Warning: Murder, swearing and a very OOC Scaramouche ahahaha kill me.
"You requested of my presence, your majesty?" Footsteps with occasional jingling entered the room, a male with purple hair and matching violet eyes came into sight before the throne.
His orbs were like violet grass, its colour gentle like a breeze on a dandelion. How could a person with such calming eyes have such ruthless hidden rage within them? Brutality only reflected off them, his strides until he reached the throne were with confidence. The golden patterns of his attire shined as if it had taken some of his confidence.
The Tsaritsa sat on the throne, her eyes were cold and sharpened like the tip of an iceberg. It was hard to believe such a cruel soul like hers was the archon of love as her heart was empty.
"Yes, you have a new mission to acquire information that is vital for future plans." She made a hand motion for someone to come forward, "Though, for this mission, you must go with one of my trusted allies. She has created fake identities for the both of you to get into the ball. Her name is [Y/N]."
A [H/C] haired female walked in the room, wearing a foreign type of attire, but she seemed laidback. She wore a black crop top, lace adorning the collar and the veil that fell down her shoulder, the lines of gold stitched multiple unique patterns that matched with her skirt. Her skirt having the same golden designs as her crop top, a slit on the side of her skirt showed off her lace-on boots as it just barely brushed against the cold floor.
Her lips tugged upwards into a smirk when she made eye-contact with him, giving him a small wave. Her [E/C] eyes flickered with amusement when she saw him narrow his eyes.
"So, I have to be working with this pretty boy?" She laughed, placing one hand on her hip, "Consider this mission done, Your Majesty or whatever they call you."
Her [E/c] seemed to have represent the definition of chaos, her tinkling laughter filled with what the normal person would identify as insanity. An inaudible sigh left the Cryo Archon, wondering if she did the right thing by letting [Y/N] accompany the easily angered Fatui Harbinger.
"You two may be dismissed." The Tsaritsa flicked her wrist, a gesture for them to leave immediately. Her eyes were trained on them, her voice monotonous and heartless. "Do not fail me."
"Ah, but of course." [Y/N] smiled at the Tsaritsa but something about it was off, a certain glint in her eyes made the Fatui Harbinger go dead silent. "You know I cannot afford to fail."
"Anyways, Balladeer, run along. We cannot let this mission wait." She began to walk back out the door, lifting her hand to crook two fingers at him to follow her without looking back. The heels of her boots clicked with each step, her veil by her shoulder fluttered with each movement.
"The fuck? Does she think I'm some sort of low life?" He grumbled under his breath, quickly walking beside her. Well, she seems close to the Tsaritsa, especially if she could talk to Her Highness in a casual manner. Obviously, she must exile in these fields. Though, is she an intellectual or fighter with exceptional skills? Or perhaps both?
"No, you're just overthinking too much." His breathing hitched when she heard him, not expecting a reply, "Don't hurt your pretty little head by worrying about nonsense when you've barely gotten any room to fit in anything in there."
"Are you assuming I lack intelligence? Because I can assure you that you're misplacing yourself with me," He smirked when he saw her face flinch in surprise for a split second before she quickly hid it away with rolling her eyes.
"Ha? Replace a pretty face like yours? Impossible." Her laughter echoed through the halls, her [E/C] orbs glimmering with mirth as she spoke.
"Taking part in your frivolous chats is bothersome. Do you ever shut up?" Scaramouche pressed two fingers to his temple, contemplating on whether he should choke himself or the female beside him.
"Why would I miss an opportunity to talk to a pretty boy like you?" She hummed, taking joy in how red the male's cheeks were.
"Don't call me pretty," He hissed, fixating a glare at her before his facial features shifted into a smirk. "The role suits you better."
"Ah, well. We're here now." She gestured towards the door, "I kept all the stuff we need for the mission here. Including the outfits, I've gotten for the fancy ball thing or whatever they call it." She twisted the doorknob open.
The room had white paint adorning the walls, gold patterning scattered across it. A circular rich brown rug in the centre of the room with a matching-coloured coffee table on top of it, both having the same gold patterning as the walls. Two smaller rooms on the left, with golden doorknobs.
It wasn't a room to awe over but he didn't complain, entering the room after her.
"Your clothes are in that bag along with your ID," She pointed to the bag on top of the table with a special designer symbol on it, "Also, I didn't know what fashion taste you had so I just picked what I thought suited you."
He only hummed in response, taking the bag into hand, and picking up the card that was on top of the clothes.
"Kaji Gushiken?" He questioned, reading the name out loud on the card.
"You're a rich guy that donates to orphanages and you're my husband," she said, picking up her own bag. "Well, until the mission ends anyways."
"So, I'm now the Mr. Nice guy," His face crinkled in disgust as he tossed the card back into the bag, "Weird name for a guy that's nice."
