The next day Bill informed Beatrix, as well as the rest of the remaining Vipers that he was going out of town for a few days on "business." But, seeing as Beatrix's birthday was likewise only a few days away, the whole thing sounded a little suspicious. Either way, Bill did leave for two days to an unknown location.
He returned on the morning of the third day…..Beatrix's birthday, naturally.
It was just six in the morning, barely light out at this time of year. The sky was a deep, slowly lightening velvet blue. Bill was driving his black Jaguar JX....custom model of course. It was a beautiful car, sleek...not a sports car, but much more of a luxury sedan...leather interior, GPS....the works. Well, anyways...Bill loved this car to put it mildly. He made his way at a respectable speed to Beatrix's apartment complex. The numerous night spotlights were on, illuminating the parking lot and the multiple leveled complex. Once he neared the parking lot, Bill turned off the headlights of his car, killed the engine and coasted the car into the lot very quietly.
Likewise, he softly shut the car door and walked up to the front of Beatrix's apartment in well practiced stealthy steps. He was wearing jeans, black tennis shoes.and a button up shirt of course....but he was dressed more casual then normal. He stopped in front of Beatrix's door, standing on the concrete landing. It would be normal to knock...but that wasn't part of Bill's plan. Instead, he moved to the rectangular window placed near the front door. And just like he had done just a few days before, he proceeded to remove the window with a small pocket tool. As stated previously, Bill knew how to perform just about every illegal skill there was to know. He'd even cat burgled a good number of houses in his younger years. He'd taken notice of this window before, just as he'd taken notice of just about everything in Beatrix's cozy apartment. He knew this particular window would be a snap. He glanced briefly around the parking lot...not a soul around. Needless to say, this wouldn't look even remotely innocent too a bystander. Pleased hat nobody was watching him, he bent his head and continued his work. Two minutes later, he carefully removed the inside frame and then the glass...lying each of them down against the side of the apartment. With one more glance around, he crawled inside the now wide open window, again careful to be quiet. Once inside, he bent back outside and carefully brought the window parts into the confines of the living room. He drew the curtains over the open window to make it appear more inconspicuous. Turning towards the dark apartment, Bill made his way down the hallway towards Beatrix's bedroom...his feet making barely any sound. Reaching the partially shut wood door, he slowly opened it. Of course she was still asleep; Beatrix being up at six in the morning was rather incomprehensible, he'd planned on that after all. But he had to be careful, she was a killer and it wouldn't take much for her to snap awake and pull that 22 caliber pistol out from under pillow, which Bill knew she had, and shoot him without much hesitation. She could do it in a simple matter of seconds.
He slowly and silently crept across the room, the very dim lighting throwing enough light on his face to reveal an amused and sneaky expression. Reaching the end of her bed, he ever so gently began climbing down it. Beatrix was sleeping on her side, hands curled under her shoulder. Like the snake he was, Bill slithered up along her side that was facing away from him....extremely careful not to jostle or touch her in any way. Bill was extremely good at this deliberate physical drama. As he was doing this, he reached a hand into the back pocket of his jeans and removed a packet of papers. Once he was right behind her, he slowly reached over her shoulder and set the packet on the sheets a few inches from her face. Then, he gently laid down, now chest to back with her. Still making sure she wasn't going to suddenly wake up and maul him in some cruel manner, he wrapped his leg over the top of both of her bent knees as his arm encircled both of her arms. This was as intimate as it was for his own physical protection. If anybody could successfully break in and sneak up on Beatrix Kiddo, it was Bill.
Knowing his embrace would wake her up; Bill dipped his head into the crook of her neck, giving the area a few kisses. She smelt great. "Mmm...you'd better wake up baby...." he murmured in her ear, "I think somebody is breaking into your apartment."
Indeed that did wake up Beatrix. Her eye lids shot open and an attempt to sit up was restrained which only brought her to struggle fiercely. "What the fuck?" She growled. The tall blonde was about to put more leverage into her struggling when Bill put another kiss on the back of her head. No burglar would kiss her like that. She ceased her movement in an instant of realization but her muscles remained tense.
"Goddammit, Bill," she stated with an exasperated breath. She felt like her heart had jumped onto the floor and began flapping around. It would be Bill and only Bill who could do that to her; make a rather sneaky entrance and scare the fucking shit out of her in the process.
She stayed locked down in his embrace for a few long seconds in an attempt to calm herself. It wasn't every day someone snuck up on her while she was asleep. It didn't take long for her to gain back her composure and the humor of the event began to sink in. A sly smirk tugged at her lips. A curious glance was given to the packet by her face but seeing she couldn't move her fucking arms she ceased the curiosity and said, "Well baby, I do hope you killed the fucker for me before he could steal anything."
