Disclaimer: Same as ever, I own nothing.

Warnings: I am not, nor have I ever been, a teenaged boy. I've done my best to emulate Soul's tone for his internal monologue, but so as to avoid delving deep into politics, this is mainly his POV.

Currently rated for swearing. Will probably change in the "Eighteen" chapter.

Sixteen

"YAHOO!" Black*Star's yell resonated all around the street, making the glass of the store windows shiver. "Hey SOUL! Check THIS out!"

Soul rolled his eyes slightly as his friend yelled every other word at the top of his lungs, and hustled along through the glaring crowd of shoppers.

"Yo, keep it down," he muttered. "Half the street's giving us the stinkeye."

Black*Star wasn't listening. He shook a giant stuffed pink bunny at Soul. "Don't you think Maka would love it? It's a perfect gift."

Soul batted the offensive pink fluff out of his face. "Why the hell would you get her a stuffed rabbit?"

"Doesn't she like this crap?"

"Dude... we're in a toy store." Soul sighed.

"Well, what else should I get her? What are you getting her?" Black*Star tilted the bunny from side to side, examining it.

"Um," said Soul. He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down as he scuffed a shoe on the floor. He had a really good idea... he hoped. "A book or something."

Black*Star was mercifully oblivious to his discomfort. "That's an AWESOME idea!" He flung the rabbit backwards and sprinted down the street before the shelf crashed down.

"Sorry about him," Soul slouched to the counter as shocked children and their parents stared. He placed a few bills next to the register. "That should cover it."

He hurried after his friend, who had gotten distracted by a cafe. Oh, well. Authentic ramen wasn't something to miss out on. Soul slid onto the stool next to him and ordered. It wasn't too crowded, just three businessmen chatting over lunch.

"Man, it'll be so awesome to have a real party at Kidd's," said Black*Star.

The year after the battle of the moon hadn't been an easy one. Soul had sort of figured that Kidd would step into his father's shoes and everyone would be happy for a bit of peace and quiet. He felt like an idiot, looking back.

It turned out that a lot of people weren't ready to get on the bandwagon and follow Kidd. They thought he was too young, or too impulsive. They pointed out he had only just come into his power, that his alliance with the witches was a terrible idea, and that he was known for his crippling obsession with symmetry.

"Yeah, it's been a while," Soul agreed.

They both fell silent, pondering their friend. It had been a while since they'd even hung out at all, and longer since it hadn't been at some fancy dinner function with dull music and duller people.

The business men kept chatting, and Soul glanced toward them as their words started to register.

"He's not ready to take on this much responsibility. At the very least he needs more advisors."

"If you ask me, that boy shouldn't be in that position at all. Surely the DWMA has moved beyond inherited rulership."

"Really, he's called 'Kidd' for a reason. He's still a child, and he doesn't know a thing about leading others."

Apparently Black*Star heard them, too. "Shut the HELL up!" he yelled, on his feet so fast Soul missed the movement. "You think YOU can do better?"

The businessmen were staring, and so was the old man with the tray of ramen for the boys.

"Black*Star, dude, calm down," Soul said, trying to guide his friend back to the stool. "Look, our ramen's here."

"Stupid assholes," Black*Star growled.

"Yeah, I know, but we'll just make it worse if we pick fights with anyone who badmouths him. It'll make a mess with the politics."

"Politics SUCK," the ninja growled again, and finally picked up his chopsticks.

Soul hated hearing people talk about his friend like that, even if Kidd was a little weird. They all did. But they couldn't just run out and rough up every jackass who complained. It was all about politics now. He was with Black*Star on that front: politics sucked.

He really missed the old days when they were only dealing with evil souls and witches and crazy books.

Most of all, though, he missed Maka. She and Tsubaki had teamed up with Liz and Patti to try and help Kidd with all of the new rivals and critics rising all around. When she was around long enough to talk, it was all about the policies and the political factions, and the millions of things they had to do to handle every new situation that sprang up.

They hadn't had a normal conversation in weeks. Maka was on the fast-track to becoming a real advisor, and Soul knew how uncool jealousy would be. Kidd was throwing her a giant birthday party for her sweet sixteen now, and that was nice as hell, and it would be awesome if there weren't any politicians around. But still, something about it sort of bugged him.

He and Black*Star ate their ramen in silence. The businessmen were smart enough to keep their conversation quieter, but the mood in the little cafe was tense and dreary.

"Come on," Soul said, tossing some money on the counter for the bill. He knew Black*Star didn't have much, and if his family sent him a ridiculously large allowance, he could handle buying lunch for his friends. And the occasional shelf.