"True, considering how his first name literally means blaze," [Y/N] chuckled. "The name doesn't suit your face but your personality."
Ignoring her, he inquired. "So how are we going to get the information? I'm assuming it has to do with the identities."
"Catching on fast, love." She smiled at him, full of mischief. "Basically, since we cannot attract much attention during this mission. I've come up with a plan. Our target with the information has connections with these people but have never met as they've only communicated through letters, they were planning to meet soon for a fundraiser so why not give him a little surprise?"
"As in him finding out we stole back the information?" He raised his brows slightly, quite impressed.
"Of course," She hummed. "You seem impressed."
"Not that much, it's not much of a good plan anyway."
Before she could reply, he asked another question.
"What happened to the people whose identities we stole?" He asked, despite knowing the answer.
"Oh, them? I got rid of them."
"As expected," He spoke, his focus on the electricity dancing between his fingers although his gaze held little to no interest. Snapping out of whatever trance he was, he turned towards one of the changing rooms and picked up his bag of designer clothes, "I'm going to get ready, and you should as well."
Not waiting for a response, he shut the door behind him. The room was confined, plain white walls. On the wall, on the right there was a hook and in front, there was a tall mirror. He placed his hat on the hook, the bells jingling as he did so.
"Don't take too long, darling," [Y/N] said before entering the room next to his, "We must hurry and get this mission over and done with, regardless of how much I'd love to spend more time with you."
He bit back a laugh. "For once, we can agree on something, but remove the part of cherishing our time together. I'd rather bicker with Childe and work with him than go out with you, darling," The pet-name rolled off his tongue, lathered in poison with such ease. She could hear the sadistic smirk in his voice as he spoke.
"To get along? This is a mission; we are only tied by work not by your petty friendship."
"Friendship? You think I want to befriend you?" Another one of her laughs reached his eardrums with the same tinge of amusement. "My sweet, sweet Balladeer. I do not want to form such an acquainted bond with you, I would like to win over your heart."
Ha? Win over his heart? What a strange request, he thought. One half of him told him to ignore her but the other half of him was intrigued. It wouldn't hurt to have a little fun, would it?
"Win over my heart, you say? Why not. Give me your worst, doll."
This time he had no verbal response, a soft chuckle heard from the female, followed by the crinkling of plastic. Right, he should probably get dressed as well.
He took out the clothes out from the bag, cringing when the paper bag crinkled at his actions. The fabric was silky and soft to the touch, it almost slithered from his fingers.
Slipping out of his clothes, his nimble fingers had quickly dressed himself after, finally pulling on the gloves. The clothing was not too tight or too loose, how did she know of his size? Well, she was a designer of some sort. He turned to the mirror, adjusting the bottom of his suit as he did so. The collar of his suit was a deep purple that matched his gloves, the tie hanging off by the black gem in the middle of his neck, was a lighter shade of purple but not too light. By his shoulder blades were gold linings that shimmered even in the dim light of the room. The overall colour of his suit was a dark violet, with the occasional gold gem-like shapes stitched onto the fabric. Underneath his suit was a pitch-black bodysuit, the material thin yet comfortable. By the torso was golden patterns etched onto the fabric, leading up to the chest. The black leather boots had streaks of purple at the ends and were an exact fit. Everything was an exact fit. Did someone provide her with the measurements while she was designing? He thought, shaking his head. He didn't have time to ponder.
Well, at least she had good taste in clothing.
"Balladeer?" [Y/N] knocked on his door. "We must hurry so that I can tell you about the plan along the way."
Wordlessly, he pushed open the door.
He would be lying if he said she didn't look good because she looked very attractive. She wore the same colours as him. Her dress was pitch black with the casual streaks of purple, forming the occasional pattern on her abdomen. The hem of her dress would be brushing against her ankles if it weren't for the black leathered boots. The region by her shoulders and neck was graced with lace. By both sides of her hips was a layer of violet fabric, falling until the hem of the dress. Her gloves matched the violet fabric, the material seemed smooth and silky. Her hair fell freely down her shoulders, framing her face perfectly. At the side of her head was a flower pin a light purple with spirals of black complimenting it, similar to the charm on her necklace that hung by her neck.
"Someone's dressed up," His tone was teasing, a smirk crossing his face.
"You're not too bad yourself, pretty boy." She returned his smirk before waving her hand. A map of teleport waypoints hovered above her hand as she studied it, her eyes flickering from one waypoint to another.
"This one is closer."
He pointed towards one of the waypoint symbols while pressing his body against her back. It was slight, but the contact was there.
"Agreed, it is an easier path as well." She nodded, "Are you ready to go, darling?"
"Unfortunately."
