xli λ bambini

[assassino]

[Ezio has been hiding himself away for a variety of reasons.

Perhaps it's because his schedule has been thrown. There are no more late mornings with Lana, pressed up against her despite the warmth and cajoling her to stay just a little bit longer, just five more minutes. There are no more late lunches, no more dinners snuck in between sittings at the restaurant. No more riding out to the fields to picnic and joke and carouse, no more wine in pretty baskets, no more flowers just-because, or any of the other hallmarks of a man starting to get really invested in a woman.

That is because there is no more Lana. She's gone, as if the castle had forgotten how much she was loved –– even with Wesley and Fred and all of those others passing on from this world, Ezio liked to think that he enjoyed Lana enough for her to always matter to the castle.

She'd always been so bothered by the fact that they'd someday leave and forget each other, but she'd always acted like she would be the one to remember while he drifted away. And now here he is, the one left waiting.

But there are only so many weeks he could hide out in Stephanie and Cassandra's apartment, thinly "tolerating" Tim's presence and straddling the line between being heartbroken and maintaining a stoic manliness. With the babies everywhere, it is somewhat easier –– distractions, and all –– but he still needs to get out. There are only so many ways you can stave off loneliness.

So here he is, tentatively dipping his feet back in the world of women. Has it really been six months since he seriously chased another skirt?]

---- Horny Ladies, 18+ ----

[And there's that thick Italian accent, suave as always, but maybe a bit stiffer than he'd usually be.]

Salute.

I'd be much obliged to take you out for dinner and drinks, for whatever pleases you –– whether it is to spirit you away from a nagging infant for an evening, or merely amuse you for a few hours. If you are bold enough to ask, then I am bold enough to satisfy!

- Ezio Auditore

---- Public ----


[And then there's Ezio, whiling away some time in the garden. He's got a thick leather glove on one hand and a colourful eagle-like bird perched at his wrist; that bird is currently wearing a hood, patiently waiting in darkness for Ezio to unhood him for some time in flight.

Come bother a dude and his bird.]

Comments

[assassino]

Yes, but I've never had a girl react like that.

[But no matter. If she liked it, she liked it.]

But you liked it, didn't you?

[hellofist]

Never been touched there.

[And, yeah, there's a little bit of a blush going on when he just comes out and asks.]

Yes. That felt good, too.

[assassino]

[A small part of him finds it amusing that the girl who can almost read thoughts through body language could have never experienced a man attracted to her to the point of physical contact. And here he thought he had no interest in wooing virgins or chasing after girls who seemed oblivious to any advances.]

Good. You'll know who to come to if you ever find yourself wanting...

[hellofist]

[She'd tried that with Conner, hopped a train to Kansas just so she could try to figure out all the things that had been started thanks to him, but in the end she'd come home the same way she'd left. Still confused, still curious, still wanting, as Ezio puts it. Going to find him late at night for that isn't entirely out of the realm of possibility, but it's probably best to keep that to herself for now.]

Will you be gentle?

[assassino]

[Ezio nods, even if she can't see it from the direction she's facing.]

If that's what you want, of course.

[hellofist]

[She can't help the mischievous grin she shoots him. It's possible she walked him right into that one.]

Wouldn't have to be. Can't feel pain.

[assassino]

Ah, but I am sure you can feel pleasure. This would be about what feels good, not what feels terrible.

[hellofist]

[She'd been a little worried about that herself, actually. If she had been conditioned not to feel pain at all, it seemed possible she'd have lost the ability to feel pleasure too. She feels sensations still, but that was definitely a first.]

Pretty sure... you don't give those. You know better, right? All that practice?

[assassino]

Yes, yes, all that practice.

[And he's learned from the professionals. Literally.]

I know women the same way you know bodies.

[hellofist]

[That's kind of a funny thought.]

You read them, know what... they want?

[assassino]

Something like that. It comes with experience. When you have experience, you know what to look for.

[hellofist]

And what do... you look for?

[assassino]

Changes in the breath, noises, what she is saying... you will see, perhaps.

[hellofist]

Perhaps. Will make you... work hard, though. Won't just be... a conquest.

[She's not trying to be harsh when she says it, it's just a fact. She has no interest in becoming a faceless, nameless woman who helped him forget the pain of losing Lana for a few naked, sweaty moments. There are other women in the castle and the city if that's what he's after.]

[assassino]

[After all these years, Ezio still hasn't gone after many girls who make it difficult for him –– no time nor interest in wooing virgins, and all. Stephanie was one of the rare few, and now perhaps Cassandra would join her... and though he would insist that is not his intention at all, he would also be reluctant to admit any interest in a relationship.

He just got out of one of those, and its end made him never want to get burned again.]

Of course, of course. I can still romance, you know... but there is also no trouble with a bit of tumbling between friends. It is like sparring.

[hellofist]

[There's a quiet laugh in response to that.]

Only naked, and everyone wins.

[assassino]

[He chuckles.]

Yes, that exactly.

[hellofist]

Maybe in that sparring... you'll try to land attacks.

[Instead of the clothed kind where he mostly just indulged her.]

[assassino]

Dolcezza, I would not bother if I did not intend to "land my attacks."

[hellofist]

Good. Wouldn't want you... holding back.

[assassino]

You're adventurous, for a virgin.

[hellofist]

I'm Batgirl. Adventurous comes with territory. Virgin is... side effect.

[assassino]

Uncharted territory on your own body, hmm?

[hellofist]

You've seen my suit. The mask. Doesn't exactly... encourage charting. I scare people. Spooky, Stephanie said.

[She shrugs, because it's just something she's accepted.]

[assassino]

What about Tim?