Masquerade
May. 2nd, 2019 08:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nyanderenekoWord Count: 1,726
Summary: Joker and Witch get caught in the middle of a routine Palace scouting mission, but the outcome of being discovered by the guards turns out to be more magical than they expected.
*Author’s Note*: Weird summary but I promise it makes sense in the context of this fic. This is more like just a snippet of a Palace infiltration, an idea I’ve had for months if not a year, like I was definitely thinking about stuff like this back when I first got back into regularly shipping with Ren again. There’s no real fighting and it’s all about the atmosphere, and I hope I was able to capture it to a serviceable degree…thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!
“It’s going to be okay, just stay close to me.”
His voice was like velvet, and she knew she needed to heed his words, but to an extent her mind was hollow. It was going to be impossible not to obey him, though, considering the circumstances. Frame pressed flush against his own, she could feel the warmth of their bodies seeping through their uniforms, mingling in the middle where they met. She was holding one arm up to mirror his own, while his other limb snaked around her waist and held her securely in place. She was at the perfect height for him to rest his chin on her head without having to make any adjustments if he so desired, and she made the mistake of peeking up at him on a whim.
He was beautiful in every sense of the word. She admired the curve of his jaw, the cut of his mask across his face, the wavy tresses of hair that tapered off at the base of his neck. He met her eyes with a short-lived glance, and her heart started ticking like a time bomb. When and what it was going to explode was anyone’s guess, but she had a theory that if it ever did burst at his behest, the debris would consist of nothing more than a delicate shower of love, whatever that entailed.
Witch should have been used to being close to him like this. They’d been living together long enough, been an official couple long enough that it should have seemed more unsettling for them to not be accustomed to sharing each other’s space. But apparently all of that still wasn’t enough to change the fact that she was hopelessly starstruck by him. As a civilian or Phantom Thief, he’d been effortlessly distracting her focus from the moment he’d entered her life, and even after all this time he still had the same amount of overwhelming sway over her. It was her own fault, of course…she was the one who allowed herself to feel this way. Encouraged it, even. And that only made situations like this more stressful, while at the same time she found herself silently celebrating just how lucky she was to end up with him in such a way.
They were both less lucky to find themselves caught up in this particular spot, one that was far from safe or peaceful. A Palace raid gone wrong, or perhaps it had gone right…either way, they were in the midst of an infiltration. The setting appeared to belong to some distinguished personality or another, Witch couldn’t be bothered to recall the details at the moment, whose Palace had manifested in the form of a grand, opulent mansion. The Thieves had encountered a few other Palaces like this in their work before, people who believed in their hearts that they’d been granted the coveted gift of wealth and pleasure. In the real world they may have carried out their lives in the lowest rung of society, but somewhere in that lacking life they found the inspiration and opportunity to take advantage of someone they considered to be even more vulnerable than them. People who could be exploited for the benefit of a single selfish individual…the exact kind of manipulation the Thieves aimed to eradicate time and time again.
“The ballroom has a couple of unguarded exits. You should be able to get to them if you just keep a low profile. If you can avoid causing a scene, no one should have any reason to be suspicious of you.”
“No over the top commotion? C’mon, that’s such a boring way to do things…”
Despite his cocky, sarcastic taunting, Joker trusted Navi’s words completely. He knew he couldn’t afford to incite any kind of chaos in a crowd like this, one that was compact and complex enough that it would be even more impossible to navigate in an uproar. As long as he played his cards right, perhaps he could buy the others the time they needed to find what they were looking for. He and Witch had been in the process of scouring for clues with the rest of them before they got separated, hoping to stumble across the faintest trace of the path to the treasure as per the team’s usual strategy.
Rather than summoning additional security as one might expect, the guards that’d found them simply redirected the startled culprits to the main ballroom. Apparently, some kind of fancy gala was currently being hosted, a masquerade party of sorts that the two Thieves in their flamboyant attire were easily mistaken to be missing from. Joker and Witch weren’t going to complain, especially when they and the rest of their party had narrowly avoided having the real reason they’d been lurking about exposed. They were on the same page and, as much as she struggled to maintain her composure, Witch wanted to cooperate and prove that she could be resourceful even in an unanticipated turn of events like this.
