Joe x Liette AU: Modern day Bonnie/Clyde (thank you First Lady Lestat for the prompt)
It was fun writing Joe/Liette outside of my comfort zone where their romance can't really blossom. In truth, I struggle with not throwing them together in the canon story but all good things take time. For now, hopefully this AU will do. Please read and review! Also if you have a request for a different Joe/Liette AU I'd be happy to oblige.
Liette's hands trembled as she stood outside of Sir Claremont Financial, rocking back and forth on her jet black kitten heels. Her eyes shifted nervously about the street, looking down only to glance periodically at her watch. He was late. He was never late. She considered taking the subway, getting out of here before anyone noticed her and thought anything suspicious. She had already hung around the bank long enough today, they'd be screwed if the security cameras caught her. Their plan all hinged on their identities remaining unknown until the heist. At that point it wouldn't matter, Joe had plans for all the witnesses.
One more glance at the clock and thankfully when Liette looked up, she noticed Joe's car pulling in across the street. Moving quickly, her heels clicking in time, Liette crossed the road and jumped into the passenger's seat of Joe's car. She pulled the brown wig off of her head and tossed it in the back, looking over at him, ready to start throwing questions about his lateness over at him immediately.
"For a moment there I thought you had forgot about me."
"Forget about you? Impossible." a smile curled over Joe's lips only to fade away when he looked deeper into Liette's eyes. His brow furrowed and Liette knew she wouldn't be able to ask him why he was late. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Liette deflected immediately.
"Liette." there was order and control in his voice, something odd to hear coming from such a chaotic man but it was a tone Liette had heard before. Joe knew how to make people obedient and while she hated the idea of considering herself her lap dog, she knew she had come to the point where lying to Joe or disobeying him was just petty.
"The bank manager was a little too forward for my taste." Liette watched as Joe's lips became a straight line and a his eyes glossed over. It was a look she recognized and immediately she raised her voice in protest. It wasn't that she didn't want the bank manager dead, it was just that they had worked so hard on this plan that it wasn't worth screwing it up because some jerk had got a little too grabby with her. Of course, Joe would feel otherwise. "Joe, no. It's not worth ruining the plan."
"It's worth it to me. No one disrespects you. Alright?"
She knew there was no stopping him now. It had only taken Liette a matter of weeks to figure out that when Joe got that look in his eyes there was no turning back. In this case she couldn't help but feel flattered, she had never had someone be so protective over her in every way.
"Alright." she nodded. "But there's something you need to do first."
"Is there?" Joe raised his eyebrows in confusion.
"This."
As to distract him from his murderous state, Liette leaned over, raising a hand to Joe's cheek to turn his face to hers. Instinctively, his hand raised up and tangled in the mess of blonde hair that had fallen out of the wig just moments before. With such control, Joe pulled Liette forward, understanding her request with no difficulties as he took her lips in his, kissing her with the passionate fire that ignited between them every time they touched. It was just fire though, it was electricity, pure pulses of flowing energy from the moment their skin connected. A kiss was so much more with Joe, not that Liette had had much experience with kissing before him. Still, the boys who had come before had pressed sloppy lips against a timid mouth, resulting in a reaction that was nothing more than dull. Joe was different, the way his fingers tangled in the locks of Liette's hair and found their place there to pull her in closer to him was almost unbearable. Her heart raced as he tugged her towards him, the attack on her lips only ending when it was clear that they both needed a breath.
"We'll come back tomorrow for the manager." Joe swallowed hard, Liette could see that he was physically constraining himself, forcing himself to wait for the kill. The girl knew that Joe would have happily walked into the bank, cornered the manager in the back room and cut his tongue out if he had taken the chance to get out of the car. Instead, her kiss had made him drunk with the lust that washed over him every time he got to touch her. It was an absolute fantasy, having someone so enamored with you that they acted like an impulsive young man when they had already passed the point of middle aged. "Come here you." Joe said, reaching across the car to pull Liette into his lap. He settled her there, grinning as she squirmed on top of him. Her legs stretched across into her former seat while she remained sideways of Joe's lap, his arm coming around her to settle her there.
"Joe!"
But it was her only word of protest before she dipped her head down and received the next kiss that was waiting on his lips. As much as Liette wasn't always fond of the way Joe handled things she couldn't stop the way she felt about him. In moments like these she forgot all about the horrific things he had done and was just happy with who he was. She had adjusted since giving herself over to him, loosening her moral authority in a way to accept Joe's crimes. At Joe's side she had brought an instrumental part to his violence where he wasn't just killing for pleasure anymore but for personal gain. Liette helped plan the heists and suggested the idea of a gang of followers while Joe remained happy because his murderous tendencies were not shut out completely. He had yet to teach Liette to kill but Liette sensed it was only a matter of time.
Being around Joe had made Liette bolder than she had ever been. She was still somewhat of a social recluse, keeping her real interactions with only Joe and no one else. There were others in the little gang of criminals he was raking together but Liette tended to stay away from him. She talked to people outside of the group but usually under the guise of one of her covers or specifically for the next job. Incapable as she was at making friends, Liette had filled any ounce of loneliness she had with drops of Joe. He was the sweetest wine she had ever tasted and although she had been nervous at first, galavanting around like this with him, Liette had come to see this as the only worthy was of living.
"You're going to get us both killed." Liette shook her head as Joe took the car out of park while she remained seated on his lap in the diver's seat. It was completely illegal of course but so were most things that they did.
"Quiet you. I'm driving." Joe sped off, his left arm wrapped around Liette's waist while the right one steered. As they came to a red light Joe lifted his head for a kiss, Liette obliging him, until she pulled away because of the symphony of horns that told them the light had changed.
It was the thrill. Previously, Liette's life had been filled with mundane studies of human behaviour and few experiences of her own. Joe's pursuit of her had been unusual in her mind and there were times when she still wondered why he had picked her over any other girl in the city. She had been just another one of his students, blissfully believing that he was nothing more than an English professor when in fact he was a murderer. The reveal of Joe's true nature had come when Liette was in far too deep to leave him, he had changed her, an argument could be made to say it was for the worst but Liette liked to think otherwise.
"Pay attention asshole!" a driver from the other lane tried to zip past them but he wasn't quick enough to zip by. Liette caught a glimpse of his face and immediately she realized it was someone familiar.
"That was the bank manager!"
A flicker of light danced in Joe's eyes and when Liette caught the look she knew exactly what was going to happen next. Joe accelerated slightly, but only so he could cut over a line and drive behind the manager. He had no intention of running the man off the road, that would be too public in the late afternoon and it wouldn't be as fun for him.
Following him home left him with lots of chances to have fun.
As expected, the bank manager lived in a lavish neighborhood and had been too distracted by the five o'clock news on the radio to notice the black car tailing him all the way home. Liette had moved back into the passenger's seat, allowing Joe to focus as they pulled into the community and parked on the street just a few houses down from the bankers.
"I want to help." Liette said suddenly, taking Joe's hand in hers.
"Love, are you sure?" Joe's face remained neutral but Liette could feel his pulse rising in his wrist where her fingers were placed.
"I'm sure." she nodded, knowing that this would bring her closer to Joe than ever. Besides, the man before them deserved it. The way he had looked at her, the passes he made at her, comments about the way she looked and how she was dressed. Why not get a little revenge back on a chauvinistic pig? It was about time she showed Joe how much he meant to her.
Joe's straight lips curved into a smile after watching the emotions rush through the look in Liette's eyes. He lifted a hand to her cheek, proud and in love more than ever before. He would finally share what he did best with her. This was their forever.
"Follow my lead."
