darling {c.l.}

s e v e n t e e n

"you sure you're alright Fran? I don't mind sending a call to the doctor" Charles asks as I hold an icepack to my jaw after our training sessions, where he managed to punch me in the jaw.

"I'm fine Charles I promise, just proof that you have a strong left hook" I chuckle holding the ice pack as we walk out of my gym and through his house.

"mon dieu charles! Qu-est que tu a fait?" Pascale asks shocked as she notices me holding the obvious icepack to my jaw

"nothing mama, good morning to you too" Charles chuckles pressing a kiss to her cheek.

"Francesca dear, are you alright?" She asks gently moving my hand with the icepack to examine the bruise forming on my jaw.

"i'm alright, I promise. We were sparring and he caught me off guard thats all. I promise I'm alright" I tell her a small smile.

"Charles.. Espèce d'idiot, tu veux qu'elle reste n'est-ce pas?" She asks her son causing us both to burst out laughing.

"i'm ok I promise Pascale, thank you for the concern" I chuckle as she presses a kiss to my cheek and gives Charles a stern glance before walking away and I move to rest the icepack against the forming bruise.

"i think my mum likes you more than me" Charles chuckles as we continue our walk up to his room, the door closing behind us with a quiet thud.

"to be fair, you did literally punch me in the face" I chuckle as he walks up to me and squeezes my cheeks in his hands before pressing a kiss to his lips. "and I'm very sorry" he replies gripping my wrist to move my hand and examine the bruise himself.

"it shouldn't leave to bad of a mark in the coming days, might just be a bit painful" he explains before letting go and moving across the room.

"speaking of marks, how is your cut?" I ask him as he pulls the tank top off his sweat clad body and tosses towards the growing pile of dirty laundry

"you tell me Dr. Gambino" he teases turning to face me again and I remove the smaller bandage on his stomach to cover the slowly healing cut.

"it's stopped bleeding and is finally starting to scab over which is good, I say shower, then I'll put a fresh bandage on it" I tell him as I remove the entire bandage before tossing it into the bin.

"alright, I could use some company you know?" He chuckles, I roll my eyes in response continuing to hold the ice pack to my jaw.

"fine" I reply as he grabs my hand and pulls me into the bathroom behind him and he quickly turns on the water, letting the temperature in the bathroom rise as we both strip down before stepping into the shower. The rain shower head immediately drenching my hair and relaxing my tense muscles after training.

"turn around" Charles mumbles as I face him, I give him a glance before turning around, facing the tile wall as I feel his hands start running through my wet hair and the smell of my vanilla shampoo fills my senses. I lean my head back in content as he continues to massage my scalp.

"did I tell you 'bout the letter?" I ask him breathlessly, my mind a bit foggy, letting myself relax.

"what letter?" He asks as the shampoo runs out of my hair before I turn back to face him.

"i got a parcel with a bunch of photos of me from when I was a child, I didn't look at them closely enough to be sure but they are very similar to the ones Mr. Sasso has, and it was from an anonymous sender threatening to release them if I kept looking for information about my mother" I explain as I reach up and return the favour running my hands through Charles mop hair.