"No, no, no, Alex," Francesca scoffed, snatching his half-built sandwich right out of his hands. "Give. I do for you. Make proper sandwich."

Before he could protest, she dismantled his creation of seven layers of prosciutto on bred, and rebuilt it properly. Fresh mozzarella, thin ribbons of cold cuts, and not just prosciutto, topped with fat slices of the world's best tomatoes.

"Thanks," Alex smiled up at her from his seat as he took back the sandwich. "What's wrong with just eating prosciutto only again? If it's my favourite." He wasn't fumbling anymore. Even though she was gorgeous, he'd moved past word-mush.

It was just meeting her…damn

"Balance, we already over this," Nino said through a mouthful of his own sandwich. "Perfect is not one thing. It is thing mix together to make perfect. Even perfect no exist, but is saying."

"Si, ma Francesca, why you ruin your own body, then?" Nina sucked her teeth and floated around the table, tidying up. "Tattoo. Ruin yourself. I no believe your father let you. You were perfect girl."

The second sandwich, which Francesca made for him, was far better than the one he had made himself. After not eating all day, the crisp, still warm bun filled with tart and sweet tomatoes, fresh cold cuts, and soft cheese made him moan. Thankfully, no one made comments about how quickly he was eating. He was also certain he could fit at least two more.

Francesca caught his eye and winked as Nino and Nina went on about how terrible and world-ending getting tattoos and piercings where. Did the wink send a shiver up his spine? Yes. But was she flirting? No way. She was just a flirty, southern Italian young woman who happened to be both stunning and easy going.

He had tripped over his words when introduced to her. Nino had laughed and said something about the brains of young boys and warned him that he would chop something off if he stepped out of line. Nina had floated up to squeeze Francesca so hard he heard her back crack. Then Francesca was towering over him, embracing him, kissing him on his cheek three times, and making him forget his own name. It was the pat on the top of his head and the comment about how 'cute and little," he was that let him know she saw him as simply a friend and coworker.

Francesca was easily six-foot-two, with dark wavy hair that caught the sun. Her eyes were so blue they looked borrowed from the Italian sea. Sharp brows, clear skin, that was strongly tanned, with a little red mole just above her full lips. She was lean but distractingly curved, wrapped in a simple dress. She was also inked over with tiny black tattoos. A knife here, a mask there, lines of Italian script curling over her arms, legs, and even her collarbones. Her ears were covered in gold piercings, not quite a punk, but easily mistaken for one in the West. She carried herself like someone born into laughter and sun, where every touch was friendly, but don't step over the line or she'd shank you and definitely get away with it.

"Ma no," Francesca finally cut in, chomping on a piece of moz. "You old generation always want things to stay the same. Things never stay the same. Like this," she gestured with her chin toward the shop door, back to Toronto. "I am here now, and there, I come to Canada. Work for you two."

She leaned over and wrapped her tattoo covered arm around Nina, rubbing the old woman's back. "See? I came for the best cook. And to help you…you know…," she looked back and forth between the old couple. "Mi father told me…about your plans…the new thing."

Damn, Alex though, watching Nina melt. He'd seen Nina scold and smother with affection. But croon? Never. He realized that Francesca was still staring at him, and that he probably looked like he was checking her out.

Nina suddenly let out a laugh, the kind that bubbled up and filled the garden with even more life, before floating over to pinch Alex's cheeks.

"This one?" she cackled.

Alex froze with his cheeks being squished between Nina's tiny, powerful Lich fingers, as he realized that Francesca wasn't mistaking him for checking her out. She was sizing him up. Seeing if he could be trusted.

"He know," Nina said, giving one last painful pinch before floating towards Nino. "No worry. Alex is friend of ours."

The word landed heavily. It wasn't just spoken aloud, but reverberated in the Garden. Tingles hit his chest, warming him yes, but behind the warmth was something vast and impossible. Power pressed down on the garden and Alex was reminded what it meant to be acknowledged by creatures like them.

Friend of a Lich, Alex thought. Oh yeah, totally normal.

Francesca's blue eyes lingered like a knife, measuring every inch of him. She was protective. Blood relative, Alex remembered, and she was tied to Nino and Nina, and that meant she was likely to gut anyone who thought to mess with them.

"Basta," Enough Nino rumbled, and the pressure cracked. Francesca's shoulders eased and she offered Alex another wink. "We trust Alex. He there for us, and is good boy, so we there for him."

Alex exhaled, realizing he'd been holding his breath. He tried to cut the tension with a cheeky grin. "Look, if you're worried I'm going to be a better delivery…uhh…person, than you, just say so. I'll bet deliveries in Italy take forever! You can't really take your time and go slow in Toronto, but I'll help you along."

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Francesca's smile quirked into a smile that wasn't all sweetness. "Better?" she asked, leaning back in her chair. "We see, piccolo. We will see. You know I run mountain and valley and island for gelato? And you deliver pizza. Worst case, it go cold. Gelato melt. And I was best gelato delivery girl in south."

"Basta!" Nino fist thudded against the table. He could have broken it, but it was enough o jolt Alex and Francesca into silence. "See? Problem with new generation. Always talk and brag." He said mostly jokingly as he pulled a cigarette from nowhere and took a long drag.

