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June 15. 1999 Napels
The night seemed to still have a lot of life in it, then again it was high season for tourists at this time of year, and they were all filling out on the beach promenade below him.
Fugo was standing by himself on a balcony facing the ocean, said balcony belonging to a restaurant that he and Buccellati had been having dinner in for months now, it was reasonably fancy, a bit too expensive for just about anyone to walk in, which was ideal when it was a restaurant so close to the promenade, meant a little less chatty tourists. That and the owners were friendly with Passione which gave them a quite sizable discount, though if Fugo where to guess it had more to do with them, such as most people, taking a liking to Buccellati.
Lately the new guy that Buccellati was trying his best to recruit had been coming around to eat with them as well. he was often asked to leave the room on those occasions.
Whatever the guys name was escaped him right at that moment, his first name was Leone something. It wouldn’t really matter though until Buccellati fully convinced him to join the gang. With how much time it was taking he seemed very difficult about it, but Buccellati was stubborn, and he would always have a friendly demeanor whenever the guy came around. But It was probably a good thing that the guy wasn’t around to night after all. Buccellati was in a quite terrible mood.
Fugo was broken out of his thoughts when he heard the sound of the door opening behind him. He turned his head too look and saw the reason that Buccellati was so upset walked up next to him.
It was obvious that Narancia had cried only moments ago. His eyes were quite a bit red and a few tears that he’d miss to wipe away were still on his cheeks. That was easy to see even in the bad light outside.
After the whole reintroduction to Buccellati had happened, the mood inside had been stiffening. So much so that Narancia had fled to the bathroom after a short while of sitting under Buccellati’s quiet but judging eye. Fugo couldn't fault Narancia for crying really, Buccellati was just a person that the moment you meet him, you instantly wanted to make him proud of you, especially when he put his faith in you, the downside being of course that his disapproval was devastating. He hadn’t even uttered a word of how displeased he was to see Narancia here, indeed he had only been polite as always but you couldn’t miss how his eyes had looked at him. There was no politeness in that look only cold and harsh disappointment.
Than again what had Narancia been expecting from Buccellati anyway.
“Are you Alright?” Fugo asked him.
“Yeah-“ Narancia answered, he rubbed one of his eyes a bit, likely to get some of the salt still clinging to his eyelashes away. Narancia had really pretty eyelashes now that he thought on it, he had very pretty eyes to. Fugo caught himself staring, “I’m fine, just, my eye is still acting up a bit, hurts sometimes” he said and sat down on the railing on the balcony, sittinging very close to Fugo, their arms were touching, he swallowed a bit, he really wasn’t used to being this close to Narancia, and it was making him very nervous.
They both fell silent, Narancia sitting on the railing, and Fugo leaning on it. Narancia seemed to be simply watching the milling of people on the street below. Fugo found he couldn't really stop himself from looking at Narancia again. He looked different from the last time they had seen on another all those months ago. He had still been in a hospital bed, recovering but not yet fully healed, he had visited him a lot during that time. Before he recovered and Buccellati had arranged to take him back home.
After that they hadn’t spoke at all, and in that absence, Fugo had found that he missed him, a lot. Sure there had been times when they had annoyed the shit out of one another, even sometimes he had to barge out of the hospital still angry, but they had also had many more pleasant times. Narancia had told him a lot of things in that hospital room, about his father, about his old friends, about how afraid he was.
Now he looked much better, more alive, and not as sickly thin as he used to be. Fugo really couldn’t stop staring at him. He noticed things better now in the poor illumination of the windowed doors behind them and the lamplight from the street than he had under the fluorescent lights of the hospital. Like how redicoulsy pretty he found Narancia. He was dressed in attire now that would fit someone who was a part of the gang, maybe he thought if he dressed the part he would be accepted faster.
A bright orange button up, open at the front, with a black top that ended right above his stomach under it. He wore a headband also he noticed, the same color as his shirt, it kept Narancia’s very messy hair away from his eyes and face. It made Fugo take notice even more than before. Sure he was aware that he found Narancia somewhat cute back than, but that was hard to think on when he looked a bit half dead at least in the beginning. He really should have done something to keep in contact he thought, maybe write a letter or such ‘no that’s stupid, you don’t just write your friends letters like that’ Fugo thought.
