Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was one of those days where Giorno’s mother, If you could even call her that, pretended to be a mother for the day. To be honest, it was more to flaunt at the other moms on how successful and “happy” her life was with her new husband. Giorno knew all this was just one of those rare formalites his mother did. Once she had her fill of “motherhood”, she’ll just drop him again and forget about him for another 8 years. He just wished for once it could be real. Even, if it was for only a second.

That was, until she saw him.

The man with the golden hair.

He was idling around the outside of a recently leased building, sitting cross-legged on top of one of the many boxes littering the outside of the building. His attention was fully absorbed into his phone until Giorno’s mother called out to him.

“Dio!”

She immediately dropped Giorno’s hand and ran over to him, leaving her son once again. Giorno stood there, shifting on his feet, watching as she got further away. The warmth on his hand had long since faded. Giorno wasn’t sure if it was even there to begin with.

The blonde man snapped his gaze away from his phone in confusion. As she made her way to him, familiarity flashed in the man’s eyes and his lips slowly curled into a smile. The two conversed for a while and Giorno caught the man stealing a few glances at him. Before long, the man pointed at him and his mother hardly gave a glance back as she replied. The man looked surprised for a second before that smile quickly appeared back on his face. They chatted a bit more before his mother made her way back to Giorno, now at the side of the tall blonde man.

“Here he is. Your son, Haruno.”

Your son?

Giorno’s eyes widened, looking back up at the man presumed to be his father. The more he looked, the less convinced Giorno was. ‘How could this man be my father? He hardly looked anything like me!’ But then, Giorno saw it.

His eyes.

Those golden, shining eyes. It was captivating and eerily similar to Giorno’s own.

“Come, now! Let’s go catch up with each other over some coffee.” His mother said, leading the man over to the cafe.

It took a moment before Giorno realized he needed to follow them or risk being lost on the street. His little feet sped off, rapidly tapping against the sidewalk to catch up with his parents.

The pair of adults chattered away to catch up on each other’s lives leaving Giorno to his own devices. Giorno decided to use his time to examine his long lost father. Dio, from what Giorno observed, seemed almost bored.

Actually, strike that.

He was definitely bored. He had been casually answering his mother’s questions with little detail, instead feigning interest in what she was doing and how her life has been. Giorno learned, from what little the man provided, that he was a lawyer and staying in Italy for a few weeks. It took a moment of watching before Giorno could see the heavy disinterest in his eyes.

But, his mother just kept talking away. She seemed to not pick up on any sign that he was completely over this conversation and excitedly went into detail about how great of a time she had with her friends out or how she met her new husband and offhandedly mentioning she wouldn’t mind if Dio took her back.

Although Dio held no interest in her, he still listened to every detail of what she said and responded accordingly. It was as if he was looking for something. Giorno wasn’t sure what he was looking for. As time passed, Dio grew more and more tense, tapping his finger on the table occasionally. Finally, he interrupted her.

“And what about your son?”

She stopped, confused. “What about him?”

“What have you two done together? Any fun plans?”

She nervously laughed, “O-oh. Nothing really, he tends to keep to himself.”

“What does he do?”

“He tends to go outside a lot and play with his friends. Ah! That’s right! I saw him playing with the other kids just the other day! They seemed to be having fun.”

Giorno took an interest in studying his fists that sat on his lap. That actually happened just a month ago. There was no way it could have looked like playing. He was being ganged up on with a wooden board and 6 older kids. He came home limping that afternoon and his stepfather decided to add onto the bruises while his mother was out.

“What about birthdays?” Dio asked. “Surely, there was something you did together.”

“Uh-um, He doesn’t like to make a fuss on his birthday.”

The tapping was quicker, now at every other minute.

“How old is he anyway?”

“I think he’s just about to turn 10-”

“You think?” There was slight hostility in his voice as his eyes narrowed slightly. “He is your son, no? Do you even know when his birthday is?”

“I-i do! It’s just that-”

Dio clicked his tongue and crossed his arms. His face was obviously displeased now in fact, he was clearly angered by something Giorno couldn’t put his finger on.

“When was the last time you sat down with your son and got to know him? When was the last time you even interacted with your son for more than a few mere minutes? It seems to me like you don’t know a damn thing about your son at all.”

She sputtered, rapidly trying to think of a way to defend herself. But, he continued,

“Everything you’ve told me just now, none of that ever fucking mentioned him. Not. Even. Once.” He stood up, putting on his best lawyer face. “I’m afraid you aren’t suited to raise him, let alone be a mother.”

Dio turned his piercing gaze to Giorno, who was now looking back up at him. His eyes were commanding and shined fiercely. “Come.”

“Since she isn’t fit to be a parent, I shall take that roll.” And with that, he turned and walked toward the exit.

Giorno was dumbfounded.

He couldn’t believe what he had just heard. He hardly registered his mother crying out to Dio, begging him to come back.

But, what he couldn’t believe even more was that his own two feet had got up and followed the blonde man out the door. Giorno didn’t look back.

Not even once.

Chapter Text

What in the hell was he thinking?!

Dio was, in fact, not thinking at all. Instead of thinking, he decided to pretend to care about who that woman was because Jonathan thought it was a good idea to drag him along to help that checker hatted Zeppeli move into his new restaurant in Italy. Thus, left Dio to bide his time outside the restaurant because there is no way Dio Brando was going to help. Maybe he should have just stayed home. He could have just hung back instead of being convinced to at least accompany Jonathan to Italy because it was a free vacation.

But, no.

Here he was, with a long lost son who he didn’t want to take in. But, why did he take him? Dio didn’t want to admit it but he saw something in the kid that made him go insane. And that something, was himself.

It was obvious from the fact that his mother immediately left her child on the street that she didn’t give a single shit about him. The way she hardly registered he was there and no mention of him in any of her stories were a clear, dead give away. 

The kid wasn’t hiding anything either. He was way too reserved and quiet around his mother even before Dio had approached him. His posture was defensive and he flinched slightly whenever his jacket grazed his arms. The kid was probably hiding one too many bruises under there.

But, the most prominent thing about him was his gaze. He was always looking, reading people for reactions and even the slightest tells. Taking care to not make one false move. Making sure he stayed in line. 

And, he was hardly 10 years old.

Dio’s blood began to boil. His head was suddenly rushed with old memories he tried his hardest to forget and memories he tried to bury under all his success and ‘happiness’. Too many things were similar to this boy’s situation. Too many things lined up with his memories. 

So, he acted on his emotions and lashed out. 

For fucks sake, who did he think he was? Jonathan ?

Luckily, Dio managed to get a clear thought into his head just before he left. He realized that he was definitely not well equipped enough to care for a child himself. So, he let Giorno choose. Follow him out the door or stay back in confusion. He was hoping the latter and maybe the situation couldn’t have been about as bad as his own, but he did it.

Giorno actually followed him out. 

The fact that he chose to walk out with a stranger he just met rather than staying with the mother he knew his whole life spoke louder than words could ever tell him.

And, Dio had no idea how to continue from there.

But, that didn’t mean he was going to give up. Hell no.

This was Dio Brando we’re talking about.

He looked back at Giorno, who followed him all the way to Jonathan’s rental car parked down the street. “Haruno, right?”

The boy opened his mouth but closed it and nodded.

Dio squatted down to Giorno’s height. He better start to get the kid to open up a bit more at least. He’ll never grow up to full potential if he stayed like this. “What is it? If I got anything wrong, tell me now so I don’t waste time and make a fool of myself.”

“Well, since my...mother got married and moved to Italy I became Italian too and my name was changed. Everyone calls me Giorno except her.”

“Alright, Giorno. Since you will be living with me from now on, we’ll have to go meet a few people and sort this out later.” Dio checked his watch. “Hm. He won’t be back in a couple hours so let’s get you situated at the hotel, then.”

The father-son duo got into the car and Dio sent a quick text to Jonathan before he pulled out of the street, making his way toward the hotel.

Chapter Text

The car ride was uncomfortably silent but Giorno didn’t think of it too much. What was there to talk about to a kid you were suddenly told was your son? What were you even supposed to do in this kind of situation? Giorno was still struggling to understand why he decided to put his trust into this stranger. Or, how this stranger managed to completely understand his situation and took him under his wing.

It wasn’t like he could tell if the man had good intentions. Dio seemed to have a solid poker face and gave away very little aside from his domineering confidence. Even now while driving the car, he didn’t show any disdain or joy. He was neutral. Giorno guessed that probably came from his years of being a lawyer but Giorno hardly knew much about the field, aside from the movies his parents watched, to draw a clear conclusion.

But, if the 9 short years he spent alive taught him anything, it was that people weren’t reliable or trustworthy. It wouldn’t be hard for Dio to go back on his word and drop Giorno off on the street. 

Besides, he would only be a burden on the man, anyway. Giorno knew his place in life was nothing but a misery. Why else would his mother hardly ever look his way? Why else would his stepfather continually punish him with a belt or his fists? Giorno unconsciously tightened his hands into fists.

“Giorno.” Dio’s voice snapped Giorno out of his thoughts. “Did you have anything you wanted to get from your house?”

Giorno opened his mouth but closed it instead. Did he have anything worth keeping? Sure, he had clothes and the basic necessities but he assumed Dio would probably cover that with however much money he had. The more he thought about it, the more he realized nothing in that house was worth keeping with him. 

He didn’t have any toys like other kids his age. Instead, he frequently went outside to look for bugs or animals to keep him occupied. It made him grow to love nature and he was always fascinated when he read up on the different types of plants and animals in Italy when he went to the public library. That was really the only good thing in his life he supposed. His parents never bothered to give him any heirlooms or keep photo albums. The only family photo they had was the wedding picture and Giorno wasn’t in it at all. 

Something twisted in his gut making him uneasy as he replied, “No. Nothing important.”

The ride the rest of the way was tense, until Dio connected his phone to the car and told Giorno he could pick the music. 

Giorno did not know how much money Dio could spend until he saw how massive the hotel was. Or, maybe that’s how big hotels are normally supposed to be. Giorno never stayed in one before so he wasn’t exactly a reliable source of input. That didn’t stop him from being in complete awe.

Giorno could’ve sworn he heard Dio laugh at his expression. He quickly tried to compose himself out of habit and a bit of embarrassment. He still frantically looked at everything he passed with wide eyes.

By the time they reached the hotel room, Giorno practically memorized the entire way there. He didn’t mean to but everything was so new and interesting to him he just happened to study the paintings hung up by the hall and the large fountain by the entrance along with the various plants, mostly orchids and a few others Giorno had yet to know the names of, neatly arranged in vases scattered around the hotel.

The two shuffled into the large hotel room and Giorno made his way onto the cushiony gray couch set in front of a flat screen tv. There were two bedrooms. One bedroom was on the right with a bathroom next to it and the other, Giorno assumed, was the master bedroom on the left. Next to the living room area, was a small open kitchen complete with four bar stools at the counter. Off to the side, was a glass dining table with six chairs around it. It was practically spotless, Giorno noted. It probably hasn’t been used very often.

Dio settled himself on the other side of the couch and quickly swiped through his phone.

…

“Are you hungry?” Dio asked.

“No. I’m fine.”

…

Well, this couldn’t be any more awkward.

Dio’s brows furrowed at his phone before he got up from the couch and headed into the master bedroom. He shuffled around there for a while before he switched to raid the other bedroom mumbling something. Finally, he emerged victoriously, carrying a Wii console and a blue remote.

He set up the console in the living room and asked, “Have you ever played on a Wii?”

“No, I’ve never had any video games before.” His parents never thought to buy any let alone care for him.

Dio huffed, tossing the Wii remote to Giorno. “The least that woman could’ve done was give you a game to occupy yourself with.” He mumbled something about how incompetent of a mother she was before disappearing into the bedroom and coming back with white remote.

“The only game JoJo brought was Mario Kart, so lets hope you don’t hate it.”

Dio popped the game in and gave Giorno a run down of the controls. Before long, Giorno was playing his first ever video game.

Two hours into the game, the door to the hotel room opened. 

“Dio, I know you didn’t want to help but couldn’t you have stayed a bit longer so we could get some dinner on the way-”

Upon entering the room, Jonathan witnessed a sight to behold. Dio was giving a few pointers on Mario Kart to a kid Jonathan had never seen before. There was even the slightest hint of a smile threatening to show on Dio’s face.

He closed the door as quietly as he could and settled down on one of the kitchen barstools to watch them play. A smile played at his lips.

This was something Jonathan definitely wasn’t going to miss.

Chapter Text

Giorno was having the time of his life. Although, you didn’t exactly need to do much to enlighten his little 9 year old mind. After getting the hang of the controls and how to play, Giorno wasn’t doing too bad. He managed to bring himself from last place to 5th place in their third playthrough. Now, he was competing with Dio to see who could steal 1st place.

Yoshi sped through the finish line in 1st place and ‘FINISH!’ flashed across the screen.

“Yes!” Giorno pumped a fist in the air.

A pair of hands applauded behind them, startling Giorno and Dio from their game.

Dio clicked to the menu and set down his remote. “When did you get back?”

“Just now. And, who is this young man?” Jonthan gestured to Giorno.

“My son.”

“I’m sorry, I must not have heard you right. Your what? When did that happen?”

“Are you already getting so old that you’re going deaf, JoJo? Do you need me to take you to a retirement home? Need me to call Erina to check your ears?” 

“Ha. Ha. Just, answer the question.”

Dio rolled his eyes. “It was before I came back from my...Egypt trip. Anyway, he’ll be living with us from now on.”

“What about his family? When did you even meet him? Can you even accommodate a child?”

“One at a time, JoJo. I met him a couple hours ago while you were busy. His mother did nothing to take care of him so I took matters into my own hands and I’m sure the mansion is big enough for him.” Dio scoffed at that last statement.

A complicated expression was on Jonathan’s face. He turned to Giorno. “Excuse us. I need to have a word with your father for a minute.”

They shuffled over by the bathroom door and talked in hushed shouts. Giorno turned away to give them some sort of privacy and instead focused on listening to the game music playing from the tv. Was this it? Was he going to be kicked out after just getting here? He didn’t know who this JoJo was but he was at least hoping he’d let him stay the night. 

Wait.

He was hoping to stay? What was he thinking? In any logical case, he should have been hoping to go back home. He shouldn’t be wishing to burden these people further, even if they seemed capable of handling him. Giorno hugged one of the throw pillows tightly. Why doesn't he feel homesick? Was there something wrong with him? Usually anyone in this sort of situation would miss home at some point, right? Maybe, it's just a delayed reaction for him.

Maybe, it'll hit him later.

Several minutes later, Jonathan walked back to Giorno and Dio headed into the master bedroom and shut the door. So, that was his room.

“Well, today was probably quite a shock for you too, huh? Sorry for the wait.” He smiled brightly. “My name is Jonathan Joestar. I am Dio’s brother.”

Giorno nodded, briefly blinded by that smile. “...Giorno Giovanna.”

It took a minute before the gears turned in Giorno’s head. He stared at the dark haired man in confusion and pointed out, “You don’t look like brothers.”

Jonathan chuckled. “No, we don’t. Dio is actually my adopted brother.”

That made sense. Sort of.

“Anyway, let’s get you situated here first. Thankfully, there is another twin bed in my room so there’s no need to squish up on the couch. Did you bring a suitcase?”

Giorno shook his head.

“What about a backpack?”

“I didn’t bring anything.” They left straight from the cafe after all.

Jonathan sighed. “How did he..?” He shook his head, “Nevermind, then. We’ll just have to take a trip to your house and pick up your stuff.

At the mention of going back, Giorno grabbed Jonathan’s wrist without realizing it. He quickly retracted his hand and sheepishly looked down. He mentally kicked himself. ‘Great going, Giorno. You’re just giving him more reasons to not waste his time with you.’

“I uh...” Giorno started yet he couldn’t form a complete sentence. Instead, he just stood there awkwardly trying to come up with something.

He couldn’t go back there. He knew that much. Giorno wasn’t forced to leave or kidnapped, he left on his own. If he so much as showed his face back there, he would have to face the strain between him and his mother that she hardly noticed was even there.

Or, worse.

He would have to face the wrath of his stepfather. Giorno unconsciously rubbed his bruised arm and shivered.

Jonathan nodded his head and didn’t question it. “We’ll go to the store, then.” He got up and grabbed his coat from off the kitchen counter.

Giorno glanced back at Dio’s room. “What about my, uh,” Giorno couldn’t exactly call him ‘dad’ since they were technically still basically strangers. They only just found out each other existed today. “Him...”

“Oh, Dio? He’s probably taking a nap or something right now, which means we’ll have to bring back some dinner too.” Jonathan furrowed his brows but quickly switched back to a cheerful smile. “But, don’t worry. I’m sure he’ll be up by the time we get back.”

Giorno wondered how Jonathan could always smile so easily. Every time he smiled, it was always warm and inviting. He strangely felt...safe. With that, the pair left the hotel room and headed out to a nearby store.

Chapter Text

The stores weren’t exactly far from the hotel, so the pair chose to forgo the car and go on foot. The older of the two opted to hold hands for safe measure, since there was a well known Italian mob around here after all. That was more than enough reason to keep a close eye on your children when you’re outside.

“So,” Jonathan started, “How much did Dio tell you exactly? Aside from, just basically kidnapping you from your mother.”

“Uhm, well, not much actually. Just that, we needed to meet a few people.”

Jonathan hummed. “Well, that is something we’ll have to do since William is the reason we’re out here. But, that really isn’t much information.” He furrowed his eyebrows. “He should’ve at least told you a lot more or something.”

Jonathan then, popped up with an idea. “I’ve got it! How about we play 20 questions?”

“20 questions?”

“Yes, you can ask me anything you want to know and we’ll take turns. Of course, we’ll have to modify it so we aren’t limited to yes or no questions.” The pair headed into a clothing store as he explained. “How does that sound?”

Giorno wasn’t against getting to know more about the people he’ll potentially be living with and he really was basically in the dark about everything. He nodded. “Ok. Sounds good.”

“Right, then! You can go first.”

Giorno wasn’t sure what to ask first. His mind was buzzing with possible questions as he browsed the different colored shirts in front of him. He spotted a red ladybug shirt and picked it up.

“Where does my father live? I heard he was only in Italy temporarily.”

“Oh! He’s temporarily living with me at my house in America. Although, I’m normally away on trips for work so really it’s only him living there.” Jonathan mentally noted Giorno’s interest in the ladybug shirt and scanned the area for a similar theme. “When is your birthday?”

“April 16th.”

“Well, it may be a couple months late but happy belated birthday!” Jonathan picked up a shirt covered in various cartoon insects, ranging from dragonflies to ladybugs and a couple butterflies mixed into some foliage.

“Ah, thank you.” 

Giorno’s eyes lit up at the shirt as he all too eagerly nodded his head. Calm down, Giorno. It’s just a shirt not a winning lottery ticket. He glanced through the shirts a few more times before moving through an animal themed pile. “Why are you two staying in Italy?”

“A good friend of mine is opening a restaurant here and I volunteered to help. He said he wanted to settle down in his hometown. What’s your favorite color?”

Giorno sifted through a dozen frog themed jackets. “I don’t really have one,” He picked up a pink jacket. “But if I had to choose...maybe pink.” 

He tossed the jacket onto his slowly growing pile. “Do you know what happened when he went to Egypt?” 

Jonathan picked up Giorno’s pile into his arms, adding it to his own armful of clothes. The pile looked significantly smaller in his big muscly arms. “Er, well...no. I only know the bare minimum because Dio doesn’t really like to talk about it. But, it’s better to ask Dio that question when he’s ready to open up about it.” 

He added a couple jeans onto the pile and a few pajamas before continuing the game. “What do you like to do for fun?” 

Giorno thought it was odd. All the questions Jonathan asked were about him and his interests. Nothing really prying, just casual questions you’d find in a friendship quiz on the back of a teen magazine. Well, Giorno guessed there wasn’t exactly much information to get from a kid but he could’ve asked about his parents. 

What were they like? What did they do? Did he have any fun memories with them? Did they make him feel safe? Did they even care about him?

Giorno dropped a pair of jeans with a bee patched onto the front pockets onto the pile. “I look at animals or plants. Sometimes I’d read about them.” At first, it was purely out of boredom but he quickly found himself more and more invested in nature.

“That sounds like a wonderful hobby! If you’d like, we could start a garden when we get home. The yard’s been pretty barren, save for the few wildflowers growing around. I’m sure it would brighten up the place a bit!” Jonathan gave Giorno his signature smile. “By the way, is there any chance you’re interested in dogs as well?”

Giorno nodded. He’d seen a couple dogs being walked out on the street and was fascinated with how soft and sweet they seemed. He considered owning one but he quickly dismissed the idea, knowing full well that would be impossible.

Jonathan’s smile brightened. Giorno didn’t know how that could even be possible but his smile got brighter. “Then, you’re in luck! I have a dog back home and you’ll definitely love him! He’s the sweetest! Although we had a bit of a rocky start when I first got him, he gradually warmed up to everyone even Dio who ‘absolutely’ despises dogs.” He rambled on about his dog, who Giorno learned was named Danny, and all the wonderful memories he had with him. He also added that Dio once sold him to another family and they spent years trying to find Danny. Giorno could tell Jonathan still held a bit of a grudge against Dio for that. He couldn't blame him though, he would've too.

It was nice. The way he enthusiastically rambled on and how Giorno could see the love and care in Jonathan’s eyes when he spoke. He could tell how much he cared for the dog. It wasn’t surprising that he considered Danny his best friend.

Giorno wondered if there would ever be someone who would speak about him like that.

He shook his head. Stop that. This wasn’t the time to think like that. He absentmindedly added a few more clothes to the pile. 

“Oh! I completely messed up our game.” Jonathan sheepishly scratched his cheek as they walked to the checkout. “Sorry about that. Did you have any other questions?”

Giorno thought for a moment before shaking his head. “No, I don’t think so.”

“Well, if you think of more later on don’t hesitate to ask me.” Jonathan paid for the clothes and took the bags. “So, what do you feel like having for dinner?”

Chapter Text

The next day, Giorno woke up feeling refreshed. His mattress was not nearly this comfortable and his blanket was way thinner and not as soft as the 3 layers of duvets he was cozily tucked under. He hazily opened his eyes briefly wondering where he was. Even the room was brighter than his. 

Right. 

He was living with his father and uncle now. 

Letting his eyes adjust, Giorno scanned the room. It was off white with a few paintings hanging on the walls of flowers. Next to him was another twin bed similar to the one he was in except it was empty and messy with a pillow cast to the floor. 

Rest in peace that poor pillow. 

Tossed aside to lay forgotten on the cold carpeted floor. 

After paying his respects to the pillow, Giorno focused on the other side of the room where the sun beamed down on him from the window. The outside was much nicer than his neighborhood. There were a plethora of flowers coloring the grass outside and the blue clear sky hanging above it completed the look. It was stunning.

Giorno sniffed the air and wrinkled his nose. It smelled like burnt toast and overcooked eggs. He crawled out of his bed, carefully making the bed to the best of his ability, and made his way to the kitchen. There, he found Jonathan attempting to whip up a quick breakfast.

“Good morning, Giorno!” Jonathan set down the frying pan of what looked to be sunny side up eggs turned scrambled on the stove. He shifted his attention to him. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah.” Giorno took a seat by the counter. “It was comfortable.”

Jonathan beamed at him before the sizzling and popping of the eggs increased, snapping his attention away. “Ah, shoot!” He frantically scraped at the eggs and carried them over to a plate. A dark and quite frankly annoyed figure emerged from the shadowy depths of the master bedroom yelling,

“JoJo, what the hell are you trying to do? Burn all the food in the fridge??”

Dio appeared from his room in a velvet red robe, tiredly shuffling into the kitchen. He took a look at the unfortunate display of breakfast and raised an eyebrow at Jonathan. Jonathan’s brow twitched and he strained a smile.

“I wanted to try my hand at giving Giorno here a good hearty breakfast!”

“This is clearly inedible. Give me that.” 

Dio snatched the frying pan out of Jonathan’s hands and shooed him away from the stove. Jonathan retreated to the coffee machine and started fixing up a pot of coffee. Dio buttered the pan and cracked three eggs into it. He briefly left the pan and placed two pieces of bread in the toaster, cranking the timer down to a much much lower setting than it was set to. Giorno could’ve sworn he heard Dio mutter an insult under his breath before going back to the frying pan. He did it all so naturally like he’s cooked all his life. Giorno wondered a bit about Dio’s childhood.

Admittedly, there wasn’t exactly much he knew about the man. All the time Giorno’s spent here it seemed like Dio was trying his best to avoid talking about himself or his past. Giorno guessed that was something they had in common. A past that they refused to speak of to anyone.

But, that didn’t stop him from curiously wondering what happened in Dio’s life.

After a couple minutes, Giorno was served a plate of sunny side eggs and toast. Compared to Jonathan’s plate of breakfast, it looked amazing. Although, anything compared to Jonathan’s plate would look edible. The eggs were thoroughly cooked and the toast was golden brown unlike the charred bricks on the other plate.

Dio set his own plate down next to Giorno and sat down. Jonathan expectantly asked, “What about mine?”

Dio pointed at the plate of Jonathan’s attempt. “You made your own.”

“But, you said it was clearly inedible!”

“For normal human beings like us, yes. But, you’re unruly enough to stomach that crap.”

“Hey! Just for that, I’m not pouring you any coffee.” Jonathan made sure to pour one mug of coffee and set the pot back down away from Dio. 

He turned to Giorno. “What do you want to drink? We have milk, orange juice aaand-” He checked around the fridge, “That’s all we have.”

“Milk, please.”

Jonathan nodded his head, taking a glass from the cupboards and pouring out a glass of milk. Giorno took a bite into his eggs which were honestly pretty good. He wondered if Dio would teach him how to cook if he asked. It was a good life skill to have and he had always wanted to make something himself. Jonathan set the glass in front of Giorno and looked over to Dio.

“Hey!”

Dio was casually sipping from a mug of coffee and scrolling through his phone. He rolled his eyes. “What?”

Jonathan pointed at the mug. “Where did you get that coffee? Is that mine?”

“No, your cup is over there where you left it. I wouldn’t dare put my hands on something your grubby paws touched.” He took another smug sip.

Jonathan turned around and sure enough, his mug was still there. He muttered, “I didn’t even notice you walk through the kitchen...” before he picked up his mug and settled down on the other side of Giorno. Giorno wondered the same thing.

