"There's a moment between a glance, and a kiss, where the world stops for the briefest of times." - A series of unrelated one-shots to celebrate my 100th fic on Ao3, based off a pairing, occupation, and a colour (with a kiss).
Hiten knew he was being followed. He kept his stride even, shoving one hand into a pocket, fingers clenching around the jewelled bracelet he'd stolen. It was a professional—the only clue that he wasn't alone being a single snap of a twig as he'd slipped between stalls.
He'd wanted this job to be clean, as clean as it could be anyway, but the dealer had changed the price at the last minute, and he'd been forced to acquire extra funds.
Typically, he would've just cut off a limb to make his point, but the bounty was too important, too precious, for anything to go wrong. He ducked down an alley after a pendant made its way into his other pocket, waiting in the shadows to see if the person following him would abandon their pursuit.
He didn't expect to be grabbed from behind.
A dagger pressed into the side of his neck, making him hiss in pain, but he didn't flinch, didn't turn around. Footsteps passed by the entrance of the alley, then backtracked before leaving in the opposite direction.
"You're slipping," his attacker whispered, blade still at his throat.
"I wasn't sure if it was someone from the palace or just another bounty hunter," he replied, still not moving.
"If you were any good at your job, you wouldn't have been followed at all."
"Yet you still agreed to marry me once this whole thing is over." The dagger finally fell away, and he turned around, Kikyou's eyes narrowing.
"Maybe I'm reconsidering your offer," she said, thumbing the obsidian on the handle of her weapon before tucking it into her boot.
"I'd chase you."
Her lips twitched. "I know." She glanced behind him, then turned on her heel. "Come on. The seller is waiting by the dock." He grabbed her shoulder, pulling her back against him before stealing a kiss, lips moulding against hers for a few seconds as they forgot what was at stake.
But reality was a bitch, and the hand on his chest tensed and pushed him away. "Later."
He flashed her a grin. "Such a lovely word."
Kikyou rolled her eyes but intertwined their fingers, leading him down the alley. If they were lucky, the trade would go off without a hitch. If not, he just hoped the children being smuggled into the country were left unharmed—especially Kikyou's sister.
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