When he attempted to embrace her, she offered no resistance, squinting her steely blue eyes in satisfaction. Evidently, she found it unnecessary to employ words, thus she maintained silence throughout the embrace. Only after the duration of this intimate display of mutual attraction began to feel extended, did she gently withdraw from him and adjusted her attire.
"Da ogni punto di vista oggettivo - possiamo considerarci una coppia, non è vero?"
"By all objective standards - we already are a couple, are we not?"
Her voice retained a trace of amusement, and for a fleeting moment, she reached up to bestow upon him a brief, parting kiss. She was careful not to allow his unbridled passion to overwhelm this subtly romantic gesture. With that, she strolled over to her neatly folded pilot's jumpsuit, colored in black and gold, and started to dress herself.
His restraint was present in sufficient force to prevent anything excessive and so he managed.
"Lo siamo." "We are."
She was given the space necessary to get dressed while he wandered off into the kitchen to prepare some coffee. A morning ritual of his she was familiar with by now. He'd selected two cups and began the process with the sort of fluid motions only experience provided. The smell eventually seemed to reach into every corner of the room, inviting attention and marking progress. Damien watched the entire ordeal quite intently since he had nothing better to do at the moment, serving the beverage as soon as it was ready.
Her share was prepared the way she had it on their trip to Houston and it was waiting for her in the kitchen along with him.
As she slipped into the pilot's jumpsuit, the comfort of the familiar fabric against her skin served as a gentle reminder of the multitude of roles she played—each as integral to her identity as the last. She zipped up the suit, the gold accents catching the light, and turned to face Damien. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee tantalized her senses, a mundane yet intimate detail that had woven itself into the tapestry of their interactions.
"Il tuo caffè mattutino - ti è mai mancato?"
"Your morning coffee - have you ever missed it?"
She asked with a coy smile, her rhetorical question hanging in the air as she strode into the kitchen, her movements a dance of confidence and grace. Damien presented her with the coffee, prepared just as she liked it. The steam from the cup curled up between them, a silent witness to the quiet intimacy of the moment.
Fiorella took the cup, her fingers brushing against his, allowing the contact to linger fractionally longer than necessary. She savored the warmth seeping from the ceramic into her hands. Her blue eyes locked with his, a silent communication of gratitude and a shared secret.
"Grazie."
"Thank you."
Upon expressing her gratitude, Fiorella lapsed into a prolonged silence, a silence that spoke volumes. She recognized the gravity of the moment for her associate, a shared understanding that had been cemented on their journey to Houston, rendering any further words superfluous.
It was a rhetorical question and he knew it was. But yet he hooked both a thumb and index beneath her chin and answered anyway.
"Per te potrei." "For you I could."
It was a simple statement, conveyed humorously and not intended to be groundbreaking so far as their relationship was concerned. The actual meaning lay in how his fingers lay against her skin, in the otherwise tightly clenched and highly prized cup of coffee being on the verge of discarded on the kitchen counter. This was to say nothing about how she was being looked at, and even less about how he felt in the moment.
This must be what feeling content was like.
Or so he thought, while making a note to remember every detail of this for later, because the value of such a thing could only really be gleaned in wistful retrospect.
As their morning ritual neared its end, the simplicity of their exchange lingered in the air, a testament to the depth of their connection. Damien's playful yet sincere response, "Per te potrei," resonated with her, not just in the words but in the warmth of his touch, the tender way his fingers rested against her chin. The coffee, once a focal point, now seemed inconsequential, left forgotten on the counter as their shared gaze held more meaning than any words could express.
Fiorella, her heart softened by the moment, allowed a genuine smile to break through her usually composed exterior. It was a rare glimpse into the more tender side of her character, reserved for moments like these, far removed from the intricacies of her professional life. Her hand reached up to gently touch his, an unspoken acknowledgment of the bond they shared.
"Questo momento è stato un prezioso respiro, non è vero? Un'oasi rara nelle nostre vite tumultuose."
"This moment has been a precious respite, has it not? A rare oasis in our tumultuous lives."
She spoke, her voice barely above a whisper as she looked into his eyes. It was more than apparent that she tried to maintain her sharp gaze, yet even with the added lines around her steely blue eyes, they appeared softer right now.
She lingered for a moment longer, the world outside their sanctuary temporarily forgotten. But as all moments do, this one too began to fade as the reality of their respective duties beckoned. Fiorella set down her empty cup with a soft clink, a signal that it was time to return to their separate worlds.
She stepped closer, her eyes alight with an unspoken promise, and gave him a quick, tender kiss – a seal on their shared interlude.
"Fino a quando ci incontreremo di nuovo, Damien."
"Until we meet again, Damien."
She whispered, a promise and hope rolled into one. Damien watched her as she turned to leave, every movement graceful and purposeful. He remained silent, his eyes speaking volumes in their quiet farewell. As she disappeared from view, the warmth of their shared coffee and conversation lingered, a comforting reminder of their connection.
With a final goodbye look back at him, Fiorella stepped out of the room, back into her own Outcast life.
![[Image: GAy6bGA.gif]](https://i.imgur.com/GAy6bGA.gif)