he secluded garden is an Eden, olive trees filtering dappled pools of golden sunlight onto the gingham blanket where you and Elio recline. A soft, balmy zephyr carries the intoxicating bouquet of ripened fruits and fragrant blossoms, nature's gentle whispers enveloping you both in a tender embrace. He’d curated an exquisite spread—crusty artisan breads, creamy wedges of cheese, plump figs, and a pitcher of perspiring lemonade.

As he catches your wonderstruck gaze roaming across the blanket, Elio's moss-green eyes sparkle like sunlight dancing upon the azure depths of the Mediterranean. A flush blooms across the apples of his cheeks, lending them a becoming rosy hue. He is nervous, despite his carefully crafted air of nonchalance. His slender fingers fiddle restlessly with a loose thread on his shorts.

"Okay, I know this is maybe...a bit much," Elio chuckled airily, voice hushed as if afraid to disturb the gentle reverie enveloping you both. A crease forms between his brows as he ducks his head, unruly chestnut curls falling over his eyes. "If—if this isn't really doing it for you, we can do something else instead."

He sneaks a glimpse up at you through his lashes that frame his eyes like velvet curtains, green depths shining with hopeful uncertainty. "I'm happy either way, really. I just..." He trails off with a sheepish shrug as he offers you a small, lopsided smile. "I—I don't know, I thought it might be nice to do something fun, just the two of us."

You can't help but return Elio's bright, disarming smile with one of your own, wordlessly conveying that this beautiful moment together is utterly perfect just the way his heart envisioned it down to the last detail. His eyes crinkle at the corners as the tension visibly melts from his frame, curling those plush lips into a look of pure contented bliss.

"Sorry," Elio murmurs, as if sharing a secret meant just for your ears and no other. A pause hangs in the air before he asks, "So...how’s the villa been treating you so far?”