return to paradisa

[secondchances]

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[assassino]

"Why? Our bonds are too strong, and so it has cursed us?"

Maybe. Stranger things have happened.

"I do not think so. A great many people loved Paradisa far more than we did. They had no homes or futures to return to -- I would think their bonds would be stronger."

[secondchances]

She shakes her head, leaning back.

"Nonono. Like--our bond. You and me. Which sounds really freaking cheesy now that I'm saying it aloud," she says, willing her cheeks to not turn pink with little success. "One of the reasons I wouldn't want to leave the castle was--is, I guess, you."

[assassino]

Oh.

All the times she's turned him down, and right here, she's blushing in his lap and talking like that. Ezio finds himself chuckling; if it were any other situation, he might have never let her get away with that and see how far he could get with that flush in her cheeks. He cups her face in one hand.

"I think that is the most romantic thing you have ever said to me," he tells her, fondly, and then he grins: "I feel the same, dolcezza. I would never want to be here without you. Not for even one moment."

[secondchances]

"I wasn't trying to be romantic!" She says, hitting his arm, somehow a fondness in it. "Only sincere. And, see?"

The smile fades a bit.

"Maybe because we... uh, wanted to be together. The castle did that, and then--I don't know. It's stupid and I shouldn't be trying to rationalize this crap."

It could just be bad luck. She has a lot of that.

[assassino]

Ezio chuckles.

"Not romantic? Because we wanted to be together, hmm?"

He tucks a lock of her hair behind her ear.

[secondchances]

"Which is totally not happening just because I'm the last one left, by the way," she says with a frown. While sitting on his lap. "I might have some gaps in my memory, but I do remember some things, you know."

Wait, this was supposed to be comforting. Oh, well.

[assassino]

He hangs his head for an instant, but comes right back up with a smile.

"I have respected your choice for years, Steph," he says. "I will continue to do so... for as long as you can resist my charms, anyway. And I have a good memory, too!"

[secondchances]

"Oh, yeah? I'm sure you have plenty of good memories with half the women that came through here, not so sure about good memory," she sighs, and dramatically pushes against his chest so that she can slide fall off his knee and onto the seat beside him on the stairs.

[assassino]

He makes a good show of holding onto her, but fine! She can go.

"It was not nearly close to half!" he protests. "Not even close to a quarter."

(Especially after you cut out the little girls and the ugly ones.)

"I do remember one thing very, very clearly, at least."

[secondchances]

"Yeah? What's that?"

She's bracing herself for something that's going to make her roll her eyes.

[assassino]

He gives her a look. It's almost cautious -- it makes him wish he had a hood up or something.

"Just a conversation I had with Molotov," he says, casually, and then he stands up. "But perhaps now is not the time. We have a kitchen to inspect."

[secondchances]

"What? No, you don't get to say that and then change the subject! Sit back down," she says, and it's not very commanding, but she's not getting up. He'll have to inspect the kitchen himself if he keeps going.

[assassino]

Ezio pauses mid-step. She's stubborn. She's famously stubborn, and he knows that, and he shouldn't have said it, but admittedly, it's a little fun to push her buttons, too. He leans back towards her, but he doesn't sit.

"It isn't very romantic right now."

[secondchances]

"It's not gonna be any more romantic when I kick you down the stairs," she points out.

[assassino]

Just like him to be in this situation, isn’t it? With Cristina, it was always push and pull, push and pull, getting berated for little things and teased and prodded at, and he liked it until he realized he couldn’t go back to her — couldn’t go back to being who he was with her, anyway. And then there was Caterina, capricious but tenacious, a deep well of inspiration for him, but she wouldn’t want him. Maybe in a decade or two, if he was even there to see it. He couldn’t be sure that she’d ever be his equal, or that she’d permit it.

He ponders Stephanie’s lovely face, amused that he is about to get his memories smacked into him.

She could be his partner.

He says, offhand: “I told her that I am in love with you.”

[secondchances]

Love wasn't surprising between close friends. She loved him, sure. She knew he loved her. He most definitely liked how she looked, and while she didn't always comment on his appearance, she'd have to be blind not to notice him.

He's charming, hot, and funny. He'd become her friend despite some glaring moral differences, and she loved him. Not so much as a brother--you don't flirt with your brother unless you're a Borgia, right?

God, what a weird thought. Moving on.

Every time he was with someone else, she didn't like it. That, she remembers. It was jealousy, plain and simple. Yet they still spent inappropriate amounts of time together, being far too handsy, far too intimate, but never that intimate. Yet still, she was never entirely happy when there was another woman in the picture.

"Uhh. In love?"

Just to be sure she heard that right. No need to spiral into her thoughts if she misheard.

[assassino]

He nods, real curt. Still waiting for the smack, a little. But daring to hope a little, too.

“I do not mean to upset you by saying that, but it’s true.”

[secondchances]

While her expression might be sufficiently blank, her face is turning redder by the second.

"Right. So... was that a recent development or...?"

[assassino]

"No."

Ezio combs his memories. There are a lot of blurs, actually, but he feels very certain of one thing.

"It has been the case for a long time."

[secondchances]

She's so warm she can feel her hair stick to the back of her neck thanks to sweat. Gross.

"But you still slept around like it was going out of style." Which is part of the reason why she was determined not to just be another mark on a bedpost or whatever. Of course, after a time, she wondered if that would be the case, and now and then when he was being really cute, she wondered if she'd even really care.

[assassino]

Very unfair of him, certainly. Some habits do die hard, if they even die at all. But for her, he might have tried. He'd learned to be faithful for other women -- and he could have done it again.

"You had a boyfriend for much of the last year," he remarks.

Except he supposes she still has a boyfriend, somewhere in the universe. Hey, he can be jealous, too.

[secondchances]

"What does that have to do with anything?" She asks, crossing her arms. Boyfriend or not, she still spent a lot of time with Ezio. Oh, she remembers that being a problem. Along with the whole assassin thing, too.

She's feeling oddly burned and she has no idea if she has the right.

"I never could make a move towards you if I didn't wanna be ditched when the next hot chick showed up."

Which might be a little unfair, or might hint as some insecurity, but the mouth, it runs.

[assassino]

He watches her for a second, feeling sorry he ever mentioned it, feeling sorry that he isn't the kind of man who could be enough for her. He could reach for her and try to pacify her, but he feels it would only make it worse. He lingers close just the same, dropping to a knee in front of her.

"Dolcezza," he says, knowing pet names probably aren't welcome just now, but it comes out anyway. "Women could move on me every hour of the day, and still I would turn down every one if I thought I had a chance with you."

[secondchances]

Her face is on fire. She feels more embarrassed than upset. Taking a deep breath, she gives him a helpless look.

"I only had a crush on you for about one million years," she says, and then drags a hand down her face. "Oh, my god. That's what this is. Some missed connections, Paradisa style, but it's just us. We're the missed connection."

It's probably just a coincidence, but she's not going to be convinced otherwise, now.

[assassino]

It could be for them. Knowing Paradisa's sense of humour, it very well may be, but it almost doesn't matter what Paradisa wants -- there's something nice about hearing her say something he's suspected himself for some time.

"I know," he admits. "But you have always had more principles than me, hmm?"

Ezio dares scoot a little closer, putting a hand on her knee, and he smiles.

"See? Not very romantic."