Most dads dread the day that they meet their daughter's boyfriend. He will never be good enough for your baby and you'll kill him if he makes her cry. There is usually tension in the air as the two men stare at each other. One judges and the other wait for the reaction. The girl hopes that everything ends well.
I'm a special case.
I could care less what my idiot father thinks, plus I don't have a boyfriend. Actually by law he is more than that. Not that it matters. It's all an act.
Yeah. It's not for real. I just have to remember that it's only a deal.
That's what I have been telling myself anyway.
"I can't believe this!" I stomp out of the building. Next time, I'll definitely get first on the exam. Stupid Ox had to go and get a higher score than me.
I sigh in attempt to calm myself. Hopefully this day will get better. It's been 4 months since I've moved in with Soul. Lately, I've become better friends with the neighbor across from us. Blair still tends to glop Soul between her ridiculously huge boobs while glancing at me with a sky smirk. Something inside of me hates it when she does that. At those times, I would see her as a cat: sweet on the outside, cunning on the inside.
I don't like it.
This results in me Maka-chopping Soul, separating him from Blair. I feel a little better afterwards, but that weird feeling of tightness and anger never goes completely away.
"Hmm…" I glance at my watch. It's noon. Maybe Tsubaki will want to eat lunch with me. I smile at the idea.
"Maka."
My body tenses at the voice. That disgusting, vile, sound. "Papa?"
"Maka!" He jumps to hug me. I quickly maneuver to the side. He falls to the ground. Tears on his face, "Makaaaa….."
"What do you want, Papa?" I ask agitated. This day has not been to my liking at all.
"Maka, won't you please have lunch with your Papa?" He begs.
My stomach grumbles. I glare at its betrayal. "Alright." I turn my head, refusing to look at his sparkly eyes of joy.
"This hot dog is soooo good. It was made for a god like me!" Black*Star says with a mouthful while spinning a basketball on his finger. I grin in agreement and eat the last bit of mine. Playing a game of basketball can make any guy hungry. We continue to walk down the street when Black*Star points out, "Hey. Isn't that Maka?"
She was sitting outside at a table with a redhead. "Who is that guy?" Black*Star asks.
My eyes narrow, "I don't know, but I'm going to go find out. I'll catch up with you later, Dude."
My friend grins, "Alright. Later."
As I got closer, careful not to be seen, I noticed that Maka's hand was balled up. She was facing away from her companion in distaste. The redhead was trying to get her to talk to him, "Come on, Maka. Don't be like that. I just wanted to see how my baby girl was doing."
This man irked me oddly, "Maka." The blond turns at me in surprise. "Soul, what are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing." I say back. The man across from us was glaring at me.
"Who's this guy?" We both say at the same time. Maka watches as we give each other a dirty look. The strange man stands up, "How do you know my daughter?"
My left eyebrow rises. So this is the idiotic father that Maka grumbles about. "I'm her husband." I say with a smug smirk. Maka groans in the background, "I should've seen this coming."
The father's eyes bulge out in shock. "N-no! I will not ever allow my daughter to marry someone like you!" He looks at me up and down. I was probably all sweaty from playing hoops. I definitely wasn't in my best attire. That doesn't make me a bad guy though.
I frown. This man was insulting. Maka glances at me and before I could retort back, she yells, "Papa! You have no right to judge Soul like that! It's none of your business about who I choose to marry. I barely even recognize you as my father, therefore you have no say." The redhead looked like he was about to cry, "B-But Makaaaa…."
"At least he's honest unlike you. Let's go, Soul." She really wasn't in a good mood. I look at the dad's teary face and grin as I turn to follow Maka, "Yes, Dear."
When we got back to the apartment, Maka plopped on the couch saying, "Today sucks." I was standing against the wall with my arms folded, "I see that."
A few moments of silence pass and I ask, "What did you father want anyway?"
Maka sighs, "He wanted to see me today."
I roll my eyes and sit down next to her, "That's obvious."
Maka smiles at my tone and leans her head on my shoulder, "He wanted to see me today, because it's my birthday." She further explains.
What?
"Today is your birthday?" I ask taken back.
"Yep." She seemed unconcerned with the fact. "It's just another day."
