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Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Unlike Penelope, Crow was outwardly unresponsive as John confirmed that he was, in fact, going to give him his blessing to court Penelope. To say he was shocked would have been an understatement. Even though the female knight had been assuring him that she believed her father would come around, he hadn’t been nearly as hopeful as she had. The stoic man was hard to read, and he was quicker to give criticism than compliments. They had been getting along better lately, but the cordiality had felt like it was dependent on his good behavior. He had been worried that if he slipped up everything would come undone, and it had seemed that way when John had caught them together that morning. To find out that the older man still approved of him—not because of what he had been doing, but because of who he was—made him feel a knot of emotions he couldn’t even begin to straighten out.

While Penelope hugged her father and expressed her gratitude, he sat where he was on the bed, still reeling from the revelation that another man had considered him good enough to marry his daughter. As hard as he had been fighting for it, a part of him had always believed it would never happen. After all, who would give a blessing that should only be given once in a child’s life to a thief? Knowing that John thought he was worthy of such a priceless gift left the sharp tongued former peasant speechless.

He only came back to himself when the older knight suddenly addressed him. “Yes,” the word slipped from his lips without a thought about the consequences. In the back of his head, he knew it would be difficult to abstain from sneaking around to sleep with Penelope before they were married, especially since they had already been together on a number of occasions before. However, he wanted to prove to John that he hadn’t made a mistake by choosing him to court her. If that meant stifling his desire to be with her for a while, then that’s what he would do.

Suddenly realizing that he shouldn’t be sitting for such an important announcement, Crow got up from the bed and bent at the waist in the most respectful gesture he could think of in the moment. “I promise you won’t regret this,” he vowed with a slight tremor in his voice as he was overwhelmed by the weight of what had just happened. Straightening his posture again, he reached to take Penelope’s hand in his, looking at her fondly as he professed, “I love your daughter more than my own life, and I’m going to do my best to give her everything she deserves.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

No worries lol
Crow wasn't ready cx

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow exhaled slowly when John started his lecture with a hard “first off.” He could already tell they were in for a long talk that he wasn’t awake enough to handle. His pale green eyes flicked toward Penelope, who had stepped over to stand near the bed where he was sitting, and he wondered if she thought the castigation was as pointless as he did. They were already aware of the risks her father was going to list off to them, and it didn’t change the fact that they cared enough to find ways to be together anyway. Being slapped on the wrist for behaving carelessly wasn’t going to change that.

As the knight went on, Crow could practically feel the amicability they’d formed over the past week slipping away. He had put on his best face whenever he and John had lessons together, and the older man had even praised him on the rare occasion, but now, he doubted he would ever be considered as a serious candidate for Penelope’s hand in marriage. The disheartening realization made him even less inclined to listen to what her father had to say, and he slouched resentfully against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. He hoped the knight would hurry up and finish saying what he had to say, so he could go back to his bedchamber before the rest of the castle started waking up.

While John and Penelope talked, the viceroy remained silent. He knew any input he had on the situation wouldn’t be received well by the older man, so there was no point in taking his lover’s side. Instead, his gaze drifted absently to the window, through which he could see the sky turning ever so slightly brighter. It wouldn’t be much longer before the halls were teeming with life. By that point, there would be no way for him to get out of the bedchamber without being noticed.

He turned back to the knights, prepared to remind them of his impending dilemma, but then froze when he caught John’s final words. At first, he wondered if he had misheard him. It almost sounded like Penelope’s father expected them to start courting soon, but surely that couldn’t be right, could it? The older man had reminded him over and over that he was a criminal and that he was his father’s son. He’d been called a liar, a manipulator, a man who wasn’t worthy of his precious daughter’s affections. There was no way her father had changed his mind… right? Suddenly, he felt like his world was tilting.

