Work Text:
“Hello? I am home!” Alberto calls out from the front door, yet there was no reply.
Odd, he thinks to himself, leaving his coat hanging next to the door and, as he closes it, he realizes just how awfully dark the whole apartment was. He is barely able to see the faint light coming from the kitchen. Presumably Luca, hopefully Luca.
And, sure enough, when he steps in he finds Luca at the dining table, the lights in the kitchen lowered down just enough to make him feel like something is off, if the obscure rest-of-the-apartment wasn’t enough of an indicator already.
There is also the fact that Luca hadn’t jumped him as soon as he stepped through the door. As tired as his boyfriend could get sometimes, he always waited for him gleefully after a long shift at work. Even with eye bags under his eyes, Luca would walk to the door and hug him tightly, kiss him dizzy and smile as bright as the moon and the stars as he said Welcome home, amore , followed by endearing giggles and, more often than not, a rather loud yawn.
But tonight, Luca wouldn’t even look him in the eye.
In fact, Alberto was starting to doubt Luca had even noticed his arrival, and just as Alberto was about to go down into a spiral of Am I really here or did I magically turn into a ghost? Luca finally speaks.
“I didn’t have time to cook today, sorry...” He says silently, still refusing to look from where he is poking at his poor looking food.
“What on earth are you eating?” Alberto asks, partially scandalized.
“Pasta, or well-- If you can call this that,” Luca hums and contemplates his food for a few seconds, then gives a short nod. “Definitely not pasta, just loose and very short strands of it. And there is also this cheap parmesan cheese I found at the store,” he sighs. “Tastes like low-quality American pizza cheese.”
Alberto sits down next to Luca and pokes the food with his index finger just like he was repeatedly doing with the fork, only to find out it was cold. He doesn’t say anything, but rather stares at Luca until his relentless poking stops and he puts the fork down. Still, Luca doesn’t look up at him just yet, deciding to spend his time glancing from one side of the table to the other and Alberto stays patient, gently stroking circles on the hand that used to hold the fork and in a way, that makes Luca feel less anxious about this whole situation.
“I am okay, just tired,” he lies. Both him and Alberto know it’s a lie, an obnoxiously obvious one, and he still decided to lie. Perhaps he was trying to trick himself into thinking it was true, as if saying the words out loud could stop whatever turmoil he was facing inside from happening.
And Alberto knew that, no matter what it was, he wanted to help Luca as much as humanly, er-- sea monsterly? posible.
“You know we both know that isn’t true...” He says softly in what he hopes was a soft, reassuring tone. Hopefully it seems to have worked because Luca finally looks up at him and--
His eyes were slightly glowing, yellow sclera being mostly at fault for this. His cheeks and the closest part to his eyes are covered in tiny, shiny emerald scales.
"I'm sorry, I– I'm sorry," He whispers, frantically trying to wipe the tears away.
Alberto tries to take his hands slowly, giving Luca time to brush him off in case he doesn't want to be touched. When Luca doesn't stop him, he takes his hands away from his face and kisses his palm, making Luca's breath stutter.
Then he starts crying for good, his lower lip quivering as a trail of scales reaches his jaw and he hides his face on Alberto’s shoulder, trembling slightly. As much as Alberto would like to ask him what’s wrong, he knows it’s better to just give him time to be and let his feelings out, so he lets Luca cry until he himself can feel scales on his shoulder. He rubs circles on the small of his back for around twenty minutes until his breathing finally calms down.
“Hey,” Alberto whispers. “You’re okay, caro. I’m here.”
“Sorry again… School's been a lot this week and today just...” He sighs.
“Luca, you have nothing to apologize for,” the older boy says, kissing his boyfriend’s forehead. “I’ve noticed school has been stressing you a lot more lately, wanna talk about it?” He says in a soft voice while brushing Luca’s hair behind his ears.
