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[ripetere]

[ Ten o'clock. Finally, his shift was over. He tossed his black staff shirt with SECURITY emblazoned in bold white letters across the back onto the table in the closet that passed for a break room, and dug his cigarettes out of a jacket pocket. Most nights he'd be working until the club closed, but he'd agreed to come in early today to do set up for an event. A guest DJ or some shit - he wasn't paid to care about those details, he was paid to lift heavy objects, break up bar fights, and turn away teenagers with fake IDs.

Normally he'd just head home for the night - the music wasn't to his taste, and he had woken up with a headache that hadn't ever quite subsided. But... Bruno was here. Had showed up with an entourage of beautiful women barely half an hour ago, even. Leone knew it was weird and creepy of him to stick around just to watch a stranger, but... a little while wouldn't hurt. Enough to have a cigarette or two. Then he'd leave.

He slipped out of the breakroom, and made his way through the wall of noise and people to reach the back patio doors. There was a decent view of most of the bar from back here, and while there were a few other people having a smoke it was still relatively quiet this time of night.]

Comments

[zippermom]

That's...

[Had someone made him think that? Bruno frowned, offended on Leone's behalf. This was precisely the sort of thing that riled him up, and he had to stop himself from just confessing how utterly handsome he thought he was. Unconventional, maybe, but that was just all the more appealing. Instead, he bit his lip for a moment while he tried to think of some more appropriate way to express himself.]

If someone told you that, they're wrong. You're perfect just like this.

[He could feel his face heat a little with a mix of embarrassment at himself and outrage at... whoever had made him feel that way. Society, maybe. Whatever. It was bullshit.]

[ripetere]

[ Leone glanced away, oblivious to Bruno's embarrassment in his attempt to hide how red his own face was. ]

Look, you don't have to bullshit me with platitudes, alright? [ Bruno was beautiful, was surrounded by other beautiful people, like his friends at the bar - there was no way he meant anything beyond the empty words Leone had heard often enough in his life. ]

[zippermom]

[He was surprised by how much that hurt, not because he was essentially being called a liar, but because it was apparently easier to believe it was a lie than it was to believe the truth.]

It's not bullshit. Why would I bother with that?

[There was a wave of... something flooded beneath his skin, not quite anger, not quite frustration. The useless feeling of wanting to fix something there was no real way to fix.]

I came out here because I wanted to talk to you. I'm sorry if other people have been assholes, but that's not what I'm doing here.

[ripetere]

[ Leone didn't know how to respond to that. His first instinct was, as ever, to be contrary and spiteful about it, but... he found he wasn't in the mood for arguing. He was tired, headachey, and inexplicably, the most beautiful man he'd ever met was standing here talking to him.

He settled for swiping a hand over his face and sighing. ]

Yeah, sorry. [ Not much sincerity in the words, but he knew the conventions of social interaction. ] I need a drink. Can I get you something?

[zippermom]

[It felt... a bit like he was being brushed off, but he also realized that getting in a heated debate about self-esteem with someone who was basically a stranger wasn't productive. Especially if he wanted to get to know him better.]

Okay, sure.

[He wasn't really much of a drinker outside social events where it was expected, but tonight, he could probably use it.]

I'll take whatever you're getting.

[He had what was probably a bad habit of just drinking whatever was handed to him. It meant he didn't have to decide, but it also meant he didn't really have much of a preference.]

[ripetere]

Be right back, then. [ Despite the crowd, it didn't take him long to get the bartender's attention - she was probably the closest Leone had to a friend these days. She gave him a knowing look when he ordered two drinks, one of them decidedly not one of his usual choices, but to her credit, said nothing. He'd probably get grilled for details before his next shift, though. He made his way through the crowd, careful not to spill either of the drinks, and out to the relative quiet of the patio.

A small part of him was surprised Bruno had actually stuck around and waited for him, but he managed to push it aside for the moment, and offered him one of the drinks. ]

Here - I figured you'd like a bellini more than what I'm drinking.

[zippermom]

[Leone wasn't gone long, but it was long enough for Bruno to gather himself a little better. He told himself he wasn't going to dive head-long into trying to fix whatever was bothering the other man... not tonight. It was a bad habit, and definitely not appropriate for the level of familiarity they currently had.

He raised an eyebrow slightly as he took the offered drink.]

Under different circumstances, I might be a little offended by that. But you're probably right.

[There were people who--given his appearance and his career--tended to assume things about him, which, while not wholly inaccurate, was grating nonetheless. He was pretty sure that Leone, with his long hair and drawn in eyebrows, wasn't being condescending, though. And given he'd basically slammed his first drink before coming out here, Bruno was grateful to be able to pace himself a little.]

That does make me a little concerned for what you've gotten yourself, though.

[ripetere]

[ Leone lifted up his glass to show Bruno the pale amber liquid inside.]

Grappa. Not the good stuff, either - but I have fast metabolism, so it would take me about four of those [ he nodded at the drink Bruno was holding ] before I even started to feel it.

[ It was only a little bit of a lie, even - though Leone knew there were other reasons it took so much to get him drunk these days.]

