The sound of the explosion a block away brought a smile to Maize's face.
She'd grown deaf to the panicked screams that an unexpected event could cause years ago. They had vetted the areas as best they could, chose the least-populated bridges or emptiest warehouses closest to their mark. In her years, she could count on one hand the number of casualties from their heists, and even then none of them were at any fault of their own.
At least, that's what Maize told herself to get to sleep at night.
"You need to stop looking so joyful when you destroy public property," Ress muttered at her shoulder, and she glanced at him from where they both crouched behind the wall with a gleam in her eye.
"Maybe you should enjoy it more."
"If you blow everything up, they'll be nothing left to steal."
"There's always something left to steal." She grinned.
Ress gave her a smirk that made even his dark eyes shine, and it took everything in her power not to press him against the brick wall behind him and steal a few things of her own—
A shout sounded outside the alley where they hid, and the sounds of pounding feet on the cobblestone of the adjacent street took her attention from her erotic fantasy.
"Shit," she cursed as she stood, her back pressed against the wall as she tried to think of their next move.
"Looks like the Guard was more prepared than we thought."
With no other obvious escape route, she looked up. "Then it seems like we best start climbing," she surmised and dug her fingers between the bricks of that same wall before, wasting no time in hoisting herself up without waiting to see if Ress followed.
Maize had it all planned out, and she hated it when she had to improvise.
While the attention of the Guard and the remainder of the city would be focused on the chaos from the explosion of the abandoned storehouse along the river, she and Ress would scale the wall and leap among the rooftops for three blocks until they reached their mark's destination, an apartment on the western side of the city, owned by an uppity diplomat who had a lot of money, and even more enemies.
They were supposed to be in and out with the requested stack of papers, having been delivered just that morning, and bringing them safely them to the Den would get she and Ress enough money to stash away into savings.
Only a few more jobs just like it, and they'd finally be away from Dreduor, finally starting that life they promised each other they'd have so many years ago, closer to the best healers in the realm and—
"Why are we always climbing?" Ress groaned as he dusted himself off once he completed their ascent.
Maize was already walking across the roof towards the opposite edge, nonplussed about the brick dust in her braided blonde hair or on her already-dirty leathers. Leaning carefully over the edge of the building, she looked across the distance to judge the distance between their side and the next. "Because no one looks up."
"Maybe they should," he muttered as he closed the distance between them, "and then we wouldn't have to climb so high next time."
"Would you rather the sewers?" she asked as she held a hand in the air to test the wind as it brushed over the rooftop.
"It would keep us on the ground."
She gave her partner a smirk as she glanced back at him over her shoulder. He was one of the best the Den had to offer- after her, of course- but his fear of heights still remained one of his most adorable downfalls.
"Next time, Ress, for you we can use the sewers."
"You're too kind, m'lady," he mocked as he braced a booted foot on the ledge of the building, following her gaze and making his own assessments.
"One day," she reminded him as she backpedaled away from the edge. "One day you're going to need to remove that sarcasm from that title and give me the proper respect I'll deserve.
"And when that day happens, I'll buy you that ring you've always wanted."
"On that day, I'll have already been married off to a rich lord," she said as she rolled up her sleeves, "so your ring will no longer be needed."
"I said I'll buy it— I never said I'd give it to you."
"Then save your gold," she huffed as she began her sprint. "And buy me an expensive wedding present instead."
She didn't hear his response as she vaulted off the edge of the roof. There was no rush like that of soaring through the air, knowing that there was nothing beneath you to catch if you fell. Nothing save hard pavement and unsuspecting bodies. Even after having fallen in the past, with the healed bones from severe breaks and the scars from stitches, Maize couldn't get enough of the feeling of the fall, and the potential threat of dying.
It's not that she didn't understand Ress' fear of falling— she just refused to enable his irrational reasoning of not even trying.
She timed her jump perfectly, aiming not for the rooftop itself, but instead for its edge, and her fingers gripped the edge of the roof just as her body collided with the side. She let out a pained oof, knowing well she probably bruised a rib or two, but it was better than misjudging the fall, losing your balance, and breaking more than a rib.
She hung there for a moment longer, allowing the breath to return to her lungs before hoisting herself up, but her efforts faltered as the form of her partner soared over her head.
Ress may be cautious, but sometimes he was also careless. But also with the luck of a gambler in the middle of the best streak of his life.
Even luck needs to run out, but Ress' had been going strong for the last three years they'd been together.
Sometimes Maize counted too much on that.
Pulling herself up, Ress was waiting for her to keep her steady as she regained her bearings. She winced as his hand touched her side, pulling away so as not to cause her any more pain.
"I told you if you add more padding—"
"It will keep me off balance and I'd be dead regardless." They had had that conversation too many times before.