“I didn’t know you could dance,” she remarked quietly, a tad uncomfortable with the silence that even the overwhelming music in the air couldn’t seem to stifle between them.
“I wouldn’t say I’m an expert,” Joker replied with a chuckle. “And it’s not like I’ve ever taken any lessons. But reading the room isn’t that difficult, is it? Following the flow of everyone around you…I would say I’m especially good at that. Blending in.”
“Would you like me to agree?” Witch quipped, but the next time she met his eyes they took her breath away.
“If you really want to.” He continued to lead her in an intricate, uninhibited twirl through the throng, like a leaf drifting in the wind. “But you’re not obligated, of course. And I have to admit, this isn’t as bad as I thought it would be.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, of all the things I’ve been forced to do to get through a Palace, getting to dance with you like this is one of the most enjoyable.”
Another bullet ripped through her heart at his words; Witch almost tripped over him as she simultaneously lost her focus and footing. Steadying her with a confident arm, Joker helped her recover without missing a beat, carrying on with the pattern of their movement as though nothing had changed. His steps were so elegant, graceful, elaborate; it really was as if he was just another thread in the seamless illusion they were weaving through. She found herself lost in the atmosphere, dazzled by the dreamy haze that dominated her senses and permeated her mind. It wasn’t wise or beneficial for her to fall victim to such an obvious mirage, a misleading delusion that was only meant to be dismantled in the end. But as long as she remained here, guarded safely in Joker’s arms, she was careless enough to believe she had nothing to worry about, nothing to fear.
Ornate, extravagant costumes surrounded them on all sides, perfectly complementing the tone of the swelling music that directed their every move. The sounds of clinking glasses and idle chatter accompanied the melody, but Witch could barely decipher anything through the frantic heartbeat pounding in her ears. Chandeliers decked with crystal and flame adorned the ceiling, every facet appearing to drip with starlight. If they hadn’t happened to be wading through the unfortunate manifestation of a corrupted heart, she thought it might be nice to appreciate the festivities a little longer. A lavish celebration experienced in the arms of her love…it was quite a poetic way to rationalize the disconcerting depravity that saturated every shadow, darting by in every glance out of the corner of her eye.
“I’d like to do something like this again sometime,” she confessed as they finally reached the edge of the dance floor, resolutely shattering her fantasy for the better.
“What? Attend another costume party in a Palace full of Shadows that could snap and turn on us at any moment?” Joker replied, and she couldn’t tell if there was any hint of genuine concern in his tone.
“Arsene would never let that happen,” she contested with a roll of her eyes. “Or, more accurately, you would never let that happen. Don’t pretend like you couldn’t take down every enemy in this hall if you really set your mind to it.”
“Maybe, if I had you around to back me up.” He cocked his head to the side just slightly. “But please, continue with what you really meant.”
“I think it would be fun to have a party like this of our own” she corrected. “I mean, I know we could never have anything this excessive, anywhere near this level of luxury—”
“I don’t know, Noir can pull quite a few strings with her connections.”
She muffled an amused giggle in her hand. “I suppose you’re right. But I don’t think I even need anything this outrageous. Just another opportunity to dance with you like that…”
A tad more had slipped out than she’d intended, and she quickly readjusted her attention in an attempt to recover from her embarrassing blunder. “But that’s not important right now. I’m sorry for getting sidetracked, we should get back to the others—”
A hand caught her wrist, halting her stride, and as she spun around to face her assailant he swooped in and caught her off guard with an electrifying kiss. “I can understand the sentiment, and I suppose it would be nice. Any excuse to hold you close like that again…I certainly wouldn’t be opposed.”
As charming and persuasive as always, she didn’t have the strength to avert her eyes until at least a few moments had passed. She was shivering, but not from the stress of the job, and he stepped forward and pressed his lips to the back of her ear. “Let’s get back to business, shall we?”
His words lingered in her mind and heart as she dutifully trailed after him, trying to shake off the haunting presence he’d left behind. Veiling her like a boundless fog, sometimes she wished she had the fortitude to withstand these compelling gestures of his. But deep down, both of them were grateful that she wasn’t. Because he enjoyed being able to infect her with such feelings, and she enjoyed his influence just as insatiably.
