She's always right

Gioia sat cross-legged to make herself comfortable and looked down at Squalo.

"You're really not staying home tonight?" she asked for the tenth time.

"I already told you I'd just take you home, stay with you a bit and then go back."

"But why can't I go with you?" she protested.

"No way you're sleeping in that house of insane bastards!"

"But…!"

"VOIIII! STOP MOVING!" snapped Squalo. "I can't do push-ups if you keep fidgeting!"

Pouting, Gioia crossed her arms and sat straight. Usually, she would sit on her brother's back and they would chat happily while he was doing push-ups. But she knew Squalo was still mad at her because of the steak incident at lunch. After he had calmed down, he had told Xanxus he would take her home and come back later. Squalo apparently didn't like being made fun of in front of his boss…

"By the way…" scowled Squalo. "Never do that again."

"Hm? Do what?" Gioia feigned innocence.

"Next time, I'll cut you in two, I swear!" he growled. "And eat your damn steak!"

"Tanaka already forces me to eat meat… I don't want you to do it too." In a whisper, she added "You're not my father."

"Tanaka isn't your father eith-"

Squalo stopped, realizing what she had said, and looked up at his sister. She was staring at the wall, looking indifferent. Squalo loathed those moments. True to her name, Gioia was most of the time cheerful and kind, though she had become a bit mischievous those last months. But sometimes, she would let slip what she was really feeling and Squalo never knew how to react. And every time it happened, she would-

"By the way, Nii-chan! Please teach me how to fight! You promised me you would!" She pointed an accusing finger at him.

She would immediately change the subject…

"I will when you don't act like a weak brat anymore…" He smirked at her. "Now, move. It's getting late, I have to go."

Gioia reluctantly got off her brother's back and watched him as he grabbed his stuff. She walked down the hall with him, not saying a word. Finally at the door, Squalo turned, looked down at his little sister and noticed she was nervously playing with the string of her hoodie.

"Voiii, what's going on?" he asked, annoyed.

"Nii-chan" she looked up at him, her eyes filled with expectations. "You'll come next week, right?"

Suddenly understanding why she was so nervous, he dropped his stuff, crouched in front of her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Don't worry, Gio" he said in his softest voice. "Everything will be alright."

She nodded, not saying anything. Squalo suddenly felt very awkward and let go of her, slightly blushing.

"See you then, brat" he growled before patting her head and leaving.


Dino felt Gioia's grasp on his hand tighten.

They were in front of the primary school and it was the girl's first day. Squalo had called Dino in the middle of night, sounding desperate and begging him to accompany Gioia for her first day. When Gioia had opened the door to Dino, a melancholy expression had covered her face for a few seconds before she put herself together and grabbed Dino's hand with a smile. She had walked with determination, telling Dino how she loved the new pens she had bought with Squalo and Tanaka. But now that she was in front of the school, she wouldn't let go of the older boy's hand.

Dino crouched in front of her and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, Gioia. It'll be okay! And you'll love school, I'm sure! You love learning new stuff, right?"

"Yes…" she said, looking slightly better.

"And if someone bothers you, don't worry! I'll take care of them!"

"But Dino" she laughed "you always fall and Nii-chan says you can't defend yourself."

"I'll call Squalo then…" mumbled Dino, feeling like bursting into tears himself. "Now, go. Or you'll be late!"

Gioia seemed to have regained her confidence and she let go of Dino's hand.

"And don't worry" Dino added. "He'll be there to pick you up."

She smiled at him one last time before walking into the school.


"I won't be long."

Squalo got out of the car and ran to the school's entrance where he had spotted Dino. When he finally arrived, he looked down at his sister, afraid of her reaction. But instead of anger, sadness or reproach, he saw an utterly happy face, lit up by a wide smile.

"I'm sorry I'm late" he growled, letting out a sigh of relief before holding out his hand.

Gioia didn't answer and pulled Dino's sleeve. He leaned towards her, curious, and she quickly kissed him on the cheek before whispering something to him. She then grabbed her bag and took the hand of a shocked and pissed Squalo. The shark felt so outraged that he walked back to the car without even thanking Dino. He angrily opened the door and let Gioia get in before him.

"Don't fucking sit on my lap, mini-scum!" grunted an angry voice.

"Oh, sorry, Boss!" the little girl said before turning to her brother. "So you were with Boss?"

There was no trace of reproach in Gioia's voice or on her face but Squalo felt terrible nonetheless.

"I-I'm sorry, Gioia" he mumbled. "We were busy."

"You have a problem with that, mini-scum?" scowled Xanxus, glaring at the girl.

"Xanxus!" snapped Squalo. "Don't talk lik-"

"Shut up, trash" growled Xanxus. "I asked her."

"No, of course not" Gioia assured in a calm voice, turning to face the future Varia boss. "You're Nii-chan's boss. You're more important."

Squalo's eyes widened whereas Xanxus looked at her appreciatively.

"You're definitely interesting, mini-scum" he smirked before glancing at his future second-in-command.

Squalo couldn't help but stare at his sister, feeling a slight pain in his chest. He had wanted to deny her words but he just couldn't. Because deep down, he knew she was right. She was always right about him…

Note:

I thought I would write another "Gioia meets the Varia" chapter but I ended up writing this x) What can I say about this chapter... I hope I managed to express how I see Gioia's relation with the other characters. And particularly Xanxus because he definitely plays an important role in Gioia's development. And well... Dino, as I said to PsychedelicFlame, just keeps popping up when I'm writing XD And this chapter is really longer than the others. I hope you survived XD

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS. I'm not even joking when I say I felt like crying. My mood is not the best lately but reading your reviews really cheer me up so THANK YOU.

cocoamilo Thanks so much for your review ;~; omg I would love to see it if you draw something! To be completely honest, I don't have a clear image of Gioia OTL Weird, I know... I'm the author and I still see her kind of blurry haha I can only tell you she has grey eyes, long black hair and she is "average"? I mean, she's not super pretty. She's just normal x) Actually, in a way, I also want to let the readers imagine their own Gioia. For me, her physical appearance really doesn't matter. I just wanted her to have the same eyes as Squalo, that's all :) And I don't know if it's school or something else that keeps you busy but good luck! *hugs*

Tsukiba Je peux pas te dire si y'aura du XS plus tard parce qu'à chaque fois, je prévois d'écrire qqch et je finis par écrire qqch qu'a rien à voir XDDD Et puis, oui, elle devient machiavélique 8D Si elle était tout le temps sage, ce serait vraiment pas drôle. Le pauvre Squalo s'ennuyerait :D Merci pour tes reviews en tout cas, ça me fait extrêmement plaisir!

Gosh, if FFnet could just let me put some gifs here, I'd put all my hug gifs for you! ;A;

Thank you once again and see you next chapter!