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Post by Administrator on Jan 26, 2011 21:45:48 GMT -5
Yeah ... Danny is probably here.
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Post by Daniel Cardoni on Jan 26, 2011 21:57:29 GMT -5
It had been a while since Danny had been in New York, leaving Bronx in Dodger's capable hands before taking off with Red for places unknown. They'd decided early on in their travels that they would return and eventually they had, though the previous leader was finding it hard to step foot back into his territory. It brought up a lot of memories, many he would rather just keep suppressed altogether. But he missed his kids, wanted to catch up and see who was still around, and would probably force himself to take the walk sooner rather than later, with a heads up to Dodger that he was coming. It was easy enough to get him a message, but Danny was actually legitimately busy. He'd bought the Edelweiss restaurant on a whim, hence the new, very much Italian name, and he'd been busy working his magic to make it over in more of his image. He was very nearly done, just a few things here and there left to handle. One of which, probably the most important of them all, concerned the current staff.
He had no problems with them, he'd heard nothing but good things in fact, but there was someone he hadn't been expecting on the payroll and it had taken him by more than just surprise. He'd been working on the restaurant for a week or two now, mainly during the night or when they were closed, and he was well aware how much of an enigma he seemed to the staff who hadn't seen him, but still. Had he known... Clearing his throat, and shifting papers around for the fiftieth time on his desk, he finally got up and paced, arms crossed over his chest and heart skipping beats in his chest, though he wouldn't own up to it anytime soon. If ever. It just wasn't how it worked with them. He was okay with that. But he was still nervous to be seeing her after so long, wasn't sure if she would even listen to the messenger that he'd sent after her. It wouldn't surprise him if she ignored it completely. That was his Lucky after all. And with the thought came the quick look around the room. It wouldn't be good for them to break something in the upcoming, and completely unavoidable fight that was quickly approaching.
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Post by Lucky Volpecillia on Jan 26, 2011 22:01:10 GMT -5
Miranda had done two things when she got up that morning, wonder who the hell bought the place after Marta had finally gone out west on an adventure of her own-- and two wonder if she was going to still have a job or not. God she hated selling papers. Worse than she hated begging for food.
Narrowing her eyes she headed towards the back of the restaurant towards the office where Marta had never been or ever used. The messenger that had summoned her and been promptly kicked off the dock by Zeke after Lucky told him to piss off. Most of the Brooks kids were on edge with Spot wanting meetings and to shout, but Lucky was used to it and managed to escape it at work. No more papers, no more worrying about a square meal because she could eat at the restaurant for free. She'd been able to earn a bit of kitchen time because she had been the one to write the specials for Marta.
Pulling her hair back, Lucky stomped towards the office, sure she was going to get fired if that messenger made it back here before she knocked, and stepped inside. She paused, her head tilting in flat-- shock.
"Danny?" No, not Danny Hughes, no this was someone else. Her Danny, who'd called her bella as if it was a tease as long as she could remember. And she'd called him poor little rich boy, she wasn't sure what to do, not sure if she wanted to punch him-- or hug him. And she looked torn. "When the fuck did you get back? And why the hell are you here?" She should have known-- really? But... she wasn't sure what she was feeling. God was a bastard and was messing with her all over again.
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Post by Daniel Cardoni on Jan 26, 2011 22:25:13 GMT -5
Danny had. It hadn't been planned, hadn't even been something he'd really thought about. But he'd seen it for sale and had snatched it up without thinking. He was Italian, and many of his fonder memories from his childhood included large home cooked meals. He had his mother's knack for cooking, so it wasn't that far of a stretch to see himself owning a restaurant. But at nineteen it was rather daunting.
They would have probably refused to sell it to him if he hadn't been able to match their price to the cent without batting an eyelash. Had they known his plans for it... well that was another strike against him. Businesses generally didn't do well in these parts if they favored the newsies too heavily. Wealthy patrons preferred to go elsewhere for their meals when there were too many dirty children underfoot, but Danny didn't much care about the profit as much as he should have.
