Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater.

Cloudburst
by. Poisoned Scarlett

a/n: this fic is written in an episodic style so this is like a collection of moments between Soul and Maka with a plot tied in there. I hope you all enjoy the fic, and a happy New Year to everyone!

i.

The days were cold, but Maka didn't mind: she just pulled on her thick purple hoodie and then zippered herself into an even thicker coat before heading out. She had always been more sensitive to the cold, but at least she could handle a little cold on her hands unlike her father as she walked down the block. The leaves on the trees already beginning to flick off; soon the trees would be bare, their branches tangling above her, forming crowns as they frosted over with the coming winter.

Despite the overabundance of trees and deep dunes of snow during the winters, Maka enjoyed her neighborhood. It was much better than the one she had grown up in and anything was better than her father's cramped quarters with the beer-stained carpet and dimly painted walls.

"Hi, Marie! Do you have any new additions today?" Maka hollered cheerfully, pushing back her fuzzy hood as she entered the little adoption shelter down the street from where she lived. It was a quaint building with wide windows that stretched to the ceilings, framed with cream curtains tied back with bronze tassels. The walls were a welcoming shade of light green and the tiled floor had cute, black paw prints that led to the animal kennels in the back. The counter was newly stocked with animal products and Maka could spot Marie on her tip toes, trying to reach the top of the shelves to fit in a new metal food tray with the others.

"Oh, good morning, Maka!" Marie greeted cheerfully, cupping her hand over her mouth to shout, "Stein! Stein, Maka is here! STEIN!"

Maka vaguely heard Stein's mumbling in the back.

Marie was a beautiful woman with bright gold eyes and a smile to match. Her long hair was often curled at the tips, loose down her shoulders in a sunny shade of yellow. Her clothes reflected her happy personality as she always dressed in bright colors, but there was a little of her husband in her wardrobe as well. Specifically the black as when Stein appeared from behind the double doors, dressed in thick black pants and a plain gray t-shirt, his veterinary coat thrown over himself as if at the last second, the pair matched almost comically. Of course, to Marie's cheerful grin was Stein's grim frown. They seemed like polar opposites yet Maka had known Marie before she began dating Stein and had seen how close they had gotten over the years. They worked together like well-oiled gears despite Stein's exasperation over his bubbly girlfriend.

Stein stumbled out of the back room, looking he hadn't slept since yesterday. Knowing him, he probably hadn't. "Good evening, Maka."

"Stein, it's ten in the morning," Marie corrected wryly.

Stein blinked slowly, taking off his glasses to clean them with the edge of his shirt. He slipped them back on and hummed. "Ah. So it is."

"Anyway!" Marie laughed, scooting over to hide the way Stein was squinting out the window as if he hadn't seen daylight in years. "Are you here to see the puppies that were brought in yesterday? They're adorable, Maka! You should take one! In fact, you should take the spotted white one, he's so cute! You'll love him, come in!"

"Puppies?" Maka perked up, eyes shining. "Are they the only ones you've taken in recently?"

"And two pitbull's last week," Stein said.

"I saw them—the beige and black one, right?" Maka asked as she walked beside him, both following after Marie. "Are they healthy? They looked a little thin when they came in."

"They were underweight," Stein nodded. "They also hadn't had their shots nor did they have any other medical record on them. Not unusual," he sighed, "but it would be helpful if they had."

Maka smiled sympathetically. "Thanks to you two, they're eating now and with Marie at the front, they'll be adopted into loving homes in no time!"

"One good thing that comes from this job," Stein drawled. Maka smiled lopsidedly. Marie was now trying to pry the pen door open, scowling when she couldn't get a clasp undone. Stein took his sweet time helping. "Good luck. She'll be begging you to take a puppy home—by the—end of this," he pried the clasp open with a grunt and stepped aside so Marie could pull Maka in, pointing at the puppies with an exulted grin.

"They're so cute! They're younger than I thought they'd be, though…" Maka commented worriedly, holding out her hand to let one puppy sniff it. It yipped and a giant grin broke on Maka's face. "Shouldn't they be with their mama?"

"They were brought in a box that said 'Free Puppies' by a good Samaritan. They'd been put out in the street for a day or two and no one had picked one up," Stein informed.

Marie bristled. "How could they just leave so many helpless puppies out on the street like that? That's so heartless, if I ever found the person responsible…! I would break their nose in with my fist!" Marie puffed her cheeks, raising a hand to prove her point.

Stein didn't bat an eye. "You'd break your wrist and then I'd have to heal you."

"She'd be taken to a hospital," Maka arched a brow at the doctor.

"I'm a doctor, I can heal a broken wrist."

"An animal doctor!"

"But I am a doctor," he defended.

Marie leaned slyly over at Maka, whispering in a loud stage-whisper: "He's just sore about not being a human doctor because he stayed the night before his exam experimenting with something so he fell asleep halfway through," she winked and Maka could feel Stein's moody scowl from behind her. "Anyway! Look, this one is the one I was talking to you about…" Marie slipped her hand under the tender belly of a tiny spotted puppy—the runt of the litter, his eyes barely open. He trembled in her hand but did not make a sound, curling up when Marie cupped him to her chest. "See? Isn't he just the cutest? I was thinking about keeping him myself—!"

"—no, Marie, we run a shelter to give away, not to keep—"

"—but Stein won't let me!" Marie pouted, wiggling her finger at the puppy's mouth. It suckled on it and she cooed. "Oh, please, Maka, take him so I can always visit him!"

"I'd love to, Marie, but," Maka began, once more rejecting an offer from the kind animal-loving woman. "I just…well…I'm not much of a dog person."

"Same," Stein droned.

Marie turned her nose up at him.

"Everyone is a dog person deep, deep, deep inside!" Marie said this while looking at her boyfriend, who only pushed his glasses up his nose. "What do you like, then, Maka? You don't like birds or other small animals…or cats. That one time we brought in a litter of kittens from the kill-shelter across town, you refused them, too, and they were very adorable," Marie remembered. They sometimes dropped by kill-shelters when they had extra pens to spare to take in the animals who were set to be put down within a day or two. As far as Maka knew, however, the pair hadn't been able to do that much since all their pens were full as of late.

