BuzzingBee

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope felt a bit of relief to hear her father agree to think about giving Crow his blessing to court her. It would make things easier to have her father's approval rather than having to fight against him at every turn. Plus, she simply wanted him to approve of Crow. She cared about her father and his opinion, even if they didn't always see eye to eye, so him approving of the man she loved would certainly be an added bonus. She smiled at Crow as he took her hand before her gaze shifted back over to her father. The knight gave a small nod and waited for him to turn around to open the door to leave. With his back turned, she quickly leaned up to press a kiss to Crow's cheek. "Guess I'll see you tomorrow then. Goodnight." she said softly before letting his hand go and stepping over to follow her father.

John glanced over his shoulder at them and let out a tired exhale before looking back ahead as he lead the way out of the room. Penelope followed after him quietly. The whole situation had been rather embarrassing but she was glad that things had settled for now. Due to that, she didn't want to risk getting him angry again while he was still simmering down from his talk with them. Instead the knight began to think about what the next day would bring, since Crow would be telling his father about his decision. It'd begin the change of everything.

Eventually the two reached their room and she mumbled a quiet 'good night' to her father before laying down on her bed. It took awhile for the knight to fall asleep as she was filled with both excitement and anxiousness about the coming day. She hoped that Crow's meeting with his father would go over well and that the king would grant him the time to leave to speak with his companions. After a bit of tossing and turning, the knight finally managed to drift off into a light sleep.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Yeah I imagine at first he's going to be pissed and then realize he can totally take advantage of the situation xD he'll quickly change from hating Crow to being a supporter lol

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

John glared at Crow and opened his mouth to bicker further with the thief but didn't get the chance to as he announced that he'd be taking the job offer. The older knight wavered slightly and closed his mouth as he took in this new information, subtly glancing towards Penelope. Penelope met Crow's gaze and smiled faintly at him. She didn't like that her father had put him in a position where he felt the need to prove his care for her—especially in a way that made him admit to another person about taking the king's offer—but it still warmed her to hear his words.

"That might have just been the smartest decision you've ever made." John grumbled as he crossed his arms over his chest. Crow's words seemed to cool his anger slightly as he glanced between the two of them, his eyes still narrowed. "I suppose that means you're expecting me to approve of a courtship then?"

Penelope shifted uneasily under the gaze of her father. "Well, I'd like you to... at some point." she mumbled, averting her gaze. She wasn't quite sure how courting would go between her and Crow once he rose to nobility. After all, the knight didn't really feel like anything between them would or should change. Aside from having to sneak around, she didn't find much wrong with how they acted and didn't see any reason to adhere to a traditional courtship now. The knight glanced over at the thief and shifted a little closer to him. "I plan to be with him, father.. He'll be a nobleman so you won't have any reason to worry about me losing anything and there will be no reason to argue about this any further."

"I think about it. You two shouldn't even be together openly for a while anyways. I can't imagine that going over well with many people around here." John muttered with a glance at Crow. "You have a long ways to go before you've earned my blessing." He paused and let out a long sigh. "But at least you've taken one step in the right direction."

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

So did Penelope cx
And yeah cx He's really trying to prevent that from happening lol since he knows it'll be even worse for her since Edward already doesn't like her xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope finally lifted her gaze over to her father as he argued against Crow. She supposed there was some truth in her father's words about careful not always being enough but it had worked for them this long so the chances for it going wrong seemed slim in her opinion. As his gaze landed on her, she frowned. She had thought her father was done trying to separate them after speaking with her mother but it seemed that wasn't the case now.

It caused for a twinge of annoyance to spark in the knight. She wished she could tell John that that could change soon with Crow accepting the job but since she had promised not to say anything, she was just going to have to argue with him about it with a different point. She wasn't just going to accept his words though. "It's not like we wouldn't court if we could." she argued, shaking her head. "Just because it's not the courtship you want for me doesn't make it any less serious."

"No, it makes it all the more serious and ridiculous because of what you're risking." John grumbled. "I'm not letting this go a step farther. I won't let you ruin your life for some snake who can't even think his action through."

Penelope clenched her jaw, frustratedly. Feeling past frustration mixing with new, and shot her father a defiant look. "I'm not ruining it and he's not ruining me. I'd be ruining my life if I started doing everything you told me to. In fact, all you've done is try to take away the things that mean the most to me. My job, my freedom, and Crow. I'm not letting you control our relationship."

