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“Alessio…” Marc's voice… Unexpected… Like a gasp… So sudden…
Uccio didn't know how fast he turned around. Marc was there in red now… Not orange anymore… Uccio hated seeing him in orange anyway… Red suited him better… Marc was looking at him… Actually looking at him after years… His own saliva got stuck in his throat making him choke. Marc wasn't moving… He was waiting… Waiting for Alessio to do something… Anything… Maybe he was going to run away again… Like he did last time… But no… His body moved on his own… Slowly at first… Then he started running towards Marc.
***
It was a chilly night… Uccio remembered going out to take a breath. It would help him sleep whenever his insomnia got worse.
There was a figure afar. Dressed in red silk pajamas. He was looking down at the endless olive trees. Uccio never really liked him. He didn't understand what Vale was seeing in him. He was nothing but a burden on Vale’s side. He wasn't even Italian. Why would Vale want him in his ranch?.. Or in his life in general…
Uccio hated seeing them all over each other. It was so annoying and they were so damn loud too. Whenever Uccio was about to sleep they were starting—
Uhh… But there was something else… Something about this Spaniard boy… Something special… His eyes were making Alessio’s stomach turn… It wasn't okay… He was with Valentino… Fuck… He was with Valentino as if there wasn't any other man out there…
“Why are you out here in the middle of the night?” Alessio got closer to Marc. ‘He is wearing the pyjamas Valentino bought him…’ He didn't like this thought… It made him sick…
“Hmm… I couldn't sleep…” Marc's rose coloured lips curved slightly making Alessio’s mind blurry.
“Valentino was rude to you again?” Alessio hated seeing that happening. Seeing Valentino being mean to Marc even as a joke. Because most of the time he couldn't stop the urge to punch Valentino… He always tried to suppress this urge by digging his nails into his palms and making his palms bleed. It was suck…
Valentino was his best friend and this nothing but pretty face bastard was getting between them by making his mind blurry.
Marc hummed and looked away. “Not much… Usual Vale… You know… He gets frustrated when things don't go the way he wants…”
Uccio didn't push further. It was unnecessary anyway. What was he going to talk more about with Marc anyway? All Marc wanted was the championship title anyway. He was using Vale.
“Alessio…”
“Hmm?” He turned around and looked into Marc's eyes.
“Do you ever want to… You know… Disappear or something?” Marc seemed so old for some reason… So tired… Valentino and him were so happy together, why was he looking so tired?..
“What do you mean by that?” He forced himself so his voice wouldn't shake. He was scared… Marc wasn't thinking about doing something stupid right? Right??
“Uhh…” Marc scoffed… “Whatever… It was just a stupid question anyway… Goodnight…”
Marc turned around and disappeared inside the doors. Uccio couldn't sleep at all… Yet alone that night for an entire week…
Until another night when he found Marc in the garage. He was sitting on one of Vale’s Yamahas…
“He will get mad if he sees you on that. You know how he is like about his bikes” Uccio turned on the garage’s light. Made Marc blind for a second or so…
Marc stood up. “I wasn't going to use it. I just wanted to try it…”
“Come on…” Uccio made a head gesture telling Marc to follow him. He turned off the light behind them.
Uccio made him herbal tea. What the fuck was he doing? Why was he doing tea for the man he despised? He had no idea. But Marc seemed so broken to him for some reason. Like a wet puppy… Jezz… He wasn't acting like himself.
“Thank you…” Marc took a small sip.
Uccio sat before him, their knees touching underneath the kitchen table. Uccio was feeling nauseous. Marc was making him nauseous…
“Sometimes… Sometimes I think people will never see me except as a step towards Valentino… Like I was destined to live under Valentino's shadow forever…” Uccio felt Marc's warm hand touching his. He was so warm… His hands were warming up his soul. He gasped silently. Uccio didn't have the courage in him to look at their locked hands. But slowly his thumb found its way on top of Marc's. Started caressing it slowly as if it was the most precious thing in the world.
“Sometimes I'm thinking about moving out… Going somewhere else… Maybe buy some place on my own…”
The words were slipping out of his mouth way faster than he could stop them… It was too late to stop them anyway…
Seeing Marc listening to him so carefully gave him courage…
“A ranch but not like this… I want somewhere full of fruit trees and crops. You know… A real ranch… Without a dirt track” He laughed bitterly…
“That sounds really nice actually…” Marc smiled softly at him. A genuine one. One that reaches his eyes…
***
They were meeting at the dirt track after Valentino fall asleep. They were just talking but it was healing Alessio… He could feel it… They were talking for hours sometimes and sometimes they were just watching the stars. These moments were so precious to Uccio… Even more than he could describe… He was so scared to tell anything to Marc he was afraid that he would get mad at him…
Marc had started calling him “Ale” not Uccio not Alessio… And definitely not Salucci just like Valentino yelled at him whenever he got mad at him… “Ale”... That nickname made him blush like a tomato but at least Marc couldn't see his face properly in the night light.
