Though everyone knew they had to be on alert, their job of guarding Trish was relatively much easier than the last fight with Kraftwerk. After Fugo was done lecturing Narancia to be careful, things were really quiet.

"Hey Giorno," Mista said through the silence, "you got a sec?"

Giorno blinked. "Yeah."

Why did Mista want to have a word with him?

Their last fight ended with his abdomen in staples, but he didn't seem like he was upset with Giorno. Perhaps he got over it when his wounds healed. Still, as the two of them stood in the dim room, somewhere down the hallway from the girl they were supposed to be guarding, Giorno couldn't help but feel like he should've done more. Any normal person would've been disappointed in him.

"If this is about what happened earlier..." he began.

"Ah, kinda." Mista noticed how frustrated Giorno looked, and he frantically began to clarify. "Wait, I don't know what you're thinking, but you don't have to be upset!"

He put a friendly hand on Giorno's left shoulder, startling the young man. Confused pale eyes met with Mista's smiling face.

"I, or well... none of us probably could've made it on the island without your help. And I just wanted to say, I'm glad we can count on you, Giorno!"

Before Giorno knew it, the pat on his shoulder quickly turned into a hug. He stammered, probably not loud enough to be heard. He reflexively lifted his arms slightly, but he did nothing to push his comrade away.

What... what do I do?!

His mind scrambled for how to respond. No one ever hugged Giorno. It wasn't even that no one was allowed to; it was just that no one did.

"Sorry we were so hard on you in the beginning," Mista continued. "It's just how we do things."

Giorno was only half listening. "Uh, y-yeah," he muttered.

I... have to hug back, right? It'd be rude not to...

Unaware that Mista was about to let go, Giorno loosened tension in his shoulders and crossed his arms over Mista's back. His chin rested on his friend's firm shoulder, and he squeezed him gently. From this friendly embrace, a sudden wave of bliss and longing tightened in Giorno's throat and eyes, and he wasn't even sure what he felt besides emotion and Mista's incredibly soft sweater. He latched onto this new feeling- figuratively and literally.

The taller man froze. What's he doing? What a weird guy. Mista regained his hold, for the time being.

Giorno had no memory of being held like this. This warm, secure sensation had been absent from his life for as long as he could remember. He didn't know he wanted such a thing until it had actually happened. Beyond affection, this embrace was healing, as if the wrongs in his past were slowly being undone, the longer he childishly held onto this person...

Quite unlike Giorno, Mista was great at giving and receiving hugs- or so he would proclaim, at least. He could tell the difference between embracing someone out of obligation, friendship, love. He had already tried hugging everyone else at least once- Abbacchio only once, and he learned not to try that again. Fugo wasn't enthusiastic at first, but warmed up to him very slowly. The others were no strangers to affection.

But Giorno was something different. His hug was so unusually long he started to think there was an entire story to it. In seconds, the boy's arms tightened their grip, and his fingers begun to curl. There was some reason or many reasons why he would desperately cling to him and refuse to let go. Saddened by the thought, Mista didn't want to let go either; Giorno needed him there for some reason.

"Geez, Giorno," he chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. "What's up with you?"

Giorno snapped out of his trance-like state. "What do you mean?" the blonde asked, unsure if he was doing something wrong.

"Most guys would've let go by now."

Face turning red, he nervously released Mista and stepped back. "I'm sorry!" he said, looking to the floor off to the side, unable to face his superior, especially after such a social blunder. How could he be so unprofessional all of a sudden?

"I-it's not a big deal," he reassured awkwardly. "Y'know, if something's bugging you, you may as well spit it out while you can."

Ugh, how humiliating, he thought as he pursed his lips. Giorno didn't want to gamble on losing his newly acquired trust, so he may as well come clean. "The truth is... I've never hugged anyone before."

"Huh?! Never?!" Mista spread his arms in disbelief. "You're kidding, right?"

Giorno looked up and grimaced for a split second. Why was he so loud!? If the others found out he was so bad at something so simple, who knows what they'd think of him? He sighed, but looked the man earnestly in his eyes. "I'm not. Anyway, I know I messed up; sorry about that."

Mista paused, rubbing at his hat with one hand. "All right, all right, I believe you."

In an instant, he smiled and hugged Giorno again.

"M-Mista?!"

"Then you'll just have to get better at it," he laughed, as if this solution was completely obvious.

But his lighthearted feelings were brief. Those eyes that faced him just a minute ago were covered by a forced, unfeeling mask- a drastic shift from his earlier embarrassment. Giorno still had insecurities and some desire to be appreciated or loved. The young boy must've yearned for someone to comfort him and may not have even realized it. But some time ago, he got used to dismissing those emotions, as if his useless feelings weren't important.

Well, that's dumb, Mista thought, frowning behind Giorno's shoulder. His feelings totally mattered, and Mista had learned that it only took a little affection to bring them to light. Sure, they would have to focus on their allies' lives as well as their own in this dangerous game they were playing in Passione; but for this moment of peace, Giorno mattered as a human being. They could fight for their lives some other time; for then, they were just a family.

Despite being baffled by this repeat of events, Giorno hugged back once more, less intensely this time. This wasn't at all what he expected joining a gang. He wasn't used to this much physical contact, or this much kindness in general, but he welcomed it. Mista had only known him for about a day, and already he genuinely put his trust in Giorno. He must be a fool, but... he's a good person. While his face was still out of sight, he smiled.

Unlike before, he reacted to Mista's loosened hold and let go along with him.

"See? That wasn't hard," Mista commented. "Anyway, let's get back to the others. We still have a job to do."

"Yeah," Giorno confirmed, poised with a faint trace of joy in his eyes.

Mista still had no idea what Giorno had gone through this whole time. Traumas could never be erased, but he hoped that whatever had happened in the past would hurt less and less as his story with the gang was written over it.

You're one of us now.

And he would make sure Giorno believed it, one hug at a time.

(A/N So much has already been done with these two by the time the anime even aired. I really wanted to add to the fics with like... no "real" spoilers and really early on in their relationship. Rewatching part 5 I thought it was so nice of Mista to stick up for Giorno's idea, and later on it's just like they trust each other so much I can't help but love their relationship. ;u;)