#i confess a few weeks ago i even mailed a drawing with a request to meet him in LA

[freebooter4ever]

the geno goal just for you!!!

ahahahaha yeah a sad frail sick girl...some good luck charm i would be 😅

[taexual]

SEVENTEEN (Vocal Unit) / They realize they are in love with you

WARNING: the softest fluff (also, these are long)

JEONGHAN

Jeonghan thought his flu had gotten so bad, he’d imagined the sound of the doorbell.

He’d just texted you – half an hour ago – telling you not to come over, no matter how sick he was, because it was pouring rain outside and he didn’t want you to get sick, too. And then he fell asleep, so now he wasn’t sure which sounds were real and which were—

There it was again. Someone was absolutely ringing the doorbell.

“Joshua!” he tried, bursting into a coughing fit as soon as the word left his lips. “Ah, crap—”

Sneezing immediately after he finished couhing, Jeonghan thought he could distinctly recall ordering the boys in the rooms nearby to evacuate as soon as he got a sore throat, afraid of infecting them, so that meant he was going to have to find a way to get to the door himself.

Halfway out of the door, sniffling and sturggling to properly open his eyes, Jeonghan heard a very familiar gasp. Blinking, he lifted his face to meet your surprised gaze.

“Why are you out of bed?” you demanded.

Too taken aback by your presence – perhaps he’d dreamed telling you not to come? – he stuttered, “the doorbell—”

“Seungcheol opened the door,” you explained, taking him by the arm and guiding him back to his room. “You’re not supposed to be walking.”

“Y-you’re not supposed to be here,” he retorted, shivering as soon as he felt your cold hand on his forehead when you checked for fever. You pulled your hand away after realizing that you were wet from the rain.

“You’re sick,” you countered as you helped him climb back into bed and passed him a tissue as soon as he sneezed again. “And Seungcheol told me you tried to kick everyone out of the house.”

“I just told them t-to—” he sneezed again, “to stay away from my room. I don’t want them to get sick. I don’t want you to get sick, either.”

“Well, I don’t want you to be alone when you’re not feeling well,” you replied, taking your coat and backpack off before sitting down on the edge of his bed and unpacking the provisions you’d brought. “I didn’t know how to make the kind of soup that you like but I hope that—”

“Thank you,” Jeonghan said. He watched the medicine, the themometers, the containers of food, and the nasal sprays that you’d brought, and felt something squeeze his chest – it wasn’t the flu. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, now lie down and—” you replied automatically and then froze, realizing that you’d never actually heard him say that to you before.

Somewhat bewildered, you turned to look at him but Jeonghan – still hovering between dream and reality and, therefore, not sure if he’d just confessed his love to you or if he just thought of doing it – was already lying in his pile of blankets and pillows, his eyes closed and lips parted, seemingly drifting off to sleep.

JOSHUA

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Joshua asked you as he tried to finish reading the last chapter of the book. The feeling of your warm gaze on him distracted him, and was more than enough to decorate his cheeks with the softest shade of pink.

Realizing that he’d caught you staring – but it wasn’t like you were trying very hard to be subtle – you chuckled and looked away. “Like what?”

“Like—I don’t know,” he laughed nervously, not quite sure why his heart had started to beat so quickly. “Like you’d never seen me before.”

You carried on what you were doing and looked back to your phone, explaining in a tone so simple, it seemed like your answer was obvious and it was ridiculous that he didn’t figure that out himself.

“Sometimes it feels like I haven’t,” you explained, “you looked so lost in the book, it felt like I was getting a glimpse into your mind by watching you read,” you paused to give him a look filled with sincerity, “sorry if that was—”

“No, um…” he stopped you, closing his book shut. He had exactly zero chances of getting back into the final chapter and actually understanding how the story resolved. “That’s okay. You just surprised me, I guess.”

“Why?” you asked, a hint of teasing in your voice now. “You’re nice to look at.”

