"So, shall we go now?" He asked, shrugging off the kiss like he'd done it thousands of times.
Maka still sat completely still and emotionless, her head hung below her neck and her face still wore a hue of deep red. "You..." Her shoulders shook. "You jackass!" She hopped up from the chair and attacked him, flailing her arms at him while he easily blocked her blows.
"Well, you asked for it," he sighed, looking bored while she pounded the top of his head with her little fists like a child throwing a tantrum.
"You low-down, dirty pervert!" She screamed. "I can't believe you just did that! I can't believe I just gave away my first kiss to...to a dirty thief! I hate you!"
"I think I can deal with that," he smirked and caught both of her arms with one single sweep. "Now, if you'd please stop throwing a fit like a bratty little girl, I'd like to get moving. The faster we do this, the faster you'll never have to see my handsome face ever again."
She scowled at him and reluctantly unclenched her fists. "Fine! But don't you ever dare to kiss me again!" She huffed and crossed her arms.
"Wouldn't dream of it," he said, grabbing the lantern on the desk. "Let's go already." He was tempted to grab her injured wrist again, but thought twice before he did. "Follow me." With Maka trailing behind him, he ventured out into the tunnels while keeping a close eye on her and making sure she was always behind him.
She followed him silently, wiping the warm tingly feeling away from her lips with disgust. Why did I have to get stuck with him, of all people? she thought helplessly to herself while Soul navigated flawlessly through the labyrinth of dark twisting tunnels. He waited for her to throw an insult at him, for her to break the silence with verbal assault or call him names, but she didn't. Together, for the first time since they met, they were both silent.
When he finally turned the last corner and found a small hatch made out of wood, Soul used his hand to brush away the layer of dust and mud. Maka watched as he pushed it open and a gust of fresh and chilly air hit their faces. "Where are we now?"
Soul peered through the small passage way and glanced around. "It's a small crawlspace, but I think we can fit in here. Just follow me and climb up the ladder at the end of the tunnel."
She climbed in after him with the smell of something foul started to invade her noise. She gagged and asked, "What's that smell?"
He stopped crawling for a moment to answer, "Well, we're in deep shit now."
She nearly threw up. "We're in the s-sewer?!"
"Where else could we hide, if not up there?" He said casually, knee-deep in other people's excretions.
"You're insane..." she muttered and tried to push the thought out of her mind, and kept inching through the small mud-like substance that was coated against her dress and bare skin. "I hate you..."
"We can get a bath when we get there. Here. I can see the ladder from here."
She glanced up and squinted at the sight in front of them. Soul grabbed for one of the rungs and hauled himself up out of the sewage and she did the same. Once his hands found the hard metal cover that blocked the entrance, he gave it a slight push and climbed out.
It was pitch black outside. Soul pulled himself from the small hole and onto the soft green grass and shrubs. He grabbed Maka's hand, taking her by surprise, and guided her up to the surface, where she gulped in a breath of fresh, outside air. "We're almost there...actually, let's make a little stop before we go. Don't want you looking all dirty."
She desperately tried to wipe off the muck with her hands, but it only smeared. "You better replace this dress..." she muttered angrily. Soul stretched his back with relief and yawned.
"Let's hurry already, I'm tired." He grabbed her shoulders and shoved her ahead of him. "Shut up about the dress, I'm sure you have thousands of replacements back at home."
"Shut up! This dress was specially made just for the Masquerade Ball!"
He rolled his eyes. "And I'm sure you can afford a dozen more."
She responded with a glare that he couldn't see. "Where are we going anyways? Aren't the thief dens located in the Underground, too?"
"Yeah, but I wanna stop somewhere first."
"Don't tell me you're gonna drag me around town," she huffed impatiently.
"You'll see where we're going in a moment," he said and continued to push her on and into a nearby road that led out of the forest. Soon, they hit a small town with a long gravel road with small cottages that were positions on each side, their windows completely darkened and covered with shades. There was no other source of light except for a building all the way down at the end of the street, whose light flooded the street. Soul pat her shoulder and motioned for her to keep moving and to keep quiet.
She was tempted to scream. She was so tempted to cry for yelp and wake up the whole neighborhood and get away from this stupid thief boy. As if he knew what she was thinking, he suddenly raised a hand to her mouth and shushed her. "Wouldn't want you to wake up the whole neighborhood. I hope I don't have to hold your mouth for the whole walk there."
She shoved the hand away from her face and glared at him. "Get your dirty hand off me!" She almost yelled and he shushed her again.
