Story Note: Set after the end of the manga, very slight spoilers; nothing major though. This is a Valentine's Day story and will be updated daily, the last chapter being published on V-Day itself. Rated T for language.

Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater.

Queen of Hearts
by. xxBurningxx

Reason #1: PDA (public displays of affection).

It's sickening, Maka thinks, observing the "love" that's supposedly in the air. If that's true however, she sure as hell isn't feeling any of it. The scythe meister slumps against the bench outside, brooding over her thoughts while she watches in dull annoyance as various couples around her are practically swaying to the giddy buzz the upcoming holiday has stirred up. It's the one time of year when everyone is seemingly attached to the idea of intimacy and over-the-top displays of affection, and in her mind it's worse than any monster she's ever faced, Kishin or otherwise.

(Maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but she shrugs it off.)

Ridiculous proclamations of love and stupid pet-names and obnoxiously obvious couples are all around her it seems. Then again, it's like this every year and it just so happens that for some reason it seems to be bothering her more than it usually does. The stupid holiday known as Valentine's Day has always grated on her nerves, but never to this unpleasant extent before. For some reason the sight of her fellow Shibusen students giggling happily at one another is making Maka's blood boil, and suddenly she feels the urge to ask Soul if he wouldn't mind stabbing the nearest lovey-dovey couple on her behalf.

She shakes her head while the slightest chuckle escapes her lips at the mental image playing in her mind. Instead she stares at the open book in her lap, that twinge of negativity sparking in her chest once again. Despite having been outside for a good twenty minutes now, she hasn't actually read any of the novel; when she tries to the words seem to float in one ear and drift out the other, the string of letters not registering in her head.

It's futile, she realizes as she sends a sharp glare at a couple across the courtyard whom had previously been eating each other's faces off in a disgusting manner.

Like it's a fucking contest, she thinks. It's the "Whom-can-kiss-whom-harder-before-spontaneously-bursting?" contest.

Maka blinks at her vulgarity. It's unlike her to get so worked up about, well anything really (with the exclusion of her weapon), and so naturally she's frustrated with her own unknown irritation. She isn't even really sure why the infamous V-day is getting to her so much.

Maybe it's the fact that such blatant open displays of love should be reserved for out-of-school settings. Perhaps she's merely angry that even her own friends have fallen victim to the affectionate-vibe resonating throughout the school, all the while she's sitting on a goddamn bench with no better excuse than "wanting some peace and quiet."

Then a thought thunders across her mind like a neon sign, making her blood run cold.

Maybe she's jealous of them?

She can't help it; a burst of laughter erupts from her chest at the silly notion, earning her a few funny looks from the couples around her. Oh Death, isn't that a funny idea? She snickers some more, the absurd idea enough to temporarily bring her out of the previous cloud of thundering anger. This is Maka Albarn we're talking about; the recently promoted to three-star meister who created the Last Death Scythe. She's the girl who doesn't depend on men (again, with the slight exception of the aforementioned scythe).

"You're really weird, you know?"

She jumps at the sound of a deep baritone rumbling behind her and she doesn't even have to look to know who it is. His voice alone is enough an indicator, and if not that then it's the familiar feel of his soul approaching. "Excuse me?" she snaps, returning to her foul mood and allowing it to show through her tone, admittedly with a little less vigor now.

"First you're storming away from our lunch table and now you're here sitting by yourself giggling. So don't try to tell me you aren't at least a little strange," he says, smirking as he slides down to sit next to her. Something about the way he rests his arm across the back of the bench, barely brushing her shoulders, makes her heart speed up a little. She finds a little smile tugging on the corners of her mouth at his remark, her previous irritation seemingly dissipating from her in an instant. As of late, she's found it harder and harder to even get a little annoyed with her white-haired weapon. "So what's up?" he asks, the joking tone slipping out of his voice and being replaced with sincerity.

"Ah, it's nothing, really. I've just been thinking about how stupid all of this is," she says, making an arm gesture towards the unusually crowded courtyard. Most days no one came outside to eat, but between the Valentine's Day jitters and absolutely amazing weather, it seems that everyone had the same idea about coming outside. Soul gives a slight hum in agreement, stifling a yawn behind his hand.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. All this affectionate crap is pretty uncool," he says lazily, tipping his head back to look at the sky. Even the usually-gruesome laughing sun has some kind of strange dreamy look on it's face, almost as if it too were infatuated with someone or something.

Maka nods, suddenly feeling a pang of disappointment run through he. Her eyebrows furrow because she doesn't understand why Soul's agreement made her heart flutter the way it did. She should be glad he shares her distaste towards public displays of affection, but instead it has an almost opposite effect. Strange, she thinks, but brushes it off because it's the least of her concerns at the moment. Her attention is focused on a particular couple cuddling on the bench adjacent to them from across the courtyard. The girl's face was buried in the guy's neck, and Maka cant help but wrinkle her nose.

"It's not even Valentine's Day yet, and it's already this bad," she mumbles, rolling her eyes.

"Imagine what it's going to be like on the actual day itself," he replies, giving a visible shudder at the thought.

"Ugh, please, don't remind me," she groans, rubbing her face with her right palm. Somewhere in the back of her head an image of her papa running around, chasing multiple women at one time, flashes in her head and she all but cringes at the awful imaginary yet likely-to-come-true scene.

"Then there's that stupid ball Kid's having too," Soul says, the lack of interest and dread evident in his voice. "Are you sure we have to go?"

She nods reluctantly. "Much as I actually don't want to either, we have to. You being the Last Death Scythe and all, Kid's probably gonna want you to give a speech or something." When the look on his face falls in mortification, she quickly adds, "Don't worry; I doubt it'll be anything major since it's just Valentine's Day and nothing really important. Besides, our friends would be disappointed if we don't go."

Her partner only gives a slight grunt in acknowledgement, looking forward to the event about as much as she is. She throws him a sympathetic glance and pats his shoulder. "We've survived worse than a silly party, right?"

He gives an airy laugh at that.

"I suppose. Then again, you don't have a damn fan-club to deal with. They'll probably be stalking me all night," he complains, throwing his face in his hand in dread. Her mind instantly darkens at the mention of all the girls that still follow him around like starving little puppies.

Maka sighs, sparing another look at the couple across from them again. Immediately she adverts her eyes with a disgusted sneer. The girl had moved so that she was straddling the boy and it was obvious they were getting out of control. Did they really have to do that here? At school?

"Don't look now, although I highly doubt they'd even notice, but that couple over there is practically already at second base."

"Huh?" Soul asks, glancing over. His eyes widen slightly as he mutters an exaggerated, "Oh Death, are you serious?"

Suddenly he stands up, tugging on the sleeve of her arm. "Come on," he says a he forces her up. "Let's get out of here; maybe the library won't be this swamped with these idiots."

Despite the fact their lunch-break was almost over, she complied, the smallest little grin on her face. "Okay," she mutters quietly, following him.

Yes, it'd be nice to get away from these love-stricken fools, even if she is as helpless as them and just doesn't know it yet.

A/N: Yes, so I had to do a Valentine's story. Like said before, I'll update this tomorrow, the day after that, and then there will be an incredibly fluffy finale on Valentine's Day itself. So yeah, first chapter done. Sorry it's short. The next two will probably be short as well, but hopefully the last chapter will be longer. I hope you enjoyed! Reviews and favs are greatly appreciated, thank you!

Edit: Fixed a few typos because this was initially written on my iPod! Thanks for the lovely reviews everyone!