Vila Krisztian Bathory (vilakrisz) wrote in auguryic, @ 2008-04-22 22:12:00 |
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Current music: | Adam Ant - Strip |
secret romances are the best kind
Who: Allegra and Vila
When: last Friday early evening
Where: I Libri Strigati, then a coffee house, a pizza parlor and then the manor (they get around ;))
Giuli had already headed home to the manner house to enjoy what little bit of her free time that she allowed herself. Laz was in the back, already weighing into one of the books sent to them by the various author's agents in and around San Francisco, determined to have an opinion on who they were going to invite for a book signing within the next few weeks. Allie herself, was leaning on the front counter doing the crossword in the morning's paper and not looking at all at the young man across the room who was bent over a university text book. She fidgeted as she worked out the clues, forcing herself to focus on them and not drum her pencil or twirl her hair around her finger until it ended up a rats nest.
Every so often her large blue eyes would flick toward the clock on the register and she'd smother a sigh. It was too early for her to cry off the shop. Still too early. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. She straightened up, waded up her crossword and pitched it into the garbage before swinging herself under the flip up door to the counter. Her converse squeaked incredibly loudly in the somber and quiet bookstore but she still didn't look toward the customer in the corner. If you could call him a customer. He hadn't bought a damn thing and she hadn't expected him to. It was one of the Bathorys, Vila, the youngest. Plenty of the magic using families popped in from time to time but the Bathorys were rare. "Laaaaz!" she called as she headed back to the bookkeepers office. She wrapped her gauzy bright blue scarf around her neck and snagged her metallic gold purse. "I'm leaving now!"
She'd ridden her bike to work but she'd decided to leave it in the office. Who knew where the night would lead? There were plenty of restaurants, clubs and theaters in the area. She probably would just find the bike a hindrance. With a grin, she heard his muffled acknowledgment from one of the private reading corners. He'd pull himself away from the books any minute now and come to watch the front, she wasn't too worried about that. With a bit of a bounce in her step, she breezed through the front of the store, shooting a quick blue glance at Vila before the door chimed and she stepped out into the warm San Francisco evening. With a sigh, she just enjoyed the fresh air for a moment.
For his part, Vila had enjoyed tormenting Allie, perhaps a little too much. He's shown up a couple hours after he had finished classes for the weekend and had settled himself comfortably into a plush chair with his homework. He didn't have to work again until Sunday, his laundry was being taken care of and so long as he worked on his Latin translations enough to show reasonable progress to his professor on Monday, he had the weekend free. Every time he had caught Allie looking at him instead of whatever it was she was supposed to be doing a small smile graced his features, though it was quickly gone before most people could catch it. He was a Bathory and they had a reputation to maintain in front of the other magical families. Allie was somewhat different, but her family was also around.
After she left the store, he unhurriedly began to pack his things back in his backpack and headed out the door and down the block a little ways, still not acknowledging the brunette. It tickled him, this game they played. Leaning against a building idly, he looked through unkempt black curls at her and waited to see if she would catch up or not. He rather hoped she would, otherwise this would be a very dull weekend and he was not interested in a dull weekend. If he had wanted that he could have taken his Latin verbs and conjugated them in Berkley.
It was a lifelong struggle, getting used to being cooped up inside. Allegra Fierro had struggled with her boundless energy and being forced to sit through classes and work after school shifts in the store for years before she found methods to cope. One of her favourite methods was simple anticipation. She had learned to look forward to the first few breaths of outside air once her day was over. She loved it just as much in the city as she did in the country. She couldn't help the smile on her face as she turned toward Vila's loitering spot. She fairly skipped down the sidewalk as she caught up to him. "Hey!" Allie looped her arm through his and for just a moment, leaned most of her petite little frame against him. "Have a good week in school?" Sometimes - and it was rare - she missed her days studying music theory at Berkeley. She never really missed a chance to hear about what her sister or her friends were learning, though.
Groaning, Vila pulled her close to him and leaned down to give her a kiss, "Pissed off my seminar prof again," it was almost a weekly ritual their dance of conflicting opinion. It had stopped surprising him several weeks ago, but the professor seemed to think that one day they might agree on something. Vila was half tempted to agree to whatever he said on the last week of class just to be different. It would shock everyone really and possibly get them out of class early as they wasn't a screaming match one week. It would be new and different. "None of that matters now though," not at all. Coming into San Fran proper had been the highlight of his week, though it wasn't enough to excuse his roommate being a douche, again. Soon though, soon it would be summer and he wouldn't have to deal with that.
