you found me hanging by my fingertips from your window and i don't want to tell you i was trying to rob you but idk how else to explain this and i don't want to go to jail and also you're kind of cute we should make out when i'm not clinging onto your window ledge for my life

She wasn't quite sure how she got here, she just knew that she'd gotten an eviction notice this morning and it had scared the bejesus out of her. She'd been skipping rent for a while now- ever since Sam died and she realized she couldn't manage to pay for this place on her own. Logically she knew that if she kept on doing this she would get kicked out of her apartment but the eviction notice this morning had made it all the pressing an issue. This was real. Apparently her landlady Manon was done feeling sorry for her, and considering what a complete witch Manon was, she was honestly surprised her pity had lasted this long.

So, after getting off of her shift at The Glass Palace diner she sifted through her few options by making a list.

1. Get a job at a gentlemen's club.

2. Sell my organs.

3. Rob someone/something.

It was a shameful list and Aelin knew her mother and father with all their blue-blooded ways were probably rolling in their graves but, honestly what the hell else could she do? It's not like she could actually access her families fortune since her greedy asshole of an uncle from Adarlan finagled his way into the will. Briefly she entertained the idea of just moving but she didn't want to leave the one place that still reminded her of Sam. Not to mention the hassle of selling, she didn't have the time for that, and being only eighteen the idea of selling a house was kind of scary to her. She didn't even know how to go about doing that. So she took the scoundrel's way and tried to convince herself what she was doing wasn't completely wrong and utterly absurd.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, so on and so forth. This is what Aelin told herself as she zipped up her black leather jacket. She didn't do this often, actually she had never done this at all so she wasn't really sure what the protocol was for robing someone's house but she was going to go for it. How hard could it be anyway? Definitely easier than trying to sell a house right? Just pick a nice place and... just... do it right?

She hopped in her car and drove to the nicer more affluent part of town. She stopped on May and Carver then got out deciding maybe it was best to walk the rest of the way there so no one would see what her car looked like. The closer she got to the Wendlyn apartment complex the harder she clutched her mask in anxiety. Smiling demurely at the doorman she almost fainted in relief when she realized that the security wasn't too strict. Thank God she could get in.

Once safely in the elevator she looked into the mirrored panels of the elevator walls and fixed a stern expression on her face, "You can do this. You better freakin do this."

With that she tugged the ski-mask over her unruly golden curls and made sure her she could breathe through the course material of the mask. At the sound of the elevator pinging she darted out, stopping only briefly in the hall to pick which door to go through. God, it was like a game show.

"Eeny, meeny, miny, mo Catch a tiger by the toe If he hollers, let him go My mother says, To pick the very best one, and you are it," she murmured to herself whilst her finger pointed back and forth between three doors.

16B. Okay here goes nothing.

Efficiently she removed the awaiting bobbypin from her pocket and picked the lock in an impressive four minutes flat. She worked well under pressure, so far so good.

Upon entering, her olfactory system was assaulted by the scent of pine and snow. It was a refreshing yet manly smell, and if the earthy, musky undertones of the scent weren't any indication, then the boat sized shoes that rested neatly next to the door were- this was a man's house. Possibly a man who was home. Shit. Aelin froze in her tracks, straining her ears for any hint that the owner of the apartment was here. She wasn't sure if she should stand there and listen or go hide, but after five minutes of listening and not hiding and also berating herself for being stupid, she decided that no one was home, and if they were they were sleeping. She made a cursory sweep through the flat and it was determined. She was in the clear. For now.

Aelin willed her heart to stop beating so fast, and carried on with the task at hand. Glancing around the room she took in the minimal decor her eyes lighting on nothing outlandishly expensive as she had hoped to find. In fact, the guy must've been fresh out of a monastery or something because his taste in decor was insanely minimal. His kitchen consisted of one counter with a sunken in sink, a stove and a wooden table pushed into the corner with one stool to accompany it. Talk about solitude. His living room had a wood paneled ceiling heather grey walls, wood floors with a single couch over a single throw rug across the way from one wooden bookshelf. The guy was either broke or seriously boring. In fact the only thing that was plentiful in his apartment were books, and plants like bamboo and baby cacti and... oh wow was that a sword? Aelin's eyes lit upon what seemed to be the only shiny thing in the room. She cringed when she got a little bit of dirt on his light colored couch, so deftly she removed her shoes and hopped on. Precariously she balanced herself, one foot on each arm of the chair so she was level with the sword's scabbard. She plucked it from it's hook and unsheathed in with a breathy gasp of awe when the jewel encrusted sword was revealed.

It had to be real. And even on the downside that it wasn't, it sure looked real enough. She could sell this for a shit ton of money. So, with a new burst of energy she carefully slid the sword back into it's scabbard and slung the strap diagonally across her body so it hung like a messenger bag before scrambling from her perch. As she stuffed her feet into her shoes she felt a twinge of guilt knowing how bummed she'd be, not to mention livid, if she came home to find that something as cool as this sword had been thieved from her. Damn.

