Abbacchio angst today. Hope you enjoy!
Bulletproof Heart
Day 20: It's Been a Long Day
(going into shock, fetal position, prisoner trade)
Leone Abbacchio never thought he would wish to go back to a time when he didn't care whether he lived or died. It did tend to make situations like this easier, though.
The room was cold—or maybe that was just the blood loss. He was sure there was internal bleeding from the way his organs literally felt like they were being torn out when he so much as shifted an inch. His captors had had way too much fun kicking the shit out of his guts; he didn't even want to know what the bruises looked like. And that was just the icing on the cake. He was black and blue from head to toe (at least the remnants of his lipstick matched) was now missing two teeth and four fingernails; had at least three broken fingers, and probably more broken ribs.
What was worse was that the torture hadn't even been for information. The sadistic bastard who had caught him had just wanted to make a home movie to send to the team so they would be more inclined to bring back the even more sadistic bastard who was making drugs for them.
And that was where Abbacchio's current dilemma lay. Because he hoped that Bucciarati and Giorno would come up with some way not to do that, and at one point, Abbacchio would have gladly died to spare his team the trouble of recovering him, but it wasn't exactly like that anymore. Despite himself, Abbacchio enjoyed the rowdy household of mostly teenagers. He was actually regaining some feeling of contentment. Having one near death experience had really put him off the idea of an early grave. He felt like he'd finally gotten a second chance and didn't exactly want to waste it. Especially dying alone on a cellar floor, not even going out protecting Bucciarati or one of the kids.
He realized, curled there in the dark, not without a hint of shame, that a rescue would be nice.
He curled tighter around his aching middle and started to drift again. That was when the door was wrenched open and he was almost blinded by the sudden light. Two figures stepped forward and grabbed him under the arms, dragging him upright as Abbacchio groaned between his teeth. He didn't know where they were taking him, but he was certain that he didn't want to die that day.
XXX
Bucciarati and Giorno stood, tight-lipped, in the room they were currently being entertained in. The drug dealer's toughs were standing around the perimeter, making sure they didn't try anything. Mista was slightly behind them, keeping a firm grasp on the man they had come here to exchange.
"Our terms are understood?"
Bucciarati nodded once.
"Well?" the leader of the group motioned to their prisoner.
"Show us Abbacchio," Giorno said firmly. "We'll hand your man over once we know he's alive."
A small smirk flickered over the man's lips. "He was when I left him last, but I make no promises."
Bruno's hand clenched into a fist at his side, but he refused to let the man egg them on. He knew it was just him trying to keep the upper hand. He should understand that keeping Abbacchio alive was his best course of action.
The man snapped his fingers and motioned to two of his guards. "Go get Bucciarati's dog out of his kennel," he said with a sneer.
A few moments of silence passed where the two parties simply stared challengingly at each other. And then the door was opened, and the guards dragged a figure in with them.
Bucciarati just barely stopped himself from gasping out loud, and could clearly see Giorno's jaw twitching as he paled. Mista swore quietly.
He actually wasn't sure Abbacchio was alive at first, until the guards threw him unceremoniously to the ground and he let out a brief, muffled grunt of pain, before curling into the fetal position, hands still tied in front of him.
He looked horrific. They'd all seen the video, of course, with the drug dealer doling out unmitigated tortures for no other reason than to send a message. For the simple fact that it had been Abbacchio in the wrong place at the wrong time, and so he had been made the target for this man to get what he wanted out of Passione.
The drug dealer strode over and nudged Abbacchio none-too-gently in the stomach, making him groan and curl up further. "There, see? Still kicking. Now give me my man back."
Giorno nodded to Mista who stepped forward, shoving the man roughly toward his teammates.
"Now clean this shit off my floor and leave," the man said in no uncertain terms.
Bruno finally allowed himself to hurry the few steps, heart in his throat as he swiftly knelt and carefully eased Abbacchio up against his knees.
