11Disclaimer: Based off a prompt by reddit user George_S_Patton_III
Fae Wild
-Chapter One-
"Please, can I use your phone? I'll be in and out, swear on my sister's life-"
He didn't have a sister, nor did this particular home-owner have a gullible bone in their body. The door in front of him slammed shut faster than he could finish his sentence and for what felt like the fifteenth time that night, Soul was left with an angry warning to leave lest the cops would be called. With a halfhearted click of his tongue, Soul did an about face and sauntered off into the evening road. He said nothing, the only sound signaling others to his presence being the ghastly rumble of his stomach as he wandered aimlessly towards his next destination.
Soul hadn't had any luck in this neighborhood. Admittedly, he knew all the reasons why; a stranger with a hoodie on in the middle of the night asking to come into someone's home was beyond suspicious and threatening, but it was all he had at the moment. With each echo from his stomach, Soul was painfully reminded of his current predicament. It'd been almost a week since he'd last eaten. For those like him, such a span of time between feedings would normally be a death sentence. Luckily Soul had weaned himself to live on only the bare minimum, but even then the effects of starvation were starting to take their toll. His judgement was cloudy. He was desperate. And with each passing minute, he could slowly start to feel himself slip away into that eternal sleep that people like him dreaded.
He just needed a little blood. One good, long, drink. Hell, he'd even settle to wet his tongue.
It was summer. He figured teenagers would be outside causing trouble late at night, or some health crazed nut would be doing their marathon training or something. To Soul's bitter dismay however, everyone was still inside. It was nearly 10 o'clock, and yet he hadn't seen anyone out and about for close to two hours. He remembered when night time equaled playtime, but then again that was a long time ago. Perhaps the times were changing. Well, of course they were, but he didn't think they'd changed that much. Otherwise he would have taken his chances elsewhere. Somewhere more promising. Somewhere with more food.
His stomach rumbled again. Soul threw his head back and groaned at the full-moon sky. His desperation was increasing, and yet he had no idea what to do about it. He was at his wits end this time. He scanned the area ahead of him and his heart sank; almost all the houses were pitch-dark, not a single light on anywhere in the house. He couldn't believe that this many people were turned in on a weekend, and in the middle of summer no less. So much for trying to hit up the fancy neighborhood. All he had left was one measly house at the very end. The porch light was on. He had to take it.
With a sigh and slightly woozy swagger, Soul made his way slowly to the door. It was a two-story house in the middle of a cul-de-sac, and it looked plain and unassuming. There were no decorations anywhere, not even so much as a doormat. The only noticeable thing about the place was the giant tree in the middle of the front yard. Its roots were thicker than most other trees' trunks, and its limbs cast themselves damn near close to the neighboring house. It would have struck Soul as odd, but he had no room to talk. He was a vampire, after all. Besides, he was too tired to care much at the moment.
Soul didn't even bother to come up with a story this time. He knocked on the door as soon as he arrived and figured he'd just do whatever. All he had to do was to get the guy to invite him in; that was vampire 101. If the homeowner let him in, Soul could grab a drink and run out before anyone was the wiser. Otherwise, he'd be stuck standing around with his thumb up his ass. He'd been lucky enough to not have the cops called on him yet, but he had a sneaking suspicion that if this venture didn't turn out fruitful then he should just cut his losses and try to find another area to feed.
Soul's ears twitched when the door creaked open. Before he even could see who it was, he started to spout off some nonsense about his car breaking down and needing to call AAA. About halfway through his bullshit however, Soul stopped mid-sentence. Standing in the lit porch way before him wasn't a man like all the others, but a girl. Well, woman, but she was tiny. Tinier than him, anyway. It actually caught him off guard, since most get their husbands or boyfriends to answer the door so late at night. This time, though, this blonde lady just threw it open without hesitation.
Green eyes. Long hair. Tank top. Shorts. It was a welcome change of pace for his tired eyes, which at this point was used to seeing older men with hair nearly as white as his own. Suddenly, Soul felt a little more self conscious. He made sure his hood was tightly secure to hide the fact that his locks were paler than snow, and he ducked his head just a little bit to hide his equally off-putting eyes. Blood red, like the liquid he was do desperate to taste right now. There was nothing he could do about his fangs, however. He had to talk, and if they showed through while he spoke then, oh well.
"Where's your car then?" she asked plainly, crossing her arms.
