Chapter Text
As the new summer makes its arrival, Luca finds himself back in the small town of Portorosso again.
It almost seems like nothing has changed ever since he left for Genova. Even if a full year has passed, the beautiful seaside town on the Italian Rivera is still as lively as he last remembers. The old folks often go about their days sharing stories of their past at the local espresso shop like there’s no tomorrow; the mothers stand by the fountain exchanging gossips with one another whilst their husbands are out at sea; and the kids hang out on the balconies of their homes, savouring those sweet watermelons as they discuss most probably about their favourite cartoons or gelato flavour.
The town always has a rhythm and beat to it, almost as if it’s alive, which Luca finds endearing and welcoming.
Luca can’t wait to spend his summer again in this very town. He is eager to experience the same kind of joy that he felt last summer. He wants to take part in the Portorosso Cup again. He wants to lay down somewhere and gaze at the millions of stars again, which always seem to be brighter compared to Genova. He wants to feel the wind on his face as he rides down Mount Portorosso. He wants to experience what it feels like to be free again. But he doesn’t want to do those things alone. He wants to share those experiences again with his very two best friends, Giulia and Alberto. Especially Alberto.
Luca is prepared to face what this summer has in store for him, and looks forward to it.
What he is not expecting, and probably will never envisage, is Alberto to start developing a habit to flirt.
*****
It all happened when Luca decided to tag along with Alberto as he ran some errands of helping Massimo deliver fish. Giulia was still busy with unpacking, so Luca thought it was a good idea to take the opportunity to catch up with Alberto on what they both been up to.
“Oh, lately I’ve been learning how to flirt,” was definitely not how Luca envisioned Alberto would utter.
“Flirting?” Luca gave him a face full of sheer confusion. “What’s that?”
Frankly speaking, Luca did not actually understand the term well himself. He heard about it once or twice on one of those soap operas that Giulia’s mom seems to enjoy watching. He just thought of it as a fancy way to compliment someone. Yet, he was still unsure.
“Well…” Alberto scratched his head for a moment to figure how to actually phrase it. “It’s sorta like trying to win someone’s heart, but you are not being serious about it. You just playfully say it to make someone fluster. You get me?”
“Nuh-uh, you lost me,” Luca shook his head, his head now with more questions than answers.
“Well, it’s hard to explain anyway, so let me just show you.”
As Alberto knocked on the door of their very first customer, a girl with comparatively the same age as him opened from the other side.
“Oh, hey Alberto” -the girl said before looking at Luca- “and this must be your friend Luca whom you speak highly of. Buon giorno to you two,” she greeted them with a warm smile.
“Buon giorno, Signorina Emilia. Here to deliver the freshest fish to the best and most gorgeous baker girl of this town.” Alberto passed the fish to her as he showed off his playful grin.
“I’m flattered to hear that,” she giggled. “But too bad I’m not quite up to that title yet. I’m still learning what I can.”
“But it’s just a matter of time. Surely you’ll win our stomachs with your focaccia bread, and our hearts with that beautiful laugh of yours.”
“Quite the charmer you are as always. And speaking of focaccia, would you boys like to have some as you go on your merry way? It’s freshly baked from the oven.”
“Well, can’t say no to a ravishing beauty like you,” adds Alberto with a wink as he clicked his tongue.
“Oh stop it, Alberto. You’re gonna sweep me off my feet if you keep this up.” Emilia gauchely smiled as she tried to hide her auburn face, simply not used to getting singing praises from people her age.
And for Luca, he can’t help but gape at what he just witnessed. His mind was still trying to process what in mother-of-pearl just happened. But his thoughts were replaced with a yummy deliciousness as Alberto stuffed his face with the focaccia that Emilia had just offered.
After thanking Emilia for the food, the two of them made their way to their next destination.
“Mhm, this is actually really good,” Luca expressed, widening his eyes, as he took another big bite.
“You bet it is. Emilia’s the daughter of the best bread maker here in Portorosso,” Alberto responded as he inhaled the remaining of his bread portion in one go. “See what I mean now? That’s what flirting is. Customers become happier, and you get extra tips or even some free goods while you’re at it. Isn’t this awesome?”
