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It was raining outside, it had rained for days. People were scurrying around on the street outside with their umbrellas close to their heads. 3 days had passed since they stood on that bridge. 3 days since they decided to not walk away, to walk back and into a new life. Eve and Villanelle were settling into ‘cold turkey mode’ in Eve’s apartment at the moment. The 12 were still a threat and therefore they couldn’t do much except wait for news from MI6. Even though the longing stares and heated sense of yearning in the air kept them high on their toes the days turned out to be long. They made up for it by laying close to each other, almost sometimes in a soft embrace while watching movies; which Villanelle so long had longed to do. Sometimes, just sometimes a hand would reach out to the other and curl around it gently and like ripples on water eager temptation would crash upon them. But something was yanking at their hearts, luring them to the sombre corners of their feelings’ dwellings; feelings they didn’t know how to act upon.
In those desireful moments, Eve wished she would have run and kissed her, just lightly on the lips and ran her fingers through her silken hair as they met each other's gaze. Oh, to be back again on that bridge and see how Villanelle’s eyes would crinkle in the light of the city around them. There and then she would move her fingers along her skin, carefully observing how Villanelle would react to her touch. Maybe she would have uttered those words she held so deep inside. She cursed her wasted opportunity each time Villanelle would walk into the room and her skin would be naked of her touch.
Villanelle was dreaming each night about Eve. She wondered if Eve looked at her the way Villanelle looked at Eve. Her laugh echoed inside her and every touch made her skin burn with ravenous craving. When she was with Eve it was as if perfection was possible, as if her body formed a thousand butterflies, as if the blooming of spring had possessed her very soul and kissed her once dormant lust for love alive. Why didn’t she kiss her on the bridge?
Villanelle sat outside by the stairs and felt restless. Since they were stuck in between some problems (mainly the twelve) they had to go kind of incognito for a while. Which meant stay at home and do not leave. She was happy though, this meant she was with Eve again. But it also meant endless hours not having anything assigned to do. It was a bit of a rough situation, you see. If it hadn’t been for the rain they could have at least bought some pastries and devoured them on the roof, she thought. When all this was over she was going to take Eve to somewhere sunny AND dry. Eve’s presence was intoxicating; every time she was near, her thoughts swirled in thrill. She held back. For Eve. For the sake of their current state.
As she sat there with her phone, scrolling through the news to see if she could find anything, just anything new, a loud clattering was heard from beside her 10 metres away. There lay a rather destroyed pot on the ground and just a few metres away from that an orange cat stood frightened at the mess it had accomplished. It shook its front paw to get rid of some rainwater and noticed Villanelle. The cat stood staring at her with the cutest round green eyes. She immediately put her phone away and started making soft kissing noises to lure the cat to her. The cat’s tail shot up and it trotted over to her and let out a happy rolling meow.
“Hi, little one!” She let the cat come up to her hand which she had offered and it was a bit tentative at first, sniffing her fingers. She tried petting its head but the cat flinched away. It seemed to accept Villanelle after the second try and decided to bump its head into her hand and purred softly. She took a closer look at the cat and noticed that it was scrawny and had what looked like a scar on its nose bridge. She wondered if it was a stray, perhaps, and a thought struck her mind.
“Are you trying to be cute after that messy entrance?” She said and reached out to it again and experimentally tried scratching it on different areas of its head to see if it liked it. The cat, of course, loved it. Villanelle started looking for a collar or a tag or maybe even a code in its ear. Maybe the cat belonged to someone in the house it came from? She couldn’t find anything though, making her think it was (sadly) yet another stray. She stopped petting it and looked at it with a stern expression. Meanwhile, the cat just sat there and cleaned itself; content in Villanelle’s presence. She pondered for a bit, then decided. Oh, Eve’s gonna love this.
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Inside the apartment Eve texted Carolyn, they talked about the current state with the twelve. Not much information was given, only that ‘they were working on it’. Eve sighed and walked over to the window. She looked down to the street and saw Villanelle, her heart sped up a bit, she wasn’t yet used to seeing her this much. She adored it though, it made her feel alive again. She could see Villanelle was holding something, something orange. Eve tried squinting her eyes to see more clearly through the thick layer of raindrops but it was all a blur. She hoped that Villanelle was on her way back in, she missed hearing her voice.
