving too fast. It sucks because I’ve met some really amazing guys, but they all wanted to get serious so quickly and it was just way too much. I’m scared of moving too fast, if I’m being honest with myself. I’m scared that I’ll meet someone great and think I’ve fallen in love really fast and it’ll all just happen so quickly and in some kind of whirlwind but one day I could wake up and realize that I’m not in love anymore. Or that I never even was. Like, how much would that s-su-uck?” She hadn’t realized she was crying until her voice broke, and a chill went up her spine as her felt the tears trailing down her cheeks. She hugged her shins, resting her chin on her knees, and she squeezed her eyes shut as fat droplets squeezed from between her eyelids.

“Maka, I’m so sorry.” Soul’s voice was choked, and her eyes snapped open in alarm. She glanced over and found that his eyes were gleaming dangerously. “I didn’t realize I was pushing things along so quickly or that I seemed like I was coming on too strong. The fact of the matter is…’ He swallowed. “I like you a lot, Maka. I really do, but I want you to be comfortable in all of this. I don’t want you to feel pressured into something you don’t want to be apart of. If you don’t feel that way about me, it’s fine, we can still be friends because I love being around you-”

“Soul.” She cut him off. “O-of course I like you.” Her voice was barely more than a whisper. “Why else would I be so worked up about all of this right now?”

“Besides the anniversary?”

“That’s….an excuse, really. Like I said, they’re better apart. It’s just…the implications of it all that get to me sometimes. I guess that’s why it upset me…I…like you a lot, too, Soul, but I guess I just….I don’t know, with the anniversary thoughts and how often we’ve been together I guess I just freaked out. I don’t want to hurt you, Soul. Not like my parents hurt each other.”

“You won’t.” Soul murmured, inhaling deeply with his gaze fixed on the orange glow of their heater.

“How do you know, though?” Maka asked, so softly that the words fairly trailed along her breath.

“Because you’re better than them.” Soul deadpanned, looking her straight in the eye now. The conviction in his features nearly stole her breath. “Because you’ve actually thought about this stuff, and you’re more aware than they were. So what if your parents marriage fell apart? I mean that sucks and all, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be happy one day.”

“You’re really passionate about this, huh?” Maka sniffed and wiped at her eyes.

“I mean….I dunno, I get it in a way. My parents are still together, but only because a divorce would look bad in their social circles. They hate each other, and always have, so it’s not like I had a great representation of what love is, either, growing up.” Soul shrugged, turning back to the starlit sky. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t figure this stuff out for ourselves. I mean, we’ve made it this far in life, and I think we’re pretty damn smart, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I think so.” Maka giggled.

“So we’ll be fine.” Soul smiled warmly, but it melted into a complacent line too quickly. “Plus, it’s not like I proposed to you or anything. We’re not even really a couple, so no worries.”

“Hey!”

He lifted a brow and peered over at her sudden outburst.

“I never said I didn’t want to be with you.” Maka continued, suddenly shy. “I love our time together. I just…slapping labels on things makes it complicated. Can we just…I dunno, let it be an unspoken agreement?”

“Works for me.” Soul folded his hands behind his head and laid back on the plastic mattress.

“Um, so…”

“Yeah?”

“Since we’re unofficially official….we can still cuddle.” Maka’s cheeks were blazing pink. “But ask me before you do anything, okay? And I’ll…be better about communicating my feelings. Deal?”

“Deal.” That warm smile was back, and she gave him one in return as she settled down next to him. A moment passed before she reached around and guided his arm around her, snuggling in close to his side with a final sigh of contentment.

“Thanks for this, Soul.” She whispered as they stared up at the stars together.

“Only for you, Maka.” He replied before suddenly jerking in realization. “Oh yeah! I have this really cool app that will show us what stars are above us! Hold on-” He pulled out his phone and thrust it toward the night sky, and they both stared intently as the device found their location.

“All those stars, and they can still be identified, one by one. Amazing.” Maka commented as they scrolled through their findings.

“Kinda like the odds of us finding each other, huh?”

“You’re such a sap.” She joked, nudging him lightly before settling her head on his chest, tucking herself in.

“I was thinking clever, but I guess that works, too.” He snarked back.  

“Oooh look, those stars in a row there, is that one of the dippers?”

“Nah, I think it’s Orion, the hunter constellation…”

“But that doesn’t look right….what does the app say?”

“I dunno, it’s taking ten years to load things because the signal sucks out here.”

“Well, shoulda thought that one through-”

“Hey, I was trying to do something cool for us-”

“Chill. Kidding.” Maka screeched when he tried to pinch her side, and she aimed to pinch him back, though neither were successful with layers of cloth over their fingers. Nevertheless, Soul’s phone was abandoned in favor of defending himself against an onslaught of tickling, though he soon discovered he could easily trap Maka’s arms in a tight bear hug. “Sooooouuuuullll let GO!” She shrieked, trying to wiggle out of his hold while suppressing giggles.

“Mmmmm, nah.” Soul rolled both of them over, Maka now snuggled against him like a teddy bear. “I wanna sleep, and you’re the perfect snuggle buddy.” He nestled his nose between her head and the mattress and promptly faked snoring.

“Sooouuulll not funny, let me go! My arms are gonna fall asleep.”

“You’ll be fine. I’m not that strong.” He mumbled, burying his face further into warmth.

“Sooouulllll-” Maka whined.

“Fine, you’re no fun.” Soul released her and rolled onto his back.

“I am so fun. You’re the one who wants to be a pain.” Maka reached across him and grabbed his phone, handing it back to him. “Now tell me more about the stars. It’s getting really cold, and I want to go home soon.”

“Fine.” The backlight of his phone revealed the grin on Soul’s cheeks, and Maka smiled to herself. She searched for a moment, quickly finding his gloved hand before holding it in hers. She laid back down against him, head on his chest and watching as he scrolled through the list of stars above them. “See that really bright bluish one? That’s Uranus! The only planet clearly visible from here right now.”

“Whoa,” She stared intently where his finger pointed, nodding in recognition before snickering a bit. “I had a science teacher who tried to convince us that it’s pronounced “ur-in-is” so people would stop laughing about it.”

‘Well that’s dumb. That only makes people talk about it more.”

“I know, but what can you do with middle schoolers?”

“Ugh, true.” Soul continued scrolling. “I think that’s the North Star, there…but I’m not quite sure…”

“Or there?” Maka pointed to the left of his initial guess.

