Chapter Text
Leone descended the stairs and quietly padded into the kitchen, getting to work on a pot of coffee for himself and Bruno. As the brewer warmed up and roared to life, the silver-haired man took a moment to look out into the backyard, past the crisp autumn condensation that clung to the window.
He enjoyed being the first one out of bed on Saturday mornings as the quiet of his family getting a chance to catch up on sleep was in stark contrast to the usual chaos of weekday mornings. He also enjoyed Saturday mornings particularly because it meant he would make his weekly trip to the farmer’s market to buy whatever fresh produce, meats, or baked goods he would need to prepare meals for the upcoming week. Leone preferred to be one of first shoppers at the market to get the best pick of all the vendors, but also to avoid the bigger crowds.
Due to the start of autumn, the market vendors had started to sell seasonal items, one of the most popular being apple cider donuts. Bruno decided to make it a tradition for the whole family to join Leone at the farmer’s market on the first day they could get their hands on the sugary treat. While Leone didn’t mind bringing his family on his shopping trip, he did make it clear that he had to stick to his system to get everything they needed.
After pouring coffee into two travel mugs, Leone quietly made his way back upstairs to the master bedroom. He smirked when he saw Bruno stretching his back out by the side of the bed. “You doing okay, babe?”
Bruno squinted his eyes, giving Leone a knowing look. “We aren’t 20-somethings anymore, Abbacchio. I don’t know why you insist on bending me like a fucking pretzel.” The short-haired man said in a hushed tone, figuring Narancia or Mista would be awake sometime soon.
“You didn’t seem to complain once we got going. Quite the opposite if I remember correctly.” Leone sported a smug smile before taking a sip of his coffee. “‘Sì, sì, Leo, sì!’ Sound familiar at all, babe?” He teased, sending his husband a cheeky wink for good measure.
“Shut up...” Bruno put on a playful pout and lazily beckoned his husband over, not in any position to admit the other man was right. “Dammi il mio caffè.”
Leone chuckled heartily as he strode closer to the bed, handing Bruno his drink. “Three splashes vanilla almond milk and a touch of cinnamon.” He recited and pressed a kiss on top of his husband’s messy bangs. “I believe I owe you a massage later as well, amore mio.”
“Mmm.” Bruno moaned as he took the first sip from his mug, already feeling the warmth from the drink relax his muscles. “I’m not saying no to that.”
Leone glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand while combing his fingers through his husband’s hair. “We should probably start waking the gremlins. We need to be out the door in about half an hour.” He hummed before taking a long sip of coffee.
“Vabbè, I’ll get Panna and you get GioGio.” Bruno said through a yawn as he stood up from the bed. While neither of their two youngest were easy to get out of bed in the morning, Bruno knew that if he were the one to wake Giorno, the boy would refuse to do anything by himself. The husbands decided the mornings went smoother if Leone took over waking their youngest, as he had no trouble being more stern with him.
Leone made his way over to Giorno’s room, quietly pushing the door open and walking over to the bed. He was mildly surprised to see the boy’s limbs strewn out every which way; tangled among his bed sheets and blankets. Usually Giorno was a very heavy sleeper and tended to stay in the same curled up position throughout the night, so seeing him spread out like a starfish seemed off.
He dismissed it for the moment and went to the window, pulling the curtains open to let the natural light in. “Sveglia, sveglia, Goldilocks.” He clapped his hands a few times, which seemed to have no effect on the sleeping boy. The silver-haired man let out a soft sigh and started untangling Giorno’s limbs from the blankets until the covers were off him completely.
When the absence of the warm covers registered to Giorno, he whimpered softly and tucked his limbs closer to his body to preserve heat. For whatever reason, his arms and legs became sore during the night which caused him to toss and turn instead of getting his usual peaceful sleep.
“C’mon GioGio, it’s time to get up. We gotta get going to the farmer’s market, remember?” Leone gently turned the boy’s head to the side, getting better access to his now disheveled looking braid. He removed the scrunchie from the tip before unraveling the blonde braid into a mess of wavy locks.
Giorno furrowed his brow and began turning his body away from the sound of Leone’s voice until he felt his father’s hands lifting him up by his underarms into a sitting position. “Abba, è troppo presto.” He whined while weakly pushing the man’s hands off him.
