Path of the Vampire forum

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--
<Athena> [T] What are you doing right now, you handsome handsome man?

<Cosimo> [T] Visiting with my family, my bella, ragazza meravigliosa.

<Athena> [T] What? I’m ravioli? OH, AM I THE GOOD KIND THAT COMES IN THE CAN?

<Cosimo> [T] Mai. That is not the good kind!

<Athena> [T] Sure it is, baby. You just warm it up. Takes like two minutes! Perfection.

<Cosimo> [T] You do not compliment yourself. I do not think. You took more than two minutes to warm up, amore mio.

<Athena> [T] You charmer. Go somewhere where I can kiss you.

<Cosimo> [T] I will walk to Sanctuary. From Thornside Park. Is there somewhere on the way I can meet you?

<Athena> [T] Maybe. I’ll need to check a map. I’m always getting lost.

<Cosimo> [T] I will just have to come find you. Where are you? I am walking through the park toward Gullsborough Station.

<Athena> [T] I’m in your bed. I’ll get out now, goosh.

<Cosimo> [T] That is an easy place to find. Stay. I will be home soon.

<Athena> [T] I look forward to seeing you.

<Cosimo> [T] I hope that you and Artu are getting along.

<Athena> [T] Of course, baby. I put him in the stove.

<Cosimo> [T] I hope you are kidding. Or I will put you in the stove.

<Athena> [T] Come home and find out.

<Cosimo> The Italian didn’t know Athena so well. He knew her well enough, but he did not know her enough to determine whether she would actually put a cat in an oven or not. Or whether that oven would be turned on. So, rather than catch the train back to Wickbridge like he had previously planned to do, after finding out that Athena was in his bed, he instead opted for a cab in order to get there quicker. It was only ten minutes later that his key turned in the lock and he walked through the front door, quickly closing it behind him. It wasn’t to the bedroom that he first went. Instead, he first went to the kitchen, and to the oven - not knowing what he would do or how he would react if he actually found a roasted cat inside.

<Athena> She knew her joke was terrible but it tickled her. Maybe her humor was twisted or whatever but it gave her a good laugh. The woman really was sprawled out on his bed, a book in her hand as she lazily lounged there. Where was that damn cat anyway? Well, it wasn’t in the oven that was still shut off. All that he would find in there was a little rubber cat and when she heard him open the oven - she was laughing. Artu, of course was being as stubborn as ever and laying on the other side of the bed. The side that Cosimo usually slept on, staring at her while she’d read and occasionally look up to glare at it. She didn’t like his damn cat.

<Cosimo> He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw nothing in the oven but a joke. The oven hadn’t been used at all. Ever. This complex was new. No one had lived in this apartment but Cosimo. And what need did he have of an oven? The thing was pristine. And he realised now, if Artu had been cooking he probably would have been able to smell it in the hall. Dropping his bag on the counter and closing the oven door, Cosimo only now wandered through to the bedroom. He laughed when he saw the cat on the bed with Athena; though it didn’t take long for him to jump down to wind himself around Cosimo’s legs, mewling at him for food. “You would not roast the cat,” he said, reaching down to pick Artu up. “That is good to know,” he said. The cat started to purr as Cosimo pet him.

<Athena> She casually gazed up when he walked into his room, smiling with just a hint of mischief as she watched him and the cat. "No, I wouldn't cook your cat, Cosimo. Though the thought may be under heavy consideration if I wake up to it between us in our sleep." Her nose wrinkled, squinting down at the cat even as she closed her book. It was new. "Did I have you worrying?" Asking as she slowly sat up on his bed, fixing her light sweater around her shoulders.

<Cosimo> He wandered just outside where he put the cat down, and got some biscuits from the cupboard to fill Artu’s dish. Within twenty seconds Cosimo was back in the bedroom and sauntering toward the woman in his bed. “I was mildly concerned,” he said. Artu may have had a sixth sense like that. Although the cat did like to join them on the bed, he mostly stuck to Cosimo’s side, rather than Athena’s. Rather than trying to get between them. The cat knew which one fed him. Cosimo’s knees hit the edge of the bed and he leaned forward, to crawl toward Athena. “How long have you been here?”

<Athena> She still looked mildly amused, her book closed and in her hand. It was hard but she managed not to roll her eyes at the cat who followed Cosimo around. Who got jealous of a pet? When he asked his question she turned to slide the book on a bedside table. "An hour top, maybe. I got distracted by my book." Smiling, she crawled on his bed to meet him halfway. Her lips finding his easily while both arms raised to wrap around him loosely, ready to tangle her body with his comfortably. After a few sweet kisses to his lips she pulled back enough to grin in his face. "I may have another surprise for you." Tipping her head to allow her lips to kiss along his strong jaw now.

<Cosimo> He stopped crawling when their lips met. Instead, when Athena wrapped her arms around his neck, he leaned back so that he could reciprocate by wrapping his arms around her waist. The woman seemed to do what she could to keep from being trapped beneath him. Which, honestly, is what he'd been doing. Crawling toward her with the intent of laying his long body over hers. But he was happy either way. His brow arched as she mentioned another surprise. His fingers slipped beneath her shirt, so his fingertips could graze against the bare skin of her hip. "What surprise?" He asked, distracted enough already.

<Athena> Smiled, she couldn't help it. Her lips kissing more along his jaw then back up to his lips. With his fingers touching her hip, she began to slowly lean her body back to lay under him. A hand lifting to toy with his hair as she kissed, letting him for once lay on top of her body. "I may have cooked something up for us tonight." Teasing, amused with her own joke as she just went back to kissing him. Blue eyes closing, completely at peace with the man. Since the night of the spell she hadn't looked back. Instead of going back and forth with him she was warming up little by little, wanting him desperately in her world. Just as she wanted to be in his.

