Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“It’s just you and your thoughts.”

Luca couldn’t be bothered to listen to his Uncle Ugo monologue about whale carcass. He was too busy trying to wrap his head around what was going on. Unfortunately, the words that his mother spoke next made him wish he hadn’t asked what was happening.

“You’re going to stay with Uncle Ugo for the rest of the season.”

“No, I can’t!”

“Two seasons, then. Wanna go for three?”

“Why are you doing this?”

“The world is a very dangerous place, Luca, and if I have to send you to the bottom of the ocean to keep you safe, so be it.”

“NO! I WON’T GO!” Luca shouted angrily, he could feel tears welling up in his eyes.

He could also feel his mother growing desperate, so he shouldn’t have been surprised when she yelled back, “Fine, four seasons! Maybe four seasons will make you see reason!”

“An entire year?!” he heard his grandma ask incredulously, though he couldn’t see her face because he had squeezed his eyes shut trying to prevent tears.

“Honey, are you sure about that?” he also heard his father say with concern.

“YES!” his mom yelled, then her voice quieted, “The longer that he's there, the longer he will be out of danger.”

“An entire year of company? How could I say no to that?” his uncle cackled with delight.

Luca’s eyes snapped open. He gave a frustrated growl and tried to swim away towards his room, the only thing on his mind was to get to Alberto. Unfortunately, fate had other plans because his mother grabbed his bicep and said, “Oh no you don’t. You’re going tonight. I don’t need you trying to run away on top of everything else.”

He looked his mother in the eye, though it wasn’t to say that he loved her. Instead he met the determined look on her face and realized: This is really happening.

There was a good chance that he would never see Alberto again! He was going to the deep and there was nothing he could do to stop it. But he knew there was one thing he could do to ensure that Alberto didn’t suffer with him.

As he hugged Grandma goodbye, he whispered in her ear, “Tell Alberto what happened.” He felt her give a stift nod and she hugged him a bit tighter.

He gave his dad a hug, but glared at his mother when she tried to approach him.

Still she did and reached out to tilt his chin up gently, “Hey. Look me in the eye. You know I love you, right?”

Luca turned his head to look at his Uncle Ugo, then looked back at her. “I’m painfully aware.”

-------------------------

Luca jolted awake from his dream. Or had he not been asleep and had simply been lost in his memories? It was hard to tell here. “Weird,” Luca thought to himself, “It’s been a while since I’ve thought about that argument.”

The memory of his mother telling him that he would be sent away was one that used to haunt him when he first arrived at the deep, but now it had faded in his mind. It was almost funny, a year ago that memory was constantly replaying in his head, now it had been a while since he’d given it a thought. Things changed, he supposed.

Remembering the past made him look down at his body and he thought about some of the other changes he had gone through.

Sea monster bodies are adaptable. They will change to whatever they need to best survive. If a sea monster finds themselves on land, their bodies will change into something that can survive above the water long term. If they find themselves at the bottom of the sea, their form will also change accordingly. 

This change didn’t happen nearly as quickly as the one that took place when Luca had first stepped (flopped) onto land. It happened gradually, over a couple days...or was it weeks? It was hard to keep track down there.

In Luca’s case, his bright colors made him stick out like a sore thumb and would attract trouble, so his scales dulled from a bright green-blue to a dark navy.

Then he developed bioluminescence. Ugo had been delighted by this, saying that they matched now.

Luca disagreed, although he didn’t say so. Unlike Ugo’s singular light that dangled above his head, Luca’s took the form of small, glowing dots on his skin. At first they had replaced the freckles on his face. Then they were dotted around in the scales on top of his head, some along the frills of his tail, and a few miscellaneous ones along his arms and legs.

Luca liked them, they reminded him of the anchovies way up in the sky…way, way up.

Instinctually, Luca looked upwards even though he knew it was pointless. There was no sunlight here. Was it day or night? He didn’t know. His bioluminescence dimmed at the thought.

“Hello, little one! How are you?” his Uncle Ugo suddenly appeared behind him, speaking cheerfully. Luca couldn’t help but jump slightly. Even after all this time, Ugo still had a way of sneaking up on him.

Luca was able to get his bearings quickly enough and he just shrugged in response.

That was another change that had occurred, although it had less to do with his natural body. Luca barely talks anymore. Typically, he would just nod or shake his head in response to his uncle. Perhaps a one word reply if he was feeling chatty.

This had mainly started because Luca had quickly learned after he arrived that trying to talk would inevitably lead to Ugo launching into a monologue about something only partially related to what the boy had said. He swore that if he had to hear, “That reminds me of the time when-” one more time, he’d punch his uncle and it wouldn’t be to restart his heart.

Luca’s silence didn’t seem to bother Uncle Ugo who really liked the quiet. 

Luca had gained an appreciation for it too. His days of watching over Giuseppe, Enrico, Monalisa, and the rest of the school would often be spent with Luca sitting on his rock, perhaps talking to the fish or describing an adventure, anything to fill the silence.

In the deep, too much talking would only attract trouble, so Luca had learned to be quiet. Now he had no idea how he ever managed to talk so much.

“Come here and eat, I have something to discuss with you,” Ugo told him, breaking the young sea monster out of his thoughts once more.

Luca swam over and took some of the whale carcass from his uncle. In the deep, there was not a lot of variety in terms of food. He found some plants to feed on, but they didn’t provide his body with much nutrients, so he learned to suck it up and eat some whale carcass when he had to.

“I wanted you to know that your time with me is almost up.”

Luca looked up at him.

“Yes, yes, it’s very sad, I know. But it’s been nearly four seasons, and since this will be your first time returning from the deep, we’ll need to leave a few days in advance so you can slowly rise up. Or else all that sunlight at once could have...negative effects.”

Luca couldn’t comprehend what his uncle was saying to him. Had it really been an entire year since he arrived? It felt like he had been there for a few weeks...or a few years. Time was funny in the deep, but he trusted Ugo to have a better sense of it.

He knew he should feel excited. He should be swimming around for joy and begging his uncle for them to leave right that instant.

Yet he didn’t. He felt...nothing.

Well that wasn’t entirely accurate. He wanted to go back, it was preferable to staying in the deep, but he felt no rush to go. None of the desire to go home and reunite with his family that he had felt so strongly when he’d cried himself to sleep during his first nights in the deep.

Now he felt indifferent, so he just nodded his head and ate some whale carcass.

As he looked down at the meat in his hands he wondered what the food that he used to eat tasted like. He couldn’t remember.

Chapter Text

“Silencio Bruno,” Alberto muttered to himself as he swam through the ocean. He gripped the harpoon tighter, ready to fight off any danger that Luca might be in. But the more time he spent being unable to find Luca, the more Bruno persisted.

“Where could he be?”

“Did he get caught by humans?”

“Did he decide he doesn’t like you anymore?”

“Was it something you did?”

“Why are you even still searching?”

Alberto bit back a frustrated scream. Bruno’s ramblings combined with the exhaustion of scouring the ocean for hours was slowly driving him crazy. Perhaps he should go back to the island? Yeah, go back to the island and regroup. Who knows, maybe Luca was there waiting for him. Maybe Luca had a good explanation for not showing up for days? “He better,” Alberto thought to himself as he began swimming back.

Upon exiting the ocean and standing on the island’s shore, Alberto took a deep breath and yelled, “LUCA! ARE YOU HERE?!” He hadn’t been expecting anybody to answer (not that he wouldn’t have felt the sting of disappointment anyway).

But he did get an answer. A voice spoke but it didn’t belong to the person he had been hoping for. “Are you Alberto?”

The boy in question spun around, just barely managing to keep a grip on his harpoon. He looked and saw an old lady. She was a sea monster and as she stepped closer to him she shifted into her human form. Unlike Luca, she didn’t seem alarmed by the change at all.

“Please, are you Alberto?” she asked again, sounding desperate.

“Uhhhh, maybe? Who wants to know?”

The woman gave him an unimpressed look. “So you are him.”

“Yeah...w-well, who are you?! What are you even doing here? You're trespassing!” the boy yelled and waved around the harpoon for emphasis.

“Calm down squirt, you’re gonna take your eye out if you keep waving that thing around,” the lady told him, but there wasn’t a hint of demand in her voice, “Please just listen to me. I’ve been looking for you because I need to tell you what happened to Luca.”

Alberto's eyes widened with fear and without thinking he dropped the harpoon and ran over to her.

“What happened?! Tell me everything!”

She sighed deeply and began explaining.

.

.

.

Luca’s grandma, or “Grandma Paguro” as she’d called herself, hadn’t taken very long to explain the situation, but Alberto still clung onto her event word.

After she finished Alberto hadn’t said much, still processing her words. Also, as soon as she finished her story, his muscles decided then to remind him that he’d been swimming around for hours. So he began to move towards the lighthouse, maybe get some food, water and somewhere to sit down.

Grandma Paguro followed him and, to his surprise, had no trouble getting up the ladder, she was surprisingly spry.

Once they were in the lighthouse the words finally processed in his head and he suddenly wished he hadn’t gone to the lighthouse. Now, everywhere he looked, there was the sting of once happy memories now bitter.

“The deep,” Alberto said, but it was more to himself than her. “They sent him to the deep.”

He was ashamed to admit that initially he had been relieved. After Luca didn’t show up, he’d gone into the ocean to find him, yet the younger sea monster was nowhere to be found. Alberto had started to fear that the boy could be dead.

But he wasn’t. Luca was still alive and Alberto could find him. Yeah! He could find him, bring him back to the island, and maybe the two of them could run away together like they had talked about.

“I’m going to find him,” Alberto told the grandmother. He stood up and marched towards the ladder, but Grandma Paguro caught his arm and wouldn’t let go when he tried to jerk away. The lady had a surprisingly strong grip. “No boy! Are you crazy?! Surely even you know that the deep is far too big to be able to search for anything.”

This got Alberto to pause. He had seen the deep once. Or at least the very top of it. He had been traveling with his dad and they had stopped by a trench. Alberto remembered just how massive it was and he couldn’t see the bottom, just darkness.

The thought of Luca being in there was nauseating to him. Also the thought of Luca made him think about just how small the younger sea monster was especially in comparison to the deep. It would be impossible to find him.

“I still have to try,” Alberto tried to say with conviction even though he was rapidly losing confidence.

“That place is massive and you have no idea how to navigate or survive down there. Best case scenario, you survive but it takes you years to find him. But he’ll only be there for one. I didn’t come here just to end up sending another child to the deep!” Grandma Paguro objected. He could feel the frustration in her voice rising, but he had reached a breaking point too.

Alberto swung around to face her, and he could feel tears welling up in his eyes, much to his dismay. “Well then what am I supposed to do, huh? Just sit here for an entire year and wait for him to come back?!” 

