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last online May 14, 2024 15:44:10 GMT
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Jan 24, 2022 21:39:58 GMT
Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2022 21:39:58 GMT
"God, did I ever deserve it, I'm guilty of so much worse than that. And yeah, my grandma on my mom's side is from Tuscany," Cassie said, nodding. "She moved to America when she was like 10, but still has the accent. My dad's great-grandfather is from that weird part of Italy that's not quite Italy that speaks German - South Tyrol, I think? Hence the last name. Rest of my family is just garden variety Italian-American."
Cassie tasted the bread and red sauce - both delicious - and her eyes grew wide. "Oh, wow. This is amazing - it really is similar to how my grandma makes it. I just know she's gonna talk your head off when she meets you." She blushed, realizing what she had just said. "I mean if. If she meets you."
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last online May 14, 2024 15:44:10 GMT
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Jan 24, 2022 21:58:27 GMT
Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2022 21:58:27 GMT
Luca smiled. “My father was from Tuscany and while my mother was both a German and a Polish, she and her family moved to the South Tyrol area, where they eventually met, and then they moved to a farm just outside of Buggiano Castell.” He beamed, laughing quietly. “Mhmm…” He walked over to turn the stove completely off, took the tray of garlic bread out, grabbed a couple of plates from their rack, and placed them by the stove to put the food on, and then set the silverware and napkins on the table where they would be sitting across from each other. He filled their plates with a reasonable amount of ravioli and covered them with the sauce, and added two garlic breads on their plates. He walked back and set her plate down in front of her, “Buon appetito,” he said, sitting down across from her and got ready to eat.
@mayhem
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last online May 14, 2024 15:44:10 GMT
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Jan 24, 2022 22:11:08 GMT
Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2022 22:11:08 GMT
Cassie closed her eyes, and softly said grace. "Bless us, O Lord, and these, thy gifts, which we are about to receive through thy bounty, through Christ, our Lord, Amen." After crossing herself, she looked up at the food, then at Luca. "Grazie!"
"Whoa, what a coincidence," Cassie said, as she dug into her ravioli with gusto. "I'll have to tell my grandma next time I call her! Wouldn't that be weird if our families know each other or something?"
Dipping her garlic bread in a bit of sauce, she wondered, "So what do you do in your free time? If you have any, that is; it's pretty rough that you work so late. Thankfully I pretty much set my own hours with my work, as long as it gets done."
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last online May 14, 2024 15:44:10 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2022 1:11:36 GMT
When he realized she started to pray, she was nearly finished saying it when he stopped staring at her, and closed his eyes too.”Grazie!” he said, looking back at her and then down at his plate as he picked up his fork and started eating. After his third or fourth bite, he abruptly paused with his ravioli-filled fork midway toward his mouth when he realized he made a mistake telling her about where his family used to live, and suddenly regretted everything. He sighed inwardly, hoping he had his poker face on at the moment, and forced himself to smile. “Maybe so.” Act normal, Luca, he thought, and swore under his breath as he concentrated on eating while avoiding eye contact until she went to another topic - what he did in his free time. Anything’s better than answering more questions about his past. He shifted in his chair, absentmindedly picking up his garlic bread and dipping it in the sauce before eating it as well. He cleared his throat and listed off some of the things he did when he wasn’t working, “Outdoor activities, you know…hiking, camping, mountain biking, fishing, hunting. I enjoy hunting for my own food, unless I need to have something like beef, then it’s at a local butcher since I really can’t stand store-bought meat.” He paused, playing with his food for a few long seconds. “I also like to play the guitar, read, and play with my dog and cat, who also enjoy coming with me on a hike or camping trip…” He raised a hand at all the woodwork, “...and you’ve already seen my carpentry skills.” He smiled and sighed, “That’s about it.” He sipped on his glass of water and set it down. Looking at her curiously, he asked, “How about you?” @mayhem
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last online May 14, 2024 15:44:10 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2022 2:11:46 GMT
Cassie noticed he seemed a bit downhearted for a second, but chalked it up to the long day... and the case he was working. She took a deep breath and forced herself to think of other things. Hours later, and the pictures were still haunting her; she couldn't imagine what it was like having to do an investigation on horrible crimes like that, day in and day out. At least her day job was pleasant.