Bill chuckled heartily, endlessly amused by her reaction to all of this. He seemed at his best when things involved some amount of freight to them. And seeing Beatrix get the shit scared out of her was extremely amusing.....all in good fun of course. "Oh yes...." he said with relish, "He's quite dead now....I made sure to do it nice and clean though, to keep the integrity of your little cozy surroundings intact." Another amused chuckle. Knowing she wasn't going to kill him, well...there still was a slim chance of that but he was willing to take the chance, he then lifted the pressure off of her limbs. He remained lying closely behind her. "You really should look into a more secure apartment." he teased, unable to help himself. Of course, if he had been anybody but him, she would have ruthlessly disposed of him. Who needed a secure house when you were a trained killer? On the other hand, he probably couldn't have gotten away with that with any other woman than Beatrix. Any other woman would not find much amusement in the whole thing and would most likely tell him to get the fuck out after she'd screamed her head off.
He propped himself up on an elbow, setting his chin on Beatrix's shoulder he smiled slyly down at her.
Beatrix shifted her head position so she could side glance him without straining her neck. Her own echoes of a sly smile lingered in her demeanor. "You," she moved her arms out from under her and stretched them out to the side to relief cramps. "…are a sadistic fuck." Words stated with the utmost sarcasm but lingering on truth. She could have just as easily called him a bastard and it would have held the same meaning. Her arms flopped back down to her sides and her hand nonchalantly landed on the packet. A soft crinkle of paper against bedding was heard and blue eyes shifted.
Long white fingers gripped the side of the packet which vaguely reminded her of assignment folders and brought it up to eye level. "I am going to be highly pissed off at you if this is what I think it is," she stated her voice lingering on the edge of turning dry. She held the paper up higher, to Bill's face, and indifferently popped it against his nose.
Just as Beatrix found being called a "cunt" strangely enduring, thus so did Bill when it came to being called a "sadistic fuck." He merely chuckled, his attention more focused on Beatrix's finding of the packet of papers. He smiled, after she popped him in the nose with the packet, "It's not an assignment......I'm hardly that cruel," he assured with a raised eyebrow, "Just open it...." he prompted her in a softer voice.
Bill knew he could have easily bought her any damn thing she wanted: jewelry, a car, a house...all of that shit. But likewise, he knew that Beatrx didn't give a damn about those sorts of things. What Beatrix wanted and needed was happiness. He realized that now......that every nice thing in the world meant nothing when compared to being happy and content. He had thought about this for sometime and realized that what Beatrix wanted and needed....even if she hadn't of really voiced it, was too get away....just for awhile. She needed to be someplace far away and feel happy with herself, with him...with the world in general. So...then it was matter of locale. Bill thought about that one for awhile as well. It had to be somewhere that nether of them had been...someplace fresh to both of them...which in Bill's case was not a hell of a lot of places. Also, someplace.........romantic......
And thus, when Beatrix opened the packet, what fell out was nothing more, nothing less, than two round trip first class tickets to Paris. "Happy Birthday Kiddo," Bill said with a grin, intently watching her reaction.
Upon opening the packet and revealing the tickets her eyes lit up and a smile dominated her features. She effortlessly flipped over so she was now face to face with Bill and she leaned and gave him an exceptionally loving kiss. It didn't last long as she came to sit up, legs bent to her chest, hands secularly wrapped around the tickets and blue eyes continued to stare at the simple pieces of paper.
Such a gift could mean a lot to any women. Talk about sappy. Bringing the person you loved to the most romantic place in the world. That idea didn't occur, well, she registered it but what made the whole 'gift' really count and made Beatrix happy was it was far away. Paris was somewhere were they wouldn't have to worry about any thing and just enjoy the atmosphere. She could be happy and that was rare for her. Really fucking happy. She spared a glance to Bill before going back to staring at the tickets. She didn't need to tell him thank you, anyone could tell by her bright smile and shining blue eyes how happy she was.
Her brows narrowed on the flight departure. "Two hours doesn't give me much time to pack," she stated lightly. Most of the time Beatrix didn't give a shit about packing. She had to get packing in itself down to a science were she could throw a considerable amount of clothes into a bag in under five minutes. But this time she wanted to put actual 'thought' into what she was going to bring and wear. Thus was typical character trait of just about any female.
