𝓢𝔀𝓮𝓮𝓽 𝓫𝓾𝓽 𝓟𝓼𝔂𝓬𝓱𝓸

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓕𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓽𝓮𝓮𝓷

𝓣𝓱𝓻𝓮𝓮 𝓶𝓸𝓷𝓽𝓱𝓼 𝓵𝓪𝓽𝓮𝓻

I darted through the frigid water, using my harpoon to chase a school of fish closer to a fishing net. Once they had swam into the net, I grabbed the end of it and jerked it closed. I felt people on the surface begin pulling it up, and I followed it back up to the open air.

A crew of Marcovaldo fisherman hauled the net onto the deck of a ship, cheering when they saw the massive pile of fish. One of them, a man with curly blonde hair, held out his hand to help pull me onto the ship. I shook off once I was on, activating the Change, before surveying our prize with pride.

"Nice catch," Ciccio said.

I grinned and patted him on the back. "It was teamwork," I said. Ciccio laughed, then began helping to sort out the different fish in the net. Next to him, Guido also knelt at the pile of fish, laughing and talking with Ciccio as he worked.

I smiled as I watched the two of them together. The night that Luca had brought me home, Massimo had offered them a job with our company when they retired from being mercenaries. They had accepted, and ever since then had become like family, constantly coming over to hang out with us.

And, of course, they were engaged to each other, prepared to marry a few months from now.

A gust of cold wind, carrying an interesting scent, caught my attention. I looked out to the horizon and saw the dark clouds of a storm beginning to form. "Storm inbound! Let's head back to port!" I called. The men immediately scurried to secure our catch and turn back to shore. Soon, the ship was smoothly gliding across the water back to our docks.

Guido and Ciccio came up to me. "The storm shouldn't spoil your date, should it?" Guido asked. I shrugged. "I mean, it's not like the water will hurt us. But Luca does hate the cold, and the storm won't help with that..." I said uncertainly.

Ciccio playfully punched my shoulder. "Ah, he won't care what the weather is, so long as he's with you," he said. I grinned, then looked at the port that was getting closer every minute.

"Do you think he'll be there? He said that he'd be waiting for me at the shipyard, but I don't know if with the weather-" Guido cut me off. "Alberto, you're being way to anxious about this. If he said he'd be there, then he'll be there. You can trust him," he said reassuringly. I smiled as the ship turned into the port, coming to rest at the dock.

I helped the men unload the fish, then I bolted towards the main office at the shipyard. I hurriedly signed out of my shift, grabbed my coat and hat, and ran out of the yard to where my Vespa was parked. A smile spread across my face when I saw the figure standing next to it, wearing a fancy red tie-front tunic.

Luca waved at me, but when I got closer, his nose wrinkled. "Why do you smell like fish?" he said. I chuckled nervously. "Uh, I just got back from fishing, sooooo, I didn't have any time to wash off," I explained. Luca giggled.

"I understand. Work can be overwhelming sometimes," he said. I gave him a knowing smile- ever since he had taken over the Visconti Company, he was busy practically 24/7. He didn't always sleep, and Giulia had taken to making him an espresso every morning when he stayed with us. It was rare that he got time off, so this date was special.

And I wanted to make the most of it.

"So, where are we going?" he asked as we climbed onto the Vespa. I revved the engine and began driving towards town. "I had a special place in mind..." I said mysteriously. "You're just going to have to wait to see what it is." I heard him laugh as the wind whipped around us.

As we passed by the town, I felt Luca shifting slightly. I chuckled. "We aren't stopping here," I said. "Huh?" he asked. I just twisted the handlebars and revved the engine, causing the Vespa to speed up. We drove out of the city, towards a small peninsula.