family recipe
today had been a rough day for them, the case had been extra difficult with all the opinions from people online and fans defending their favorites no matter what. plus a little video taken by a fan had gone viral which showed them arm in arm walking towards the court house after someone had thrown trash at them, so they had to disclose and sign paperwork at the precinct. everyone was happy for them but it just wasn't the way they had imagined to tell everyone about their happy news. so when they got home both of them were just relieved to be able to spend the evening alone without the kids, just to take a breath after the most hectic day. since they started their relationship carisi had started sharing more about his family with her like childhood memories with his nonna. one particular memory he referred to as "the most peaceful memory" which was his nonna teaching him to make her special spaghetti. she claimed it had been a family recipe for 5 generations now which is why it was so important for him to learn it, so he'd be able to teach his wife and kids one day because it had to stay in the family. when sonny told her about it she had suggested that maybe one day he would teach her. and today was that day, she was really looking forward to it because it was special to him and hearing him tell all these stories with the biggest smile on his face made it extra special for her.
once they got home, they both quickly changed into something more comfortable and something that could get dirty because pasta making can get quite dirty. carisi put on his sweatpants and a tshirt & she decided to leave her jeans on because they would have to go in the washing anyway and just threw on an old tshirt.
they started by making the pasta by mixing all the ingredients together in a bowl to form a dough. carisi told her to start kneading the dough on the lightly floured kitchen counter while he took a pot filled with water and a dash of salt and put it on the stove. when he turned around to see her kneading the dough he let out a little giggle, amanda turned to him immediately a little defensive and said "what? am i doing it wrong?" he just smiled and took a few steps until he stood directly behind her. so close she could feel his breath on the back of her head. since they were both not wearing any shoes their height difference was very obvious. he put his arms around her and put his hands on top of hers: "don't knead with your fingers, use this part of your palm. like this. nonna always used to correct me when i did it wrong, she used to say that it needs a little amore". with that he let go of her hands and placed a kiss on her neck. amanda couldn't help but smile thinking about the image of little carisi standing in his grandma's kitchen learning how to cook.
after they had finished preparing the pasta, sonny obviously refused to use store bought pasta sauce so he started making a simple vegetable tomato sauce to use all the vegetables rollins still had in her fridge which otherwise would have probably gone bad. he gave amanda the job to stir the onions that were frying in the hot oil in the pan. since her legs were a little tired from all the standing and running that come with the job she decided to just sit on the counter next to the stove and stir watching carisi chop the rest of the vegetables. he looked so peaceful and in his element with a tea towel over his shoulder humming the melody of "that's amore" by dean martin. after cutting up all the zucchini, bell pepper and mushrooms he went over to the stove and dumped all of it in the pan along with some salt, pepper, dried oregano, dried basil, garlic powder since they had forgotten to buy garlic cloves and a tiny bit of chilli flakes. he took the wooden spoon out of amanda's hand and stirred once while putting a little pasta water on the vegetables to let them cook better. amanda was still sitting on the kitchen counter her knee touching his hip. he looked at his creation for a second which gave her the time to swoop in to press her lips against his. she knew she had him wrapped around her little finger and he couldn't resist her kiss. he moved to step in between her legs, in order to deepen the kiss and put his arm around her waist and one hand on her cheek pulling her closer. once they were both put of breath, pulling away he stood there a little longer starring into her beautiful eyes. a loud sizzle brought him back to reality and he realised he had not only almost burned the vegetables but also the pasta water was overflowing and had gone everywhere. amanda just laughed while carisi said "i can practically hear nonna screaming at me from up there".
thankfully carisi was able to save the pasta and they had a lovely dinner. amanda was blown away by the carisi family recipe claiming it was the best bowl of pasta she's ever had. afterwards they both cleaned up the kitchen, sonny taking care of cleaning the kitchen counter and amanda putting all the dishes away. after she had closed the last cupboard, she turned around and he was already standing in front of her waiting for her to finish her task. "so how do you feel about everyone knowing?", he asked shyly. she let out a sigh which scared him a little but then he saw a tiny sweet smile grace her face. "honestly i don't car", she said while moving closer to him and putting her arms around his waist. he proceeded to put his arms around her and placing his hands inside the back-pockets of her jeans all while having a questioning look on his face since she had been the one wanting to keep their relationship private for as long as possible. "…because", she continued, "i love you and hell i've never felt this way but i could scream it from the top of the building for all of nyc to hear. i don't care who knows, i just want you." she said while smiling from ear to ear. carisi was in shook that she had said that, he knew that they loved each other but didn't pressure her into saying it since he knew how big of a thing that was for her to say. it took him a few seconds but once it settled that she had just said those words to him, tears filled his eyes and he mirrored her smile. "i love you too amanda rollins, always have and always will." pulling her hips towards his but applying a little pressure on her ass where his hands had been resting he captured her lips with his. this is where he wanted to be, where they both wanted to be. together, at home. in their home. she pulled back and said quietly "i think you should teach our girls your grandma's recipe some day". our girls. he smiled while nodding, he wished his nonna would have been able to meet those two little angels and amanda. she would have loved them.
and one day he did teach them because like nonna said it would have to stay in the family and since now they were all carisis the girls had to learn the special family recipe.