Chapter Text
“Ciao, Tesoro. Ciao! ”
Carina spun at the call, instantly recognising the frantic voice in a dialect that had felt so out of place on her recent travels to get here. It settled her and calmed her fraught nerves. The relief at being met by one of her oldest friends caused her body to elevate slightly and a wide grin to appear across her slightly parched lips.
The privilege to travel was amazing but it wreaked havoc on her body. Tired, dehydrated and on-edge after an almost 13 hour flight, as well as further delays in getting all of her luggage, had made Carina DeLuca short tempered. A short tempered Italian was a recipe for potential disaster in an overly crowded airport.
Looking at her friend now, all of that fell away.
“Gabri! Ciao! ” she loudly called in greeting, pushing her bags in the new direction. It didn’t take long before she was wrapping her arms around the other woman, feeling her energy pick up in that moment. “È passato davvero troppo tempo.”
“Si, si.” Gabriella replied, pulling back from Carina and taking in her friend with a wide smile. “Che bello vederti.” she all but giggles, as her feet tap a little dance in her excitement. “Tutto bene?”
Carina beamed back with a nod of her head and a bite to her bottom lip, while bringing Gabriella back in for another hug. “Bene, grazie.”
The reply is quiet, if not a little reserved and the other woman is well aware of what has led her friend to make this change. It’ll take a day or two but the Carina she knows and loves will soon flourish again. As if to provide her with that little pep, Gabriella gives her a final squeeze and then steps back dramatically.
“Welcome to Seattle! The weather sucks.”
It has the desired effect and Carina grins in response before taking a glance around their surroundings. “That’ll take some getting used to.” the brunette cringes. “As well as the language.”
“No. No listening to your papa,Tesoro!” Gabriella jumps in with a pointed finger, the fiery Italian temper creeping in. “Parli inglese molto bene.” she finishes her words with a playful glare, receiving an eye roll in answer.
“Where is Andrea? Thought he would be here with you.”
Gabriella tuts in reply and then turns to walk beside Carina as they head for the exit. “That boy.” she scoffs. “Spent the night watching hours of surgery from the gallery in hopes of learning additional technique and then fell asleep in an on-call room an hour before I left to come get you. He needs a girlfriend, Carina.”
The eldest DeLuca lets out a little laugh at her friend’s assessment of her brother’s situation. “He’s okay though?” she asks in worry.
“Si, si.” Gabriella nods, holding the door for Carina as she pushes the trolley carrying her luggage through the exit, before they then reach the automatic doors and finally freedom. “He just needs to channel that energy differently.” she grinned impishly.
Carina nodded in acknowledgement before registering that she may have found freedom and fresh air but it came at a cost.
“Cazzo! ” she cursed along with a full body shiver at the drop in temperature.
“Here! Here! In all the excitement I forgot I grabbed a jacket for you on my way here.” Gabrielle informed with a laugh, as she pulled the item of clothing from her own bag and pushed it into Carina’s body.
“Grazie mille.” Carina gently thanks, not knowing what she would do without Gabriella at this moment. She quickly puts the jacket on, remembering to zip it up fully. “I’ve packed better clothing but with the plane and…”
“I know, Tesoro. I know.” the other woman smiles warmly, slipping her sunglasses on as she then takes in their surroundings. It was probably too cloudy to warrant protecting her eyes from any sudden bursts of sunlight but Gabriella would not be deterred from demonstrating to the Americans how fashion should be done. In her humble opinion anyway. “Let’s get you to the apartment and settle you in. I have plans for us tonight that involve the outside world so I need you rested.”
With those words, she took off in a direction Carina was unsure of, but could only helplessly follow behind. In all honesty she was more put off with the idea of having plans tonight.
“Gabri, can’t we just have no plans, per favore. At least for tonight.” she pleads, managing to catch up.
Gabriella stops and spins suddenly, lifting her glasses to study Carina for a beat.
“No. You arrived early and I had plans. Now you are part of the plans and that means we are going to the apartment, you will nap and then I am showing you off to all my American friends.”
Carina sighs and a tiny part of her wants to cry. This is feeling very reminiscent of medical school and she’s not sure if she has the mental fortitude to contend with that. “Gabri.” she tries, aiming her best sad eyes at her friend.
“Oh DeLuca, you know I’m immune to that.” Gabriella replied with a full on grin, letting her glasses drop back in place and turning back in the direction she had been heading in. “Andiamo, Tesoro. We’re in America now, the world is our oyster as they say!”
