Chapter Text
The first signs of daylight arrived in the soft rays that were filtered through the drawn curtains, casting long strings of yellow light across the room. The misfortune of it all, however, was with how the curtains had been pulled incompletely, which meant for some it was that which would wake them up only soon after dawn made its debut. As it would be, much sooner rather than later, even.
Two occupants had the bed, though only one seemed disturbed by the light; Leone. He had always been a bit of a lighter sleeper, though perhaps there was nothing wrong with that, perhaps that would have been considered a boon by some. In his life, there were moments that it was, perhaps. However, he would consider it a curse, among other things. Shifting to hide amongst the sheets, closer to his partner, into the deep warmth they held within the bed, he wished for a longer sleep. It was a brief wish, one he knew not granted; it never was. He always seemed to awaken multiple times through the night, and if not that, he was always awake before the alarm. Ah, sleep was overrated Hell anyway, right? Who needed a perfect, complete eight hours?
Him. He really did wish sometimes he could achieve those nights. But he had other things to count as a win at least.
The next moments were just a warmth within the arms of the man who had arms tangled around him, and the enjoyment of the not so quiet snoring. Bruno really did snore, after all, didn’t he? A thought that made Leone hum a laugh, a soft reaction many would claim incredibly odd from him, but it was after all, Bruno who made him feel the most at ease, the most comfortable, the most vulnerable.
Vulnerable.
He hated that word, personally, not because he disliked the idea of it but he disliked the thought of being seen as such, or perhaps because...perhaps because he could have been. There were so many times in his life where he was, those brief moments that seemed only to stretch longer and longer and longer, ever seeming to never end. Those times where everything hurt, where he wished it all to be over, to end, for everything to stop. He had been too vulnerable too many times in his life, with no way to fix himself, much less the rest of the world he had once wished to.
Then into his life walked Bruno Bucciarati. A ray of sun in that rain the very day they met, hand outstretched, something of a savior in that moment. Looking back on it, it could have been a moment held in time, art in the making, perhaps held in the renaissance era. The soaked to the bone and ever shaking, alcoholic, through another bottle for the night, dark and dying as he stood, with the hand held out to him of the most airy, angelic man, donned in white and gold. It had been almost angelic, he remembers, and Leone wasn’t really that religious in practice, but perhaps God truly was real. He remembers then, he had questioned such existence, and the scales seemed to tilt just ever so more.
However, for it all, he never looked at it as if Bruno was there to fix him. That was not ever the outlook he tried to take, there were days he didn’t even see help, even. It was perhaps more of a reminder, the other man was there, something not so dull, something to look forward to. Not everything in life was so quick to spiral down and away anymore, and he could continue to make goals. It had been so long since he had worked on himself, and he still didn’t want to. But…
Perhaps it was best he had small goals again, small ideas to be better and not let himself go in such dark places. He had work to do now, and someone to be with again. Things were a little easier with ideals to follow, with someone to follow, life knew what he needed again. Life just knew.
Before he delved too far into those thoughts, they were quickly dismissed as Bruno shifted, the arm around Leone’s waist trailing away softly with the sheets as the other man rolled to his back, though one arm was still tucked beneath the white hair and weight of the man watching. A soft hum rolled from the other’s lips as he fell shoulder deep against Leone, settling once more against the pillows.
Offering the smallest of smiles, there was a hand slid down against Bruno’s stomach, the feather light dusting of finger to trace against his skin before resting there. It was there in the light, so sound asleep, Leone saw what really should have been art once more.
Resting almost perfect still against the pillows, he seemed to not have a hair out of place; it curled up against his jaw, his bangs swept from his face. Long lashes with the softest flutter, and beneath closed eyes he knew they were the most beautiful blue- skies and seas were jealous, he had once told Bruno, over too many glasses of wine, when the other laugh Leone had earned too many kisses for that one. Or perhaps not enough, there were never enough, after all.
There were so many small, beautiful things about Bruno, so many small things he could note and go on about for so long even longer. Leone could note the slope of his nose, the fullness of his lips, the occasional freckle or scar he knew too well from tracing them late at night. Each little thing he could say, he could tell with a myriad of complementing adjectives, usually silly little ones he would spill over with Bruno when his filter was gone. Without a facade, without his walls, he tried to be sweet. It was the least he could do for the man he loved, for the man whom had saved him.
As he observed, he had been running his fingers in small circles along Bruno’s stomach without a thought, earning a shudder only moments later when they slipped lower, followed by those unrealistically blue eyes opening slowly. A moment after, a smile was twisting upon his lips in the softest of ways as his eyes met Leone’s.
“Been awake long?” he missed not a beat, his voice, the words, everything was just so soft. His hand not hidden beneath Leone slid to tangle with the other’s fingers, laying with a nonexistent weight across his stomach.
“No.” a quick but harmless lie slipped from his lips before he could stop it. He didn’t want Bruno thinking he had been waiting, been watching, even if he really hadn’t been. It had just been moments of thought, long contemplation that he couldn’t help in the morning when he awoke before any alarm. Which meant this was, of course, normal. Leone Abbacchio thought too much in the mornings, and he thought too much at night.
“Mm, I see.” A soft nod against the pillows came with those words, though they were the sort of replies that came when he knew the other was lying. It wasn’t hard, but this was a harmless little thing, Bruno would let it go. A quiet morning like it was, warm in bed and wrapped up as they were, he couldn’t bother with it. “Well if I might bribe you to get up, I’ll make coffee.”
“Nnm,” not so much speech, but he did offer a noise of confirmation before shifting to allow Bruno his arm beneath his head. “If it’s only coffee, perhaps I’ll request five more minutes.” that earned him a snicker.
“We’re a little out of the way, but we can make a day out in town, I’ll get you some pastries.” sitting up finally, Bruno tore his hand away and pushed himself to the edge of the bed. “We don’t have any pressing matters, and everyone else can take care of themselves for the day.” Certainly he had a point with this, of which Leone awaited, watching as he stood, the sheets falling from a half nude form as he stretched before continuing. “Take the day with me. Just us.”
“If we return to that restaurant on fire, remember I get an ‘I told you so’.” Another laugh was Bruno’s response to that, but he knew his partner was simply teasing the dramatics. Pushing himself up, he sighed. “It’s been a while since we spent the day together, no business.”
“Are you accepting my proposal, then?”
“Only if you promise me crostata.”
“Consider it a deal.”