Topic: News In Twos

Mataya

Date: 2013-08-03 08:32 EST
Mataya De Luca was not known for her ability to keep anything a secret. She was also extremely poor at keeping anything that had her excited to herself. Which was why she'd spent the whole day at work annoying the hell out of her various colleagues and employees, and finally bounced in through her own front door, filled with bubbly excitement that sent her straight into Max's arms with a wide grin, long legs wrapping around his waist as she kissed him. "Dude, you are never gonna guess what I got in the post this morning!"

Max had taken to his role as house husband seriously in between shows and there wasn't a surface in the house that wasn't sparkling and dust free. He wasn't just a housekeeper, though, he cooked, too! So the house was awash in the tantalizing scents of a chicken marsala and gnocci soup when Mataya burst through the door and greeted him in her own unique way. He laughed into the kiss, gripping her rump tightly to keep her where she was, even if it meant the apron he'd been wearing was torn off and snatched to the ground. And it was the only thing he'd been wearing. With Juno off studying or rehearsing, the house had been devoid of anybody except himself, so there was no need to worry about embarassing his family. "You got a Max Yako action figure?" he guessed with a laugh.

"Why would I be excited about that when I have my own life-sized Max Yako right here?" she laughed, only just realizing that he was utterly starkers but for his apron. "Dude ....Juno!" Snickering, Mataya unhooked her legs from around him to set herself back down on the ground, rummaging in her bag to produce a thick manilla envelope that had obviously come from Earth. She dropped it on the kitchen counter, beaming a little too cheerfully. "I got a job offer. Someone's written a character, for me!"

"Well, you know, for trips. We could put a motor in its head and hook up....she's not here," he grinned and then walked towards the table when the manila envelope was tossed onto the table. Max knew full well what a script looked like, even without having to see it. He ran his fingers over it, tracing her name. "A movie, where" When do we go?" He turned his attention back to his Mataya and smiled. This was what she'd always wanted, always had dreamed of. Stepping away from the table, he grabbed her into a very tight squeeze. "It's happening, baby. Everything you've ever wanted, it's happening!"

She giggled, surprised to find him just as excited about it as she was, throwing her arms around his waist as he hugged her tight. "Baby, I haven't worked on screen in years," she pointed out, her disbelieving grin still there as she looked up at him. "I thought they'd forgotten all about me; I mean, my agent doesn't even call me anymore. And then this shows up." She pulled away, opening the envelope to show him the cover letter. Two things leapt out - the fact that this independent producer had big studio backing, and the fact that not only had the female lead been written with her in mind, but that they were hoping that Jonathan Granger would take the male lead. "I skimmed it during my lunch break. It's got all the marks of an Academy Award winner, if it's submitted in time."

"Hey." He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze as she pulled the script from the envelope. He glanced down at the cover letter and raised a curious brow. Somewhere inside, he heard his mother's voice creep in. If it's too good to be true, it's probably a lie. He frowned slightly and tried to shake that nagging voice from his head. "Maybe Jon pulled some strings," he mused as he continued to read the cover letter. Max didn't realize he'd voiced that opinion.

Despite the fact that he was only voicing an opinion that had made itself known in her mind over the course of the day, it still stung to hear him say it. 'Taya knew it was almost too good to be true - how often did you get your career revived with an option to work with your best friend" "Maybe he did," she agreed from behind a smile that faltered only a little bit. "But if he did, why wouldn't he tell me?"

Max gave her a startled look before realization dawned in his eyes that he'd spoken out loud. "I don't think he'd keep it to himself," he agreed with her and slid his arm around her waist. "I'm sorry, baby, I didn't mean to imply anything. If you're all for it, then I'm all for it. Let's just do a little research before you tell them what you think, okay?"

She nodded, leaning into him, glad he was being honest with her rather than playing up to her excitement. She needed the injection of common sense after her overly excited day. "No, I know what you meant," she nodded. "The last movie I did was six years ago, the last TV spot was four years ago. I've been mostly theater since then, and even that's been sorta almost entirely backstage. I'm flattered, you know" But it means time away from the Shanachie, and away from Elena with the trial coming up ....I haven't really been able to think about it clearly. I was just really stoked about getting an offer at all."

