anachronismo | (no subject)

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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.

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No pressure? The chronically unlucky in romance but successful in bed, wooing Stephanie Brown, potentially changing their relationship entirely and complicating it. "No pressure" was an ideal.

"Of course," he replied, and he caressed her side again with his free hand. "Should I romance you, too?"

"Do you remember how to do that?" She teased, but it was a very obvious dodge. What was she supposed to say to that? Yes, let's make this kinda serious by adding in romancing or no, let's keep it physical, no offense or anything.

Caterina floats through his mind again, and he lets out a long breath, shifting off of her and rolling back onto his back, next to her.

"Perhaps not."

Perhaps it wasn't the best time to tease anymore.

"I was kidding, Ezio. I'm just not really sure what... to... say?" She rolled onto her side, to face him. "I know you were interested in Caterina, and we have the best friendship ever, so awesome it spans freakin' time, so..."

So what?

"I don't know, we're already ridiculously intimate."

He wasn't sure if he entirely got the nuance of her response, or if there was anything getting lost between the lines. Even so, it certainly made him think: back in Paradisa, he would have leapt at the chance, without even considering putting tension on their friendship. He would have been pleased to be intimate with his best friend and that was it.

But as an older man, he didn't want it to blow up in his face. He trusted Stephanie more than any other woman that had ever been in his life, and he'd never been able to open up to anyone like he opened up to her.

"I have slept with you in my arms more than any other woman."

"And yet you haven't actually slept with me. Funny, how that works."

She always had plenty of reasons for them to just remain friends, close, close friends, but a lot of that went out the window now that she was here.

"Maybe I should reconsider this whole thing. I do like my record of being the woman you've known the longest and haven't slept with..."

"I will leave it up to you," he replied. "But there are other contenders for that title."

After all, he'd never slept with Teodora or Paola, though he had only seen them sporadically over the past decades...

"But are any of them from the future? Did you meet any of them in a magical castle when you were a youngin'? I think that should add up to a few more years." She teased, giving him a tiny nudge.

"I'm not taking back anything I've said, though. Believe it or not, I have always had at least some level of interest in you. It's not like I'd be taking one for the team."

That might be underplaying it a bit.

"I have known Paola since I was seventeen," he responded, with a small chuckle.

He reached to nudge her back.

"I may not be as reckless or aggressive as I was as a young man, but rest assured I have lost none of my vigor, and have only gained in talents."

She huffed a little, at that. Whatever, she still held the spot for snuggling or something.

"I don't see you as an old man," she replied, scooting closer to him. "Older, sure. Like, twice my age, kinda old enough to be my father, older..."

Ew. She was joking around, but she probably shouldn't have reminded herself about all that.

"Our age gap is none too surprising, here." And why would it be? Older men who had lost wives closer to their own age to childbirth or violence often took second or third wives, and those women would be much younger. "We are both at our prime, in some sense."

"I hope you're talking about physical activities, not popping out babies." Not that she thought he was implying anything.

Ezio laughed at that.

"No, dolcezza... I try to avoid sowing wild seeds these days, and I do not think you would be terribly pleased with me if you were to find yourself pregnant and sent to live under my mother's care, hmm?"

I would rather die are the words on the tip of her tongue, but she doesn't let them escape. Even if it'd be an exaggeration, she doesn't want to insult his manliness or whatever it is.

"No. No, not at all," she said, not even letting herself think about it. "Anyway, back to a slightly less terrifying topic. Where were we? I don't even remember."

Ezio couldn't really blame her. He didn't like to think of the women he had potentially saddled with children, either...

"Training you, making love, I do not know."

"... yeah, me either."

She sighed, though it wasn't out of any particular emotion.

"Is there anything you wanna talk about?"

He chuckled.

"I thought we were supposed to be napping."

Edited 2013-04-08 05:30 (UTC)

"Nice dodge," she laughed. "I'm sorry if I distracted you by admitting that I'd be more than willing to sleep with you. It's not like that's a big step for us or anything."

Then, a more seriously:

"Though you're probably right. You need your sleep. I can be quiet."

She opened her arms in an invitation to cuddle up.

He shifted into her arms, comfortably nestling against her. This close, he can feel her heartbeat, through the fabric of her shirt and against his bare chest.

"At least I will sleep with good dreams," he replied, running a hand along her body again, stopping at the small of her back.

She tilted her face to leave a soft, but quick, kiss on the corner of his mouth. Not even deterred by the facial hair.

"I would have said the best, but I'll settle for good, too."

"We will see," Ezio hummed, closing his eyes. "I cannot know until I have dreamed."

He shifted to kiss her in return, his hand sliding down over her behind.

Once upon a time she'd shoved him off the bed for touching too much, but in the here and now she snuggled closer.

She wasn't sure if he was going for her cheek or her lips, but she decided lips were the target. No harm, right? Right. Stephanie wasn't a stranger to kissing Ezio on his face, but the lips? Rarely. It was enough to get her heart thumping quickly.

She kept it short (and friendly, she guessed), touching her nose to his. Super cool, Stephanie Brown. Super cool.

He kissed her almost lazily, shifting to press himself flush against her, and his hand groped gently. It felt nice, to be intimate like that, and he felt the impulse to pull her thigh around his waist, but his mind was growing too foggy to actually do it.

When she broke it off, he stayed close.

And then he started to doze off.

She smiled to herself as he drifted off. She always enjoyed people falling asleep against her, and it was sweet knowing Ezio was comfortable enough to do so.

Her hand settled in his hair as she closed her eyes. Sleep probably wasn't going to come easily to her, but she was fine with that.

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