Work Text:
Weekdays before Friday were always calm and empty in Passione; Elderly men and women would enjoy their tea, small groups would rent their venues in the grand dance hall, meetings here held in private rooms, soundproof so the bang of a gunshot wouldn’t resonate throughout the large, spacious building.
One of these days was Wednesday, and Leone was asked to meet Bruno Bucciarati for a “little meetup” with a dear friend of his. Said friend happened to be Martha Watson, a shining debutante with a fondness for big parties. She had invited Bruno to come along with her to one of these parties, apparently being held at The Ritz; a bit too fancy for Leone’s tastes. However, he was asked to be Bruno’s plus-one for the occasion, and who was he to refuse a request from the Don?
Leone arrived a few minutes early when he found that Martha was already in the main lobby; A long, flowing champagne gown adorned her figure, covering her feet and shining in the chandelier light. Her arms were hidden in silk gloves, and her hair was done in intricate swirls and braids all pinned in place, with no chance to fall out.
“Oh!” She exclaimed, seeing the tall man enter the lobby. “You must be Leone Abbacchio! Bruno’s been just jabbering all day about you! Seems like you’re a good friend of his, yes?”
“Good friends” was an understatement. Leone was proud to privately admit that he and Bruno were thick as thieves; Always knowing what’s on the other's mind, practically glued to the hip. “You could say that’s the case..” Leone bowed slightly. “It’s an honour to meet you, miss. I do apologize for my tardiness.”
Martha laughed, it was high pitched and airy; Fitting for a woman of the upper class. “Oh it’s nothing, really! You’re not late at all Mr. Abbacchio, it’s just…” She sighed, her smile immediately dropping into a frustrated frown. “ Someone is dilly-dallying with their damn outfit!”
“I give Bruno this dazzling, wonderful little suit with ermine lining and gold accents, and you know what he does? He complains that it doesn’t suit him! Does he not know how much it cost for me to have handmade for his tastes?! Ugh! The nerve!!”
Leone raised an eyebrow. “W-Well, how come you gave him a suit to wear?” He asked genuinely, “Of all the time I’ve known Bruno, I have never seen him wear a suit before…”
The debutante shook her head, “You see, I can’t have his… fashion tastes affect my reputation; This ball is very important to me, and the last thing I want are some nasty rumours that I’m real close with a transvestite of all things! N-Not that dear Bruno is one, of course. He would never! He’s just a little eccentric you understand?”
Ah . So that’s what this was all about.
Bruno was certainly not an ordinary man, but Leone never really let that phase him; He’s lived in the city long enough to know that there’s a small group that hides in the day and parties all night of men and women, just like the Don. But they never really bothered anyone, so who was Leone to judge? He tried to not look at Martha too critically, although he couldn’t help but have a pit of possessiveness and anger fester in his stomach…
“I’ll go check on him then…” Was all Leone said, and he tried not to bolt right up the stairs to Bruno’s private room; Getting as far away from the woman as he possibly could.
Once he had arrived, bolting his way down the hall of course, the officer lightly knocked on Bruno’s door. “Bruno?” He asked, “It’s me, Leone. Are you alright?”
He heard some rustling before Bruno spoke, his voice quiet and meek. “N-No… I’m indecent, I look absolutely horrible Leo…” A small sniffle was heard through the door, almost breaking Leone’s heart into pieces.
“May I come in? I promise I won’t look unless you’re covered up.” Leone offered, hoping Bruno would let him help the mafioso. He heard a small “mhm…” from the room, and the sound of sheets moving around.
“You can come in now.” Bruno said, and Leone slowly opened the door, greeted by Bruno wrapped in his duvet, tears running down his face and a gorgeous gown on the end of the bed.
Leone slowly walked into Bruno’s room, and sat himself down beside the gown; It was a deep midnight blue, with glittery fabrics woven in along with sequins decorating the sides. There were small tassels on the bottom, and the dress had a low v-neck, perfect for Bruno to show off his delicate lace.
“Bruno… This is beautiful.” Leone complimented, catching Bruno blush at the praise from the corner of his eye. “… Did she not want you to wear this?”
Bruno nodded his head, “I just… I don’t understand why she’s so adamant on making me uncomfortable now! All this time she was fine with it; Letting me walk around as we usually do Leone. But ever since she’s been going to these debutante balls, she acts as if she’s all of a sudden better than me and- ugh! ” The Don flopped himself onto the bed.
Leone sighed, gently holding Bruno’s hand to comfort him. “Listen, you’re not going to be glued to Martha’s side all night, right?” A nod. “Then why worry so much about her? You were just invited, and I’m pretty sure everyone knows that The Great Bruno Bucciarati always wears his dazzling dresses and white fur boas.” He chuckled, and he swore a small smile had formed on Bruno’s face.
