[Title: He Thanks God]
[Author: ArianaJB]
[Music: I can't remember]
[Disclaimer: Standard Disclaimers Apply.]
[Summary: Firo has changed changed them, he's changed them both, if only just a little, and Maiza thanks god.]
Maiza is smiling as usual, over his glass of red wine, as he watches Firo half-pull Sylvie across the dance floor. He thinks it's good for her to be interacting with someone for once, he's lost count of how many years it's been, but he knows just when it started, her avoiding people.
But Maiza doesn't want to think about the events that took place aboard the Advenna Avis all those years ago, he relives those days enough in his sleep, so he smiles, because it's unimportant when or how it started, all that matters is that today Firo is good for her.
"Those kids can't be that interesting." Luck is sitting across the table from Maiza, poker faced as usual, and Maiza turns to him, but doesn't drop the smile, he rarely ever stops smiling, because even when Elmer isn't present, his nagging words of optimism are.
"Firo appears to be enjoying himself." Maiza puts in.
And Luck smiles a little, they don't know each other all that well, but Maiza has been around Luck long enough to realize that his old childhood friend is one of the few things that can put an easy smile on Luck's face. "That would be the point, right." They both know it's a little extravagant for the young camorra's 19th birthday celebration, but Maiza has always doted on Firo, and Luck has taken to spoiling him, and the others are always looking for another reason to party, so it was ok to spoil Firo just a little more.
Maiza has actually known luck for quite some time now, ever since he was 13 years old and breaking down the Russian's door to see Firo. Maiza remembers that day clearly, some three or four days after he'd taken Firo in. "Something bothering you?" He asks the man with golden brown hair, and matching eyes because Luck's eyes are trained on Maiza in a way they've never been before, and even with his complete lack of expression Maiza is positive Luck is absolutely stumped with whatever he's trying to figure out.
"Why is it that I'd never noticed that you'd never aged a day in 10 years?" Maiza's smile becomes a grin, because that sounded more like something Firo would ask than the stoic Italian. There isn't an answer to that question, and Maiza supposes it's just because he's Lucky.
The Italian doesn't expect an answer; he goes back to his drink, quietly swirling the remains of the liquid at the bottom of his glass, another gesture that was very unlike Luck. When Maiza paid close enough attention he could easily notice the slight differences in the Italians behavior, all things he'd picked up from Firo at one time or another, all little inconsistencies that don't seem to match his character at all.
It was hard not to see how much the young boy had touched all of their lives. Luck stops suddenly and places the glass back on the table here it had been before; he's noticed Maiza's staring.
"He's changed you too." It's the closest Luck has ever come to admitting that his little friend has quite a large effect on him, and Maiza only smiles because he knows it's true, because if he hadn't found the small half Italian pickpocket on the streets of New York some 10 years ago he would probably have been half way across the country somewhere having forgotten all these people, and all these face, and all these names. He would have been somewhere far away with no one but the quiet Sylvie and the ever present memories of those dark nights aboard the Advenna Avis to keep him company.
And Maiza doesn't believe in god but he always finds himself thanking him for bringing him Firo.