Aggggh! I am so sorry! I have no excuse... Please read and enjoy..

Maka

"Maka, why couldn't we have taken my bike? It would have been a whole lot faster, and car rides are boring!" an exasperated Soul said from the passenger seat.

Maka giggled, "Sorry, Soul. Didn't know I was such horrible company," she said in mock offense.

"No, I didn't mean it like that, I –" Soul jumped up from his slouched position and growl playfully when he realized he had been fooled.

Soul attacked, grabbing at her sides and poking her flat stomach in attempt to tickle her. Maka yelped and jerked the steering wheel which rewarded her a honk from the car in front of her as it slowed down to turn. There was a silence as they were once again on the road, and Soul knew he was in trouble.

"Soul…" began Maka in a deadly quiet voice. Soul cowered in fear.

All of a sudden, Maka's hand shot out and began tickling a very surprised Soul without taking her eyes off the road, "Don't. Distract. Me. While. I. Am. Driving."

Maka struggled to keep a straight face as Soul squirmed. Few people knew Soul was ticklish. Or that Soul wore glasses. Or had a British accent when he got upset. Maka was glad that she was someone he trusted enough to let her know those things. Even though she had found out that he had had the glasses and the accent when she went to ask Soul to help her find her favorite romance novel only to find him reading it and started talking in an accent when he tried to hide it, didn't matter.

Maka was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice the small bump in the road coming up, and as the car hit it, her hand slipped down and – grope!

Maka slammed on the breaks and tried to find the words to apologize, but all she could do was stare at Soul while her face burnt a brighter red than ever before. She had just groped Soul!

Soul stared back, blushing. Though it wasn't as deep as Maka's blush, he was still so shocked he made no move to cover the slight bulge that had formed in his pants at Maka's touch. It was either that or he didn't notice. Boys!

After a few moments of silence aside from the purr of the car's engine on the side of the deserted country road, Soul surprised Maka by smirking, his blush lessening, "What's wrong, Maka? Cat got your tongue?"

"N-no," she stuttered, "D-don't know what you're t-talking about."

Maka turned her head, but Soul gently took her chin in his warm hand and turned her to face him. Maka slowly met his eyes. She was stunned by how he looked at her. His eyes were filled with a mixture of emotions; there were so many she couldn't tell which was which. She didn't miss his slight blush as he held her face close to his.

"I don't care, Maka," Soul said, "I get it. It shocked me, but I know it was an accident."

Maka looked at him with wide eyes, and he smirked and added, "I mean, it was bound to happen sooner or later anyways."

"Soul!" Maka exclaimed in slight anger and amusement at his accusation, "What is that supposed to mean?!"

Soul chuckled, "Well, seeing as how you can never keep your eyes off of me in the first place, I'm surprised it took this long."

Maka fumed, and she wished she had a book with her. Soul laughed out loud. "Just wait until we get home, Soul."

"Oh, I'm so scared," said Soul, sarcasm dripping from his voice as Maka began driving.

"You should be," she retorted.

Maka tried to hide her smile as Soul chuckled. If only he knew….

Soul

Soul looked down at his plate of food. Maka and he had gotten to her Grandmama's big country home an hour or two ago. He had been introduced to so many people; there was no way he was going to remember their names by the time this night was over. He had received wishes of luck, threats if he broke her heart, pats on the back, and a lot of hugs. He knew where Maka got it now.

Maka's family was great people, but his favorite was Mrs. Albarn Sr., Maka's Grandmama. Although she insisted on him calling her 'Grandmama', he was having trouble with how quickly she accepted him. All of them did. It gave Soul a great feeling. It was one that was so alien to him because he was different. It made him happy. Now he was sitting at a table with a plate of food Maka had prepared for him. She had run off to speak with her Grandmama's good friend, Dr. Forein Sic. He was a professor who taught Maka all the things she knew about law and criminal justice.

He eyed and inspected the sugar cookie shaped like a leaf. Please be soft and chewy, he prayed silently as he bit into it. Yes, he thought happily. This is a cookie. He noted that he would have to thank Maka's Grandmama and ask for the recipe, so Maka could bake him some… And he could watch her bake as her hips swayed back and forth to her little tune she hummed whenever she cooked or baked. He couldn't help but smile a little before he caught himself.

Whoa, Soul, that's totally uncool to think of your meister that way, he chided himself, but lately he'd been thinking about her lately. And having – somewhat inappropriate – fantasies about her.

Maybe Black*Star was right. He was getting whipped. He just didn't understand. How could he be whipped by a girl like Tiny Tits? A cool guy like him could easily get a girl like Wes's girl, Blair. Wes. He hadn't thought of his perfect brother for a while. Maybe being around Maka's family for a pre-Thanksgiving dinner made him miss his own. Hey, he might actually go to his family's Thanksgiving reunion this year. It had been so long. He could even take Maka to meet his family.

Soul face-palmed. There it was again. Cute ideas of him and Maka together. What was wrong with him? Was Soul seriously losing his cool? No. No, it was just that he hadn't seen his family in five years. They would want to know what he'd been up to, so they would want to see who had become his meister. They'd want to know if he'd been seeing anyone.

Once again, Maka's face crept into his mind, and he smirked. Well, we are dating… That still didn't mean they were in love. Sure, he couldn't stop thinking about her, but it would be bad to not think of your girlfriend a little throughout the day. Girlfriend, Soul thought as he grinned and took another bite into his cookie and audibly moaned at the deliciousness.

"Enjoying that cookie, are you?"

Soul jumped as he heard the voice behind him. It was Maka's Grandmama.

She chuckled, "I could give you the recipe if you like, but Maka-tan says you aren't much of a baker. You should ask her to teach you."

A blush crept onto Soul's face, and he scoffed, "A cool guy like me, bake? Why would I want to do that?"

"Because it gives you an excuse to be close to her," Grandmama Albarn said without missing a beat.

Soul started and looked at her with wide eyes, How did she know?

"I have seen you watching her, Soul-chan. It is obvious you feel greatly for her. You probably love her. In fact, I know you do. You just have yet to admit it to yourself because you have been hurt before. I can tell you, that all my Maka-tan has known is hurt. My son is reckless, and Kami was a child on her own and ran off and left her. If anyone would understand, it would be Maka. You just have to let her in here."

Grandmama pointed to his heart, and he croaked out, "How -?"

Grandmama smiled and Soul saw a familiar glint in her eyes: one he had seen in his father's many times, "Where do you think Spirit gets his demon side from? His father was much too kind."

"You, you're a Reader, aren't you? You can see into the future like m-my dad?" Soul asked her.

Grandmama held a finger to her lips and spoke with a wink, "Spoilers. Take care of my Maka, now, Soul. Don't break her heart because you know she loves you."

Grandmama stood and walked away with a mischievous grin on her face, but Soul could only think one thing:

She loves me?


I know there was a bit of.. er.. a little more big kid stuff there in the beginning in the car, but I couldn't help it. It was BEGGING to happen. But it isn't like it's that inappropriate anyways. But I did add a few twists in there heh heh... I know! All questions will eventually be answered, but for now, feel free to read this and stare at the computer screaming 'WHY?!' and waking your parents and dog and being like Da Fu..!? as I leave you once again with a cliffhanger. MWAHAHAHAHA!