surprise delivery | audrey & gio
Parties: @romanoaudrey and @giovanni-fiore
Date: Tuesday January 26th
Location: Watch station
Summary: Audrey brings Gio the box of donuts she homemade with Cressida’s help. {Nothing much except talking/getting to know each other a lil more}
Audrey still didn’t really know what she was doing- or why. She met the guy for all of an hour, didn’t know his last name (or what Gio even stood for) or even his number. All she knew was he was kind and stubborn and made her cave and obey without much of a fight. Maybe it was just because she hadn’t submitted properly in a while....or maybe it was because of the way he stared into her eyes when he’d tugged her to safety— but either way here she was at the Watch precinct less than a week later, a decently-sized box of homemade donuts in her arms as she walked to the front desk and gave the person there a little smile. “Hi, um...this is kind of random, but is there an officer named Gio here today?”
Gio had just finished in the gym, needing to work off some energy with all the tension from the recent arrests of suspected arsonists. His uniform shirt hung open to reveal the crip white tank top and one of his Dominant symbols--the shield of St. Michael--resting on a gold chain around his neck. He was just making his way back to his desk when he heard his name and paused. Finding the source of the voice, Gio blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected to see Audrey again so soon. What was she doing here? "Audrey?" He asked. "Everything all right?"
Audrey: Before her question could even be answered she heard her name and she looked up and over, eyes widening just slightly at the sight of the man in question. She couldn't even help the way she looked him over for a moment since the last time she'd saw him they'd both been bundled up in their coats. Her eyes landed on the medallion in the middle of his chest for a moment before back up to him and she flushed a bit before smiling and turning to him. "I--yeah. Yeah, everything's fine. Sorry for just dropping by unannounced, if you're busy I can come back another time.."
Gio: Realizing what he looked like, Gio paused before moving to do up the buttons of his uniform. "Sorry about that. Just got out of the shower. Usually I'm more put together." He cleared his throat before catching her pretty green eyes with his. "I'm not busy." A smile pulled at his lips. "You just came to see me?" That was... interesting. She had been on his mind a few times since they had met, but he hadn't thought he'd made that much of an impression.
Audrey felt her face getting even hotter as he buttoned up his shirt, obvious that he'd caught her staring and she mentally berated herself before quickly shaking her head, "You look fine, Sir." She assured him softly, finding his eyes were already on hers as she looked up at him once more., completely ignorant to how the woman at the desk was clearly eavesdropping. At the question she paused though, hesitating in how to answer before she let out a breath and gave a little shrug, "Sort of. And to drop something off."
Gio: His brow raised as she mentioned she had something to deliver. "And what is that?" Something related to a case? Or something else? "Anything I can help with?"
Audrey: She couldn't help but huff out a little laugh and she shook her head at herself, "No, it's not...--I feel kinda dumb now. This is so silly..." it's like she said the last bit to herself more than in actual reply to him and she shook her head again before turning the box in her hands and reaching for the lid to open it, "My um...my cousin helped me make them. I just thought after our conversation maybe you would get a kick out of it. And I figured if anything you and your coworkers could eat them and....and like I said it's totally dumb but.." she trailed off with a shrug, chancing a glance up at him.
Gio: Donuts. She made him donuts? He had actually made them. That couldn't have been easy. "You didn't have to do that. I'm sure the guys will love you for it, but you definitely didn't have to do that." Reaching out to take them, his dark eyes met hers before he grinned. "You want to split one?" He asked her. The receptionist at his left dropped her eyes, attempting to hide that she was intently interested.
Audrey hated how pale she was because it made it quite easy to detect even the slightest bit of a blush on her face. Still though she kept her eyes up on him and let out a little hum in response. "No, I know. But I figured if I was doing this I might as well do it right. And my cousin loves baking so she was happy to help..." she was waiting for his reaction, to find out if he thought it was as silly as she was making it out to be in her head, but when he just grinned and offered to share it it caught her off guard. He tended to do that, she'd noticed. "Oh--um. Yeah, sure. If you'd like. They're all actually pretty good. We made a bunch of different kinds since I wasn't sure what you'd--they'd like."
Gio: “Well... glad to have given her the opportunity to bake with you, then,” he said. He caught her slip and very nearly decided to tease her. Still, he didn’t want her to turn bright red and clam up. Gio was pleased when she agreed to split it, though. “Well, I’m sure I’ll like them all. Which is your favourite?”
