It was the end of spring and the start of summer on the island Regalo, the flowers in full bloom and their sweet perfume hung in the air along with the fresh tang of salt water. Shops were busy, the streets crowded with people, the sun shining down on it all. The Acrana Family casino, run by the Coins Division was just as busy caring to its female guests and gentlemanly gamblers.
The leader of the Coins was flirting and being as carefree as ever. Women hanging off him and every word he spoke. He laughed freely, throwing back his head with his mouth wide open. The girls giggled at him and blushed. The men who came to pick up women at the casino glared at him with envy, but he did well to ignore them. He was enjoying himself despite the fact that he was suppose to be working.
Then came a tap on his shoulder. He looked up to see one of his underlings with a serious expression. His smile faded as he nodded in understanding to the unspoken message.
"Excuse me ladies but work calls," he said in a seductive voice.
The women whined.
"I know, I know. I'll try to return shortly. Play a few games while I'm gone," he smiled and winked at them with his only visible eye.
The females swooned as he got to his feet and made his way across the casino's floor.
He stepped into a small office like room that their accountant used at the end of the day. On the desk was a phone that was lying off the receiver. His eye narrowed at the phone as he reached for it.
Holding it to his ear he answered with, "Debito."
"You haven't forgotten Felicità's birthday have you?" came the deep accusing voice of Dante, the Head of the Intelligence Division of the Acrana Family.
Debito played it cool as he lied. "Of course I haven't. Is that the only reason you called?" he said.
He had forgotten. Work had had him extremely busy the last few weeks and June had snuck right up on him. Turning towards the calender on the wall across the room he saw the eighteenth circled in red, and it was tomorrow. He was not ready.
"No I called to make sure you would be attending the party and had a respectable gift," Dante said. Debito could practically feel the dark glare that came with the word respectable.
"I'm no fool. She choose that idiot after all, why would I get her something that would make her hate me?" he replied thinking back to the past year.
Felicità had gotten stronger and more beautiful and had finally fallen in love. She was now dating Libertà, the holder of the Acrana card The Fool. And he was quite the fool indeed.
"Good. Then I'll be seeing you tomorrow," Dante confirmed then hung up.
Debito groaned and dropped the phone back into the cradle. Scratching the back of his neck he left the office and made his way to the front of the casino. Telling the Coin on guard that he was taking off early for Family reasons, which it was. He had to find Felicità a birthday present or Papa and Dante would rip his head off. So with his hands in his pockets Debito took off down the street and towards the shopping district letting his mind wander as he did. He looked at a small park that he remembered playing in a couple of times when he was a kid, but not with Luca or Pace.
It was fall; golds, reds and purples covered the foliage of the island. The breeze from the sea was no longer relaxing and cooling, but cold and sent shivers through people who weren't dressed for the cooler climate. He was only thirteen and he didn't care. Running around getting in trouble and having fun was all that was one his mind. Cheeks rosy from the cold and goosebumps covered his bare arms. Members of the Acrana Family were after him for teasing the daughter of some rich guy. He was approaching a fork in the road and inbetween the split path was a park with trees and piles of crisp autumn leaves. He hurried his pace and dove behind a tree hiding.
"Where'd he go?" a suited man called stopping at the intersection.
"Split up!" another ordered.
And they did.
When they were out of sight Debito laughed at his successful escape.
"Are you crazy? You'll get a cold!" someone yelled.
Then he was knocked to the ground from behind. Something warm and fuzzy now covered him, but he couldn't see. His only good eye was pressed to the dry grass.
"Is that better?"
It was a girl's voice. There was a weight in the middle of his back, keeping him from sitting up where the small voice came from.
"Get off me," he groaned.
As the weight moved from him she pleaded, "Oh! SORRY."
"Jeez," he muttered under his breath.
Pushing himself up into a sitting position the fuzzy thing fell from his shoulders, and he realized it was a blanket. It was blue with stars all over it.
"No keep it on, or you'll get sick," she said.
