[ Definitely not all stores are this cool. Alberto's done more than a fair bit of exploring in the city, and this is one of the best places they've found — and somehow even more exciting that Luca found it. He gets the cool points.
He follows Luca's line of sight, seeing the soccer balls. Alberto gives a nod of his head toward them, throwing Luca a smirk, before zipping off with the cart together. Once over there, there's actually a pretty wide variety of soccer balls... even a fair few novelty ones. Alberto catches sight of some neon green and blue ones right away, but when he swings the cart around to position themselves better, he accidentally knocks it into the display. It's not hard enough to knock any balls out (though his heart drops for a second, thinking he might've freed them all), it is enough impact to send a shudder up the rack of neon balls... which, all at once, light up.
Any fear Alberto had about possibly messing up the store, is immediately forgotten in utter delight at the sight of the glow-balls all activating in unison. He turns to Luca with a dazzled smile. Guess what they're buying... ]
[Luca cringes for a second when the cart hits the shelf...before letting out a relieved sigh when nothing comes rolling out. When the balls all light up, though, he moves closer, fascinated.]
Wow...it's so pretty...it's like those glowing jellyfish.
[ Alberto pauses, then reaches out and slaps the bottom ball to cause another shudder of light to crawl up the rack. Seeing it a second time, he turns to Luca again with a smugger smirk. ]
Well, we need two of these~
[ He says in a nonchalant, singsongy voice, as he plucks one with a bright blue light inside and plops it into the cart, leaving Luca to choose his own. Because obviously they each need one. Of course they're getting two. Does he know any two-balled games? No. But he figures they probably exist? Right? And, really, in any case, it's his birthday, and what's better than one cool soccer ball? Two cool soccer balls! ]
[ Look, they just like pretty lights, okay. Alberto starts pushing the cart along, almost triumphantly, blindly moving forward, deeper into this elaborate trap for them to spend all their money... He's smirking wide as he cases the scene, eyes scanning the store, his excitement now flirting with sensory overload. He spots an area a way's off that's sporting a small fake forest, the tops of the faux pine trees sticking out from a distance. He points toward it, nudging Luca with a grin. ]
Let's go look over there! They brought the outside inside, ha. Dai, andiamo~
[ He puts his foot up on the bottom rung of the cart and pushes forward with his foot as he climbs on; the shopping cart zooms along down the aisle, Alberto riding it like some kind of toy vehicle. It's a short joy ride before he stops himself, hopping down again, not wanting to leave Luca behind — even if he can't resist the urge to go fast... ]
[Luca sees no problem with buying all of it. After all, they're rich. They can have what they want. Then when he sees the indoor outdoors, his eyes widen.]
Wow!
[He races over, reaching out to touch one of the pine trees and--]
It's fake! They made an artificial outside!
[And he sounds no less impressed by it for being fake.]
[ Once they make it over, Alberto's just as tickled watching Luca react to the fake trees as he is to the fake trees themselves... He didn't know the word "artificial" before, but now he does — always learning new things from Luca just off-the-cuff, even when Luca doesn't even mean to teach him anything. He loves it. He stands with his arms resting against the shopping cart, grinning ear-to-ear, watching Luca inspecting the faux fir. But the real fun is just around the corner — rather literally.
For as they make the turn into the section proper, it turns out to be a wide and elaborate display for tents and other camping gear. None of which Alberto's ever seen before. His eyes go wide, and he starts excitedly slapping at Luca's shoulder to get his attention (like he needs to), before shooting off toward one of the tents, abandoning their shopping cart on the edge of the aisle. In a flash, Alberto's already on his knees unzipping the entrance flap to a two-person tent, crawling inside without hesitation. How could he resist the temptation, after all? There's something compelling to kids about crawling into small spaces, even at their age. It's practically beckoning them in. ]
Haha, wow, looook, Luca!
[ Alberto is going to be wowed by sincerely anything they encounter in this entire store, or maybe just the entire day, it seems so far. He's wowed by being in a tiny tent. Any novelty is amazing, always. ]
Wow! We can have our own hide out! And it would have a roof so we wouldn't get rained on!
[He'd liked staying in Giulia's 'hide out' with Alberto, but having something over their heads would have prevented a lot of panic. Granted, they didn't have to worry about as much with being seen here as they did back home, but having something that was covered would still be nice.]
[ He crosses his legs, getting comfortable inside the little tent, looking around starry-eyed. ]
Yeah-hah! It'll be perfect for when we get our Vespa. It's a rain-proof, portable hideout, heh.
