Villanelle got herself a sticker printing machine.
She decided to try them out on her grumpy neighbor's car.
Buying a sticker printer machine for yourself at the age of 27 is the best decision to ever make, people just never thought of it before. Villanelle was staring at the newly opened package - that she has been waiting for weeks – with a gigantic and childlike grin on her face. She wanted to surprise herself on her birthday with that, only it came a week later. Nevertheless, her excitement didn't falter.
She had millions of ideas of what to make but very few on where to put them. Sure, she could put a few offensive ones on her water bottle so people can stare at it at the gym, but the fun won't last that long. She started walking around her chic apartment with slightly furrowed brows. She doesn't use notebooks, she won't ruin her laptop with too many, maybe her phone case can bear a few?
„I could give really ugly ones to Konstantin." She thought with a grin. As she imagined all the possibilities she looked out of her window and there it was.
The Major Idea.
The neighbor-who-she-has-never-seen's car.
The reason she has never seen her neighbor was because of Villanelle's 2-hours-long morning workout session. Every time she gets back from her daily jog the car is already gone by then.
She wasn't even her neighbor really, the person lived in another apartment across from her. Or at least she thinks since the tiny black car was parked in front of the building. Villanelle thought of staying home and waiting for the neighbor to appear, but she was too impatient. But now since there is a reason to watch the neighbor, it doesn't seem so boring anymore.
She decided on a simple one, a greeting sticker. A pink teddy bear in a tiara. It looks awful, psychopathic even, she almost gagged after she saw the finished product. It could scare off anyone. She cannot wait to see the neighbor's reaction.
She glanced at the clock on the wall as she put on her sunglasses. 8 o'clock, just in time for her run. That means the neighbor is still deeply asleep.
The first sticker will determine the upcoming stickers. Seeing the owner of the car and their reaction will make those stickers. Is it a bald middle-aged man in stupid glasses and an ugly short-sleeved shirt? He's getting "Honk if you hate babies", "I love gaslighting my wife" and "Church is in my heart" stickers. It's a young university student? They're getting "Not too fond of gay people" and "I am a mom against vaping" stickers.
Villanelle stepped out to the empty street. It was chilly this morning, but it always is really, in London. The car was a little dirty, the owner of it didn't really bother caring for it. The blonde woman walked towards it and scanned the car. She decided on putting it on the front window for the first time. She'll use the best ones on the hood and hide the offensive ones on the back. She grinned to herself and skipped back to her apartment. Now the waiting starts.
Waiting for the neighbor to appear took longer than expected. She imagined the person living behind the dark brown door a dozen times till' the door actually opened.
There it was! The long-awaited opening! Is it a mustached man in a plaid shirt? A grandma living with three dogs? Mother of seven kids?
The door was left open and the neighbor stepped out.
Oh.
Oh….
This woman….
Is exactly her type.
She was wearing a parka (questionable fashion choices, she could do a lot better), and her beautiful dark hair was dancing in curls.
She was probably in her mid-40s and judging from her annoyed face, probably very tired too.
Villanelle gripped the window sill, bit her lips, and grinned from the excitement. The woman fumbled with her bag, walk towards her car, then realized that she hasn't closed her door, walked back, ran her fingers through her wonderful curls, visibly sighed, and walked back to her car.
Villanelle couldn't contain herself; she could jump from the excitement.
But that was short-lived when she saw the tired Asian woman opening the car door and sitting inside. Not even a glimpse at the window, she didn't bother about her surroundings of herself.
Villanelle's grin faded into an annoyed face and the woman drove off.
The newest sticker was complete. Probably her masterpiece so far, but she has a lot of others in her mind. Let's just say her current favorite. The disappointment from the lack of reaction didn't stop her from creating. In fact, it empowered her and fueled her to make ever more awful ones.
It was foggy outside this morning. She didn't see her neighbor arrive yesterday; Villanelle had another translation job that night. She assumed the other woman worked late too.
The black spot of a car could be seen from afar. Villanelle walked towards it with the sticker in her hand, and before she could mark the car, she glanced at her first gift.
The teddy's head was nudged, and the tiara almost came off. Villanelle smiled at the sight. The woman took notice of her work.
"Love your new sticker. I knew you always thought highly of yourself but isn't that a bit too much?" A man in his fifties laughed at Villanelle's target.
The target's name was Eve, a target that only took notice of the new sticker the moment her coworker pointed it out.
"What? There's another one?" Eve hurried towards the back of her car, her hair following behind her.
Milfmobile.
"Oh, God, Bill, did you put that on? Very funny," said Eve as rolled her eyes.
"No, no, this would never come to my mind." Bill put his hands up in surrender and continued:
"Whoever this one was is way cleverer than I am, this is just genius."
The edges of the Milfmobile sticker indicated attention. It has been touched, it wasn't peeled off, only an attempt was made. The sign was still visible. Villanelle's smug smile grew at the view.
There was a faint light inside the woman's apartment. Konstantin summoned Villanelle over that night, once again missing out on seeing the woman.
Konstantin found out about Villanelle dropping one of her clients due to "him being a douchebag" as she said. She had to listen to Konstantin giving her a TED Talk on "How Do Translators Work: We Don't Drop Clients for Stupid Reasons". She didn't listen, all she could think about was the stickers she would make for the woman.
She saw movement inside the woman's apartment. Only the shadow could be seen. Villanelle decided to stay hidden for a while, so she walked back to her apartment. Before she opened the entrance door, she looked back one more time. She caught the side profile of the woman.
Villanelle woke up to the sound of a loud horn. Someone was honking way too much than average.
The Russian woman rolled out of her comfortable bed to see the happenings. Her clock read 7:03. An hour earlier than she was supposed to wake up. She groaned at the thought, every minute mattered to her.
She moved the beige curtains out of the way to see the street. The honking seemed to stop. There was a garbage truck stuck in the middle of the street. It was the woman's car that was blocking the way.
Villanelle chuckled at the sight in amusement. She glanced at the window of her neighbor.
The older woman needed a few more minutes and a few more loud honkings to appear outside. She was in a tank top and baggy pants, probably her pajamas wear. Villanelle was sure she was the most beautiful woman she has ever seen. The grumpy look on her face was adorable. She quickly walked up to the truck driver. Villanelle opened her window to hear her voice.
"Ma'am, please, move your car a bit, we cannot get through." The man inside the truck spoke politely. Only his hands could be seen, the window blocked his face.
The woman looked so tiny compared to the truck, it was an amazing view. Villanelle looked at the scene as if it was an entertainment show. She waited for the woman to react.
The dark-haired woman fumbled a bit and said:
"Oh, that's why you decided to start honking like a maniac? Alright, just… give me a second." The tiredness showed off just like her American accent.
Her voice was soothing, slightly deep, addicting. She could listen to her talk for hours. The woman disappeared from Villanelle's sight as she went to her car. The garbage truck slipped through after the car was correctly parked. The blonde woman caught sight of the other. She was still sitting in her car, her forearms on the wheel (was it just Villanelle, or she had toned biceps?).
She was staring ahead of herself, it looked like her mind was racing. Her eyebrows were a bit furrowed. Villanelle gasped when she realized the woman was staring at the Teddy sticker.
One arm left the wheels and reached forward, her pointing finger following the shape of it. Villanelle's breathing stopped.
The woman leaned back into her seat and sighed. She ran her fingers through her hair and closed her eyes. Villanelle's hands were glued to her window, she felt like she was standing in front of the car's window.
The woman suddenly opened her eyes, snapped out of her trance, and snatched open the car's door. Villanelle jumped back at the fear of the woman seeing her so early. She wanted the woman to notice her but not that soon. She still had a few stickers to leave before the grand finale. The younger woman walked away from the window.
She never saw her neighbor glancing at her window before stepping inside her apartment.
The Russian woman beamed at the brand new creation. It was two emojis beside one another: 🚛🔊👍
She wanted to give a little hint to the woman, she wanted to let her know that the person who put these wonderful artworks on her car was living around her.
She couldn't fall back to sleep after the morning alarm that was honking so she sat down in front of her sticker machine immediately. She waited til' 8 o'clock to go outside. She was more cautious this time. She didn't know whether the woman was awake or not, but she knew that she has been thinking about the one who has left the stickers.
The sticker needed a new placement, somewhere where she could see it every time she opened the door to her car. The car window, next to the driver's. That meant going close to the door too.
Villanelle had her hands in the pocket of her black bomber jacket, one of them hid the gift. She stepped onto the pavement and walked closer and closer to the car. She noticed a letter inside the mailbox, the edges were escaping. Villanelle couldn't contain her curiosity and got it out.
That's how she got her name:
Eve Park
She was in autopilot mode as she put the sticker on the window. The grin never left her face that day.
"The asshole leaving me the stickers must be near me, she must have seen it," Eve concluded with a coffee in her hand.
"She?" Bill raised an eyebrow at that and nudged the side of Eve with his.
"I have a feeling it's a woman. She has humor, terrible one, but she has it."
"She must wake up during the mornings to place these. I have to wake up earlier too next time."
"That sounds awful, the things you'd do for a woman with a crush."
Eve awkwardly chuckled and confusedly said: "What?"
"She called you a milf the second time. She deliberately put milfmobile on the back of it. I think she fancies you." Bill wagged his eyebrows at Eve, which earned a slap from her.
"Shut up." And the conversation on the mysterious woman was closed for that day.
Eve woke up for nothing the next day. No one appeared, no one left a sticker. Deep down she was disappointed at the fact that she didn't receive a sticker that day.
The mysterious person must have done this as a tactic. She was playing with Eve, that's how she said "I know you know me, I know you know I'm around you."
Most people would be freaked out, but Eve was beyond excited. Even if she wanted to sleep, she couldn't her mind was racing all night.
She wished she could see the woman.
„When the hell did she put it on? I was up since 6! I kept looking at the car!" Eve ranted to Bill as she walked up and down next to the car. There has been a new sticker, on the left side of the car. She noticed this when she arrived at work.
„Murder should be legal and not because I'm on the road" shined on the side of the car. Eve started laughing in a maniac way, that's when Bill noticed the woman in the parking lot.
She eventually calmed down, feeling delighted at the fact that the woman hasn't forgotten about her, she didn't miss a day. Also, the fact that she has been interested in murders committed by women ever since she was a teenager makes the sticker even more hilarious. It was a coincidence, for sure, but a very odd one. Eve's heart fluttered at the connection.
„Are you sure you've been watching your car the whole time?" Bill suggested as his eyes followed Eve's movement.
„Yes! I had my eyes on the street." Eve exclaimed. She was quiet for a few moments then quietly muttered:
„I also stared at the apartment of the woman across from me since she left the curtains open."