"That's really cool. I wish I could say I got outside more. I used to when I was a kid, like I mentioned in the car. I don't think I've really been on a proper hike or camping trip in at least five years, and I miss it. I've got really busy with my master's, then a fellowship with the National Gallery of Art, and before you know it, I haven't been out of the city in forever." She sighed. "I get what you mean about meat; it does taste better, and I honestly think it's more respectful to the animal to hunt for it. I'm pretty much a vegetarian these days, unless I get the fancy animal welfare level three stuff from the organic grocery. I'd rather not eat meat than eat some poor animal that suffered all its life."
Cassie finished her ravioli and sat back, taking a few sips of water before she continued. "Well, I used to play the drums up through undergrad, but haven't really since then. Let's see, I also like reading, dancing, baking, drawing, and uh. I do urban exploration a decent amount. For instance, going up unused cranes and into abandoned insane asylums. I have an Instagram and everything." And I also like killing the scum of the earth in my free time, she added in her head.
She took another sip of water. "I probably shouldn't be, after what my doctor told me the other day, but I dunno. It's just hard for me to stay inside and stay still." A second later, and she realized she'd brought up a topic she really hadn't wanted to on the first date. Shit.
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last online May 14, 2024 15:44:10 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2022 9:22:28 GMT
Cleaning his plate with the remainder of his garlic bread, he sat back, wiping his mouth and hands with his napkin, and listened to her talk; mildly nodding in agreement at the mention of it being more respectful to animals when people hunt for them. He noted she was a vegetarian these days, and he really didn’t know why he wanted to remember it. Perhaps the thought of being able to have something to eat with her more than once and the pinch of hope he had of no longer being alone crawled around in the back of his mind. Sometimes, he was perfectly content with being alone, which he has been a lone wolf for the last thirty years, ever since his wife passed away in her sleep, but it was only sometimes. Other times, he wanted companionship in another human being - powers or not, and to love and be loved. He vaguely scoffed at the thought when he figured she wouldn’t want to date a cop, much less fall in love with one, and then find out about the abilities he had, and pushed it all in the back of his mind and focused on what she was telling him. Despite his conflicting feelings and emotions he was dealing with at the moment, Luca smiled warmly as she continued talking about what she liked to do in her free time. “Oh,” he exclaimed when she told him she also explored urban locations. He raised his eyebrows, downing the rest of his water, and looked intently at her in both amusement and amazement. “Urbexing, huh? I’ve heard of it and did some research on it before. I even interacted with some young people who did that kind of thing on multiple occasions.” He shrugged, leaving that part open for interpretation. “Hm, it’s an interesting hobby, and some people have taken some excellent pictures of the urban decay and all of the old things they find, but it can be dangerous; especially if a location is sketchy.” He tilted his head curiously, grinning at her. “I never pegged you as an urban explorer, but I guess it’s art in itself. Or, at least that’s what a few of them have told me.” A pause. “Of course, you do seem the adventurous type. You have that youthful curiosity of the world we live in.” He asked, “And why shouldn’t you? Are you not wearing some kind of breathing mask so you won’t breathe in anything bad while exploring those places?” Sensing something was wrong, and figuring she was worried about telling about her urban exploration interest to a cop, he raised his hands. “I don’t care what you do, as long as you don’t get caught, and are careful, and aware of your surroundings at all times.” Because there’s plenty of illegal things I’ve done too, he thought to himself with a smile, If only you knew what else I did in my free time.
@mayhem
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last online May 14, 2024 15:44:10 GMT
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Jan 25, 2022 13:07:35 GMT
Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2022 13:07:35 GMT
"I've never really been afraid to poke around in places I shouldn't be. I do carry bear spray," Cassie said, a lie that rolled off her tongue easily, but the rest that followed was truth. She noted that he had made a point to mention he didn't care what she did in her free time as long as she was careful - an interesting sentiment for a cop to have. "I feel like I'm as careful as I can be, and I've only been caught the one time. I mean, yeah... I do forget to wear a mask sometimes, and that's really not good for many reasons. Old places have all kinds of mold, dust, and worse besides. But mostly I mean..." She trailed off, looking down at the table.
"I have a condition called chronic fatigue syndrome. Though it's been a known thing for a while, it's still not very well understood. What is known is that you need to pace yourself, and get lots of sleep and rest, or it can get worse and worse. And I'm... not good at any of those things." She paused for a second, voice wobbling at the edge of breaking. "It's been hard for me to accept that just because I caught mono off a Pepsi can I shared with my girlfriend, I'm gonna have to deal with this for the rest of my life, you know?"
