"Eighty Euros, please." Beatrix dug in her pocket for the proper exchange and handed it over to the gentleman at the rental desk. The tall blonde was clad in a pair of gray faded jeans and a black round neck long sleeve shirt. Her hair was pulled back into a high pony tail as she learned from the other day the wind would just fuck it up if it was down and she had on a sporty pair of black shaded sunglasses.
She turned to Bill and handed him his ticket which she paid for. This time there was no 'senior' discount. She stuffed the ticket in her jean pocket as their boat ride didn't head out for another ten minutes.
A sly smile was evident across her supposedly angelic features. "You keep on drinking all that fucking coffee your going to have use the bathroom and," she turned her concealed blue eyes to him. "…that'd be a lame excuse not to go on the ride. So," she nonchalantly, but with a touch of hostility snatched the cup from Bill's hand and tossed it in the residing waste bin. "Stop trying to find a way out of this." She turned back to him. "You're going on this ride whether you like or not and I will more than happily drag you if I have to." She wasn't entirely sure if Bill was making it such a big deal because he wanted to fuck with her and if that was the case he wasn't going to get off easy.
Bill shot Beatrix a look that was remonstrant of a child having its toy taken away, or in this case a fifty year old or so child, as his coffee was so viciously and carelessly tossed away. He hadn't been trying for that particular tactic, but...now that she'd brought it up, he was tempted to try and sneak off to get another coffee.
He leaned up against a nearby wall as they waited, a devious smirk on his face...which meant that Bill was up to no good....which...took up a majority of his life.
"I'll find a way," he hissed to her with an amused gleam in his eye. He was fucking with her, absolutely...and he was going to enjoy every moment of it. He had the utmost confidence that she was indeed going to drag him on the damn boat, but he was going to give her hell until she did.
"I'm in fact prone to violent seasickness...." he began, "...it's quite vile. I don't think you want to see what will happen," he gave her a dramatic look, "I hope you don't like that shirt....because, it's going to get ruined. What did we eat for breakfast? Hrm, well...you'll be reminded of exactly what it was very shortly." He shook his head, keeping up the act, "It's embarrassing for me, and I don't want to do that in front of you...I don't think I could stand the shame involved. My ego is as weak as my stomach."
A tight cross between a smile and a smirk dominated her façade. She gave a brief shake of her blonde head in disbelief. "Bullshit," she remarked turning hotly to face him. "First," she jabbed a single white digit at his chest. "You don't have a weak stomach because if you had to eat half of what I had to while training with that bastard Pai Mei you would have withered up and died a long time ago." Her blue eyes were hard but it was difficult to see beneath the shades. She jabbed him again to extend her second point. "And your ego is far from weak. Considering the fact that if your ego wasn't as big as it is you certainly wouldn't be a murdering bastard."
Now that Beatrix had contradicted him on his pitifully lame excuse. she settled back against the wall beside him. Her façade was calmer but she wasn't any less irritated with him. Her head tilted a fraction in his direction. "You can stop trying to be a smart ass. It's not going to get you out of this."
"Alright," he smirked. Of course she was right, on both accounts. Bill had eaten and continued to eat some damn weird stuff...no tiny boat was going to do anything to him. And his ego was about as big as Texas...when it included Mexico. "You've called me on it," he drawled sarcastically, ".....Quickdraw Kiddo." He continued to push buttons.
He turned to her, "Like hell I'm going to stop." Fuck, the game was on and he was just getting started. He settled back against the wall, putting on his own sunglasses so he could remain equally as unreadable as Beatrix. "What if I were to do something rash? Like, hrm..." he rubbed his chin dramatically, "...oh I don't know....throw you out of the boat. That would be pretty damn hilarious." Like he'd ever actually do that, Beatrix would be royally pissed, and he wasn't going for anything beyond irritated at this point. "Or.....I could try to perversely make out with you as horrified tourists watched us float by." Actually, that wasn't all that bad of a concept and he inched closer to her to emphasize this new teasing point. "Or...." he bent close to her ear, steadying himself for a swift slap, "...I could decide to suddenly serenade you. Have you ever heard me sing? I'm actually quite good. I'm thinking either...Steve Miller's the Joker, or perhaps.... Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love..." Far, far from Parisian romantic numbers, again....so Bill. "This would of course, include full air guitar playing by youre's truly. You would be the toast of the town and an object of jealousy by all women who saw you." He was laying it on thick and he knew it. "So," he came to the dramatic conclusion of his myriad of threats, "...you do realize you are taking all of these chances into account by taking me on this little boat ride. Are you willing to take that risk?"
Unlike Bill's bullshit seasickness threat from before, he was more than capable of being rash enough to do any of these things and she knew it. He lifted his eyebrows over his sunglasses, prompting her with well practiced smartass zeal.
Beatrix pursed her lips and steadily avoided staring at him by watching the passer-byers from across the way. Bill had given her an inadequate question and he knew that. They were both aware she was a risk taker and like all hard assed risk takers she couldn't willingly turn down a risk. She could accept the risk just as easily as Bill could break out in song. Knowing he could dance and dancing with him was one thing but knowing he could sing and hearing him sing was unbearable. Beatrix was concerned she'd become forever mentally wounded if she witnessed Bill singing and singing a serenade no less. She raked through her mind for an effective and efficient counter-threat.
The tall blonde leaned in close to him and kept her voice just above a whisper. "You know I can't turn down a risk, you fucker. Oh and speaking of fuck," her voice gained a chillingly sadistic overcoat. "You aren't getting any the remainder of this trip if you attempt a note of any serenade." She knew that would push a few buttons on him because he was like all men, fact aside that he was the man.
Bill frowned, quite deeply. Goddamnit. "That's so typically female of you Kiddo," he hissed back. That threat was one of the oldest in the woman's petty book of tricks. It came right before guilt trips but after 'I have a headache'. It was petty, low, unoriginal, annoying, unfair, biased and.........it worked just about every time.
"Fine, no serenading," Bill caved in with a grumble, crossing his arms in bitter defeat. Damn her. She'd put a swift and effective end to his little game. He was tempted to keep goading her, but….like most men...he found the risk of such consequences not worth the small amount of amusement that could have been gained. Sex far outweighed a good laugh or two, sex with Beatrix even more so. He remembered, quite sometime ago, calling her a dicktease. He was tempted to throw that out at her, but decided he was done....for now. Her tactic had worked quite well and Bill was resigned to go along with all of this. Bill didn't just "go along" with anybody, save for Beatrix. She was the exception to the rule.....she was the exception to many rules actually. He wasn't really all that horrified by the whole boat trip idea, but he'd made an attempt to put up a good fight, for amusements sake....well, she'd put an end to that one.
