Soul shifted his weight slightly from foot to foot, standing outside the (thankfully) different coffee shop. He tried to steady himself.

Even after ruining one of her outfits, even after making her late to work, Maka wanted to see him. She hadn't been angry at all, and he could barely believe his luck. He wasn't totally sure why she wanted to see him again, but he wasn't going to complain.

"Hi!" he heard from behind him, and he turned. Maka was standing there, looking far more relaxed than she had the first time he'd met her: she wore old jeans and a pink t shirt, and her hair was done up in pigtails.

"Hey," he said, feeling a little awkward. But her grin was wide, and he released a tension in his shoulders he didn't know was there.

"You were here early," she said playfully.

"Nah, only been here a minute," he lied. "Wanna go in?"

They entered the coffee shop. It was homey, with smooth wooden tables and low benches and the music that wafted out of the speakers was something with a lot of ukeleles. They approached the counter, and after a friendly disagreement as to who would pay (Soul won), they picked a table in the corner and settled in.

Maka made for an excellent conversation partner; she was lively and engaged, and she asked enough questions without being nosy. She was only a bit older than him, and hadn't been working at her current job – at the publishing company, apparently – for very long. She loved reading, so she was excited to be in the industry. She also loved working out, trying new foods, and playing video games.

She also really loved dogs.

"I'm so jealous!" she said, playing with the spoon in her large mug. "You get to play with puppies every day."

"'Play' might be pushing it, but it is a pretty sweet deal," Soul chuckled. "But uh, yeah, not exactly raking in the big bucks."

"Yeah, but in this economy?" said Maka, waving her hand airily. "It's almost impossible to find anything. What's your degree in?"

"Uh, never finished, actually."

"Oh! Oh, sorry. I shouldn't have assumed."

"No, it's fine, no problem. Yeah, I really should have, but I just... I couldn't stay there without knowing what I wanted to do with my life. It just felt, I dunno, not quite right."

"No! I understand." She met his gaze, and she seemed sincere. "I thought about quitting at one point. My parents finally separated, and it was kinda messy. I did stick it out, but I know the feeling. It's not a problem at all." Maka suddenly looked sheepish. "I mean, I'm not saying that, like, this is gonna turn into anything. Like that it matters what I think at this point. I mean, it's fine either way. Ugh," she said as Soul laughed, putting her face in her hands.

"I gotcha. I'm having a good time too," he said as she lifted her reddened face. She shook her head, smiling slowly, but she still looked a little embarrassed. "So what kind of music are you into?"

The conversation flowed from that point on. It went a little too well, because when Soul looked up to peer out of the small window, he was shocked to see that the sun had set.

"Shit!" he said, and Maka looked over to where he was staring.

"Oh wow!"

"I'm sorry, I hope you didn't have anywhere to be today."

"Nope! No, I'm fine. I just have to have dinner at some point."

"...Wanna grab some?"

They gathered their things and headed up the stairs into the darkening city. Soul pulled out his smart phone and they spent a few minutes looking over their options in the immediate area. Maka wrinkled her nose at Soul's suggestion for sushi ("Really?! What?!") but they eventually agreed upon a small Indian restaurant. It was only a few blocks away, and they were seated immediately.

Maka ordered a merlot, and Soul ordered a Corona, and the conversation went even more smoothly. They ate with gusto, arguing jokingly over who would get the last piece of naan (Maka won), and Maka requested a box to take her leftovers home in (while she marveled over the fact that Soul had finished – "Where do you keep it all?").

"Wow!" Maka exclaimed, checking her phone as they stepped into the cool night air. "We've been at this for eight hours."

"Shit. I really hope you didn't have anything to do today."

"Nope! I got to do exactly what I want, which is meet someone really interesting. I haven't talked that long with someone since... well, ever."

"Me neither. I mean, I'm sure my brother and I have argued about something for that amount of time, but probably not all at once. God, he could be such an ass. I should call him." Maka laughed. "So are you okay going home this late? Should we call a cab?"

"Oh! No need, I live really close. A couple blocks in that direction." She gestured.

"Mm, yeah but I hate to have you be by yourself..."

"Are you asking to walk me home?" she asked coyly, hip checking him slightly. It was the first time (since their fateful and damp first encounter) that they had touched, and Soul felt a small thrill run up his spine.

"All right, yes, I'll feel better if I walk you home."

"Okay!" she said, and took off down the street. "Try to keep up." He chuckled and jogged to meet her.

"I think I can handle it."

"Oh, I dunno! I can keep up a pretty fast pace."

"Yeah, but what do I do for a living? I walk. You are not any more of a challenge to keep up with than Oni."

"Are you comparing me to one of your dogs?"

"I mean, you do have these floppy dog ears," he said, batting at one of her pigtails.

"I'll have you know that pigtails are very in these days."

"It's in to have floppy dog ears?"

"Gimme that," she said, grabbing her hair out of his grasp. "You lost hair privileges."

"Already?"

"Yeah, you're not off to a good start."

They bickered playfully for another few blocks, passing from light to shadow as they wended their way under the streetlamps. Soul couldn't tell how much the beer was affecting him (it had only been one, of course) or if it was Maka that was making him giddy. Her laughter was infectious, and she seemed to be enjoying his company as much as he was enjoying hers.

"This is me," she said, indicating one of the buildings. They climbed the steps together, suddenly shy.

"Well," he said, shifting from foot to foot again.

"I had a really great time today, Soul," Maka said in a rush.

"Yeah, me too. It's nice to talk with someone... yeah."

"Getting tired of talking to your dogs?" she teased.

"I've been spending so much time with them lately, I am starting to have conversations with them," Soul chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Sounds like you're becoming one of them," Maka said lightly, leaning forward almost imperceptibly.

"I guess so."

"Guess that makes you a real dog, huh?" She smirked, her eyes lidded.

"Maybe."

"Maybe, or definitely?"

Soul suddenly leaned forward and swiped his tongue across Maka's cheek. Before she could react, he thundered down the steps and into the gloom of the nigh. He galloped the length of the block until he stopped, turning back to look at her darkened stoop. She was still standing there, frozen in place. His heart pounded in his chest until she found her voice and shrilled into the night, "Come back here and give me a real kiss, you ass!"

"No!"

"Why not?"

"Because you have to wait for the second date!"

"Wh-"

"Insurance!" he shouted, and turned on his heel, running as her laughter carried to his ears through the still night air.