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last online May 14, 2024 15:44:10 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2022 0:32:18 GMT
Luca subtly raised an eyebrow when she told him she wasn’t afraid of going to abandoned places, and faintly grinned, but said nothing about it as he nodded. “Bear spray is all right, until it gets in your face if you’re not standing downwind from it. Honestly, I’m not a fan of any form of pepper spray in general.” He never liked it, especially when he was a patrol officer when police departments were introduced to the non-lethal weapon before he became a detective. He ended up raising his eyebrow more when she said she was caught one time exploring, and shook his head a little, while chuckling briefly in a quiet way. There were a number of close calls where he was nearly caught by the police, but he was quicker and more agile than a lot of them, and was able to evade arrest. There were a few times where he had to injure a fellow officer, but none of them recognized him in the dark. Hard to know it’s him when he’s partially shifted. One would have to have time to look closer at his face to realize it’s him, and he never gives anyone time to do so. He tilted his head when she trailed off explaining to him about not wearing a mask sometimes. He breathed in a sigh when he picked up a change in her chemical signals, and noticed the change in emotional state via his sense of smell. Then, when she told him about her chronic health issue, he felt extremely bad for her. He always felt terrible for those who had to deal with medical issues, while he could walk around without worrying about getting sick, have a chronic illness, cancer, and other problems other people suffer from, or die from. Luca bit his lower lip, hearing her already wobbling voice about to break caused him to gaze sympathetically at her. “Cassandra…” he trailed off with a soft sigh, extending his arm across the table and gently resting his warm hand over hers in an attempt to comfort her. “I’m deeply sorry you have to deal with such an awful thing for the rest of your life.” He paused, gently squeezing her hand as he stared into her eyes; his eyes filled with empathy and sadness. "Ma, per favore, Cassandra. Non farlo a te stesso. Devi stare al passo con te stesso e prendertela comoda. Non voglio vederti peggiorare.”
@mayhem
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last online May 14, 2024 15:44:10 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2022 1:12:47 GMT
His eyes were the dark green of the tall pines at the heart of the forest, and there was something reflected there that seemed old, and immeasurably sad. The kind of eyes that someone who had experienced a great deal of pain in their life had. It hurt to look at him, if she was honest; it felt like he was more upset than she was, and she was the one with the illness. Christ, he was even slipping back into what she assumed was his actual accent, he was so upset.
"Starò bene." Cassie squeezed his hand back, then brought it to her lips. "Really. Truly." She was lying, but he didn't need to know that. She kissed his fingers, the palm of his hand, his wrist.
The way he'd truly listened, thoughtfully, to everything she said... the true sympathy, open and raw on his face now... there was no way this man was a bad person. No way. Which made her decision now all the harder. If she was going to stop this from going any further, she'd better do it now, because things were happening - emotionally, anyway - fast.
Served her right for going out with another Italian.
@lupo
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last online May 14, 2024 15:44:10 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2022 2:59:12 GMT
Pg-13 posties coming up. Lots of sympathy making out time. o3o
He sighed softly, watching as she kissed his fingers and down to his wrist. His eyes flicked back to hers, and he stood, leaning over the table. He gently held her cheeks in his hands, and mildly whispered, “Non devi nascondermi il tuo dolore. Okay, Cassie?” Luca gazed intently into her eyes, lost in the honey-yellow pools for what seemed like an eternity; hesitating and mentally fighting with himself internally. Fuck it, he thought, as his longing for companionship won. He brushed the pad of his thumb over her lips and caressed her cheek, and then leaned his face closer to hers until their lips brushed lightly as he hovered there reluctantly. He lightly brushed his hands down her neck, shoulder, arms, and then carefully grabbed her hands, and helped her to stand. He pulled back before they could actually kiss, smiling warmly as he looked at her to see if it was okay to keep going. “Let’s go to the living room, shall we? It’ll be a lot more comfortable than sitting in here. If that’s okay with you?” He took several steps back toward the living room, holding both her hands in his, and kept an eye on her for a moment longer before turning around to walk her over to the soft leather couch with a white faux fur blanket covering it. Still holding one of her hands, he sat down, sinking into the soft cushion, as he kept his eyes on hers, as he leaned back, head resting on the back of the couch. Not wanting to pull her down on him, as he still wanted to make sure she still wanted to do this.
@mayhem
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