Disclaimer: I don't own MAR/Marchen Awakens Romance

Dorothy wasn't quite sure what she was thinking when she agreed to his proposition of a kiss if he won. Maybe she just wanted to encourage him to not die, or maybe she thought he was going to die (taking Peta with him or not) and she wouldn't have to go through with it. The only thing she knew she couldn't have been thinking was that he'd forget about it. Nanashi never forgot about things involving girls and him, skirt-chaser that he was.

Still, that didn't mean she was going to actually kiss him. If she did it once, he'd keep coming back to try for more, and his constant butting in with "Dorothy-chan! Dorothy-chan!" whenever she offered Ginta any physical affection was annoying enough already. So she did the only reasonable thing in that situation and denied that she had ever agreed to such a thing. Whatever purpose it may have been supposed to hold was resolved, anyway. Nanashi was alive, Peta was dead, and they were one battle away from winning the War Game. Focusing on Ginta as he got ready for his battle against Phantom was far more important than playing along with Nanashi's silly little fantasies.

It was a long time of whining before Nanashi finally gave up, giving off a highly offended air and sulking ever so slightly until another female caught his eye, and then he was off like a shot, clearly determined to enjoy his victory with his arms full of women and a stomach full of drink. Well, that was the end of that. Nanashi was pushy, but once he gave up, that was it. He'd try for another later, but she knew he'd accepted, however begrudgingly, that there was no kiss to be had as a reward for winning.

Turning her attention back to the younger, much more appealing, blond in front of her, she was startled to see a disapproving look in those big blue eyes of his. She'd expected him to be hung up on either his upcoming fight with Phantom, or even looking beyond that to rescuing Snow from the clutches of Dianna and whatever plot her older sister had in mind.

"Gin-tan?" she asked, a little unsure. What had she done to get his disapproval? Or was it about the law that dictated she had to kill her sister? She knew that still bothered him, although he was getting better at hiding it.

"That was mean, Dorothy," he said, almost pouting in that adorably innocent manner of his. She was taken aback. Mean? What was he talking about?

"Mean?" she asked, tilting her head to one side and putting a finger to her lips in an alluring yet puzzled look, or so it should have been. Nanashi, or even Jack, would have been all over her at that, yet Ginta continued to keep his distance, not appearing to even notice her efforts. So naïve.

"About Nanashi," he clarified, Babbo leaping into the air beside him and nodding sagely, his air clearly supposed to be one of a distinguished gentleman. It was as effective as her own seduction attempts were on Ginta.

"Indeed," he said gravely, his eyes narrowed and mouth curved just so. She'd never met another human like him, let alone an ARM. "He may not be such an embodiment of true gentlemanliness as I, but Nanashi fought more than bravely enough to gain one token of favour from a lady."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Dorothy tried, but she already knew it was a losing battle. Ginta was turning those big blue eyes on her and she always melted under them. Babbo was ignorable, and she did just that to the ARM as he carried on blabbering in the background.

"You promised," Ginta rebutted, still adorably innocent even as he was slowly but surely forcing her to do something she had been determined to never do. "You don't break a promise, Dorothy." So he'd either conveniently forgotten about the kill-Dianna thing, or he'd accepted that and had mentally exempted that from the no-kill promise he'd extracted from her. "You're better than that."

Flattery. Oh, for a naïve little boy that didn't react at all to any sort of sex appeal, Ginta knew just what to say to wrap her around his little finger. She sighed, and looked around to check that Nanashi was well and truly out of earshot. There was no sign of the Luberia boss and she couldn't sense him nearby either. Still, she moved closer to Ginta and lowered her voice slightly. Just to be sure.

"If you insist, Gin-tan," she sighed. "But I can't guarantee he'll know about it. I'm not having him chase me any more than he already does." That pout was there again and she held her breath, hoping Ginta wouldn't push any more. The silence stretched, and it was hard to keep from fidgeting. Since when had she been so easily influenced?

"Okay," he conceded after an eternity, before holding out his hand, pinkie extended. "Promise you'll do it before my battle." Oh, this boy was good, and she linked her own pinkie with his with only mental reluctance, before chanting the pinkie promise.

