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Eve was not in the mood to appreciate any of the nice, small things about this morning.
Not the crisp, fresh air that surrounded her. Not the clear blue sky nor the hint of sun that was already present. Not the birds chirping or the quiet roads.
Basically, peace reigned and she was blind to it.
Thanks to hideous and uncalled for sabotage from her alarm (or thanks to hitting snooze and dozing back off for a while - the more likely option), her morning had kicked off with a panicked rush around her apartment. The first clean clothes available had been yanked on, a piece of chewing gum had been thrown in as a substitute for brushing her teeth and she'd only just remembered to pick up her bag on her way out the front door. All over an extra half hour of shut-eye.
Truly not the best start to the day.
The whole ordeal had put her in a fairly foul mood, one which only showed improvement once she actually had the bus stop in her sights. In fact, she could even be described as feeling tentatively positive. Not quite positive enough to appreciate the birds or anything, but enough to give herself an internal high-five for making it on time. The small gathering of people she could make out at the other end of the street told her she had about five minutes before her ride arrived. Perfect.
Eve 1 - 0 Oversleeping. Take that.
Walking at a calmer pace now, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the passenger window of a parked car and jesus christ was that really her hair? Eyes wide, she doubled back and paused to assess the situation. Not that she cared much about her appearance at the best of times, but still. Roadkill wasn't the general vibe she wanted to give off.
No dried drool, no random red marks from her pillow; nothing but a bit of sleep in the corner of one eye, which was promptly knocked away. Overall, not too shabby. Passable as human, if nothing else. Pleased, she ran a hand through her hair a couple of times to tame the mess and was about to move on when the window started rolling down.
Fuck.
Startled and with her fight or flight response seemingly broken, she stood and watched with horror as the window opened fully and revealed a woman sat in the drivers seat.
A shockingly attractive woman. Because of course.
She was blonde, with skin that looked way too smooth to be real and hazel eyes that practically sparkled with amusement as they peered out at Eve.
"As funny as that was, it was also completely unnecessary. You look really pretty."
Great. There just had to be an accent too, because apparently Eve didn't have enough on her plate already. It was Russian and gentle and made the compliment pack a lot more of a punch than it normally would have.
"Thank you?" She managed, voice cracking due to the fact it hadn't been used since the night before. Or maybe due to the universe really having it out for her. Both were equally plausible. She cleared her throat and tried again. "I'm, uh, gonna go now. Catch my bus."
She raised a hand in a painfully awkward little wave and made to turn away, but the woman spoke again and goddamn it, that accent could keep her rooted to the spot all day.
"Would that be the bus that just pulled away?"
Eve's head whipped round in time to see the big red vehicle disappearing up the road. "Fuck! What the fuck? How did I not see it?! I was right fucking here!" Exasperated, she threw her head back and gave a deep sigh, the kind that comes when one is completely and utterly done. Maybe giving up on the day right off the bat and calling in sick to work would have been the best course of action. Better than this, anyway.
A snigger from the car in front of her brought her back to the moment and only served to enrage her further. Damn this stranger. Damn her being in her car when she wasn't supposed to be and damn her opening her mouth to be nothing but distracting and damn-
"I could give you a ride, if you want."
Oh. "I don't even know you. You could be a serial killer or a kidnapper or...something."
The woman grinned, showing perfectly straight, white teeth. "I could be. Would it help if I promised to not kill or kidnap you?"
"No." Eve replied seriously, though the corner of her mouth twitched slightly afterwards. Maybe it was the way the woman's grin grew wider at that response, maybe it was the fact she had no other option if she actually wanted to get to work, maybe it was something else entirely. For whatever reason, she found herself reaching for the car door handle. "But fuck it, I'm almost beyond caring at this point."
"That's the spirit!"
In mild disbelief at what she was doing, she pulled the door open once she heard it unlock and slipped into the seat, placing her bag on the floor between her feet.
"I'm Villanelle, by the way."
Villanelle. The name fit, suited her in a way that was hard to describe. "That sounds...French. But you sound Russian?"
"How observant." Villanelle quipped. "Where do you need to get to?"
"Oh, right, shit." Eve cursed. Had she really forgotten about her crisis that quickly? "MI5, or as close as possible without going out of your way. You need an address?" She asked, fastening her seatbelt.
