Chapter Text
Sombra woke up on her back, sleepy eyes blinking towards the ceiling of Amélie’s apartment. The day before was a shitshow. Well, sort of. It worked out like Amélie said it would. The clearest indicator being that Sombra was still alive. The whole ordeal with Maximilien and his unsettling doubles didn’t sit well with her. Sombra could see a little on why Amélie hated him. The guy radiated creepy.
Warm lips mumbled something into Sombra’s shoulder. Amélie shifted in her sleep, pulling Sombra closer to her.
Sombra grinned. After the shitshow was a completely different story. Amélie showed Sombra how grateful she was for all of Sombra’s help. She learned just how generous Amélie could be. Learned it so well that her thank-yous came out as a breathless uttering of Amélie’s name. Again and again.
Starvation was the only thing persuading Sombra to get out of bed. That and she would have pissed herself if she still refused to leave. Trying her best to not move Amélie much, Sombra managed to shimmy her way out of bed. She couldn’t help the grin that took over her face when Amélie moved to curl up in the spot she was in.
The first thing she did when she got into the bathroom was gawk at the gross eye gunk stuck on her lashes. Forgot to take out her contacts. Sombra turned right back around and nabbed her spare pair of glasses from the mess of clothes on the floor and ran back into the bathroom. Unable to hold it in anymore, Sombra decided to multitask, taking out her contacts as she sat on the toilet.
Relieved and eye gunk free, Sombra hopped in the shower. She came out of the steaming bathroom with foggy glasses and a towel around her neck to catch any stray droplets that shook out of her hair. Not wanting to wake Amélie up, Sombra raided Amélie’s dresser in the dark. She found a white button-down shirt. A little big but comfortable enough.
Sombra closed the bedroom door quietly behind her. She got to the kitchen and made a beeline for the fridge. The first thing that grabbed her attention was the sheer emptiness. A huge fridge with only a carton of eggs, some milk that was going to expire in two weeks, and butter. Out of curiosity, Sombra opened the freezer. Packed full. Bread, meat, vegetables, containers of sauce, and even fruit. They were all separated by portions in freezer bags.
“Must not come here much.” Admittedly, the whole idea was smart. Amélie didn’t have to worry about her food going bad. If not for the fact that Sombra had two people regularly eating her food, she would have taken notes.
The shower sounded in the background. Sombra wasn’t sure if Amélie wanted to make something when she got out so she decided to find something to stave off her hunger in the meantime. Sombra shut the freezer door and went to explore through the cabinets. Amélie had to have something quick to eat.
Cookies. Sugar wafers, chocolate chip, marshmallow, fudge, shortbread, fruit-filled, and cream filled. It was like Amélie went down the snack food aisle and dragged an armful of the shelf into her cart. God that was so damn cute. Sombra grabbed a package of fudge cookies and went back to the fridge to pour herself a glass of milk.
Sombra settled by the counter, leaning against it as she dunked her cookie into the milk. She got about two bites into her cookie when she felt a pair of hands settle on her waist. Warm breath tickled her ear.
“You really are cute with the glasses on.” Amélie reached forward and grabbed a cookie over Sombra’s shoulder. She backed away, biting away at her cookie as she went to search the fridge.
Sombra moved her spot on against the counter until she could get a clear view of Amélie. The only three things in the fridge had been taken out, along with some seasoning she couldn’t quite see. Shrugging her shoulders, Sombra downed the rest of her milk and closed the cookie package. She would find out what seasoning it was soon enough.
“Did you check your email?”
Honestly, Sombra didn’t even know where her phone was. “Nope.”
Amélie smirked. “You should.” She cracked a couple of eggs into a bowl and didn’t make anymore mentions about it.
Curiosity got the best of Sombra. She slid out of the kitchen and basically sprinted back to Amélie’s room to search for her phone. It had found a home on a book on the other side of the room. Must have flown out of her pants when they were tossed blindly in the dark.
Clicking straight into her work email, Sombra noticed the unread message marked as URGENT. A quick read had her biting back a smile. Apparently, a valued member of Talon was found dead on the side of the road last night. Police reports suggested it was an attempted carjacking that ended violently. A bullet retrieved from the scene matched the same type used in a series of cases that were older and still under investigation. The rest of the email basically warned people to take more precautions in their duties.
They were off the hook.
Excitement shook throughout Sombra’s skin. They fucking got away with it.
Sombra walked back to the kitchen in a blissful haze. She finally sat down on a stool by the counter with a giant smile smeared across her face. A steaming bowl of the fanciest scrambled eggs Sombra had ever seen appeared in front of her. Amélie stood on the other side of the counter, her grin matching Sombra’s.
“They don’t know it was us.”