Joshua felt himself inhale with a shudder so intense, he was worried you’d see him shaking from across the room. But, not meaning to make him even more uncomfortable, you’d looked away after you finished speaking, so he had nothing to be nervous about.

Except for the fact that he thought you were nice to look at, too. And the fact that he’d thought so for ages now, but you were friends and he wasn’t supposed to think that about a friend.

“Hey, um,” he started to say before he was aware of opening his mouth, “can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” you replied, too far from him to notice the wild terror in his eyes after he realized there was no going back from this.

“What—uh, h-how do you feel about going out to get food tonight?” he asked, caressing the spine of the book he was still holding in order to get some more courage to clarify the true purpose of his question.

“Okay, that sounds good,” you nodded. “Maybe we can try that all-you-can eat place that just opened a few blocks away?”

That wasn’t exactly the sort of candle-lit dinner he’d imagined, but, swallowing with great difficulty, Joshua nodded, “yeah. Okay. Anything you want.”

Baby steps, he decided. He’d have to figure out a way to make it clear that this was a date once you were already on it.

WOOZI

You had been too busy – too stressed – to see him – really, properly see him – for nearly a month now. All of your meetings consisted of a few minutes, meant to say hello and catch up, and then you were back to taking care of your own personal errands.

Before long, seeing you for two minutes a day didn’t seem enough for Jihoon anymore.

“I’m sorry,” you exhaled heavily, the fifth apology leaving your lips even though you and Jihoon had only been on the phone for about half a minute. “I should be done with this project in a few more weeks tops, and then this will all be over. Really, I am so—”

“No, don’t apologize,” Jihoon asked, feeling bad to be putting extra pressure on you with his insistent phone call. “I understand. I just… I don’t know, I haven’t seen you in so long.”

He wanted to say he missed you. He was going to say he missed you. But he stayed quiet, leaving the words hanging in the air awkwarly.

You bit your lip, not wanting to draw attention to the fact that you’d been hoping to relieve the frustration that’s been brought on by your heavy workload by doing something special for him. Something that he’d clearly not noticed.

“Have you, uh,” you started, having no other choice but to come clean, “checked your mailbox recently?”

“My inbox?” he repeated as his confused eyes darted to his computer where he’d always kept his email open.

“No, your mailbox,” you clarified and then explained, “your physical mailbox at your house.”

Jihoon looked almost alarmed. “No. I don’t think anyone checks that thing, we get our bills online and don’t care much for ads. S-should I, er—should I have checked it?”

“Yeah,” you said, nervous now. “Call me back after you do.”

He promised he would and leaped off his office chair. Nearly slipping on the wooden floors as he bolted through the door of his room and into the hallway outside of the apartment, Jihoon realized he’d left the key of the mailbox back inside.

Honestly, at that point, he was curious enough to physically pry the mailbox open but, groaning and huffing with irritation, he settled for the conventional way and returned inside to grab the key.

What he saw inside of the mailbox almost made him sit right down on the floor.

You’d mailed him a letter. Every single day. Actually, you didn’t mail it – the envelopes had no stamps on – you must have delivered the letters yourself, early in the morning before you had to go to work.

Jihoon wondered why you didn’t call him instead, but the answer was obvious: you knew how late he went to sleep the night before and you didn’t want to wake him.

Still not having caught his breath, Jihoon collected the envelopes and jogged back inside. He was going to call you first, then read them all; he wanted to do both at the same time but some things were more important than the others.

And the most important thing right now was him telling you how much he loved you.

DK

Seokmin didn’t really understand what was happening at first. One moment, he was sleeping – snoring peacefully and possibly even smiling in the dream – and then the next, he was suddenly awake and semi-aware of his surroundings, even if his eyes still felt too heavy to open.

“Hmmm,” mumbling in disorientation, he tried to turn to his side but felt something change in the atmosphere as soon as he did.

The room went quiet.

And, finally, Seokmin realized what’s happened: he’d been sleeping next to you – almost on top of you, at this point – and you’d been humming. Actually humming a quiet cheerful tune under your breath and, despite the comfort it brought his tired mind, he’d never heard you humming before. And that’s why he woke up.

