Ten days later, Maya had asked Carina if she could book her day on August 10th. She didn't know what the blonde had planned, but of course she agreed.
She had warned her that she wouldn't be going up to pick her up, there was nothing romantic about not going up but she had warned her in advance.
Once arrived at the bottom of the Italian's house, she had sent a message to Carina to come down from her house.
The brunette had come to meet her, and Maya was at the bottom of her house with a sign with 'Carina DeLuca' written on it.
The Italian had a huge smile. She walked down the steps of her building and saw Maya again, sixteen years earlier, in that Seattle airport.
The brunette had arrived at the level of the captain and she had taken it in her arms.
- "ciao"
She had kissed her.
- "ah yes, it's true you don't kiss here"
- "you want me dead?!"
- "uh no, I have a bad memory with death..."
- "fuck! I'm sorry" Maya said, putting her hand on her forehead. "Is this off to a good start?"
- "Maya, Maya, Maya, hey bambina, it's okay"
- "shall we go?"
- "yes with pleasure"
They had gotten into Maya's car.
"So what do you have planned?"
-"Be patient."
The blonde had driven to Pike Place Market.
- "you're too romantic"
- "I didn't do anything"
- "oh so we're not going to relive our first day together?"
- "uh..."
- "you're too romantic"
Maya had gotten out of the car and she had asked the Italian to stay quietly in her seat while she went around and opened the door for her.
-"I got you... Something."
- "what do you mean?"
She had opened the back door and handed the brunette a package.
"It's not my birthday."
- "in a way, it's the most important date of my life."
- "can I?"
- "yes open it"
Carina had opened the gift and she had looked at Maya.
"I... I noticed that you don't take pictures anymore... You, you were very good..."
- "I haven't taken a picture since the last time Charlie went into the hospital to stay for months and months, forever... I've been content with my phone ever since"
- "maybe, maybe if you take the picture again a little bit, you'll see that despite... Despite the hardships, life can be beautiful, to, again, I'm not saying you have to forget, that you have to or that you will forget Charlie, because that's not what I want, I want to cherish his life, throughout ours. Or that it's nothing, the fact that he, that he's not here anymore... But, I, I can't live knowing that the love of my life, is suffering and you'll always have a part of you, that won't be there anymore, the part of the woman I fell in love with that left with that little boy, but I want to do everything to preserve what's left of the love of my life. And I fell in love with a dreamer who made beautiful pictures."
- "how do you do that?"
- "do what?"
- "pretend that everything can be overcome, and show me that you love Charlie, even though you didn't know him, and prove to me that you will do everything so that I will never forget him"
- "Carina, if one day we have kids, and I'm not saying that, but if one day you're ready, if one day we're ready and we want kids, I'm not saying we have to have kids, but if we do, I want, I, I want them to know, I'm not saying we'd have more than one, but I mean, I want them to know all about, about, about their big brother"
During Maya's speech the brunette's eyes had filled with tears and her eyes had softened, she had looked at the blonde with all the love in the world.
-"You really have to stop making me cry".
- "I'll stop talking"
- "yes"
- "okay..."
- "sorry, I'm saying yes for, for the day when we're ready... And we have other kids, we'll tell them, we'll tell them about Charlie"
Maya's eyes filled with stars and she cracked a radiant smile.
"Don't look at me like that."
- "like what?"
- "I literally saw you fall in love with me again."
- "I can't control the way I look at you Carina."
The Italian had lowered her eyes to the camera.
- "it's not loaded..."
-"What do you take me for? It is charged, there is a memory card, it is very good, according to the seller... It works in manual, semi-manual, automatic mode"
-"Maya it must have cost you a fortune" Carina said, taking it in her hands.
-,I think that part of the money I earned for my Olympic medal goes to you".
- "and why is that? I didn't run".
- "you were at the finish line"
- "ummm, in the stands, do we have to take you to the emergency room?"
- "I'm not crazy, I didn't have a stroke... I know you were in the stands but in my head, in my heart, you were on that finish line. I had to win for you, I didn't hurt my ankle, because I was running for you, I was running to you... Oh, believe me, my father didn't like it..."
- "because you, you told him that?"
- "I told him that I would win for you, that I had won for you, because I wanted you to be proud of me"
- "I was always proud of you"
Maya had blushed.
- "are we going to go to that pier where we're going to stand there and say all the reasons we love each other and plan our whole lives?"
- "don't tempt me."