“Let’s get your hairbrush. Is it in the bathroom?” Leone decided to ignore his youngest’s griping, wanted to get his morning routine underway. This was where he and Bruno differed in how they dealt with waking Giorno up. Bruno usually sat and stroked the boy’s hair or rubbed his back to gradually bring him out of his slumber, whereas Leone liked to get straight to the point of getting him out of the bed.
“I don’t know.” Giorno groaned and laid his head back down on his pillow. He didn’t understand why he felt so sore even though his ballet class the previous night wasn’t more difficult than usual. He also noticed a dull ache in his head along with his stomach gurgling in hunger. “I want breakfast.” He murmured while rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands.
“We’re getting donuts at the market, but that’s not happening unless we get ready. Alzarsi.” Leone lifted Giorno fully off the bed, placing the boy’s feet on the floor. He noticed how Giorno seemed to stumble over his own feet like a baby deer attempting to walk, but chalked it up to him being over-tired.
After everyone somewhat sluggishly completed their morning routines, the family gathered in the foyer to prepare for their departure. Leone had already started the car to get it warmed up and loaded their reusable grocery bags in the trunk. Mista placed his sketchbook in his satchel, wanting to have it ready in case he spotted any design inspiration at the market. Narancia had his CD player clipped to his pants, blasting Tupac on his headphones. Pannacotta was leaned against the wall with the hood of his sweatshirt up, sleepily skimming through a novel. Giorno found his way under Bruno’s arm, leaning most of his body weight on his father as he was still exhausted and sore. He had Dottie hugged to his chest as the morning chill from the open front door made him shiver.
“Okay, I think we’re ready.” Bruno hummed while checking his jacket pockets as well as his satchel, which had been custom-made by Mista, for their essentials.
“How long will it take to get donuts?” Giorno tried his best not to whine, but the irritation from his horrible night’s sleep and hunger did little to stop it.
“It’s about a thirty-minute drive, tesorino.” Bruno opened the front door, ushering everyone out of the house before walking out and locking the door behind them. “How about you get some extra sleep on the drive there?” He rubbed the boy’s back as they approached the family car; Mista, Narancia, and Pannacotta piling in into the back seats. It was no secret that Giorno wasn’t a morning person, but Bruno could tell there was something slightly off about the boy’s current demeanor.
Giorno climbed into the seat behind Bruno’s and buckled himself in. He noticed his Papa sipping from his travel mug and leaned forward in his seat, lightly patting the man on the shoulder. “Can I have some, Papa?” He decided to reach his arm further and attempt to grab hold of the cup before Bruno could answer.
“Mi scusi, giovanotto.” Bruno moved the cup out of his reach and glanced back at the boy. “That wasn’t very polite. Also, you don’t need to be drinking any coffee. We’ll get hot cocoa at the market, but I need patience from you until then, please.” The man was a bit surprised by the Giorno’s actions, as it seemed more like something Narancia would do when he felt hyperactive.
“I can take a tiny sip.” Giorno started patting Bruno’s shoulder with his ladybug plushie, making the man’s hair ruffle in the back.
“Papa said no, GioGio. Sit back in your seat.” Leone glanced at the boy in the rearview mirror, giving him a look that said, ‘knock it off, twerp’.
Giorno huffed, but plopped back against his seat before pulling the chest strap of his seatbelt all the way out and letting it go so it snapped back against his chest. “Ow.” He giggled softly to himself before repeating the action again.
“Oh my God, quit it, GioGio. So annoying.” Pannacotta groaned and threw his head back against his seat after the tenth seatbelt snap.
Giorno sent Pannacotta a sour look before snapping his seatbelt once more for good measure. He pulled his plushie close to his chest and looked at the trees zooming by out the window, absentmindedly letting his thumb slip into his mouth; needing some sort of familiar comfort to keep him grounded.
While the boy was unsure of a lot of things about himself, he was sure that he was feeling very weird. One moment he’s feeling happy, content, and silly, the next he’s sad, irritated, and angry for no reason at all. Nothing was making sense, and it didn’t help that everyone around him seemed like they were annoyed by him. He couldn’t figure out if he wanted to snuggle close to his Papa and Abba or be left alone to do what he wanted; which was mostly to hunt for ladybugs outside.
