return to paradisa

[secondchances]

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[assassino]

He doesn't think he'd be freaking out without her, as he has never been prone to... well, a thought that he knows she's going to call sexist, so he keeps to himself, just smiling. Yes, he's glad she's here. Very glad.

"What is there to worry about? We have bested this place before." He pauses thoughtfully, even as he steps out ahead of her to lead the way. "And we'll best it again... though I may steal you away to Venezia, if you don't mind."

[secondchances]

She's not sure they can call it besting the place if they're here, and if this time, it wasn't a short trip home. That usually meant some sort of new memories--or experiences--and Stephanie can't really sort out the mess in her head. And the castle looks like it hasn't seen a soul in some time. That might be the most unsettling part.

"You know, Ezio, at this point... it's not a bad idea." Impossible? Maybe.

[assassino]

There's a certain grimness to being there, especially in this state, but Ezio is choosing not to think about it in that very moment. They don't have the answers yet. There's room to find out more, and make a decision later.

"You think so?" he asks, and he glances at her with a cheeky grin. "I'd like that. I think you would too, once you got used to the..." What's the word? "Electricity."

[secondchances]

"You do seem to be unable to get rid of me."

Or is it the other way around? Regardless, she's glad. Walking through the halls with him is a comfort, and she's eager to get to his room so she can relax. She's been listening for noise. Footsteps, a voice. Anything.

That there hasn't been just makes her stomach twist.

[assassino]

"Are you suggesting that I would enjoy that?" he asks, and he makes to pinch her bottom, but he lets his hand hover there instead. She's having a tough time, better to leave her be. Let her knock him around a little.

That and it's better to focus on a dear friend than whatever nonsense is ahead of them.

[secondchances]

"I have a weird headache and I don't remember the layout of a place I'm pretty sure I spent four years in, but I do know some stuff. Like that I'm your favorite. So, you'd never get rid of me. That's the joke."

Maybe some sort of cosmic joke, if they're the only two people here. And while she might be listening for things, a near-butt pinch goes entirely unnoticed. She's more looking up at the ceiling--are those cobwebs?--than paying attention to him, anyway.

"... so. What if we're alone here?"

[assassino]

"You are my favourite," he replies, fondly. Okay, hand drifting away in favour of settling on her waist. His gaze follows hers. He thinks to tease her further until he sees those cobwebs, and then some joke about repopulating dies on the tip of his tongue. He's never seen cobwebs in the castle.

Ezio glances over his shoulder, back down the hall. It occurs to him that the lights aren't even on -- daylight streams in from the windows. He wonders if the power is even on.

"We'll deal with that when we know it to be true."

[secondchances]

He puts a hand on her waist, and she steps closer to be against his side as they walk. She's got the heebie jeebies and isn't ashamed to make it known.

"Don't really know how you deal with that, but okay..."

[assassino]

"Dolcezza, we are two of the most resilient people this castle has known," he assures her, scooping her in a little closer. "Have a little faith in us. We will figure something out."

[secondchances]

"Right," she agrees on a breath out. "But first, you need boots."

One thing at a time.

"Did you just run out of your room without them?"

[assassino]

He glances down at his feet. His feet are going to be disgusting after this little walk, and he hopes Stephanie doesn't mind if he stops to stand in the tub for a minute.

"I could have run out here naked, you know."

[secondchances]

"Good thing you didn't know you'd run into me. Pretty sure you would have, then. Right?" Gently, she elbows his side, laughing. Albeit a little forced.

What are the chances of this turning into a two person nudist colony? Nudist... castle?

[assassino]

He grins, taking her elbow in stride.

"If I had known it was you? I would not have a stitch on me. It would only be fitting," he chuckled. He ran a knuckle up her side, teasingly. "I forgot what this skin looked like." Skin? He doesn't remember what it's called. "You may as well be naked, too."

[secondchances]

"Suit," she corrects. "You--" Got used to it, after a time. Right? Maybe. It's another thing that strikes her as strange. She could have seen him yesterday, or she could have seen him much longer ago. It's gnawing at her that she can't remember.

"Nevermind. We'll see if you have something I can borrow so you're less distracted."

[assassino]

"Suit!"

He laughs. He could have not pointed it out at all, and spent the day admiring her, but he isn't going to push it. Ezio respects the friendship line wherever he can –– where his being a man allows, of course. And he could get used to her suit again, given enough time.

"I'm sure I do."

Plenty of ladies leaving things on his floor, after all. He thinks so, anyway. Didn't he have notches here, or something? Perhaps that was his imagination.

[secondchances]

She's thinking along similar lines, and gives him a Look.

"Nothing gross, thanks."

[assassino]

Ah! A mock-wounded hand to his chest.

"Steph... what kind of company do you think I have been keeping?"

[secondchances]

There are a few names on the tip of her tongue, but she stops in the middle of the hall for a moment. Well, that's an unpleasant surge of jealousy that feels remarkably like pulling some stitches.

"I don't know. Or remember. So."

She shrugs and rubs her temple.

"Nevermind. Let's hurry it up."

[assassino]

He, unfortunately, will never forget his own tastes. He stops with her, still with that impish grin plastered on his face, waiting for her to take a dig, but there she goes, dismissing him again. He doesn't mind. He's almost never minded.

Everything may feel confusing, and his memory hazy, but the one thing that hasn't changed is being so drawn to her.

"Bossy," he remarks, but he slips his hand into hers to take her up to his room, which draws ever-closer.

[secondchances]

"Duh," she replies, grip on his hand probably a little tighter than necessary. She's quiet for the rest of the journey, head on a swivel, looking at door after door. Nothing here looks touched.

When they reach his door, she stares at it for a long moment.

"Yeah, I remember this."

She visited a lot.

[assassino]

It is eerily quiet. How long ago was it that people ran screaming through it, breaking elevators and setting things on fire and climbing up the walls? Those things happened, didn't they?

"That you did," he said, opening the door with little fanfare and tugging her through.

His room is, to his knowledge, the same as it's always been. Furnishings in the style of his home, save the confusing little anachronistic touches. A coffee maker. A plastic binder. There are jeans in the wardrobe, too, which he goes to and begins rummaging through, looking for any saved girls' clothes.

"Make yourself at home."

[secondchances]

"It feels like it. You know, familiar," she tells him, stepping in and sitting in a spot she's certain she sat a hundred times before. She looks around, much like she'd been looking around the halls. At least she feels safer in here.

"You know that feeling, when you've left something flammable going? I have that feeling. I just can't remember what, when, or where."

[assassino]

"Well, this castle is made of stone, and it is very large," Ezio says, and he pulls clothes out by the stack to better sort through them. Is that a red lacy thong hanging out the side of the drawer now? Whoops. He tucks it back in and goes back to rifling. "If it is on fire, then we will have plenty of time to find out."

He eventually produces a woman's dress, which is loose but very, very short.

"What about this?"

[secondchances]

"When have I ever worn anything like that?" Never. "I know you didn't forget that about me. Put that in the maybe pile for if you find some shorts to go with it."

It'd be nice if she could just wish up something like she'd typically wear. Or could remember her damn room.

[assassino]

He laughs.

“No? It was worth a shot.”

More rummaging. Some things do have memories attached, obscure but meaningful in some way. Sixteen, he thinks. He bedded sixteen women in the castle alone — maybe seventeen if he included that one regrettable morning, but Paradisa’s meddling shouldn’t count.

“I don’t think I saw women who wore shorts. Unless...”

He makes a gesture along his upper thigh, almost right at the hip. Short shorts.