"Hurry up. We're almost there." He grabbed her arm and tugged her from behind to make sure she didn't try to escape out in the open. Maka looked longingly out into the emptied street and darkened houses. She was so close to freedom. They stopped in from of a small pub with swinging doors. There was illumination that came from inside that spilled out into the walkway. She could hear the faint chatter and sing-songy voices of men on the inside. Soul stepped forward and kicked open the door, and they were greeted with the sight of a bunch of men sitting at tables, chatting loudly together with half-empty jugs filled with am amber liquid.
"Why here?" She hissed at him as he yanked her inside the crowd of drunken men with reddened faces and slurred sentences.
"Hey!" He waved to the bartender. "A cup of whisky for your old friend!"
The bartender, who was polishing an empty mug, waved back and turned back to a shelf filled with a wide variety of bottles and jugs. "Does the lady want a drink?" He asked Maka.
"You drink?" Soul asked with a smirk.
"Aren't you a bit too young to have alcohol?" She asked.
"Not when you're a famous thief," he replied smugly and took a seat on a tall stool at the bar, and patted the empty stool next to him at her. The man placed his drink in front of him and he immediately chugged it down. "Another, please," he waved the bartender off as Maka took a seat with a disgusted gaze. "C'mon, Maka, lighten up a bit. Maybe you'll be less pissy now," he chuckled as he downed another glass.
"Sorry, I would never sink down to your level," she said and crossed her arms stubbornly.
He was on his third glass now, going at a steady pace. "Maka...take a damn sip. It won't hurt," he said and offered his glass.
"No thanks." He took a swig and shrugged. Suddenly, a short blonde haired man came up from behind and smacked him on the back so hard he almost spit out all of his drink.
Coughing, he turned his head and was greeted by the endearing scowl of another man who was looking down at him. "Welcome back, Eater," the man's terrible expression suddenly lightened into a hearty laugh as he smacked his back playfully.
Soul swiveled around in his chair to greet the man with a toothy smirk. "Clay, how've you been doing?"
"Pretty damn well." The girl sitting next to him caught his eye. "Hello there, pretty little miss. Don't tell me...you're with ol' Soul Eater?"
Maka flounced the other way. "Be with this man? I'd rather die a horribly painful death than admit that I'm with him," she told him.
Clay chuckled and Soul scoffed. "Oof, buddy," Clay told him. "Love burns." He walked away and joined his other men at another table with laughter and drunken singing. Soul leaned back against the bar and she watched as the whisky drained from the cup and down his throat.
"Hmph..." he hiccuped, his pose becoming droopier. "Hey mister, do ya have any rooms for us to rent upstairs?" He asked, his words becoming mushed. Soul took another sip of his fifth cup. He sure knows how to drink... Maka thought to herself. Her face suddenly lit up with an idea.
"I've never seen someone so small consume so much alcohol and not be throwing up all over the place," she told him. "Is that all you want to do here?"
"I'd've thought you'd notice that I'm a regular customer here," he muttered and rubbed his eyes that were starting to form bags under them. "I thought I could use a little relaxation, too. Y'know, kidnapping is a tiresome thing." She rolled her eyes. He showed her the empty bottom of his cup. "Drink one. I dare you." He was definitely drink now.
She reluctantly took the drink that Soul ordered her and held it to her lips slowly, as if she were about to drink poison. After she had finally found the courage to take a sip, and eventually empty her own cup, she choked down the last drop and held it to him with a sour face. Her head began to ache slightly. "Soul, I think I need to rest now. I think that drink was a bit too much for me..." She feigned a slurred sentence and grasped her head.
"Heh..." He laughed. "Alrighty, then, princess." He gave a drunken wave to the bartender. "A rented room for milady, please," he chuckled and he pointed to the stairs at the back of the room. By the time the bartender had delivered Soul the keys, he was on his eighth shot of whisky.
She tried to guide him up the stairs as a drunk Soul stumbled on each step. His head hung limply over his shoulder and a small dribble of saliva was leaking out the side of his mouth. She managed to open the door with her free hand while he was in the other. Inside, there was a small nightstand against each of the two beds that were on opposite sides of the room. It was like a hotel guest room, but with nothing but beds.
She let his plop down on the bed, and he fell face-first into the pillow. "Maka..." his muffled voice reached her ears. "Help me take off my coat. It's heavy. And my hat." Maka, who had been sitting on the other bed, groaned as she snatched the hat from his head and placed it on the nightstand. She unbuttoned his cape and also placed it on the ground. "Maka..." He turned over and his eyes met hers, the same burning gaze that she first saw at the ball. "Are you gonna help me or not?"
"Stop being a stupid ingrate," she chastised, helping him maneuver his coat off his limp shoulders by standing up him up.
"Heheh..." he chuckled. "I've always thought you're cute when you're angry, princess."
Her cheeks pinked immediately and she shot him a glare. "Sh-shut up! It's because you're drunk that you're saying all these stupid things!"
