all i've ever wanted was the world

“My apologies,” Aaron grinned bashfully at Stefano’s reply. It wasn’t the first time someone said that to him, and most definitely not the last time but that didn’t stop him from talking in the polite way his parents raised him to talk. “I hope so,” he smiled. Some comments admitted they just liked his voice which while not an issue as they still downloaded his podcast was still a little bit of a let down with how much research and time he put in making his podcast. “Don’t worry, I’m not planning on reading all of this for a while. I just wanted to make sure I would have material when I needed it,” he replied with a smile. Only to have his smile turn sheepish again. “And well, it was more of an impulse buy after all,” he said as he looked at the books. They weren’t just hardcover but had amazing cover art as well. Making it hard for the bookworm to resist buying them. “I’ll have plenty of free time, anything you could recommend doing?” he asked, seeing as the other has been here longer after all.

He knew it didn’t make sense, none of this did currently. “ I didn’t chose being alone….not that I’m with anyone else,” He wasn’t, that was true. “ I came here and…it’s been real eye opening of what I need in a relationship,” It was all a mess and he really did wish he would have talked to him about all of this sooner, he just didn’t know how to put it into words till now. “ I…was so afraid that you would leave, that I would be on the street again with nowhere to go, and looking back that had nothing to do with you, my fears were all mine, based from my family kicking me out and forcing me out.” It was hard for Aleki not to cry, tears already forming in his eyes, he rarely cried, always trying to put on a tough exterior, “ I am so sorry Stefano…I really should…I really want to talk to you about that,” He held his hand to the other, wanting to take it, “ Do you think we could spend this party together…talk about our three weeks apart?”

Aaron smiled when Stefano picked up the bag. “Thanks for carrying it, sir,” he smiled as he held his books closer. Making sure he wouldn’t drop any of them anymore. When the older man asked what the books were for he smiled sheepishly. Even more when the other’s first guess was right. Making him miss the man’s last obvious joke guess. “For work,” he replied with a smile. “Research actually. I host a podcast, it used to be weekly. I cycled through four different overall themes. Every first week of the month was educational. For the past four months, that has been history and since that went well with the listeners I decided to keep it as history for a while. Which explains all the books,” he explained. While he did indeed used to upload history podcasts once a month part of why he moved here was to work less. Dialing down from a once a weeks schedule to once a month. Cycling through his four topic regiment every four months now. Meaning he definitely brought more than enough books to last a couple of years. Then again he doubted he would keep his low upload schedule up for long. Sooner or later he would up it back to once a week as it was before.

Aleki was quick to follow the other, letting him take the lead so Aleki can catch a breath and think about this, he didn’t plan on having his conversation, not tonight, not for a long time. Though at some point he knew he would have to talk to Stefano that they would meet again and Aleki would have to explain himself. Taking off his own mask, he sat beside Stefano on the steps, his legs stretched out before him, he looked at the other bathed in the moonlight.  “ You’re wrong Stef…If I would have stayed…I wouldn’t have left…I was afraid of you leaving me, so I beat you to the chase,” Aleki admitted. Aleki had told Stefano of his past, his father and how he was kicked out of his home, his life of many heartbreaks and he didn’t want his fiance to be one too. He wanted to touch the other, he missed that so much, but he knew he shouldn’t, “ I wasn’t ready…I got scared and I was just so afraid,” Looking at the other, tears started to form again, “ I am so sorry Stefano…for hurting you.”

“really?” enzo asked, surprised more than anything that that was the case. then again, if he were to just look at stefano, he guessed he wouldn’t go straight to adorable. maybe hot. attractive. but the pick up line? that put him directly into adorable territory. “is it?” he asked. he didn’t know about the water thing. “good to know. and don’t worry, you’ll thank me in the morning,” he said with a teasing grin. taking one of the shots, he wrinkled his nose just slightly at the burn. “not terrible, though.” 

“Oh please. You ought to go for a million bucks.” He grinned easily and lead the other into the Salt Flats as they arrived. “Just up some stairs…” When the other mentioned not hating him, he smiled softly and walked with the other, managing to get his door open. His apartment was a decent size, but almost completely barren. A few pictures of his family, but not much else. “C’mon. Let’s get you to my bed. You can take it for tonight, sound good?”

