A History in Five Sets - Soul Eater Evans x Maka Albarn
Author: June
Fandom: Soul Eater
Pairing: Soul Eater Evans/Maka Albarn
Rating: G--> PG-13
Theme Set: Epsilon
Warnings or Spoilers: none, unless you don't know who the other Death Scythes are, and even then, there's only one.
Disclaimer: Don't own Soul Eater.
A History in Five Sets
23. Child
When they are young, they guard each other as children often do - instinctively, fiercely and at times, irrationally, but with the kind of loyalty that tells of deep-seated fears.
28. Fortune
"We're gonna do this together, right?"
36. Stop
"Don't be like him - be different; let's be better."
7. One
"You're the only thing that matters to him," and he sounds jealous.
5. Wrong
"He's horrible and I don't care," and she grabs his sleeve to show him that she means it.
29. Safe
"Let's get our own place, Soul, so we can work on becoming the perfect team!" - so we can have a place where no one else can come unless we say.
38. Wash
"I don't know, Maka, I'm really messy," - and I'll sit up with you every night while you read, and wonder why you picked someone like me.
46. Drive
"If I'm going to make you into the greatest Death Scythe there ever was, messes are the least of our worries!" - and I'll be good enough for you, as good as my mother was for Papa - better.
50. Believe
"...Okay, but I don't think it's too cool to live with a girl," - and this is something I can do, that I can do, and we'll show them.
39. Torn
Her knees are ripped up, her shirt is torn, one of her pigtails has come undone, and Soul stands in front of her, snarling and grinning at the jerk-offs the two of them just bloodied together, "Anyone ever touches Maka again, we won't go as easy on ya."
3. Young
When they are forced to grow up within a matter of months, they get scared.
33. Never
"I can't let you get hurt like that again, not ever!"
24. Now
"I'm ready to die for you Maka, today if I have to."
27. Hide
"What good am I if all I do is stand behind you and let you take what's aimed at me?"
41. Power
"You can make me strong enough so that I can fight for you, so that you don't have to fight."
35. Sudden
"You... don't want to partner with me anymore - you want to fight without a technician?"
21. Fool
"No, idiot, that's not what I - Maka, wait, don't - where are you going?"
44. Wall
She comes home after his door is closed and all the lights are out, and presses her ear to their shared wall, listening for the heavy deep breathes that mean he's asleep - she doesn't hear them.
25. Shadow
She silently enters his room and stays by the door when she sees him sitting up in his bed, staring out the window at the moon.
48. Precious
He doesn't look at her, but his voice is rough, "It's isn't safe for anyone to be alone right now, and I would never want anyone else to be my Technician."
14. Command
When they fight, there is no Master and Weapon because Maka and Soul are both lethal enough that the distinction is negligible.
11. Blur
Maka moves so fast that their enemies can barely catch a glimpse of her sneakers before Soul is in their gut, and he thinks that she is the fiercest he's ever known.
15. Hold
She finds it oddly gratifying that for her, he is a solid, warm weight in her hands - balanced and true - but for anyone else who so much as tries to touch him, he may has well be bolted to the floor.
37. Time
He thinks, "If I could, I would do this, be like this, with you forever."
31. Book
She takes a deep cleansing breath as the corrupted soul hovers before them, ready to be collected, and smirks, "That was textbook."
49. Hunger
He phases out of her hand to stand beside her, reaches for the soul, and wonders why the spirits of corrupted humans taste so good.
34. Sing
He now associates playing the piano with madness, her fingers on the keys the song of their own life and death, a discordant melody that accompanies them along his blade's edge.
45. Naked
Somehow, it doesn't embarrass her that, when inside her weapon's consciousness, they never have any clothes - no real anatomy either, only smooth androgynous skin - and when he pulls her back from the brink, they clutch at each other, chest to chest so she can feel his scar.
18. Change
When they are eighteen and can finally breathe and laugh without fear, they fall hard, though neither tells the other a thing.
8. Thousand
He thinks of any number of things he could say, but they all strike him as stupidly obvious, so he keeps his mouth shut and lets her stretch out on the couch with her feet in his lap.
