knightsoflegend | italy ♔ a promise lives within you now

Entry tags:

italy ♔ a promise lives within you now

WHO || Rafael, Buffy [Closed]
WHAT || After months apart, Rafael and Buffy celebrate the end of his tour with a private trip to Italy
WHERE || Italy
WHEN || /truck drives by, blaring horn
HOW || Actionspam.

It hasn't been an easy few months, but then again, it hasn't been an easy few years. Following the night of the Grammy's, Rafael's returned to his tour, aspiring to use his concerts as a chance to try and warn people of the dangers inherent in listening to Blade and company's music, even at the risk of looking like a crazy person. It wouldn't be the first time the world thought it, alright. Meanwhile, Buffy's been dealing with the fallout of what the Mind Master did to Finnick, and by extension, Myri, trying to be there for her friend in every way she can. It would be easier for both of them if they had each other to lean on through it all, but they had to rely instead on numerous phone calls and memories of one night that finally offered them both some hope just when everything had started to seem more impossible than ever.

They also had the promise of this to look forward to: a planned trip to Italy that Rafael insisted be just the two of them, once he was finally free again. He's arranged to meet her at the Galileo Galilei International Airport in Pisa, and when she gets out, there's some Italian chauffeur guys holding a sign that says "Summers".

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[ he got a 26 drive check, he'll be fiiiiine ] There are still a few things you do not know about me. [ he glances back at her, adding quickly: ] Nothing bad. I should say this first.

But I thought... it would be nice for you to know these things.

"Nothing bad," huh? [ The smile tempers into a raised-eyebrow, teasing look of reproach. ] Well, I already know about the drooling and the snoring, so I guess by comparison ... You're right. Any other surprise is bound to look like a good one. [ It doesn't matter if he really snores/drools or not tbh she would make this claim regardless; you're welcome.

Well, she made it through her teasing with a smug, matter-of-fact smirk, but now that it's over she has to glance out the window to restrain her ridiculously sappy stares. ] Kidding. Sort of. [ More seriously: ] I'm glad that you've got stuff you wanna share.

[ he looks mildly horrified for half a second by that, so maybe he doesn't realize it's a joke, but then he moves on, a little more serious ] It is just that... you have known me for so much of your life since you came to this world. So much of all you remember. I've been able to see you go through much of what has made you you, gotten to know the people who mean something to you.

While I-- [ he chuckles a bit, almost awkwardly but it's ridiculously endearing anyway as he reaches one hand up to drag his fingers through the back of his hair, saying with self-deprecating humor: ] -- have... many more years under my belt, for one, years that are a part of who I am. And while you know some of those stories, some of those people, they are often ones that are connected to darker times in my life.

[ he glances over at her, as if to see how she's taking all this ] There have been better times, too.

[ It occurs to Buffy for what might be literally

the first time ever

that, being a half-elf, Rafael is older than he looks (wis 15). When he says "many more years," he's using a different scale than hers. So she looks at him with a curious sort of interest, finally pushing through the giggles and butterflies of seeing him again to actually consider that he'd had something particular in mind in inviting her out here. ]

How many years are we talking about exactly? [ Yes, hello, Buffy will take "things you shouldn't have to ask someone you've known for three years" for $500, Alex. Of course, the question is part of an implicit answer—her interest speaks for itself. She'd like to know about those good times, too. ]

[ it takes him a second to answer, because he's too busy peering at her out of the corner of his eye as he pretends to be concerned with like traffic signs and shit. finally he says: ] ... Forty three.

Forty— [ She blurts out the word before she stops herself, eyes wide, then swallows any further reaction. She can't control her facial expression, even as she forces her lips to stay sealed while she nods and lets it sink in. Eventually, the flat line of her mouth turns downwards into a thoughtful, pursed pout of sorts. ] Wow. That's ... [ A lot of years ? ?? ? ]

Then again, I'm operating on best guess here, so ... [ Like. Who let her into Nightscape ? ? ? She was 20. Anyway, she makes a vague gesture outward with her hands like who's she to fucking talk. But she leans her head back against the head rest and tilts her face in his direction, thoughtful. ] When's your birthday?

