Influence

Influence

Author's Note: I was bored and had a bunch of random ideas going through my head. I also haven't written a Soul/Maka centralized fic in FOREVER. So here we go.

Maka is concerned with the way Soul spends his free time and who he spends it with. Confronting the situation can only go so well. *ONE SHOT*

Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater

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The bond between men was a fascinating one, but it could also be frustrating. They could hate each other one moment and go about their day as if they didn't just attempt the beat the living shit out of each other the next. In fact, depending on how close the male friendship was, the more concerned the female counterparts should probably be.

A bromance. That's what it was called right? It was disturbing really. A completely heterosexual love between two grown men that could make any self respecting woman jealous. Well if there was any one on Earth that despised this type of dreaded relationship, it was Maka Albarn.

She watched her partner and newly claimed boyfriend would act a fool with his best friend on more than one occasion. In fact, even if she wasn't around to witness their idiocy, she got to see the aftermath when he returned home with that idiotic grin on his face as he fell face first into her bed, too drunk or delusional to make it to his own room. She grimaced at the thought. Ever since he and Black Star stumbled across each other you would have thought they were soul mates. Sometimes she thought maybe they should have been partners, but Tsubaki freaked out the one time she mentioned it so the scythe meister kept those thoughts to herself.

All the same, Maka had hoped that maybe, as they got older, some of the maturity that Soul tried to exude would rub off onto his loud mouth, azure haired best friend and maybe they would go on less reckless escapades. Maybe even some influence from Kid would make the two come to their senses from time to time, however she was sadly mistaken. Black Star had a way about him that made the most composed being slip apparently. The young woman shook her head, allowing a defeated sigh escape as she walked along side her own close friend towards the cafeteria. Soul was off somewhere with Black Star now doing Shinigami knows what.

"Maka-chan are you ok?" Snapping from her thoughts, Maka looked at Tsubaki who smiled at her in mild concern.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine." The shorter girl answered swiftly, letting out an embarrassed laugh at being caught in such deep bitter thoughts. "I was just wondering what idiocy our partners might have gotten themselves into right now. They always seem to find themselves in some trouble when they're together lately." She huffed. Tsubaki let out a good natured laugh.

"I'm sure they're fine, Maka. Its lunch break and Black Star never misses a meal." She informed, pushing open the door to the cafeteria. Sure enough, in their usual spot, sat their usual group, lunches on the table yet Liz and Patty were nowhere in sight. Black Star and Soul were laughing loudly about something while Kid seemed completely flustered and annoyed. Maka frowned at the idea of what they put the Shinigami through. "Hey boys." Tsubaki chirped. Her miester whipped around and beamed up at her brightly.

"Hey, bout time you guys got here!" Black Star chirped back. A sly grin crossed his face. "You won't believe what Kid-"

"BLACK STAR!" The dark haired meister quickly bellowed as he stood up and slammed his hands on the table. "You shut the hell up about that right now!" he growled. By now, Maka and Tsubaki were watching in confusion while Black Star continued to grin widely and Soul's smile turned to a cool smirk.

"Relax, Kid. It's just Maka and Tsubaki. C'mon, they're going to find out anyway." he said, resting his chin in the palm of his hand continuing to smirk with entertainment. Kid's scowl deepened.

"What exactly did you idiots get into now?" Maka asked, looking at the three suspiciously. She took a seat on the other side of Soul while Tsubaki took a seat on the other side of the table next to Kid. Their Shinigami friend seemed conflicted with entrusting the girls with his latest dilemma but clearly it the news would be told even if it wasn't from his mouth… especially based off the wide grin on Black Star's face.

"I… I've done something completely idiotic…" The golden eyed meister began in a low voice. Tsubaki had blinked in confusion and leaned forward in her seat to hear better. Black Star and Soul had even stopped snickering. "I- last night- Liz…"

"Liz? Is everything ok?" Tsubaki asked swiftly. Kid's face had reddened swiftly and he buried his hands in his face.

"I'm complete and utter filth! I blame this all on you Black Star!" he bellowed, causing the assassin to beam further if possible. Both Maka and Tsubaki stared in wide eyed confusion.

"I don't understand." Said Maka, looking at her entertained boyfriend in confusion. "What did Kid do to Liz? Is that why she's not here right now? Is she ok?" she asked, turning back to Kid, whose blush was to a level none of them had seen before.

