A/N: Yeah, I know I took ages with this update and I am really sorry. I have been working for so long on this fic and my writing style has changed and evolved that looking back at this first attempt at SoMa makes me cringe a little. I think this story might end with the next chapter or the one after that. Not really sure, but it is drawing to an end definitely. I really want to thank everyone who is still keeping up with this and leaving me great comments!

Chapter Eleven

Of potential deaths, a papa's worries and some happiness

Soul had to admit he had been expecting much more of a freakout from his meister after he whispered those three words to her. Maka remained completely quiet, blinked a few times, clutched a loose fist to her chest as her lips moved in an attempt to...he had no idea. He was hoping she would return a love confession of her own, but knew that it was just wishful thinking on his part.

"I, um, I...I...uh..."

Well, at least she wasn't pushing him away. He knew better than to hope for a happy ending, but he couldn't squash the tiny flame of hope in his heart. Unconsciously, he tightened his grip on her shoulders, holding his breath as he patiently waited for her to say a complete sentence. Time ticked by slowly and it was killing him, panic and nervousness rising in his throat.

Finally she spoke:

"How do you know?"

He blinked, took a deep breath. "What do you mean?"

She looked down, biting her lip uncertainly as she tried to control her voice. "I mean...how-how do you know you love me? How can you be so sure that this isn't a passing fancy, what if we aren't meant to be and break up and then things will be all awkward between us and I...I don't want to lose you, Soul." She raised her head, her big, green eyes finding his, full of worry and fear.

Soul felt relieved and nervous at once. She had not rejected him, but she didn't seem too keen on returning his feelings. Okay, his next words had to be well-planned, he had to think about them carefully and make sure not to scare her away. He closed his eyes, gathered his thoughts and recalled all the things that had gone through his head during the last days.

"I...I've been thinking about it a lot lately," he began, voice a little shaky but still full of conviction. He wouldn't mess this up. He willed himself to look into her eyes because if he wanted to get across how important this was to him and how sure he was of them together, he couldn't afford to display any lack of confidence that went with his words.

"So that's why you were...so silent."

He nodded. "The thing is I can't tell you for certain what makes me so sure that...I love you─" she flinched and he continued quickly before he lost her "─it's difficult to explain, but in spite of that, I know that I want to be with you. Damn it, I...I can't stand the thought of being with anyone else but you, and do you know how close I was to ripping Black*Star's head off because you two are so close?" He laughed bitterly, his heart clenching with envy. "Yeah, I know it's stupid and shit but I can't help it─" and this was where words left him, the speech he had been writing in his head to make her understand was gone. His voice wavered and he couldn't describe the extent of his mortification when he concluded with, "─and yeah, that's why...and because I like you and stuff."

He gulped, fighting the urge to run away because he couldn't have made more of an ass of himself right now. He mentally slapped himself, shit, he needed to remedy this situation. He didn't give Maka the chance to reply and instead said, "And you're hot and beautiful and amazing in b─"

This was where he stopped himself and mourned the last shreds of his dignity disintegrating into ash. His cheeks flared, his palms grew sweaty and he could only watch Maka with an inept helplessness, not knowing how to interpret the expression on her face.

"Uh...thanks I guess," she said, lowering her gaze slightly. "And you're amazing in bed too...and you have a nice butt."

Okay, during his attempt to properly confess to his meister something had gone very very wrong, just not in the way he had perhaps expected it to happen. He was about to crack another lame joke because there was no way this conversation could return to its serious beginnings, but then Maka took a step back from him and took his hands into her own, eyes resolute and bright. She inhaled shakily.

"Soul, I don't know if I love you, but I care about you a lot and...and more than a friend does, more than a partner does. It's just that...that," she paused, eyes conflicted, her body tense, but the way she stroked her thumb over his knuckles was comforting. "I'm scared. I'm scared that a relationship would be a mistake, that it'd mess up everything between us."

His heart was in a frenzy, his stomach filled with a fluttery sensation. "We won't ever find out if we don't give it a try." His voice was thick and strained, full of hope.

"Yeah, I...know. And what if-what if I can't ever say I love you back? I don't want to hurt you and I..." she glanced down but she was still clutching his hands.

"I'm still willing to stick around...if it means I can be with you."

Her lips curled into a shy smile as she averted her eyes to the side, her cheeks tinted a rosy colour, her teeth buried in her plump bottom lip. He wanted to kiss her, hug her and hold her close, and because Soul couldn't wait any longer to save his life, he said, "So what do you say? Do you...do you want to give this a chance?"

