DISCLAIMER :

Togashi-sensei

WARNING :

AU, shounen ai.

A/N :

My first fic collab with aionwatha, we love Kuroro x Kurapika so much!

THE PRINCE AND THE THIEF

The estate was huge. Tall gates surrounded the property on all sides, and security cameras filmed 24/7. Such things were no concern for a man like Kuroro Lucifer. He was a man with ambitions and he let no one and nothing stand in his way. His goal tonight was a Monet painting worth a fair some. He had come prepared. Before he made his way to the estate, he had studied the blueprints, befriended a security guard who let himself get drunk and spill all of the secrets of his employers and their security system. Infiltrating the place was a piece of cake. He avoided the cameras, clung to shadows and easily made his way to the mansion. He spotted an open window on the second floor and climbed up to it, slipping inside and taking the time to observe his surroundings.

He was in a bedroom. It was an opulent affair, with a canopy bed and heavy drapes. Someone seemed to be sleeping in the bed so he hid behind one of the drapes and peeked at the person, trying to see if they had woken up. Kuroro looked closer. He saw – a girl, a blonde. 'She must be the Duke's daughter, totally spoiled with opulence and money,' he thought dryly. He was about to turn away and continue with his plans when she suddenly awoke. Sure, as a professional thief, he was trained to highly alert to other people's presence.

"Who are you?" she asked, her eyes searching the shadows.

Kuroro tensed. Damn. The girl was sharp. He didn't think he had made any noise to alert her of his presence. Well, there was nothing for it. There was no use pretending he wasn't there. "No one," he said calmly. "I am leaving." He took a step back into the shadows and looked at her face. He frowned. She was pale, and beautiful. Who cared about Monet and his paintings? Here was something worth any jewels in the world. He was about to step forward, but he stopped himself. It was better that she didn't see his face. He didn't know what to think about his sudden interest in a person over riches. He didn't want to be too hasty. He had to retreat, think, learn about her, who she was and why she mattered. He took a step back. "I'm leaving," he repeated.

"Don't underestimate me," came another sharp remark. In no time, she already stood near her bed side. The soft blonde hair still amazed Kuroro, although it was short just a little bit past her chin. And Kuroro didn't see a frightened or horrified look on her beautiful face. She looked calm, composed. On her guards. How could it be?

He took a step back and observed her silently for a minute or two. "Who are you?" he finally asked. He peered around the room. "The Clementine daughter, maybe?" The room was tastefully decorated. No bodyguard would sleep in an opulent room like this. She had to be part of the family.

"The intruder has to answer first. Shouldn't that be the rule?" she asked with a frown softly etched on her delicate-looking skin. Quickly, she took something shiny metallic thing from the table. Under the dim light, Kuroro saw what it was. A knife. Something with which she opened letters and sealed documents, maybe.

Kuroro had to think as fast as he ever had. 'Maybe I'll play for a while, then,' he thought to himself and he smiled. "Fair enough," he said out loud. He took a step forward, halfway into the moonlight streaming from the window. His face was still in shadows, however. "If you think you can defeat me, I'll give you my name. But for every hit that I make, you shall answer one of my questions."

Without a word, she moved. She charged towards him, holding the knife in front of her like a weapon. Kuroro avoided the girl rather easily, but he knew she was just getting started. Her aim and agility took him by surprise, but it was a pleasant surprise. He hadn't had the chance to really use his fighting abilities recently. And he loved a good challenge. He aimed a kick at her ankles.

"Ah!" She quickly got a grip to the wooden chair so she didn't fall.

"Nice, you managed to recover pretty quickly," Kuroro commented. He was having fun. "But I've hit your ankle. Name, then." She opened her mouth but the man quickly added, "Your real name of course." Her annoyance at being caught nearly lying was apparent on her face. "I'm waiting," Kuroro added. "What is your name, Princess?" He tilted his head. "If you land a hit on me, I'll give you mine." He still stuck somewhat to the shadows, observing her beautiful face. Breathtaking. He had never seen someone so beautiful. She was a real masterpiece, more beautiful than any painting that he had ever stolen. However, he could see her lips straightened into a thin line and her frown deepened. Kuroro raised an eye brow. 'Did I say something wrong?' he thought.

