Disclaimer: I do not own Luca or any of the characters associated with it.

Chapter 3: Friends Reunited

While living with and attending school with humankind was where Luca truly felt he belonged, there was one part of his Thalassino heritage that he couldn't deny was better than anything the human world had to offer: sunrises.

Luca had barely slept that night for the anxiety and discomfort of trying to fit back into an environment that he had been away from for so long, but finally between restless tossing and grumbled irritation, he finally saw his moment of escape as dim blue light seeped into the tiny windows of the cottage. Grateful for an excuse to leave his too-small bed, Luca gracefully swam out into the yard and stretched himself out above a soft sand patch in the garden. Always having been an early riser (part of his duty shepherding the goatfish), Luca's favorite part of the morning was watching the sunrise over the reef.

Up top, watching the sunrise was difficult. The colorful clouds were sometimes pretty, but the brightness of the sun stung his eyes and made it difficult to enjoy the beauty of the moment. Under the sea, however, he could simply watch the sunrise unfold in a spectacular display. The sea waves above granted a gentle barrier to the harsh brightness, and the sunlight washed over them gradually creating ripples of gold over dark blue, lacing like sparkling spiderwebs across the wide expanse of the water. Luca watched contentedly as the webs danced and twinkled for several minutes, until the deep blue began to fade slowly into a bright cyan, signaling that the sun had finally risen high enough to lighten the whole sky.

Luca wondered how long was appropriate to wait before he could swim up top to go meet Giulia and finally see Alberto. A strange fluttery nervousness tickled his insides at the thought of seeing him again. Would Alberto even be excited to see him? He seemed too busy to remember Luca's return date… maybe his new lifestyle living as a human was an indicator that he no longer cared about Luca anymore—or at least, didn't care about him in the same way that he used to. Maybe Luca had made a mistake staying in Genova for so long and not coming back to visit over the holidays… maybe Alberto had been the one to feel betrayed first, and now their connection to each other as best friends had somehow disintegrated…

Now racked with anxiety and guilt, Luca stretched his arms up to rub his claws through his crown fins. He would have to explain himself, he thought. All he needed was a moment with Alberto to explain how difficult his exams were… how much he had really missed his friend during these long months away. He could only hope that Alberto would be understanding and forgive him, but if somehow Alberto did feel abandoned by Luca's absence, it wasn't unlike him to hold a grudge. What if Alberto had changed…? Just as his parents told him… maybe Alberto wasn't the same go-lucky, enigmatic character he'd always been. Maybe he didn't want to be Luca's friend anymore. Luca felt hopeless imagining a world in which Alberto wasn't his best friend. It made him feel cold all over and he shivered despite the warmth of the morning slowly seeping into the water around him.

I just need to talk to him, he thought, trying to reassure himself. It's all just a misunderstanding. That's it! Everything will be fine.

To keep himself distracted, Luca didn't protest to his parent's requests that he run a few chores that morning around the farm. He wrangled the goatfish and cleaned out their pin, helped his father feed the crabs in the crab coop (earning a nasty pinch in the process), and waded through the garden checking for any invasive snails that would eat his mother's sea grass. He was grateful to have something to occupy his few morning hours before he felt like it was an acceptable time to excuse himself to go back up to Porto Rosso. He tried not to notice his mother's disappointed frown, but his grandmother was the one to break the discomfort by saying, "Go on and have fun, kid. We'll see you at the Marcovaldo's for dinner."

Luca swam quickly up to the town, bouncing hastily up the stone steps at the water's edge. It wasn't hard to spot Giulia waiting for him at the fountain, with her bright mop of crimson curls glinting in the late morning sun. Having spent so much of his year seeing her in her school uniform, it was almost startling to see her wearing casual denim shorts and a yellow blouse tied at a knot at her waist. If she wasn't like a sister to him, he would've thought she was incredibly pretty. Having been teased as somewhat of an awkward ugly duckling in her youth, Giulia had matured into a lovely young woman. Though he imagined many young men would've tried to woo her, she had the air and attitude of a future entrepreneur that would likely intimidate most unworthy suiters. She greeted him with a wave and a hand on her hip as he trudged dripping into the Porto Rosso square.

"Looking pretty shiny there, Thally." She bemused, shielding her eyes from the glint coming off Luca's green scales.

"You're just jealous you don't shimmer." Luca teased. She yelped as he shook the cold salt water from his body, coaxing the warm sun to turn his slick scales into smooth skin.

"Ugh! You did that on purpose!"

Luca smiled. He had done it on purpose. But it was a special connection they had to know he could splash Giulia with water and not land a black eye for it. That was how much they loved each other.

"Where's Alberto?" Luca asked. His excitement to see Giulia had only momentarily blanketed his anxiety, but now it was returning. He had thought Alberto would be there to meet them, but again it seemed his friend's absence was coaxing a familiar nervousness back into his limbs.

"He's not back yet." Giulia hummed, crossing her arms over her chest. "But he should be soon. He was supposed to be back by now. They must be running a little late." As if on cue, some faraway voices could be heard over the sound of waves at the harbor. Giulia raised her eyebrows and nodded towards the water.

"Alberto! Grab that netting, will ya?"

Luca froze at the mention of the familiar name. Turning in the direction of the harbor, he could just make out in the distance the figure of a small fishing buggy coming into dock. It was a larger, more impressive boat than the old, metal motorboat Massimo used to own. As the fishing business had picked up in the last few years, Massimo had invested in a real fishing buggy, complete with a wider hull for storage, a crank-operated fishing net on the back, and a small captain's cabin jutting up from the center on the body. Inside the cabin at the captain's wheel was one indiscernible figure, and at the front bow of the boat was another. This one was a young man, hoisting some heavy netting over the side.