Audrey: Despite the blush, Audrey still nodded, "Me too. I've only just met her recently so we're getting to know each but but..it was nice to spend the afternoon with her." it was nice to be able to say that to someone from outside of the family, people who wouldn't judge Cressida if they'd known how she'd gotten to Verona at all. The other girl reminded Audrey of herself and it made her want to make sure Cress was safe from how vicious her family could be. "Here's hoping." Audrey commented before looking down into the box, "Oh um.." she inspected them all before pointing one out, "This one I think. Blueberry with lemon icing. There's a really good chocolate cinnamon too though."
Gio: “Only just met her?” He asked. “She from far away or something?” Gio had grown up with all the cousins who had been local to Sicily, and even some who weren’t. He wondered what it was like to not be close to family. “I’m a sucker for chocolate. You want some coffee or tea? Full disclosure, it’s kind of like muddy water, but it’s free.”
Audrey: "It's.....a long story." Audrey replied, shrugging a bit instead of even attempting to delve into her family history. "But regardless she's here now and we get along pretty well. I'm looking forward to spending more time with her, maybe have her teach me a thing or two more in the kitchen ." at the offer she shook her head, giving him a smile, "No, I'm alright for now. Is there a desk or something for you we can go to so I can put this down for you?"
Gio considered before holding up a finger. “Let me... go ask my boss if you can come back. One sec.” With that, he disappeared behind the divider to ask permission, and he got just a little bit needled for wanting to bring a submissive behind the desk before ultimately being told to give the order that any confidential information should be flipped over. The donuts, his boss decided, would be a good break from the stress of the recent arrests. Coming back to Audrey, Gio took the box from her. “You have to promise not to judge how much paperwork I’ve got on my desk.”
Audrey: She furrowed her brow for a moment in confusion before realizing oh, right. Watch station. Every single person in there would probably want to arrest her if they knew of the things she's had to do. She tried not to tense up and think about it as he walked away (and she also tried not to think about the receptionist's eyes darting to her again) before finally Gio came back to her. She let him take the box, letting out a calming breath before nodding and letting out a laugh, "I'll try." She assured teasingly, smiling up at him as she nodded for him to lead the way.
Gio: Making his way over to his desk, he began to clear the papers as quickly as he could before setting down the box. Leaving her to wait again, he popped over to the kitchen before returning with a plate and a knife. “Take my chair,” he told her before picking up the donut that looked the most like chocolate cinnamon. Slicing it down the center, he lifted his half before watching for her to take her own piece. “So you’ve been making donuts. Anything else interesting since I walked you home?”
Audrey let him clean the area, finding it kind of endearing how much he tried to clear away in such a quick amount of time. She didn't mind the mess though. When he offered his chair she just nodded, unbuttoning her coat and unraveling the scarf from around her neck to place on the back of the chair before moving to sit down. She smiled as he cut one and she took the other half, laughing as she shook her head, "Afraid not- unless consider someone trying to walk out on their tab and I managed to stop them before they got away as interesting." She joked, breaking a piece of the donut off to pop into her mouth.
Gio took a bite of the donut and gave an approving sound. He had a sweet tooth that he rarely indulged. And this was delicious. “Wow,” he told her. “This is amazing.” As she told her story, he gave a huff of laughter. “Next time, get his name and I’ll come arrest him.”
Audrey watched, waited for him to take the first bite, a rush of relief pouring through her and a smile growing happily on her lips at his approval. "I'm glad you like it." She replied softly as she took another piece. "What. You want to be the officer I have at my beck and call? I could quickly take advantage of that and call you for every little mishap." She teased with a laugh.
Gio shrugged. “If you did that, I might have to arrest you,” he teased. He very much doubted that Audrey would ever do anything which would merit an arrest. She seemed far too sweet.
Audrey: "I think I at least deserve to know your last name before you're putting cuffs on me, Officer." Audrey shot back quickly, both to deflect from the very idea of being arrested, and..because, well. She wanted to.
Gio blinked, confused for a moment. When he realized her double entendre, he gave a cough, moving to rub the back of his neck. “Well, er, it’s Fiore. Officer Fiore, at your service.”
Audrey: "Fiore." Audrey echoed, looking to his face as she said it before she nodded. "And so Gio, that's short for...?" She asked, taking another piece from her half of the donut, glad to get the attention off herself and to finally get an answer that she'd been itching for for days now.
Gio: “Is this an interrogation?” He asked her with a quirk of his brow before leaning forward to lift his name plate from the desk and pass it to her.
