Chapter Text
In the days that followed, a strange atmosphere had settled between the Don of Passione and his most faithful bodyguard.
It was as if Giorno was intentionally avoiding Mista in every possible way. At first, Mista thought it was just a coincidence, and that everything was fine between him and the young boss, but after a week of watching Giorno flee a room when he arrived, Mista could no longer deny the truth of what was going on.
And it hurt him a lot.
Giorno had never done anything like this before, despite the disagreements that sometimes arose between the two of them due to missions or work-related issues, so Mista could only think that it was all related to that day when Giorno had suffered that little incident, and that the blond was obviously lying about how much he remembered of said incident. And although Mista had his suspicions, he could not confirm anything without first talking to him about it.
And there, in the kitchen of Passione's headquarters, Mista was racking his brain for a way to fix all this and get things back to the way they were. He'll be lying if he said that he didn't miss the warmth of Giorno's company.
Almost as if fate had been playing in his favor, Giorno opened the kitchen door, meeting Mista face to face, surprise flooding his blue eyes.
"Oh" exclaimed the young boss, freezing for a split second. Almost automatically, his face resumed its usual seriousness "I didn't know you were using the kitchen, I'll come back later."
Mista had had enough
"In fact, I was just coming to find you to talk to you" Mista said, holding the door to prevent Giorno from being able to close it in his face. The blond watched him impassively, his mind working a mile a minute, looking for an excuse so he could escape
"I don't think it's possible now, I'm kind of busy" which was a lie. Giorno always took this hour to grab a bite to eat; as his bodyguard, Mista knew his entire routine with presicion.
"You've been busy all week, Gio" Giorno said nothing, his blue eyes analyzing the scene, looking for a way out "And you've been avoiding me."
"You're imagining things."
"No, I'm not" Mista at first also thought he was being paranoid, but when Fugo mentioned it to him, he could no longer deny reality "You've been like this since the day of the incident with that guy"
"I don't know what you're talking about" Giorno said, with that tone of voice that indicated he was losing his patience. His eyes had turned cold, a gelid blue like the snow itself.
"Yes you do" insisted Mista, stubborn as ever "Come on, Gio. You can talk to me about anything."
"Just drop it, Mista" Giorno said gruffly, Gold Experience's shadow on his back "I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention the matter again."
The door handle turned slick under his palm, the cold metal being replaced by small blue flowers. The door opened, and Giorno disappeared into the hallway, his golden hair shining in the artificial light.
Mista stood still, his fist clenching a pile of blue petals.
-
If Giorno didn't want to talk about the incident, Mista decided it would be best to take matters into his own hands. Evidently, the root of the whole problem was the young Passione boss's past, and luckily for Mista, being part of the mafia brought many useful functions, such as finding people and their personal information in a short time.
With a little luck and the right contacts, Mista found himself standing in front of a rickety door on the outskirts of the city. On the door the surname 'Giovanna' could be read in neat cursive handwriting, contrasting somewhat with the scruffiness of the place; the grass in the garden had grown out of control, covering almost the entire entrance. Some of the windows were broken, covered by some kind of plastic sheeting, to prevent the cold from creeping into the house. Mista knocked on the door slowly, hoping for some sign of life from inside.
After the third attempt, hurried footsteps approached the door, pushing it open.
"What the fuck do you want?!"
A guy in his 60's had opened the door, and Mista couldn't help but notice the alcohol stains on his shirt. In fact, his whole being gave off a strong smell of liquor, as if the guy had been drinking for days. His look was one of pure anger, staring at Mista as if he had interrupted the most important moment of his life.
"My name is Mista, I'm looking for Mrs. Giovanna" said Mista, trying not to vomit because of the bad smell the guy was expelling.
"And for what exactly?" something changed in the guy's eyes, the previous anger transforming into hatred in seconds.
"It's about Giorno"
"That fucker's still out there? If it's about Giorno, I couldn't care less" said the guy, and Mista had to resist the urge to punch him in the face; even the pistols had come out, ready to fight. Mista counted to ten, calming down enough to speak again.
"Can I talk to her?"
