The week started out like any other week, however, this week ended up a little different. Bucciarati had a last minute capo meeting in Rome and was going to return in a couple days depending on how the meeting would go. The schedule day of return also happened to be his birthday so Narancia came up with the idea of throwing him a party. Everyone was quick to jump on board scattering to do various things and picking out the perfect present for their beloved capo. Giorno, on the other hand, was completely clueless much to his embarrassment. He hadn't gone to any birthday parties as a child and never had one of his own. Mista agreed to help him out as well as introduce him to another member of the team whom had better insight.
"Where did you say she was meeting us at?" Giorno asked, eyeing the crowds in front of the various shops along the street.
"I thought she'd said around here somewhere," Mista replied looking around as well. "Ah, there she is. Hey, Naomi!"
He spotted a red haired girl standing next to the light post staring at her phone, who looked up upon her name being called. She flashed a huge smile and waved at them.
"Hey Mista!" she replied hugging the older teen, then promptly pushed him away. "Dude, when was the last time you showered?"
"Uh, I think three days," Mista answered scratching his head. "I'm going to after our collection run."
"I'm going to hold you to that," she gave him a look. "I'm not going to let your body odor ruin Bucciarati's birthday."
"Yeah, yeah I get it. Speaking of which, I have someone to introduce to you. Giorno, this is Naomi, the best informant in Passione. Naomi, meet our new boss Giorno."
Said teens eyed each other in piqued curiosity. While Giorno was dressed in his black suit, the girl was dressed in a light-weight long sleeved hoodie, knee length skirt and platform sandals. Her body wasn't as curvy as Trish's, but her hips had some definition. Her wavy red hair was pulled back in a simple pony tail.
"Its nice to meet you Giorno," Naomi spoke, holding her hand out.
Giorno surprised her by taking her hand and kissed the back of it, pink dusting her cheeks. "The pleasure is all mine. I'm looking forward to working with you, Naomi."
"She won't let you down," Mista interjected, ignoring the glaring red head. "Oh, shit! I totally forgot I had something to do. Uh, see you guys later!"
He took off running leaving the teens no time to protest. They glanced at each other and an awkward silence fell between them.
"Did he just set us up?" Giorno asked after a moment.
"Yeah, I think he did," Naomi sighed. An idea popped in her head, hopefully it would make this less awkward. "Do you want to grab some gelato before we start present shopping?"
"Sure, sounds like a good idea."
They headed to the nearest gelato shop and grabbed a couple scoops of their favorite flavors, Naomi getting cherry while Giorno got his usual chocolate and pistachio. They engaged in some small ice breaker talk as they enjoyed their sweet treats. From the angle Giorno was currently standing he happened to notice a scar running along her jawline from some time ago. For some reason he's quite drawn to her despite having just met her. The aura around her and calm demeanor helped him feel oddly relaxed even though this was completely out of her comfort zone. Well both were out of their element.
"So how does it feel to be the primo mafioso at fifteen?" Naomi asked, taking a bite of her gelato.
Giorno took a bite of his, pondering an answer to her question. "Well, in all honesty its stressful yet it feels natural to me, though it happened so fast I'm still getting used to it. Some of the older capos aren't on board to take orders from a teenager, and their complaints are quite annoying since all they do is repeat themselves."
"I get it. You should have heard them when I joined." Naomi responded bitterly. "They were appalled that a girl joined as an informant and viewed me as a liability, until my Stand changed their minds."
"Your Stand?"
"Yep, her name is Genesis. She can detect any flaw or hidden doors and traps in buildings also finds people through their footprints."
"Interesting. I'd like to see that some time."
"Perhaps on our next mission I'll give you a demonstration," she flashed a smile then pointed to her face. "Oh, you've got a little something."
Giorno mirrored her motion then quickly wiped his face off with a napkin, flushing with embarrassment. He barely heard her quiet giggle and instantly liked the sound. He looked at his watch and silently cursed.
"We should get moving before the shops start closing early," he said.
"Shit, it's that late already?" she looked at her watch. "Yeah, let's get moving."
They quickly finished their gelato and got to work finding the perfect present for Bucciarati. They roamed the marketplace, which the shopkeepers greeted the two as they walked by and some children called hello to Naomi. Giorno couldn't help but smile as the children came running to her asking play with them. Either she was influenced by Bucciarati or she had a natural charm that drew people to her.
"Sorry, I can't play right now, but I might next time," she said earning some disappointed sounds from the kids.
