Spring Break
by. Poisoned Scarlett

"I don't get it," Black Star bluntly stated as he watched Soul slip his jacket on. He had been trying, don't get him wrong, he really tried except he simply couldn't understand why Soul was being so mushy about this one girl. Black Star had never let the thought of staying with a single woman, in a committed relationship, cross his mind. He had never stopped to think about it, truth be told, not until now. "What's so special about her? What makes her so different than all the other ones?"

Soul scoffed but didn't explain. He'd tried already and had been met with the exact same blank stare he was receiving at the moment. Black Star didn't have a single affectionate bone in his body; he was all for the no-strings-attached relationships, the easy ins and outs of life, always being admired and looked up upon. He came from a privileged family and although he'd always been neck-to-neck with his father, he had still had it better than most. But he had never been attached to someone, he had never allowed himself to. He didn't know how to fight for something like this quite yet, how would he ever understand what Soul felt for this girl?

"Plane leaves at nine, don't be late," was all Soul said. "I'll meet you there."

Black Star grunted and rubbed the back of his neck. He grunted again and Soul could see he was starting to get frustrated with whatever he was thinking about. He only lasted a few more seconds before he growled out loud and snapped fiery green eyes up at him, a deep scowl marring his face.

"I don't get it but I think you're making a huge mistake!" Black Star shouted at him accusingly. Soul ran fingers through his hair in exasperation. Kami and Maka would be waiting for him by a local landmark soon and he needed to leave now before he was late. But of course Black Star would find some way to ruin his mood by continuously bringing up the same topic. Soul heaved a sigh and turned to his friend again, sending him a look of bemusement.

"Can you just drop it?"

"Dude, you're moving like half-way across the US for a chick! You're practically leaving all your friends for this one girl!" Black Star argued, urging him to see reason. "How is this not a big deal?"

"Bullshit, you know I've been wanting to move for awhile now."

"Well, yeah... but I didn't think you were serious!" Black Star insisted. "I thought you were kidding!"

Soul rolled his eyes. "Too bad I'm not. Anyway, I'm out. I'll meet up with you here later, alright?"

"Soul, seriously, think about what you're doing! She's just some girl you met at spring break! For all you know, it won't even work out and then you'll be stuck over there forever!" he wailed, unable to comprehend how his disciple could be so, well, uncool. He was essentially leaving him, his best friend, for this chick! Black Star couldn't help but feel taken for granted. That was his bro, his best friend since high school, and to think he'd just leave someone as mighty as him for someone as scrawny and insignificant as that Maka girl! "Do you see the problem here?"

"Thanks for having so much faith in me," Soul dryly said. "It doesn't matter anymore, the transfer request went through. I'm going."

Black Star backtracked, stunned. "What? So you're going? Officially?"

"Yes," Soul said, with a tone of finality. "I'm moving."

"I'm not," Black Star told him coldly.

Soul stared and then sighed, perceptive enough to understand what was going on now. "Star, it's not like I'm never gonna' see you again because of this . Maka has another two years or so at that university and so do I. We'll be back in Shibusen before you know it."

Black Star didn't miss how he included her in the equation. "Then why go?" He demanded. "If you're just gonna' come back?"

Soul shrugged and shot him a wry grin. "Cuz I'm crazy?"

"Like a motherfucker," Black Star chuckled and Soul managed a smile, too. The tension lifted from between them and Black Star heaved a sigh but nodded approvingly at Soul.

"Good luck, man," Black Star grinned. He regained his cocky attitude and taunted him with: "But don't come cryin' to me when shit doesn't go the way you thought it would!"

"Just watch," Soul grinned back. "Later, Star."

"Lates."

And the door closed behind him.

When he envisioned them going on an official date, he didn't envision her mom wedged between them taking pictures of everything. And when Soul said everything, he meant everything as he dully snapped a picture of Kami and Maka standing behind some stupid clothing store. He would make a smart comment except, for once, he actually wanted to leave a good impression on her. The last thing he needed was Maka's mother hating him. Her father already hated him enough for them both.