"Wake me when the boat shows up," he said crankily, leaning the back of his head against the wall.
If Bill was attempting to catch a few winks of sleep he wasn't going to get much. The boat arrived within five minutes of Beatrix putting a bitter close on Bill's pitiful attempts of getting out of it. She was aware she had been unoriginal but she was so original she couldn't be so all of the time. Blue eyes were watching random people pass by during those five minutes of quiet.
The gentleman at the docking port soon waved her over as a skinny and small boat came down the canal. Beatrix put on a satisfied smile and rustled Bill in a non-gingerly manner. "Wake up, Bill. The boat just docked."
Bill hadn't really been attempting to get any sleep...he was actually not all that tired, they'd gotten a full night's sleep and...leaning against a wall wasn't exactly his idea of comfortable, but it was a good excuse to be left alone for the few remaining minutes and spared the further spite of Beatrix. He sighed, pushing off of the wall, "Very well..." he grumbled, allowing Beatrix to continue to prod him forward in her non-gingerly manner. They made their way to the edge of the dock. The boat driver stood near the bow of the skinny vessel, looking stoic and reserved. Their job's entailed that they were not supposed to talk much or be too obtrusive...but simply row the boat and let the occupants enjoy the ride..in whatever way they wished.
Bill climbed in first, and with an unmistakable amount of sarcasm, he held his hand out to Beatrix in an overly chivalrous manner and helped her get in, a smirk just barely concealed on his face. Like hell she needed help, but he had to rub it in.
Once they'd settled in, the gondola "driver", began their slow movement away from the dock and down the canal. Bill turned to glance at the quiet man rowing, "What, we're not up to forty knots yet?" The man didn't say anything and Bill received only a cool glare from Beatrix. With a shrug, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and set out to examine the slowly moving canal scenery.
Beatrix got comfortable and planned to enjoy the boat ride. She wasn't going to allow Bill's shitty assed attitude ruin her good time. To enforce this she settled a cold gaze on him and held up a threatening forefinger. "Just try to pretend to have fun. I pretended to have fun when you dragged me out on that dance floor." A lie, she had a hell of a lot more fun than she had expected to have. "So, you can at least pretend to enjoy yourself."
A silent scowl as she turned away to watch the passing water. It was a murky green and obviously wasn't all that clean which was a clear reason no one swam in the canals. As the gondola swiftly passed through, the water rustled and small waves splashed against the siding of the wooden boat. Beatrix blinked hard and turned her head away to stare at something other than the moving waves.
Bill scowled, her little comment about her "pretending she'd had fun dancing" irked the hell out of him, but he could only hope she was joking and he could clearly see the point she was trying to make. He wasn't trying to have a "bad time" per se, he was just trying to mess with her.....maybe he'd best stop that game.
He gave her shoulders a little squeeze, "I'll do my best," he said softly. He leaned his head against the back of cushy seat. The scenery was nice....the canals gave one a good view of Paris. At times it wasn't always clean, nor picturesque, but at other times it was quite beautiful. Often tourists walking along the sides of the canal would wave or whistle. Bill thought that was pretty amusing, and usually returned the waves with a wide smirk.
Bill was something of speed demon when it came to vehicles, and going too slow was a little irritating to him, but he also liked the calm meditative aspect of it and he tried to get into it that way.
Beatrix was equally quiet beside him, and he eventually glanced over at her. She looked happy, a little paler than normal, but it was most likely an effect of the noonday sun. "This is very nice," he said, devoid of any sarcasm.
Those blue eyes shifted to him. They weren't as much of a cold temperature as before but they did appear more void then usual. She shifted so her body was slouched back and arms came up to cross tightly over her stomach region. Why did the boat have to sway so fucking much? Okay, maybe she shouldn't have eaten that extra muffin at breakfast but this was ridiculous. It would be ridiculously ironic as well and she wasn't going to give Bill any irony.
She offered him a placid smile and turned away. She gulped down a lump in her throat and said slowly trying to keep some smart ass appeal to her degrading voice level, "Yes, this is nice but I'm not sure if I can believe a word you say."
Bill wondered briefly if the gondola driver had ever had couples fight on one of these damn things, because...after that last comment, Bill was feeling the urge to do just that. Beatrix had been snippy all day and he'd just about had it. His amused humorous mood was slowly evaporating. Here he was trying to "have a good time" just as she'd instructed him to do, he genuinely was.....he'd even told her so.....and he still couldn't win. He removed his arm from around her shoulders. She was giving off distinct 'don't touch me right now' vibes at the moment and he didn't want to push it.
Women....gah..
He pursed his lips, fighting down a wave of anger, "That's fine.....I am something of a manipulating liar anyways, so yes….perhaps I'm just bullshitting you." He didn't really want to be an asshole right now, but she'd forced him into it. "So, I'll leave it up to you to decide." He resigned to fall silent instead of continuing to throw insults....it was unnecessary and he knew it.
He instead, turned to look over the edge of the canal as they continued on.
Beatrix stared at him a brief moment with a 'what the fuck' expression plastered on her face. Was it just her or had Bill completely misread that? She had made a joke that was only supposed to mock him and continue what the smart assed game he had been playing. She hadn't meant for him to get all snippy about it and then completely close her off.
Men, ugh.
She casually turned away from and went back to her slouched position and staring off into the distance.
"Madam, feeling alright?" Said the gondola driver after ten minutes had passed. The French man had only turned around to check that his customers were still alive as there had been unsettling silence for such an extended period of time. When the gondola driver asked Beatrix if she was alright, it was only due to the fact that the man was used to the classic signs of seasickness. He had had numerous couples get sick on his boat and it wasn't because of his steering.
Beatrix didn't reply and remained staring off to the side with a void expression on her increasingly pale face.
Talk about unbearable silence....luckily, Bill was pretty adept had handling such silences. What he wasn't so adapt at was dealing with this whole "couples" thing. He realized he might have....overreacted....a little to her comment, but..fuck, she wasn't exactly being Miss Congeniality today. If he'd been in a better mood to begin with, he might have better reacted and realized that she'd only been messing around with him. Again, Bill loved to dish it out, but wasn't always warmly receptive when it came back to him if caught in the wrong mood.
Still, he remained safely neutral, leaning back against the cushions and quietly watching the scenery continuing to scroll by. He gave the gondola driver a fleeting glare. Why the fuck did the man even.....?.
Bill, suddenly turned to look at Beatrix, his question clearly answered.