The girl hurried around him and pulled the blanket tightly around his body. Now he could see her, and she was younger than him by several years. Her hair was French braided down her back and it was a reddish brown that shined in the afternoon sun. Her face was small and round with pink cheeks and lips, and big teal colored eyes. She looked up at Debito and smiled happily. He only stared.
"Better right?"
Crossing his legs and leaning towards her with his hands on his knees he asked, "Who are you?"
"Velia," she smiled. Pulling the skirt of her dress around her bent knees she leaned her chin on top of them and said, "And you?"
"Debito," he answered flatly.
They stared at each other for what seemed like hours before either of them spoke again.
"I have to go," Debito said.
As he got to his feet he dumped the blanket on the girl's head.
"Don't get sick!" Velia called after him as he trudged through the fallen leaves.
"Yeah yeah," he murmured mostly to himself.
"Come back to play again!" she laughed happily.
Debito didn't look back at her.
Debito shook off the memory and picked up his pace. Why would he remember such an insignificant day in his life? Once he was past the park he turned down a side road where it was common for children to play, and there were. They were all playing a game of tag. That took Debito back. Back to when Pace and Luca and him would leave the church and go into town for something new to do. He slowed his strides to enjoy the laughter of the childern and the delicious smells of the nearby bakery. It was Regalo at its most beautiful and innocent.
"Aww man. I'm it," whined Pace. He stared at his finger-scissors and the rocks everyone else held out.
Debito laughed, "You always lose."
"Shut up," Pace pouted.
Pushing him towards the mailbox that was acting as home base Luca said, "Come on Pace, go count."
"Whatever," Pace said covering his eyes. "One, two, three, four-,"
He began counting and all the kids -ranging from eight to fifteen years old- scattered to hide along the street.
Debito wasn't one for boundaries and loved to cheat. He went farther than the street and hid behind the tree he used to escape the Acrana Family members a few years ago. He leaned against the tree and made himself comfortable for a long wait while Pace got frustrated that he couldn't find him. The thought was hilarious and brought a devilish smile to his mouth. He even chuckled a bit at the image of Pace's red face and puffed out cheeks.
"What's so funny?" came a girl's voice.
Debito didn't open his eyes. "Aren't you suppose to be hiding?" he said thinking it was one of the kids from the street.
"Hiding?" she queried.
Now he opened his left eye to see a girl not from their hide-n-seek group. He had a sense of recollection but couldn't place it. Her hair was down and almost hit the back of her legs in soft waves, her smile was small and soft, and her teal eyes stared right at him like blue gems. She was wearing a lace trimmed skirt and a white blouse that had a red ribbon around the collar.
"Who are you?" he asked as he had the sense of deja vu.
"Velia," she smiled.
She squatted down, crossed her arms on top of her knees and leaned her head on them. Debito didn't move as he watched her. She wasn't a threat, but she sure acted strangely.
"Did you come to play, Debito?"
His eye widened at her. "How do you know my name?"
She giggled, "Well it has been a while, I'm not surprised you forgot."
"Huh?"
"Are you playing with the neighborhood kids?" she asked changing the topic. Her smile never left her pink mouth. "That's really nice of you. They love playing with the big kids," she commented.
Lifting his right knee and draping his arm over it he said, "Why don't you play with them?"
Her smile faltered for a moment but then she corrected it and was beaming again. "I'm not much fun. They wouldn't like to play with me, so I watch them. They have the most fun when you and your friends come around."
Debito looked away from her and towards the street where Pace was calling his name. Apparently he had already found the others.
"How do you know you're no fun? Have you ever actually played with others?" he challenged.
"Well no but-," she began.
"You won't know until you try," he said getting to his feet.
"But," she tried to say.
Debito had grabbed her arm and began pulling her in the direction of the street. She dragged her feet trying to stop but he was stronger and just kept pulling her along.
"Debito! Where are you?" called Pace. He was crawling on the ground looking underneath a newsstand that was way too small for Debito to hide.
"Over here, glutton," Debito said waving.
The already found kids with Pace and Luca all came charging at Debito at his arrival. They crowded him and the girl all laughing and asking where he was. He still held Velia's arm so she couldn't run off.
