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Soul knew his life would change in a few substantial ways after their battle against Asura on the moon.
He’d expected to have an absolute awful time going about certain changes, but had ultimately found that the most annoying part of using his familial surname and being named the last Deathscythe was really just having to remind people that Maka was the one that’d honed him into reaching his full potential thank you very much and being very vocal about having no real desire to play in front of anyone for the time being.
The rest of his life was left relatively unchanged, which meant that most his days were filled with finishing his classes or cleaning up the cuts and bruises both he and his meister had earned through the missions they were assigned.
However, what he wasn’t prepared for were the last few hurdles that came before he and his peers would finally be able to graduate.
He’d tried not to let out an audible groan when Sid and Stein had announced that their super final exam would be graded by combining the scores of both the meister and weapon in a pair, causing him to look over his shoulder and feel his blood immediately run cold once noticing the fiery look in Maka’s emerald eyes.
The decision had ultimately left his final weeks of school as a boot camp for raising his C student status into a A- status at the very least in order to appease his obstinate meister.
“One more day and then I’m fuckin’ free,” Soul had mumbled into Maka’s pillow cover the night before the exam as Maka flipped through the pages of a study book she’d bought during the beginning of the school year.
He’d expected her to let out a small giggle or simply give him a sarcastic eye roll but had been met with a mischievous smile once she raised her head from the textbook to gaze into his scarlet eyes.
“I think I know a way to make this more exciting…” Maka then exclaimed as Soul watched her reach over towards her bedside table and fumble her hand around before eventually retrieving a stick of chapstick Liz had bought him after exclaiming he needed to delve into some extra measures to please the missus.
“Oh really? Does it involve more flashcards?” Soul snorted back while watching his meister pull the cap off the stick of chapstick and gingerly swipe the honey scented wax over her lips.
“Nope. It’s much simpler than that…” Maka hummed, probing Soul to prop himself up on one of his elbows and let out a simple ohh in response to her statement.
“I’ll give you a kiss for every question you get right on the study guide,” Maka then finished before Soul raised his eyebrows at the offer as he watched his girlfriend run one of her fingers over her tantalizing lips.
I hate how good of a strategy that is… Soul then thought while his vision trickled down towards Maka’s lips once more, which only heightened his thoughts about how feeling her lips against his own seemed to be a high his years of unrelenting pining could’ve never done justice to.
“I gotta deal with memorizing 30 pages of notes and now I’ve gotta earn a kiss from my girlfriend? You’re really trynna’ kill me this weekend, huh?” Soul replied with a faux groan of agony before Maka slid open her bedside drawer and flung a thick pile of flashcards onto her bed.
“If you don’t like that idea, we could always practice with these,” the young woman replied while using one of her fingers to toy with the large rubber band that kept the index cards in a neat and imposing stack.
“I’m jokin’, I’m jokin. Let’s play your lil’ game,” Soul then murmured before watching Maka’s lips turn into a grin while she shimmied herself across her smooth mattress until she was snug against his chest.
“Ok…let’s start with an easy one. Name a famous inventor that shaped Shibusen’s academic structure,” Maka questioned as she buried her face closer towards Soul’s chest, causing him to let out a giggle.
“That’s a lil’ too easy. Eibon, duh…” the Deathscythe exclaimed before noticing Maka angle her head upwards until the taste of wax and honey glided across the right corner of his lips.
“Good job! I guess we can move on to something more challenging. Hmm, how many countries engage in student referrals for Shibusen?” the young woman then hummed while gazing back down at her study book, leaving Soul to gingerly slide his fingers across her flaxen strands of hair.
“400,” the young man replied before feeling Maka place a quick peck onto his nose.
“You finally got that one right,” Maka beamed, only to slot her lips against Soul’s before he could even give her a witty response.
“Mmm, ok question three…” his girlfriend then huffed out as he prepared himself to keep sifting through the plethora of information she’d shoved into his cranium over the week.
“What’s the acronym that describes the proper way to dispose of a pre-kishin soul?” Maka read aloud, forcing Soul to let out a grunt as his concentration seemed to diminish the more he thought about the question.
Fuck, I don’t remember that bein’ on the study guide… Soul mentally noted while watching Maka’s lips turn into a pout at his lack of an immediate answer.
“I dunno’ Earn.A.Treat or somethin’?” the Deathscythe coughed out before Maka shook her head and then shuffled one of her hands through the stack of flashcards laying on the edge of her bed.