Amélie nodded, trying and failing to contain her laughter. “His brothers probably miss him.”
“Brothers?”
Taking a bite out of her food, Amélie managed to school her face before replying. “Clone 1 and clone 2.”
Sombra was mid-chew when Amélie said that. She tried desperately to keep her food down but all she managed to do was choke on both her food and her laugh. “Fuck Amélie, I’m trying to eat, not die.”
A smirk. “I bet that’s what our dear friend was trying to do too.”
Sombra put her fork down and covered her face. If Amélie was going to keep that up, there was no point in eating. “So damn ruthless.” Of course, she loved all of it. The way Amélie radiated happiness. Even if it revolved around some guy Sombra killed last night. “You know how attractive that is?”
“I can guess.” Amélie’s fingers fiddled with the collar of Sombra’s shirt. Well, the one she borrowed.
Sombra dropped her hands and noticed how Amélie’s eyes stayed glued to the shirt. “I just found something quick to put on.”
Amélie nodded to show that she was listening but other than that, she continued her little examination in silence. A light touch ran down the length of the buttons until Amélie’s hand hit the counter. She let go and went back to eating. “You can keep it.”
By the way Amélie’s eyes kept flitting back to the shirt as she ate, Sombra had her doubts about the offer. “You sure?”
“It’s not mine.”
A fling. An ex. The possibilities were endless. The only conclusion Sombra could make was that Amélie didn’t care for the memories associated with the piece of clothing. Which, that was a win in Sombra’s book. She liked the shirt. “Terrible ex?”
Amélie shook her head and smiled into her eggs. Her eyes watered, eyelashes barely doing their job at keeping the tears at bay. “No.”
Quick fingers were already at the buttons, undoing each one in a blur of motion. “Like hell I’m keeping it if you’re going to cry over it.” Shaking hands stopped her from continuing.
“I accidentally packed it. Force of habit. Please, keep it. I have ten others just like it.”
Ten others just like it. Sombra let go of the next button in her grip as ice streamed through her blood. She knew exactly what that meant. It made the case against Maximilien that much clearer. Amélie lost someone she loved. And it was Maximilien’s fault. “I… I can’t. You have ten more but you won’t have this one.”
Amélie smiled. “Please, keep it just in case.”
In case of what? “What do you mean?”
Amélie stared down at the floor and sighed. She went back to smiling moments later, steady fingers buttoning the shirt again. “Just in case.”
Far from an answer. Sombra grabbed Amélie’s hands and waited for Amélie to look at her. “Okay. I’ll keep it, just in case.” She stumbled forward, feeling a tear splash against her cheek and trembling lips capturing her own.
-
As soon as they got back to base, Sombra sped her way to her room where she dumped her clothes from last night and changed into her workout gear. Everything was exactly as she left it. The half-full cup of water she had forgotten about was still on her dresser. One drawer was left slightly agape from when she thought she closed it but never did. Even the way her pillow was only half covered with the pillowcase she slept with stayed the same. Except for the fact that her sheets were pulled tight, something she never did. Sombra sighed and rolled her eyes before leaving. She’d have to take care of that problem later.
“I know, I know-“
“You’re late-”
“I was literally about to say that.” The doors shut closed behind Sombra. She walked onto the mats, trying not to laugh at Gabriel’s displeased expression.
“What’s the excuse this time?”
“Oh, you know. The usual. Scared shitless that some fucker I didn’t know pointed a gun at me. Amélie was so kind as to help me forget about that.”
Gabriel furrowed his eyebrows.
“We had sex, Gabe.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t need to hea-”
“A lot of sex.”
“Okay, I get-”
“Kept me up all night to the point where I’m ready to forgive the creepy clone guy for wanting to shoot me.” Sombra balled her hand into a fist and closed her eyes. She was being dramatic. But that was the point. “I feel so fucking good Gabe.”
“Stop. Just stop.”
“You sure? I can keep going.”
“Positive.”
Sombra grinned. “What’s new for today?”
“Come at me.”
“That’s it?”
“We’ll play it by ear. All you have to do is knock me over.”
Sombra crossed her arms. That was obviously a trap. “You know that’s not gonna happen anytime soon.”
Gabriel shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not.”
An hour. A whole hour of Gabriel side-stepping most of Sombra’s advances or putting up a shit ton of resistance. Each failed attempt came with its own debriefing. A detail description of what happened and what Sombra did wrong.
Sombra was pissed. A whole hour and she didn’t get to knock him over once. And now he was calling it quits for the day.
“Next time maybe.”
Amélie came walking through the doors. Sombra noticed Gabriel stopped to look her way. A chance.
