#Maura Venza

[rudnitskaia]

✨Dance among the stars✨

Rocky and Maura couple standee! ✨🌙✨

I was truly inspired by the official standees, and when the idea of making a couple standee came to my mind, i rolled up my sleeves and put all my skills into drawing it. It's the first time I drew something in vector and, actually, am proud of how it turned out. My husband @lansayn recreated the official Lackadaisy standee's base and made the starry sky in the background, and I plan to add a LED light into the bottom part, making it kind of a famous footlight thing. Overall it will be a shining standee. :3

We already sent the figure for printing - I'll show it to you once it arrives 💖

[aghostnamedcalamity]

You and Me, Always Forever

My part of an art trade with the ever-so-lovely @rudnitskaia ! Featuring her OC Maura Venza with Rocky 💕 and just in time for an early Valentine’s Day!

Hope you like it, Heldig!! 💕

Song credit here because I usually listen to something for very specific inspiration.

[acesandocs]

A fic i wrote that coincidentally got finished in time for @rudnitskaia's birthday so it technically counts as a birthday gift right? She's also known about it for a bit lol. Still I hope it brings you joy on your special day girl, happy birthday!

Theres only a small content warning for vomiting, otherwise this is pretty chill

The time was half past 8 and it was almost closing time. Mau swept along to the beat of the radio at the end of the hall. The restaurant had been quiet today, despite her hoping she might catch a glimpse of a certain blue clothed tabby. It seemed the day would end frustratingly dull. So because of the lack of customers she thought it couldn't hurt to close up early. She was done with the general cleaning, washing and counting the till, now all that was left was to sweep. She went through the restaurant broom in hand clearing up the last dust of the day. She was jolted out of her thoughts by a crash and cawing that sounded distinctly like a crow coming from outside.

‘’Oh great.’’ She sighed

Birds and other animals tended to slink around the building when the customers had left looking for scraps. She felt bad for them somewhat, they probably had little crow families to take care of and feed. But if there became to many of them it might become a caw-cophony. It was a good thing no one was around outside or they'd see the brown cat laughing only somewhat uncontrollably in in an empty restaurant.

Making her way to the front door holding her broom she hoped she wouldn't have to actually hurt the poor creatures. Looking outside sure enough there was a crow pecking at the trash waiting to be collected. She brandished her broom but just as she was about to approach the feathered scavenger it jumped down and jumped towards Mau having noticed a sizable piece of pizza crust stuck in the bristles of Mau’s broom. She jumped to the side startled but not because of the approaching avian.

As the crow had gotten closer a low squeak came from behind her to the left. She looked to where distinctly non-bird-like sound had come from, and saw a tortoiseshell cat practically trying to meld into the wall beside the door the way he was pushing his body back against the surface. His eyes boring into the crow watching its every move. As she was contemplating the tri-colored cat Mau hadn't noticed the crow getting closer. Before she had gotten the chance to shoo it away the mystery cat had thrown himself behind Mau crouching and holding on to his tail as to avoid any part of him being in direct view of the bird. She might have been frightened by his behavior but Mau had been around plenty of weird and quirky cats, she’d even say shes a bit odd herself. Turning back to the bird in hand she shook her broom but the crow wasn't giving up yet still focusing on the pizza crust that was being waved in his face. Mau shook the broom more fervently disloging the pizza crust and accidentally flinging it across the street the crow hopping close behind. Turning her attention to the cat crouched down beside her she offered him a hand. The tortie cat scrambled up acting like nothing had happened dusting himself off and readjusting his neckerchief.

‘’Ahem. Ehhh, thank you…’’ he said stiffly

The tortie had a noticeable accent tough Mau couldn't place it

‘’No problem at all, they come by all the time so I’m no stranger to wrangling up crows and sending them on their way.’’ Mau responded leaning her broom out one hand on her hip, just as relaxed as ever. It seemed to put the tortie cat at ease.