"I would take him in, but I'm a full-time student and he's practically a baby," Maka reasoned with a sad smile. "I'd have to take care of him until he's older and dogs are a little needy, right?"

"To be fair, all animals are," Marie smiled warmly. "Dogs are quite loyal to their owners, though, and he would adjust to your schedule. I think it'd do you some good to have a little dog around to distract you from all that studying you do."

"No," Stein appeared behind Maka, placing his hands on her shoulders in a fatherly manner. "She will graduate and become an M.D. like she promised me she would. Do not make the same mistake I have, Maka," he said, gravelly. Maka nearly snorted; he was so over-the-top sometimes. "As an M.D., you can study humans, not animals—!"

"UPUPUPU!" Marie slapped a hand over his mouth. "No talk about opening up people or animals in front of me!"

Stein pushed her hand off his mouth and gripped it in his own gently. "I forget you're sensitive. Why are we dating again?" He smirked when she smacked his cheek gently and, at that point, Maka needed to extricate herself from the affectionate forty-something year olds. Maka ignored the couple in front of her to look down at the puppy who was dozing off on her chest already.

The main reason she didn't adopt from the shelter was because Marie always pushed baby animals at her. She insisted it was because they were easier to train, but Maka truly had no time to go mothering a puppy or a kitten. She disliked birds because she grew up with some parrots whose incessant squawking completely jaded her from all sorts of flying animals. Other animals like bunnies or hamsters were messy and she knew from a friend that letting loose a bunny in the house was asking for chewed wires and little pebbles of poop everywhere. The only animal she was relatively fine with were cats, her only real issue being their constant shedding.

She really didn't want to buy a roller to remove the cat hair stuck on her clothes every day.

These reasons were what always found her coming out of the shelter empty-handed—just like today, as Maka pushed the door open and waved at the couple. Already some volunteers were beginning to arrive, greeting Maka with bright smiles as they started a new day of helping to care for homeless animals.

And once more Maka found herself holding a hand to her chest, unable to shake off that nagging feeling that told her she'd feel a lot better if she weren't so alone all the time.

"How are your classes going?"

"Fine. I'm having some difficulty in Biology, though."

"Oh? Perhaps I can be of use. I passed all my Biology courses in college with A's."

"It's not necessarily the content; it's memorizing everything for the exams. My professor is very anal about details and I have issues remembering both the different parts and sub-categories for—!"

"Steeeeiinnn! Makaaaa! Can you two come in here for a second? Snoopy is sick!"

"Snoopy?" Maka glanced at Stein, who was drying his hands by the sink. She had been helping him bathe a newly-added dog; said dog was panting up at her happily, tail wagging.

"Four year old beagle. His previous owners weren't very creative with names," Stein shrugged. "I'll be right back. Please put Delilah in her pen after she's dry. We need to bathe four more dogs by the end of the day."

"Okay!"

And this was how a casual Saturday was spent for Maka: helping out at the animal shelter, often because Stein really did know much about her courses in college and was one of the few people who had good advice for it. She could also relax and study with him as his memory was absurdly impressive and Maka is sure the only reason he hadn't tried for a medical license in order to work in a hospital was because he truly did like caring for animals deep down—that or he was reluctant to leave Marie all alone for hours while he worked in a hospital.

"Alright, Delilah, are you ready for the drier?" Maka asked with a smile.

The dog only stared up at her uncomprehendingly, tongue lolling out.

Maka sighed; hopefully she wouldn't bark and run away like the others.

"There is a reason I dislike cats," Stein commented one afternoon as Maka undid her scarf from around her neck. She bundled it up so she could slip it into her coats pockets. The winter would be a cold one, snow already piling up on the streets in discomforting hills. There were shovel marks all down the sidewalks. But the coming holidays were rewarding for most shelters: it was the time of the year when the most animals were adopted.

However, this year, they had taken in an odd animal—a cat, a gorgeous pure white cat with a nasty, nasty temper from what she had heard. His ears were flat against his head all the time in fury. His eyes were a dark shade of burgundy, as beautiful and strange as Marie had described. He was quite big, bigger than what she would presume a normal housecat would be, but Stein had assured it was his breed—which he was still attempting to figure out. Stein guessed he was a mixed breed, if anything.

The cat's name was Soul and he had been brought in by a buxom lady with a cunning smile and lazy, sultry, eyes. Marie hated her on the spot, from what Stein had relayed, and she had taken the cat more because she hated the lady than because she should. Marie really shouldn't have, too: the cat had more problems than their small, private, animal shelter should deal with—not medical issues, no, the lady had brought in a detailed medical record that Stein nearly cried over (in Stein-talk, that meant he cracked a smile) but rather the cat had another issue that was not so easily fixable.

"He's feral," Stein deadpanned.

"Feral?"

"We can't remove him the carrier—he attacks. He tore through my best gloves somehow and every time I try to feed him, he doesn't eat. He's seems to be aware that I've spiked his food," Stein frowned. "Not unusual, other cats have caught onto such ways before, but he hasn't eaten all day. He refuses water, too."

"Oh…" Maka looked back at the cat nervously. If the cat did not eat, Stein would resort to drastic measures and that was never good. "Maybe he's just nervous! He's probably never been out of the house before!" She approached the cat carrier Marie had pushed into the pen, the little door open in case Soul wanted to venture out. The cat, however, looked very displeased—furious, even, with the way his tail swiped side to side and his eyes glared at anyone who looked at him—and he had not stepped a paw out of the carrier since he arrived.

"We'll give him some time to adjust, this is likely very traumatic for him. But he does need to eat," Stein caught Marie's holler and held a hand up to Maka. "Marie needs me—do not get too close to the cat, he will attack you."

"Got it," Maka nodded. She knelt by the pen, looking at him curiously. The cat finally shifted his eyes to her and she caught his throaty growl, the way his eyes slit at her menacingly. "Why are you so angry, Soul?" Maka asked him, quietly. "Is it because your owner gave you away?" His tail continued to flicker, expression unchanging. "It's okay. Marie and Stein are good people and they'll take great care of you until someone comes to adopt you! This is a no-kill shelter, so you can stay here until they find the perfect owner for you!"

