Bonnie and Clyde|| Redcrackle❤︎

𝟷. 𝙶𝚛𝚊𝚢, 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝙶𝚛𝚊𝚑𝚊𝚖

He went by Gray again. All of those friendly bordering flirty encounters where he'd insisted the Lady in Red use his full name had amounted to nothing. Suddenly, the nickname didn't feel like a too-tight shirt that didn't quite fit, but rather a sweater of familiarity and nostalgia wrapping him with a sense of comfort. Now that he remembered everything, now that she was back with him, he wanted to be Gray again. He chose to be.

She still went by Carmen, though maybe Gray preferred that. Carmen and Gray were different people from Blacksheep and Crackle. So many things had been similar to their old days of mischief, the same tag-teaming against any obstacle thrown their way, the same secret winks and inside jokes that had been long forgotten, the same shared schemes plotted late at night.

But things had been wonderfully different as well. Something new brewed in her turbulent grey eyes when she met his gaze after a successful mission. She would speak with her stormy pools, the orbs within lighting up as her lush red lips curled upwards into the most beautiful smiles, the glimmer of moonlight dusting the gentle curve of her jaw.

The secret handshakes and high-fives for a job well-done that lasted just a second longer than they needed to, the coy words with deeper meanings each evoked from the other's lips, the subtle touches scattered between conversations about everything and nothing all at once, none of it had been there before.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Came an all too familiar voice, it's seductive tone and light rasp forever ingrained in Gray's memory.

He turned his head, and there she was. Carmen Sandiego, balancing on the ledge of the roof of the building they were on with one leg, the other suspended in the air like that of the Arabesques the ballerinas at the opera house would practice.

"It's not anything in particular really," He replied, turning back to face the distant skyline of Shanghai, each building flickering with blinks of neon lights that battled the stars dotting the inky canvas around them. Gray's legs were dangling off the ledge of the roof as he hunched forward, not particularly caring he could plummet to death at any moment. His fear of heights had been quite miraculously suppressed. It wasn't gone completely, it was more like he wasn't exactly aware of it when he needed to be.

"I just wanted to enjoy the view." He patted at the spot next to him, shooting his partner-in-crime a smile. "Care to join me?"

Carmen smirked and sat down next to him, her trench coat bunching beneath her weight and her dark waves blowing in the wind. Her signature red fedora struggled against the breeze. Gray wondered how she always managed to keep it on during their high-speed pursuits.

"Shanghai. The Pearl of Asia." Carmen mused, her lips curling into a snarky grin. "Beautiful place. It would be great for sightseeing." She punched his shoulder. "That is, if you're up for it."

"By 'up for it,' do you mean the fact that It's also home to the largest pearl in the world this week?." Gray shot back, reading Carmen's smirk like a book he had memorized every word of.

"You know me so well." She laughed darkly, her mouth finding a shrewd smile as she shook her head.
"You are my best friend." He shrugged, his hand shifting and meeting the tip of Carmen's fingernail, the barest of touches contradicting his words.

Carmen was his best friend alright. But she was also so much more.

"Friday Night, it's owner Abraham Reyes is going to let it be displayed at a charity auction in the Jin Mao tower. Guess who scored us a pair of invites?"
Gray grabbed the slip of paper from Carmen's fingers, reading it over.

"You mean an invite plus one. Am I the plus one? Or is it you?"

Another laugh escaped the lady in red's lips. "Finders keepers." She whispered, snatching the thing back. "But at least you get to tag along."