"Liz is more than fine, I'm sure." Soul finally answered, draping an arm over Maka's shoulder and pulling her closer to him. He leaned in to kiss her cheek before stopping his lips at her ear. Feeling the warmth of Soul's breath on her ear caused the scythe meister to stiffen and heart to race. They had only been together six months now and she still wasn't quite used to public displays of affection. Thankfully, however, Tsubaki was still distracted, trying to figure out what was being hinted at.

"Soul…" Maka started.

"Sex Dreams," Soul whispered suddenly and Maka whipped her head around, looking like a deer in headlights. Her partner, however, didn't seem to notice her confusion. "Sex Dreams. That's Kid's secret. Piece the rest together yourself." He then placed a kiss on her cheek and turned back to their friends. Kid's face had now gone back to its original color but he still seemed bothered. Black Star was standing behind Tsubaki, arms wrapped around her shoulders and cheek near hers. The pair weren't officially together, but Maka and Soul both knew they had recently given in to temptation. Black Star was either too simple minded to announce it or Tsubaki was too oblivious to the possibility of just being official. While Tsubaki held a pleasant smile in place, she kept darting her eyes at Kid while Black Star went on about weekend plans. Clearly the assassin took the time to fill his partner in as well.

"But seriously, Kilik's already found an amazing place for us this Saturday," Black Star's voice broke through Maka's thoughts. "Paintball! It's gonna be amazing!"

"All the guys are coming, right?" Soul asked.

"Of course! It wouldn't be a guy's night out without all the guys." Black Star answered. "Kid, your place is still cool to crash at afterwards, right?"

"Of course, as long as we keep the noise to a minimum this time. Patty isn't too pleasant when she's woken up." Kid answered. "I'm certain you remember the last incident." The boys began laughing, chattering about their upcoming plans, until it all hit home what exactly was happening.

"Wait, hold on!" Maka cut in swiftly. "You guys have plans this weekend?" she asked and turned on Soul. "You guys hang out every day!" she snapped. All three males stared at her blankly.

"Well yeah," Soul started. "But guys night means no girls."

"Which is why we're going to go to a paintball course." Black Star added. "Get over it, Maka. Don't you see enough of Soul as it is? Loosen the hold, man." He said, still hanging with his arms loosely around Tsubaki's shoulders and receiving a glare from his fellow meister. Honestly, he and Tsubaki being official would do wonders… then at least the chain scythe would have more say in what the ape boy did on his weekends. Maka glowered further.

"You guys spend just about every weekend together. Not only that, but when Soul comes home, he smells like alcohol. You're 17 years old! Where the hell are you getting alcohol from?!" Maka snapped, pointing an accusing finger at Black Star. The assassin pointed a finger back at her knowingly.

"Clearly you don't know much of the activities in your own household." He retorted and stood up straight while Maka gaped back in outrage. "Either way, suck it the hell up cuz we're going paintballing tomorrow."

"Black Star!" Tsubaki chastised but he ignored it as he dropped into the free seat next to her. Shaking her head, the dark haired weapon turned to her scowling friend. "Forget about it, Maka. We can make our own plans tonight. Just the girls!" she offered brightly. While it all made sense to take up the offer and maybe just give Soul the cold shoulder for the next few days, Maka wasn't necessarily thinking clearly. She was getting tired of allowing Black Star to have control over how her boyfriend's free time was being spent. Tsubaki didn't have much of a say in her partner's way of spending his weekends. Though Maka was certain based off of how the chain scythe might say it, Black Star would definitely drop everything to be with her, the dark haired beauty didn't seem willing to use her womanly ways to that advantage. The scythe meister grimaced. If the two stopped beating around the bush and officially got together that would be way more productive.

"So we should probably get an early start then," Kid was saying, shifting the contents of his once abandoned lunch. "I was thinking 8 would be the perfect meeting time…"

"That's super early!" Black Star whined.

"Yeah man, I won't be up that early. On a Saturday no less." Soul added. "Let's try noon. Enough time to get lunch."

"That works for me." It had left her mouth before she knew it and all eyes fell on Maka. "I mean I'm completely caught up on studying and paintball sounds totally fun. Maybe the other girls can come and we can do guys against girls." She said, ignoring Kid's confused face and Black Star's outraged one. Leaning towards her, Soul cleared his throat uncertainly.