The cat only glared at her harder.

Maka cocked her head, awkward. He seemed even angrier than before, actually…

"Were you talking to the animals, Maka—oh, him, oh, dear, he only gets angry when I talk to him!" Marie sighed, bending over to look at him, too. "I bet that hag of a woman abused him! I KNEW IT!"

"He seems so well taken care of," Maka commented, trailing her eyes over what little of his fur she could see since he was balled up in the carrier. "He's so white—his hair looks trimmed, too. I doubt it could've been that."

"SHE VERBALLY ABUSED HIM."

"He doesn't look like he cares much about what people say about him—he's a cat."

"SHE—SHE NEGLECTED HIM, HE'S SKINNY!"

"Hmm. I think he's really healthy! Stein told me he's in top shape."

"THEN—OH—UNGH—SHE DID SOMETHING TO HIM, I KNOW SHE DID! I don't trust that woman, the way she looked at Stein…" Marie bristled. Maka stifled a giggle in her hand. Marie was jealous again; nothing new. Stein was the deadest man she knew, but somehow Marie awakened something inside of him. But even Maka was quite sure Stein would never allow himself to be swayed in such a way; he was much too…objective for that type of irrationality. That's what Maka believed, anyway.

"Well, I hope someone adopts him soon," Maka smiled caringly at the cat, who only turned his head and ignored her.

Six times.

Soul Eater, as Stein had taken to calling him, and not without a pinch of dark humor, had been adopted and returned six times within the past three months.

Marie was more than worried—previous owns complained about his ferocity, the way he never left the carrier and scratched and bit anyone who tried to take him out. If he did come out, it was only to use his litter or ruin the furniture—on purpose, one couple exclaimed furiously, they had tried to shoo him and he had looked them dead in the eye and dug his claws into two-thousand dollar leather couches.

Needless to say, Soul was lucky they returned to the same shelter and not a kill-shelter. He'd be put down instantly for his untamable ferocity.

Maka knelt before his pen, the very last one in the corner now. She opened his cage and pushed in a fresh bowl of food, taking out his water to change it, too. "How are you today, Soul?" Maka asked, knowing the cat would probably ignore her again. He stopped hissing at her the second time she returned to the shelter. Maka and Marie were the only ones able to change his food and water without gloves—or a stick. "I heard you were returned a few days ago. Didn't you like them?" She peered down and found him gazing up at her, eyes round and quiet. He wasn't so hostile today, Maka noticed curiously. Perhaps she caught him after a nap. He always seemed pleasant after sleep. "Well, maybe you'll like the next person who comes to adopt you. You're a very pretty cat, at least you'll never run out of adopters. But you can't keep coming back—one day, you won't come back here," Maka told him, closing the pen to wash the bowl and fill it with water. "You'll be sent to a kill shelter or worse, thrown out on the street. Some people are like that when they're angry," she knelt, opened his cage, and pushed in the tray of water. She stayed like that for a second, watching him stare darkly at his food.

"Hopefully you like the next adopter," Maka offered the cat a sad smile. "I wouldn't want you to stay here all by yourself. Marie and Stein usually take in dogs, you'll be really lonely." The cat shifted his head towards her again, looking at her cautiously. He adjusted his paws under him, scooting closer.

Maka suddenly beamed at the cat. "But if that happens, I'll just keep you company longer! As long as you don't try to claw my face off…," Maka inched back and closed the pen door, locking it.

"Maka?"

"Yes, Marie?"

"Can you help me with this bag of dog food, please? I can't unload it from the cart and Stein is busy with something!"

"Okay!" Maka looked back down at the cat, finding him completely out of his carrier with his face pressed against the wire bars. That was very odd; he hardly stepped out of the carrier for anything other than food or water. She was tempted to reach down to poke his cheek but Marie sounded distressed. "I'll see you later, Soul! Be good!"

And thus concluded another day at the animal shelter.

Ten times adopted and returned.

Five months going on six.

He was officially the longest-kept animal in the shelter.

Maka felt sad for him. He seemed to realize this, too, because every time she changed his food and water, he would peer out and watch her with those big red eyes of his. He was such a beautiful cat but very hostile, very difficult to live with. Maka liked to think he was tamer than when he first came in but Stein would just shrug and Marie bit her lip, fiddling with her shirt as nervous habit taught her. The other volunteers couldn't get close to him at all still, even the long-term ones Soul saw frequently.

Only Marie and Maka could afford to get close to him and, as Maka recently discovered, only Maka's presence could coax the cat out of his carrier and into the actual pen. Only Maka could make him press against the wires, even meow when he wanted her attention.

Which was what prompted this argument.

"PLEASE Maka? Soul really, really likes you and I think he can be happy with you! No one else can take him, he's very hostile with them!" Marie pleaded. "He's an adult cat, too, all you need to do is change his food and water! He'll take care of himself!"

"Yeah, but…"

"We'll give you discounts on the food!"

"Um…"

"Toys?"

"Soul hates toys."

"See? You know him so well already!"

Maka shook her head. "I'm sorry, Marie, but I'm not interested in owning a cat right now…or any animal, really. I just, well, I like coming here to help you guys out when I can. I can't come often, but when I'm here it's mostly to relax because I like helping you two out. If I took Soul in, I wouldn't like leaving him at home for so long by himself—!"

"YOU CAN BRING HIM HERE! FOR VISITS!"

"I don't know how that would fly with Soul," Maka wryly commented.

"He probably hates this place by now," Stein drawled from behind the two women, snapping off a glove. "I finished the check up on the Chihuahua. One of the new volunteers is with her right now."

"Oh, Chica, you mean?"

Stein resisted a roll of the eyes at the name. "Yes. Chica. She yearns for you," he added, meaningfully.

"Oh, sure! She doesn't like being alone too much, the poor thing!" Marie nodded, understandingly. Marie gave Maka one last hopeful smile before heading to the back room.

"She's easily distracted when it involves wounded animals," Stein murmured by way of excuse, but he had a small smile on his face. He turned to Maka after a few seconds of silence. "Are you sure you won't take Soul in, Maka?"