---------------------------------

Grandma Paguro’s P.O.V.

Grandma Paguro considered herself to be a realistic woman. She knew that some people would never accept sea monsters, but she also knew that to live in fear of land monsters was ridiculous. Just like her daughter was being. Well...ridiculous didn’t do her justice, infuriating was the right word to describe Daniela Paguro right now.

She had been hoping her daughter would change her mind, but Daniela was steadfast and unyeielding in this stupid decision of hers. She was letting fear dictate her and was going to see the year through, even though she could see that Daniela was having doubts and regrets.

She wished she could get her grandson out of there, but she had no way of contacting Ugo, and Lorenzo was going to stick by Daniela’s decision. There was so much that she couldn’t do, but realistically, there was one thing she could, honor Luca’s request. It was still ringing in her ears. “ Tell Alberto what happened.”

Grandma Paguro hadn’t been expecting to feel bad for Alberto. Quite frankly, before she had gotten to the shore of the island, she had been frustrated with the boy because he had made himself so hard to find. Her fins ached because she’d spent the day scouring the reef, and then searching in Portorosso. It seemed nobody in the sea or on land had heard of Alberto.

It was only when she had talked with the two other sea monsters hiding in Portorosso, that she got a clue. They had told her they’d once seen a boy and his dad hanging around an island, but that had been years ago and they’d settled down amongst the humans since then.

It was the only clue she had, so she swam to the island and now she had finally found the elusive Alberto. However, as she listened to the boy rant, she felt her anger melt away and get replaced with a sense of connection. She understood his pain in a way that she was sure nobody else could.

Perhaps that’s why, without thinking, she hugged him.

Grandma Paguro felt the boy freeze up but then he hugged her back without a word.

“There really is no way that I’d be able to find him if I went searching, is there?” Alberto sniffed. He wasn’t asking a question, just stating a fact. A very, very unpleasant fact.

She couldn’t bring herself to respond and instead distracted herself by looking around the interior of the lighthouse. When she’d first seen it, she’d written it off as just human junk that the boy had collected. But the more she looked around, the more she saw.

For one thing, there didn’t seem to be any sign of a parent around despite her friends saying they’d seen the boy travel with his father. She also saw a drawing of what she assumed to be Alberto and her grandson riding a...Vespa? It was hard to tell due to the artist’s abilities, but the smiles drawn on their faces allowed her to get the gist.

Finally, off to side she could see tally marks on the wall. These caught her eye and the way Alberto saw her looking and jerked away from the hug looking defensive spoke more to her than any words he might have said.

Perhaps...perhaps...this boy was trapped in a deep of his own. And maybe she could help him get out.

“Luca will be back in one year, in the meantime, may I offer you some advice?”

Alberto wiped away his tears, still distressed, but no longer freaking out. “Alright?”

“You stole this human junk from ships right? During the night?”

“Uhhhh, yeah?”

“I thought so. I did something similar when I was your age. But then I discovered doing something even better.” She pauses from dramatic effect and Alberto leaned forward in suspense.

“Walking among the humans.”

Alberto gasped, “You’ve talked to them?”

“Sure have! I go there most weekends. Beaten a bunch of them at cards too.”

“Woah.”

She was tempted to just keep on bragging, but she had a point to get to. “So that’s why I want you to come with me and I can teach you how to live amongst those humans.”

Alberto opened his mouth to object but she continued.

“Look kid, robbing ships at night is incredibly dangerous and only leads to more fishermen coming out to try and catch you. You’ve been really lucky so far. If you don’t want to get caught by humans then the best way is to hide in plain sight.”

---------------------------------

Back to Alberto’s P.O.V.

Alberto considered her point. He looked around and assessed his options. He could stay on the island, but he’d be alone for at least a year. He looked at the drawing. He’d never realized how alone he had been until Luca came along. Now the thought of returning to that terrified him.

Well...it wasn’t like he had anything to lose at this point.

“Alright, teach me your ways of tricking the humans.”

Luca’s grandmother gave him a small but genuine smile. It reminded him of Luca. Alberto averted his eyes quickly, though that didn’t help the ache in his chest.

The two of them swam to Portorosso and he followed her to a seduced part of the beach, with a small shack. “Wait here,” she told him and disappeared inside. She soon reemerged with her form shifted and wearing a set of human clothes. Alberto was impressed. He didn’t know much about land monsters, but her disguise would have been able to fool him.

“The clothes you’re wearing should be fine. Now follow me. We’re going to visit some friends of mine.”

That sounded incredibly ominous to Alberto but, against his better judgement, he followed her.

Alberto took a breath and forced himself to put on his confident facade. He followed Grandma Paguro to the town and they passed two fishermen.

“What’s wrong with you stupido?” Alberto greeted, pleasantly. His land monster impression was pretty good if he did say so himself.

Unfortunately it was not good enough for Grandma Paguro because she lightly wacked him over the head with her purse. “Why did you say that to them?!”

“Uhhh? I was just saying hi. Isn’t that a way for land monsters to greet each other?”

“No. Why would you-?” she took a breath, “It’s an insult, so don’t go around saying it as a greeting.”

Realization flooded Alberto’s brain. “Oooohhhhhhh. That actually explains a lot.”

Grandma Paguro didn’t comment and just led him further into the village. It was hard not to get completely overwhelmed by all the different sights and sounds of Portorosso. Not to mention, he’d never been around so many land monsters before.

He had been so busy taking it all in that he nearly ran into Grandma Paguro when she stopped outside a house. She knocked on the door and Alberto wondered who these friends of Grandma Paguro could be.

He didn’t have to wait long to find out because the door swung open to reveal two women, around Grandma Paguro’s age.

One was tall and lanky, the other was short and stout, but they both shared a mensing scowl that made it hard for Alberto to keep up his confidence.

“Is this the boy you were talking about?” the taller one asked in a no nonsense way.

“Yes. May we please come in?” Grandma Paguro answered nonchalantly, and Alberto tried not to be too annoyed that they were talking about him like he wasn’t there.

“Of course,” the shorter one said, though her critical gaze didn’t leave Alberto.

They all sat down at a table and Alberto gave a nervous smile and tried not to shrink underneath their piercing gazes.

“Introductions first,” Grandma Paguro said, breaking the silence, “Alberto, these are my friends, Rosa and Angela, they're sea monsters too.”

“Really?” Alberto asked, not entirely believing his ears.

Both women nodded. There was a glass of water on the table and they both dipped a finger into it and held it out to him to show their scales.

“Woah.”

“Yeah, they often join me when I come to visit the town, although...Rosa cheats at cards.”

The shorter woman, who he assumed to be Rosa, made a sound of indignation, but Angela cut her off, “We are your friends, so why do I have a feeling that you’re about to ask us to do something for you?”

“Because I am,” Grandma Paguro said matter of factly, “I need you guys to house Alberto.”

“What?!” the three other people at the table said in shock.

Grandma Paguro didn’t bat an eye and simply turned to Alberto. “I won’t be able to stay here forever. You need a roof over your head or else people are going to start asking questions. Angela and Rosa are sea monsters, so at least underneath their roof, you’ll be able to let your guard down.”

Alberto couldn’t deny that she had a point. Rosa and Angela were hesitant but after some more convincing, they agreed to put a roof over Alberto’s head while he stayed in Portorosso. Alberto agreed as well. The two women seemed a bit rough around the edges, but the more time he witnessed them having to endure Grandma Paguro’s teasing made him realize that they were not nearly as menacing as his first impression had led him to believe.

“I need to get home by sundown before my daughter starts questioning where I’ve been,” Grandma Paguro informed him, much to his dismay, “But tell you what? Why don’t I give you a tour of the town? I’ll introduce you to one of the best things Portorosso has to offer: gelato.”

Rosa and Angela seemed to approve of gelato and encouraged him to try it. Alberto had no idea what it was but if gelato was good enough to win the approval of these two women (who he had a feeling didn’t approve of very much) then he had to try it.

He followed Grandma Paguro on her tour and aside from his original misunderstanding of how to greet people, Alberto was getting the hang of walking among humans pretty quickly. Much to his surprise too, he found that he liked Portorosso. The more he saw of it, the more he enjoyed the colorful and vibrant atmosphere with the land monsters roaming around happily.

He could do without it’s sea monster decor, but once Grandma Paguro paid for the gelato with something called “money” and she instructed him to lick (not bite) the treat, he found that there were some things he was willing to put up with. If having to see a fountain with an unrealistic sea monster get strangled by an unrealistic human was what he had to put up with in exchange for the joy of gelato, then he didn’t mind very much.

The pair had settled on a bench and were enjoying the sun. Things were calm and quiet.

Alas, that moment of peace was quickly disrupted by the buzz of an engine. Alberto looked over and he couldn’t believe his eyes.

He saw a shining, red Vespa. It was amazing! Just like Luca and he had always talked about!

The Vespa zoomed past, the wind it created knocked both Grandma Paguro and Alberto’s gelatos right off their cones and onto the ground. His initial awe vanished at the sight of their gelatos on the ground.

Alberto swung his head to look at the rider of the Vespa who had parked it and was now complementing the vehicle on how beautiful it was. Alberto had initially been in admiration, but he could feel his dislike of the rider growing with each second he had the displeasure of being in proximity to him.

Without him even having to ask, Grandma Paguro leaned over and told him, “That’s Ercole Visconti. Now there’s a bottom feeding catfish if I ever saw one.”

Alberto stood up with a huff and took a step in Ercole’s direction. Then he paused and looked over at Grandma Paguro, surprised she hadn’t tried to stop him.

“Oh. Is this the part where I’m supposed to tell you to just ignore him? Because that’s not happening,” the older woman informed him, “He made me drop my gelato. Go kick his sorry butt.”

With the eldest Paguro’s blessing, Alberto marched over to where Ercole’s two lackeys were trying to feed him an incredibly long sandwich. Alberto couldn’t even be bothered to question why he needed such a big sandwich, all that was on his mind was avenging his gelato whose sticky residue he could still feel on his hands.

“Hey you!” Alberto yelled.

Ercole’s head snapped towards him and with the way the sun hit his face to illuminate his mustache, Alberto could definitely see what Grandma Paguro meant when she’d called him a catfish.

“Who dares to speak to me, Ercole Visconti, the greatest Vespa rider in the world?!”

“I do! And for ‘the greatest Vespa rider in the world’ you need to watch where you’re driving that thing. You made me and my friend drop our gelatos, you monster.”

Ercole gasped, slapping both hands on the sides of his face.  “Oh, no! I’m oh so sorry for making you drop your gelatos...NOT!”