“Oh crap! I totally forgot-” Soul reached off the side of the mattress, feeling around for a small bag. “I brought a small telescope.” He carefully brought up the drawstring bag and opened it, bringing out a foot-long silver tube. “My Grandpa gave it to me.” He explained fondly. “He loved this kinda stuff. Bird-watching, star-gazing, anything he could do from his balcony. I used to go out there with him, and he got me this when I graduated high school. He said it would let us keep star-gazing together, even though we’re far apart.”

“That’s so sweet. You have great grandparents, Soul.”

“Yeah…I’m sure they’d love to meet you.” Soul’s breath hitched.

“….That would be nice.”

They both relaxed against each other, and Soul picked up the telescope. “Let’s see….ah crap, there’s a cloud in the way now…stupid desert clouds….”

“Point it at Uranus; I want to see its rings.” Soul handed over the telescope, and Maka gasped. “It’s not an incredibly clear image, obviously, but…wow….that’s a whole other planet. It’s nuts.” She swung the lens between planetary bodies, gasping louder each time he told her what it was. “This is so cool…”

“Yeah…” He gazed at her fondly, soaking in the pure childlike wonder and fascination exuding from her voice, her eyes, her posture, and the undisputed joy when she turned back to face him.

“This has been a great time, Soul…Everything included.” Maka squeezed his hand. “But it really is cold out here, and I can’t feel my nose anymore.” She grinned sheepishly, handing him the telescope with trembling fingers. “We should totally do this again, but like, when it’s warmer.”

“Agreed.” He chuckled and sat up, sliding the telescope back into its bag as Maka slowly shed her layers of warmth. “Let’s get you home before you freeze, huh?”

Maka nodded and rose, stretching her limbs before plodding over to his motorcycle and swinging her leg over. Soul followed right behind and sat himself in front of her, revving the engine with an uncontrollable smile when she squeezed him in a hug before settling in.

The drive back was brisk but short. When they arrived outside of her apartment, Maka quickly swung herself off of the bike and stood beside him, waiting expectantly. Soul raised a brow, and the girl huffed in return, holding out her arms.

“Ooooohhhh.” He grinned widely, pulling her against him in a side-hug, and she groaned into his shoulder.

“Noooo a real hug, you doofus.” She yanked him off the bike, nearly sending all three of them toppling over, and they held each other close, holding on for as long as they each dared before letting go.

“Really, this was fun…and good.” Maka smiled, leaning up to place a peck on his jaw before turning on her heel and speeding up the stairs to her apartment. “Good night!” She stage-whispered, waving to him before vanishing into her apartment and leaving a still stunned Soul leaning against his idling motorcycle.

His hand slowly rose to where her lips had grazed his face, and he felt his heart stutter just a bit.

There was really hope for them after all.

With a final triumphant grin, Soul swung himself back onto his bike and sped back toward their date site, hoping that the cleanup would be faster than the setup.

[ilovereadingandilovebreathing]

The 3am Adventures of Captain Insomnia and the Barefoot Wonder

A/N: Hi, people! I don’t remember the last time I posted a fic on here, BUT I was going through my drafts and finally mustered up the wherewithal to finish something! SO, without further ado, here is the 4th (ridiculous) chapter of my Soul Eater College!AU. This one’s way less emotional and way more snarky and funny than the last one, so if that chapter wasn’t your cup of tea, maybe this one will be better. This one’s not as connected and linear as the others, but it was fun to write.  It’s literally been years, so if anyone actually reads this, bless you. Hope you enjoy! (It’s literally so ridiculous, and I’m so sorry.) 

Chapter 1     Chapter 2     Chapter 3

Summary: Soul can’t sleep, so his natural course of action is to drag Maka out of bed. Lots of snarking and flirting ensues. 

Word Count: 2,123

Genre(s): College!AU; humor, slice of life, slight romance

Characters/Pairings: Soul Evans, Maka Albarn, Liz Thompson; implied/pre-SoMa

Warnings: arguing/bickering, yelling

Maka had half a mind to hurl her shrieking cell phone across her room when it disturbed a much needed and (to that point) full night of sleep. She grumbled choice words between gritted teeth as she thrashed around, untangling herself from her warm cocoon of blankets and sliding open the device just before it went to voicemail.

“What?” 

“What are you so crabby about?” An all-too familiar gravelly tone snarked.

“Oh, I don’t know.” Maka quipped, sitting up now as she glared a hole through her door. “Maybe because it’s 3am, I was FAST ASLEEP, and I have a damn final tomorrow.”

“Oh shit, is it 3am already?”

“3:06, to be exact.”

“Sorry, Maka, I swear: the last time I looked it was 11:30.”

 “Yeah, well, we’re way past that now, aren’t we?”

When he didn’t respond, she sighed, pushing her bangs back with a huff as she conceded, “So what’s up? What possessed you to call me in the first place?”

“I....can’t sleep.”

“Seriously?” She flopped back onto her pillows with a flourish, most of her body and half of her mind screaming at her to hang up. “Soul, go take some Tylenol PM or drink some warm milk or something.”

“Lactose intolerant.” 

“Never stopped you from chugging it from my carton.”

He grunted. “And the PM stuff makes you feel like you have a hangover, without the booze or the vomiting.”

“True. What do you want me to do about it, Captain Insomnia?”

“Take a ride with me.”

“Sooooul it’s 3:12 in the morning, dammit, I have a final in 5 hours.”

“I know, I know, just...” His voice became rougher than usual, but somehow small, like a timid child. “Please? I promise I’ll have you back in less than an hour.”

“Fine.” She threw off her blessed heat for good, nearly stubbing all of her toes as she stumbled blindly to her closet. “Where....are you?” She asked as she pulled on a hoodie and yoga pants. 

“Green parking, right outside your dorm.” She could practically hear his cheeky, shark-toothed grin. 

“You’re such an ass.”

“You love it.”

“Not right now.” She opted for bare feet when she eyed the pile of shoes next to her desk, and in seconds she was down the hall and out the back stairwell, waving her best friend and his (in her opinion) tacky orange motorcycle toward her. 

“The hell are your shoes?” He quirked a brow at the bare foot she was about to sling over his bike. 

“Don’t need them.” She retorted, thrusting said foot toward his face. “We’re just going for a ride, right?” 

“Yeah, suit yourself.” He shrugged as she settled into her seat and wrapped her arms around his waist. 

After they drove for a little while, she nudged him and yelled over the wind, “Where are we headed?”

“Anywhere but my dorm!” He called back, an obvious grimace on his lips. 

“How about Waffle House?”

“You’re not wearing any shoes, Maka!”

“No one cares, it’s just Waffle House! Plus it’s Liz’s shift, so I bet we can get in anyway.”

