Work Text
~~
Present day…
“Are we ready?”
A sharp grin spread across a man’s face and the glow of purples, greens and golds reflected onto his sandy blond hair. Bright scarlet eyes peered from a decorative Venetian masque, meant to resemble a black cat, as he watched a nearby building from the safety of the rooftop. Waiting for the signal, he perched on the ledge until a woman stepped out of a limousine wearing a matching white feline masque.
“Then let’s party.” Standing up, the masked man stretched and cracked his knuckles.
“
Just don’t get carried away, okay
?” A feminine voice purred in his ear through a com device. “
I can’t run that fast in these damn heels you picked
.”
He gave a small shrug while he admired his work from afar. A slender and low cut black dress with stardust woven throughout that fit perfectly on its brunette owner. The fabric loosened around the hips and one piece became several as intricate feathers of cloth floated anywhere from her thigh to below her kneecap, giving plenty of mobility. Tight brown curls were expertly pinned into a bun surrounded by a small wreath of daffodils and irises; her mask curving perfectly along her head to meet the crown of flowers. She looked like a princess, a stark contrast to the street girl he bumped into years ago.
“They were the only ones that matched the dress, Angelface. Stick to the plan and this should be a perfect night to dance! See you on the other side.” The man gave an amused cackle before leaping off the building in a swan dive.
~~
Three months ago…
“The Masque of Rex.”
Crimson eyes squinted at the small blonde girl in front of him. “The what?” She adjusted her glasses with a trembling hand under the thief’s gaze. Noise from the busy bar surrounded their secluded booth while the glasses on the table clinked with the heavy vibrations.
“Bakugou… let Miss Melissa explain first.” A soft touch rested on his thigh. The brunette turned back towards the cowering girl with a smile. “Don’t mind him. Please go on, what is the Masque of Rex?” As soon as the man opened his mouth to protest, that gentle touch became steely and sharp on his leg. Ochako Uraraka was not a woman to be trifled with.
The small girl took a deep breath before nervously looking at the both of them. “Rex is the name given to the King of Mardi Gras every year. It started with an old tradition going back to the first Rex and his Krewe in 1872 that donned masks and paraded for a Russian duke touring the States.”
Bakugou yawned at the history lesson, promptly earning another painful squeeze from the brunette beside him. Grunting, he gritted his teeth. “If the mask is so important, then why talk to us about it?”
The blonde girl fiddled with her skirt and nibbled on her lip before she continued. “Well, in anticipation of the Duke’s arrival, they crafted a masque fit for royalty. However, the Duke didn’t join in on the parade, so the first Rex wore it instead in honor of him. He kept up the tradition for three years before the masque disappeared, or rather was ‘acquired’ by one of the social elites.” The girl sighed as she recounted the history.
“What makes this mask so special that it would get stolen?” This time the brunette fired off the question, easing up slightly on the sandy blond’s leg. “And why are you so desperate to get it back after nearly two centuries?”
Melissa worried her lip again and her nose twitched. “Well… My- The first Rex of the Mardi Gras parade was my ancestor, and the descendent of the Duke is going to be visiting just like the first parade in 1872.”
A small gasp left Uraraka as she finally released her grip on Bakugou and instead clamped at her mouth excitedly. “Oh, that’s so romantic! So are you going to present the masque again like the first Rex?”
A soft, dreamy smile crept on the blonde girl’s face. “That’s the idea.”
“You still haven’t told us why it was stolen in the first place, by the rich bastards nonetheless.” Bakugou grumbled, twirling his cool glass on the counter. The girl flinched and stared down at her own glass.
She cleared her throat and tried to meet their eyes. “Um… The base is a Venetian style made of pure onyx with… Um… 24 karat gold filigree decorations along with pure silver tears.” Bakugou felt his eyes widen at the news, but still she kept going. “On the inside, it’s lined with the finest Chinese silk, and… it’s also studded with flawless diamonds, emeralds and amethysts.”
The two thieves couldn’t speak or blink. They just sat there silently with wide eyes long after the girl stopped talking. She couldn’t meet their eyes at all and focused on the glass in front of her as they gaped uselessly.
Uraraka was the first to breathe. “No wonder… that thing is worth a fortune… and sounds beautiful.”
A somber look crossed Melissa’s face. “It’s beautiful, but only a select few have ever seen it. Listen… I’m willing to pay you handsomely for its recovery. And—” Something tapped the blond’s knee, nearly choking when he looked down. “And I can pay half now.”
Bakugou cleared his throat before a wicked grin crossed across the thief’s face, “You got yourself a deal, blondie.”
