June 16th
“Just try not to throw a whole Gordon Ramsay sort of scene if they serve us some gold sprinkled pasta.”
”No promises idiot sandwich” he smirked ”Pasta is a sensitive topic, don’t disrespect it mister” he told him, even though he did say Gio wasn’t wrong, but the point still stands.
“You really love him, don’t you?”
The three of them in a hospital room, Gio looked at the sleeping boy next to him as Marcia spoke, and as gently holding his hand, he let out a weak yet genuine small smile for the first time since the fire ”I really do…” he whispered in response to her question. ”More than anything”
A while after, Luciano woke up and after the initial excitement and relief to see he was okay, Marcia went to get a doctor and the two were left on their own. Seeing Lui was generally okay was already better than anything he could wish for, it was just one piece of a puzzle but he made everything feel so much better just with the simple act of opening his eyes and looking at him. “You… you pulled me out? What, Gio- You could’ve gotten hurt.” he exclaimed and sat up with a wince of pain, causing a sharp movement response from Gio who’s eyes widened momentarily in worry and his posture straightened up. ”Don’t move so much you’re hurt” he said quietly, worried about the injuries in his body ”I wouldn’t just leave you to die, it wasn’t even an option.” he told him, pulling him out was risky as hell, they could have both ended up dead, but it wasn’t a dilemma, it was just an action, an instinct? Either way, he was glad he did so. Lui asked if Gio was hurt to which he did a so-so gesture with his hand ”I’m okay now, painkillers and stuff” he told him, picking up a little box of pills that was sat next to him, and put it back down ”Luc… I remember… everything” he told him as turning his gaze to look at the boy once again, filling him in on the news in his life.
“Tesoro, why are you apologizing? None of this is your fault.”
Gio’s heart skipped a beat as Luciano called him Tesoro, so much time has passed since he had heard that nickname, and frankly he missed it. It did make him feel a bit better for a moment, but he couldn’t help the part of him that was still kind of blaming himself for the situation. “You f^cking saved me, it’s because of you that I’m alive.” Was it though? He may have managed to save him, but from the missed calls on his phone he could see how in a way, them being in a distant place could have been the reason for everything that has happened to Aline. So no matter what Luciano told him, he couldn’t silence the part of him that blamed himself for the whole outcome.
“And I love you too, G, And you’re not going to lose me, I’m okay.”
Though the kiss did make him feel better, even if it was just momentarily, and his words echoed in Gio’s mind, having Luci back in his life like that was more than he could ever believe in his wildest dreams, and in reality… It actually happened, against all odds.
But Aline…
The painful present (June 25th)
There was a huge difference between losing the memory of Aline, and actually losing Aline. And if we’re being honest here, the second option felt much worse, because he remembered just how much she was important and close to his heart, and she was gone, gone for good.
Graduation had arrived, and as everyone was walking and receiving their diplomas, Gio stood and watched Lui walk wheel himself up the stage and grab that diploma. Knowing Aline wasn’t going to walk that stage hurt, but as impossible as it sounded, he tried focusing himself on being there for Luci with all the Aline thing, he knew how hard it was to lose a twin and if there was anything he could to to take back time and stop that ineffable pain from shadowing Luciano’s life, he would. But he couldn’t, so he just tried the best he could to be there for and with him, even with his own pain.
Gio himself didn’t graduate along with the rest of his classmates. He was quite close to it, but he had to do a bit of work and resit some finals to be in a place where he could actually graduate, but he was glad he didn’t have to redo the whole year, after all, that would have sucked and it wasn’t like he wasn’t trying and working on it in rehab and even before, his grades were always good, he actually cared about his grades unlike many others in his class. But watching them with broken cheers was all he got to do this time, and it was more than enough.
Oh right, it was his birthday. Frankly, he never liked his birthday, or more accurately he didn’t like it for as long as most people around him could remember. As a kid, he loved birthdays, but at some point… It just wasn’t the same. And now… without Aline too… It was even worse.
Were all their birthdays that year bound to be associated with death?
Looking back, Gio’s mind went back to the day of Candice’s funeral (though spoiler alert, bish ain’t dead), the day after the twins didn’t really celebrate their birthday. Gio and Aline stood against the outside wall of the church building, and Aline thanked him for hanging out with her and giving her a good birthday considering the circumstances.
"Anytime, you’re too important for me to let you have a sh!t birthday.“ He told her as she thanked him. Candice was his friend, hearing she was dead did cause him pain he hated feeling, not to mention Lui was a broken wreck, just seeing him like that hurt more than the death itself. But it was also their birthday, and he wanted to be there with Aline and make it a little less sh!tty. “Of course, we’re not gonna let your birthday just pass. It’s gonna be a great day for you, and I promise that.”
She promised… Little did she know, he turned out to be right when he told her not to promise stuff… He just didn’t think this was what would happen when he first said it. He did mention the possibility of him dying, and he was even close to it, but the idea of her being the one to die didn’t even cross his mind…
“I can’t say you’re wrong, but when I say I’ll be there for your birthday, I mean it. If you’re dead, we’ll have your birthday on your grave…”
I mean, this is just irony at its finest. Painful irony, but still… A graveyard rave.
It sure didn’t feel like a birthday, but as he got up in the morning to a visit from Luci with a happy birthday and a beautiful bouquet of blue orchids, which was more than perfect. But other than that, he didn’t really want anything to remind him it was his birthday. That and the pasta. He couldn’t say no to pasta and couldn’t hold the smile as Luciano came to him with a takeout box and an adorable story on how he went to get it. “…And, I promise, there are no gold parmesan flakes.”
Gio let out a light chuckle at his words and the gesture in general ”You really didn’t have to, but thanks, it means a lot” he told him with a soft smile and bent over giving him a chaste kiss ”Can’t say no to pasta from a handsome guy can I” he added quietly with a smirk before straightening back up with the box in his hands.
”Are you… going to the party?” he asked
@unsungcheerio was supposed to be shorter apologies bye