— THORNS.

All it took was a roll of her eyes for understand what sort of day the pair would be having— an air of competition would fuel their every interaction, and Kenji didn’t like losing. Even when it came to something as trivial as annoying Valentina in the elevator more than she annoyed him. “Not sure if that’s the best idea— I don’t think I can afford to get any hotter,” Kenji muses with a knowing smirk, rocking back and forth smugly on his heels. He may not have known her well— but he knew her well enough to get under her skin with little to no effort, and she nearly always let him. “But at the same time, I’d pay good money to see Roman’s reaction to you setting his kitchen on fire. Are you a woman of your word, Valentina?” 

His hand maneuvers to his pocket to check the time— before glancing impatiently at the elevator, and back to Valentina. “The hell are you doing up this early, anyway?” he inquires, his brows furrowing curiously. “Tell me you’re not in route to the gym.” Kenji knew there would always be one thing they had in common, and that’s their volatile social meter. Kenji was alone for so long— that readjusting to being in close proximity with people on a daily basis, ones whose faces he wasn’t pummeling in, was an interesting adjustment to say in the least. The gym was where Kenji recuperated after too much socialization— or where he went in preparation of such socialization. Oh well, he’d just have to make the most of their encounter. “For someone you dislike, you just can’t seem to get enough of me,” he states leaning forward ever so slightly, head tilted arrogantly on an axis, lips plastered with his signature smirk. Your move, his body language seems to say, as if in preparation for her counterattack.

♜

Valentina wouldn’t deny the disappointment that had arisen the moment she realised that it had been Kenji that had entered the elevator. There was just something about him that grated upon her nerves, that made her rather irritable, and she wouldn’t reject the notion that she was in a rather tetchy mood because of the early morning. Well that, and the fact that within one second in his presence, he had been able to burrow himself beneath her skin. “I think Safiye would beg to differ.” She replied dryly, knowing all too well about the way the pair danced about one another. “Just how much money would you offer for me to set the kitchen alight Kenji? Perhaps for the right number I’d even do it right now.” She replied with a small smirk as she tapped her foot impatiently for the elevator to begin to descend. It couldn’t get down fast enough.

Rolling her eyes at his rather blunt approach, Valentina shrugged as she replied, “I’m used to early mornings. That and the fact that I was itching to punch the hell out of a bag the moment I noticed the beloved invitation we all received.” Her smirk widening at his words, (well now that he wasn’t in the mood for her presence, why wouldn’t she decide to inflict it upon him), her eyes lit up at the prospect as she continued, “But having a live person to spar against wouldn’t hurt.” Especially when said opponent was one that she didn’t have to hold back her abilities when in opposition. And the fact that it was Kenji was just a bonus. “I’d like to think it’s the other way around. After all, I was in the lift first, was I not?” She commented deadpan as she offered, “But perhaps you’re the one who cannot get enough of me. Stalking me so that you can spend every waking moment within my presence?”

“ I have. ” His hand clenches and fingers curl around her arm beneath the crook of the elbow, then undoes. Detaches. Seemingly slipping away to sneak her glass from her hand and sipping, his easy smile dissipating slowly as desire still beat strongly in his chest. “ But I am no infiltration specialist. Nor am I a particularly good thief. So I did not find anything interesting in his shiny, brand new office. ” A pause. There is no shame in his words. His talents lie elsewhere, and he could never be brought to shame over it. But that doesn’t mean it didn’t bother him to find nothing on the good soldier just yet. He takes another sip, and this time when the cup lowers from his stained-red lips… he is smiling. “ I did, however, leave Roman a love letter. Full of embellishments, pretty words, and sweet smelling paper. It should be enough to wet his ego for a night… and paint the apprentice’s cheeks red when he comes to her side with it in his hands. ” If the second in command was brave enough to approach her. He laughs at the thought: Roman didn’t have the balls. He pitied any person the boy set his sights on — he’d never gather the courage to do anything about it. Too lost to his own head, probably.  