“Alright, to the kingdom of cholesterol it is.”

~

It was 3:30 on the dot when they pulled up to the small, brightly lit eatery. 

“Looks like we’re the only ones here.” Maka noted.

“Yeah, just means we might get our heart attacks faster.” Soul chuckled, holding the door open for Maka to walk in before him.

“Hey, you crazy kids,” a familiar tone rang out as they approached the counter. “What’re you two doing up so late? Or early, depending on how you look at it.” Liz added with an eye roll.

“Soul couldn’t sleep.” Maka reported, thrusting her thumb over her shoulder at the shrugging albino. “So he dragged me out here.”

“Hey, WaHo was your idea, Maka-”

“But sneaking over to my apartment and guilting me out of bed was yours-”

“Alright you two, knock it off. You sound like an old married couple, jeez.” Liz interjected, waving them over to a nearby booth with a cursory glance at Maka’s bare feet. “I only took this shift because it’s an easy one, so don’t screw that up for me.” 

“Sorry.” Maka grumbled, and Soul grunted something unintelligible in apology.

The blonde’s features softened just a hair, and she asked, “What’ll you have?”

“Just a glass of orange juice, please.” Maka quickly replied. “It’s way too late to be eating anything.”

“I’ll go for the All-Star Special.” Soul handed Liz his menu and shot Maka a look. “I call it beating the birds to breakfast. Something about eating grease on grease in the early morning hours that gives me the warm and fuzzies.”

“You’re so weird.” Maka propped her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her fists, staring at Soul in silence for a few moments.

“What?” He suddenly looked uncomfortable, as if he could feel her probing his mind. 

“Nothing. Just thinking.”

“About?”

“What could be bothering you so much that you’d wake me up at this time of night just to get me out of my dorm and take a ride, then come to a place you have an obvious love/hate relationship with.” 

“Sounds too complex for this hour.”

“It wouldn’t be if you’d tell me what’s wrong.” She bit back, giving Liz a grateful nod as she set down a full glass of orange juice.

“Nothing is wrong.” Soul retorted, his eyes shielded from her glare by his unruly bangs. “I told you: I just can’t sleep.”

“Mkay, whatever you say.” She quipped, sipping her juice with a pointed glare.

“You’re impossible.” He sighed, opting to look out the window into the darkened wasteland of Death’s Valley.

They sat in silence until their food came, playing eye tag with one another until Liz set their food in front of them.

~

“What if you had forks for hands?” Soul suddenly asked, his final forkful of eggs halfway to his mouth.

Maka raised a brow as she sipped on her orange juice. “What?”

“Like that movie, Edward Scissorhands. What if it was forks instead of scissors.”

“You’d probably be just as screwed. You couldn’t do anything with forks for hands.” Maka giggled, mimicking trying to pick up a salt packet without proper appendages. 

“God, imagine trying to wipe-”

“Ew, Soul, shut up! Did you have to make it gross?” She scoffed. “You’re such a guy.” But Soul caught the small grin she tried to hide behind her cup.

“Hey, I see you smiling!” He grabbed at the cup just in time for her to jerk back, effectively sloshing and spilling the sweet liquid down the front of her hoodie and onto her pants.

“Ah, damn-” They cursed in unison, locking eyes but for a second before Maka slammed down the glass, causing small waves of juice to spill onto the table. They both grabbed for the napkins, too quickly on both ends, and just ended up knocking the dispenser behind the counter. 

“Uh, Liz?” Soul called. “Can you-”

“I though I told you two to behave!” Liz stomped over with a handful of paper towels, death staring the both of them as she slopped up their mess. “If you two would quit flirting and just get it all out there already...” Liz trailed off, grumbling to herself as the pair of youths sat slumped, cheeks blazing beneath her fury and assertions. 

“S-sorry Liz...” Maka managed to mumble out as the woman carefully toted an armful of soggy, yellow-orange paper towels to the nearest trash can. 

“Yeah, well, that’s what I get for telling people I work the graveyard shift.” She sighed, carefully laying their check where the table wasn’t damp. “You better leave me a good tip.” She winked and strode toward another booth, now occupied by what looked like another college student. 

“Definitely. Sorry about all of this.” Maka glared at Soul as they stood and whispered, “it’ll never happen again.”

The young man just rolled his eyes and shrugged her off as he grabbed the check and pulled out his wallet, leaving Liz a $20 tip to compensate for their antics. 

“Alright, Soul,” Maka stated as she swung her leg over his bike once more. “This little escapade is over. Take me home; I want to sleep.”

“Fine, fine, whatever.” He grumbled, revving the orange motorcycle and taking off into the night.  

~

When they were once again in front of Maka’s building, she hurriedly swung off the bike, but an unsteady hand grabbed her sleeve before she could hightail it back inside. 

“Maka-”

“Apology accepted, now let me go back to bed, Soul.” She whispered harshly, not wanting her neighbors to see her like this.  

“What? Oh yeah, sorry for spilling juice on you and all that, but, uh, no, that’s not it....I want to show you something.”

“It can’t wait until tomorrow?” Maka shivered, her teeth chattering as a slight breeze swept through the parking lot.

“I mean, I guess it could, but...” His voice dropped to a barely audible whisper, and she could detect the slightest hint of a tremble behind words. His gaze fell away from hers, and she laid her hand on his arm. 

“What?”

“I’ve been composing again.”

“Really? That’s awesome, Soul!” 

“Yeah, and I wanted to let you listen to what I have so far.”

“I’d love to, but...shouldn’t you show like, Liz or Kidd or someone? They appreciate music a lot more than I do.”

“I don’t want a real opinion.” He dodged her swipe at him with a chuckle. “Not saying your opinion isn’t real! Just...not a musical one. This one is kind of personal, is all. It’s not really like the ones I played for my recital last semester.”

“Oh” was all she could reply with before he was drawing out his IPhone and handing her the earbuds. 

He pushed play, and nothing happened.

“Soul, are you-”

“It starts out quiet. Just listen.” He mumbled, his gaze locked on his feet as sound began to seep into her ears. 

“Oh, I hear it-” A nice little tune filled her ears, and she nearly sighed in contentment as the even, almost whimsical pattern swirled around her. She smiled toward him, but he still wouldn’t look at her.

“Soul, this is-” The cheery piece suddenly slowed, faded into something with a sadder sound, more melancholy and drawn out. A cello declared its sorrowful tale as the piece picked up again, loud, dramatic, enough to prompt tears at the corners of her eyes as she listened, fixated on each pitch. The piece calmed again, but the notes were discordant, constantly stumbling over one another, seeming to smack right into one another as they tried to make sense of what they were conveying. Then, the whole sound seemed to change again, something serene, calm. She felt like she was sitting in a breezy meadow full of flowers, or a vegetated hillside. Even after the final, resounding note had long since left her headspace, Maka sat staring.

