"It looks like he's not even here…" Frostfire whispered to herself, double and triple checking that all is clear then tiptoeing into Manic's room. After all the times Manic had flirted with her in the last several days since they slowly became a thing, it was time for Frostfire to flirt back. "If I can steal something from him and he questions who stole it, maybe I can impress him with my larceny skills…" Inside his bedroom, she giggled at the somewhat messy area. "Let's see what goodies I can steal..." Frostfire looked around hastily, trying to find anything to take. In the corner of her eye, she spotted his pack unsupervised on his bed and perfect to nab. Swiftly scooping it up into her arms, she turned around, understanding now the thrill of stealing. Of course, this was all fun and games and not actually stealing from the rich pompous snobs who deserve none of what they have or stuff from Robotnik's base. As Frostfire turned around, her heart jumped what seemed like a thousand miles inside her chest and her cheeks flared like a lit match.

"Whatcha got there, babe?" Said a green hedgehog with a smirk on his face and crossed his arms. She hadn't known how long he'd been there but she guessed he stayed silent, watching her steal his fanny pack. Or at least he was there as she turned around…

"Oh, crap…" Frostfire said to herself as she hid the pack behind her back, nervously smiling. She swallowed a pocket of air. "Uhhh… Nothing…" Sweat dripped from her scalp as she continued. "I c-came to see if you were here…"

"Hmmm, really?" Manic said with a larger smirk, obviously not believing her lie.

Frostfire kept the pack hidden. "T-Totally…" She cleared her throat. "I, er… Well you're here now… So I-I'll leave…" The Snow Leopard scooted her feet across the floor toward the doorway, keeping the pack hidden from sight of the thief in question.

"That I am... Say... Let me see those pretty hands of yours..." His smirk almost seemed softer this time. Frostfire stood there and fidgeted nervously, looking away from him. While she figured he already knew what she had in her hands by his request, she fought to keep the pack a secret. "Come on, let me feel those soft paws of yours..." He said opening his hands out and making a demanding grabbing motion. Frostfire melted a little at his comment.

"S-Soft? By the Aurora…" Frostfire blushed and caved into his request. "I could have got away with it…" She somewhat objected, handing the pack to its rightful owner.

"If it weren't for this meddling hedgehog…" Manic said winking, taking his pack back and attaching it to his waist. Frostfire swooned at how nicely it sat onto his hip. "Why is it that you insist on stealing from Mobius' greatest thief, hm?" Frostfire twiddled her fingers, unable to reply. Manic lifted her chin and gave her a demanding look. "Well?" She swooned further at his tender touch. His hands had minds of their own – Frostfire had seen how he's used them when he pickpocketed people. They moved almost gracefully as herself! They could take anything in silence and he'd go unseen! Surely he was a magician among the thieves…

"I-I… I guess I just… Wanted to impress you… Th-That and see how long it'd take you to notice what was missing." Frostfire confessed.

Manic smirked. "Impress me?" He almost sounded surprised.

"Y-yeah… You'd have no one to blame if I kept it quiet." Frostfire kept her eyes closed in fear that maybe she had done the wrong thing after all.

"But you already know I'm impressed by the way you take things..." He said referring to the number of times she's stolen something from Sonic or Shot since they got together. "Impressed and turned on." He winked at her and bit his lip, clearing showing he was in fact turned on. Frostfire had no idea how to take his advances.

"Uhhh…" She started to say, cooking up some lie. "I… I think I'm needed elsewhere…" As she started to leave, Manic squeezed her hand tenderly and pulled her close.

"Where could you go that's better than here?" There was no place she rather be but the high attraction that Manic displayed almost scared her. They were so close, they were breathing onto each other.

"I, er…." Frostfire's words escaped her and, more importantly, her tongue betrayed her. He looked her visage over, admiring every inch and kissed her. Frostfire's spine shivered, from the top to the bottom. Oh, how she wished she could melt in his arms… Although, she had never expected him to kiss her so soon in their relationship…

While she enjoyed the kiss, her body froze up in response to it. Manic pulled her even closer, if it was possible, and kissed more deeply. Frostfire's little heart could only take so much of it.

"Mmm…" Manic began to enjoy the one-sided kiss he laid on her. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed even deeper. As if Frostfire could swoon any further.

Manic let go of her and twirled one of her tooth bracelets around his finger that he had taken from her during the kiss. "This is how it's done…" He winked at her, referring his little magic trick. He was merely showing off how good of a thief he was but she basked in his splendor. Frostfire gulped, very intimidated by his skills and general appeal. "You gonna come get it back or are you just gonna stand there gawking?" Frostfire's pupils dilated as she watched it move back and forth on his finger. Her tail flicked to and fro, ready to pounce on him. Her hunter nature was showing. Noticing her feline behavior, Manic smiled and stopped twirling it. "Hm..." He said thoughtfully. "C'mere, beautiful."