Maka cringed. "Not you, too, Stein!"

"I'm not forcing you," Stein held up a hand in peace. "He does, however, express interest in you. He's kinder towards you and he doesn't openly attack you, either. He has never attacked you. He attacked Marie twice—!"

"Really? He's bitten her?" Maka gasped.

"She was trying to pet him," Stein explained, grimly. "He did not like it."

"I haven't pet him. He's a little timid about being pet," Maka defended. Stein cracked a smile. "Eventually, maybe he'll let himself…he's going to be staying here for a while, isn't he?"

"A long time," Stein shoved his hands in his lab coats pockets. "Well, if you ever wish to adopt him, you are welcome to. The offer is always open to you."

Maka hesitated but nodded. "R-right…thanks, Stein."

This time, the day ended with Maka gazing at the cage and feeling guilt weigh on her heart when she found the cat curled up, lonesome—turned away from her, not even twitching an ear today when she said goodbye to him.

Two weeks—she lasted two weeks before she couldn't take it anymore and she ended up adopting him. Marie hadn't even been the cause for it! She was just fed up with the cat's sudden distance from her. He didn't come out of the carrier anymore, he ignored her, and whenever she talked to him he just turned away and probably glared at the wall.

He also seemed sad, from the times when she caught him looking at her.

The sadness was what really prompted her to adopt him.

"And here's a food tray and his favorite brand of cat food! Hmm, should I throw in feather toy, too, maybe he'd like a mouse—?"

"No, thanks, Marie, just what's necessary," Maka stopped her there. Soul was in his carrier looking at her with wide eyes as she took out her wallet and pulled out her debit card. He looked bewildered; she didn't blame him; she felt a little bewildered by her actions as well. "I'm a little tight on money right now, don't make me pay for more than I need to—wait, you forgot to scan the food!" Maka pointed out, as Marie was already packing up all the necessities Soul would need.

Marie smiled warmly. "I did tell you the food would be free, right?"

"You said discounted!" Maka insisted.

"Same thing!" Marie giggled, holding out two bags. "It's okay, Maka, really. Think of it as a gift for all the help you've been to the shelter." Marie smiled tenderly at her. Maka returned the gesture. "Do you need help with all this? I can send Stein to carry these back to your apartment!"

"No, it's fine! He's busy with a check-up right now, anyway. I don't want to disturb him. You know how he gets."

"Don't I?" Marie sighed, but her smile remained fond.

Maka held the bags in one hand and the carrier in the other. "I can do it—I live just down the block!"

"If you say so…are you coming back?"

"No, I have to finish my homework! I have a lot this week! But I'll call when I get back!"

"Please do! Bye bye, Maka! And Soul! Fingers crossed!" Marie whispered the last bit with a wink.

Maka said her last goodbye, heading out the door. It was cooler now, still not scalding hot but also not freezing. It was a nice temperature to be outside in; she hoped it would last a while. Maka walked slowly, pausing a few times to get a better grip on her bags. She would need to go out later to buy a litter box since it was the one thing she couldn't carry. She knew they were pricy with Marie and cheaper at the grocery store, so she would head over there after she released Soul into her apartment.

Perhaps the solitude would help him acclimate to his new surroundings better.

By the time Maka made it to her apartment, her fingers were aching. Maka placed Soul's carrier on the ground as she fumbled for her keys, opening the door wide so she could grab the carrier and walk in without trouble.

She had a small apartment—a studio, which was just enough for her. It wasn't all that extravagant and there was really nowhere Soul could hide or anything he could really ruin. She would be honest: although her couches weren't ugly, they weren't something she treasured, either. She supposed she'd be upset if he trashed her futon or blankets—or even the legs of the table, but aside from that everything wasn't that valuable or expensive. A lot of furniture came from the thrift shop. One thing Maka did keep was an orderly apartment and the cat, from what she could see, scanned everywhere silently and drank in his new home with the scrutiny of a detective.

Maka set his carrier by a lone corner in the room. She set his things down in the kitchen and served him fresh food and water before heading to the living room again.

Maka knelt by his carrier, smiling welcomingly at Soul. "Okay, hopefully I don't become your eleventh owner. Your food and water is in the kitchen and right now I'm going to buy you a litter box and some litter. I'm going to open the door…please don't trash my sheets, I just bought them last month!" She prayed and opened the door to his carrier

As expected, he did not come out.

Maka stepped back and grabbed the keys she'd thrown on the couch.

"I'll be back in a bit! And welcome home, Soul!" Maka added warmly as she closed the door behind her, overlooking the bright-eyed way the cat looked back at her with.

That day, Soul had become taken with the corner of her couch and did not scratch anything—not even the scratching post Maka had bought him last-minute. Although he did steal a piece of the left-over salmon she was going to eat for dinner but, after chasing him around the living room and watching him swallow the piece with a cattish smile, Maka let him off with a warning and ate the rest of her meal with an arm over her plate.

Even still, Maka slept better than she had in years.

Today found her taking a day off from the shelter.

She had been living with Soul for approximately three and a half weeks and, so far, she had no problems with the cat. He behaved, for the most part, although she did scold him when she found him playing with a loose thread from one of her shirts. He had not ripped her shirt, but she was sure if she hadn't caught him he would have and then looked at her with those wide, glossy eyes and gotten out of trouble.

He was surprisingly good at using wide, sad, eyes.

Maka had made note to resist before it really got out of hand.

However, Soul was surprisingly easy to live with. She did not know if it was because Soul liked her or because she was so swamped with work that she did not bother him in the first place.

One thing she did know: he watched her a lot—when she did homework, when she lied on the couch watching TV, when she ate food, when she read. Maka had still not worked up enough nerve to try and pet him, even if he looked willing, but it worked for both of them. Maka kept her distance because, from what she had read, if Soul really wanted attention he would come to her—and he had, once…

But he had been hungry, so she didn't think that counted.

"Ngh!" Maka stretched her arms over her head, her eyes heavy. She looked at the clock: two thirty four in the morning. She sighed. She was going to end up pulling another all-nighter to finish her paper. It was a good thing she had class at two in the afternoon. Perhaps she could put in five hours or so before she dragged herself out of bed. She could really use a car; she wondered how much money she would have to save to buy one, even a dinky ride from those sellers on the street.

