Path of the Vampire forum

<Athena> [t] Cosimo?

<Cosimo Alessi> [t] ... Athena?

<Athena> [t] Yes, sorry. I have those books you asked for. Do you still want them?

<Cosimo Alessi> [t] Si. I have apartment in the city, now. Do you want to come over?

<Athena> [t] Sure, I'll bring the books.

<Cosimo Alessi> [t] It is Sanctuary, in Wickbridge. Apartment 801.

<Athena> [t] I'll be over in just a few.

* Cosimo Alessi was on his way home, when Athena had texted. With his gun and his sword hidden beneath his jacket and grime smeared across his forehead and jeans, he was hardly presentable. There was also a rather large patch of red staining his shirt where he'd been shot by a hunter. He deliberated the entire way home; he probably got there just before Athena. And at the very last minute, sent her a text to tell her to let herself in - that it was unlocked. That he needed to shower. His phone lay on the kitchen bench just inside the front door; the shower was to the left. He'd made sure to collect some clothes to take with him, so he didn't have to walk through the apartment half naked. Though it was nothing Athena hadn't seen before.

* Athena took a few just like she said, mainly because she always seemed to get lost. Athena wasn't great with directions, or maps or anything of the like but she finally managed. While she was standing in the elevator she fixed the cargo pants she wore that were snug on her hips almost nervously, tapping along on the floor with her converse before the elevator stopped and she walked out. Now she followed the numbers and found his door. She paused for half a second before she reached with her free hand to knock on the door.

* Athena stopped just before she knocked again to the sound of her phone going off. Checking her messages, she tomeed and she walked inside to close the door behind her. Walking inside, she looked around before she stopped by his couch and shrugged off her leather jacket to explode the tank top the tied behind her neck, ending just a little below her chest to show off her flat toned stomach and the ink that covered her pale skin. Tossing the jacket and the draw-string bag of books she brought with her to the couch she was standing by.

* Cosimo Alessi at least knew the place was clean. He may have just moved in, but Cosimo didn't have much by the way of worldly belongings. He'd bought the place fully furnished, all brand new. The entire building was mostly brand new, as far as he was aware. There were a few books on the shelf in the hall, but not too many. But otherwise there was a homely feel, lit mostly by lamps rather than by overhead lights. The shower was quick. Once he was done he quickly bandaged the bullet wound to keep it from bleeding through to his white tank, and otherwise dressed in plain, comfortable grey slacks. He was hoping he would be done by the time Athena arrived, but when he wandered out to the main living area, reaching up behind his head to tie back his long-ish hair with a band, she was already there. He finished what he was doing while giving a welcome smile. "Scusa! I was... dirty," he said with a shrug. "What do you think?" he asked, gesturing to the apartment around them with a proud kind of smile.

* Athena had her phone in her hand, her 'brow was wrinkled. She was texting somebody but then she turned at the sound of his voice and actually smiled when she saw him. Hers was just as warm and welcome. It was different on her face. "Did you fall over someone else?" she teased him, another smile lighting up her face before she pulled her eyes from his to look around them and nod. "It's very nice, Cosi. Better than the floor with Mooncalfs walkin' around." she continued to smile regardless.

* Cosimo Alessi laughed and shrugged. "No tripping. Not this time. The sewers, though - one can never travel through them and come out feeling clean," he explained. He didn't mention the wound. He wasn't the sort to make too much of his wounds. His gaze had returned to Athena, briefly acknowledging the tattoos though he made sure not to stare - as much as he wanted to. He wanted to know what they were. Instead, he forced himself to keep looking at her face. It wasn't that hard. The smile she wore was different to what he was used to seeing on her. It was... enchanting. "I thought it stupido that I did not have somewhere to bring guests who are not... family, si? So I bought a place."

* Athena snorted very lightly, a playful sound. "I didn't trip you. You didn't look for me." Of course, as if he should have looked for anyone sleeping on the floor. She enjoyed teasing him though, it wasn't like the teasing she had been given earlier tonight. Not by far. It didn't creep her out. "Well, the only place I've got is also my aunts so far." she shrugged a shoulder. "It's not stupid, Cosi." she continued to look at him warmly before she began to reach for the bag she brought. "I've come bringing presents."

* Cosimo Alessi just rolled his eyes. He knew she was teasing. He wasn't about to argue the point with her; they'd done enough of that in the Mausoleum. Of course he could explain that it was his interaction with her that had prompted him to buy a place of his own; so that if he did come across her sleeping in some unsafe public place, he'd at least have somewhere to offer her. Somewhere she had access to. But he figured that much might have already been implied, and there was no reason to make anyone feel uncomfortable. He wandered over to the couch and sat down more carefully than he could have, not wanting to agitate the wound at his gut too much. "I have been looking forward to them," he said. "I feel like I should have something to offer in return..."

* Athena leaned over the side of the couch, she had tossed her phone to the side and was now pulling the draw-string bag open to dig the books out one by one for him. "I brought you two." she paused then when he spoke about offering her something. Her head shook some, a frown on her face. "No thank you, Cosimo. Just.. don't be a creep." she laughed, as if he would understand that. Her entire body shook with the creeps when she remembered the way that man had looked her from head to toe. It made her features twist for a moment in her discomfort before she looked over to glance at him again. Now she held a book in her hand and lifted it up for his inspection. "The Loveliest Dead by Ray Garton. I haven't had the chance to read it yet.. but it looks interesting." she smirked playfully. "You can call me if you get scared."

* Cosimo Alessi took the book and examined the cover, before flipping it over to read the blurb. He liked to read these days because he thought it might improve his English. Not that it was too bad at the moment, but it could do with some improvement. He had thought that she would be giving him pre-read books. Ones that she recommended. It didn't really matter, regardless. "If you stay, I will not have to call," he said. It was the first thing that came to mind. He had meant it to be teasing but it might have sounded serious. So instead he changed the topic. "I promise to not be a creep," he said. But then realised it would sound as if he meant 'if you stay, I will not be a creep.' He cleared his throat, and waved the book in the air as if to clear it of the things he'd said. Start over. "Was someone a creep?"

* Athena was glad that she could no longer blush because she would have. That flush of her cheeks would have betrayed her better than anything else could have. She was glad that it couldn't happen, glad that she were dead for the moment being. As he spoke, she grabbed the other book and moved onto the couch by him with it in hand. Then he asked her about the creep and she choose to speak. She couldn't comment about staying with him, she wouldn't say that she wanted to. "Yeah, we had a family party and this guy was cheesing on me on purpose." a shoulder shrugged. "He was kind of creepy." Now looking up at the man without even thinking about the book in hand, she smiled again. "So,.. I am thankful you're not a creep."

* Cosimo Alessi tried to imagine such a gathering. Their own family wasn't all that large, but it could be nice, to meet everyone. Cosimo had no doubt that Myk might be the life of any party; he supposed there would be enough of them for a comfortable gathering. "I have seen you take down one of those... creatures, in the crypt. I am sure that you would be able to take on a creep. Or, in the very least..." he stopped, swallowed. No, he would not suggest that. "...blind him. I was once a creep. But I am abstaining," he said, joking but with a semi-serious nod. "It is a problem. You should send him to a.... a club."

* Athena laughed softly, her head shook. "I would need a better reason than him being a creep to take him down, Cosi. Rion wouldn't approve." she smiled at him again. As he spoke, she shifted in her seat next to him. Now facing him better, her left hand held the book over her lap as they spoke. "I don't think that you could have ever been a creep." her eyes rolled, her right hand reaching out for just a brief moment to touch over his nearest arm. "To what club?" she asked, tipping her head curiously just as her hand dropped from his flesh.

* Cosimo Alessi was lost in thought for a few moments. He had certainly felt like Athena was going to take him down on several occasions. But he was confused as to whether she had ever meant to. Or wanted to. And he couldn't recall being a creep. He didn't mention it. He also wondered how far this creep would have to go before the sire would approve of Athena taking him down. Did they have some kind of family rule book that they had to follow? His gaze dropped down to Athena's hand on his arm, staring at the contact as if it confused him, too. It took him a couple of seconds to rally the witty response. "Like... the one that alcoholics go to," he said. He'd been staring at his bare arm. Those eyes of his lifted and he shifted, too, to sit more comfortably, one knee up on the couch as he faced Athena. "To cure them," he frowned. Was he being insensitive toward alcoholics? Did it matter? Had he been a creep? He had slept with a lot of women in his time. But... no, he supposed he'd never been creepy about it. Had he? He couldn't be sure.

* Athena wrinkled her nose at that thought. "I wouldn't throw him at other women, no. We were all just swimming. Maybe it was the spring water that warmed him too much. The women in bikini's, that sort of thing." she laughed again at the idea. It mattered not now, anyways. As they face each other, she could look into his face and she looked back down to the book in her hand. "Well, and this one.." she trailed off for a moment, trying to gain her wind back. "Is.." she frowned for a moment before she lifted it up like the other, trying to find her trail of thought again. Oh yeah. "It's 'In the Tall Grass by Stephen King." Again she smiled, trying to light her own sudden flustering. What was this about, anyway?

* Cosimo Alessi of course then imagined Athena in a bikini, his gaze flickering to take in that naked torso as if it would help to solidify the image in his mind. It frustrated him. Such an imagined image in the past might have caused all kinds of heat; there'd have been sparks. Maybe he'd have asked. Maybe he'd have inquired as to the style. Maybe some kind of suave pick-up line would have tripped from his tongue. But that didn't come naturally anymore. The urgency wasn't there. He focused on the book instead. "And this.. have you read this one?" he asked, reaching for the book. He had a feeling she had misunderstood. He did not know how sending this creep to a 'creeps anonymous' meeting would equal throwing him at other women. But he didn't know how to explain, properly. Better to just focus on the book.

* Athena cleared her throat at his question. "No." she passed him the book then. Taking this moment, she put her hand on the couch and scoot herself back even if just a little. For some reason, she suddenly felt too close to the man. If she could breathe, she wouldn't have been able to. Her blood would have boiled over. She swallowed it all down, it didn't make sense anyways. "No, I haven't.. but I hear it's good. The woman at the bookstore said it was.." her head turned to look away then towards his door. Maybe she should go. She had just come to bring him the books, right?

* Cosimo Alessi shook his head. He flipped the books over as if looking for a price tag. "You went and bought me some books?" he asked, glancing up inside to see her scoot backwards, and glance toward the door. It was as obvious as someone glancing at their watch. Like they were some place they didn't want to be. Or as if they had somewhere better to be. "You did not have to," he said, frowning. "I only meant to borrow books that you already own. I did not mean for you to go and buy me new ones..." he said. His lips pressed together. He was trying to think of what he had in the apartment. There had to be something he could give her in return. And he suddenly felt pressured. Rushed.

* Athena turned to look back at the man at his question. She was caught, she had bought him books. It was the least she could do, she thought. She had almost crushed him. Yelled at him, constantly. He had been the man to first find out how well her and the shadows got along. That she could make them move, that she could move buildings. "I know that you did not mean to have me buy you anything, Cosimo." she suddenly got a little annoyed with him. At least this feeling was recognizable. "Cosimo, please, after everything.. may I not be kind to you?" she asked him, softer than she would have days ago. Her nose was wrinkled, her face turned to gaze into his own with a confused look that colored her features. Couldn't she do that?

* Cosimo Alessi smiled and reached behind his head, scratching at an itch underneath his tied-back hair. He didn't know how to say what he wanted to say without sounding ungrateful. Rather than let the silence stretch, he just said it. Damn the consequences. Of course he had caught that hint of annoyance. As if he were tuned to it, now. He'd learned his lesson and he knew when to detect it. "I thank you. For the books. I will read them, and I will give them back. So you can read them. I think... it is more your recommendation that I wanted than the books. Does that understand? I ... wanted to read something you have read. Knowing that you have read it," he said. He couldn't explain why he had like that about the Joe Hill; to be reading something he knew had been read by someone else. By Athena, specifically. He couldn't hide his sheepish expression behind his hair, this time. It was written clearly on his face, even as his hand remained over the two books she had already given him. Possessive.

* Athena continued to look into his face as he spoke. At first, her features dropped. Upset, he didn't want her gifts. Then she allowed for a moment of thought and she bit her lower lip as she attempted to understand what he meant. He wanted to read what she read? He wanted -? She swallowed again, trying to understand what he meant. It was already known that he didn't mean to upset her, that he didn't mean to be ungrateful, she could tell because he never was that way before. The look on his face caused her to lean forward, closing the space again that she had made herself just moments before. Athena couldn't keep still, she kept moving back and forth. Her mind the same, back and forth and then back and forth again. Nothing made sense, she got flustered again and her hand moved to cover his own even as she kept looking into his face. "Oh." What he said, it made her happy. She liked the thought that he wanted that. That it was a sort of intimacy that didn't involve them being near. Then she felt it, her hand over his and she pulled her hand away and straightened back up. Dazed.

* Cosimo Alessi nodded. Good. She had understood, then. And she hadn't got up. She'd come closer. She'd laid her hand over his, and just as he was about to turn it around and let their fingers intertwine, she took it away. He still couldn't shake the feeling that there was something missing, inside of him. As if these touches were hints; as if he should make some kind of move. But he was out of practice. And he couldn't perform. He nodded again, the creases between his brows. He tugged the books closer, fingers curling around the spines. "Are these books that you would have read yourself?" he asked. That would fix it. It would be backwards. But he would read them. And then she could. And maybe she would understand more... about where he was coming from.

* Athena wasn't sure if they were clues, if they were even something. She didn't know. She didn't fully understand why she kept touching him, why she wanted to touch him. Why, she kept getting closer. Why, she even wanted to stay here with him. She could stay at the hotel, she could be surrounded by her family. There she would have been safe from him, from her feelings, from everything. She could pretend nothing was confusing her with them, she could figure it out on her own. Maybe, it would be easier at home. Maybe, she would stop feeling like a damn yo-yo and find where she wanted to be. Her mind wasn't caught up to her body just yet. She was confused. "Yes, .. I would have read them myself." she licked her dry lips, she looked down at her lap then back at him. More confusion. But didn't she know? Didn't she know she wanted to stay? That had to mean something.

* Cosimo Alessi smiled and nodded again. He felt like a bobble head, so promptly stopped nodding. "Good. I will read them. And then you can. And we can... discuss," he said. As if they were going to become their own two person book club. He then arched a brow, and pushed one of the books closer to Athena. The Stephen King. Unlike Athena, Cosimo had stayed completely still. He wasn't backing away. He just didn't know how--or whether he should--move forward. "Or you stay. The balcony is nice," he said, gesturing toward the outside. "We read together?"

* Athena found herself smiling at him again, it was just as warm as earlier. It touched the blues in her eyes, it smoothed her pale porcelain skin. As the book was pushed to her, she glanced back down and then back up at his face again as he explained. With his gesture, she followed it to the balcony's doors and she smiled more. That's it, it was exactly what she wanted and suddenly she turned to look back at him as if she saw a ghost. She had. "I.. shouldn't." she smiled in apology now, pushing the book gently back to him. It was no longer her guilt she was running from - it was her own desires. How much had changed in the nights away from him. With the clearing of her throat, she leaned over and pressed a simple kiss to his cheek. "Thank you, though." Leaning back into her seat, turning then to gather her things.

