Tony's birthday! I'm so excited for this chapter!

Enjoy! :)

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Tony wakes up on his sixteenth birthday to the sound of his Nonna's beautiful voice.

"Tanti auguri a te, tanti auguri a te," she murmurs, "Tanti auguri a Antonio, tanti auguri a te!"

She kisses his forehead.

"Buongiorno," she smiles.

He smiles back. "Buongiorno, Nonna."

She's one of the only ones to call him Antonio, which is the full name he chose; after his great-grandfather. He mostly goes by Tony everywhere else because that's the capacity most American minds can handle. Not with Italian grandparents.

He is so glad that he convinced his parents to let him stay at his grandparents' house last night.

Because he got to go to sleep last night to Nonna singing a ninna nanna--a lullaby. And Italian lullabies are the most beautiful there are.

And he gets to wake up to this.

Now Nonno enters the room. "Tanti auguri!"

Tony sits up now. "Grazie, Nonno!"

"Your friends will arrive in the afternoon, yes?" Nonna asks.

Tony nods. "I told them one o'clock."

He's so glad that his grandparents agreed to host his birthday party.

And that he'll share this wonderful house with his friends; even if it's just for an afternoon.

These are the perks to a Saturday birthday. He'll enjoy it while it lasts.

"I have all the ingredients out for the cake," Nonna tells him. "I'm ready to start making it when you are."

Tony smiles. That's what he loves about Italian birthday traditions: he's the one who picks out or makes the cake, meaning the cake will be how he wants. And he can't bake much, but baking a cake with his Nonna is one food that he will bake.

However, if they were in Italy and eating dinner out, he'd be the one to pay for dinner. So there's another reason why the food's going to be made at home.

"Alright, I'm up," Tony tells her. "Give me a minute to get dressed and I'll be right out there."

After his grandparents leave the room, Tony checks his phone. Every single one of his friends (including David--recently added to everyone's contacts via being added to the big group chat by Jack--which was nice) texted some variation of HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! at many different times. Charlie even made it do the thing where the message sends with balloons. And of course, there's Sean's texts.

Buon compleanno Tesoro! <3

Can't wait to see you at 1:00!

Tony smiles. It warms his heart to see Sean putting in an effort when it comes to acknowledging Tony's Italian heritage. 

He called me Tesoro.

That's still relatively new, but Tony absolutely loves it.

It's so funny to Tony to see the difference between his grandparents wishing him a happy birthday and Sean wishing him a happy birthday in Italian. Sean used buon compleanno, a direct translation of happy/good birthday. His grandparents, however, said tanti auguri, which is best wishes/congratulations, which can be used under many different circumstances, and is more common and/or popular to say.

He walks into the kitchen. "Alright, Nonna. I'm here to help."

His stomach grumbles loudly.

She laughs. "I think I should feed you first."

Tony grins sheepishly. "Probably."

She puts a hand on the dining room table. "Sit here."

As he sits down, she sets a plate in front of him. "Buon appetito!"

"Grazie..." he starts, and then his eyes widen when he sees what it is. "Struffoli?!" He looks up at her, eyes wide. "But I'm not supposed to see this for another month."

Struffoli is normally a food for Christmas.

They both know that.

She grins. "La colazione è servieta! Buon appetito!" Then she walks away before he can make any more protests/exclamations of disbelief.

She knows that it's my favorite food.

He smiles.

He's so grateful he has them.

Once he's done eating, he and Nonna start making the cake. He has to say that he loves this tradition.

While it bakes, Tony eats more struffoli (Nonna made so much!! He'll be eating leftovers for days!!) while sitting on the couch with Nonno, watching the horse races. Both lean forward, absolutely transfixed by the events happening on the screen.

"I bet number four is going to win this race," Tony states, not looking away from the TV.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah."

"I bet it'll be the eighth." A pause. "You sure it's the fourth that'll win?"

"Yeah, it's the fourth." Tony doesn't know why he feels so strongly about this.

That horse wins.

He and Nonno exchange glances. He grins. "Told ya."

