Criminal Love

Wakey, Wakey! Chest Pains And Bakey!

"Lifty, wake up!"

"No."

"It's almost n-noon!"

"Eh. . .five more minutes."

It was late in the next day's morning, Flaky having woke up a few hours before and had been trying for the past half an hour to try and wake up her new houseguest. She had tried bribing him with money, throwing open the curtains to let the morning's sunlight pour in the room, and even trickled water on the thief's head. Lifty simply ignored her attempts, covering his head with the blanket and kept trying to doze off. Flaky huffed in annoyance but soon brightened with a smile as she had an idea.

"Lifty, You have five seconds to get up b-before I do something!"

The only reply that came from the lumpy blanket was a tired chuckle followed by an amused voice, "Ooh, something. I'm so scared."

Flaky walked over to the side of the couch, lifting herself up on the armrest of the sofa. She wobbled slightly and fear held her as she wondered what would happen if she toppled backward instead. She calmed herself and managed to stand still, staring down Lifty's sleeping form.

"O-Okay, I warned you!"

Flaky let herself go limp and fell forward, slamming her entire body weight onto the thief. He let loose of grunt of surprise and pain as he shot up almost instantly, sending the girl tumbling to the carpeted floor. Lifty stared at the redhead and glared at her, rubbing his now sore chest.

"Whaddya do that for? Trying to fuckin' kill me?"

Flaky beamed up at him, satisfied that he was finally up, "Nope! But you're a-awake now, aren't you?"

Lifty grumbled how he was going to have a bruise now, but threw the blanket off of himself and sat up. Not long after Flaky muttered, mostly to herself, that she was going to make a late breakfast for the two of them and left the thief alone in her living room. Now being in room with sunlight flooding it, Lifty could see more of the room's furnishings and details: the small television hung on the wall in front of him and a coffee table was situated between the T.V. and the small couch he called a bed. It felt homey. It felt comfortable.

It felt weird.

Being in someone else's home, a home which he and his brother robbed on several different occasions, felt alien to him. Lifty felt wrong for being here like he was trespassing. Despite being allowed in by the timid homeowner, he couldn't shake the feeling of not belonging. The green-haired male was roused from his thoughts by the smell of something cooking in the other room. He inhaled the delicious scent deeply and his stomach rumbled audibly, reminding how long it had been since he last ate something that wasn't prepackaged or frozen.

He got up for his human-shaped indent in the couch and let his nose guide him into the kitchen where Flaky was busy with cooking up some eggs in a skillet. He didn't enter the small kitchen, choosing instead to lean against the doorframe and watch her cook. It didn't take long for Flaky to notice him, turning and giving him a small nervous smile.

"H-Hey. Food's almost done. You can sit down at the table." Flaky nodded her head towards the small dining room connected to the kitchen.

Lifty simply gave a dismissive grunt in reply and went to go sit down, the table's chair creaking slightly under the man's weight. Flaky came into the room moments later with two plates of eggs, setting one of them down in front of him. She sat down next to him and the two started to eat, the only sounds being the scrapping of their forks against the plates and the soft sound of chewing. A few more minutes of slightly awkward silence went by before Lifty let out a long sigh, making Flaky eye him with a curious glance.

"Yes, Lifty?"

"Huh? Oh. Well, I just wanted to say. . .thanks, I guess. For, ya know, not leaving me out in the rain and crap."

Flaky seemed surprised someone like Lifty was thanking her, but still gave him a cheery smile, "N-No problem and just know that you can stay here until. . .until. . ."

Both stopped and froze in an awkward pause, knowing what the real question was.

Until what?

Until Shifty became bored of being alone and decided to take him back? Like that would happen. Or how about until Flaky grew tired of housing him, the added stress of the thief becoming too much, and just kicked him out? But she wouldn't do that.

Right?

Lifty could feel the morning's egg sitting in his stomach like a rock and he wiped some nervous sweat from his brow, "Yea. That's. . .nice of you," having already said his daily dose of "thank you"s minutes ago. The redhead saw he had a look that slightly resembled panic, obviously thinking the same things, but quickly hid it behind an annoyed scowl.

"You gotta stop staring at me. It's weird."

Flaky blushed and rubbed in back of head sheepishly. "S-Sorry. But I just had an idea."

"Another one?" Lifty grimaced slightly, remembering her last "idea" as he absentmindedly rubbed his chest with one hand.

"I p-promise this one won't cause you any pain," the girl smiled, adding, "I'm going to help you not rely on your brother for help," she stood up, her red eyes shining with determination, "I'm gonna m-make you ready for the outside world! And I know the perfect person for the job"