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Soul always hated his teeth. When he was a lot younger, girls in his family's social group would giggle and blush around him, commenting on how one day he would be just as handsome as his older brother, Wes. But when they would come up to Soul, hoping to be his girlfriend, and the not yet cynical Soul would nod enthusiastically and smile, the girls would run away in terror.
The one plus side Soul could see to his teeth was that people rarely bothered him, and he was fine with that.
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Spirit Albarn was more than willing to give his daughter anything she wanted, including pay for an apartment for her and her partner to live in, once she became old enough to have a weapon partner. Spirit felt the need to stick his foot in his mouth for his having said "any partner, no matter what", when Maka introduced him to Soul.
Spirit had, of course, been hoping that Maka would make a female friend, to make up for the missing mother figure in her life. That way she wouldn't make him worry too much about boys or…womanly problems, because she'd have another girl to go through it with. Maka, on the other hand, never intended to have a female partner. Although extremely friendly and caring, she had always been too tomboyish and too smart (though Maka often tried to deny this) for most of the other girls her age. She didn't really care about boys or makeup or their little gossip. She cared about school and doing well.
Thus, growing up, her only real friend was Black*Star. Sure, he annoyed her to high Hell. He was narcissistic and not always very nice to her, but Maka appreciated his honesty, his dedication, and his loyalty; one day, after seeing her father betray her mother, Black*Star saw Maka crying and promptly awarded Spirit with a punch to where it really hurt. He then placed both hands on both Maka's shoulders and told her, in a brotherly fashion, "If Spirit ever bothers you again, just let Black*Star know."
Maka lived a mostly lonely childhood, with no mother, virtually no father, and practically no friend. When she heard Soul's sad and lonely song echoing through the halls of Shibusen, she knew immediately who her partner would be. His quirky smile and honest attitude only confirmed it.
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Before he and Maka officially became partners, Soul tried desperately to scare Maka off. He got along with her well enough, thought that she was cool and all, but he knew that once he really opened his mouth, and she really saw what he was like, she'd be terrified like the rest of them. She'd leave him too, and he didn't want the trouble of going through that. So Soul set up all kinds of different situations in which she might see his teeth, but she never seemed to care.
One day, about a month after they moved into the apartment. Soul stood behind Maka, who was reading a book on the couch. He had let all of his thoughts permeate in his head, and was now glaring at the back of Maka's head.
"What's wrong with you?" he asked, throwing his hands in the air.
Maka closed her book, using her thumb as a bookmark. "Hm? What do you mean?"
Soul gave her a growling sneer. Maka giggled. He looked too much like a dog to actually be menacing to her. "My teeth! They're sharp! They're creepy! They're unnatural! Why aren't you scared?"
Maka tilted her head to the side. "I dunno, they're just not…scary."
The was a slight pause, and Maka went back to reading. Soul was dumbstruck. "So you're not even the least bit curious?"
Patiently, Maka closed her book again, this time setting it to the side. She looked seriously at him. "Well, I was wondering how you got them so sharp?"
Soul blushed, looking down and off to the side. "Uhm. Past inbreeding in my family." Maka had a shocked and embarrassed look on her face. "We're kind of upper class…and they've wanted to stay that way."
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry, I didn't know – "
"No, it's okay. That's why I'm so dumb –"
"I don't think you're dumb."
There was another pause. "You…don't?"
"No. I've seen a lot of idiots in my life…like my papa. You're not stupid." She gave him a pointed look. If she had glasses, she would have been looking down at him through them. "You just need to study more."
Another pause. "How did you thing my teeth got so sharp? Just out of interest."
"I thought maybe…you'd filed them like that."
Soul was horrified. "Why would I do that?"
"I don't know…because it looks cool."
Soul felt a weird, uplifting feeling in the pit of his stomach. He felt lightheaded and…was that happy? "Do you really think my teeth are cool?" Maka nodded. He'd never really been close enough to anyone before to try this, but he decided to go for it anyway: He awkwardly wrapped his arms around Maka into a warm and sincere hug. Maka blushed, unsure of what to do; she'd never been hugged by a boy before. She held his hand lightly.
Soul released quickly and muttered something about needing to clean his room. Maka agreed, going to make dinner. Maka never forgot the first time Soul hugged her. Soul never forgot the first – and only time – someone said his teeth were anything but weird, creepy, or freaky.