* Cosimo Alessi smiled, too. He smiled because Athena was smiling, and because it looked exactly like she was about to say yes. To agree. That would be a great idea! Instead, she said no. She shouldn't. And the one thought that Cosimo had was that he didn't want her to leave. It started to make sense, somewhere in his mind. The pieces were slowly threading together. Not fast enough for Cosimo to completely understand. What he did next was on a whim; because he thought Athena might want him to. Because maybe she would stay. Because maybe she was upset, because he hadn't got the hints. As she leaned away, he leaned forward. His fingers looped behind her neck. His lips pressed to hers, feather light. Inquisitive, if a kiss could be inquisitive. It sparked something. But he pulled away, almost as quick. His brain catching up with his actions. What the hell was he doing?! He couldn't be doing this.

* Athena had her coat in her hands, she had her fingers curled into the leather as she held it tight. Then, she felt his fingers first, she was pulled towards him again even if just a little and then his lips were over hers. It was almost a breath of fresh air, it had been so long. But just as quickly, he was gone. Now it was he who was back and forth. Her blue eyes widened, then she leaned forward again and without thinking twice- she kissed him back, a hand moving from her coat to land gently on his arm as if to pull him close again.

* Cosimo Alessi was not looking at Athena. He almost flinched, his palms flat against his thighs as he expected to be slapped. Hadn't she asked him not to be a creep? The one thing that she had requested, and he had failed to give it to her. If not slapped, he expected all light to be swallowed by sparking shadows. What he did not expect was for her to return the kiss. The gesture stole his breath. He was still. Until he was moving. Athena had her hand on his arm to pull him closer; that same arm wound around Athena's waist, bare skin against bare skin. His mouth opened against hers, welcoming that kiss. Deepening it, but not too much. Drinking her in slowly, as if re-learning how to move his lips against a woman's. That single spark fizzed and crackled. This was more than just a little something.

* Athena hadn't exactly expected to be kissing Cosi, not one bit but here she was. She was kissing the man, she wasn't even sure if she remembered how. It had been years since she had last kissed Hunter. He had been the only man she had ever kissed and here she was with Cosimo. As she got pulled closer, she melted against the man instead of pulling from him. Her lips passionate against his as she re-learned herself how to kiss a man again. With her lips against his still, she moved to deepen the kiss further than he had. Athena felt something stir inside of her, it was a flicker of something that she thought died long ago.

* Cosimo Alessi pushed that scream away. The one in the back of his head, asking him what the hell he thought he was doing. Where did he expect that this would lead? There was an equally loud voice telling him that Athena wasn't the kind of woman to want to go that far when they've just kissed, right? This is just kissing. The voice faltered when passion was poured into that kiss. No longer just inquisitive, but exploratory. This was different. Once upon a time, Cosimo would never have hesitate to reach for the buckle of her pants; to rip her shirt off and carry her to the bedroom. But the urge was not there. He was happy to just... hold her. One arm remained wrapped around her waist, the other now reached behind her neck, like he had to begin with. His thumb brushed her jaw, caressed the lobe of her ear. His fingers tangled in Athena's hair. He was relishing the taste of her, his eyes closed and the frown creasing his brow as his tongue swiped past her lips. Yes, that's how it was done. He was starting to remember.

* Athena was surprised by her own passion. It made her feel as if she would blush again, not that she could and again she was thankful. The hand on his arm gently tightened, holding him close. Her free hand slid gently up his chest to hold onto the fabric of his top. Keeping herself close, keeping the man close. It was his gentle touch that soothed her, reminded her that this was just a kiss. Not to get ahead of herself and she felt her flicker calmed with every gentle little touch of his. The gentle touch of his tongue caused her to shiver if just a little. Full lips parted, welcoming his tongue with her own. Kissing him passionately for just a few more moments, tongues dancing before she pulled away to smile shyly into his face. "Cosimo."

* Cosimo Alessi opened his eyes when the kiss broke. The vision, to begin with, was blurry. Like resurfacing from a glorious book, he had to remember where he was. He took a breath in, revelling in the scent of her, before he laughed, the smile breaking over his face like sunshine through cloud. He did not let go of Athena, even if his grip loosened, relaxed. His hand came to rest upon her hip, though the tips of his fingers remained, touching his skin to hers. "You do not hate me," he said. As if it were the brightest revelation.
* Athena looked into his handsome face and smiled, amusement dancing in those blues now as he spoke to her. "I never mentioned that I did." she teased him, relaxing as she kept her body where she was. She enjoyed it, being held by the man as she loosened her grip on the fabric of his shirt. "And you do not hate me after all of my yelling?" she asked, eyebrows raising with another little kiss to his lower lip.

* Cosimo Alessi shifted his hand from Athena's neck; it fell to capture her own hand, which had loosened against his chest. "No. You did not. Mention it. But the yelling..." he said, his eyes shifting from hers to her hand, which he now lifted so he could brush a kiss to her smooth knuckles. The smile lingered on his lips. This... was the very last thing he had expected tonight. "I kissed you," he said, releasing the words in a breath. As if they were answer enough, that he could not hate her. "...and I thought you would hit me."

* Athena watched him now with her hand, it brought that phantom blush-creep over her cheeks but her smile and sparkling eyes were enough to give her away this time. She listened as he spoke, her head tipped and her blues stayed on him as he kissed her knuckles. The feeling of his lips against her flesh enough to draw a breath she didn't need. His words about their kiss made her head nod very gently. "That you did." she whispered, her gaze lowering to his chest then back into his own eyes. "I couldn't." she frowned though, at the thought. Not even when she was angry could she, she realized. Taking his hand now, she lowered both of their hands down to intertwine fingers.

* Cosimo Alessi considered those two words. I couldn't. Like she maybe, somewhere inside, thought that she should have slapped him. But she couldn't. He gave them the respect they were due, those two words. If she asked him why he would want to be anywhere near her after all the yelling she had done, maybe he would tell her that he enjoyed the excitement. But that could sound creepy. All kinds of innuendo could be pulled from that. She intrigued him. And he thought that there was some deep hurt in her... and he knew her too well to let that pass, to not at least try... he shrugged his shoulders. His hand squeezed hers and he hummed. A small murmuring in his throat as he leaned forward to claim another one. Another small kiss, that lingered only a couple of seconds before his forehead rested against hers. "So you will stay?" he asked. It could sound suggestive. He clarified. "... to read?"

* Athena did think somewhere inside, maybe, she could have. That maybe some dark part of her could bring this very house down on top of him to crush him. But she didn't, she didn't want to. She wanted to be right where she was. With him, and apparently kissing him. His hum made her smile, she leaned forward and gently pressed her lips back over his. Enjoying that sweet, little kiss. Then he asked if she were going to stay and she started to pull away. No, no she wouldn't. Not like that. Then he clarified, she paused. "You want me to stay to read?" she raised her eyebrows. This wasn't some sort of trap, was it? "Cosimo, I fear.. you will only get kisses at best out of me tonight." she flushed now, embarrassed. Was she not good enough?

* Cosimo Alessi realised he shouldn't have asked. Why did he always have to ask? To plan? To be sure? Was he always like that? Maybe only sometimes. He shouldn't have said anything. But he only smiled and nodded, as if her answer was exactly what he was hoping for. No - her answer WAS exactly what he was hoping for. For now, yes, she would only give kisses. Obviously, Cosimo was only concerned about five minutes into the future, instead of five days, or five weeks. He should not give her anything with the expectation that one day she would get more. But he was far too happy to even consider pushing her away. He shook his head. "I am not a creep," he confirmed. "To read. I intended nothing else."

* Athena laughed at herself now, good nature was under all of her anger. It was gone now, it seemed to have been left at home for the night. The perfect night, too. She enjoyed his smile, she enjoyed that he didn't seem to rush her. That he didn't seem to care that she wasn't willing nor ready for more. It made her that much more sure of her choice, of their kisses and of her staying. "You're no creep? You are certain?" she teased, leaning over then to press a gentle kiss to his mouth. "I will read to you then. You read to me after?" she asked, smiling all over again.

* Cosimo Alessi found himself watching Athena's lips as she spoke. "Cross my heart," he said, seriously, before he fully realised she was teasing. He chuckled, and swallowed that kiss of hers. When she parted, he licked at his lower lip. It took a few seconds for the words to sink in, and then he nodded. "Si," he liked the sound of that. They had a couple of hours left until the sun would come up. He had mentioned the balcony, but he was worried they'd lose track of time. So he leaned back on the couch, in such a way that Athena could lay against him, should she wish to. "You decide. Which one we read first," he said. Yes, this was a far better plan than reading them separately.

* Athena smiled again, she was throughly amused by his response. He crossed his heart, as if they were kids again and it tickled her. Watching him lick his lip, she smiled wider. All thoughts of the balcony gone, she moved and adjusted her body then to lay against his as she reached for the closest book to her. 'Into the tall Grass By Stephen King'. She held onto it, looking up at the man with another teasing smile. "Don't get too scared, alright? I'll protect you." Moving her fingers then to flip to the first page, her body comfortable with his own instead of how ridgid she had been in the past.

* Cosimo Alessi felt the weight of the woman against him. And it made him happy. There was no frustration that she didn't want sex; there wasn't, at this time, any bodily arousal from the male, anyway. It would frustrate him, if it was something that she wanted. But she didn't want that. Not now. So he didn't think about it. The couch was large enough to accommodate the two of them, side by side; Cosimo's ankles crossed, and his hand rested on Athena's hip. He laughed. "I think you will be scared. And I will protect you," he said, the only thing he could manage to teasingly defend what was left of his testosterone.

* Athena naturally curled up more at his side, she gave a little yawn but she smiled up at him none the less. "Well good, I'd hope that you would save me." she rested her head against his shoulder, fingers flipping the pages some as she opened up and got comfortable enough to read. Then she stopped, looking up at him again with a slow smile. "You'll be sure to tap me twice if you need a break?" She couldn't help it, one last joke.

* Cosimo Alessi snorted. He's seen that yawn. He got the impression that Athena was a mild narcoleptic, falling asleep without provocation in whatever place she can find - comfortable or not. Public or not! "I will bet that you fall asleep before long," he said. Almost as a challenge. But he was smiling. Because she wasn't sleeping in some unsafe place outside. She was not sleeping under a car, or in the catacombs. She was on the couch with him.

* Athena snorted at his snort before she closed the book then and laughed. "Cosimo, you wound me. Here I am just trying to read to you." she turned to look up at him, smiling none the less. But she did agree, she curled up more and rubbed sleepily at her right eye. "Perhaps I should tome home then." Not slowly moving to pull from him, not that she wanted to.

* Cosimo Alessi gently held Athena where she was. She hadn't even got started with the reading and now she was moving to leave again. Already. Was she nervous? Skittish? Didn't she believe him, when he crossed his heart? He didn't want to keep her there if she did not want to stay, but he frowned anyway. His fingers hooked under her chin to tilt her face upward. So that he could press another inquisitive kiss to her pout; it had worked before, hadn't it? To keep her there? "We have slept in the same bed. Stay? If you do not trust me, I can stay on the couch. You can lock the bedroom door..."

* Athena didn't budge from his grasp when he held her where she was. Some fight she put up, really. Then she smiled at him and had parted her lips to say something but his covered hers first. Her eyes closed for a moment, kissing the man before her lashes fluttered open again. His lips moving away to speak, her hues on his face before she seemingly melted. Just like that. "I do trust you, Cosimo. I couldn't stay in your bed with you out here.." she trailed off. "Really, it's fine. . I'll be in the Andras hotel. Not under a car now."

* Cosimo Alessi frowned, and slumped. His fingers slipped from her hip, his grasp freeing her of any obligation to stay. She did not want to. Cosimo was confused. He wished his tongue had been cut off, instead. Maybe he would then stop accidentally saying things to make her feel the need to leave. He opened his mouth to ask why--he wanted to know why she didn't want to stay. But instead he forced a smile. "You should take the book," he said. And he would stay right here on the couch, and read the other one. Although he would not force her to stay, and although he was trying to appear aloof - it was still obvious that he was not happy with the turn of events.

* Athena frowned when she was free of his grasps, now suddenly cold without it. It was obvious, how displeased he was now with her leaving. Her brow wrinkled at him and she held onto the book still. "I bought this for you, Cosimo." she placed it over his lap now. "I won't take it." Her head tipped, unable to leave the fact that he was unhappy alone. "Cosimo, surely, you understand that I can't stay.." she bit her lower lip, hopeful that he wasn't so upset that he were mad at her.

* Cosimo Alessi didn't touch the book. He assumed, given that they were not reading it together, that they would revert to the former plan. That she could read one and he could read the other, and then they could swap. Had they even agreed on that plan? Probably not. Maybe she hadn't agreed because... he shook his head. "It is because I kissed you? We have stayed together before. I have stayed in your hotel room," he said. As if she could forget. "It is different because I kissed you. I should not have," he said. But then remembered - she'd been leaving, when he kissed her. She was going to leave either way. "If it is not that, then no. I do not understand," he said, raising his eyes to Athena's. Again, he tried to force the smile. "You do not have to explain. If you are not comfortable, you must go," he said. He wasn't having a go. He was putting her comfort before his happiness. Even if he was afraid she regretted the whole thing, and was leaving the book behind because she never intended on seeing him again.

* Athena stared at him for a moment. She didn't understand, she blinked before she cleared her throat. "Cosimo,.. this isn't because you kissed me." Her head shook. Of course not. She had touched him a few times before he kissed her, maybe it had been her doing more than his. He didn't understand. Her eyes closed for a splt second, looking over at his face before she simply sighed at him. "Do you regret kissing me?" she asked, biting down on her lip before she straightened up. It was he who was acting like a child in this moment. "If I am not comfortable? I kissed you back, I've kissed you without you kissing me first.." she trailed off, another sigh. "You infriate me, you're throwing a fit. What is it that you want, Cosimo?"

* Cosimo Alessi shook his head. He infuriated her? He didn't know whether to shake his head incredulously or in vehement apology. His lips pressed together as he deliberated on how to respond. "I am not throwing a fit," he said, finally deciding on brutal honesty. "I do not want you to leave. I do not understand why you cannot stay. But I must respect your wishes, because I am not a man who will force a woman against her will," he said. He'd never had this struggle before. He'd always been able to control his emotions, ignore them even. But now he couldn't quite keep them under wraps. Not enough.

* Athena stared at him as he decided how to respond to her, really, he did drive her crazy. Both in the best way and worst way possible, it seemed. "You are throwing a fit." she huffed at him, now crossing her own arms over her chest as she looked at him and listened. All this because he wanted her to stay? She sighed, her arms dropped and she leaned forward to grip his shirt gently to pull him halfway to her to kiss his lips once again.