Well, at least she hadn't been forced into making sure Nanashi knew. Now she just had to devise a way to make sure he didn't. If he found out, that would never be the end of it. She could deny anything anyone said, as long as she wasn't caught in the act. The lack of a certain obnoxious blond moments after the agreement indicated that she'd been right to assume he wasn't in the immediate vicinity, but now she had a difficult task. Nanashi might play the fool, but he was not the leader of the world's best-known thieves' guild for nothing. He was difficult to catch off guard, and she'd need to do more than just catch him off guard if she wanted to keep him in ignorance. Bidding Ginta farewell for the moment, she left to plan.

It would have to be while he was asleep. That was the only time there was any chance of him being unaware of his surroundings. But how light a sleeper was he? She'd only have one shot at this. Did she have a Darkness ARM that forced sleep? A quick rummage through her mental catalogue left her with the regrettable answer that no, she didn't. Not one that only caused sleep, anyway, and there was no reason to cause harm to him. It was supposed to be a reward, after all, and Ginta would be upset.

Options were not forthcoming, even after hours of pondering on the edge of the celebrations, careful to keep half an eye on Nanashi's whereabouts. She had to know when he went to bed, and more importantly, to sleep. Ever the life and soul of the party, especially when his fellow thieves were present and pretty women were throwing themselves all over him – why he was so desperate for a kiss from her when he could get one from any number of other females was beyond her – Nanashi didn't retire until much later than Dorothy would have liked, finally succumbing to his exhaustion. She followed a suitable amount of time later, definitely not wanting to appear to be following him, and for once didn't curse that her room was closer to Nanashi's than Ginta's.

The door was shut, unsurprisingly but annoyingly, but his aura was calm and meditative, a state it only entered when he was sleeping. Meditation had the same effect, but she'd never caught him meditating, and it was a risk she would have to take. Reginrave's doors were well made, and it swung open without a sound. She'd put her boots in her room, walking barefoot to make her steps quieter as she approached the bed.

Well, he certainly seemed asleep, and oddly peaceful. Perhaps he was finally at peace now he'd got revenge for his murdered guild mates. His bandana was on the table by his bed, although she saw no sign of his ARMs. They were likely still on his person, or hidden somewhere out of sight. Trust a thief to have the best security for his things. She caught sight of his scarf on a nearby chair, as well as his torn top, and resolved not to linger now she knew he was half-naked. Getting caught in his room now would not end well.

She leaned over him carefully, hesitating for just a moment before placing her lips on his cheek, not entirely intentionally where he'd asked for it earlier, but it was a logical place. His lips were out of the question, and to prove to Ginta she'd done it, she'd put on some lip gloss. Nanashi, if he even noticed the mark, would assume it was from one of the many girls he'd been close with that night.

He shifted, and she backed off, watching with baited breath as he broke into a grin and rolled over, murmuring something under his breath. His covers slipped down a bit to show bare shoulders and she beat a hasty retreat, hoping the kiss had only triggered some dream, and not woken him up. He didn't call out to her as she silently shut the door behind her and made her way to her own, very comfortable, bed.

The next morning came quickly. Dorothy had struggled to sleep, paranoid that Nanashi hadn't actually been sleeping and that she was about to get many awkward remarks when she next saw him, but still managed to freshen herself up so she didn't look so tired. As they gathered for breakfast, she saw that Nanashi hadn't spotted, or bothered to wipe off, the lip gloss on his cheek, and smiled internally. Now all she needed was Ginta to spot it, and everything was over.

"What's that on your face?" Bless Jack, as the boy pointed out exactly what she wanted him to, causing Nanashi to pause and fish around for a mirror. Where he found one she wasn't entirely certain, but he scrutinised his reflection for several moments with a puzzled look on his face before rubbing at it with the back of his hand.

"Seems like I missed one," he said with a chuckle once the mark was gone. "It's tough being popular." Dorothy rolled her eyes but said nothing. There was no reason to draw attention to herself at that moment. She did, however, catch Ginta's eye, and the boy grinned at her, luckily unnoticed by anyone else.

Nanashi didn't need to know where that came from; it would be their secret.

As a Dorothy/Nanashi shipper, I was not happy when Dorothy didn't follow through with her promise to kiss him if he beat Peta, and so this was born...

Thanks for reading!
Tsari