She was as white as a sheet, and her posture indicated she was not all that comfortable. Her gaze seemed distracted and glossed over. His former bad attitude began taking a turn for the better. He laid a hand on her shoulder, "Jesus......I've never said this before....but....Kiddo, you look like shit," he couldn't help but chuckle at that, hand squeezing her shoulder affectionately.
Beatrix came out of her reviver and wove a dismissive hand in his direction. It was swaying as if she was drunk and wasn't exactly a forceful maneuver of brushing it off. "No…you've told me that before…" she began in a low unsteady tone of voice as she tried to remain put together but it was hard when your stomach was swaying as much as the fucking boat.
"Remember that time…there was that guy….and he…and I…and…" But she didn't much finish her thought when a wave of nausea swept over her and she sprang for the edge of the boat. The tall blonde leaned over and threw up. It didn't last long, came and went quickly, and when finished she remained hunched over the edge, hands clenched to the wooden siding, her knuckles remaining deftly white. There was nothing like puking one's brains out to make a woman look pitiful. Talk about ironic.
Bill just sat there staring is disbelief as Beatrix Kiddo, the deadliest woman in the world, his best assassin, a woman who could take on a room of trained killers and walk away untouched, a woman who'd survived hellish training and unthinkable gritty situations.....puked her guts out over the end of......a gondola.....in the middle of...Paris....
He felt bad....yes....somewhat, but at the moment, more than anything he was extremely...extremely amused. It was just too ironic...too funny....shit, it was fucking hilarious.
He leaned back, roaring with laughter, a hand over his face. He tried to speak, but he was laughing too hard. The gondola driver had turned and was giving Beatrix a somber look, "So sorry mademoiselle," he said politely, "...it happens quite often..."
This only made Bill laugh harder. He hadn't laughed this hard....in a long time. After a moment, he managed to bring it down to a continuous chuckle. "Kiddo...." he gasped between laughing fits, "....that was...." but he lost out again to another bout of laughter. He had at least brought a hand up to rub her shoulder in a comforting gesture, but he couldn't manage any comforting words at the moment. The irony was just too thick and Bill reveled in irony....preferably if it was something as funny as an assassin throwing up on a gondola.
He once again seemed to gain some control of himself, "Just give me a moment......the smart ass remark is coming..."
If Beatrix wasn't so thick skinned she would have started crying but instead this being Beatrix Kiddo, she pulled herself together and turned around to face Bill, irate. She wasn't quite as pale but a lingering green tinted her usually white skin.
"Don't waste your breath," she hissed between clenched teeth. She inched towards him and rather rudely stuffed her hand in his pants pocket, this could have been thought of as suggestive, but it was far from of it. Instead the tall blonde pulled out that infamous white handkerchief with the name 'Bill' sewn in the corner and used that to wipe the throw up remains from her mouth as well as the wet glisten along her temple that came due to the sudden cold sweat she had earlier.
She was well aware of the irony and she would have found it humorous if the situation was different. Throwing up was similar to being sick and when one was sick they were put in a vulnerable position. She hated being vulnerable even if throwing up was quick and didn't last long. Damn boat. She leaned back to let her stomach continue to settle down, her breathing came in shallow wisps, and she clenched to the handkerchief that she wasn't giving back any time soon, not that Bill would want it anymore.
"Yeah...ya know Kiddo, you can just keep that....." Bill said with a renewed frown. Although, inside, he was still laughing his ass off. He knew that Beatrix could be just as sneaky as himself, after all....she was his greatest protégé. She probably knew exactly which pockets he kept all of his necessary daily belongings in. "I have many more where that came from...." he continued, watching her with a mixed expression of lingering amusement and irritation.
He decided perhaps it was wiser to save the smart ass comments, even though he'd already thought of five real doozies by now. Well, at least he'd save them for later when she wasn't still recovering from puking her guts out....on a gondola. He once again, fought down a new bout of laughter at this continuously funny thought. It was only funnier because of his earlier lamely attempted excuse to get out of the ride.
He glanced at the gondola driver, who was now back to being deathly quiet, "Perhaps it's best we cut it short..." Bill didn't think he could handle the hilarity of Beatrix puking...twice..,on a gondola.
"Of course," the Frenchman replied with a nod. He began to steer the boat towards one of the canals many docks.
Bill turned back to Beatrix, who was lounging...still appearing to settle herself, He gave her a more understanding look, "Let's just take it slow for awhile. Do you want to head back to the hotel?"
"Yes," and she gave a tight nod to reinstate her response. Beatrix still felt uneasy but the nausea was slowly dissipating. Though she hated the after affects of throwing up which, was exhaustion.
Once the gondola docked Beatrix hastily got out and moved into the bustling streets to walk down to the bus stop. Bill followed beside her and even offered to keep her steady, as she did appear to be swaying a little. She hotly refused any help and only picked up her pace. She was just a little irate with him and she knew he wasn't through with giving her shit over the entire event.
It didn't take long for the 'couple' to arrive back at the hotel where the tall disheveled blonde went straight for the bathroom to throw cool water on her face. She came out of the bathroom looking a bit more put together. Her hair was brushed out and bangs were dampened to her temple from a large dosing of water sprayed on her face. She felt 'cleaner' to say the least and thus her attitude had simmered down.
With a placid façade, but blue eyes flickering with that dying irritation she collapsed belly first onto the bed. Bill was across the way sitting on a chair and hiding behind the local newspaper. A long arm extended and she snatched up a pillow to prop under her head. "Okay…I'm ready. You can get it all out now because I may not react as nicely to it later," she stated matter-of-factly and somewhat crossly. She was well aware Bill had a shit load to mock her about and she was giving him the opportunity to get it out with little consequences.
Alright, she'd asked for it.
With a dramatic motion, Bill thrust down his newspaper, "You threw up on a fucking gondola!" Just saying that made him start chuckling all over again. He'd been holding it in ever since they'd gotten off the boat and now, given the opportunity, he was going to take full advantage. "What was it that you said about eating all of that weird shit when training with Pai Mei?" He smirked, "What? Did he feed you just rice while you were there? Because, with that stomach I don't know how you managed the fish heads, raw eel, chicken feet and numerous assortments of raw fish eggs and Satan only know what else." It wasn't easy to forget, even it had been many years since Bill had trained with the rotten old bastard. "I would have thought he'd have given you utter hell if you'd wussed out on those." He settled back into the chair, waving a hand in her direction as he continued, "You.....," he couldn't get over it, "...threw up...on a gondola....well Kiddo, " ,more self amused chuckling, "I'm glad we didn't go on any merry go rounds or anything...extreme...you might have had to be
hospitalized." He continued on, undaunted, "We ate muffins for breakfast....Christ, well if that isn't.....stomach churning food I don't know what is. I can't believe you gave me shit for trying my lame ass seasickness excuse....and then," he once again broke out in laughter, "...you throw up...." he slapped his knee, "...on a gondola...." He shook his head, "Your one hell of a killer, but I can't say the same for your digestive disposition."
