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ingertips circled around the edge of the cup of coffee. Plenty of cream, two sugars. She still had yet to find a mixture that she preferred, but she never let things go to waste, so even if Lorena Ivaskov had to reheat the coffee after it turned cold, she would. She pressed her lips against the side and took a sip. The still bitter liquid slid down her throat and she grimaced. More sugar next time, she decided.
"How long did it take for you to get used to this?" Lorena directed the question to the man who sat across from her whose blue eyes mimicked her own. American coffee seemed overly watered down, but especially bitter in a way that the coffee at home never felt. Despite the time she spent here, the culture shock still remained pretty evident, and in moments like these she missed the morning coffee at home. She knew that Luca didn't hold the same sentiments, so she kept her thoughts to herself on that. "Maybe we should make a coffee shop of our own," She mused then, her finger circling the cup once again, "I bet it would be great."
Coffee was coffee, Luca had come to accept it as it was. Sure, he'd grown up with the best of the best of everything initially, but it hadn't taken him long before he was put into a real world without a silver spoon. His eyes were glued to her face when she took that first sip though because he knew that she was still getting used to what it was like in his territory. The grimace told him everything he needed to know and he wished that he could have reached out to touch her hand or something comforting.
Instead, he kept his hands folded in front of him, away from the steaming mug that was in front of him as well and he quirked his lips up at the side, "Longer than a few months, love. Unfortunately." He wished that he could speed up the adjustment period for her because it was such a tedious thing. It had taken him years to finally be comfortable in the States and he wasn't quite as introverted as his twin.
Her suggestion made him laugh and he shook his head, "Why don't we worry about getting the club off the ground and successful first? Perhaps during the daylight hours it can act as a spiked coffee shop." It was an outrageous idea, but he'd do anything if Lorena asked him to. "It would be pretty amazing, introducing these so-called coffee connoisseurs to real coffee."
t least Luca never lied, even if his truths were far from what she wanted to hear. "Months?" Lorena said incredulously, momentarily pushing the cup away from her. Again, she'd finish it, but she knew that she couldn't handle another sip so soon. If it took months for her to grow accustomed to something as simple as coffee, Lorena's hope dipped for a fast integration on anything else. Then again, she grew up knowing pure quality, as did Luca, so it'd only be natural for it to take time to grow used to anything else.
Lorena felt it was worth it, though. Anything that allowed her to see her brother laugh the way he just had was worth it.
Her subdued smile turned to a full out grin, and the notion of a spiked coffee bar did not fall on deaf ears. "Being ambitious never hurt anyone, Luc," Lorena sheepishly shrugged a shoulder. Luca proposed the idea of the club with enthusiasm, and while the scene didn't align with Lorena's passions too well, how could she deny her brother such a thing? His words were laced with an affection that she never saw when he worked with their father back home. Maybe they could have a happy medium in the future, once the club surely thrived. She knew it would. "Stagfort would finally have a true good morning." The young woman laughed, "They would finally see what they're missing."
It was hard not to be amused by her dramatic tone. If only he'd been joking. Luca could remember his first year at the academy and he'd spent the majority of the time turning his nose up at anything that was given to him. Nothing had quite matched what he had back home in the way of food or in this case hot beverages. To be honest, he'd never understood the appeal of America until he developed friendships and, well, other sort of relationships. It made being apart from his siblings somewhat bearable. Until he was reunited with them, in which, he couldn't find it in himself to part with them again.
Least of all his twin.
"it'll come, Rena, and if it doesn't, we'll just need to ask Naus to ship us out the good stuff," He smiled. That was the only thing he regretted leaving behind in Romania, their caretaker. Her loyalty ran far deeper than he could fathom.
His nose scrunched and he shrugged, "Being ambitious is more your thing." They were both easily as smart as the other, but she had more drive than he did. Although, the club was his baby and he'd been working day in and day out to make sure it went off without a hitch. Auditions were done, dancers were chosen, they had bartenders and sound crew. Everything was falling into place smoothly, but he was fairly certain that it never would have happened without Lorena's expertise. "That being said, I hardly think Stagfort will ever have anything compared to a Romanian good morning. They're all a little strange here."
Luca pursed his lips and looked down at the mug in front of him, "You miss it more than you're letting on, don't you? You miss him."
ausicca. The name in his mouth reminded her of a time of innocence, a feeling of overwhelming love, but also heartbreak. She missed the woman's smile and presence, the way she could walk into the room and scold them one minute, but succumb to their antics in the next, and Lorena certainly missed the way that Nausicca just felt like home. "You know, I wonder if it's possible to ship in some treats, too." She offered a laugh then, but the smile barely reached her eyes.
Whether Luca cared to admit it or not, ambition ran in their blood. To be an Ivaskov meant that he had an ambition and a drive for success within them, but whether they tapped that potential or allowed it to simply remain under the surface was up to them. It took an ambitious man to do everything he could to be happy, even if it meant leaving the people you cared for behind. In reference to herself, however, she felt herself move forward with her father always in the background, unlike Luc who made his own. "I'm not the one who started The Green Fairy," Lorena said, pressing the cup back to her lips for another sip, but despite her wish for it to get better, it did not. Another grimace followed, "A girl can hope that one day soon, maybe this little town can hold its own. But they really need to learn to fix this."
