Work Text:
“Do you not worry you’re spreading yourself a bit thin, GioGio?”
A question phrased as such to the new Don of Passione would most likely, under most circumstances, be interpreted as questioning his rearrangement and diversion of groups and funding. In this circumstance, it was directed solely at his… debatably frivolous and quite frankly excessive use of his Stand’s ability.
An otherwise stark, unremarkable, and ‘clinical’ building now served as his home and the center for Passione, and Giorno insisted it needed to fit a very particular image. Namely, you couldn’t turn down a single hallway or walk into any room and not find some kind of plant making itself home there. If it wasn’t live flowers, they were carvings of them. In door frames, windowsills, even the central square that was once a green area devoid of anything but grass and a couple old benches was now Giorno’s own personal Garden of Eden. When he’d been surveying the manor prior to obtaining it, that little courtyard called out to him. Though when he’d described the phenomena to Mista, he’d only received playful teasing for how Giorno sounded like an ‘old man’, it had been something that had just… ‘clicked’ the moment he was there.
The vision was there.
Now, whenever the young Don wasn’t needed in his office, one could find him in his slice of heaven. Tending to the copious amounts of vines and flowers that laced around arbor posts and columns like they’d always belonged there, he’d sunk a rather generous amount of time and money into the selection. While the others had questioned why he didn’t just grab a bunch of rocks and turn them into the plants he so desired, Giorno had wanted the work and the effort. He wanted to put time into creating and nurturing something naturally.
Besides, where did they think all the other plants mysteriously growing indoors came from?
But alas, the question had made its rounds, and now you were standing before him while he carefully dead-headed the thriving honeysuckle plant that grew on a trellis leading up to the pergola above. He didn’t turn his attention from what he was doing, but replied softly after a moment, “No. Not really.”
You persisted, “With your Stand, I mean. Giorno, the entire estate is full of plants as it is. How do you… how does your Stand keep up with it?”
The question intrigued him enough, he finally turned to look at you. Despite having spent quite a lot of time out here, he never ceased to remain immaculate in appearance. The only signs he ever tended to anything out here was the odd bandage you’d catch on his hands once in a while. No doubt from those roses he seems to take more pride in than anything, despite the fact they seem to enjoy drawing blood from anyone who gets too close.
He tilted his head slightly, “My Stand?” He glanced away to think about it for a moment, “It’s not exhausting, if that’s what you mean. Gold Experience can turn things back whenever I want it to.”
“It doesn’t bother it at all to keep up all those plants of yours?” You’d gestured towards the honeysuckle, and he clued in to the confusion.
“Oh, no. You’re mistaken - most of the plants aren’t created by Gold Experience. Just the ones in the darker hallways that can’t get enough light, or if there isn’t a place for them to grow naturally.”
You frowned, “So… all of these are real ?”
A small, serene smile graced his features, “Of course.” He turned back to the climbing plant next to him, tenderly placing a hand under a clump of flowers he’d tidied up, “At the very least, I wanted this courtyard to be a place I could spend time in, and feel at ease.”
You took a moment to glance around and really take in the surroundings. Giorno had done a magnificent job with the place. The roses aside, he never seemed to have much trouble at all encouraging anything to grow exactly the way he wanted it to. It was honestly a very understandable mistake, to assume all of these were created by his Stand. You sighed as you noticed the way the sunlight was streaming in, dappled, on the other side of the courtyard where another pergola was, “It’s very peaceful here.”
“That’s good. I’m happy it makes you feel that way as well.” Despite the area being open to the sky, Giorno never raised his voice. You took a moment to look back over at him, expecting him to have returned to preening his plants, but he instead hadn’t moved from where he was. His eyes still cast towards the flowers he held, his expression dimmed somewhat. Still serene, but now more in-thought as he began again, “I really do enjoy this. I spent so much of my life not noticing how wonderful things were… are ... but now I see it everywhere. And it makes me glad.” He finally glanced your way, “I’m glad the world is full of such beautiful things.”
While it wasn’t uncommon for Giorno to get all poetic about things that interested him, it was a very strange experience to actually pay close attention to him as he said those words. He seemed so reserved and closed-off at times - introverted, really, when it wasn’t business - but never emotional. But there was something in his eyes as he said it, and it definitely wasn’t just because he’d emphasized it with a pointed look your way… he meant every word. It’s like he’d just come to this realization himself, and it was a spur of the moment thing.
You couldn’t help but give him a smile in return, “I’m just glad you can find the time to enjoy these things, now that you’re Don. It’s amazing how you spend so much time out here, despite everything.”
“Ah,” His face fell slightly, “I have to make time for these things. Otherwise I wouldn’t have the time at all. More than once I’ve put off a meeting that wasn’t… necessarily important, to me, simply to come here for a little while.”
“So it’s more like an escape for you?”
His brow creased and his reply was instant, “No. I…. don’t wish to start thinking of it as such. It’s not that I’m not thankful and fortunate to be in the position I’m in. I’m just…” He sighed as he realized there was no other way for him to say it, “A little overwhelmed. In retrospect, it certainly seems like I’m running off to ‘play with flowers’ .”
The sudden shift from adoration and pride in his interests, to speaking of it so dismissively made you suspicious, “...Who told you that ?”
“It’s not important.”
Though it wasn’t obvious if you hadn’t known him for as long as you had, there was now a sudden chill in the air between you two, the warmth in the previous topic of discussion eradicated in the blink of an eye. He was giving you the cold shoulder. He didn’t want to talk about it because he didn’t feel it was important.
But it was . You saw that. Though it was very easy to blur the line between the Don and the actual man who’d inherited that title - no, he wasn’t even a man yet. He was still just a boy, and that was enough for even the likes of Giorno to have a little bit of doubt. He took things to heart, even if he didn’t make mention of it in the slightest, and things others said to him generally stuck.
