Alessio visibly cringed when we got back to the medical building in the morning and he got a look at Caio. Caio had black eyes and was a little cranky this morning. 

“What did you say last night about not hitting him that hard?” I muttered as I walked past him into the room. 

“I didn’t think I hit him that hard.” Alessio said, rubbing the back of his neck, clearly feeling awkward. Luca came into the medical building looking for Alessio, and stepped into the room, and whistled as he set the coffee on the table. 

“You do that?” Luca said, looking at me.

“Hardly. Guess again.” Caio grunted. 

Luca looked at Alessio and Caio nodded. 

“Fuck did you do?” Luca said. 

“Our mother kissed him.” I whispered.

“Right.” Luca said, letting it sink in, before looking at Alessio, bewildered. “So you fucking hit him?”

“I couldn’t hit her, and he was right there. I already said sorry.” He groaned. 

Luca shook his head. “So fucking glad I don’t live here. It’s peaceful living in town.”

Luca poked me in the ribs before turning around and heading out. “See you later, at the meeting. I have papers to do.”

“What meeting?” I asked.

“We have a weekly meeting about everything. Gives Alexi a chance to rip me a new asshole when I go over budget.” Alessio sighed. 

“Does Caio go to those?” I asked. 

“He does. He is required, too.” Alessio said, poking around at Caio’s nose. “He’s been checking in with us over the computer, like Vito was.”

“Oh. I never even noticed him sneak off last week.” I muttered.

“You can’t notice with your eyes closed Matteo. You passed out on the couch.”

“I don’t do that.” I lied through my teeth.

Alessio just shook his head while he still touched Caio’s nose and surrounding area. Lev made himself known a few minutes later, with coffee in his hand too. 

“Luca got here first, huh?” He chuckled. Before getting a good look at Caio’s face when Alessio moved his hands. “Jesus fuck.”

“Got him good, huh?” I muttered. 

“Should control your husband better.” Caio hissed. 

“I will try harder.” Lev chuckled. 

“I didn’t mean to hit him this hard.” Alessio grumbled. 

“As long as you don’t do it again, I’ll forgive you. Pain in the ass. Keep you alive, just for you to pop me in the nose a few years later.” Caio said. 

Alessio sighed and stepped away from Caio. “Least your nose isn’t crooked.” 

Caio stood up, and I got up too. 

“Your turn, space boot, get up there.” Alessio said, pointing to the bed.

“Hell no. I saw you poke all Caio’s sore spots. You’re not doing that shit to me.”

“Get up there.” Alessio said.

Groaning, Caio and I switched spots, and he rolled close to me on his stool, put my foot on his knee and undid the boot, pulling it off my foot. He put me through all the same bullshit as the morning after. Back on the bed again, he spoke. 

“Wiggle your toes.”

I did so. It was slightly painful, but they wiggled. 

“So we can ditch the boot, but I’m wrapping up your foot in a soft cast and giving you some crutches.”

“Eh? Why give me back the boot at least then I could walk—--”

“No. This will keep you off your foot entirely. Which is what I want.”

“You fucking suck.” I groaned, moving on the bed for him to wrap my foot. 

He started wrapping the elastic cloth around my foot, and I spoke. 

“Next time, try anger management. That’s two in two weeks.”

“I speak to Zev about my anger.”

“It’s clearly not working.”

“Says the one who totalled Caio’s bedroom.”

“I break things, not people, Alessio.” I said flatly.

“Anger management family suite. You can join your father, and you can join your brother and his father.” Caio said, looking at Lev, who was still standing in the doorway. 

“That eager to get hit again, are you?” Lev said. 

“Not really.” He said, looking at Alessio. 

Alessio finished wrapping my foot and went and got my crutches. I glared at him, but took the crutches because I had no choice now. 

“I dislike you very much right now.”

“Good. Keep off your feet. In another two weeks, we can have a look at what is going on under there.”

“How am I supposed to bathe with this thing on!”

“Get creative. If you get stuck in the tub, ask Caio for help.”

Alessio left the room and went to do other things, his enormous shadow following right behind him.

“If you get stuck, ask Caio for help.” I mimicked him, annoyed. 

“Are you done?” Caio asked. 

“No. This is bullshit.” I whined. 

“If you stop whining about it, and get using your crutches, we might make it back to the complex before dark.”

“Not funny.” I groaned, standing up on the crutches. 