<Cosimo> Of course the man took the opportunity that he was given; as soon as Athena leaned backward, Cosimo leaned forward. As soon as her head was on the pillows, his arms were on either side of her, keeping himself balanced. Not that he was an overly heavy man, but he didn’t want to lean too heavily regardless. His body stretched neatly over Athena’s, gladly taking the kisses that she gave, and giving back more of his own. Even when she spoke, he didn’t stop, his lips finding her jaw just as hers had kissed his. Of course he was intrigued by this surprise she mentioned, but Cosimo was an easy-going male with nothing in his life to cause him any kind of stress or woe. What Athena might have found boring, Cosimo found relaxing. But he would roll with this… surprise. He smiles against their kisses. “I would ask. But you will not tell me, will you?” he asked. “... I assume it requires getting out of bed?” he said. But while he spoke, his hand slipped to its trademark position, fingers tangled in Athena’s hair and palm cupping her jaw, tongue now swiping at the pout of Athena’s lips. Very clearly, he’d be happy to stay right here, too.

<Athena> There was a big smile on her face when he laid on her. Now using both hands to run fingers through his hair, smiling up at him. She couldn't help herself but she laughed and enjoyed every kiss she got. Lifting up some, she kissed his mouth over and over again with her fingers in his hair. When he spoke about wanting to know she kept kissing at his lips, then over his jaw again and again. Laughing again against his lips. "Well, it does but it doesn't have to." Fingers running through his hair again, lazily laying back down as she smiled up at him. Those happy blues on his face. "Do you want to go and see? I'm rather content here." Her smile grew, a hand leaving his hair so she could run her hand up and down his arm.

<Cosimo> If there was one thing Cosimo knew about Athena, it was that she didn’t do things by halves. They were still getting to know each other, though, so he didn’t know whether he should be excited about this surprise, or remain dubious. In the end, he was a man who liked surprises, big or small. More than the surprise itself, he liked figuring out why the person giving said surprise thought it would be a good surprise to begin with. As Athena lay back down, Cosimo loomed over her. His thumb grazed her cheekbone as he momentarily chewed on his bottom lip. “Ah. So it requires one of us getting out of bed,” he said with a smile, though he pulled his attention away from Athena to survey the room. As if the surprise was going to be clearly evident, somewhere. “Go where?” he finally asked, turning back to Athena, his brow arched inquisitively.

<Athena> Raised both eyebrows at him while she relaxed there, on the man’s bed and comfortably on his pillows. “It does require one of us, at the very least.” With a giggle, she bent an arm to rest under her head as she gazed up at him with a happy smile. It made her smile grow just watching him look around his room as if that were the surprise. “Someplace special.” she answered, her free hand moving fingers through his hair slowly, letting her nails gently graze over his scalp before she lifted up enough to kiss the man again. “Mm, just a few more kisses and I’ll take you to the surprise..” she kissed him again and again then, nibbling there gently on his lower lip.

<Cosimo> Cosimo couldn’t help himself. Laying there in the bed like any normal couple might; he wasn’t preoccupied by the thought of a surprise. It turned out that he was a patient man. Maybe he’d been raised that way. Despite the belief (and sometimes the truth) that Italians liked to do everything in a large way, Cosimo’s birthdays and Christmases were never grand affairs. They were understated. They weren’t forgotten, but his mother had tried her best to harness in her son an appreciation for the small things, rather than for the large and expensive. Birthdays normally consisted of a visit with his Grandmother, and a homecooked meal. The presents were left until the end of the day, and they were always something that inspired sentimentality. A St Christopher medal. Or a homemade knitted jumper. It had subconsciously affected Cosimo, so now? The surprise could wait. It would still be there. It wasn’t going anywhere. And he had something in his arms that he appreciated more. Just a few more kisses, she said. And Cosimo complied; his arm slid beneath his lover, cradling her body against his as he relaxed. He’d been tentative about trapping the woman, but she was trapped, now, with his weight bearing down upon her. Only so that he could kiss her better, deeper, though careful with his own non retractable fangs. So that he wouldn’t hurt her.

<Athena> Maybe if he had trapped her under him before the other night she would have freaked out. Instead, she was happy to be trapped under him. Happy to be close to him, happy to be kissing him and even happier to be surprising him. Keeping her head on his pillow she raked her fingernails through his hair as her blues met his handsome face. They closed then, her lips meeting his over and over again as they kissed. She was grateful for his carefulness with his fangs, not that she would have truly minded but a mess was still a mess. Slowly, and reluctantly she pulled her lips away to laugh and smile up at him. “Okay, we gotta go before it gets too late.” her teeth and fangs showed when she smiled, she was excited to say the least. Lifting up , she kissed him once again on his mouth, arms wrapping around him tightly in a hug now before she slid a hand from his back to over the curve of his bottom with a mischievous smile. “Let’s go.”

<Cosimo> It was hard not to notice those fangs of hers. They weren’t there before, were they? Or were they? What did it mean, if they suddenly appeared like that? Was she hungry? Did this surprise involve blood, somehow? And now that she was focusing on it and thinking about it, she was growing hungrier? His gaze raked the length of her body as he glanced down, as if he could look behind himself and watch her fingers. Those sneaky fingers. For a few seconds he was distracted by those fingers and what they might get up to in the future. Although relaxed, and although he did not tense or pull away from her wandering caress, he was still relieved now to lean back. To untrap Athena so that she could get out from underneath him. Although she had accepted him and all his flaws there was still a healthy amount of shame that he wanted only to ignore and turn his back on. When Athena sat up, he would pull her close again; another kiss to the lips, a hasty kiss and nip to the neck, before he rolled himself out of the bed. He stood and stretched. He was still wearing his jacket and his shoes. “Ready when you are, cara.”

