“Crazy? Or courageous?” Crow winked at Penelope wryly, standing up a bit straighter as he caught his breath. “I knew I could do it, so it wasn’t really [i]that[/i] dangerous.” He left out the fact that it would have been easy for a lot of things to go wrong in his last minute plan—the knights could have called his bluff and climbed the tree to catch him; the archer could have shot him before he had braced himself to catch the arrow; the knights could have realized he wasn’t dead and finished him off… Honestly, looking back on it, it hadn’t been his most well thought out strategy.

He nodded when Penelope said she understood why he was hard to catch. “Looks like you figured out my trade secret,” he grinned. “My tricks work because nobody sees them coming. I’m always thinking one step ahead of my enemies, and I’m willing to try things that most other thieves would never even consider.” He stood a little taller, pleased with his own cleverness. He knew he needed to be careful to keep his pride in check, since that was what had gotten him arrested the last time, but it was difficult to do with Penelope complimenting him—whether she meant it as flattery or not, that was how he took her words. It was nice to hear her acknowledge him.

“Of course,” Crow said when Penelope asked if he knew the way back. “I memorized the route we took as we were running.” He tapped his forehead knowingly and then snorted, unable to keep a straight face. “I’m just kidding. I have no idea which way to go, but… that’s not a bad thing, is it?” His eyes drifted to her lips and he set down the bow and quiver in his arms, stepping closer to her. “I think we can spare a little more time,” he lowered his voice flirtatiously and pressed his hands to her waist, backing her up against the wall and pinning her with his own body.

Meeting her gaze for a brief moment, he leaned in and kissed her passionately. He ran his fingers through her hair and down her back, losing himself in the moment. Her touch was electrifying, and he never wanted it to end. He slid away from her mouth to kiss her neck, exhaling contentedly against her skin.

After a while—he lost track of time somewhere along the line—Crow pulled back and smiled at her, breathing heavily, “Alright, I think I’m good to go now.”