"Mi Dispiace, Amore Mio" (Luca X Alberto) Villan AU

Amore Mio

"Hey, I'm getting a little cold," Luca said to Alberto sleepily. "My place is close by, we can finish our gelato in there," he said while switching the rose to the same hand holding his gelato. Luca caught Alberto off guard when he grabbed his hand and squeezed it back with a wide smile. Now Luca was the one running his thumb over Alberto's hand, making him blush. However, Luca fidgeted with his fingers out of anxiety, not fondness. "Luca, are you okay? You're breathing kinda heavy," Alberto asked Luca. He tried to relax his breathing, "I'm fine, I'm just a bit chilly,"  he kept his eyes on the door numbers and found the one that Ercole had rented out for him. Luca let go of Alberto's hand and reached his pocket for the keys but grazed over the gun which made him visibly shudder. It feels nice outside but I guess he really is cold, Alberto thought to himself.

Luca opened the door, "it isn't much here," Luca said as he saw the room for the first time, "I have a bed we can sit on, a tv, and a radio we can listen to...if you want." They both took off their shoes, Alberto threw himself onto the small red bed and Luca placed the rose down on the stand next to the bed before sitting down. "Hand me that," Alberto pointed to the radio next to the flower. Luca handed the little device to him and watched as Alberto scanned through different stations. A vibrating and airy voice broke through the radio. "Do you like aria? My dad listens to it all the time so it kinda grew on me," Alberto said bashfully. Luca leaned into the sound, "her voice is amazing," Luca said in wonder. This music was so different than the kind Ercole listened to, it was so gentle and elegant, and... romantic. Alberto continued to eat his gelato and noticed that Luca had already finished his cone. "Woah, I guess you really did like that flavor," he said to Luca while eating the rest of his in 1 bite. He scooted closer to Luca and leaned into his ear, cupping it like there were people around them, "maybe I'll tell you the secret later." Luca felt his jaw clench knowing what he had to do tonight and that Alberto would never get to tell him, but he just laughed playfully.

"I had a lot of fun tonight. I'm glad we finally got to go out. I... I really like you," Alberto said to Luca. Luca smiled, "thank you for taking me out, I had a lot of fun too," he said. "So what do you think of this town anyway?" Alberto asked him. Luca thought for a moment, he didn't have much of an opinion on it at first, he was just here on business with Ercole. "It's nice and quiet, not like where I'm from. I like it here better, I'm not sure I would want to go back." Luca didn't fully understand that last sentence. He didn't know that was how he felt, but it was true. Everything he did with Alberto pulled him further and further into an unknown bliss but was always pulled back by Ercole. Luca's smile was growing tenderly as he remembered his time with Alberto, "I liked that time you took me to the top of the hill and we danced for an hour!" Luca and Alberto started laughing. "And you kept tripping over your own feet and almost landed on the floor," they laughed even louder. They went back and forth retelling stories of their adventures together for 30 minutes. "Hey, can you do something for me?" Alberto sheepishly asked Luca. "It's a little embarrassing, I know, but... could I lay on your lap?" Luca blushed, "Oh, sure, he tucked his feet in and let Alberto rest on him. "Would you mind playing with my hair too? My mom used to do this to me but I haven't seen her in such a long time and, I could never ask my dad to do this. Could you do that for me?" Alberto requested. Luca started to run his fingers through the thick coils. He remembered what Alberto had said earlier about the island. "You said that you used to live on that island across the sea, with your dad. But you and your dad are both living here now right?" Luca asked. He looked at the clock again that was counting down at him, "can you tell me more?" Luca asked.

"Well, sorta. I lived on that island with my... biological father. One day he just left. I was so young, I didn't understand what happened. I counted down days for him to come back, but, he never did. It was scary, y'know. Having to realize how cruel it was for someone to do that to someone they loved. Maybe he didn't love me. I thought about it for a long time. One day I just decided to leave and came here. I met Massimo, the fisherman who owns the Peschiera and he took me in." Luca could hear the clock ticking at him. He shifted his weight and drew out the gun Ercole gave to him. "You know, it sounds like you didn't have such a good beginning either," Alberto said, throwing Luca off guard. "You deserve better," Alberto continued. The weight of Ercole's hand pressed down on Luca like a phantom. He curled Alberto's hair around his finger tightly and scrunched it up. He picked up the gun again, but this time it felt much heavier. "Luca," Alberto said curling up to hold the side of Luca's thigh. "We could leave, you know," Alberto said closing his eyes. Luca's throat tightened Alberto started caressing his skin now. "We could get one of those fancy Vespas, and leave all of our past behind us," he started imagining it, "every day we can ride it someplace new." Luca held the gun up and clenched his jaw at the clock ticks hearing them slow but loud. "We will go on all sorts of adventures together, and dance at the top of all the hills in Italy," the aria playing in the background sounded louder and more blissful than before. Alberto ran his fingers across Luca's smooth leg, "I'll take care of you," Luca cocked the gun quietly and bit down on his lip. He could feel pools fill around his eyes as he pointed the gun downwards towards Alberto. Through the aggressive ticking of the clock, the romantic echoing voice from the radio, and the loud beating of his heart, he could clearly hear Alberto's voice. "And I'll protect you from everything you're running from. "Luca's index finger shakily slid over the trigger. "Luca, I won't ever let anyone hurt you, amore mio." Luca squeezed his eyes shut and a tear dropped from his eye onto Alberto's forehead. "Luca, are you—"

.... to be continued ....