The girl straightened her posture. "Kurapika," she said in whisper as raised her hand, aimed the knife to Kuroro's face. "And don't you dare call me Princess!"

"Kurapika," Kuroro repeated, avoiding the knife easily. Then he nodded to himself. There was something... something pulling at his mind at the name, but he had no memory of ever meeting her or even hearing her name. "I won't call you Princess again, if it offends you. Your Highness." He tilted his head, teeth glistening as his lips pulled into a smile.

Kurapika stood still for a moment, looking stunned. Then, with a swift movement, she slashed his arm, gave him a little wound. "Name," she said firmly.

Kuroro was impressed. Very. Impressed. "Kuroro," he answered. "Kuroro Lucifer." He looked down at his arm. "You're good," he praised. "My turn." He darted to her right, disappeared into the shadows for a moment only and aimed a punch at her back, trying to take her by surprise.

Kurapika felt his presence behind her. Alerted, she turned her head to counter his attack but suddenly she was hit on the back of her neck. "A-ah..." then she was unconscious instantly. Kuroro sneaked his arm around her thin waist. Before her eyes closed fully, he saw them - blue - like the ocean.

Kuroro looked down at her, observing her pensively. He could leave now. Take her with him. Steal her. It would be so easy. He picked her up, carrying her back to her bed. He laid her gently down and observed her, weighing his options. In the end, he turned away. There would be time. He would research everything about her. He would come back. For now, he had a painting to get. His client had already paid half a million in deposit. He stole out of her room and moved silently through the house. Soon, he had what he had come for and he left.

When he got home, he texted his client to indicate he had succeeded and he would give the key to the bank vault where he had hidden the painting as soon as the rest of the payment was in his bank account. Then, he went to bed. When he awoke, the first thing he did was to phone an acquaintance of his. Shalnark. The boy was brilliant with computers and could get all of the information he wanted. "Shal," he said once the young man answered. "I need information. Kurapika. Somehow linked to the Clementine family. Maybe the daughter. Give me everything you've got."

"Okay Danchou! I'll call you back," Shalnark said. Kuroro hung up and fixed himself a cup of coffee, which he sipped slowly as he waited for the young techie to call back. Eventually, he did. "I don't get it," he said as soon as Kuroro connected the call. "I barely found anything. There's nearly no information on the family. They're very private. But I see no mention of a daughter. Just a male heir."

"Hmm," Kuroro hummed pensively. "Maybe a family friend or a ward? Okay, Shal. If you find anything else, let me know immediately. I will go again tonight. Pass along any information you find on the family." He hung up. A moment later, his phone vibrated and he looked at the text. His client had wired the money. They set up a meeting for the afternoon. Kuroro gave him the key to retrieve his painting and left. He waited until nightfall. A little after midnight, he was back in Kurapika's room, sitting on the window sill, one leg crossed over the other. His eyes were fixed on the bed and he waited to see how long it would take the blonde to notice him.

She stirred. And made a sound... almost like a moan. Kuroro kept silent but didn't take his eyes off the beautiful blonde figure on the elegant bed. For the first time he felt an urge to step closer but thank God he could restrain it. Suddenly the blonde screamed. 'A nightmare?' Kuroro guessed.

He tilted his head, waiting until the blonde settled once more. Then he slid down from the window sill and took the few steps that separated him from the bed. When Kurapika made another soft sound in her sleep, he froze, worried he might have awoken her. Silence fell once more. He stepped out of the shadows, standing over the bed, observing the blonde silently.

After a while, Kuroro smiled unconsciously when he saw those blue mesmerizing eyes again. Quickly she spotted Kuroro who blocked her view to the window. "You–!" She hissed. She was still shocked by her nightmare but pushed herself fully awake. Before she could get up, Kuroro made his move. He leaned over her, catching both her wrists and pushing them down into the soft mattress. He observed her silently for a moment, running his eyes over her delicate features. Such a work of art. Beautiful, simply beautiful. He wondered what it would feel like to kiss her, to steal her lips and capture her heart. Well, the first part was easy, at least. He leaned over her and pressed his lips to hers, still holding onto her wrists.