„There it is!" Bill threw his hands up. Eve scoffed, immediately regretting her defeat to her friend.
„But I could have noticed the movement around the car! I wasn't that focused on the Paris-looking home."
She was very focused on Villanelle's Paris-looking home. Villanelle felt like Eve would wake up earlier to watch the car, so she did the same. Woke up even earlier. She calculated 8 o'clock for the waking of Eve. So, Villanelle woke up at 7.
She miscalculated; she didn't expect Eve to be so dedicated to her work. She didn't know when she woke up, one thing was for sure. She was up earlier than the younger woman.
Villanelle tore the curtains open and saw the figure of Eve in the window. The latter didn't notice her right away, she had time to walk out of the view. She was considering meeting her throughout the window, but the desire was beaten down by her career.
The career was of course sticker printing. She concluded that Eve was a bad driver because of the awful parking, she had to make a joke about that. The bigger challenge was how and when to place the sticker.
Plan A: wait for Eve to look away, ran out and slam it on the car, then run away.
Awful plan, she'd get caught immediately.
Plan B: wait for Eve to get back from her work and put the sticker at night.
Even more awful, Villanelle was impatient and she didn't want to ruin Eve's day by not giving her a surprise.
Plan C: Improvise.
That's how she carried out the mission. First, she had to get out of the house unnoticed. That would have been hard if she hadn't lived in an apartment with a secret backdoor. She loved that about this place, she could easily sneak out if Konstantin was at her place, playing the dad-like character by giving her a talk on another little mess she created due to her stubbornness.
Step 1 was successful, she walked out of the apartment wearing a shockingly not extra outfit, something not Villanelle-like. She was wearing a simple long, green coat, black Dr. Martens, and wide-legged jeans. That was simple in Villanelle's eyes, unique in others, but that's beside the point.
Now that she has entered the street that was parallel to hers and Eve's, step 2 has started: getting back to the street without Eve noticing Villanelle.
The success of that depended on Eve. Villanelle hoped the woman would give up and walk away, not looking back.
But Eve never did. She stood her ground. She was staring ahead of herself. Villanelle crouched down as she got closer to Eve's apartment. She noticed that Eve wasn't just staring, she was looking. The dark eyes of Eve were hopping from one spot to another, yet they stayed in the same direction. She looked in the direction where Eve was looking.
It was her apartment. Villanelle's heart rate quickened at the sight. Eve was curious about her and not because she was suspicious of her. Eve was simply interested in her neighbor's identity.
This curiosity of Eve also gave the opportunity to Villanelle to sneak around Eve's car and carefully place the sticker on the naked surface of the car. She leaned back to the car, hiding Villanelle from Eve's sight.
She sneaked back the way she came but with a grin this time.
Villanelle was indecisive. Only in the choice of stickers, of course, otherwise, she was very impulsive. She couldn't decide between „honk if you like boobs" and „My body count is eight, and not the sexy pants way". Both ideas were amazing in her eyes. Maybe pamper Eve with both? She deserves that treatment since she appreciated the ones she left so much. None of them were taken off, they were all in their place, in its glory.
Villanelle woke up at the usual 8 and moved away from her curtains just a tiny bit. She glanced through the fabric and saw Eve's window covered with dark blue curtains. The woman gave up. Villanelle had an easy assignment today.
Pleased with herself she walked down the stairs and hopped onto the street. She decided to skip the workout, she felt like dressing up today and celebrating by shopping that morning. Of course, only after leaving the gift on Eve's car. Villanelle was wearing a long, puffy-sleeved dress that day. The dress was black, it had tiny red spots on the end of it, making it look like blood. Devastating.
The grin on her face couldn't be wiped off, she felt like singing. It was a glorious day. She stood at the back of the car. She hummed to herself. She walked towards the driver's side. Before she could notice the figure in the car, the door snapped open.
„So, you're the asshole who has been putting all these stickers on my car?" Eve pointed her finger at Villanelle as she angrily ranted in her addicting voice.
Well. It was definitely not what Villanelle expected.
„A thank you would have been a lot nicer; you know." Villanelle frowned at the shorter woman. She was even more breathtaking closer. Eve scoffed at the comment and dropped her accusative hand. Her eyes bored into the taller's as she squinted eyes.
„For what exactly? Ruining my car?" Eve fired back. My God was she fiery.
„For styling your car. Those stickers fit you. I left them as a gift." Villanelle shrugged her shoulders and answered Eve honestly. Eve seemed calmer now, her eyebrows moved a bit. It felt like Eve was studying the blonde one's face now. Villanelle never felt so bare.
„You don't even know me, why would you leave gifts for a random woman?" Eve inquired; her voice was gentle. None of the anger from before was found. There was something magnetic yet mysterious about the woman in front of her.
The taller woman shifted for a moment. She was an enigma to Eve. She didn't see where she came from, definitely not from Eve's building. Maybe she was the one living in the apartment across hers. Looking at the woman's choice of dress, and into the wide, yet alert eyes of the young woman, she was sure about that.
The woman spoke up again, that's when Eve figured her foreign accent was Russian.
"You're not random, we're neighbors. See?" She pointed at the building Eve already suspected she lived in. The woman had a faint smile on her lips that both seemed charming and sweet at the same time.
Eve wanted to laugh at the innocent, childlike answer. Eve's eyes shifted down at the right hand of the woman.
"You came to bring more?" She nodded towards the stickers in the woman's hand. Eve's previous demeanor shifted; a grin appeared on her face.
The woman was seemingly shocked at the sudden change and glanced down at her hand as if she has completely forgotten about them.
"Oh, yeah! Two this time. But I suppose you wouldn't like me leaving these on your car? I'm sorry for the trouble I caused you." Villanelle's eyes grew big, the remorse was visible. She even pouted. Eve almost believed it. The façade fell and Eve almost fell for her game. She scoffed at herself for believing it for a second.
"Bullshit." Eve simply said. She looked victoriously into the eyes of the taller woman. The latter was surprised at the answer, she gave Eve a smug face as a reply. Villanelle didn't expect Eve to rip off her mask this early, or even notice her dramatic act.
"I know you're enjoying this; you would leave this on my car as soon as I left, you don't care for property, you just want to have fun." Eve analyzed the Russian woman. Villanelle stood proudly, her arms folded together, chin tilted upwards. She looked like a cat that just knocked off the beloved vase of the owner.
"Hell, I even think you planned this meeting!" Eve burst out. The woman looked at her in a challenging way, she seemed to enjoy the conversation. Eve felt she hit a nail on the head.
"Did I guess correctly? You've been planning this for a while, this little game of yours, huh?" Eve kept firing at her, stepping closer to the woman who hasn't shifted, hasn't flinched.
Villanelle felt like she was on fire. She never expected this meeting to turn out like this, she never expected Eve to understand her tactics. Oh, this was so much better than she anticipated. Eve was challenging her.
"Checkmate." Villanelle replied and started walking backward, her eyes glued to the neighbor's. Eve was breathing heavily from her monologue of questions. She looked a bit confused at the woman whose name she has never caught. She watched the young woman step backward with her hands behind her back – oh wait…
"You little shit!" Eve jumped up and moved her legs from the pavement. The younger woman broke out in a smug grin. Her elegant hands worked quickly, she was like a conductor, swiftly removing the paper from the sticky side of both stickers. Before Eve could even blink the younger woman spun around and slammed her hands on the car's backside. Both stickers were printed on Eve's car now, the owner didn't even bother trying. She watched the woman in the murderous-looking dress run away. Eve rolled her eyes as she listened to the giggle fade away.
"Why are you so mad at having a young admirer? You told me yourself she was gorgeous." Bill said between his takes of bites of his croissant. Eve got it for him as a "sorry for being late again, it was my neighbor this time".
"When did I say she was hot?" Eve flustered at Bill's comment. She would be lying to herself if she didn't think that, but she would want to dodge Bill's teasing comments.
"See? I said gorgeous, you said hot, that means you know it yourself too!" Eve rolled her eyes at the inevitable teasing. He chuckled at Eve's reaction then continued:
"Not sure if you noticed, but while you analyzed the motives of the sticker bandit you also analyzed her face, maybe a little too in debt." Eve furrowed her brows, not remembering what those things were she has said. Bill noticed Eve's confusion and started:
"Her features were delicate, her eyes sort of catlike that are completely inaccessible-" He was cut short by Eve punching him in the shoulder. Bill erupted in roaring laughter and Eve hid her face in shame.
It was Eve's time to investigate. Working for MI6 under a team led by Carolyn Martens had its perks. She didn't need to come up with a half-assed excuse for why she was leaving. She was efficient in her job, Carolyn admired her for that. She told Bill and Elena she left the pendrive she had the documents on at home, the two of them pretended to believe her (she was a bad liar), and Eve left.
She slowed down when she reached her street. She didn't know where the woman worked, whether she worked at all, she had to be cautious of her.
She noticed the closed curtains from afar. It didn't seem like the woman was home. Eve parked her car, focusing on staying in the lane to not make the same mistake as last time.
She stepped out of the car, took a deep breath, and started walking towards the woman's door. She wasn't sure what she would find out about the woman with this, but her instincts knew it would lead somewhere.
And it did. There were three letters inside her tiny mailbox, barely fitting in. Eve looked around herself one more time before rescuing those letters out of the mailbox. She ran back to her car and eagerly sat inside. She was safe there even though no one was near her.
Eve's fingers grazed the backside of the unopened, neatly sealed letters. Eve slowly turned them over. Her eyes jumped to the names of each letter.
Villanelle Astankova
Villanelle Astankova
Villanelle Astankova
She never would've expected a different name from the woman. The letters were not typical either, they had a brand-looking picture at the top right of the letters.
"Translators of Twelve." Eve read it out loud. So, the woman worked as a translator. She didn't try her luck by opening the letters, she got enough information out of them already. All she needed was Google. And to place the letters back inside the mailbox, she didn't want to get caught.
"Wouldn't it be easier asking her who she is instead of stalking her on the internet?" Elena commented behind Eve as she stared at the screen. As soon as Eve got back to work, she opened the website of Translators of Twelve.
"What if I'm just interested in the company she works for?" Eve innocently looked at Elena at which the latter rolled her eyes.
""Language is information and information is everything" god, that sounds so cheesy." Eve muttered. Even she didn't believe herself. The website was top-notch and easily accessible. Kenny hummed at the sight of it.
Eve's eyes lit up when she saw 'translators'. There were twelve names on the list, fitting the theme of the company. Villanelle was the second name on the list. Everyone stood behind Eve, excitedly waiting for the reveal of the notorious neighbor. Eve clicked on the name.
