Chapter II: AKA Surprise
After all, the persuader is watching Malcolm as a cat playing with the mouse and that can bring nothing good.
"What… what are you going to do to me?" Malcolm asks Killgrave, facing his look and playing cool.
Another brave attitude that Kevin can't help appreciating.
"Well, I'm going to do a favour to you," the mind-controller winks at him, puzzling the other even more. "Buy a nice bouquet of red roses, then go to Trish and invite her to spend New Years' Eve with you."
Malcolm immediately heads towards the best flower shop in town as Kevin watches him go.
"This must be some remaining of all that bloody Christmas cheer!" he mutters to himself.
-
At half morning of 30th December, Jessica stirs in her bed, utterly satisfied.
It's been ages since she slept so well. She feels regenerated.
As she stretches her arms, the fingers of her right hand come in touch with something thin and silky.
She can already see it in the dim light: it's a red ribbon.
There's a long red ribbon that starts from the chair where it's knotted and goes on, crossing the bed, the floor and going towards the corridor.
A little bewildered, Jessica gets up, she wears the first pair of jeans and T-shirt she can find and keeps following the ribbon. She reaches her desk, where the ribbon goes through a hole in an envelope.
Jessica opens it. Inside there are two plane tickets for London with the departure on that very same day, at early afternoon.
The ribbons leads her to a folded paper, placed on her sofa.
She opens it, recognizing by the first words that elegant handwriting. It also helps to dispel any doubts that the author of that note wrote it with a purple pen.
If you have a passport, bring it with you. If you don't… well, you know it won't be a problem with me around!
Jessica smiles when she reads it. Luckily, she does have a passport.
The ribbon goes on and on, leading her to her kitchen, where she finds another note.
And, if you haven't ripped it to pieces like you did with the previous one, bring with you even that dress I gave you. When you are ready, keep following the ribbon!
Jessica takes her time to have a quick shower and pack her stuff - including both passport and that dress -and when she's done she leaves her house/agency.
The red ribbon is waiting for her even outside the house, leading her towards the stairs and she goes downstairs, following the ribbon even beyond the gate.
The ribbon ends its race going inside the still closed car door of a grey Land Rover with tinted windows.
Jessica opens that door, finding a grinning Kevin inside, waiting for her.
"Trust me, I tested it in every possible way, but it was just impossible to make the ribbon cross the elevator, without breaking it," He explains. "I had to force all your whole condominium not to remove the ribbon, but it was for a good cause!" He adds.
Jessica doesn't say anything, she confines herself to staring at him, with a poker face.
"Hey, Jess are you okay?" He murmurs, a little concerned.
"No one, I really mean no one, has ever done such a thing for me!" She admits, still visibly impressed.
"But I'm not not 'no one'!" He winks at her, making room for her in the car. "So do you accept?" He asks her, dreading the answer.
"I just have a case of cheating that can perfectly wait and a bottle of whisky from a discount that I would use to great the new year," she replies. "Besides, someone should keep an eye on you, am I right?"
"You're more than right!" He sneers.
"You know what? I should punch your nose. You did the third incursion." She glares at him.
"But I didn't broke you new door!" He defends.
"Yeah, you didn't… someone must have helped you. And I guess I know who did," she snorts, taking a mental note about settling up with Trish.
"Yeah, someone who must have exaggerated the amount of valium drops she had to put in your drink… I've been waiting for you here for two bloody hours!" He grumbles.
"Valium? That's why I slept so good!" She figures out.
"Yep, a cannon shots proof sleep, so I was free to move… besides, you look oh so angelic when you sleep." He beams, showing her a stolen shot.
Jessica draws her mobile out, pulls Killgrave closer, catching him so off guard than his stunned expression ends up being framed in the selfie the girl took.
"Take it, damn stalker at least you didn't steal this one." She shrugs, sending the selfie on his mobile.
