warning: this is really long and really sloppy so yeah enjoy

Bree shot another arrow at the target, just narrowly missing the bullseye. She groaned and wiped her sweaty hands on her legs for what seemed like the thousandth time. She had been doing this all day, and she couldn't seem to get back into the swing of things like she usually could.

After a close encounter with some very angry soldiers, Bree had barely made it out without getting caught. She had run faster than she ever had before and nearly lost an eye. Typically, things like this didn't faze her often, as she had been in more dangerous situations before. As a teenage criminal in the medieval ages who was constantly alone and on the run, she ran into all kinds of trouble left right and centre more times than you could count.

"Steal from the rich and give to the poor." That was Bree's motto. Nottingham had been subjected to the cruel reign of King Lloyd and his past successors for so long that the concept of poverty was no longer a concept; it was a reality. Only the highest classes had enough money to get by, simply because they were all either King Lloyd's friends or had come from a rich family. The king penned the common folk with taxes even though he very well knew that they had no money left to pay them. He had been running them dry as long as Bree could remember, and even longer before that. To see so many people helpless and starving lit a flame inside of her that burned brighter and brighter every day, one that she hoped would eventually take the king down.

But for now, she settled with breaking in to his castle and stealing some of his stuff.

The Sheriff was hot on Bree's trail for a while before she darted into the woods and out of sight, knowing that she could never find her.

And yes, the Sheriff was a she. Some might've criticized Lloyd's decision to make a woman his second in command, but frankly Bree thought that was the only remotely respectful thing he'd ever done. The Sheriff's real name was Morina and she was just as vile as the person she worked for. The two had been playing cat and mouse ever since Bree had committed her first crime. Morina may have been vicious and determined, but she was also incredibly vain and obsessed with youth. (Also, she sounded like a goat and Bree had always distracted her by telling her so.) There were even rumours circulating around that she had found some kind of potion to reverse the effects of old age.

Nevertheless, Bree had always outwitted her and continued to outwit her no matter the circumstances.

Another arrow released itself from Bree's bow and hit the very bottom of the target with such force, it snapped in half.

Bree swore louder than she should have and covered her mouth, praying nobody heard her.

After nothing was heard, she walked over to the broken arrow and picked it up. She tossed it into the bushes behind her, making a mental note to carry it to the bonfire later that night so she could erase any tracks.

Following her close encounter with the Sheriff, Bree swung by a high-end weapons shop and snatched a couple targets as well as a dozen new arrows. After a long day of stealing money and distributing said money, archery was the only thing that could put her at ease.

Bree loaded another arrow and fired, this time just narrowly missing the blue zone and getting it into the red. It was still far from the centre.

"Someone's a little distracted, huh?"

Bree whipped around to the source of the anonymous voice with her bow ready, only to find that it was just her mentor.

"Be careful, Goldie!" She scolded the curly-haired woman. "You know how I am when it comes to sneak attacks."

Goldie smiled and rolled her eyes. "After years of raising you, believe me, I know," She said. Goldie had taken Bree in when she was a little girl, orphaned and alone in Sherwood Forest. She had found her crying by a tree trunk and once Goldie had sat down and talked to her, it was clear that Bree was a passionate individual with the capability of bringing an end to King Lloyd's reign. So from then on, Goldie (along with her husband, Jack) picked up a sword, gave it to Bree, and taught her everything she knew. Without her valuable advice and endless compassion, Bree would be as good as dead. "So what's got you so troubled?" Goldie asked.

Another arrow landed on the board, and this time it hit closer to the yellow area then before. Bree laughed. "I'm a little perplexed by today's chase, that's all," She said in the hopes that she sounded convincing.

The woman raised her eyebrows in suspicion. Bree was usually never fazed by what the girl liked to call: "Close encounters of the goat-woman kind."

Bree loaded another arrow and pulled back, focusing incessantly hard on this next shot.

"Are you sure it's not because a certain someone happened to be at the scene today?"

The arrow sailed through the air and missed the target completely.

"What?" Bree exclaimed. "No," She said. She knew exactly who Goldie meant and she didn't want to say his name out loud.

Goldie sighed, knowing that Bree was lying but also knowing that pointing it out wouldn't get her anywhere. "Okay then," She chuckled. "Me and the rest of the crew are starting the bonfire in around two hours, so make sure to track the time."

Bree smiled at her and nodded. "Sure thing."

Goldie walked off, the crunching of her boots practically nonexistent on the leafy forest floor.

