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With the sky a rich orange, blending ever so delicately with a calming purple, the sun gradually set over Naples, Italy. Its golden rays penetrating through the blinds of every window, resting upon the sides of buildings, reflecting off of cars, it was a peaceful beginning to dusk. The streets of Naples were also gradually quieting down, that is, for the citizens of the city. For the gangsters and other criminals, however, things were just starting to kick off. Crime swept throughout the alleyways, sidewalks and abandoned buildings, thanks to the gang Passione. A gang that you could call yourself apart of, at that.
Your life never had a dull moment ever since the fateful day you had joined Passione, being shoved into the squadron of a man named Bruno Bucciarati. A brutal, yet righteous man that you were lucky enough to have met, and, with some time, befriend. Bucciarati was your best friend, your source of comfort in a time of need.
Life had been hectic as of late, with oh, you know, the newest member, Giorno Giovanna working towards overthrowing the boss, whom you, along with the others apart of Bucciarati’s squad, discovered was named Diavolo. Quite an interesting fellow, he was. Regardless of what Diavolo was like, before or after his end, all you knew now, was that Giorno was now the leader of Passione, with Mista as his underboss.
Despite the fact that the most exciting parts of your life was now over, with every original member of Bucciarati’s squad still living, no matter the hardships you all endured on the fateful mission to expose Diavolo, you were crashing. Life spiraling down, with no end in sight. Even the golden rays streaming in from the window of the house that you shared with Bucciarati seemed dull and uninteresting. Everything was becoming bleak. Riddled with anxiety from an unknown source, desperately trying to battle the crushing weight of loneliness and constant exhaustion, life was not well at all. Attempting to sleep only brought more exhaustion and proved difficult. You had been taking melatonin to help rest easy the past couple of nights.
All the while, Bucciarati had no idea any of this was happening. Aside from being a little bit more closed off than usual, not many had noticed the struggle you were actively going through. You were actively betraying your best friend by not letting him know what you were going through. You knew Bruno cared for you, you knew that he loved you just as much as he did everyone else he knew. He was a good man, and you were completely ignoring his selfless, caring spirit that he had, despite his modest objections whenever someone pointed it out.
Here you lay in your room, on your bed, staring up at the ceiling. That’s all you’re able to bring yourself to do, afterall. Normal things you enjoyed were just idle things to try and keep your mind off of all the intrusive thoughts you were dealing with. Not many things were helping you cope with your emotional issues, except one small thing that always made you happy; Bruno.
You were both busy as of late, though. Bruno had his duties, and you had yours, so time spent with one another was few and far in between. You both maybe saw each other at the end of the day at your shared house, however you were both too tired to interact much. To be quite honest, you missed him. You used to constantly talk and have fun together, but because of gang related duties that needed to be done, that didn’t happen anymore. At least, not as much as you liked.
Tears were brought to your eyes as you thought of everything going wrong in your life. Did anyone even really like you? Have you been overestimating your worth to everyone you know? It felt as if you could disappear and no one would notice for quite some time.
Jesus.
Things really weren’t looking well, were they?
You were close to just bawling your eyes out, until you froze, heart skipping a beat, hearing the light footsteps of Bruno in the hallway outside your room. You started to tremble ever so slightly out of nervousness, not wanting him to see you in this vulnerable state (though he has seen you in much more vulnerable and compromising positions than crying, but that’s a story for another day).
Suddenly, the door knocked, but did not open. You heard Bruno call your name.
You took a moment to muster up enough courage to reply back to him, albeit with a shaky voice. “What do you need?”
“I was going to check in on you, may I come in?”
You paused, not responding. “No-Not right now, Bruno.”
The door opened, and in stepped Bruno.
Fucker.
He stood in the doorway, looking at you in your state right now. On the verge of tears, laying in bed with the lights off, the only light being the almost completely setting sun.
“I apologize. It’s just that I noticed you sounded really upset so I couldn’t just walk away and leave you by yourself.”
You looked at him, and frowned. “You’re too kind.” The mere thought that he went against your wishes just to ensure you were doing okay almost brought you to tears.
Bruno closed the door behind him, and began walking towards your bed, which he then sat on. You inched away from him. “Mind telling me what’s wrong?”
“I. . . I don’t know.” You admitted in a shaky voice.
He looked at you with his rich, ocean blue eyes, silently urging you to go on. You stared back at him, a single tear beginning to roll down your cheek. You wiped it away with the back of your hand.
“I’ve just been struggling so hard recently. Everything seems so dull, I feel so alone despite the fact that I’m surrounded by friends.” You admitted, beginning to cry. “I feel so helpless that I don’t know what to do.”
Bruno sighed, and wrapped an arm around your shoulder, pulling you closer. You wanted to pull away, out of shame and feeling unworthy of his comfort, but continued to be held. You continued to cry.
“My self esteem is at an all time low. And. . .” You paused, not wanting to bring up the fact that you missed spending time with him.
“And?” He inquired.
You pulled yourself away from him. “I. . . Um. . . I miss you.” You finally admitted.
Bruno remained silent, waiting for you to elaborate.
“I miss you. I miss spending time with you. You’re my best friend. I love you to death but we’ve both been so busy and haven’t been spending much time with each other. I want to do more things with you than just saying ‘goodnight’ at the end of the day, or waving at each other across the street during a patrol.”
You continued to sob, your hands covering your face in embarrassment. You heard Bruno say your name, and place a comforting hand on your shoulder. You did not face him.
“It’s okay. I love you too. We’re friends, and friends are there for each other in time of need. Sometimes relationships have high points and low points in activity, and perhaps it just so happens that recently has been a low point.” Bruno said.
He maneuvered to fully embrace you from behind, resting his chin on your shoulder. His arms wrapped around your abdomen. Bruno smelled nice, and he was warm. You sniffled, leaning into his touch. Continuing to say nothing, you both sat on your bed, embracing the other.
“Do you want me to spend the night with you?”
You nodded.
Bruno placed a kiss to your temple. “Here, lay down on your side.”
Doing as he told you to, you both moved to lay down in a cuddling position. You instantly felt comforted, appreciating the feeling of another person next to you.
“I appreciate you a lot, Bruno.” You finally said. You felt him smile.
“I’m glad I’m able to make you feel better. Need me to beat up anyone?”
You huffed, giving a light smile. “Can you beat up Mista? His Stand ate my accidental curly fry. I was saving that shit.”
Bruno chuckled. “Of course.”
You slid out from his grasp, then turned to face him. “I love spending time with you. Thank you for this, I really needed it.”
Gazing into your eyes, he smiled. “Anything for you, my friend.” Bruno muttered, kissing you once more, this time on your forehead.
You held onto his shirt, burying your face in his chest. Listening to his slow, steady heartbeat, your own gradually slowed down to match his. No longer were you riddled with anxiety and depression, thinking about your place in your life and others. Bucciarati was here now, and you felt at home. You felt secure. He made you so happy, and you hoped you made him feel the same way.
If heaven existed, it was when you were with Bruno. You both continued to lay in your bed, enjoying the others presence, until you both eventually fell asleep for the night.
And in the morning, you got to make fun of him for his ridiculous bedhead.
He certainly did bring joy to all those around him, with his sense of righteousness and kindness that was almost infectious. Though. . . you’d both rather die than tell the others about your comforting cuddle session that night.
The teasing would be relentless, though it’s not as if it wasn’t already extremely prominent whenever Mista and Narancia would see you both sitting beside the other in the restaurant.
Why would they ever get the idea that you and Bruno were dating? You were just friends.
Right?