"Oh, shit, she really is gorgeous." Elena gasped at the picture of the woman. Eve stared at the 2D version of the woman. She is even more captivating in real life.
She spoke six languages; Russian, English, French, Spanish, German, and Italian.
"Why would this woman leave stickers on my car? She's successful, she's working for this probably very expensive company judging from her style…" Eve thought out loud. Bill, Elena, and Kenny listened to her, waiting for the conclusion. But that never came. The woman was an enigma, and that annoyed Eve. The woman was an enigma, and that excited Eve.
Villanelle, of course, felt no remorse for the stickers. Why would she? They were presents.
Still, she wanted to say sorry in some way. That way was of course no other than leaving a "Sorry baby x" sticker made from her handwriting. She had to say sorry, but only in a sexy way. She looked proudly at her new work and stood up from her chair. She walked towards her window; her hands touched the soft fabric of the curtains.
Villanelle felt Eve watching her from her window. The blonde woman smiled at Eve when she caught her eyes. Eve's messy curls breathed alongside the older woman. Villanelle did some digging on her own. She found Bill Pargrave's Facebook who has shared a photo of himself and Eve.
Villanelle grinned at the sight of seeing tipsy Eve. She looked so carefree.
There was another photo posted where Eve's side profile was visible. The picture sadly was too blurry, but not too blurry for Villanelle to let out a relieved sigh. Bill wasn't Eve's…whatever, he had a wife named Keiko and a kid in his arms. Villanelle let out a disgusted sound at the sight of it.
Eve was a friend of Bill's, that's a relief. And that's how far she had got with Eve. No other information, no workplace, no social media.
Villanelle snapped out of her trance and walked out of the door. Eve's eyes burnt the back of hers as she locked her door. She adored this attention, especially if the attention came from Eve.
Villanelle spun around, revealing her choice of outfit for Eve. She was wearing a three-piece striped suit with the different shades of the color blue. Her hair was down this time, parted in the middle, the ends of it dancing in waves.
Villanelle gave Eve a toothy smile as she waved the sticker in her direction. Eve, as most of the time, looked grumpy. But Villanelle could see through her.
If Eve would be truly angry at her so-called wrongdoings, she could easily stop it. Call the cops on her for ruining her property? Sure. Walk out of the door and smack her? Uncalled for but could solve some problems. Not that Villanelle would stop doing any of it. But since this wasn't the case, Eve enjoyed it as much as Villanelle.
Villanelle hopped towards Eve's car and waved again. Her charming smile was contagious, Eve's lips slightly tilted upwards.
Eve had a mug in her hands, a cotton cardigan hugged her figure. She looked so domestic; a part of Villanelle craved it too. The younger woman noticed that the window of Eve was slightly open. This allowed her to say:
"Good morning, Eve." Giving away the fact that she knew her. She waited to see Eve's surprise on her face. She received a smug smile instead. Villanelle furrowed her brows as Eve closed the window. Then opened it wide.
Villanelle looked up at Eve leaning out of her apartment with the mug in her hands and heard the older woman say:
"Good morning to you too, Villanelle." So, she investigated too.
"You're so pleased with yourself." Villanelle replied to hide her shock at the reveal.
"So are you." Eve sipped the coffee from her mug.
Confidence looked so attractive on Eve.
"So, now that we're on first-name basis, what do you suggest, where do you want your new sticker, Eve?" Villanelle licked her lips, never leaving the eye contact of the other.
"It depends. Is it one like last time? Honk if you like boobs? Or a critique on my driving skills?" Eve continued their game. Their conversation flowed, it went like a tennis game, the ball going back and forth.
"It's an apology."
"In the form of a sticker that caused the apology in the first place?"
"This one is more personal."
"The milfmobile wasn't? I took that as a praise."
"That didn't take much thinking, anyone would think that about you." Villanelle's eyes seductively scanned Eve's figure. Eve flushed for a moment then fell back into her rhythm. She couldn't lose to this arrogant neighbor.
"Is this how you compensate? That translator job of yours, is it that boring?" Eve dropped the bomb. She not only revealed that she knew these things about Villanelle, but she also revealed she has been digging around the younger woman.
Villanelle's shock was visible this time. Sure, learning her name was easy, all she had to do was ask around the neighborhood. But her job? Eve had to commit to that.
"Is this your way of admitting you've been stalking me? Awh, Eve, you like me, don't you?" Villanelle pouted at Eve and stepped closer to the window. They could've been inches apart if the height difference weren't there due to the building.
"Didn't you figure my name out too?" Eve reminded Villanelle of it to hide her embarrassment.
"Don't change the subject, Eve." Villanelle's low voice boomed close to Eve's hands. The younger woman reached up and with one hand cupped the mug Eve was holding, the other grazing the hands of Eve.
Eve was too focused on the burning touch mixed with the hot gaze of the woman to notice Villanelle has placed the sticker on her mug. The younger woman stepped back with a self-satisfied smile, leaving the hand of the woman before her. She walked away without looking back at Eve. The smile on her lips grew because she knew that Eve's eyes never stopped watching her.
"What is it with you these days? You seem unfocused." Konstantin snapped his chubby fingers in front of Villanelle's face. The young woman gave him an annoyed face and rolled her eyes.
"A customer of yours even complained of your work, that James guy."
"Oh, please, he's filing a complaint because I didn't fall for his seduction, he desperately wanted to sleep with me."
"Okay, so maybe no one complained but I know you, Villanelle. Something is up with you and I will find out." Konstantin winked at the woman. Even though he tried to be strict he never could be. He was too soft with the unruly woman, he always used to say that he was her father without being her father.
"Ooooh, I'm so scared now." Villanelle theatrically motioned as she replied in a low, monotone voice.
"Don't forget to translate Victo-" Konstantin started but was cut short when Villanelle pushed the paper in his face.
"All done. Did you think I was being lazy, Konstantin?" Villanelle proudly smiled. She never missed any assignments, she worked swiftly and quickly. And most importantly. She was perfect in her job.
Konstantin read her expression and said:
"You have to be on top tomorrow too." And walked out of the door.
Eve wanted to return the favor to Villanelle. She just had no idea how.
Ever since her neighbor left that sticker on her mug, she was scared of washing it. She didn't want to ruin it, destroy it, she wanted to keep it forever like that. She sipped the coffee carefully from the same mug. She sighed to herself and glanced at the clock.
"SHIT!" Eve jumped up from her seat. She had to be at work in 10 minutes and she was stuck in her own mind that was occupied by her neighbor. She must have left her a new sticker by now too.
She grabbed her bag and ran outside. She dropped her keys at the door and cursed to herself.
That was the worst possible day to be late.
Carolyn announced that they were expecting an ambassador from France that day, a man called Jean Martel. Eve is supposed to assist Carolyn in the conversation. Or was if she wasn't quick enough.
"Are they in?" Eve whispered to Elena as she pointed at the door. Eve was breathing heavily; she ran from her car.
"Yeah, they arrived earlier than I did."
"They?" Eve confusedly asked. There was supposed to be one ambassador.
"I don't know either, look I just got here like…13 minutes ago." Elena replied after glancing at her watch.
Eve took a deep breath and ran her shaky hands down her dark blazer. She didn't want to seem unprofessional in front of that man. And whoever else was there.
She calmly opened the door and stepped in with an awkward smile. She caught Carolyn's neutral gaze then her eyes fell on the third person.
Eve's eyes widened and so did the other's. The latter regained her posture quickly and greeted the late one:
"Hi, Eve." Her voice was lower than ever.
"Do you two know each other?" Carolyn spoke up.
"No." Eve spoke fiercely.
"Yes." Villanelle said at the same time giddily.
Carolyn arched an eyebrow up and pursed her lips. Typical of her to answer neutrally. She glanced down at the paper in front of her and Eve sat down next to her, in front of Villanelle.
The man coughed in order to shift the attention to himself. Eve glanced up at the man, struggling to not look at the woman in front of her.
The best way to describe Jean Martel was punchable. His ego must have been hurt by the lack of eyes on him when Eve walked in the room. Eve gave his uppish-looking face a fake smile and glanced at Carolyn.
Eve felt Villanelle's eyes on her face. Another person begging for attention in the room.
"So, Monsieur Martel, now that Ms. Park is here you can start telling us what you know." Carolyn spoke up sternly.
Villanelle turned towards the man and Eve let herself look at the woman across her.
Even when she was working, she didn't tone down her style. Her golden hair was up in a bun, only a few strands escaped in the front. She was wearing a black turtleneck with a matching black blazer on top of it. The blazer was not the usual one, however. It had little shapes on it, figures. Eve squinted her eyes and made out the shapes: racing greyhounds here and there. Eve couldn't stop herself from grinning.
Villanelle's intoxicating perfume filled the room. Eve felt she has been drugged.
Eve spoke some French; she knew enough to know that Villanelle was exquisite in that language. The language rolled off of her tongue as if it was her native one.
Villanelle's French was captivating, Eve was slowly starting to lose focus. Her jawline, the way her eyebrows move, her lips. Villanelle's eyes met hers and the language changed. No matter how hard Eve tried Villanelle's eyes couldn't leave hers and Eve couldn't tear her gaze off of the woman. It felt like they were the only two people in the small, interrogative room.
"Jean said he wants protection in your country to work along with MI6." Villanelle shifted her attention to Carolyn, but it felt like she said this to Eve. Villanelle's face was neutral, she was trying to communicate that she taking her job seriously.
That would have been true if her eyes wouldn't land on the woman in front of her from time to time while Carolyn was speaking.
"He'll receive it, I'll make the calls as soon as we're finished." Carolyn concluded. Villanelle nodded as if it was a command and translated. Jean sighed and started talking. Villanelle translated. Carolyn asked more and more. 30 minutes passed by and the meeting was finished, Carolyn got everything she wanted, politely smiled, and stood up.
"Merci, Jean. I'll make the call now; a chauffeur will be waiting for you in front of the building." Carolyn nodded and turned to Eve while Villanelle translated:
"I'll settle these things for today, thank you for your assistance Eve, I'll talk over the details with you later." Carolyn thanked Eve and left the room.
Eve overheard Jean thanking Villanelle for the translations and said his assistant will be sending the money to her bank account. He nodded a goodbye to Eve on his way out.
It was only the two of them left in the small room. Eve's heart pace sped up and looked at the woman. Villanelle seemed flustered too. The younger woman put her hands into her pocket and stared at the ground for a few moments. She met Eve's eyes with her usual teasing smile.
"So….MI6, huh? No wonder I haven't found anything on the internet about you." Villanelle didn't bother hiding these facts anymore.