Max smile and he relented on the paranoia. "It sounds like a once in a lifetime offer, baby. And I don't think anybody at the Shanachie, Elena, nor anybody else will stand in the way of that. But I bet it was when you were last on stage that inspired the writer. And, if I remember right, last time you were on stage, it was with Jon."

"It was with you, actually," she laughed. "And it was a musical. This is ..." She gestured to the script a little helplessly. "This is serious drama. I mean, the role's sort of the straight man in a comedy duo, you know" She's just there as a catalyst for the male lead, but ....it's heavy stuff. It'd be such a challenge, and I haven't had a challenge in a long time."

Max couldn't help but step back and give her a look. "Then what?s stopping you, baby' You know that no matter what you do or where you go, I'm behind you one hundred percent, and so is your family. That includes the theater. They'll make do in your absence. Go for it, baby."

"Because I'm kinda scared," she laughed, shaking her head at him. "Come on, Max. It's a two-week shoot. That's a hell of a lot of work in a short time, and what if I suck" What if I suck so bad I bring Jon down" Or what if he says no and I end up playing this gal up against someone I've never even heard of before?"

Mataya

Date: 2013-08-03 08:34 EST
"Mataya De Luca," he replied sternly. Taking her shoulders between his hands, he stared her in the eyes. "You're sounding like a high school girl at her first cattle call. That's not you. You've won awards; you're a damn good actress, or they wouldn't have written a script especially for you."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "What, I'm not allowed to be neurotic about this?" she asked teasingly, rolling her eyes. But the telling off worked. She chuckled, shaking her head once again. "I've been kinda thinking it over backwards and forwards all day ....I, uh, I think I'm gonna make a condition. I won't do it unless Jon does. Because I don't think I can face a movie unless there's someone I know on set right now. And I'll have to sort out security, because if the trial hasn't happened by the time we set off for this, I'm gonna have the mafia to freak me out, too."

Max grinned when she stuck out her tongue, and he let her go. "Wait, doesn't Jon still have that Fifty Shades... stuff to do?" He didn't want to think about the trial, the mafia or any other mess that Elena had gotten herself and the rest of the family into. If he thought about it, it'd make him angry all over again and they didn't need that argument to happen again.

"He got back from filming beginning of last week, and this schedule fits in with the Shanachie season," Mataya said thoughtfully, chewing her lower lip. "Filming starts up a week after Shakespeare ends, which means Jon gets to do the Bard. It all fits, it's just a case of getting my head together and finding out if he's gonna do it. Is it really clingy of me to want to hide behind him on a movie set?"

He didn't believe in coincidence, but the situation seemed to be one huge coincidence how it all would fall into place if Mataya and Jon both said yes to the deal. "No, it's not clingy. You've been out of the scene for a while and he's up to date on how things go." Max shrugged, it made complete sense to him. "Why don't you give Jon a call and see what he thinks about this" That way you'll know which way you should go."

She smiled gently. "I'll give it a day," she told him. "Vicki didn't know anything about it, so I guess he only got it today as well." Her head tilted as she looked up at him, a faint frown between her brows. "Would you be okay with me doing this" I know it's been a while since you've had any scripts come through, and I know it's by choice. I mean, this isn't gonna restart my career or anything, I'm not in this for the long haul anymore. But ....it was written for me. I can't really say no without thinkin' about it proper."

"C'mere," he wrapped her in a warm embrace, kissing the top of her head. "I am okay with you doing this, baby. And even if it did open doors to other things, I'd still be okay with it. You're my girl and what makes you happy, I'm behind that. So long as you're okay with doing it, I am. Okay?"

Wrapped up in his arms, she sighed, a weight taken off her shoulders by the reassurance he gave her. It had been playing on her mind all day, the worry that Max might be jealous, or even angry that she'd been offered a role and he hadn't. "Okay." 'Taya sighed once again, enjoying the warm affection they shared, grateful that he hadn't been put out by the news she'd given him. "You wanna read the script?" she asked softly. It went against the rule they'd shared for years about not wanting the details of each other's projects, but she felt like she might need a second opinion on this.

Lifting his chin from the top of her head, he leaned back a bit to look her in the eyes. "Only if you want me to." Max remembered the rule and this was the first time that Mataya had asked him to look over her project. It was a testament to how nervous she was. He didn't quite know what to make of all of this. On one hand, it was a huge opportunity for Mataya. On the other, she seemed very nervous. He couldn't help but wonder if that nervousness stemmed from the amount of time she'd gone since being seen on any screen or if it were something else. "Baby, is there something I should know?"