With some apprehension, you pushed, “Was it one of the older guys I see you talking to sometimes in meetings?” The little huff he let out at the mention of them was answer enough, “Hey, GioGio. They’re a bunch of stuck-up old guys who are probably just getting used to having a teenager bossing them around. If they can’t get that through their head, then they’re a lost cause if you ask me.”
He shook his head, and you could see the way he was slightly turning into himself as he argued, “Can you really blame them? I knew what I wanted to do with Passione when I got in this position, but… There’s a lot more to manage and worry about than just that one aspect of it. I was a fool to think it would be so simple.”
“Of course it’s not simple. GioGio, you’re head of Passione.” When he refused to look at you and instead turned his attention to quite literally anywhere else, you stated flatly, “Maybe you should split up the responsibilities a bit. Give yourself some breathing room for a while.”
“...I should be able to handle this on my own. I can’t be Don of Passione if I can’t even do that, can I?” He’d all but muttered. Quietly, like he was ashamed to admit this was even on his mind in the first place.
But the thing he didn’t seem to understand was pretty clear in your eyes, “The last Don never showed his face to anyone. Having a few assistants help you out wouldn’t be anything new. In fact, it’s probably expected. Giorno,” You reached out to him, pausing only to think of a comparison to use, “You know how they say ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’?”
His brow furrowed, but he didn’t push away your touch on his shoulder, “...of course I do.”
“Well, do you really think the Roman Empire was completely, one-hundred-percent managed by one guy? You think the Emperor ran for and did everything himself? Train his armies, manage his cities, make appearances… all at the same time?” After you’d finished, you realized a bit belatedly that you may have sounded more like you were talking to a child, than the 15-year old Don of Passione. But if it got your point through, then that’s what mattered.
From the way Giorno cringed towards himself, it may have gotten there.
“...No.”
You patted his shoulder to catch his attention again, “See? And I mean… if it worries you still, just think of it this way. You won’t have to blow off a bunch of meetings with boring old men to tend to your gardens. It’ll be real free time. Nothing that’ll come back and haunt you or something when you’re trying to relax.”
It seemed so simple, but with the way things had been going for him… it was a simple thing he’d lost track of. While normally he could keep up the facade of being confident and steeled, there was a large weight stacked on his shoulders now that left the act cracked and flawed. The reason why this courtyard garden was the most vibrant and well-tended, was because he’d spent so much time there. Every chance, every opportunity. Maybe it was wrong to hastily deny considering it an ‘escape’, for that’s exactly how it felt for him. He could lose himself for hours just planning, or walking around and checking on them… and that wasn’t exclusive to this garden either. At one point he’d been very sternly asked why he’d bother spending money on hiring gardeners to take care of things if he’d just end up doing them himself.
He didn’t have an answer to that, aside from the fact he said he’d prefer to do things himself.
But to maintain his control here, maybe you had a point. He had to relinquish some of that control in order to give himself more time to do the things he wanted. It had taken a considerable event in his life - the one that changed his life, in fact - to even get him to warm up to the idea of trusting people. What was stopping him now ?
He was pulled from his thoughts by another touch, this time on his arm. You were searching in his eyes for answers to a previously unspoken question, “Just… promise me you’ll think it over, okay? Just consider it.”
After a moment, he nodded, “I will. Thank you.”
He expected you to leave him at that, but you lingered afterwards, something unreadable in your eyes. He was going to ask about it until you answered his inquiry without prompt, “I worry about you GioGio. I don’t want to see you burn yourself out so quickly.”
“I’ll be fine. You don’t need to worry about me.”
“I- I know that, but still. I believe in you, but I also believe you gotta give yourself time off.”
He knew you were genuinely concerned, and something fluttered inside him at the idea. He wasn’t quite sure what it was, exactly. He wanted to alleviate the graveness of the conversation somewhat while also being reassuring, but all that came to mind was a playful call-back, “I know. ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’ , and all that. I understand. Believe me, I have this planned out well in advance.”
You gave him a look but knew he meant well. While it didn’t remedy all the worry on your end, you had to eventually come to terms with the fact Giorno was very much his own free spirit. If he set his mind to something, it’d get done eventually. That was a certainty, and nothing could obstruct him from that goal. His resolve was always something you admired, as it seemed to be able to allow him to accomplish near anything. Perhaps his fatigue with dealing with his newfound duties managing Passione was only temporary, but still… you figured it was better to bring it up with him sooner than later.
He moved his way over towards the infamous rose bush that was a centerpiece on this side of the courtyard, and you couldn’t help but raise a brow, “You’re gonna try to wrangle the roses again, huh?”
Giorno paused in front of it, glancing over his shoulder at you as you approached with caution, “I’m hoping it’ll bloom soon. It’ll be easier to manage if I keep it maintained now, than waiting until the flowers grow.”
“You don’t even wear gloves to poke around that thing.” Though you respected him immensely, he had enough quirks to keep you wondering…
He shrugged, like it was no big deal, “I tried with gloves before. It still scratched my arms up. Besides, I’m more precise without them.”
You bent over to get a closer look at it, as he’d crouched down to figure out how to approach it, presumably, “You’re insane, you know that?”
That serene smile came back again as he said matter-of-factly, “You’ll change your mind when the roses start blooming. I wanted to send you a bouquet of the first batch. I’ll make sure I remove the thorns first, though.”
A quiet chuckle was the reward for the blush that quickly flooded across your face at his words.
Leave it to Giorno Giovanna to never stop surprising you, with that gentle kindness. Not something most would expect from the Don of Passione, no matter how old he was.