Beshert

Who: Angelo and Shoshannah
When: Sunday, Jan. 23, night
Where: The Drake Hotel

After she left Evelyn, Shoshannah had gone straight up to her room, taken off her shoes and jacket, and sat on the edge of her bed clutching a pillow to her chest. For all the good her chat with Evelyn had done during the actual walk back here, it was lost again once she was alone in her room. Her camera was gone and she had a distinct feeling that if she went to the police now, with her condition flaring up at every corner, they'd only think she was legitimately crazy. And while Evelyn had suggested she call the police, there was really only one person she wanted to call right now. The one person who she knew would understand the loss of something like this. The only thing stopped her was that it was late on his day off. Well, not too terribly late. She'd been sitting in her room for about an hour now so it was probably close to 7 or 7:30 pm, but...it was still Angelo's day off. His day of rest. A day that he used part up already on her by making sure that she had the most perfect morning she could imagine.

And now she sat here, determined to make this night more than just the night that her camera disappeared. He'd put so much work into making her morning spectacular that she didn't want this problem to ruin all the work he had done. Not to mention that she'd much rather be hugging him than clutching this pillow right now. So she reached for the phone in her room, dialing a number she knew by heart now, and waiting for it to pick up. And she told herself that if he didn't want to come to the Drake, that that wouldn't be a problem. That she'd be fine just sitting here on her own. She could look at his painting, after all, and pretend he was here.

You couldn't get much more restful while still being awake than Angelo was, that was for sure. Maybe some of it was the last vestiges of a pipeful hours and hours earlier that had laid a soft filter on his vision and reminded him of how natural a paintbrush felt in his hands. Or maybe it was the act of painting, a long exploration of seemingly endless hues of blue. Whatever it was, all that was left now was a slow and contemplative ease as Angelo lounged on his sofa with a clump of sheet music tilted against an old clipboard.

His pencil dipped and scratched to trail notes across the bars of music as he smiled contentedly. A day off spent indulging his loves? What else could he ask for, after a night that had been a purely different and blissful sort of indulgence? The trill of the phone shattered his reverie even as he asked himself the question, and there was something languid about how he uncurled and rose to his feet as he moved to answer it. "Make it happen," he greeted as he picked up the phone.

He always had such an interesting way of answering a phone call, didn't he? It would have made Shoshannah laugh but all it got from her this time was a small smile. "Angelo?" She felt a little silly for asking, of course she knew it was him, but she didn't linger on it for long. "I'm really sorry to call on your day off and everything...It's me..." She stopped for a moment before adding. "Shoshannah. I just..I really need someone to talk to. Do you have a couple minutes?"

One after the other in rapid succession, comments died before Angelo could speak them. He wanted to tease her for asking if it was him, for having to say it was her, even for thinking her call would be unwelcome. But every time one formed, another little hint that something was wrong seemed to present itself. Those little quirks he wanted to joke about? Those were worry bleeding through, Angelo had learned that much about Shoshannah already. "'Course I do, Sho," he said instead of anything else, "I got a whole hourglass, doll. Where you at? What's wrong?"

"I'm..I'm at my room at the Drake. I just..." She trailed off again, as if trying to find a way to say that her camera had been stolen without having to actually say the words. Nothing came to mind. "I went out after lunch with Elle to take some pictures and..someone took my camera. I don't really know what to do about it. Miss Amelia said I should go to the police but all day I've been zoning out and if I go there, they'll probably think I'm lying or crazy or both..." She could hear the rattling in her own voice, she knew she was rambling on and on, and she could feel the tell tale sign of tears approaching, starting with a dry throat. "And I really wanted to hear your voice so I called...but I know it's your day off and you deserve some time to rest so we don't have to talk if you have other things to do."

A little gasp sounded when she mentioned the theft of her camera, and on his end of the phone? Angelo looked appalled. Would this city ever stop robbing itself of it's own wonders? "Oh hell," he murmured with a deep frown, glancing to the one window his apartment had to try and judge the weather outside, "Can I come by? I mean... you got me spooked right now, girl. Sounds like the world's dropped out from under, and like maybe you need someone to catch you. An' my day off? S'just a day, Sho, one like any other. 'Cept now it's got some purpose if you want me there."

Leave it to Angelo to know exactly how she felt and to find the perfect words to express it. This time, she couldn't stop the tears. She sniffled into the phone, wiping at her eye with her fingers to try and get them to go away, to no avail. He was willing to come all the way here just to 'catch her'. "I'd love it if you could come by. You're sure you don't mind?" There had been nothing she wanted more from the start of this conversation than to find a way to ask him to come by, but she was thankful he'd done it for her. "It would really help if you were here..."

