Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater. I do own the plot. I also do own the Renegade Girls.
Chapter Eleven: Living on Eggshells
The appointment was scheduled by his mother, the day he'd picked out the ring, and there was no backing out of it. Masumi had bent over backgrounds to get them this slot with the most popular bakers in town, the Renegade Girls, and he'd be damned if something as trivial as the Ace of Hearts being shut down would keep he and Maka from taking the necessary steps to get their wedding underway. They had decided on a date (the fourteenth of November) the day of their engagement. They had figured that about five months would be the perfect amount of time for them to get everything squared away.
And so, as they settled down at a table in the brightly colored shop, they both tried to force their fears and anger off to the side.
"Hello there, happy couple! You're Soul Evans and Maka Albarn, right?" The woman who approached them asked eagerly. She had shoulder length red hair with blonde tips dyed in. She was wearing all black with a pink apron on. The words "The Renegade Girls: Owner Stacy McCormick" were embroidered on her apron in black thread. She had a notebook and pencil book tucked under one of her arms while she offered them her other hand. Both took her hand and shook is lightly. She settled into the vacant chair and smiled at them both brightly. "So have you two thought about any possible themes?"
"We're basically just aiming for something tasteful. The wedding right now seems like it's going to be very modest and traditional," Maka explained gently. Soul felt painfully guilty that, because of what was going on with the restaurant, they had to do a fair share of penny pinching work in regards to planning the wedding. After all, Maka made it clear she wanted them both to focus on bills and gas and insurance instead of putting the wedding upfront. He knew that, if things hadn't turned out the way they were, he would force her to spoil herself with a fancy, extravagant sort of celebration.
Little girls always dreamed of their weddings and Soul was almost pained at the thought of their wedding be less than child Maka had dreamt of.
"Okay, so how many tiers are you thinking for the cake?" Stacy asked cheerfully. The two glanced at each other and Soul merely shrugged.
"I'll say we'll need three or four," Maka said and her eye twitched a bit at the thought. She knew that the more tiers on your cake the more expensive it became. Knowing that, she still wanted to make sure that everyone would be able to have at least one slice of their wedding day pastry. She had to swallow down the guilt of being greedy bubbling up in her throat.
"Okay. So, you said more traditional so did you want it all white or did you want something with a little more pizzazz?" Stacy asked next, flipping open her notebook and scribbling down the notes she had so far. Maka started to respond but was cut off by Soul.
"Can we get some of those sugar flowers put on there? If possible, can they be made to look like pink and red roses?" He asked curiously. Stacy's features brightened considerably at the mention of a little décor on the cake.
"But of course!" She started out doing a rough sketch of the outline of the cake, adding on the flowers and a few other little pieces. "You see, here we can put a few fondant ribbons if you'd like."
"Yeah, that'd be a nice touch. Can you get the ribbons in a light purple color? A sort of lavender hue, maybe?" Soul asked, leaning over to peer at the sketch better.
"Sure. How would this look?" She asked, pulling a pale purple colored pencil from the pencil box and coloring it in. Soul grinned and nodded brightly.
"That would look good! This cake is kinda supposed t5o be mostly centered around Maka's likes and such," He confessed politely. Maka was currently gaping at the pair, eyes and mouth wide.
"Aw, that's so sweet of you! Most grooms I've met want to have a little bit of a say in how the cake looks. Normally they don't want anything too girly," Stacy explained gently.
Soul shook his head. "Girls are more interested in weddings than most guys I've met so it's just cooler of the guy to let the girl have things the way she wants. I mean, unless they are really trying to emasculate the guy. Plus we had a groom's cake at our engagement party so I figure it's her turn to have the spot light," He said casually. He blinked then looked at Maka and back at Stacy. "So it'll look like this?" He asked, pointing to her sketch.
"Unless you needed me to change something?" She asked curiously.
"Just one little thing. Can we have a purple ribbon wrapped around each tier?"
"Absolutely!" Stacy beamed brightly. She made the change then showed it to Soul, getting his seal of approval. "Excellent! I'll go get the samples of some of our available cake flavors so you can decide which one you'd like." She said while getting up. She made sure to take her gear with her.
"Soul," Maka said softly, "what are you thinking? The less decorations we put on this cake the better off we'll be! We can't go spending way too much money on the cake!" Her eyes were narrowed a bit but were glowing in fear. He gently took her hand and gave her his most confident look.
"It's not that big a deal, Maka. A few sugar flowers and some fondant ribbons aren't going to cost that much," He explained delicately. He kissed her forehead and gave her hand a light squeeze. "Don't go fretting too much right now. Let's plan this the way we want and just try to remain positive. We still have a shot at saving the restaurant; my mother's going to see if her boss can look over the contract for us sometime soon and find us a loophole, remember? We're still fighting and we still have hope."