Bree exhaled and fired again. Although she wanted to deny it, her guardian's statement may have had some truth to it. Other than the incident with Morina, there was somebody there who had witnessed the whole thing that made Bree nervous. She decided not to think about him too much, for it did little use anyways. Sure, he had been visiting her in secret for two years now, and they had acquired a very pleasant friendship.

But Bree knew very well that friendship was not what either of them wanted.

Bree kept shooting and shooting, praying that it would distract her from the situation at hand. Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes turned to an hour, and time seemed suspended until a new set of footsteps met Bree's ears.

They weren't Goldie's or any other members of her crew, because every single one of them had learned to walk silently by now. These footsteps were trying to be quiet, but failing miserably.

Bree had no idea who they were, so she loaded her arrow and aimed it at the bushes surrounding her. A rustling sound came from her right, so she stealthily tiptoed over to the noise and pulled back the bow, ready to shoot whichever soldier that came out of the greenery.

A couple seconds of waiting and there were more rustles between the shrubs. They were coming out.

Bree readied herself as the bush in front of her started to wobble. She nearly let go of the arrow when-

"AHH!" Someone had just tumbled out of the bush and came face to face with the silver tip. "OHMYGODOHMYGODI'MSORRYPLEASEDON'TKILLME!!!"

The person rolled into a fetal position on the ground and clutched their head.

Bree snorted and tossed the arrow aside. "I thought I told you to tell me it was you before you appeared out of nowhere!" She scolded between little laughs.

The person peeked their head out of their position and slowly opened their eyes. "Bree?" He peeped. "Am I dreaming or is that you?"

The girl laughed and held out her hand for the boy to take. "Yeah, it's me. Don't cream your pants," She quipped amusedly.

After taking her hand, Bree propped her friend up to his feet. His strawberry-blonde hair was full of grass and twigs, and his freckled skin was covered in scrapes and bruises. "Hey, next time could you please not stick an arrow in my face?" He asked, panting. He still hadn't recovered from his trek through the forest and the heart attack he had just been through.

"Next time could you please not sneak up on me in a forest when I have no idea who you are?" She mocked with a giggle and elbowed him in the side.

The boy smiled and rubbed his side, a blush of embarrassment staining his cheeks. He followed Bree over to the centre of the small clearing she had been shooting in, a ways away from the targets. "So, Conner of Nottingham, what brings you here today?" She asked nonchalantly.

"Well, Bree of Loxley, I was going on a leisurely morning stroll outside of the castle grounds, when I saw the most perplexing sight!" He said dramatically, putting his hand over his heart. "I saw a fleet of soldiers chasing a damsel through the gardens and out into the town! The Sheriff was hot on her trail, but last I saw of her the young woman disappeared into the forest without a trace. She seemed extremely agitated so I decided to face the terrors of Sherwood Forest and go look for her myself, disobeying my uncle's orders of course."

Bree chuckled and shook her head. "Did you find her?" She joked, playing along much to Conner's delight.

Conner sat down next to Bree and continued. "No, actually," He lied. "Have you seen her? She has blonde hair that's usually tied in a braid or a ponytail, bright brown eyes, pretty," Conner muttered the last bit and avoided eye contact, his blush getting even more prominent.

Bree felt her cheeks redden as well. Ever since she was fourteen, she may have had a slight crush on the boy sitting next to her. She couldn't help it; ever since she had accidentally run into one of the castle's bathrooms to hide from some guards only to find that there was a boy her age washing their face at a sink, she hadn't been able to shake her feelings. After that, Conner had been visiting Bree in secret as often as he could, but since he resided in the castle with his uncle (who also happened to be the king), it was much harder to sneak out without getting caught. But he managed to do it anyways, which gave Bree this warm, fuzzy feeling in her stomach. She hadn't done anything about it yet (except for that one time she kissed him on the cheek, and the other time she kissed him on the cheek, and the other other time she kissed him on the cheek), mainly because she knew it was pointless. She was the most wanted woman in Nottingham; he was the nephew of the person that wanted her dead. It would never work and she was terrified that he'd leave her because of it. Even if he wasn't her boyfriend, he was still her best friend.

Conner, however, was determined to make something happen. Ever since his sister had gone to a neighbouring kingdom to live with their grandmother a couple years back, Conner had been lonelier than ever. Until he met Bree.

The first time he laid eyes on her he was absolutely smitten with the fast-paced, quirky young woman. He was constantly impressed and amazed with her set of skills, evading trouble time and time again. Conner was also extremely mesmerized by her strength and her bravery, and sometimes he wondered how it was possible for a heart to be so pure amid so much war and famine. From then on he tried to see her as often as he could, as long as he could. He didn't care that if his uncle ever found out, he'd disown him and leave him for dead. He didn't care that Bree was constantly running and stealing from his own castle. He hated living there anyways. He didn't care that it would be borderline impossible to have anything with her, simply because the whole entire would was practically screaming that they wouldn't belong. Conner didn't care for any of it and frankly, the only thing he cared for was her.