"You cheated again, didn't you?" Luca accused tossing his tousled hair out of his face.
"I didn't cheat. I just bent the rules," Debito chuckled.
"Cheater," Pace pointed a finger at him. "Cheater!"
His face was indeed red with his cheeks puffed out in frustration.
"Debito, why are you holding your arm like that?" Luca asked.
"Because," he began.
He turned to look at the girl he had dragged along, but she wasn't there. His hand was holding only air.
"Where'd she go?" he asked.
He glanced around the whole street but she wasn't there.
"Who?" Pace asked scratching his head. "You came over all alone."
Debito whirled around to face his friends. "No I didn't. There was a girl with me," he swore.
"Normally I would believe that, but I saw you with my own eyes. You were completely alone," Luca said patting his friend's shoulder.
Debito slapped the hand away and began stomping off back towards the park muttering, "Where'd she go?" to himself.
"How annoying," Debito grumbled to himself as he rubbed at his head. So many unwanted thoughts in one day wasn't good for him.
He had finally arrived at the shopping district, there were business owners calling out sales from their windows, people handing out fliers with coupons, workers with free samples and men hitting on women to get them to enter their stories. It was busy, and Debito didn't know where to start to look for Felicità's birthday present. Perhaps something simple would do. She was never really picky about what she received, she always took the gift with a smile and a, "Thank you."
Debito spotted a small jewelry shop on a corner and decided that a necklace or bracelet would be a good enough gift for the daughter of Mondo. A bell went off over the door upon his entrance, and a head popped up from behind a small glass counter.
"Welcome," they greeted before diving behind the counter again.
Debito paid the clerk little attention as he scanned the shelves and displays. To his surprise there were many different designs, and they were all hand-made. The gems that sparkled from the twisted and arranged metal weren't actual stones, but glass, rounded and shaped to fit every piece of jewelry. Debito couldn't imagine the time and effort it must have taken to make each piece.
"Are you looking for something specific?" called the clerk from behind the counter.
"No," he answered.
His gaze fell upon a bracelet that's beads were shaped like little flowers. The colors were bright green and pink. Picking it up he thought it would suit Bambina. He began making his way towards the cash register but paused next to a table of rings. Some made of gold, and others silver. The one that had caught his eye was one that was completely made out of glass. It was teal and trasparent with red dots on the inside. He picked it up without thinking and made his way to the clerk.
The clerk popped up again at the sound of Debito's approach. "Will that be all?" he asked looking down at the jewelry Debito placed on the counter.
"Yeah," he answered.
The clerk picked up the ring and smiled fondly at it.
"What?" Debito inquired.
"Nothing," the clerk shook his head. "I just remembered when I made this ring. It was suppose to go to a girl, but she never came for it. She was always so helpful, but shy," he explained fondly.
Debito watched the older clerk as he carefully put the ring into a paper bag.
"Now that I think back on it, I can't remember what she looked like. Just that she was always smiling and kind," he chuckled.
"Ex-girlfriend?" Debito teased.
The clerk's eyes widened and he shook his head. "Oh no. No, she was just a little girl. She's probably about your age now. I wonder what she's doing now," he said.
After that Debito's purchase was rung up and he paid. He had one foot out the door when the clerk called to him.
"So who are you giving that ring to?"
Debito looked back over his shoulder with a trickster like smile and replied, "Who knows." Then he left with his present in hand and the ring in his suit pocket.
He started to make his way back to the house, wanting a nap from all the hard work he had been doing lately. The warm sun overhead was relaxing and the smells of the island were comforting. This was the feeling of being home.
It was Christmas time on Regalo and the snow covered everything in a thin sheet of white. Debito was walking around the city killing time before he had to go to work where women and gambling addicted men awaited him. He breathed out a cloud of warm air that danced in front of him for a split moment before vanishing. His hands were shoved deep into his pockets to keep them warm. The street he walked on was mostly empty except for the occasional passerby or some part-timer calling out a holiday sale. Debito had just rounded a corner when he heard a bell and a laugh.
"Who wants to see a trick?" said a cheery voice.
