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Giorno’s big, green eyes were absolutely glued to a small toy frog he’d just discovered. He wanted it like he wanted nothing else. Giorno Giovanna absolutely adored frogs, and his eyes were shining like they’ve never shone before.
Bruno leaned over, hands on his knees, so his head would be level with the blonde child’s. He tilted it to take a close look at Giorno’s face — the man’s dark blue eyes peered into the absolutely adoring green ones.
He sure does love frogs. Bruno smiled to himself.
“Giorno,” the older man spoke, immediately breaking the child out of his trance. Giorno watched Bucciarati silently as he spoke. “Would you like the frog?” Bruno couldn’t help but smile as the blonde nodded enthusiastically, a grin making itself more apparent as the kid grew more excited. The older man took that as a yes, and after the adults talked, lil Giorno was gently holding onto the frog, carrying it like it was some sort of treasure. Well, maybe it is to him, Bruno considered.
The kid was absolutely engrossed in the frog — the way it was translucent, the way the sun’s rays reflected against it, the small details, hell, even the green colour was absolutely beautiful. Simply put, Giorno loved everything about his new toy, and couldn’t be happier. Seeing one of his dear kids so overjoyed made Bruno’s heart flutter.
After about an hour of walking around the bookfair, the tiny blonde came to the conclusion that he truly needed nothing more than what he already had. They found Fugo (the elder kid had already picked out a few novels), and together, the trio headed back to the car, where Leone Abbacchio was waiting impatiently.
As soon as the kids climbed into the car and were secured by the seatbelts, Bruno took his spot in the passenger seat. Once he was sure everyone was in place, the silver haired man began driving back home.
Having spent most of the bookfair with Giorno, Bucciarati turned around and looked at Panna, asking him about the novels he had picked out. Being the genius kid of the household, of course he chose some of the more complex books that were offered. He handed his new acquisitions to Bruno for observation. The older man frowned, stating that he didn’t understand how Fugo could ever enjoy something so boring. The youngster shrugged and took the novels back, already scanning the first few pages of one of them.
Meanwhile, Giorno hadn’t picked a book out at all. Fugo glanced at the toy frog a few times, and it’s not like he cared per se, but he just didn’t understand what was the point of even going to a bookfair if Giorno wasn’t going to get a book .
Quickly catching onto what the other blonde was thinking, Giorno gave him a sheepish smile as he spoke. “I really was going to buy a book, Panna!” he stated firmly, trying to sound convincing.
The older boy nodded, and Giorno continued. “But— but, I saw this pretty froggy, and I really wanted to get him, and I did, and then I didn’t want anything else,” he gestured in the frog’s direction. Fugo sighed, putting the book down on his lap.
He smiled at Giorno, “you sure do love frogs, don’t you?”
Fugo’s statement was received with utter enthusiasm. Bruno decided he would treasure this moment forever, as he’s never seen Giorno so ecstatic about anything before. He wished he could capture this moment on tape, but he was content with just memorizing the scene to the best of his abilities.
…
Upon getting home, Narancia jumped to his feet, bolting to greet his family. His greeting primarily consisted of calling Fugo a nerd for buying three whole books, and peering at what Giorno was keeping so close to his chest. The younger blonde decided to show him, his eyes shining.
“Isn’t he beautiful, Narancia?” Giorno whispered, again, absolutely adoring the frog in his palms. Narancia didn’t quite share the sentiment, but grinned and nodded like a madman to keep the blonde happy.
In contrast to the twelve-year-old that would straight up bolt to the door as soon as he heard the lock click, Mista usually greeted whoever it was with a lazy wave of his hand. He was always lying on the couch and watching TV, so naturally, he would always wave from there.
Fugo had already rushed off to his room, carrying his new books in his arms, clearly excited to read them. With a loud slam of the door, the rest of the family knew they wouldn’t see Panna until dinner. The second youngest always got so into the novel he was reading, whatever genre it might have been.
Giorno also rushed off somewhere, but not his room, not yet. He dragged a chair out of the kitchen, placing it directly below the cupboard to help him reach the top. After swiftly climbing it, the kid grabbed one of the bigger cups, and just as swiftly, he hopped off. Leaving the chair behind, he ran to the bathroom to fill the transparent cup with water. Giorno then dashed to his room, shutting the door behind him. He’s sure he heard Abbacchio yell something at him about putting the chair back and wiping up the water he’d apparently spilled, but the kid wasn’t listening. Plus, he’s sure he heard Bruno say he’ll take care of it (and remind his husband, once again, to not yell at their children ).
The kid’s room was quite spacious, with a nice desk facing its back to one of the walls, and his bed directly to the right. His room’s primary colour was green, and not only were his sheets and carpet green — he had an abundance of little plants and flowers everywhere.
Giorno’s bed had a headboard, and sure, he was grateful for it when he needed to put a cup of water there (Bruno insisted he had a full cup of water so he would be hydrated at all times), but now, its existence was a genuine blessing.
His plan was simple. Giorno placed the large, transparent cup onto the headboard, and carefully dropped his precious frog into the cup. It met the water with a plop! and slowly sunk into it. Giorno really had no other way to display his frog, so he did this instead.
Proud of himself, Giorno headed out of his room, glancing at the frog once more before closing the door behind him.
…
“Bruno, have you seen my cup?”
The dark haired man looked up from the sink to meet his lover’s lavender eyes. Both glances were puzzled, and Leone needed no words to be spoken to realize Bruno had no clue.
“Maybe one of the kids took it?” Bucciarati queried, then getting back to washing dishes. That seemingly flipped a switch in Leone’s mind, because he immediately rushed out of the kitchen. The dark-haired man hummed in thought, then getting back to the task at hand.
Meanwhile, the tall, silver -haired man took broad steps, almost stomping, having to remind himself of Bucciarati’s words; do not yell at the kids. Don’t be too harsh on them. Leone tried, he really did, but when he busted through Giorno Giovanna’s door, he felt himself grow more irritated.
That’s my fucking cup! He exclaimed internally, becoming more irritated once he noticed that the goddamn toy frog was in there.
The blonde kid was nowhere to be found, and the man was extremely relieved. If Giorno didn’t see him throwing the toy out, it didn’t happen. Right?
Leone walked up to Giorno’s headboard, reaching for his cup. With one hand ready to grab it, and the other ready to pull the frog out, Abbacchio suddenly froze as he heard the door creak.
“Abba?” Oh God, he’s here. Leone’s been caught.
It being rare that the older man visited his room, Giorno was quite happy to see him. The kid probably hasn’t realized what was happening yet. “What are you doing here?” he looked puzzled, and so goddamn innocent.
Somehow, the kid being happy about his visit melted Abbacchio’s heart ever so slightly. It was certainly enough to leave no trace of the previously present irritation. The older man turned around, not quite sure what to do. He squatted, leveling his face with Giorno’s, studying the blonde a bit before he spoke.
“Hey, Giorno...? That,” he pointed to the headboard behind him, “is my cup.”
The blonde continued to listen, clearly not getting it yet.
Leone continued, trying his best to not fall back into an irritable mood. He’s only five, Leone reminded himself. Don’t yell.
He spoke calmly, “I want it back. And I want the frog out of here. It’s going to get sticky, and it’ll be hard to clean off later,” he finished, anticipating an emotional outburst of sorts, but it never came. Giorno cast his eyes down, clearly sad, but he wasn’t crying . Abbacchio tried so damn hard to not become soft and to stay focused. I want my goddamn cup back . Giorno didn’t say anything, until the older man stood up and went to grab what was rightfully his.
“Wait, wait, wait!”
Leone stopped dead in his tracks, and looked back at the blonde.
“Let me… let me use Gold,” after making less of a request and more of a statement, Giorno ran over, snatched the cup, and was already on his way to the backyard. The silver haired man wasn’t quite sure what the kid’s intention was, but he followed (though, he didn’t sprint, unlike the younger one).
…
Giorno was breathing heavily, all that running on his little feet clearly took a toll on him. He was eagerly waiting for Leone to arrive, and thank God he decided to actually show up. The older man would’ve felt awful if he found out the kid was just waiting for him outside, though Abba would never admit it.
He had to admit, however, that the weather was beautiful today. The sun was setting, its bright rays painting everything into a warm, tangerine colour. The same rays shone against Giorno’s golden locks and emerald eyes (that were squinted ever so slightly, due to how bright the sun was). Leone moved in front of the kid to cast a shadow, catching a light breeze as he did. It was still April, and it was slightly chilly (that is to say, as much as Leone loved the weather, he hoped this wouldn’t take long).
Abbacchio looked at the young kid expectantly, watching, waiting. Giorno poured the water out of the cup into the grass, and brought out Gold Experience. With a single touch of the stand, the toy frog had morphed into an actual frog. The blonde squatted, putting the cup down on its side so the frog could exit. With a ribbit, it hopped out, and fled the yard.
Though his toy was now gone, the young boy seemed content. Sure, he was a bit sad, but content nonetheless.
“Your toy, uh— it ran away, huh,” Abba said, unsure of how to break the silence. Somewhere deep inside, he was just hoping Giorno wasn’t mad at him. The blonde was staring off in the direction in which the frog had run away, then he nodded silently. Giorno grabbed the glass cup, stood up, and stretched it out to the older man.
“Your cup,” he offered.
Leone flashed a small smile. “Thanks, kid.”
Giorno grinned back.