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Certainly Eve knows that she’s a walking liability. She’s exposed to any kind of danger, threat, kidnaping, stabbing all thanks to what she got involved with in the last couple of years. So she’s not entirely surprised that a man who was supposed to help her find some clues and info on a certain person is trying to choke her to death on a park bench.
Except that said man had know idea what kind of prep Eve was submitting herself to, besides the jogging from which they met each other through Caroline.
They both fell from the bench and were struggling on the floor, the man pinning Eve down. She could feel the outweigh heaving above her, almost incapable of doing anything to get out of this position, as he choked her. Almost. She managed to kick his back from behind with her knees, since he was not fully flat, so the inclination of his back was enough leverage for Eve as a possible way out.
He let go of her neck with the pain from the kicking and rolled sideways , giving Eve the space to get on her feet and, just before she though going nostalgic from the resemblance of Dasha laying oh the grass in that Golf Club and smashing her with her foot being brought back, she stepped back because she was at a open space in a park and could not risk getting attention. She needed to leave now.
“If you ever comer near me again, I’ll fucking kill you and chop you off”. Eve picks up her bag and the photo he gave to her.
“If I don’t, another one will. You can’t hide from them forever.” He says while trying to ease the pain layed on the ground, but making no sign of reaching to get Eve.
As soon as she walks far enough from him, she finds a cab and goes straight home, even though one another might just well be waiting there to finish the job.
All the way home she keeps thinking now if it was Caroline’s plan all along and if this really confirms one of her eldest thoughts that she was a member of The Twelve, right from the beginning when she recruited her to chase Villanelle down. Villanelle. Where the fuck did she go after the bridge? Is she alive right now? Is she running from The Twelve or she’s forcedly working for them, assuming she still doesn't want to kill anymore? All Eve can find are too many questions against barely no answers to them.
When she finally gets home, her small apartment - not that tiny grossed one, she managed to get a nicer and liveable one - just after opening the door she feels it. She smells it. She senses it. She’s here.
Anxiousness starts to take effect in every part of her body, but she has to rationalize this, she could be played with very easily when it comes to Villanelle being around. This could be The Twelve with another of their killing paws spraying La Villanelle in her house just to lure her right to an ambush.
Except it’s not La Villanelle. It’s that same personally made perfume that shifted the atmosphere in a regular bus ride in a London street a couple of months ago. “ Smell me, Eve. What do I smell of to you?”. BANG. Headbutted Villanelle really didn’t see what was coming, neither was Eve for that matter.
Anyways, she can’t count on that, so before she fully enters the apartment, she grabs her gun almost noiselessly from her bag, unlocks the safety and walks slowly, trying hard to see through the dark since all lights are off, but paying attention to any movement. Passing the small hallway, she becomes closer to the kitchen-living area, but still block sighted from the wall just before she can fully see the whole place.
Probably The Twelve doesn’t keep tabs on Villanelle’s perfume collection.
When Eve shows herself in the kitchen, she’s been mirrored by Villanelle, both holding and pointing guns at each other. Eve tries to reed Villanelle, who seems lost, scared, insecure, filled up with angst right through her eyes, but it starts to slowly fade away as it seems she’s acknowledging it’s really Eve in front of her. She’s not dead.
Eve still senses Villanelle is tense with the situation, but she makes no attempt to kill the silence, as if she wasn’t believing what she sees.
“Vill?”. It’s the pet name that breaks Villanelle. Though she takes a while to answer, it’s still noticeable how broken her voice is, but how it soothes her pain.
“Eve?”. She calls as if to make sure it’s really her.
Eve puts her arms up in an attempt to raise the white flag just in case, and slowly V settles down her gun. Putting her gun on the counter, Eve goes to Villanelle and reacts back with her hand on her cheek, Villanelle almost unnoticeably leaning on the touch. It feels like home, feels safe, feels warm.
Only now Eve takes a look at what Villanelle is wearing. Bomber jacket, looking wasted, like she has been running and hiding for a while, black trousers hanging very nicely at her waist and a pair of boots.
“I thought you were dead.” Finally this woman is really talking.
“I know, I kn…”. Before Eve could finish, Villanelle takes place at the crook of Eve’s neck, inhaling her amazing washed hair, putting her arms around her torso and holding her like her life depends on it.
Eve is completely taken by surprise, but welcomes the gesture by petting with one hand the blonde’s hair and the other holding around her shoulders. Giving a kiss at the top of Villanelle’s hair, she can feel her breath as her nose slowly caresses her neck.
“How did you know where I live?”. Eve asked, trying to initiate the talking.
“You really thought I wouldn’t know how to find you?”. Eve chuckles at this because it would be something entirely new if Villanelle couldn’t find her.
“I had to make sure, see for myself, if the new addition of The Twelve had shut you down. I was waiting here thinking he would be here to kill you.”. God, how Eve missed her thick accent, it’s beyond comforting.
