Work Text:
Maya puffed out a sigh as she changed out of her uniform in her bunk room. It had been a long day of calls, her muscles were sore and she was tired. With everything going on with the team lately she was glad to be done with her shift. They had continued to make her promotion up to captain very clearly a decision they didn’t agree with. She walked back into her office and bit her lip for a moment, the shifts were changing in a few minutes and she figured she’d just wait to make sure the rest of the team had left. She just didn’t have the energy to deal with more awkward encounters with her coworkers at the moment. She was hovering over her desk sorting papers out when there was a soft knock on the door. The blonde firefighter looked up and there was a rush of warmness through her body when a certain Italian goddess poked her head through the gap in the door.
“Ciao bella,” Carina said and smiled as she slipped into the captain’s office. Maya stood and quickly moved around her desk as the brunette moved over to her.
“Hey there,” the blonde said and reached out to intertwine their fingers when Carina was near enough. Maya leaned against her desk and she pulled the doctor to her and she smiled as their fronts pressed together. Carina’s beautiful smile graced her face as she looped her arms around Maya’s neck as the firefighter held her around the waist. Carina leaned down and connected their lips in a gentle kiss.
The last time they had been in this office together was when Maya had thoughtlessly been rude to the doctor. Claimed that she definitely didn’t need a girlfriend and Carina had just been a fun hookup and nothing more. She couldn’t think of another time in her life when had instantly regretted the words that fell from her dumb mouth. She was thankful her brain cells caught up quickly enough to the situation that she ran over to Carina before the Italian walked out of the office, and most likely her life. The blonde had taken the OB out for an apology dinner that night and they spent the rest of the night at Maya’s apartment sharing a bottle of wine in front of the fire.
Maya had never felt like this for anybody in her entire life, the butterflies that would flutter around in her stomach just the mere thought of the brunette were amazing. They continued to kiss one another for a few minutes, just a gentle pressing of lips to one another. Carina pulled away after a little while and pressed their foreheads together.
“How are you, bella?” Carina asked softly. Maya had noticed how the brunette had been checking regularly lately since her little breakdown in bed the other morning. Normally she’d be irritated by such attention. In fact, normally she would’ve never let herself break down in the first place like she had. A sobbing mess in the woman’s arms and all Carina had done was hold her and kiss her. She rubbed her back until she calmed down and whispered sweet nothings in Italian to the blonde. Maya had felt immediately relaxing and she had started doing it more since then. She appreciated the fact that Carina was there for her, that she was checking in, but she wasn’t pushing her too much to talk about why she had started crying.
“I’m good, just tired,” the blonde shrugged and squeezed Carina’s waist gently. The brunette furrowed her brow slightly at that in concern.
“I don’t have to come over tonight, you should go home and get some sleep,” Carina offered to the blonde but Maya immediately shook her head.
“No, no it’s ok. I want you to come over. Besides I’m off shift tomorrow so I can always sleep later,” Maya said as she gazed into those big chocolate colored eyes. Carina stared at her for a moment trying to read the blonde it seemed before nodding.
“Ok, bella,” she said. Carina couldn’t lie, she had been looking forward to seeing the fire captain all day. Those cerulean eyes had been occupying a lot of her thoughts as of late. She didn’t understand how this woman had so quickly wiggled herself into the Italian’s heart, really from the get go. Perhaps she’d regret it later on but for right now, she chose to let herself fall for the blonde. Because that’s certainly what was happening, and she was falling hard for this stubborn, loyal, sweet firefighter.
“Come on, let’s go pick up some takeout and go back to my place,” Maya slipped out from between the desk and the doctor but intertwined their fingers again. Carina smiled softly as the captain tugged her back around the desk as Maya grabbed her backpack.
“Va bene capitana,” the Italian smirked playfully at Maya. She knew the blonde loved when she spoke in her native language and she definitely knew what kind of effect it had on her when she called her captain. The blonde turned around and narrowed her eyes playfully at her companion.
“Don’t start something you can’t finish right now,” she said as she pulled Carina toward the office door.
“Who said I wouldn’t finish it?” the brunette mischievously whispered into her ear as they escaped from the office and out the building. Carina giggled at the light blush that dusted the pale cheeks of her firefighter.
“You are nothing but trouble,” Maya said and shook her head as they walked over to Carina’s car.
“But you love it, bella,” Carina grinned and skipped around to the driver's side. Maya chuckled softly to herself as she slid into the car.
