Ti Amo

Chapter 2

Art by: https://www.instagram.com/arbitrium.art/?hl=en*

-u/arbitriumx on Reddit.

Joseph could not speak. His mouth opened, but nothing came out. His feet moved him along until he was face-to-face with his old friend.

All he could do was stare. This had to be a dream. He looked into emerald eyes he thought he would never see again. And then he acted. He grabbed Caesar and lifted him off his feet, planting his mouth on his. It was a dream, after all, so it shouldn't matter what he did.

Caesar's lips ... so soft, so warm ...

"You ... you IDIOT!!" Caesar yelled. Joseph dropped Caesar, who fell on the ground, coughing.

Joseph found his voice.

"It is you ... It really is!"

Caesar brushed himself off.

"Still so fashionable and fussy, Caesar-chan."

"Hrrmph. Well, you are still you, I see. Even after I heard you had a family."

"Yeah, Suzi Q and I got married after ... and we have a little girl. She's so cute, Caesar. I never thought I would ever be a dad."

Caesar headed out to the main street.

"I feel sorry for her, having you for a father. Well, come on. We have a lot to catch up on."

Joseph snickered at Caesar's jab, and followed him. It might be the dark with only the lights coming from the street lamp, but Caesar looked like he hadn't aged.

Caesar stopped and he looked left and right. Joseph wanted to look where Caesar was looking, but he couldn't take his eyes off him, as if he was an apparition who would disappear the same way he appeared.

They walked to a restaurant called La Terrazza dell'Eden. "Let's have some dinner here. I heard the food here is excellent. I'm starving."

Joseph could see this was a posh restaurant. He thought he saw Frank Sinatra at one of the tables.

"Caesarino must have come up in the world."

"Eh - hh, well, you see ..."

Joseph snickered. "It's my treat today."

"If - if you insist," said the Italian man.

Caesar affected indifference, but Joseph could tell he was relieved. Why would Caesar want to eat here if he didn't have any money? Joseph brushed that thought aside. He just wanted to turn off his naturally curious brain, and enjoy the evening.

The waiter brought them some wine. Caesar took a sip and immediately started coughing.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think this was the first time you drank."

Caesar glared, blushing. "It just went down the wrong pipe, is all." He drank more wine without issue.

Joseph drank too, but he barely tasted the wine. All he could look at was Caesar, how in the light he really looked like he had not aged a day. And there was something different about him.

Caesar and Joseph talked, munching on bread while they waited for the food. Caesar explained how he had sent the telegram when he had tracked Joseph down at his real estate company.

"I knew you wouldn't believe me if I said who I was. So, I counted on your natural curiosity." Caesar did not try to hide the triumphant, smug tone in his voice.

The food arrived. Caesar ate with gusto, making little appreciative noises. Joseph watched him. Caesar was just adorable. But he couldn't say that without making him react like a hissing cat, so he just enjoyed the sight.

"You know, on the plane they served squid-ink pasta."

Caesar looked at him blankly, a mouth full of veal. "That's nice."

Joseph waited for more from Caesar, but he felt a bit uneasy when he said nothing else about the way they had met the first time.

Suddenly, a strange expression passed over Caesar's face. It looked half-guilty, half-afraid. He jumped up and grabbed Joseph's arm.

"Let's go. Now."

Joseph reached in his wallet and threw some bills at a baffled waiter. "I told you I'd pay."

"It's not that. I just feel like – er, doing something else."

He hauled Joseph out of the restaurant and to the street. Once they mixed in with the crowd, and walked a bit, Caesar said, "There. Let's go see a film."

They went into a cinema. Caesar headed for the nearest theater.

"We have to buy tickets – oh, never mind." Again, Joseph tossed some money at an employee.

"Bring us some popcorn, will ya?"

The girl nodded.

They went into the theater. Once the lights dimmed, Caesar began to relax. He was out of breath, and Joseph was a little surprised at that. Caesar was the most fit person he knew. Caesar's body gave off a warmth that made the brunette want to lean into him.

The movie started. "Oh, it's an American one! I was afraid I wouldn't understand a word," said Joseph.

The movie was Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Compared to what they went through with the Pillar Men, this was nothing. Yet Joseph was still unsettled by the creepy story. Science fiction was something new, and it really wasn't his thing.

He reached for the popcorn, which the girl had brought, and his hand hit Caesar's hand. Instead of chiding him, Caesar intertwined his fingers with his. Joseph responded by squeezing his friend's hand, rubbing his thumb along it. It was the same way he held his wife's hand, yet it was different. Her hand was so small, yet Caesar's was the same size as his.

Through the clashes of the protagonist with the evil pod people, their hand-holding became more intense. Though they weren't facing each other, they caressed each other's hand faster, their hands resting sometimes on Caesar's leg, sometimes on Joseph's.

As the credits rolled, Joseph let go of Caesar's hand. He stood up and smiled a carefree smile.

"I'll be right back. Just have to use the restroom."

He walked outside, making sure Caesar didn't follow. Once out of the blonde's view, his expression darkened and his fists clenched. He strode up to two men and grabbed them by their lapels.

"Why are you following us?? Did Suzi send you??"

"Suzi?" The men seemed confused. 

"I'll knock your heads together and toss you in a dumpster. Get lost." Joseph let them go. He was angry, very angry. He straightened his tie and went back to Caesar.

"I'm back."

"Did you take care of ... everything?"

Joseph hesitated. There was so much he wanted to ask Caesar. There was the elephant in the room, too.

"Yeah. There shouldn't be any more problems."

Caesar stood up. He didn't look at Joseph, only buried his face in his chest.

Joseph felt a fierce protectiveness. He slowly wrapped his arms around the blonde's back and pulled him in. He lowered his face to his hair, breathing in the scent. He said softly, "I don't know what's going on, but now that I've found you again, I'm not letting you go. Let's go back to my hotel."

TO BE CONTINUED