Maya had rolled her eyes and taken Carina by the hand.
They had gone to the pier, where they had stopped the first time, when they had waited for Andy and Ryan.
The Italian woman brought her mouth to her ear: "I hope Tanner and Herrera don't show up... I love them but... There's a gorgeous blonde I'd like to spend my day with".
-"I think I'm making you unsociable"
- "oh, well besides not sleeping together, I think we should stop seeing each other then, it would be a real shame if I only settled for you forever."
-"I think so too" replied Maya teasingly.
Carina had turned the blonde against the rail and put her hands on it, to imprison her, while sticking her body against hers. The brunette had brought her mouth close to hers and then had moved her lips up to her ear.
-"You really think so? You think that we two ... It can be finished? That you and I aren't worth it? And that for my sanity I'd better see more people?"
Maya's hand had come to her waist, she had tightened her grip and the blonde had swallowed.
- "n-no."
Carina had placed a kiss under her ear, then along her jaw to her chin and finished with a kiss on the tip of her nose.
"We, we should go, go eat."
They had taken each other by the hand and gone to a diner. Maya had ordered for both of them. She had two mac and cheeses.
Just like the first meal Carina had eaten in the States, sixteen years ago.
After the meal they went back to the pier and Carina took some pictures.
-"I think I don't know how to take a picture anymore"
- "Find out what motivates you, what you want to take a picture of. Look at that old couple over there on the bench, or the Ferris wheel, or the ferry boat over there..." Did she point to the boat at the moment the brunette had taken her picture
"Carina!"
- "what you said find what motivates you... My most beautiful pictures, the most beautiful pictures I ever took were yours... And I'm not saying that to flatter you. I've taken Charlie's picture before, but none of my pictures were as beautiful as yours... Because you are the most beautiful person I have ever seen. I am, I am hypnotized by your beauty and I think that's what I manage to transcribe in my photos, all this adoration and admiration for your being... You know sixteen years ago when I took, those pictures of you, right here, the ones we looked at together in the evening, I think I knew right away, I knew you would be different, I knew you were special, I knew you were going to change my life forever, I didn't realize yet how much."
- "I think we really need to stop all these declarations of love."
- "right now that's about all we have"
Maya had taken Carina's hand and placed it over her heart.
- "we have this" her heart was pounding.
-"Maya, bambina, this is a declaration of love, you know?"
They had walked around the bay for a bit and the brunette had taken some pictures of the blonde, again, and then of the landscape.
- "you, do you want to go for a ride?"
- "you hate it"
- "and I'll answer you like I did sixteen years ago. I would do anything for you. And then you forget, I'm a firefighter now... I don't really have the luxury of having fears, especially this one."
/Flashback/
Maya and Carina had gone for a walk on the pier of Pike place Market with their friends.
The weather had turned cooler in this mid-November and they had all pulled out their coats.
- "So Carina, did you do that Ferris wheel ride?" Alex asked when they had passed by.
- "no, not yet"
- "when we were dating, you told me you booked your first ride to someone..."
Carina had looked at Maya
"Oh! So when we were dating, you were already thinking about Bishop?!"
- "subconsciously... She had already caught my eye"
- "I hope she hadn't hurt you" Ryan quipped.
- "You're going to have to stop making those dad jokes," said Jackson.
- "She was funny! Babe..."
- "No, I'm sorry, I can't condone that," Andy teased him.
- "anyway, Bishop you have to go on that Ferris wheel!" Alex said.
- "Karev, stop bothering Bishop, we all know she's freaking out about being a secret agent. Can you imagine chasing a bad guy, she'd freeze because she couldn't jump from one building to another?"
-"Stop bothering my best friend or I'll dump you" said Andy to her boyfriend.
-"You love me too much" replied Ryan, putting his arms around her waist.
- "I'll do it, I'm not afraid!"
- "bambina, I don't need you to prove anything to us. It's just a Ferris wheel."
-"Oh no, it's the most romantic place in Seattle," said Jackson.
- "with the Space Needle!" Alex added
- "oh because you brought a lot of girls on that Ferris wheel and to the Space Needle restaurant?" Asked Carina to get them to shut their mouths.
- "Well, no, but, uh..." Jackson began
-"We're only sixteen!" Alex replied.
- "ah, so that's a reason?"
- "It's expensive, I don't need to pay a lot of money to have sex" laughed Jackson
-"What a romance," said Carina.