“Yeah…I guess,” Luca said as he hesitated. “But isn’t this whole flirting thing a little, I don’t know…weird?”
“Nah, it’s completely normal,” Alberto replied with that carefree tone of his. “Signor Tomasso actually taught me all about it. There’s no harm in doing so, everyone is happy at the end of the day anyway.”
“But still-”
“Luca, that’s your Bruno talking again.” Alberto cut him off. “Stop overthinking it. Silenzio Bruno, remember?”
Luca fell silent. Alberto does have a point. Everyone is happy in the end anyway, so why does it bother him so much?
“C’mon Luca, we’re almost at our next customer. If we’re lucky, maybe we’ll get to eat some free gelato next.”
Luca tried to hide his worries, fearing overthinking it, and just exclaimed, “Yeah…can’t wait.”
After watching the whole conversation between Alberto and Emilia, Luca just felt a little uneasy about the whole situation. It was just as he theorized, flirting was another way to compliment someone, but something about how Alberto praised Emilia and showed a side of him that he had never seen before just did not sit well with him.
His heart seemed to be pounding so fast in all the wrong places, igniting some sort of raging flame inside of him. His mind was tense and a mess at the same time. He didn’t know what he was feeling, but he somehow knew that it was definitely a feeling he hated having.
The flame within him was not quenched throughout the day. As Alberto started talking more and more with that flirty behaviour of his, Luca felt that same flame growing and spreading throughout his entire being, as if burning away every inch of logic and reason and good feeling that he had.
As much as he tried to conceal it, he felt like he was going to burst anytime soon.
*****
To his dismay, those aching feelings have yet to subside by the time dinner comes. And no, Luca is pretty sure that is not hunger he’s experiencing.
He looks around from the dining table, trying to use his surroundings as a distraction for the time being. Massimo is prepping his classic signature trenette al pesto at the stove, humming away a tune that he seems to love. Machiavelli has just awoken from his deep slumber after catching the aroma of pasta delightfulness, and is already purring at Massimo’s feet for some of that cuisine. And Alberto is sitting right beside him, chatting with Giulia about the Portorosso Cup event right across the table, occasionally pushing each other's buttons like the siblings they are now.
Admiring the happy family in front of him, Luca at least feels a sense of tranquility wash over him.
“Giuletta, I’m certain that our win for the Portorosso Cup this year will be a breeze,” Alberto confidently says as he leans back into his chair, resting his hands behind his head. “I’ve been eating pasta for months now, I’m practically a pro at this point.”
“Love your confidence, but don’t you dare take it easy, ragazzi. We never know if the evil empire of injustice is waiting to crush us within the shadows,” Giulia protests. “And stop calling me Giuletta!”
“Relax, lil sis. Ercole’s not signing up this year. After he broke his winning streak last year, dude got so depressed that he never showed his face in this town again. Heard he moved.”
“But still! Never, never underestimate anything. We never know if a new evil will rise.” Giulia snarls, her eyes appearing like daggers at Alberto. “And it’s Giulia! I refuse to be a little sis!”
“Last time I checked, I’m 15 and you’re 14. So the year checks out,” Alberto grins.
“Big deal! Age doesn’t mean you can be the boss of me,” Giulia grunts, waggling her fork scarily at the older sibling. “I’m pretty sure I can crush your flimsy noodle arms without breaking a sweat!”
“Hey! Just because I eat pasta all the time, doesn’t mean I have noodle arms! Plus, I gained some muscles over these past few months. I can put up a fight with literally anyone.”
Massimo chuckles in the background.
“He’s not entirely wrong though. Kid here made a few girls in town fawn over him without lifting a single finger,” Massimo can’t help but to join in the banter between the two siblings.
Luca could have spitted out his water, but good thing he isn’t drinking any to begin with.
That line catches Luca unexpectedly, and his hands slam down onto the table without realization. He doesn’t know what came over him. Before he knows it, everyone’s gaze dawns onto him, like a deer being caught in the headlights.