“Uh-huh. Next time.” On her way towards Amélie, Sombra brushed past Gabriel and gave him a hard kick to the back of the knee. She heard a big weight drop to the mats. Laughing, she jogged the rest of the way towards Amélie and grabbed her hand.
Sombra looked behind to see Gabriel glaring daggers her way. She lifted her linked hand and grinned. “Same time tomorrow Gabe.”
Out in the hallway towards the shooting range, Sombra half expected Amélie to drop her hand. They weren’t exactly dating, despite what happened last night and that morning. The surprise came when Amélie held on.
Amélie never once let go of Sombra’s hand. Not even when Sombra stopped in front of the shooting range and covered her eyes with her free hand, embarrassed that she forgot her gun, again. She only shrugged and led them back to Sombra’s room to get it, saying that there was no rush. When they got to the shooting range, again, that’s when Amélie finally let go.
“I just want you to keep shooting,” said Amélie.
“That’s it?”
“Get used to shooting and reloading. Like you’ve been doing it your whole life. No hesitation, even if you miss.”
“What, shoot first, ask questions later?” Sombra was joking but the serious look on Amélie’s face subdued the urge to laugh.
“I want you to be safe.”
That was sweet. Checking her gun, Sombra grinned to herself and said as much. From the corner of her eye, Sombra saw the instant blush on Amélie’s face. She finally got to laugh when Amélie told her to, “just shoot.”
-
Showered and exhausted, Sombra groaned to herself when she plopped down on her bed. She still had one more thing to do before she could take a nap. Sombra grabbed a fistful of her sheets and tore them off the bed. Lifting the mattress, she frowned. Nothing. Yet. Determined fingers ran over every inch of the mattress until they found a small incision. She dug into it and pulled out a curious little thing. Sombra sighed again. They fucking bugged her room.
“This is gonna take hours.” She crushed the little transmitter in two and tossed it in her small waste bin.
It really did take hours.
Sombra had thoroughly trashed her room, checking every single nook and cranny. She found a bug in her light fixture, one of her drawers, in her damn pillow, beneath her dresser, and even in a spot drilled into the wall hidden by a fake plant she put in her room for atmosphere.
Despite finding so many bugs, Sombra still wasn’t sure she had gotten them all. She didn’t have the equipment needed to find out.
A knock on the door distracted Sombra from her pissed off bug hunt. Amélie came in after Sombra said the door was open.
Amélie looked around the room with confusion. She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, closing the door with the tip of her shoe. “What’s going on?”
“Bug problem.” Sombra held up her latest find from her spot on the floor.
Amélie made an ‘oh’ noise and kept quiet, visibly wracking her brain for something else to say. Or maybe she was trying to work up some courage, judging by the quiet whispering Sombra couldn’t hear.
“I know you like dates.”
A pleasant surprise. “I do.” Sombra grinned, already liking where this conversation was going.
“So,” Amélie rubbed at the back of her neck, nervousness taking over, “…do you?”
She couldn’t help it. Sombra really couldn’t keep herself from laughing. “I already told you that I do.”
“You know what I meant to say.” Amélie had her face covered, keenly aware of her fuck-up.
Sombra played it dumb. “No,” another laugh, “I really don’t.”
“Sombra,” Amélie pinched the bridge of her nose, “do you want to go on a date? With me.” The last part was tacked on like it wasn’t obvious to begin with.
The effort was more than enough to stop the laughter. Sombra found it incredibly endearing that Amélie was putting in that much effort despite how nervous she appeared. “I’d love to.” Her answer alone was enough. Just to see that complete change in demeanor. The way Amélie’s face lit up.
Amélie cleared her throat. “Is tonight okay?”
A smirk. “You mean right now?”
To her credit, Amélie didn’t even try to cover up her intentions. “Yes.”
Getting up from the floor, Sombra went to her dresser and rummaged around for something better to wear. She was currently in her matching cat-print sleep set. The bug problem kept her from taking the nap she wanted. “I just need a minute to get decent.”
Amélie nodded, keeping quiet. She stayed put in her spot by the door and kept busy by messing with her own hands. Too cute.
After Sombra changed clothes, they went outside and walked past Amélie’s bike.
“We walking there?”
“I was thinking we could walk around to find a place for dinner. I mean, if you hadn’t eaten yet.”
A total 180 from their last date. Granted, Sombra had basically demanded a good time in exchange for her commitment to a life-threatening plan. Amélie hadn’t seemed thrilled at the prospect of it but she ended up having a good time. Now? Now that Amélie wanted to go on a date? She was the cutest nervous wreck.
“You just don’t know where to eat.”
Amélie smiled. “I really don’t.”
“There’s a place down the street I like.”
Visible relief flooded Amélie’s face. “It already sounds better than what I had planned.”
