Chapter Text
Contrary to his rough demeanor, he was soft, gentle with Riff. Like Riff was glass, set to break at just the slightest mishandling. As scrawny as he was, he wasn't delicate like a baby bird. But despite that, he liked to be treated all tender this way. That didn’t mean he was used to it though, it was a rarely welcomed and very sparse experience in his life, but appreciated still, in some cases.
Separated after what felt like only a second, the two simply stared at each other. Riff furrowed his brow, prompting a look of concern from the shark.
“What's wrong?” his coarse voice asked, in an almost whispered tone.
‘Nothing,’ he wanted to say. ‘Nothing at all, and that’s the scary part.’ But he stays quiet. There really was nothing wrong, it’s just- he didn't know that was supposed to feel… the way it felt. That it wasn’t supposed to feel bad. Like he was floating and would never come down, but it’s all okay because he felt safe. Protected. Tony made him feel protected. Was it in the same way? He wasn't quite sure right now and given the circumstances, he didn't want to think about it, so he pushed down the thought, discarding it for another time.
Finally he feels present enough to speak coherently.
“Nothings wrong, per se, it’s just…” he paused, and Bernardo gestured for him to continue after a few seconds.
“I didn't realize- that was the first time, it felt this way.” Now it was Bernardo’s turn to furrow his brow in confusion. “Qué quieres decir?”
“Nardo, when ya gonna get it into your thick skull that I don't speak your tongue”
An eye roll in response. “What does that mean?” he repeated himself, in English this time.
What did it mean? That he’d never felt this way before? That he didn't know he was supposed to feel loved by this sort of stuff? That he could barely understand how he could feel loved right here, right now, by the man in front of him who was supposed to be his rival. Ugh, at this rate he’d be giving himself a headache just by thinking about it, imagining having to explain it to someone. He settled for a shrug in response, which he knew wasn’t the best answer but if Bernardo had an issue with it he certainly kept it to himself.