NOTES
1. Just a reminder, Daisy is a character from the canon.
2. Warning: OOC Giotto, innuendos, awkward situations full of misunderstandings, long chapter ahead (this was planned to be a new year special, but I had no time to write in the new years), nicotine and alcohol
3. I have edited some parts of Her Cat's older chapters, but will upload it once all chapters are done. Also, I'm working to keep the 'mature' and 'secret-spy' vibe on the story by adding some mature (in its traditional sense) details; such as the use of cigarettes, alcohol, and the such. I know it can be confusing to have these kind of scenes along with fluffy cute scenes; but that has been a part of my style (or so I was told). I won't mind having some input or critic regarding the issue though.
4. We're coming closer to 1827's progression. The story will change slightly, but I'm working to keep the pacing natural and light. I know there are other plot building beside the relationship progression going on, but trust me, the other plots beside 1827 were not really something serious or big (even though it seemed like so).
HIS BOSS, COMPLICATED
There is nothing sort of easy when it comes to serving Alaude. The man was efficient and quick witted; very much of a perfectionist and an ambitious person. For one thing, he wouldn't mind giving you a critical eye and a couple short words that could send chills to your spine if you ever did any mistake. Secondly, he always expected the best; because only the best deserves it.
Said man was now standing tall in the middle of a warehouse. A green haired man laid helplessly near his feet; body covered in multiple giant handcuffs from shoulders down. This was, of course, Alaude's doing. He was indeed a man who knows nothing about relaxing. Just yesterday Alaude asked for a day vacation and today he chased after Daisy as though it was a walk on the park.
"Caught you," Alaude hissed dangerously to the weak form of Daisy. Trench coat flowing, the cloud guardian turned around to face the subordinates waiting behind him. They were all watching him with adoration and awe; all because they witnessed how efficient Alaude latest weapon was. It was crazy. What would you expect from a pair of handcuffs that had been thrown away at you? It won't automatically circle around your wrists unless someone put it there, right? Wrong. Because this handcuffs actually grew in size. It clicked around Daisy's waist, then multiplied itself until it cuffed around Daisy's whole figure.
"Take care of him and get him to my place," Alaude ordered calmly; only making time to lit his cigarette before leaving the warehouse. Five of his subordinates followed him outside, all waiting for their next order. "What's the status from the park," Alaude asked as he led them into the asphalt ground of the warehouse complex.
"The Primo has arrived safely at the park along with the rest of the guardians, sir," answered one of them, "They are currently preparing for the Primo's speech".
Alaude hummed his understanding and walked to his Aston Martin DB10. His five subordinates were close to his tail when they heard a foreign hum around them.
The reaction was spontaneous; they were after all trained to react on the slightest cue when in a mission. Considering the fact that they had scoured the area for either Daisy or any signs of living just moments ago, it was hard to imagine an innocent civilain to be around. They were expecting an enemy, some kind of a plan B Daisy had in store for them And thus, they all had their guns out and pointed it to the direction of whatever was humming nearby. All they found, standing a couple of feet away from their right, was a boy.
A boy wearing an orange cat onesie no less.
The Vongolans froze, but did nothing to lower their guns from this boy. Alaude was the only one who hadn't pull his weapon out of his pocket, yet someone who knew him well enough would notice how his eyes widened slightly. A pregnant silence ensued; in which everybody wondered how the kid could get himself to that very spot then continued to wonder why the kid wore said garments.
Nevertheless, the onesie suit him to an insane degree.
The Primo's cloud guardian jaw slacked before he took a couple of steps forward, slowly. He stopped an arm-reach away from the boy and bent to the boy's eye level. "How did you get here?" His voice didn't lack it's chilling capacity, yet the boy didn't flinch one bit. He simply mumbled incoherently then answered in a louder voice, "Tsuna picks flower".
The taller man glanced down at the asphalt flooring under his leather boots and the small patch of rebellious withering grass that poked itself out of small cracks on the ground. Obviously, this was not the place for flower-viewing. "There's no flowers here," Alaude told the boy, "Shouldn't you go to the park instead?"
The boy looked down to his feet and started mumbling to himself. All Alaude saw, however, was how the pair of chocolate eyes and that tuff of brown hair poking out of the onesie's hoodie seem to invite you to come closer and touch. So Alaude reached out his one hand. He wasn't sure what he planned to do; either it was to get some dust off of the boy's hoodie, or to check if the boy's hair was really as fluffy as it looked. Whichever he would end up choosing, Alaude was sure that face hiding behind the shade of the hoodie was familiar.
He had his fingers an inch away from the boy; only to have the boy turning around and walk away without further words. To Alaude, the boy might have missed Alaude's attempt to interact further. To the rest of his comrades, however, this seemed like a total rejection (from the boy to Alaude).
