"Francesco?" it was pretty early, if the soft light filtering in through the curtains was anything to go by. Lightning was starring at him, eyes wide and thoughtful. It wasn't often, but when they were lodging in the same hotel they would sneak away to spend the night together. Sometimes it was heated and sometimes they just sat together reading and watching TV.
it was nice.
"Yes?" he muttered, only half awake. Lightning rose with the sun, and Francesco... rose with the coffee.
The younger man suddenly looked a bit sheepish, "Ah, Never mind... It was nothing." He rested his head on Francescos chest and exhaled softly.
Francesco frowned, but decided not to ask. Lightning had a weird way of forgetting what he was talking about halfway through a sentence, so it must have just been another something like that. He decided he would try and see if his boyfriend remembered when they awoke later. He snuggled down closer to him and began to doze off once more.
"Will you teach me Italian?" That woke him up.
He gazed down at his boyfriend, who was nervously tugging at the sheet of the bed. "Of course," He replied with a smile, "But I must ask... Why?"
The racer sat up and stared at him, biting his lip a little. "Well... we've been dating for what? a year and a half now?" He says, scratching the back of his neck, "And... if we were to ever... y'know... go to the next level..."
Francesco stared at the man dumbly. He had no idea where this was going... what did learning Italian have to do with taking their relationship to the next level? And what was all this talk about going to the next level!? Francesco liked Lightning... maybe even loved him, but what he was talking about... Well, Francesco would be lying if he said he wasn't afraid of commitment. Lightning was great... he was fantastic! But Francesco wasn't ready for that! Not now, at least... maybe in a few more years? decades? Surely that wasn't being irrational! just a few more years and he might propose!
but the questions was; would Lightning wait that long?
Lightning took a deep breath and gathered his thoughts, "If we ever go the the next level, I want to be able to... well, meet your parents. And be able to talk to them."
Francesco was speechless.
He had never even thought of the communication barrier between his parents and his boyfriend. His mother knew very little English, and his father had never bothered to learn. It had been a necessity that Francesco learn because of the large amounts of English speaking that came with racing, and his mother had helped teach him the very basics, but had stopped with the bare minimum while he had continued to learn.
And here this man was, thinking about stuff that flew right over Francescos head. He took the time to think about where they were going and think about what to do about it. He was sitting there, a light flush to his cheeks. Embarrassed and nervous. He thinks francesco is going to retract his earlier yes. He thinks he's pushing to hard.
"You're wonderful." Francesco laughs, surging up to envelope his love in his arms.
He pulls away, suddenly eager to start. He hastily conjures up pencils and papers and begins to teach him the basics.
Maybe that day wouldn't have to be decades away...
Maybe it was just a matter of time.
Very short!
