Chapter Text
On any other day, Rio would have taken the stairs, but lately she was aspiring to make wise choices. So Rio took the elevator. Unfortunately, the road to wisdom also came with a familiar sensation revealed by sweaty palms, blurry vision, and uneven breath. An answer before the question, a reaction before the action.
Taking a deep breath, Rio walked inside the elevator, leaning against the cold metal wall and shutting her eyes before taking herself to a place that existed only inside her mind. A technique taught by her former counselor. “Just let your mind take you to your calm place, Rio.” As if it were that easy.
The doors close in. Rio imagines an open field, a nice cottage with a lake or waterfall nearby, maybe. Some farm animals like cows. Or goats. Definitely goats. She imagines herself caressing its fur, living a peaceful, quiet, undangerous-
“Hold the elevator.”
The voice made Rio imagine a screaming goat being devoured by a wild animal. Much blood spilled. Fantasy ruined. Rio opened her eyes to see a well-dressed man approaching the elevator. She puts her foot between the doors.
Rio clears her throat and greets him with a nod, but he ignores her, bringing his phone back to his ear to continue a call. “Sir, I can promise you we can resolve this situation by February…”
Probably, he mistook Rio as the help and, considering her beaten paint-stained jeans, the three buckets of paint at her feet, and the power work tool boxes she was holding, he wasn’t entirely to be blamed for. Yet, she considered giving him some snarky comment, maybe a rude introduction. But whatever plans she had were brutally interrupted because there she was. Again. The mysterious neighbor.
During the week Rio was living in that building, they passed each other in the hallways a few times. And in none of those times did that rude woman had bothered acknowledging Rio’s existence. Probably didn’t even notice her through those damn sunglasses she always had on.
Given the close proximity of a tight space, Rio could smell her like never before. Lavender and pretty things. Rio always enjoyed pretty things and had seen plenty, but none as pretty as that woman. Even through the thick coat, Rio still could see how her ass was perfectly marked on that purple dress she was wearing beneath. Her long, wavy hair was cascading down her shoulders. Rio wanted to touch it and-
Fuck me.
While the man continued his call, the woman had now turned slightly to the left, just enough to catch Rio’s gaze directly at her breasts. Rio looks away instantly, trying her best not to blush, and refusing to meet her eyes (or her sunglasses, if you will).
Why would you choose now to acknowledge I exist?
Rio half expects her to turn back around, half expects her to complain to her husband. But she does nothing. Rio can feel that unmistakable sensation of being stared at, and when Rio finally gathers the courage to look at the woman, she is leaning against the elevator wall, much closer than before.
The first thing Rio notices is her completely open coat, meaning she can properly see her breasts now. The woman slowly removes her sunglasses, and Rio lifts her eyes to look at the most beautiful blue eyes that ever met hers. She strategically hangs the sunglasses on her dress, enhancing her neckline. Rio dumb-blinks a couple of times, like a stray cat asking for food. And then, the woman gives her a quick smirk.
And Rio? Oh, poor and naive Rio cannot help the whimper that came out of her mouth. Loud. Public. Way too loud for a public space. With an expression of confusion turned into anger, the man turns around abruptly in mid-sentence, making Rio jump and accidentally kick off one of the buckets.
“Shit,” she bends to pick it up. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do that.”
“Mr. Shaw, can you hold that thought just for a minute?” he hangs and continues to stare at Rio, her face now completely red.
Rio puts herself together again and looks back at him. Rio had seen that expression many times before: his evaluating, trying to decide the best way to assert his dominance.
“There is a service elevator.” he turns around again. “You better learn how to use it or I will file a complaint with the building manager.”
Rio looks at his neck and, just for a few seconds, imagines how easy it would be to break it, but again: wise choices.
Rio nods. “Got it.”
The woman had turned back around too, ignoring Rio again. When the elevator doors open up, he exits with his phone back in hand, and the woman turns and gives Rio a brief and almost apologetic smile before leaving.
They enter their apartment as Rio walks towards the one next door. There was some twisted and poetic irony here: Rio didn’t need to resort to her safe space to not panic during the elevator ride. Turns out hot women are even better than a mindfulness technique.
Back at the apartment, Rio pours herself a drink and lies in bed, phone in hand. “It’s hard to tell yet. Your old tenant made quite a mess. The pipes are rusted, the painting is peeling off most walls, and the ones that don't seem to have gone yellow, probably he smoked inside.”
“What a disgusting little habit.” Lilia sighs.
“Very disgusting, Mrs. Calderu.” Rio says, blowing off smoke into the bedroom ceiling.
“Rio, we already went through this, didn’t we? Mrs. Calderu makes me feel 450 years old. ” Lilia pauses.“ It has been thirteen years since I’m not your Art teacher, sweet. Please call me Lilia. ”
“Alright, Lilia.” Rio emphasizes her name like a promise.