The Vongola's men froze in silence as the boy's back became smaller and smaller until it disappeared to the distance. "B-boss?" Called one of Alaude's subordinate, obviously too nervous to face the man at this somewhat embarrassing moment. Alaude's outstretched hand scrunched to a fist; then the man himself stood up and turned around to make his way to his car.
"I'm going to the airport. Take the target to the basement of my private home. Make sure you get him there before my guest arrives," he ordered casually and got himself into his car. And the five subordinates watched the Ashton Martin leaving the vicinity.
What a weird day.
Giotto had merely mentioned a couple of things, but everyone acted as though they were watching Titanic. Giotto understood that a lot of people are passionate about the environment, which was the topic of today's speech; but that doesn't mean Giotto expected people to bawl at the mention of every green colored objects ever.
Or was it his speech, Giotto wondered, that sent these people to tears? Giotto couldn't see his speech pass reading a piece of paper, really; but everyone had always dubbed it as passionate and tear-inducing. Even now, he could see a couple of mothers (Giotto was popular among them) patting their eyes with tissues and some environment activists being uncharacteristically silent. There was also this one guy looking up at Giotto with sparkly eyes.
Oh wait, that last one was G.
Anyhow, despite his surprise, Giotto kept his calm facade and continued his speech. "Remember that incident one year ago –"
Then cue the sharp gasps coming from the crowd. The press even stopped making notes and started paying attention. Giotto noticed that this very moment would be gold; and he would see the face he pulled currently being commemorated as memes and being replayed in televisions. It was a matter of saying the next line at the right moment; maybe right after a two-seconds silence.
Giotto parted his lips and braced himself to say the punchline. He pulled his most charismatic face; the one G enshrined as his homescreen; and let his eyes land at one faraway point behind the crowd (because that would add more drama to his expression). It was then that Giotto caught him.
Him. That boy in cat onesie.
Giotto was awed on how this boy ignore Giotto's existence altogether. Giotto was here! In the center of this podium and being surrounded as though he was a piece of expensive art! Why can't that boy notice Giotto already? Instead, the boy was minding his own business and bent down by a bush of flower. Giotto noted how the boy shook his head and walked away.
Giotto's observation was disrupted by a loud wailing. When he came to, he realized a woman had started crying before he even pulled his punchline. Oh wait, they were still waiting for Giotto's punchline. What was the punchline again? Great, now Giotto forgot what he planned to say. He meant to talk about that event a year ago when a corrupt corporate wanted to demolish this park. A dog was rumored to die in the process, which caused the local activist to pull a stunt. The dog turned out to be alive anyway, but the whole thing ended up spiraling into a huge uproar that everyone still cry about to this day.
That beyond the point, Giotto forgot said punchline. So he said the closest thing to it, "It was sad".
And everyone's tears came anew.
The next five minutes of the speech went by with Giotto talking about how deeply the Vongola connects with the community regarding the issue before he made a bold reminder that Vongola decided to donate to this very park where everything had happened and to the pet shelter nearby. The press Q&A session felt like a breeze for Giotto– a slightly annoying breeze – before he was finally allowed to walk down the podium. G enthusiastic embrace welcomed him.
"Oh my God! Primo, that speech was amazing!" Sometimes Giotto wondered if G was a fangirl or his right hand man, "That long pause between the lines was just so emotional and so... so... phenomenal!" Thank God they didn't notice that Giotto was actually ogling at a boy in cat onesie, "If you could just see your face at the time, it was just... touching and... and... beautiful! The media were impressed!"
"...Um, yeah, did you see that boy in the cat one -," Giotto pointed to the bush where the boy stood by just then, but found no one.
"What?" G turned around to follow the Primo's direction and furrowed at the sight of nothingness. So he returned to his beloved leader, "Anyhow, Primo, people are going to talk about this for ages! This campaign of ours will be so successful."
"But the boy –"
"Giotto-san," the rain guardian appeared along with the sun and the lightning guardian, "You have another appointment in the main house soon".
He didn't get a chance to have his say after being pushed into his limousine. At this point, Giotto was far used to being pushed around by his guardians. They claimed it as being protective; Giotto claimed it as spoilsport. The Primo sent a judging look toward the back of his guardians who lingered outside the limousine to give further instructions to their staff.
"That was amazing, Primo".
"Hm?" Giotto questioned his private chauffeur, but soon realized the man was talking about his speech. Giotto crossed one leg over the other and laid back on the car seat, "Oh, yeah". Where's his cigarette? If G hid it again this time, Giotto would pull a stunt none of his guardians would like.
"Everyone seemed to love it. I also find it to be beautiful".