“Sorry,” you whispered, putting down the book that you’d been reading while he slept. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“No, please,” he spoke, his voice groggy and laced with sleep. Throwing his arm around your waist as he absentmindedly nuzzled his face into your neck, he asked, “sing for me.”

You would have laughed if you didn’t feel so overwhelmed with his body warmth. “You’re asking me to sing for you?”

“Yes,” he said and sighed in content when one of your hands dropped above his head, your nervous fingertips gently touching his hair.

Seokmin had never felt so safe – so at home – before and he realized with frightening clarity that he never wanted to leave. So, tightening his grip around you, he settled firmly on one thing and one thing only: he was going to stay here forever.

“Sing me to sleep,” he asked again, bringing a smile to your lips with his ambiguous request, “but let me stay awake so I can listen.”

SEUNGKWAN

More than half of the time that Seungkwan spent with you, he was laughing. It was either at the jokes that you’d made, or at your shared ability to abandon all sensibility and behave like reckless idiots just for the fun of it. If someone had seen the two of you then, they would have probably thought you were both high on every drug imaginable.

And Seungkwan cherished moments like that – he cherished the pain in his cheeks, the hollowness of his lungs when he thought he’s suffocate from laughing so much, and the bruises on his thighs from clapping against them so hard each time you said something funny.

“God, I’m really going to die like this,” he said to you one time, wiping a tear from his eye.

Seungkwan almost started to laugh again as soon as he saw that you’d transcended the laughter state and were now in the “silent tremors” state where your body was shaking from how funny this was, but you were physically incapable of producing any sort of sound anymore.

“Stop!” he demanded, bringing his hand over your knee because you were too far for him to touch in a more forceful way. “I can’t breathe anymore!”

But you didn’t stop – you couldn’t – and soon enough, you were both almost literally on the floor, still laughing, even though neither of you could remember what was it that started this anymore. You’d slow down every now and then, the laughter dissipating, but then a memory – or the sight of each other’s faces, still framed in joy – would start it all up again.

“I c-can’t feel my stomach,” you spoke as you leaned against the wall, trying to get yourself together, but still giggling uncontrollably. “This is like exercise.”

Seungkwan had almost stopped but now he was laughing again – and, naturally, you were, too – and he had to cover his face with his hands because, dear God, this was never going to end!

“Exercise,” he said in-between fits of laughter, “is nowhere near as fun as this. Ah, I’m not sure I can stand up.”

Still laughing weakly, you managed to get back on your feet and extended a hand for him. “I blame you, by the way. You started it.”

“Did I?” he wasn’t sure.

“Of course! You always make me laugh.”

“You always make me laugh!” he countered as if this was a very serious accusation and, within a moment, you were both giggling again. “God, my face hurts so much. I love it. I love you.”

Even though he was still laughing as he said it – and you were, too – you couldn’t miss the sincerity in his voice and the emotion behind his words because, jokes and laughter aside, it matched the emotions inside of your own chest.

So, you laughed harder – forcing him to push your hand away because now he was laughing, too – because this was your way of telling him that you loved him, too.

[gamergirl929]

Cryptic Confessions (Scarlett Bordeaux x Reader)

Needless to say, when Karrion Kross approaches you backstage carrying a long stemmed black rose, you’re confused, not knowing at the time that a simple rose was about to change your life forever. 

Thought I’d try my hand at writing for Scarlett, tell me what you guys think!

The confusion on your face HAD to be apparent considering Karrion Kross had just made his way towards you, wordlessly handing you a black rose before leaving.  

You twist the rose between your fingers before burying your nose in the petals, the smell sweet, yet familiar.  

Everyone in WWE KNEW you were gay, so Karrion Kross, OF ALL PEOPLE, giving you a rose came as a shock.  

“What have you got there?”  

You turn to Shotzi, the green haired woman humming as she eyes the rose intently.  

“Kross knows you’re a straight up lesbian, right?” She snorts and you snicker.  