As she moments later sat in the kitchen humming on a song while working on her computer the door opened and she could hear Villanelle say something, almost whispering.
“Hey, find anything fun out there? Not much happened here if you don’t count the amazing leftover coffee from yesterday that I drank!”
“Eve, I have a surprise for you!” Villanelle’s shoes could be heard hitting the floor as she walked over to Eve in the kitchen. The view she was greeted by was Villanelle with a very confused cat in her arms.
“What the hell is that?” Eve said deadpanned. The cat was a bit uncertain of Eve and clung to Villanelle.
“What?” Villanelle shrugged it off as if nothing was out of the ordinary. “It’s a cat I found.”
The cat tried escaping Villanelle’s arms so she let it down. She caught the cat before it could run off though. Eve just stared and sighed loudly.
“I leave you one minute and you come back with an animal. Of course you do.”
“It’s gonna be fun, I promise.” She sat crouched with the cat trapped in her grip; desperately trying to hinder it from running away. It meowed and looked up at Villanelle. Eve observed it and crossed her arms, making her seem very serious to Villanelle.
“It doesn’t look very fun right now.” She scoffed. Villanelle frowned at Eve.
“I don’t want her running around chewing on anything left on the floor. Or you know I could always let her eat your leftovers on the counter?” She teased back.
“I actually threw those away, thank you very much. And I think it’s pretty safe to let her go if you want, you know, no scratch marks on you?” Villanelle sensed the jokingly mocking tone, she loved this Eve. Straight-forward and lighthearted, she wanted this forever. She let the cat go and it immediately started exploring, first Eve.
“She reminds me of my old cat actually, she used to pee in my bed, the little shit.” She said the last words with a bit of grudge, but in a way, it was more like loving spitefulness of something you missed dearly.
“You had a cat?” Eve asked, quite baffled and gaping at Villanelle with a confused expression. Villanelle was only a blank slate sometimes for her, she couldn’t believe this woman once probably scooped cat litter.
“Yes, Eve. Didn’t I tell you?” Villanelle replied blankly, furrowing her brows at Eve. “Her name was Kis-Kis.” She gleefully exclaimed, meanwhile scratching under the chin of the cat in her arms. The small animal had really settled in, nuzzling Villanelle’s hands almost frenetically as she petted it. Eve stared at them both, taking in the very alien view of a loudly purring cat and a high-class assassin snuggling and talking to it like a baby.
“Kis-Kis, what a name.” Eve huffed. “Didn’t know you were a cat person either. But you know what? It does make sense.” She continued and flashed a small smile.
Eve had thought about it before; she had wondered if Villanelle was a cat or dog person; if they would have asked that on a first date? Did she want a pet and what was her favourite animal when she was young? The kind of questions she had deep in the night when all she wanted to do was to talk to her; Villanelle.
The blonde assassin let go of her gaze on the cat and looked up at Eve with a soft look on her face.
“It’s a type of candy from Russia. It was my favourite when I was little. It probably tastes like shit today though.”
“Villanelle, naming a cat after her favourite candy, that’s not something you hear every day.” Eve chuckled and smiled at the other woman who shone up for just a second.
“There’s a lot of things you don’t know, Eve.” Villanelle scoffed at Eve with a playful look on her face. Eve wondered what more she hid between those ‘cool assassin‘-layers of hers.
“I suppose so.”
Villanelle then petted the cat on the back and reached under it and brought it up into her arms; so it faced Eve. She held the cat with one of her hands holding its body and the other its feet. The very content cat closed its eyes and Villanelle looked up at Eve with a cheerful look on her face. Her sudden sense of protection over the cat surprised Eve, so much in fact that she stood there and wondered if Kis-Kis was someone she held close when she was young. She took a step forward; now just the cat between them. It stretched its paws a little as Eve looked up at Villanelle.
“She seems to like you.”
”Well, hopefully she likes you too. You should try holding her.” Villanelle couldn’t hide her curiosity, she wanted to know how Eve would handle this surprise. She took hold of the cat under its small front legs and presented the orange feline in front of Eve who turned stiff. Eve gave Villanelle a look of doubt.
“Are you serious?”
“Of course.” Villanelle answered mischievously, “Here!”