Looking up he saw several people gathered around a small table. Behind it stood a teenaged girl with bright red cheeks from the cold. A child at the table raised his hand answering the girl's question. Debito wandered closer to get a better look.
"Okay," she smiled down at the boy. "What will it be, a card trick or do you want me to make something appear?" she asked him and his eyes widened with excitement.
"Make something appear!" he said bouncing on the balls of his feet.
"Can I hold your hand?" she asked.
Kneeling down next to the table where the boy stood she kindly met him at eye level. She was only in a skirt and leg-warmers and she was kneeling in snow. She had to be freezing, but her smile said she didn't feel it Debito noted.
"I'll make something of yours appear if you do," she told the boy and he held out his hand.
As she took hold of his hand he asked, "Really?"
The other two people gathered shook their heads and rolled their eyes at her.
"Yup," she grinned. "Now be really quiet so I can find it," she said closing her eyes.
Everyone remained silent as she just knelt there holding the young boy's hand. A minute past and nothing happened.
Then she opened her eyes and got to her feet saying, "There."
The man in a trench coat huffed, "Nothing happened."
"Yeah. What kind of trick is that?" accused a middle-aged woman.
The girl whistled and from around the corner came running a barking and tongue flopping dog.
"Valentine!" cried the boy. The dog jumped on him licking his face and tail wagging. "I thought you were gone forever."
He hugged the dog tightly as tears welled up in his eyes.
"Ta-da," the girl said bowing.
Debito looked towards the happily crying boy reunited with his lost dog, then back to where the girl stood. Face and legs red with cold, and shoes sopping wet from the snow.
"Thank you Miss," the boy said still holding onto his dog.
"Merry Christmas," she smiled.
"Merry Christmas!" the boy called back as he and his dog ran off probably towards their home.
The two other people left in a hurry muttering to each other about the strange girl and how she was probably the one who stole the dog. Debito didn't believe that. She wasn't collecting any money from her little stand of performances. He stepped forward out of the shadows he had been lurking in and approached the girl.
"Care to see a trick?" she asked him with her unchanging happy expression.
"May I ask your name?" he questioned leaning his left hand on the table.
"Velia," she replied politely.
"Can you make something appear for me, Velia?" he asked in a deep voice.
"I don't know, I'm actually better at making things disappear, and renewing things," she said kindly.
"You made that dog appear," he pointed out.
"Nope. I gave them a new opportunity to be together," she corrected.
"Quite the trick then," Debito said not completely understanding. "Then can you do something for me?" he smirked.
"Sure, Debito."
"Can you close your eyes?"
"Why?" Her smile didn't leave her face but her head tilted to the side questioningly.
He leaned closer to her saying, "Because I have a trick of my own I want to do."
"Okay," she said closing her teal eyes.
He moved around the table and grabbed her around the waist tossing her over his shoulder. She wiggled and tried to get free, but stopped when she realized her struggles were worthless against his strength.
"This isn't a trick," she stated flatly.
"Sure it is. I call it transporting-a-freezing-girl-from-someplace-cold-to-somewhere-warmer," he replied with a chuckle.
"That's very kind of you to care, but I'm fine," she said patting his back.
"A girl once tackled me during autumn with a blanket thinking I would catch a cold from that mere chill, so you standing and kneeling all day in snow wearing just that will kill you," he tightening his hold on her.
She giggled, "You can remember something from five years ago?"
"Only at the most inconvenient times," he muttered.
"Thank you, Debito," she said softly.
Suddenly there was no dead weight on his shoulder and his arm fell to his side. He looked at the ground around him and behind him like he had dropped something, but the only thing that disturbed the freshly fallen snow were only his footprints. She was gone. Vanished into thin air. Then he started laughing, for no real reason. Thankfully no one was around to see him act so strangely.
Clapping he said, "Amazing trick. Disappearing is your strong suit."
Debito jolted awake. Looking around he remembered he had stopped at the small park and had fallen asleep under the tree he had hidden behind many times. The sun was starting to set over the sea casting everything in oranges and reds. He sighed and leaned his head against the tree. Another memory he was better off just forgetting, but he couldn't. With another long sigh he got to his feet and made his way home.