~~
Present day…
The wind whipped through Bakugou’s hair as he descended in his free fall. Closer to the ground, he felt the gentle tug of his line evening him out, completely stopping as his toes touched the cement. With a swift and practiced motion, he unclipped his harness and tossed his duffel bag down near an open grate in the wall.
Thankfully, the alleyway was clear of parade viewers and drunks, allowing the thief to slip inside the grate unseen with bag in tow. He closed the opening behind him and crawled through the shaft barely wide enough for the blond. All he had to do was follow his nose in the dark tunnel until he found the source of a putrid stench, a porthole on the bottom of the unused ventilation shaft.
Covered in bolts from eras long past, Bakugou pulled out a well-loved wrench and took a whack. In less than two minutes, he was already lifting the lid and squeezing through onto a questionable ladder. Other than the metallic thuds from his boots, he could hear the trickling of water in the stony darkness.
However, as his boots hit the ground, he heard and felt the squelch of something soft and squishy. The sudden putrid smell in the stale air almost forced him to gag as he quickly rummaged through his bag. Finding what he was looking for, he hung it around his neck. With a flick of the dial, the old sewer was illuminated with a flash.
He trudged forward, not daring to look at what he stepped on, and searched for his mark. A large archway bricked in during the prohibition era. “Hello beautiful. A little bit of C4 should help you open up a bit more.”
Static from his com broke his musings. “
You’re a bit early, Bakugou. The fireworks aren’t timed for another five minutes. I did swipe us some nifty things to play with later
.” Uraraka’s purr in his ear almost made him forget he was in an outdated sewer.
“Well shit, I’ll just do set up then. Glad I’m wearing a bodysuit or who knows what I would have had to clean off.” He tried hard not to think about whatever squished earlier and dug through his bag again to find all the wires he needed to hang up. Taking a glance at his watch, he corrected his timing before pulling out a handful of thin wire.
“
You mean the bodysuit I forced you to wear? You’re welcome. Also… I may have tweaked your wires. Oops, gotta go
.” The com static faded out, but not before he heard a male’s voice talking to her.
“Gah, he’s a dead man soon,” he grumbled more to himself. Holding his wires up to the light, he saw she was telling the truth. Instead of red, white, and yellow colors, they were purple, green and gold instead. “Mardi Gras colors… very festive, Angelface.”
He puttied the lines against the old brick, making an archway of his own before setting the trigger. Nearby was a small alcove he stowed himself and his bag, pulling a switch out for the ready. “On your mark.”
The static cut in again. “
Okay, the first handful have gone off. Count down on three. One…Two…
”
“Three.” His finger pressed the red button and a loud boom rattled the old tunnel. Seconds after, he heard the clattering of brick chips bouncing around. As the dust cleared, he could see the several layers of brick crumbled away to provide him just enough room to slip through.
Thankfully, with horrible planning from the designer of the building, it lead right into an old supply room that had seen better days. Several stacks of dusty boxes lined the room and assortments of various musty furniture pieces were scattered and stacked on the floor. Only a single dingy light bulb hung from the ceiling, probably useless by now with the amount of grime caked on.
The blond thief wasted no time stripping the grungy bodysuit to reveal a pristine tuxedo underneath and kicked off the boots for more formal wear. Opening one of the nearby rotting boxes, he stuffed the filthy set of clothes and bag into it and then moved a couple of the stacks against the giant crack in the wall in case someone happened to walk in. Satisfied with his work, he plucked a smaller satchel he pulled out along with his shoes and headed towards the door.
Lockpick ready, he jiggled the handle of the supply room to find it surprisingly unlocked, barely cracking it to get a peek in the room. Inside was dark, with a single red glow near a set of dimly lit stairs. Pipes and valves littered the room, all leading to central generator and furnace.
Pacing himself, Bakugou opened the door wider and sprinted towards an iron box nestled in a far corner. Reaching into his bag he pulled out several things: cable cutters, gloves, a small monitor with hook ins, and a lump of coal suspiciously shaped like a rat.
Opening the lid, he saw the sets of switches lined in several rows. It took barely any effort to pry this panel away to see the mess of wiry innards linking themselves to the switches. Careful not to flip or pull any out, he sorted them by rooms until he found the ones he searched for and clipped the hook ups to the security lines.
“Getting feed in three…two…” The small monitor suddenly flicked to life with several small boxes of video. “One. We are online. Are you in position?” He flicked to the door where Uraraka was needing to be.
“
Uhhmm…no? I gad difstrated
.” Her voice was slightly muffled like…she was eating something. Bakugou’s temple started to throb. Quickly he scrolled towards the ball room and enlarged the buffet table. There she was, a vision in black and white, holding a plate of colorful cake.