"Yeah, we have to keep our job a secret, no matter what department you're in. Social media is not prohibited though, so it's not that strict." Eve explained.
"And which department are you in?" Villanelle's eyes glimmered with genuine interest. She leaned her back at the table and watched Eve, who hasn't moved from her spot.
"Targeted Crime, but it's mostly murders luckily." Eve chuckled then froze: "I mean not luckily that there has been murder but…. I mean I like murders- NOT THAT WAY I MEAN- I'm just…. Interested in all that. I studied criminology and criminal psychology." Eve rambled, her cheeks red from embarrassment. Villanelle's laughter filled the room. Hearing that cheerful sound calmed Eve down and she let herself smile.
"I get it. Those are the cooler ones." Villanelle winked. "If I wouldn't be translating for all these rich idiots, I'd probably want to work around a place like this too." A smile appeared on her face, a smile that was so different from her former ones. It was gentle, kind, a smile she shared so rarely. It depended on the people, and Eve happened to be one of the lucky ones.
"Do you like your new mug?" Villanelle asked excitedly. Eve rolled her eyes but the grin on her face never left.
"I used it today, actually." Eve didn't want to boost Villanelle's ego too much, but she couldn't lie to the woman. This information was enough, she didn't need to know that Eve hasn't used anything else since yesterday.
Villanelle was about to reply when the door slammed open. The two women jumped at the sudden noise and whipped their heads at the door.
"Could you continue the conversation outside? I have to lock this room for today." A tired bearded man said.
"Oh, yeah sure, sorry, let's go." Eve awkwardly replied and glanced back at the younger woman. Villanelle followed Eve out the door like a puppy. The man let out a thankful sigh and locked the room. Villanelle looked around the building with hands behind her back.
"Do you have an office?" Eve laughed at the question.
"No, I'm not that important. I share one with three others. Wanna see?" Eve offered. The idea to show Villanelle the office was both a reason to spend more time with the woman and a way to show off Villanelle to her coworkers. They kept teasing her about her so-called "obsession" with her neighbor. Bill once said that Eve came up with this woman because nothing happened at work to keep her occupied. Eve huffed and went back to work as her coworkers laughed at Bill's joke. The solid evidence was here now.
The office's door was open as always and chatter could be heard from inside. Eve smiled at hearing their laughter. She loved her group of coworkers that shifted into best friends so quickly over the years. Eve stepped in first and greeted them. Before Bill could speak Villanelle stepped in alongside her and silence fell upon the office.
"Hey, everyone." Villanelle grinned at the three, seemingly frozen people. Elena's mouth was open, Kenny was just…Kenny, Bill had his eyebrows lifted.
"And you are…?" Bill asked as if he hasn't known her whole autobiography thanks to Eve. The curly-haired woman rolled her eyes at Bill's gaze directed at her. Villanelle moved close to Bill and held her hand out.
"Villanelle Astankova, nice to meet you. I was here to translate for the ambassador you'll be hiding soon." The blonde woman smirked at Bill.
"Ah, I see. I'm Bill Pargrave, this is Elena Felton, and Kenny Stowton." Bill introduced the people around them. Villanelle looked all of them in their eyes and smiled, not really to them, but to herself. Silence fell upon the office for a few moments as Villanelle walked around the room. Eve, Bill, Elena, and Kenny watched the woman interact with the surroundings as if they were watching a cat lurking around the garden.
Villanelle stopped at an empty chair and looked at the messy table in front of it.
"Is this your table, Eve?" Villanelle looked up and questioned the curly-haired woman. Her voice boomed through the room and chills ran down Eve's spine.
"Yes." Eve said almost out of breath. It felt like an interrogation, Villanelle's captivating eyes were locked with hers. Villanelle picked up a dossier that was sitting lazily on top of other dossiers and papers on Eve's desk.
"Those are highly confidential." Eve's MI6 instincts kicked in and stepped closer to Villanelle.
"Oh?" Was the only thing Villanelle said. Her face was comical and dramatic at the same time. Before Eve could register Villanelle's working hands it was too late.
"I think my neighbor is sexy" was planted on the dossier. Villanelle's fingers swiped through the sticker and put the dossier down. She looked at Eve with a sweet, innocent smile. God, she was infuriating.
Villanelle walked backward, the greyhounds moving on her blazer, and stood at the entrance. Eve looked back at her and said:
"You never quit, do you? Your job isn't even translating, you have a full-time job in being an asshole." Villanelle chuckled and said:
"And I'm really good at it, right?" And with that left the room.
Bill started wheezing and the other two joined in with him. Eve's eyes remained at the door, looking at the ghost of the woman who was probably on her way home by now.
"Eve, please, what did she put on the dossier, please show us." Elena said struggling to keep herself from laughing. She had tears in her eyes thanks to Bill's jokes, the ones Eve couldn't focus on.
Eve glanced at them and muttered:
"It's a sticker that says, "I think my neighbor is sexy." Laughter erupted again, but this time, it hasn't calmed down.
"I'm a notorious dick", really, Eve? You couldn't come up with a better one?" Villanelle stared at the paper on her door. Eve tried Villanelle's tactic, and honestly, it wasn't working. It wasn't even a sticker; it was just a piece of paper glued to her front door. The only good thing that came out of it in Villanelle's eyes was Eve's handwriting. It was quick and messy, Eve must have been grumpy while she wrote it, her beautiful face with her eyebrows scrunched up and her bottom lip stuck out. Villanelle smiled at the message as she imagined Eve while she wrote it.
Eve was staring at Villanelle's back from her window, waiting for a reaction from the woman. Eve was getting impatient at the lack of movement and grumbled to herself: "What the hell is she looking at so long for?"
As if Villanelle heard her the younger woman turned around and looked straight into Eve's eyes. She started walking towards Eve and the older woman opened her window. Villanelle put her hands into her checkered pants and said:
"I expected something more creative from you, Eve. A piece of paper, really?"
"Not all of us have sticker printing machines."
"That's a shame, I recommend it to everyone."
"So, they could annoy their neighbors?"
"Stop with that neighbor thing, Eve." Villanelle turned serious now. "If you were a boring neighbor, I wouldn't leave stickers on their belongings."
"I'm not boring to you?" Eve asked, her voice tender now. Their dynamic shifted once again.
"No, you're…" Villanelle stopped for a moment and thought. "Imagine the world was full of beige people." She started over once again. Eve wheezed at the metaphor. Seeing Villanelle's face lacking a smile quieted her and nodded at the woman under her window to continue.
"I am, obviously, not beige. I'm more of a rainbow, I'm one of a kind." Villanelle proudly said.
"Move to the point." Eve grumbled which earned a smile from Villanelle.
"My point is… as much as you want to seem beige you are not beige. You are a rainbow in beige boots." Villanelle concluded at the end and let out a sigh along with a toothy smile. Her eyes glimmered and watched Eve after her analysis.
"And you got that all from me leaving a piece of paper on your door?" Eve said not really understanding Villanelle's train of thoughts.
Villanelle huffed at Eve's confusion and pouted:
"Not just that, all of you. You interacted with me, you probably slept in your car for that, you even looked me up on the internet and also you're working at MI6 which is so cool." Villanelle went on and on and Eve softened at the sudden confession.
"Okay that's…quite sweet actually, I feel sorry for calling you a dick now."
"No, that's okay, I took that as a compliment." Villanelle winked at the woman in the window. They stared at each other for some time, it felt like the time slowed down.
Villanelle's phone started ringing and the magic was ruined. Villanelle fished out the phone out of her pockets and sighed:
"Gotta go to work now, don't miss me too much." Villanelle smirked at Eve and started walking the opposite way. She didn't miss the chance to go next to Eve's car and plant a lipstick-shaped sticker on her side-view mirror.
Villanelle walked out of the supermarket with two heavy bags in her hands. She was regretting not having a car now. The walk back to her apartment was not long but after buying an amount of food that could feed a whole army, it felt like miles to her. Besides, it was already night and her day has been exhausting.
The reason for the shopping was Konstantin's upcoming birthday. She was planning on baking a cake for him, but before she could give it to him, she had to practice. People tend to tell her faults in baking.
She put her bags down next to the entrance of the shop and got her phone out. No buses were nearby, and Villanelle groaned. Walking was it. She leaned down to pick up the plastic bags when a familiar figure walked out the door with 3 bottles of wine.
"Eve, are you an alcoholic?" Villanelle's sudden voice made Eve jump a little. She looked like a deer caught in the headlights.
"Villanelle, hi! No, I just ran out of them."
"So, you're an alcoholic who ran out of alcohol."
"No, I'm not an alcoholic, I take it in a very healthy way. Don't you drink wine?"
"Nope." Popping the p in the word. Eve glanced down at the bags on the ground.
"Are those yours?"
"No, I stole someone's grocery shopping at night, of course, they're mine." Villanelle rolled her eyes at the obvious question.
Eve managed to not comment anything on the woman's sarcastic answer and instead asked:
"Do you want me to drive you home?"
Villanelle's eyes grew big at the idea and sprung down to pick her bags up. She leaned up, her back straight, her face glowing with a toothy smile. Eve laughed at the sight and started walking towards her car with Villanelle walking next to her.
"My hero, I wasn't really into the idea of walking home with these rocks." Eve opened the trunk and let Villanelle place her bags inside. The woman shook her arms after letting go of the weight and helped Eve with placing the wine bottled safely in the car.
"What are you planning to do with all this flour and eggs? Opening a bakery?" Eve joked while they walked towards the door.
"I'm planning on baking a cake for Konstantin. He's basically my boss but he always forgets that."
"What's the occasion?" Eve opened the door and sat down on the driver's seat. Villanelle flopped down on the passenger's seat next to her.
"His birthday is in a week." Villanelle glanced at Eve and continued. "I never baked a cake before, so I have to try making one first."
"Ah, got it." And started the car. Soft music filled the car mixed with comfortable silence. Villanelle glanced out of the window and watched the lights in the house, her eyes falling on the lipstick stain looking sticker on Eve's side-view mirror. She tapped the seat with her fingers to the rhythm of the music. Eve stole a few glances at the red lights to look at the woman. The lights hit the face of Villanelle in the dark, making her face look sculpted.
They arrived at the street after a short ride and Eve parked her car. They sat in silence for some time before Villanelle broke the silence:
"Do you want to help me with baking?"
"What gave you the idea that I know how to bake?" Eve smiled at Villanelle's absurd question.
"I am sure you cannot bake." Villanelle deadpanned.
"Okay, rude?" Eve fake gasped and Villanelle continued.
"That's why it would be so fun! C'mon, help me bake that horrendous cake."