Booker passes the glass back to Valentina and laughs more quietly and to himself. “ Now that is two things I think I’d rather enjoy seeing: Roman forced to be under my care and you cooking. Though, I definitely wouldn’t want to taste anything you’ve likely burnt to a crisp. ” He moves forward. This time deliberately passing Roman’s office. He’d already searched there. Now he has his sights on a more private space sure to have all his dirtiest secrets: the bedroom. “ We’ll reserve burning stuff for later then, hm? Right now your partner wants to take a peek at what he may be hiding in his bedroom besides granny panties. ” He doesn’t wait for her then. He keeps moving further down the hall, his shadow flickering and licking the walls, as he does so with a small pep to his step. He didn’t force her to join him. He never would. He only ever invited his own friend to join him in his wicked behavior; one that might earn a fearsome glare and fierce, degrading conversation from the mastermind. 

Another small huff escaping Valentina’s lips at Booker’s audacity to firstly burrow into her personal space, then to secondly steal the glass of red wine that she had been holding between her fingers, she resisted the urge to headslap him so that she could thieve her glass back. Sometimes he truly did try her patience. Yet as he admitted his failings at not quite being up to par with her skills when it came to being a thief, a small smirk appeared upon Valentina’s lips as she replied, “That’s true. Your talents lie elsewhere, but perhaps I could be of use, and we can find one of his hidden gems. I’m sure he’s got at least one lying about somewhere, just waiting in lie for us to stumble upon it.” And wouldn’t that be a treat? To have something up her sleeve to allow her to have the upper hand upon Roman. Snorting at Booker’s antics, she lightly slapped his arm at the thought of his letter sent falsely by the Apprentice that was left upon Roman’s desk, commenting “You did not.”  She chuckled, downing the remaints of the red wine to ensure that it would not get stolen again, before placing the glass delicately down upon the table. But knowing Booker, he really truly had.

"And those are most likely the two frequent things that his nightmares consist of. Being forced to eat my cooking and being under your care.” She replied playfully as she rolled her eyes at the thought of her cooking. She absolutely abhorred it, and anyone who knew her well, was intelligent enough to know that they did not want to have Valentina as their cook. At any point. Unless they wanted their kitchen burnt down, and their meal to taste like charcoal. Although perhaps it would be a delightful treat if Kenji decided to get upon her nerves. “Fine, fine. Lead the way. Anything is better than be stuck playing Masterchef anyways. I don’t know what the hell Seraphina was thinking when she decided that we were to all play nice together and cook like one big happy family.” Her footsteps padding lightly down the hallway as she followed her partner in crime, her eyes lit up with amusement at Booker’s sense of anticipation when it came to discovering Roman’s secrets, and to be able to delve into his private bedroom. He was a horrible influence upon her.

𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄: 14.5.2021 𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍: neelam’s apartment  𝐅𝐓: @ofvalentina​

      ━ ❝ you know, as sadistic, morally-corrupt and awful as it sounds, i’m a little jealous that i didn’t manage to make something as powerful as that toxin that seraphina spoke of. you have to admit that the people who created it are gods, cruel and vicious gods, but gods nonetheless,❞ she muses out loud, probably louder than she should, stuck in a thankfully empty and dark hallway while she tries to fish her apartment keys out of her side pocket. for a great inventor like her, neelam ought to remember to attach some sort of light to them, or perhaps even try to create keys that glow in the dark, but wait, hasn’t something like that already been invented? 

❝ it’s my fault. i should’ve majored in chemistry or biomedicine. but i only have one life and 365 days in a year like the rest, ❞ it’s not that she regrets going into psychology, of course not, the main wall in her living room tells the tale of her pride as it’s decorated with her diplomas and academic achievements, but she’s always been an overly ambitious girl, ready to bite the hand that feeds her on the wrist; ambition is a malady from which you can never fully recover.❝ and make yourself at home, val,❞ as the door opens she takes off her shoes, beckoning valentina to follow. ❝ by the way would you like something to drink? ❞  it’s a formality, but she goes straight for the tray of drinks in the living room, pouring herself a full glass of imported bourbon that most resembled the colour of burnt caramel, and without waiting to her val’s response, she sprawls out on the sofa like a bored feline, taking up half the space. ❝ so where were we?❞

♜

Grateful that she could finally escape away and out of the mandatory bonding time, Valentina directed a small smirk towards Neelam as they headed towards her apartment. The moment Seraphina had announced their next heist, she had known that the pair of them would be concocting up something positively dreadful against their chosen target in order to secure their goals. “Rather intelligent of them, if you disregard the morality of it all.” Valentina agreed as her thoughts quickly calculated over the possibilities and probable endings of this toxin being released— especially when it could devastate the markets and affect all those in need of food. 

