ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ𝕗𝕣𝕦𝕚𝕥 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕕
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎 𝑓𝑡. @echosnoir
DARIO –
It was the kind of day that dario always secretly loved most. no noise, no expectations, no pressure against his ribs for once. just bri beside him, nova’s laughter from earlier still lingering somewhere in his head like a song he didn’t want to end. he couldn’t wait to get back home to her again, even if he already knew she’d probably be upset with him for stretching the outing a little longer than promised. the truth was, dario had been doing a lot of thinking lately when it came to bri and nova. he’d spoken to bash about it, and somehow that conversation had only made the feeling harder to ignore. he just didn’t know how today any of it without accidentally ruining everything between them. he didn’t want bri to feel cornered or trapped, because all he’d ever wanted was to give her somewhere safe to land with nova. and honestly…why not with him? bri stayed over as it was already, the spare room had slowly become nova’s room without either of them really acknowledging it, and at this point, offering bri a key to his place felt less like a question and more like admitting what they already were to him. his family. dario glanced down at their intertwined hands for a second, smiling to himself before looking back ahead at the winding path in front of them. “what do you think?” he asked after a beat, voice low and warm beneath the quiet rustling of the trees against the gentle breeze. “you think nova’ll forgive me for stealing her mom for a little longer?”
BRI –
There was nothing unnerving about the comfort that came with Dario’s presence. Even when her daughter was nowhere near. Typically, and most commonly upon her return, being away from Nova was gut-wrenching and harrowing. Daunting even, mainly with all the craziness that’d been happening around the town. But Dario took all of that away. All the stress, and the endless fear that pooled on her abdomen, dissipated. Then as they were, fingers locked without a care in the world, Bri felt overcome with ease. Grounded in the little heaven that he radiated. “ Yeah? ” she asked, snapping out of her trance and shifting her gaze to meet his. “ Oh, I mean, you know she’ll let you get away with murder if you simply ask. ” Bri replied with a grin.
It had been so from the start. Nova didn’t get to come around a lot of people, but with Dario being one of the very few that consistently showed up and offered nothing but his genuine kindness and love, it didn’t surprise her when her daughter refused to let go. He’s mine. She remembered Nova say one night he had to leave. Refusing to understand that Dario had a full life outside of their little family to go back to. “ I’ll give her a call, if you’d like. ” she said, already pulling her phone out. “ Wait – why? Did you want to go somewhere else? ”
DARIO –
Dario’s smile softened almost instantly at Bri’s comment about Nova.” I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he murmured with a quiet laugh under his breath, shaking his head slightly. Somewhere along the way, they’d both become his too. His own little family. His thumb brushed lightly against the back of Bri’s hand when she reached for her phone, and for a second he almost stopped her.But instead the corner of his mouth tugged upward faintly before his gaze drifted ahead along the path. “I just wanted more time with you, I guess,” he admitted quieter this time. “I’ve been kind of doing a lot of thinking about that, Bri,” but a sudden burst of laughter cut him off, loud enough to steal his attention as a group of kids sprinted across the grass nearby in a chaotic game of tag, yelling and laughing without a care in the world. Dario watched them for a second, then looked back at Bri with a softer smile. “You know what? Yeah,” he said gently, nodding toward the phone in her free hand. “Give Nova a ring. Just in case she’s worrying.” Then his gaze shifted toward a nearby fruit cup stand and he smiled a little to himself. He was going to get that and then he’d ask Bri. “I’ll go grab us one of those fruit cups for the walk. What kind do you want? I’ll get two, actually. Take one home to Nova.”
BRI –
She couldn't help but roll her eyes at his response, but the smile that stretched across her face easily did her in. Though she had no intentions of returning to the valley to take up so much of Dario’s time, Bri was glad that he gave it so freely. That he didn’t make her feel like she was unwanted in his space, even if at times it absolutely confused her. She didn’t like to think too much into it and accepted his generosity without fear. Out of everyone she had given access to her life, he’s been the only one worthy beyond comprehension. “ More time? What am I a machine? ” she quipped, “ Think you can just wind me up and I’ll recharge? ” Her jokes came as a natural response to hide the feelings he evoked. But just as easily as the feelings came, she felt a need to swash them and keep them from sprouting. Their friendship meant too much to her. Crossing that line, even if he never came to know, felt like a betrayal to what they were. “ Thinking about what? ” she asked, suspension drawing her eyebrows together. Don’t piss me off, she’d been about to say, when the lot rushed past them - distracting her train of thought. “ Sounds good. I’ll be over by that bench. ” she replied, motioning with her phone to the far off seat, “ Anything is good with me, so long as it has strawberries and mango! ” Nova loved mangoes.
DARIO –
Dario let out a soft laugh at that, glancing over at her with that familiar warmth that always seemed to surface around Bri whether he meant for it or not. “A machine?” he repeated, brows lifting slightly in amusement. “Damn. Here I was just trying to say I enjoy your company.” He shook his head, grin pulling at the corner of his mouth before his expression eased into something quieter, more honest. “But no,” he admitted after a second, thumb brushing lightly against the back of her hand again. “I just…like being around you, Bri. More than anybody else.” The confession came easier than it should have, slipping out beneath the trees and the world around them before he could second guess it. “Look,” he started, reaching out suddenly to pull her gently toward him, one hand settling against her waist as he leaned down to kiss her the way he sometimes did, when he would be unable to help himself from blurring the lines they had promised to keep. When he pulled back, his forehead hovered near hers for a brief second before he exhaled a quiet laugh. “You’re probably not gonna like what I wanna say,” he admitted softly. “ Try not to be too mad.” There was that signature crooked grin again, warm and impossible not to hold back as he finally stepped back, nodding once toward the fruit stand. “Strawberries and mangoes,” he said lightly. “Coming up.”
BRI –
Bri took in an involuntarily sharp breath and glanced down at their intertwined hands, not missing the tender circles he drew over her hand. She couldn’t respond, caught between grinning like a fucking idiot - which possibly was her most genuine reaction, seeing as her chest did a double flip - and shutting the moment down with another cheeky comment. But then his lips found hers and the mental turmoils washed away. “ Then don’t say it. ” she offered, closing her eyes as their foreheads met. Change wasn’t what she was looking for. There was already too much going on in her life, and though she knew he meant nothing but the best, she wasn’t sure piling him on top wouldn’t make her tumble. She could hear the words already, even if he’d yet to speak them. Bri opened her eyes, offering him a smile despite her thoughts - blinded by the joy behind his grin. “ Go. ” she urged him, pulling away and immediately dialing the nanny.
The conversation didn’t last very long. She got to talk to her baby, knowing there was no way Nova would fall asleep when she knew Bri was on her way, and then quickly checked with the babysitter. “ Are you sure you can stay a bit longer? ” she asked, “ It shouldn’t be more than half - maybe an hour? At most. ”
Wondering what was taking Dario so long, and perhaps if she should go help him grab one of the cups, she turned and bumped straight into a hooded figure. Before words could make it out of her lips she felt the cold pinch of a blade penetrating her side. Confused, in a haze, and hypnotized by the abruptness of it all her eyes widened and she felt her vision start to glaze. Pain hadn’t fully settled before another assault took place. “ Wait-! ” Bri uttered, having found her voice just as the agonizing pain took hold and she screamed bloody murder. Screamed for it to stop, for someone to intervene, for time to stand still, and her pain to subside. “ Please… ” she felt herself implore, but consciousness evaded her.