"If you already label it as horrendous it's not going to turn out well." Eve opened her car and the two women got out of the car.
They leaned on the car's hood and stared at each other. The stars above them shined brighter than ever before.
"Want to do it now?"
"I thought you'd never ask."
"That's way too much sugar!" Eve slapped Villanelle's hands as she was preparing to pour more into the bowl.
"I have to compensate for the dark chocolate with something!" Villanelle made a run for it again, but Eve's hand covered the sugar container.
"Do you want him to die of sugar poisoning?"
"Maybe? Wouldn't that be a glorious death?" Villanelle smirked at Eve and wiggled her eyebrows. Eve, after stepping into Villanelle's apartment, has taken everything in that came into her view. The blonde's home was both simple and unique. The doors were turquoise, the walls looked like it was part of an older building. Designer lamps, mirrors, and silk mixed in the place. The house smelled of wood and perfume, the one she always wore. When her eyes fell on the sticker printing machine Villanelle noticed immediately and said, "That is where the magic is made."
"What's next?" Eve squinted at the recipe on Villanelle's phone. They've put most of the ingredients inside the pink bowl except:
"5 eggs? Isn't that a lot?" Eve complained, mostly to herself.
"You said you didn't have experience in baking cakes." Replied Villanelle to Eve's external thoughts and reached for the eggs.
"I really don't, it just sounded like a lot to me." And stepped back so Villanelle could whisk the eggs up with the ingredients. The cake tin was sitting on the countertop, waiting to be filled with the brown mixture. Villanelle stuck her tongue out in concentration as she poured it into the tin. Eve watched her work and smiled. She never would have expected that from a stranger leaving stupid stickers they would go to baking a cake in the not-so-stranger's apartment. Cheesy people would even call it fate. Villanelle placed the tin inside the preheated oven and closed it. She put her hands on her hips and let out a relieved sigh.
"Does it need icing too?" Eve looked on the recipe again.
"Of course it does, what kind of cake would it be?" Villanelle stated the obvious and snatched the phone away from Eve, at which the latter frowned.
"Sugar, butter, a little milk, got it."
"That one seems easy."
"Especially if you're standing there escaping work." Villanelle put a whole stick of butter into another bowl and searched for the powdered sugar. Eve was faster and poured the needed amount of powdered sugar on top of the butter.
"You were saying?" Leaving a sly comment as she put the sugar away. Villanelle's yellow shirt had flour on the back of it. Eve grabbed the wet towel and moved towards the back of Villanelle.
"What are you doing?" Asked the woman cautiously and glanced over her shoulder.
"You have a big patch of flour on the back of your shirt, stay still." And gently wiped it off. Eve's left hand laid on the lower back of Villanelle. The woman's warmth spread through Eve's fingers through the soft fabric of the shirt. Villanelle listened to Eve and hasn't moved since Eve told her not to. It even felt like her breathing slowed down.
"Done." Said Eve as she looked down at the shirt.
"Thank you for watering my back, it really needed that." Villanelle choked out the snarky comment and Eve hit her with the towel on her shoulder.
"Dick." Villanelle chuckled at Eve's insult.
"Notorious one?"
"Only that."
"And now for the tasting!" Villanelle handed Eve a piece of the cake after it cooled down. The cake baked quite quickly, neither of them noticed how quickly the time passed. Villanelle impatient as ever cut the cake in half while it was still hot. Eve didn't even bother warning her, pieces of the soft, sponge cake crumbled down the countertop and Villanelle snatched her hand back whenever it touched the flaming hot surface. Villanelle smeared the icing on the bottom part of the cake and gently smoothed it out. As for the grand finale Eve placed the top of it on the icing and the cake was officially done. Villanelle listened to Eve after she learned her mistake and let the cake cool for a few minutes before the tasting.
They sat down on the couch opposite each other and lifted the forks ups.
"Cheers." Eve said and bit into the cake in unison with Villanelle. They chewed for a few moments and Villanelle spoke up:
"You should've let me put more sugar in it."
"No, it's just dry, it needs more icing." Eve bit back, not letting Villanelle blame the mistake on the other woman.
"That also needs more sugar."
"What is it with you and sugar?"
"What is it with you and no sugar? Do you want me to make an "Anti-sugar supporter" sticker for you, is that what you want?" Their laughter was cut short. Eve's phone started buzzing on the counter like a maniac. Carolyn's name was reflected on the screen and Eve hesitated to pick it up.
"Go on. It must be important." Villanelle nodded towards the phone sensing a call that late during the night might mean something.
Eve went over to the counter, picked it up and bit her lips, awaiting Carolyn's voice.
"Jean was murdered, you've got to come over now." And hung up like that.
"What was it?" Villanelle enquired.
"Jean has been murdered and she asked me to go there, the cops probably arrived already." Eve tore her fingers into her bun and snapped the elastic out of it. She always messed with her hair whenever something came up, it was a way of calming herself.
"Do you want me to come with you?" Villanelle's big eyes pleaded with the offer as she leaned forward on the couch. She had no idea how to support Eve in this situation and besides, the case also interested her since it was her client who was killed. Thank God the assistant sent her the money already and he wasn't the one who had to do it, that would've been a waste of her profession.
"Are you sure? It's not an everyday scene, I don't know what we'll see there."
"I think I can handle it." Villanelle shrugged her shoulders. She never flinched at gory scenes in horror movies, what could be worse than this?
"Ew, that is disgusting, I'm not going in the house, I'm staying in the car." Villanelle changed her mind immediately when Eve revealed Jean's insides were…. Not inside him anymore.
"I told you I didn't know what was expecting us there! I don't even know if they'd let you in, you're a civil in this situation."
"Civil? I'm the emotional support."
"Who is staying in the car?"
"I'm giving you emotional support on the way home."
"Mhm, alright. Are you going to be fine here? I don't know how long it's going take-" Eve's rant was cut off with Villanelle turning on the radio. Catchy pop tunes filled the atmosphere and Villanelle poked Eve's shoulder.
"Go, kill commander, I have music here." And with that Eve left the car calmly.
Villanelle was not a patient person, that was a known fact. Eve being away for 30 minutes felt like a day. She eventually got tired of the radio and turned it off. She scrolled through her photos multiple times, checked out every update on London's fashion week and Eve was still nowhere to be found. What was she kept up for so long? Did they have to put the organs inside too? Did the murderer do a lazy job and left every clue there? As Villanelle pondered Eve stepped out of the door of the safe house and went to her car. Villanelle's eyes lit up at the sight of the woman and eagerly waited for Eve to talk.
The curly-haired woman sighed and rubbed her forehead.
"First of all, it was the most horrible sight I've ever seen." Villanelle let out a laugh at that and nodded at Eve to continue.
"Whoever did that must have had a connection to him. It felt personal even though it was probably a hired assassin who did that." Eve's mind was racing, she stared outside the window for a bit and continued.
"There have been murders like these recently, all brutal, lacking originality, all they're known for are its gory scenes." Eve stared into Villanelle's eyes excitedly.
"Lacking originality?" Villanelle pointed out with a smirk. Eve flustered for a moment and collected her thoughts before explaining herself.
"I mean… if I'd be a professionally trained assassin at least I'd add a little flair to it." Eve shyly said and Villanelle burst out laughing.
"You really are one of a kind, Eve." Villanelle wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Thank you. But like c'mon, wouldn't you do it in more of an extra way too other than just stab-stab bam you're dead." Eve did a stab motion with her hands and laughter bubbled up at the morbid conversation.
"I would if I'd be doing it to show it to someone." Villanelle concluded.
"See? I know I'm right." Eve nodded proudly.
"How would you have done it then?" Villanelle turned her focus on Eve.
"If I hated that man, I would have wiped him off of the surface of the world. Chop him up to tiny pieces, put him in a blender, go to work and flush him down the toilet." Eve answered immediately.
Villanelle gaped at Eve's fully detailed plan.
"How long have you been thinking about this?"
"It came to my mind while I looked at his corpse. I mean after I told Carolyn that I'm sure it was a woman."
"How are you so sure?"
"I studied female murderers and psychopaths closely, they are so much more interesting than male murderers, more complex, and they do their jobs exceptionally well. This kind of brutality with the lack of clues left around the house is making me feel like it was a woman." Eve was always excited when people asked her about her passion and saying it to Villanelle felt so uplifting. It wasn't exactly an everyday hobby.
Villanelle's mind clicked and whipped her phone out. Eve confusedly looked at Villanelle's quick hands as she searched her messages. She let out an eager "a-ha" and shoved the phone in Eve's hands as if Eve knew French as well as her.
"There! Jean said he'd be meeting some French lady in the morning before we went to meet with Carolyn."
"You think the woman could be connected to the murders? Why would he even mention it to you?" Eve picked up the phone and looked at the bright screen. She understood most of the conversation except for a few words.
"I don't know, I thought I'd share it with you. Might help in the investigation." Villanelle in an unusually flustered way replied. She didn't look as confident now as she always did.
"Thank you for that. Kenny has his phone with him, he'll be working on breaking into it tonight, we'll know more info by then. This is really helpful, Villanelle." Eve complimented Villanelle and put her right hand on Villanelle's bare forearm. Goosebumps ran through the younger woman's arm and her eyes softened.
The air froze between them and Villanelle cleared her throat and Eve removed her hand as if it burnt.
"I'll tell you the updates on the case tomorrow." Eve broke the tension and started the car.
"Aren't those highly classified like your dossiers?" The old Villanelle came back with her teasing and the two women broke into a grin. Silence and light conversation collided on their way home. When they left the car, they both knew something changed inside the car that night. Villanelle walked towards her door and turned back. Eve wasn't inside, she was waiting for Villanelle to look back. Even in the pitch-black dark, they could make out the smile on the other's face. They went inside their homes knowing the last thing they saw before falling into a deep and much-craved sleep was their face of each other.
Loud knocking woke Villanelle up that morning. Sunlight crept through her curtains and covered Villanelle's arms with the warmth. It was Saturday which meant she didn't need to go to work and had no reason to wake up so early. She glanced at the clock beside her bed and groaned. It was 11 am, she couldn't remember when was the last time she slept that long so deeply. The knocking felt like rapid gunshots on her door, never stopping, never slowing down.
"I'm coming, enough of that bullshit." Villanelle's hoarse voice, deep from sleep, boomed through the apartment. The knocking stopped immediately. Villanelle rubbed her forehead and got herself out of bed. She put on a blue silk robe and pulled it tightly around her body.
She flung the door open and found Eve on the other side of it. The sleep washed away from her face and she freshened up at the sight of the woman.