[ in the most adorable moment ever, he rolled a 2 on his sense motive to interpret her response, notices that little frowny pout, and looks slightly unsettled himself now as he tries to focus on the road while fighting off his own disappointed little frown. ] November eighteenth. [ he seems to debate saying something else, but instead changes his mind to nod towards the fucking beautiful countryside opening before them.] I was born here, actually, in Tuscany.

Scorpio. [ She says with some offhand thoughtfulness, like it means something to her. Moving on without missing a beat, she looks out as he indicates the countryside. ] Nice place.

[ She says it all cavalier like it's not the most fucking beautiful countryside she's ever seen in her life. To be fair, she's in a legitimate conflict between staring at the beautiful countryside and staring at

Rafael's face.

The decision doesn't exactly makes itself when, to her, both are captivating. ] January 19th, by the way. [ She looks over at him. ] One of the Knights who knew me before had to tell me, but ... It's one more thing than I knew before. I blew out my first birthday candles this year. [ And then, in case he thought she'd let it go: ] How do you fit forty candles on a cake? [ And at first, she looks genuinely concerned with it, but eventually, a wide smile pulls over her features and she looks at him fondly, giving away the joke. ]

Sorry. Keep going.

[ at this point, with traffic thinning out entirely as they drive the long winding roads through the landscape, he spares her a longer look, clearly still unsure how she's actually taking this news, and her question makes him purse his lips together for a moment ] ... I have not actually had a cake in several years, so I would not know.

[ a heavy beat, before he finally says: ] We age differently, you know. Than humans.

[ She studies him, then sits up straighter in her seat and emphatically assures him. ] I'm kidding. [ And there's softness in her eyes as she catches his to say it, her expression all light and warmth.

A beat later, she adds matter-of-factly; ] But don't think I didn't notice that you waited until I was trapped in a car with you to break the news that you're totally ancient.

[ Maybe if she had a higher wisdom check, she'd know to not then continue kidding. As it stands, she decides announcing it once seals the deal. ] We should get you a cake this year. I'll figure something out for the candles.

[ the assurance does, in fact, seem enough for him honestly, and once she's given it, he smiles at the other comment, relaxing again ] They have candles that just say the number, no?

Number candles are for quitters.

[ She says it like she's imparting some kind of age-old wisdom onto him ? ? ? after making fun of him for being way older ergo worldly. Ok, Buffy. ]

Okay. Age differently. So, tell me about Rafael Giovanni in ... [ Her brow furrows. Fuck math honestly. ] What, the '70s? Oh my god, please tell me bell bottoms came to Tuscany and you have pictures.

I was a very small child through all the seventies, carina. I do not think high fashion was much a concern of mine. [ he looks really amused though ] My family lived here most of my life, until I was twenty-three or so. Out there, it was easy for my father to keep hidden what he was, what I was, and for fifteen years of my life, I was allowed to be just a child, roaming these hills, getting into mischief... There were other elves who lived very close to us, all the better to help protect each other from discovery. Two of these families had children also - Vittorio, who was of an age with me, and Nellethiel, a full elf who was older than us both - but still young, because of how much slower elves age than even half-elves.

[ For a few moments, she looks like she's working very hard to imagine that and loving the mental picture. It's hard to imagine Rafael as any younger than she's known him, but once she works something up, it'S ADORABLE. She gets comfortable leaning against the window and watching the countryside roll by, and it's easy to figure him for running across it with his friends. ]

How's he doing—Vittorio? Have you reached out to him at all?

When I knew I was coming back to Italy, I sent him a message. He is still embroiled in the fight, in Roma. After hearing what happened with Anderson, he offered to track Iscariot movements, when he can, afraid that they will seek retribution of some kind again. But if such a thing is on the horizon, it is well hidden.

Iscariot is an old organization, and they have a long memory. Perhaps we have at least bought some time before they will care to trouble us again. They are not fools, and I cannot imagine they wish to risk more of their agents after losing their best. Not so soon.