It was a little bit cool and the sun was making it's downward arch but Allegra didn't mind. She tilted her head back and gave him a smile. "You love that prof, admit it. He gives you a chance time and again to show off your intelligence and strength of opinion. I'm seriously starting to think that he does it on purpose." Likely not, but she liked the way that Vila absorbed any sort of praise, even indirect praise, from her. That is to say, somewhat awkwardly. Her smile only grew as that very brief and quickly hidden acknowledgment appeared and was gone. "Feel like coffee?" There were a couple of places along the sidewalk they were strolling that had outdoor patios.
Arching an eyebrow at her phrasing, he turned into the nearest cafe obligingly. He lived on coffee and red bull a good deal of the time and unlike his sisters who drank the higher quality liquors, he was content with red bull shots and beer, though even he drew the line at domestic American brands. Budweiser and Miller Lite were clearly the downfall of the United States and if he was given enough time, he could explain it in great detail linking it to socioeconomic issues and race/class issues as well. He could actually do that to pretty much any issue really, it was akin to finding Christ-like symbolism in literature, it simply could not be missed and warped to any argument. "Let me guess, you want a soy latte frappachico no cream extra foam with extra sprinkles and a double shot of espresso," he said, making up a ridiculous sounding drink. The guy ahead of him at Starbucks the other day had ordered a frappachico meaning 'frappacinno' and it had amused him entirely too much. He'd been working 'frappachico' into conversations as much as possible ever since. He also got black coffee and put just enough sugar in it to make it palatable. He had a reputation to maintain that cutesy drinks with whipped cream did not factor in to.
Allegra gasped at his sacrilege and made a great and dramatic show of crossing herself. "Il dio lo conserva," she muttered, shaking her head at the ridiculous coffee order. The Fierros were no more religious than most of the families, being fully aware of the damage the church had done to their bloodlines. However, they spent generations surrounded by other Italian immigrant families and it was just safer to blend in. They had the mannerisms down and Allie usually employed them when she was joking around. She ordered herself a mochaccino, liking her coffee to be sweet. "So have you got any other plans for this weekend?" she asked coyly as they took their drinks out to the patio.
"Nope," he replied, equally coy, though he smiled and looked at her meaningfully, "Thought I'd maybe catch a movie, raise a zombie army and then march on Berkley, but then I realized, no one there would notice. Or try to stop us, they'd be all 'peace, love, zombies brains...man.'" Vila sighed dramatically, "Which would not be the point at all. So I'm having to find other ways to amuse myself."
She covered her mouth with her hand to smother what would have been a whoop of laughter at his rather unexpected joke. Her eyes danced with amusement for a moment as she got that under control. That sort of comment was exactly why she'd come to really enjoy Vila's company. Granted, his family have this pervasive image and all the other families were leery of them but she'd found him capable of self deprecating human and black jokes. Since one of Allie's favourite things to do in the world was to laugh, he'd been instantly endearing. She'd tried to find subtle ways of pushing him into revealing his capacity for amusement and humor to the other families but he'd quickly snuffed that goal. She had to admit to herself that he just wasn't ready to be that unguarded. The Bathorys as a whole seemed to feel as though they had a standard to live up to and they stuck to that, defiantly. Allie was just glad he'd gotten sick of trying to scare her off and had come around to her presence. "That's hilarious. So true." She nodded as she took a careful sip of her chocolaty coffee. "I was going to go to the Pewter Mug tonight or tomorrow." She canted her head, tossing her dark hair out of her eyes. "I can put that off until tomorrow if you wanted to stick around for a bit."
Ah. The Pewter Mug. "Yeah...you have fun with that," he said, not interested in going, at least with her. He wasn't a fan of the pub anyways, though he had been there on numerous occasions, but they were keeping their relationship a secret, at least for the moment, and both of them being at the Pewter Mug with the other families was not what Vila considered to be a fun or stress less night out. The Bathory's in general tended to keep to themselves where the other families were concerned, only socializing when they had a reason or were required to do so. "I might catch a movie instead," their relationship was a casual one, they could do as they pleased. Yet sometimes, it felt like Allegra wanted to announce to the world what a little rebel she was, a dog and pony show he was not interested in at all.