"Maka… are you sure?" he whispered.

"Yea, Maka. It's not something everyone is cut out for." Kid informed, a look of concern crossing his face. Not looking up from her lunch, the young woman nodded decisively.

"I don't see what's so hard about paintball. I mean if Black Star can do it." She scoffed giving the ninja a pointed look. He only rolled his eyes in return before turning to his partner.

"It was supposed to be guys only, but since Maka wants to be a party pooper, you wanna come too?" he asked. Tsubaki nodded, a sweet smile on her face.

"And I might as well invite Liz and Patty." Kid added, pushing himself up from his seat. "I've got business to tend to so I'll leave it to you guys to tell Kilik and the others the new plan."

"Yeah sure, man. We'll see you later." Soul answered with a wave. The Shinigami nodded, ignoring Black Star's teasing follow up comment and made his way out of the cafeteria. Maka continued to ignore the calculating look her boyfriend gave her as she discussed with Tsubaki the new weekend plans. She knew what the look he was giving her meant, but she would be damned if she continued to be second best to Black Star.

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Their Saturday morning had been an uneventful one. Well at least uneventful for them. Between Blair smothering Soul with her breasts, a couple acts of morning violence, and a good hour of the cold shoulder, Soul liked to think the morning had started off simply enough. So when they arrived at the paintball range that early afternoon, he couldn't help but to glance to the side at his headstrong girlfriend as she looked around in shock at the area they would be running through. Kilik and Ox had gone all out to find a place worthy of their "skills" for lack of a better term, and had managed to find what looked like an indoor jungle. Black Star could be seen nearly ready to explode with excitement while Tsubaki seemed just as apprehensive as Maka.

"You have got to be kidding me." Liz grumbled, crossing her arms and frowning. There were mostly men in the building, dressed in fatigues and guffawing about all types of adventures. There were some women, though in the company of men or scary looking women. For the most part, the eldest Thompson was clearly in no mood to get down and dirty and simply came for her meister and younger sister's sake. Patty was more than excited to say the least.

"It's going to be fun, girls. Just relax." Kid offered. The group was still waiting for Ox, Harvar, Jackie, and Kim to arrive and Kilik was taking care of the arrangements.

"So how exactly are we doing this?" Maka asked, tearing her eyes away from a group of guys who just came through double doors from the range, laughing, some limping, and covered in different colored paint. "They give us something to wear, right?" Soul chuckled, draping an arm over her shoulders.

"They take care of just about everything… You're not getting nervous now, are you?" he teased. Maka scowled up at him.

"No, I'm fine." She snapped back at him. Soul only chuckled and waved as the remainder of their friends entered the building. Ox looked dejected, Kim looked annoyed and both Harvar and Jackie seemed to be ignoring the pair.

"Hey guys, sorry we're late." Jackie greeted. "Ox held us up." All eyes fell on the sulking young man. While it was known he had no problem with Kim walking all over him, it seemed as though the pair had actually gone through a legitimate argument.

"Is he gonna be able to function?" Soul asked, raising an eyebrow. Harvar glanced at his partner and nodded.

"He'll be fine. Where's Kilik?"

"Checking us in." Kid answered, still taking in his surroundings. Or at least that's how he made it appear. Soul noticed the shinigami's eyes trained on his weapons, or more specifically, the eldest sibling, as she and her sister were chatted up by some seemingly charming guy that had approached them.

"Is he ok?" Soul glanced to his side at Maka who was watching Kid as well. "He's really distracted by her, isn't he?" she asked. Soul shrugged a shoulder.

"I suppose so… Course that could have easily been avoided if this trip had remained guys only, you know." He informed and looked at his girlfriend pointedly, a pink blush appearing on her cheeks as she lowered her eyes and muttered something under his breath.

"Hey, everyone's here!" The couple turned from each other as Kilik came over, a wide smile on his face. "Great, so I'll only have to say this once! We're doing this on teams today!"

"Awesome!"

"What?" Maka looked at Soul who had high fived Black Star triumphantly. "Why teams?"

"Cuz there's an even number of us and it'll be more fun that way." Kilik answered, handing six wristbands to Black Star and six to Kid. "You two are team captains." He informed. Maka's face fell even further. What kind of conspiracy was this?!

