A/N: This is an AU of To Kill A Thief. You should read that one first to really understand this one.
What might have been...
She leaned insolently against the wall, slouched, with one foot flat against the dirty brick. Underneath a faded gray fedora, a mass of copper-red curls began, and tumbled in the slightly frizzed disarray that all curls do, when they're not properly taken care of, down to the skinny, slightly dirt-smudged elbows of the girl.
A piece of wood, which she could tell you was exactly 9 and 3/4 inches long, caught in the light as she played it gracefully over the backs of her knuckles, and lightly danced it over her palm, in a continuous rhythm that drew the eye.
A sigh of boredom came from slightly parted lips, as she glanced down the Alley for what seemed like the fifteenth time in as many minutes, waiting impatiently for her companion to appear. It almost broke her rhythm when she saw the familiar face of the man who had been much her brother, for she'd never quite felt like he was the father type, since she'd first tried to break into his shop in what seemed like so many years ago. "Finally, ya lazy bugger. Never thought ye were gonna get off yer arse and show up!" Storm gray eyes twinkled enchantingly at him, daring him to correct her language, which he did with a gentle cuff on head, and a half-hearted reprimand. He knew by now that he was never going to be able to fix her tendency to curse every other word, given he chance.
"Language, Rafe."
She beamed at him, bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet, and tucking her wand behind her ear before practically chirping, "Oh, so sorry for the language, Mister Merrin. Horrible of me, positively horrible!", with an exaggeratedly clear pronunciation.
"Merlin, Rafe." He groaned, shaking his head, and holding a hand to his heart . "Seeing you that cheerful is just scary. Be kind to an old man, would you?"
She switched the whole affected attitude off like extinguishing a taper, though her eyes still sparkled, and tucked one of her small hands into the crook of his elbow. "Of course, don't want ter trouble yer poor health, you delicate li'l thing."
Arx directed a fierce glare at her, which made her scrunch up her nose at him in response. He shook his head slightly, and eyed her with affection; she was incorrigible, and always would be. "Minx," was all that he said, and then they were emerging from Knockturn Alley, into the brightness of Diagon Alley.
Calloused fingers trailed over the sparkling threads of the material splayed out on the levitating stand. A soft 'oooh' of admiration sounded quietly, and with a casual glance around, the scarf found itself inside a pocket, stuffed out of sight. The same thing happened moments later when a particularly scrumptious piece of chocolate begged to be eaten.
A casual glance, a swift grab, and the chocolate had been officially claimed, and chipmunked into a cheek. Seconds later, it was swallowed swiftly when the thief received a not-so-gentle tug on one of her long curls. "Oi! That hurt!" She yelped, turning to glare at her assaulter.
"Rafe..." Wrapping his fingers into the lock of her hair that he had grabbed, Arx reach forward with his free hand and very deliberately flicked the young woman on the tip of the nose...hard. "Bad girl."
She screeched, but didn't give into her impulse to hit him back. She adored Merrin, and knew she'd been in the wrong. That was the only thing that saved him from the black eye she would have normally tried her darnedest to give him. Instead, after she screeched, she rubbed at the tip of her nose and pouted up at him, but didn't say a word.
"Now, pay for the chocolate, and either return the scarf, or pay for it too."
Thick red lashes fluttered down to partially hide her gaze. "Scarf? What scarf?"
"Rafe..."
"Oh, alright." She pulled the scarf out of her pocket, and stalked off toward the street vendor, face red. She shoved it at the witch belligerently before walking back to where Arx stood. Coming to stand beside him, she shuffled her feet, and mumbled an apology.
Arx grinned, and put a forgiving arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry, no one can stay mad at you for long."
Leaning her head against his shoulder, she peered up at him, and reminded him with a grin that the Potions Master in Knockturn Alley still wouldn't allow her, or him for that matter, into his shop.
This earned a chuckle from him, and a shake of his head, as he gently squeezed her shoulders. "I can't say I regret it, though. It was definitely a moment to remember."
"D'you think he ever got--" From behind them, out of the blue, a comment was made about evil bastards needing to stay in their own Alley, or even better, stay in Azkaban.
Rafe froze, as did Arx, but after a brief pause, they kept going – trying to pretend they hadn't heard anything – but their mood was decidedly ruined, and both failed miserably. "Bloody prats." She muttered, and tugged her cap off of her head, twisting it as though wringing a neck, or two, or ten. "Knockturn Alley is a right proper place. Just a bit on the nicely dangerous side." She couldn't help but grumble in defense of her home.
"...nicely dangerous?"
"Yeah, keeps you on your toes!" The red-haired young woman grinned up at her companion.
"Sometimes, child," Arx replied, "you worry me."
She was standing at the counter, head bent as she diligently recorded information from the day into their log-book. Her hair, as usual when it wasn't being squished underneath that horrid hat, was caught up in a messy knot on the top of her head, wand holding it in place. A few curls had worked their way loose, and the contrast between her creamy skin and the red colour was stunning to Arx. She'll make someone very lucky, he thought, and then mentally grimaced, if they can handle the fact that she's a hellion in a pixie's body, and seems to have completely missed the 'interested in boys' phase. He had wondered for a while if his girl had been interested in her own sex, but when he tried to work the fact that he'd be okay with it into a conversation, she'd thrown a handful of galleons at his head...
..."I don't swing that way, thankyouverymuch!" Rafe growled at him. "I just 'aven't found no one wot interests me particularly. I love my 'ome, but ya gotta admit, not the best of husband-types hang 'round here, yeah? The only kind I'm interested in are the kind that can take care o' me." Her eyes flashed vulnerability for a moment, and he was reminded of just how much the child, who was now a young woman, prized having her own bed, and treasured her daily meals.
It, really, was the only reason he had so much patience with her tendency to pocket anything that caught her eye that didn't belong to her already, or him. That, and the fact that she was so unrepentant and cute when he caught her in the act. To her, as with many other of the children who skulked around in both the wizarding world, and the muggle one, stealing was a way of life. It wasn't 'wrong', it was just doing what you had to do to live.
"Well, just, if you ever find that you do find a young la..."
"Shush yer hole!" She snapped at him, and went back to what she was doing.
Walking over, he placed a large hand on her shoulder, as he looked over what she had entered so far. "It's been a good day," he commented, "we'll have to order more stock, soon."
Rafe blew at a curl that tumbled down over one eye, as she responded that she had already ordered several crates of their most popular objects, and would he please not hover? She knew how to do her sums perfectly well!
He blinked, and stepped away from her, a bit stung. "No need to get your knickers in a twist, Rafe."Arx said to her, his tone indicating that he didn't give a damn whether she did or not. He watched, running a hand through his hair absently, as she stiffened, held up one hand in a 'wait a moment' gesture, and finished the sums that she was doing. When they were completed, the young woman turned to face him, a hang-dog expression upon her pixie-like features.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Merrin. I didn't mean to snap at you." Her lower lip edged out, and she hung her head slightly. She hated to disappoint him. It was the one thing that could truly make her feel bad. Everyone else, she would have told to just go bugger off, but not her Merrin.
Women, Arx reflected seconds later as he gently took her by the hand (after glancing around to make sure there was no one in the shop) and drew her to him in a gentle embrace, knew exactly how to get to a man. "It's alright." He dipped his head and brushed a gentle kiss across her hair. "Is it that 'time of the month'?"
"MERRIN!" Face beet-red, Rafe tore herself away from him and pounded up the stairs in absolute horror, and embarrassment. That was one thing you just did not ask a girl! The one conversation they had to have about it when she was thirteen was one conversation more than they needed to have.