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Giorno Giovanna had a problem. Mind you, being the Don of a mafia gang, it shouldn’t be surprising that Giorno had to deal with constant issues every day. He was used to rival gangs stepping into Passione’s territory; corrupt politicians trying to extort more money from him or even rogue stand users causing mayhem in town. No, what was bothering Giorno Giovanna for now three long years wasn’t particularly Passione’s business as it was solely Giorno’s. His problem could be resumed as such: stupid feelings for a stupid cute boy. Said cute boy was his underboss and best friend Guido Mista and said feelings were an undying love burning in his heart since the day they fought against the White Album’s user. The thing is, Giorno’s feelings weren’t in fact the issue as being in love with someone was a great sentiment to experience. No, Mista was.
You see, Guido Mista was a smart man, with great observing skills and quick witted; he made for an excellent right-hand man and had great insight into things. But the man was oblivious as hell when it came to himself.
Giorno was flirting with the man for three embarrassing years and Mista didn’t seem to notice. Giorno’s flirting was painfully obvious for everyone to see except for, well, Mista, and every time the Don of Passione failed to make his feelings come across, Polnareff would invite him into his office in the turtle to hear Giorno rant about the man’s obliviousness. Polnareff would just laugh and serve him another glass of 1997 Château d’Yquem. These nights spent chatting and drinking expensive wine were frequent, too frequent if you asked Giorno, and always left him feeling exhausted and a bit sad.
The sadness quickly went away and was replaced by a deep motivation and stubbornness: he would keep flirting with the man until he understood and flirted back!! Giorno was too proud to confess his feelings now that he spent all this time and effort coming up with cheesy pick-up lines –he knew Mista loved all those sappy movies and thought it would work- just to let it all go to waste! It was time Giorno step up his game, he decided while dialing Mista’s favorite restaurant’s number. A way to a man’s heart is through his stomach after all.
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1/
It was Friday evening and Giorno was torn between two choices: should he wear his deep low-cut neckline pink shirt or the blue one? He had no one to give him advice since it was usually Mista who did it but he couldn’t ask the man since it was for him that Giorno was getting all hot and sexy. He sighed for the nth time and decided to go with the blue one – he remembered Mista telling him once that it brought out the blue of his eyes. After putting the shirt on, he checked his watch; he had one hour left before Mista came to pick him up, plenty of time to do his make-up and hair. While applying his foundation, he thought about Mista and what he would be wearing –he had asked him to dress smart. The man rarely wore anything else beside cashmere sweaters and leather pants, always saying that he worked better if dressed casually. Thus Giorno’s enthusiasms for tonight’s dinner date – even though Mista probably thought of it as just a bros hanging out kinda night. When he deemed he looked hot enough, he went to his living room to wait for Mista. I just hope he gets it this time, I can’t be more forward than booking a whole section of the restaurant just for us, Giorno thought.
Maybe I need to serenade him after all, Giorno sighed internally for the third time that evening. They were eating their antipasti and Giorno had so far 1/complimented how nice Mista’s body looked in a three piece suit; 2/swayed his hips way too much for the short trip between Mista’s car and the restaurant’s entrance and 3/casually touched his hand too many times to be a coincidence. Giorno was starting to lose hope but seeing Mista so happy and relaxed was worth all the effort he put into this dinner “date”. They were eating at Mista’s favorite restaurant after all and the man was agreeably surprised to see they were the only one at the back of the room.
They were now eating in a comfortable silence when Giorno said: “Mista” lazily drawling the last letter, “do you have a type?”
Mista chewed his mouthful for a bit, swallowed and then said “type of what?”
Giorno sighed, again, and replied, “Type of people Mista. You know, when you date”
He accentuated the word and gestured around him with his fork. He then added, “Personally speaking, I like tall black haired men with a good sense of humor” his mouth said but his eyes screamed I’m talking about you Mista! It’s you that I like! –but the message didn’t seem to come across since Mista replied with “Oooh It’s cool Gio! Hope you find someone who likes you for you and care about you soon!” he said all that with the most adorable smile and Giorno would have find it very cute if not for the pang in his heart. He means well, he’s just oblivious as hell Giorno thought.
“Thank you Mista but you see the thing is, I already have someone in mind who I want to da-“
He was then interrupted by his phone ringing – his phone for professional emergencies. Great, he thought, just what I needed. “I need to take this call Mista, I’m sorry” he apologized while getting up.
