Carry That Weight (TAG)

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Oh. Ti amo, he had whispered. I love you.

Meeting his eyes, that same peace flowed over her, and as he relaxed, so did she. As it turned out, Bell had been completely on the money. Maybe it should have bothered her, given her pause. Going from complete strangers to in love in three days? It didn't happen. It just didn't. The reasonable thing to do would be to question it.

And yet.

There was no doubt in her mind as she looked down at him, tears still beaded at the edges of his long black eyelashes, gentle smile starting on his lips. He looked like he was dozing, but she answered him in a soft whisper, "Ti amo anch'io, Luca." If he hadn't heard her, she'd say it again, and again, and again. She would anyway, even if he had.

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As he started to doze off, he heard her whisper back that she loved him too, which made him smile a little more before falling asleep for a short time, as his raw emotional release minutes ago had left him exhausted, as he didn’t sleep much last night. He must have fallen asleep longer than he thought though, as he woke up with a groan, and looked around in a daze before slowly sitting up and glanced at his watch. It was late afternoon now, and too late to start their hike, and he wasn’t sure if she’d want to do a night hike with him.

“Hmm,” he rubbed his eyes for a moment in an attempt to remove the tiredness from them, and glanced behind him to see she was still there with him on the floor. A soft smile. “Sorry…I fell asleep.” He cleared his dry throat before spotting the glass of water on the floor near him. He reached over and picked it up and drank nearly all of it gone before setting it back down. He sat there for a long minute, staring at the floor; seemingly feeling awkward and embarrassed at his sudden burst of hard crying he had earlier.

Not wanting to bring it up with her right now, he sighed, and bit his lower lip. Not quite sure what to say as he ended up scooting over a little closer to her, and gazed into her eyes. He reached a hand up and brushed the side of her face with his fingertips, and moved a few stray strands of hair behind her ear. He smiled warmly, and whispered as he leaned in and rested his forehead against hers when his hand went back and gently gripped around the back of her neck.

“Thank you…again,” he whispered softly.

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Cassie kept nodding off, herself, eyes closing, head dipping down... and then jerking awake a few seconds later. Just when she was debating how to best lift him off her lap without disturbing him too much, he woke up. Phew. That worked out. She chuckled a little. "You did. For a good while, too."

Looking into his eyes, she rubbed his back, and leaned her chin forward to give him a gentle kiss. He seemed suddenly very self-conscious about things, so in an effort to soothe that, she answered, "It's no problem."

But there actually was a problem - her hand was cramped from holding his, and her legs were dead. The hand was easy enough, she uncurled it, massaging it with the other until it fully relaxed. Her legs, on the other hand... it took a few seconds trying to move them before they responded. Even then, when she tried to get up, she immediately collapsed back to the ground, wincing. "This is so embarrassing, but my legs are asleep. Could you, um," she looked down, blushing a little. "Pick me up?"

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Luca chuckled a little too. “I think I’m just tired today. I didn’t sleep well last night.” He smiled warmly after she kissed him, and watched as she massaged her hand that had been holding his while he was resting on the floor. He tilted his head somewhat, watching her curiously. He looked on with a raised eyebrow when she tried to get up, but fell back down. He winced as soon as she collapsed, and gazed at her in concern.

He smiled, shaking his head. “Don’t be embarrassed, Cassie,” He moved to his feet without any trouble. Even if he felt numb and cramped, his body would’ve healed quickly before he even woke up. “Sure, I’ll help you. No problem.” He smiled warmly and stepped around so he was standing beside her and squatted down as he slipped one arm under her legs and the other supported her back, and then lifted her up easily in his arms.

He glanced at her, grinning in amusement. “Look at us,” he teased, “I’m carrying you over the threshold and we’re not even married yet.” He laughed. “Where do you want me to take you? To the couch or into your room?”

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Cassie had expected him to hold out his hands, help her get off the ground herself. No, suddenly she was being scooped up like she weighed nothing. The open air beneath her back unnerved her, but feeling his strong arms under her legs and back assured her that she wasn't going to fall. "I'm gonna be embarrassed. I'm a grown woman being picked up like a baby." But she liked it, despite her protestations.

At the comment about carrying her over the threshold - at that 'yet,' especially - her whole face grew hot with a blush. "You goof," she said into his chest with a soft laugh. "Yeah, carry me into my room. I'm pretty tired, too, because as silly as it may sound, even things like experiencing strong emotions or thinking a lot give me fatigue. After finals, I could barely move for three days."

She squeezes his arm lightly, and looks up at him again, cheeks still a little pink. "I know it's not like, five-star accommodations... probably not even one star, currently... but you're welcome to stay if you want."