Not even he saw or heard Dio leave his seat to pour a mug. But, then again, he was focused more on eating than watching the kitchen. Giorno shrugged his curiosity aside and continued his breakfast.

Chapter Text

At roughly 10am, Giorno and his new family drove back down to the place where it all started.

The restaurant.

Jonathan told him he was more than welcome to wait in the hotel since they were just going to be helping out with the restaurant. But, Giorno volunteered to tag along and hopefully help. He didn’t want to sit around and do nothing for hours and he felt bad that he had been relying on them for so much.

So, he figured this was as good a chance as any to give back and help.

They weren’t actually expected to arrive until noon-ish but Jonathan decided the earlier they got there, the more progress they could make to furnishing the building. Which was a good idea in theory as long as the owner was there when they arrived. 

As the familiar building came into view, Giorno spotted two peculiarly hatted men lounging atop the boxes strewn outside. One, was a dark haired man with a well-groomed handlebar mustache wearing an odd checkered print top hat. He was casually sitting on a box sipping a glass of red wine. Now, Giorno wasn’t one to know much about wines and such but even he could tell that 10 in the morning was way too early to be casually sipping a small glass of wine. 

The man next to him had long golden locks that spilled out from beneath a completely out of fashion black bowler hat. He had a scar slashed across his face but that didn’t deter the warm glow from his smile as he laughed from the conversation he was having with the checkered hat man.

“Zeppeli! Speedwagon!” Jonathan waved to them as they approached the front of the restaurant.

“Early as ever aren’t you, Jonathan?” The checkered hat man replied.

“I figured we could get a head start on finishing up.”

The bowler hat man glanced down at Giorno and pointed. “Hey, Jonathan. Who’s the kid?”

Jonathan stepped back and proudly presented Giorno. “This is Giorno! He’s Dio’s son and he wanted to help!”

The checkered hat man choked on his wine. Coughing he asked, “Surely, you aren’t serious are you..?”

Dio crossed his arms and mockingly replied, “Is that really so hard to believe, oh so wise, Zeppeli?”

“Of course it is.” He took a long sip, nearly emptying his glass. “The little bambino looks nothing like you.”

 Speedwagon looked Giorno up and down. “Well, he does have his eyes, I guess? But, damn. Who woulda thought?”

He bent down to Giorno’s height and held out a hand. Giorno lightly shook it as Speedwagon introduced himself. “The name’s Robert E.O. Speedwagon.” He jammed a thumb in William’s direction. “That old coot over there is William Zeppeli.” 

“I’m not that old you street rat.” He took another sip from his full glass. Giorno could’ve sworn it was nearly empty just a moment ago.

“Hey! I haven’t been on the streets since Jonathan knocked some sense into me!”

Zeppeli walked over and patted him on the back. “No matter how much money you have now, you’ll always be that dumb little street rat to me.” He downed his glass and clapped his hands.

“Well, those boxes aren’t going to unpack themselves! Let’s get a move on, shall we?”

Everyone dispersed in different directions. Jonathan lugged in the heavier furniture as if they weighed nothing, while William and Speedwagon took the more manageable items such as tables and chairs. To Giorno’s surprise, even Dio helped, carrying a couple of boxes of cutlery inside. With all the complaining he did on the drive there, he was sure Dio wouldn’t bother to lift anything. 

Giorno scampered around carrying what his little arms could into the building. It wasn’t much but it did help make things move much faster. Once Giorno set down his last box, Zeppeli called him over.

“Do you mind helping me with decorating a bit? We’ll be setting up the tables and paintings.”

Giorno shook his head and opened a couple of the boxes. The first one had an assortment of new vases neatly set in the box with some foam in between to keep them still. They ranged from dark blues to a neat turquoise. In the next box, a variety of fake foliage was stuffed into it as if someone ripped a piece of a jungle and shoved it into a box. The last two boxes he opened was an array of unscented candles and their complementing glass domes. Each candle was a vibrant shade of red rather than the regular white colors Giorno often saw in stores.

Zeppeli smoothed a white sheet over the table and gestured over to it with a grin.

“Alright! You can go ahead and decorate the first table however you’d like. Let’s see if you have a good artistic vision!”

His artistic vision, huh?

Giorno wasn’t sure if his ideas would be up to the standards of the expensive looking restaurant. He’s never thought about interior design before and he was only a kid. Normally, people wouldn’t just let a kid loose to handle fragile decorations that probably costed more than Giorno’s house.

He picked up a vase and carefully placed it at the center of the table. In all the fancy restaurants he managed to sneak a glimpse of through the windows, he just saw a vase filled with flowers at the center of each table. He figured this should be good enough. He stepped back and looked over to Zeppeli for approval.

“That can’t be all you could think of! I know there’s got to be a creative little thinker in there!”

“I’ve never decorated before. I don’t know what would look good on tables.”

Zeppeli crouched down to Giorno’s height and gripped his shoulders. “My boy, you need to have more confidence in yourself. Don’t think about what would look good on those tables. Instead, think about what you’d like on those tables.”

He gave a reassuring squeeze before letting Giorno try again.

Giorno looked between the boxes of decorations and the table. Finally, he picked up something and got to work.

Rearranging the centerpiece one last time, Giorno stepped back for approval. In the center, sat a dark blue vase encircled by long tendrils of fake, leafy vines. On the right, was a glass dome and in it sat a bright red candle, contrasting the dark blue vase.

If he was being completely honest, Giorno was proud of it.

Zeppeli grinned. “Magnifico, Giorno! I knew you could do it!” He hugged his shoulder. “It looks beautiful! But, we are missing one final touch.”

He exaggeratedly opened his suit coat, making sure it blocked Giorno’s view as he pulled out a full bouquet of deep red roses. Was he a magician or something? Zeppeli placed a handful of roses in the vase. “There we go!”

He handed off the rest of the bouquet to Giorno. Giorno thumbed the petals. It was real.

“Now, then! We have more decorating to do!”

Excitedly, the pair set off to decorate more tables and hung some paintings. By the time the sun was beginning to set, the restaurant was finally furnished.

With all the boxes cleared out and unpacked, Giorno noticed how spacious the restaurant was. Long draping curtains elegantly hung from each side of the windows. The walls were adorned in different paintings from the renaissances, giving it a classic touch. 

“I think we’re finished!” Jonathan said as he took a look around the room.

“Whew!” Speedwagon fanned himself with his hat. “It would’ve taken less time if Dio moved more than just the cutlery.”

“Just, appreciate that I did something instead of complaining about the amount.”

“Well that was hardly any work! Even your kid did more than you and he did a damn good job too!” 

Jonathan patted Giorno’s back. “That’s right! Giorno, you did an excellent job on those tables, it's sure to bring in customers!” 

Dio scoffed. “Of course, it will. He is my son after all.”

Silence filled the room as everyone stared at Dio. Speedwagon was the first to speak. “I can’t believe Dio, of all people, could be proud of someone…”

“Is the world finally coming to an end?” Zeppeli joked.

“Keep that up and not even the Italian legal system can save you from becoming a homicide victim and culprit.” Dio growled but Giorno could tell there wasn’t much of a bite to it.

Chapter Text

For the first time in his life, Giorno actually enjoyed spending time with someone. He had been with the Joestar-Brando brothers for a few days now and the time he spent with them had been the happiest he’s ever felt.

But, there was still something weighing on him.

Some crushing feeling he tried desperately to ignore.

Guilt.

He couldn’t help but feel like he was undeserving of all this. All these new clothes and necessities. All these games and toys he insisted he didn’t need but got anyway. These people who actually asked for his opinions and cared about them. People that shared his interests and enjoyed talking with him about it. People who praised his efforts and made his life more memorable.

It was all too overwhelming.

He didn’t believe he did anything to deserve such a thing. It left a heavy feeling in him that he felt after every happy feeling he’s had. It was even more overwhelming at night.

Giorno quietly crawled out of bed. Jonathan was a heavy sleeper so he never actually needed to be quiet but he still did out of courtesy. Giorno dragged himself to the kitchen and made a glass of water. He wasn’t thirsty but he was already up so he might as well have gotten one. He downed the glass and put it away.

Awake and unable to sleep, Giorno wandered around the living area and settled on the window sill. It looked out onto the front of the hotel where the lawn was decorated with lush blooms of flowers. He hadn’t been able to get a closer glimpse at the flowers in the past few days and always wondered what types they were. His days had been awfully busy with his new family. Each day was a new and interesting adventure, leaving the flowers forgotten. 

Giorno glanced at the time.

11:47pm.

It wouldn’t hurt to take a small walk on the lawn, would it?

He hopped off the window and grabbed his jacket from his room. It probably wasn’t cold but he was in his frog pajamas and that would bring a bit too much attention to him if he went out like that. He went to the kitchen and also grabbed a notepad. He didn’t want to steal a room key from Jonathan and he didn’t trust himself to not lose it. So, he’ll just keep the door from locking with something.

Giorno unlocked the door and carefully slid the notepad between the door’s lock. After making sure it was still unlocked, Giorno wandered through the halls. The hotel was pretty empty, since it was such a dead hour, so it didn’t take long for him to reach the lobby and out the front doors. 

Finally out, Giorno took a small stroll around the area. The front of the hotel was pretty large and covered in different plants, making it more like a garden than an entrance. The only reason Giorno hadn’t gotten lost was because of the wide pathway leading up to the entrance surrounded by small solar powered lights.

He walked to the edge of the property where it connected to the sidewalk and took a look at the flowers planted by the edge. It was a variety of yellows and whites that complemented the white of the stone path. Daisies popped up between a few yellow black eyed susans and baby’s breath were scattered around them. However, he saw a few of the flowers were drooping underneath the larger ones. He carefully pushed the larger ones over and made sure the smaller ones would get at least a bit of sunlight in the morning.

“Giorno?”

He froze as that familiar voice called out to him. It felt as if time was moving infinitely slower as he turned around to find his stepfather only a few short steps away. Giorno blankly blinked back at him.

“Do you know this kid, man?” One of the guys he was with asked.

“Y-yeah. That’s my wife’s kid. She’s been crying because he ran away from home.”

He took a step closer and Giorno instinctively jumped back. That seemed to tick his stepfather off as he yelled, “You no good brat! How dare you run away from your own father!”

‘You’re not my father.’ Giorno swallowed the words that stuck in his throat. No point in saying something he already knew. That would’ve just pissed him off more.

“Do you know how worried we were? We’ve spent the past week looking for you!” He took another step forward.

Giorno was shaking like a leaf now. His face barred no emotions but his body was betraying him. He remembered all the times his stepfather hit him and nearly brushed his hand over where the bruises used to be. Every fiber of his being was screaming out in sheer terror. As his stepfather took his next slow step, Giorno bolted.

“-HEY!”

He yelled after him, but it was no use. Giorno couldn’t hear him. All he could hear in that moment was just one word, constantly repeating in his head.

Run .

It was a while before Giorno finally remembered to stop running. His legs gave out from under him as he fell on the sidewalk trying to catch his breath. After he finally calmed down, he looked around.

...Where was he?

Giorno didn’t recognize the buildings around him or the name of the street he was on. 

He was lost.

He got up and walked in hopes of maybe running into someone to ask for directions or maybe manage to wander back to the hotel. But, that was just wishful thinking. The streets were empty and Italy was a labyrinth to a kid who was hardly big enough to ride roller coasters. The cold night breeze blew at him as he trudged on with fleeting hope.

What was he thinking? Getting lost when no one was awake to notice him gone. He could’ve just ran back into the hotel! There would be no way he could’ve followed him all the way to the room. But, no.

He just had to get lost. At night. Alone.

Giorno stopped in his tracks by an alleyway. He was utterly alone. Again.

He let out a dry, humorless laugh. He was back to where he started. Everything just looped around back to where he was except worse. This time he really was all alone and there was no one to even notice. No way for anyone to find him.

Giorno sat down in the small alleyway. He wasn’t going to cry. He wasn’t going to do anything. It was pointless. It was all his fault too.

He sat there, blankly staring at the ground until he fell asleep.

Chapter Text

“-HEEEY!”

Giorno startled awake at the sudden shout in his ear, bumping his head into something. 

“Ack!” 

Giorno hissed as he clutched his now throbbing forehead as another kid crashed to the ground clutching on to his nose.

Giorno shook the pain out and raised his head to look at the stranger. The kid before him didn’t look much older than himself. He had dark, messy hair and big, bright violet eyes that stared back at him.

“What are you doing sleeping out here?”

“...”

“Why were you sleeping out here?”

“...”

Fed up, the kid in front of him shook him by the shoulders. “Why! Were! You! Sleeping! Here!”

“I-i got lost!”

“Oh.” The kid quickly let go. “Well, you wanna hang out with me?”

Giorno was not awake enough to be dealing with this person. First, he shouted Giorno’s ear off and shook him to death and now he wants to hang out?? Is that normally how you’re supposed to react?

He crossed his arms and replied, “Why? I don’t know you.”

“My name’s Narancia!” The kid gave a smile and held out his hand.

That was not what he meant. Giorno hesitantly took his hand and Narancia vigorously shook it. “I’m...Giorno.”

“Ok, Giorno! Now that we’re friends, you can hang out with me!”

Giorno was certain that introductions do not make anyone friends and quickly declined. “No thanks.”

“Why not?”

Aside from literally just meeting you? “I’m busy.”

“No you’re not! You were sleeping in an alleyway and you’re lost! You can’t be busy!”

He was right. Giorno didn’t have a clue what to do now and his back was sore from sleeping on the ground. 

“...Fine. What do you want?”

“Hmmmm,” He swayed his body along with his hum of thought. “Well, how come you’re lost?”

“I ran away from someone.”

“Oh? Me too! Well, kinda.” He leaned back. “I’ve been house hopping between my friends’ houses. I guess you could say I'm running away from home.”

“Why?”

“My Pa doesn’t really care much for me and ever since Ma died it’s been more apparent. So, I figured if he doesn't want me then there's no point in staying.”

Giorno hugged his knees. He guessed they both sort of have similar situations. Or at least, had, since Giorno now lived with his father and uncle. But, he could understand what it felt like. To be unwanted and ignored. Although, Giorno didn’t have the luxury of friends to help keep him away since most people don’t really accept a foregin looking kid with an Italian name. Or maybe it was his searching face that drove people away. His stepfather seemed to think so.

Narancia laughed awkwardly. “Now it’s getting a little too depressing. Let’s go play somewhere, Gio!”

“Gio?”

“Yeah! Short for Giorno! Do you not want a nickname?”

He’s never really had a nickname before. He kind of just considered his Italian name as a sort of nickname. It was...nice. Something new.

Giorno shook his head. “No, Gio is fine.”

Narancia beamed at him. His smile reminded him a bit of Jonathan. “Alright, Gio! Let’s go!” He took Giorno’s hand and sped off to a park nearby as Giorno clumsily tried to keep up.

“Alright!” Narancia called from across the grass. He held a ball in his hands he found lost in the park. “Are you ready?”

Giorno nodded and watched the ball as it flew towards him. He didn't need to move much as the ball fell almost exactly into his hands.

"Nice catch!" Narancia yelled to him.

Giorno wasn't sure if it was his catching that was nice or Narancia's aim. There wasn't much effort on his part when the ball was heading directly towards him. 

Giorno held the ball up and aimed it at Narancia. He threw the ball and it flew just a bit off to the left. Narancia chased it and caught the ball before it could touch the ground. He raised the ball triumphantly with a big grin on his face.

At this, Giorno laughed.

He covered his face with his hands and snickered, trying his best to stop laughing. Narancia walked over and noticed his laughter and he too started giggling out of nowhere. It was odd. Narancia didn't question it nor felt awkward about him laughing. He just started giggling along with him. 

Giorno guessed laughter really was infectious. 

After their little laughing fit subsided, the two got back to their game of catch until someone called out to Narancia. 

"Yo, Nara!"

Another kid, seemingly a bit older than the two, walked over with a group of his friends. Narancia caught the ball and waved at the other kids. "Hey!"

"Come on! We're gonna go snag some candy from the shop!" 

Giorno couldn't help but feel like the kid was bad news. The way he stood, surrounded by his gang told Giorno that he was definitely the leader of this group. It also didn't help with how casually he just said he was going to "snag" some candy from a store. But, they seemed to be Narancia's friends. Even if they seemed a little shady, Giorno wanted to trust Narancia's judgement. After all, Narancia didn't seem like he'd be up to anything bad and he was a genuine person from the short time Giorno spent with him.

Narancia looked from his friends to Giorno.

Ah. Giorno didn't wanna keep Narancia from his friends but he was genuinely having fun playing with him. Giorno shook his head. 'No, no. I shouldn't let him stay with me. He'd probably get bored if he stayed.' Plus, the two only just met.

Giorno walked over to Narancia. "It's ok. You can go with them, I don't mind."

Narancia smiled at Giorno and handed him the ball. "Thanks! I'll see you later, Gio!"

"You too, Narancia."

The boy sped off towards his friends and Giorno shyly waved at his retreating figure. Once he was gone, Giorno looked at the ball in his hands. 

Giorno's watched people come and go in his life, but for the first time, he didn't feel so lonely about it.

He turned to the opposite direction and strolled around the park.

Chapter Text

Giorno settled on a bench a little ways into the park. He had long since left the lost ball by a tree in hopes that the owner would eventually find it. Sitting on the bench, he came to a realization.

He was hungry.

In hindsight, this was inevitably going to happen. He knew he wouldn’t last on the streets without a decent meal but he didn’t really plan on being lost in Naples for so long. 

But, where would he get food? He could probably steal something but it was more effort than it’s worth to snag something. Also, he wasn’t exactly sure where he was. Sure, he was definitely in a park, but where the park was Giorno honestly couldn’t say.

His stomach growled at him for the third time and he frowned at it. Are there any fruit trees in a park? Maybe he’ll just go berry hunting instead.

“Here!”

Giorno turned his head to face another kid. He looked a bit around Narancia’s age but he wore a purple beanie and had dark eyes. In his outstretched hand was a chocolate bar as he held three more in the other hand. He nudged the bar up in Giorno’s face again.

Giorno tilted his head in confusion. What?

“Take it! I can’t have four!”

“Ah, no thanks.”

“Take one! You’re hungry aren’t you?”

Before Giorno could open his mouth, his stomach replied for him.

“...”

“...”

Giorno sheepishly took the candy from the boy. Satisfied, the kid nodded his head. 

“Guido!” A woman, Giorno assumed was his mother, called out to him.

Guido waved goodbye and left the bench to rejoin his mother.

Weird.

Giorno looked at the chocolate bar in his hands. Well, that solved his hunger problem for now. 

After spending what felt like an hour in the park, Giorno left to wander around the streets. Hopefully he’d run into his father or uncle but as luck would have it, that wasn’t the case at all.

In fact, what he came across was something only a kid with the worst luck in the world could come across. 

There, in front of him, was an injured man lying in the grass.

Giorno looked around. No one else was there and if there was, Giorno figured no one would help him either. It was sort of like him. Or at least, like his past self. Although, Giorno couldn’t be too certain of that. He was alone right now just like this man. If he had a wound too, then they would be in a similar predicament.

Except, in Giorno’s case, he may not have a home to go back to.

Suddenly, Giorno heard running and gruff voices approaching him. They noticed Giorno and he quickly stood in front of the injured man. He wasn’t sure why he had done it. Maybe it was pity for the man or pity for himself. But in that moment, Giorno wished with all his heart for them to not take notice of the man behind him.

“Hey kid! Did you see a bleeding man around here in a suit?”

Giorno steeled his face like he had always done and was completely blank. He wasn’t afraid. 

‘They didn’t notice?’ 

He pointed down the street. The worst they could do was kill him and Giorno had long since come to terms with death.

“He went over there.”

The man clicked his tongue in annoyance. “Thanks, kid.” 

The men quickly rushed off and Giorno turned around as soon as they were out of sight. As luck would have it, the man behind Giorno was obscured by tall grass that had grown around him. Although, that is quite odd.

How could the grass grow so fast? Giorno didn’t think he was an expert on plants, but he read enough books and had seen enough plants to know that it would have taken at least a month for it to become this tall.

Giorno shook his head. ‘No point in trying to figure that out. Just be glad it grew tall enough to hide the man.’

He continued to wander, careful to make sure he was going the opposite direct of the men. Giorno came to the conclusion that he should at least scout out for a new place to sleep for the night. He doubted he would be able to find the hotel again and he couldn’t be sure they were looking for him.

Giorno wandered into an alleyway and flipped over an empty box. That should be good enough as a bed. The box was big enough to fit him if he curled up a bit and Giorno didn’t want to risk his spine sleeping on the ground again. Giorno yawned.

He guessed he could take a nap or sleep early now. As Giorno settled in the box, someone approached him.

It was a teenager wearing an odd white outfit with black dots. His dark hair was cut short into a bob and he had the most striking blue eyes. His brows furrowed a bit as he asked, 

“What are you doing in there?”

Giorno binked. “I was going to sleep.” Might as well be honest.

The boy shifted his stance and placed a hand on his hip. “In a box? Why not go home?”

“I don’t know where it is.”

“Do you know the address? Or the street?”

Giorno shook his head. He wasn’t even sure of the hotel’s name.

The boy bit his lip. “Hmm, this is a predicament.” He shifted again, placing his other hand on his hip. Giorno thought it looked kind of like a mother worrying over her child.

After a minute of thinking, the boy spoke again. 

“Well, since you’re just going to nap in a box you might as well sleep in a bed. Come with me.” He extended a hand.

Giorno was a little dumbfounded. “What?”

“You’ll be sleeping at my house since I don’t have enough money to pay for a hotel room for you.”

Giorno wasn’t sure if this was how people got kidnapped. He shook his head. “No, no. I’m fine, really-”

“I can’t just let you sleep in a box in the middle of an alleyway. You could easily be kidnapped that way. Besides, as soon as you finish your nap we’ll go down to the police station so they can help you find your way back home.”

Giorno thought for a moment. He was being very persistent but he wasn’t wrong. He was lucky Narancia was the only one that found him in that first alleyway and a box wasn’t exactly a step up from the ground for a bed. And, if he went to the police station he could probably be found easier.

He nodded his head and took the boy’s hand.

“Alright, then! Let’s go.”

They took a few steps forward before the boy stopped in his tracks.

“Oh, right! I should probably introduce myself. I am Bruno Buccellati. A pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise. I’m Giorno Giovanna.”

Chapter Text

As the pair walked, Giorno’s stomach growled. 

Ah.

He guessed having a single chocolate bar for breakfast really wasn’t much of a meal for a growing kid. Giorno muffled his stomach, trying his best to keep it from growling any louder.

“Are you hungry?” Bruno asked.

Giorno was about to say no but his stomach beat him to the punch.

"..."

Bruno stopped. “Alright. We’re almost there to the docks so let me see if I have anything,” He unzipped his jacket pocket that Giorno could’ve sworn was never there and pulled out a small bag of chips.

He handed it off to Giorno. “Here. This’ll have to work for now.”

Giorno thanked him and continued to walk. As he was eating he took a glance at Bruno’s jacket. 

The pocket was gone.

But, he was still eating the chips. The very much real bag of chips. If there wasn’t a pocket, then where did the chips come from?

Giorno found himself waking up in yet another unfamiliar area. Although, he already knew why. He was staying in Bruno’s house. Giorno rolled over and spotted a clock next to him. 

8:15am.

Looks like he was more tired than he thought. He could’ve sworn he went to bed around 4:00pm. Giorno sat up, rubbing the sleep away from his eyes. He blinked a few times and glanced around the room.

The room was small and modest. The only notable thing in the room was a family photo sitting on the table next to the clock. The photo looked like it was taken quite a while ago since Bruno was twice the size of the small kid in the picture. Giorno guessed it was Bruno’s room since the bed he was in wasn’t nearly as big as a queen bed.

Giorno stretched his arms and finally parted from the warm bed. He wandered out the room and saw Bruno sitting at the dining table. He was reading a book and sipping what smelled like coffee. Bruno looked up from his book.

“Good morning, Giorno.”

“Morning.” Giorno sat at the table.

“Are you ready to leave?”

Giorno glanced at Bruno’s book. “What were you reading?”

“Oh, this? Just a little book on cooking.”

“Oh.”

“So, ready to go?”

“Can we go to the library first? There’s a book I wanted to see first.”

Bruno shut his book and stood up. “That’s fine with me.”

Bruno tucked the book away into his pocket and opened the front door for Giorno. Giorno nodded in thanks and the pair made their way to the nearest library. 

Bruno hadn’t once questioned him why and Giorno was pretty thankful for that. He wasn’t even sure if he could describe why. He just knew he couldn’t bring himself to go just yet.

Giorno browsed the many sections of the library while Bruno waited at a table with his book. He lapped around the bookshelves so many times that he may have gotten on someone’s nerves.

“Are you looking for something?” A blonde kid around his age asked on his 8th round. He was holding a few textbooks on physics and trigonometry while browsing the chemistry books. It was pretty obvious those books were way past his age but from the dense amount of sticky notes sticking out of them, Giorno assumed he understood them pretty well.

“Ah. Uh, I was looking for the gardening books.”

“Well you passed them like eight times already. Didn’t you notice them?”

“No.” Yes .

The other boy sighed. He walked over and placed his books on the nearest table and gestured for Giorno to follow. “This way.”

While following him, Giorno couldn’t help but feel bad for making him go out of his way to show him where the books were. 

“Sorry for the trouble.”

“It’s no problem.” He sounded as if he was pretty annoyed already. “I was getting sick of looking for my textbooks anyway.”

Giorno felt awkward walking the rest of the way in silence. He thought about starting up a conversation but who was he kidding? He couldn’t hold one if he tried. Besides, the other kid seemed to be in a bad mood now and Giorno wasn’t sure if small talk would make it worse.

The kid stopped in front of the home gardening section and turned around. “Here.”

“Oh. Thanks uh-” Giorno realized he never got his name.

“It’s Fugo.”

“Thank you, Fugo.”

The other boy shrugged and walked back to collect his textbooks. Giorno turned to the gardening books and looked around. He picked up a book and opened to a random page. 

“Daisies symbolize innocence and purity. Commonly associated with motherhood and new beginnings.”

Giorno remembered seeing a few growing outside in the hotel’s garden. Curious, he flipped to the other flowers he remembered from that night.

“Black-eyed Susans commonly represent encouragement and motivation.” Seeing the meaning, Giorno thought that the flower suited Jonathan pretty well. His bright smile and encouraging attitude motivated Giorno to open up about himself and try new things.

