For someone who has never been to a game, Robert thought, Marian sure knew how to fit in with the crowd! She was a natural, and beautiful as she cheered, moaned after a bad call, leapt out of her seat in joy, and laughing together as they both took turns shouting insults to the opposing batter up on the plate. He wondered if the Governor would look into his wallet and find the note early, and end the game early because of "security." He wondered if this would be enough for Little John to get off his back. He wondered if Marian was having a great time with someone she once couldn't stand. The only way this game would be perfect is if--

The crowd started to go crazy as a ball came flying into the stands, directly towards them. Marian commented on how they wouldn't be able to catch it, but Robert's green eyes stared intensely at the ball, he got out his glove, got out of his seat, and without looking away, leapt into the aisle, and started to run up the stairs, trying to predict where the ball was going. He accidentally knocked over a popcorn vendor, and slid through a couple walking back to their seats. He got to the top of the stairs, and saw the ball was going to the next level of seats above... No! It was falling just below that! The ball was going to hit the concrete wall that served as the barrier for the upper stands.

Robert wasn't really thinking. He spent a lot of years learning small skills to navigate the busy New York Streets. He ran towards the nearest column, jumping up, bent his leg on the concrete, then kicked off, his arm fully extended as he reached for the ball!

He landed with a small roll, but made contact with another column as he hit the ground. Dazed, he looked around to hear cheering from everywhere. He looked down to see the ball in his glove. He gave a large grin, his eyes blurry from hitting his head, but glad that he was able to catch it. It was a great gift for Marian.

Hopefully the little stunt he pulled didn't look too impressive. It wasn't a huge jump, just a simple trick.

“Robert? Robert!?” She called out as he suddenly left his seat in a sprint. Unlike him, she had a difficult time getting out of the crowd to chase after at him. Her eyes never left him as he ran. He seemed so focus, so intense and driven to catch that ball. Can Robert Locksley actually focus on something so intensely? That’s bazaar. Pushing her way through the people on the stairs she tried to be as polite as possible, ‘Excuse me’, ‘Coming through’ and ‘Pardon me’ were the phrases that left her.

By the time she reached the level he was on, she stopped in mid step to see him do his leap and catch the ball. Her jaw dropped open as he rolled onto the ground but when he hit the pillar she flinched. Dashing to him, she dropped to her knees and slowly helped him sit upright. “Robert, Robert are you okay? That was amazing! How did you do that?! Robert… can you hear me?”

“And that folks!” The announcer said as the camera landed on the two of them, “Is how you impress a lady!” To that the crowd exploded in cheers.

The ringing in his ears kept going, but he could hear the applause coming from the stadium. He put one of his hands to his head, scratching it a bit as his vision focused on the blonde haired beauty looking at him in concern. He didn't respond to her questions (Mostly because he didn't hear them). He simply lifted his hand with the baseball in it, and smiled. "what? no, I'm fine... I got this for you." He said with a bit of a slur. Robert was feeling close to normal again as he was helped onto his feet. He had an arm around Marian for support, and he couldn't be happier. The look on her face was priceless as she held the ball.

"Don't get any ideas, by the way." He said in her ear as they walked down the stairs back to their seats. "I got the ball for you, but I only expect a goodnight kiss for all of it." His voice was sarcastic, he managed to catch a glimpse of her before looking away with a big stupid grin on his face. There wasn't much more of the game left, New York was leading, and the Governor still didn't seem to notice his missing items.

The look on her face was, in fact, priceless as he dropped the ball in her hand. Was he kidding? He had to be kidding! Her blue eyes were wide and she stared at the ball, than at him in shock. The crowd around them erupted with joy as he placed the ball in her hand and her face turned bright red; what a day this was!

The game ended, of course, the Yankees won and had each and occupied the whole game, one was holding the ball and the other was holding Robert’s hand. She couldn’t believe it and the stupid grin on her face said just that! When they arrived at her home at the end of the night there was no doubt that they had had a good time. Marian had bid him good night and unlocked her door before she stopped. She didn’t want to leave like this, she had too good of time. Better than any time she thought she would have had with Robert. He really had changed and he deserved to know that she noticed it.