* Cosimo Alessi might have argued the point. He might have reminded her of that... shadow thing she had done. The way he felt as if his bones could have shattered beneath the weight of her anger. He'd remind her of the argument in the restaurant. THAT was throwing a fit. And she had been the one doing it. But any counter-argument he might have made was silenced. Her lips on his, he sighed. The book fell from his lap and thudded to the floor. His fingers again tangled in her hair as he cupped the back of her head. His fingers dig in to her hip, to push at her only slightly, to break that kiss five long seconds after it was instigated. "This. I want to... kiss you until the sun comes up. And then I want to fall asleep by your side. Like the motel," he said, looking into Athena's eyes. She had asked what he wanted. There she had it.

* Athena probably would have said that wasn't a fit. It was anger! It was anger because he had his pleasures by making her angry, or something of the like. She groaned, kissing him only to be gently pushed back and now she licked her own lips as she continued to look into his face. Then he spoke, she couldn't help but smile at him as he looked into her eyes. Fine, just like that again she melted again. "..Alright then. That's all you had to say." She was tempted then, to lean forward and kiss him again.

* Cosimo Alessi had learned from his mistakes. She didn't explain to him what he did not understand. She didn't explain why it was she thought she couldn't stay. But she didn't pull away; she had groaned in protest when he had pulled away this time, which was encouragement. If he was a man who didn't learn from his mistakes, he might have asked: 'so you will stay?' He didn't push his luck. With his arm around her, he laid back again. The wound on his gut had been thoroughly agitated by now, but it wasn't severe. It had mostly healed. There was no blood. He tugged her on top of him because it was less invasive. Less forceful. Showed her that she was in control. Even though his hand remained looped around her neck as he pulled her in for another kiss.

* Athena was suddenly tugged ontop of the man, laying on him now as close as ever. This didn't scare her, instead she relaxed ontop of the man with her hands raising to hold onto his arms as if she let go she may fall. Maybe she was, in a way. Falling. Her eyes closed, her entire body stayed relaxed as they kissed, she trusted him. Maybe she didn't explain her feelings, she was never good with that. Or why she did what. But she tried with her kisses, to show him something - that she liked him, that she adored him. That she wanted him.

* Cosimo Alessi would prove to her... what? She has said she trusted him. She had said she was comfortable. Still, it had to be something... something. A something that was lost in the softness of her kiss, and the tender relaxation of her body against his. It was like a warm blanket. Like sunshine. Like a breath of fresh air. Like a truth to every cliche. Cosimo had missed this. Had he taken this kind of thing for granted? Had he never noticed how... refreshing it was to just lay there and... kiss? His arms wrapped around Athena; one loose around her waist, the other running the length of her back so that his fingers could tickle at her neck. No fondling. No caressing, except for the brief touch of his fingers against her skin. But a kiss that spoke volumes. A kiss that did not need touch. His doubts vanished.

* Athena kissed him, her body resting gently above his as both her hands gripped his shirt now. Her full lips parted, tongue seeking out to trail the curve of his lips with the tip of her tongue. "Cosimo, you're completely infuriating." She whispered, as if she weren't herself. With another kiss to his lips, she slid a palm from his chest over the man's shoulder as she kissed him with passion she couldn't put into words. She hoped that while her words failed her, that her kisses did not. That he knew, on some level how much she wanted to be with him. It was her turn to pull her lips away, biting down gently on the swollen bottom lip as she smiled down into his face, moving her body slowly and carefully enough so she was propped up on his chest. Her elbow on his shoulder now, her chin in her hand and her face pointed down at his. "Worth all the yelling?" She asked, blues on his face as she made a joke this time, at her own expense.

* Cosimo Alessi was relaxed, with the slight woman’s weight above him. Every now and again his eyes would open, wanting to watch Athena as they kissed, as if to be sure of her presence, and of the reality of the situation. But otherwise his eyes remained closed, and all senses were focused upon the feel of her lips against his; of her tongue, and the tenderness with which they touched. The passion was not overlooked. He could feel it, that curious sensation stirring within him, a maelstrom at his core that twisted and turned, a vital force the pushed at the boundaries his body had put in place. But which remained, for the moment, safely contained. When Athena moved, her lips breaking from his, his fingers instinctively tightened their grip. He obviously expected her to try to get up and leave again. When she instead settled, his grip loosened, and his brow furrowed as he considered her question. As if this session was pre-meditated; as if he had withstood all the yelling because he had wanted… this. “I do not mind the yelling,” he said. As an afterthought, anyway. Though while the yelling was happening, in the moment, he probably didn’t enjoy it so much. “I learn more about you, when you yell. But… I did not really… know I wanted to kiss you. Until I did. I… understand, now. I think. You can yell at me as much as you want to, but I think I will still want to kiss you,” he said with a slow smile.

* Athena tipped her head as he spoke to her, free hand roaming over the broad area of his chest. "Well, to be fair I didn't realize why I just kept yelling..." Her nails gently ran over the fabric of his shirt, making soft unpredictable motions as they spoke. "You just make me crazy, I think.." Her shoulder shrugged, she still wasn't good at this regardless that they had been kissing for the past however long. "Then when you kissed me... I was completely certain that's what I wanted." Her fingers stopped roaming now, looking into his eyes. "I didn't hit you and while I'm not a physical violence type of person... I don't like my personal space taken from me...especially.." Trailing off to look away from his face only to look back at him and smile. "I'm glad you kissed me. I'm not sure I would have been brave enough." Moving her elbow now to lean down and press her lips over his slow smile. Lifting a hand to run her long fingers through his hair, pulling his ponytail out when her fingers got caught in his hair though careful not to pull at the strands.

* Cosimo Alessi remembered as much. She had said that before. He infuriated her. He made her crazy. She yelled at him for those reasons, but she could not tell him why. Or what he had done, beyond only act as himself. There were things he wanted to say. Things he wanted to ask. Their conversation was interrupted and interspersed with their languid kisses. This was fine by Cosimo; he was showered, and clean, and had honestly had no other plans for the evening. This was the perfect way to spend it. And anyway, the slower the conversation, the more numerous the distractions, the less likely that Athena would leave. He would not remind that she was going to. He would not bring that up again. A delighted shiver ran the length of his body as her fingers played with his hair. How long had it been since anyone had run their fingers through his hair? The tender fondness that it elicited was something that could not be taken for granted; a thing that was forgotten until one felt that soothing sensation again. He waited for the kiss to break, before he spoke again. “I thought it was what you wanted. To be kissed,” he said. “I thought that maybe you were leaving because I had not, yet. I kissed you to make you stay,” he said, and then realised he’d brought up that topic again. So he rushed on. “Do you have an answer, yet? Why I make you so crazy?” he asked. Distractions.

* Athena looked down at him when they were done kissing, again propped up by her elbow. He had kissed her to make her stay? The thought made her laugh. It really did. "Did you just kiss me to make me stay?" She asked, an eyebrow perked up. Her fingers continued to comb gently through his hair, using her nails to gently scratch at his scalp. "I was leaving because it was getting to be too much for me. I'm not good in these situations, sometimes, I cannot even make sense of what I'm feeling..." Now chewing on her lower lip as she kept looking at him. "Maybe that doesn't make much sense to you but I feel more like myself when I'm making music, when I'm under a car or when I'm running." Then a sudden thought hit her. He kissed her to make her stay. Does that mean he wanted her to stay because he wanted to kiss her or.. "Cosimo, you kissed me also because you wanted to, right?" Her forehead wrinkled with the thought that he hadn't. And perhaps, it was due time she had played the fool.

* Cosimo Alessi closed his eyes momentarily, as her nails tickled at his scalp. It was the most soothing thing he had ever felt. If he were at all tired, he might fall asleep right then and there, beneath her administrations. He was trying to make sense of her words. Trying to step into her shoes and understand what she must have been feeling that she could not figure out, that might make her want to leave. When she asked her question, there was no hesitation. No fear that he could mess this up because he had the wrong answer. His eyes blinked open. “Do you remember the first time that we met? And… it did not go well, because I hid a lie in wit. Because our… banter was too close to flirting, and I could not… I am damaged. In such a way that…” now he swallowed. Now he showed the slightest hint of discomfort. This was not something that he wanted to talk about. If she asked him to clarify, he was not sure that he could. But maybe it would be for the best. It would not do to let her fall deeper into this relationship only to be disappointed. To feel… jilted, somehow. He cleared his throat and went on. “... I would not have kissed you if I did not want to. Just as you do not know your feelings, I did not know mine. I acted on instinct. There was a want. I had failed to see it until the last moment,” he paused, and then canted his head to the side so that he could look at Athena fully. “Do you think you wanted to leave because you did not know that you wanted me to kiss you? Did it frighten you?”

* Athena couldn't help herself and she laughed. It was a light and airy sound, almost so light that it didn't match. "I was not flirting with you, Cosimo." Blue eyes rolled, though she smirked down at him and tickled fingernails over his scalp. "I'm sure you were hoping that I had." Then he spoke of being broken. She wanted to ask but she didn't. They were both broken, weren't they? It wasn't her place no matter to rush what he wasn't willing to say yet. He was so willing to take her as she was that she wanted to do that and more for him. While he talked, she listened. Her lips pressing together as she considered his last question. Did it frighten her? Of course it did. Her heart ached for a moment and guilt formed in the pit of her stomach. "Yes, of course it frightens me, Cosimo. I've spent the last few years running away from everything and everyone and now I just want to..." She bit her lip. What did she want? Letting out a breath as if it would help, she continued. "I want to be happy and naturally that comes with risks."

* Cosimo Alessi was relieved that she did not ask. She did not pry. Even though guilt planted a seed in his heart for not telling her, he was being selfish for once. Often enough he had thought that Athena was selfish--a flaw he was willing to accept--but now it was his turn. Just tonight. Just one night and maybe he could tell her… later. Yes, later. He pushed it from his mind. As Athena’s fingers traced patterns against his scalp, Cosimo’s own fingers had taken up a languid dance over the flesh of her back that was not covered by her crop top. A similar circling motion to the way her fingers moved against his scalp, except his played over her spine. He vaguely shook his head. At the time, no. That last thing he wanted was for anyone to flirt with him, and if that had been Athena’s intention, and if she had continued to try, they might not be here now. Or maybe they would. Who knew? He noticed that she spoke in the present tense. It frightens her. It still frightens her. “I think you should be happy,” he finally said, his thumb reaching up to brush over the bottom pout of her lips. “I will do my best to… not be scary,” he said, beaming up at her, his words both serious and frivolous.

* Athena watched him shake his head. It amused her and her guilt seemed to fade. She knew her guilt had no room here. It wasn't cheating, it didn't make her feelings now or then cheap. Her and Hunter had a beautiful life and it was over once he took his last breath. It had taken her years to come to this conclusion but it had to come some day. She wasn't naive enough to believe that he wouldn't want her happy. He spent his life trying to make her just that, happy. Now it was her job to seek it out and make it happen on her own. As his fingers touched the bare skin over her spine, she arched a little, enjoying the feeling of his touch. Her fingers continued, nails lightly grazing the man's scalp as she gazed down at him. "I am." She managed to whisper, tipping her head just slightly enough to press a kiss to the man's thumb. When he spoke of not being frightening she smiled, amused again. "You're hardly scary." Teasing him, the hand in his hair moving to grab his hand near her mouth to turn it and place kisses at his knuckles. Once she kissed each one she intertwined their fingers again, moving both their hands to his side so that she may lean back down to kiss his lips properly. It was a gentle kiss, her lips pressed fully over his, one that lasted a passionate few moments before moving to kiss down to his powerful jaw with smaller sweet kisses.

* Cosimo Alessi wondered, as he lazed there beneath Athena, whether touch was a human necessity. Even if they were no longer human. He wondered if people started to diminish, if they remained alone. He wondered if they were somehow lesser. Like a person needed air, and water, he wondered if touch was also something vital. To a lesser degree, of course, but surely. He felt like a man who had been starved, and was now remembering what food tasted like again. Maybe it should have bruised his masculine sensitivities, that she did not think that he could be scary, but it didn’t. He didn’t feel masculine at all, a lot of the time, but if it was obvious, it didn’t seem to bother Athena. He hummed happily when she kissed him again, his fingers again tangling in the hair behind her neck. And when she trailed those kisses down the line of his jaw he sighed, equally as happy. “Do you like the facial hair?” he asked, distractedly. They had moved passed the heavy topics, he thought. And he was curious. Some women didn’t. His voice was soft, the question mumbled. There was that sensation in the back of his mind, that tugging at his core. The subtle hints that the sun was on its way.

* Athena had her eyes closed while she pressed kisses along his jaw. They were gentle, full lip kisses as she slightly squeezed his hand. When she heard his mumble about his facial hair she lifted up some to gaze into his face. There was a smile on her lips, it was one that seemed to always be in place when she looked into his face. His question moved her eyes from his to his beard. It was full, lush and it pleased her. "Yes, don't shave it, please." Leaning back down to press her mouth over his one more time. When her head lifted, again she yawned with her head turning so that she did not yawn in his face. That would have been rude. As she turned back to face him, she stretched and laid herself back down on top of the man. This time she placed her head on the man's shoulder, shifting carefully on top of him to be sure they were both comfortable.

* Cosimo Alessi shifted, too, if only slightly; his body slid further down the couch while Athena re-arranged herself, his hand reaching behind his head to pull at and fluff the cushion that laid against the arm. One ankle crossed over the other, and his arm remained looped around Athena’s middle. He continued to smile, for several reasons. One, he wouldn’t have liked to shave his facial hair, but if Athena had said that she didn’t like it, it probably would have been gone the next week. And the second reason - she didn’t go anywhere. If her body felt the same strange sensation, as if it were a clock that recorded the rising and setting of the sun, then she would know it was nearly time to sleep. If she was going to leave, she would do so now, wouldn’t she? Cosimo reasoned - even if she waited until he was passed out, he would be happy. At least he would sleep happy. Waking up might be an entirely different story. But he was a live-in-the-moment kind of guy, the majority of the time. At least when he wasn’t questioning things. As soon as Athena was settled, his head tilted to press a kiss to the top of her head; and it remained turned toward her. Although he did not need to breathe, his chest still rose and fell as he chose to breathe in the scent of Athena’s dark hair. Over the back of the couch was a knitted throw. They were vampires and they did not succumb to cold or heat, but it was a habit. It was a comfort thing. Cosimo tugged at the throw until it covered the both of them; it was the last thing he did before he stopped breathing. Before his body passed out beneath Athena, sleep pulling him under.

* Athena knew the sun was coming, each passing moment made her sleepier. It wasn't like him- she gradually got tired as the sun started to rise, it wouldn't come up and command her to sleep, no. The sun coming just made her entire body tingle with the reminder of sleep. Sleep she still needed regardless that she was now a vampire. They shifted together, she was now comfortably lying on top of the man with her head resting on his shoulder. Her eyes closed, unable to help just how secure and happy she felt wrapped in his embrace. When the kiss came to her head she sighed, the sound was so light and happy it almost didn't belong coming from her lips. It was comforting to feel his chest rise and fall as he breathed, not that he needed to. With the blanket over her, his body underneath her own and the still comfort of his body she wasn't far behind him as she drifted off into a blissful sleep.