What Luca said next made her fingers twitch, and she could feel the skin of her palm warm from the tips down. "Of course I miss it," Unlike Luca, she called Romania home for the entirety of her life. Sure, life in Oregon was so much more carefree and lax, with work being put into the club but no real expectation except to do what she could. Luca never pressed her unless absolutely necessary for things that needed to be done because she always got them done, which she appreciated tremendously, but how could she forget her roots so quickly? "All I've ever known was Sibiu," Lorena offered, "So of course I miss it, brother. It's hard not to."
"Or people. We can ship her out, right?" She was the only mother they had. And while she had chosen to stay behind to take care of their father, Luca still hoped that she would change her mind soon enough. She deserved better than to be a caretaker for a man who felt nothing for anybody. And the thought of leaving her to deal with the damage he'd caused made Luca feel just as bad as he did when he left his siblings to do the same. He went very dark very fast just thinking about it, so he was thankful when his sister continued speaking and pulled him back.
Her attempt to make him sound like some whiz of a businessman made him laugh. He could appreciate the way she saw him even if he didn't agree with it. That was the problem that he had with everyone, they saw him in a different light than he could see. The Green Fairy was just something that he enjoyed, something that he wasn't willing to let pass by him when he had the opportunity to do something. He'd found the right building at the right time and came into his money not long before that. The universe might as well have been poking and prodding at him to do it. Or maybe it was just their mother giving him signs that he had to do something to get away from the life he had in Romania. It wasn't a terrible life, it just wasn't a life he could stomach. "But you're a large part of why it's happening, you know that I couldn't do it alone." Even if he wanted to, even if he'd tried.
As she began answering his harder question, Luca continued staring down. They'd been brought up very differently, so he couldn't blame her for the answer she gave. He'd have missed his life in Romania too if their mother hadn't died. If things had been different. If he'd never left to begin with. All of the 'ifs' began to get in the way though. He missed his home for what it was early on, but that all vanished when it became a reminder that he was the outcast in his own family. More than anything, he hated how vastly different his sibling was from him in the ways of abilities. He couldn't even reach out to comfort her, not a hug or a pat on the hand, nothing. He lifted his eyes and frowned, "It'll get easier here. It'll get better. You'll miss it less with time."
he nodded lightly, but her eyes glazed over in thought, "We always could, but how do you think she'd react to all of this?" Comparatively speaking, they lived modestly and in tighter quarters. Her cheeks reddened at the thought of her coming into their apartment and seeing the mess that started accumulating in her bedroom. She could hear the woman's tight lipped scolding as if she were next to her. No matter the situation, she doubted the woman would ever do anything except mother them, to which she'd not be adverse to at all. She missed it.
When Lorena realized he laughed at her for her comments on his ambition, she responded with a turn of her lips to a pout. It always hurt knowing that her brother still felt abandoned, lost in a family he didn't feel he belonged. Lorena felt guilty for letting him go so easily on his own; they did everything together, but the moment when it mattered most, she let him go. The brunette shook her head, "You could do anything you wanted on your own," Just because he didn't see didn't mean she didn't speak truth.
Lorena watched him carefully while his eyes remained downcast, noting the way his jaw clenched tightly. The young woman wished to extend her hand out and wrap her fingers around his hand but she refrained, well aware of the reaction if she did. It could be considered comical how ironic their developed abilities became, where they kept two siblings so close at an arms length away at all times, but to Lorena it all felt tragic. She nodded her head, knowing the words he gave were words that were meant to offer consolation, though not necessarily truth. "I'm sure," She said, "Time is a very unforgiving thing."
The question she asked had him pausing mid-sip of his coffee and he frowned, "Hey, there's nothing wrong with this. This is, well, this is my normal." It may not have been much, God knew that he'd down-graded in space and comfort, but it was what he needed. It had taught him lessons he may never have learned before. Like keeping his own space straightened up. Luca's room was scarce enough that there wasn't much tidying to be done, but for the little things that he had, he kept them well-organized. The control freak in him seemed to transfer over into his living quarters as well.
Luca supposed that in time he may see what everyone was talking about in regards to the things he was capable of. Until then, he couldn't quite rein in the self-depricating remarks he made. It wasn't only with his sister, but with his ex girlfriend as well. They saw the world in him, where all he saw was a never-ending void. It wasn't even because he was unhappy anymore, in fact, he was the happiest he'd been in years. It didn't change that all he could see and remember were the mistakes. He found it difficult to revel in any victories he had. "If you say so, Rena. I'll take your word for it."
Time was a funny thing, he'd have to agree. Even with as long as he'd been in America, it still felt like a foreign place to him. Romania was always going to be home in one way or another, it was where their mother was buried. However, after years spent in the States, he just felt more at ease knowing that he could and did whatever he wanted to. Even if it led to horrendous mistakes. "I'm just glad we're together. I always hated being apart, it felt unnatural," It didn't matter that he couldn't physically touch his sister, having her around was better than being oceans apart.
