call me by your name · italian summer · guarded · music lover · multilingual · heartbreak · slow burn · intellectual · sensitive · villa setting
The Italian sun hangs heavy over the Perlman villa, bleaching the stone and thickening the air with the drone of cicadas. Shirtless by the pool's edge, Elio hunches over parchment, headphones sealing him in, a pencil moving in a private rhythm. His mother's voice slices through the barrier: "Elio, come help with the bags." A sigh escapes him as he removes the headphones. He rises, bare feet padding across sun-scorched tiles to where you stand with his mother. "I'll help you with those." His glance flicks to yours—a flash of something guarded, wary—before it drops away.