younger now than we were before ,

[luca angelo giovanni]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 340px; background-image:url(http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss279/legendskseeker/fk5qwnjpg.png); padding: 30px; border: #020822 solid 30px; ] SOME THINGS WE DON'T TALK ABOUT OUTFIT: here. TAGGED: maggie/venny NOTES: epic drama. and i probably awkwardly ended this. --- THEY PROBABLY WEREN'T PAST THE FIASCO THAT HAPPENED AT THE MALL, but there was little to no mention of it since then. he already knew that dr. banks would have a problem with this, but luca didn't care. he could see the good doctor now. telling them that nothing should be left unfinished as it would cause recurring problems in the future. yup, luca could see that happening. sometime when they were going to fight (because of course it was only a matter of time,) the mall would be brought up and piss the other one off. it was inevitable because maggie and luca continually brought up other unresolved arguments into their fights. even though it didn't seem like the married couple were mending any part of their relationship, they actually were. luca believed that because she was pregnant that it had brought them closer and helped the relationship recover faster than it would have if they were still sitting on a couch in dr. bank's office. so far, luca had been doing pretty much anything she told him to do when he wasn't at work. she didn't kick him out again, so he was still living in the loft and most importantly, still sleeping next to her at night. at work, he was working with a realtor who was trying to find him a house. luca knew that they couldn't possibly continue living in the loft. it was small for even the two of them. yeah, the loft definitely held both good and bad memories, but he wanted something more... family-friendly. a loft was no it, considering it was a bachelor pad to begin with. he wanted to surprise maggie with it. yeah, surprise her with a house. the giovannis rarely went small. luca wanted to start living again and he felt like reviving their lives was doing this. slowly, they were going to move past the boston thing, become parents, and live happily ever after in their new house while still help running the family empire. luca never thought he would be like this, but he knew now he wanted a family more than anything, especially with maggie. he wouldn't call it "keeping it from her" but there had been an encounter that luca never mentioned to maggie. the previous week, luca ran into venny, the infamous boston girl that was the source of their fallout during the night of poker. honestly? luca never thought he would see her again, and why would he? she probably hated that he felt without a goodbye, and she lived in boston, on the opposite coast of the country. but there he was, running into her at starbucks. it definitely was a little awkward since he decided to tell her that he not only was married, but he was going to be a dad. luca felt really bad. over the four years he was in boston, he had gotten really close to venny as well as jamie collins and remy tremblay. they were his friends and depressed as he was in boston. he knew venny deserved a goodbye from him, but he was just so wrapped up in getting back to valkyrie, that he forgot. yup, forgot. in some ways, he felt like it hadn't been him in boston. it was the shell of him that was going through the motions as the real him sat alone waiting. venny liked him, though. not just as a friend, either. luca was so blind he didn't see it until she tried kissing him that night in the bar. all he could think of was maggie, and he told venny she was his friend. maggie always held his heart as sappy as it was, even with all those miles between them. luca was heartless in boston because he left everything he needed with maggie in valkyrie. it was sunday. sunday in the giovanni family meant family dinners. it was the one night a week where if you could make it, everyone would be there. annora cooked for the masses, and everyone piled into the giovanni mansion and talked about their weeks. it had been months since luca was at a family dinner. he just... couldn't face his family. he was ashamed that he couldn't figure out his own life for always having a tight grip on it in the past. but tonight, maggie and he decided that they were going and they were going to announce that she was pregnant. he was excited and he was nervous but he tried to distract himself while watching the news on the television while half-watching as maggie got ready. of course, he had been ready for the past half hour, but women always just took longer. news reports reflected what had been headline news for the past two weeks in the papers. the crime in valkyrie. it had always been a problem, anyone on the inside would know that, but the city were making plans on stopping it. more cops, more locations, more nuisances to deal with. luca wasn't looking forward to that. on his end, he was just concerned about the ever changing location of the gambling ring, but he also knew that this would be added pressure on their lower-ranking soldiers who were always the first to get busted. they were going to have to be more careful when walking the streets of valkyrie. though luca was concerned and had already talked to fausto about it over the phone, there were more crime groups in valkyrie, and this meant that everyone had to be more careful. luca wasn't fond of the russians invading valkyrie like they had. they were the reason luca had to flee valkyrie in the first place and now that he was going to be a dad soon, he wasn't running away again. no way. not this time. when maggie finally was ready, they locked up the loft and got into the car where luca drove the familiar path to the giovanni mansion. since the earthquake, the repairs of the city had been a slow process, but the street restoration was coming along very well, and it wasn't like a circus trying to get somewhere. luca parked along the street. already there were several cars so luca was assuming it was going to be a very packed dining room. then again, luca told his aunt earlier in the week maggie and him were coming over. he was sure that annora told people and family wanted to see them together again. normally, this would irritate him, but since they had big news, he guessed the more the merrier. luca opened up maggie's door and helped her out. holding her hand, they walked towards the main entrance of the house. "i'm nervous about telling everyone," he confessed. he didn't want his relatives to read too much into it. because if they did, they'd probably come to the conclusion that she got pregnant before they made up. italians didn't miss a beat. RATHER DO WITHOUT