Bree smiled at him, and Conner's heart fluttered. She looked so pretty when she smiled like that, when she genuinely smiled. It was a shame she didn't do it more often. For that reason, Conner loved whenever he could get a grin out of her. "I have seen her, actually," Bree said, still going on with the joke.

Conner raised his eyebrows. "Oh?" He said. "Yeah, I think I saw her too."

Not really knowing where to go from this point, they both just stared at each other for a moment before bursting out in a small fit of laughter. Bree shook her head. "We're so dumb," She said, and that only made Conner laugh harder. Sure, it was false as a whole, but they did act dumb around each other.

After they had settled down, Conner noticed the targets before them. He nodded his head towards the boards. "Are you any good today?" He asked, already knowing the answer because Bree was always good.

"Huh?" Bree snapped her head to face him. "Good at what?" She asked.

Conner chuckled nervously. "Uh, archery, I mean."

Bree grinned. "I'm okay, I guess," She said modestly, although Conner had known her long enough to figure that she was under-exaggerating. She looked at Conner with a mischievous glint in her eyes, the one she had every time she thought of an idea. "You wanna try?"

Conner blinked. "Me?" He asked, pointing to himself. Conner had terrible aim and was nowhere near as concise as Bree; the last thing he wanted was to embarrass himself in front of her. But then again, he'd been embarrassing himself ever since he saw her in that bathroom and turned bright red, tripping and landing right on his bottom. Some of his uncle's friends had offered to teach him, but they were all stuck-up snobs. They also had nothing on Bree when it came to their actual talent, nobody did. Conner firmly believed that she was the best archer Nottingham had ever seen. Plus, after seeing Bree do it so many times he had always wanted to try it for himself. Conner shrugged. "Sure, why not?" He stood up and followed Bree to the targets.

"Watch me," She told him. Conner barely had time to register before she had loaded her bow, pulled back, and released. He watched in awe as the arrow cut through the air and landed in the dead centre of the board.

"Woah," He mumbled. "How'd you do that?"

Bree turned to him and just bobbed her shoulders. "Practice," She said. "And when you live a life like mine, you get a whole lot of it."

Bree gestured to him with her head, and he walked up to where she was standing. Bree put the bow and an arrow in his hand. "You put the arrow here—" She slid the arrow in so that it was perfectly aligned with the rest, securing it so it wouldn't fall out. "—and you just pull back, aim, and fire."

Conner nodded and pretended like he knew what she was talking about. He watched Bree as she explained to him how to stand and hold the bow correctly, and he followed. He felt like such an idiot when it came to archery, not understanding any of it. But Bree was a good teacher and he liked listening to her more than anyone else.

After Bree was done talking, she nodded to him. "Go on, give it a try," She gestured.

Conner stared at the object in his hand, nearly foreign to him. He had never once fired an arrow and the last thing he wanted was to fail miserably in front of the person he had been crushing on since he was fourteen. He didn't want to back down either, though.

Conner squared his shoulders and readied the arrow. (Bree said the official term for it was "knocking" the arrow but Conner didn't exactly know why.) Conner clenched his jaw and prayed.

Bree noticed his troubled face and his tense movements. It was clear he was nervous but Bree knew he just didn't want to say anything in front of her. "Want me to help?" She asked, hoping that he would feel better knowing that there was someone there to guide him through it.

Conner took a breath before answering. "Yeah —yes, that would be great," He sputtered shakily.

Bree walked over to him and guided Conner's hands to where they were supposed to be holding the bow. Conner was gripping it so tightly his knuckles were white. "Relax," She chuckled, although in the position they were currently in it was hard to.

Bree had her arms surrounding Conner so she could grip the bow the same way he was, and by that action their faces were right next to each other, so close that whenever he turned Bree could count all of the freckles on Conner's face and Conner could see every single one of the long eyelashes fanning her chestnut eyes. They both tried to ignore it but they couldn't deny the blushes filling their faces. Conner had trouble concentrating with his heart beating furiously in his chest, drowning out anything else he could hear.

Not to mention the fact that if he really wanted to, he could kiss her right then and there.

And he really, really wanted to.

Bree pulled back on the bow, so Conner's arm did too. She was basically doing everything for him, and Conner was just getting the feeling of it. "Now aim," She told him.