Nonno grins back. "So you did."

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The doorbell rings the moment the hour hand is at the one and the second hand hit the twelve.

Tony springs up from the couch (which he hasn't moved from for the past however many hours it's been--aside from when he helped decorate the cake) and sprints to the door, hands out in front of him to brace himself for the impact of slamming into the door. He knows his hands are going to be red after this.

Nonno starts laughing really hard. "Slow down, nipote! Whoever it is can wait a few seconds."

"Not Sean!" Tony calls back as he fumbles with the door knob. Once he gets it, he flings the door wide open, and sure enough, there's Sean, present and card in hand, huge smile on his face.

"Hi!" Tony exclaims loudly. He's so excited. Seeing Sean--even though he just saw him yesterday--is making his mind move much faster already.

"Happy Birthday!" Sean exclaims.

That's when Tony remembers he's supposed to let Sean in and not block the door way. 

He moves aside. "Come in."

Nonno and Nonna know Sean well, and know how happy he makes Tony. "Buongiorno, Sean!" 

Sean grins. "Buongiorno, Signore e Signora Vitale!"

Tony glows.

He taught Sean how to say that.

His grandparents approve.

And they know exactly who he learned that from.

Tony grins back at them.

They both shake Sean's hand. Another Italian custom that Tony has grown up with.

Why his parents aren't as in touch with their culture as his grandparents are, Tony will never know. Or understand, really.

And so the small talk begins: Tony's grandparents ask him and Sean how school is going, Sean politely answers as Tony says pretty much anything he wants at any random point in the conversation--and in two languages.

Not too long later, the door bell rings again.

Tony goes to answer it.

Nonna goes to the kitchen; Sean follows her, having something to ask her. Something about Tony.

Tony is greeted by Louis and Nick when he opens the door. "Happy Birthday, Tony!" they both exclaim.

Tony grins. "Thanks guys." He welcomes them in.

Sean comes back into the living room.

"Jack's bringing Charlie, right?" Sean asks.

"I thought that was the plan," Tony responds. "Which explains why Charlie's not here yet."

Jack arrives with Charlie; and they brought David with them.

This is good.

This means Tony can tease Jack about his feelings for David.

Feelings which have only grown since David came out to Jack in October.

"Were you waiting long for us?" Jack asks Tony cheekily, knowing he would show up late, knowing that Tony knew he would show up late.

"Hope we didn't come too late!" Charlie says.

"Nah, you're good," Tony assures him with a smile. He motions inside. "Come in."

Nonna brings out the cake.

Tony is so proud of that cake.

True, Nonna had to make sure he didn't burn it. Or the kitchen.

But everything turned out alright!

"That smells amazing," Sean says.

Tony grins. "I made it myself."

Nonna heard that. She clears her throat.

"I mean...I made it...with help."

Better.

"Couldn't have done it without Nonna doing a lot of the work."

Even better.

It doesn't take long for everyone to get settled in eating cake.

"This cake is better than it looks," Jack declares, mouth full of cake. "and it looked good to begin with."

Charlie and David nod in agreement, eating cake, smart enough to know not to talk and chew at the same time.

"And you made this?" Louis asks, incredulous.

"Contrary to popular belief, I don't mess up everything," Tony responds.

"He means that it's amazing," Nick tells Tony.

"Yeah I know it's amazing."

"The best," Sean murmurs in Tony's ear.

Tony glows.

The best.

That's the only compliment he'll be needing for the next seven days.

After they finish eating cake, Tony opens the presents they gave him. He got a hat with pride colors from Charlie, a Barnes & Noble gift card from David, a puzzle of Cinque Terre from Nick, a Spanish-to English dictionary from Jack (who was totally messing with him); but Jack also got him a book about the history of trans people in America, which was really thoughtful.

Sean gave him an oversized sweatshirt that read You Are Valid, each letter a different pride flag; and a CD of the album Essential Pavarotti from 1990. There's a meaningful card in there that Tony is going to have to read later.

He loves all of it. He makes sure he shows how grateful he is for all of them.