<Athena> Athena moved easily to him when he pulled her close, smiling big and wide at him still. Giving him a happy kiss, she shivered then in her spot to the attention to her neck. When he said he was ready she snapped to it. Now wiggling her bottom to the edge of the bed where her socked feet touched the ground. "Let me just put on my boots." Smiling up at him, she stood up and gathered her boots to lace them back on. Just a pair of worn combat boots, nothing special. Once that was done she dusted herself off, fixed her sweater and turned to him with that smile still on her face. "Ready, handsome?" Her hand reaching for his. She was so excited. It hadn't been that long they've been dating, but she thought this would be a great sign of good faith. That after this, he definitely wouldn't have any thought that she would leave. That he wouldn't have any doubt in her mind that she wanted him. Because she did, she did want him in every way she could have him. Athena was all in and this was the only way she could think to do it. It was romance the way she knew how.

<Cosimo> Cosimo took his girl’s hand, and was happily led away - the only detour he made was to collect his keys and wallet from the bench, the items tucked into the inside pocket of his jacket. The bag he’d carried back from Ivory Towers was full of loot, and he doubted it would be a necessary accoutrement on this outing. His own attire was casual enough, and anyway, he took his cue from Athena. Her sweater and combat boots assured him that wherever they were going and whatever this surprise was, they didn’t need to dress up for it. “Where are we going? Or is that the surprise?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder to make sure that Artu wasn’t planning to try to escape between their legs as soon as they opened the door. The cat had enjoyed a week or two living out on the street. His need for adventure was a healthy one.

<Athena> Taking his hand, she intertwined their fingers together. Holding his hand tight she let him go about his business, she let him do what he needed. When he asked if the destination was the surprise she smiled bigger. Yes, in fact it was. Not that she'd let him know that, at least with her words. '"You'll see, handsome." Holding his hand still, she walked him easily towards his front door. She left her bag, she left everything besides herself and Cosimo. Obviously, they didn't need anything other than each other. As she lead him to the elevator, she was smiling pulling him to the corner to lean up and kiss his mouth. Her free hand slid down his arm, pulling him closer by his shirt as she relaxed there against a wall.

<Cosimo> He could imagine someone in a booth somewhere, watching everything that happened in the elevators. Though he supposed that would be common only to hotels than to apartment complexes. Even if he had a feeling this was no ordinary apartment complex. As Athena pulled him into the corner after he’d hit the button for the ground floor, he happily leaned into the kiss. Where his lean body had pressed down against Athena’s in the bed earlier, it did so again now, abdomen pressing up against hers even as his head was bowed and his fingers tangling through her hair. His lips caressed hers, tongue delving, long and deep. But then his kiss trailed, over the corner of her mouth, along her jaw. He nipped at the lobe of her ear before moving down to nip at her neck. Oh, he had paid attention. He had felt that shiver of delight before. He wanted to feel it again.

<Athena> When he nipped her again, he felt the shiver again but this time it was against his body. This time it was accompanied by a soft sound. While she had managed to keep her hands to herself before this time her hands were already on him. Her mouth found his, her body loosened then pressed against his. It was instinct, she pressed to him while her mouth kissed his passionately. Her tongue shamelessly dancing against his own, her body growing slack with her hands gently holding onto his arms. Then the elevator clicked, the doors opened and this time she groaned against his lips. She didn't want to move, she didn't want to let go of him. Her mouth pulled from his, lifting up on her boots she whispered near his ear to deliver sweet nothing's. A hand slid down his back, towards his bottom again as she spoke how much she already adored him. How handsome he was, how she wanted to kiss him now and into oblivion.

<Cosimo> If his body had any heat to give, the heat would have caused the condensation to gather against the wall of the elevator, where his palm was pressed. A foreign heat. One that he thought he had lost. And it wasn’t her kisses that did it, though they helped. It wasn’t the way her fingers roamed. It was the things that she whispered in his ear; all confirmations of how she felt even after he had revealed his secrets. It dawned on him that she was still here. She still could be found spontaneously lounging in his bed, even though that bed was only somewhere they slept. And kissed. But mostly slept. It had been nearly three weeks since he’d revealed the fact that he probably couldn’t properly make love to her but… she was still here. Something stirred within which left Cosimo breathless, stars dancing behind his eyes as he felt the surge from within. Real heat. It felt like real heat. What was going on? The doors to the elevator closed again, but it didn’t move. No one else needed to use it, at this time. His hand still cradled Athena’s neck, and he breathed against her lips even though he had no need to breath. “Will we stay here and kiss each other to oblivion? Or… were we going somewhere…?”

<Athena> He reminded her. She had a plan. This was about romance. This wasn't about how he made her feel from his kisses, from how he treated her and touched her. No. This was about furthering their relationship. It was about finding each other emotionally, it was about connecting and being together. Being one, without... The hairy details. She wanted him to know, to be sure that despite what he think he lacked that he had her fully. That while she wanted him in every way, she understood. It could only go so far with certain things but to her that was more than fine. She had him. That's what she wanted mostly. With a loud groan, she turned her head. If she could flush, she would have. Her pale face would have turned red, she would be panting and begging for breath. Instead, she used her hand to gently push his chest to make him take a step back. "Okay, okay... I'm sorry, yes were going..." Trailing off, she couldn't help it because at the last moment she stole a little kiss to his full lips. Her hand took his again, taking the few little steps and the lean closer to push the ground floor button. She would stick with the plan, with the idea. This wasn't about how he made every part of her insides purr with delight.