His best efforts managed to keep him calm for the most part, but towards the end of the drive, it was all feeling like too much to process all at once and Giorno had no idea what to do or say. His green eyes soon filled with tears as he sucked more frantically on his thumb, letting out a loud grunt of frustration when he felt like his need for comfort wasn’t being met fully.
“Abba’s gonna park in just second, GioGio-bug. What’s the matter?” Bruno turned in his seat to look back at the boy, feeling his concerns from earlier solidify when he saw Giorno blinking alligator tears out of his eyes with his thumb firmly planted in his mouth; a habit he rarely ever saw the boy do outside of the house.
Giorno hiccupped and pulled his thumb from his mouth, letting out a soft cry as Leone brought the car to a stop in the parking lot. He couldn’t find the words to describe everything he was feeling in the moment, so he just continued to whimper into Dottie’s fuzzy fabric.
“Okay, Papa’s coming.” Bruno hummed and got out of the car and opened up Giorno’s door, letting Mista, Narancia and Panncotta filter out before removing the golden-haired boy’s seatbelt for him. “What’s wrong, baby? Are you hurting? Do you feel sick?” Bruno quickly felt Giorno’s forehead and neck with the back of his hand, not noticing any feverishness.
“I-I just want donuts!” Giorno sobbed and hid his face in Bruno’s chest, knowing he should be embarrassed for crying about something so trivial, but it was honestly too early in the morning for him to care.
“Geez, what’s wrong with him?” Mista watched on in concern; arms folded tightly in front of him. He definitely knew Giorno was the most sensitive out all the siblings, but normally it took a lot more for the youngest to break into tears.
“Seems like our lil’ GioGio is finally having mood swings.” Narancia used a sing-song voice as he walked past Mista.
Bruno had to suppress a chortle at the wild-haired boy’s statement as he rubbed soothing circles on his’ youngest’s back and kissed the top of his head. Though the more he considered it, the more Giorno’s sudden erratic behavior made sense.
“I know, tesorino. We’re gonna get donuts right now, okay? Non c’è bisogno di piangere. Here, let’s keep Dottie in the car so she doesn’t get lost while we’re shopping.” He gently took the plushie out of Giorno’s lap and placed it on the other seat as Giorno got out of the car.
Narancia had taken the opportunity to run ahead of the rest of his family to scope out the donut stand. “Guys, hurry up! There’s already a huge line!” He called out, getting slightly frustrated at how slow they were moving.
“We’re coming, Nara.” Bruno chuckled and patted Giorno’s back, as the boy chose to lean most of his weight against him while they walked. “C’mon GioGio, stand up straight so we can get to the line faster.” He tried to gently nudge the boy off him to no effect.
“My legs hurt.” Giorno pouted, taking hold of Bruno’s hand as they arrived to the end of the line.
“Well, did you do your stretches after ballet?” Bruno asked while tucking stray locks behind Giorno’s ear. It was common for the boy to keep practicing at home after his lessons and forget to stretch out his muscles, leaving him sore and stiff the next day.
“I did, I promise.” Giorno let himself slouch further against Bruno’s side, feeling like the act of even standing on his own was too daunting. As the line progressed forward, the boy’s boredom increased. He looked around the market, noticing several people walking around with what appeared to be chocolate crepes.
Giorno was able to get a better view of the treat when a little girl walked by with a crepe in her hands. It was filled with strawberries, whipped cream, and drizzled with chocolate syrup. The smell that wafted in the air alone felt like it could make the boy’s stomach cave in from hunger.
“Papa. Papa, look. We can get chocolate crepes, too.” Giorno tapped Bruno’s shoulder repeatedly, not realizing that they had made it to the front of the line and the man had already begun ordering.
“GioGio, aspetta. Scusa, sì, half a dozen apple cider donuts, please. And two cappuccinos, three hot chocolates, and one orange juice. Grazie mille.” Bruno took hold of Giorno’s hand to stop him from tapping as he spoke to the vendor.
“Does everyone that asked for hot chocolate want whipped cream on it?” He turned to face Mista, Pannacotta, and Giorno; earning a ‘duh’ and ‘yeah’ from the two older boys respectively. He then looked to Giorno, who was still looking at him expectantly.
