”But why ruin pasta that’s just sad, pasta is perfect as it is” Gio sighed at the thought of it maybe tasting ‘good’. Though to be fair, Luciano did sort of have a point, what would all those freakishly rich people possibly want to do with all their gold if not turn it into something edible and sprinkle it over their pasta dishes so they technically poop gold as well as swim in it, or whatever they do in the comfort of their own homes. Gio’s family may have always been rich, from his father’s past flourishing career as an insurance man, which was quite high paying, to his mother’s career as a professor in some hotshot university, which wasn’t exactly the definition of minimum wage as well, to past inheritance from all his dead grandparents and relatives and many other things that pay up quite well, or as you may have figured, my point is that for as long as Gio could remember (quite ironic isn’t it?), The De Luca family never seemed to even be close to the state of lacking money. But to be honest, Gio never really cared about any of it. Yes, he obviously enjoyed the bonuses and luxuries a wealthy life had to offer him, but it was never something he saw as an aspect of his life that actually mattered to him. He was more of a sentimental type of guy, memories, connections, emotions, passions, family and friends, not his reputation among the silver spoon folks and fancy houses with a private chef that cooks them pasta with edible gold sprinkled on top like parmesan. He may have been handed the silver spoon growing up, but he never actually wanted it, a regular spoon was just fine wasn’t it?
But that was yet another thing that Gio and his father didn’t see eye to eye on, because Mario, unlike his son, cared for his wealth and status pretty much more than he cared for anything else in his or his family’s lives. And that was the exact reason even until this day, ten years later, almost nobody knew Giovanni even had a brother.
Flashback?
An hour… A day… A week…. A month… A year…
Anxious waiting, investigations, searching and searching and so much damn searching, and for what? He was never found. How can an eight year old boy just disappear from the face of the earth like that? Like he never existed… Which was exactly the mindset Giovanni’s father came up with, as he decided to just forget the whole thing happened. They were still sort of new around the area, having people forget there were two of them wasn’t as impossible as it may sound, especially when they looked exactly the same.
“Non parlerai mai più di lui, mi capisci?” (You’ll never talk about him again, do you understand me?) The young boy looked at his father as the man forbid him to talk about his own missing brother, his best friend, his identical other half, his person. ”Non parli di lui, non dici il suo nome. Non è mai successo.” (You don’t talk about him, you don’t mention his name. He never happened.) He told him, with a strict, fear inflicting tone and body language, approaching the poor boy with threats so he will never disobey the order he was just given. And as much as he tried, Gio could never even begin to understand how a father could possibly do that, forget his own son, blood and flesh of his own. What beating human heart had the capability of just ignoring and banning the boy from existence. Definitely not Gio’s… And apparently not his mother’s as well.
Gio remembered that day, and the way he ducked behind the wall by the stairs of the second floor in their new home, to which they moved after their previous one was burnt down to the ground. The boy hid behind the wall, as he watched his parents having a proper fight downstairs. He could barely hear what they were saying, or yelling to be more accurate, but what he knew was that his mother, unlike his father, had the damn heart to stand against the idea of wiping her son out of human conscious like he never existed, like he didn’t walk the earth and made memories and impacts on people’s hearts for a whole damn eight years, just like that, like nothing. She couldn’t do that, and for the first time in his life, Gio saw his mother stand up against her husband, which was something that never happened.
But even that was for nothing, because after all there was a reason nobody in the family ever stood up against him before, and there was a reason he wanted the memory of his kidnapped child to disappear from the face of the earth. fcuking Reputation. His mother knew eventually, and Gio never did, but the reason Emilio was taken away, was because of him. Because apparently Mario De Luca was not only a bad man in his own home, but also outside in hidden dodgy places. In his house, Mario had always been a figure reflecting power and fear upon others, they just never knew truly how powerful and frighting he really was. Because truth be told, that man had done some questionable things in his life, and he was associated with people even more questionable than himself, some of the bigger names of the industry. ‘What industry?’ you may be asking yourselves, well, all industries, all the big money, from money laundering to illegal goods or human trafficking, organised crime and what not. He was simply just damn good at hiding it behind his so called good Christian husband and father, just an innocent insurance guy wasn’t he? Well, he wasn’t, he was nothing more than a fcuking heartless fraud who would do anything for a little bit of extra cash. Or… not exactly a little bit, but the point still stands.
Frankly, the only reason his wife even stayed with him was out of fear, and it sucked because even though on the outside she seemed like a spineless blindly obedient wife, Valentina De Luca was overall a good woman who didn’t deserve the life she had, but lived every day acting out of fear because she knew what her husband was capable of, and didn’t want to suffer the consequences of turning against him. Where has the man she had fallen in love with all these many years ago disappeared? What happened to the guy who asked her to marry him on a gondola floating in the middle of the tranquil waters of the romantic city born of water, while the sunset acted as the most beautiful backdrop to the timeless magic like architecture everywhere they could possibly turn, as if they were in a fairytale. No wonder many people see Venice as one of the most romantic cities in the world. But even with the loveliest memories, he was no longer that man, he had been ruined, corrupted, turned into that monstrous man who his actions got his own child kidnapped and probably killed, who knows? A man who had the power to change that story and potentially even bring him back, but his pride was bigger than any other thing in him, swallowing his heart and the slight chance of Emilio ever returning right along with it.
But it never stopped the little Gio from waiting for his brother to come back. The way the boy sat in the window of his room every single night, looking out into the empty street secretly hoping in his sad little heart that somehow, one day, maybe… Maybe his brother would show up and come back into his life. That maybe Gio would have spotted him downstairs, peeking from behind the tree in front of his room window, gently throwing small rocks at the window so Gio notices him as he stares into the unknown, waiting. And how Gio would run down with a grin on his face and quietly sneak his brother through the back door into his room because he knew he wasn’t supposed to be out of his bed at this late time of night, and that his brother was… Well, banned? Was he still banned from existence if he ever came back? What if his father wouldn’t take him back?
For years Gio hasn’t stopped dreaming about the possibility of his brother coming back to him, and how they’d sit and fill each other in on everything they have missed in each other’s lives. An hour… A day… A week…. A month… A year… Two, three, four, five… Every night, sitting at his window, waiting for the second half of his package deal that was himself and his twin brother. He even wrote him letters, spoke to him, hoping maybe in some magical way the boy could hear him, wherever he was… If he was even alive… But he never came back, and eventually, the bot stopped writing him letters, he stopped sitting at the window waiting for him to possibly return… The hope? The hope was gone, as Giovanni grew up, he stopped believing that something good might happen, and slowly started accepting the fact that maybe he was never going to see his brother again… Not in his physical form at least, but in his mind, the boy always lived. Always there for him, with him along every step of the way, a boy that would forever remain eight years old as a figment of Gio’s imagination.
Back to the present
Because that’s how twins work, it was something no twin could argue with, twins, they’re a package deal, they’re connected, they have a bond nobody can deny, even if they don’t necessarily like each other. And aside from the fact that in his heart he truly loved Luciano, as Gio pulled him out of the rubble in the greenhouse that was no longer green, nor a house, he knew he had to at least try the best he could to help save him, for Aline, more than anyone else. He couldn’t let it happen, he couldn’t let her lose him. It might sound a bit like a farfetched theory, but there’s a difference between losing a friend, a sibling, a parent, even a significant other, to losing a twin. Losing a twin was the worst of them all, losing a person that is literally your second half. I guess sharing a womb with someone for nine months has some extra stuff in the small print of the contract. When you lose a twin… it’s like a whole damn part of your heart is brutally torn away, while making sure you felt the utter deep pain in every possible part of you and every moment, the hardest pain one can ever go through. Some might disagree, but that’s because they aren’t twins… It was a thing a stranger could never understand.
