The Thief Lord (c) Cornelia Funke

Written for the sixth IU challenge. Prompt used is Love is blind. I tried not to ship them, honestly (I didn't ship them after reading the book), but the scene at the end of the movie,where Hornet leans against Prosper's chest and the hug scene? It definitely pushed my OTP buttons to the max. XD Anyway, this is my first Thief Lord fanfic. This might have some inconsistencies with the book,especially with the characterization since I have left my copy of the Thief Lord at home so I don't have any reference and am writing the characters based on how I remember them. I'd like to apologize for any possible OOC-ness.

Stolen Glances, Hidden Smiles

I. Four Times Hornet Acted Strangely, According to Prosper

Hornet,according to Prosper's observation, was lately acting not quite like herself.

It all started one school day when she came down for breakfast with her long, brown hair not in it's usual thin braid. Ridding herself of her usual hairstyle, she allowed her dark tresses to cascade freely behind her while a small,yellow hairclip adorned the side of her head. She had a radiant smile on her face as she settled down on the seat in front of him and greeted everyone in the table with a pleasant 'good morning.'

Ida returned her greeting with a smile and so did Bo, who even muttered a cheerful 'good morning, Hornet' in the midst of chewing his pancakes. Prosper, meanwhile, simply stared, almost quizzically, in fact. Like Hornet was a difficult puzzle that needed deciphering.

"Good morning, Prosper."

Prosper blinked, feeling Bo's elbow gently nudge him on the turned to look at his younger brother.

"Hornet was talking to you," Bo said in a teasing tone, his eyes lighting up in childlike mirth.

"Huh?"

Hornet gave a hearty laugh, her laughter sounding seemingly like glass bells to Prosper's ears. He had always loved the sound of her voice.

"What's the matter,Prop? You seem so out of it today." She cocked her head slightly to the right and looked at him both curiously and teasingly.

Realization that he had been foolishly staring at Hornet hit Prosper like a bucket of cold water. Hastily, he tore his eyes away from the girl in front of him and focused his attention instead on the pancakes on his plate. "I'm...I'm just sleepy, that's all," he lied and even pretended to yawn for added effect.

"Strange," Bo remarked innocently, "You didn't seem sleepy earlier. And didn't you tell me you had a good night's rest?"

Prosper threw Bo a reprimanding glance. Sometimes, his brother talked too much to his own liking. Bo, however, ignored his silent reprimand and went on to eat his pancakes. Prosper saw Ida give a meaningful smile as she stirred her coffee and Hornet was still grinning as she looked at him. The mood inside the room became awkward. Well, for Prosper anyway. Everyone still acted like this was another one of their usual "family" breakfasts. Prosper ducked his head to avoid meeting anyone's eyes and opted to concentrate on eating his food instead.

"Hornet," it was Ida who spoke this time. "I must say, you look really nice today."

"Yeah," Bo seconded after gulping down a forkful of pancakes. "You look so much better with your hair all loose like that." He turned to his older brother. "What do you think, Prop?"

Prosper slightly raised his head. He saw Hornet demurely tuck one brown tendril behind an ear, an action which reminded him of the girly girls in their school, an action which,in his own opinion, was so not like Hornet.

Hornet glanced at him and their eyes met for a few seconds. Prosper looked down on his plate again as if embarrassed. "I think Hornet looks..." he paused, searching for the right word. "Different. Yeah, different. "

He didn't glance Hornet's way after that. If he did, he would have seen the brief expression of disappointment and annoyance on Hornet's face before she went on to chat happily with Bo and Ida about her plans for the day.

The next time Prosper noticed something strange about Hornet was when Bo sought their help on how to ask Lily, a girl Bo liked from school, on a date. A rather enthusiastic Hornet was more than willing to share her ideas while Prosper incredulously stared at his brother as if Bo had just announced that he's getting married. Prosper still couldn't get over the fact that his younger brother was nearing his teens. "Bo, aren't you too young to date?
You...you're only twelve!"

Hornet rolled her eyes and gently tapped him on the chest using the back of her hand. "There's nothing wrong about a friendly date or two. Besides, it's just normal for Bo to get interested in the opposite sex. After all, our little Bo here is all grown up now, am I right?" She smiled and gave Bo a wink that seemed to say 'Don't worry. I'm on your side.'

Prosper groaned. "Hornet,please. Don't encourage him. You're supposed to help me out here."

Bo frowned and crossed his arms over his chest." I don't know why you're making a big deal about this. Do you remember me making a fuss you went out on a date with Maria Crivelli when you were my age?"

At the mention of another girl's name, Hornet, who had been grinning the entire conversation, suddenly donned a serious expression. "You went out on a date with Maria Crivelli?" she asked him, her eyes sharp, accusing." "How come I did not know of this until now?"

Prosper avoided her gaze and uncomfortably waved a hand in a dismissive manner."Come on, Hornet, it was not that important..."

