"Pay attention!” Elijah shouted and passed the ball to Chris Rodriguez, a tall boy with Hispanic traits. A great friend, but who was now getting on his nerves.

Okay, it wasn't Chris's fault. Elijah wanted to end that practice soon as possible and meet Luca who was waiting for him in the stands. Was he asking too much for time to go faster? 

Elijah yelled again, this time watching Charles Beckendorf get distracted by his cheerleader girlfriend.

Damn, could anyone do anything right!?

"Dude, take it easy!" Oliver came running up to him when the Coach ended the practice earlier than usual. "Is your boy not taking care of you?"

Oliver was right, Luca had taken very good care of him. Elijah had even relaxed after the act, but then he felt that anger rise to his head watching those people desire what was his. When Luca was lonely and helpless, nobody did anything, choosing to isolate him, but now that Luca had grown up and stood tall with those broad shoulders and intense black eyes, carrying his guitar around the corners, it was nearly impossible not to be enchanted by when he sang. It drove Elijah mad, bringing out his worst side.

Elijah admitted, he was going crazy, slow and steady, fighting anyone who tried to get close. That had to be the only reason Elijah wanted people to stay away from Luca. It's just, it wasn't that different from before. Not that he tried to hide it, Elijah purposely pushed people away and he knew it. Luca knew that too. Even the janitor knew it. He wanted to feel bad for acting this way, impulsive and…so wrong. He thought that this Elijah had stayed in the past and that he'd died with Luca's going away. God, and here he was, thinking he was such a grown-up now just because he didn't act that like that in such a long time. That is, until Luca came back and showed him that he was still the same insecure, jealous little boy.

“Eli-jah! Earth to Elijah. Anybody home?” Oliver said and waved his hand in front of Elijah’s face, seeing that now a group of boys had formed around them.

It was normal, after all he was the captain. This would be the moment when they usually had conversations about possible changes in the game strategy. Today was not one of those days, today he hadn't paid attention to anything, ball passes, the position of the players on the pitch or how many baskets were made.

"Sorry guys. You are dismissed.”

" Roberts, come on! Just tell us.” Ben said, walking up to him carefree and careless.

Elijah took a deep breath and tried to focus.

"Tell you what?”

"You're not going to freak out again, are you?" Someone else spoke, though they all sounded the same to him.

"Who agrees with the sub-captain taking care of the team?" Of course Ben said that since he was the sub-captain.

“Do what you want.”

Nothing mattered more than Luca. Calmly, he took the captain's armband off his arm and tossed it to whoever was closest, turning his back on them.

“I want to see how long you last.”

"Elijah, come back here! I was kidding! Since when do you listen to what I say?”

But he didn't come back, he kept marching towards the exit, remembering to get his things near the locker room and only stopped when he found Luca at the bottom of the bleachers, oblivious to what was happening around him. Luca was sitting on the grass, his back against the foot of the bleacher structure, strumming his guitar and muttering something low in the most velvety, sweetest voice he had ever heard. Luca stopped playing and then turned towards the notebook in front of him to jot something down, all the while people around him watched in awe.

You know, nobody used to watch practice other than the cheerleaders, but here in the late afternoon sun and with the birds chirping, Luca had never looked so beautiful; head down and posture relaxed, giving him the impression that more and more the audience would multiply if this kept happening. Then… then that rage came rushing back and it was so sudden that he stopped before Luca could even notice him, Elijah didn't want Luca to see that part of him.

He took a deep breath for long moments and only when he was sure he could control himself did he walk the rest of the way, stopping in front of Luca.

"Are you ready?” Elijah asked Luca.

“Hm.” Luca nodded, lifting his hand from the guitar and stretching back. "Don't you have anything more to do? It's still three pm.”

"No, today I'm all yours."

That's when Luca lifted his head, looked at him through his lashes and smiled at him, all sweet and shy, taking him back to simpler times.

"Let's go, then?” He almost forgot about the people around, muttering farther away from them. It was enough for Luca to nod again while putting his things away and to finally hold Elijah’s hands while they disappeared from sight of those insignificant people, who kept mumbling like noisy little insects.

He took Luca's backpack, helping him, while Luca took the guitar in the hand that wasn't occupied by him.

"New music?”

“The band practice will perform at the ball.”

"Are They?” Elijah could already imagine how many fans Luca would get that night.

"Why didn't you tell me? I have never been to one.”

“I wasn't planning on going.” Not since Luca got back, but now that Luca's mentioned the ball… "Do you want to go with me?"

“Mister Roberts! Are you asking me out? It’s a date?”

"Only if you want to be.”

Elijah couldn't contain himself, Luca was laughing and joking with so much joy that it warmed his heart to the point that he had to stop halfway and kiss Luca until they were both breathless; on the lips, cheekbones, jaw and neck. He only stopped when Luca laughed so hard that tears welled up in his beautiful dark eyes.

"Then, it's a deal. Let's date.”

"You Moron.” Luca sighed, staring at him closely, and another impulse took him. Elijah wiped the tears of laughter that still fell from Luca’s face and kissed him one more time, just to express how much he loved him.

"I'm serious. I'll even wear a suit. What do you think?” Elijah said, turning around as though he was already wearing one.

"I think you're going to look real nice."

"I thought I already was.” Luca smiled again and Elijah didn't even try to control himself this time. He hugged Luca around the waist and kissed him like last night, as if no one was watching, and only stopped when Luca moaned, high in the back of his throat, and pushed him away, shoving him without force by the chest.

“Eli.” Luca whimpered, blinking slowly, almost moaning in frustration, but so softly Elijah wanted to slam him against the wall and solve their problem right then and there. It would show who Luca belonged to.

What? No! He was not that person. He, no…

“Eli?” He felt soft fingers against his face and blinked, trying to get those thoughts out of his head. Luca looked worried with a slight crease between his eyebrows. "Everything's fine?”

“Sure, it’s fine.”

Luca was right to run away from him. In the end, the danger wasn't in other people but in him, a sick and possessive little boy.

"Do you want something to eat? It's getting late.”

Elijah just nodded, being pulled by Luca towards his car. He could feel the concern emanate from Luca, it was the way he spoke all softly and carefully, the affectionate touches on his arm or shoulder as if trying to comfort a little boy who had fallen and hurt his leg. And even knowing all this, Elijah still didn't feel guilty. He wanted to. And no matter how many times he told himself exactly that, he understood perfectly well what he was doing; he let Luca comfort him, absorbing the attention Luca gave him like a sponge in the desert and it felt wonderfully good.

In the end, they ended up going back to that same restaurant Luca had loved so much, ordering another bottle of wine and all the pasta Luca could eat. Elijah knew he should at least call his mother, knowing that at this point she should be worried about his absence, but Elijah soon forgot about that. Content, he watched Luca eat heartily and drink more than half of the bottle of wine as if it were water, much less drunk than the last time. Elijah didn't mind, because in reality he was exactly where he wanted to be, with Luca smiling at him and paying attention only to him.

***

Luca wasn't even surprised. He let himself relax against Elijah's shoulder and watched with disinterest as Elijah gripped his shoulders tightly, pulling him closer. And do you know why? All because a man passing by their table looked in his direction for longer than necessary. Immediately, Luca knew something was wrong. Or rather, that they were falling into the same vices as before. 

To tell the truth, it was hard to worry about these things, like those displays of possessiveness in public or their tendency to isolate themselves. It was exhausting to scold Elijah for every little thing he knew was wrong, especially when Luca, deep down, liked to see how his presence affected Elijah's actions, the way Elijah touched him without the hesitation of before, even more when they were so close to each other. Luca couldn't help it, Elijah smelled so good, those strong arms around him and the kisses that made him shiver. It was irresistible. Unfortunately, Luca had no choice. He needed to do the right thing, and it seemed that this was the perfect moment to talk about these things, the moment where no one would interrupt them or listen to what he had to say.

"Beautiful.” Elijah murmured against his lips before Luca could make up his mind, and pulled him closer until there was no distance left between their bodies. They were still in the restaurant and that was not a proper attitude to have in a public place.

“Eli. Stop.”

“Hm? I don't-- I'm sorry.”

“We need to talk.”

That finally made Elijah stop and look at him with those intense green eyes. Luca saw Elijah take a deep breath and stare at him very seriously. That made it even worse, the expression on Elijah's face made him want to spread his legs and obey whatever Elijah told him to do, and he knew exactly what Elijah would order if they got carried away.

“We don't need to talk.” Elijah said when he didn't say anything.

"We don’t?”

"I know everything. It’s my behavior.”

"If you know…”

“I can't control myself.”

Hm… that was an evolution. He nodded and smiled, proud of Elijah. But, even in that case, Luca didn't feel good about the direction things were taking. It's just, he didn't feel right morally. 

In the end, Luca couldn't fool himself, whether Elijah changed his attitude or not, whether he was right or not, their relationship would continue to develop and there was nothing they could do that would stop him from continuing to be by Elijah's side.

“I know it's not right.” Elijah said again, carefully holding Luca's face.

"And what else?”

“I'll try to do better.”

Luca let the air out and relaxed against the restaurant seat. That's all he wanted to hear. And that was the worst thing that could happen. Elijah said what he wanted to hear, not what was going to happen.

“Look, I don't really care.” Luca finally confessed, feeling his stomach turn. He should be fixing things and not encouraging Elijah even more. Because he knew who was in control in that relationship, and if Elijah wanted to, Luca would let it all happen.

"You don’t care?” Now Elijah looked genuinely confused. He even tilted his head, squinting his eyes in concentration.

“I know who you are and why you do these things. Maybe I'm to blame...”

"So, what's the problem?”

“It affects your relationship with people. You're the captain and you're going to be the valedictorian. I don't want this… our relationship to destroy what you've worked for.”

“Luca." That's when he saw Elijah widen his eyes and stare at him with a lost look, hugging him even tighter.

“You know I didn't leave because of you, don't you?”

"I thought…”

“Eli, you're not the problem, not even your habit of isolating us from others bothers me.”

"I am a horrible person.”

"Me too. I… I encouraged you. When someone showed interest in you, I… I'm not proud of what I've done.”

"What did you do?” And where he thought he would see judgment, Elijah showed him pure curiosity.

"Do you remember Rachel and the Stroll brothers? I do not want to talk about this. The problem here is that I… I didn't want sex and I didn't know how to say it to you, so I… I ran away and now… everything is worse!”

"Don’t say that. I promise that--"

“No, you don't understand! I missed you every day. I never want to go through that again. I… I… you will never get rid of me again! Are you listening to me! Never!” To prove his point, he pulled Elijah by the jacket and kissed him, practically chattering their teeth.

"Baby.”

“No, that's not it. I mean, now you have no reason to let me screw things up.”

“Luca.” Elijah said it so quietly and softly that he had to stop for a moment. “You're the best thing in my life. I love you, it's my fault you think that way.”

"It's not your fault. And I... I love you too.”

There, Luca had said what he needed to say. For some reason there was a tightness in his heart, a pressure in his chest that only Elijah's touch could ease. He could barely think rationally, because none of it was rational. Not that possessiveness they both felt or that need to be close to each other. It couldn't be healthy. Or normal. How could other people live without feeling as loved and wanted as he did when he looked at Elijah?

"Everything’s fine.” Elijah said, beaming at him. “You belong to me and I belong to you. It may not be common, but why resist it?”

"Is it really fine?”

“Yeah, I promise. I'll do everything to make sure things work out this time. Do you trust me?”

"I do." How could he not trust when his body and soul soared with the simple touch of fingers against the back of his neck and wet lips against his?

“You don't have to worry, everything's under control.”

And Luca believed that.

With a relieved sigh, Luca allowed himself to be held and comforted. He would trust Elijah to take care of everything, just like he always had.