She looked up at him, those nerves written all over her face. Yes, there was something else playing on her mind, but she was incredibly uncertain about sharing it. It should have been impossible. So many doctors had told her that it was, and yet ....this was Rhy'Din. Anything was possible here. Maybe wishes did come true. "I didn't know how to tell you," she admitted quietly, turning to her bag once again, "I didn't really believe it myself, and then I didn't wanna jinx it, and ..." She bit her lip hard, and handed him a smaller envelope. Inside was an ultrasound scan. And right there, impossible to miss, was the one thing they'd both given up hoping for.

His eyes searched hers and butterflies were turning into ptyranadons in his stomach. God, please don't let there be something wrong with her. But she kept babbling on and Max's eyes narrowed and widened, and then narrowed again. Just tell me! I'm so confused! He took the envelope, almost afraid of what could be inside of it. Was it a stalker's note? Why would she not want to jinx that' Was it a traffic ticket' Stop being stupid and open the damn envelope! So he did. At first, he didn't know what he was looking at and he turned the paper around in his hand, to look at it at every angle. And then, he saw it. The color drained from his face in utter shock and Max had to take a seat to keep from falling over. Stumbling into the chair, he held the photo in his hands and stared at it for a long time. His hands began to tremble and when he looked up at her, it was with tears in his eyes.

She watched him with wide eyes as he took the precious photograph, remembering all those months where the arrival of Aunt Flo had caused floods of tears until they'd finally given up. She'd thought they had been given the perfect solution to the emptiness when Juno had come into their lives, determined not to long for something she could probably never give them herself. And now, when she was finally reconciled to her fate, and had found some kind of peace with it ....there it was. "Surprise, honey," she offered, happy tears of her own in her eyes. "I'm pregnant."

Mataya

Date: 2013-08-03 08:34 EST
Max wasn't caring about the hows or whys of it, all he knew was that something that they'd come to peace with never happening was actually happening. Sliding out of the chair, he went to his knees before her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Pressing his face into her stomach, he littered her dress with tears of joy and kisses. "Oh, thank you, thank you. I don't have to keep it to myself anymore that you're getting thick," he sobbed. In true Max style, he attempted to make a joyous but heavy situation a bit lighter with a small joke.

His reaction wasn't quite what she had expected, but it did the trick. 'Taya laughed aloud, the urge toward tears dissipating as she wrapped her own arms around his head and shoulders, bending to kiss his hair affectionately. "Dude, how do you think I was feeling" I'm not used to having a pouch!"

Max looked up, those tears still shining in his eyes as he smiled brightly. "Oh, your boobs are going to get big! But what about the movie" But you'll be horny all of the time! But then you'll be horny with Jon..." Letting her go, he stood up and wrapped his arms around her neck and pulled him to his chest. "I'll just have to keep you busy by being your body boy on the set."

Giggling at his ridiculous concerns, Mataya leaned into his arms as he wrapped her close against his chest, finally letting herself feel the thrill of being something she'd thought she would never be. "The movie'll be fine, I reckon," she nodded as confidently as she could. "I mean, there's nothing in the script to say she isn't pregnant, and she's in an established relationship. It could add a whole new level to the drama." She snickered softly at his concern over her being around Jon and at the mercy of her hormones. "Dude, that man wouldn't know a horny woman if she sat on his face - not unless that horny woman was Vicki. Besides ....just ewww. Best friend, remember?"

"Well," he started with a chuckle, "sounds like you've made up your mind. When and where do we go?" He gave her a gentle kiss then leaned back from the embrace to watch her face. Everything was new with the amazingly unbelievable news. To him, she was now glowingly beautiful.

"Uh ....if I say yes, we go to Vancouver on the 24th of August, and spend two weeks enjoying Canada at the beginning of the fall?" she offered, still a little uncertain. It would all depend on the director, but she had a good feeling. The script wouldn't suffer, and two weeks of heavy filming at 16 weeks pregnant shouldn't be such hard work. In theory, she'd be blooming by then. "How do we tell Juno' I mean, putting aside the fact that she probably knew before I did."