—
The two women were curled up on the sofa facing toward one another, each with a glass of wine in their hands as they chatted about their work days. They had happily eaten their Chinese takeout together and the cartons now sat empty on Maya’s coffee table. Just another small change that Carina had made to Maya’s life, she never would’ve considered outside of the kitchen or dining room prior to the Italian entering her life.
Maya couldn’t help but gaze over at the brunette’s profile who was gazing at the warm fire as they sat in a comfortable silence. The orange glow illuminated her beautifully and Maya bit her lip as her heart rate picked up. This woman was very quickly becoming one of the most important things in her life. This gorgeous, smart, amazing woman; she couldn’t believe that Carina would even want to give her the time of day at times.
“Be my girlfriend,” Maya said before she was even aware of the words spilling out of her mouth. Carina’s head practically snapped over at Maya’s words. Those dark, intense eyes were concentrated on her now.
“What?” Carina asked softly.
“I-I mean… um..” Maya mumbled out, she took a breath and thought for a moment. This woman made her brain so fuzzy. “Would you um.. Would you want to be my girlfriend? We are dating basically, right? That’s what we are doing?” Maya started to rant adorably out of nervousness. Carina let out a small smile and reached out to take Maya’s hand into hers.
“Bella, take a breath,” the brunette said calmly. “I would assume we are dating, that’s what I figured we had been doing the last couple of months. I just didn’t want to push you or anything to put a label on this,” the doctor said and stroked along Maya’s strong jaw. Maya’s bright blue eyes gazed adoringly at Carina for a few moments, this amazing woman.
“So um… would you? Be my girlfriend?” the fire captain asked once more gently. A wide smile spread across the Italian’s face as she pulled Maya into a deep kiss for a few moments.
“Of course, bella. I would love to be your fidanzata,” Carina smiled as she pressed their foreheads together.
“Fidanzata?” Maya asked softly, Carina giggled at her adorable American accent that butchered the Italian word slightly.
“Girlfriend, it means girlfriend in Italiano,” the OB informed the blonde. Maya smiled and nodded in understanding.
“I like the sound of that, you’re my girlfriend,” Maya admitted before pressing another firm kiss against Carina’s soft lips.
The new couple kissed for a little while before they relaxed back into the sofa. Maya stood and went to go refresh their glasses of wine after a little while.
“God, my feet are so sore tonight,” Maya groaned as she walked back into the living room and handed her new girlfriend the glass. Carina smiled and patted her thighs before she set her glass on the coffee table.
“Come here bambina, let me give you a foot massage,” the doctor said. Maya quirked an eyebrow and smiled.
“You wanna give me a foot massage?” Maya asked curiously and Carina shrugged.
“Why not? I like to make my girlfriend feel better in any way I can,” she said playfully and Maya laughed as she sat down. She had her back pressed against the arm of the couch and she gently set her socked feet in Carina’s lap.
“You can repay me later by giving me a back massage,” the brunette smirked at the fire captain and Maya nodded with a smile.
“I’d be happy to,” the blonde said as she sipped from her wine. She let out a long sigh as Carina’s nimble fingers started to rub at the bottom of her foot. She felt so domestic with the Italian just spending time together like this. She had never once in her life brought a woman over to her apartment with the intention of anything else but dragging her into bed for a few hours of fun. But even that part had been different with Carina. They hadn’t hooked up that first night they had met, and of course the so-called hooking up had happened more than once even before the incident in her office a couple of weeks ago. This brunette was settling into her heart like nobody ever had, and it terrified her. But she also couldn’t imagine letting her go at this point.
Carina spent a little while rubbing at the blonde’s right foot before switching to the one that was closer to her on her lap. She dug her fingers into the arch of Maya’s foot and giggled as the fire captain let out a groan of pleasure.
“Love hearing those sounds from you, bella,” Carina teased and Maya rolled her eyes playfully. The OB smiled softly and let her eyes linger over the firefighters form. The captain looked gorgeous in uniform but Carina also enjoyed this more casual side to the blonde. Jeans, a loose fitting t-shirt that was rolled up just enough to reveal her arms. The chocolate colored orbs ran down Maya’s strong legs and she noticed something. She was wearing no show socks and her jeans were rolled up at the ankle, since she had her legs up on Carina’s lap her pants had pulled up a little bit. She gently ran her finger-tips up to the pant leg and pushed it up further.
“You have a tattoo?” Carina asked softly as she looked up into those cerulean irises. Maya looked down and focused on what Carina was looking at.