Aaron smiled sheepishly at the other’s question. “This wasn’t planned, it was more of an impulse purchase,” he explained. A very impulsive purchase that he almost started to regret right now. It would just depend on if he would be able to bring all these books home or not. If he knew this would happen he would’ve rented a car first. This incident made getting a lease car the top of his to-do list. “Not really, I just moved here a couple of days ago,” he explained. “My name is Aaron Breach, by the way, it’s nice to meet you,sir, and thank you for helping me,” he reached out his hand for a handshake.

It looked like the bag could hold a good amount of his books. Still, it looked like it wouldn’t fit all of his books. Making him realize just how many books he bought. A lot of them were quite big too and he made sure to put those in the bag first, as the thinner ones were easier to carry in hand.

he chuckled. “i’m just trying to make sense of the thought process—these books are heavy. and there’s so many of them,” he said. but well, hindsight was 20/20, right? obviously aaron could see now that it might not have been his smartest purchase. “stefano ferretti, nice to meet you too.” he shook his hand before continuing placing books in it. they filled the bag up, and there were some books still left, but he figured they’d be able to just carry those in their hands.

“well, maybe if you’d stop doing what i enjoy so much you wouldn’t have to worry about that.” ryan replies with a soft laugh to follow. it really didn’t take much for him though to get turned on and needy for stefano. the man had ryan under his damn spell from the moment they properly met one another, and that certainly hadn’t changed. it took a little bit for ryan to warm of to stefano sure, but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t absolutely thirsty for him. “yao is definitely a power bottom. like yeah, he’s gonna be the one taking it up the arse but his attitude is too aggressive to just sit there and take it. he’s totally in control and calling the shots. li, however, is certainly spot on. and you just know that mulan is pegging him behind closed doors. which is kind of hot, actually.” ryan rambled on. “everyone loves the movie for the fairytale ending. which, fair because same it’s perfect. but that’s not the reason i love it. you get to see this story of two people from two totally different walks of life. you have vivian, who is used to just settling and getting what she can, just making it by to live. then you’ve got edward who literally can do any and everything he wants to do and has his entire life. so he literally has no idea what it’s like to be a normal person, just like vivian has no clue what it’s like to live a life without struggle. and you get to watch these two grow together and you get to see edward become an actual person rather than just some workaholic machine and vivian starts actually believing in herself and believing the good that’s said about her and it’s just beautiful. it just goes to show you that people can fall for one another no matter the circumstances or class or status you know?” he said and shrugged. “like a whole don’t judge the book by the cover thing. because they didn’t know each other until they allowed it. it’s sweet.” he ranted on. “sleeping beauty is a good one! the animation style is simply amazing. and maleficent? amazing. though i didn’t peg you as one for being a fan of princess flicks.”

well, it was a fair point the attractive older man brought up. although he usually was a fan of dumb puns as pick up lines such as the one just demonstrated, he wasn’t exactly confident enough in that particular strategy to use it himself. then again, more alcohol tended to mean fewer inhibitions. “nice to meet you, too,” he said with a smile. “i’m enzo. and i’d say that one’s probably gonna be hit or miss. seventy percent hit, thirty percent miss. but the statistics are a bit skewed in your favor. you get some bonus points for being adorable.” 

Xander smiled at the other and laughed. “I don’t think I could afford you if I wanted.” He began walking, kissing the other’s cheek gently as they walked. “We definitely stan! Bitch got legs just to get with a guy. That’s the kind of dedication I love.” He looked over at Stefano as he talked about their past relationship. “I wish I did too… I missed you a lot. I was afraid you’d hate me and I just was too afraid.” He gave a small smile. “You were like the first client I ever had who I genuinely liked. I’m sorry I fucked it up so bad.”