Rio takes careful notes as Lilia makes a full list of things that need to be repaired around the apartment in the next months. From all the things that mark adulthood, going on a first-name basis with a former teacher was definitely one that can make someone feel terribly old. Lilia had been one of the first, maybe only, adults who tried to see Rio instead of just looking at her. Lilia almost got to see that sparkle of innocent potential only teenagers have.
After graduating high school, Rio tried to make Lilia’s efforts worth something by going to community college, but after one semester, Rio could no longer afford to live in the usual ways. So she turned to unusual ways to earn a living. It did turn out badly for everyone, including Lilia.
The memory made her cringe, and with a weird sense of debt, Rio bursts a confession. “Lilia, something happened today. I- I apparently took the wrong elevator, and one of the tenants got mad and said he would-”
“Oh, let me guess. The man next door, isn't it ?”
“Yeah, how did you know?”
Lilia laughs. “Dear, Ralph has a problem with almost everyone that exists. He tends to snap at neighbors and employees for the crime of breathing the same air as him and Agatha.”
“Is that his wife?” Rio swallows.
“Yes, quite an odd couple, if you ask me.” Lilia continues. “They moved next door a few years ago and, well, rumor has it that they…”
Lilia makes an ugly pause, and Rio waits. “They what, Lilia?”
“Uh, it’s not really my business to tell you, Rio. I probably shouldn’t have said anything. You know how I feel about gossip, right?” Lilia justifies, “All you need to know is that Ralph is like a very small dog with a short temper. He is all bark, no bite.”
Rio sighs, rolling her eyes. “Fine. I was just afraid he would call you to complain about me, and you know I can’t really afford to-”
“Rio, listen to me. You don’t have to worry about him. Your living and employment situation is secure for the next six months. And when you finish this job, we will find you the next one.” Lilia says. “I hired you for a reason, remember? ”
“Yeah, I do.” Rio says, knowing Lilia is waiting for her to say it. “Everyone deserves a second chance.”
After they said their goodbyes and Lilia made her promise to call every now and then, Rio took a long shower, made some popcorn, and curled up on the couch. Given a series of unfortunate events, Rio had a lot of How to Get Away With Murder episodes to binge, missing most of the final season. But her mind wasn’t allowing her to pay much attention, her mind traveling elsewhere.
Agatha . Nice name, right? Rio absently picked up her phone and googled the name. Good and honorable. Well, that elevator incident wasn't evidence of either of those.
Did she want me to look at her?
But why now? She had ignored Rio every single time they were alone. Why in an elevator with her husband two feet away?
Being ignored wasn’t much of a bother, really. In Rio’s former line of work, being ignored was the highest of blessings. Entering and leaving without being noticed was an art that took years for Rio to craft. If you really must know what was bothering Rio, well, it was because the wall that split their apartments was very fucking thin, which meant that for the past seven days, Rio had heard her. Almost every day.
I can hear you moaning through the wall, and yet you can’t even say ‘good morning’ when we pass each other in the hallway.
And in Rio’s opinion, that was some pretty rude behavior. Ask anyone, and they would agree.
But until today, Rio hadn’t had the chance to put a face to the man who made that beautiful and hot woman make those pretty little sounds. She was completely disappointed. How could mediocre men like him, who looked at best like a TV show side character get himself a leading lady like her?
Rio wasn’t sure when or how exhaustion finally caught her. She woke up still on the couch, sweating from a distant dream she didn’t remember having. Her morning went slowly, since the building had severe regulations against noise disturbance. Rio did some preparation, and when the clock hit 9 a.m., she finally began to work.
For the first time in five years, Rio felt in her element. Anything that could be fixed, Rio knew she could fix. She was good at that, and it felt good to be sore after a day of heavy manual labor. It reminded her of her childhood, especially her dad. He would build and fix anything. From a doll house for her sister, to a functional race car for her. That nostalgic feeling made her chain-smoke three cigarettes, already preemptively mourning the day she would no longer be able to smoke inside. She decided to definitely leave cleaning and painting the walls for last.
The hours flew by, and when the sun began to set, Rio laid down for a nap. Her rest was disturbed by muffled sounds coming from the wall. Fast and quiet, and yet real and deep moans. Rio knelt in bed, putting her ear against the wall just to hear a little more.
Rio doesn’t consider herself a voyeur. According to the building floor plans Lilia gave her, that wall was shared between the master bedrooms of both apartments. That being said, hearing those sounds was inevitable. Rio could not be blamed for the existence of thin walls, and the poor choice of building materials made by others.
Now, paying attention to the sounds? Not being able to walk away? Well, that was Rio’s fault, actually. But she refused to be ashamed. She convinced herself that the reason for her current obsession with the sounds was that it had been five years since she fucked or had been fucked by someone.