Audrey huffed, pursing her lips a little into an almost-pout. "You know my full name. I figured it's only fair if I knew the same." she answered as he passed her the plate and she took it. Giovanni. "Giovanni Fiore." She murmured allowed, looking it over for a moment more, passing it back to him with another smile, "It's nice to officially meet you." She told him before nudging the box to him, "Have one more?"(edited)
Gio: He nodded. “To be fair, I didn’t ask your last name. My middle name is Antonio, in case you were wondering.” As she pushed the donut box toward him, Gio laughed. “You want me to get fat?” He asked. “I need to fit into my gun holsters.”
Audrey: "Yeah, but you still know it. So...." She teased, giving another shrug before full on grinning. "Corin." she responded, figuring she might as well keep it all equal. At the response she got next though she rolled her eyes as she shook her head, "Oh please. I highly doubt that word could ever be associated to you." She mused, leaning over to go through the box before picking up the blueberry one she'd mentioned before before looking back up at him. "Come on, one more. Please, Sir?"
Gio looked at her, wondering if he should consent to a second. But the way she asked him had him grinning. “Split this one with me, too,” he said, offering up a fair condition, in his opinion. “Any other pressing questions?”
Audrey was soon again grinning, quite pleased with herself for getting him to cave as she nodded, "Deal." She agreed, putting it down onto the plate and bringing the pad of one of her fingers to her lips to clean off excess icing before taking the knife to cut it in half. Think I can leave with your number this time? "How long have you been an officer for?"
Gio: His eyes watched her mouth as she sucked at her finger, but forced himself to look away. There was no doubt that she was beautiful, and he normally didn’t feel so funny around submissives. But then, most of the submissives he had met didn’t look like Audrey. “I passed the entry exam when I was twenty-one. And then I went to four years of the academy. So after that... almost ten years?”
Audrey: She hadn't noticed the way he watched her as she focused on cutting the donut perfectly in half, smiling as she finished and she eagerly passed it over to him, wanting his reaction to this one as well. When he started speaking though she looked up again, quickly adding up the numbers. She'd figured he was older than her, but now she knew (more or less) by how much. "Impressive." She told him honestly, looking up to his eyes again. "You're lucky to have found what you're passionate about and wanting to do for the rest of your life so early."
Gio nodded, his eyes dropping for a moment to focus on the donut. His reason for becoming a Watchman certainly wasn’t one he was going to share. He had gotten by for almost a decade without outing his family. “Yeah, I like helping people.”
Audrey had noticed the way his gaze moved away, how he'd reacted to this question as opposed to the others and she filed that bit of information away for now, instead just nodding, "That's a pretty good quality I think." she mused, her expression softening towards him. "Is there anything else you wanted to be? Like maybe when you were growing up? I had a dream of being a singer when I was like four. My brother would be able to prove it with embarrassing videos back home. I also wanted to be one of those people who swims with and trains dolphins."
Gio considered. “A professional football player,” he told her. “I was captain of my team in secondary school. Had some offers from scouts, too. But I didn’t know if I wanted that kind of hype.”
Audrey: There he went again catching her off guard. She blinked up in surprise, a brow raising. "Really? That's...wow." She let out a soft laugh, shaking her head, "Again. impressive. And now I'll probably affront you by saying I probably can't even kick a ball properly." she teased, shaking her head at herself as she continued eating.
Gio: “All it takes is practice. My best friend Bobby was terrible at it. It only took a few months to whip him into shape. He could have gone pro, too. But he ended up going to work for his grandfather’s business.” He was edging close to a danger zone, but he could fudge the truth if he had to. “I love watching it. Part of me wishes I had enough time to coach it.”
Audrey: "I guess that's a thing in all parts of Italy. Family pressures into the family business.." She murmured as she now was the one to look away. She'd never be allowed back to school unless she took business classes to be useful to the family. Freddie couldn't really follow his love of the outdoors, and Arden was close to losing everything if he didn't conform soon to what the family wanted. Mateo was stuck guarding people who hated him, and she herself was stuck doing the Heads' dirty work. All for the family. There was no escaping it. She somewhat lost her appetite then and put the rest of her donut down, moving her hands to her lap as she finally looked up at him, "Maybe one day you'll find the time. Life should be about more than just work, yeah?"
