Lapse in judgement, lapse in sanity.

[salylimon]

WHO: Antonio and Emiliana
WHEN: December 12th, Monday afternoon.
WHERE: Dos Llamas (may end up elsewhere?)
WHAT: A much belated reunion between family. Or, more like a much belated and finals-slash-loneliness induced reunion with a Spaniard that shouldn't belong in the family tree.

Comments

[tomatomatonio]

Pedaling out to Dos Llamas, Toni realized just how long it had been since he had last seen his younger cousin. If his memory was right, aside from the occasional text message and that one phonecall of apology, the last time he had actually seen her face to face was probably the time their families had gotten together when they were both much younger. Emi had left that encounter with one eyebrow and a new (much shorter) hairstyle and her brother had left with a broken arm. But then again, almost any time they had gotten together when they were younger had ended in tears and physical evidence of the visit. He still had a few good scars himself, come to think of it.

But, like so much of the past. Antonio was ready to put it behind him for the sake of moving forward. If he could get along with Emi now, it would be one more piece of his life that he had squared away, and he would be one step closer to being an actually nicer person.

Parking his bike, he spotted someone bundled up and perched against the entrance. Antonio jogged over, and on spotting a coil of brown hair, decided he had found the right person. Nobody else would be just standing around in this kind of weather, after all. "Emi! Is that you?" He fired off in Spanish. "Look how grown up and pretty you are!"

[salylimon]

Head snapping up, Emi turned to raise wide and momentarily confused brown eyes to the man that suddenly appeared beside her before realization hit her. Taking in the once familiar green eyes and messy curls with a raised brow, she stared at the man silently for a moment longer before responding. "I am surprised that you didn't call me ugly like you did when we were younger," came the dry and wary response before she sighed.

"Do you want to go inside?" She eventually said, glancing at the entrance of Dos Llamas as she suddenly shivered. "It's freezing out and I would rather not die of hypothermia as a consequence of catching up with my primo," she continued in Spanish before beginning to lead the way inside the hopefully much warmer restaurant.

[tomatomatonio]

He followed her inside, patting a congenial hand between her shoulder blades. "I know I apologized to you before, prima, but I owe you one to your face too. So here goes--and you can add stuff to it if you want."

The door swung closed and the warmth of the restaurant wrapped around him like a warm cloud. With his most genuine smile, he plowed on, not minding a bit that they had just been asked how many were in their party. In Spanish mode, he couldn't concentrate on English, so it just sailed over his head. Multitasking had never been a strong point. "I used to be a huge jerk to you and your brother. A huge mondo-jerk. And I'm really sorry for all of the stupid things I did to you when we were little, but I'm trying to change and be a better person." The hostess looked somewhere between curious and impatient. "Will you forgive me, prima?"

[salylimon]

Not sparing the rambling brunette more than a mildly withering glance, she sighed, flashing the hostess (Marisol) an apologetic smile before holding up two fingers as they were led toward an isolated table near the back of the restaurant.

Upon sitting down, Emi stared at Antonio, slowly digesting his apology with a wary expression as she attempted to figure out how to respond. It was hard to say if he really thought one simple apology would be enough to erase the childhood trauma he had subjected both her and her brother two almost every summer. Because, really, a simple apology could not compensate for getting roughed up, locked in closets, and generally bullied by the man in front of her.

"Antonio," she eventually said, brow furrowed and lips pursed in a weak attempt at not yelling at him. "Whether or not that's true, I am not going to forgive you so easily. You're going to have to prove it to me. And it may take a while, too."