Despite her best efforts, she was a touch stung by that. She hadn't invited him along with her. She knew he wouldn't want to go and a dominant part of her hadn't wanted him to. She was just filling him in on her plans. She'd offered to free up her night for him tonight, albeit, vaguely. She reminded herself to not be offended. It was just his family trait to be bluntly dismissive. She didn't entirely consider herself to be a rebel, just capable of doing her own thing. Which is what brought her into his company this evening. "What were you thinking of seeing?" she asked casually. Sitting still in a dark theatre was always a bit of a trial for Allie. She tended to opt for action movies if she had to do it. Or horror. She saved her collection of funny, cute girly movies for quiet nights at home. Usually sick days.
Vila shrugged again, he hadn't really given it much thought, "Maybe 21, the blackjack movie," it looked vaguely interesting in the grand scheme of movies. He was actually a fan of the really stupid Will Ferrell comedies like Blade of Glory, but he didn't usually admit to that. In fact, he didn't even rent them, he just paid for them off the pay-per-view movie channels whenever he wanted to watch them. Leatherheads with George Clooney was also tempting, though he couldn't decide if it was a political or sports movie. If it was political he might, if it was sports he would pass. American football held no interest to him, he preferred rugby or field hockey, or even soccer to baseball, basketball or football. They just were not aggressive enough.
Allegra reminded herself that subtlety was a no-win situation with Vila. Her smile grew just a fraction as she just came out and asked. "Do you want me to come with you?" She would sit through a moving to spend some time with him. She'd even pay attention to it, since there wasn't much else to distract her in a movie theatre. Her expression took on a touch of slyness. Except him of course but some people didn't like that kind of attention when they were trying to watch a movie they'd payed for. In her experience, Vila was hit or miss depending on his mood which was often hard for her to read.
When faced with that particular point blank question a time when he wasn't trying to play games, there was only one answer, "Yes," he said, taking a sip of his coffee, "Though I can think of better things to do with you than pay too much to see a movie," while his family was not as wealthy as they were in times past, they were certainly comfortable, but he lived on a modest students allowance. Therefore, when he did go see a movie, he actually wanted to see it and not make out throughout it. If he was going to make out through a movie he could just rent something. Then if there was more the bedroom would be convenient as well. A win-win situation really.
"I'd like that." She grinned at him. "We can see whatever." She reached across the table and squeezed his hand affectionately. "Just nice to see you! It's been a while." It had been almost two weeks since they'd gotten together last. With her work schedule and his school regime, they didn't always sink up. Allegra's room at the manor was sizable and comfortable. It seemed pretty crowded once she'd crammed her double bed, a couch and tv and her piano in there, but there was still room for yoga and dancing to the radio, which suited her just fine. "Or you could come back to my place and we could watch something there." She smiled, because he'd certainly figured her out well enough at this juncture in their relationship. "If you want to risk running into your family." There was that.
Vila made a face at potentially seeing his sisters, they had taken it into their head recently that he should move in with them and share in their torment. There were a myriad of reasons for him not too including the practical - it was too far from school and the personal - he didn't want to live within the same zip code as his sisters. "Risk does make life sweeter," he murmured suggestively. He had already been by to drop off his laundry so they would figure out he was visiting sooner or later anyways. If they were caught in the halls, they could always pretend to simply happen to be in the same place at the same time coincidentally. His sisters most likely would not believe them, but that was their problem, not his.
She smiled and shrugged as sipped her sweet coffee. "You're more than welcome. Have you eaten anything? I was just planning to order a pizza." More like a slice, on the go. But if he was willing to spend the night in, so was she. She knew plenty of ways to blow off some of her accumulated steam and thankfully, Vila always kept up. She was pretty sure her own siblings would assume she was out for the night so there would be no knocks. Thankfully, part of the magic that secured all of their private quarters in the Manor also sound proofed the place.
Thanks to being a 20 year old guy, Vila was a veritable bottomless pit and could eat and eat and then finish off everyone else's food as well. "I could do pizza," of course, he thought in terms of the entire pie, not merely a slice. He and his roommate could finish off an entire pizza together with a liter of soda. At least, that was when Vila wasn't planning to disembowel him for touching his things. He had a possessive streak as wide as his name.
She pointed down the road a little ways. "There's a good place just a little bit of a walk toward home." She tipped back the last of her coffee and set the mug down. "Did you bring your vespa or are we walking?" She didn't mind the walk but if they grabbed the pizza and went back to the manor it'd probably be cold by the time they got there. Not that it wouldn't be pretty room temperature by the time they got there on the little vehicle as well. She supposed they could always eat at the pizza shop. There was a little flutter in her tummy, the same one she got every time they were together under the noses of both of their families. It had started out a bit like a game. How long until anyone notices what we're up to? When they went out on a couple of dates and no one was any wiser, she'd been surprised. Mostly because she'd felt changed, however minutely, by getting to know Vila better. Had no one else noticed those changes, she supposed not. And she'd spent a couple of nights at his place, keeping her head down as the two roommates argued, and still no one had found out or even asked her where she'd been. Then the real games, getting in and out of her room at the Manor without being seen. They'd done that a dozen times now and still, the rest of the people in their lives were oblivious. Six months later, they were still a secret. She was continually baffled at how that was even possible.