“Hey.” She called out before he walked away. Marian had turned around and walked to him. Her small soft hands traveled up his chest as her arms wrapped around his neck. She gave him a bright smile, an honest smile and rose up on her tiptoes giving him a gentle, kind and longer-than-she-had-intended, kiss on the lips. When she pulled back, she whispered in his ear, “Thank you for today, I really like this new you.” Then it was good night.

The next morning at the office, Marian was leaning back in her chair tossing the ball from the game up into the air and catching it in her hand. Humming a gentle tune before her phone buzzed and she took a call,

“A party? For the Governor? Why do I need to be there dad? Okay, okay fine? Wait… a date?” Marian’s eyes knitted together. “Do I need a date? Fine, fine! I’ll find a date…” A groan left her as she realized she had to find a date. Hanging up her phone, she looked down at it. Maybe she could invite Robin, but he would have to be there without a mask; which means she would know who he was and she most likely wouldn’t have that much trust with him, yet.

Overall her goal was to try to break up the dynamic duo that was Guy and Robert trying to figure out who Robin actually was. But this time, she just didn’t want to be alone at some governor-high-and-mighty party. Rising to her feet she placed the ball on her desk and left her office. At the door to the office that Guy and Robert were sharing she knocked on it before she got the howler to enter. Opening the door she gave the men an innocent smile. “Hello guys, can… can I talk to Robert for a moment?”

"So what's his angel, Locksley? What goes through his head when he picks a target, why does he pick his target, and how is he so good at getting away with this?"

Robert was leaned back in his chair, his feet up on the desk, and his hands on the back of his head as he stared at the board Guy brought in. He wasn't really listening to what Guy was getting at with Robin Hood. He was thinking more of Marian's soft lips on his the night before, after a great win for the Yankees! The day was ruined when Guy came in pissed that Robin Hood managed to pickpocket the Governor at the game.

"That's the million dollar question. If we knew that, Guy, he would be in a court. I think we're asking the wrong questions here." Robert stood up and stared at the leads that Guy had had. He was good, and obviously up late at night. Robert was still hurting from that gunshot wound taken days ago, but he played it off really well. "Its obviously money. He wants to make some sort of difference, right?"

"I guess... But he would have made some sort of declaration on them, he has been around for a while now, and has yet to make any claim on what he wants to do. And yet people trust him more than our own damn governor."

Robert was learning a lot from Guy, and it wasn't for the better. He was right. Robin Hood and his fight hasn't been clearly stated. Why go after the people he does? Why give to charity, and how do they know that he isn't just doing it for his own personal gain? Well, Robert never had to opportunity to stand up at a podium and explain to the city of New York why Robin Hood and his Merry Men are stealing from people.

A knock was heard that stopped them from talking, and both Robert and Guy yelled "Come in!" which made them stare at each other. This was Robert's office, but Guy obviously thought he was in charge around here.

Marian's face popped into view, giving both of them a smile that made Robert smile back. When she asked to speak to him, Guy looked at Marian, then at Robert. Robert gave a little smirk to Guy then at Marian, and nodded. "yeah, of course."

He left the room, and the two walked somewhere in private. "Hey, so what's up?" he asked her, curious on what'd she say after yesterday.

At this point in time, Marian wasn’t exactly sure which one was more uncomfortable for Guy, the fact that she was asking for Robert, or the fact that the relationship between the two had moved from calling him by his last name to his first. Even for those in their building, the fact that was using Robert’s first name instead of calling him Locksley would have been a shocker. But… after what she had seen the day before, she had a new found respect for this new Robert Locksley.

She led him back to her office and shut the door behind them. After all this time, she could still feel the prying eyes of their coworkers. Of course nothing about this made Marian look good; one day she would be chatting up Guy, and another she would be luring Robert into her office. Maybe she was being a bit too obvious. But for those who watched close enough, they might just notice that Marian had stopped putting noticeable distance between her and Robert, while Guy was traditionally kept at an arm’s length distance. Interesting, very interesting.