Maka smiled apologetically in his direction, hurrying to her mother when she called her over to look at some sheets. Soul stood off to the side, hands in his pockets, watching both women with a halfhearted smile. It wasn't that hanging out with her mom wasn't cool, because it wasn't, all things considered, it was that today was their last day together and he'd really wanted it to be somewhat special. He didn't think he'd get another lucky chance to see her sometime in the near future, at least not until his transfer request went in, which it had, thankfully.

Ah, his transfer request.

That was why he wanted to get Maka alone today, so he could tell her and hopefully not ruin his chances at everything by taking thus huge leap. He'd been thinking about it for a while now and he'd browsed various universities in his spare time before he met Maka. Maka only made his transfer the more desired. But it would still be awkward if she was disappointed by it. After all, he'd now be going to her university. But if she wasn't, things would look up, Soul told himself. Hopefully she'd be happy about it.

"Soul! Hey, Soul, come here! Look!" Maka cheerfully called, waving him over.

"What?"

"Seashells! Do you think your brother will want one?"

"Seashells?" Soul wandered over to her, belatedly remembering the lie he told her earlier during their Spring Break to spend more time with her. Regardless, a grin broke on his face. "Probably. When will you give it to him, though? He told me he was going back to work after the honeymoon."

"He is?" Kami interjected, curiously. She stood beside him now, camera in hand. "I thought he was going take a week off."

"He was but he already used up all of his vacation days," Soul explained. "So they decided to use up these last few he has during the honeymoon."

"Oh. I see," Kami hummed. Something caught her eye in the distance and she gravitated towards it, camera at the ready.

Maka beamed at him. "You can give it to him later! I'll buy it right now!"

"Nah, don't do it. Seriously, he doesn't deserve it," Soul grinned when Maka cut him a look, punching his shoulder softly. He lowered his voice. "No, I'm serious, don't buy it for him."

"Why not?" Maka whispered, matching his volume.

Soul debated lying again before he admitted: "I lied that time. He doesn't really collect seashells. Actually, he hates them. He hates the ocean in general."

"You lied?"

"Shut up!"

"But, why?" Maka hissed, conscious that her mother snapped her head at them when she said that.

Soul leaned away from her, shrugging awkwardly. "I…needed a reason to go with you on the boat."

Maka parted her lips when she realized just what he meant but was unable to say anything for her mother once again stole her attention. But she did manage to whisper sternly, "we'll talk about this later!" before she hurried after her mother, casting Soul one last look as she did.

"…I'm so not cool," Soul groaned pitifully at himself, hanging his head a little. "Why'd I have to say that? Now she's gonna' think I'm some weirdo…" But he reluctantly followed both women, making sure to stay a few steps behind them as they window shopped and talked. He was not in the way but Soul couldn't help but feel as if he was just by the suspicious, sometimes troubled, looks Kami tosses at him when he was in sight.

He really hoped he hadn't gotten on her bad side already.

He knew this was bound to happen. She had been looking for an excuse to talk to him for hours now, what better time than when her daughter wondered into an antique bookshop with the promise of being out soon? They both knew it would be awhile before Maka finally found her way back to the entrance and she'd have things to bring with her when she finally did, too. He would have followed Maka, however, into the depths of that hellhole had the mother of said girl not crooked a finger at him, her smile friendly but stern.

He was internally shitting it.

He really couldn't screw up now.

"So, you're Soul!" Kami Albarn began when he shuffled over to her, her strained smile only making him believe he wouldn't be in good graces with either parent. He supposed it could always be worse: Maka could always hate him. Kami patted her hands of dust on her thighs, turning back to face the boy whom her daughter liked quite obviously. The boy who possibly liked her daughter back, given the amount of staring he did when he thought no one was looking. "That's a strange name for a boy."

"Oh, yeah, my grandma named me," Soul explained, rather embarrassed she called him out on his name of all things. At least she hadn't mentioned his appearance yet. "I hated my name when I was younger."