Her grip tightened, threatening to crush his fingers but he bit back a wince, watching her closely, trying to decipher her emotions. He was surprised when she looked up, eyes at their most expressive, nearly taking his breath away.

"Okay." She nodded to herself, more to reassure herself than anything, and relaxed a little. "I think we can do this."

Soul was about to question the reality of the moment because he had been expecting more reluctance from her side, but now she was just okay with it. He couldn't believe his luck, couldn't believe how...easy it was, couldn't believe they had waited this long, couldn't believe that he could call her his now, his girlfriend.

"R-really?" He breathed out, amazed and giddy and elated.

"Yes." She sounded as breathless as he did; her hands were shaking, but she looked happy. There were no second thoughts, no panic.

He pulled her to his chest, his arms winding around her small frame tightly, as he buried his face against her neck, inhaling her sweet scent, relishing in her warmth and the certainty with which she hugged him back. He was so happy he could cry, but of course, being the cool guy he was, he limited himself to a goofy grin as she snuggled against him.

"You know," she said after awhile, her voice slightly muffled against his shirt. She glanced up with a faint smile. "The thing you said about Black*Star and─"

He tensed up, mentally cursing himself. "Erm, don't worry, I'm not gonna throw a temper tantrum because you two are close or anything. That wouldn't be cool."

She lightly smacked him on his butt, making him yelp in surprise. Her shoulders shook with her restrained giggles. "Actually, I just wanted to tell you that I've wanted to slap every girl who wanted to talk to you who was not Tsubaki, Liz or Patti." She tightened her arms around his waist, eyes sliding shut, relaxed and comfortable. "I was jealous, too, even though you weren't my boyfriend. And I was scared that you'd get tired of me and would prefer one of those girls."

Her voice wavered with the admission, her throat feeling tight. It was difficult to admit it, but she guessed it was only fair if she told him what was going through her head lately, what made her behave the way she did. He scoffed, gently running his fingers through her hair, and it took her all not to purr like a spoiled cat. How could she have ever entertained the thought of shying away from his touch? There would be no more of that.

"What made you even think that I'd want to be with another girl?"

She had no answer to that. She shrugged, before she said, "Nothing you did. I was just paranoid."

Soul snorted, ruffling her hair. "You're an idiot," he said, making her pout. "As if they'd be cool enough."

Her heart fluttered and Maka smiled, but there was a mischievous twinkle in her eyes he didn't know how to interpret.

"Though if I remember correctly, you never had a problem of reminding me how uncool I am."

Hours later when they had decided to watch a movie and Soul looked back at the past weeks and months, it seemed very silly of them to have made such a big deal out of everything. Maybe it was too early to judge, but as they watched one zombie after another being blown up, lounging on the couch with Maka snuggled against his chest, he had been expecting...more dramatic changes. His confession had been perhaps kinda dramatic and his heart was still doing a fluttery dance of sorts in his chest and he felt immensely happy, but other than that, nothing particularly life-changing had occurred.

Even though it stung a little that Maka couldn't say that she loved him back, he was going to stand by what he had told her. After all, he had gotten away from his brother's shadow, and proven his own worth in a way by taking a chance. He'd take a chance with this relationship too. He was content, the weight of doubt and fear and uncertainty lifted from his mind and he was able to enjoy his time with Maka and call her his girlfriend. They had both agreed that terms like boyfriend/girlfriend didn't seem to do justice to what they had, but they didn't question the clearly romantic nature of their relationship now.

He loved how he could just touch her without worrying about driving her away, loved how she came to him and sought out his touch. He was giddy with elation and he hadn't been paying the movie any attention for the past 20 minutes anyway, so he promptly decided that her neck was more deserving of it. Her squeak when he lightly bit down on her skin made him chuckle, her body relaxing quickly after the initial shock wore off and she eased into his embrace more comfortably.

She sighed, pleased and content as she cocked her head to the side, giving him more neck to kiss and bite.

"Mmm, Soul? What should we do tomorrow?" she asked, her eyes sliding shut leisurely, and she gripped his wrists tightly when his fingers slithered underneath her top. She giggled, half heartedly smacking his arm in retaliation when his hand grazed her side, tickling her. "Seriously, Soul! How should we go on about it tomorrow in school?"

He froze, his blurry, horny mind clearing a little. "I dunno, I thought we'd just let everyone know?" He shrugged.

"Yeah, but..." she began uneasily, craning her neck to look into his eyes.