Making a face, he finished his coffee and took both their mugs to the plastic bin for dirty dishes. He hadn't been raised to do the little kindnesses for those who worked in service jobs like this, but had learned in college that he got better service if he did. The little kindnesses mattered to those that had little else. Coming back and picking up his backpack he shook his head, "I took the train down," the vespa was great around campus or for the area when he was home, but it was not safe on long distances which it technically was between the city proper and the school, at least for the poor vespa and its rider. He would take the risk and ride it down if he were going to be in San Francisco for a week or more, but for the weekend it was taking his life into his hands and who would raise him up if he died? "We can eat there or take it back with us," he said, heading towards the door now that his backpack was taken care of, then offered his hand almost as an afterthought. He was not physically demonstrative in public. "Microwaves are useful inventions, Ms. Fierro."
Allie bounced up and joined him as soon as he was turning toward the door. She slid her hand into his and aimed a beaming smile up at him for a moment. Reward for the gesture. "We might as well take it back with us then." If it had just been her, a single pizza would have fed her throughout the weekend. With him there, she knew it probably wouldn't see the dawn. That was ok. It meant she probably wouldn't feel obliged to cook for him later, either. Back out into the warm evening, she took another deep and relaxing breath of fresh air. Leaving the bike at work had been a good idea. "Though mircrowaved pizza is gross," she wrinkled her nose in demonstration. "The crust gets all soggy."
Rolling his eyes at the soggy crusts, Vila followed her to the pizza place. He could care less about soggy crusts so long as it was food. Pizza was pizza and so long as there wasn't anchovies on it, he'd eat it. Anchovies were too salty. "What else do you have planned?" he inquired, figuring he'd have plenty of time somewhere to work on his homework some more. And if not, well, it wouldn't be the first time. He consistently failed to live up to his potential when a class or subject did not interest him, though Latin did interest him strictly from a magical standpoint. While the magic he did was not like Harry Potter at all, there was some Latin involved and there was frequently Latin in the occult texts and historical documents that he was passionate about and in the anatomy and physiology of the dead he worked with at the medical examiners office. "We should get soda. And something for dessert too," he suggested as they entered the pizza shop. "Maybe wings. Or beer," Allie being old enough to legally buy beer was useful.
She chuckled. "Aaah, I see why you keep me around." With a wink, she slipped her hands deep into the pockets of her jeans and scuffed her converse on the sidewalk. "I've got a bit of money, yeah. We can grab a few things." There were plenty of shops on the way home. The trick would be sneaking all this fantastic smelling food into the house without anyone else sniffing around. At least until they made it up to her room and were safely behind locked doors. "What do you want for desert?" She was partial to cream soda as far as drinks went, mostly because of it's unreal colour.
"I dunno," he had the idea for dessert, he wasn't particular as to which one. He preferred savory or salty foods to sweet, but he still had a sweet tooth on occasion. "I've got money too. Was payday today," payday was always fun because while he was given a stipend every month for food and the like, the money he earned working was his play money. It wasn't a bad deal really, this way no one could dictate what the money was used for. It was his completely and utterly - not his families and certainly not in control of either of his sisters. The problem always invariably was that the money rarely lasted in any substantial quantities through to the next payday though that was Vila's doing. He had a savings account he kept secret from his family and he deposited as much money into that as he could every two weeks. So far he had generated a small but steadily growing nest egg for investments and the like. He knew he most likely would not get rich from a life of academia, which is exactly what he would do if given the choice, or for working for his family, therefore he needed other options to finance his tastes.
"Alright, so pizza first, and soda and beer and wings then something sweet?" Allie counted off these purchases on her neat and short fingernails. Thinking about it for a moment, she offered a suggestion. "How about cookies? There's a bakery I know of that makes really good Mexican wedding cakes." The little balls or crescents of almond flavored shortbread rolled in powdered sugar were her absolute favorite cookies. She'd never had any luck baking them for herself though. The pizza place was only moderately busy as they stepped inside, so she gravitated to the back of the line. With her face tipped up to read the specials on the board, she tapped her chin speculatively.
