A/N: Valentine's day challenge on tumblr, day five. More cracky fluff.
While this is fun, I'm hella excited for Reverb. I'm modding it along with others and I'd love to see all the people who love all the ships do it. If you haven't heard of it and want details, feel free to message me here, on tumblr, or to checkout reverbmod on tumblr.
And now-Crack Ahoy!
A blind date-seriously? They had to be kidding.
A date with some random guy they had picked.
A date with a stranger.
A date with someone, anyone, other than the one person she actually wanted to date, who at least one of the other people who had plotted this farce knew she wanted to date.
Really. They had to be kidding.
They weren't kidding.
Maka had been dragged from movie night with her weapon to girl's night with half of Spartoi, only to be sprung with a bait and switch, to have been dressed, and painted, and spritzed, and fussed over.
It was-well, it was absurd was what it was.
"At least tell me who it is," she insisted as Liz continued to tease her hair into soft curls.
"Noope," she sang. "You took dare over truth, and this is your dare, But I promise you're gonna love him. Weapon's honor."
"Like you have honor," she grumbled before turning pleading eyes to the dark arm weapon standing off to the side. "Tsubaki? You're really going along with this?"
"I-think it's for the best. You're nineteen, Maka, and you've never been on a date. Don't you think you should explore your options?"
"I don't want any options," she groused.
"Unless," Kim strolled into her field of vision, grinning. "The problem is that you have a very specific option in mind.
"No," she snapped. "I'm just not interested in dating. What's so wrong with being single?"
"Nothing," Kim said with a small shrug.
"Especially not when you live with your hot, also single death scythe already, amiright?" Patti said from her other side, cackling. Maka didn't dignify that with a response, but she couldn't help the bright flush that overtook her.
"Oh, leave her alone," Jackie interrupted with a hand on Kim's shoulder. "She agreed to go, she's being a good sport about everything, so why tease?"
"Because it's fun?" Patti offered with a lopsided grin.
"Annnnnyway," Liz said suddenly. "I'm done. Have a look."
Grudgingly, Maka got up to eye herself in the full length mirror in Liz's room skeptically. She had never minded dressing up for the right occasion, but she tended towards more simple styles. This dress was-well, seeing it on the hanger, feeling it on her skin couldn't do justice to how it hugged her modest curves, to how the low cut wrap style accentuated her bust, how the short, flared bottom highlighted her legs.
And it was red. With red on her lips, with her hair piled in high curls on her head, she looked ready to take on the town.
"It's-well, okay, I look good."
"No, you look hot," Liz corrected.
"Still wish I knew who I was looking hot for," she groused.
"Well, you're about to find out. Limo's here. Just give your name at the hostess stand and they'll direct you. Have fun-and remember, if you chicken out you'll be sorry!" Liz offered as she ushered Maka out the door.
It appeared she was off to tell some poor sap she wasn't interested. Ah, well. At least she'd probably be home in time for movie night. Oh-no-wait-it wouldn't matter. The boys were having a night, too.
She absently wondered what Soul would think of the dress as they pulled up to the restaurant. Probably wouldn't even notice. She could run around in only a towel and he would be oblivious-she should know. She'd certainly tried.
Well, she sighed as she got out of the car, maybe her date would appreciate the dress. As if it mattered.
Looking around, she had to admit she was impressed. Morte de Pasta? If they were making her do this, at least they were doing it in style. It took months to get reservations to the place, it was pricey, and it was hailed by most as the best restaurant in the city. Not that she'd know.
Walking in, she gave her name at the hostess stand and was ushered into the dark, stylish space to a quiet, cozy corner booth, compete with candles. It was empty. So her "date" had yet to show. Maka couldn't say she was sorry-maybe he wouldn't show at all and she could avoid a hell of a lot of awkwardness.
She ordered a glass of wine-apparently this was all on Kid's tab, so if her god/boss/long time friend was going to be in on this absurd attempt to meddle with her love life, well, she figured he deserved to buy her an overpriced glass of grape juice. Half a glass in as she absently scanned the souls in the room, recognizing no one in particular, she finally caught one she knew.
Her eyes narrowed as she watched the glow of his soul across the room, just past the hostess stand. What was he doing here?
Then she caught the mop of white as he followed the hostess her way, draped in the dark suit he wore too well, caught his own look of surprise as the hostess led him closer and closer to her table to finally be directed towards the empty part of the booth across from her.
