[Christian Savino]

[nospaces]

I SEE THE LOOK IN YOUR EYE

and i'm biting my tongue; you'd be the love of my life when i was young

[break]

[attr="class","quailfoot-text"]Christian hadn't wanted to do anything for his birthday. He'd had brunch with his mother before his short afternoon shift and that had been plenty. But, in his family, what a person wanted on their "special day" meant very little. So, when he showed up at his cousin's opulent house in Grey Pebble close to 8pm (invited under the pretense of a low-key get-together/game night), he'd naturally been suspicious. And had already made sure to have nothing planned for the next morning. [break][break]

And he'd been right. [break][break]

It was a big bash. This particular cousin was one of the more "financially successful" of the extended family and her backyard was laughably huge. The drinks were endless, the music was loud, the pool — newly opened with the long-awaited approach of summer — was lit and warmed. There were tons of people Christian knew, more that he didn't, and everyone was hell-bent on wringing as much crass fun from the party as they possibly could. Even if they didn't know the birthday boy personally. Most, if not all, Savinos didn't need any particular reason to throw a party and it seemed they had a lot of friends who didn't need any particular reason to attend one. [break][break]

All in all, it had been a stupidly-fun night. Far better than his birthday last year, when his brother had thought it would be funny to send a stripper to his apartment. Christian was never quite sure if Mateo knew he'd been having a nice, pleasant dinner with another man that night, but was certain he'd found it extra hilarious when he'd received a strongly-worded text about it the next morning. [break][break]

The night was drawing close to midnight now but the party showed no sign of letting up. Some people had left, others had nodded off in whatever seat they'd found, but many more were still milling about with screeching, chaotic energy. Christian found himself somewhere in-between. He'd been cajoled over and made the butt of plenty of gags. Had played the games and laughed himself seemingly hoarse. Now he was seated alone at the edge of his cousin's pool, pants rolled up and legs dipped in the water. A half-emptied drink, not the first and probably not the last, was at his side and his face was tipped back to watch the night sky above him. [break][break]

"¡La noche aún es joven, hermanito!" His brother called from the other side of the pool, where he was submerged up to his neck with his arms wrapped around a giggling woman Christian was sure he hadn't known when the party first began. "Hop on in so I can dunk you like the good ole days, huh?" [break][break]

Christian waved a hand dismissively through the air, brow crinkling with a hazy, drunken sort of disregard, and he kicked water in his brother's direction before slowly falling back, folding an arm under his head and settling comfortably. "I'm twenty-five now you ass, it won't be as easy as when I was eight!"

[break]

when the night is over, don't call me up, i'm already under

Tag: Open![break]
Let's pretend I posted this tomorrow on Christian's birthday lolol. I couldn't wait. Feel free to already know Christian, to be a friend of some nameless cousin/one of his brothers, or to just gate-crash this party completely lolol. Whatever!

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[Amaia Devivi]

The first thing Amy liked about the party was the music. She couldn't know what had been on before, but right now the song Plastic Love by Mariya was engulfing the party in a rhythmic embrace. Amy thought that song really fit the party considering the amount of alcohol and all the plastic love happening tonight, ephemeral love meant for parties and forgotten the morning after.

Amy was quietly moving among the others, dodging people as if they were mines. Yeah, you could tell that Amy hadn't been at a party for a very long time. But, she had voluntarily chosen to put up a barrier between herself and any kind of relationship due to her power. However, she had decided to come because Chris was a colleague, so she wanted to be polite at least and show her face for a few, wish the party boy a good birthday and then leave.

A trained eye could notice that Amy had been working before coming here, doing her usual overtime because that was the right opportunity for her to do some personal research related to her visions. The trained eye would notice that she was wearing a black leather jacket, underneath it a white shirt and jeans with boots. Those were work clothes, not party clothes. Amy had put the badge away, but that was it. She hadn't even let her hair loose, still in a ponytail.

Only a few minutes had passed, but Amy just wanted to find Chris and then leave. So, she started asking around where Chris was. The majority didn't even know who he was. However, she finally found a friend of his who pointed at the pool outside. Amy thanked them and walked outside.

A conversation was going on between Chris and someone else...wait, was that his brother? There was also a woman who seemed to be under the influence. Amy hoped that no one was planning on driving tonight. Amaia waited for the right moment to interject "Hello Chris, nice party" Amy smiled at her colleague.