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TEMPLATE BY KHRISTIAN @ CAUTION 2.0, LYRICS BY THE FRAY

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[RUBY !]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 380px; height: 380px; background-color:#E3E3E3; border-left: 20px solid #5B483B; border-bottom:20px solid #5B483B; border-top:20px solid #5B483B; border-right: 20px solid #5B483B;] maggie really didn't know what to think about this whole situation. first and foremost she was happy that her husband was back. luca was starting to feel like her husband again and he was starting to act like it again which was all well and good. maggie wanted nothing more than to just put it behind her and let that be that. all she ever wanted was to pretend like nothing had ever happened and to get back to the life she'd so readily worked for. her best and wildest dreams had always focused on luca coming back into her life and things just going back to normal. in her dreams there was no fighting and nothing to fight about and though real life was starting to look a lot like her dream world, it didn't resemble it enough to make maggie happy. she wanted a husband who supported her through her every decision, right or wrong, but she didn't have that in luca. luca liked to support her in the things he felt were right, things he believed in that didn't necessarily concern her. he wanted her out of the business, that much she knew, and that was something she was whole heartedly against from the very get go. luca had never wanted her in this business. not even from the moment that she'd head-butted him in lingerie did he believe that she was someone suitable of taking him on a succeeding. of course she'd gotten severe and utter satisfaction from making him eat his words even from the very beginning. after that it was about nothing more than proving herself, just like she had tried desperately to do with her father for years. maggie had traded one person who didn't believe she could cut it for another only this time it hurt worlds more when he didn't believe in her enough. it was hard for a woman to stand by a man who didn't think she was right for that position and though maggie knew she would have a lot to combat in this business she had hoped that the one person who would have trusted her most of all would be the one she'd given her whole heart to. but that wasn't the case. the only one who seemed to believe in maggie above all else was fausto. she didn't know why but he had supported her through her every decision and he'd never once second guessed her, at least not to her face. he was a man she could look up to for sure, she had only hoped that the first man to do such a thing for her would have been her own husband. she had hoped that getting back into regular routines would help the situation along and help them feel like there was in fact a family worth fighting for here, because it seemed that no matter how many steps forward they took that one fight would always set them one or two steps back. maggie didn't like that feeling. she didn't like not knowing what was coming up next and though she'd had a lot of control over the past few luca-less years she hadn't ever really known when something was going to come along and screw that all up. she had always known that luca was capable of coming back and shaking up her whole world all over again but after a while she'd stopped believing that he would ever consider it. now that he was back that was obviously a whole other matter but really? they still had a lot of issues that needed working out. they had plenty of things to talk about that neither one was really all that ready to talk about and honestly the therapist mediated talks had pretty much gone out the window for both of them. maggie figured it was because they were embarrassed. find out you have a kid and therapy goes out the window. it was hard to go back with your tail tucked between your legs to be told that you had gone about things the unhealthy way and that you were taking things way too fast. though it might hurt them in the long run, maggie couldn't bring herself to care. she had her husband back and though they weren't perfect now it wasn't like they'd ever been perfect. they'd always been butting heads and they'd always been combative. going nine rounds with a therapist wasn't going to change any of that. it was who they were and it was how their relationship worked. that was the simple truth. to sit them down and make them act like boring, everyday couples who talked through their problems in stoic, monotone voices was not about to help them in the slightest. they only seemed to get to the truth when they were facing off one-on-one with each other, just beating it out of their opponent until the truth was revealed. at least that was the way that had always worked best in her opinion. being riled up like that just made the emotions raw and real and tangible. it wasn't scripted, it wasn't fake, it was just luca and maggie being luca and maggie. she was excited about this dinner, their first time back and together and with such important news to tell. maggie honestly didn't know how things were going to go. she just wanted acceptance and from the giovanni's that wasn't a lot to ask. they had been so ridiculously kind to her as the weeks had waned to months and months to years. they had stepped in for her at times when luca should have and they'd supported her throughout her many decisions. fausto especially. that man was like a father to her. hell he pretty much was her surrogate father. he hadn't questioned her and he'd given her all the freedom she'd needed to revamp the drug business to suit her own ideas and her own needs. he had been there for her more than luca had but in a totally different way and he was one adult figure that she respected above all else. it had taken her a little longer than usual to get ready for this day. she had nervous hands which meant she messed up a few more times than what was normal so it had taken her around ten minutes longer to get ready but as soon as she was they were out the door and ready for this night to start. "i am too. here's to hoping people are actually happy for us." she said as they stepped inside the house, seeing familiar faces light up as they entered. "hi!" she said as an uncle tugged her into a hug, separating her from luca. she was passed along from gio to gio until she reached fausto who took her under his arm and kept her there. maggie smiled and gave him a loving pat on the stomach as luca was passed on to fausto as well. "ah the gauntlet. i almost missed it." she said loud enough for everyone to hear and laugh. notes, tag: laggie/venny. word count, 1,191 outfit, here thanks brooklyn from caution

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[venecia]

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---GIRLS WHO CLAIMED THAT THEY HATED ALL OTHER WOMEN WERE STUPID. were they trying to impress people to seem like they were different from the average female? did they think it made them original and interesting to be the ba ba black sheep of their gender? well here was some tough love, ladies. it made them typical to say that. it seemed like every girl claimed to hate girls. it was utterly moronic, because quite frankly, men were just as bad. venecia moretti didn't participate in such idiotic beliefs. she was a guy's girl herself. she grew up with a handful of brothers and little female influence in her life. most of her friends growing up had been males. but she didn't hate all other women. yes, they could be vindictive and untrustworthy, but men could be shallow assholes. everybody had their flaws, and everybody had their small redeeming qualities, even if they were in denial of them. venny, however, would be miserable without a female best friend. as much as she loved her boys, remy was the sole person she could confide in, the one she would trust with the entirety of her heart. if they ever got in a serious fight, venny would probably swallow her pride and do anything to make up for her. hell, she'd probably take a bullet for the lazy blonde. but remy would do the same, she was sure. it would probably be impossible to find a pair of friends closer than the two. remy was venecia's rock. it sounded cheesey and maybe a little over done, but it was true. remy was less of a friend and more of family. she considered her to be as much of a sister as mona. remy helped her through a lot. the most recent example would be her recent run in with luca giovanni. it was stupid, but she'd been hurt by it, and who came to her hotel room with ice cream and femme magazines? miss tremblay. ridiculous cheer up tactics, and horendously cliche, but venny appreciated it. and she did feel better. they would be returning to boston after they were positive jamie wasn't going to be committing suicide or anything else that was stupid. he was a waste of space, but he was their waste of space.

today was going to be different. today venny was going to smile, and she'd mean it. she would be perfectly polite, and wear her most winning smile. she had done it before, the pretending thing. she did it a lot. when her brother died, she could hardly breathe. but that feeling never went away. there were some things that cut a person so deep, even their best friend couldn't stitch it up. remy got it though, she understood it. that counted for something. but venny couldn't be the gloom girl pretending to be the giddy girl forever. she wasn't overly messed up or twisted or dark like some of the people around valkyrie, but she was hurt. she had been hurt for almost five years now, ever since her brother died. maybe she was stupid for still being upset over it. it happened five years ago. but she'd never given herself time to heal, and that made it worse. it was like the wound was too open to be closed up now. she had been bleeding for a long time, the blood slowed and quickened with the day, but it was neverending. she was surprised she hadn't run dry yet. the worst part was that she couldn't remember his voice anymore, or the way he laughed. he had been the jokester, the one to make everybody smile. marco was one of the best people she'd ever known. if they'd been born in a normal family, she always imagined he would have become a chef, and he would have married a nice girl, because he cared about a person's personality. she would have had a funny laugh too, because he loved to laugh. he laughed so much that he had already begun to form crow's feet around his eyes. when venny was upset, he would be the one to make her snort through her tears. he was the clown, the favorite, the one everybody loved. when he was gone, it was like he had taken the laughter with him. venny had worked so hard to try and help her family come to terms with his death. she sat awake at night comforting her mother, or would lay in mona's bed and hug her when she broke. she tried to be happy for them, because they needed somebody to be happy. they never noticed the toll it took on her though.

nobody did, really.

she had convinced herself it was gone though, the sadness. she was good at waking up every day and acting like she was better. losing people wasn't something she was good at. venny wasn't good with change, even. haircuts freaked her out, changing from directv to dish would send her ocd on a fiery parade. she couldn't handle it, it drove her up the wall and it took her a while to get used to it. maybe that was why it hurt when luca left without goodbye. it was a change, and she lost a friend. a good one, too. and yes, it hurt. she couldn't deny it hurt. but she would bottle it up like she always did, because if she didn't, then all those cooped up feelings about her brother would also start spilling out, uncontrollable. it would be like a damn with thousands of gallons of water behind it broke. the rush would be overwhelming and consuming. that wasn't something she was confident she could handle. two things could happen, it could break her heart, or save her. she would either fall into something darker, or it would make her feel better and she would come to terms with it. but quite frankly, venny didn't know how to handle her emotions, even simple ones. if she had to bet, she would bet on the former, and she wasn't going to willingly destroy herself when she could swing around in limbo. limbo was good. it didn't hurt too badly when she could force the smile and curb the hurt. she would live the rest of her life in limbo. it didn't bother her, really. it didn't hurt that bad, she coould force herself to forget about it. she needed to forget about it. forgetting was always the better option. there wasn't as much baggage tied to it. sad memories were like a ball and chain, slowly drowning the victim as the dragged them to the bottom of the ocean, but eventually the pins and needles would fade, and the main of suffocating would mute. she would reach the bottom and find the beauty there. the colors and the mystery. it would all become clear, and the salvation would be found through the suffering. or that's what she had to keep telling herself.