He'd had better fodder earlier, but he'd somehow lost most of it. He paused, the laughter dying down, "That's all I've got….," he said somewhat seriously, "...for the moment."
Beatrix listened to Bill's array of mocking and rude comments with a distinct glare. Fuck, somewhere along this trip to Paris she had forgotten how much of an asshole Bill was. She scowled in his general direction and stuffed her arm beneath the pillow she was propping her head on. She had no plans of contradicting him on what he had said but after he was done she couldn't avoid the temptation and gave in.
"My digestive system is fine. It must have been something I ate, or the waves…" a brief trail off but she quickly regained herself. Blue eyes flickered. "And for your information," she began in a snide tone. "Pai Mei didn't just give me fish heads, chicken feet, raw eggs, and rice to eat. He made me eating a fucking rat's…heart. Now, I took that down quite nicely so you have no…right ridiculing my stomach." Somehow this conversation had turned amusingly stupid. She pursed her lips. "Besides, with the shit I've seen and done you should feel lucky I've only thrown up from a shitty boat ride."
Bill crossed his legs, in a very manly fashion, giving her a haughty look. "I feel very lucky," he replied in a completely indecipherable tone. He wasn't even going to throw in the petty, 'oh that's nothing, let me tell you about what I've seen.....' shit. This whole conversation was already petty enough and he felt inclined to stop it.
He wanted to be kinder, but...she was just being too much of a bitch to justify him even trying. He'd tried to help her on the way to the hotel and she'd just pushed him away, he wasn't the type of man to have his help rejected twice in a row. He still remembered, many months ago, something he continually returned to in his mind, her telling him to 'stop trying' when it came to matters of 'mothering' her. He'd learned his lesson from that and he wasn't going to have her tell him that again.....it had been bad enough the first time.
And besides, it wasn't like she was fucking dying, she'd thrown up...so what. Beatrix had worse stuff happen to her on a daily basis, she'd manage without his unwanted comfort. She'd come around, she always did.
He gave her a long, dark look and then once again lifted his paper up. "I'll just be sitting here reading, let me know when you need me for something that doesn't involve you throwing up or biting my fucking head off."
Goddamit! Why'd he have to be such a fucking asshole? That sent Beatrix off the handle. Okay, she admitted to herself that her throwing up on a gondola was pretty fucking funny as it was ironic, but there was only so much humor she could digest, not literally of course.
Beatrix was known for doing spontaneously violent things and this counted as spontaneous but not as violent. She sat up from her lying down position and snatched up the pillow she had been resting on. The pillow was of medium size and like all hotel pillows it wasn't that 'mushy' soft. Her face void, blue eyes flickering intensely, she threw the pillow across the room and with a direct hit nailed Bill in the head. It wasn't much but it was a solid 'boink' effect. Childish, yes, but the bastard didn't deserve anything with 'style' and she wasn't up to it.
Bill, ever so slowly, lowered his paper, revealing that irate but amused look of his, along with a head of now messed up of Beatrix's "weapon of choice."
"A fucking pillow?" Bill said softly, glaring at her. "How exquisitely deadly."
Alright, that was it. If she wanted be childish, he'd happily play along. He felt like he'd been playing childish mental games with her all day anyways.
Eyes still fixated on her, he tossed his paper on the floor. He deliberately stood up, bent down and picked up the less than soft pillow that had landed nearby on the floor. With a coyly raised eyebrow, he examined the pillow for a brief second and then with decisive accuracy, well....at least as much as you could with a pillow, he threw it right back at her, nailing her on the side of the head.
Sneering with satisfaction he took a few advancing steps towards her as she "recovered" from the blow. "What are you gunna do next Kiddo," he quipped, "..toss the goddman mattress at me?"
"If it wasn't so fucking heavy I would," she retorted smartly after throwing the pillow to the side and coming up from her momentarily off-balanced position. Blue eyes remained a cold temperature on the man before her and then swiftly examined her array of weapon choices. There wasn't much and she wasn't even sure if she wanted to hit him with anything else. The pillow throw had helped with irritation towards him but she still had a hell of a lot of steam to get out.
Bill continued to give her a coy but heated intense look as he advanced across the room, "Hrm, well that's too bad..." he said softly, "I might have enjoyed that you know.....being so masochistic and all...."
Without warning, he swiftly snatched up one of Beatrix's folded t-shirts that had been lying on the dresser and tossed it right at her, hitting her smack in the face, "How about that? No.? Heh...well.." with that, he snatched up his black blazer that had been draped over the back of one of the chairs and subsequently tossed that at her, all the while still slowly advancing in her direction, "Or that? Oh wait...that's mine....forget it....I want that back....."
At this point he'd reached the end of the bed, and in that some slow and deliberate manner began to stroll around the edge of it, heading for her direction, "Come on Kiddo," he goaded her on, still looking rather angry, "...give me your best shot baby. What'll it be? A pair of socks? Ohh....very deadly....or..no no...how about that cute little pony tail
holder thing..that could put an eye out. Or......even better," a wicked grin spread across his face as he came up right next to her, leaning in close, "Why don't you just take your shirt off and throw it at me....you might have the momentary advantage of distraction before you maul me with your deadly garment." He was just asking to be hit, and he braced for the inevitable strike. He glanced at his jacket that she was now clutching onto angrily,
"Oh...and I still want my jacket back..."
But Bill didn't receive that supposed inevitable strike but instead received a cool glare from the irate blonde. She had on that demeanor of cool hot anger that was rare for her but when she was really pissed off she took it on, mute as well as deadly. She didn't make a move to remove her shirt. Beatrix wasn't stupid she was just angry. Even if it would enable her a great distraction she knew it would give Bill a sensation of pleasure and she wasn't allowing him that benefit.
Instead white fingers clenched ruthlessly tight on his beloved jacket. She finally spoke up in a calm and chillingly cool tone, "I like this jacket." At this she noticed Bill's frown harden. Bill was so fucking protective when it came to his clothes. She stayed put still clutching.
"I like that jacket too," Bill replied, in an equally cool but angry tone, "In fact, I like it quite a bit." He continued to hover over her, staring her down.....which wasn't working all too well at the moment. Beatrix had gone into full 'killer mode' and she was just as deadly calm and viciously irate as himself.
