ᴏʟɪᴠɪᴀ ʜᴀʏᴇs.

sideblog to SASHARUVELLE !!the time will come when you'll have to rise above the best, improve yourself your spirit never dies. farewell, i've gone to take my throne above, don't weep for me cause this will be the labor of my love

[oliviahaycs]

mireyacortez.

Mireya’s cheeks warmed when she noticed Olivia staring at her. Again she used her glass of wine as a buffer, taking a sip. Thank you? Mireya’s brow creased, wondering why the sudden burst of gratitude. “Better entertainment or not, getting to spending time with you is always a good thing.” Smiling, she raised her glass up to her mouth, eyeing Olivia over the rim. Mireya could stare at the other woman forever, especially when she smiled. Seeing her expression soften, and eyes light up was something she had grown fond of, among other things. “I also like when you smile,” Mireya added, then decided to start teasing her. “And your laugh…is just wow! I’m amazed. I didn’t think you could even laugh at first. You’re always so serious all the time.” Even that expression was sexy to her, but Mireya wasn’t about to say that. 

As Mireya was looking at her, Olivia couldn't help but keep her eyes on those warm brown ones. The smile on her lips stayed in place almost automatically. It was a strange concept to her that the other actually wanted to spend time with her. Either way, the entire time she continued looking at her, not really wanting to look away. She could feel her cheeks slightly heating up when Mireya said she liked her smile. Admittedly, she was at a loss for words. Normally she would know immediately how to respond. But with this? Everything about this was new. And yet when Mireya started teasing her, a small laugh slipped from her lips once more, a playful roll of her eyes following. "Yes, well, I don't warm up for just about anyone," she said, shortly after realizing what she had said. "Many would see it as a weakness."

[oliviahaycs]

♔ — olivia

ERICA: i think it's the same mireya.

ERICA: she's nice.

[...]

[...]

ERICA: work was bad. people in my block have problems with me. my rent wasn't paid on time.

ERICA: i can stay with my friend ryan if there's no space.

OLIVIA: might be.

OLIVIA: she is.

[...]

OLIVIA: you're talking about leroy aren't you. is there something going on i should know about?

[...]

OLIVIA: no, you can stay at mine. if you know mireya already it will be even less of an issue.

[oliviahaycs]

mireyacortez.

Olivia’s laugh distracted her; it was a rare treat to see her face light up in that way. Mireya rolled her eyes, “I had to, okay.” Stubborn to a fault, she knew she would have tried the pasta regardless. After all, this is Olivia, and she cooked for Mireya. Nodding, she perused the menu, then selected and ordered the same dish that she believed Olivia was aiming to prepare. At least they would have the meal intended even if it didn’t come from Olivia’s kitchen. “There, now we wait.” Picking up her glass of wine she took another mouthful. At this rate, she wants to get slightly inebriated, at lease that would be enough to calm her nerves. “Can we go into the living room?” It didn’t make any sense to sit at the dining table when they weren’t eating at the moment. 

Once Mireya had chosen the dish she wanted to eat - ironically exactly the thing Olivia had attempted to make - Olivia quickly pulled out her phone and placed the order over an app, then nodding at the other's request. It was just silly sitting here just waiting for their food when they could just sit down in a way more comfortable banner. Get her alone, Marco had said. And now Olivia had. Here they were, sitting down at the couch, each with a glass of wine in their hand and Olivia couldn't help but look at the other. She had noticed before just how beautiful she was, but it was something she noticed more and more every day. What an absolute fool Arturo had been to push her away in the way he had done. What an absolute asshole he was for having treated this wonderful, amazing woman with so much cruelty. Olivia herself found herself wanting to make up for all of it - an unexpected, unfamiliar feeling, that much was for sure, and something she found herself terrified of. Had it not been for Marco, she wouldn't even have attempted an evening like this. "Thank you," she finally said. "For spending the evening with me. I know Rhona would have probably been able to provide better entertainment," she said with a small grin. It was partly a joke, partly the truth. Other than Marco and perhaps Erica, there weren't many people who genuinely wanted to be around her. Was it because of what she did for a living? Quite possibly. But it was also partly because she liked to keep people at an arm's length. And yet for whatever reason she found herself wanting to get even closer to Mireya. Foolish on her part? Maybe. But she was trying to follow her best friend's advice.