She found her hands where trembling and a couple of tears had even snaked down her cheeks as she reached up to pluck the earbuds out. Soul must have noticed, too, because when she looked up to hand the headphones back, his brows were creased in worry, his eyes wide. “Did you like it?” He finally rasped out.

“I....I loved it. I think...I feel like....I finally understand your music now.” She wiped the tear tracks away. “This is your real music, isn’t it? What you want to compose.” 

“What I would compose if I had my own way, yeah.”

“It was moving. It was heartbreaking, but so touching, too. I just...wow.”

“Not everyone likes music that changes so much, but it’s important for that piece.”

“I did. I do, I mean. It was just...like nothing I’ve ever experienced. Like I was listening to your heartbeat, or your soul or something.”

“Something like that.” He grinned shyly, shoving the IPhone into his pocket as another breeze picked up around them. “Sorry I dragged you out, but thanks for coming with me. It was nice to have someone along for the ride this time.”

“Yeah, no prob-” She stopped short when he was suddenly closer to her; his arms wrapped around her in a tight embrace.

“Thank you, Maka.” He whispered, planting the softest of kisses on the crown of her head before he released her, turning quickly toward his bike and mounting it before she could reply. “See you tomorrow.” He called back before revving up the bike once more and flying off toward his apartment.

“You’re welcome, Soul.” Maka whispered into the breeze, turning to go back to her own room as Soul’s taillights faded from sight.

[ilovereadingandilovebreathing]

Tether

A/N: Well crap. Smokey’s post ruined me, so here I am with this nonsense coming out of me. I haven’t started a Soul Eater fanfic in a while (the one I posted recently was started like a year ago, but also this is so short it’s like a drabble I guess), so bear with me, friends. 

Summary: Soul’s feeling a little more than lonely, and he (kind of) goes to his meister for support.

Word Count: 783

Genre(s): Hurt/Comfort, kinda angsty

Characters/Pairings: Soul Evans & Maka Albarn (really platonic, but can easily be read as SoulxMaka)

Warnings: lots of angst and like...talk about being alone and hopeless and stuff. 

Maka had been trying with all her strength not to say anything, but, whether it was curiosity or annoyance that was getting to her, something had to give. Soul had been pacing around the kitchen, and now he’d come to a halt right inside her doorway, just standing there and fiddling with the string of his sweatpants. 

“Soul?”

The youth whipped his head to face his meister, suddenly blushing when he realized he’d been spotted. 

“Yeah?”

“What....are you doing?” Maka asked, quirking a brow.  He hung around by her door, looking at the wall, then at her, then at the bed, then in to the kitchen, then at her, then at the wall, then at her-

“Soul.” 

He physically jerked at her tone, and she instantly regretted it. 

“What’s going on?” She asked, her voice softened.

“I dunno, I just....I dunno.” He wouldn’t meet her eyes.

“What do you mean, you don’t know? Something’s obviously bothering you.”

“I just...um...can I....hang out in here?”

“In my room?”

“Yeah.”

“Why not out there, in the living room, with the TV or something?”

He looked incredibly uncomfortable, and she kicked herself. Soul was never like this, so obviously something was wrong. He was always reclusive, drawing back into his room, so obviously being here meant something-

“I wanna be with you. Around you.”

“Okay....that’s fine.” She felt a slight blush rise in her cheeks. He’d never been this needy before...

The white-blond youth scurried across the room and set himself on Maka’s bed, looking no less uncomfortable than he had in the doorway. Sighing internally, Maka rose and approached him.

“So what’s up? What’s really going on?” She asked, sitting beside him on the bed. He refused to look at her, and Maka felt a slight anger well up in her. What was he refusing to trust her with? “Soul, as your meister, as your roommate, as your friend, please, tell me.”

“I...” Soul suddenly grabbed her comforter and threw it over his head, sitting in silence as the blanket fell back down around him. 

“Soul, what the hell-”

“I’m lonely.”

“What?”

“I feel.....alone. Isolated.” He let out a trembling sigh. “When I’m in there by myself sometimes....with the door shut....the walls....it all just feels so claustrophobic. I feel so alone and isolated and....It’s stupid.” The blanket shifts, and Maka can just make out Soul’s knees moving upward toward his chest.

“It’s not stupid.” Maka coaxed quietly, slowly lifting the covering to join him in the blanketed darkness. “If you’re feeling that way, it’s not stupid. You’re not stupid.” 

“You know me too well sometimes.” He chuckled bitterly. “I just....I feel....detached? I think that’s the word. I feel like I don’t have a connection, a tether to earth sometimes. Like I don’t really have anything keeping me here....like I could just....up and float away....and no one would...would care...”

Maka felt the blanket trembling around her, felt the quivering in her weapon’s soul, and her heart shattered. “I would care if you up and floated away.” She found her own voice breaking as she whispered, “I would care if you disappeared.” She took a breath and decided to take the plunge, too. “You have a tether, Soul, a connection. I can be your tether; I’ll help keep you grounded. You just have to let down a rope or something, and I’ll grab on. I won’t let you go. I promise. I’m here for you. You’re not alone.”

Silence.

Well, crap. She’d just made things ten thousand times more awkward-

A sudden, rough sob escaped her weapon’s throat, and Maka instinctively threw her arms around him, as if protecting him from the thoughts swirling around his head. Soul froze for half a second and then buried his face in her shoulder and wept bitterly, apologizing again and again as Maka held on to him, tighter and tighter with each “I’m sorry.” 

“It’s okay, Soul. It’s okay.” Maka soothed, scooting closer to him and letting him cling on to her as tight as he needed to, even if it made breathing a little bit difficult. She rubbed his back and brought her hand up to cup his head, drawing her fingers inward and outward in a kind of rub against the back of his skull.  “You’re not alone, Soul. I promise.” She whispered in his ear, hugging him close when he sobbed harder. “You have me, and Black Star, and Tsubaki, and Kidd, and Liz, and Patty, and all our other friends and classmates. Everyone at the DWMA. We all love you, Soul, and we’re all here. We won’t leave you. We won’t abandon you. I promise.” She sniffed and whispered, firmer this time. “You’ll never be alone again.” 

[ilovereadingandilovebreathing]

This is all ProMa's fault

A/N: So in case you haven't read ProMa's (not at all) sickeningly (but super duper) sweet and fluffy baby fic, you need to. This messy, sloppy, rushed baby fluff was inspired by that perfect baby fluff.

