Chapter Text
Finally, Vissa and Till were walking up to the Riff, finishing a pair of cigarettes. As they stopped to wait for the traffic lights to change in their favor, he pulled her into his side, seeking his lips with hers for a long, passionate kiss. The move surprised her - usually, Till didn’t get overly affectionate in public until he had a couple drinks in him. He was always affectionate, sure, but this kiss was so deep that it made her feel like she needed to find them a dark corner where she could ditch her panties.
Like every emotion Vissa had while within five feet of the man, Till sensed her surprise - and probably the passion - and chuckled as he pulled into his side, grinning.
“What, is Hanna in there?” Vissa teased, reaching to plant her lips on the bottom of his jaw. God he was tall. Just big in general. Einvar was taller, but he was more narrow. Till was thick, strong in a different way. And entirely in her head, like a safety blanket laid over the edge of her mental comforter. She paused to tweak his new piercing. “I like the new face metal,”
“Oh, do you?” Till grinned, lifting his chin to show off his new septum piercing. His glee was almost childlike as he stared down at her through his thick black lashes. “I was inspired.”
“By whom?” Vi teased, giggling as he flipped down the little beaded ring she almost always wore hidden in her nostril. She spun it to the side to give it the appearance of a hoop before she sought out his lips. She very rarely wore it down - only Till, Einvar, and Ville likely knew about the piercing - but it was probably one of her favorite “flashy” body mods. Outside of the armfuls of tattoos. “Now we match. How sappy.”
They paused outside of the bar to finish their cigarettes, Till still hanging on her. Vissa tried not to compare her pair of steady lovers, but she couldn’t help herself. She enjoyed Einvar, that brooding mountain of a man. He was burned like a bonfire, intense in the newsroom and passionate in the bedroom. But he didn’t get handsy in public because of the optics of him being her boss - not to mention that they didn’t get spend much time together in public with their conflicting work schedules. She and Einvar were lovers behind closed doors.
Till had the benefit of not caring how he looked and who saw them together. Not only because they didn’t work together, and Finland wasn’t as plump with paparazzi as the rest of the world.
But the real difference was that she spent her time with Till nestled into his side and his mind. She loved Einvar’s touch, loved his fiery passion, how he was basically a bangable behemoth - hard and tall, and yet she could wrap her arms around him. They shared a passion for their work and she could spend hours sparring with him about hot takes on the news of the day. But she and Till had a different level of intimacy. Vissa knew what he thought when he pressed his lips against hers. Had felt how much he loved the feeling of pressing inside her, the heady joy of his orgasms, and he had been present for her experiences of the same. There was not another person on earth she could feel so close to - well, unless she met another strong telepath who wasn’t Ville Valo.
Or if Vissa fucked Ville, which was incredibly unlikely.
As she composed herself to go inside, freeing herself of the thoughts of comparison between her two lovers, she squeezed Till’s waist hard, nestling her consciousness into the little space he had created for her. She could feel the tickling touch of his mind dancing on the fringes of hers.
“What is this about a ‘boneable blue whale?’” Till asked, sounding slightly concerned even as Vi giggled. Instead of telling him that she came up with different puns for Einvar’s enormity - in height, girth, and length - she shook her head.
“You don’t want to know. Suffice it to say I’m not fucking whales.”
“Fair enough.”
“Come on. I don’t have you long enough to waste time taking about puns.” She ditched her cigarette, wrapping her arms around his waist. “Let’s have a shot.”
“Yes, mein herz,” He followed her in, offering to take her coat. Ever the gentleman.
Vi made her way to the bar as he hung their coats, hailing Moya for a pair of shots. The Fairie woman ignored her.
“Honestly, Moya. It’s for Lindemann.” Moya looked up from her work, an eyebrow cocked.
“Till’s here?”
“He is. To visit me.” Vissa knew she didn’t need to be so petty but sometimes it felt good to goad the woman a little. She was always so... well, indifferent. Moya ignored Vissa unless she was with someone she liked.
Honestly, Vissa preferred the day shift.
“Don’t worry, honey, I got you.” Ana, one of her preferred bartenders, said with a wink. A Vampire, Ana was truly Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia, the dethroned royal. She dyed her hair like the firebird of legend - bright red with flames of blond at the tips - and was so blatant about her past Vi was often shocked that mortals didn’t pick up on it. But she told some fucking good stories, and she was a practiced bartender.
“Thanks, Ana. You’re a doll.”
“Mm, you say that darling. Maybe someday I’ll charm you into acting on it,” Ok so there was that. Vissa was always halfway tempted by Ana’s latent Compulsion, but could usually resist, especially now with Till at her back.
“Hey, Ana. Don’t tempt her. She’s mine this week.” Till slipped his arm around Vissa’s waist as he sidled up to the bar. In the recesses of his mind, Vissa could feel he wasn’t happy with Ana’s advances.
“Feeling possessive, Till?” She asked as Ana delivered a pair of salmiakki shots, grinning impishly with a flash of her elongated canines.
“Can’t blame me for trying, Tilly-Willy. Your girl smells incredible.”
“Oh, ok guys, not a fan of any of this right now.” Vi murmured, taking the shot in front of her and tapping the glass down. “I’m going to need at least two more of these and a Happy Joe before I deal with you.”
An amused eyebrow raised, Till pushed the shot she had gotten for him toward her, nodding at Ana to request the rest of Vissa’s demands. He bore the cider and his drink to one of the low tables in the dark back corner of the bar, secluded from the rest of the Others. Till usually liked to sit in the window so he could people watch - he liked to say see who might be sneaking up on him but it didn’t really make sense because he could feel people’s presence just like she could. Still, Vi picked up the shots and followed him to the table.
Till kicked up his boots, offering an arm for Vi to tuck herself under as she settled into his side.
“What’s up, Tilliam?” She teased, taking the shot he had given her. Foolishly she had carried it from the bar instead of taking it there, but she hadn’t felt up to the task of socking one back at the bar a moment ago.
“Tillbert, actually,” Vissa couldn’t see his smile but giggled at his antics. “Ville and I think we have a lead on our old friend.”
The news sent a tingle of excitement through Vissa’s spine and she found herself in the back of her own mind, staring up at the impenetrable wall that was her block. It was immeasurably vast, like The Wall in Game of Thrones. But instead of guarding the realms of men it dammed her power. Perhaps that was the same?
“We think she’s in Lapland. At least, that’s where she was when your mother saw her thirty years ago and she tends to stay put when she’s comfortable.”
“Interesting.” Vi murmured, tracing a design on his leg with her fingertips. “So this is from Joanna's memories?”
“It is.” Till frowned, like he was worried about something else but didn’t say what. “So do you have plans this weekend?”
“Apparently I’m going to Lapland.”