“It’s ok Giorno, work is never over I get it man” Mista replied after putting down his fork and standing up too. No point in continuing to eat, this call meant that their evening was cut short. Giorno picked up the phone and coldly said “Make it quick I’m already in a bad mood”
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2/
Two weeks had passed since the restaurant date disaster. Since it was tradition by now, Giorno went to see Polnareff to drink from his large collection of French wine but mostly to talk about Guido Mista and how to break through his thick obliviousness. His consigliere suggested he tried something “less flamboyant man! Notch it down a bit” so Giorno did just that. He faked a sudden urge to buy those new Valentino leather shoes he had seen in town and asked Mista to come with. “Anywhere you go Giorno, I’ll be right besides you” the man had replied and Giorno had to quickly turn his head to hide the fierce blush on his cheeks.
They were now in the streets of Napoli, Mista carrying Giorno’s shopping bags (maybe he had bought more than just a pair of shoes but who cared) and they were heading towards Giorno’s favorite gelato place. The plan was simple: treat Mista to his favorite gelato flavors and then go walk by the sea. Giorno internally congratulated himself for this smooth plan, nothing bad could happen, he had explicitly said to his capos that they shouldn’t contact him under any circumstances.
“Boss, where are we going?” Mista asked, hands in his pockets and a skip to his steps.
“Mista, I told you to not call me that when it’s just the two of us” Giorno replied, “you know how I hate to repeat myself”
“Alriiiight Boss-man!” Mista cheekily said and lightly bumped his shoulder. He’s so cute I want to kiss his pretty face. Fortunately for Giorno’s sanity, they had arrived at the gelato place and Giorno shook these thoughts out of his head.
“You can ask as many flavors as you want Mista, my treat”
“Really? You’re so nice Gio!”
After placing their order –pistachio chocolate for Giorno and strawberry mango lime for Mista- Giorno suggested they go walk for a bit. They were comfortably walking side by side when it hit Giorno: Mista probably thought Giorno was thanking him for accompanying him shopping and didn’t see it as what it really was: a date. A little voice in his head told him to just tell Mista already –that voice annoyingly sounded like Gold Experience Requiem- but Giorno was too embarrassed by the prospect of confessing to Mista and just thinking about it made him blush. He looked at Mista happily eating his ice cream and decided to act boldly instead. Actions speak louder than words, right?
“Mista, would you mind if I ate some of your ice cream?” he asked in what he thought was a flirtatious tone.
“Yeah of course Gio go ahea-“but before he could finish his sentence, Giorno had grabbed his wrist and licked some of the ice cream with the flat of his tongue. All the while, he gazed directly at Mista to check his reaction – was that pink on his cheeks or did the light of the sunset tricked his eyes?
“Too fruity for me” Giorno hummed when he was done eating, “would you like some of mine too?” he asked innocently.
Giorno closely looked at Mista and –yes, the man seemed flustered by Giorno’s bold action. Good.
“Uhh na-nah I’m good Gio, thanks” Oh, he stuttered. How cute. Mista then looked at his watch and said “Uuh sorry boss but I gotta go, thanks for the gelato and all” he hurriedly gave Giorno his shopping bags and quickly walked away down the street they just took.
Giorno stood there for a while, gelato in one hand, bags of expensive Valentino shoes and Chanel bags in the other and thought maybe that was too bold a move, after all.
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3/
Today was a slow day at Passione’s HQ and Giorno had offered Mista to go back home for the day because really Mista I don’t need you to guard my couch all afternoon you know- but the man refused and now here they were: Giorno typing away on his laptop and Mista napping on his couch. Giorno stopped what he was doing for a moment to fondly look at his best friend. His silly hat was on his face, shielding him from the afternoon ray of sunshine coming through the huge windows. His stand was out and while half of it were sleeping on his chest, curled up like the world’s smallest and tiniest kitten, the other half were still eating their afternoon snack.
Giorno thought back to how Mista all but scrambled away last week after Giorno’s audacious move and internally cringed. However, maybe he had made some sort of sound or maybe it was just a shift in the atmosphere, but his vision was soon filled by three little bullet heads numbered five to seven.
“Are you ok boss?” Six asked.
“Do we have to wake Mista?”
“Is every thi-ing fine Gio-orno?” Cinque was already crying, what a precious little one.
“Ah no it’s fine Seven, let him rest. I was just…lost in thought. Sorry for worrying you all” Giorno sweetly smiled at them, they were a cute bunch – all six of them – and by far the most precious and adorable stand he had encountered. They’re as cute as they are deadly, he mused.
He then added “are you three still hungry? I have a secret stack of sweets but you can’t tell Mista” he murmured with a finger on his lips. The little stands imitated his gesture and loudly whispered “We promise!”
Giorno chuckled and opened his last drawer, where he all kind of chocolate sweets. He took one chocolate bar and cut it in three. Giorno watched them messily eat the chocolate and thought about how much of a dad Mista was to them and was endeared by that. Even his stand is silly, God I love everything about him.
Giorno wondered if the Sex Pistols knew how much Giorno appreciated their hard work and told them “I care a lot about you all and I wanted to thank you for all the great work you did protecting me in the past”
Three little heads spun around to stare at him and then-
“Giornooo we love you too” Cinque cried, his face full of tears.