"Only thing I mind's the chance that I pick up the wrong flavor of pie," Angelo teased gently, the smile evident in the soothing tone of his voice. Nighthawk's was somewhat between their two places, and Angelo definitely kenw the value of comfort food in a time of crisis. "So you jus' pick a taste an' tell your doorman to expect me so's he ain't turnin' away some silver tongued black fella," he went on playfully, letting his phone cord stretch taut as he grabbed for his coat. He'd need money, too, and shoes, but readying himself now would get him there that much faster. "Oh... an' tell me which room?" he added with a laugh, "Else I'm gon' have some sore knuckles from knockin' on all them doors."

He wasn't even here and he was spoiling her. She sniffled again, willing the tears to stop. Why should she cry when she had Angelo, who cared so much that he was willing to leave his house and come all the way here...with pie? There wasn't a reason to cry. "Do they have chocolate pie? A fudge pie or something?" Maybe it was a little cliche, but there was rarely something that changed a bad day around like chocolate. "You don't have to worry about the doorman. I'll just come down to the lobby and wait for you by the door. I'll come out when I see you there. And it's not like he could tell you no anyway. I don't think many people can."

In Angelo's world, it didn't have to be chocolate to change a bad day. Something rich and indulgent would work regardless of the flavor, but if she wanted a specific one? He'd cross his fingers. "Think they got somethin' like that, yeah. An' by the by? I like how your tastebuds is workin'," he murmured playfully, straining to listen as if he might be able to somehow hear her smile. "You give me like... fifteen, Sho? I oughta be down on your stretch of sidewalk 'round then." He'd even move quicker than his usual languid stroll; she was upset, he wanted to quell it. The artist in him wanted to see it, but the rest of him wanted it gone, and Shoshannah believing in the things worth hoping for again.

He'd get more than just a smile. The joke coaxed a small laugh out of her and even a small blush came out on her cheeks. "Chocolate's been very good to me." But she stood and headed to the desk where her phone was settled. "I'll see you soon, then. And you don't have rush or anything, I'm not going anywhere. Bye, Angelo." She said before hanging up the phone carefully and heading to her purse to fetch her makeup bag. She took a few minutes to splash water on her face, clear off as many tears as she could, and dry her face before reapplying her makeup. She was downstairs fair before she needed to be, but stood just inside of the door, peering out onto the streets while she waited anxiously for Angelo.

Whether he had to rush or not, Angelo was stepping quick. He'd pulled on his coat and hat, locking up behind him and jogging along the darkening streets. As always, just being immersed in the city put him in a thoughtful mood as he walked, and his eyes trailed up to the rooftops of every building he passed. Was the thief up there somewhere? What would someone else even do with her camera? Maybe, given a day or two, it'd turn up in one of the local pawn shops. Angelo knew almost all of them, he was an expert in the art of secondhand living.

Mentally amending to check them when his days offered time, Angelo was in and out of Nighthawk's in a handful of minutes with a bag containing two slices of pie boxed up. He really owed Clara, the waitress just kept doing good turns by him where Shoshannah was concerned. But he'd have to figure out how to repay someone who didn't care for his art later, right now he had a destination to reach. Grinning with the hope of righting things, Angelo darted back off under the flickering streetlights, cutting in front of a cab as he hopped a curb and moved for the distant lights of the Drake.

And finally Shoshannah couldn't wait inside the Drake anymore. She stepped outside, but stood by the doorman and made idle chit-chat with him about the weather changing, about hope for better, brighter, warmer days, about things that weren't too deep so she wouldn't get emotional. She kept looking to the street then back to the doorman until finally he asked if she was waiting for someone and that he could send her visitor inside to her room if she liked. Shoshannah politely declined, saying she'd rather greet him herself, and turned her full attention to the curb. He had to be coming up soon...

Her hopes weren't misplaced. Angelo was, in fact, a distant shape blipping in and out of circles of light cast down on the sidewalk, gradually gaining detail and definition as every step took him a little closer. And as he did, he could begin to see her too. Or... he thought it was her there, lingering with the doorman. The possibility that it was spurred another light spring to quicken Angelo's steps as he got closer, grinning towards them both. "Evenin'!" Angelo called to both of them easily, slowing as he came up and plucked one of the little paper boxes from his bag. He laughed warmly, eyes flashing for Shannah as Angelo offered both the box and a plastic fork to the doorman. "I hope you like blueberry, my good man," he confided, "'Cuz I'm gon' steal this lady away, but I won't never leave you empty-handed."

Shoshannah caught a glimpse of the doorman's surprised look, then his grateful smile to Angelo. "Why, no one ever thinks to bring me pie! I'm much obliged," He said with a hearty laugh, tipping his hat to Angelo and Shoshannah as she lead them inside. "That was very nice of you." Shoshannah stuck close to Angelo, wishing she could hold his hand, wishing she could hug him, but instead just bringing them toward the elevator. "About as nice as you coming all the way down here for me." They were standing in the elevator when she realized Angelo might not want to go straight to her room. He might want to look around. She didn't know if it was his first time here, but every time Shoshannah came back she was more and more in awe at the lobby of the building. "Did you want to look around here first?"