Amy knew Chris from work, but not much outside of it because of her refusal to associate herself with others. However, she had brought a gift. It was just one of those coffee mugs with something sarcastic written on it but related to their job "Something to use on coffee breaks, happy birthday" it was more of a joke gift than anything else, but it was the thought that counted and Amy was trying to be friendly. After all, they interacted the most during work so it made sense that the gift would be something work related.

Christian Savino

[Christian Savino]

[nospaces]

I SEE THE LOOK IN YOUR EYE

and i'm biting my tongue; you'd be the love of my life when i was young

[break]

[attr="class","quailfoot-text"]Christian peered up at the night sky, dotted with pinpricks of white stars, more visible in Gray Pebble than he was used to. He sifted his feet through the pool water with lazy kicks timed to the soft sound of the music and breathed easily. Drumming one hand over his chest, he let his eyes slowly close. He was vaguely aware of the sound of boots on concrete, moving along the edge of the pool in his direction. They stopped and he was just about to open his eyes and glance up, when a voice sounded in greeting, and —[break][break]

Chris. [break][break]

Ugh. Christian's hand twitched and his mouth gave a sardonic twist. No doubt — the approaching woman was a cousin. Someone who knew he didn't like the name and so, naturally, used it as often as they could. Just to get a rise from him. To see the vexation flash in his eyes and latch on to it; utilizing it as some sort of foothold to wiggle in more subtle pokes and jabs until they eventually had him seething and frosty. Then they'd back off, palms raised and faces twisted with exaggerated surprise at his brooding. Pretend their riling hadn't been intentional and he was overreacting. [break][break]

Well, this time, they'd have to try harder. He'd taken all the teasing tonight with skilled aplomb and he wasn't about to let his good mood be soured now. [break][break]

Not opening his eyes, Christian's brow gave a tiny leap and he breathed a sigh through his nose. "You know I hate it when you call me that," he said airily, voice tight but forcibly sing-songy, as if he were making a conscious effort to seem not the least bit exasperated. To keep himself from appearing truly prodded, should the least bit of annoyance encourage them. His mouth pulled into a tight, crisp smile as he blinked his eyes open; sifting his gaze from the open, speckled sky to the waiting look of —[break][break]

The sickly-sweet grin fell from his lips and Christian levered hastily forward as he recognized, not a cousin, but a colleague. "Oh, Amaia!" He acknowledged quickly, voice emptied entirely of the barbed lightness it'd brandished before. He made a quick sweep of her, noting what was obviously her work attire, and then his eye settled on the cup she held out. "I'm sorry, I thought you were, uh... someone else." He blinked in surprise and reached to take the mug, rolling it between his palms and smirking at the sarcastic design. "Thank you," he chuckled, lifting his eyes back to her face and letting a more genuine smile pull across his own. "I haven't seen you around, did you just get here? Just finish a shift?"[break][break]

He pulled his legs from the pool and glanced down to watch as he poured what was left of his drink from its red Solo cup and into his new, gifted mug. It would be the easiest way to make sure he didn't leave it somewhere or that it got nabbed and thrown out when everything was cleaned up in the morning. With his new cup in one hand and his abandoned one crushed in the other, he stood. "There's still plenty of cake and tapas if you're interested. Or... do you want a drink?" With a sneaking smile, he lifted the mug and finished his own off. Then smacked his lips and cocked his head. "I could accompany you. Seems I need a refill."

[break]

when the night is over, don't call me up, i'm already under

Tag: Amaia Devivi [break]
Give me a nudge for any changes!

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[Amaia Devivi]

Amy had noticed the reaction Christian had at his nickname and wanted to facepalm herself when he said that he didn’t like it. Of course she had forgotten. Not that she didn’t care, she did, but she just forgot things like that. Okay, let’s give her some slack, after all she kept having visions of people dying. Seeing all the people having fun was actually raising her mood.

“Oh yeah, I thought I’d stop by at least” it wasn’t an entire lie. Sure, her shift had finished hours ago, but she had stayed to research her visions, some things could only be researched with the tools available at the station. So, technically she had just finished a shift, and the officers at the station could vouch for that because they had seen her leaving.

Christian was friendly as always, so when she smiled it was genuine. She appreciated that Christian used the mug right away and chuckled “Sure thing! A drink is what I need after that shift” she wasn’t on call if any murder happened. Amy liked drinking a few shots here and there, she just made sure to not get drunk. Tipsy? Yeah. Drunk? Nah. She had seen the consequences of hangovers and she didn’t want to experience them herself. Also, she needed to keep herself focus in case she had to take care of a vision. 

Had she seen that pool before? No, right?

Christian Savino