Summary: After a successful mission, Maka decides she and Soul can adopt the kishin-to-be’s baby. Maka overdoes it in baby care, but Soul is there to carry her and the baby.

Word Count: 1,704

Genre(s): slice of life, some fluff, lotsa baby stuff

Characters/Pairings: Soul “Eater” Evans, Maka Albarn, Baby Benjamin; nothing explicit, but SoMa can definitely be read into it

Warnings: crying, mention of death, passing out

This wasn't happening.

It couldn't be happening.

Not to them. Not in real life. This kind of cliche situation only happened in movies or on tv...right?

Wrong, apparently, because here he was, sitting in a social worker's office with his meister, shakily signing "Soul Eat Evans" beneath a way too long paragraph with size 10 font. 

"Well, that's all the paper work for now." The towering social worker grunted out as he snatched the page from in front of him, prompting a growl from the 19 year-old. "I still can't believe I'm doing this..." He continued frankly. "But you do have a steady, sizable income. You're legally adults, and have your own apartment, not to mention Lord Death had a rather compelling argument on your behalf-"

"Thank you so much, Mr. Ross. I promise you won't have any problems from us!" Maka was grinning from ear to ear, practically glowing as she stood and shook the man's thick hand. 

"Yeah, well." Even he couldn't suppress a small smile in the face of Maka's excitement. "Sherri'll give you a few numbers to call if you do."

"Thank you so much!" Maka called over her shoulder as she grabbed Soul's hand and fairly skipped out of the room. "I can't believe it. They're actually letting us take him!"

"Yeah, me either." Soul grumbled, jamming his free hand into his pocket. How the hell a simple fight to the death with an almost-Kishin ended with a months-long adoption process was beyond his understanding. One second, he was swallowing up the glowing scarlet orb, and the next he was clattering against the concrete as Maka ran over to scooped up a wiggling figure. Apparently, the monster-to-be had been the mother to a two month old boy with big blue eyes and a bigger lung capacity. Maka had instantly fallen in love with the pudgy fingers and rosy cheeks, imploring Soul to agree to keep him as their own. To avoid a spiel on the perils and hardships of the foster care system (even in a place like Death City), Soul had begrudgingly agreed.

He chided himself for being weak and lazy as they passed through the social workers' offices and into the childcare wing of the building. Even though Maka's elation spread through her soul and tried to poke at his, Soul kept himself distant. It wasn't that he was upset with her. Or mad at her. Or worried about her, even. He knew that Maka could take care of a baby. She'd done famously on her own when he, Kidd, Black*Star, and Tsubaki had left on a particularly dangerous mission, leaving the other pair's precious Angela in her capable hands. Despite being an only child, Maka was actually amazing with kids, and it was only after some prodding that she confessed of her secret collection of parenting books and videos. She'd wanted a kid of her own ever since she saw how much joy Anne brought to her adoptive parents, thinking that, perhaps, a tiny, precious being could bring such joy into their apartment, as well. 

No, Maka wasn't the one to be cautious about when it came to kids. It was the one with bright red eyes and a sharp, menacing grin to look out for, and Soul knew that far better than the grinning woman who crossed to them and showed them their new charge. 

Just as instantly as the worry had overtaken him, it was replaced with guilt when he chanced a glance at Maka's face. Tears of absolute joy nipped at Maka's cheeks when the dozing infant was placed in her arms. She was happier than he'd ever seen her, and he hated himself for thinking about his comfort over her happiness. Everything would be fine. She'd be there to take over if things ever got unsavory. 

After a seemingly endless chorus of "thank yous" and "good-byes," they were finally loaded into a taxi and sent home. Maka held the slumbering boy protectively to her chest throughout the taxi ride.Soul just stared out the window, already envisioning the sleepless nights full of baby cries and dirty diapers.

~~~~~~~~~~

He wasn't wrong about the crying and dirty diapers; not by a long shot. The first week was the hardest, for sure.

Baby Benjamin, or Bene, as his adoptive guardians had taken to calling him, was a talented vocalist, reaching higher octaves and making sound without breathing for longer than Soul ever thought possible. Maka, however, had not seem at all deterred by anything the baby could throw at them. She'd continually kissed and hugged and cooed at the little boy, giving it her all to make their apartment feel like a home to him.

After the first week and a half, though, the exhaustion finally kicked in. Being awake for five days with no more than four full hours of napping did a number on anyone, even the seemingly endless reservoir of energy that was Maka Albarn. She'd insisted on doing it all, on making sure that Bene wasn't cumbersome to Soul, much to his dismay. Kidd had given them both some "joint maternity leave" so they could attend to Bene's immediate needs, but Maka had ignored his protests and efforts thus far. At that moment, she was in the middle of cleaning up an unfortunate accident when she suddenly swayed on her feet, dropping her washcloth as she clung to the kitchen counter for support. 

"Maka-" Soul jumped up from his seat, ignoring the whimpering coming from Bene's high chair as he laid a hand on her shoulder. "You need to sleep."

"I did sleep, last night." 

"No you didn't. You passed out after you came back from your jog." He sighed as she swatted his hand away, trying to go back to her scrubbing. "I can't sit here and watch you hurt yourself like this anymore."

"No, it's fine. I'll finish this and put Bene to bed, and then I'll sleep. I promise."

"Maka, no. I can finish cleaning up and put the baby to bed. It'll be fine."

"But-"

"Nope, no buts." He cut her off as he bent over and swung her up, bridal style, into his arms. She squeaked indignantly, but barely gave a real fight as he carried her to her room and deposited her on her bed.

She wilted into the comforter, her mossy eyes dull and lidded as she watched him go. "Fine. Just a few hours though, okay?"

"Sleep." He ordered, flicking off the light before shutting the door and striding back to the kitchen.

"Alright, kid." He grunted as he finished wiping off the counter with a shudder. "We've all had enough excitement for one day." He lifted the diapered six-month old into his arms, grabbed a bottle from the fridge, and headed for the nursery. 

Once Bene downed the rest of his formula, Soul dumped him in his crib and made for his own room, but a shriek of protest and the proceeding cries stopped him dead in his tracks. He assumed Maka was dead to the world, but on the off chance that she heard him....well, he wasn't taking that chance.

"Ssh! SSSHHHH, death- don't cry! Oh, death, she's gonna think I hit you or dropped you or something! Dammit!" Hardly thinking, Soul grabbed up the squalling child and attempted to hold him horizontally in his arms, the way Maka did, but he only screamed louder.

"Daaammmmnnnnn" Soul grumbled. He flipped the child vertically and rested the infant's front against his chest, gently bobbing the little body up and down in a steady rhythm as he paced the length of the bedroom. "It's okay, please stop crying, it's okay." Soul chanted quietly. Suddenly, a hilarious hiccup of a burp erupted from within the little being, and he instantly quieted. "Thank Death." Soul breathed as he continued to tread back and forth across the carpet; his chest vibrated as he absently hummed "Frère Jacques" (the one nanny he didn't actually hate used to sing it to him, okay?). After a time, the lightest of snores emanated from within the dozing baby, but as Soul tried to lay him back in his crib, Bene stirred and whimpered, his eyes becoming slits as he awakened.

"Crap." 

When the same old bouncing routine failed him, Soul threw a glance at the rocking chair. "You gotta be kidding me...." Resigning himself to this fate (because Maka was now obviously passed out in her room, so there was no way she'd be able to tease him about it later....) Soul lowered himself and the sobbing Bene into the chair. As he rocked, he closed his eyes and took up the French lullaby once more, swaying back and forth to the rhythm. Even when little Bene's body slumped against him once more, Soul continued rocking, until they both let out a sigh of contentment, both lost in the world of dreams.