He wasn't going to be firing anyone. In fact he would probably hire another hand or two, what with his want to stay in the kitchens. And the restaurant she walked through was altogether different from the one she'd previously worked at. Gorgeous hardwoods and neutral colors toned it all down nicely, with stylized leaves and clusters of grapes etched here and there to add a bit of decoration. The name was Italian, they were going to be selling Italian food, the place had to match, and Danny hadn't spared much in that department.
For a moment he was stunned, stopping mid stride to look her over, hands falling to his sides. And the woman in front of him wasn't the girl he remembered leaving behind. She was still there, but the main picture was astronomically different and it took him a few seconds to get his voice working. "Bella." He greeted, quietly, his eyes a little guarded and voice a tad bit strained. "A little while. I bought the place. I didn't know you were working here until earlier." And that wasn't an excuse, he knew it wasn't. "You..." And he couldn't even finish it.
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Post by Lucky Volpecillia on Jan 26, 2011 22:36:40 GMT -5
Whatever she'd been feeling on the way into the place, looking at the changes and feeling a pang of loss at the idea of the place changing was gone when she saw the man standing in front of her. She wasn't sure what to feel, how to react. Danny was a part of her past she'd thought she'd slammed the door on and really ran from. Getting this job, being a part of something that had nothing at all to do with Brooks or the newsies, or the memories that being one held. That was it, and here he was.
"Bella."
She swallowed without realizing it, the old nickname. He'd remembered, damn it she shouldn't have felt her wall crack just a smidgen even as she lifted her chin, fixing him with a stubborn look. She was trying so hard to be that tough as nails girl she'd always been, ready to stand her ground against a tornado if she wanted too. She could face down speeding bulls, angry mobs, she had fought men with guns and enjoyed every damn minute of the brawl. But this almost scared her.
Because her past could change her future in an instant. "I what?" she demanded, eyes narrowing at him as she folded her arms. She wanted to stay angry, wanted to hate Danny for leaving just like everyone else important to her had. It was true, everyone left, everyone just abandoned her... and yet here he was. "I want Dan?"
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Post by Daniel Cardoni on Jan 26, 2011 22:47:54 GMT -5
You couldn't really run from your past. Danny had learned that one the hard way, and he'd come to terms with it. With her help, no less. And he knew how this reunion would go, knew what he'd done to her, but he didn't know about Sneaks, didn't realize what had happened while he was gone. He'd left, sure, but he'd thought she was in good hands. He'd thought she would be fine. He was not going to be very happy to find out she hadn't been, wasn't. And he should have been here. Should have been at her side to help her through it. That was his job, damn it. He wasn't going to be happy. But mostly it was going to be aimed towards himself. He should have known better.
He shook his head, almost amused, when she straightened up and gave him that oh so familiar look. His girl was still there, hidden in a lady. Though he would never actually apply the term to her of course, she was far too much Lucky to be a lady. "I can't do it." He murmured, pushing away from the desk to stand in front of her, reaching out to rub a piece of her hair in between his fingers, blue eyes gazing down softly at her from the few inches in height between them. "I can't tease you anymore. You're beautiful." And she always had been, but this? This was her growing up. And he'd missed it.
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Post by Lucky Volpecillia on Jan 26, 2011 22:59:02 GMT -5
Her breath was caught on a tirade she felt rising in her throat, ready to rail at him and shout, her eyes widening as her mouth opened only to stop when he was in front of her and she was looking up. Four inches on her still, he'd always been taller and she'd often been teased for being smaller. Even if she was rather average for a girl. But once upon a time she hadn't liked that she was a girl at all. But now was different, she wore skirts and still kicked boys off of the dock with an arrogant smirk.
She was still Lucky, even if she was wounded and damaged. As someone that had hidden to be dragged out of her shell, from behind her walls by a Czech rogue only to be left behind was enough to make her sneer. River had helped, River loved her, but he didn't understand what she'd been like, how it had been and how happy she was. That who she was today was largely because of Nicholi.
