Hello, hello, hello! Riika's back with yet another story.

Cat: Riika, haven't you written enough lately? Take a break or something. Play with me.

R (me): Shut up, Cat! I can't help it if I have a ton of stories in my head. If I don't write them now, they'll never get written.

Cat: Fine! I'll go find Raine then and play with him!

R: I don't care.

Cat's so needy sometimes. Moving on!

Disclaimer:: I do not own Soul Eater, Death the Kid, or anyone else! Otherwise there'd be clearly defined canon couples. Yeah. I also don't own Crying on a Suitcase by Casey James which gave me this idea, but it a really good song. You should listen to it sometime.

"42-42-564. Whenever you want to knock on Death's door."

The mirror glowed for a moment before the familiar face of Lord Death showed. "Hello, hello, hello! Oh, Soul Eater, what a surprise. Is there something I can-"

"Have you seen Kid?" the weapon asked, interrupting the reaper's usual introduction. Normally he'd let the reaper speak first, but he was in a hurry. He had to find Kid and tell him he felt the same way. He couldn't wait any longer, not with Kid in danger.

Lord Death seemed confused. "Not since a few hours ago. Is something wrong, Soul?" he asked, concerned.

Soul sighed in frustration. "No, nothing's wrong. I just need to talk to him," he answered, dejected.

"Soul!" the anger in the new voice caused him to flinch. He scanned the mirror and a second later Maka appeared beside Lord Death, scowling with her hands on her hips. He guessed if she could reach him she'd Maka chop him with her dictionary. "Where were you this morning? You didn't show up to say good-bye to Kid! He looked crushed!" she raged.

His crimson orbs widened in shock. "He left already?! Damn it he told me he wasn't leaving for a few days!" He raced away from the mirror, not bothering to respond to the shouts of his meister that followed him. Damn it all. Why did you lie to me? he thought angrily as he slammed the door open and ran out into the rain. It took him longer than he would have liked to get his motorcycle started. He hit the gas and didn't ease up on it once, blowing through every stop sign and every red street light as the scene from early that morning played over and over in his mind.

Soul was sprawled out on his couch, half asleep and waiting for his meister to return from a night out with the other girls in the group. He was finally slipping into unconsciousness when a loud ringing made him shoot up, surprised and suddenly alert. The ringing sounded again and he realized it was the doorbell.

He forced himself up and opened the door. He didn't know who he had expected to be there, but whoever it was, it wasn't who he found, as he found himself face to face with Death the Kid. "Kid? What are you doing here? It's almost one in the morning," he asked confused.

The reaper didn't meet his gaze and instead pushed past the weapon into the apartment. "I know it's late but I had to talk to you," he said quickly.

The albino could see the tension in the boy's shoulders and he shut the door quietly. "What did you want to talk about?" And why are you so worried about it? he added silently. He wasn't sure what was bothering the meister so much, but it made him feel uneasy. He hoped it wasn't something too serious, though he'd handle it if it was.

The ravenette hesitated a moment before taking a deep breath. "You know what? Never mind. This was stupid. It's not important anyways," he said, forcing a smile but remaining faced away from the albino.

Soul raised an eyebrow. "Is this about your mission in Peru?" It was silent for a moment and the reluctance to answer proved he had guessed right. "You can tell me anything you know," he added, just to reassure the other that he was willing to listen no matter what he had to say.

"I-I know! It's just that I..." he sighed, thinking over his words carefully.

The weapon could see the reaper was having trouble finding the right words. He decided it best to move on. "How long will you be gone?" he asked, simply to direct the failing conversation elsewhere.

Kid seemed to recover a bit from his nervousness. "A few months," he answered.

"When do you leave?"

"Soon."

"How soon?"

"A few days."

"Already? You just got the mission yesterday!"

"Y-yeah well... Dad wants it taken care of as soon as possible so..." he trailed off, trying not to stutter.

Soul nodded in understanding. "Are you worried about going alone? I mean, you refused to bring the girls with you. Can you handle it without them?" Curiosity masked his worried tone.

The raven haired meister laughed dryly. "I'm not worried about that. It's a simple mission, I don't need their help, that's all."

Liar, Soul thought, you know it's too difficult for you. You told the Thompsons to stay home so they wouldn't be in danger. You always take them with you on easy and difficult missions alike. It must be harder than I imagined. That's the truth, isn't it Kid? "That makes sense, I guess." He smiled, though it was noticeably fake.

Kid turned, finally bringing his honey-gold orbs to meet Soul's crimson ones. He shifted his gaze away again, unable to lie and face him directly. He stepped closer and straightened out the weapon's crooked shirt without meeting his curious gaze. "Soul?"

"Yeah?"

The sudden movement caught the weapon off guard and it took a few long seconds for him to register what had happened. By the time he did, it was over and he caught a glimpse of a blushing Kid rushing out the door.

The albino stood speechless for a moment longer before something clicked. He tore down the stairs after the reaper, hoping to catch up. He was panting hard as he pushed his way outside. It was raining but he didn't really care. He glanced around but he saw no sign of the black and white-haired boy anywhere. Which way did he go? he wondered.

He let out a disappointed sigh as he realized he was too late to catch him. He could have gone to the manor to talk to him if he really wanted to. But he didn't. He didn't know what he would say if he did. Instead he stood there, staring into the pounding rain after the grim reaper who'd gone without a word, leaving him with nothing but confused thoughts and the tingling memory of a sweet, strawberry-scented kiss.

