Chapter Six

"Two of you?" Riccio asked, his meatball rolling out his mouth and onto his plate. "Two thieves?"

"That's right," Scipio affirmed, leaning back lazily in his chair with his feet propped on the table. "Think about—two thieves equal two hauls, which equals two times the money!"

"And also two times the risk of getting caught," Mosca pointed out, slapping Bo's hand when he tried to sneak away with his bread. The tall boy gave him a playful tickle at his neck before biting into his own spaghetti.

"I've never been caught," Scipio announced proudly, puffing out his chest slightly.

"Neither have I," Rae nodded. After a small shrug, she bit her lip and admitted, "Well, almost once. But that was a stupid mistake that won't happen again," she added quickly at their stunned faces. "I tried to raid in broad daylight—but I'm too fast for the Carabinieri."

"How come Rae can be a thief but I can't!" Bo whined, tugging on Scipio's coat tails until he nearly feel out of his seat. Scipio ruffled his hair with a smile before he hoisted him onto his knee.

"Because have you ever heard of a blonde boy assistant? I would lose the respect of all those other thieves. They have beautiful assistants, who are dark and roughly female." Scipio winked slyly at Rae, who hid her blush by pretending to be gorging on her pasta. "Perhaps we should search for a gorgeous assistant for Bo, huh guys? We can put an add in the paper! Aspiring thief, six-years-old—"

"Six and a quarter!"

"—six and a quarter, searching for a loyal, gorgeous assistant to help him in his raiding."

"Scipio," Prosper scolded jokingly. "No provoking my brother at the dinner table."

"I wasn't provoking him, Prop!"

"No putting stupid ideas into my brother's head at the dinner table."

"Can we get back on subject, here?" Riccio exclaimed, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. "We run a demo—demo—"

"Democracy?" Prosper mused.

"Right. What I said. We take a vote, and if majority rules, we have two new thieves. All who vote for?" Riccio raised his glass, and after some exchanged glances, the others raised their's as well.

"Then it's decided," Mosca cheered, clinking his cup against Rae's. "Make us proud, Rae."

"Si, si!" the others cried, and the room soon filled with laughter and the excited idea of a new life.

The next day, Scipio walked down a few alleys, every campo he passed more abandoned and dirty than the last. He had traded his boots for a pair of sneakers, but he still wore his long black jacket and his bird mask was still planted firmly on his face, the black nose pointing eerily at a few onlookers.

The sky was still a pale purple-blue, a cold fog lying over everything. The sun had barely crept over the horizon, and the chill in the air made Scipio shiver. If Rae was getting him up at five o'clock in the morning, she'd better be providing his breakfast. He didn't get a chance to grab any when he had snuck out only an hour before!

"Don't wear those damn boots, Scip. You won't be able to move in them."

It felt strange walking around without them, but according to Rae, he'd rather feel short than to break his neck.

"I've already taught you how to use my whip, so now you just need to learn to use it in a real-life situation." Scipio yelped in surprise at the voice, and he spun around searching for its origin.

Rae appeared from the shadows of a narrow alley, grinning at him with her sparkling eyes. "Buongiorno, Scipio. Lovely morning, si?"

"Si, si," Scipio scowled at her, pursing his lips. "You don't happen to have anything to snack on, do you? I didn't eat breakfast since you insisted that I had to be here before the sun warmed the canals waters."

Rae smiled, loosening the sack on her shoulder and reaching inside. She tossed him an apple and a powdery cake, which hit his black jacket and left a soft white print. He glared at her, and she simply smirked even more widely. "Not a morning person, are you, Scipio?"

"I'm not a five o' clock in the morning kind of person. I can handle seven, hell, I can even handle six. But five is completely pushing it, Cascato."

"Less talking and more eating, Massimo. You're going to need all the energy you can get."

Ten Hours Later.

"I can't feel my legs," Scipio moaned as he flopped down in his bed tiredly, glowering at Rae, who was perched on his windowsill like a black bird, with her dark coat and crooked neck. She grinned amusedly and her eyes danced with laughter, and she blew him a teasing kiss.

"Addio e buonanotte, principessa," Rae sang, "So long and goodnight, princess."

"I am not a princess!" Scipio said indignantly, but Rae had already swung out into the alleys of Venice.

I am so so so so so so so so so so sorry for not uploading in forever and a half! I had a major writers block, but I watched the movie and Scipio made me all better!

-girly fangirl squee of DOOM!-

Gerard Way made me feel all better, too. With all his adorable bunny faces and somehow cute cursing and awesome dance skills and I'M GOING TO HIS FUCKING CONCERT ON THE 22ND!!! THAT'S THIS SUNDAY, PEOPLE!!

-even louder more girly fangirl squee of doom!!!-

I'm sorry. I'm excited. I'd be happy if you checked out my My Chemical Romance fanfiction, by the way. I wrote it by request, which was a real honor because: one, someone thought my writing was so good they wanted me to write for them and two, I LOVE MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE!!

I'd be even more happy and excited if all of my lovely fans (a miracle, but I actually do have FANS) sent me precious reviews telling me how much I was missed and how crappy this chapter was!

Prego! Addio fino al nostro prossimo incontro!

(Thankies! See ya until next time!)