“Baby’s Breath, or more commonly known as Gypsophila, represents everlasting love, sincerity and trust.”

He wasn’t sure why, but tears began to roll off his cheeks. He wiped his face, making sure he didn’t get a drop on the book. He finally managed to compose himself when he heard a knock on the bookshelf behind him.

“Giorno?” Bruno popped in and walked over. “It’s almost been an hour. We’d better get going. I’ll buy the book for you if you want.”

He shook his head. “No, that’s ok.”

Giorno stood up and placed the book back on the shelf. He was pretty interested in it but he didn’t want to trouble Bruno anymore. Giorno made his way out of the library and Bruno followed suit a few paces behind.

Giorno stood at the intersection of the street in front of the library, letting Bruno take the lead.

Suddenly, Bruno came to a halt. “Giorno, I know it isn’t my place to ask but, why are you avoiding going back?”

Chapter Text

Giorno froze.

Was it that obvious?

Giorno’s heart raced in his chest despite his blank expression. “I...”

What could he say? He wasn’t entirely sure either. His father and uncle were so welcoming and kind so why was he so hesitant? He couldn’t shake the feeling that curled in his gut every time he thought about going back. At the mention of facing them again he couldn’t help but think about how betrayed they must feel.

Giorno curled his hands into a fist in frustration. “...I can’t. I don’t want to disappoint them any further.”

“What do you mean?” Bruno kneeled down to Giorno’s eye level.

“I’m just- A constant string of disappointment! I keep getting on my stepfather’s nerves, I don’t know how to act, I don’t know what’s supposed to look good and I ran away like an idiot which got me lost and in this mess.” He wasn’t sure when, but tears poured out from his eyes like a broken dam. “My father was probably disappointed when he first met me. I just don’t wanna let him and my uncle down any further.”

He hiccupped. “They’ve been so nice to me...and I haven’t done anything to deserve it...”

Bruno put a hand on Giorno’s shoulder and gave him a reassuring squeeze. “Giorno, from what you’ve said I’m sure they wouldn’t be disappointed if you came back. In fact, staying away from them would only worsen the situation. They’re probably worried sick, searching day and night for you because they care about you. And, you shouldn’t ever need to do anything to earn their love and attention.”

“How can I know for sure? What if they really aren’t worried?”

“The only way to know is by walking through those doors and facing what comes next head on.” Bruno pointed to the police station across the street. Giorno hardly realized they were so close.

Giorno nodded and wiped his face. “Alright.”

Bruno patted his shoulder and gave Giorno a bright smile. “Atta boy.”

Bruno unzipped a pocket on the inside of his jacket and pulled out a book. It was the same book Giorno read from the library. “Here. I know you said you were fine, but I figured you wanted it anyway.”

“Thank you.” Giorno hugged the book in his arms making sure he wouldn’t drop it.

Bruno stood up and stepped back. “I’ll watch you go from here. It’s probably best if I don’t go in there.”

“Why?”

“Well...Let’s just say the police and me don’t get along in public.”

Oh . 

Giorno’s eyes widened. “You’re in the mafia..?”

It was an odd assumption but it made sense. The way Bruno seemed like he was far more mature for his age and how he managed to always have just enough money for things. Even at the library, people tended to keep a distance and steer clear of Bruno's presence. 

Bruno held a finger up to his lips and winked. “Go on now. Don’t want to keep your family waiting.”

He nodded and turned around. 

Giorno took a step. Then another. Before he knew it, He was opening the doors to the police station.

A teen around Bruno’s age sat at the front desk. He had short pale hair and violet-blue eyes. He leaned over the desk and did his best to look professional.

“Hi! How can I help you?”

“Uhm. I was separated from my father and uncle and got lost. I wasn’t sure what to do.”

“Do you know their phone number?”

Giorno shook his head.

“Their address?”

He shook his head again.

The boy sighed. “What’s your name? Maybe they came by before.”

“Giorno Giovanna.”

He sifted through the papers on the desk before one of the officers approached him and ruffled his hair. “Leone! Who said you could run the front desk while I was gone?”

“Hey! No one was here so I figured someone needed to be here. Besides, we have a little guest.”

The officer turned to Giorno. “Oh? Whatcha here for kid?”

Leone smoothed out his hair. “He’s looking for his family. ‘Says he got lost.” He finally pulled out a paper from the stack. “Aha! Here it is!”

The officer took the paper and looked it over. “Your name’s Giorno?” 

He nodded.

“Yeah your folks came in yesterday. We’ll give 'em a call so just sit right there.”

Giorno thanked them and sat in the small waiting chair by the door. To be honest, he was extremely nervous. Each time the clock ticked a second, he grew more and more anxious. So, he opened his book and got to reading. It was in alphabetical order, and a rather inclusive encyclopedia that had leaves and tree meanings as well. Time began to move just a bit faster as he gradually got absorbed into the book and calmed down.

“GIORNO!”

Before Giorno could even stand up, he was scooped out of the chair and sent into a warm hug by a pair of insanely strong arms. Jonathan finally released his grip and looked at Giorno. He could see his eyes glistening and on the verge of tears. 

“We were so worried! You suddenly disappeared- And the door was open- I’m just so glad you’re okay! Wait, are you okay? Did you eat? Did you get enough sleep?”

“Don’t overwhelm him with questions, JoJo. We only just found him.” Dio reprimanded.

“Ah, sorry.”

Giorno was at a loss for words.

Bruno was right. He couldn’t believe it but the evidence was right before him. They actually were looking for him and were even relieved that he was fine. He couldn’t understand how they could put so much unconditional love into him. He wasn’t even sure if he could give them as much love as they gave him.

Giorno felt hot tears fall down his cheeks. This was the third time he’s cried in a long time. But this time, it wasn’t out of regret or fear. This time, it was out of relief.

“Giorno?” The Joestar pair asked out of surprise.

He didn’t know what to say or what he should even start to say. All he could do was sit there and realize how much he missed them. 

“I-I’m sorry.” He hiccupped and wiped at his tears. “I’m sorry.”

Dio knelt down and looked Giorno in the eyes. “Stop that. You have nothing to apologize for, especially to us.”

“But, I made you all worry-”

“Giorno . We are your family. It’s our job to worry about you.”

Jonathan knelt down as well. “We’ll always worry over you whether you like it or not. So long as you want to stay a part of our family.”

Giorno never really had anything he wanted before. No wants. No aspirations. No ideals. No dreams. But, now? 

That was anything and everything he’s ever wanted.

Giorno cried harder as he replied, “I want to stay a part of your family.”

Chapter Text

Dio let out a long sigh as their family of three drove back to the hotel. He was tired, but relieved. After a good while of sobbing, Giorno fell asleep in the car.

Jonathan flicked his gaze over to the rear view mirror before returning his attention back to driving. “He fell asleep?”

Dio stared out the window absentmindedly. “It’s been a long two days. I would be more surprised if he hadn’t.”

If he was being honest, they were all insanely tired. Yesterday had been a complete train wreck from start to finish. Dio happened to lash out at the hotel front desk for not keeping an eye out properly and Jonathan almost skipped sleep for the night to continue searching for Giorno.

It was a fucking nightmare.

Dio was quite honestly surprised. That was the first time in a very long while that he had ever panicked so badly. He felt like complete shit for losing his composure like that. But, it was just so sudden. Giorno disappeared and only one thought could repeatedly shout in his mind among the possible mistakes he could’ve made to cause it.

You’re just like your father.

There was nothing he hated more than knowing that he was even an ounce similar to that bastard. Dio glanced at Giorno’s sleeping frame.

No. He was nothing like him.

Unlike Dario, his son found solace in him. 

Unlike Dario, he managed to give his son a source of comfort instead of resentment.

Unlike Dario, his son actually came back.

Today was the last day Giorno would be in Naples.

He should be feeling nervous or anxious about packing up his stuff and heading off to a completely different country. He should have that gut twisting feeling of homesickness from the possibility that he may never return to Italy. But, he wasn’t.

Far from it, actually. 

Giorno was excited to see his new home and all the new things he’ll finally get to experience because he now had a real family. A family that includes him not to show off a fake happy life but to make him have fun and feel happy. It was no surprise that Giorno was the first one to be fully packed. He didn’t have much to bring along and the excitement of starting his new life took hold of him and made him work faster.

“Alright!” Jonathan said as he shut the trunk of the rental car. “We better head to the airport now. It may be early but the airport usually takes a bit to get through.”

Giorno nodded but quickly froze once he heard someone say,

“Haruno! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

His mother quickly ran over to him, dragging along her husband. She stopped short at the sight of Jonathan standing next to him. 

Confused, Jonathan asked, “Are you by any chance Giorno’s mother?”

“Yes. And, who exactly are you..?” 

“Well, nice to meet you! I am Dio’s bro-”

Before he could finish his sentence, Dio exited the car and slammed the door shut. “What are you doing here?”

She was taken aback by his harsh tone. “I’m here to collect my son. What are you doing?”

Dio scoffed. “ Your son? You’ve hardly even raised the boy. A task so simple that I could just do it in a couple of days. What makes you think you have a right to keep him, woman?”

Her husband took a step forward. “What gives you the right to speak to my wife like that?”

At that, Dio chuckled. It quickly morphed into a fit of laughter before he replied, “Your wife, huh? That bitch probably enjoys it. She’s so enamored with me that she would drop you the second I gave her a chance.”

“Dio!” Jonathan reprimanded but he was too late. 

Giorno’s stepfather was enraged. He threw a punch directly toward Dio’s face and-

His fist was only met with empty air.

“I see now where Giorno got his bruises from.” Dio spoke tensely from behind Giorno’s stepfather.

“How did..?” That was the question on everyone’s minds.

Except, for Jonathan and Giorno.

He only caught a glimpse of it coming out from behind Dio. But, Giorno knew he wasn’t mistaken. It wasn’t a trick of the eyes. There was something there. Something yellow.

His stepfather attempted another punch but this time, his arm was stuck in the air. It refused to collide down to Dio’s face as directed and he struggled to release his fist from the open air. At least, that’s what it looked like to everyone else.

To Giorno, he got a clear view of that yellow being. Whatever it was seemed to move at Dio’s will and protect him.

“JoJo. Start the car.” Dio said with no intent on moving.

“But-”

“Start the car and drive .”

Jonathan nodded and quickly got into the driver’s seat. Giorno tried to follow but his mother grabbed his arm. 

“Oh no you don’t! You’re coming home with me!”

He struggled to break free of her grip, digging his feet into the sidewalk. 

Let go. Let go. Let go. Let go. Let go!

His hand had a golden look to them as he tugged and pulled on her bracelet covered wrist. That bracelet suddenly twisted into a small garden snake and slithered down her arm. 

Giorno’s mother screamed and let go but it was too late. The car was already seconds ahead of him, driving down the road toward the airport. If he ran, he would only be left in the dust by the quickly speeding car.

“The World!”

The next thing he knew, he was in the back seat of the rental car. The radio was on playing a playlist from Jonathan’s phone. Dio was in the passenger’s seat and Jonathan breathed a sigh of relief. “You made it.”

Dio haughtily responded, “Of course I did. I am Dio after all.”

Giorno blinked. “What..?”

“The first time he did that around me was pretty confusing for me, too.” Jonathan gave a weak laugh and glanced over at Dio. “Uhm, Should I explain this or you?”

“What’s there to explain? If anything he should have a guess as to what happened. I believe he saw everything.”

Giorno slowly reeled in and pieced together the events in his head and nodded. “I saw that yellow person but I’m still not sure what happened.”

Jonathan’s eyes widened. “You’re a stand user as well? Wait-” Jonathan whipped his head to Dio, “How did you know about that?”

“Eyes on the road, JoJo.” Jonathan narrowly missed running off a turn as Dio crossed his arms. “I only found out just a few minutes prior. I saw him turn her bracelet into a snake.”

‘I did that?’ Giorno looked down at his hands. 

The more he thought about it, he found the whole situation bizarre. But, it made sense. His hands were golden when he struggled from his mother’s grip and he just happened to touch her bracelet. Maybe, there were even other odd events that were caused by his strange power. That grass that suddenly grew, he had wished for it to hide that man hadn’t he?

“How-? What is this?” Giorno couldn’t quite bring himself to ask only one question. His mind was buzzing with a million questions and no possible answer.

“It’s called a stand. It’s the manifestation of your psyche in a sort of physical form. What you’ve done was use your stand ability which seems to give life to whatever it touches.”

“Ah…” Giorno wasn’t sure how to take in this new information.

“You’ll get used to it. Luckily, almost everyone in our family has a stand aside from JoJo.”

Jonathan huffed. “Well, I don’t see it as lucky. It’s rather troublesome to attract so much conflict in a matter of days.”

“It’s nothing I can’t handle. Anyway, Giorno. You should give your stand a name.”

“A name?”

“Yes. We can’t just leave it unnamed. It isn’t very dignified even though we have yet to see it. Just, think about one for now.”

Giorno nodded, although Dio had already turned back around in his seat.

A name, huh?

The song playing through the speakers ended and a new one began to play. Giorno quite liked the sound of all the songs that played. He leaned over and looked at Jonathan’s phone. It was playing an old album: The Gold Experience.

The three of them finally pulled into the airport and quickly handed off their luggage and checked through security. Giorno finally made a quick trip to the bathroom and headed down the hall to Dio and Jonathan. However, he heard that familiar voice once again. 

Only this time, it was angrier .

“HARUNO SHIOBANA! COME HERE THIS INSTANT!”

Giorno found it ironic that this was the first time he heard her sound like an actual mother. He wasn’t sure how she made it this far but he certainly wasn’t planning on her to get any closer. Giorno braced himself for the sprint of his life but,

An arm blocked his mother from continuing her pursuit. 

It was the bleeding man he saved.

“What are you doing?! Let me go this instant! That is my son! He has no right to take him from me!” 

The man ignored her angry demands and turned to face Giorno. “I won’t forget what you’ve done for me. Now, go.”

Giorno nodded and sprinted off to Dio and Jonathan. The three quickly boarded the plane and breathed a sigh of relief as they took their seats. Giorno politely asked for Jonathan’s phone for music to calm him down and placed an earbud in his ear. He let the playlist run through the album he heard in the car. If he was being honest, he was quickly growing fond of the English songs in that album.

“I can’t believe that woman followed us all the way to the airport.” Dio leaned back in his seat.

Jonathan chuckled. “Well, she’s your ex. I wouldn’t put it past her to follow us all the way to America.”

Dio groaned. “God, no.”

Suddenly, Giorno’s eyes lit up with an idea. “Gold Experience.”

The two adults looked over at Giorno who pulled out his earbud.

“I’ll name my stand Gold Experience.”

Chapter Text

As Giorno took those steps out onto the airport, realization quickly settled in his head.

He really did leave Italy.

He was actually in a completely different country.

It was terrifying, but exciting . Something he hadn’t felt even when he moved to Naples. Although, he was hardly old enough to understand much at that time. This time, he was older and had a much larger grasp on the world in general.

Giorno stuck close to Dio and Jonathan as they walked through the hall. It was a new country after all and Giorno wasn’t too confident in his English to be walking around on his own. Jonathan offered up his hand to Giorno and he didn’t hesitate to take it. 

That was another new thing about him now. He felt much closer to his newfound family than his old family. He grew much closer to Jonathan and felt comfortable enough to rely on him just a bit more. Jonathan was glad at this development and happily beams whenever Giorno accepted his offered help.

The three of them waited in a sitting area by the restroom, jetlagged and hungry. It wasn’t long before someone came running up to them.

“There you are!”

A woman with sunny blonde hair and clear blue eyes called out to them. She wore a rather modest yet expensive looking dress and a large blue pendant around her neck. She had a soft expression as she looked to Jonathan with a smile. Giorno knew that look. He’s seen it countless times on his mother’s face.

It was the look of someone who was hopelessly in love.

Jonathan waved cheerily at her with a similar expression. “Erina! I thought you had work today?”

“I’m just a backup call at the hospital today so it’s not likely they’d call me in.” She glanced down at Giorno. “Did you pick up another lost child in the airport or?”

“Oh! No, no, no!” Jonathan stepped out of Giorno’s way so Erina could have a better look. “This is Giorno Giovanna. He’s Dio’s son.”

She stared at him in disbelief like he was a headless chicken. “You’re kidding.”

“I know right? Who knew he had it in him.”

Dio cleared his throat. “I am right here you imbeciles. And it isn’t that surprising.”

Erina giggled and patted Dio’s back. “You’re right. It’s not surprising it’s entirely baffling.”

She crouched down to Giorno and offered her hand. “Hello, little Gio. I’m Erina Pendelton. Nice to meet you!”

She smiled softly as Giorno nodded and shook her hand. Her smile was kind and genuine making her look sort of angelic. He wondered if more people would have that in common with Jonathan.

“Alrighty, then!” Erina got up and placed her hands on her hips. “So, where’s his mother?”

The Joestar-Brando pair looked at each other for a moment. “She’s in Italy.”

“What??”

Jonathan scratched his head. “It’s a long story.”

He explained the situation in Italy to her with Dio elaborating on a few things as they exited the airport. All in all, a lot had happened that week in Italy.

Erina sighed and shook her head. “Well, I guess it makes sense now.”

They opened the trunk of Erina’s car and packed in their luggage. The four of them filed into the van with Dio at the wheel.

She pondered for a moment before she asked, “So? Have you taken custody, yet?”

“Uhm.” Jonathan wracked his brain for anything remotely legal about this situation. They kind of just left, afterall. Giorno’s mother definitely wasn’t going to be up for discussion now.

“Technically, I’ve taken physical custody.” Dio said.

Erina raised an eyebrow. “ Technically ? Are you telling me you just abducted your son from Italy??”

Was it abduction if he wanted to leave? Giorno never really thought about the specifics of what defined a kidnapping. It wasn’t like they forced him to come along. He literally ran onto the plane himself.

Dio waved his hand dismissively. “I’ll get it sorted out later, Pendleton. It’s nothing I can’t handle.”

“That is precisely the problem! You’re the shadiest lawyer I know.”

“Shady or not, my connections get things done.”

Erina huffed. “I swear, one day all of it will come back to bite you.”

“They did. And, I took care of it.“

Erina turned to Giorno. “So! How have you been staying with your long lost father?”

Giorno paused. To be honest, he’s been doing pretty well lately. He managed to open up a bit more to his new probably-not-legal guardians and he actually enjoyed spending time with them. Although he still felt a bit guilty for all the attention he’s received, it doesn’t feel as crushing as it did before.

 He nodded. “It’s good. They’ve been really nice.”

“Good! I’ll admit, I was a little worried seeing them get off a plane with an entire child without any explanation, but! Since Dio has elected himself to be a good person-”

“When have I ever said that?”

Erina rolled her eyes. “-a responsible person, I do hope you don’t mind the sudden increase of new people in your life. The Joestar family is quite...large.”

“That is an understatement.”

Jonathan laughed. “If we include family friends, the family is very extensive. But, they’re all nice people so I wouldn’t worry too much about them.”

Chapter Text

The car finally pulled in through the gates of Jonathan’s property and Giorno looked out the window.

In short, he was completely dumbfounded by the scene. The house- no, the mansion towered in the center of the lot. The car slowed to a stop on the fancy stone roundabout driveway right next to the Greek inspired fountain that laid at its epicenter. The yard was equally massive, with many different flowers growing in beautiful patches of color that Giorno had yet to know the names of.

He had hardly stepped out of the car before a spotted dog came sprinting towards them at full speed.

“Danny!” Jonathan beamed as he crouched down and opened his arms wide. Danny flew into the hug and licked at Jonathan’s face as he laughed. “I missed you too, buddy!”

Dio scoffed and kept a distance away from the dog. Jonathan did say he hated dogs. Giorno was surprised Dio put up with living with one but he guessed the estate was big enough to keep them at a distance.

Erina came around the car and petted Danny’s head. “What a good boy! You really missed JoJo that much, huh?”

Giorno walked over to pet Danny. The dog noticed the new stranger and pounced on him. He shrieked in surprise but quickly devolved into a fit of laughter as Danny kept licking his face.

"That's the fastest Danny's ever warmed up to anyone!" Jonathan commented. "Even I had a rough start with him."

The dog finally detached himself from Giorno and ran back to his owner.

Avoiding the dog, Dio made his way to the back of the car and popped the trunk open. He handed Giorno his small wheeled suitcase and took his own bags under his arms.

“Come.” He commanded. “I’ll show you where your room is.”

Giorno nodded and followed the blonde man through the front doors.

The manor was about as massive as it looked on the outside. The foyer was wide and open with two sets of staircases on either side of the room converging at the second floor. The surrounding rooms on the first floor had arch entrances with most of them being lounge areas aside from the dining room next to the kitchen. Directly across from the front entrance, Giorno could see the entryway into the library. He hoped his English was good enough to browse some of the books in there. On the right, there was a large living room that connected to the lounge spaces with a massive flatscreen in front of the long couch. As he looked in, he could see glass double doors that Giorno assumed lead to the backyard.

Dio waited for Giorno to take in the sight briefly before continuing up one of the staircases.

The second floor was mostly the bedrooms and bath area. On either side of the hall were study rooms, one for Jonathan and the other for Dio, and in between were the bedrooms. At the far end of the hall was the full guest bathroom that was twice the size Giorno was used to, as well as stairs leading up to the next floor. Dio stopped at the first door on the left. 

“This is your room. Mine is the room next to it and JoJo's is right across from us.” He pointed at the respective doors. “If you need me I’ll be unpacking in my room.”

Giorno nodded and Dio disappeared into the room next to him. Giorno stepped into his room. It was a spacious guest room with a queen bed at the center. On one side of the room was a closet, while the other side had a large desk placed in front of the window. It was both a simple layout and well furnished.

Giorno dropped his suitcase on the floor and got to unpacking. There wasn’t much in his luggage since he didn’t really start with much so it didn’t take him long to finish neatly putting everything away. The room was pretty barren looking but he was used to a minimalistic room.

With all his stuff put away, Giorno left his room to wander around. He went down to the first floor and roamed the halls to get a sense of where everything was.

“Ah, Giorno!” Erina waved at him from the living room. “Care to join me? I’m picking a movie for everyone to watch!”

He nodded and wandered over. Erina handed a box of DVDs over to him and he looked through. There were a multitude of genres and varieties of movies that seemed like they grabbed them from the clearance section of Walmart. Most of them, Giorno could tell, were bad just from looking at the cover. He stuck his hand in the box and pulled out the first case he managed to grab.

“Oooooh, The Addams Family! Good choice!” Erina clapped her hands together. “I loved that movie when I was younger!”

Giorno handed the movie to her and she set it down next to the tv. “Alright! Now that we are all set on the movie, it’s time for more urgent matters! Jonathan told me a lot about you and I think it’s a shame you haven’t done too much in your childhood.” She placed her hands on her hips. “So! While I’m here, I’m going to make it my mission to fill the rest of your childhood with all the fun you hadn’t had a chance to experience!”

He mindlessly nodded his head. Should he be worried? Giorno wasn’t exactly sure on what he missed out on, but he didn’t think his life was as bad as some other kids. Sure, he didn’t do a whole lot or have a lot but it wasn’t the worst childhood to have, right?

…

...Giorno was beginning to doubt himself.

Erina looked around the room and hummed. “Have you ever built a pillow fort before?”

Giorno and Erina ran around the mansion taking every blanket and pillow they could find. They scoured every room they could find and piled up all the bedding on the couch. Erina looked for them on the first and third floors while Giorno took to the second floor.

He ran up the stairs to the second floor and looked around. The last room he needed to check was Dio’s. Giorno considered leaving Dio’s stuff alone but Erina clearly stated that they need all the bedding in the house or else it wouldn’t be the absolute best experience.

He knocked on Dio’s door. There was no answer, so Giorno slowly creaked open the door. Dio was sitting at his desk, looking over case files for an upcoming trial. Giorno waited in the doorway until he looked up at him. 

“Giorno. What is it?”

“May I borrow your bedding?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t there any in your room? What do you need them for?”

“Miss Erina and I are building a pillow fort in the living room. She said we absolutely need all the bedding in the house.”

“A pillow fort huh?” Dio waved his hand. “Go ahead. Just, make sure it doesn’t get dirty.”

Giorno hastily took all the bedding off his bed, hoping to not disrupt Dio any further. He didn’t want to distract him when he was busy preparing for his job. It wasn’t out of fear for him but rather respect. Giorno deeply respected Dio for giving him a nice home and new family, so he did his best to not be too much of a nuisance to him. The man kept to himself unlike his brother. He had walls built up and always kept people at a certain distance away. 

Whether they were there for a long time or not, Giorno couldn’t tell.

Chapter Text

Giorno finally rounded around the couch and dropped off the last pile of bedding.

“Now that we have all our materials, it’s time to get to building!” Erina looked at Giorno. “You can place the first pillow and I’ll follow.”

Giorno observed their piles and piles of bedding and carefully picked through them. He didn’t want his first pillow fort to collapse easily so he dug around until he found a firm enough pillow. He placed it on one side of the couch and Erina followed by placing a similar pillow on the other side. Soon enough, their little fort became a massive lumpy little tent made up of dozens of pillows and blankets piled onto the couch.

The two of them plopped down into the fort, letting the pillows cushion their fall.

“I’d say this is a job well done!” Erina giggled into the pillows.

“Me too.” Giorno looked up at the star patterned blanket that hung above them. He had a ton of fun putting together the fort and Erina had let him take full creative control over the entire project. He was especially proud of the star blanket that acted as their roof. It looked as if they were under a small night sky.

“You know, I used to do this all the time when I was a kid. I would pester my father into helping out and we’d always end up sleeping inside.” Erina smiled at the fond memory. “Anytime he wasn’t busy working in the hospital, I would force him to spend time with me to do anything, even our chores.”

Giorno didn’t have much of a good reference in the family department but he could tell she loved her dad very much. “What were your parents like? You said he worked in a hospital, too. Did you work there because of him?”

Erina nodded her head. “Yup! I wanted to be a great doctor just like him when I was younger. When I told him that he was supportive of me but he got stricter with my education.” She put on her best impression of her father and mocked, “No tv unless you finish your homework! If you don’t get a B on the next test, I’m taking away your Gameboy!” She laughed at her silly impression.

“Although, I guess my father had always been that kind of man. No play until work is done. He was a bit of a workaholic.” She rolled around on her back as she spoke. “As for my mother, well, I never really got to know her. She died when I was just 3, but my father tells me I act a lot like her. Always defiant and persistent like her. He says I look a lot like her.”