[ He spots a zipper on the side, so impulsively crawls over to unzip it, naturally. He's just as dazzled when the flap exposes a mesh opening behind it. ]
Oooh~ Hey, we can even look outside! Like a net-window! Window-net!
[ It's the little things in life, man. Which, to them, is like... all the things. Everything's exciting all the time. ]
[ Luca's so right. It is a tiny house — a tiny, portable, foldable house. With cool zippers. Alberto collapses backwards onto the floor, which has a soft layer of padding laid down, being a fairly nice quality tent on display. He rests his hands behind his head, smiling dreamily to himself. ]
[ He grins at Luca wide, eyes bright, but then lies down again, arms and legs splayed out comfortably akimbo now, taking up more room than needed. He lets out a little sigh, but the smile stays on his face. ]
Y'know, I know it sounds a lil crazy, but sometimes I miss my island... We should go sleep on the beach in Stardew sometime — in our new tiny house, hah~
[ An out-of-the-blue admission, but wistful as it is, Alberto's in such high spirits, it's a sentiment that comes from a happy place. He's plenty of happy memories from his island — the happiest without question being the week they spent playing together, before they ran away. Technically Luca never stayed the night over at Alberto's island — not intentionally, at least; his fateful accidental nap didn't count as a sleepover. But the idea of going camping together, it's suddenly extremely appealing. It'd feel extra homey, being so accustomed to living with Luca now, sleeping together. Giulia's hideout was one thing, but sleeping the beach itself is another, more familiar to Alberto than their nice apartment, as much as he adores it, too. But waking up beside Luca with the sea breeze and the morning sun, with all their cool new human stuff — that sounds downright idyllic to Alberto. ]
[It seems so strange to him that Alberto would miss that lonely place, but maybe that's just because Luca now sees it as the place he was stuck alone for so long until Luca could show up to save him from it. Then again, they did have fun on the island before Luca knew why Alberto was alone there. Just jumping and learning about land and having a good time in both their human and sea monster forms with no fear of being seen, building 'vespa' after 'vespa'.]
Well, maybe we can go to Stardew, then. We can do all the fun stuff, like jumping into the water and watching the stars, without being afraid of my parents finding out or worried that someone will see us. Just you and me, having fun. And it'll be better than the island, because whenever we want to be around people again, we can just come back home!
[ Alberto's heart swells as Luca details this plan. His smile spreads even wider over his face, glancing at Luca again — but just a glance, because he feels his eyes tearing up a bit, so stays lying down to better hide it. He feels a dull ache in his cheeks by now from smiling so much, nonstop, basically for hours now. This is the perfect day — definitely his best birthday — maybe the best day ever? His life has changed so much... Luca's changed his life so much. And his life with Luca has changed so much! But that first week they spent together, playing on the island every day, are still some of his happiest memories, period, and the promise of recreating them even better is just an overwhelmingly beautiful idea, the way Luca describes it. Their dreams keep getting better — easier — keep coming true... All that's left is the Vespa, and Bruno promised him that this morning; he wouldn't be able to drive it til his birthday next year, anyway, so he doesn't mind waiting. And that element of their dream coming true is just the cherry on top — bonus new-dad factor!
There's almost nothing left the same about his life anymore, compared to his life on the island. He's even in human school, a wild plot twist in itself. Everything's just shaping up to be so perfect here lately. He lives in a huge human city with an amazing home and Luca and lots of friends and a whole new family, more love than he knows what to do with. Endless adventures, enjoying a life of excess, practically always together. They're living the dream and then some! He's maybe not always happy, but he's always happy — and he truly can't remember the last time he felt lonely. That's the wildest plot twist. Definitely not since Luca arrived. They've lived together five months now, and his whole life here with Luca is so different than he'd ever imagined their inevitable adventures would go, even beyond the obvious magical-spirited-away-time-travel-y bits — but it's also so much better, just better and better every day. In little ways like this: lying in a demo tent in the middle of a sporting goods store, high on energy drinks, daydreaming about camping on the beach, just the two of them. Every little thing seems perfect right now. He heaves a deep, dreamy sigh, tempering himself before he gets too verklempt and almost loses it. He can't even come close to putting into words how happy he is right now. ]
Heh... Yeah... That sounds perfect~
[ He does reach out, though, and smacks at the padded floor of the tent, holding his hand out to Luca to — what, beckon him over, hold his hand, have him join him lying down? Something. He doesn't say what he's wanting, exactly, but clearly just to be physically nearer to him in whatever way. Instead, Alberto keeps his hand held out, wiggling his fingers at Luca a little, and just lies there smiling with his eyes closed, in order to avoid Luca noticing they're welling up. Turns out Alberto holds back happy tears, too. ]
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2023-02-22 04:53 pm (UTC)[Unless all stores here are this cool? Definitely worth investigating that possibility.]
