Disclaimer: I don't own anything. It all belongs to Tamora Pierce.

Returning the Favor

Thursday June 9, 246

It is late at night right now, but my mind is so confused that I need to make sense of what happened before I go to sleep.

My day started off easy enough; there was no breakfast picnic because everyone was catching up on neglected chores. For some reason I was given the day off, though I'm still not sure why. After Kora finished the laundry, we decided to spend a day in the market together, just the two of us for a 'girls day.' It was her idea, and since I had nothing better to do I agreed. Besides, we hadn't spent much time together recently because she had started working with a local herb wife and together they were running a small business.

Anyway, Kora was very persistent on going to the Watchdog for lunch, before noon. So after we rushed through only five different small shops, I was dragged to the small restaurant. When we were directly out in front of the place, she turned and walked over to a small fountain! I was so confused that I just decided to follow her. That's when I noticed there was a man sitting on the bench. Looking closer I realized it was Rosto!

"Thanks Kora, I owe you," he said standing up.

"No problem, but you owe me double," she teased, knowing all she ever needed to do was ask. "You two have fun. I'll see you later Beka." Then she left. Kora, my good friend, left me alone with Rosto. Was this some kind of joke? Not that I minded too much if it was….

"How are you Beka?" Rosto cut into my thoughts. It was then that I noticed Kora was completely gone.

"I'm fine. How are you?" I asked politely. All the while wondering why he wanted to talk to me. Yes, we were friends, but usually we only spent time with each other when other people were around.

"I'm slightly nervous," he replied. That shocked me. The calm, cool Rosto was nervous. I was always the shy one, and when I was nervous, I never openly admitted it (even it everyone can tell).

"Why?" I prodded. I knew I should have changed the subject, but I had to know.

Laughing lightly, Rosto bought two steaming rolls and then led the way to an empty table. After looking up at him expectantly for a couple of minutes, he gave in.

"Remember when you asked me for a favor, and you said it could be anything short of killing someone?" he asked, looking into my eyes.

"Yes," I answered uneasily. I remembered asking Rosto to go find Yates Noll, but what did he want me to do in return?

"Well, my next question for you is: would it kill you to give me a chance?"

His gaze held mine, but I had no idea what to say. He was a rogue, the Rogue, and I was a puppy. But, I did love the way he makes me feel. I blinked and then barely whispered my answer.

Looking down he started muttering, "I know that I'm a few years older than you and," well I thought it was kinda cute how flustered he was. He still kept going too, "you're a puppy and I would never-"

But I cut him off with something so unlike me I'm still amazed I actually did it. Reaching forward I grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer to me across the table. He looked at me, finally shutting up. Then…I kissed him. For a moment he was frozen, then I felt a smile start to form on his lips.

Sitting back down I finally spoke. "I said yes silly. I'll be happy to return the favor."

We spent the rest of the day together, just the two of us. I never knew how sweet Rosto was!

Pounce is back. I think he knows about me and Rosto, though I'm not exactly sure how. I haven't seen him all day. He must have been hanging around with some other cats, or maybe he decided to go find Goodwin.

Well, I'm off to bed. Tomorrow I think Rosto plans on telling our little breakfast club about us, and I'm pretty sure that they'll all have something to say about it. Besides, Goodwin will yell at me if I am tired after a day off.

Sweet dreams!

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So what do you think? This is my first try at a Beka/Rosto story. Please review! It only takes a second, and I love knowing what people think about a story.

-Shamrockgirl07