Erina turned to look at Giorno. “Enough about me. What about you? Jonathan and Dio told me a bit about your home life and how it was...less than a stellar experience. But, do you think you’ll like it here? It is a completely different country after all.”

Giorno never really put much thought into it, if he was being honest. He just sorta left. “I think...I’ll be fine. It really has been a lot more fun here than when I was with my mother.” He nodded, more of an affirmation to himself than a response. “I think I can adjust.”

Erina beamed at him. “Then! If you ever feel like this house is missing too much of that charming womanly touch, feel free to call me on the phone for a sleepover.” She gave a silly little wink.

“You don’t live here?”

“Oh, no no! I have my own apartment closer to the hospital.”

“But, don’t you love Mr. Jonathan? I’m sure he’d let you stay here.”

Her face turned a bright shade of red as she nervously laughed. “AHAHAHA, WHY DON’T WE JUST UH SKIP THAT, HUH?” She hid her face in a pillow until she calmed herself down.

Giorno felt a bit guilty. Did he overstep? Was he wrong about his assumption? He curled up his knees to his chest. “...Sorry.”

“Oh, Giorno. It’s okay. There’s nothing to apologize for. I do love him very much and we are dating but, I don’t think I’m quite ready to live with him just yet.”

Giorno nodded even though he didn’t quite understand.

The two of them stayed inside the fort, flipping through channels until they finally settled on watching cooking competitions. Just a few matches into it, Jonathan popped his head in.

“Pizza is here! There’s pepperoni, cheese, and supreme!” He looked around the fort. “Wow! It’s nice and cozy in here!”

Erina pushed his head out. “No entry unless you know the password!”

“But, these are my sheets!”

She wiggled her index finger. “Rules are rules, Jonathan.”

“Then I guess I’ll just go eat all this pizza myself, huh?” Before she could object, Jonathan sped out of the room to the dining hall.

Erina chased after him. “Don’t you dare touch that pizza!”

Giorno giggled as he watched the two chase each other around the halls. Those two made a lovely couple. He crawled out of the fort just in time to see Dio descending the stairs.

“You two are about as rowdy as toddlers, making all that ruckus. What a match made in heaven.”

“And you’re about as grumpy as an old man. Do you need help going down those stairs, Grandpa?” Erina retorted. 

Jonathan stifled a snort behind her as Dio rolled his eyes at the comment.

Giorno followed behind them as they made their way into the dining room. It was rather grand for just two people living here, but Jonathan mentioned he had a big family. It was probably used mostly for family get-togethers. Three medium sized pizzas sat at the edge of the table paired with complimentary plates and a liter of coke.

“Classy.” Dio deadpanned. “Welcome to the American dream.”

“But, isn’t pizza Italian?” Erina asked.

“I doubt Pizza Hut counts.” He spoke as he piled on slices of pepperoni and cheese onto his plate.

Erina waved a plate at Giorno. “Alright little Gio! We got the main three classic American pizzas. Which one do you want?”

“Uhm. That one with the peppers.”

“Ohh! Supreme, good choice!” She plated two slices and handed it off to Giorno.

Jonathan piled up his plate with as much pepperoni it could contain and Erina took a few slices of plain cheese. She suddenly whipped around right before Dio could take a step onto the staircase.

“Hold it right there Dio! You’re not skipping out on movie night!”

“I have work to be done. I don’t have any time to laze around like you.”

“Don’t lie to me Mister!” She circled around and pushed him over to the living room. “I know you’re already way ahead of your cases. Now, come here and watch dumb movies with your family!”

Dio let out a dramatic groan as he let her shove him to the couch fort. Jonathan and Giorno followed behind and they all crammed into the pillow fort. Giorno was thankful that the couch was big enough to fit them all. Even if Dio and Jonathan’s heads just barely graze the roof blanket.

“What are we watching?” Dio asked in between bites.

“Addams Family! Giorno found it in your movie box.”

Jonathan inhumanly ate a whole slice in two bites. “Oh! Wasn’t that your copy, Erina?”

“Of course it was. Is there anyone else here who’s as obsessed with gothic stuff than her, JoJo?”

Erina huffed. “It’s a fun hobby! Besides, Jonathan is pretty into this kinda thing too! We’ve seen this movie like a hundred times already.”

She crawled out of the fort and put the disc into the player. Giorno sat in the middle taking small bites as he watched the movie. The pizza was pretty good and a bit different than what he was used to. Throughout the movie, Dio made snarky commentary as Erina defended it with her whole heart. Jonathan got up for seconds and thirds until he finally gave up and took the whole pizza box into the fort. 

Before they knew it, time flew by and the movie reached its credit. No one made a move or a sound. The only the thing that could be heard was the steady breathing of the four sleeping figures.

Chapter Text

“Alright, let’s get to work!” Jonathan rolled up his sleeves and adjusted his gardening gloves.

Giorno was about as excited as he could be. Today was the day Jonathan promised him to garden with him. Sure, the two of them were inexperienced in gardening, but Giorno was sure he read enough books on handling plants to be able to get a grasp on it. Besides, They bought a whole bunch of seeds. At least one of them should sprout.

The pair knelt down in the backyard of the estate a few paces away from the house. Giorno wanted to start off small but they both got carried away with buying supplies for the garden. At this point, they had enough seeds to fill up the entire backyard. They piled up their supplies in a little mound on the ground next to them.

Jonathan passed over a basket of various flower seed packets. “Which ones should we plant first?”

The pile was full of as many flower packets they could fill the basket with. There were packets of daffodils, sunflowers, tulips, roses, daisies, and even variety packs mixed into the basket. Giorno dug around and finally took out a packet of daffodils. These should be easy to grow and Giorno didn’t want to mess up on the rarer kinds of flowers.

“Daffodils? Alright! Let’s start the garden over here.” Jonathan outlined a small square patch of dirt with some stones. 

Giorno took a shovel out of their pile of gardening supplies and dug out a couple holes. He gingerly placed each seed into the hole and Jonathan covered them with soil. 

He was buzzing with excitement. He couldn’t wait to watch these flowers grow and bloom. As Giorno watered the seeds, he noticed something sprout. A small green stem poked out from the dirt. Then a leaf. Then a full unopened flower bulb.

“Oh my. I guess your stand couldn’t wait for them to grow either.” Jonathan chuckled.

Giorno sheepishly scratched his nose. His stand seemed to be a bit more active now that he was aware of its existence. Or, maybe it was because of his new environment. He honestly couldn’t tell but the one thing he knew was that his stand had yet to be seen. Dio said that it would show itself eventually but so far, nothing. 

Maybe he should’ve asked Dio how long it would take.

He watered the next row of daffodils and sure enough, they also sprouted within minutes. He wasn’t too sure if this was healthy for the flowers considering it was way out of season for them to bloom.

Suddenly, the first flower that bloomed shrank back into the ground. All that was left was the original seed in a slightly uncovered hole.

Oh.

Jonathan covered the hole again. “Well, at least we know what we’re aiming for.”

The pair continued to work in a comfortable silence until all the daffodils were neatly planted in the makeshift garden. Giorno had gotten pretty comfortable with Jonathan over the weeks he had spent in America. Jonathan had always managed to think of new topics to talk about with Giorno and they would always play a game of catch and go out jogging together with Danny. Every Saturday, Erina would come over and hang out with them so much that by the end of the day, Giorno would always forget that she didn’t actually live there.

“There! All finished!” Jonathan took off his gloves and wiped the sweat off his forehead. “How about a game of catch while we’re out here? We can call Danny over too! I’m sure he’d love to join!”

Giorno nodded in agreement. The two shouted for Danny and he came speeding out of the house, nearly trampling on their new garden. Giorno picked up a slightly soggy baseball from the yard, probably forgotten out in the rain from last week, and threw it towards Danny. The dog raced after it and ran it back to Giorno. He tossed it over to Jonathan this time and they continued to pass the ball around until they heard shouting from the door.

“JoJo! Joseph has been ringing your phone nonstop! If he calls one more time I’m going to drive up to New York and strangle him!”

“That’s strange. He usually calls that much when he’s in trouble…” Jonathan sighed. “I just hope this time he didn’t land himself in jail again. I don’t think the policemen think it’s as funny as he thinks it is to keep landing in the same holding cell.”

Giorno wasn’t sure if he wanted to meet Joseph anytime soon. Everytime someone mentioned him either Jonathan sighed or Dio yelled profanities about the man.

Jonathan headed inside and Giorno followed along with Danny at his side. Giorno wandered into the kitchen and filled up Danny’s water bowl.

“YOU DID WHAT ???!!!”

Giorno felt his heart nearly leap out of his chest as he spilt water all over the kitchen floor. He heard Dio’s hushed swearing from the dining room. Giorno guessed he wasn’t the only one startled.

Jonathan almost never yelled since Giorno’s met him. Sure, there was that time in the police station and when he called Danny from the yard but Giorno has never actually heard him yell angrily . He wasn’t sure if he’ll ever get the chance to meet Joseph anymore.

A few minutes later, Jonathan came into the dining room with a weary look. Dio had his work spread out before him at the end of the table while Giorno had already fed Danny and was currently doodling in a sketchpad. Jonathan gave it to him and he had been trying to work on his animal and flower drawings. He wanted to be able to capture the garden’s beauty once the flowers bloom.

Dio glanced up from his work. “What happened?”

“Well...turns out you’re not the only one in this family with an illegitimate son.” Jonathan collapsed into a chair next to Giorno. “Hey, that’s pretty good,” He pointed at one of Giorno’s finished ladybugs.

Giorno nodded and mumbled out a “thank you.”

“Wait, go back.” Dio set down his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. “The fool actually did that ? And, wasn’t he supposed to be engaged to that Suzi girl?”

Jonathan nodded. “Suzi Q already called it off and gave him a piece of her mind. His mom is pretty furious too and I worry what Caesar’s going to do once the news reaches him.” 

Dio shook his head and went back to work while Jonathan leaned back in his chair. “I’m going to be going out to Japan with Joseph next week. I’ll have to call Jotaro to come pick up Danny, unless, you don’t mind if-”

Dio cut him off. “Don’t forget to tell me when he’s supposed to arrive. I’d rather not be near him or the dog for more than necessary.”

Jonathan pouted. He was always trying to get Dio to at least give Danny a chance but Dio just wouldn’t budge. Giorno supposed that just living with the dog was his limit.

Giorno stopped coloring his ladybugs and asked, “How long will you be gone Mr. Jonathan?”

“Hmm. It should be a week but I can’t say for certain since it’s Joseph...”

“Two weeks, probably.” Dio added.

Jonathan nodded his head. “Two weeks,” He agreed.

Chapter Text

“Will you two be alright while I’m gone? Giorno don’t forget to brush your teeth before bed and Dio do make sure to-”

Dio pushed Jonathan through the door. “You worry too much, JoJo. We can survive without you, you know.”

Erina beeped her horn. “Come on Jonathan! We have to make sure Joseph doesn’t chicken out!”

Giorno waved at Jonathan. “Bye, Mr. Jonathan. Make sure to send us pictures of Japan.”

Jonathan smiled and waved back. “I will! Call me if you guys need anything!”

Dio rolled his eyes and replied, “Yes, mom . We get it.”

Jonathan snickered before he got into Erina’s car and drove away.

Dio turned to Giorno. “Alright. You can handle taking care of the dog for the hour, right?”

Giorno nodded.

“Good. I’ll be in my study if you need anything.” With that, Dio left up the stairs.

Giorno noticed that he never really had many interactions with Dio. They were either super awkward or with Jonathan. Any and almost every time he had a hint of a conversation with Dio had always been just simple things like asking for his permission or just yes or no questions that could be answered with a little nod. It didn’t help that neither son nor father knew how to communicate with one another. Dio didn’t exactly have a good fatherly role model and Giorno’s approach to his parents were akin to trying not to set off a ticking time bomb.

So, the pair just settled in their unspoken agreement to only approach each other if necessary. Giorno respected his boundaries but, he couldn’t help but feel that it was similar to how he was with his mother. Only this time, it was just a slight step up.

At least Dio gave him the option to go to him for anything. His mother would turn him away unless it was life threatening.

Giorno sat in the living room playing with Danny until he heard the doorbell ring. Dio came down to the foyer and opened the door with a customer service smile.

“Jotaro.”

“Dio.”

Giorno peeked his head around the corner and saw a massive brick of a man stand tall in front of Dio. His face was hidden underneath a gold pinned hat but Giorno could hear the tiredness in the man’s voice. Out from behind the large man, peeked out a small girl with green bangs who waved enthusiastically at Dio.

“I’m here too! Hi Uncle Dio!”

Dio’s eyes dropped down to meet her little green ones. “Hello, little miscreant.”

She giggled and Jotaro’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t call Jolyne that.”

Dio rolled his eyes dramatically. “As you wish, Sir .” He motioned toward the living room. “Come along, little rat. The hound is that way.”

Jolyne bounded for the living room and only just managed to slow her sprint as she heard her father call, “No running!” behind her. She nearly tripped into the couch when she saw Giorno and quickly sped back behind her father. 

He leaned down and she whispered into his ear, “Daddy, there’s a stranger in there! And, he’s holding Danny hostage!”

Jotaro gave Dio a look.

He merely shrugged it off and leisurely sat next to Giorno away from Danny. “This boy here isn’t any stranger. This is my son Giorno.”

Jotaro raised an eyebrow. “Was he adopted?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.”

Jotaro looked at Giorno for a while before he sighed and patted Jolyne on the back. “That’s your new cousin Jolyne. He should be fine.”

Getting Jotaro’s approval, Jolyne didn’t hesitate to crawl up on the couch next to Danny. “Hi! I’m Jolyne!”

Giorno gave her a small wave. “Hello.”

“You talk funny. Kinda like Uncle Caesar and Uncle Will!”

Well, that was a blunt way of putting it, but Giorno could tell she meant no harm by it. “I’m Italian, so it sounds different.”

“Italian?” She turned her head to Jotaro. “Wasn’t Aunty Suzi Italian, too?”

He nodded. “And, the Zeppelis.”

Jolyne laid down atop of Danny. He didn’t seem to mind her tiny weight. “How old are you? I’m 4!” She held up her hand and put one finger down.

“I’m 9.”

“Wow! You’re the first kid I’ve met in this family. Everyone else is suuuper old!” She hopped off the couch. “Let’s go play with Danny! You can be my sidekick and Danny will be the bad guy.”

Jolyne was quite the bundle of energy which was to be expected from a little four year old. She seemed very outspoken and friendly unlike her father. If Giorno hadn’t known they were related he would’ve been shocked. “What are we going to do?”

Jolyne hummed before an idea lit up her face and she pointed at Jotaro. “We gotta save the princess!”

Dio snorted and Jotaro shot him a steely glare.

“Jolyne, we came here to pick up Danny not play around.”

She puffed out her cheeks. “But, Daddy! You can’t just suddenly tell me I finally have a cousin that’s a kid and not let me play with him!”

“Jolyne. You know I have a lot of work to do.”

“Pleeeaaase?” She gave him the biggest puppy dog eyes she could muster.

“Yare, yare.” He shook his head and sighed. “Fine. You get an hour.”

“Yaay! Thank you, Daddy!” Jolyne wrapped her tiny arms around him, or at least as far as her arms could wrap around, and gave him a squeeze before bolting to the backyard with Danny.

Jotaro turned his gaze to Giorno. It was a neutral look but he could’ve sworn there was a hit of threat in his eyes. “Make sure she doesn’t get hurt.”

Giorno knew exactly what he meant to say.

Don’t lay a finger on her.

He wasn’t sure what he’d done to warrant such a threat from Jotaro, but he wasn’t intending to offend the man anymore than he apparently already had. Giorno nodded and bowed his head. “Yes, sir.”

As Giorno slipped his way out the door, he caught a glimpse of Dio’s ever so rising temper twist his cold smile into a snarl. Giorno pretended not to notice.

Jolyne ran far across the yard until she reached a tall pine tree off to the edge of the property. She sat down with Danny and her smile dropped as she lazily patted the dog’s fur. “Sorry, Giorno.”

“For what?”

“About Daddy. He doesn’t really smile much to anyone and he always has that grumpy face around people. And, you don’t need to protect me anyways. I’m strong enough on my own! I have Stone Free with me and they always help keep meanies away!”

“Stone Free..? Jolyne, do you have a stand?”

She clamped both of her hands quickly over her mouth. “Ah! I wasn’t supposed to say that. Daddy would be super mad at me if I ever told anyone about them.” She looked up at Giorno. “Promise me you won’t tell anyone! Pinky swear!”

Giorno hooked her pinky and sealed the promise. “I won’t. I have a stand too.”

Her eyes lit up. “You do?! Lemme see! Wait, I’ll show you them first!” 

A blue translucent figure popped out from her and peered into Giorno’s wide eyes. Their body was made up of strings and they wore a pair of sunglasses over where their eyes should be. Stone Free unraveled one of their fingers into Giorno’s hand. The string looped around itself to form a simple word: Hello.

“This is Stone Free! They let me turn into strings, too! See?” Jolyne unwinds her entire hand until it becomes a pile of strings on the grass. “What about you?”

“My stand is called Gold Experience. They can make plants grow and turn things into animals, I guess. They won’t show up, though and I can’t control their power.”

“Hmmm. That’s ok! Maybe they’re just shy! I know I’d be scared to come out with Daddy around. His face is much scarier than Uncle Dio’s.”

Jolyne didn’t seem at all phased or terrified of Dio. In fact, she just laughs at his insults like it was nothing. Giorno thought she was pretty brave considering that her father looked like he was nearly going to sock Dio in the face. “Do you hang out with Mr. Dio a lot? Because, Mr. Jotaro doesn’t really seem like he enjoys being around him.”

Jolyne laid against the tree. “Well, Daddy doesn’t like it when I’m near him so I usually hang out with him when he’s not looking. I used to stay over at Uncle Jonathan’s a lot when Daddy had to go on trips but then he found out Uncle Dio was kinda living here again so I wasn’t able to stay over anymore. Uncle Dio is pretty funny though. He gets suuuper mad if you rearrange his books and he’s really cranky in the mornings. But, at least he lets me play with Stone Free. When I told him Daddy doesn’t like it when I take them out, he let me play with The World, too! But, only if I behave.” She pouted at the last bit.

Giorno could tell from how neat and organized Dio’s study was that he was pretty meticulous and orderly. However, that last bit gave him some food for thought. Either Dio had a soft spot for kids or he just really likes to piss off Jotaro. Giorno was leaning towards the latter. “Why is your dad so against stands?”

“He says they’re too dangerous and they could lead to a lot of unnecessary trouble!” She crossed her arms. “But, everyone else has stands and they can have them out in the open just fine! Sometimes I wonder if Daddy really hates me or something...”

It wasn’t Giorno’s place to console someone else about their family troubles but...he knew that Jolyne genuinely meant what she said. 

“Jolyne. Your father doesn’t hate you. If anything, I think he’s only worried about you. I don’t know what his life was like or what he’s been through, but I can tell he genuinely cares about you and just wants to keep you safe. If he didn’t, he probably wouldn’t have even looked your way, let alone, let you stay here for another hour.”

She stared at him for a long moment. Then, she wrapped her arms around him in a tight little hug. “...I’m sorry.”

Giorno was confused. “Why?”

Jolyne pulled away. “I dunno. You looked really sad when you said that.”

Did he? Giorno didn’t feel his face shift at all during that statement. In fact, he felt nothing at all. There was no reason to feel sad about anything right now. His life was finally better and happy. There’s no point in feeling sad now, is there?

Before he could ask what she meant, the back door swung open. “JOLYNE. WE’RE LEAVING. NOW.”

Jolyne was about to protest but she saw he was sporting on a brand new, soon to be bruised left eye. She quickly stood up and whistled Danny to follow. “Bye Giorno! See ya later!”

He waved and waited before getting up and heading back into the house. On his way to his room, he passed by hushed swearing from Dio who was tending to his swollen red cheek.

Chapter Text

No luck.

No matter how much Giorno analyzed Dio’s behavior, he couldn’t find a single thing about the man. Dio spent most of his time just outside of Giorno’s vicinity and generally kept to his own devices in his study or the library. The only times the two actually sat down next to each other was during meals and whenever Dio felt like he needed to work at the dining table instead of his study.

Giorno was stumpt. He wasn’t sure how to initiate some sort of family bonding so he decided to call Jonathan.

“Mr. Jonathan?”

“Huh, Giorno? Is everything alright?”

“Yes, we are fine.” Aside from Dio’s bruise that he covered with ten layers of concealer, “I was just wondering if you knew anything that Mr. Dio liked?”

There was silence on the other side of the phone while Jonathan slowly repeated, “Anything that.. Dio liked..?”

There was a loud obnoxious laugh in the background and Jonathan tried to hush them. “Stop laughing! This is serious- Hey! Hey! Gimme the phone back-”

“Heeeelllo! Who is the one who is brave enough to try to win the affections of Dio of all people?” The voice on the line spoke with a British accent and a carefree sort of attitude. Giorno presumed it was the fabled Joseph.

“Hello. I’m Dio’s son, Giorno.”

“WHAATTT???”

Jonathan snatched the phone back while Joseph went into hysterics. “To be honest Giorno, I’m not too sure myself. I may have lived with him for most of my life but he wasn’t very vocal about small things he liked. In fact, I know everything he doesn’t like if that helps?”

“Mn. That’s fine, too. I just...wanted to understand him.”

Jonathan smiled. “You know, it doesn’t hurt to ask him, either. I’m sure he would be ecstatic if you asked him.”

Giorno felt a bit glad that he wasn’t the only one who didn’t know much, but it didn’t exactly help his case, either. The one thing he was trying to avoid was confrontation. He couldn’t be too sure how Dio would take it. Would he be mad that he couldn’t figure it out? Would he think he’s too incompetent to not even know such a small detail? It was all too risky.

But, if no one else knew anything either, then...that was the only option he had. “...Mn. Thank you, Mr. Jonathan.”

“You’re welcome! Sorry I wasn’t much help. I’m actually a bit ashamed I don’t really know what he actually likes. What kind of brother am I to not know a single thing he likes?”

“You aren’t a bad brother Mr. Jonathan. You helped him a lot and I’m sure he appreciates it.”

“Thank you, Giorno- Ah yes, yes. I got it. Sorry Giorno, I’ve got to go now. I’ll call you later, alright?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Bye, Giorno! Love you!”

“Goodbye.” Giorno paused a bit before he softly replied, “...Love you too, Uncle Jonathan.”

On the other side of the phone, Jonathan beamed with a big grin on his face.

Chapter Text

Giorno walked into the library and found Dio browsing the philosophy section. He was often studying that section when he finished his work, writing little notes or just quietly pondering on whatever contents were within the books. It’s been a few days and Giorno has been avoiding actually approaching Dio on the subject.

It wasn’t that he wanted to ignore Jonthan’s advice he explicitly said he’d follow, but everytime he was close to gathering up his courage to approach Dio he would chicken out at the last second.

Why was it so much easier to approach Jonathan about these kinds of things?

Jonathan was always open to tell Giorno about himself and what he liked, as well as, asking him for what he likes and the simple things you’d be asked in a friendship quiz. He also gave Giorno a bright smile every time he enthusiastically shared stories about his childhood that made Giorno feel compelled to share stories about little things he found that he thought were interesting.

However, unlike Jonathan, Dio never really spoke about himself. 

In fact, the two were like night and day.

Dio was reserved and serious, while Jonathan was like an open book and much more lively. The things Jonathan found appealing were things that Dio couldn’t help but sneer in disgust. Giorno wouldn’t be surprised if everything Dio liked were things that Jonathan didn’t like. Did Jonathan even have anything he disliked?

Nevertheless, if Giorno couldn’t work up the courage to ask him directly, then he’ll try an indirect approach instead.

He circled around the library feigning interest in whatever section he randomly decided to stop at before he slowly made his way next to Dio. He stole a few curious glances at the book Dio held and took up a random book of his own to fake read.

Christian philosophy. The book was rather thick with pages but it was littered with sticky notes making it obvious Dio has read it a few times before.

Giorno cleared his throat. “Is that book good?”

“Mm. Give or take. It’s less about the enjoyment, more about the information it tells.”

“Oh…” 

Silence fell over the room and Giorno wasn’t sure how to continue from there.

Dio glanced over and broke the silence. “That must be quite the interesting read if you’ve been standing here for 10 minutes.”

“Mhm. I like this book a lot.”

His lips curved upwards. “Oh? I wouldn’t think kids would be so interested in such a raunchy romance novel. Especially, upside down.”

Giorno’s face heated up as he quickly stuffed the book back on the bookcase while Dio cackled at him.

That was...not ideal.

“Care to tell me what you actually intended to do?”

“I just wanted to know what you liked and stuff…”

Dio reshelved his book and crouched down to Giorno’s eye level. “Giorno, there’s no need to worry about silly things like that. I may not be as obvious as Jonathan, but in due time you’ll learn something about me.”

Giorno nodded, but he was still unsure. 

It would be much easier if Dio could just tell him about himself instead of making Giorno figure it out on his own. Why go through the extra mile to keep him from getting closer?

It wasn’t like he was a bad person, at least in Giorno’s opinion. Giorno heard countless stories of Dio’s bad attitude and behavior from everyone who’s met the man but none of that really translated to what Giorno saw. 

Sure, he had a pretty bad attitude and many sarcastic remarks but everything he did still made him not so bad.

He was the man who gave him this wonderful family, afterall.

Giorno wandered into the kitchen for lunch and noticed the lack of food left in the fridge. He may have been living in this huge manor, but they always ate out or had ready made meals that were simple enough to microwave. Dio was always too busy to even cook himself a meal let alone for a family and Jonathan...well...it was for the best he only used a microwave. The only out of the ordinary thing aside from the estate was the cleaning service who came over to clean up the manor once a week.

Other than that, this place was really just home to three. 

Four, if you include Danny.

Giorno checked the fridge one last time for a single hidden food he could eat and retreated to find Dio once more. This time, it was his study.

“Mr. Dio, we don’t have any more food.”

“Ah, that’s right. JoJo was supposed to go get the groceries before Joseph called.” He sighed before checking the clock on the wall. ” Well, I should have enough time to get that done before I finish my work here.” 

Dio tidied up his desk and stood up. “Come, Giorno. I can’t exactly leave you in the house alone.”

