GuidoxCiccio Fanfiction Chapter 4

GuidoxCiccio fanfiction chapter 8

I apologize if the following chapters don't have the same quality or upload speed that the previous ones had. My computer is a little iffy, so I can't always use it. This basically just means that the chapters might come out a little slower. Anyway, here's chapter 8!

A few days later.

Children gathered in the town square, handing money to siñora Marsigliese sitting behind the table, like always. Giulia, Alberto, and Luca stood hyped in the line, not being able to talk enough about how easy it will be to win now that Ercole isn't going to race. Guido and Ciccio meet up at the end of the wide line of children.

"Ciccio," Guido greeted his boyfriend with a smile. The urge to finally hold his hand was stronger than ever, but he suppressed it.

"Are you ready for the race?" he asked instead, gesturing to the slowly but steadily shrinking line.

"Sí. Are you?" Ciccio replied.

"Sure. I swim, you eat and I bike, right?" Guido asked, not wanting to mess anything up. 

"Unless you want to change, yeah, that's the plan," stepping further to keep up with the line, Ciccio gestured for Guido to follow him.

"No. I'm good with that," Guido mumbled. It would feel nice to not have to do the things Ercole forced them to do. Too many uncomfortable memories. They drew close to the desk, with Giulia signing her and her friends up in front of them. 

"I guess I'm a bit nervous," Guido continued, keeping his eyes on the table where siñora Marsigliese had written the underdogs' names down in her little book. 

"Sure, we won't get a guaranteed win like we did the other five times, but it will feel a lot more honest," Ciccio offered as a try to cheer Guido up. “Besides, it was never we who won, it was him.” 

"You're right."

"Good, because it's our turn in a second," Ciccio said as he gestured to the line. There was one group left before their turn.

Siñora Marsigliese looked disapprovingly at them as they walked up to the table.

"Boys," she muttered, getting ready to scribble down their names in her book. "Team of three?" her eyes looked around them, searching for Ercole before realizing that he wasn't there. 

"No," Guido almost whispered, placing the small amount of money on her desk. "Just two."

"Oh." She hesitantly wrote down their names and took the money. "No Ercole this time?" she looked at Guido for an answer. When he shrugged, she looked to Ciccio. He raised his eyebrows at her. 

"We haven't talked much since last year," he said, silently asking if it really was that important.

Time went by so quickly, Guido felt like it barely happened at all. Sure, he and Ciccio tried to practice for the race, but not often. They practised if they felt like it, most times alone too. For Guido, practising was easier in solitude. The day sneaked up on him, just like he knew it would and as he made his way to the town square, he could see the grown-ups set up all the different stages involved in today's activity. 

Giulia sat in her room, having a wild conversation with Luca and Alberto. 

"And," she continued her conversation, "I've seen them training together. They never acted like that before." 

"Acted like what?" Luca asked, fixing his posture on the chair he was sitting on. 

"Like normal people! Not bothering anyone and… talking with other people," Giulia pressed on, gesturing with her arms. 

"What's wrong with that?" Alberto asked.

"It's not usual for them." Luca wiggled uncomfortably in his seat. Understanding where Giulia wanted to get with this conversation, he waited for her to continue. 

"I don't know. I just think something's up with them," she insisted.

"What do you want us to do then?" Alberto asked, his tone slightly bored as usual.

"I think we should ask them about it," she mumbled. "Subtly."

"I-" Luca cleared his throat. "I think Alberto should do it."

"What?" Alberto asked as if he didn’t hear him.

"Well... they are more likely to dislike us than they are to dislike you," Luca answered, pointing at Alberto as he spoke. Giulia listened from her bed, nodding along with Luca's argument. It was true though. They have had more time to warm up with Alberto around town.

"I could do that..." 

"Good," Giulia said, satisfied that she wasn't the one who had to ask them. 

Guido licked his gelato as he walked next to Ciccio, looking at the setup for the race. There wasn't any giveaway of what kind of pasta the race would include this year either. Alberto drew closer, trying to find the right moment to ask. Ciccio bumped the back of his hand against Guido's arm as he told a joke Alberto couldn't hear. Guido suppressed a laugh, glancing down at Ciccio. Alberto decided that this was the perfect time to ask… subtly. He strode up to the pair with a toothy grin. They quieted down as they acknowledged his presents, waiting to see what he was going to do. 

"Hey. Are you a couple?" Alberto asked, the most confident smile covering his entire face. Ciccio's eyes widened as he froze, glancing at Guido. Guido glared at Alberto, trying to get rid of the blush that covered his cheeks. Alberto didn't budge. Guido wanted to punch him. 

"Well?" Alberto pressed on. Guido glanced back at Ciccio. He could see the silent scream in his eyes. Guido wondered if he could make up a quick lie that was believable enough. Knowing what he knows about Alberto, creating a believable lie wouldn't be too hard. But he wasn't sure if his voice would hold. 

"Swimmers, get ready. The race will start in ten minutes!" siñora Marsigliese exclaimed and Guido sighed in relief. He was going to swim this time. Saved by siñora Marsigliese, never thought that would happen. As he scurried away, he nodded at Ciccio to follow him, saving him from Alberto's question in the process.

Were they really that obvious? They hadn't even held hands yet. 

“What did they say?” Luca asked, practically clinging to Alberto’s arm. Giulia waited for his answer, ready to rush off and change as soon as he said it.

“They didn’t say anything,” Alberto answered, leaning on Luca as well while smiling proudly. Giulia quieted down in thought as she went to put on her bathing suit. 

Guido and Ciccio on a picnic ( Luca Disney Pixar 2021 )

Here's a pencil drawing made by my sister. It's a bit blurry and zoomed in but it's good enough to post. Sadly, I can't tag her anywhere, but I have gotten her permission to upload this.

GuidoxCiccio fanfiction Chapter 5

I haven't gotten much to say about this chapter. Machiavelli is here though. I didn't want to leave an important character like that out for too long.

The next day.

Since the incident at the beach, Guido had been keeping to the outer skirts of the town. Even with the risk of running into Ercole alone. He would excuse himself to go out for runs to his parents, which would look normal to them. Maybe he was running a bit more often than usual, but what were they going to do about it? He would hear from his dad that Ciccio had stopped by while he was gone, and Guido would promise to get back to him later. Admittedly, he procrastinated on it for as long as possible. 

"Machiavelli, don’t you-" Giulia said to the kitchen behind her as she opened the front door and faced a nervous Guido. 

"Guido?"

"Sí..." he answered, feeling ashamed. The sun burned at the back of his head, he wanted to leave just as much as she wanted to kick him out. 

"What do you want?" she huffed and glanced behind her to see if anyone else wanted to help her with this situation. No one was there, so she was forced to talk to him all alone. 

"I just want some help…" 

"What?!"

"Shh! Yes. I just need some help to stay hidden for a while," he tried to explain but Giulia cut him off again. 

"From what?"

"From Ciccio!" he almost screamed and Giulia went quiet. She had the power to refuse, and it would feel so good, such great revenge for the past six years plus the last time they saw each other. 

"Giulia, what's going on?" Massimo asked as he appeared behind her. He placed his hand on her shoulder and looked at the embarrassed boy on their front porch. Massimo recognized him, of course. Everyone knew who he was. Giulia quickly filled Massimo in on what Guido had said and he raised his eyebrows at him. Guido had to fiddle with the edge of his shirt to not be too nervous, trying to not make eye contact. 

"Of course we will help him," Massimo said, a little unnecessarily loud and Guido shined up. 

"Really?" Guido asked

"Really!? Papá!" Giulia complained and looked at her father. 

"Giulietta," he mumbled back and sighed as she gestured for him to come inside. He quietly obeyed and offered to take his shoes off before entering the house. She shook her head at him. 

"Giulia... why is he here?" Alberto asked as they walked into Giulia's room. 