[oliviahaycs]

♔ — olivia

ERICA: maybe

ERICA: but she was so nice

ERICA: i called her reya

ERICA: she said she was a starving artist

ERICA: i said she was an artistic entrepreneur

[...]

ERICA: he has brown eyes too

[...]

ERICA: no. i'm not drunk.

ERICA: i wish i was

ERICA: i just need to stay away from my house for a while

OLIVIA: well.... mireya is an artist.

OLIVIA: she has an art corner at the penthouse that I made for her.

OLIVIA:

[...]

OLIVIA: who does?

[...]

OLIVIA: what happened?

[oliviahaycs]

♔ — olivia

ERICA: thank you

ERICA: i wont

[...]

ERICA: i think i know mireya

ERICA: i met a mireya in a cafe

ERICA: she was really nice

ERICA: she had brown eyes

ERICA: i love brown eyes

ERICA: ever since i was young i loved brown eyes

ERICA: theyre warm and safe

OLIVIA: ...

OLIVIA: chances are there is more than one mireya in london, as unusual as the name is.

OLIVIA: though she does have brown eyes.

OLIVIA: are you drunk?

[oliviahaycs]

♔ — olivia

ERICA: i dont want to go home after work

ERICA: please

ERICA: i wont be a fuss ill sleep on your couch and stay out of the way

OLIVIA: okay.

OLIVIA: no problem, just don't give mireya a hard time

[oliviahaycs]

♔ — olivia

ERICA: can i stay at your place tomorrow please

OLIVIA: why?

[dulciesgf]

[oliviahaycs]

@mireyacortez

[oliviahaycs]

mireyacortez‌.

Twirling her fork in the pasta, she watched Olivia’s reaction. “It can’t be that bad.” Bringing her fork up to her face, she sniffed the pasta; it smelled good. However, once she put it in her mouth, the taste was all wrong. Mireya’s face twisted in disgust, but she tried her best not to look away. Okay so Olivia was right, she should not have tasted that. With a mouthful of wine, she washed down the odd-tasting pasta. “You get an A for effort,” Mireya snickered as she topped off her glass with more wine. “What are you ordering? I’ll eat anything at this point.” 

She couldn’t help but laugh lightly at the woman’s reaction. “I told you not to try it,” she simply said, getting up to quickly grab a few takeaway menus from the drawer in the kitchen. “How about we order some actual pasta – not something that has failed like this.” She pointed at the Italien menu and put it down in front of the other woman. “You choose.”

[oliviahaycs]

♔ — olivia

erica [DELETED]: blame leroy.

erica: to be fair, you never got back to me on what the hell was going on with you and your freakout.

olivia: i didn't have a freakout.

[oliviahaycs]

♔ — olivia

erica: and how are you, miss hayes?

olivia: you know me, I'm always good.

olivia: you on the other hand? you never disappear without a good reason.

[oliviahaycs]

♔ — olivia

erica: so hey.

olivia: well look what the cat dragged in.

[oliviahaycs]

mireyacortez.

“We are, she’s just being a grumpy cat when I annoy her.” Picturing a hilarious idea of a Rhona the grumpy cat meme made her grin. “Only twice?” Mireya sounded impressed before a light chuckle escaped her. “Kudos.” Taking up her glass of wine, she took a fairly good amount with her first sip, trying to quell the anxiousness she felt over tonight. Sure they had shared many meals together but none where Olivia went out of her way to prepare. Also, there was the elephant in the room that neither addressed from a couple of days ago; the kiss they shared.

"Ah, yes, she does that very well." Olivia herself had come to see that side of Rhona multiple times. Especially when she'd asked the hitwoman to do things that normally didn't belong to her set of skills. With Mireya's light teasing she couldn't help the small grin that was tugging at the corners of her lips. It was strange, she had noticed herself acting somewhat differently around the other woman than she normally did. Part of it scared her, part of it excited her. None of it made her want to completely stay away from her. At least not yet. Even if a small part of her mind knew being closer to her could only lead to disaster, she couldn't bring herself to stop. And then, she took the first bite from the pasta she had made. Or, well, attempted to make. Immediately her whole expression changed, noticing that her attempt had failed miserably. "Don't try that," she said, chuckling a moment later. "We should order something."

[oliviahaycs]

knowsviolence‌.

The silence between his last and her first words was too long–– she didn’t believe his story. He wouldn’t have believed it either. His behaviour was so out of character, so unlike him, that anyone who had known him for more than a few days would be able to see right through him. He sighed, scratching the beginnings of his five-o’clock shadow. “Fine,” he muttered, downing the glass of whiskey, hoping it would give him some kind of indication of what he could tell her and what he shouldn’t. The last thing he wanted was for her to get involved. 

