17276/Hints and Innuendos

Hints and Innuendos
Date of Scene:	25 February 2024
Location:	FDNY Rescue 1 House
Synopsis:	A wise old uncle once said... more than he should have and a little heart to heart leads to a promise to try.
Cast of Characters:	Luca Bandoni, Olivia Gaudin

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Luca Bandoni has posed:
It's early afternoon, Luca was gone before the sun rose, back to the firehouse.

The apparatus bay doors are open and the truck absent. The firehouse is quiet other than the noise from the TV in the lounge area. Sounds like maybe a football game? "What are you blind, ref? Damnit!" It's not Luca's voice. It's very distinctly Roscoe.

It's not super hearing or anything of that nature, it's simply a camera feed on a small monitor on the wall that has Roscoe calling out, "Liv, hey kid! Luca's out with the rest of rotation two shift gassing up the rig! Should be back any minute. Come distract me from the game before I smash the TV!"

Man, he's hoping she brought food.

Olivia Gaudin has posed:
    Olivia is a bit startled at the unexpected voice. It's those sounds she can't quite brace for that get her. There's a bit of wavering in her stride, but she is good enough with it now not to turn her ankle or fall, even laden as she is with treats. It's not a full meal this time, but whatever it is, it has filled up two large grocery bags (the reusable kind).

    She laughs as she recovers. "On my way!"

    She knows the place really well by now, so she's hanging out with Roscoe in no time. "I hope I'm here in time to save your TV from the ineptitude of your team of choice."

    She sets down the bags and draws out four large, flat containers with resealable tops. "So pick your poison, Roscoe! Chocolate chip, oatmeal and blueberry, or macarons?"

    She even brought milk. Which is why her arms kind of feel like they are dead in their sockets right now.

Luca Bandoni has posed:
"Macaroons," Roscoe replies, a little too eagerly. "Man, the missus sure can make an amazing macaroon." Uh-oh, competing with the wife. Of course, after he's announced his choice, Roscoe hops up to relieve Liv of her burden.

"Luca might have stopped by the hospital," he beings on his way to the kitchen. He's obviously expecting Liv to follow. "Lt. Scott and his wife had a little one about three weeks ago. Kid was born at twenty-two weeks, odds were pretty low that he'd make it. Luca ain't missed a day going to see the little guy." Roscoe seems a bit of a talker.

He takes the job of pouring them both a glass of milk. "Since day one, Luca's been there at least an hour a day. He's the baby's Godfather. Lt. Scott and Luca's uncle? They served on Rescue 1 up until the day Luca's uncle was killed in the line of duty, nine eleven.

Rambling man is rambling. He settles at the table, still talking. "You know, by the fifth day that lil' one turned a corner, doctors all started calling him a miracle baby. Nothing but improvement since."

Olivia Gaudin has posed:
    Olivia grins at Roscoe's reaction. "Well, hopefully I can come in a respectable second to your wife's work," she replies. One thing she lacks is a strong sense of competition. It takes a special situation to draw that out of her.

    "Oh my, well that is very sweet of him. And yeah, that's very early. It's amazing what doctors can do these days. More amazing what caring for people can do."

    She selects the oatmeal. She figures that one will be the least popular in the end. Olivia isn't accustomed do the casual talk of death yet, though. It takes her a moment. "Roscoe, is your family all about public service, as well?" She has something on her mind, but she'll take her sweet time figuring out how to get there. But the talk of children makes it hard for her to stay on that angle, really.

    "I'm happy to hear that. There's no blessing like kids, honestly. I've always wanted a big family." How big? So big that people who don't understand give her dirty looks and mutter about over population.

Luca Bandoni has posed:
The first bite of his cookie and a little bit of savoring earns a thumbs up for Liv while his mouth is still full. Eventually he says, "Don't tell the missus, but this is right up there with hers." Of course he has to follow that bite with some milk. And then, "Yeah, amazing what 'doctors' can do." it's easy to actually hear the air quotes in his words.

He shoves the rest of his cookie in his mouth, Firefighters are so used to shoveling in food in the hopes of getting through dinner before the next call rolls in. "Lemme show you something." He gets up and pulls a photo off the fridge. Seems that's the place for pictures of families, all held in place by simple black magnets.

"I guess that skin to skin thing they do with preemies does't only gotta be the momma. This was taken the day they took the lil beansprout outa the cooker." He passes the photo to Olivia - it's Luca, asleep in a recliner in the NICU, a tiny little baby on his bare chest, Luca's one hand covering the baby's entire little diapered behind.