Giotto honestly couldn't see what's so great about it. He crossed his arms and watched a huge number of his supporters pointing at his car. It was then that the Primo found a brilliant idea. He turned his head slightly, and with a flick of an eyebrow, called, "Donald".
"Actually, Primo, it's Don," corrected the chauffeur.
"Yes, Donald," Giotto repeated slightly hasty, but still casual, "Take me somewhere".
Don's brows met and he turned around to face the Primo. His employer had actually closed the door to the car. Don noted that the movement alerted the guardians who stood outside. "Excuse me Primo?"
"Drive," Giotto didn't even seem guilty, "Now".
The Primo said it in a very cool manner, but you'd note the ordering tone of his voice. Don briskly returned to the wheel and started the engine. From the rear mirror, he could see how panicked the Storm Guardian seemed. Everyone who were guarding the car jumped away from the moving car; surprised and confused. Don hoped he'd still had his job after this. "U-uh, where are we going Primo?" The man should have known what he was doing, right?
"Oh, I don't know," the Primo answered lightly while messing with a lighter and a cigarette that Don remembered keeping inside the pocket of his chauffeur uniform. They drove through a huge crowd who was waving their farewell to the Primo; completely oblivious to the problem the man had caused (or the panic the guardians would be having).
"Oh, I know! Let's go to Alaude's private home," Giotto perked up suddenly in the most charming laughter as he blew a huge puff of smoke, "He's having some a one day leave. Can't let him have all the fun, right?"
Don gulped nervously.
"I have a pack of Cohiba if you want," Alaude announced as he led Kyoya inside his home. A middle aged woman stood near the door to collect their coats, "We can enjoy that over a nice drink".
"You know I don't always enjoy that kind of stuff, Al," Kyoya said while he handed the woman his coat. If you turned blind to the fact that there were two people talking in the room, you'd think it was a person doing a monologue. "The Hibaris taught me to avoid those stuff. But only for today, I'll allow myself".
"You need to appreciate the pleasure of tobacco," Alaude gave the young man a wide smirk and led them to a double door in the hallway. The door opened to reveal an elegant lounge room. The room was wood-themed with dark paneled walls and dim lighting. A huge fireplace greeted them right in front of the double door, with heavy single chairs arranged neatly around it. A billiard table was put on one side of the room, and the grand piano was put on the other. Tall bookshelves decorated the wall right beside the cabinet of alcohols. Kyoya nodded slightly at Alaude's tastes.
"Like it?" Alaude walked to the minibar by the cabinet of drinks, "You should visit more often".
Kyoya sighed, "You know I don't have much time for that. Even now I'm visiting to discuss something related to work".
"And I was thinking of showing you how the handcuffs we both customized had done its job," Alaude turned his head slightly to watch his cousin settling himself on one of the seats, "A busy guy now, aren't you? Ever since Adel allowed you to lead Namimori, you became more of a man every day".
"Stop talking like Fon," Kyoya grunted in disgust, "You're starting to treat me like a child".
Alaude approached the younger man with two whisky glasses and a bottle of drinks in hand. He glanced knowingly at the sight of Kyoya occupying the grandest chair among all five seats around the fireplace. The boy, despite being born out of a wedlock, was still a Suzuki; he knows how to act like a boss even at his elder's home. He even put his legs on the lavish footstool as he returned Alaude's long gaze with a flat face, "What?"
Alaude snorted. He put the bottle of drink and the glasses on an elegant coffee table; where a box of cigar, the limited edition Cohiba Behike, was waiting to be opened. Alaude opened said box, put a cigar to his mouth before handing Kyoya another one. Kyoya gave the cigar a keen eye.
"I received them as a gift. A pack costs almost 20 grand," Alaude boasted lightly as he took a seat. The older lit his cigar, took a long drag, then exhaled in satisfaction. He then turned to Kyoya and lit the younger's cigar. After taking a drag, Kyoya inspect said tobacco stick once again before shrugging and resuming to smoke.
"So," Alaude rolled the cigar on an antique ashtray, "I'm sure you're not here to bad-talk Adel's fiance".
The relaxed expression on Kyoya's face turned to that of annoyance. "It's about work," Kyoya bent to the coffee table and copied Alaude's use on the ashtray, "You know Fon, my uncle from The House of Hibari who works for the Arcobalenos. I met him yesterday".
Alaude hummed.
"In Tan's property. Something about getting their hands on some stolen goods that happened to be top secret," Kyoya murmured as he worked to get the ash off of his cigar. If only he had a good look on Alaude's face, he would see the older male's expression froze for a short second. The expression was gone once Kyoya returned to his previous sitting form.
"At this point, I'm sure the Arcobalenos think the stolen goods were already destroyed, but it is currently save with me," when faced with Alaude's questioning look, Kyoya shrugged, "For the sake of curiosity".