"How can you just say it like it's no big deal?" She asked with a heavy sigh but a small smile. He grinned back in that cocky way that Maka had come to adore.
"That's just how a cool guy like me rolls," He answered cheekily. Stacy returned carrying a pure black platter with a few different slices of cake on top. There was also a few forks a top it, the pair noted as she set the tray before them on the table.
"So for you today I have the basic three flavors; chocolate, strawberry and vanilla. As well as those, I have brought red velvet, a Dutch apple recipe we developed, a lemon flavored cake and a special cherry flavor we developed as well. Dig in!" Stacy beamed, offering them each a utensil.
In the end, Maka and Soul decided to go with red velvet.
…
Blair had offered Maka a job at Blair's Brew upon the news of what was going on; just as a precaution to things going south. Soul had been quite adamant that there was no way in Hell that, as long as he had balls and an opinion, was he going to let Maka work there. His reason for saying no? The rather scandalous and inviting uniform for the ladies that worked there. Upon Maka's request, though, Blair agreed to hire at least one person from Ace of Hearts in the young blonde's stead. Today, as she sat in her office (since she couldn't really do much else, for fear of hurting tiny little Masun resting in her belly), she was speaking with Maka's friend Liz Thompson about the chance of employment.
The older woman had to admit she liked the idea of hiring the feisty blonde quite a bit. Unlike Maka, Liz was already well equipped to handle serving customers as a server. Although Liz wasn't as "blessed" in regards to her breasts as her younger sister, Liz had curves that would definitely look great in the uniform. And unlike Tsubaki, Liz knew that she was hot and also knew how to exploit it like a lot of the girls that worked here. This meant that the confidence, attractive, and smart Liz would be able to survive without too much of an issue, since the other girls wouldn't whine about her being uneducated or overly energetic or just plain bashful.
The only thing that made her hesitate? The weird kid hovering out her office window watching the two women. She recognized him as one of Maka and Soul's friends from work but could not drag up a name. The black hair with three white strips and bright golden eyes that were a hue akin to her own were painfully familiar but for some reason she couldn't place his name currently. She suddenly perked up and placed a hand lightly to her belly.
"Is something wrong?" Liz fretted, standing up and looking over worriedly. Blair giggled and waved on hand while the other lightly caressed her belly.
"Ah, nothing to worry about. In the afternoons Masun gets a little excited and starts poking around. It's actually a good thing; it means he's developing healthy and strong!" She beamed excitedly. Liz smiled back warmly and settled back in her seat. "Well, as long as you don't mind the uniform, I'll definitely get you on clock if you need me to." She said happily.
"Are you serious?" Liz gasped happily, eyes lighting up with joy. Blair nodded brightly at the excited squeal the other woman released. The two women shook on it and then the younger woman headed out, giggling and grinning like a fool. Blair suddenly turned serious, picked up her phone and dialed a number.
"Hey Wes-Kun~! Uh, I was wondering, since you're going to the store tonight-"She paused as her husband cut her off. She blushed a bit and giggled lightly. "Yeah, it's another one of my weird cravings…" Another brief pause. "Porkrines and chocolate…" One last pause. "Thank you so much sweetheart~! Masun and I can't wait to come home and both love you oodles~!"
Liz spotted Kid the second she walked out of Blair's Brew; considering he knocked over a trash can in his attempt to be inconspicuous he wasn't painfully hard to spot. "What are you doing here Kid?" She asked flatly, her hands falling to her hips. He walked over, plucking a banana peels from his hair and kicking a moldy slice of pizza from his shoes in the process.
"You mentioned you had a job interview here just… Well, you know… In case," He said sheepishly, glancing off to the side while his fingers twitched nervously. She blinked then smiled lightly as a slight blush crept up his cheeks. "I just wanted to see how things went for you."
"Blair said that if I end up needing the job she'll give it to me," She said merrily. He glanced up and smiled lightly at her, nodding his own joy over her situation. "Since I decided to walk to save gas wanna walk with me for a while? You can even hang at my place, if you want; Patty's hanging out at Chrona's like usual so you won't have to worry about her teasing you." She remarked, taking as a step away from the alleyway.
"Your sister is rather vicious sometimes, isn't she?" He asked as he caught up to her and fell in step with her easily.
"Well, we did grow up on the streets. She's a lot better than she used to be, though," She pointed out with a shrug. She glanced at Kid sideways. "So what about you? Do you have any back-up plans if this whole thing blows up in our faces?"
"My father," Kid mumbled, glancing off to the side, "said that, if I lose this job, he has an opening as a manager at one of our stores in Seattle. He'd have an apartment furnished the way I liked and paid off for me as well." Liz blinked slightly in surprise, her heart giving a sharp jerk at that.