Summary: Joker and Witch get caught in the middle of a routine Palace scouting mission, but the outcome of being discovered by the guards turns out to be more magical than they expected.
*Author’s Note*: Weird summary but I promise it makes sense in the context of this fic. This is more like just a snippet of a Palace infiltration, an idea I’ve had for months if not a year, like I was definitely thinking about stuff like this back when I first got back into regularly shipping with Ren again. There’s no real fighting and it’s all about the atmosphere, and I hope I was able to capture it to a serviceable degree…thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!
_____
“It’s going to be okay, just stay close to me.”
His voice was like velvet, and she knew she needed to heed his words, but to an extent her mind was hollow. It was going to be impossible not to obey him, though, considering the circumstances. Frame pressed flush against his own, she could feel the warmth of their bodies seeping through their uniforms, mingling in the middle where they met. She was holding one arm up to mirror his own, while his other limb snaked around her waist and held her securely in place. She was at the perfect height for him to rest his chin on her head without having to make any adjustments if he so desired, and she made the mistake of peeking up at him on a whim.
He was beautiful in every sense of the word. She admired the curve of his jaw, the cut of his mask across his face, the wavy tresses of hair that tapered off at the base of his neck. He met her eyes with a short-lived glance, and her heart started ticking like a time bomb. When and what it was going to explode was anyone’s guess, but she had a theory that if it ever did burst at his behest, the debris would consist of nothing more than a delicate shower of love, whatever that entailed.
Witch should have been used to being close to him like this. They’d been living together long enough, been an official couple long enough that it should have seemed more unsettling for them to not be accustomed to sharing each other’s space. But apparently all of that still wasn’t enough to change the fact that she was hopelessly starstruck by him. As a civilian or Phantom Thief, he’d been effortlessly distracting her focus from the moment he’d entered her life, and even after all this time he still had the same amount of overwhelming sway over her. It was her own fault, of course…she was the one who allowed herself to feel this way. Encouraged it, even. And that only made situations like this more stressful, while at the same time she found herself silently celebrating just how lucky she was to end up with him in such a way.
They were both less lucky to find themselves caught up in this particular spot, one that was far from safe or peaceful. A Palace raid gone wrong, or perhaps it had gone right…either way, they were in the midst of an infiltration. The setting appeared to belong to some distinguished personality or another, Witch couldn’t be bothered to recall the details at the moment, whose Palace had manifested in the form of a grand, opulent mansion. The Thieves had encountered a few other Palaces like this in their work before, people who believed in their hearts that they’d been granted the coveted gift of wealth and pleasure. In the real world they may have carried out their lives in the lowest rung of society, but somewhere in that lacking life they found the inspiration and opportunity to take advantage of someone they considered to be even more vulnerable than them. People who could be exploited for the benefit of a single selfish individual…the exact kind of manipulation the Thieves aimed to eradicate time and time again.
“The ballroom has a couple of unguarded exits. You should be able to get to them if you just keep a low profile. If you can avoid causing a scene, no one should have any reason to be suspicious of you.”
“No over the top commotion? C’mon, that’s such a boring way to do things…”
Despite his cocky, sarcastic taunting, Joker trusted Navi’s words completely. He knew he couldn’t afford to incite any kind of chaos in a crowd like this, one that was compact and complex enough that it would be even more impossible to navigate in an uproar. As long as he played his cards right, perhaps he could buy the others the time they needed to find what they were looking for. He and Witch had been in the process of scouring for clues with the rest of them before they got separated, hoping to stumble across the faintest trace of the path to the treasure as per the team’s usual strategy.
Rather than summoning additional security as one might expect, the guards that’d found them simply redirected the startled culprits to the main ballroom. Apparently, some kind of fancy gala was currently being hosted, a masquerade party of sorts that the two Thieves in their flamboyant attire were easily mistaken to be missing from. Joker and Witch weren’t going to complain, especially when they and the rest of their party had narrowly avoided having the real reason they’d been lurking about exposed. They were on the same page and, as much as she struggled to maintain her composure, Witch wanted to cooperate and prove that she could be resourceful even in an unanticipated turn of events like this.
“I didn’t know you could dance,” she remarked quietly, a tad uncomfortable with the silence that even the overwhelming music in the air couldn’t seem to stifle between them.
