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Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow smiled as Penelope wrapped her arms around him, relieved that she seemed to be feeling better after they talked. All in all, he was glad that they had opened up to each other so honestly. Even though he’d been hesitant at first and he still wasn’t sure if he’d said the right thing to her, their conversation had seemed to lead to a good place in the end. As long as they were closer to each other now than they had been before, he felt like it had been worthwhile to get through the discomfort.

When the knight suddenly pulled back from him to apologize again, he knitted his brows together. It seemed unnecessary to him now that they had moved on, but he didn’t get the chance to say so before she leaned in and kissed him rather affectionately. Deciding it wasn’t worth the effort to disagree with her, he let it go and sank into her lips, enjoying the peaceful moment. Their time alone was far too spread apart lately, so he liked being able to steal this moment in the early morning. After all, it wouldn’t be long before they were forced to keep their distance again.

As she pulled back, Crow had to keep himself from chasing after another kiss, desirous of her intimate touch after going so long without it. Her hopeful look got his attention though, and he paused to listen to her say that she had made some progress in her mission to end the war. The news was exciting to hear, and he felt a little more optimistic that she would be able to gain enough support before his father sent him to Gorm. As long as the party went well, they would be right on track to settling everything in their favor.

“That’s great,” he grinned at her earnestly, reaching up to brush a strand of hair from her face. “It seems like Toreus picked the right person to give this task when he chose you.” Suddenly, another thought crossed his mind and his eagerness grew. “I’ve also had a bit of success on my end while you were gone. I convinced two of the noblemen I’ve been speaking with lately to come to the party, and I told them to bring their families as well.”

Feeling good after all the progress they had both made, Crow leaned in to kiss Penelope again, meeting her lips passionately and tracing his hands down her back. After a bit, he pulled away just enough to press a few gentler kisses to her jawline. “I’ve got some more good news to share too,” he murmured against her skin. “My father decided to let me have today off from my lessons… Maybe we could get away for a while; take a day to ourselves without thinking about any other responsibilities. What do you think?”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow was kind of shocked that Penelope is so insecure ^^;

Makes sense xD I'm the opposite. I relate a lot to how Crow handles conflict, because I draw a lot on my 8 wing when I fight with people lol 7s usually dodge conflict too out of the need to avoid negative emotions, but I definitely prefer to get fights over with sooner rather than letting tension build up

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow shifted his weight uncomfortably, unsure how he felt about what he’d just shared with Penelope. While he’d decided it was important enough to bring up, he had no idea how to handle conversations like these. Part of him wasn’t even sure if his feelings were valid, because he preferred to discard them in favor of logic whenever his head and heart conflicted. Knowing that the tension between him and the knight had already been resolved, he wondered if he’d just made things worse by telling her that he’d felt hurt after the fact. Unfortunately, it was too late to take it back now that the words had been said though.

When Penelope finally spoke up, the viceroy met her gaze with a frown. He wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting her to say, but he was surprised to hear that she felt so insecure about their relationship. It sounded like her worries didn’t even stem from anything he’d done before, but rather from a lack of confidence she had in herself. He remained quiet as she continued to explain why she’d believed the rumors about him, taken aback to find out she’d felt this way for so long. In his opinion, she didn’t have anything to be insecure about in the first place. Compared to all the other women he’d met throughout his life, she had so much more to be proud of. It pained him to know that she didn’t see herself the same way he saw her.

As she apologized to him, Crow bit his lip, suddenly wishing he hadn’t said anything at all. If he’d known why she had been so upset, he would have approached the situation completely differently. Now that he had clarity, he didn’t care about making her trust him anymore. Of course, he was still hurt that she doubted his faithfulness to her, but the sting wasn’t as sharp when he understood the reason behind it. If anything, he wanted to find a better solution that would work for both of them instead of accusing each other of being wrong.

“Penelope, I-I had no idea,” Crow shook his head, running a hand through his hair once she finished speaking. “If you hear anything that makes you worried, by all means, come to me with it. I don’t want you to force yourself to ignore your gut if you feel like you need to question me. I just don’t want you to jump to a conclusion before we’ve talked first. That’s all.”

Feeling a burst of affection for the knight, he moved forward to wrap her in a tight embrace. “All that other stuff aside, I don’t know why you feel like you aren’t good enough. You’re an amazing woman, love, and you mean more to me than you could ever know.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead and then grinned at her. “No matter what you think of yourself, I think you’re the best knight in all of Brerra, and I’m proud that I get to call you mine. You have every reason to be proud of yourself too, because you make me and so many other people happy, just by being in the same room with us. If you don’t believe me, just look around sometime. You have plenty of people in your life who think you’re just as great as I do.”

