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Eva’s going to kill him.
They’d talked about this one. She’d thought they’d even been making progress. They’d agreed on a plan, where they each needed to be, when they’d need to be there, and Eva had felt like she was finally an active part of things, instead of just staying in the hotel and waiting for him to get back.
They’d agreed they’d do it tomorrow. Except, when she woke this morning, he hadn’t been there. There had been a note left on the bedside table, at least, but all it had said was Back tonight. Eva had read it once, then again just in case there had been any kind of hidden message (there hadn’t), then crumpled it in her hand.
Now she’s pacing the length of the room, because it’s beginning to get dark outside and Diabolik - because he still won’t tell her his name , even after a year - isn’t back yet, and when he does get back she’s going to kill him.
And if he’s gotten himself caught again, then maybe she won’t help him this time. He wouldn’t deserve it. She’s starting to wonder why she’d even bothered in the first place.
It’s almost midnight by the time the window slides open and Diabolik climbs through, mask still on, bag full of whatever he’d stolen slung over his shoulder. He closes the window, turns, and startles when he sees her there. “Eva. I didn’t think you’d…”
“You didn’t think I’d what ?” she interrupts.
“I didn’t think you’d still be awake.”
Eva laughs at the sheer ridiculousness of it. “So what, you waited to come back until you thought I’d be asleep? How long, hm? Did you think if I woke up in the morning and found you here after you vanished without telling me that I’d be too relieved to be angry?”
He doesn’t say anything.
“We made a plan. And you decided to go off on your own without telling me. Why?”
“Only one person was needed for this job, and it could have been dangerous with two. It was more efficient if I went alone.” He’s always so calm, and now is no different. Sometimes it’s reassuring, sometimes even endearing, and now it’s just infuriating her even more.
Eva folds her arms. “And you didn’t think to tell me about this?”
Diabolik sets down the bag with a thud and begins to walk towards the bedroom. “Not now, Eva,” he says, which is possibly the worst thing he could have said right now. Eva isn’t having any of it. She grabs his arm as he walks past.
“Yes, now,” she says. “You don’t just get to walk away from me like that. It’s been almost a year, and still you don’t trust me enough to work with you properly. What happened to ‘I’m not alone’, hm? You have to learn to trust me at some point.”
“I trusted you enough for this,” he says, pulling his arm away sharply. “What more do you want?”
“I want you to stop expecting me to sit around and wait for you as if I can’t do anything else. I know you like to act like you don’t need anyone, but if it weren’t for me, you’d be dead. I’m not helpless, and I want you to stop treating me like I am.”
“I don’t,” Diabolik says, and his expression is so cold, so indifferent.
Eva draws back her hand sharply, like she’s been burned. “You don’t what?”
“I don’t need anyone,” he says, flatly. “I was fine alone for years. I didn’t need anyone then, and I don’t need you now.”
Eva stares at him for a moment, speechless. He doesn’t blink.
“Fine,” she says. She turns on her heel, and walks away.
The first emotion she manages to get out of him all evening is the look of shock on his face she catches a glimpse of as she closes the hotel room door behind her.
Eva goes to the roof - it’s too risky to walk the streets, even this late at night, without a mask. She may be angry, but she’s not an idiot, and she’s not going to get caught by the police over an argument.
She perches on the edge, overlooking the city, her legs dangling off the ledge. She’ll wait here for a little while - if he wants to apologise, he’ll come after her. She’s not chasing after him again, not tonight.
She loves him, or at least part of her does, but she’s getting tired of this. She hadn’t expected to be trusted immediately with everything, but. It’s been a year, and still all she ever gets to do is be lookout, if that.
The rooftop hatch opens with a creak (it’s one of the reasons she’d chosen this spot: she’ll know immediately if anyone else comes up here. She’s not completely clueless) and Diabolik climbs through. He’s wearing a mask, but she knows it’s him. Who else would it be?
She turns back to the city and listens to his footsteps as he walks over and lowers himself down to sit beside her. He pulls off the mask.
“You could have gone to the police,” he says after a while.
“I could have,” Eva says. She doesn’t look at him. “If I had wanted to.”
“You didn’t.”
“I didn’t.”
Neither of them says anything for a while, until finally Diabolik sighs. “I don’t want you to leave, Eva.”
“I find that difficult to believe,” Eva says, just a little bit viciously, because she’s still angry with him. She still refuses to look at him.
“I know,” he says, which surprises her. “I don’t… I don’t know how to work with other people. I have been by myself for so long that I don’t know how to be any other way.”
“Is that supposed to make it better?” Eva asks.
“No. But I want you to know that I do want you here, and I do trust you. I have never willingly let anyone else see my face before.”
Eva knows that. They’ve talked about it before. “Why?” she asks.
“What?”
“Why did you do that? I could have told the police who you were then. I could have lied about Giorgio to lead you into a trap. You trusted me anyway.”
He’s quiet for a moment. Then, “I don’t know. I took a risk.”
“You never take risks,” she says.
He turns to look at her. “No, I don’t.”
Finally, she looks back. He doesn’t say a word.
“I’m not going to leave,” she says. “But you’re going to start trusting me a little more. I haven’t betrayed you yet, I’m not going to now. And you’re going to stop lying to me about what you’re planning. If you want this to work, you will treat me like an equal. If not, then I will leave. Do you understand?”
He nods. “I will try.”
“Good.” She’s almost relieved, because she really doesn’t want to give this up, even if he does drive her mad sometimes. She offers him a small smile, and - miraculously - he smiles back. Or at least, what counts as a smile from him, which would be barely noticeable if Eva didn’t know him.
“I brought you something,” he says, reaching into his pocket. “Consider it an apology gift.”
“You never apologise,” she says, even as she takes the small bag he holds out. Inside is a necklace of gold and rubies, sparkling in the faint lights of the city below. She holds it up, turning it this way and that.
“It’s beautiful,” she tells him. “Thank you.”
“I saw it when I was in the vault and thought you would like it,” he says. “And I will try to do better from now on.” He offers her his hand. “Come back inside?”
Eva looks out once more at the sleeping city below her feet, then down at the necklace in her hand. She takes it.