"Hey, Debito," greeted Pace when his silver haired friend stepped down the corridor.
Debito smirked, "Luca kick you out of the kitchen again?"
Pace pouted and tears filled his eyes. "Luca-chan is being so mean. Saying he has to prepare Felicità's birthday feast and cake while I'm starving," he whined.
"Guess we're eating out tonight," Debito sighed.
Pace's eyes widened and twinkled like the night sky as he squealed, "LASAGNA!"
Debito groaned.
Two hours later they were sitting at Pace's favorite restaurant with Nova, and Libertà -who Pace dragged along so they could help pay the bill that would mostly consist of Pace's meal. Nova and Libertà were bickering about whose present was going to be better for Felicità's birthday tomorrow while Pace stuffed his face with his third lasagna. Debito was relaxing back in his chair satisfyingly stuffed with his hands behind his head. The bell over the front door dinged signaling another arriving customer.
"Sorry I'm late."
"It's not a problem. You can start whenever you want."
"Thank you."
Debito over heard the owner say to someone.
"Oh she's here today," Pace said excitedly. His full fork stopped halfway to his mouth.
"Who?" Libertà asked turning away from Nova, who also looked curious.
"That girl," he gestured with his fork. "She comes in sometimes and does little shows. She's really good, and pretty cute too," he explained then popped his full fork into his mouth smiling contently.
Debito followed his glutton of a friend's gesture to the front of the restaurant where there was a clearing with a table set up with no chairs. The girl had short hair, cut to just below her chin, but it was a familiar reddish-brown color. She had a bag in her hands that she dropped onto the table and pulled it open. Out of it she pulled a deck of cards and several blindfolds. Finally she turned around and Debito felt his eye widen with recollection. He remembered perfectly well this time who she was, he had been thinking of her all day. Perhaps it was fate's doing that she should appear before him again after so many years. That last winter had left him with so many questions and only a few spare answers.
"What kind of show does she put on?" Nova asked Pace.
"The magic kind," Debito answered for his friend.
The girl smiled widely as she faced the customers of the restaurant. "Who wants to see a trick?" she asked.
Not a moment later there was a little girl in front of her tugging at her hand. She lowered herself so she was eye level with the child and asked, "What kind of trick do you want to see?"
"Can you fix my brother?" the little girl asked
The restaurant laughed at the request.
"What's wrong with your brother?" the magic girl asked not laughing at the girl.
"He's sad all the time, and I want him to be happy," she explained.
"Where is he now?"
"Outside sitting on a bench moping."
"Can you hold my hand?" the woman asked the child.
"Yes."
And they held each others' hands. Then they both closed their eyes and the atmosphere in the restaurant became calm and quiet. Everyone was waiting for something to happen.
"Okay," the girl said.
She stood up still holding the kid's hand. They both went to the front door and stepped outside for a few minutes then the doors burst open and in ran the little girl cheering and waving her arms. She collided with an older woman who looked startled.
"Mama, mama! She did it! Big brother's happy again," she said.
The mother looked confusedly at the girl who was just reentering the store.
"His girlfriend took him back," she announced to her audience with a sweet smile.
"Yeah yeah!" the little girl cheered jumping up and down.
"Is that really magic?" Libertà asked. He looked towards Pace, who's jaw hung open with lasagna falling out one side.
"Do you think a kid can act that happy?" Debito challenged pointing his thumb in the little girl's direction.
Standing in front of the table again the woman asked, "Who else wants to see a trick?"
"I'll go see if it's real," Nova said getting to his feet. He made his way to the girl and she greeted him with a bow and a smile.
"What kind of trick would you like to see?" she asked.
"A card trick," he stated flatly.
"Alright."
She moved her bag aside and stepped around the table so her and Nova were on opposite sides. Picking up the deck of cards she shuffled them then held them out to Nova.
"Split the deck any way you want and as many times as you like," she said.
Nova took the cards and split them six times then handed them back to the girl who just continued to smile.