~Bonsoir~

There was an air of intelligence about the Lady Victoria that made Vail feel wary of her. Sipping at his drink, he eyed her discreetly as she went on to press him for details about how their fathers had known each other. Though the men of the era they lived in often looked down upon women as lesser members of society, he’d been around long enough to know better than that. In the past, he’d crossed paths with plenty of women whom, by any definition of the word, were quite smart. They always shared a curious glimmer in their eyes, eager to learn, but stifled by the culture they lived in. He could tell with just a glance that Victoria was among them. That meant he needed to be careful about what he said to her.

Even then, he had to wonder if simply guarding his tongue was enough. The Lady’s watchful gaze didn’t slip past him for a moment. It was clear that she was observing him for some reason—probably to see through any lies, he guessed. The thought brought him some amusement in the midst of his guardedness, and a hint of a smile tugged at his lip. He concealed the expression by lifting his glass to take another sip, unable to help but think that this woman was something special. He supposed he should have expected as much from the daughter of Lord Alexander though. His father had told him that the former head of the Crest household had been quite a dangerous force as well.

Putting his own observations of Victoria aside, Vail knew he couldn’t let himself get tangled up in the snares of the trap she was laying down. Whether she believed he was a member of the Order or an enemy that needed to be slain, he needed to keep her from finding out he wasn’t human. His hazel eyes danced over the other people in the ballroom. If there were any Saints among them, he would be killed in a heartbeat. For the sake of keeping his word to his father, he couldn’t let her know who she was talking to.

“Perhaps,” he answered her question with a shrug. “To be perfectly honest, my father never told me very much about their encounters. He’s always been a man of few words, so I’m afraid I don’t have much more to say about their history.” He studied her blue eyes, noticing the captivated look they held as she gazed up at him. It seemed that his lingering around her for this long was beginning to have an effect on her psyche. He ran his tongue across his teeth, drawn instinctively to the thought of coaxing her away from the crowd while she was vulnerable. Though it was tempting, he restrained himself. To feed on this Lady would be to invite conflict with both the Crests and the Wynters. He couldn’t do something so foolish.

“I’m sorry if I’ve disappointed you,” Vail finally said, breaking the spell as he turned away from her again.

~Bonsoir~

@Angel Vicky Aw, I’m sorry to hear it! Take all the time you need, and good luck with your job :)

I just wanted to make sure all is well on your end.

~Bonsoir~

@Angel Vicky Friendly neighborhood nudge :)

Just checking in to see if life got busy or if you'd like any help with inspiration!

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

She gave Crow the push he needed to open up to her cx
He kind of gushed, since he doesn't know how to talk about his feelings very well

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

When Penelope smiled back at him, Crow was glad to see that she seemed to be feeling better. He didn’t want her to be hurt by something that hadn’t even happened. Elizabeth had been confident when she’d approached him, but he’d still turned her down. If she tried again, he knew with certainty that he would never say yes to her at any other time. She was nothing to him in comparison with the knight. He would wait as long as it took and fend off as many greedy women as he could—though he hoped Liz was the only one—to be with her at the end of it all. No fling was worth losing her trust.

However, the moment didn’t last long before Crow noticed Penelope’s face fall with guilt. He knitted his brow, confused until she apologized for believing the rumors that had been spread about him. Her words made him tense slightly as he was reminded of his own hurt throughout everything that had happened yesterday. Part of the problem had been solved, but there was still another part remaining. Even though her explanation of why she had listened to the lies helped a bit, he couldn’t bring himself to feel better about it. After all, he wanted to be someone she could trust, but apparently his efforts hadn’t been enough for her. Just thinking of it again made him grimace.

When the knight finished speaking, Crow didn’t answer her right away. It was tempting to just forgive her and put an end to the discussion, so they could move on. He would certainly be more comfortable doing so, since he disliked addressing his own emotions. However, he couldn’t bring himself to believe that something like this would never happen again. She had said she wouldn’t listen to gossip again, but really, what was there to stop her from questioning him if or when rumors spread about him the next time? He didn’t want to have to prove his faithfulness to her every time anyone claimed he’d slept with someone else. It would be exhausting.

He let out his breath in a long sigh. As much as he wanted to avoid the conversation, he knew he needed to say something.