Alberto!

"Oh look, there he is." Giulia said. "Ciao, Alberto! Look over here!"

The man in question straightened, obviously having not expected them to be there. A wide grin spread over his face, and before the boat had even fully docked, he leapt with incredible agility to land on the stone steps. Whoa, Luca admired as he watched his friend bound towards them two or three steps at a time towards the fountain. He's gotten really strong.

It had been almost ten months since he'd last seen his best friend. As it was their final year at school, Luca and Giulia were swamped with exams and applications for college programs. They hadn't even returned for winter holidays this year and instead spent the whole break cramming for spring semester exams while staying with Giulia's mom in Genova. Now after seeing Alberto for the first time in almost a year, Luca could tell he had really grown up.

Alberto had always surpassed his friend in stature, but what was before a tall, lean young man had now bulked into a more muscular version of himself. As he drew nearer and nearer to the fountain, Luca realized what he mistook to be a long-sleeved café colored tunic was, in fact, Alberto's tanned, sun worn skin. He was shirtless, exposing what must've been newly developed pectorals and a lean set of abs. Luca could hardly process what he was looking at before he was drawn up into a tight, warm hug in those very muscles.

"Luca!" Alberto cried. "You're back!"

Luca released a bubble of laughter, feeling all once like the empty hole he'd felt since yesterday was finally filled. Alberto hadn't forgotten him, after all! Luca had missed his friend so much he didn't even mind the bare-chested hug, even if he felt a little odd feeling his arms stretch tightly over the warm exposed skin of Alberto's back. Alberto swung him once around in pure excitement before releasing Luca, and they each leaned back to get a better look at the other.

"It's so good to see you!" Luca said as he finally got a chance to drink in a good look at his best friend. Alberto looked like he'd aged three years in one. He was only a year older than both Giulia and Luca, but even at only nineteen he looked every bit the part of a spry but fully matured young man. Luca noticed that his chest had filled out, and his human skin was now dusted with fine dark hairs across it. He shot Luca an award-winning smile while springy brown curls bounced proudly at the edge of his hairline. Feeling self-conscious, Luca tried to give a smile back, but it appeared more as a grimace.

Alberto didn't seem to notice Luca's discomfort, though, as his attention was quickly drawn to their other companion. He swept Giulia into a hug as well, playfully ruffling her red curls into an untidy frizz. "And if it isn't my annoying little sister, too! Bet you two nerds are finally glad to be back home!"

Luca laughed nervously, unable to understand why he felt so unusual. Alberto was his best, best friend, and he'd never before felt so uncomfortable in his presence. He'd been looking forward to seeing him again for weeks and was devastated when Alberto hadn't shown up to welcome him at the train station… but now seeing Alberto in front of him felt strange and foreign. Was it just because Alberto had grown up so much and Luca, well, hadn't? Puberty had evidently been kinder to Alberto than it had been for him, who still looked very much like his mousy, albeit slightly taller, thirteen-year-old self.

"Smettila! Quit it!" Giulia growled, shoving her brother off her and trying to calm down her now frazzled hair. "And geez, at least put on a shirt!"

Alberto, smirking, was clearly not at all embarrassed. "What, is my beautiful physique too blindingly gorgeous for your puny human eyes?" He unabashedly flexed his arms, displaying long, trim muscles that looked as though they might pop right out of his arm. "Picked up these babies pulling on extra shifts on the boat this year, since Massimo has started taking things easier with his age."

Luca gazed jealously at Alberto's muscles while Giulia made a gagging sound. "Ugh, quit bragging fish face. Trust me, no one wants to see all that. Right, Luca?"

Luca—completely unprepared for the question—felt a hot blush immediately creep up his neck. If he'd been submerged right then, his spine fins would have struck out sharp enough to slice through his shirt. He tried desperately to look at anything other than the tiny beads of sweat now tracing little rivers through Alberto's six-pack. "Ahh—hah ha ha…" he chuckled nervously. "It's great that you've been working so much to help out Massimo." He prayed silently that the subject change was casual enough to not be questioned.

Thankfully, Alberto took the bait. "Yeah, you know," he assumed a proud stance, hands resting on his hips. "Pops says I'm kind of single-handedly keeping the business afloat right now. I was doing it all by myself until we hired Edoardo." He jutted his chin in the direction of their fishing buggy, which by now had docked and a gruff, angry looking man was hastily sorting ropes and netting. Luca figured he wasn't at all happy that Alberto had abandoned him with the cleanup work.

Giulia crossed her arms defiantly. "Well, that won't have to be the case anymore – now that I'm done with school, I plan to get invested in the business, too. We can talk about it over dinner, but only if you come properly dressed." She took a big sniff and grimaced. "And take a shower. You stink!"

"Excuse you!" Alberto's muscles rippled as he shifted to point an accusatory finger at Giulia. "That, dear sister, is the sweet aroma of a hard-working, sea-bearing man that's putting fish on your table for dinner tonight!"

Giulia rolled her eyes. "We're having chicken parmigiana tonight."

Luca laughed at Alberto's indignant look. It was kind of… adorable. Giulia began to laugh, too, and finally Alberto softened. His fishing partner, however, had finally grown tired of waiting for his younger counterpart to return. "Oi! Alberto! A little help over here?"

The young man gave him a sheepish grin and a wave before saying to his friends, "Sorry guys. The work never stops. I'll see you at dinner."

"With a shirt!" Giulia called out to him as he jogged away.

Thank you for reading.

If you are enjoying the story so far, a review would be greatly appreciated.

Until next time,

Olly