Gio: “Well, he wasn’t forced.” At least... Gio didn’t think so. “But that is a thing in my family and the ones I grew up with.” Mostly because they were all mafioso. Still, he noticed how she quieted and blinked before trying to change the subject. “My mother used to try to push me to learn to sing so I would be the next Tom Jones or Sinatra. Too bad I can’t really do it.”
Audrey nodded, figuring the subject was getting a bit touchy for the both of them so maybe it was best to just let it die off there. She instead grasped onto the topic change, a little smile pulling on her lips once more. "My mom loved Sinatra." she said it softly, fondly, looking down to the table for a moment before back up to him. "I don't think I'm all that good at it either so I don't really do it anymore like I used to when I was a kid. Aside from maybe in the shower- but I feel like everyone can sing in the shower."
Gio: “Just because they can doesn’t mean they should,” he teased. “I fall into that category myself.” He had noticed her use of past tense when she mentioned her mom and he definitely wasn’t going to ask about that. She had already closed up once. “I took up guitar to compensate. That I am pretty good at.”
Audrey: "I think as long as someone's enjoying themself and isn't harming anyone else that they should feel free to do it all they want. Yourself included, mister." she teased him, wanting to keep things light- especially when she'd realized her slip in mentioning her mom. Guitar. Yet another thing on the ever-growing list that surprised her. She'd hadn't pegged him the musician type. "Another thing I always wanted to learn but never really got around to. I was put into piano lessons as a kid, but I never got passed the remedial class. I can still play chopsticks fairly well." she told him with a little grin.
Gio: “If you say so. But clearly you don’t have an older brother who liked to shriek ‘That’s Amore’ at five in the morning when you were a kid.” He shook his head, remembering how his dad used to pound on the wall with a snort. “Hey, chopsticks is impressive. I mostly picked it up so I had something to do when I was bored.”
Audrey let out a little snort, shaking her head “Nah, can’t say I have. Instead my brother would have me getting lost in the woods with him and hoping to not break any bones as I was made to climb a tree.” She smiled as she said it though, remembering times like that with Freddie fondly. “Well maybe one day If you’re bored enough I can hear you play.” Audrey replied before realizing how it’d sounded and she looked away, her face once again turning various shades of pink as she looked down and focused on the bit of donut remaining.
Gio: “He a big hiker or something?” Gio wanted to know. That was a cool hobby. He had never really gotten into it. “Or like an extreme rock climber maybe?” He raised a brow, giving a grin. “I mean... I’d offer but my apartment is basically a closet.”
Audrey laughed, nodding “Both. He’s big on nature. Like..really big. We’d go on hikes weekly. Nature trails, climbing rocks like they were small mountains. He knows all about different plants and things in nature. What is and isn’t safe. All that stuff. He’s another who realized young what he’s passionate about.” Even if he had to conform it into the confines of being appropriate for the family and so he could be useful to them. She shook her head then, covering her face for a second before Carding her fingers through her hair. “No..you absolutely don’t have to. I was just being silly. Instead what you should do is finally go and offer some of these donuts before I make you cave again and have another. There’s a salted caramel one in there somewhere.”\
Gio: “Does he do anything with it?” Gio wanted to know. “Is he... like... what are nature jobs? A botanist? Or a ranger?” He didn’t mean to embarrass her. He just didn’t want to bring her home to his apartment where it was small, a little cluttered, and more than a little intimate. “Don’t worry about it. It’s not exactly offensive that you might want to hear me play one day.” Shaking his head, he got to his feet and lifted the box. “I’ll be right back.” With that, he made his way to the kitchen to set down the sweets there, box open to invite the rest of the Watch to help themselves. He was still confused as to what he had done to get Audrey to want to hunt him down, but he certainly wasn’t complaining. As he returned to her, he moved to lean against his desk once more. “Thank you again for bringing them. You really didn’t have to do that,”
Audrey: “I’m sure he’d love to be a ranger or something like that. But instead he’s interning at an agriculture officer per the family. It’s about as close as he can get to the outdoors while still pleasing them.” She explained with a little shrug. She watched him walk away then, trying not to feel awkward sitting alone at his desk as she glanced around at the other Watchmen around. But soon enough he was back and she just shrugged, “I know but....I wanted to.” She replied softly. I know I was pretty stubborn the other night but you stayed anyways. You wanted to make sure I got home safe and...there’s not too many people in my life right now that would care that much. So I guess I just wanted to find a way to somehow show my appreciation. Besides, who doesn’t like sweets and donuts regardless of reason?” She asked with a little grin.