"Why? Did people teased you about it?" Kami asked with sympathy.

"Yeah, kind of," Soul grinned wryly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I got over it when I entered junior high. It just wasn't worth the effort. It's my name, I can't change it and even if I could, I wouldn't. I've come to terms with it."

"That's great, very good…" Kami trailed off for a moment. She gathered her wits and asked: "What are you studying, Soul? Maka tells me you're attending Shibusen University. That's quite a university. I attended, once."

"Really? That's pretty cool!" Soul smiled, shoulders relaxing the slightest bit. She wasn't being openly aggressive yet. Perhaps she was just measuring him up? He hopes he didn't fall below her standards for her daughter anytime soon. "I'm double-majoring: music with computer science. Maybe sometime later I'll get a minor in jazz studies. Not sure yet." Probably not, Soul thought dully. This cocky decision to double-major was already euthanizing him.

"Oh, really?" Kami's brows rose, quietly impressed. He didn't strike her as the type to apply himself to his studies. "Wow, you must like music a lot!" Kami suddenly laughed, remembering something. "Maka is horrible with music. I remember once I paid for some cello lessons for her when she was younger…"

"How'd that go?" Soul smirked, already having an idea.

"Horrible!" Kami giggled, fondly. "She always complained it was too big for her, that it always fell when she tried to play. She actually let one fall and broke it..."

Soul chuckled.

"I enrolled her in ballet classes instead. She turned out to be very light on her feet. So I ended up enrolling her in self-defense classes, then karate and tai-kwon-do!" Kami continued very airily and Soul's smile grew. So that was where she got the abnormal strength, Soul thought while Kami continued to rant about all of those classes Maka took when she was younger and just how adept she was in the art of ass-kicking.

"Alright," Kami exhaled after she realized she was getting carried away, stealing Soul's attention once more. "Enough with the small talk, let's get to the real reason I brought you over here before Maka comes back."

Soul swallowed.

"I take it you like my daughter in a manner that is less than platonic," Kami paused to gauge his reaction. But he nodded, sincere. "And she likes you." He nodded again. "Now, Soul. You're not a bad guy, I can see that. Sure, I thought you were a delinquent with the…white hair and the teeth."

"They're natural," Soul muttered, flatly.

"She told me that," Kami told him quickly, not meaning to offend. "I didn't believe it at first until I saw your brother. But… you live far away – much farther than a town over. It takes approximately 3 hours by plane to arrive to our small town, days by car."

He knew where she was going with this and he was happy to say he already had a solution for it!

"I'm not a real believer in long-distance relationships and I really don't want Maka to be holding onto someone who she'll only be able to see once or twice every year—!"

"Pardon me, Kami," Soul interrupted before she could go off on a tangent. He remembered his manners at the last second; his brother would have literally shed tears of joy if he had been there for that epic moment. "But I have a solution for that. I wasn't planning on telling her until it actually happened but I got my confirmation email this morning, so I might as well. Shibusen agreed to allow me to transfer to Maka's university for the fall semester."

Kami's eyes bulged. "What? You're transferring? But, why? Shibusen is a top-notch university! If Maka and I had the wherewithal to enroll her there, she would be on the first plane ride there!"

"Look, I know you went there once but, honestly, Shibusen isn't my kind of school," Soul admitted. "It's way too big. Hell, each of my classes has at least three hundred students. The professors don't know my name, they only know me as the 'genetic wonder' because of my teeth and hair," he muttered, bitterly. "I checked out Maka's university before I left because I had been planning on transferring, anyway. It's small, has all my majors, there's a 15:1 student-teacher ratio. It's got a good reputation, and it's way cheaper than Shibusen."

Kami gave him a measured look. "Maka will be attending Shibusen for her graduate studies."

Soul lazily smiled. "I'll be sure to give her a tour of the place when she transfers. It's huge."

After a second, Kami smiled warmly. She looked back to Maka, who was now stumbling out of the bookstore with a bag full of books in her arm. She was counting her change with some difficulty, stuffing the bills in her pocket when she was done. She was sufficiently distracted, for now at least.