It took Soul a minute to realize she had heard everything he'd said, and now he had to backpedal and continue on with the story. That was a little hard to do however, since he could tell right off the bat that this woman could see through his lie. It wasn't that his delivery was off; he was usually very smooth at talking and could generally get whatever he wanted out of people, but for some reason that just didn't seem to work on this girl. Her warm, almost solid green eyes were jarring. They seemed to look at him the same way he looked at people; as prey. He liked it.
"...Don't have one," he readily admitted. Soul threw up his arms in defeat and surrendered almost immediately.
"So you're either here to rob me or rape me," the woman crossed her arms defiantly. She didn't let up when Soul shook his head.
He couldn't help but grin at her audacity. She wasn't afraid of him. Ultimately that was stupid on her part, since there was no way she could know for sure that he wasn't here to do those things to her, but he respected her fearlessness all the same. He opened his mouth to try and salvage a way to come inside, but ultimately he was betrayed by his own bodily functions. The moment his lips parted, a bestial rumble escaped from his belly. The sound was accompanied by pangs of hunger, and again Soul was taken off guard. He suddenly found himself double over, clutching his stomach in a vain attempt to stop the hurting.
"Fuck," he hissed to himself, not even caring that the spotlight was still technically on him.
"...You're hungry, I take it?" he heard the woman ask from the door. Soul shook his head yes, as if on autopilot. "Are you homeless?"
A light went off in Soul's head. He had an opportunity, and he took it. "If I had a home, do you think I'd be out here begging for scraps like some kind of sorry animal?"
Soul looked up; not all the way, not far enough to where she could get a good look at his eyes. He rose just enough to where he could only see her midriff, and he focused on that. He figured if he could make himself look pathetic enough, she might take some pity on him. Invite him inside for a quick bite, literally, and then send him on his way. That was the hope, and he prayed to whatever god there was out there that she was gullible and stupid enough to fall for it. He just needed her to say the magical words that would let him-
"-Come in for a sec," she informed him with a sigh.
Soul froze. He creaked to life a moment later, but by the time he'd lifted his head up she had already wandered back inside. Another growl erupted from his stomach, and it reminded him not to blow this golden opportunity. Immediately, Soul shot straight up and went for the door. He put one foot through there first, just to make sure that he'd heard right. His toes went past the threshold no problem, and the blood in his veins started to pump with excitement. The rest of him followed inside, and the next thing he knew the door was closed behind him. He was in.
He wanted to find her. Pin her down. Drink her. That was the vampire in him. The still somewhat decent side of him, however, told Soul to wait a minute. Take it slow. At least take a second to breathe. He sucked in air and scanned the entry way. There were a couple pictures of the woman with various people hanging on the walls, and some leftover mail collected neatly where her keys were. Soul picked up one of the envelopes, finding it addressed to the name Maka Albarn. Maka, eh? At least now he had a name to go with the face.
"The kitchen is this way!" he heard the woman call out from around the corner.
Soul perked. With one final deep breath, he resolved himself to get this over with. He took off towards the sound of her voice, and he quickly found her in the kitchen. Her head was in the fridge as she rummaged through shelves for food to give him. A sitting duck, ripe for the picking. Soul pulled his hood back, revealing long, spiky threads of fair hair. His red eyes shone underneath the light of the overhead kitchen lamp. His mouth parted, revealing rows of sharp teeth ready to sink themselves into her open flesh. His stomach gurgled. It was time.
Soul took one, maybe two eager steps forward. His aim was to do it quickly and he practically lunged in his advance, but before he could go through with it he froze. Suddenly, an aroma hit his nostrils that stopped him dead in his tracks. A scent that he had no intention of sniffing was somehow very much present, and its presence threw a giant wrench into his plan. Soul's eyes grew wide as, at the same time, the woman named Maka pulled herself from the fridge with some leftovers in tow. She closed the door behind her with her back she smiled at him.
"You alright?" she asked sweetly, handing him the plate, "You look like you've just seen a ghost or something."
"...Not a ghost, per say..." Soul remained statuesque, completely taken aback by the predicament he now found himself in "...More like, a fae...?"
Maka smiled even wider. This lady...wasn't a lady. At least, not the kind Soul would have messed with had he known better beforehand. But the hunger had dulled his senses and his judgement. Luckily he had come to before finally pulling the trigger, otherwise things would have turned out much worse for him than simply turning to ash from lack of blood. Even now, Soul found himself retreating from her presence. He took a couple steps back, but she merely stepped forward. He slunk. She rose taller. Soul frowned. Maka smiled brighter.