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Luca laughed at her statement about being picked up like a baby. “You love it,” he grinned.

“All right, Cassie,” he chuckled quietly and carried her into her room and paused after carefully bringing her through the doorway. He looked at her.”Don’t worry. I used to sleep on the ground, or hay, or wherever I could find a safe spot to sleep in while growing up for the majority of the time.”

He walked her over to her mattress and gently sat her down on top of it. “Here you go.” He thought about what she told him, how he could stay if he wanted to.

He sighed with a tired smile as he crouched next to her, not caring if he was sitting like he usually does when no one’s around, like a canine. “Okay, I will. Tomorrow though, you and I will sleep under the stars, next to a warm fire. Does it sound good to you?” He asked. “We’ll have to get up really early though, since I need to stop by my place and grab what we need before we head to where I’ll be taking you.”

Smiling once more, he stood up and pulled his phone from his pocket, and texted his boss to let them know he was going to need a couple more days off from work. While he waited for a response, which probably won’t be until morning, he set his phone down beside the mattress and took his shoes off before sitting down beside her with a sheepish smile.

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"Oh, right," Cassie murmured sleepily. "You're a 14th century boy. Back when sleeping sitting up was the height of comfort, because people thought lying flat and snoring invited demons in through your mouth."

She yawned, gazing up at him as he crouched over her. God, he was handsome. "Sounds good. I always sleep better outside. I don't mind waking up early for stuff like this, in fact I usually wake up before my alarm because I'm excited, heh."

Her eyes fluttered shut, and she gave a little exhausted sigh. "I admit, I haven't changed my sheets since I moved in... three weeks ago... sorry. Good nnnn-" She passed out mid-sentence with a small snore.

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Luca laughed. “I never slept sitting up. I thought superstitions were stupid. They still are.” He raised an eyebrow as he glanced at her in amusement. “The irony of you mentioning demons though…” He chuckled lightheartedly. “I am happy to know you’re excited for tomorrow. So am I.” He smiled sadly. “It’s…been a while since I went on a hike with anyone.”

He sat there, watching her fall fast asleep, not minding at all how she hadn’t changed her sheets since she moved in. It wasn’t bad, and her bedding smelled a lot like her. So, it smelled nice to him. He looked over at the lamp that was on the floor nearby, and then got up to turn it off. He stood there, looking down at her, his regular eyes having a soft shine to them as his night vision kicked in while gazing at her thoughtfully. He smiled again, laying down on his side next to her, and covered her up with her blanket so she wouldn’t get cold, and watched her before he sighed lightly, and fell asleep for a while.

When he woke up again, it was later in the night, but he still felt tired and didn’t bother getting up yet. Instead, he watched over her with the same eye shine as before.

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Cassie woke up in the dark, sleepily gazing over at the other side of the bed. It took her a second to understand that the two round, shining lights she was seeing... were Luca's eyes. "Cool." Giggling a little, she scooted close to take a better look at him. "Guess I'll never need a night light again," she whispered, kissing him on his stubbly chin. Throwing an arm around him, she cuddled closer to his chest.

This was really nice. She wanted to stay awake and enjoy it.

She fell asleep again in minutes.

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Her eyes cracked open again a few hours later, at a gentle touch on her shoulder. It was just starting to get light outside. "Huh?" Cassie groaned, rubbing at her eyes. Then, her excitement caught up with her. She grinned, kissing Luca excitedly on his face and neck. "Oh, right! The hike!"


@lupo

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Luca continued to watch her sleep, and when she stirred and looked back at him, he was expecting a different reaction, but grinned when she said ‘Cool’ and moved closer to him for a better look. He chuckled lightly, caressing her cheek with his hand, and kissed her forehead before she cuddled closer. He kissed the top of her head and started to tenderly run his fingers through her hair when she fell asleep again. He gradually fell asleep soon after her and didn’t wake up until she did a few hours later.

“Mattina, mia bella regina demone,” he whispered softly when he woke up, turning over to his side. He gazed at her with a small smile, leaning his face close to hers. He kissed her forehead, and then lightly brushed his claws in an upward motion along the side of her face when she still didn’t wake up.

He chuckled briefly in amusement. “Rise and shine, Cassie.” He grinned, resting a hand gently on her shoulder, until she groaned and rubbed at her eyes. He smiled happily when her excitement suddenly appeared when she realized, and then he started laughing as she kissed his face and neck fervently. When she mentioned about the hike, he excitedly responded, “Yeah! Let’s get ready to go!”

-fin-