"But what?" Was he perhaps too forward to expect that they could just come out in the open with their newly found relationship? Soul didn't want to push her, but there was a twitch in his heart that felt like fear and a voice in the back of his head that whispered darkly, telling him she wasn't really comfortable with him and what they had and─

"─Soul!"

He flinched. "Huh?"

He was met with dazzling green eyes flashing with irritation and an indignant pout. She crossed her arms, and he almost had to laugh at the picture before she said, "Have you been listening to anything I said?"

"Uh..."

Maka heaved a heavy sigh, her shoulder sagging. "Look, even though it's probably gonna be awkward to tell the others, I have no problem with that. It's just that..." she paused, sighing again, holding her breath in longer than before, "...Papa."

Soul groaned, thumping his head against the backrest of the couch. In all his elation, he had completely forgotten about the crazy Deathscythe. He tiredly rubbed the side of his head, not ready at all to face Spirit Albarn and to tell him that he and Maka were in a relationship. It was true that they might have gained some sort of shaky respect for each other, but that sure as hell didn't mean that they could remain civil with each other for longer than ten minutes before the older deathscythe misinterpreted something Soul said.

Maka shifted in his lap and turned around to be able to look at him without having to endure an achy neck, and Soul became acutely aware how aroused he had become. He fidgeted awkwardly, hoping she wouldn't notice the slight tent in his pants. He automatically pressed his cheek more firmly into her hand as she gently stroked his skin.

She smiled, briefly glancing down. So briefly in fact, he wasn't sure if it was to gather her words or because she had noticed his dick calling for attention.

"I think we should tell my papa first before we walk hand in hand through the school and he gets to hear it from others," she said.

He nodded slowly, suppressing a shudder. "Yeah, okay. You do it!"

"What? I was hoping you'd be there with me to tell him."

"Urgh, Maka. Your dad doesn't like me that much. What do you think he's going to do to me if I sit with you there and tell him that we've been going at it like rabbits for the past...how many months again?"

Her eyes narrowed as she smacked his upper arm. "Idiot, we're NOT going to tell him that. Understood? We'll just tell him that we're in a relationship and be done with it."

"You make it sound so easy."

"Don't worry, I'll protect you if Papa tries to kill you." She stuck out her tongue playfully and laughed at his scoff.

"You aren't being very encouraging, you know that?"

She muffled her chuckles with her hand, her eyes almost twinkling. "I'd really appreciate it if you were with me there when I tell him, Soul."

"Oh nononononono, don't give me those eyes again. That's not fair!"

In response, she merely stuck out her bottom lip.

"Makaaaaa."

The next day came far too quickly for Soul's liking, and even though they refrained from holding hands, he couldn't help the chilling paranoia settling in his bones with every gaze that was directed their way. He knew he was being stupid and needlessly fretful as they were familiar gazes by familiar people. Maka smiled back at them, waving cheerfully, almost skipping up the stairs to the DWMA.

His hands in his pockets were clammy and he really wanted to turn on his heel and go home. Soul might have earned Spirit's grudging respect as a fellow weapon, and perhaps even his trust, but admitting to the elder Deathscythe that he was also his daughter's boyfriend now could not pass peacefully. Spirit was surely going to blow up on him, and if Soul was lucky, Maka might just manage to reign the crazy red-haired Deathscythe in with a well-placed Maka-Chop.

"Soul, are you okay?" Maka asked, her fingers grazing his elbow. He shot her a disgruntled glare, brow twitching as he barely refrained from huffing like a princess.

"What do you think?" he muttered, feeling even worse when her eyes softened in sympathy. "This might be my last day in the living world and you're asking me if I'm okay."

She rolled her eyes, sympathy gone. "Don't be so dramatic, Soul. My papa...can be...reasonable─" at his incredulous scowl, she added with a quieter voice, "─I mean...sometimes at least..." she groaned, letting her head hang in defeat, "Fine, he is a moron, an immature moron, but we'll do this Soul. And he won't be able to lay a hand on you while I'm there. And you know what, if...if you want I'd go through the same with your parents." She cringed.

"Um," was all he could say because right now he'd rather not be thinking about his parents at all and how nerve-wrackingly uneasy that would be. He shuddered and gave himself a mental shake, tearing his thoughts away from the imaginary parental gazes of judgment.

