anachronismo | (no subject)

(no subject)

Even if Stephanie had access to all the paper in Rome, she didn't think she'd have enough room to write down all that sucked. Bathing sucked. The weather sucked. The clothing sucked. The Borgia family sucked. Lack of deodorant sucked. Lack of modern convenience sucked. Oh, what else? Getting a cut on your arm sucked, because then you worried about stitches and sterilization, and when you're pretty much the most medically advanced person in the history of ever (so far, and maybe that was probably an annoyed exaggeration), that meant you fixed yourself up as best you could, put your shirt back on, and went on with your day. That really sucked.

It was embarrassing, too. She was eager to help, eager to commit to Ezio and the Assassins, but not so eager to kill. The extra care it took to not spill blood (and not make it totally obvious what she was doing) cost her bumps and bruises. And this time, some skin and blood. She wasn't sure if she was more worried about the scar or Ezio noticing--if he hadn't already. She'd lost track of how many chats about killing they'd had, both in Rome and in Paradisa.

For now, she sat herself down at the desk and tried to look busy. She could work on other embarrassing things to distract herself from her "scratch"--like her understanding of local geography. Ugh. Rome was fucking confusing, even after all this time. It didn't make sense to her like Gotham had.

Maybe she'd just invent satellite imaging.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"A little heavier than I remember you being in Paradisa, but nothing I can't handle. This is nice," she replied, honestly. He was never the only one who was a sucker for closeness. She felt needed, even if she knew she was probably more of a detriment to him actually getting sleep. Oh, well. Worth it.

"I have put on weight," he replied, and then added: "Mostly muscle, but I am not exactly climbing buildings just for the fun of it, these days."

He wasn't exactly a lean, lithe young man anymore, but a few extra pounds had done him well, even if they made him a bit thicker, a bit harder. That and he was working with injuries –– as well as he'd healed from the stab wound and the bullet wound, it wasn't as good as new.

Meanwhile, Stephanie was pretty sure she'd lost weight and muscle. Her levels of activity were different here, and there was a distinct lack of soda and chips, so there went her extra padding.

She was also pretty sure a lot of the loss was in her breasts. Sadness.

"You wear it well, still. Don't worry, Ezio, you're just as attractive as you were when you were all young and lively."

"Who said I worried?" he said, closing his eyes and letting out a long, relaxed breath. He missed having company like this –– emotional company. Truth be told, he had felt rather hollow since Caterina had left. "I never worry."

"So that hasn't changed. You're still full of yourself," she laughed, hand leaving his hair to gently pinch his cheek.

"To a lesser extent, yes, I would agree," he murmured, smiling despite the pinch. "I would not want to disappoint."

She returned her hand to his hair. At least he probably wouldn't be balding anytime soon.

"You're the least disappointing person I've ever met." Annoying and frustrating at times, sure, but she'd never genuinely use the word disappointing to describe Ezio.

"You flatter me."

He lifted his head a touch at that, to look at her through the relative darkness of the room, and he slid one hand up along the length of her body. Friendly, warm.

"You know you have never disappointed me, either."

The hand in his hair paused.

"Never? Never ever?" She asked, though the smile on her face was clear.

"Never ever," he confirmed.

"I'm really happy I haven't," she said, wrapping her arms around him despite the discomfort in one. "Even with all the disagreements."

"Disagreements are to be expected, especially between a fiery young woman and a revolutionary Assassin."

"We always figure out a way to not be too pissed off at each other for different views."

"Precisely," he replied, running his hand along her side again. "I let you be progressive without being too... Progressive."

She laughed, though it was more at the hand along her side than what he said. It tickled.

"What does that even mean?"

"It means," he said, "That you are a woman in man's world... And no woman can be revolutionary without meeting violent resistance. We will take up women's liberation in a way suited to this time."

She smiled and held him a little tighter. That wasn't really the best thing to hear, but he was just looking out for her. She tried to not take offense at that.

"It's been hard, getting used to that. Obviously."

"I will do whatever I can for you, bambina."

"More of this wouldn't be bad, if you're speaking generally," she said, not caring if that came off as needy or whatever. "I don't mind playing pillow. Laying here and getting to talk like this is comforting."

Their previous discussion about her staying off the field for a while was pretty much forgotten. It was almost easy to forget that outside of this room there was an entire world she was most unfamiliar with, too.

"I mean, we don't always have the opportunity to do this, but... you know what I mean."

He pressed a chaste kiss to her neck, too lazy to crane his neck further.

"You know that you are welcome in my bed any time, hmm?"

The beard got her to squirm a little, that time.

"I'm going to take full advantage of that now. I wouldn't want to get in the way of... other stuff, though. So don't worry about dropping hints about me being elsewhere." She didn't really have any idea of what Ezio was up to these days in that regard, aside from Caterina. That didn't exactly go well.

Ezio chuckled, but it was a little sad.

"There is no need to worry about that. I cannot take outsider women to the headquarters, and there is no one left here for me."

Caterina's gone, is the unspoken phrase, but he regrets even thinking about her. He just feels lonely and self-loathing when he does, and maybe even a little angry with Caterina, even if only in memory, for failing to be his second chance at love.

"You'll always have me," she said softly, hand rubbing slow circles on his back. The interpretation of that was left up to him, because she wasn't even sure in what manner she was offering. He wasn't the only one that felt lonely.

Any way, she did intend to make these cuddle sessions a regular thing. It was nice to talk to him without him being on his way somewhere, or her having something else she should be learning or figuring out. This felt like neutral ground. It reminded her of all the times they did this in Paradisa, when they really had nothing better to do and all the time in the world to just chat and enjoy their time together.

Ezio let out a long, slow breath, enjoying the warmth of her skin against his cheek. There had been a time where he wanted to make her his lover –– his partner –– but that was before he had become an aging man. Not that it would be unusual for an older man to take a younger woman as a partner, here in this time, but perhaps he wasn't that kind of man. Not with his experiences.

That, and he doubted that Stephanie had intended it like that.

"That I do," he replied. "But men have needs... and those are needs I would not ask of you."

That almost felt like rejection. It didn't quite sting, but it made her frown up at the ceiling for a moment as she tried to piece together a response that didn't make her sound like she was disappointed.

"Well," she began casually, lightly, "It's not like I'd say no at this point."

She didn't really have anything to lose. That was a sad thought.