‘’Oh what is your name by the way’’

‘’Ås- ehm Ace. Like the card. Yes.’’

Ace anxiously looked around and stepped closer to Mau as he noticed the crow standing between him and his intended destination still munching on his well earned pizza crust.

‘’If you want you can come inside and wait until it leaves’’ said Mau gesturing towards the door of the restaurant.

She probably shouldn't let random strangers into the restaurant. Especially since she was technically closing but she felt a little bad for Ace, it probably wouldn't take long anyway.

‘’Ssssure but only because I need to rest my… legs anyway. you know, from all the uh wall inspecting.’’

‘’Wall inspecting?’’

Yes, that’s what I was doing before you came out. Looking at the walls checking for cracks and stuff.’’ He said nonchalantly. Trying to banish any indication that he was actually scared of the bird

Mau held back a snicker and responded ‘’Ah, I see. that is very important work, thank you for your service.’’ She punctuated the end of her sentence with a swift salute.

Ace blinked, a little caught off guard by her willingness to go along with his lie ‘’Ha well, yes I’m very good at my job. Just the other day I heard my boss speaking about making me the worker of the month’’ Ace said with confidently smirk, resting his hands on his hips

Mau thought he was pushing it now but couldn't help but be somewhat endeared. She opened the door and let Ace in.

‘’Sit down if you’d like or not, also do you want some water. All that wall inspecting must be exhausting work.’’

Ace took a seat by the bar and nodded. Leaning dramatically across the bar table resting a hand on his brow.

‘’Yes please, I’m wasting away…’’ adding on a few coughs to underline their performance

Mau gasped in mock distress as she hurried to the kitchen coming back out a few minutes later with a pitcher and two glasses. She poured equal amounts sliding one glass towards Ace which he happily accepted drinking half of it in one gulp.

In the light of the restaurant Mau could see Ace more clearly. She had assumed he was a man because of the way he dressed and seemingly short hair but she now noticed it looked more like a bob at least in the front. That along with is voice made him seem more androgynous.

The jovial atmosphere in the restaurant was interrupted as they saw A seagull had joined the crow outside fighting it for the pizza crust. Ace huffed, disappointed at the persistent presence of the crow. Mau attempted to lighten the mood

‘’We’re lucky there is only one or we might have had a murder on our hands’’ she said with a grin. Ace only looked at her, his expression hauntingly blank. Maybe she should have thought more about her audience before making that pun.

‘’Anyway’’ she said quickly trying to divert the conversation. ‘’I like your neckerchief where'd you get it.’’ Ace looked down still a bit unsettled by the pun but responded

‘’I made it’’

‘’What, really? it looks very professional’’

‘’Thank you’’ Ace moved his chin up so Mau could see it more clearly

‘’Where'd you learn to sew?’’ Mau asked

That made Ace pause ‘’Well…’’ it was difficult to open up about that particular subject, even if she wasn't talking to a total stranger. He looked at Mau and she gave him an encouraging nod. He didn't know why but he felt he could trust her. There was something about her that just made her easy to talk to. Despite the miscalculated pun.

‘’Me and my mom made most of our money that way when I was little’’ Ace didn't have the heart to elaborate further that that, Mau could tell and didn't push the subject further

‘’You know this is me and my father’s restaurant’’ Mau shared, hoping to find some common ground between them.

‘’That sounds nice, what do you make?’’

‘’Mostly Italian food, my father is usually the one working the kitchen. I do have a special pizza recipe I get to try out once in a while’’

‘’What is it?’’

Mau smirked proudly ‘’I call it sugary pizza’’ Putting her palms in front of her for emphasis

‘’That sounds… amazing’’

‘’Really?’’

‘’Yes! I mean pizza is fine but sweet pizza sounds super tasty, is it more like a pastry?’’

Mau thought for a moment. It was rare anyone wanted to hear about her experimental recipes and even rarer for someone to want to try them. She couldn't let this opportunity pass her by.

