Buffy wasn't sure what it was that woke her up and for a moment she thought she was probably just imagining it. It wouldn't have been the first time in recent weeks, sleep hadn't been the easiest part of her life as of late.

She tried to just close her eyes and go back to sleep... but it wasn't working., her mind started going and she was sure it had no plans of shutting up soon. Buffy flipped onto her back and rubbed her eyes before looking around the room again. Her eyes darted to the desk in the corner and she mentally cursed herself for it. That's where he'd been sitting when she'd last seen him.

She felt disappointed to find it empty and that was ridiculous she reminded herself. One shouldn't be disappointed there wasn't a criminal who broke into their home just hanging around.

Buffy closed her eyes for a long moment then about screamed when they reopened. "Jesus Christ," she said to the figure as she bolted to a sitting position, her back pressing hard against the headboard. Buffy had known who it was at first glance but she didn't know if that made her feel more at peace or more nervous. It also didn't help that in mere seconds it'd gone from there having been nothing out of sorts to him as a shadow at the corner of her window. "How long have you been creepily standing in that corner?" Buffy asked him, glancing over. All he'd done was take probably a step or two forward and she did wonder why he'd just been there... watching her sleep... or who knew what...

"Not long," came the smooth male voice. He took another step forward and casually leaned against the window still, crossing one leg over the other.

"I changed the locks," she said after a moment passed between them.

She would swore he smiled, the light from one of the uncovered side windows barely making him out in the room. It looked like his mask moved slightly. "A. Which you got from a hardware store. That wouldn't do much for someone like me.," he told her, a cocky tone creeping in, "And B. I didn't come in through a door."

"Good to know." She then began to wonder where he had entered her home at but she didn't ask. She tried to imagine seeing him squeeze through various windows around her compact home.

"You didn't call the police after the last time I was here," he said after a moment.

She shifted a bit in the bed. "I thought that'd be a rather uncomfortable conversation to have with the police," she told him.

When she'd first noticed him it'd been the first thing on her mind to do but afterward it just seemed bizarre and not worth getting the authorities involved over. She did think it'd be funny trying to explain it, though. That night they'd first met, she had gone back to her office after hours to try and get her phone, she'd realized it wasn't with her and was going into a four day weekend and wound up being shoved into a closet by a masked man who possibly saved her from harm or worse. That had been strange enough. Then, weeks later, he swung by her house to have a friendly chat. Sure, made sense.

"You interest me," he'd said that night when she questioned why he was there. Buffy didn't know why but she played that moment over and over in her head since. She knew she'd thought the same about him after that fateful night as well but she hadn't exactly expected to see him again... let alone twice.

The masked man cleared his throat. "I saw you yesterday."

Buffy's mind raced. "And you didn't even come saw hi?" she teased. "That could be considered bad manners."

Again, she thought his mask twisted up a little. "I wasn't exactly prepared to run into you at the time," he told her, waving an arm in front of himself.

Buffy knew he was saying he hadn't been dressed as a creature of the night with that comment. She thought that was rather thrilling. "Where was I?"

He looked down at his dark shoes. "Walking down a street," he offered. She highly doubted he'd get more detailed than that. "I wasn't expecting to see you again." That was not in my plans."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Well, excuse me for living my life," she huffed.

He chuckled, his hands going back to the window sill behind him. "I thought about it. More than I probably should have."

"Thought about what?" she questioned.

"Just walking up to you in the middle of a busy street in broad daylight and saying hi. The thought has been rather entertaining. I keep trying to picture how you'd react."

Buffy smiled a little, entertaining that thought as well. "Well, you could always try next time. I'd be up for it."

"I doubt that'd be in either of our best interests," he replied wryly.

"Maybe not, but it sure sounds like fun," she teased. "I'm sure the same could be said about you sneaking into my house time and again."

The thief looked off into a dark corner of the bedroom. "That is true, this is not the smartest thing I could be doing."

"So... why are you here?" she asked him softly.

He looked back her way, Buffy felt like her breath caught as brown eyes met her green ones. "I saw you yesterday afternoon and try as I might to push that thought away, it's been a small distraction point for me. I'm sure that nagging feeling wouldn't have gone away until I talked to you again."

Buffy let that one lie for now. "Are your eyes actually brown or are you wearing contacts?"

Those chocolate colored orbs narrowed and she thought he wasn't going to answer at first. "They are brown."

She looked him over head to toe. He was in all black, all you could really make out were his eyes. "Do you have brown hair?"

"Why?"

Buffy shrugged. "Just trying to get a mental image."

His eyes looked over to the small nightstand by her bed. She was sure he'd had to have noticed it before, too. There were several magazines and newspaper articles about him laying there. "Been reading up on me have we?"

She shrugged again. "Curious," she offered. Before his last visit she didn't know what to think about this particular creature of the night, then with a few helpful hints she was sure he dropped on purpose she had started looking into him. That hadn't helped her get him off her mind any. He just grew more interesting it seemed the more she learned about him.

And that... that certainly hadn't been part of her plans. Having an interest in some high profile criminal wasn't something she saw coming to be part of her life. There was a big difference in spending a few hours Googling some news story she'd heard about and never thinking about it again or reading some good mystery themed romance novel and finding herself in this situation. The man standing in her bedroom was a real life honest to God thief, his crimes were all over the internet, had been featured in news reports, in newspapers and magazines. He had one hell of a reputation.