“Well, he damn well tried to choke me, but I was able to get myself out before turning full purple in the middle of the park.”. Eve tried to pull away slightly to see V’s face, but V seemed reluctant on leaving such a comforting position.
“You got yourself a boyfriend who’s trying to kill you, Eve. You have a type. That’s kinky.”
“Oh, don’t mention it.”
“It’s okay, I don’t blame you. Besides, I know you thought about me all the time you were with him.”. She planted a kiss on her neck, making Eve gasp. God, she’s so full of herself. “But I’ll cut his balls off if I see him.”
When Villanelle finally decided to leave Eve’s neck, she puts her hands on her waist, struggling to keep eye contact. “You know I didn’t want to walk away. You chose that for both of us. I’ve been trying to find you for months.” Eve felt she had to pull some strings on that point, even though she doesn’t know how much time they’ll have.
“I’ve missed you so much. Not a single day has passed that I didn’t think of you.”
She runs a thumb over Vill’s smooth cheek, making her turn her head to kiss her hand.
“I missed you too. Everyday. But this can’t work. You’ll only be safe if I’m not near you.”
“That’s bullshit, Vill!” Eve starts to get angry and steps away from Ville, leaving her missing being close and touching Eve. “We’re both a liability, I know too much and you don’t want that life anymore, so that leaves us a big fat pair of targets for The Twelve.”.
“I don’t know if I can protect us both, Eve. I’ll never forgive myself if something happens to you.”
“You don’t have to do that all by yourself.” Eve tries to ease the forthcoming possibility of Villanelle leaving her. Again.
“You could have had any life you wanted after the bridge.” Villanelle tries to change the path the conversation is taking.
“But only one that includes you.” Before Vill can think on how to answer that, they both hear a thud, Vill being the first to take back her gun. It seems to come from the end of the apartment, near the bedroom. Eve reaches for her gun also and both women starts to walk around the house silently, when they both get just in front of the bedroom’s door, they mirror each others position between the door frame and Ville makes a sign that she’ll go first and kicks the door just like old time’s bathroom meetings only to meet a cat, just by the bay window.
The cat freezes just after jumping from the scare, staring at Villanelle. She slowly turns to Eve, with her gun down, “You have a cat?”.
“It’s not mine, it just keeps coming here once in a while, usually when I make korean. Must be the smell I guess.” Eve really looked defensive towards the judging face Villanelle was showing.
“I guess it’s good smell then, otherwise the cat would be very much dead.” She smirks, knowing how to make Eve untensed and pissed at the same time, because she tries to hold a smile fighting to grow.
“You can’t stay here, Eve. Will be the first place they’ll come to.”
“I hope that’s your way of saying that we’re leaving.”
“Eve…”. Villanelle is still reluctant.
“Don’t “Eve” me. I can make my own choices and I’m choosing to go with you. To leave with you. I’m tired of denying what we have or avoiding it. The only thing I have left to lose is you, then why the fuck would I be apart from you any longer?”. Damn, this woman’s about to lose her shit.
“God, you’re too sexy when you’re bossy.” An eye turning from Eve it’s all that’s left for Ville to walk towards her, cupping her face with both hands, caressing her cheek. “You have to trust me if we want a shot of staying alive.”.
“ We have to trust each other.” Correcting Villanelle’s words, they look deep at each other, feeling the air shifting, Villanelle’s eyes drift to Eve’s lips and back to Eve’s eyes, as if looking for permission, till Eve, once again, takes the upper hand and seals their lips. It’s quite slow at first, but Villanelle takes the lead and deepens the kiss the longer she feels like she’ll never get enough of this. They didn’t notice they were walking until Eve’s back hits the wall and Vill takes the opportunity given by Eve’s gasp to use her tongue, but it’s cut by the cat’s mewl.
Villanelle breaks the kiss pissed off and turns her face to the cat. “You’re ruining our moment here.”
“But it's a good signing, we have to leave, Vill.”. Eve’s voice calls her back.
The blond looks back again at the cat before asking, “Can we keep him?”.
“No.” Almost without hesitation Eve closes this discussion.
“Okay.”
“I’ll just pack some stuff before we leave.” She starts to move from the wall towards her drawer, picking some clothes and asking Vill to grab a handbag for her above the wardrobe.
After 10min, she got what she needed. Villanelle was waiting in the kitchen, snooping around, when she felt Eve’s presence back she almost got breathless at the sigh. Eve’ hair was way beyond amazing, how could she make it look even better? She definitely did something before coming back.
“Oh, Eve.” She stays open-mouthed. “I don’t think you wanna leave that soon wearing your hair like that.”.
“Then I guess we better hurry.”
This provocative Eve is something else entirely, and Villanelle didn’t know about her. She just can’t wait to meet all of them.