There is a soft whine of sadness from Carina, as she pushes the trolley forward again. “Non mi piacciono le ostriche.”
Later that night Carina found herself perched on a high stool, in a somewhat dark bar with very quiet music playing somewhere overhead and an overwhelming smell of spilled liquor and beer. As much as she ran from Italy to avoid her father and help her career, this was not what she anticipated on her first permanent night in America and it made her miss the humid Italian nights so much more.
Gabriella was on the stool opposite, one leg folded over the other, as she tapped away on her phone.
She had had to practically drag Carina from the new bedroom she had set up for her friend, the guest room now having an indefinite resident. Well at least until either of them got bored with the arrangement. Today she had allowed Carina to nap, eat and shower. To Gabriella, what would her friend gain from hiding away on her first night here. Other than risking regret setting in about the move and consequently booking the next flight back to Italy.
Having explained this to Carina, she had received an eye roll in reply and a pillow thrown in her direction. There had been a further offer of an orgasm to settle her in and get her in a more agreeable mood.
Carina was not ashamed to admit that she had considered the attempted bribery. It may have helped. Until she remembered why Gabriella was so adamant that they had to go out tonight.
“They are finally on their way.”
“Fantastico.” she replies with a heavy sigh and another roll of her eyes, causing the woman opposite her to place her phone down to pick up her wine glass and glare as she takes a sip. “Cosa? ”
“You, being grumpy.” Gabriella mocks, placing her drink back on the table.
“Sono stanca.” Carina groans, taking a sip of her own white wine. “...and you’ve brought me here just to meet your new sex-friend.”
The whine and the pout in her voice only fuelled the largest smirk Carina had seen from Gabriella in a number of years. She knew that meant she had given the other woman’s ego a boost and she was about to pay for it.
“Are we geloso, Tesoro ?”
“No. Sono stanca.” the brunette sulked in reply, folding her arms across her chest.
Gabriella laughed softly. “Non essere triste. Plenty of me to go around.” she winked for the added bite.
Carina shook her head, while trying to refrain from smiling. “I just didn’t need to meet them tonight, is all. I’m going to make a terrible first impression.”
“Carina DeLuca making a bad first impression, impossibile.” Gabriella replied with a wave of her hand at the ridiculousness of the statement. “You’ll like them. Vigili del Fuoco.”
That had Carina intrigued. “Your sex-friend is il pompiere?”
“Si.” Gabriella drags out, that sly grin making another appearance. “It’s casual. Very, very casual but Madonna, she can scratch an itch.”
“You should see a doctor about that.”
Both Italians turn to the intruding male voice and that’s when Carina’s stomach drops as her eyes land on the two people close to their table. There stands a brooding and seemingly classical good-looking guy with the perfect matching grin. Although it’s the blonde beside him that actually causes the growing butterflies and that swooping motion Carina hasn't felt in a very long time. Strong jaw, almost angelic face and piercing blue eyes, which appear to have locked onto her own.
Carina doesn’t consider herself romantic but she is certain this might be one of those moments in a movie or novel where the world vanishes for a moment in time.
“Jack.” Gabriella curtly acknowledges the boyish man and it takes Carina just a flick of her eyes to see a slight blush on her friend’s cheeks. “How much did you hear?” she questions, her own eyes dancing between the other three sets.
Jack in reply laughs, while the blonde walks around the table to the spare stool between Gabriella and Carina. Ocean blue gaze keeps landing on soft brown, while the actions play out around them.
“Nothing I’ve not heard before.” the woman grins, winking at Gabriella while she pulls herself elegantly onto the stool. Jack chuckles to himself again, taking off his jacket to hang on the back of the remaining chair. Looking up, he could see he was now being purposefully ignored by the disgruntled Italian.
“Maya, this is my dearest friend, Carina.” Gabriella clears her throat to move the conversation on, not liking that she had given the firefighter an inch. It was one thing for her to cause others discomfort, she was not a fan of being caught out herself. “Carina DeLuca, meet Maya Bishop.”
Their eyes lock once again, as Maya offers the softest of smiles to Carina. With little thought, the smile was mirrored across the other Italian’s lips, while the blonde held out her hand in greeting. The gentle smile bloomed into a full grin when Carina took her hand in her own.
“Hi, nice to meet you. I’m the itch scratcher apparently.”