“So how about it? Ditch the suit and wear what you want anyways?”
Bruno slowly sat up, the suit he was told to wear visible to Leone; It was… nice on him, but Abbacchio knew that Bruno was uncomfortable as hell in it, and he wanted to simply wear what he wished.
He was Bruno, and Bruno has his own style that everyone enjoyed and envied.
The Don gave Leone a smile, and a quick peck to the cheek before taking the dress and a few garments off his dresser and dashing into the bathroom. “I’ll be back in no time!” He happily said before closing the bathroom door, and Leone smiled.
“Ahem. Bruno.” Martha began, seeing Bruno and Leone walk down the stairs to finally meet up with her. “I thought I told you to wear that suit I had specifically tailored for you.”
Bruno looked dead-on at Martha, and he was a sight to behold; The gown hugged his form perfectly, accentuating his smaller waist and larger hips, hugging his thighs just right. The mafioso had delicate lace fishnets on as well, with intricate patterns that resembled zippers along the outer side of his legs.
He wore small, simple black silk gloves, and one of his many fur boas. If Leone remembered correctly, the one he was currently wearing was made from fox fur directly from Canada.
“I must admit, it was absolutely stunning Martha, but I’m afraid it was much too tight; I feared I would rip the seams…” Bruno feigned innocence, his eyes going aloof whenever he was bluffing. “I wouldn’t want you to go through all that trouble again, Martha, so I had to make some adjustments to my choice of wear tonight.” He looked up at Leone, who was standing beside him.
“Oh Leo, you can confirm this is true right? You were there after all…” The Don batted his eyelashes; Leone knew that it was his turn to play along.
“Yes, I was there. The suit looked wonderful on him, but it was a bit tight in the sleeves. I could even see the fabric straining whenever he tried to move them.” The officer lied through his teeth, he wasn’t one for lying often but this was for the sake of Bruno; He couldn’t let him suffer through a stuffy suit all night.
Martha seethed , marching right up to her friend, who still kept his doe eyes and aloofness when she crowded against him, ready to chew him out. “I damn well know that you just didn’t want to wear it, you pansy!” She hissed. “This is supposed to be my party, and your little getup is going to distract everyone from me!! Remember, I’m the debutante here, not you Bruno!”
Bruno slowly blinked, as if he was processing her words. “Well if you’re sooo worried about me distracting everyone…” He leaned in closer, a snarl forming on his face.
“Why invite me in the first place?”
Leone watched as the woman’s face went beet red with rage, her eye twitching before she let out a yell, stomping her foot and throwing her hands around; Like a spoiled brat, at least that’s what Leone connected Martha’s behaviour too. He wouldn’t be too far off…
“FINE!! HAVE IT YOUR WAY THEN!” She screamed at Bruno, who was still aloof, mocking her with feigned ignorance to her anger. “Go to the ball, see if I care!! I’ll just tell everyone exactly what you are; A perverted, provocative, cross-dressing freak !!!” And with that, she stormed out of the lobby of Passione, signalling her driver and speeding away to the Ritz.
Leone heard Bruno sigh, shaking his head with him. “Oh well, we better get going anyways, shall we?” Bruno asked.
Leone chuckled, “Planning on ruining her ‘perfect ball’ I assume?” He asked in return, watching Bruno’s face shift into one he knew all too well; His little shit-eating grin, like a mischievous pussycat.
“Oh, you know exactly what I plan to do, Leone.”
When Martha arrived at the Ritz, the banquet hall was packed with attendants.
Debutantes were everywhere, mingling with one another and the occasional bachelor. Wealthy men complimenting the dresses and hair of pretty women and chatting amongst themselves, expensive champagne being drunk and shared. The moment Martha entered the room, three or four men turned to see her, along with a few women, and welcomed her to the ball.
“Martha Watson!” One of the boys exclaimed. “It’s wonderful to finally meet you! My, your choice of wear for this evening is absolutely splendid!”
She giggled and blushed, waving her hand as if dismissing his compliment. “Oh thank you kind sir!” Martha said, “It’s really nothing at all; Not the most expensive dress I’ve bought so far…”
“Oh do tell us what other dresses you have!” Another debutante piped up, several other girls demanding to know more about Martha. She couldn’t help but boast of her vast collection of outfits by famous designers, oohs and aahs could be heard from the small crowd of debutantes and bachelors that had circled around her.
That is, until someone yelled loud enough for everyone to hear: “By God! Is that the Bruno Bucciarati himself?!”
Just the mere mention of his name had everyone flocking to the entrance of the hall, and when Martha turned around to see what the commotion was, she could feel a vein bumping from her skin…
Bruno had arrived along with Leone, his outfit being praised by the women and flirted with by the bachelors who didn’t know much better. He took the praise and compliments with stride, yet was humble about them; Never boasting about anything and being as honest as a mafioso like him could be.