Bill watched Beatrix with a small smile as she went through these phases of reaction. It was a beautiful sight. The look on her face made it all worth it.......in fact....to Bill, it was worth more than two plane tickets would ever cost. She looked.....extremely happy...and it made him look forward too more of that happiness. He loved it when she smiled like that....large blue eyes dancing, even in the dim early morning light. "Yeah...sorry about that," Bill replied to her departure comment, "It's just the way it worked out best......." He knew Beatrix was used to packing in record speed. But he caught her furrowed brow, "We can get there in time......if we leave here in half an hour." He had the utmost confidence in his speedy driving. Of course he was already set to go, his luggage stowed away in the trunk of the Jaguar. He laid back down sprawling out on his back, "I bet you can put together a snazzy repertoire of outfits in thirty minutes Kiddo..." he gave her a well meaning smirk, "While your doing that.......I'm going to take a little nap." Bill hadn't slept more than two hours since he had gotten back around midnight and he was starting to feel a little groggy. He settled back against her pillow, hands lacing behind his head as she got up to start packing.
Thirty minutes didn't seem like that long as Beatrix rummaged through her drawers and closets after Bill fell asleep but when ten minutes rolled around and she had all her necessities laid out she began to wonder. She gave her 'repertoire of outfits' a sweeping second look before she neatly stuffed her duffle bag. Once she was through with a good twenty minutes to spare she took the next step; getting dressed. She stifled an amused laugh at herself thinking she had everything done. She had to admit her mind was fuzzy and that five minutes jump in-jump out shower was just what she needed to clear it up. She then put on a pair of jeans, black fitting tank top, and a zip-up hoodie to go over as the temperature on a plane could be either fucking cold or slaughtering hot.
Now she was ready. Beatrix, still holding that prominent glimmer in her eyes and thin smile she almost literally bounced onto the bed. That movement would be enough to rustle anyone. "Oh, baby, get up," she cooed with coated mockery. "We're gonna be late if you don't get your ass up soon.."
Bill made a grumbling noise, "Alright......." With a somewhat overdramatic scowl he pulled himself up, knowing Beatrix had enjoyed that, especially after how he'd woken her up this morning. "We're getting coffee on the way...." he mumbled following her out of the room. From a quick glance at her duffel bag, it could be ascertained she'd packed pretty light....which was good, Bill preferred as little luggage as possible. He took a few minutes to properly put her window back in, during which time Beatrix no doubtfully watched him with a slight glare. Once they were good to go, Beatrix locked her apartment and loaded her duffel into the trunk alongside Bill's similarly sized bag.
With that, they were off. Bill drove rather quickly and cursing at the sight of the traffic in outer San Diego, took a back route to the airport. The airport wasn't all that crowded, seeing as most people didn't enjoy such early flights. It was dominated mostly by traveling businessmen.
The super yuppie and far too expensive Starbucks booth was the first stop. After that check in and all the usual stuff went without a hitch. Of course, the two killers were using false identities. They had to take a flight to New York first, which was standard in most European flights and after that it was a straight shot to Paris. It was a rather long flight, over ten hours. But, for once, Bill didn't seem to mind. He was doing his best to stay in good spirits, for Beatrix, for himself....
Coffee's in hand, they both settled down in the first class cabin, just minutes before takeoff. So far, everything had been perfect. Bill made a quick scan of the passengers sitting in first class around them, thankfully no kids. Kids on planes drove him fucking nuts. "I hope we get some of those swank cheese and cracker baskets," he whispered into Beatrix's ear. Bill always traveled first class, and those baskets were pretty much a staple. He asked for a paper and immediately received one and glanced at Beatrix with a warm smile before settling in to read it.
Beatrix returned the smile and settled into reading the latest Guns and Ammo magazine she'd picked up at the newspaper stand in the airport lobby. The flight was long and enduring and there were only so many guns she could look at without getting the urge to shoot something. At a point the flight attendant came around handing out head phones for the on flight movie. Beatrix eagerly bought a pair. The movie was a corny teeny-bobber flick with the high priced celebrities that didn't know what the fuck they were doing being in that type of film as it was below them. Either way she put up with it and watched. During the movie they did indeed come around with the cracker and cheese basket. Bill was delighted, it was kind of funny. With the basket came a turkey sandwich and a salad that were both editable. The best part was the mini chocolate with nuts in it.
Finally the captain came over the loud speaker indicating their soon to be arrival in New York. One flight down one to go. Beatrix hoped the movie would be more entertaining. Putting her seat up from reclining she glanced to Bill. "Have fun?" She asked with a questionably raised brow.
"Indeed I did," Bill replied with a smirk, his paper and delightful cheese and cracker basket long put aside. He'd actually been sleeping most of the later part of the flight, as people in the cabin were being relatively quiet….apparently most of them watching the horrid looking movie that had been showing. It was a rather pathetic silence, since according to the in flight menu, it was supposed to be a comedy. Bad sign. After sleeping for sometime, Bill had leafed through the stack of magazines the stewardess had been happily handing out. He was irritated that Beatrix had ended up with the Guns and Ammo. Instead, he was stuck with Men's Journal and GQ...both which offered some amount of entertainment, but he didn't consider either of them all that enjoyable. Luckily, the first leg of the flight was coming to a close. And the international flights were always roomier. It was just a matter of dealing with the changing of planes.