“They have chocolate crepes. Down that way, I think.” Giorno pointed across the market, to a vendor stand with a line almost as long as the one they were currently in.
“That’s not what I asked you, ciccio. I asked if you wanted whipped cream on your hot chocolate.” Bruno adjusted his patience for the fact that Giorno was most likely behaving more spacey because of his assumed hormone changes and because he would normally still be asleep at this time.
“Umm... Appena un po’. But we should go wait for the chocolate crepes after we get donuts.” Giorno was getting ansty, standing on his toes to see a few more people get in line at the crepe stand.
“No. That’s way too much.” Bruno shook his head while fishing his wallet out of his satchel and paying for their items. He was already mentally preparing himself for the inevitable sugar rush that would hit the boys, and adding additional treats to it was a recipe for a considerable crash later on.
“Then we can just get one and I can share it.” Giorno’s frustration grew the longer he went without getting a desired response from Bruno. He knew he was hungry enough to eat both treats in their entirety, so he didn’t understand the resistance he got from his Papa.
“We’re not getting crepes today, Giorno. We can see about coming back next Saturday to try them, but we’re only getting donuts today. Ecco, go get your hot chocolate. Say grazie.” Bruno nudged the boy forward towards the vendor who was holding out Giorno’s cup, having already given Mista, Narancia, and Pannacotta their drinks.
Giorno was suddenly overcome with shyness as he glanced at the vendor holding his drink. He shook his head quickly and stepped behind Bruno, tugging on the man’s hand lightly, indicating that he didn’t want to go up alone.
Normally, Bruno wouldn’t tolerate this sort of behavior, but considering Giorno already seemed a bit high strung, he just decided to pick his battles. He apologized and thanked the vendor before taking the cup of hot chocolate along with the small box of donuts.
“Okay, everyone pick out which one you want. Grab a napkin first, please.” Bruno had found a small table to set the donuts and drinks down on before opening up the box, humming contently at the sweet smell.
Thankfully all four boys selected their donuts without any fuss or jealousy and Bruno savored the few minutes filled with silence, aside from the sounds of chewing and slurping. Bruno sipped his cappuccino and looked around the busy market for Leone, smiling softly when the silver-haired man began walking towards them with half of their shopping list completed.
“Abba! You gotta try the donuts, they’re the shit!” Narancia was practically buzzing after downing half of his orange juice in one sitting. He wasn’t the biggest fan of chocolate, much to Giorno’s horror, so he opted for his usual favorite drink.
“Language. We’re not at home, Nara.” Bruno reminded, taking the opportunity to wipe stray crumbs off Narancia’s face.
“Are they, now?” Leone hummed and peered into the box at the lone donut left for him. The man had never been much of a sweet-tooth, so his broke off a small piece and ate it, giving an indifferent hum and shrug of the shoulders, which got all the teens and Bruno cracking up. Since being adopted, the boys made it their mission to find any sort of dessert or pastry that Leone actually liked, but after a year together, they still had no luck.
“The hot chocolate’s really good too. Prova un po’, Abba.” Pannacotta held his cup up to Leone’s face, not realizing he had a dollop of whipped cream on the tip of his nose and a slight chocolate mustache over his lip.
“It must be good if it turned you into a cannoli.” Leone teased and picked up a napkin, quickly wiping the strawberry-blonde’s face, causing the boy to blush. He then leaned his head down, letting Pannacotta tilt the cup slightly so he could get a little sip as everyone waited for his reaction.
“Cristo, that’s too sweet.” Leone’s face contorted funnily, as his tastebuds were overwhelmed with the chocolatey drink, causing all four boys to break into a fit of laughter. He quickly accepted the cappuccino Bruno held out to him, taking a long swig.
“And so, the quest for Abba’s sweet-tooth continues.” Mista sighed dramatically and shook his head before finishing his hot chocolate.
“I swear, you guys can try all you want, but you’re never gonna find anything I’ll like.” Leone hummed while going over the grocery list to see what he needed to get next.
“Wait, Papa said we can get chocolate crepes. Maybe you’ll actually like it.” Giorno chimed in, even though he was selectively remembering what Bruno said.
