Chapter Text
Rome makes them nervous.
The flight is awfully quiet. Eve is relieved when the stewardess asks her what kind of drink she'd like. The snack they're given is tasteless - after all, it's plane food - yet they devour it as if it was their first meal in days. Villanelle tries a joke. It falls flat. Her hand goes to her hip and she starts rubbing her scar is over the fabric of her blouse. Eve can feel Carolyn's eyes on her, watching them from the middle row while Kenny is fast asleep. She picks at her nails and ends up nipping and biting them. Focusing on the plane's wings didn't work; neither did staring at the back of the head of the man in front of her.
There's a lump in her throat, an uneasy feeling that she can't shake off. What's the worst thing that could happen, anyway? Two days in a hotel room and then they'll be long gone from this nightmare of a city.
As long as Carolyn doesn't book them a tour of old Roman ruins, it should be fine.
As long as Villanelle doesn't get cornered by a man twice her weight and the only weapon at her disposal isn't an axe, it should be fine.
Really. There's nothing to worry about.
She keeps biting her nails, though.
Villanelle wants to ask her what's wrong. But she knows. She knows Eve perfectly remembers her bright red clothes, her bloody cheek, the hurt from her broken fantasy. The same way she remembers the weight of the small gun in her pocket and Eve's dark teary eyes before the woman she was head over heels for turned away.
So, they wait in silence, absorbed in their thoughts.
They can all feel the tension in the taxi taking them to the hotel. Carolyn takes the front seat without asking for anyone's opinion, leaving her son to sit between the other two women at the back. It's possibly the worst place to be and Kenny nervously shakes his leg up and down, suddenly very interested in the roof's shade of grey that he seemingly can't take his eyes off. His discomfort forces a smile on Eve's lips and relaxes her a bit. Villanelle just stares at his foot hitting the carpeting of the car and clenches her fists a little more at each thud. At some point, Eve is convinced she sees the driver give Kenny a worried look - the kind that says "blink twice if you need help" - and she sinks her teeth inside her cheek to stop a nervous laugh.
The car finally stops in a street that looks way too similar to the ones Eve knows. The hotel, however, isn't like the one in which she had shared a room with Hugo. It's fancier. A little too much for the occasion, she thinks. It's not exactly low profile but after all, Villanelle is sporting her bright yellow coat so at this point, why not? The driver gets the suitcases out of the trunk and they make their way inside.
Carolyn goes to take the key cards at the front desk. After a quick exchange with the receptionist, a young man asks her to follow him. Kenny's name resonates in the entrance hall as she motions for them to follow her. A quick elevator ride later, they find themselves in the hallway of the third floor. They immediately notice the vending machine (blame it on the plane food) placed, as well as two armchairs, next to a large window. The hotel employee brings them back to reality and distributes the keys. He points at the second door on the left; Carolyn thanks him and enters the room, Kenny on her heels.
"Snacks?" He asks Eve before his mother closes the door.
She nods and adds, "Five minutes."
Eve and Villanelle are staying further down the hallway. It's a large room with a queen-sized bed on the left. In the middle of the room, two couches face each other, separated by a glass coffee table. There’s a door leading to a bathroom on the right. A good portion of the wall is just large windows looking out on the street. It’s nice. Villanelle leaves her suitcase next to the coffee table and kicks off her shoes to enjoy the soft deep red carpeting under her feet. She walks around the room and ends up letting herself fall back on the bed. Eve wishes she could act the same but it's Rome. She doesn't know what to say.
"I'm going to check on Kenny," she announces before she can feel more stupid just standing there. "Do you want anything to eat?"
Villanelle thinks for a second. "Gummy bears, please."
"Got it," Eve whispers.
She quietly leaves the room.
As she shuts the door, she can see that Kenny is already in front of the vending machine, lightly tapping on the glass, trying to decide what to get. He smiles when he sees Eve walking up to him and points at the dozens of different candies.
"Any preferences?"
Eve shrugs. "Kit Kat?"
There’re two loud thuds as the snacks fall down. Kenny hands one over to her. They completely ignore the armchairs and sit down on the floor, their backs resting against the vending machine.
"I'm sorry about the other day," Kenny lets out, ripping the plastic open. "I wasn't expecting her and acted like a child."
"It's alright."
"No, it's not. It wasn't your fault. Or hers, for that matter," he adds. "I appreciate it. I know she's doing it for you but still. She had no obligation to follow through with Mom's idea."
Eve smiles and gives his knee a quick squeeze. "Thank you."