"Ain't that the sweetest thing you ever seen? Lil guy's getting better every day thanks to them 'doctors'."

A beat and he's answering her question, "My family? Nah, my old man's a podiatrist. My family ain't that big, sometimes Luca and his make me a little jealous, ya know? They got each other's backs, that's for damned sure."

Olivia Gaudin has posed:
    Liv grins at Roscoe's clear view of doctors. She imagines there's a story of two there, if she wants to pick at it. For now, she does not. "I will have to ask her for recommendations in the future," Olivia says. "I imagine your wife could help me with a lot." A lot more than cooking, honestly.

    That picture captures her attention. It's a perfect thing to do so. A baby, which is lock and key to her deepest yearnings, and the man she is falling so hard for, who holds her heart in his palm. "That's beautiful," she says gently. Roscoe is obviously meddling with a positive agenda, but no doubt he wanted to push this button. At least to gauge her reaction.

    Liv's reaction is to feel more confident than ever. "Someone looks like they are ready to be a daddy, huh?" she says playfully to Roscoe. Now it's her turn to gauge his reaction!

    "Oh, and that is the thing, isn't it? All of you supporting each other. Blood and duty. I think only when you do something important, something dangerous, can you quite bond like the people here do."

Luca Bandoni has posed:
"Oh, I love my firehouse family down to my center, I do. But Luca's family, his true blood family? I don't think I've ever seen one closer. Just wait until your first family gathering."

But Roscoe's agenda seems to be something else entirely. Of course he wants to see Luca happy with a little football team of his own, but he skips over the daddy thing with a simple, "Yeah, kid'll make a great father one day," and nothing more. Then he circles back to. "I just think it's great that Luca's been visiting the lil guy /every day/ and now the doctors think he's gonna be just fine." No air quotes there on the doctor. "Every single day, he goes. Every single day the lil sprout just keeps improving."

He reaches for another macaroon, his gaze pretty intent on Olivia.

Olivia Gaudin has posed:
    This is when Olivia puts a few things together. "I am looking forward to meeting that family of his, yes!" she says warmly. "So far I met Rigs and Sara," and... she won't get into that last meeting any more than that! "I imagine it'll be a great time."

    She looks thoughtful. "I see what you mean, Roscoe," she says gently. A touch guardedly. "I know Luca is special, and I have encountered others who have a way of doing very impressive things that are similar in nature." She looks at the picture again, lost in thought. Of course that is what's happening. Thus the air quotes.

    "It's a wonderful thing that he is able to do something so special," she says at last. It seems a bit of a lame response, but it gives her a lot to think about. The two haven't gone deep into details about each other's unique traits.

    She makes a decision on the spot.

    "Roscoe, I haven't exactly revealed something about myself to you and the others. Not because I don't trust people exactly. But I'm also a bit unusual."

    She is nervous. This isn't like with Blue, where she was with Luca, feeling safe and relaxed. Liv feels stressed. "Like... well." She makes a point of sitting down and pulling her hair back to reveal it. That very weird blow hole of hers.

Luca Bandoni has posed:
"It's not really a super big secret, everyone knows Luca's a mutant. I just now he doesn't talk all that much about it and what he can do. So..." Roscoe figured he'd drop some hints, but still give himself plausible deniability if it came out that he ratted. "Sara, she's great and Rigs, man that dog is somethin'. He's sure a morale boost when he's here."

If it had been Andy, or really any other of the younger guys in the house - outside of Ratliff - there would surely have been all sorts of innuendos regarding that blow hole.

But it's Roscoe and after a heartbeat of a moment of shock at the sight of it, he asks, "Does it work? I mean do you breathe through it? Is it painful?" After that initial heartbeat - a natural response from just about anyone - he's just all questions and curiosity.

Olivia Gaudin has posed:
    "I appreciate it, Roscoe. Luca does keep some cards close to his chest." Olivia's tone is friendly and relaxed. "I don't mind that, honestly. A man needs his mystery. And yes, Sara seemed really nice. Hopefully we can talk more next time." She grins at the mention of Rigs, "That's the most well-behaved animal I've seen. A true gentleman."

    Then it's her time to talk about being, well, what she is. "It works really well, honestly. Better than anything else. But when it was forming? Headaches the like of which few could even imagine. Not to mention all the other stuff that goes along with it." She grins and explains, "I'm basically a dolphin girl, Roscoe. Hearing, the whole sonar thing, it's both weird an wonderful. More wonderful lately, but it wasn't so fun when I was staring down the barrel of a gun."

    She pauses, stopping her story and looking at him. "I haven't told anyone else about that bit, though. You have a way about you, don't you? My bother hasn't even heard about that bit of trouble."