“Nononono! I am not.. good with cats Villanelle.” She protested while walking back a little, staring at the cheerful blonde with slight concern.
“Eve,” Villanelle was serious, “Take her. Now.” She pushed the cat into Eve’s terrified embrace bc and let go, leaving a sleepy cat with a woman who stared into Villanelle’s eyes as if she was just given a bloody decapitated head.
“Oh god, okay.” The cat was a limp form in her arms. She held it, with both her hands pressed against it, and the cat’s feet dangling under and its front paws kneading on her chest. Its eyes were locked with Eve’s.
“Ow! it’s digging at my chest, stop that.” Villanelle let out a small laugh and smiled brightly but Eve didn’t notice it. The assassin just observed Eve and the cat; taking in the lovely view in front of her.
She didn’t want to admit it to herself but Eve made her light up inside like no one else. Hell, she felt comfortable enough to talk about Kis-Kis, it was even surprising to herself. Eve, Eve, Eve. I want you here beside me, a voice whispered inside. Villanelle noticed Eve was beginning to tense up a lot.
“Eve, just stay calm, okay?”
“Yeah, no shit! I’m trying.” Villanelle was slightly surprised at Eve’s snapback.
The cat purred so loudly and Eve felt the vibrations in her chest, she slowly petted it to see what would happen. The cat pushed its head into Eve, dragged its chin against her and let out a faint half-purring meow making Eve’s features go soft.
“Okay I’ll admit that was very cute but I’ll let you down now.” Eve said as she fumbled and let go of the cat which gracefully landed on its feet and then stretched a bit. With tail high up the orange cat tiptoed over to Villanelle who had slumped down in Eve’s bed behind her.
Villanelle met the cat with some chin scratches and hunched over to coddle it even more.
“Eve was a bit hard on you, don’t you think?”
“Villanelle we need to find its owner or leave it at an animal shelter, we- I can not have a cat here.” She fidgeted a bit with her fingers and held back a beam when she witnessed the delightful sight of Villanelle and the fluffy cat which had now slumped down on its side on the floor, stomach up.
“Oh no, Eve’s gonna send you to the cat prison!” Villanelle exclaimed in a cheeky tone.
“It’s for the best, I hope you’re not consider- oh of course you are, who am I kidding?”
Villanelle shot up her eyebrows a little, a mischievous glimmer forming in her eyes, thoughts were churning in her mind. Eve noticed this and sighed, mumbling ‘oh god’ to herself.
“Are you seriously gonna keep a cat here?”
“Don’t make it sound so tragic.” Villanelle stopped scratching the cat, it walked away to explore. Villanelle got up and walked over to Eve, tenderly reaching out for her hand. Eve was almost taken aback in surprise at the other woman’s sudden approach but she welcomed it, leaning into Villanelle’s soft touch.
“What should we call her? Any favourite candy, Eve?”
“We don’t even know if it’s someone else’s cat! Or if it’s sick? Has worms? Or something else I really don't wanna deal with at the moment.” Eve let go of Villanelle’s hand and gave her a serious look; she wasn’t playing any of her games. Not today.
“I promise you this cat is as homeless as me, Eve.” The cat in question sat in the bed cleaning itself absurdly adorable in the face. It looked up at them both and sprawled out on its back begging for pets. Eve held back a smile and focused on Villanelle again.
“I’m still not the biggest fan of this idea, you know? You do realise we have to get everything? Food, litt-”
“Don’t worry about that, I will take care of it.” She moved her other hand up and caressed Eve’s cheek gently, feeling Eve quiver for just a short moment. Eve was awestruck; in trance staring into Villanelle’s eyes which brought her so much comfort. She didn’t even wanna admit it herself, how deep she had succumbed to the assassin’s siren song.
“What is it?” Eve let out softly in response to the curled hand on her rosy cheek.
“You truly are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, do you know that?” Villanelle let go of her hold of Eve and turned around with a teasing smile not letting go of her eye contact for just a bit and strode away to the kitchen leaving Eve taking in a deep breath and holding back just running to the other woman and pinning her down the bed and in a frenzy and kissing her all over her body.
“Villanelle?”
“Yeah?”
“We can keep her, BUT I will check to see if anyone’s missing a cat in the neighbourhood, okay?”
