A/N: Someone asked me to write a Rivetra fic in any AU I wanted and I really liked Christopher Nolan's The Prestige, so I ended up with a magician AU :) It's been on Tumblr for a while but I don't have the chance to write new Rivetra any time soon ^^"
He's largely unimpressed with the program. It's the standard sleight of hand, blink-and-you'll-miss-it tricks. Her illusions are flashy, but a novice could do them if they practiced enough. She's taken basic routines and dressed them up to entrance the viewers, but he sits at the table with a frown on his face still trying to find out how she's managed to draw in so many fans.
Isabel looks entertained enough, admiring all the theatrics despite knowing most of the "magic" behind most of these tricks. Well, she's always been amazed even if she's the one who's pulling birds out of her coat and selecting the right card. "Stage magicians sure are different than street magicians, huh?" Isabel says. "D'you think we should take the stage instead? It seems pretty classy in here. I mean, we get dinner and stuff too!"
"It's the same shit we do. It's just dressed up with more smoke and mirrors." Farlan doesn't look very interested but then again, he's been ordering glass of wine after glass of wine instead of paying attention to what's happening on stage. Sometimes he glances at the set, taking in the extravagant set and the showy costumes that the magician and her assistants wear. "The girl's pretty though. In that way where you don't really want to take your eyes off her."
"People don't come to magic shows just to admire the performer's appearance," Levi growls. His eyes follow the little ginger magician as she crosses the stage.
Farlan's right though - she is pretty. While Levi had addressed that observation with scorn earlier, it's true that having a pretty face doesn't hurt when it comes to attracting attention of audience members. Everyone likes a pretty face, but he's sure his perpetual scowl isn't the reason for the large size difference in the crowds that came to their shows.
Petra, the enigmatic escape artist, blows a kiss to the crowd and the audience claps and calls out her name. "Thank you so much for coming tonight!" the magician says. She's out of her usual outfit, now wearing a large black coat over whatever new costume she's covered underneath. "Please enjoy my last act, where I'll be escaping from a water tank!"
Even Isabel oohs along with the rest of the crowd when the escape artist onstage sheds her coat to reveal a glittering one-piece swimsuit underneath. Chains and locks decorate her wrists and ankles, and the performer cheerfully lifts a hand to wave to the crowd.
"Maybe we should think about wearing costumes," Isabel suggests, her eyes glued to the stage where the assistants are helping the performer walk up the steps to the top of the tank where she'll be dropped. "I know you said it's the performance that matters in the end, but it wouldn't hurt, would it?"
"Tch."
Are her magic performances all that different from the shows they put up on the street? Perhaps it's the venue that gives stage performers such as Petra this air of grandeur while street performers seem more run-of-the-mill among other magicians. It certainly can't be the sequins and sparkles on all of her extravagant costumes, the charming smiles she flashes the crowd right before she finishes an act, or the way she looks right now, her ginger hair drifting behind her as she slips out of her chains one by one before finally emerging from the water tank.
"So cool!" Isabel says, immediately standing up to clap with the other audience members as Petra takes a gracious bow. She looks back at Farlan and Levi. "Right? Why aren't you clapping, Levi?"
He rolls his eyes, but maybe he shouldn't be surprised that Isabel's so easily impressed. Compared to him and Farlan, she's still fairly new to these things and sometimes even shocked herself when she gets a magic trick right.
"None of these tricks are new or innovative," Levi replies. "The water tank escape trick has been done long before she's taken the stage. All the other tricks she's done were variations of things we do too – sleight of hand, illusion, distracting the audience. It's hardly impressive."
Isabel nods slowly as if she understands, sitting back down as the applause softens so the audience can hear the performer's last words to close off the show. "Ah, I see," Isabel says, but her knitted brow says that she doesn't quite believe him.
"He's jealous," Farlan explains, taking a final sip from his glass before motioning to a waiter for a refill.
Surprised, Isabel begins to giggle but Levi can only splutter in confusion. "Me? Jealous? Of that dressed up, third-rate show?"