"Geez, Soul, how much did you bring to shop for Maka's gift?" Black*Star asked as they headed back down the street.

He shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck. His face felt hot. Man, he hoped he wasn't blushing. That would be so uncool. He'd never live it down. "Uh, enough? I think."

Black*Star snickered. "What, are you buying her an engagement ring?"

"Shut up."

Of course that made it worse. Soul sighed. This was going to be a long day.

Blair was bustling around the apartment when he got in, digging through an assortment of shopping bags. She looked up and hissed when she saw Soul.

"Get out of here!"

"Damn it, cat, I live here!" he snapped at her.

"Then go to your room and wait like a good little boy," she said, winking. "You don't get to see until I'm all done."

"Ugh," he sighed. Blair was frustrating even when she wasn't running around the house naked. At least he didn't pop a nosebleed anymore when it happened. She'd made him immune to boobs. Soul couldn't decide if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

He shuffled into his room with his lone shopping bag. Man, he felt lame. Blair had gotten like five bags of stuff, and even though he wasn't dumb enough to think they were all for Maka, he had a sinking feeling that she and the other girls would get his partner better gifts than he had.

Gently, he rifled through the fluffy layers of tissue paper until he found the velvety box buried inside. Somehow he got it out without ripping all of the shimmering paper, but his sleeve was covered in an iridescent sprinkling of glitter. Trying to brush it off just spread it up his arm and all over his hand.

"Damn it," he muttered.

He opened the little box and stared inside. A tiny silver piano nestled in the satiny padding, the delicate silver chain gently folded around it. Would Maka like it? He'd felt so sure when he thought of the idea, but now as he stared at his purchase, he wondered if it was the right choice after all.

"Blair!" he yelled.

The cat-turned-woman shoved his door open and hopped onto his chest. "Oooh, Soooul, craving some attention?"

Considering she was a cat, he didn't feel bad shoving her off. "Stop it. I need help with something important."

Blair gave him a deliberate wink. "Is Soul feeling lonely sleeping all alone?"

"Ugh, shut it for a minute," he grumbled. "I need help picking out a birthday present for Maka."

Soul honestly hadn't thought she could be more obnoxious than the exaggerated flirting, but the shrill squeal and outbreak of bouncing might've actually beaten her previous records. "Okay, okay, just stop with your noises."

"Come on! Maka is in the bath," Blair said, hopping to her feet and yanking on his hand. She pondered for a moment. "But Soul has to get Blair something, too."

He sighed. It was time to go back out into the fashion district, and quite possibly he was being dragged along by someone even worse to shop with than Black*Star.

Was he really this desperate to get Maka the perfect gift? In short, yes. He wasn't about to overthink it any more than he already was.

Feeling miserably uncool, he followed Blair out into the streets, ignoring her chatter and shaking his head when she tried to drag him into lingerie stores that spanned the whole scale from classy to sleazy. She kept insisting that he should get Maka a really cute outfit or a pretty dress or something, but he knew that somehow it would end up offending her. Probably even more if he let Blair pick it out.

"What about something like a book? Or a couple books, maybe?" he asked.

Blair considered it for a moment, tapping a pink fingernail on her chin. "Hmmmm. Maka does like to read a lot, doesn't she?"

"Yeah, she's a real bookworm, isn't she?" he chuckled awkwardly. Nowadays she was more of a rising star, leaving him behind as she soared into the political world as gracefully as she wielded him. His face was hot again and he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Ooooh, look at Soul blushing!" she grew particularly feline as she pawed at him. "Are you thinking of getting her a naughty book?"

"No way!" Soul yelled, stumbling away from the sex-crazed cat-lady. "That would be super uncool."

Of course that made it worse. Soul sighed. This was going to be a longer day.

Once they were back at the apartment, Soul was shoved into his room again, where he flopped down on the bed with his second present. He thought he heard Maka yelp at Blair, and fancied he also heard a bit of muffled swearing, too. Snickering, he thought, I love it when she says bad words.

The thought made him bolt upright, eyes bulging in shock. Crap, he thought, No way. There was no way that he loved things about her, was there? But as soon as he asked himself that, some evil runaway part of his mind supplied him with a list of things he loved about her.

Her hair, her smile, resonating with her, the way she listened to him play, that first moment she'd asked him to be her weapon, the way she wielded him, the way her hugs felt, the way she cooked, the food she cooked, how she smelled, how she wore those silly odangos and her 'study pajamas' when she was cramming for a test, how she stepped on his feet when they danced, how she always let him eat all the raw sushi, how she hid his hair gel, how she nagged him about cleaning his room, how she always had a book on hand to smack someone with, how smart she was, her legs, how she walked around making breakfast half-asleep, how she always brought him coffee right as he came out of his room in the morning, how- how the hell did I get to this point?

