Chapter Text
Morning light spilled through the open window, warm and golden, stretching lazily across the tiled floor. Outside, the villa breathed in the quiet hush of early hours—stone walls softened by climbing ivy, cypress trees shifting gently in the breeze, the air thick with the scent of ripe fruit. It was the kind of place that settled under your skin, that made time feel like it stretched and folded in on itself, slower, softer.
Alex sat at the small wooden table on their terrace, coffee in hand—perfectly made by Henry, who had somehow memorized exactly how he liked it without ever asking. It was such a small thing, but it made Alex smile every time—the way Henry paid attention without making a fuss about it.
Across from him, Henry sipped his tea, and the quiet between them was easy as they both soaked in the view.
Later, after breakfast and a slow morning spent wandering the villa grounds, Alex and Henry wound their way through the narrow streets of Pisa, sunlight catching on cobblestones and the faded shutters overhead.
They were supposed to be heading back to the group, but Alex had insisted on a detour. Colette had long since stopped pretending to give them shit when they wandered off alone, anyway.
Sure, she still rolled her eyes, still tossed out a half-hearted, “ Must you two always disappear?” But Alex had caught the way her mouth twitched every time. He knew the only reason her smile gave her away was because she wanted them to know she was happy for them.
The sun was high in the sky now, the air warm and fragrant, and the buildings around them cast long shadows over the cobblestones.
As they turned a corner, they came across a weathered stone fence, its top half hidden by the overhanging branches of a peach tree, heavy with golden-pink fruit.
Alex stopped, tilting his head up toward the tree, and Henry followed his gaze.
Before he could make a move, an elderly woman appeared on the other side of the fence, smiling warmly. She said something in Italian, gesturing toward the peaches.
Alex, catching enough of the words, grinned. “She says we can take some.”
Henry arched an eyebrow. “Well, far be it from me to refuse local hospitality.”
They each reached up, plucking a peach, Alex grabbing an extra for Colette before nodding his thanks to the woman. She beamed at them, something knowing in her expression as she watched them walk away.
Henry turned his peach over in his hands, his thumb tracing the fruit. “Call me by your name—”
Alex caught the reference and grinned. “And I’ll call you by mine.”
Henry cut him a sidelong glance, impressed. “You’ve seen Call Me By Your Name ?”
Alex huffed, rolling his eyes. “Come on, H. Give me some credit. I have taste.”
“I’m starting to realize that,” Henry laughed.
They walked in comfortable silence, the warm afternoon settling around them. The quiet was only broken when Henry spoke again, softer this time.
“I think about that line a lot.”
Alex glanced at him, chewing. “Hmm?”
“The line,” Henry said, gently threading their fingers together, his touch deliberate. “It’s another way of saying, ‘we are one.’ That you can know someone so completely, love them so utterly, that the lines between you start to fade. Until there’s no telling where you end and they begin.” He let out a quiet laugh, almost to himself. “Like you could be me just as much as I could be you.”
Alex didn’t even care if he was reading too much into it or if he was making something out of nothing. Henry had said you and me .
He glanced over, catching the faintest blush creeping up Henry’s neck, and that was all the confirmation Alex needed.
“I bet you could talk about this movie for hours.”
Henry smirked. “I absolutely could.”
Alex nudged him lightly with his elbow. “I’d listen for hours.” Henry’s small smile as a response made his chest swell.
***
When they finally reached the group, Colette spotted them immediately, her hands on her hips, a smirk already forming on her lips. “There you two are,” she called out, her eyes glinting with amusement.
“Sorry, we got sidetracked,” Alex said, handing her a peach.
She gave Alex a lipstick-stained kiss on the cheek as a thank you. “Of course you did. Come on, then, mes amours.” She looped her arms through theirs—which has become second nature at this point—taking a bite out of the fruit with the arm locked in Henry’s. “We’ve got plans.”
The rest of the day blurred into sun-warmed pavement, half-remembered facts from Colette, and the steady rhythm of Henry’s voice beside him. By the time they made it back to the villa, the sky was melting into pink and orange, the air thick and humming with the slow unraveling of the evening.
***
The next morning, Colette announced that the group had the day off to relax before their departure to Rome. Alex was already halfway out the door before she’d finished her sentence, dragging Henry along by the wrist, a barely restrained grin on his face.
The pool lay tucked away at the far edge of the villa’s grounds, carved into smooth limestone and half-lost to time. Trees curled around it like a secret, their branches draped in twisting vines that swayed lazily in the breeze. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, scattering gold across the water, breaking it into rippling mosaics of blue.
“Darling, we haven’t even changed into our swimsuits,” Henry said.
“Come on, Fox, you’ve got boxers on, don’t you?”
“Yes, but we have swimsuits. There’s no reason we should be swimming in our—“
Alex raised an eyebrow at him as he started to take off his shorts.
“Well. Perhaps I could be persuaded.” Alex laughed as he started taking off his shirt too. “And you know,” Henry continued, “our rooms are rather far, it would be a hassle to walk all the way back.”
“I’m sure it would, Your Royal Highness. ”
With a scoff, Henry stripped to his underwear and settled into a hammock strung between two trees, a pocket notebook balanced on his knee, while Alex—true to form—launched himself into the pool, the splash sending a cascade of cool droplets over the limestone edge, nearly reaching Henry’s feet.
“Subtle,” Henry remarked dryly, not even bothering to look up from his writing.
Alex swam a few laps, letting the cool water work its way through his limbs, before stopping by the edge of the pool to watch Henry. His brow was furrowed in concentration, his hand moving slowly across the page.
After a moment, Alex climbed out of the pool, shaking the water from his hair, and before Henry could react, he flicked a handful of droplets straight at him.
A single bead of water slid down Henry’s cheek as he looked up unimpressed. He wiped it away with the back of his hand. “Charming.”
Alex ignored him, leaning over to peer at the open notebook in Henry’s lap. “What are you writing?”
Henry barely glanced up. “You’ll find out.” He slid the notebook closer to his chest. “Eventually.”
“Oh, come on.” Alex leaned in, teasing. “Just let me see a little bit.”
Henry shook his head, his lips twitching into a smile. “Absolutely not. And if you lean any further, you’re going to tip us both over.”
Alex had apparently made a face because Henry gave him a stern, “Don’t. You menace.”
“No fun,” Alex grumbled, but there was no bite to it. There never is. There never was .
Henry only hummed, focused on whatever he was writing, but Alex wasn’t done yet. “I like that you carry that around,” he said, gesturing to the notebook.
“Do you now?”
“Yeah. It’s hot.” Alex shifted and kissed him, slow and easy, his hand slipping toward the notebook as he deepened the kiss.
Henry smiled against his mouth, shifting the notebook just out of reach without breaking the kiss.
When they finally parted, Henry shook his head, his lips still curved. “Alex Claremont-Diaz,” he said in mock surprise. “I cannot believe you would attempt seduction as a means of deception.”
“So you’re still not going to show me?”
“No , you heathen. And go dry off. You’re still wet.”
Alex opened his mouth to make a joke about Henry’s phrasing, but Henry beat him to it with a nudge of his foot and a pointed, “ Go . I need to finish this.”
Giving up on his mission to see what Henry was writing, Alex flopped down on the grass, letting the sun dry his skin. At some point, Henry closed the notebook and pulled him onto the hammock, where they spent the next several minutes trying (and failing) to get comfortable, holding one another until they both fell asleep.