"Did I wake you up?" Eve asked somewhat remorsefully.
"What does it look like?" Villanelle stated the obvious as she stood there in her pajamas covered in robe, her bun hanging lowly, close to escaping.
"Sorry." Villanelle sighed and stood away from the entrance so Eve could come in.
"Do you want to take your coat off or…" Villanelle tried as she waited for Eve to explain why exactly was she so eager to come in.
"No, it's okay, I'll be off soon. Remember when I told you Kenny was going to break into Jean's phone?"
"Yeah, and did he?"
"Yes, a few hours ago. The phone was surprisingly hard to break into it had some kind of protection on it that-" Eve was close to getting carried away but Villanelle waved her hands.
"It's too early for me to pretend I understand what these mean." Villanelle still dazy from sleep stopped the explanation.
"Yeah, sorry, so the thing I've come here to tell you is that you were right. He did have a meeting with someone, and she seems like she's connected to some organization. Jean wasn't innocent in this game; he has been killed by someone or something he has been working for. The messages are cryptic, there has been a postcard with a sparrow on it and several messages between him and a woman called Hélène before meeting with us." Villanelle nodded as she took the information in.
"We'd also need you to help out with some of the messages, we didn't have anyone who spoke French professionally in the department." Villanelle grinned at the compliment mixed into the offer.
"How many messages are there?"
"A lot. And e-mails too."
"Does that mean we'd be partners?" Villanelle lifted her chin proudly.
"Not technically, I mean you're working for the translators still, we'd just hire you-" Eve was once again cut off with a groan.
"Just say yes, Eve."
"Yes, we'd be partners, Vil." The nickname slipped out unconsciously without Eve even noticing. Villanelle noticed but said nothing, she managed to hide the grin that was dangerously close to being revealed.
"When do I need to help?"
"Carolyn already hired you so…basically now."
"So, I have been hired without even me accepting the job?"
"We called Konstantin." Eve revealed.
"He went behind my back? And I was the one who wanted to bake a cake for him…" Villanelle dramatically sighed.
"Do you want this job or not?" Eve was getting annoyed now and Villanelle slapped her shoulder playfully.
"I'm jooooking, of course I do. I'll be outside in a few, wait for me in the car."
"What the hell took you so long?" Eve lamented after Villanelle flopped down on the seat after taking quite a while. She was in a pink suit with a dark blue shirt, the legs of the trousers wide, covering the blue high heels.
"Relax, you cannot rush beauty. I had to get ready." Villanelle hushed the woman. Eve watched Villanelle scan the inside of the car and realized:
"Don't you dare…"
"What? I didn't do anything." She batted her eyelashes innocently.
"I know you're searching for a place to put the sticker."
"What are you even saying? I don't have any sticker with me, you're getting paranoid." Villanelle brushed it off and Eve hummed and started driving. She couldn't be fooled but she let Villanelle win this time.
"Do you have your phone with you here?" Villanelle perked up. Eve sensing something in the question asked:
"Why?"
"To put my phone number in it since we're going to be partners, duh." Villanelle rolled her eyes. Eve waited for a red light before giving Villanelle her phone after unlocking it.
"Here." And handed it over to Villanelle. The younger woman quickly typed in her number and rung herself. Instead of giving it back to Eve, she flipped it over to examine her cover.
"Your case is so boring."
"Why, does it have to be colorful?" Eve said hurtfully.
"No, it needs something else. Look at mine." Villanelle got hers out of her pocket and put it into Eve's hands.
"Villanelle, I'm trying to drive here!"
"The light was red, don't be such a suck face." Villanelle's right hand was deep in her pockets. Eve turned Villanelle's phone over and saw it. Her eyes immediately snapped to her phone but once again, she was late.
"Whoops." Villanelle sneered at Eve's phone. "Looks like we have matching phone cases now."
Both of the phones had a star-shaped sticker on them with a font saying, "Partners in crime".
"I knew you were up to something."
"You know me too well."
"This is more than "a lot", these are thousands of e-mails and messages."
"I didn't want to start promoting the job to you as "Hey Villanelle! Do you want to look through thousands of data and collect the ones you think are important and then translate them to us?""
"You didn't even need to promote it, Carolyn and Konstantin already sealed the deal."
Eve stood behind Villanelle with her hands resting on top of the chair as the younger woman scrolled down Kenny's computer. Jean's phone was connected to the computer and Kenny allowed the two women to go through it freely.
"Don't you want to sit down maybe? This is going to take a while." Villanelle looked over her shoulder. Eve took Bill's chair and rolled it close to Villanelle's. Their arms brushed when Eve sat down, and hotness ran through their bodies. The silence was suffocating.
Eve's hair escaped from the grip of the elastic and was ruffled up. The smell of shampoo hit Villanelle's nose as the curls swung back and forth. The taller woman tore her gaze off of the screen and looked at Eve's hair. Villanelle was captivated by the freeness of her hair, it felt like it was living on its own. She wanted to bury her fingers in the dark locks. Eve reached for her elastic to put her hair up again and looked at Villanelle. The younger woman's eyes were glued to Eve's hair and watched her hand as she started to roll it up.
"Wear it down." Villanelle's hazel eyes met Eve's dark brown ones. Eve listened to it like a command and dropped her hands on her lap. Her hair descended on her shoulders and Villanelle was pleased. They turned their attention back to the screen.
"Most of them are newsletters, and spam e-mails, I'll sort them out." Villanelle said mostly to herself. With a few clicks, it quickly fell from 2046 e-mails to 437.
"That's better."
"There are probably some that I missed but it's still easier to look through."
"We can go through them in a few hours if not less." Eve counted and reached down to Kenny's cabinet. She opened it and flipped out the papers inside of it to reveal the hidden snacks. Villanelle gasped when she saw Eve emerge with Tangfastics and Revels proudly.
"Don't tell Kenny this, but I've been stealing from his supply when he's not here." Eve whispered as if people were around them. Villanelle snickered and dug her fingers into the Revels. She popped a few into her mouth and chewed as she looked through the e-mails. Hunger shifted to disgust and Villanelle groaned.
"Did you get the coffee one?" Eve guessed correctly and popped a few into her mouth as well.
"Yeah." Villanelle focused on the rest in her mouth to cleanse the bitter taste. Her eyes stopped on one e-mail, a quite recent one.
"This one was sent to Hélène, just like that name in his messages." And clicked on the username. 6 e-mails under that account loaded. They have been sent one year apart from each other on the same date: March 23rd. All three showed different postcards with different images on them. A wheel, daffodils, a candle, a sewing machine, a cane, and an old telephone.
"The sparrow one was sent to his messages 2 days ago, on March 23rd." Eve pointed out. "This has to be connected to the murder, they are codes, but what for?" Villanelle's new favorite entertainment was watching Eve think about cases. The way Eve's face changed along with her emotions was like a theatre, her deep voice was music to Villanelle's ears. The younger woman was so lost in Eve's features that she lost her attention. Her pupils were focused on Eve's moving plump lips. Eve turned her whole body towards the woman and Villanelle managed to shift her attention to Eve's warm eyes.
"Are there any other people who have sent similar e-mails to him?" She managed to catch the request and got back to work. After a couple of minutes, they found an account name "Fat Panda", someone who has sent several e-mails 3 years ago.
"They disappeared after that. They sent 12 e-mails with different numbers in each one of them and a recipe for cocktails and that was it." Villanelle summarized and told Eve the numbers.
"Could they be coordinates?" Eve was back on track and Villanelle's lips grew into a tender smile. They worked for another half an hour and all e-mails have been looked at. Those 18 e-mails were the only ones that mattered and gave evidence to Eve's theory.
"That was faster than I expected."
"I work efficiently." Villanelle said in a British accent, her voice high. Eve laughed at the accent change. Their next mission was his messages, but Eve had a side quest before focusing on them. She examined Villanelle's side profile. She has seen it numerous times before but never this closely in the light. The car was different, Eve was either driving or it was during the night. Villanelle's features were delicate, from the arch of her eyebrows to the length of her nose. The shape of Villanelle's lips reminded Eve of a cupid's bow.
"You ran out of your theories so you're analyzing my face?" Villanelle's grin could be heard. Eve's cheeks reddened and looked at the screen without saying anything.
"He has a lot of sexting partners." Villanelle scrunched her nose up as she read into some of them.
"Stop reading them."
"Some of them are really funny, do you want me to read one aloud?"
"No-" As if Villanelle would listen to her.
"This one's the best, listen, "I feel like the Vesuvius when you're near me, I could burst any moment, my-"
"Please don't finish this."
"throbbing-" Eve reached into Tangfastics and got out a handful to shove it into Villanelle's face.
"hard-" Eve's sugary hands sealed Villanelle's lips and saved herself from the rest of the sentence. The younger woman licked inside of Eve's sour and sweet hands and Eve let out a disgusted groan.
"You are such a child." And wiped her hands into her pants. Eve froze when she saw the reflection on the glass in front of her. Carolyn was standing behind them for god knows how long.
"CAROLYN! Hi, is there- is there anything we can help with?" Eve shouted out and Villanelle stiffened at the sound. The other woman spun her chair around to face Carolyn.
"There's no need to shout at me Eve, I'm two meters away from you." Carolyn closed her eyes and regained her posture. "Did you find any new information?"
"Besides from his-" Villanelle perked up but Eve quickly shut it down.
"Yes, we found Hélène's and Fat Panda's e-mails, we've collected them out and wrote down the needed information. We're going through his messages now." Carolyn hummed and let out a strained smile. A smile from Carolyn was not an everyday thing and seeing Carolyn pleased with them was a success to Eve.
"Excellent, thank you both. I'll leave you to it." And left them alone. They stared at the closed door before rolling back to the computer. Villanelle was silent for a while before she spoke up:
"Do you want to hear more of the se-"
"Please, I'm interested now." Eve admitted and listened to Villanelle describe the hilariously lewd comments before continuing their work.
Villanelle's Saturdays were always focused on herself. That was the day she went shopping for designer clothes, that's when she looked for decorations for her home, maybe have one-night stands. This Saturday was different, her focus on today was Eve, and the job she had of course, but mostly Eve. The more time she spent with Eve the more she grew close to the woman. It was that night in Eve's car when she realized she developed feelings for Eve.
"We make an astonishing team, I must admit. We got everything out of Jean's phone in a day, even Carolyn was surprised. If you weren't with the Translators of Twelve, I think she'd hire you as an MI6 agent." Eve was beaming with excitement.
"I'd accept it too. I thought your job would be… duller, but this came as a surprise."
"I told you, it's always fun when murders come along."
"Weirdo." Sing-songed Villanelle and the red light came on.