~~~~~~~~~

The bright rays of morning streamed in through Maka's window, landing square on her face as the clock neared 9am. Her eyes blinked open, and she sighed with relief when she glanced at the hour. Finally. One full night without incident. She smiled sleepily, stretching and meandering to her door, mentally running through the list of breakfast layouts they had the ingredients for.

Before she hit the kitchen, though, she was brought to a standstill when she came up to Soul's still slightly ajar bedroom door.

"Oh, no." Maka moaned, pulling the door closed. She breezed right past the nursery to the kitchen, her heart swelling with remorse as she began brewing a pot of coffee and preparing Bene's formula. She could only imagine the inevitable rant to come. She sighed and twisted the cap on the bottle, eyes glazed as she swung open the nursery door.

The hall instantly filled with snores she'd been too lost in her thoughts to hear. Her weapon was propped in the rocking chair, head thrown back and drool sliding down his neck as his snores rumbled through the room. Bene still slept peacefully against the man's chest, never stirring despite Soul's grinding breaths.

A smile instantly overtook the meister's lips, and she quietly shut the door on her sleeping boys.

[ilovereadingandilovebreathing]

She's Beauty and She's Grace...She'll Shoot You In the Face

A/N: I had to OH-KAY. So I'm sucking it up and posting this sucker. Here's my Soul Eater Miss Congeniality AU. I focused on really blending the universes and storylines so.....I dunno, might be sloppy.

Hope you enjoy the first installment!

Summary: Maka’s one of the F.B.I.’s finest agents, but when an unexpected betrayal throws her off-kilter during a mission, only more chaos will ensue.

Word Count: 1,124

Genre(s): Miss Congeniality!AU; Action, Drama

Characters/Pairings: Maka Albarn, Soul Evans, Sid Barrett, Mira Nygus, Black*Star (Blake), Asura (Asher), Justin Law/None in this chapter 

Warnings: guns, gun violence (gunshots, gunshot wounds, threats), blood, injuries, yelling, crying, mild description of injuries and death (PLEASE let me know if I missed any, and I’m so sorry if I did.)  Read at your own discretion!!

"Got a lock on the target. Your 10 o'clock, Albarn."

Silence. 

"Albar-"

"Got him. We're good, Evans."

"Well, then, answer me the first time-"

"I was trying to do my-!"

"If you two are done being the old married couple, we have a perp to nab." A third, teasing, tone cut her off, causing both of them to scoff.

"Shut it, Blake-" 

"Albarn, what do you see?" A rich feminine voice cut in.  

Grinding her teeth as she reminded herself to respect her senior agent, Maka muttered, "Asher." She tilted her special edition of "Jane Austen," complete with a one edition-only hidden camera on the spine, toward the dark-haired man in question. "He's just...sitting there. He's been like that for 20 minutes. Maybe- wait!" 

"What?!" Four voices yelled in her ear all at once.  

"Ow, dammit!" She grumbled, rubbing her ear. "I told you guys not to do that..." 

"What the hell is going on in there?!" Her partner growled into his mouthpiece. 

"Someone's here." She murmured in reply, mossy eyes observing the newcomers thoughtfully. "Two men. A light brunette and a blonde, same height and build, about 5"10', medium- wait, is that..." 

"What now?" The familiar baritone of Agent Barrett, aka the Big Kahuna in this particular stake out, demanded irately.   

"I-it's Justin." Static on all ends.  "He's....did anyone know he was undercover?!" 

Silence. 

"Anyone?" She hissed, her blood boiling.  

"He's not undercover. Not for us." A strained tone that she barely recognized  as her partner's rasped through the airwaves. "No way-" 

"He's moving!" Maka jumped up and whipped out her gun.  

"Albarn!" Sid boomed. "What the hell do you think you're doing?! You'll blow your cover!" 

"We can't let them get away-"  

"All units get in there, now!"

"Wait, Nyg-" 

“DWMA HANDS WHERE I CAN SEE THEM!" 

A flash of white and Maka jerked her head to the side,  absorbing her partner standing with his gun cocked and aimed...at their comrade. Or former comrade. Or- Maka's head spun and ached as she took in the whole scene. Terrible. Messy. Unreal. How could Justin?...They'd all looked up to him as their senior; the youngest of his rank, more accomplished than they could hope to be. He'd always been loyal, hardworking, but now.... 

"I SAID HANDS WHERE I CAN SEE THEM, ALL THREE OF YOU!" Her partner barked.

 “Soul, that's-"

 "No time." He grunted, shooting her a glance. "I won't shoot-" 

 "Lower your weapons." Justin had pulled twin semi-automatics out of (seemingly) nowhere. His big blue eyes were bright, flashing, dangerous. She couldn't breathe. 

 "Justin-"

 "Do it, Maka. I don't want I hurt you."

 "Too late for that." Soul ground out, his crimson eyes blazing. If there was anything Soul Evans hated, it was a traitor. Maka knew that better than anyone.

 "Soul, don't-"

 "Drop them, Justin. You don't want to do this." Sid and Mira Nygus came up behind the younger agents, their own guns cocked. 

 "Everyone, please-" Maka felt like throwing up, crying, chopping them all to make them see...this was Justin, their comrade, there's no way-

 "PUT IT DOWN, JUSTIN." Soul yelled, the warning edge clear in his voice despite the even clearer reluctance in his eyes.