The goblin? It had to be the goblin. Right?

Soul "Eater" Evans, general cool guy musician, a Death Scythe since he was fifteen, desired as a partner by half the girls in the DWMA, panicked.

He fumbled through the new bag and pulled out the second present. A new set of clips for her hair with the DWMA skull, carved from ivory and set with onyx eyes. This was something he'd been thinking about giving her for a while but wasn't sure how much she'd like it. Crap. That was a terrible idea for a gift! What had he been thinking.

Throwing his legs off the bed, he grabbed his phone and dialed his best hope: Tsubaki.

"Hey, uh, Tsubaki? Do you think you could meet me at the shopping district?" he asked, already struggling into his coat one-handed and walking out the door.

Soul jogged outside and headed for the stores yet again.

The poster was so bright red and yellow that it caught his notice slightly from the corner of his eye as he went past. He skidded to a halt and his eyes narrowed as he read the text.

Death the Kidd is no leader!
How can a spoiled daddy's boy run our city
when he's busy making friends with witches?
The time has come to STAND UP for our rights!
We deserve to choose our own leader!
DEMAND A VOTE!

Baring his teeth, he tore the poster off the wall and threw it in a puddle. He stalked to the shopping district, his mood foul. He'd been shopping twice already, hadn't found the right gift for Maka, had spent half his month's allowance already, and that was the second time that he'd come across someone claiming Kidd wasn't good enough to rule.

Tsubaki stood in front of a boutique in a skirt and blouse, looking like a businesswoman. Soul raised a brow at her.

"Oh, sorry, I was over at Kidd's. It's a real mess right now with Maka taking the day off and Liz and Patti were swamped..." she trailed off and gave him a smile. "I'm actually really glad you called. Now everyone's calling it a night and getting ready for the party."

Soul managed a weak smile. "Thanks for helping me out, Tsubaki," he said. He never hung out with her one-on-one. She was nice and all, but just... so quiet. Without Black*Star around to contrast her, she sort of seemed incomplete.

"Anyway, I was thinking about getting Maka something from here," she said. "She and I go here sometimes when we go out. There are books and jewelry and some cute clothes and lots of other stuff. I'm sure you'll find something perfect for her."

His face was hot again, and he was going to chafe the back of his neck raw if he kept rubbing it. "Cool," he mumbled.

She looked at him with a kind smile. "I know you'll choose something good, Soul. You're the closest person in the world to her. Just pick from the heart and you'll be fine."

He blinked. It wasn't what he was expecting from Tsubaki. She was so quiet and shy, he hadn't thought she'd offer advice. But she had, and moreover, it was good advice. Damned good. After the shock wore off, he gave her a grin. "Let's see what this place has got."

Somehow, that made it better. Soul grinned. It was a long day, sure, but at least it was getting a bit better.

Soul had barely walked in the door when his phone rang. He juggled his bags trying to reach it and managed to get it on the last ring.

"Yo," he said, cradling it between his ear and shoulder.

"Good, I'm glad I caught you," Kidd's voice crackled through the speaker. "I need to ask you a favor."

"What's up?" Soul asked as he maneuvered into his room to deposit the bags on his bed.

"Well, I have something special planned, but it's taking longer to set up than I thought. Do you think you could stall Maka for about thirty minutes or so?"

Suddenly it felt like Soul's stomach was a tight knot and his throat was really dry. Kidd had... something special? For Maka?

"Soul, are you still there?"

"Uh, yeah. No problem," he rasped.

"Excellent. I'll see you there." Kidd hung up and Soul dropped the phone.

He crawled onto his bed and pulled out the most recent present, cradling it carefully. The box was polished wood, a shining dark golden color, with simple, elegant carvings. He'd even managed to get her name etched on the front edge.

When he opened it, music played and soft red velvet folded and curled into various jewelry compartments. There was a photo frame on the lid, empty for now.

What the hell had he been thinking? Maka had been spending so much time with Kidd, of course they must like each other. Soul had waited too long to figure it out and now the better guy was about to make his grand gesture. No matter how wealthy his family was, Soul couldn't afford anything like Kidd could.

Cool guys didn't cry. But when he shut his eyes, they burned hot and wet. Maybe, when it came to Maka Albarn, he wasn't such a cool guy after all.