'' You know… I might have some leftovers somewhere I can heat up for you''

Ace leaned forward and spoke lowly, as if this was the most serious topic in existence.

‘’Heat me up a pizza.’’

She didn't need any more prompting. Retreating into the kitchen she got the oven ready to reheat the leftovers. A while later she placed a plate of sickeningly sweet pizza in front of Ace. He cut a piece and lifted it up in the air, inspecting it for a moment. It quickly disappeared into his mouth and the tortie cat chewed enthusiastically only to stop dead in his tracks. He slowly continued but his facial expression seemed to be changing rapidly from shock to fear to grief to acceptance, and swallowed it dutifully.

‘’So how is it?’’ Mau asked hesitantly

‘’Amazing…’’ he said with a strained voice

Mau only looked at him raising her eyebrow ‘’really?’’

‘’Never tasted anything better’’ he continued though Mau could hear him gagging. She reached for a paper bag she had brought just in case this scenario played out. She handed it to Ace just in time as he hunched over and wretched into it.

Mau cleaned up the reheated sugary cuisine, when she returned from the kitchen a third time Ace had finished and was leaning on the table

‘’Are you ok now?’’

‘’I guess. I’m sorry for throwing up your sugary pizza’’ he said dejectedly

Mau waved it of both figuratively and literally. ‘’ It’s nothing to say sorry for. You tried it at least.‘’

''I thought it tasted good; I promise. It was just the way it felt in my mouth that just… ugh’’ he said with a shudder.

Mau chuckled ‘’Maybe you can taste some of my father’s cooking, huh? It tends to go over better with people.’’

‘’I’d like that’’

Ace looked towards the window and noticed the road outside the restaurant was finally free of crows. Mau noticed the same.

‘’Aha, there we go. Now you can get home safely’’

‘’Trust me you’re never truly safe from… them’’ he said ominously. Ace had seemingly let go of trying to make it look like he wasn't scared of the black feathered corvids. ‘’But I think I'll manage’’

‘’If you say so, will you come back some time? I can probably get you a discount.’’

Ace grinned ear to ear ‘’Absolutely’’ he said as they shook hands. Mau saw him of at the door, and bid him farewell. There seemed there were no shortage of eccentric cats in st Louis, she thought to herself as she saw Ace disappear into the night of the city.

Theres not much historical stuff to mention here.

The only thing I did considerable research on was how trash would be disposed of in the 1920s. As far as I found it seems trash would be lined up by the road and trash cars/wagons would come and collect everything taking it to a secondary location to be disposed of.

Heldig also provided me with a map of Mau and her fathers restaurant Upon my request so I could plan things out.

[furciferangeli]

Sooooo I've been meaning to post it for like a month, but someone's depressed and has AuDHD so here comes)

This is a human version of my talented bestie's Lackadaisy OC Maura Venza. She has already received this present irl btw)

[ahhhh-118]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAURA!!!🎉🎉❤️

I made a little portrait of her for @rudnitskaia as a gift to celebrate her charming LackaOC Maura!

She is such a fun and amazing character and Heldig, you are such an awesome person!❤️ Thank you for being so welcoming to me when I first posted about Maríanne!❤️❤️

I hope you enjoy this gift!

Also Maríanne is inviting Maura for drinks 🤠

(Please keep her away from the bunny hugs. Please. 😭)

[spiky-berry21]

G'day mates!

Haven't posted in a while but thought I might as well showcase some practice sketches of other's Lacka-oc's/ Lackasona's!

Maura Venza belongs to @rudnitskaia

Marianne Villanueva belongs to @ahhhh-118

Lacrimosa Ambrose belongs to @samantha-and-her-chaotic-desires

And finally, Calliope Cairns belongs to yours truly

Planning on drawing more Lacka-oc headshots in the near future (hopefully)

Have a wonderful day/night!