Against her better judgment she riffled through the house looking for a pen and paper finally finding one on a desk in the man's equally minimally rustic room. Hurriedly she scribbled,

Dear Monk- Man,

I hate to rid you of such a cool toy (seriously where did you get this sword?!). Especially because I'm not even taking it for myself really. You see desperate times call for desperate measures and I'm really hard up for some cash at the moment so I'm gonna sell it. Hey maybe it'll make itself back to you someday. Anyway... uh I hope your day wasn't shitty or anything so that coming home tonight doesn't make it even worse. Um, so yeah. God speed.

- Your Friendly Neighborhood Thief

P.S. Don't worry I don't do this often.

She had just set the note on the counter in the kitchen when she heard the keys jingle in the lock.

Fuck. That was her way out. Fuck, fuck, fuck, she was so fucked.

Making a brief 360 she considered her options and then raced for the window. As quietly as she could she wrenched the glass panel open and squeezed herself through with a hiss and a silent thanks to God that she was so poor she couldn't afford to eat enough to be too fat to slip through said window.

Okay. Her head totally wasn't spinning. Her stomach wasn't rolling, she so wasn't dry heaving. She was afraid of heights yeah but- psh heights? This couldn't even be considered heights really. She was being ridiculous. It was like climbing onto a step stool and having an anxiety attack from the height- absurd. It was only a two story drop. So two stories was about ten feet. So what? She'd make it. She had to. She'd just... just let go.

Just not yet.

She tried to calm her breathing and swallow so her heart would dislodge itself from her throat but it wasn't really working. In fact her heart rate just became even more erratic when she heard a muffled swear. The man had probably just read her cheeky little note and- shit his footsteps sounded like they were getting closer. Oh God, oh God-she squeezed her eyes shut and tucked her chin into her chest. Maybe if just closed her eyes and pretended this was all a dream, pretended like she wasn't here he wouldn't see her. Maybe he wouldn't even open the window he might just-

The window slid open with a loud woosh and a bang.

Aelin was sweating so hard her palms were beginning to slip, her fingers were cramping from holding on so tight and God she was trembling. She should open her eyes. She should stop being such a freaking coward and just look into the eyes of her probable murderer. She should except her defeat with grace. Slowly she rose her head and came face to face with the most blindingly gorgeous, most terrifying face she'd ever seen in her life. Just her luck.

She was yanked forcefully back through the window, and holy crap if she was trembling before she was about to fucking piss herself now because before her stood about six and a half towering feet of of hulking angry man. She was right to be afraid. The guy dressed in a earthy brown colored blazer, a crisp white button down, tappered black jeans and black boots, stood a full foot over her, and probably doubled her in breadth too. In fact she really wasn't even sure how he made it through his own front door he was so broad in the shoulders. Despite his hulking frame he somehow refrained from seeming bulky, instead his muscles and sinew seemed trim and graceful. He looked like he could snap her the fuck in half. And by the look in his pine green eyes, she thought he just might.

"Uh..." Aelin's voice wavered but already she was bouncing back from her moment of weakness due to her fear of heights. Her mind was scrambling to come up with way to talk herself out of this. Usually she was good at this- talking herself out of bad situations. However she had a feeling her luck was waning. She tried anyway.

"Uh, missing something?" she joked feebly as she removed the sword from her body and held it out.

The man eyed her with disgust, almost sizing her up for what seemed like an eternity before he snatched the weapon from her hand so quickly she thought she blinked.

"I'll have you know I've notified the authorities," his deep voice rumbled and her skin prickled impossibly scared and strangely aroused.

"Oh, you don't have to do that. Don't worry, I'll be on my way," she stared to walk around him but he shot out a large hand to stop her.

"Sit," he commanded plainly. She complied quite easily until she realized, wait a minute. Who the fuck was this guy to tell her what to do, and more importantly where the fuck was the real Aelin because this quivering mass of acquiescence was not her.

"Sorry, I'd love to chat but I really need to get going," she answered her tone so nonchalant it was probably insulting.

The man fixed her with a glare, a wisp of silver hair ruining the scary effect as she realized- wait silver hair? Who the hell had silver hair?

"Alright fine," she held her hands up in mock surrender. She could have fun with this, "if you really need to talk. Here I am."

He grunted his satisfaction as she sat complying.

"So, pretty lonely huh? Not a lot going on I can see," she gestured around his sparse flat.

When he remained quiet she continued.

"I mean I guess it's not that weird. Considering you're practically seven feet tall, have grey hair and eerie eyes... yeah, I can see how it'd be hard to snag a date."

She was just rambling now really. Saying anything she could think of to make him angry. Cause lets be real, they guy was huge, probably in more ways than one, and his bone structure was that of a royal prince or something- he so wouldn't have trouble getting a date. The only thing that would maybe be a negative was the logistics of his height when paired with a more petite feminine body... Also there was his attitude issue but even that just, like his grey hair could be overlooked, in fact they were both kinda sexy. Aelin shivered.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you upset big guy. Your place is nice enough, and I'm sure you've had your fair share of lady folk," she avowed in a placating tone.

He let go of a tight sigh, "I should've let you drop. That seems like it would've been a better punishment for you and a less bothersome fate for me."

