A/N: hihi! this is my first work in about 7/8 years, so please be kind lolol. but it's felt so good to dive back into writing for fun again. this is also my way of coping with the ending because lordy it was...something lolol. also if you happen to have followed me for past fandom fics i've written, i apologize now because i have absolutely no plans to update any older fics since killing eve has taken over my brain. i am far too gay now to go back to working on those (half-joking lol)
Eve had hit rock bottom; more aptly, she had drilled right through rock bottom and immediately found herself in the restroom of The White Rabbit Tavern, aka the local college town bar. The water she had recently splashed on her face was drying as she stared at herself in the mirror, trying to figure out if her life could take her any lower. The dim, shitty lighting in the bathroom wasn't helping either, Eve thought, as she ran her hands through her ponytail.
"What am I even doing here?" she asked. The silence from the empty restroom and her reflection was deafening. "Well you're not very helpful," she muttered as she rolled her eyes. She turned the faucet on again, cupping a small amount of water, and splashing her face again. The heat from her hands contrasted the coolness of the water, and Eve let out a sigh she didn't know she had been holding.
In all honesty, Eve had no real answer why she'd ended up in some college bar's bathroom. She normally would have joined Bill and Elena for some bad karaoke that would lead to them shit-talking about their required pre-semester faculty meeting, but Eve wanted to be alone in her misery. Sure she had gotten her long awaited—and frankly overdue—tenor status at the end of last spring's semester, but at the cost of her marriage. Her victory had been quickly squashed when she came home to tell Niko and instead found divorce papers on their kitchen table.
Eve couldn't say she was shocked by the divorce—the two of them had begun steadily drifting apart—but she hadn't expected it to actually happen. She assumed they would've let this draw out, like everything else had in their lives, so when she saw the reality staring at her, Eve couldn't even find tears to shed. Instead she flipped through the thick stack, opting to ignore it and instead heated up some leftovers from earlier in the week for dinner.
The months that followed the initial swerve dragged on for Eve. Usually the summer went by fast, due to Eve teaching, but with her newly awarded tenure—ensuring she no longer needed to teach over the summer—Eve had almost too much time on her hands. Now she'd have to actually address her problems rather than avoiding them out of habit.
Eve's thoughts were interrupted as a young woman, no older than nineteen, burst through the door in full hysterics. Before Eve could react, the young woman ran into a stall and slammed the door shut, instantly beginning to wail. Her hands dropped from her face, whatever moment she was having with herself, ruined. It didn't take long for a couple other women—who looked about the same age as the first—to appear and crowd around the stall that held the crying woman.
"Oh honey, it's not your fault he's a piece of shit. He was the one cheating," one of the women said.
"Yeah, he's absolute garbage, and getting caught while he thought you weren't on campus yet? For sure garbage you don't need," another one chimed in, pretending to gag.
Eve took this as her cue to leave, not wanting to think about any similarities that this young lady was going through and her own life.
Eve ran her finger over the rim of her wine glass, the bar's shitty music pulsating in her ears. The dim lights, the decade old pop music, and young college students everywhere not making the best judgment calls. It was a scene where Eve knew she didn't quite blend in with the crowd. Sure she could be in this bar, it didn't have an age cut off for who was allowed in, but one look at Eve and anybody could tell she looked slightly out of place. The regret of not joining Bill and Elena tonight was beginning to sink in, or it could have been from the cheap wine.
"Here's your card back, Professor Polastri."
"Kenny," Eve said as she took her card, "we're not on campus. And I've known you since you were this tall." Eve held her hand up, pantomiming younger Kenny's height, and took a swig from her glass.
"I know, just a habit I guess," he said with a shrug before he went to attend another bar goer.
Eve set her glass on the bar counter, ignoring the stickiness her pinky brushed against. Absent-mindedly, Eve began to tap her finger against the base of her glass. She still wasn't quite sure what she was doing here, but it beat having to talk about what was going on inside her head with her friends or being in an empty house. Ever since Niko had recently decided to go back home to Poland with his family, Eve found herself becoming a hermit. Well, she thought, even more of a hermit than what would be considered normal in her situation. It wasn't that she didn't like hanging out with people, far from it, but when you get into the routine of having a secure (at least she used to think that) marriage it was more appealing to stay in with a person she felt safe with rather than be with others. However, going out to a bar, even if it was one close to the campus she worked at, was at least step one of trying to put herself out there on her own terms.
Another swig of her wine and Eve let out a sigh. Who was she kidding, she thought, she knew she looked pitiful sitting amongst the student body the bar catered to and being pitied was the last thing she wanted right now. Once she finished her drink, Eve decided she'd call it a night and sit down to watch whatever crime drama was on TV. A buzz from her pants pocket pulled her out of her self-pity, and Eve fished her phone out to see who had texted her. A smile appeared on her face when she saw that it was from Bill.
