Silvestro groaned as Ruggine walked across her small intestine first thing in the morning. She blinked her eyes open and squinted at the creature that was kneading at her shoulder, pausing now and then to lick a bristly tongue on her skin.
"Stop licking there," she grumbled, reaching across the scritch Ruggine's chin, making him give a rusted engine's purr. "Going back to sleep now."
The cat made a yowl as she rolled over, dislodging him from his spot. The woman curled up under her blankets, before yanking them up over her head when Ruggine started biting her ear. She made a loud noise of 'nuuu' as he made to dig under and join her in the warm, dark abyss.
"Rugg, I want to sleep!" she whined, wrapping herself tighter, but eventually she felt the claws of that rusty creature as he dragged himself across her body again. "Why do you want affection now? Why didn't you want affection last night when I tried to pet you? Instead, you tried to steal my fucking finger."
Ruggine purred at her mumbled chatter and fit himself up against her stomach, curling up tight. He was a little patch of extra warmth in her bed and despite the frown on Silvestro's face, she couldn't hold onto her anger as she felt the vibrations of his contented rumbling.
"Damn you," she murmured, before cuddling herself into her bed.
0 0 0
"Get off the counter," Silvestro instructed, plucking Ruggine away from her handwriting practice after he bat at her pen. "Stop, or you'll lose your privileges. Do you want me to take away the couch blanket?"
Ruggine screeched.
"Then get your act together, young man," she scolded before all but bowling the rusty feline onto the couch.
Silvestro stood over her freeloader as he kneaded at his beloved couch blanket, squinting up at her like he had done nothing wrong in his life. Her favourite mug, currently in eight large and small fragments in the sink, claimed otherwise.
"I'm going to get some groceries," the woman told her cat, "I'll be back in half an hour tops. Try not to burn down the building."
"Mirr!" Ruggine chirped as she poked his nose.
"Fuck, you're adorable," she muttered before readying herself for a quick trip to the shops.
Silvestro locked the door behind her before Ruggine could bolt out into the hallway and as she stepped out into the spring noon, she made note of everything on her shopping list. She needed milk, eggs, cheese and bananas so far, but she was sure she'd remember something when she was in the store.
"Bechamel sauce," she uttered to herself suddenly and scrambled over to the bench to lean as she wrote it down before she forgot again. "Needs bechamel sauce."
"Bechamel sauce? Bella, your lactose intolerance!"
"Fuck!" Silvestro choked and reeled back from the bench.
That now-familiar man in a yellow-strapped fedora smiled at her, leaning against the back of the bench she had been using as a writing desk. His curled sideburns bobbed as he tilted his head, seeming very amused by how the woman had thrown herself back.
"Would you stop that?" Silvestro hissed. "I thought you weren't going to creep up on me anymore after-"
"Notice the strategically placed bench," he urged, gesturing to the wooden panels that covered him from the waist down.
Silvestro looked from the bench to the man before rolling her eyes with a great sigh. She grabbed her shopping list and trudged off to the shops again, it was midday but it was still too early to deal with this name-hopping entity today.
"Now, on the topic of bechamel sauce," he continued as she turned a corner. Silvestro's eyes widened, but she made no further move to acknowledge him. "As a concerned companion, I really must insist you reconsider. Think of the consequences!"
"Yummy," she responded simply. "Good food."
"Bella!"
"Bechamel sauce and cheese," she listed off, continuing to ignore the man beside her. "Milk, yoghurt. Maybe ice cream? If there's any on sale. Oh, thickened cream too for the chicken."
Silvestro couldn't help the sadistic little curl of her lips when she heard the scandalized squawk that launched from the fedora man's throat. She snorted and quickly covered herself with her wrist, smothering her laughter into her list.
"I'm a grown adult, stringbean. You're not going to stop me from eating what I want."
"True," he sighed like it was a woeful fate. Then he grinned, lips twisting up in the corners as he stepped incredibly close to her side, just a hair's distance between their elbows. "I would never forget that my bella was a full-grown woman. It would be to my detriment."
"You could also remember the concept of personal space."
"But bella! Was it not you who crossed the distance last we met?" The man fluttered his lashes as he cupped his cheek – specifically, the one Silvestro had pecked not ten days ago.