That sounded good to him, but then food usually did. "Anything special on your pizza?" he asked, though he vaguely recalled that she had a thing for peppers. Or was it mushrooms? Something like that. This was why he was a bad boyfriend, he did not remember these things and didn't much care that he didn't remember them either. If they were truly that important she'd let him know, "I like your plan. It is much with food. And I love something sweet," he leaned in to hug her close. He was not a fan of public displays of affection, but little things like this were okay. Especially when the guy two tables down was given Allie the eye. She was HIS and he was going to make sure the other guy knew it.
She couldn't help but smile as he pulled her in close. She hadn't noticed any lookers, since she'd been studying the board over head. "Peppers," she told him as she took her chance to nuzzle the bridge of her nose along the underside of his jaw briefly. She knew too much affection in public made him more standoffish. It hadn't taken more than him stepping away from her just once after she'd tried to pull him into one of her more enthusiastic kisses to make that clear. She liked the chance to demonstrate every once in a while though, as well as enjoy the sensation of his perpetual stubble.. "Maybe Italian sausage?" she added, "the spicy kind." She liked strong flavors in her food and enjoyed a little heat.
"Add some 'shrooms and it sounds perfect," he murmured, shuffling up to the counter with Allie on his feet. He wasn't especially tall, but she barely reached his shoulders and he could pick her up easily. He liked mushrooms and onion, though white onion on pizza was not thrilling. Red onion was much better, though he wasn't in the mood for it right now. Placing the order he moved her away from him just enough so he could get his wallet out of his back pocket and pay. He should have considered they weight of everything before ordering it since it would be heavy combined with his backpack. Oh well, he could manage. Never did he consider asking Allie to carry anything or help, chivalry may have been dead, but that was Vila's speciality and way of life.
Her peel of laughter as he walked her up to the counter, her thin arms wrapped tightly around him so that she didn't fall over, only drew more eyes so she snuffed it quickly. With her upper teeth sunk into her lower, she smiled up at him before stepping side to clear some more room at the counter. They were going to have to wait a little while for their order, so she sat down at the nearest table. Allie's eyes lit on his backpack. "If we're going to get soda and beer and cookies, we might have to grab a cab to carry everything." Her face sort of fell as she suggested it. Allie hated riding in cars. There wasn't much that she would claim to hate, but that was the one thing. Something about it terrified her, whether it was the speed or the enclosed space, she didn't know.
It could be said that Vila was selfish on occasion, though it was less selfishness and more of a wary worldview combined with paranoia and a general distrust of others that was often misconstrued as selfishness. However, knowing Allegra's hatred of cars, he would do what he could to avoid having to subject her to them. There were times were not only was it necessary, it was good, but now was not one of those times. "I can carry it," he reassured her, surprised that she would even make the suggestion. Sitting down with her, he subtly adjusted his pants so the secespita strapped to his leg would not show. "We can put some of it in my backpack and I'll manage the rest. Having evil minions has to have some benefit, right?" He was joking, but being able to raise a zombie to carry the things was a tempting thought, though completely impossible due to the secrecy in which they kept their magic.
She sighed. Sadly, her own magic wouldn't be any use with the heavy lifting. Not much of what she was capable of had any solidity to it. Her sigh was a sound of relief though, not distress. "At least let me carry some of it," she said with a fond look at her hero, slayer of car rides. "I'll carry the pizza and wings, and you carry the other stuff." Depending on how much beer he wanted, the drinks could get heavy. Compromise! She knew he wouldn't like it, as he clearly enjoyed the role of 'strong chivalrous man', which she liked too. Allie just didn't think she could skip along beside him as he was weighed down by all of that stuff.
He could handle compromise, especially given the alternative in this case and Allie was suggesting it. He never would, but if she did, he would not always say no. It just depended on the situation, "Sounds good to me," he agreed. And with the added bonus of nothing having to calm her down after a car ride, there was a much greater potential for nookie sooner, something Vila was always in favour of.
Within twenty minutes they had received their pizza and wings, had stopped in and bought beer and soda as well as stopped off at a the bakery which features the cookies that Allie liked. She bought two dozen of the powdery, sugary confections and carefully tucked the box into his now rather full backpack. Once they were packed and loaded up, thus began the trek back to the manor. It was fully dark by this time but Allie didn't mind. She rarely felt nervous walking late at night and Vila's presence was also reassuring. She knew all about that wicked looking knife he carried in his pocket. All she could smell was the pizza and the spicy wings and by the time the house came into view, she was pretty sure she was drooling on her shirt. "Soooo hungry," she groaned.
