Leonel relaxed back against his chair just in time for Maria to enter the room and so everyone began to eat. It was as if none of that had happened as the platters of food were passed around the table and some more arrived from the kitchen.

This was a moment Matteo hadn't expected to witness. He leaned back in his chair and picked up his glass of wine, closing his eyes as he felt the sweet and slightly bitter liquid go down his throat. He had eaten so much that he thought he would explode, making him sluggish and sleepy. That must be why he felt so good and so free. He knew he shouldn't be so relaxed, so comfortable with Derek in the middle of his family, and most importantly, he shouldn't accept without question the easy way Derek mingled with them. The conversation flowed so naturally that it was like this dinner was a common occurrence between all of them; Derek's arm on his chair, keeping them close, and the fingers that still caressed the back of his neck in that soft and gentle way lulled him without him even realizing it, while Derek's nails massaging him made everything seem even more natural. And so, finally realizing what was happening, Matteo found himself wrapped in that tranquility and contentment that he hadn't felt before Derek appeared in his life, like this was another common thing between them. Even Leonel, who had been rude before, seemed not to care about the display of affection.

“… thing. I never would have guessed that.” Derek said beside Matteo, close to his ear, the husky murmur caressing his nerves. “What a brave little boy.”

Derek squeezed Matteo's shoulders and he felt himself grow warm. Matteo just wanted them to stop telling stories about his childhood, there was nothing special about it.

“He was the cutest child in the world. So righteous and innocent.” Bianca continued.

“Really? Tell me more.” Derek raised his own glass of wine to his lips and looked at Matteo playfully. But there was something in his eyes. Matteo never knew when Derek was been serious.

“Please, no.” It was his turn to murmur.

“Ah, but I have to tell him.”

“Bianca, I beg you!”

Bianca just smiled at Matteo, all satisfied and leaned towards him and Derek. The truth is that everyone at the table was a little drunk and since Leonel made the wine, he liked it very strong.

“No, I insist.” Derek murmured beside him, perhaps a little closer than necessary, a little hoarsely, too. Well, it was to be expected, they had been laughing for over half an hour. At his expense, of course. Apparently he was a very creative child. And brave. And cute. And innocent. The adjectives were endless.

“So, it happened like this. Alessia was still very little, you know? We still lived in Italy.”

“Please.” Matteo begged once more.

“She didn't even realize that the other kids were being mean.”

“I promise to do your laundry for a week!”

“Matteo saw this and--” She continued, her face red from the wine.

“One month. No, two--”

“Shhh…” That's when he felt Derek approaching him again. He… Derek placed his index finger on Matteo's lips and said very quietly: “Your sister is talking. Be a good boy.”

Matteo was unable to disobey. The air fled from his lungs, but unlike what had happened before, it was thought they were suddenly very full, so hot that Matteo felt like he was being scorched. The strangest thing about this was that no one seemed to find it strange. Not Derek's arm around his shoulders or his rough fingers against his lips, much less the way that their chairs, for some mysterious reason, were much closer than before, seeming that with each passing moment the distance between them was decreasing.

Half-airy and light, still hearing the words “good boy”, Matteo watched Bianca continue to tell her little anecdote of a little boy defending his defenseless little sister through punches. And on top of that, winning the fight.

“I remember that!” Alessia said. She pushed her chair back and stood up, beaming with happiness. “We have pictures!”

“No!” Matteo said, defeated.

“Yes!” Alessia exclaimed.

With no other choice left, Alessia left the table and ran upstairs without looking back.

“Derek!” But Matteo was laughing, hiding his face in Derek's shoulder, feeling like he was going to melt from embarrassment or bury his head in the ground like an ostrich.

“It’s okay,” Derek told him, the smile in his voice making him relax. “I promise not to hold it against you.”

A kiss was placed on the side of his face and Matteo melted completely. He couldn't remember the last time someone had kissed him like that, full of affection and without expecting anything in return. Matteo had to lift his head and look back at Derek. When Matteo had first met him, it hadn't occurred to him that Derek Moore could be someone so kind and loving, yet somewhat shameless. Raising his hand, Matteo placed it on Derek's face and--

" Matteo Rossi Pagano! " An angry voice echoed through the room.

The front door slammed against the wall and there stood the person Matteo least expected to see, someone he had completely forgotten about. Diego Lewis was there. Yes, Diego, his boyfriend, the person he should be smiling with, the person Matteo should be touching with so much affection and care, but never had the desire to do so.

Everyone looked at Diego and, too late, Matteo realized that Derek was still holding him by the shoulders and he still had his hands on Derek's face. He saw in slow motion Diego march towards them and stop in front of the table, only then realizing that he shouldn't be touching Derek, much less in front of his boyfriend. He looked back at Derek and let his hands rest on his strong shoulders, still unprepared to let go.

What… what was he doing?

“I'm sorry.” Matteo said to Derek. For some reason Matteo addressed Derek and not Diego. The truth is that he felt bad, he felt strange, all that drama made him feel like he was betraying Derek, which only made him more confused.

“What the hell are you doing! And who is this guy?”

“I-- I… this… this is Derek Moore.” He mumbled weakly, not knowing what to say. “And this is Diego Lewis, my… my boyfriend.”

“What the fuck, Matteo!” Diego got closer to where he was and yelled in his face. “Come with me, now!”

Matteo didn't know what to do, so he went. He stood up and looked one last time at Derek and his family who were watching everything in bewilderment, letting Diego grab him by the arm and drag him away. He even heard his mother say "Oh my!" That is, until he realized that Derek wasn't going to let go. He looked at Derek and saw that the man was frowning, looking at him with concern. "Is that your boyfriend?"

“What's that got to do with you? Don't you think you're a little old to be hanging around little boys?”

He couldn't believe what he was hearing! Matteo gasped and stood in front of them.

“It's okay, we'll talk--”

Derek stood up and straightened his spine, puffing out his chest in a way Matteo had never seen him do before. Derek stopped in front of Diego and looked down at him, the blond boy looking so small and helpless next to the nearly seven-foot tall man that it almost made Matteo laugh.

“I'm sorry, I don't think I understood. Can you repeat that?” Derek said. He smiled at Diego and kept Matteo behind him. Matteo could imagine how threatening Derek was now.

Diego swallowed hard, but stared back at Derek, his grip on Matteo's arm tightening.

“That's what you heard, old man.”

“You better let Matteo go. He doesn't want to talk to you.”

“Who do you think--”

“If I were you, I would be careful with your next words.”

With that the room fell silent, Diego and Derek staring at each other and their family frozen where they sat.

Derek was the first to break the tension. He turned to Matteo and gently held him on the shoulder, leaned in until he was very close to his ear and whispered:

“Are you sure he’s your boyfriend?” Matteo just looked at Derek, feeling like laughing for some reason, watching Derek laugh back at him. “He feels like an older brother. I don’t see any love or attraction, or affection coming from him. And if that’s how he treats you… why are you still with him?”

Matteo felt himself burn under Derek's intense gaze and instead of answering him, he pushed Derek's shoulder lightly, not really wanting to move away, looking at him disapprovingly and muttering so that only Derek could hear: “You're doing this on purpose. I'll be right back.”

So, Matteo walked away from Derek, ignoring that little smile that was already very familiar to him, and went outside where Diego was waiting for him.

***

As soon as Matteo turned his back on them, being pulled by his boyfriend and dragged by the arm, Derek turned around and faced that family that five minutes ago seemed to be the best in the world compared to his. Now, he wasn't so sure. Whether it was the way Matteo's older brothers went back to eating, just looking at their plates or the sad way Maria Rossi Pagano looked through the door where Matteo had left, the worst thing was definitely looking at Leonel and seeing the resigned expression on his rough and tired face.

