Work Text:
Loud music and chatter filled the room, Shuichi taking his place at the very edge. Parties were never his cup of tea — they were overstimulating and, as previously stated, extremely loud.
He had been slowly coaxed into this one, however. Kaede had insisted he go, that it would be extremely important and detrimental to his public appearance if he had not gone.
She had a point there, unfortunately. His newfound position in the public as he took on the Joker’s case had been a change in his life. He would’ve been perfectly fine out of the public eye solving smaller cases, but nonetheless, here he was.
Shuichi took a small sip of the drink he had been nursing, watching as Kaede laughed and danced around with Miu. Those two were close friends — maybe even more. He knew that Kaede wanted it to be that way, at the least.
Many of nights he had stayed up with her, listening to her rant and rave about her interactions with the inventor that day, along with how perfect every small detail of her was.
He had never been that interested in romance as Kaede had. Sure, he’s had a few relationships here and there, but nobody he could see himself staying with. Hence why he has stayed firmly single for quite some time.
“Hey, Shuichi! Why are you hanging around in the corner? Live a little!” Shuichi heard Kaito’s voice before he saw him, patting him on the shoulder — very hard, might he add — and making the detective turn to face him.
“Ah— Hello, Kaito. I don’t want to get too carried away, but thank you. I’m okay watching everyone else.” He responded, giving the astronaut a small smile and going back to what he was doing. Namely, absolutely nothing.
“Suit yourself, sidekick!” He called, walking away with Maki in tow.
Shuichi gave him a smile, before his attention was subsequently stolen by a noise in a room nearby. He looked around, but it seemed nobody had noticed it. So he had elected to ignore it.
That was, until it happened again. And again. At this point, Shuichi’s interest was definitely piqued. He set down his drink on a table, taking a quick glance around before deciding to enter the room.
And what a decision that was.
The second he entered the room and shut the door behind him, he caught sight of The Joker. He had an iridescent masquerade mask on, with pearls and lace surrounding it. He also wore a, for lack of a better word, dress-suit-thing. The skirt was lacy and covered in small, colorful gems, with a matching suit.
In short, the Joker looked absolutely ethereal.
“Are you going to keep gawking, Detective, or are you going to ask me what I’m doing at your fancy party?” Joker commented, and Shuichi could hear the proud smirk on his face.
“Wh. . Joker? What are you— how are you here?” Shuichi stuttered out, unable to take his gaze off of the man in front of him.
The Joker hummed, the corners of his lips turning upwards. “Well, I just had to come see my favorite officer of the law. Though, he doesn’t seem to be enjoying himself much. Not a fan of the rich man’s parties?”
Shuichi decided to pick his jaw up from the ground, blinking a few times to reattach himself to the conversation. “I’m. . not a fan of parties, I guess. Why would you show your face here if you knew I was here?”
Joker tilted his head in an almost theatrical sense, the smile not leaving his lips. “I love showing up where I’m not invited, Shuichi. And I knew you weren’t gonna do anything about it.”
Shuichi didn’t know what to say to that. Sure, it was a bit shocking to see him here, but he would be able to do something about it. Even though he looked. . nevermind. That’s beside the point.
Thankfully, though, he didn’t have to say anything. “You look beautiful in that suit, might I add, Mr. Detective. Though, you could definitely stand out a bit more. Maybe some pearls here and there? Y’know, I could help you with th—“
“Stop distracting me, Joker. I need to take you into the station with me. I’m done chasing you.” By this point, Shuichi had become grounded enough for his voice to harden and have some semblance of authority in it.
The playfulness in Joker’s demeanor remained, however. “Oh! Come on Detective, you really think you’re gonna be able to take me in? I’d humor it, but I have things to do. Mind letting me do those?”
“Wh- no! In what world do you think I would let you go right now?” He responded, sounding slightly exasperated. “Besides, you could be doing something illegal right now. Technically, you are — breaking and entering.”
That finally earned a frown from the Joker. “Aww, you’re that eager to get rid of me? I’m hurt, Detective. I really thought we had something special here.” There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice, one Shuichi was easily able to pick up on.
“No. You’re a criminal, and I’m here to arrest you. We can either do this the easy way or the hard way.” There was steel in his voice as he said this, his hand resting on the handcuffs in his back pocket.
Joker perked up. “Oh? The hard way, you say? Well, I’d love to stick around and find out what’s hard about this, but I have things to do. People to see. Detectives to kiss. You would know I’m quite the busy person, y’know. So you’re gonna let me leave.”
The detective barely caught that remark, before he noticed and blinked a few times. “What. What does that even—“
He was never able to finish his sentence, before he felt a pair of warm lips on his and a hand on his cheek. Just as quickly as it had appeared, however, it disappeared. And with it, the Joker had gone too.
Shuichi reached a hand to his mouth, still feeling the ghost of Joker’s lips on his. He sat there, stunned, for quite a bit. It wasn’t until Kaede came to find him and dragged him out.
…
Later that night, there was a report made about a missing heirloom at the mansion the party had been at, along with a small Joker of Hearts card where the heirloom had been.
There were no witnesses, of course. The Joker never let anyone catch him in the act of theft. And if someone did? Well.
They surely wouldn’t tell.