his smile was immediate, bright and warm like some sort of switch had been flipped to light him up from within. suddenly he’d forgotten what he’d been doing, though physically he remained frozen mid-task, box balanced against his torso and steadied in one hand with the other prepared to continue stocking shelves with its contents. the shop was otherwise empty, so tony could feel comfortable with such a brazen display of complete and unbridled joy. “no, no, not at all,” he assured her, still half-caught in his daze. he slid the box onto the counter, leaving it behind as he stepped towards her at the door, feeling drawn to her and compelled to act on it so innately he hardly even realized what he was doing. surely valentina was entirely unsuspecting and would be occupied long enough downstairs for him to get away with a little break. and if she were to come upstairs, tony was sure she would take one look at maría and understand why such a break for her was completely necessary.
“i just didn’t think i’d see ya ‘til two, ‘s all,” he added, clarifying his surprise. despite the unfaltering grin on his face and the gleam of adoration in his eyes ( and the apparent lovesick trance he still seemed a bit stuck in ), the risk that came with the two of them sharing space like this was not lost on him. he almost felt compelled to take her by the hands and whisk her into the corner of the store, where they could be shrouded in a bit of a shadow and escape glances of too-familiar passersby through windows. but instead, tony just stood a few paces away, looking at her as if he wondered whether or not such an ethereal presence were even actually there, if maría were even real at all. he blinked once, and his brows crinkled ever so slightly as he exhaled a single, nearly breathless chuckle. “what are you doin’ here?”
@prettyfelt sent: ❛ is now a bad time ? ❜ / accepting!