“Alright. I was–– with a woman,” he started, still feeling the burn of the alcohol in the back of his throat. “This thing’s been goin’ on for years. Few years back, I was really fuckin’ drunk, like… drunk outta me mind, and we fucked. Not that I really w––” he cut himself off. She didn’t need to worry about that. “Thing is, I regretted it the first time, never wanted it to happen again. Problem is.. she’s got some dirt on one of me mates. Ruin his life if it comes out. Every now an’ then she’ll come to town and wanna see me. So I do it, keep ‘m safe. I tried to fuck ‘er over once, he ended up in hospital. She knows what I do. If I kill ‘er, they’ll kill him and then me. Rather not risk that or drag ye into it.” 

“That good enough for ye?” 

At first, a single brow was rising when he said he had been with a woman. Really? That was why all that had happened? But she kept quiet, let him talk, each word falling from his lips making her more and more angry – not at him but at the woman who was using him like this. Sure, Olivia didn’t care about many people. But the people she did care about she would do anything to make sure nothing happened to them. And it appeared she had failed when it came to Leroy. Not that she had any idea of what the hell was happening, but she had known something was wrong the moment she had gotten the first couple of texts from him

The last thing she had expected to come from him was an explanation like this. She had a hard time containing her anger, getting up from the couch and starting to pace back and forth. “Who is it?” she asked once, seemingly mostly calm. But the truth was, on the inside she was everything but calm. No, she was furious. Having lived through abuse herself, she had zero tolerance for it. And with Leroy going through even more than just that, Olivia was about ready to explode. Finally, she looked him straight in the eye, her tone less calm than before. “Leroy, who?”

[oliviahaycs]

knowsviolence‌.

Leroy was known to be a great liar. Being a hitman wasn’t a job you could do if you were bad at lying. It was, aside from actually killing people, one of the few skills you actually needed. He could wash the blood off his hands and do his shopping a mere fifteen minutes later and no one would suspect a thing, but this was different. Malorie had worn him out this time and he felt physically and emotionally drained. “Nothin’,” he told her, trying to buy some time as his brain tried to figure out what he could tell her. It had to be believable enough, but not make her want to know more. “It’s–– my dad and my stepmum might be gettin’ a divorce. He really fuckin’ loves her, though, so that was.. dramatic.” 

“Hm...” She hummed as she looked at him studying his features. While he was a great liar, she didn’t believe him. Nothing of his behavior over the past few days was in any way typical for him. Not answering texts, not answering calls,... Leroy had never completely ignored him before, and that was one of the reasons why she felt like there was something more at play here. “See, I don’t believe you,” she finally said, leaning forward just slightly, taking a sip of her drink a moment later. “First you text me you’re taking your days off when you clearly know I need you. Second, you text me that instead of coming over in person like usually. Third, you don’t answer any of my calls or texts after. And finally, you show up here with a completely different hair style and you shaved.” She paused, shaking her head. “Plus, you clearly have something else going on in your head. Don’t lie to me, Leroy.”

[oliviahaycs]

➤ Olivia

[ a few days later ]

Agatha: Olivia, I just want to let you know... I'll cancel our happy hour on Friday.

Olivia: Fine with me.

[oliviahaycs]

knowsviolence‌.

Leroy felt rough, like he always did after he had seen her. His head throbbed and his body was sore, but it was the incredible empty hole in the centre of his chest that hurt him most. “Yeah,” he mumbled, voice falling flat, despite his attempts to muster up a smile. The glass of scotch, which would usually brighten up his day a little, now looked completely unappetising, as the glass Olivia used was similar to the ones at the hotel. He leaned it on his knee and turned it as it rested there. “I ah’m sorry about the other day, I had a family emergency I had to see to.” He wasn’t oblivious to why he was called in there and even though he would rather pretend none of it had happened, he doubted he’d get away that easily.

Olivia was observant. She always had been. And so, his whole exterior screamed at her that something was not right. Was it his flat voice? His desperate attempt to try and smile? His quiet apology? The truth was, it was all that and the fact that she had never seen him the way she was seeing him now, the hair different, the beard basically non-existent. She furrowed her brows as she looked at him. “Alright, cut the bullshit. What’s really going on?”