Richard was still a child to all the thieves. That wasn't hard to understand because he was the youngest out of everyone in the High Five Fingers. Marco teased him about it all the time; but it was the kind of good natured teasing that never hurt anyone's feelings. Plus Ricky was a lot faster than Marco, so he could always get back at him if he did do something a little too mean. For example, once he stole one of Marco's shoes and just ran around with it- taunting him as the other couldn't even keep up with him.

But, in reality, Marco wasn't that much older than Richard, just by a few years. Not that THEY knew that; heck Ricky didn't even know his own age. (He didn't know what a birthday was either, that thing just never mattered much to all of them. They didn't celebrate birthdays and their concept of age was slightly different than the rest of the worlds).

Honestly Ricky hated all of them treating him like a kid. He hated not having his tattoos yet and he hated the way everyone treated him like he couldn't do all the stuff they did. (That however, was less an age thing and more of a "you're not fully trained yet" thing). He was faster than most of them, and not to mention he was pretty quiet too! Well, okay, quiet when sneaking around. Otherwise he was kind of loud and obnoxious and yelled WAAAAY too much. Surprisingly, he was pretty far along the way of becoming a master thief himself.

And maybe that's what attracted Marco to him. Marco was a tall, slender boy who was pretty nervous and quiet most the time. (Not to mention he was a terrible thief, he had mastered the skill of archery instead). Yet Ricky managed to bring out the obnoxiousness in him as well. Together they spent most their time telling awful jokes and laughing too hard. Other times they would have serious conversations about their futures.

"You could do so much more." Marco would always say, a line he had picked up from some of the older people of the group. They all said it nearly everyday Ricky did anything.

"So could you." Ricky would snort back, never taking anything like that to heart after hearing it so much.

To Ricky, these thieves were his family, and maybe they weren't the best role models but they were something. And they all took care of each other, and that's more than Richard could ever want. No matter how many times they told him to go and do something else with his life Ricky would just snort and roll his eyes.

"We could leave you know." Marco said one day as they sat together on a rooftop.

"Yeah, and go where?" Ricky retorted with a disbelieving snort.

Marco shrugged, no real answer in mind. "Anywhere. Come on, neither of us have the mark. We could leave; we could do something better."

Ricky made a face at the other boy, quickly growing less amused with the subject. "Come on Marco, this is our family."

"Mmmmm..." Marco hummed back, just staring up at the setting sun as they both fell quiet.

Everyone thought Ricky could do better for himself, leave the guild and find some other people to take care of him. Live an honest life, do something less dangerous. But Ricky never even considered it because to him this was the only life he could ever want.

Richard was learning how to be a master thief from what were considered some of the best. The best meaning they were known all around the surrounding cities, but only a very small handful had ever been caught. In fact, the number of those who had left or been arrested could be counted on two hands, a large feat for a group as large as they!

Ricky had a lot of raw talent, for one he was fast. Very fast, maybe even a little too much. His speed made him cocky, and he had a tendency to make some things a lot more trouble than they really needed to be. For instance, sometimes he would attempt to anger rangers at their posts and attempt to get them to shoot their arrows at him. This was self explanatory in why exactly it was bad; and though no one had gotten killed by Richard's cockiness it was only a matter of time until one of them finally got lucky.

Richard also liked to pick pocket and steal things he never needed. When he had first started training, he had spotted a rich woman and her supposed husband. Something about her expensive bracelet must have really caught Ricky's attention, for he returned to his teacher with the bracelet in hand and the couple none the wiser.

To the older members this was just a dangerous nuisance; the result of a kid not taking his actions as seriously as he should. But, to the younger ones these were very cool tricks and they were all too eager to try and learn them. Richard loved it, the way they all looked at him with widened eyes and happy faces when he brought back a story or an item from one of his trips.

Ricky was honestly one of the best thieves in the High Five Fingers, and despite his age he was always sent with some of the most skilled and oldest on their raids. He looked up to them in awe like the others did to him, and he hoped one day he was as impressive as they were in everything they did. Not that he was bad, just that he wasn't...that good.

But he was much too boisterous about being a thief, at least to Marco. A lot of the people in the family WERE thieves, but not all. There was a few people who built the homes, and a few who were doctors.

And then there was the guards. Archers that were deadly in every way, quick to aim and quick to shoot. Marco was one of them, the youngest active ranger they had in the whole gang. He, like Ricky, was amazing in what he did. Most of the rest of the thieves were grateful and looked up to the members that kept them safe, but of course Richard wasn't like that. He wasn't like them at all.