Aleki was a partier at heart, when he was asked to play some music for this masquerade party, he was more than happy to do so. He strummed on his guitar, singing his heart out to the patrons, in his own cool mask. He didn’t have to play all night, half would be his playing and the other will be a pianist for the slower songs. Wrapping up, Aleki moved over to the bar to get his drink on and the last thing he thought he would get was a reunion.  He knew who it was under that mask, it was very easy to tell if you knew the person and Aleki very much knew, ‘ Stefano,” His words very much told his unbelief in the man that he saw before him. He didn’t know how to feel, he loved Stefano, he truly did, but he had to get away, he was scared of what would happen if they did get married, if they went through with it and if Stefano left him, he would be in so much pain…now thinking on it, he wondered how much pain Aleki caused him, “ Stef…I…shit, it’s really you,” He had tears in his eyes looking at the other, “ Should…Let’s go outside, yeah,” He had to talk to the other, clear this air if Stefano was actually here.

“hey,” he replied when the man addressed him by name. he was pretty sure it was aleki, but a part of him was hoping it would just be a case of mistaken identity. some guy that looked just like his ex would under that mask. “yeah, it’s me. sorry,” he said with a bit of a sassy tone to his last word. the last thing he cared about at the time, quite frankly, was making him uncomfortable. it was a little petty, but he didn’t mind. 

“i know i don’t have to, but i wanna.” ryan replied and smiled softly. stef certainly put up with a lot when it came to ryan; he was spoiled, and he certainly loved talking stefano into spending all the time he could with him, and when he didn’t get his way, well, ryan was a little brat and then the two of them made up afterwards. and ryan was glad that stefano was willing to put up with him and to deal with his little tantrums. ryan hummed softly as he felt the man pressing against him, after all there wasn’t much separating him and stefano, was there? ryan listened intently on stefano’s debate on the movie, and his question, and he could see the man’s point. because of course they would make sense of a cartoon that wasn’t supposed to be looked too much into when it came to the sexuality and desires of characters. “i mean, fair point. kinda makes you wonder if he had a thing for yao, since he was kinda harsh on him and liked picking on him a bit. you know that saying, treat ‘em mean, keep ‘em keen. it could totally work for that too in my opinion.” ryan said and shrugged his shoulders just a little bit. when stefano asked if this was his favorite movie, ryan shook his head and chuckled. “no, definitely not my favorite movie. my favorite movie overall is pretty woman, julia roberts is an absolute babe in it. though favorite disney classic film has to be peter pan.” ryan said and smiled softly. “what about you? what’s your favorite movie?” they were together so much, they spent all this time together yet, there were still little, personal things like favorite movies and colors that they really didn’t know about one another. because the more you knew and the deeper you got to know someone the more you wanted to know them and the more you got to know them the more you liked them and fell for them. too risky.

“i do know that, but, i still like to thank you, you know? i mean, you don’t have to take time out of your day to watch a movie that was made for kids with me.” ryan replied, but he was certainly grateful for the time they did get to spend together. ryan looked over at the man when he said hey, and his line to follow got a chuckle from the younger man. “well, at least with this cricket you actually get lucky, huh?” ryan replied back with a cheeky little grin before kissing the man’s cheek and stealing a chip from his bag. certainly not chartreuse but it was still just as good. this was too comfortable, surely stefano had to be like this with all of his sugar babies if it came so naturally for the two of them, right? he had to make them all feel special to keep their interest, but it was fine. ryan chuckled at stefano’s question and shrugged a shoulder. “definitely mulan. i mean, c’mon. she went in undercover as a man, but as a woman, she was all about li, but then li liked ping. so when he was shook, mulan definitely had to be hurt. i mean, not like she can magically grow a dick. but i like to think that maybe they had roleplay in the bedroom and she used the uniform to get him goin’.” ryan teased.

ryan hummed sweetly as he felt those kisses against his hand, stef really knew how to make him feel good and he was so glad that he managed to whisk the man off to their little villa for a little while. and ryan was sure that things weren’t always going to be like this, in a new place, there were new faces and he was sure that stefano was going to go have his fun with other people and ryan was sure he would too, but for now it was nice to think that this was how the rest of their stay here would go. ryan didn’t let go of the other man’s hand as they watched the movie, the younger man keeping his attention on it as he brushed their feet together here and there, because playing footsie wasn’t off limits, right? ryan had a sleepy little grin on his face when stefano told him that he liked what they were doing, and why he liked it - and it wasn’t just because he knew ryan would put out for him in the snap of a finger, but because he wanted to. “i really love your company too.” ryan said softly as the man kissed his cheek. his words echoed through ryan’s ears, and for a moment he didn’t think about anything else, no other sugar babies that stefano probably laid this line on so many times, nothing. because it made ryan beam. he turned his head just enough that he could give stefano a quick peck to the lips and gave his hand a light squeeze. “i know. and you’re really special to me, too, stef.” he replied softly. “thank you for watching this with me.” he then added.