"Alright, alright," Kami chuckled, smiling kindly at Soul. "You better not be lying to me about this transfer business. I don't want Maka to be dating a chronic liar." She warned, giving him a look that belied the consequences if she discovered such traits in him. She must have heard when he confessed to Maka that he lied in order to hop aboard with her on the boat. At least she hadn't jumped to conclusions, Soul thought with relief. That automatically made her cooler than Maka's dad.

Soul grinned toothily, giving Kami a gander at some of his 'genetic mishaps'. Handsome the boy may be but Kami would never understand how her daughter could not be frightened of those teeth. "Yes, ma'am!"

"Soul! Come help me with this!" Maka called, dragging out another bag of books from the store. "Help me carry them to the hotel so I could pack them into my luggage!"

"She's your responsibility now," Kami innocently sang, holding her hands up with a look of smugness. She turned on her foot, cheerfully shouting over her shoulder: "Don't take too long now, Soul, I want you both to come with me to dine at this restaurant I've been reading all about in the newspaper! It's Moroccan food, I hope you don't mind!"

Soul sighed. At least Kami had given him her blessing, it was best not to push it. "It's cool, Mrs. A."

"Good! And, for heavens sake, call me Kami! I'll at that store over there!" The blonde-haired woman waved, disappearing through a gaggle of women up the sidewalk.

"SOUL!" Maka snapped, watching her mother go. "Any day now!"

"Coming!" Soul sighed wearily, smiling lopsidedly as he went to help Maka with one of her piles of new books. "Why you gotta' be such a nerd?" He demanded with mock-seriousness, picking up a stack. "Crap, this is heavy."

"Suck it up," Maka told him and picked up her stack. "These are really good books and I need some for my Humanities class, anyway! They'll help me! I have a low A in that class..."

"Always thinking about school," Soul sighed. "Don't you think about other stuff?"

Maka smiled mischievously as he scowled down at the books in his arms. "Sometimes."

"Wow, no way!" Soul sarcastically mumbled.

"Mhm," Maka hummed back. She bumped her hip against his and whispered, with a devious curl of her lip: "Like how nice your mouth would look between my thighs."

"Really - really?" He suddenly asked, wide-eyed. He nearly dropped the stack of books with how fast he turned to her, all his attention reserved for her.

"No, because all I think about is school!" Maka scathingly shot back and smiled to herself when he groaned mournfully. She followed in the same direction of her mother, ignoring his grumbling at her awful ways the entire way.

Kami looked between the two as she ate, nodding at Soul when he gave her a meaningful look. Maka didn't catch the silent message, too busy trying to finish her meal as her mother and of course Soul had already finished with their own meals. Maka had always been a slow eater; she was slower than usual because Soul kept poking and distracting her the entire time.

"Are you almost done?" Soul asked, bored.

"No!" Maka growled.

"Honey," Kami spoke up, deciding now to be a good time to give them some alone time. She smiled reassuringly at Soul, who'd sat up straight when he heard her speak. The time to tell Maka of his new-found plans was slowly nearing. She reached into her purse and took out the right amount of money, laying it down on the table for them.

"I can pay for myself," Soul mumbled but Kami waved him off.

"It's fine, honey, I'll pay. I invited you to come along, it's my treat. Maka, I have to go pick up some things before we leave later tonight, are you going to take those books back to the hotel to pack yourself or do you want me to take some for you?"

"I'll just take them back myself, mama! Soul can help me!" Maka assured.

"I never said - !"

Maka gave him a frigid look and he sulked, deciding arguing about it would get him nowhere.

"Alright, I'll meet you at the hotel room in one hour, do you hear me? Or else we won't catch our flight. Just in case I don't see you, bye Soul. It was a pleasure meeting you." Kami gave Soul a look he nodded reluctantly to, saying his goodbye as well, before she left. Maka looked curiously at Soul but went back to eat when she found him looking somewhere else in apparent disinterest. In reality, he was taking deep breaths because it was a big to tell a girl he'd meet over Spring Break that he had transferred into her university because basically, yeah, it all boiled down to the fact that he liked her a lot.

