:Author's Note:
Ah, a new one! I wrote this one just yesterday, along with its twin, "Suna no Shiro". Both pieces are named after songs by the fabulous band SID. "Kaitou Neon" (Phantom Thief Neon) is one I've always associated with Claire and Skye, for obvious reasons! Yesterday I listened to "Suna no Shiro", another SID B-side, and was struck by how similar the chorus tune is to "Kaitou Neon", yet the lyrics and the rest of the song are strikingly different. I wanted to find a connection between the two nevertheless, and in connecting that to Claire and Skye, these siamese twin fics were born!
The process by which I wrote these is weird enough to note: I made a playlist of "Kaitou Neon" and "Suna no Shiro", and set it on repeat. Whenever "Kaitou Neon" was on, I wrote on this fic. As soon as the song changed, I moved over to the other piece, and bounced back and forth like this. That may explain some things about both pieces, perhaps!
* This fic contains the occasional reference to lyrics in "Kaitou Neon" by SID.
* Companion to "Suna no Shiro"- I highly recommend you read them together. It's cooler that way!
This one is from Claire's perspective. Is it what you expected? Please enjoy, and reviews are very much appreciated!
~Loreley
Let go of my hands—you may run away now. It's alright, I've never wanted to catch you, didn't you know? It may all be a game to you and I, but we both know that it's a game that requires blood to play, and we have more than enough to offer each other—an entire heart's worth.
This place had been unfamiliar to me; I had never been on my own, truly, before—that all went into your calculation, didn't it? The damsel in distress who sets her mouth in a hard line so as to hide the tenderness of her lips, so as to ward off the wandering knight. Every disguise is a self-portrait, and you were never textbook, but instead, fairy-tale perfection. A ruse in layers—don't think I didn't know. I am not a fool.
You ran away with everything that was valuable to me, without stealing a thing. No one else could ever know what talents you had as a phantom thief: stealing one's heart away in little pieces, entering this game in which you appear and disappear and I chase you forever. A study in fascination itself.
What you fight with is a double-edged sword: I see it. Doing battle with me guarantees that your blood will be spilled as well. It's what you want, I know, I know.
Fair play isn't enough for me. For both of us, for love— we had to steal.
The color of your eyes isn't a lie, so why don't you throw yourself in, completely? You have nothing to fear. You're the prince, the wandering nomad with nowhere that will deign to allow him to call it home. You're safe here, don't you know? Come home… there's a place for you here. I'll be your princess, the precious jewel you stole. It's not a game anymore, it's life—it's happiness. That is our fate.
Who is the real thief, after all?