But, even that went smoothly...to Bill's surprise, he and Beatrix found themselves seated in an even nicer and much larger 777 within the hour. Even though the plane was bigger, there were far less people on this flight, allowing them to spread out a little more. It turned out that a very annoying group of snobby French women were seated behind them. This irritated Bill to no end and he began speaking in Japanese to Beatrix, just to spite and confuse the women. His vocabulary of Japanese swear words was broad and nasty, and after sometime it became something of a game to see if he could make Beatrix laugh or not with his vulgar interjections.
There was another movie, something long, boring and historical looking....Bill didn't even bother with it. The food was quite good and far more European than the last round on the earlier flight. The hours wore on, the lights in the cabin were dimmed so people could sleep if needed. At some point, Bill rebelliously undid his seat belt and spread across the trio of seats, allowing Beatrix more than enough room to use him as a proper cushion. Now, in a much more comfortable position, he found it easier to nod off and spent the rest of the flight and the night...pretty much like that. He was awakened only by the sound of the captain's voice on the speaker informing them in both French and English that they would soon be landing in Paris. It was hard to tell what time of day it was due to the confusing blur of time zone skips. But the light pouring in through the windows looked afternoon-ish
Beatrix had to admit she enjoyed the second flight much better then the first. As the flight came to a full stop and the cabin doors opened the few people gathered on the flight began to pile out. Beatrix grabbed up the small shoulder messenger bag she brought on the plane to carry needless necessities and walked down the narrow terminal, followed closely by Bill.
The airport itself was bustling with people. There were mostly tourists looking at maps and trying to find their luggage as well as checking into customs. More or less it was a mad house and one could easily get lost. Seeing it was so crowded, Beatrix nonchalantly took Bill's hand and walked in such a manner to baggage claim. The baggage had yet to arrive and the tall blonde had situated herself up against a large pillar as Bill stood close by the rail that delivered the baggage. As she stood there, arms crossed over her chest she noticed that 'welcome parties' were making the rounds. This was usually the case in places like Hawaii but it seemed France was catching on. At least there were no flower necklaces.
A welcome party unwelcomely came in Beatrix's direction. She tried to slump over and appear uninterested or lost in thought. Her attempts failed.
"Bonjour mademoiselle!" Was the thick accent of a French man dressed in a snazzy black suit and a name tag that read 'Hello my name is John-Luke' with an accent on the e and u. John Luke was followed closely by a tall French woman that reminded Beatrix of Sofie. This immediately had 'bad' written all over it. She shifted from one foot to the other and gave a sharp nod.
"Are you 'ere on business or pleasure?" The Sofie-look-alike asked in the same thickened accent.
"Pleasure," Beatrix replied bluntly but put on a fake smile of welcome. A fleeting glance was given to Bill whom was now inspecting the row of bags that began to come by in hopes of spotting their own.
"Ah pleasure, oui! That is good. You are here with your…" John-Luke glanced at the man he had seen the woman direct attention too. He pursed his lips. "You're père?"
The blonde's eyes went wide and she laughed. "Oh no. Absolument pas," her French wasn't as fluent as her Japanese but she knew how to say 'absolutely not' or hell no. The idea was humorous. John-Luke nodded and this seemed to turn him away. Good thing. Bill her father, shit that was funny. She'd have to find the appropriate time to mock him with that idea. Still snickering to herself she came up behind Bill and wrapped her arms around his neck. She put a kiss on cheek. "I like Paris," she whispered idly in his ear.
Bill smiled, turning his head to the side to gaze fondly at Beatrix under hooded eyes. There it was, that truly happy look on her face. "I'm very glad you do...." he whispered back, a hand squeezing her shoulder affectionately. No French "welcoming parties" had attempted to pester Bill. Maybe there was just something about the way he looked that warranted him to be easily left alone by strangers. His French was actually pretty terrible, and if he was approached he planned on simply saying "merde" and leaving it at that. It didn't take too long for Bill to round up their small amount of luggage, which he gentlemanly insisted he carry all of. Once they got outside the airport, there were literally dozens of taxi's just waiting to pick up and then rip off all of the awaiting tourists. Thus, it took them very little time to get a taxi and get loaded up.
