Battle of The Gods

Quarantaquattro

"You kept it," Toto said, his voice low, almost in a whisper, "I actually thought you threw it away."

Alessandra was confused for a moment when she saw him look behind her in awe, and how soft and almost vulnerable his voice sounded. She turned in her chair to look at where he was gawking at, a rush of warmth and of embarrassment felt through her veins when she realised that he was looking at the painting he gifted her for Christmas, the gift she took weeks to open because even the thought of him angered her, and she realised that she never even thanked him for it.

"I would never throw away such a masterpiece," she replied as she turned to look at him, giving him a small smile, "I never thanked you for it. The timing of its arrival was uh, not really the best."

"You got it when you returned home from the Dolomites," Toto said, nodding his head in realisation as he continued walking to her desk, "and we had the big fight when you were there."

"But it's no excuse to not thank you," she said as she stood up, making her way round her desk and stopped in front of him, looking up at him as she wrapped her arms around his torso, "the detailing of it is just breathtaking and emotional. I loved it, thank you."

"I'm glad," he smiled as he put his hands on her waist, gently pulling her towards him, earning him a chuckle from her, "it fits beautifully here."

"Yeah, but I could move it downstairs," she replied, earning her a confused look from the Austrian, "it took me five weeks to open the gift, I was so angry at you that I wanted nothing from you. Curiosity got the best of me, and I was hoping that the gift was horrible so I can hide it away somewhere, but goddamn it, it was beautiful. I was still so angry at you that I felt that it didn't deserve a place downstairs, where everyone can see it and admire it, but it was too beautiful to hide away so I put it here."

Toto knew that she was right, and he was reminded once again how much he had to work to get her to forgive him. He had also thought that she discarded the gift, but he was more than happy to see it hung in the room where she poured her heart and soul in her work to make the team better, and his heart skipped a beat knowing that she was considering to move the painting in a place where everyone can see it.

He leaned his head down towards her, taking her by slight surprise when his lips fell on hers, but she was quick to kiss him back, grabbing onto the back of his shirt as she rose on her toes. The kiss wasn't rough or desperately filled with lust, but it was passionate in its own way, letting the feelings they couldn't understand or didn't want to admit, slowly fuel the kiss.

"So," Alessandra started when they pulled away, her blue eyes bright as she looked up at him, "how about I make us some breakfast?" Toto nodded, pecking her lips once more before they fully pulled away, and Alessandra grabbed her phone as they made their way downstairs to the kitchen.

"What's the plan for today then, Miss Ferrari?" Toto asked after Alessandra handed him a mug full of coffee and watched her manouver around the kitchen.

"Well, I have to take my dad to his appointment, which shouldn't be too long as it's some quick tests planned for him today," she started as focused on cooking the eggs, "honestly, I didn't think it through when I invited you, because I'll have to leave you here alone for a bit."

"You don't have to worry about me Ale," Toto said, giving her a smile even though she couldn't see it as she had her back at him, "I can manage a bit of time alone whilst you're with your dad."

"Okay good," she replied, "also, I just realised that Mick didn't come back last night."

"He's been staying over?" Toto asked.

"Yeah he's been here for a couple of nights," she answered, "but he's supposed to be heading back to Geneva today. Wait, let me call him." Alessandra put the heat of the stove to low as she grabbed her phone, dialling her friend's number as she grabbed her own coffee and went to stand next to Toto, who was sat at the kitchen island.