Two fingers were snapped, and they stood upon a hill. Their shoes would have sunk into the snow if it weren't such a thin layer. The cool breeze caressed his face, as if a whisper of murder by his ears. The taste of death lingering on the tip of his tongue. It was ironic, all those years ago when he was abandoned by his master and was left to fend on his own. He knew nothing of the world back then, he was forced to learn it the hard way. So fragile and delicate, as if he were glasswork compared to his ruthlessness now. It was truly ironic that the thought of it made him swallow a dry laugh.
The Fatui organisation wasn't easy to be a part of. The first life taken away by your own hands is a memory that stays engraved into your head, every sound, every movement, and every detail. The Fatui required you to be utterly ruthless. To take life as if it were taking candy from a child. The scars from battles are etched onto your skin, a reminder of your reckless mistakes.
A tap on his shoulder brought him back to reality with another breeze of the wind.
"Pay attention, dear. We can't have you zoning out during the mission, can we now?" [Y/N] held a subtle smirk on her face as she spoke though, the teasing lilt to her voice made it obvious.
He shot her a glare and flicked her temple, prompting a noise of surprise from her as a soft pink tinted his cheeks subtly. It was subtle but [Y/N]'s eyes were sharp, immediately catching it.
"You're going to give me a headache, shut up."
"Flustered already, are we? What happened to all that talk earlier?" She caught his wrist before it returned to his side, in a tight hold, stepping closer until their chests were just barely touching. "Was that all bark and no bite? I'm quite disappointed, I was expecting more from you, Balladeer."
He held her chin, pulling her closer but her expression didn't differ, it only widened her smirk. Seconds felt like it was stretched to hours as they had the same glint in their eyes, waiting for a move from one another. As if they were in a game of chess, playing against each other. Tied, they were, trying to anticipate each other's next move.
"The mission isn't over, doll. I never thought you were the type to give up so easily," His chuckle full of mischief as their noses brushed against each other, his eyes like violet stones up close.
"I'm not a patient person. Don't keep me waiting, love."
"Oh? And what if I do?" He raised his eyebrow, mischief laced in his tone. "What will you do, doll?"
"Would you like to find out?"
Her smirk quickly faded as she pulled his wrist to duck behind the hill. To her surprise, he didn't argue. Waiting for a reply.
"By the pathway of behind the house there's 4 guards. Two to the left and two to the right." [Y/N] summoned her spear, spinning it with ease between her fingers. "Which side would you like to take, darling?"
"I really don't give a shit, doll."
"Wonderful attitude, dear. I'll be taking the left. Meet me in the stock room, I'll be the one retrieving the information."
She didn't wait for a reply, sprinting past him and off to the guards. She took in a short breath, electricity rushing through her veins as her spear swirled with anemo, a deep forest-like green coming to life.
"Hey, stop right-" The man fell to the ground, the tip of her spear intruding his ribcage and to his heart, leaving as fast as it came.
"How dare you!" The other guard spoke, thrusting his sword forward.
She stepped back to dodge his strike, grabbing his wrist to flip him over.
"Now, now, don't squirm otherwise it will be more painful." She placed her foot on his back as his body was sprawled on the floor, wrist in her hand. "If you value your life, inform me of where the owner of this household has kept information about the Tsaritsa."
"Never!"
"Oh? You're the stubborn type I see," She hummed as if she were thinking, twisting his wrist further. "It seems that I will have to take your life, hm?"
"N-no! Stop! Please! I-I'll tell you!" He begged, his tone annoyingly desperate.
[Y/N] clicked her tongue in satisfaction, loosening her grip. "Go on."
"A-at the second floor, the room furthest down the hall on the right." He blurted out, "From what I h-have heard, there is information about the Cryo Archon in one of the locked drawers of his desk. I-I don't know if it's exactly true, but please! Spare me! I gave you what you wanted!"
She hummed, helping the man up singlehandedly while smiling, "Thank you."
"Though, don't take this too personally, just doing my job." She lunged her spear into his chest without summoning her winds before the man could react. She narrowed her eyes as she watched him fall to the ground, her weapon dispersing into small gold glimmers until nothing was there. A sigh of disappointment left her, "How pathetic, at least I didn't dirty my dress. That would be a shame."
"The worst part of this job aside from the paperwork is hiding evidence, I swear." She muttered, grabbing a leg from each man to begin dragging.
"It's not like I have to deal with the aftermath, so it won't bother me if they find out after the event, hm?" Pausing for a moment, she spotted bushes near a tree, a little far from the house. "Aha, bingo."
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"It seems that you took your time, love." She spoke, leaning against one of the crates of the stock room as Scaramouche climbed through the window.
"I literally just saw you coming through the window a few seconds before."
"Still earlier."
"Sure, doll." He narrowed his eyes, dusting off imaginary dust from his suit as he walked towards the door, "Shall we?"