And now for the best part: watching Luca.

The first time Tony watched Luca, Sean's phone blew up like this:

SEAN SEAN SEAN SEAN SEAN SEAN

GAY ITALIAN SEA MONSTERS

MY LIFE IS COMPLETE

I'M LITERALLY CRYING RIGHT NOW

WHY DID THEY HAVE TO GO THEIR SEPARATE WAYS?????

THEY NEED TO REUNITE

NOW

I LOVE THEM

THEY'RE SO SWEET

THE GAYS HAVE WON

OH MY GOSH HAYLEY KIYOKO HAS SEEN IT

AND CITTÀ VUOTA AT THE END...

YOU NEED TO WATCH THIS MOVIE!!!!!!!!!

They have both seen the movie several times since then, as everyone else has.

When Tony and Sean saw the movie together for the first time, Tony cried with sobs that wracked his body like the first time he watched the movie, while Sean had gotten teary eyed.

This is very much Tony's movie.

It's very Italian, very gay, and the characters are easy to headcanon as neurodivergent.

They all settle in to watch the movie, and aren't surprised when subtitles in Italian show up. They're all eating struffoli. Tony is a tiny bit disappointed he doesn't get to eat the rest of it by himself, but he's glad that he can share it with his friends.

A couple hours later, after the movie had ended and they had hung out some more, people had to start leaving.

Nick and Louis left first; going who knows where. Both hugged Tony and wished him happy birthday one last time.

"Goodbye, Tony!" Charlie says cheerfully as he and David start going back to Jack's car. "It was fun!" 

"Hey Jack," Tony says before he leaves. "Thanks for the book."

Jack hugs Tony. "Of course. You know I care a lot about you, right?"

"And I care a lot about you."

There's a beat of comfortable silence.

Tony leans in just a little bit closer, and whispers, "and I care about helping you confess to David that you like him."

Jack pulls away. "We could have had a beautiful moment, you know?"

Tony smirks. "This is me we're talking about."

Jack chuckles dryly. "Shouldn't have expected more."

Then, after one better goodbye hug, Jack leaves the house.

Now it's just Tony and Sean. And Tony's grandparents upstairs.

"Can I read your card now?" Tony asks.

Sean's heart goes a little faster. "Sure."

"Alright." They go back over to the table where the presents are. "Do you want it read out loud or silently?"

"I don't care."

Carefully, Tony takes it out of the envelope.

"That's the most careful I've seen you with a card," Sean comments. 

"It came from you, it means something." Tony opens the card and starts reading. "Dear Tony, we've known each other for so long..." He trails off as he begins to read it silently.

...and I'm glad that I get to see you here as you are now. I liked you for awhile before I asked if you wanted to go on a date. It was the happiest day of my life when you said yes. Then my new happiest day was when we starting officially dating. And then when we first kissed.

I have a lot of happiest days. Most of those happiest days are because of you. Whether something great happened or because I made you smile. Being with you is the best thing that has ever happened in my life.

I've been in love with you for a very long time, Tony Vitale. Some days you are a chaotic mess, some days you are the sweetest person ever. I want to be with you through it all. You mean so much to me, words don't even begin to describe it. Know that I'm always here for you. Here for you when everything is good, or when everything is bad, and the world doesn't make sense. I will always be there for you. No matter what. You are the most amazing, most valid person ever. Never forget that.

I hope that this is a great birthday for you. Better than great. And however great this one is, I hope all future ones are even better.

All I ask is this: chiamiami ancora amore. Chiamiami sempre amore.

Love,

Sean

That last line came straight from the song Chiamiami Ancora Amore by Roberto Vecchioni. So Sean had listened to the song. And there's also beautiful meaning behind those words: keep calling me love. Always call me love.

Tony closes the card and swallows, not trusting his voice right now. That is the most beautiful thing anyone has ever written to him.

"I know it's kinda cheesy-" Sean starts saying.

I don't care.

Tony cuts him off with a kiss. A kiss of gratefulness, love, and a lot of happiness.

