Eva looked at him, mildly outraged. What're you doing?!

Polnareff rubbed the back of his neck. "What the hell is wrong with me tonight?! Mon dieu, this is so unlike me."

Eva couldn't believe this guy. Here she was minding her own business, and next thing she knew, he was bursting through her door. On top of that, the force of the doorknob hitting her lower back was causing so much pain. Clearly, this just wasn't her night. As he led her over to sit on the bed, confusion ran through her mind. Just what was it that he wanted? She went along with it, sitting beside him. Easing her tucked, periwinkle shirt up, his touch on her bare skin made Eva blush.

"It's awfully red." he stated. Frowning, he wrapped both of his hands around her dainty one, lifting it up as if he was about to kiss her knuckles. "I am so, so sorry."

Eva turned her head and looked at him, noting the way he held her hand. His palms were very warm, soothing almost. Pulling her hand away slowly from his, she signed.

Did you need something?

Her gestures caught him by surprise. He stammered, not sure how to ask her what she was signing to him. Eva faintly smiled and shook her head. What a funny guy. In a way, despite his clumsiness, she did find him a little charming.

"Well, he said, standing up, "it's late and you're probably tired, so I'll just –"

Eva took Polnareff's hand, stopping him as he started on his way out of the room. She didn't know how to feel about being alone there. The castle was already a little unsettling, what with the butler's strange demeanor and the aura that place was putting off. Besides, there had to be some special reason he came to see her. If only there was a way they could communicate. Come to think of it, there actually was!

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He could tell by the look in her eyes, she was begging him to stay. But why? Eva rose up from sitting and stood in front of him, looking as though she had a bright idea just then. This confused him, even more so when she held up his hand and folded all of his fingers, except his pinky, over. Polnareff held it up, arching a brow at it.

"Uhhh, what exactly are we doing?"

Eva made the same sign with her hand, extending only her pinky upright. Watching him shoot bewildered looks at one another's hands made her giggle. He didn't get it. What was the point of this? Spelunking through Gael's coat pockets, she pulled out a pen and small notebook he carried around. She'd felt the marker in the pocket earlier, and decided she'd just leave it be. Until now that is. Gael probably wouldn't mind anyway.

Eva held his hand and eased into a cross-legged position on the floor, Polnareff doing the same. Just as she had watched him write notes to her when they first met, he was the one leaning forward to get a view at what she was writing this time. Funny how that happens. Eva held up the notepad and pointed to it with her pen.

In bold, black ink, Polnareff read the letter I followed by the drawn hand signal below it – the same hand signal he was just making. He took a breath, now fully understanding what she was trying to do.

"Ohhh! You're teaching me hand signals."

Eva folded all her fingers in, extending her pinky to make the letter I .

He mimicked her, excited because this meant he wouldn't have such a hard time speaking with her as much anymore. Finally! If it meant talking to her without communication barriers, then he was eager to learn all he could.

"I…" he said. "...now what?"

Then she made things a little more tricky. She signed the letter I, then another letter, followed by several more. Polnareff watched, feeling his brain turn to mush. "Sorry, I didn't catch that." he said, shrugging.

Eva held up the notepad, hiding her face behind it as she giggled.

"Hey, are you messing with me?!" he teased, finding her humor adorable.

For the past few hours, they sat around signing the alphabet to each other.. Polnareff was bound and determined to memorize everything Eva was demonstrating to him, everything she was willing to teach. He'd committed a few vowels as well as a few consonants to memory, hoping he wouldn't forget what they were. No doubt he'd have to take time out of his day to practice, but it wasn't like he was doing anything else either. He had plenty of time, he kept telling himself. Nothing but time. Going over the study guide she wrote down, there was one thing he desperately wanted to tell Eva; the words he was trying to tell her ever since they'd arrived at the hotel.

It was his turn to sign something back to her, an actual sentence he'd have to spell out letter by letter. Narrowing his eyes at the notepad in one hand, Polnareff spelled out the words, speaking them as he gestured to her.

"I…am…sorry…for hurting…you."

Eva stared at his hand with her inner brows upturned. There was a look in her eyes that made him think she was going to well up with tears, but she never did. Instead, Eva smiled at him, her heart melting.

"Are…you…okay?" he spoke out loud while signing simultaneously.

Eva gestured back in response. I am. Thank you.

Unfortunately, he was a little slow at catching on to what she was saying, but her smile reassured him that it was something good. And like that, the burden of accidentally hurting her twice was a little lighter. But he wasn't finished yet. That gorgeous smile was tainted by that injured tooth, and that didn't sit right with him in the slightest. Yes, it would heal, obviously. He knew that, but still.

Overcome by the urge to look at it once more, Polnareff crawled towards Eva and sat mere inches in front of her. He went to talk orally, but caught himself. This signing experience was going to take some getting used to.

"Uh, hold on." He reached back for the notepad and furrowed his brows, going over the letters and their signals. "Can…I see…your…tooth?"

Eva threw a hand over her mouth and leaned away, not wanting to take the risk of aggravating it further.

"I promise…I…won't…hurt you."

Still, she hesitated.

Polnareff eased forward, gently taking her hand and pulling it away from her face. With his other hand, he tilted her chin, turning her face in his direction. Their gaze met. A euphoria washed over him, igniting a fire in his chest. It was true that he had met many beautiful women before, many of them with the same purple eyes even, but the attraction he felt wasn't solely just because of Eva's appearance, but her personality. He was still grateful to her for taking care of him after his resurrection. Eva seemed, to him, to be a kind-hearted person; someone who would devote their time to providing the utmost love and care. Something he valued deeply in a woman.

Polnareff whispered aloud, not thinking about it in the heat of the moment. "Tu es si belle."

Eva watched his mouth move. What?