"Leone…god," he breathed, even more horrified now faced with the damage up close, unable to help breaking his stoic exterior when he was faced with this.
Abbacchio was shaking and was worryingly pale. His eyes blinked open briefly but didn't seem to focus on anything, looking dull as his head lolled in the crook of Bruno's arm. "Y'came," he murmured.
"Of course," Bruno told him earnestly.
Giorno was crouched beside him, cutting the bonds that were digging into Abbacchio's wrists.
"He's cold," Giorno said.
"He's going into shock," Bruno said low, still checking Leone over for injuries. He could see through the open front of his coat that his torso was covered in horrible bruises.
Abbacchio made a choking sound, and pulled a grimacing smile. "Funny, y'know," he slurred. "Didn't actually…want to die this time…"
Bruno's heart squeezed in his chest, staring down at the other man as he seemed to fall unconscious, though his eyes were slightly open, rolled back in his head, still shuddering. How the hell was he supposed to respond to that?
"Bucciarati," Giorno reminded him quietly and Bruno shook himself, getting his arms more firmly under Leone's shoulders to get him up.
"Help me."
Between them, he and Mista lifting Abbacchio as carefully as possible as Giorno opened the door to the car for them, crawling into the backseat and helping them ease Abbacchio inside to rest on his lap.
"Blankets," Bruno snapped and Mista hurried to the trunk as Bruno bent inside the car, getting Leone as situated as possible. Giorno had Gold Experience's hand superimposed over his own, checking Abbacchio's vitals. His jaw tightened.
"He's going into shock, that's why he's shaking so much. There's extensive internal damage, and he's suffering pretty heavily from blood loss."
"Do what you can until we get him home," Bruno said firmly, taking the blankets Mista handed him and tucking them around Leone.
When he was done, Bruno got behind the wheel and drove as quickly back to the house as he could without the risk of causing more pain and damage to their injured team member.
Before they even got to the house, Narancia came sprinting out.
"Did you get him? Is he okay?" he demanded. "Abba!"
"Hey, take it easy," Mista said, putting up a hand in warning. "He's pretty bad and we gotta get him taken care of as soon as possible."
"He's gonna be okay, though, right?" Narancia demanded. "Giorno? You can fix him, right?"
"I'll do everything I can," Giorno said darkly as he and Bruno both tried to get Abbacchio out of the car as carefully as possible. With Mista's help they were finally able to get him up and inside the house where Trish and Fugo were already assembling medical supplies.
"Let us know whatever you need," Fugo said, shaking hands betraying his worry despite his voice holding firm.
"Blankets, he needs to be kept warm," Bruno told them as they got Abbacchio to his room and lowered him into his bed. He would probably be pissed about blood transfer on his sheets, but Bruno wasn't about to put him anywhere else at the moment.
"Help me with this," he told Giorno as he started to remove Leone's bloody coat, revealing the injuries hidden beneath. Bruises upon bruises covered his chest and stomach, and the obvious swollen areas made Bruno feel sick. Even just brushing his knuckles accidently against Abbacchio's distended stomach was enough to make the injured man moan and try to shift away.
Fugo and Trish came in with warm water and cloths. Bruno started to wipe the blood from Leone's body as Giorno continued his assessment, looking paler by the second. "I'll start with the worst first, so I can get more blood into him. "Fugo, morphine would be a good idea right now."
Fugo nodded and rummaged through the stuff they'd brought, coming up with a syringe, handing it over to Bruno.
Giorno turned to Bucciarati as he administered the morphine. "I'll need your help with the internal injuries. It will be faster with zippers."
"Oh god," Trish said and turned around to walk out.
Bruno nodded. It wouldn't have been the first time he'd used Sticky Fingers for something like this. It didn't exactly make it easier, but…
The procedure was quick and efficient at least. Bruno was simply glad Leone was out for it, especially when they had to swiftly swap damaged organs for the new ones Giorno made. Bruno constantly watched the boy work, paling further and further by the second. He wanted to offer some encouragement, but didn't really know what to say while they both had their hands in one of their teammates' guts.