This didn't happen often, because Angelo deliberately avoided situations where it could. But as he stood in the elevator and felt it rush upwards, then saw the lights start counting upwards? Nerves stood up along Angelo's spine and he felt his stomach lurch a bit. It was good he'd given away the pie, in hindsight, as he wouldn't be very hungry now. "A dime can go a long way towards turnin' someone's night 'round," he mused as they waited, slipping an arm across Shoshannah's back for her sake as much as his. "An' naw, I never had much need of trappings like these. Think I'm more curious 'bout where you lay your head down," Angelo added, thinking that if he could get to her room and avoid the windows, he'd be fine.

Was it just her, or was he a lot stiffer than he usually was? She tilted her head a little to examine Angelo's stature and when he slipped an arm around her, she lifted one of her own to hold his hand. "Well, we're not far away from it. It's just on the fourth floor. Ian was really nice in helping me out on my first day here. He secured me this room even though I didn't have the money to pay for it." Before long, the doors opened and Shoshannah was thanking the operator then stepping out onto the floor, making sure to stay within Angelo's hold. She pointed down the hall just a few doors. "That one's mine."

As she opened the door, she wished she would have cleaned up. It wasn't overly messy or anything, she just had her things lying about in various places. Her purse was in the large chair as they first entered the room, her bed had her coat, scarf, and gloves on it, Angelo's painting of Chinatown was positioned exactly so that Shoshannah could see it when she woke up in this room, and the door to the bathroom was open, revealing that the contents of her makeup bag were strewn across the counter. "So..this is where I'm staying now." She said as she carefully stepped out of her heels, shrinking a few inches beside him.

The hallways were safer, though there was a shiver on his skin at the sight of a window set at one end. Angelo ignored it, following after and slipping into Shoshannah's room with her. He couldn't help the instant grin that spread, nor would he have wanted to; it drove away the unease as he thought about how this wasn't messy, it was lived in. It may have been uniform with all the other rooms in the Drake, but the personal details strewn about made it hers, and he'd wanted to see her in her element. "I like," he murmured as he took off his hat, "Ian, hey? Think you'll need to point him out so's i can say hey."

"I like it too. Everyone here's so nice." Even that was unlike her real home. Whether they were paid to be nice or they were just nice in general, no one had been rude to her face and that was something she was very happy about. She had friends here, Ian and Miss Amelia, or so she believed. But friends aside, what really mattered here was that Angelo liked her room. Still with her hand in his, she tugged a little on his arm and lead them to her bed, very much large enough for both of them, before she turned her head up at Angelo to catch his eyes. "I'll introduce Ian to you. He's been so kind to me. He helped me get that job at Prophet's Pages too."

But with all small-talk aside, Shoshannah stood on her tip-toes and gave in to the impulse she'd had much earlier, to hug Angelo. She buried her face in his chest, closing her eyes, and just stood there for a moment without saying anything. Without moving, she added, "Thank you so much for coming here. I just really didn't want to be alone right now and I knew you'd understand more than anyone."

Shifting the grip he had on the bag from Nighthawk's, Angelo slid his arms around Shannah with a gentle smile as he leaned down into her hair and nodded slightly. "I'm glad you called," he confided in a quiet voice, "I mean, I know s'hard, bein' in this city... it'll take as much as it can from you. An' the first time it does? Don' nothin' make sense, it's a lil' easier when you know someone who's been there." Curled in close like this with his eyes trained on her, there was no room to think about his phobia. The floor was solid beneath Angelo, Shoshannah was warm against him, what else did he need to think about?

She was with him up until he mentioned knowing someone who'd been there. Casting her eyes up at him, there was more confusion there than anything else. "...Has something been stolen from you too?" She'd called Angelo because there was simply no one else she wanted to see more right now. He would know just what to say and what to do to help her turn this sad event into something less traumatic, but she hadn't expected to hear that he might have been a victim of a theft as well. "Did you get it back?"

For the first few moments after she leaned back, Angelo's eyes stayed shut and the easy smile lingered on his lips. He was basking in the moment like a cat in a beam of sunlight, and slowly he shook his head at the second of her questions. "Sometimes there's no gettin' back what they take," he said eventually, reaching his hand up Shannah's back from where he'd been holding her to smooth over her hair, "An' when that happens? The trick... well, there ain't no trick. You count the things that make life worth livin', minus one. Cast your eyes to tomorrow, look away from today, an' sometimes you find somethin' worth as much as what you lost, or more."

This had turned very serious for her. Yes, her camera meant the world to her, but it seemed like Angelo had lost something much more important than that. Instantly worried, Shannah pulled a little on his back in the direction of the bed before detangling herself just long enough to sit down. "Do you want to talk about it?" Stories of what had happened earlier tonight could wait, especially when Angelo sounded like that. She could go on without her camera, it was an object that was replaceable (even if the shock of it's loss was still fresh on her mind), but losing a 'reason to live' was so much more important than her camera.