Gio:“Well... agriculture is farming, right? That's sort of like nature, right?" Her family seemed a little tough. She had already said she wanted to get away from them, and she now was saying that her brother couldn't be a ranger because it wouldn't please them. He had also heard a few things around the station about the Romanos. Mostly that the Heads were intimidating as Hell. "I love donuts," he answered. "And it... Of course I wanted to make sure you were safe. Like I said when I met you: I'm not in the habit of leaving women alone in the dark. If that's not a standard here, I hope to change that." People didn't care about her? Why not? She seemed incredibly sweet, she was beautiful, and she was interesting. But Gio didn't know everything. He just trusted his feelings about people. And he had a good feeling about her.
Audrey: “Yeah, sort of. I just want him to be happy, you know? My sisters are in Ragusa still so he’s all I really have here aside from all my cousins. And he’s always taken care of me; especially now. So...he really deserves to be happy.” If there was one thing she was adamant about in her life, it was her brother. “Well, good. I hope you get to have at least one more then. Or maybe we can make those little donut holes instead so you don’t feel as guilty eating them.” She mused softly. She felt like she’d said too much though again and she bit her lip, just giving a little shrug and a smile “I won’t speak for all of verona, because I don’t know everybody but...yeah. Here’s to hoping you do too. Or that hopefully next time I’m stuck outside alone at night I can find another nice person like you. or..maybe just hope to find you.”
Gio: "How many sisters do you have?" Gio asked. "And yeah, I want that for my family too. Happiness, that is. Is he... not happy?" Was that a question Gio was even allowed to ask her? He didn't know, but she kept bringing up all these sad things, and he felt weird just avoiding them like he didn't care. At her words, he cocked his head before giving a grin. "Maybe I'll find you," he teased before pausing. "That... sounded a lot less creepy in my head."
Audrey: “Two.” Audrey responded with a nod. “One older and one younger. I’m the second oldest.” She explained before biting her lip “He’s...I think he is. As happy as he can be given the job choice.” She hoped she’d worded it well, didn’t want to make him question too much. She finished off the last bite of her donut as he spoke and she rose a brow, smirking at him before huffing out a laugh. “Not really creepy, I promise.”
Gio: grinned. "Oh good." He didn't want to cut this short, but he couldn't keep her in the station for long. "I don't... I don't want to throw you out, but the boss is giving me the look." He ran his hand awkwardly through his hair, hoping she didn't take it the wrong way. "Thank you again for the donuts."
Audrey: “Good.” She echoed in agreement. When he spoke again her smile fell just slightly, looking a bit confused before she realized what he meant and she looked around before flushing a bit, a bashful smile tugging on her lips. “No! No it’s fine. Besides, you’re on the clock right? So I shouldn’t be keeping you from your work anyways, even if it’s for donuts.” She assured before shaking her head “It’s no problem, really.”
Gio: He grinned again. "You can distract me whenever you like, Audrey," he teased. "I'm off really late tonight, but maybe I could grab your number? Just so next time I'm ready when you show up. If that's okay."
Audrey: "Careful, Officer Fiore. I might just hold you to that." Audrey told him as she moved to get her scarf from behind herself, a little smile on her lips all the while. But then there he went catching her off guard again, asking for her number, and paused in winding the scarf around her neck before looking back up to him, her smile widening. "It's okay." She told him, pulling her phone out of her pocket and unlocking it to offer it over, "Here. Put yours in."
Gio: "Did I just get myself into trouble?" Gio asked as he took her phone. Carefully, he keyed in his number before handing it back. "Fair warning, I'm terrible at texting. Better at phone calls because I have to actually remember to answer a human voice."
Audrey bit her lip to try and hold back her smirk but soon caved and let it show as she took the phone back "I guess time will tell". She saved the number and then called him, waiting to hear the ringing before ending the call. "There, now you have mine too." She stood up then, running her fingers through her hair to push it back as she looked up at him, "I like phonecalls more too, for the record. Much more personable."
Gio nodded, still smiling. "Well I guess I'll find out," he responded. "See you around, Audrey."
Audrey pulled her coat on, giving him one last smile as she gathered her things and moved to stand in front of him again, nodding. "I'll see you around. Have a good rest of your day, Gio." she told him with a smile, looking up to him for a moment more before finally turning and heading out, feeling positive about the entire thing and even giving a parting smile to the receptionist who'd once again eyed her as she walked by.