John fell silent for a moment and held her gaze. Eventually he let out a snort and shook his head. "I don't remember raising you to be this reckless...I'm not ok with this, Penelope, and if I have to start fighting you on every turn, I will. I'm only trying to protect you and you'd be wise to remember I'm not the head of our family. And as for you," he looked at Crow and glared at him bitterly. "if you're not like your father then I suggest you start proving it before you sully a good woman's name like he did with your mother, boy."

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

She barely knew what to say xD
And John is too pissed and protective to listen much lol
I feel like he's really paranoid because of his own experience as well as because of Albin's experience xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

"He's going to kill both of us." Penelope groaned, closing her eyes tightly for a moment. It wasn't very often the knight wanted to disappear but this situation certainly had her wishing she could. Of all the people to walk in on them, it had to be her father. She let out a heavy sigh and slipped off of the bed to collect her clothing, putting the fabric back on. A little after she had, John reentered and she avoided her father's gaze as he looked at them with narrowed eyes.

She shuffled her feet awkwardly, casting a furtive glance at Crow before lowering her gaze to the ground. "W-Well.. We thought it was late enough that no one else would be stopping by.." she mumbled.

"You're in the middle of the damn castle, with no lock on the door. It sounds like you didn't think at all." he growled. "You already have William suspicious of you, doing something like is is practically begging to get caught. And what's more, Penelope, you two are not even courting!"

Penelope flinched at her father's furious tone. Perhaps they had made a mistake by letting their guard down so much but she didn't think his point about them not 'courting' was far. In her opinion, they were technically courting, even if it wasn't in the same, traditional style that her father was used to. It was the closest they could get to. Despite feeling this, she didn't dare voice her opinion. It'd only lead to him getting more furious and that wasn't something she currently wanted to deal with.

"I've been lenient on behalf of both of your mothers but by the gods you are testing me." John curled his lip as his gaze then shifted to focus on Crow. "And you, Lockton, are starting to seem more and more like your father. I mean really, what exactly are your intentions here?"

"Father, please." Penelope groaned.

"No. I want to know." John snorted. "I'm not going to ignore this, Penelope. This type of recklessness that endangers you and your name is exactly why I wanted to get a proper nobleman to court you in the first place." He glared at Crow challengingly. "What happens if she were to get pregnant? Or if someone else had come through that door? Exactly how are you going to lie your way out of that? Or are you just going to run instead?"

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Yep xD
He's also very uncomfortable so he decided to make them put on clothes before he gets into scolding them lol

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope lightly bit her lip as he trailed kisses up her torso. She savored the feeling of his touch, glad they had found another moment alone. As he met her lips again, she went ahead and removed his pants as they kissed. The knight felt her heart racing in her chest as the thief readied to take things further, only to be interrupted by a knock at the door. She paled at the sound and froze for a brief moment before hurrying to help him pull the blanket up and over them. She held her breath as she settled underneath it.

She heard the door open and an unexpected silence follow. Her heart pounded anxiously in her chest as she worried about who was visiting them and why nothing was being said. The knight knew she wasn't exactly well hidden but she hoped that Crow would be able to lie their way out of this mess. Unfortunately, she soon found out why that wouldn't exactly work. Penelope cringed as she heard the voice of her father. While she was partly relied that it wasn't William, that certainly didn't make their current situation any better. For a moment, she didn't reply and debated if she even should.

Eventually, she reluctantly poked her head out about half way from under the covers and avoided John's gaze. Her cheeks were red with embarrassment over the situation. "Y-Yeah... W-What-What are you doing here?" she stuttered nervously from beneath the blanket over the lower half of her face.

"I was looking for you since you hadn't gone to your room yet and I wanted to ask you about your meeting with the king." John growled as he pinched the bridge of his nose. His gaze narrowed his gaze at Crow and shook his head. "And you, fool, are lucky we're in the castle where I can't cut off your hands." He shook his head and turned back to the door. "I'm going to step outside now and expect your clothing to be back on when I come back in. Do you understand?"

Penelope gave a wordless nod of her head. That was enough for John who, though angry, clearly wanted to get out of the room while they were both still clothesless. "Good." he grunted and dipped out of the room, shutting the door roughly behind himself.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

He got her distracted xD