"Aw, okay. See you later!"
They ran back to their homes and the teens went back to their current mission. One shop caught Giorno's eye that had ships in glass bottles. He went inside amazed at how many different ships were made then put in the beautiful flawless bottles. His eyes gravitated towards one ship in particular. It had a white hull, tan deck and white mast and sails with black lettering that spelled Lagoon. Well now, he couldn't pass up this coincidence. He purchased the bottle and headed out of the shop to see Naomi walking out of a shop across the street.
"Ah, I see you found something," she said rejoining him.
"I did indeed," he replied with a small smile. "It almost seemed meant to be."
Naomi peered into the bag returning with her own smile. "I should say so. Isn't the Lagoon the ship you guys went on to and from Capri?"
"Yes, it is." His eyes narrowed a bit. "How did you know that?"
"My Stand remember?" she explained. "I had been tailing you guys since you returned from Capri with Trish. I intended on joining the group at some point prior to fighting Diavolo, but I had to fend off a bunch of unwanted third parties from reaching you. Until a few days ago, I was taking care of some loose ends."
Clearly she had more skills than just being an informant, but he decided against asking. Something flashed in her purple eyes for a split second as she spoke. Something told him her skills may have something to do with her past prior to joining.
"I see. We could've used the backup in certain spots."
"So, I've heard, but I have to ask. What was the body swap with Narancia like? Was it as weird as Mista and Trish's?"
Giorno groaned inwardly. "You really want to know?"
Naomi nodded excitedly, almost like Narancia, and he filled her in on his perspective of the infamous body swap. She listened intently and absorbed every word, eyes growing wide towards the end of his story as they continued down the sidewalk.
"Wait, he was impaled in your body just that quick? How do you not have a huge wound from that?"
"My Stand Gold Experience healed it when our souls returned to our bodies," Giorno explained, unconsciously summoning his Stand.
She stared at the gold figure admiring its beauty. She slowly reached out to touch and ran her hand up and down its arm as it watched her curiously. "Beautiful," she breathed. "He fits you quite well, Giorno."
Her words caught him off guard. Usually he would be given complements on how well his Stand could heal his team, but for some reason this felt different from that. What could it be? Pride or something else perhaps? Giorno couldn't put his finger on it, but decided to save that mystery for another time. His eyes drifted to hers then to the scar on her jawline on accident. She slightly fidgeted under his gaze and touched the scar.
"Oh, you saw it."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to stare," Giorno apologized. "If I may ask, how did you get that scar?" Who would to this to her?
Naomi sighed and stared ahead. "The fucker Luca was the cause. He picked a fight with me and dragged a civilian into the fight after he took a painful facial blow courtesy of moi. I moved to defend them when he caught me on a backswing of that damn shovel of his." She winced at the memory. "Knocked me out for two or three days, though I was glad to see I'd also left a permanent mark on him after that."
Giorno was shocked as she told her story. How and why would Luca start a fight with an informant let alone a girl? That is just plain stupid plus dragging a civilian into a mafioso fight is despicable.
"What time was Bucciarati coming back?" Naomi asked suddenly.
"In a couple hours or so," Giorno answered.
"Perfect! Just enough time for me to get dinner ready."
Hold on a sec, she can cook? "What are you going to make?" Curiosity nagged at the blonde as the red head skipped ahead with her arms over her head mindful of her bag. What other skills did she have?
"Squid pasta, porcini mushrooms and grilled scallops," Naomi answered. "They're Bucciarati's favorites."
"Ah, is this something you do for their birthdays?" Giorno asked.
"Yep! Mista and Bucciarati gave me tips on how to cook when I was first learning and now its second nature to me."
They stopped at an intersection and Naomi turned to face Giorno.
"I think we should split off here. I don't want to risk the others finding out about my return, if you don't mind."
"Not at all," Giorno said. "The mansion should be empty right now so you won't have a problem being found out. They also won't hear it from me."
Naomi smiled once more, making his heart skip a beat. "Thank you. I admit I had fun walking around town with you. We should do it again sometime."
Giorno reflected a smile of his own. "I enjoyed this as well. Hopefully we'll have another day like today for next time."
She nodded then head off in one direction and he went in another, eventually finding Mista by the car with a cheesy grin plastered on his face.
"Did you really set us up on a blind date?" Giorno asked as he got in the car.