Maka rubbed her eyes out and went back to her paper. She looked around after typing down a few more words and found Soul curled up by the couch. His eyes were closed so she went back to her paper. But when she looked back a few minutes later, his eyes were open and his ear twitched when she caught his gaze. She smiled and he shifted, stretching and hopping off the cushion. He leaped on her bed and walked to the edge closest to her, curling back up and closing his eyes. His tail, however, swayed contently.

Maka smiled, going back to her paper with new motivation.

Perhaps owning a cat was not so bad after all.

Soul had strange tendencies—she would argue they were human-like sometimes, such as insisting he eat his meals by the table when she did, even if his meals consisted of cat kibble with some canned cat food every other day. Soul also slept in his carrier when she went to sleep and, during the nights when she stayed up finishing her homework, he either slept in his carrier or kept her company by curling as close to her as possible without touching.

Soul also watched television.

She thought it was cute when it first happened; one of those little animal habits other owners talked about. He would lounge on the far edge of the couch, watching whatever she was watching, flattening his ears when she changed the channel to something he did not like. He'd stare at her with flat ears until she changed it. She had even taken to leaving the television on jazz music channels or ESPN networks, even MTV sometimes worked, whenever she was out of the house for extended hours.

Soul would also rush under furniture when she undressed.

The first time it happened, she thought strawberry print underwear and bra sets scared him. He had rushed under her couch faster than she could blink and hadn't come out for an hour. The second time it happened, she had worn plain yellow undies matched with a white bra. The same thing happened. She hadn't been too concerned, except there were times when she liked to parade around the comfortable solitude of her apartment in her undies.

She figured owning an animal would not change things.

"Soul," Maka knelt by the couch, peeking under it. She was stripped down to black boy shorts with her plain white bra today. "Come on! We have to eat or else your food will go bad if I leave it out for too long! It's tunaaaaa," she coaxed but he only made a noise in his throat, something like a meow and a growl, and she frowned. "What's wrong, are you sick? Do I have to take you back to Stein?"

That quickly had him crawling out from under the couch.

Maka straightened and cocked her head at the cat when he looked up and then away, ears flat on his head, body small and tense in panic.

"Weeeeeir-ohh," Maka enunciated, laughing when Soul hissed lowly at her and scurried over to the kitchen table. "Eh—don't tell me you're shy because I'm in my underwear?" She teased, giggling when her cat only yowled loudly and waited for his food by the edge of the table with firm annoyance. "That's silly," Maka commented, walking over to get his dish from out of the refrigerator. Soul liked it when the canned food was cold. When she first gave Soul room-temperature food, he had flattened his ears and refused to eat. She figured it was because, at the shelter, Stein often crammed excess food cans in the fridge when he was too lazy to carry it to the back storage room.

"You're a cat, why should you be shy about this—you don't know any better," she blinked when Soul hissed. When she shot him a look from the corner of her eye, she found her cat watching her avidly.

She scowled and turned and he jumped, wide-eyed.

Maka smiled an exasperated sort of smile, curious of his reaction. "Are you that hungry? I'm pretty sure I fed you this morning…" She was sure; she'd even washed his dish! She went back to his food and mashed it a bit before walking over and placing it before him. He stared at the plate intensely and then dug in. Maka crossed her arms over her chest. "You must've been hungrier today. I'll give you some more if you want."

When her cat ignored her, Maka fixed up her own plate of food and went to the table. Usually, she and Soul finished around the same time despite his head-starts but, today, Soul finished before she got three spoonful's in and quickly darted back to the couch.

He did not spare her a single glance until she changed and, even then, he was annoyed with her—giving her dark looks, one ear flat and the other alert, his tail whipping back and forth.

Maka gave him some extra beef bits for dinner to placate him before heading out for her night-shift.

Today found Maka half-dead with sleep biting at the edges of her vision. She had even taken to drinking coffee, but it was only ending in her crash by the time four o'clock came in. Maka was just happy she had her day off today and only needed to focus on her exams.

"I'll probably drop by the shelter tomorrow, okay?" Maka told Marie over the phone, feeling like she would doze off if she spent another second sitting down. She was in the kitchen, her food growing cold before her. She was not hungry but she had not eaten well the past week, her finals week being literal hell for her. "Maybe both of you can quiz me for my anatomy exam tomorrow at seven."

Maka was sure she was talking to Marie—she was sure of it—but next thing she knew, she felt something wet prodding her cheek. Then it was soft, like feathers, and she leaned towards it, murmuring incoherently. Then she felt something wet and rough and then she felt a sting on her cheek and she shot straight up with a yelp. Breathing hard, Maka shot her eyes towards Soul, who sat on the table by her head silently. Or worriedly.

He meowed.

Maka blinked owlishly.

"You meowed. You never meow," Maka stated, dumbly. She held her head in her hand, leaning forward with a groan. "I must look really bad if you're being vocal now."

He meowed again, longer this time.

Maka shot him a dry look. "Thanks, Soul."

He flicked his tail on her shoulder and hopped off the table, walking over to the couch. But he looked over his shoulder expectantly before he hopped onto the cushion. Maka dragged herself up after a second, dropping herself back on the couch right beside Soul. Thankfully, he did not seem angry that she had breached his space. She could not really judge distance when she felt like her eyes were bricks.

She was exhausted, hungry, and worst of all, frustrated.

"This is so hard," she said, softly. "I'm barely twenty three and I want…sometimes I want to drop out of college and just work. But," she smiled, sadly, "I want to go to med school. I want to get into a good medical program. But the work's heavy—it's-it's a goddamn hell. I barely talk to my friends now. I only work one hour or so in the shelter but my honor classes makes even taking an hour off difficult. I have a C in Bio…its highest grade out of everyone, too," she groaned. She felt tears prick her eyes; she felt terrible and the words just kept coming one by one like a torrent. "I barely managed to pay the rent this month because papa needed some money and I gave it to him. I can't put in anymore hours at work, either, or else I won't have enough time to sleep—I didn't even sleep last night, I was out working," she tipped her head back, her voice cracking. "This is—"

She placed her arm over her eyes. "This is really hard."