<Cosimo> There was a doorman outside, near the front desk as they exited the elevator. Or, was it a doorman? Someone who looked like they belonged to the body corporate, anyway, taking care of something or other. There was a broad beaming smile stretched across Cosimo’s features. He wondered if his hair was as mussed as Athena’s was, where his fingers had tangled through it, where he had pushed her up against that wall. He could still feel the impression of her hand where it had pressed against his chest; he wasn’t sure he’d have been able to move if she hadn’t encouraged him to. Maybe she wouldn’t have been able to move if he hadn’t reminded her that they should. They were a pair, tangled up in each other and subject to each other’s whims. He wondered if that body corporate employee understood what had been going on in the elevator. By the way he nodded and gave his small smile, Cosimo had no doubt. But nor did he care. “How far…?” he asked Athena, before the exited the building. Almost as if he wondered how long this would take. How long until they were ensconced back in that apartment together? How long until he could explore this new found heat?

<Athena> She didn't care about anyone who might know or might not. Or if anyone had been recording, or if anyone guessed. She wasn't ashamed. It was Cosimo she wanted and that she wouldn't apologize for. If she had it her way, they would have gone back upstairs. They would be on their way to that bed of his and they would be kissing. Her hands would wander, her fingers... She decided to let go of those images. Later, later. They had forever. They would get there when they got there. But she couldn't help it. She found herself reaching for his hand and as they looked up to his handsome face to answer- her blues had darkened with her desire. It was a telltale sign, she didn't know it was happening. She cleared her throat not once but twice as they stood outside the building holding hands. "Not too far but far enough..." Athena mumbled, though it was obvious she meant 'not as close as your bed.' Letting out a evening breath, she began to walk towards the surprise. The surprise now she wished she had skipped for his bed Instead.

<Cosimo> Cosimo felt drunk. As they held hands and he stared down at her darkened eyes - it was almost animalistic, the way he recognised that desire in her. Like it throbbed from her body and he could feel it vibrating against his in a way that his body had no choice but to respond. An instinct he thought he had lost entirely,p but Athena had slowly chipped away at something. And something had broken inside of him. Something that needed to be broken. He let go of Athena’s hand only so that his arm could slide around her middle, fingers clinging to her hip, his body swaying against hers as they walked. He leaned down to quickly brush a kiss against her neck. Again. Before he cleared his throat, scolded himself. Told himself to focus. He paid attention to where Athena was leading them. His curiosity now piqued, now that they were on their way. “Tell me,” he said. “What is the surprise?”

<Athena> He kissed her neck again, she was curled up at his side with his arm around her. She liked how it felt when he had his arm around her, how it felt to have her body tucked against his side. Her head tipped against his body. When his lips touched her neck, her entire body shuddered when he kissed her. "Cosimo.." She groaned, the desire clear in that quick sound before she calmed herself. Before she sucked in a breath she didn't need. She continued to walk, her own arm wrapping around his body. "It's.. just a.. surprise." Now she laughed, she couldn't get a good sentence out. What had he done to her? She could feel how her body reacted to his kiss, to his close body but she ignored it. They continued to walk down the street, they were obviously in a set destination because she would turn her head every now and again to check the street names.

<Cosimo> Cosimo laughed when he saw Athena checking the street names. Did she know where she was going, or would they have to pull out a map? She was the one who had admitted to getting lost easily. But, she didn’t falter in her steps, so she must have the destination in mind. It must be somewhere she goes to often, or had thought about often enough to not get them lost. He laughed because he didn’t want to think about the way she had said his name, the way it was weighted with the need for more. He, too, focused on the street names and where they could possibly lead to to keep from imagining how he could make her moan some more. Tried not to think about the ways that he could touch her, just to hear his name rumbling from her lips like he was God. “I trust that you will not get us lost, amore mio,” he said, his own voice tinged with a heavier kind of affection.

<Athena> Well, she wouldn't deny that she got lost often. She really did. At times she would get lazy and rely on her tome and the portal's for transportation instead of walking. But, she had made this travel once or twice. She had made sure that she knew the way so she wouldn't get them lost. Now she held his hand tighter, letting out a breath from her flaring nostrils. He didn't have to try hard and here she was already losing her mind for him. Already losing sight of what she had been focused on for nights. This had been a grandly planned surprise. She had taken time out of her schedule to make sure this got done. This was just for him, just for them. It took them a good twenty minute walk but once they got close she squeezed his hand, she smiled up at him wide and she lead him straight from the street to a hidden warehouse. The doors looked old and rigged but they were locked, her free hand reached into her pocket and she used both hands to open it. "You ready, my handsome man?" Without waiting for his answer, she opened both the doors. It was a spacious place, it was cleaned up and the place was decorated with hanging sparkling lights. Besides those lights, it was dark but there was soft music playing. It was classical, romantic. The corners of the building lined in those lights, in a far corner held her record player. It was already running, how she got the electricity to work here.. She had done what she was good at. She rigged it. Just for him. "It isn't much but... It's for you." Letting go of his hand she made her way inside and towards the impressively clean drum set. "This is mine..." Her voice trailed off, turning her head to look at him over her shoulder, a hand grazing along a symbol. "And this is my drum set.." She chewed on her lower lip, watching him for some type of a reaction. Had this happened too soon?