This is so uncool. I should've known that today was her birthday. Then again most girls are excited about their birthdays. I peer at Maka's face. It was no longer mad, but weary with the day's events. "I'm taking you out for dinner tonight." The words came out of my mouth without a second thought as I got off the couch.
"Huh?" Maka's face was puzzled.
"We're going to go out later. No buts. Just find something nice to wear. We'll be leaving at 7pm." I grab my keys and jacket as I walk out the door, leaving behind a confused Maka. I need to make a few phone calls and pick up something. I'm not sure what it is yet, but I'll know it when I see it.
"Hmm….I hope that this is fine." I scan at myself in the mirror. I decided to wear a dark blue dress that went down to my knees. There was a black belt wrapped around the front of it. It was quite simple, but with a few touches it looked nice….at least I hope that it does
My feet wore matching flats, my hair was in a low pony-tail that trailed over my left shoulder, and I wore a plain silver bracelet on my wrist. For once I decided not to wear gloves. It wouldn't have looked quite right. I still can't believe that Soul is taking me out for dinner. I was expecting to just stay home this year and get dragged by the girls. Tsubaki was pleasantly surprised when she called and found out that I already had plans.
I glance at the mirror again and sigh as I put a hand to my almost non-existent chest. I had a little bit of a bust, but of course guys like those stupid cow udders. My hand clenches against my heart. It felt different not wearing any gloves.
I think back to a week ago. It was really hot that day. Soul had gone out and I had the apartment all to myself. On a whim, I wanted to eat ice cream on the balcony. I was wearing a tank top and shorts…did I mention that it was really warm that day? So I grabbed a spoon, the tub of ice cream, and sat on the balcony chairs in the shade. I smiled happily as a nice breeze blew by.
My hand gripped the spoon as I scooped out a bite of chocolaty mint heaven. The ice cream melted in my mouth sending a wave of coolness. My throat hummed in pleasure. I repeated the gesture, this time slowly licking the spoon. "Hmm…" I was enjoying the creaminess when a voice interrupted my fun.
"So you're cheating on me with a spoon?"
I glanced over at Soul. "I couldn't say no." I shrugged. "Mr. Spoon made an offer that I couldn't refuse." We stared at each other with straight faces. After a couple of moments, Soul slowly unleashes his suppressed smile. I was doing the same. Luckily there were two chairs on the balcony. So Soul plopped into the chair next to me and snatched the ice cream with the spoon.
"Hey!" I pouted.
"You already had your fun." Soul said back as he took a bite.
"Come one. Give it back!" I leaned over to snatch it back, but Soul grinned and raised it out of my reach. At this point, I was basically on top of him, determined to get my treat back. "Soul!" I whine as my arm stretched out.
"Wow, Maka. Who knew that you wanted me this bad." Soul joked. I realized that my chest was at his eye level and I froze mortified. "Too bad that you don't have much to flaunt." His voice sounded disappointed.
Heat flared up my face, "Then don't look, Idiot!"
"Ow!" Soul yelps. The spoon clatters as the ice cream falls to the floor. I stomp into the house with a dictionary in my hand. "Jerk!" The clear sliding door closes behind me.
Later that night, Soul tried to make peace with food. I was set on being mad, but as I secretly watched him attempt to cook while wearing a pink apron, my anger dissolved. Plus neither of us really wanted to eat his mystery dish.
Speaking of food…I blink back to the present and look at the clock. It was nearly time to go. I walk to the living room. Soul had on a blue dress shirt with black pants. It's funny how we always seem to match. "I hope that you like Italian." He says while clasping a wrist watch on.
"I do actually." I say with a smile. This year my birthday night will be different.
I'm looking forward to it.
"How's your food?" Maka smiles and says, "It's really good."
My face upturns. I'm glad that she likes it. We are sitting outside enjoying the night scenery. Lights decorate all around the restaurant patio. It set a nice atmosphere. The weather was much cooler than last week.
Maka almost made me lose it. I came home to find her lying out on the balcony wearing barely anything. She was showing off her porcelain skin with those long legs and arms. Worst of all, she was humming contently. Her tongue was having way too much fun with that spoon. It took a lot of restraint to not do anything at that moment. This girl must be testing me. Does she not realize that I'm a guy? The question in thought causes me to sigh.
