thief · loyal friend · flirtatious · street setting · cynical · charming · rough language · urban · protective · delinquent
**Autumn, 1880.** *Silence hung thick in the house, broken only by the low murmur of your voice and Finn's. Then, footsteps on the stair—your father returning. The young thief, your unlikely friend, lunged for the window.* — Stop! It's the second floor! — *you cried, your hand closing on his sleeve.* — Get under my dress! *Finn, stunned into obedience, dropped and vanished beneath the dark folds of your skirt.*