Slightly AU; set after the pilot. Hope you all enjoy.

"…An outlaw?"

This was one of the few times in Marian's life where she wished she was better at composing herself. She couldn't help it; the words left her mouth before she could think, and she knew he could hear the amusement and doubt laced within her voice.

He glanced up from his arrow and frowned at her, offended. She fought to hide her uncertainty. "Sorry. I don't believe I quite understand. You plan on living like this? For the rest of your life?"

"No," he scoffed. "Only until King Richard returns from the Holy Land. Then he will help me get rid of the sheriff and Locksley can be restored to me."

She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "You do realize that that could take months? Years?"

"Aye," he agreed, obviously still affronted by her apparent lack of faith in him. "What exactly did you want me to do then today, hmm? Comply with the sheriff? Allow him kill them? The Scarletts were merely boys, Marian."

"Well, I certainly expected you to behave!" she cried out. Her face flushed—she could feel anger seep into her veins. Everything that she had worked for during these past five years could crumble by one simple decision by him. It wasn't fair.

"Behave? I cannot behave when there is injustice in England. I am sorry—I had planned on trying to discuss these matters with the sheriff, but I could not watch those men die. Now I must be known as an outlaw. 'Tis a small price to pay for saving those men's lives."

His words silenced her. She could not argue with that, even if it was reckless. But then again, when was he not reckless? She resisted the urge to shake her head at him. Even sneaking into her room was dangerous, with Knighton being on constant watch. He had nearly given her a heart attack, his silhouette suddenly appearing in her windowsill without any warning. On impulse, she had whacked him on the arm with her slipper, but that hardly stopped him. Now he was content to sit in the chair beside her window and whittle away at a new arrow, all the while completely ignoring the concepts of decency and propriety. And the threat of her father.

But that was how Robin lived, wasn't it? Ever since they were little, he had always been bold and daring, and mindless of the rules. That used to drive her mad, as she was always fearful of being caught. And this 'outlaw' thing did not surprise her, either. If this meant helping the people of England, he would do it in a heartbeat. Robin was the one that was constantly selfless. He lived to satisfy the needs of others. She saw the desire in his eyes the first day that he returned—he needed to fix England. To glue it back together. It worked both ways- it seemed as though he survived off of their adoration and glory. His need for their love was admirable, but Marian knew that it could prove to be dangerous in the future.

Even though she believed him to be completely and utterly stupid, she knew that this 'outlaw' debacle would not end. And she would be equally stupid to try and stop him.

She tentatively sat at the edge of her bed, her hand gripping the bedpost. "…Where shall you live?"

He paused in his actions and gazed at her, a slow smile spreading across his face. He detected her resignation. "Sherwood," he stated.

"The forest?" Her eyebrows disappeared behind her hair. "You and Much…living in the forest. Terrorizing the sheriff. Sounds brilliant to me." She could not contain the small giggle that escaped her lips.

"Now, hold on for a moment!" he cried, raising his hands in protest. "'Tis my plan to find me a band of outlaws that will fight for my cause. Allan A Dale has nowhere else to go, so I reckon he will join us. And I think Will Scarlett would like to help me, or at least if his father allows it …" he broke off, biting his lip in concentration.

"Robin, please be practical. You honestly expect to find a large enough group of men that will actually make an impact on Nottingham and are brave enough to fight against the sheriff?" She rapped her fingers against the wood of the post in disdain. "I highly doubt it."

"There are already outlaws in Sherwood…mayhap I could use some of them."

Marian frowned. "Robin…they are outlaws for a reason…for thieving, murder, treachery, and other crimes against England. They should be your enemies, not your friends."

"Aha!" He sheathed his knife and carefully placed the bows in the quiver behind him. He rose to his feet, causing Marian to shift uncomfortably. He was awfully close.

"But all of those crimes were against the sheriff. Who brought poverty, sickness, death to these lands. And maybe they'll just listen to me."

She pursed her lips and looked at the ground. "Maybe."

Silence grew between them like the plague. In her small room, his presence seemed to suffocate her. All thoughts of him being an outlaw fled from her mind as her eyes flickered up to meet his. She suddenly became incredibly aware that this was the first time that they had talked alone since he came back.

He came back.

The fleeting spark of happiness at this thought passed through her quickly before anger and betrayal trickled in. He had been able to distract her with his plans on defeating the sheriff, but that did not makes his past actions disappear. He came back, but only because he left in the first place. He left everything—his people, her father, England, her. And to this day he still had no idea how many nights she would spend gazing out her window at the hopes of seeing his horse crest the hilltop, or how many mornings she would wake before sunrise to mentally prepare for an unexpected return. He had no idea how much he hurt her.

"Marian, I…"

He broke off, and his voice suddenly sounded very thick. His eyes, his bright, blue eyes—no stop it, Marian. He left you. He left you.—desperately searched her face, for a sign, for a signal, anything.

He wanted her to forgive him.

But she will not.

She cannot.

Yet.

So, Marian took a deep breath, brushed out the wrinkles in her skirts, and asked the question that had been brewing in the back of her mind since his figure appeared in her windowsill. "Why did you come here tonight, Robin? Surely not to whittle your arrows, and I am fairly certain not to talk to me about your outlaw-related plans."