His head lolled back and his face burned as red as his eyes. He stumbled backwards and fell into the bed, while she just so happened to be holding his collar. Together, they both flopped on the sheets, Maka landing right on top of the drunk thief. "S-Soul!" She cried as she landed on his chest, her face flaring up with pink. "Get off!"
"Hehe...I think you're the one on me..." he muttered in a daze as she picked herself up off him. "No, don't leave me so fast. I can keep you warm if you'd like..." He held up his hands and she knew that he was undeniably drunk.
"No way, dumbass!"
She couldn't blame the fact that he was drunk. She sighed, venturing back to her bed wearily and landed in her own bed. Listening to the soft sound of his snoring, she thought and planned quietly to herself. His carelessness would cost him. Tonight, she planned to sneak out of the room in the dead of night and escape without him noticing, and then he'd wake up completely clueless in the morning. It was perfect.
A small smile of triumph appeared in the corner of her mouth. She waited and waited, just to make sure. She waited for what felt like hours and listened carefully for the same old sound of him being fast asleep. Then, she slowly rose out of bed. She was careful not to make a sound. She even listened to the slight squeak of the mattress.
Maka knew she was smarter than she looked. When she had been going back to her bed, she observed each step she took and memorized every board that made a creak. Without a sound, she tiptoed over her choices of floorboards and made it to the door while he still snored away. She smiled as she turned the doorknob. Freedom was so close now.
But she found that the doorknob was not turning fully. She bit her lip and looked behind her. She turned the doorknob again, and figured that it was locked. That bastard! When did he ever lock this door?! Scanning his body carefully using the small glow of the dying lantern flame, she spotted something glimmering that hung from his belt. It was a key that was attached to his hip by a ring.
Damn him! He knew it before I was even gonna try it! She cursed in her head. She'd have to take a risk now. The boy was snoring away in the same position she had left him: head tilted towards the ceiling, a puddle of drool staining the sheets next to his face, one arm placed over his stomach. She carefully stepped over towards his body and bent down to examine the key.
Maka raised a hand to grab the ring carefully, and saw that it would probably take effort to slip it off the belt without waking him. Her thumb pressed down, carefully but hard, on the little slit of metal. Slowly, she maneuvered the ring off his belt and held the key in his hand. A sly grin formed on her face as she stood up to get to the door, and soon she'd be out of here and away from him -
Something warm and firm grabbed her wrists. "Gotcha," his voice, the same damning voice that she despised, crooned gently. She turned and saw a giant grin painted on his face, and his hand grasped around her skinny little wrist that held the key. "You actually fell for the whole drunk act. You actually believed that I'd be dumb enough to let my guard down."
"Dammit!" She pulled away but his grip was relentless. "Let go! I hate you!"
"Hmph. I feel hurt here." He sat up and yanked her closer to his body. "And I thought I made a pretty good promise to you back there, too."
"Just because you put your lips on me doesn't mean I actually want to go with you!" She scoffed, glaring at him with emerald daggers and his grin grew wider.
He reached up and grabbed her other wrist, pulling her in with a daring gaze that met her angered one. "You're a challenge. I haven't had one for a while now," he growled excitedly.
"You're damn right I won't make this easy for you, so you better stop acting like a cocky little jackass all the time!" She retorted with a scowl, and pulled herself free.
He snorted. "That's okay. I won't hold back either." Soul jumped up from the bed and snatched the key from her hand. "I guess we're finally through with the introductions. Let's go." So that was his real motive of coming here, she thought. It was all a test. But did I pass or fail?
Once again, she found herself being dragged by the sleeve out the door, downstairs into the empty pub and into the dark streets. It was still night outside. Maka was still exhausted. Her bare footsteps dragged along the cobblestone path. Soul led her back into the forest, into the pines and to another mysterious pathway that connected to the Underground again. "Where are we going now?" She asked tiredly.
"To meet all my friends. I'm sure you'd like them." He noticed her pace slowing down, and remember that she still hadn't rested for hours. "If you get tired I'll carry you again."
She grew fierce through her weariness. "No thanks!"
"Hmph, alright then." He stopped in front of a tree and moved aside the branches and leaves, revealing a black hole. He leaped back into the darkness with Maka trailing behind him and they slid down a metal hatch.
Maka braced for impact, but she slowly slid to a stop against his back. "Where are we now?"
Soul stepped out of the slide and pulled her out, motioning to the large room around them. It was filled with men of all sizes who were talking to each other, all either dirty-looking or refined, and a bar stationed in the corner of the cave that was illuminated by candles hung on the wall. There were long wooden tables everywhere and mugs laying all around. Drunken cries of men and whoops of laughter filled the room, even in the dead of night.
"Welcome to the den of Thieves," Soul said with a smirk.
A/N: Please review! Feedback is an author's best friend!
~Amber