The hotel they were staying at, the Hotel Royal Saint Michel wasn't too far away...and any amount of time delay was because of the amazing amount of traffic in Paris. Tiny European cars and scooters were zooming everywhere. Bill was instantly interested in the complete lack of traffic control. Everyone just seemed to be driving everywhere.....it was chaos, but somehow it worked. They were dropped off at their hotel. Bill gave the driver a large enough amount of money, which he'd exchanged to proper currency already, to make the man not bother to bicker with them.
The Hotel Royal Saint Michel was a four star hotel and quite old. It was beautiful, taking up nearly an entire Paris block and standing at ten stories. The outside was decorated in a very Romanesque style architecture. Inside, everything was upscale and extremely posh. It was ideal upper class tourist hotel, being right in the middle of Paris and still retaining a good amount of that old French style. Bill confirmed the reservations, again, under fake names. Thankfully all the employees there spoke English in some form or another, since Bill was pretty sure he couldn't do much with his weak French skills. Beatrix proved to be more adept than himself.
Finally, they were shown up to their room by a young uniformed hotel employee, who carried their bags for them. The room, like the hotel was very nice. It was large and tastefully decorated. It was fancy but not over the top so. There was a large balcony off the classic style windows that looked over the bustling Paris streets. Before Bill fully inspected everything he tipped the bellhop and then turned to Beatrix to see if she approved.
Beatrix more then approved, she loved it. The way the room was textured with various authentic architecture, paintings, the soft colors, plush carpet, television, bathroom with a hot tub and shower, and a large canopy bed. Bill knew how to spoil a woman, or his woman. Not that Beatrix was the one to turn into a 'spoiled brat' but she had to let herself indulge a little. The temptation was all too much to avoid.
She gave him a fierce nod of approval and a smile that hadn't fully left her lips since they arrived. "It's beautiful," she stated with a soft lingering state of awe. She idly sauntered over to the large bed with the comforter that looked like it should be in one of those olden time mansions and sat down.
She shifted on the bed and snatched up the room service menu from the bed and flipped through it. "How long did it take you to find it?" A curious question or just a question to fill empty space. She was well aware of all of the contacts Bill had…..Bill had contacts to find other contacts. It probably didn't take him much longer then a week, tops.
"Two days," Bill admitted with a look of satisfaction, more from her look of enthusiastic approval then his own achievement, "An old friend of mine told me about it....." he sauntered over to her, hands in his pockets, "...he told me it was the best hotel in the city." He glanced around, "I must admit.....he was right....." It looked like the sort of place that belonged in Venice as much as it did Paris.....romantic historical meets modern discretion. Bill had been worried that Beatrix would find everything too over the top, but he was pleasantly surprised to find out it was indeed just in that right medium area. He wanted to spoil her, not smother her in tasteless adorations.
He gave the large bed a raised eyebrow, but kept whatever thought he had associated with it to himself....for the moment. Sitting down next to Beatrx, he looked closely over her shoulder as she leafed through the room service menu. It proved to offer a large selection of wines, other alcoholic products, authentic French foods, slightly cheaper more touristy French foods and a couple non-French style dishes as well. There was even non-food items like silk bathrobes, luxury bath products and massagers....which made one wonder a bit, but a big hotel had to cater to all sorts. More than satisfied with the menu, Bill stood and walked over to the large set of French double doors. Opening them, he stepped out onto the good sized balcony. After a moment of taking in the full view, he glanced over his shoulder at her, "Kiddo....you've got to check out this view....it's spectacular.....," a tone of true astonishment had crept into his voice, which was rather rare coming from Bill.
Beatrix slide off the bed and walked over to join Bill on the balcony. Her mouth parted in an expression of awe as blue eyes swept over the scenery. It was spectacular. She could only recall visiting France once and she was far from Paris seeing that it was an assignment but even then she could taste the essence of beauty the country held. Seeing Paris like this out did it.
Paris would be her second favorite place compared to Japan, which she had also yet to visit.
Their view consisted of the streets below, a town square type of area with numerous stores that were decorated in an authentic European style. Various venders selling miscellaneous items, street shows, all in the middle of a magnificent wishing fountain. Her arms folded on top of the railing as she viewed the sights down below.
"Very nice view selection, Bill." She turned her head to side to look at him with a placid smile. "I'm sure it took a lot of….chatting to acquire such a view."
Bill had been to a hell of allot of places in his life, many of them quite beautiful and exotic, but he had to admit even he was not unsusceptible to the charms of Paris. There was no denying the allure of the Old World style meets the super chic. It was sophisticated, ancient and strange all at once. There was a wonderful mix of sounds floating up the balcony of cars, street vendors and music. He returned Beatrix's smile, "I have my ways," he said smoothly. Indeed, his "old friend" has really come through on this one. He gave himself a mental note to thank him later for the brilliant recommendation, not to mention the room number with the most ideal view.