From: Bill Pargrave
Don't down an entire bottle of wine tonight. You're going to need that for when you get a student who thinks their paper about the psychological benefits of recreational drugs is revolutionary and original.
- Bill
Eve chuckled at how Bill was able to read her so well. She took a long sip of her wine and tried to come up with a quippy response. Without thinking, Eve reached up to take her hair out of her ponytail–a nervous habit–so she could run her fingers through it while she mused.
"Professor Polastri, this is for you."
Eve looked up from her phone to see Kenny sliding another glass of wine toward her.
"Kenny, again, just call me Eve, and I don't need another glass."
"It's not from me, someone else ordered it for you," he said before walking away to the other end of the bar.
Her brows furrowed, confused as to why someone would buy her a drink. It was still too early for college students to be back on campus in full swing, and nobody here should know her. Let alone did anybody here–other than Kenny– know what she was dealing with in her personal life.
While she dissected the intentions of the wine in front of her, the vague feeling of someone staring caused her to turn around from the bar counter to look out into the steady crowd around her. After scanning the room, Eve's eyes locked onto a strikingly beautiful, blonde woman across the bar. She was dressed in a far too fancy of a black dress to be in a bar like this, Eve noted; however, to be fair, Eve was also technically overdressed in her dress shirt and slacks, having come here immediately after a work meeting. Upon making eye contact, it seemed she had already been scoping Eve out based on the smirk plastered on her face. Needless to say, Eve felt flattered–yet embarrassed–someone so beautiful noticed her.
She wasn't positive, but Eve swore there was a flash of mischief in the blonde woman's eyes before it was swallowed up by something else. She couldn't quite pinpoint what that something was, but it made her stomach flip. Or was that the wine? Either way, the way the woman was looking at Eve felt all consuming, almost like she was some kind of helpless prey.
After what seemed like hours of staring— in reality, only about as long as the tail end of Your Love Is My Drug—there was a small movement from the blonde's hand. Eve's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. The woman couldn't be trying to signal Eve over, she thought. Hesitantly, Eve pointed at herself and mouthed 'me?' her confusion visible on her face.
It looked like the blonde had let out a chuckle, at least from what Eve could tell in the dim lighting, and nodded her head. Eve's face flushed at the instant response. There was something in the woman's body language that Eve swore was akin to an invisible lure reeling her in the longer she stared. A lump began to settle in her throat, and Eve chased it with the last of her first glass of wine. It burned as it went down, but it didn't compare to the burn from the blonde's gaze on Eve.
The buzz from the quick consumption of liquor began to set in as the first few notes of some Katy Perry song Eve couldn't quite place boomed over the speakers. When she looked back over at her admirer Eve could barely make out that she had a pout on her face, eyebrows raised, and was slightly shimmying her shoulders. Chuckles erupted from Eve as she watched the blonde change her tactic. Even though it was an unconventional method, Eve had to admit it was effective in tempting her.
She turned back to the bar and exchanged her empty glass for the full one. Even for the brief moment Eve had turned away she could still feel the intense gaze from the blonde on her. Eve took a deep breath, a deep sip of wine, and steeled her nerves. She pushed herself off of the barstool and walked toward her admirer.
"Hi, I, uh," Eve stammered once she reached the secluded corner where the blonde was sitting. Despite being out in the open, it still felt secluded. Almost as if they had their own little world in the corner of this average, run-of-the-mill college bar. "It's been awhile since I've talked with anybody in a setting like this," she said as she gestured around her head.
The blonde nodded, but Eve wasn't sure if she heard her over the music.
"My name's Eve," she said, voice a bit louder.
The woman nodded again and a smirk appeared on her face. "Villanelle."
Eve's eye brow rose slightly, not expecting a French accent.
Silence settled over them and Eve fully took in Villanelle now that she was up close. She was even more strikingly beautiful up close, Eve thought. Villanelle's cat-like eyes stared intently into Eve's, and Eve swore the color of her eyes was like a forest she could get lost in and be okay never returning.
She gestured to her drink, feeling it slosh around the wine glass. "Uhm," Eve started, "were you the one who bought me a drink?" Eve already knew the answer, based on how Villanelle was looking at her, but she wanted a verbal confirmation.
"Oui."
Eve drank from her glass, and tried to process if Villanelle was messing with her by only answering in French.
"Well, thank you. It was a pleasant surprise after the day I've been having." Eve held her breath as she waited for a response.
"Je ne parle que français," Villanelle said. "Je parlerai anglais si vous êtes d'accord."