“Oh fuck no, why the hell are you eating? In that dress? You should be at the fucking door!” The brunette gave a sheepish smile on camera.
“
But…It’s king cake
!” She pouted slightly at his exasperated moan.
“And that’s my fucking dress that I poured my heart and soul into! Put the cake down and go to the damn door!” The pout turned into a sly grin as she picked up the piece whole and looked directly at the camera. “Uraraka, don’t you dare!” She opened her mouth and popped the cake in. “URARAKA! IF I FIND ONE DAMN CRUMB, YOU’RE DEAD.”
Suddenly, her smile turned to a look of shock.
She looked around quickly in a panic before Bakugou finally realized what happened. Gloating, he purred into her com. “Found the baby, didn’t you?” A seething glare looked at him. “Well don’t spit it out, or they are going to try and get your info to buy the next cake. Guess you are just going to have to go to the door and get rid of it there.”
If anyone saw her, they would have thought she had gone crazy flipping off a statue of Saint Louis. He had to hold back his laughter as she marched with an angry stomp towards the meeting place. Bakugou spoofed all the footage as he followed her route towards the rendezvous, her only detour in a hallway to spit out the solid gold infant found in the cake.
She tucked it away once it was free of food and continued on, huffing into her com. “Okay I’m at the door, are you ready?” The thief removed his gear and placed the rat among the mess, something small glued to it before he lined up the panel.
“We will have five minutes before the Krewe shows up to investigate. On your mark.” Bakugou held up the wire cutters to one of the main power lines as he balanced the panel to slam shut.
“Okay.” Something beeped before what sounded like a door opening. “NOW.” With quick precision, the line was cut and the world became total darkness. The panel was set, and he pressed the detonator, watching as smoke wafted through the creases. He booked it to the stairs, climbing up with only a minor stumble before running out into the darkened hall.
Luckily, there was still panic as he heard the tell-tale screaming from the large ballroom. However, just as he reached the door, the voices of several gruff men started to round a nearby corner. That’s when he felt the yank of his tux before finding himself in the arms of an ethereal beauty as the door softly shut behind them.
The stampede of feet passed by and the two sighed. The worst was yet to come.
Turning around, they caught the glint of moonlight reflecting on their prize. “To be honest, I thought there would be more security than this.” Uraraka sounded slightly deflated as she walked up to the glass case holding the Masque.
Ornate wood framed the sparkling glass, carved ivy and roses lining the edges. A mass of tangled thorns near the bottom of the case concealed the simple lock holding it in place. Inside however, were small contact plates that would have tripped if the electricity was running, alerting anyone the case was open.
The brunette quickly picked the lock and lifted the masterpiece masque from its armature, surprised at its weight. Bakugou grunted at her to hurry as he glanced at his watch, they were starting to run behind. Lifting her dress feathers, she revealed a padded pouch on her thigh and carefully tucked the heavy and delicate treasure inside.
“Shhhh.” Bakugou held up a fist to Uraraka for silence after she replaced the glass to its contact points. As quietly as she could, she relocked the case as the sound of stomping boots were heard in the darkness.
Bakugou listened intently as they continued past their door. “They said they found a charred rat. It must have chewed through the cord, but power will be back on in less than a minute. Soon as that happens we can check the rooms after the security boots back up.” He didn’t hesitate to rush to the brunette, just reaching her as the lights flicked on.
“We have two minutes to reach the door before the security for the room is set and they do rounds. Looks like I finally get to have that dance, Uraraka.” Bakugou took his position, hand holding hers while the other rested on her backside. With a grin under the white cat masque, she reached with her free hand to his shoulder and took a breath.
One, two, three… One, two three.
They had choreographed this dance so many times. A waltz that dodged the timed lasers across the room. A magical and silent set of motions they knew by heart long before they knew this security was in place. It was a happy coincidence when they scouted beforehand that this system, when triggered with a restart, did so in the tune of The Blue Danube.
With every twirl of her dress, every click of her high heels, every movement together, they soared around the glass-cased room like it was their own private ballroom. It was these small moments with her that made this life so rich. The treasures they stole were just the icing on the cake, or decorations on their wonder-filled mochi.
Unfortunately, like all moments, it ended way too soon as they found themselves at the door. The finale ending with one low dip that showed off her curves. He wished he could kiss her then, one she truly deserved, but it would have to wait.
Bakugou pressed his back towards the door, knowing they only had a short window to pull this off. “Shoes?” The brunette in his arms held up her heels, already ahead of him. “Good. We have roughly twenty seconds before video comes up.” She nodded sharply.
Time slowed as he opened the door.
Twenty.