"For a moment, I dread you had placed some weapon inside your mobile and you were aiming it at me in order to kill me." He grumbles, before staring at their pic, rather pleased, especially for the genuine smile she is showing there.
Kevin would love to see that smile on her face, every time.
"Oh please, don't give me such ideas!" Jessica has fun teasing him.
They arrive in London at late night, but they're so worn out that the only thing they manage to do is to sleep, still fully dressed, in the same bed, where they wake up the morning after, very much closer than when they fell asleep.
The persuader is very happy about it, while the detective wriggles to set herself free from that fondle set by their movements during the night. As if nothing happened.
"C'mon, lazybones, let's go out for a walk!" She exhorts him, once she's ready to leave, waiting for him to do the same.
Kevin makes Jessica feel the most satisfied tourist ever. He takes her to the most famous places, but also the most unusual ones that maybe are even more charming.
All of that without resorting to his powers not once, not even to skip the queue for the London Eye.
"Do you realise that we wasted two bloody hours this way?" He snorts.
"Two bloody, honest hours!" She corrects him and he's amused by her use of his same British expression.
The waiting was worth for, because their turn arrives at sunset and there's an amazing play of light, vertigo and colours on that snow-capped amazing town.
They head back to the Hilton London Tower Bridge, in order to get ready for their dinner in one of the most refined restaurant in the whole town, regularly booked for two under the name Thompson.
Once more, no mental power.
Probably their goal must be be the most elegant people around: Jessica, with her red, long dress with a short, black fur coat and Kevin, with a damasc smokey grey tuxedo, Italian haute couture.
When they end their dinner there's still one hour before midnight. and they take advantage of that to take a walk along the Tower Bridge, elated by the cheerful atmosphere that overwhelms the whole town.
Maybe not everyone is so cheerful.
There's a girl on the ledge of the bridge, dangerously slippery due to the snow that's freezing.
Jessica immediately notices her and points her to Kevin, taking him with her towards the girl.
In the meantime a crowd of curious people stopped there to see the scene with their hearts in their mouths.
"My useless life sucks…" she cries, taking a further step towards the edge, slowly.
"This dress is wonderful, but prevents me from moving in any way and I don't want to break it. But you can do something, so, c'mon, do something!" Jessica spurs him.
"Why should I ever bother to help that girl? You heard her before, her life sucks… why should I interfere?" Killgrave shrugs, trying to walk away.
"Kevin…" Jessica insists.
"Okay, okay!" He surrenders, snorting, as he walks towards the girl.
"Whatever happened to you it's not worth that jump you want to take. There's always a solution, now come down and reach me." He says rather coldly, stretching his hand out to help her come down.
Obviously, the girl obeys. She comes down, among the applauses of all the people around who are claiming their hero.
"Good job. You've been extremely very good and very convincing." Killgrave congrats with his potential victim, pretending to hug her.
He goes back to his Jessica who is showing half smile of approval at him.
"See, Jess? I can use my powers for good!" He prances.
When they're back to the hotel, there's barely a quarter of an hour before midnight.
They're on the balcony, ready to admire the fireworks show across the Thames that's about to start.
There are two flutes and a bottle of Champagne Brut on a table, ready to be uncorked.
"Do you remember the last night of our last coexistence… when I came back home?" Jessica asks him, reaching Kevin at the balustrade.
"What do you exactly want me to recall? The part involving the poisoned food? The syringe in my neck? The kidnapping? The psychological torture? Even if you didn't spare yourself with the physical one, either!" He snaps, still rather touchy about that.
"That night I was at a crossroad, I had to choose if I had to act like that or… to take a completely different decision." She reveals.
"What would it be?" He can't help investigating about it.
"The main idea was to come back home and give you a kiss," She pauses, watching him beaming with joy. "Hey, slow down, it's not what you think. I would have given it to you as incentive. As a reward for what you did, in order to make you keep doing good things. And I would have remained by your side. But that afternoon I talked with Trish and I took the other decision." She explains. "Please don't hate Trish!" She adds, immediately after, afraid that her best friend can end on Killgrave's blacklist once more.