[akosisab]

The LackaOCs of this blog's biggest fans :3 Part 1(According to Tumblr)(Hoping Tumblr won't mess up the quality lol pls just zoom in if it does :'))

Amber Humble - @yanci-indigo

Flynn Mulligan - @realbouru

Lucio - @mivanti03

Benjamin Heller - @aghostnamedcalamity

Maura Venza - @rudnitskaia (Advanced Happy Birthday btw!)

And to my other follower and mutuals I really appreciate all the support y'all gave me! Which is why I'll be drawing some of y'alls OCs on my sketchbook : )

[rudnitskaia]

Let’s be a lovely mess✨

If we have a happy ending, I will gladly tie the knot. And I hope, without pretending, You would want that too a lot. If we have a happy ending, One eternity-transcending, I will come to our spring wedding With a happy springing stride, Smiling wide. Ta-da-dae-dae... Oh, If we have a happy ending, That will be a perfect plot. If we have a happy ending... If we... ...had... ...a happy ending... Only had... ...our happy ending... But, unfortunately, we're not. Happy endings even fairies Keep for silly fairytales, And whoever ever marries Sticks in hardships life entails... Is it worthy, all that mess? Who may guess... Oh, who may guess... But for me it will be a yes. So To hell that happy ending! Let us have a happy start And a random now to spend it With all love that fills our hearts. I don't care which cards life plays, Since you are my happy always. Will you tell me yes? Tell me yes? Let's be a lovely mess. Is it worthy, all that mess? Who may guess, Oh, who may guess? Please tell me yes, Just tell me yes! Let's be a lovely mess.

by Viktoriia “Heldig” Rudnitskaia

[rudnitskaia]

It was a challenge for me to adapt Mau to the style of the Lackadaisy pilot, especially because my own artstyle is very different. But it turned out to be a very interesting and useful exercise. :3 Love the result. ✨

I have no excuses for this tho :D

[rudnitskaia]

Mau: Pizza for a kiss is only on Fridays! Rocky: Tsk, that's a pity...

If you've heard someone's inappropriately loud happy scream, that was me. My husband just gifted me a commission with RoMaunce from one of my favorite artists. 🥹

Just look at them, LOOK AT THEM! ✨😭✨

The amazing artist who did this masterpiece is @erikaerai (also here are the links to her VK blog and her Telegram channel) ✨💖✨

[rudnitskaia]

This is a very old ask from @officiallyzzanimazz - so old that Zzanimazz is no longer on tumblr 😭 It was automatically deleted from my inbox when Zzanimazz deleted their acc, but thankfully I had a screenshot.

Anyway, Zzanimazz, if you'll ever see it, thank you very much for the wonderful ask!! ✨💖🥹💖✨

Here's Maura in maudern times, he-he. :3

I think, if Mau lived in our times, she would still mainly wear long chiffon dresses that look more like gowns, combined with flat-soled shoes or sneakers. On top she would wear some kind of long cardigans or jeans jackets. Also, I think she would still give preference to long hair.

And this girl would be definitely addicted to soda pop, especially mango, passion fruit and pineapple ones. x))

Other than that, I think her adventurous side would've been more developed. She would often get into restricted area of unfinished constructions, bridge beams or rooftops just to enjoy the urban view, listening to the music or audiobooks in her cheap earphones.

[rudnitskaia]

Such a beautiful day to be

Happy birthday to dear Åse! ✨💖✨

The evening before his birthday Åse receives a small package from Rocky, that is signed by Mau. She doesn't know where Åse lives, but knowing he and Rocky work together, she decided to pass a present through him. It was risky, considering Rocky's penchant for somersaults, and definitely would've caused a talk between the two later, but fortunately, the package reached the receiver intact with a clear instruction: not open it until tomorrow.