"He needs to 'hide' for a while," she explained to him and Luca and opened the window to let Guido out, onto the branch that lead to the platform in the tree. He looked around his new platform, it was quite empty and he noticed why he couldn't just climb up from the ground. Most of the wooden pieces that would usually stick on the trunk had fallen off and the tree trunk itself was way too steep with too few places to grip. The underdogs left the window slightly open, making Guido able to hear Giulia explain why he was there to the other two. The wooden platform was hard against his back as he laid down.

"At least I get a bit of shade," he said to himself and looked up at the leaf-covered sky. 

"I shouldn't keep away from him like this," he groaned into his hands and hoped that the underdogs wouldn't hear him. But at this point, he was too tired to care if they did. 

"But what if..."

There was a knock on Giulia's front door and Guido jolted up. Peeking over the edge of the platform, he saw the top of Ciccio's head. 

"Cazzo," he muttered under his breath as he shot a pleading glance at Giulia through the window. She meet his eyes and smiled too quickly for him to see what kind of smile it was. He peeked over the edge again to see Giulia open the door and look flatly at Ciccio. 

"What do you want?" she asked and Ciccio laughed slightly. 

"This might sound weird, but I'm looking for Guido," he explained kicking a pebble to the side. 

"You mean he's not around?" 

"Uh... sí. You don't happen to know where he is?" A smile spread over Giulia's face.

"You know what, I-" 

"Giulia, let me talk to you for a second," Luca demanded from behind her. With a sigh, she gestured for Ciccio to wait and closed the door.

"What?"

"You aren't thinking about rating him out, are you?" Giulia didn’t say anything. Luca huffed and shook his head at her. 

"Hasn't he gone through enough payback?" Luca mumbled and Giulia considered it for a moment.

"And you know, I would feel really betrayed if I was Guido," he continued, trying to stop Giulia from following through with her plan. "And I'm pretty sure you would too." 

"... True," she whispered before spinning around and opening the door. Ciccio was still there, waiting patiently with his hands in his pockets. 

Guido could hint at Luca, bouncing lightly behind the red-headed girl. His mind immediately thought she was going to expose him. Giulia opened her mouth to talk and he breathed sharply.

"As I was saying," she started, mouth twitching at the corners. "I have seen Guido today." Guido shrunk back on the platform and sighed. So this is how I die? If Ciccio finds out I've been avoiding him, he might feel really sad. But if I go and talk to him, there's no telling what might happen. 

"Really? Where is he?" Ciccio asked a bit too quickly. Guido didn't pay much attention to that though as he waited for Giulia to continue with suspense. 

"He was in the town square not too long ago. I haven’t seen him since." Guido fought back a smile.

"Oh..." Ciccio said without hiding the disappointment in his voice. 

"M-hm," she insisted, struggling to keep her mouth upward. 

"I guess I'll leave then." 

"Good." her voice cracked as she slammed the door in his face. 

Ciccio stood, staring at the door for a few additional seconds before making his way to the fountain again. 

Guido listened to the creek of Giulia and Luca making their way up the stairs and he sat up to watch Ciccio walk across the town square and disappear out of view.  

"You owe me one, ragazzo," she groaned, her face appearing in the window looking almost as red as her hair. 

"Sicura," Guido answered and laid back on the wooden boards. Giulia dragged her head back through the window, closing it fully this time. 

He covered his face with his hands and sighed, trying extremely hard not to acknowledge the cat that was sitting about a meter away from him. Impossible task. 

“Hello there… cat,” he tried, staying as still as possible. When he removed his hands and looked at the cat, it stared back at him, judging his life decisions. It squinted at him, and he squinted back. It felt like the cat knew. A few minutes passed before the cat finally blinked and Guido allowed himself to take a slow breath. Being stared down by a cat was not what he expected would happen today. When the cat slowly lay down, Guido broke eye contact. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and closed his eyes again. He knew the cat was still there, still distrustfully squinting at him, but it didn’t matter as much now. As long as the cat didn’t scratch him, it would be fine. The leaves rustled above him and the wind blew so gently it almost didn’t exist. He could feel spots of sun that had managed to get through the leaves. Staying here wouldn’t be so bad, but he had to be home for dinner. He’d hate it if Elena started to worry and he’d have to answer a bunch of questions about where he’d been.

GuidoxCiccio fanfiction Chapter 1

So, I realised that I've never posted fanfiction on Tumblr before, so this might be a mess. Either way, here's the first chapter: ( I know it's a short one, but I think it'll be fine anyway )

Guido's dad knocked on Guido's door before he opened it. Guido sat on the floor with his head in his hands. 

"Son, are you ok?" Frederico asked with one hand on the door handle. Ready to close the door if necessary.

"Yes, Frederico. I'm fine. I'm just preparing. Ciccio is coming to pick me up today," Guido explained, but keep his head in his hands. Frederico glanced around Guido's room, leaving some space before speaking again. Guido's bed with the dark overcast was neatly made, his clean clothes were all folded and ready to be put away and his desk was the messiest it's been in a while. All over the desk were pens, sketches, and ripped-out pieces of newspapers. 

"Have you gotten one?" 

"I haven’t had an attack in a couple of weeks, papá," Guido reassured his dad, still not changing his position on the floor. 

"Well, good. Because Ciccio is here now," Frederico said gently and Guido shot up from the floor. He stumbled slightly as his body adjusted to the sudden change. Quickly, he turned to face his dad and asked if he looked ok before Frederico put his hands on Guido's shoulders. 

"Ragazzo. You look fine," he said, forcing Guido to take a few breaths and relax. He then ruffled his boy's hair and smiled. 

"Everything's ok," he assured and opened the bedroom door a bit more behind him to let Guido out. Before Guido went down the stairs leading to the hallway, he fixed his hair one last time and grinned nervously.

Guido hurried down the stairs, taking two steps at a time until he reached the hallway. Ciccio stood calmly by the opened entrance door. He smiled and waved as soon as he saw his friend. Around his wrist was a shell bracelet. Ercole had said it looked stupid and was for women anyway, which is why Ciccio hadn't worn it often. Guido relaxed almost instantly where he stood on the stairs. Ciccio smiled back, waiting for Guido to say goodbye to his family before talking to him. Rushing down the last few steps of stairs, Guido put on his light blue running shoes. 

"Bye, mamá!" Guido shouted into the kitchen where his mother was washing the dishes by the sink.

"Have fun, figlio mio!" she shouted back, putting another plate down on a stack.

Once they exited the house they didn’t have to walk far before getting to the town square. As usual, there were lots of children playing football despite the sign that forbid it. It was noisy and hard to concentrate on what he and Ciccio were saying to each other, so they decided to walk by the stone-covered shore. A house cast a large shadow over them and thus they sat down in the shade, in peace. The waves rolled in front of them, and they fell into a peaceful silence. However, a question had been nagging on the back of Guido’s mind for a while now.

"Do you ever... think about Ercole?" Guido asked and started biting on the inside of his cheek. Ciccio looked over the slowly flowing water as he thought about his answer.

Ciccio nodded. "Yeah."

"Can I ask why you joined him?" 

"I mean, why not. I'll tell you," Ciccio leaned his head back as he thought back to 6 years ago. 

"I was pretty lonely, you know. Mostly, I would help my dad with the fishing and didn’t have a lot of time outside of school," he started. Guido had utterly forgotten about his teeth crunching the inside of his cheek as he listened to his friend's story. 

"And I think Ercole realized since I was a pretty big kid, he could use me as a bodyguard." Guido made a low agreeing sound and wiggled his legs over the water.

"Do you ever... regret what you did?" 

"Yeah. That too," he whispered, looking at Guido from the corner of his eyes, and grinning. Guido swallowed and turned his head towards the water. 

"How about you?" Ciccio asked and Guido frose. 

"What?" he squeaked and suddenly became very interested in the foamy waves. 

"Why did you join Ercole?" Ciccio clarified. 

"Right," Guido whispered, planning what he would say.