* Athena woke up first, gently stirring on top of the man with a small yawn and a quick stretch of her body. The sun hadn't quite gone down yet and it would shortly but Athena had the tendency to rise early regardless of when she went to sleep. Picking up her head from his shoulder she glanced at his still sleeping face and smiled. He looked peaceful, his handsome features relaxed but she missed his easy smile. A hand lifting to brush a few strands of hair from his nose affectionately, leaning down then to steal a sweet sleepy kiss. Moving from on top of the man, she was careful not to hurt or disturb. Once she was standing by the couch she stretched out each of her limbs, bending to touch her toes before turning to drape the throw over his body again. As she covered him up she smiled and thought of his gentle touch, the way his lips felt over hers. Warm and inviting. Safe. It suddenly dawned on her that she didn't want to work. She wanted to climb right back with him and spoon her body against his as they kissed the Sun back up again. Maybe she would have a light work day.. She hoped, at least.

* Cosimo Alessi would have liked to have been aware of the woman shifting and moving away from him. He would have liked to have tightened his arm around her, or to return the light kiss she pressed to his lips. The truth was, however, that he felt nothing and knew nothing until the sun had set completely, and his blue eyes blinked open. At first he was confused. He never fell asleep on the couch, for one. And two - the apartment was new, and he still wasn’t used to its contours. His face was turned to the back of the couch, until he heard the movement beside him. The memories crashed and clamoured back into his head, and he suddenly felt bereft of the body that had slept on top of him. He turned to watch her stretch; to watch the process of Athena waking up. He lifted an arm to rest his head on it, to prop himself up. “Buongiorno,” he mumbled, before clearing his throat. It always felt as if sand settled in it overnight; a dead body gathering dust. He stretched his legs, but didn’t reach out to touch Athena just yet. He just watched. It wasn’t morning. But he had uttered good morning anyway. Because why not?

* Athena was holding back a yawn, her hand was coming towards her face and of course he had to wake up then. Her head turned away from him as soon as she heard his voice. Once she was sure he wouldn't have to stare into her wide-open mouth she turned to look at him. Oh, his chest looked so warm and inviting that she almost dropped her arm back down to her side and climbed back on the man to curl up. It was so tempting that she did think about it. She thought about it longer than she should have, bending down now to press a kiss to his forehead. "I need to get home and get ready." It wasn't like she was employee of the month though, was it? No, she just worked for her family. The deep rooted loyalty made her pause. At least she could admit that she wanted to stay. That she wanted nothing more than to mold her body on top of his and kiss the night into day.

* Cosimo Alessi took that kiss, lips opening to it with a sleepy eagerness. How long had it been since he’d woken up to a kiss like that? How could he have doubted Athena? With shame, he remembered he’d asked whether she regretted the kiss. If she had, she would be gone by now. She would have taken the opportunity, while he was still sleeping, to disappear. But she was still there. When Athena peeled back and stood again, Cosimo flipped the throw from his legs and slid his legs from the couch. In one fluid motion, he was standing, too. “Work?” he asked, though he didn’t give her the opportunity to immediately answer. His palm slipped around her neck as he tugs her in for another kiss. A longer, lingering kiss, wherein his tongue swiped the pout of her lip. He would let her go, tonight. There’d be no … what did she accuse him of doing? He would not sulk. She had stayed. He was confident, now, that she would come back. Or, if she would not come back here, surely she would agree to meeting him elsewhere. He himself had things that he ought to do. But just a few kisses, first.

* Athena couldn't seem to help herself. She watched with a little grin as he got up, catching a breath in her mouth when he was suddenly so close. Why hadn't he always been this close? Had he said something? His hand grabbed the back of her neck and she went willingly. Full lips finding his in a kiss that almost had her dropping right to the floor. Without much thought her arms raised and she wrapped them around the man, pulling him close to her. His question was heard but at the moment all she wanted to do was kiss him. She felt his tongue and her lips parted to try to trap the muscle gently between her lips. Giving the pink muscle a little nibble before she was back to kissing him again. Work? She sighed, pulling her lips away now to answer between firm sweet kisses to his lips. "Yes, I can... Be a little late." Could she? She tried to picture not coming in right away and that didn't make sense. She kissed him again, anyway.

* Cosimo Alessi felt a strange thrill as Athena’s body bumped against his; he’d pulled her in for a kiss but had not anticipated the proximity. Which was stupid of him. He wasn’t sure whether it was a good thrill. In fact, it was almost as if he were still wounded, the immediate and first instinct to pull his hips back. But he didn’t. Tension locked his body only for a second, before he forced himself to relax, remembering the conversation they’d had the night before. The feel of her teeth scraping his tongue was new, and a strong smile stretched his lips. His hand slipped around her waist; he wasn’t getting handsy. He couldn’t help the way his fingers pressed into her flesh. It was the crop top she was wearing. But he enjoyed the smooth feel of her skin. He enjoyed that he was enjoying the feel of her skin. Relief rushed through his limbs, relaxing the tension that had threatened to stay. He was not a cold fish. He did still enjoy this. Soon enough he did have to break from her kisses, though; he pressed his own slowly along the line of her jaw, his teeth nipping at the lobe of her ear. He stopped, his cheek nuzzled against hers. “Am I allowed to know where you work?” he asked. “I will not stalk you. I promise,” he said. Though maybe that was a promise he might break.

* Athena sighed gently then, when his arm wrapped around her. When he touched her back. Maybe she hadn't fully understood how much she missed that. It had been so long since she had allowed anyone to touch her that this was a thrill. She enjoyed every moment of it, she wanted to move closer but she stayed still. Her body already against his own as they kissed. It was the kisses along her jaw that had her slowly turning her head, eyes staying closed. "Mmm, I would say that you're allowed." Hadn't she told him? She couldn't think straight let alone remember if she had this conversation with him or someone else. "Malevolent Machinery, I'm a mechanic. I guess it explains why I'm fond of sleeping under cars." With his cheek against hers, she gently nuzzled against his own. Though she moved now to reach up and take his chin gently in her hand, pulling him down to kiss him once more. "I should go before I get too distracted...." She was reluctant but she started to pull away, his kiss still on her lips.

* Cosimo Alessi knew that she worked as a mechanic. He wasn’t too sure she had told him exactly where, though. Maybe she had. He couldn’t remember. They’d talked a lot about that night, and since. He found it strange, that she should have a job when they were vampires. As if vampires should be exempt from having to work. But were they really all that different? They still needed money to survive, didn’t they? His ways of gaining money were just a little less… honest. He savoured that last kiss, and when she pulled away he refrained from keeping her close. He had to shove his hands in his pockets to do so, but he managed. Just. And he managed to keep from asking her when she finished, too. Wasn’t there some kind of code? Don’t be too eager, Cosi. Slow down. Minute by minute. One step at a time. “Maybe I will have to invest. In a car. Or do you think I am more suited to a bike? So that I have an excuse to come see you…” he said, his toes curling into the carpet beneath his feet, the smile still easy on his lips as the teasing words slid over his tongue.

* Athena was standing there. What was she doing? Oh yeah. Her brain was still fuzzy, her blood felt like it was boiling. She couldn't be asked to concentrate at the moment. Gently she bit down on her lower lip and looked over at him. "You in a car or on a bike?" Asking with a hard swallow. It wasn't him but she was trying to gather herself again. She was all but fanning herself right now. That would have been embarrassing. What was she trying to say again? Oh yeah. "You don't need to find an excuse to see me now...do you?" Now she was smiling easily. Of course she didn't think he needed an excuse. They were..something weren't they? "Just come see me. Call me, or I'll call you again." Walking to him again to kiss his cheek goodbye. "I'm going to be late now.." She sighed, she didn't want to leave but she moved to gather her bag. Her tome was in there somewhere. Now smiling at him even as she dug around in the bag.

* Cosimo Alessi ‘s easy smile broadened into something resembling a blissful grin. Maybe it was sneaky of him, to offer such a teasing statement. As if testing the waters. No excuse required. This made him happy. It wasn’t as if he was lonely or anything. There were plenty of people whose company he could seek, but Athena was different. Definitely different. Definitely a destination worth going out of one’s way for. He nodded. “I do not,” he agreed. He liked not having to have an excuse. “There are some things that I need to do tonight. You are welcome to come back here. There is a pool that I want to try,” he said, nodding toward the floor. She probably passed the pool on the way up. “I will try not be … overwhelming,” he said, still smiling. As Athena rifled through her bag, Cosimo approached, shuffling forward just a little. Closer. A kiss on the cheek was not enough of a kiss goodbye. He would not apologise for making her late, either.

* Athena looked up when she heard him talk, her hand in her bag with her fingers around her tome. Then she smiled big at him. As if she could help it, the entire action brightened up her face and she knew she was glad too. They both didn't need any excuse. Now they could just call and see each other. The thought had her already floating on air. Then he spoke about a pool and she continued to grin but brighter. Her teeth and fangs white. "Okay, I'll definitely call when I'm done. I love to swim." Did he know that? Did she tell him that too or maybe that was something they had in common? She wasn't sure. He said that he would stop being so overwhelming and she wasn't too sure that he could even try. He was just naturally that way and it made her stomach tighten. It was too thrilling. She could lose herself in it, she knew. "Cosimo." She breathed then, watching him come closer to her. "I have to go." Almost begging now. Could he start now with not being so overwhelming? She doubted it. Holding her bag in her hand she gripped his shirt with the other and pulled him the rest of the way so she could lean up and kiss him passionately again. "I'm going to be late." Yet, her lips found themselves over his.

* Cosimo Alessi had not mentioned his penchant for swimming. He had mentioned his penchant for kicking a ball around a field, but not the swimming. There was something calming about gliding through the water, feeling weightless and lifted by the liquid, hearing the roar of it in one’s ears. He especially liked flipping, slamming his feet against the slippery tiles to torpedo through the depths before resurfacing. His hands found either side of Athena’s face, fingers tangling in her hair as he was pulled into that kiss. She had already said that she was going to be late, but Cosimo was being selfish. She slept at work. They couldn’t question her loyalty, could they? Surely she stayed overtime, so surely she should be allowed to be late. Just this once. He held her in that kiss for at least another two minutes, before he ducked back, disentangling, skipping away to put the coffee table between them. “Go. You must work. If I do not answer, I will be in the pool already,” he said. He didn’t know how long it would take him to do the things that he needed to do. Knowing Cosimo, he would tarry. He liked to take his time, sometimes. They had all the time in the world now, didn’t they? What was the point in rushing? No point, if he just had to wait for her anyway. “If I have done what I need to early, I will come meet you. Go,” he said, shoving his hands back into his pockets.

* Athena held back a groan when he pulled away. Did he have to? Must she go? Biting on her lip she watched him move behind his coffee table. Must they resort to furniture separation? Probably. They didn't seem too good at keeping apart already. It was almost sad but rather it was thrilling. She hadn't remembered feeling this way before. Before he kissed her. Before she kept touching him.. She was glad too that she had. Go. Go? She didn't want to go. It felt too soon already. They had time. No, she had run out of time and was now already working on borrowed time. Pulling her bag back up with her hand she reached for her tome and nodded at his words. Yes, she must go. She had to work. She had to separate from him before she lost her wit entirely. "Until later, Cosimo." Looking at him, she smiled, blowing him a kiss with the hand that held the metal tome before she was gone. She would miss him. It would certainly be a struggle to work tonight.

* Cosimo Alessi spent his night stumbling through his tasks like a man drugged. As soon as Athena disappeared from his apartment he sat back down on the couch. It should have been infected with their warmth, but it wasn’t. Feeling the need to try to clear his head, and realising that sitting inside on the couch for prolonged minutes was doing nothing to help him, he instead found his neglected journal, found a pen, and went out to the balcony to write. The Italian had a feeling he might need to write more often over the next few weeks--nights, even--to try to get his thoughts and emotions in check. Once he was done, and feeling a little untangled, he returned indoors to dress properly. The bullet wound had healed, though it had left another small bullet-sized scar, and the dressing could be removed from his torso. He didn’t think he would be romping through the sewers tonight. How many hours did he have to kill? How long were Athena’s shifts?

Rather than tome to Ivory Towers, Cosimo instead decided to walk. The fresh air continued to do him good. And it helped to while away the minutes. There were a few trips that he had to make; he said hello to Elise who would not let him leave without feeding, and he left a message for Elizabeth. He could not see her anywhere in the gardens. The note was tucked amongst her tea implements. If she was going to find it anywhere, she’d find it there.

Back down in his own Ivory Towers apartment, he found Artu and cooed over the mewling cat. It hadn’t taken long for the feline to settle with its new owner. He was well fed, and had all the comforts a cat could want. Gathering together the leftover litter, the bed, the spare food, and the cage with the cat inside, Cosimo began the meandering walk back to Sanctuary. It was a fair hike across to the other side of the small city; he got a few looks on the train, but he didn’t notice any of them.

He didn’t really know what he was doing with the two apartments. He didn’t really know which one he would live in. The one at the towers, he supposed, could be left for his childer to make use of as they pleased. The decor in the new apartment pleased him more, and he hadn’t got around to re-decorating the one he had bought at the towers. Whoever had lived there last had been some kind of Wiccan who was into cold colours. Cosimo preferred warmth. Both places needed to be stocked with all the basic amenities, he supposed. So once Artu was settled, he went to the shopping centre. Extra sheets were bought. Mats and towels, too.

At home, he washed all the new sheets and towels. A couple of loads through the machine, and into the dryer. Having been homeless for a short stint, he had become a proud home owner. He would never take this kind of warm comfort for granted ever again, and he was pedantic about keeping it neat and clean and welcoming.

By the time he was done, at least six hours had passed. He collected a towel. He took his phone with him. He left the cat asleep in the middle of his bed. He had changed into his swimming trunks, and travelled down the elevator to the pool. He had said he might find Athena at work, but he had delayed. He deliberated - should he send her a text? Call her? No. They had agreed. If a couple of hours passed and he still did not see her, or hear from her, maybe then. But not yet. He left the towel and the phone on one of the lounges, and dove into the cool, crisp water.

* Athena went straight to Eve's hotel room to bathe and clean up. She was more than thankful that Eve let her crash there every now and again. Athena wasn’t too fond of getting ready in Rion’s apartments. Maybe it was too close or maybe she was just trying to get used to the feeling of tolerating her siress. She wasn’t too sure yet. They were still rocky at best.

Though, if she was too honest for her own good she would admit that she adored her siress. She adored her and Osi. Athena couldn’t help herself, they were the people that she adored above the rest. Them and Eve. She wasn’t too sure why and maybe that was just how she managed. She just went with it. It seemed to work for her.

It didn’t take her long but she managed to yank on some clothes that she didn’t care about and made her way to work. She was late, of course but no one seemed to notice. They all left her alone as they usually did. They only seemed to bug her if she ended up snoring under a car or even against a wall. Athena truly was bad at that. At falling asleep in any place she could. Whenever she felt like it. It was a bad habit she always had much like her eating habits. She idly wondered now if she ever had a salad willingly? Nah. She prefered the dead-fried, the greasy and whatever was offered covered in dripping cheese.