Conner tried not to look at her or focus on the fact that both her hands were on his, but it didn't do much help. He closed one eye and tried to pinpoint the angle he could shoot from so that the arrow could land in the yellow area. It was hard to concentrate when he saw Bree looking at him out of the corner of his eye.

Bree took her hands off Conner's and stepped back. Conner suddenly felt extremely cold with the removal of her body heat, and he missed it. "Shoot," She encouraged.

Conner let go and the arrow ripped away from him and sunk into the board. Conner's eyes widened in shock, and Bree smiled.

"Bullseye," She whispered.

Conner turned towards her with an ecstatic smile on his face. She was grinning right back. Before he knew what he was doing, Conner had pulled Bree into a tight hug. Bree laughed and Conner did too, amazed and amused by the luck Conner had in his first shot. Conner loosened his grip and Bree pulled away so she could look him in the eyes. "Not bad for a first-timer," She said.

Conner blushed. "No thanks to you,"'He joked with a wink. Bree was almost as close as she had been before, and Conner was trying hard not to react to it. He was so busy trying to be neutral that he had lost complete sense of himself and had no idea that he was staring at her like an idiot.

Conner only noticed it when Bree stared back.

She was so, so close, and at that moment Conner realized he was tired of it being this way. Because she was never close enough. Bree slipped out of his hands every time he tried to do something, anything that could evolve their friendship. She was always hiding and he was always searching for her, and every time they met it seemed like it wasn't right. Not because of their current social standards or their forbidden meetings, it was because it wasn't what Conner wanted. He was tired of putting it off; he had been for two years now.

Screw this.

Bree barely had time to react before Conner had leaned in towards her, his lips mere centimetres away. Her eyes widened and it took her everything she had not to freak out right then and there. He leaned closer and his nose had just brushed hers when she found herself hesitant. "Conner," She breathed, putting a hand on his chest to stop him. "We can't."

His lips hadn't even touched hers before he pulled away. His brows were scrunched in confusion and he looked so hurt that Bree wanted to take it back, and if she was being honest she didn't even want to say it in the first place. "What?" Conner croaked, his big blue eyes swirling with pain. "What do you mean, why not?" He asked breathlessly. His eyes were searching Bree's face for an answer, but from his point of view he found none.

"You know why," She whispered. "This won't end well." Bree didn't want to say it but she knew it was true.

Conner shook his head vigorously. "No," He said. "No, no, no! You don't know until you try!" He pleaded with her, hoping she'd understand. But Bree only shook her head, trying to pull away but Conner wouldn't let her.
She was trying not to give in, although she wanted to believe him.

"Please," He begged her. "Just give me a chance. I don't care about how hard it is, just please."

Bree knew that Conner wanted her and that he was determined to make things work, but he was also an optimist and saw everything through a rainbow-coloured lens. Nevertheless, the desperation in his voice broke Bree's heart. She wanted this so, so bad, even though it didn't matter because Bree was an outlaw forced to spend the rest of her days in hiding, and Conner was probably going to be married off to some rich princess from another kingdom that Conner was better off with instead of her.

But the way he was looking at her made her forget that completely. So she did either the dumbest or the bravest thing she could do.

Before her brain could tell her otherwise, she cupped Conner's face and pulled his lips to hers.

She could feel the immense shock on his face when she did it, and eventually he put his arms around her and kissed her back.

Her senses returning to her, Bree pushed away. She didn't get far before Conner pulled her back in for another bittersweet kiss. This one was shorter, but it still gave Bree butterflies.

Conner was smiling wider than she'd ever seen him smile and his cheeks were so red he looked like a ballon. Bree, on the other hand, was even redder and wanted to crawl into the bushes and slap herself until she bruised.

Ignoring that, this was the first time Bree had felt genuinely happy in years. After living the way she lived, having nothing or no one to look forward to except Conner, it was nice to have someone make her feel this way once in a while.

Maybe this situation wasn't so bad after all.

"Okay," Bree said. "I guess a couple more chances won't hurt."

Conner grinned even wider. After taking a closer look, Bree swore that there were small tears in his eyes, or maybe it was just the reflection of the ones in her own.

Conner leaned down and kissed her again, more passionately than before.

Yeah, this situation wasn't bad at all.

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okay so you can tell that at one point I kinda gave up on the whole one shot thing and turned it into a mess of a universe that i pretty much gave up on and i made it way too long and took it way too far but it's the only thing I have so that's the tea on that

no seriously this is the longest thing i've ever written ever yay me

i was planning on scrapping this but i was too far in to quit so here ya go, i'm sorry you had to sit through this i shall do better

also sidenote i'm headcanoning that Bree is good at archery and that's that

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