Liz was stirred back to feeling bitter over the whole thing. If this all fell through, Kid would be moving very far away. Considering how close the two had become over the last year, the thought of not getting to see him was… Painful. She found herself blaming Spirit for this whole thing again and then yelling at herself on the inside over that. There was nothing that could be done; if things went the way they did than that was how things would play out.
And then Kid would…
"But I told him no,"
Liz skid to a stop and stared at him, her whole mind grinding to a standstill. "W-What?" She stammered out, wondering if she had misheard him. After all, that seemed to be the only plausible explanation.
"I told my father no," He said simply. He made it sound like he was simply saying what it felt like outside right now. "I told my father than I did not want to leave Death City no matter and he told me he'd respect my decision. He said the options always on the table, if I should change my mind, but I'm not going to. I do have a few job interviews coming up this week so hopefully one of those will pan out."
"Why would you do that? You have a permanent job offer and even the offer of a roof over your head!" She snapped in alarm. Don't get her wrong, she was glad to know he'd be staying in town, but it just didn't make sense to her. Why would he throw that away?
"I didn't want to leave you," He said in that same simple voice, though it did sound a little softer. She blinked a few more times, sapphire and amber locking together. And Liz felt her heart start beating fifteen times faster than it had been before. He was giving all that away, just for her? "I-I mean, I like getting to see you and… When I'm around you I don't feel so… Alone…" He mumbled while looking at his feet. "I'm not… Familiar with emotions or how to express them properly. I feel strange around you, but it's a sort of pleasant kind of strange. I… I really don't want to have to stop seeing you."
Liz wasn't sure if she wanted to weep or whine at Kid for his love confession. After all, he hadn't necessarily said he was in love with her but it was pretty obvious that what he was trying his best to explain was love. Kid had told Liz a lot about his childhood and, though they lived in vastly different worlds, she had realized they both knew what it was like to feel abandoned in different ways. She had grown to care about him, and found his little quirks rather charming now. She decided to do the only thing she could think to do in response to such a confession.
Kid nearly fainted dead away when Liz kissed him right there with tons of people staring.
…
"Get some! Get some, you punk ass bitch!" Patty was screaming while she swerved her body this way and that. She and Ragnarok were locked in a battle on Mario Kart Wii, in which Patty was winning. Chrona and Ragnarok had been playing when she headed over to the Gorgon residence and, after the older male kicking and elbowing the smaller boy into losing the round, the young blonde decided to put him in his place. After all, no one messed with Patty's precious boo and got away with it!
From the kitchen doorway, Medusa watched with an eyebrow raised in mild amusement. Chrona was currently preparing some drinks for he and Patty, as well as a large bowl of buttery popcorn. After Patty was done beating Ragnarok at Wii they were planning to watch a movie. "She certainly is an… Excitable young woman, isn't she?" Medusa asked as she watched the younger woman proceed to, upon crossing the finish line on the last lap, shoving the young male over and shouting all sorts of insults out at him.
"Patty really is, but that's what I like most about her," Chrona stated gently as he opened the freshly popped bag of corn. He was smiling as he spoke, and a merry glint that caught in his eyes made his mother's heart skip a beat. "She's really patient with me, since I'm not good with new things. She never yells at me but if other people are mean to be she'll turn on them like a wild beast. I… I love being around her and getting to know she's with me because she wants to be." He picked up the tray with the bowl and cups on it, slipping past her with a small "Excuse me".
Medusa's yellow eyes softened with joy and relief before turning back to the shouting woman. Upon Chrona's arrival, Patty stopped shouting and eagerly settled back on the couch. Ragnarok, twitching and snarling, pushed himself off the floor and headed to the hallway to nurse his wounds in his room. Chrona set up the DVD player and then sat down on the cushion next to Patty. "Let's cuddle, Chrona!" She announced suddenly.
Chrona twitched and blushed frantically. "B-But I… I don't know… I don't know how," He stammered out bashfully. Patty blinked then grinned and crawled closer to him. He let out a small surprised squeak.
"You put your arm over my shoulders like this, see?" She asked while positioning his arm. He blinked, starting to relax a bit while she nuzzled her head into his shoulder. "And then I put my head here, like this. And then, we hold our other hands together like this. See?" She smiled at him brightly, lacing their fingers together.
Chrona blinked and smiled. "I like this," He said softly, letting his head rest atop Patty's. She grinned brighter as they watched the previews before the movie would start up.
Medusa smiled and headed back into the kitchen, deciding to give them some privacy and tend to the dishes while she was at it. When her son first told him he was going on a date with Patty Thompson, She had been rather worried; after all, she had seen how the other woman could get when provoked. But, gradually, as the two dated and her son became more and more chipper, she decided to let it go. After all, maybe the blonde would be good for Chrona. And now, having seen that everything Chrona had said about her was true, she decided she was going to officially accept Patty as a member of the family. 'If you need a job because of what Spirit did, Miss Thompson, just come to Mama Medusa.' She thought before turning on the sink faucet.
