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“This is a terrible idea.”
Robin peered over the line of bushes standing between herself and the enormous estate resting at the bottom of the hill. Though she only had a view of the mansion’s West entrance, she could already make out half a dozen guards who were on what she assumed was their nightly patrol. Getting past them would take little effort, but it was the unknown number of guards inside that weighed heavily on her mind, which was already considering about a hundred possible scenarios in which they could get captured, maimed, and then killed.
There was also the fact that what they were about to do was completely illegal.
“A deal’s a deal, Bubbles.” Gaius grinned smugly, teeth clamped around the lollipop in his mouth. Robin hoped he choked on it. “You can’t back out on me now.”
“Yes, I most certainly can!” protested Robin, crossing her arms over her chest indignantly. “When you said you needed my tactical skills for the good of the war effort, you conveniently left out the fact that we were going on one of your jobs and stealing from one of the wealthiest men in Ylisse. That’s hardly—”
She was cut off when Gaius held a finger up to her lips, effectively silencing her.
“Shhh,” he hissed. He nodded in the direction of the guards, who had suddenly gone completely still. Maybe she’d been louder than she’d meant to be. They scanned the area, likely trying to locate the source of the sound. A few moments passed before they began pacing again.
When he was certain the coast was clear, Gaius scowled at her. “This will be the last time I get a job if you keep that up. What kind of tactician starts spouting her mouth on a stealth mission?”
“The kind that was conned into doing this in the first place.”
Gaius raised an eyebrow. “Conned, huh? Is that what we’re calling it? Because from what I remember, you were pretty excited about doing me this little solid. Admit it: You couldn’t wait to spend time with yours truly.”
“E-Excuse me?” Robin sputtered, then immediately covered her mouth with both hands. At this rate, she really was going to get them killed before they even made it inside.
“I have to say, Bubbles, I’m flattered. To think this brigand stole the heart of His Royal Highness’ esteemed tactician. What will the good-hearted, law-abiding citizens of Ylisse say about this scandal?”
Of all the cocky, arrogant—
“Please. Nothing could be further from the truth,” she retorted, even though it was a lie and there were definitely things that were further from the truth. She wasn’t about to admit that to him, though, especially when he had the most annoying, shit-eating grin on his face. “Don’t think that just because you—”
Robin was abruptly silenced when Gaius once again held his index finger against her lips. She was sorely tempted to bite it until she saw where his gaze was directed. He was looking down at the entrance again, a contemplative expression on his face. It wasn’t often that Robin saw him look so focused outside of battle; she was momentarily distracted by the sight. The moonlight reflected off of his green eyes and bright hair, partially covered by the hood he had pulled over his head. It was a stark contrast to the dark clothing he wore, which was starting to blend into the shrubbery. Gaius had always been handsome (well, since Cordelia had introduced him to the wonders of consistent hygiene, at least), but to see him in his element and in downright romantic lighting…
Well, it was something else entirely.
Aware that she would never hear the end of it if he caught her staring at him, she turned her attention to the estate’s entrance. She immediately noticed that three of the guards had begun to circle around to the other side of the building, reducing the number of guards at the West gate by half. Even at this distance, she could see no fewer than five blind spots in their formation. If she and Gaius wanted to sneak in undetected, now was the time.
She turned to find him staring at her intently, as if he was waiting for her confirmation. She nodded wordlessly and pulled the hood of her cloak over her head. Gaius had recommended that she swap out her signature coat, which was covered in distinctly Plegian patterns and was much too conspicuous for a stealth mission, for a plain black one. She tucked her white hair, which was tied into her usual high pigtails, into the hood. Though it still surprised her, Robin had become something of a celebrity since joining the Shepherds and taking on the role of tactician. The last thing she needed was someone recognizing her and sullying Chrom’s good name.
Which you wouldn’t have to worry about in the first place if not for this stupid job, she reminded herself as she crouched down beside Gaius. Still, there was a small part of her that was almost excited about what they were about to do. She would never admit that to him, though.
Her shoulder grazed his, sending tingles throughout her body. She didn’t pull away.
“Ready, Bubbles?” he whispered, and her heart began to pound, both at his husky voice and the silly little nickname that he had coined just for her. She knew that if she were to be honest with herself, she would come up with a lot of things she wasn’t admitting to Gaius.
Now was hardly the time to be honest, though.
“Ready.”
They set off, and Robin hoped for the best.
~*~*~
In retrospect, this had been a terrible idea.
Their footsteps pounded against the pavement, out of sync, as they ran down a near-empty street in some backwater Ylissean town that Gaius hadn’t bothered to learn the name of. Behind them, he could hear barking dogs and the shouts of angry guardsmen, whose heavy boots reverberated through the air and sounded way too close for comfort. He knew better than to look back, though. Not only did he not want to give their pursuers a good look at his face, but he couldn’t afford to get distracted by how close behind they were. His focus needed to be on where he was and where he needed to go next.
Damn it. Gaius wanted to curse aloud, but that would be a waste of his breath, which was becoming more labored by the minute. It had all gone so wrong. He should have known something was amiss when he and Robin had made it into the main hall without so much as a single guard to block their path. The moment they had turned into the room where the vault was kept, they had been ambushed. Neither of them had anticipated so many guards to be congregated in one place. Whatever that vault was hiding, Duke What’s-His-Name was very intent on keeping it for himself. He and Robin were lucky to have escaped with their lives.
The shouting grew closer, and Gaius felt sweat drip down his chin.
Well. Escaped with their lives so far, at least.
“I told you this was a bad idea!”