“Why not cook something?” Giorno was looking at the eggs and cheeses while Dio placed a milk gallon in the basket. He thought it over in the car ride on how to get closer to Dio. He came to the conclusion that all the people around him were more active types of people than passive. Jolyne forced Dio to spend time with her and Jonathan tended to drag him along to group events with his friends.

It was no wonder why Giorno’s attempts to get closer to Dio failed. They were just too passive to change his mind.

Rather than trying to pull him, he’ll just have to push.

Dio looked at him and replied, “Because, I’m very busy.”

“But, you aren’t that busy today and Miss Erina said you’re very punctual and tend to get things done ahead of schedule.”

“Well, if I were to cook something, what would it be?”

Giorno thought it over and finally decided on an idea. “Cookies.”

Dio chuckled. “Cookies, huh?”

“Mhm.” He nodded his head. “Made from scratch.”

“Are you sure that wouldn’t spoil your dinner?”

Giorno placed a carton of eggs next to the milk. “We’ll just have to make them after dinner.”

He raised an eyebrow. “We?”

“I was the one who suggested it, so it’s only fair that I help out.”

A small smile spread over Dio’s face as he nodded. “Alright. Cookies, then. Get me that butter too, will you?”

Giorno obediently picked up the pack of butter while he cheered in his head.

Finally, some progress!

Chapter Text

As promised, the pair went through their day as usual until after dinner. Dio set out all the ingredients across the counter and the measuring utensils.

“Alright, I’ll measure out the ingredients and you can mix them in the bowl.”

Giorno nodded and started mixing after the first few ingredients were added. They weren’t following any recipes from a book or even a tutorial online. Dio was doing this completely from memory and it was different to see him carefully considering how much they needed. “Where did you learn to cook, Mr. Dio?”

“My mother taught me a bit. I helped her out in the kitchen and I eventually had to take over the cooking and housework.”

“Is this recipe your mother’s?”

“Mhm. She liked to bake treats on good occasions.” Dio’s eyes held a softer gaze as he fondly recalled the recipe in his head. “Though, chocolate chip is the only one I can remember.”

Giorno stopped mixing and waited for the next ingredients. “Do you like cooking?”

“I guess you could say, I don’t mind it.” Dio dumped a small bag of chocolate chips into the bowl. “It’s a useful skill to have.”

Giorno noticed the things Dio does were more out of a feeling of usefulness rather than because he liked something. His career was to push himself into a better position in life as well as a good stable income. He never really had any hobbies Giorno knew of aside from reading and even then, the books he read pertained to psychology which still provided some use to his career.

But, there was something about what he said that made Giorno doubt he did cooking out of usefulness. Maybe he could have started it out that way, but continuing to cook now seemed too out of the way to be just for necessity.

“That’s good enough. The dough should be ready to bake.” Dio searched around the kitchen drawers until he found three different cookie cutters. A gingerbread shaped cutter, a star shaped cutter, and a large christmas tree shaped cutter. He frowned. “Well, there’s nothing round in here. Do you want abstract cookies or lumpy chunks of cookies?”

Giorno took the gingerbread cutter and examined it. “Chocolate chip...men?”

Dio took the dough out of the bowl and plopped it on the counter. “Chocolate chip men it is.”

The rest of the preparation went in peaceful silence while Giorno pressed out two dozen little cookie men and Dio neatly separated them on the sheet. By the time the cookies went into the oven, most of the dough was used up and the kitchen was cleaned up as if they hadn’t just baked cookies. 

Out the kitchen window, Giorno could see his garden which had already sprouted little stocks of green stems. “Mr Dio, how do you make your stand appear?”

Dio hummed in thought. “Well, it’s more like beckoning it to come forth. In your case, you’ll have to concentrate on wanting it to manifest physically in front of you. For most people, it usually happens unconsciously when they’re put under extreme pressure or stress.”

“What about you?”

“For me,” Dio haughtily smirked and crossed his arms. “I just order The World to do what I will and they comply.” As if on cue, The World popped out from behind Dio and crossed their arms as if mirroring Dio.

Concentrate.

Giorno closed his eyes and tried to visualize Gold Experience. From the golden glow, he decided his stand would probably be golden like The World. The stand probably had a few bug qualities on their body to show a bit of what they can do like how Stone Free had strings visibly woven together to form their body.

He visualized them standing in front of him and reaching out to touch his shoulder. He felt fingers ghost over his shoulder. They weren’t warm or cold, but he felt them. 

Giorno opened his eyes and was staring straight at the face he saw in his head. Their form was transparent like The World and Stone Free, yet that didn’t make Gold Experience feel any less real.

“Interesting. You’re a fast learner, Giorno.”

Giorno and Gold Experience looked over at Dio and The World curiously. “Do stands have their own personalities too?”

Dio chuckled and sent his stand to go examine Gold Experience. “They manifest from our minds so they’re habits and personalities are reflective of our deepest desires. Their personalities are only a reflection of yourself.”

That made a bit of sense, considering a stand was technically yourself.

“Although, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Some people don’t even have humanoid stands. I’ve seen a few stands that were objects like a gun or a book.”

...That made less sense. But, Giorno supposed not everything had to have some sort of reason behind it. Especially , stands.

There wasn’t actually much Giorno knew about stands except they were some spiritual part of yourself with superpowers. He’s hardly done much of anything with his stand aside from the garden incident which was a bit frustrating. He wanted to know more but he never really got close enough to talk about it with Dio.

At least, that was until now.

“Mr. Dio, could you teach me more about stands?”

He arched an eyebrow. “You want to learn more about stands?”

Giorno nodded. “I thought it would be a good idea to know more about them and maybe control mine a bit better.”

Dio checked the oven’s clock. “Alright. I’ll teach you what I know, but don’t complain if it gets too difficult to understand.”

Giorno looked him in the eyes with newfound confidence. “I won’t.”

He smirked and opened the kitchen door leading into the backyard. “Then, let your first lesson begin.”

The days began to pass by much faster as Giorno spent more time with Dio. Everyday after Giorno completed his homework, Dio would introduce him to a new lesson about stands. Giorno had kept up, as he promised, and was slowly gaining a better control on his stand.

He was having a lot more fun than he expected which made him hardly notice that it was already the last day before Jonathan came back from Japan.

“Mr. Dio, is it possible for stands to grow?”

Giorno had just finished his schoolwork and was currently sitting in the library with Dio. It was a less hands on sort of day for stand learning and more of a lecture while Dio looked over some books. Giorno noticed DIo had often enjoyed multitasking while he talked.

“Yes, humanoid stands normally grow along with their users and some inanimate stands can grow into a humanoid form. It’s also possible for a stand to gain a new ability.”

“How do you grow your stand?”

“For me, I didn’t have my stand at birth. I gained it through a stand arrow that had a 90% chance of the arrow being fatal if that person held no potential.” 

Giorno slightly grimaced. Those odds were very...slim.

“Of course I didn’t die, obviously.” Dio shut his book and reshelved it. “There were about a dozen stand arrows I knew of. Most of the arrows held the ability to gain a stand, however there were two special types of arrows that are only one of a kind. The first arrow was to develop a new ability formed by whatever desire you held in that moment and the second arrow was more of a peculiar case. I called it the requiem arrow. It supposedly evolved your stand to its highest potential but I never managed to test it out.”

“Does that mean you have the arrows?”

“No, no. My advisor betrayed me and ran off with the arrows before she died. The last time I touched them was in Egypt. If I did have them, who knows what kind of power I could unlock.”

Egypt . 

It was a sensitive topic that Dio never shared with anyone. Giorno knew it was something Dio would much rather forget, but he couldn’t help but wonder what went on there. What made him so closed off to this topic?

Jonathan told Giorno it wasn’t only Egypt that he refused to speak of. He also refused to disclose anything about his life before he was adopted into the Joestar family. All Giorno knew was that Dio was adopted into the family when he was twelve and that he wasn’t exactly the most tolerable sibling.

Those were probably the reasons why Dio was so hesitant to speak about himself even to his own family.

What happened to him in the past?

“Mr. Dio, could you tell me more about your time in Egypt?”

“What would that have anything to do with your initial question?”

“Well, you know a lot about stands from your trip in Egypt. I think knowing how you learned in Egypt would help me learn too.”

“I assure you there’s nothing to gain from that knowledge. Now, the lesson is over.”

“But, what if there’s something I won’t be able to understand if I don’t know about it? I can’t just-”

“Drop it. ” Dio’s words cut like ice.

Giorno got so far after learning to take the initiative. He learned a lot more about Dio than what he could’ve learned if he kept up what he usually did. He couldn’t just let this go.

He needed to know.

“Mr. Dio, there are things I need to know, otherwise-”

“Otherwise, what ?!” He snapped. “You’ll never reach your full potential? You’ll never be able to understand how your stand works? Or maybe- You’re only doing this to know why you were born. You want to know why your mother conceived you with a man who she only met once? Why you had to spend your life in that hell of a house, with a family that treated you like shit?”

The venom in his voice grew more and more poisonous as he continued, as if a dam had been broken and it all came spilling out. “Or did you want to know how I feel about you?”

Although the question was rhetorical, they were questions he had always wondered ever since he walked out that cafe door. But now…

He wasn’t sure if he wanted to hear the answer.

Dio chuckled hysterically as he continued. “I don’t care! I never cared about you! I would have rather you stayed in that cafe and left my life just like that!”

There was a pause.

The words slowly registered in Dio’s mind as he quickly fell off from his fury. His eyes widened in regret, but it was too late.

The words repeated in Giorno’s mind. The hateful words he couldn’t tell if they were empty or true.

Giorno’s face was a blank slate as he ducked out the library and quickly walked up to his bedroom.

Dio expected him to get angry at him and kick his shins. He expected him to break down crying and run off.

But, Giorno did none of that.

Instead he showed nothing. A complete lack of emotions.

And, that was the worst reaction Dio could have ever received.

He smashed a small desk lamp in the library and cursed at himself.

Chapter Text

Ever since Dio’s outburst, the two never tried to interact with one another. It was more or less the same as they were before, but Jonathan could tell things were much more tense.

Giorno always told him he was fine and that things were okay. But, Jonathan knew he was lying. He just couldn’t figure out how to get the truth out from either of them.

And so, the days passed as usual and Thanksgiving rolled in.

Thanksgiving was a huge deal within the Joestar family. It was a tradition Joseph decided to start up ever since they settled in America. He said that it was the perfect time to see those relatives that usually wouldn’t make it for Christmas. And, he was right.

Their Thanksgivings were often spent with the entire extended family and Christmas was an experience for their closer relatives and whoever didn’t have anything planned.

As per the standard rule for Joestar Thanksgivings, every year they were held in Jonathan’s manor. It was the most obvious and practical decision but it made the preparations no less stressful on Jonathan’s shoulders. Every year, Jonathan would pre plan and set up at least a week before Thanksgiving.

Erina helped set up with him and even planned out some dishes each member of the family had to bring. Without her, Jonathan wasn’t sure if Thanksgivings would ever run so smoothly.

Giorno offered to help set up for the holiday, but Jonathan politely declined. He’d rather have him focus on finishing up his schoolwork than help orchestrate the soon to be chaotic event. 

And Dio...well, he was Dio. 

He’d never offer to help out no matter what.

Luckily, Jonathan managed to have everything he needed right in time for the first guest to arrive and ring the doorbell.

“Giorno, could you get the door for me?” Jonathan called from the kitchen while he counted out the drinks.

Giorno got up from the couch and opened the front door with Danny trailing behind him.

He was greeted by a tall brooding man in a hat and an excited little girl with her loose long hair bouncing the green dyed bits as she jumped in place. These two were of course Jolyne and Jotaro. 

Jolyne promptly tackled Giorno in a hug and shouted, “Happy Thanksgiving, Giorno!” She looked over behind Giorno to find the large dog running around in a circle. “You too, Danny!”

Giorno nodded at her and briefly glanced over to Jotaro who was shuffling around the pair. “Happy Thanksgiving, Mr. Kujo.”

The man only nodded in response before disappearing into the kitchen.

Jolyne snickered. “What was that?”

“What?”

“You called him Mr. Kujo! Only his co-workers and students call him that! Pwahaha! Just call him Uncle Jotaro or something.”

Giorno sheepishly rubbed his arm. He wasn’t really used to calling people familiarly, let alone family. Even when he spoke to his parents in Italy it was “yes ma’am” or “no sir.” He spoke that way for so long he had naturally defaulted to the most polite way of speaking. It always felt a bit weird to speak informally especially to adults.

Jolyne dragged Giorno over to the living room and plopped down on the rug with Danny. “Did you do anything fun while missing me? Hehe.”

Giorno was about to reply but he stopped himself. So far, most of his week was the same as usual: go to school, do homework, tend the garden, sleep, and repeat. The only noteworthy thing was when he made cookies with Dio before... that . “I helped bake cookies.”

Her eyes lit up. “Cookies!? Do you have anymore? I wanna try!”

“Well, we should still have a few in the jar in the kitchen. Unless, Mr- Uncle Jonthan ate the rest.” He quickly corrected himself, making the word sound a bit weirder with his accent.

“Let’s go! Let’s go! I gotta try some before he devours them all!” She grabbed Giorno’s hand and sped into the kitchen warranting a ‘don’t run in the kitchen’ from Jotaro.

They reached the counter and pulled over the cookie monster cookie jar.

Jotaro glanced over at the cookie jar. “You’ll spoil your dinner if you eat that, Jolyne. Put it back.”

She huffed. “Lemme have just one cookie pleaseeee? I gotta try! Before Uncle Jonathan devours them like the cookie monster! I have a feeling he might be him from how many boxes of girl scout cookies he bought from the scouts at Wal-Mart. No one can eat that many in 2 days!”

Jonathan chuckled and took the jar. “It should be fine if she has one. Besides, I might actually eat them like the cookie monster. Giorno and Dio made them.”

Jotaro let out a defeated sigh and Jonathan handed each kid one chocolate chip man before turning around to give Jotaro one. He looked at Jonathan who was smiling eagerly before he accepted the cookie.

Jolyne chomped off the head of her cookie man in seconds and gushed with her mouth full, “Mmmm! Dis ish really guud! Unwle Dio’s cooking ish da bwest!”

“Jolyne don’t talk with your mouth full.” Jotaro reprimanded before he took a dainty bite of his own. His expression didn’t change but he managed to finish his cookie in less than a few minutes.

Giorno took that as Jotaro’s own way of approval.

They quickly ate their cookie victims and washed it down with a glass of milk provided by Jonathan before the doorbell rang again.

“I can get it.” Giorno told Jonathan before he ran off to the door with Jolyne.

He opened it and was greeted by a small blonde woman with graying hair and a taller woman with long black hair and a red scarf. With them, was also a blonde man with peculiar triangle markings on his face.

“Hello.” Giorno greeted. 

Jolyne ran up and threw herself into the blonde woman’s arms. “Granny Holly! I thought you were still in Japan!”

The old woman chuckled. “I wanted to surprise you and your papa. Speaking of surprises, who is this?”

Jolyne quickly hopped out of Holly’s arms with an ‘Oh!’ and gestured to Giorno. “He’s my new cousin, Giorno! Uncle Dio had him and brought him home!”

“Oh my, Dio’s son? I’m so happy for him!”

“Giorno’s fun!” Jolyne gestured to everyone one by one. “Giorno, this is Granny Holly! She’s daddy’s mom! She knows Japanese!”

Giorno bowed his head a bit. That’s what they did in Japan right? At least from what little he remembered. “Nice to meet you.”

Holly smiled warmly at Giorno. “It’s very nice to meet you too, Giorno.”

Giorno was almost in awe at the disparity between Holly and Jotaro’s demeanors. How did such a sweet lady have Jotaro as a son?

“This tall and scary lady is Uncle Joseph’s mom, Elizabeth! But, I just call her Granny Lisa Lisa. She’s not actually scary when you get to know her.” Jolyne hugged Lisa Lisa to prove her statement.

“Nice to meet you, ma’am.” Giorno was a bit afraid to look her straight in the eyes. He could tell from the dark circles under her eyes that she was pretty tired from the news about Joseph.

“Likewise. By the way, where is your father, Giorno?”

Ever since the day began, Giorno hadn’t seen him at all. He knew he had taken the day off for the holiday but Dio had been holed up in his study for the entire morning. “He should be in his study, I think.”

She sighed. “Figures. Come on, Holly. Let’s go find the other boys before my homewrecker appears.”

The pair of ladies headed into the kitchen, leaving one last guest for Giorno to meet.

“And finally, this is Uncle Caesar! He’s not actually related to anyone but his family is basically our family too.” Jolyne dived into his arms and he picked her up. “Hehe, he’s super fun!”

So this was the Uncle Caesar Jolyne had briefly mentioned. He expected someone that looked a little more like William Zeppeli but he wasn’t quite sure who he was in terms of the Zeppeli family tree. “Nice to meet you, sir.”

The man replied in a thick accent similar to Giorno’s, “No need for the formalities, just Uncle Caesar is fine. Are you from Naples by any chance?”

Giorno nodded.

“I knew I recognized that accent. I’m from Venezia but my Uncle William is from Naples.”

“I think I met him back in Italy. The man with a checkered hat? He opened a restaurant and let me decorate a table.”

“Yup, that’s got to be him! I’ll see if I can check out that restaurant when I head back to Italy.”

 Jolyne nearly fell out of Caesar’s arms while she crawled out. “Let’s go play! We didn’t get to do that last time I was here!” She quickly turned on her heel and pointed at Caesar. “You too! I haven’t seen you since you went off to your fancy pants college!”

Caesar laughed as he followed the kids into the living room. “Of course, of course. I’m sorry for being gone so long, Princess.”

The three of them ran around the bottom floor of the manor playing superhero with stands and bubbles. People continued to file into the house (William and Speedwagon briefly joined the game as kidnapped victims of the ‘Bubble Tyrant’) and soon enough, every room on the bottom floor had someone in it.

“Come back here, Bubble Tyrant! You’ll never get away!” Jolyne swung around the stairs with her strings heading straight for Caesar.

He backflipped over the couch and nearly ran right into Speedwagon on his way out of the room. “You’ll never catch me! Muwahaha!”

Giorno was just about to help corner Caesar when the doorbell rang. Incessantly. 

Before the soon to be shouting could be heard from Dio’s study, Giorno promptly opened the door.

In front of him, was a kid around his age with his hair styled almost like a pompadour. Next to him, were what Giorno assumed to be his parents. At the doorbell, was a rather massively fit man with a striped scarf and on the other side was a woman cleanly dressed with short black hair.

By a simple process of elimination, Giorno assumed this was Joseph and his newfound family from Japan. “Hello. Nice to meet you.”

“Oh my God!” Joseph crouched down and held Giorno’s shoulders excitedly. “You’re Dio’s kid aren’t you!? Wow! You look nothing like him! Where’s your mom from?”

Giorno didn’t know there could be someone more intense than Jolyne. “Uh, Japan but we moved to Italy.”

“Oh! Japan? Do you know any Japanese?”

He wasn’t too sure if he remembered any Japanese from his early childhood. Giorno had always just assumed he didn’t remember enough because he never really had to use it. Giorno shook his head. “I don’t know enough to speak fluently or read.”

“Aw, that’s a shame. But! That’s quite alright. Josuke here can understand and speak English pretty well. Oh! Right! I should introduce you two.”

Jolyne came running around the stairs chased by Caesar and spotted Giorno at the door. “There you are, Sidekick Gold- UNCLE JOSEPH!” She came charging full speed ahead and rammed right into Joseph’s arms.

He picked her up in a bear hug and hugged her tight. “Hey there ya lil squirt! Missed me?”

“JOJO!” Caesar shouted from the house and sped walked his way over.

“Aha, nevermind. Uncle Joseph’s gotta go!” He turned his head over to Josuke’s mother. “Hey Tomoko hun, you can introduce yourself to everyone! I promise they don’t bite.”

“I’M GONNA STRANGLE YOU!”

“Well, they won’t bite you . Aw shit-” He ran into the house, jumped over the living room couch and bolted.

Unfortunately for him, Caesar was hot on his trail, keeping up with ease. “GET BACK HERE JOSEPH!”

“NOPE! I’M GONNA MAKE FULL USE OF THE JOESTAR TECHNIQUE!”

...So that was Joseph.

He was exactly as everyone said about him: Exhausting .

Jolyne turned her attention to Josuke and his mother. “I’m sorry for my Uncle Joseph. Daddy told me he probably has brain damage from all the dumb things he’s done.”

The woman wasn’t too sure how to respond. “O-oh...no worries. I’m sorry for causing so much problem. I’m Tomoko Higashikata and this is my son Josuke Higashikata.”

“It’s not your fault, Miss Tomoko. Uncle Joseph probably didn’t tell you anything.”

Tomoko’s surprised face told Giorno that Jolyne was right on the nose with that guess.

Just in time, Jotaro noticed the new faces and walked over.

“I should’ve known Joseph wouldn’t make it til dinner.” He mumbled before he switched to Japanese and greeted Tomoko.

She was pleasantly surprised and relieved someone in the house spoke Japanese and walked off to the kitchen with Jotaro, telling Josuke to behave before she left.

Jolyne turned to Josuke. “You wanna play with us, Josuke?”

He nodded eagerly. “Mn! What do we play?”

“Superheroes! Ah- Wait but,” She leaned over to Giorno and whispered, “How are we gonna play if he doesn’t have a stand?”

Their little game of superheroes was heavily reliant on their stand powers in order to climb around the house like real superheroes. The reason Caesar could keep up was because he trained in something called hamon.

But, there was one way they could see if he had a stand without spilling the family secret.

Giorno sent out Gold Experience directly in front of Josuke.

“UwAH!” Josuke fell back in shock. “You have an invisible friend, too?”

Giorno nodded and Jolyne beamed. “Yup, yup! Everyone in our family has one except Granny Lisa Lisa, Uncle Jonathan, and our Zeppeli Uncles.”

Jolyne called out Stone Free and Josuke observed them in awe. “Come on, Josuke! You gotta show us your stand too!”

“Ah, right!” Josuke concentrated and a pink and blue stand popped out from him. His stand looked quite similar to The World except the color scheme and their small size. “His name is Crazy Diamond! He fixes the stuff I break but he can’t heal me.”

“That’s perfect! Now, we have a healer on our team in case we knock something over while pursuing the villains!” Jolyne stood in front of the two older boys and pointed at Josuke. “I hereby dub you, Sidekick Crazy Diamond! Now, Crazy Diamond and Gold Experience! Follow me, Superhero Stone Free, to defeat the evil Cerberus, Danny!”

The three of them ran around the manor playing superhero all the way until dinner.

By the time everyone was at the table, Dio was already seated casually eating as the others prodded at him about Giorno. He never directly asked Giorno or included him in the conversations but Dio did answer all their questions as much as he normally would.

It was as if he was pretending nothing happened.

Giorno sat with his new cousins and they got to know each other quite well. He learned that Jolyne also had an interest in bugs, mostly butterflies, and Josuke was terrified of turtles. He told them he saw a video of one biting someone and not letting go which caused him to steer clear of any turtles in his way. Jolyne wanted to take him to the aquarium her dad used to work at to help him overcome his turtle phobia.

After dinner, Giorno kept stealing glances over to Dio. He wanted to talk to him somehow but he didn’t want to risk another outburst. He just wasn’t quite sure how to approach him anymore without being reminded of what Dio said. He played it safe after the incident and steered clear of Dio just to make sure he didn’t set him off in any way. But, it always left him with an empty feeling. It was as if he was back in Naples, avoiding the impending ticking time bomb that was his step-father.

So, Giorno just watched as Dio left the dining room and headed back up the stairs to his room.

Jolyne nudged him in the shoulder. “What happened? Why do you look so disappointed?”

“It’s nothing.”

She puffed out her cheeks and put her hands on her hips. “No it’s not! You’re sad and if you don’t tell me, I’ll tell Uncle Jonathan to come and find out what’s wrong.”

The one thing he didn’t want to do was cause more worry and stress for Jonathan after Thanksgiving. “I just. I asked Mr. Dio about his trip to Egypt and he...got mad.”

“Hm. Uncle Dio never really talks about that thing. I don’t think you’ll be able to know about it from him…” She thought for a bit before an idea popped in her head. “Oh! Daddy was on that trip with Uncle Joseph! He was going around the world and they found Uncle Dio in Egypt. You can ask him about it since...I don’t think Uncle Joseph is able to talk right now.”

The pair glance over at the drunken Joseph currently sprawled out over the couch with Caesar and Tomoko looking after him.

Wonderful.

Giorno wasn’t sure what Jotaro thought about him but he knew it wasn’t anything good. Jolyne told Giorno that Dio and him had always fought a lot and never sat next to each other long enough before they started yelling at each other.

“I don’t think your dad likes me very much, Jolyne.”

“He doesn’t dislike you! I’ve been talking a lot about you to him and he hasn’t told me to stay away from you or anything. So, it’s fine!”

Giorno was still a bit unconvinced but he swallowed his anxiety and stood up.

Might as well try all his options before giving up hope.

Jotaro was alone in the kitchen washing dishes while Jonathan cleaned up the table and packed away leftovers. Giorno slowly made his way over to Jotaro and cleared his throat.

“M-Uncle Jotaro?” It was nerve wracking referring to Jotaro as uncle but he still turned his head silently. “Uhm, could you tell me what happened to Mr. Dio when you went to Egypt?”

Jotaro’s eyebrows arched up but his face was still the same. “Why not ask your father about that?”

“I did. He…” Giorno trailed off, not sure how to phrase what happened in the library without getting him pissed off at Dio.

Jotaro sighed and turned off the water. “Why do you want to know about it? If you can tell me that honestly, then I’ll tell you what I know.”

Why did he want to know?

At first, he wanted to answer the same as when Dio asked that question but he stopped himself short.

It wasn’t about stand abilities and Dio knew as much. However, it wasn’t about himself either.

He didn’t need to know how his mother met Dio. He didn’t need to know why his mother never mentioned anything about a baby to Dio or why they didn’t stay together.

Giorno didn’t care about any of that.

He wanted to know why his father was so defensive about it.

He just wanted to get to know him and understand him.

“Because, I want to understand him. I’ve tried to watch and ask him but nothing makes sense. I just want to get to know him and not have him as distant as my mother.”

Jotaro looked at him and saw the earnesty in his eyes. “Alright.”

He pulled over a chair from the table and sat down. “When Joseph and I got to Egypt, we found Dio by complete coincidence. We noticed him in a bar and I confronted him about disappearing for years. I’ll admit, the things I said weren’t the cleanest or best way I could have said it. He was confused and kicked us out as if he owned the place. It turned out that he did kind of own it since the guy working under him owned that particular bar.”