The ambulance ride from the Listaria castle to the hospital wasn’t as long as it may have seemed, but to Gio, it felt like an eternity. That, and every other waiting included in those twenty four hours that felt like a never ending living nightmare, which wasn’t technically wrong, it really was a nightmare, as the possibility of losing Luciano for real was a thought that couldn’t leave his mind, haunting him through every moment as he had no idea if he would eventually be okay. As the medics in the ambulance took whatever care they could of the unconscious injured boy lying there on the gurney, Gio sat there, with an oxygen mask attached to his face as we looked at him, as sadly bruised and weak as he looked, he was still beautiful. That was the thing with Luciano and Gio, there was something there, something that was different than any romantic or friendly connection he has ever had before. Because somehow, no matter what may happen or what storm came in their path, nothing that happened could ever seem to break the two apart for too long. I mean, look at the damn reality in front of you, Gio literally lost his memory of Luci’s existence in his life, and still, after all this time, they managed to find their way back in to each other’s lives and hearts against all odds. And in the midst of this crazy adventure, Gio found himself right from the start, falling in love all over again with the boy who once stole his heart and never really gave it back.
And he was scared, he was really fcuking scared, worried out of his mind as he gently held Luciano’s hand in his own, sitting by his side as the ambulance soared through the roads of Listaria, holding on to a shred of hope as he glanced out the window trying to spot a hospital, but nothing was in the horizon just yet. Gio looked at the unconscious man lying there next to him, his thumb caressing the skin of his hand as he took off his mask and came closer to him, planting a soft innocent kiss on his forehead as he whispered, ”non preoccuparti amore mio, andrà tutto bene” (don’t worry my love, everything will be okay). The exact words his mother once told him as she hugged him holding him close in her arms, the words that gave him a comforting shred of hope to hold on to in the midst of chaos, the day of the fire, ten years back. Was this meant to be a recurring theme in his life or something? A huge fire once every ten years or so that takes away the one person he loves most? He sure hoped not… But from the way it seemed from Gio’s perspective on his life, it may have actually been true. Sadly ironic as fcuk, but possibly true, as if he was cursed or something.
Gio had always hated hospitals, they were grey, cold, and full of pain and suffering wherever you turn, not to mention they reminded him of bad times in the past. Though in the past few months Gio may have been in a hospital more than he had in all 18 years of his life altogether, but he never hated being in a hospital as much as he did that day, the day he for once was on the other side, the side anxiously sitting in a cold, grey waiting room, waiting for a doctor to come out of that stupid door and tell them everything was going to be okay. And not just for one person, but for two. And as much as he was worried about Luciano’s state, little did he know, it wasn’t half as bad as Aline. I mean, was she even alive? Did she even have a chance of surviving? or was it a hopeless cause with a fake shred of hope Gio would keep holding on to, just like the idea of his brother ever returning.
Though on the plus side (if anything could really even be seen as good at this moment), he didn’t know what it was exactly, but something in the whole messy hell of a situation had a major impact on the boy’s somewhat poorly functioning brain. Maybe it was the fire, or the hospital, the pain, the fear of losing Luciano once again, just like the day of the accident in which he lost it all in the first place, though in a different setting and a different and much worse way of losing him… Whatever it was, that thing that triggeted the past and present deep pain in Gio’s mind, was also that thing that against all odds, brought his memories right back up from the ashes, all of them, a whole damn three years running through his poor mind all together one after the other in a hail of bullets. Let’s just say the headache was nothing less than fcuking terrible, as well as the fact that his body didn’t even know how to react to this whole change and overload on his brain, but after some good care from hospital staff as someone noticed he looked a bit pale and not exactly in his best, painkillers, oxygen, anything needed to help calm his body from his overactive mind and the pain. Was it the pain of his mind and the past coming back? Or was it the pain of the current moment? Honestly, it was probably both, which made it so much worse, but overall, it was worth it. You’re not you without your memories. Memories… Well, they are your life, they are who you are, and making new ones instead… That was never really enough, though it was better than nothing I suppose… But deep inside him, ever since the accident, all Gio truly wanted was to get his old life back, with all the bad parts and everything. Because a thing about Gio that anyone who really knew him could see, was the fact that Gio always had a thing with hope, he seemed to hold on to it no matter how dim the light at the end of the tunnel was, and sometimes, it worked in his favour.