Alaude took some time to pour himself drink. "So you're interested in another's affair. How rare," the man teased casually, "And does it satisfy your curiosity?"
Kyoya spent his time to smoke his cigar, all the while having a thoughtful expression. "I'm not sure," The young genius admitted, "Most of them are barely interesting. The man obviously had no idea how to make use of stolen research ideas. If there were any interesting papers, it would be those he stole from this famiglia that was eliminated a year ago".
Kyoya bent to fetch the printed papers he kept in his Saint Lauren's briefcase; all the while missing the flinch in Alaude's form. Alaude gazed calculatingly at his cousin's briefcase; his mind racing to make sense of this situation. His fingers were itchy to reach his phone and contact his subordinates at the main house. Why is this piece of information with Kyoya currently? Where is the Arcobalenos and how can they fail?
Alaude's eyes grew more steely as seconds went by. He could feel himself growing restless. He was disappointed that some people who are supposed to be with more experience could lose a valuable information to someone as young as Kyoya. Yet at the same time, Alaude was curious on what someone as genius as Kyoya could make out of the stolen papers. So he waited for the younger male to fetch said papers in his briefcase; half worried, half excited. He knew he would get answers soon.
Then the bell rang.
Alaude tch-ed and turned his head to the double door. "Who would pay a visit at these times?" The older man grunted and stood up from his seat.
"Are you expecting another guest?" Kyoya asked.
Alaude made his way out of his room. "No. No one should know I'm here except...," the cloud guardian had a bad feeling, "Let me take care of this for a moment".
The cloud guardian left Kyoya in the lounge and made sure to close the double door behind him. He then crossed the hallway to reach the front door. There, he found his housekeeper, Rosemary, welcoming a man with a charming smile. This man, of course, was someone Alaude knew too well.
It's Giotto.
"Primo! It's a delight to see you!" Rosemary may be a middle aged woman, but she sure could be such a fan when faced with the city's most popular bachelor.
"I'm happy to see you too, Rosemary. Can't wait to have another taste of your pastries," Giotto was all smile and laughter; totally ignoring the nervous chauffeur standing behind him and the sour look on Alaude's face.
"What are you doing here?" Alaude cut all pleasantries and loomed over his boss without mercy, "I'm sure you should be at the main house right now, having a meeting". A judging look was then sent to the jittery chauffeur; scolding the man in silence for taking the most prominent member in the Vongola to his home.
"I don't have any meetings".
"You do. I have your whole schedule for the week in the back of my head. We all do," Alaude warned menacingly. Everyone in the vicinity should be alarmed by how dangerous the cloud guardian was being; but Giotto waved it off easily. The Primo handed his coat to Rosemary and made his way further into the warmth of Alaude's home.
"Rosemary, prepare some snacks will you?" Giotto said coolly as though it was his own home. Alaude was not surprised. However menacing the guardians were, they all have a soft spot for the Primo. Giotto uses this fact for his own advantages all the time.
"Where are you going?" Was the only warning Alaude could give to his boss.
"To the lounge, of course".
Alaude chased after the other man and gripped the back of his collar. "No you don't. I have a guest".
"A guest?" Giotto tch-ed, "A guest who deserves a day-off from the main house? Do I know this person?"
Alaude gritted his teeth. Yes, Giotto knew Kyoya; too well in fact. "No," Alaude hissed, "And we are having a very important discussion. So you better stay out of the lounge for the meanwhile".
There was something in the way Giotto glared. It was a look only a true leader could pull; a look of a true royalty who demanded the utmost loyalty from his admirers. Giotto loves to act stupid most of time; but he was one of the most intelligent and demanding person Alaude ever knew. He was not happy Alaude prioritizes someone other than himself.
The look was gone in a matter of seconds. "I'll take your room then," Giotto smiled airily. He swatted Alaude's grip off of his collar, then brushed past his guardian to the stairs. Alaude made a move to grab the Primo's arm, but was pushed away casually.
Once the sound of slammed door was heard, Alaude briskly approached the silent housekeeper and the chauffeur near the front door. "Listen here," Alaude started with the chauffeur," You, return to your post in the main house and make sure to inform everyone that the Primo is here. Rosemary, I want you to entertain him as best as you can. Make sure he stays in my room and away from the lounge". It's best to keep everyone away from the lounge while he had the discussion with Kyoya. "Go".
"Yes sir," the two workers obeyed. Alaude took a deep breath and made his way to the loungery. Once he returned, Kyoya gave him a curious smirk.
"An important guest?"
Alaude sighed once again and settled himself on his previous seat. "Somewhat. Now, tell me what you discovered about Estraneo's papers".
"Yes," Kyoya handed Alaude the papers he collected from his briefcase, "As I told you, I deem the ideas as interesting, but the report in those papers are mostly incomplete or hardly realistic. Some of it even sounded ridiculous."
Alaude hummed and acted as though he hadn't seen those papers. He flipped the pages as though he was observing each lines carefully and kept his act for a long time until Kyoya snorted.
"You noticed I haven't said a word about it being Estraneo's papers, haven't you?"
Rosemary had appeared more than five times to check Giotto in Alaude's bedroom. At this point, Giotto would pull a stunt toward the lovely woman for being too overbearing. It was most likely that Alaude ordered her to do so.
Whatever, Giotto thought, he would go out of this room and explore Alaude's house. Each of his guardians has their own private home in the city; not far from the main house of course. Giotto knew every nook and cranny of those places. Alaude's was no exception.
Giotto stepped out of Alade's room and glanced left and right once he stepped onto the second floor's hallway. He then continued down the stair and for a brief moment, considered putting his ears on the surface of the double doors to the lounge. But, no. Whatever important discussion Alaude was having with this important guest shouldn't have bothered Giotto at all. No. Visiting the wine cellar in Alaude's basement sounded like a better idea. Giotto would give Alaude a run for his money.
So Giotto sneaked to the basement, all casual and playful as he strolled to the dim hallway of the underground. The door to the wine cellar was just ahead of him, right at the end of the hallway. Giotto was on his way there when he walked pass the door to Alaude's interrogation room. The Primo stopped and noted that the door was slightly opened.
He peeked inside curiously; only to find the boy in cat onesie bending over a green haired guy who was captured in the clutch of Alaude's handcuffs. Giotto's mood instantly brightened.
"Hey!" Giotto greeted while crouching down by the door. Said boy in cat onesie seemed like he was having difficulties to turn around from his position to face Giotto. It was then that Giotto noticed the ear of the onesie was stuck to the handcuffs. How terribly cute.
"Aww, you're stuck, aren't you?" Giotto cooed from his spot, but he wouldn't hurry to help the boy. The boy ignored him at the park after all.
The boy mumbled incoherently. It was obvious the boy was distressed from being stuck. "Okay, okay. I'll help you," Giotto chuckled. Giotto knew he should have questioned how the boy got in Alaude's dungeon in the first place. But, hey, this was a boy in a cat onesie. Even in suspicious situations, they couldn't be that bad, right?
"There," Giotto cheered lightly once the boy's piece of clothing was free from the handcuff. The boy had one hand patting the ear while he observed Giotto carefully. He didn't say a small thank you. Instead, the boy returned to the cuffed Daisy and inspected the handcuffs covering the green haired guy's body. How fricking adorable.
"Hmmm," Giotto scowled at Daisy's nervous face, "Are you trying to get this guy off of his confinement?"
The boy, again, didn't answer; but he turned to face Giotto in a way that informed Giotto he wanted the older male to help him again. Giotto frowned playfully, "But these handcuffs are customized, you see? You can't take it off unless you owned the key."
The boy's brows met, but he tried again, in vain, to get the handcuffs to open. Giotto sighed, out of the adorableness rather than the foolishness. "There is something else that can open the handcuffs though," Giotto continued. The boy in onesie seemed to ignore Giotto fully because he lost all hope on the man.
Giotto then added, "I can open it easily".
Daisy struggled in his confinement; the only thing that hindered him from screeching was the duct tape covering his mouth. The boy in onesie, however, stopped to observe Giotto. Giotto pointed a finger to the ceiling. Suddenly a small ball of golden fire appeared on the tip of said finger. The boy in onesie looked down to his own hands. He could produce the same fire, but only when he had his mittens (which he left at home) on.
"I'll help you," Giotto's smile grew wider, "But only after you hug me".
The boy turned away, mumbling in disagreement before turning to Daisy once again to ignore Giotto. Giotto sweatdropped, "Hey, hey. It's just a hug! How hard can it be?"
When the boy kept ignoring him, Giotto coaxed some more. "Come on, what's a hug compared to dealing with the handcuffs on your own? I promise you, it'll all be done easily".
The head covered with cat hoodie turned slowly toward Giotto. When those big brown eyes landed on Giotto's golden ones, the older's smile grew even wider. "Come on, it can't be that hard to hug".
By the time Giotto had his arms full of the fluffy boy in cat onesie, G arrived on the front porch of Alaude's abode.
"You are saying, among all of these papers, most of them are hoaxes except for one research," Alaude clarified to his young genius of a cousin. Kyoya blew some smoke from his lips before he laid his cigar down on the tray.
"The one about creating a living lethal weapon," Kyoya answered, "Still, the report was incomplete. They only wrote details until the preparation stage and the notes were scattered around the hard disk so I had to compile it carefully. They were either good at hiding this stuff, or were never serious about executing it."