Silvestro choked and stumbled her pace, her hand launching up and covering her face. That didn't stop the burning red from staining her ears, however. Her company couldn't help the fond grin that pulled at his lips.
"Sorry, I should have asked before I-" she flushed again and turned away to avoid his smiling eyes.
"Say no such thing, bella, sometimes you must take the plunge," he assured, before he stood in front of her, blocking the woman's path and making her focus on him. The man tilted his hat down to cover his eyes for a moment, before he bowed forward, peering up at her with a coy little smile. "And I wouldn't so mind it if you did it again."
Silvestro snapped her head around to him, an unexpected kick of excitement going off in her chest. She jolted before clearing her throat, her shopping list thoroughly crumpled, the victim of her emotional fluctuations.
"I'll think about it," the mountainous woman finally spoke, before stepping around the man blocking her path. "Anyway, back to shopping."
A yellow-strapped fedora followed her as she walked past. Then the man quickly brushed himself down, fixed how this hat sat on his head, and breezed after her. His lips pulled in the corners and a little flutter rippled inside his ribcage.
As usual, he had just the thing to settle this little debacle.
"Bella~!" He called out, and he grinned when she didn't flinch this time, instead, rolling her eyes at his otherwise soundless appearance. "While I would never dare to stop you from eating lactose. I will never hesitate to offer the lady alternatives."
Silvestro glanced at the man out of the corner of her eye before she signed and came to a stop, the two of them moving out of the way of passers-by as she sat on the town square's fountain.
"What are you on about-" she tilted her head before uttering, "'Renato'?"
That zing of warmth through the chest was becoming painfully familiar now. 'Renato' fought the desire to grin like a cat with a belly full of cream.
"If you recall our first date," he saw a touch of pink bloom in her ears. "We discussed having our next rendezvous over a nice meal cooked by none other than myself!"
"You're going to try and cook something that's not smothered in cream?" Silvestro huffed, appearing almost pouty at having her dinner stolen from under her. "Fine, okay. When do you want to do this?"
"Well, bella, do you have anything to do tonight?"
"No," she shrugged.
'Renato' grinned.
"Then shall we meet again today? I'll need an hour to…prepare."
Silvestro resisted the urge to raise a suspicious eyebrow and forced her muscles to loosen out of their defensive coil. 'Prepare'; coming from this man, that could mean anything from getting a breath mint to speed-running a Master's degree.
"Sure," she finally said, "Where's the rendezvous point?"
"I'll come to pick you up from your apartment again, of course," 'Renato' answered without skipping a beat. "And we'll go together to collect the ingredients. It's part of the experience to see what exactly goes into your stomach."
Silvestro paused, then tilted her head with a soft frown on her face.
"I'm still going to buy my shopping list first."
'Renato' wavered for a moment, but nodded his head with a reluctant smile, "Of course, bella, we can do that together-"
"Nah, I'll do it now," Silvestro shrugged, before raising an eyebrow, "Or would you rather that, after I walked all the way here, to walk home and then walk back here again an hour later?"
Silvestro almost felt guilty for how on the spot she had put the poor stringbean, but stuck to her guns as 'Renato' quietly reanalysed the scenario. He tilted his head, the shadow of his hat covering his eyes as his lips stayed in a smile. The poor man was floundering inside.
"I'll see you in an hour, stringbean," Silvestro huffed, deciding to let him off before he could do anything bizarre to reclaim his footing.
'Renato' watched the grand woman walk off into the town square, gently parting the sea of people with her stature and heavy footsteps. He hummed to himself, and put his hands in his pockets, intent on making some calls. Their last date had been an utter catastrophe, and he intended to make up for it tenfold. With a few well-placed accidents.
'Renato' smiled to himself and turned on his heel, the crowd swallowing him seamlessly.
0 0 0
"Get out of the fridge, Rugg," Silvestro ordered, frowning at the cat that sat on the middle shelf.
Ruggine the cat meowed at her as he cuddled up to her lasagne. He was loafing quite happily in the fridge, unaffected by how Silvestro was frowning at him.
"I'll close you in there, is that what you want?" she grumbled, then started to let the door swing shut while making sure to keep eye contact. The light flicked off and Ruggine screeched. "See? Not so fun. Get out."
The ex-militant watched on as the rusty cat jumped down from the fridge and prowled off to act like he hadn't nearly been trapped. She rolled her eyes and continued to pack her groceries away until she heard a light tapping at her window.