Luca Bandoni has posed:
"Listenin's what I'm here for," Roscoe offers quietly, thoughtfully even. "Well, Luca better not ever find the guy that held a gun to ya. That musta been awful. I mean, we've all be shot at once or twice. Bangers don't take kindly to us showing up when one of'ems been shot. Even when we're there to help.

Roscoe makes a show of 'zipping his lips' before, "Secret's safe with me. I just wanted to clue you in a little bit about the kid since he probably wouldn't for a long time. Makes him a little safer out there and that makes lovin' him a little easier. So, you must hear things real good then?"

To that end, the rig just turned the corner down the block. Boys are about to be in the house. Roscoe, of course, doesn't hear a thing yet.

He plucks every single macaroon off the plate, stands, digs out a plastic storage container and stuffs them inside. Seems not /everything/ is fair game in the house. Roscoe has every intention of hiding those for later.

"Luca has a brother that can do all these woo-woo things with fire, fool became a cop, go figure.

Olivia Gaudin has posed:
    "Fortunately in this case, the one who did it will not be bothering anyone ever again," Olivia says gently. Not that she's exactly happy. It was a terrifying thing to see, a man taken down brutally. Even if it saved her life. "People can be really stupid and violent sometimes. Thank god it's pretty rare."

    The lip zip has her relaxed. And the cookie hiding gets her laughing. "They are getting close," she says. "I can hear really well. Footsteps, talking, even heartbeats. Honestly those seem to capture my attention. If I'm not careful, I can get very distracted. And every one of them is like a finger print to me. I can tell them apart, provided I've heard them a few times. Not to mention the whole kinda... seeing through walls stuff with this echolocation business."

    She finishes her cookie and milk now. She's a relatively slow eater, when it comes to sweets. And she's critiquing her work. "Needed more nutmeg," she mutters to herself. "Woo-woo things with fire?" That's curious. "I don't suppose that woo-woo includes putting them out easily, does it?" If so, his career choice is really baffling to her.

Luca Bandoni has posed:
"Nah, not putting them out, just manipulating them or something. Still, to be able to walk into a fire and have it part like the Red Sea in front of you? Not a bad thing for a firefighter. Anyway, I think Matteo's old man's retired NYPD, so maybe that's it?" Roscoe shrugs. That coupled with his expression makes it a clear 'who the hell knows'.

"Really? You can hear that? I can't hear it yet. And see through walls? Now that'd be a handy thing to have on a fire or building collapse call. So with the heartbeat thing, you can tell who's who? Like find Luca in a crowd for example?"

The sounds of the rig being backed into the bay announce the arrival of the crew. The voices though, they're not the ones Olivia's used to - after all, this is a pick up shift for Luca.

"Seriously, man, Zombies? Dang, I wish I would have been on shift for that one."

"Nah, you really don't," replies Luca's familiar voice.

The banter back and forth continues, a few of the guys stay on the apparatus floor, a few head for the bunk room and Luca heads for the kitchen, calling, "You can stop avoiding Holly! We're back, no reason to 'hold down the fort', Roscoe. Go take the kid that toy he left here."

When he steps into view, he's dressed in turnout minus the fire coat that's probably on the rig. When they leave in the rescue truck, they have to be prepared should a call come in. He has a little smudge of grease on one cheek from changing the rig's air filter earlier.

"Hey babe," he greets with a smile, tired but genuine. "I didn't know you were dropping by today." If she told him, he forgot. It's sometimes hard to keep things straight, even days, when pulling doubles - or triples.

Luca does move in for a kiss, but it's a quick one. He's not about to give 'not his crew' any ammunition.

"I forgot to take the trash out when I left, so I'm laying low until she's had time to forget about it," Roscoe says in regards to going home to Holly and the kids.

Olivia Gaudin has posed:
    "The call to follow their fathers is strong in that family, and each has to do it in their own way," Olivia says gently. She hasn't met them, but she's heard about them and Luca is obviously a good example. "It's not a small thing to me, this feeling that I'm..." She trails off. She almost used a word that it is waaaay too early to use there. "... the new girl in a family where it's not a job. It's beyond even a calling. It's hard-wired to them." And it will be hard-wired into their children. Liv is a bit scared about that.

    "Oh, and definitely. I can hear it. Front right brake sounds different than the others. No clue why, though." Just cause you can hear something doesn't mean you know why. Could just be newer lubricant on something for all she knows. "And yes, I know his heartbeat across the room. Or even in the water, honestly." She's even better under the water. The density of the stuff and its her natural element of sorts.

