Painfully Fashionable (Eswell, ASOUE)

Painfully Fashionable

Hotel Verschwenderisch was an incredible place to stay, not only because of its impressive architectural feats and prime location in downtown Berlin, but because it was an exciting place to be. The guests were all billionaires, and as a result there were the most lavish and wild parties in the ballroom. The hotel was rumoured to be a favorite of a certain Russian mob, and the tremour of fear that ran through the place when someone spoke Russian spiced it up even more. But none of these factors were why Georgina was sitting in the penthouse suite right now, gazing out at the skyline of Berlin.

The reason she was there with because the hotel was in.

When Esmé left her to choose a hotel in planning for their trip, she only left Georgina with one guideline: "make sure it's in." Georgina chose it because it was listed as the city's most fashionable hotel in three newspaper articles and one travel blog. She figured at least a portion of the haul from the art heist could go towards paying for the room - because it certainly was not cheap.

Georgina pondered her impression of the hotel so far as she sipped a glass of champagne and looked out the window. It was extravagant and luxurious, and perfectly matched Esmé's definition of 'in' so she thought she did a good job. She'd enjoyed the parties, the Russian mob rumors intrigued her, and the food was absolutely exquisite. What else could one want from a hotel?

As she viewed the city pensively, her thoughts turned to Esmé, who was most likely on her way home from gathering intel on the art gallery. They planned to rob nearly half the artworks from the gallery, so they needed as much intel as they could get. They were taking turns, and today was Esmé's day. Georgina used to her hypnosis to get information from the employees, but Esmé favoured the traditional approach: seduction, and where that failed, violence.

The two of them had been in Berlin for a week, and Georgina was very much enjoying sharing a hotel room with Esmé. Not only because sexual activities were initiated often and spontaneously, but because living with Esmé gave her a sense of intimacy Georgina had never had with her before. They didn't live together back home, and there were certain things Georgina head never seen Esmé do before, like brush her teeth. Georgina conceded that, yes, it was a little silly to consider watching one's partner brush their teeth as intimate. However, after Olaf left her with a crippling fear of intimacy for twenty years, it was understandable. Besides it felt like a display of trust; Esmé would kill anyone who saw her putting on makeup, except when it was Georgina. These routine tasks reminded Georgina that Esmé was human, that she put on her mascara one eye at a time, just like everyone else.

Georgina heard the door click open, rousing her from her thoughts. She turned to see Esmé enter, wearing a skin-tight minidress, a huge fur coat, and shiny black stilettos. "Did you miss me, darling?" she called. She shrugged off her coat and walked over to join Georgina at the window.

"Maybe a little," Georgina smirked, pouring her a glass of champagne. She handed it to her. Esmé accepted it and kissed her. "How did it go today?"

"Smashingly," Esmé said enthusiastically. She took a sip of her drink. "I found out where all the security cameras are, and I think I know how to disable some of the alarms."

"Excellent," Georgina said, "by this rate, we'll be able to do the heist in a few days."

"Cheers to that," Esmé said, and they clinked glasses. Georgina paused in bringing the glass to her lips when she heard a crack sound.

"What was that?" she asked Esmé.

"What was what?"

"That cracking noise." Georgina frowned.

"Oh," said Esmé, "that was my ankle."

"Your ankle?" Georgina glanced down, then her eyes widened and as she saw blood leaking out of Esmé's shoes. "Esmé, you're bleeding!"