Oh, look! They have balls like the ones the human kids were kicking around in Portorosso!
[He didn't know what they were called or what the game was the kids were playing, but it caught his eye all the same.]
no subject
Date: 2023-03-10 06:22 am (UTC)He gets the cool points.He follows Luca's line of sight, seeing the soccer balls. Alberto gives a nod of his head toward them, throwing Luca a smirk, before zipping off with the cart together. Once over there, there's actually a pretty wide variety of soccer balls... even a fair few novelty ones. Alberto catches sight of some neon green and blue ones right away, but when he swings the cart around to position themselves better, he accidentally knocks it into the display. It's not hard enough to knock any balls out (though his heart drops for a second, thinking he might've freed them all), it is enough impact to send a shudder up the rack of neon balls... which, all at once, light up.
Any fear Alberto had about possibly messing up the store, is immediately forgotten in utter delight at the sight of the glow-balls all activating in unison. He turns to Luca with a dazzled smile. Guess what they're buying... ]
no subject
Date: 2023-03-10 08:02 pm (UTC)Wow...it's so pretty...it's like those glowing jellyfish.
no subject
Date: 2023-03-13 05:38 am (UTC)Well, we need two of these~
[ He says in a nonchalant, singsongy voice, as he plucks one with a bright blue light inside and plops it into the cart, leaving Luca to choose his own. Because obviously they each need one. Of course they're getting two. Does he know any two-balled games? No. But he figures they probably exist? Right? And, really, in any case, it's his birthday, and what's better than one cool soccer ball? Two cool soccer balls! ]
no subject
Date: 2023-03-14 12:35 pm (UTC)[Luca sees no reason why they wouldn't need two balls and picks out a purple one and adding it to the cart.]
I wonder if they have anything else that lights up like that?
no subject
Date: 2023-03-20 02:03 am (UTC)[ Look, they just like pretty lights, okay. Alberto starts pushing the cart along, almost triumphantly, blindly moving forward, deeper into this elaborate trap for them to spend all their money... He's smirking wide as he cases the scene, eyes scanning the store, his excitement now flirting with sensory overload. He spots an area a way's off that's sporting a small fake forest, the tops of the faux pine trees sticking out from a distance. He points toward it, nudging Luca with a grin. ]
Let's go look over there! They brought the outside inside, ha. Dai, andiamo~
[ He puts his foot up on the bottom rung of the cart and pushes forward with his foot as he climbs on; the shopping cart zooms along down the aisle, Alberto riding it like some kind of toy vehicle. It's a short joy ride before he stops himself, hopping down again, not wanting to leave Luca behind — even if he can't resist the urge to go fast... ]
no subject
Date: 2023-03-20 11:51 pm (UTC)[Luca sees no problem with buying all of it. After all, they're rich. They can have what they want. Then when he sees the indoor outdoors, his eyes widen.]
Wow!
[He races over, reaching out to touch one of the pine trees and--]
It's fake! They made an artificial outside!
[And he sounds no less impressed by it for being fake.]
no subject
Date: 2023-03-25 05:46 am (UTC)For as they make the turn into the section proper, it turns out to be a wide and elaborate display for tents and other camping gear. None of which Alberto's ever seen before. His eyes go wide, and he starts excitedly slapping at Luca's shoulder to get his attention (like he needs to), before shooting off toward one of the tents, abandoning their shopping cart on the edge of the aisle. In a flash, Alberto's already on his knees unzipping the entrance flap to a two-person tent, crawling inside without hesitation. How could he resist the temptation, after all? There's something compelling to kids about crawling into small spaces, even at their age. It's practically beckoning them in. ]
Haha, wow, looook, Luca!
[ Alberto is going to be wowed by sincerely anything they encounter in this entire store, or maybe just the entire day, it seems so far. He's wowed by being in a tiny tent. Any novelty is amazing, always. ]
no subject
Date: 2023-03-29 12:30 pm (UTC)Wow! We can have our own hide out! And it would have a roof so we wouldn't get rained on!
[He'd liked staying in Giulia's 'hide out' with Alberto, but having something over their heads would have prevented a lot of panic. Granted, they didn't have to worry about as much with being seen here as they did back home, but having something that was covered would still be nice.]
no subject
Date: 2023-03-31 02:10 am (UTC)Yeah-hah! It'll be perfect for when we get our Vespa. It's a rain-proof, portable hideout, heh.