“You know it’s never too late to go back.” Valentina replied with a chuckle, knowing she had heard that chosen phrase all too many times. Especially since she was a drop out school kid with little more than talent with her flexibility and her ability to escape dangerous situations unscathed. But she had little time for schooling, and even less patience for the thought of it. But perhaps in another life she would have gone to school. “You know I will.” She replied as she kicked off her shoes and padded towards the cabinet to pour herself a glass of red wine, knowing that Neelam had one of her favourite brands. Taking a long sip of the drink, (she finally could relax now she was out of that rather irritating apartment), Valentina lounged down upon the opposite side of Neelam as she replied, “You looked like you had some bright ideas circulate the moment Seraphina announced our next heist.”

he groaned as she nudged him, toe unerringly find its way between their ribs to nudge at a pressure point, but he only whines, rolling over and dropping his weight further to trap her foot against the floor. ‘ let’s not do it by tasks, let’s do it by time. an hour is enough, surely. mercy, mercy! ‘ he’d get up soon, maybe, but the resting on the floor was slowly allowing him to recover. maybe a few minutes more and they’d be able to get up again.

♜

A raspy chuckle escaping Valentina’s lips at Tal and his antics, she rolled her eyes as he attempted to stay in her position, his arms entrapping about her legs. “Fine. But don’t blame me the next time you get beat up and couldn’t last — it’ll have been because you thought an hour is enough.” She replied as she folded her arms, a gleam of amusement appearing in her eyes as she regarded Tal’s prediament and his current posture. He’d never last one day in her shoes. But perhaps at least he would last a few seconds instead of going down immediately.

BOOKER WILSON && VALENTINA RICCI MOODBOARD / @bookerup

KENJI MIYASAKI && VALENTINA RICCI MOODBOARD / @miyasakis​

His curiosity had not been sated. Not in the slightest. Roman’s apartment was … disappointing. It appeared to perfectly perpetuate the dreadful balance between new homeowner with unopened boxes still neatly shoved into unlit corners and a grandmother’s house; only with slightly less creepy knick knacks, but still boring enough that he’d rather bang his head against a wall than pick through what little items the apartment contained — the Mastermind could have selected a better apartment for their first party. Like his. At least there the crew might gaze upon true beauty rather than choking on the dust floating in the air; either from lack of cleaning or that no one ever wished to visit Roman. Nevertheless, he continued his search. There had to be something here to amuse himself for a couple hours. That, or to use as blackmail. 

His attention is diverted, however, when Valentina comes sweeping around the corner. She is a sight for sore eyes and the reason his lips quirk up, slightly, in a genuine smile. “ That is because you know me too well. ” Stepping closer, he pulls her into a brief but tender hug before brushing a lock of hair behind her shoulder and tucking his arm into the crook of her elbow, exhaling loudly with a blatant huff of annoyance. “ I’d rather find ways to make burning Roman’s apartment down look like an accident by the Apprentice than force social time with the others tonight. ” He spent his entire life being fake and tonight he had already had his fill of playing the part of a good soldier. Now he wanders, and seeks nothing but solitude from the rest of the crew. Except Valentina. She was always good company; one where he didn’t have to play any part. “ Care to join me? I’m sure together we could find something interesting about Roman. And if we don’t, well, my offer to burn down his apartment remains on the table. ”

Valentina was relieved that Seraphina’s attention seemed to be preoccupied by the other members in the team, allowing for her to slip away unnoticed (or at least she hoped so) for the foreseeable future. At least she had attended this social gathering instead of skipping it like she had desired. She had sorely contemplated upon doing so. Gently swirling the glass held between her fingers, she began to take a small sip of the wine before turning around to fixate her attention away from her drifting thoughts of escaping through the window and out the fire escape towards Booker. Holding the stem of the glass delicately between her fingers as she allowed for his figure to embrace her own, a small huff escaped her lips at the close body contact, (he knew she didn’t do hugs — but she made an exception for them at times for him) before nodding with a small smile at his returning reply.