Kyoya paused to give it more thought, "Beside, the whole method is morally questionable. They would need a real-life model to create such a weapon. They needed the gene and the whole profile of a living person who was close enough to be the most powerful person in the world. All we know, the people who have such power in this world are heavily protected from the kinds like Estraneo. The Estraneo would have to deal with a lot of crap if they dared to make a move".
Alaude's eyes moved from the papers to somewhere above. And somehow, Kyoya had the feeling the older male was not watching the ceiling, but was to someplace upstairs. The concerned look on the man's face made Kyoya follow his gaze; only to find nothing in the direction of Alaude's stare. "Is there something...," Kyoya muttered, "... upstairs?"
Alaude was bare of any emotion, but Kyoya knew the guy well enough to note the pause in his answer, "... of course, not". The two shared an identical gaze; each judging the other. For Kyoya, it was obvious Alaude knows more than he showed. Yet, there was nothing else beside the older male's slip-of-tongue earlier and his long silence that indicated anything. Alaude seemed calculating as always; and Kyoya was not sure if the man was being himself or acting differently.
The tense moment was disrupted when they heard the bell for the second time that day. Alaude grunted when he stood and left the lounge. The cloud guardian arrived at the front door to see G and Asari already allowed inside by Rosemary. Alaude reached out to grip G's collar and made sure to hiss at the man's face. "What took you so long?"
G rolled his eyes, "Look," he pushed Alaude off of his being then casually fixed his neck tie, "We were having a meeting with The Arcobalenos regarding The Estraneos. Let's just say, they failed the mission we've asked of them, but had assured us that the information was destroyed. I'd rather have the Primo away from the main house when such a talk is taking place".
Alaude sighed and rubbed the top of his nose. He had heard of the news from the most unlikely source earlier that day. "G..."
"Well, it's destroyed, but I'm still not happy by the fact that The arcobaleno lost to someone. A group of newcomers in fact!"
"...G..."
"You know what's worse? These newcomers were led by this young man. We're lucky the information got destroyed. What if those newcomers decided they was interested in such info?"
"G..."
"Whatever. We should be aware of this newbies. I don't trust them and their capabilities. Challenging the Arcobalenos, how foolish!"
Alaude wiped his face with his hand, "G, stop it..."
"Ah, Kyoya! You're visiting?" G was instantly distracted by the appearance of Kyoya in the middle of the hallway; not knowing he had greeted the leader of said newbies. Not that Alaude would let the facts known now; there were too many things happening at once and Alaude would rather sort through them one by one.
"So, Giotto-san is with you guys?" Asari asked Kyoya casually. Kyoya's eyebrows rose, before he aimed an accusing look toward Alaude, "Giotto was here?"
"He is here," Alaude clarified tiredly, "Upstairs. In my room".
The storm and rain guardian didn't need to be told to chase after their leader to Alaude's room. Meanwhile, Alaude ignored Kyoya's questioning look and led the younger man back to the lounge. He was on his way to sort out any misunderstandings and avoid Kyoya's intellectual mind to make unwanted conclusions; only to be disrupted yet again. This time, by Rosemary herself.
The woman didn't even wait for permission to scramble inside the lounge and exclaimed in a worried voice, "The Primo is not in the bedroom, Sir!"
In a matter of seconds, everyone was in a mess. The guardians were practically silent, but highly cautious. Rosemary and the other staff of the house scurried to check around the house. Kyoya observed everything with his arms crossed as he stood by the stairs. "And what should I do now?" Kyoya meant to complain in a sarcastic manner, but Alaude seemed to take it the wrong way.
"Check the basement or something. If he wasn't there, you could always check on the handcuffs I tried on my target today".
Kyoya snorted, but followed the order anyway. Besides, he was bored. The young man went to the basement with the handcuffs in mind. The door to Alaude's interrogation room would be on the left side of the underground hallway; yet, Kyoya found the door to said room to be slightly opened; which shouldn't happen if there was anyone being held captive inside. So Kyoya approached the door and poked his head inside carefully.
The first thing he found was the handcuffs in it's multiplied form; sliced in half from top to bottom with no one being cuffed inside of it. This, of course, was not the cuffs being unlocked by the custom-made key. This was the handcuffs being literally sliced open. And there was only one person in this world capable of slicing such strong piece of metal that easily.
Said person was standing in the middle of the interrogation room; alone and innocent. "Kyoya!" Giotto greeted, "You didn't tell me you're visiting".
Normally, Kyoya would answer the greeting with his share of sarcasm; but he was far too speechless after catching the sight of the handcuffs he and Alaude had worked on for months. "Oh, don't look so defeated," Giotto cheered.
