Miria gazed at the magnificent little store sitting before her. At only age eighteen, loose in one of the biggest cities in the world, where was a girl naturally bound to end up? Why, a jewelry store, of course! Miria dashed inside and almost immediately collided with a man standing in the dead center of the room. The man pulled her upright and examined her, beaming.

"Hey there, darling! What's on your mind?"

Before that day, nobody had ever asked Miria that before. In fact, most people seemed to assume, after conversing with her for a minute or so, that she had no mind to begin with. It made her smile, albeit very tearfully, to finally hear someone ask her what her thoughts were.

"Hey, now!" The man put his hands at his waist and frowned. "What's with the waterworks all of a sudden? I didn't offend you, did I, little lady?"

"N-No," Miria responded slowly. She examined the stranger's face through her spring of tears. He was handsome in a bizarre, quirky fashion, with a jawline that was a bit too angular, thick brown hair that was a bit too fluffed up, and a grin that was a bit too broad.

"Well, dry those pretty eyes, then!" The man put one hand on Miria's shoulder and flung the other in the air dramatically. "Blue eyes such as yours should remain as clear as the fabric of the sky from which they were cut!"

"But I have brown eyes..."

The man ignored her. "Keep a stiff upper lip, young lady! Don't ever let anyone bring you down!"

Stunned, Miria sniffled and said, for lack of a better response, "O-Okay."

The man placed his free hand on Miria's other shoulder, now facing her directly. "Now, how about telling me the name of the woman I have so deeply wounded so I can apologize properly?"

"Uh... It's Miria. Miria Harvent."

"A beautiful name! It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Harvent. My name is Isaac Dian."

Miria smiled even brighter than before. "I'm honored, Mister Dian."

"Forget the formalities, my dear. Just call me Isaac."

"Well, Mister Isaac, what is it that you're doing here?"

Isaac's eyes darted from side to side, and he began speaking from the corner of his mouth. "To tell you the truth, Miss Miria, I'm here for a robbery."

Miria jumped. "Oh, my! You mean somebody's going to rob this store and you're going to stop them?!"

For the first time, Isaac faltered. "Well... Sure, I suppose you could say that!"

"Mister Isaac, that's wonderful! Tell me how I can help you with this devious robbery!" Miria shrieked, causing other customers to glance at her curiously.

"First of all, lower your voice!"

Miria obliged.

"Second, when I say 'go,' you take this—" Isaac placed a rifle in Miria's open palm. "—and fire it straight up."

Miria gasped. "But Mister Isaac, this could hurt somebody!"

"No need to fear, Miria! It's only loaded with blanks!"

"But what good will this do?"

"I'm betting that if we make enough racket, we'll scare those dirty thieves right out of town!"

"All right!" Miria cheered.

"Then after everybody leaves, we grab the jewels and find some safe place to store them across town!"

"Mister Isaac..." Miria's eyes went wide.

"Yes?" Isaac tilted his head.

"...this is brilliant!"

"It is?" Isaac bit his lip. Of all the schemes and ploys he'd spent his time drawing up over the first twenty years of his life, not once had someone given them a second glance, much less such a jovial response. In fact, looking at this young woman's face, so eager and expectant, almost brought a tear to his eye...

"Hey, now!" Miria shook a finger in his face. "What's with the waterworks all of a sudden?"

"Miria..."

"Keep a stiff upper lip! Don't ever let anyone bring you down!"

"Miria..."

"What is it, Isaac?"

"...You are absolutely right! You, my dear, are a true genius!" Isaac's jaw dropped, he and Miria both having seemingly forgotten that her words were originally his.

Miria blinked. "I am?"

"Of course you are, as am I! And it is my personal belief that true geniuses should stick together! How about you stick with me and become my partner in crime—" here he cleared his throat awkwardly, "—er, so to speak?"

"I think that sounds like a great idea!"

"It's settled, then! Our joint career starts today! Are you ready, Miria?"

"I certainly am, Isaac!"

"Well then... Ready, set, go!"

Miria released the trigger, unleashing a massive bang and causing everyone to jump. Isaac shouted incomprehensibly, adding to the cacophony, and all the other customers fled in a panic. Miria copied Isaac and shoved as many goods into an empty bag as she could, then followed him out the door and back into the open streets.

They halted in an empty alleyway, chests heaving and blood fused with exhilaration. Miria glanced at her hands, the rifle in one and the bag clutched tight in the other. A feeling of fulfillment, one that had been absent for the majority of her airy, lackadaisical life, spread in her heart, but vanished when suddenly reality dawned on her.

"Isaac... Um..."

"Yes, Miria?" Isaac wiped his brow with the back of his hand, still grinning wildly.

"... This doesn't make us the thieves, does it?"

"It's all about perspective, my dear. You see, one could say that we stole these precious items, but I personally choose to believe we liberated them from the clutches of fate! Those poor lockets and bracelets were going to inevitably be sold and then lost and broken and bent and—"

"We are thieves, aren't we?" For once the universe granted the girl clarity, and she spoke with a stern face.

Isaac sighed. "Yes, it's true. But think about it, Miria. Rogues and outlaws such as ourselves always become legends and heroes! The way I see it we must be doing something right! And if it makes you feel better I assure you I would never hurt a soul!"

"I believe you, Mister Isaac. And..." Miria trailed off for a moment, then concluded, "...I think I agree. You know, you really are a genius!"

"Really?"

Miria dropped her loot and took Isaac's hand, causing his cheeks to turn rose pink.

"Of course you are, as am I! And it is my personal belief that true geniuses should stick together!"

"My dear, I believe the same exact thing!"

"So it's decided, then!"

"Yes!" Isaac took Miria and spun her around in a mock tango, making her giggle. The eccentric duo shouted into the empty sky in unison, intoxicated from the ecstasy gained in realizing that one had suddenly found their better half. From that day on, they would no doubt be inseparable.

"Look out, New York! The partners in crime are out to conquer the world!"