assassino | she ended up in a nunnery, he ended up in police custody

Entry tags:

she ended up in a nunnery, he ended up in police custody

Ezio has had better days. Thanks to his time in Paradisa, he doesn't end up run over by a bus or trapped in a Walmart, but it's never fun to find oneself stranded in Gotham City, circa 2014, alone and without proper assistance.

For one, no matter how well he's picked up English, it's still stilted enough that he sounds like someone used to the language trappings of 15th century vernacular Italian, and it makes asking for assistance rather difficult. Everyone treats him like a lost tourist, which is true in some sense, but not particularly helpful when he keeps getting directed to embassies or help booths. When he asks where he can find Batgirl, he is laughed at and told "wouldn't we all like to meet Batgirl?" When he wises up to these kinds of jokes, he asks where he can find Batman, and is directed to some family-owned tourist trap about Batman. The people there don't help much, either, they just ask him about what kind of heroes they have in Italy, to which Ezio has no reply. He doesn't know any heroes in Italy.

He's also still miserable with technology –– since when did he use it all that much at the castle? –– so when one kind local offers him use of her phone, he not only has no idea how to operate it but also doesn't realize until he's held it for a moment that he needs Stephanie's number, and by then his would-be rescuer is thoroughly confused.

"Don't they have phones in Italy?" she asks.

"No," Ezio says, and then adds: "Well, not in Venice."

Cue confused look.

He is also permitted to use the phone at an information booth, where a man allows him to use the "phone book" to find Stephanie's number. He calls two Browns before he is stopped and questioned about his intention to call EVERY Brown in the phone book to find Stephanie.

"Are you crazy?" the man says, though he looks like he hadn't intended to be so blunt.

"I am very lost," is all Ezio can say, apologetic but also a little frustrated.

"You seriously don't know anything about this girl?" says the guy. "All you know is her name and what she looks like, and you're going this far to find her? From across the world? Dude, that's pretty messed up."

"It is very complicated," Ezio says, and the dude doesn't look convinced.

"Where did you meet her? Online?"

"No," Ezio said, "She is... she is a girlfriend of mine, from when we lived together."

The man looks not only unconvinced, but also uncomfortable. He doesn't say anything for a moment, and then he says "Girlfriend? And you don't even know how to contact her?"

Ezio has no idea how to respond, and then he's even more frustrated. He's just trying to get to the one woman in this city who can help him. How is that so difficult? Is it really so strange for someone to visit from out of town and need to find their friends, who are perhaps not living where they had previously? He is not some stranger!

This is when he punches the man, and things get ugly. This is also when the police show up, and subsequently arrest him when he puts up a fuss and has no identification on him whatsoever. From a jail cell in Gotham City, Ezio is glad to have a place to sleep and food to eat, but suddenly he's realizing just how difficult this is going to be. And what happens if they can never identify him? It isn't like there's any record of him existing anywhere in the past four hundred years. Then what?

Wherever Stephanie is, he sure as hell hopes she will find him. Or that Batgirl can. Or Batman.

Hell, he'd even take Tim Drake right now for whatever leverage it would offer him.

He just needs to get out.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Coming back to Gotham has been a trip. One day in Paradisa, one day back in her own bed, in her own house, with her mom waking her up for breakfast before she has to hurry off to work. There had been a lot of crying that day--which Stephanie later blamed on a bad dream and stress from school--but talk about whiplash. She was both terrified and relieved to be home. She was with her mom, back in the city she knew like the back of her hand, but...

She left Paradisa. She left an entire life behind. How many times did she tell Ezio she was probably going to be there forever? Four years and forever were pretty similar, at the time. Now, thinking about that was a sure way to get the waterworks going. She missed him, missed the person she'd become all on her own, but life carried on in Gotham like she'd never left. It all seemed so insignificant. Maybe it never even happened.

She thinks about telling Bruce or Babs or Wendy that she just came back from a four year jaunt in a magical castle land almost every day, but she can't bring herself to do so when she's got to jump right back into taking care of the things on her plate. The whole crazy other time adventures was Bruce's thing, anyway. No need to steal the spotlight.

So, she slips back into her old suit and her old life. It's a lot like coming back from Africa: she'd let so much go that it's hard to dig it all back up again. She feels ninety instead of nineteen (or twenty-three or twenty-four), but Stephanie's good at plastering a smile on her face and pulling herself up by the bootstraps. Batstraps.

Yeah, still got it.

Everything is going swimmingly until she happens to tune into the local police channel on a slow night when she should be doing homework. She didn't miss homework at all. Slipping back into Batgirl is hard, but going back to school is even harder.

"--some crazy Italian guy--"

Okay, not out of the norm for Gotham. East coast and all. She doodles a frilly dress onto her notebook.

"--can hardly understand what he's saying. Looking for some girl."

Creepers. Also not uncommon. She's about to switch frequencies, see if any patrols have a whiff of anything going on this night, but she's stopped dead in her tracks.

