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Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater


I never thought...

Chapter 8:...you'd ride a motorcycle.

"No."

Soul didn't bother opening his eyes. He had been so proud for simply earning enough money without his parents influence that he would have been happy to buy a couple CDs and leave it at that. But he had always had a bigger goal in mind; a much bigger goal than a few CDs from Death Records. Leave it to Maka to spoil it.

"You can not have this in your possession. I don't even- where did you-. Soul Eater, where did you get the money to buy this?"

"I've told you already, Mom, I've been saving up. We've been on so many missions and I've been keeping my spending money locked tight until I could afford this baby."

"Baby? Soul, this thing reeks of disaster and misfortune!"

"So exactly like a baby."

She growled at him in her rage and he could hear her pacing. "Soul, this isn't funny. Motorcycles are dangerous. You could get yourself killed."

"Look, you were the one complaining about how long it was taking to get to school. Well, I've just bought us a ride."

"Us? Are you kidding me? You think I'm going to let myself get on that thing?"

"Well you're going to have to if it's our main mode of transportation now, won't you?"

"Soul, I am not riding it."

"You're going to have to."

"No, I won't. Go return it or something. That is not going to be the way we get to our missions. Besides, when did you even decide to get a motorcycle? And when did you get your license?"

"Not long ago. But the whole point of getting this gorgeous machine was so that I could practice and get us where we need to go faster and look cool doing it."

He heard skin connect with skin and assumed that she had just face palmed, something that she had picked up from Tsubaki, no doubt. The pair had been spending more time with Black*Star and his weapon since their first co-op mission, one that had, regrettably, ending poorly alongside Maka's vow to never work with Black*Star again. Still, she seemed to have bonded with his weapon partner, and since Soul and bonded with Black*Star, the four of them had met up outside of school quite frequently. "Soul," she groaned.

"Look, just because you found out doesn't mean it'll stop me from riding."

"Yes, it does. You're not going anywhere on that thing. Not by yourself, at least. What if you get injured? Who's going to call for help?" She let out a breath of exasperation. "Take Black*Star or something."

"I don't think so," he scoffed, the idea of having Black*Star riding with him somewhat of a humourous image. However, there was another image that painted itself in his mind, one that made him smirk. He set his eyes on his meister. "You're going to ride with me"

"And what makes you think I would ever ride such a thing?"

"Well I figured that since we are partners we could -what did Sid call it?- strengthen our soul resonance by doing certain things together. Like this."

"You say it so casually. Like it's the same thing as going for a walk together or watching a movie. This is actually dangerous. We could get seriously hurt."

"Isn't that just part of everyday life though? You risk getting hurt and hurting others all the time. Come on, Maka, live a little. Come for a ride with me."

"No."

"Maka, come on, why not?"

"Because it's dangerous!"

"Didn't Sid say that dangerous situations help strengthen the bonds of people?"

"Soul, I'm serious."

"And so am I. Wear a helmet if it bothers you so much."

"But you only have one!"

"So you wear it! You're the one so wrapped up in safety and protecting those precious brain cells of yours."

"You must not care much for your brain cells, Soul Eater," Maka snapped, her hard covered dictionary connected with his skull although the injury was more of a warning than an actual attack. "If you'd worn the helmet, that would have hurt a lot less."

"Would've hurt a lot less if you hadn't done it in the first place." His words were muffled, slipping from his lips under his breath but she had heard.

"What was that?" She raised the book threateningly.

"Nothing. Are you getting on or not? I know you wanted to pick up some extra groceries before the sun went down. With this beauty, we'll make it there and back with daylight to spare." Soul gave the handlebars a pat while she made a show of glaring at him. "You know you want to."

"Soul, why-"

"Are you getting on or not?"

She huffed in a rather girlish way (if he did say so himself) and watched as she did a walk around his bike. "Your tires are fully pumped?"

He grinned widely. She was giving in, albeit very slowly. He leaned on the handle bars, eyeing his partner as she did her rounds. He'd have to be careful not to scare her off too fast. He wanted to test his new ride out and would be going with or without his killjoy of a partner. But having a good ride with his new partner? It'd be an opportunity that he'd be an idiot to pass up, no matter how unlikely he thought it. "Yeah."

"And the brakes work?"

"Nice and new."

"Oil's been changed?"

"Yeah."

"Full tank of gas?"

"Yes, Maka."

She sighed. "And you're sure you don't have a second helmet?"

"Definitely. Helmets aren't cool."

She looked at the bike as if it was something alive, like something out of Transformers, and flicked her eyes to the sunset with another heavy sigh. "It is getting late," she said reluctantly, and he tried not to look too triumphant as she took a few steps closer to him. "You have had practice riding one before, right?"

"Of course. How did you think I passed my test? This is just the first one that I've been able to pay for completely with my own money."

"Aren't these things obscenely expensive, though?"

"Yeah. Which is why it took so long for me to save up the money. It may have involved skipping a few meals but it was fine."

"Wait, you skipped meals? When?" His hesitance to respond resulted in a careful scrutiny of his features, no doubt mentally running through a list of all the times they'd eaten together.

"You know those times when we'd meet up for lunch and I said I'd already eaten?" She nodded. "Almost all of those times."

"Soul, you can't just go and sacrifice food for something that is clearly not worth it. You always say that food comes before anything else, too."

"I won't know if it was worth it until you get on and we can take it for a ride." He raised an eyebrow, his fingers tapping out an invisible rhythm on the handle bars "So? Are you just going to tell me no, Mom, or are you coming along for the ride?"

She narrowed her eyes at the name but still, with a decided stance, squared her shoulders and thrust out her hands. "Gimme the helmet."

"Cool." He smirked, retrieving the protective gear and dropping it in her hands. "Put it on, and we'll go."

"It's like a bicycle helmet, right?"

"Right," he said lightly, a hand pushing his sleeve past his watch so he could garner the time. "It's getting late so you've gotta speed it up if you want to buy those things."

"I'm coming, I'm coming." She took a seat behind him, squishing to the back if his body in an attempt to remain more balanced. He considered mentioning that she would need a lot more than close proximity to keep her steady. Maka had chosen to place her hands on his shoulders, something she would regret the moment they began to move.

Soul smirked as he started the engine, took pleasure in the frightened breath inhaled by his meister through clenched teeth, and revved the engine. "Get ready for the best ride of your life."

"You mean the last ride of my life?" Her nails were digging through the leather of his jacket.

"Come on, don't you trust me? It'll be the best." He revved again before pushing back the kickstand. "Hang on tight."


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