“So, I get a phone call from my dad this morning, ‘Marian, you need to attend the press party for the Governor this Friday.’” Her voice was nearly spot on mimicking her father in all of his seriousness. “And apparently I’m not allowed to attend alone. So… I was… hoping…”Great! Now she couldn’t even look him in the eye as she asked. Why was this suddenly a problem?! Why was she suddenly shy around him?! This was ridiculous. “You might, want to… go with me?” She forced her blue gaze to look up at him for the first time since her million dollar question was asked.

Robert smiled at Marian's imitation of her father, everyone who knew the guy has heard his serious speeches on just about any topic, and he bet that Marian has had heard a lifetime of them growing up with the man. Her voice then turned to nervousness, her eyes not meeting Robert's until her invitation was delivered. She wanted to go to a public party... with him? Robert fell over his words for a second, not really knowing how to react to something he had thought of since he had first laid eyes on her. A mix of "I's" and "Heh's" and "uh's" escaped his mouth before he laughed. "I would love to...!" Is what he finally said, his smile wide and bright. "Never thought I'd attend the Governor's personal campaign party... Are they fun? Does he have a theme to go with them? Probably not, if he had a choice everyone would be fed milk and crackers with his stale attitude... sorry! I'm rambling. Guy and I started work today rather early, and with that Yankee's win and. Other, uh, things... my mind's going a mile a minute." Robert began to explain rather quickly. So much was going right in this part of his life, and so much was going wrong.

Marian was actually asking to spend time with him, the Merry Men have been exploding with popularity, but at the same time a federal investigation was being put on him, he was helping with it, and John has been getting more and more impatient with Robert's overconfidence int he matter. He had to move forward with The Merry Men's goal, but then there was the things he wanted more than anything, like... Marian.

"I'm sorry. To be honest, I really wasn't expecting you to invite me to any important parties like this... You feeling alright? You still on that mental high from the Yankee's win?" Robert said in a somewhat teasing matter. He was also on that high. He could still feel the electricity in his body from when she whispered in his ear. He could have heard that voice for hours.

Marian pressed her full lips together as she looked up at him with her big blue eyes through her black lashes. Why was she nervous? She should be better at this than she was but she actually enjoyed her time with him at the game and that that has effected how she walked to him.

She could understand his question about why she would want to choose him and she innocently rubbed the back of her neck with her hand, her gaze turned away from him as her cheeks turned pink. “I… uh,” She said softly, “Really enjoyed my time at the game and… there’s going to be a lot of snobby, stuffy people there so having someone I can… get along with, would allow me to enjoy the time.” Giving him a small nod, she turned her attention back to him giving him a gentle smile, “It’s going to be a dinner party with music afterwards so… dress clothes and an appetite is required.”

A small sigh left her at his agreement to go. “I appreciate you going with me, I’ll pick you up that way I can use the excuse that I’m driving to keep away from the alcohol that might be pushed my way.” A nod rose and fell her head as she stood up from her desk and gave him another smile. “I’ll see you Friday.”

-------------

The blonde finished her makeup at 5:15pm and walked out of her house locking the door behind her. Her blonde hair sat straightened down on her shoulders and her body was wrapped in a light blue strapless dress to the floor. Pulling out her phone she shot Robert a text, “On my way. I’ll be in light blue tonight.” With that she hit send and climbed into her car placing her clutch purse in her glove box and starting towards his house.

Once she arrived at the apartments she parked her car and climbed the stairs. Taking in a deep breathe in front of his door she gave it a knock. “Robert? Are you ready to go?”

"You're doing it again."

"Doing what?"

"Thinking about her. Focus. Go over the plan with me again."

"Seriously John? I got this."

"Once you get to the party, what are you going to do?"

"You mean before or after I plant the device outside of the main entrance? I Follow Marian. Greet her 'friends' that she's supposed to like, shake hands, eat finger food, wait until Lyon shows his Then it's show time. You and the Merry Men come in in some nice little server outfits, when Lyon gives his speech, we go to work." Robin glanced over at John. "Satisfied?"

