Work With Me -Bruno Buccellati x Reader-

6- Happy anniversary

TW for alcohol abuse (let me know if I should TW anything else)

Days passed, and you adjusted to your new life. Bruno and you became more civil, not friends, but civil. His team didn't visit, and you didn't go to anymore lunches with them, but Bruno told you one afternoon that they had apologised for what they said. He had gone out for lunch with them at Libbecio's again, whilst you stayed home and continued working. 

You had gotten quite a bit done in those few days. The mess in Bruno's office became more and more manageable, and you could start to see his desk beneath the mound of papers. The environment helped, you think, the calm surroundings where you didn't feel pressured or stressed. When the breeze was calmer, you opened the window, letting the cool air lift the corners of the sheets, as long as it didn't blow them away. You listened to the bird song as you worked, trying your best to whistle along. If Bruno was in the room with you, you managed to ignore him, but when he wasn't, you definitely felt yourself relax more. It was like this weight was lifted, because even with the lack of arguments, you still had to hold your tongue around him. He still made you angry, even when he was being nice to you. And he was nice to you a lot, for someone who supposedly hated you. 

It was one morning, as you stood on the balcony, looking out on the front of Bruno's villa. You were leaning on the railing, not trusting your own balance. From behind you, you could hear the crash of the sea as the tide was at its highest. You wanted to see it, but you also knew how much it would hurt you. Instead, you closed your eyes, imagining how it looked, the blue of the water, the white of the foam, cascading down on the rocks. As it pulled in the waste of the sea, you shuddered. In your hand, you held a cigarette to your lips. Slowly, you blew out the smoke, letting the heat warm the tip of your nose. You coughed- you hadn't smoked in a while.

"I thought you quit those things, I haven't seen you smoke since you got here." Bruno was at the door, he always turned up at the wrong moment,

"I haven't smoked since I got here." You said, tapping the ash off, letting it fall off the edge and onto the grass below. 

"Trying to go cold turkey? I don't mind if you smoke, just do it outside." He walked next to you, but he didn't lean down, "I've got an ashtray somewhere, Abbachio uses it-"

"Don't bother, I'll stop after today. I haven't smoked in a year, I can quit again."

"Whats so special about today then? Birthday cigarette?"

"Hmm something like that." You put the cigarette back to your mouth to avoid speaking. The long drag burned your throat, but you didn't mind it. 

"You can tell me if something's bothering you, what is it?"

You finally let the mouthful of smoke leave you. You caught Bruno's nose twitch. "Today's the day it happened." You said finally, looking out past the driveway and down the road.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I had no idea." 

"It's alright. I'm just worse on this day. I'll get to work in a bit, don't worry."

"Take the day off," Bruno offered, "Really, Y/N, I'm so sorry."

"I want to believe it wasn't you, I really do." You took a final drag, you weren't sure what to do with the butt. In a moment, Bruno had gone and brought out a glass ashtray for you.

"Here." 

"Thanks." You placed it in there. "I'm going to make myself a coffee, I'll be back up in a minute." 

You left Bruno on the balcony. He stood there, holding the ashtray in his hand. He looked from it to the sky. It troubled him, how pained you were. And yet, it seemed despite you being at your worse today, you were in fact quieter about it. When you had spoke to him before about it, you had been loud and brutal, but now you were almost silent. He took the ashtray inside and left it on his desk. You were going to need it again at some point he thought.