"Oh? So, he does have manners?" She laughed before reaching up to him, "We shall."
She pressed her ear to the door while placing a finger on her lips, motioning him to stay silent. Hearing nothing, she twisted the doorknob to open the door a little, seeing through the small crack. Seeing no one, she gestured for him to come through while stepping out.
"Be ready to attack," She whispered. "There will be shit tons of guards, maybe."
"I don't think so," He whispered back. "This man is dumb enough to put only two fucking guards behind his house."
"Fair," She shrugged. "Let us find out."
Step by step as they proceeded down the hall, the chatter of guests began to get louder and louder. She put a hand to his chest, halting both of their movements before they went through the second hall.
"We can't take the short cut to the stairs here; there's guards and we cannot fight against them with the of risk of so many civilians watching." She said, speaking in a hushed tone.
Scaramouche peeked to see all the guests, spotting a staircase near the corner.
"We can go through the guests and through those stairs?" He whispered back. "But how will we get through when there's two guards right there down that hall?"
"People are stupid, don't worry. Come." She stepped forward, "We've to act like a couple though."
Narrowing his eyes, he offered her his elbow in which she gladly slid her arm around it.
Walking down the second hallway, the two guards quickly turned their heads at the noise of heels clicking rather loudly against the floor.
"Hey! What are you doing here?" One of them stepped forward, readying his own weapon.
"O-oh, sorry! I didn't mean to cause such a misunderstanding, sir." [Y/N] spoke hesitantly, displaying her now teary eyes as she gripped on Scaramouche's arm harder. "I just couldn't find the restroom is all."
As Scaramouche could neither curse at [Y/N] at the moment nor roll his eyes at her, he did it inside his head as he began to speak, going on with her little show.
"Don't apologise, darling. It's their fault for intimidating you and speaking in such a manner to you." He placed a soft kiss on her forehead before glaring at the guard, "Speak to my wife with respect, do you understand?"
"My apologies, sir." The guard bowed his head, shaken by the authority in Scaramouche's voice. "The restroom is near the refreshments table, miss."
"Thank you, good sir. We'll be off then." [Y/N] chirped with a smile, going pass them with Scaramouche.
"See? Told you they're total dumbasses." She laughed once they were by the crowd. "And you did a good job at being my husband, don't you think?"
He almost didn't reply, too busy scanning his surroundings. The walls were painted gold with black linings, a crystal-clear chandelier hanging from above. It glimmered as if it were made from diamonds, and it probably was. The tabletops were made out of pure marble, even a fool could tell. People were scattered everywhere, the smell of rich perfume wafting through the air.
"Whatever you say," He narrowed his eyes. "Where to next?"
She cocked her head towards the staircase, opposite of them in the right corner.
"Well, why not have a little fun before all the serious stuff, hm?" He asked, stepping in front of her.
"Fun?" She inquired with a perplexed face.
"May I have this dance, doll?" A familiar teasing smirk had made its way onto his face as he held out his gloved hand.
Her eyes widened a little, quite surprised at his actions. But who was she to complain?
"Of course, although, I must ask for something in return." She slipped her hand into his as he led her to where everyone was dancing, one hand on her waist while the other held hers.
"And what may that be?" He asked as she placed her hand on his shoulder, following his steps.
"Your heart."
"And what if I deny your request?"
A short chortle slipped by her as he spun her around then pulled her close to his chest.
"That surely would be a shame but," She leaned in closer, his face a breath away from hers. "Who said I'll give up?"
"I expected so from you." He chuckled, "After all, where's the fun without a little game?"
She hummed in response, locking gazes with him. She smiled; it wasn't a mischievous one. It was a genuine, sweet smile. One that he couldn't help but return, the corners of his lips quirking upwards ever so slightly. Their eyes full of mirth as they waltzed around, in their own little word, her dress flowing with grace with each spin. This time, neither spoke, blocking out the excited chatter of others and the clinking of wine glasses. Silence enveloping them, seconds stretching into hours.
"I hate to ruin the moment but," She sighed, once they were near the staircase. "We have a mission to finish."
This time, 3 guards stood there. Their faces stoic with black suits, hands behind their back.
The pair of criminals glanced at each other, matching smirks adorning their faces as he gave her one last spin.
"Ready to rack havoc, darling?" Dipping her slowly, his grip on her waist loosening teasingly.
"Sure," She chuckled, rising rather quickly. "Let us get this done fast, love. I do not take pleasure in slacking off."
"Of course."
Without another word, they built up their fake facades while nearing the guards. Chaos surely trailing after their footsteps.
(I kind of just gave up because this has been sitting in my drafts since like maybe last year? I'm so not bothered. I was only like "dumb interactions, dumb interactions, cliche shit and what am I doing with my life." hahahahaha help.)