"You enjoyed it too." And Eve looked at Villanelle tenderly. Villanelle melted under her gaze and blinked slowly. An irritable driver behind them assaulted the honk when Eve failed to notice the change of the light and the moment was cut short. Alternative music played softly in the background. Eve's ears perked up at the lyrics:
"You've got this strange effect on me,
And I like it."
While Villanelle went through the realization of her feelings, Eve was dealing with her own. She never denied her attraction towards her neighbor, not even when Bill was joking around, not even when Elena asked what kind of sticker Villanelle left on the dossier. But that was mere attraction and curiosity. Something about Villanelle interested Eve, it was like a string pulling her towards the younger woman. During that car ride and hearing those lyrics while Villanelle hummed along, she finally realized. The longer she spent time with the woman, no matter how annoying she could be, the more she hated not being around her. Her feelings couldn't be denied anymore.
The rest of the drive remained in silence, both women were lost in their thoughts occupied by the realization. They were going through the same but neither of them knew, like gears inside of a machine, working on its own separately, yet doing it at the same time.
Eve parked her car and the music stopped. The loudness inside their heads was silenced by the quietness of the night. The street lamps lit up the inside of the dark car. They hesitated to get out of the car. Eve inhaled sharply and turned to Villanelle:
"Thank you for the help and the company." Eve cringed at herself at how awkward she made this sound.
"It was my pleasure." Villanelle murmured, her voice weak. She took that as an allowance to leave and got out of the car. Eve's brain clicked and climbed out of the seat as well. They stared at each other over the car and repeated last night. Villanelle leaned her back on her door and watched Eve do the same across the street. They could get used to this routine.
"What do you think would be the most romantic sticker for a person?" Villanelle said as she munched on the cake for Konstantin. His birthday eventually came as the week passed by. Villanelle's baking skills developed since her first try and took Eve's advice. It needed more icing. Konstantin eating three pieces of it was a sign that she managed to make it not only eatable but delicious.
"Sticker?" Konstantin's loud memorable laughter bubbled up from his chest and filled the room. "Not sure if that can be described as romantic."
"But imagine it is." Villanelle hurried him.
"What is she like?" Konstantin asked instead.
"Hey, answer my question first!"
"It depends on the person, so you have to answer me first." Konstantin pointed his chubby fingers at Villanelle and went back to finish his cake. Villanelle thought for a while. How does one describe Eve?
"She's like me."
"Insufferable?" Villanelle threw Konstantin a look that released his laughter once more.
"She is always grumpy in the mornings. She's not the best at parking but she has been paying attention to that. She is insanely smart, focused on her job, maybe in an unhealthy amount too, but it's her biggest passion. She is an asshole sometimes but in a nice way. She is stubborn and funny. She surprises me, there is still so much that I want to know about her. I could listen to her talk for hours, no matter how boring the subject is. She'd still fascinate me." Villanelle's heart started beating faster and faster as she got into more detail.
"I don't think I should be the one giving you direction then." Konstantin's loving eyes smiled along with his lips. He looked like a proud father at that moment.
"Thanks so much for the help." Villanelle rolled her shining eyes but smiled. Konstantin hugged Villanelle tightly. Villanelle melted into Konstantin's strong embrace and let her cheeks rest on his shoulder. Konstantin released her and put his hands on Villanelle's cheeks. Mute conversation passed between their eyes and Konstantin left.
"Should I get a sticker printing machine too?" Eve scrolled through her computer and asked Bill after Elena and Kenny left for a coffee break. Jean's case has hit a dead-end, for now, Fat Panda's coordinates remained unsolved and the investigation around his body was still ongoing. Their works fell into a slow rhythm, their days became dull. Except for Eve, her attention was directed at Villanelle.
"Is this about Villanelle again?" Eve knew Bill's smirk grew wider without even needing to look at him.
"You know it is…" Eve exhaled. She couldn't hide it from Bill, the man knew her too well.
"You've stopped complaining about the stickers. Is she still leaving them for you, or did she dump you?" Eve lifted her phone to show him her case and Bill snorted.
"Okay, so let me get this straight. She is still leaving you stickers and you like them now and you also want to give her stickers?" Bill squinted his eyes and leaned back on his chair.
"I don't know? Maybe? She has been leaving me these gifts every day and I never gave anything to her."
"You see them as gifts?"
"She said it herself." Bill pondered at Eve's idea. Eve chewed on her lips and lifted her fingers to her chin.
"Stickers are her thing. Give her something she'd like, something that's also you." Bill mysteriously answered.
"That helped nothing, Bill."
"I know." And went back to his desk. Eve left without answers, groaned and buried herself in her computer.
"Eve!" Villanelle ran out of her apartment when she saw Eve approach her car. As the weeks passed by the two women got used to each other's company so much so that when they missed one another for a day it felt odd. The day felt empty without the other. Three days have passed since working together and Villanelle left three stickers in various places.
One of them on the middle of Eve's wheel, a selfie of Villanelle so "You could always stare at my beautiful face, even when I'm not around you." as the younger woman put it.
Another one on Eve's door which read: "Highly confidential area, if you dare to enter do it with wine." And a smaller one next to the buzzer, a picture of a knife, reminding Eve of the way she chopped up the dark chocolate with Villanelle. The theme of the stickers went from silly jokes to shared memories; it became their shared secret.
"Hey! Why are you so cheery this morning?" Eve gave Villanelle a tender smile as the younger woman skipped to her.
"Why wouldn't I be when I can see you?" Another thing has changed between them and it was Villanelle's blatant flirting. It wasn't exactly a change in the character of the taller woman. It wasn't exactly flirting either it was just…Villanelle being honest. Eve laughed it off with her cheeks tinted red.
"Are you headed somewhere?" Villanelle asked the most obvious question. She was wearing yellow pants with a white shirt with black spots thanks to the sudden heat that day. Eve thought she looked like she walked out of a magazine.
"…to work?" Eve phrased it as a question not understanding the point of it.
"Can I tag along? I'm bored."
"Jean's case hasn't moved along so it's nothing exciting there-"
"You're there so it's exciting to me already." Villanelle's eyes were pleading. Eve couldn't say no, especially after that last sentence. She nodded at the door and Villanelle hopped inside with a grin.
"We've located Hélène's phone." Was the sentence that greeted them at the front door. Kenny in his boyish shorts stood in front of them holding his phone up.
"You said there was no development in the case." Villanelle whispered to Eve as they stared at the phone in Kenny's hand.
"There wasn't anything until now." And Eve took the phone. The last movement of the French woman was in Paris near the theatre.
"I should come here more often; it seems like I summon it." Villanelle bumped her hips into Eve's and smirked.
"Are you part of the research team too?" Kenny asked Villanelle.
"No, she isn't."
"Yes, I am, Eve, what are you even saying?" Villanelle rolled her eyes and started walking towards their office as if she has been working there for years. Kenny and Eve watched her leave when Kenny leaned closer to Eve and whispered:
"Is she part of-"
"No, she's just tagging along."
"Is there anything that needs to be translated?" Villanelle leaned over Eve's shoulder and stared at the screen.
"No, as I said, nothing new happened until now." Villanelle straightened up and started walking around the small space of Eve's desk.
"Do you want me to bring you some coffee?" Villanelle perked up again and looked down at Eve.
"No, thank you, I drank two cups in the mornings."
"That's unhealthy for you."
"You literally asked me if I wanted coffee two seconds earlier."
"I was being nice."
"You are bored here."
"No, I'm not."
"Yes, you are bored, and you're nagging me, get a chair and sit down next to me and stop walking, it's very irritating."
Villanelle groaned and walked out of the office. Bill, Elena, and Kenny sat in silence as the two of them bickered. Elena texted Bill saying, "they're acting like an old married couple, it's both disgusting and really sweet." and Bill snorted. Eve looked at the three with squinted eyes and left it like that.
Villanelle pulled the chair inside and dropped it next to Eve loudly. Villanelle sat down with a grimace and tightened her ponytail. She put her chin in her hand and leaned on the desk. She looked like a sulking teenager; it was hilarious to Eve.
"Hélène is moving." Kenny spoke up and Villanelle's face lit up. Villanelle was like a magnet in this department.
"I'll share the tracking with you all." And after a few hits on his keyboard, the map was on everyone's screen. Villanelle leaned closer and read the street names. Hélène's figure stopped moving in the middle of the street. Everyone held their breath and waited for her to continue. All of a sudden, the movement sped up.
"She's in a car." Villanelle and Eve said in unison. They watched the blue spot move as if it was an action movie. The dot stopped and Hélène left the car. She went towards a building and the spot disappeared.
"Damnit." Bill muttered.
"She's entered a space where it blocks the signal." Kenny tried connecting to her again but failed.
"That's suspicious, like supervillain style." Elena said and sipped her coffee.
Eve zoomed on the building and waited for it to load. Villanelle furrowed her brows and leaned even closer to the screen. The name popped up and Villanelle gasped:
"I've been here! This place had the best croissant in Paris, even though the place looked a bit eerie. I even have the owner's phone number, I asked her to call me whenever they made fresh croissants." And pulled out the phone number and held it out to Eve. Eve stared at Villanelle in amazement, her mouth hanging a bit open with a smile. The older woman not registering her movements due to her trance grabbed the back of Villanelle's head and planted a kiss on the younger's left cheek.
"You are fantastic." And sprung up from her seat and ran out of the office, to tell the news to Carolyn. Villanelle sat there dumbfounded, slouching, her whole face flaming from Eve's soft lips. Her ears buzzed, her eyes were wide, and her brain stopped working. Elena and Bill started snickering and Villanelle managed to turn her face at the three. Elena was hiding her laugh behind her hands, Kenny was grinning at his screen, and only Bill dared to look at Villanelle. His sleazy smile would have been enough to embarrass Villanelle, but he wagged her eyebrows and made the matters worse.
"What?" Villanelle harshly asked, trying to sound aggressive to brush off the teasing.
"Do you want to cool your face before Eve comes back and sees a tomato on your seat?" Bill's chuckling face was hit with a pen thrown by a very red, very smitten Villanelle.
Eve got back to the office and smiled at the sight of Villanelle chatting with the others. She looked so carefree as she told them about her trip to Paris, enlarging the absurd details of her 2-week long holiday.
"Then the same cat chased the woman down the street, the way as I taught it to do." Eve has heard the stories of her trips around Europe, and Paris was definitely her favorite. That city was Villanelle's most beloved one. She's been there three times, twice for work for 2 days and once, the one she was telling about, for herself. She went there two years ago and stayed in the city for three weeks. She became one with the atmosphere and turned into a Parisian. Her accent didn't make her pop out of the crowd, her extravagant and unique style made her one with the people. Even her occasional high-minded diction felt Parisian. When Villanelle told Eve the stories of her stay she could hear the longing in her voice.