“I wouldn’t say I’m an expert,” Joker replied with a chuckle. “And it’s not like I’ve ever taken any lessons. But reading the room isn’t that difficult, is it? Following the flow of everyone around you…I would say I’m especially good at that. Blending in.”
“Would you like me to agree?” Witch quipped, but the next time she met his eyes they took her breath away.
“If you really want to.” He continued to lead her in an intricate, uninhibited twirl through the throng, like a leaf drifting in the wind. “But you’re not obligated, of course. And I have to admit, this isn’t as bad as I thought it would be.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, of all the things I’ve been forced to do to get through a Palace, getting to dance with you like this is one of the most enjoyable.”
Another bullet ripped through her heart at his words; Witch almost tripped over him as she simultaneously lost her focus and footing. Steadying her with a confident arm, Joker helped her recover without missing a beat, carrying on with the pattern of their movement as though nothing had changed. His steps were so elegant, graceful, elaborate; it really was as if he was just another thread in the seamless illusion they were weaving through. She found herself lost in the atmosphere, dazzled by the dreamy haze that dominated her senses and permeated her mind. It wasn’t wise or beneficial for her to fall victim to such an obvious mirage, a misleading delusion that was only meant to be dismantled in the end. But as long as she remained here, guarded safely in Joker’s arms, she was careless enough to believe she had nothing to worry about, nothing to fear.
Ornate, extravagant costumes surrounded them on all sides, perfectly complementing the tone of the swelling music that directed their every move. The sounds of clinking glasses and idle chatter accompanied the melody, but Witch could barely decipher anything through the frantic heartbeat pounding in her ears. Chandeliers decked with crystal and flame adorned the ceiling, every facet appearing to drip with starlight. If they hadn’t happened to be wading through the unfortunate manifestation of a corrupted heart, she thought it might be nice to appreciate the festivities a little longer. A lavish celebration experienced in the arms of her love…it was quite a poetic way to rationalize the disconcerting depravity that saturated every shadow, darting by in every glance out of the corner of her eye.
“I’d like to do something like this again sometime,” she confessed as they finally reached the edge of the dance floor, resolutely shattering her fantasy for the better.
“What? Attend another costume party in a Palace full of Shadows that could snap and turn on us at any moment?” Joker replied, and she couldn’t tell if there was any hint of genuine concern in his tone.
“Arsene would never let that happen,” she contested with a roll of her eyes. “Or, more accurately, you would never let that happen. Don’t pretend like you couldn’t take down every enemy in this hall if you really set your mind to it.”
“Maybe, if I had you around to back me up.” He cocked his head to the side just slightly. “But please, continue with what you really meant.”
“I think it would be fun to have a party like this of our own” she corrected. “I mean, I know we could never have anything this excessive, anywhere near this level of luxury—”
“I don’t know, Noir can pull quite a few strings with her connections.”
She muffled an amused giggle in her hand. “I suppose you’re right. But I don’t think I even need anything this outrageous. Just another opportunity to dance with you like that…”
A tad more had slipped out than she’d intended, and she quickly readjusted her attention in an attempt to recover from her embarrassing blunder. “But that’s not important right now. I’m sorry for getting sidetracked, we should get back to the others—”
A hand caught her wrist, halting her stride, and as she spun around to face her assailant he swooped in and caught her off guard with an electrifying kiss. “I can understand the sentiment, and I suppose it would be nice. Any excuse to hold you close like that again…I certainly wouldn’t be opposed.”
As charming and persuasive as always, she didn’t have the strength to avert her eyes until at least a few moments had passed. She was shivering, but not from the stress of the job, and he stepped forward and pressed his lips to the back of her ear. “Let’s get back to business, shall we?”
His words lingered in her mind and heart as she dutifully trailed after him, trying to shake off the haunting presence he’d left behind. Veiling her like a boundless fog, sometimes she wished she had the fortitude to withstand these compelling gestures of his. But deep down, both of them were grateful that she wasn’t. Because he enjoyed being able to infect her with such feelings, and she enjoyed his influence just as insatiably.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-09-14 01:31 am (UTC)and then it got even better with dancing *__* Also I didn't know palaces could be... like that? host balls and stuff? so that was neat!