"Awesome! I've got an even better idea then." Black Star informed with a mischievous grin. He waved Kid over while Maka narrowed her eyes. She noticed that Kid didn't seem at all outraged at anything the assassin was whispering to him which made the female meister even more nervous. The pair turned around, Black Star still grinning like an idiot and Kid still stoic as ever.

"Alright, for my team I want Soul, Tsubaki, Patty, Ox, and Jackie." The Shinigami spoke easily.

"And I'm taking Kilik, Liz, Kim, Harvar, and Maka." Black Star added, ignoring the outraged look that crossed the scythe meister's face or the confused looks from Tsubaki and Liz.

"Any rules?" asked Soul as he stood with his team, Patty cracking her knuckles with a dangerous grin on her face.

"Losing team has to be slaves to the winning team for a week." Black Star answered.

"No way!" Half the girls snapped.

"Deal." The boys all agreed earning outraged looks from their female counterparts. What kind of sick game was this turning into?

"To be fair, each time does have a member who is a professional in either gun use or stealth," All eyes shifted to Liz, Patty, Tsubaki, and Black Star. "So everyone has a near equal advantage at winning." Kid explained.

"So let the best man win." Black Star finished. While everyone made moves to get their paintball gear, Maka was plotting Black Star and even Kid's demise. Her plan was to spend time with Soul and somehow they still got separated on this completely reckless trip. She clenched her fists at her side and fought back the urge to snap the necks of the cackling assassin that stood a few feet away from her.

Did that moron really have that much influence?

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They all stood, fully prepared for the war about to take place and wishing each other the best before they would have to take their positions and rush forward to the war zone. Maka could see Black Star talking brightly to Tsubaki from a few feet away. Or was that flirting they were doing? Ugh, that idiot still even had her on his side. The scythe meister grimaced even further. Kid came walking up, face eerily serious. "Once we go beyond these doors its every man… or woman, for themselves." He spoke, catching not only the attention of his friends, but a few workers and patrons.

"Let's get it on!" Black Star cackled, thrusting his rifle into the air. The teams stood at the doorway that would lead them to their range, Maka fidgeting and glancing every so often at her friend's on Kid's team. Tsubaki seemed far too comfortable for someone so pleasant… but then again, she was Black Star's partner. She allowed her shoulders to drop.

"Don't worry," Soul caught her attention and he shot her a reassuring smile. "I'll make sure Patty goes easy on you guys." He teased and let out a laugh at her outraged look. Liz slung an arm over the meister's shoulders while shooing Soul away.

"Don't worry, Patty's a good shot, but she's not as focused as she should be." She said with a wink and stood up straight as instructions were called out. The worker was clearly over their work day, completely trailing off the rest of the directions due to Black Star's self obsessed chatter and simply pushed open the doors to their range and mumbled luck to them. Passing through the double doors, Maka had to control her jaw from dropping. Through the doors was what appeared to be an indoor forest. Glancing at the male members of their group, they all seemed pretty prepared for the setting and it was unnerving to see that not only the Thompsons but Tsubaki didn't seem too taken aback. In fact, they seemed equally ready for battle.

"Alright, so its agreed," Kid spoke up again, turning to his own group. "We will accept nothing less than victory." He spoke, his tone of nothing less than a leader.

"C'mon guys, lets kick their asses!" Black Star's cackle echoed as he gave a loud hoot, accompanied by Patty's own cheers and swears. Maka grimaced. What the hell had she been dragged into.

"Alright teams, are you ready?" A voice spoke over a crackling loud speaker. "You've got a forty five minute playing time." The voice drawled out.

"That's it?" Kilik whined.

"Remember to keep track of your bullets. Once you've run out, please return to the waiting zone until time has run out or your last team mate has arrived. Have fun, and please, no face shots." The speaker cut off with and a loud horn echoed. Maka blinked in confusion.

"Wait what if-"

"RUN!"

"SCATTER!"

"DIE MAGGOTS!" In a flash of flips, leaps, and sprints, everyone had scattered and paintballs began flying. Maka let out a shriek as one flew past her face, but was saved when Harvar grabbed her and pulled her along with him.

"Pay attention! The more hits we take the higher our chances of losing!" he barked, letting her go after running a safe distance. She glared, but continued to follow.

