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The next morning, Bethany woke up to an empty bed, and the sound of someone swearing in Italian in the living room.
She wasn’t that surprised; even though he went to bed late, Damiano was an early riser (how that man functioned on so little sleep, Bethany did not know), and although he tried to be quiet…well, there was a long list of talents that Damiano possessed, but being quiet was not one of them. It wasn’t uncommon for him to wake her up, but she didn’t mind. Whenever he woke her up, it was usually doing something interesting.
Or terrifying.
Either way, she decided pretty quickly to get out of bed and go and find out what it was that he was up to. It was almost midday, anyway, well past the time she usually got up. Last night had been…a lot, and she was more than ready to start a new day and move past it.
Not bothering to put on anything other than the t-shirt she’d slept in, Bethany grabbed the duvet off of the bed and wrapped it round herself before she wondered out into the hallway. She could hear Damiano clearer right now there wasn’t a shut door between them; muttering under his breath and shuffling things around.
She crept in, wondering what on earth he was going with the mountain of sheets he was leant over – but before she could get a good look, Damiano somehow clocked she was out of bed, and turned to see her standing in the doorway:
“Tesoro!” he beamed, dropping everything in his arms and crossing the room to pull her in for a warm hug: “I thought you were still asleep.”
Bethany nuzzled her face into his neck, smiling at the familiar smell of Damiano in the morning – faint body wash and faded cologne: “I just woke up.”
Damiano pulled back, looking concerned: “I didn’t wake you, did I?”
“No, I think I was ready to wake up anyway.” she shrugged…before smirking: “Although waking up to your dulcet tones swearing in the living from was definitely something.”
“Ah, tesoro, mi fa male! You wound me.” Damiano grinned, looking about as un-hurt as one could possibly be: “And after I did all this for you.”
He stepped back, making sure to grab her hand before she let it fall back to her side, before gesturing grandly around the living room.
The living room that had been transformed into a warm, wintery wonderland.
Bethany had already put up the tree, decorated in silver and gold, and put up warm white lights in the window, but Damiano had added so much more.
The coffee table had been shoved up against the sofa – or, at least, Bethany assumed it was the coffee table hidden under a mound of pillows and blankets…and she assumed it was her sofa that had been turned into a honest-to-god, grown-up-sized blanket fort. Somehow Damiano had arranged the chairs from the dining table and a sheet weighted down with books to create a cozy looking nest over the sofa and coffee table. It event looked like he’d included ‘doors’ that could be brought down after they were inside to close out the world.
It looked amazing.
“Dami, this…this is amazing, how did you manage all this?”
Damiano preened at her awed tone, looking for all the world like a cat who got the cream: “Sono fantastica, tesoro. And I would do anything if it meant I got to see you smile.”
“You are amazing.”
Somehow Damiano puffed up even more. If he’d looked like a cat who got the cream before, by now he looked like a peacock…but he’d earned it. And Bethany wouldn’t change him for the world. Her Damiano was brilliant and arrogant and cocky and amazing. He was perfect.
“Grazie, tesoro. You are too kind.”
Bethany smiled at his faux-modesty: “Well, if that’s what you think…”
Damiano cut her off with a kiss: “What I think is that you’re perfect. And that you need to get your cute arse into that blanket fort while I go and get the snacks.”
Damiano gave her a gentle nudge towards the blanket fort – and a gentle swat on the backside when she turned her back on him.
She gave him a playful glare over her shoulder, but his grin was unrepentant as he went out to get snacks. Bethany didn’t have time to give it much thought; the moment she ducked her head into the blanket fort, she was awe-struck all over again.
Underneath the heavy blanket that made up the roof of the fort were rows of warm golden fairy lights that give the inside an absolutely magical feel. The fluffy blanket from last night had been spread across the bottom of the fort, giving them a soft, warm cozy place to lay – as if all the cushions spread out at the far end of the space weren’t enough.
The whole thing was beautiful.
Bethany couldn’t believe Damiano had managed to set up such a beautiful fort on his own; this would’ve taken her the help of at least two people. It was so beautiful…
“Scootch up, tesoro.”
Bethany had been so enchanted by the blanket fort she’d forgotten to get all the way in: “Dami…”
“I know, I know, it’s almost as beautiful as me.” he winked at her, before holding out a tray of snacks and a bottle of her favourite rosé: “Take these, I just need to grab two more things.”
He was back a second later, a laptop on another tray balanced precariously in one hand, and more blankets draped over the opposite arm. He shook his head when she tried to take the laptop, clearly determined to manage the final stages of his plan…and although it took some careful maneuvering, he managed it.
He grinned proudly when he got inside the fort, laptop still on the tray and blankets still securely over his arm. Bethany couldn’t help but grin back; he was so cute when he was so proud of himself in contexts like this, the expression innocent and sweet.
It was enough to make her heart flutter – and Damiano wasn’t even done. He urged her back to recline against the cushions at the other end of the fort, and spread a blanket over her legs, before giving her the tray of food and the laptop so he could close the ‘doors’ to the fort behind him, leaving them illuminated only by the fairy lights above their heads.
In this light, Damiano looked like an angel: gilded by warm yellow light…albeit a clumsy, awkward angel shuffling around on his knees as he put her favourite film on on the laptop and got under the blanket with her.
Bethany smiled – curling herself into Damiano’s side the second he threw an arm around her shoulder, and giggling as he fed her a strawberry off of the plate in her lap. It didn’t have the flirty undertone it usually had when he fed her something; instead he was leaning in peck her on the forehead, the kiss affectionate and sweet. It wasn’t their usual dynamic…but that didn’t mean Bethany didn’t enjoy it.
If anything, it felt like exactly what she needed after the last week: including her awful crying jag last night. It was new, but it was comforting. Soothing.
It was perfect. Literally so perfect that Bethany was content to stay curled into Damiano’s side, watching the film with him and occasionally picking a bit of food off of the snack tray for herself or Damiano, or taking a mouthful of wine. The silence stretched out between them, but it wasn’t uncomfortable, and neither of them spoke until the film’s credits were rolling:
“Did you like your surprise, tesoro?” he murmured, nuzzling his face against her hair.
“It’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.” she replied with complete honesty, turning to bury her face in the side of Damiano’s neck.
“Amore mio,” Damiano responded, sounding uncharacteristically serious where his face was buried in her hair: “I would give you all the stars I the sky if I could…as it stands, all I can give you is fairy lights under a blanket - ”
“And they are more than I could ever want.” Bethany interrupted, pulling back to look Damiano, so he would know how serious she was: “You just being here, being you, is more than I could want. All of this? It’s the cherry on top.”
Damiano raised a hand to cup the base of Bethany’s skull, his fingers threading through her hair: “I’m sorry wasn’t here for you when you were struggling, tesoro. I know I’m away a lot…but I’m not going anywhere now, not before Christmas, and not before the new year, I promise you. And I’m going to make it up to you for not being here when you needed me.”
Bethany wasn’t able to help herself: she leant up to kiss her sweetheart of a boyfriend. Their kiss slow was slow and sweet and gentle: both of them pouring as much emotion as they could into their connection, until eventually they had to pull apart to breathe.
“Ti voglio tanto bene, amore mio.” Damiano murmured, staying so close that Bethany could feel his lips brushing against hers when he spoke, feel his breath ghosting over her skin.
As if his words alone weren’t enough to make her melt.
Unable to help herself, she leant in to kiss him again – just a chaste peck – before whispering back: “I love you too.”