The stillness in the room was broken by his voice, her eyes meeting his when he took a strand of her hair. Dont' look at me like that, Danny.. Her eyes were still narrowed but there was a softness to them that showed she was trying to hard to keep distance. Trying, almost begging him not to do this to her right now. "You're a worse liar then, Zeke and Red combined.." she muttered, scoffing uselessly as she finally broke eye contact and looked away. "Bullshit."
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Post by Daniel Cardoni on Jan 26, 2011 23:20:23 GMT -5
In all truth that was what he had expected. And he was sure it would come, eventually. He deserved nothing less than her yelling, her cursing, and probably her fist in his face to round it all off nicely. He'd wear the black eye proudly, after all it wouldn't be there if he didn't deserve it. Four inches and it still wasn't all that much, considering some of the tall men he'd met on his travels. It was hard to see beyond New York sometimes, especially when you were in it, but Danny had seen a lot. More than he could grasp, sometimes. New Jersey and beyond, back to Massachusetts and his home town, as close to his family as he'd been in years. And then returning home, to find things a bit different than when he'd left.
The skirts were new, but he could see the fire in her eyes that hadn't really disappeared. You could dress her up, it seemed, but you couldn't take the temper away. And that was exactly how he always wanted it to be. Lucky was Lucky. But already he could see the differences, bits of her that weren't due to the elapsed time, and he would figure it out, eventually. He would see what River couldn't, and really, who the hell was River? Finding out about Sneaks was going to be hard on him. They'd been brothers, of a sort, and he'd honestly thought Lucky was safe with him. Someone who wouldn't hurt her, or cause her pain. Someone she could lean on when he wasn't there. To find out he hadn't been...
He saw the look in her eyes, and understood, but he didn't back away. He just let her hair slip from his fingers and gave her a sad little smile. "Io non mentono, bella mia." He traced the backs of his fingers along her cheek to possibly get her attention, voice still soft. "Do I get a hug before or after you hit me?"
(Translation: I do not lie)
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Post by Lucky Volpecillia on Jan 26, 2011 23:40:34 GMT -5
When she'd been younger, she would have started swinging wildly to pound his face in for the pain that she felt at that moment. When she'd been younger she would have beaten him up, punched him, raged a lot more than she intended to now. She would have fought, kicked, and would have looked like a wild thing. But now? The brush of his finger against her cheek caught her attention enough she looked back up at him. Green eyes reading his expression in the darkened office. Why couldn't she rage?
Something in her slipped, all that control tightly reigned in had her turning her face away from him as she clenched her jaw so she didn't cry. Lucky didn't cry, she didn't shed tears. She fought, she raged, and she was fighting even now. After a moment she growled at herself, annoyed at the feelings she had waring inside of her. God, why now? She was moving on, she was-- really, she was. Okay, she was trying too. And here was another part of her past, right there, standing in front of her asking her for a hug with those eyes of his.
Instead she punched him in the shoulder, not enough to hurt him but to get her point across before she moved her arms around his chest and stepped into him, holding on tightly as she could manage. She didn't say a word, couldn't, she'd been alone and he'd been gone. She'd had Smalls but she'd been alone in her head where not many could reach her. Still couldn't, so she held onto Danny like he was a lifeline from the past, dangling out in the distance for her to grab onto. She was not going to cry, no fucking way was she going to cry.
But she held on. "Danny..." her voice was a whisper.
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Post by Daniel Cardoni on Jan 27, 2011 10:02:11 GMT -5
It was maturity standing in front of him now. Maybe not a lot of it, but far more than before, and it confused him even as it saddened him. Because he could tell, could see that it hadn't come naturally. Something had done this to her, and it hurt. Danny had always admired her for her recklessness, the easy way she'd just start swinging and screaming, no matter who it was on the other side of her words and her fists. He'd never been that uncontrollable, had never needed to be. But she was Brooklyn, and he'd been Bronx, and things were very different among the docks. He loved his little wild child and she was gone, replaced by this woman he'd yet to figure out.
