Prompt: A is an assassin, B is the person A is hired to assassinate.

"This is her?" The lazy drawl makes the older man frown and push up his glasses.

"Can you do it or not?"

"Why do you always take me looking at a picture and clarifying that it's the target as me implying that I can't or won't do it?" Was the assassin's response. "And you're asking me to take out a literal princess. This should be fun~" He glances over the rest of the file before looking up at his employer. "Mind my asking what this is meant to accomplish?"

"Will knowing improve or inhibit your ability to do the job?" The edge to his employer's voice made him frown and shrug.

"I was just asking~" he scoffed, turning around and approaching the door.

"Just get the job done, Fox."

SDSSDSSDSSDSSDS

Knocking out the castle guards was easy for Ban, as was scaling the wall and swinging himself onto the balcony of the room that the file said was hers. He had his gun ready and was pressed to the edge of the wall so he could slide into the room; the lights were on inside and he didn't want anybody on their patrol he might have missed walking by and seeing a shadow walking boldly into the princess' room. He was about to slip in when he heard the sound from the same side of the room where he was hiding, close to the balcony.

'Saving me some trouble~' he thought casually, slipping around the corner and throwing the curtains aside and raising his gun so that the barrel was pointing at the source of the soft weeping. Ban made the mistake of hesitating, because that moment of hesitation was all it took for the air to be knocked out of his chest.

She was a dainty thing, but lovely all the same. What caught his attention was when the princess looked up at him, leveling the barrel of his gun at her forehead in the process - and she didn't look scared.

She looked into his eyes for a few seconds before her eyes went to his gun; and then, to his astonishment, she closed her eyes and leaned her head against it.

"What are you doing?" He said quietly.

"Go ahead and do it," she whispered, sounding broken. "I'd rather be dead than betrothed to a tyrant."

"What are you talking about?" Her eyes fluttered open at his question and she looked up at him, her cheeks streaked with tears.

"The king of Barren is threatening war if he can't have me for a wife," she said quietly. "My brother is trying to negotiate something else, but I know that it's only a matter of time before he has to agree, for the safety of our people."

"What happens if you die?"

"What?" She looked surprised as he lowered his gun.

"I was hired to kill you, princess~" he drawled, pulling down his mask and smirking when she gasped softly at the sight of his face, "-so, what happens if you die?" She lowered her eyes and looked thoughtful.

"May I stand?" She asked him; he bowed and gestured for her, which made her huff in annoyance. She walked towards her desk where there were a few books, flipping through them before setting them down and resting her hands on the surface.

"Well?"

"There would be war," she answered quietly. "If I marry him, I'm miserable and people continue to suffer under him, but my people aren't included. If I don't marry him, he declares war - and if I die -" her voice started to shake, "-there would still be war. There's no way for this to end -"

"-There is, actually~" She gasped and turned around to face him.

"How?" She demanded, "How can this be stopped?"

"I know enough about Barren's politics~" he said, "the tyrant king has a son who ran away years ago and is hiding out in the neighboring kingdom. If he dies, his son can go back and reclaim the throne~"

"Are you suggesting what I think you are?"

"I'll kill the king of Barren, instead of you~" he said, moving his gaze from his gun to her, his lips curling into a smirk.

"What do you want in return? Money?" She asked, holding her head high.

"What's worse to you, princess?" He asked, approaching her slowly with a predatory glint in his eye. "A mad king with the blood of thousands of innocent people on his hands -" he leaned closer to her, making her cheeks flush, "-or a scoundrel with the blood of a few dozen… morally ambiguous people on his hands?"

"Why?" She whispered, gasping when he kneeled in front of her; he was so much taller than her he barely had to raise his head to meet her gaze.

"Give me a kiss~" he purred, his smirking growing a bit wider at her soft gasp.

"B-b-but - why?" She stammered, the flush rising in her cheeks.

"You have…" he murmured, his smirk falling as he looked at her with half-lidded eyes, "the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen~"

"You…" she seemed unable to form a coherent thought at his admission.

"A single kiss from you, your majesty~" he said before promising her, "and I will be at your disposal~" She stepped a bit closer to him, one of her hands moving from her chest to gently touch his face, staring into his eyes as her fingertips traced his jawline. He had never known longing until her other hand moved to his face while her other hand continued to move, her knuckles caressing his neck as her hand cupped his cheek.

"What's your name?" She whispered, so close to him that he could feel the puffs of air on his lips.

"Ban," he rasped, unable to muster his usual playful voice; he could feel one of her soft hands on the back of his neck, the other barely tracing his pulse on his neck. She finally eased his nerves, her soft lips moving forward to press against his. His hands immediately went to her waist, wanting to pull her closer. But to his surprise, she moved closer to him; she buried both of her hands in his hair, tilting her head to slant her lips against his own

"Princess -" he rumbled when they broke apart.

"Elaine," she corrected him breathlessly, "my name is Elaine."

"Elaine~" he repeated her name, unable to disguise a tone of reverence. To his further astonishment, she leaned down and kissed him again, wrapping her arms around his shoulders as she fell into his arms.

"If you're the scoundrel in question-" she panted when they parted again, "-I don't even want to know what that king is like."

"I won't let him have the chance~" She squeaked as Ban stood in a fluid motion, sweeping her into his arms.

"What are you-" she didn't have a chance to finish her question before he was laying her down on her bed and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"I'm going to come back for you, princess~" he promised her as he pulled away, "but first, I'm going to keep up my end of our promise~"

SDSSDSSDSSDSSDS

Eight days later, word reached Elaine that the mad king of Barren had been killed in his sleep, a single bullet piercing his temple being what did the job.

She found herself pacing in front of her window for the three nights after, until one night while her back was turn she heard the curtain fluttering and then a low chuckle from her chaise. She spun around and sighed at the sight of Ban, sprawled out languidly and looking at her.

"Did you miss me?" He asked, holding out his hand for her to take as she approached, sitting in his lap as he sat up.

"Yes, surprisingly," she said quietly. "I'm… glad that you're safe." She smiled shyly, her hands resting on his chest when he leaned in slowly to kiss her. "Where do we go from here?" She whispered against his lips when he pulled away.

"Run away with me~" he answered, smirking when she giggled and dropped her head on his shoulder.

"Yes."

"Wait, really?" He leaned away to see her smiling at him.

"This life here is suffocating," she responded, "I'm constantly lonely here, even more so since my brother married Lady Diane - not to fault either of them, it's just that…" she looked contemplative before meeting his eyes. "I want an adventure," she determined. It took a moment before Ban's lips stretched into a grin.

"I can give you an adventure~"

A/N: Yes, I totally wrote three of these things in one day I AM TRASH FOR THIS SHIP.