But Hornet wouldn't back down so walked around until they were standing face to face."Not that important?! You went out on a date with Maria Crivelli and you did not tell me!" Her voice sounded hurt, betrayed. "Was she the 'other plans' that you had that's why you were in a hurry to leave when we visited Riccio and Mosca? Was she? Did you really leave your friends behind just so you could go on a date with Maria Crivelli?!"

Prosper sighed, throwing his arms up in the air in exasperation. He was never known for his exemplary patience. "It was not even a date! She just asked me to help her in a school project."

Hornet snorted."Oh, but I bet you wished it was, didn't you?" she asked mockingly.

"Of course not!"

"Liar!"

Prosper knitted his brows together."Why are we having this conversation anyway? It happened years ago."

"Because it's making me upset!"

"Why?"

"I don't know!"

And with that final answer, Hornet stomped out of the room and slammed the door behind her.

Prosper stared at the closed door in disbelief. How could she be upset about something so...so petty? This was not like her at all. Maybe Scipio was right. Maybe Hornet was turning into a typical girl.' Girls are like that, Prop. They tend to have sudden emotional outbursts and you have no idea why.' Scipio told him.

"I think Hornet is jealous of Maria Crivelli," Bo stated as if he had just discovered this fact.

Posper turned to his brother and gave him a warning glance.'Don't start,' his expression said, 'I'm not in the mood for any jokes today.'

Bo quickly understood this silent message. "Okay, I'm not saying a word now."

And he pulled an imaginary zipper over his lips.

The third time Prosper noticed something strange about Hornet was during that one particular day inside the classroom when their teacher was holding a tiresome lecture about the Laws of Physics.

Bored out of his wits, Prosper yawned, leaned down on his desk and rested a cheek against the palm of his hand. Out of habit,his gaze darted towards the dark-haired girl seated two seats away from his right. Prosper liked watching Hornet's varying expressions as she listened to the teacher. It kept him amused and prevented him from getting asleep in class.

That day, however, Hornet was not looking at their pudgy,old teacher at all. She was looking at...him. Him!

Hornet's eyes widened, mirroring Prosper's own surprised expression. Neither one was expecting to see the other glance the other's way. Hornet quickly directed her to attention to the teacher upfront and Prosper did the same. But neither was listening to the old man.

Prosper thought it was rather strange, so strange the way Hornet seemed so evasive lately. Normally, she would smile at him if they accidentally caught each other's glance. She was never like this, never this shy.

Slowly, Prosper moved his head to glance at Hornet again. They met each other's eyes for the second time, but they both hastily looked away as if mentally groaned. Hornet was definitely acting very strange.

But Prosper wondered even more why he was also strangely acting like this, like an embarrassed schoolboy with a crush.

'Maybe , you really were an embarrassed school boy with a crush,' Scipio told him teasingly when he told his friend about what happened.

Prosper simply laughed it off.

The fourth time Prosper noticed something strange about Hornet was when they were out watching the stars on Ida's new boat, which was docked just outside her home. That time Hornet asked him a very unexpected question.

"Do you like anybody right now, Prop?"

"Huh?"

Hornet rolled her eyes. "Come on, don't look at me as if you don't get what I'm talking about."

Prosper leaned back and let his gaze settled on the dark waters below them. "Why are you even asking that anyway?"

Hornet shrugged. "I'm just curious, that's all."

Prosper cleared his throat."Well,I 'd like to practice my right to privacy." He looked back at Hornet to find her with a pout on her face.

"Prop! Come on..." She gently punched him on the arm. "It's just a yes or a no..."

It was Prosper's turn to roll his eyes. "Fine. No."

"No?"

"Yes."

"Yes?"

"No!"

Hornet released a sharp breath. "You are confusing me here, Prop. Is it a yes or a no?"

"No, I don't like anybody, not in the way you mean anyway." Of course, that's not entirely true. Prosper realized just a few days ago that he may be interested in someone, but he was not one hundred percent sure yet. He was new to this kind of feelings, after all.

All the same, he opted to answer 'no' just to avoid more follow-up questions from Hornet. Knowing Hornet, she'd most likely pester him until he revealed a name. He wasn't ready for that. And besides, she simply asked him to answer her question. She didn't really specify that it have to be an honest answer, right?

"Oh."

Prosper,for a moment, saw a dejected expression on Hornet's face.

"Not even Maria Crivelli?"

"No, not even Maria Crivelli."

Then,Hornet murmured something to herself and sighed--Prosper thought he heard her say 'At least, it's not Maria-- before a big grinned appeared on her face. "Okay." Standing up, she dusted some dirt off her pants. "It's getting cold now. Let's go inside."

And she happily left the boat while humming a lovely tune. Prosper stared at her in wonder.

"What was that all about?" he muttered to himself. One moment she was sad, the next second she was all joyful again. Shaking his head, he followed Hornet back to the house.

Girls and their mood swings.

Fin.

Thank you for reading.