"You can try and take it from me…but…" Beatrix said and a slender brow rose a fraction challenging. "You'd risk tearing a seam and that'd be a goddamn shame."
Bill's frown had turned into a full on scowl, as he watched Beatrix clench viciously onto the jacket without any sign of letting go, "If so much as a seam is torn or button popped off of that jacket.....," his nostrils flared, "...well, I will not be pleased." When and why Bill had adopted this weird protective 'thing' for his clothing was unclear, but there was no doubt he was very serious about it.
She'd challenged him, and he was quickly finding himself in the mood to take up that challenge. He leaned forward, hands clasping onto the edge of the bed and hissed, "I'm going to ask you....," that threatening finger, "...one more time....to give me back that jacket," those hard brown eyes bored into her, again with little avail, "...and if you don't give it to me....then I am going to forcefully take it from you. And I stress the word....force." He paused, watching her fiercely, looking like a tiger on the verge of leaping onto its prey. "Now," he said softly, "...give me back my jacket...."
"No," the tall irate blonde stated clearly and abruptly with a bitterly cold resolve. She hugged the jacket to her chest as if a mother protecting her child. Yes, the jacket was Bill's but she wasn't going to allow him the right to 'own' the jacket anymore or not for the moment.
She added, "You didn't ask me nicely." Though asking Bill to be nice was far from a fantasy come true. Blue eyes stared up into his, flickering with that lingering challenge. "And by not asking me nicely I'm sure as hell not gonna give it back to you now." Both brows now rose. "I'd like to see you take it from me…with force. Not that I can say you'll succeed but you are free to try."
Bill's eyes flashed with anger. Like fucking hell he was going to ask her nicely. Who did she think he was...the fucking pope? Not only that....she had so flippantly called his challenge, as if she knew she could easily best him. Ohhhh....that pushed the wrong button alright. And if that wasn't enough, it was HIS goddamn jacket!
He raised his chin defiantly, a frightening smile crossing his face, "Very well baby, if that's what you want..." Before he'd even had a chance to really end that grating sentence, he'd leapt at her with a surprising amount of speed. Not surprising for Beatrix of course, but surprising nonetheless. The look on his face would have scared the shit out of most women, but Beatrix was far from 'most women'. He wasn't about to go easy on her either, he knew she could handle anything he delivered. Still, he was hoping he could best her enough to get his fucking jacket out of her clutches. He slammed into Beatrix full force, clipping her across the chest with his shoulder and with enough momentum to nearly send them both toppling off the entire other side of the rather large bed.
Wasting no time, he wrapped an arm around her torso, twisting her around in some bizarre type of backside choke hold. His other hand, made a lighting quick grab for the jacket, which was no use so far, because she still was holding onto it with an iron grip.
"Let go," he grated through clenched teeth, his face right behind her ear, "Or.....I'll put you in a fucking full nelson...." Actually, there was no way in hell he could manage that from this position, but it as the only thing he could think to say at the moment.
Although it was hard to move with Bill on top of her with the added weight which she could easily handle she had managed to get the jacket beneath her. There was no way Bill was getting to the jacket unless he wanted to tug on the sleeve that was hanging out from under the tall blonde's side or flip her over and even then it'd be a challenge. She tilted her head to the side so her face wasn't being squished into the mattress.
"Stop bluffing," she grated between an equal set of pearly whites. Bill was putting enough weight on her and she wanted him off. So she pushed her body down on the mattress to allow herself a few inches of space so their bodies weren't completely touching. This gave her the leeway to bend an elbow and ruthlessly thrust it into Bill's gut.
When he recoiled in a spark of pain she sprang away from his clutches and made a pitiful crawl to the other side of the tall bed, still holding tight to that fucking jacket.
Bill cringed as he let go of Beatrix, falling back on his knees. He should have expected that. "I'm not bluffing," he managed between painful breaths, a hand clutching at his side. It only took him a few seconds to recover, but his upper hand had been lost.
For the moment.
He gave her a wicked grin, "Just give me the jacket Kiddo." Of course she wouldn't. He began crawling in her direction with a look of malicious intentions. Just as suddenly as he'd jumped at her earlier, he kicked out a foot and hit her hard enough on the side to send her toppling off the edge of the bed. Luckily he was barefoot. Wasting no time, he leapt down on top of her, pinning her under his knees. It didn't take him long to go right for the jacket, that was much easier to get at now that she was facing him.
He didn't really want to get in a tug o'war over the garment, knowing it would rip under both of their combined strengths. He'd have to find another way.
He tilted his head to the side, eyes flashing dangerously down at her, "Give
it up...now..."
Beatrix let out a small noise or perhaps it was word of irritation as Bill leapt on top of her, and this time he had her down good. They both had their hands secularly latched onto the jacket but neither was pulling. The tall blonde warrior had no intention of taking it that far. She was still pissed off at him for numerous reasons, the gondola being the main reason.
Cold blue eyes stared daggers at the man on top of her and her façade was just as cold. Her lips formed into a tight line and with a flicker of remorse she shoved the jacket against his chest with enough force to make him falter back, but enough to allow her rights to get up.
She glared at him and said thickly, "Happy now?"
Bill clutched at his renewed possession, but his eyes were still fixated on Beatrix. "Very!" He said hotly, sounding anything but happy. He continued to glare down at her, as she reflected the same emotion back up at him.
"Your just as still fucking pissed off at me as you were before," he growled, "..the jacket was good excuse to get back at me, but look what good that did you." He hefted the garment, as if it was some trophy he'd just won. Thus far he'd made no major movement to move away from her.
Finally, he backed off slightly, but was still keeping a close intimidating proximity, "Why don't you just get it all out now Kiddo," he said haughtily, the intense glare unfaltering, "..maybe then you'll be less of a bitch the rest of the time here." He failed to mention his own anger or the fact that he was just as much as a bastard. With a snarl he tossed the jacket aside, so easily throwing away a thing he'd seemed to have needed to fight so hard for. "I think you're scared...." he said with a scathing smirk.
Beatrix's irate features washed over with pure bafflement. She parted her lips to speak but no words came out and she canted her pretty blonde head to the side, which was now tussled from being pounced upon numerous times. Her lips pursed but then parted once again this time to questionably repeat, "I'm scared?" She almost laughed at this but instead she put on a devil's smirk.
"Oh that's right," she began as if the realization just lit up in her head. "I'm scared of… you." Her brows arched. She was just mockingly playing along with Bill's taunting.
