Chapter Text
A couple days later, Street was on his morning jog through the streets of Los Angeles when a man started trailing him.
The man stayed far enough away as to not be seen and weaved around several buildings for amble coverage. He was focused on narrowing the gap between himself and Street when he was grabbed by the back of his jacket and tugged into the alley that he’d been passing.
He was thrown to the concrete, splitting open his elbows on the rough surface. Pain flared up from the fresh cuts, causing him to groan. Someone stepped heavily onto his chest with a large tennis shoe, cutting off any more noise.
Luca smiles down at him, “Hello, again. This doesn’t look like you’re staying away from Street, does it?”
Street’s uncle stared up at him in fright, “Uhh…I…I’m no…this isn’t—“
“Shut up,” Luca dismissed the man’s arguments. He pressed down harder onto the man's chest, forcing a wince from the man. “Let me give you a reminder to leave Street alone.” Luca reeled his arm back to deliver his first lunch when the man--fearing a beating--kicked Luca's leg and rolled over in the nick of time.
Luca took a few steps back to regain his footing, which gave Street’s uncle a chance to escape. The man scrambled to his feet and took off running down the alley without turning back.
Grinning, Luca chuckled to himself. Street’s uncle wouldn’t be back for a good while, and he didn’t even have to lay a finger on him. The guy was only confident when he knew someone he could intimidate, now he was running scared…from Luca. He hadn’t planned on hurting him anyway—Street had already given him the talk about going after the man—but he wanted to make sure that he would leave the kid alone permanently. Street didn't need his dark past to darken his present; the kid needed to move on and forget those that have hurt him. And it was Luca's job to keep the kid safe now--or at least he thought so. Teammates, roommates, and practically brothers. He was glad that he could be there for the kid, especially during times like these.
Once the scumbag was out of sight, Luca promptly spun on his heel and jogged back to Street’s apartment. His work was done for the day.
—//—
By the time he got back, Street was already home and chugging a glass of orange juice for breakfast. Sweat dripping down his neck and onto the towel he had laid across his shoulders. “Hey, where did you go? I thought you were going to read that new book of yours?” Street asked, offering him a glass of juice.
Luca shrugged innocently, trying not to give anything away, “I had something that I needed to take care of, sorry. Oh, I bought you a bag of Doritos the other day, your favorite. I placed them in the cabinet with the extra snacks in case you didn't notice.” He took the offered juice with a grateful smile.
Street nodded, “Hey, Luca?”
After taking a sip, Luca glanced up, eyebrows quirked in question. “Yeah?”
Street shed a true smile, “Thanks.”
Luca grinned back at him, "No problem." He knew that Street’s words held a double meaning, but he didn’t press for info. The kid had lived on his own for a while, so he probably knew that someone--his uncle--had been following him.
Who knew that kid was so smart?
Luca and the team did.