Although Soul could never speak, she liked to think he was listening to her and it helped her a great deal more than she believed it would. She was rubbing her eyes out a minute later, her determination coming back despite her weak moment, when she felt weight on her lap. Glassy-eyed, Maka looked down and found Soul stubbornly curled up on her lap. He rubbed his head against her stomach and Maka stared, surprised. Her hand twitched and she placed a gentle hand on his neck. His fur was so soft, silky smooth and thick, and when she scratched behind his ears, he rubbed his head against her wrist and meowed again.

She felt more tears prick her eyes and then she was crying, letting out months of pent-up emotions as she scooped up Soul and squished his prone body to her chest. She cried into his fur and held him tight. He did not push her away, never hissed or growled. He just let her hold him and, when she was done, he was purring.

"Thanks, Soul," she whispered and fell on her side on the couch. She tucked him close to her chest and closed her eyes, burying her nose in his neck as he curled closer to her—his purring as soft as a lullaby.

Today found her splurging a bit on her cat—the cat who had grown on her over the past months, who she liked to talk about whenever she dropped by the shelter. It was odd and she sometimes wondered if she was turning into one of those cat lady's, but she truly did care for her cat. He had helped her in more ways than one and she was grateful for his companionship—even if he could be a little brat sometimes.

"Put the collar on, Soul!" Maka screeched, chasing the mischievous cat around her couch. Maka stopped on the other side, glaring at him. "Soul. Come here." She demanded, staring him down. He seemed to recoil at the sight of the collar, hissing for the first time since he came in. "You need to have a collar, Soul, it's law!"

He hissed louder.

"SOUL!"

He looked at her disdainfully and Maka scowled. "If you don't put on this collar…I'll…I'll ignore you for a whole week!" She threatened, sighing when he flicked his tail at her and sauntered back to his carrier. Maka had decided to leave the carrier out for him but she noticed he only used it when he was irritated. In this case, he was beyond irritated with the fact that she wanted to put a collar on him.

"Ugh! Fine, don't put it on, you brat!"

Maka flopped back on her bed, looking at the chain-link collar she had bought him with a pout. It was cool—at least she thought it was, and his tag wasn't anything fancy: it was a steel circle with all his information on it. She figured after owning him for a few months, he had become a permanent part of her family and she would collar him in case he ever wandered away. She knew cats liked to do that sometimes. She had also wanted to take Soul out of the house a little, since he liked being carried by her nowadays.

But apparently the one thing Soul refused to do was wear a collar. He was quite lenient with most other things—especially cuddling, he seemed to have a love-hate relationship with it. On the times he did not tentatively ask for it, she would pick him up and coddle him even if he meowed in protest, but he would eventually settle down and doze in her arms. That was why she thought the threat of ignoring him would work. But it hadn't seemed to faze him…

Maka huffed, curling up on her bed for a nap. She bet the cat thought she wouldn't last a week without paying attention to him! Well, he thought wrong! She could ignore someone for a week and she would get the collar around his neck, even if it cost her a few days of not having her cat purring against her chest.

Three days. That was how long it took her to crack.

Soul had come around a few hours after their little collar-spat but she had ignored him, ignoring his hesitant head-butts and pawing. She even managed to ignore his sad meowing on day one. She had to forcefully extricate him from her leg every time he clung onto her sweatpants on the second day, but day three had been when she broke down.

He was obviously depressed and when he walked up to her with regretful, downcast eyes she groaned and dropped down to her knees and squished him to her chest.

"I'm sorry, Soul, I won't ignore you again," she cried, squishing him to her chest even tighter than before. He was purring very loudly, his tail swaying happily as she coddled him. She planted a big kiss on his head and then he tried to squirm away, whining out a meow. "You don't have to wear the collar," she caressed his ears, standing up so she could walk over to the couch, Soul hanging from her arms with a dopey purr. "Just don't go outside," she told him and nestled him on her lap. "I wanted to take you some places, but you need a collar to be outside. It's okay, though, I don't think you'd like it anyway—there's a lot of people, you could get lost, too."

She rubbed his back and chin for an hour or so, watching late night TV for once since she had finished her semester. Vacation time was always treasured. When her eyes began to droop, Maka scooped Soul up and dragged herself to her bed. She laid him down on the corner of her bed as she pulled her covers down and slipped underneath. She was about to turn over when she heard metal chinks. Maka blindly patted her side and grabbed his collar. She was about to toss it on her bedside table when she heard a loud meow.

Soul jumped by her head, startling her, and meowed again.

He sat down and looked at her expectantly.

Maka blinked and looked at the collar. "You want to put it on?"

He came closer and Maka carefully clasped the collar around his neck. He shook himself and yawned widely, then suddenly dashed under her covers. That little sneak! He had planned this all along!

"Ack—no, Soul, you'll get hair everywhere—ugh…" Maka felt him curl up against her knee and she gave up, deciding she'd let him sleep with her for tonight only.

Another evening found Maka scolding Soul—again.

"Souuuul," Maka glared, clutching the cat to her chest, half-way changed. Her jeans were still unbuttoned and her shirt was splayed on her bed. In fact, the shirt was the reason she was clutching a yowling cat against her naked chest. He didn't dare claw her, but he was hard as rock against her, wide-eyed with his ears flat and his yowls desperate. "Look at the shirt. Look at it!"

She prodded Soul's cheek and forced him to look at her shirt.

"I told you not to go playing with my shirts! Look—now it's ripped from the side!" Maka poked his nose with one finger and he startled, staring at her. "No! Playing! With! My! Shirts!" She poked his nose gently each time and he only stared back at her, frozen, and then tried to melt out of her arms. Maka caught him before he could. "Ah—ouch!" She pushed his stiff paw away from her breast and blinked when he suddenly came back to life and yowled desperately, reaching for the floor. She let him fall out of her arms and he darted under the bed the instant his paws touched the floor. She was sure he had curled up at the very corner. "No playing with my shirts, Soul, or else!" She warned one last time.

Maka had just finished pulling on a shirt and her boots when Soul tentatively crawled out from under the bed.