John rolled his eyes and crossed his arms as he watched Robing finish tying his dark blue tie, and straightened out the wrinkles in his gray suit. It was simple, nothing too flashy. He was merely there to compliment the beauty of Marian. While she got the praise, he would easily be able to sneak out. Robin pointed to a small bag in the corner. "That's my goody bag. Make sure to hide it somewhere nice when you get in."

"I'll make sure to find the dirtiest garbage can to put it in." The two of them heard a knock on the door, and the voice of the blonde behind it. Cassie's head popped out from the top of the staircase. "No! You're still grounded!" Robin said to her, rushing to the door. He was too late. Cassie opened the door to see Marian in her dress, and went wide eyed. "Holy cow!" She exclaimed. Robert quickly pushed her to the side, giving a smile and looking her up and down. "Damn." he muttered, before shaking his head a bit. "I mean, hi. Sorry. You look amazing." A laugh escaped his lips, and he looked at his watch. "Ready?"

Robert turned to look back at Cassie. "Be good, be safe. And don't. Leave. This. House." His voice had a hint of a threatening tone that made Cassie cross her arms and nod with a sarcastic smile. "Yes sir."

Robert would have rolled his eyes but that would have given her a sort of satisfaction. God, she was so much like him.

Robert exited the house, and as soon as he closed the door Little John was contacting the Merry Men updating them on their biggest threat yet.

"So I think we should have a code word... You know, if we want to get away from people we don't want to talk to. I was thinking 'burgundy.' Easy to add into a sentence about curtains or dresses or something."

The door flung open for her to see, well Cassie, standing on the other side. “I thought you were grounded.” She said placing her hands on her hips and glaring down at the young girl. While her glare didn’t last very long before he blue gaze moved to Robert who popped up from behind the girl. A smile moved across her face at his response and a small giggle left her glossy lips. “Didn’t know that was a standard greeting now.” Giving a small spin her dress she nodded. “Thank you. You look good in the gray; nice tie choice.” She gave the tie a small adjustment before she followed his gaze towards his cousin and her arms fell from him to her sides.

A smirk moved across her face as Cassie smarted off to him and he practically shut the door on her face. A laugh left her as they started down the stairs towards her car. “Burgundy works, or ‘Damn’ as it seemed to be a word on your lips tonight.” She poked fun at him as they arrived to her car and climbed inside. “Thanks again for coming with me Robert, a bunch of rich snoody annoying people, Edward included, will be there and any excuse to be around someone remotely normal is my saving grace.”

The conversation was light and fun until they arrived at the banquet. The valet was quick to take her car and she was quick to take Robert’s arm. “Is it took soon to say burgundy?” She joked as they started inside. Leaving her purse with the check person the two entered the large ball room. It was filled with people chatting and laughing while holding drinks.

“Aw Marian, you look lovely.” A voice from behind them said and saw the two turned, her father stood there in his dress blues, a pleasant smile on his face.

“Thanks dad.” Marian responded sweetly giving him a big hug before stepping back. “Dad you remember Robert Locksley.” She politely introduced her father to her date and they had a small bit of chatting before her father reminded her that they needed to join the party for dinner but he was kind enough to make no mention that he would have rather had his daughter be with Edward over Robert, maybe he noticed she actually looked… happy?

“Fuck I need a drink.” She muttered under her breath as she rubbed her head. “Did you happen to spot the bar?”

He looked good in gray? Oh, he'd have to remember that, even if his brain stopped for a second as Marian closed the gap shortly to help with his crooked tie. "I... thank you." He laughed slightly at her response, and before long they were walking to the car. At her comment of safe words, he gave a low chuckle and shook his head. "You think you're so funny, don't you?" He climbed into the passenger seat after he tried to offer to open the door for her. When she thanked him he couldn't help but smile slightly, and nodding. "Of course." He couldn't admit it, but he'd walk through hell to get any chance to accompany her. "And it's going to be an interesting night if you take me as a 'normal' person. I'll make sure we have fun at this snooty place. I doubt that our Governor has the creativity to make this place fun on its own."