venny was happy. it wasn't always an act. she did love her quirky hobbies and could smile without force. it wasn't a known science; how to deduce venny's emotions. she had her good things that she adored. one of those things was her family. she missed them so badly, all the big dinners and the warmth. maybe that was part of the reason why she was crazy enough to accept fausto's call earlier when he invited her to go to the giovanni mansion for a family dinner. she would have felt rude saying no, considering the only better thing she had to do was go out and goof off with remy. plus, if she didn't go... well, she just didn't want luca to think she was avoiding him. she didn't know why she was invited. maybe he said something, or it was a way of thanking her family for taking luca in, or maybe fausto was just being nice. she didn't know. regardless, she felt bad declining. so she accepted, and she was starting to hate herself for it. she had arrived a little early, nervous that luca and his lady were already there. but she also missed her family, and this whole family dinner thing seemed like a nice idea. she missed these things. luckily she arrived before them. if she was really lucky, maybe they just wouldn't show. she met a girl named dominique, one of the gio's a little younger than her. she was kind of scared of everybody else. but she laughed and pretended to be comfortable. they talked about college, mostly. her fears wore away quickly with no tension in the room, "so dom, why'd you choose marine bio...?" her voice trailed off as she heard the front door open. suddenly the shakes were back.

she looked at dom, "could you show me to the restroom?" dom smiled and led her out of the main room into a desolate hallway. venny stepped into the bathroom and closed the door behind her with a quick thank you. she was a coward. she could hear the laughter coming from the other room and she looked at herself in the mirror. part of her wanted to throw up so she would have an excuse to leave. "stop being a coward," she said to herself, looking in the mirror. why did she come, why did she come? she didn't belong here. she could feel the wariness people had for her. she was lucky that dom even gave her the time of day. reluctantly, she opened the door and walked back into the main room. she saw dom running up to chirpily greet the pretty woman by luca's side. venny stood there awkwardly amongst some other gio's, one arm twisted behind her back as she held the other. a silent pray went out in her heart to be struck by lightning, her heart was beating in her throat.

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(STATUS) finished. (TAGGED) laggie! <3 (WORDS) 1,659 (OUTFIT) click. (COMMENTS) i hope that's okay. i wrote most of it in advance, but i can change it if you want. (CREDITS) me on it all. lyrics from miranda lambert's "more like her."

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[luca angelo giovanni]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 340px; background-image:url(http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss279/legendskseeker/fk5qwnjpg.png); padding: 30px; border: #020822 solid 30px; ] SOME THINGS WE DON'T TALK ABOUT OUTFIT: here. TAGGED: maggie/venny. --- IT'S NOT LIKE LUCA DIDN'T TELL MAGGIE ABOUT HIS ENCOUNTER WITH VENNY BECAUSE HE WAS ASHAMED. by the time he got back tot he loft at the end of day, he had forgotten about it and when he did remember, he didn't think it was even that important to mention. it's not like anything happened. it was a run-in, there was coffee, and luca told her he was actually married. it was innocent. however, luca felt like if jamie didn't blab about someone in boston being of the opposite sex, maggie and he wouldn't of had a blowout and she wouldn't even care that he was friends with someone is boston. but these two could never be just happy. there was always drama, always relationship-changing situations. their work lives were already dangerous, why did their romantic lives have to be too? it should be one or the other, and luca preferred a dangerous work life. he was used to that and could control that aspect of his own life. he wanted to come home to something stable, and they just weren't quite there yet. maybe, if they were lucky, the twins would be change that. though they shouldn't rely on children fixing their marital problems. "i am too. here's to hoping people are actually happy for us." his hand fell to the small of her back as they walked up the steps towards the front door. he knew they'd be happy for them. to be honest, the news of children would be an added bonus of the night. his family would just be thrilled that maggie and luca were in the same room together and actually looking like they were happy to be in each other's company. at least this would be easy. family dinners were a piece of cake. talk with some cousins, discuss business with the uncles, it'd be a true family gathering. luca sure missed gatherings like this with his family. he had been invited to dinner with venny and her family numerous times while in boston, but there was just something about being with your own family that made you feel happy and welcomed and at home. it had been literally years since he was in one place with so many family members, he was full prepared what awaited them behind the door. immediately, he was harped into hugs and kisses from his aunts. luca knew that they must be one of the last ones to appear for the dinner. violet was one of the faces that smiled at the both of them, clearly happy that they had arrived together. fausto hugged maggie tightly. everyone laughed when maggie spoke and fausto shook his hand and slapped him on the back. fausto had made it back here from los angeles for the night. as much as luca had been in contact with him over the past few months over the phone, it was the first time he was seeing his uncle since the night he left valkyrie. his uncle, don of the giovanni crime family, still looked the same like he did four years ago. he didn't age a bit, a hard thing to do when you lived a life like he did. the conversations seemed to resume back to what it had been before maggie and luca got there but fausto stayed by them. luca glanced over the people. and his eyes fell on venny. wait... what? yup, there she was a few steps away from dom standing like she felt a little out of place even in a room full of italians. fausto followed his gaze and motioned for her to join them. "venecia," he called out to her and motioned toward her again with his arm. oh... shit. "i heard venecia moretti was in town, and thought i should invite her to dinner." venny came up to them and luca gave her a smile, but also slipped his hand around maggie's waist. not so much a dig towards his friend, but more for a way to attempt to calm maggie down. "venecia's family," fausto started explaining which could only be to one person, maggie, because everyone else in their small circle knew the story, "took luca in at boston. old allies. how is your father doing?" fausto asked venny, smiling at her with a face only the family knew of. he couldn't blame fausto for inviting her. fausto had no idea that venny had been the source of the blowout that caused the therapy. and luca sounded like a dick for being pissed that venny was here, because he wasn't pissed, he just wished there had been a way for luca to know that venny would be here. luca just didn't know how to take this. he had no idea how maggie was processing this. it wouldn't take long to connect the dots. he just didn't know how to act around her. play dumb? ask her how she was? though, he knew it couldn't be much different than when he saw her earlier in the week. now, luca felt like maybe he should have let maggie in on that fact that he ran into the girl from boston, who had been just a friend and nothing more. this wasn't how the night was suppose to go. he wanted food, tell his family they were expecting, and go back to the lost to enjoy the rest of the night with each other. now? now luca felt like if he was lucky enough to leave the mansion alive, he would be sleeping on the couch tonight. he wasn't assuming that this would be yet another fight, but it was hard not to think of that with what happened the last time venny was mentioned. well, luca didn't want to just stand here with what looked like his thumb up his ass. "yeah, maggie, this is my friend from boston. venny, this is my wife, maggie." so introducing them to each other, that wasn't so bad. but it was kind of weird them both right here in front of him. even though he was grateful for his friendship with venny because she was there to always listen, or just sit there and wait for him to say something during the first couples years of pure depression, but he felt like she was from a different lifetime. boston was always in the back of his mind even though he wanted to get rid of it so bad because of maggie. RATHER DO WITHOUT