“Oh, yea I do,” Maya nodded as she watched the doctor glide her fingers against the intertwining rings that were inked into her skin. Five colored rings, all linked together. The Olympic rings, Carina had quickly realized as she saw them. They were just along the outside of the captain’s left ankle, right above the ankle bone. London 2012 was written neatly right above the rings.
“You’ve never noticed?” Maya asked curiously. Carina shook her head as she traced every ring.
“I mean I suppose I’m concentrating on other things when your clothes are off, bambina,” Carina teased. “You got this after you won your medal, I’m assuming?” Maya nodded as she also looked down at the tattoo.
“I got it where my Dad couldn’t see, he wouldn't have been too happy with a tattoo but I really wanted it,” Maya explained as she sipped from her wine.
“Any particular reason you got it here? As a runner I’m not surprised you got it down here on your ankle,” Carina took a guess at the meaning of the placement. Maya chuckled and nodded.
“Yes, part of the reason I got it down on my ankle was because that was the event I won,” the blonde said.
“And the other part?” Carina had picked up on the fact that that wasn’t the only reason.
“That was the ankle that was injured when I ran. I wanted a memento to the fact that I won gold even on an injury so that’s where I chose to get it,” the fire captain explained as she gazed into Carina’s beautiful glowing eyes. The OB smiled softly at the blonde. “Did it hurt?” Carina asked as she ran her fingers against the ankle once more.
Maya shrugged and smirked playfully as she puffed out her chest. “Not really,” the blonde said. Carina rolled her eyes and slapped softly at her thigh.
“Calm down there Captain, don’t get too cocky,” she giggled.
“I’m pretty sure you find it very charming when I’m cocky,” Maya smirked as she leaned over to set her wine glass down on the coffee table. She then moved her feet from Carina’s lap and crawled to her. Their lips connected in a firm kiss as the blonde pressed the doctor down into the sofa. Carina’s arms wound around Maya’s neck as their lips slid together and tongues slipped out to battle for dominance for a while. Maya leaned part of her weight on her elbows as she pulled away slightly from the brunette for air. Carina kept her arms looped around the captain as she panted from the kiss.
“I suppose I don’t mind it,” Carina giggled and bumped their noses together. Maya smiled and gazed down at this gorgeous woman below her, her laugh was quickly becoming her favorite sound in the world.
“In all honesty it did hurt more than I thought it would, but it wasn’t all that bad. The actual injury hurt worse,” Maya said to her softly.
“Were you upset that you couldn’t compete after your injury?” Carina asked softly as she stroked her fingers against Maya’s jaw. The blonde bit her lip lightly as she thought about what to say, she didn’t usually get into her past like this with people. Even Andy didn’t know a lot about her time between the Olympics and joining the academy. Carina, as perceptible as she was, could immediately see Maya’s hesitation. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, I was just curious,” the brunette assured her.
“No, no it’s fine um… I guess I just haven’t really talked about that time in my life much with anybody,” she shrugged before she took a breath. “I was, well I was relieved actually. By the time I was at the Olympics I had kind of lost that passion I once had for running. When I first started I loved being on the track, feeling my feet hit that pavement,” Maya said softly as she got a bit of a wistful look in those bright blue eyes.
“But?” Carina asked softly.
“But… when my Dad saw that I had this talent and took over as my coach. It just… this activity that I loved doing became training. Hard training and a lot of sacrifice and by the time I was competing professionally in college and making my way through the Olympic trials, I wasn’t even sure why I was doing it anymore. I was so close, I wanted that medal. I did. But I knew I didn’t want to continue if I won and the injury kind of gave me that opportunity. It gave me an out. And it also gave me the chance to love running again because of the recovery. I had to do physical therapy and a lot of conditioning to get myself back in running shape. But this time I was doing it for myself, because I wanted to be able to run again. Running relaxes me, it’s a meditation of sorts,” Maya explained as her blue irises were focused on a point on the wall behind her girlfriend. Carina laid and listened patiently. This woman was so closed off, she could read that from a mile off when they first met in the bar a month ago now. But she couldn’t help but feel these butterflies in her stomach as Maya shared this part of her life. She obviously had never talked about it with anyone else. It was just another moment that solidified this special spark they seemed to have between them.
“I’m glad you were able to find that love again, bella,” the doctor said as she pushed some of her blonde locks behind Maya’s ear.