Vila paused, now that they were so close to the manor who knew who they might run into? Hopefully not his sisters, that was certain. Opening the door quietly, Vila let Allie slip through first before following. If nothing else, he could claim he saw her outside and she needed help carrying everything, that was the truth. The manor was old and decorated accordingly with dark woods and rich accents, a startling contrast to the modern apartment Vila lived in now, though it resembled more what he had grown up with than where he was now. College was all about exploring new things, pushing boundaries and finding oneself, though it could also be said that a person could spend a lifetime doing the same thing to as much avail. So far though, so good. Now Allie had to get them into the Fierro quarters. Just as he could not enter them without Allie, she could not enter the Bathory's suite of rooms without him, not that he ever anticipated taking her there. It was...not appropriate.
Up the stairs, Allie fairly tip toed despite the fact that poor Vila was so heavily weighed down that it was next to impossible to be totally stealthy. Holding her breath she pressed the rune in the door frame the required three times before shifting the wide flat boxes in her arms to pull it open. A long hallway stretched before them and she hurried to her own door - sixth on the left - and again juggled the boxes in order to key in her code. With a sigh, she heard the lock disengage but her heart jumped up into her throat as she heard a door further down the hall open. A girl's voice carried down to them as they backed out of a door, either talking on the phone or to someone in the room. Was that the youngest Delecroix sister? Finally she got the door open and nearly tripped over her own feet when she pushed it open.
Hearing the girl Vila froze, though in the middle of the hallway he was completely visible to anyone looking. It was not a rational reaction, but it was instinct. Realizing he hadn't been spotted, he almost tripped over his own feet trying to get into Allegra's room quickly. Despite being an athlete he still had his moments of a complete lack of coordination. Thankfully though, he didn't drop the beer. Priorities were important. "Ah ha!" he chortled, pleased with himself. Looking like a fool did not bother him as much as potentially dropped the beer did. "We made it!" he mock-whispered solemnly.
Bumping the door closed with her hip, she grinned sheepishly. "I can't believe she didn't see us." Now that they were safely behind a locked door that only she herself could open from the outside, Allie visibly relaxed. She set the pizza and wings on a small side table just inside the door while she unwound her bright scarf from around her neck and draped it over the arm of her antique coat rack. She took the beer from him and, after toeing her way out of her sneakers, crossed to the little mini-fridge next to the couch. One would almost think she were a guy, but the truth was closer to the fact that she lived like a student. She'd set up this small bedroom plus bathroom like a tiny dorm apartment. The room was dominated by the three large pieces of furniture that she owned - the full sized bed, the couch and the piano. Other little bits were fitted in around these things. She had the mini fridge to keep her drinks or leftovers cool and a microwave sat on top of it for reheating. All in all, she'd added bright little accents and her walls were fairly plastered in landscape paintings or photos. "C'mon in, make yourself comfortable," she invited as she started to load the bottles into the mostly empty little fridge.
Her room was very...Allegra. Girly and yet not in some ways. Very rummage sale without looking cheap, not that he could really judge, his apartment was barely any better save they had posters of mostly-naked girls instead of landscapes. Setting the beer on her bureau for the moment, Vila slid the backpack off onto the bed and unpacked the little cookies. Rotating his shoulders to get the kinks out, he wrinkled his nose at the sweat stains on his shirt. That was unattractive. Shrugging philosophically, he decided that he'd tolerate it for the moment unless she had a clean shirt. He figured they'd both be losing their clothes and getting sweaty later, but not yet. And eating, even if it was just pizza, shirtless was a little unhygienic without a pool party attached. He toed his own shoes off though to get comfortable and pulled his socks off as well. He was not overly fond of socks in general. "I'm hungry," he pronounced as if he hadn't just had a coffee less than an hour earlier.
Beer safely stowed, she straightened up again and wandered back to where she'd left the pizza and wings. "Me too." She had paper plates stowed underneath the coffee table, since she hated doing the dishes so she peeled herself off a plate and another for him if he so chose, before cracking open the pizza box. It was still slightly warm and so lovely and fragrant. "Mmmm..." she fairly purred. She pulled two slices onto her plate and curled up in the corner of her couch with them, legs tucked under herself. With her large and oddly turquoise eyes half-lidded in bliss, she took a massive bite. No one could ever say that the tiny girl didn't love her food. Thankfully, she had a high enough metabolism that she could burn off the quantity she ate in a day.