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TEMPLATE BY KHRISTIAN @ CAUTION 2.0, LYRICS BY THE FRAY

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[magdelena e. g. giovanni]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 380px; height: 380px; background-color:#E3E3E3; border-left: 20px solid #5B483B; border-bottom:20px solid #5B483B; border-top:20px solid #5B483B; border-right: 20px solid #5B483B;] it had been a long time since maggie had been to one of these things, probably not something a lot of giovannis could get away with. maggie had tried and failed to get herself out the doors many times over after luca had left and something had always gone wrong. there had never been an issue with her car or an issue with the elevator or an issue with her shoes, but something had never felt right about going without her husband. the giovannis had reluctantly understood. they hadn't tried to push her either. no other giovannis had gone through something like what maggie had been going through and as such no one really knew how to handle it. how did you approach a woman whose husband had decided to leave and not take her with him? yes it was possible that boston was going to be just as dangerous as los angeles had but at the same time wouldn't it have been better if they had been together? that was something maggie had been asking herself for years. she was sick of wondering. the fact of the matter was that he hadn't brought her with him and as such, in addition to just about anything else that could happen and did, they marriage had been on the brink of failure. maggie wouldn't have known what to do with herself if that had been the case. the giovannis were the best thing to ever happen to her and they might have just disappeared if she and luca had been no more. she didn't know what the answer to that would have been but with her streak of luck maggie was sure that something along those lines would have happened. her gio passcard would have been revoked and everything she'd ever loved would have been taken from her just like that. in the blink of an eye. gone. she could imagine that that was the same thing luca saw every time he thought of bringing her along and saw her falling to a stray bullet because of him and honestly maggie had some sympathy for that, but in the grand scheme of things she would have rather gotten shot with him holding her in his arms than sitting around in valkyrie rotting in her self-loathing and depression. that was probably a good part of the reason for the anger that she had, because she would have rather been with him and have something happen then to go without him for as long as she had. as much as she wanted to put it all behind them it was hard to do when everywhere you went and everything you did reminded you of something you did without him or something you missed out on because he wasn't around anymore. the back and forth was a vicious cycle because though she wanted to forgive him and though she desperately tried maggie just couldn't let go of it all. she couldn't let go of the incredible hurt that she'd felt because somehow she felt as though he didn't embrace it all. maybe she liked playing the guilt card or maybe she just wanted something to hold above his head for the rest of their lives together. it wasn't fair and it wasn't something maggie was proud of but in those heated moments it was her only go-to measure to even the score. what? she hadn't picked up the dirty laundry off the floor? she'd left plates in the sink instead of putting them in the dishwasher? she used all the towel racks for her lingerie and used all the hot water? well he had left her high and dry for years with nothing but heartbreak. yeah it wasn't something she was proud of and it was a habit she was trying to break but in the meantime everything seemed to be going against them. they couldn't stop fighting and they couldn't stop reminding one another of a past spent without each other. it was miserable. maggie liked to think that now that they were together those things could change. she had to hope that the pain would dissipate over time and she would stop beating him up with things he couldn't control anymore. maggie had been all well and good until fausto had beckoned over a stranger which automatically put maggie on high alert. she knew every giovanni in the vicinity and though she hadn't been to one of these family get-togethers in a long time she knew that no one had gone through a gauntlet of plastic surgery and no one had found an illegitimate child. whoever this person was was a stranger to her but not a stranger to any of the giovannis which meant that she had something to do with the family that had housed luca in boston. this was of course verified when fausto continued talking, thanking the skinny bitch for putting up with luca for all that time. so this was the boston girl who had been sleeping under the same roof as her husband? this was the girl jamie had mentioned that had started up the big blow out that the two of them had gone through that had fractured their marriage to within and inch of its life? suddenly all maggie wanted to feel were her sharp nails digging under the flesh of that pretty little neck, a thought that probably read in neon letters in the gaze she shot the stranger. she shrugged her shoulders as luca spoke, a silent gesture telling him to get his low down hands off of her before she ripped them off and shoved them in a place he wasn't comfortable with having occupied. "pleasure." she spoke, her disposition reading otherwise. "so nice of you to have taken such good care of my husband while he was visiting. let me take a wild guess here and assume that you know next to nothing about me. wouldn't surprise me." she looked over her shoulder at luca and minutely shook her head in disgust. "if you'll excuse me, there are a lot of relatives i haven't seen in a while. i'll give you two time to chat." in the end maggie was speaking through tightly clenched teeth but she managed a smile and turned away, her body shaking with rage she couldn't even verbalize. notes, tag: laggie/venny. word count, 1,062 outfit, here thanks brooklyn from caution

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[venecia]

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---IT WASN'T LIKE VENNY RAN AROUND LOOKING to cause trouble for all the people she cared about. this whole sticky situation with luca wasn't really all that sticky. the matter of the fact was that he was in love with his wife, and she could accept that. it wasn't like he was some irreplaceable greek god. she didn't understand why he'd never mentioned the woman, or how he could have stayed away for so long if he really loved her that much, but somehow all the oddly shaped puzzle pieces fit together neatly, and no matter how foggy luca's motives were, it all came down the one simple fact; he loved his wife. venny wasn't some home wrecking spawn of satan, or at least she didn't see herself that way. luca wasn't somebody she would die without, though she was sure this was a huge bump in the road for their friendship. or well, maybe her friendship with him. she was still having trouble thinking of him considering her his friend. whatever though, she wasn't going to get into that quite yet. if he and his wife had been separated for so long, she couldn't imagine they were singing love songs and acting like newlyweds all over again. that sort of thing had to run a stake through the heart of a marriage, it wasn't a hole they could just patch up with a band aid. but then again, what did she know, clearly that hole could be patched up with loads of makeup sex, considering the woman was pregnant. maybe his wife was a buddhist and all about forgiveness and nirvana. it could answer a lot of the questions running through venny's head.

it really hadn't occurred to her that she might be another problem thrown into the middle of luca's issues with his wife. she hadn't really considered them... romantic. yes, she did think of him romantically until he told her he was married and having a kid, talk about a turn off. she had already felt like an idiot, but finding that out made it more like a permanent tattoo right on her forehead. but their relationship, realistically, was not a romantic one. they had just been friends, like family. the most romantic it ever got aside from her failed attempt to make her feelings known was when one brought the other coffee when they'd made a pit stop at starbucks. they hadn't gone on fairytale escapades, picking dandelions and lodging them in the other's hair while they stared passionately into the other's eyes discussing vows they had commit to memory. the mere idea of it was ridiculous. luca was barely emotional on any level when he'd been in boston. venny, never having known him before, assumed it was just the way he was. but it wasn't. so no, she didn't think showing up to the mansion would have been a huge deal. she felt obligated to, it was only tradition. her father would have expected her to. maybe that wasn't the reason. maybe she just needed to be brought to reality and this was the only way she could do it. she needed to see luca with everybody else in his life. this was her trying to come back to the way things were.

or not. she never would put herself in so awkward a situation just for a reality check's sake. she believed luca quite well enough.