The pair of them made for a spectacular duo when it came to avoiding the rest of the team, didn’t they? “I’m surprised you haven’t already snuck around the apartment, rifling through Roman’s possessions to see if there is anything worthy to note.” That, and perhaps also if there was anything to perhaps allow his slippery fingers to handle. “You know if his apartment set on fire that one of us would have to put up with him in our apartment. Not to mention we’d probably have to relocate.” Valentina replied with a wry smirk. knowing that with their luck, he’d be lumped in with one of them. And that certainly would not do. “Anything would be better than having to cook. Especially since there’s already so many in the kitchen. I’m surprised nothing’s gone completely wrong yet.” Raising her eyebrow at the thought of finding something particularly interesting about Roman, (it would be particular amusing to have dirt up her sleeve upon him) Valentina chuckled before commenting, “Well at least if we have to resort to drastic measures, I’ll have a partner in crime to do so.”

“Perhaps, ” Vee practically purrs in reply to Valentina’s appraisal, features arranged into a Cheshire grin and single brow raised. It was satisfying to know that Valentina thought her capable (or, rather, accurately assumed Vee was capable) of robbing the place blind and vanishing like smoke before anyone had the time to suspect, but more than that it was deeply gratifying to know she was being thought of by Valentina at all. There was a tendency, she found, for most people to find wanting attention to be shameful, but screw that. Vee wanted attention always, especially from those who both seemed above-it-all and had the talent to back up that attitude– Valentina being the primest example of that pairing Vee could imagine. “That’s assuming I wouldn’t want you all to know it was me, of course,” she adds with a nonchalant, one-shoulder shrug, “Think of it– successfully robbing a whole choice collection of elite baddies. It’d make for one hell of a bar story, wouldn’t it?”

“You’ve got me on the mornings thing though,” she continues, “I mean, trust exercises? I find healthy skepticism is the, er, healthy thing. You know what I mean.” Vee’s always considered herself a proponent of honour among thieves, but wasn’t part of that philosophy dependent on the inherent assumption that your fellow criminals will always put themselves first? She may not have trusted any of her past crews, but she did trust in their self-interest just as much as she valued her own. “Plus, this bonding thing, it just seems so… soft? I bet there’s an angle, but I just can’t figure out what it is,” she considers aloud, absorbed in her train of thought, “Do you think our dear leader is going to root out a rat? If so, my money’s on that doctor, Eddie. Nobody’s that nice for real, right?”

There was nothing more amusing to Valentina than the rivalry (genuine or in-genuine) that she held with Vee. Perhaps it was because the pair of them were competitive by nature, and wouldn’t stop until they succeeded at being the best; refusing to accept anything else. Or perhaps it was because Vee made life much more entertaining when the pair of them were competing against one another. Her lips quirking up to a small smirk at Vee’s reply, Valentina tilted her head to examine the other girl’s reactions further as she awaited for the elevator to finally make its descent to the ground floor so she could hastily make her escape from the dreaded get together that Seraphina had organised. "Only you would pull off something like that.” Valentina replied with a chuckle, as she thought over the other individuals in the crew. Apart from herself, she doubted that any of the others could have pulled off a heist of that magnitude. Especially when it came to robbing other criminals blind. “A story that would go down for the ages.” She agreed, her eyes lighting up with mischief at the thought.

Rolling her eyes at the thought of their impending event, Valentina replied dryly, “If she breaks out the trust exercises, you can almost be guaranteed that I’ll be out the window and escaping back to my own apartment ASAP.” Whilst she tentatively had agreed to join the crew, this did not mean that she had trusted that any of them would have her back in the long term. Well perhaps apart from Booker, but she had known him for a much more extended period of time than the rest. "I’m sure Seraphina has some angle up her sleeve. Doesn’t she always?” Valentina replied with a raised eyebrow as her thoughts drifted over to their esteemed Mastermind. “But perhaps there’ll be some test, to root out a rat like you say. Should make for an interesting evening if so. If we disregard the compulsory bonding.” After all, nothing made for an delightful evening than betrayal and drama.

she stepped forwards and tal mock-whimpered, curling up away from her to go fetal. ‘ your warmups regularly last an hour or more? ’ he asked, plaintive even as his face was hidden by his arms. ‘ how long have we been down here? when was the last time i saw the sun?! ‘ wide-eyed, and as quickly as his body can move in this state, he spins, lashes out, rolls over to curl his arms around her shins instead, trap her in place, drops his weight and pretends to sleep.