ryan let out a little cackle when stefano mentioned his leg tattoos, he turned his head to look at him and said, “you know if i need to you know, if it’s mandatory, i can totally put on pants. just wanna make you comfortable baby.” ryan teased, because he knew stefano wouldn’t want him in pants and well, ryan didn’t buy these shorts for no reason, right? whilst stefano got up and gathered what they needed to lay around comfortably, ryan grabbed a few more pieces of fruit before getting cuddled up and cozy with the older man. god this was actually perfect, and ryan knew now he wasn’t going to do anything to sabotage their cute little set up. “okay, but i think the point to remember is he was supposed to get her across alive. and he totally did!” ryan fought back, because duh, the grandmother lived he had to have some luck. though he definitely didn’t do it safely by any means. ryan was in mid bite of a strawberry when stefano asked his question, he looked back at him and smiled softly. “no i was just teasing, really. i’m not scared that easily mr. ferretti.” ryan said and leaned in to peck his lips before turning his attention back to the movie. to be fair, he liked the idea of this being a “date”. but like stefano said, he didn’t mean it in that way.

ryan knew what he was doing, but he couldn’t help himself. stefano just looked too good, and well, he was a sucker for him. “ooo, a date, huh?” ryan asked playfully. but he reached for another piece of fruit and started snacking on it whilst his attention went back to the television. had he seen stefano’s text, ryan probably would have laughed since stefano was never that specific with him. it was just a side of him he didn’t see. “mm you’re welcome.” ryan replied when the older man thanked him. when the cricket appeared on screen, ryan snorted softly at stefano’s comment and said, “well, you just wait. he’s actually pretty incredible. andjust wait until the dragon comes into play, he’s massive, absolutely the eye catcher of the film in my opinion.” he said and grinned, because well, if anyone who had seen the movie knew that ryan was just full of shit. “look! he just saved that grandma’s life, he is lucky.”

ryan’s grin spread wide when he heard that ‘maybe’, because he knew what that meant. but hey, if anything he was just going to ask the man to wear them when they were lounging around like they were now - a simple request, right? and if he hated them well, ryan would take them. then came more compliments and ryan laughed softly, only to say, “so says you. you’re so damn handsome and a total daddy. a perfect ten out of ten if you ask me.” ryan added in, because of course stefano deserved to be showered in compliments too. after all, he was taking time out of his day to watch some damn cartoon with him for a couple of hours. “oh c’mon, these legs were coming out you knew what you were gettin’ into, love.” ryan teased further. but he knew that he needed to knock it off, because he really did want to watch this movie with stefano. he knew the man had a call later and he said it’d be an hour, but who knew how true that was going to be because plans changed. and sometimes calls and business did take longer than usual and ryan understood. he wasn’t a fan but he understood. 

“no, no no no.” ryan said fast. “i’ll stop.” he added in and laughed afterwards, and he’d never been so thankful for a knock on the door because he was sure that he was just pushing it. and there was ander and ryan sat up quick because that meant fruit, and he was so excited. ryan thanked ander and then immediately dove into the little platter going straight for the sliced mango and popping it into his mouth with a soft moan. it truly was the best fruit you could get, and then stefano asked his question and ryan’s brows perked up. “what’s wrong with green? they’re not so bad.” he asked. “tell ander to come back and give him a color sample from google.” ryan suggested, because well, stefano wanted what he wanted and it was only fair since ryan got what he wanted. “you want a bite?” he asked holding up the half eaten slice of fruit between his fingers.

“yeah, i know. lucky you,” he said with a wink. he knew he was handsome and a ten and all that. he still liked to hear it though, specially coming from ryan. “i’m just saying, just because i knew i’d be seeing these gorgeous legs, don’t mean i was prepared for it,” he shrugged. he did love those legs, after all. usually around his waist, but this worked also.