She stopped moving for a moment, eyes wide. He nibbled at her lips. She tried to push him but he didn't budge. She made a choking little sound and twisted her arms out of his grasp, gripped his shoulders and twisted and shoved at the same time, trying to push him off. He flicked his tongue lightly over her lips and finally straightened up. "Good morning, Your Highness," he said. And grinned. He couldn't call her Princess anymore, so this was the next best thing. She blushed furiously and tried to brush away the kiss from her wet, pink lips with the back of her hand. She raised her fist. Kuroro wondered, 'A girl wants to hit me? Well this is new,' and a mischievously smirk could be seen on his handsome face.

"You pervert!" She growled.

"Pervert?" Kuroro asked. "All I did was kiss you. Don't get your panties in a twist." He shrugged. "Don't tell me it was the first time someone kissed you. Someone as beautiful as you must have been kissed at some point in her life."

"Watch your words!" She shouted. She kept trying to hit him but now it was just futile attempts at best because of her anger. Kuroro dodged easily and his smirk never disappeared. "And how about your manner right now?" he teased her.

"I've never been kissed before and I'm not gay!" She yelled.

Kuroro was stunned. He froze, frowning at the blond. "You're a... boy?" He let his eyes run down over Kurapika's form, looking for any sign of womanly curves and found none. Well, that was... unexpected. "The Duke's heir?" he guessed. He brought his finger to his lips, studying Kurapika silently.

"You really thought I was a girl?!" He asked in a sort of exasperated manner that made him wonder if he'd been mistaken for a girl before. Possibly multiple times. Kuroro tilted his head. And put his hand flat against the blond's chest. Definitely not a girl.

"An honest mistake," he said with a shrug. He wondered if this changed anything for him. Boy or girl, he had never seen someone quite so beautiful, before. Art was art; beauty was beauty. It didn't matter, he decided. It might make it a little harder to steal this beautiful jewel but... what a challenge. He smiled. "Far from me the thought of stealing your first kiss without some form of compensation. Thank you." And he kissed him again; just a quick peck and he stood, avoiding any retaliation from the boy.

There was a loud bang at the door, as well as shouts. It seemed that they had alerted the bodyguards. Kurapika stopped his attacks on Kuroro instantly. A triumphant smile appeared on his delicate face. But he didn't know what kind of thief Kuroro was.

Kuroro smirked back at him. Another quick peck and he was at the window. "Well, then, Little Prince," he said, "I will steal you soon enough. Look for me when you least expect it. And really, you should let the poor bodyguards out of it. It could get dangerous. For them." And he jumped down from the window down to the grounds below. As he ran, he called Shalnark. "Shal," he said, "Kurapika is not the daughter but the son. Find anything you can. School, work, tutors, friends. Everything."

With the new information from Kuroro, Shalnark could get more this time. "Umm... A special school as expected, he's got a private tutor named Mizuken, is interested in history, art... His mother passed away when he was born,"

"History and art, is it." Kuroro grinned. "More and more interesting." At least they had some things in common.

On the other side of the line, Shalnark hesitated. "Uh, Danchou... You sound like you're having fun."

Kuroro laughed softly. "I guess I am. And I know what I'm going to steal next."

"Don't tell me you mean to kidnap him and ask a humongous ransom from the Duke?" Shalnark asked energetically.

"Kidnap him," Kuroro confirmed, but didn't specify he would likely not ask for a ransom. "I'll let him panic a bit for a week or two. Anything more you find on him, I want to know." He hung up, cleared the property wall easily and took off at a run towards the place he had left his car. Soon he was home, grinning to himself.

TBC

A/N :

Leave your review please...?

And let's write more fics about this pairing, in shounen ai, yaoi, or straight (of course with Kurapika as a female; gender-bending)!

Regards,

aionwatha & whitypearl

KUROPIKA FOREVER