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--[/color]

<Cosimo> With every step that they took, there was always that temptation to drag Athena up against some wall. That would be her surprise. A very public display of affection. Or several. As if he could hear the music in his ears, a soundtrack for their passion. But he refrained, just. He kept his arm tight around Athena’s waist and his feet made one step after another, until they finally reached their destination. Cosimo was confused. An abandoned building? What could she possibly have hidden here? When the doors opened to the final display, he gazed on in wonderment. Athena had obviously spent a lot of time in this place; this particular room did not look as run down as the rest of the building. It looked loved. It looked lived in. Cosimo took a few steps forward, his gaze finally resting on the drum kit. The cogs were turning in his brain. The drums. They were hers. “This is… you,” he said. It was not a misappropriation of English. He had not messed it up. Stepping into the room, it felt like stepping into a part of Athena.”This is not a place you show people,” he said. A statement, but also a question. His own fingers grazed over the skin of one of the drums. It was rough with use. He imagined how much rage Athena had spent on this kit, the emotion now ingrained into it. He touched that drum kit in the way he wanted to touch Athena. Gently, explorative. But his inquisitive gaze remained upon Athena.

<Athena> She stood by her kit, her hand on a worn symbol. Her fingertips grazed over it lovingly, just like the external part of her that it was. This was her place of peace. She had posters, she had the place cleaned. It was hers. When she was here it was where she could be herself. It was a place that no judgement happened and she could just play. But tonight she had chosen to bring him. She had chosen to share this special place with him. Maybe this was more than just a little sign of good faith. "This is me." She agreed, her hand moving off the symbol lovingly to turn and face him. "And now this is me and you." Her face scrunched up. Did she say that right? Did she convey what she was trying to? But he understood. He understood more than she had thought he would. "This is my little crack in the wall." Now she laughed, her free hand moving to grab his hand and intertwine their fingers again. The music continued to play in the corner, she guided him then towards the middle of the spacious building. "Do you understand?" She asked, her free hand moving over his shoulder as she looked into his face. Did she even understand?

<Cosimo> “I think that I understand,” he said, slowly. The last thing he wanted to do was anger Athena by telling her he understood something if she disagreed. He felt like they were standing on a precipice, or building toward a brilliant crescendo. They could fall on either side of the precipice. Or the crescendo could break, and disappoint. And he did not want that to happen. He wanted to know how this would end. And he wanted it to end with a bang. She led him to the centre of the space and Cosimo tugged her close, his fingers tucking her her hair behind her ear, before they drifted down her neck. The tips of his fingers caressed and drew circles upon her skin. The other hand, inadvertently, found her hip again. Found bare skin. “This is… your sanctum. And you have allowed me inside,” he said. “It is not… the place that is the surprise so much as… the gesture, si?” he said. The place was nice enough. It was grand, if it was what Athena had created. But still, he could not tear his eyes from the woman. He was here for her. Not for the space.

<Athena> While she was tugged, she smiled up at the man with her boots shuffling against the simple concrete floor. She moved close to him with her head tipped to look at his face, listening to his question. Her head turned to graze over the simple space. It wasn't much for sure. It had all her band equipment, it was now decorated in lights to make the glow romantic. The record player was always there, the rest of the place was bare besides a few random seats. It would take her some more time to decorate it grandly. Turning to look back up at him she bit her lower lip gently. "Yes, it isn't a place of grand standing but... It's mine." Whispering before she managed to smile again, her hand sliding down to his chest. "I play my music here... I try not to bother Clo with it." Laughing, not that she honestly thought it would bug her roommate but for now it was just for her. Her music. And now, it was something she was trying to share with him.

<Cosimo> Cosimo wasn’t paying any attention to the music. Or to the posters. He should have. He would, at a later date. He would get to know Athena, inside and out. For now, he was preoccupied, his head tilting to the side as she laughed. He liked it when she laughed. No, he loved it when she laughed. It was such a pure sound. More musical than the melody resonating from the record player. “Thank you,” he whispered, his fingers playing delicately over the lines of her neck when she laughed, his knuckle grazing at that bare dimple in the middle, where the front shoulder blades met and dipped. “Will you play something for me?” he asked, his nodding toward the drum kit. He wanted to know her. All of her. There was no rush to get her home, not now. The passion there wasn’t depleted. It hadn’t lessened. But they had time. All the time in the world.

<Athena> "For what?" She asked softly, turning to look back up at the man. Her blues widened, the thank you hadn't been expected. It caught her off guard. As he touched her, she arched her back some and relaxed her shoulders. She enjoyed it when he touched her and this wasn't any different. Then he asked her to play. Her head turned and her blues landed on her kit then back up at his face again. "You want me to play?" She asked, confused now. He wanted her to play? For some reason that didn't make any sense to her and gently she giggled. "Cosimo, it's a loud instrument... It isn't anything romantic." Her hand slid down the middle of his chest, eyes on his face. "I was trying to go for that, romance with you." Her face flushed, well, as much as it could with her glance down to her shoes then back up at him as if she were embarrassed. She was to an extent, she wasn't too good with this end of a relationship but she was trying. Trying for him.

<Cosimo> “For the surprise…” he said with an arched brow. He was thankful for the surprise. He had been allowed inside. He had been allowed into this sanctum. This place where Athena could be herself, and she had let him in. It filled him with warmth. A sweet, enveloping warmth that he didn’t quite know what to do with. It brimmed and bubbled and did not evaporate. She mentioned romance and he grinned, shrugged his shoulders. “One day, then. If not tonight. You will play for me?” he asked. He wouldn’t push. If this was her inner sanctum, maybe the drums were… deeper still. But he believed her. That she wanted to be Romantic. “The drums are a part of you and to hear you play, would be to hear… you. That is still romantic, regardless of how loud the instrument,” he said, tentatively. “And I thank you. For the… romance. Romance it is… appreciated, in Italy. Maybe one day I will take you there, si? I will … show you the places where I grew up,” he said. And it was what he wanted to do, too. In that moment, he realised - Athena had shared this with him, and he wanted to share all that he could with her.