Whether Åse followed this instruction or not, inside she finds a mug with an awful goat pun on it, something reminding a hot chocolate substance with a surprisingly hazelnut aroma in a jar inside a handmade cardboard package, and a birthday card, stating:

"Dear Åse, Happy birthday! May all your days be as bleat-iful as this wonderful Sunday. I also asked papa to make gianduja for you, just like he made for me in my childhood (hope you'd like it more than my sugary pizza, ha-ha). You'll also find some recipes from him below, but I'd say you can simply brew it with coffee or milk, based on your preference. Love you much. Yours truly, Mau."

Thank you for gifting such a wonderful character to the world, my dear friend @acesandocs 💖 Hope your Sunday is just as nice as Åse's. ✨

[rudnitskaia]

Happy Birthday, my dear girl. You can't even imagine how much light you've brought into my life. Shine bright. ✨

[rudnitskaia]

This note was supposed to appear in a Christmas fanfic, but after @acesandocs sent me an ask about RoMaunce "Who leaves little notes in the other’s one lunch? (Bonus: what does it usually say?)" with an art request, I made a decision to post both the fic and the note much earlier. The fic is under the cut, enjoy the Christmas spirit in the middle of summer. :D

Bonus: the fic also tells the story of The Most Ridiculous Scarf's creation. x))

The Winter Wonder

Working until the last client was an awful practice.

Mau couldn't remember when she had gotten a good night's sleep. Hiding behind the storefront window, she rested her head on her hands folded on the counter and tried her best to keep from falling into slumber. She might have fallen asleep for real if it hadn't been for the cheerful music that was playing from the radio.

“Let's not disturb Miss Maura,” a cheerful whisper sounded barely audible next to Mau. A few coins tinkled quietly as they fell onto the counter, and two visitors headed for the exit.

She didn't instantly realize what was happening, and raised her head too late. Before the front door slammed shut, all she could see was Rocky wrapping a threadbare blue scarf around his neck with one hand, and gently pushing his cousin toward the street with the other.

The two young men who frequented the eatery, and who were different from most of the visitors, were constantly drawing a lot of suspicious stares. When Rocky had first brought his redheaded cousin to the place a few months ago, it had been noon on a workday, and the workmen who lunched at the eatery had become strangely quiet when the two young men had taken the only available table near the exit. Until that day, Rocky had always sat at that table for some reason, but every time he had been lucky enough to come to the eatery when there were few or no other guests. On his first visit with Calvin, though, it was as if he had deliberately chosen the busiest time of day. Like he wanted them to be noticed. But Rocky had guessed, apparently, that they had attracted too much attention, and since then, alone or with his cousin, he had shown up at the eatery either when honest people were busy working or at closing time, when honest people were getting ready for bed.

Such was the case to-day.

“And the following composition will immerse you…”

With a click of the switch on the radio panel the main room fell into silence. Despite the approaching Christmas, Mau was in a horrible mood, and even with all her love of music, she had no desire to listen to another sickeningly festive song. It was a cloudy, unusually snowy day in St. Louis, and Mau was apparently infected by its grayness, so even her usual chores were draining. Mau's father and the owner of the eatery, Mister Augusto Venza, had been away for a couple of weeks in Chicago on extremely urgent business, so Maura had to serve the clients alone and, moreover, had to meet 1928 all by herself. Though she was rather glad of the latter.

There will be no fuss.

Slowly, one by one, Mau counted the coins that Calvin and Rocky had left as payment for the coffee, and was surprised to find a piece of paper folded several times next to them. Unfolding it, Mau saw some amusing, almost childish, drawings in red crayon. On the first one, she herself was sleeping with a terribly sullen expression in a daisy field under a big, angry raincloud. In the second, Rocky held a sheep, which resembled a cloud of cotton candy and was eagerly munching on that raincloud, above his head, while the cartoonish Mau was already smiling. Next to these sketches was a wry caption:

“Don't be sour! Let sweet dreams eat all the bitter thoughts. R.”

Chuckling, Mau shook her head. She scrutinized the drawing for another minute or so, then sat down on the floor behind the counter and pulled one of the wooden baseboards towards herself.