She was going to get it all out for him and she was going to lay it on sarcastically thick. "You are so much smarter, stronger, and wiser then me. And you'd…never…get seasick. I'm scared of you because you are so much better then me and that…that, scares the shit out of me." This of course was such a lie and she was taking in a lot of self gratifying for herself. Sure Bill was good but she had hopes she'd surpass him one day. But, she wasn't really scared of him, well, he could be pretty fucking scary sometimes but right now he was far from it.
Bill's eyes narrowed with pure annoyance. Her sarcastic response was more than obvious to the "trained" eye. She was mocking him, worse than that....she'd done a damn good job of it. This only irritated him further.
"You should be scared," he said venomously, but the bite had less sting....Beatrix had proved she could do that quite well. "Don't fuck around with me," he said in a low whisper." He was aware he was just digging himself in further with every comment. She wasn't scared of him in the slightest, especially right now, and that pissed him off to no end. Bill was used to being able to scare people, to intimidate people into doing or saying what he wanted. It was one of his "greatest" gifts. And here....she was just shrugging it off like a light sprinkle of rain.
This tactic had not worked, he had to find another...and quickly. He decided to go low and personal. Again, Bill went for cruelty over admitted defeat. He could have just given up and been happy with the fact he got his jacket back. But that wasn't enough for him, he had to get the last word in. "I think...." he said slowly and deliberately, "...you still can't face the fact that you find surly bastards attractive. So, you find it easier to mock me than admit the truth to yourself. That's fine...I can handle it. Ah, but there's that truth thing again. All those nice guys....not here, not now. What is it...," he leaned in closer to her, still angry, "...is it the bad thing? Hrm? Is it a 'I had no father' thing? Is it a power thing?" He wasn't talking about love...that was a whole other issue. He was talking about attraction, they were clearly separated. He leaned in even closer. "I want to know...."
Just when Beatrix thought she could smart ass her way out of this Bill had to go and hit her low. The last time she remembered him hitting her low and in that area it was during their rather violent dispute in the weapons shack. She hated it when Bill asked her such daunting questions like that. This was a question about 'him' and 'her' and 'them' and she didn't like it.
Instead of breaking down on the question, her breathing came in short puffs through her flared nostrils as blue eyes stared daggers into him. Her lips tightened as well as her irate features. "You know," she began in a deftly quiet tone, "that I don't tell the truth, so what makes you think I'm going to tell you the truth to that question?"
It was easier for Beatrix to avoid the question completely then tear herself apart over it. She knew deep down in the dark crevices of her mind what drew her to a man like Bill, but she wasn't going to tell Bill what it was when she wasn't going to admit it to herself. He'd never know a lot of things about what she thought about 'them'. Bill would have to use some concocted truth serum shit to get it out of her and even then the questions would be limited, thus not leaving them with many options. Her brows narrowed but she went mute after that questioned statement.
In Beatrix's self induced silence there sat so much of what would ultimately remain Bill and hers biggest "issue". Despite anything that was to happen between them, that....that fucking silence is what would remain the most painful wedge that sat between them. All he wanted was one truth about him out her mouth....anything...just one small thing........it would mean so much to him.....and she would continue to deny him that pleasure. Why was it so difficult for her to do? He simply couldn't' understand and it drove him fucking crazy. In the end, he'd be forced to attempt other means of getting it.....but now...all he wanted was a bare truth. He wasn't going to get it.
If Bill was angry before, he was utterly irate now.
He reared back away from her, standing up to take a few steps towards the wall. There had still been a hint of amusement in his anger before; he'd still been playing around, fucking around with her. That coyness was all gone now, leaving pure anger to take over. He swore to himself that that was the last goddamn time he was ever going to ask her for a truth about "them". He couldn't handle that defiant silence one more time.
He pointed a finger at her, shaking it without words for a few brief seconds, "Here's a few truths for you Kiddo, since you can't fucking say your own, I'll tell you a few of my own," he said in a deadly whisper. Generally when Bill got quieter the more pissed off he was. "I love you, and there's not a goddamn fucking thing you could ever do to me that will ever change that. Even if you never tell me a truth...ever," there was a rare shake of raw emotion in his voice, "..which I'm beginning to think is my ultimate fate, I will still love you. You can't tell me why you love me...if that's in fact the truth, but I'll tell you exactly why I love you." He wasn't being sweet. There was nothing romantic or charming about the way he was acting. He was still completely pissed off. "You....are the most amazing woman in every possible way I ever met in my entire fucking life...and believe me Kiddo, I've met a hell of a lot of women. I will never meet another woman like you, and to be honest I don't ever want to, there can't be another like you...not now, not ever. You've impacted me more than you'll ever fucking know or maybe even deserve to know," he let out a few angry breaths through clenched teeth. He looked like he was going to go on, but instead bent down and scooped up his jacket, "Here's another fact for you.....fuck you and your childish fear of what you know to be true."
Bill rarely showed such raw emotion and he felt uncomfortable doing it, but at least he could do it. He glared at her, taking a few more shaky breaths before turning away from her, slipping on his jacket for some reason and strolling out onto the balcony. He wasn't sure where that had come from and somewhat wished he hadn't of said it. But it was too late now and he had no regrets. It hadn't been about love, it had been about attraction...but he'd slipped up, he'd taken it too far. He had to cool down, but he was finding it difficult to do so.
Beatrix found herself having a much easier time cooling down then Bill was apparently having, perhaps due to the fact she was the one that had to ingest his words. The tall blonde sat up and long legs bent up to her chest were she held to them. Her face stood void but blue eyes clouded over in reflection. Well, she was quick to come to the conclusion that she would never have to question if Bill loved her or not. Many women spent nights crying themselves to sleep because they weren't sure if the man they loved really did love them. Beatrix didn't have to worry about that, not that she'd cry herself to sleep over it anyway.
Within that monologue Beatrix found she was complimented a great deal, but she didn't find herself flattered by it. Maybe if Bill had told her those things under a moonlit starry sky beside a wishing fountain then maybe…maybe she'd feel flattered. Instead she took it in and registered it.
Slowly and mechanically the tall blonde began to unravel and rise to her feet. She felt stoic and light headed. She honestly wasn't sure how to take that in, but what she did know deep down that no matter what Bill ever did or said to her she'd always…deep…deep down love him. She could deny it all she wanted but it wouldn't go away.
But for now he hadn't done anything to upset her, not really. Bill had expressed himself and it'd be cruel to let him stand out on that balcony alone. So, with willing steps she sauntered over to Bill and came up beside him. They stood in silence a good five minutes before Beatrix spoke up coolly, "This is called comfortable silence. When you know you found somebody special. When you can just shut the fuck up for a minute, and comfortably share silence."