Ercole laughed like he had just made the most hilarious joke ever, then abruptly paused. “Ciccio! Guido! Laugh with me!” he barked. Ercole resumed his cackling with his goons giving nervous, half-hearted laughs in the background.

Alberto rolled his eyes. He didn’t have time for this.

“Would you just shut up?!” he yelled and gave Ercole a shove by the shoulders. Ercole gasped in horror like he had been burned. Alberto quickly got into a fighting stance, balling up his fists, ready for anything...well almost anything.

He was not ready for Ercole to yell, “What have you done?!” and frantically take off the sweater that had been wrapped around his shoulders. Ercole stared at it like it was a person with a severe injury, when in reality it just had a few gelato stains from the residue on Alberto’s hands.

“There, there you poor thing! I’ll get this filth out before the stain sets!” Ercole baby-talked to the sweater.

Then the older boy's head snapped up to glare at Alberto and he pointed a menacing finger at him. “You. You haven’t heard the last of Ercole Visconti! I’ll be back for you later!” He ran over to his Vespa and zoomed away, leaving Ciccio and Guido to chase after him on foot.

There was a moment of silence where Alberto was left standing there with the people in the town square staring at him. The silence was broken by Alberto himself who grinned, shaking his fist where Ercole had run off to. “...And stay away!” he shouted.

He heard some of the other kids who had been playing by the fountain cheering for him. Apparently Ercole wasn’t nearly as popular as he liked to think. Alberto felt good, but that feeling was replaced by fear when he turned around to go back to Grandma Paguro and found a girl standing right behind him grinning so widely that it made Alberto worry for her face muscles.

“Ah!” Alberto startled but the girl didn’t pay that any mind.

“Finally! Another underdog willing to stand up to Ercole’s reign of terror! I thought I was the only one who had the guts!”

“Uhhhhh…”

“Oh, sorry! Introductions first,” she apologized and extended her hand to him, “It’s nice to meet you, I’m Giulia Marcovaldo.”

Chapter Text

Alberto stared at Giulia’s outstretched hand not entirely sure how to react.

The girl’s hand lowered and she looked sheepish, “Too much? Too much.”

“Uhhh, no it’s fine. The name’s Alberto Scorfano,” he told her, taking her hand in greeting, “Piacere, Girolamo Trombetta!”

He was proud to be able to finally use his expert knowledge of land monsters. He looked over at Grandma Paguro. She gave him a thumbs up but her smile looked strained. He couldn’t imagine why.

Giulia retracted her hand and gave Alberto a weird look, “Ooookay.” She seemed to get over it pretty quickly, “So where are you from? I haven’t seen you around here before.”

Alberto probably hadn’t sounded too convincing when he told her that he’d just got to Portorosso and would be staying with his aunts for the time being, but Giulia seemed to buy it.

“Well it was nice meeting you. I gotta deliver these. Always be training, you know?” Giulia said and began to peddle away. Although he wasn’t sure why, Alberto wanted to keep talking to her. He gave a glance to Grandma Paguro who motioned, encouragingly, for him to follow Giulia. He ran up beside Giulia’s bike and walked alongside her as she peddled.

“Hello again.”

“Ciao?”

“You said you were training? Training for what?”

Giulia gave him a look like he’d just asked her what clouds were (obviously he knew they were big pufferfish).

“The Portorosso Cup,” she said seemingly mystified that he’d never heard of it, “It’s an epic, grueling, traditional Italian triathlon. Swimming, cycling, and eating pasta. Do you think you’ll sign up?”

Alberto deflated slightly at her words, for once thinking logically, “Oh well I couldn’t. I’m amazingly bad at swimming.”

Giulia shrugged. “Oh well. You can just cheer for me from the sidelines,” she said with a smirk, one that immediately faded when one of the wheels of her cart got stuck in the road. 

“Woo! Go Giulia!” Alberto cheered with a smirk of his own.

“Shut up!” Giulia flushed. Alberto was able to help her get it unstuck. Giulia thanked him and continued to peddle, even more determined.

“Wow, and you’re training really hard,” he remarked, “Have you won the race before?”

Giulia’s smile flattered. “Welllllll, not yet. Last year, I ran into some trouble with the pasta section of the competition.” She frowned at the ground as she peddled, muttering under her breath. Alberto wasn’t able to catch everything she said, only some unkind words about Ercole and the term “Spewlia.”

“Spewlia?” Alberto repeated in confusion without even thinking about it.

His mouth shut with an audible click when Giulia swung her head around to give him an annoyed look. “Ugg! I wasn’t able to complete the race last year because I couldn’t stop throwing up. Happy now?”

Alberto held his hands up in surrender, “Sorry for asking. It-it must have sucked to have had to quit the race.”

He jumped when Giulia gave a bark-laugh. “Ha! I didn’t quit! They made me stop!”

Alberto considered her words for a moment. “I respect that,” he admitted.

Giulia nodded and continued peddling. “It doesn’t matter anyways, because this year I’m going to win whether Ercole likes it or not!”

Alberto tilted his head. “Would winning make that Ercole guy unhappy?”

“It would crush him,” Giulia said with a determined grin on her face.

“Then I’m going to sign up for the race too!” he declared.

Giulia raised an eyebrow at him. “Didn’t you just say that you couldn’t swim?”

Alberto was quick to amend his words. “Riiiiight. What I meant was, I’m gonna sign up for the race...with you!” Doubt was written across Giulia’s face but Alberto continued before she could voice any concerns. “Think about it! I’ll eat and you can swim and ride your bike. We’d be unstoppable!” Alberto argued, “Come on, just picture Ercole’s face after he’s suffered the most crushing defeat of all time.” He slapped his fist into his palm for emphasis.

Giulia got off her bike and looked him up and down with a critical gaze. Alberto tried not to squirm as he was reminded of Angela and Rosa, seemingly analyzing everything about him. Then her gaze changed into something softer, yet no less determined. “Alright. You’ve got the hunger, for both victory and pasta. That’s the most important thing.” 

“Alright!” Alberto pumped his fist into the air.

Giulia smiled, “Now we just need money for the entry fee...from my dad.”

---------------------------------

That night, Alberto bid goodbye to Grandma Paguro and told Angela and Rosa that he was invited to dinner at the Marcovaldo residence.

The two women didn’t forbid him from going but their warnings were not particularly encouraging.

“Massimo Marcovaldo is a good man but he hates sea monsters.”

“We won’t stop you. You’re just like Paguro. If we tell you not to do it, you’ll just run off anyways. Just remember: Don’t. Get. Caught.”

---------------------------------

“I’m going to get caught,” Alberto thought to himself as the boat rocked back and forth. “No! I can’t think like that,” he chastised himself, “Silenizo Bruno, Silenizo Bruno, Silenizo Bruno.”

The good news was that the dinner had gone well and Signor Marcovaldo had agreed to provide money for the entry fee after Alberto had volunteered to help catch fish. His knowledge of the ocean was coming in handy to help him redirect Signor Marcovaldo away from a fish graveyard and over to a better spot.

They were in the middle of hauling net after net of fish into the boat. Alberto had even managed to sneak a fish to the cat, Machiavelli, who had previously been moments away from scratching his face off. After Alberto’s offering, he seemed to have won the cat’s favor.

The bad news, which he hadn’t considered at the time, was that being on a small boat surrounded by water, handling fish that were also wet, made it hard for him to keep water from landing on his skin. He probably should have considered this before volunteering. But he’d never thought about the possible consequences before, so why start now?

“Tell me, how do you know fish so well?” Signor Marcovaldo asked, breaking him out of his thoughts.

Alberto looked up at the tall figure that practically loomed over him. He’s not sure what he’d expected Giulia’s dad to look like, but it wasn’t an incredibly tall and burly land monster that had practically taken up the majority of the kitchen. When he’d first seen the man, he’d been simultaneously scared and in awe.

“Oh, you know, I’ve just picked up some things here and there,” Alberto said as casually as he could.

“You’re not from Genova are you?” Signor Marcovaldo asked rhetorically. Alberto cringed and suddenly the netting in his hands was much more interesting to look at. “What? Of course I am!”

Signor Marcovaldo gave him a look and Alberto folded a bit quicker than he would ever admit. “No,” he confessed with a sigh, “I’m from somewhere a bit further away, but I’m not a runaway or anything. You can ask my aunts.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes,” Alberto said, “Don’t worry, my life is great. I’m just helping Giulia win the race to get back at Ercole.”

Signor Marcovaldo nodded sagely, “That boy is...a jerk.”

“I know, right?!” Alberto grinned.

Signor Marcovaldo looked at him. Alberto was reminded of Angela and Rosa, and Guilia. What was with people and scrutinizing him?

Then the man shrugged and pulled his gaze away. “That should be enough fish. Thank you for your help. You did well.” 

Alberto wasn’t sure why that simple compliment sent a flurry of emotions through his brain, but he recovered in time to say, “No problem, Signor Marcovaldo.”

The man gave him a proud smile that sent the emotions flooding back. “Please, call me Massimo.”

---------------------------------

The next week flew by in a blur.

They had made enough money to enter the race and after a brief encounter with Ercole, they’d managed to convince Signora Marsigliese to let Alberto and Giulia team up. Generally only having two people on a team was frowned upon since it left more work to one team member, but the spokeswoman seemed okay with it since this would ensure that there wouldn’t be a repeat of last year.

As he trained, Alberto was constantly called over by Massimo to help out on the boat. And despite (unfairly) being denied a knife, Alberto didn’t mind working with Massimo. He enjoyed spending time with the man and was getting quite good at working with one hand behind his back.

Angela and Rosa advised Alberto to remain cautious but they knew Massimo is a good man so they let him sleep over at Giulia’s house when he wanted to. It got to the point where he was spending more time at Giulia’s than with the other sea monsters, still it was comforting to know that he was welcome with Angela and Rosa too.

In the meantime, Alberto was introduced to the magic of espresso, which he liked very much. And the concept of using a fork, which he liked a lot less. He still didn’t understand why he couldn’t just use his hands, but he put up with it.

One night, the two kids were sitting in Giulia’s hideout and she asked Alberto what he was going to do with his share of the prize money. 

“Wait...there’s prize money?! We get to make Ercole miserable AND we get prize money?! This just keeps getting better and better!” He was grateful that Angela and Rosa had explained to him what money was or else he wouldn’t have understood what Giulia was talking about.

The red haired girl laughed, “Yeah, although maybe I should get two thirds of the money since I’m doing two thirds of the race.”

Alberto scoffed and gave her a playful shove, “I’ll have you know that eating pasta is twice as hard as what you’re doing.”

Giulia playfully shoved him back. “Whatever, I don’t need the extra money. I just need the satisfaction of shoving the fact that I won into everyone’s face.”

“Well be sure to give me a chance to let me gloat too!” Alberto grinned.

