Not the End [Eve & Villanelle]

Chapter 8 - A Deal with the Devil

"We made a deal... Carolyn and I."

"Well, really I owed her a dare." Villanelle corrected herself.

Eve's head jerks up at the mention of the last word of the sentence. A dare. Suddenly Eve is brought back to the day they met Carolyn in a small pub where she only now recalls the moment Carolyn mentioned one final dare which Villanelle was in debt of and the two women going off to talk in private shortly after. That must've been when they orchestrated this whole thing.

"I had my own mission and Carolyn needed to get off the hook with MI6, so we made a deal. After I killed The Twelve, Carolyn would 'kill' me to get back in MI6. In return, she would help me fake my death to get away. It was her idea mostly, but there was no chance for me to remain alive and free after everything I've done, Eve. I had no other choice." Villanelle chose her words carefully, trying to explain the details to the best of her abilities.

"But I was there. I saw the bullets hit your body- I saw the blood!" Eve replied dumbfounded. She was there that night and everything looked and felt far too real for her to even consider that the whole thing might've been set up.

"I wore blood packs under a bullet proof vest as they shot rubber bullets. I don't even fully understand it, Eve. It was some high-tech military shit." Villanelle shrugged her shoulders as she gave Eve a soft smile. "I mean, did you ever wonder why the 'sniper' didn't just shoot me in the head if they really wanted to kill me?" Villanelle said kindly, the same way a parent might explain a confusing concept to their child.

Eve's resentment quickly turned mournful as she continued to relieve the moments of that night over and over again in her mind. How could she not figure this out earlier? And more importantly, why didn't Villanelle tell her beforehand?

"You could've told me. Why didn't you let me in?" Eve felt betrayed in the knowledge that Villanelle could've saved her from the immense heartbreak it caused inside of her.

"I- needed to see how you'd react." Unable to predict Eve's reaction, Villanelle pursed her lips in anticipation.

Eve shakes her head as she started to talk with her hands. "Well, I was fucking devastated. It was fucking traumatizing, is that what you wanted to hear?" She stops to take a breather. "I thought I lost you..." Eve adds in a small voice.

"Eve, I had to make sure." Villanelle explains. "I didn't know if I was ever going to see you again. I didn't know if you would care and I just... I had to make sure." Villanelle looks back up at eve to find a pair of glossy eyes staring back at her. A moment of silence passes and along with it, all the words they've ever wanted to tell the other, exchanged, just through their eyes.

"I'm done... with the killing, Eve. I promise. That was my last."

Eve blinks away her tears and shakes her head in attempt to regain her composure, taking Villanelles last promise with a grain of salt. As long as they were together, trouble seems to always find them. "You might be free, but I'm not. Right now the entire country is looking for me. I'm wanted for conspiring with the enemy, Villanelle." Eve emphasises each word. "How were you expecting to get out of this anyways?"

"Carolyn is waiting for me." Eve scoffs at the sound of her former boss's name. Not only did Carolyn hide this plan with Villanelle from Eve, but she was the one who suggested it.

"As soon as I call her, one of her associates is going to pick me up and take me to a private runway. From there a plane will take me to a remote cabin in Alaska where I'll hide out for the time being. Just until the attention has died down." Villanelle adds. "I just need to know, will you come with me?"

"Alaska??? I'm cold enough as is in London, my tits will be freezing off in Alaska!" Eve exclaims, ignoring Villanelles last question.

Villanelle shuffles forward on the bed. "Wait, so are you coming with me?"

Eve turns to face Villanelle. "Where else would I go?"

"So... Is that a yes?" Villanelle furrows her eyebrows, still unsure of Eve's answer.

"Yes, V, I'll come with you to Alask-" Eve's voice is cut off as Villanelle cups her face with both hands and pulls their lips into a tight lock. The two women are smiling as they kiss and Eve lets out a giggle as Villanelle proceeds to place several kisses all over her face.

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Completed December 12, 2023

TO BE CONTINUED...