Jotaro pulled off his hat and felt around the brim. “Obviously, Dio was the type to be petty so he sent his underlings to chase us out of Egypt. But, their plan didn’t work and we gained stands from it. At this point, I just wanted to drag him back to America by the collar of his shirt. So, Joseph, me and a few friends we met on our around the world trip searched all over Cairo to find him. We finally did after a longer than necessary week but it wasn’t what we expected.

"Dio didn’t remember anything. He had amnesia from an accident or something but he could at least remember bits and pieces of his childhood. I guess it wasn’t pleasant memories because he went on about heaven and ruling the world. So, we tried to catch him so we could bring him back to a hospital and maybe cure his amnesia.”

He laughed a bit. “We chased him all around the city with our stands. Eventually, I lost everyone but finally managed to corner Dio. With his back against the wall, he looked almost... scared . Like we were going to drag him off to somewhere worse than Hell. Every step I took he stepped back until,

"He slipped. He fell down the concrete stairs and I called an ambulance for him. I called Jonathan and told him everything and he paid for everything. All the medical expenses and the flight back, Jonathan probably dug pretty deep into his inheritance.

"Luckily, that fall recovered his memories and he was back to his usual self. Except, there was something about him that changed. His competitiveness died down and he stopped trying to beat Jonathan in whatever petty thing he could think of.”

He looked at Giorno. ”Whatever it was, it made him calm enough to reconcile with Jonathan. Before that trip, Dio couldn’t even bear to be in the same room with Jonathan. Their fights were much more volatile than the fights he’s picked with me so I don’t regret finding him when I did.”

Jotaro stood up and pushed the chair back under the dining table. “That’s all I know. Did it help you at all?”

Giorno felt like the puzzle pieces were finally lining up.

Dio was someone who prided himself on perfection and that Egypt trip was a result of the complete opposite of perfection. It made him lower his guard and it put him in a position of weakness.

Of course he hid it away even from the people closest to him.

There were still some pieces he didn’t know and a few more questions he wanted to ask. But, now?

He may just have an idea to tear down that wall between them.

Giorno nodded his head. “Yes. Thank you, Uncle Jotaro.”

Chapter Text

“Are you sure you wanna do this?”

Giorno nodded his head. “Do it.”

He felt the cold paste hit his hair as Jolyne smeared bleach all over his head. It felt... interesting .

Jolyne frowned in the mirror. “Hm. Giorno, I don’t think we’re doing this right.”

He picked up the box and read the instructions back to her. “Did you smear it with the brush?”

“Ah...I thought you brush it after.” Jolyne picked up the brush and tried to smooth out the glob.

It’s been a few days since Thanksgiving and Giorno was frustrated. Dio had gotten busier and busier with work giving Giorno no time to even see him. Everyday, Dio goes to work early in the morning right before Giorno heads to school and he gets home late after Giorno was already put to bed.

So, he’s decided to try to get his attention by doing something drastic: dying his hair.

It wasn’t like he was doing this only out of necessity though, he genuinely wanted to go blonde. He just didn’t think he’d do it now.

After the Thanksgiving gathering, he talked with Jolyne a lot about possible ways to get Dio to sit down and talk to him. They’ve schemed over the phone everyday until they decided on dying his hair. Jolyne brought her hair bleach hidden in her backpack and begged her father to let her hang out with Erina while he was working with the Speedwagon Foundation in the city. Once she got his approval all she had to do was ask Erina to take her over to play with Giorno.

He had to admit, Jolyne was really clever for a four year old. It was a bit scary.

But, unfortunately they weren’t clever enough to figure out how to bleach hair.

Just then, Erina poked her head into the bathroom. “What are you two up to-Oh no…”

“Auntie Erina! I’m making Giorno blonde!”

“I-I can see that…” She walked in and looked at Giorno in the mirror. “Sweetie, why do you want to dye your hair blonde?”

“I want to look more like Mr. Dio.”

Erina wasn’t sure if she should be concerned or happy. On one hand, it was sweet that he looked up to his father. On the other hand, it was Dio . He wasn’t exactly the best role model for kids. “Alright, well, if you’re going to be dying your hair you should get an adult to help next time. I don’t want you kids damaging your hair especially under my care.”

Erina put on a pair of gloves and began to wipe off all the excess bleach with a towel. “Could you hand me the box, please?”

Jolyne took the box from Giorno and handed it to Erina. “I thought I could do it now since daddy’s been dying mine since last year! We have a lot of colors back home!”

“You did do a good job of mixing the bleach, Jolyne. But, you still need an adult since you’re so young. We wouldn’t want you accidentally getting it on your skin or burning yourself.” Erina stirred the bleach mix Jolyne had used and reapplied it to Giorno’s hair.

“Oookay. But, can I still help?”

“Of course!” Erina separated a segment of hair and handed the brush to Jolyne. “Evenly coat this piece with the brush like your painting.”

Jolyne brushed it on as instructed and the pair continued until everything except his roots were covered. Erina told them they were going to keep dying it in 20 minute sessions to keep his hair from getting burned.

After two sessions of bleaching, Giorno’s hair was finally blonde.

“So? What do you think?” Erina asked.

It was a slightly darker blonde than Dio’s actual hair color but they decided to give the bleaching a rest for the day and pick it back up later if Giorno really wanted to. He was pretty satisfied with the result. The color wasn’t noticeably different unless you got a closer look and in Giorno’s opinion, blonde looked nice on him.

He nodded in approval. “It looks nice. I feel...pretty?”

Jolyne and Erina gave him a thumbs up. “Yup! You look super pretty Giorno!”

“It is a good look on you!” Erina cleaned up the sink and gave Jolyne her hair bleach. “Now, Jolyne. Remember to ask someone next time you try to dye someone’s hair, okay?”

“Okayyy!”

The pair of kids ran out of the bathroom and headed down the stairs. They spent most of their time huddled on the couch watching Christmas movies and drinking hot chocolate as they waited for Dio to come back from work.

If Giorno was being honest, under all that excitement, he was a bit terrified.

He was worried if this was too drastic of a change that it would only further the gap between them.

What if he didn’t like it? What if this was all just a big mistake?

Giorno couldn’t be 100% sure that this was the best method but he had to have some confidence. Even if this change was temporary, Giorno was sure that he didn’t regret it.

While lounging upside down with Jolyne and Erina, Giorno heard the door unlock.

It was now or never.

Giorno peeked out from the living room holding Danny from running up to the door and spotted the blonde haired man enter the foyer.

Jolyne ran over to the man at breakneck speed. “Hiya, Uncle Dio!”

“What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be in New York City with your father?”

She shook her head. “Daddy let me hang out with Auntie Erina today!” Jolyne pointed over at her who waved from the living room.

Dio smirked. “Figures. There’s no way he’d let you stay here without him.”

“Me and Giorno wanted to show you something!”

Dio’s face was unreadable as he raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

Giorno walked out into the foyer with his hands behind his back. He looked up at Dio’s face only to regret it.

Dio’s eyes widened in horror . But, it only lasted a moment. “What did you do?” The question was less accusatory and more neutral like he was oblivious of the new hair color.

“I…” The words were caught in Giorno’s throat. That reaction he saw in Dio’s eyes made all the words he had rehearsed in his head retreat back into the furthest corner of his thoughts. His mind was blank and afraid to pull those answers back up. “...I wanted to change it.”

Dio was silent for a moment, trying to read Giorno’s blank face. In the end he only simply nodded. “I guess blonde is easier to explain to your teachers than other colors. It’s more natural, unlike a little gremlin I know.”

Jolyne pouted. “Hey! It’s prettier this way!”

Dio neither agreed nor disagreed as he went up the stairs. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got work to do.”

Giorno stood there until Dio’s form disappeared to the second floor.

That wasn’t the worst way this could have gone, but it wasn’t anything good either. The look in his eyes...It was as if he saw something he never wanted to see.

Giorno stared at his reflection in the metal stair railing.

He couldn’t find anything wrong with his reflection. All he saw was himself. 

Except, maybe he looked just a bit more like Dio.

Chapter Text

Giorno blew a breath into the cold winter air. 

It was Christmas Eve and the three of them were spending a couple days in Jonathan’s old home back in England. It was a centuries old mansion that had been in the Joestar family for generations. Although, the building itself had gone under renovations for a year because Dio burned it down. At least, that’s what Jonathan said.

If you asked Dio, he would say that it was Speedwagon who lit the fire and Dio had merely spooked him one Halloween night.

Giorno was currently staying in Dio’s old room while the man himself claimed the master bedroom and Jonathan reliving his childhood in his old room. 

It was a rather spacious old Victorian styled room much like the rest of the estate. However, much of Dio’s old belongings were moved over to the manor in New York, making the room lack in sentimental value. The only thing worth noting was the view from his window that looked over the hills and almost into the town.

A polite knock came from the door just before it was opened.

“Giorno?” Jonathan called.

Giorno looked up from his open window where he was watching the clouds slowly cover up the sky. He wondered if it would snow.

“Ready to go?”

Giorno nodded before he closed the window and put on his coat.

Before their Christmas trip rolled around, Jonathan had asked Giorno what he wanted for Christmas.He never really wanted anything now that he had a better home and practically everything he wanted was already there. So, he mulled over that question as they headed off to England.

Then, it finally hit him.

What he wanted for Christmas, was to get to know his father.

But, that was easier said than done. Most of what he knew was about his life was when he became a Joestar and much of his knowledge was from Jonathan’s memories of him.

But, what about before he became a Joestar?

What was his family like before they died?

And so, Giorno told Jonathan he wanted to visit Dio’s old home in London.

The two snuck out of the mansion as quietly as they could while Dio slept. The task itself was pretty simple since the mansion was so large and the walls were thick enough to not hear the front doors shut on their way out. They walked from the mansion all the way into town and called a taxi.

Once they finally arrived in London, Jonathan took out his phone for the GPS. “First, let’s go pay our respects to his parents before we look for his house. The house might not be there anymore, but the least we could do is let them know we’ll be looking.”

Their walk to the cemetery wasn’t long and the streets were mostly filled with people heading home before Christmas. The grave stones poked out from under the dead leaves of autumn, prickling the ground like cactus needles. They split up and searched around the graveyard for any stones marked Brando.

“Aha! Giorno come look, I found Dario Brando! This is his father!” Jonathan waved from the other side of the cemetery near a tree.

Giorno didn’t move from his spot but instead beckoned for Jonathan to walk over to him.

Jonathan raised an eyebrow and walked over. Once he was a few steps away, He asked, “What is it Giorno?”

Giorno merely pointed at the gravestone behind him.

It was a tidy little stone, worn out from the rain and snow as the years had passed. On it, was a bouquet of lilies and carnations that seemed to be only a few days old. But, it was the words on the gravestone that Giorno was pointing at that caught Jonathan’s attention.

Delilah Brando.

Confusion was written all over Jonathan’s face. “Why is her grave all the way over here? I had my father buried next to my mother when he died. It was his wish and I didn’t want them to be separated in death...”

They walked back over to Dario’s grave and compared them. In contrast to the well kept grave for Delilah, Dario’s was overrun with weeds and his stone was eroded so much that his name was beginning to fade.

It was as if no one had bothered to visit his grave at all.

“Ain’t this a shocker. Someone’s actually visitin’ that bastard.” 

The voice came from an old man not too far from the entrance. He stroked his grayed beard as he walked over to the two.

“Can I help you?” Jonathan did his best to be polite despite the insult to Dio’s father. “I don’t suppose you know this late fellow?”

The old man lit a cigar between his lips. “Know him, eh? I was his neighbor once. That man owed a lotta debt and quite frankly he deserved it. God knows all the shit I heard when that man came home.”

Jonathan knit his brows in anger but more so confusion. “What are you talking about? Wasn’t he a business owner? And, I quite frankly don’t like your tone about him. This man had saved my family, you know!”

That statement made the man laugh so hard he dropped his cigar. “ Saved your family? I’ll be damned until I see it! Dario Brando never did anythin’ for anybody but himself. His business failed from the start so he used his family all the way up until his death. Drove his own wife to an early grave and made his son become a monster like himself.”

Jonathan was at a loss for words.

When he thought about it, everything made sense.

Why Dio never spoke about his old house or family, why he always sneered a bit every time they brought up Dario. His life wasn’t happy nor comfortable. It was all this .

How could he have been such a fool to only realize this now?

Giorno finally spoke up. “Can you show us where his old house was?”

“What’s it to you, kid?”

“That man you’re talking about is my grandfather. I want to know where my father grew up.”

There was a pause as the man studied Giorno. Now that he finally took a good look at the boy, he looked a bit like the kid he always saw leaving that house to smuggle some booze for his deadbeat father while masking bruises under his jacket. Even his eyes held that same piercing stare.

The old man sighed. “Alright, blondie. Follow me. But, I doubt you two’ll like what you see.”

They walked along the dimly lit street until the sound of cars and people thinned out to the crickets chirping in the night. The farther they walked, the less inhabited the houses looked. They turned a corner into a small street only big enough for people to walk through and stopped in front of an old decaying wooden house.

The house itself was small, looking to be one roomed with an already bankrupt convenience store just a few blocks down the street. Even the size of the door was just a head or two shorter than Jonathan.

“This street was too old and damaged for the city to even bother to try to bulldoze. Everything is surprisingly still in tack, save for the lack of plumbing and electricity.” The old man turned and waved a hand. “I’ll be headin’ home. The exit is just where we came from.”

And with that, he left.

Jonathan jiggled the doorknob a few times before pushing it open with a loud creak. He ducked in under the doorway and Giorno followed suit.

Giorno turned on the flashlight on his phone and looked around.

The place was dusty and molding, but he couldn’t tell if it was like that before or after Dio left. There was one bed frame tucked into the corner of the room by the window and a torn up chair at the other side next to a table.

For some reason, everything felt so vaguely familiar .

As if, Giorno was the one who lived in this house, with a father that only cared about himself.

“Damn, Brat! Always trying to read people!”

Giorno shook the memory away, rubbing at the phantom bruises on his arm.

The more he looked around, the more he understood why Dio took him in.

They were similar in how they had been brought up. Living under a roof that never welcomed them. But, then they became a part of the Joestar family.

If Giorno hadn’t met Dio when he did, he wasn’t sure what kind of person he’d become.

Would he have become as awful as Jonathan described Dio when he was younger? Or would he have just continued on a path of self-destruction that could lead to irreversible events?

No matter the answer, Giorno knew he liked the him he was now as opposed to the him he once was. And, he wanted Dio to know that he would always be grateful that he came into his life and uprooted him from his old home.

He wanted him to know that he would always look up to him in some way.

He wanted him to know that despite all those venomous words, Giorno still loved him. Unconditionally.

“What are you doing here.” The man in question spoke low and cold from the doorway. Dio glared at that house with pure hatred .

Jonathan spoke first. “Dio…” He took a step towards him. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

Dio’s face twisted in confusion, then he sneered in a laugh. “Ha! You want to know why I never told anyone about this ?” He gestured to the house. “Living out the first twelve years of my life in this shack, with that bastard of a worthless father to constantly make your life a living hell. You want to know why I never said anything about it? I left this life! I erased it from my past a long time ago and I don’t need you to dig it back up.”

“But, Dio, we could have-”

“‘Could have’ what? I don’t need your pity, JoJo. I’m not your charity case so you can feel better about yourself.” Dio’s glare turned to Giorno who only watched from the side. “What? Anything you want to add? You got what you asked for. Surprise, surprise! Your dad wasn’t as cool or amazing as you thought!”

Giorno didn’t know what to say or how to respond. He kept thinking of anything to placate the situation, but time moved faster than he could respond.

“Merry Christmas,” He said all too sarcastically as he turned to leave. “I’m going home.”

After a few minutes of watching that empty doorway, Jonathan walked over to Giorno and hugged him. “I’m sorry, Giorno. I should’ve known we should’ve asked Dio about this. But, I was too impatient and wanted an answer as well. I guess this was a pretty cruddy Christmas present, huh?”

Giorno leaned into the hug. “It’s not your fault. I asked for this and you did your best. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll admit, I don’t quite regret this trip of ours, but we did hurt Dio in the process.” Jonathan looked at Giorno with a soft expression. “Let’s go apologize to him, alright?”

“Mhn.” He nodded.

Jonathan leaned down and let Giorno climb onto his back before he jogged over to Dio.

“Dio, we want to apologize for invading your privacy like that.”

“Apology not accepted.”

Jonathan frowned. “Okay, well, I guess I deserve that. But, do know that we really do mean it. We’re sorry, Dio.”

Dio stopped and sighed. “I know that.” He looked up at them with a slight mock to his tone, “Do you think I don’t know that? You’re a fool but you aren’t awful.”

“Aw, Dio, I think that’s the nicest thing you said to me!”

“That is forever going to be the only nice thing you hear from me.”

“Okay, okay. Joking aside, can we still have a normal Christmas together? Or at least, normal like regular families without the 20 years feud between siblings. I’m not saying we should ignore the situation entirely but we should postpone this whole mess for this one day. Especially, since it’s Giorno’s first Christmas with us.”

Dio thought for a moment. “Fine. But, neither of you are allowed to speak a word about this, even after Christmas.”

Jonathan peered up at Giorno. “Sound fair?”

Giorno nodded and Jonathan followed suit. “Alright, deal.”

The rest of the journey back home was spent in idle chatter from Jonathan about what the rest of the family was up to and some shows he caught on tv. Dio listened to it silently, sometimes adding a grunt or sneer.

Giorno watched the starless night sky from his new height. It was fun being so high up from the ground and he wondered if Jonathan would let him have a piggyback ride more often. Maybe he could even ask Dio for one.

Suddenly, something cold fell on his nose.

“Giorno, look! It’s snowing!” Jonathan held out a hand and let a few flakes melt on his glove.

The flakes began to fall faster and faster, that by the time they reached the mansion, they were all covered in a thin sheet of white.

Giorno shook out his coat and passed through the living room where the Christmas tree stood. It was fully decorated in a variety of handmade and store bought ornaments and wrapped in a multicolored led string of lights. At the bottom of the tree, was full of a variety of presents wrapped up and neatly tucked under the tree.

Hm.

Giorno could’ve sworn there weren’t any gifts under there when he left with Jonathan.

Chapter Text

“I’m telling you, you have two dads!”

“He’s kinda right, Giorno.”

Giorno pressed his lips together in a line as he stared at Josuke and Jolyne through his tablet. “How does Jonathan count as my dad?”

Jolyne leaned back in her bean bag. “Weeeellll, you live with him, he takes care of you a lot, aannnd you’re living in his house.”

“And he hangs out with you more, right?” Josuke added.

Giorno crossed his arms. “I don’t see how that could make him be my dad.”

“Gio, have you ever had an uncle before?” Jolyne asked. 

Giorno was silent.

“Have you ever had an uncle be the first person the school calls if you’re sick?”

“That was one time and that still doesn’t make him my dad . What if he doesn’t want to be a dad? What if he just wants to be everyone’s favorite uncle who just happened to be more available than my actual dad?”

“Don’t be silly. Jonathan would love to be a dad. Even if he’s not really your dad, calling him dad would make him smile a whole lot.”

“Then why don’t you do it?”

Jolyne rolled onto the floor. “I did once. Daddy didn’t let me go see him for a whoole day.”

“Well, that still doesn’t make me feel like I should call him dad.” He had finally gotten used to calling him Uncle Jonathan. Wasn’t that enough?

“You were the one who told us he was feeling sad lately.” Josuke shrugged. “We’re just giving you options.”

A knock came from the archway into the living room as Jonathan walked in. “Hey, Giorno. Did you want Chinese or Taco Bell for dinner?”

Before Giorno could reply, Jolyne and Josuke took their chance to strike. 

“Hiya Dad!”

“Hey Dad!”

The pair of them waved at Jonathan while the older man laughed and waved. “Hello, you two.”

“Whatcha doing, Dad ?” Jolyne asked innocently while Giorno rolled his eyes at the screen.

Jonathan shrugged as if this was a normal conversation. “Just, deciding what to get for dinner. Did you two have any opinions on the choices?”

Josuke tapped his chin in thought. “Well, Dad . I think Chinese is more filling than Taco Bell.”

“Josuke is right, Dad . And, you can save the leftovers for tomorrow.”

Giorno couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He wanted to exit this conversation immediately but unfortunately, this was his dinner they were deciding.

Jonathan turned to Giorno. “Did you have anything in mind or do you just want to get Chinese?”

Without thinking, Giorno replied, “Chinese is good, Dad.”

…

Giorno realized a second too late at his slip up. “S-sorry.”

“Oh, it’s no problem, Giorno. I’m touched that you find me as a father figure as well.”

“See, Giorno? We told you, you have two dads~” Josuke teased before Giorno ended the call. The action prompted 10 new discord messages of ugly laughing emojis by Jolyne and Josuke.

It wasn’t like Giorno didn’t acknowledge the fact that Jonathan was more affectionate when it came to hanging out. But, he was like that with everyone in the family. Always willing to listen and help.

If anything, he was more like everyone’s dad and Giorno was just lucky to be able to live with him.

Jonathan turned around and jumped at the sight of a certain blonde man walking to the library. “Ah! Dio, are you alright with Chinese for dinner?”

Dio merely grunted in a reply.

After Christmas, everything was relatively normal. Dio was still working a lot, but he made sure to come home in time for dinner at least. His interactions with Giorno have been simple and short much like his interactions when he had initially started living with them.

Giorno took it as a sort of progress. It was better to have some interaction rather than none.

Although, he’d much prefer to spend more time with him like Giorno does with Jonathan.

Jonathan grumbled a bit about Dio’s lack of a reply before he turned his attention toward Giorno. “Alrighty! If you’re done talking with Jolyne and Josuke, would you mind helping me pick up the food? You can even help choose the dishes.”

Giorno nodded and followed Jonathan into the kitchen.

The moon brightened up the dark hall as Giorno made his way out of his room. He wandered down the staircase in search of a nice cool glass of water to lull him back to sleep. Before he entered the kitchen, he had noticed the light in the dining room was still on and heard a pair of hushed voices chatting from the table.

Dio sipped a glass of water as he cleaned up his work files on the table. “I found an apartment, recently. The rent is reasonably priced and I’m going to take it.”

Jonathan clapped his hands together. “That’s wonderful, Dio! Is it close by anywhere? Is it near the school? I don’t think it would be a good idea for Giorno to change schools so suddenly after finally settling in and getting used to it.”

“That’s the thing,” Dio set down his glass on the table. “I believe it would be best for Giorno to stay here.”

“What? Why?” The smile on Jonathan’s face dropped as his brows knitted together.

“He would be better off here and he’s already gotten used to living here. Besides, I’m much more capable of living on my own.”

“Have you told Giorno yet?”

“...”

Jonathan looked down at the table in thought. “Listen, Dio. If this is about what happened on Christmas Eve, I-”

“I told you already. We are not speaking of that ever again.” Dio snapped. “It isn’t related to that, anyway. It’s just an epiphany I had long overdue. He would do much better to live here than with me. It’s a fact.”

A silence washed over the dining room. Dio’s face had been steady and neutral while Jonathan had worry spread all over his as he thought long and hard.

If they had paid more attention, the pair would have heard the soft tapping of little feet running back up the stairs.

Chapter Text

Giorno wondered if there was a point where things went wrong.

He wondered if he had made any mistakes while he stayed here. What would’ve happened if he approached Dio earlier? Where would he be if he hadn’t said this or hadn’t done that. Or, if the mistake that he made was from the very beginning.

Giorno took in the cold dry air of January as he paused in his walk.

No.

He couldn’t let himself think that that was a mistake, no matter how much the idea creeped into his mind. He’d come so far and it was much too late to regret that choice.

He curled himself up in his bed as he tried to think about other things. He thought about school, about the garden, and even about what he wanted to be when he grew up.

But, everything somehow rounded back his thoughts to what he overheard that night.

“I believe it would be best for Giorno to stay here.”

It was stupid, Giorno thought. He had been so hung up about this that he held himself up in his room until the day Dio was going to move out.

He felt silly for not doing anything for the past few weeks, but everytime he thought about trying to do something he got scared and retreated back.

He was worried if he did anymore, that he would make Dio vanish for good.

A few knocks tapped on the door.

Giorno knew it was Jonathan. He had been periodically knocking on his door everyday since he locked the door and shut himself in.

It was Jonathan, Giorno knew that without having to open the door. He had been periodically knocking to check up on him and notify him when it’s dinner time. Usually, Giorno would just let him talk at the door until Jonathan eventually left. But today, Giorno wasn’t sure if he wanted to be alone right now.

Ever so slowly, Giorno crawled out of bed and opened the door.

He was met with a surprised, but worried smile. “Ah. I just wanted to make sure you were doing okay.”

Giorno wordlessly wandered back to his bed and Jonathan took it as a silent invitation to let himself in.

Jonathan took a seat next to Giorno on the bed and softly chatted about everything and nothing. The conversation was one-sided but it didn’t seem like Jonathan minded it. If Giorno had to guess, he was also probably preoccupied about the move.

Giorno couldn’t blame him. It caught everyone off guard.

He still almost couldn’t believe it himself.

“...Is he really gonna move?” His voice was barely above a whisper yet, Jonathan still caught it.

He went quiet for a bit thinking over what he should say. “I...I believe so. But, I also don’t think he actually wants to.”

“What do you mean?”

Jonathan adjusted himself to face Giorno. “Well, to be honest, Dio is quite a smart and logical fellow. He knows what he is and is aware of the things he had done in the past. He doesn’t deny his past actions but he’s too stubborn to regret them. However, in all the years I’ve had to share my life with him, I’d say you were the person he’s shown the most care for. And, that’s why he’s decided to leave you here.”

Giorno furrowed his eyebrows. “I don’t understand.”

“Dio believes himself to be a terrible person. While I can’t exactly disagree about that, I can tell he’s changed a bit. He wants what’s best for you and if he thinks a life without him is what’s best for you, then…”

He’d want to give you the best life possible.

Giorno curled up on his bed. “But, what if I don’t want that?”

“Then, you’ll just have to tell him that.”

That answer had seemed almost too simple, to be honest. It felt like he’d need to do a hundred more steps in order to reach that answer. He couldn’t even be 100% sure that would work.

Jonathan sighed. “Between you and me, I think Dio might be a tad bit envious of all the times we spend together. I’m not one to brag but he seems to get a little bitter when I talk about our playdates and such. He’s always so guarded and careful. I guess being too careful can have its downfalls as well. But, it might just be me seeing things.”

