A/N: Hey guys! I wrote this and chapter two for Day One and Day Five of SoMa Week 2015 and I really ended up liking this AU a lot and I'm probably going to post more to this story whenever inspiration strikes me. It's going to be more of a slice of life fic, but with Soul and Maka being superstars and trying to avoid paparazzi kind of slice of life.

Chapter One - Geeking Out

"It is so nice to meet you!" Maka put on her best smile, even though Soul Evans' frown, his slouched shoulders, his hands stuffed deeply into his pockets and basically everything in his body language put her off more than anything. But Maka just fought back the urge to glare at him- years and years of acting lessons didn't just prepare her for her most famous roles, but also for difficult people behind the big screen.

She held out her hand and cocked her head to the side, her smile faltering the slightest bit as he pulled out his right hand out of his pocket and rubbed the back of his head uneasily before he eventually reached out to shake hers. His grip, firm yet shaky, was warm, his fingers long and elegant. Truly the hands of a pianist.

"Yeah, same," he said gruffly, loosening his grip as she took a step back. "Looking forward to, uh, working with you." He turned his head to the side, the crease between his brows deepening as Maka bit her lip, her eye lid twitching. What was his problem? She had been perfectly polite, hadn't she? She didn't know what exactly she had been expecting when Soul Evans' and Liz Thompson's management had contacted her manager, but perhaps she had thought that he would act a little more enthusiastic about their impending cooperation. His partner Liz Thompson had been perfectly polite and cheery when Maka had met her, but this Soul guy?

Maka sniffed discreetly, her hands clasped behind her back. Maybe she should have complimented his musical talent or something to break the ice. Then again it hadn't been necessary with Liz. And to be entirely honest, Maka hadn't been an avid listener to their music, not because she thought they were bad, but because Soul's jazz tunes and Liz's sultry voice breathing life into complex lyrics were so beyond her that she would surely just sound stupid if she attempted to talk about it to the more taciturn member of the illustrious duo. Their first album had sold more than 600,000 copies in the US alone in the first week, managing to find a wide audience outside of the jazz scene and catapulting the two to unconventional stardom overnight with Liz especially appearing on the cover of several magazines. Soul seemed to be more content to be in the background, the songwriter and pianist while Liz sang and provided the face for the music.

Maybe he was just shy? Maka heaved a sigh. Whatever it was, she'd prefer to talk to him a bit more before they began to shoot the video for their new single.

"Hey." Soul and Maka both perked up when Liz approached them, hair pulled up in a ponytail and not clad in her usual attire of tight fitting evening gowns she had become famous for. "What're you two up to?"

"Just getting to know each other… I guess," Maka said, her lips curling into a smile.

"Oh yeah, I can see that. How your conversations can't stop."

Maka's breath hitched before she forced herself to laugh. "Okay, we haven't been talking much, but still." she shrugged helplessly.

"Oi Soul, I hope you were not being rude to your co star," Liz said, waggling her eyebrows, as she nudged him in the ribs none too gently, making him wince. His red eyes briefly sought out Maka's green ones, wide and vulnerable, before he turned back to glare at Liz. But the singer just laughed and patted her partner on the shoulder. "It's cute how nervous you are. Don't worry though, Maka is really nice."

Maka hid her giggling behind a hand as Soul's cheeks turned a pretty shade of red and Liz's hand raked through his white hair, ruffling it like an annoying older sibling.

"I'm not nervous- hey, stop it, Liz!" he hissed, eyes flashing as he swatted her hands away and took a few steps back, barking something about needing some air as he stomped out of the room and shut the door behind him with a deafening bang. Maka flinched and gritted her teeth.

"He doesn't seem to like me very much," she admitted, somewhat angry and discouraged.

Liz snorted. "Oh, you got it all wrong. He's just nervous. He's a big fan of yours actually."

"What?" Maka laughed.

"Yep. It was his idea to ask you, instead of having auditions for the part. And we thought you would never agree to it, since you're more famous than we could ever hope to be and we thought you'd be too too expensive for us."

"Oh! I thought acting in a music video would be a lot of fun. And something different. I never really get to play 'wild' characters, you know."

Liz grinned as she crossed her arms. "He was so happy when you agreed to do it. Like jumping up in joy happy."

Maka's eyes narrowed a fraction. "Really? He doesn't seem like the type of person to… do that?"

"As I said-" Liz waved her hand to the side, "-he is super nervous because he tries so hard not to come across like an obsessed fanboy." She threw her head back, long blonde ponytail swaying over her shoulder in a wide arc. And then she leaned in closely, her voice dropping down to a conspiratorial whisper, "But you didn't hear that from me, okay?"

When Liz had said she was never going to let him live his embarrassing fanboy crush down, she really hadn't been exaggerating. Really, he didn't know if he was much of an actor and why he had agreed to be more active in this video aside from the obligatory shot of him moodily playing the piano, was a mystery to most. Soul hadn't actually expected THE Maka Albarn to agree to work with him, to be the star of their newest music video, and okay, maybe his part did involve a lot of making out with The Maka Albarn, but really, that just made him more anxious than happy.

What if he sucked at kissing? What if he was so bad at everything that she'd demand someone else to work with. Hell, how did you go on about pretend-kissing in the first place? It didn't help that he had made a total ass of himself during their first meeting either.

