Honor Among Thieves

"You know, I needed this. I really did."

And she did need it. Arista needed the vacation away from work and away from life. She had her forehead resting against the window of the airplane she was sitting in, watching fluffy clouds float by below her. She'd been sitting there for hours, trying to convince herself that leaving her work half-finished and coming with her family to Europe was the right decision. She sighed, tilting her head to the side to look at the large man sitting beside her, his eyes glued to the screen of his laptop. He didn't give Ari more than a half-hearted 'mhmm' every now and then to pretend he was listening.

Ari rolled her eyes and reached over to ruffle his brown curls and close the laptop, making his head snap up and finally look at her. He shook his head with a half smile, reopening the laptop and pulling the page he was looking at back up. Ari was tempted to shut it again, but decided against it, letting her head hit the back of her seat.

"Marcus, how come Dad took a private jet, but we have to fly commercial?" she asked.

"You're sitting in first class," Marcus smirked, without looking up from what he was typing. "It could be much, much worse. They don't bring you mimosas in economy, you know."

"That's not what I meant," Ari said, punching his arm. "I mean, why do have to take two separate flights? We're going to the same place at the same time."

"Ari, your father is a very important man," Marcus told her, looking her in the eye this time. "There are a lot of things he must do that you won't understand. You're just going to have to trust in these decisions."

Ari pursed her lips and picked up the mimosa resting beside her, gazing out the window again as she sipped from her drink. She wanted to talk to Marcus again, but he was working. At times, she forgot that Marcus was on the job twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. She always argued with her father about the need for a bodyguard, but as Marcus said, he was a "very important man" and she needed to "trust in these decisions". Marcus had been by Ari's side since she was still in high school, and she always saw him as more of a best friend than anything. After all, he was quite literally always there for her.

She leaned over and put her head on his shoulder, looking at the screen he was typing on, but he minimized the window before she could read anything. She glanced up and raised an eyebrow at him, but he gave her a smug look right back. She rolled her eyes, climbing over him to get out of her seat for a little bit.

"I've been sitting for hours. I'll be back," she announced, downing the rest of the drink before standing. "Get me another one of those when the flight attendant comes back, alright?"

Marcus just shook his head at her, keeping a careful eye on her as she tried to make it to the bathroom without toppling over. While it was a funny sight, it was his job to make sure there wasn't a single scratch on her, self inflicted or not. It had been her third or fourth drink since she got on the plane. She wasn't really counting. Either way, the alcohol in addition to the slight swaying of the airplane led her to struggle walking in a straight line, holding on to the seats for support. And she much rather would have walked in zigzags to keep her balance than take off her heels. Her shoes costed more than some people's plane tickets.

Ari eventually survived the trek to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her and taking a deep breath. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and frowned, brushing her dark hair back into place. No one looked good after spending five hours on an airplane, with several more hours to come. Of course, no one had to know that. Presentation came second in importance to Ari, right below power and respect. She fished a tube of lipstick out of her pocket and worked on a few touch ups, minutes later looking fresh and bright again. She gave herself a confident, satisfied smile before going back out.

Marcus watched her come back down the aisle, making it all the way to her seat before a slight bump in the flight made her lose her footing and trip over herself. Had Marcus's arm not shot out to catch her, she would've faceplanted right there. She played it off as cool as she could, crawling over him again to get to her seat, giggling uncontrollably the whole time. Drunk Ari was something Marcus was used to, but the other passengers in first class thought otherwise. He silenced her giggling as best he could, but it silenced itself after she passed out a couple drinks later. After that, it happened to be a very nice and peaceful flight. By the time they landed, Ari was just beginning to groggily wake up.

"Where am I?" she grumbled, rubbing her eyes.

"Barcelona," Marcus answered, reaching into her purse and handing her a pocket mirror. "You're on vacation, remember?"

"Oh. Right," she yawned.

She glanced at her reflection and gasped softly at the raccoon eyes that had appeared after she smudged up her mascara. That was no way to present herself, especially in front of her parents. She quickly fixed herself up again before getting off the plane, holding on to Marcus's arm for support thanks to that throbbing pain in her head.

Barcelona. That's right, she was on her way to Spain for a week. How could she have forgotten? She looked up at Marcus, who was trying to figure out how to fit all of her bags onto a single cart. She didn't remember packing so much, but it seemed that the four suitcases that even the burly Marcus was struggling to lift. He only had a small carry-on himself, which looked tiny and pitiful next to Ari's monster suitcases.

"Is that my darling little girl?"

Ari spun around to find her mother coming towards her with a bright smile and her arms open wide. Before Ari could say anything, she was pulled into a tight hug.

"Good to see you too, Mama," she laughed softly, looking over her mother's shoulder at her father, who was coming forward a little slower with a grin on his face. "Hi, Dad."

"So glad you could make it, Arista," he said, joining in on the group hug.

He nodded to Marcus, who gave a slight smile and a tiny wave back.

"You are going to love the house your father got," Ari's mother gushed, leading her towards the exit of the airport. "It's breathtaking."

Arista's father waited until his wife and daughter were ahead and out of earshot before approaching Marcus and helping him lift the last suitcase onto the cart. Marcus huffed lightly and brushed his hair back out of his eyes, giving his employer a lopsided smile.

"She doesn't exactly pack light, does she Mr. Valli?" he chuckled.

"If we're lucky, one of those outfits will attract a nice young man with a good job and a good soul," Paul Valli smirked, patting the heavy suitcase. "A decent man that won't leave, this time."

"Yeah, he's the one who left," Marcus muttered under his breath.

"What was that, Marcus? I didn't quite catch what you said," Paul asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing," he said smoothly, with a smile. "You might want to catch up with your wife and daughter before they leave you in the dust. You know how much of an impact those personal trainers can have, sir."

Paul laughed and patted Marcus on the back, jogging to catch up with his wife and Ari. Marcus hesitated, glancing over his shoulder and scanning the crowd around them first. Instinct, really. No one seemed like much of a threat, but he couldn't help but feel there was a little more attention on the Valli family than normal. He just wasn't sure where that attention was coming from.

"Marcus, come on! Poolside massages are calling my name right now!" Ari called, still slightly dizzy from the hangover all that alcohol had blessed her with.

Marcus rolled his eyes and pushed his worries aside, pushing the heavy cart to catch up with the Valli family. They could watch the family if they wanted. But if they tried doing anything other than watch, Marcus wished them the best of luck in getting past him.