Alessio woke up with a start with his usual nightmares. He didn't know if Luca was asleep or not; Luca was, as always, buried in the blankets. He was currently hungry as hell, so he made his way to the kitchen quietly so Luca wouldn't get up.
He saw Sandro in all his glory; only Sandro would wear a suit at 7 in the morning. He wondered if his brother even owned casual clothes.
Sandro, engrossed in whatever he was doing, finally noticed Alessio's presence. "Morning, sleepyhead," Sandro greeted, adjusting his tie with a nonchalant demeanor.
Alessio rolled his eyes. "Who wears a suit at 7 in the morning? Are you expecting a business meeting with the cereal box?" Usually, Sandro maintained a stoic expression, a trait not necessarily tied to their mafia connections but more to his personality. However, even that facade couldn't conceal his surprise at Alessio's casual comment. It had been a while since Alessio had walked in, making a remark about Sandro's attire.
Speaking of surprises, Alessio knew he had another one in store for his brothers. The revelation about his relationship with his boyfriend was still pending, and he couldn't help but wonder how Sandro, and eventually Luca, would react to the news. Alessio mused over the idea but decided to focus on the immediate task at hand – food.
"Nope, I'm expecting a business meeting with you."
"Fine, but I'm eating first."
"You just have to listen, idiot. I'm giving you a 2-month off."
Alessio raised an eyebrow. "Two months off? Did I hear that right, or did I finally lose it?"
Sandro nodded and smirked. "Yeah, you heard it right. Consider it a forced vacation. You need a break, Sio."
Alessio couldn't help but feel a mix of gratitude and skepticism. Time off wasn't something he was accustomed to, especially in their line of work.
"What brought this on? Did you hit your head or something?"
Sandro's smirk widened into a grin. "No head injuries, I promise. It's just a decision I made. You're no good to anyone if you're running on fumes, and we've got things handled here for a while. Also, you need to learn how to take care of a kid and be a dad."
Alessio's eyes narrowed. "You're not getting sentimental on me, are you?"
Sandro's gaze remained steady. "I just want what's best for Luca, and you need a break too because you are a workaholic."
"Says the one who's wearing a suit at 7 in the morning."
Suddenly, they heard a scream that honestly hurt Sandro's eardrum. It was coming from Alessio's room. Sandro pulled out his gun instantly, and Alessio told him to wait there because there is no way that someone had broken into their fortress (mansion).
Alessio rushed towards his room and saw Luca on the bed. He was sweating a lot even with the AC, and he was not screaming anymore, just mumbling. Alessio gently shook Luca, and Luca was still not waking up, so Alessio applied a little more force as Luca was scratching his arm, which was already bruised. Alessio realized that he needed to have the self-harm lecture again.
Taking a deep breath, Alessio held Luca's hand to stop him from hurting himself more. "Luca, wake up," he said calmly.
Finally, Luca opened his eyes, looking confused and scared. Alessio reassured him, "Hey, it was just a bad dream. You're safe now."
Luca's breathing quickened, and Alessio realized why. Alessio's hand was touching Luca's shoulder; Alessio guessed he doesn't like touch Alessio thought.
As Luca's breathing calmed down, Alessio asked, "What happened?"
Luca was scared that Alessio would hit him for making a noise; they would always hit him.
"I'm not going to hurt you, Luca, because it would be a very unfair fight. I'm going to get some medicine that will help with the hurt, okay?" Alessio was shocked at how gently he said that.
Alessio went to the bathroom to fetch some antiseptic and bandages. When he returned, he found Luca clutching the bed sheet, his eyes were bright red, and he looked so scared of Alessio. Alessio tried to offer a reassuring smile, holding up the medicine.
"It's just for the scratches, Luca. I won't hurt you," he said softly.
Luca, however, couldn't shake off the fear. As Alessio started cleaning the scratch marks, Luca flinched with each touch. This is all my fault Alessio thought"I know it stings a bit but this is just to make sure that you don't get more hurt. It will help clean it" Alessio whispered. Luca was shocked how less it hurt and his small brain was trying t figure out why alessio had been so careful and didn't want to hurt him.
Alessio went to keep the medical kit back in the bathroom and he just couldnt stop himself That hypocrite (Alessio) took a knife and...
Alessio went to keep the medical kit back in the bathroom, but he couldn't stop himself. That hypocrite, Alessio, took a knife and... started making cutting. It's like he's stuck in this painful loop, punishing himself for things he couldn't change."Idiot," he muttered, the blade offering an escape from the guilt. Each cut felt like a penance committed, especially when it came to Luca.
As the blood welled up, Alessio's thoughts became a storm of self-loathing. He blamed himself for every bruise on Luca, every nightmare, and every ounce of fear in those innocent eyes. It was all on him, a burden he carried willingly but hated himself for. He wiped away the tears on his face and went to Luca
Luca was still scared Alessio was going to hit him for disturbing him.
Alessio sighed "Luca no matter what you do I won't hurt you" Luca sill doesn't know what pet names are and was confused he tilted his head a bit and Alessio thought that was cute which was very weird as Alessio hated the word cute.
"Buddy, you need to get some sleep, and it's perfectly normal to have nightmares. I get them too. It's very early right now, so how about you sleep for now?" Alessio paused for a second and then added, "Are you hungry?"
Luca was again shocked. No one had ever asked Luca if he was hungry. Luca wondered if he would get beaten if he said yes.
"I won't be mad if you say yes or no." Luca would have said no in fear of getting hurt, but he was too hungry, and he is a kid with very low self-control (no offense to any kid), so he hesitantly nodded.
"Okay, I'm going to go and get some food. Do you know what fruits are?" Luca shook his head, hating how he didn't know what that was.
"That's okay, I'll show you." Alessio wanted to cry again. Luca was flinching away from him like he was some kind of monster and wouldn't even look Alessio in the eyes.
Alessio went to the kitchen and grabbed some strawberries. The only reason Alessio had any idea what he was doing was that Matt had talked to a dietitian about Luca's health.
Alessio tried his best to explain what a strawberry was to Luca but failed miserably. Luca still obeyed Alessio as he was scared, and when he tasted it, his whole eyes lit up, and he had a small smile on his tiny face. Alessio let him have his 'moment' with the strawberry and hated how Luca didn't have the proper food while he was enjoying his luxurious life.