Frostfire stopped watching him twirl it and walked over to him. Suddenly, Manic began to hug her. Now she could officially melt and get lost in his arms. She tried not to sigh happily but the sound came anyway. Manic smiled at her pleasant noise. He had grown fonder of her idiosyncrasies that made her who she was, especially her cute feline attributes like being hypnotized by a light and being inclined to chase it or kneading motions when she is delightedly purring away. But most of all, her placid voice and smile is what attracted him to her, beyond the shadow of a doubt.

As they were enjoying their absolute tranquil and intimate moment, Frostfire suddenly remembered why she entered this situation and decided to talk more about larceny. Frostfire looked at Manic. "How many times have you went alone on a heist?"

Manic thought for a few seconds then gave her a confused expression. "Was I supposed to be counting?" He chuckled a little.

"Well, no," Frostfire replied. "But… perhaps you'd like to go on a heist with someone…"

"By 'someone,' I assume you mean yourself?" Manic smirked. "But what do you know about stealing?"

Frostfire thought for a minute. "I know that you have to be quiet and quick. I know that you cannot be seen or caught. I know that you are to take multiple things, you group them together in a pile."

"Woah, woah, woah! Have you been holding out on me, babe?" He said sending her a wink, almost checking her out again and showing just how turned on he was at her words.

"W-What does that mean?" Frostfire's cheeks would be stained red forever it seemed.

"I meant, have you stolen something before?" Manic asked.

"N-No, I just used simple logic…" Frostfire told him.

Manic smiled. "Okay, what are you lookin' to steal?"

"Anything."

"Hmm..." He looked around a second before his eyes rested on Frostfire's tribal jewelry. "How about a necklace? A really expensive one?"

Frostfire marveled at him before she blushed as his eyes had skimmed over her body. "S-Sure!" She stammered. "Sounds exciting!"

"Great!" Manic smiled warmly at her. "Oh, but I have one rule!" He stated.

Frostfire became awfully curious. "What is that, Manic?"

"We can never tell my sibs of what we're about to do!" Manic cried before chuckling.

Frostfire giggled at his comment. "I'd never say a word!" She said smiling big.

"It's people like you us thieves admire." Manic said.

"R-Really?" Frostfire blushed. "I-It's just I care about you a-and I know how seriously you take this. I just wanted to be a part of what you hold dear." She admitted.

"Good." Manic smiled and took hold of Frostfire's hand. "Let's go, now's the best time!" Frostfire could only imagine what the thrill would really be like for her as they both embarked on this new journey.

Manic had brought Frostfire to a small jewelry shop. He scanned it up and down. Its closed sign was in the window and all the lights were out but he spotted the security camera in front of the building. "See that?" Manic pointed upward and Frostfire's eyes followed. "Normally most thieves would take that thing out instantly but I have a different approach."

Frostfire's blood cooked inside her veins. She could not wait to see what he had in store. "A-A different approach?"

"Yup." Manic answered. "How are you at picking locks?"

"N-Not very good since I've never picked a lock but I know you need to feel and hear well while picking locks."

"Let me teach your first lesson..." Manic said, handing her a needle to pick the door to the shop.

Frostfire blushed. "I-I-I don't think I will succeed at this…" She had no idea what she was doing but she had to impress him.

Manic gave her a few pointers as he watched her go at it. "That's it. You're doing great." He said, placing an electrical device on the door. It had a little pad and he started typing things in it. Frostfire relished in her growing achievement and watched him as he typed.

"He's so handsome, no matter what he does…"

"How you doin' there, babe? I think I've just about finished disabling the cameras and alarms." Manic's sudden voice caught Frostfire by surprise.

"Uhh… J-Just watching you…" She shifted her gaze elsewhere. Even after they had become a couple, she still couldn't wrap her mind around it nor suppress the shyness she had.

"I know it's hard to take your eyes off me," He winked at her, "But I think we should focus on the heist. I did set this thing up to turn everything back on in about 3 minutes so..." Manic gestured to the device on the door.

"We should hightail it into the store, right? As quietly as possible?"

Manic put a hand over his heart. "A girl after my own heart. Literally. You done with the lock?"

Frostfire blushed yet again. In talking with and watching him, she had forgotten what she was doing due to being so mesmerized by Manic. "O-Oh!" She looked at the lock of the door, it has already snuck open ajar. "Apparently, yes!" She whispered.

