A Heart as Dark as Madness

A/N: Inspired by Christina Perri's "The Lonely". God, what a heartbreaking song!

"She's not coming for you, you know."

Soul clenched his teeth and stood over the piano, his hands bracing himself against the damnably glinting instrument. The ivory keys glared at him, astonishingly white—the brilliance of genius. But the smaller black keys that slipped up between them were so, so black. Blacker than midnight with no moon or stars, blacker than his soul…

And just black enough to embody madness. That's all the piano was: the blackness would engulf everything sooner or later, so what point was it struggling?

A green eye flashed in his mind. There was the fluttering of a coat, the feel of arms around his torso as they went for a leisurely cruise to nowhere in particular on his bike. Her hand, so small, but so warm in his own. Her smile, radiant, and just for him. Her head nestled against his shoulder after she fell asleep during a movie. Her body, pressed against his as they began this dance one last time…

Her soul. It felt like it'd been ripped from his. Hell, it felt like someone had taken a dull, rusty knife and had taken great care to ensure that their separation hurt more than humanly possible. Knowing that your other half—your better half, some might argue—was gone was sheer agonizing torture.

Soul squeezed his eyes shut, willing something—anything—to take her place. Tendrils of madness slipped up his body, groping and probing for a way in.

"No!" Soul's strangled yell surprised even him. "Anything but madness, anything but this! I can't hurt her any more!"

"But you aren't." The little demon, more demented than ever, waddled over to him. "Don't you see? You're free from your obligation to her, though I fail to see what that was all about in the first place."

"Fuck you," growled Soul. "She saved me, and you damn well know it. You have no idea—"

"I know perfectly well how much you were hurting before she came along," the demon informed him. "I am a part of you, after all. I always will be. I was here before her, and I'll be here long after." He sighed. "You just don't get it, do you? How much it'll hurt when she leaves? And she will, you know. She can't ever truly trust any man—her father's seen to that. No, you both are fit only to be alone. Better to own up to that now and just accept it. It's much easier than all this fighting and insisting that you do the noble thing," he sneered.

"Call me crazy," Soul shot back, "but I prefer being happy with her to being miserable with you."

The demon only smiled condescendingly. "And yet, you're here. Some part of you wants this—"

Soul had had enough. "You! You want this! You're that part of me! And here the rest of me is, still trying to fight you! What does that tell you?"

"That you're desperate." The patient grin never faded away. "That you just want a reason to give in, or you wouldn't be pressing me for one."

Soul froze. "N-no. You're wrong!"

"You're wasting time, Soul!" The demon half-sang. "Really, it'll be so much easier when you just give! … What are you doing?!"

Half grinning at the demon's confusion, Soul executed a gentle turn. "The only thing that's ever gotten me out of here before."

"You look like an idiot." But the demon sounded unsure. "You need a partner to dance."

"Do I? I got along just fine before I ever knew you."

The demon's eyes glinted; now he was more back in his own territory. "Then why on earth do you need her, hm?"

"For reasons a bastard like you would never understand. And I'll keep going until you call her in. I've got nothing better to do." Now, Soul started humming. A waltz, a march, a sonata… He wasn't really sure whose music it was now, but he knew he had to keep going.

"So it's to be the waiting game, then, is it?" The demon hopped back onto his chair. "Fine. See how it ends."

Come on, Maka. I won't admit it to this shit-face, but I need you now more than ever. Soul forced the smile to keep going, his feet to keep moving, the music to keep flowing out of him. He closed his eyes, swaying and rotating as if she was right there, right in his arms, moving as delicately as possible, but still managing to step on his toes and apologizing profusely for it.

Suddenly, there was a pressure on his arms. A set of heels clacked along the floor, mostly keeping his rhythm, but sometimes faltering. Soul dared to open an eye. "Maka!"

She had a scrape above one eyebrow, the beginnings of a black eye, a gash that trailed across one cheek, and probably a whole host of other injuries he couldn't see at the moment, but she'd never looked more beautiful. "You didn't think I'd give up, did you, Soul?"

"Tch. No. You might be uncool, but you're, not that uncoo—OW!"

"Sorry," Maka ducked her head a little in shame. "Didn't mean to do that."

"I'm sure," Soul said, slightly more coolly, but if he'd needed any proof that this was his Maka, that was it. (And, he thought, he really shouldn't whine so much. She looked exhausted and was definitely in pain.) He sighed and leaned down just a little to touch his forehead to hers. "Thank you."

Maka looked surprised. "I'll always be here for you, Soul, I promise."

"Yeah." That raw hole in his heart was now mended. In fact, it burned with that same spark that was in her eyes whenever she looked at him. And God, how good it felt! "And I'll always be here for you."

She insisted that they sleep in the same bed that night. He wasn't going to argue. He probably wouldn't have suggested it, but snuck into her bed, anyway, so it certainly saved him the trouble.

Normally, it helped to be so close—often, his head hit one of her pillows and he was out like a light, but tonight, not so much. Maka had practically collapsed, but every nerve in Soul's body was still on high alert.

He studied his partner's face. Thankfully, she hadn't had very many other injuries, and nothing nearly so extensive as the scar that raked across his chest from that first battle with Corona. God, for as much as he complained about her dragging him into problems, this time, it was really on him.

"I know you're strong, Maka, but I wish you didn't have to use so much of that strength for my sake." He sighed. Maka mumbled something indistinct and rolled over to face Soul. He leaned over and kissed her forehead, just above the bandaged gash.

"Nnnn… Stop bothering me 'n' go to sleep, Soul," Maka grumbled, now half-awake.

Soul smiled and grabbed the hand she'd put out to shove him. He placed a gentled kiss on it. "As you wish, my princess," he teased. He grinned as Maka grudgingly half smiled before rolling back over, pulling Soul's arm around her. Soul slid back down to fully rest his head on the pillow. He knew he was going to be awake for a little while, but there were worse ways he'd spent it. This was one victory he'd take without question.

A/N: Okay, yes, the song is sad, but I couldn't bear to make the story end that way, too! I just love these two together!

Also, Soul calling Maka "princess" is a throwback to my high school days. Let it be known that I HATE being called "cupcake"…

If you are so inspired, please leave me words about what worked and/or what didn't.