Taking a step back from Penelope, Crow let his arms fall back to his sides and forced himself to meet her gaze in spite of his urge to look anywhere else. “But what would be different about the next time?” he asked with a frown, finally showing her the hurt he’d felt since supper. “I know I’ve made some bad decisions in the past. I’ve lied and kept secrets that I should have been more honest about, but I’ve never done anything that I knew would hurt you.” He averted his gaze, unsettled by the feelings that bubbled up inside him even as he spoke about what had been bothering him.

“Even when I was in the wrong, everything I did was to protect you or make you happy,” he went on in a defeated voice. “I know I didn’t get it right all the time in the past, but I would never hurt you on purpose by doing something as stupid as sleeping with someone else. I love you too much to cause you that sort of pain. That’s why…” He bit his lip, taking a moment to reign in his emotions before he went on in a strained tone, “I don’t understand why, after all this time, you still can’t trust me. Even though I’ve messed up, I’ve been trying as hard as I can to prove that I’m a reliable partner. I want you to know that I’m not going to misuse your affection, because you mean everything to me.”

He shook his head, going on in a soft tone, “It just feels like my efforts won’t ever be enough, or that I’m going to have to prove myself to you all over again every time someone whispers in your ear that I’m not being honest. I mean, just look at what happened today. You were ready to break things off between us because of a rumor, even after I explained what had really happened while you were gone.” He looked up again to meet her eyes, “I’m trying my best—I really am—but it’s too hard for me to keep repeating this cycle with you. I can’t keep going about my days with the constant fear that you’re going to drift away every time someone gossips about me. If we’re going to make this work, I need you to start trusting me more… I feel like I’ve earned at least that much.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow's trying his best ^^;
He hasn't addressed his own hurt yet though

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

As Penelope began to answer him hesitantly, Crow could tell his explanation hadn’t been enough to ease her worries. He felt a twinge of frustration. It was difficult for him to listen to her speak about their relationship with so much fear when he’d tried so hard to prove to her in the past that he wasn’t going to stray while they were together. He knew he’d lied in other ways before, and he’d nearly slipped up when Rikki had tried to seduce him, but he had learned from his past mistakes. He wasn’t going to risk hurting her by giving in to a fleeting temptation. She was worth too much to him for that.

Hearing the knight go on to explain how the situation with Elizabeth was different than it had been with Rikki, Crow averted his gaze. He couldn’t understand why she was so bothered by a noblewoman he hadn’t even spoken with in seven years. His history with the other thief had been much more recent and complex, which was why he’d been more drawn to her than he’d ever felt to Liz. Even when the noblewoman had shown up in his bedchamber completely naked, he’d been attracted to her—it was an impulse he couldn’t control—but he hadn’t considered sleeping with her for a moment. In fact, the strongest emotion he’d felt toward her at the time had been disgust alongside a strong desire to make her leave. The temptation he’d experienced with Rikki hadn’t shown up at all.

Crow crossed his arms as Penelope went on to talk about how she didn’t think she was enough for him now that their time alone was so limited. Of course, he disagreed with that completely. His affection for her wasn’t tied to any conditions like how often they were able to sleep together. It would have been a lie for him to say that he wasn’t a little frustrated with the lack of intimacy recently, but he had enough self-control not to bed the first woman who offered him a chance because of it. Even if they had to wait until they were married, he was willing to do so if it meant he could have her at the end of the drought.

At her final words, the viceroy looked up with a frown. He wasn’t sure what she was trying to do by suggesting they should stop being together, but he knew he didn’t like it. “Why would separating help anything?” he asked, wincing at the slight defensiveness in his own voice. Not wanting to start a fight, he continued in a gentler tone, “I’m sorry, love, but I just don’t see how that would solve this. You said you couldn’t bear to watch Liz flirt with me. Wouldn’t it be worse to watch me flirt with other women?”

He shook his head. “Besides that, I wouldn’t want to start our courtship with the baggage of both of us knowing that I was sleeping around right before we got back together. It would only complicate things because I’m sure the other people in the castle would gossip about me. You would know, and everyone else would too. The last thing I want to do is hurt you or ruin your name, and that’s the fastest way for me to do both.”

A half smile crossed his lips, and he stepped away from the desk to wrap his arms around her back. “All that other stuff aside, you’re the only one I want to be with,” he said, leaning down to rest his forehead against hers. “I don’t care if we have to wait a month or two months or even a year before we can be with each other again. I love you, Penelope, and no amount of time apart is ever going to change that.” He leaned in to press a tender kiss to her lips and pulled back again with a fond smile. “So, please don’t get it in your head that I’m not happy or satisfied with you, because I am. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, darling, no matter if we can be intimate or not.”