"I guess I didn't want to get picked on. I mean, you know why we started picking on Luca and Alberto." Guido looked back at Ciccio.

"Why would Ercole ever pick on you?" 

"You know..." Guido hesitated for a moment. He gesticulated in front of him with his hands as he tried to find the words. When he decided it was not the right time to explain, he stopped trying to. 

"Eh... don't worry about it," he breathed and wiggled his feet over the slow ocean.

"Right," Ciccio said, figuring it wouldn't help to stay on the topic. 

"So... what else have you planned for today?" Guido asked, changing the subject. 

"I thought we could try going for a run," he suggested with a jokingly pained voice. 

"Going for a run? You never enjoyed running before,"

"True, but I think doing things you like is just as good," Ciccio added, letting Guido form his own opinions.

"Now?"

"Why not?"

Guido stood up, shaking his legs in preparation, and turned to Ciccio. He continued to grin at Guido until they set off for a jog around town.

GuidoxCiccio fanfiction Chapter 9

Time for the race! Honestly, I spun a wheel to decide who was going to win, but I'm not going to spoil it now. You'll just have to read and find out.

The same day.

The ocean was empty of boats as people gathered around the start line. Guido lined up alongside the rest of them. He looked around nervously at the other contestants. Around them were the contestant's families and the other people in the teams, cheering them on and waiting for their turn. He did feel a bit lonely. At least before, he was the one who waited and cheered Ciccio on. That was easier. Frederico couldn't make it to the start, but he'd promised to be there to receive him at the end. 

However, he wasn't all alone. Of course, he wasn’t. Ciccio stood a little off to the side, grinning at him when Guido looked his way. 

"You got this," he mouthed at Guido as siñora Marsigliese counted down and rang her bell. Pebbles scattered from beneath their feet as they sprinted into the ocean. Water washed over their ankles, their arms and their faces as they dived. Guido took a deep breath before dunking his head into the calm blue waves. The remaining lengths to swim felt like a blur. The bottom of the ocean sunk further away as he kept himself close to the surface. He knew he wasn't the world's most experienced swimmer, but at least he was fast enough. 

Giulia rose from the water and threw her swimming goggles off to the side as she ran up to Alberto and sent him off to start eating. Guido stumbled up a few seconds after, nodded to Ciccio to start, and hurried off to change into dry clothes. The pasta had been changed to lasagne, and Ciccio grabbed the fork. It was a bit boring when it was just plain pasta, no sauce or vegetables, but this wasn't an average lunch. This was the race. Guido slipped up behind him to patiently wait until he was finished. To their side, Alberto was having a bit of trouble, not getting as much pasta on his fork as he would have wanted. 

"Done," Ciccio breathed and swallowed, giving Guido a high five and letting him get on the bicycle. Guido jumped upon the bicycle and started the ride. He heard Luca starting a few meters behind him. Luca was statistically faster than him, but he believed he had a slight advantage. He was older, for one, and he had stronger legs. Maybe that would be enough. His bicycle whined uncomfortably as he trampled on, not taking the small cup of water offered to him. As he made his way further up the hill, he realized he had a disadvantage as well. He had been swimming. Luca hadn't. But Luca was still behind him, not taking the race as seriously as last time. 

He breathed heavily as he looked down from the tip of Mount Portorosso. Guido's legs felt weak and tired. He had to continue though, down at the bottom Frederico and Ciccio were waiting for him. And Luca grew closer. The wind slapped him across the face as he began his descent. The wheels of the bike squeaked as they tumbled down the stone path. Turning his head, he quickly peeked behind him and saw Luca's determined face.

"Ah," he breathed as he sped up.

Calculating advantages and disadvantages made him feel a little bit dizzy. That, accompanied by a lack of proper breathing. He should just focus on going down, but it was hard. His breath was heavy as he did his best to speed up. Around him, people stood in doors and alleyways, cheering Luca on as they speed down the hill. Honestly, he wasn't surprised. It did motivate him though, as he channelled whatever energy he had left to keep going. He heard a huff and as he glanced over, he saw Luca coming up next to him. 

Their eyes meet and Guido was filled with a bubbling sense of competitiveness. He grinned at Luca and Luca smirked back. Their legs were already moving as fast as they could, so all they could do was try not to slow down as they neared to finish line. In a split second, the finish line came into view. He could hint at Frederico standing around, waiting in suspense. Luca's bike slid as he hit the brakes. Guido did the same and they jumped off their bikes, laughing. 

They had passed the line. The question was just who came first. The crowd was silent. Giulia was the first to speak apart from the two boys laughing. 

"Um... who won?" she asked, looking at Alberto. Alberto shrugged and nodded towards siñora Marsigliese who was speaking with one of the onlookers who stood closest to the finish line. 

"So... as far as I and the rules are concerned, the winner is..." she hesitated, glanced at the two boys standing next to their bikes, still laughing but a bit quieter.

"The- the underdogs!" she announced and the crowd cheered. Giulia and Alberto ran over to Luca and hugged him. 

Guido stood next to them, looking a bit sheepish as the the underdogs received the golden cup. He slowly moved out of the way, not wanting to drag the attention away from Luca and the rest. 

"Guido!" Frederico shouted as he came up to his son. 

"Papá," Guido smiled and accepted Frederico's hand ruffling his hair. Suddenly, Guido let out an ompf as strong arms tightly hugged him from his side. 

"You did amazing," Ciccio mumbled into Guido's neck. He could feel his face getting flushed with color. Luckily, he could blame it on the biking part. 

"Grazie," Guido answered as he placed a hand on Ciccio's back, keeping the bike standing with the other. He bent over slightly.

"Ciccio… non in pubblico," he whispered and Ciccio slowly let go. He looked back up at Frederico with an embarrassed grin. His dad just nodded approvingly. Guido appreciated how Ciccio accepted to keep their relationship at the very least silent. They didn’t need to be stared at any more than they already were, and he wasn’t sure he was quite comfortable around other people yet anyway.

"Ragazzi," Giulia called out to Guido and Ciccio. 

"Uh... yes?" Guido answered. Most of the people had packed up their stuff and gone home. Frederico had also left to tell Elena about her son's close victory. Guido learned whit his arm against Ciccio's shoulder. His legs felt like jelly, making it hard to stand. 

"Do you guys have time? There's something I'd like to discuss with you." The boys glanced at each other. Giulia was being unusually friendly. 

"Sure..."

"Great. Come with us," she demanded, guiding them to her home. 

Luca and Alberto joined them, skipping along the stones while holding the Portorosso cup. They walked through Giulia's front door, up the stairs, and into her room. When everyone was inside, she closed the door behind her. 

"So," she started. "You didn't answer Alberto's question earlier." Guido's brain had just calmed down from the rush of coming close second, and now he couldn't even remember what Alberto had asked. Ciccio did though. His face went pale, but he kept quiet. When the gears finished turning in Guido's head, he shut his mouth and straightened his back like he did when he was caught off guard.

As neither of them said a word apart from some confused stutters, Giulia gasped theatrically. 

"Santa pecorino! You are!" she shouted. Guido bit the inside of his cheek as he forced himself to not look at Ciccio. Her finger pointed straight at Guido's face. He forced himself to sound unbothered as he let out a psh sound and smacked her finger away from his face. Ciccio and Guido stood silent for a few more seconds while Giulia and Luca shared some "I knew it"'s and gave each other a high five. Guido sighed in defeat, relaxed his back, and nodded slightly. 

"We are..."

It took some time for everyone to clear their minds before Guido and Ciccio stood next to each other and observed the group. Giulia had her arms crossed in front of them. 

"I knew it," she repeated, grinning widely.

"Yeah?" Ciccio asked and swallowed. “So?”

“So. Kiss.” 

"What?" His voice cracked. Guido froze with his arms by his side. Luca tugged at Giulia's arm uncertainly. 

"Are you sure about this?" he asked her. She nodded at him, keeping her smile on her face. 

"Just… trust me. Ok?" she mumbled to him and turned her attention back to the boys in front of her. 

Guido turned towards Ciccio. He took a few breaths, balling his hands into fists and blinking quickly. 

"Would it be ok…?" he tried, trailing off and his face becoming redder. He was so aware of everything right now it seemed impossible just to focus.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to.” Ciccio's ears turned red. 

"If it’s what you want," Ciccio mumbled, keeping his voice as steady as he managed. "Then, sí."

Guido's heartbeat sped up. He hadn't thought further that this point. The sun shined in through the window, lighting up Ciccio's face. 

"But is it ok with you?" he insisted, not wanting to intrude on Ciccio's space. A nod. A second. A heartbeat. Guido bent down slightly while Ciccio stood on his toes. 

"I'll be honest. I didn't expect an audience," Guido mumbled with a smile. 

"Same. But it doesn't matter." Ciccio took Guido's shoulders and dragged him slightly more downwards and their lips met. The kiss itself must've lasted just a second before it broke, but Guido's head kept spinning. He'd never imagined something like this would ever happen before. 

"Are you feeling well?" Ciccio wondered, keeping Guido at his level. His voice... so soft and warm. Guido's heart melted like it'd done so many times before as he forced himself to smile. The smile was weak, and uncertain as he meet his boyfriend's eyes. 

"Eh... sí," Guido stuttered, still hyper-aware of the other people standing and watching them. 

"Yep. You guys are part of the group now," Giulia said to them as she shoved them out her front door. 

"Scusi?"

"You're practically more socially outcasted than we are at this point," she explained with a smirk as she closed the door. They glanced at each other, not quite able to comprehend what just happened. Were they... in the underdogs' group? It kind of felt like acceptance. At least for Guido. Though, he didn’t feel like he needed it.  

"I wonder what made her change her mind?" Ciccio said as they started walking. Their families had decided to eat dinner together, so they made their way toward Ciccio's house. 

"It was probably Luca," Guido offered. As they walked next to each other, the back of Ciccio's hand brushed lightly against Guido's. 

Guido went quiet. His hand took a steady hold on the edge of his shorts and he bit the inside of his cheek. 

"Guido. I can tell there's something you want to ask for," Ciccio whispered and Guido looked at his feet. 

"Would you mind..." Guido breathed and tightly shut his eyes. As he opened them again, he continued. "...holding my hand?" he asked. A chuckle came from Ciccio and Guido straightened up. 

"Sure," Ciccio said and reached out to grab Guido's hand and gently yank it away from Guido's tight grip on the edge of his pants. 

Guido sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth as he folded his fingers around Ciccio's. 

"Is this ok?" he asked Ciccio, who nodded and chuckled again. 

"That's what I'm supposed to say," Ciccio laughed, pretending to be offended. They continued walking normally, nobody else was outside at this time and so Guido could feel a little bit safer. Ciccio squeezed his boyfriend's hand as they hinted at Ciccio's front door. Guido swallowed, thinking about how Elena would react if they walked in like this. 

"It will be fine, amorino," Ciccio's voice sounded... so calm.

"I appreciate it," Guido responded and squeezed his hand back. 

"Are you ready to go in?" Ciccio asked after letting Guido breathe for a little while. Guido grinned, nodded, took a deep breath, let go of Guido's hand, and opened the door.

GuidoxCiccio fanfiction Chapter 3

The third chapter's here! It's pretty short, but at least it's here. I hope it will be enjoyable!

A few days later.

The rug underneath him felt fuzzy and warm. Guido leaned his back against the bed, breathing up towards the selling. Why'd it have to be like this? Why couldn't he just get his stupid crush on some random girl from school? But he knew this was going to happen. He'd had the crush for literal years, it's mostly surprising it took this long. He opened his eyes with a groan. His roof had sketches and paper scraps covering it but in a few places, he could hint at the wooden boards. It had started as newspaper articles, but now, they were mostly covered by sketches, drawings, and photos placed over the newspaper, covering the roof like a paper sandwich. 

"Guido dear, can I come in?" his mother called out from behind his closed bedroom door. He quickly straightened his back before calling to her that she could come in. And she did. The door closed behind her as she stood with her arms by her hips. 

"Guido..." she sighed. 

"Mamá?" 

"Haven't I told you to stop sitting on the floor? It's bad for your back,"

"Sí, mamá, you have," He knew better than to argue with his mother this late. So instead he looked up at her, trying to seem as innocent as possible. She removed her hands from her hips and sat down on his bed next to him. 

"It's time for you to go to bed," she reminded him and he nodded in agreement. 

"I know. I'm all done," 

"Good. Now, get into bed and let me say goodnight properly," Elena smiled down at him and he sighed. Slowly, he stood up and crawled underneath the blanket. 

"Buena notte, mi figlio," she said, bending down and softly kissing his forehead. He squirmed underneath the bed's covers and smiled awkwardly in her arms. 

"Buena notte, mamá," he replied, hating the words for sounding so on edge. He was sure that Elena heard it as well, but she didn't comment on it. Instead, she hugged him a bit tighter before standing up. 

"Frederico isn't coming to say goodnight tonight," she whispered and he nodded back, keeping the stale smile on his face as she turned off the lights in his room and closed the door behind her. Quietly, he listened as her footsteps went down the stairs and into the kitchen before moving again. Still wearing his pyjamas, he stood up and walked over to his bedroom window. The window opened smoothly and he looked out over the quiet Portorosso. The moon had just peeked over the ocean, and it shone over one lonely figure down by the shore. 

Guido turned his attention to the outside of the house wall. He had spent at least a handful of days making sure he had a moderately safe way down the wall. His parents would never believe how many times he'd escaped through the window during the night. However, he had to be careful. Sometimes, his parents would be in the living room with the window facing the same way as Guido's. He took hold of the window sill and balanced his weight on the tip of his toes, standing on almost unnoticeable dents in the wall. His muscles strained as he climbed down the outer wall, leaving the bedroom window open. Guido had to hope that his parents weren't looking out the window at that exact time as his legs dangled in front of the window until he could lower himself enough to drop down. The grass brushed against his feet as he grunted from the fall. It wasn't high, but at least a solid one-and-a-half meeter. He made sure to keep his legs bent as well as rolling as he hit the ground. He might be sneaking out during the middle of the night, but he's not dumb enough to hurt himself while doing so. Taking all of the safety precautions was his best bet, he figured.

The figure by the shore was quite recognizable. Of course, he knew who it was. The sound of water splashed calmly as he walked up to his friend. 

"Ciao, Ciccio," he whispered and Ciccio turned around. 

"Guido," he greeted back and smiled. He didn't comment on Guido's oversized t-shirt and soft pants. He didn't ask what Guido was doing up so late, even if he wanted to. And in turn, Guido didn’t ask Ciccio the same question.

"How are you doing?" Ciccio asked instead turning back towards the slowly rising waves. He didn't expect an answer, and Guido didn't give one. But Guido felt like he had to say something. He had to, or he might explode. 

"Thank you... for spending time with me," he blurted out. Ciccio turned again, trying to make out the contours of Guido's face in the moonlight. 

"What?" he asked. Guido flushed as he panicked about finding the right words. 

"I mean, even after all that time and the things we’ve done, you’re still here," he explained, forcing himself not to move his hands as he talked. 

Ciccio exhaled. 

"Of course," 

"Yeah. I’m just so… glad you’re… here." Ciccio exhaled again, a bit heavier this time.

"Guido. Don't be ridiculous. It's really no problem at all. You know I will always ‘still be here’," he whispered back, keeping his voice low to not disturb anyone in town. 

"Why?!"

Silence. Guido realized how loud he said it and froze. Ciccio kept looking at Guido, and so Guido looked back. Ciccio's face practically shined in the moonlight.

The silence was followed by more silence and an extra loud water splash which made Guido jolt. 