He wondered a bit if Narancia was going to notice him staring at him any moment now, and probably find it creepy. How he couldn’t stop looking at his face, his pretty lips and slightly round cheeks, he was just so very cute. And Fugo felt like his heart was in his throat for just a moment.
“He’s angry with me isn’t he?” Narancia broke the silence. He was talking about Buccellati.
“I don’t think he’s angry, just you know disappointed” Fugo answered, it would probably take Buccellati sometime to get over it but he wouldn't take that out on Narancia, Fugo was sure of that, it was just that tonight, he had been taken by complete surprise by Narancia’s presence so he had a tougher time to not let it show how it was affecting him.
“I know..I know he didn’t want this for me, to come here but… I didn’t know what else to do” Narancia sounded like he was at the verge of tears again. “I tried you know, I really did, but it was all so… You know he didn’t even say anything” Narancia continued on.
“Who didn’t?” Fugo was a bit curious to what exactly had been happening with Narancia since he had gone back home.
“My dad, you know I hadn’t seen him for almost two years, I could be dead for all that he knew, but the moment I walked back into that house he didn’t even look at me” Narancia brought his knees up in front of him, hugging them to his chest “he didn’t throw me out or anything, but he just pretended that i wasn’t there, I could yell him in the fucking face and he wouldn’t even move a muscle” Narancia sighed “It made me remember why I left in the first place you know” he said.
Fugo could understand, his parents were probably doing the same, pretending he didn’t exist anymore, he wondered what they said about him at any family get togethers when they asked where their son was. Perhaps they said he was dead, god knows they didn’t want to sully their own reputation to say that they had thrown him out.
“But i didn’t want to just give up you know, I had promised Buccellati that I would go back to school so I had to.. I had to try” by the look on Narancia’s face it hadn’t gone well “they were all just looking down on me there, thinking I don’t understand anything, they were going to put me back in middle school, amongst all those kids because I had missed so much, and I could just tell that they wanted to laugh at me, I could see it in their faces. And there were just all these fucking questions and forms and shit that had to be filled out, and like a bunch of them needed my dad’s signature. And they just kept on asking where he was, why was I here all alone, why had I been gone from school for such a long time and I couldn’t…” Narancia buried his face into his knees “I just knew i couldn't go there every day and have all those assholes just judge me, and go home and know that he would just continue to pretend that I don’t exist” he said muffled behind his knees.
“I’m sorry but I couldn’t do it. And then I thought about it, I couldn’t stay there, I was going to go fucking crazy if I stayed one more minute in that house. And it might be dumb but, I just felt like you and Buccellati were the only ones I had left you know” Narancia turned his face towards Fugo, he could see tears having began to fall from his eyes again. “you and him are the only ones left that really care about me” Narancia looked away to the street again “but now I disappointed you guys as well”
Fugo didn’t know what to do, this wasn’t really a situation you could read up on and understand just how you were supposed to act, but he did know one thing.
“I’m actually happy you came back” he said and put a hand on Narancia’s shoulder.
”Really?” Narancia looked on him in disbelief for a moment before a small smile broke out on his face “did you miss me when I was gone as well?” He said in a teasing tone.
“Don’t over do it” Fugo said, crossing his arms, “but for your information, yes I did, and I do think that you could be good for this group” he was honest with that, he was happy Narancia of all people was here and that he would get to work alongside him. He heard Narancia let out small sigh, he didn’t seem as sad anymore.
“Well it’s good to know at least someone is happy to see me after all” he said, letting go of his knees and letting his feet dangle over the railing. He gave Fugo a smile, and he felt a warm feeling well up in his stomach, Narancia really was positively radiant when he smiled, almost like a sun. Fugo felt color rising to his cheeks and he quickly turned away to stare down at the street again.
“The test went by well for you then?” Fugo asked trying desperately to change the subject.
“Oh, I mean yeah, I’m here aren’t I” Narancia said “I don’t get why they didn’t just say that you’re supposed to re light that thing though, could have saved me a lot of trouble, i almost got into a fight with a cab driver because he wouldn’t let me bring it into his car when it was still lit” Narancia scratched his head “I spent Nearly six hours with that thing you know”
That was impressive Fugo thought, he had only lasted maybe three if he was being generous.
“If they told you about what it really was you wouldn’t have taken the test, besides would you believe him if he told you what a stand even was” Fugo said. He knew it had taken him some time to grasp himself the first time around.
