Eyebrows knitting into a deep frown, Leo took his time inhaling the smoke from his cigarette as she spoke. What happened that night was far from her fault. In fact, she was the victim. She was the one being harassed, then she was the one who had to watch as fists were thrown. He shook his head, nearly confused by her apology. “No. No, please don’t apologize. I wish that piece of shit guy hadn’t approached you in the first place,” with his words he felt anger begin to boil in the pit of his stomach again, “but I also know that I took it too far.” What Leo failed to mention was that for a brief moment during the fight, he didn’t remember nor did he care about what he was fighting for. The fight itself, the punches, the blood, the pain- that’s what drove him to keep going. Like a drug addiction, just a little taste of it had Leo craving more. He summarized by quickly adding: “I sometimes have a hard time controlling my anger”. He let out a nervous chuckle at the end of his sentence, hoping she’d maybe laugh along. But Leo knew it was a serious issue, and it affected his life immensely. It was a product of his past, his upbringing, his father. And he worried every single day that he was on a path to follow right in his father’s footsteps, to becoming the monster that he is. His pursed lips chain smoked the burning cigarette desperately, hoping just like he did every time that it would suffice to give him what he needed to chase away his thoughts. Alas, nicotine barely came close to satisfying Leo anymore, and his body knew he was just about due for something stronger. “So, uh… How’s your family?” he asked awkwardly, scratching at the skin behind his neck as he tried to distract himself.

Refusing Dia’s invitation did not even cross Leo’s mind. This was the closest they’d gotten in over a week and he knew this might be his only opportunity to possibly rectify the friendship. Besides, no one ever expected Leo to be on time at work. The lunch shifts were always a bit more relaxed and he knew no one would mind if he was an hour late or so. Leo looked down at Latte, tail wagging as if to convince him to tag along, and flashed a small smile. “Sure, yea. I have some time before work, anyway,” he lied, looking back up at Dia and feeling his tense muscle soften just a little bit. “Who could say no, hm?” he added, crouching down to speak to Latte and scratching his neck, as if to confirm that he was coming along just for the dog. As they started walking, Leo immediately took out a new cigarette from his carton and placed it carefully between his lips, igniting one end and inhaling desperately- he knew this conversation would require some help. He peaked over at Dia and held the carton up towards her, eyebrow raised questioningly. As he inhaled the nicotine deep into his lungs, anxiously tucking his free hand into the pocked of his tight, black jeans, Leo struggled to find the right words to say. And though it certainly didn’t feel like enough, he finally mustered up the courage to look over at the girl and say: “Dia, I really am sorry.” He knew he lost control, he knew that he let his temper get the best of him, and despite knowing that he did what he had to do to defend her, he was also able to acknowledge the fact that she had probably felt frightened and embarrassed by his sudden burst of violence. She’d seen a new, dark side of him now and most probably felt differently about him now. He knew this for a fact, because he’d gone through this countless times with every other friend or “girlfriend” that would walk out of his life just as quickly as they came in. He was used to it, and often he didn’t even mind scaring away the people who didn’t understand his anger well enough to accept the way he was. But this time around, Leo felt his damaged fingers desperately grasping onto Dia, hoping that somehow she wouldn’t run. Not this time, not her.

The sound of her voice was soothing, though Leo could sense the obvious discomfort in the words she spoke. He watched her intently as her lips moved to form words, admiring her- but with great caution. At that point, Leo wasn’t even sure how Dia felt about him. For all he knew, the girl was probably terrified of him and felt unsafe merely being in his presence. Taking a subconscious step back, Leo nodded politely as she spoke about school and the visit from her family. He scratched the dark hair that he’d been letting grow on the lower half of his face nervously as she asked about him, unsure whether he wanted to continue playing it cool or just be honest with her. Leo knew that just from the look of him, Dia could tell exactly how he was doing. “I’m okay,” he admitted with a slight shrug, “been busy at the restaurant and stuff.” Leo had spent his days and nights at the restaurant lately, often getting there at 11 am only to leave at 3 am the next day. He didn’t really mind it, though, he enjoyed his time spent in the kitchen and was thankful for the constant distraction. “I wanted to call..” he paused, instantly regretting letting his mouth begin this conversation. “I just… I figured you wanted space.” Locking his chocolate brown eyes with hers, Leo tried hard to study her features and find any clue at all that she didn’t hate him completely. He wasn’t sure where this would go, but he knew that it was time to at least turn the page and accept the end of their friendship and move on. “And I understand if you still do. I was just heading in, anyway.”

