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Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

When Penelope pulled back to meet his gaze, Crow smiled softly. “I’m a man of my word,” he assured her before leaning in to meet her lips in a kiss. It started out tender, but quickly grew more passionate as they pressed into each other. He trailed his hand up her shoulders to the back of her neck, losing himself in the feeling of her lips moving against his. With the knight so close to him, he grew distracted from both the worries they had been facing as well as what was happening around him. So, when she suddenly pulled away, he stared at her confusedly until he caught the sound of footsteps outside the tent.

Immediately, he tensed and dragged his hand across his mouth to hide the fact that they had been kissing mere seconds before. In the next moment, the thief’s heartbeat quickened as Layth stepped into the room. Even though he knew he needed to keep his temper in check, he couldn’t help but narrow his eyes at the knight, unable to hide his hatred for the other man. Out of every noble in this godsforsaken camp, Layth was the last person he wanted to see.

Crow curled his hands into fists at his sides as Penelope tried to keep her brother at bay with a delaying question. Of course, it didn’t work, and he gritted his teeth as the hotheaded knight called her a traitor. He didn’t care what Layth said or did to him, but it struck a nerve hearing him accuse his sister of being something she wasn’t. She may have been working with him since she joined the battlefront, but he had done nothing but help the Brerratic battalion with the information she’d shared with him—well, aside from the few knights he had killed who had hurt the villagers, but even then, he hadn’t been trying to influence the results of the battle. Regardless of their affiliation, she was just as loyal to her comrades as ever before, and it frustrated him to see her brother ignore that.

He glanced at Penelope as she warned Layth not to kill him and then back at the other knight when he replied with a sneer. “Are you sure about that?” the thief smirked at him arrogantly, forgetting to hold his tongue as his annoyance with the knight outweighed his sense of reason. “You couldn’t get any answers out of me before, and the only thing that’s changed since then is that I’m chained to a bed instead of a tree.”

“Insolent wretch,” Layth snarled. “I’ll make you beg for death.”

“Funny,” Crow said dryly. “You said that last time too, yet here I am, not begging.”

“Gods, you’re infuriating,” Layth snapped, reaching for the hilt of his sword. “You will answer my questions, or I’ll give you something else to heal from.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Better late than never, haha

Also, I was thinking kind of an interesting timeline for the rest of this part would be Layth coming to interrogate Crow (today or tomorrow), then the barons start to work on deciding what to do with him (possibly including Mia's second visit?), then they make their decision, and then John shows up the day after their conclusion was reached (could be especially interesting if they chose a harsh penalty for him, and everything gets derailed because John needs to bring him back to the king alive and in one piece xD)
If you've already got another plan though, I'm down for whatever!

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow closed his eyes and wrapped his free arm around Penelope’s back as she embraced him. At her hopeful words about the medicine, he nodded faintly, not feeling quite as optimistic. As long as Jane was checking on his condition every day, it was going to be difficult to slip any improvement past the barons if the physician reported it to them. He supposed he could pretend to be immobile longer than he actually was, but even that would only get him so far when she was inspecting the wound itself. He couldn’t hide the improvement of his body from a professional healer.

Additionally, he was starting to get concerned about the fact that he still couldn’t eat. Even taking the medicine for his illness, which was mostly liquid, had irritated the wound on his inside. At this rate, it was entirely possible that he would be too weak to get away from the camp, even if he could move. He needed to heal enough both to get some food into his stomach and to be able to walk on his own if he wanted to have any hope of escaping before the barons decided his fate.

As Penelope suddenly buried her head against his neck, Crow lifted his hand to trail his fingers gently through her hair. Her presence relaxed him. He leaned his head against hers, taking in the feeling of her arm wrapped around him, the warmth of her body pressed against his, and even her smell—something that had become so familiar to him during the time they’d been together. He let out his breath in a soft exhale. Despite the apparent hopelessness of the situation, it was impossible for him to completely lose hope. He was still clinging stubbornly to the future they both wanted, and he wasn’t going to give it up without a fight.