He groaned to himself as he ran his hand through his hair and pulled at the collar of his shirt. He had to apologize. Weary and uneasy, he raised his fist to knock on the door to her dressing room, her name emblazoned on the dark surface in golden letters. His lips quirked up. How fitting. Before his hand touched the door, he felt a small hand at his elbow. Soul yelped as he wrenched his arm to the side and craned his head to come face to face with Maka Albarn smiling at him.

His heart was melting, melting into a gross gooey mess of blood and veins and sinews and he had to gather all his willpower not to swoon on the spot or serenade her with a song. He settled for stuffing his hands into his pockets and schooling his face into mild boredom.

"Hello Soul," she said, her beautiful green eyes glinting like a pair of ethereal emeralds polished by angels. He grimaced as his discreetly slapped his hand over his forehead. He had to be careful or his songwriting would turn into mortifying boy band ballads. "Is… is everything alright?"

"Yeah," he said with a sigh. He glanced to the toes of his shoes, pressing his lips tightly together. "I just… came here to apologize. I was acting like an ass and yeah. I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

He wrenched his eyes up from the floor to stare at her. "Huh?"

She shrugged, shifting from foot to foot. "I said it's okay. Liz told me you were nervous about all of this."

His throat constricted as he felt the weight on his shoulders lessen the slightest bit. "Did she?"

Oh God, what else had Liz told her? Hopefully not that he used to collect stickers for the limited Battlestar Grigori sticker album.

"Yeah, and don't worry. You'll do just fine," she said, her voice sweet and gentle like the tinkling of bells, as she patted him on the arm.

"Th-thanks." A wave of uncomfortable heat washed over his face as his voice quaked. He tried to gulp down the permanent knot in the middle of his throat, his tongue too thick and clumsy for his mouth as he tried to form a few more words to express how much he appreciated her being here.

"I'm looking really forward to working with you!"

"Thanks."

Her brows furrowed, and shit, he was messing this up so badly. Could he just… just turn back and run into his room to cry for being so awkward? His stomach churned. Oh God, he was probably going to end up puking all over her when they were going to shoot the video. He would be the butt of the media after avoiding them for so long, since they preferred Liz anyway. Which was perfectly fine by him, but if word ever got out that he ended up barfing all over the famous Maka Albarn while he was pretend-kissing her… he'd have to lay low for ten years or-

"Are you really okay? Because you look kinda… sick."

Soul flinched, blinking down at her like an idiot. Her teeth buried in her plump lip, her eyes big and wide and so green… and she was so awesome and nice and he was so lame and… and-

"You're so cool," he blurted, and it was like someone had destroyed the proverbial dam within him as nearly all of his thoughts burst forward through his mouth. "Like I've known you since Battlestar Grigori and your character has always been my favourite. You were so badass and amazing and your storyline was epic. And how you managed to play all these clones of The Lieutenant, who looked all the same, but you could tell they weren't the real deal because you were so good with your expressions and everything! And… and that scene where you had a fight scene against the psychotic one?! How did you even manage to film that? And I was devastated when you hadn't your contract renewed and left the show. I was sad to see the Lieutenant go."

He was panting, his shoulders rising and falling, his face red like a tomato. This time when his hand connected with his forehead Soul did not try to be discreet about. Okay, what was it about keeping his inner fanboy under lockup? He gritted his teeth. Yeah, he had messed it up. She was going to think he was some weirdo who-

"You've watched Battlestar Grigori?!"

His eyes snapped open. She didn't look like she was disgusted or weirded out by him. "Uh, yes?"

And then her mouth curved into the brightest smile he had ever been on the receiving end of. It was like being smiled at by a celestial being; it warmed his heart, spread through his veins and made his blood pulse loudly in his ears, leaving him a gibbering mess, his throat parched and dry, his mouth stuffed with cotton. Maka clapped her hands together, bouncing on the tip of her toes.

"Most people have never watched BSG," she said, her voice hushed. "I mean it never really reached as much of an audience as my more recent work."

"Duuuuude. I know so many people who loved BSG so much." He was nearly squeaking, on the verge of flailing and dancing around because he was talking to his absolute favourite actress and she was happy that he knew her from her first acting role.

"Really? I always felt like since it was sci fi, it would always remain just popular with a niche audience."

"Well, maybe that's true, but still. It was a great show. One of my favourite shows. I actually went to cons to see the BSG panels. I was just too nervous to ever ask you or anyone else from the show a question though." He clenched and unclenched his fists, giving her a dopey smile because he still couldn't believe that this was happening.

"I'm so glad. And just between us-" her voice dropped a little, but her smile was bright as ever. "-The Lieutenant is still one of my favourite roles. I really do miss doing all the action scenes, even if they were very exhausting. I mean, I love my current role, too, and my castmates are amazing, but yeah, I still think it was the right decision to leave BSG when I did it, but I was sad to go, too."

He shot her a rakish grin. "You know, I think this calls for a reunion show."

"Maybe," she laughed, "but I don't know if the others would be up for it. Not to mention we still have this video to shoot." Maka turned on her heel and looked at her from over her shoulder, her eyes coy and playful.

"Wait!"

She froze on the spot, her back still to him when he continued, "Could you, uh, could you sign my Battlestar Grigori DVD collection?"

She tilted her head to the side, eyes brilliant and gleaming.

"Sure!"

Maka Albarn was an amazing actress and a great person to boot because she didn't only end up signing his DVD collection, but pretty much every piece of merchandise he had bought back during the show's heyday, including the limited sticker album.