However, it doesn't seem that there's this kind of danger.
"Oh, don't worry, I do not hate Patsy!" He chuckles. "She's such a good kisser, too!"
"You, kinky bastard!" Jessica punches his shoulder, playfully and then she stares at him languidly. "Does she kiss better than me?" She asks him with half pout.
It's only a matter of seconds, before the girl finds herself in Kevin's arms. He traces with his finger the peculiar patterns of her dress. He smells her hair, recognizing the high quality beauty products of the hotel. He skims her cheek with the back of his hand and then he raises her chin in order to make her stare at his adoring, big, dark eyes.
He bends over her with an almost painful calm, making Jessica eager for that contact. And the kiss arrives slow, sweet, inexorable, but it's enough just a moan from the girl to ignite everything.
Their tongues find again their usual confidence, their teeth nibble gently at their lips, their fingers entwine, maybe as a metaphor of what their bodies would like to do.
They're still engrossed in their oh-so-passionate kiss when the fireworks starts spreading across the Thames and over Tower Bridge.
The New Year has come and Kevin deals with the bottle of Champagne, one minute late, although he can just love the reason of that late.
"To the new beginnings!" Kevin touches Jessica's flute with his.
"To another stupid new year!" Jessica makes her toast.
"Maybe we'll make it less stupid…" Kevin murmurs.
Jessica remembers that they have a overdue conversation.
"Kevin, I apo-apologise…" She stammers, because she is not good in such stuff.
"For what?" He asks her, bewildered.
He almost doesn't recognize her.
"I apologise for taking that decision that night. Now I realised it was the wrong one, with all its consequences."
"If it brought us right here, right now … well, I don't think it was so wrong, after all." He smiles at her, comprehensive
"Let's start over again, from that day, Kevin, when I took you around, doing good stuff… do you feel like trying again? This time I'll believe in you." She stares at him, truthfully.
"Can't wait to try again!" He smiles at her with the same sincerity.
"But I mean it for real this time, not because first you instigate people to commit suicide and then you save them!" She accuses him.
"But… how?'" He frowns.
"Oh please! Did you really think I didn't notice that that girl was in our same restaurant and that you approached her with the excuse you had to go to the bathroom?" She explains.
"My smart detective is so smart!" He giggles.
"I guess I know you better than anyone else!" She winks at him, before taking her distance, both physical and emotional.
"Kevin, you know I don't love you…"
"Yet." He points out, stealing a smile from her.
"Besides, oh, c'mon… it could never work. You've tried to kill me!" She retorts.
"What about you? You did the same!" He strikes back. "And then, think about it, which couple never has their ups and downs?" He shrugs.
"Well, we'd maintain the proper average!" She plays his game.
"You don't love me, but at least you don't hate me anymore." He states.
She opens her big green eyes wide, staring at him, shocked.
"How do you know that?"
"See? I am right!" He says with a sly smile.
"Okay, let's say you've been particularly not-hateable during these holidays." She admits.
He walks closer to her again, as sinuous as a cat.
"What should I do to move from not-hateable to loveable?"
Jessica brings her hand on his face, but only for a caress.
"I don't know, but as I'm trying to figure that out, don't stop behaving," She smiles, wrapping her arms around his neck. "And don't stop kissing me!"
-
THE END Hope you enjoyed this fluffy pairing. Would you mind reading more about those two (and Trish and Malcolm too , maybe?) ? Because my mind is still plenty of crazy, funny and fluffy ideas for them. If you like a more serious version, check out my explicit rating miniseries, starting with '24 hours' ;) hope to hear from you, feel free to tell me anything bye for now
I don't know what you think about it, but I find pretty canon a Killgrave that incites people to commit suicide and save them immediately after… because he can't bother waiting for someone who really needs help, lol!