"Hehe, couldn't help myself when I felt that spark between you two," Mista replied getting in the driver's seat. This was rare since Fugo was tutoring Narancia at another location at the time.
By the time evening fell, Bruno had returned looking tired from travelling only to be surprised hugged by Narancia.
"Buon Compleanno, Bucciarati," he said smiling.
"Grazie Narancia," Bruno replied, struggling to breathe from the bear hug. "I can't breathe."
The teen quickly let go with an apology. Abbachio stepped forward to grab the capo's bags eying his exhaustion.
"How did the meeting go?" he asked.
"Same old stuff, different day," Bruno huffed. "I just wish they'd be more open minded."
Abbachio let out a huff as well. "They're stuck in the old days of taking orders from a paranoid shut-in. At least now they can speak and hear their new boss, though they may only complain."
Bruno had to admit his friend had a point. A delightful smell wafting through the house interrupted his thoughts. Hmm, that smells wonderful. The others ventured to the dining room upon dinner being about ready and greeted Bruno wishing him a happy birthday. They sat down and ate, taking turns filling Bruno in on what little he'd missed while on his business trip. As they ate, recognition flashed through Fugo's, Narnacia's, Abbachio's and Bruno's eyes as the flavors hit their taste buds.
"Damn this tastes so good!" Narancia exclaimed.
"Indeed, it does," Fugo spoke. "It reminds me of Naomi's cooking."
Abbachio hummed in agreement taking a bite of grilled scallop. "The flavor profile is identical to hers."
Mista and Giorno hid their smirks through their forkfuls of deliciousness. It won't be long now before she shows up.
"I don't care who made this," Trish quipped. "This freaking rocks! I've got to learn this recipe."
"I'm happy it meets your satisfaction Trish. I wouldn't mind teaching you sometime."
Everyone except Mista and Giorno jumped at the unexpected voice. They looked around to see Naomi walking into the dining room with shining eyes and matching smile. Narancia took no time to jump out of his seat and ran straight towards her, glomping her with all his might while everyone else took their time to greet her.
"Naomi, your back!" he cried, squeezing her tight.
"Give her some breathing room, idiota," Fugo scolded, smacking him in the head. "Welcome back, Naomi."
Abbachio and Bruno joined in as well and introduced her to Trish, who was more than excited to have another girl in the house. Naomi felt overwhelmed yet blessed to be reunited with her family, but today isn't about her. It should be about Bucciarati.
"Don't forget about presents and dessert guys," Mista said sensing the girl needed some space. "This is Bucciarati's birthday after all."
They moved to the living room where Bruno was instantly surrounded by the others and gifts wrapped in colorful paper. Narancia insisted his present be opened first which turned to be a beautiful seaside painting he'd been working on for a few months. Abbachio and Fugo got a couple Myles Davis vinyls for Bruno's record player, Bitches Brew and Agharta. Mista claimed bringing Naomi home was his present. Trish gifted some nice red wine. Giorno watched Bruno open his present with pride.
Bruno gasped upon opening it, holding the glass bottle with the ship inside. "This is beautiful, Giorno! I love it. Thank you."
Giorno nodded flushing. "I'm glad you like it. I know our first mission had a rocky start and some of us ended up as deflated hostages, but I couldn't resist this mini Lagoon replica."
Bruno smiled, sitting the glass bottle gently aside and gave him a brief hug. "You did great, ragazzo mio."
Naomi stepped forward after their moment had passed and held out a small white box. "Here, Bucciarati. I think you'll like this."
Bruno took the box and opened it. His eyes went wide and his hand started to tremble. "Naomi, how and where did you get this?"
"I stopped a guy near your old house and saw it lying near the boat dock. I took it to a place to have it restored, unfortunately the batteries for that style aren't made anymore."
"What is it?" Narancia asked scooting closer.
Bruno carefully took the object out of the box and held it in both hands, his eyes getting wet. "It's my father's watch. He wore it anytime he went out on mini fishing trips or kept it in his pocket. I haven't seen it since that day." He looked up at Naomi. "Thank you, mia figila."
She smiled and hugged him which then turned into one large group hug as Bruno fought back tears of happiness. He was truly blessed to have this family that once started out as taking in lost souls who had hidden potential for a team only for it to evolve into something much greater. His heart was full and could feel his father's presence with him, passing on the same kindness he was taught. Today was made special because of these special individuals and wouldn't have it any other way. Out of the birthdays in his life so far, Bruno chalked today as the best birthday ever.