"Great!" Manic rushed in pulling Frostfire with him. "Take your pick of the spoils." Gesturing to all of the displays with a bow.

Frostfire perused every display, walking over to each one and, as if shopping, eyed all the available necklaces until she saw what she wanted. "The Tiger's Eye necklace." She said with a smile, standing at the display adjacent to the door. She valued way the jewler had made it into such a gorgeous shape.*1

"Classy." Manic said, admiring Frostfire's choice. Quickly he picked the lock on the display and lifted the glass off. "You know, this would look amazing on you." He lifted the necklace out of it and closed the glass display. Frostfire blushed at his comment as he looked her in the eyes. "It is beautiful…" She examined it more. "Perhaps it would be something I wear once in a great while. I already wear this tooth necklace as a symbol of my proud hunter's life. But I'd gladly wear that." The more Frostfire looked at the dazzling brown-gold necklace, she wanted it even more, and she could have it. The very notion that things were so easy to obtain baffled her.

"We've got a minute left." Manic said, glancing at the time. Frostfire's fur felt charged he said that.

"Sh-Shall we take it and go?" Frostfire tried not to be too panicky.

"Relax, babe. Panicking never helped anyone. Let's go." Manic said. As they left the building and fled the scene of the crime, Frostfire thought about the thrill that she had waited for. It was wondrous! Taking something expensive then running off with it unseen…

They reached the base and went inside to have a seat. Frostfire caught herself looking at Manic's quills as he led her by the hand back to the base. She smiled at their figure. But a question had popped into her mind…

"M-Manic? U-Um… I didn't mean to do this but… I accidentally walked in the other day on Sonic making fun of you for having soft quills rather than the usual sharp ones. I'm glad Sonia came to your defense and told him that you had enough mockery for one lifetime. Did other Hedgehogs really make fun of you for such a silly thing? A-Again I'm sorry for eavesdropping but I nearly came in and socked Sonic for what he did. I could see how humiliated you felt as he was doing that I knew you wouldn't appreciate that so I stayed back…" Frostfire felt as though she was rambling so she kept quiet.

"It's alright, beautiful." Manic said, wrapping an arm around her. "Sometimes Sonic forgets how different my life was from his growing up. And that's just how siblings are... Can't blame you though," Manic leaned closer to her and whispered the last part, "Sometimes I want to sock him too."

Frostfire giggled. "Are they soft because you do not use them?"

"Maybe... A little." Frostfire giggled again but this time at his slight blushing.

"Don't feel embarrassed… I'm sure one day they will be sharp!" Frostfire beamed.

"Do you think they'll finally get sharp when I finally grow up?" Manic said, smirking. She rolled her eyes and, with an evil smirk, began to rub his soft quills. "Hey!" Manic cried. In attempt to defend his quills, Manic took hold of Frostfire's waist and spun her around. In response, her eyes grew big and she squeaked which was followed by a soft mew. Her heart could not keep up with her paced breathing. Manic laughed. "You mess with my quills, I mess with you. That's a fair trade, right?"

"I-I-I just wanted to see i-if by rubbing them, I could make them quiver and sharpen…" She looked down, insanely embarrassed.

"But I thought you liked my soft quills?"

"I-I do." Frostfire said. "B-But my curiosity is high… I-I just want to see…" She reached for his quills again, extending her arm behind her.

Manic saw a golden opportunity. She was off guard. This was too perfect. He quickly took advantage of the moment and tickled her side. Frostfire laughed up a storm. "Curiosity killed the cat!" Manic said.

"No, stop, please!" She chortled. Manic didn't stop. He eventually ending setting her down because his arms were getting tired. Then he pulled her in for a fake embrace and started tickling her back. After Frostfire enjoyed the short embrace, she squealed and then made a rather inappropriate noise… Her cheeks were flushed with utter mortification as she turned around to face the shocked hedgehog. "I am SO sorry that you had to hear that come out of my mouth…" She awkwardly looked away from Manic.

There was a split second of silence the Manic burst out laughing. "That was cute!" He managed to say.

"W-What?" Was all she could mutter.

"That was cute! You're cute!" Manic said, still laughing a little.

Frostfire stared at Manic for a whole minute. Suddenly, Sonic entered the scene. "Bro, the van stopped working, we need you to fix it." Frostfire was so ever grateful that Sonic came in after she moaned.

"What did you do this time?" Manic said, crossing his arms.

"Nothing, I swear! Tails is already working on it but he needs your help." Manic nodded, following Frostfire to the van under Sonic's request.

*1 The necklace looks something like this: