Stories Under the Fish

Cheesy Rendezvous

{Before we dive into this oneshot, I want to give credit to RubyRed883 for helping me come up with the idea, title, and Alberto's lines at the end! She's an amazing writer and go give her some love on her work if you get a chance 😁 also, for context, Luca and Giulia are working at Olive Garden (or whatever the AU version of that is) 😂}

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"Table for one again, Scorfano?" The redhead waitress asked the new customer who came in through the glass doors. It was only a few hours before closing but she was planning on seeing him any minute now, anyway.

Every day for the past week, Alberto Scorfano had been coming in at the same time and eating at the same table. Giulia hadn't been able to prove anything yet, but she suspected it had something to do with the waiter who had been serving Alberto: Luca Paguro, her best friend.

"Yep, I guess. Still got my usual table, Giulia?" Alberto gave Giulia his signature half-smile and winked. Giulia rolled her eyes but without any real annoyance.

"It's Giuliana, not Giulia. Only my greatest friends call me Giulia, an honor which you have not earned yet, picoletto." Giulia teased. "C'mon, your table's saved back there. Menu's there too. Luca got it ready just for you a little while ago."

"Luca did it?" Giulia didn't see it, but Alberto perked up when he heard the name. She nodded while she looked down at her list of people to call up while he went to the back to find his table.

Only a few minutes later, Alberto heard a familiar voice greet him. "Alberto Scorfano! Back again for more trenette al pesto?" Luca asked with a grin. Alberto took a noticeable amount of time to answer. He was distracted by Luca's freckles. They were showing up more now that it was summer and there was more time to be in the sun. Luca repeated his name and Alberto straightened up.

"Yep! Definitely! Really excited for some more freckles. I- I mean pasta! From here." An awkward smile graced Alberto's face as Luca smiled confusedly. "And uh, you can call me...Berto. It's not like we're strangers or something, right?" He joked to ease the tension and Luca laughed too. Mother of pearl, Luca's laugh was adorable.

"Alright then, Berto. I'll be back in a little bit. Holler if you need anything!" Luca smiled again and Alberto watched him walk off with a dazed smile.

"What's up with Scorfano?" Giulia asked when Luca brought the menu back up to her. "He's been hangin' around here every day since we started here." Luca shrugged and a smile tugged at his lips. "What's up with you?" Giulia nudged him with a smirk.

"Me? Nothing! I'm just excited to see Berto here again!" Luca exclaimed a bit over-enthusiastically and glanced back at Alberto's table, where he saw him waving. Giulia smirked.

"Berto? Is that his nickname?" Giulia wanted to keep teasing him but didn't have any more time. "We can finish this during break." She winked and greeted the next customers.

Alberto busied himself at the table by thinking of different ways to impress Luca, half of which would not actually comply with physics. At least, that's what somebody told him once. He liked that phrase even if it meant the ideas wouldn't work.

~

At last, it was time for Giulia and Luca's break. They got a 10-minute break right before the lunch rush. "Soooo, spill!" Giulia nudged Luca once they stepped out.

"Spill what? I didn't spill anything, did I?" Giulia laughed and shook her head.

"No, I mean spill the truth. What was going on with you and Scorfano in there? And make it quick because we don't have a lot of time!"

"What? Nothing!" Luca protested. Giulia raised a brow. Obviously Luca was lying. His ears were red at the tips. "Well...he just really likes it here, I guess."

"I think he likes someone in particular." Giulia tried to nudge him in the right direction. Luca's face turned confused. Giulia sighed. "You! He likes you! Did you see how he looked at you when you waved at him? And your face was the exact same! Ay, santa mozzarella, you two are blind."

"Of course he likes me. He always asks for me to be his waiter." Why was Alberto liking him such a big deal? Luca didn't understand.

"Ay...Luca, let me ask you something. Do you want to be close to him?" He nodded. "Maybe hold his hand?" Luca hesitated, then slowly nodded. "Kiss him?"

"Giulia!" Luca took a step back and his cheeks turned pink.

"Yep! Knew it!" Giulia laughed for a second. "Luca, if you like him, I say go for it!"

"But...isn't that weird? A boy liking a boy?" Giulia thought for a second, then shrugged.

"Not to me. I mean, I like girls. It's not that big of a difference. Plus, I doubt Alberto would reject anything you did, even if you spilled cheese on him." The duo laughed. A shout from inside alerted them that their break was over. Time to go back to work!

~

Finally, Luca returned to the table with food. When Alberto smelled it, he immediately perked up. The food was almost as good as seeing Luca every day for a whole week! Even though it hadn't been long, he knew he really liked Luca. Like, a lot.

"Awesome! Bring on the cheese!" Alberto grinned when the food was set in front of him and Luca laughed.

"Sure thing, Berto." Alberto didn't hear that part, since he was getting distracted by watching Luca's face. If you looked at his freckles long enough, they almost made shapes. And his curls? Adorable. Light and fluffy, just like his personality. And his smile...that was Alberto's favorite part, mainly because-

"Berto? It's been twenty minutes and you haven't said stop." Alberto started out of whatever stupor he was in and noticed Luca giving him a concerned look. When he glanced down at his plate, he saw why. A huge pile of cheese sat atop the measly-looking amount of pasta. Apparently, Luca had been going for a while and Alberto hadn't noticed. It was those darn dimples! He had to cover it somehow or Luca would think he was a creep-

"Oh, I was just...testing how much the cheese cranker could hold." Alberto told as a cover story. Just then, Giuliana walked by with a group of people to seat. She glanced over at his plate and did a double take, jaw dropping.

"Santa mozzarella...that's the most cheese I've ever seen at once!" Giuliana exclaimed in disbelief. Luca chuckled nervously.

"Yeah...Alberto really likes cheese, I guess. Right, Berto?" Alberto nodded hurriedly.

"Yep!" He answered. Giulia narrowed her eyes and glanced between them, then shrugged and continued on.

"Phew...soooo, now that she's gone, can I ask you something?" Alberto asked.

"Sure."

"Do you wanna go eat somewhere else with me? Maybe like...tomorrow night?" Alberto leaned on his elbows and gave his best, most charming smile.

"Uh...sure?" Luca answered with a nervous smile.

"Great! See you at 6?" Luca nodded and pink spots appeared on his cheeks. "I won't have to eat anything before dinner then."

"Why?"

"Because you're already a snack." Alberto winked and Luca felt his whole body erupt with tingly bubbles. He struggled to keep himself from embarrassing himself and kept his excitement to a blushing, messy smile.

"Great! Yeah, sounds great! Bye Berto!" Luca rushed his words out and dashed back into the kitchen. There, he sank to the ground against a wall and grinned excitedly. He put his face in his hands and squeaked quietly.

"Great." Alberto whispered and sighed happily at his own table. "Bye Luca."