You yawned and stretched your arms, relishing in the gentle pop that emitted from your shoulders. The release of tension had been much needed since you'd been sitting over your desk for an embarrassingly long amount of time.
You had to get these brand deals done, unless Maneskin would lose their ambassador spots for the companies that were sponsoring their upcoming tour. Being a highly popular rock band's media manager had its perks and downsides. Extremely late nights were a major downside.
You glanced your tired eyes up to the clock on the kitchenette wall.
2:37 A.M.
You had to be up early with the band for some press for one of these companies, so you knew it would be best to catch at least a few hours of sleep.
You tiptoed into the bedroom you shared with Damiano, cringing silently as the door hinges squealed. "Fuck." You whispered under your breath as the hinges squeaked louder as the door closed.
You shuffled your feet past the creaky parts in the floorboards and laid softly on the bed, making sure to not force the mattress to indent suddenly. You couldn't wake Damiano up, he was the star after all.
You let go of the breath you'd been holding to keep silent, but immediately jumped when Damiano quickly thrashed back and forth.
"Babe?" You asked delicately, realizing that he was having a nightmare.
The moonlight streaming through the window illuminated the tear tracks that were staining his cheeks.
"Dami, bambino, wake up." You shook him gently.
Either you weren't loud enough, or you didn't shake him hard enough. You couldn't stand to see him struggle like this any longer.
"Dami, Dami, shh, shh." You coaxed, peppering kisses all over his face. He jolted awake with a heavy breath.
"Taylor?" He gasped, gripping onto your shirt.
"Yeah, I'm here, baby, I'm here. What's going on?" You whispered, lighting the dim bedroom lamp on the table on your side of the bed.
"I just..." He shook his head. "I just haven't been sleeping since that newspaper put the headline out, and--"
You sighed. You knew he'd been losing sleep over this whole scandal, but you didn't know it had plagued him with nightmares.
"Baby, you know you weren't doing anything. You took that drug test, you did everything you could to prove yourself innocent." You brushed your thumb over his cheekbone, pressing a soft kiss on the bridge of his nose.
The room fell to a thick silence, with Damiano still working to lower his heart rate. Nothing was working. He was only seeming to panic more.
"Merda!" He shouted, cursing in his native language. He ran his hands through his growing out hair.
You reeled back as you watched Damiano rise to his feet. He stumbled through the dark room, running out to the foyer.
"Dami, stop, what are you--" You reached out, but he left the room before you could grab him.
You turned out of the bedroom, your heart breaking as you watched him anxiously pace the carpeted hallway.
"My career is over!" He cried, slamming his palm against the wall, making the picture frames shake.
Tears surfaced in your eyes as you watched him break down over this. "Dami, you're okay. You're okay."
You approached him delicately, wrapping him up in your arms. You kissed his palms, taking special care of the one that had turned firey red after it had been hitting the wall.
"Bambino, you've done all that you've can. You know that you're innocent. You've done nothing wrong." You came and sat on the sofa beside him. You crossed back to the table and picked your phone up, taking a quick Google search to show Damiano something you had seen earlier that day.
"What are you looking at?" Damiano asked, looking up at you through damp eyelashes.
You smiled softly. "I saw a headline earlier, I think it'll make you feel better."
You kissed Damiano's cheek and tilted his head onto your shoulder as you kept scrolling.
"Here." You turned your phone towards your boyfriend.
Eurovision winners Måneskin: 'Cocaine? Damiano barely drinks beer!'
"Vic was standing up for you, see?" You smiled, running your hand through his hair.
Damiano snickered softly. "And she's like the most trustworthy of us all, hmm?" He joked quietly.
"Yeah." You giggle alongside him. "Let's go back to bed, babe, yeah?" You whispered after a few moments of him smiling over the article. You took some time, kissing his collarbone as you turned and led him back to the bedroom.
"I'm sorry to have woken you, principessa." Damiano whispered.
You shook your head. "No, no, you didn't. You didn't. I was working on some brand stuff for the band, I just got here."
Damiano's face contorted in concern. "Taylor, what were you doing up? You weren't asleep yet?"
You shook your head. "No, I was doing that stuff for Ralph Lauren, and--" You cut yourself off mid sentence when Damiano tucked his head into the crook between your shoulder and neck.
"And, Dami, this isn't about me. It's about you. I want to make sure you're okay to rest, yeah?" You rubbed his bare back gently, almost as if you'd smudge his tattoos. "I can go make you some tea? Chamomile, decaf, yeah?"
Damiano nodded gently, though when he pushed himself up off of your shoulder he spoke up. "You don't have to do that, Taylor, I'll go back to sleep fine, just--"
Your shoulders slumped. "Are you sure? It wouldn't take that long, it--"
"I'm sure. Especially now that you're here." Damiano grabbed your hand and laid you down beside him.
He snuggled you close, his arm falling perfectly into the dip of your waist. Damiano's eyes fell closed, and you traced his tattoos to lull him to a gentle sleep.
"Ti amo." You whispered, kissing the top of his head as you both fell into a comfortable slumber.
~~~~~
WORD COUNT
993
YOU ARE READING
TO BE ALONE: a series of måneskin oneshots
Fanfiction/ to have someone kiss the skin that crawls from you / short stories requests always open