A Glass of Tequila

Bel grabbed Gioia's arm and drew her closer to whisper in her ear.

"You're aware that going to the karaoke with that peasant is a bad idea, right?"

"I know" Gioia flinched at the memory of the last time Lussuria had dragged the Varia to a karaoke.

Lussuria had ended up drinking a lot and had started taking off his clothes, forcing Squalo to jump on Gioia, hide her eyes and storm out of the room, yelling about "perverts". The whole scene had been quite amusing but neither Bel nor Gioia wanted to experience that once again. Not to mention Lussuria's singing was an offense to human ears.

"I don't want to go. Do something about it!" ordered Bel before pushing the girl toward Lussuria.

The colourful man who had been talking nonstop about all the fun they were going to have looked at Gioia with surprise.

"What is it, dear?"

"I don't want to go, Lussu-nee" she stuttered. "Why don't we cancel for tonight and meet this weekend instead? Spend two whole days together?"

Gioia offered her most charming smile but Lussuria just pouted.

"You're really no fun…"

"Well, I think there are other places than karaoke where you can get more fun."

Lussuria paused to think then grabbed Gioia's shoulders, his eyes sparkling.

"You're right, darling!" he shrieked. "We should try a host club!"

"What is it?" asked Bel, curious, before grinning. "Is it a place where you can freely take people hostage and torture them?"

Gioia stared at both of them, feeling desperate. What Squalo had told her earlier had been devastating. She had finally managed to make the connections and get the truth about what was going on so she needed some time alone to reflect on it.

"No, it's not, Bel" Gioia answered calmly. "And no, I'm not going, Lussu-nee. I can't. I have school tomorrow so I have to go home now."

She started turning away but Bel immediately grasped her arm.

"You stay here, peasant!"

"Let go, Bel" Gioia gritted her teeth.

"I want to have some fun tonight so you find some place where we can go!"

"I said LET GO!"

Losing patience, Gioia slipped her arm free and pushed away the prince. Her conflicting feelings she felt since the talk with Squalo were torturing her and entertaining Bel was the last thing she wanted to do. Bel was startled by her reaction at first but a knife quickly appeared in his hand.

"Do not use that tone with me" he threatened. "I'm a prince so you owe me some respect."

"I don't owe you anything!" retorted Gioia, her eyes gleaming with rising anger.

"Apologize immediately, peasant, and I might consider forgiving you" Bel snarled.

"Do you honestly think I'd apologize to you?!" Gioia scoffed.

Bel didn't answer but stiffened. Gioia noticed the change in his behaviour and knew he would leap into attack any moment. However, Lussuria grabbed Bel's arm and with a painful torsion, made him drop his weapon.

"That's enough, Bel" scolded Lussuria. "We haven't seen each other for so long so let's not fight, okay?"

Bel remained silent for a moment then nodded. Lussuria let go of his arm and smiled warmly at the two teenagers.

"Gioia is clearly not feeling well so we'll take her home and let her rest."

"I won't accompany this good-for-nothing peasant" snapped Bel. "I'm going back to the hotel."

And he left them without a second glance. Lussuria sighed then turned to Gioia with a cheerful smile.

"Let's go, darling! You lead the way!"

Gioia nodded then headed home. Lussuria followed her and gently took Gioia's hand on the way but said nothing. Gioia was grateful for Lussuria's silence and his hand felt somehow reassuring. They finally arrived at her flat and Gioia thanked him and said goodnight. Lussuria squeezed her hand and gently stroked her cheek.

"I can see you're hurting" he said, his voice tinged with concern. "I guess a lot happened tonight so just try to get some sleep. You'll feel better tomorrow."

"Thank you, Lussu-nee" mumbled Gioia.

"Goodnight, my dear."

He squeezed her hand one last time then left her. Gioia watched him disappear at the corner of the street then entered her flat. With a heavy sigh, she leaned on the door and hid her face in her hands.

Lussuria's behaviour was exactly the reason why she felt so conflicted. She was aware the Varia officers were violent assassins, despised and feared in the Mafia. Only a child, she had witnessed Xanxus killing people cold-blooded so many times she had become numb to it. She had always known that if they felt like it, they could kill her in the blink of an eye. Still, they had always cared about her in their own way. Lussuria had just proved that. She knew despite his carefree behaviour, Lussuria still was a murderer with a shady taste for corpses. Yet she also knew his concern was genuine. So how was she supposed to choose between the Varia and Tsuna and the others?

Her feelings were an utter mess. She felt like her brain was being torn apart, trying to figure out a way to get out of this terrible situation. Overwhelmed by her feelings, panic began to take control of her. Her breathing was ragged and chills shook her whole body. Multiple voices overlapping each other rang in her head. She wanted to cry but sobs got stuck in her throat. In a last attempt, Gioia wrapped her arms around her and held herself tightly, her nails digging in her skin. With intense efforts, she pushed away the voices and forced herself to take deep breaths. After what felt like hours, she managed to drag herself to her kotatsu and finally collapsed, unconscious.

