тнє тнιєƒ тнαт ѕтσℓє... ωєℓℓ, єνєяутнιηg

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Conner pulled out one of his charming smiles. He might not like most people, but he was certainly curious about her. Healing was... a fascinating power. "I'm Conner," he said. "What's your name?"

[~echo~]

"Why would I tell you that?" she asked, not fooled by his smile.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

He frowned. "Because I just told you mine. It only seems fair to reciprocate."

[~echo~]

She watched him for a second before swallowing. "Vanessa."

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

He held out his hand to her. "Nice to meet you, Vanessa."

[~echo~]

She didn't take it, but gave a tense nod. "And you."

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Conner's smile turned lopsided as he dropped his hand back to the side. He glanced down the hallway and out the big window that looked down at the street, where cop cars and flashing lights dominated the night. "Shoot," he muttered. There was no way he could leave this building without being questions, especially dressed as he was.

He glanced back at Vanessa and cleared his throat. "So... look. I need to ask a huge favor."

[~echo~]

She followed his gaze to the window, her eyes narrowed. "What is it?"

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

"I kind of need a place to lay low," he told her. "I can't go out there right now." He would hope she'd have figured out by now that he was probably the person the cops were after. The mask, clothing, and having fallen from a fourteenth floor window were good indicators.

[~echo~]

Vanessa bit her lip. "My mother would kill me if she knew what is going on right now..." she muttered. "I- I don't know, my mother is in our apartment, there's no way you wouldn't be seen."

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

"Hey, I'm a thief," Conner said. He leaned in a bit and winked. "I think I can sneak in and out of your apartment unnoticed."

[~echo~]

She frowned at him. "Fine, but if I get in trouble, I'm blaming you."

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Conner shrugged. "Seems only logical, seeing as it's my fault." He glanced toward the window again and smiled faintly. He'd won again. He was untouchable... even after falling a hundred feet onto the street.

[~echo~]

Vanessa gestured to him. "Come on, then." She pressed the button for the tenth floor and waited for the door to close.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Conner joined her inside. As they rode up, he pulled off his backpack and tucked his mask into the outside pocket. Before returning it to his back, he patted the pocket that contained the diamonds, just to reassure himself they were there.

[~echo~]

Vanessa watched him out of the corner of her eye. When they arrived, she beckoned him forward but also warned him to be quiet. She opened the door to their apartment and crept inside. Her mother was lightly snoring in another room, and so Vanessa beckons him inside.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Conner's footsteps were nearly silent, as a thief's only should be. He glanced around curiously as he followed her, smiling faintly when he heard the snoring. He looked back at Vanessa and shook his head slightly. This girl was a freaking bleeding heart. She'd run all the way outside to heal him, and now she was letting some strange man into her home. He wasn't going to hurt her, but still.

[~echo~]

Vanessa hurriedly gestured him into the spare rooms closet. "Don't make a single noise," she hissed under her breath.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Conner gave her a mock salute before entering the closet. He glanced around the small space then shrugged. He'd spent the night in worse places for sure. "Goodnight," he mouthed to her.

[~echo~]

Vanessa nodded tersely before crawling into her bed, fully clothed. The next day, Vanessa awoke very early and started on her chores. A while later, her mother awoke and headed off to work.