It was interesting to see who showed up as they pulled up to the building. The valet was there to greet us immediately, and as they entered the building, he stopped, and sighed. "I forgot to tip the valet, wait in the lobby I'll be right back." He said apologetically. After giving the valet a generous tip, he made his way back to the entrance, and slyly bending down to tie his shoe, and in the process putting a small device on the door frame of the building. Once the doors lock, this would give the Merry men an opportunity to enter without a passcode.

Robert found Marian, and held out his arm for her to take. They entered the main doors to the ballroom, and it seemed the two had the same reaction. Robert laughed, shrugging a bit. "Maybe after a martini or two." He joked, maybe too loudly as Marian's father appeared. He shook his hand when he was introduced, and did his best to not attract the attention of the man in charge of the NYPD. He had a feeling he would be under his watchful eye any time he was near Marian. Not exactly what he wanted. As he left Robert gave a fake sigh of relief, looking at the blonde. She was stressed, he couldn't imagine the amount of stress that she had on her shoulders. "Oh I spotted it the second we got in. I'll go grab something, what's your poison?" He grinned.

Once he had the order, he gently took her hand and squeezed it, maybe as an assurance that she was okay, maybe because he simply wanted to touch her. Either way he slipped into the crowd, nodding, smiling, and saying quick hello's as he went to the large wooden bar. He ordered the drinks, and took a quick glance around the area. It was heavily guarded, but Robert knew that. No one was heavily armed, and it would be rather easy for the disguised Merry Men to keep the guards at bay.

"Robert." Edward made his appearance sooner than Robert thought. Robert turned to greet the man with a smile, but he could tell in Edward's eyes that he wasn't too happy. "Here to cheer Governor Lyon on?"

"More or less. Right now I'll settle for the cheers of this alcohol. It's good to get out of the office and focus on something good."

"Yeah, especially with good company. Did she... ask you?" Robert turned to pick up his drinks, and shrugged slightly. "It was kinda a last minute thing. Don't worry, Eddy. You can't win 'em all." He gave him a wink and grin before he headed off back to Marian. It felt good to beat Edward in more ways than one. Soon he'll face Robin Hood face to face and won't be able to do a thing about it. Robert found Marian chatting once again, and he quietly introduced himself back into her company, handing her the drink, and raising his own to do a small cheers. "The line was torture... Honestly, I'd say to hell with all this politics. Give me a run down pizza parlor, and a couch with a good movie any day." Of course he had to focus, but then again having Marian by his side, dozing off to a cheesy movie sounded like heaven.

Maybe one day.

Standing and talking with a bunch of bureaucrats was something that Marian never enjoyed doing. But sadly as the only child of the chief of police, it only made sense for her to be present at big social events and gatherings. This being no exception. If her father wasn’t invited to the event you wouldn’t find her within a mile of things like this.

Maybe that was something that she didn’t like about the possibility of being in a relationship with Edward. At that point Marian would be nothing more than a piece of arm candy for big events. At least without a social status requiring partner she could be her own person at the event. In her stance of not being with Edward it allowed her to speak her mind (for the most part) on politics. And while she kept some topics at arm’s length she knew she could express where she stood without it being a conversation afterwards of ‘you shouldn’t have said this’ or ‘why would you say that’ conversation on the drive home.

“Marian, what do you think of the Governor?” A party patron asked her as she was standing in the group chatting.

The rant she had dumped on Robert came rolling back to her. The Governor’s response to her mother’s death, the lack of care of a small family grieving, the refusal to let him attend the funeral all pushed its way to the forefront of her mind and she took a breath. “He’s an impressive man. Did you know that he and my father attended the same college and reconnected because of their respective positions? Interesting fact, when they were in school together they were in the same dorm building and he was known for sneaking a girl into his room at night. And that same girl came back over and over again and now… they’re married!” The group is erupted in laughter and cheers. The men finding it hilarious that the governor could have been seen as player while the women felt like it as a true ‘love story’ that they were destined to be together forever.

The shmucks.