Giulia smiled, “Finally, somebody else who gets stars in their eyes at the thought of winning.”

“Wait? What do I have in my eyes?” Alberto asked, rubbing at them, concerned for his vision.

Giulia didn’t bat an eye, now used to the fact that Alberto didn’t understand most sayings. “Stars. You know, those bright dots up there,” Giulia said, gesturing to the night sky, “It’s not literal. It’s just a saying that means you’re really excited about something.” 

“But...those are fish.”

Giulia took a deep breath. “What?”

“Those little ones are anchovies and the big fish-”

“I’m gonna stop you right there,” Giulia cut him off and stood up, “Follow me, I got something to show you.”

Alberto followed her across the rooftops of Portorosso and they eventually found themselves on a balcony that had a large metal tube sitting on a stand.

“This is a telescope. Old man Bernardi lets me use it.”

“Uh huh,” Alberto nodded, but it was clear he had no idea where she was going with this.

Giulia rolled her eyes, which he felt was unjustified. “Just look through it,” she instructed.

Alberto obeyed and was not prepared for the sight before him. Beautiful, cosmic dots in the sky. They were hypnotic. He felt like he could stare at them for hours.

“Those are some funny looking fish,” Alberto remarked just to annoy Giulia.

It worked and he couldn’t help but smile at her frustrated groan. “They’re stars, like the sun. Giant raging balls of fire. Not fish.” She emphasised her point by lightly whacking Alberto on the head with the book she’d been carrying.

“We’ll agree to disagree,” Alberto said, rubbing his head.

Giulia laughed and gave up. This boy was impossible. “Alright big guy. Whatever you say.”

Alberto leaned against the railing of the balcony and looked up. He remembered how much he and Luca enjoyed looking at the stars. Suddenly his eyes felt a bit misty and he took a deep breath, blinking rapidly in the hopes of covering it up.

He should have known better than to have thought he could slip anything by Giulia. She noticed his change in demeanor immediately. “Hey? What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing. It’s stupid. I just-” Alberto paused and Giulia leaned forward to listen intently. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt like he could trust her. “I had a friend back where I used to live. His name is Luca. He was sent away to live somewhere horrible for a year by his family right before I came here. All this time, I can’t stop thinking about how much I wish he had been able to come with me.” Alberto wiped futility at his tears, “I know he’ll be back next year, but he’s probably so scared and alone right now.”

He felt Giulia put a hand on his shoulder, “Hey, hey, take a deep breath. That’s right. In. Out.” She had him repeat that a couple times before speaking again, “You don’t have to, but I think it would make you feel better if you talked about it. So why don’t you tell me something about Luca, something happy.”

It was worth a shot. Alberto hadn’t been sure what to say at first, but once he started talking he found it difficult to stop. Omitting some key details, he told Giulia about how he’d played a prank on Luca when they’d first met, that Luca was far too polite for his own good, how the two of them would go through junk and make new inventions. He talked about Luca’s eyes, how they were wide and filled with curiosity. Alberto might have had a hunger for victory and pasta, but Luca had a hunger for knowledge. Anything that Alberto told him, the boy soaked up like a sponge.

“Luca would have loved this. Learning about stars, looking through the telescope. Come to think of it, he probably would have really loved it at your school. All those books and telescopes, he’d be in heaven,” Alberto said bittersweetly, imagining his friend finally having an outlet for his curiosity. 

Giulia squeezing his shoulder. “Your friend sounds amazing. When he gets back next summer, be sure to tell Luca that he’s got two friends in Portorosso now.”

Alberto smiled at her and they stood in a comfortable silence, looking up at the night sky.

---------------------------------

The day of the race came before he knew it. 

He and Giulia arrived at the beach and saw Massimo and Machiavelli holding up a banner with both their names on it. Angela and Rosa had also shown up and despite their earlier warnings, they were giving him encouraging smiles.

The race itself passed by in a blur. Giulia tagged him in after swimming, he wolfed down his pasta (with expert fork usage) and tagged Giulia back in. He watched Giulia zoom away in a blur, quickly taking the lead.

“Woo! Go Giulia!” Alberto cheered.

That nice feeling was cut off when he heard “Out of my way!” and was shoved to the side by Ercole who sprinted over to his bike, leaving a very full and exhausted Guido behind.

Alberto had to take a deep breath and remind himself that revenge would be coming soon. He walked over to join Massimo, Angela, and Rosa at the finish line. That was when he saw it:  dark grey clouds, looming over the horizon.

“I-I need to get inside!” Alberto told Massimo. The man turned to look at Alberto, concerned. Massimo’s back was facing Angela and Rosa so the fisherman couldn’t see the two women giving Alberto looks of understanding. They had umbrellas with them, but he didn’t and there wouldn’t be enough room for him. The young seamonster needed to get inside.

“Why? The race is almost done,” Massimo asked, caught off guard by this development.

“I-I don’t like the rain...bye!” Alberto cringed at his excuse and ran. He could hear Angela and Rosa stopping Massimo from pursuing him, but that was quickly drowned out by the sound of his heart pumping and blood roaring in his ears as he sprinted to find shelter. He could hear the first couple of rain drops begin to fall.

He wanted to go to Angela and Rosa’s house, if only because it would mean he could avoid suspicious questions, but the Marcavaldos’ house was closer so he had no choice but to go there.

Alberto managed to scramble inside just as the rain began to fall in earnest.

---------------------------------

Giulia’s P.O.V.

Giulia’s heart pounded as she peddled with all her might. Nothing could stop her. No obstacle, no other racer, no rain.

She raced across the finish line, barely managing to stop in time to avoid falling into the water because of how fast she had been going.

Giulia gasped for breath as she dismounted her bike and looked around. That’s when she realized it. She was the first one. She had won!

She grinned and cheered for herself as the other racers came in. She was on cloud nine, but she soon came crashing back down to Earth when she realized: Alberto wasn’t there.

She looked around, confused, but the boy wasn’t anywhere in sight. Where was he?

Giulia ran up and hugged her father as he congratulated her, but she was quick to ask, “Where’s Alberto? Is he alright?”

“Alberto is fine. He said he...wanted to go inside since he doesn’t like the rain,” her dad said, but it was clear that he was just as confused by Alberto’s sudden disappearance as she was.

Giulia frowned, growing concerned. Alberto was one of the most fearless people she knew. The idea that he’d be scared by rain was just...unbelievable.

“And the winners of this year’s Portorosso Cup,” Signora Marsigliese announced, “Are Alberto Scorfano and Giulia Marcavaldo!”

Giulia had half a mind to ditch the crowd and go search for Alberto, but her dad shooed her to go and accept the trophy. So she did and smiled as she held it up and faced the crowd who cheered for her.

It was so odd. This is what she had been dreaming about for so long, but now that she had it, all she could think about was how worried she was for Alberto.

---------------------------------

Giulia ran home ahead of her dad. She had a feeling that Alberto would be at her house. By the time she got inside, the rain had fully cleared up.

She had half-expected Alberto to hide from her. Instead he greeted her as soon as she entered. 

“Giulia! Did we win?!”

“Yeah we won,” Giulia said and handed him the trophy.

“Awesome!” Alberto said, looking at the trophy in awe, “What about Erole? What did his face look like when his reign of terror came to an end?”

Giulia let out a sigh of disappointment, “I didn’t get to see it. Apparently he tried to cheat by slicking oil on his bike wheels to make it go faster. He ended up losing control and crashing it. I’m pretty sure he’s in the hospital right now.”

Alberto laughed with schadenfreude and Giulia couldn’t help a giggle of her own. But she shook her head and reminded herself why she ran all the way here in the first place.

“Papá told me you weren’t at the finish line because you...don’t like the rain,” Giulia said, making no effort to hide the disbelief in her voice.

Alberto gave a nervous chuckle, “Yeah.”

“Alberto, you know that I don’t believe that. And I know that you know I don’t believe that,” Giulia said, crossing her arms, “What’s going on?”

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

“Too late for that, so you might as well just tell me.”

“It’s not important. I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“It is important to me! Please, Alberto, what’s going on?”

---------------------------------

Alberto’s P.O.V

Running away from Giulia might not have been the best plan in the long term. He’s still not sure how he had managed to evade her. 

But once he was out the door he just kept running. Perhaps it was his instincts, or just luck, but he found himself on a vacant part of the beach. 

He sat down and hugged his knees to his chest as he stared at the setting sun.

He’s not sure how long he sat there in silence trying to figure out what to do, but the universe eventually decided he’d had enough time when he heard the sound of footsteps and turned to see that Giulia had tracked him down.

She didn’t say anything, just sat down next to him and they stared at the sunset.

Then, out of nowhere, Giulia punched him in the arm. “That’s for scaring me. For both the race and when you ran away. I thought you could have been hurt!” Then she looked back at the sunset, “Having said that, sorry for pushing you. I don’t know what’s going on with you, but it wasn’t right for me to do that.”

Alberto punched her arm back and smiled. He could feel himself letting his guard down around Giulia despite Angela and Rosa’s warnings. He hated the thought of having to lie to Giulia or Massimo any longer.

“Do you really wanna know what I am?”

“Of course.”

Alberto took a deep breath, “I’m a sea monster.”

He wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting, but it hadn’t been for Giulia to start laughing. She clearly thought he was joking.

Alberto frowned at her, “I’m serious.”

Giulia looked him up and down. “I may not know everything, but I’m pretty sure that if it walks like a human, talks like a human, and is ‘amazingly bad at swimming’; then it’s probably not a sea monster.”

“Oh for the love of-” Alberto didn’t even bother to complete his sentence and marched over to the ocean. Already he felt his feet shift, although Giulia couldn’t see them. He turned to face her with his arms outstretched and allowed himself to fall backwards.

The sight of the orange sky was beautiful, it was a small comfort as the shallow water encased him, and he felt the shift occurring. There was no turning back now.

He heard Giulia walking towards him and talking, her words were obscured by the water. But he had a general idea of what she said when he felt her lift his arm out of the water and suddenly yelped and scrambled away.

Alberto stood up and tried to look as non-threatening as possible, even though his instincts were telling him to hunch over and bare his teeth and claws.

“Giulia-” he tried but wasn’t sure what to say. He really hadn’t thought this far ahead. It wasn’t helping that when Giulia finally rose to her feet she frantically grabbed a piece of driftwood and jabbed it in his direction

“Stay back!”

“Giulia! It’s me! I just- I just wanted you to know.” Alberto knew he sounded like a kicked puppy, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

“Alberto-” Giulia lowered her driftwood a bit, but there was clearly still doubt in her eyes.

“Of course,” Alberto thought, “Of course, she doesn’t trust me. Why would she? Her dad hunts sea monsters for crying out loud!”