"I think...we should tell him after class, no? I don't think lunch break is long enough to deal with papa and his...dramatics," she said, biting her lip as she thoughtfully rubbed her chin. And it was small gestures like those that made him want to pull her towards his chest and find them some privacy, so they could cuddle...or have sex...or do both. He hadn't been aware of the lewd grin he was sporting until Maka pointed it out to him with a discreet poke against his ticklish side.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Soul."

He scoffed, snarky retort dancing at the tip of his tongue only to vanish when he spotted an unmistakable mop of red hair rounding the corner. He tensed up, his throat constricting as he struggled to breathe properly.

"MAKAAAAAAAAAA!"

He heard his meister groan under her breath as Spirit engulfed her in a bone crushing hug of exaggerated fatherly affection. Soul might have laughed at the scene if he the chilling dread in his blood didn't freeze him on the spot. He had to be inconspicuous, damn it! And it wasn't like he hadn't talked back to Spirit before or badmouthed him or insulted him to his face even, but in all those times, Spirit's accusations against him were unfounded and stupid. Now that he was indeed intimately involved with Maka...

Soul twitched in barely contained nervousness as the deathscythe released his daughter, cooing over how beautiful she was today as usual. Maka tolerated this with a wry smile, unimpressed, and patted her father on his arm.

"Sorry Papa, we have to go to class," she gritted out, withdrawing her hand as if burned by fire. Spirit's eyes grew watery, and Maka hastily amended, "But how about I come to you after school? Soul and I have something to...um, tell you."

What the─

He stared at his meister dubiously, tempted to slap his head. The less than cryptic sentence was enough to change Spirit's countenance immediately. Narrowed blue eyes studied Maka first and then Soul, who tried his best not to let his tenseness seep through, making his slouch more pronounced and his eyes look more bored than ever. Soul couldn't help but feel like he was being sniffed by some police dog at the moment.

"I'd love to see you today, Maka," Spirit said, his face lighting up again, but unveiled doubt flickered in his eyes as he straightened himself, and for a moment, he truly looked liked the superior deathscythe he was.

"See you, Papa," Maka mumbled demurely, heaving a sigh when Spirit stepped into a classroom nearby.

"I think...he might have gotten suspicious, but you did a crap job of acting normal," Soul said snidely.

"I know, I'm sorry."

"You suck at lying and acting."

"I know, Soul!"

"And while we're at it, I think I─"

"Forget it, you're coming with me."

He groaned.

Soul had never been in Deathscythe's office that often to begin with and having to sit there now, waiting for his arrival, was worse than he could have imagined. His hands were clammy with sweat and he tried to dry them somewhat, rubbing his palms against his pants. He couldn't fathom how this confrontation could pass peacefully, but even he couldn't deny that it was necessary.

Spirit entered the office with a skip in his steps, smiling brightly at his daughter while he pointedly didn't acknowledge Soul's presence. Soul sighed, getting smaller and smaller in his seat. Maka endured her father's cooing and praises with a blank face, and Soul was impressed with how she managed not to knock Spirit over the head.

As soon as Deathscythe was seated, Maka didn't beat around the bush. She took a deep breath.

"Papa, Soul and I are together, and yes, this means romantically together and no, I won't think about breaking up with him, and I just want to make sure that you don't try to kill him because of this. Also we do hold hands...and...kiss."

Soul flinched, hands halfway raised in case Spirit did jump over the table to attack him, but he only sat there frozen, still as a statue. He didn't know what was more unsettling. Seeing Spirit scream and refuse to give his blessings and froth from the mouth were things Soul had been expecting, but not this deadly silence that seemed to be more foreboding than any shouting matches could have been. Soul gulped, willing his dread to stay down.

Spirit blinked once, twice. He put his hands on the table as Soul fought the urge to jump. Deathscythe's fists were clenched tightly, his forearms tense and almost shaking.

"You and Soul?" he asked, though it sounded less like an inquiry and more like a statement with a clumsy questionmark tagged on in the end.

Maka hesitated for a moment before she nodded. Spirit hung his head, red strands of hair hiding his eyes. He breathed in deeply and looked up, blue eyes cold and piercing. Soul had to bite back a yelp because he had never seen Spirit Albarn looking so fucking scary before. There were no traces of the goofy, pathetic man left, and Soul could safely claim for the first time that he could remember, Spirit definitely looked the part of THE Deathscythe. If that was how he faced his enemies regularly, Soul was sure that any pre-kishin that had the misfortune of being confronted by Spirit wouldn't last longer in battle than a few seconds, which it would probably spend trying to run away.