“I don’t know? Maybe if they made an effort I might have believed them” Narancia shrugged his shoulders “id still would have liked to have been a little prepared before I had to face down that thing, scared the shit out of me”
He was referring to Black Sabbath likely, Fugo also remembered it as if it had been yesterday. The terrifying strange sensation of not being able to move a muscle, and then suddenly pain, the very unique pain of being stabbed, and then he had seen the tall black clad figure, holding a copy of himself that it was piercing with an arrow, then he had felt pain in his chest, blood spurting out as the wound on his soul became a wound on his own body as well. The human formed creature had ripped it out, saying in its terrifying and booming voice
“ YOU ARE ONE OF THE CHOSEN ”
Then to witness his own soul shift and change, and ultimately become his stand. And that had been the entirety of the experience. But even short as it had been, it had left its mark, both figuratively and literally, in the form of a cross shaped scar right under his collar bone.
“Where did it get you?” Fugo asked.
“Huh, you mean that arrow thing” Narancia said back with a raised eyebrow. He tugged his orange shirt back and pulled his black top up a bit to reveal an identical scar to Fugos own right below His ribs. “Hurt like shit”
“Yeah I know” Fugo said with a nod.
“But it’s worth it, I mean, we've got super powers now, how cool is that” Narancia said, he sounded kinda excited, he probably hadn’t had anyone else to really talk about it with yet. Fugo winced a bit, he didn’t know what it was that Narancia’s stand could do but he wouldn’t consider his own a super power, really it was more of a curse in his eyes.
“I wonder what Buccellati’s powers are” Narancia was probably only talking to himself. But Fugo still felt like he wanted to continue talking to him, stands were a good topic, after all Narancia just received his and must have many other questions about them. While he himself had possessed his own for almost a year now and he had a lot of first hand experience with how they could work.
“He makes zippers” Fugo answered his question.
Narancia gave him a very confused look.
“What? How can something just make zippers? Does he like summon forth zippers?” Fugo could almost imagine the question marks above his head. It sounded very silly indeed when just put that frankly, he almost felt like laugh at the image of Buccellati calling forth a single small zipper landing ineffectually on the ground.
“You could probably ask him about it later, I’m sure he can show you how it works” Fugo said with a smile. Narancia seemed a bit cheered up at the thought, that Buccellati would accept him here and even come to consider him important to their slowly growing team.
Fugo could see a small glint in Narancia’s eyes as he got an idea.
“Could you show me yours Fugo?” He asked.
“My...my what?” Fugo felt taken aback.
“Your stand! Could you show it to me?” he sounded so excited.
‘Please Don’t’ Fugo thought, he couldn’t ask this of him, he couldn't risk doing that, the horrific thought of Narancia’s new healthy and pretty face slowly caving inwards as his flesh began to rot struck him. No not that anything but that.
“No” he almost shouted. Narancia shyed back a bit from him.
“Why not? It can’t be such a big deal? I mean we will have to fight together sometime right? Why can’t you just show me?” Narancia persisted.
“No” Fugo looked away, he could feel tension rising. Why couldn’t Narancia just let it go, just be quiet about it. He could feel how Narancia lay a hand on his shoulder, trying to get his attention back to him.
“What do you even mean just no? Don’t you trust me..” He interrupted Narancia by grabbing a hold of his wrist in a painful grip and then he screamed at him.
“I TOLD YOU NO FOR FUCK SAKE! Can’t you use that shit for brains you got to actually listen!” He basically roared in Narancia’s face, all while squeezing his tiny wrist so hard that it would bruise .
Narancia feel quite for a moment, that split second Fugo could see real fear in his eyes, he came back to himself and slowly realized what he was doing. The moment of fear passed by quickly though.
“You don’t have to yell at me, I’m right here” he said, and wretched his wrist out of Fugo’s still painful grip. “You could at least tell me why you don’t want to before you go all murder rage on me” he continued with a frown on his face.
Fugo felt ashamed, he didn’t want this to happen, especially not with Narancia, they had gotten into a few shouting matches before but it had always only been that, and they had always apologized in the end. He had hoped he could contain himself, to not act out so violently, because he liked Narancia, he liked him a lot, shouldn’t he not want to hurt someone he cared about. Couldn’t his stupid anger just for once not spill out like this.