"Hey now-

"Shutup."

Rolling her eyes Aelin asked, "Are the cops really coming or was that just an idle threat?"

"Would you like to see my phone history?" he replied in a strained raspy tone. At least she had gotten him talking. He must be exceedingly annoyed if he deigned it okay to talk to her.

He cued up his call log, and squinting Aelin read 911. Oh shit, he was serious.

"Uh listen," she started off, "I... I'm sure you saw my note. I'm not- I don't- I don't do this, but I really need some money. I'm about to be evicted. Actually, I'd be surprised if when I got back my stuff wasn't thrown to the curb. So I can um... pay you back. I'll do anything really I just- what I'm tying to say I guess... I'm just really kinda desperate here," she said her bravado fading as she wrung her hands together nervously.

He narrowed his eyes at her, and was about to open his mouth to respond when there was a stern knock on the door.

"Shit!" Aelin squeaked and ran to hide behind- behind... shit well behind nothing because there was basically no furniture in this damn place. She glanced back at the man in panic to see him unbutton his shirt. Unbuttoning his shirt? Next he removed his blazer and rolled up his shirt sleeves. Aelin watched entranced and only slightly embarrassed as he reached up to unclip his hair, his biceps bulging in the confines of his crisp white dress shirt. She blinked in surprise as silky smooth silver hair cascaded down around his shoulders.

"God," she breathed absolutely in awe. He was prettier than her.

Another sharp knock startled her out of her revere. She was shaking her head dislodging fantasies when his long calloused fingers plucked the mask off of her face before he strode to the door.

"Good evening officer," he sounded slightly out of breath in his tone and Aelin's eyebrows quirked in puzzlement.

"Good evening sir, we got a call saying there was a robbery taking place. Is that right?"

A nervous chuckle, "Excuse me officer? I know of no such thing..."

What the hell was he doing?

"You'll have to move aside please sir," the officer said trying but failing to shove passed the silver haired man.

He steeped back belatedly allowing the officer in.

"Is this your home Sir...?"

"Whitethorn, Mr. Whitethorn officer," the man supplied, "and yes this is my home."

"And who is this?" the officer looked Aelin up and down as if she was suspicious which she totally was oh God, she couldn't breathe.

"My girlfriend officer," Whitethorn chuckled wryly, "I'm afraid there's been a mix up. We've been here the entire time and nothing has been stolen."

"Well the video footage in security begs to differ Mr. Whitethorn. In fact, I need some ID."

Whitethorn complied grabbing his leather wallet and showing the cop his identification, "See, my place. Unless you'd like to see the deed as well. Look, I'm sure what you saw on the video was real-

"This woman here picked your lock sir."

"See that's the thing- I know. My girlfriend and I do some roleplay every once in a while to spice things up. Isn't that right sweetheart?" Whitethorn pinned her with a challenging look.

Roleplay?! What? Aelin was sure she was heaving again, and shit, her face must be on fire. She opened her mouth and then closed it helplessly, wordlessly.

"She's really easily embarrassed. Sorry sir- babe c'mon."

"I uh-" Aelin stuttered, "yeah, we- we've been planning this for weeks..."

At least Aelin wasn't the only one whose face was aflame. The officer was as red as a tomato. The guise was working. I mean how could it not. She was a spluttering flushed mess, as she guessed she would be if her and Whitethorn had actually been interrupted. If they were actually interrupted it would make sense that his clothes were in disarray his hair loose and hers all askew on her head. God- she nearly chocked on the thought- what if they had actually been doing something. A peal of nervous laughter escape her. The officer echoed it.

"Well, um," he cleared his throat, "Sorry to disturb you folks."

"Sorry to bother you officer, false alarm I guess."

"Yeah," the poor cop chuckled nervously, "Well uh, keep it safe kids- I'm just gonna... uh... goodnight," and with that he practically darted out of the door.

"Well... looks like that's my cue," Aelin tried knowing she'd most likely fail to make it through the door.

"Not so fast. You're not completely off the hook," he rumbled.

She scoffed, "Ifyou really cared that much you woulda let the narc get me."

"Who's to say I don't have my own punishment for you?"

Aelin's breath hitched at the menacing growl. She merely squeaked as the mountain of a man prowled up to her.

"You do realize there are consequences for behavior such as your own, do you not thief?" his evergreen eyes pinned her to the wall where she stood.

"Such as?"

"Such as this. Tomorrow night at the same time i would like for you to meet me in the lobby of this building."

Aelin lifted her chin in defiance, "And if I choose not to?"

"Then you choose to incriminate yourself."

She took a breath to question him but before she could he interjected, "I would advise against questioning me. I can be very resourceful when need be."

His eyes seemed to glint mockingly at her as if challenging her to say no. She almost did until he... continued to undress?

His large fingers dexterously undid the tiny buttons as he turned away from her and sauntered over to his kitchen where he then poured himself a drink.

"I'd offer you a drink, but you'll forgive me if I don't normally consort felons," he said, back turned, "Until tomorrow then."

With a heaving sigh she consented, "Yes. Tomorrow."