Bill wrapped an arm around Beatrix's shoulders, "So.....where to first? There's the typical tourist stuff....the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre....the Seine...or we can just go walk around see what kind we find?" Honestly, Bill didn't have much of a preference, he was happy just to be here with her and to see her so happy. They could probably just go sit and curb and eat cheese or something and he'd be perfectly content. Then again, it would be a shame not to see a place both of them were new to. He kissed her on the temple, "Whatever you want Kiddo, I'm game for. It's your birthday after all....well; at least...it was..." The time zone jump had thrown everything off, but the concept still applied.
She laughed lightly. She had almost forgotten the entire change of time and now that she realized it she could feel the effects on her body. There was so much to see and do in Paris she had no idea where to start. She pursed her lips and canted her head down to stare at the street once more. "Let's just walk and find somewhere to eat. I don't know about you but I can't live off of cheese and crackers." A playful grin in his direction as she pushed off the balcony and sauntered back inside.
"Sounds good," Bill agreed with a smile and after taking a few minutes to pack up the small amount of things they might want while walking, the two set out on the streets.
As expected, there were tourists everywhere, perhaps more than native Parisians...but, if anything, this proved to be entertaining: a group of Japanese schoolgirls ran down the street excitedly, cameras in hand, stupid obnoxious typical American sorts were everywhere, a small huddle of Muslims, well dressed Italians, couples very obviously on their honeymoon, the elderly.....indeed, a broad range of people. It was easy to forget who you were in this sort of place, and perhaps that was the sort of thing Bill and Beatrix needed, as the killers were easily swept along with the rest of the crowd.
There was a good amount of window shopping to be done at the cities enormous amount of shops. Neither of them found the cheesy tourist places all that appealing, but there were a few nicer places that sold artwork and nice more traditional gifts. There were also street musicians on almost every corner and Bill stopped a number of times to listen to a few of them. He even tipped a couple of them quite nicely.
At some point, Bill pulled out a camera he'd apparently toted along. As known, Bill's photography skills weren't ideal, but he insisted he bring it along anyways. He got Beatrix to take a picture of him standing next to a statue of Napoleon, which...for some reason Bill thought was really funny. He snapped a few candid pictures of Beatrix, a number of them she was giving that trademark, "don't take a picture of me you bastard" look, this only egged Bill on to do it more. He even attempted to be "artistic" and shoot some weirdly angled shots. He would find out later, once he got the pictures developed, they didn't turn out as well as he had thought.
Beatrix looked so happy, and he couldn't but be effected by that shinning smile and bright eyes. He clutched onto her hand with affectionate protection as they chatted amiably, laughing at the funny and often inane sights around them. Then they'd be struck by something rather stunning, a building, or a particular sight and they'd both stop and grow quite serious for the moment. For once, Bill was not constantly paddling on about the history or culture of the place....since he knew very little about Paris or its history. He found the whole Bastille thing interesting, and decided that they should visit it at some point during their visit. Leave it to Bill to find a stormed prison highly interesting.
Eventually, as it was nearing dusk, they were both too hungry to keep going and ducked into a nice looking restaurant.
Beatrix was anxious to try authentic French cuisine. For an appetizer she insisted they order that fried escargot shit. She tried it and allowed Bill to have the rest. She was never one for seafood, Sushi, but not snails. For the main courses they each ordered their own and planned to steal bites from one another.
She loved everything about the day. The whole atmosphere had put her in a state of mind where she completely forgot about the reality back home. She wasn't on assignment, she didn't have to watch her back, although she always kept on alert out of habit but at times she faltered, and she let herself go. Fork in hand she was idly twirling up a swirl of pasta. "I'd like to try wine tasting," she stated after one conversation topic ended. She knew the wines in France were exquisite but she also knew her tolerance for alcohol. She gave Bill a look to keep the zingers to himself.
Bill raised an eyebrow at Beatrix's request. He was pleasantly surprised by her idea actually.....but he knew her rather....weak tolerance for wine. He caught her look, and surpassed a smirk, instead taking his time to cut up the fish fillet on his plate, "Then, we shall go wine tasting," he smiled at her, very happy with the idea. "But...I suggest we do that tomorrow....it's getting late in the day and to properly wine test, you need to be able to take your time and savor the moment." He paused, considering the idea, "When we get back to the hotel I'll inquire about a good winery." There were a number of wineries in the areas surrounding Paris, and it was an easy little bus ride to do so. Of course, they could do wine tasting in the city, but Bill would not have that.....at a winery was the ideal way to do it, and he was always about the ideal. "And that way," he continued, the smirk creeping back on his face, "I can have you easily transported back to the hotel...if need be." He chuckled, reaching across the table to poke her nose with a breadstick.