"Stephanie Brown? Was that it? Jesus, can somebody find us a translator? Or find this lady so we can free up the cell? I got about five guys ready to come in--"

No. Nononono. But also yes. Does any of it make sense? No, but Stephanie's already hopping off her bed and having a minor meltdown. Batgirl strolling into the police station to pick up the Italian guy, or Stephanie Brown rushing in to pick up her friend? Okay, yeah, that one seems to make more sense in this case. She throws on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and shoes (almost shoved her bat-boots onto her feet in her rush, whoops), grabs her keys, and runs out the door.

Fifteen minutes later Stephanie Brown is indeed rushing into the station, ready to duck and weave and squeeze Ezio until he suffocates and she has to be locked up herself. She's stopped by a desk and an unhappy looking man, and she plays up the cute blonde act: he's my friend, I missed picking him up from his flight, I don't think he understands what's going on because his English is so bad, please can I see him? I bet all of his stuff is still at baggage claim or maybe he got mugged, he's probably so scared--

Several minutes more of this and a heaving sigh later, Stephanie's led to the holding cell. Does she have a plan? Hell no. Some things never change.

Ezio has never been more excited to see a visitor in his life. The second he sees a glimpse of blonde hair, he's practically pressed against the bars in glee. It's her, it's her, it's her.

"Dolcezza!" he says, perhaps louder than necessary. He's happy to crowd the door even as the officer unlocks it, as if that could possibly get Stephanie into his arms that much faster. "These Americans, Stephanie, they are very strict!"

He has no idea what her plan is –– he has no idea if she needs a plan, because if he were arrested in his time, his freedom would hinge on more than just one person vouching for him –– but he just focuses on wrapping her into a big hug for the moment. Burying his nose against her shoulder, lifting her off her feet, squeezing so tight he can feel her ribs, all that fanfare.

"Thank God you are here."

"Ohmygod," she's about ready to burst into tears when she sees him, and she shuts her eyes tightly when he hugs her. If she's lost her mind, she's got to give it a round of applause--this smells and feels just like Ezio. When her shoes hit the floor again, she grabs his face in both hands and plants a hard kiss on his lips. What the fuck ever, she can do what she wants right now, even if that display gets a disgruntled sigh from the officer at the door.

"Are you okay? How long have you been here? And what the hell did you do?" She asks, that last question feeling so familiar. Always getting into trouble, especially in a modern city.

Ezio isn't sure how to respond to that, and to be honest, he's momentarily distracted by a full kiss on the mouth. After all, Stephanie seldom kisses him like that, and he hadn't really been expecting now to be the moment she decided to make it a very friendly, casual thing. Not that he's complaining, though.

"Ahh," he trails, trying to find his words. Truth be told, his English is better than this, but so many Americans in one place has been enough to make him feel a little tired of trying to follow along. "I, ah... lost my phone, and had no money or coinpurse or anything. Just the clothes on my back."

He's certainly not saying he wound up here via magic castle, either.

"It was difficult to find you –– how did you find me?"

Poor thing. She's always felt protective of Ezio, willing to hold his hand and guide him through the madness that is anything after the Renaissance. Sometimes it was annoying, sometimes it was hilarious, but the thought of him wandering around Gotham alone was not a happy one. At least the cops brought him in. Stephanie gives his hand a squeeze with both of hers, not wanting to let go but knowing she'll have to in order to sort this mess out. Maybe if she cries on the right person she can get him out without posting bail...

"Magic," she replies, figuring she can show him how she found out soon enough. He's going to have to come home with her and holy crap she's praying her mom is at work already. She needs time to figure out what to do with Ezio.

"I'll take care of this. Hopefully. You wait here, okay?"

Not that he has a choice.

"Magic," he repeats, amused –– however she did it, it's probably magic to him. He scarcely wants to let go of her, just in case she vanishes on him.

And she wants him to wait here. He laughs, despite himself. Wait here... in a prison cell... Too funny.

Yeah, she's funny. Stephanie winks at Ezio before heading out and finding the appropriate people to talk to. Sure would be nice if Stephanie Brown had even a fourth of the connections that Batgirl had, but alas, all she has is semi-decent acting skills and the ability to bullshit on the fly. She's done more with less before.

It's a good half hour before Stephanie returns, yesterday's mascara smudged under her eyes. Waterworks. Works like a charm--or at least sells the image of her forgetting her Italian buddy and him getting lost as hell in Gotham. Stephanie steps into the cell to grab Ezio's arm once they open the door.

"Let's go. They're letting you off with a warning. Gotta blow this popsicle stand before we get asked any questions." Thank you, Gotham, and your abundance of crime. For once she's glad for overworked cops.

Ezio is a bundle of nervous energy in his cell, pacing back and forth until Stephanie is there, and the moment the door is open he's glued to her side.

"Thank God," he says, following her. He wants to reach to wipe away the make-up stains under her eyes, but that can wait until they get out of the building. "So what magic was this?"

"I'm guessing the castle," she replies, grabbing his wrist and leading him out of the station like a mother pulling along her child in a busy supermarket. It's weird to talk about the castle. A reminder that it really did happen was not what Stephanie expected to find today. "Whatever brought us in originally, and whatever sends people home... I don't know, it must have had a hiccup. I've been back for a while. I always thought you forgot when you went back, but--guess we didn't know it as well as we thought we did. You remember anything before ending up here?"