“Whatever you say, boss!” She exclaimed with a slight flirtatious tone, making Eve’s heart bloom up a bit. Villanelle was making a cup of coffee, even though it was 8 pm. Somehow it made her more sleepy than energised.
The cat on the bed started meowing and Eve went up to it and held out a hand as a greeting. The cat answered it by nuzzling its cheek against her hand and then plopping down on the bed on its side kneading the air in full force. Eve let out an almost ‘aw’ and proceeded to scratch it on its head.
“I always used to love pepero when I was little. Have you tried them? We should buy it.”
Villanelle listened to Eve. Every word. And each word made a light inside her glow just a little more. She smirked and sank into Eve’s voice, realising just how at home she felt.
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The two women went to the store which was about to close and bought the necessary stuff: litter, dry food, wet food (Villanelle sneaked a can of expensive wet food in the cart), a cat toy and some form of litter box.
They had left the newly named Pepero at home with some water hoping DESPERATELY that she hadn’t peed anywhere or clawed a hole in a wall. Villanelle comforted Eve though, saying that if she had clawed at something it probably would be the doormat. How much comfort that brought Eve can be debated.
On the way home they had talked and joked about some things and at one moment they were almost in each other’s embrace, hands on each other’s upper bodies. They could feel their hands just one fabric away, heating the skin below. Laughing and meeting each other’s gaze with burning longing eyes. The moment passed, like many others. But they both blissfully swam in its short visit for the rest of the walk home.
As Eve turned the key in the door she feared the worst. Her home was gonna smell like a 3 alleyway by a bar street. Or worse: look like one. As fast as she opened the door she and Villanelle hurried inside so the cat couldn’t escape. But the door closed and she was only greeted by the cat meowing and walking in circles tail up. It greeted them both by head bumping into their legs softly. “Hello again!” Eve said in a high tone, she didn’t mean for it to be so high but the cat had her under its spell with its huge round eyes.
“Did you just say hi to the cat? Well, Eve, didn’t take you for a cat person.”
“Oh stop it.” She huffed back. Villanelle only smiled.
They hung up their coats and moved to the bedroom. Villanelle still had her yellow one hanging here, but as to not be recognisable she had to borrow one of Eve’s. She loved having her scent all around her in it but she wasn’t very fond of the style, however. Even though she loved seeing Eve in it, of course.
As Eve plopped down on the bed, tired, she could hear Villanelle trying to lure the cat to her. Eve closed her eyes, she sank into her mind and one thought led to another and she was thinking about Villanelle’s expression before she shot her in Rome; her whole world collapsing around her. Now we are here. With a fucking cat, like a married couple. She blushed thinking about Villanelle kissing her on an altar. She imagined what it would feel like to brush her thumb along her cheek, gently cupping her face and then brushing her lips against her soft lips. Her thoughts were interrupted a moment later when she felt something land beside her. Pepero was sniffing at her face and she opened her eyes to see a wet nose and whiskers.
“Villanelle, wh-“
“I just petted her for like 10 minutes meanwhile you had a power nap. Now it’s your turn.”
“I did not - and also why are we taking turns petting the cat?” She sat up and moved aside some curls from her face. She moved her hands to Pepero and petted her along the back, she purred and sat down.
“Because she won’t stop wanting to be petted, look.” Villanelle sat beside the two of them and offered a hand which the cat almost leaned against. It fell on its side and slowly blinked, looking very cosy in between them.
“She must have had a family before.” Eve said in a sentimental tone and petted the cat on its side, Pepero’s fur was soft but scrawny. She actually liked the little creature. But she wouldn’t yet give Villanelle the satisfaction of hearing that. That would be a gift for later.
“You know cats often choose their family, not the other way around.”
“Yeah, I've heard that before.” She lay down again and turned to face Pepero and Villanelle, eyes full of wonder and comfort looking at the younger woman in front of her. She knew it was madness loving her, but the sheer foolishness of it made it so perfect. It didn’t happen overnight, it blossomed more each day, where it once was a single flower, a garden now grew and she was the sunshine that made it live on. And there she fell. Every time she fell asleep and every time she woke up. Villanelle lay down facing Eve now with Pepero purring and kneading between them.