"God, your job is boring." Ricky said, leaning over the edge of the wall next to Marco's perch.

"Richard shut up. I'm focusing." The younger boy snorted and made a face.

"At what? Sand?"

Marco sighed, setting his bow down and turning his attention to the other.

"Don't you have something else to do?"

"No." Ricky made a face. "Most the other guys went off to go get some food."

"Why didn't you go?" Marco asked, genuinely wondering. Ricky loved going into the city, and he loved stealing.

Ricky shrugged, still staring off at the distant buildings of the town on the other side of the desert land they called home. "They didn't ask me."

Marco moved from where he was standing, and stood by Ricky's side instead.

"Wanna go get some apples?" Marco offered.

The other boy just nodded his head and then broke into a sprint. "I'll race you there!"

Ricky was about thirteen when he finally got the tattoos that symbolized him being part of the group forever. He was giddy the entire day. Even though Marco wasn't there when he got them he never stopped smiling because he finally felt he wasn't just 'that kid' anymore. He was finally one of them, and that's how they would see him from now on. An adult.

Later the evening that Ricky had gotten the tattoos he met Marco on the usual rooftop with an abnormal swagger in his walk.

"What's up with you?" Marco greeted him with a laugh, amused to see the goofy grin on Ricky's face that showed off his crooked teeth.

"Oh nothing." He said with a certain tone in his voice that sounded more like "ask again because I am EXCITED".

"Oh, really?" Marco teased back at him instead of playing along , making it explicitly clear he wasn't going to act the way Ricky had wanted him to. "That's too bad I thought you had something great to say, you look really excited or something. Must just be me imagining things."

Quick to become too eager and impatient to continue the charade any longer, Richard practically began to bounce up and down as he shoved his arms towards Marco.
"Look at these!"

The older boy stared down in awe at the others wrists. He knew that Ricky was going to get his tattoos soon, everyone had known and it was actually some of the most exciting news there for a few days, but he hadn't known it would be so soon. It felt weird not being able to see Ricky as a little kid anymore (Marco had gotten his tattoos some time before this, so now they were both considered adults in the group even though to anyone outside they would still be children).

"I'm proud."

Ricky snorted at that comment, gently slugging Marco in the arm. "Aw man, is that all you gotta say to me?"

Marco rolled his eyes and laughed, happy that even though they were getting older they were still just a pair of kids.

"It's not like you said anything super cool to me."

"Yeah well, that's because YOU'RE not super cool." Ricky taunted with a laugh, Marco chuckling and slugging him and gently punching him the way Ricky had done moments before.

"Wow, why do you have to be so mean to me?" Marco sighed in fake hurt, dramatically draping his arm over his forehead and tossing his head back with a sigh.

"Probably because you're a loser." He snickered.

"Wow okay, that's rude."

Ricky just laughed and said "sorry" as Marco began to tease him back as well.

Yeah, they may have had the tattoos of being adults now but they were definitely still just goofy boys.

Ricky didn't know when he started looking at Marco in a different way other than 'best friend', as far as he knew he just woke up one day and the older boy's name made his throat dry and his heart beat faster. It was weird not being able to get too close to his best friend without turning as red as a tomato each time their skin brushed, or laughing too hard at something he said even if it wasn't funny. It was weird how he suddenly tried so much harder to get Marco to feel differently about him when everything used to come so natural.

His dreams were even weirder. He was always dreaming of the two of them hanging out like normal, laughing and playing around. Then next thing he knew his eyes would be closed and they'd be leaning in closer and closer; but right as their lips brushed against one another's he would wake up. Nearly every night this would happen, and nearly everyday afterwards it'd be hard to look at Marco without thinking about what it would be like to kiss him.

It made things a little awkward, and it didn't take long for Marco to know something was up.

Finally one day, right after Marco asked if he was alright for the hundredth time, Ricky realized he couldn't handle it any longer.

"Is something wrong-" The taller boy was immediately cut off and completely surprised when Ricky smashed their lips together pretty clumsily with his eyes squeezed as tightly shut as possible. It was awkward for a combination of him having his eyes shut, and also it was both the boys first kiss.

When Ricky pulled back a moment later, his face was completely red and there was just silence.

With each passing second both boys felt the tension get thicker and thicker. Until, that is, Marco finally said something.