Leo let his gaze follow the sound all the way to where Dia stood, walking out of the building with Latte. He resisted a smirk at her casual attire, her messy hair and high heels a combination only she could pull off so well. Leo pushed himself off the wall to face her, but tried keeping his expression cool and calm. No one had to know that he was relieved to see her, or that her mere presence calmed him like no drug could. No one needed to know that, especially not Dia. He told himself he was just worried about her and having potentially ruined his best friendship since moving to New York. That’s all. Plucking the stick out of his lips, Leo crouched down instantly as Latte ran over to him, a genuine grin pulling at the corners of his mouth. “Ciao, amore!” he greeted his four-legged friend, who reciprocated with wet licks to the face. “It’s fine,” he replied simply, finally having the courage to look up at the other, “he just missed me, that’s all. Isn’t that right, bello?” After a few more licks, Leo rose to his feet and crossed his arms in front of his chest, suddenly aware of how ghastly he must look to her, like a zombie in last night’s clothes. “Dia, hey. How’ve you been?” He knew it was lame, but Leo had absolutely no idea where to even begin this conversation.

Leo forced a small smile, sensing the discomfort in the girl as she tried to play the whole thing off. He knew it was better this way, that he kept his fists by his sides and walked away from the man, but he hated himself for letting someone make Dia feel unsafe. He clenched his fists tighter as he tried to hide them behind his back, the mere thought of anyone hurting Dia or causing her any harm making his skin crawl. He grinned as she spoke again, catching a brief spark in her eye once again that made him release his grip slightly. Leo leaned towards the bar to catch the bartender’s attention when a familiar figure approached them slowly. Leo glanced down at Dia then back up at the man, swiftly moving around her so he was standing between her and the stranger. “Back the fuck off,” Leo spat through tightly clenched teeth, eyes peering holes into the strangers head until he turned to face him. “Excuse me?” the other hissed, an amused smirk spreading on his lips at the sight of Leo’s obvious anger. “Walk. Away,” were the only words Leo managed to get out, his final warning to a fight he knew the other was not prepared for. Though he was about the same height as Leo, the man evidently did not have the same muscle strength as he did- nor the experience and skills, Leo hoped. The stranger turned to face Leo, his eyes narrowing on him then darting to Dia behind his shoulders before flashing a cocky grin. “If the girl doesn’t want attention then maybe she shouldn’t dress like a whore.” The fire in Leo’s chest rose up to his face instantly, making the room around him turn red, and he reached back to push Dia away from him gently. Then, Leo reached his arm back slightly and swung his fist in the other’s face, a loud crack coming from the strangers nose as he tumbled backwards against the bar. Loud cries were heard around him as people moved away from the bloody scene, but Leo refused to stop there. His knuckles tingled with familiar pain, a pain he would never admit he enjoyed, and the adrenaline rushing through his veins pushed him closer to the man as he got back up on his feet. He leaped forward to swing a solid punch towards Leo’s jaw, the impact causing his feet to tumbled back a few steps as a tiny smirk grew on his now bloody lips. The pain in his face was so familiar, so satisfying in a way he would never be able to explain to anyone- or even let himself try to. He wiped the blood away from his lips before quickly pouncing back onto the man with an uppercut to the stomach, knocking the wind out of him as he fell to the floor. Leo followed suit, dropping down on top of him as he let his fists throw a few more punches, blood staining his knuckles as it poured out from the other’s skin. After only getting in three punches, Leo’s body was thrown across the floor by three large bodyguards, one holding him face down on the ground at an attempt to calm him. His breathing was heavy and his eyes were still seeing red, but as he finally locked his gaze with Dia something inside of him just shut off. Leo’s body went limp, giving in to the bodyguard and giving up his fight as he let him pick him up and drag him out of the bar, completely and utterly ashamed.