“Do you know what this reminds me of?” She said and smiled wickedly at Eve.
“What?” The other woman replied right away, knowing the answer already.
“When you stabbed me.” She traced her hand to where the knife had pierced through her. Eve cringed a bit.
Villanelle still remembers the sensation and her surprise; she felt alive again. Something was set on fire and she wanted more. And every time she saw her again, that fire roared more violently each time. She was her only thought and memory, and she wanted to explore every inch of the world with her hand in hers.
“I didn’t-” She stopped, thinking about what to say. “I don’t know what went through my mind.” Oh, she knew perfectly well what, though.
“You surprised me, you know? Eve, you’re so special and you don’t even see it yourself.” She reached out her hand to Pepero, where Eve’s hand was also resting on the cat. Villanelle’s breathing felt as if it was caught in her throat for a second, she looked at Eve’s hand and let her pinky finger gently touch it. The other woman closed her eyes for a second as a warm feeling in her chest rose.
“I feel different when I’m with you, like… nothing I’ve ever felt before.” Eve formed the words slowly.
They both felt their heartbeats speed up, pounding each second with tremendous force making both their breathing hitch a little. It was overwhelming, but nevertheless a beautiful feeling.
“Do you really see me in your future?”
“Yes. It’s true what I said.”
“I think about what you said on that bridge all the time.”
Pepero lay in between them comfortably, both women petted her and their hands moved closer until they gently intertwined. Pepero purred again. They both locked eyes with each other, mesmerised by the moment’s tenderness. Villanelle smiled with a glimmer in her eyes while Eve let out a soft chuckle. Time lost meaning, every second locked away in infinity. With her.
“I want you here with me always, don’t leave me, Eve.” Villanelle’s voice was small, Eve looked at her with concern.
“Why would I?” She let go of her hand from Villanelle and reached out to her face, tucking some hair behind her ear and then cupping her right cheek while gently rubbing her thumb along it. She smiled with such love in her eyes at Villanelle. The blonde woman leaned into the touch and inched closer trying not to rid Eve’s warm hand from her cheek. She reached out to her too, she wanted with every fibre in her to touch that beautiful skin of hers; sense her heartbeat in rhythm with her. Two souls bloomed at once, intertwining forever, untouchable by time.
If I told you I loved you, would you believe me?
If you told me I love you, I would say it back.
Their foreheads touched. With Pepero still in between them, sleeping, with her head kind of twisted upside down in a funny position. They both let out a small laugh together at the view of her then faced each other, now barely centimetres from each other. Villanelle could feel every breath of Eve’s and Eve could feel every heartbeat of Villanelle.
“Can I-”
“Yes.”
Villanelle gently met Eve’s lips, her full lush lips. The softness of them made her realise
sunshine could be found on lips, too. She was gentle, moving slowly so she didn’t rush it, she wanted it to last until she was one with her. She could feel Eve tenderly move her lips along hers. She tasted Eve’s whole essence, she had wondered for so long what sensation would unfold in a moment like this. But now she knew, oh, she knew, nothing could compare to it.
Eve had dreamt of this. As soon as Villanelle had moved in to kiss her she met her lips with a smirk on her lips. She felt their lips touch and Villanelle’s gentle touch made her body vibrate with desire she had not known before. She returned the kiss with small, but desireful advances and could feel the other woman shiver with excitement under her spell. She had kissed many before, but she only fell into this kiss in a way that felt like falling into a myriad of stars, consumed by heavenly light and all earthly delights.
She fell.
They fell.
And they never wanted to return.
The kiss ended and they held each other close, Villanelle laying on Eve’s shoulder with closed eyes. Eve found Villanelle’s hand and took it. The warm hand fit perfectly in hers. She smiled.
“I hope we can do that again sometime.” Villanelle said and felt Eve chuckle under her.
“Many more times.” Eve responded.
They both lay silent, feeling the rush from before slowly shift to a blissful, quiet moment. Pepero got up and lay down on Eve’s stomach. Eve just let her make her way up and she felt the paws move around until at last she could feel Pepero settle down. The orange cat had turned herself into a round ball of fur, with her head tucked in her tail. Villanelle moved closer, letting her arm relax on top of Eve; hugging both her and Pepero.