“I-I’m sorry, I think I lost my appetite. Excuse me,” Luca flusters apologetically, his cheeks blushing bright red, and then proceeds to head outside to get some fresh air.
So now, here Luca is, hiding at Giulia’s not-so-secret tree hideout, hugging his knees and gazing out at the illimitable sea, trying to recollect his thoughts as he looks at the calming night waves.
“Luca, is everything okay?” says the voice full of concern from below. It’s Giulia.
“Y-Yeah. Everything’s fine,” he fibs, the words come out throaty and dry.
“What happened just now certainly doesn’t look fine to me,” she chides, as she climbs the tree and plops down right next to Luca. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
Luca turns to Giulia, who raises her eyebrows. He swallows hard, allowing himself to take in a few breaths of air to try and mentally prepare himself. He is going to have to be honest about it.
“It’s about Alberto,” Luca professes as he begins fiddling his fingers. “Today when I was with Alberto, I saw him flirt for the first time. It’s almost like I saw a new side of him that I never knew existed. It felt weird, like a new kind of weird, and it was something that I never felt before. I don’t know why…but at that very moment, I wanted him to stop.”
“Heh, maybe you’re like me,” Giulia remarks. “I too want my idioto brother to stop harassing some ragazza like those romance shows that my mom watches. I think I’ll throw up if someone does that to me.”
“No, no, you don’t get it!” Luca raises his voice. “I’m mad, like I don’t want to see him act like this with other people, but it’s not like I hate it. I just want him to stop doing it, but also do it. Ugh, I’m not making any sense am I?”
Luca buries his head into his knees, seemingly frustrated at what he’s trying to convey.
“I don’t get it,” Giulia gives him a face of blank confusion. “To me, I just want him to stop doing it entirely, why would you even like-”
Then realization just hits her like a train heading full speed to Genova.
“Santa Ricotta-” she intones, causing Luca to raise his head curiously upon hearing that unexpected Italian catchphrase of hers.
“Luca…I think you might be jealous,” she looks at him pointedly.
“Me, jealous? No way,” Luca protests.
“Yes, don’t you see? You can’t stand Alberto flirting with others, but you don’t hate it. You just hate him doing it to other people,” Giulia proceeds to rail against his objections.
“You have a crush on him,” she further adds.
“No…No! This doesn’t make sense,” Luca hastily denies. “Alberto is just a good friend of mine. I can’t possibly like him. Maybe I’m just overthinking it.”
“I mean think about it,” Giulia briskly points out. “If Alberto were to flirt with you, do you want him to stop?”
“I-” Luca tries to visualize if something like that were to happen, and it promptly heats up his face.
“And that’s your answer,” Giulia gestures at his face that is already basking in peach red.
Luca falls silent, her words sinking in, only this time he doesn’t try to argue.
At the span of a few seconds, Luca thinks about a lot of things. Things that he’s not quite certain about. Things that he is never and nor will ever be familiar with. One of those things is the possibility of falling in love with his best friend. And that thought scares him the most. Alberto has always treated him like a faithful friend, and the best companion one could ever ask for, and the catalyst that made him come out of his comfort zone to experience the wonders of human life. He reminisces on their goofy adventures they had together during the best summer of their lives. Is that all going to change? Can he really guarantee that everything will stay just the way it is once he makes that very first move? He doesn’t have an answer to that.
He lays his head down on the floor board and looks up at the night sky, where the stars decide to stay hidden tonight. He doesn’t say anything, and Giulia, who seems to know that Luca has a lot of feelings to deal with at the moment, decides to accompany him by staying beside him, letting the quietness take over their conversation.
They stay like that, admiring the peacefulness that the night brings. And eventually they both hear the rumbling sound coming from Luca’s stomach.
“Guess someone is hungry after all,” Giulia perks up. “C’mon, let’s go eat.”
In response, Luca just gives a weak smile and nods.
Thus, Luca decides to put aside his worries for now. It’s better to not think about it. As unreasonable as he sounds, he just wants everything to stay just as they are. It’s less exhausting and emotionally taxing for him to handle.