"Where's Daisy?" Kyoya asked instead.
"Him?" Giotto put on a slightly guilty mask, "I released him".
Of course, no one would dare to defy the leader of The Vongola; yet, this was still a situation where someone as influential as Giotto was belittling the impact of releasing someone so dangerous in one's own home; not that Daisy should be able to taste his freedom for long with more than one Vongola members inside. Still, Kyoya couldn't believe how relaxed Giotto was.
"Oh, come on, Kyoya, let's go upstairs and drink with me," Giotto offered while hugging Kyoya with one arm. Kyoya was in the middle of arranging a short scolding to the older man, only to be disturbed by the strong smell of something sweet and warm from Giotto. How strange.
"What did you do?" Alaude asked once he appeared at the entrance to the interrogation room. Like Kyoya, his eyes instantly landed on the broken handcuffs. Giotto was actually smiling in that charming fashion, "I'm up for a drink, anyone with me? No?" The Primo then scurried out of the room to avoid Alaude's wrath. He had to brush past the other man to escape though, but fortunate enough to survive that part because Alaude was still blown by the fact that his latest innovation was broken so easily.
"Did you smell that?" Alaude asked his cousin once the Primo left the vicinity. The two Suzuki males shared a look.
"Vanilla".
The next half an hour was spent to search the whole property for signs of Daisy; not that it would result to anything. Daisy was in someone else's hands by now. Giotto yawned lazily and emptied the glass of brandy. He then resumed to cuss at the flat TV in Alaude's room (WWE Superstars); though he did so in his usual cool and calm composure.
"Whoop his ass," he muttered calmly, "Bite his balls, bitch".
He then quickly switched the channel to the news just a second before the door to Alaude's bedroom was opened. G appeared with a relieved face. "Primo, I'm glad we've found you. I'm sorry we have to leave you on your own for a while because we have to scour the house for Daisy". The fact that Giotto was the one who caused these messes was left unmentioned. "Thank God you haven't drank that much either," G commented on the sight of a half-empty bottle of brandy; obviously missing the empty bottle Giotto hid under the table. Giotto glanced up at his right-hand man from where he sat and smiled innocently.
They stayed like that in silence until G sighed. "Primo, if there is anything wrong or anything you're unhappy with, you can always tell us, you know?"The storm Guardian muttered. Giotto simply blinked, actually, G, I am simply drunk. "You seem distracted lately and I wonder why you don't bother to consult any of us about this."
Okay. Now Giotto wondered what his guardian was talking about. Was it the many times he skipped meetings to watch WWE Superstars in silence? Or was it the long pause he gave today in his speech? Maybe it was about the speech, but that was all because that boy in onesie distracted Giotto! Yes, that fluffy boy, who was as cute as a real cat, deserves all the attention in the world.
"Look, Primo, I am your friend, your family, and your loyal guardian. If there is anything you wanted, you can always tell me and I will always listen to you," G mentioned solemnly. He was the image of a loyal follower; thorough and thorough. The way he stood there, right between the TV and Giotto, made Giotto wonder if switching the channel to WWE behind the guardian's back would be okay. But then, his drunken mind caught that last bit about G wanting Giotto to share if he wanted anything.
Yes, Giotto had thought of adopting a cat; preferably that boy in cat onesie (the fact that it was a boy was ignored by his drunken logic). And G had always been his most trusted guardian. If there was anyone who could understand Giotto's desire and did his best to fulfill it, it would be G. "You see, G," Giotto stood up from his seat and approached the other male, "actually I want," then his drunkenness messed with his words and senses, "I want to have a pussy".
G was emotionless, but bent his head and said, "... I'm sorry, Primo, what?"
"A pussy!" What's so hard to understand about wanting a cat? "Preferably the hairy one. Brown hair would look good". Just like that boy in cat onesie.
G was so still and silent that Giotto finally sighed and nodded understandingly. He landed a hand on G's left shoulder, "I know, I know. It's hard to accept. Someone like me, having a pussy. I know, that people have started to accept more, to be more open minded; but our world is harsher than that. Someone like me, a mob, a politician, a... mafiosi acting as a socialite, would be judged harshly for having something like a pussy". After all, someone as productive as himself would be considered too busy to be responsible for a pet.
Giotto turned around dramatically and looked down to his shoes. "But I can't deny it, G. It took a while for me to accept that part of myself, but I've come to embrace it. Having a pussy is a part of me; it's my biggest desire, my true destiny".
G was stuttering over empty air. He seemed so shocked. But Giotto approached his right-hand man once again and smiled warmly, "And I believe, there will be a time where I can show you, all of you, my pussy. There will be a day you guys will play with my pussy and accept it as a part of me. There will be a day you'll join me to pet and groom it".