“I’m sure we will,” he agreed quietly, stroking the back of her head with his hand. Despite his lingering uncertainties, he still tried to sound optimistic. “We’ve made it past worse obstacles than this, so I’m sure we’ll think of something.” Turning his head slightly, he pressed a tender kiss to her cheek. “I love you, Penelope, and I promise I’m not going anywhere.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Unfortunately, it doesn't matter much anymore xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

“It’s not a soft spot,” Crow mumbled defensively, still kicking himself for the slip up of admitting his respect for Gavin to Penelope. “I just think he’s not quite as unbearable as all the other knights here. That’s all.” He was glad she agreed not to say anything to her former suitor though. He really didn’t want the other man to know he held such thoughts about him. It was already embarrassing enough that the admiration was even there. If the knight found out how he felt, he didn’t think his pride as a thief could take it.

As Penelope went on to agree with him about her ex suitor, Crow nodded, softening slightly at her kiss on his cheek. “Me too,” he said with a tired sigh. “I’m tired of being flirted with and accused of being untrustworthy all the time. If you’re right about both of them, it’ll be a nice break.” If Rikki and Gavin really had decided to accept that he and Penelope were staying together, it was going to be a huge weight off his mind. He had already seen the change in Gavin for himself but, having not seen Rikki since before the fight with Jaxon, he still had some doubts that the stubborn thief would be so quick to let it go.

But who knows? he thought, studying Penelope’s face with interest. Maybe she did get through to her after all.

“With both of them out of the way, all that’s left is to figure out how I’m going to get out of this place before your barons decide to cart me off to prison,” he mused, tugging thoughtfully at the chain around his wrist. Despite Mia’s agreeableness, he still didn’t think the knights’ leaders were going to let him off with anything less than another prison sentence, and even that was the best-case scenario. As long as people like Layth were still screaming for his execution, he was going to have some sort of penalty for his crimes. He shuddered at the thought of being sentenced to have his hands cut off or otherwise mutilated. It was something he’d heard of happening to other thieves in Brerra, so it wasn’t impossible for the barons to decide it was a fitting punishment.

Crow shifted on the bed, leaning a little closer to Penelope as he sought comfort in her touch. “I just hope I’m well enough to get away before they come to any final decisions,” he muttered nervously.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow just realized he actually respects Gavin xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow knitted his brow slightly when Penelope told him that she’d had some difficult conversations. This was the first time he was hearing about them, so he listened attentively as she went on to describe her argument with Rikki. At first, he felt a twinge of frustration with the female thief for treating the knight so hostilely. He didn’t want Rikki to keep trying to get between them when he had already told her time and time again that he wasn’t going to leave Penelope for her. It was irritating to know that she was still up to her usual antics and holding onto the hope that he would change his mind. As soon as he was well enough to get back to his camp, he intended to give her a piece of his mind.

However, in the next moment, Penelope surprised him by saying that Rikki had actually seemed to listen to her. He hadn’t expected that the knight’s words would have gotten through to his stubborn friend, especially when all of his efforts to convince her hadn’t worked. Still, he disagreed with what Penelope had said to get through to the other thief. No matter what anyone thought, he was firmly convinced that the knight was better for him than Rikki ever could have been. He and the other thief were simply too similar to work well together. Penelope came from a different world, and at times it was hard for him to understand her, but it was their differences that made him so glad that he was with her. She challenged him to become a better man in a way that Rikki, in all the time they’d lived together, never had.

With the other thief, secrets and independence were a normalcy, and he often felt like she was dragging him down into old habits of living solely for himself that Penelope was forcing him to break. If he had chosen to be with Rikki, he probably would have continued to operate with his own desires at the forefront of his mind, while she would have done the same by looking out for herself. The only difference would’ve been that they’d have chosen to be exclusive instead of sleeping around. Perhaps they would have gone on to get married as well, but he couldn’t imagine that they’d work well as a team as long as they both had separate agendas to keep. So, even though it might have looked strange to anyone on the outside, he was much happier with the knight who was different from him.