"Mm, no, I know the place." Villanelle replied casually as she reached for the ignition key and turned it, bringing the engine to life. "You did not tell me your name."
"Eve."
"Eve." Villanelle repeated, smiling as she pulled into the road and set off. "So, Eve, do you make a habit of checking yourself out in people's windows?"
Eve felt heat begin to build in her cheeks, worsening as the moment replayed in her head. As far as mortifying things go, it wasn't one of the worst to ever happen to her. It was, however, bad enough and there was absolutely no way of playing it off as something else. "Fuck off. I overslept and never got chance to make myself presentable before I left."
"Oh, so now you are not presentable? Wow." Villanelle glanced over at her, a cheeky smirk tugging at her lips before she returned her attention to the road. "I might not survive running into you on a good day, then."
Eve swallowed, mouth suddenly dry and cheeks still way too warm. "Do you make a habit of luring strangers into your car and shamelessly flirting with them?"
"No, you are my first." Villanelle stated, bringing the car to a halt at a traffic light. "And I did not lure you. The flirting, however...guilty as charged."
She flashed Eve another grin and even threw in a wink for good measure, playing up the whole 'shameless' accusation. Eve rolled her eyes in response, hoping that acting unbothered would somehow make it true because it was borderline embarrassing, the way she was drawn to this woman. How charmed she was by her confidence and the easy manner in which she spoke.
"Well luckily for you, my job deals with worse offences. I'll let you off."
"Kind as well as hot. Thank you, god." Villanelle stage-whispered, joining her hands over the steering wheel as if in prayer.
"You're unbearable. I should've chosen a different window." Eve muttered, but she couldn't help smiling when Villanelle laughed at the comment.
"Sorry, sorry, I will stop now." Villanelle assured as she moved back into gear, the light now green. "So, you work for MI5? Sounds like you are important."
"I'm really not."
"Way to ruin it."
Eve chuckled. "Sorry, I'm just not taken very seriously a lot of the time."
Villanelle's face scrunched up in disgust at that information and, eager to skip past how cute it was because it really shouldn't have been, Eve decided to flip the script. "Where do you work?"
"Here and there. I go where I am told."
"Well that's vague as hell."
"I enjoy a little mystery, don't you?"
"I prefer having answers, since I spend most of my time searching for them."
Villanelle chuckled to herself. "Then let's just say I am a contractor, of sorts."
"That raises more questions than it answers."
"That is my brand."
Unsure what to make of that and determined to not stare at Villanelle's unfairly beautiful side profile, Eve settled for peering out the window instead. The place was coming to life around them; shops opening and people going about their own daily routines. Wondering about those people, however, wasn't nearly as interesting as wondering about Villanelle. Especially since their time was limited. "Are you in London for long?"
"Nope, I am leaving tonight. I finished my job here."
"Where are you going?"
"That is a mystery, Eve." Villanelle replied in an infuriatingly playful sing-song, causing Eve to roll her eyes so far back that fear of not being able to retrieve them was close. "Do you like movies?"
"Duh, who doesn't?"
"What is your favourite?"
"Uhh...let's see...I'm gonna cheat and say all of Lord Of The Rings."
"What?!" Villanelle looked personally offended as she steered them round a roundabout, even turning and giving Eve a full view of the extent of her offence for a second once they were on straight road again. "That is the most boring thing you could have answered."
"Hey! They're awesome. Classics!" Eve replied defensively.
"I saw ten minutes of one once and was almost bored into a coma."
"What's your favourite, then? Or is that a mystery too?" A mocking tone accompanied the second question, making Villanelle bite her lip to contain a laugh.
"My favourite is a true cinematic masterpiece: Shrek 2."
The snort that left Eve might have been embarrassing if she hadn't been laughing too hard to care. "You-" More laughter, her face now buried in her hands as she tried to stop it. "Oh my god, that's great."
"Why is it funny?"
Eve inhaled slowly, getting a grip on herself and holding in the fresh wave of laughter that was threatening to erupt. "You literally hated on one of the most important trilogies ever created then chose...an ogre fairytale. It was unexpected."
"It shows my incredible taste."
"Okay, it is a great movie. I'll give you that." Eve conceded because really, you'd have to be a monster to think otherwise. "Didn't fall victim to the bad sequel thing."