He let out a low breath, and then stepped closer. She recoiled slightly. No no no…he was far too close. "I came here tonight, because, well…I know that my return has certainly created a…stir in Nottingham, and I didn't know whether or not you…you would resent me for my decision to go against the sheriff."

Once again, Marian's eyebrows rose in disbelief. "You…you are asking my permission? To become an outlaw?"

"W-Well," he took a step back in defense, and Marian was not sure if she had ever seen him so flustered. "I know there are many things that I need to fix, especially between us, and I also know that you have not been happy with what the sheriff has been doing to our people. And I wanted to make sure that my actions would not upset you further."

"Our people?" Marian cried, taking a step toward him. Suddenly, she could not keep her anger bottled up. "You left us for years, Robin. You have been gone for five years. There is no 'our people' anymore. People change. I have changed. How can you even claim that you know anything about me? You cannot assume that I am unhappy with the sheriff at the moment. You cannot assume that I have been doing everything in my power to keep these people alive and well-fed all the while keeping up the appearance that I agree with the sheriff. And, most importantly, you cannot assume that you can fix this mess between us by asking my permission. I'll have you know that I do not think you ever could upset me further, and our relationship is most likely beyond fixing."

She finally stopped, her face flushed and her chest heaving. Robin gaped at her, eyes wide. She licked her lips and turned away, growing increasingly ashamed at her outburst and lack of self-control. Nearly half of the things she said she did not mean to utter, but five years of hurt had gotten the better of her.

She blinked back bitter tears. She dared not look back at him. Of course she was unhappy with the sheriff. All of the pain and suffering was killing her inside, and she was so incredibly limited with her efforts to help them that many a times she felt like she could scream. She had the Nightwatchman of course, but she would never tell Robin of that in fear of his endless taunting. But she always had to smile and pretend that what the sheriff was doing was fine, normal, right. She had to nod and laugh along with Gisbourne's flirtations, even though the sight of him made her skin crawl. Most of all, she had to care for her father and make him feel comfortable and safe, despite the chaos that surrounded them.

But oh, how incredibly mean she had been. Her cheeks colored in embarrassment. All of her pent-up anger did not have to be released after one assumption on his part. The truth was that she was desperate to help him. His goals and aspirations were completely mad, but if it meant saving a few lives, then she wished with all of her heart that she could fight alongside of him. They did not have to be friends. They did not even have to be on good terms.

But how?

Then a thought came to her. So suddenly that she nearly gasped in surprise.

"Robin." She wheeled around, only to have her breath leave her body as if she were punched in the stomach.

He was gone.

Damn.

She let out a frustrated moan and brought the heels of her hands to her eyes. Now she completely ruined any chances of helping out Robin and fixing things and …

"—Marian?"

Her head snapped up. His silhouette appeared once more at her windowsill, outlined by the moonlight. His voice was small, wounded.

Her heart leapt to her throat, and she felt like she could not talk. "I...I apologize for what I said. 'Twas hurtful and unnecessary. And I do appreciate you approaching me about your decision to become and outlaw. It was very thoughtful of you. The truth is, I think there is a flaw with your plan."

Robin hesitated for a moment, but then he slowly climbed through her window, reappearing as he entered into the candlelight. "And what is that, exactly?"

"Well, you should never expect to get into the castle alone. The sheriff is already probably anticipating you breaking in. You'd never get past the front gate."

"So what do you suggest?"

"Well…" she stepped forward, wringing her hands. "You should have a man on the inside. You know, to eavesdrop and find out information for you. That way, there won't be any surprises when you try to steal from the sheriff."

The corners of his lips twitched, and she could see amusement crawling back into his eyes. "And…you think you would be the best person for the job?"

She straightened. "Yes. My father is the former sheriff and Vaisey still consults with him about classified information. I attend the council meetings, and not to mention I could probably get Sir Guy to tell me anything."

His expression darkened slightly. "Aye, that Sir Guy of Gisbourne seems to take a real liking to you, doesn't he?"

Marian rolled her eyes. "That is completely beside the point, Robin. Well…?"

He bit his lip, and nodded his head, turning over his options. He chanced a glance up at her, before shooting her a cocky grin. The hurt had completely disappeared, and the façade was back.

"Well, I shall have to talk to my men, but I think I can arrange something for you." He shrugged his shoulders, feigning nonchalance.

Marian, fighting back a small smile, looked down at her slippers. She knew that he was overjoyed at her proposition, and would readily accept it once he deemed it an appropriate time.

She raised her eyes, and he was once again climbing out her window. "Oh, and Robin?"

He paused and shot her a quizzical glance.

"My offer is completely professional. I am doing this solely for the people of Nottingham and I will not tolerate you believing that this somehow has to do with us."

He flashed her a smug grin. "Of course, Milady." Somehow, his tone made it seem like he didn't believe her. "Until tomorrow."

With a wink and a smile, he disappeared from view. Marian sighed, smiled slightly despite herself, and shook her head.

That boy would never grow up.

I don't know. This was totally random and AU. I hope you liked it.