“Come on, stop being stubborn…”

Finally, the baseboard gave way, revealing a narrow gap at the bottom of the counter that Mau used as a stash for part of her tips. She folded the sheet tighter and put it with the notes Rocky had sometimes left on his previous visits.

The front door suddenly swung open, letting cold air into the room. Mau's heart leapt, and she hastily pushed the wooden flap against the gap, then hastily stood up from the floor and shook off her knees.

“What is it, my dear? Are the spoons running away from you again?” the old Missis Bruno creaked in Italian.

“A keen eye you have,” Mau answered her also in Italian and added: “The usual for you?”

The woman nodded and headed for the far table. As she looked at her, Mau noticed the bright green knitted scarf under her coat and walked to the kitchen to serve Missis Bruno her favorite cheese ravioli.

“You have such a lovely scarf,” she said as she passed by. “Where did you get it?”

“Knitted it myself,” the woman's eyes flashed with pride. “There's some wonderful yarn at Scaffidi's now.”

“You're such a talented needlewoman,” Mau said, putting the pot on the stove. “I can't knit at all.”

The eatery became awkwardly quiet for a moment. Maura's revelation made Missis Bruno squirm uncomfortably in her chair. The mere thought that a woman of Mau’s age could not knit not only disturbed her, but appalled her. From the kitchen, Mau couldn't hear the old woman muttering worryingly to herself:

“Poor girl, there was no one to teach her…”

But even that wasn't enough of an excuse for her. She had friends, neighbors, and yet Maura Venza, at the age of twenty-two, could not knit! It's not a long way to ruin one's fate, thought Missis Bruno, nervously rubbing her napkin in her fingers. No, she could not let it go! A little while later, she said loudly:

“This is just unacceptable. What's your father thinking about? Certainly not that his daughter is so mature and can't knit. That's embarrassing,” her tone changed from condemning to admonishing. “Tell you what, Mau, honey, I'll teach you how to knit. It's easy, you'll see. Mama left you needles and yarn, didn't she?”

“I don't think so. Even if she did, it remained in Kansas City,” Mau lied habitually, barely containing a grin. She was amused at Missis Bruno's attitude toward such things. No wonder, though; things had been different when she had been young. Mau couldn't prove to her that knitting wasn't a required skill now.

“Not good. Not good at all,” the old woman continued to wail. “Back in my days…”

Mau sincerely hoped Missis Bruno hadn't heard the low chuckle that escaped her lips. She pulled a small bag out of the freezer. Knitting. Well now! There was a book she couldn’t finish for more than a month, and today there were mountains of plates, cups, and baking pans to wash. What knitting to think of.

Listening to Missis Bruno half-heartedly, Mau soon put a steaming plate of cheese ravioli with pesto in front of the old lady and returned to the counter. With the toe of her shoe, she again tried to discreetly slide a piece of baseboard back into the gap.

“…and then on Christmas Day…” Missis Bruno persisted. The wooden part wasn't falling into place. Mau frowned and mentally cursed. Why had she even opened the stash in the middle of the day?

Oh, yes, Rocky. Rocky and his funny drawing.

…and his old worn-out scarf.

Mau looked outside the window, watching the snowflakes fall slowly. She rarely got a chance to go outside, but Rocky, given his very specific occupation, had to be out in the cold a lot. And sleeping in the car in this weather must have been uncomfortable, too… it wouldn't take long to get sick. The mere thought of that made Maura uneasy. She pictured him huddled under his coat and a thin, shabby blanket, huddled in the back seat of the car, and she clenched the side of the counter tighter. He had been taking time out of his day for so many months now to come to her and just cheer her up with something: a humorous story, a funny trinket, or a little candy. As if whenever by any means he could find a little bit of warmth somewhere, he had always rushed to share it with her. And now, more than ever, she felt the desire to return that warmth to him a hundredfold. Slipping the teaspoon to the floor, Mau ducked under the counter and pulled back the flap of the stash.