"Oh," Eve paused as realization dawned on her. She only understood the first part of what was said to her. Eve couldn't place it, but in spite of the language barrier something told her to not disengage from the conversation quite yet."I'm so sorry, I only know a few basics from years ago."
"Aw, quel dommage... mais cela ne veut pas dire que nous ne pouvons pas jouer," Villanelle said.
Eve downed her last bit of wine, not quite sure what was being spoken to her. Damn her for only taking the required three credits of French in her undergrad years that she immediately flushed after her final. Her glass, now empty, felt heavier as she stood over the table separating them.
Villanelle smiled at Eve and patted the empty seat next to her. Her smile was the hint of mischief still lurking behind her eyes, and Eve felt a dull ache form in her stomach. She needed another glass of wine to swallow whatever feeling was arising in her gut.
"Asseyez-vous, Eve, s'il vous plaît," Villanelle purred.
After a beat, Eve took the open seat next to the blonde. Silence settled over them, and Eve swore she could physically feel Villanelle consume her.
"Donc, finissez-vous généralement dans des bars comme celui-ci?"
Eve stared at the woman, trying to decipher any of what she was saying. Her eyes narrowed as she replayed the words over in her head. Before Eve could respond, she felt Villanelle place her hand on top of hers. The electricity that sparked from the simple brush was almost enough for Eve to try and pull her hand away, but it was held firm in Villanelle's grasp. Eve wished she had something stronger to drink.
Villanelle's stare bore right through Eve, almost as if she were studying her and intended to memorize every last detail.
"Si belle," she said, tucking a strand of hair behind Eve's ear.
The blonde's hand lingered on Eve's face, and Eve unconsciously pressed into Villanelle's touch. She watched as Villanelle's eyes drifted down to her lips. Her cheeks grew red as Eve felt herself being devoured by the blonde's gaze.
Everything around Eve seemed to come to a halt, as if they were the only people in the bar tucked away in the corner. When their eyes locked again, Eve felt the ache in her stomach growing with intensity. She couldn't remember the last time she had this much built up excitement–if Eve wanted to entertain the thought–in her body.
"Je peux t'embrasser?"
From what little French Eve could recall in the moment, she was more than positive of what Villanelle had asked. God, she thought, wishing she had something to steady her nerves. It was a simple question, but it unnerved Eve. She'd put herself in this bar to push herself out of the hermit lifestyle she had recently adopted, but instead the universe had decided to give her a push with no remorse.
She looked into Villanelle's eyes, noticing how much wider her pupils had dilated, and the ache in her stomach became agonizing. Fuck it, she thought, if this is where the night was leading her this was one hell of a way to do it.
Eve nodded in response and was instantly met with Villanelle's lips on hers. The kiss was rough, but shemet Villanelle with the same enthusiasm. This was what she deserved, Eve thought, after the past few depressive months. An unexplained spark and passion was exactly what Eve felt as an incredibly attractive woman dressed in an extravagant black dress.
Teeth sunk into Eve's lower lip, causing her to gasp. Villanelle wasted no time by slipping her tongue in, and Eve couldn't suppress the moan that escaped her when she felt fingers dig themselves into her curls.
Eve pulled away, catching her breath, and staring into Villanelle's eyes.
"Hey," she breathed, "do you want to continue this elsewhere?" Eve wasn't even sure if Villanelle fully understood her, but she didn't want whatever was happening to stop. "It's just that I teach on the nearby campus and I don't really want any former or future students to see where this goes next."
Villanelle nodded, and quickly kissed her. Eve knew, despite the language barrier, that she understood and it made her head swell with where this night was leading her. She took Villanelle by the hand, pushing whatever last bit of nerves remained down. and led her out the bar.
A/N: shoutout to my lovely friend rinnie for checking my french translations (if there still needs some adjusting please kindly tell me!) and also for beta-ing this for me. shoutout to my friend sammy as well for holding me accountable to actually work on this and continue writing! i'm currently about to start working on chapter two so i'm hoping i can get it up asap since i have the idea of this story all mapped out and just need to actually write it.
you can also find me on tumblr under the name rainbowinbeigeboots ^^
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french translations:
Je ne parle que français = I only speak French
Je parlerai anglais si vous êtes d'accord = I will speak English if you're good though
Aw, quel dommage... mais cela ne veut pas dire que nous ne pouvons pas jouer = Aw what a shame, but that doesn't mean we can't play still
Asseyez-vous, Eve, s'il vous plaît = Take a seat, Eve, please
Donc, finissez-vous généralement dans des bars comme celui-ci? = So do you usually end up in bars like this?
Si belle= So beautiful
Je peux t'embrasser? = Can I kiss you?