“I mean, I’d THINK so.”  

It’s then when you spot them out of the corner of your eye, Karrion and Scarlett Bordeaux, the blonde’s face impassive.  

You hum, realizing the woman’s hazel orbs are on you.  

Your eyes narrow.  

Could she have...?

You shake your head.  

“There’s no way.” You whisper, Shotzi’s brows furrowing.  

“What?”  

You shake your head, catching the tiny smile on Scarlett’s face.  

“Nothing.”  

                                                           ***

Again, Karrion makes his way towards you, this time a small book in hand.

He clears his throat, wordlessly holding the book out to you.

You hesitate for only a moment before taking it, albeit confused.  

“It is requested that you read the marked passages.” He states simply before walking off, leaving you to watch him go even MORE confused then you had been a few weeks ago when he’d given you the black rose.  

Again, like when he’d given you the rose, you see a familiar pair of hazel orbs on you, Scarlett’s face showing no ounce of emotion.  

You hum, immediately opening the book, flipping to the first dog-eared page, smiling when you see the delicate handwriting inside.  

You wander off, so engrossed in the book you nearly run into Finn Balor, muttering a soft apology before continuing on, unaware that Scarlett’s eyes are still on you, though this time, her lips are quirked up in a tiny smile.  

                                                           ***

The passages, or poems in the book were complex, many hard to understand, but the theme was the same.  

Hidden love, a love that was masked by obscurity.  

If that’s what it meant, then did that mean Karrion Kross felt that way about YOU?  

You bark out a laugh, drawing the attention of nearby techs and superstars, your cheeks flushing blood red.  

There was NO way it was Karrion, not a chance.  

“Did you like it?”  

Your brows furrow as you pick your head up, eyes widening when you see, not Karrion Kross standing before you, but Scarlett Bordeaux.

You glance around, making sure the woman is talking to you before you clear your throat.  

“I-I did.” You stammer, swallowing hard.  

“We-Were...” You clear your throat again. “Were you the one who wanted me to read it?” You ask, the blonde smiling.

“I was.”  

You smile softly, your cheeks flushing.  

“I know Karrion said to read the marked passages but...” You shrug. “I read it all.”  

Scarlett hums, holding her hand out, immediately finding the book in her hand.  

“So, you enjoyed it?” She asks and you nod.  

“Ye-Yeah, I did.”  

Scarlett smiles, noticing how a number of pages sort of fall open, as if the book had been opened on that same page for a significant amount of time, long enough for the book to crease in such a way that when it opened, it was straight to THAT page.  

Scarlett steps closer, your heart seizing in your chest when she ever so gently place a hand on your forearm.

“Am I to understand that you understood what each passage entailed?”

“I-I-I t-t-think so…” You stutter, Scarlett’s lips splitting into a grin.

She stares at you thoughtfully for a moment, caressing your arm.

“Perhaps there's a way I could make it even clearer…” She gives your arm a squeeze, fingers dragging along your goosebumps covered flesh before she turns and walks off, leaving you to watch her go with flushed cheeks and wide eyes.

                                                           ***

In all honesty, you weren’t entirely sure what you where in for, but when Karrion Kross again made his way towards you backstage your heart skipped a beat.  

Scarlett had yet again sent him to relay a message to you, this message was in the form of a sealed envelope.

“I hope this is the last time I have to be Ms. Bordeaux’s mail carrier.”  

You can’t help but giggle as the man takes his leave without uttering another word.  

Eagerly, you tear the sealed envelope open, smiling when you sleep a single card inside, a card that has an address delicately scrawled across its surface.  

You bite your bottom lip to stave off a massive grin as you read the card over and over again, brows furrowing when you realize there’s another, tinier slip of paper within the envelope.  

You read it with a hum, smiling softly.  

“It is requested that you dress formally.”  

                                                           ***

You take a deep breath, standing stock still outside of what looks like an abandoned warehouse.

You glance back down at the card, completely missing the man standing in the doorway wearing a crisp white shirt and a bow tie.

