Sungmin was pressed up against the back of one of the towns small buildings, hidden in the shadows with the notorious thiefs hand covering his mouth tightly. Breathing heavily he listened as the panicked noise only grew in volume, distant shouts of his name echoing in the quiet alleyway. His eyes flicked from the street entrance back to the man holding him against the wall, bandanna now around his neck to show the smirk plastered on his face, large box sitting snugly at his feet.

“Sounds like someone is preeetty worried about you now that you're in the hands of the big bad thief~” the man sung, Sungmin rolling his eyes as he pushed the hand off of his mouth, sending the other man a sharp glare.

“Oh shut it – maybe its because you decided to just shoot the goddamn sheriff in the middle of the street!” Sungmin growled.

“It was in the shoulder! He'll live through it.”

Sungmin gaped at the man before him, bright grin on the thiefs face as he leant against the wall opposite him, gaze trailing over him slowly. “Black hair looks good on you by the way, you should have it like that instead of the blonde more often.”

“So what on earth do you plan to do now you've gotten us both into this situation?” Sungmin asked, pointedly ignoring the amused smirk the other sent him.

Although the legend of the angel thief and his string of robberies had been widespread across the country, few knew of the partner who travelled alongside the ruthless thief. The quiet man was half of the reason the thief was able to work so effectively, getting in and out with charming smiles and town secrets in the blink of an eye.

When the pair had first learnt of the rumours of a great treasure that rested in the small town of Piedra Lumbre their plan was much more elaborate than usual. Rather than getting in and out as fast as possible, the pair needed to both confirm the treasure existed and find a way to easily access something so protected. Sungmin had spent months slowly gaining access to the royal crown that sat deep within the safe of the bank, waiting for the day Leeteuk the 'angel thief' would come in and steal their treasure.

“So to recap: the sheriff has been shot, you destroyed a mans prized watermelon, I've been 'kidnapped', the town is in uproar, and there is an incredibly lucky bounty hunter looking for you – and we're stuck hiding behind a row of houses.” Sungmin drawled, looking at the other man unamused.

“A watermelon? Seriously Ming?”

“A PRIZED watermelon.” Sungmin huffed. “He's been growing that thing for months, I'm pretty sure you've destroyed him... not to mention Hyukjae is probably never going to go outside on his own again after being startled twice within a week... and Ryeowook is definitely going to kill me when he and Kyuhyun learn I'm missing...”

As Sungmin continued to ramble on about the various townspeople a lightbulb went off in Leeteuks brain, smug amusement making way for concern and then realisation. He moved in to press a quick kiss to Sungmin's lips, effectively cutting off the smaller man.

“You always were as easy to read as a summers day. You better forgive me for this.” he sighed, muttering a quiet apology before his fist connected with the others jaw, Sungmin's world spinning painfully before everything fell into black.

When Sungmin next awoke he found a familiar face hovering just above him own, Donghae leaning over him with a concerned look on his face.

“Wha...What in the world happened?” Sungmin winced, letting the bounty hunter pull him carefully to his feet. He recognised the alley they were stood in, sky now a pale pink and Leeteuk no where in sight.

“The angel thief used you as a decoy to escape after shooting Siwon.” Donghae explained, looking over the bruise that had begun to bloom over Sungmins jaw. “While we were all looking for you he somehow managed to slip out of town... but its alright because you're safe at least.” Donghae smiled.

Sungmin just slowly nodded, confused as to why his partner has deserted him for the first time.

In the weeks after the attack on the town Piedra Lumbre and its people slowly recovered, the actions of the notorious thief proving not enough to keep the townspeople down. True to Leeteuk's words Siwon's gunshot wound was non-lethal, the animated sheriff up and about in under a week – although he had become severely limited in his gestures by the tight sling around his arm, much to the moustached mans dismay.

Kyuhyun had happily returned to his watchful seat outside the bar, dragging Ryeowook with him, and Youngwoon, under the encouraging watch of Donghae – who had apparently fallen into the vacant deputy sheriff job in town between his bounty jobs – started to grow a new patch of melon seeds. Even Hyukjae eventually ventured outside the walls of the sheriffs station, tentatively retaking his spot as unofficial 'guard' out the front of the town.