she tried not to stare at luca and his wife. her eyes wandered around the room, glancing at the other giovanni's, some of who were glancing at her too. suddenly her gaze flickered back to luca only to meet his. then she noticed fausto looking at her. a little too slowly, she tried to move out of the line of sight, but fausto waved her over. the expression on her face was something between regret and kill-me-now. she felt like she was making a walk of shame up to the don. this was so stupid. she didn't do anything wrong, why did she feel like this? if anything, everybody should glare at luca since he was the leading asshole in her opinion. she gave fausto a small smile as he spoke, feeling slightly better that luca smile. at least she wasn't going to be treated like a social pariah. or maybe she was speaking too soon. her eyes quickly watched his hand go to his wife's back before she returned her attention to fausto. was that his subtle way of being like this is the one? well newsflash, she was well aware. a sheepish laugh escaped her lips when fausto asked about her father, "you know him, he probably wishes he were here instead. just like old times." briefly she flashed her teeth before pursing her lips again, looking everywhere but at luca and his wife. what she really wanted to do was scream curse words and run around with a bottle of tequila. but her parents would be horrified at that, so she settled for just standing there.

luca spoke to the woman by his side, and venny was staring at dom until she heard her name. she was about to say something to this maggie, but she beat her to it. her eyes widened at maggie's tone, and her glance quickly flashed to dominique. "i'm going to go help my aunt in the kitchen," she announced even though nobody was listening before leaving the room. venny's eyes were back on maggie. she looked like she was a volcano ready to explode, and like she planned on dangling venny herself over the molten hot lava and letting her burn slowly but surely. she was acting like she'd slept with luca or something. well, surprise! that wasn't the case miss holier than thou. venny wasn't the type of person to dislike people off the bat unless they immediately treated her like dirt. "i know he loves you," she said in an attempt to be polite, and maybe not give away that luca had never mentioned her while in boston. yes, the guy was a total asshat and not exactly in her good graces at the moment, but from the reaction his harpy from hell was having, she figured the woman might dig her teeth into his neck and suck him dry. maggie suddenly excused herself, and venny looked at luca with huge eyes and an expression of disbelief. "if looks could kill," she muttered under her breath. quite frankly, she didn't want to talk to luca either. or anybody. she needed a drink, that's what she needed. would it be weird if she excused herself to the kitchen to help dom's aunt too?

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(STATUS) finished. (TAGGED) laggie! <3 (WORDS) 1,115 (OUTFIT) click. (COMMENTS) this really sucks. sorry? -offers apology cake- (CREDITS) me on it all. lyrics from miranda lambert's "more like her."

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[luca angelo giovanni]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 340px; background-image:url(http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss279/legendskseeker/fk5qwnjpg.png); padding: 30px; border: #020822 solid 30px; ] SOME THINGS WE DON'T TALK ABOUT OUTFIT: here. TAGGED: maggie/venny NOTES: making the rounds... ---LUCA WAS A ONE-WOMAN MAN. everyone knew that, everyone. but maggie. she was so caught up in the image of what mobsters had. they had their wives, and their children with those wives, but some of them had girlfriends, women on the side.women that they took out on the town, bought diamonds and furs for, and told their secrets to. luca did know of men that did this, but luca did not. he could see by the way maggie huffed and puffed that it looked like she was meeting a "girlfriend." luca immediately felt embarrassed because of the way maggie acted both in front of venny and fausto. fausto especially looked surprised from the entire encounter. his uncle just didn't know how much grief this was going to be on luca with maggie finally meeting venny. maggie's icy tone with both him and venny showed how pissed she was at him. she excused herself, leaving fausto, luca, and venny alone. "if looks could kill," venny said. fausto sighed and patted luca on the shoulder. "try and have a nice evening, venecia. i should finish helping, annora." fausto gave luca another glance that just told him that luca would have a lot of explaining to do to him later. yeah, luca already was assuming that. his uncle sure hated being caught by surprise and this was a shock to him. he'd want to know everything but luca didn't really see what "explaining" there was to do.it was maggie that was blowing it out of proportion. "sorry about... maggie's just very..." how could he word this without sounding like a complete dick to both maggie and venny. "she'll warm up eventually," he decided to say, but he had to say, venny shouldn't hold her breath. this whole night had "potential disaster" written all over it. even if luca did believe that maggie was making this a bigger deal than it was, he could sort of see why she would be upset. even thought luca didn't cheat on her in anyway whatsoever, venny was his friend for four years. he knew maggie barely a year before he had to leave. even if he wasn't entirely himself in boston, he could say that venny knew him. luca watched as violet approached maggie, so he turned back to venny. leave it to violet to try and smooth things over. luca should be the one chasing after her, but he he knew if he did, there would be a scene in the foyer of the mansion, and no one deserved to see that. "so fausto invited you, huh? bet you didn't expect this," he said with an odd smile and a nervous laugh. yeah, luca, nervously laughing. "i'm just going to say sorry now for anything else she might say to you tonight." violet watched the whole thing go down. of course, she didn't know who this "boston girl" was she had heard about, but when fausto ushered over the girl talking to dom to maggie and luca, she knew. she hung back though, up until maggie did her glares and walked off. "rocco, go see if annora needs help with setting the table or something," she told rocco, who had been standing next to her, walked off towards the kitchen. "maggie." violet said, stopping in front of her. violet gave her a quick hug, and pulled her off towards the side so the nosy uncles wouldn't eavesdrop. "that's the girl, then?" she asked maggie, glancing back to luca and venny who stood awkwardly next to each other, clearly luca was doing that in case maggie looked back over there. "well, all i got to say is that you're the one that married him. i don't think you need to worry." violet looked back luca that was eying them from across the room, probably wondering what violet was telling her. violet considered luca her brother rather than her cousin, so of course she would try and defend him, but this time around, violet didn't compeltely agree with him. but, she loved luca and maggie together, so she's always go to bat for either of them if it helped them as a couple. even thought violet didn't know venny or what her story was, she really couldn't see this being a problem for maggie and luca in the future. they had been through worse in their relationship, a girl really wouldn't make that big of a dent. "luca told me you guys were getting better. don't let some other girl mess that up for your guys." annora appeared from the hallway. "ok, everyone, time to eat!" she announced and everyone started filtering towards the dining room. he turned towards venny. "see you inside? i think i have to go do some damage control." luca knew she'd probably understand. luca passed violet on his way towards maggie. family members moved pass them, but luca still kissed maggie on the cheek and pulled her a little closer to him. "i stayed with her family, yes. but jamie made it sound like something else that night. she's a friend. you're my wife, i love you." he kissed her again, this time on the lips. 'don't forget why we came here tonight." he took her hand and walked towards the dining room. by the time they got there, the only remaining seat left were across from venny. of course, luca was completely fine with it. maggie? well, she'd just have to deal with it. RATHER DO WITHOUT

