Chapter Text
Eve fiddled with the hairband on her wrist nervously as the taxi she was in weaved its way through London.
It was late afternoon and the streets were swarming with people.
She rested her head on the car window and gazed outside.
Despite the uncertainty and instability that was going on in her own life, she found it comforting that London stayed the same. She watched as people shopped, talked and smoked, all caught up in their own lives.
She had recently divorced her husband, Niko, of 5 years.
He was a kind man, the sort of person who always knew what to do and say, and at first, it’s what attracted Eve to him.
Early in the relationship, she found the routine they had comforting. They would both work during the day and Eve would come home to a cooked dinner waiting for her and the evenings were spent sat in front of the television with Niko and watching old documentaries or classic movies. Occasionally they would go to a local pub or meet with a group of their friends for dinner but that’s as exciting as it got.
Eve quickly grew tedious of the same routine and would beg Niko to do something spontaneous and to book a last-minute holiday. He, of course, always said no. He’d back up his point by lecturing Eve about how they had jobs they needed to attend and that they wouldn’t be able to afford a sporadic trip away, which she found hard to argue against with all things considered.
This would lead to petty arguments, more often than not started by Eve, and would usually end with Niko storming out and leaving Eve to sit alone in their boring house disinterestedly watching whatever was on the television until he got back a few hours later.
Near the end of their relationship their arguments would become more common, much to their neighbor's annoyance, and they both dreaded coming home from work. It took one last argument and one last complaint from next door until Eve decided that she was done. She knew how much stress and chaos she had brought into his life and wanted to leave not just for her own sake, but for Niko’s.
They were officially divorced a couple months later.
The problem Eve faced after that was how she was going to manage by herself. She left the house to Niko, knowing how much he loved it and stayed at her friend Bill’s with his wife and their baby.
Although they constantly reassured Eve that they didn’t mind her presence and that she was welcome to stay for as long as she needed, she still felt that she was intruding and was desperate to find somewhere else to live.
Financially, she was fucked. She had a decent pay from working her desk job at MI5, but it was not enough to move out straight away. Although she wanted to live more spontaneously, she wished that she had planned this out much more wisely.
Desperate for advice and to stop bothering Bill and his family, she complained to her friend and colleague Elena, whom had been in a similar situation a few years back and suggested that she try to find a roommate or shared accommodation.
Eve scoffed at the idea at first, but after spending day after day weighing up her options, it became clear to her that she had no other option rather than to stay at Bill’s house.
Deciding that she had put Bill and his wife through enough stress, considering they had a baby to look after as well, Eve went back to Elena a couple days later and asked her to send her a reliable website so that she could look for a place to temporarily stay whilst she saved up enough money to move out independently.
It took her a few weeks, but she eventually found an affordable apartment, not too far from her work, that looked nice and well kept.
It was owned by a woman named Villanelle. Not much else was said about her on the website but her email was at the bottom of the page.
Eve emailed her and explained her situation. Villanelle replied a few hours later and seemed to be a relatively polite person and Eve trusted her enough.
Once Villanelle had addressed Eve’s concerns, she felt much more positive about the move and a sense of excitement washed over her as she realized for the first time how free she was.
On the day of the move, however, Eve started feeling anxious.
She hadn’t even seen a picture of Villanelle yet she’s going to be sharing an apartment with her. She didn’t know Villanelle’s age, where she worked or what type of person she was. For all Eve knew, Villanelle could be an axe-wielding murderer who gets off on inviting people to stay at her apartment for an affordable price before hacking them apart.
Before Eve got lost deeper in her thoughts, her phone dinged to let her know that her taxi was a waiting outside. She hurriedly thanked Bill and his wife for their hospitality and promised them a night out sooner or later and she grabbed her bag, opened the door and walked out towards the taxi, telling the driver her new address.
Now here she was. Sat in a car going to her new ‘home’.
The drive took about 20 minutes from Bill’s house and the taxi driver pulled up outside a modern looking building. Eve thanked the driver, paid and walked to the entrance of the building.
She hesitantly pressed the button for 18, the apartment number that Villanelle had given her, and waited to be buzzed in.
Villanelle buzzed her in immediately.
After climbing two sets of stairs she located the apartment.
Swallowing her nerves, she reached up to knock the door but just as she lifted her arm the door swung open.
‘Hey, Partner’ Villanelle greeted her enthusiastically.
Eve took in the woman before her.
She was tall, blonde, undeniably gorgeous and smelt heavenly. She was nothing like Eve had imagined her to be. Her accent sounded eastern European. Maybe Russian? Ukrainian?
Noticing Eve’s silence Villanelle addressed Eve with an amused expression.
‘Are you okay? Do you want to come in or are you just going to stand out here all day?’
Eve felt her anxiety fade into humiliation.
‘Sorry’ Eve said hurriedly before following Villanelle into the apartment ‘I’ll try not to bother you too much while I’m here’.
Villanelle smiled.
‘You’re paying rent, Eve. It’s just as much your place as it is mine now. Make yourself at home.’
Eve thanked her and Villanelle showed her to her new room.
It was spacious and had a chic style to it.
Eve placed her bag down and began unpacking until Villanelle barged into the room.
‘Do you want to join me for dinner Eve? I’m just making spaghetti; it won’t be long.’
‘Sure’ Eve replied, only just realizing how hungry she was ‘Thank you, Villanelle.’
‘It’s no problem, I’ll call you when it’s ready.’
Dinner was ready in less than 15 minutes and when Eve walked into the kitchen she was hit with an amazing smell.
‘It smells great in here.’ she admitted to Villanelle.
Villanelle beamed at her.
‘It’s the sauce’ she said ‘It’s a recipe that I learnt when I went to Italy. I could teach you how to make it if you’d like.’
‘Thanks for the offer but I’m hideous at cooking, I can just about use an oven.’
‘Have you never had a home cooked meal?’ Villanelle asked.
‘Oh, well, my ex husband used to cook for me, so I have, I’ve just never made one.’
Villanelle didn't push the conversation any further and began serving the dinner on two plates and Eve helped by setting the table.
‘Do you want to eat dinner in front of the television?’ Villanelle asked, ‘We could watch a movie.’
Eve agreed and brought the cutlery and glasses over to the coffee table. Villanelle placed the plates down before getting up and picking a bottle of wine from the fridge.
They both ended up choosing to watch ‘The Wicker Man’ after Eve suggested it and Villanelle admitted that she’d never seen it.
The food was delicious, and Eve finished it before the movie started.
Villanelle talked the whole way through the film, but Eve didn’t mind. She discovered that Villanelle was one of those people that you could watch for hours and never get bored of. She was incredibly charming and knew exactly how to draw a person in.
When the movie finished Eve helped Villanelle clean up before saying goodnight and retreating to her room.
As Eve got ready for bed, she couldn’t help but notice how light she felt. She felt like a weight had been lifted off her, and although she told herself that it was probably due to finally having decent accommodation, she couldn’t help but feel like there was more to it.
When Eve got into the bed, Villanelle's scent was everywhere. Laying down on the pillows, she inhaled and felt her stomach turn with more of an excited than a nervous sensation. Snapping herself into reality, Eve blamed it on the wine and closed her eyes hoping that sleep would come.
After spending night after night tossing and turning, Eve finally fell straight to sleep for the first time in months.