Can I Hold You Now? ~Luberto~

~12~

Alberto felt Luca's hand slip away from his as Luca's mother gazed down at them.

"Oh my! Luca! You're back!" Daniella jumped forward and wrapped herself around her son. Alberto smiled and chuckled as he watched Luca try to squirm out of his mother's tight grasp.

"Yeah- I-I am-" Luca tried to say, gasping for breath. Daniella let go of him and smiled again.

"It's so good to see you! Welcome home!" She hugged him once more and swam back towards the house, "Lorenzo! Luca's home!" She disappeared into the house.

"I guess I should get going now," Alberto began, looking back towards Portorosso, "You should get settled back in."

Luca frowned, "But you should meet my parents! I'm sure they'll love you just as much as-"

"Luca," Alberto put a hand on Luca's shoulder, "They need you right now, we can tell them about us later. Plus, they've really already met me."

"I-" Luca tried to think of another excuse, but failed, "okay. See you later, then?"

"Su-"

"What if they keep me down here all break? What if the train leaves and-" Luca put his hands to the sides of his head, panicking.

"Luca!" Alberto grabbed Luca's wrists, then gently pulled them down. He let go of Luca and cupped his cheek, "You know I love you, right?"

Luca calmed down, leaning into Alberto's hand, "Yes, I do."

Alberto smiled, "Good. Now why don't you go get set back up, and meet me by your statue at dusk, I'll get us something for dinner, okay?"

"Okay," Luca nodded, then made sure his parents weren't looking, "see you there," he pecked Alberto's cheek once again and zoomed back into his house.

Alberto smiled and turned around, swinging his tail in long, lazy strokes to get back to the island. All he could think about was Luca; the love of his life.

~

"Are you sure? I've never seen anyone wear this before?" Alberto asked Giulia, one eyebrow raised. Giulia had set him up with a simple button-up and a pair of torn, tight blue jeans.

"Yes, it looks PERFECT on you! Luca will love it!" Giulia assured.

"Okay, but the pattern is- questionable," Alberto eyes the colorful fabric on his shirt, featuring many colorful leaves and bird shapes.

"What? You don't like it?" Giulia asked, then grabbed a black long-sleeve shirt, "try this."

Alberto raised an eyebrow at her, then tried on the shirt, "fine. You win," he said, looking in the mirror.

(Ik there wasn't "gay clothing" like this back then but you can't tell me he wouldn't look good in it)

Giulia smiled smugly, then lead Alberto to the door, "Keep in mind, you have to tell me everything that happens, so don't go too crazy. M'kay?"

Alberto smiled, waving his hand dismissively, "Yeah, yeah," he chuckled to himself as he walked over by the new fountain.

He sat down on the edge of the fountain and pulled out a coin, tossing it in. Some of the other kids in Portorosso told him if one threw in a coin and made a wish, it would come true. Alberto was willing to take that risk.

"Alberto?" Luca walked up beside him and sat down. He was wearing a blue blazer with a white dress shirt, and one of the skirts from his school uniforms, "I'm sorry I couldn't find anything better- I was short on time and already had thi-"

"Luca, it's fine," Alberto set his hand on top of Luca's, calming him down, "the only reason I look this good is because Giulia insisted on helping for some reason."

Luca blushed, as if remembering something, then turned back to Alberto, "Yeah, weird. Where are we going first?"

"Up to you," Alberto said calmly, "whatever would make you happy." He leaned back and watched Luca dreamily.

"Um- I'm not sure," Luca looked around, "how about skating?" He pointed to the frozen sea,  where a few people were gliding on the ice.

"Sure, I think we can find you some to borrow." Alberto stood up and took Luca's hand.

Luca stood up as well and blushed, "Cool," Luca let go of Alberto's hand and looked at the ground, "So, does this mean- are we boyfriends?"

Alberto bit his lip as he thought, then replied, "Sure! I mean, I'll be your boyfriend, if you want," he put his hands in his pockets and kicked an unfortunate pebble across the courtyard.

"Yes! Of course!" Luca grabbed one of Alberto's hands and squeezed it gently, "I would love to be your boyfriend!"

"Good," Alberto smiled and pulled Luca along, holding his hand all the while.

They did end up finding Luca a pair of skates, one of the older sea monster ladies in the village was kind enough to let Luca borrow them. The skates featured bright stripes of purple-pink and red-orange.

"I dunno Alberto-" Luca looked out on the icy plain, "This seemed like a good idea at first- but now I'm not so sure..." He stood there, staring at the ice, barely keeping his balance.

"C'mon Luca!" Alberto grabbed his boyfriend's hands and pulled him gently forward, "Remember what I told you last summer? Silenzio Bruno! Remember?"

Luca's face brightened as soon as Alberto said the words, "How could I forget? I've used that phrase every day since summer!" He tried to take a step forward, but his foot slid and he nearly hit the ground, but Alberto put a hand on Luca's back to support him. Luca blushed.

"Careful, I don't want you getting hurt."

Luca looked at the ice again, his confidence going away instantly, "I- I don't think I can do it," he tried to back away, but Alberto pulled him forward.

"I'll be here for you, I know you can do it. We can do anything together, right?"

"Right." Luca blushed and smiled, grabbing Alberto's hands tighter as they glided onto the ice.

Less than a half-hour later, Luca was zooming across the ice with nearly as much expertise as Alberto. They talked, danced, and skated on the ice until nearly midnight, when Luca began to get tired.

"Alberto-" he began, leaning into his lover, "I think I need to get some sleep." He set his head on Alberto's chest, still holding both of his hands.

Alberto smiled and kissed Luca's forehead, "Did your parents want you home tonight? I know your place is a bit far, you can stay with me tonight if you want."

"I'll just be with you tonight. After all..." he yawned, "my parents just think you're a good friend." He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around Alberto.

"Let's go, then," Alberto took one of Luca's hands and pulled him off of the ice, then helped a very sleepy Luca untie his skates.

Luca was nearly asleep by the time they got back to Alberto's house, and was actually asleep by the time Alberto was in his pajamas.

Alberto smiled and sat next to Luca on the bed, watching his body rise and fall in peaceful breaths. He curled around Luca and held one of his hands, then whispered a quiet "I love you" before falling asleep beside his boyfriend.

~

Heyyy!

Sorry for failing to update, I got a lot of stuff going on.

Bye, shippers!

Also, should I get a TikTok account? I would probs post some Luca stuffs