A/N:Someone requested a food fight via PM. Here you go! This is one of those short, stupid character-driven chapters that are so much fun to write!
Ideas
The Gallows' dining room seated eighteen comfortably. Seven people didn't make a dent at the table, and the room was so big that it echoed when the yelling started.
"You know, your cross-training idea..." Maka was cut off in mid-sentence when a biscuit hit her in the face. Crumbs flew as it bounced off her forehead and landed on the table between her hand and Kid's.
"Yeah, yeah, we all know it was a bad idea. Lay off, Maka!" Black Star had another biscuit ready to fly. Tsubaki put a gentle hand on his wrist and he stopped immediately.
Kid rolled his eyes, "Kindly stop making a mess out of my table and my girlfriend, thank you." He leaned over and brushed some crumbs out of Maka's bangs. Under his palm, Maka was glaring daggers at Black Star.
"Shut up until I finish, Black Star! I was going to say I thought it was a really interesting idea."
"Wait...what?" Soul craned his neck, trying to look past Liz to see if his technician was joking or not.
Maka had that look on her face. The serious, no-joking one.
"I'm mean it. Just think of the advantages we'd have if we could switch partners. If we got separated or one of us got in trouble, that flexibility might make all the difference in a fight."
"That's what I thought!" Black Star slammed his fist down on the table, rattling some of the dishes and all of Kid's nerves, "It's a great idea. I'm proud of you for recognizing my superior mind!"
"Says the man who failed geometry, what? Three times?" Soul said drily, grabbing his water glass to steady it.
"The weapon-technician bonds won't be as strong as they are with our real partners, but if Soul amplifies the wavelengths, I should be able to stabilize them enough to make it work during a chain resonance." Maka explained, looking thoughtful, "We should try it."
"Well, yeah, because this afternoon was so much fun that you idiots can't wait to do it again." Liz dropped her fork on her plate and looked completely exasperated.
"But if we could make it work, it could help us keep each other safe." Tsubaki said, moving the biscuits away from Black Star before Liz became his next target.
"It would be kind of like me and Sis using each other!" Patty exclaimed, "We can't do Death Cannon or anything without Kid, but If we have one person to throw and one to catch, it's real easy to get behind someone who thinks they have you cornered and blow a hole in them!"
"Exactly! It makes perfect sense, Patty." Maka said.
"Yes, my plan makes perfect sense! Because I'm perfect!" Black Star jumped up and knocked his chair over.
While the rest of the group was distracted, Liz leaned over, gave Kid a fake frown, and whispered, "Maka thinks Black Star and Patty are making perfect sense? Now I'm worried. Did you fuck her brains completely out?"
Kid turned bright red.
"I didn't...you...no...horrible." he stammered. He'd known it was coming, but he hadn't expected her data mining to start in the middle of dinner.
Liz started to giggle uncontrollably and slapped him on the back, "Shit, you should see your face!"
Everyone else was completely stunned by the sight of Kid picking the biscuit up off of the table and crushing it on top of Liz's head, heedless of the mess he was making.
"You should see your face." he told Liz, giving her a self-satisfied smile while he dusted the crumbs off of his hands. He didn't give a damn that they fell all over the carpet, any more than he'd given a damn about teasing Black Star about getting a date. He didn't know if he should attribute it to Maka's Grigori wavelength or the sex, but felt certain that regular doses of both were going to work wonders for his newly chill attitude.
Beside Liz, Soul yelped as a forkful of mashed potatoes landed in his hair.
"Food fight!" Patty screamed joyfully.