"It was a long time ago, Sho," he said with a little shrug of his shoulders, kicking off his shoes as he moved to join her and sat on the edge of the bed. "An' they lie when they say time heals all wounds, but it helps. I did the rest m'self, an' now? Now there ain't nothin' this city can take from me." Technically, that wasn't true, but even if he lost his job or his band or art, or even Shannah herself? Angelo liked to think he wouldn't lose the belief that fueled every hopeful tale he told. "Now, your camera?" Angelo went on with a faint smile, "There's a chance we can get that back. I'll cruise 'round to the pawnbroker's tomorrow, see if maybe some fool tried to hock it."

She was curious now, but Shannah wouldn't push it. Angelo would have told her more had he wanted to. Instead she went with him when he changed the subject, nodding a little. "Miss Amelia said I should call the police. She helped me just after it happened but...I think I might have really scared her. She was nice like always, but I sort of...lost focus around her and I'm guessing it's not something she sees everyday." Shannah continued to listen, but Angelo was talking about pawn shops and she didn't really know what those were. Still, he shouldn't have to go searching for her camera by himself. "I'll come with you? To the pawn..broker? It's my camera, it wouldn't be fair for you to look for it by yourself."

Angelo had to laugh warmly for a private moment as he considered the neighborhood he'd seen Shannah to on the night he met her. She probably didn't come from a background that had ever needed to pawn off belongings for money, or to supply itself with secondhand goods. But unlike most people? Angelo wasn't jealous. He was happy for her sake, and maybe a bit intrigued about what wonders she might find if she went looking. "Miss Amelia?" he asked with a curious grin, turning in his seat to both face Shannah more fully and keep the window at his back, "She work here? An' if you feel like gettin' some lunch, I'd love the company, Sho."

"Lunch sounds perfect, but it's my turn to pay this time." The playful look was back to her eyes, if only slightly, as she smiled to Angelo. "Let's go somewhere we've not been before. It won't be hard for me to find a place I've never been but it might be harder for you. You and this city, you're beshert. You must know everything about it by now." Nodding once to his second question, she continued on. "Miss Amelia is the concierge here. She's really kind. I'll introduce you the next time we see her? She's taller than me and she has long, black hair with these big, beautiful green eyes. I'm glad she was there when it happened, I just wish I could have controlled my condition a little better. I can't tell for sure but...not many people act like you and Elle do when they see someone completely lose it."

"Beshert?" Angelo echoed curiously, grinning at Shoshannah, "This 'cuz I speak Mandarin an' you don't? S'no fair, doll." He winked her way, bringing his legs up onto the bed and stretching out languidly as he thought over her request. Find somewhere new? It'd be a challenge, but it was one Angelo welcomed gladly. "Makes me think you lucked out when you came here," he mused, "'Tween Ian an' Amelia, that is? Most folks don't chance across one friendly stranger in a bad spot, let alone two. But you, you's somethin' special. Think I been sayin' as much for a handful of days now." It was saddening to hear that Amelia hadn't taken Sho's condition well, but unsurprising at the same time. It had thrown Angelo for a loop when he first saw it, and he'd be worried when she slipped away again, but the worry wouldn't outweigh the desire to make her feel less uncomfortable in her own skin.

Shannah's lips spread into a grin as she moved along the bed beside him, leaning up against the pillows near the headboard, but positioning herself so that she was as close to him as she could be. So that her head leaned against his shoulder. "It's Yiddish. Beshert means...well, I guess you could say it means 'meant to be'. When you use it in reference to another person, it means something more like soulmate, but when you just say it in general, it means 'meant to be'." She realized how lucky she was here at the Drake. She had a nice, warm, safe room to return to while she was stepping out into the world on her own two feet. She had friends in Amelia and Ian. She was pretty lucky to be here and despite it all, a little proud that she could actually show Angelo where she was staying now. "I am really lucky to be here. Everyone's been very nice to me. Do you like it here?" As much as she did like the room she was in; it was large, but welcoming, warm and friendly, it just wasn't the same as Angelo's apartment. It was a lot better with the arrival of the painting she still needed to pay him for, though.

Her question gave him pause, though Angelo was pleased to know the meaning of the yiddish word. It fit, in a sense. The city was his home, he'd seen the lowest depths and the middle, and now? Technically he was laying in the highs of it with a beautiful woman curled against him. "I feel kinda out of place," he confessed, nuzzling in against Shannah, "Like someone might kick down the door an' tell me I don' belong here? Never felt a bed this soft, though. Only been in an elevator maybe twice 'fore tonight... I do like it." He nodded carefully, reaching up to brush Shannah's hair from her brow and smooth his fingers through it lightly. "'Course, the destination's got nothin' on the reason for the trip," Angelo confided, "But I could come back, for sure. You make this place a whole lot less intimidatin', Sho."

