Razorblade Romance (Ville Valo Fanfic)

127. Ode to Solitude

Their apartment was close to where we were, we just walked, Eve knew the way. I could see she was alert, paying attention to everything, she couldn't relax and I understood, I was aware of my surroundings myself. It was a chill evening, the streets were emptier than normal, some people just preferred to stay in, in these abnormal days.

The place seemed big, which meant they were probably rich people, as the apartments in Paris were usually so small and expensive. I wasn't wrong about them being from the bourgeoise, after all. Before knocking, Eve seemed anxious. A tall, blonde woman, maybe in her fifties, opened the door for us and let out a high pitched scream when she saw Eve, immediately hugging her so hard, almost knocked her down. "Oh, mon dieu, c'est toi!" That at least I understood. Natalie taught me a bit of French back in the day, Eve as well. The woman, I take it was Cédric's mother, mixed French and Portuguese while speaking with Eve. After all the enthusiasm, Eve pulled me by the hand.

"Madeleine, this is Ville, my husband. V, this is Céd's mother, Madeleine."

"Sorry, I don't speak French nor Portuguese." I extended my hand to her and she kissed me, twice, like the Parisians use to do it. "Oh, that's fine, dear. Nice meeting you, Ville. Oh Eve, he's such a handsome man. Come on in." I felt myself blushing and Eve smiled at me.

"Here, this is for you." Eve gave her the wine and the chocolates. "I'm sure you have great wines and I hope this is a good one."

"Let's try it." Madeleine opened it immediately.

The apartment was really big, and very fancy. Madeleine seemed pretty young, despite her age, and classy, but didn't seem posh. She was sophisticated for sure, in her clothes and appearance in general. She had a fairly heavy make up, her green eyes were contoured by the black eyeliner, and a vivid red was tinting her lips, she seemed to be very much vain.

Cédric appeared, with his father, I supposed. "Eve!" The man was tall, taller than anyone there. He hugged Eve and she looked so small near him. Cédric greeted me while the two exchanged some words in Portuguese.

"Ville, how you're doing?"

"I've seen better days. It's a great apartment your parents have here." The decoration wasn't my cup of tea, it was classic lavishly but on the brink of being cheesy, a bit hurtful for the eyes, at least for me. Too much brilliant, gold stuff, the furniture was shining so polish it was. I almost felt inside a museum, but it was curious, nevertheless.

"Oh, yes. I can show you around later."

"Theo, this is Ville, my husband. Sweetie, this is Céd's father, Theodore." He was also blond with green eyes, but his hair was almost white now, he was a very strong man, almost broke my hand, shaking it. He was very elegant, seemed a bit older than Madeleine.

"So, you are the one, nice meeting you. You're from Finland, is that correct?"

"Yes." Eve gave Cédric a chocolate as well, and he hugged her. Like a good Brazilian, he was a hugger. He hugged her all the time, I couldn't help but looking at them. "I don't envy you a bit, I hate the cold." Theo said, making me snap.

"You get used to it, but yeah, I'm not a fan either."

"Come, let's sit so we can chit chat." Theo showed me the way, Eve held my hand and I felt secure. Sometimes I felt so silly in occasions like this, I could feel the Lefreve family was important for Eve, and I didn't want to mess up.

"It's been such a long time we don't see each other. Maybe ten years? Ve, you're so stunning, even more beautiful than I remember, don't you think Céd?" Madeleine asked Cédric, who smiled embarrassed. "Of course." Eve was blushing. "You grew to be such a lovely woman, so elegant. I remember you used to hide yourself with big clothes, such a silly thing you were, darling." Madeleine even touched Eve's face, examining her traces, I could see she was really fond of Eve. She looked more like family than her own, at least the Russian part.