Crow leaned into Penelope’s kiss, closing his eyes blissfully. He kept his arms by his sides to enjoy the feeling of their lips meeting without pushing for more. It was surprisingly nicer than he expected. The simplicity of kissing for its own sake was something new to him, since he had never attempted to be in a long term relationship before. As a fugitive, he was always on the run, so the most he could ever safety engage in were brief flings and one night stands. He was excited to give his relationship with Penelope a real shot.

Part of him did worry though, that she would change her mind about him the next morning. He worried she would wake up and feel like she had made a mistake or decide it didn’t make sense for them to be together because of what they were. His care for her ran so deeply that the thought frightened him. He wanted to believe what they had was different than what he had experienced before, but all of those experiences still told him that he was a thief, and thieves can’t settle down.

Slivers of doubt began worming their way into his mind. Were he and Hartley fools for even trying to be with Penelope and Kip? [i]Maybe Hartley can do it because he only made a reputation for himself in one town,[/i] he thought. [i]But all the knights of Brerra will be looking for me when I get home. If I stop moving to settle down, I’ll be killed.[/i] Could he really ask Penelope to accommodate such a demanding lifestyle, especially when she was a knight, herself? Would she even want to?

He pressed more deeply into the kiss, driven by a mixture of passion and fear. Unfortunately, Penelope pulled away all too quickly, saying goodnight to him and laying down to sleep. He gazed down at her, unwilling to move from her side just yet. Tentatively, he reached out to rest one hand on her shoulder, feeling the steady rise and fall of her chest as she slept. He still couldn’t believe everything that had happened between them that day was real. He only prayed she wouldn’t change her mind about him in the morning.

[i]I don’t ask for much,[/i] he pleaded, running his hand gingerly down her arm. [i]Just let me have her when I wake up… please.[/i]

Being careful not to disturb her, Crow got up from Penelope’s bed and moved silently across the room to his own. After taking off his boots, he laid down and closed his eyes, letting out his breath slowly. The mattress was soft and inviting. Despite his worries, he didn’t take long to fall asleep.

--

Crow was the first one up the next day, which didn’t surprise him considering how much the others had had to drink the night before. He sat up and stretched languidly, blinking against the morning light that filtered in through the window. His eyes wandered to Penelope’s sleeping form on the other side of the room as his concerns made their way back to the surface of his mind. Would she still want to be with him when she woke up?

He didn’t want to think about that now, so he climbed down from the bed and found an open spot on the floor to work on loosening his muscles. As he stretched, he found that quite a bit of his former limberness had returned despite the short amount of time that had passed since his prison days. It pleased him to know that it would take more than a year to break down the level of fitness he had acquired throughout his lifetime.

After a while, he heard the other begin to stir. Hartley let out a moan, clutching his head with both hands as he sat up and complaining about his hangover. Penelope seemed to be faring much better than the young thief. She was tired, but fortunately didn’t show any signs of nausea or aching.

Crow got up from the floor, hesitated for a moment, and then made his way over to Penelope’s bed. He sat down on the edge again and offered her a friendly smile, “Good morning, love. How are you feeling?”