Was this how pre-kishin felt like whenever they were about to be slain? If they weren't soul-eating monsters, Soul might have been inclined to feel sorry for them.

"Yes, Papa. Soul and I are together. And I thought it would be the best to let you know first. I don't want you to go around and threaten Soul or anything," Maka said, sounding less confident than before. She bit her lips, her fingers clenching into the material of her skirt.

Spirit inhaled harshly. "I understand," he said, teeth clenched. He eyed Maka first, his gaze softening and then Soul, who received no such treatment. "I had been wondering, you know," he continued, leaning back on his chair, carefully placing his arms on top of the armrest, still looking very tense and ready for an attack. A picture of poorly faked casualness. "There was something...different about you two this morning." His eyes narrowed, blue slits of suspicion. "I can't explain it but─" he deflated with a sigh and ran a hand through his hair.

Suddenly, it was as if Deathscythe had aged in one moment. The slight wrinkles on his face seemed more pronounced; Soul couldn't actually remember an instance where Spirit had looked his age or even slightly wrinkled.

"Yes, you are old enough...and it's okay with me."

Maka gasped, eyes widening. "Really?" she breathed, smiling. "I mean, thank you for not giving us trouble."

"Yes, it's fine, Maka," Spirit returned her smile but it looked strained and faker than Black*Star's brief instances of humility. "Can I speak with Soul for a moment? Alone?"

"Why would you want that?" she asked suspiciously, voice wary.

Spirit cleared his throat, put his hands on the table in front of him again, looking marginally more relaxed. "There's something I need to discuss with him alone."

"I'm not sure if that's─"

"It's alright, Maka," Soul cut in, inwardly shaking and kicking himself because what the hell was he even thinking? He was running blindly, maybe not so blindly, into Spirit's trap. He patted Maka's hand, grinned wryly. "You can go already."

She looked uncertain, her gaze flitting from her father to him. She questioned him silently, asking if he really was going to be okay because the last thing they needed was a fight between the two deathscythes. Soul reassured her again that all would be good, even if he doubted that somewhat. Spirit didn't look particularly murderous, kind of neutral actually, but his mouth twitched when Maka stood up and bade them goodbye, leaning down towards Soul, making him believe for a moment that she might peck him on the cheek, only to pull away in the last second, and left quietly.

"So," Spirit began, steepling his fingers, eye hard. "I just want to tell you all the things a father has to tell the boyfriend of his daughter: treat her well and don't hurt her, or I'll make you pay for it."

Soul opened his mouth, ready to defend himself because he'd never hurt Maka. Soul wasn't like Spirit, so he might as well save himself the words, but was promptly cut off as Spirit added, "Now that that's out of the way, I just want to tell you be careful, Soul."

"Careful about what?"

"You are sleeping with my daughter, yes?"

Soul spluttered, his mouth a fountain ofnos anduhs and whats because, urgh, he did not know what to think anymore. Spirit seemed completely unfazed by his reaction and spoke on without pressing for a proper response. "I know that a lot of weapon-meister partnerships become physical. Not always, but often. Just make sure not to get her pregnant."

"Uhhh."

"I love my daughter dearly, but having a kid at a young age is...difficult. Maka is probably the only good thing that came from me, but really, if you want children, wait until you're older. You should make sure to use contraception. Are you familiar with all the types of contraception, Soul?"

"I am. What is this about? I don't plan on having kids anytime soon," Soul muttered, aghast. Whatever he had been expecting from Spirit Albarn, this was not it. Definitely not.

"I wasn't planning it either, you brat. Now listen," he hissed, leaning in close. "Never, ever think that you might be safe when she forgets to take the pill and you don't wear a condom afterwards. You will not be safe. Never drink so much that you don't know what's going on around you."

Soul just wanted to become a part of his chair right now. He sank back in his seat, unable to say anything because the only thing that his mouth could produce right now was unintelligible crap.

"Do you understand?"

"Yes," Soul replied meekly, hoping Maka would become worried enough to come back for him.

A week had passed since that harrowing hour with Spirit lecturing Soul about how not to get his daughter pregnant. If he had to guess, Soul would assume some deep-seeded issues from Spirit's own teenage years made him act so weirdly. Whatever made the Deathscythe go all here-let-me-give-the-talk-about-the-birds-and-bees -but-not-quite, Soul was just happy it was over.