“You know, Missis Bruno… I think you're right. I really should learn to knit. Could I ask you to lend me needles until my father returns and show me how to do it?”

“Of course,” the woman said enthusiastically, obviously pleased that her story had piqued Maura's interest. “Maybe you want to make something specific?”

“A scarf,” Mau answered without hesitation.

“Oh, a scarf is quite simple,” the woman squinted her eyes, smiling broadly. “With my advices, you’ll do it in two evenings. It's the dresses that require all sorts of tricks, but this…”

After a moment, Mau sat down in the chair opposite Missis Bruno and handed her a few crumpled bills. All her tips from the last couple months.

“Good. Can you buy a couple skeins of good yarn for me, please?”

Two evenings was easy to say! A week had passed before Mau could manage to do anything right at all. And Christmas was the day after tomorrow! So little, so little time… Mau yawned. She could hardly keep her eyes open, and therefore even had stopped watching whether the rows of stitches were knitted straight or not. She finished her work only in the morning, and fell asleep, holding her knitting in hands, with the needles dangerously close to her eyes.

And overslept.

In the morning, after freshening herself up, she hastily stuffed the scarf into a bundle of paper and rushed to the eatery. She spent the whole day in anticipation, hoping Rocky would come, and every time the bell over the door jingled, her heart jumped in her chest. Until finally the young man appeared on the doorstep, shaking off the snow from himself.

“Today is on the house, in celebration of Christmas,” she told him, setting coffee and a plate of chocolate pancakes with raspberry jam, garnished with three raspberries and sprinkled with powdered sugar, in front of him. And while Rocky, as if being hypnotized, stared at this gorgeousness and tried to guess if the berries were purposefully arranged in a heart-shaped pattern or not, she shoved the bundle into the pocket of his coat, which hung on the clothes rack behind him.

When Rocky walked out of the Venza family's eatery that evening, he couldn't stop smiling dreamily. He passed by the lamppost, dancing around it, and laughed softly, putting hands into his pockets. To think that Mau had baked pancakes just for him, and damn, what pancakes they were! But… what in the world was that?

He stared in puzzlement at the slanted bundle, and immediately opened it.

Seeing… a scarf.

Or rather, it looked like a scarf, except… the blue stitches wiggled from side to side, the crookedly sewn buttons reminded two eyes, and what should have been white trim on both ends looked more like jagged teeth. If it was a scarf, it was the most ridiculous scarf he had ever seen.

“How did you knit to me, buddy?” Rocky murmured, twirling the knitted mess in his hands. But there was no clue neither on the scarf nor in the paper shreds of the wrapper. Frowning, Rocky looked over his shoulder at the eatery and bit his lip.

Could it be that it was made by Mau?

There was certainly a chance that someone had put the bundle in his coat by accident, but somehow Rocky felt like there was no mistake. It was definitely a present. A self-made Christmas present. From Mau. For him! Rocky straightened the scarf and lifted it as high above his head as his arms could reach, looking at it like at an absolute miracle. The scarf, swaying in the wind, stared up at him with its button eyes and its crooked, white-toothed grin. And Rocky, as he continued his way toward the Little Daisy, smiled broadly back at it.

“Zib, please have mercy,” he kept whimpering, clutching at the man's pant leg. Zib made another attempt to make a step, but after dragging Rocky across the stage floor a little more, he gave up again.

“Kid,” Zib sighed, “if you don't let me go, I'm just going to sit on you.”

“Oh, please! I'll even be your personal horse, taking you out to the audience every night, right under the spotlight…”

Zib gave him a confused look and snorted nervously.

“No, I think I'll pass, thank you.”

“It's a matter of life and death, Zib! What can I do to get you to say yes? I'd do anything. Give anything. Literally. Even my eye teeth.”

“Why on earth are you so damn eager?” The man flailed his arms up. Rocky pulled himself closer to Zibowski's legs, squeezing them like a vise.