"That day, G," Giotto took a deep breath and put his hand on G's shoulder once again, "I'll wait for that day to come".
In Giotto's mind, he was talking about getting a cat. But G totally had the wrong idea.
Somewhere far from Alaude's property, a boy in cat onesie was crossing balconies on one of the highest floors on The Arcobaleno Tower; all the while dragging a green-haired guy tied up in gigantic ribbon with him. He stopped on a particular balcony and laid his 'hand-picked flower' carefully on the floor. Said flower was struggling, but the boy was sure Reborn would be able to take care of it.
"Is that a present?"
Speak of the devil! Reborn had appeared at the frame of the sliding door toward his room. The hitman was clad in his black night robe; no fedora, no suit. The man looked handsome as usual, especially with his hair slightly messy. Reborn bent to the younger's eye level, only to have the boy bump their foreheads softly. The human cat maintained his affectionate stare to Reborn's own. The moment was intimate, if not lovely; especially when the boy nuzzled the older's nose with his own. With another soft bump to the forehead, Tsuna stepped away from the man he adored and made his way to leave Reborn's balcony.
"I'm inviting you inside, Kitty," Reborn teased, but serious about allowing the human cat into his room, "Or is the invitation not to your liking?"
Tsuna was in the middle of climbing the fence to Fon's balcony when he turned around to give Reborn one last longing look. But the cat was always mysterious. He continued his way to reach Lal's balcony without further words, leaving the hitman with the memory of a warm gaze and an extraordinary present. Tsuna, after all, is a dutiful cat. He might want to please the person he fancied and he might know the time to leave home to hunt; but a dutiful cat would know where his loyalty lies. To Tsuna, that loyalty lies on the one and only; Lal.
Tsuna didn't even spare a glance at Reborn when he finally went inside the door on Lal's balcony. Lal's bedroom was vacant and dark. The human cat then walked soundlessly down the stairs to the living room area.
"Where have you been, Sweetheart?"
There she was; lounging on the long chair in the dim-lit living room. Lal wore a piece of black lacy lingerie; hair tied up in a messy bun and beautiful face bare of any makeup. She held a martini glass using one hand, while propping the side of her head with the other. Tsuna fell in love with her beauty once again. He approached the woman and took a seat right beside her half-laid form. Lal's fingers spontaneously reached out to her cat's locks.
"I missed you," she whispered lovingly. Tsuna closed his eyes when her fingers touched the side of his face. A lot happened that day; but Tsuna knew he could summarize it to a sentence, "Tsuna picked flowers for Reborn".
Lal cooed. "Aww, how brave. Trying to impress the Prince, aren't you?"
Tsuna felt himself bristling with pride over the compliment. He was a creature of pride; he always works hard to impress.
"However," Lal continued, "Don't play with another man so much, or I'll be very lonely".
There is no way Tsuna could choose another person over Lal, obviously; but his woman didn't seem convinced enough. Lal needed more companionship, Tsuna noted, and the human cat knew just the best solution. "Tsuna will adopt Colonello".
"... What?"
"Tsuna will adopt Colonello, to accompany Lal," Tsuna repeated, "Then Lal won't be as lonely".
The curvy eyebrows on Lal's forehead rose; but the woman kept her silence. This was, of course, a surprise for her. Tsuna rarely welcomed a new addition to Lal's life. "I'll think about it," she tapped the tip of her cat's nose, "Meanwhile, sing for me, Kitty".
So the cat sang.
On the balconies on the Arcobaleno Tower, Reborn stayed on his balcony to stargaze (and ignoring Daisy's panicked shriek). He was basking under the peaceful night breeze when the sliding door on the neighboring balcony slammed open to reveal a nightrobe-clad Fon. The half-Chinese man had mud mask covering his face, and a slice of cucumber was covering his left eye (while another slice landed on his right cheek). "You saw that, right?" Fon said hastily to Reborn, "There was a boy in a cat onesie walking by!"
Reborn sent the fellow Arcobaleno a quick sidelong look. "Nothing of the sort, really," then he smiled, "It's just a cat".
Daisy shrieked louder; but none of the two men cared enough to look at him. Fon turned to Lal's balcony, as though checking if there was any signs of a boy in a onesie. "I might be tired," Fon sighed after giving up. Luce had just released him from her interrogation after all. At this point, he wouldn't be surprised to find himself hallucinating out of exhaustion. "Wait, are you saying that was Lal's cat?"
Reborn's smile grew wider.
Tbc.
That was close to a real Kyoya-Tsuna meeting, huh? At least we have Tsuna meeting Alaude (which was requested a couple of times). I hope you don't mind Giotto's oocness. He and Luce have a charming mask; but are slightly twisted. What leader doesn't, really?