"It's not blood," she informed him while handing him the plate, "but vampires can eat Chinese food, too, right?"
"Not when they haven't fed in a week," Soul growled. He initially went to swipe the plate away, but then stopped himself, "I mean...yes, thank you."
He had to watch himself. She was a fae, which meant that her home was technically part of the fae realm. Just like there were rules with being a vampire, there were rules with being a fae. Most of her rules, though, affected other people. Case in point, Soul had come across enough ill-fated vampires to know that if you disrespect a fae in the fae realm, i.e their home, you become bound to them as their servant, permanently. It was a fate that he had no intention of meeting, and so he would be on his best behavior in the meantime. Just until he could get the hell out of there in one piece.
"A week?" Maka's replied incredulously as Soul took the plate from her halfheartedly. "Shouldn't you be dead by now?"
"Yeah, well, guess I'm just stubborn," he growled back with little bite. He ripped the saran wrap off the plate and immediately began to dig in.
The food tasted like clay. It held no appeal or flavor for him at the moment. All he wanted was blood. Anything else would taste disgusting, but he had no other choice. He had to eat the food, otherwise it would be disrespectful and, well, that was something he'd very much like to avoid. It did nothing for his stomach, and it felt like he was simply eating cardboard. The display seemed to do nothing for Maka's sympathy, however, as she continued to smile at him. Suddenly, he didn't seem to like her all that much now. Then again, he did just try to eat her for dinner.
"What's a fae doing in a nice house like this?" he inquired, letting some of the food fall from his mouth in disgust, "I thought you all were hippies and artists?"
Maka wrinkled her nose, "Not all of us. I help manage my friend's business, and the money's good. Besides, I was never one for art or music."
"Shame," Soul pushed the plate away from him. He'd eaten all that he could without throwing up, "Even I learned how to play the piano."
Maka blinked. Then, she started to laugh, "Pfft! Sure you can. I haven't met a vampire yet that can do anything except drink blood and take up space."
Soul's eyes narrowed. He was ready to mount a counter argument, but was met with a knowing look from Maka. She silently reminded him of his place in her home, and he slowly backed off like a scolded mutt. At first, Maka seemed to enjoy the power she had over him. Soul conversely lamented it, but a thought started to grow in the back of his head. Slowly, at first, then it began to fester quickly. He thought back to all the things he knew about fae; disrespect against a fae in her home was an egregious sin, but they were also expected to show the same consideration to their guests.
"...Y'know," Soul mused aloud, a devilish grin splitting his face, "That comment sounded very disrespectful to someone like me, who happens to be a vampire."
At first, Maka merely raised a brow in response. Soul, meanwhile, continued to grin at her smugly. They both stared at each other this way until, finally, Maka seemed to understand what Soul was getting at. Her eyes immediately grew wide, and at that moment Soul took his queue. The second her face broke, he took an eager step forward. Maka barely had any time to react.
"I didn't mean you when I said that!" she spat out frantically, putting her arms out in front of her, "It was just a slip of the tongue!"
Soul halted his advance. Maka had stopped him, for now, but she'd also just proven his theory correct. His grin was still there, this time out of amusement for having almost beat her at her own game. If you disrespect a fae in their home you become their servant, but if they disrespect you then their magic becomes null and void. This meant that her little leash over him would only last so long as she accommodated his requests. If she didn't, well, the Chinese food wouldn't be the only thing he'd get to eat that night. He just had to be sure to listen to her the same way, while also making sure whatever he asked of her wasn't too outlandish. Fae were tricky like that. Luckily, he was pretty good at navigating these sorts of things. It was almost fun, in a way.
"Listen," Soul started, "I'm going to die if I don't leave here with at least a little blood. I don't think that would bode well for either of us...or am I wrong?"
"Why on earth would that not bode well for me?" Maka growled back. "If you die, then I get my house back and I can move on with my life!"
Soul tapped his nose knowingly, "Yeah, but a good host wouldn't let her guest die from starvation. In that sense, me asking for blood sounds like a reasonable request, right?"
Maka's eyes grew even wider, if that were possible. She finally seemed to be getting it. Soul leaned back and crossed his arms in satisfaction, a smug look plastered across his face as frustration seeped into Maka's. She knew as well as he did that faeries without magic were basically regular old humans. If she lost her magic by not not heeding his request for just a little bit of blood, then she'd end up losing a whole lot more in the long run once he was through with her. He wouldn't kill her, god no. But she didn't need to know that right now.