When they pull away, Tony tells him, "I'm never getting rid of this card. You hear me? Never."

Sean smiles. "I'm glad." That's when he checks the time. "My parents will be expecting me home any time now." He hesitantly looks into Tony's eyes. They both want this moment to last longer, to be together just a tiny bit longer.

"Sean?"

"Yeah?"

"Chiamiami sempre amore."

They both smile.

They hug and kiss one last time, before Sean is the last one to leave through that door.

Tony closes the door behind him, slowly.

As Sean's figure grows smaller and farther away through the glass, Tony begins to miss him already.

Tony picks up the card again. That's Sean's handwriting. Right there. Saying all those kind words to him.

He flops down on the couch, holding the card to his chest.

He lets out a long sigh. Not one of exasperation or annoyance. One of happy feelings. He smiles at the writing, stroking his thumb over where Sean signed the card.

"Should we make a cake like the one we made today when you and Sean have your wedding?"

That startles him.

Nonno and Nonna are coming down the stairs.

They must have heard (or maybe seen...) at least a little.

Tony throws his head back and groans. "Nonna!"  he complains. "Sean and I aren't getting married! We're sixteen! Well, I mean, even if we are it's not any time soon. Wait, we actually are probably at an age where we can get married legally somewhere--wait actually Romeo and Juliet were only thirteen--but that was in Italy in the late 1590's--"

Nonna stops him before he goes even farther on another another tangent. "What I'm trying to say is that you two are very sweet together, and he's a nice young man."

"Can't argue with that," Tony smiles.

His smile grows when she puts a plate of struffoli on his lap.

"This is the last of it."

"Wait what-?"

"You've been eating it all day, what do you expect?"

Tony sighs. She's right.

"Ready to watch the rest of the races?" Nonno asks as he sits down next to him.

"Of course!" Tony answers right away.

Nonno turns on the TV.

"It's gonna be the fourth," Tony predicts.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

This time, number four ends up in second place.

"Accidenti," Tony mutters. So close.

Nonno shakes his head and tsks; all in light humor. "Close, but no cigar."

Tony sits up. "What-what-wait what did you say?"

"Close, but no cigar. It's an old phrase," Nonno explains. "It's when you're close, but you are just a little off."

There's something about that phrase.

Tony can't put his finger on it.

His thoughts are moving rapidly again. 

"You aren't thinking of smoking, are you?" Nonna asks him, it sounds light-hearted but she could very possibly be at least a tiny bit concerned.

Tony shakes his head vigorously. "No, no."

That phrase has triggered something in Tony's brain, making his thoughts go at a million miles an hour, making it hard to piece everything together.

He knows that phrase.

Or something about it?

Déjà vu is strong right now.

"Can you just-say it again?" Tony asks.

Nonno repeats it one last time.

"Close, but no cigar."

Tony gets shivers down his spine.

That's my cigar.

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Chills.

I--woah.

Aaaaa so how was that?! All of that?!

I did a lot of looking into Italian birthday traditions if you didn't notice haha.

Struffoli is more of a Christmas food. But since my mom's side of the family has a lot of Scandinavian ancestry, we have lefse at Thanksgiving and Christmas, and that's pretty much it, but my grandmother sometimes makes me lefse (one of my favorite foods) for my birthday; and I imagined the same thing happening in Tony's family.

I love the song Chiamiami Ancora Amore by Roberto Vecchioni. And I know that it's supposed to be keep calling me, love with a comma, I thought without the comma conveyed a better message between Sean and Tony.

If given the chance, I will talk about Luca and just not stop. Ever.

I loved writing this chapter.

The phrase close, but no cigar is an actual phrase. I heard it, and was immediately like that's important for this story.

My grandfather loves watching horse racing. And we all know which lovable character is so freaking obsessed with horse racing that his nickname is literally Racetrack.

So there it is.

The next chapter is going to be...different. 

Let's just say that. But it will be worth it.

Please, no homophobia or transphobia, profanities, hate etc in the comment section.

Best,

~Your Beloved Author (who is really hyperfixating on writing right now)