"Don't become sad, but I'm not gonna answer that," Ciccio mumbled slowly. Guido didn't want to say anything more for a week, but he felt as though he had to apologize. 

"Ciccio, I didn't mean-"

"I know," he said calmly and gestured for Guido to join him by the ocean.

"Please don't apologize right now, because you know I've already forgiven you," he said while they observed the foam floating on top of the waves.

"But-" 

"Guido," he said meaningfully in a tone that made his heart completely melt. "Go to bed," Ciccio whispered and Guido sighed in defeat. Hesitantly, Guido left his friend standing by the shore and hurried back to his home.

He reached the downstairs window leading into the living room. The lights were turned off so he didn’t need to be too sneaky. Guido took a few quick breaths before he started to scale the wall as he'd done so many times before. The room was chilly when he closed the window behind him and climbed back into bed. The covers smelled newly washed and felt slightly scratchy against his arms, but he nuzzled down anyway and pretended to be dead. That was the strategy that usually worked best when it came to falling asleep. But usually was not very often. With every move he made, the bed would creak or the sheets ruffle, he felt too energized to lay still but too tired to get up again. If this was how it was going to be every time, he'd rather stay in his room for the rest of his life.

GuidoxCiccio fanfiction Chapter 6

Guido has something important to say and he'd feel much safer in Ciccio's company. This and a few of the following chapters contain some bits of homophobia, more or less. Just like a quick head's up.

The next day.

A hollow echo followed the knock on the deep blue door. Guido's throat felt dry as he waited for someone to open it for him. Preferably Ciccio, so he wouldn't have to explain himself more than necessary. Someone walked down the stairs from inside the yellow house. The door got unlocked with a satisfying click and a woman opened it. She had blond, straight hair and warm green eyes which locked onto him immediately. 

"Ciao, Guido," she greeted him and ruffled his hair. "No shenanigans today?" It was phrased like a joke but he could see the seriousness flow over her face. He knew what the people in town thought of Ercole, and he and Ciccio were pretty much associated with that bastard. 

"Not at all. Would you mind if I talked to Ciccio?"

"No, you can talk to him," she said and shouted up the stairs after Ciccio. Screaming something about him having a visitor and soon enough, Ciccio hurried down the stairs. 

"Bye mamá," Ciccio said almost instantly before she had time to ruffle his hair as well. He stepped out of the house and closed the door behind him. Ciccio looked a bit sheepish as he looked up at his friend, but he stayed quiet, wanting Guido to start talking. After all, Guido had come to his house. Guido practically never visited Ciccio's house. 

"So..." Guido started, not making eye contact. "I want to-" he stopped, breathed, and tried again. 

"I want to come out... to you," Guido mumbled while keeping his eyes on the ground and his hands shoved in his pockets. Ciccio hummed, gesturing for Guido to go on. When he didn't, Ciccio got concerned.

"Is it too crowded here?" 

"No, here's good,"

"Then I'm all ears," Ciccio offered and fell silent again. Guido cleared his throat. 

"I'm... I'm homosexual," he started, feeling his cheeks burn. Ciccio stood silent, seeing if there was anything more he wanted to say. 

"A-and I don't feel physical attraction," he said and breathed out. 

Guido shut his eyes. Ciccio's breathing stuck in his throat for a second before he responded with a quiet "Ok. Thank's for telling me." His voice cracked at the last cyclable as he was forced to swallow as well. 

"Yeah..." Guido continued to mumble. "So, I might need some help coming out to my parents," 

"You really want to do that?" Guido nodded in response.

"You know it's ok to not come out as well."

"I know. But I want to." 

"Ok, then I'll help with whatever you need," Ciccio said decisively, grabbing Guido's shoulder as they started walking towards Guido's house. 

Elena and Frederico sat down on the first brown leather couch in the living room. Guido and Ciccio were sitting in the other one, about a meter apart on the opposite side. In the middle of the two couches was a table. The door to the kitchen was behind Guido and the rug underneath their feet felt fuzzy. 

"Ragazzi? Is there a problem?" Frederico asked, concerned. Ciccio had decided to let Guido do most of the talking. It was him coming out anyway. The boy in question fiddled with the edge of his shorts and stared at his knees as he shook his head at his parent's question. 

"I'm... I'm queer," Guido breathed. Elena froze in her seat, staring wide-eyed at her son in disbelief. Frederico leaned back in his seat with a relaxed grin and a confident smirk. 

Guido’s hair fell over his face. He used it as a form of barrier and looked through it at his mother. Elena's mouth hung open as if she felt deeply offended while being at a loss for words. 

"E-elaborate." she managed to stutter out. 

"I like boys. I'm homosexual," Guido clarified, watching for a further reaction. Elena breathed in again, almost without breathing out. Ciccio could hint at a tear rolling down Guido's face and falling to his knee. Frederico laughed for himself. 

"I knew," he said, relaxing more into the cushion. The air got sucked out of Guido's lungs as he straightened his back in a jolt to look at his father. 

"You knew?!" Elena and Guido asked in unison. Elena was in disbelief and Guido in relief. Another tear rolled down his cheek. 

"How?" Elena demanded and Frederico gestured towards his son as if that would explain the whole situation.

"Don't be silly," he started, addressing Guido more than Elena. "I've seen the way you look at-" Frederico hesitated. Guido shook his head, almost unnoticeably at his father who shut himself up. 

Next to Guido, Ciccio kept a close eye on Elena while still listening more intensely to the conversation than Guido had ever seen him before. 

"Whatever," Frederico finished. 

"You didn't tell me!" Elena accused her husband and Frederico forced himself to turn and face her. 

"Of course. I wouldn't want to break his trust like that. Besides, it's his choice to come out to us, I think you should be a little more accepting."

"But-"

"Elena. He's your son. Treat him like it," Frederico demanded and Elena quieted down. Tears streamed down Guido's face. He looked at his mother with her stunned wide eyes. His father with his relaxed posture and grin. And then he turned towards Ciccio. 

Ciccio was tense, taking the situation extremely seriously. He was so close to just asking for a hug at that point, but he couldn't. Especially not in front of his parents. After a moment, they broke eye contact and Guido turned back to face his parents, trying to shake the overwhelming urge to wrap his arms around the boy. Desperately, he tried to distract his brain. Keeping his mind on something else would help. At least it helped before.

"I just thought that... since the townspeople became so accepting of the sea... people," he tried, not wanting to call them monsters. "Maybe the town would accept me as well." 

"Of course we accept you," Frederico assured him with a glare at his wife. "Right, dear?" he continued, strained and forced.

"Eh... of course, sweety," Elena muttered between her teeth and smiled tiredly, still not hiding the betrayal on her face. 

"You kids go and play or something. Your papá and I need to talk," Elena demanded and Ciccio patted Guido on the back before standing up. Guido followed him out the front door, after sending a thankful look to Frederico. They made sure to close the door behind them as they could hear Guido's parents' voices speeding up as they talked. Silently, Guido led himself and Ciccio to the back of the house underneath the living room window. He sat down on the freshly cut grass and leaned his back against the wall. Ciccio sat down beside him, similarly to how they sat inside. 

"That went... well?" Ciccio offered, closing his fist in his pocket. 

"Seredo di sí," Guido agreed and leaned his head against the wall as well. He wouldn't have anything against leaning his head against Ciccio instead, but he couldn't ask for that. Not yet. His brain was filled to the brim with nothing and everything at the same time. So instead he let their conversation slip away, trying to focus on other things. In theory, a piece of cake. In practice, impossible. And he found himself involuntarily leaning closer. Not touching but close. Guido shot up, almost hitting his head on the window sill as he made his way back inside his house with Ciccio behind him. His parents had gone quiet in the living room and Guido sneaked upstairs, guiding Ciccio into his room. Ciccio followed him without asking any questions, smiling when Guido turned around to check if he was still there. 

"You can stay here with me if you want," Guido offered with a gesture to the inside of his room. "I will be kind of doing my own thing though."

"That's fine," Ciccio grinned and followed Guido inside. He made himself comfortable on the floor leaning against Guido's bed as Guido walked around, throwing away papers from his desk and roof. They quietly talked with each other and Ciccio even offered to help sort through what to keep and what to throw away, but Guido wouldn't let him. Guido usually liked to keep his room pretty stacked with papers, but it was starting to feel tight and small. Ciccio didn't mind. It was easy to talk to Guido when he wasn't fully focused either way. Sure, you could have better and more accurate conversations when he was concentrating. But the less meaningful talks when he was preoccupied in general made him a lot more relaxed. 

"So... your parents have quieted down," Ciccio started, his eyes following Guido as he smoothly moved around in his room.

"Yeah... they have. I wonder what they talked about," Guido mumbled, flipping through a stack of papers he had found underneath another stack of papers. The stairs creaked as someone walked up and knocked on Guido's door. Usually, whoever was on the other side of the door waited for permission to walk inside, but this time was an exception. Frederico stumbled in and closed the door behind himself. He was about to say something to Guido, probably mentioning the reason why he walked in so bluntly when he saw Ciccio. 

"Oh... hello," he said to their visitor before turning back to his son.

"Ragazzo, I and your mamá are going to go on a little trip. We'll be back after a few days. Do you think you could be alone for that long?" he asked. Guido placed the stack of papers he was holding on the edge of the bed. 

"Quando?" 

"We're leaving on Tuesday and we'll be back Friday morning," Frederico explained, shooting a glance at Ciccio sitting on the bedroom floor. 

"Yeah, I'll be fine. It's just two days," Guido said and Frederico smiled as he walked backwards out of the room. 

Tincrow pencil drawing

I may not be the best and this may not be tincrow exactly, but here it is anyway.

This is from the third Oz book when they first talk to the princes with the many heads ( I forgot her name for right now ).

GuidoxCiccio fanfiction Chapter 7

It took me a while to figure out exactly how to word everything in this chapter, but in the end, I'm pretty proud of this one.

That Tuesday.

It was so quiet. The whole house felt gapingly empty while Guido made his breakfast. The other chairs around the dinner table stood alone. He already missed the usual routine with his family. Frederico had kept the spirits up to the best of his abilities before the trip. Making food wasn't hard either, Guido knew how to do it. But nobody was walking up or down the stairs, nobody listened to music and nobody walked in or out of the house. All this except for Guido. Frederico made a point to call at least once a day. He liked to make sure that Guido had eaten breakfast, and then call again after dinner. 

The boy had walked around the house in solitude during the first day, distracting himself with books or chores whenever his brain would allow him to. That is when he could break his thoughts from Ciccio long enough to figure out something else to do. After dinner on the first day, he'd already sat on every surface besides a chair in the entire house and contemplated why his brain was being so irritating for at least an hour collectively. The sun lowered itself over the town as Guido paced the floor of the living room. His fingers kept tapping on his legs as he walked, desperately trying to focus enough to remember where he left the paper with the phone number Frederico would be using during the trip. 

The ringtone rang out from the kitchen and Guido sprinted over to answer it. 

"Ciao, Ragazzo!" Frederico's voice rang metallically in Guido's ear. 

"Papá? Did something happen?" Guido asked and sat down on the counter next to the phone. 

"Not even a hello?" 

"Scusi papá. Didn't think of it," Guido replied, starting to play with the little plastic circles on the phone holder. Frederico laughed on the other end and answered Guido's question. Guido sighed into the phone while looking out at the sunset. 

“So what have you been doing today?” Frederico asked metallically through the phone. 

"I'm not sure what you want me to say. I stayed at home for the whole day," 

"Really? Not leaving at all?"

"I didn't have time." 

"What did you do the whole day then?" Frederico sounded honestly baffled. To be fair though, they didn't have time to talk that much during the other time Frederico called that day, so Guido could forgive him. 

"You know... stuff," 

"You know... nothing," Frederico corrected and Guido couldn't help but laugh. He groaned theatrically into the phone, shoving another laugh down his throat. They talked a little more, and Frederico said that Elena was “doing better”. Guido didn’t really know what that meant but he decided that it wasn’t worth it to ask. 

Frederico hung up the phone and Guido dragged himself up the stairs and into his room. He debated on going out the window, but it didn't feel right. Not when he could just walk out the door. He also didn't want to leave the house without anyone inside. Staring at the roof, he realized how empty it was without all the papers. 

"I should try and get some posters or something," he mumbled to himself and wormed into bed. Since his parents weren't home, he didn't bother to change into pyjamas, but he did brush his teeth with the toothbrush he kept by his bedside table. And while drifting off to sleep soon after, he convinced himself to invite Ciccio over tomorrow to avoid staying alone. Even if it meant dealing with those strange, not-so-new feelings. 

-------------

"You ok being alone like this?" Ciccio asked as he stepped inside. Guido smiled and nodded. 

"Oh, have you eaten?" Guido asked, gesturing toward the kitchen and offering some leftovers in case he wanted them. 

"Yes, I've eaten. You don't have to do anything."

"Good," Guido hummed and jolted as the phone rang in the kitchen. Must be Frederico, he thought. Smiling uncertainly, he wondered why Frederico hadn't called earlier as he promised. 

"Would you mind if I answered that?" He asked, again vaguely gesturing to the phone on the kitchen counter. 

"No. Go ahead." 

"Thank you."

Guido picked up the red handle, recognizing the voice immediately as his dad.

"Ragazzo! How're you doing today," Frederico asked after whispering something to someone next to him. 

"I'm good, but I kind of have a guest over right now..." Guido mumbled and decided against sitting on the table. Frederico snickered on the other side. In the corner of his eye, he saw Ciccio enter the kitchen as well.

"Are you with your Ciccio?" he asked, hesitating at the end. The 'your' was a mistake, and Guido sighed heavily.

"Yes, papá. I'm with my boyfr-" Guido froze. Stuttering escaped his mouth as tried to think of something to say, before mumbling into the phone. 

"S-Scusi, I have to hang up." He slowly placed the handle back on the holder and stared at the wall. 

"Cazzo," he breathed quietly and tried to mentally prepare himself. Ciccio had no doubt heard him... maybe he could play it off as a mistake. 

"What?" Ciccio's voice cracked. Guido hesitated. There was still time to pretend like it was a mistake. And Guido didn’t want to. Wanting to tell him, but not wanting him to know was eating away at Guido's heart. 

"Boyfriend?" Ciccio asked, a small smile creeping onto his face as Guido looked away, not wanting to show how red he thought he was.  

"Lo errore," Guido mumbled, folded his arms, and kept his eyes as far from Ciccio's face as possible. Ciccio didn’t say anything, and so Guido started to feel the nervousness creeping up on him like flooding water. He made a split decision. This was it. Now was one of the best possible times since no one else was around and he could feel secure now that he was at his own home. 

"Though… I wouldn’t mind it," he stuttered, gripping harder at his arms as he forced himself to look over at Ciccio. The other boy's eyes were wide and his ears had turned red.

"Really?" Ciccio asked, hesitating way more than normal. 

"Sí," Guido hummed. "Ti amo, Ciccio."

Ciccio stood stale and quiet for a bit too long. Guido went from feeling brave to feeling nervous. This was the part where Ciccio would reject him in at least half of the daydreams he had about this moment. All color had disappeared from Ciccio's face as he stared back at Guido. 

"S-stai bene?" Guido asked, feeling his confidence slip away like water in a sink as he unfolded his arms. Ciccio started to snicker to himself.

"Perché sei tu...?" Guido tried when he felt a sudden pressure around his ribcage. Ciccio wrapped his arms around Guido in a tight hug that knocked the air out of Guido's lungs. 

"Ciccio..."

"You're speaking Italian, Guido," Ciccio reminded him. "It's no problem though," he continued, squeezing tighter around Guido.

"Does this mean-?" Guido started while hoping for Ciccio to finish his sentence or answer before he had to continue. When he realized that Ciccio wanted to give Guido a chance to finish the sentence by himself, he took a deep breath.

"We’re... boyfriends now?" Ciccio didn't answer straight away, and Guido took the opportunity to relax in the hug. It felt just like he'd imagined it. Ciccio's strength put a lot of pressure on Guido's body. Guido rested his chin on Ciccio's head, feeling Ciccio’s soft hair brush against his cheek and figuring to enjoy every moment while the embrace lasted.

"Sí, tesorino mio," Ciccio finally answered, his voice a bit muffled. "Is that ok?" he asked slowly. Guido nodded smiling even though Ciccio couldn't see it. 

"Sí," he said, not managing to hide the relief and tears in his voice. 

Ciccio let go immediately to cup Guido's face in his hands and look him in the eyes. Guido followed the movement and bent down slightly.

"Do you need to cry?" Ciccio asked softly. Guido shook his head but tears sprung to his eyes anyway. 

"It's ok. You can cry," Ciccio reminded him. Guido reached up and pressed his hand against the back of Ciccio's.

"I know," he whispered, blood rushing to his face as he looked over the boy in front of him. 

"I got to call my dad," Guido remembered, nodding towards the phone standing on the counter. 

"Yeah. Right." Ciccio said as he let go of his new boyfriend and stepped back towards the kitchen stove. Guido shuffled to the phone, found the paper with the temporary phone number on it, and spun the plastic circles to dial the phone number. It didn't ring for long before Frederico picked up. 

"Hey, ragazzo! Are you ok?" 

"Yeah, papá. I'm sorry for hanging up on you," Guido said, slightly muffling his voice with his hand. 

"I feel a bit ashamed," he admitted, turned around to gesture to Ciccio that he didn't have to stay there and wait for him, and threw in a quick smile as Ciccio started to walk up the stairs. 

"It's no problem," Frederico assured. 

"I... have to admit something though," Guido took a deep breath, preparing himself. "Ciccio is... my boyfriend now."

Silence echoed over the line. 

"I-" Guido's dad hesitated, keeping his voice as straight as possible. "I knew it!" he shouted into the phone, making Guido yank the phone handle away from his ear. 

"Elena! Your son has gotten himself a boyfriend!" he continued, but not as close to the phone. Guido slowly put it back close to his ear. On the other end, he could hear a hushed down squeak before Frederico came back.

"Oh, we're so proud of you, ragazzo. We know how hard it can be to say what you mean sometimes." Guido stared at the wall. 

"Thank you."

A fanfiction request. ( GuidoxCiccio )

This fanfic was requested to me and I did my best. I have to warn you though, it has heavy mentioning of bullying, a slight eating disorder, and a few slurs and curses. I have never had an eating disorder, but it's a very serious subject and if you or anyone is dealing with it, seek professional help because they deserve to be healthy and happy. I also want to say that this fic is not connected to my previous fic, though a few details may be similar.

After the movie, after that summer.

Ciccio quieted down, letting the conversation around the dinner table slowly die out with his silence. His mother glanced at him, her eyes gentle as she tried to figure out what was wrong. Ciccio didn't meet her eyes. Instead, he stared at the almost full dinner plate and scrunched up his nose. "Is there something wrong with the food, dear?" his mother asked, carefully. His dad also looked up, the last one to pick up on things as usual. Ciccio school his head and switched from looking at the plate to looking at his knees. "No. Everything's fine," Ciccio answered quietly and flashed a quick smile at his parents as he stood up. "Thank you for the food." He walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs, not wanting to stay any longer than necessary.

He sat down on the chair next to his desk in his room and sighed. A creeping feeling of disappointing his parents made him regret leaving so suddenly. He could definitely have tried to be nicer. Now they knew he wasn't feeling well and would ask him about it. But he could lie. He would lie. Downstairs, he heard the front door open after a few quick knocks. The person from outside talked with his mother, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. A wave of nausea struck him and he leaned his forehead against his desk. A slow groan escaped his mouth as he tried to breathe as slowly as possible. It would pass eventually, he hoped. His mother and the other person had gone quiet downstairs but he could hear his father cleaning up the dinner table. Shakily, he grabbed the edge of his pants and forced another deep breath down his throat. he shut his eyes tight as the memories pushed themself back to the front of his mind. "Ugly fatty," "Obiese asshole," "Have you tried losing a whale's worth of weight?" and so on.

Being pressed against a wall was bad enough, but being called those things straight to his face and knowing that if he showed even the slightest bit of sadness, they would bully him even more was unbearable. Almost every time during recess in school, they would find him. No matter what he tried, they always found him. It was all he could think about, those mean words. He already regretted what he'd done when he was "friends" with Ercole and this made him regret it even more. As if the bullies in school knew and wanted to give some personal payback. At least, Ciccio had never said such terrible things. But they had. They did. To him. And it was eating away at his mind. Another shaky breath. Everything was quiet downstairs. At least as far as he could tell. He thought about going downstairs and eating a little more. He'd apologise to his parents and smile at them. They wouldn't worry anymore and he didn't have to feel hungry. But he knew how that would end too. He'd just feel worse and wouldn't allow himself to eat anything for breakfast, and barely anything for lunch at school either. It was a vicious circle. He swallowed dryly and opened his eyes, staring straight at the wooden board of the desk.

He jolted up in his seat as he heard a sudden loud knock on his door. The knocks were followed by his mother's voice. "Ciccio, dear! Are you in there?" "Sí, mama…" he answered, blinking a few times to force the burning tears back. "Good," she said with a released sigh. "Your Guido is here," a small chuckle followed the sentence and Ciccio sighed. That's how his mother would announce Guido ever since they started dating. "Ok." Soon, she opened the door and let Guido in. With a warm smile, she closed the door again.

"Hey, amorino," Guido said gently and kissed the top of Ciccio's head. Ciccio quickly stood up and followed Guido to sit on the bed. That was Guido's favourite place to sit, Ciccio on the bed and Guido on the floor. Ciccio tried to say something lighthearted, getting a light conversation started, but he couldn't. Quickly, Guido watched on. He'd always been very smart. "Ciccio. There's something wrong, isn't there?" he asked, immediately standing up and sitting next to his boyfriend. Ciccio shook his head but couldn't meet Guido's eyes. "Ciccio…" Guido took a breath and started over. "If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. But it might make you feel better." Ciccio nodded slowly and breathed heavily. Guido would understand. Suddenly, he felt an overwhelming urge to tell Guido. But he didn't open his mouth, and he didn't look at Guido. "I've noticed that you've been… feeling worse lately." Guido continued, wanting to fill the silence and make Ciccio feel a little more comfortable with him around.

"That's… true," Ciccio admitted and immediately shut his mouth again. His voice was way too shaky for his liking and he didn't want to start crying. "Is physical touch ok right now?" Guido asked and as soon as Ciccio nodded, he placed his hand on Ciccio's back. Ciccio blinked and tried again to look at Guido, but he couldn't. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked gently, bending down and trying to look Ciccio in the eyes. Ciccio hummed quickly as a response and Guido smiled. "Great. Then take your time. I'll be here as soon as you feel ready." Guido smiled and straightened up. Ciccio swallowed again, thinking over the words. "I'm sorry," he started and winched. He hated when Guido apologised for things he didn't need to apologise for, and now he was doing exactly that. "… for being so distant with you. There are some things… going on in school." Guido thought back to school. In two days, they would both be going back to school. Sorting thoughts out as soon as possible would be quite important, no matter what happened to Ciccio. He just wished he could spend more time with Ciccio, but they were in parallel classes.