Taking two slices as well as a generous helping of the wings, Vila folded himself near her on the floor. Close enough to steal her food, but far enough away to make a game of it. "What movie?" he asked, through a mouthful of pizza. Swallowing, he popped open a beer bottle and handed it to Allegra and then took one for himself. She'd gotten the good stuff, he appreciated that. How his classmates could drink Budweiser or Miller lite or whatever the cheap crap was he would never understand. "I'm not going out again," he warned, though since they now did not have to rent a movie he was more than willing to watch whatever it was she wanted.
She accepted her beer gratefully, more than willing to drink it at room temperature. "Hmm, we can see what's on pay per view," she offered. She reached for the remote, leaning over his shoulder as she did so. "I don't mind staying in for the night now." She dropped a kiss on top of his head and started to flip through the channels to see what was available for watching. Flicking through the available titles she landed on something she hoped they both might like. "How about I Am Legend?" She picked up her slice of pizza again, nibbling as she waited for his input.
"I read the book," he said, which wasn't a no, but movie adaptations of books always made him suspect. "How about Transformers?" Now there was a movie he'd love to see again. He'd seen it once in the theatres and once at the IMAX. Now that had been an experience! Not that he'd admit it now, but when he had first been learning to use his magic he had named his zombies Optimus Prime and Megatron respectively after his two favourite transformers. Even now he still used those names, though rarely out loud and he'd added Bumblebee and Ratchet as his powers had grown, though no one could effectively control more than four zombies at once. Finishing his first slice of pizza, he started on the chicken wings.
"Yeah ok, I haven't seen it yet." She loved action movies the best and she'd heard that one was good. Selecting it, she entered her code and the film's opening credits started to role. She leaned over him again to set the remote back down and then settled in to chow on her pizza. This was nice, relaxing at home with Vila and food. A perfectly awesome way to kick off the weekend. "I like Shia LeBeouf. He's funny." She munched her way through her two slices fairly quickly and then snagged a chicken wing off of his plate with a playful grin.
"Hey!" he protested, but only as a formality and took another chicken wing from the box. "This is an awesome movie," he told her, settling in again the foot of the couch. He'd sit with her once they had both finished eating, "Mmmm, flesh," he intoned, tearing some meat from the chicken wing like a barbarian. With his dark unkempt curls and stubble he could possibly pass as a neanderthal too, especially if he didn't shave for a while.
Until he looked you in the eye with those eyes the colour of shallow sea water, of course. They were a match for startling eyes. As much as she might love food, she didn't have room for a whole lot of it at once. Two slices, a wing and a beer and she was full. At least, for the next thirty minutes. She set her paper plate aside and got into the comedy and amazing action of the film for a bit. Startling her half to death, her phone rang in her pocket and she fished the little lime green cellphone out of her tight pants with a little bit of flopping around and flailing. Once it was wrested free, she glanced at it and turned off the ringer, setting it aside. "Sorry, it was my brother." That done, she stretched out on the couch, folded her hands over her tummy and smiled at his grunting and mumbling over the food. She could relate, though, she was every bit the carnivore that he was. Lazily, she reached over and plucked a small round cookie out of it's powdery box.
Sighing, Vila finished his beer and got up long enough to fetch another piece of pizza and two more beers, offering the other to Allie. Finishing the pizza quickly, he munched on a cookie to help get rid of his pizza breath, though she had it too which was a bonus. Bad breath didn't count if you both had it! Standing up, he pulled his shirt up and off and began undoing his jeans, shoving them down until they were around his knees. Unstrapping the secespita from his thigh, he pulled his pants back up and refastened them. Laying the dagger with his backpack he came back to the couch, "Move," he ordered, settling himself behind her on the couch so they could both watch the movie comfortably with their drinks. He had learned quickly that sitting like this with a dagger strapped to his thigh wasn't the most comfortable position and with Allie he could take it off without weirding her out. He could wear it without weirding her out for that matter, or having her think he was a serial killer, which was always a plus in his book. "Much better," he murmured into her hair, smelling it. She always smelled good.