 "Can't do that, Evans. Got a lot more work to do." A click. A chorus of clicks.  "Sorry, everyone. I can't go back now." A spine curling grin overtook his lips as he swung the barrel in Maka's direction, his eyes bright. "Not ever. Now, put your guns down or Albarn gets it. Don't want piss off the Chief by letting his little girl die, do you?"

 "Put 'em down." Maka gasped and her eyes shot toward Soul, following as he eased his weapon to the floor, palms forward and open in surrender.

 "But, Evans-"

 "I said. Put. Them. Down." The albino's eyes were bright, flashing as he eyed his teammates. "You wanna lose her?"

 "And get down on the floor, all of you. I don't want anymore of this funny business." Justin ordered.

 "Just...do as he says-" Soul motioned for Maka to lower her weapon, his eye flicking between her and Justin as he jerked his head toward the floor. "Do it."

 "Not you, Albarn. You stay up." The blond was cackling manically under his breath as they stared one another down. Her blood was boiling, her face ready to burst.  A click. "You idiots have to learn what happens when you meddle in other people's business." Maka closed and scrunched up her eyes, bracing herself for the searing pain-

But...nothing came.

 The gun clicked, an explosion- and a rough scream tore through the room. When a thud sounded just a few feet away, Maka's eyes snapped open, and a wail crawled up her throat. Soul Evans lay sprawled on the ground before her, blood gushing from a wound in his upper chest.  A disgusting sneer contorted Justin's features; Maka felt bile rise in her throat.

 "Well, well, the apathetic ace turned vigilante. Quite a development." 

 "JUSTIIIN" The cry turned to a shriek as Maka whipped out her gun and fired three times. Heart, brain, and lung. An unearthly scream flew past the man's lips before he collapsed to the floor, dead in seconds. She stood huffing over the corpse of her fallen comrade turned adversary. The gun slipped from her fingers and clattered to the floor, but the sound, any sound, any sense at all, was lost to her as she fell to her knees beside her partner. "Evans?" She croaked, tenderly cradling his head in her lap. "E-Evans?!...Come on....dammit, Evans! Don't do this to me, you idiot!" She dry sobbed. "Why the hell did you do that?!...I would've been-"

"Dead."  Her gaze shot down to the pale, far too pale, face staring up at her, a sickeningly affectionate smile trying to form on his lips.

 "B-but..."

 "Come...on. Better...to have been...him...than...your dad...right? Chief...chief would be...worse...." Deep crimson pools disappeared under thick sheets of cream,  and suddenly Stein and Nygus were beside her, gently coaxing her out of the way while they tended to her partner. Stubborn as she was, Maka complied, sitting to the side with Soul's limp, clammy palm on top of hers. 

 When the ambulance came, she fought them tooth and nail to let her go, but her efforts crumbled to dust when Blake, more silent than he'd been in their 20 years of what passed as friendship, laid a hand on her shoulder. She melted under his touch, though she kept her eyes steel and her jaw taut as he pulled her against his side with one arm, tucking her head under his chin.  She gazed past the dark fabric of his shirt, her eyes reflecting the bright reds and blues as the ambulance squealed off into the night.

[ilovereadingandilovebreathing]

'Twas the Month Before Christmas...

A/N: because let's face it we all start at Thanksgiving Yay! An embarrassingly late Soul Eater Christmas drabble, fic, thing that's actually been in my drafts since....like last Christmas. Maybe the one before. Yay. And yes, of course it's SoMa.  I hope you enjoy this mess :)

Summary: Soul’s not a big fan of the holiday season, so Maka decides a little party might be in order to bring up her Scrooge’s spirit.

Word Count: 1,721

Genre(s): slice of life, Christmas fic, some humor, a lil’ bit of romance

Characters/Pairings: Soul “Eater” Evans, Maka Albarn, Black*Star, Tsubaki Nakatsukasa, Liz Thompson, Patti Thompson, Death the Kid/SoulxMaka 

Warnings: alcohol mention, arguing, yelling

"Hey Soul, do you think I should put the tree here...or in that corner?" Maka gestured high above her head, interlacing her fingers to mimic a star.

  “Whichever one is cool.” The weapon quipped back, his crimson eyes never leaving the television screen. “I don’t care.”

  "Or maybe by the window. That’d be nice, to see it when we come home."

  "Yeah sure. Whatever you want."

" And what about the wreath? Inside or outside the door? I want to see it, but it’s so cool to see it from the hall, too..." 

  "Whatever you want." Her partner repeated grumpily

  "Oh and what about our bedrooms? Maybe some lights and a garland?” She rambled on, completely oblivious to her partner’s rising frustration. Sometimes, despite her perception abilities, Maka could be really-  “Do you like gingerbread? Mama made the best gingerbread men, and she gave me the recipe! Ooo and we should have a party! Though I don't know if we should invite Black Star this year...I-Soul. Soul, are you listening? Give me some input here!"

  "Do whatever the hell you want, Maka." Soul bit out, his tone taking on an aggravated growl. "I really don't care."

  "Um okay, but since we both live here I thought-"

  "Well you thought wrong!" He exploded, finally turning from the television. "I don't give a crap about what you do. Decorate it however you want! Throw a party every freaking night if you want! I don't care! Just leave. Me. Out of it." He ground out between painfully clenched teeth.

  "Soul Eater." Maka stalked to the couch and bent to glare in his face. "Quit being a Scrooge and help me. You can't tell me-"

  "I hate Christmas."

  Silence. She stared wide-eyed at his stone cold features. 

  "What??? But-"

  "You heard me. I. Hate. Christmas."

  "But Christmas is such a beautiful time of year!" Maka exclaimed, her cheeks scarlet with elation as she threw herself onto the cushion beside him. "People are so generous and loving and there's great food and presents! And getting to see friends and family-" 

  "Tch." 

  "What?" The brightness in her eyes faded just a bit at his sudden interjection.

  "Is that really what Christmas is like? Really? Well, not for me." He mumbled. "Ridiculous parties with made up people and fake cheer, pretending they care about you and your life while they judge you every freaking second. Getting all dressed up in monkey suits just to make small talk with people you never see otherwise." 

  "But-"

  "It's so pointless." He continued, hardly noticing her objection as he mulled in his thoughts. "Trying to prove yourself to judgmental elitists who aren't any better than you are. Trying to make them believe that you deserve to be in that family, that you've earned your last name..." He chuckled bitterly. "How do you even earn a last name..." He slouched beside her, staring at his open palms with a grimace on his lips, his crimson eyes blazing. 

