Chapter Text
Duke and Dahlia Rose are two of the best thieves on this side of Saturn. They robbed the Utgard Express and disappeared without a trace, leaving one of the solar system’s most infamous thieves in the dust and pulling off an impossible heist to boot. They stole the Ruby 7 without so much as a single hitch, and there are still whispers of their prowess every time a high-profile crime is committed without any name attached to it.
They also don’t exist.
At least, not in the way people think. Because following each and every one of those whispers is talk of their partnership, how easily they were rumored to have worked together, a single couple doing the work of a full crew, a perfect marriage of crime and, well...marriage. And this is precisely where the illusion falls apart, Nureyev thinks bitterly to himself as he decodes the encrypted message on his comms. A job offer from Buddy Aurinko — it’s almost too good to refuse. But refuse it he must, because this job offer is not for him, not exactly. The most salient part of the message reads:
Job offer for: Duke and Dahlia Rose. Time sensitive: please respond within 3 hours.
Even if things had ended differently, he wouldn’t be able to make it to Mars in time and convince Juno to...what, exactly? Pretend to be his wife so Peter can chase after a long dead pipe dream of working with his hero? The lady could barely stand being Dahlia Rose for more than an hour, and he had made it abundantly clear that he wanted nothing to do with a life of crime. Or more specifically, Peter thinks as his finger hovers above the delete button, nothing to do with the life of a criminal.
He should delete the message. He really does plan to, but all he can see in his mind’s eye is Buddy Aurinko, and the glow that surrounded that name the first time he heard whispers of it in some shady corner of the Outer Rim. He finds himself typing out a response.
Interested. Awaiting further instructions.
It’s a stupid plan. He gets an immediate response. It’s a stupid plan. It lists a rendezvous point for the next day. It’s a stupid plan. He confirms the meeting.
…
Buddy Aurinko is a deeply intimidating woman. She works incredibly hard to make this the case; hours standing in front of a mirror rehearsing disarming speeches are only the tip of the iceberg. Every outfit, every gesture, every glance and minute movement, all planned to create an impenetrable facade.
Peter, of course, doesn’t know any of that.
What he does know is this: Buddy Aurinko, his childhood hero, is less than 10 feet away from him. She is seated facing the door, in a sharp suit and with vibrant hair covering half of her face. She surveys the room coolly, and lesser men would turn tail and run under her stare. Peter Nureyev is nearly vibrating with giddiness at the prospect of meeting her. Duke Rose, however, is unaffected.
Duke approaches and sits down with the ease of a man whose main personality trait is “sappy and in love with his wife.”
“Buddy Aurinko. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“And you as well, Mr. Rose. Though, I can’t help but notice there’s no Mrs. Rose with you. This was an offer for the two of you, I hope that was clear.”
Peter swallows. He’s practiced these words too many times to count in the past 12 hours, working so he no longer choked on the words my and wife.
“Apologies, Ms. Aurinko. My wife is...otherwise occupied, at the moment. He’s away on a solo job, and we couldn’t risk him blowing his cover this late in the game. I hope you understand.”
Buddy Aurinko doesn’t respond. She scrutinizes him with that piercing gaze, and he tries in vain to meet her eye without faltering.
Oh god, this is it, he’s screwing up his one chance to work with Buddy Aurinko, who he’s idolized since he could pick locks, and now she’ll know that he’s not good enough-
“Alright. We’ll have to adjust a bit, find a replacement, but the job will still work.”
What?
“Thank you for your understanding, Ms. Aurinko-”
“Captain.”
“Pardon?”
“You’re joining my crew, yes? Then I am your captain.”
“Yes, Captain Aurinko.”
She begins walking, taking brisk strides as she rattles off instructions.
“You will stay on my ship for the duration of this job: we will meet back here this evening, and tomorrow, we will pick up the final members of the crew, including your wife’s replacement. Luckily, the last two crew members are already well-acquainted, so that will only be one stop.”
Nureyev bites back a comment about Juno being irreplaceable, because while Duke is sappy like that, he can’t bring himself to embarrass himself so wholly for someone who isn’t even present.
“If I may ask, captain, who is this replacement?”
She turns, and Peter is once again met with the full force of Buddy Aurinko’s appraisal.
“If it’s alright with you, Duke, I’ll be keeping that to myself for now.” There’s something...is that amusement, twinkling in her eye?
“Of course, captain.”
