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Dorian hated Cabrizzo.
At least that’s what Cabrizzo assumed. Ever since the meeting where he was first introduced, that man had been glaring. Albeit, it was hard to tell what face Dorian was making exactly, but the way his eyes would narrow and brow furrowed, his gaze always locked in on him? It left very little to his imagination.
He had never gotten used to being watched, usually he was the one watching from afar after all. Everywhere he went, the laundry room to speak with the dazzling performers, walking through the halls of roofbucks, even his own space, He felt the familiar prickle at his neck and would survey the room, before finding those brown eyes, staring at him.
Talking to him hadn't helped, as he never really responded. Just seemingly breaking that trance that the door would fall into, before swiftly leaving the room. Everytime it befuddled Cabrizzo at what he could’ve possibly done to cause such a sour mood from Dorian.
He pondered over it whilst boiling water, preparing to brew a cup of tea, when he felt it again. A shiver, akin to ice cold water being poured into his shirt, creeping down his spine, an itch on the back of his neck. He gave into the urge to turn and find the source. Lo and behold, there stood Dorian, leaning against the doorframe glaring at him.
“Buongiorno!” He said cheerfully, hoping to charm his way back into his good graces… assuming he had ever been in them. He expected the usual grunt and leave he had grown oh so accustomed to, and was almost startled when instead he received a similar greeting, before Dorian swiftly moved across the room towards him, until he was standing just in front of him. He felt the temperature drop slightly, and his breath caught in his throat.
Dorian reached out and grabbed Cabrizzio’s wrist, fingers circling the appendage.
“Uh, Amico?” Cabrizzio chuckled nervously, eyes darting between his wrist and the man’s face, trying to get a read on any emotion he might be feeling. The door hummed in response, letting go, then, without a word, he left. Leaving a baffled Cabrizzio, who had nearly forgotten about his, now going cold, tea.
His wrist burned from where he had felt Dorian's touch for days afterward, unable to get the scenario out of his head.
The house began to fill rather rapidly after that, and Cabrizzio had almost all but forgotten the incident, chalking it up to Dorian being Dorian. He still seemed to hate him, which he had to admit, hurt. He had tried damn near everything to befriend the guy but he didn’t seem to want it. Eventually, he gave up, leaving the man alone, never quite rid of the feeling of being watched.
And then one day, the strangest thing happened.
“Yo Dorian!” Freddy had called out as he walked back into the kitchen. Freddy was a newer addition to the household, boisterous and a jokester, but not without his fair share of secrets. He’d warmed up to everyone, so Cabrizzio wasn’t too surprised to hear that he and Dorian had appeared to be friends. He leaned against the wall Dorian was propped up against, supposedly reading, but Cabrizzio hadn’t heard a page turn in quite some time, and he could feel his eyes boring holes into him.
“Y’know, I respect a guy who knits, it’s pretty cute.”
Cabrizzio paused, hand hovering above the box he was just about to put away, tilting his head slightly and looking past Mitchell Linn, who had turned to look to where Dorian was propped.
“It helps me focus,” Dorian grunted out, face slightly flushed. “I should head back to my post.” He grumbled out, walking out the room, his book forgotten on the counter.
“How do you know he knits?” Mitchell asked, drawing Freddy’s attention to them.
“Ah, I woke up for a cuppa last night, real late, and he was sat next to the stove going at it. Couldn’t quite tell what it was, but he was so focused he didn't even notice me.” Mitchell linn and Freddy continued on in their conversation, but Cabrizzio had tuned it out, focusing on the weird feeling in his chest. Freddy had seen such a personal side of Dorian without even trying, and he wouldn’t even talk to Cabrizzio. There was a twist in his gut and he realized that he was… jealous. Which was irrational, because Freddy seeing that wasn’t intentional nor did he and Dorian have a necessarily good relationship, but the feeling was there nonetheless.
His eyes drifted to the discarded book on the counter and he turned around, having made a decision. He walked over picking it up, explaining that he’d bring it back to Dorian as he had left rather .. suddenly. He tucked it safely under his arm and walked out of the room with a confident stride in his step, walking to the post that this Dorian tended to guard. It wasn't that far from the kitchen which was something he was grateful for as it gave him ample opportunity to try to befriend the door, to, of course, no avail. And now, with this newfound jealousy he was experiencing, he was suddenly unsure if friendship was entirely what he wanted or if it was just wanting to be noticed. He’d put those feelings on the back burner now, raising a hand and knocking gently at the door. There was some shuffling and muffled grumbling from the other side before the door was pulled open. Dorian muttered out a greeting, crossing his arms and looking Cabrizzio up and down.
“Ciao Amico! You left this in the kitchen earlier,” Cabrizzio started, holding the book out. “i thought you might-” He froze, words stalling as he took in the situation, Dorian had reached his hands forward, letting his palms land on either side of Cabrizzio’s waist, squeezing slightly, while adjusting where exactly his hands were until his fingertips and then the tips of his thumbs touched.
They stood like that for a minute longer before Dorian mumbled something to himself, grabbed his book and walked back into the room, shutting the door leaving Cabrizzio shell-shocked in the hallway. The feeling of the other man’s hands still on him, and he knew there was a bright flush on his face. Despite the fact that there was no one in the area, he brought his hand up to his face, covering his mouth. He stood there for a moment longer before scrubbing his hand down his face and shaking his arms out.
He needed a cold shower.
He thought about Dorian’s hands around his waist more than he’d like to admit, and often when he least expected it. He’d be focused in, organizing the objects in the cabinet, and instead of the feeling of being watched, instead there was the phantom feeling of hands on his waist, stealing the breath from his lungs, causing him to pause and breathe.
It all became too much when his brain started conjuring up auditory hallucinations to go with the ghost of hands on his waist. Always something short like his name or some small sweet nickname, this had cost him several crushed boxes of food, and caused more than a few bruises. He finally called it when he accidentally dropped a fresh cup of tea, he cleaned up the porcelain and quickly apologized to Daisuke, before straightening out his jacket and marching down the hallway.
Standing in front of Dorian’s post however, he hesitated. What exactly was his planned solution for this? He stood there with his hand raised to knock, pondering what to say when the door swung open.
“Ah Cabrizzio, just who I was going to look for.” Dorian paused, pulling a small bag and holding it out, “Have a gift for you.”
“What?” Cabrizzio responded, taking the gift bag after a few moments.
“I wasn't sure about the color or size, but I did my best.” Dorian said, and he sounded, nervous almost, something scarily out of character for him. Cabrizzio looked down at the bag, gesturing to it slightly, and Dorian nodded, indicating that he should in fact open it now.
He reached in and pulled out…. A sweater? He bent down slightly, setting the bag down, letting the garment unfold. It was a dark-green colored turtleneck, he wasn’t sure how, but it looked like it was exactly his size, with sleeves that were meant to either fold or be used with what looked like built in thumb holes. The yarn was thick, but not too chunky, and looked like it had a soft texture. It honestly looked incredibly comfortable, and he felt his chest constrict at the gesture, and he was even more confused than he was before.
“How.. did you…” Cabrizzio started, trailing off, as he looked back up at Dorian, bringing his hands down and folding the sweater over his arms.
“Well, most of it was guesswork, I'm alright at taking measurements with my eyes, but I wanted to get the wrists and waist right. Sorry if I alarmed you. Realizing now it might’ve been easier to ask, but I was riding on the whole…. Y’know. Surprise thing.”
If Cabrizzio wasn’t in love before he definitely was now.
“Dorian, I,” He paused, “I don't know what to say. Graize..” He smiled brightly, before blurting out without thinking.
“Wait… So you don’t hate me?”