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The cafe was easy enough to find and Giorno was pleased to find the menu offered his favorite flavors. While the cafe was sparsely decorated, the atmosphere was pleasant and the seats were comfortable.
Giorno was thankful to find an empty booth in the back corner that had a clear line of sight to the entrance. All he could do now was wait for Mista and hope he showed. Occasionally people would look at him for a moment too long before quickly looking away. With his expensive suit he undoubtedly looked out of place.
Giorno’s stomach churned with unfamiliar nervousness as he held his hot London Fog latte between his hands for warmth, inhaling the calming scent of bergamot as he waited for it to cool enough to drink. Even before entering law school, Giorno was cautious and never made decisions without calculating that the chance of success was in his favor. He was decisive but rarely acted impulsively. It was why he knew he'd make a great lawyer. Never ask a question you don't know the answer to. But then, Guido Mista entered his life and it took all of his willpower to maintain his composure.
Sending him a note to meet like this was impulsive, but deciding to finally meet him was not. At least Giorno could tell himself that.
And while he knew Mista wanted to meet him- he had said so multiple times in his letter, at least… he had. Before Giorno had essentially ghosted him during the weeks leading up to his finals. By his calculations back at the restaurant, there was approximately a 90% chance Mista would show.
That remaining 10% worried him. When they spoke at the bar, Mista said he was sorta seeing someone. Did he mean Giorno? Or had he found someone else?
There was also the variable of the note itself. He tipped the bartender handsomely to deliver the note to Mista after Giorno had left, but there was still no guarantee. Would Mista even read the note? Or would he be too busy with paperwork for his job to bother with such trivialities like reading a random note?
Shit. He also owed Bruno an explanation. He didn't get the chance to talk to him directly after the attempt on Polpo's life back at the restaurant. And, when Bruno offered Giorno a ride home, Giorno instead asked to be dropped off at the cafe. Alone. A quick, “I'll explain later, promise! Let me know how it goes with my Father,” was all he'd managed before running into the cafe.
Giorno’s thoughts continued to spiral and he knew he was in deep with Mista. He’d known for a while now, and those feelings only intensified when Mista’s letters had continued while he was drowning in his finals. Those words of encouragement and thoughtful reminders to take care of himself made his heart sing.
Movement out of one of the windows caught his eye and he looked up just as Mista ran by, pausing briefly at the entrance to the cafe to wipe sweat from his brow. Then, he was striding inside, eyes scanning the counter and tables wildly before spotting Giorno. He stared at Giorno briefly before quickly approaching, stopping just shy of the table.
“Gio? Giorno?” Mista’s voice wavered slightly but he held eye contact, and Giorno thought he could easily get lost in the dark depths of his irises.
“Guido,” Giorno breathed out the name. His heart hammered in his chest as he took in the man standing just out of arm's reach. He gestured at the empty booth bench across from him, “Please, join me.”
Mista didn’t hesitate and excitedly dropped into the seat opposite of Giorno, an easy smile spreading across his face. “Hi.”
“Hi,” Giorno laughed at the absurdity of being so nervous, he couldn’t remember why he waited so long for this. His eyes scanned over Mista, he hadn't taken the time to truly appreciate how handsome he was back at the bar and greedily soaked it all in now that they had all the time in the world. Here, in the cafe, he was less on edge, and less guarded than at the restaurant surrounded by his classmates and father.
“I was starting to think I'd never meet you.” Mist smiled wistfully. “Worth the wait.”
Giorno felt his cheeks grow warm. “I’m sorry. I was writing you a letter this morning to ask you here for coffee but didn’t get a chance to finish it.”
“Wait-” Mista blinked, smile turning into a smirk. “You were thinking about me this morning?” He leaned forward, “Maybe I was thinking about you too.”
“Oh?” Giorno leaned forward, “Well, how lucky for us we met today. It could have taken several days for my letter to reach you once I got it mailed.” He looked away and leaned back, making another snap decision, “I’m glad my father took Bruno’s suggestion to hire your security firm.”
Giorno bit his lip, bracing for Mista’s reaction. May as well lay everything on the table now before they got closer, before he fell even deeper for the wonderful man across from him. What was the point if his family's wealth would ultimately drive them apart? If his father would ultimately drive them apart? Just like with so many others.
“Your father? Is he the intimidating British man? I'm sure you don't mean that, uh, large man everyone was sucking up to.”
Giorno smiled, eyes crinkling at Mista’s joke. “Don't let him know you can hear his accent, it pisses him off. He likes to think his Italian is perfect.”
“Noted,” Mista mumbled watching Giorno carefully as he sipped his drink.
He wasn't sure what to say next so he slowly sipped at his drink to give himself time to think, hoping Mista would fill the silence before it became awkward. If Mista wasn’t going to ask more about his father, then he wasn’t going to volunteer more information, he’d said enough that hopefully, Mista could read between the lines.
Mista leaned back as casually as he could, “So, you know Bruno Bucciarati?”
