Crazier
Carina couldn't remember the last time she had slept so well. At least not in the last month. Or the last 4 months, if she was being honest. The pandemic had hit hard for everyone who worked in the medical field, including first responders such as Maya. And she wasn't just talking about all the long shifts and the death, but about the fact that, even at home, it was hard to relax and rest properly knowing it was going to be the same the next day.
Fortunately, she wasn't thinking about that as she laid in bed. That's why that morning she felt so well rested.
After Maya had told her she was going to Italy with her, Carina talked to Bailey and Richard to explain her situation. They had been very understanding and promised to give the Italian her job back when she came back to Seattle. She had worked for three more weeks and the last week she had left in Seattle was dedicated to sort out the trip back to Italy.
Back home.
Or she would've said that before. She always referred to Italy as home but lately she felt different. Home wasn't a place or a country. Home was a person. And she had found her home in a bar (of all places).
So, with no immediate patients on her mind, Carina had slept like she hadn't in months, enjoying the momentary bliss before chaos bulldozed into her life once she and Maya arrived to Italy.
That day was their last day on Seattle and Carina had every intention to lay in bed for as long as possible with her beautiful girlfriend, enjoying what would probably be the last moments of calm before they plunged back into the storm.
However, her plans were being ruined by said girlfriend.
After a night of love making, they had fallen asleep in each other's arms as they usually did. Sometimes Carina would lay her head on Maya's chest to fall asleep listening to her heartbeat. On other occasions, the blonde would be the little spoon while the Italian pressed herself flush on her back, arm over her waist and intertwined legs. That morning was the latter, so when the fire captain tried to extricate herself from the brunette's arms she inevitably woke her up.
"Bambina, why are you awake?" The doctor mumbled, pulling Maya into her and burring her face between her bare shoulder blades.
The blonde chuckled and carefully turned around in her girlfriend's arms to face her. "Don't mind me, go back to sleep." She whispered back, pushing the brown tresses out of her face to press a sweet kiss on Carina's lips.
The Italian leaned over for another kiss. "That is not gonna make me fall back asleep, bella."
Maya laughed again. "Okay, no morning kisses for you, then. Now, let me go."
"Nooooooo…" Carina whined, tightening her grip around Maya's waist and nuzzling her neck, her breath tickling the firefighter.
"Carina, babe, I need to pee." The blonde said as she caressed the doctor's arm.
The brunette tilted her head up, which prompted the other woman to tilt her head down, and her chocolate eyes meet Maya's ocean ones. As unromantic as the last statement had been, she could see the love in those blue pools, even as she said something like needing to relieve herself.
She loosened her hold on the blonde and scooted away a little to give her the space needed to get up. "Va bene, but be quick."
The firefighter nodded and propped herself up on her elbow only to lean down to press another kiss on the brunette's lips. "You won't even notice I'm gone. Go back to sleep." She then turned around, kicked the covers from her legs and stood up.
Carina extended one arm in a dramatic gesture, as if she didn't want to let go, but then let it fall and hugged Maya's pillow with the same arm. "I'll go back to sleep when you come back to bed."
However, she wasn't able to keep her word, as her eyes closed as soon as Maya entered the bathroom and didn't open again.
Carina woke up again to the smell of coffee and cinnamon. She didn't know for how long she was asleep again but it had to be a while for Maya to have ordered breakfast or something since they had cleaned out the fridge the day before. Vic had volunteered to house sit but she would only check on the apartment twice a week so they had to clean everything in the kitchen to avoid any plagues.
The brunette stirred in bed, stretching her arms as high as she could and rolling her neck and shoulders before sitting up, determined to not fall back asleep. She grabbed some clothes and headed to the bathroom, washing her face and dressing up with a simple tank top and shorts after using the toilet.
Carina walked to the kitchen but her attention was quickly drawn to the crystal dining table where Maya was setting two mugs of steaming espresso next to two plates of French toast with blueberries and raspberries. The brunette also noticed a third plate with two big croissants waiting to be eaten.
Her jaw went slack and her eyes widened at the feast which was clearly made by her girlfriend from scratch.
The doctor walked to the blonde, shifting her glance between the food and the woman. When she regained her capability to speak, she finally asked. "What is all this? How?"
Maya shortened the distance between them and placed her hands at the sides of Carina's neck to pull her into a soft kiss. "I wanted to surprise you on our last day here." She began to explain. "As to how, I've been practicing at the station until everyone approved on both my espresso and the French toasts so don't worry, I can assure you they taste good. Probably not as good as yours but they're not bad if I say so myself. But I didn't make the croissants, I must admit, although they're from your favorite bakery."
Carina rested her hands on the blonde's hips, stroking the exposed skin between the waistband of her sleeping shorts and her top with her thumbs. "Was I asleep long enough for you to go out, buy everything and cook?"
The captain chuckled as she shook her head. "No, I had Vic dropping off everything. That's why I needed to get up earlier."
Carina leaned into Maya for another short peck. "So you lied to me about your pee." She whispered against the shorter woman's lips.
They both laughed at that.
"But it was for a good reason so I hope you can forgive me." The firefighter replied, gently scratching the back of Carina's neck with her fingernails.
"Sei perdonato, bella." The doctor connected her lips with the blonde's again but this time she deepened the kiss, caressing her tongue fiercely and passionately with her own. She couldn't help but nip at Maya's bottom lip when they pulled back for some air.
"God, I can't believe I'm gonna be surrounded by people speaking Italian and I won't be able to understand most of it." Maya groaned as she rested her forehead on the doctor's shoulder.
"You've gotten better over this last month, bella, I promise." Carina reassured her as she shifted her head a little to leave a kiss on Maya's hair.