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TEMPLATE BY KHRISTIAN @ CAUTION 2.0, LYRICS BY THE FRAY

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[magdelena e. g. giovanni]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 380px; height: 380px; background-color:#E3E3E3; border-left: 20px solid #5B483B; border-bottom:20px solid #5B483B; border-top:20px solid #5B483B; border-right: 20px solid #5B483B;] she was beyond bad at dealing with this kind of thing and she knew it. in maggie's eyes no one was trustworthy. not a soul. it had been that way forever and it was a hard life lesson to forget about when it was beaten into you from the age of birth. there were just some things that were impossible to unlearn. being skeptical of the entire world was one of those things. having a fear that someone she trusted would betray her was one of those things and that emotion was heightened after luca left. he'd pretty much summed up in one action, leaving, that everything she had learned over the years was true. he'd built her up, loved her, and then he'd betrayed her. he'd left her sitting around in valkyrie pining for him, angry at him, and yet still wishing for the day that he would come home. it wasn't fair to him to always be so skeptical but once again he'd proven that she had to be wary of him the night of the poker game when maggie had been happy to have him around only to suddenly learn that he had been lying to her. he had been keeping something that was in fact a big deal and though he'd shrugged it off and played it off like it was nothing she knew that deep down he knew what he did was incredibly wrong. he had to have known that none of the past events had been right. maggie had wanted nothing but for him to understand where she was coming from but his stubbornness made it so hard for her to be honest with him. he never seemed to believe that what she was feeling was real. it was always "blown out of proportion" or "dramatic" or "maggie being maggie" but it was never about her feelings. it never seemed to be about him really, truly understanding where she was coming from and why she would feel such a way. when her hands shook with anger he thought she was faking it. when tears streamed down her face he thought she was playing it up for dramatic effect. maggie had to wonder if there would ever be a time when luca would see her for who she really was and if he would ever believe that the kinds of things she felt were real. it seemed like all he wanted was the woman who would play the silent role in the background, the unfeeling, uncaring woman who never nothing more than cook food and raise babies while her husband went out and got away with anything he wanted. cheating, murder, maggie figured it was all on the table. she would always be skeptical of him and taking up his family's traits but at the same time luca had yet to ever show her that he truly mean to be different from everyone else. maggie didn't like acting this way around fausto but once she was in her rage there really was no stopping her. yes she spat words at this venny chick but she was blindsided, caught off guard, and any other description that could be thought up. in any other case maggie would have taken it with a grain of salt. if someone ever saw her deal with a work situation with similar key parts they would have seen cool, collected maggie because work maggie could handle anything. she had someone who was trying to betray her and sell off her information to the highest bidder? they died. she had a shipment that was blown up in the harbor and caused a huge scene? she found who was responsible and she retaliated so ferociously that no one would strike her back simply because they had to regroup just in an effort to find the manpower to even think about striking her back. that was the business world. in her personal life she was much more limited to her actions. she couldn't just kill this venny chick standing by her husband simply because she didn't like her. she couldn't retaliate so ferociously that the woman was left as nothing more than a shell of her former self. she could do nothing of the sort. she was lied to, she was helpless, she was betrayed, and most of all she felt alone, a feeling she didn't like in the slightest that no one seemed to understand. as she walked off maggie heard her name and slowed, looking over her shoulder to violet who was approaching her. violet had always been so good to her. she'd seen the way maggie could blow up and take her frustrations out on the world, hell she'd witnessed it firsthand. all that work. all the time she'd put into luca's art gallery...it came down like it was all made of paper. all it had taken was a steel bat and her usual amount of rage and she'd demolished the gallery faster than a backhoe could. maggie would have liked to think that violet understood her or at least regarded her with a little more sensitivity but who really knew. at this point maggie couldn't tell anymore. at this point she felt like everyone was against her. "that's the girl, then?" maggie couldn't speak she was so angry. she could only do the bare minimum which was to nod. she couldn't stand to look back. she didn't want to see fausto's disappointment or to see that bitch standing with her husband. she just wanted nothing more than to disappear in that one moment. heh, she married him. "that never stopped him from leaving did it?" she spat back, not hugely surprised at her tone but she was sorry at who she was directing it at. "ugh. i'm sorry vi." she said with a sniffle and a shake of her head. violet didn't deserve her backlash and just because she'd stepped in didn't mean she was willing to take the brunt of something her cousin deserved. vi had been one of the more adamant people to be with her while luca had been away. she'd always made a point to be around and to spend time with her and to make sure she got some sunlight after days of cooping herself up in her back office at the m lounge. vi had been there for her and maggie really did appreciate it, she was just sick of trusting people only to let them down. maggie figured that violet wouldn't do something like that to her if not simply out of fear for her life but maggie still couldn't bring herself to let the woman in. she'd tried at a bad time. she had wanted to step in for luca and that just wasn't going to happen anymore. maggie was sick of other people trying to compensate for something that luca severely lacked which included understanding and honesty if not to name a few. "it's not about her vi. it's about him. it's about the lies and the half truths and the secrets. i'm just not sure i can take it anymore." she said as she noticed annora coming into the room, making sure to say it before her announcement was made because she knew the kind of questions that could bring up. she headed toward the dining room before she felt luca's arm wrapped around her and pull her into him. as much as she was repulsed by everything that had happened so far she still loved him and that was the problem. luca knew he could practically get away with murder simply because she loved him but she needed to lay down the law. she couldn't take the surprises anymore. she listened to him speak and nodded...barely. "love you too." she said quickly and under her breath before she felt his lips against hers. she kissed him back before he spoke up again, grabbing him as he headed back to the dining room and stopping his progress. "i'm going to say this in the plainest way possible because i need you to understand," she said with a pause, taking a breath, "if you lie to me again, about anything, we're through. i'm done playing games and i'm done being embarrassed. whatever there is left, if there's anything left, you better get it off your chest by tonight." she gave him a final kiss as she walked inside, taking a seat directly across from venny. if this was the situation she was dealt then she was going to take it head on and that meant sitting across from this bitch for the rest of the night. so be it. maggie waited until there was a lull in the conservations before she stood, tapping her glass with her utensil. "sorry to interrupt but, um, luca and i have an announcement to make." she said as she looked over at luca. "would you like to say it?" notes, tag: laggie/venny. word count, 1,493 outfit, here thanks brooklyn from caution

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[venecia]

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---SHE FELT LIKE SHE WAS HOLDING HER BREATH. and somehow when she finally exhaled, the pin would be let loose on the grenade that was threatening to blow this entire dinner party to pieces. if she exhaled, it would all explode; it would wreak havoc, and become utterly chaotic. it was like walking on egg shells, like the ceiling would come crashing down on all of them, leaving nothing more than a lot of crushed italians, which would probably leave the opposing crime groups in a good place, but that wasn't exactly in venecia's best interests. quite personally, she enjoyed living, and intended to do so for a few more years. but in situations like this one? completely muffled by the sheer tension reverberating throughout the room? that wasn't exactly what she'd had in mind; she didn't want this sort of drama. she wasn't dramatic; the only drama that ever occurred in her life was inevitable, unavoidable. she couldn't simply ignore her brother's death, and that was probably the most dramatic aspect of her life. things like this didn't happen to her. she generally got along with most people, but she had never found herself in such a predicament. venecia moretti wasn't welcome, and oddly enough, that was foreign territory to her. sure, she hadn't expected to be welcome with hugs and kisses, but handshakes and civil, bland conversations? yes, you could say she had expected that, at least. but that wasn't the case, not at all. she was staring a fire breathing dragon in the face, one who was quite eager to swallow her whole. she was one person, and she had no army, but this fire breathing dragon probably did. maggie seemed to be well knit into the giovanni's family, and that made venny infinitely more uncomfortable.