The young man sighs heavily and closes his eyes, leaning his head back against the glass. They enjoy the silence for a minute, only breaking it to eat their Kit Kat bars.
"It's just... weird," Kenny says between two bites. "You and her."
"There's nothing- Really, we're not-" Eve groans because it's not that hard to explain yet she's stuttering like she has something to hide and it annoys her.
"Of course," Kenny says, unable to hide a playful smile.
Eve runs a hand across her face, laughing. "Shut it."
Kenny's laugh joins hers and just like that, the tension hovering above them since they set foot in that plane vanishes. They're not even sure why they're laughing anymore but it feels good, light.
"Do you think it's crazy?" Eve asks, her eyes closed.
"A little?” He tries with a funny face. “But for what it's worth, you two together can't be worse than you two apart. That didn't work out so well."
Eve sighs and circles her legs with her arms, "I meant me being a spy."
"Oh..."
Eve chuckles - yeah - and she lets her chin rest on her knees. After a while, she says, "It feels strange to be back here."
"I know. I can't stop thinking about the moment I learned what had happened to you. It's like," he hesitates, looks for the right words but doesn't find them, "there's this weird feeling that won't go away." Eve nods, says she feels the exact same way, feels this weight in the back of her mind. "Did Villanelle say something?"
"Not since the flight. There's not much to say, anyway," she shrugs. "Or too much."
“Then don’t talk about it. It's your thing, right? Keeping things buried.”
Eve hums. A comfortable silence wraps around them until Kenny folds the empty plastic wrap in his hand and stands up. "You should go back. I don't want her to get jealous and snap my neck."
“Don't be an asshole.”
Kenny puts his hands up. "She's snapped necks before."
"Not yours."
"Wouldn't want to change that."
He offers Eve a hand. Before she takes it, Eve takes the change she left in her back pocket. She buys the gummy bears Villanelle had asked for.
“See you in the morning?” Eve asks.
Kenny nods. “You know where to find me.”
“Thank you for this.”
Kenny whispers a “sure” and they exchange one last smile before they drag their feet to their respective rooms.
When Eve walks in, Villanelle is spread out on the bed, feeling the fabric of the sheets with a content smile. Eve sits down on the edge of the bed and waits for her assigned roommate to open her eyes.
"Did you do that a lot? Wait in hotel rooms?" Eve asks when Villanelle finally looks up. The blonde nods and readjusts her arms under her head. "For how long?"
"Hours. Days." The younger woman frowns at a bad memory. "A week one time."
"What did you do?" Villanelle's face lights up way too quickly so Eve immediately adds, "If you say something even remotely sexual, I'll end you."
Villanelle smirks. "Then I don't have a lot to say."
At this moment, Eve wants nothing more than to slap that grin off her face. Instead, she throws the bag of candy across the bed. An exaggerated "ow" echoes in the room when it lands on Villanelle's stomach. She sits up, opens it eagerly, and picks two gummy bears before ripping their heads off. The beginning of a smile stretches Eve's lips at the view of the sheer joy in Villanelle's eyes from something so simple. Villanelle holds the bag out to her, but she shakes her head no.
"I went over how to kill whoever I had to kill," she starts explaining, hand deep in the candy bag. "Location, costume, character, timing-"
"Best and worst-case scenarios."
Villanelle huffs at the word "worst".
"Please. I'm not an amateur, Eve."
“I know.”
Villanelle gets up from the bed and starts walking around the room.
"I worked out. I practiced languages. That sort of things,” she says, opening a cupboard.
Eve can see two rectangular boxes in it.
"Are these board games?" Villanelle nods. "What do you have?"
The blonde grabs the box on top and turns it around to read the name.
"The Game of Life?"
Eve scrunches her nose. "Anything else?"
"Checkers."
"No way. Game of life it is."
“Oh,” Villanelle says, surprised. “Do you want to play?”
Eve shrugs. “I mean… We have hours to kill. But we don’t have to if you-“
“No, it’s fine!”
“Cool. It’s a basic game. Come on.”
Villanelle takes the box and sets it on the coffee table. She kneels next to it as Eve sits on the couch. There's not a lot of space but the table is wide enough to welcome the unfolded board. Eve sets the colorful wheel at the center of the board and spins it a few times; it keeps landing on 3. Villanelle inspects the box and the board with a frown.
"What's the goal?"
"You spin the wheel, do whatever the space you end up on says and, well, try to live the best life possible."