The blonde lifted her head and gave Carina a funny look. "Yeah, at insults and dirty stuff, I have no conversational skills, I don't know why that doesn't stick to my brain as easily as dirty talk."
Carina laughed. It was true.
"Well, don't worry, I'll help you. There's no better way to learn a new language than to go to a place where they speak it so you're forced to learn." The brunette patted Maya's ass twice before kissing her again. She never grew tired of kissing Maya. Or patting her ass.
They pulled away after a few seconds and the blonde motioned for them to sit down. "Shall we?"
Carina smiled when Maya pulled the chair for her and then sat down on her place. The French toast looked good and the espresso smelled divine. The firefighter had really been practicing.
The doctor couldn't wait to dig in but there was a problem: she didn't have a fork.
"Bambina, did you bring forks?" Carina asked and looked up, noticing Maya was having the same problem.
The blonde fake smacked herself on the forehead. "I forgot grab 'em, give me a second." She pushed her chair back and was about to stand up but a hand on her forearm prevented her from doing it.
"Don't, I'll go. You got up early to make all of this for me, the least I can do is go get the cutlery." With a smile, the doctor gave Maya's arm a squeeze, got up and turned around to walk to the kitchen.
Still with a smile on her lips, Carina opened the drawer where they kept the silverware and grabbed two forks but her expression changed as soon as she looked up. Her smile started to fade as shock overtook her features when she saw the chalkboard on the wall.
The words 'Home is Wherever I'm with You', which she had written on it the day before her brother died, were gone and two words replaced them on the dark surface of the chalkboard.
'Marry me?'
A clinking sound was heard on the apartment as she accidentally let go of the forks which landed on the floor at her feet.
Carina turned around only to find Maya behind her, on her knee, in the middle of their kitchen wearing nothing more than her sleeping shorts, a tank top and a wide smile on her beautiful face.
The brunette opened and closed her mouth a few times before her she remembered how to speak in English again. "Maya, what…?"
But was quickly interrupted by the blonde.
"Carina… I could say many things right now. I could say how much I love you. I could say that no one has ever made me feel the way you do. I could say you make me the happiest woman on earth… but I think you already know all that." Maya started, resting an arm on her knee. "I could go on about how beautiful you are, inside an out. I could say your beauty only compares to your smarts. I could gush over how bright your smile is. I could be super cheesy and say how I love every freckle on your skin and how they're like constellations. But I won't because I'm not sappy."
Both women laughed.
"But what I can say is that I'm a woman who knows what she wants. And I'll admit I've made mistakes but, most of the time, I do know what I want. And I want you, Carina. I want to spend every day of my life with you. I want to make love to you every night and wake up in your arms every day. I want to make you laugh and cry of happiness. I want to share my achievements and celebrate yours." Maya paused for a second to wet her lips, aware of how Carina's eyes dipped to see it before going back up to her own eyes. "And I know some people might say we're going too fast. We haven't been officially dating for long and we just moved in together but I don't care what others say or think because this, us, is what I want. I want to be your wife and I want you to be mine. So, Carina…" The blonde revealed a simple yet beautiful ring. Yellow gold and a small diamond but beautiful nonetheless. "Mi vuoi sposare?"
Carina gasped at those words.
The whole thing had rendered her speechless but those last three words spoken in her own language finally broke her. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she lifted a hand to cover her mouth.
Maya's expression went from nervously hopeful to worry when she saw that tear fall but no words following it. Had she jumped the gun? Was it too soon? Didn't Carina want to marry her?
The blonde made a move, as if to stand up, but the doctor stopped her, bending over her and planting a kiss on her lips. The gesture wasn't long since that wasn't the most comfortable position but it felt like an eternity for both of them.
Carina pulled away and stroked Maya's chin with her thumb as her other hand played with her hair. "Sì." She whispered into Maya's lips as she slowly nodded, brushing her nose against the blonde's.
The firefighter opened her eyes, searching for visual confirmation in case her ears were playing her. The corner of her mouth quirked up, a small smile turned quickly into a beam when she saw the brunette still nodding. "Yes?"
The doctor mimicked the blonde's grin. "Yes." She said again brushing Maya's lips with her own. "Voglio essere tua moglie."
Maya started to stand up, making Carina straighten from her bend position. When they were both standing straight, the blonde took half a step back and grabbed the Italian's left hand on her right, instantaneously missing the sensation of her fingers toying with her hair but knowing what was next was a far better feeling.
She held the brunette's hand delicately and brought the ring closer to it. She looked up and saw Carina's eyes left the ring to meet hers. Their smiles widened again and they looked down at the same time when Maya brushed the ring in the tip of Carina's finger. Then, she pushed it all the way in, almost pouting when she noticed it was a little big, maybe just one size too big but nothing that couldn't be fixed later. The blonde caressed the back of the doctor's hand for a second.
Ocean eyes met chocolate ones again, both pairs glistening from unshed tears of joy.
"I love you."
"Ti amo anch'io."
Without a second thought, Maya wrapped her arms around Carina's waist and, much to her delight, lifted her feet off the ground, spinning her around.
Was Carina crazy for wanting to marry a woman she met less than a year ago? Probably. But loving Maya was the best thing that ever happened to her and she was not going to take anything for granted.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Yes, Maya knew Carina would get up to get the forks, it was part of her plan hahaha.
Translation from Italian:
Bambina - Baby (in the way Carina uses it).
Bella - Beautiful.
Va bene - All right.
Sei perdonato, bella - You are forgiven, beautiful.
Mi vuoi sposare? - Will you marry me?
Sì - Yes.
Voglio essere tua moglie - I want to be your wife.
Ti amo anch'io - I love you too.
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Title based on 'Crazier' by Taylor Swift ;)