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Soul heard a noise around the corner. He stopped just short of the corner, listening to it. He knew the noise was the piano, and he knew who was playing the piano. And he knew he didn't want to stop her.
She sang to herself as her awkward and shaky hands tried the keys: "heart – and – soul – I – fell – in – love – with – you – heart – and – ugh!" Maka's hands slipped and banged several keys at once. Soul smiled to himself.
These days of Maka's secret piano practice had been going on for a month. He didn't want to break her concentration or discourage her. It was partly just entertaining and partly…endearing. He was curious to see where she would go with it, and at that time, he didn't know much about Maka. At this time, he thought Maka would give up. And he was wrong.
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It was one of their dinners where Kid and Maka tried to be diplomatic about everything, Tsubaki babysat Patti and Black*Star, and Liz got a little too drunk and had friendly arguments with Soul when Maka finally broke.
"I don't know, I think I prefer their third album" Liz crinkled her nose. "The second one sounded too much like…trance fusion. And who listens to that crap anyway?"
Soul laughed. "Well, Maka does, for one."
Liz gaped. "Maka! You have to be kidding me. Sweetie, you live with Soul and you listen to trance fusion?"
Maka, who was washing dishes at this time, started crying. Not big, just enough so the tears fell and her shoulders heaved. No one in the room noticed – no one, save for Soul, who felt it in the omnipresent resonance.
Soul approached Maka, placing a hand on her shoulder. He knew the answer, but he asked anyway: "Maka, what's wrong?"
"Nothing," she shrugged his shoulder away. "I'm fine, Soul." She smiled at him through the tears. "Honestly, don't worry about me."
Soul gave her a wary look, but walked back to the table.
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Everyone left the house at about 11:30. By midnight, Maka was exhausted and getting ready to crawl into bed when there was a soft rapping at her door.
"Soul?" she asked. "Jeez, Soul, what's wrong?"
Wordlessly, Soul grabbed her hand and drug her over to the small piano he'd spied her practicing on. Maka blushed. "What about the piano?"
"I've seen you playing it. So show me, I can help you."
"What? No – no, I can't play."
"Of course you can, I've seen you practicing simple tunes before. So come on, show me. You can do it."
"No, Soul. I've tried. I can't understand it." Maka got up off the bench and attempted to stalk off.
Soul wrapped an arm around her waist. "That's not so, Maka. Come on, I've heard you practicing –"
"Yes, I've – tried. But I can't play. I don't understand music." Soul dropped his arm and Maka turned his back to him, her hands hiding her face. "I've read every book in the library on music, and I still don't get it. I just don't get it."
Soul bit his lip, thinking. He tilted his head to the side, walked back to the piano bench, and started to play again, the same song Maka had been playing.
Maka turned around, hands clasped in front of her. "You play it so much better."
"I've been practicing since the day I was born."
"You're wonderful."
"I'm average."
Maka blushed, glancing at her feet. "You're wonderful to me."
Soul blushed, so avoided Maka's eyes. "You can learn too, Maka. Come here." She hesitated. "What are you afraid of?"
"Failure"
"Music is like…well, like any other form of art. Writing, speaking, singing…love…you can't read about it and expect to understand it. It's something you have to feel."
Maka didn't approach the piano bench, but agreed to observe Soul, to try to register what he felt.
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Years later, Maka sat at the piano bench. Neither she nor Soul had really had time to use it. She blew the dust off and felt the keys. Soul walked up behind her.
"Hey. What's up?"
"Remember how you once told me that with music, I had to play what I felt?"
"I don't think that's exactly what I said." Maka glared at him. "But go on."
"Well, here goes." Maka began to play her signature tune to herself, this time embellishing a few notes and singing along. "Heart and soul, I fell in love with you, heart and soul…" Unable to remember the rest of the words, Maka began to hum.
Soul started laughing. "I feel pathetic. Neither one of us as learned anything new – and how long as it been, a couple of years?"
"But you said it wasn't about learning, it was about feeling."
"True, but what does this song have to do with what you're feeling?"
"Soul…you told me you loved me…I never said it back." Soul sat down next to her.
"So what you're saying is…you don't love me?"
"No! I'm saying I – know how – no, I'm saying – I can admit it – ugh!" Maka breathed slowly, preparing her fingers again. "I'm saying, I fell in love with you, heart and soul."