The night didn’t go as slowly as she thought it might. She had so much to do that it was sobering when she found herself on her break. Instead of texting him like she wanted she took out her own notebook and pen and managed to find a relatively quiet place to scribble down her thoughts. It made sense to her to write things down, to talk to Hunter this way while she could figure things out herself. She had him to talk to for so long that it was difficult to find herself on her own again. That no one else around her knew her as well as he did. There was a nagging in the back of her mind that if she wanted it- she would have to build it again. That thought terrified her but it wasn’t as scary as the fact that she was okay with that. It was what she wanted. It was something she always had and never wanted to be without. But would Cosimo?

With that heavy thought she closed her notebook and shoved it back into her bag. That was too deep now. She wanted to ignore it. Things were supposed to be light and fun now. It didn’t always have to be a challenge. She didn’t always have to be so difficult. Not everything was a fight. Not everything was so serious. When did she get so serious? Or had she always been either two feet out or two feet deeply in?

Pushing all of that aside she went back to work. She was always the happiest under a car. Time went by and she wouldn’t even notice most nights. However, she was at least attempting for Cosimo’s sake to be a little more involved than that. They had made plans and she would keep them. It wasn’t sudden but as time went by she could tell things were getting late. Others were leaving. It was getting quieter and quieter and suddenly she pushed herself out from under the car she was fixing and sat up against it. Crap, how long had it been? Was she late? Was he trying to get ahold of her? Crap, crap, crap. She grabbed her rag to wipe her hands and then took her bag and tomed home.

What should she wear? That was her first question. Also, should she shower or was that simply ridiculous? She was covered in grease as she usually is but she already felt like she was rushing. She wanted to see Cosimo and no amount of grease would stop her. After all, wasn’t he used to it by now? After she stripped she managed to find her simple black bikini and her bag again under the pile of clothes she had made. She’d clean up later. Athena was naturally a mess anyway. It was always safe to assume she’d come with one, anyway. Right now her main focus was that delicious man she couldn’t stop thinking about. With her bag strap over her shoulder she made her way to the correct fadeportal and walked the rest of the way to his apartments. She was always on the move, it seemed. Athena liked to walk and to be active. She hated being idle. When she made it to the door she couldn’t help but to smile. Maybe she should have texted first? Oh well, too late now.

After she was already in the building she made her way to the pool and couldn’t help the smile that took over her face when she saw him. “Cosimo.” Dropping her bag by her feet, kicking off the simple rubber sandals she wore and with that she dived right in. She swam elegantly right to him, using her feet to bounce herself up to the surface by him. “Miss me?” she asked when she surfaced, grinning, both her hands raising up to push the wet hair from her face.

* Cosimo Alessi enjoyed the water in the way that he always had. The way it swallowed him up and could either buoy him or sink him. Of course he always chose to let it buoy him. Of course he always chose to believe that the glass was half full, even though the levels dropped sometimes. Only sometimes. Only minimally. Because he always kicked for the surface. He refused to drown like his mother had.

He had stopped swimming and had his fingers running through his hair, staring at one of the lounge chairs but not really seeing it. He had been thinking about his mother. Which, somehow, for some reason, reminded him of his birth. Maybe he’d been thinking whether life would have been different if he had been born from a different mother. Regardless, he remembered something that he couldn’t believe he had forgotten. One’s birthday was easy to forget when there was no one around who knew what it was. No one to remind him. As the years brushed past, birthdays had become such a non-event anyway. He’d gone drinking every now and again with comrades and friends, people who never saw anymore. Most were probably in jail by now. Either that, or dead. Whatever the case, he now remembered.

How the hell had it not clicked when he had written that date in his journal? He had been too overwhelmed by what had happened--on his birthday--that he hadn’t actually realised the date.

Movement caught his attention out of the corner of his eye and he turned to see Athena. To watch as she dove into the water, much the same as he had. As soon as she surfaced in front of him, he answered her with a broad grin, one arm snaking smoothly around her waist to bring her in and hold her close, even as his feet lazily kicked to and fro to keep him surfaced. He pressed a hard kiss to Athena’s lips. Was that answer enough for her?

When he broke the kiss, it was with a pant, and a precious gleam to his eyes. “Very much, si. I think I should be allowed to claim you. And keep you upstairs, with a bow around you,” he grinned. Oh, what a glorious coincidence.

** Athena smiled and laughed while she got scooped up, when she felt his strong arm around her. It was easy to allow herself to be pulled towards him. Her own arms wrapped around the man’s neck, her long legs kicking to keep her above the water’s surface along with the help of his arm around her waist. Long fingers found their way into his hair, tangled in the strands as she kissed him back. The kiss was in fact answer enough. It had her grinning ear from ear. Did she look like the cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland? She probably did. Not that it mattered to her. That’s exactly how she felt. Maybe she had been a cat in another life? Wait, was that a weird thought? Probably but it was Athena, after all.

Then he spoke and she couldn’t help but to laugh. A bow on her head? A bow and ribbon around her neck, maybe? She wasn’t sure but it was a funny thought all the same. Was he comparing her to a cat now or maybe a present? With that same smile she pushed herself closer to the man and teased. “I thought you had already? Well, without the bow.” she laughed, leaning up the best she could to press her lips over his again.

* Cosimo Alessi couldn’t remember ever kissing someone in a pool before. Maybe he had, maybe he hadn’t. It tasted like chlorine, but it also tasted like Athena, too. The soft, velvety taste that Cosimo could grow addicted to. He could no longer eat food, so he had to get his tastes elsewhere. He was happy to keep kissing Athena as he thought about her words; she thought he already had? Maybe that was a given. But people, these days, they did not adhere to that kind of monogamy all the time. Just because they had kissed didn’t mean they belonged to each other. Though Cosimo was quite happy for it to be that way. When they broke apart again, Cosi laughed. “Presents are given, though. I cannot claim you. That would be … wrong. I forgot a thing, about last night,” he said. Now that he was admitting to it, he wondered whether he should. He didn’t say the words out loud. Maybe Athena would guess. “If you are my present, you are the only one that I was given,” he said, still grinning.

* Athena enjoyed kissing Cosi and it was obvious to herself because when she physically wasn't she was thinking about it. Work had been half a blur because of those very thoughts. It was the mixture of his laugh and his kiss that had her smile continue even after they broke apart. Not that she liked being apart but they had to come up for air eventually, right? When he spoke he only further confused her. He only made her eyebrows knit together and her fingers started to run through his hair, nails gently scraping along the man's scalp as she thought.

Then finally ding ding -- ding? "Presents? Well, it's not christmas.." she tipped her head then as she continued to work through her thoughts, her hand stopped in his hair and she laughed. Not at him but at herself. "Was it your birthday last night?" she asked, her own blue eyes widening in her surprise. Leaning forward to gently brush her lips over his again and then again. Two little sweet kisses. "I'll get you a gift if so.. or maybe even just wear a bow around my neck like a cat." she smiled big. Wasn't she clever?

* Cosimo Alessi of course thought that Athena was laughing at him. Who, really, forgot about their birthdays? It wasn’t a thing people forgot, was it? Not generally. But he didn’t take offence. He was the kind of guy who would easily be laughed at and not take offence. He shook his head. No, it was not Christmas. But nodded, then, when she asked whether it was his birthday.

“You did get me a gift. Two,” he said. The books were still where they had been left. Well, not really - they were stacked on the coffee table, neither of them cracked yet. Cosimo really did like the idea of sitting with Athena to read, their legs tangled together. “The books. Remember? And you stayed,” he reminded her. She stayed when she’d been about to leave. He had frustrated her, but she had stayed anyway. His legs did not tire as he treaded it, happily holding up part of Athena’s weight, too. Though he did try to move them, somewhere both their feet could touch the ground. “You are not a pet. Or a belonging,” he said. He knew that Athena knew that he had been joking. But he wanted to clarify. She wouldn’t be an object or a trophy to him.

* Athena frowned at his response. What did he mean she got him a present? That had been different entirely. It was a gesture she wanted to do. They weren't birthday gifts. Her eyebrows knitted together again and she let out a simple sigh. "Those don't count as a birthday gift, Cosimo. You're crazy." Her head shook then, careful not to whack him in the face with her wet hair. "I stayed because I wanted to be with you - again - not a birthday gift." A frown colored her lips but she moved along with him, her feet finding ground to stand alone on. Both of her hands dropped from his hair to slide down along his arms. "I'm going to get you a proper birthday gift." Her right hand gently squeezed his arm, "And I'm aware that I'm not either but I was going for funny, Mr serious." With her left hand, she used her fingertips to tickle along his chest as she thought. What should she get? What would he like? She would think of something. She always did.

* Cosimo Alessi did not know whether it was better or worse to have their feet on the ground. They didn’t have to be so close together; his hands could rest easily on Athena’s hips. He couldn’t quite figure out what he wanted; whether he wanted to be close to her or whether he wanted to maintain a small amount of distance. If he wanted to be close to her it wasn’t for any other reason except to just… be close to her. Just like he had the night before. And tonight, too, hopefully. His own fingers traced a line up and down the side of Athena’s torso. A vague, subconscious movement. He cracked a smile when she called him serious. He generally wasn’t serious. Of course he could have explained why he had felt the need to clarify, but maybe that was a little too serious, too quick. He let it slide. “I did not tell you so that you get me a present. I do not need anything. Your company is enough,” he said, leaning in to steal a kiss from her lips. “I just thought it was funny. That I forgot. And I wanted to share,” he shrugged.

* Athena didn't seemed bothered by either his closeness to her or the fact his fingers were touching her. It wasn't on her mind. It didn't even cross it. Maybe it should have? It normally would have but she was currently busy. Her mind was trying to work through her irritation. It couldn't be normal to fight this much with someone you like, right? She couldn't remember how often she had fought with Hunter. She wouldn't remember that it was often. That they always did but it was never anything big. Nothing real. It didn't linger. They were artists. They were of passionate people and that hadn't died with her death. It seemed as deep in her as it always was before. Her lips were pressed together and while he spoke she choose to glare at his chest. "I didn't think that you did, Cosimo." Her voice was tight, it was her attempt to keep from being irritated that made her voice change. Why was it okay with him to just say this information as if it were casual? Like the wind - turning a page in a book. Something that held no depth. It irritated her. Birthdays were important. Sure, he had forgotten but maybe they could make up for that. Maybe she could make him feel special. That's what she wanted. To be allowed to make him feel special and it was nothing to him. When he kissed her, she allowed her body to relax under the man's lips but that didn't solve her annoyance with him. It did give her a few extra seconds to consider. Did she really want to yell at him in a pool? No, so this time she choose to kiss him again. If he couldn't talk... He couldn't piss her off, right?

* Cosimo Alessi was not a fool. It might have been a while, but he could pick up the cues. Women got pissed off about things and mostly men were left in the dark. Like right now. If Athena had done anything but kiss him; if she had reacted the way that narrowed glare and those pursed lips seemed to indicate, he would have been stumped. Completely in the dark about what he had done or said to piss her off. Because he did not want a present? He wondered sometimes whether it was the language divide. Whether he said some things that sounded different in the English language than they would in his mother tongue. But he didn’t ask. No, that would be a mistake. His feet slipped so that they were spread wider apart, so that he could sink more comfortably to Athena’s height. He welcomed that kiss, his arms again wrapping around Athena’s middle. His wet hair had been combed back enough by Athena’s fingers so that it wasn’t obscuring his vision or falling in his face. It amused him, that they both loved swimming so much. But he doubted that they would do much actual swimming.

* Athena was trying and struggling to get her anger under order. What could she do about it really, though? It seemed that even the very line she was sired into had their own issues with it. She was her sires childe? Ew, that made her inwardly shudder. That thought was tossed out. It wasn't something she always wanted to feel but it just came at her and it wasn't easy to control. She was doing good this time but hadn't someone said something to her about you know - talking- about whatever it was that bothered her? That was stupid. But it was only stupid because it was true. It would help. After his arms wrapped around her, she pulled her lips from his and looked back to his face. She would try. She said she would, didn't she? Maybe not to him but she had said so. "If you don't want a present then can I do something for you? A surprise, something fun." It was the best she could do. To try and compromise but she didn't want to spill her guts. She didn't want to explain her feelings no matter that something was urging her to. To share. To open up more to him.

* Cosimo Alessi enjoyed the feel of the water swirling around his ankles, the way it moved around their bodies. The eddies of hot and cold. Athena pulled back, and Cosimo released one arm only so that he could reach up to tuck some of her wet hair behind her ear. Blue eyes flickered between that ear, and her lips with their inquisitive pout. Did it really bother her that much, that he had said he didn’t need or want anything? Athena had said that he could claim her, more or less. Cosimo assumed she would do the same to him. They had kissed only the night before. And now they were already getting very serious about birthday presents. Cosimo nodded, a smile curling the corners of his lips. He wasn’t laughing at Athena. The smile was more indulgent than anything else. He did like surprises. “You can do what you want,” he said. In the end, it wasn’t as if he had said that she couldn’t buy him anything, or get him anything. He only clarified that he did not need anything, and that he would think no less of her if she didn’t. If it was so important to her, however--if it was something that would make her happy, then yes. Of course. Water glistened upon her shoulder, and for a few seconds, Cosimo was preoccupied, staring. He found beauty in the most obscure things, some nights. Something to do with the heightened preternatural sight, probably. He tore his attention from her pale skin, and focused upon her eyes. “I like surprises.”

* Athena struggled still, now she wasn't so much mad as she wanted to tell him why. It had been a grand affair at home. The day of your birthday was taught to be something important. A day dedicated to just you. A day of joy. Of laughter. It wasn't about the gifts so much as she just wanted to share that with him. To make him feel important. Maybe even share some part of herself. A little bit at a time. She listened to him and after he was finished speaking she parted her lips to explain. That her parents had always made it a beautiful day despite obvious differences. That her Mother had shared her birth-story with her every year before she died. It was tradition. But all she managed was. "I like birthdays....I find them to be of importance. I wonder when Clo's is?" He didn't know Clover and she hadn't even noticed that he previously paused to stare at her shoulder of all things. It hadn't registered. Not passed the memory of her Mother. Athena could almost feel the warm of her presence which helped her smile at Cosimo again. "I like both creating surprises and getting them.." Taking small steps away, she flashed him a smile and dove quickly under the silencing waters again.

* Cosimo Alessi didn’t have the opportunity to ask who Clo was. He didn’t have the opportunity to nod, and tell her that it was good to know. These were good things to know, weren’t they? When getting tangled up with women. Which was what was happening here, wasn’t it? He had never really been tangled with a woman before. Kind of. Surely there was someone along the way. Right in the beginning, before he’d told himself it wasn’t worth it. But things were different now. He hadn’t realised just how much he missed… this. He couldn’t get his thoughts in order. He couldn’t figure out what this was. He could only watch as Athena disappeared beneath the water, her hair like ink as she passed him by. His fingers, below the surface, trailed along her calf, flicking off the edge of her foot. Women were slippery. This one, he was starting to think, moreso than most. But that was why he liked it, wasn’t it? The excitement, that he was lacking elsewhere. The Italian slowly walked through the water until he found a wall; he narrowed his eyes toward where he knew Athena to be, before he, too, dove beneath the surface, using the wall to kick himself off, to torpedo toward the slippery woman. Perchance to catch her.