…
"Yes, Father. I understand," Tsubaki sighed as she hung up her phone. She sighed heavily and looked over at Black*Star, who was comfortably settled on her couch with the television on. Tsubaki liked to call and visit with her family back in Japan every so often. She had called them a few days ago, when the whole incident with the Ac of Hearts started up, and mentioned her concerns to her mother. In turn, her concerned mother mentioned them to her father. He had just called to make one thing clear; upon Ace of Hearts being shut down, Tsubaki was to return home and help out with their family's dojo. "Black*Star, I have some bad news." She said gently as she walked over.
"Hmm? What's up?" He asked curiously, looking up at her curiously. She took the remote from him, turned off the television, and set the remote on the coffee table. The other raised on brow at her, green orbs brightening with curiosity.
"If… If Ace of Hearts gets closed down then my parents have demanded I come home and help take care of the family dojo. That would mean moving back to Japan," She explained delicately, looking down at her hands. She knew Black*Star had promised to take care of her, but she had been a little worried about that. She didn't want to become his responsibility but she also knew that she could not deny her parents. Black*Star blinked ten tapped his chin in deep thought.
"Huh, that is a pretty big move but the Great Black*Star can handle anything! A move to another country is no big thing to a star as grand as I!" He laughed happily. She looked up, eyes wide, and gawked at him like a fish. Upon catching her look he grinned at her. "Hey, I'm an awesome fighting with kung-fu and all that! I can totally help teach a bunch of wimpy little brats at your dad's dojo! Plus, I promised that I would take care of you! I have to be with you if I'm supposed to take care of you!" He laughed lightly.
Her azure eyes bubbled over with tears and she hugged him tightly. "Black*Star, I… I just… I love you so much," She sniffled lightly. He smiled and wrapped his arms around her tightly, closing his eyes and enjoying getting to hold her close.
"I love you too, Tsubaki,"
…
Soul returned home from his day with Maka feeling hopeful and excited. His mother should be getting home any minute now from work and he was looking forward to what she would have to say. When Masumi walked in the door he was making some tea. "Oh, hello Mother. Want some tea?" He offered. She nodded with a sigh, sinking into a chair at the kitchen table.
"Thank you, sweetie," She mumbled while kicking her heels off under the table. She nudged them farther away with her toe as Soul set a steaming cup of peppermint tea in front of her. She took a mall sip while Soul settled in beside her. "Oh, Soul, I have some bad news."
"What is it, Mother?" He asked, setting his cup back down before even taking a sip. His brow furrowed as his mother released another sigh. She was sighing a lot and using his actual name instead of one of her many nicknames; that was far from a good sign.
"I spoke with my boss today and he said it'll be another four months before he can look over those documents for us. He's been forced to take on a lot of cases lately since one of our other attorneys's quit and dumped their case load in his lap. He did, however, promise to look into them when he can," She said gently. She reached out and gently took Soul's hand. "I'm so sorry, sweetie."
Soul was silent for a minute before standing and pacing the room. This was… Their luck was just complete bullshit! First everything that originally struck his family down hit them and then things were finally better! Soul was getting ready to be an uncle and a husband, his mother was doing well, and everyone in their family was happy! Why did things have to fall apart right now, after they had accomplished so much?
Not thinking quite clearly, Soul slammed his clenched fist into the nearby wall. His eyes widened, however, when his hand folded instead of the plaster of the wall. He swore softly under his breath and he just knew he had broken at least one of his knuckles with that little action. Masumi sighed and stood, picking up her keys. "I'll drive you to the ER, dear," She said gently.
At the Albarn residence, Maka suddenly jolted up from her book and looked around her room suspiciously; her Soul-Just-Did-Something-Totally-Stupid senses were tingling.
End
Authoress Notes:
So, when I was knocked on my ass from my oral surgery, I watched a lot of television and searched the internet (and, actually, got a decent amount of writing done). One of the main types of shows I watched while I was on bed rest was the wedding shows. Specifically I watched Say Yes to the Dress and Cake Boss; I friggin' love Buddy, by the way~! He makes me laugh. So, I know a little bit about the process of having a meeting to discuss a cake with a professional baker. And they say television does nothing but rot your brain~! :D
Also, I friggin' love red velvet. It is, like, the greatest type of cake I have ever had (tied with chocolate and the rainbow chip cake my Auntie always makes for birthdays).
I still love Kid, as well as the interactions between Patty and Chrona, and hope you all do too. Also, hope this chapter was better…
Oh, and don't forget my Sunday Q&A sessions! I'll be doing those from now until about August when I start my new semester of college~!
Next Chapter:
It is a mystery~!
