Chapter Text
The Boss and Shaundi’s first night out to dinner ended up going well without a hitch, as it appeared from the lieutenant's point of view. The leader of the Saints however, was a different story behind the scenes. The two women arrived at the dinner table set up for them by Perry, the owner of the restaurant. The older man was astonished that the former reality star ended up being the blonde’s plus one, not thinking deep into what was going on until serving the main entrees. Afterwards, the attempts of making small talk with the two women fell flat for the restaurant owner. Cecilia was quick to catch onto Perry’s consistent pestering and was just as quick to make him stop with one of her signature piercing glares. That alone was enough to make Perry come to the realization that this was in fact the leader of the Saints, well known for her ruthlessness and decided to back off out of both respect and fear. Afterwards, the older man decided not to bother the two for the rest of the evening and returned to managing the rest of the restaurant. While the Boss had no aggressive intentions, her natural intimidation was enough to warrant some much needed privacy.
“How do you like it, Shaundi?” Cecilia asked, checking on her girlfriend making sure everything is fine. The blonde could tell that the lieutenant was relaxed and was enjoying her evening, which relieved her.
“It’s amazing! Thanks for taking me here, babe. This is the best chicken alfredo I’ve ever had. Don’t worry, maybe next time, I’ll get something more adventurous.” The brunette giggled, her entree was definitely a classic option and familiar to her, compared to the Boss’ entree.
Cecilia’s father is from Naples who used to make some amazing dishes from his hometown whenever it was his turn to make dinner. Since she was more knowledgeable about authentic dishes when she was growing up, the Boss got herself some frutti di mare in a spicy red sauce. For the blonde, that dish was also a safe option as it was her favorite pasta dish and was very particular about the spice levels of the dish.
“Glad that you like it! Wish that my pasta had more kick to it, but the shellfish is well prepared.”
“Wanna try some of my food?” Shaundi asked Cecilia, moving her fork that had a piece of creamy chicken alfredo near the Boss’ dish, prompting the blonde to act quickly.
“Babe, I’ll try once you put it in a separate plate. I much rather not have the creamy sauce combined with the red sauce..” The Boss responded, Shaundi shrugged off the comment but did place her food on a separate dish for the blonde to try out later. There is no one in the Saints that is picky about Italian food more than the Boss was to the point where pineapple on pizza is banned whenever the gang does a pizza run.
After finishing their meals, the two women poured some fine wine, and with this opportunity of privacy, the Boss initiated bringing her hand out for the lieutenant to hold while the two continued to make conversation. While Shaundi told her girlfriend about how her day went, the blonde paid attention to the details and at the time couldn’t help but adore her girlfriend’s silky smooth hand that she held. The lieutenant noticed and indulged in it, placing her other hand on top of the Boss’.
“CeCe, this night has been great. You didn’t have to go out of your way to get a table here, but thank you. I just wish that I could do something just as great…” The reality star said, while Shaundi was likely more famous than the Boss, she couldn’t pull as much influence as the blonde power wise.
“Sweetie, what are you talking about? Being able to step out of Steelport for just even a day is incredible. Thanks for giving us that much needed break to catch up with the rest of the gang. I probably would’ve never thought about a day trip back home like you did.” The Boss responded, giving a genuine smile. It was a quick getaway from her hectic life, but she knew it wouldn’t last forever. Going back to the reality of the public eye, those small opportunities of privacy would lessen when the two would return to Steelport.
Perry returned to the table to present some desserts to the two women as well as the digital bill without any remarks towards the lieutenant. Dessert was nothing over the top, it was a beautiful presentation of a simple looking dish. Panna cotta that was plated with a strawberry puree base, topped with fresh berries and a dusting of powdered sugar. The Boss wasn’t huge on eating desserts but did caved into the fruits, skipping the gelatin part entirely. Shaundi noticed and teased Cecilia about not treating herself more, causing the blonde to blush.
“I’m just not a huge fan of sweets.”
“CeCe, the fruits are sweeter than the actual dish itself.”