Eve picks up the box and puts in on the table, pointing at a bunch of plastic cars. She tells Villanelle to take one. They both go for the same dark blue car. Neither of them wants to let go. The tips of Eve's fingers turn white from the way she's gripping it. She shoots Villanelle an annoyed look.
"Come on, it's the least ugly one."
"It's a plastic toy, Eve."
"Then get another one." With her other hand, Eve picks the small washed out yellow car from the box and slaps it in Villanelle's palm. "It matches your coat."
The blonde shrugs, unsure of how to take Eve's remark. "I like this coat."
"Then you'll love this car."
Eve finishes to organize the board, distributes the money, and sets a pink peg in each car. Once they're all set, she lets Villanelle spin the wheel to start the game.
One thing they realize almost immediately is that they're both bad sports.
Eve huffs and groans every time the younger woman wins something. It starts when Villanelle gets a lawyer career (and the best salary available) while she misses all the good job spaces. There's a barely audible "are you fucking kidding me?" whispered through gritted teeth that makes Villanelle snicker. And yes, maybe she's taking it too seriously. Maybe she shouldn't roll her eyes when Villanelle happily takes the fake bills she earned with a satisfied smile. But there's no way she's losing this game.
Villanelle isn't better. Instead of grumbling and sighing as much as Eve does, she cheats. She tries to steal money from the bank by hiding a second bill behind the only one she's supposed to take on her second turn. It doesn't escape Eve's watchful eye.
"Put it back."
"What?"
She has to admit Villanelle's innocent face is endearing - and mastered to perfection - and she would've given in under any other circumstances. Arms crossed, she waits for Villanelle to reluctantly put it back on the pile.
Eventually, Villanelle moves her plastic car to the "Get Married" space and Eve hands her a blue peg from the box. Villanelle raises her eyebrows in a way that screams "seriously?" so Eve puts it back in the box. While she looks for a pink peg, Villanelle says, "I didn't think I'd get married again so soon."
Eve stops her movements right away.
"What do you mean again?" She asks, narrowing her eyes.
"A few months ago, in Spain."
Villanelle doesn't bother to give an explanation. She says it as if it wasn't brand new information for Eve to take in.
"Are you still- how long were you married for?"
"Three hours, give or take."
Eve can't say she's surprised.
"Jesus."
"I made a great speech and Dasha kidnapped me."
"Lovely."
Villanelle nods vigorously. "It was. If you had seen this house..." She trails off. "And the pool."
And Eve can see it, oh so well. Extravagant, outrageously expensive, way too much everything.
Villanelle snaps her back to reality. "Can I have a pink one now?"
Eve hands it to her. "One Spanish lady for you. What's her name?"
Villanelle carefully sets it next to the other pink peg in the car. "Maria. But she's not who I'm picturing in my car."
Eve shakes her head with a smile and nods towards the board.
"Spin the wheel."
"I meant-"
"Spin it," Eve repeats, louder, rolling her eyes. The smile on her lips hasn't disappeared.
They keep playing for almost half an hour, exchanging anecdotes here and there, loosely connected to the spaces they land on. Villanelle loses it when Eve tells her about Tallulah Shark and Eve regrets it right away. It goes extremely well; Villanelle even stops cheating for a while. Until she has to pay $10,000 and she strongly refuses. Eve’s grin doesn’t help.
“Let me draw a card," Villanelle demands.
“I can't. It’s taxes day, you have to pay."
Eve tries to keep a straight face at Villanelle’s tantrum, but she fails miserably. It’s payback for the countless number of times the blonde yelled “PAYDAY”, knowing damn well Eve didn’t earn even half of what she did.
“Read me a card, instead."
“No,” Eve says, louder.
Villanelle groans and lunges forward to get a card only for her hand to hit the coffee table. Eve had already snatched the deck of cards out of Villanelle's reach. She refuses to give up and tries to get the cards back from Eve's hand. She ends up landing weirdly on top of Eve, catching hold of the armrest to break her fall but her right arm presses down on Eve's throat. It feels too familiar. They lock eyes for a split second and the game is long forgotten; Eve lets the deck of cards fall at the foot of the couch. The pressure on her throat softens as Villanelle moves her arm to the side. It's not like they haven't been in each other's space the last couple of days, not like they haven't felt the tension between them. But this is different.
There's a focused look in Villanelle's eyes as she traces a line from Eve's collarbone to the top of her breast with the tip of her finger. It perfectly mirrors the line across Eve's shoulder blade and the older woman can't hold back a shiver. Villanelle's finger lingers there for a few more seconds before she leaves a kiss just above it. It's not quite an apology for what caused the scar to exist. More of an acknowledgment of the strange bond between them, indestructible, eternal. It’s the lightest contact but it makes Eve lean her head back against the armrest. Villanelle lets her lips wander higher, peppering kisses along Eve’s neck.
