Quelli occhi verdi come il mare

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The next morning, they were nearly sprinting towards the hospital, both excited, albeit for very different reasons. Luca, in particular, feared this moment, knowing full well that it could be strange, awkward, or downright disastrous. What do you say to the person you left so long ago, who has been taking care of you directly without your knowledge? He suspected a simple "Piacere, Girolamo, Trombetta" wouldn't suffice.

When Luca and Giulia walked down the hall to Alberto's room, they were greeted with a loud voice and much louder laughter. It originated from Alberto's room. They exchanged glances.

"Is that Alberto," Luca inquired. Giulia nodded, her brows furrowed.

Giulia walked in softly, slowly opening the door. Luca paused, still standing in the hallway between the hall and the room.

"GIULIA, IS THAT YOU?" Alberto screamed as soon as he saw her.

She dashed over to his bed and jumped into an embrace with him. She didn't mind the tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I'm right here, fratello," she chuckled. She examined every inch of his brother's joyful face, finally awake after such a long period.

"How are you doing?" she said, her vision still fuzzy.

"I'm great," he said, "I've never felt better."

She loved his upbeat demeanour, especially because he was still in a coma just a day before. She let go of her grip a little and looked outside to see Luca still standing there.

"I have a surprise," she said.

"What exactly is it?" He kept asking, "Where is it?" anxiously.

He'd probably be jumping around if he wasn't still tied to a couple of tubes. Giulia wondered how he was in such a nice mood.

She yelled at the door, "You can come in."

Luca inhaled deeply, wiped his sweating palms, and walked inside. The deep green eyes drew his attention from the moment they met. Luca became immobile. Alberto was sitting there, awake and smiling. Luca was obviously once again overthinking it. He realised that everything would be fine. The loud voice reappeared.

"Hello, gorgeous!" "Is this the surprise?" Alberto gave Giulia a sidelong glance.

Luca had not anticipated such a warm reception. What exactly was going on?

"Come closer," he said, as Luca inched closer to the bed. He couldn't decide whether to look Alberto in the eyes, which were deep green under the hospital lights and shaped in a fun manner, or to look away slightly embarrassed.

Before he could make a rational decision, he felt a hand grip his shirt, moving his upper body closer to Alberto. A fraction of a second had elapsed. The gripping hand continued to pull Luca closer, closing the distance between them. Their faces were an inch apart, then a half-inch apart, and after a "Hello, gorgeous" from Alberto, their lips connected, followed by Luca's sound of surprise. His eyes were as big as they could be. It just lasted a few seconds, and as Alberto let go of his grip, Luca nearly leapt a meter away.

Alberto smacked his lips together. "I'm enjoying this surprise!" Luca stood motionless, gasping for air, anxiously attempting to piece together what had happened. He cast a horrified glance over Giulia.

The doctor cleared his throat.

Giulia inquired, "Why is he like this?" She was aware that Alberto could be impetuous, but this was unusual even for him.

"Please accept my apologies; I should have informed you ahead. He's still on a very high pharmaceutical dosage. Given his injuries, we didn't have a choice."

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