Kenny noticed Eve and smiled at the woman in a way that Eve couldn't decipher. Villanelle saw Kenny's focus shifting and turned around with a large smile on her lips.
"Hey! What did Carolyn say?"
"She was impressed. She asked you to call the bakery up to check if the owner still works there." Villanelle gave Eve a thumbs up and walked to a quiet space and dialed the number. Eve stepped closer to the three and before she could even start speaking Elena loudly whispered:
"Are you two dating?"
"What? No, why did you think that?" Eve flustered at the question and glanced at Villanelle. She was out of earshot and was chatting with the lady on the phone already.
"You two act like a married couple and you literally smooched her cheek before you ran off to Carolyn. That girl had heart eyes." Elena told Eve in a hushed tone as if it was gossip. Eve glanced up at Kenny and Bill for support.
"Don't look at me, we all saw it happen." Bill held his hands up in surrender with a Cheshire cat smile painted on his face.
"What do you mean under…heart eyes?" Eve sheepishly asked Elena.
"She was staring after you with wide eyes, I thought she was going to suffer a heart attack first."
"She was super red too, like…abnormally red." Kenny joined in the conversation.
Eve glanced at Bill for the final statement and he said:
"She's head over heels, Eve, she cannot hide it."
Approaching footsteps closed the quiet conversation and Villanelle joined the rest of them.
"She said she closed the shop for a month due to a leak in her ceiling. She mentioned she has workers over the shop every day, they're even helping her refurnish it, thankfully, that place needed a facelift."
"She checks every day?" Eve asked, clearing her mind from the previous conversation.
"She said she went there a few days ago."
"Could the reason for the lack of signals be due to the refurbishment? They have to be doing something to that place to block it out." Kenny threw the idea in.
"We just have to see it for ourselves." All eyes fell on Bill when he said this.
"Should we ask Carolyn?" Elena looked at Kenny.
"Don't look at me because she's my mom."
"She's your mom?" Villanelle cried but got no answer. She was lost in her realization as the others planned.
"I'll go and ask Carolyn." Eve announced and left the room. The remaining four watched her go and silence entered, but not for long.
"Let's go back a bit…Carolyn's your mom?"
"I don't think a team will be needed to see that shop for yourselves. Two of you can suffice, you can choose someone to tag along." Carolyn took her glasses off and looked up at Eve.
"But you agree that we should go."
"Absolutely. You have the trace then go after it. Report back to me when you're finished." And put her glasses up as a sign to show Eve the conversation was closed.
Eve feeling satisfied started walking out but stopped. There it was. The Major Idea.
"One more thing, Carolyn…"
"Carolyn saying "she's considering it" is almost a yes, Eve." Elena patted Eve's shoulder and walked back to her desk. Villanelle glanced at the clock on the wall and exhaled.
"I'll have to get going soon, I have to translate for a sixteen-year-old Italian TikToker." And let out a disgusted groan.
"I thought you translated for important people?"
"Don't say that in front of him, he really thinks he's a big deal. Besides, I only said I translate for rich people, and the majority of them are idiots." Eve chuckled and offered Villanelle to walk her out.
"Are you sure you don't want me to drive you there?" Eve tried suggesting the lift once again.
"I'm sure, it's only a couple of blocks from here." Said Villanelle and faced the shorter woman. They didn't know how to part ways properly, so Eve said:
"Try not to strangle the teenager."
"I'll try my best."
Eve eventually figured out her gift to Villanelle. A CD made out of the songs they've listened to while they were in the car. Eve noticed Villanelle's delight whenever she turned her playlist on and hummed along the tunes. She planted another surprise inside of the case, the one she waited for Villanelle to see. Converting the songs to the CD was a quick procedure, Eve worked on the cover of it while it was uploading. She went home earlier to finish it that night, she wanted to give it to Villanelle the next morning, just before Villanelle could leave her sticker.
She printed out a picture of a lipstick with a blade inside of it with a black background. Villanelle once mentioned that if she had to choose a poster for her life, she'd use a lipstick that hid a blade because "that is both a fashion statement and would attract viewers. And I could overanalyze it with bullshit like "the outside may seem inviting but the more you dive deeper into it you'll see the twisted truth" kind of stuff, people would eat that up".
The CD was complete, and Eve removed it from her laptop. She pulled the cap off of the permanent marker and wrote: "Songs to listen to when you're not in the car with me" and signed it with the letter X, paying an homage to the sticker that decorated her mug. She slid her final surprise inside the case and shut it tightly. She held it out and stared at it with a large smile. She couldn't wait to see Villanelle's reaction. Her plan was to shove it under her door like a letter and look through the window like an observer. Just like Villanelle did in the early days with her stickers.
Villanelle arrived late at night; Eve sat in her window with a book inside her hands, a novel she couldn't focus on. She wanted to see Villanelle that night, she wanted to see her safely arrive. She knew nothing could happen to her but the thought of seeing Villanelle safe and sound in her apartment made her feel calm.
The younger woman hasn't calculated with the cold that night and rushed home with her arms wrapped around herself. She glanced up at Eve because she knew the older woman would be there, waiting for her. She saw Eve chuckle at the sight of the frozen woman and Villanelle flipped her off. That made Eve fall deeper into the laughter and Villanelle joined in. She entered her warm apartment and rushed to her window to look at Eve one last time that day.
Villanelle felt bold that day. She stared at her sticker and shook both from excitement and nervousness. She had no idea how Eve would react to it. Villanelle ran her fingers through her hair and exhaled sharply. God, she really had to do this somehow and not fail miserably. She put on a short-sleeved dress that day, the light green matching her funky earrings. She took extra time to get ready today, her mission has to succeed. Her hair was down, wavy at the end, the Sun made the golden part of her hair shine through. She hasn't opened her curtains yet; Eve didn't need to be spoiled by her sight.
Eve, while Villanelle braced herself, was freaking out. Seeing Villanelle's closed curtains made her confidence drop to zero. Was something going on? Was she still sleeping? Did she have someone over? No, she would've seen them arrive together. As quickly jealousy entered it left. Eve didn't want to waste another day since the gift had an expiration too. She took a deep breath and fiddled with her turtleneck. She threw on her leather jacket and stopped before her door.
"Now or never." Eve flung her door open and started walking towards Villanelle's door. The walk was short, only a few meters, but long enough to calm herself. She stood outside Villanelle's home and closed her eyes. With one last exhale she crouched down and slipped the CD inside. Quickly standing up she ran back to her house, took her shoes off, and ran to the window.
The minutes that have passed have been the longest of her life. The curtains never opened, she felt like staring at an empty wall. After a considerable amount of time, the front door opened at last. Villanelle in a pastel green dress stepped outside with a sticker in her hand. Eve's breath was caught in her throat as she watched her take gigantic steps towards her window. Her face was unreadable, stern, it showed no emotion. Eve opened her window when Villanelle approached her.
"Bring that book outside, now." Her low voice was commanding as she nodded at the novel on the windowsill. Eve frozen in fear stared at Villanelle. Did she miss her gift? Or she saw it and that's why she was acting like it? Eve grabbed the paperback and went to her door. She opened it and saw Villanelle standing before her.
"Come a bit closer." Her accent was stronger now. She held out her hand and waited for Eve to place the book inside it. Eve gently put it in her hands and Villanelle opened it. Her eyes scanned the pages of the crime novel as if she was searching for a paragraph. She stopped on one page and peeled the sticker off. She marked the book and shut it loudly. She held it out to Eve and said:
"Open it and read it aloud." Eve obeyed and searched for the page. The surface of the sticker made the page stand out. It was on page 143. The sticker was larger than her previous ones, it almost covered the whole page. It was a letter, a handwritten one, the letters were elegant and large. Eve started reading:
"Darling Eve,
As you're reading this your (super attractive, funny, and smart) neighbor will be standing in front of you trying to look confident as ever. If you'd look up (please don't, just keep reading) you'd see her looking at you in awe of your existence. She is trying to collect herself up after you've made her crumble with one simple look. Not true, it took one look and thousands of shared memories. When you reach the end of this letter please look up at the woman in front of you and allow her to kiss you.
Cue to looking up"
And Eve did. Her eyes were teary just like the Villanelle's. Eve's voice faltered when she reached the end. Villanelle's loving gaze was waiting for Eve's reaction as she leaned closer. The shorter woman broke the instructions of the letter in half and wrapped her arms around Villanelle's neck, holding the book tightly in her hand. Eve's lips collided with Villanelle's and sighed into the kiss. Villanelle's hands found Eve's face and cupped it, pulling Eve deeper into the kiss. The taller woman broke the kiss apart and looked into Eve's eyes, processing the fact that Eve felt the same. They broke into a smile and their lips met over and over again until their breaths ran out. The taste of coffee met with strawberry chapstick, teeth knocked, and noses dug deep into cheeks.
"Have you got the CD?" Eve choked out after leaving Villanelle's soft lips.
"Yes." Villanelle breathed out dreamily. "And the tickets too." Villanelle cheerfully giggled at the happenings.
"You should thank Konstantin for that, the only way Carolyn allowed you to come with me to Paris is if you worked with us on this case as part of the team."
"Does that mean I'll be an MI6 agent too?" Villanelle's eyes were like stars.
"Only for this case." Eve never wanted to look at the sky again when Villanelle's eyes were there. "But who knows, if you want to you could stick around."
"The office is too small for another desk; we'll have to share." Villanelle gasped as she imagined the future.
"I'm sure we could manage to fit another desk inside."
"And where would I place my sticker printing machine?" Villanelle put her pointing finger under her chin and looked away as she played interior designer.
"Why would you need it there?" Eve laughed at Villanelle's excitement
"Your coworkers might be jealous of me only leaving you those gifts."
"Let them be. It's our thing." Eve brought Villanelle's face closer and let their eyes flutter shut as closed the distance between them. If someone would have told Eve that a bunch of absurd stickers would be the ones that showed the way to love a month ago, she would have just laughed. Life is surreal. Paris popped up inside her head as she melted into Villanelle's embrace. Eve broke the kiss suddenly and with wide eyes and a stern look said:
"Please don't tell me you are thinking of bringing the printer machine to Paris."
"Of course not, I'm not an idiot, Eve." Villanelle rolled her eyes at the stupid idea.
"I'll print them out beforehand, you don't have to worry about that." And gave Eve a peck on her cheek.
"Hunting down people who might or might not be connected to a murder and more stickers? Paris will be full of surprises."
