[ Alberto looks to Luca with wide eyes and raised brows, seemingly surprised at the way that question trailed off doubtfully. The look on Luca's face doesn't help. It doesn't take him a second thought to answer, no filter as usual. ]
What? Of course that's how I feel! That's exactly how I feel. That's what makes this weird. I couldn't have said it better myself even if I'd said it myself...!
[ He waves the card in the air emphatically, trying to force a wry smile on and crack a sort of joke to diffuse some of this tension. Alberto just assumed Luca knew he felt all those things, so he never bothered to admit it. But to him, it doesn't even feel like an admission, that would imply something secret about his feelings, or some fear that speaking so outright will be "too much" and end in rejection, like most kids their age may feel if their crush got outed. To Alberto, for all his complex rejection issues, the feelings described in that little love letter are just the plain facts of his life with Luca. He's got so little understanding of romance that these feelings aren't under the same pressure as they might normally be; this is just how he feels about Luca and surely Luca knows all this already. He figures that his affections must all be as plain to everyone else as it is to him, assuming it's so obvious that it needn't be said. He can be a little socially blind, still, for as well adjusted as he's become, still getting accustomed to not being alone anymore in many ways; people can't read his mind. And sometimes it's just nice to hear nice things from the people you love. Just like Alberto loved hearing what Luca said in both his cards, maybe Luca would like to hear Alberto say these things more, too.
...But until Alberto gets over the shock of hearing what he didn't say, it'll take a moment to connect those dots and learn from this. They're getting there, they're getting there... ]
no subject
What? Of course that's how I feel! That's exactly how I feel. That's what makes this weird. I couldn't have said it better myself even if I'd said it myself...!
[ He waves the card in the air emphatically, trying to force a wry smile on and crack a sort of joke to diffuse some of this tension. Alberto just assumed Luca knew he felt all those things, so he never bothered to admit it. But to him, it doesn't even feel like an admission, that would imply something secret about his feelings, or some fear that speaking so outright will be "too much" and end in rejection, like most kids their age may feel if their crush got outed. To Alberto, for all his complex rejection issues, the feelings described in that little love letter are just the plain facts of his life with Luca. He's got so little understanding of romance that these feelings aren't under the same pressure as they might normally be; this is just how he feels about Luca and surely Luca knows all this already. He figures that his affections must all be as plain to everyone else as it is to him, assuming it's so obvious that it needn't be said. He can be a little socially blind, still, for as well adjusted as he's become, still getting accustomed to not being alone anymore in many ways; people can't read his mind. And sometimes it's just nice to hear nice things from the people you love. Just like Alberto loved hearing what Luca said in both his cards, maybe Luca would like to hear Alberto say these things more, too.
...But until Alberto gets over the shock of hearing what he didn't say, it'll take a moment to connect those dots and learn from this. They're getting there, they're getting there... ]