The Boss ended up taking a bite of the panna cotta itself and enjoyed that it wasn’t too sweet for her liking. She ended up eating half of it, and offered the rest to Shaundi in exchange for the brunette’s remaining fruits. When it came to paying the restaurant bill, the Boss didn’t bother to look at the pricing but had to take a double take when the final price ended up being zero as she looked at the tablet screen. Cecilia played it off by taking some hundred dollar bills out of her wallet as a tip. Not before she wrote a note to say that the tip should only go towards the staff members, not to Perry. When the two left the table, the Boss was confident that the restaurant owner wouldn’t even think about getting a single penny out of that tip. While the couple made their exit onto the kitchen, the blonde sneaked one final glare at the restaurant owner, just for safe measures. Perry took the hint immediately, ushering the bussers to clear out the table for the next batch of clients for the rest of the evening.
Even with the initial uncomfortable situation that the Boss was put in by Perry, the rest of the dinner date was a success. Both women headed back to the parking lot and returned to the vehicle, but not without any plan for the next destination. After dinner, the clock hadn't gone past 9pm, the night was still young for many people in the Saints let alone the city. Cecilia was brainstorming in her mind where else she could take Shaundi to, she felt like she’d already done everything that most dates had while still keeping a low profile. She glanced over at Shaundi and saw that the brunette showed furrowed brows, which concerned the Boss.
“Hey CeCe, I know that this is meant to be a fun night out. But, I just figured it’s only right to pay our respects before we head back to Steelport first thing in the morning.” Shaundi said, the lieutenant wasn’t a stranger to grieving, nor any different about it than the Boss.
“You know, it’s been awhile since we dropped by, it’s only right to light some candles for our friends. The last time we visited the cemetery was…Shit, when we held that service for Johnny..” The Boss quietly sighed
“Let’s think of it as, we’re dropping by with good news.” Cecilia continued, the blonde had always grieved in silence, she associated cemeteries as a seldom place full of mourning and sadness. However with the recent events, she looked into this opportunity as a positive and encouraged her girlfriend to share that same feeling.
“ You’re right, I feel like that’s a better way of seeing things. I’m sure our friends are proud of what we’ve accomplished together.” Shaundi said, holding onto Cecilia’s right hand. The Boss showed a soft smile, and started driving to the couple’s next destination.
The drive to the cemetery wasn’t a dreadful commute as the two women converse about fond memories of their former friends that they’ve lost throughout the years. The Boss talked about people such as Lin and Aisha that the brunette didn’t have the chance to get to personally know. Lin as she passed before she was in the gang, and Aisha since Shaundi only had very small talk in the few occasions the lieutenant dropped by Johnny’s place. Cecilia said that Lin’s cool and collective mannerism is what inspired her to be cool and shed away her shyness. The lieutenant got to know more about the R&B singer and how she really was, as one of the Boss’ first closet friends when she first joined the gang, eventually helping her with warming up to Gat. Meanwhile the brunette shared untold stories about Carlos that happened while Cecilia wasn’t around, such as Shaundi helping out the younger member with his confidence talking to girls alongside other guys in the gang. The lieutenant mentioned that Carlos was looked at like a younger brother amongst some of the Saints members, protective about him from some of the grittier members that liked to give newer Saints a hard time.
It wasn’t long until the Attrazione made its destination to the entrance of the Mourning Woods Cemetery. Around this time at night, there aren’t as many visitors, with the exception of elderly people scattered around the grounds, visiting old friends or deceased spouses. In addition towards the entrance there were a couple of goth college kids that made the cemetery a hangout spot to smoke cigarettes and read old literature. The Boss pulled over next to a tree across from one of the dirt pavements leading to different grave plots. There was one section of the cemetery that was made exclusive for mostly fallen Saints members, as the Boss purchased one of the lots in preparation of whether a member or their family chooses to be buried with other Saints that passed away. What makes this plot of land unique are the variety of custom headstones of each grave which represent how each Saint, no matter their rank in the gang, had their own personal stories.
“Babe, I know cigarettes weren’t your thing, but just in case would you like one?” Cecilia asked, offering Shaundi a cigarette from her case that she got in her suit pocket. It’s been years since the Boss smoked, but she kept her cigarette case around her for the occasion that someone else would need one.