Robin’s voice came from behind him, and against his better judgment, Gaius half-turned to look at her. She somehow managed to look judgmental even though she was gasping for air and clearly struggling to keep up with him. Gaius grabbed her hand and pulled her forward, returning his attention to the path in front of him.
“Bubbles, in case you haven’t noticed, we’re running for our lives here. Save the ‘I told you so’ for later,” he snapped. Normally, he would have been thrilled to have an excuse to hold her hand, but considering their current predicament and the growing cramp in his side, those warm and fuzzy feelings would have to wait.
They turned the next corner sharply, but their would-be assailants remained right on their tails. Up ahead, Gaius could see a large crowd of people illuminated by the surrounding street lamps. Food and merchant stalls lined each side of the street, and the sound of laughing children wafted through the air, barely audible over the collective sound of thundering boots and heavy breathing. It was all Gaius could do not to cheer. Here, smack dab in the middle of nowhere, was a festival—and a crowded one, at that. Their luck had finally turned around.
“Hey, Robin,” he called, hoping that the use of her real name would let her know how serious he was, “on the count of three, I’m gonna need you to duck down and follow my lead.”
“But Gaius—”
“Look, just trust me, okay? And whatever you do, don’t let go of my hand.”
There was a pause, and then, “Okay!”
“One—”
The footsteps grew louder.
“Two—”
Almost there—
“Three!”
Gaius ducked his head and charged into the crowd. He could feel Robin’s grip on his hand tighten as she followed suit behind him. He expertly maneuvered through the throng of people, ignoring the surprised shouts and curious glances they sent in his and Robin’s direction. He could hear the guards, who were clearly taken aback by the unexpected obstacle, shouting at the passersby to get out of their way. Eventually, their protests faded into little more than background noise.
A few moments passed. Deciding that they had put enough distance between the knights and themselves, Gaius led Robin into a secluded alley, away from the hustle and bustle of the festival. Large wooden crates, likely belonging to shop owners, lined the outer walls of the old brick buildings. Gaius dove behind them and pressed his back against the wall, taking Robin with him. She audibly gasped as he used one arm to hold her against his chest; his free hand went straight for the dagger at his hip.
It was all he could do not to gasp for air. He inhaled through his nose, deeply and quietly, and he could hear Robin do the same. They stood in near silence, waiting to see if they had finally shaken those bastards. Seconds became minutes, but there was no sign that they had been followed. They were officially in the clear.
As though she had read his mind, Robin whispered, “Gaius, I think they’re gone now.”
Gaius craned his neck around the stack of crates to get a visual confirmation. As he thought, not a single person stood at the end of the alley. He re-sheathed his dagger, but he was in no rush to loosen his hold around Robin’s waist. She apparently didn’t object to this, as she made no attempt to push him away.
“I think you’re right,” he responded, finally turning to look at her.
Her face, only inches from his, was illuminated by moonlight and the bright lights from the festival, which filtered in from the end of the alleyway. Her cheeks were flushed—whether from exhaustion or their proximity, he wasn’t sure—and her hair was disheveled and windswept. She looked up at him, lips parted, chocolate-colored eyes gazing into his almost expectantly, and honestly, she was prettier than she had any right to be. Gaius was almost overwhelmed by the sudden desire to kiss her.
He didn’t, though. He thought of the ring he had crafted for her, tucked safely into his pack back at camp. Gaius was many things: a brigand and a scoundrel and every other synonym in the book (and there were a lot of them; Maribelle had once called him every single one, in alphabetical order), but if there was one thing he wanted to do right, it was this.
“Y’know, Bubbles,” he said slowly, running the gloved fingers of his free hand through one of her pigtails, “if those good-hearted, law-abiding Ylissean citizens could see us right now, they’d have a field day.”
Whatever she had expected him to say, it clearly hadn’t been that. Robin’s eyes widened in surprise, her face flushing a deeper shade of red. Gaius half expected her to pull away and start sputtering indignantly, but instead, she broke into a fit of laughter. It was probably due to relief or exhaustion or maybe a combination of both, but it was still the sweetest sound he had ever heard. He found himself laughing along with her.
He loosened his grip around her waist, and she moved back to a respectable distance. He could already feel her absence.
“I swear, Gaius,” said Robin, wiping a laughter-induced tear from her eye, “I don’t know what to do with you sometimes. At the very least, there’s never a dull moment with you around.”
Gaius could think of a few things she could do with him. Instead, he said, “Well, at least you got something out of this, eh?”
“Yeah. It’s too bad we ended this job empty-handed,” she said thoughtfully. “And here I thought you were a master thief. You must be losing your touch.”
He thought of the golden statuettes, hidden deep in his secret pockets, that he had snatched from duke’s library while Robin hadn’t been looking. They were going to fetch a good price on the market, and every last coin would go to the war fund—from an anonymous donor, of course. He couldn’t wait to see her delighted expression when she realized that they could afford more new weapons and armor than she had thought.
“Hey, you can’t win ‘em all,” he said, putting his hands up in mock defeat. “If this line of work always paid out, there’d be less of you honorable folk to run the shops and lead the armies. You know, honest work.”
“I suppose you’re right.” She giggled again. There was a moment of silence before she continued. “Hey, Gaius?”
“Yeah?”
“Could you do me a favor and...not mention any of this to the rest of the Shepherds?”
He snorted. “Trust me, Bubbles, I’m in no hurry to ruin my own reputation. I’ll keep this escapade under wraps if you will. It can be our little secret.”
Robin smiled, and Gaius’ heart skipped a beat.
“Well, Mr. Master Thief, it sounds like we have a deal.”