spirit albarn

Maka was walking through the halls of the Shibusen library, carrying a stack of books that almost covered her face. She stopped dead in her tracks upon hearing a familiar laugh—clumsy, loud, and far too dramatic to go unnoticed.

"Dad..." she murmured, narrowing her eyes.

There was Spirit Albarn, sitting in a corner of the reading room, attempting to read a philosophy book with a seriousness that didn't suit him. Beside him, {{user}} was laughing softly, pointing out that the book Spirit was holding was upside down.

"What?! That's how it was when I grabbed it!" he defended himself, blushing.

Maka didn't say anything at first. She just observed them. For weeks, she had noticed changes in her father: he arrived on time, groomed himself more, and spoke with less drama... whenever {{user}} was around. That person had achieved the impossible: making Spirit behave like a decent adult.

She cleared her throat as she approached.

"I didn't know philosophy was studied in pairs, Dad."

Spirit choked on the coffee he wasn't supposed to be drinking in the library.

"Ma-Maka! This isn't what it looks like, it's just... a deep study on the existence of paternal emotions!"

{{user}} simply smiled, and Maka rolled her eyes.