A/N: So yeah, I wanted to do a fanfic where the laws of canon didn't exist and Rudy finally gets his kiss. Because truthfully, he should have got it for rescuing her book from the river and we all know it.

I honestly don't know why anyone would think I owned the Book Thief, but I'll say it a hundred times and more if it means no one sues me.

...Please don't sue me.

*A Small Observation From Rudy Steiner*

It was like a game of hide and seek.

I personally thought it was more like a treasure hunt.

But what do I know?

I'm not the one plunging into the Amper river in the middle of December.

It was certainly a lot like a treasure hunt.

Searching, scouring, begging the darkness to reveal the grand prize before a darker force of nature stole it from under him. And it was most definitely a grand prize for Rudy Steiner, if he could only find it. Yes. He would find it. It would be a final victory after many failures. He would win.

His gracefully distorted limbs stung in the frosty cold, his numb fingers wildly grasping at anything he could reach. He flailed awkwardly in the black, marble oblivion, an odd mix of a fish in air and a bird in water. His skin ached desperately for warmth; his eyelids were heavy with the weight of the river piled on top of him. It felt like he was wrapped in Winter, a gown of snow and ice.

Yet he continued, determinedly stifling his frozen lungs as he tried to discern the rectangular mound of soggy cardboard and paper from the rest of his blurry blue vision. Each movement was painfully slow, beautiful and soft and deadly, bitten with each dragging, raw second. His ears were ringing like an alarm bell, tearing the wonderful, suffocating silence in half with the crisp clanging of his heartbeat.

He's an odd boy, that one. A brave one, maybe; a stupid one, absolutely. It was hard to tell which factor drove the other, for they were all but indistinguishable whenever Rudy came into question. Not that it mattered most of the time. But then, there were those times - including this one - where he would get himself into impossible situations and even I have to wonder what the hell was going through his head. Bravery? Maybe. Stupidity? Absolutely.

He would have to go back up. His throat thirsted for oxygen. The cold was surely going to draw him to an early, watery grave. Anyone else in the world would have gone back up. Maybe even given up. This was not a case for giving up, however. He needed this.

She needed this.

He could still see it. What had driven him to this point. Who had driven him to this point.

It was the pure devastated defeat that clouded her face as she watched the book tumble over and over in the air, crack the glass surface of the water, and submerge into the deep, black oblivion. Nothing else had really registered at that point, just the overwhelming urge to retrieve that book. Retrieve some form of victory over life, who, up to this point, seemed to be having a great time screwing him over.

True story.

* A Small Fact That Rudy Would Deny *

On some level, however small and disagreeable that level was to him,

he wanted to retrieve the smile to the Book Thief's face,

and the sense of achievement that came with causing it.

That was victory he truly longed for.

His pounding blood was burning him up from the inside; the water stung his eyes. Still, he stayed, reaching out for whatever he could find. His limbs were freezing by the second and his head spun wildly.

He had to find it.

For her. For the Book Thief.

Such an odd boy. But then, I suppose humans are very odd creatures. Especially when it comes to love.

Finally, his fingers enclosed around a hard, rectangular object, drifting dreamily through the water. He clutched it to his chest like it was his heartbeat and kicked upward. His clothes pulled him down, yet his eyes made out blanched white sunlight, streaming through layers of December water. His lungs were about to burst as he shattered the water's surface, grasping the book with one hand above his yellow head.

If I had the ability to cheer, I would have done so. Instantly. But I don't think anyone thought about giving me the ability to cheer when I was hired. It's not the type of job that entails joy of any kind. Never stopped me though.

Oxygen filled him once again as he gasped and spat out river from his mouth. He looked around to see Liesel stood by the water's edge, a look of elated surprise falling over her panicked features as she saw him and the book resurface.

* Another Small Fact *

Despite what Rudy thought, it wasn't the salvaged book

that brought relief to her face.

Rudy began making his way back to the shore, staggering through the water one handed, a triumphant grin stuck to the corners of his mouth. He heard a crash, and found Liesel stumbling out to meet him, obviously trying to stifle the shivering that had suddenly grappled her small body. They met half way, waist deep in the dark, murky liquid ice, stolen air heaving through their slowly melting lungs.

'Hey.' He grinned breathlessly down at her.

For a moment, Liesel seemed incapable of speech. Then she choked out a small, disbelieving, 'Hey.'