Then Bruno piped up, “Did you really think that this would work? That she’d accept you? She’s going to leave you, Massimo is going to leave you, everybody leaves you.”

Alberto couldn’t even manage a “Silencio Bruno.” He began to back away into the ocean, already planning on returning to the island. “I’m sorry,” he told Giulia.

“Wait!” Giulia cried and ran into the water, completely discarding her driftwood, and grabbing his arm once more.

“I’m sorry, I got scared! Please don’t go!” she sounded so desperate, like him leaving was the worst thing she could think of. Perhaps it was because of the confusion her reaction had caused him, but to his own surprise, he didn’t protest when she guided Alberto back to land.

They stood on the shore, facing each other. Alberto shook himself off and he shifted back into his human form. “So yeah, like I said, I’m a sea monster,” Alberto said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Giulia hugged him without a word.

Alberto totally didn’t shed any tears when he hugged her back...definitely not.

“Giulia! Alberto!” came a voice that they couldn’t see, but they both knew who it belonged to. Massimo was looking for them, calling out their names, trying to make sure that they were okay.

“Of course he would,” Alberto thought to himself bittersweetly.

“Over here, Papá!” Giulia called. Then she turned to Alberto and said in a much more hushed voice, “Do you want to tell him?”

Alberto whispered back, “I want to, but is that really a good idea?”

The universe decided once again for Alberto. Right after Massimo came from around the corner, a relieved look on his face when he spotted the two children unharmed, a big wave came up and splashed the two children. Giulia was drenched but that was clearly the least of her worries.

“Alberto-” The boy got up, feeling disoriented from being swept off his feet but then remembered that he was now in his sea monster form.

He began to panic but Giulia cut in. “It’s okay, Papá! He isn’t going to hurt anybody! I promise!”

Massimo approached Alberto, he didn’t even seem to hear Giulia. Alberto was freaking out, “Massimo, it’s me!

“I know who you are.”

He laid a hand on Alberto’s shoulder. “You are Alberto. A friend to my daughter, the best fishman I’ve ever seen, one of the winners of the Portorosso Cup, and a boy who I care about very much.”

Alberto felt the tears welling up in his eyes again and without even thinking about it, he hugged Massimo.

Giulia also joined in on the hug. The moment, like all happy moments Alberto had experienced since the summer began, was bittersweet. He couldn’t help but feel guilty that while all of these great things were happening to him, Luca was down in the deep.

“Silencio Bruno” Alberto thought to himself. He knew he couldn't find Luca, but he would be there when his friend came back.

Alberto would wait for Luca, no matter how long it took.

Chapter Text

Luca and Ugo spent the next few days going up. The young sea monster had to admit that Ugo had been right about him needing to be slowly exposed to sunlight. What he might have once considered to be barely visible lighting was now practically blinding to him after a year of pitch black.

Also, it allowed him to adjust to the oxygen levels too. Luca was glad that nobody would be having to punch him in the heart.

Each day they would rise a few hundred feet more, adjust to the new light and oxygen levels, and then repeat.

Luca had no idea how long it took. Even though there was now enough light to be able to keep track of the days, he couldn’t be bothered to count. All his brain was giving him was white noise.

They reached the top of the trench and Luca looked around. There were pastel coral reefs, bright fish, and he could finally see the sun shining down on the surface again. It was a beautiful sight, but it mainly just made his head hurt. It was all so...vibrant.

He gave a small groan and squeezed his eyes shut tightly, then opened them blinking rapidly. He heard a sympathetic laugh from his uncle who had previously experienced Luca’s sensory overload before. 

They sat there in silence for a while, then when Ugo seemed to have determined that Luca was ready to go, he motioned with his hand for his nephew to follow. 

They swam for a while and Luca was able to recall some of the landmarks that they had passed by when he was first being taken to the trench, although it had been hard for him to make note of them at the time due to his shaking in fear.

They made their trip in silence, with Ugo only breaking it to say things like “Don’t forget to eat, little one. You’ll need your strength for the journey.” or “Come this way. We’re almost there.”

It was night when they arrived. The sight of his town triggered a faint sense of nostalgia. Even more so when he saw his house. The rest of the inhabitants were asleep, but his house’s lights remained on. His family was expecting him.

They swam forward, towards the door and it was like all of Luca’s emotions were cancelling each other out. He felt both scared and excited, so he was overcome with a familiar numbness that the deep had instilled in him. It was almost comforting.

Before they could knock on the door, it swung open and Daniela joyously cried out. She hugged him and peppered his face with kisses saying that she missed him so much.

Luca hugged her back but it was more out of reflex than anything else. And it wasn’t nearly as tightly as she was hugging him.

Daniela took them inside and talked so much that she didn’t seem to realize that Luca hadn’t said a word. Although, it's not like he even knew what she was saying. Her words faded into white noise. She eventually let him go and he hugged his dad and grandma, though they were more subdued about it.

Daniela offered for Ugo to stay the night, but he turned her down, citing that he wanted to return to the deep before the sun rose again. So Ugo departed and it was just Luca and his family.

“So tell me what you’ve been up to! Oh I bet you have so many stories!” Daniela said excitedly.

Luca cringed at his mom’s volume and cheerful tone. Daniela wasn’t being particularly loud, she wasn’t likely to wake the neighbors, but Luca still hadn’t fully adjusted. He had to resist the urge to cover his ears in an attempt to block out the noise.

His mom noticed how he was acting and immediately lowered her voice, “Luca-?”

Lorenzo interjected, saving his son from uncomfortable questioning, “Hey honey? Luca must be tired from his trip. Why don’t we let him get some rest and we can all talk in the morning?”

Daniela gave a small nod, but she didn’t turn to her husband. She just stared at Luca, who stared right back. She had an expression that he couldn’t quite name, while he could feel that his facial expression was just blank.

Grandma saved them from the tense silence. “Well alright then. Come on, Bubble. Don’t worry, we got some fresh kelp for your bed. Though we might have to get you a bigger one ‘cause of how much you’ve grown.”

She guided him by the arm into their shared room. Sure enough, everything was just like he had left it a year ago. He swam over to his bed, and saw that like his grandma had said, he had grown during his time in the deep. He would need a bigger one, but the one that he had would serve for now.

Grandma swam over to him and prompted him to sit next to her on the edge of his bed. She spoke in a whisper, surely to prevent either of his parents from eavesdropping. “I told Alberto what happened. Don’t worry, the boy is doing alright.”

Relief washed over Luca as a question he’d been asking for an entire year had been answered. “Thank you,” he said in a small whisper.

Grandma Paguro was clearly surprised at him talking all of a sudden but got over her shock quickly enough to not waste the opportunity. So she asked another question, “What happened down there?”

Luca had half a mind to just remain silent, but he couldn’t be upset with his grandma. It came out even quieter than the whisper before, “Nothing.”

“Nothing? Bubble, you can tell me what happened. I promise I’m not going to tell your parents.”

“N-no. Nothing happened there. It was just you and your thoughts,” Luca clarified to her, hoping to end the conversation. He hoped that it would. The effort of speaking was very draining.

She must have seen it in his eyes, because she simply said, “Alright.” and gave him a tight hug before swimming back over to her own bed.

“Good night, Bubble.”

She got no response.

Chapter Text

Luca was back in the deep.

He had no idea how he’d gotten there. Hadn’t he just arrived back home? Where was Uncle Ugo?

He wasn’t panicking, but there was a tightness in his chest. He forced himself to take a deep breath, despite the low oxygen.

He had handled this before. So he began mentally preparing himself for the extended stay.

“That’s it? You're just going to stay here again?” he heard from behind him. The voice was accusing and sounded betrayed, but also familiar...so familiar. 

Luca immediately recognized it and spun around. “Alberto?!” he cried in disbelief, surprised at how he didn’t have to make an effort to get the words out.

Luca saw a shadowy outline of his best friend and he desperately swam closer.

“You wanted to leave the deep so badly, but when it happened again, your first reaction was to settle back down. Maybe you do like it here.”

“Alberto-” Luca tried as he swam closer.

“Well if you’re staying in the deep-”

Luca finally got close enough, but before his bioluminescence could allow him to take in the faint sight of Alberto, there was suddenly more light. Bioluminescence that was not his own lit up, suddenly grating him a full view of Alberto.

“-then I am too.”

But it wasn’t the Alberto he remembered.

His scales were duller, although they were still purple which made Luca happy. What made him less happy was the fish hood that pierced his left ear. His clothes were tattered, making them match the end of his tail, which had a couple notches in it.

What was most notable was that the second glow had come from Alberto’s own bioluminescence.

Like Luca’s, it took the form of glowing dots. But instead of Luca’s multiple little dots, Alberto only had a few bigger ones. Five along the frills of his tail and four in the center of the scales on his head.

Finally, and most notably, three dots in the middle of his forehead. They helped to illuminate his eyes, which Luca couldn’t stop staring at. They had dark rings around them, like he hadn’t slept in so long, and right underneath were tear marks. 

Perhaps it was the lighting of the deep, but the tear marks looked black, like they were permanently etched into his face. 

Alberto continued talking, his voice filled with disdain, but Luca wasn’t listening. He just kept inching closer to Alberto, afraid if he made one wrong move, the boy would disappear. When he tentatively reached out to touch Alberto’s arm, and the boy remained, Luca frantically grabbed and pulled him into a tight hug.

“I missed you so much,” Luca said into the crook of Alberto’s neck.

Alberto had gone quiet upon being pulled into the hug, but those words snapped him out of it and he hugged back just as tightly. “I missed you too. I’m sorry. I was just so scared and angry,” he confessed.

Luca gave a laugh that was somewhere between happy and sad. “I forgive you. Really, I’m mad at myself too.” Then, with a confidence that he had never felt before, Luca took Alberto’s words to heart, “You know what? You’re right. I shouldn't stay here in the deep, and neither should you.”

Alberto stared at Luca, then he grinned. It made Luca’s heart ache. Despite his changed appearance, that joyous grin had stayed the same. 

“Silencio Bruno?” Alberto asked, extending a hand to Luca.

The boy in question nodded affirmatively and took his hand, “Silencio Bruno.”

They swam up together hand in hand.

The journey was a lot shorter than Luca remembered and he was vaguely aware that something was wrong.

Why had Alberto been in the deep? Why weren’t they being affected by the oxygen change? 

Why did the top of the trench now lead to the surface?

But all of those questions died in his mind as he looked up. The water made them blurry, but he’d know them anywhere, it was the anchovies in the sky. 

“They’re just as beautiful as I remember,” Luca sighed happily.

“They’ll look even better above water. Come on,” Alberto told him and relinquished Luca’s hand. Luca ignored the way his hand suddenly felt cold, and the urge to grab Alberto’s hand again and never let go. Instead he watched Alberto use both hands to haul himself out of the trench.

