Harbinger Of Glory

The post had gone up a little before midnight, and for those involved, all they got was a simple notification.

Tori_Fiorella posted a photo.

The caption was nothing more than a white heart, and yet by 2 am, things were threatening to spiral out of control.

Instead of talking about the earrings she was trying to show, many eyes drifted towards the shoulder behind her and the neckline, and the comments arrived by the thousands.

marco_1908: Okay, so we’re all ignoring the earrings and talking about the man, right

sophiaaa: WHO IS SITTING NEXT TO HER

forzaitalia: zoomed in. enhanced. zoomed in again. still no clue.

luca.v: That’s definitely a guy

beatricee: @luca.v, thank you, detective sherlock

andrearossi: no because why is nobody talking about how comfortable that picture looks[crying emoji]

giulia_xo: She posted this KNOWING exactly what she was doing

futbol_edits: white shirt with a very particular athlete’s build. I’m starting my investigation immediately.

enzo_17: The earrings are fighting for their lives right now

vale. 98: Imagine being the person who bought the gift, and the comments are all about your shoulder

Alessandra: HOLD ON. Is this the same guy from those photos months ago???

davide_milan: I’ve spent twenty minutes looking at a blurry shoulder. This app has ruined me.

francesca: Everyone is asking who he is, and I’m here wondering how happy she looks. I can’t see her full face, but that half smile, and the white heart caption? The mademoiselle is in the sheets!

mattia: If that’s her boyfriend, then bro is winning at life.

sophiaaa: not me opening the comments hoping someone already found his identity

forzaitalia: Give me three business days

giulia_xo: he’s either famous or she’s protecting him with her life because there’s no in-between

The replies beneath that one were somehow even worse.

People were drawing circles around pixels, comparing old photographs and building theories from reflections, shadows, and objects that almost certainly weren’t relevant.

By mid-morning, three separate accounts had confidently identified three completely different men, yet they were all wrong.

The ratio of people asking questions to people answering them was approximately forty to zero, which was exactly how Vittoria had intended it.

Back in the apartment, Leo woke up, wanting to stretch, but he felt restricted.

He lay still for a moment, and then became aware of the weight of Vittoria against him, her breathing slow and even, entirely undisturbed by whatever his body was doing.

He shifted carefully and transferred her weight from his chest to the cushions without rushing it.

She stirred once and made a small sound, but then settled back into sleep without fully surfacing.

He stood up and stretched, his arms going wide, and looked down at her for a moment.

Then he picked her up.

She came up easily, still asleep, and turned into his chest, her hands finding the fabric of his shirt and holding loosely.

He carried her to the bedroom and set her down on the bed, where she curled onto her side and pulled the duvet toward her without opening her eyes, and Leo stood at the edge of the bed for a second and then went to freshen up.

An hour later, the smell of food was what woke her.

She came to the kitchen doorway still in last night’s dress with her hair spread across her face like modern art and came around to the stove where Leo was.

He looked over his shoulder.

”Morning,” he said as she sat at the counter and watched him finish.

From there, they ate at the small kitchen table and without too much talk, but after a while, Vittoria tore a piece of bread and looked at him.

”What happens now?” she said. ”For you.”

Leo finished what was in his mouth before looking at her.

”I talked to Dawson before coming here,” he said.

”Told him I was feeling some discomfort.”

”Which is true,” he quickly added after Vittoria started giving him some naughty eyes.

Then he reached for his glass.

”So he’s kept me out of the last pre-season game against Middlesbrough.”

”Is it serious?”

”No, no, not really. I could have played if I wanted to, but it gave me the chance to come and see you. Though I was going to do it regardless.”

”I’ll stay here a couple more days and then fly back to Manchester.”

Vittoria looked at her plate with a smile she wasn’t trying particularly hard to hide.

”And this time,” Leo said, ”I’m praying your mother doesn’t catch us off guard.”

Vittoria laughed, and as if suddenly reminded, she picked up her phone from beside her plate and scrolled through it, her smile widening with each scroll.

”A few people are losing their minds,” she said, and turned the phone toward him.

Leo leaned forward and read the comment she was pointing at.

Webreader: Whoever this man is, I need to know if he can fight

He laughed, short and genuine, before setting his fork down.

”I suppose I should be ready for that,” he said as Vittoria pulled the phone back.

”Don’t worry,” she said, setting the phone back down before bowling her first close.

”I’ll protect you.”

Leo looked at her and couldn’t help the smile that slipped out.

”Very reassuring,” he said, and before they could talk any further, her phone rang.

She glanced at the screen and then picked it up and brought it to her ear.

”Mama.” A pause.

”Yes,” she seemed to confirm something before pausing a bit.

”Yes, it’s my boyfriend,” and she said that while looking directly at Leo.

”No, you still can’t see him. Plus, he left yesterday.”

”I know, I know.”

She reached forward and turned her fork over on the table.

”Papa saw it?”

”Okay, I’ll be careful.” She nodded once and then began to pull the phone away from her ear,

”I’ll see you soon. Okay. Ciao.”

She ended the call and set the phone down while Leo looked at her.

”So.”

”My father saw it,” she said. ”He’s asking questions.”

”And?”

”And nothing yet.” She picked her fork back up. ”But soon or later, he’s going to ask to see you or something if he hasn’t already started narrowing down people!”

Leo nodded with a smile and then let her sit.

After a while, he looked at her.

”What do you want to do today?” he said, and for a while, Vittoria went quiet.

Leo watched her linger in thought for a moment longer before she suddenly stood up from her chair and came toward him.

”Be with you,” she said simply, inching closer and closer to him.