Giorno’s eyes widened and he nearly choked on his latte. He managed to gently sit his mug down and leaned in, making heavy eye contact with Mista. “Yes. He's a close friend. And is a lawyer at my father’s law firm,” he added with a raised eyebrow.
“That's great! Bucciarati- wait. Your father's law firm? I thought he was just a big wig or something. He actually- fuck me.”
“Is one of the owning partners of the firm, yeah.” Giorno couldn’t meet Mista’s gaze.
Mista whistled, “Damn. I figured you had to come from money based on some of the things you mentioned in your letters. And the way you threw money around at the bar earlier…. But, shit, that's– I mean, I don’t care. You’re not like a jackass about having money, so it’s whatever.”
“It doesn’t bother you?”
“I panicked a bit when I first read your initial letter. But, it doesn’t matter. I mean, based on your letters, I think you’re a wonderful person on paper. And you’ve been an angel in person.” Now it was Mista refusing to make eye contact, “Does it bother you that I’m completely broke?”
“It doesn’t bother me at all…” Giorno sighed. “It will bother my Father, so fair warning. He’s so obsessed with our images. I hope you don’t mind if I take a while to introduce you to him.”
“Oh…” Mista cleared his throat.
“I’m not– it’s–” Giorno tried to find the words to express that he wasn’t ashamed of dating Mista.
“Don’t worry about it, I think I get it. He seems the type who would try to meddle in your life.”
“Exactly.” Giorno hesitantly reached across the table and placed his hand over Mista’s. “He’s done it before and I don’t want to go through that again.”
Mista flipped his hand over, his calloused palm sliding against Giorno’s. “And you mother?”
“That’s… a long conversation.”
“If talking about family makes you uncomfortable, we can talk about something else.”
Girono nodded. Mista must have a litany of questions swarming in his head and Giorno was infinitely thankful for his thoughtfulness. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, looking down at his drink and pointedly avoiding Mista’s gaze, but didn’t retract his hand. “Yeah. It's complicated.”
“Family often is. Yeah, so,” Mista said, easily shifting the conversation, “Bruno was my lawyer back when I had, uh, some legal issues…. I think I mentioned that in one of my letters?” Mista scratched the back of his head with his free hand “If he’s working at a big firm, I guess that means he's not a public defender anymore?”
“He still takes a few pro bono cases a month. Sounds like he did a good job on your case?”
“The best! But, you probably already know how skilled he is. OH!” Mista leaned forward with a wicked grin, “Did you know he’s dating my friend?”
“I knew he was dating someone, but I haven’t met him yet.”
“He works with me too, he was actually there tonight. The tall guy with the long hair? That’s Leone Abbachio.”
Yes, Giorno did remember seeing him. “Ah, I believe Bruno kept glancing over at him.”
“It’s so weird. I’ve heard so much about him from Abba, but he never said his last name. I never put it together until tonight. Abba is the reason I signed up for the match-making service to begin with.”
“I’ll be sure to send him thank you flowers.”
“Eh, best not to. It will go to his head,” Mista chuckled. “So, how is Coco Jumbo?”
“He’s happy my finals are over so I can spend more time spoiling him.”
Talking to Mista quickly became as easy as breathing. They took a brief break when Mista went to order himself a drink, and Giorno’s heart squeezed happily in his chest when Mista brought him back another London Fog. They talked for the next hour, jumping from topic to topic easily, like they had been friends for years. He learned more about Mista’s job as Mista regailed him with stories. And in return he opened up a little more about his studies and his friends.
When Mista failed to stifle a yawn, he sheepishly laughed, “I guess It’s getting late…”
“Yeah…” Giorno’s eyelids were beginning to feel heavy as well, but he wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Mista. “Guido, can I ask you something?”
“Anything, babe.”
“Do you want to… date?”
Mista smirked, but Giorno could clearly see the flush covering his face. “Of course, I thought I made it obvious?”
“I just don’t want to assume, you know?”
“Yes, Mr Lawyer.” Mista winked as he reached across the table to hold Giorno’s hand again.
“Not a Lawyer. Not yet.” He still had one year of classes, then he needed to pass Italy's National Bar Exam.
“Mmmm. Well, Mr. Future Lawyer, I want to be your boyfriend. Just to be clear. Don’t wanna leave any room for ambiguity.”
Giorno laughed softly, his whole body feeling light as a feather. “I’m glad.”
Eventually, they reluctantly left the cafe, pausing just outside the doors to gain just a few more fleeting moments together. Mista said he lived close enough to walk while Giorno had called for a ride which was now waiting for him.
“Text me when you get home?” Mista shifted awkwardly, hands in his pockets.
As much as Giorno yearned to grab him by the lapels and pull him into a passionate kiss, he managed to maintain his composure. Instead, he leaned into Mista’s space, quickly placing a chaste kiss to his cheek before stepping towards his waiting ride. “Of course. I'm glad we finally met.”
“Yeah, me too…” Mista said, voice breathy as he watched Giorno get into the car. Giorno watched him out the window as he drove away, already missing his companionship. He had a good feeling that this relationship would last.