He looked frightened and Maka's eyes softened.

"It's okay—come here," Maka cooed, reaching over to gently scratch his head. "I just don't want you to ruin all my shirts. Okay?" He looked slightly less frightened, but had trouble meeting her eyes. "I'll leave the TV on jazz until I get back!"

He hurried over to the couch and curled in it and, upon second thought, Maka squished her nose into her cat's neck affectionately and laughed when he yowled in familiar annoyance. She kissed the top of his head in goodbye and happily grabbed her backpack and thermos of coffee for work.

"I'll be back around midnight! We're closing the shop later than usual tonight because of some event across the street!" she hollered and sent her companion one last smile before she left, thinking that owning a cat was much like living with a person. She liked telling him goodbye, telling him 'I'm back', and talking to him about her day—about anything. After years of living alone, it was a relief to have someone there when she came back—even if that 'someone' was a cat.

It made her feel a little less alone in the world and in the end that was all that really mattered to Maka.

Two weeks later found her feeling not so alone in the world for different reasons—not really the reasons she wanted, if she were being truly honest.

"Is there any way you can put that damn cat of yours in the bathroom?" Liz paced, her thoughts racing while Maka shifted uneasily on the couch. She was dressed up as per Liz's orders; she had worn her best clothes: a black flared skirt with kitten heels and she had matched it with a silk white button-up and a cardigan. Maka had even let her hair down for the occasion, something Liz complimented on her with a wide grin. Overall, Maka was dressed for what she presumed was a girls-night-out that involved hanging out with her friends (for once) and ending the night with a nice dinner.

She was wrong.

"Look, there's this guy—he's great, he's your type: he's tall, he likes to read, and he even has nice eyes!"

"Wh—wait, how do you even know I'd like him? How do you even know my type?!" Maka demanded, skeptical.

"Truuuust me," Liz drawled, standing behind her confidently. "I know your type: smooth on the outside, dorky on the inside. I got you, Maka, now to make this less awkward I'm going to accompany you two. Kind of like a third-wheel but not really because I can handle myself," she assured.

"B-but what about Tsubaki? Patty? I thought they were coming, too?"

"They were but," Liz paused. "Tsubaki's celebrating her anniversary with her boyfriend and Patty's tired because she works night shift at Death Mart and today's her day off."

"Oh," Maka mumbled, scrunching her skirt in her fists. "I didn't know—Tsubaki has a boyfriend now?"

"Yeah," Liz nods, a little sharply. Her fist clenched. Maka cocked her head at her but before she could ask, Liz continued, "She's been with him for some time now. Apparently, it's going along well. Even if he's a total idiot."

"And…Patty has a job…" She hadn't known they'd moved on so quickly; it made her chest feel heavy, since the last time she saw them Tsubaki had been happily single and Patty still had no job experience. She hadn't even known they had grown so much; they hadn't even told her, she added quietly to herself, but before these gloomy thoughts could consume her, Soul leaped onto her lap and pawed her stomach. "Soul, don't do that, you'll ruin my skirt," she murmured, gently taking his paw in her hand. He let her do most of anything to him now—like squeeze him, play with his paws, his tail, rub his belly, the underside of his chin. He even let her use him as a scarf, which she had once as a joke but he had curled into her neck and yawned in her ear.

"She wanted to tell you personally," Liz told Maka after a moment and smiled comfortingly. "Tsubaki wanted you to meet him personally, and Patty wanted to tell you about her job after she wins employee of the month."

"Employee of the month?"

"She really does admire you, you know," Liz grins.

Maka looked down, face warm but her eyes glowing brightly. That is, until Soul pawed at her thigh and gave her a stern look—a look that almost said are you really going to believe that? And before Maka could frown or cock her head at her perceptive cat, he hissed at Liz when she moved closer.

"Maka, can you get that cat out of here?" She glared at Soul and Maka swore Soul glared right back. "He'll probably attack Kid when he arrives."

"He won't do that," Maka insisted, but the look in Liz's eye said otherwise. Soul hadn't attacked Liz when she first dropped by, only kept his distance and wandered over to her pillow to sleep while she and Liz talked. Then again, Maka knew male cats were more possessive than female cats. The same could be said about dogs and other animals. But he could not do that much harm, would he?

Maka spoke too soon.

Kid was a nice man, she supposed. He was a man and that automatically put him on her danger radar, but he seemed more decent than other men. She would rate him a solid eight if Liz ever asked, which she would after everything died down. He wore formal clothing—black slacks and a pea coat, his dress shoes shining under the lights of her hallway—and his hair was impeccably coifed, the white stripes that adorned one side of his head a strange detail. Maka figured Liz thought she would like him because of his formal appearance, his rather standoffish but pleasing smile, his confident manner of speech.

He was a gentleman and although Maka had a guilty pleasure for those sort of gestures, Kid was otherwise just alright in her book. Most men would otherwise be alright in her book, if not a variety of other disparaging terms she mostly kept to herself. But Liz was right about one thing and that was his eyes. Maka was a sucker for eyes; one look could melt her into goo. It was something that had messed her up, something she made sure to never blind her again. There was a saying that the eyes were the windows to the soul, but she had only found lies when she peered in. It had happened to her in the first year of college—those eyes being steel gray, very beautiful, reflecting the surface of the world.

They had been lies.

Kid's eyes were gold and she had trouble looking him in the face because of it, shifting uncomfortably as bad memories resurfaced. It didn't help that Liz mistook her discomfort for shyness, telling stories about her and emphasizing how cute she was.

And that was where her cat put his paw down.

"S-Soul!" Maka squeaked, squeezing him to her chest tightly. He was hissing at Kid, growling viciously like when he had first been put into the shelter. He was completely beside himself; Maka didn't know what had set him off. Perhaps it had been Kid's cologne? Maybe Soul hadn't liked it when Kid called him pretty—even though she called him pretty all the time and he didn't even bat an eye.

"Maka, put that cat in the bathroom or something! Before he rips Kid's face off!"

Soul's hackles rose.

"I don't know what's gotten into him! He's never been this violent before—Soul, STOP!" She shouted and he did stop, freezing in her arms. He looked up at her with wide eyes, ears flat on his head, and her anger subsided a little. He looked scared; she hadn't meant to startle him that much. "Soul, stop. He's not going to hurt me or you. He's just a friend."

