A Brief Moment to Ourselves

Leone arrived at the restaurant, expecting to see the others there, but there was only Bruno. He had some squid pasta and a cup of tea, and he was smiling, a rare sight.

“Hey, Bucciarati!” Leone grabbed his attention. He looked up at him, and his smile grew.

“Abbacchio!”

“Where is everyone?”

“Narancia’s currently in school, and Fugo and Mista are watching a movie to pass the time. Polpo hasn’t given us any orders, so I thought I would take this moment to relax. So, Abbacchio, have a seat. How have you been?”

Leone sat down near him. There was a tea kettle and some cups, and he poured himself some tea. “Nothing exciting. I woke up, had some early lunch, watched TV for a bit, and that’s it.” He thought about bringing out his CD player but then thought he should chat with Bruno. “How about you? Don’t tell me you’ve been sitting here all day.”

“Unfortunately, yeah, I have.” Bruno frowned.

“That can’t be fun.”

He sighed and looked at Leone. “You brought your CD player, right? Could I listen to some music?”

“Sure.” He handed his CD player and headset to him. “I don’t know if you’ll like my music, though.”

Bruno put on the headphones and hit the play button, listening for a few seconds. “This is relaxing. I didn’t expect you to listen to this type of music.”

“Let me guess. You thought I listened to metal. I mean, I have, but it’s not my favorite genre. I like renaissance and baroque music.”

“Do you listen to jazz?”

“Never listened to it.”

“I left some CDs at home. Maybe we could listen to some of my music some other time. The others should be here shortly.”

“Why are we waiting for them? We could just go now.”

“I know, but someone could need help. Fugo will be tutoring Narancia, and you know how intense Fugo can get when Narancia gets an answer wrong.”

This was why Leone liked Bruno, but he does think he needs a break. “Why not let Mista or I handle them?”

“Well, last time, Mista encouraged the fight, and I got an earful from the owners. And as for you, I thought you didn’t like bratty kids.”

Leone chuckled. “Are you calling Fugo and Narancia bratty?”

“They can be a bit much.” Bruno sighed. “Why couldn’t Narancia stay at home with his father?”

“Don’t know.”

They got quiet until Bruno said something.

“This is the longest time we had together by ourselves,” Bruno noted.

“Yeah.”

He heard the other sigh and noticed his cheeks flushed. “Oh boy, and we’ve known each other for how long?”

Leone couldn’t remember, but he wished he did. He sat for a while, trying to think. “I feel bad for not remembering something so important in my life.”

“You think I’m important?”

He blushed. “Yeah.”

Neither of them could make eye contact. They were so nervous. Leone could feel his heart racing and breathed in and out, conscious if he was loud.

“Um,” Bruno started, voice shaky, “d-do you—oh boy.” He sank into his chair.

Leone brushed a strand of hair behind his ear. He tried to grab his tea, but his hands shook, so he put it down.

Bruno sat straight and cleared his throat, catching the other’s attention. “Do you want to go—no!”

“Bruno, are you alright?” He got closer to him.

“Can I kiss you?”

Leone didn’t answer but kissed his lips instead, quickly withdrawing to see his facial expression, Bruno’s eyes wide open. However, instead of him sitting down to finish his pasta and tea, Bruno gave him a kiss that lasted a few seconds longer. It probably would’ve lasted longer until they heard to door to the restaurant open.

“Is Bucciarati here?” they heard Fugo’s voice.

“Yes. The same table as always,” the host answered.

Leone looked at Bruno’s lips and noticed his lipstick stain was on him. “Your lips!” He grabbed a napkin and quickly wiped his mouth.

“Is it gone?” he asked.

“Hmm, is something going on here?” Fugo asked.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Leone lied.

“Something was near my mouth,” Bruno said, trying to help.

“I hate it when food’s on the corner of my mouth,” Mista commented.

“Yeah, I remember when I tried to signal to you some frosting was on your mouth,” Narancia said. “Instead, you kissed me.”

“You could’ve said so!”

“I had food in my mouth!”

“Hey, guys, could you shut up?” Fugo asked. “Narancia, you’re learning long multiplication, right? I can help you with it.” He sat at the table with Bruno and Leone and pulled a chair out for Narancia. “Come on. The sooner we get done with this, the better.”

And their day carried on like any other. Narancia was confused with his homework, making Fugo frustrated. Mista started talking about nonsense while Abbacchio put on his headset and listened to music to drown out the noise. One of the servers in the restaurant approached Bruno, and he sighed and got up from his seat.