Farlan motions the waiter to stop and then takes another sip of wine. "Frown – usually typical for you but now it's even more prominent than it usually is. Stiff movements. And you were glaring at her the entire performance. Like a lot more than you usually glare at anyone." He taps the table and points at Isabel. "Hey, are you paying attention? You wanted to know how I do these things."
"Ooh," Isabel says, squinting her eyes and taking a closer look at Levi. "Levi, you do seem especially tense right now."
"You're a pain in the ass, you know that?" Levi says to Farlan. He really hates mentalists, but Farlan's the least annoying one he knows, and people always seem to enjoy him revealing all their personal secrets and "reading their minds."
"It's been lovely performing for you tonight!" Petra says onstage, accompanied by her assistants. "I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did, and thank you so much for coming!"
Levi rolls his eyes again when he sees her blowing another kiss, the audience members somehow finding the act charming because they cheer again for her and clap even as the curtains close around her. He clears his throat and pulls his coat on, looking impatiently at Farlan and Isabel so that they'll follow suit. "Well, I learned absolutely nothing from that," he grumbles.
"I thought it was nice," Isabel shrugs.
"Excuse me? Sorry, wait!" a man says, shoving through the crowd to get to their table.
Farlan waves his hand. "No more wine for me, thanks. I think I've had enough for tonight."
Isabel tugs on the sleeve of Farlan's coat and whispers, "That's not a waiter! That's one of the assistants from tonight. He did that trick where he could guess what was in everyone's pocket!"
"Ah, yes, that was me! I'm glad you remembered!" the man chuckles. He smooths out the wrinkles in his coat and offers a hand out to Farlan who's a little too drunk to notice it, so the man shoves his hand back into his pocket. "Er, you're Levi, Farlan, and Isabel? Petra said she would like to see you three after the show."
"Us?" Isabel's eyes widen and she looks immediately to Levi. "Levi, we can go, can't we? It's not like we're doing anything after this."
He's about to say no, but she lowers her bottom lip at him and it begins to wobble in that way that makes her look as if she's about to cry. Sighing deeply, Levi finally mutters, "Yeah, sure. Take us there then."
Isabel's busy talking to the man – he reintroduces himself as Gunter – and he discusses a few of the tricks with her, performing a few new ones he's testing out and listening intently as she tells him of the tricks she plans to perform the next time she puts on a show. Meanwhile, Farlan is strolling leisurely behind them while Levi glowers.
"It won't do you good to just glare at her when we meet," Farlan drawls. "Maybe you should have had a few more drinks. Could have put you in a better mood to meet the pretty lady."
"You're not helping," Levi growls.
His friend, used to this kind of treatment every now and again, simply shrugs and continues to stroll along beside him but this time in silence.
To Levi's absolute horror, Isabel squeals when they're backstage and Gunter motions for them to approach the young woman cleaning up backstage. "I can't believe it's really you!" Isabel squeaks as the woman turns around. "I never thought you'd want to speak to us!"
"Why wouldn't I?" Petra says, not at all put off by Isabel's excitement. She must be used to it from all her other fans and admirers. She looks over at where Farlan and Levi are standing and smiles brilliantly at them. "Farlan and Levi! You guys put on such wonderful shows. I'm a huge fan!"
Isabel's jaw nearly drops to the floor. "You're a fan of theirs too?"
"Of course!" Petra says cheerfully. Her hair's still a bit damp and she wears a fluffy white bathrobe over the swimsuit she hadn't had the chance to change out of yet. She offers a hand towards Levi to shake. "I'm Petra. It's an honor to finally meet you guys! I'm really happy you all were able to make it backstage."
When Levi ignores the hand, Farlan takes it instead. "The pleasure is all ours," he tells her, glancing a little disapprovingly at Levi. "You put on a very nice show tonight. Isabel was especially enchanted."