After they had finished dinner, they decided to take the scenic route back to the hotel...taking their time walking along the cobblestone edge of the Seine. There were many people out doing the same thing, seeing as the Seine was rather beautiful at nighttime. The super romantic sorts were floating down the river in small gondola type boats and there were all sorts of coffee houses open along the river. They both decided they had to try some real Parisian coffee and stopped in to get them to go.
Walking along slowly, coffee in hand, his other arm wrapped around Beatrix's elbow, Bill couldn't help but contently smile. "I'm glad we did this...." he said softly, gaze fixated on the gently rippling water.
"Of course you are." She tipped the coffee cup in his direction before chugging down a sip. She had made a note to herself to buy some before they left for her coffee maker at home. This indicated that she found the coffee delicious and she didn't even put that much sugar or cream in it to make it taste better. She covered her smile behind the rim of her coffee cup as they paused to look out over the canal. Blue eyes watched as gondola floated by with a couple immersed in PDA while the peddler stroked. Beatrix canted her head to the side and settled her coffee cup on the railing. "We should do that too," she said absentmindedly to him and herself.
Bill wasn't sure if she was being serious about the gondola thing, but he stored it away as a possible thing to do while they were here. It seemed a little cheesy, but then again.........this was Paris, one of the few places in the world where you were almost expected to do those sorts of things. He gave her a positive nod and smile before they turned away to continue walking.
They soon continued onwards and eventually came back to the hotel room. Beatrix hadn't realized how exhausted she was once they entered their hotel room. She disposed of her coffee and immediately took first dibs on the bathroom. "I'll be out in ten minutes," she called from the partially shut bathroom door. Of course he could join her but she hadn't outwardly invited him. She could happily share.
When they made it back to the hotel room, Bill watched Beatrix intently as she went into the bathroom. She hadn't banned him from going in there, but he wasn't positive what her boundaries were. He realized, that despite knowing Beatrix for quite sometime, he was a little hazy on her personal limits. Some women didn't mind, others wouldn't have any of it. He wasn't sure if wanted to risk a bad reaction, not with everything going so well. He'd wait to do that until she made it clearer to him. "Alright," he replied and went about to properly unpacking as Beatrix busied herself in the other room. He had to admit he felt a little weird without having any sort of firearm around him at all. He hadn't brought a single weapon, save for a small pocket knife....the sort of thing a lot of men carried, who didn't kill people for a living. He realized how silly that was, that he actually felt effected without a weapon near him. This all stemmed from the first time he'd picked up a gun as a boy.....he'd fallen in love with it, and it had been a lifetime affair that refused to leave him. What he had brought with him though, was one of his smaller flutes, about an arm's length. It was a traditional Chinese style flute with a number of characters burnt into the wood. He'd made this one long ago and it still played beautifully. He set it aside as he changed into a set of grey pajama style kung fu silks. Bill could be in the most Western European of nations and it was still impossible to remove the Far East from him. He then picked up the flute and went out onto the balcony. He sat down on the smooth French tiling, bare feet crossed in front of him, his back against the side railing, He began tinkering around with the instrument idly.
Beatrix took a tad longer then the given ten minutes, actually she took a good twenty minutes. It wasn't due to the fact she was a regular woman that took ages in the bathroom. She washed up, undressed, changed into a pair of gray sweat pants due to the cooler night weather and a matching tank top, her hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, and she brushed her teeth. Normal perpetrations when one was getting ready for bed except usually these tasks did not make one aggravated.
But, the second she came out of the bathroom, bare feet padding lightly on the floor, and she spotted Bill outside with a flute, her demeanor completely washed over. Any hint of aggravation and what she was aggravated over were gone and shut out. She was going to continue to enjoy every minute of this. A contented smile on her face she sauntered over and joined him on the patio flooring. Legs bent to her chest and she rested her head back against the railing, almost mocking Bill's posture. Blue eyes remained on the flute. "Play something for me," she directed quietly.
Bill was too immersed in his flute playing to notice the quick change in Beatrix's demeanor as she came out of the bathroom. He did stop and smile at her as she came out onto the patio and sat down beside him. He liked it very much when Beatrix asked him to play and was more than willing to abide to her wishes. "Hrm.....not only will I play for you," he said softly, examining the flute, "I will tell you a story......" He placed the flute to his lips and played a long string of notes. He paused, taking his time to think, "...This is a story of the cicada, the praying mantis and the sparrow...it is an ancient Chinese story...."