"Is that why you've been acting so weird?" He didn't sound angry, in fact he sounded like he had just discovered the biggest secret in the universe and everything was finally making sense. Which, in a way, wasn't entirely wrong.

"I'm sorry I don't know why I did that you're just so cool and pretty and I-"

"Did you just call me pretty?" Marco laughed. It wasn't a mean laugh, instead it was a "I can't believe you said that" laugh.

And pretty soon Ricky was laughing along with him, the embarrassment of the situation melting away effortlessly. This was how it was supposed to be, fun and stress-less.

Ricky always thought it would be weird dating his best friend, but instead it was surprisingly simple and easy, and he was happy to realize that not much had really changed changed. Now they just kissed and held hands, something they were both pretty sure was a great thing. No awkward behavior, just two friends that happened to be in a bit of a romantic relationship.

Everything was so close to the way it was before, they still talked about goofy things and met on the same rooftop everyday after they finished whatever it is they had to do (Marco usually just stood guard or acted as watch on raids, Ricky was out most of the day just stealing food). Though not a lot changed Ricky AND Marco both liked everything a whole lot more this way, finding they both agreed that dating fit their relationship a lot better than just being friends. It was weird considering they were both kinda young and boys; but Ricky seriously believed Marco was his soul-mate even if it did sound incredible cheesy.

And, the longer they were dating, the closer they got. That was probably a normal thing that happened, considering it sounded a little hard to start dating and not get to know each other better, but they both thought it was really cool how much they learned about the other.

Before long Ricky found himself sneaking to sleep with Marco. Not in a sexual way, the two of them just loved sharing a bed.

The first night however, was pretty dang awkward considering Ricky hadn't planned to do that in advance and just kind of... showed up.

"Ricky?" Marco had mumbled in tired and pretty shocked confusion as he felt the younger boy crawl under the blanket next to him.

"Yeah I-" Ricky paused for a moment, realizing just how weird it was that he had just literally snuck into his boyfriends bed at night without saying anything or giving any kind of warning. "I hope this is okay."

Marco yawned, then rolled over with a smile and eagerly wrapped an arm around Ricky's body.

"It's perfect."

After a few nights this became a regular thing, and every night Marco would just sit up in bed and wait for Ricky to sneak over so they could sleep. They found that it was pretty comforting just having the other one there at night, and it would certainly make things better if either had a nightmare. Plus, it was also great to have company for when they couldn't sleep. But, yet this didn't always work, as Marco found sometimes when he couldn't sleep Ricky would only hold a conversation for about a minute before passing out almost without warning. But, on the bright side to that, Marco learned Ricky snored like a monster and it was pretty hilarious.

All in all life was pretty good, and the only regret they both had was that they hadn't started dating sometime sooner.

Marco and Ricky found that dating was kind of fun, and though they weren't the picture perfect couple they were still incredibly happy with everything.

Like, for example, holding hands turned out to be a lot more fun than either of them had anticipated it being. Their first REAL kiss was just slightly less messy than their first had been, both boys still incredibly inexperienced. But just like holding hands they agreed it was a lot of fun.

One day, as they sat on one of the rooftops like they always did, Marco decided to bring up something he hadn't mentioned in almost a year.

"We could leave you know."

"I know."

"We should, we should just leave this place. We can go start a new life somewhere else. Together."

There was a moment of silence, and both boys just stared off into the sky and seemed to consider this.

"Alright." Richard finally responded, not turning to face Marco even after he looked over at the younger boy in surprise.

"I'm serious."

"So am I." Ricky said, finally turning to the other with a neutral expression on his face, indicating he wasn't joking at all.

Realizing that after all these years Ricky wasn't shooting down any mention of leaving, and was actually agreeing Marco could only help but smile a big goofy grin like Ricky was always wearing.

"I'd go anywhere with you." Ricky added on quickly.

This however, was apparently too cheesy for either of the boys to handle, because they both began to laugh obnoxiously. Marco wheezing out "Oh God I can't believe you said that" every few seconds.

Eventually they talked more and more of this idea, sharing dreams of a world in which they weren't thieves and just lived like everyone else. Even if they were poor it wouldn't matter because they would have each other Marco pointed out.

These ideas quickly went from dreams to reality as they made plans to leave the next week after they could get together everything they needed.

"Thank you." Marco had whispered one night as they prepared some things early for their departure.

Ricky just smiled at the other, kissing him on the cheek. "Like I said, I'd go anywhere with you."