Villanelle smirked smugly, taking another turn. "There might be hope for you yet, Eve."
"Oh, shut up. I bet you're the kind of person who talks all over movies anyways."
"And I bet you are the kind of person who falls asleep during them."
"I...okay, yeah, I do. Sometimes."
Another smug look crossed Villanelle's face and shit, it was both annoying and...endearing, in a strange way. Eve couldn't remember the last time she had had such a sudden connection with another person, if at all. The casual banter and comfortable lapses of silence between them made it easy to forget they were technically strangers - brought to mind the whole 'people clicking' thing that is so often spoken about but so rarely experienced.
Like most good things, though, it was due its end all too soon.
"You can just drop me here if you like." Eve offered when they were about a block away from her destination. "I can walk the rest."
"Psh, no! My taxi service goes all the way."
"How dare I suggest otherwise."
"Pretty audacious, but I will forgive you."
Moments later, the easily recognisable building came into view and Eve was caught off guard by the tiny pang in her chest, forcing her to acknowledge the fact that she didn't want the journey to be over. Villanelle, whoever she was and wherever she'd come from, had been the most exciting thing to happen to her in a depressingly long time. Talking to her, being flirted with by her...it had felt good. Surprisingly so.
"We have arrived, madame." Villanelle declared dramatically, pulling up to the curb a few feet from the front entrance then turning to give another disarming smile.
Eve returned it instantly. "Thank you so much, you're a lifesaver. Can I, uh, give you some money?" She asked, reaching down for her bag and stopping abruptly when she felt fingers on her wrist.
"There is no need. Your company was enough payment."
Eve swallowed, hating how her heart rate had sped up ever so slightly at the minimal contact. How, how was this random woman having so much of an effect on her? Was she really that damn bored? Was Villanelle really that attractive?
The answer, whether she liked it or not, was yes. On both counts.
She was hyper-aware of Villanelle's touch lingering for a couple of seconds and then all too soon it was gone and she was able to find her voice again. "Does that line ever work?" She asked jokingly as she unfastened her seatbelt.
"Not sure, I was waiting for someone really, really hot to try it out on."
"Hmm, it could use improvement."
"Ouch, harsh! You should go before you break my heart."
Laughing, Eve opened the car door and stepped out onto the pavement, bag in hand and a pressing thought in her head. It couldn't hurt to try before she left, right? It wasn't as if the signals she'd been receiving had been in any way subtle.
Emboldened by the very same 'fuck it' attitude that had made her get into the car in the first place, she turned back to the car and crouched slightly to look at Villanelle. "Can I get your number before I go? For, uh, whenever you happen to be in London. Contracting and stuff."
A pleased smirk spread across Villanelle's face. "Oh, Eve, you do not need it. I am sure we will see each other again."
"Wha-" Eve was cut off by the sound of the engine starting up again. "What does that mean?"
"Trust me. Can you close the door?"
Too thrown off and confused to argue, Eve did just that, stepping back and staring in disbelief as Villanelle shot a cheeky wink in her direction before driving off.
What. The. Fuck.
----------
Eve was still baffled when she got to the conference room and took her seat, mumbling a few quick greetings on her way. It hadn't been a rejection, but what in the actual hell did it mean? How could Villanelle be sure of something like that? It made no goddamn sense, and things not making sense annoyed her.
Whatever, back to actual important things. She forced herself to push the matter out of her mind and focus on Carolyn, who was making her way around the table placing files in front of everyone.
"We have a rather pressing issue to discuss." The taller woman was saying. "It has recently escalated enough for my superiors to allow an investigation, so please." She gestured at the files that had just been handed out, inviting everyone to take a look.
Eve opened hers enthusiastically, her interest already piqued and her brain more than ready to be taken over by something other than glinting eyes and accented words. Perhaps it wasn't going to be the long, boring day in the office she had expected.
Her eyes skimmed over the first page, colour draining from her face so slowly she could almost feel it happening as random words and phrases jumped out at her.
International assassin.
So far untraceable.
Flair for the dramatic.
Villanelle.
The accompanying mugshot was a far cry from the person she had seen not fifteen minutes earlier, but unmistakable nonetheless.
An uneasy feeling settled in her gut and it was a good thing she'd never gotten around to breakfast, because she would likely be seeing it again.
It was the feeling of being well and truly fucked.