We made it to Alessio’s complex doors, and I refused to go any farther. 

“It feels like my armpits are ripping apart.”

“Stop being dramatic. We can find something for the tops when we get back to the wing.”

“It hurts. Not as much as your face, but close, I’m sure.”

Caio just shook his head at me before he tucked his phone back into his pocket. And turned to speak to me. 

“If it’s that bad, then I’ll just give you a lift back to the wing.”

“A what?” I said, looking at him, amused. He chuckled, and I didn’t like that. 

“Put your crutches against the wall.”

“I need them to walk!”

“I’m going to carry you.”

“Like hell you are!” I yelled, my cheeks flushing at the very thought of him carrying me. He looked at me, and I sighed, setting my crutches against the wall. I expected him to piggy back me, but he didn’t. He picked me up, his arm under my armpit. My arm was around his neck and his other arm was under my knees. 

“I’ll take you to the wing, then I’ll grab your crutches.”

“Ok.” I said, keeping my face down. Worried he would see how pink my cheeks were. Focused on walking, he wasn’t looking at me and I stole a look at him. His hazel eyes, even greener up close. This close to Caio also let me see where his dark beard had a few lighter hairs scattered through. Another stab at our age difference. 

“Am I that interesting to look at?” Caio said, when we stopped in front of the door. 

“Hmm. Perhaps.” I muttered, before fishing my phone out and using it to unlock his door. He carried me inside and dropped me on the couch lightly. 

“Stay here. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“Don’t know where you think I’ll be going.” I said flatly. 

“With you, who knows?” He chuckled. 

The sound of his chuckle was pleasant. Something that was uniquely his. I stretched out on the couch where he dropped me and could pick up the faint scent of Caio on my sweater. Despite all the time we had spent together, I wasn’t sure if this scent was a soap, spray or his deodorant. But it was lovely, and something I had to figure out the minute someone preoccupied him with something else. 

Caio returned and set the crutches by the couch. 

“Do you need anything else before my meeting?” He asked. 

“Your meeting is this soon?” I said, checking my watch. 

“No, but I have paperwork to do. Until then.”

“Oh. So you’ll be busy?”

“Yes.”

“Alright. I’m sure I can amuse myself until whenever you’re done.”

He nodded and went to his office, and I waited for him to close the office door before getting up. Moving around with the crutches was annoying and noisy, but I managed. In the bathroom, I looked around for anything that screamed it might be the cause of his scent, but nothing. 

The last thing I picked up was this tiny dropper bottle. Not thinking much of it, I set it back down and noticed the oil on my fingers. Bringing my fingers to my nose, the scent was heavy and far too strong, but from a distance, it was definitely Caio’s scent. 

Moving back to the living room, Caio’s bedroom door was open again. He had closed it after he woke up this morning. Not missing the chance to steal another pillow, I hobbled into the room on the crutches and went to grab another pillow. Clearly the one he had been using to sleep at night, based on the way it was placed. 

“Is one not enough?”

I turned, startled by his voice and he was standing at the closest, pulling on a shirt, looking rather annoyed. 

“You’re supposed to be working.”

“You’re supposed to be resting.”

“I am.” I said, sitting down on his bed to prove a point. 

Caio fixed his outfit, leaving the room. He paused at the door frame and turned back to look at me. “Try not to thrash my room this time, Matteo.”

I waited until I heard the office door close faintly again to lie back on his bed, and grab the pillow, bringing it to my nose. The pillow was saturated with Caio’s scent, and I wanted to exchange the pillow I had for this one. 

Getting up, I took this pillow with me and swapped it for the one on my bed. I brought the other one back and set it back on the bed. I nodded, quite proud of myself and my hard work. Holding a pillow and hobbling with crutches was not easy in any way. 

Setting the crutches down on the floor, I laid back on his bed again, and brought a different pillow to my nose, smiling softly. I was aware of how bad this would look if Caio walked in, but he didn’t hide his feelings for my mother. Why should I hide mine for him? After all, he was desperately in love with her, like I was with him. 

Hugging the pillow to my chest, bitterness settled in me. I wanted to prove to my mother that she was wrong about having Caio anyway, that she wanted him. But Caio’s feelings were far too important to me to pull the same shit she did. I wanted to treat Caio the way I knew he deserved to be treated. 

I was even willing to use Nonna methods if I had to. Catch him through his stomach.