Despite the water obscuring his view, Luca could see Alberto shift into his human form and then kneel. He extended his hand towards the water, waiting for Luca to take it. The younger sea monster felt a small smile grace his lips, and reached up.

But right as his fingers were an inch from breaching the water, Luca felt something latch onto his ankles.

He couldn’t even look down to see what it was because he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Alberto’s gaze. The other boy’s eyes were filled with the same terror that Luca felt.

Then Luca felt himself get yanked down, back into the darkness. He kicked his legs, but whatever had him kept an ironclad grip.

“LUCA!!!” he heard Alberto cry, but the boy was quickly fading from view.

---------------------------------

Luca woke with a start, his bioluminescence lighting up as his eyes snapped open, but no sound came out of his mouth.

As he got his bearings, he turned on his side and looked over to his grandma who was snoring with her eyes open. To most it would have been unnerving, but he found it comforting.

After pinching himself to make sure that he wasn’t still asleep, he reflected on his dream.

Luca wanted to see Alberto again. He had never forgotten that, but the dream reminded him of the aching pain in his chest at being apart from his best friend. Now it only felt stronger.

That’s what made the ending of the dream so frustrating.

He continued looking at his grandma. She would probably take him to the surface so he could see Alberto. But was that even a good idea? He had gotten caught once before. What was stopping it from happening again?

The white noise was increasing and the shadows in his room suddenly reminded him of the ones in his dream.

Luca brought his knees to his chest, even though he knew that wouldn’t prevent something from grabbing his ankles. He forced his eyes shut and tried to will himself to sleep; telling himself that he would deal with these thoughts in the morning.

Chapter Text

Luca was in the middle of a dreamless sleep. Or at least he was pretty sure it was a dreamless sleep. It was more like he had been waiting for the dream to start and had known for sure that it was going to happen any second now. So he was almost annoyed when he was pulled from it by somebody gently shaking his shoulder. Now he’d never know what happened.

His annoyance didn’t last long when he heard the gentle voice of his grandma, “Come on Bubble. Wake up.” Her touch was light, like she was afraid if she shook too hard he’d break. 

When Luca’s eyes finally fluttered open and focused on her, he watched his grandma motion for him to follow and swam out the opening in their room. Luca was confused but followed nonetheless.

It was ridiculously early in the morning. The sea was only slightly lighter than it would have been if it was night. Luca sped up to catch up to his grandmother. When he did, he caught her eye and tilted his head, silently asking what was happening.

She just gave him a wink and said, “It’s a surprise.”

Luca felt a flicker of curiosity, but it was quickly washed away by his usual indifference. He’d know when they arrived, so why ask more questions?

Fortunately or unfortunately for Luca, he wouldn’t need to wait until they got there. As they swam further, Luca recognized certain markers and the direction they were swimming. The realization of where they were headed hit him so fast it made his head spin.

They were going to the human town.

Luca’s indifference evaporated. He stopped so suddenly, he could feel the water continue to whoosh passed him from the current he’d created from swimming.

His grandma stopped a bit ahead of him and without turning around, she chuckled. “Already figured out the surprise, huh? I should have known. You always did have a good memory.” When she turned around to face him, her amusement evaporated. “Bubble? What’s wrong?”

Luca couldn’t find it in himself to speak. Instead he just shook his head vigorously. He couldn’t go back to the surface. His dream about the shadows latching onto him and dragging him back to the deep was still fresh in his mind. The thought of it still made his ankles twitch.

His grandma gave him a sad look. “Alberto will want to see you.”

That was almost enough to make Luca want to continue their journey. He wanted to see Alberto, but the thought of going near a boat sent shivers down his spine. Even worse was the thought of going to the surface. After being in the deep with its compression for so long, the thought of not having the weight of water surrounding him made him want to claw at his scales. Simultaneously, if they got caught, he could get sent back to the deep, and the thought of the full force of the compression made his head feel like it was pounding.

His grandma reached a hand out to him, “Bubble-”

Luca just shook his head with even more vigor, squeezing his eyes shut.

He heard a sigh. Grandma Paguro didn’t push, which he was grateful for. 

“Alright, but I’m going to tell Alberto that you’re back. It was supposed to be a surprise for the both of you. If I’m not back in time for breakfast, tell your mom I went looking for sea cucumbers.”

Luca nodded. He felt a tightness in his chest dissipate, but another one forming in its place as he began his journey home before the sun fully rose.

---------------------------------

He came out of his room for breakfast and was greeted by his parents.

When his mom asked where his grandma was, he just shrugged. Daniela gave a sigh. “I don’t know why I’m surprised. She’s been swimming off a lot more often.” Luca was suddenly very much aware of where Grandma Paguro was swimming off to, but he made no comment. 

His mother had calmed down since the previous night. She didn’t invade his space, though she did give him an affectionate kiss on the head when she passed by him as she set food on the table. Luca had leaned into the touch, although it was brief. He’d forgotten how much he’d missed such casual acts of affection.

He had also forgotten how much he missed food. As he tucked into his breakfast, he could definitely say that it beat whale carcass or non-nutritious, deep sea plants. He couldn’t help a small smile as he ate.

Daniela chuckled, “I remember when you first tried that dish. You had a similar reaction. I had to stop you from eating so quickly, you’d get a stomach ache.”

Luca thought back to that memory. It was weird to think about how excited and enthusiastic he used to be about such small things. Luca looked back at his mother and then tilted his head in his father’s direction with a knowing look.

Daniela let out an amused huff, “Ah yes, how could I forget? You were simply a distraction.”

“Hey! I got a stomach ache, to show our son what not to do,” Lorenzo objected indignantly.

“We thank you for your sacrifice, honey,” his mom said with endearment and exasperation in her eyes as she looked at her husband. Both of his parents chucked and Luca felt happiness too. The conversation went on with Luca occasionally smiling or nodding. It was nice and comfortable for the most part. But even to Luca, it was clear that there was something unspoken.

He could hear the strain in their voices. All three of them knew there was something to be talked about, but nobody wanted to acknowledge the elephant seal in the room, least of all Luca.

He wasn’t even sure what they needed to address, but he was happy to keep going without acknowledging it. He wanted to just keep pretending for a little while longer.

Eventually the conversation came to a lull and they found themselves in a comfortable silence. So all three of them were startled when it was suddenly broken by Grandma Paguro. “Alright, what'd I miss?” she asked, seemingly having materialized in the room.

“You missed breakfast, mom. Do you have to be swimming off all the time? Are sea cucumbers really that important?” Daniela scolded lightly.

“Hey, they are an under-appreciated delicacy. Who raised you?”

“You did!”

Daniela and her mother continued to bicker, though there was no venom in their words. Luca watched them go back and forth, with his dad trying to act as a mediator. He let out a sharp exhale that might have been mistaken for a laugh. He had missed this.

---------------------------------

After breakfast, Luca went with his mother to look around the reef. Not a lot had changed but the vibrace was very pretty to look at. They also greeted the other citizens. Everybody was nice but Luca almost felt like they weren’t there. Like he was greeting somebody inside of a dream.

There was also something about the way they looked at him. They were pleasant and didn’t even seem to mind that he would offer a wave instead of a verbal greeting. But they kept on glancing at him, like they were expecting him to suddenly change into something else entirely.

His mother was getting into a debate with Bianca Branzino about dolphin impressions when a patch of sea grass caught his eye. He felt drawn to it so he tugged at his mom’s arm and pointed, silently asking to go there. Daniela nodded, “Just don’t swim too far.”

Luca left his mother to continue her debate, which in his mind wasn’t even a debate. He knew his mother’s dolphin impression was superior to Mrs. Branzino’s in every way.

He swam to the familiar patch of grass. He saw the goat fish grazing and, much to his surprise, Smuca was still there. The sight of the statue made the knot in his chest pull tight. He silently thanked Smuca for taking care of the fish, then continued swimming.

Luca reminisced as he swam down the path he’d once followed when looking at human stuff for the first time. Though there was none to be seen now.

He swam along until he found a small, shallow cave. The young sea monster moved further inside and put his hand on the wall. He couldn’t help a small smile at the memory this cave held for him.

“You know, I never thought I’d have to chase you down with a harpoon for a second time. But I guess we’re feeling nostalgic today.”

Luca swung around and indeed the situation did feel reminiscent, minus the scuba suit.

Him with his back pressed to the innermost part of the cave, heart suddenly pounding; cornered by a sea monster with purple scales and a harpoon. But the weapon wasn’t what Luca was focused on. All of his attention was on the sea monster’s piercing green eyes, and his smirk that was quickly giving way to a genuine grin.

“Alberto?”

“Hey Luca. Welcome back.”

Chapter Text

They stared at each other in awkward silence.

Alberto’s grin faded slightly, “Uhhh, Luca?”

He was cut off when Luca let out a joyous laugh. He pushed himself off the cave wall to lunge forward and pull Alberto into a tight hug. They spun around in the water from the momentum. Luca suddenly understood why his mother had greeted him the way she did. He had half a mind to pepper Alberto’s face with kisses.

Alberto laughed as well and that just made Luca hug him tighter. The memory of the warped version of his friend he’d seen last night in his dream was quickly fading and being replaced by this one. His actual friend. His best friend. He was here and he was okay.

---------------------------------

Alberto had been practicing his harpoon skills on the beach, repeatedly throwing the metal spear into the shallow water with all his might so he could become big and strong like his dad. He didn’t know why Grandma Paguro had asked him to meet her here, especially so early in the morning, but he figured he should have something to do while he waited. He must have been caught up in the rhythm of it because from his perspective, Grandma Paguro materialized out of thin air behind him.

“Luca is back.”

“Ah!” Alberto jumped nearly a foot in the air. As he swung around to face her, her words registered with him. “Luca is back?” Alberto let out a joyous cry, leaving the harpoon in the sand and rushed up to her.

“Really? Is he here? Where is he?” Alberto frantically glanced around like Luca was going to appear out of thin air like his grandmother had.

His heart sank a little when she let out a sigh. “He couldn’t come with me but I wanted to let you know as soon as I could,” she said, “I can’t stay long, the family is expecting me for breakfast.”

“B-but can’t I see him? I want to show him Portorosso!” Alberto protested.

“You and me both. But Luca isn’t comfortable going into his human form. You’ve got to give him time. I’ll come back later and we can talk about it. Just be patient, kid.”

Alberto tried to protest again but Grandma Paguro was already swimming back out to sea. 

So Alberto tried to wait. He really did. He continued to practice with the harpoon like his dad had been teaching him. He had breakfast with his dad and Giulia. He knew that they did not buy it when he said that nothing was wrong. Fortunately they didn’t push the subject when he brushed it off.

Alberto wasn’t sure why he kept the fact that Luca had returned to himself. He had long since told his family that Luca was a seamonster too. Perhaps it was just that he couldn’t quite believe it himself. He was afraid it might turn out to not be true. He didn’t want to get more than one person’s hopes up for nothing. Alberto needed to see it with his own eyes…But he couldn’t see it with his own eyes if he was stuck above the water!

Alberto was dazed and distracted while he helped Giulia with deliveries. Luca was here. He was so close now and Alberto still couldn’t see him.

Eventually, he was back at the beach practicing with the harpoon. In hindsight going to the beach wasn’t the best idea. Now he couldn’t look away from the waves knowing he could jump in and find Luca.

So he shouldn’t have been surprised when that’s precisely what he did. He jumped into the waves before he could come to his senses. Alberto forgot he’d even been holding the harpoon. He could have put it back on the shore, but he couldn’t waste another second. So he kept it in hand and quickly swam along.

As he swam frantically, the young sea monster felt a bit of dread as he was reminded of when he had first gone to find Luca, almost exactly a year ago, harpoon in hand. Fortunately this time he had much more luck finding the other sea monster, in the place they’d first met no less.

He did a double take when he first saw a sliver of navy blue out of the corner of his eye. Luca’s scales were much darker and he had many marks dotted along his skin that reminded Alberto of the stars. But even with the changed appearance, Alberto knew. He didn’t doubt for a second that this was his Luca. So he followed.

“Hey Luca. Welcome back.”

Luca lunged forward and Alberto was afraid for his own mortality for a split second. But this boy would be the death of him some other day because Alberto quickly found himself wrapped in a tight hug that he quickly reciprocated, leaving the harpoon forgotten on the sandy floor.

---------------------------------

The momentum slowed down until they came to a halt. It didn’t seem like either of them were ready to let go. So in silent agreement, they allowed both of their hands to remain clapped in each others.

“Oh my gosh, it’s really you! You’re really here!” Alberto rambled excitedly, “I have so much to tell you. Your grandma showed me the human town and there are actually two other sea monsters already living there! They’re both really grumpy but I managed to charm my way into their good graces.” Luca rolled his eyes at how smug Alberto said that last part.

“And then, I was taken in by this human family, Massimo and Giulia. They’re amazing and they both know that I’m a sea monster! In fact…the whole town knows.”

Luca was immediately concerned and Alberto scrambled to elaborate. “But don’t worry. It actually turned out better than expected. You’d be surprised at how many people didn’t mind, and how many people came around. There are still a few jerks, but they don’t matter.

“Oh you’re gonna love Giulia. You’re both total nerds. She taught me that the anchovies in the sky aren’t fish at all (contrary to my educated guess), they’re actually called stars. It’s so cool. 

“So what about you? What adventures have you had without me?” Alberto finished, still looking like he was going to vibrate out of his scales.

Luca really wished Alberto hadn’t shifted the conversation back to him. He suddenly realized that he was not in the mood to talk. He had no idea how he had cried out Alberto’s name just a few minutes ago. Now the thought of uttering a word seemed impossible.

Alberto tilted his head. “Hey what’s the matter?...You can’t talk?...Does it have something to do with your new look?” he asked in confusion and concern.

The younger sea monster really shouldn’t have been surprised Alberto was the first to acknowledge that his silence wasn’t normal. His family had avoided addressing the elephant seal in the room but Alberto had swam right up to it, shook its flipper, and asked it about its day.

“Luca? Where’d you swim off to?” came a call from in the distance. His mom was looking for him. He gave Alberto a pleading look, hoping he would understand.

Alberto understood the message and got a determined look in his eye. He gave both of Luca’s hands a squeeze. “I’ll be back soon,” he promised, picking up the harpoon, and quickly disappeared around a rock structure.

As Luca waited for his mother to find him, he nodded. It was a delayed reaction to Alberto’s words. Alberto wasn’t there now so it was more for himself. Agreement that Alberto would return and they would have the opportunity to spend more time together. Luca chose to believe this was a fact.

Chapter Text

Chapter 8:

Luca could not believe he had agreed to this. It was insane, but he just couldn’t resist that hopeful look Alberto had given him.

Alberto wanted Luca to meet Giulia, his sister. Luca had no idea how Alberto could go from living alone on an island to having a dad and a sister in the span of a year but he was happy for his best friend nonetheless.

Giulia’s POV:

To say Giulia was excited to meet Alberto’s friend would have been the understatement of the century. She was so jittery, she half expected to vibrate out of her own skin.

“Don’t be too much. Don’t be too much,” Giulia repeated to herself. She didn’t want to make a bad first impression by overwhelming him, but she was so excited. She’d heard so much about the elusive Luca. 

Soon after finding out that Alberto was a sea monster, her brother confessed to her that Luca was a sea monster too and gave her and their dad the complete story. Even the letters she and Alberto wrote to each other non-stop while she was in Genova would occasionally bring up Luca. She felt as if she already knew him. So when Alberto burst into their room one summer day and declared, “Luca’s back!” She quickly matched his energy and excitement.

After the two calmed down, Alberto warned her that Luca seemed shy and wasn’t talking. She still wanted to meet him and eventually Alberto got Luca to say yes. 

So here she was on the beach settling her goggles onto her face. She had become a much better swimmer thanks to her brother. Not only did Alberto teach her better techniques to move through the water, but it also motivated her to learn since she wanted to be able to spend time with him above or below the water. Now she could hold her breath longer than any other kid in Portorosso thanks to all of her hours of practice.

Giulia followed Alberto into the water. They swam for a little while until they got to a cluster of boulders where fish grazed on kelp. Alberto grinned at Giulia and gestured to the rocks. Giulia wondered if her brother was insane. 

Alberto frowned at the rocks. He swam over and dragged a figure out from behind one of the larger boulders. The sea monster’s navy blue scales had allowed him to blend into the rocks’ shadows but now he stuck out like a sore thumb against the bright green kelp. Giulia didn’t know what Alberto was saying as he spoke to the figure but she immediately knew who it was.

Luca.

He was scrawnier than she expected. His eyes were sad. There was a hunch in his shoulders, like he was perpetually resisting the urge to curl in on himself. Yet there was something in his eyes when he looked at her. Not fear, but not quite curiosity either.

She would have to continue analyzing him in a moment because her lungs were burning. She swam back to the surface, took a breath and raced back down. When she got back, a stray goatfish swam forward and bumped into her…and then bumped into her again…and again, like it was expecting her to disappear if it persisted. Giulia had to resist the urge to laugh, she couldn’t exactly spare the oxygen. Luca rolled his eyes in fond exasperation and swam over to grab the fish. He turned it around and shooed it to rejoin its herd in grazing.

• Luca POV: Luca meets Giulia
• Luca teaches Giulia about the sea
• They have a conversation without talking. Giulia is fascinated with sea life. Luca is reminded of how he used to be curious about every little thing. He finds himself enjoying teaching Giulia about sea life.
• Alberto says that Giuilia was his main teacher when he was learning about the surface. So he’s sure that she’d be willing to return the favor and teach Luca about the surface too.

Time Jump:

Luca would often sneak off to see Alberto and Giulia. It was nice. Surprisingly nice. 

One day, he and Alberto were alone, swimming near the island’s shore, goofing around. The fog that clouded Luca’s head had let up for the time being. It had started with a playful bump of the shoulder that Alberto returned with slightly more force, that Luca returned with even more force. This escalated into playful roughhousing and the two started to chase each other around the open water. 

Alberto may have been strong, but now that the sun was setting, Luca’s scales made it easier for him to camouflage in the growing shadows. When he managed to get out of Alberto’s sight, his friend paused and looked around confused. “Luca? Where’d you go?” he called. As soon as Alberto turned his back, Luca lunged from his hiding place and tackled his friend. 

They spun around, Alberto laughed as they tumbled onto the sandy floor. Luca didn’t laugh but his mouth wasn’t etched into its seemingly permanent frown. Even during their roughhousing, Alberto understood that this was the equivalent of unbridled joy for his friend. In their blur of motion, Luca somehow managed to pin Alberto. He’s 98.6% sure that Alberto let him win, but he’d take whatever victory he could get.

Alberto’s laughter faded and they stared at each other. Luca’s cheeks felt warm. He found that Alberto’s face was getting closer for some reason. Though it’s not like he minded.

Then Luca’s eyes widened in horror as he saw Alberto’s purple scales shift into tan skin. Luca gasped and whipped his head around to his surroundings. How could he not have realized that they had rolled onto the shore?

Luca’s heart stopped when he looked down and saw his scales disappearing too. He vaguely heard Alberto trying to reassure him but it was useless. Before the transformation could complete, Luca scrambled off of Alberto and rushed back into the ocean. Relief flooded through him as he felt water flood his lungs.

Alberto frantically scrambled after him. “Luca? Are you okay? I’m so sorry about that.” Luca took in a deep breath until his lungs couldn’t take anymore. Then he exhaled until there was nothing left to let out. Luca knew he wouldn’t be able to manage even a faint whisper. So instead he turned to Alberto and put a hand on his shoulder, trying to convey with his eyes that he was okay. Luca felt no small amount of relief when Alberto’s face lit up so he knew they were on the same page. 

They went their separate ways and that should have been the end of it, but Luca couldn’t help staying awake that night. He could not stop thinking about that incident. He wasn’t hiding it very well either. He could tell his grandma knew something was nagging at him but she thankfully didn’t push the subject.

He thought about breathing. It was such a simple thing. They had a version of it underwater, but it was not the same as land. With water, you couldn’t smell anything. During those few seconds of breathing he smelled the salt in the air; something he had grown up with was now so fresh and new. That was combined with the scent of the different fruits growing around the island. Even the sand and dirt had a particular scent. Salty air, plants, and other things he didn’t have a name for. Just with his sense of smell in those few seconds, he registered so many things that he had forgotten about.

For a moment, he’d felt the warmth of Alberto’s skin instead of cold, smooth scales.

• Luca swam back up to the surface just to breathe. The pressure of the deep felt like it was letting up for the first time in a year.
• Through therapeutic exposure, Luca slowly made his way onto land.
• It didn’t cure him. Luca was still depressed, but his curiosity burned with each sound, sight, smell.
• The next time he visited Alberto and Giulia, he finally found it in himself to speak.
• He told them he wanted to see the human town.