<Athena> She listened to him, her face tipped to look into his. He was taller than her, she enjoyed having to look up. She liked how much bigger than she he was. As he spoke about the drums, she couldn't deny that he was right. They were an external piece of her and if he thought they were romantic than that's what she wanted to do. She had wanted to be romantic and what was more romantic than letting him hear? "Yes, I'll play for you." She said after a few minutes of silent consideration, her chest leaning against his some as she listened to the soft murmuring of the classical music. Leaning up, her arms wrapped around him to kiss his mouth softly. "I would love to go to Italy with you one night." Another few soft kisses then. "See where little Cosimo ran and played." She smiled against his lips. "But will you mind if we dance first?" Gazing happily into his face, her blue eyes seemed to sparkle in happiness in the dim light.

<Cosimo> For a few moments, Cosimo was distracted, remembering those places where little Cosimo played. Marzamemi, where time seemed to have stopped. Where tradition played a large part, where the majority of those who lived there, fished. It was a small fishing village in Syarcuse, and Cosimo had been a bit of a street rat when not at home with his mother. The boats had been his playground. Until his mother had drowned herself, and his father had taken him away. Moved to Messina, then to Naples, and then to Rome. They’d moved all over. But it would be to Mazamemi that Cosimo would take Athena. Cosimo canted his head to the side as Athena suggested dancing. The music was soft, and Cosimo smiled. “Will we pretend that this is a ballroom?” he asked, taking a step back only so that he could bow, like a Knight to his Lady, one hand folded over his torso, the other tucked behind his back. When he straightened he held out his hand, palm up, waiting for his Lady to take it.

<Athena> When he pulled from her, she let him. Her head tipped and her blues watched him step back and bow to her. It took her a few slow blinks of her eyelashes and a few more seconds to put everything together. Oh. Athena never had the desire to be treated like a princess but at this moment she couldn't help her smile. It was undeniably adorable that he did that. "Cosimo." She mumbled, her eyes rolling playfully before she slid her smaller hand over his bigger one. "I just wanted to dance, you silly man." Unable to help herself she used her free hand to tip his head back by his chin, bending down to press lips over his. The fingers of her other hand gripping his to bring his palm over the skin of her hip.

<Cosimo> The other night, when they had danced, it had been in a club. Then, they had lost themselves to the loudness of it; the bass, which thrummed and pounded through their limbs. It was hard not to be lost to music which eclipsed every other sound and negated any ability to converse. But, he hadn’t wanted to talk. He’d wanted only to dance. There was something to be said about dancing. It was a way to be intimate, without being… intimate. Cosimo laughed as Athena shifted his hand to her hip. The hand that was supposed to remain enclosed tight around hers. That was how people danced to orchestral music. Properly. His hand remained where she had placed it, however, fingers spreading and strengthening their grip, tugging her hip closer to his. The other hand, however, took hers, twining their fingers and holding their coiled grasp aloft. Not before, of course, returning her kiss, which now shifted and lingered over her cheekbone.

<Athena> Athena would be embarrassed if she knew what she had been getting at with encouraging them to dance here. Maybe her cheeks would have flushed and she wouldn't have been able to meet his gaze for a minute or two. It was intimacy that she was looking for with him. How could they be? She struggled with that answer but she wanted nothing more than to figure out how to. It was important that they had some sort of intimacy between each other that was just for them. They didn't have to get naked to do that. All she wanted was to be close to him, to be a part of him and she would take any way that she could. Dancing herself to embarrassment included. As she was pulled to him, she gently rested her body against his as if he were holding her up. Her face was tilted up to look into his, a smile on her face while he kissed her cheek. "Don't tease me, Cosimo. I haven't danced in years." Now laughing softly, her face lit up with how happy she was just dancing with him. Her fingers kept theirs laced, holding onto his hand and leaning against him as if her body was threatening to swoon at any minute. "And I'll try not to step on your shoes." Her smile widened, of course she wouldn't step on him.

<Cosimo> “It is a lie! We danced the other night,” he said, grinning. In fact, he thought that Athena had a lot of grace for someone uwho now claimed not to have danced in years. Cosimo’s thumb brushed the top of Athena’s hand as his feet gently guide hers in a shuffled waltz. A made-up waltz. Cosimo couldn’t claim to be an expert dancer. He didn’t know the steps to the waltz, or to any other traditional dance. But he could pretend that he did. For the sake of the music, and the setting. And Athena’s intentions. He glanced down at their feet and he laughed. “They are old shoes and my toes, they are unbreakable. You may step on them all you like,” he said, as if that would give him absolute leeway to tease Athena all he liked. Her threat was hollow. But, as they danced he did not step on her feet; he curled his arm around Athena’s waist, fingers still easily and, perhaps subconsciously, touching bare skin. He was very much into leading, his grip strong, the movement of his hips seeking to guide Athena’s feet.

<Athena> "Shaking my *** doesn't count as dancing, Cosimo! That's shaking!" Athena laughed again, still smiling it was a wonder that her face didn't hurt. While he grinned back she lifted her free hand to wrap her arm around his neck loosely, her body still against his as he guided her steps with his hips. Blue eyes on his face still as he teased her. Her slender nose wrinkled then and she let out the tiniest huff at him as if she couldn't believe her ears. "I said not to tease me." When she locked eyes with him her lips spread into an even bigger smile. She wasn't sure how that was possible but she did. "You are simply a terrible teaser, Cosimo." Teasing the man back while her own fingertips ran over the nape of his neck. Gently, while they danced and her mind was elsewhere her nails gently ran over the sensitive skin, making little random swirls as they danced. Her feet moving to every step that he wanted, he was leading her and she didn't even think about it. After a few short minute pause, her head tipped as the song came close to an end. "Did you enjoy my romance?" Hoping that he had.