Now this was more like it. She watched with a bit of a smile curving her mouth as he lost the shirt and then the pants. It was a bit abrupt, even for him, but she'd roll with it. She chuckled when she realized that he was just taking off the big wicked looking knife he always carried. She knew it had something to do with his magic and beyond him telling her how precious it was to him, they'd never talked about it. She never touched it and pretty much just ignored the fact that he wore it. After she scooted forward a bit so that he could sit behind her, she took a deep sip of her fresh beer and set it down on the coffee table. He hadn't put his shirt back on and it made her want to pull her own t-shirt over her head so that she could take full advantage of the snuggling opportunity. He was, without a doubt, the fuzziest man she'd ever dated. She looked the feel of his coarser and yet still soft hair on her skin. Perhaps it was one of her less than secret fetishes, and one of the first things that attracted her to Vila in the first place. Maybe it was the fact that he knew how to use the stubble on his chin and cheeks on her sensitive skin that kept her coming back to him again and again. She couldn't help it, she was barely watching the film anymore and smiling to herself along with her inward thoughts.
More than one girl had pronounced Vila as 'icky' for having too much body hair or suggested he try 'manscaping', something he rejected almost completely. The hair on his chest was not thick enough to be a pelt and that was all he cared about. He shaved mostly every day though and though he would never admit it, he also had his eyebrows done ever since he had read in Esquire that girls liked a guy with two eyes and two eyes brows, he deemed that enough. He wouldn't admit he got his eyebrows waxed though to anyone. Ever. Actually, he had a second vanity, he waxed his back too. He wasn't as bad as Steve Carrell in 40-Year Old Virgin, but he still thought it was a good idea. Just in case. Running his fingers over her arms lightly he began nuzzling her neck. He'd seen the movie twice already, he knew what happened. "You are so pretty," he murmured in her ear as her hair cascaded down his arm in startling contrast, her rich auburn brunette to his coal black. He never got tired of that.
Well, what girl could resist that? Not anyone in that room anyways. Aside from the compliment there was nuzzling, which happened to be her fatal weakness. He knew it too, which made it all the better. Yup, watching movies was great, but she hadn't seen him all week. The explosions and snappy one liners vanished into background noise. Carefully so as to not hurt him or fall off the couch, she turned around, knees planted in the cushion between his legs and her hands came to rest on his shoulders. In payment for the nice words she leaned into him and favored him with a beer-and-pizza flavored, lingering kiss. She relished the fact that a bit of the powdered sugar from the cookie he'd eaten still clung to his lower lip. "Look who's talkin'?" she smiled down from above him. True, there was no mistaking the fact that Vila was manly but he had the most startlingly gorgeous eyes.
"I'm not pretty," he protested with a smile, though it wasn't very forceful, "I'm too manly to be pretty," he deepened his voice a register as he said that before reverting back to his regular voice, "Else I'm the most hairy, flat chested woman ever. Which would be gross," not the flat-chested bit as Allie was not exactly well-endowed, but the hairy part. Women should not have noticeable body hair except in a few specific places. He tugged on her shirt gently not wanting to be the only half clothed person in the room. "You on the other hand...are not gross."
Giggling at his comments, she wrinkled her nose. "I would hope you didn't think so." It was her turn to nuzzle, again, reveling in the sensation of his stubbled jaw against her own smooth features. Teasingly she smoothed his hands off of her shirt a couple of times before she sat up, out of his reach. She tsked lightly and shook her head. "Was that a request?" She stepped off of the couch, pulling her raglan t-shirt over her head as she went. She was a small busted woman but she still liked nice undergarments. The set she was wearing today was an eye-watering lemon yellow with lime polka dots. From there on in, she was gifted with womanly curves. The narrow breadth of her waist and flare of his hips, the milky quality of her skin. With a grin and a wink she dropped the t-shirt on the floor next to his own discarded shirt and stepped toward the bed. "How about a bit more room to show me your stuff?"
Oh now this was much more interesting than any movie. With a lazy smile he followed her, dancing a strippers dance as he undid the buttons to his pants. He preferred button flies on his pants over zippers and this was one of the reasons why. Pulling the buttons apart one by one was so much sexier than a zipper on everyone. "I'm just following ancient history," he quoted from a song from the 80's, waggling his eyebrows. "If I strip for you will you strip for me?" He'd first heard the song from some history majors in his dorm last year, but the quote had served him well.
Allegra laughed as she turned to watch him do his little dance. Now this was the Vila Bathory she wished everyone could see (in context, of course). The silly, funny and sexy Vila Bathory without all of the family history and perceived reputations to upkeep. "When it gets so hot the end of the day, you may find your clothes getting in the way," she quoted right back at him, familiar with most of the trashy songs from the 80's." It was hard not to allow the silly grins and giggles to take over as she did a little shimmy to the remembered music, drawing down the fly of her jeans. She pushed them down over her hips and stepped in close to him to wrap her arms around him. "If a pretty dress hides your true desire, fold it nice and slow, throw it on the fire."