When they got to the restaurant, Amélie was disappointed that all the tables were filled. That should have been it. Except that Amélie went back inside and tried to persuade the host to find them a table. The situation escalated when yelling got thrown into the mix.
Sombra stood amused off to the side of Amélie, watching Amélie and the host exchanging a fast-paced argument in Spanish. It got to the point where Amélie suddenly stopped speaking. They really could have gone somewhere else but Sombra was invested in the outcome.
Amélie had taken out her wallet and started pulling out big bills. “Llévanos a nuestra mesa.” She folded the giant wad of cash and put it in the man’s front jacket pocket.
Five minutes later a couple of teenagers were yelling at the host instead, complaining that they weren’t ready to leave yet. The man waved them off and invited Amélie and Sombra inside. He sat them down at a hastily cleaned table and handed them menus. He left with their drink orders.
“Bribery huh? Didn’t think you were the type.”
“You said you liked this place.”
Sombra laughed. “I do, I do. I’m flattered that you’d bribe that guy for me.” Sombra shrugged. “It would have been funny though if you got us kicked out.”
Amélie smiled. “Do you want me to try?”
“Maybe after the food.”
Their drinks came quickly, a bottle of wine split between them. Their server left again with their food order. Amélie grabbed her chair and moved it to sit beside Sombra. Leaning in close she spoke while gesturing to the big table on the other side of the room.
“What do think about them?”
Sombra took a sip of her wine, putting the glass down delicately. “International assassins.”
“The whole family?”
“Yes, down to the baby even.” That had Amélie laughing.
“I was thinking that maybe they didn’t pay their taxes.”
“Oh, they totally don’t pay taxes. Cause they’re international assassins.”
Amélie laughed again. “But they don’t look the type.”
Sombra faced Amélie with a grin. “And what do assassins look like?”
“They,” Amélie rolled her eyes when Sombra mentioned that she didn’t look like an assassin, “the baby at least can’t be an assassin.”
“No problem. She’s the heiress to the assassin family empire. So, she will be an assassin.”
“And what if she wants to be an accountant instead?”
Sombra raised her eyebrows. “So, I’m trying to run the assassin angle here and you’re trying to tell me she’s got a boring accounting job.”
“She will have a boring accounting job. Still a baby.”
Sombra reached for another sip of her drink and tipped her glass over, hurriedly reaching for it before it could spill. It didn’t work out as planned. She caught the glass but ended up tossing the wine onto the floor with the momentum from her quick reflexes. “Shit.” Sombra grabbed her cloth napkin and tossed it over the wine, wiping it up with her foot as their waiter approached with their food.
The waiter looked down at his shoes after setting their plates down. He lifted one foot and slowly wiped away the wine he stepped in on the napkin Sombra threw on the floor. He bent down and picked up the napkin, taking the time to wipe up the rest of the mess.
Sombra watched the waiter leave and waited. She laughed as soon as he was out of sight. “I don’t think I could look that man in the eye anymore.”
Amélie leaned over with a devious spark in her eyes. “Careful, he might be an assassin.”
“Guess I’ll have to shoot him later.” Sombra patted a spot covered by her shirt.
“You brought it?”
“Yeah, you said to keep it on me.”
For whatever reason, Amélie was immensely pleased with Sombra’s reply. There was no wiping the grin that spread across her lips. Even throughout the meal, it never faltered. That was until Sombra brought up Maximilien.
“I know I probably should save this for when we’re not on a date but I really have to know, what’s the deal with Maximilien? Why’s he so fucking creepy?”
Amélie pushed her plate aside as a frown formed. “He’s obsessed with me. He’ll even brag about it too, that I’m his perfect weapon.”
The explanation started off a thousand degrees of shady. “He’s got a thing for you?”
Amélie shook her head. “I don’t think it’s that. At least, he’s never come on to me. I think it’s more of a control type thing,” she shrugged, “which is just as bad.”
“So, what, you’re his favorite assassin?”
Amélie nodded. “He’ll give me anything I want, so long as I keep killing for him.”
The stupid plan Amélie came up with suddenly made a lot of sense. “And you…”
“I told him I wanted you.”
Sombra pushed away her plate as well and rested her chin on her hand. She leaned in closer to Amélie, keenly aware of how Amélie stiffened. “And do you?”
“Do I what?” Amélie played the same game Sombra started earlier.
Sombra wasn’t afraid to ask. “Do you want me?”
Amélie bit her bottom lip. She studied their empty wine bottle with fake interest. “I wouldn’t mind seeing where this goes.”
For now, that was all Sombra needed to know. “Then let’s get out of here.”
They left the restaurant in a hurry, dropping a pile of cash on the table on their way out.