Eve runs her hand down Villanelle's side and stops at her hip, applying the tiniest of pressure with her thumb on the scar she knows is right under. Nothing will ever take away the knife from her hand and the rush of adrenaline that made her arm tingle and her heart race in Paris. She's not entirely sure she wants to, anyway. A strand of Villanelle's hair brushes against her chin and brings her back to it, only to catch Villanelle’s dark eyes and barely flushed cheeks. Eve strokes her cheek and pulls on her bottom lip with her thumb, slightly parting her lips. It gives Villanelle enough time to move backward or get off the couch, enough time to decide if she wants to take it further. Villanelle moves her head to the side to swiftly kiss Eve’s thumb before taking hold of her hand and pinning it next to her head. She closes the gap between them, presses a kiss on Eve’s lips. Then another, and another and Eve’s grateful sigh is a good enough reward. Even better is the moan that escapes Eve’s throat when Villanelle tugs at her lip and brushes a thumb across a nipple that she feels harden under Eve’s shirt.
At this point, Eve can’t say she didn’t expect Villanelle to push her tongue in her mouth and her leg between her thighs, but she still sucks in a breath when it happens. Minutes pass as they keep kissing and she keeps rocking against Villanelle’s leg until she can’t take it. Her lips are swollen, there’s not a square centimeter of her neck that hasn’t been claimed by the assassin, her underwear feels more uncomfortable against her skin every second passing and she’s so tired of seeing Villanelle’s stupid silk top, with all those stupid buttons and her stupid pants. Eve takes her by surprise and flips them over. Her fingers go straight to the first button of the blonde’s blouse and it’s a miracle she gets to the last one without having ripped any piece of fabric since she’s not exactly gentle with it. Villanelle isn’t too far gone to notice the way Eve is handling her clothes and the older woman doesn’t miss the tinge of worry in her eyes.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Eve says, going back to Villanelle’s lips.
“Like what?” Villanelle asks into the kiss.
“Like I tore your favorite top in two.”
“But you almost did.”
Eve rolls her eyes, leaves an open mouth kiss under Villanelle’s ear, and sits back on the blonde’s thighs, urging her to sit up so she can slip the silk blouse off her shoulders. Villanelle helps her to get out of her shirt right after and it joins her top on the floor. Her lips are soon attached to Eve’s collarbone as she lets Eve run her fingers through her golden hair, massaging her scalp.
“V- Wait,” Eve lets out between two sighs. The nickname stops Villanelle and she immediately looks up, asks her what's wrong. "Nothing. Bed.”
Villanelle smiles – oh, ok – and follows Eve, makes her turn around before she reaches the bed, loses one hand in black curls, unfastens her bra with the other. The deftness of it all almost fools Eve, makes her believe Villanelle has everything under control until the blonde pushes her too strongly on the mattress. Eve bounces on it in a weird way. She can't help but snort when she sees the way Villanelle grimaces.
"Прости," the blonde mumbles.
Trying to make Eve forget about this mishap, Villanelle quickly takes off her pants and it almost works since Eve appreciatively watches her toned legs. She joins Eve on the bed and seals their lips again. Eve doesn't waste any time and straddles Villanelle's hips before a deep laugh escapes her throat. Maybe it's the nerves, maybe it's the way they're reclaiming this city, maybe it's having an international assassin who's half her age under her. Or maybe it's because said assassin literally threw her on a bed seconds before.
"Stop making fun of me," Villanelle asks with the slightest of pouts.
And just before she can cross her arms, Eve falls right into it, kisses her pout away, and nips at her plump bottom lip. She runs her hands down her sides and comes back up until her thumbs trace the underside of Villanelle's breasts and one thing leading to another, her mouth is involved, Villanelle ends up completely naked and she's way more responsive to her touch than Eve ever dreamed of. She gets intoxicated by every sound she draws from Villanelle's throat, every twitch of a muscle. She's almost light-headed, as she gets lost in Villanelle and finds her burning hot, so ready for her it could make her lose her mind.
Villanelle doesn't talk as much as Eve imagined she would. She lets Eve take the lead, listens - open, show me what you like, such a good girl - and obliges. She drinks in Eve's words and relishes her encouragement. Her only desire is to stop running and be taken care of. Eve can feel it, quite literally, and wants to make it last just a little longer.