Derek sat down at the table and put his hand to his temples, feeling a headache coming on. He filled his glass with more wine and downed it in one go. Why was he so worried? Why did he feel so possessive? In the end, Diego Lewis was right, this was none of his business, none of it was.

Even so, Derek turned to Leonel, giving him a disapproving look. Leonel looked at him and it was then that he realized,  the man would do nothing to stop something bad from happening to Matteo. 

Derek didn't believe that! He would do anything for Alice and Logan, he would never let other people abuse them, much less offer them up on a golden platter, handing them over to the dogs. Derek took a deep breath and tried to ignore the tension in the air, so strong it could be cut with a knife. However, it didn't take long for a murderous expression to form on the patriarch's face; not even thirty seconds later they heard furious shouts coming from outside the house. The clearest were "You're mine! Acting like a whore won't solve things" and "Is it because of him that you don't want to marry me?"

Everyone remained in a somber silence that was only broken when Alessia entered the room, her shoes making noise against the wooden floor. Leonel grimaced in disgust and he couldn't take it anymore, downing the third glass of wine in less than two minutes.

“You know, I may like fancy cars and innocent little boys, but I would never do that to Matteo.”

“As if you were different.” Leonel tells him.

“I would never call Matteo those things and I would never force him to do anything he doesn't want to do. Can you say the same about Diego? If I were you, I would be careful about who you let into your home.”

Leonel made another face, as if he had eaten something bitter, but Derek didn't care, he got up from the table and went after Matteo.

If it had been anyone else in his place, he would have said that the scene he found when he opened the door was something out of a murder movie about to happen, or perhaps the beginning of physical abuse. He couldn't decide, especially if it was the way Diego was looking at Matteo, with so much anger and disgust, practically pressing him against the wall; Diego even had his fist slightly raised, close to his body, his hand clenched and tense. Matteo, on the other hand, seemed to have given up on fighting back and was just trying to defend himself with his hands over his face.

Derek couldn't wait any longer, he walked over to Matteo and stood in their midst, running when he saw what was about to happen. However, Derek had to stop before he reached him, coming across something he never expected to see; the little boy who had seemed so brave and courageous was now huddled against the wall, trying to make himself smaller, crying so hard that he was sobbing.

He did the only thing he could in a situation like this. He approached slowly and tried to talk to him, without scaring him.

“Matteo? It's me, Derek.”

“I'm sorry! I didn't-- I didn't--” Matteo screamed with all the strength he could muster and raised his hands, trying to keep the threat away from him, soon after shrinking even further against the wall and crouching on the floor, covering his head with his hands.

“It's okay. Tell me what happened, hmm?”

“Oh.” Matteo said softly, almost without strength.

With a broken sob, Matteo raised his head and looked at him, his face twisted with pain. Matteo didn't say a word, he just stood up quickly and jumped against Derek, hugging him desperately and crying even harder.

“Shhh… what’s wrong? No need to cry, you’re safe.”

“Der…” Another hiccup and the first sniff.

“Come on, it's okay. Don't you trust me?”

Matteo nodded, his face all wet and swollen, trying to smile, relaxing a little more. At least Derek now knew Matteo wouldn't have a panic attack.

“Do you want to talk?”

Matteo denies it and stays exactly where he was, curled up against Derek's chest and with his eyes squeezed shut, trying to control the sobs that were slowly fading away. Only when he was sure that Matteo wouldn't lose control again did he look at the boyfriend. Big piece of shit. A selfish and spoiled little boy, from what he could see. And who apparently didn't even care if Matteo suffered or not.

Derek didn't do anything other than hug Matteo, he didn't move to give that kid what he deserved or try to call for help, Diego didn't do anything either, looking at him like he wanted to kill him, ignoring Matteo who finally stopped crying. In the end, he was the one who had lost; it was Derek who held Matteo in his arms, it was Derek who slowly caressed his back and it was Derek who comforted him. Diego should give up while he still had time.