He was supposed to be looking over her tooth, he kept reminding himself. That thought clashed with the intoxicating infatuation burning inside of him – clashing, then losing the battle. All he wanted to do was kiss her. He could look at her tooth later. What were his priorities again?

Polnareff's eyes shifted to Eva's pink, heart-shaped lips as he leaned closer on all fours, the fire in his chest exploding into full-on passion. Eva trembled and her eyes shot wide open as he slowly planted a long, soft kiss on her lips. In the many years she lived in Tal Hoffnung, no one had ever kissed her. No one. All at once, Eva was riddled with bemusement and ecstasy. But gradually, each time Polnareff parted his lips from hers, his kisses just kept returning with more passion. The fingers on his left hand entwined with hers. With every kiss, Eva's pleasure ousted her confusion, staving it off. Her wide open eyes slowly closed, and in that moment she was his. All his.

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God he wanted her. Fiercely. He couldn't remember the last time he kissed a girl like this. One thing's for sure: he didn't want to stop when it came to Eva. He moved over beside her, skin touching skin, as they sat with their bodies against the stone wall and kissed fervently. Polnareff's hand caressed her face, trailing over her bosom, then her stomach, and finally between her legs. Breathing into her nose, she let out a soft moan. Oh, fuck yes. That shit was music to his ears. He could feel his lowers growing more firm by the second, until he just couldn't take it anymore.

Shooting up to a sitting position on his knees, he went to unfasten the wide, black studded belt around his waist. He thought her reaction would be somewhere along the lines of aroused, or sensual, but Eva expressed neither. The poor woman was confused. So, so confused. His hands hesitated, nearly finished unfastening the belt, when he glanced up and saw her looking down. Her knees were drawn up to her chest.

"Eva?" She was shaking, turning her gaze away from him as he came closer. "What's wrong?" he signed, whispering.

Catching a glimpse of his gestures, she raised her hands and signed back, still keeping her gaze lowered. I am scared.

Polnareff looked at her, stunned. Hadn't she ever been with a man before? It's like she had no idea what was going on. Then it dawned on him. He gave her a knowing look, feeling slightly embarrassed. Now it made sense – Eva was still a virgin. But of course she was. She'd lived the most secluded life in the valley, never speaking to anyone in the small community except for Merlin. What a lonely life that must've been. Having no real friends other than her surrogate father made Polnareff feel so badly for her, because now he was starting to realize something he completely missed in the beginning – he was the first real friend she had made. With that in mind, Polnareff wanted to handle their moment of intimacy far more delicately. If he hurt her, he'd have a hard time forgiving himself.

Taking her in his embrace, she smiled faintly and leaned her head against him. He couldn't screw this up. He just couldn't. Red tinted her cheeks as he kissed her knuckles affectionately. Taking him by surprise, Eva looked up and anxiously returned the loving gesture with a kiss on his chin. She was so cute. Polnareff's thumb ghosted against her chin, and redirected her lips to his.

"Don't be scared," he whispered against them, "I'll be gentle."

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She didn't know what he was saying, but she liked how it felt. Many times their lips parted and reconnected deeply, until Eva's worries were all but gone. Her trust was in his hands. Their naked bodies entangled one another that night, offering the only source of warmth in that dark, cold room. Faintly glowing candlelight from the sconces dimly pierced the shadows around the stone walls and crimson tapestries. Eva melted beneath Polnareff, overwhelmed by how enraptured his hard muscle made her feel. Her legs quivered long after he climaxed. The connection she began to feel for him earlier that evening had grown considerably in such a short time, and Eva wouldn't have it any other way. It was clear in the moment Polnareff kissed her, and pleasured her immensely, that she knew without a doubt she wanted to be with him. Now and forever.

Polnareff tenderly played with her hair as she slept soundly with her head on his shoulder dreaming, like she always did, about beautiful places. Places she'd been to many times, but changed destination as she began to explore.

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"She's so innocent." he said, caressing her face. "I'm willing to bet people will try to take advantage of her inability to hear. If anyone so much as makes one wrong move toward Eva, I'll skewer them."

Skewer them. It's as if Silver Chariot was still with him the way he said it. Then he recalled something. According to Merlin, Evanescence had the power to give the resurrected back what they were born with, including stands. Which was interesting. Going by that logic, it must've meant that Evanescence gave Chariot back to him. Still, Polnareff's uncertainty weighed on his mind. Oh, well. One way to find out would be in the case that someone was causing Eva potential harm. There wouldn't be a single shred of doubt lingering in his thoughts then, because he'd gladly test out Chariot's return on some asshole dumb enough to cross the line. And like hell he'd let them, regardless if he had Chariot or not.

Eva was precious. Naïve, but very precious to him just the same. Just lying there beside her made him feel a love like he'd never felt before. Oddly enough, it was similar to how he felt about Maléna, but somehow different – somehow more. Almost as if he was fated to love her. Not that he was complaining. But in the same sense that Eva was afraid due to it being her first time, Polnareff was afraid because being in a committed relationship was new. Sure, he liked other girls in the past; he was especially smitten by Maléna, but their encounter was so short-lived and never had the chance to really take off. By now, she was probably already in a committed relationship with another man. Good for her. She deserved to be happy, and as far away from the dangers of stand users as possible.

In Eva's case, a distinction between her and Maléna was pretty transparent – Eva had a stand. So, she had maybe a faint idea about the dangers of attracting others. Maybe. Which means she had the capability to defend herself. And then he conflated the two women. Both were beautiful, kind souls that needed to be protected. Well, that's quite the contradiction. Eva was no coward, she could certainly stand her ground when need be, but in the case of Mephistopheles, it was the opposite. She'd been helpless. At some point she would probably attract more assholes just like him, and put her right back in that same position again. In that regard, yes. She needed protection. His.