Their friends, much to both of their surprise, reacted to the big reveal a lot more calmly than expected. Well, as calm as their friends could be. Tsubaki was happy for them, Kid congratulated them and Patti began to sing a bawdy song about what Soul and Maka were doing on a tree, which ought to be impossible to do in one. Liz had hugged them fiercely, shouting "Finally!" only to tell them how much of a hell it had been to keep secrets from Kid and Patti. Black*Star had been the least enthusiastic one. He had eyed them warily and pulled Soul aside after the others had been distracted enough.

The blue whirlwind of stupidity and god-complexes had slapped him on the shoulder, indiscreetly congratulated him how Soul was getting some now, only to have his jovial facade slip.

"Iwillcrushyournutsifyoumakeawrongmoveandenduphurtingher, bro," Black*Star had said, his grin wide and murderous and strained.

It wasn't like Soul needed Black*Star to tell him not to hurt Maka. As if he'd honestly want to hurt Maka.

"Soul?" Maka said, voice quiet and meek, pulling him out of his thoughts. "Can we talk?"

His eye twitched. "Please, don't tell me that─"

"No, I'm not breaking up with you." She pursed her lips and crossed her arms, glaring indignantly, only to roll her eyes later. She seated herself next to him, her legs folded beneath her as she made herself comfortable. Now he was curious after that little heart attack she gave him. He still wanted to bitch at her for coming at him with a type of the notorious We Need To Talk line. How could he not expect some kind of imminent heartbreak after that?

As smoothly as this whole official couple thing was going so far, there was still that lingering doubt in his heart, that she might never love him back, that...he shook his head, bored eyes focusing on her fidgeting hands and then on her face.

"What is it, Maka?"

She bit her lip, distressed and uncertain before she forced the words out of her mouth in a single breath. She bowed her head, the tips of her ears tinting red. He blinked dubiously.

"I didn't get anything you said. Could you...repeat that?" Maka groaned loudly, slumping against his chest. His hands unconsciously wrapped around her, patting her back.

"Urgh, I don't want to repeat it!"

"Looks like you have to or we won't be having this conversation."

"I know. Fine!" She sighed and sat up more straightly. "Soul, I was thinking that...maybe, maybe try something else?"

"Huh?" Before he could say more, she was already blabbering, embarrassed and determined at once to get it all out.

"I mean try something out new during sex-oh, don't give me that grin, Soul."

He couldn't wipe the grin off his face even if he tried; instead he waggled his eyebrows, unabashedly invading her personal bubble. "Oho, what kind of new things were you thinking of?"

Her lips twitched, her smile small and gone in an instant. She blushed prettily and gave him that coy little look from beneath her eyelashes. She bit her lip and he found his throat turning dry.

"Well, I was thinking about─" her flush deepened, and she started to fiddle with her fingers, adding with a slightly wavering voice, "bondage?"

His tongue felt too thick for his mouth, like cotton, as he gulped. It was embarrassing how this was already enough to affect him, his dick twitching treacherously. He willed himself to keep a calm head. He couldn't believe it, couldn't fathom how this woman found new ways to make him happy.

"I mean, I'd not want any hard stuff, just some...light bondage. And we could take turns...if you want," she muttered meekly.

"Sounds good to me," he said gruffly, his imagination already providing him some delightful pictures of things to come.

"Great!" She clapped her hands together happily, smiling brightly, relieved. And then her eyes sparked they usually did whenever she was about to start homework or take an exam, confident about her success, determined to ace all the exams. He didn't quite know what to think about being looked at as if he was a lot of work to get through. Oh, who was he kidding. He loved it and he couldn't wait to try all of her new naughty ideas out. "First, we need a safe word."

Soul choked on his spit before he regained his control. "Right."

"How aboutbananas?"

"What?" He stared at her, trying to gauge if she was being serious. Deciding that yes, she was indeed serious about making their safe word bananas, he let out a snort, chuckling a little. "You're sure about that?"

She pouted. "Well it has to be something that should be easily distinguishable from words that can be given a sexual meaning and context."

"And...you don't think bananas can't be given a sexual context?"

"What do you mean?"

He coughed, looking to the side when he said, "Well, just look at the shape and...yeah."

"Oh." She blinked, smiling teasingly. "Don't worry, I don't think I'd ever call your penis a banana."

The look he gave her was unimpressed at best. "Maka," he sighed, "It's a terrible safe word!"

"It's not!"

"It so is!"

"Do you have a better idea, jerk?" She crossed her arms, eyes blazing.

"Yeah, I do. Apples is one."

"Are you kidding me?! How is that better than bananas?"

"Anything is better than bananas."

"Urgh, you're impossible."