Marcello de Lorenzo & Tyler Lockwood

Marcello laughed. "That would certainly be a naughty thing for you to do," Marcello murmured.

He watched as Levi took a drink of the wine, his eyes dipping to his throat as his Adam's apple bobbed. He chewed his lower lip and then gave him a shy smile.

He grinned at that. "You sure about that? I am awfully annoying when I want to be," he joked.

"I am quite sure," he said, smiling at his boyfriend.

He looked at Marcello softly and then let out a breath. "Alright," he said quietly. "As long as you're sure. I don't want to... make you spend a bunch of time with me and have you get sick of me," he said, laughing.

Marcello smiled and rolled his eyes. "You're ridiculous. I'm not even a little sick of you," he promised.

He shook his head. "Don't worry about that. Let me worry about that," he said softly, looking across at him. "Though if I'm being too much, let me know." He didn't want to get into it too much right then, but he'd been told that before so he didn't want to repeat the same mistakes.

He shook his head. "I never find you too much, Levi. I've wanted a relationship that was even... a fraction as good as this has been... for so long. I love... love this relationship becasue I love you exactly as you are."

He moved his gaze over his face, watching him quietly. "Is that your way of telling me I'm smothering you?" He asked, chuckling slightly. "It's hard when I'm excited about someone or something to be overly balanced about everything. I just... really wanna make sure I'm not sacrificing this. I know it would be easy to get caught up in everything happening and I don't... I don't want to neglect what is important."

Marcello laughed. "No," he said honestly. "Not at all. I'm afraid I'm hogging you when I shouldn't be so much. I'm afraid I'll get you in trouble or be a distraction in a bad way."

He smiled and looked at his boyfriend softly, his face warm, his body hot as he watched him for a few moments.

He met his gaze and gave him a soft smile. "I love this too. That's why I want to make sure we prioritize it as much as we can," he murmured.

He smiled at Marcello as he spoke, arching a brow at him. "Mmhmm," he said, just loving to listen to him and to hear what he knew. "I grew up in eating in restaurants because my family never cooked so I've kind of always heard the whole red with steak thing," he said, shrugging. "But I'm not that picky in general. I go off vibes," he said, laughing.

He nodded. "We do a good job at that," he said. "Honestly, it's not that difficult. I feel like... We're traveling a ton and you're so busy and on the go with practicing and sound checks and workouts, and of course your nightly shows. But... We've been making so much time for one another. I'm worried you're making too much time for me and not enough for other things," he said, half teasing.

"Yeah, that's typically how it goes," he said. "And he's bringing us a bottle of red, so. I have a good feeling it'll be good."

He chuckled and then met his gaze. "Maybe it's kind of silly for me to do that or say that, but I really genuinely want to give you everything I can," he whispered. "And I want to keep this feeling fresh. I don't want you to feel like you missed out on any phase of this."

"Sure, we could do that. I don't mind white either," he said, shrugging. "I don't know why, but I just kind of assumed you'd prefer red," he said, laughing.

Marcello smiled and looked at his boyfriend softly. "You're so fucking sweet," he murmured. "I love... this. I love our relationship."

He grinned. "I love all wine. But I do like red, yes," he admitted. "White is nice sometimes, too. Usually red pairs best with steak, but you can get a good full-bodied white that is great, too. Depends on the cut."

He watched him as he spoke, his lips quirking up slightly more with each word he spoke. "I wouldn't have even considered that, honestly," he said, thinking about it. "I would have fumbled around with my limited English and pissed everyone off if I was in your shoes," he said, laughing. "It's sweet that you want to be able to communicate with everyone in their own language."

He smirked at him. "We're always at the wooing stage," he said, laughing. "At least to some degree. I want to always make you feel like it's the beginning all over again."

"I'm not necessarily good at it, but it's just... polite to try," he said, shrugging, scrunching his nose. "When I lived in Italy during Covid, my cousin had a roommate who was French and she spoke German. My cousins speak French and Spanish, and some speak German. It's just more common there. But we were in a bubble together, so I got to practice a lot. I took DuoLingo, too. But it's been a while since I practiced. I intended to but... Guess now is my chance."

He laughed a little. "Oh, I didn't realize. I mean... I'll take it. I like being wooed." He longed to lean over and kiss him on the lips, but he resisted.

Marcello shrugged. "If that's what you want," he said. "But I wouldn't mind white. I guess we could ask for a recommendation from the waiter."

The waiter came over just then, greeting them in French. Marcello did his best to follow, catching most of it, but it'd been a while. He did his best to ask for a wine recommendation to pair with steak and then ordered a bottle of the waiter's favorite.