Just business, then.

[ She was more trying to find out iF THEY WERE BEING FRIENDS OK. But that's some people's version of friend, so she's not judging really. Besides, Rafael did murder him, to be fair. She moves on smoothly. ]

With everything that's been happening, I didn't even think about following up on Iscariot. [ Or maybe she was just hoping that'd be the end of it. ] I'm glad you did. [ She drops her head briefly, thinking maybe she doesn't deserve someone to be watching out for and trying to protect her from any retribution for murdering Anderson, but she's just going to accept it and be grateful instead of discouraging it. She looks over at him. ] Where's Nellethiel now?

Not just business, no, but that was how our conversation would seem to anyone who listened. [ his eyebrows knit slightly as he tries to explain ] Some things can not simply be picked up where they left off. Should not be, after everything. But that means that things will not be easy for a time. I think we both feel this way. We will find whatever new rhythm it is we will have some day. Until then-- [ he glances aside, out the window, maybe seeing the same distant image she was just imagining, of a pair of young boys running through the hills, still possessed of innocence. a bittersweet smile touches his lips, and warms as he turns to her other question, mulling over where to start. ]

Vittorio's family moved to Roma when we were twenty or so. Three years later, my father took us to Venezia. It was when he died and my mother's health started to fail that Nell's family came to live with us, two years later. We all shared a small flat, and Nell's parents sent her to school with me, hoping that she could 'straighten me out' from all the trouble I had been getting into.

[ he makes a humorless sound, resembling a laugh ] She was always very observant, Nellethiel, and it was not too long before she figured out why I was skipping school. I confided in her about the Movement, and while I tried to convince her to join, she would not. She thought I was going to get myself killed. But she kept my secret, from both our families.

After we finally graduated from school, her family continued to stay with us, as we tried to get by on the little money I was making working in a cafe, and occasionally getting paid a small sum for performing here or there. But even between our two families, we barely made ends meet. We could not afford the help my mother needed. As I have told you before, we could do nothing for her in the end: no cleric or doctor to ease her pain. [ he shakes his head, hand gripping the steering wheel a bit more tightly ] All I cared about after this was the Movement, about justice for my father, and as I spent more and more time with them, I came to see them as the only thing that mattered. I quit the job I had, became more and more active in their work. Nell's family was ... very worried about me, but I pushed aside their concerns, started traveling with the Movement so that they had one less mouth to feed, so that I could do more for the Resistance, and that they could be safe from whatever dangers may fall back on my head. I would visit, often, but... [ he frowns, visibly upset with his past self for the way he left them, dismissed their fears. ]

I was about ... thirty or so, when Nellethiel met Giorgio Rossi, and the two were married within the year. Sometimes two people can find such an easy road to love, as simple as breathing in their next breath, and that was the sort of love they fell into. [ while he clearly approves, is happy for them, he also sounds as if that kind of love story is somewhat bewildering to him, so far outside the realm of his own experience that he's not sure what to make of it ] When they decided they wished to start a family, the two of them moved back here, to Tuscany, where they thought it might be safer to raise children.

They were right. I cannot imagine a better place to grow up.

Edited 2015-04-22 19:13 (UTC)

[ It hurts because some ache in her chest empathizes. The memories that justify it may be lost, but the feeling remains. He'd given up his peace and his family for a calling that he couldn't ignore, had to resign himself to certain behaviors, change his lifestyle.

For him, some might call it a choice instead of a destiny, but it's only a choice in as much as a calling can be, as much as one can say it wasn't his circumstances and knacks that set on him on an unerring path toward it. He no more chose to face the struggle of growing up an elf in Italy than she chose to be called as the Slayer, and there's something equitable in the difficulty of ignoring the role either plays in their lives.

It pulled him away from his family, from his friends, even from Jade and Vittorio eventually. As much as it kills her to consider, she also can't help but realize that maybe that's why they've found ease in one another. Instead of these duties pulling them in opposite directions, it's precisely what brings them together. One more thing they have in common, one thing they can understand about each other that others can't in the same way.