"You just want me to wrap your chest when we get home."
"You're a smart man," she winked, and the prospect had her immediately running across the roof to the next building on the block.
Returning home with Ress was always a motivating factor in getting their marks completed and turned in. The sooner they cashed in their reward, the sooner they could go home and spend their time together in bed, healing and preparing themselves for their next mission in more ways than one.
The building was closer than the last, and Maize had no issue clearing the gap, landing this time on her feet on the edge of the roof rather than needing to grip with her fingers.
"I'll race you to the next one," she called over to Ress, who was still assessing the jump.
"It's not a race!"
"Says the one who's going to lose!"
Poking at one of Ress's greatest weaknesses, she watched him just long enough to see him prepare to cross the gap before she was running full speed across the roof.
You're going to miss.
"Not now," she begged.
You're going to miss and you're going to fall and you're going to die.
"Shut up," she pleaded as the edge of the roof came into view.
You're going to fall and you're going to die and no one will miss you.
"Enough!" she yelled, but her loss of concentration had her missing a step and she tumbled, missing the important jump that would have propelled her clearly to the next roof.
"Maize!" she heard Ress scream behind her, but all she could see was the wall of the building about to meet her face.
She closed her eyes at the impact, turning her face so as not to break her nose. The pain from the rib injury she already endured sent shocks of pain through her body, but she refocused on staying on the wall. Her boots sought out purchase while her fingers gripped at the wall. Skin sloughed away and fingernails broke until her momentum slowed enough for her to find a handhold.
She hung there, trying to catch her breath as she recentered away from the pain in her arms, her chest, her whole damn body. "Shit," she cursed as she looked up. She was about too far away from the edge to climb— she knew if she tried she'd lose the grip she had and fall even further. She carefully glanced over her shoulder and knew that the latter would cause far more pain than she was willing to admit.
She screwed up, and she hated it.
The familiar shadow of her partner once again flew above her, and she had to keep from calling out to him lest anyone in the building heard more than they already had. This was where their mark resided, and they needed to get into the room on the opposite side of the building to end this damn mission once and for all.
Luckily for her, Ress must have seen her fall, for her immediately dropped down a rope in an attempt to help her up. Her hands were bleeding and raw when she gripped the rope, the fibers against her palms adding additional pain to her already raw injuries.
Between her scaling and his pulling, she was able to make it to the edge and pulled herself over. They were both panting by the time she arrived, rolling onto her back to catch her breath.
Ress was by her side a moment later, her hand between his.
"I told you to wear your gloves," he admonished.
"They ruin my grip," she said hoarsely.
"You'll have no grip left if you fall like that again." He reached into the pouch at her hip and pulled out the leather gloves he knew she brought with her. "Now put these on or you're going to bleed all over our mark."
He helped her into a sitting position, causing Maize to groan as she moved. "You're going to give me a bath before you wrap me up— I'm just warning you of that now," she said as she took the gloves and started putting them on, taking care of the pain pulsating through her fingers.
"If we can finish this without you falling off a roof, I'll even wash your back." He stood and looked towards the horizon, making sure not to make eye contact as he asked, "It happened again?"
"Yes," she conceded.
"Same voice?"
"Same voice."
He frowned and returned his attention to her. "No herbs?"
"We need to finish this and I can get some."
"Maize—"
"I'll be fine," she snapped, but then softened her features. "Trust me. Please."
Ress ran a gloved hand through his dark hair, letting out a resigned sigh. "Fine... but you're using rope this time."
She smirked. "Fair enough."
He let out a breath through his nose and led her to the other edge of the roof. The instructions were simple— the third window in from the street, top floor. The diplomat would be away with his family, leaving the house to be manned by only a servant, the same one responsible for delivering the documents to his office. She only needed to climb in, grab the papers, and climb back out.
"You just need to make sure you keep the rope steady and waiting for me," she informed him as she adjusted her gloves. She hated working with gloves on...
"I should go with you."
"No, you need to hold the rope so I don't die, remember?"
He frowned. "Promise me no explosions this time?"
"I promise." She gave him a smile before leaning in to steal a kiss. Ress was both her biggest stressor and her greatest source of relaxation. Combined, it's also what made him her perfect lover.
"Ahh, you must be Maize."
She spun around from Ress fast, pushing him behind her while she pulled her hidden knife from her boot. She knew he could handle himself, but he was at a disadvantage with the rope in his hand and she wasn't going to allow his attempts at her safety to be his undoing.
"Who's there?" she hissed. "Show yourself."
The hidden man emerged from the dark shadows of the roof, his smile too gleeful for the situation at hand.
"My name is Lawson Forge, and I've been waiting for you."