Stephanie's car is parked along the nearby curb, though as she pulls them along she abruptly lets go of Ezio to rush to the hood of her car, plucking a bright piece of paper off the windshield.

"Are you kidding--are you freakin' kidding me right now? Oh my god!"

Someone forgot to feed the meter when she pulled up.

Ezio is looking all around them as they go –– he's still not quite adjusted to the noises, the traffic. He's trying to remember what he was doing, too, other than having a regular day in Paradisa.

"No..." Oh, she's freaking out about a paper. He raises ane eyebrow. "What is it?"

"It's me, being crapped on by the universe." Maybe a bit of an over-exaggeration considering one of her favorite people in any universe just fell into her lap, but this is not what she needed.

Stephanie grumbles before shoving the ticket into her purse and fishing out her keys. She opens the door on the passenger side for Ezio, calming herself. Smile, Stephanie, and make sure he puts on his seat belt so you don't get another ticket.

"After you, bambino." She didn't forget that! "Buckle up so I don't get in trouble."

Ezio slides into the car, still confused but sure this is one of those things he isn't allowed to ask about unless he wants to get snapped at. He reaches for the seat belt and does it up. That, at least, he does remember.

" I don't think the universe has crapped upon you, as creative as that mental image is," he says. Teasing: "You have me, now."

Steph pauses before she closes the door, hands on the frame of the car. Yeah, she does have him. She can't even begin to think about if this is permanent or temporary or if she should start trying to find a way to get him back to the Renaissance. As shitty as this situation is, seeing him again is probably the best thing that's happened since she got back to Gotham. Thanks for that, Paradisa.

Ezio just gets one of those totally sincere smiles before she shuts the door and runs around to the other side.

"So, I don't really have a plan," she admits as she does her own seat belt, "But I'm taking you to my house. So. You have that to look forward to?"

He reaches over to pat her thigh, friendly-like and a little grateful.

"It would be nice to meet your mother," he says, with a bit of a twinkle in his eye as he smiles. "She won't mind a man staying with her beloved daughter? We could always say we are getting married to make it easier on her."

"Ha nooooooooo," she gives Ezio a wide-eyed look before pulling into the street. "My mom would have a heart attack. Uhh..." Her fingers drum an anxious beat on the steering wheel as she thinks.

"You could be a foreign exchange student. We became friends at school, but your living situation suddenly got sketchy and me, being a good friend, offered to let you stay with us for a little bit. You look older because you're Italian and... hairy, I don't know. Something like that."

"Or I could be an older student," Ezio reminds her. "Older men can be academics as well, no? And what problem would she have with me?"

He's just a little offended by that, even if he's never had a girlfriend whose mother liked him before.

"Yeah, but I don't know how plausible me being close friends with one would be. That just--" Screams daddy issues, but she's not getting into that right now. "And I'm sure my mom will love you. Not so much if you showed up out of the blue and said we were getting married, though. She would have expected me to at least mention you."

"Well, you could tell her that it must be slipping her mind, or that after a night of passionate love, you decided I was trustworthy enough to be a fair roommate," he offers, not-so-helpfully. Truth be told, he doesn't know much about her mother, and any age gap between them is still far from unusual to him.

"Or, I could just hide you in my closet or under my bed whenever she walks in." Right next to the Batgirl suit. "She's probably at work, so we have some time to get you settled."

And by that, she means time to get herself together and have a believable cover story.

Ezio shrugs. Whatever works.

"I could find someone else to stay with, if it is easier. I am sure there is some kind person somewhere who would let me."

You know, like they would in his time, before capitalism.

"Don't be dumb," Steph's quick to interrupt. "I'll figure something out. Do you really think I'd dump you on someone else? Not that there's anyone to dump you on, but even if there was, I wouldn't."

Her mom is chill.

Usually.

Wow, Steph needs to chill.

"Stephanie," he says, the slightest touched alarmed. "That is not what I meant –– I just do not want to cause trouble."

But he also doesn't want to be locked up again.

She's chill! Her knuckles are only a little white as she grips the steering wheel.

"I know. And I'm not gonna lie and say this isn't making things suddenly a lot more difficult, but we'll work it out. Don't get me wrong--I'm... more than happy to see you. I'd get a hundred parking tickets for you."

How sweet.

And it occurs to her that maybe if she were honest with her mother--about Batgirl, about Paradisa--that things might be easier.

That's scary, though.

Is that what that was? A parking ticket? Ezio doesn't feel any more enlightened, really.

"I am happy to see you too," he says. Doubly so in the wake of his brief arrest. "Batman wouldn't help?"

"It would take about two years of explaining. I think maybe he'd understand the whole Paradisa thing, but... some crazy stuff went down, you know? Would you feel comfortable telling anyone about the things you've seen?"

Not to mention the whole Assassin thing. That's what Stephanie is more worried about.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject