Luca’s POV
“I didn’t know…” I started to say at first but ended up trailing off as soon as I noticed that Armani’s eyes had started to water. I closed the distance between us and took him into my arms once again, and like expected, it started to break my heart as soon as I felt him start to quietly sob against me.
“I’m so sorry, Armani.” I started to whisper as I brushed my fingers through the material of his shirt which he currently had on. I held him close against me, at this point, I was already somehow in sync with his body size and height in my arms due to how much we’ve been in this same kind of position countless times today. It was like both our bodies and soul were trying to make up for lost times bt akways seeking each other out this way. At this point, I wasn’t sure I could be able to count the amount of times I’ve taken him into my arms in a firm embrace since the moment I’ve set my eyes on him back at the airport, this late evening.
“I’m so sorry, so so sorry.” I started to speak once again, voice low as I allowed eyes to slide close for a couple of moments.
Armani only sniffed audibly and burrowed into me even more and I found myself tightening my hold around him in the next moment, as I made to start to speak once again.
“I’m so sorry. So sorry because i didn’t know o was hurting you that way, I just thought I was protecting you and giving you a life you deserved, I didn’t know I was also hurting you that way.” I paused for a moment and tugged him out or my embrace to hold him around his shoulders, and I felt my heart squeeze against the insure of my chest as soon as his reddened eyes locked Witt mije. After a few moments. I was able to continue to speak. “Now that you’ve pointed it out and I’ve been able to think about it and see it from your own perspective, I see how much I had also hurt you when all I had wanted to do in the first place was to make you happy and keep you safe and away from this mafia lifestyle that you’ve always hated since you were really little.”
“It’s okay.” Armani finally started to speak, a fleeting moment after I had stopped talking. I stared at him wearily, noting how deeper his voice sounded due to how rapsy it had sounded.
“I really mean it, I’m so sorry, and I wish there’s a way I can be able to make up for it.” I paused and tugged him forward a little before continuing to speak. “Is there a way? Is there something I can do for me to make it up to you? I’ll do it instantly, all you have to do is to say tne word.”
“Luca.” Armani called out after a few seconds, voice low but still sounding deep and raspy. His eyes were still red rimmed but I was a bit relieved that there weren’t any tears sliding out of it anymore.
“I was serious when I said that it was alright. I’m for real, I literally have nothing against you.” He pointed out almost immediately, shrugging his shoulders a little as well.
“I know you’d easily forgive me. It’s you after all.” I started to quietly speak after a couple of moments
“No, it’s not even about that. It’s about the fact that you obviously didn’t purposely do a thing to hurt me. So of course I can’t be mad at you. I wasn’t even ever genuinely mad at you though, you know? It was just always pain and hurt and regret, but never any kind of actual anger channeled and directed towards you.” He finally started to speak once again, blinking countless times at a point and I felt my inside start to tighten uncontrollably when I had thought he was trying to fight back tears.
“You didn’t purposely try to ever hurt me, and you’re obviously feeling so bad about it, wheb in reality, all you had wanted to do was to make me happy and to keep me safe.” Armsni continued and paused to sniff a little.
“So, I’m not mad at you or anything and there’s also no reason for you to think I’m mad at you or something like that, because that’s not the case at all.”
“Are you sure?” I asked really slowly after a couple of moments had passed, and after I had managed to quickly pounder on all what he had just said. After I had thought about all that he had just said, I realized that he was actually right. It was never actually my fault and I was really thankful that he had ended up maturing into a really smart young man like he was at this very moment.
“Yeah, I am.” He responded and when I kept on staring at him, he huffed out a deep breath and tugged himself out of the hold I had on his shoulders.
“I’m serious, Luca. It really is alright.” He reminded me after a few minutes had passed and I waited for a little while at first before slowly starting to nod my head at him.
“Are you sure you aren’t still silently blaming yourself?” I heard him start to challenge after a couple of moments and I nodded my head at him instantly.
“I’m not.” I said to him with a small laugh spilling out of my mouth the next moment.
“Alright.” He finally supplied, still staring at me like he didn’t fully believe my previous response.
“You know. I’m really glad we both had this conversation.” I started to say after long minutes had passed, and at this point, Armani was slowly taking off his shirt. He paused at the last piece of button he was supposed to pop open and lifted his head up to stare at me. In the next moment, he was abandoning what he had previously been doing and was shrugging his shoulders a little, right before he started to speak.
“Me too, to be honest. I really needed that closure even though I didn’t know I needed it until this very moment” He admitted softly, staring into my face as he spoke.
“I’m glad we were able to talk about it this way, and that we were both able to air our sides of the point of view and other stuff.” He continued after a few moments, and as soon as he was done speaking, he was back to unbuttoning the rest if his shirt buttons all the way until he started to shrug the shirt off his shoulders.
“It was obvious that we both had different looks and takes on some things which had only managed to create different unnecessary thoughts in our heads. So I’m really glad we were able to talk it out, since it’s been stewing in our hearts for a really long time.” I paused and lifted my head up to gaze at Armani as soon as I was done speaking, and the first thing I noticed was that he was completed naked waist upwards and the second thing i had instantly taken note of was that he was ripped.
Ripped like, really ripped.