“After I got done with my recovery I went back to Europe, traveled around for a year. After competing for so long I felt like I didn’t know who I was anymore, and I definitely didn’t know what I wanted to do after my running career was over,” Maya said as she leaned into Carina’s touch.
“And I didn’t get to see much of London when I was there because my Dad always demanded that I keep my focus on training. And then my injury had to be taken care of and everything with my…” Maya trailed off as she caught herself at what she was about to say. The blonde wasn’t sure if she wanted to get into this part with the OB, she had already shared way more than she ever had before. But then she looked down into those soft chocolate colored eyes. They held no judgment, and the doctor wasn’t pushing her to talk. So she took a deep breath and pushed forward. “And everything with my brother,” the fire captain said so softly.
“What was going on with your brother?” Carina asked carefully. The blonde had mentioned her brother once before and it was really only to say they weren’t close when Carina had brought her own brother up in conversation.
“He um… well I think I’ve mentioned we aren’t close,” Maya said and Carina nodded at that. “Well like I said when my Dad noticed my talent, he kind of honed his focus on me. Mason… Mason was different. He was quiet and kept to himself. He was an artist, a great one. But my Dad never approved. He saw Mason as a disappointment and I couldn’t understand why. And as we got older he pushed me away, he was resentful that our Dad only paid attention to me. I tried.. I tried to show my support but I could only do so much. But maybe… I should’ve tried harder,” Maya frowned as she rested her head on Carina’s chest. The Italian gently ran her fingers through the firefighters blonde locks.
“It wasn’t your fault that your father neglected your brother, bella,” Carina assured her in a soft voice. Maya sighed and nodded and thought for a moment.
“He, he um got in with the wrong crowd during highschool. Got into drugs and all that. And when I won my medal, that same day was the first time that Mason overdosed. My Mom came back here immediately when we found out, he was in the hospital and my Dad stayed in London with me while my ankle was dealt with. We came a few days after my Mom and by the time we came back they had discharged Mason and he…” Maya blew out another breath and burrowed further into the brunette’s arms. “He had left, in the middle of the night from what my Mom told us. And my Dad… he didn’t even care. He was happy that he didn’t have to deal with him anymore,” Maya said and shook her head angrily at that. She clenched her jaw as she fought the tears off that threatened to fall. “That’s when I decided that I was done, I worked on conditioning my ankle for the next few months and I moved out. Thankfully I had a college friend who needed a roommate so I stayed with her for a few months. And then once my ankle was healed I went back to Europe. I had money saved up from odd jobs I had done through school and I had the money I got from winning gold and I just left,” the fire captain said softly.
Carina continued to run her fingers through Maya’s hair soothingly. “That’s quite brave of you, just up and leaving,” the brunette said with a small smile.
Maya shrugged. “I just… I wanted to see the world. I never really had before. I’ve been all over the country for competitions but I never got to explore because of my Dad. So I was determined to go back. I went to London first and saw all the sights. All the things I didn’t get to when I was there six months prior. I jumped around youth hostels and once I saw a lot of England I started going to other countries. Went to France first, and spent about a couple of months in Paris. That was fun,” Maya chuckled. Carina smiled as she listened to the blonde. “And then Spain and Portugal, I can still remember how amazing I thought Madrid was,” the fire captain smiled as she looked back up into the brunette’s eyes.
“I must agree with you there,” Carina chuckled as she loved this side of the blonde coming out. “Where did you go after that?” She asked curiously.
“Germany, I remembered that my Mom’s side of the family was from Germany. Her Mom’s parents immigrated here before WWII broke out. So I figured I would go check it out, maybe find some family history that didn’t have to do with my Dad,” she said. I spent a while out there in Germany too,” Maya explained.
“And then I went to Italy,” the blonde grinned up at the doctor and Carina quirked an eyebrow at that.
“You’ve been to Italy and didn’t tell me?” the OB teased with a chuckle.
“I don’t talk about that part of my life with people very often, but yea I probably spent the most time in Italy. I explored all over. Started in Rome and then went North before I made my way back down. Unfortunately though I never made my way to Sicily,” Maya shrugged.
“I guess I’ll just have to be the one to show you Sicilia then,” Carina grinned and didn’t even realize what that implied until after she said it. She was about to apologize when she saw those cerulean eyes grow a little wider than they had been a moment ago.
“I um… I think I’d like that. I mean I’m sure you’d know all the good places,” Maya said and smiled at the Italian, Carina’s nerves immediately calmed at the fire captain’s words.