“We love you as much as Mista and sometimes even more!”
“You’re always so nice to us Giorno” Seven was also crying.
Giorno turned his hand, palm up, so they could hop onto it. He then gave each one a kiss on their head and then his face was peppered with little kisses and hugs. Among the stand’s loud cheering, he heard a rustling sound and looked up to see that Mista was watching them. Did he see me kiss his stand or oh- did he feel it? Giorno lightly panicked inside.
He then smiled at him and said “Hello Mista. Did I ever tell you how much I love your stand?” Is telling someone you love their stand the same as confessing to them? Giorno wondered but by the lack of reaction from Mista, it clearly wasn’t the same.
“They’re being nice and sweet because it’s ya Gio but trust me they’re little shits” he said that but he had a fond look in his eyes. “Stop bothering Giorno now! I’m sure he has work to do” and before Giorno could say anything else, he dismissed his stand and got up. “I also have work to do Boss, if you need me I’ll be down the hallway”
When the door closed, Giorno asked out loud “What exactly happened here?”
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4/
“Maybe if you confessed to him, we wouldn’t be so miserable”
“And I already told you than I can’t do it, now quit it before he comes back and hear us” Giorno hissed at his stand. They were currently sitting in the back of one of Giorno’s many cars, waiting for Mista. They had to attend a gala organized by what’s-their-name and Giorno was already pissed off by it, he didn’t need his sentient stand to give him love advices.
The door to his left opened and Mista quickly sat down and said “Sorry boss but I couldn’t find my secret stash of bullets” They were under Giorno’s flat and since Mista often came there, he took the habit of hiding bullets in case they were attacked.
“It’s ok Mista, it’s not like I wanted to be there early anyway” Giorno distractedly said while looking for his lipstick in his purse. “Sorry Mista I have to go fetch something, stay in the car” Giorno opened the door and stepped out.
“He cares for you” a voice said.
Mista jumped out of his seat since he didn’t notice the stand sitting on Giorno’s place.
“Who does?” Mista dumbly replied.
“My master may not show it but he deeply cares about you and holds your friendship in high regard” Gold Experience Requiem gazed directly into Mista’s blinking eyes.
“I care about him too, I mean he’s my best friend”
GER then started moving to sit on Mista’s lap and intensely looked at him with his unblinking eyes.
He took his face in his hands and told him “He would die for you Mista, we would. Don’t you understand what it means?” the stand asked.
“I-I don’t think I do” stammered Mista, “He just doesn’t want to lose someone else, right?”
The stand dropped his hands and if he had a more expressive face, Mista would have been able to discern annoyance with a bit of exasperation.
“Humans are so clueless but you, Mista, you’re by far the densest one” before Mista could respond, GER disappeared when the door opened.
“I forgot GER was in the car Mista, I hope he didn’t freak you out too much” Giorno said, and didn’t say something too embarrassing.
“Nah he was...his usual self I guess?” Mista replied and scratched the back of his head.
His usual self huh? Fuck, Giorno thought. As soon as the gala was over, he and his stand would have a nice talk about respecting one’s privacy.
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5/
It’s been six long months since Giorno invited Mista out to dinner and he had decided that he had had enough. Earlier in the day, he asked Mista if he wanted to spend the evening at Giorno’s flat and the man had accepted.
Giorno was currently setting drinks and glasses on his coffee table. His hair was undone and he was wearing comfortable clothes – he was no longer the Don of a mafia gang but just a nineteen years old with a crush who was about to confess his feelings. Giorno was anxious and very nervous, hence the wine bottles. He didn’t intend to get drunk drunk but enough to lighten the mood and calm his nerves.
Giorno checked his clock on the wall the same time he heard a knock and the door being opened. Mista had a set of keys, obviously.
“Giorno? Are you in the living room?”
Giorno turned around and saw Mista standing in the doorway, an easy smile on his handsome face and a wine bottle in his right hand.
“Good evening Mista. You didn’t have to bring anything, really”
“Of course I had to! I can’t come empty handed y’know, it’s called having manners Gio!”
“Didn’t know you had any to begin with Mista” Giorno joked.
The man laughed his weird laugh and walked to the couch, sat down and said “Ouch Gio, way to go to hurt a man’s feelings” he grinned “so watcha want to do tonight?”
“I thought we could drink and watch a movie, if that’s ok with you”
“Sounds great Giorno” Mista replied, getting more comfortable on the couch and reaching for a glass.
Giorno looked at the scene in front of him, his best friend and dare he say it –the love of his life, sitting in his living room, fumbling with the tv remote and the domesticity of it all hurt Giorno’s heart. Oh how he wished he could have this all the time, Mista was the only one who truly made him feel safe and at home. Giorno knew it would never happen though, if Mista was really interested he would have said something by now with how awkward Giorno’s attempts at flirting were. At first, he thought the man was just really oblivious but with his past reactions, Giorno doubted it. I will never know if I don’t ask him Giorno thought but deep down, he knew he wouldn’t be able to do it. The fear of losing what they had now, their precious friendship, was too great a risk.
For now, Giorno was going to enjoy his evening with his friend and if he felt brave enough –after two or three drinks- maybe he would tell the man. Giorno quickly put a stop to his musings to focus back on the present. Mista had found a shitty horror movie on an obscure channel and patted the couch next to him to ask Giorno to join him.
They were now at their third shitty horror movie and one bottle and a half finished. Giorno had a light buzz and felt at ease. He laughed at Mista’s dumb jokes; screamed at the dumb characters to “don’t go there you stupid fuck!” and before he knew it, Giorno’s head was now resting on Mista’s shoulder. He could feel how warm Mista was and coupled with the familiar scent of his shampoo, he was slowly dozing off. Before he was completely out, he hugged Mista’s side and mumbled “Mista…Guido, you won’t ever leave me right? Please, I want to be like this with you all the time….so please, don’t go…”
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The sun was already high in the sky, the wind was rustling through the leaves of the tallest trees and the birds were chirping. Giorno turned on his side, not fully awake yet, he was so comfortable and his head hurt so much he wanted to sleep more. What got him out of bed was the sweet scent of sugar and melting butter. Carefully, he sat down and stayed there for a minute. He didn’t recall getting in bed and since he was still wearing yesterday’s clothes, it meant that Mista carried him there. A wave of fondness for the man washed over his heart and he quickly went to his bathroom to take a shower.
When he entered the kitchen, wet hair dripping down on a pink towel and wearing his old oversized tee, the sight that greeted him was sweeter than sugar: Mista was making them some pain perdu, dancing to a non-existent tune and lowly singing to himself. He was only wearing his sweater and his boxers, hair hat-free and curls gently bouncing with the swinging of his head. When he finally turned around and saw Giorno, he lazily smiled, sleep present in his eyes.
“Hope I didn’t wake you up Gio, but I was starving and I thought you would like to eat something homemade for once”
“It’s perfect Mista, thank you” Giorno said and sat down at the counter. Mista put a plate full of golden pain perdu in front of him with a cup of coffee. He then sat down facing Giorno and frowned.
“Why did you go back to calling me Mista?” his question took Giorno by surprise and after he had swallowed his bite he replied “What do you mean?”
“Yesterday, y-you called me by my first name and it felt…nice I guess” the man was clearly embarrassed and was avoiding Giorno’s gaze.
Fuck, did I now? Giorno’s thoughts were all over the place and his throbbing headache wasn’t helping him think straight.
“Just by habit, but I’ll try calling you Guido more if that’s what you want” please say yes, please say yes, plea-
“Good” and with that, Mista started eating his breakfast.
Suddenly, something in Giorno snapped and he harshly put his fork down. The sudden movement startled Mista who raised his head to look at him with his big, dark, beautiful eyes-
“For the love of God Guido! Can’t you see how much I love you!” Giorno blurted out before he could really think it through.
“Wha- Giorn- you do?!” Mista stood up so abruptly his chair almost fell down. “But why didn’t you tell me sooner then?!” the man whined- wait why did he sound disappointed?
“Oh please Guido I’ve been trying for years! I bought you chocolate on Valentine’s Day, flowers on numerous occasions, I booked single rooms when we were on vacations in Milan, and I even booked half a restaurant just for us! I couldn’t have been more straightforward Guido!”
“Yes you could have Gio! By directly telling me like you just did! I’m pretty stupid y’know, you have to spell out this kind of stuff for me!” Mista pouted and after straightening his chair, he sat down on it.
“You are not stupid Guido, you are the smartest, most observant person I know and I couldn’t have asked for a better underboss”
At hearing his words, Mista tried to hide his blushing face with his hat out of habit and when all he grabbed was his curly hair, he hid behind his hands.
“Still Gio” he whined “if I had known, I would have asked you out sooner”
Giorno was taken aback by his words. He had expected the man to reject him not to ask him out!
Tentatively, Giorno reached for Mista’s hand on the counter and gently grabbed it. “You know, it’s not too late, you can still ask me”
Giorno could feel his whole face burning and he couldn’t recall the last time he had smiled this much. We are both idiots in love.
Mista intertwined their fingers and softly murmured “Giorno, do you want to go out with me?”
His face was coming closer, his eyes slowly dropping down and all Giorno could do was close the distance and clumsily kiss his lips. Mista’s lips were sweet and soft, he could feel his lips stretch into a smile. And for the first time in his life, Giorno knew what it felt like to be loved.