And, as embarrassingly enough, the next thing that came out of Marco's mouth was a first for both of them. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Ricky and Marco spent every second possible together during the next few days. When Ricky was out stealing things with most the thieves he would take just a little bit extra each time just for himself and Marco. None of the gang asked any questions about this, because of course it never really hurt to have more. Plus they only ever stole from the rich so it's not like they'd miss one little extra apple or something.

One particular day, which would be about 3 days before Marco and Ricky had planned to leave, Richard noticed a beautiful and fancy necklace in the bedroom of some young rich aristocratic woman. He knew that it wouldn't be smart to take it, but it was just so pretty. He chewed on his lip with uneven teeth as he thought about the consequences of taking it.

On one hand, even if the thieves wouldn't make him leave it they wouldn't be very happy to find Ricky had taken something so silly. But, on the other hand, he WAS kind of always looking for things to give to Marco.

Deciding that it wasn't such a big deal after all Ricky swiped the necklace off from its place on a table and pocketed it before running out of the house to catch up with everyone else.

When he gave it to Marco later he wasn't sure what to expect, but happy laughter and him actually putting it on was definitely near the bottom of what he imagined.

"Thank you."

Ricky smiled a goofy and toothy grin. "You don't think it's totally stupid?"

"Oh no, I do." Marco said with a laugh. "But it's sweet too, so I'll keep it."

Richard pulled Marco into a close hug with a excited noise, glad that he seemed to like it a little.

"Promise you'll keep it on then?"

"Of course." Marco agreed, and even if this whole thing was super mushy and sappy he really did kind of like it. Though he was sure the two of them were about to begin puking sugar or something else to that effect.

"Good. So, what'd you do all day besides being lame?"

Marco rolled his eyes at Ricky's poor excuse for a witty joke, but otherwise ignored it. "I was getting ready for when we leave."

"Oh." Ricky knew he should have expected that, it had been what Marco was doing and talking about nearly everyday. Ricky felt pretty guilty for it, but he was nervous every time he thought about leaving. Richard had been born into the High Five Fingers, his mother had been apart of it up until she died shortly after giving birth to him. This gang was all he had ever known, but Marco...

Marco had been an orphan, and just lived on the streets for about 4 or so years until one of the thieves found him and brought him back. He remembered what it was like living outside of the gang, and though he was thankful for all they had done for him at the same time he knew he could make it outside of a life of crime as well and that's just what he wanted to do. Not being born into the gang made Marco look at it differently than Ricky. Yes; they had saved his life but he wanted more than to just be an outcast from normal living.

Even though the boys didn't see eye to eye, they would do anything for the other one. If things had been different and Ricky would have said no they both would have just stayed.

But, since Ricky couldn't make himself say no to Marco's happiness, they were going to leave.

Unfortunately, fate seemed to have a different idea in mind for them.

The day before they had planned to leave, something big happened. The whole gang of them had been tricked into a trap that ended with every last member getting caught and arrested.

Ricky was terrified, he was still a child even if he didn't want to be seen as one. But Marco stayed by his side the whole time, holding his hand and telling him they were going to be okay and this type of thing would be no problem for them to escape.

So, when they were being moved, Ricky didn't even question Marco telling him to run.

He didn't question Marco grabbing his hand and whispering "You have to run" as Marco placed the the gift necklace into his palm.

He didn't question any of it, so he ran, as fast as he could, away from all the guards and everyone else. At some point someone must have caught him for a split second because when he finally stopped running he realized he had a long wound across his side from one of the swords. It was bleeding profusely, but Ricky couldn't even feel it over the excitement and adrenaline and just plain joy.

"Marco- we made it." He panted as he turned around, realizing that no, they hadn't made it.

He was alone, and none of the others had managed to follow him.

Or maybe they hadn't even tried.

Ricky, too tired to continue now with his now incredibly lowered spirits, breathed heavily and leaned against the wall of a dark building and held his side. It was bleeding way too much to be good, and he wasn't sure how deep it was. All he knew was he was scared, fucking terrified. He had no idea where he was, and his vision going blurry from tears wasn't helping the situation at all.

He slid down the wall shakily, looking down at his red-stained hands as he shakily pulled the necklace out. With each passing second he seemed to be getting weaker and weaker and he was scared.

His grip tightened on the now dirtied metal and gold of the chain, and he clenched his teeth in pain and fear.