“What did you say?” he finally asked, breaking free from his trance. Heartbeat quickening in his chest, he stared at the knight with wide eyes. He had to find out if John had really meant what he thought he’d meant. “You… you’re going to let us start courting?”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

With his shoulders pressed to the wall, Crow slid down slightly to stay as invisible as he could in relation to the door. It was barely dawn, so he hoped that whoever had stopped by to speak with Penelope wasn’t planning to stay long. Even if they did, it wouldn’t be unrealistic for her to turn the unwelcomed guest away under the guise of being tired. Someone would have to be quite entitled to insist on coming in when it was earlier than most people woke up for the day. Feeling slightly reassured, he relaxed just enough to be startled when the knight greeted her father.

The viceroy brought a hand to his face. Of all the nobles who could have shown up that morning, it just had to be John Vermillion, didn’t it? He was mortified by the thought of facing the older man after he had made so much headway in trying to prove that he was responsible enough to court his daughter. While he didn’t think they had done anything wrong by sleeping with each other, he knew the knight would beg to differ. John was far more concerned about the “risk” than he was about how they wanted to express their affections toward each other. Of course, there was still a chance that the other man wouldn’t notice anything was amiss and leave, so he clung to the hope until he heard the words: “He’s still here, isn’t he?”

There was no way out of it now. Crow cringed as the sound of footsteps indicated that Penelope’s father was coming in whether she wanted him to or not. Slumping against the wall, he averted his gaze when the older knight stepped into his line of sight. Even though John already knew what they had been up to, he was certain his current appearance didn’t help anything. His dark hair was a tousled mess, he hadn’t had time to cover his bare chest, and the trousers he’d managed to throw on were wrinkled after spending the night at the foot of the bed. It wasn’t the most dignified he had ever looked in front of the man whose blessing he so desperately wanted to procure.

“Good morning, sir,” he cleared his throat awkwardly, venturing to meet John’s gaze with a sheepish expression. As expected, Penelope’s father didn’t look happy.

“Put your shirt on, Lockton,” the knight said brusquely.

Crow nodded and fumbled to slide the undershirt over his head before chasing it with the tunic. Like his trousers, the clothing on his upper body wasn’t in the best condition after being piled in a messy heap the night before. Once he was presentable, he stepped away from the wall and made his way over to sit on the edge of the bed, avoiding John’s eyes as he waited for the inevitable lecture to come.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow didn't have time to finish getting dressed, haha
He's just hoping the person at the door won't come in

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Almost as soon as he had recovered from the panic that came along with his nightmare, Crow’s eyes widened with the realization that he was still in Penelope’s bedchamber when there was light coming in through the window. The events of the previous night came back to him in a rush, and he hissed a curse under his breath. By now, the guards in the hall would have switched shifts, but the early risers in the castle were probably getting up for the day as well. It was going to be difficult for him to get back to his own room without being spotted. From there, he was sure it was only a matter of time before the rumors would start circulating that the king’s viceroy had been caught dallying with another woman just a week after Elizabeth had been spotted leaving his room in a bedsheet. He really needed to learn how to get better at maintaining his reputation or else the other nobles were going to think he was a lecher.

“I’m fine,” he said dismissively, scrambling to disentangle himself from the blanket while the knight retrieved his clothes from the floor. “It’s not your fault. We both fell asleep,” he reassured her as he caught the undershirt and trousers she tossed to him. What had seemed like a good idea to his hazy, post coital mind was quickly turning out to be a disaster. He wished he would have thought through the consequences before he’d recklessly decided to throw caution to the wind and drift off next to her. Unfortunately, it was too late to take it back now. He just hoped the early risers had been drunk enough at the party last night to sleep in.

As if the gods were mocking him, a knock sounded on Penelope’s door just as Crow was fumbling to put one foot in his pant leg. “Damnit,” he muttered, hurrying to pull his trousers on since he was already halfway there. “Who would want to speak with you this early in the morning?” he whispered incredulously to the knight, foregoing his shirt since there wasn’t time to put that on too. With the tunic bunched up in his hand, he looked around the bare room for a place to hide, but there was nothing big enough to conceal his stature. The bed was too low to the ground for him to slide under and the dresser was too short for him to fit inside.