"How do you know how many hits you took?" she asked. Harvar patted his vest, one much like Maka's, while looking cautiously around. "There's a counter on the inside. It'll know how many bullets got you." He answered and waved her off. "It's better if we separate. We can take more out that way." He left the sandy haired meister without another word. Everyone was really into this. She had really gotten herself into something this time and all because she wanted to spend time with her boyfriend. Really? Was it really that much to spend a night with her? Did Black Star have that much control? There were cackles and yells heard echoing through the forest range but Maka found herself lost in her thoughts.

"Really though?" An arm shot out and pulled her into the trees. She wanted to scream, but a hand clapped firmly over her mouth. "Honestly, if this were war you'd be screwed." Soul let go of her and smirked as she turned swiftly and glared at him.

"What the hell are you doing, ambushing me like that?" she snapped. Soul's entertained smirk faded and he rolled his eyes, sitting easily on the ground and leaning back on his palms.

"You shouldn't be going around like a roaming target. Black Star is pretty ruthless in these games." He informed. Maka scoffed.

"I can take care of myself." She muttered. Soul raised a brow.

"Have you even fired a shot yet?" The weapon eyed her. "Doesn't even look like you've broken a sweat. Are you playing?"

"I'm getting use to my surroundings!" Maka snapped, annoyed with the questioning. Soul was silent, staring at her calculating.

"Why are you so stubborn?" He deadpanned, causing his meister to blink in confusion. When she realized where he was going with this however, she flushed and looked away childishly.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She muttered only for Soul to scoff. She turned to him with a childish frown, but he was peeking through the bush for any ambushes. He continued to speak, though not looking at her.

"You know you don't want to be here," He started. "At first I was kinda confused to why you even decided to subject yourself. I mean, none of the girls really cared. Liz would rather be getting her nails and eyebrows done, Patty just goes with the flow, Tsubaki is Tsubaki, and Jackie and Kim must clearly just be coming along because they were convinced." He started. Maka watched as he turned her attention back to her. There was something knowing about the way he was looking at her now. "And then it hit me,"

"What?"

"You're jealous." The words came out smoothly and while she opened and closed her mouth in a mixture of outrage and embarrassment, he couldn't help but to laugh. She scowled and clenched her fists at her side.

"Why the hell would you think something like that?!" she yelled and he quickly leaned forward and clapped his hand over her mouth to silence her. She became even more annoyed.

"Do you want to get caught?" he asked as more of their friends' laughter and screams filled the air. Slowly moving his hand, Soul leaned back with a knowing look on his face. "You can't hide anything from me, Maka. I know you're jealous and worst yet, you're jealous of Black Star." Her face turned a deep shade of red. Was he really going to try to call her out right there? She wasn't going to let him.

"Why don't you go out there and take this damn game seriously before I shoot you in the face." Maka growled, pointing her paint gun at her nonchalant boyfriend. Soul rolled his eyes all the same. Pushing the gun from his face, he continued to speak.

"What's your deal, really though? Why was it such a big deal to be here? You know we always have one day completely dedicated to guy stuff and you never had a problem before." Maka huffed.

"I don't understand why you need a day with just the guys if you spend nearly everyday with them as it is." She said in a low tone. Soul leaned toward her.

"What?" He was really trying her patience. Wasn't it obvious enough? Did he really not understand? "Maka, would you talk to me please? I mean, the longer we sit here the quicker someone is gonna catch on to-"

"I want you to myself!" She blurted out. There was a silence between the two, though some shouts were getting closer to them. Sitting on her knees, facing her partner with her hands clenched in her lap, Maka continued. She sucked in a breath and allowed herself to ramble. "You spend so much time with the guys, even if you come home with me at night. And Black Star is such a pain in the ass. It's almost like you care more about what he says than me. That idiot has a complete influence on where you should be as long as it's not with me!" She was frustrated and Soul noticed. Of course, it wasn't like he was a complete idiot. He let out a sigh, running his fingers through his hair.

"So it's like that huh?" he asked. Maka frowned even further and couldn't help but to flinch when Soul reached out and took her hands into his. He leaned towards her slightly and smiled faintly, probably because of the way her breath caught and cheeks began to darken. "I'm an idiot."

"I know." He chose to ignore the comment and continued.

"But you're my meister… and my girlfriend and you're supposed to come before any and everything else. I guess I kinda forgot. I've always so easily been able to do whatever I want without thinking I guess I didn't consider maybe you'd wanna hang out with me, just the two of us."