* Athena hadn't freaked when she felt his fingers against her calf and then off her foot. Her arms kept moving, her long legs kept kicking though she was certain not to hit him. Maybe she would run from him often but she didn't hit. No, her legs just kept her running. Her fear kept her running. Perhaps it was everything but him that kept her running at all times. He made her at least pause. He made her consider but why was that? It wasn't that it was easier to open up with him. No, it was just as hard. There was something about him that made her stay. That made her want him. She knew she did but that didn't stop her from running. It didn't stop her from being just as scared and if not- more so. No other man had made her pause after Hunter but yet she found herself enjoying being tangled with him. The reality of it confused her. But yet, when she saw him coming for her under the water she hesitated and at the end- she moved again but this time in play. This time, she knew he was coming to catch her and with strong legs she swam off. She tried to trick him, to dodge the man and to swim her way to his back to catch him instead.

* Cosimo Alessi didn’t think about the reasons why he should be running from Athena, or at least throwing up some kind of bubble through which she should not come. It seemed trivial, somehow, beneath the water. Water was symbolic to Cosimo, for so many reasons. Mainly just the one, really. But he didn’t think about that now, either. He wouldn’t think of his mother while he was chasing after Athena. He thought about his mother less and less; it had been a long time that he’d spent his life without her. A lot had happened since. A lot that wouldn’t have happened if she was here. But then he wouldn’t be in this pool with Athena, would he? Glass half full, for sure. The world was blurred beneath the water, a brilliant sheen of otherworldliness garnishing the scene. Everything moved in slow motion beneath the water; but even then, he noticed too late. He reacted too late to the sudden change in Athena’s direction. Bubbles erupted from his mouth as he laughed, though he did not have to breath. He didn’t need to surface. He twisted, his hair obscuring his vision--tried to push himself forward, to get it out of the way. But all he saw was feet and arms and ink-black hair, swirling in the blueness. What was she doing?

* Athena was thrilled once she realized he hadn't seen her. That for whatever reason she wasn't stopped from taking the advantage from the man. To top it all off she saw the bubbles coming from him. That he was laughing. Enjoying himself. They didn't always have to be arguing. She didn't always have to be mad at something. Why couldn't things be easier? Why couldn't it always be like it was under the water both quiet and playful? Oh, that's right. Her damn temper. She knew it would be the death of her. Or maybe it would just take the fun out of her existence now. It was something she wanted to change. That was part of the reason she was trying to wrangle her temper. The other? Subconsciously she knew no one would want to be close with such a prickly person. No one likes to constantly chase or to make do with 'the best she could do'. At some point, you had to give it up and actually meet someone halfway. Athena had a secret talent for seeing underwater. It wasn't anything big. She had just spent too much of her time as a youth in a pool. Or maybe she was just good at guessing others next moves. Athena wasn't so sure which it was. But for now? She laughed too, the bubbles coming from her mouth freely as she latched herself to the man's back. Her thin arms wrapping the man up, pressing a gentle kiss then to his shoulder as if to say 'you're it.'

* Cosimo Alessi found Athena once she had her arms wrapped around behind him. His own arms flailed at his sides, keeping them beneath the water. He could hear nothing but the rush and roar of the water in his ears, the way the small waves lapped against the sides of the pool. With his lungs empty, though, and no burning desire for air, he realised they wouldn’t immediately go floating to the top if he stopped treading. One hand brushed along her forearm, the other awkwardly reaching around to cup her cheek, and then her neck, his own own head twisting around. Trying to find her lips beneath the water. It happened all the time in the movies. Kissing underwater. It always looked so… well it had looked cheesy to Cosimo, then. He preferred action movies to romance. But even in the action movies, there oftentimes seemed to be that scene beneath the water. There was something so private about it, though. Something he had not thought of. The senses dulled, except for that sense of touch. Except, hair got in the way. The kiss couldn’t be as passionate or deep as it could have been, with that laughing smile spread across his lips. The hair never got in the way in the movies. Because they were movies, obviously.

* Athena pulled her lips from his shoulder to sit up and smile once he touched her forearm. It was such a gentle touch, a little touch but she enjoyed it all the same. She liked it when they touched. When they both seemed to reach for each other. They couldn't help it, could they? She tried her best to help, to move with his hand once he held her neck in his palm. It was the same touch he gave her every time they kissed. Athena knew what he was going for so she tried to make it less awkward. Letting go of him, trying to swim gradually in front of him but she didn't manage to get far. To move from behind him because then he was twisting. Leaning forward, she pressed her mouth to his as she used her hands desperately to keep both of their hair at bay. Nothing she seemed to do worked. When she pulled hair back, more just came with the water and swirled in the way. Pulling her lips from his, now trying to get the hair from attacking their faces while they tried to kiss she was laughing. A smile was on her kissed lips as she swam in front of him now, her hands reaching for his. Trying now to bring him back to the surface where she could kiss him properly, where she could wrap herself with him again.

* Cosimo Alessi would tell Athena that next time, she should braid her hair, or something, before swimming. Something to keep it out of the way. In return, Cosimo would tie his back with one of those straps he had upstairs, somewhere. Upstairs, where Artu was currently becoming accustomed with his new home. Cosimo should go check on the cat at some point. The same point at which he’d learn whether Athena liked cats. He hadn’t thought about that, until now. One of those random scattered thoughts that disappeared almost as soon as it had arrived. She had a hold of his hands and he gently pushed upward. Content not only to have her above water again - he of course pulled in a breath he did not need out of habit - Cosimo had his palm flat against Athena’s waist, fingers curled around her torso as he attempted to push her back, back toward the wall of the pool. An intimate position, but a sturdy one. She was slippery. He doubted he could trap her. But he could try. “I think we should practice,” he said. If he were human he would be panting, but his voice was instead smooth and steady. “The kissing underwater. It looks easier than it is,” he said, laughing as he continued to try to maneuver Athena toward the wall, his feet kicking lazily against the water, which didn’t offer too much resistance.

* Athena couldn't help herself but she ended up sucking in a sharp breath of air she didn't need. One hand still held one of his, the other moving to brush her wet hair from her face as they surfaced. She was all smiles now, turning her head to watch him as he surfaced as well. It was quick, she felt her body being pushed in the water, the water splashing around her now as she found her back inching closer to a near by wall. When he spoke, those blues of hers widened. He wanted to practice? He wanted-- What? She felt her jaw slack, she was surprised. This wasn't a common feeling but just as unexpectedly she felt her back collide with the wall. ". . Okay." Was all she managed to say, her free hand sliding over his chest again. Call it an impulse, maybe it was more than that, just as suddenly as she was pinned between him and the wall she pressed her lips to his. As if to say "let's start now.'

* Cosimo Alessi was starting to feel a little more like himself. Maybe because Athena had already told him that she was in no rush. Maybe because he didn't expect that she would reach into his pants. her to reach into his pants. The shock or surprise that Athena felt could be seen in the widening of her eyes; it was not lost on Cosimo, who was careful to not be too forward. In no way whatsoever was he rough. There was no slamming or manhandling. Just suggestions. And when she was up against the wall his hands slipped free, fingers curling over the edges of the pool at either side of her head, his body close enough to touch hers at a nudge, but there was still a hand’s width distance between them. He hummed under his breath as their lips collided. Again that taste that was specifically Athena, tinged with chlorine. The hairs on his arms stood on end as goose pimples flared across his skin. It wasn’t that he was self-conscious of the scars that littered his chest. He was ashamed of the tattoos inked over the back of his shoulders, the odd tribal shapes that were a reminder of the life that he had lived for five minutes. The tattoos that he wanted to cut away, in the hope that they would not come back. He’d prefer the scars. But it wasn’t worth getting shy about. No, his body reacted to the touch, her fingers soft against his rough skin. It was a sensation that he couldn’t quite put his finger on, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.

* Athena gently slid her fingertips over the skin of his chest, sliding nails lightly over chest hair as she crept closer. As they kissed, she couldn't help but to impulsively move closer. It happened without thought. She hadn't planned to. Athena had meant what she said before - she was in no rush. Years had passed before she even kissed another man. Maybe more years would pass before she was okay with more. Or maybe, her body was just as confused as she was. Their chest touched but for a moment before she came crashing back to earth and pressed her back to the wall. Pulling her lips from his too, turning her head to look away from him. If she were alive, she would be blushing. A horrible red strain right over her pale skin. "I'm sorry." She laughed now, at herself as her head shook. "I need some air." Both hands moved to run fingers through her hair, sometimes she got swept up. Sometimes she lost herself in the moment, in whatever she was feeling. But what was she feeling?

* Cosimo Alessi remembered what it felt like, to crush a woman’s body with his. He knew what it felt like to have her wilting in his arms as he held her close. Not because she was fading, but because she was weak. Weak with what? He never really knew. As if her knees threatened to give out. Now, when Athena’s chest crushes against his - even if only momentarily - he almost reacted out of habit. Almost wrapped his arms around her torso to encourage her up; to hitch her legs up and around him so that he could hold her, carry her at his height. The reaction was slow, however. Slow, without the hormones to encourage urgency. Perfect, really, that he did not go so far as he could have. When Athena pulled back and apologised, Cosimo continued the downward motion of his hands, his fingers trailing down the backs of Athena’s arms as he took two steps backward. He grabbed hold of Athena’s hands and nodded, even as he lifted them and pressed kisses to her knuckles before letting her go. “Of course,” he said. He could have made some quip about vampires not needing air. But he was in no rush.

* Athena kept her back pressed into the wall, as if the space she made between them would keep him away. That it created a shield that would make him stop touching her. That if maybe she pressed into the wall hard enough everything would make sense but it didn't. His fingers slid over skin and she sighed. When had she felt this last? Had she ever felt this way? She wasn't too sure. It was a different touch- it hadn't been as innocent as them sleeping. The thought made her eyes squeeze closed and she tried to make sense of it all. As her left hand raised, her eyes opened again and widened. Her engagement ring. When he kissed the knuckle that held Hunter's family heirloom she visibly shuddered. Just as sudden as the feeling came over she was feeling... guilty. She pulled her hands from his and struggled to smile at Cosimo. "Maybe we should practice later." Her thumb moved, running the pad of her finger over the full diamond on the ring.

* Cosimo Alessi wouldn’t have noticed the ring if Athena hadn’t reacted to it. As it was, he caught sight of it just as it disappeared again beneath the water. Something collapsed, within. Like a balloon popping, all that high energy that had kept him up all night was suddenly gone. He wasn’t angry about it. Although he couldn’t sympathise, he could try to understand. Athena had told him her story; he knew that she was still attached to the love of her life. It might have smarted, just a little, to feel like second fiddle to a man who was no longer in the land of the living. But what right had Cosimo to demand anything more? Athena hardly knew him, in the end. She needed space and time, so Cosimo would give her space and time. It wasn’t as if he didn’t need a little space of his own. He nodded and forced his own smile, before pushing himself toward the edge of the pool, where he hauled himself up and out, to sit on the edge. The water rolled off of him smoothly, dripping from his hair and over the numerous scars that littered his torso. He pushed his fingers through his hair. Now he was confused. More confused than before. But this wasn’t hard to figure out. “When you are ready,” he said to Athena, staying perched at the edge of the pool. He wasn’t turning his back on her. He was just giving her space.

* Athena knew he saw her reaction. That for once his kiss hadn't been received well and that it all had to do with the ring she still wore. The man she was trying desperately to remember and separate from. It wasn't easy. They had been one from the start and finding just herself again was a challenge. While his balloon popped, her heart sank and she wanted to say something, anything. That she was trying. That she knew even if she didn't know exactly why that she wanted to be with Cosimo. Not everything made sense. It didn't always have to, feelings were always a complicated thing. She wanted to rid him of his force smile. To be the reason again that he gave her a real one. While her mouth finally opened she was greeted with his back. He was walking away, he was giving her space and she flinched in her spot. Athena felt like dead weight. Nothing came out when she tried to speak so she closed her mouth. But he spoke. He broke the silence and she nodded, grateful because she didn't know what else to do. What else could she do? She had already screwed this up. That all the pain she felt during her and Clover's little grave visit hadn't done the total trick. It had opened her to him, to the thought of him. To kissing him but tonight? She hit a brick wall. She pivoted on her heel to turn around and swim to the pool steps on the other side, taking each one by one as the water slipped down her body. Still not saying a word and soaking wet, she walked to gather her things and find her tome. There was no one to kiss at home, nothing to screw up at this level. She needed to get home. He was too far to stop her now. Taking her tome from her bag, she left without as much as two words no matter how much it hurt.

* Cosimo Alessi watched as Athena made her way to the edge of the pool. And he continued to watch, to blink, as he waited for her response. To see if she would say something. The atmosphere swam with awkwardness, but Cosimo didn’t know how to fix it. He assumed that Athena was going for a towel; he shifted his legs out of the water, to push himself up and onto his feet. “I have someone you can…” he stopped. For two seconds he looked away, and when he lifted his eyes she was gone. Disappeared. Meet. The cat was upstairs. Cosimo didn’t know it, but he had been looking forward to introducing Athena to the critter. The odd-looking hairless cat that Cosimo had grown to adore. But she was gone. She had said nothing. She hadn’t even said goodbye. Blinking again, Cosimo just stared at the empty space she had left behind, before wandering over to the chair where his towel was. He slowly started to dry himself, but ended up battling with the towel. A surge of frustration bubbled from his core until the towel was rolled up into a tight ball and punted into the pool. I was hardly satisfying. There was no smash or crash. Nothing broke. But that was all Cosimo would allow himself.

Still in a confused warp of rigid frustration and… guilt? Had he done something wrong? What was it? Had he not been understanding enough? Or was it too much? Should he have stayed with her, forced his kisses on her to make her stay? Was that what she wanted? No. Surely… no. He showered in a daze, too, muttering to himself as he washed the chlorine from his skin and hair. Every five seconds he checked his phone. Nothing. He dressed in his long pyjama pants, and a plain grey bed shirt. There was no reason why he had to be dressed to sleep, but his shame was deep-seated.

As he made his way to the bedroom, he turned all the lights off behind him. From the coffee table he collected the Stephen King book. In the bedroom, he slipped beneath the duvet, only the lamp on beside him. Artu had been fed - the cat was now accustomed to the nocturnal wanderings of its new owner. The cat now joined Cosimo on the bed, curling up between his legs, on top of the duvet. Cosimo tried to read. He did. But the words were not computing. He continued to check his phone - to stare at it, wondering whether he should text. Or call. Wondering whether he should call Elizabeth, to ask her opinion. He deliberated, tortured by it. He completely lost track of time, until he had slipped down, head on the pillow, book discarded beside him, spooned around the curled up body of the warm, purring cat, phone held loosely in his outstretched hand.

* Athena tomed home without so much a word or a noise. She hadn't gestured, hadn't told him. Nothing. She left in her silent shame. Leaving behind the smell of guilt and frustration. When she ended up in the family hotel she quickly went to Eve's room. It was starting to become a comfort to see the woman's things around her. To see a thing or two of her own thrown in the mix. Athena stayed there as often as she could. The room was cosy and she didn't mind playing with Eve's pets either. She always had a love for animals.