glossed lips slightly parted to utter any words in hopes of breaking the apprehension she had felt inside, dia was about to spill out the first thing she could ad lib, until leo's quick movements, getting between her and the stranger, left the brunette tongue tied. at the very first spark of tension between the two males, dia wanted more than anything to place herself in between, to grab leo's hand and drag him away from this entire situation, or even for anything to happen to stop what was inevitably about to happen. it didn't even matter how many insults were thrown her way, as long as it got them out of this situation. her mind immediately drowning in regret for even bringing up the idea of coming here in the first place, as if she didn't know any better from her past experiences. as soon as the first punch was thrown, every fiber of dia's being froze, as if someone held a remote that controlled her muscles and hit 'pause', the cracking of the stranger's nose followed by the screams caused the entire room to spin, and with every single swing, she became more and more nauseous yet her body still refused to move. the next thing she knew, they were going down the elevator, out the door, and into the sidewalk, the regular honking of cars and rapid footsteps snapping her back to reality.

Leo smirked, cocking an eyebrow as she spoke, his mind trying to picture her acting that drunk but for some reason, having a hard time. It wasn’t that he didn’t think she had it in her, he just hadn’t ever seen that side of her yet and didn’t really know what to expect. Leo was torn away from his thought at the sound of Dia raising her voice, body turned towards the man behind her. Leo looked down at Dia’s waist and back up at the man, the smirk on his face igniting a fiery rage in his chest. Leo clenched his jaw, then his fists, trying to breathe deeply just like that overpriced therapist his father forced him to see taught him. Deep breath in, deep breath out… His eyes narrowed on the man until he moved away awkwardly, completely ignoring Dia as she began to speak again. Though he was desperately trying to hold himself together, a part of him waited for something, a queue from the other, a snarky comment or another wrong move, just so that he could pounce. It had been a while since Leo found himself in a brawl and he definitely wasn’t opposed to the idea of breaking this asshole’s face in. The mere thought almost brought a smile to his lips, but Leo composed himself and forced his gaze back to Dia, hoping that her chocolate brown irises would save him from himself. Again, he thought about making a run for the bathroom as the powder in his pocket burnt a hole through his jeans, but there was no way he’d leave Dia alone now. He wondered if she would think he was a coward for not defending her. But the truth was, he knew that had he made a move she would’ve wished he hadn’t. And Leo wasn’t ready to put an end to their… friendship just yet. He wasn’t ready to lose her. “Why do guys always feel like they can just… fuck,” he spat, shaky hand reaching to scratch the back of his neck nervously. “Are you okay? Do you wanna leave? Or maybe just take another shot- or two.”

crossing her arms in front of her chest and hugging her jacket closer seemed to be the only thing that brought comfort within the situation. dia knew better than to let it get to her head, but as she watched the stranger from the corner of her eye enjoying the night unapologetic as if he didn't just try to touch her, made her feel even worse. even with leo standing in front of her and knowing that she is fully capable of protecting herself, the brunette still felt slightly unsafe. she began to doubt it even happened in the first place, thought after thought running around her head, and as she realized that leo had asked her a question, her head automatically shook, snapping herself out of the distracted trance. “just two? i'm going to need five,” she nervously joked, desperately trying to hide the fact that her aura had completely turned around. forcing a smile on her features, “w-we can stay, it's fine,” dia exhaled, pushing strands of her hair behind her ear, “after all, i promised this place would be fun and i am definitely not ready to lose our non existent bet.” she began t/o loosen up for a couple of seconds until the stranger's figure began to move from the corner of her eye closer and she could only assume he returned to a position behind her once more to get another drink at the bar. shifting nervously she quickly blurted, “d-do you mind if we um,” eyes darting around their surroundings, “move over there or something? i need more air,” pointing towards the other side of the floor, finding the slightest of an excuse despite the fact that they were on a rooftop bar.