Danny watched her turn away, his bottom lip held tightly between his teeth. He wanted to know what had happened, no he needed to know. Needed to know so he could set about making it better. Forget the restaurant, forget everything. If Lucky, if Miranda, needed him, he was there for her. Everything else could wait. He took the punch to his shoulder without a word, wrapping his arms around her tightly when she stepped against him. And for a long time he didn't say anything, just held her tightly and let the rest of the world fade away. A fire could have broken out, the World building could have fallen down, hell, aliens could have attacked and he still wouldn't have moved or let her go. He needed this probably as much as she did, and when he did move it was just to pull his head back and press his lips to the top of her head.
"What happened, bella?" He breathed, squeezing her just a little tighter. "What happened to you?"
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Post by Lucky Volpecillia on Jan 27, 2011 14:33:32 GMT -5
Time changes all things, Lucky knew that. She'd always known that, because that was what it was for. Time passed and people changed and there was really nothing at all you could really do about it. His arms around her had her hitting him in the chest, hard despite herself, closing her eyes. "Why did you leave me, huh?" she asked, trying not to let the sadness into her voice. Pounding again the only way she knew how to deal, hitting, not crying. Asked what happened all she could do was hit him. "You missed everything... Nic's gone... he left and never came back. You left me too. Spot kept up and leaving after throwing me out of Brooks for standing up to him with Smalls. And you were gone... I had to go ask Kelly for asylum until I went back home and took care of things while Conlon was gone. And you weren't here."
She'd taken on responsibility. She'd had to step up and be more than what she was most of the time. She had to be stronger, had to be a leader instead of just doing her own thing and she'd hated it. Lucky'd never wanted to be a leader but she had the ability to do so, the chops to do it and people really listened to her most of the time. She just didn't like to be responsible. Frowning again, she turned her head into his shoulder and hit him again before growling at herself. She hated this kind of weakness in everyone, she wasn't about to let herself get away with it.
After awhile she spoke again, "He's fuckin' gone, Danny. He ain't comin' back again. Didn't want me.. so he left." Might not be true, Nic had loved her. But that was easier than believing he might be dead. "So much happened... " It had changed her, broken her a little bit until she got stronger but no matter how much she said she was over things. That she'd moved on, it was a lie.
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Post by Daniel Cardoni on Jan 27, 2011 21:14:23 GMT -5
"I needed to get away." And Danny knew it wasn't an excuse, at least... not a good one. "I wasn't running from you, bella, just... this place. I needed to get my head back on straight. Needed to get myself settled out. You were safe here, you were happy, I thought-" and that was the entire problem. He'd thought. And when she spoke his worse fears were confirmed, so very easily in between every hit he barely even felt. He was numb, stiffening in her grip until his eyes were ice blue and his lips a thin line. "He..." It didn't make sense, none of it did, but it was easier for him to think of the alternative and he bit his lip until he was sure it was bleeding and wrapped her even tighter in his arms, not caring about the hits he might receive for it.
"Nothing I can say can make this up to you. Nothing I can do will make it better." And his voice was rough when he pulled back to look down at her, absently brushing her hair from her face with a careful hand. And he was gentle with her, as always, but it ran the line. Danny had never treated her less than what she was, an equal to him. But he also never forgot she was a woman, like a lot of people did no doubt. Because Lucky was just as fierce as any man in any borough, much less Brooklyn, and he could so very easily see her stepping up and becoming the leader Spot just wasn't most of the time. Could see her leading Brooklyn the way it should be, but he knew she wouldn't. Knew she didn't enjoy that life, even back then, and he doubted anything had changed. "But believe me, Miranda, I'm not leaving you again."
He pressed a finger over her lips before she could interrupt him. Because she would, and shook his head. "You don't have to believe me. Lord knows I've given you every reason not to trust me. But I swear it to you on our friendship that I'm never leaving you again." He hesitated, only for a moment before he moved his hand and found her shoulder, squeezing gently, voice soft. "But I want you to trust me. I want you to be you when we're together. I don't want secrets and lies and masks, bella. You don't need that with me. Cry if you want to. I know you're not okay. I know you're not over this. And I'm here."