“Oh my! This fur… It can’t be-” One bachelorette said in awe. Bruno averted his gaze timidly, “Fox fur from Canada, yes. They export some of the finest furs, in my opinion.”
“Well then, the next time I order a warm coat for myself I’ll have to explicitly request Canadian fox fur!! It looks dashing on you Mr. Bucciarati!”
Leone looked around and noticed Martha standing beside a table, her face tomato red and her teeth clenched; He feared that she might crack a tooth with how hard she was clenching her jaw. Bruno managed to make his way through the crowd, and almost beelined towards the woman. The officer could only hope for the best…
“Martha! There you are!” Bruno exclaimed. “So sorry for being so late, there was a little hold-up along the way, but other than that the trip went smoothly!” He smiled, mouth so white it could blind someone from looking at him for too long. “Never thought that everyone would immediately recognize me here…” He chuckled, although he was painfully aware that even the highest-classed men knew his name. “That’s alright, however! I’m sure everyone’s been complimenting you left and right, dear; You’re just stunning, absolutely stun-”
A loud crash reverberated throughout the room, gasps could be heard from all directions and all eyes were on Bruno and Martha, along with the now broken glass of champagne that was on the floor.
The debutante stayed silent, staring Bucciarati down with pure, unbridled rage in her eyes. Leone feared that things would get ugly real fast , and slowly made his way over to get Bruno out of the potentially dangerous situation.
“ You stay back, Leone Abbacchio. ” She snarled, watching as the officer stepped back. Martha turned her attention to Bruno. “ You, on the other hand, have crossed the damn line!”
“First you complain about that damn suit, then you come down your little steps dressed in this embarrassment of a getup, and then you have the gall to waltz right in here and steal my spotlight?! ” She was right up close to Bruno’s face now, her spit flying into his face. And yet, Bruno still remained calm as ever.
“You’re nothing but a depraved, filthy crossdressing pansy, stringing along everyone for your own sick kicks and manipulating this poor copper into being your lover!!” She stood straight and stiff once more. “You’re nothing but filth compared to me, you should just get outta this city while you have the chance, Bruno! ‘Cause everyone’s gonna know what a sick, depraved bastard you are!”
And with that, she spat on Bruno’s shoes; The gasps were louder with hushed whispers, criticising Martha’s etiquette and poor mannerisms.
Meanwhile, Bruno let out a sigh he didn’t even know he was holding, stood straight just like Martha did, and faced her head on, a determined look on his face. “Yes, I am what you could call a ‘pansy’, that is something I will admit.” He glanced at the other attendants, their eyes all on him.
“And yes, I do enjoy wearing dresses and fur boas, even if I am born as a man. And yes I am very close to my good friend here,” He motions a hand towards Leone, who goes beet red. “Our relationship with one another is private and behind closed doors, I would prefer not to discuss my love life in public.”
“And need I remind you…” Bruno faced Martha once more, his confidence towering over her, “That I am the most powerful man in this city? I have every single street, every single alleyway, every man and woman and child, all in the palm of my hand.”
“I could have you silenced for good and floating down the Hudson if I so wished, but I don’t. Because it’s pointless to take the lives of others over the pettiest of things.”
He turned to face the guests, who have come closer now in awe of the mafioso’s words. “I am well respected, I have a reputation and even the most layman of men; These fine folks know who I am, know how I present myself, know my power .” Bruno swiftly turned to face Martha…
“ Perhaps you should’ve figured that out before you tried to cross me, Martha. ”
More hushed whispers whizzed through the crowd, all eyes were on Martha now; Glaring in disdain, and poor, poor Martha… She couldn’t handle it, unable to deal with the loss of her dignity, her reputation smashed to pieces, just like the glass she had thrown to the ground minutes before. Yet she held her head up high, tears streaking down her face, and stormed out of the banquet hall. When she was far enough away, she let the dams crack open, and sobbed all the way outside to hail a dingy, common yellow taxi.
Inside the banquet, however, things moved on as if nobody witnessed the young woman’s outrage at her former friend. Bruno returned to socializing; Laughing along with the other elites and whatnot, and Leone found himself enjoying the small snacks and champagne, even if the drinks were not his forte.
“Well that was something.” He commented once he found Bruno again, sharing a small plate of cheeses and caviar amongst each other. “You really got to her, eh? Remind me not to mess with ya.” Leone teased, pleased when Bruno chuckled back.
“Ah well, it was about time someone knocked her down a few pegs.” The Don commented, “But that’s all wrapped up now, Leo. I figure since we're here, we might as well enjoy the night, don’t you think?”
Leone smiled, standing up and offering his hand as gentle dancing music wafted through the air. “I thought you’d never ask.”