Feeling a burst of affection for her, Crow held Penelope’s hand a little more tightly as she went on to tell him about her conversation with Gavin. He wasn’t too surprised to find out that her former suitor had finally come to terms with their relationship. The knight had been acting much more tolerant of him than he used to, so the thief had suspected for a while now that something had changed between them. However, he wasn’t sure why she was so concerned about the lack of space between herself and the other man.

When she finished speaking, Crow smiled at her amusedly. “You have no reason to apologize, love. I’m always going to be here for you, and that includes listening to what’s going on in your life. Besides,” he looked up at the canopy. “It’s not like I’ve got anything better to do in this oh-so-entertaining tent.” Giving her hand a playful squeeze, he turned back to meet her gaze again a bit more seriously. “I don’t think you should concern yourself with Gavin. He obviously thinks he’s in a good enough place to sit around guarding the man you left him for all day, so I say leave him be unless he starts to cause any trouble.” He shrugged. “Space or not, he’ll work through it on his own in his own time. It’s not your job to force him to heal, so pushing distance between him and us will just make it worse. I’m sure he’ll come around eventually, anyway… He seems hardy like that.”

The thief blinked and reddened slightly as he added with a groan, “Please don’t tell him I said that.” He hadn’t realized until this point, but he’d developed a bit of a respect for Gavin since the knight had started treating him more kindly. He supposed the admiration had always been there to a degree, but since the other man had been at his throat with constant accusations before, it had taken a while for him to admit that he respected Gavin’s heart for the villagers of their kingdom as well as his tenacity to do what he thought was right, no matter what anyone else said about it. But, of course, he had a reputation to uphold, so he wasn’t about to let the other man know he held such thoughts.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow noticed cx

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

“I see that now,” Crow laughed softly at Penelope’s ‘I told you so.’ His expression softened as he looked up at her. He was quite grateful for all the help she was giving him while he was unable to do anything for himself. From saving his life to getting her comrades to take care of him to everything she had accomplished the night before at the thieves’ camp, she had already done more for him than he could have ever asked her. The thought made his heart swell with affection for the knight. No matter how long they were together, he still couldn’t believe how lucky he was that she had chosen to be with him. He doubted he could ever return all the favors she had done for him, but he was determined to try his best.

As soon as I’m back on my feet, I’ll think of something to do for her, he thought as he took the jar of medicine from her hand. He wasn’t sure what he would do yet, but he knew he wanted to come up with something. She deserved to be treated especially well after all the work she was doing for him. He wasn’t going to let her kindness go unrewarded.

As Penelope went on to say that she intended to hide the other medicine in the tent with him, he nodded, glad that she was thinking ahead. The remedy for his illness could be taken at any time of the day, but if he needed a painkiller for his injury, he was going to want to take it right away. He turned his head to watch as she moved away from his side and stepped over to his discarded clothes. His lip twitched upward in an amused smirk as he guessed what she was planning to do. The knight had gotten quite clever throughout the time he’d known her. He was proud of how quickly she had thought to use his tunic as a hiding place for the medicine.

“I’ll be sure to remember that,” Crow said, uncapping the jar and bringing it to his lips to down the liquid inside. As always, the bitter medicine made him wrinkle his nose slightly in distaste, but he was getting used to it, so it didn’t bother him as much as it used to. He was just about to hand the empty container back to Penelope but faltered when he noticed her let out an audible sigh. Glancing up at her absent face, he wondered what was on her mind that had caused her to look so distant. However, before he had a chance to ask, she turned back to him, acting like nothing had happened.

“I am,” he answered, passing off the jar to her. “And it was just as rancid as I remember.” He paused, studying her face again. Though she had recovered quickly, there had been a brief moment when he’d felt convinced something was off with her. If he was right, he didn’t want to just brush it off. “What were you thinking about just now?” he asked tentatively, reaching to take her hand again as he held her gaze with a concerned expression. “You seemed upset. Is something wrong?”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

He's a little more optimistic now cx