“Ms. Y/L/N?”

You jump at the sound of the man’s voice.

“Ye-Yes?” You say nervously and he smiles.

“Ms. Bordeaux has requested I collect you.”  

Your brows arch.

You should’ve known she would be cryptic when it came to your date.

Your eyes widen.

Was this a date?  

“Miss?” The man asks and you clear your throat.

“Lead the way.”

You follow the man, smiling when you hear soft music playing from a nearby room, a room you’re currently heading towards.

The man before you steps aside, holding the door open wide for you.

It isn’t until you step inside that you see her.  

You swallow hard, your eyes raking up her back, from her black heel covered feet to her blood red dress that hugs her curves in JUST the right ways.

It isn’t until you stop your ogling that you realize she’d turned around, the woman watching you with a small smirk.  

“I see you found the place.” She says, hips swaying as she makes her way towards you, two wine glasses in hand.  

The woman, delicately, passes the cup to you, the woman sipping her own wine, her hazel orbs watching as you sip the tart liquid.

You hum, Scarlett smirking as your eyes rake down her front.  

“Y-Y-You look...”  

Scarlett simply smirks seductively, reaching for and taking your hand, leading you towards a table cloth covered table, covered in an assortment of foods and a candle light and flickering in the middle.  

Scarlett leads you to the table, the woman smiling when you place your wine glass down and pull her chair out for her. 

She gives you a nod before taking her seat, the woman grinning when you take the seat across from her.  

“I’m glad you decided to accept my invitation.”  

You smile, your cheeks flushing pink.  

“There’s no way I WOULDN’T accept it.”

Scarlett’s lips split into a dazzling grin.  

“I was hoping you would say that.”  

Scarlett takes a sip of her wine before leaning towards you.  

“So, tell me about your favorite passages in the book.” She intertwines her fingers, resting her chin on them.  

You grin.  

“I’d love to.”  

                                                           ***

The two of you get so lost in talking about the book that you almost forget to eat your food.

Eventually, your plates were cleared and Scarlett moves to her feet.

She snaps her fingers and immediately, the music changes, your eyes widening when she extends a hand out to you.

“No first date is complete without sharing a first dance.”  

You smile as you slowly move to your feet, your fingers wrapping around hers.

Scarlett's arms slip around your neck, your hands resting on her waist.

The two of you fall silent, Scarlett’s cheek brushing against yours as the two of you sway to the softly playing violin music.

“I hope tonight has made my intentions clearer.” She whispers in your ear and you hum, a smile stretching across your face.  

She smirks.

“Perhaps there’s one other thing…”  

Scarlett pulls back, hazel orbs dropping to your parted lips.

Your mouth opens and closes a few times, though you’re unable to find the words you’re searching for.

Scarlett’s lips split into a grin.

“May I enlighten you?” She asks and your tongue swipes at your lips.  

“Please.”  

Scarlett leans in, her cherry red lips pressing against yours.

Your chest lightens as she kisses you tenderly, delicately.

Your hands gently grasp her waist, the woman’s body flush with yours as you kiss.

The kiss ends much to soon for your liking, but before Scarlett pulls further back, she pecks your lips sweetly.

“Was that enlightening enough?”  She whispers and you grin, your lips coated in her lipstick.

You nod, your nose bumping hers.

“Hmmm, we might need to do it a few more times.” You say innocently and Scarlett giggles.

“I was hoping you’d say that.”  

It’s in that moment that your lips meet hers a second time, you know your life will never be the same again.  

[husbandits]

I saw your requests are open. Can you please do Arthur and a male reader going to a ball dance. Thank you

Yeah absolutely! Srry this took forever, but hopefully it’s worth the wait!