While she showered she let herself cry, even for just a quick few minutes. She had wanted to cry in front of Cosimo as she attempted to find the words to explain. But she didn't, she hadn't let herself and even now was a struggle. What could she say? She would say what she had been telling everyone else - she would try. That's the best that she could do was try. It was the only thing that made sense to her because she couldn't guarantee that either person would get what they desired from her. Athena wanted so badly to do better, to be better, but she wanted to be herself and find herself more than anything else. When she was ready to sleep, she unwound the towel from her head and slid hands down the silk of her gown. She couldn't stay. She had to go. Leaving it like this wasn't an option, her heart felt like it had dropped to her feet. The very feet that kept her running from him, from everybody. Pulling wet hair into a messy ponytail she found her trench coat and pulled that on, feet sliding into old sneakers before she rushed out with her bag in hand. Athena knew she didn't have too long before the sun would rise. Before she would be forced to sleep without him.

Athena took the portal she always took to his house, keeping her coat closed as she made the rest of the way on foot. The air was cool despite the summer heat, it felt good against her skin. If only briefly before she realized it was more what she thought it to feel than how it actually felt. She was a vampire now, part of the walking dead. Pushing those thoughts back, she found herself in his building then going up the elevator. What would she say? Was he angry? Was he even home? It was worth the try. He was worth the try. Letting out a useless breath as elevator doors opened she walked from the lobby to his door. It didn't even occur to her that he could have locked the door- she just walked up to the knob and turned. Pushing the door open and closing it quietly behind her she tossed her bag towards a couch as she made her way through his apartment. Only pausing to kick off her shoes, pulling at the ties of her coat to shrug that off and toss that aside too. Maybe she should have said something, made sure he was alone. Even make sure that he would want to see her. When she caught sight of him asleep with his phone in hand she sighed. She felt rotten. Completely at blame. Taking steps the rest of the way to his bed she climbed on, crawling over to him. - What was that bald thing? A cat?-- Well, maybe he would have told her had she not run off like that. If she had spent the rest of her time with him like she wanted. Lifting a hand, she grazed her palm across his cheek to brush hair from his sleeping face. "I'm sorry." Athena mumbled, moving the rest of the way to tangle herself with the man while her lips finding his jaw to press apologetic kisses to the flesh. "I'm so sorry, I'm trying..."

* Cosimo Alessi wasn’t entirely asleep. That wouldn’t happen until the sun came up over the horizon - though that wasn’t too far away. Which was why he was laying the way he was, ready to drop off the face of the planet, or so it felt like. Sleep was sneaking up on him, a slow lethargy creeping into his limbs until his eyes had blinked closed, swinging back and forth behind his eyelids. He was lost in half dreams; those thoughts that meander without direction, completely at odds with one’s own life.

What he saw in his head as he heard the front door, the drop of a bag, and the rustling of a coat did not wake him. These things weren’t reality, they were ensconced in the half-dream. The back door of a restaurant; the thump of off-cut meat into a half-full bin; the rustle of the chef’s hands swiping over the dirty apron. The way he looked at Cosimo, then, with such disregard and disdain. He approached, and…

… the touch on his cheek had him snapping awake, flinching away from who and what he thought to be a disgruntled restaurateur who wanted nothing but to shove the dirty homeless man away from his establishment. The sudden defensive movement of the man’s body, and the arrival of the stranger had Artu scrambling off the bed, fleeing the scene. Cosimo hardly noticed. Instead, he looked into the bright blue eyes of the woman who’d left him without saying goodbye. Her face was illuminated by the warmth of the lamp and Cosimo relaxed. She wasn’t here to hurt him, or push him away. She was on top of the blanket, and Cosimo was underneath, the blanket pulled up underneath his arms, draped over his chest. He might have lifted the blanket, but he didn’t. He blinked, and shook his head, half rising to greet Athena. He thought he was still dreaming. But he was still wary. Air. Space. He had to give her these things. “You could have said goodbye,” he said. It wasn’t an angry statement. It sounded sad. Cosimo didn’t want to sound sad; the corners of his lips turned into a smile. Silver lining? “...you came back…”

* Athena felt worse the moment he spoke, she was adjusting her body to lay over his and his blanket. She knew that she didn’t weigh much and maybe it wouldn’t bother him but she wanted them both to be comfortable anyways. She wanted nothing more than to make it right between the two of them. “I know I should have.” she was guilty, of course she was. Her head turned, moving to bury her face into his shoulder before turning to kiss his throat. “I didn’t know what to say. That’s never happened to me before.” she lifted up again, to look into his face. “I did come back, Cosi, I wanted to sleep on the couch with you. I wanted everything to be right and I didn’t think a text message would do.. not after that.” sighing, she adjusted herself so that she was at his side, elbow holding her head up while she more or less leaned over him. Her free hand sliding over the broad area of his chest.

The touch was gentle, sweet, something she didn’t do often but it seemed to be reserved just for him. “I didn’t want to get too serious too quick and scare you off.” Suddenly that thought made her laugh. Surely, though she had done plenty in the past to run this man off anyways. “I’m not sure how to go about this.. or what to do and what not to do but..” she lifted those blues to his face, fingertips nervously sliding over his chest. “I do want to try.” Athena sighed, that was the best she could come up with. She didn’t know him too well just as he didn’t know her well but she knew this; she wanted to try for him.

* Cosimo Alessi still thought he might have been dreaming. The way Athena leaned in close, so that he rolled over onto his back, settling back down onto the pillows. She remained on top of the blanket, so although she talked about getting ‘too serious’, it didn’t seem like it was going to go that far just yet. And anyway, Cosimo didn’t think that she was the one getting too serious. The way their last encounter had ended, he would have assumed that he was the one who’d scared her away, not the other way around. He made sure to look at her face, when it rose into his view again. He didn’t want to look at her hands, or bring any attention to the ring that she probably still wore. The reason, he assumed, that she had run off before. He shook his head.

“I do not scare easy,” he said, finally, with that smile on his lips. Obviously. There had been plenty of things that should have scared him off by now, and getting too serious definitely wasn’t one of them.

“We will go slow. I do not know what I am doing either,” he said, that smile broadening into a lopsided, sheepish grin. “I will give you space. You can tell me - show me - what your boundaries are. But… we are here together, si? We are… together?” he asked. That
was the singular question he had, he supposed. Not that he had prospects, or women lining up around the corner. Not that he was looking to play anyone; Athena was a surprise. A pleasant gift. He doubted this was just a fling, but he wanted to be sure that he was not overstepping any boundaries. Even now, his arm only hovered around Athena’s back, his fingertips playing over the curve of her shoulder. He didn’t want to make her uncomfortable.

* Athena shifted lazily as he did, while she wasn’t under the blanket with him this time she was as close as she could manage. Her elbow propped up at his side, her other hand lazily moving over his chest as they spoke. When he said he didn’t scare easily, she glanced away. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know why he wasn’t scared. After all, it wasn’t as if she hadn’t given him ample reason to run. But she couldn’t say that she wanted him to run now. Not if it wasn’t in her direction despite the hardships she still faced with her emotional past.

“You don’t.” she agreed, blues finally lifting up again to his face, the hand on his chest lifting to toy with a few strands of hair before brushing it back. “I’m still sorry that I..” she chewed on her lower lip, feeling particularly bad for things she hadn’t learned how to help. “..Do that. I’m trying to change direction.” she sighed, her shoulder shrugging. “It isn’t easy. It doesn’t come with a.. manual.” she said, referencing the latest reason she left. While she was opened to talking to him now it was harder when he said he wanted to know her boundaries. Not that she didn’t appreciate the thought. She wasn’t sure what those were beyond physically. Athena was in no rush to crawl beneath those blankets with him.

“My boundries?” she paused, trying to remember if anyone had ever asked that before. No one had. With a sigh, she pulled her chin from her palm to rest her head on his chest as she curled up at his side. “I don’t know what those are. I just know that I like being near you even if you irk me.” Athena laughed, the sound light and easy. “I can’t help it for some reason. Maybe I don’t need one?” It didn’t happen often but when Cosimo asked her his last question her entire body stilled. While she had joked about him claiming her she hadn’t exactly thought that through. Did that mean they were together together? Did that sound too high school?

It took her a moment to think. What should she say? How did she feel? After all, the last time anyone had asked her that she wasn’t even allowed to date. Now things were different she was grown and struggling to put a man behind her. Swallowing down the guilt she didn’t want to feel anymore she answered. “Well, I would think so.” Athena, always the romantic. Maybe she wasn’t all sharp edges. “Is that okay?” Her hand moved to her face to rub over her eyes sleepily, turning to bury the rest of her face into his chest. If she couldn’t run from him throughout the city it most definitely wouldn’t do her much good to try his chest.

* Cosimo Alessi had lied, slightly. He had said he didn’t scare easily, but the truth was that he was terrified. It wasn’t hard to admit that he had grown attached to this wild and fiery woman, for whatever reason. And she continued to come back from him, even if she was dubious about whether she should, or could. There were things that Athena still did not know, and Cosimo feared the consequences when she did. His eyelids were growing heavier as he lay there, his legs sprawled out beneath the blanket, but his arm still around Athena, his palm now resting upon her hip.

There was something about the way she curled in against him that was more than endearing. Far more comforting than the cat, who now sat at the doorway of the bedroom, licking himself. They were all far too calm and the atmosphere far too content for him to be breaking open any cans of worms. Not tonight, he told himself. Soon, sometime. When the time was right, but soon. He would tell Athena everything. But not right now. There was no need, right now, with her above the blanket and him beneath.

Cosimo had to laugh, though. He laughed when Athena did, unsure whether to be dubious himself, or flattered. He did not mention that she seemed to like him against some kind of inner better judgment. But if she had not been with any other man until now… how could he not be flattered?

“I will be your training wheels,” he said. That’s what he felt like, somehow. Of course he had an ego underneath all of his consideration; a man who would not push or argue against Athena’s struggled, but one who hoped that eventually, he would be the only one she would think about. They do have all the time in the world, though. And plenty of hurdles to jump before they got anywhere near that.

A slow but glowing grin spread over his lips at the last answer to his questions. He nodded.

“It is what I was hoping,” he said. That they would be… exclusive. Though he did still feel that guilt of things unsaid deep down, right now? It felt fantastic to be wanted.

Artu nimbly jumped onto the bed, steering clear of the stranger but curling up neatly between Cosimo’s legs. Cosimo wasn’t looking at the cat, however. He was instead gazing down at the women curled against his chest, his expression tender and tired, with just a hint of excitement thrown in.

* Athena felt different with him now, maybe it was the fact they were calm and curled up. They weren't fighting - or she wasn't yelling at him for once. Or it could be that now that they were something she felt safer than she had before. The unknown wasn't something she was good with, she liked to know what she was all into or if she wanted no part in it. He already knew, they were both confused on what was going on with each other but it was hard to stay away. She didn't want to and here she was curled up at his side.

When he spoke of training wheels, she lifted her head to sleepily squint her blues at him. "You're not anyone's training wheels.. least of all mine, Cosimo. I didn't say yes to you because I wanted to try you on before riding a bike on my own." she sighed, a hand reaching up to wipe down her face in slight frustration. "I said yes because I want to be with you and I do want to try." she tipped her head. "Don't you see? Am I not..." There it was, that irritation that only he could bring on as quick as the passing wind. Her words were a knee-jerk reaction and once they settled in with herself, she frowned. Maybe that had been a bit much but she wanted him to know, to be clear. They deserved to start on the same page or somewhere close.

Athena started to lower her head, sleepy and wanting to curl up with the man but in her peripheral-vision she caught sight of the cat. “You got a cat?” she laughed, turning her head some to nuzzle her nose into his chest. “I’m sorry if I got snappy.” she mumbled, tipping her head back again so she could look up at him. “The sun’s coming, I’m sleepy.” Her body was growing heavy with the need for sleep. It was getting closer to the sun to rise but she smiled at him all the same. Lifting up easily on her hands to press her lips over his in a gentle good-night kiss. “Be here when I wake up?” she teased, unable to help the little kiss that followed.

* Cosimo Alessi was relaxing into the bed like a bag of heavy rocks. It was not something that he could help. The sun was so close to rising, and his body reacted to it, like the worst kind of allergy. At least he was home, and safe, and comfortable in bed with this intriguing woman, and the warmth of Artu between his legs like his own personal heater. Each blink was longer than the last, and Athena’s voice was a swirl of electric melody that permeated his brain, each word slowly settling in and ordering themselves lazily. The understanding was delayed.

Yes, he had heard the irritation in her tone, and the assurance that it created. She had said yes. Yes, they were together. Together, whatever that may entail. And Cosimo did not know. Perhaps the analogy was not quite right. Not training wheels, then. But… something. Something that he would not mention again, because he didn’t want to be pushy. Or selfish. Athena was perfect for him. They were perfect together, because neither of them wanted or needed to rush. But both were needed in different ways.

So, although he heard the irritation, Cosimo smiled. A slow smile that remained upon his lips as his rolled back onto his pillow, and his eyes closed, and remained closed. His tongue unstuck from the roof of his mouth.

“We will talk more soon,” he said, his voice barely a mumble as he only just managed to string the words together. Maybe they would talk more. Maybe they wouldn’t. This relationship of theirs didn’t need to be clearly defined, did it? Not yet. They were how many nights into it? He shook his head, as if he were responding to the conversation occurring in his head. Only to again nod.

“His name is…” he swallowed, his tongue feeling heavy. “It is…” but the words were lost. The sun had come up. The last of Cosimo’s waking energy was snatched from his body, and he was asleep. His head rolled sideways, lips just resting against the top of Athena’s head. His hand remained heavy over Athena’s hip, grip loose. But still holding on.

* Athena knew he would sleep soon. The sun was coming, she was finding it hard herself to keep her eyes open. While she talked to him she knew he was having trouble making sense of it. It was her anger that kept her clarity, though she didn’t seem to have the same problem he had. That once the sun was up, she would fall fast asleep no matter how hard she seemed to try. He was falling asleep now and while she still felt the need to yell at him she nestled down at his side instead. Enough fighting for the time being.

“I won’t forget.” she mumbled, her head resting on him once again. He spoke about the cat and she tipped her head enough to look down at the cat. Long gentle nose wrinkled, blue eyes finally looking over the cat with her obvious distaste for it. “I prefer dogs.” she mumbled, eyes closing again. Her hand moving over his chest, fingertips grazing lazily over the area.

Her eyes were heavy now, her body tucked happily with his. Closing her eyes, she felt his head turn and his body finally slack. Laying her palm on his chest, she quieted and went quickly to sleep too. It was a deeper sleep than usual, content in where she was. Maybe this time he would wake up before she did.