With no better options, he dipped behind the far side of the latter piece of furniture and pressed his back to the wall. The dresser stood between him and the door, so as long as no one came inside the bedchamber, they wouldn’t know he was there. With a helpless shrug, he gestured for Penelope to answer the knock.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

They were both too tired to make good decisions xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Holding Penelope against his chest, Crow could feel his muscles relaxing as the temptation to sleep began to tug at him more and more. In the back of his head, he knew it wasn’t a good idea and that he needed to return to his room as soon as the commotion died down in the hallway. However, he couldn’t bring himself to part from where they laid cuddled up against each other beneath the warm blanket. As long as he left before dawn, it wouldn’t be that hard to sneak out, right? The guards in the hallway might even switch shifts too, and then it would be less suspicious for him to pull the same distraction he’d used on the first set when he’d slipped into her bedchamber earlier.

He exhaled slowly, convinced by the excuses his weary brain was coming up with. Even more persuasive was that it seemed like Penelope had drifted off in his arms. A faint smile crossed his lip as he felt her sink against him, her breathing slowing down as she lost consciousness. If the orderly knight thought they had time to fit in a nap, then he supposed there was no harm in resting his eyes for a while. Satisfied with the justification, he leaned his head comfortably against hers as he finally gave in to the impulse to stop fighting against his exhaustion.

--

The next morning, Crow woke up with a start. As he jolted upright on the bed, a strangled gasp escaped from his throat, and he clutched at his chest where he had felt Jaxon’s sword pierce him once again. Even in a different bedchamber, it seemed his nightmares were determined to torment him. He squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to get his breathing under control, involuntarily reaching for Penelope’s hand to ground himself. Even though he knew it had just been a dream, the twisted memories had been just as vivid as always. It took him some time before he was able to calm down enough to take a look around and figure out where he was.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

It was a good day for both of them, haha
Crow is just struggling to stay awake xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow smiled tiredly to himself as he felt Penelope’s warm lips on his forehead and her gentle fingertips on his arm. It had been a long time since they’d last been able to lay in each other’s embrace, and he’d missed her affectionate touch. Closing his eyes, he focused on the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest against his, enjoying the peacefulness of the moment. He hoped it wouldn’t be much longer before they could spend every night like this. He was sure he would sleep much better if they did.

When Penelope spoke about sharing the same hope, he murmured incoherently in agreement. It really was getting difficult to stay awake. The smart move probably would have been for them to part ways so they didn’t risk dozing off together in her bedchamber, but he didn’t want to leave her side. Her presence was familiar to him, and her body felt pleasantly warm against his. The thought of trading that for the cold embrace of the air was off putting. Besides, he could hear muffled voices and footsteps in the hallway beyond her door. During the time they had spent making the beast with two backs, the other nobles had started filtering back to their own rooms from the party. He couldn’t leave without being spotted, even if he wanted to.

As the knight brought up the difficulties they might face even if they were courting, Crow rolled onto his back and stretched, trying to keep himself from falling asleep. “At least it’s another step forward,” he said optimistically. It might turn out to be hard for them to keep finding time to be intimate before they were married, but he was getting used to sneaking around. It was what they had done almost the entire time they’d been together. For him, the exciting part was chasing off all the other men who had been trying to win her attention lately. He couldn’t wait to say to everyone that she was his, and he was hers.

“If your father even lets me court you, I’ll be happy,” he sighed, rolling back over to squeeze her to himself with his arms and legs. Pressing an affectionate kiss to her cheek, he closed his eyes again and nestled his head against hers. As long as there were people in the corridor, he supposed he might as well make himself comfortable until he was able to return to his own bedchamber for the night.