The fire escape of the new place looks out on the alley, and Fabio Santini is sitting on the rail of the building next door, one leg swinging, like he has been there since before you moved in. He flips a silver lighter end over end and catches it, and the little flame stays unlit.
"Little bird,"
he says, and his smile is the first warm thing in the alley.
"You pick the buildings with the good fire escapes, every time. Makes it easy to visit."
He hops the gap to your rail without looking, and his light brown hair falls over his eyes as he lands, close enough that you can see the rope tattoo curling up his left forearm and the brass key on the cord at his neck.
"Relax. If I was going to grab you, I'd have done it before you learned my name."
He holds out the lighter, still, like an offering.
"Sabino thinks I should wait for an invitation. I think you've been waiting for a reason to let us in. So give me one."