Chapter 4: Closer

Alia had been busting her ass for 9 days straight. Morning, noon, and night she was either doing sit ups and pushups in her room, or taking hard labor jobs to strengthen her legs and arms. If she took a gig delivering packages or mail, she did it all in sprints to work on her speed and cardio. She stopped using the door to her room, and instead installed a rope in the back alley of the inn, forcing herself to climb up it multiple times a day. The first few days were absolute hell. She was so sore she could barely move, but she had to do it. She stayed motivated by pretending that Garrett was always over her shoulder, watching her, waiting for her to fail. She imagined that pretty mouth of his turned up in a snigger as he mocked her. It was her pride and determination that kept her going, but it was her bull headed anger that put the hammer down and got her to haul her ass for top efficiency.

It was the evening of day nine. She stood in her bra and underwear in front of her mirror on her vanity. She was impressed with her own results. She knew it was going to take lots more time to be the long, lean, stealing machine like her mentor, but she felt that her progress was good. And she had to admit that getting her body trimmed up was good for her own personal confidence.

After her inspection she left her room and walked down the hall to the bathroom. She was too poor to afford one of the rooms with its own baths, so she shared one with everyone on her side of the building. She bathed thoroughly, wrapped a towel around herself and headed back to her room. She wasn't concerned about the other tenants, they usually slept at night.

When she opened her door she was surprised to see Garrett sitting on a chair in the corner of the room, his elbows on his knees. When he saw her his eyes went from her head to her feet quickly before he turned his face away and stared dead-eyed at the wall.

"Get dressed." He said awkwardly.

Alia smirked. "Aw, Garrett, I never pegged you for being shy!" She said, just to tease him.

He didn't say anything, just shot her a threatening look and then quickly hopped out the window, and she noticed it was the first time he didn't seem to care if he made any noise.

She knew she was getting some new threads so she just threw on an old pair of trousers and a blouse along with her thick coat to protect her from the cold. She stepped out the window, her wet hair making her shiver slightly. Garrett was already waiting for her, but he seemed more uptight than usual.

He didn't say anything, just started making his way to Basso's, knowing she would follow.

They reached the Crippled Burrick pretty quickly, Alia's chest welled up with pride now that she was keeping up with her teacher much better. She still had a long way to go but she let her little bit of progress drive her to do even better.

Once inside Basso immediately gave her a thick bundle of heavy leather. "Take this," He said, "And go over there behind the booze barrels and get yourself changed. We need to know if it fits right."

She nodded enthusiastically and all but skipped over to cover to get her gear on. It was surprisingly complicated. She thought, like most armor, that there would be a thin body suit to wear underneath it all to protect her skin form chaffing. But upon closer inspection she saw that the inside of the hardened leather had a soft lining stitched into it. She was able to figure out the padding and the belts, both for her trousers and the tools that were to be strapped onto her leg. But the harness was a whole other story so she set it aside and figured she would ask for help later. She strapped up her boots and threw her cloak and hood over her shoulders, the cowl fastened to the hood but she kept it down. She tucked the harness under her arm and emerged from her hiding spot.

"I can't do this part…" She said meekly. Basso seemed impressed with how she looked while the Master Thief was his normal emotionless self.

Basso moved to help her but Garrett was faster and snatched it from her hands, clearly annoyed. His arms snaked around her waist as he towered over her, his hands working skillfully to fit the harness around her and tie it up. "You do it like this." He mumbled to her, lacing up the front and looping the ties through the small metal hoops on her belt. When he was done he only briefly made eye contact before he looked her up and down thoughtfully. "You've lost some weight…" he said before undoing some laces on the sides of her trousers. "So you'll want this tighter…" His long fingers brushed the bare skin on her legs as he loosened the ties before synching them together more securely.

"Is he always this nit-picky?" Alia asked Basso while Garret continued to circle her and make small adjustments here and there. She felt herself grow more and more nervous the more her teacher touched her.

Basso laughed. "He takes his work seriously." Was the only answer he provided her.

He stepped back and admired his work. Alia got the sinking feeling that he was literally only looking at her suit, not her. "That'll work." He said simply.

When she was finally free from prying fingers and eyes she moved around a bit, getting the feeling of her new attire. Everything had a certain balance. The leather was stiff enough to absorb damage, but flexible enough to move around without hindrance. The boots protected her feet but were a slightly softer material for muffling sound. All in all, she was extremely impressed. Her armor was very similar to Garrett's, but a bit more feminine to accommodate for the fact that she was actually a girl. Though she felt much more intimidating while she was impersonating a Master Thief.

"Let's go." Garrett said and make his way to the window.

"Where too, boss?" She asked.

"Pop quiz." He said with a sneer that sent a shiver down her spine.