"If you want to travel to the other side of the planet" Mista blinked in confusion, at the angry look on the guy's face "The bitch is gone, as usual."
"Excuse me?"
"What you heard asshole, she doesn't live here anymore, she left that little pest and left me too" exclaimed the guy, pulling out a folded cigarette from his pants pocket; Mista had to hold on even tighter when the first exhale of smoke ended up in his face "Now go away, I don't want to hear about any of them anymore"
Before he could avoid it, the door slammed shut, leaving Mista stunned in front of it. The name 'Giovanna' rocked loudly against the door after the knock, producing a small echo. Mista clenched his fists until his fingernails began to tear the skin of his palms.
How was it possible that someone like Giorno had to put up with growing up with people like this? Mista set out on his way back to headquarters with only one goal in mind, and he was determined to accomplish it.
-
"Hey, Gio."
The night was clear and reflections of the moon danced in the water of the fountain that decorated the boss's large garden. The rose bushes swayed in the night breeze, giving the place an enchanted look. Next to the fountain stood Giorno, looking at him with a mixture of surprise and frustration.
"Mista? What are you doing here? I was going to meet Fugo."
Mista approached the boss, leaning next to him against the fountain, close enough for their shoulders to touch.
"Oh, actually I asked him to lie to you, I knew you would refuse to come if I asked you" Mista said calmly, so calm that Giorno couldn't help but grimace. On another occasion, such a gesture on his friend's face would have hurt him, but today, Mista was on a mission.
"I'll be back inside."
Before Giorno could run away again, Mista grabbed his hand. The boss stopped flat on his face, freezing in place, though not turning to look at him.
The breeze blew a little stronger.
"No, you will stay and listen to me for a few minutes, because I don't think I can take another day of you ignoring me," Mista said, gently squeezing Giorno's hand. His icy hands contrasted with the warmth of his own hands "I know that reliving certain things from your past has an effect on you, but I want you to know that I don't care about any of that."
Giorno seemed to react to this, turning around slowly. His face was a mixture of emotions that Mista was having trouble deciphering.
"Mista..."
"You are you, and everything you've been through has brought you to this moment. And yes, it was a lousy life, but here you are, more triumphant than ever" Giorno's hand returned the squeeze, as the coldness left her skin "Don't let all that crap stop you anymore, and if the past comes back somehow, you have to know that none of us will ever leave it behind."
Mista let out a sigh that he didn't know he was holding back and waited. The next thing that could happen was a blow, indifference or a smile. Mista really hoped it was the last option.
Of all the options, a hug was not among them.
There, in the middle of the courtyard surrounded by rose bushes, Giorno was resting his cheek on her shoulder, his arms around her body. Mista didn't know what to do, so she thought only to return the gesture, a strange feeling appearing in her stomach.
"Thank you for that, Mista. It seemed i was being a bit of a fool" Giorno said, the thanks clearly audible in his voice. Mista hugged him a little tighter.
"You know perfectly well I'd take a couple of bullets just to see you smile" Mista pulled away quickly, thinking maybe he was already crossing over some imaginary line between the two of them. The last thing he wanted was for the situation to become awkward again "That sounds corny, but you know what I mean!"
Giorno let out a chuckle, approaching his cheek with the gentleness and swiftness of a feline. Mista could feel for a brief moment the ghost of Giorno's lips on his cheek.
And if his cheeks were colored red, the night helped him to hide it perfectly.
"Would you go to have dinner with me? I think I owe you after this week," Giorno said with an embarrassed tone that he only used when he knew he had screwed up. Mista held back a giggle
"Of course! Although in that case, it's only fair that I get to pick the place!"
Giorno smiled, his blue eyes looking more beautiful in the moonlight.
-
"Boss! There's been an accident!"
In his study, Giorno stood up abruptly at the words bellowed by one of his soldiers. The boy was agitated, and looked like he'd had a good run
"What happened? Is anyone hurt?" asked Giorno, wishing with all his might that the name of his friends would not come out of his mouth.
"Apparently the guy from the other day survived" at those words, Giorno's blood seemed to turn to ice. That could only mean one thing "And now we have this problem".
In front of him, there was a small version of Mista, wearing a sweater that was too big for him.