Allan sat on the hard bench staring into his drink on the table in front of him; he was hoping Marian would wear something tight. Out of the window the sun was taking forever to sink beneath the horizon and Allan willed it to go faster. After sunset he would meet Marian behind the tavern and he looked forward to these liaisons, telling the gang that he was trying to catch some meat for dinner tomorrow. It was sordid but it wasn't.
After a few minutes the sun had disappeared behind a building and it was dark enough to head outside. Allan downed the rest of his drink and walked out of the tavern, unnoticed by the patrons that were drowning their sorrows in ale. He walked behind the building to the alleyway where there were no windows in the buildings that sheltered their secret.
After what seemed like forever Marian came into the alleyway, walking quickly with her hood up. She looked up from the floor and grinned at Allan.
"You took your time," Allan said "I was about to leave."
"No you weren't. You would wait for me forever." She smiled.
Allan was annoyed to notice that she was wearing a big, chunky cardigan and a billowing skirt. Clothes that hid mostly everything he liked about her. She had probably worn them on purpose, he thought sourly.
"What have you told the gang this time?" Marian asked. She loved listening to his ever-more-wild excuses for slipping away. On this night Allan was not in the mood for small talk, he was feeling edgy and impatient.
"I'm not being funny but we're not here to chat are we?"
"Patience is a virtue, Allan." Marian never called him up on his rudeness, not like she did with Robin. It's one of the things that she liked most about Allan and sometimes she would positively encourage his terse remarks.
"We're not here to be virtuous either." He replied quickly, grinning. Marian could see the glint in his eyes.
She was also feeling impatient. She looked up at him and his deep blue eyes that were staring at the wall of the building behind the tavern. He tried so hard to hide his feelings for her. Marian knew it wasn't love or anything of the kind but she was excited by him and felt pleased with the thought that he might be excited by her. She was desperate to kiss him, but pride prevented her from leaning in first so she leant with her back to the wall and looked at him out of the corner of her eye.
Allan closed his eyes and thought about all the ways he had betrayed Robin and the gang, pushed them to the back of his mind and turned to Marian and kissed her.