He watched him as he explained, amused. "I get French as someone who was interested in fashion, but why German? He asked, chuckling. He felt warm as he walked along with him, cocking his head to the side. "I love that you're so multi-lingual. The best I can do is say singular phrases to the crowd at night after being taught to repeat them over and over for an hour," he said with a laugh.

He smiled. "I want to live in Italy eventually," Marcello explained. "And there are a number of German speaking countries nearby. Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, some other smaller countries. I figure between English, Italian, and French, I'd be pretty well off, but German is handy if you want to live in Europe, too." He shook his head. "Don't know that I'm all that versed. I'd like to get better, but maybe this tour will give me more of an opportunity to practice."

He chuckled. "Pretty nifty, eh?" He said, grinning at him. "Wow. That's a big compliment," he said, chuckling.

He listened as Marcello spoke, trying not to get completely turned on by the way he was speaking French. He huffed out a breath, arching his brow, feeling warm all over, his mouth slightly dry.

He nodded. "Absolutely," he teased.

Marcello laughed softly. "My French is beginner. I took a few semesters of it. I went through a phase where I thought I'd fluently learn French and German, which is not a sexy language. But I've been brushing up on some when you're practicing," he admitted, knowing that it was polite and preferred to attempt the language of wherever they were.

"The luckiest bastards in the whole world," he whispered, pressing a kiss against his lips again, smiling against them as he did.

He chuckled and then arched a brow at him. "You should feel good. You're absolutely incredible, and I don't mean just to look at."

They walked along together, standing close together but not touching. It was maddening how much he wanted to reach out and take his hand or just put an arm around his shoulders. Every time they were out together it was like fighting a battle he felt like one day he was eventually going to lose.

He smiled. "Thank you," he said. "I am glad you feel that way. I think you're pretty nifty, too."

Marcello nodded. "Of course," he said, moving up behind him to the hostess stand.

"Bonjour," he said. Marcello gave the hostess a smile when she smiled at them, asking how she could help. He used whatever French he could conjure up, asking for a private table as politely as possible. "Une table pour deux, dans un endroit un peu.... plus tranquille, er... intime si possible, s’il vous plaît."

He gave him a soft look and then leaned into him. "I love you too," he murmured, smiling a little. "I love who you are and everything you do."

He smirked at him and arched a brow. "I can't help it. Look at you, you make me absolutely feral," he teased, moving his gaze over him.

"Aren't we lucky, then?" he asked quietly, lightly cupping Levi's face before he leaned over and kissed him softly on the lips.

He felt warm as Levi spoke, his lips twitching into a small smile. "You make me feel so good," he murmured.

"Mmkay," he said, not complaining. Marcello smiled, checking a couple more menus as they walked along the busy street. There were shops and cafes and restaurants and bars spanning several blocks, and while it was a little busy, it wasn't too crazy. It was a weeknight, so he figured that helped the crowds.

Finally, he reached a restaurant that gave him all of his green flags and after a quick check online for reviews, he was glad to see it passed that check, too.

He glanced at Marcello and then arched a brow at him, seeing his expression. It was hard being careful when they were out when all Levi wanted to do was put his arm around him and press a kiss against his lips every two seconds. Still, he did his best not to come off like he was obsessed with him.

He looked at his boyfriend softly. "I love yo. Every part of you," Marcello murmured, kissing him on the lips softly.

Marcello smirked, his body warming at Levi's comment. "Naughty," he muttered. "Mm, alright." He stopped outside of a little restaurant to look over the menu. He was alright with French, recognizing a lot of the words on menus from his culinary experience.

He nodded his head and then smiled at him. "You're probably right. It's also pretty busy tonight."

He smiled a little and glanced at Levi, keeping aware of their surroundings. He was always careful when out in public and visibly gay, regardless of where he was. It came naturally to him. Now, knowing Levi's fame often drew unwanted eyes on them, he was extra vigilant. Despite being disguised, he worried that someone knew where Levi was and they'd get caught.

He laughed and then arched a brow. "Think those are what give me away?" He teased, trying to fight the urge to kiss him again. He lost the battle, kissing him a few time against his lips and along his cheek. "Not my crazy amount of moles?" He joked.

"The tattoos and freckles," he said. "I think with the glasses and hat, people won't really look too hard."

He cocked his head to the side. "You saying I don't normally look as smart?" He joked, nudging him. "Good, I don't want people focused on me."

He laughed. "You look like a hot musician," he murmured, kissing him softly. "I think we'll fly under the radar. Can't even see your tattoos," he noted.

Marcello smiled. "No, but you look good in glasses," he said. "You look very... academic. I doubt anyone will look twice at you."