'So, thought you'd join me? Such a lovely day,' he said, gazing casually out at the shimmering, glassy surface of the water as dully glinting crystal beads ran races down his skin.

'Yes, it certainly is pleasant,' she conceded, shivering.

He held out the book, now heavy with river and grime. Her fingers trembled - with either cold or emotion I couldn't really tell, but I think we can take an educated guess - as they folded around the crusty, wet mound and clutched it protectively to her chest. She looked up at him with a strange wide-eyed, parted-lips expression. I've seen that expression before. Oh yes I have.

It's the face of a revelation. The discovery of something new. Or something that had been very well hidden for a long, long time. Buried underneath the thick layers of basements and Jewish fist fighters and accordions, so much so that it could barely breathe, barely be found.

But now it was there. Revealing itself for what seemed for the first time. The secret even Liesel didn't know, slicing through her as acutely as the cold that crept up her skin like vines.

Yet there was fear in her eyes: a helpless vulnerability piercing the brown droplets that reflected him, and only him. She was afraid of this new feeling. She was afraid of him. With the sudden transparency of her soul, she felt exposed and unsure of what any of it meant. It was foreign and dangerous, and a sure ticket to downfall. No, it needed to be suppressed. Like everything else.

Humans can be really quite endearing sometimes.

Rudy watched her expectantly. I'm not entirely sure what he was waiting for - aside from the obvious choice of a kiss, but even he wasn't hopeful for that. Maybe just a response.

'Oi saumensch,' he waved a dripping hand in front of her face. 'I'm sort of freezing here. Now if you could just give me my kiss, I'll be on my way.'

'You wish, saukerl.'

It amazes me that even in the wake of a life altering realization, she still has enough time for a childish retort.

'Come on,' she said, taking a step back and trying to keep the tremor out of her voice, 'We really are going to freeze to death if we stay here.' She turned her back on him and headed for the shore, her paces dripping heavily with sudden self-awareness.

It took Liesel exactly six steps and a half to realise that her best friend was not actually following her; she turned in confusion and mild irritation to see Rudy stood exactly where he had been for the past five minutes. Half-submerged in reflected sky, he looked expectantly at her. His perfect German eyes balanced neatly between foolish hope and something that cut far deeper into the chiselled, icy blue. Sadness. Another emotion I know all too well.

'What the hell are you doing, dummkopf? You're going to lose your toes at this rate!' she called to him.

'I wasn't joking.' His voice slipped across the smooth surface of the water, flat and defeated as the concrete sky above them.

Liesel didn't want to play this game. He was meddling with her emotions, twisting them and twirling them round his fingers. Was it on purpose or not? She had no way of telling. But whatever happened, it could only hurt in the end. There was no way she could afford the cripplingly high price of this revelation.

'Niether was I.'

Such a cold sound. Colder than the frost that crept along the tiny hairs on her arms. If temperature affected me, I could have felt the icy words slice through my chest like it did to the boy. Hurt grappled his face, eating at his eyes, yet he kept his face a solid as stone.

*The Truth About Rudy Steiner*

He was a brave boy.

Braver than most.

But I have never seen him braver

than this moment of betrayal and heartbreak.

'What do I have to do for you, Liesel?'

There it was. The question that had stuck, discarded and forgotten but still overwhelmingly present, in his throat since the very beginning, built up from the dusty remains of childhood adoration. As his love for her grew, so did the questions, until they fogged his brain and leaked out his lips when he knew she was nowhere around. The words he asked the darkness when sleep was a faraway prospect that clawed away from him.

He wasn't even sure if he wanted an answer. He needed one, that was for certain. But did he necessarily want one? Now that's a different question entirely.

And so there he stood. Gazing hopefully at the Book Thief - his Book Thief - for some kind of reassurance, however paper thin, however transparent. Because there was nothing else.

Liesel looked at him in surprise, her earthy brown eyes wide. It was the rare use of her actual name rather than petty insults of endearment that hit hard. For a moment, she was rendered speechless, unable to find any words to compensate such a bittersweet question. Her fingers clenched around the thick, damp cover of her beloved book, the price of her best friend.

'I-' she began, then stopped abruptly. It was one of those rare points in her papery life that she was lost for words. After another deep breath, she began again. 'I don't know what you mean.'

'Don't play dumb with me,' he spat out, his voice stinging the cold, winter air.