"You're asking a lot from a generous host," Maka recited evenly, as if quoting some kind of faerie law book, "which in itself is fairly disrespectful."
Soul narrowed his gaze; he realized he was going to have to get crafty. "You invited me in with the intention of feeding me. I'm still hungry."
"If you're still hungry after I provided you with food, then that's your problem!" Maka growled back, "You can't have any of my blood!"
The hair on the back of Soul's head stood on end. He could sense it almost immediately; something in the room had shifted. It wasn't just him, either. At the same time, a chill ran up Maka's spine and she immediately backed up until she hit the refrigerator. They both seemed to sense the sudden disappearance of...something around them. Like half the air in the room had disappeared. A wall that had previously kept one of them from jumping the other one was now nowhere to be found; her magic was gone. Temporarily, but that's all Soul needed.
Soul hesitated. He stared at Maka with sanguine eyes, and she froze under his gaze. Her calm attitude was nowhere to be found, and it was instead replaced with shock and horror. A hungry vampire was the epitome of a sadist. That look on Maka's face only made him spring on her faster. In a moment, what little blood remained in his veins surged to life and his heart beat faster than it had in weeks. He was finally going to eat. Within the blink of an eye, he was on her. Before Maka had time to react, Soul had her pinned to the fridge.
She struggled. She kicked. She spat venom in his face, but his adrenaline was an almost impossible thing to overcome. Soul held her fast and shoved her head out of the way with his own. Soon, he was in position. Her exposed neck, right there for the taking, begged to be drained. He parted his lips to reveal drooling fangs, and came within mere inches of bringing them down on her to feast on the one thing that could finally give him some relief.
Really, he should have already been drinking. Typically feedings go very quickly, but two things were slowing him down. The first was that, despite how strong he might have seemed at the moment, he was still very weak from lack of blood. The second thing, however, kept him from biting her outright. He hesitated before fully going through with it, over something that seemed stupid in hindsight. A familiar sound, one he'd heard many times before, ended up being the only thing that kept him from just eating and leaving like he'd planned on doing all along.
A whimper, followed by the sound of quiet sobbing.
Mouth wide open, Soul remained frozen above his prey. He could feel the heat coming off her neck, and the warmth was enough to illicit an angry call to action from his raging stomach. Soul cringed from the feeling, but he just couldn't bring himself to go through with it. The shoulder of his hoodie started to become wet with Maka's tears. They soaked him and, despite his best efforts to forget about them, only served to remind Soul that what he was doing was wrong. He knew it was, he always did. It's just that...this time it seemed more so than usual.
She was a creature just like him, part of a world that humans didn't know about. He was a vampire. They were outcasts, parasites, predators, you name it. Sure they were romanticized in pop culture, but at the end of the day they were slaves to their own hunger. Maka was a fae, though; they were pleasant, beautiful, and fun to be around. His polar opposite. Maybe he was supposed to hate her for that, but he didn't. In fact, he respected her because of it. Compared to the humans he'd fed on, she was different. In more ways than one.
But he was hungry. He couldn't leave without blood. Again a hunger pang wracked him, and again Soul fought back the urge to clamp his teeth down. Maka continued to cry into him and the more she did, the less he found himself willing to go through with it. Even starving, Soul had his dignity. If it didn't feel right, it didn't feel right. He wouldn't become any more of a monster than he already was. Instead, he'd do something else. It took him a fraction of a second to come up with an alternate plan. One that he wouldn't lose sleep over.
With one, long, tremulous breath, Soul sucked in air. He pulled himself away from the crook of Maka's neck quickly, as if to prevent himself from having any second guesses. He put some distance between the two of them, but still he kept her pinned to the fridge. Maka gasped in surprise, not understanding why she hadn't felt anything. For a moment she thought he'd already had his fill, but quickly realized that he'd never even bit her in the first place. She stared at him in search of answers. He'd give her one, but not with words. Not yet.
He took her left hand. It was clenched; he unclenched it. She resisted somewhat, but honestly had no idea where Soul was going with this. She just gazed, dumbfounded, as he brought her hand to his face. He singled out her thumb and in one motion, sliced it open with one of his sharp teeth. Maka hissed in pain from the deep gash, but said nothing. Words escaped her as she watched him lap up the blood that flowed like water from her finger. Their eyes were locked on one another, both equally unsure of what exactly was going on.
