AC2 Fic: Naming
First time I've seen snow in years and I fall over within five minutes. Typical.
Title: Naming
Rating & Warnings:PG. Heavily implied slash and het, that's about it
Characters/Parings: Giovanni/Maria, referencesGiovanni/Lorenzo
Summary: Essentially Giovanni/Lorenzo fluff, though Lorenzo doesn't actually make an appearance. And Maria has a little too much fun teasing Giovanni.
Giovanni was trying very hard not to look worried. If he was entirely honest with himself, he was not being very successful. Maria, for some reason, seemed to find this amusing. She watched as he paced back and forth restlessly, glancing out the window every five minutes.
“I hope you are not like this when it is our turn, Giovanni,” she said at length, resting one hand on her rounded, very pregnant belly. Her husband cast a look in her direction, looking, if possible, even more worried at the reminder he would soon be a father. Even though he had already had several months to get used to the idea - the baby was due in just two weeks - he still got the same panicked yet delighted expression whenever he was reminded.
“Fretting will not make news come faster, nor will your pacing encourage the baby to be born sooner,” she continued. Taking pity on him, she smiled and moved to stand. Giovanni was by her side in an instant, helping her to her feet and murmuring quietly about not overexerting herself or the baby. Maria tolerated the assistance with an air of grace, trying not to laugh.
“Relax, my love,” she instructed gently. His lips were as tender as always to kiss, but for once his mind was clearly elsewhere.
“I know,” Giovanni said softly, but even his voice seemed stressed. “But Lorenzo-”
“Lorenzo is twice a father already, nor is he the one giving birth,” Maria reminded him sensibly. “All you men can do is worry. Unless you have somehow managed to impregnate him - and given how often you visit his office late at night, if anyone ever managed such a thing, it would be you two - then he will be perfectly fine.”
Giovanni blanched, then looked absolutely crestfallen. He kissed her, soft and gentle and adoring, stroking his fingers through her hair.
“If you wish me to cease my visits, or believe they are too frequent, I can stop,” he said quietly. The offer was genuine, but there was no doubt it would cause the assassin great pain. Proving this, despite his efforts to the contrary, there was a hint of fear in his voice.
Smiling, Maria trailed her fingers over his lips and shook her head. “Never. Even if I did not understand the arrangement so well, I would not do something to cause you such pain. Besides,” she pressed her lips to his ear, her smile turning wicked, “I am sure you remember what I told you the first time.”
From the shade of red Giovanni turned, he remembered perfectly. There was little that could embarrass the assassin as much as Maria's explanation of her opinion of his arrangement with the ruler of Firenze. Even now, he still coloured at the idea she would enjoy the idea of two men together.
A knock at the door broke their embrace, and after encouraging her to take a seat (after all, he thought she could never do anything so strenuous as standing without his help while pregnant), Giovanni disappeared. There were a few moments of silence, followed by a shout of joy. Maria smiled a little, knowing without needing to be told that Lorenzo and the child were alive and well.
When Giovanni returned to her side, there was a look of absolute amazement on his face. A letter written on fine parchment held his full attention. Looking up from the letter to his wife, he spoke in a tone of complete disbelief.
“It's a son.”
“There was a fifty percent chance of that, yes,” Maria smiled, but Giovanni shook his head. Evidently there was more to it than that.
“He...” Giovanni sat down beside her, evidently overwhelmed. “La mia cara, he's called the child Giovanni.”
“Has he?” Maria smiled widely, kissing her husband's cheek. While she was surprised, she was nowhere near as surprised as Giovanni was. Despite his often scathing manner, it was clear to her that Lorenzo thought the world of her husband. And Giovanni was a common enough name that he could name his child as such without arousing suspicion from the public - friends they may be, but the honour was high enough to be rare.
“He's also said that I'm forbidden from doing anything so stupid as calling the child Lorenzo.”
“Of course,” Maria laughed. “Aside from being reckless and putting him in an awkward position, I've never liked the name Lorenzo.”
“Yes, dear,” Giovanni said meekly, automatically, too shocked by all the sudden revelations to protest. Besides, he knew from past experience that if opposing either Maria or Lorenzo was a challenge, if both were united on an issue, he had no chance of winning.
“We'll give our child a name that suits it,” Maria decided. There was a pause as she tried to remember names Giovanni had mentioned liking. “It feels like a boy. Perhaps Federico?”
From the way her husband's face lit up with joy, she knew she'd said the right thing. Two weeks later, when Federico Auditore da Firenze was born, Giovanni was not anything like he had been when waiting for news from Lorenzo.