Again, he continued the line of notes....they rang in true Chinese tones, far from any Western musical scale, again he stopped, and began speaking in that telltale storybook tone of voice, "...The prince of Wu decided he was going to attack the state of Chu.....and he gave a stern warning to all of his subjects that if anyone raised objections to this invasion....they would be put to death." He gave Beatrix a dramatic look, relishing in the drama of the story, as Bill was opt to do, "....One of the prince's stewards wanted to protest, but dared not. Instead...he took a catapult and pellets and wandered in the back courtyard. He did this until his clothing was wet with dew. He did this for three mornings." Again, Bill lifted the flute and played on, and then stopped, "Well...the prince was not fond of this....'Come here!' ordered the prince to his steward, 'What are you doing to make your clothes wet with dew?' The steward replied, 'There is a tree in the garden, and on it there is a cicada. This cicada perches up there, chirping away and drinking the dew, not knowing there is a praying mantis behind it. And the praying mantis leans forward, raising it's forelegs to catch the cicada, not knowing there is a sparrow beside it." Another dramatic pause as Bill went back to playing the flute. After a moment, he continued, "The steward continued, by saying, 'The sparrow...again...cranes it's neck to peck at the praying mantis, not knowing that there is someone with a catapult waiting below. These three small creatures are so eager to profit by something directly in front of them, that they fail to realize the danger behind....." A few short flute notes, "The prince then replied, 'Well said," and he gave up his plans for invasion at that very moment." Letting the story sink in, Bill then continued the song for a few more minutes, until it came to a soft end, the notes mingling surprisingly well with the hum of the street below. He slowly lowered the flute and turned to smile at Beatrix, "So simple.......yet still quite relevant in our world...."
Whenever Bill told a story in this fashion, mingling with the soft essence of the flute to aid the words she found it to be complex. The moral of the tale usual had a great deal to do with something that was going on. Perhaps not directly but indirectly. Either way she couldn't place it but she took in the moral of the story and stored it away for later contemplation.
During the monologue Beatrix had shifted onto the cool tiling of the patio, lying on her side, and head propped up with the aid of an open palm and a bend in her elbow. Blue eyes affectionately and fondly continued to watch Bill long after the final notes. "Yes, I can see where that would apply…especially in 'our' world." A slender brow raised a fraction before her features came to soften. "I'd like to think right now, though, that we can forget all of that and pretend there is nothing lurking behind us, but only what is right in front of us…no matter the profit." With a stifled yawn she shifted again and came into a sitting position. "That was a very pleasant bed time story," a smile playing across her obviously worn features.
Bill did few things just on pure accident; there was always some hidden relevance......even if it was something so simple as an ancient short story. "It applies to any world I think," he replied to Beatrix in a soft voice, "But....yes....most certainly in ours." Bill knew that no matter how much of the "top dog" he was in his world, there was always somebody above him, waiting to end his reign of terror. He was aware of his precious mortality in a very cruel world. "Astute words Kiddo," he smiled down at her, referring to her take on the story.
He chuckled, at her tired expression, "I'll just have to save my other stories for another evening then." Actually, he was extremely tired himself. It had been something of a very, very long day. He hadn't really had a proper night of sleep in over two days. They had just arrived here; there was more than enough time. He stood along with Beatrix and they went inside. When Bill emerged from the bathroom, Beatrix was already well settled into the giant bed. He came to a pause at the foot of it, "This is a rather princely bed......" he grinned at her, "...almost......intimidating...." This coming from a man who owned a California King. He climbed in under the covers beside her, taking his time to readjust his pillows and such. He was a little picky about how things were arranged. When he felt he was satisfied with the bedding, he reached over and shut off the overhead lighting. The street lights from outside still brought in a nice amount of subtle light into the room though.
He rolled over to face Beatrix, smiling gently, "So...how does this compare to your other birthday's thus far?"
"This birthday far out weights all of them, along with numerous other insignificant things," she replied lightly. That was the truth and it was an easy truth to tell. As for the other insignificant things she referred too, it would be a feat to tell what she was referring too but one such as Bill would be able to dig around. Her hands folded together and she placed them beneath her turned cheek, tucked between pillow and flesh. The light was dim but once her eyes had adjusted it was easy to make out Bill's distinct facial features. She stared at him for a few complex moments before her eyelids grew too heavy and they slipped over her eyes. Her lips parted and she said in a whisper, "Thank you…" She wanted to tell him she was happy but that was too much of a truth for her to outwardly admit. She knew he could tell and by knowing that he knew she knew she was even happier.
That precious "thank you" from her was more than enough. Bill watched her for a few more minutes as she drifted off to sleep. In those sorts of soft moments, he looked as little like a killer as she did. As tried and true a killer that he was though, he was also a man who sought to please those who meant something to him.....since very few people did. He knew Beatrix was pleased, there was no mistaking that.
Eventually, he rolled over and fell asleep.