I went with a semi-realistic thing for this, and then it got… long

The two of you don’t get a lot of opportunities for intimacy, beyond the occasional trip out into the woods, ostensibly for food, so when Arthur pulls you aside one evening to talk, you’re first thought isn’t that he’s got anything more than a quick kiss in mind

And its definitely not that he’s going to ask you to do anything romantic

Apparently, the landbaron that funds most of the businesses around your current camp is throwing a ball in a bit less than a month, and Dutch’s gotten the idea to infiltrate the party, to see if you can stir up any information about goings on. Or maybe just rob the thing, it isn’t clear yet

And with the rumors swirling around about how the rich playboy’s attentions swing towards the masculine…

You’re not exactly thrilled about Dutch exploiting your relationship like this, especially considering the pains Arthur’d gone through around telling the rest of the gang

But then that pleading look in his eyes hits, and you put the complaint aside for later

Instead you try to focus on the enjoyable parts of the situation

Getting to have a nice, almost relaxed outing to look forward to

Not to mention just getting to be open with your darling Arthur

The weeks leading up to ball are more than a bit hectic

Partly because the involved members of the gang are out of camp often, scouting the venue and getting information on the ball, and partly because Arthur is tripping over himself trying to smooth over the imagined issue with you and putting together all of the information and supplies Dutch thinks he’ll need

For your part, you’re busy looking into your target, Mr. Gregory Thane, yourself

You send him a polite, if generic letter first, not looking to expose yourself to him too much, before the plan can be solidified, but when he sends you back an enthusiastic letter asking for a little rendezvous, Hosea s that you go see him, if just to get your foot in the door

And, over tea and a nearly exhausting evening of dodging questions and trying to give him the ‘right impression’ without going into outright flirty territory, you’re well assured that, yes, Mr. Thane is, at the very least, quite comfortable around men like you

Once you’re confident that this isn’t some sort of elaborate trap, you’re a little more at ease

And a little flattered, when your alias gets an invite in the mail, not quite a week later, under the request that he ‘bring a nice suit and his endearing self‘ 

You bring the invite over to where Dutch and Hosea are going over the plan, eager to share this new angle of entry

You don’t catch the dark look that hangs over Arthur’s face for a moment, the way his expression showers when you hand the note over to read

It’s a bit of a shock when he admits, when you lie with your head on his thick chest that night, that he feels a little overshadowed, with such an impressive, open man vying for your attention

It’s a hushed confession, as if you’ll chide him for saying it, and you’re quick to assure him, turning over to press a kiss to the firm line of his jaw, that it’s not a silly thing to confess, that you’re happy he’s sharing this instead of bottling it up and getting hurt

And, of course, as your hands travel across the broad planes of his body, you remind him that you’re all his, and no amount of riches or luxuries could convince you otherwise

The next day you take him into town to go get outfits for the ball; you’ll need something fancy if you’re arriving as a special guest, after all

Arthur makes a big huff about getting dragged into your shopping trip, but he grins all the same, promising to help you into as many nice suits as you like

You can’t help but notice, as the two of you pick through the different designs, that his eyes keep going back to this dark gold ensemble, and if, by the end of the day, he’s got a new outfit or two to try on as well, it’s hardly anyone’s concern but yours

And then, the next thing you know, it’s the day of the ball, and there’s a heady feeling hanging over you; anticipation and expectations and all the worries you’d put away a fortnight ago

You end up whisking yourself off to Mr. Thane’s mansion hours before anyone else leaves camp, wanting to arrive towards the start of the party and get a chance to eavesdrop a little before things start going

You leave him with a kiss early in the morning, promising to find him at some point at the ball, and get some alone time

At the ball, you’re met with the staggering sight of fifty-some people, largely men of neighboring industries, gathered in the estate’s courtyard and sprawling out into the surrounding garden, and your breath catches in your throat for a second

It’s almost overwhelming, but you dive right in, after taking a moment to calm yourself

After reintroducing yourself to your host, you’re quick to slip off of his notice, attentions pulled to the dapper owner of a small orchard nearby, weaving out into the room and listening in on the chatter, taking note of anything useful you hear

Letting yourself get tied up in conversations about finery and wealth, which naturally lead to industry and banks, and from there you can glean all about how supplies get shipped, and all the measures that keep that money secure