[zippermom]

[Bruno didn't bother hiding the skeptical look on his face at that revelation, not entirely sure how he should feel about this little display of masochism. Leone was several inches taller and probably had a few kilos of muscle on him, so he didn't doubt him, but still. No one really drank grappa because they liked the taste.]

Am I really that bad a conversationalist?

[He smiled a little to make a joke of it, though he was beginning to think he'd failed utterly at his attempts a flirtation. Maybe he really wasn't interested at all, and this was just Leone's weird way of getting it across?]

[ripetere]

[ Leone glanced down, flustered ] No, it's- I'm not very good with people. Conversation. It's not you.

[zippermom]

[Oh, no. That was... he was sure he wasn't supposed to find that confession so adorable, but he did. It also probably explained a few things.]

Is that why you never stopped to talk to me?

[He kept his voice low, though there wasn't much chance of them being overheard. He just didn't... want Leone to think he was trying to embarass him or something. He'd been waiting all this time for him to make the first move, and it had never really occurred to him that this might be why he hadn't.]

[ripetere]

[ Leone could feel his face heating again, not helped in the slightest by the few sips he'd had of his drink on his way back outside. Usually he wasn't this transparent, but it seemed like Bruno could see right through him.] I- yeah.

[ His awkwardness wasn't the only reason - everything he touched fell apart, and Bruno didn't deserve that - but it was part of it. ]

[zippermom]

In that case, I'm sorry for making you wait. I'm not really used to this, myself.

[He didn't usually find himself in the position of making a first move. People came to him, and he let things go from there... Very rarely did he find himself truly wanting something enough to pursue it. But this... This he wanted. Even if it was just getting to know him a little better, and he wished he'd done something sooner.]

[ripetere]

[ Leone glanced up again, clearly confused, before Bruno's words fully penetrated the fog of his anxiety. ]

What? No - I mean, you don't have apologize. You're not the one being weird about this.

[zippermom]

[He takes a sip of his drink, and laughs quietly.]

I probably am. I know exactly where my lighter is, after all.

[It's at least a little silly that he needed the pretext, he figures.]

So we're both bad at this. It's okay.

[ripetere]

[ There was a moment of confusion before Leone grasped what Bruno meant, and then it was replaced by a small smile. He was pretty sure Bruno was, at the very least, a more socially acceptable sort of weird - bad pick-up lines were the stuff of mainstream fiction, after all - but he appreciated the attempt. ]

Let's try this again, then. [ He took a deep swallow of his drink, relishing the warm burn as it went down, and then offered Bruno his hand.] Leone Abbaccio.

[zippermom]

[That tiny smile was enough, he thought, to make all this awkwardness worth it. He returned it with one of his own as he shook Leone's hand.]

Bruno Buccellati. It's good to finally meet you, Leone.

[ripetere]

It's good to meet you, too. [ There was an awkward pause as Leone struggled to find a follow-up. He'd managed to steer the conversation away from his myriad flaws, but that didn't make small-talk easy. What the fuck did normal people talk about, anyway? ]

So - gonna guess being a model is probably less glamorous than it looks? [ Work was... probably a safe subject? ]

[zippermom]

[He took a healthy swallow of his drink as cover while he tried to think up a response more appropriate than slightly manic laughter. It wasn't Leone's fault, he had no way of knowing.]

I guess that depends on your expectations. Sometimes it can be, but I'm not really at that level.

[ripetere]

Mm. [ That was probably true of a lot of jobs - it certainly had been true of being a police officer. ]

You like it, though?

[zippermom]

[Well, that was a loaded question, one with answers he wasn't about to spill out to someone he'd just met. Or anyone, really, if he was honest. Instead, he focused on keeping a pleasantly neutral expression, to go with an equally neutral reply.]

I've been doing it for a long time now. And it has its perks.

[He definitely wouldn't have been able to afford half his wardrobe otherwise, for one.]

[ripetere]

There's always that. [ Leone could finally start to feel the buzz of the alcohol - he drank for a lot of reasons, but right now, it was to dampen the part of him that was painfully self-aware of every little awkward thing he did or said. As a result, he actually said what came to mind, rather than trying to find some generic pleasantry, even if it didn't necessarily show him in the best light. ]

Ana gives me free drinks sometimes 'cause I'm willing to taste-test whatever her newest invention is. [ Which was always a crapshoot in terms of drinkability, but free booze was free booze]

[zippermom]

[Well, that was... not entirely surprising, given what Leone had chosen to drink for the evening, and Bruno couldn't really even judge, since he very rarely paid for anything he drank between his friends and industry functions, but he wasn't sure exactly what to think of that admission.]

Ana... that's the bartender, I take it?

[He was learning all sorts of things about the club tonight, if nothing else.]

[ripetere]

Mm. Sometimes we hang out after closing up. [ Which was maybe a little sad, but he'd never had much of a social life, even before everything went to shit. ]

Guess that's another perk, at least to me - I prefer working nights.

[zippermom]

She seems nice.

[Not the he's had much in the way of real interaction outside the usual, but he'd never had an unpleasant experience, either.]

Not much of a morning person, I take it?