Though Enzo now allowed Luca to take them outside on carefully planned excursions, he refused to go outside when it was dark, saying that too many animals were nocturnal hunters and that it would be too dark for Luca to be able to properly keep track of them.
Harper had been disappointed, as he really wanted to see stars in real life, so Luca tried to come up with the next best thing. He came home with an indoor planetarium one day, one that displayed all the stars on the walls and ceilings when turned on.
Harper was extremely curious, circling around the machine and poking at it until Luca called him away. They all lay on the floor of the living room after dinner to try it out, Harper and Enzo settled on Luca's chest as they stared up at the ceiling.
"Wow!" Harper exclaimed, pointing at a streak of light that shot across the sky. "What was that?"
"A shooting star," Luca explained. Enzo couldn't help but press himself closer to Luca's chest as he talked, drawn to the low vibrations of his voice. "You can make a wish on them."
"A wish?" Harper echoed.
"Mhmm," Luca confirmed. "Something that you really, really want."
Enzo suddenly felt Luca poke him lightly in the ribs, and he jumped.
"What?" he snapped, more harshly than he intended.
If he was bothered by Enzo's tone, Luca's voice didn't show it. "If you could wish for anything, what would it be?" Luca asked easily.
"Hmm." Enzo was silent for a long time. He felt himself rise and fall with the human's soft breaths, Luca's heartbeat sounding solidly beneath them. Harper pressed himself closer to Enzo's side and yawned.
"Probably..." he hesitated. "I'd probably wish for me and Harper to be human."
It had been something he'd been thinking about for a while, even more so after meeting Luca. To be able to interact with the human without any barriers? To be able to give Harper an easier life and more freedom? Enzo would give anything for that.
"Oh?" Luca sounded surprised. "Why?"
"It's safer," Enzo replied. "Less lonely. There are more opportunities to do things as a human, too."
"Gotcha. What about you, Harps?"
"The same as Enzo," came Harper's little voice. "Then I could go to the playground."
Luca's soft laugh rocked the both of them.
"Dude, the whole world's your playground," he reminded Harper.
"Yeah, but playgrounds look so cool. And then I could make friends, too. And go to school."
Enzo's heart dropped at all the things Harper wanted to do, things that he couldn't provide for him. He hugged Harper a little tighter, and Harper happily snuggled closer.
"What about you, Luca?" Enzo demanded, to get his mind off things. "What would you wish for?"
"Oh, probably the same as you two," Luca answered. "It'd be cool if you were both human. Then you could actually leave the apartment without being afraid for your lives. There's so much I want to show you."
Harper was falling asleep at this point, so Enzo stayed silent and just stared at the pinpricks of light that moved slowly above him. Eventually though, as Harper pulled away in his sleep, Enzo was freed up to turn onto his side and run his hand over the fabric of Luca's shirt.
But if I was human, he mused, would I still be able to be close to Luca like this?
***
Luca woke up the next morning to a fist in his face.
He knew he was still on the floor of the living room, and he vaguely remembered setting Harper and Enzo a safe distance from him in their own blanket to have a little slumber party together. But there certainly shouldn't be another human in the apartment with them
Confused, he lifted the hand off his cheek and looked at it before following the curve of its arm down to see who it could possibly belong to.
As he glanced to the side, however, he gasped and sat up sharply.
Enzo lay beside him, back still rising and falling in sleep. That wasn't the problem. What was the problem was that he was human sized. And naked.
Seeing Harper's white-blonde hair beside Enzo, Luca found the boy in a similar predicament, so Luca hurriedly grabbed two blankets and tossed them over the brothers.
Enzo began to stir, yawning and stretching his arms over his head.
"Luca?" he mumbled. "What's going on? Why'd you throw a blanket on me?"
"Umm... uh..." Luca was at a loss for words. "Umm... don't freak out when you open your eyes," he said faintly.
This, of course, made Enzo's eyes shoot open, and he blinked in confusion up at Luca.
Reaching one hand up, he tentatively pressed his fingers against Luca's face, letting out a gasp and pulling away sharply when he saw the size of his own hand against Luca's cheek.
"Luca, what the hell?" he breathed, sitting up.
"Hey, don't look at me, I don't know what happened!" Luca exclaimed.
"Harper," Enzo said next, glancing around frantically for his little brother.
Finding him sound asleep and human-sized beside him, he whipped his head back around to look at Luca.
"Luca, what the hell?" he repeated. He was starting to look panicked, and Luca gripped his shoulders to get his attention back. The last thing he needed was a panicked Enzo.
"Hey, hey," Luca said, peering into his eyes. "It's ok! We'll figure it out! Are you feeling alright? Anything hurt? Are you feeling sick?"
Enzo shook his head, his dark hair swinging loose around his face, no longer contained to its usual short ponytail.
"No, I'm... I'm fine," he said faintly. "Just... the wrong size."
"Ok," Luca said, encouraged. "That's good. Here, you stay right here, ok? I'll go get some clothes for you and Harper."
Enzo nodded mutely, and Luca brushed his hair out of his dazed eyes, tucking it behind one ear.
"Everything's going to be fine," he said firmly. "I'll be right back."
As Luca stood up and headed to the bedroom, he felt Enzo's eyes on him the whole time. He tried to walk steadily, but as soon as he was out of sight, he grabbed the wall, head reeling.
What the literal hell? he thought, echoing Enzo's sentiment. What is going on here? People don't just... grow. Do they?
Yeah, well, they're also usually not four inches tall, Luca reminded himself sarcastically. Maybe this is just what Enzo's and Harper's species does.
But Enzo had looked just as shocked as Luca felt, so that couldn't be it.
Luca rifled through his drawers, trying to find clothes that might fit Enzo and Harper. Even human sized, they both seemed pretty small. Any of his clothes would swallow them whole.
