A/N: sorry for the delayed update! Thanks to my solo reviewer, mskaityw, who has undoubtedly waiting for this chapter for more than a month. And a huge thanks to all of the others who have favorited/reviewed my story. Here is your chapter!

Note- in this fic, Allan WILL NOT betray the gang, and has never done so before. Just wanted to clear that up!

Night Watching

3 weeks later

Bri of Gisborne crouched behind a thick bit of foliage on the outskirts of Locksley, waiting for Robin's signal. The sun had set less than an hour ago, leaving the smoky blue of dusk in its wake. The perfect time for an ambush. Next to Bri, barely visible in his dusty black cloak, Allan A Dale stood, leaning against a gnarly tree and playing with his knife, bored. Bri looked up at her companion in annoyance. Though she loved Allan, and the rest of the gang, as if they were her own kin, he wasn't the most patient of fellows.

"Allan," Bri hissed, tucking an unruly curl behind her ear. "Get down or someone'll see you!"

The man laughed, a deep musical sound that caused everyone around him to want to laugh as well. "Ah, and who here'll give a damn whether or not Robin 'ood's man is standin' on the edge of the wood, huh Bri? You father'n his men left for London yester night- Marian told us that."

Bri had to smile at this, though a darkness briefly passed over her features at the mention of her father. Allan was right; that was the precise reason that the gang had decided to make the trip to Locksley that night. Rumor had it that Guy was keeping extra tax money in his own home, a piece of information Bri had picked up from one of the castle guards who still liked her. If the gang could retrieve the money before it was transported, there was less risk for the gang.

And even though it went unsaid, everyone knew that Robin wanted an excuse to see his beloved home.

Suddenly, a lantern bobbed in the darkness of the forest opposite them- the signal. On cue, Bri and Allan jumped up and snuck swiftly towards Locksley Manor, meeting the rest of the gang on the way. The guards Guy left as a precautionary tactic were all out cold, and Will was at work on the lock. It seemed that the manor was abandoned; when the door finally swung open, not a soul was in sight, and the lights were all blown out, candles left cold in their spots along the walls. Robin tread cautiously anyway, not wanting to wake any unseen servants or whoever else waited on Gisborne. They managed to get to the stairs unnoticed before Robin declared that two of the gang stay to guard the front door and alert him to any trouble. Allan and Bri, as usual, were stuck with that particular duty.

Bri hadn't been with Robin for much more than a fortnight, and frankly, she felt useless and unneeded every time they went on a raid. Although she was particularly good with a sword (having beat Robin himself countless times during practice), so were Allan, and Much, and Djaq. And because of her background, Bri had the suspicions that she was not the most trusted of the lot.

In fact, if it weren't for the company the gang had provided her, Bri would have been off long ago.

But it was true, she loved them, each and every one. They provided the companionship she had repeatedly been denied since birth; Djaq became her first female friend, with the exception of her old ladies-in-waiting. Will was her older brother, the type of guy she could laugh and joke with. Much and Robin her slightly rowdy cousins, or perhaps good friends, and Little John was like a father to them all.

And Allan- well, Bri didn't know quite what to make of Allan's role in her life.

In the dim light from the moon and stars just beginning to make their appearance, he looked almost godlike, his blue eyes glistening and his hair highlighted and flecked with gold. She ached for him in a way she didn't understand- almost as if her very insides were pouring out, molten and fiery. She wondered if this was how Marian felt around Robin.

Allan noticed Bri staring at him and a slight blush crept up him neck. He smiled jovially.

"Luv, I know I'm beautiful an' all, but now aint the time for starin'. We've got a job to do."

Bri felt the blood rush to her cheeks and she looked away, smiling shyly. Allan seemed to have changed her. Normally, at such a remark, she would have laughed and poked fun at the man who uttered it. But with him… well, she felt like a silly child.

"Do you think Robin trusts me?" she asked out of the blue, immediately wishing she hadn't spoken when Allan turned his intense gaze back on her. His features softened; he was no longer the jokester everyone thought of him as. Now, he was deep, sorrowful, and all too knowledgeable of the pains of life. It was rare to get him in such a form as this.

"Brianna," he said, using her full name for increased effect. "O' course 'e trusts you. It was you 'o told us about this particularly juicy plan Giz had cooked up, wa'nt it? Robin… he just despises yer father, that's all. Maybe more than the rest of us do."

They lapsed into comfortable silence, Bri trying to stop herself from hopping on Allan's lap and kissing him soundly on the mouth. He was the only one whose words could reassure her.

"Ya know," Allan said suddenly. "I've been hated too. By my family, I mean. My da… well, he wa'nt a very nice guy. He… he…. beat us. Me 'specially 'cause I tried to stop him from beatin' my brother. Then my ma got sick, 'n he was nicer for a while. But when she died… well, Tom and me ran."

His eyes were watery and his lips trembled as he tried not to cry. Bri really felt for him now. "I know how you feel," she muttered, turning her eyes shyly up to his. They were bright and sorrowful, bottomless orbs of crystal blue sea. Bri had never seen such beauty in her life.

Maybe it was heat of the moment that caused her to go for it, or the fact that boldness was in her nature. Or maybe it was that the time was perfect for a little kiss, a reminder that the world was not all tears and buckets of regret. And as an experiment, to see if the connection between them was something only she could see.

Whatever the reason, Bri leaned in and pressed her lips chastely to the outlaw's, the intoxicating smell of his skin pulling her further in, drowning her. And after a shocked moment, those beautiful blue eyes closed, and the whole world was still for a moment.

A/N: Please review- they fuel me to write!