-"Because Maya is romantic?" asked Alex.
- "Maya is the best girlfriend in the world"
- "she's the only girlfriend you've ever had" replied Ryan
- "and then I went out with boys..."
- "and for half a second with Alex" laughed Andy
- "you're lucky your girlfriend has your back, Maya..." laughed Alex
- "let's go" answered the blonde with a decided step while walking towards the Ferris wheel
-"I don't need this."
- "I'll do anything for you. And I want to show them that I'm not afraid, not when I'm with you, I feel like I could do anything."
- "bambina..."
But Maya had taken Carina's hand and gone to the Ferris wheel.
She had paid for two tickets and the line was short enough for them to get on quickly.
"I don't want you to give you a hard time bambina."
- "but no, but I'm scared like when you get anxious before a thrill ride ... It's more ... Like you when we made the big splash".
- "oh do you mean the big splash or did I hold you so tight that we probably merged for a moment?"
- "you know ... I really, really enjoyed doing that ride with you... It was like for a moment you didn't run away that morning".
Carina had placed her hands on Maya's cheeks.
-"I'm so sorry about that."
-"but you're here now" Maya replied, smiling and coming to kiss her.
-"I don't have all day" said the man who was in charge of getting them into the Ferris wheel, taking them out of their bubble.
- "sorry" they said at the same time.
They had climbed into the ride and as it got higher and higher, the blonde crushed more and more the hand of the brunette.
The Ferris wheel had stopped quite violently at the top and Maya had started to panic.
-"I don't want to die, I'm much too young and I don't want you to die, I love you, I don't want you to..." Carina's hand came to her cheek and her lips stopped her words.
The Italian liked to do this, to stop the blonde with a kiss.
"I love you" had repeated one last time Maya before letting herself go in this kiss.
After a few minutes the Ferris wheel had started up again.
They had gone down and their friends had joined them.
-"I'm sorry, I told them not to do that," said Andy.
- "oh you... You asked the guy to stop us upstairs?" asked Carina
- "they even chipped in to pay him!"
- "so Bishop you didn't shit your pants?!" asked Ryan
- "no and you know what? The guys were right, this really is the most beautiful and romantic view in Seattle, I can't wait now to take Carina to the Space Needle!"
- "This is it... We've lost a member of this group," Jackson said dejectedly.
- "What do you mean?" Carina asked.
-"Well, you went up there with Bishop... And obviously you came back with a stranger" laughed the young man
-"hahaha very funny!" replied Maya.
Carina had put her hand against her neck and had come to kiss her, a real kiss.
- "Hmmm no, I can confirm it's our Maya, she's my Maya" Carina told their friends after the kiss, leaving the three men speechless.
/End of Flashback/
-"And what do you say... Keep the Ferris wheel when I'm not having an anxiety attack about kissing you? After all... Sixteen years ago... We didn't do it."
- "an anxiety attack altogether? I disgust you so much that you have an anxiety attack about kissing me?!" The blonde wanted to tease the brunette about her vocabulary.
- "no, I'm not having an anxiety attack, and don't ever say you disgust me again... But how would you define that?"
- "you cringe..."
- "of despair! You know I want to kiss you, Maya. It's all I dream about. Literally... Literally... And even more since... Even if it was a dream and you're embarrassed about it... But you..." she had lowered the volume of her voice and moved a little closer to Maya to continue, "were moaning... You were moaning and saying my name... it was frustrating for you, that I didn't kiss you and that it was just a dream... But Maya... I can assure you that it was just as frustrating for me... I wish I could have been the reason for the moaning."
-"You were... Literally"
- "but not the way I'd like to... I want to touch you, me not with an object, not your fingers, not a dream, I want to feel you under my hands..."
- "okay, okay, okay, Carina I think I understand the principle... And so do you, and so do I want it all... And we didn't have this kind of conversation sixteen years ago today and it's been two months since I've done anything, anything at all and you look amazing and if we can just... Go get ice cream and play air field hockey and go get a cheeseburger and walk the streets of Seattle... That would be fantastic."
- "excuse me, I wanted you to understand what I meant"
- "loud and clear"
They had walked off in the direction of the ice cream shop and Carina had slipped her hand into Maya's to intertwine their fingers. She had felt the blonde's hand get sweaty.
-"You're an open book, Maya Bishop."