He was a million times worse.
Title: Naming
Rating & Warnings:PG. Heavily implied slash and het, that's about it
Characters/Parings: Giovanni/Maria, referencesGiovanni/Lorenzo
Summary: Essentially Giovanni/Lorenzo fluff, though Lorenzo doesn't actually make an appearance. And Maria has a little too much fun teasing Giovanni.
Giovanni was trying very hard not to look worried. If he was entirely honest with himself, he was not being very successful. Maria, for some reason, seemed to find this amusing. She watched as he paced back and forth restlessly, glancing out the window every five minutes.
“I hope you are not like this when it is our turn, Giovanni,” she said at length, resting one hand on her rounded, very pregnant belly. Her husband cast a look in her direction, looking, if possible, even more worried at the reminder he would soon be a father. Even though he had already had several months to get used to the idea - the baby was due in just two weeks - he still got the same panicked yet delighted expression whenever he was reminded.
“Fretting will not make news come faster, nor will your pacing encourage the baby to be born sooner,” she continued. Taking pity on him, she smiled and moved to stand. Giovanni was by her side in an instant, helping her to her feet and murmuring quietly about not overexerting herself or the baby. Maria tolerated the assistance with an air of grace, trying not to laugh.
“Relax, my love,” she instructed gently. His lips were as tender as always to kiss, but for once his mind was clearly elsewhere.
“I know,” Giovanni said softly, but even his voice seemed stressed. “But Lorenzo-”
“Lorenzo is twice a father already, nor is he the one giving birth,” Maria reminded him sensibly. “All you men can do is worry. Unless you have somehow managed to impregnate him - and given how often you visit his office late at night, if anyone ever managed such a thing, it would be you two - then he will be perfectly fine.”
Giovanni blanched, then looked absolutely crestfallen. He kissed her, soft and gentle and adoring, stroking his fingers through her hair.
“If you wish me to cease my visits, or believe they are too frequent, I can stop,” he said quietly. The offer was genuine, but there was no doubt it would cause the assassin great pain. Proving this, despite his efforts to the contrary, there was a hint of fear in his voice.
Smiling, Maria trailed her fingers over his lips and shook her head. “Never. Even if I did not understand the arrangement so well, I would not do something to cause you such pain. Besides,” she pressed her lips to his ear, her smile turning wicked, “I am sure you remember what I told you the first time.”
From the shade of red Giovanni turned, he remembered perfectly. There was little that could embarrass the assassin as much as Maria's explanation of her opinion of his arrangement with the ruler of Firenze. Even now, he still coloured at the idea she would enjoy the idea of two men together.
A knock at the door broke their embrace, and after encouraging her to take a seat (after all, he thought she could never do anything so strenuous as standing without his help while pregnant), Giovanni disappeared. There were a few moments of silence, followed by a shout of joy. Maria smiled a little, knowing without needing to be told that Lorenzo and the child were alive and well.
When Giovanni returned to her side, there was a look of absolute amazement on his face. A letter written on fine parchment held his full attention. Looking up from the letter to his wife, he spoke in a tone of complete disbelief.
“It's a son.”
“There was a fifty percent chance of that, yes,” Maria smiled, but Giovanni shook his head. Evidently there was more to it than that.
“He...” Giovanni sat down beside her, evidently overwhelmed. “La mia cara, he's called the child Giovanni.”
“Has he?” Maria smiled widely, kissing her husband's cheek. While she was surprised, she was nowhere near as surprised as Giovanni was. Despite his often scathing manner, it was clear to her that Lorenzo thought the world of her husband. And Giovanni was a common enough name that he could name his child as such without arousing suspicion from the public - friends they may be, but the honour was high enough to be rare.
“He's also said that I'm forbidden from doing anything so stupid as calling the child Lorenzo.”
“Of course,” Maria laughed. “Aside from being reckless and putting him in an awkward position, I've never liked the name Lorenzo.”
“Yes, dear,” Giovanni said meekly, automatically, too shocked by all the sudden revelations to protest. Besides, he knew from past experience that if opposing either Maria or Lorenzo was a challenge, if both were united on an issue, he had no chance of winning.
“We'll give our child a name that suits it,” Maria decided. There was a pause as she tried to remember names Giovanni had mentioned liking. “It feels like a boy. Perhaps Federico?”
From the way her husband's face lit up with joy, she knew she'd said the right thing. Two weeks later, when Federico Auditore da Firenze was born, Giovanni was not anything like he had been when waiting for news from Lorenzo.
He was a million times worse.