So, whenever Rio heard them, she imagined being the one hearing those moans loud and clear in her ear, instead of through a wall. Today, however, a different type of sensation hit her stomach. One that came with the knowledge that he was touching her. It did make Rio feel sick, but she still couldn't move away. She allowed her right hand to drift down her boxers, focusing on the sounds only and giving her clit long and hard strokes.
“Agatha…” Rio mumbles.
But today the feeling is not the same. Every time she pictures her hands on Agatha, they turn into his hands. Well, that fantasy was now completely ruined. Thanks very much, Ralph.
Frustrated, Rio finally stands and leaves the room, letting the moans continue behind her. She goes to the kitchen and begins to prepare to take out the trash when the doorbell rings.
When she opens the door, Rio tilts her head.
With one of those exaggerated polite smiles, Ralph was standing in front of her.
Oh, that means that…
Rio smiles. “Can I help you?”
“Sorry to disturb your evening, Mrs. Vidal.”
“It’s ‘miss’, actually.”
He nods and gives an annoyed laugh. “Of course it is.”
Ralph offers his hand, and Rio looks down for a few seconds before finally taking it.
“I’m your next-door neighbor, Ralph Bohner, and I just wa-”
Rio chokes a laugh. “Sorry, did you just say ‘boner’?"
He swallows dry, smile slowly fading away. “It’s Bo-h-ner, with an ‘h’.”
Rio smiles, finally letting go of his hand. “Of course it is.”
“May I come in, Ms. Vidal?”
For a brief second, Rio almost steps aside, but then she remembers.
“Oh, no!” nearly shuts the door on his hand. “I mean, I think it’s better if we talk in here?”
“Is that a question?”
“No?” he tilts his head, Rio clears her throat. “No, it’s not. It’s just that… This place is a huge mess right now. Tools lying around, nails on the ground, filled with moving boxes, no proper furniture, a lot of echo from… uh, the street.
He narrows his eyes.
“I just don’t want you to get hurt, that's all.” Rio says.
Ralph nods. “Thanks for your concern, Ms. Vidal. I just… I wanted to apologize for yesterday. The elevator thing, I mistook you for one of those… You know.”
His voice dies, and Rio can see smoke coming out of his brain trying not to slur. “I don’t, actually. Please, go on.”
Ralph moves uncomfortably, looking around as if someone would jump and save him from himself. “Well, someone… like you.”
Rio lets the silence linger for a beat. “An American citizen with Puerto Rican parents?”
Ralph swallows, desperately shaking his head. “No, no. It’s just… Your clothes are not women’s clothes, and I just… You’re going to find this funny, but I thought you were… checking on my wife.”
Rio licks her lips and slowly nods.
“And when I called Lilia to warn her about random men in our building, she told me you were actually a woman. That’s when I realized I made a terrible mistake because now that I know you are a woman, I know you were not checking on her… Right?”
He asks as a rhetorical question, but the silence implies he needs an answer, anything to help him sleep better at night with certainty that the threat to his perfect, straight world wasn’t living next door.
Again, Rio allows for a beat. “Right.”
“And even if you were a dy- I mean, even if you were, you know, I would have nothing against it. We have a few friends that are…” he mumbles things, none is the word he is searching for.
“Lesbians.” Rio puts him out of his misery.
“Yes! Quite a lovely couple, actually. Church goers, as one should, right?” he taps Rio’s shoulder. “It’s just because I know my wife likes men- I mean, not men men …”
Rio lifts an eyebrow, and Ralph shuts his eyes, realizing what he just implied.
“I mean, she does like men, plural, because she is straight, but also not because she is married to me.”
Ralph sighs for what must be the third time now. Gosh, is he gonna have a stroke in my doorway?
“I’m just saying that my wife likes me, so I know she would not cheat on me with a woman,” he quickly adds. “And with men, neither. We have a very good marriage. We are kind of trying for a baby. Don’t tell Lilia, or she will send us onesies and toys before we even have a baby shower.”
“Your secret is safe with me.” Rio zips her lips.
“Good, good. We adore Lilia, and whoever is friends with her is friends with us, too. And if you ever need anything, just let me or my wife know. We are just a few walls apart, after all.”
Rio bites her cheek. “Yeah, I’m aware. Thank you, Mr. Bohner.”
“Well, good night, Ms. Vidal.”
“Good night.”
Rio stares as Ralph walks the hallway and opens his door, slowly walking inside and leaving her sight. Rio closes the door and makes her way back into the bedroom, being welcomed by loud moans coming next door.
Oh, the fantasy is back on! Rio smirks at the confirmation that whatever is happening in there, it has literally no finger of Ralph Bohner. Sleep comes easily that night, and Rio wakes up with a silly - and dangerous - smile on her face.