"Soul? Are you okay?" Maka asks in concern.
"I'm fine." I stab a meatball with my fork and plop it in my mouth.
"You really didn't have to do this, Soul." Maka shifts in her seat as I stare at her.
"It's no big deal. It's your birthday. Unless you wanted to do something with your friends like shopping." Maka seemed to grimace for a second. Shopping with the twins must be interesting. I grin and add on, "Oh, you probably wanted to spend the evening with your dad."
Maka's face twists in disgust, "No way. Not with that idiot."
I laugh and asked, "What do you have against your old man anyway?"
Her expression tightens. I watch as she twirls a fork in her pasta. Maybe I shouldn't have asked. "My papa…cheated on Mama." She finally says. "He would always say that he loved Mama and me the most, but then he would continually run off with other women."
Oh. Daddy Issues.
Time to change the subject. "What about your mom?" Maka's eyes brighten, "Mama is amazing. She's so strong and smart. She is the only reason why Papa did so well on his investigation cases."
"She sounds pretty cool." My hand grabs the cold glass of liquid as Maka nods in agreement. I press the glass to my mouth and take a sip before setting it back on the table. My pocket seems heavy all of a sudden. How should I bring this out?
"Umm…Soul?"
My attention turns back to the birthday girl. "Thank you for tonight. This is really nice of you." She says with a meek voice.
I smirk and think to myself that now is the perfect time. "I got one more thing for you."
"Huh?" Maka wasn't expecting anything else. Dinner was enough for her. I place a black box on the table. "This is for you. Happy birthday."
Her eyes widen and stare at the box. I grin, "It won't bite you."
Maka hesitantly grabs the box and opens it. Her mouth parts in a gasp as a tear-dropped shape emerald necklace shines at her. It had tiny diamonds accented around it. When I bought it, I had just about given up on finding her anything.
Well, books are always a safe bet with the Maka. My feet were walking towards the closest bookstore when my eyes caught this necklace in a nearby window. I remember staring at it and thinking how it reminded me of her eyes; green and sparkly with life.
"Umm..Sir?" A little old lady was addressing me from the store's door. "Is there something that you like?"
I immediately pointed at the item of interest and said, "I want to buy this necklace."
The elderly lady said, "That's a nice choice, young man. Are you sure that you want that? We have more selections inside."
"Nope. This will do." I walked back home thinking about how surprise my roommate would be. Her first thought would probably be that it was expensive. I laughed and continued down the street home. Now here I am in the restaurant with a speechless Maka. "….Do you like it?" I finally ask. My arms were folded in tension across my chest. Her silence was starting to make me doubt about the gift.
"It's beautiful." She whispers. "No one has ever given me something like this." I relax at her words.
"I can't accept this, Soul."
My head snaps up at her, "What?"
"This is too nice for someone like me." She explains, shaking her head.
Of course she would say this. I scoff, "It's yours anyway. So deal with it."
"But I-"
I seize the box from her as I got up and walked behind Maka. "Hold still." I said breathing on her neck. She stiffens. I move her hair out of the way. So soft. The necklace lands around her neck perfectly and I was able to clasp it, surprisingly, on the first try. "There." I smile in satisfaction. It was perfect like I knew it would be.
I peer at her face to see her reaction. I was shocked to see her eyes were doing that thing again. The thing when they seemed to beam at me, glowing in joy. Just like that time at the amusement park. It made me feel great afterwards. Many women have smiled at me. They were either polite or flirty most of the time, but their smiles were never like this. I want to see her smile like that at me more. My mind seems to freeze for a second as it calculates everything and sends a message.
Damn it.
Have I fallen for her? Fallen for this skinny, flat-chest, bad-tempered, bookworm? I was lost in thought and caught off guard when Maka suddenly reaches up and pecks a quick kiss on my cheek. Her eyes glimmered with a shy smile on her lips, "Thank you for everything, Soul."
Yep.
I've fallen for her.
I watch her look down, happily twisting the necklace between her fingers.
I've fallen hard.
A/N: I redid the ending a lot. I just wanted it to be worded perfectly. Soul is so much fun to write, but I'm not sure if I'm representing him right….? Ah well. I hope that everyone enjoyed it.
Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated and reviews are love.
Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater and I never will.