She may have been comfortable, but Bill sure as hell wasn't. It had taken a great deal of effort to stand there next to her for those few minutes without doing anything rash. He found his hands aching from having clutched onto the balcony railing with white knuckled pressure for far too long than was healthy. He'd been silent mainly due to the fact he was too angry to speak.
What was most irritating, no....perhaps not most, but it was up there, was how fucking calm she was. He was supposed to be the calm one, he was the rational one, and here she was as even keel as he had been on his best days. That calm façade was his, it was his trait...and she was sporting it as naturally as he'd ever had. Perhaps she was surpassing him after all.
Bill had the strange sensation of talking to himself and it was not a comfortable feeling.
She seemed to have come to resolve of sorts, but he was far from through. He inhaled a few long breaths through flared nostrils. He had to work this out of himself or he felt like he was going to be just as sick as Beatrix had been earlier. Anger was often like some self induced toxin.
He suddenly turned to look at her, loving her, loathing her, wanting her, revolted with her, and ultimately finding her irresistible, all communicated in one fiery expression. He grabbed her, not all too gently, by the upper arms and mercilessly kissed her....rather roughly, uncaring if she wanted him to or not. The whole motion was so forceful; he ended up pushing her back a number of steps until her back ran into the side railing.
Well, at the very least Bill 'had shut the fuck up'.
That wasn't what she was initially aiming for. She had been hoping that her calm ramble of words would put him in a calmer state and help dissipate some of the anger. Obviously that worked in reverse. Her calm demeanor only fueled his anger. Maybe she was surpassing him, at least in the calm factor. Bill was known for being utterly cool and collected when he was irate but then again he was also known for over reacting when he was irate. It was a catch twenty-two on both sides.
Beatrix wasn't sure which side she was witnessing at that moment. Bill was irate but wasn't acting that cool about it. When had her throwing up on gondola become such a weighty issue? Well, she couldn't let her mind fuck around on those daunting questions as she had to deal with now and how she was being pressed up against a balcony railing because Bill was not so tenderly kissing her.
She could feel the cool metal of the railing pressing into her shirt and her back arched slightly at the pressure to her front. She liked kissing Bill, but honestly kissing him when he was fucking pissed off wasn't all that lavishing. So, the tall blonde put up her hands, placed them against his chest, and forcefully pushed him away. Once removed she took a step away, her once calm demeanor slightly flustered. "What the fuck was that for?"
"I'm not entirely sure," he said calmly. The first calm thing he'd said in the last ten minutes. He blinked a few times, staring at her, his hand clasping onto the railing next to him. He tilted his head to the side, "When did you become the calm one here?" There was a hint of a smirk, as if he'd started to 'surface' again.
He would have never acted like this with any other woman. Fuck, he would never have acted like this with any other person, period. It was just further evidence that Beatrix was the end all of women for Bill.....he would never get closer to another human being as he did with her. She'd seen him too weak and too angry and too unpredictable. She'd seen him how he'd never, ever be with anybody else. She could blackmail the hell out of him if she'd ever wanted to.
He slumped up against the railing across from Beatrix. He ran his hands through a head of currently unruly hair as he took a couple deep breaths, looking for something to say.
"Can we just..........start this whole day over?" he replied finally.
Beatrix raised questionable brows in his direction. "I don't know," she trailed off. Those blue eyes turned down cast a moment. Bill was calmer, but now she felt angered or perhaps more confused by the situation. She decided to take a moment to collect her thoughts and proceeded to count the tiles on the balcony floor.
This bored her quickly but it did help her come up with an appropriate reply to Bill's request. She leveled her gaze back on him and put on a placid façade. "Yes, we can start over but," she tilted her chin down to her chest. "There is no way in hell we are getting back on that boat."
Bill didn't look really any happier or calmer, but he wasn't getting angrier, so that was always a good thing. "I couldn't agree more," he mumbled with a sliver of humor. Where the fuck had all of this begun? Beatrix getting sick? Her not giving him his jacket? Her inability to tell truth's about 'them'? Or perhaps it was "D"....All of thee above.
Either way, it proved that even adults, adults that killed people for that matter, could be childish. He continued to lean on the railing, watching Beatrix under hooded eyes from across the patio. At least she was willing to 'start over.' She wasn't angry. He wasn't sure what she was, but she wasn't angry. "I'm really glad you brushed your teeth," he quipped, still frowning, but frowning for Bill was much like Budd and drinking, a common accordance in any situation.
This brought a smirk to grace Beatrix's face which could have been a laugh were either of them in better spirits. Her smirk didn't last long as it dissolved into a coy smile. "Actually," she took a small step towards him. She still remained cautious knowing he was far from completely cooled down. "I brushed my teeth twice and used mouth wash." This was more for her taste bud's benefits then Bill's.
She stopped her forward movements and extended her arms across the length of the railing. Blue eyes shifted to Bill. "Why don't we order room service and eat it on the bed while watching one of those overly priced hotel supplied movies?" This time she suggested the option as she wasn't entirely sure what Bill was up to. She suggested this because she didn't want to go out and have to spend two hours sitting at a table with him in 'uncomfortable' silence. At least a movie would supply interest in between the gaps of silence.
This was a perfect suggestion and Bill voiced his agreement with a brief, although somewhat forced smile and a nod. He was glad she'd gone ahead and suggested it, because he was in no mood to make much of a decision, nor could he handle going out and having to pretend he was in a good mood. He didn't force himself into moods unless absolutely necessary. He'd rather take his time and slowly ascend into a better mood, and her suggestion was a perfect opportunity to do just that.
"I'll order the food," he said, as they went inside, "The movie is up to you....," he paused, giving her a smirk "….but no chick flicks...." He knew Beatrix had better taste than that, but he just wanted to make sure he wasn't going to be stuck watching some over idealized, boring, yapping, woman movie.
Forty five minutes later a large array of food was sitting on various sized dishes at the end of the large bed. Bill had ordered a variety of things, typical European foods, a couple of things he'd never tried, and just in hopes that things indeed got better mood-wise a bottle of champagne, which now sat in a small ice bucket alongside the food. Likewise, he'd changed into his kung fu silk style pajamas. It made him remember the time he and Beatrix had stayed up and watched Shogun Assassin and ate stale popcorn all those months ago. And that thought alone put him in a better mood.