But now Narancia knew, he knew how fucking dangerous he could be and he wouldn’t want anything to do with him anymore right? That was part of why he didn’t want him to know or see Purple Haze, not just out of fear of his safety but if he saw what it was, how disgusting and horrifying that part of him was, wouldn’t he figure it out. Maybe not he realized, Narancia wasn’t exactly introspective enough to maybe understand just what Purple Haze represented.
He had been staring at the street again, he couldn’t bare facing Narancia’s angry face. He hoped that the older boy would just leave quietly. A few minutes past by in silence.
“Hey I’m sorry Alright” he suddenly heard Narancia say “I shouldn’t have prodded like that, you obviously didn’t want to talk about it” his words surprised Fugo, why should he be sorry, he was right he should know about Fugo’s stand if they were ever to fight together in the future. And it was Fugo that was in the wrong, he had blown up, he had hurt him, Narancia had just been curious.
“Fugo, could you please just say something, just tell me if you’re still angry” Narancia said. Fugo turned to look at him, he sounded honestly sincere, he was sorry.
“I’m sorry as well, I shouldn’t...I shouldn’t have done that” he didn’t really know how to really express how sorry he was “and it’s not that I don’t trust you…”
“Then what is it?” Narancia asked.
“It’s...my stand is very dangerous” Fugo said, he really couldn’t find the proper words.
“Ain’t that a good thing though? It’s great for fighting then?”
“It’s dangerous to more than just people I’m trying to fight, it can be difficult to control and it could hurt me… or you” Fugo said as best he could. “But you are right, if we are going to fight together you should see it for yourself”
Fugo could see curiosity light up in Narancia’s eyes again. There was still the chance that it could hurt him, perhaps Fugo’s anger against him for his prodding wasn’t completely gone, maybe Purple Haze would still be angry and turn that anger towards Narancia.
“Could you show me yours as well?” Fugo asked.
“Sure I guess, Why though?” Narancia asked. ‘Because if it goes bad than you could protect yourself from me’ Fugo thought.
“It’s hardly fare for me to show of mine and you to just keep on hiding yours” he said instead.
“Okay, do you want to go first or?”
“No, no let’s do it at the same time” Fugo insisted. Narancia didn’t seem to mind, he simply shrugged his shoulders.
There was a slight sound all of a sudden, like that of a propeller or so flying past his back. Fugo turned around to search for the noise. He looked around for a while confused. Until he heard Narancia snickering behind his hand. Fugo turned to look at him again and Narancia pointed upwards.
Fugo looked up and saw a tiny plane simply hovering right above them, it’s tiny propellers spinning still creating sound. Planes shouldn’t be able to just hover like that. They needed speed and momentum to keep a float.
“It’s real cool right” Narancia said. Fugo looked back at him and noticed a small screen hovering right next to Narancia’s eye it was the same color as the plane and held up by its own propeller. “I call it Aerosmith” Narancia continued on with a smile.
It was surprising, most stands Fugo had seen before were similar to his own, humanoid but different.
“So, now it’s your turn!” Narancia said with excitement.
Fugo look around, the balcony wasn’t big enough that he could summon Purple Haze but have Narancia be out of its range, the furthest back he could put it was maybe three meters.
“Remember, it’s very dangerous, please don’t go anywhere close to it Alright?” Fugo said over his shoulder to Narancia, he gave a nod in response.
Fugo took a deep breath, and willed his stand to appear.
It looked even more omenus than usual, materializing by the light seeping out of the glass door to the balcony, it almost seemed bathed in shadow. Rising up slowly to stand at its full height looking right at himself and Narancia with its chilling eyes, drool slowly but surely beginning to drip out of its sewn shut mouth. Fugo remembered clearly the last time he had summoned forth his stand, almost five months ago, it had only supposed to be a shake up, beating up some strangers to scare them away from Passione’s erritory, it had gone south very quickly. He had summoned his stand inside a room of maybe five men and managed to close the door behind him, hearing the yelling of his stand as it attacked the men running towards the door to follow him. Them not being able to see the stand that stood in front of it. That and the sickening sound of the men inside screaming as their flesh melted away, and the putrid sound of rotten flesh Turning into goop and hitting the floor.
Now it seemed at least docile enough, it was staring towards the two of them but not really seeing them appeared, even so his stand seemed almost transfixed, he could see its white pupils following something.
He wondered what Narancia must think now, was he afraid again maybe. Then again he hadn’t actually explained how it was that Purple Haze was dangerous.