"No one is going to tell you you don't belong here." She didn't understand the sort of reservation Angelo would have about a place like this, but it was probably because she'd not grown up the same way he had. She'd been sectioned off in a metaphorical ivory tower, so she hadn't had to deal with the same things he must have. Which had her wondering again about his story, the real story. That was, until she was caught up in his eyes. She wanted to say that if he was around, nothing was intimidating for her, but the words didn't make it out. Leaning forward, she closed the distance between the two of them fully with a kiss, for once not worrying at all about the action itself. Maybe his insistence that she take more risks, that she do what she wanted when she wanted, had finally really cemented itself in her mindset. She didn't know. Really, all she did know was that kissing Angelo was the best idea she could have thought of, especially in that moment.

Angelo wasn't expecting it, based on the shyness Shoshannah had displayed in the past, but that didn't mean the gesture was unwelcome. A slight murring sound buzzed up his throat as she kissed him, his fingers hooking down from Shannah's hair to tease the curve of her ear fleetingly even as Angelo coaxed her up towards him. His addiction generally curbed the urges that would get most men in trouble around a woman like her, but that effect was largely physical. On a mental level, on a personal one? There was a smoldering connection to her that had never seemed to stop drawing Angelo in, and for once he had nothing to say. He wanted to say they didn't have to rush things, sure, but he had the feeling that Shoshannah knew as much. So at last, he would just keep himself from talking and let himself get lost in the moment. Beshert... he thought dreamily as his breath slipped past her lips.

Shoshannah, too, was lost in the moment. She let herself be lead up closer to him, resting one hand on his shoulder and the other on the side of his stomach, just below his ribs. She could have stayed in this moment for hours, days even, because in her head it echoed the same word Angelo was thinking. But beshert or not, even kisses of this caliber were no match for her condition. At least she had the mercy of feeling it pull at her this time. She tried to fight it as long as possible, to stay there in that perfect moment with him, but she had to pull away all too soon. Her eyes were wide when she pulled back, mouth getting ready to form the words 'Don't be scared' but not even the warning found it's way to the air between them. She sat perfectly still now, the only inclination that anything had changed at all being that her wide eyes were less wide now, just a normal gaze past and through Angelo.

Whether he'd expected it in the moment or not, Angelo wasn't shocked as Shannah tuned out of the world. On some level it stung him, sure, to think that they would be deprived of moments like these by something completely beyond Shannah's control. But would he let it drive him off? He didn't think so, not even in a future where more frustrating moments might occur. He took a deep breath as she stared vacantly, drawing his lower lip past his teeth to taste her again, and settled back down on the bed. Gently, like he wasn't sure how she'd react, Angelo pulled Shannah back with him to where she'd rested, humming quietly down at her as he smiled. Where other men might panic or grow frustrated, he was fascinated. She was a dreamer, after all, and who was he to say when her dreams should come?

She didn't come back around until she was cuddle back with him on the bed. It took her a moment to kickstart her mind back up, but she realized fairly quickly that she'd ruined a fantastic moment. It frightened her at first, knowing that it really, really didn't matter what was happening when she tuned herself out, but the fear quickly subsided into anger and frustration. Even if Angelo wasn't frustrated, she could feel that way enough for both of them. She'd cried more today than she ever liked to, but if there was ever a moment where tears made sense, she supposed it would be this one. Angry, annoyed, pissed off tears. Ones she didn't feel very often. She lifted a hand to furiously brush them out of her eyes, expelling a shaky sigh. "I'm really sorry, Angelo..." Her voice didn't portray the anger she felt, she was doing her best to not unleash that feeling, and instead it sounded more akin to the massive disappointment she felt. She was so disappointed in herself. She should know what to do by now to stop this from happening. "I didn't...it shouldn't have happened then." Brushing away another wave of infuriating tears, Shoshannah sniffled. "Please forgive me, I'm really sorry..."

More worrying than the trance she'd been touched by was the tremor that Angelo could feel run through Shannah's body when she spoke. When she sniffled. When he felt pinpricks of dampness on the fabric of his shirt from where tears touched down. That was, in fact, more upsetting to him than any other facet of what had happened, and he felt frustration only for the things Shannah was denied. She deserved this measure of joy, whether it was with him or someone else, but to be wrenched away from even the possibility? That had to feel like living half a life. "Shhh," he murmured soothingly, dotting his fingertips along her cheeks to wipe at tear tracks and catch any new ones that might fall, and eventually tilting Shannah's chin up so he could catch her eye. "'I wish I could show you, when you are lonely, or in darkness," he quoted with a spark of warmth in his eyes, "The astonishing light of your own being'." Angelo slid down the bed to level his head with hers, letting his feet tangle up against Shannah's as he shook his head. "We all got parts of ourselves we can't control, Shannah, doesn't mean we apologize for them bein' what they are. You're here with me, an' I'm not goin' anywhere... we'll have our time. However long it takes to get there, we'll have it."