"Hey, Maka..."

"Hm?" She looked up and the weighty words never made it past his throat.

"You got a little something here," he pointed at his chin and grinned when she flushed and grabbed her napkin to wipe herself off. "Relax, you got an hour. You don't wanna' get yourself sick or something. That's not cool."

"I'm almost done," Maka mumbled. She poked at her rice with her fork and looked at him, unable to help thinking that he looked like he wanted to say something. When she cocked her head at him, encouraging, he took a breath but only quirked a quick half-smile at her before tapping his fingers on the table and looking away.

"Do you know where Blair went for her honeymoon?" Maka asked, so the silence wouldn't seem too awkward.

"Cancun."

"Oh, really?" Maka smiled. Blair had always liked beaches, that was why she liked their town, which was conveniently located nearby a good-sized and healthy beach. She bet it was nothing compared to the beautiful beaches of Cancun and Maka found herself thinking it would be nice if she was taken to some place like Cancun. An exotic place, a place worth touring. She was lost in these dreamy thoughts while Soul thought up a way to tell her. He didn't want to mess this up, it needed to be executed correctly in order for it work.

"I'm done!"

Soul tensed but nodded, standing up and watching her wave the waiter over to pay. He picked up a pile of her books as the transaction was made and Maka received the change.

"Do you want help with that?" Maka asked, as Soul had taken her pile as well.

"Yeah, I think I'm going to break my back."

"Very funny," Maka rolled her eyes and slipped some books off the pile in his arms. "Let's go drop these off in the room, then we can go somewhere. Is that fine?" Maka asked him, smiling wanly when he nodded and they both made their way to the hotel. The hotel was close to the restaurant that they needn't take a taxi. But the walk was silent, both stewing with thoughts of the other leaving in only an hours time. Maka nearly regretted stepping foot into the room and packing her books into her luggage, if only because with each book packed it made the situation more real.

Soul was having similar thoughts.

"Done!" Maka announced, blowing out a breath.

"Where do you wanna' go?" Soul asked, demurely.

Maka looked at the clock and felt her heart clench. She only had around half an hour before she was due back in the suite. Maka would bet that her mama was already done with whatever she needed to do and on her way to the suite. It would be no use trying to go anywhere by now, they wouldn't be able to enjoy anything. Maka decided, as she looked at Soul, it would be better to just spend these last precious moments with Soul in the room. She extended her hand to him and Soul took it, allowing himself to be pulled on the bed.

Maka laid on her side, holding his hand between them.

"You just wanna' lay here? I have no problem with this," he grinned and she giggled.

"We wouldn't be able to do anything if we left right now," the light in her eyes dulled and his grin faltered. "Mama would be mad if we're late...when does your flight leave?"

"About two hours after yours," Soul answered.

Maka dropped her eyes back down to their twined hands. She didn't think she'd him again, here she was doing rather well without him. But then he had to drop back into her life and make her realize she would've been lying to herself if she said she was fine. Liz would never believe what happened when she went back home, and she'd probably curse Soul because her mood would be in the dumps for awhile. Liz did curse Soul at one point because Maka hadn't been as cheery as usual until much later...

"What's with that face?"

Maka buried it a little more into the sheets.

"It's not cute."

"Shut up."

Soul grinned. "Uncute."

"Shut up!" Maka growled, kicking him.

"That was even more uncute, and uncool!" He added when she kicked him again, harder this time.

"Shut up!" Maka sighed, not as fierce as before. She flipped on her back, pulling his hand until it rested on her stomach. "I'm just thinking that in an hour I have to leave."

Soul heaved a sigh. "Yeah, but..." He hesitated when Maka turned to look at him with those big green eyes of hers. He flipped on his back as well. "It's not all that bad."

"How?"

"Well," he shrugged. Here went nothing. "It'd only be for a little while."