Guido stayed quiet, wanting Ciccio to talk. He knew he didn't like it when people asked him questions when he was feeling down. "There are a few people in my class that's been picking on me… for a while." He felt tears burn in the corners of his eyes and he tried to blink them away. Guido hummed, showing Ciccio that he was listening and wanting him to continue. "They keep calling me some… nasty stuff. Primarily "ugly fatty" and things like that." He could hear Guido draw a sharp breath. In the new silence, a few tears dropped down on his knees. The silence continued. Guido wanted to hear the whole story. "And I've-" The tears clogged up his throat. He couldn't continue and admit to not eating nearly enough. Instead of continuing the sentence, he finally let the tears roll down. After so many days, it felt nice to finally allow himself to cry. Guido removed his hand from Ciccio's back at the speed of light as he saw Ciccio move slightly closer to him. Ciccio wrapped his arms around Guido's torso and rested his forehead against Guido's shoulder. "It's ok to cry. I'm here for you," Guido said gently in Ciccio's ear as he hugged him back. It didn't need to be long to be comforting. "I've been-" Ciccio tried again, taking a shaky breath. His voice broke as soon as he started talking, and he hated that. Clearing his voice, he tried for the final time.

"I've been eating… less. Because of that." He forced out and he could feel Guido hold him tighter. "Oh, Ciccio," he ispered. He knew it took a lot of courage for Ciccio to be so honest with him. "They are wrong. They are so wrong and I think you know it deep down." Ciccio, now done explaining the situation, let himself quietly cry into Guido's shoulder. "They don't know what they're talking about. Their words are only out to hurt you. There's no truth behind them." Guido squeezed a little tighter and Ciccio winced. "What?" Guido asked, quickly letting go. Ciccio hesitantly let go of Guido as well to slightly pull his shirt up, revealing a green bruise the size of a fist on his side above his hip. Guido gasped and covered his mouth as his eyes fell on it. "Did… did they do that?" he asked behind his hand. Hesitantly and still with tears falling down his face, Ciccio nodded again. Guido's eyebrows furrowed and he closed his eyes. He took a few deep breaths before opening his eyes again "First thing's first," he said decisively and placed his hands on Ciccio's shoulders. Dragging him closer, he embraced his boyfriend once more. "Do you want to cry some more or do you want to do something else about it?" Ciccio cleared his throat again and answered. "Let's- let's do something else," he said, but the tears didn't stop. Guido hummed. "Right. If that's what you want." Guido took another deep breath.

"What we are going to do is as follows. We will go downstairs and talk to your parents." Ciccio flinched back and tried to shake his head. "I'm sorry, but it's important. I know it feels really scary to talk to them. Though, I'm confident in that they can help." Hesitantly, Ciccio nodded for Guido to continue. "After we've done that, you and I will eat a proper dinner, and since it's Friday, we'll watch a movie with some chips as well." Ciccio looked hesitant once more. Eating was the last thing he wanted to do right now, but he knew Guido was right. "And as soon as we come back to school, we will talk to the principal and we'll give those bullies a piece of our mind." Ciccio chuckled quietly. "Preferably without violence," Guido finished and smiled at Ciccio. Ciccio wiped away tears with the back of his hand and cleared his throat one final time, hoping that his voice would hold but not caring too much if it didn't. "Right. Let's go downstairs." he said, and added much more quietly: "I'm starving…" Guido stood up as well, taking Ciccio's outstretched hand. "Me too."

Talking to Ciccio's parents was hard, but they managed in the end. It took a little encouragement, but Ciccio had a whole meal. Guido wanted to stay with Ciccio for as long as possible, so he got to sleep over until Monday morning when they got ready for school together.

"What bunch of bologna. The principal isn't in until after lunch today." Guido announced to Ciccio as he stepped out of the teachers's office. Ciccio swallowed and glanced down the hall. Recess wasn't over yet and class hadn't started. "Guido…" he whispered. Guido stepped closer and placed a hand around Ciccio's shoulders. "I won't leave you. We should be happy it's only Monday." Ciccio smiled uncertainly and raised his eyebrows. "Why?" "Because our recesses align on Mondays," Guido said, smiling wider. The class would start soon and Guido promised to come find him as soon as possible. The school had a strict policy about being inside turning recess, so they were going to have to go outside at some point.

They sat behind a large stone. Ciccio had never avoided the bullies with someone before. It was a nice change of pace. But it didn't take long for the bullies to find him again. Guido stood up as soon as he saw their scowling faces. "Hey, fat ass. Who's your friend?" the leader said snarkily, looking straight through Guido at Ciccio. Ciccio looked away, his face a stone mast as to not show what he was actually feeling. Guido had no problem showing the bullies what he felt, however. "I'm surprised you don't recognise me. Though, I can't say I know who you are. Of course, I don't pay attention to slimy cowards." he growled and clenched his fists. The bully continued to ignore him, though his eyes showed a smidge of hurt for a split second. Instead, he continued to stare at Ciccio. "Wow. You're a fatso and a fagot. Who'd have thought?" he continued. With a snap of his fingers, the other bullies pushed Ciccio into the wall and held him stuck. Guido spun around and felt a stabbing regret. He saw the bullies, falling into the same trap as he and Ciccio did with Ercole. And he remembered what he and Ciccio had done to Luca and Alberto. This time, the roles had switched. But not much else. What Luca and Alberto didn't have that time was someone who could stand up for them. But Ciccio had someone. The leader of the bullies turned his hand into a fist and prepared to swing. But before he could, Guido took his wrist and stopped him from following through. "Don't."

"Or what?" the leader asked, finally acknowledging Guido's presence. "Or, I'm not so sorry to say, someone's gonna end up with a broken nose. And it isn't him," he said with a quick head gesture to Ciccio. The bully raised his head slightly, sticking his nose in the air. "You know what, I do recognise you," he said to Guido, keeping his fist in the air, still in the middle of a punch. "You're that scrawny dude that had a panic attack a few weeks ago." Guido's stance didn't waves as he stared the bully in the eyes. "And you are the cunt who's been messin' with my friend. So step. Back." Guido demanded. If he punished the bully now, it would start a fistfight. A fistfight he would lose. If he let go, the bully would continue hurting Ciccio. There was no winning in this situation. His eyes flicked to Ciccio. He met Ciccio's wide-open eyes and thin mouth. That mask rarely let any emotion through at all. But it did this time. He looked around, not changing his position. Ciccio didn't fight against being held back any more and the bully's stance was quite relaxed. He knew Guido didn't plan to let go. So Guido simply changed the plan.

He put on a face of defeat, letting the bully think that he'd won. But just as he was about to let go of the bully's wrist, he turned and swiped his leg instead. A wave of surprise hit his face as he fell to the ground. His head knocked against the hard ground and stared at the sky while Guido continued. It only took a few seconds for him to pry Ciccio loose from the other bullies and step backwards, Ciccio behind him with a frowning face and clenched fists. The other bullies rushed to help their leader up again and soon they were standing face to face once more. "Want to go again, you ugly bottom feeder?" he asked lowly, stretching a protective arm over Ciccio where he stood beside him. The bully scrunched up his nose as he looked at them. "What a sight. The scrawny fag and the fat coward." "Do you want to go again?" Guido asked again, hearing Ciccio square up beside him. A few seconds of silence spread out between them and the bell rang, startling the bullies. Guido turned to Ciccio with a smile. "Come on. These stinking slugs don't deserve a second more of our time."

As he walked back next to Ciccio, he reflected on their encounter. He barely knew Ercole, even after 6 years. And, self-centred as he was, he rarely talked about how he had it at home. Most likely, these bullies were just like Ercole. Afraid of new things and being brought up to despise anything different. At least that was one possibility. There were many more, but that didn't make what the bullies had done alright. He would not leave Ciccio, and they would have a big talk with the principal once he got there, but that will be later. This was now. And now, he and Ciccio had won. It might take time for Ciccio to start eating as normal, and Guido would make sure he talked to someone who would help, make it easier for Ciccio. But that would be later. This was now.