A wistful sort of smile draws up the corners of her mouth as he segues into the tale of Nell's love and of Giorgio. She can't imagine something like that—falling in quickly, yes. Slipping into it without hardly realizing it and then being suddenly there, yes. Her love for Rafael feels as natural to her as breathing, but loving him may well be the hardest thing she's ever done. ]

Is that why you came here instead of Venice? To visit Nellethiel and Giorgio?

I want you to meet them. [ he nods up ahead, to where the countryside gives way to rows of grape vines. ] This is their vineyard. [ he glances over at her with a little smile, clearly both nervous and excited to share this with her ]

[ Amazingly, she'd never guessed that, so she sits up suddenly straighter in her seat, whipping her eyes off the scenery to look over at Rafael. For what it's worth, she doesn't quite process the weight of it (wis 7), that meeting Nell is the closest she can really get to coming home to meet the family, but she doesn't have to in order to have a moment of abrupt panic that she just got off a two-hour flight from London and is now expected to be presentable to people whose opinion Rafael values. ]

Here? [ Her voice squeaks slightly. ] Now? [ A desperate whine for waRNING ?! She looks back out the window with a changed perspective, suddenly awed in a different way. Slowly, she reaches up to try to stealthily untangle the hair tie that holds her messy bun atop her head (dex 14). She slips the hair tie onto her wrist and starts tousling fingers through her hair like it'll somehow make her look more presentable. A moment later, she blurts out, ] What if they don't like me?

That is not possible. [ with a 22 wisdom check, he not only reads her panic, but also her rushed attempts at making her presentable, and reaches over to gently wrap his fingers around her raised wrist, before saying pointedly: ] And you look beautiful. [ he throws her a look like he's daring her to argue with him, his smile firm and encouraging ]

[ His reassurance stuns her briefly, and as she holds his gaze, a slow smile builds. She lowers her hand, fidgeting instead with the rose in her lap. Her head tilts off to the side a bit, subdued and humbled by the way he's managed to read her. If he thinks so, then she thinks so too.

It doesn't entirely assuage the nagging pressure, though, and after a beat, she adds, ] I feel like I should have brought something. Like a bottle of wine, or— No, they don't need wine, they own a vineyard. Something potted and alive, potentially flowery. People usually bring gifts for this kind of thing, right? [ Or maybe what she should be asking is whaT KIND OF THING IS THIS. ]

Edited 2015-04-22 20:08 (UTC)

Nonsense. They knew I was surprising you. How could they expect anything? [ he pulls up in front of the modest villa, putting the car in park, and then reaches over to take the rose from her and tuck it behind her ear with a wink. ] Plus, I already brought them presents enough.

[ She stills as he takes the rose from her, softening as he slips it behind her ear. For a moment, she melts, a breathless longing in her eyes as she gets swept up in the moment. A fragile sort of hope lights in her smile, like she's still accepting that this closeness of theirs is real.

And then she runs it by blurting out a flat question as it finally sinks in, ] You told me them about me?

[ A beat later, she blinks, realizing that may be the dumbest question she's ever asked. ]

I mean, of course you told them about me. [ He's bringing her to their house. This is only a surprise for exactly one person. ] Sorry. What did you tell them about me? [ Is that a thing that people ask because she's asking. Secret organization problems. ]

That you are someone who is very, very important to me. [ he flashes her a slightly enigmatic grin, but then throws his door open b/c a striking, willowy elf is stepping out of the door, placing one hand on the column there as she watches him get out. after a few seconds, a wide, fond smile splits across her beautiful countenance, and moments later two children come racing out the archway past her, making a beeline for rafael's knees. one is a small blonde girl whose hair is tucked behind her pointed ears, and the other is a dark haired little kiddo both of whom are excitedly shouting "Rafael! Rafael!" his smile grows even wider when he sees them, and he reaches down to scoop up the boy with one arm (str 16), while the girl attaches herself to his leg, pressing her face there. his words are teasing as he tells them: ] I was afraid you might have forgotten me. [ they both burst into a string of protestations in italian that are adorable. ]

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