Maka furrowed a brow. "No, it wouldn't. We'll be in school, it'd be until next year. The next spring break unless you decide to go elsewhere for that."

"Nah, only until fall."

"Fall -?" She sucked in a breath and Soul idly thought that this was it; this was when he finally told her and hoped for the best. "What do you mean...until fall?" She waited with baited breath as Soul said:

"That's when I start the fall term in Westerfeld University."

Maka's mouth fell open and she looked at him in shock. "You...you're transferring to my university?"

"Yeah, got my confirmation email this morning," Soul informed and laughed when she squealed and practically jumped on him in excitement. He was suddenly glad they were on a bed, as Maka squeezed the life out of him. He definitely believed she took all those defense classes in her youth: by the time she let him go, he was sure he'd have bruises within the hour. But for once he wasn't complaining about the marks left on his body from her abuse.

"But why would you transfer? Shibusen is such a good school!" Maka frowned. She hesitated and said, quietly, "If it's because of me..."

"No! Not really. It's way too big," Soul explained, hastily when she narrowed her eyes. "And the professors are pains, like this one called Stein. He's psychotic, I hate his class. I've always wanted to go to a small university, too, but my parents didn't like the idea. They said I had to at least give Shibusen a shot first. So I did and I still don't like it. So they let me transfer over here," Soul smirked at her bright eyes. "So you'll see me again in the fall for a while. I'm moving over there. I'll probably rent an apartment like I did when I went to Shibusen."

"I can't believe it! You're going to stay!" Maka squealed, hugging him again excitedly. "You'll love my university! The professors there are really nice and we have a lot of outdoor activities!" As she rambled the details of what he was getting himself into, Soul's thoughts wondered back to what this meant for them both. He wasn't leaving, there really was no reason to keep this shaky friendship with her. They could both take it to another level, finally. He tightened his arms around her and she slowed until she quieted, as if she now realized what this meant.

"You're moving," Maka restated.

Soul nodded.

"I...is Kidd coming with you, too?"

"Not sure," Soul replied. "He said he'd think about it."

Maka nodded, saving this piece of information for later. She shifted until she was looking at him. They stared at each other for a few seconds, practically having an entire conversation, before they came to a mutual agreement and their mouths met to seal it. The heavy luggage that sat on the bed nearly fell over the edge when Soul pushed it out of the way, crawling on top of her as their mouths moved together fiercely. Her hands reached up so her fingers could tangle in his hair and Soul finally got to touch her hips, her strong thighs. They'd been taunting him for this entire trip; no one could understand just how relieved Soul was that he would be able to call this girl - all of this girl - his.

"Mmph, Soul, my mom!" Maka muffled out but he covered her mouth with his again and massaged her breast with his hand to take her mind off it. It worked for a few minutes but not long enough for him to convince her. "Soul! Mama's going to be here soon!"

"She's not here right now, is she? We've got a couple minutes.." He mumbled, slipping his hand down her panty line.

She squealed and squirmed, inhaling sharply when his fingers slipped between her slick folds. He chuckled. "Soul, if mama walks in on us..." Maka whispered warningly but groaned when he managed to slip two fingers inside of her. Her back arched and she moaned, starting to pant as his teeth bit into her neck. She let him push one of her legs out, allowing his fingers to do their thing while he laid open-mouthed kisses on her neck. She tensed when he pulled her panties down to her knees and he shifted until he was straddling her.

"I'm completely down for a quicker right now," Soul looked at her with some hope but she only shook her head, shutting her eyes to avoid looking into his. She couldn't cave for this one; she simply couldn't risk it. But he made it hard. His methods for convincing her...were rather convincing, as his tongue parted her lips and he kissed her deeply. She hadn't even known he was fitted snugly between her thighs until she felt the evidence of his arousal press against her slick entrance. She gripped his shoulders, massaging her thumbs into his bone while her self-restraint quickly chipped away. He'd been pulling his zipper down when the front door creaked open.

Maka shot up so fast her forehead hit Soul's.

"Sonofa - !"