"She'll take it like the trooper that she is," he replied proudly. Juno could do no wrong in Max's eyes and he spoiled her rotten. "I think the news of the baby is going to be as exciting for her as it is for us. I mean, she gets to have a baby sister or brother. Who wouldn't want that?" Of course, this from an only child. "I'm more worried about what our mothers are going to do. Mine'll probably croak."

She laughed. "Well, we know my mom will try and move in," Mataya warned through a grin. "That's what she did the first time Tess got pregnant, after all." But Rosita had mellowed a lot since then, so maybe that wasn't such a worry. "I'd be more concerned with your mom trying to force us to get on with getting married. She still hasn't forgiven me for being Catholic, you know."

"You're Catholic?" he teased. "Never knew that." Completely deadpan face, but he couldn't hold it. Not with this much joy in his heart. "Momma may try, but she's not going to force us into something that neither of us is ready for. And even if we never do tie the knot, baby, it doesn't matter. Paper doesn't tell us what we already know, now does it?"

His fiancee burst out laughing at his tease, poking at his belly button. "Says the Jew who told me he'd been circumcised because it was a fashion statement," she teased him right back again, rolling her eyes. "We're in a better place this time around. We did the marriage thing and it didn't work. Why should we rush this time?"

"What, it isn't?" he chuckled and swayed with her in his arms. "I agree, totally. And I, for one, don't want to ruin the best thing that's ever happened to me. Most people don't get a second chance at anything. I'm the luckiest man alive that you did, baby."

"Well, we gotta be doing something right." Drawing back from him, she laid a slightly shaking hand against the barely there bulge at her waistline. "I swear, I'm definitely going to start going to Mass again. This ....after everything all those doctors told me about having a three percent chance of ever conceiving, this ....this is the closest thing to a miracle I'm ever gonna see. I don't know how to deal."

His hand covered hers, and his smile grew exponentially. Inside of her was a small part of him, too. "We're going to deal, 'Taya. You won't be alone in this." Of course, he couldn't possibly go through carrying a child to term or delivering it himself, but he was there for moral support.

"I really embarrassed the doctor," she confessed in a sudden rush, her smile guilty as she looked up at him, grateful that he hadn't taken offense at her needing to know for certain before telling him. He'd be a part of all of the rest, after all. "I saw the blip on the screen and he pointed out the hands and the face, and I swear, I think I drowned the guy in dribbly snot and tears."

It stung just a tiny bit that he hadn't been there to see the ultrasound, but just for a second. He laughed and shook his head. "I've seen you cry like that. It's not a pretty sight, even for you. The doctor must be in a catatonic state by now." Of course, he was teasing her again. Mataya could emerge from a cesspool and Max would still think she was beautiful and smelled of roses and sunshine.

She giggled, her delight as the news finally sank in glowing from her eyes as she hugged her arms around him once again. "You were really worrying about telling me I'm getting fat?" she asked curiously. She hadn't noticed the subtle change in her waistline so much, at least not until she'd tried to put on a favorite pair of jeans a week ago and burst into tears at the realization that they weren't going to button up.

Mataya

Date: 2013-08-03 08:38 EST
"Oh, that's the worst thing a guy can ever tell a woman. It's suicide!" He gave her a slightly bewildered look. "And I've seen you pissed off. It's terrifying! Freddy and Jason have nothing on pissed off Mataya." he grinned and pulled her close for a kiss. Enough of the teasing. His tone softened, as did his facial expression. "I love you."

She narrowed her eyes at him mockingly as he teased her, her own expression relaxing into a softer smile as she was drawn close against him, looping her arms about his waist as he kissed her. "I love you back, hot stuff," she promised him affectionately. "And not just because you're great in the sack, either." Her lips brushed his once again. "You're also an excellent cook."

Max grinned down at her, absorbing her praise. When she mentioned cook, it brought back to him that he'd been making dinner when she came home. "Damn!" he jerked away from her and hurried to the stove. The gnocchi was burned beyond help. He turned off the heat and set the pan to the side. "Sorry, baby."

She giggled - she'd been smelling the burning for the last ten minutes, but figured it wasn't that serious if he wasn't reacting. "Should I have mentioned it earlier?" she asked, moving to lean her elbows forward onto the counter between them. "'Cos, yanno, my olfactory thingummies are kinda wacky right now anyway."

"No." He waved off her attempt at taking blame. "At least the chicken's still good. We've another ten minutes before it's ready." Turning his back to the stove, he leaned against the counter beside her. "So you've got superhero power of scent now" How about hearing?" Max cocked a grin in her direction.