Jonathan got up from the bed. “I think he's just about ready to go. If you’re feeling up to it, why not come downstairs to send him off with me?”

Giorno nodded and crawled out of his bed. He followed the larger man all the way down to the foyer.

Is this what you want?

Dio rounded the corner from the living room and unlocked the front door. “Well. I’ll see you both on Thanksgiving.”

Are you really just going to let him go like that?

Jonathan pat Dio on the shoulder. “Don’t be silly. You can visit us more often than that! Just send a call and we’ll keep an eye out for you.”

Just as Dio took a step across the doorway, he felt a light tug on his coat.

“...Please.” His voice was as small and fragile as the hand that trembled on his coat.

Dio steeled himself and said, “I’ll be back to visit, soon.”

Giorno let the fabric fall through his grasp as he watched Dio walk to his car. He felt hot tears slide down his face as he got further and further away.

But, he felt a pair of big arms wrap around him.

Giorno looked down only to see a pair of transparent, gold arms wrapped around him.

Dio stopped in his step. “The World,” He reprimanded.

The stand ignored him and held Giorno close.

“The World ,” He tried again but he was still ignored.

Finally, the irritated Dio turned on his heel and looked back, but what he saw made him falter.

Don’t let him go.

Giorno ran over to him and hugged Dio’s coat tightly. “Please don’t go, Papa! I don’t want you to leave! I want you to stay and make cookies with me again and read books and get to know you! I don’t care if you’re bad, I love you because you’re my papa!” All the words he had meant to say suddenly came pouring out like a broken dam. Giorno desperately clung to his father like his life depended on it, ignoring the tears that stained the bottom of his coat.

Dio was at a loss for words.

He bent down and gently returned the hug as if not to break the small boy. “Is that really what you want?”

Giorno nodded eagerly. “I want you to stay with us. I-i don’t want you to leave without me, Papa.”

Dio’s arms tightened similarly to the hug that The World had given him. His head was hidden in Giorno’s shoulder with his blonde bangs casting a curtain over his eyes. Dio spoke his next words softly, but Giorno could clearly hear him reply,

 “...Alright. Papa won’t leave.”

Chapter Text

The cooling sea breeze on a blazing summer day in Naples had always been a favorite of Giorno’s. He let it blow away the loose strands of his golden braid as he took a sip of his milkshake.

He was fifteen now and today he was waiting to meet up with a familiar face at a cafe.

“Haruno?”

Giorno put on his most polite and neutral smile. “Ciao, Madre.”

His mother was a bit taken aback at his new appearance but Giorno couldn’t be surprised. It was only natural since he was never born blonde. He dressed neatly in a clean pink suit with two blue ladybug pins on either side of his chest.

He briefly glanced at his mother. She hadn’t seemed to change at all since he left. She still wore the same clothes that screamed for attention and the jewelry that faked wealth and happiness. Only this time, Giorno hadn’t seen a certain golden ring wrapped around her finger.

He politely invited her over to sit down and offered her a cappuccino that he vaguely recalled her ordering a lot. 

“How have you been, Mother ?” The word seemed to roll off his tongue naturally but the other party could tell there was a bit of a hidden bitterness to it.

She hesitantly took a sip from her cup as she replied, “I’ve been doing alright. The same old thing doing this and that…”

She swirled her drink. “Listen, Haruno. I want you to know that there wasn’t a moment I haven’t thought about you after you ran off.”

Here it comes.

“Haruno, I realized that I hadn’t been the best mother. I-it was wrong of me to not realize the trouble you’ve been in and how much you’ve been suffering under that man. And, I want you to know that I’ve let him go for good. I got a divorce and he’ll no longer be a problem in our lives. If you’re willing, just so you know, you’re alway welcome bac-”

Giorno held up his hand. “I’m afraid I’ll have to stop you right there.”

“What?”

“I didn’t ask you to meet with me to beg you to let me come back. I asked you to meet me so that we can have some proper closure. I wanted to at least let you have a proper goodbye.”

She grit her teeth. “But! I’m your mother! You’re only mother.”

“Yes, that fact is true. But, it doesn’t mean I can’t have a life without one. My life in America has been the best years of my life. I met so many wonderful and loving people, people who cared more about me than you ever have. I never intended to come back to Naples for you. I came back for me .”

His mother gripped her cup so tightly it nearly spilled over with scalding hot coffee. “Why are you telling me this?”

Something glinted in Giorno’s eyes. Although his face never shifted from that same emotionless expression, she could’ve sworn there was a smug grin on it. “I wanted to thank you. Without you introducing me to my real father, I never would have lived a life where I felt like I mattered.” 

He got up from his chair and smiled at her. The act was so simple, yet it carried so many meanings underneath. “So, thank you. For letting me meet my father.”

Chapter Text

The day was like any other.

At least, that’s what they hoped Giorno thought.

Today in particular, the nine year old noticed a lack of people interacting with him. In fact, he was sure they were purposefully avoiding him.

Every time Giorno walked into the room Jonathan would scramble to pick up his stuff and bolt out the room. It happened so often, Dio decided to take him out to the park so he could get out of the house.

Giorno appreciated the company Dio gave him now, but the park wasn’t exactly the best place. Especially for Dio.

He could tell how repulsed Dio felt everytime a dog ran by and the fact that there was nothing much to do in a park aside from walk was pretty boring for him. They passed by the fifth dog in the park before Giorno spoke up. “Can we go to the bookstore down the street?”

Relief swept over Dios shoulders as he nodded in agreement.

“Why don’t you like dogs?”

“They’re messy, smelly, dumb little things. It’s also obvious how dependent they are on humans.” Dio’s face scrunched up in disdain as they passed yet another dog on the way out.

“Does that make you a cat person?”

“No, but if you wanted me to pick one then yes.”

Giorno hummed.

As they made their way to their destination, a couple feet away they spotted a familiar head of brown hair.

“Ah, isn’t that Uncle Joseph?” Giorno pointed at the man who turned around at the sound of his name.

“Oh! Mini Dio!” Much to Dio’s disappointment, Joseph jogged over to say hello.

As he came closer, Giorno couldn’t help but notice the small infant in his arms.

Dio pointed at the baby sleeping soundly in his arms. “What is that.”

“Have you never seen a baby before?”

“Har. Har. You know what I meant. Why do you have a baby? Is it another one of your’s?”

“Nah, I just found this lil girl alone in Japan last weekend with Josuke. Never managed to find her parents, so I decided to adopt her.” 

The baby stirred awake and promptly started to whail.

“Ah shit!” Joseph panicked as he tried to calm the baby. “It’s okay, it’s okay, Shizuka. Papa’s here~”

Unfortunately, his cooing doesn’t calm her down enough as she began to look transparent. Soon enough, the baby blinks out of sight. Even though she disappeared, the crying never ceased.

Dio pointed a finger to Joseph’s still cradled arms. “You picked her up because she was a stand user didn’t you?” 

“Well, what else was I supposed to do? She was alone and her parents were literally nowhere to be found. I couldn’t just leave her alone on that sidewalk to potentially die alone…” He bounced his arms gently up and down until the crying slowed down and she finally faded back into sight. “Besides, who are you to lecture me on taking in kids?”

“Unlike you, I only have one and my son actually lives with me because I’m not flippant about my relationships.”

Joseph sputtered. “Wha- Tomoko and I agreed it would be best if they stayed in Japan! Besides, I’m not flippant, I'm just interested in both...at the same time?” Ever since he came back from Japan, Joseph has been trying to sort out his feelings for Suzie Q and Tomoko. He concluded that he still loved both of them but he wasn’t sure how to convey that to them. Especially Suzie.

Last time he was on her doorstep, his own mother kicked him off the property.

“But, neither girls feel the same.” Dio concluded.

“Shut up! What do you know? You haven’t gotten in a relationship since Egypt.”

Dio rolled his eyes. “I have bigger priorities than a relationship right now.”

Joseph gasped dramatically. “I can’t believe it. Are you really Dio Brando? The Dio I knew jumped at any chance to get in someone’s pan-” 

The blonde in question smacked him on the head with enough force to hurt like it was one level away from a concussion but not drop the baby. “OW! BITCH!”

“What are you even doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be helping JoJo and Erina?”

“That’s where I’m headed!” Joseph shifted the baby to one arm and pulled out his phone. “Shizuka just wanted to come along so I’m running a little late- Aw shit! 10 calls already? See ya, Giorno! I don’t think I have any more time to chit chat before Erina kicks my ass.” 

With that, he jogged away, holding Shizuka tightly to make sure she doesn’t fall out of his arms.

The father-son duo continued their walk down the street until they reached the bookstore just around the corner. Dio let Giorno wander off to the books, making sure to tell Giorno that he’ll be sitting in the small cafe built into the store.

Giorno had to admit, he had a soft spot for books. Sure, he could just buy ebooks on his tablet and he certainly had, but there was something special about having a physical copy of a book in your hands.

He scoured the usual aisles in search of a specific book he saw recommended in a video. Giorno looked around for 10 minutes before he decided to try asking for an employee’s help. Fortunately for him, a blonde woman was rolling a cart of books just past his aisle.

Giorno walked over and made sure to raise his voice loud enough for her to hear. “Excuse me, Miss.” 

The woman stopped her cart and turned to face him, letting him catch a clear sight of her name tag that read, “Suzie Q”.

Wasn’t that the name of Joseph’s ex-fiance?

She smiled sweetly and spoke to him in a thick Italian accent, “Did you need any help with something, honey?”

Giorno nodded. “I can’t find The Gardener’s Guide to Fruits and Vegetables. Do you still have it in stock?”

“Hmmm, let me check on our system.” 

Suzie pushed her cart out of the way and walked over to the checkout counter with Giorno. There was an obvious lack of a ring on her finger as she typed away at the keyboard and her large hooped earrings bounced as she jumped. “Aha! Found it!”

She turned to Giorno. “Lucky for you, we have one left! Follow me, please.”

The pair walked back over to the gardening aisle and took the book off the top shelf. Suzie crouched down and handed it off to Giorno. “You probably didn’t find it because it was too high up on the shelves. Did you want to buy it now?”

“Yes, please.”

“Then, let’s go find your parents! Do you know where they went?”

Giorno nodded. “My papa is sitting over at the cafe.”

He debated on telling her who his dad was but ultimately decided against it. He didn’t exactly know if they were on good terms or not. Dio may not be fond of Joseph but that doesn’t mean his disdain would extend to Suzie Q, would it?

Suzie walked him over to the cafe and noticed that familiar head of blonde. Giorno took that as his cue to walk up to Dio and show that he’s his parent. “Papa, I want to get this book.” Giorno placed the book on the table and pushed it over to Dio.

Dio looked the book over and nodded his parental approval. It wasn’t like he had to check all the books Giorno wanted to get and Giorno was almost certain he wouldn’t care if he got a novel from the young adult section. Giorno just thought it was a little fun to make him check them all.

Maybe next time he’ll purposely get a trashy YA romance novel just to see his reaction.

Giorno pocketed the thought for another day as Suzie Q looked between the two. “Dio? You’re this boy’s father?”

“Oh, Suzie Q. I didn’t know you worked here.”

“It’s a part-time job since I’ve decided to go to college- Hey, don’t deflect my question! Since when did you have a child?”

Dio exasperatedly sighed. “I picked him up just a few months ago. You can ask him yourself, you know. He’s smarter than you think.”

Suzie huffed but turned to Giorno and held out a hand. “Since your father over there is being a stick in the mud, I will gladly introduce myself. My name is Suzie Q and I’m a friend of your family.” 

Giorno shook the hand. “I’m Giorno Joestar. I heard about you from Uncle Jonathan.”

“Oh good! That makes things a lot easier.” She took the book off the table. “Now, let me go run this book through the register so my manager doesn’t think i'm slacking on the job. I’ll even give you a discount!”

As she rang up the book at the counter, Dio spoke up. “Are you still staying with Joseph’s mother?”

“Ah, no. Caesar offered me to use his apartment since he’ll be going back to study abroad this month. But, I couldn’t possibly impose on him like that so I’m trying to earn some money to at least help with rent.” She handed over Dio’s receipt and gave Giorno the bag with his book. “What about you? Still living with Jonathan?”

“It recently came to my attention that it probably wouldn’t do any good to move out right now. Plus, Giorno grew attached to him and that mutt so I have no other choice, for now.”

Suzie leaned on the register and quirked an eyebrow. “ Really ? Are you sure it isn’t because you’ll miss them?”

Dio scoffed. “That’s preposterous.” His phone buzzed and he took one quick look before pocketing back into his jacket. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to take my son home. Farewell.”

“Ciao.” She waved them goodbye as he began to walk.

Overall, Giorno’s impression of Suzie was good. She wasn’t as wild and loud as Joseph but she was still able to joke a bit even if it was with Dio. Giorno still wondered how she ended up with Joseph and if she still held any feelings toward him. He may have cheated on her, but Giorno could tell he still cared about her enough to want to make it up to her. Giorno’s no matchmaker, so he wouldn’t attempt anything like that, but he at least wanted to get to know her a bit more.

He made a mental note to ask Jonathan if she could visit the estate at some point. Maybe he’ll ask about it when Jolyne comes over to visit, too.

The pair made it back to the manor just as the afternoon sun began to set. Giorno had gotten a bit hungry on the way there, but Dio told him that dinner would be ready when they got back. Giorno guessed that Erina wanted to borrow the kitchen again to test out a new recipe she found online. Whenever she did that, she would use them as her taste testers. 

Luckily, most of the food turned out well.

Dio unlocked the door and let Giorno step in first. His face was greeted with a dozen party poppers and an entire group of people yelling,

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GIORNO!”

Giorno was dumbstruck. 

He was so preoccupied with why everyone had been avoiding him that he had forgotten his own birthday.

Before Giorno could say a simple thank you, Jolyne hopped out of the group and started pulling him over to the kitchen. “Come on, Birthday boy! Let’s go eat the cake!”

“Jolyne, don’t force him if he doesn’t want to. It’s his birthday,” Jotaro reminded her.

She pouted but let go. “But, he’s my best friend! So, it’s also like my birthday, too!” Jolyne ran into the kitchen with a smiling Giorno trailing behind.

Jonathan chuckled. “It’s alright, Jotaro. Giorno looks like he’s having fun already. There shouldn’t be any harm in starting out cake first.”

Jotaro huffed. “For you , there isn’t.”

Overall, the night went better than Giorno could have imagined. The cake was a large sheet cake with two number candles stuck in the center to make the number 10. He and Jolyne video called Josuke so he wouldn’t miss out and they chatted the night away. There was a mountain of gifts waiting for him to open, but he only managed to get halfway through before he started falling asleep.

Giorno was so happy, he even slept with a small smile on his face.

Chapter Text

“C’mon, Giorno! You gotta check out the house!” Jolyne dragged the fifteen year old out of the car, leaving Jotaro to pick up his luggage for him.

Giorno decided that before he travelled back to Italy to pursue becoming a gangstar, (despite Jonathan’s more earnest career suggestions) he wanted to visit each of his relatives for a day before he left.

Once he told Jolyne, she quickly claimed the first day before anyone else.

Stepping out into the blazing Florida sun, Giorno examined the area as he was being manhandled by the ten year old.

The Kujos decided to live out on the beach front, both for Jotaro’s research and Jolyne’s entertainment. It was a relatively quiet area and Jolyne mentioned that the neighbors were mostly the elderly or people who had kids that moved out and started lives of their own. Either way, it was the perfect place for Jotaro. The divorcee wasn’t exactly the type you’d expect to live in a bustling area with too many people.

Giorno took his luggage from Jotaro as he came up to the front door voicing a small apology for the inconvenience. It was an insanely hot day and it was astounding that Jotaro could still carry them while wearing a jacket. Even Giorno, questioned the amount of sunblock he had put on the minute he left the airport doors.

The older man grunted in his usual reply, as he fished out the keys from his pocket and unlocked the door.

The inside of the house was a regular one floor home that could fit about three bedrooms inside. The front door opened up to the living room as well as an open kitchen packed with minimal cooking utensils and a relatively clean stove. The back door stood next to the kitchen with a small office tucked away on the other side.

Giorno started walking towards the guest bedroom before a small hand swiftly yanked him away from the room. 

“You can share my room with me!” Jolyne said as she tugged him over to her room.

Giorno looked to Jotaro. Whether he was pleading or looking for approval, Jotaro had no idea and only shrugged in response.

Jolyne’s room was more spacious than Giorno had thought. There was a small desk littered with anything and everything just thrown onto the table, clothes included. Her twin bed sat against the wall filled to the brim with plushies of disney princesses and stuffed animals.

“Jolyne, it's fine if I use the guest room. Besides, there’s hardly any room in here to fit my luggage.” Despite how big her room was, it was cluttered enough to the point that something was taking up room on any possible spots to place down his luggage.

The little girl looked around her room and finally caved in. “Okaay. I guess that’s why daddy tells me to clean it every week.” She hopped on her feet and crashed onto her bed. “Next time! I’ll have you and Josuke have a sleepover with me next time! Danny too!”

“Next time.” Giorno left to his temporary room and put away his luggage. By the time Jolyne came in, everything had been put away and he was lounging on the bed with his phone.

The little girl took her chance and belly flopped onto Giorno earning a resounding “ Ooof !” from the teen as all the wind got knocked out of him. Giorno caught his phone before it smacked onto his face and gave Jolyne a disapproving look.

The latter only smiled innocently as she relayed her message. “Daddy said we’re going to the aquarium in 10 minutes so come on! We’ll get lunch after!”

“I don’t think I’ll be in good shape to go to the aquarium if you crush my ribs, Jolyne.”

She quickly scrambled off of him and hopped to the doorway. “There! Now, you can go!”

Giorno chuckled as he got up from his bed and followed after the overexcited ten year old. The car ride was filled with trivia from Jolyne about the aquarium and why they always went there. Apparently, Jotaro worked part-time with the aquarium while he went to school and after attaining his doctorate he decided to do volunteer work for them whenever he was free.

Today, he was going to help out with the sea lion enclosure and Giorno was to keep an eye on Jolyne while he was gone. She didn’t exactly need to be watched but it kept the man from worrying too much whenever she was out of Star Platinum’s range.

Jolyne promptly began her journey around the entire aquarium as Giorno’s personal tour guide, starting from the back room with the sea lions and looping around the exhibits until they rounded back.

She pointed out nearly every fish in sight and went into detail about them without having to read from the exhibit signs. Giorno was impressed until he noticed a small bundle of blue string reading over the sign for angelfish. 

He pretended not to notice.

“This one is a pufferfish! It’s not all puffy because it’s not scared but you shouldn’t scare them because it’s mean and-”

Jolyne accidentally backed into another kid while explaining, breaking her train of thought. “Oops! Sorry!”

The blonde teen snapped at her. “Watch it, dumbass!”

Giorno stepped between them. “There’s no need to get so heated. It was an accident.”

“Yeah? Well, she should’ve watched where she was going instead of walking backwards like an idiot!”

Giorno’s piercing gold eyes met the other boy’s furious glare. “I would like you to refrain from speaking about my cousin like that.” There was something about the other boy that Giorno couldn’t put his finger on. The way he looked seemed almost familiar despite him knowing full well he’s never had the displeasure of meeting such a person.

“Ha. No wonder you’re coming here to defend her. Shoulda known only idiots would come over to defend idiots. It must run in the family-”

In just a split second, Giorno’s fist slammed into the other boy’s face. Giorno wasn’t exactly too sure what came over him but he was certain he hated every word that boy spat out of his mouth. 

Who did he think he was to berate his family like that? Over a simple accident no less.

 Jolyne’s mouth was agape but she quickly shifted from being shocked to being...proud? “Way to go, GioGio!” She provided him a thumbs up.

He may have felt a tad justified in his punch, but that didn’t make him feel any less guilty for punching him over some petty insults. Giorno held out a hand. “Sorry about that. I’m sorry for losing my composure like that.”

The other boy spat on the ground and instead of taking his hand, he retaliated and punched him in the gut.

What started out as a single punch, devolved into a full out fight between the two teenagers. Giorno was mostly on the defense trying to apprehend the other boy with as minimal damage as possible.

Thankfully, Jolyne sent out Stone Free to tie up the other boy’s arms and legs, causing him to trip and fall onto the carpeted floor. Giorno was just about to thank Jolyne when he noticed a slightly more pissed off Jotaro standing next to her.

“ Giorno. ” All it took was just his name to send him a chill down his spine.

Giorno walked over to the man and bowed his head in an apology. “I’m sorry Mr. Jotaro. Things got out of hand and it’s entirely my fault.”

“That’s not true!” Jolyne objected. “The other kid was saying mean things about me and our family! If he didn’t punch him, I would have!”

Jotaro gave Jolyne a stern look in response. 

She sheepishly looked away.

The man sighed. “You’re both going to be staying with me until I finish work and you both aren’t allowed back into the exhibit hall without my supervision. Do you understand?”

They both nodded. It sounded fair.

“Good. Jolyne, untie the boy.”

She pouted but did as she was told. Now that the boy was released, he was charging towards Giorno only to be stopped by a furious voice.

“DONATELLO!” A dark haired man stomped his way over with two little girls following after him. He snatched Donatello’s arm before he could get any closer and pulled him back. “Is this what you’re up to after you get released from prison? Starting a fight in the middle of the aquarium??”

“But, I didn’t-”

The man smacked his head. “Don’t lie to me! Can you believe how furious I was to see your sisters run up to me telling me you got into a fight? We’re going home and you’re grounded!”

Giorno looked up to Jotaro. “Is it alright if I go apologize first?”

Jotaro nodded and Giorno walked over to the seething father. “Excuse me, sir.”

Giorno straightened his back despite the pain. “I’m so sorry for starting that fight. I was the one who threw the first punch and I can’t apologize enough for it.”

Donatello’s father simmered down a bit. “It’s alright. I’m sure you only did it because he said something uncalled for.”

Giorno was confused but let it go. It had been a long day and his bruises were aching. “Thank you and have a nice day.”

Giorno and the Kujo pair went back to the employee’s only area, leaving Jolyne to help tend to his wounds while Jotaro continued his work. 

The day had passed rather uneventfully after that, with the three of them eating out at a McDonald’s next door and crashing to sleep soon after.

The next day, Giorno woke up to the smell of bacon sizzling on the stove. He got up with a yawn and checked in on the kitchen.

“Daddy, you suck at this. All you can cook is the bacon!”

Jotaro had been cooking up a few eggs, hastily turned scrambled while Jolyne supervised him. His cooking was nowhere near the level of bad as Jonathan but the eggs weren’t exactly something you’d want to present to an actual chef.

Jotaro grunted at Jolyne’s Ramsay-like comments and plopped the fully cooked scrambled(?) eggs on a plate. Jolyne turned around and greeted the tired Giorno. “Mornin’ GioGio!”

Giorno waved a hand and grabbed an empty plate. The trio sat down at the kitchen island and chowed down on their bacon and eggs served with steaming hot coffee. Except for Jolyne, who opted for the last glass of orange juice in the fridge. The doorbell rang shortly after they dug into their plates.

“I can get it,” Giorno volunteered after taking a swig from his overly sugary coffee. He would have added creamers if Jotaro kept any in the house.

Jotaro stood up before Giorno could make it to the door. “No, it’s fine. I’ll get it.”

Giorno didn’t refute and sat back down. He felt a bit sorry since the only person on the other side of that door would be the most exhausting human on the planet. He had only wanted to save him from the trouble of ruining his morning.

“Goood morning, my dearest little brother-” Jotaro proceeded to slam the door shut before Joseph finished speaking. The man downed his mug of straight black coffee like his life depended on it and finally reopened the door. “That was quite rude, you know!”

“It’s too early in the morning to deal with your bullshit.”

“Well, too bad. It’s my turn now to hang out with our little nephew! Annnd, I brought someone with me!” He turned to his side and gently pushed them up.

It was a little girl with long black hair tied up into twin tails with little pink bows on each tail and she wore an oversized spiderman hoodie wrapped around her waist. Her eyes were dark brown and she shyly clung to Joseph’s leg like it was her lifeline.

“C’mon Shizuka! This here is your Uncle Jotaro! He helped take care of you a lot when you were a baby!”

“H-hello…” Her voice was soft and small, trembling with anxiety. Suddenly, her hand began to slowly disappear along with Joseph’s pants.

Jotaro crouched down to her eye level and patted her head. “Nice to see you, Shizuka. Do you want to come in for some ice cream?”

The little girl nodded her head enthusiastically, her limbs reappearing. “Mhm!”

Jotaro sidestepped to let her in while calling into the kitchen. “Jolyne, can you put out the ice cream for Shizuka? You can have some, too.”

There was a squeal of utter joy as the girl shoveled the rest of her breakfast into her mouth and ran to the freezer. Giorno was almost in awe seeing her down a glass of orange juice in under a minute.

Shizuka ran in but stopped a few feet away from the counter.

Jolyne greeted her brightly. “Hiya, Shizu! Ya want some ice cream?”

The little girl nodded her head and approached the counter. Giorno stepped out of her way and took the ice cream tub. “I should be the one to scoop out the servings. You’ll take half the tub if you do it, Jolyne.”

Jolyne huffed but sat down and set out the bowls.

“How many scoops do you want, Shizuka?” Giorno asked.

“T-three..?”

Giorno nodded. “Three scoops, then.” He plopped the scoops into a bowl and slid the bowl over. Jolyne stabbed a spoon into the mountain of ice cream.

The three of them chowed down on their ice cream before they headed out to the airport where Giorno, Joseph, and Shizuka took their flight up to New York. Jolyne waved at the plane from atop of Jotaro’s shoulders until it was out of sight.

Before they went back to Joseph’s penthouse, the trio detoured to a Starbucks and Giorno asked if they could drop by the bookstore, too.

Maybe it was a little cruel to not let him know that Suzie Q was holding a book for him because the moment they went to the counter, Joseph nearly choked on his frappe.

“S-Suzie! I didn’t know you worked here!” 

She laughed nervously. “Ahahaha, yeah I work here part-time. What are you doing here? You don’t seem like the book type.”

“Oh, no. I’m here for Giorno. He said he wanted to drop by for something.”

“That’s right!“ Suzie Q took her chance to distract herself from this awkward situation. “You have a book on hold, right? Let me get that for you-”

“Oh don’t worry, Miss Suzie. You can take your time, I’ll be showing Shizuka around to the comics.” He crouched down to look at Shizuka and pointed at her jacket. “You like spiderman right?”