It’s amazing how many people love that story, the one story she knows about the governor that she could share without holding her own personal grudge against him. The conversation then took off in a different direction. As the group talked Marian just nodded looking around. This was a pretty large formal event and it really brought a lot of faces out but she couldn’t help but wonder if any of the Merry Men were here. But maybe it’s best at that she doesn’t know. She can play innocent and foolish. But Robin did say he had connections in the law firm so does he have connections elsewhere? And would those connections be able to get him in here?

His level of concern for her is involvement was admirable and if they ran into each other, she would have just to chalk it up to coincidence. Her reason for being there was purely based off of the invite she was given and she, admittedly, knew it would be the best idea not to be involved with any plans or hi-jinx. She was too close to too many people who could turn her knowledge into very problematic situation.

Problem people included her father for obvious reasons; the chief of police. Another problem person would be the Taylors, both Edward and his father who would love the press to convict Robin Hood of his crimes. The newest factor being Guy, the FBI agent sent to track Robin Hood down, Guy was too much of a factor in this and while getting close made sense, keeping him at arms length was an important thing for her to do as well. So many problems and things to look out for… not to mention…

“Ah thank you Robert.” The final factor. Was she getting too close to Robert? Robin doesn’t think he’s as much of a treat as Guy. Maybe she should distance herself from Robert. Pull back from this… ‘not date’ scenarios she was dragging him into. She might need to ask Robin for a suggestion. If he really thinks Robert isn’t a threat, not spending time with him isn’t a bad option. No matter how much he’s changed and how well they were finally getting along; they could be friends right? "As long as it's a everything pizza and a stupid B movie than that would be a good night."

“B-list movie for sure, but you gotta make sure that there’s no olives on that everything pizza.” Robert commented back quietly, giving her glass a little cheers before taking a sip. While Robert should have been looking about for the governor, he kept his eyes on the blonde in front of him. In another life this would have been heaven. Having his job, sucking up to the elites, talking to Marian and enjoying her company… In a way it disgusted him to think that all he cared about was the money and power of this all. It’s why Marian hated him. It’s why she was still so cautious to be around him. He understood, and accepted that she may never truly change her mind about him. Still, his lips tingled from the kiss they shared at the baseball game, and he was almost positive she nearly wanted to go in for a second one… His past was his own to amend, but he’d be damned if he didn’t try and express his feelings for Marian and show her the man he had become.

I bet you she’d be all over you if you just told her the truth about being Robin Hood. He shook that thought away. She was already connected with the Merry Men in a way, and while Robert solely said yes to being her date because he liked her, there was a pang of guilt in his chest that he was here for another reason. If she knew that, he wasn’t sure she’d see a difference between the old and new Robert Locksley.

Then again, his mind rushed to what she told him about the governor and his blood boiled slightly. He had to remember that getting rid of this man, and giving back to the people was the ultimate goal. No one will be hurt and alone like he was years ago. “Eddy was looking for you, by the way. Seemed appalled that you actually asked me to this, but hey.” he shrugged. “Can’t say I don’t like being your ‘eye candy’ for the evening.” He teased, knowing very well that he wasn’t the attention getter out of the two. Even if she didn’t like it, she was the police chief’s daughter. She was smart and well spoken and honestly had the best personality in this place. “You ever thought of going into any of this?” He waved his free hand lazily across the room. “Politics? Not saying you should! Or trying to offend you, just… you’re smart, witty, charismatic and most importantly you have the biggest heart I’ve ever known. You could maybe make a difference around here.” Robert looked over at the blonde with a raised eyebrow, already knowing her answer, but the thought of her stepping up and challenging Lyon and defying her dad would be incredibly interesting.

Suddenly the crowd erupted into small murmurs as a door opened to reveal Governor Lyon. A very strong and powerful man, he gave off an aura or authority that he knew he had… and Robert hated him for it. “Likes the theatrics of this, doesn’t he? Think he was late because he was staring at his reflection for too long?” He quipped quietly to Marian. while talking his hand slyly went into his pocket to press a button.