Leo followed her to the bar, turning to lean his back on it as he continued eyeing the people around them. Most had looked away by then, taking the glare on Leo’s face as a warning, but one in particular avoided his stare completely and stayed fixed on Dia. He knew what he was feeling was jealousy, what he didn’t know was why this was happening to him. Dia was not his to be jealous about, and if someone wanted to approach her tonight it wasn’t up to him to get in the way of that. After all, he knew very well what his own intentions were for the night… Or so he thought. The plastic baggy in his pocket screamed at him for relief from his confused thoughts, but he knew it was best to wait for Dia to be a few drinks in, so she wouldn’t notice. Leo snapped his gaze back to Dia as she maneuvered in front of him, arms on his shoulders. He smiled at her, the sparkle in her large brown eyes giving him the closest thing to a high he’d ever gotten without any drugs. “Of course! What’d you order?” He noticed the stranger had looked away and felt his shoulders soften as he turned to face the shot glasses in front of them. “Alright, here’s to finally seeing what Party-Dia is all about,” he smirked, handing her a shot glass then taking one for himself and raising it towards her before downing it. “Can’t wait to find out what kind of drunk you are. I’m placing my bet on dancing-on-the-bar-and-getting-us-kicked-out kind of drunk,” he chuckled, eyebrow raised as he eyed her curiously. 

feeling his shoulders relax under her forearms reassured dia that leo's words were true, pulling away as soon as she heard them. "be careful what you wish for," she began, downing her own shot. the slight burning of the alcohol tricking down giving her the confidence to divulge, "drunk dia can go one of two ways: option a is exactly just what you're betting on and option b is sli-" her words were cut off as the sudden pressure of a hand behind her caused dia to spin around and move back so quickly, she almost knocked another person's drink out of their hand as they moved past her. "excuse me?" was all she could blurt out to the male stranger that stood there, trying not to look suspicious with a grin plastered on his face, as he took a sip of his drink. dia was slightly glad that the music had been loud enough to conceal her yelling, but even though his actions denied it, she was a hundred percent sure that he had just laid an unwelcome hand on her. brows still mirroring her frustration and confusion, she turned back to leo and mumbled a quick apology. "s-sorry," taking a deep breath before continuing, "what was i saying?" pushing a strand of hair behind her ear and crossing her arms, suddenly feeling uncomfortable being in that space despite being the complete opposite merely seconds ago.

Leo smiled childishly, watching her hop in her heels with excitement. There was an energy that Dia gave off that was incredibly magnetic, thrilling yet terrifying for Leo. “You should be careful when you make a deal like that. I will definitely hold you to it,” he laughed, though he could tell by her eagerness that she was taking him to a place she knew wouldn’t disappoint. His eyebrows jolted up as he stared at the entrance of the hotel, mouth falling open as to blurt out one of the multiple dirty remarks that popped into his head, but Dia’s words cut him off before he could make a sound. A smirk spread across his lips as she called him out- it was oddly satisfying to be around someone who could read him as well as she did. “Well, that’s disappointing,” he teased, tossing his cigarette on the floor and following her through the door and towards the elevator. “I have to say, I don’t hate this so far. Feels very… New York City,” he said, finally, struggling to find the proper words. Leo motioned for Dia to lead the way as the elevator doors slid open. His ears instantly perked up at the sound of music, voices and cocktail shakers, taking a look around as they walked towards the bar. Leo immediately noticed the hungry gazes of the men in the room as they glanced over at Dia, an unfamiliar feeling burning in the pit of his stomach. Of course, he thought, she’s the hottest girl in this room- I should’ve expected this. But that definitely didn’t mean that he liked it. “Alright, let’s start drinking,” he exhaled sharply, making a mental note to try his absolute hardest to control his anger tonight. Don’t fuck this up.

strolling out of the elevator and onto the floor, dia immediately felt the strangers' gazes. she knew it was inevitable considering the elevator brought in an unnecessary stream of light but the way the stares lingered long after they had already walked in made her slightly uncomfortable, causing the brunette to tug the fabric of her skirt down, slightly wishing she had been more conservative with her outfit. normally, it wouldn't even phase her the slightest but something about the situation made dia more aware and somewhat protective of the image she upholds. taking a quick breath in and exhaling through her mouth, she calmed her nerves and was grateful that leo suggested to start drinking, “say less,” she sang, heading straight for the bar and asking for a couple of shots. turning back to him, she quickly noted how distracted he looked, as if something was bothering was him. though dia didn't feel like it was her place to intrude at all and invading leo's space both mentally and physically could possibly risk the steps forward she had taken into creating a good relationship with him, she hated the thought of anything bothering him when they were supposed to be celebrating. besides, if there was anything she could do to make it better, she wouldn't hesitate; so she lazily draped her forearms on his shoulders to make his focus center on her as she asked with an encouraging smile looking up at him doe-eyed, “you okay?” ignoring the shot glasses that were slid in front of them, waiting for a response.

