Inbox [Victory Road]

[nellacerniera]

You've reached Bruno Bucciarati. Please leave a message.

[Please specify the date and whether it's text, audio, or video! Or perhaps even action!]

Comments

forwarded to September 27th

[ripetuto]

[Bucciarati will find a bottle of decent wine and a simple gold necklace hanging around it in his bag.

It's obviously from Abbacchio, but he managed to get it in there without anyone else seeing.]

[nellacerniera]

[And when Bucciarati finds the wine and the necklace, he smiles.

He'll track down Abbacchio later, now wearing the necklace.]

Hey.

[ripetuto]

[...oh. The necklace looks good on him.]

Hey. Happy birthday.

[nellacerniera]

Thanks. And thanks for the necklace and the wine.

[ripetuto]

I was going to get you the wine anyway, but I saw the necklace and thought it'd go with everything else you wear.

[Zippers.]

[nellacerniera]

[He chuckles, tracing a finger along the necklace.]

It's perfect.

[And it's great for his outfits that do not have zippers, yep--]

... Let's share the wine.

[ripetuto]

You sure? I got it for you.

[nellacerniera]

Yes, I'm sure. Nothing would make me happier, even.

[ripetuto]

It's your birthday. Lemme go out and get glasses for us--unless you just wanna drink straight from the bottle.

[nellacerniera]

[He laughs.]

Glasses, please.

[ripetuto]

Be back in a bit, then.

[And off he goes, eventually returning with wine glasses!

And also pizza. Look, it was right there.]

I already dropped off one for Narancia, don't worry.

[nellacerniera]

[Listen, that's fair.

Bucciarati takes the glasses so he can pour them both some of the wine.]

Thank you, I appreciate it.

[ripetuto]

It's your birthday.

[So.

Abbacchio sets the boxes down, having gotten two mediums, one of them a pizza Margherita]

[nellacerniera]

Still.

[He gets the wine opened and pours some for both of them, smiling as he brings the glasses over. He takes a seat next to Abbacchio.]

Doesn't mean I appreciate it any less.

[ripetuto]

[Abbacchio just grabs plates before he sits down and takes his glass, raising it in a toast.]

Happy birthday, Bucciarati.

[nellacerniera]

[He raises his glass as well.]

Thank you, Abbacchio.

[... Honestly, now that he thinks about it, there's a small part of him that's overwhelmed that he even gets to celebrate with Abbacchio like this.

Hell. The fact that he's even celebrating another birthday at all is kind of wild, if he thinks about it.]

[ripetuto]

[Abbacchio takes a sip and then huffs out a chuckle.]

I'd ask how it feels to be twenty-one but I know how it feels. Like twenty.

[nellacerniera]

[He laughs.]

You're right, I definitely don't feel much different.

[ripetuto]

You can't even get taller.

[Another laugh and then Abbacchio suddenly falls silent, thinking.

Shit. He'll get to see twenty-two.]

[nellacerniera]

[Bucciarati snickers a bit, before taking a sip of his wine.

When Abbacchio falls silent, though...]

... It's almost surreal, isn't it?

[ripetuto]

I didn't think I'd live past twenty, and then that fucking beach...

[nellacerniera]

... And yet, here we both are.

[ripetuto]

Here we both are. Celebrating your birthday with mine coming up in a few months. Surrounded by cats.

[Okay not really, but with the Skitties...]

[nellacerniera]

... It's a little overwhelming to think about, to be honest.

[ripetuto]

Yeah. But I wasn't going to not get my capo something for his birthday.