“No thank you, I’m surprised you still carry that case around, you don’t get any cravings by having it around once in a while?” The lieutenant asked, which makes her wonder how strong willed the Boss was to rarely give into old vices. During her personal growth, Shaundi did face challenges when it came to her past drug use, especially when she and a few others did get high off their own product back then. However as years went by and seeing some of her peers cut off their vices when getting older, it inspired the lieutenant to do the same. Although she didn’t quit it completely in relation to the occasional marijuana use, Shaundi cut off all her bad habits.
The women made their way to the graves of their fellow Saints that were no longer in this world. Visiting everyone with content and letting them know how much good the gang has done. Each grave was placed with a deep reasoning behind it; the Boss wanted to take care of her gang in the afterlife as much as she did while they were alive. On one occasion she granted the request of the Mendoza family to have Carlos buried next to his brother, or at times denied what families wanted if she knew the truth behind any neglectful family members trying to fool the blonde. In the middle of the ground was a columbarium that had a few benches surrounding it and even a row of candles for people to light in memory. Shaundi made her way towards the direction of the columbarium to light up some candles for her fallen brothers and sisters, the Boss followed along, observing the names that are engraved in some of the niches. Whenever the Saints achieve something, no matter big or small, the Boss would think about those names on those headstones and niches, knowing that everything the gang has done was for them. Cecilia then walked over to the grave site of two particular Saints members.
The Boss felt that while Johnny was what defined a Saint, she also believed that having his grave site next to the woman that he loved more than anything outweighed everything else. Johnny’s gravesite was the one exception from what was considered the Saints section of the cemetery, as he was placed not too far from it, next to Aisha’s grave. About three years after Aisha’s death, Cecilia has asked Gat about how he felt about the idea of wanting to start dating again. The blonde pointed out that there are a few fans of his that show interest in the long time Saints member. However, Johnny surprised the Boss with his answer. Gat has said to Cecilia that he already had what he wanted in love with Aisha, he felt that he didn’t need to seek it with someone else. The answer confused the Boss and raised her with much concern since at that time the blonde was thinking that Gat will never get over Aisha.
Yet years later, after Johnny’s death, Cecilia understood Johnny’s response. She came to the realization that even though Gat loved the Saints, his love for Aisha was at a deeper level, that it was more than just bringing Aisha over to the Saints’ side of the gang, but to be her safe haven.
“I hope you two are happy up there, seeing what we’ve accomplished since you were gone. Just save me those bottles of champagne for when we meet on the other side someday. I wouldn’t have done it all without you….” The Boss said to herself, a woman that never forgets her beginnings of the Saints
The Boss didn’t realize in an instant, but Shaundi hugged her from behind, wrapping her arms around the blonde’s waist, resting her head on Cecilia’s right shoulder, with her eye level on both gravesites.
“After hearing your stories about those two, I now understand why you had Gat separate from everyone, and next to her grave ...I didn’t tell you at the time but..I was upset at that decision. Please don’t hold that against me.” Shaundi said, she lowered her head down feeling guilty at that moment.
“I won’t, Sweetie. You weren’t the first to be upset about that decision…” The Boss responded, she slowly turned towards Shaundi’s direction caressing her cheek before planting a forehead kiss for assurance.
“It’s getting a bit cold and I know you want to leave first thing in the morning, why don’t we wrap things up and head back to Purgatory!” Shaundi said, the Boss agreed as the two women were getting tired and ready to return to base.
Before heading back to the vehicle, Shaundi took a last glance at Johnny’s grave, the lieutenant gave a half smile from thinking about how much she’s grown since his death. Internally her heart still hurts from losing her friend, the feeling of both guilt and grief could never completely disappear. Yet, Shaundi couldn’t help but think how proud Gat would’ve been of her, as she was like a sister to him. Her only regret was not having that opportunity to get to personally know Aisha, but was content with hearing what the Boss had mentioned about her.
It was a bittersweet visit to the cemetery that was full of fond memories that were revisited by the two women, a much needed break from the hustle and bustle of Steelport. While it was nice to look into the past through a better lens, it was important to continue moving forward into what was going to be the next era of the Saints.