“Nope, it’s Absorb.Or.Supervise, so AOS for short,” Maka added as Soul gently reached down and traced his thumb across one of her cheekbones.
“I don’t suppose I could get a free kiss for that one, considerin’ it wasn’t on the study guide?” the Deathscythe probed, earning him a chuckle from Maka before he felt her plop the stack of flashcards onto his lap.
“It might’ve not been on the study guide, but it was definitely in the flashcards, so no kisses for you,” Maka tittered, eliciting Soul to let out a groan and pry the textbook out of her hands.
“Oh yea, if you’re so sure of yourself why don’t I quiz ya’ instead?” Soul grumbled, knowing full well that Maka had not only memorized all of the flashcards in that insufferable stack she’d compiled but had also reread their textbook at least three times by now in hopes of earning a perfect score for their final test.
The Deathscythe then watched as Maka’s eyebrows furrowed at the question, only for his face to morph into a devious grin once she shrugged her shoulders at him.
“Try me…” his girlfriend responded before Soul let out a low chuckle at how easily she had taken the bait.
I wonder if she knows I’m cheatin’ the system.. the Deathscythe mentally noted while flipping through Maka’s study book and ultimately landing his eyes on a set of questions sprawled on the page.
Eh, doesn’t matter which one I choose. It’s all gonna lead to the same thing…
“Alright, question one. Which continent has the greatest population of individuals with a sword transformation gene?” Soul questioned before feeling Maka rest her head against his midriff and release a languid hum.
“Europe,” the young woman immediately responded, probing Soul to let out a jubilant chuckle as he reached down and placed a small peck against the crook of her neck.
“Question two. Name a famous individual who had once been a meister for Shibusen,” the young man then mumbled into Maka’s neck, only to feel her swat a hand against his head a moment afterwards.
“Ugh, you could at least check the study book to see if the first one was right. As for the second one, I’m gonna go with Albert Einstein,” Maka added, causing Soul to release a quick chuckle before placing a chaste kiss onto her jaw.
“Why would I need to check the book when I’ve got the smartest girlfriend in the universe?” the Deathscythe sang in between a quick peck onto the back of Maka’s palm and then her wrist.
“Mmmm you’re just using this as an excuse to get more kisses, aren’t you,” Maka replied before Soul felt the warmth of her palms smack against the sides of his face, serving as his sign to look down and notice her mildly irked expression.
“Ok ok last question,” Soul breathed out while feeling his girlfriend’s fingers begin to slide away from his stubbled chin as he rested his forehead against her own.
“Who’s gonna get a perfect score tommorow?” the young man rumbled out before feeling his heart begin to skip a few beats as Maka giggled against his touch.
“We are,” his girlfriend exclaimed before catching his lips on her own once more, although this time she’d decided to step things up another level by sliding a firm hand onto the back of Soul’s head as she gasped between their lips moving against one another.
It didn’t take long for Soul to notice that they’d somehow become tangled in a pile of limbs and needy hands ontop Maka’s satin bedsheets, causing him to let out another groan while his girlfriend nibbled on his lower lip before sighing against him once they both decided to pull away.
The Deathscythe could feel his breathing begin to even out while Maka nuzzled herself into the crook of his neck, allowing him to stretch out his arm in order to wrap it across her shoulder and hold them snug together.
“I’m gonna miss this…” Maka eventually murmured, probing Soul to dip his head down in order to lay his chin ontop of her scalp and let out a hmmm in confusion.
“Y’know, just having enough free time to relax like this. Papa was pretty busy as Lord Death’s Deathscythe, so you’re probably going to be pretty busy being Kid’s weapon-“
“Hey hey, it’s gonna be ok,” Soul hummed over the young woman as he felt her fingers scratch against the loose fabric of his t-shirt with every word she’d uttered out.
“Me n’ Kid both decided that I’d just be his personal prop if we partnered up, so I’d only be needed for special events. Plus, I think Liz would come after my ass if I just took her and Patty’s job like that,” Soul giggled out while he pushed a few of Maka’s sleek bangs aside in order to have a clear view of her cool emerald eyes shooting up to gaze at him.
“You…really mean all that? You’re not just saying it to make me feel better, right? Maka then questioned, eliciting Soul to fidget his arms around until he could gently fit his fingers between each of Maka’s knuckles.
“Course’ not. Our partnership is the most important thing to me, Maka. And besides, I said I’d follow ya’ to the ends of the earth, didn’t I?”