That is, until you find yourself caught on the arm of a young magnate of some sort, drunk or inexperienced enough to not feel your hand in his pocket

By this point, the rest of the gang has arrived- you can hear Dutch‘s loud boasting, the distinct timbre of Hosea’s wheedle

And, as the tipsy merchant loses yet another hand at the impromptu poker game that’s sprung up, you catch sight of him, standing off to the side, watching the game being played from on your lap

Slipping your hand out of the gentleman’s jacket (and taking a weighty piece of jewelry with you), you bid the younger man goodbye, sauntering over to Arthur as if drawn to a siren

You can hear the man huff in dismay as you slide out from under him, murmuring something about being outclassed, and you can’t help but chuckle in response as you pause in front of your man

“Evening, mister,” You smile, watching him with a grin, “You looking for something?”

The reply he gives is halfhearted- he wants you to stay with him, but he knows you need to work, and you waste no time in dragging him off to a shady corner of the courtyard, away from prying eyes

By now, your host has gotten rather involved in the young man he’d had on his arm earlier, so there’s not many eyes on the pair of you, as you take hold of Arthur’s waist, pulling him into a dance. His hands are hesitant on your shoulder, as if afraid you’ll pull back if he holds you, but you just pull him a little bit closer and press the ghost of a kiss to his cheek

The two of you sway together for a while, you leading Arthur around the shaded edge of the garden, and slipping your hand around the curve of his back, enjoying just the feeling of being close to him

That is, until Bill’s nasally voice rings out across the courtyard, “Alright, hands where I can see them!”

The other half of the plan has begun

In a flash, Arthur’s at the ready. Pulls away, reluctantly, a quick squeeze on your shoulder as he does. Pulls his gun from his waist and starts on the robbery, following the others’ lead

You, for your part, jump into the role you’d been assigned after a few seconds of watching him go

With a terrified facade, you join the group of guests hiding in the corner of the courtyard by a very intricate looking fountain, your host seemingly panicking while the man he’d been flirting with is nowhere to be seen

His eyes meet yours, and then he grins in hope

“Sir, sir you must help us with these ruffians!” He pleas, “please, you’re, er,  a man used to dealing with villains like this, aren’t you?”

You balk at that for a moment, you’re not really supposed to play an active part in this phase, just collect some information and maybe sew some friendships with the guests. but now…

The moment of delay is passable enough to shock, as you weight your options

You nod, and the plutocrat sighs in relief. Gestures to the mansion at the other end of the courtyard, the prowling gang between you and it, “I-I keep a set of guns in the west end of the library, in the bottom of the dresser. O-Or maybe they’re in the safe in my drawing room? It has been,” he half-chuckles, “quite some time since they were of use, and they were a gift from a dear friend…”

A roll of your eyes at that, but you give something that passes for an affirmative, as he gives you the combination to the safe, and then you move to start sneaking around to the mansion

Predictably, as soon as you’re out of view of the guests, there’s attention on you, and one of the gang comes storming over, a warning thick on his gravelly voice

Arthur snarks something about having caught a handsome thing like you, grabbing your hand as if to drag you over to him, but his grip is feather-light

You can practically feel the side-eye from whoever’s nearby at that, but you don’t particularly care, playing along with a feisty retort about him being a bit too eager to have caught you

“A’right mister smart-mouth!” He growls, the hair on his beard light on your cheek as he pulls you close, voice dropping to a growl, “Yer gonna take them pretty lil’ hands a’ yours up to that fancy house an’ show me where all th’goods are...“

It’s impossible to suppress the groan you give at that, but hopefully, the gentlemen hiding around the corner can’t hear your excitement

Or the snickers from the rest of the gang, as Arthur pulls you away

With a barefaced grin, you lead Arthur through to the mansion, mock fear, and genuine anticipation giving you the slightest tremble

The two of you slip inside, while the rest of the gang finishes rounding up and robbing the guests, and head up to the study for some haphazard looting and very thorough one-on-one time