“It's just Christmas. I can't resist the urge to do good deeds. What a stale dry man wouldn't be heartbroken at a picture like this? Just imagine: a poor, unfortunate soul burning with a passion for music, but locked in a prison of pots and pans… as the servants of Euterpe, it is our duty to rectify such injustices! Even if only once a year.”

Zib groaned doomedly. He looked down at Rocky tiredly, then up at the ceiling, then back at Rocky, whose blue eyes stared back at him, not even with a plead, but with an almost childlike hope.

“I'm going to regret this…” he muttered, sighing heavily.

The next bright, frosty morning, Mau went down to the eatery and began her routine. She wiped off the dust, pulled open the curtains, opened the window vent, turned on the stove and set a batch of muffins to bake, began to prepare the batter for tomorrow as usual, and then…

…heard the music.

From the street, very close by, came a jaunty jazz tune, accompanied by the singing of several male voices. Mystified, Mau rubbed her hand over the fogged glass of the window and looked outside… no, it couldn't be. She ran out onto the porch and, still not believing her eyes, stared at the whole orchestra on the sidewalk in front of the eatery. When Rocky noticed her, he stepped forward and twirled around himself, playing his violin with an unusually wide smile. Looking at him, Mau laughed warmly and outlined the musicians with her hands, as if silently asking: How? How is this possible? Rocky only fleetingly lowered his gaze, paying her attention to his new scarf, and then winked at her, continuing his improvised dance with the violin.

It was a real wonder.

Soon the music and singing subsided, and Maura, still grinning happily, loudly applauded.

“Bravi! Bravi! Oh, but please hurry inside, I don’t want you all to catch cold! Come on!”

Zib's band could barely fit into the cramped space of the eatery, but that only made the atmosphere more welcoming. When Rocky cheerfully introduced Mau to all the musicians, whose names immediately mixed in her head, she brought out cinnamon coffee for each of them and a vase of ginger cookies to bite until the cupcakes were ready.

“Mind if I smoke?” Zib asked, making himself comfortable in the old chair. Mau shook her head, locking the door. No, there will be no working until the last client today. Today will be only the celebration.

“How could I say no after such an amazing concert? How did you all even sign up for this?”

Zib chuckled, giving Rocky a sly look.

“Well, let's just say he's got a long way to work it off.”

“Oh, it was worth it,” the young man shrugged nonchalantly.

Following the cozy Christmas aromas, the tiny room was filled with stories from Zib's band's past, music and laughter. Mau couldn't remember when she had felt so alive, so it was like a dream. Such a sweet, sweet dream. In her mind, she went back to those distant noisy evenings in New York, when every holiday she and her father celebrated in the large company of the Riva family. When there was no fear or anxiety, when there was warmth and hope in everything. Mau's gaze lingered on Rocky. She didn't understand how he, with all his troubles and hardships, every time managed to do the impossible: even if only for a short period of time, but to bring her back that long-lost hope. But it was then, on that sunny Christmas Eve, when she finally heard in herself undeniably loudly: I love you.

After more than one hour and more than one cup of coffee, after a series of stories and a particularly noisy argument, Sy climbed up on the counter and began to dance and juggle apples to the lively rhythmic clapping…

When suddenly, dumbfounded, with a key in his hand, Augusto Venza appeared on the doorstep.

[rudnitskaia]

Has Maura met cactus friend?? :D

Not only she did, but she also created a lovely friend for them! xDD

Meet The Most Ridiculous Scarf! Or simply The Skewed Scarf. x))

[rudnitskaia]

Someone she knows just had a baby and Mau is asked if she wants to hold it, how odes she react?

follow-up question is she good with kids?

Thank you so much for the ask, @coffeintheface, it was super cute to draw! I love to dive into such cozy scenes, they soothe me, and I hope you'll feel that warmth, too. ✨💖✨

And it was the perfect opportunity to show Mau as a kid. :3 Augusto daily tried his best to braid her hair, let's praise the man, he's a pro now. x))