But even as the town began the long process of healing Sungmin's mood continued to darken, still upset at the desertion of his now missing partner.

“It's nice to see you out for once.” Ryeowook stated warmly one day, approaching the stoic banker as he sat on the edge of the banks steps, seemingly lost in thought. When Ryeowook's hand fell onto his shoulder the man jumped, looking up at the barber.

“It's okay you know...” Ryeowook started, settling down beside his friend. “It's okay to still not be okay. You had a really scary experience. I mean, I was terrified when we couldn't find you I can't imagine what you were going through... but we're here for you when you're ready because we all care about you very much.” he smiled.

Sungmin could only offer him a weak smile in return for his efforts, feeling sick to his stomach at the realisation how important everyone in this town was to him, knowing that he was desperately holding onto the fact they believed he was still recovering from his alleged hostage situation.

Sungmin was sat at his desk, sharing a fresh batch of strawberries with a giddy Hyukjae when the next big commotion came through town, loud voices and the thud of hooves growing outside his door drawing their attention. Leaving the bank cage the two man walked outside, finding Siwon and Youngwoon standing with a stranger, back turned to them as he talked animatedly with the sheriff.

Looking up Siwon caught their confused gaze, smile widening in their direction. “Sungmin! Just the person we were looking for!” he exclaimed, waving at him awkwardly with his bandaged arm. “They've sent a director to help you oversee the bank after everything that has happened.”

Sungmins eyes widened comically as the stranger turned around, taking in the man as he walked up the stairs towards them.

“Sungmin and... Hyukjae I presume?”

With Hyukjae's nod the man gave him a dimpled smile, holding out his hand to shake Sungmins own.

“I'm Jungsoo, its a pleasure to meet you. I was wondering if you would be able to give me a quick tour of the business? If its alright with you I'd like to get to wok as soon as possible to rectify any worried the board of directors have after the attempted robbery.” Jungsoo smiled.

“Uhh... sure.” Sungmin replied shakily, turning towards Hyukjae. “I'll bring you the rest of the strawberries later today after I'm done with work.” he mumbled, getting a smile from Hyukjae as Sungmin followed the man into the building.

“We'll get you all settled in while you work!” Siwon shouted, Youngwoon grunting in agreement as the door closed on the three of them outside.

“Well... I like him.” the sheriff chuckled, the other two nodding happily in agreement.

Jungsoo turned to face Sungmin, giving him an amused smile as the door shut. “Hey there Min.”

Sungmin felt his eyes start to water, punching the other mans chest lightly before throwing himself into the others tight embrace.

“I thought you left me behind.” he whispered brokenly. “I thought you were gone for good...”

“Of course not!” Jungsoo chuckled, the other mans hair gently. “I couldn't leave my most precious treasure behind. I just needed to make sure you seemed completely innocent before anything else.”

Sungmin moved away from him slightly, looking up at the other man confused. “I...I don't understand...”

“Well, we couldn't stay here if they knew you'd been apart of breaking that prized watermelon – there would be riots!” Jungsoo teased, Sungmin's frown morphing into a hopeful grin.

“Stay here? Really?”

“Well we've finally gotten the score of our lives, its about time I finally gave up on my wicked ways for someone as pretty as you my dear.” Jungsoo exclaimed as Sungmin grinned up at him. “Besides – I don't know if you heard but apparently I just got this new job as a director of a bank.” he laughed, Sungmin giggling as he pressed their lips together.

Jungsoo settled into the town as quickly as he had arrived, easily connecting with the various people of the small town. Thanks to the sheriff he now lived alongside Sungmin in one of the cosy houses close to where the bank stood, both of them sharing the workload as they happily fell into a regular life – or at least, as regular as they could get.

Returning home one day after an afternoon playing cards with Ryeowook and Kyuhyun, who he had discovered were ruthless cheaters when given the chance, Sungmin sighed tiredly. Noticing a small golden star resting on top of the table in front of him he chuckled, smiling contently as he felt something being placed gently on his head, arms then curling around his stomach.

“You know you're going to have to give that back, Siwon is losing his mind searching the bar in an attempt to find that thing.”

He turned to face the man behind him, Jungsoo just smiling sheepishly at him. “Old habits die hard...?”

Sungmin just laughed as he pressed their lips together, glittering crown sat atop his head.