Soma Week Day 6: Worth it

You rescued me from the creepy person that was hitting on me in the bar AU

–

Soul hated bars. Soul hated strangers. Soul hated uncomfortable social situations.

So how had he ended up at a bar, alone, cornered by a very tipsy girl who kept trying to touch his arm and flirt with him?

He blamed Black*Star, of course.

Perpetual lateness was a classic sign of a narcissist and Black*Star took the cake when it came to that particular personality disorder. Soul should have expected that "Meet me at eight" was code for "I have to fuck around my apartment for a couple hours, send shirtless selfies to sixteen different girls, see you whenever." He should have known, yet here he was, waiting at a bar, playing with his phone in an attempt to make people think he was busy, all alone and vulnerable.

"Soooo, what school do you go to?" The girl currently invading his space was kind of cute, he supposed, if you were into drunk co-eds. She had curly red hair and was showing a lot of impressive cleavage but she smelled like alcohol and cigarettes and extremely pungent perfume. Black*Star would have had her in the photo booth with her skirt hiked up ten minutes ago but all Soul wanted to do was drink his beer in peace. Was that too much to ask?

It apparently was, since Ginger decided to move on to pressing her boobs against his arm. Soul shrunk back a bit and mumbled something about just having dropped out of school because he was a crack addict and went in and out of prison. Maybe that would get her off his back?

"Oh, wow! I'm a math major. Seeeeriously interesting stuff."

GET YOUR STUPID ASS OVER HERE NOW, Soul furiously texted Black*Star. STOP WHATEVER FUCKBOY THING YOU ARE DOING AND GET OVER HERE OR WE'RE DONE.

Soul couldn't do this. He was not meant for bar flirting and random strangers soliciting sex from him. He wanted to be home in his apartment, listening to music, and trolling the internet for funny dog videos. He was about to fake an illness– which arm hurt when you were having a heart attack?– when his salvation came in the form of a small blond walking into the bar.

Maka Albarn, neighbor and mutual acquaintance of Black*Star, was a nice girl. She was a friend to all, volunteered to work with troubled teens, taught women's' self defense classes, and was an all around good person. They had hung out a couple of times, with and without Black*Star, and Soul genuinely enjoyed her company. She was pretty and smart and made him feel comfortable. Soul had considered asking her on an official date but could never work up the nerve.

Maka caught Soul's eye and waved enthusiastically. Soul stared at her pathetically, hoping that his expression adequately conveyed just how desperate he was for her help. Now would have been the perfect time to learn that he was an X-Men who could use telepathy. He prayed to whatever deity that might be listening that Maka would catch the hint.

Soul was about to just get up and walk out when he felt a different pair of arms wrap around his shoulders. He caught the familiar, comforting scent of generic pharmacy soap and freshly cut grass and relaxed immediately. "Sorry I'm late. I was helping mow the football field at the alternative high school for pregnant teens across the stress and lost track of time."

"S'okay," Soul mumbled. Maka had slender arms but he had seen her at the gym with Black*Star. She could pack a serious punch and he felt safe with her as a barrier between him and the other girl. It was probably really uncool to depend on someone a half a foot shorter than him to protect him, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

She leaned in and pressed a kiss to his cheek. Soul immediately blushed, color traveling from the tips of his ears to his collarbone. "Could I have a sip of your beer? I'm dying of thirst."

Soul slid the beer over to her. He was so thankful; he would have bought her an entire brewery. Maka put her mouth by his ear, talking low. "Thanks… baby."

His "girlfriend" hid her face in the juncture between his neck and his shoulder, obviously trying to hold back giggles at using the petname. Soul was not a petname person by any means– as a general rule, they made him cringe and dry heave– but her voice in his ear calling him "baby" had an instant, embarrassing effect on him. Her lips were now also incredibly close to his neck and it really wasn't helping his situation.

Eventually Red got the hint and scooted away, saving herself from any further embarrassment. Maka beamed at Soul as she stood between his legs. "Look at you being all popular," she teased.

"Ugh. Thanks for the save," Soul let out the breath he had been holding for the last half an hour. "Really."

Maka waved her hand, dismissing his thanks. "Don't worry about it. You looked really uncomfortable. I couldn't just leave you hanging. Sorry for the uh– acting. I thought I better come on strong or she wouldn't leave you alone."

"No!" Soul shouted and then immediately dialed it back. "Uh, I mean no. It's cool. Whatever."

"Mmm," Maka hummed, sipping his beer and watching him for a few seconds. Her eyes seemed to look right through him. Soul hoped they couldn't see his embarrassing hard on. "I think she's still watching you."

He groaned. "Fuck. I'm going to just–"

"I better kiss you and make it look good," Maka put the beer down. "What do you think?"

Inwardly, Soul was screaming for her to kiss him, kiss him now please, kiss him for as long as she wanted just for the love of all that is good and holy, KISS HIM. He squashed that down and instead said, "Okay."

He felt small hands with slender, calloused fingers touch his cheeks and pull him towards her gently. Her kiss was soft, barely there, feather light but warm and sent tingles down his spine. Soul tentatively wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, abandoning the idea of a longer, more passionate kiss (they were in public, after all) in favor of smaller affectionate pecks. She smiled against his lips, leaning her forehead against his.

Maka was either an exceptional actress or she actually and genuinely liked him. Soul hoped it was the latter.

"What the hell did I miss?" Black*Star shrieked from behind them. "What the everloving fuck is happening here?!"

Maka stayed in his arms, looking thoughtful. "I saved Soul from a drunk girl and now I think I'm going to ask him on a date."

"I accept." Soul hoped Black*Star wouldn't give him too much shit for needing to be saved but he knew he would probably be hearing about this for the next ten years.

Totally worth it.