venny stood with one foot balancing precariously on her toes, one arm grasping the other behind her back. she was the picture under awkward in the oxford dictionary. she was staring at the wall, thinking. she should have stayed at the hotel, she should have gone somewhere with remy. no, not even that. she should have never come to valkyrie, she should have never went out on a limb, because that limb was about to be severed from her body with a meat cleaver. what on earth had made her think this was okay? to hell with being polite, she should have been smart. venny wasn't a people pleaser, and had it been anybody but fausto, she would have declined. even now she was convinced she should have politely declined his invitation, but it was too late for that, clearly. her eyes flickered to luca as she heard the apology. one of her eyebrows rose, waiting for him to find the right word. she could think of a few. insane, unorthodox, psychotic, evil, bitchy, crazy, nutters, coo-coo. come on luca, take your pick, embrace the asshole inside. finally he decided on a more docile phrase, and venny couldn't bring herself to do anything but shrug. for some reason she was sure with every fiber in her body that magdelena giovanni wasn't going to "warm up" to her. she didn't seem like the type to just "warm up" to somebody, especially not a somebody she was delusional sure had "warmed up" to her own husband. could venny blame her though? in maggie's position, had her husband disappeared for five years, she would have assumed the worst. but hell with that, had her husband disappeared for five years, venny would have gotten a divorce, or gone after him... anything but sit around and wait. she didn't have the patience for that, nor did she have the faith. maybe that was why she shouldn't be in a relationship.

venny breathed a quiet laugh, listless, "yeah, he did," she just shrugged. of course she hadn't expected this, but she hadn't known what to expect either, "i'm just sorry i came," she'd never been good at holding back her thoughts, and it was true. she was sorry she came, sorry it was obviously such a burden for her to be here. she didn't belong, but she felt rude leaving now. when dinner was over, however, she was going straight back to the inferno, changing into something less girlish, and going to the bar to get a drink. something strong. she was surprised luca had stayed to talk with her in the first place? shouldn't he be chasing after his pregnant wife? maybe he really did consider her a friend, or maybe he just didn't want to piss off fausto by being blatantly rude. she was going to put her money on the second option. "look luca, it's my fault for showing up. it's my fault for..." she was going to say being interested in him as more than a friend, but for some reason she felt that would be wildly inappropriate and disrespectful. she didn't really feel guilty about this, she didn't feel guilty about how she had felt. she was more infuriated that he'd never told her. he should have told her. that was all she had needed to be shut down. easy, done, and the friendship would live on like nothing. she didn't feel bad for maggie. but she didn't know her, she had no emotional connection to the woman, so why should she be expected to feel for her? she wasn't really good at the girl to girl empathizing in the first place. somebody announced it was time to eat and she shrugged when luca excused himself, "yep," she retorted, popping her "p" before turning around and filing into the dining room.

as she moved towards the table with a few other gio's, she looked around awkwardly, not exactly sure where to sit. "you're a moretti, hugo's girl?" she heard a gruff voice laugh. she saw the face of an older giovanni, probably around her father's age. she hadn't a clue in hell who he was, but apparently he knew who she was. with a small smile, venny walked over to him with an extended hand, nodding, "yes, venecia," the man grinned at her, "you look just like your mother. come! sit! tell me how your family is... i've known your parents for years..." he proceeded to tell a story about how they'd met as venny sat down next to him, relieved to have at least somebody to talk to, even if she did have no clue what his name was. he was a giovanni, that was the important part, right? she listened intently, laughing and commenting at the right times. she was suddenly distracted by maggie and luca entering the room, the only open chairs right in front of her, across the table. she chuckled darkly to herself. this would happen. she was still vaguely listening to some jocular story about her father before maggie interrupted the chatter, claiming she had an announcement, then directing it towards luca. venny pursed her lips. was she informed of the pregnancy prematurely? it seemed so. she was wringing her hands in her lap, staring at the table rather than the couple across from her.

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(STATUS) finished. (TAGGED) laggie! <3 (WORDS) 1,189 (OUTFIT) click. (COMMENTS) late. so late. (CREDITS) me on it all. lyrics from miranda lambert's "more like her."

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[luca angelo giovanni]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 340px; background-image:url(http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss279/legendskseeker/fk5qwnjpg.png); padding: 30px; border: #020822 solid 30px; ] SOME THINGS WE DON'T TALK ABOUT OUTFIT: here. TAGGED: maggie/venny NOTES: i probs ended in awkwardly. i didn't know what else to say. ---MAYBE luca should have chased after maggie when she stomped off, but he thought that it would cause more of a scene than him just standing next to venny and having to apologize for maggie's outburst. luca knew that everyone in his family knew of their problems, but very few had witnessed any of their fighting. and those few were friends and all seemed to watch the most verbal fight of their marriage the night that prompted the counseling sessions, the poker party. that episode had been months ago, and luca felt like they had moved on from that night even if it was still fresh in his mind. was it weird to say that he really didn't like the fighting? who would? they were both just so good at it. luca shook his head when she started saying it was her fault for showing up. "venny, you haven't done anything wrong," he told her and nodded. she hadn't, either, but maggie sure could make someone feel the blame. it wasn't like luca ever intentionally kept things from her. he knew secrets could destroy a marriage. he knew venny was in town. he didn't think that constituted luca needing to tell maggie. she was acting like venny was an ex girlfriend when that couldn't be more farther from the truth. he loved maggie with every fiber of his being, but it seemed like maggie was fishing for his relationship with venny to be something more.dr. banks had been working on making their marriage be more open, and honest to god, luca was trying. so, he ran into venny at starbucks that one day. would he have to tell maggie everyone he had talked to every day? if he was acting like an ass about this, he didn't care, because he didn't see a lot of this being wrong. maggie looked at him like he cheated and he was sick of walking around with a tail in between his legs. when maggie basically told him that if he didn't tell her everything by the night's end, they were through. one thing was for sure, it must be the end of the week, because the week itself wouldn't be complete unless their relationship was threatened. pregnancy aside, luca really didn't believe they'd ever really be able to leave each other for good. there was just too much there, they cared too much, and they were two of the most stubbornly jealous people he knew. it would never work. besides, they worked together. or, slightly. they worked under the same company, if you will, and there is just no way they'd be able to bring new partners around the office christmas party. maybe they weren't the most... compatible of couples, but they probably truly couldn't be with anyone else and feel the same way they did when they were together. luca nodded at maggie. "fine. you can ask me anything you want to know." he then shrugged before she kissed him and they made their way to the dining room. the funny thing was, everything was about boston. most specifically, what happened in boston. how many times did he tell her that he had been miserable? it was like, she never believed him. he was the stick in the mud in boston. she could even ask jamie how pathetically depressing luca had been. well, luca preferred maggie not asking jamie because jamie might like to spin things out of proportions. it was his fault anyway that maggie and he got into their big fight. 'the boston girl.' like it was some sexy extravaganza over there. it wasn't. it was cold, sad, and lifeless. luca did his job and barely enjoyed it. since maggie really wanted to know every detail, he'd tell her that venny tried to kiss him. tried being the key word. luca would just have to make sure that venny wasn't anywhere around when luca told her that one. even if luca had stopped venny, he couldn't blame her for trying. everyone in boston was under the impression that luca was single. not by the way he acted, all bachelor boy and party animal, (like maggie was probably assuming he was like,) but just by his quietness and lack of family history. once they were seated, an uncle sitting on the other side of him started talking to him about business. as usual, luca said how everything on his front was going smoothly in valkyrie and that their operations were becoming fool-proof. the conversation shifted to the russians and what the hell was going on. italians didn't like interference and the new russians in town were being huge assholes thinking they've been here for the past twenty years, when in fact, valkyrie's crime history started about six, seven years ago. valkyrie, which had been not much more than a nice vacation spot away from los angeles had become an area of interest by the fbi. the valkyrie police department stepped up their game, and the citizens were using a lot more caution than they had in the past. valkyrie was now one of the big dogs now. the city had everything it needed for a healthy and bustling crime city. it had the docks which could easily transport illegal goods. it had money, which was always a plus. it also had connections, which every good city needed. maggie moved beside him and stood up, clinking her glass with one of the utensils. "sorry to interrupt but, um, luca and i have an announcement to make." luca pushed his chair out so he could stand up beside maggie. guess this was the time. luca was still unsure about how his family would take it, since though they were doing a lot better, he was sure his family could still see the cracks in their relationship. maggie asked him if he would like to say it. he nodded and put and arm around her waist. "yeah, sure." he look around the big table that his uncles and cousins were occupying. the only other person in the room that new what he was about to say was venny and he looked at her and slightly smiled before looking at fausto at the head of the table with an amused look on his face. "maggie is pregnant," luca stated. "and we're having twins." the table immediately started buzzing saying their congratulations and clapping. maybe their excitement was a little over the top, but they were italians, and they knew this was a long time coming for maggie and luca. RATHER DO WITHOUT