Liz was so dead. Liz and Tsubaki and Patti and Kim and Jackie. All of them. Hell, all the boys, too, since if he was here, it meant they'd been in on it, too.
He sat down and blinked across the table from her, face unreadable, soul unsure, as his red eyes met her own. He hadn't known either.
"So," Maka said too lightly. "Up for massacring Spartoi?"
Soul laughed and it was nervous but genuine, lighting up his face, his entire being. "Nah," he said with a smile. "I mean, tempting, very tempting, but-" the smile widened "I think I have a better idea."
"Oh?" She raised her eyebrows.
"Yup. This is on Kid's tab, right? They want us to have dinner together?" His smile grew mischievous. "I say we have dinner together."
"Sounds like a plan, although," a smile spread on her face to match his own, "I still haven't ruled out the possibility of a slaughter."
"Well, if you're still up for it after we break Kid's wallet, count me in. I'm your weapon, after all. It's my civic duty or whatever."
She laughed and they laughed and they then proceeded to execute their "plan."
Three bottles of very pricey wine, three appetizers, two salads, two soups, two high end entrees, two desserts, and two Irish coffees later and they were both stuffed to the gills and laughing over the seven hundred dollar bill. A lot.
"We should just tip extra so it's 888.88. Kid'll be ecstatic," Soul said lazily as he took another sip of his Irish coffee.
Maka actually giggled, punctuated by a snort. "Noooo, we should make it 888.81 just to drive him insane."
He snorted in turn, chuckling, and the vibration felt nice against her. They'd ended up scooted together on one side of the booth, and she had her head resting on his shoulder.
In all honesty, she was having time of her life. She was at a really nice restaurant, stuffed with an amazing dinner, head full of expensive wine, all with the one she loved. Okay, so that last part was one sided, but even still, they were friends and this was fun. This was nice.
Did he think it was nice?
"Sorry about this," she ventured finally, the alcohol willing her tongue to speak her stray thought. "They were trying to help me. They just have a funny, really invasive way of doing it."
"Oh yeah, I know." He shrugged. "And anyway, it was nice-having dinner together like this. I-wait-"
Soul sat up straighter and she could practically see the cogs spinning in his head and she didn't get it. Her sluggish mind struggled with placing what realization he might have had and simply couldn't, so she sat up herself and blinked at him in question.
"Did you just say-" he began slowly. "They were trying to help you?"
"Uhhhh." Maka colored, embarrassed that she had slipped, cursing the expensive wine to Eibon's Book and back. "Maybe?"
"And they would be helping you because-" he leaned closer, eyes intent on hers "-because you would want a date-with me?"
"I-I mean-" she stammered, shaking her head.
"Did you? Do you?" He was too close and his breath reeked of wine. She scooted back, fear and anger clawing at her. Screw Liz, and Patti, and Kim, and Jackie, and especially Tsu, who she never, never should have admitted the truth to. Screw every single one of them. And screw her stupid, stupid weapon for toying with her now.
Too bad she really did want to screw him-that was the whole problem.
"I'm not discussing this, now or ever," she said, voice shaking in rage.
"No," Soul said quietly, sitting back, giving her space. "We need to discuss it. We do."
"No, we really don't."
"Yes, we really do," he sighed, flushed with the wine and, most likely, amusement. "Because the thing is-" he leaned closer again "-the thing is, I thought they did this for me."
Maka blinked at him, confused. "You-what?"
"When I came in and saw you-you of all people sitting here in that dress looking like-like-" the flush deepened "-well, let's just say I thought I was going to have to blow off a fangirl. But instead, there was my-my-"
"Your?"
"My dream girl."
She colored, he colored, and then she laughed, punctuated with another snort. "You are so corny. If I'm your dream girl, you need to have better dreams."
"Nope. Doesn't get better." His grin was wide and insistent.
"So basically-" she said cautiously, scooting closer again "-this really was-a date?"
He nodded. "Pretty sure it was, yeah. If you're cool with that."
She nodded in return. "I am. And-" she paused, her heart hammering in her chest suddenly at the words she was about to speak. "Does that mean we're-dating?"
"I'd like to, yeah," he said softly.
"Me too," her voice was just as soft, her heartbeat even louder in her ears as she leaned forward to kiss him.
It was brief. It was sweet. It was perfect.
Soon after, they paid the bill-888.88-and left.
Turned out, they didn't feel like slaughtering Spartoi after all.