Shoshannah took a deep breath and held it, letting it go slowly only when she found herself face to face with Angelo again. As helpless as she had felt before, it was only a matter of a few well placed words and soothing touches that helped calm Shannah's frustration. It wasn't completely gone, but a fair deal of it couldn't stand up to Angelo's magic. Another small tear track fell before she said anything."That's not fair...You know exactly what to say all the time." She attempted a small smile, to prove that she was actually very thankful for his words, before she leaned forward a bit and pressed her forehead to his. "But, really, it isn't right. You shouldn't have to deal with that. It's not even your condition but you have to deal with it too. And most people don't just...blank out, especially not during a kiss." She blinked faster, trying to keep any more tears at bay, but it just plain wasn't fair in her mind. It had been a really wonderful, really nice moment and this stupid, stupid condition..."Doesn't it make you angry? Even a little? It makes me so angry..."

"A'course it does," Angelo whispered, nodding just a touch, "I... I wanna be here, Sho. I want you here with me. But I spent my whole life wantin' things, it's what we all do." He curled a little closer to her, touching the tip of his nose to hers and settling a hand on her waist. "But in all them years, I only ever got a touch of the things I thought I wanted, an' what I found? I din' need the stuff I thought I wanted, and what I got? I needed. What's more, waitin' for it? Believin' it was gonna come? When it happened, it was the sweetest sort of feelin'... There'll be a day, there will, when what we want an' what we need? They'll be the same thing, an' we'll have 'em both." His forehead slipped from hers as Angelo pressed a kiss to Shannah's cheek, just below her eye, and he leaned further to speak towards her ear. "Don' say 'shouldn't', it's not about that. If I didn't want to, I wouldn't be here. From right here next to you? It all comes down to if I wanna be here despite what happens, an' I do. You're not gon' spook me away into the night, Shoshannah Hagel."

It was all she'd ever needed to hear and more. She could feel more tears forming in her eyes but she was determined not to let them out, even if they were for a very different reason than before. Shoshannah sat quietly for a moment, taking in all of Angelo. His sincerity, his words, the sound of his voice, where he was in relation to her. She felt wholly safe there, especially because he promised and she knew that he wasn't going to go anywhere. She trusted that. So she moved a bit, wrapping her arms around his neck, and just kept herself there where she felt the safest; in his arms. When she could find her words and voice again, it was still nothing more than a whisper. "If you keep talking like that, I'm going to start thinking your my beshert. You say that you don't spoil me but you don't know how much you really do." She inhaled and exhaled slowly, still trying to keep her emotions in check. She couldn't afford another lapse, not during this conversation, which she was largely starting to feel was the most important conversation she'd ever had. "I know that I don't want to go anywhere else. I want to be here too and I want you here with me."

Angelo nodded, cheek rubbing against Shoshannah's with the gesture as he basked in the feel of her arms around his neck. "Sometimes it's simple, y'know. If you wanna be here? Do it. An' when you fade, you won't slip through my fingers, girl. Count on that. I'll jus' hold on 'til you come back to me." How much was he willing to promise, to devote of himself to a woman he hadn't even known for a week yet? In the case of Angelo Lacoste, the artist who spent his days trying to show everyone else his dreams? Holding onto a dream given form was worth any risk. "An' me meanin' that s'why even when I feel angry, I can't give in to it. Anger makes you hold too tight, an' I ain't never gon' hurt you like that."

Shoshannah chose not to think about how long she'd known Angelo. It seemed like much, much longer than the few days she'd know him for. She could tell him that she always wanted to be there, even through her fits, but it seemed redundant with the perfect words he was saying. Instead she contented herself by taking slow breaths, doing her best to take in his scent as she did. "It's ok if you're angry and you want to show it, Angelo. I can't expect you to not be angry sometimes, but I do know that having you here when I come back around makes it a lot easier for me to be less angry. I just worry that it's not something that can be overlooked for a lifetime. How can I really expect anyone to not get frustrated by it? I know I can't, so I understand if you get angry. But it does help knowing you're still here." Her lips formed into a small smile against his cheek, eyes closed as she just sat there for a few moments. Then she gave a small laugh, but it was less genuine than her normal ones. "Bet you didn't expect this kind of conversation tonight."

More genuine by far was Angelo's, then, as he shook his head at Sho and wrinkled his nose at her. "I try not to expect anything specific, most days," he confided, "I'm a long shot from gettin' let down that way. With you? S'a little bit different." With her turmoil seemingly settled for the moment, he was all too happy to settle back into a soothing rhythm, breathing in the same tempo as the steady rise and fall of Shannah's chest against his. "I always expect that I'll be smilin', for one. An' tonight I expected to be rubbin' your feet, or maybe your shoulders while you ate some pie," he added, "An' I'm not sayin' I'm let down that that din' happen... bein' this close to you sorta shatters them goals of mine. Hell, bein' this close to you shatters any part of me that coulda been angry."

