Chapter Text
Skull is sat on Colonnello’s lap. The living room is plunge in the dark, lights off despite the windows of the mansion still closed, and yet he certainly feels seen anyway.
Skull stares right back — at Lal on the other end of the couch, and Reborn on the two-place armchair at her left, and Verde and Viper on the similar armchair at his left, and Fon sipping his tea on the low table in the middle of them all.
The looks are unwarranted for in Skull's humble opinion, as much as it is unclear how he got there in the first place.
So what if their Curse doesn’t pin them to bed anymore, paralyzed ? And sure they can hold their own weight now and walk around the mansion like the grown men they are, but what ? It’s not like Skull disregarded the available space in the room on purpose.
They were introducing themselves. Skull did breach Colonnello’s personal space when he showed genuine interest to his whole World’s Greatest Stuntman thing. Then his whole civilian thing was brought out too, which earned him an arm around his waist, but Skull is positive he was still out of anyone’s lap at this point.
Then, err, something... ?
Someone... ???
(Some might say he was too distracted by the arm around his waist to pay attention from then on, but of course they’d be lying.)
Anyway. So Skull is sat on Colonnello’s lap. And he’s there from some time now so it’s not like Colonnello minds it. Skull sure doesn’t, and lets himself lean against the hard chest in his back.
The rest of the room sure does look like they mind it, not subtle at all in how they act like they don’t. Well, Lal actually doesn’t. She gave them a deadpan look when it happened, then rolled her eyes, then ignored them altogether.
"Wait, so it’s that recent ?" It takes the pointed look of the others Arcobaleno for Skull to realize the question was addressed to him. He shifts sideways so he can look at Colonnello. "Your first contact with the mafia ?" He precises when it’s obvious Skull wasn’t listening.
"Oh, uhm, yes ? Like, around two years ago when I was chosen as one of the I Prescelti Sette."
"So you just were put at the top of the food chain right off the bat without knowing anything ?" Skull shrugs. "And all of that only for..." Colonnello trails off, his eyes on the purple pacifier around his neck. The temperature in the room drops a few degrees.
Skull shrugs again, visibly more stiff. "I guess."
"Man, that's tough." A rebuttal is right there on Skull’s tongue when —
He jerks forward at the rise of Rain flames, hands finding balance on Colonnello’s shoulders. Skull lets them there even when the flames have settled in a loose embrace around him, at a respectable distance but close enough for him to feel the comfort they radiate. Colonnello smiles up at him and Skull is but just a man.
"Yeah," he says, voice subdued. His eyes wander to find the blue pacifier, which wasn’t intended but he can work with that. He grazes it with his fingertips. "Some days are harder than others."
The eye roll imprint on their shared Bond is so strong Skull might as well have looked at it for real. Someone else coughs loudly at his left but he’s drawn to a tight hug all the same. The hand on his back moves in soothing circles.
"Good job making it this far."
Skull’s smile goes all the way up to his ears. It’s a shame the others can't see it though, his face hidden in Colonnello’s neck, so he lets his flames talk for him. The room’s temperature drops another degree and Skull’s smile grows even bigger if possible.
His fellow Elements can fuck right off if they think to ruin this for him.