"Get off me, you idiot!" Maka hissed, shoving him off her. She winced when he nearly fell off the bed and she clamped her thighs together, an uncomfortable slipperiness between them. She hastily reached down to pull them back up, rather embarrassed she'd nearly let Soul have his way with her. But there was no time to excuse herself to the bathroom for her mother walked into the bedroom and expressed a blink of surprise at the sight of them. Her eyes went from Maka, who smiled anxiously from the edge of the bed, to Soul, who glared at Maka, rubbing his forehead while he was at it. He quickly closed his legs so she did not see anything she didn't need to ever see in her life.

"You're back early," Kami commented, breaking the awkward silence.

"We spent a lot of time packing!" Maka explained hastily, gesturing to the luggage that finally fell over the edge of the bed. Maka twitched and Soul snorted, sure that her mother wasn't buying anything. She was already giving him a displeased look. "So we decided to stay since we wouldn't be able to go anywhere! Oh and guess what mama?" Maka added, brightening up instantly. Kami smiled warmly as her daughter excitedly told her that Soul would be moving into their town and attending her university. Kami stole a glance at Soul, who smiled crookedly at Maka's excitement, before an idea hit her.

"Soul," Kami called, frowning. "Are you going to dorm in the university or will you be getting your own apartment?"

"I was thinking about getting an apartment. That's how I did it when I was at Shibusen," Soul told her.

Maka cringed and Kami followed soon after.

"...What?"

"The apartments by the university are really badly taken care of," Maka told him.

"And they're more expensive than they're worth, around six hundred a month and sometimes they don't even have running water..." Kami muttered, moodily. "Do you have a car or something? The better apartments are further away but they're worth every penny!"

"I've got a motorcycle," Soul offered.

"A motorcycle?" Kami stared at him, expressionlessly. She looked at Maka, who looked at Soul with wide emerald eyes. "You better not be thinking about taking my daughter somewhere with it."

Soul lied: "Of course not. Walking is, uh, healthy?"

"I've never been on a motorcycle before..." Maka wondered.

"And you're not getting on one, either!" Kami decided firmly. Soul inwardly snorted as the overprotective mother briskly explained the risks of owning one and Maka looked at Soul with that same curiosity. He grinned suggestively at her and the silent decision that he would take her somewhere on it one day passed between them before Kami ordered them off the bed and into the living room because she needed to pack, too.

"She's all talk, she won't do anything to you," Soul whispered convincingly as they walked out of the bedroom.

"I wouldn't underestimate my mama!" Maka warned. "She keeps her promises."

"I won't let you die!" Soul scoffed. "I've been riding since I was sixteen. You'll be fine."

"Accidents happen," Maka hummed.

"Quit being so depressing, it's uncool," Soul scolded and smiled when she flicked his arm but let it wrap around her shoulders as they both sat back on the couch and waited for Kami to finish up. It would be fine, Maka told herself, she wasn't one to give up on what she started and Soul could be as stubborn as she could if he wanted. He would be moving to her town, they had more than enough time to really get to know each other. Her mother even approved of him to some extent, Maka smiled to herself, that was a good start.

Beside her, Soul was having similar thoughts.

Black Star didn't know what he was talking about.

"Do you think Kidd will transfer, too?"

"Nah, he'll probably stay at Shibusen."

"Liz is going to be so depressed about that, she really liked him..."

"Liz? You mean the short blonde one?"

"No, the tall one with the long hair!"

"...Then who's the short blonde one?"

"Her sister!"

"Oh, shit."

"What...oh my god..." Maka stared at him and he stared back but she'd already seen his surprise. "He didn't! He isn't like that! Is he?" Maka gasped when Soul grinned, shrugging and not about to go leaking confidential information about his friend. "That bastard! I can't believe it! Liz is going to be so mad when she finds out!"

"I think she already knows."

"But he cheat...oh. Oh."

"Yeah," Soul let that sink in, patting her arm when she squealed in horror and buried her face in his chest. "He's got it made."

They would be just fine.