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TEMPLATE BY KHRISTIAN @ CAUTION 2.0, LYRICS BY THE FRAY

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[magdelena e. g. giovanni]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 380px; height: 380px; background-color:#E3E3E3; border-left: 20px solid #5B483B; border-bottom:20px solid #5B483B; border-top:20px solid #5B483B; border-right: 20px solid #5B483B;] maggie didn't want to threaten their relationship and she didn't want things to be so out of control. she just couldn't trust him right now. luca had to know just how little she trusted people. hell she didn't even trust members of her own family. but that seemed to escape him. he just didn't know her true feelings or if he did then he didn't want to recognize it. luca had at one point known just how untrustworthy she was in the fact that she couldn't trust a soul. he'd been witness to all of it. he'd married her and he'd known just how difficult it had been to get her to that point. how many times had they fought when they were just "assigned" to one another? what maggie didn't understand was just how stubborn he could be to deny parts of who she was. he was happy to have her in his life as long as she was bearing his children and agreeing to everything he said but that wasn't all of who maggie was. she was combative and she had trouble letting people in and the most frustrating part of it all was the fact that without a doubt luca had known this before he'd asked her to marry him. it was hard to go about feeling like he didn't understand her and even though there were times that they were really, really happy it was tainted by the realization that even though the moment was nice they would always get back to this. maggie would always feel like luca didn't want her to be herself because this part of herself was still a piece of maggie. even if he didn't like it, this was who she was. there wasn't any point of denying it. maggie didn't deny luca's oafish stubbornness did she? she didn't deny the fact that though he loved her he would have rather she been like every other woman in his italian family. she could never be this way and honestly she couldn't be totally and completely happy feeling as though luca only loved pieces of her. it didn't feel like just her paranoia. it didn't feel like she was way off base. maggie felt justified in the fact that luca had been spending time with another woman, one woman in particular, and hadn't felt like it was something to tell her. if she'd been spending all her waking hours with another man, who wasn't a giovanni, then luca would have had a major problem with it. why was it that he could be mad at her in a situation similar to this but she was crazy for thinking that anything could be happening in general? it just didn't seem justified. she had a right to assume that a man who had been gone for more years than they'd even been together would do something crazy. he hadn't really been surrounded by family. he hadn't had much of a support system. maggie knew that he had some friends in boston so he'd gone out and likely gotten drunk. was he so sure that nothing ever happened? maggie certainly wasn't and it was hard to forgive when his thought process back then was so up in the air. he knew how he felt during that time but he couldn't seem to let maggie in on all those feelings so what was she supposed to believe? was she supposed to trust in his feelings when he couldn't be bothered to share them with her? she was supposed to just have all this faith in him but this was the man who'd left her behind without so much as looking back. why was she supposed to just have blind faith when he'd given her so little to believe in? she wanted to be happy with him but how could she do so when that meant she had to give up every piece of herself just to please him? because luca didn't seem keen on ever coming to understand her so that meant that she would have to be the one to change. she would have to be the one to give and after giving in once all that would mean was that he would want her to give in again. the truth of the matter was that they really weren't compatible. they were both far too dominant to be in a relationship with someone so similar but that didn't mean that maggie wanted to give. she still loved him with every fiber of her being and she still wanted it to work. even if it never would work she was in this now and she had no plans on ever going anywhere. she just hoped for the life of her that luca didn't come to the same conclusions as she did and decide to take a different route. as much as they didn't work together maggie couldn't ever imagine being in a world without him. she didn't want to be in a world without him. all she wanted was a little acceptance for who she was, something that would dissipate in time if only maggie felt like luca understood her. her paranoid and her distrust in him would go away but only if he gave her reasons to believe in him and keeping things from her was not a way to go about that. luca wanted a magic fix but life didn't work that way, ever. his response was good enough for her. what else was there to be said about it? nothing, especially not here where family members were nosing in. she seated herself and was caught up in a slight conversation before she excused herself and stood. might as well be now. telling the family here was just plain easier. if they decided to do this at a later time they would have to go about calling everyone here today and though it was more likely that maggie and luca could just tell one person and let the gossip spread from there, maggie liked the more personal approach with telling people from her own mouth instead of from others. just to make sure the lines didn't blur at all and the information didn't skew in some way it shouldn't. that was why maggie did everything in her business personally. the lines between someone dying and living didn't need to get confused in translation, at all. she was glad to see an overall positive reaction to the news, smiling as people stood and clapped and grabbed her up in hug after hug. the gios always knew how to do it. somehow maggie couldn't imagine her own family being this happy for her. hell she was lucky to even be alive after her father had gotten through with her. the family members parted like the red sea as fausto stood and walked over. no one ever really made him wait in line for anything. it was just the giovanni way. maggie smiled at him as he headed over, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear as he leaned forward and kissed her head. it was no secret that maggie was fausto's soft spot. she was like a free acquisition. maggie had worked for the giovannis pretty much for free and had made them all richer than they could have ever believed. she was beloved by fausto which was completely evident as he took a step back and made his way to luca. maggie smiled, moving on to other welcoming embraces as more family members stepped in. it took a while but the air finally calmed down enough for everyone to sit again and dig in. she couldn't help but to look over at luca and smile. he had to know how big of a deal it was for her to feel welcomed into a family and she was certainly feeling it now. notes, tag: laggie/venny. word count, 1,318 outfit, here thanks brooklyn from caution

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