“Wow” Fugo heard Narancia say under his breath. “Fugo it...it’s so cool” he wiped his head to look at Narancia, he couldn’t be serious right? He thought it looked cool?
Just as he was going to open his mouth for a retort the sound a propeller suddenly whizzed past Fugo’s ear, he noticed then with horror that Aerosmith was flying right towards Purple Haze.
“Narancia call it back!” He yelled out.
“But I...I didn’t?” Narancia seemed dumbfounded and simply stared at his stand. It had started to circle around Purple Haze, looping around it coming closer and closer.
Fugo almost felt like he was watching in slow motion as his stand reached out and grabbed the small airplane out of the air. A noise of discomfort came out of Narancia next to him, he turned his head to see that the imprint of Purple Haze’s Hand grasping at Narancia’s arm.
‘No’ he thought as his stand brought the tiny plane closer to its face, ‘No, No, No! Don’t hurt him’ he chanted it over and over in his head, trying to desperately make his stand listen. But nothing happened, Purple Haze simply continued to stare at Aerosmith. None of them moved a muscle, Fugo out of fear that any move on his part would set his stand of, Narancia simply seemed confused at the display.
The moment was broken when Aerosmith’s propeller gave a few spins in Purple Haze’s hand. His stand made a strange sound of confusion, and then it crouched down, and began to hug the smaller stand close to it. It was rocking back and forth periodically letting out sounds of contentment.
This...this was completely new, Fugo had never before seen his stand show any other emotions than unrelenting anger or maybe the occasional confusion and against its own body whenever it got dirty. This strange affection it seems to be showing toward Narancia’s stand, that...that was new.
“I think he likes it” he heard Narancia say. What
“What?” He asked, what the hell was going on.
“I mean our stands, I think they like each other” Narancia continued on.
Oh Fugo got that, his stand was obvious almost smitten with Narancia’s stand, in fact it had even begun to drool over the cockpit, pressing its mouth against the small plane, giving it slobbering kisses.
His stand was kissing Narancia’s, his stand that was so tied up to his repressed emotional state. The living embodiment of his own soul and heart was clinging to and kissing the living embodiment of Narancia’s soul and heart. Fugo felt blood rise to his cheek once he realized it.
Purple Haze disappeared in a puff of smoke leaving Aerosmith to regain its air once it was out of the bigger stands arms.
“Well now you have seen it” Fugo said, he tried his best not to look at Narancia, no way he could let Narancia see him blush.
“Oh, but what does it do then?” Narancia asked.
“It creates a virus that rots the flesh of any living thing that it comes in contact with” Fugo answered very matter of fact. He felt embarrassed, of everything thing he had feared could have happened with letting Narancia see Purple Haze, he wouldn’t ever have guessed that revealing to him how much Fugo really liked him was an option.
“That sounds really awesome though, way cooler than mine” Narancia said, Aerosmith flying over towards its user as he spoke “I can only like, use this to find people, like a radar, I see when they breath” he said and tapped against the small hovering screen. “Well that and it can shoot a bunch, but like you can use a gun for that, it’s not that special” Aerosmith came flying down again, Narancia stretched his arms out as the plane came to a landing over his shoulders and de materialized.
“I think it sounds really useful actually, normal people can hear a gun go of, they can’t hear sound our stands make though, and finding people always has its use” Fugo said giving Narancia a smile.
“Oh eh..” Narancia seemed almost flustered at his compliments to his abilities “if you say so” Fugo could see a blush spread over Narancia’s cheeks.
“We should probably go back, Buccellati will wonder where we are soon” Fugo said with a sigh, he did feel more like simply staying here in Narancia’s company though. It was pleasant simply spending time with someone you liked, it was something still kinda new to him, he had never had any friends his own age growing up after all. But he was truly happy that Narancia was here, that maybe they had a chance to be close sometime in the future.
“Yeah you’re right” Narancia said, and jumped back to his feet from where he had been sitting on the balcony railing. Fugo walked up towards the balcony door. “By the way Fugo? Why was your stand kissing mine?” Narancia asked, Fugo felt his blood turn to ice and he closed the door right in Narancia’s face “Fugo what are you doing? Open the door! Fuugoo?” He could hear Narancia beat on the windowed door behind him, as his legs began to run away. It felt like it was his turn to hide away for awhile in the bathroom.