After hours and endless hours of anxious waiting, with absolutely no knowledge of what was going on with either of them, were they alive? Were they stable? Surgery? Anything god dangit. But no, the doctors wouldn’t tell him a thing because he wasn’t family (stupid rules hmph). Eventually, their mother, Marcia, arrived at the hospital, and as the doctor pulled her aside to tell her about the current condition of her children, she started crying, and even without knowing what was told to her, Gio knew it was bad. But soon enough she told him what she knew, and it was even worse than he thought. Could she even be counted as alive? Was she… was this the last time he saw Aline?
Though knowing Luciano wasn’t as bad off as his sister was somewhat comforting, at least one of them seemed to be recovering… That was a good thing, wasn’t it?
Gio and Marcia both sat in Luciano’s room waiting for him to wake up, and as Gio sat by his bedside, right across from Luci’s mother who sat on the other side, the doctor came and went and all the two had left to do was wait… And then she spoke, reaching out across the hospital bed to hold his hand as tears rolled down her face, ”Thank you…Thank you for being there for him, if you weren’t with him, no sé lo que- Just… thank you Gio. I’m glad he… he has you.”
Gio couldn’t bring himself to properly smile at her words even though they felt good in his heart, but he held her hand and attempted a broken half smile as he looked at the miserable woman in front of him ”I’m the one who should be glad” he whispered and turned his gaze to look at the sleeping man ”This… It’s all you. You made him, and honestly I have never met anyone as amazing as your son in my whole life, you should be proud of yourself Marcia” he genuinely told her, meaning every word he said as gently caressing his head. And it was honestly true, the way Gio saw Luciano, he was truly the most amazing man alive, and somehow he had the privilege of being there and falling in love with him over and over again, never truly understanding what could he have possibly done in his life to deserve the love of this fallen angel sent to him straight from heaven.
Eventually, the boy’s eyes slowly opened, and as he looked at Gio, he told him how they should stop meeting in the hospital, and as seeing he seemed to be okay, Gio couldn’t help but let out a small smile, even if he was still worried and aching about Aline ”We really should” he told him in response, looking in his deep brown eyes he loved so much as he spoke ”I’m just happy you’re okay” he whispered, and watched as Luci and his mother reunited and hugged, right before she went to call the doctor. “Soo… What happened, exactly? My head hurts and I can’t really remember how I got here. And… where’s Ali?”
Umm… we were at the wedding, and there was a fire. We got trapped in the greenhouse and you had some ruins collapse on you… So I kind of pulled you out and then the medics brought you here” he told him, and tried to think of a way to tell him about Aline’s condition, though there was no way to ease the fact that his twin sister could be dying at this very moment. ”Aline… She’s… Not so good honestly… Her heart is beating, though she’s unconscious and ventilated right now, but the doctors are trying their best, I bet she would be fine in no time” he said, but did he really believe his own words or was he just hopelessly trying to convince himself and Luci that she was going to be okay?
”Are you… okay? ” Gio asked him as he reached over to gently hold his hand ”I was so worried… I guess… I thought I might lose you again…” he admitted, looking at the man in front of him, who he had loved so much and now with his memories back, he really understood for real just how much he truly loved him. But he did, and by the way it seemed, he probably wasn’t ever going to stop loving him ”But you know… I love you Luc, I really do. I won’t let anything happen to you again… I-” he quietly told him, still a bit flustered from everything going on ”I’m sorry…” he added, genuinely.
@unsungcheerio EAT MY DUST CHEERIO
3 6 7 2 now baby 