He was jealous of Valentino… That sucked… That shouldn't have happened… Never ever… But he couldn't control it. He was slowly falling in love with Marc. And the jealousy was drowning him…
Until one day… They were drinking wine. Uccio made the first mistake there. He shouldn't have drink that night, not even a sip. Alcohol always made his tongue lose. He knew this but he chose to ignore it. That was the second mistake…
“You know Marc… I could be a better boyfriend than him… I could actually listen to you but you would never choose me, Marc… Never…” Uccio looked at his wine wondering why it looked so dark all of a sudden… Maybe that was the colour of his third mistake of the night…
Marc's eyes were full of terror. He wasn't expecting that… He ran off… Without even waiting for Uccio to say something.
***
Alessio was so sure that Marc was hating him now… He fucked up way too badly…
Seeing Marc and Valentino all over each other, so happy, giggling and making jokes all the time like nothing happened was making him want to get violent. He kept snapping over nothing. They were pissing him off. Valentino was pissing him off… And that made him even more angry because the last thing on earth he wanted to do was getting mad at Vale.
But then he came up with a very morally questionable idea… He wasn't planning to go this far though… But Valentino took it way too further. He just wanted them to break up… But now Valentino's fans were sending Marc dead threads.
He was just going to talk bad about Marc a bit then making them break up… How did Marc end up in the hospital with bruises all over him?..
He slipped inside the room once Alex got out to go to the cafeteria.
“Did fans do this to you?” He couldn't hide the shakiness of his voice.
“Ale…” He smiled bitterly… He looked kinda relief to see him for some reason.
Alessio hugged him so carefully… He was so scared to break him even more… At that very moment he decided to stay away from Marc no matter how much it hurt… He couldn't have hurt Marc even more…
So this time he ran away… Ran away as far as he could… He avoided Marc in the paddock, during events… He stayed by Valentino's side just like Valentino wanted. He stayed so far away from Marc. Sometimes he even mocked him with Valentino so he wouldn't get suspicious but it was eating him alive… He stayed on the line though. No matter what… He didn't break his promise…
Except the time he learnt Marc’s grandfather passed away… He couldn't help but get worried so instead of letting guilt eat him alive. He sent a message.
“I’m so sorry for your loss. It must have been so hard for you… You know… You can always talk to me. I would listen to anything you say… Just like the old days…” He deleted and rewrote that message way too many times. But in the end he decided to be honest and just go with it.
Marc simply just thanked him and then they went no contact again…
Alessio tried… Really tried… He even forgot about Marc for a really long time. He dated other people. Mostly women. Thinking it would be good for him but whenever his insomnia got worse and he got out of the bed in the middle of the night for a little walk the memories of their past haunted him. It was as if he was living through those moments. They were making him keep going. He missed those eyes…
***
He slipped inside Marc's hospital room once again. Just like he did years ago… But this time the sight was even worse. Marc's arm was completely ruined this time. It wouldn't get this worse if he didn't return racing this early now the damage was irreversible…
Alessio slowly got closer to him. Marc was sleeping. Alessio brushed back the hair covering Marc's forehead. Marc looked in so much pain. The painkillers probably weren't doing much. He had a fever… Probably because his arm got infected. Alessio gently touched Marc's swollen fingers. They were cold unlike the rest of his body. This didn't mean something bad right?..
He finally let go of Marc's fingers. He had to go now or he would be caught. The last thing he wanted to happen was dealing with Alex Marquez. Especially right after something like this…
“Alex?” Marc whispered. He was waking up. Alessio stopped for a second, thought of answering Marc then he gave up and left…
***
A message came from Marc. It was a real estate listing with a follow up message.
“I don't know if you are still looking for a place but this apple farm in Estonia kinda meets your standards… ”
He remembered… A bitter laughter rose from Uccio’s throat. There was still hope for him… There was still fucking hope…
He ignored Valentino's confused face or academy boys’ comments and took his jacket off the hook and left.
He had a Harley he never used. It was just sitting and rushing in his garage. He had bought it with such happiness but Valentino said he looked stupid on it so he never actually drove it.
He drove until he ran out of fuel. He never felt this refreshed or happy for a really long time. Marc didn't forget… That was enough for him… That was way more than enough…
***
“Did you get my message about the farm?” Marc was still in his Gresini leathers. He looked off in blue. That wasn't really his colour. Blue was more like Alex Marquez not Marc Marquez. Marc needed something more bright, something more brave, something that screams power…
He cornered Uccio on his way to Valentino's motorhome. They were in a place where no one could see them. What was Marc trying to do?
“Yea I did… I wasn't expecting you to remember anything about that actually…”
“So Ale. What do you think about it?”
Oh… He called him Ale again… Alessio looked into Marc’s eyes.