First, the noise. A ringing that set his teeth on edge as he danced with her through the threshold into the hallway. A clanging of bars dropping suddenly, barely grazing them both as it slid into place where the door frame closed. The padding of her bare feet on the marble tile.
Eighteen.
Second, the sights. Blinding flashes of an alarm set on the wall intermingling with the colorful explosions coming in through a nearby window. The exaggerated shadows of men along the wall leading to the ballroom. Shadows that were becoming more solid as the stomping grew louder.
Sixteen.
Both ran in the other direction, the less preferred of the escape routes. The hallway was a blur as every second flashed by.
Ten.
The door they were looking for, thankfully unlocked. Shouts of alarm and radios were going off. A security guard yelled, and a loud bang sounded. Something pinged next to them, but adrenaline hit faster. Panic swept through Bakugou as he pulled them both through the door.
Five.
“Keep going, almost there, Uraraka.” He was panting hard as pressure pressed on his side, but they were almost home free. Just had to round past the last hurdle.
Three.
The two raced along the cement wall, the decline leading them to ground level. They barreled past the last monitored turn, coming face to face with several parade floats covered in bright flowers and beads.
Zero.
They did it. They beat the reboot of the cameras, leaving no trace of the culprits on footage. A small giggle erupted from Uraraka as she sprinted forward with Bakugou in hand.
Breathless and giddy, they couldn’t celebrate quite yet.
The two sprinted past several floats, looking for the right one among them. All of them covered in colorful flowers of golds, purples, and greens. Beads were strung around them like garlands with even smaller bead necklaces littering the poles placed throughout the crafts. Some had characters from story books while others had popular ones from the media, and each had a different theme.
However, among the glitzy floats were also the sounds of quite a bit debauchery from party goers. Lucky for the thieves, the float they wanted was pleasantly empty.
Bakugou and Uraraka shuffled underneath, finding the hatch to climb onto the float. As they reached the top, screeches of surprise started to erupt as security started filtering through all the floats in search of the intruders. The blond let out a soft growl, knowing they were going to check everything.
While the brunette went towards one of the riggings, Bakugou found a spot hidden away for them to lay low. He took off the cat mask and ruffled his hair, unbuttoning his dress shirt as Uraraka joined him. She removed her mask too, makeup still perfectly on point, and pulled the pins from her hair, letting it cascade down her shoulders.
He knew it was coming but was unprepared for the woman to yank him to the damn floor, peppering kisses on his face. He was sure she left a trail of black lipstick down the side of his neck before giving him a proper kiss.
It was bliss and pain. It was heaven and hell rolled into one embrace. Her soft lips gracing his.
He wrapped a hand to cradle her face, bringing it closer as the shock wore off into desperation and need. One of her gloved hands did the same and he took the lead, nibbling on her lip. She groaned in response and he took the chance to delve a little deeper in their kiss. Her face was serene as they both lost themselves to this moment.
Unfortunately, Bakugou knew this would end shortly after it began.
“You two! Get out of there!” A deep gruff voice shouted as a blinding light flashed at their faces. Squinting, they both raised a hand to block out what they could, making out a couple figures.
“We were enjoying ourselves, stupid mood killers!” Bakugou was honestly surprised as Uraraka started shouting at the security with a bright pink face, lipstick and eyeliner smeared.
“Sorry ma’am, but I assure you a hotel is a better place for it. Now please exit the float.” The brunette grumbled underneath him before the blond caught her moving wrist, a shoe armed and ready. He shook his head before plucking the heels from her before she reluctantly grabbed the masks instead.
Picking themselves up, they shuffled towards two security guards waiting for them on the concrete. As they stepped on the ground, one of the guards pulled out a small wand device and ran it over the thieves.
Beeping went off several times, mostly belt buckles and jewelry. Every beep sent adrenaline through the blond thief, but his heart nearly stopped when it rang positive near Uraraka’s leg. “Ma’am mind if we look at your hip below your dress? There was an incident earlier and we want to rule out all party guests.” The blond sucked in a breath, glad they didn’t find anything amiss with him at least.
“Incident? You are lucky I’m not calling my lawyer!” She played the part of heiress well, something Bakugou still couldn’t quite get over. The guards shared uncomfortable glances before turning back to the fuming woman with an apologetic plea. She huffed with disgust. “Do I have a freaking choice?” The men shook their head.
With a swipe of her hand, she moved the feathers on her dress to reveal her thigh. Her bare, naked thigh. A small scar was seen closer towards her hip.