All of those expectations sounded pretty nice to Shoshannah right about now, and she was honored to know that she seemed to make him happy like he made her happy. She doubted he understood the magnitude of what he was able to do for her just by sticking around, but she definitely appreciated it more than anything. She pulled back just a little to press a soft kiss to his cheek. "Thank you," She said, locking onto his eyes with her own filled with a real, sincere look of appreciation. And it wasn't that she wanted to move away from him, not at all, but she now that she wasn't an emotional wreck, there was pie to be eaten. Pie he'd specifically gone to get for her. "You're sure you don't want to share that pie with me?" She asked, the playful look returning to her with that small grin on her lips. "I bet it's pretty delicious." In the back of her mind, she remembered that she still didn't quite know Angelo's story, but held off on asking. It wasn't something she should push from him. He'd let her know when the time was right. Besides, she'd already asked a lot of him tonight.

"Maybe a taste," he conceded after a moment, "They do bake up a treat down at the Hawk..." Deep down, he was at peace in this moment. Frustrated on Shannah's behalf, sure, but she was taking faith from his words, and he'd take strength from the look in her eyes that said she was okay despite it all. "My momma, she tol' me all 'bout some kind a'comfort food when you done had a bad day," he explained, gently disengaging an arm from around Shannah to reach over the edge of the bed for where he'd set the slice of pie. "An' for me? Well, the blueberry down at the Hawk always turned a bad day 'round." Grabbing the bag, Angelo hefted it up onto the bed with a bit of a flourish for her, settling in again.

"I've never had blueberry pie before. I know of...three kinds of pie. Apple, chocolate, and cherry." She admitted, shifting a little so that her legs were under her. She was more than happy that he'd be sharing the pie with her, even if it was just for a 'taste' (that she would more than likely try to pressure him into making a few bites, then slowly...maybe half the slice, if she was lucky). "I'm guessing blueberry is your favorite kind of pie, then?"

Popping open the box, Angelo took it on himself to spear into the tip of the pie and bring the bite of food up invitingly for Shoshannah as he nodded. "No doubt," he answered, "We used to go to a lil' farmer's market here in town, buy 'em fresh a few times every summer. S'one of those... what's the word? Things I link with bein' small, I guess." More realistically, it reminded him of his family, of life before the fire. Even if it had been nearly two decades since? Angelo still thought about his parents, the simple lessons they'd imparted. "'Course, it's hard to have a fave when every flavor's so fine..."

Shoshannah thought back to when the last time she'd been fed something was. Sometime when she was smaller, sometime when she was sick, but this was much different. She leaned in and took the bite, the smile on her face easily replacing any of the frustrated, angry disappointment she'd felt earlier. "That's a nice memory. Maybe we can go to the market sometime? I've never been. I didn't even know we had one." Shoshannah had little to no real memories of her childhood. She slept through so much of it that the times she was awake were spent catching up on the things she'd missed out on, so little memories like family trips to the farmer's market were so foreign to her. "Do you have any other nice memories like that?"

"Got a handful that last me," he confirmed with an easy, contented expression, "My folks passed on when I was pretty small, but they was good people. I like t'think my mama taught me enough in the time we had." They'd always been fiercely involved in his life, he remembered that much, like they were scared of a day when they couldn't be there. "I mean, we wasn't rich? But we had enough." And when you ended up with nothing, and saw how far the divide was between a simple life and a truly destitute one? Well, Angelo wasn't a hard man to satisfy.

She was just about to marvel over how nice it would be to have nice family memories, but Angelo'd said something she hadn't expected. His parents were gone? And had been gone for a while now? Shoshannah and her family weren't very close. She was the closest with her father, but even so...she was sure she wouldn't know what to do if her parents were gone completely. And Angelo had had to deal with that at a much younger age than she would have to. Her face fell a little. "Angelo..I'm so sorry. I bet your parents were really lovely people." They'd have to be, in Shoshannah's mind, to produce someone as wonderful as Angelo was. She found herself suddenly sad that she wouldn't get a chance to meet Angelo's parents. She wondered if they might like her, if they wouldn't like her; just what they would think of her in general.

She reached for the fork, speared a piece of pie onto it, and held it out for him the same way he had for her. "You're rich enough to buy me this pie and that was really generous of you." The concept of riches was one that Shoshannah didn't really understand. She really didn't have much experience with counting money, budgeting money, saving money...or just having money in general. That fell to her parents. She had experience with things being provided for her, but even then, she'd been asleep for the majority of her childhood so those frivolous things she could have wanted and been spoiled by getting (like her sisters) just hadn't really gotten to Shoshannah. Money was a funny sort of thing to her. She understood that it was important, but she didn't quite have the real-world experience she needed to fully appreciate and understand the affluent nature in which her family lived. It just was what it always had been. But if she could have a night like tonight, with Angelo and pie, over the opulent doctor's parties her parents went to, she'd take it in a heartbeat.