He had her right where he wanted her. He could've sucked her dry and yet...he was taking only meager drops. Even so, Maka could see the muscles in his face twitch. He wanted more, craved it, but for whatever reason refused to slash her anymore. Part of her was still disgusted by the display, while the other part of her wanted answers. She needed to know what was going on, which he couldn't give her while he fed. So she stood there in quiet confusion, and waited for him to take his fill. He closed his eyes, as if put off by her staring.
It lasted like that for a few minutes. Then, once the cut started to run dry, he pulled away. "My name is Soul Evans...I became a vampire two hundred years ago."
"Why didn't you bite me?" Maka demanded to know. She completely ignored him, and instead only wanted answers.
Soul frowned. He shook his head, "Listen, whatever you think you know about vampires, I can say with all honesty that...you're probably right."
Maka tilted her head. Again she didn't know what to say, and Soul seemed to be able to tell. He leaned over towards her, and Maka right away flinched from his presence. He didn't go in for blood, however, and instead took a finger and wiped away a stray tear from Maka's face. She recoiled almost immediately, and quickly realized that her cheeks were covered in salt water. She took her sleeve and did her best to wipe it all away. Soul smiled somewhat, which only caused Maka to purse her lips in angry annoyance. What was this guys deal?
"I don't want to hurt you. I don't get any pleasure out of this," he continued, "I'm sorry."
Maka narrowed her eyes at him, "You're crazy if you think you're going to get any sympathy from me!"
Soul shook his head and sighed deeply, "Not sympathy. Not even forgiveness, really. I just want you to know that I'm sorry."
"If you're so sorry then, why do it in the first place?" Maka shot back, still angry, "You've done this for two hundred years, right? Why feel remorse now?"
"I'm just...scared of dying, I guess," Soul replied pensively. His response took Maka off guard, along with this follow up, "Don't fae have to eat in order to survive like we do?"
Maka hesitated. The answer was, of course, no. Fae didn't have to eat anything at all, really. They really didn't even have to sleep all that much, either. Just a couple hours a day. The rest of the time they were always awake and free to do whatever they wanted, since they didn't have to eat to survive. They could have a meal if they wanted to, but it wasn't like with vampires or other creatures. They never grew old. They never had to worry about disease. They were basically...eternal. They could be killed, of course, but really that was it.
She figured Soul already knew that. He continued without a response from her. "I feed off other people and I hate it. But I also don't want to die, so I keep doing it."
"Then just...!" Maka readied a nasty response, but ultimately couldn't bring herself to say it. She trailed off as she looked up at Soul's somber face.
Those red eyes of his, the eyes of a vampire, seemed much more guilt ridden than they had previously. Maka would have called bullshit on him long before if it weren't for those eyes. That look of his was a hard one to fabricate, and she could tell that he genuinely didn't want to look at her right now. He kept staring at the fridge behind her; still looking in the same direction as her but outright refusing to meet her directly. It was at that point she started to entertain the idea that maybe he wasn't lying.
"Listen, I've got a humble request from an invited guest," Soul revealed.
Maka blinked, "I don't have my magic right now. You don't have to follow my rules."
"It's your house," he muttered back, "Magic or no, I'm gonna respect you and your rules regardless."
Maka bit her lip and nodded. Soul scratched the back of his head, "...I really am homeless, y'know. I wasn't making that up-"
"-You can't stay here," she cut him off immediately, already seeing where this was going. She raised a brow when he shook his head, however.
"I'm not asking to room with you. It's just that, I don't have a family or anything. I see other vampires on occasion, but they're all assholes. I just was wondering..."
Soul took a deep breath, "...If I can maybe come over every once in a while and we can chat? You don't even have to invite me in, I can just hang out on the front porch outside."
Soul looked away, already anticipating Maka's immediate rejection. He knew the request came completely out of left field, which is why he wholeheartedly expected her to refuse him outright. He couldn't tell Maka's answer just from looking at her face, though; he found only a blank expression staring back at him. His question probably broke her, and now she had to reset and wonder just what the hell was going on. That was fair, Soul reasoned. He couldn't really blame her for that. After all, he'd nearly made her his dinner. If she was smart, she wouldn't agree to any proposal he'd give her. The thing was, though, he really wanted her to say yes.
He was alone. Such was the case with being an undying creature, but even more so when you eat other people for sustenance. He'd met other vampires but, again, they were assholes. On top of that, they were few and far between. Maka was the first fae he'd come across in person, and simply her existence was enough to give him a little bit of...hope, maybe? She was like him; eternal, youthful, and yet better than him in every way. She didn't need to hunt people. She was a productive member of society. She had friends. She was...a person.
