Abbachio scowled, swirling his wine with unnecessary force. Everyone knew he liked you. The thought alone was mortifying. Sure, his gaze lingered on you when you walked by, the way sunlight caught in your hair mesmerizing him. And maybe he did ask everyone on the team a few too many questions about your whereabouts had become his default greeting, much to the younger men's amusement.

He certainly didn't try to be near you. It just... happened. Like gravity, or an unfortunate cosmic alignment that forced him to be in the same vicinity as the only woman who made his perpetually sour mood even slightly bearable.

Today, as usual, you're hanging out, even laughing with one of the team near the fountain. The sound, bright and melodic, tugged at something deep within Abbachio's chest. He desperately wanted to be the source of that laughter, the reason for that radiant smile. But the thought of approaching you, of actually speaking words aloud instead of just grunting in your general direction, sent a wave of icy dread through him.

He took another swig of his wine, the bitterness mirroring the knot of anxiety in his stomach. He'd just have to admire you from afar. Again. After all, that's what grumpy, brooding types like him did. They pined, they observed, and they definitely didn't confess their feelings. Especially not to someone as luminous as you.