Destined To Be (Luca x Alberto)

Chapter 2 - Out

A/N: sorry for the delay! been busy with college apps and finals, i'll try to stay consistent <3

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Alberto's POV:
The walk back to my house was long, but also enjoyable. Luca shared his experiences in Genova and about his school. I clung onto every word he said, focusing all my attention to him, and only him. He said that his school was amazing and he made some new friends. I got to admit, I'm a bit jealous that he found other people to hang out with, but who could blame them? Luca's an awesome person to be with, everyone would surely like him.

We arrived at Massimo's house shortly after, around 1 pm, but Luca had to go to his family's house in the sea to move back in with them. I walked him to the beach still carrying his luggage with me. I offered to carry it down to his house for him but he kept on insisting that he and his dad would be able to do it. Truth is, I wanted to spend more time with him.

I sat both of his suitcases down onto the sand and looked back up, and met with Luca's eyes, which was facing towards the open sea: so brown like the barks of the trees, and his rosy cheeks as beautiful as the sunset. The way his hair moved with each coming breeze, just...

Wow.

Luca's POV:
I noticed Alberto staring at me through my peripheral vision. In the corners of my eyes, I could see him slowly inching towards my face. Not once did he take his eyes of me. Then, I felt my cheeks getting hot, and surely Alberto would notice considering how close he was getting. Quickly, I decided to get out of the situation.

"I-I have to go now, but I'll be back quick.
I have to catch up to my family about everything, so I'll see you soon Al!" I exclaimed as I dived into the sea. Immediately, my human skin faded away and my blue-green scales appeared. I swam at full speed, enjoying the spacious water around me. I felt, free.

My family was not far behind, so I decided to do some tricks underwater to impress them. The entire way home, I did many different tricks which always resulted in my family's cheering for me. I don't know why, but as I was showing off, I kept thinking of Alberto, imagining that he was watching me the entire time. I blushed at the thought and again I got a fluttering sensation in my stomach. He doesn't know what he's doing to me.

We finally got home and once I stepped foot on our kelp welcome mat, I ran to my room and jumped face first onto my bed. Oh how I missed it; nothing beats sleeping in the sea.

I rested for a bit and later started to unpack everything I brought back. I put on some tunes and organized my room into how it was originally before I left for Genova. This was going to take a while.

- Time Skip -

"There, all done!" I cheered while folding away the last of my clothes into my drawer. I closed it and sat on my bed, taking out the drawing Alberto made for me before I left Portorosso, the one I always looked at before falling asleep back in Genova. After admiring his artistic skills, I got an idea: I should draw one for him! It's not the best gift I can give him, and he might not even like it, but this is the way I can show my affection to him discreetly. A drawing is a drawing anyway...

Alberto's POV:
"...I'll see you soon Al!"

Al. He called me Al. A smile started to form as I tried to compose myself. That attempt at composure didn't last long when I screamed with excitement. He gave me a nickname, a small gesture, one might say, but it meant everything to me. Is it possible to love him more than I do now?

I walked back home with a smile on my face. I think tomorrow would be the perfect day to confess my feelings to him. But I think I need some help with the planning and setup. Should- should I ask Giulia? But she doesn't even know I'm gay. It's probably best to tell her today, hopefully she's okay with it.

As I entered my house, I was greeted by Giulia and Massimo, who were in the kitchen table eating trenette al pesto.

"Hey guys, could I get some of that too?"

"Of course you can Alberto," Massimo responded as he got up to serve a plate of trenette al pesto just for me. I had just sat down next to Giulia when Massimo started to talk. "By the way, where did Luca go?" he queried as he set my plate of food in front of me. "Ah, he went home with his family to catch up with them for a bit. But he's coming back in a few hours to hang out with me!" I said while twisting the pasta with my fork.

Giulia's POV:
I noticed that Alberto kept twisting his fork a lot without actually eating the food. This was surprising since he loves to eat. He always says that he has the stomach of a whale, and even that seems like an understatement.

His expression seemed lost in thought. Papà left shortly after giving Alberto his plate, and told us that he was going to the market to buy a few things. I took the opportunity to ask him what he was thinking so deeply about.

"Aren't you hungry Alberto? Papà made this dish just for today, so eat up!" Alberto said nothing and continued to play with his food. Maybe he was just tired from carrying Luca's suitcases.

Just as I was setting my now empty plate in the sink, Alberto decided to talk. "Hey Giulia, can I tell you something?" He said it in such a serious tone, it must be an important subject. "For sure! Let's talk about it upstairs, meet me in my room when you're done." And with that, I ran up the stairs towards my room and shut the door a bit too hard. I leaned against the door and look at my room. Yup, he would definitely tease me about my messy room.

I got to work on tidying up my room since I still had a few things left to unpack and organize. After a few minutes though, I heard Alberto walking up the stairs. I decided then and there just to kick the rest of what whatever was on the ground into the closet or under my bed. Back in Genova, when my mamma would check to see if my room was clean, I used the same tactic. It worked great until she decided to clean the room herself and she discovered the hidden clusters of clothes and school supplies in heaps, stuffed away in books and crannies. But I don't think Alberto would notice.

Knock knock

"Coming!" I yelled back to the door. I opened my door and was met with Alberto who had a solemn look on his face, with a hint of anxiousness. He didn't say anything and just entered my room and sat on the edge of my bed. He gestured to me to sit next to him, which I obliged.

"So, uh, what did you want to tell me?" I quietly asked. He looked from the floor up to me. "Do you find two guys together...weird?" I was taken aback from his statement, it was a topic I never expected him to talk about. Why was he saying this now?

"Oh- I don't have a problem with it at all. It's not weird or odd. I think of that as a normal relationship like any other. Why do you ask?" I think I have a feeling where this is headed. "Well," he says hesitantly, "I um- I like guys, Giulia. Never really was into girls like that too. I'm gay." He said that last bit with a smile, it makes me happy that he's proud of who he is.

I immediately wrap my arms around him, still sitting down next to him. He was tense for a second, but embraced me back harder. After a few seconds, I pulled away from him and smiled gleefully. "I'm SO proud of you for telling me this! Thank you for trusting me, and don't think for a second I see you any differently." I say ecstatically. "I'm proud too, but there's something else." "Oh? What else?"
"Well, I like someone. And that someone is
...Luca."

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Word Count: 1443
Finish Time: 11:55 pm
Date: 2/6/22
A/N: Apologies for the short chapter! I tried to make it longer but couldn't, again, my apologies. The next few chapters should be a decent length. Also, sorry for the late updates!
I'm grateful for each one of you fellow readers, thank you!

Next chapter update: 2/9/22 :)