“Hey!” Leo protested, furrowing his brows as he nudged her gently with his elbows, “No one deserves it more than you. If you’ve made it this far it’s because you know you can do this. You do deserve it. And I have no doubt that you’ll do great.” Leo reached his arm over her shoulder, squeezing gently in comfort as he stared down at her. “I don’t ever want to hear you say that again, okay?” He spoke firmly yet softly, feeling the need to protect the girl from herself, wishing she knew just how highly he thought of her and just how much he believed in her. “Let’s not celebrate anything, how about that? Let’s just fucking get drunk and have a good time. This place better be fun,” he smirked, taking a long drag of his cigarette, ignoring the fact that he still had his arm around Dia and how right it felt to be holding her. As he placed the cigarette between his lips, freeing his hand, Leo reached into his pocket to feel for the small baggie he had placed there before leaving. It had been a while since he had used drugs of any kind, but finding out about City made it much easier for him to give in to his temptations. He decided he’d hide it from Dia, sneak off to the bathroom during the night and take just a small hit- that would be enough for the night- then return to her like nothing. Partying and drugs came hand in hand to Leo, it’s how he always did it. But he was sure it wasn’t how Dia partied, and he decided it was best not to let her know. “How much further is it, anyway?”

the reassurance came as a surprise causing dia's brows to furrow as she felt his arm surround her; but then again, leo has yet to fail to amaze her with all his sides every single time they spend together. it was both exhilarating and relieving to witness it all, feeling as though their relationship has reached another level of comfort. an air of solace blanketed over, the familiarity of the streets providing nothing but a sense of home as the brunette looked up to read the sign for their exact location. dia's eagerness began to show through as her steps became slight skips, “it's only a couple more blocks. don’t be a baby, i’m the one walking in sticks” gesturing to her heels, laughing as she teased, her features lighting up inevitably. “i promise, it'll be fun,” before adding, “and if it's not, i'll owe you one,” slightly regretting as she did so, considering how that might be quickly twisted. as they approached the hotel, dia began to realize how the scene might look like and how leo might take it the wrong way. “i know what you’re going to say,” she warned, twisting to face him as she led the way into the lobby, “but no, we’re not here because of that,” quickly getting the words out before leo had the chance to say anything, stepping into the elevator and hitting the button, “the bar just so happens to be upstairs,” 

“Good for you! I’ll encourage you by smoking all the cigarettes in New York so there are none left to tempt you,” he chuckled, placing the carton back in his pocket and thinking of how he would never even attempt to give up smoking. He just knew he couldn’t. Leo laughed, stopping in his tracks as the girl placed herself in front of him. He stared at her adorable pout for a moment, then tilted his head away from her to blow a thick cloud of smoke out into the air. “Jesus, how the fuck does anyone say no to that face?” he laughed, eyebrows raised as he scratched the side of his face. “Of course, we can go wherever you want. As long as there are booze and women I’m satisfied,” he teased. “Nice dodge on the thesis question, by the way. We don’t have to talk about it tonight. Let’s just get you drunk enough to forget what biochemistry is, yeah?”

excitement built up within the femme along with the satisfaction of getting him to agree but were quickly replaced with slight jealousy upon hearing one of his last comments. her expression following not too far behind as her features turned into a small frown regardless of how much she tried to hide it, she muttered under her breath, moving her steps back into pace and crossing her arms, feeling slightly self conscious. forcing the pettiness away deemed difficult but necessary; after all, who was she to feel that way? gluing a smile on her face, she finally responded, “my thesis is presenting to be a challenge,” nodding along the understated truth and adding, “it's honestly just me at this point, i probably just really don't deserve this degree,” nonchalantly shrugging, “so yes, i'd very much like to get that drunk. plus, we're celebrating you today!” forcing the pep back into tone.

Leo couldn’t help the smile on his face at the sound of Dia’s words; he would never get used to hearing someone say they were proud of him. “Thanks,” he replied simply, careful not to show too much emotion, “that means a lot.” Leo pressed the button of the elevator, motioning for Dia to step in as the doors opened and taking a second to subtly glance down at her behind, hoping she wouldn’t notice but also not worried about if she did. “Any excuse to watch me cook, huh? I know it turns you on,” he smirked. “This funky place Julian took me to a few weeks back. Can’t remember what it’s called but it’s not too far, we can walk.” Leo wasted no time pulling a cigarette out of his pocket and placing it between his lips the moment the elevator opened up into the lobby, turning to offer one to the girl. “Rough day?” he mumbled, lips curled tightly around the stick as he lit it. “How’s your thesis coming along?”