  "Soul..."

  Her quiet murmur of his name snapped him back, causing him to raise his head and stare at her glistening jade orbs before he pushed himself off the couch, mumbling something about having to take a leak. 

  "Soul..." She whispered sadly to his retreating backside. After he slipped into his bedroom, only giving her a grunted “g’night,” she sighed, pushed herself from the sofa, and quietly continued decorating on her own.

  *****************************

"Are you sure about this?" Tsubaki asked timidly, her eyes bright as she watched her meister balance on the arm of Maka's love seat while trying to place a glimmering star on top of a full-branched evergreen.  

  "Of course I'm sure! This is the only way to throw a Christmas party that will properly honor your god!"

  "Shut up, Black Star." Maka made to slap the back of his calves with her cookbook, thinking better of it when he nearly toppled over on his own. "This isn't for you. This is for Soul."

  "Remind me again why we're planning a whole party just for your partner?" Liz Thompson raised a manicured brow as she balanced on a kitchen chair. 

  "Because, well..." Maka reddened a bit under three sets of eyes. "He's never had a proper Christmas party before. So why not now?" 

    "Well-"

  "He's here, you guys, he's heeeeere!" Patty's warning screech echoed throughout the apartment, followed by Kid’s order into formation. Black Star placed the star on top of the tree and plopped down onto the love seat, just in time for the apartment’s door to open.  

  "Man..." Soul grumbled to himself. "That traffic was insane...hey Maka-" He stopped short when he absorbed his grinning friends and practically glowing meister seated around a synthetic television fire. 

  "Merry Christmas, Soul!" The teens cheered. 

  "I-"

  Before he could speak, Soul was pulled onto the couch next to his boisterous best friend, and a steaming cup was placed in between his palms as classical Christmas tunes wafted through the air.

  "What-what is all this?" He gawked, absorbing the bright lights and sweet aromas. 

  "A Christmas party, silly!" Patty chirped as cocoa dribbled down her chin. 

  "For you!" Soul turned to his beaming meister, that look of dumb bewilderment still plastered across his features. "And for the rest of us, too," she suddenly added, a hint of color rising to her cheeks. "Things have been so busy at school lately with finals and missions and all....so I thought, why not throw a party?" 

  "I-"

  "No more questions!" Liz cut in, a festive grin creasing her smooth cheeks. "It's time to party!" She raised her scarlet plastic cup and called for a toast, to which the other teens exuberantly agreed.

  **************************

  "That was some party." Soul sighed as he watched his meister pick up the last few solo cups off their coffee table. "I guess you should've made sure Black Star got the alcohol-free eggnog...brilliant idea trusting that idiot with anything, by the way." He chortled. 

  "Shut up." Maka shot back, trying to disguise a grin as she recalled the rather raucous carol sing-a-long that had transpired. 

  Soul chuckled, slouching  into the couch. He rubbed the back of his neck and reluctantly grumbled, "Um...well thanks for the party, I guess...it was actually fun." He managed a light grin. 

  " It was fun." Maka smiled softy in return, her eyes far off and wandering through the frosty window panes a few feet from them as she plopped down next to him. 

  "Maka..."

  "Yeah, Soul?" 

  "Why...why did you do all this...for me? Even after I was so uncool to you before..."

  She shrugged, her pigtails bouncing as she turned to face him. 

"I just hated to see you so upset about such a fun time of the year. You just seemed so sad. I wanted to help somehow." 

  "Thanks." He mumbled, throwing her a sheepish grin. After a minute, he began, "Was Christmas really all that special for you as a kid?" He back pedaled. "I-I mean, I'm not saying you're a liar, but if it was so great...then why are you here with me? I mean..." He blushed a bit.

  "It's okay." Maka's sweet smile faded a bit. "It really wasn't as amazing as I made it sound. Most of what I've heard is from TV or books. My Christmases were more of the simple pleasures. It was the one time of year my parents got along." She smiled sadly. "My papa laid off the alcohol and didn't go near a cantina during the week of Christmas. Mama restrained her sarcastic comments and even tried to smile around Papa...all for my sake." The memories brought tears to her eyes. "My house was peaceful for once. That was the greatest gift I could ask for." 

  Soul suddenly felt contrite, recalling years of extravagant parties and gifts and trips. He'd gotten anything he'd asked for and more...and yet he'd still had the gall to complain.  Look at Maka! She'd been happy, even with the meager joy she did receive from the season. 

  "Is there anything you always wanted but never really got?" He questioned airily, assuming it'd be something lame like a rare book. 

  She screwed up her face in thought, still staring into the frozen world beyond their window panes. "Hmm, well I always wanted to throw a Christmas party with friends, but that's already happened, so..."

  "Come on Maka." He sighed. "There has to be something you always wanted, no matter how small or lame it might be." He ducked when she swatted at him, taking notice of the blush on her cheeks. "What? I know you're thinking of something. Tell me!" 

  "N-no! It's nothing. It's stupid anyway." She trailed off, her gaze sobering. Shrugging, Soul rose from the couch and sauntered into the kitchen, grabbing a pair of gingerbread men on his way to the fridge. 

  Eyes following her weapon, Maka's face suddenly reddened, and her gaze fell to her fidgety fingers. What she wanted...more than anything....

  "What was that?" 

  Her head snapped up to meet his taunting smirk.

  "I...I, um, well, I...." She stammered, wringing her hands now. 

  "Come on, Maka, just tell me!" He implored, crossing back to the couch to slide next to her. “What-” He asked in his deep baritone, waggling his eyebrows. “Do you want for Christmas, little girl?” 

  "I-I...um...well...a...a k-kiss...." She whispered.

  "What?" He cocked a brow, all sense of teasing drained from his expression and tone.

  "A k-kiss....under the mistletoe...." Her cheeks burned beneath the echoing waves of his light chuckles, and her gaze fell to her lap again. "You know, like in the m-movies. "

  "A kiss, huh? Wouldn’t have expected something so cliché out of you, Maka." 

  "Shut up, So-" 

  Her eyes snapped up as she suddenly felt an arm slide around her shoulders and pull her forward, her breath catching in her throat as soft, warm lips pressed against her own.  Just as it had started, Soul pulled away, chortling under his breath.

  "W-wha..." Maka bumbled, slightly dazed and still confused.

  Soul grinned and pointed upward.

  A small bundle of scarlet ribbon-bound  mistletoe hung from the ceiling.

  "Wh-when..."

  "You ask too many questions." 

  The albino pushed himself off of the couch, a soft grin still grazing his lips as he left his blushing meister staring after him.

  "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night."