Silvestro leant back around her fridge door and nearly choked when she saw the green eyes of one Verde peering over the windowsill.
"Please help," he whimpered.
"The window?! Again!?" She wheezed before abandoning her task to pull the man into the house. "Verde, I have a date in-" she glanced at the clock, "fifteen minutes! Get out!"
"It's okay," he assured, "I won't feel awkward. He can come in."
"I don't care about that!"
"It will be a good chance to take notes on unfamiliar human interaction in the Subject's own environment. An invasion of shared territory."
Silvestro stared at the green scientist who was busily drawing up a chart and checking his watch for a starting time frame.
"Okay, back out the window you go."
Verde sputtered before ducking under Silvestro's reaching hand and scampered further into the apartment. "You haven't let me take notes in days! 007's progress needs to be monitored closely."
"And you seem to have forgotten you are grounded," Silvestro turned to follow his flight, frowning something severe.
"You let me in though," Verde murmured, peering from behind the couch where Ruggine was grumpily grooming himself.
"Because you were hanging from my window! I'm the third storey up!"
Verde gave a long blink and not for the first time Silvestro became concerned for the man. She shook her head to remind herself 'be angry, be angry' before letting out a long breath through her teeth.
"You, out. I have a date and I don't need a little green man crawling around my floors. You'll be a tripping hazard."
"Unless your 'date' suffers from some sort of degenerative eye disease, I believe they will notice me and make accommodations."
Silvestro stared at Verde.
"Come here you little shit-" Verde scrambled from his spot as Silvestro rounded the couch.
Silvestro grabbed the scientist by the end of his coat as Verde tried to round the corner. She pulled and dragged Verde who tried to hold onto the bathroom doorframe.
"Verde!" she warned, snagging him by the ankle when he tried to untangle his coat.
The man spluttered and said, "I assure you I will not interfere with your visitation or any subsequent copulation-"
"VERDE!" Silvestro bellowed, feeling her ears burn and her stomach boiling with embarrassment.
The molten feeling bubbled through her skin and Silvestro tried to shake the idea of that name-hopping cryptid of a man shrugging off that soft, yellow shirt-
"Ouch! Too tight! Too tight!" Verde shouted and kicked his leg, twisting around violently.
Silvestro jolted and released her grip on Verde's ankle. She dropped down to kneel as the man curled in on himself, clutching his ankle in his hands as he grit his teeth and tried to breathe even.
"Pressure was applied for approximately three-point-five seconds, chances of Rhyabdomyolysis unlikely; more likely for Compartment Syndrome, check for swelling or bleeding in the affected area-"
"Oh my God, you're not dying," Silvestro grumbled and pushed his hands out of the way.
"It certainly feels like it!" He defended hotly, still strewn across the floor. "Your flexor digitorum profundis, flexor pollicis longus and extensor digitorum communis are excessively effective!"
"I just gave you a squeeze, man. If this is how you act from a squeeze, you'd hate to be Ruggine when I cuddle him," the woman rolled her eyes and went to get a bag of peas from the freezer. "Here, ice and pressure if you think it's so bad."
The Ruggine in question made a noise of inquisition at the rustle of the freezer bag and licked at the frozen bag pressed to the scientist's leg.
Verde frowned at the Findus brand peas on his ankle, a crease to his brow that made Silvestro sigh in frustration. He was thinking again. Which meant he wasn't out of her apartment.
"Verde, I have a date in five minutes-"
"Have you had any experience with fire? Specifically those of varying colours, such as the purple from a Potassium Chloride reaction, or green from Copper Sulfate or Alum?"
Silvestro stared at him for a long moment, a kind of blank confusion in her expression.
"No," was her short answer, "And no, you can't set anything on fire in my apartment."
"I wasn't intending to!"
"Uh-huh, sure, now get out before you get pyromanic."
"Damaging the Subject's primary environment would be counterproductive! Aside from the reduction of established trust for consistent observation, 007 may become violent in order to defend the structure!"
"I would become violent to defend the structure," Silvestro reminded Verde, before grabbing the man by his elbow and pulling him to his feet. "Go. You can even take the peas with you."
"But-"
"Bye Verde, hope your foot feels better. And you're still grounded." Silvestro closed the door on his face and let out a long sigh.