As far as criminal masterminds went though... he seemed relatively harmless. That made her feel at least a little bit better. Being borderline obsessed with a psychopath or something wouldn't be nearly as charming. He sounded more like a prankster than anything.

Yawning, Buffy pushed her blankets away from her body enough to get out. She was thankful her legs didn't give out from under her, being close to him made her all out of whack. She felt her blood rushing faster as their bodies became closer to one another as she walked past him and out of the room. "Be right back," she told him. She noticed his hands grip the window sill a later harder as she'd passed by.

Buffy quickly used the bathroom and took a few extra seconds to wash her face and brush her hair a few times before going back toward her bedroom. Her eyes looked around the dark room but she didn't see him anywhere. Buffy turned the light on and still found nothing. She cursed her bladder for making her need to get up.

She suddenly heard a cabinet door close from her kitchen and slowly turned and walked in that direction. "Why not just make yourself at home," she said a little loudly once she got close enough.

He opened and closed a few more before making a satisfied sound, his arm reaching up and grabbing something from the back. She watched his every move as he walked through her small kitchen-slash-dining room from the end of the short hallway. He grabbed a bottle of wine out from her fridge and poured two glasses, setting them onto her small table. "You don't have any food in your house."

"I do, too," she argued. "There's some fruit there in the fridge... and some cake. There's milk... that may or may not have gone bad, cereal. I have some frozen pancakes or waffles I think in the freezer. That is food! Oh, and I have soup!"

He ignored all of that. "Why don't you have any food here?"

Buffy rolled her eyes. "I have a little! My slumlord didn't care that the stove and oven both crapped out so while I'm fighting to get that taken care of I have kind of just been eating out a lot I guess. I was going to buy a new one my own self but other more pressing matters had come up."

He looked at her for a moment before telling her to turn the light on. She did then watched as he inspected the black and white appliance, grumbling as he did. "You need a new one."

"So I have been told." He grumbled some more. Buffy walked deeper into the kitchen, taking one of the wine glasses into her hands. "I have a feeling you could go enjoy some fine dining or really go have anything you want..."

"Probably."

"So why are you here in the wee hours helping yourself to my cheap wine and raiding my fridge?" she asked.

The stranger in black turned around, taking the other glass. Buffy felt herself hold her breath as he lifted the mask covering his face enough to take a sip from it. "Well, you're here."

Buffy's fingers held on a little tighter to the drink ware in her hands, itching to touch him. Her eyes were placing every little inch of him she could see into her her memory. "And?"

"And... I would rather take that small amount of extra time to be here with you before I need to leave." He finished off his glass, pouring another but sat it down. He returned to her small white refrigerator and pulled out some of the fruit. She watched as he slipped his gloves off, washed his hands, and began making them some quick bowls of mixed fruit.

"You're putting fingerprints all over the place," she told him, taking another sip.

He waved her off, unconcerned. He placed a bowl in front of one chair then another in front of the other and took a seat. He nodded his head and she sat down with him.

"You're acting kind of reckless, don't ya think?" she asked after a moment.

He sat back in the chair, popping some raspberries in his mouth. "Controlled recklessness maybe."

"I don't think that's a thing."

He smiled, this time she knew for sure, seeing his lips curl up and perfect white teeth flash.

OoOoO

Buffy let out a slow breath. She'd finished putting everything away and turned around to him standing right in front of her. "I have to leave soon," he told her. He didn't look overly thrilled with that idea she noted.

"Where will you go?" she wondered out loud.

"To bed," he answered. "I've had a long day."

"What did you do?" she asked. Mentally she tried to picture him going to wherever he'd be spending his downtime... taking that ski mask off, his nifty utility belt, his creature of the night outfit...

His mouth opened, then closed. He licked his lips, looking amused. "Research," he answered. "What are you thinking about?" he asked, his head tilting slightly.

Buffy cleared her throat. "Nothing," she said quickly.

He smirked, looking at her like he could real her mind. Buffy was sure she started to blush. "We should do this again sometime."

"D-do what?"

"This. Maybe next time have a real meal."

"You're going to come back?" she asked a little breathlessly.

"As much as I shouldn't... and as much as I'd like to be able to say no... I find that rather doubtful."

"Just can't stay away?" she playfully asked.

His eyes were serious though when he answered. "No, I don't think that I can."

"Oh," she breathed out. Buffy felt like she was almost in slow motion as she closed the short distance between the two of them. She looked up at him, her hands going to his shoulders and sliding to his neck then on to his chin, enjoying the feel of his flesh. Her fingers traced his strong jawline, lightly touched his full lips, feathered over the bottom half of his cheeks. He stilled as her fingers slid under the mask a little.

Buffy gasped as he suddenly kissed her, his arms wrapping around her thin waist and pulling her to his very strong body. Buffy's hands left behind the urge to just rip the mask off of him, her arms going back to his neck and wrapping around him, deepening the kiss. She gasped again as he lifted her, her legs wrapping around him as well. He easily carried her through the small house, placing her back in bed. "Stay?" she whispered before realizing she was going to say such a thing to him.

He growled. "You have no idea how much I wish I could," he told her. He kissed her again. "In the event there is a next time you ask me that," he told her after swallowing hard, "I promise I will."

Buffy breathed hard, taking that in. She watched as he covered her back up, fixed his mask and then disappeared out of the room.