♜

Valentina wouldn’t lie, she found it rather amusing to have Tal’s figure crumpled beneath her own. Not to mention, the underlying sense of satisfaction that had arisen to see her opponent in a much worse shape than her. “Well they don’t usually take me that long. But sometimes if you struggle with the basics, they can.” She replied with a chuckle before rolling her eyes at his dramatics, a small grunt escaping her lips as he decided to wrap his arms around her legs. He would make a terrible Infiltration Specialist. Fortunately for the team, Tal was usually scheduled behind a screen and not in the field. “Come on — get up, we still have more drills to do.” She reprimanded as she nudged his body with her toe, wondering what type of incentives she would have to offer to get him up from the floor. Perhaps her favourite knife that was strapped to the bottom of her boot?

Valentina did not cook. Period. It would not be an exaggeration to the extreme if one were to state that a majority of her diet came from either meals from nearby restaurants or literally straight from a salad bag. Thus, in the flurry and midst of chaos from the team bustling about in Roman’s kitchen, Valentina had decided to sneak away; a glass of red wine held between her fingers as she meandered towards one of the corners of the apartment, hoping that she would at least be unnoticed for the period of time that it took for them to cook their meal. That, or if she was forced to participate in the kitchen, she might be forced to certain measures to escape. Taking a small sip from her beverage, Valentina’s lips quirked to a small smirk as she noticed the familiar figure of Booker approach as she remarked, “Snuck away from the mandatory bonding time as well? Why am I not surprised.” 

Upon the doors of the lift revealing Valentina reclining against the glass, Vee’s first instinct was to turn tail and sprint towards the stairs, maybe pull the classic “hit the call button on every floor so the elevator continually stops” trick, anything it took to get to the bottom floor first. The thought is dismissed quickly– not only had Vee just rolled out of bed a short while back and yet to shake off the residual inertia, but she was actively half-way through shrugging on a sweatshirt, hair mussed and only one arm properly in its sleeve. In short, she was decidedly not in a state from which she could just start sprinting. Instead, Vee sauntered into the lift, tugging her sweatshirt into place and flashing Valentina a crooked smile. There would be plenty of time for races later, she assured herself. Unfortunately, all the rationalization in the world would probably still fail to quiet the competitive itch that never failed to flare up in the other woman’s presence.

“Oh, come on, you should know me better than that by now,” Vee replied, her tone breezy and unhurried, as if she hadn’t quite woken up yet, “If this were an escape I’d have bags full of everyone’s valuables with me, or at least a ton of cash.” She’d been casing the place and sizing up how much of value each teammate was liable to keep with them since the first moment she stepped foot in the apartment block, motivated not by any inherent disloyalty, just force of habit. Vee hadn’t calculated for how long it would take to fully sweep the building of its valuables and disappear, but certainly it wouldn’t take her long to come up with an estimate if the need were to arise. “And besides, it’s too early for all that– deserting your crew is more of an afternoon activity,” She continued in that same sleepy, flippant tone, languidly stretching her arms up above her head until her shoulders audibly popped, “And full-on betrayal is an evening sort of thing, don’t you think?”

Valentina could only let out a short sigh of relief the moment she realised that the person entering the elevator at least was Vee, and not someone rather irritating like Kenji. On an early morning like this, she could only count her blessings the individual was at least someone that she could somewhat tolerate. That, and she found it rather amusing to challenge Vee whenever she was afforded the opportunity, their rivalry something that never failed to bring a smirk to her lips. A small one beginning to appear upon her features the moment the other sauntered into the lift, (in such a typical fashion) she begun to chuckle at the others response, before shrugging lightly in reply. Whilst she had remarked it before noting who had entered the lift beside her, it had been one of her first thoughts the moment her gaze set sight upon that insipid envelope written in Seraphina’s distinctive calligraphy. 

“Perhaps you had it already stowed in a safe place so that you could escape without seeming the prime suspect.” Valentina replied languidly, knowing that the thief would most likely be the first target that one would be suspicious of if their valuables had suddenly disappeared overnight. She would have been surprised if Vee hadn’t already calculated several methods or schemes that would allow for her to vanish overnight with multiple precious goods if need be. “Much more an evening thing.” Valentina agreed, nodding as she let a small yawn escape her lips. She wasn’t much of a morning person, but habits had been engrained into her from a young age, and now it was difficult for her not to arise with the sun. “And if that’s afternoons and evenings, mornings should be left sacred, undisturbed by little invitations that disclose for events of mandatory participation.”