He leans into the touch, sighing once again as he feels a little bit of peace wash over him. That’s one of the things he came to love about Alberto, the way in which he seemed to magically make everything better just by being there. Ever since they were little and even to this day, Alberto kept thinking of himself as ‘the kid who ruins everything’, and Luca knows he couldn’t be more wrong. Wherever he is, he is light and warmth and this almost celestial-type brightness, incandescent, blinding Luca and wrapping him with endless love and affection. That doesn’t mean Alberto is perfect, not at all, but Luca wouldn’t have him any other way.
And he finds it almost comical how, at such a young age, he wanted to go to school to study the universe, the planets, the stars and their history when the brightest star he would ever find was right there beside him the whole time.
“Maybe later,” Luca mumbles. “I want to finish eating first.” He stares down at the poor excuse of a meal on his plate and sighs.
“Yeah, there’s no way I am letting you eat that, no.” He stands up and walks towards the counter, contemplating his options for the night.
Luca watches him open and close cabinets, walking from one side of the kitchen to the other in search for ingredients. He tries convincing Alberto that his dinner was alright just like that, but even he knows he wouldn’t stand having to take another bite from it, so he lets Alberto cook and even helps him with some cutting and watching over boiled vegetables.
He could slowly feel the emptiness on his chest be filled with the love and understanding his boyfriend was providing him with. Maybe it’s because of the way he puts on some quiet music, low light still illuminating their kitchen and how Alberto puts a hand on his waist, swaying them around to Mia Martini’s ‘Almeno tu nell’universo’ as they wait for their food to be ready.
And Alberto is happy enough to see Luca relax with him.
Then they eat while Alberto tells him wild stories about his job-- most were stories of annoying customers and the way they almost set the place on fire or the way Alberto managed to out-smart them, and Luca just listens, a warm feeling spreading across his chest as he lets himself smile at his boyfriend’s silliness.
“You are a menace,” Luca says at some point in between the random movie they decided to watch after dinner, but his smile reaches his eyes and there’s this mischievous glint in his eyes that lets Alberto know he doesn’t actually mean it.
“Well, I am your menace, so take that!” He laughs and Luca-- as much as he likes to fake being annoyed, can’t help but laugh too.
It isn’t until much later, when they are already curled up in bed, after a while of staring into each other’s eyes and Luca leaving a trail of soft kisses along Alberto’s face that he manages to talk about what happened.
“It’s really dumb when you think about it, actually--” Luca starts but Alberto just glares at him. “Well maybe not dumb , but I do think I could’ve reacted better.”
Alberto takes Luca’s hand and kisses it. “What happened?”
“W-well, I had this project you see and it was really big but also really boring and I couldn’t concentrate on it because of how boring and annoying it was and--” He breathes. “The due date was today and I started the project so freaking late because I couldn’t concentrate on it without the crippling pressure, but I underestimated the size of the project and when I realized it, the due date had already passed and I just...” He chokes back a sob. “I felt terrible. Miserable , even.”
“Oh, tesoro. ” Alberto cuddles him closer and kisses his forehead.
“A-and the project is worth a lot , I could even fail the class and-- I guess that’s what got me spiralling like that, I kinda shut down and wouldn’t respond...” He sighs once again. “But then you got home and you were your charming, perfect and caring self and...You did so much for me today and I just can’t thank you enough Beto.”
“Oh don’t say that now--” He chuckles. “Being there for you it’s my pleasure.”
Luca half-smiles at him. “I am still anxious about it though...”
“I am sure you’ll figure something out, sugar! You are the Luca Paguro after all and I am here for you if you need me, always...” He kisses Luca’s hand once again, enjoying the way his cheeks turn red from slight embarrassment.
“How did I get so lucky to have you?” Luca whispers, his breath ghosting over Alberto’s hand.
“I could say the same about you.” He smiles brightly. “ Buona notte, Amore. ”
“ Buona notte, il mio universo .”
Doubt and fear still roam through Luca’s mind as he goes to sleep, guilt and shame, an endless sea of What If ’s that he would usually try to silence down with the famous phrase his boyfriend showed him so long ago, but tonight, with Alberto holding him so close and dearly, he feels as though he might be ready to face any and all challenges.
And so his worries finally silence down and he is able to sleep.