“What? No, I did not say that, GioGio. I said maybe we can come back next weekend to try the crepes. We’re not getting them today, though.” Bruno corrected, getting the sense that Giorno was getting geared up to have a meltdown. He also couldn’t help but feel slightly at fault for pumping the boy full of sugar, as if the crankiness and mood swings weren’t enough to make him upset.
“No, I wanna get one today. Me lo compri, Mamma.” Giorno shook his head and grabbed Bruno’s hand, about to start guiding him in the direction of the crepe stand, but turned back with a confused expression when Bruno wasn’t following. “Mamma.” He repeated, giving a more forceful tug to the man’s hand.
Mista, Narancia, and Pannacotta all shared a look and snickered amongst themselves at Giorno’s newfound defiant streak. Bruno and Leone, however, were less than amused. The short-haired man gave his older three sons a warning glance, not wanting them to encourage that type of behavior by laughing at it.
“Giorno, I need you to be a better listener right now. I already explained that we’re not getting crepes today, so you need to drop it.” Bruno carefully removed his hand from Giorno’s grasp before folding his arms in front of his chest, giving the boy a look that was a mixture of sternness and concern.
“But that’s not fair. I didn’t know about them until today, so I wanna get one now.” Giorno didn’t understand why Bruno kept saying no to him. He was definitely hungry enough to eat a crepe by himself even though he had downed an entire donut and hot chocolate just moments earlier.
“I’m sorry you feel that way GioGio-bug, but I’m done repeating myself. We’re gonna help Abba finish up the shopping list now, so c’mon. I’ll put you in charge of picking out the fruits.” Bruno gestured for the boy to follow as the rest of the boys were already standing near Leone.
He could sense that Giorno’s irritation stemmed from feeling like he had no control over the situation, so he made sure to redirect his attention while giving some of that control back by assigning him a task to be responsible for.
The feeling of confliction that had bothered the golden-haired boy earlier in the car returned to him in full force. On the one hand, he was adamant about going to get a chocolate crepe, and knew that Bruno was trying to distract him by having him pick out fruits. But on the other hand, he did love going around to all the different fruit stands and discerning which produce would be the best for his Abba to buy.
“But… I can do both. Just buy me a crepe first and then I can help, I promise.” Giorno figured that bargaining was his next best move. It wasn’t as though he wouldn’t be helping out at all, he just had certain conditions that needed to be met beforehand.
The conditions being the crepe.
Leone, who had been waiting not-so-patiently a few paces away, had reached the end of his rope with the discussion. He acknowledged that Bruno was taking the gentler approach to handling Giorno’s defiant behavior, but as their son continued to nudge his Papa’s boundaries, he decided it was time to step in and shut it down.
“No. Basta così. Giorno, you have two options right now. You can either help us finish shopping or I can take you back to the car and we can wait for Papa and your brothers to finish shopping. If you say no, or mention getting crepes one more time, I’m taking you to the car. Decidi.” Leone set his bags down and stood in front of his youngest with his arms folded.
Giorno had a deep frown set on his brow as he folded his arms while staring back at Leone, unknowingly turning himself into the spitting image of his adoptive father.
“I don’t wanna go to the car.”
“Good, then you’re going to cut the attitude and help us shop.”
“I said I wanted a crepe first.”
“Okay, you’re done. Let’s go. Honey, take the list.”
Leone handed Bruno the shopping list before reaching out to take hold of Giorno’s forearm. He rolled his eyes when the boy folded his arms tighter and turned so that his back was facing the silver-haired man.
“I’m not playing games with you, Giorno. If this is really how you want to behave, I’m gonna take away privileges, starting with TV time.” Leone had leaned down to speak close to the boy’s ear, only keeping his volume loud enough for the two of them to hear.
“Abba, stop it!” Giorno snapped and jerked his arm out to push Leone away from him, but instantly regretted it as the silver-haired man took the opportunity to grasp his hand firmly, and started walking him in the direction of the market exit.
“No! Non voglio andare via, Abba! Non voglio andare via!” The boy’s voice cracked as he tried anything to stop his Abba from dragging him to the parking lot, including putting all his weight on the ground until he was practically sitting on his bottom in the middle of the market.
The action forced Leone to stop walking and turn to look at his crying kid sitting on the ground behind him. He honestly didn’t care about the other shoppers staring at them as they walked by. While any spectator would say it seemed inappropriate for a kid Giorno’s age to be having a tantrum in public, Leone knew that the situation was much more complex than that.