<Cosimo> The smile on Cosimo’s face was almost smug. The way she was smiling, even when he teased her so - it was as if he had won something. Little by little they were growing used to each other, and his clumsy words and ways didn’t irritate her and cause her temper to flare anymore. Not as much, anyway. Which was a good thing. “Maybe I will have to work on my game,” he said. “I will tease you better in future,” he nodded. It was a promise. It was how those who were close to each other behaved, wasn’t it? Constant teasing and playfulness. And Cosimo could be playful. A large child, in the grand scheme of things. He nodded. “I have thoroughly enjoyed the romance, but it is not finished without a dip,” he said. Without warning, then, and even as he spoke, he knocked one foot out from beneath Athena, purposefully tripping her backward so that he could catch her, his own body bowed over hers, one leg nudged between hers, the other knee bent to provide balance and structure. His smiling lips sought hers, hair falling over his eyes.

<Athena> When she asked her question she began to slowly pull away. Pull her hand from the nape of his neck, her hand from his to take a few steps away. Her eyes rolled playfully at his challenge. "I doubt it. You're not very good at that. I bet you were bullied as a babe." Teasing, showing teeth for a moment before she laughed. She really enjoyed dancing with him. Well, she just enjoyed being with him. They could be talking, reading, dancing or even her favorite and kissing yet she would always find herself happy. His talk about a dip caused her to be caught off guard. A dip of what? Ranch? But that didn't make any sense and he probably would scold her about food again if she mentioned how she thought ranch went with everything. But as she dipped, she didn't worry or try to catch herself because she knew he'd be there. That he would catch her and so she laughed, her hands reaching to grip him lightly. "Cosimo!" Smiling, laughing still before she felt his mouth find hers. An arm curled around his neck then, lifting her body just enough to kiss him passionately. Athena didn't think that through, it happened like flipping a switch and before she knew it she was kissing him with all the passion she thought she lost.

<Cosimo> A rumble sounded in the Italian’s throat as his smiling kiss was returned tenfold. Where he had hoped to catch her off guard with the spontaneous dip, now he was caught off guard by the sudden fire in her embrace. He reacted by habit. He reacted like a man who knew how to react. And he did. This was a dance that he’d danced before, though not to these exact specifications. He wasn’t a man who’d never felt desire or tasted its satisfaction. He was a man, though flawed now, who was subject to memory. He remembered how it could be. And though it was something he had thought he should give up hoping for, a slash of hope now arrowed through his core. He recalled the elevator. He recalled how dizzy he had felt, drunk with a deliriousness he thought he’d lost forever. His body tensed, not because he wanted to resist Athena’s passionate advance, but because he wanted to lift her. One arm coiled tighter over the planes of her back, wrapping around her entirely. The other hand reached for her thigh, gripping it and tugging it up over his hip. With force and, hoping that Athena knew exactly what he was trying to do, he lifted them back up again. The intention was for her to wrap her legs around him so that he could lift her to his height; so that his arms could keep her close, one hand reaching for the beautiful curve of her backside. And all the while, his lips open to hers in the heat of her kiss. And if his sharp canines were to accidentally draw blood? Maybe it would only add to the moment.

<Athena> She couldn't help it. Not the desire and passion she felt or the delicious shiver that took over her body when she heard that rumble in his throat. A sound that her kiss pleased him. It had been years since she kissed anyone and while she knew exactly how long it'd been her body must have forgotten the time. Her body reacted naturally and fluidly to his own passion and matching it with her own. For the first time in a long while she felt drunk. Her passion clouded her brain and now all she did was react. While he shifted them, she moved along with him. Using her hold around his neck and his guiding force she wrapped both of her legs around his waist. Her fingers found his hair, tipping his head so that she could deepen the already passionate kiss. With her legs around him, she pressed her body against his. Trying with all of her might to get as close to him as she could with their clothes on. Lips kissing his with passion that almost blinded her. She wasn't as careful with his fangs but they didn't matter now. Getting closer mattered and even though she did manage to nick her lower lip with them it didn't stop her. The copper taste only made her body flush against his more eagerly, her fingers gently tightening in his hair.

<Cosimo> There was no smiling anymore. No playful grins or teasing laughter. Not because he wasn’t thoroughly enjoying himself, but because this spontaneous date of theirs had finally reached the business end. A month ago, this would have terrified Cosimo. He’d have dropped Athena like she were a brilliant ray of the sun and he would have run, as fast as he could, in the opposite direction. But never had he felt more comfortable with Athena than he did now. She knew all his secrets and all his flaws, and she was still with him. She was with him anyway. The taste of her blood was something new. A discovery that caused the synapses of Cosimo’s mind to fizz into overdrive. Another long rumble sounded in his throat, an obvious sigh of pleasure. He didn’t even hear it. His feet stumbled backward before they started moving forward again, carrying Athena and her vibrant kisses to one of the couches. His knee found the edge and he tumbled down into the softness with her. The momentum caused their bodies to part for a fraction of a second, Cosimo looming over his temptress, trapped beneath him. Crimson blood glistened upon her lower lip and he chased that taste, tongue swiping at the small scratch, parting her lips and coaxing her tongue to come play.