Soul just flattened himself against her.

Liz breathed out. "Jesus, he's crazy."

"Ahh. What a…nice character you have there," was all Kid commented on the stunt.

Maka didn't like it, how he looked around her apartment with an air of mild distaste. Even the way he looked at her cat spelled distasteful. Maka couldn't quite place what was off with Kid, but while she did admire his golden eyes, she admitted her attraction died off there. He was smart; she could see it. He was polite; she could see that very well. Maka should not have expected much, however: if men weren't total scumbags out front, they were scumbags in different ways or they were just nothing at all. He even seemed more boring than her. There wasn't anything that particularly stood out for her—except his eyes—and grasping onto his one good trait (in her opinion) was asking for heartbreak.

Like last time, Maka thought with a sting in her heart. Pretty eyes will never change that fact!

"We should get going—come on, Maka, Kid booked up this nice little restaurant by my house. You'll love it! Get your coat and let's go!"

"Okay," Maka stood up, Soul still held in her arms. She wandered over to her closet while Liz and Kid spoke. "Soul, get off!" She tried to pull him off her but he refused, stubbornly sinking his claws into her shirt. "You're going to pull my shirt and I'll get angry—damn it, Soul!" She frowned. "Don't you like him?"

He growled in reply.

"No?"

He growled low in his throat, ears flat against his head.

"It's fine—I don't like him, either," She whispered conspiratorially to the cat. He perked up at that, staring her down with bright ruby eyes. She grinned at him. "Liz was right about one thing: I love eyes. Even if they're just lies in the end," she added, more to herself than her cat. "Kid also kind of gets on my nerves," her lip twitched, remembering how he had taken a jab at her furniture. Even Liz had winced at that. She looked at her cat for a second and added, "If only there was a man with eyes like yours—because you never lie to me, you always tell me truth," she murmured with a hint of bitterness when suddenly her cat began to wiggle around, staring into her eyes with something close to urgency? "Eyes like yours aren't possible, though…they never will be." Soul yowled suddenly and Maka jumped, concerned. It almost sounded like he wanted to talk, but he was a cat. He couldn't possibly do that. "Soul, are you okay?"

"Maka, your cat sounds like he's dying! Is he?"

Maka shot a glare at Liz. "No, he's just a little upset. Wait up, let me calm him down." She squeezed him tight and whispered quiet affections in his ear until he stopped yowling. She smiled down at him when he finally looked up, broody. "I'm going to have dinner with these two and then we can stay up and watch movies, okay?" She set him down on her pillow and he watched her with that scrutiny she had come to associate with her perceptive cat. Maka pulled on her jacket and slipped her wallet into one of the pockets.

"Done?" Liz hollered.

"Yeah, I'm coming!" She pointed a finger at Soul before she left. "Behave, Soul. I don't want to come home to my sheets on the floor because you rolled around in them." She smiled at him. "I'll be back soon!"

She couldn't help but notice that as she stepped through the threshold of the door, Soul looked more unhappy than angry.

She wondered if he could talk, just what he would say.

The next day found her broody, scowling up at the ceiling.

Kid was definitely not someone she would enjoy dating and he seemed to have the same idea, too. In fact, he seemed to like her friend Liz more than he did her. So in the end it had backfired on Liz: Maka ended up pushing the two together instead of the other way around. It suited Maka just fine; sure, Liz made jokes about being a cat-lady if she didn't attempt to date before med school, but Maka was content as she was.

She only needed her cat.

"Men are dumb," Maka told him that evening, staring at the ceiling. She was on her back with Soul on her tummy. "Just like my papa—and just like Hiro! They sweet talk you," she pet his head, "and then they take you on nice dates, they pretend like everything is going to work out," she pet him harder, her teeth gritting, "and then they just let you down. They let you down again and again and each time it just hurts more—! And I'm sick of that—of them, just ruining people's hearts because they're so stupid."

She did not need men, she told her cat, scratching behind his ear. She told him she only needed him and, as it turned out, her cat was like a multi-purpose switchblade.

"Quit thinking like that," he rumbled sternly, voice a deep baritone that made her shudder pleasantly. She stared into gorgeous ruby eyes—burgundy now, a shade of red that Maka had a difficult time looking away from. His body was lean and heavy over her own, hands pinning her shoulders on the couch. His nails were sharp, they clung onto her shirt like a cats. His hair was snowy white, spiked back, strands of it framing his face handsomely. "Yeah, your dad's pretty scummy and your ex-boyfriend is a dick, but if you keep thinking like that—it won't change anything, you won't be happy. You can't go out with that mindset—nothing…nothing will work if you think that way," he trailed off, lowering his eyes in slow realization.

She gaped.

The man's eyes tightened all of a sudden and he squeezed her wrists gently. His eyes were beautiful and sympathetic, she thought absently, as if he actually understood when that could not have been more wrong. Right?

"And tell Liz to fuck off. She'll try to hook you up some guy again and maybe that one won't be so nice," he growled and he sounded like her cat, his sharp teeth jutting out from between his lips. She could just barely see his tail swaying behind him, his soft cat ears flattened on his snowy head in irritation. "I can't claw that bastard's face off if I'm not there!"

Her cat—what happened to her cat? She thought, shell-shocked. This man—she had seen a flash of light, heard a rustle, and then he had been over her and looking imploringly into her eyes. Much like her cat did—what the hell happened to her cat?

"You…" she choked, face whitening. "You're not my cat!"

"Hah? Yeah, I am!" Soul suddenly brought a hand up to his face. His eyes widened and sunlight bore into them, illuminating them a cherry red. Maka felt her face heat up and her heart pounded so loudly in her chest, she was sure he could hear it.

Her mind raced and then set: he was not her cat.

If he was not her cat, then how could she explain the burst of light? The way her cat had been lounging on her tummy before this happened? There was no other way she could make sense of it: her cat had transformed…into a white-haired human man who was looking at her with a sharp-toothed grin.

"Holy shit, I'm human!"

Maka screamed and punched him in the face.