She stuck her tongue out at him. "There's a fresh baguette in the breadbin, that'll do in a pinch instead of the gnocchi," was her suggestion as she bent to undo her sandals, pulling them off her feet with a quiet groan of relief. "Honey, you remember a coupla weeks ago I told you your cologne made you smell like a skunk that hadn't taken a bath recently' I think that was the baby talking."

"Good thinking," he nodded, then pushed off of the counter to retrieve the bread. He remembered the incident, and the shower he'd taken afterwards to eliminate the offending odor. "Oh, well, guess it's a good thing I got rid of it, right' I mean, the baby's going to be around for a long time and I don't want to make it sick." He gave her a hopeful look as he crossed the room with the long baguette in his hand.

"Baby, I highly doubt you're gonna make our little peanut sick," Mataya told him with a faint smile. "The doctor explained it a bit to me. Apparently it's all about hormones and cravings and your body getting used to it, so ....there wasn't anything wrong with your cologne. It was my nose." She snickered softly. "Do you want a hand with anything?"

"I've got it, you sit down and relax. You've had a long day," he gave her a reassuring smile as he set to slicing the bread. "I think the baby had it right." He turned to her and plucked a pinch of the bread off of the loaf to offer it to her. "That cologne did smell funky."

Given a mouthful of the bread as she sat herself down, wondering vaguely where Juno was before remembering that the Sanagi they shared their lives with was out at some concert or other this evening, 'Taya let her grin grow. "Now you're just being charming."

"It's a gift," he chuckled. "But only seems to work on you. Lucky for me," with a wink, he turned to nab the oven mits to retrieve their dinner from the oven. "Because with a gift like this, if it worked on anybody else, I might get into big trouble with the little lady." The pan was set onto the range and he closed the oven. Turning the heat off, he stepped back and turned to sit down. "Wouldn't want that, would we?"

"This time next year, you might have three women in the house, you know?" She wasn't sure quite where that suggestion had come from, but couldn't help the wicked grin on her face as she offered it up. Max was badly outnumbered as it was - if the child growing in her womb was a girl, he was going to be the single most whipped male in Rhy'Din.

"Umm..." he tossed the oven mits onto the counter and thought over what she'd just said. "Well, if I have to live with three women, I'm going to have to live with three women. The sacrifices I have to make." By this time, he was holding his hands palm up and talking to the ceiling. What a ham.

Rolling her eyes, Mataya snickered through her mouthful of bread. He was a ham, but he was her ham. "Hey, Olivier, you gonna feed your breadwinner over here, or were you just planning on waiting to see what happens when the pregnant lady gets hungry?"

He snickered at her reply and dropped his hands to his knees. "While that might be an interesting experiment, I'm not quite prepared for the backlash. I do like my hands and other parts of my body right where they are, yanno?" He turned his grin on her. "But it's got to rest for a few minutes or it'll get mushy and icky."

"All right, all right, master chef," she teased laughingly. Her eyes played over his face, warm and gentle and softer with the glow of delight that probably wasn't going to fade for a long time to come. "This is all kinds of awesome, isn't it?"

"Every day with you is all kinds of awesome," he winked as he got out of his chair. Making quick work of serving up the chicken, it wasn't long before they were seated across from each other and enjoying their food. Max left the white wine chilling in the refrigerator in light of Mataya's pregnancy.

Judging by the sounds she started making as soon as she began to eat, Max would have been forgiven for thinking that the meal he'd set in front of her was nothing short of orgasmic for Mataya's over-worked taste-buds. She didn't comment on the lack of wine, knowing that they were both going to be more than a little paranoid about doing exactly the right thing for this pregnancy. You didn't piss on a miracle, after all. "You're way too good to me."

"Just returning the favor, babe," he replied through a mouthful of marsala. Max was swimming in happiness, not even the dark cloud of the impending trial could bring him down. After what had seemed an agonizing journey, he and his girl were going to finally have a baby. And while he expounded upon the joys that fatherhood would undoubtedly bring, he never once considered the late nights, broken sleep, colic or dirty diapers. The man didn't know what he was in for.

((Only in Rhy'Din, huh' Gods, 'Taya's wild enough - can you imagine 'Taya and Max with a toddler" ::cackles:: Massive thankibubbles to Max's player!))