The guards shared a confused glance, running the wand over her leg and still getting a beep. “See anything you like, you inconsiderate—”
Bakugou quickly threw his hand over her face before becoming uncharacteristically apologetic. “Sorry for her behavior. She has a metal pin in her leg from an injury. If that’s all, we would like to go somewhere more private.” He wanted to scream at them too, but there were more pressing things that demanded they leave. Now.
The two security men nodded before directing them towards the exit. Bakugou wrapped a tight arm around his date as they walked out towards freedom. He felt her hand wrap around his side, as small inaudible gasp left her as he felt the warmth starting to stick to his clothes. Adrenaline was the only thing keeping him standing straight right now.
Before long, they cleared the building and headed out of sight into the crowd cheering in the street in all sorts of costumes and masks. They picked their way through until they finally found the bar they frequented. It was chaos, but the noise had become dull for the blond thief as he was shoved into a room beyond the employee entrance.
~~
The next night…
“Hey, does this hurt?” Uraraka poked the bandaged spot on his side, eliciting a pained snarl from her partner. He swatted her hand away before turning the T.V up louder. “Thank goodness Kiri was working last night. Not sure how you would have handled a hospital visit.”
Bakugou grumbled at the mention of the ex-combat medic. “I knew he would be there.” Uraraka raised an eyebrow and he looked away in a pout, focusing on the T.V. “I made sure the bar had him working in case something went wrong.”
Whatever response she had was cut off as an announcement rang on the news channel.
‘
We have received news that the long-lost Masque of Rex has recently been uncovered by persons unknown who wished to stay anonymous. Today at the Mardi Gras Rex parade, the descendent of the first Rex rode alongside this year’s Rex with a European guest, now known as the descendent of the Duke who traveled to New Orleans on the Mardi Gras revival
.’
A video of the parade float came across the screen with a small picture of the masque in the corner. Bakugou squinted. “It looks smaller than the one we kissed in.” He could see their client near the European, holding his hand.
“Nope, same one.” Uraraka finally settled down, running a hand through the blond hair in her lap. “She wouldn’t have found the drop site if it wasn’t.” He would have purred as she massaged his scalp, but something was prodding the back of his mind.
“Right. We gonna talk about that kiss?” Bakugou looked up towards her, eyebrows furrowed. She removed her hand and pressed a button instead. He gave a small pout as the T.V grew louder.
‘
The girl had pulled the masque from behind the Rex’s throne and presented it to the crowd before kneeling towards the Duke in a proposal of sorts. We aren’t sure what was said, but the Duke nodded and donned the masque. We have ourselves a Mardi Gras Proposal, folks
!’
There was an explosion of cheering in the video as the two kissed before several pictures of the couple were blown up on the screen. Uraraka sighed contently. “I love happy endings, though she could’ve told us she was already engaged to the guy.”
“Stupid royals have to make it public or they get hounded.” A small pain laced from the gunshot wound. Looking over, he saw her hand resting on the bandage, whether it was intentional or not was a different story.
Bakugou had known her for several years now. Wealthy kleptomaniac runs into a street urchin and they both managed to steal the other’s valuables. Both thought they could use the other for bigger scores until finally they managed to trust each other as a team. The jobs kept getting bigger and if he was truly honest with himself, he started getting…feelings for her.
He tried to tamp down his emotions around her, taking in stride the small moments where her hand lingered a bit too long or when the two were so exhausted from a job they used each other as pillows. They even cuddled on cooler nights and shared meals. He tried to tell himself these were just things that normal friends did, nothing more.
But last night… Last night was the first time he finally allowed himself to feel something, even if it was just a ploy to get out of trouble.
Something tugged at his subconscious though. Her reactions to being interrupted, her unusually rude attitude last night. Honestly, it was like they switched personalities after that kiss. Not that he minded. She was a force to be reckoned with but didn’t show that side of herself often.
If she wasn’t ready to talk about it, then he wasn’t going to push.
Sighing, he winced as she moved her hand back to run through his short blond hair. It felt soothing, all his focus going towards not falling asleep on Uraraka’s lap. There was one question still running through his mind though.
“Hey, why was your leg getting pinged for metal last night?” There weren’t any pins in her leg, so he was confused as what kept setting off the metal detector.
A blush rushed across her face. “Oh. Um… I put the gold baby thing in the band of my underwear since I couldn’t keep the masque pouch. Didn’t expect them to have a metal wand.” A nervous finger twirled a brown lock of hair as she looked away in embarrassment.
He couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought, a deep content feeling taking over as she kept petting his hair. After a few minutes of watching the news, he finally closed his eyes and let his breathing even out. Sleep tugged at him, conspiring with the pain meds, and very nearly took hold of him when he felt the lightest of touches press on his forehead.
A soft kiss that sent him with a smile to his dreams.