The young reaper choked on a sob as he heard a woman's voice announcing the plane would be boarding in a moment. He stood with reluctance and took his place in line with the rest of the people, his ticket clutched tightly in his hand. A tear escaped, sliding down his cheek. He quickly wiped it away. Why am I crying? Because I'm pathetic, that's why. I couldn't even make myself stay to see his reaction. I ran away like a coward. The line began to move and he shuffled forward, dreading his turn. I'm sorry, Soul. I'm sorry for being a coward. I'm sorry for lying to you. I'm sorry for kissing you and probably ruining the friendship we've built. But mostly, I'm sorry I didn't get to say good-bye.

It wasn't until he pulled into the airport parking lot that he finally stopped. His bike skidded against the dirt and concrete until it had slowed enough that the albino could get off and there wouldn't be much damage. He ditched the machine and sprinted inside to the ticket counter, ignoring the long line of people beside him. "Which gate does the flight to Peru leave from?" he asked in a rush, breathless.

The woman behind the counter narrowed her eyes at him. "17, but it's too late to get a ticket. They've already boarded," she answered.

"Thanks!" He turned and ran through security, barely avoiding knocking over several people in the process. He didn't hear the angry shouts of the many people around him over the blood pounding in his ears. He glanced quickly at a sign in passing and headed away from where it was pointed.

He weaved his way through the crowds of people as quickly as he could. After several long, heart-wrenching minutes, he broke through to Gate 17 which, to his dismay, was deserted aside from the woman at the podium. He ran to the window and slammed his fist against the glass as he watched the plane move away from the building and onto the runway before taking off into the sky.

"I'm too late," he muttered, hopeless. He leaned against the wall, his knees weak, and sank to the ground, feeling tears sting his eyes. Why did you go? he wondered as silent tears streaked his cheeks. He brushed them away. Cool guys didn't cry. Maybe not, but guys in love do. The thought didn't help cheer him up at all, though, as he failed to stop the salty droplets from flowing.

A shadow moved over him and he guessed it was another person. "Are you okay?" a voice asked in a tone so quiet he didn't recognize it at first.

"Go away," he mumbled into his knees, which were pulled up to his chest.

"That's not very nice. You should choose more careful words when talking to a grim reaper." The albino could hear the smile in the other's all-too-familiar voice and he looked up with wide, teary crimson orbs.

A smile turned his lips upwards as he locked gazes with the honey-eyed boy standing over him. "Kid!" He tackled the raven-haired meister to the ground in a quick movement and hugged him close. He could feel curious eyes on them but he didn't pay them any attention as he breathed in the sweet scent of strawberries.

Kid let out a weak laugh, wrapping his arms around the weapon before bringing their lips together in a quick kiss. "Do you have a mirror?" he asked after a long moment.

Soul shook his head. "You can use the mirror on my bike if you want," he offered. Kid nodded and the two reluctantly pulled themselves up, remaining hand-in-hand as they walked to the parking lot where Soul had left his motorcycle.

Soul stood the black bike up and kicked the kickstand down so it could support itself. The side was scraped but it seemed otherwise okay. Kid was already writing the well-known numbers on the reflective glass. It glowed and a second later the smiling face of Lord Death appeared. "Hello, hello, hello. Oh, Kiddo, it's you. What's up?"

"There's something I thought I should tell you," he began awkwardly. Soul took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly but stayed out of sight. "I decided not to take the mission in Peru. You should send Stein or Justin to handle it."

The reaper looked confused but nodded. "If that's what you want, Kiddo. If I might ask, why did you change your mind?"

Kid pulled Soul into view and leaned against him. "I didn't want to be away from my... boyfriend for that long," he explained, hesitating before trying out the unfamiliar word. He felt his cheeks flush as he heard several shouts of "finally!" and "I knew it!" from the background.

"I see. Well, I'm glad you finally got that out Kiddo. I know you've been working up the nerve to confess for quite some time so congratulations," Lord Death said in an excited tone. He turned to look over his shoulder. "Spirit, you owe me $10!" he called.

Kid could just make out Spirit in the background with the rest of their friends. "What?!"

"Kid confessed first, so I was right!" Lord Death answered smugly.

Kid was glad to see Soul's cheeks were as red as his own probably were. "I'll see you at home then," he said, ending the call before his father could embarrass them more. The glass cleared and Soul pulled Kid into a tight embrace.

"Don't you ever do anything like that again. You scared me half to death," he whispered, gently stroking the young reaper's hair.

"I won't," he promised. He was sure now that he wouldn't be able to if he tried. Knowing he wouldn't have come back from that mission had been enough of a wake-up call to keep him from trying to do something stupid like that ever again.

"Now that you're in your right mind again, what do you wanna do?"

He shifted so he could meet Soul's curious gaze. "Hmm... How about a date?" he suggested.

The albino flashed him a crooked smile. "Sounds like fun," he agreed.

Kid closed the distance between their lips. The kiss was different from before, no longer hesitant and inquisitive, it was passionate and a fight for dominance that the albino easily won.

So what did you think? I like this version a lot better than the original version. The original was okay, but with a different ending and slightly different story sequence. If you guys want I'd be willing to post it as another chapter here. But I'm not going to if you don't want me to. So let me know.

And yes, I do think Kid would smell like strawberries, for some unknown reason.

Reviews and requests are loved~

I guess I gotta go find Cat before she rips apart my Raine *sigh*