'Rudy, I don't know. Now just come out of the water, before you catch pneumonia or something,' she said impatiently.

'Would you care?' he asked. 'Would you really care?' He waded further out into the water, a look of stubborn, determined malice on his face. His eyebrows were raised defiantly, his arms out in the air beside him like a crucifix.

'Rudy,' she hissed. Her voice was edged with a sharp, ringing warning tone. 'Of course I care about you.'

'Oh yeah?' he bellowed. 'Well then why don't you prove it.'

Liesel glared at him. Her grip on the book was loosening.

'Come on, Book Thief.' She could here the taunting in his voice, the raw, aching hurt underneath. Or maybe that was just me. 'What are you afraid of? Just prove it!'

The book fell from her grasp onto the soft, crunchy earth beside her feet. The water splashing noisily around her rapidly flooding shoes barely registered as she marched straight towards the boy with lemon hair.

'You think I don't care?' she yelled, stumbling as fast as she could through the strong, muscly arms of the river, 'Do you? You think I don't care? Well I do! I love you, you hear me? I goddamn love you, saukerl!'

Rudy could barely reply, barely even smile before her lips swiftly met with his, crushing his grin with her own. He staggered a little, nearly losing his balance in the water, but her determined grip on him would not allow him to do so. His lips tasted like river, and ice, and stolen penny sweets. He tasted like Rudy Steiner, simply Rudy Steiner, her wonderful, wonderful best friend.

Her arms wove around his neck, locked him there; she wouldn't release him until he got the point, no matter how long it took. One arm wrapped round her waist and pulled her close to him, the other tangled longingly in her almost-German hair, pulling her closer still. Close was never enough for his Book Thief. The cold seemed to evaporate around them as Rudy received the victory he truly longed for.

Liesel poured everything into that kiss. All the hidden love and passion burning underneath the stolen books, and the dusty taste of library that she relished so much. This kiss was her revelation. He was her revelation. Of course she loved him. That stupid boy with his yellow hair and idiot Hitler Youth grin. There was never any doubt.

Rudy was never one for words. It was difficult for him to acutely describe the wild, frozen drumming of his heartbeat as he felt Liesel press up against him; the soft texture of her messy hair in his damp, muddy hand. Yet it didn't stop him almost lifting her into the air in elation and pure, unrestrained euphoria.

She could taste his smile, his triumph on her lips. It tasted so sweet, such a delicious prize, a wonderful gift from one thief to another. In some sickly, tender twist of metaphorical beauty, they had managed to steal each other's hearts somehow, though it is biologically impossible and - if I may say so - a little cliché.

Liesel pulled away softly, yet Rudy held her in place, unwilling to release her quite yet. They attempted (and failed) to steady their breathing, the silent, joyful rasping of their desperate lungs, craving the oxygen they stole from each other.

'Is that proof enough, arsehole?' she grinned up at him, her hands still resting on the back of his neck.

'Nope,' he shook his head in mock disappointment. 'Not quite.'

'What do I have to do for you?' she sighed in exasperation, mimicking his words.

'I don't know,' he said thoughtfully, kissing her on the nose and earning a laugh from her. 'What do you propose?'

'Well,' she replied levelly, 'For starters, we should get out of this bloody water before I pass out from cold.'

'Fair point.'

Clutching his hand with numb fingers, Liesel led him towards the shore, the frost clinging to their lungs and rib cages like cement. They staggered onto the grass, clothed in river, nearly tumbling over onto their grubby knees. Rudy caught her to him, pulling her close again, and kissing her lips once again.

'What's the probability of my clothes drying before Rosa finds out?' she asked contemplatively.

'Pretty slim, saumensch.'

'Well as long as we don't freeze to death, do you fancy a walk?'

'Sounds good to me.'

Liesel knelt down and picked up the sodden lump from the ground and they headed off towards the bridge, fingers clumsily entwined.

*A Small Observation From Myself*

Truthfully, it was more like a treasure hunt.

By no means was the book ever the prize.

A/N: Thank you for reading. I'm sorry if I made that too fluffy; I know it may not be completely in character but these two are just too damn adorable.

I may - MAY - continue it. It depends really on feedback and whether I have any inspiration over the next few days. I'll really try to continue it if that's what people want but I can't promise anything.

I hope you enjoyed and please leave a review! It really makes my day.