Silenzio Bruno!

Chapter 14~ Luca

Luca hurried from his seat and snatched his new winter coat from the suitcase. As Alberto changed in the bathroom, he pulled on some wool pants and the boots that Giulia's mom had insisted he bring.

Once the two were changed into their cold-weather clothes, Massimo led them to the front door.

"Close your eyes, ragazzi," he said. The boys did as they were told. The older man opened the door.

Luca felt an icy wind hit his nose. Something flakey landed on his face and melted. He could feel small spots of scales appearing on his skin as Massimo led them outside.

"Alright," he said. "Open your eyes."

Luca's eyes snapped open in sheer excitement. The sight that met him was unlike anything he had ever seen, and he gasped.

Portorosso was blanketed in a white powder. The sky above was an icy blue, and more snow fell from the clouds that dimmed the sun. Light shimmered on the roofs of the surrounding houses and shops while long points of ice hung from windows. Luca could see footprints leading from one building to the next, both large and small. One house had a lopsided stack of snow with a hat in front of it.

Beside him, Alberto jumped with a laugh into a pile of snow that had fallen off of the roof. When he emerged, his face was purple and his pupils had narrowed.

"Come on in, Luca!" he called. "The water's great!"

Luca laughed and jumped in after him.

"Woah," Giulia said from the front door, "I had no idea you guys would turn into sea monsters in the snow! But it makes sense, I guess." She hopped into the snow to lie beside them. "Snow is just frozen water, and since you change when you come into contact with water-" Her voice was cut off as a mound of snow came hurtling through the air and into her face.

Luca gasped; Alberto, on the other hand, smirked. "That's what you get for being weird this morning!" the older boy said. The two boys laughed, but their amusement soon came to an end as twin snowballs smacked them in the face. It was Giulia's turn to giggle.

The front yard soon turned into a warzone, snowballs flying and laughter ringing. Luca hadn't laughed this hard since the previous summer when they had won the Portorosso Cup and bought the Vespa.

"Giulietta!" Massimo beckoned the girl into the house. "Your mother would like to speak to you."

"Coming, Papa!" she cried, throwing one last snowball directly into Alberto's face. She shrieked when he started packing fistfuls of snow together with flames in his eyes. Giulia sprinted towards the house and slammed the door, leaving the two boys alone in the snow.

Still grinning, Luca glanced over at his boyfriend. The snow had stopped, causing his hair and face to return to his human form. The older boy ran his fingers through his curly brown hair and held out his hand to Luca.

"Giulia's probably going to be a while, wanna walk around the town with me?"

Luca grinned and took his hand. "Of course."

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Walking hand in hand, the boys made their way through the winter wonderland that Portorosso had transformed into.

Luca shivered. He had never been so cold in his life; the water was always fairly decent, save for a few chilly nights during the winter months. He held his free hand to his mouth and blew on it.

"Why don't we stop at the café and get some hot cocoa?" Alberto said, noticing Luca's icy fingers. The younger boy nodded eagerly.

Once they had ordered and gotten their steaming cups, they sat down on the edge of the frozen fountain in the middle of the town square. Luca took a timid sip, wincing when it scalded his tongue.

"Here," Alberto said, taking the cup from Luca's hands. "You have to blow on it first." He blew on the hot cocoa, causing the steam to frame his face and dance around his ears. For some reason, Luca's heart began to beat faster. Unable to control his movements, he leaned over and planted a kiss on his boyfriend's cheek.

The other boy's eyes widened in surprise. Luca blushed and looked away. Geez, why had he done that??

But Alberto looked at him, love filling his eyes. He put the cups down next to them and placed his hand on top of Luca's. Their eyes met, and Luca's heart skipped a beat when Alberto leaned in closer.

"Luca..." he whispered, "Can I-"

A mocking voice cut through the air.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the two sea monsters," the voice spat. Luca whipped around to see a familiar face standing on the other side of the fountain.

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