Ricky had seen death before. He had watched people he knew die, people he didn't know. He had seen it more than once, but that made it scarier. He didn't know why he feared it so much, years ago he remembered Marco saying that dead people didn't have to deal with awful things and that he was kind of jealous. But Richard was never like that, not really. He was afraid of dying and he was scared that he was going to be alone when it happened.

Hundreds of thoughts raced through his mind as he just wheezed out ragged breaths. He thought of how maybe if he didn't run he'd be okay right now. Maybe the High Five Fingers were fine, maybe all they would get was a little jail time (unlikely) or maybe he and Marco would even be spared because of their ages (not that either of them knew exactly what those ages were).

Ricky had never felt this much pain before, and most of it wasn't from the wound on his side but from the regret he now had because of how stupid he was to run away from his family.

He tossed his head back with squeezed shut eyes and a whimper of pain, smacking his skull on the wall behind him fairly hard but he didn't seem bothered by it near as much as he should have been.

Richard continued to let out soft pathetic whimpers and noises as he blacked out, just right after hearing heavy footsteps coming his way.

The High Five Fingers consisted of about 40 men and women, most of them were relatively young in the sense that they remained fast and fit. This lead to quite a few of them thinking that they could escape, and with each attempt the number of thieves was reduced and the number of their corpses quickly grew.

Marco watched time after time as one of them tried to leave, only to return in the same day as a corpse. He was convinced the guards sneering at them and throwing dead bodies into their already tight cells were just messing with them, a cruel joke he didn't even try to understand.

Originally they had been separated into three cells, thirteen in two of them and twelve in the third. It didn't take long to realize they had been separated into boys girls and a third group of the youngest members. Marco of course had been put in with the rest of the 'kids', a group that had been the first to reach singular digits due to how confident and scared they were. That was a deadly combo, thinking you had a chance to leave and trying because you were too afraid to stay.

At first Marco was bitter that Ricky had been the only one to get away, but that bitter jealousy faded quickly as he realized how awful and selfish it was of him even wishing for a second that Ricky was with him. It made him even more bitter but, yet when the first few days of captivity was filled with both the guards and members of the thieves themselves whispering about how there was no way little Richard could have survived a wound like that. Part of Marco foolishly hoped that maybe Ricky HAD survived, but the other part hoped that maybe he had died. Not because he was mad or anything like that, but because those wounds combined with being alone would not be anything positive for him. Plus he was probably in danger of being arrested like they had.

It helped Marco pass time imagining all the things that could have happened to Ricky after he ran away, because Ricky had a chance. A chance to live and do something for himself.

All the High Five Fingers members knew that what awaited them was certain death. Their 'family' had been wanted for months already, and now that they had finally been caught there was not a single chance that their trials would result in any sentence other than a death one.

Maybe the ones that had run hadn't been so foolish after all; because death awaited them either way. Maybe it was more comforting to imagine that they had some kind of say in it.

Marco wished he had the courage to do the same, but he knew he wouldn't even try to run.

They hadn't been held there for long, soon the guild found themselves being rushed out 5 at a time to the gallows, each getting hung with no mercy.

Marco sat on the dirty floor of his shared cell, his face buried into his knees as he tried to remain calm. He was going to die, there was no doubt in his mind about that. They were going to grab him and rush him into the city and hang him in-front of a crowd that just cheered at people dying. But, Marco quickly realized, maybe they weren't people. He swallowed hard as he heard the next group get taken out.

Rats. That's what they were- pests that plagued the city and spread ruin and disease. They weren't people at all, just vermin that deserved to die.

Marco shook, feeling hot angry tears well up in his eyes. He didn't believe a word of what he was telling himself, there was no way he wasn't just as important as the people out there. He was a person with feelings and he cared and Richard did too.

Marco stopped, a sickening feeling rise in his throat. Had. He corrected, Richard had feelings. There was no way the other could have made it out alive, and there was no use for Marco to try and pretend the love of his life had lived. Dying was probably best anyway, this world had no feelings of compassion to them. It didn't matter Richard and Marco were children, it didn't matter the High Five Fingers only took the extra that some people didn't need- they didn't care. All any of these people wanted was to see them die. To the commoners, they didn't matter. They were rats.

Marco jolted up as he heard the door to his cell open, and the guards took the five people that he had been sharing it with. The guard holding the metal door open smiled at Marco, the last one left.

"Looks like you're last, you get to be the center of attention." The man laughed, closing the door with a loud thud.

Marco closed his eyes, leaning his head back on his knees.

Oh well, he thought. At least he could see Richard again soon.