"Thank you," she said setting them on the table. "Now flip over the first three cards."
Nova obeyed.
The girl studied the three flipped cards a moment then looked up at Nova with a friendly face. "You lost at love to a fool didn't you?" she asked.
Immediately following her words Pace and Debito started laughing. Nova blushed a deep red not looking at them, while Libertà glared at the Chickpea.
"How do you even know that?" Nova grumbled.
"You flipped over the Death card, the Lovers card, and the Fool card. Death being in the middle and upside down," she explained. "If you don't like that then flip the next three cards," she offered.
Nova just shook his head and returned to his seat. Debito and Pace still laughing.
"I want to see the same trick!" Libertà announced. Bounding to his feet he headed over to the girl's table.
She repeated the card trick process with Libertà like she did with Nova, and told him to flip over the first three cards too. She studied the cards for a moment then looked up at him with slightly pink cheeks.
"Are you perhaps the Fool that beat the last guy in love?" she inquired.
Libertà turned bright red just like Nova. "I'm not a fool," he countered.
That response didn't stop the adult Acrana from laughing their heads off.
"How do you even know that?" he demanded.
"Well you choose the same cards as your friend, just in a different order," she answered.
"We're not friends!" Nova and Libertà yelled in unison.
Then the blond stomped off leaving the whole restaurant laughing and clapping.
"Isn't she good?" Pace said dropping his fork onto his empty lasagna plate.
"Shut up!" Nova and Libertà growled together then glared at one another.
Several others went up and had her do tricks, one involving her putting on a blindfold and reading cards. She had been entirely correct. It wasn't until costumers stared leaving and the restaurant was preparing to close did she pack her things and leave. The four Acrana members followed suit, but Debito broke away from the bunch.
"Where are you going?" Pace called back to him.
Before taking an alleyway to get to the next street over Debito replied, "I'll catch up later."
He could hear humming coming his way so he waited at the end of the alley for the person to get closer.
"Quite the show you put on tonight," he said meeting the teal gaze that had plagued his thoughts all day.
"Thank you," she smiled.
He matched his stride to hers as they walked down the street together.
"Do you enjoy following girls around during the evening?" she asked casually.
"It's one of my many hobbies," he joked.
She giggled, "You haven't changed Debito."
"If you just disappear right now then neither have you," he pointed out.
"I hope I've changed. I was much too shy when I was younger," she said looking up at him.
"Not shy enough to not tackle strangers with blankets," he muttered.
She sputtered a laugh.
"I was hoping you wouldn't remember that after all these years," she said.
They had stopped at a fork in the road across from the park where they had first met. Debito looked down at the girl as she stared fondly at the crop of trees and green green grass. The sun had long since disappeared below the horizon and the moon's glow lit the world below in luminescent white light.
"Do you like being a part of the Acrana Family?" she suddenly asked.
"Yes," he answered simply.
"I bet it's fun having a big family like that," she said with a faint half smile.
Debito stared down at her for a long moment then petted her head. "There's a party tomorrow, you should stop by," he said.
"But I wasn't invited that would be rude," she said flustered.
"I'm inviting you," he said. Dropping his hand from her head he started down the road and called back, "I expect you to be there."
"Huh? But why?" she questioned.
He smirked over his shoulder, "Because I have something to give you. I'll be hurt if you don't show."
She stared after him with a flushed face and a nervous smile.
It had finally arrived; Felicità's birthday. The whole family had gathered and the party was in full swing. Papa was tearing up over his daughter turning eighteen, and Mama giggled the whole time. Felicità was never left alone, Libertà was stuck to her side like glue and Nova was glaring at them the whole time. Pace had taken up a permanent residence next to the buffet table and Luca watched him devour all the food with a horror stricken expression. Debito was wandering around flirting with the girls that had come to show their respect to the family. Presents had already been give and the birthday girl had gratefully thanked Debito and everyone for their thoughtful gifts.
Debito's hand more than once made it's way to his suit pocket where he kept the ring he bought the day before unconsciously checking that it was still there.
"Someone's looking a little impatient," Dante commented coming up behind Debito.
