Flowers of Florence

...for the moon

A bouquet of Red Carnation, Daffodil, Ivy, and White Hyacinth for the moon

...

Giuseppe's feet were usually numb from walking by the end of the day. This being because his house was a little over half an hour away from central Florence. But it was always worth it after a good day of work, even if he hadn't been working recently and in fact spent most of his time with William.

He had known William for 10 days now and he couldn't be happier. Every time they saw each other he felt like he could be anyone he wanted. In the past, he felt like he had to be someone he wasn't.

Back home in Venice with his parents and sisters, he was very talkative, since he didn't have many people to talk to. His sisters were always busy learning about manners, his father was always getting into debts with powerful people, and his mother was always looking out for his sisters.

Eventually, his mother realized the error of her ways, his sisters found suiters, his father disappeared and he started studying for a masters in math. It took him a while to realize how much he disliked his studies so he decided to change to art, which was what led him to Florence.

Giuseppe was excited to have dinner with William, since the last time they saw each other they were rudely interrupted and then stood up at dinner, most likely because William was upset. Giuseppe had heard about Michael, the intruder from the day before, who was occasionally kind to William, however Giuseppe started to see that that wasn't the case. He was rude, fierce and clearly manipulative.

Saveria told him on repeated occasions to stop seeing William, since he would only get hurt, but he couldn't do that. He was becoming more family than his family had been throughout the entirety of his childhood.

William had mentioned his own childhood which was also very uneventful except for the dark moments. They both shared those experiences because they trusted each other and because they wanted to get to know each other. They could talk about anything at all and the other would always be there to lend a patient ear.

Giuseppe had left the bakery he went to a few minutes earlier. His hands were full with his crate full of bouquets, money, and now some bread varieties to enjoy with William. They had only a few days left with each other which made them both a bit more clingy.

Once he arrived at the Arno, he looked around, trying to spot William. The sun was setting fast and he hoped they would enjoy this dinner since William didn't show up at the restaurant. Giuseppe's heart felt lighter as his eyes landed on his dark haired friend.

William was wearing a frock since the wind was picking up and it smelled of petrichor. He also had a bottle of red wine and a single pink flower in his hands. Giuseppe smiled just at the sight of him, feeling an indescribable sense of peace wash over him.

"William!" Giuseppe called out to him. He looked over and gave him a kind smile before walking over to him. He lifted his hand with the wine bottle. "Ti piace il Cabernet?" William asked. Giuseppe nodded with a small giggle. (Do you like Cabernet?)

"Do you want to go sit down?" William asked, his eyes darting towards the small wooden crate. Giuseppe thought for a second. He was always very careful and calculated about everything he did, even very small things such as choosing to sit down or not.

If he sat down, people would stop and stare, which isn't usually an issue, but he could tell that Willian cared. If he stayed standing, his arms and legs would slowly become more and more tired, and William would keep asking him to sit down until he did. Finally he decided to just place the crate on the ground, taking the wine from William's grasp and placing it in the crate.