“alright, alright, don't get too cocky now,” dia warned without agreeing or disagreeing, rolling her eyes at leo’s comment. with a slight shaking of her head, she refused the offer, “i'm trying to cut down and hopefully quit. thanks though,” she explained, fighting all the urge to reach over and take one from the box. suddenly getting the idea, she excitedly gasped before twisting on the ends of her heels, accidentally disregarding his question, the fringes on her jacket swaying along with the motion, proceeding to exclaim with a wide grin, “i just remembered! my favorite rooftop bar opened back up today.” she debated bringing up the idea for a quick second, realizing that she would only normally go there with her closest friends, but went for it anyway, “can we go there instead?” she pleaded with a pout, stepping in front of the other to cut his steps off, “please, please, please?” the place was just enough to be walkable that she hoped he wouldn't mind the stroll considering the nice weather.

It had been a long and dreadful week since Leo’s interview at the renowned Italian restaurant in Soho, Sapore. He had been feeling worthless and defeated with all the rejections coming through, like maybe he wasn’t as good a chef as he thought he was. He felt that this last interview at Sapore went well; he had bonded well with the head chef who also recently flew in from Italy and felt like he actually had a chance. So when his phone rang late Thursday night with some good news from Sapore, Leo was beyond elated. He wasted no time calling his mom with the good news, then hanging up and dialling Dia’s right away. He needed to celebrate, and who better with than her? The following evening, Leo showered and got himself ready with a permanent grin on his face. He had finally started feeling like himself again. He slipped on a pair of skinny black Levi’s and a simple white shirt whose steep price he was way too embarrassed to admit to anyone. He smiled at his phone and grabbed his wallet and keys, stepping out of his apartment and walking over to hers to knock on her door. “Ready!” he exclaimed as she opened the door, his voice quickly trailing off to a whisper, eyes widening at the sight of the figure in front of him. “Holy shit,” he mouthed, voice barely a whisper as he took her in. There was absolutely no doubt that Leo found Dia incredibly sexy, but tonight he felt especially mesmerized by her. As much as he tried to shoo the thoughts from his mind, Leo couldn’t help but hope he’d see her pretty clothes on his bedroom floor at the end of the night. He cleared his throat, trying to play it cool as he composed himself. “Is that what a heart attack feels like?” he teased, hand clutching his chest dramatically as he tried to make a joke of his obvious reaction. “Vamonos!” he shouted just a bit too loud, reaching out for her hand to escort her to the elevators.

with a quick swipe of her dark plum lipstick, the shade reserved for night outs such as this one, claudia took a step back to take in her image, proud of the outfit she managed to put together despite being exhausted. the past week had been an arduous one, mainly consisting of long hours editing her thesis for another review with her advisor so she had been desperately seeking some excitement to pull her out of the mundane routine. therefore, when their plan came up spontaneously the night before, she wasted absolutely no time second guessing and agreed right away, finding the timing oddly perfect. it was only when she started to get ready that she began to realize the possible implications of going out with leo but quickly decided to brush the thoughts away before she had the chance to back out, sending a quick 'ready?' text to the other.

Leo threw his head back in laughter as the memory of that day came back to him. “I just didn’t expect you to be so nice and actually offer to help me unpack. I thought it was code for something,” he admitted. Though many people would’ve probably felt embarrassed by that mistake, Leo found it outright hilarious. Besides, he wasn’t one to take rejection badly- maybe because it didn’t happen very often. As she continued describing her first impression of him, Leo kept his back to her and prepared the final touches on their dishes. His eyebrows jolted up as the girl went on to read him perfectly. “Wow. I’m that obvious, huh?” he replied, only half-jokingly. Okay, he hadn’t slept with ALL of the girls in the building yet. And the only fistfight he’d had so far was not with anyone living here either. So she wasn’t totally right about it… right? “Oh come on, admit it. You only think I’m nice because I cooked for you,” he smirked, setting the dish down in front of her and walking around the island to take a seat on the stool next to her. “Linguini al Pescatore,” he announced proudly, eyes sparkling as he stared down at his creation. “Buon appetito!” Leo looked over at her, a wide grin on his face resembling that of a child’s on Christmas. If there was one thing that made him happier than cooking, it was watching people taste his food. The look on their faces made everything worth it, reminded him that despite all of the shit he went through as a kid, one good thing came out of it. “So?” he asked eagerly, having not yet taken a bite from his own dish. “Not what you expected from a fistfighting manwhore, huh?” he joked, though he knew those words fit him disturbingly well. “Oh, and I make the best pancakes in the morning,” he added, raising his eyebrows suggestively, hoping to provoke a reaction.