He supposes he’ll just have to wait until tomorrow to meet this mysterious replacement, whoever they are.
...
“Hey, boss?” Rita looks a bit hesitant as she interrupts his haphazard packing.
“Yeah, Rita?” Juno’s been spending the better part of the hour shoving the rest of his life into a suitcase. It’s been a bit...chaotic, to say the least. Where the hell is that bonnet? As he picks through the mess, Rita manages to find a place to stand amidst the explosion of clothing, makeup, and (admittedly few) personal keepsakes.
“Um...I’ve got kinda a weird message from someone on my comms.”
“Is it that cute barista from the cafe? You know she likes you, right?”
“Uh, no, it says We have a job offer for you. Off-planet. Bring Dahlia too. I’d say it’s a wrong number, but it’s addressed to me specifically, and they had to get through three separate firewalls to send it to me.”
Dahlia- could it be who he thinks it is?
“Uh,” he tries to regain some composure. “Does it say who it’s from?”
“No, but- hang on! They’re typing. Okay, it says to tell the lady that Brown Jacket will pick the two of you up. Any idea what that means?”
Juno frowns. Jacket — if it’s Buddy, why would she send for him using that name? How does she even know that name?
“I- yeah, I do know who it’s from.”
“Well? Are we gonna take the job or not?”
“What do you mean? We can’t take any jobs, we have to get off...planet. Huh.” He sets down the tube of lipstick he’s been fiddling with to think.
“Hey Rita.”
“Yeah, boss?”
“What do you think about joining the world of underground justice?” He tries out his most winning smile, the one he uses at the point at which his cover has been blown on investigations.
Rita looks immediately suspicious.
“Mistah Steel, are you talking about becoming thieves?”
“Well, I mean-”
“OH! This is just like in that stream, where the main character joins that pirate crew because-”
Juno feels himself smile as Rita continues recounting the plot of Pirate Polycule 3: This Time They Finally Go On An Actual Date And Not Just A Battle. This whole mess, with Ja- Ramses, and Newtown, and Mick - well. He won’t be over it for a long time. But he thinks about what Alessandra said, and for once, he feels ready to take on the challenge of living. And the best part is, he has Rita by his side.
“-and then they finally ask the rival pirate out and they all date and it’s really great!”
“Hey Rita, I ever tell you how much I love you? I mean, I know I don’t say it often enough, and- oof!”
He feels her arms squeeze tight around his waist before he registers exactly what’s happening. He’s forgotten how nice Rita’s hugs are. He thinks he should probably hug her more often.
“Mistah Steel, I know that already. But it’s nice to hear. And you better not disappear on me again! And! You have to have ladies’ night with me, every week! For all the emotional turmoil you caused!”
“Alright, alright, deal. And easy on the ribs!”
...
“Are you sure about this, Bud?” Vespa leans against the counter in the kitchen.
“Sure about what, my love?” Buddy steps in and wraps her arms around Vespa, stroking her hair and taking in her blazing eyes.
“Stop trying to distract me!”
“I’m doing nothing of the sort, simply admiring the view.”
“Sap.” Vespa turns away, but not before Buddy catches her smiling to herself.
“I would never deny it when it comes to you, my darling. Now, what do I have to be sure about?”
Vespa gives her a look that says don’t even try playing dumb with me, we both know you’re terrible at it. Buddy supposes that it’s not untrue, but she’s never been able to resist teasing Vespa this way. Or to put a finer point on it, she’s never been able to resist the way Vespa looks with that flash in her eyes.
“Duke Rose, or whatever his name is. He’s clearly lying, if your intel is right about Steel being Dahlia. You can’t tell me you trust him.”
“Who said anything about trusting him, love? I trust that he’s the best man for the job. And I trust that if he proves untrustworthy,” Buddy pauses to lean in and cup Vespa’s cheek, “You’ll have my back. Like always.”
She leans the rest of the way in, closing the distance between them. She sighs into Vespa’s mouth. This part, the lazy mornings and lazy kisses, never gets old. None of it does.
Vespa finally pulls away, a smile playing on her lips.
“You forgot the last thing.”
Buddy’s breath catches in her throat at the pure, unbridled joy in Vespa’s eyes.
“And what’s that, my dear?”
Vespa leans in closer, kissing her lightly on the neck and moving to whisper in her ear. Buddy feels her heart beat just the tiniest bit faster at the sight.
“It’ll be entertaining as hell.”