- "I just can't... Hide my body's reactions, you, you took me by surprise"
- "I think that's one of the things that makes me fall for you even more"
They had taken their ice cream and gone to sit on a bench. Maya was looking at an old couple sitting a little farther away, right in each other's arms looking in the same direction.
-"Do you think, do you think that one day it will be us? That we can be like this?"
- "That's my dearest wish. I'm talking about things that can be done. If not I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but we'd be that couple with my Charlie sitting next to us."
-"I would never take it the wrong way if one of our children came before me" Carina had stopped with her spoon in the air to look at Maya. "see, you too just fell in love with me again and I can see it"
-"you're going to give me a heart attack one of these days"
- "no! Your heart is too precious for me, I intend to cherish it forever".
- "what are we doing for your birthday?"
- "it's in sixteen days"
- "yes that's what I'm saying, it's not long now"
- "I don't know, but I'm working. And the weekend before I'm going to visit my grandmother".
- "grandma gaga?"
- "yes, and stop calling her Grandma Gaga" Maya smiled embarrassedly
- "your grandma is the best"
- "maybe you can come with me, not now, but another time... She knows about London and she was a little angry with you".
- "why?!" Carina asked surprised
- "because when I came back from London after the madness of my victory and before the firefighter school I went a little to her house and I cried a lot. And she said you should have come back with me... I tried to explain to her that it didn't work that way... But since I said I wanted to marry you... For her you could have dropped everything and come back with me"
- "oh so I'm the evil Italian who stole and broke your heart?"
- "but I showed her pictures from London and she said you were getting more and more beautiful. And she couldn't have been more right... So often before my birthday I spend the weekend there.... But maybe, next time I go there?"
- "if she'll have me" she raised her shoulders before bowing in place.
- "hey, don't pout, she's one of the most important people in my life. And she's the third person in my family to have known about us. And you know she adored you, but you made her favorite little girl cry twice."
- "you annoy me"
- "no you love me too much to be annoyed by me"
- "so! Your birthday?!"
- "I'm working but we can spend the evening together"
- "well, what about your friends?"
- "the A-team is working... We can do something the next weekend, on the 30th."
- "don't get unsociable for me"
- "I've been wanting to have my birthday with you for a while now... I won't have the right to wake up like the first time but..."
- "why?! We can sleep together the night before".
I'm leaving for my grandmother's on the twenty-second evening and I'll arrive directly from her house on the twenty-sixth to work".
- "what?! I won't see you between the twenty-first and your birthday? But no, but Maya this is torture!"
-"believe me, it is for me too. I'm going to go to my grandmother's house, where only you came and where we made love, and I'm going to sleep in the same bed and probably in the same sheets, with the image in my head of everything that happened in that house, remembering that we were never so free... And we could kiss and be ourselves, and we could still do it in front of her today... she's so cute."
- "yeah well right now there's not even a kiss, frustration over and over again"
- "we will survive"
- "no but Maya more than four days!"
- "we've had worse"
- "what am I going to do without you?" Carina asked sulkily.
- "you can see Taryn and invite Andrea, he misses you I'm sure. And why not go out with Jo and Amelia? Have you seen all your friends since... Since the reunion?"
- "oh that's okay I work with them"
- "it's not the same...socialize"
- "I don't love you anymore" Carina said with a pouty lip
- "it doesn't matter, I love you enough for both of us" she said, getting up.
- "heyyy! Where are you going?!"
Maya held out her hand, "are we going to the arcade?"
- "I hope I get hit on, this time I didn't just get here!"
- "Carina, don't play with my jealous side, it hasn't gotten better over the years"
They had gone to the arcade games and had started to do some simulators and other games present, soon they had used all their chips and Maya had gone to get some more, while the Italian was doing a motorcycle simulator. On her way back, the blonde saw that a man was next to Carina and she smiled at him while answering him.
- "It's okay, I do not bother you?"
- "Voglio vedere questo" [I want to see this].
- "bye" said the man
-"yes, indeed, bye" answered Maya, meaning to leave
- "she doesn't give me back" said the man
-"Should I? I never linger on... Guys" she looked at him and raised an eyebrow.
- "oh I know, you were pretty clear the first time"
- "the first time?"
- "your friend here, whose first name I still haven't managed to subtitle, told me several years ago that if we met again she would give me her number"
- "and so you've been in this arcade ever since, hoping to see her again?"
-"no, better I bought this arcade, to be sure to see her one day".
- "well congratulations, it was sixteen years ago to the day!" replied Maya jadedly
- "you have a good memory"
- "when it comes to... This young lady yes".
