Love of the family.

Grandparents time :))

Also...there shall be a sunset :)))

Enjoy! :)

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

The door practically swings off the hinges after Race knocks twice. Now that he's standing face to face with his grandparents, he grins and announces, "Sto qui!" Both his grandparents move forward immediately, very happy to welcome him with open arms.

Spot smiles and accepts hugs from them too. Over the last three years he has been treated like their second grandson.

"Cosa avete fatto oggi?" Nonna asks them. What have you two done today?

And so Race launches into the stories of the races today, not leaving anything out. 

"Era incredibile!" he exclaims. It was incredible!

He still cannot believe how that horse won like that. In all of his years of racing, he has never seen anything like that. 

"La cena è pronta," Nonna tells them happily. Dinner is ready.

A very big grin spreads on Race's face as they sit down at the dinner table.

"Well I can see someone is ready for pane," Spot says, amused.

"Don't tell me that you aren't," Race counters.

"Alright, touché."

"Also, remember," Race playfully chides. "When we are in this casa..."

"...Solo parlare Italiano," Spot and Race finish together.

That's when Nonna cuts in, in English, giving Race a light slap on the hand. "That rule exists only for you nipote!"

Spot, Nonno, and Nonna laugh heartily.

"E tu, Nonno?" Race complains. "Ho pensato sei al lado mio." I thought you were on my side.

Nonno just smiles. "Dispiace, nipote mio."

The three laugh again.

Race takes a piece of bread and starts eating silently, pretending to sulk.

How they love teasing him.

"Ti amamo, Antonio," Nonna assures him after a beat, squeezing his hand.

He squeezes back gratefully. "Lo so, Nonna."

Sure, there are many instances when he is faced with light teasing and he takes it too closely to heart. But not here. Not with them. He can't explain why, but somehow he is always able to tell with his grandparents and Spot. Maybe it's because Race trusts Spot wholeheartedly; maybe it's because he understands his grandparents would never say anything that would put their developing relationship at risk.

And so they continue eating.

"Cosa farete domani?" Nonna asks.

Spot answers in slow Italian. "Vadiamo ad esplorare."

"Ah, sì?"

"Sì."

Race grins. They have all told Spot that he doesn't need to learn Italian for them. But he insisted, and through several years of hearing it by ear and some informal lessons, he has definitely picked some up. And it warms all of their hearts to see him trying.

"Andrete a uscire di Brooklyn?" Nonno asks.

"Gia no," Spot responds. "Andremo a visitare il mercato grande."

Their plan is to go to the big market tomorrow, explore an area of Brooklyn neither of them are used to seeing, hoping to connect with other people. Just see where the wind takes them and see where they end up.

Besides, Spot has a couple nostalgic spots he wants to visit himself before they go off into the great big world. It's only fair that he gets to see his too before they venture off leaving it all behind.

"Ci vai a mancare," Nonna tells him. Nonno nods. We are going to miss you.

"Vado a ritornare," he assures them.

"Col tuo ragazzo?" Nonno asks him, eyebrows raise. With your boy?

Race's face heats up a bit. "Uhh, credo che sì." I think so.

Spot, understanding the question, grabs Race's hand. "So che sì."  I know so.

They all smile.

That's when Race looks out the window and notices that the sunset is getting closer to those colors he likes. And so he asks if they can go out to watch it. They say yes, and so they do.

"I love it when it's like this."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I love the contrasting colors of the cloud. There's a word for it in Italian: chiaroscuro. It means 'light-dark', and refers to an art technique commonly found in the Rennaissance. So these clouds often remind me of a Rennaissance painting. It's comforting."

"What's comforting?"

"That people in the Rennaissance probably got inspiration for chiaroscuro from the clouds. They probably felt the same amount of awe as I did. So I can say with almost certainty that someone 200 or 300 years ago enjoyed the same sky I do today, and enjoyed it as much as I do now."

Spot smiles. "Have I ever told you how much I love your brain?"

"Oh, I might have heard that a couple...hundred times in the past few months."

"Well, it's true. And I'm going to keep saying it."

"Even when it's not true anymore?"

Spot looks at Race seriously. "It will always be true."

He's so perfect. A smile tugs at his lips. He glances away feeling warm inside.

Race turns back to the sunset. "And I love it when it's all golden like this. And I like the pinks, and the violets. That violet looks like something irreplicable."

"I like it too. All these colors are very stunning."

"I wish I could touch them. The colors and the clouds."

Spot smiles. "That would be cool, wouldn't it."

"What do you think a cloud feels like?"

"It looks like cotton maybe. It looks extremely soft."

"I think I would like to have a mattress made out of clouds. And maybe a blanket."

"Honestly? If anyone is going to figure out how to get the clouds down from the sky, I think it'll be you."

Race grins. "Consider it my next project, my next big contribution to New York."

They chuckle, and even though they run out of words to say, they still fall into a comfortable silence. They are so in tune with each other that almost nothing is awkward any more.

They hold hands as they watch the sun get lower in the horizon.

They return to Race's grandparents' house before it gets too late. Nonna made some hot chocolate on the stove, which they take gratefully. Together with Nonno and Nonna, they drink their hot chocolate.

Then, when they are ready for bed, they say buona notte, and while Spot gives Race and his family a little distance, he gets two forehead kisses and is told twice "Ti voglio."

They missed out on moments like this for all of Race's childhood. They are taking their every opportunity now to build a strong familial bond.

Once his grandparents close their door, Race heads to Spot, who is on their mattress in the main room, full of blankets.

"We're having a cuddle fort tonight," Race tells Spot, grinning.

Spot grins as Race gets settled in beside him. Once Race is ready, Spot wraps his arms around him, and kisses the side of his face. "Ti amo, amore mio."

Race grins. "E ti amo molto, tesoro."

And so, the pair falls asleep blissfully in each other's arms.

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

Awwwwwww.

On one hand I feel guilty for the short chapters but on the other hand I kinda need them haha.

Thoughts?

It's been soooooo long since I've had Italian Brain, and I just spent soooo much time living in Spanish Brain, and so I need to reconnect my Italian Neurons. Don't worry though, as long as I have an emotional attachment to Italy, and as long as I'm writing Sprace fanfiction haha, I will make sure never to lose my Italian Neurons.

Sunsets...yeahhhhh I got no more words, y'all already know how much I like them haha.

Soooo cotton candy was invented in 1897 by a DENTIST, was originally called Fairy Floss, but didn't become popular until 1904 in a World Fair in Saint Louis, which is in fact only one year in the future from this story. But also one article said that an "Italian goody" might have been the first one to make something like cotton candy in the 1400s. What can I say? Italians are the best haha.

Hot chocolate was brought to North America in the 17th century, one source claims. But hot choclate has been around since the 2000 BCEs in Mèxico due to the Mayans, more sources claim. So no matter what, they can have hot cocoa in 1903 haha.

I think that's everything for this chapter.

How is everyone feeling so far?

Please, no homophobia/transphobia/aphobia, profanities directed at other users, or hate in the comment section at all times.

Best,

~Your Beloved Author (who has summoned their cat by singing See You Again and For Good)