"Well goodbye to you too!" Basso called after them. "Bunch of rude taffers…" He mumbled with a smile.

A few hours later they were laying low in an alley. Garrett gestured to the old house they were standing next to. "The people here are gone. So we're going to take a peek and see what we can find."

Alia scrunched up her nose. The house was a little run down and it didn't seem very promising to her. "It doesn't look like there would be anything of value here." She said, watching Garrett climb the side of the house and slip in through a window. Even though he gave her no answer she quickly followed him, taking note that her suit helped her be much more quiet than before. Once inside she crouched down and moved to where he was.

"It's not about how much you steal. It's about what you steal." He said quietly, his dark eyes flashed to her in the silent house. "And right now what you need is practice. So this will do nicely. Go find me something." He instructed. "I'll watch and tell you how bad you are at this as we go along."

She utilized her fingerless gloves to flip him off. "Payment for your confidence in me, teacher." She coated the last word in venom before leaving his side and roaming the open house. He kept his distance and observed her as she moved quietly from room to room, she opened drawers and trifled through jewelry boxes but nothing very valuable caught her eyes. But every so often she would look back and get a small but approving nod from Garrett as she picked the house apart.

She came to a small office just off the hallway and upon inspecting the desk she found a locked drawer. Her curiosity peaked, she removed the pick and small tension wrench from inside her gloves and went to work trying to trick the lock into thinking she had the key. It didn't take long for her to start getting a little frustrated, it seemed like no matter what she did she just couldn't get a feel of the pins. As she grit her teeth she felt the air around her move as Garret came around the desk, to no doubt see what was holding her up.

She looked up at him and saw his famous eye roll. Just as she started to get disheartened and apologize he moved quickly and crouched down behind her as he pulled his mask down. She was all of a sudden very thankful for her cowl as she prayed it would cover the creeping blush on her face.

He was balanced on the balls of his feet, his body draped tightly over hers as his long arms slipped in under her own so his hands could grasp hers. She felt her whole body stiffen as his face crept over her shoulder and he whispered into her ear. "Relax…Your hands are all wrong." She couldn't help but imagine those lips of his so close to her face.

She watched in awe as his long, slender fingers peeled hers back and fanned them out. If her heart beat any faster, it was going to explode.

"All you need," He purred, the scruff on his cheeks brushing hers lightly. "Is your thumbs and forefingers. You have to get these other ones out of the way." He then guided her hands back to the drawer. "Try it now."

She swallowed as she tried the lock again, this time though she could feel the minute movements of the pick against the pins through her fingers. It was amazing what just a small adjustment did. After a little while she felt the lock click and turned the tension wrench, opening the drawer. She gasped. "I did it…" She said quietly. She turned her head to see Garrett's face, still barely an inch away. His eyes were watching her intently. He was still crouched behind her, practically spooning her from an upright position.

She couldn't help but smile from under her mask. "I did it!" She whispered excitedly and for the first time she saw his lips turn up in a smirk, but not a dark one.

It had been over a month since that night in the mansion. Garrett had been mostly holed up in his tower. He had to stay away from her. Feelings were just like traps. He didn't like them. They got in the way of his money. He didn't even know if they were real feelings. On one hand he had started to enjoy her company. She was funny and determined to prove herself, and it was refreshing. On the other hand, he wanted to bite that luscious mouth of hers and watch her squirm beneath him.

He shook his head. He couldn't start thinking like that again. Not now. Once the sun set he had to go see if she was up to a job. He wanted to see if she could pull of more than just sweeps. She could dodge maids and nobles, but could she outfox the guards and the watch?

A couple hours later he was at her window. He had knocked as he always did, and was sitting on the roof, waiting for her to come out. She emerged a few moments later, shutting the window with her foot while she tied her wild hair into a messy braid down her back. He couldn't help but watch her. She walked up to him as she tied the end of her hair off.

"You ready to head out?" She asked, looking down at him.

He looked up and met her gaze, her eyes shone bright against the moon. He liked her eyes. They reminded him of silver. He reached out and grabbed her belt and pulled her closer. He heard her gasp as his knuckles brushed against her. He pulled the end out of the buckle and pull it tighter before putting it back through the loops that held the excess length. "You had that too loose. Again." He said as he stood up. There were barely a couple inches between them. Her cheeks were on fire. He couldn't help himself but grin. He knew what he was doing to her, he wasn't stupid. Or maybe he was because he was acting out on his desires when he knew it was a bad idea.

"Let's go." He said quietly while raising his cowl, trying to break the tension and get his mind out of the gutter. "Time to go to work."

Okay, I know this is probably a shitty place to stop but if I didn't stop now then it would have went on for WAY TOO LONG. Reviews are always appreciated. I also would like some input as to what the hell Garrett's hair looks like?