A few weeks after Bruno and Leone first brought Pannacotta into their home, they bought and read several parenting books; specifically, ones that dealt with the topic of older children and teens. From his reading, he remembered that parenting a child undergoing puberty was almost the same as parenting a toddler going through a defiant phase.
It was plain to see that Giorno was struggling to become more independent and assertive with expressing his wants, but remained under the same constraints that came with childhood. It became even more complicated by the fact that Giorno most likely never went through the typical developmental stages as an infant and young child. He spent his most formative years fighting to get his most basic needs met, and it broke Leone’s heart to know that the majority of the time, they weren’t.
Leone brought himself out of his thoughts with an exhale and knelt in front of Giorno, making a conscious effort to soften his expression. He used the pad of his thumb to wipe away the tears that continued to stream down his now splotchy cheeks.
“GioGio, do you think you can stand up for me?”
“Non voglio andare via!”
“Shh, shh, I know. All I need you to do is stand up, okay?”
Giorno hiccupped and stared at his Abba’s outstretched hands for a moment before he slowly took hold of them; allowing the man to help him get up off the ground. His head felt like it was full of cotton as he looked around at the people in the market who were glancing at him strangely. Wordlessly, he shook his head and reached his arms up for Leone, not feeling like he could handle being around others at the moment.
“C’mere, ranocchietto.” Leone grunted softly while lifting Giorno up by his underarms, letting the boy wrap his somewhat gangly limbs around his torso securely. The feeling of wetness on his skin signaled to him that the golden-haired boy buried his face in the crook of his neck and resumed crying quietly.
He carried Giorno out of the market and through the parking lot, rubbing the boy’s back with the hand that wasn’t supporting his weight. Normally, Leone and Bruno would have been concerned that their 12-year old was still light enough to be held so casually, but their family doctor explained that his less than optimal nutrition prior to adoption coupled with a naturally more petit frame meant that he would probably only reach 5’8” by the time he finished growing.
After single-handedly fishing the car keys out of his pocket and opening the back door, Leone carefully sat Giorno down in the backseat before climbing into the seat next to his. Glancing down at the floor, he saw Dottie poking out from under the seat, assuming that somehow the plushie fell over while the boys were getting out of the car. He leaned forward and picked it up before offering it to the golden-haired boy.
“Non sono un bebè.” Giorno had his legs tucked close to his chest; his words coming out muffled against his knees. A small part of him knew that he should feel embarrassed for throwing a fit over something as dumb as a crepe, but the frustration that lingered from not getting what he wanted seemed to win out.
“I know you’re not.” Leone hummed and shrugged his shoulders before hugging the plushie to his own chest. “Va bene così, I can keep her company for now.”
Giorno rubbed his wet eyes on his forearm before looking over at Leone holding Dottie, not able to contain the smile that broke out on his face. “Abba, what are you doing?”
“What, you think I’m too tough to hold a stuffed animal, right? You’re dead wrong, kid.” Leone clicked his tongue and shook his head dramatically before giving the plushie a squeeze.
“You know, Mamma told me you carried a copertina everywhere until you were six.” Giorno descended into a fit of giggles at his Abba’s not-so-secret secret.
“If you let that slip to your brothers, I’m done for.” Leone let out a snort of laughter when the boy took the plushie back from him; giving his braid a playful tug.
Giorno’s smile faded after a while as he reflected on everything that had happened that morning. “Abba, am I okay? I feel… Really weird. I don’t like it.” He made a point to wrap his arms tighter around his legs, keeping his eyes fixed on the floor.
“I think you’re okay, kid. You’re just going through a lot of changes right now and things are probably going to feel weird and confusing for a little while. Same thing happened to Mis and Nara. I’m sure Panna is going through it now too. But Papa and I are always here to listen and hopefully help everything make more sense.” Leone had his hands clasped in his lap, thumbs rubbing together nervously.
Without Bruno present to fill in the blanks, the silver-haired man felt under increased pressure to keep from saying the wrong thing. His best bet was to postpone the conversation for later and attempt to schedule an appointment with Giorno’s pediatrician just to confirm what both parents already suspected was going on.