When Gioia woke up the next day, her memories were blurred. A violent headache made her wince when she got up and she quickly took a medicine. After texting Kusakabe to tell him she wouldn't jog that morning, she got ready and left for school. She was walking in the street when she heard someone calling her. She turned and saw Tsuna, Gokudera and Yamamoto. Events from the previous day hit her like a bullet. For a split second, she was ready to run away as far from them as possible. But she just stood frozen, unable to move. As they came nearer, Gioia felt the choking sensation coming again and it took all her will to stay calm, put up a smile and greet the boys. She was expecting to see them scared but except for Tsuna, the other two looked perfectly fine. They didn't say anything about the duels and Gioia didn't ask about their whereabouts during the last days. She just listened to them in silence, still feeling torn apart between her new friends and the Varia. She was too distracted to listen during classes and the day passed at incredible speed. She eventually found herself sitting alone and watching the baseball team practice.

"Are you okay?"

Gioia started. She had been totally lost in her thoughts and hadn't noticed Yamamoto sitting next to her.

"I'm fine" she quickly answered.

"Are you sure? You don't look fine to me."

The boy was looking at her with a kind smile and Gioia felt her heart melt. Several times that day, she had thought about telling everything to her friends and convincing them not to fight the Varia. But she had overheard their conversation and they sounded pretty determined to fight. Gioia knew she could say nothing that would stop them. Was she supposed to watch her friends being destroyed and do nothing about it?

"You're staring at me" Yamamoto chuckled.

Gioia blushed and quickly looked down at her feet, embarrassed.

"My dad told me you came at the restaurant looking for me. Were you worried?"

"I wasn't exactly looking for you" mumbled Gioia. "I was just wondering where you guys were…"

Yamamoto observed her for a second before chuckling.

"You should have come to the dojo then. Dad told you I was training there, right?"

Gioia nodded. But she hadn't had the guts to go to the dojo and Bel had found her anyway.

"Why were you training?" Gioia asked, curious about what Yamamoto would answer. "Is there something going on?"

The boy's smile froze and Gioia noticed his body tensed. He finally let out a sigh and gazed at the baseball field.

"We have some… duels coming up. I already know who my opponent is and I really want to win. He's a highly skilled swordsman when I'm just a novice but I believe I have a chance."

"No, you don't" thought Gioia.

He smiled confidently at her and she did her best not to burst into tears. Of all people, Yamamoto's opponent was Squalo. Could it have been worse? The boy noticed her panic and he gave her a comforting smile.

"You know, I'm here because baseball is what calms me down. It makes me feel at peace so that I can be ready for whatever is coming. You should find what calms you down and you'll feel better."

He patted her head and with a last smile, left her alone. Gioia watched him walk away, feeling even worse than ever.

"Are you coming?"

Xanxus glared at his captain, making the answer obvious. Squalo shrugged and left the room without comment. Xanxus wasn't particularly interested in those trashes' duels and he didn't feel like going out anyway. He had just made himself comfortable in an armchair when the door opened. Out of reflex, Xanxus turned and threw his glass at the intruder. Gioia had clearly not been expecting the attack so she didn't dodge the glass and it crashed on the arm she had instinctively put in front of her face. Xanxus smirked as she came up to him, annoyed.

"A simple 'hello' would have been enough…" she remarked.

"Boring" commented Xanxus. "Grab me another glass, mini scum."

Gioia mumbled something inaudible but brought him a glass anyway. She then sat in front of him and Xanxus noticed the dark shadows under her eyes.

"You look like shit."

"Yeah, thanks" she sighed.

Xanxus scrutinized her for a moment. Gioia was staring at some invisible point on the wall and she had her hands clutching the chair, apparently trying to repress them from shaking. The girl looked like she was about to burst into tears and handling a sobbing teenager wasn't what Xanxus had in mind for the night. He poured a glass of tequila and handed it out to her.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"Take it."

"What? No!"

"Take it, brat."

Gioia stared at him, dumbfounded.

"I won't hold the damn glass forever. Take it now!" he snarled.

The girl quickly obeyed and took the glass.

"You really look like you need a drink" said Xanxus, grabbing another glass and pouring some tequila for him. "Drink, you'll feel better."

Gioia sniffed the drink and made a face.

"That smells disgusting… and I'm underage."

"Who gives a fuck?" retorted Xanxus, emptying his glass in one gulp. "Your brother isn't here and I won't tell him so go ahead."

Gioia looked hesitantly at her glass. Xanxus sighed impatiently.

"Your face looks terrible, brat. Just let go and drink!"

With a concerned look, Gioia finally brought the glass to her lips and took a tentative sip. Once again, she made a face and Xanxus half smiled.

"It'll taste better after a few sips" he assured her.

He watched her empty her glass little by little until she finished and asked for another one. Xanxus smiled. Her cheeks were now slightly pink and she looked better than when she had arrived. At least, she didn't look like she was about to cry anymore.

"Now, brat, I'm bored. So why don't you tell me what you've been up to those last years?"

Gioia took a gulp of tequila then grinned at him.

Note:

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