<Athena> Athena shivered again when she heard that most delicious sound. The sound of Cosimo sighing in his throat. It brought a shiver right up her spine and her entire body gave a little shake. If you asked her right now that would be her favorite sound in the world. The sound of his sigh. Even as she kissed him, she felt the man move. Her fingers loosened in his hair but the passion to his lips never stopped. The woman's passion never faltered even when she was falling onto the soft cushioned couch. Her head tipping backwards to land those hazy blues to his face again. The sight of him on top of her, of her body being trapped under his in such a passionate embrace didn't scare her. It didn't cause her to shove him off, to run all the way home crying and screaming at him never to touch her again. No, while his tongue traced over the cut and her lips parted naturally her fingers hesitated in his hair. Was she ready for this? For whatever this was? Before she knew it her fingers tightened in his hair, using the grip to bring his mouth closer. Crushing her lips to his again, never minding the scratch to the flesh. Tongue seeking access now to his mouth, lifting herself up enough from the couch to allow her tongue to come out and play just like he coaxed. Her free hand gripped his shirt gently, falling back onto the couch and trying now to coax the man further on top of her.

<Cosimo> He had her trapped beneath him and he found no resistance. The cogs continued to turn in the back of Cosimo’s mind; he knew there were boundaries but they’d been pretty comfortable keeping to certain parameters the past few weeks. They got close, but not too close. They kissed, and sometimes it got heated, but never like this. This was an inspiring heat. This was an animalistic need that Cosimo both craved and felt estranged from. This was a hot gust of wind that had shoved them both off the edge of a cliff. The man was well aware of Athena’s body beneath his, the way it undulated when she moved, the way her hips pressed against his, her chest, her mouth. It was so delicious, all of it. Like a meal he had never expected to be able to eat again. Where his hand had gripped her thigh, it now moved upward. Long fingers slipped beneath the hoodie that she wore. Not just his fingertips touching bare skin this time, but his whole hand. And not just her hip, either, but a tentative roaming caress that hitched the hoodie up, up until the tips of his fingers found the edges of her bra, his thumb grazing over the smooth rise where her chest dipped into her torso, the rib beneath her flesh rising against his touch. All the while, he assumed, she would let him know if he went too far.

<Athena> All this pent of passion came to a slow groggy halt when she felt his hand pulling up her hoodie. His hand against her bare skin and up the sweater went to expose naked flesh. Athena wasn't always covered up but when she showed anything it was her conscious choice. A hand in his hair hesitated while her lips and her tongue continued. The sudden exposure of her flesh surprising her, his hand on her soft pale skin. Her brain was warming up now as she naturally raised with his hand, she couldn't seem to help it even as she started to hesitate in her passions. There was no denying this time she had started it. That this was something that she wanted. She wanted him. But now as she realized where they were, how this was quickly headed somewhere she turned her head just slightly. Her lips pulling from his just a little as she panted to gather the breath she no longer needed. With her body buzzing in her desire her eyes slowly opened to gaze into his face. "Cosimo..." But before she could fully find herself mentally or he could even answer she was turning her head to kiss him again, the passion engulfing her to the point that she found her brain off and her passion set on fire. One of her hands left his hair, slowly sliding down his arm toward his back and lower to his hind end. As her kisses grew in passion, her hand gripped the flesh in an attempt to bring him closer. The legs around his waist shifting to help bring him to her as if they weren't close enough.

<Cosimo> The slight hesitation was hint enough. It didn’t matter that Athena seemed to dismiss whatever doubts she’d had. The point was that she had hesitated to begin with. Sometimes people did things that they would later regret when in the heat of rage or passion. Emotions were unreasonable things, sometimes. As much as Cosimo wanted to give Athena all the pleasure that was was worth, he didn’t want her to be angry with him later. He didn’t want her to think that they had been too hasty. The last thing he wanted to hear was I think that was a mistake. Upon Athena’s lead, Cosimo’s arm wrapped instead around behind her. His bare hand still remained upon bare skin, however, the flatness of his palm sweeping over the planes of Athena’s back, fingers hitching against the straps of her bra, feeling where the clip was. It would be so easy to undo, but he left it as it was. He managed to tug the hoodie down a little, though; as their bodies clung to each other as if trying to meld into one being, Athena’s shoulder was bared to him. Kisses were nipped and traced along the line of Athena’s jaw, over the curve of her neck, and down to the skin of her shoulder. Nimble fingers pulled the strap of the bra to the side so that his lips had unadulterated access, the hair on his chin and cheeks tickling at the tenderness. All the while, his weight was pressed down upon her, their bodies grinding together heavy with combined lust.


<Athena> Athena wasn't thinking about anything other than him and their intertwined bodies at the moment. Her body felt warm with her passion, as if the man above her lit her on fire. A fire that hadn't been lit in years. It ran away with every drop of sense she held. If her face could be flushed it would have been, still panting slightly to gain the breath she didn't need. Feeling her entire body vibrate even when he pulled his lips from hers and she couldn't help the sound of loss that rumbled in the back of her throat. The flesh over her back tickled by the skin of his palm as it roamed over her back, her chest arching up while shivering just slightly once those fingers ran near the clasp of her bra. Was he going to undo it? The question almost had her quivering under him in anticipation. But he didn't and her body relaxed just slightly from her anxious thought. His kisses to her jaw had her head tipping to the opposite side, body withering in place while he kissed over her sensitive skin. Already every fiber of her being on overdrive with their combined passions and his kisses pushing her over whatever edge that once held her. Losing herself in it she slowly sat up, her hands moving from his body to grip the fabric of her hoodie. Pulling the sweater up and off with the thin shirt she wore underneath only to toss them both aside. Her right hand moving behind her as her blues found his face, easily undoing the clasp for him while her hands eased her bra from her body and tossed it to the side with the rest of her clothes that once hid her body from him.