Leo smiled in response; her modesty was a breath of fresh air, and he began to realize that the mask she wore may have given him the wrong impression of her. “Because I think Claudia is a beautiful name!” he protested, though he could understand that the American accent would ruin its pronunciation, just like how Leo became Lee-oh here. “Hey, don’t apologize! If I didn’t feel like sharing, I wouldn’t,” he said, comforting her with a smile. “My father’s an asshole, but it’s really no big deal to me anymore,” he shrugged, knowing he was only partially saying the truth there. It wasn’t as big of a deal because his father had stopped beating him when he realized Leo was getting bigger. But the memories stayed, as did some of the scars, unfortunately. Leo chuckled at the sound of her question, walking back to his fridge to pull out the fresh linguini he had made the day before. “Are you sure you really want to know what went through my mind the first time I saw you?” he teased, a cheeky smirk on his lips as he filled a pot with water and placed it on another burner to boil. “Oh, very presidential,” he added mockingly, though that was actually a pretty decent word to describe her. Leo returned to his glass of wine, drinking the rest of its contents and thinking of his response as the liquid slid down his throat. “My first impression of you was a good girl with pockets full of daddy’s money. All dressed up, acting like you didn’t smoke,” he teased, wiggling his eyebrows. “But you also gave off a very ‘don’t fuck with me’ vibe, which obviously made me want to fuck with you even more,” he laughed. “It’s crazy how wrong you can be about first impressions. You’re definitely not a good girl,” he said, looking at her with a devilish smirk, before retrieving the bottle of wine from the fridge again and topping off their glasses. “Your turn. Tell me all about how you got weak in the knees the first time you saw me.”

Leo couldn’t help but let out a laugh as she finished explaining her studies. He wasn’t laughing at her, definitely not, he was laughing at himself. “I really, really wish I understood what you just said,” he admitted, slightly embarrassed that the language barrier finally found its way between them for once. “But from what I understood it sounds like you’re one hell of a brain,” he smiled at her sweetly. Leo could barely make it past high school, he couldn’t even begin to imagine the work and discipline it took to get to where Dia was now. “Does that mean that by the end of it you’ll be Doctor Claudia Sanchez? Because that’s fucking hot,” he raised his brows, shooting a quick smirk her way before setting a pan on the stove and turning the heat up. “Did you always want to go into biochemistry? I mean, your study sounds pretty specific, is that something that always interested you?” As she spoke, Leo poured a generous amount of olive oil into the pan, followed by the chopped garlic and onion. “You’re not lame, at all. I’m honestly impressed. Here I am chopping fucking parsley with a soon-to-be doctor thinking I’m blowing you away,” he chuckled as he poured the seafood into the pan with a satisfying sizzle. “Oh, yea we had a chef. But only after my nonna passed away. There was no way that woman would’ve let some stranger cook for us until she was buried in the ground,” he laughed. “She would sneak me into the kitchen and make me stir the pots and peel the potatoes. She taught me everything I know,” Leo smiled at Dia, before pouring a splash of white wine into the pan. “Then she passed away and my father decided we needed a chef. Because he couldn’t stand the sight of me with a fucking apron on,” he rolled his eyes, trying to keep things light, but he could feel his anger build up like a fire in his chest, leaving out so many details of that story. Leo placed the lid on the pan then moved back next to Dia and leaned on the counter, picking up his wine glass and taking a good sip, trying his best to control his rage as scenes from his childhood flashed through his memory. “Isn’t this smell just incredible?” he said finally, making his way back over to the pan and proceeding with his recipe.