Petra beams. "I'm glad! My friends and I used to go to your shows a lot a few years ago before we started performing ourselves. Super awesome! That thing that you guys did when it was raining made it look like it was falling up? It took us a few months to wrap our heads around it after we saw it," she laughs. When she sees that Levi is looking at her with a glower, she tucks a lock of hair behind her ear. "By the way, what did you think of tonight's show, Levi?"
His frown deepens, disliking how casually she's calling him by name even though they've only just met. "Amateur," he finally replies, much to Isabel's horror. He can even see Farlan glaring from the corner of his eyes, but it's not as if he cares. "There wasn't anything very special about it. A very standard performance that you would expect from any beginner."
Farlan's about to open his mouth to interject, but Petra laughs. It's not forced, but a genuinely amused laugh. "Is that so?" she asks. "Well, I didn't think you would be. You seem to be a part of the tough crowd. Perhaps I'll do better the next time you see me?"
Maybe he's thinking into it too much, but he doesn't like her tone or her assumption that he'll ever watch a show of hers again. He's about to tell her that he has no intention of going to another one of her performances, but Farlan quickly cuts in.
"He's just had a little too much to drink," Farlan lies. Both he and Isabel are tugging at Levi's sleeves, hoping to get him away before he says anything else offensive.
"Yes, and he was grumpy that we were so far in the back of the room," Isabel says, raising her voice to talk over Levi's protests. "We were talking about how beautiful all of your costumes were, Miss Petra. It's a shame we weren't able to see them all up close."
"Hmm," Petra smiles, still observing Levi. She looks rather entertained by his angry expression, making him even angrier. "Well, if you do decide to come next time, please give me a call and I'll be sure to provide you with the best seats in the house."
"Tch," Levi snorts. "As if your next show will give us anything different."
Even though Farlan and Isabel are groaning, embarrassed at not being able to escape before Levi could say something to really tick off their rival, Petra only raises an eyebrow. "You don't think so?" she asks. She smiles, but it's different than the one she flashes at the crowd. It's mischievous, one corner of her mouth raised slightly higher than the other. "But you'll never see my greatest trick if you don't come."
"And what would that be?"
She steps closer to him, placing two fingers on the collar of his shirt before tracing them down to his chest. It's only then that he thinks he understands why people find her so entrancing beyond the glittery outfits and overly cheerful persona. It's her eyes, he thinks, the burning intensity of her amber eyes as her lips curl upwards in that same mischievous smile she had given him earlier as she purrs, "I'll steal your heart," before pulling out a black heart carved from glass from the breast pocket of his coat. He knows she must have slipped it out of the sleeve of her robe and made it appear as though it had been in his coat all along, but right now he can't think of how she's managed to do it without him noticing. With her other hand, she opens his palm to drop the heart inside of it, closing his fingers over it. "But don't blink, or you'll miss it."
"Holy shit," Farlan whispers under his breath, but he's too drunk to lower his voice so that Petra can't hear. He loosens his tie with one hand and looks back and Levi who still hasn't moved.
Her regular smile has returned, and she's taken a few steps back. "I should get going now. I've probably taken enough of your time. It was very nice meeting all of you. Farlan, Isabel…Levi."
"What was that all about?" Isabel asks after Petra walks off. She looks curiously at Levi who still holds the heart in his hand. "Levi?"
It's only then that he realizes that he's been holding his breath. Coughing before he properly catches his breath, he snaps, "How the fuck would I know? She's no better than one of those performers who watches YouTube videos to learn tricks. Why would we go to see her again?"
"You seem pretty charmed," Farlan says. When Isabel looks at him, Farlan clears his throat. "Dilated pupils, holding your breath, and the back of your neck is starting to turn red."
"And you're still staring at the place where she was even though she's gone already," Isabel pipes up.
Knowing that they're right, Levi folds up the collar of his shirt to cover his neck and turns on his heel. "We're going home," he mutters.
Goddamn stage magicians.
A/N: Thank you for reading and reviewing so far! Will consider writing more of the Witch AU (since I love supernatural/fantasy AUs) as well as more Kimi no Na wa even though that's technically done :)
Word Count: 2399