Chapter 9:

(Late morning)

• Back in the sea, Luca found a mirror among a bunch of human junk and saw his reflection for the first time.
• When he arrived at the deep, he stuck out because of his vibrant scales. Now his dull, navy blue complexion was a stark contrast to the rainbow colors of the reef.
• The scales that adorned his head were longer now and looked unkempt.
• His bioluminescence wasn't very visible with all the light.
• His most notable feature was his eyes. What was so striking was how empty and blank they looked. His face was blank, his eyes were blank, he was just blank.
• Looking at his reflection felt like an out of body experience. Luca wasn’t entirely convinced that he was looking at his own face.
• He was broken out of his trance by Alberto, ready to bring him to Portorosso
• Luca didn’t feel safe or comfortable on the surface, but he did feel safe and comfortable with his friends. So it was like the two thoughts were canceling each other out and Luca could be comfortably numb during his visit.

Notable events during Luca’s first time in Portorosso:

• Luca tried on different human clothes
• Luca freaked out because of loud noise
• Luca met Massimo
• Luca met Angela and Rosa
• Luca met Ercole. Ercole tried to pick on Luca, but Luca was unresponsive.
• Ercole insulted Alberto and Giulia so Luca spoke for the first time during his visit to call Ercole a catfish. 

(Later in the evening)

• Giulia brought Luca to her and Alberto’s room to show him her books and teach him some of the stuff she taught Alberto.
• Giulia worried about being too much around Luca.
• Luca wasn’t sure what he was feeling. 
  • He was feeling excitement but didn’t recognize it because he had convinced himself that being in the deep had killed his curiosity as a whole. Luca had told himself he didn’t care anymore and had no desire to discover or learn.
• Luca learned about stars with Giulia. 
• He had his first imagination sequence in a year
  • Note to self: Put imagination sequences in future chapters
• For a second Luca broke out of his trace and blurted out, “Tell me everything you see!” His curiosity was ignited again. Luca tried to squash it down despite Giulia telling him that he wasn’t being too much. Unfortunately for him, the spark wouldn’t be going away.

Chapter 10:

(Morning)

• It’s the day of the crab show that Daniela had mentioned at the start of the movie.
• Lorenzo and Luca prepared the crabs for the show.
  • Reference to the prized crab, Pinchy-pessa, and Lorenzo saying, “She can sense weakness” in the movie.
• Crab sensed weakness from Lorenzo
• Lorenzo realized he needed to step up and be more attentive
• He apologized to Luca
• Luca (mostly) forgave his dad

(Afternoon)

• Luca and Alberto hung out (went on a date) at the crab show in the sea
• Alberto got to see a lot of seafolk society he missed out on

(Evening)

• Daniela tried to ask Luca about his time in the deep. 
• Luca said, “There is nothing to see or do, it’s just you and your thoughts.”
• Luca said something passive aggressive
• Daniela and Luca got into an argument.
• Daniela, “Stop it or I’ll-“
• Luca, “Or you’ll what? Send me back to the deep?”
• He swam to the surface and stayed the night with Alberto and Giulia.

(Night)

• Daniela and Grandma got into an argument. Daniela insisted that the surface is dangerous. 
• Grandma, in the heat of the moment, said that she goes into town most weekends.
• Daniela was shocked but before she could say anything Grandma said, “What? Are you going to ban me from going at all? I’m an adult, I can do whatever the hell I want. And soon, your son is going to be an adult too. He’ll be able to make his own decisions and there won’t be a damn thing you can do to stop him. You can’t protect him forever so you might as well learn to appreciate every aspect of that brilliant boy.”
• Grandma asked why she couldn't admit she was wrong. Daniela broke down. “Because if I’m wrong, then that means that it was all for nothing!” her voice broke, “I irreversibly hurt my son for nothing.”
• There was silence except for Daniela’s sobs.
• Grandma swam over and pulled her daughter into a hug. “I don’t know if I would say irreversibly. He’s getting better. And it might take a while, but you can work to make it up to him. Things will never go back to ‘normal’ but that doesn’t mean that they can’t turn around. (Insert bits of the “Some people will never accept him” speech from the movie). This all feels inevitable. One way or another, no matter what you did, it probably would have turned out like this.”

Chapter 11:

(Afternoon)

• Luca learned to ride a bike
• He had a very fun day
• (Insert other fun stuff that happened)

(Night)

• Alberto and Giulia went to help Massimo with something. Luca was content to sit alone in the treehouse and admire the stars, but he started to get caught up in his thoughts.

That’s when it hit him. He’d been sent to the deep for no reason. Well there had been a reason. His mom had been afraid for him. But in the end it was pointless. 

All those nights of being afraid, crying himself to sleep, learning how to numb himself. An entire year of his life was gone and was replaced by a darkness that followed him around. And it was all for nothing. It was pointless. It was so stupid.

He cried, “I never asked for this. I never asked for this. I never asked for this.”

• Luca was hyperventilating
• Alberto found him and calmed him down with breathing exercises
• Luca vented about how the deep is just you and your thoughts. So Luca did his best not to have thoughts. And now he missed the deep in a twisted way because all of these fun new environments and new people meant that his brain wouldn’t shut up. There was a part of him that wanted to embrace it. There was another part of him that wanted to climb into the bottom of the deepest trench in the ocean and stay there forever.
• Alberto told Luca he understood his feelings of isolation and that it was scary for him to leave the island and learn to rely on other people too. “But you’re here now! You’ve got me, Giulia, Massimo, Grandma Paguro. I promise, we’re all here for you.”
• Alberto opened up about how his dad abandoned him. Luca realized he never thought to ask about this. He felt like a bad friend. Everything else had been so overwhelming that this major detail had somehow slipped through the cracks.
• Alberto talked about how the first month living with Massimo was rough
  • (Based on events of Ciao, Alberto)
  • They didn’t know how to communicate after Giulia left for school
  • Alberto lit a boat on fire
  • At first, he had wanted to go back to the island and revert to being alone again. In the end, he ran away to Angela and Rosa. They dragged him back out to talk to Massimo
  • He and Massimo made up

“My point is, please don’t think you have to be alone. If you run away, I’m pretty sure Angela and Rosa will drag you back. That is if me and your grandma don’t do it first. You’re not alone. It’s not just you and your thoughts anymore”

Their faces leaned in further and further until they shared a quick kiss. They hugged and Luca cracked his first smile.

Chapter 12:

• Note to self: Write follow-up scene about Alberto and Luca discussing their new relationship.

• Daniella and Luca confrontation
• Daniella cried and said she’s sorry. She wanted to know how to make this right.
• Luca said he didn’t know.
• Luca told her, “Look me in the eye. You know I love you.”

• Daniella agreed to go to the surface. She noticed Luca constantly petting Machiavelli.
• She got Luca a cat, it helped him with his anxiety.
• Cat version of a sea monster. It can be a cat on land and a sea creature in the water
• Original art here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CR2E4PMgIce/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
• Cat’s name is Catfish

Chapter 13:

• Luca had a fun day with his friends.
• Giulia talked about Genova.
• Alberto had visited and said it’s a very cool place but warned that it might overwhelm Luca.
• Luca wanted to go.
• He discussed it with his parents. Daniela was scared but didn't let it rule her decisions this time.

Chapter 14:

• Luca visited Genova. Thanks to Alberto’s help with Massimo's fishing business, money is no longer tight so they could buy Luca a ticket.
• He met Giulia’s mother.
• She painted a picture of him in seamonster form.
• Luca saw how his new form was beautiful.

• Luca visited Giulia’s school and was captivated. 
• Luca realized he wanted to go to school too. This realization was scary. Giulia could tell Luca was distressed, but he brushed it off.
• Luca missed the deep/depression. He had been with it for so long that when he started to feel happier, he felt incomplete.

Very important nightmare scene (parallel to nightmare from Chapter 5):

• Luca had a nightmare where he was alone and swimming above the trench that led to the deep.
• Shadows were below, chasing him.
• He swam to the side but the trench only seemed to widen when he tried. 
• He tried to swim up but the trench didn't get any further away.
• He could only swim forward to get away, but it was going on forever and he was getting tired. 
• The shadows called to him. “Come with us. Let us take you back down. It would be so much easier if you would just let us bring you back down.”
• Luca ran out of strength. He couldn’t keep running anymore.
• Luca stopped swimming and looked directly down at the shadows that were reaching for him, inches away from his ankles.
• Luca shouted, “NO! I don’t want to go back there!”
• The shadows froze and there was deafening silence.
• “Alright but you should know that hardships await with those happy times you are dreaming of.” 
• The shadows receded and Luca was left floating above the trench.

• Luca woke up with a gasp. 
• He pet Catfish to calm down.
• He caught his breath and looked out the window.
• The stars were bright and clear. He dipped his finger into the glass of water Giulia’s mother had given him before bed and let the droplets fall onto his forearm.
• He realized just how much the bioluminescence on his dark blue scales resembled the stars in the night sky.
• Luca looked out at the city. Everything was so much bigger in Genova. The idea that it was only a fraction of Italy was insane to him, and Italy was only a fraction of Europe, Europe was only the second smallest continent in the world. All of this was happening on a planet that was dwarfed by even more massive planets to comprise the solar system, and that solar system was one of many.
• It was all so massive and fascinating. He wanted to learn and understand all of it. Even if it was hard. He didn’t want to survive, he wanted to live!

• Luca came back to Portorosso and the first thing he said when he saw his family was that he wanted to go to school.
• They could afford it because Grandma had won a lot of money gambling with cards. She stashed her winnings away for a rainy day and she could think of no better purpose.

Chapter 15:

• After telling the news to his friends, Giulia was ecstatic and wanted to give Luca a big hug but remembered that Luca didn’t like to be touched.
• Luca gave a small smile and spread his arms in invitation. Giulia squealed and wrapped him in a bone crunching hug that Luca was pretty sure cured the hunch in his back.
• He made a mental note to encourage Giulia to consider a career in chiropractic medicine.
• Alberto was supportive even though Luca was scared he wouldn’t want him to go.

(At the train station)

• Giulia took Catfish onto the train. Meanwhile Alberto and Luca said goodbye.
• Alberto was nervous and reluctant to be separated from Luca. Luca could tell that he was trying to put on a brave face.
  • Cue a scene that parallels when Alberto said, “You got me off the island, Luca, I’m okay.”
• Luca assured, “You got me out of the deep, Alberto, I’ll be okay.”
• They kiss!

Luca boarded the train. So much was uncertain but his curiosity had been reignited so he couldn’t wait to find out. His eyes were watery as he waved to Alberto while the train carried him away.

Over the years, things did get better. Luca never lost his bioluminescent stars and his dark gray-blue scales lightened, though it was evident they would never return to their original sea-foam green.

It was bitter-sweet, but Luca found he didn’t mind so much when he went outside at the end of a rainstorm. The rain was still falling, but the sun was now peaking out from behind the clouds. Not caring that his uniform was getting soaked, Luca allowed himself to shift forms and admired how his scales glimmered under the surface’s sun.