—————-

The device on the door to the building that Robert planted clicked to life. John noticed the alert on his phone. “showtime, people!” he called, and soon the small group went to work sneaking in to the building.

———-

“Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats, food will be presented shortly!” The crowd of people started to move to their designated seats. Robert and Marian were sat at a table with her father and a few other high ranking officials at the police department and it made Robert’s heart start to beat faster, but not out of nervousness. Once food and drinks were served Lyon would give his speech, and that is when Robert would have to find a way to leave. Soon a line of servers came ushering out into the room holding trays of food and drinks. A curly haired man with glasses slipped towards Robert and Marian’s table. “Ladies and Gentlemen. The house wine today is a Pinot noir aged for 5 years in the burgundy region.” He displayed the bottle before starting to pour the glasses.

“Thank you, sir.” Robert said with a smile, offering his hand with a sum of bills in it. As the server took his hand and bills he nodded. “Thank you so much, sir.” He leaned in with a smile, and then very quietly spoke: “15th floor.” And in a flash stood up to leave to the next table.

There it was. Robert leaned close to Marian. “Excuse me for a moment. Have to use the restroom. Don’t want to get up in the middle of his highness’ speech.” He mocked the man again, and with a wink and smile he stood to leave. As he did so, he looked over at a server standing in the corner. He was larger and taller than the rest, and as the two nodded at each other, it was clear that the Merry Men were going to subtly lock the doors, keeping those inside while other members of the gang were indisposing the guards and security.

Governor Lyon thought he was going to be giving the biggest speech of his career, when in reality it would be Robin Hood doing just that.

Upon the mention of Eddy looking for her, Marian’s whole body seemed to tense. That man, a good man… for the most part, but not the best men. Then again who was? No one really stood up for what’s right anymore. In fact there were only two people she could picture within the integrity to be considered a ‘great man’. The first one would be her father. Her father was an amazing man who wanted to do what he could for the city in order to protect and serve. That was an admirable trait that she appreciated from the bottom of her heart about him.

The other person was actually Robin Hood. She understood why he was doing what he was doing although his methods were questionable and dangerous but they made sense. Sometimes you need to do some bad in order to create some good. Again, she’s not fully sold on the idea of all of the plans of action. She does truly believe the goal of Robin Hood and the Merry Men is to do good for the city.

Nearly choking on her drink she swallowed it back before turning her blue gaze up to him. “You’re joking right…” After staring at him she blinks a few times. “Oh you’re not joking. Well… I had thought about it to be honest. But I couldn’t convince myself to become a lawyer. No discredit to you by any means Robert but I feel like it’s not my calling; same with joining the police force. My father would just put me behind a desk and I’d sit there doing nothing. At least working for the courts I can do something I feel is right. I don’t know about getting into politics…” Her voice trailed off as she turned her attention to the misled crowd of people. Maybe… maybe Robert had a point.

The call to the doors left her shaking her head at the dramatic flare he brought with him and she giggled an honest giggle at his statement of staring at his reflection for too long. “Oh I don’t doubt that’s why he’s late. Or everyone else was early in his opinion.”

------

Marian and Robert took their seats at the table and began to make small talk as the waiter came by and took the glass of wine being offered. “Thank you sir much appreciated.” She said with a grin before taking a long drink.

It was a bit after Robert vanished that Marian placed her fork and knife down and excused herself as well, leaving her father with a concerned look on his face. “Marian…” He said with a small tone as he softly took her hand and pulled her down a bit. “Please don’t go chasing a boy for the evening…”

“Dad… it’s that time of the month. I need to go.” She said softly as to not embarrass him. He gave her a quick nod before letting her go, He was always a kind person, thinking about others before himself and his hyper focusing on protecting his daughter. Even when it’s something as simple as needing to use the lady’s room.

The trip was brief and she soon found herself stepping out on the bathroom letting out a small sigh of relief. Though her gaze moved to the men’s restroom hoping that Robert was feeling alright, he had been gone for a bit. Or; he’s socializing which would be nice to see. He should be able to reconnect with people again after being gone so long. He’s not a bad guy after all.