"It doesn't have to be all the time, I just would like to know that if we're watching a movie and your phone rings, you'll ignore Black Star for a couple more hours or maybe even pass on a day of basketball to do something I want to do."

"So long as it's not a day of chick flicks, museums, and libraries I think I can consent." Soul answered with a teasing grin and laughed when Maka gave him a shove. He reached out and pulled her to him. Rolling her eyes, Maka ignored her rising blush and smiled at him.

"I can't make any promises." She answered. Soul snorted and leaned in, pressing his lips to hers. No matter how many times they would kiss, her heart always seemed to skip a beat and she would always find herself lost in the moment. Like nothing else in the world seemed to exist.

"Ugh, not you guys too!" Pushing Soul away and ignoring his outrage cry, Maka turned swiftly to see a very disgruntled Liz standing over them in the bush. Behind her stood Patty, not a spot on her compared to her sister, standing next to Kid, who was covered. Maka scrambled to her feet.

"N-nothing was going on!" she squeaked, holding her hands out in front of her while Liz continued to glare accusingly. The blonde huffed all the same.

"This was a total waste of time." She muttered and pointed her gun and Soul, shooting the weapon in the chest.

"ARGH! What the fuck, Liz!" he howled. She flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"I needed to get rid of my last bullet and you looked like you could use another hit." She answered and started to walk away. "Next time we agree to all go out, let's do something where we can all keep our eyes on each other." She called over her shoulder. She walked away, Kid and Patty in tow as Black Star launched himself from a tree, Tsubaki close behind, her face red while her meister grinned. They were covered in a few more paintball marks than Liz.

"There you two are! The game's over." Black Star chirped.

"What do you mean it's over? We never heard the siren go off." Soul countered.

"I thought it goes off once the time runs out or all the bullets were gone?" Maka asked. There was a pause between the two males and they both lifted their guns swiftly, pointing them at each other. Maka let out a shocked squeak while Tsubaki let out a defeated sigh.

"Black Star, let's just go." She moaned.

"Not til I get rid of these last bullets." Her meister answered in a far too serious tone.

"You've still got bullets?" Soul asked and a smirk crossed his face. "I got side tracked talking to my girlfriend. What excuse does a trigger happy idiot like you have to still be holding bullets?" Black Star's grin widened.

"Got a little side tracked myself."

"Black Star!" Tsubaki squeaked and he looked over his shoulder at her innocently. "Wha- OW!" He howled and both he and Soul allowed themselves to unload the remaining paint pellets they had on each other.

"Idiots…" Maka muttered, walking ahead of her now limping boyfriend, alongside Tsubaki, as they met the others in the lobby.

"Bout time you guys got back." Kilik called out. No one had changed out of their uniforms showing some hint of damage done by each team.

"Who won?" Black Star asked, rushing forward and staring excitedly up at the screen displaying the two teams.

"Which team are you, Black Star?" asked Ox.

"Alpha Team, of course!" The assassin answered, puffing his chest out. They watched as numbers shuffled swiftly across the screen, the young adults staring anxiously. Kid's eye twitched at the odd number appearing on his team's score but nothing beat out sound of disgust that left Black Star when he realized they had lost by a single shot.

"Hell yeah!" Soul hooted and slapped his glowering friend painfully on the back. "It was a nice run, Star!" he scoffed.

"I want a recount!" The assassin declared but was easily ignored as the winning team began making their demands.

"Black Star, let's go home. I think I'd like a nice massage." Tsubaki chimed in sweetly. All irritation instantly left the egotistical male and he followed after her like a loyal puppy. It wasn't long before the others started making moves as well. They were sore from the day's activities after all. Soul turned to Maka and smirked.

"So, a week of whatever I want. This could be fun." He said with a teasing smile. He tapped his chin thoughtfully with a hum. "What should I have you do first? I mean, Black Star got a couple pretty tender spots with those damn bullets." Maka grimaced.

"You can't be serious?" she asked and Soul feigned pouting.

"Eh, but I thought part of coming along was to go with whatever happens today and you sure as hell didn't disagree with the bet." He informed and gave her a knowing smile. "Now then, how about we get home and maybe share a nice hot bath?" he suggested, ignoring his meister's now beet red face as he held out his hand to her. She huffed but took his hand all the same.

He was impossible, but at least he was hers.