“I guess I will buy it… They offered me a good price too” He didn't actually talk to the owners about the price. But after this talk he was hundred percent sure that he was going to buy that farm no matter what the price was.
Marc smiled brightly. “I’m glad that you liked it… ” He stopped for a second, looked away, then looked at Alessio again. “The first thing I thought of was you when I was there for the first time…”
Alessio’s body moved on his own. He cupped Marc’s face and pulled him closer. In a matter of moments Marc's soft lips were pressed against his. His mind was screaming that he was betraying Valentino but he was so done living under Valentino's influence. All he wanted was Marc and now Marc was finally his…
Marc guided him to his motorhome. They made sure no one had seen them but in reality Uccio kinda wanted to get caught. To show Valentino that he was finally better than him but it was just a tiny bit of darkness not something that will conquer his mind.
Marc locked the door behind them. And in an instant he was back into Alessio's arms.
“Ale…” Marc moaned as Alessio drowned him with kisses. He unzipped Marc's leathers just enough to reach his neck. He wasn't rushing it even though he really wanted to tear off Marc's leathers and take him to himself completely. He left hickeys all the way over Marc's neck to collarbone and shoulders.
Marc unzipped his leathers even more and freed his arms. He was relieved that he finally got rid of his chest piece and regained the full mobility of his arms. (His right arm still had really little mobility tho)
Alessio pressed a kiss on his stomach that made Marc squirm under him.
“I have waited for years for you…” His voice shook.
Marc looked away like a caught child doing something wrong. He was about to say something but Uccio cut him off with a kiss.
“It’s okay… It doesn't matter now…”
Marc's lips were burning against his. He had waited for this moment way too long. Marc’s perfume was everywhere in the motorhome. Everything was so perfect… It was making Uccio’s head spin.
Uccio carefully took off Marc's leathers. Finally freed him from those tight protective layers.
“You are beautiful…” Uccio looked at Marc with admiration. He looked so perfect under him. He could feel his cheeks get hot.
Marc chuckled. “Really? Don't I look pathetic?”
“Why would you look pathetic? You are perfect”
Marc smiled bitterly. “Oh… Valentino would say I look pathetic and cheap whenever he got mad at me…”
“You are not either of those…” He caressed Marc's cheek. “Valentino is not here anymore… You don't have to worry about him…”
He leaned down and kissed Marc's inner thigh which made Marc give out another small moan.
“Ale…” Marc touched Alessio’s hair.
“Hmm… Yes?” He looked at Marc with such loving eyes.
“Hmm… Nothing… I just wanted to say your name…”
The rest of the night felt like a dream. Marc was so warm and soft. Uccio wanted to stay in his arms until the day he died. Marc kept giggling at him and making jokes. He looked so happy…
Uccio fell asleep in his arms. Sleep didn't feel like a torture for the first time in his life. This was probably the only time in his life he managed to sleep properly…
***
Fucking Rossi… He told Marc the truth… Fuck. Fuck. Fuckkk… Marc looked so disappointed… He looked even more terrified the night Uccio confessed to him…
As if it wasn't enough that Marc escaped from his grasp again, Rossi kept complaining about how horrible Marc was. Uccio knew that he was doing this because he didn't want to admit that Marc was the one who chose Alessio over him. How could someone choose Alessio Salucci over Valentino Rossi anyway? Right?
He tried to talk to Marc again that the fact that he was the one who turned Valentino an enemy was a mistake and he was so sorry about it. But Marc didn't want to talk to him again…
Why would he want to listen to him anyway? He was the reason why his life got ruined… He didn't want this to get this worse. Marc seemed to believe that one though… Afterall the naive beautiful guy Uccio fell in love with was still somewhere inside him…
Maybe one day Marc would forgive him and everything would be fine again.
***
Marc got his 9th title. Shit… He got his revenge from Valentino now… What was going to happen to Uccio tho?..
Congratulations on the 102th victory. That's the only thing I will say to Marquez. That's it… Maybe talking to reporters about this was a mistake but Alessio made way too many mistakes throughout his life. Congratulating Marc wouldn't change much in that number.
He was walking towards the Vr46 garage. He passed through the area of motorhomes. It was shorter that way.
“Alessio…” Marc's voice… It caressed Uccio’s ears like a church hymn. Soft, silky and delicate…
He immediately turned around to look at him. He looked so perfect in red… He looked complete somehow. Like an ancient god’s final form. He looked unstoppable. Marc was red… And red always meant Marc to Uccio. Maybe it was because of the night he found him at the ranch patio wearing the red silk pajamas Valentino bought him, who knows?..
He started running towards Marc. He only realised he was running when Marc opened his arms and hugged him so tightly that he thought Marc was going to break his ribs…
“No more ‘Ale’ now? Hmm?” He kissed Marc with such hunger that he tasted blood.
“You still have to earn that back…” Marc laughed against his lips before kissing him back…