-"You're not going to tell me her name either?" He smiled at Maya before turning to Carina who was still astride the motorcycle: "but you made me a promise sixteen years ago... Sixteen years ago... so..."
-"A lot has changed in sixteen years, my friend" said the blonde.
- "I don't see a wedding ring on her finger"
- "it's only a matter of time"
- "like everything... I might be the lucky man who slips her a ring".
- "let me doubt it"
- "tell me, your friend she has not changed she still shows the claws" he laughed to Carina, making her smile.
- "she's with me" said the captain who was beginning to lose patience.
-"Yes, I can see that."
- "no, I don't think you do. She's with me, which means that the day a ring will have to be put on her ring finger, it's because I would have slipped it there".
- "oh... Ohhhhh ... Oh okay! Why didn't you tell me this sixteen years ago... I wouldn't have bought a bow to see you again!"
- "you actually bought a bow 'for me'?"
- "don't tell me you're flattered" Maya put her hand on her arm so she could look at her.
- "no, well okay, not really, I just spend a lot of time here, it made sense to buy it, at least I don't have to pay to play all day. Hey, you know what, fiancées-to-be... take these chips," he said, shoving his hand in one of his pockets and handing Maya a big handful. "It's on me, have a blast!"
He was gone again and Maya had leaned over to look at Carina, "do you like him?"
- "no!"
- "you were flattered that he said he bought the place for you..."
She had gotten up from the bike and stood in front of the blonde.
- "no, I was flattered that you were so... Jealous, I asked that on purpose... It's lame I know, but I like to see you jealous... For me" she did as she ran her finger down Maya's collar and pulled her closer to her. "You're the only one I want bambina" she added looking at her lips. "And besides ... Look... We got free chips" she did as she stepped back and smiled with all her teeth.
- "you'll be my downfall"
- "but I'm worth it, right?"
- "just tell me where I have to sign"
Carina had smiled and shook her head.
They continued to play for a little while longer before the time ran out and they realized that it was already nine o'clock.
They were at the diner which had changed a lot in sixteen years and they had both ordered cheeseburgers with fries.
They were eating when Imogen Heap's song Goodnight and Go came on, they looked at each other and both blushed.
'Say goodnight and go
Skipping beats
Blushing cheeks
I am struggling
Daydreaming
Bed scenes in
The corner cafe
And then I'm left in bits recovering, tectonic
Trembling
You get me every time
Why'd you have to be so cute?
It's impossible to ignore you
Oh, must you make me laugh so much?
It's bad enough we get along so well
Say goodnight and go
Follow you home
You've got your headphones on
And you're dancing
Got lucky, beautiful shot
You're taking everything off
Watch the curtains, wide open
And you fall in the same routine
Flicking through the TV
Relaxed and reclining
And you think you're alone
Oh, why'd you have to be so cute?
It's impossible to ignore you
Must you make me laugh so much?
It's bad enough we get along so well
Say goodnight and go
One of these days
You'll miss your train
And come stay with me
It's always say goodnight and go
We'll have drinks and
Talk about things and
Any excuse to stay awake with you
You'd sleep here
I'd sleep there
But then the heating may be down again
At my convenience
We'd be good
We'd be great together
Why'd you have to be so cute?
It's impossible to ignore you
Must you make me laugh so much?
It's bad enough we get along so well
Say goodnight and go
Oh, why is it always, always?
Goodnight and go
Darling, not again
Goodnight and
Go'
- "you... Would you stay the night with me?"
- "we slept... together sixteen years ago."
- "in the same bed this time"
Maya had swallowed, she knew that nothing would probably happen but she couldn't help having these thoughts. She had blushed and the Italian had blushed back.
"Mayaaaaaa!"
- "excuse me! I can't concentrate on controlling myself twenty four seven!"
- "you're so adorable" Carina made as she leaned on her hand, her elbow resting on the table.
- "stop and I'll sleep with you"
The Italian girl had straightened up and smiled with all her teeth, she had mimicked a zipper on her lips.
After the restaurant they had gone for a walk in the streets of Seattle before going back to the Italian's house and watching a little television before going to bed.
-----
Ciao!
Can we consider this a date?
Let's see what's next!
xx
-¥-
Ps: today is the resumption of the shooting of Station 19, while I'm correcting and Stef shared a beautiful picture of her and Jeff with a hat... Here it is just for the pleasure to say it