When she feels Villanelle start to clench around her fingers, she pulls out. It elicits a whine out of Villanelle and a displeased hey! that rapidly turns into a moan when Eve's slick fingers trace the scar on her abdomen. Eve knows it's wrong, knows it shouldn't turn her on so much, or make her seek any kind of friction, but the way it affects Villanelle doesn't help. Eventually, she manages to catch Villanelle's eyes and she smirks at the blushing, ragged breath, whining mess in front of her. She traces a line from her clit to her entrance, barely dipping the tip of a finger in.
"Again."
Villanelle's tone changes and Eve knows she didn't think she would have to wait for anything. She sounds like a spoiled child who won't take no for an answer. Demanding, ordering. It pushes Eve to play a little more. She repeats the movement, reaching deeper each time. When she feels the blonde is close again, she takes her fingers out, and oh, if looks could kill.
"Stop doing that." Villanelle's voice is high and filled with frustration.
“Will you stop cheating?” Eve asks, eyebrows raised and a smirk on her lips.
Villanelle doesn't even register the question, doesn't try to understand what it means. She nods, laboriously whispers a yes.
“Will you pay the ten grand?”
The question brings the blonde back to her senses. She can't believe Eve is bringing the game into this.
“What?”
"The ten thousand dollars you owe the bank," Eve repeats. "Will you give them?"
"What if I don't?" Villanelle tries, a wavering cocky smile on her lips. And even though it looks like she's joking, she's not planning on giving up any fake bills.
"Then we can keep you there for a while," Eve says, brushing her clit really lightly. “But I'm not sure that's what you want."
Villanelle bites down on her lip. The feeling of Eve’s fingers is almost too much because she’s right there. And Eve knows it, adds a little more pressure that Villanelle wouldn’t have even felt if she wasn’t so worked up.
“Eve," Villanelle breathes out in a sob.
"Yes?"
Villanelle doesn't say more, only has Eve's name on her tongue. Eve keeps playing with her. It hadn't been her plan to edge her - it hadn't been her plan to have her naked under her at all - but Villanelle's stubbornness made it too tempting.
"It's just a game," Villanelle hisses.
Eves chuckles, "I know, baby."
The term of endearment slips out. She isn't one to overly use and whisper baby here and there. It feels strange but it makes Villanelle whine and that's all that matters. She leaves a kiss between her breasts, then on her neck, and plays her last card. "Be good for me."
It has the expected effect. It makes Villanelle gasp and nod and shortly after breath out "okay".
"Wasn't so hard, was it?"
Eve pushes two digits in as a reward and kisses her way down Villanelle's body. The assassin has waited enough. She goes straight to the point and sucks on her clit, making Villanelle arch her back and lose her hand in her hair. She moves her right hand up until she feels Villanelle's scar and traces it over and over again with her thumb. It sends Villanelle over the edge, a litany of Russian words rolling off her tongue. Eve helps come down from her high and finally plants a kiss on her still quivering thigh. She pushes herself up and captures Villanelle's lips for a soft and loving kiss.
Eve eventually rolls off the blonde's body with a sigh. She lies on her stomach, one arm folded under her head and looks at Villanelle who's still catching her breath. They enjoy the silence for a while, Eve's eyes locked on Villanelle as she plays with her blonde locks and caresses her cheek. Villanelle traces random patterns on the back of Eve's thigh, a smile growing on her lips at the thought of what just happened, of finally having Eve to herself. Eve catches the smile and chuckles before leaving a kiss on Villanelle's shoulder.
"What?" Villanelle asks after Eve's laugh.
"Nothing." Villanelle raises an eyebrow. "It feels unreal, that's all," Eve explains.
"I usually have that effect on people."
"Oh, really?"
Villanelle slowly nods, her eyes closed, in that obnoxious way Eve grew to enjoy. It makes her laugh again and she pinches Villanelle's side before recapturing her lips.
Between two kisses, Eve asks out of the blue, "You're still legally married, aren't you?"
She can see something flicker in Villanelle's eyes. The younger woman quickly gets off the bed and makes her way to the coffee table.
"What are you-"
Before Eve can tell her to come back to bed, Villanelle bends down to take something and when she stands up straight again, she has a card in her hand.
Villanelle clears her throat in a theatrical manner and reads, "If you're married, take $2000 from the bank."
She flashes a wide smile to Eve who can't even pretend to be annoyed and just laughs heartily. She still grabs a pillow and throws it at Villanelle for good measure.
"Stop making shit up and come back here."