[ He spots a zipper on the side, so impulsively crawls over to unzip it, naturally. He's just as dazzled when the flap exposes a mesh opening behind it. ]
Oooh~ Hey, we can even look outside! Like a net-window! Window-net!
[ It's the little things in life, man. Which, to them, is like... all the things. Everything's exciting all the time. ]
no subject
Date: 2023-03-31 03:17 pm (UTC)Wow! This is kind of like a tiny house!
[A roof and windows are all you need for something to qualify as a house, right?]
no subject
Date: 2023-04-15 06:41 am (UTC)[ Luca's so right. It is a tiny house — a tiny, portable, foldable house. With cool zippers. Alberto collapses backwards onto the floor, which has a soft layer of padding laid down, being a fairly nice quality tent on display. He rests his hands behind his head, smiling dreamily to himself. ]
Man, humans have thought of everything~
no subject
Date: 2023-04-15 03:20 pm (UTC)We should get the tiny house!
[It's way too cool for them to not have one.]
no subject
Date: 2023-04-23 06:21 pm (UTC)Really?! Hah, yeah, we should!
[ He grins at Luca wide, eyes bright, but then lies down again, arms and legs splayed out comfortably akimbo now, taking up more room than needed. He lets out a little sigh, but the smile stays on his face. ]
Y'know, I know it sounds a lil crazy, but sometimes I miss my island... We should go sleep on the beach in Stardew sometime — in our new tiny house, hah~
[ An out-of-the-blue admission, but wistful as it is, Alberto's in such high spirits, it's a sentiment that comes from a happy place. He's plenty of happy memories from his island — the happiest without question being the week they spent playing together, before they ran away. Technically Luca never stayed the night over at Alberto's island — not intentionally, at least; his fateful accidental nap didn't count as a sleepover. But the idea of going camping together, it's suddenly extremely appealing. It'd feel extra homey, being so accustomed to living with Luca now, sleeping together. Giulia's hideout was one thing, but sleeping the beach itself is another, more familiar to Alberto than their nice apartment, as much as he adores it, too. But waking up beside Luca with the sea breeze and the morning sun, with all their cool new human stuff — that sounds downright idyllic to Alberto. ]
no subject
Date: 2023-04-24 12:53 am (UTC)[It seems so strange to him that Alberto would miss that lonely place, but maybe that's just because Luca now sees it as the place he was stuck alone for so long until Luca could show up to save him from it. Then again, they did have fun on the island before Luca knew why Alberto was alone there. Just jumping and learning about land and having a good time in both their human and sea monster forms with no fear of being seen, building 'vespa' after 'vespa'.]
Well, maybe we can go to Stardew, then. We can do all the fun stuff, like jumping into the water and watching the stars, without being afraid of my parents finding out or worried that someone will see us. Just you and me, having fun. And it'll be better than the island, because whenever we want to be around people again, we can just come back home!
no subject
Date: 2023-05-02 02:15 am (UTC)There's almost nothing left the same about his life anymore, compared to his life on the island. He's even in human school, a wild plot twist in itself. Everything's just shaping up to be so perfect here lately. He lives in a huge human city with an amazing home and Luca and lots of friends and a whole new family, more love than he knows what to do with. Endless adventures, enjoying a life of excess, practically always together. They're living the dream and then some! He's maybe not always happy, but he's always happy — and he truly can't remember the last time he felt lonely. That's the wildest plot twist. Definitely not since Luca arrived. They've lived together five months now, and his whole life here with Luca is so different than he'd ever imagined their inevitable adventures would go, even beyond the obvious magical-spirited-away-time-travel-y bits — but it's also so much better, just better and better every day. In little ways like this: lying in a demo tent in the middle of a sporting goods store, high on energy drinks, daydreaming about camping on the beach, just the two of them. Every little thing seems perfect right now. He heaves a deep, dreamy sigh, tempering himself before he gets too verklempt and almost loses it. He can't even come close to putting into words how happy he is right now. ]
Heh... Yeah... That sounds perfect~
[ He does reach out, though, and smacks at the padded floor of the tent, holding his hand out to Luca to — what, beckon him over, hold his hand, have him join him lying down? Something. He doesn't say what he's wanting, exactly, but clearly just to be physically nearer to him in whatever way. Instead, Alberto keeps his hand held out, wiggling his fingers at Luca a little, and just lies there smiling with his eyes closed, in order to avoid Luca noticing they're welling up. Turns out Alberto holds back happy tears, too. ]
Wrap?
Date: 2023-05-02 11:11 pm (UTC)Yeah, it does sound perfect. So we'll do it.