“I might know a place or two,” she smirked. Maya chuckled and leaned down to kiss the brunette gently.
“That’s actually where I found that,” Maya looked over and nodded at the mantle where the framed poster in reference to the 1960 Rome Olympics sat above the glowing fire. Carina looked over and let her eyes roam after the words for a moment.
“I was actually wondering if you were ever gonna ask about that,” Maya said and looked down at her girlfriend.
“I mean I only just noticed it recently, we spent a lot of our time headed straight to the bedroom the first few times I was coming over here bambina,” Carina teased and leaned up to peck her lips. “I have been wanting to bring it up but I didn’t know how,” the OB said.
“What do you mean?” Maya furrowed her brow. “Well like you said, you don’t talk about that part of your life much and I figured that it must be part of your past when I saw it. So I didn’t want to push you to talk about something you weren’t comfortable with,” Carina explained.
Maya laid there staring at Carina for a moment. This amazing, patient, gorgeous doctor who could already Maya better than she herself could at times. Maya leaned down and connected their lips in a fierce kiss. Carina hummed and tugged her closer as their tongues tangled together once more. The brunette pulled away with a small gasp as she needed some air.
“Mmm not that I’m complaining but what was that for, bella?” Carina grinned up at the fire captain. Maya shrugged as she held her close.
“Just for being you, because you’re amazing” Maya chuckled and pecked her lips a few times.
“So you found that in Italy?” Carina asked after a few more moments and she looked back over to the poster. Maya nodded.
“In Rome, I found in a lot of countries I visited that year that a lot of old Olympic memorabilia will be all over the place when the games have happened recently. Found that in a little antique shop I came across and I don’t know why but I really fell in love with it. I stared at it for a while before I finally decided I would get it. I was just really drawn toward it I guess,” Maya explained with a shrug.
“Drawn toward it, huh?” Carina asked with a teasing smile. Maya laughed and ran her hand down the brunette’s side.
“Yes, sorry there Deluca but I guess you’re not the first Italian thing I’ve been drawn toward,” Maya joked and she once again got that beautiful laugh to spill out of the doctor’s mouth. The sparkle in those honey eyes made Maya’s heart constrict at just how beautiful she found this woman to be.
“Damn, just when I thought I was pulling ahead in first place. I guess I’ll admit defeat to your precious poster,” Carina teased back as they giggled at their fun banter.
“Don’t worry I think I rank you ahead of the poster,” Maya grinned.
“Oh yea?” Carina asked and Maya nodded mischievously.
“Oh yea, the poster can’t give me the best orgasms I’ve ever had,” the fire captain smirked as there was now a playful look in those bright blues. Carina giggled and narrowed her eyes playfully. She wound her arms tighter around the blonde’s neck and tugged her down so their lips were hovering millimeters from one another.
“The best huh?” The brunette asked and licked her lips and definitely knew that her tongue swiped against the firefighters lips as well. Maya let out a soft groan at this incredibly sexy woman under her.
“Now who’s being cocky?” Maya asked with a smirk.
“Pretty sure you find it charming, bella,” Carina threw the blonde’s own words back at her before pulling her down into a deep kiss. Carina pulled away after a few minutes. “Thank you for sharing all that with me, bella,” the brunette said as she ran her fingers against the defined jaw. Maya shrugged shyly.
“Thanks for listening,” the fire captain said and kissed the palm of Carina’s hand gently. Carina could see how much that was for the blonde to share and she could absolutely feel how hard she was falling for this woman already. It scared her but it was too late to stop so she would just keep her feelings to herself for now. And now they were together officially. Maya had asked her to be her girlfriend and she couldn’t help the smile that broke out across her face at that thought.
“Why don’t you take your girlfriend to bed, bambina?” Carina said against her lips and Maya chuckled.
“I gladly will, Dr. Deluca,” Maya said and quickly stood up from the couch. She helped the brunette up as well before easily leaning down and picking the woman up into her strong arms.
“Mm well hello there,” Carina hummed as she ran her fingers against the fire captain’s biceps and she wrapped her legs around Maya’s waist.
“Hi,” the blonde grinned up at her girlfriend. “Let me show you how you rank above that poster,” Maya teased and the mixture of their laughter could be heard as Maya carried the OB into her bedroom and kicked the door closed behind her. The couple disappeared under the sheets for the rest of the night enjoying each other’s company and sinking into the magical feeling of this new relationship between them.