It's Always Been You

The Promise

Life had never been better. Alberto was the happiest he'd ever been. He was almost certain that he had died and gone to paradise. The only thing that told him otherwise was Machiavelli's consistency to wake him up every morning by jumping onto his face with his claws unsheathed.

Things had been going absolutely perfect with Luca. Ever since Festa del Mare, they had been spending more time together. Specifically, time together as a couple. Romantically. Dio mio, no matter how many times Alberto reminded himself of the fact they were a couple, his stomach filled with butterflies and he had to fight down the urge to grin like an idiot.

They'd gone on real, actual dates, with dinners and picnics and gelato. Hand-holding and hugging and kissing. Oh, Alberto was enjoying the kissing. Luca was so soft and warm, and he was always more than happy to wrap his arms around Alberto's neck and quietly ask for more. And, well, Alberto had always been more than eager to give Luca whatever he wanted.

Their families had been happy for them when they broke the news. Alberto had told Massimo and Giulia at dinner one night after spending the day curled up on the shore with Luca, watching the clouds drift by. Giulia had leant back in her chair, thrown her head back, and shouted "Finally!" up at the ceiling. Massimo had smiled and said he was happy for them.

After dinner, he'd pulled Alberto into a hug and told him that he would always be proud of Alberto. He'd said that "Luca is a good boy" and that he "could think of no better fit" for his figlio. Alberto might have teared up at that as he gladly accepted the hug.

Luca's parents had taken it well too. Daniela had been all smiles the next morning, happily offering Alberto food when he'd stopped by to deliver some choice produce from Portorosso's local market since she'd been experimenting with using fruits and vegetables in her cooking. Lorenzo had tried to give Alberto the shovel talk, but he didn't really have the stomach to make those kinds of threats. Still, Alberto had promised that he would take good care of Luca, swearing that he would sooner throw himself off a cliff before ever hurting Luca. That had been enough to satisfy Lorenzo, apparently.

Nonna wouldn't stop grinning at him, sometimes chuckling to herself when he came to see Luca. He'd expected for her to corner him as well at some point, to warn him against hurting her 'precious Bubble', but she seemed to think that he'd gotten enough of that already. The most she ever did was give him a pat on the shoulder and give him a toothy smile. It was a little unsettling whenever Alberto was really excited to see Luca, but he knew it could be worse. Ciccio had told him about how when his older sister had started dating, their nonna had pulled the boy aside to tell him about 'making an honest woman out of her.'

Alberto decided that he'd much rather deal with Nonna's smiling and Lorenzo's poor attempts at threatening him.

He had been dating Luca for a little over a month now, and he wanted to do something special. He wasn't exactly sure why. Maybe this was that 'honeymoon phase' Guido had been talking about. He spent the better part of the day trying to think of something to do, but nothing really jumped out at him.

"You look like you're thinking about something." Alberto glanced up from the plate he'd been washing to see Giulia looking at him with a raised brow.

"Maybe."

"Try not to hurt yourself there," she snickered, which earned her a flick of soapy water to the face. She laughed as she dabbed her face dry with the dish towel she'd been using to dry that evening's dishes. "So, whatcha thinking about?"

"None of your-" Alberto started, before pausing. He thought for a moment and pursed his lips. "Hey, Giulia. You're a girl, right?"

"Wow. Brilliant observation, fratello. It's a wonder why you didn't go to school with me."