* Athena kissed them while she settled there, her hands gentle on him. Even if she was sitting on him, she was still in no way trying to do more than kiss. Her hands stayed above both of their waists. It was when he stiffened that her kisses paused. They grew lighter. As if they were only a sweet peck of a kiss. Now she was conflicted. Why had he stiffened? If so, was there something she had done wrong? Had she crossed a line she hadn't been aware of? But once her thought was gone he was relaxed again. Her kisses returning to the pattern they had made between them. With his arms around her, she relaxed too. Moving her head then on his shoulder, only after though kissing his lips a few more times. "An hour or two before I need to at least think of leaving. Is that okay?" Lifting her head again to smile lazily into his face. .

* Cosimo Alessi knew what his argument would have been, had Athena got upset about his slight misapprehension. Guiltily, he knew that he would have told her that he was wary of her boundaries rather than of his own. Rather than tell her the truth. He was afraid of the truth, he realised. It terrified him. Not just because he was afraid she would slowly back away and make excuses and not come back, but because he was also ashamed. Ashamed that it had happened. Ashamed that he had let it happen, and that he had not been strong enough to fight his way out of it. Maybe this was why they left him alive; so he would have to live with his shame, and his failures. Cruel bitches. She settled and Cosimo’s arms remained wrapped around her, holding her there. He nodded. “My job, it does not have times. I do not need to be anywhere,” he said. His phone had slipped over the edge of the bed, up top. The book that he had been trying to read before Athena arrived was on the bedside table. He brushed his fingers over Athena’s forehead, before pressing a kiss against her temple. “The later the better. To make sure that the places I must thieve are… closed, si?” he said, smiling. Without paying attention, he’d started to stroke the satin of Athena’s pyjamas again, following the curve of her hip.

* Athena wouldn’t ask him questions about why he stiffened. After all, she was the back and forth queen. Those types of questions were ones she wasn’t fond of. She didn’t want him to ask so she wouldn’t ask herself. Her arms wrapped around his neck then when she felt his arms around her. Now she was content, settled leaning against his chest with her head on his shoulder and sitting comfortably in his arms. “Well, I can stay for awhile. At least long enough for the those places to be closed for sure.” her eyes closed halfway, enjoying the affection that he gave to her. In turn, her own hand moved her fingers through his hair with her nails gently scraping along the man’s scalp to soothe him as she was being soothed. Looking up at him she smiled, fingers curling a few strands of his hair around. “Do you just thieve?” she asked, suddenly more curious about the man. When she felt his soft caressing of the satin she didn’t say a word. For once, she didn’t want him to stop. The caressing while he held her only made her lean herself a little closer to the man. Wanting to be close to him.

* Cosimo Alessi could have dozed as Athena’s fingers played in his hair. It was soothing, even though the man wasn’t in need of soothing. Although he’d suffered a second’s worth of panic, he’d batted back the negative emotions and focused on the positive. Their skin was cold and as bodies went, they emitted no heat. But there was still warmth in this moment. Warmth comes not only from physical friction or bodily expulsion of energy, but from the moment itself, the tenderness of it. Cosimo’s eyes had closed as his head had fallen back against the head of the bed, his shoulders resting upon the pillows. There was a smile on his lips as she said she would stay, again. And a shrug of his shoulders as she asked her question. “It is all I do, to be… productive. I swim, and I read. I did not used to read much. That is your fault,” he said, still smiling. Obviously teasing. Reading wasn’t a bad thing. His life, really, was leisurely. “I do have people that I see. But mostly they are independent, and I am left to my own devices,” he said. Compared to Athena, his life was a holiday.

* Athena couldn't help the fact that her nose wrinkled as he continued to speak. After all, she was attempting some manners to not yawn right there on his shoulder. Swim? Read? Thief? That sounded so incredibly boring that she could just nap right there just listening to him. Athena's fingers continued their affection in his hair. Lifting up her head slowly that now she could see into his face and smile politely. "Cosimo, I'm glad that I got you to read. It's a good habit to have." Her fingers continued through his hair and as they did a slow and big grin spread over her lips. "But I must say that all sounds....boring." Tipping her head to the side with her blues staying on his face. "It's nothing we can't fix." Leaning forward now to peck his lips twice. "Adventures are good for the soul. Don't be such a square." Now she laughed lightly. Her smile still stretching over her lips. "Has death taught you nothing?"

* Cosimo Alessi laughed, even if he was somewhat insulted. He squinted at the roof as he thought about his life. It had not been boring. It was anything but square. Maybe he deserved a bit of a holiday from all the ‘adventure’. “You, have three jobs. Not one, but three. They are ordinary jobs. Square jobs. The two that you have told me about. You work more often than you have time off. We have eternity, we are vampires. We have… power. And I am the square?” he asked, incredulously. “Thieving, it is not boring. I am covered in scars. I… find pretty things, useful things. There is adrenaline, and rush,” he said. He shook his head. He did not agree. He did not think that he was boring at all, or the things that he did with his time. “What is this adventure that you propose? That I go find a job with regular hours and repetitive tasks?” he asked, tucking his chin toward his chest so he could look down at Athena, the expression upon his face almost challenging.

* Athena was quiet for once while he spoke. Not that she would usually interrupt or butt in to answer with snark. No, not this time. Her eyebrows raised and her blue eyes stayed level on his face. She could answer with violence. That was her favorite answer, to be honest. But while she listened to him talk she couldn't help but to laugh yet again, both hands dropping from his person to cross her arms over her chest and answer his look with one of her own. "Oh, Cosimo. Have I ever been boring?" The question was fair, after all she'd have to reason that none of their previous meetings had been anything of normal. "You say the fact that I have jobs is something to be frowned on. When actually? They keep me level. Well, at least being under a car has always had the tendency to keep me...balanced." Her tongue flicked over her lips. Perhaps she had insulted him. This time she hadn't meant to so she would tread with some type of decency, for him. She didn't want to fight. Not now. "You don't have any idea what I do between which is actually..." She trailed off. How did she want to continue? "What I was asking you. You answered with swimming and reading, Cosimo. Let's not pretend like that doesn't make someone want to snore even more than having three jobs and repetitive tasks." Those blues rolled, well, at least she had prevented from hurting him physically. That was a plus in her book. Now with that said and his challenging look answered she started to get off him. She had boring things to do, after all.

* Cosimo Alessi had answered the way he had not because he wanted to make out that Athena herself was boring, but he realised now that’s how it had come across. He laughed again and shook his head. “No, no. You have never been boring. Even with your three jobs,” he said. The thought had never crossed his mind, that Athena was boring. But he had reacted spontaneously, defensively. Which was unlike Cosimo. Of course he noticed that Athena had a tendency to go off the rails, and he assumed he had only witnessed a very small part of who Athena was. He had no idea what else she did between her jobs, or what she would do on her days off.Yet. But he had to keep laughing. “You like swimming. And you were reading. It is why I started reading,” he said. He didn’t understand how the things that Athena enjoyed doing were boring, now, because they were what Cosimo enjoyed doing. When Athena started to climb off of him, Cosimo didn’t let her. He had a hold of her hand and he pulled her back down again. “What if I change my answer? I have discovered that what I like to do, when I am not thieving, is kissing you,” he said. And then he grinned, and shrugged, his hair over his eyes again, now that Athena had stopped running her hands through it. “Or, perhaps. It is recreational thieving. Because I am stealing kisses. Si?” he said, before doing just that. He stole another kiss - or attempted to, if Athena would let him.

* Athena was letting out a slow and unneeded sigh. It was a part of this yoga routine she had started doing. Maybe if she exercised again it would toll down her temper? She was trying, this time for herself not to always be so hot headed. Fighting with him wasn't something she always wanted to catch herself doing. Much like now. Was this fight worth it? Who was boring? Who wasn't? After all, they didn't know everything about each other yet and they both had their secrets. She was certain everyone has those. She did. After she let out another breath she answered as level as she could. "Yes, I do enjoy those things but I'd prefer.. more to occupy most of my night." Athena bit her lip. She wanted to add more. She wanted to be snarky and sarcastic but she knew it wouldn't get anywhere. It would end with her walking out or worse. This wasn't worth it. When his hand held her down, when he stopped her every part of her body stiffened. She wasn't a fan of being held down when she was anything less of playful. Now she didn't feel so light and carefree. But then in normal Cosimo fashion he opened his mouth again and she laughed. Her body relaxed and she settled back into her spot on his lap. Was he for real? Stealing kisses? How deliciously cheesy. Leaning forward now to meet him halfway when he came to steal a kiss from her lips, arms raising again to slowly wrap around his neck to gently pull him closer. A silent apology as they kissed.

* Cosimo Alessi understood the need to occupy one’s time. There were plenty of other ways that Cosimo could have answered the question. Maybe. Could he? No. There wasn’t much else that he did with his time. He wandered from place to place. He walked the city, probably in search of something to do; sometimes he found something. Sometimes he didn’t. On several occasions he had found Athena. That counted as something, right? He pushed his fingers through her hair; he kissed her, because it made her stay. It was a theme. It was a thing he had learned. When they parted, he was still smiling. “I wander the streets. I am clumsy. I fell into this life. And everything that follows. I…” he laughed, shaking his head. “I make mistakes and have been blackmailed several times into making others vampires. They do not occupy much of my time. Three of them. I have stopped making mistakes, now,” he said, nodding. “Not that I think that they are mistakes. But it is my mistakes that…” he shook his head. He was not explaining himself properly. “I agree. You should take me on adventures. Show me how you spend your time. When you are not working,” he said, and nodded. And it was exciting to him, to imagine future nights with this woman. Not bored, or wandering aimlessly, but with some kind of goal in mind. With a purpose.

* Athena kissed him gently, her arms dropping once he pulled away so she wouldn't keep him there. Tipping her head she watched him smile. She wondered if it hurt to smile so much? Did she ever smile this much? Who knew. Well, she knew she definitely didn't smile as much as he did. At least not when he wasn't around. Lifting a hand she ran her thumb gently over a dimple that popped up when he smiled at her. It was almost her favorite thing about him. "Why didn't you kill them instead?" Athena laughed softly. What an awkward thing to say while she was being so tender. The pad of her thumb gently stroked over his dimple again before she dropped her hand to her lap. "It sounds a bit silly that a human blackmailed you, Cosi. Now it'll be more difficult to just slit their throat and be done with it." Leaning up, her mouth over his for a quick unexpected kiss. At his mention of adventures she smiled big again. It was borderline goofy. "Don't you worry, handsome. I'll take you for a few adventures." She choose not to comment about them not being mistakes. As far as she were concerned at this moment? They sounded like it.

* Cosimo Alessi blinked up at Athena, his brow arched. They honestly couldn’t be any more opposite, could they? Cosimo could have killed them, but the thought had never crossed his mind. And to think about trying to get rid of them now was… inadmissible. “They are not trouble. They are like… I do not know. But I would not want to slit their throat and be done with it. I have care,” he explained, poorly. He shook his head. Athena was on a roll. Boring and silly. How many more of his flaws would she uncover before she slipped off to work tonight? But Cosimo was not ashamed of himself, not for those reasons, anyway. The smile was still easy on his lips. “You are already an adventure,” he said. Which was not untrue. How many nights had it been? And Athena was already proving to be a rollercoaster. “We do not have to go anywhere, and it will still be an adventure,” he said, his hand reaching up to tuck her black hair behind her ear. But nor did she strike him as the kind of woman who’d want to be stuck inside all of the time. Thus, three jobs. The goofy smile had won him over, though. He looked forward to whatever she might have in store for him - whether it be planned, or not. His thumb touched the curve of her lip, the way it tilted up in that broad smile. It suited her. So long as he could make her smile like that, he didn’t mind being boring or silly.

* Athena thought about that. Why would she kill them? Well, wasn’t it enough to kill them simply because they had blackmailed him? She supposed it wasn’t since they were vampires now and he could have easily handled them when they were just human themselves. “Then don’t slit their throats. I would have but we’re allowed to be different.” she kept her easy smile. Her shoulder shrugged and she tipped her head at him. Though, she couldn’t imagine how they weren’t any trouble after blackmailing him for this life.. but that wasn’t any of her concern yet. If he needed help she was always a phone call away. When he spoke of her being an adventure she laughed and kissed him gently over his lips. “You think so, Cosimo? Well, that’s good then. Most just see me as trouble.” she continued to smile though, she didn’t care too much about what they thought. Well, what Rion thought, really. With his thumb so near her mouth she couldn’t help but to turn her head and kiss the man’s finger. “We’ll have plenty of adventures together.” A smile on her lips, blues looking up into his face.

* Cosimo Alessi felt like he should name his progeny, and tell Athena all about them. Blackmail, he realised now, was probably too strong a word. Juniper hadn’t blackmailed him, not really. She had asked, nicely, for something she couldn’t possibly understand. Esmeralda was his first, and it had, somehow, been blackmail. But she was so innocent and naive, in her white night dress with her bare feet. Killing such a girl would have haunted him. As much as he might have wanted, at one point in his life, to be cold-hearted and merciless like his father, it had never come to the fore. But, Athena had let the subject slide. Sooner or later, she would meet them. And she would know that they were not so bad. They were not bad at all. But that day was not today. “You are trouble,” he said, thumb continuing it’s light caress. Subconsciously, he was memorizing every angle of Athena’s face; every curve, and the exact hue of her eyes. Had he ever looked at a woman this close before? Probably not. She was like a different species. A beautiful new thing for him to discover. “You will be trouble. I can tell. You will… make my life less boring,” he said. “I will come see you. At work, si? Tonight. What time do you finish? We can … do something,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders. Something other than hang around in his apartment.

* Athena hadn't thought to ask more about his Childers. Maybe she was just being selfish about his time but she didn't care to know about them right now. As he touched her face she continued to smile, blues on his face as her hand moved to run fingers through his hair again. "I'm not that much trouble." Her hues rolled, nails sliding over his scalp. But then he spoke about work and her hand dropped. "I should get going to that." Sighing, she leaned up with both hands on his arms to kiss him very gently. "Yes, come see me. I shouldn't be too long tonight so just come by when you can?" Asking with another kiss to his lips. "We can find some trouble."

* Cosimo Alessi knew that she would have to go to work. He had already pulled her back once, and he couldn’t keep her here all night. There were things that he could do in the mean time. He returned her kisses with no great urgency, though they weren’t simple and chaste. They weren’t the kisses of a couple who’d been together for years. Cosimo was still learning how Athena’s lips tasted. Still enjoying far too much the feel of them, to let her kisses go too quickly. His grip loosened and he nodded. “Yes, trouble. It is a date,” he said. He was ready to get out of the bed as soon as Athena did; to get up and get dressed. Feed Artu. Maybe, write again in his journal, before he left the apartment for the night.

* Athena didn't want to leave him but she had to. She could tell it was getting closer to the time that she had to go. That she needed to get home and go get ready for work. Maybe it was okay to show up to his apartment in satin pajamas but it didn't seemed all too appropriate for work. "You've got yourself a date, Cosimo." She said, agreeing with another soft kiss to his lips. "Come find me and we'll go find some fun." Hesitant before she kissed him once more, lingering there with promise of more kissing later. "Until later, Cosimo." Giving him that goofy smile again before she slid off his lap, fixed her hair by running fingers through it and grabbing her things to quickly tome home before he changed her mind, like only he knew how.