"We have big task ahead of us. It will be difficult," His eyes were heavy and settled first on his niece. "Francesca, thank you for help, even though we no plan this." Then he turned to Alex. "Alex, you grow so much. We very proud. Thank you again for help us."

Nino sucked down the cigarette, and flicked it away, where it disappeared in the weird zipper in reality he sent things to. The old man took a deep breath, and shifted his look back to Francesca.

"This next part, upgrading Lich domain? Very difficult. Very many requirements. You sure you OK to help? We already ask Alex, and he say yes."

That made Alex's chest swell with pride. Of course, Nino and Nino would get all the help they needed. They had given him the best job ever, and if they needed help franchising their Lich Domain, growing it, he would help. He was their friend, and friends helped each other in a post System world.

Francesca nodded seriously. She stole a glance at Alex before turning back to Nino. "Of course I help, Zio. I help because you're family. I help because I want to. You give me opportunity." Uncle

Nino's arm, too far to actually reach, moved to pat her, and somehow the gesture landed anyway. It was a real trick of the eye, Alex supposed, but he could never figure out their movement tricks in their Domain.

"Perfetto." Nino and Nina said together.

Alex leaned forward while munching the last bits of his second sandwich. "So…what's the plan? How are we supposed to help you grow your domain? What do need us to do?"

"Oh," Nina said devilishly. "We just need you to deliver to harder Dungeon."

Alex was surprised to find that Nina's answer made him excited. Nervous, yes, but he felt ready to take on bigger challenges, harder deliveries. The tips had to be better, and he continue to grow his Skills and his Core. Running through places Adventurer's fell each day was normal now, and if he wanted to reach the limits of his personal power, he would need bigger obstacles. With his Skill set and job, that meant harder Dungeons.

"I know that look," Nino said, and suddenly the old man's arm was on Alex's shoulder. "No get cocky. I feel terrible for ask you. The Dungeons we start accepting deliveries too we used to say no. No delivery, too danger. We stop taking delivery from them long time ago," he looked back and forth between Alex and Francesca. "But now I think you can handle. We just make sure you have extra food buff."

"No problemo," Francesca said excitedly. "I did not come to Canada to run easy Dungeon. Any Dungeon, any time. And Alex can take easy one."

Alex ignored the jab, and instead asked, "You said you stopped taking deliveries from them. Why?"

Nino and Nina looked at each other, and it was Nina that nodded first.

"We stop taking delivery from certain Dungeon because…," Nina started, but trailed off.

"Because old delivery boy die. All of them," Nino finished, meeting Alex's eyes. "They are very difficult to run. Some say too difficult. If you can't handle, we understand. No hard feeling. You always be family."

The answer chilled Alex. But still, his ambition won out over his fear. The fear, he realized, wasn't coming from his stomach. It was coming from his chest, while his belly was warm and ready to go. If Alex had learned anything in the few short months he had been linked up with Nino and Nina, it was to trust his gut.

Hasn't done me wrong so far.

"I'm in." Alex and Francesca answered together, surprising themselves and looking at each other.

"See?" Nina chided, pulling out a tupperware from nowhere and sitting it on the table. "I knew you two would be good friend. Competition is good, but you need to watch each other back."

Alex and Francesca sized each other up, again. He didn't have anything against her at all, but he could tell she was wary of him or maybe what he represented. Someone from outside the circle? A stranger? Once he looked past the sweet, playful woman, he could see beneath the gorgeous exterior that was covered in tattoos. Underneath her beauty, Francesca was someone who loved deeply, and it prevented her from letting people through to the real her.

A lot like Nina, really.

Her smile broke first, and Alex joined her. He'd just make sure not to piss her off too much.

"Ok, tell us the details. What are we in for?" Francesca asked, offering Alex another jolting wink.

What followed was Nino describing the Dungeons that they would have to run, the Bosses they would encounter, and the difficulty involved with each. Turned out, Nino knew a lot about Dungeons, which didn't surprise Alex in the slightest. As he and Francesca asked more and more questions, Alex went from ready to take on the world, to scared at some of the details Nino offered, to once again ready to punch the center of the universe. The prospect of challenging himself, growing, and helping Nino and Nina while snagging some no doubt unbelievable tips excited him.

No bloody way I'm backing out.

Francesca was a riot. She and Alex fell back into friendly banter, teasing Nino and Nina and not biting at one another. Though through the entire conversation, he wondered what kind of Skills she had that made her such a good deliverer. She just seemed so confident and relaxed with her abilities, not once showing any ounce of fear.

She caught him looking at her a few times. Each time she'd offer up a smirk, or lean forward. He wasn't about to fall for that one.

The food was delicious, and for dessert, Nina dolled out freshly baked cookies. They were perfectly warm almond ones with crystalized sugar on top. Simple, but they were some of the best things Alex had ever tasted.

The night wound down, and Alex was just making his leave, ready to take on the deliveries tomorrow, when he noticed Francesca had disappeared from the table. He had just been saying his goodbyes to Nino…

Where the hell did she go?

"Not only the one with cool Skills, Alex." Francesca said in his ear from behind him.

He spun, but she wasn't there.

What the…

Alex tried to keep his composure as Francesca rematerialized infront of him. One moment the space before him was empty, the next, the tall Italian woman faded into existence. Immediately after that, she was kissing him on the cheek and bidding him goodnight.

"Mmm," she said in his ear after the distractingly close final hug. "Maybe not too piccolo after all."

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