The young girl nodded enthusiastically.

Giorno smiled. “Then, follow me. I know where some of the good comics are kept.” Before Suzie Q could protest, he took the small girl by the hand and walked them over to the comic section. 

Browsing around the Spiderman section, Giorno picked out a few that Shizuka said she'd never seen yet. They amassed quite a bit of comics by the time they left to sit down in the lounge chairs nearby.

“Do you know how to read?” Giorno asked as he pulled her up to sit on his lap.

The little girl shook her head. “Uncle Cece said he’ll teach me when he gets back from school.”

Ah. Of course.

Caesar had a knack for treating the Joestar kids much like his own. He got along well with them and taught them a few handy tricks and tips for life. Jolyne learned how to cook simple meals and also tell half truths that sounded convincing. That last trick got Caesar banned from visiting the Kujo residence for a week. When Giorno asked Joseph about it, he told him that Caesar has a ton of younger siblings he took care of because his mother was often ill.

Giorno could tell Caesar doted on the Joestar kids as if they were his own, earning him the title of best honorary uncle from the kids.

Giorno read the comics aloud to the little girl while pausing every so often to let her look at the pictures. He tried to give each character a different voice all while changing his tone to fit the character’s, only to end up with terrible impressions that made Shizuka giggle nonstop.

He considered that a win even though he vows to never embarrass himself like that again.

Soon enough, Joseph and Suzie Q walked over to the pair of kids looking much less awkward than when they first walked through the door.

Joseph called to them as he walked. “Gio! Shizu! We’re leaving now and I bought the book you asked for!”

Giorno placed Shizuka down on the ground and picked up the piles of comics they snagged from the shelves.

“Oh don’t worry about those, Giorno.” Suzie Q took the stack in his hands and placed them on a nearby cart. “I can get those for you. You can go.” She smiled at him gently.

Giorno nodded and Shizuka took his hand to walk with him over to her father. She squeezed his hand gently to get his attention. “Wi-will you read to me again, GioGio?”

The boy smiled gently at her. “Of course.”

To Giorno, Japan was like a different world.

Sure, he was born and lived there, but that was when he was barely old enough to talk.

Josuke waved over to him as he sprinted at full speed, hellbent on colliding into the younger teen. “Giornoooo!”

The smaller boy braced for impact as the pompadour wearing seventeen year old crushed him in a bear hug. Giorno laughed at the aggressive form of affection. “You’re gonna crush my bones before I can even walk into your house.”

Josuke laughed and let go. “Sorry about that. It’s just the first time you’ve visited me here!”

The pair walked down to Josuke’s house while the boy gave him a detailed tour of the small town of Morioh. The town was mainly a tourist attraction but Giorno couldn’t understand why until Josuke mentioned the strange tourist hotspots scattered around the place. Angelo the rock, the bouncing cliff, and the unfortunately closed down Cinderella beauty parlor.

Every instance, Giorno deduced that it was clearly stand powers at play. The younger boy confronted him on his hypothesis and Josuke’s reaction confirmed his suspicions. The older teen swore him to secrecy about it before spilling the truth.

Surprisingly, Morioh was home to the most stand users Giorno’s ever seen. A lot of Josuke’s friends were stand users as well as just some ordinary people like a local Italian chef and a mangaka that Josuke was hellbent on avoiding.

Apparently it was due to a stand arrow that Giorno heard about from Dio. The arrow was in the clutches of a guy that only wanted to cure their father’s ailment.

“Oi, Josuke!” A rough voice called out to him in Japanese.

The boy before them wore his school uniform that was tricked out with multiple pins much like Josuke’s own. He had two peculiar scars along his face that made his head almost identical with a baseball.

Josuke greeted him in a similar format, hugging the boy and introducing Giorno in Japanese. Although Giorno couldn’t understand what was being said, he understood the gist of what was going on.

“Giorno, this is Okuyasu! One of my best friends!”

Giorno gave a wave. “Hello.”

The gruff boy beamed back a smile. “Hi!”

The trio continued on their way, making a small detour that Josuke tried very hard to avoid.

Eventually, the boy reluctantly sighed and gave in to the suggestion of asking the mangaka for help. Since Giorno couldn’t understand very much Japanese, they had decided to see if they could cash in a favor from the local near omnipotent mangaka stand user.

As soon as the door opened at their knock, the man slammed it shut.

This irked Josuke, causing him to bust open the door. Literally .

“You better fix that! I am not paying for another piece of property damage from you. Last time you burned down my house!”

Giorno raised an eyebrow at the words ‘burned’ and ’house’ only to see Josuke sheepishly avoiding Giorno’s gaze.

“I didn’t burn your house down, you did that yourself! Anyway, we just wanted to ask you for a favo-”

“No.”

“You didn’t let me finish!”

The mangaka crossed his arms. “Whatever it is, no. I am not helping you.” He walked back into his house, stepping over the chunks of broken wood.

Josuke sighed and kicked a piece of the fallen door, repairing it in an instant. He turned back to Giorno looking apologetic. “Sorry about that, Giorno. That was Rohan the mangaka stand user. We wanted to see if we could get him to make you able to understand Japanese at least, but it looks like that’s a no go.”

Giorno waved him off. “Oh, it’s okay. I’m fine, you don’t have to go through the trouble.”

Josuke sniffled and tackled him in a hug. “Giornooooo! You’re so niceee!”

The trio left the mangaka’s house and headed back home where they ended up playing video games all day. The day may have ended uneventfully, but Giorno considered it a perfect way to end before he started his new life that’ll probably be much more eventful and dramatic than he had expected.

Chapter Text

The bar was loud as always at this time of night. Much of the residents of Cairo, as well as, many tourists tended to frequent this bar as a way to escape their day jobs and fool around in the dark of night. Only the stars were there to judge what went on under the cover of darkness.

Dio himself had partaken in entertaining a few of the tourists and locals quite frequently, always showing them their wildest fantasies before escaping them once the sun rose. He couldn’t say he hated the activity, but he wouldn’t say he enjoyed it all the time. People were needy and clingy enough to attempt to grab onto his shadow in hopes of him to look their way.

He never does.

Dio lazily swirled his glass as he took up some idle conversation with the bar owner, Daniel D’arby. The man was preparing another customer’s drink, watchfully gazing that nearly empty glass in Dio’s hands. 

The blonde downed the last of his drink. “-Anyway, if a young man named Pucci drops by here, do point him over to my manor. We’re getting close to a breakthrough with-”

“Dio ?” An unfamiliar voice gasped at the table behind him.

It was a group of five men Dio could have sworn he’s never seen before. The aforementioned voice was from a young man who couldn’t be older than twenty, sporting a black crop top with jeans. Dio wasn’t one to knit-pick on other people’s fashion, but blue jeans in the Egyptian summer was not something he would condone wearing.

The young teenager next to him drowned in black (possibly a school uniform but who in their right mind would wear such a thing out here) looked like he was about ready to kill a man the moment their eyes connected. His icy blue eyes glared daggers into the blonde man that Dio couldn’t help but wonder how in the world he could have offended the little prick by just existing.

Apparently, he needed not to worry about asking because the teen shot up from the table and grabbed him by the collar. 

“You piece of shit!” The boy spat in his face.

Dio used The World to escape his grip, albeit a rather strong grip for a boy his age, and fixed up his shirt. He had a couple extra seconds to spare, so he decided to use it wisely by throwing a rather hefty punch into the boy’s chest. 

As time resumed, he was now glaring back at the confused pair of icy blue eyes that crashed back into the table he came from. “Do you mind? I don’t know or even care what offended you, but do know I don’t enjoy being manhandled like that.”

Confusion only lasted a half a second before that infernal temper came back once again. “You know what you did, asshole! You completely dissappeared for five entire fucking years!”

The man only scoffed in return. “I have no idea what the hell you’re spouting.” Dio turned his gaze back to D’arby. “Show them out, will you? If they stay any longer I’ll get a headache from all this.”

“Whoa, whoa. Hold on a sec, Dio,” The brown haired man tried to reach out a hand to him, only to have his wrist twisted by the bartender.

“I’m afraid you’ll have to refrain from touching the boss or else you’ll lose that hand.”

A couple more workers shuffled over to the group and quite literally threw them out onto the street. Dio sat back on the bar as D’arby tossed him a new drink.

This time, he downed the glass in one go.

Dio tried not to think too much about that night as his days passed, but unfortunately that group was persistent. They followed him everywhere like a stain on his shoe to the point that he had to enlist Enyaba to take care of them. That seemed to slow them down for at least two weeks until they managed to find his house.

He was almost impressed at their persistence. Almost.

"So it seems you've managed to make it this far," Dio called from the stairs. He made a mental note that Terence and Vanilla Ice were nowhere to be found as he surveyed the bottom stairwell. The group had their stands ready, glaring up at the blonde.

“You’ve got nowhere to run, Dio!” Joseph yelled across the room. “We only wanted to talk!”

“Talk? That kid sure has a funny way of talking things out with his fists,” Dio’s eyes narrowed at Jotaro who glared back.

“It was a heat of the moment, ya know? He didn’t mean to, we were all just surprised.”

Dio scoffed. “You’re wasting my time. I have bigger things to handle than dealing with some persistent rats I met at a bar.”

“Met?” The redhead, Kakyoin if Dio recalled correctly from Enyaba’s report, glanced over at Joseph. “I thought you said he was your brother?”

“He is! Just-” Joseph furrowed his brows. “We were worried about you when you disappeared for so long. You may have been adopted but you're still a part of our family. You’re a Joestar and we’re your brothers.” He gestured to himself and Jotaro who only quirked an eyebrow at the man.

“I’ve never seen any of you in my life, let alone have bro-” He felt his head throb as if it were about to split in two. Bits and pieces of his childhood began to instantaneously resurface from the back of his mind. He knew most of it, his deadbeat father, the death of his mother and the bruises he hid under his sleeves everyday he went out to steal another pack of booze for that bastard. But, there were also a few different memories mixed in. Ones of a dark haired boy whom he called a brother in public but fought to near death with at home.

Joestar.

That was a name that filled Dio with an unimaginable rage and annoyance.

He pushed down his emotions as he remembered what he was here for. He was almost at a breakthrough with his research and he wasn’t about to let any Joestars ruin it like they ruined his life.

I don’t have time for this.

Pucci was going to arrive again soon and Dio didn’t want to keep the boy waiting. He was a vital part of his plan to attain heaven but he was also a friend. In the short moment he knew the young boy, Dio learned he rather enjoyed bouncing ideas back and forth with the kid. It was nice to find someone who wasn’t afraid to challenge his ideas while also having a loyalty of friendship rather than one of servitude.

Dio stopped time and weaved through the group of uninvited house guests. As he brushed past Jotaro, the boy gripped his arm and kept him from walking any further.

How?

Panic began to well up inside the blonde as time began to tick forward. Everyone’s eyes whipped around to Jotaro who held Dio’s forearm in a deathly grip. Before any words could be uttered, Dio used The World and slammed a fist into Jotaro’s side. His grip loosened and Dio bolted out of the mansion, stopping time every now and then to gain extra distance.

He fled so far, he could hardly see his mansion over the expanse of all the buildings between them. Dio caught his breath at the top of a stairwell, recalculating and adjusting his plans as his breathing slowed.

He still had enough time to get back to his manor before Pucci arrived.

The sound of footsteps at the bottom of the stairs dragged him out of his thoughts.

Fucking hell! 

Of all the people to find him, Jotaro stood there in his black student uniform patiently waiting at his only exit. The teen looked up at the blonde man with some form of pity in those bright blue eyes.

It made Dio’s skin itch with a burning rage. “Don’t give me that look!”

Jotaro held his hands up in defense. “Calm down. You don’t remember anything, do you? We can help you.”

It was true, Dio couldn’t recall very much aside from his childhood and his recent activity in Egypt. He had long since self-diagnosed that he was suffering from some form of post traumatic retrograde amnesia. However, he long since dismissed it as unimportant.

He didn’t want to know what could be lurking in those memories nor did he need to. 

If it was anything like his childhood, he definitely wouldn’t miss it.

“I don’t want your help,” Dio spat. “I don’t need it. I’ve been doing well enough without my memories, I doubt it would change much.” His mind was split, half listening to the boy and half running down ways to escape or kill him. So far, his plans have yet to come up with a solution to bypass the fact that he can also move in stopped time. He was so used to relying on his ‘undefeatable’ power, making this the worst conceivable situation he could have found himself in. Dio couldn’t even be too sure if this boy was also capable of the ability to stop time as well. 

Jotaro took a step forward, sending Star Platinum out with him. “I’m not here to negotiate. You’re coming with us to sort things out whether you want to or not.”

“I should’ve had you all killed at that bar-” Dio took an unconscious step back only to feel his foot pass through air. Once his mind caught up with his falling body, it was already too late. He was too close to the staircase to stop himself and it would only be futile to attempt to stop time now. 

Dio hadn’t bothered to glance up at the boy who witnessed such an embarrassing miscalculation. He wasn’t sure if he could bear to see what reflected in those burning bright blue eyes.

Those eyes that looked exactly like Jonathan’s.

Dio woke up feeling extremely exhausted.

He gingerly sat up in the hospital bed, letting the throbbing of his headache wake himself up a bit more. He glanced out at the window next to him, watching the bright lights of cars race by in the night. 

He knew where he was. It was the closest hospital near his manor in Cairo. 

He also knew who brought him here. Jotaro Kujo, the newest addition to the Joestar family, one who had been living in Japan his entire life with his mother and stepfather. Jonathan had managed to track him down after the death of his father and welcome the distant family with open arms. Dio couldn’t imagine the confusion it must have been to suddenly find a hulking British man at his doorstep claiming to be his brother.

The blonde recalled everything from his life, including what drove him in this position in the first place.

He fought with Jonathan frequently. It was honestly no surprise it would spiral so out of control. This particular fight was the last straw, he never bothered to contact the man out of a lingering rage and just a small part of guilt. However, he never planned to completely disappear for five entire years.

Dio helped a client in one of his cases that offered him a trip to Cairo as a token of gratitude. He decided to take it to clear his head a bit and plan his next steps forward on that vacation. His luck was just unfortunate enough to land him in a car crash that stole most of his memories.

After that, everything went simply. He met Enyaba who provided him with a home and a stand, as well as a multitude of people willing to serve under him and worship the ground he walked on as much as she did. It made his life easier and he did get a kick out of finally getting the recognition he believed he deserved. But, there was something lacking.

Something he couldn’t quite describe that burned at the back of his mind as he continued his new life. Even after he found a formidable friend in Pucci, he still couldn’t shake that feeling like he still lacked something.   

Dio rested his head back down on the thin hospital pillow. He felt tired. It was as if he lived an entire lifetime already and he was at the end of his time.

The next day, the hospital door creaked open to a teenager in an all too familiar black cap. The boy cautiously walked in under the gaze of those golden eyes. 

“Do you know who I am?” He finally asked after settling into the guest chair.

Dio snorted in his usually haughty manner. “Who do you take me for, Jotaro?”

Although that boy didn’t show it on his face, he could see the tension release from his shoulders. Jotaro was relieved, but he wouldn’t dare admit it to the man. “I’ll be taking you back to America with Joseph. We’re going to visit Jonathan first thing in the morning. I’ve already called him about it so don’t bother trying to weasel your way out of it.”

Dio didn’t fight the boy on the matter. “Fine.”

He was checked out of the hospital shortly after and took the next flight to New York with the group. He didn’t need nor want to go back to his mansion in Cairo. He now understood the mistakes he made back there and the pointless efforts he put into them. It would be pointless to go back there and try to search for things he’ll never miss.

The flight passed by idly. Dio spent most of it planning on how to rearrange his life back on track thanks to that five year fuck up that royally screwed him over. He doubted his landlord was nice enough to let him back into the suite after not paying five years worth of rent. He was essentially homeless now, which shouldn’t last too long if he picked up a couple more jobs. He had a bit more faith in his law firm to handle itself for those five years, so he wasn’t too concerned about that crashing and burning to the ground in his absence.

When they arrived in New York, it never really hit him that he hadn’t come up with what he was going to do when he saw Jonathan. In fact, it was only when that familiar door to the Joestar estate opened with a swing did he realize he had no idea what to do.

The pair of brothers just stood there.

It felt as if hours passed by until Jonathan finally moved.

Dio braced for the impact of a well deserved punch to the face or well anything except for a hug.

 A tight, bear hug.

Jonathan may not have got along or liked Dio very much in the past but he was still his family. He was still as much of his brother whom he cared about just as much as his blood related brothers. Yes, Jonathan was angry for him vanishing like that and he was certainly mad at the fact that he managed to stir up trouble in Egypt of all places. But, more than that, he felt the immense relief that he was back and he was alive.

Dio didn’t know what to do.

For the longest time, he stood stock still and frozen.

He was confused. 

Why would JoJo do this after everything he’s put him through? Wouldn’t it be more gratifying to punch him in the face for being so stupid?

But,

Dio didn’t want him to let go.

It was warm. It was a warmth the blonde hadn’t felt in a long time. He couldn’t even be sure if he actually ever received such a thing from his own mother before she died. It felt as if he finally found that missing thing he lacked in Egypt. That one thing no one else could provide to him back in his mansion.

It gave him the feeling that he actually had a family.

A real family.

After Jonathan pulled away, they agreed to reconcile and start over as brothers. Dio agreed to temporarily stay with Jonathan in the mansion until he got his life back in order.

Chapter Text

It had been six and a half years since Giorno took over Passione and this week he decided to go and visit home before he went down to Florida to bail Jolyne out of jail for suspected robbery. Jolyne was always a very studious and diligent girl, so the accusations seemed pretty out of the blue but it had been over six years since he’d seen her. The girl could have found herself in with a bad crowd and if Giorno’s own experiences at the young age of fifteen had any point of reference, it was that teenagers tended to get into strange scenarios. Especially, Joestars.

Normally, Jotaro would be the one to drive out and bail her out of jail, probably coupled with a lecture on picking the right friends and not ending up like Uncle Joseph, but Giorno wanted an excuse to fly away from the pressures of running an entire syndicate and studying for his GED. When he first took over Passione, Bruno never let Giorno skip out on school, even going so far as to enlist Mista to monitor him while he did his homework whenever the man was taking on a mission. The workload of early secondary school coupled with the job of running an entire syndicate had been so bone-crushingly exhausting that he struck a deal with Bruno. He would finish out his middle school term and study for his GED when the job stabilized.

Giorno arrived in New York along with Narancia, Fugo and Mista. Narancia pestered Giorno to come with so he could finally see what America was like and Mista was put in charge by Bruno to make sure the three of them didn’t get into any trouble. More specifically Fugo and Narancia but Bruno knew Giorno could get into as much trouble as them even if it wasn’t caught by the local police.

“Hey, look! Let’s go check out that Starbucks! I never got a chance to get anything in Milano when we went with Trish.” Before anyone could say anything, Narancia was already racing off to the other side of the street where the Starbucks sat.

Fugo sighed. “I’ll go translate for him before he realizes he can’t read anything on the menu.” The blonde had given him a crash course in English before they left and while his speaking wasn’t horrible, Narancia couldn’t really get too far with the reading part.

Giorno nodded. “We can all go grab a coffee in there before we go visit my house. I’ll tell my uncle we’ll be a bit late.” He glanced over to Mista for approval who looked all too relieved to hear the word coffee. The jet lag must have taken a toll on him since he got the least amount of sleep before the flight.

The small group of gangsters made their way into the coffeehouse and let Narancia order their drinks for them at the counter. Surprisingly, he managed to get down Giorno’s exact overly sugary order without having to ask him to repeat it.

The dark haired man returned to the table with his arms full of all their drinks. “Here’s your bean waters.” He stole a sip from Mista’s only to gag from the pitch black coffee and nearly drown himself in his orange juice. “Eugh, the coffee guy said Gio’s should be coming up later.”

As if right on cue, the barista called out his name. “Giorno Joestar?”

The blonde quickly made his way over to the counter before Narancia could take it and steal a sip from his cup. In the six years that Giorno had known the other, he knew Narancia would always try to snag a taste from everyone’s drink unless it was something he didn’t like. It was odd considering how picky he was with food but Giorno just learned to assume he only did it mostly to irritate everyone else.

A voice sounded beside him. “Excuse me, young man,” The owner of said voice was a man dressed neatly in a catholic cassock. His dark skin contrasted with his white hair which was cut into intricate patterns. “You are a Joestar, correct?”

Giorno stabbed a straw into his drink. His mind ran through a couple of possible options this stranger could possibly be. Maybe an acquaintance of Joseph? But, knowing his uncle he wasn’t exactly the super religious type to get chummy with a priest of all people. Another thought was that maybe he knew Jonathan. It was possible since the man was quite friendly and easygoing but he was usually busy with his archeology job to put away a Sunday visit to a priest.

Giorno took a sip from his frappuccino and evenly replied, “Yes, was there anything you need from my family?”

“Oh, no it’s nothing urgent. Do you also happen to know of Dio Brando? He’s an old friend of mine.”

This piqued the blonde’s curiosity. 

His father wasn’t exactly known to have many friends. In fact, almost everyone outside of his family was more so considered a good acquaintance or business partner than a friend. It would have to take a lot of persistence and skill to impress Dio of all people to even consider someone as a friend.

“I happen to be his son but I don’t ever recall my father ever mentioning having a friend such as yourself.” To be honest, the man never actually told him about the people he interacted with but Pucci didn’t have to know that. 

The older man chuckled. “Well, your father is quite the private person. I’m sure you already knew that. I came into town to tell him some important news I found that I believe would be best for him to hear in person but I, unfortunately, had no idea of his current address. I was just about to ask around until I ran into you. It must have been fate that led us here.”

Giorno could tell there was some truth to his words but he couldn’t just let his guard drop completely. “I can relay him the message for you right now if you’d like.”

“If it’s no trouble. Tell him Enrico wished to talk to him about the stars.”

He pulled out his phone and sent the quick text to his father. Almost immediately after, Dio replied with one message. ‘Show him the way here.’

Well, that confirmed it.

He was definitely a friend of Dio’s. If he wasn’t, Dio would have either turned him away or told him to meet up somewhere else. The man didn’t like bringing others over to the mansion for his privacy and distrust of the other party.

Giorno raised an eyebrow at the message only to pocket his phone back into his jacket. “Alright. I was on my way home anyway so you can join us in the car.” He waved a hand over to his table and the boys followed him out the door.

Mista glanced over his shoulder and whispered to Giorno. “Who’s this guy?”

The blonde barely gave him a glance under his sunglasses as he drove. “A friend of my father’s, apparently. He shouldn’t be much trouble, though.”

Mista nodded. He had been working under Giorno long enough to know what he really meant.

Keep an eye out and stay on guard.

“So,” Mista announced loud enough for Pucci to hear. “How do you know Gio’s pops?”

“We met at a church. He was reading some of the books they kept and I struck up some conversation.” The answer seemed simple enough, but Giorno could tell he was oversimplifying it.

“A church? So, you’re really a priest, right?” Mista sent numbers 1 and 3 to monitor the priest while they talked.

The man chuckled lightly. “Yes, I currently work for a local church but I’ll be transferring to a prison down in Florida by next week. That’s why I wanted to find Dio now rather than later.” His eyes didn’t spare the small yellow stands a single glance as they landed on his shoulder.

“Florida, huh? What a coincidence, we’re headed there, too.”

“Fate works in mysterious ways.”

The car pulled into the estate entrance while Narancia and Mista couldn’t contain their awe at the sight of the manor.

“Holy fuck, Giorno!”

“You’ve been living in a place like this and never bothered to bring us?!”

Giorno shut the car door and took off his shades. “I would have, but you know how demanding this job is and school .” 

The front door opened with Jonathan ready to welcome him back in a tight hug. “Giorno! Welcome back!”

The blonde smiled and patted his back. “Sorry I haven’t visited in so long. I assume father hasn’t been too much of a handful for you.”

“Surprisingly, he’s been very calm lately. In fact, he hasn’t made a rude comment at how I eat since Erina moved in. I think she’s been whipping him into being a nicer human being for once.”

“It must have been a very difficult task for her. She must have the patience of a saint.”

Erina came up from the living room and gave Giorno a welcoming hug as well. “Ah, yes. My patience is no match for Dio’s nasty attitude. Soon, he’ll be so nice he could be worthy of being called my brother-in-law.”

“You wish , Pendelton,” The aforementioned blonde stepped out of the library. He nodded to Giorno. “Welcome back, Giorno. Did you bring Enrico with you?”

“He’s being interrogated by Mista right now.” The younger blonde stepped to the side to show Mista knee-deep in a conversation with Pucci while Fugo and Narancia shuffled around in the car for their bags. Giorno waved over at them. “Mista, bring him over here.”

Mista complied, dragging along the priest during their conversation. The priest never said anything that would raise alarm to Mista and he never showed a sign of interest in the extra pairs of legs resting on his shoulder. As they reached the door, Pucci was at the end of his speech. “Thank you for humoring me with a conversation. Although, I don’t appreciate being watched from my shoulders even if you were right to be cautious.”

Sex Pistols jumped in the air as Mista and Giorno stilled. “The hell! You were a stand user, too? Why didn’t you say anything?”

“You never asked. It would have been risky to say anything when you were all still so wary of me.”

Giorno looked at his father who only shrugged. “I thought it was obvious. Stand users attract Stand users after all.”

“Indeed. It is wonderful to see you again, Dio.” Pucci held out a cappuccino to the blonde. “Coffee?”

Dio took the drink. “A coffee? What business did you have with me that made you want to ensure my good favor?”

“Well, I did want to catch up on lost time but you’re correct. There’s something urgent I must discuss with you and I believe your son may also want to hear this as well.”

Giorno raised an eyebrow and beckoned his friends inside. “Is it a family matter?”

“You could say that.” Pucci took a seat at the dining table along with the father and son pair. “Dio, how much of your time spent in Cairo do you recall?”

The man grimaced. Judging from that reaction, Giorno could tell he remembered everything clear as day. “Just about everything, I suppose.”

“Good. Then I’m sure you won’t take this as too much of a surprise since you did raise your son here into a fine young man.”

The gears were turning in Giorno’s head. “What are you insinuating?”

“Whether this news is good or not is up to you.” The priest cleared his throat. “Recently, I spent some time in Florida and made an interesting discovery. Giorno is not the only illegitimate son Dio had.”

“ WHAT ?!”