"Hmph," was Debito's response to the older man.
"Is it a girl issue?" Dante chuckled.
"I don't get those," Debito stated irritably then stomped off to the garden.
He perched himself on the edge of a fountain and glared back at the ongoing party. It was getting late and people had stopped arriving hours ago. She wasn't going to come, he concluded angrily. In the dark of the night a brush rustled and his head snapped around in the direction expecting a cat or rabbit to jump out. It was neither.
"Umm, I'm sorry for being late but I didn't know what kind of event it was," came a very flustered voice from the shadows.
Debito got to his feet and started towards it.
"No. No. I'll come back," she said turning to run but he caught her wrist.
"Don't you dare disappear," he warned darkly.
He spun her around and pulled her out into the glow of the party. She was dressed in a long white gown with red ribbon threaded around the thin straps. The skirt fluttered around her legs like a ship's sails and her cheeks were a bright pink. Debito was take aback for a moment, but quickly composed himself.
"You look fine," he said.
As he dropped her wrist she clamped her hands together in front of her looking like she wanted to disappear.
"Thank you," she said looking down at the ground.
This was the first time they had ever seen each other two days in a row. It was strange not having years worth of time pass and the thought of them fade into the dark recesses of their minds.
"What was it you had to give me?" she asked being straightforward.
Music spilled out from the birthday party and into the garden. Debito wasn't ready to just hand over what he had and let her go. He was going to milk the moment for all it was worth. All eleven years worth. He held out his hand to her with one of his lady-killing smiles.
"Care to dance?"
"No," she flatly refused, and Debito felt his ego get crushed slightly.
He stepped over to her and took her hands in his. "I owe you," he said pulling her out into the open area by the fountain.
"For what?" she asked as he began spinning her around to the rhythm of the music.
"For never going back to play, when you were only ever nice," he said.
Wrapping one arm around her waist he held onto her left hand leading her in the dance while her other rested gently on his shoulder.
"I never expected you to," she laughed. "No one ever did."
Debito stared down at her smiling face and felt his heart squeeze. It irritated him that she could smile like that when he had never been really nice to her. He clenched his teeth together and stopped dancing.
"Debit-," she began to ask but was cut off by a kiss.
A firm and powerful kiss that turned her legs to jelly. When he let her go she fell to the ground with a hand over her mouth. He could tell she wasn't smiling anymore. She had finally stopped smiling and he had caused it to be so.
"You don't have to brush everything off with a smile. It only makes people worry more," he said looking down at her with a concerned expression.
Her hand slowly dropped from her mouth as she stared back at him. Her voice was shaky and lacked it's usual cheerfulness as she said, "Debito?"
He bent down with one knee on the ground while reaching into his suit pocket to retrieve the ring. He concealed it in the palm of his hand while his other hand grabbed her right hand and pulled it towards himself.
"This isn't a proposal, just a promise that if you stay here you'll be happy. And you can help make others happy as well," he said.
As he spoke he placed the ring on the only finger it would fit, her ring finger.
"What do you say?" he inquired.
She looked down at the ring then back up at Debito. "What's my name?" she asked.
"Huh?" he said taken off guard.
"If you can tell me my name I'll stay," she said mimicking his devilish smirk from yesterday.
"Clever little girl," he chuckled ruffling her hair.
"Well?" she pushed.
He leaned in close, close enough to kiss her but he didn't. "Velia," he whispered.
She giggled closing the gap between them. They kissed and this time Velia didn't look scared or startled. She pulled away smiling and holding onto Debito's shoulders for support.
They spent the rest of the night sitting side-by-side on the fountain's ledge staring up at the starry night sky. Debito had been wrong yesterday walking back to the house, the sights and smells of a city didn't make a place home. The people beside you and with you did. With Velia beside him he felt at home, truly at home.
"Hey," he said looking down at her.
"Hmm?" she hummed looking up at him with a pink lipped smile.
"How did you disappear all those times?" he asked curiously.
Velia giggled looking back up at the sky as she replied, "A Magician never revels their secrets."
Please leave a review.
Yay! Edited finally.