He wanted things to be better; tomorrow was really their last full day in Paris, and he truly did not want to spend it in the same state of mind as he had today. He didn't want to fight, he didn't want to be a bastard....it was hard, but he was going to do his damndest. He'd changed enough to have things with he and Beatrix come along this far, he could continue to keep trying. As he got ready and set out the food, he kept thinking about those three months when Beatrix had been working for the CPA and how he'd tried so hard to be a different man when she returned....rather unexpectedly. In the end, he'd proven he wasn't all that different than before, but he had to keep trying. Bill would change for nobody......nobody but Beatrix. He kept having to remind himself of that.
Sitting cross legged in the middle of the bed, he watched her as she stood by the television and browsed through the catalog of pay per view movies. He'd nibbled at the shrimp prong platter a little, but he was waiting until she was ready to really dig in. "I think the porn section is near the back," he teased her with a raised eyebrow.
Beatrix gave him a typical look and resumed to her task of choosing the movie. She wasn't surprised to find the porn section had a much better variety of movies then the other sections. Either way the tall blonde, now clad in an over sized t-shirt and sweat pants strolled back over to the bed and sat down. She picked some cheesy French gangster movie that was dubbed in English to make it more amusing for the watcher. She wasn't sure about the name but she guessed it was equally as cheesy.
The two killers remained silent during the first forty minutes of the film as they were both busy eating. Beatrix didn't stuff her face as she had been doing for the past few days and ate light. She took only the food she was positive she enjoyed and even those portions were small, but it was enough that she wouldn't go hungry.
Their French gangster movie was turning out to be as amusing as it was entertaining. Beatrix was now settled back against numerous piled pillows against the head board. She gave Bill a fleeting glance before turning back to the television screen. She wanted to cuddle with him. She really had enjoyed that one night they cuddled watching Shogun and she ended up drinking too much. She wanted another memory like that, drinking aside but she wasn't going to push it and let Bill come around on his own.
About halfway through the movie, Bill couldn't help himself and he got up and stacked the empty plates neatly on a table by the door so the maid could find them easily the next day. He left the champagne, but Beatrix appeared to not want any, which was probably a good choice and he was resigned to stop after a couple glasses himself.
When he returned to watch the movie, after clearing away the dishes, he smoothly nestled himself in next to Beatrix. He was finally feeling mellow enough to really enjoy her physical company. She looked so comfortable, nestled in her throne of pillows; he didn't want to fully disturb that. So, lying on his side, he leaned his head against her shoulder. Her long blonde hair was draped all over the place and he gently pulled it all over to his side and idly began combing through it with his fingers with extreme affection; Bill, forever a "fool for blondes." He kept one eye turned towards the movie, which was surprisingly rather entertaining. The only really cheesy thing about it was the English dubbing, but the actual movie was pretty damn decent. It looked fairly new, but it was done in classy gangster style, suits and all. The action was good; the plot was a little stereotypical, but still quite amusing. Basically, it entailed the typical love triangle, the main character, a good but bad guy trying to get out of the gangster life, a scary mob boss type of guy, idiot henchmen and lots of violence.
"I think this Jerome guy is trying a little too hard to be Humphrey Bogart,"
Bill murmured at one point into Beatrix's ear, "That's a respectable goal, but a man's gotta find his own style...."
Beatrix smirked idly at that, but nudged Bill with the crook of her shoulder. "Shut up and stop criticizing the characters," she said her voice hinting on sarcasm. Bill never shut up during movies especially movies pertaining to his time or close to it, or that he just knew a lot of 'background' information on. She always found his information and perspective well worth listening to, but at times it was annoying as hell.
The tall blonde settled back and resumed to watching the movie. Silence had lasted a good five minutes until Beatrix was the one to criticize the characters. "That was stupid," she noted to something that had just flickered across the screen. "He could have easily avoided getting killed if he had used that tactic correctly."
Bill only smirked at her interjections, knowing he didn't have to point out that she was doing exactly what she'd told him to stop doing only moments before. She was more than aware of it, and there was no need to start any further bickering. He had it in mind to stop that trend here and now.
Beatrix seemed in dire need of cozy physical comfort and he was more than happy to attend to that matter. By the time the surprisingly decent movie was over, he had his arm wrapped over her shoulders, head buried in the crook of her neck. Bill was a rather effectuate person with women he wasn't sleeping with, so needless to say he was rather more so with the woman that he was. As cruel as Bill could be, the pendulum swung equally as far the other way...to the extremely gentle. The scary part was, was how quick that pendulum could swing from one extreme to the other.
But right now he was as attentive and sweet as a killer could be. He was known to try to "make up" for his vile actions at times, perhaps out of a small amount of guilt, and he admitted, only to himself of course, that he did feel somewhat bad about how he'd treated Beatrix earlier; not that she didn't deserve it at times......but, he wasn't a man without the ability to bear guilt...as rare of an occurrence that it was.
It was often difficult to tell what Beatrix wanted from him, this was somewhat of a typical woman trait in Bill's mind, so he did his best to guess and appease her. He knew she liked to listen to him, so after the movie had finished he picked up the remote and switched off the television and began speaking to her in his soft, slow tone of voice. He just talked about random things, nothing too deep or meaningful, just things....stupid things couples tell each other: jokes, random antidotes, silly and stupid stories.
He also knew Beatrix liked to be held protectively. It was one of those things that nobody would really know about her, just like she knew all sorts of things about him that the rest of the world never saw nor ever would see. She was a killer, a tough woman...she was a lioness. But she also had a softer side, a side that liked what most women liked: to be held. So, as he spoke to her, her wrapped her up in his arms, his hand stroking her long hair.
These simple actions alone seemed to dispel the negative energy that had still been bouncing between the two of them. Thus, they stayed like that for quite awhile, well over an hour..at least..it was hard to tell in moments like that. Time was the enemy in moments such as that, and one never paid much attention.
Bill also knew Beatrix liked to be kissed. He realized earlier today that she didn't like to be kissed angrily, but he knew quite well she did like to be kissed gently. With this in mind, he softly kissed her eyelids, her fingertips, her forehead, her neck...and so on...as he spoke to her in that almost hypnotic tone.
Oh, Bill knew exactly what he was doing alright. One could almost picture the calm flute playing snake charmer sitting before the deadly viper as it slowly, slowly coiled down to the ground, lolled.
Bill was beyond trying to manipulate Beatrix. For starters, she was too smart for that, but more than that, he had no intentions of manipulating her further. But, that didn't mean he couldn't employ a few expertly executed methods to ease the tension between them. Even Bill was prone to his own powers of sedation. In fact, if anybody needed it right now, it was him.
Well, fanciful explanations aside, the evening turned out to be rather enjoyable and it seemed the two killers had "kissed and made up"...so to speak.