    "I suppose it would be, though there's no way I'm going to jump in the fire." She says it so easily, even if she should know that she might do just that. She just needs the right motivation.

    "What's this about zombies?" she murmurs. Not to Luca. But right to Roscoe. Just before Luca gets over to them. Once he's there, Liv's focus settles on the man. Her eyes appreciate him, her abilities check him over. Always she does it. A habit that helps her relax, to make sure he's okay.

    The kiss is returned softly and she grins. "Surprise visit." She missed him. She doesn't want to tell him how much and how often she feels that sensation while he's working. He can't be worrying about her when lives are on the line.

    She laughs at Roscoe's little problem. "Wow, dereliction of duty, Roscoe? I'm sure that has all blown over by now though, right?"

Luca Bandoni has posed:
"Have to have Luca check on that," Roscoe replies about the breaks. "That's impressive." He swipes a blueberry cookie since he's packed away all the macaroons. "Hey, being the significant other of a firefighter or a cop? That's a calling all on it's own. Most don't last long." He lowers his voice as the others start making ruckus on the apparatus floor. "Yeah, zombies, crazy call last shift. It's all over the news this morning. Luca's right, that guy wouldn'ta wanted to be there."

But Luca's right there now and physically fine outside of the tired so Roscoe shuts his cookie hole about the zombie call and anything else Luca related that the man himself might not be ready to share just yet.

"Well, I'll leave you to lovebirds alone and go face the consequences of my actions. I just hope she doesn't cook beans for dinner as a penance." After he stands to, he walks by Luca, cuffs him on the shoulder and says, "Get some rest between calls, kid. I'll see you next shift."

A beat and he adds, "And make sure you hang on to this one. I think her macaroons may be better than Holly's." That last little bit? It's whispered as maybe his wife has ears everywhere.

Olivia Gaudin has posed:
    Olivia laughs softly, "Well, maybe I can talk to your wife and get some coaching on that, too. I want to make it through." The mention of zombies has her shaking her head slightly. Is there anything New York doesn't have?

    "Roscoe was just telling me about your fine work as a godfather," she says after the man heads off to face his doom. "The picture is adorable." It's so hard to not wind herself around him. But she doesn't know this crew, doesn't know what they are about. But they are about to devour a bunch of her baking. The hiding now makes a lot more sense.

    "You look ready to sleep for a day straight," she says softly. She doesn't ask if he's okay. Doesn't ask if he's hanging in there. He is and he will and she knows that. "Why not sit down and let me work on those shoulders of yours for a bit?" she suggests.

Luca Bandoni has posed:
He doesn't even bother with taking those bulky fire pants off just yet. Luca just drops the suspenders from his shoulders so they can hand down. He the drops down into a chair and says, "Was he now?" There's a hint of suspicion in his voice. He's known Roscoe a long time now.

Roscoe forget to put that damned picture back and Luca picks it up off the table. "He's a cute kid, even if he does look a little like an alien at this point. I just hope he grows up to look like Connie and not Ed." First name basis, at least while not in front of other crew, with the Lieutenant? Of course he is.

"There's no rest for the wicked, isn't that what they say?" Luca says it with a grin, the one that makes his eyes crinkle at the corners and shows a full set of teeth, little gap between the front ones included.

"Sorry about being here so much," he offers with that grin fading. He /is/ sorry about being away from Liv, but he isn't really sorry about being at the house so much - it's a bit of a catch 22. "Things are just crazy with Ed being on furlough and all these fires." Not to even mention zombies and the every day motor vehicle accidents, persons trapped crap that comes in. People /really/ need to learn how to drive."

Olivia Gaudin has posed:
    Olivia can sense Luca's reaction. She doesn't want to cause a strain there, either. "He was. Told me how you go there every day to see that little angel. I think that's wonderful." Liv always wants to see people around kids to decide how serious she could hope to be. That box is checked so hard it tears the paper.

    Her hands settle on his shoulders. Being in her line of work, she deals a lot with muscle strains, minor injuries, just plain exhaustion. She can apply self-massage to another easy as can be. Gentle to warm the body up, then deeper kneading. It's a dance of soft, soothing touch and effective (but not terribly ccomfortable) kneading.

    "The wicked do not rest, so the good and noble cannot, either," she replies. Her voice is a bit strained for a moment as she does battle with a paricularly impressive knot. Sure, this would all likely go away on its own in no time, but, well, that isn't the point.

    "And you aren't sorry about it, Luca. This is your place to be. If anything, you're sorry you can't have both things at once. Which I'll accept, happily. I won't deny that I'd love to be with you every night, but that's not how it works." She pauses to gather her thoughts. A breath in, a breath out.