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Post by Lucky Volpecillia on Jan 27, 2011 22:22:14 GMT -5
She blinked the soft way his fingers touched her face had her biting the inside of her cheek so that no sound would come out. She really didn't have a reason to trust him now, nor did she really want too. Deep down she did, still, it hadn't changed and she knew that too. Shifting on her feet she felt his arms tighten around her, jaw locking when he looked down at her and she had to break his gaze looking away. Cry? She hadn't cried in ages-- didn't want to cry.
"He's gone, what point is there in crying about it?" she asked shaking her head bitterly as she felt his hand tighten on her shoulder. It hurt all that old pain she'd tried to deny and avoid it came welling back quickly before she closed her eyes again.
He'd known Nic, had been there and then he was gone. Danny had always been one of the closest people to her in her life. She wore a mask, she was Brooklyn and damn it she was always going to be Brooks. It was something to stand for, no matter where the went no matter what they did they were always going to be Brooklyn.
"I'm not the same person, Dan.." she mumbled, closing her eyes as she took a long slow breath, glancing back at him sideways. The anger was still there, the way she could fight and throw punches. She wasn't going to let someone see her break, even as she got caught in his eyes again. Watching him quietly before she closed her eyes and shook her head violently. "We've never had secrets Dan! You said you needed to get your head on but where were you when I needed you huh? I had to be strong on my own, like I shoulda been. I should never have trust him, relied on him, loved him, I shouldna done any a that.." She'd been better off the way she'd been before.
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Post by Daniel Cardoni on Jan 28, 2011 0:00:34 GMT -5
Danny knew he would have to earn her trust again, would have to probably start from scratch unless he got lucky and she decided to forgive him. Which wouldn't happen right away, if ever, and deep down he knew he didn't deserve it. Nothing he said could fix this, or take away the great wrongs he'd done to her. He should have been here, and whether she saw it or not, he was beating himself up greatly for not being there when she'd needed him the most. What good was he if he couldn't even be there? Honestly, Lucky could stop right here and Danny would beat himself up well and good.
"You're not over it." He murmured, noting how she hadn't argued the comment. And she couldn't. He could see the truth in the way she held herself, the way she talked about it. The way she'd seen him and held back, almost afraid to take that step back into her past. He'd seen it, and he'd been horrified, faced with the possible fact she wouldn't want to see him. To realize Sneaks had left her, it was a blow he hadn't expected. And he didn't want to think he was dead either, Nic had been a brother to him, but he'd been there, he'd seen the two of them together. To hurt someone like Miranda, it wasn't... it wasn't something Danny could altogether wrap his head around.
"I wasn't here." He pulled away from her, rubbing at his face and taking a step back, shoulders slumped and voice almost defeated. "I wasn't here and I should have been. I should have been here for you, bella, and I'm sorry I wasn't. More than you know. But don't. Don't tell stand there and tell me you shouldn't have loved him. Don't play those lines with me because I'll see right through them. It's not a bad thing to love, Miranda." He looked up at her and then away again. "It makes you do stupid things, sure, and sometimes it doesn't work out... but... still." Bit by bit his voice took on a different tone, a little bit of wonder and awe seeping into his infliction and slight Boston slur. "You were happy. I want to see you that happy again."
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Post by Lucky Volpecillia on Jan 28, 2011 0:26:40 GMT -5
She felt him move away, it was like missing a limb all over again. She'd lost a lot in her life, both of her parents, her friends, Sneaks and Danny, just loss. She'd felt loss so often she wasn't even sure what it was like to gain. His words had her grinding her teeth, as she tried to not be effected by his words. The past, would never change. It was what it was and Miranda heard her name, arms moving from around him to wrap around herself and she glared at the floor. Bitter, she couldn't remember feeling so bitter.
"I regret a lot of things, mate. So much I can't even process them all.." she let out a breath, taking a deep one looking up at him, she was still holding back the tears. Because she hated to show them, hated to cry. "Danny I don't even remember what it felt like to be that happy. It was like for once everything was going to be okay and the floor wasn't going to drop out like it always did. And yet it still did.. it fell out and I can't find my footing on air.."
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