Unlike him. Unlike every other vampire he'd come across. Soul's internal monologue ran rampant with every confrontation he'd got into others like himself and played in fast forward like a highlight reel. He sighed bitterly as he looked down at his hands and found them stained from his feeding moments ago. All this to stay alive, and even then it wasn't enough. His stomach still rumbled, but he wouldn't take anymore than he needed to. He'd weaned himself off blood for a reason. He'd only take enough to stay alive. He refused to become a monster.
"...Give me one good reason why I should let you come back here," Maka finally huffed, snapping Soul back to his senses.
His eyes widened. His head shot back up. There, with her arms crossed, was Maka. She gave him this hardened stare, like anything he'd say wouldn't be good enough, but she was still giving him the chance to make his case. Honestly it threw Soul for a loop, and he had to take a second to actually think of a reason. Everything he'd just thought about seemed good enough on paper, but would have sounded self-piteous if he said it aloud all at once. Soul gave it another thought, and eventually settled on something. Compared to his other options, the one he chose sounded...desperate, but he knew what he was doing. He wouldn't let himself slip up, and certainly wouldn't put himself in a situation to where he would have to fulfill his end of the bargain.
"Tell you what," Soul reasoned, taking a step forward. Maka immediately became on edge. "I'll make a deal with you."
"A deal?" Maka's ears perked. In fae, that was code word for a binding contract. Soul couldn't break one, or else. "I'm listening."
"If at any point I try to suck out your blood..." Soul paused for a little dramatic flair, "...then I agree to become your servant for all eternity."
Internally, Soul cringed at his own proposal. He knew he'd never let it happen, but it was still painful to say out loud regardless. He supposed part of him really was desperate if he was willing to make a deal over his own freedom, though it seemed to work. Maka's apprehensiveness was quickly replaced with a knowing glint, as if she thought that she was given a free ticket to some cheap labor. Honestly he had no idea why fae always wanted servants...it's not like she lived in a mansion that warranted such help or something.
"It's a deal!" Maka smiled, for the first since before he tried to bit her, "We'll shake on it tomorrow, when I have my magic back."
"Tomorrow?" Soul blinked. So soon? He hadn't really thought of a time frame to come see her again.
Maka nodded, "Yes, I'd like to make sure my new servant doesn't skip town."
Soul raised a brow, then smiled, "Is that right? Fair enough."
He didn't mind coming back again tomorrow, considering he didn't have anything going on anyway. That was true for most of his time, in fact. He never had anywhere else to go except bars and the occasional crashed party, so the opportunity to have some meaningful conversation with someone was a welcome change of pace. Maka didn't seem to look at it that way, though that was to be expected. She wanted a new man-servant, and all he wanted was to bend her ear for a little bit. One of them was going to be disappointed at the end of this, he already knew.
"Tomorrow," Maka repeated as she took a step forward, "so for now, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave."
"Right," Soul nodded in response. He sneered a little bit at their close proximity to one another, "It's a date then."
If looks could kill, Soul wouldn't have to worry about drinking blood anymore. Maka threw him a deathly glare, and Soul felt the need to throw his hands up in surrender. Part of him was just thankful that she didn't have her magic at the moment, because a pissed off fae was definitely scarier than a hungry vampire. Maka pointed her finger towards the door, and Soul got the message loud and clear. He did an about face and marched towards the exit. Maka followed closely behind him. When they arrived at the door, she held it open and scooted him outside.
"Same time?" Soul inquired, trying to get all the details for tomorrow.
Maka rolled her eyes, "Preferably right when it gets dark. I don't have to sleep all that much, but I do still need some sleep."
"Got it," he nodded. Soul threw his hands into the pockets of his hoodie and stood there at the entryway. "Well, I guess this is goodbye for now?"
Maka didn't say it back. She simply waited for him to leave, which he inevitably turned to do. But before that, he glanced over his shoulder and smirked, "Thank you, Maka Albarn."
He walked away. Without so much as waiting to see the shocked look on her face, Soul sauntered off into the darkness once more. The overhead lamp of a streetlight was his only guide out of the cul-de-sac, back out into the pitch black void of a neighborhood he'd already forgotten the name of. He disappeared into it, leaving Maka there on her porch with a string of questions that he had no intention of answering. He could hear her loud and clear though, and he gave a devilish grin to himself as she shouted at him from across the street.
"Where you looking through my mail?!" she fumed to his utter amusement. "I'm gonna kick your ass tomorrow, Soul Evans! You better watch it!"