    "Every night, people in New York turn in and rest. Most of them get a pretty decent sleep, but some wake up to fear and fire. But that nightmare doesn't last long for most of them. Because you are there, Luca. You and your brothers and sisters." She feels like she's giving a speech. But one that she has every right to give. "I can see that in order for people like me and my family to have that level of comfort, you and your family have to pay a price."

    She keeps working on the massage, and she's not done reasoning it out, either. "I didn't know exactly, when I first saw that photo on your wall where it would take me, Luca. Nor how fast. But I understood I'd be risking something. That I would be giving something away. What I didn't realize is how much I would be getting in return. What you do, the lives your family leads day in and day out, it's special. It isn't easy. I am only starting to get it, but I want to keep doing this. I miss you like hell when you are here, but I wouldn't have it any other way. That's what I'm trying to say."

Luca Bandoni has posed:
If Luca could purr like a cat, he'd being doing so right now. He can't, so instead he just moves his head slowly - this way, that way, up, down - so Olivia has better access to whatever area of his neck and shoulders she's working on.

"He needs me," is the simple response in regards to the baby. His eyes close, but he's listening to everything Liv has to say and listening closely. It's only when she's finished that Luca speaks, "It's new now, Liv. Don't take that wrong," he adds quickly. "I'm not discounting your feelings for me or anything like that. I've just seen it, the wear and tear on relationships. Not so much in my family, but with other guys and women. Spouses get tired of being alone all the time, get tired of worrying all the time. Neither party even sees it's happening before it's too late and the relationship's over."

Luca looks down and brings his hand up to rug at tired eyes. "Just... don't put us, what we do, on some sort of perfect pedestal because you're gonna get tired of it and it's going to take one hell of a lot of commitment to deal with the tiredness of it."

Olivia Gaudin has posed:
    Olivia listens as she works. She lets herself hear his heartbeat. It's fast become one of her favorite sounds. Steady, strong, she might add words like clean to it. Not many people get into the sounds of a heart like she does, which makes her something of an expert.

    "I understand that he does," she murmurs. There's a tenderness in her voice that is different today. She's fragile in this moment. The massage continues. She never has to ask where to go next. She can feel it all in her fingers, she can sense it in her mind. There's a story in his body for her to read.

    "I already can see some of the pain to come," she admits. "I already fear some of the things that I pray never happen. It's sacrifice. I do have a selfish favor to ask of you, though. If you are willing to listen to it."

    She doesn't go on until he assents to that. If he does, she will explain what she wants. It doesn't take long. "Don't push me away just cause things get hard, Luca. My life isn't complicated and I'm frankly pretty spoiled, I know, but I'm not unfamiliar with difficulty. I have a lot to give."

Luca Bandoni has posed:
Luca, of course, nods his head to indicate that he's at least willing to listen to her request. But that rock steady heartbeat skips once or twice when Olivia actually makes it.

It's been his way for such a long damned time. Never let anyone but family - firehouse and blood - get too close. It's the number one rule in his playbook and he knows it's a hard rule to break. Even with the quickness that his feelings have grown for Olivia, it's going to, at some point, be a difficult rule not to break. Maybe the first time she has to spend time in a hospital waiting room wondering if he'll live or die. Or maybe the first time he has to miss an important event in the lives of their children should it go that far. At some point, it's going to be difficult to push through that rule.

"I'll try," he all but whispers because that's all he can promise. Luca's not one to make promises he might not be able to keep. In his mind, making those false promises would make him less a man.

"I really should try to get in a powernap though, babe." He doesn't add the 'while it's quiet'. Never, ever say that in a firehouse or police station, never. It'll surely unleash the curse and turn things into the night from hell.

Olivia Gaudin has posed:
    "That's all I could ever ask for," she says gently.

    Her work on his shoulders, neck, and upper back draws to a close with a kiss at the top of his head. She knows this is fast. Terrifyingly so, if she's honest. But for all that, she has no interest in slowing down, much less stopping.

    When her hands finally leave his shoulders, it is an almost breath-takingly soft departure, like water. "Sweet dreams, man of mine," she says gently. "Try to eat some of the cookies before all these wolves devour them. I'll see you later. And text me if you want me to stop by or if you need anything. I'll be awake."

    She will let him get his rest. Spotting dirty dishes in the kitchen, she'll get those dealt with before going herself. The ride home is going to be a quiet one. She finds to her shock, though, that she really doesn't have much to think about. Everything feels lighter, now that she's made her intentions clear.