12. Wait
She catches him watching her as she rubs her bangs out of her eyes with a soapsud-covered wrist, smiles down into the dishwater and thinks, "Be patient with me, Soul."
10. Learn
"I couldn't afford a piano for you, but I found this in a junk shop and thought it was better, actually - I think it might have been made for you."
2. Cool
Soul holds the melodica in rough, large-knuckled hands, puts the mouthpiece between his lips, plays a sad, simple melody, and is reminded that he picked the coolest partner in Death City.
18. Attention
His playing makes her shiver, her gut tightening enough that she wraps her arms around her middle, and she's relieved to see that the skin of his forearms is covered with goosebumps, too.
20. Picture
They're sitting on the floor of their apartment, and when she finally crawls over to him to pull the tube out of his his mouth, his breath stills in his lungs when the melody is cut off, but she only asks him if he's ready to go to his birthday party now - he very nearly says, "No."
1. Motion
When he's her weapon and she holds him in her hands, it feels like she's playing him - ugly/beautiful chords resound - resonate - and when he stands thrumming before her, there's no going back.
19. Soul
He's cocky and nervous, cool and a little twitchy, so assured and so very scared that Maka can only be fearless for him when she tips him back just far enough that his shoulder blades brush the bricks behind him.
6. Gentle
With her so close, he can set his hand at her waist, under her coat and lift his chin to kiss her - for once not irritated in the least that he never grew to be taller than her.
30. Ghost
When they near the completion of their task, Maka begins to see future and history taking shape, and she isn't sure she wants it to finish.
40. History
She maps out their partnership by the lines of his scars, pale threads of silver that spread across his arms, hips and torso and bisect his chest - it is a story of innocence, loyalty, fear, blood, trust and love.
9. King
He opens his eyes when he feels her fingers on him and doesn't wish for anything Wes might have, not when he can lie here in his own bed, in the home he shares with Maka, with no pressing concern other than that her (naked) bony rear end has put his left leg to sleep.
4. Last
They take the soul of a witch - a spiteful old creature from the weasel family - and Soul casts his eyes in the direction they both know Death City to be, imagining Shinigami-sama's eyes already on him.
42. Bother
Maka has the urge to weep hysterically and cling to his hand like she did her father's when she'd been a naive child and had thought she'd be able to change a person's nature if she only tried enough; but she has long ago resolved never to be so weak or so vulnerable ever again.
43. God
Shinigami-sama calls Soul Eater Evans to him as soon as they return home, and Soul goes with a wide grin; Maka has never been so proud or so heartsick.
26. Goodbye
She leaves him a congratulatory note stuck to the fridge, along with the suggestion of a party once she can get together all their friends, but until then, asks that he leave her alone to allow her to adjust to the change in their relationship.
47. Harm
She takes a mission in Siberia with Azusa which removes her from Death City and Soul for several weeks, and the two women work beautifully together, mainly because both possess the singular capacity to devote themselves entirely to a task when the need arises - and for Maka, the need has arisen.
22. Mad
Soul finds their home empty and self-destructs in a stunning display of new power, unrestrained madness, and very fresh heartbreak, his demon laughing and spitting ugly things through his mouth until Black * Star and Kid successfully take him down and strap him into a helicopter bound for Maka.
17. Vision
She feels the wild strength of his soul floundering and guttering and drops Azusa unceremoniously into a snow drift before stepping into her skis and setting off across the tundra, finding him staggering half-frozen and mostly crazy, but with beautiful words on his blue lips, "Maka, idiot, why did you leave me?"
32. Eye
She takes off her mitten and touches his icy forehead, meets his feverish gaze and says, voice cracking, "Because that's what Weapons do - they leave their Technicians when they don't need them anymore," - and it's an accusation, not an explanation
16. Need
"I turned him down, Maka," he says, shivering, twitching and shuddering, "I turned him down so I could stay with you; I didn't leave you, I wouldn't, I don't trust anyone else to - " and she unzips her coat, finally crying, and pulls him into her.