The entire time, Bruno could only think of what Leone had said when they'd rescued him. That he had actually wanted to live this time. It was enough to make him want to demand how many times Leone had wished for the opposite.
When Giorno was finally done, Bucciarati closed the 'incision', leaving no scars and only residual bruising. They finished cleaning up the rest of Leone's injuries, and while Giorno was packing up the medical supplies, he looked up suddenly, turning toward the window.
"What is it?" Bruno asked quietly.
"Our failsafe just activated," Giorno said darkly. "I don't think we'll have to worry about those drug dealers anymore."
Bruno nodded with a dark satisfaction. Violence might have been nothing but a way of life to him in Passione, but sometimes, he had to admit he took pleasure in it. Especially when anyone dared hurt one of his famiglia.
"I'll…go tell the others that Abbacchio will be okay," Giorno said quickly, swallowing hard as he stood up. Bruno didn't think he would be back for a little while. He would make sure to check up on him later. It wasn't exactly an uncommon occurrence to have to perform emergency medical procedures amongst their team, but it wasn't usually so brutal.
Bruno took up the vigil and waited, wanting to make sure he was there when Leone next woke.
He was dozing off slightly, exhausted himself when he was startled by Leone's small groan as he shifted under the blankets, eyes flickering open to stare around the room in a daze.
"Leone," Bruno called softly and the other man's eyes finally landed on him, blinking. "It's all right, you're back home."
Abbacchio's lips parted, sticking together slightly. Bruno hurried to grab a bottle of water from the side table and sat on the side of the bed, slipping an arm under Leone's shoulders to prop him up. "Here, you're probably thirsty."
"Mm," Abbacchio murmured, cringing as Bruno eased him upright against his shoulder. He drank the water Bruno tipped into his mouth a drizzle at a time before even the act of drinking seemed to exhaust him and he let his head rest against Bruno's shoulder, breathing deeply before he winced again.
"Hurts…" he mumbled.
"I know," Bruno replied sympathetically. "Giorno fixed you up. I'm sure you'll still be sore for a few days, though."
Leone exhaled slowly, leaning more heavily against Bruno who didn't have the heart to move him again yet since readjusting him would only cause another bout of pain. He was silent for a long moment before he couldn't stand to be quiet anymore. Perhaps it was a little dirty of him, bringing this up when Leone was on morphine, but when else would he get a truthful answer to something he needed to know?
"Leone," he said quietly. "What you said back there…why would you say you actually wanted to live this time? What exactly was the alternative?"
Leone's face twitched slightly. "Don' fuckin' ask me that now. Know what y'r doin'."
"I know what your opinion on the matter once was, but I didn't think…"
"No," Abbacchio murmured and tilted his head back slightly to look up at Bruno. "Not for a while. I just…didn't realize it until I thought I could die down there. Dying once, it changes you. Don' want to…again."
"Yes," Bruno said sincerely, knowing all too well. "I'm glad to hear it though."
"Hm?"
"That you're happy, Leone."
Leone huffed with a wince. "Remind me of that when I can breathe wi'out knives in m'lungs."
"Would you like another dose of morphine."
"Not unless you're done askin' personal questions."
Bruno laughed lightly. "I promise I'll leave you alone to rest."
Abbacchio's eyes started to slide shut again and Bruno took that as acquiescence but the injured man spoke again before he could get him readjusted in the bed.
"Didn't have t'let that bastard go, though."
Bruno smiled. "We didn't. Giorno created a very clever failsafe. We won't have to worry about them anymore."
"Smart brat," Leone said with a small smirk that held such obvious affection that Bruno's heart warmed, not worried about Leone's past death-wishes anymore.
Family could heal a multitude of wounds, and that was why it was worth its weight in gold.