Angelo winked at her as he leaned in towards the fork, taking the bite of food and savoring the richness of it. "Rich enough to spread a lil' joy with what I got, s'all any of us needs," he agreed as he settled against her. His warm expression didn't fade or threaten any melancholy when Shannah touched on his parents, staying as sincere and earnest as ever as Angelo nodded. "My pops had a touch of temper, but only when he had to suffer a fool," he explained, "An' my momma? Better'n any fine lady they show in the serials. I don' miss 'em though, they still with me in a lot of ways. Lessons they taught, that ol' clock of mine, stories an' lullabies an' all that jazz." Was it ever possible to dampen his spirit? Aside from locking him on the roof of a tall building, no.

Settled there beside Angelo, listening to him talk about the parents he loved, Shoshannah couldn't help but smile. His mood was infectious, despite the fact that she nearly never got along with her mother and sometimes, while she did love her father, she felt more like a puzzle he needed to solve than a daughter. But she could imagine Angelo spending time with his parents and what she saw of them was a beautiful mother, a strong, dependable, but loving father, and a happy son. She envied it, but if that was how Angelo had spend his childhood, surrounded by the love of his parents, then she couldn't be happier for him. "They raised a pretty great guy," Shoshannah speared another piece of pie and ate it, the smile never leaving her face.

Compliments tended to roll right off of Angelo's back on a lot of topics, his music being one of the few that could get him to grin in embarassment or pride. But in close like this, transfixed by the subtle play of Shannah's mirthful expression? No defenses could actually stand up, and Angelo laughed quietly as he looked down to the bedspread beneath them and felt his cheeks burn. "I'll have to take you by the ol' neighborhood sometime," he murmured, "Maybe crack your first fire hydrant with ya." Some part of him felt like she was intrigued by his old life, while another part of Angelo knew he was just intrigued with her and witnessing Shannah taking the chance to really live. "My ol' music teach still lives 'round there, jus' might be a chance she'd play you a song if I asked sweet enough."

They'd already spoken once about opening a hydrant and playing in the water, one of many childhood memories Shoshannah lacked, and she wasn't about to give up on that. "First warm day, remember?" Her eyes widened just a tad, alight with a whole new kind of intrigue. She'd get to see the place Angelo had lived when he was younger? How could she pass that up? And a chance to meet someone who taught Angelo how to harness and hone his craft of music? There was no way she'd miss going to his old neighborhood. "I tried learning piano once. It didn't really work out very well, but if your music teacher is still there, I'd really like to meet her! Anytime you want to take me to your old neighborhood, I'd love to go. Oh! Except when I'm working at the bookstore because I actually got the job!" She couldn't forget, despite the sad turn of events that her evening had handed her, the good things that had happened earlier. "So now you really can come by and see me sometime."

"Like I knew you would," Angelo purred with a delighted smile, "This means it'll be my turn to see you surrounded by stories 'stead of the other way 'round." And a bookstore would definitely be more welcoming than the Round, that was for sure. Of course, if Shannah was working, Angelo doubted he could get too familiar with her, but seeing her was always a treat unto itself. "Hell, I won't even mind plannin' round both of us havin' jobs, it jus' means good things ahead f'you," he went on hopefully, "A place of your own eventually, p'raps. Think I know this fella who could part with a few paintins to help decorate..."

"I hope so. The Drake is so nice but I don't know if it's really a place to stay for a long time. Can people live in hotels? Either way, I can't hang your paintings on the walls and I'd really like to be able to do that. It deserves its place on a wall, not just to be propped up against the wall." She shifted just a bit, finding her place against Angelo's chest once more as she settled down and became really comfortable. Comfortable enough for her not to have to move again. "If I fall asleep soon and don't get to ask, would you like to have breakfast with me? It's not as special as me going out to sneak breakfast in for you, but we could eat in the dining room." Settled there against him, her smile grew again when she thought of the perfect morning she'd had. Even her stolen camera couldn't ruin that. And she and Angelo would find her camera again, so there really was nothing to worry about.

Breakfast? In as fine a place as this? In what would then be the clothes he slept in? As much as Angelo could ignore the looks he sometimes got from his clothes, his demeanor, or even his race, he knew he'd be aware of them in that setting. But he'd have Shoshannah with him to block them out, and to say something if anyone gave him grief. Which made him think that one of these days he'd have to defend himself like that, though Angelo doubted it would happen. The times he felt scrutinized were exceptions, not the norm. "I think I can swing a bite to eat," he answered, settling back into a rhythmic smoothing of Shannah's hair as she curled in against him, "Let's jus' hope no one from the Hawk sees me, I might lose my privileges." He laughed lightly into her hair, kissing the top of Shannah's head as Angelo reclined with her, perfectly content with the idea of feeling her drift off, then following.

It didn't take long for Shoshannah to be out, between having Angelo this close and him stroking her hair like that. She tried her hardest to stay up and joke with him about the Hawk, but she should know by now how futile those efforts were. A little too soon, she was lost in slumber, curled in close to him, head rising and falling slightly with ever breath Angelo took.