Even Death Can't Keep Us Apart

Chapter 9

Vesper entered the cabin wearing her violet dress from the casino all those years ago. James stood up to meet her as she reached the table.

"You shouldn't stare." Vesper said, a playful smirk on her dark red lips.
"Well, you shouldn't look like that." James said.

The two sat down across from each other, both reminded of how similar it was to when they met. "You kept the dress." James said simply.

"Well I wasn't going to waste it, it's a beautiful dress. You're wearing the jacket." She remarked.

"Well, it's a very nice jacket." He said, before turning to the waiter, "Could I have a bottle of the Château Angélus? And a vodka martini, shaken not stirred, two measures of Gordon's, one measure of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet, and a thin slice of lemon peel." Vesper said the last line with him, he turned and smiled lightly with her. "Thank you." He finished as the waiter walked away.

"You still drink them?" Vesper asked him quietly.

"Of course I do. They remind me of you." He said, before adding, "besides, it's good, strong liquor." Vesper laughed at him softly.

"Why did you choose this life? Living in the shadows? Hunting and being hunted? Always looking over your shoulder? Always alone?" Vesper asked, genuinely curious.

"But I'm not alone." He said, smirking.

"Answer the question, James." She said, stifling a smile.

"I'm not sure I ever had a choice. Besides, I don't stop to think about it." He replied, pondering the question.

"What would happen if you did stop? Like we planned to do?" Vesper asked, all traces of amusement or sarcasm gone from her voice.

"I don't know. What about you? Why do you continue living in the shadows?" James asked as the drinks arrived.

"Well, it's rather hard to live when you're supposed to be dead." She said, smiling and making him smile as well. "To be honest, I don't know why I keep doing it. I've been doing it for five years, and just never really thought about it. So, what shall we drink to?" She asked.

"How about to the past?" James suggested. She nodded and raised her glass slightly.

"To the past." They said together, clinking their glasses together gently.

"This is the same wine we drank when we first met." Vesper said a moment later, observing the bottle in front of them.

"That's why I picked it. For old time's sake. You know, it's also the wine we drank in the casino after I won, remember?" James said, looking her in her eyes.

"I do. You made that truly dreadful joke about your martini." Vesper said, remembering that night.

"I seem to remember you laughing at my, "truly dreadful joke"." James said, jokingly accusatory.

"Hmm, I remember no such thing." She said laughing. Her laughter cooling into a gentle smile, not unlike the one she'd worn at that dinner.
"You know, I still don't believe you." Vesper said, staring at him from across her glass of wine.

"Hmm? About what?" He said, looking at her.

"You still have a choice. Just because you've done something doesn't mean you need to keep doing it. You can still stop." She said, staring at him with her piercing glare.

"And you still can't take your own advice." James remarked.

Before Vesper could make a sarcastic comment, Mr. Hinx appeared behind James. He flipped over the table, causing Vesper to fall to the floor. Hinx held James against the wall by his throat, and tried to bring his thumbs up to James' eyes. Hinx threw James onto a table, Vesper ran up behind him and bashed an ice bucket into his back, which had no effect. Hinx turned around and slapped Vesper, sending her to the floor. James and Hinx ran through two carriages, ending up in the cargo carriage. The two men continued fighting, Vesper came in, wielding her pistol. Hinx pulled open the side door, and held James above the tracks. The two continued to fight, until James was able to hook Hinx to the trail of barrels falling off the train, pulling him out with them.

"What do we do now?" Vesper asked, breathing heavily.

The two burst into her compartment, locked in a kiss, arms wrapped around each other. They paused their kiss only to share a smile and to undo James' bow tie.

They woke up the next morning in Vesper's compartment with their clothes spread across the small room and laying in each other's arms.

"Vesper Lynd, back from the dead." James whispered in her ear.

"Vesper Lynd the lying bitch." She corrected him quietly.

"Hmm, Vesper Lynd, the brilliant, beautiful, bitch." He said in her ear punctuating each coma with a kiss on her temple. "But also, Vesper Lynd, my love." She rolled over to face him, the late-morning sunlight shining through her dark hair, making it shine shades of gold, red, and bronze.

She opened her dark, piercing blue eyes that looked slightly green in this light. "You still love me? Even after all this time? After all I've done?" She asked.

"Always. I will always love you. I understand why you did what you did, but I don't care. And after all you've done? Darling, I've done the same, if not more. If anything, we understand each other better now. All that matters to me, is that I have you." He said to her, leaning over to kiss her.

She returned the kiss, coming closer to him. "You know, technically, we're still engaged." She whispered to him, pausing their kiss.

"We are, aren't we?" James whispered to her. "I still need to get you a ring then." He whispered into her curls, making her laugh.

"No, you don't. I was happy without a ring then, and I'm just as happy without a ring now." She said, smiling. Her eyes were just as bright as when he'd first asked her to marry him, back when they were laying on that sandy beach.

"Then, would you rather I call you Missus Bond then?" He said, grinning.

"Absolutely. From now on, you must call me Missus Bond." She said, a with a playful grin.

"As you wish, Missus Bond." James said as he kissed her again. She returned the kiss, rolling over on top of him, letting her hair fall to make a curtain between them and the sunlight streaming in through the window.

"We should probably get dressed, we'll be there soon." She said, pausing their kiss.

James nodded, and pulled the quilt off the two of them. Vesper shivered slightly as the cold air hit her, and James pulled her closer.

"I've missed you." She whispered.