After Reborn and Fon finish their meal, Skull staggers through the door to the private room, two security guards and a waiter rushing after him.

"Reborn! Colonnello said you disappeared, and he got worried."

"Huh," Reborn muses. "Did he also tell you that his boss handcuffed me to her bed?"

Skull chokes a bit and coughs to clear this throat. "Well, no. That didn't come up in the conversation."

Reborn waves at the staff. "He's with me. Bring another chair."

Skull gets settled in, pressed right up against Reborn's side and sending Fon quick glances across the table. Reborn lifts his wine glass and Skull obediently sips but then makes a face. Skull only drinks sugary cocktails.

"Alright," Fon begins cautiously. "Are we...skipping the handcuff comment?"

"It was a kidnapping," Skull muses. "Is she our Mist then?"

"Rain, actually," Reborn corrects. "And Colonnello is perfectly fine with her joining him, not that anyone asked my opinion," he grumbles.

Fon tilts his head. "Can you have two of the same weather?"

"I hope not," Reborn answers dryly. "Because it'll probably hurt." He then properly introduces Fon to Skull, summarising that he ran away from Fon and ended up getting grabbed by Skull.

Fon makes an odd expression at that and then turns to smile at Skull. "Hello. I've been meaning to talk to you about our Guardian set but it appears I keep getting distracted."

"Uh. Sure." Skull shrugs. "What did you want to talk about?"

Fon begins to rattle off questions about how to care for Reborn, such as researching any clients the hitman meets for a contract, or keeping track of known enemies, and keeping contact with allies to build up connections.

Fon also asks about what family or famiglia he needs to meet to introduce himself, and how the collective Guardian missions are organised and allocated, plus how the group funds are invested.

Skull sits there, dazed, and doesn't even try to hide how he can't understand most of it.

Reborn refuses to do anything but glare and scoff because he's not a Sky and he doesn't have to deal with that bullshit, definitely doesn't need people to baby him. (Reborn has maybe been in denial about the Sky flame thing and is unprepared to be interrogated like this by someone who is taking the Guardian thing seriously.)

"Ah," Skull pauses. "Reborn can take care of himself?" Which has actually been proven on many occasions so Skull is pretty firm in this belief.

"That's very lackadaisical of you," Fon argues. "He has been kidnapped yet again today. People don't even know he is a Sky and they still try to kill him repeatedly or bring him into their famiglia just for his strength as a hitman. If it gets out about his flames, he will be taken away from us."

Skull looks at Reborn and the hitman is sipping his wine with a blank expression on his face, which means Fon is making a good point but Reborn doesn't want to admit it. Skull hunches his shoulders and starts to panic a little bit because he didn't know it was so serious.

"It's…" Skull trails off with a wince. "Let me call Colonnello."

"We don't need to-" Reborn begins but Skull is already ducking out of the room. "Make sure he doesn't bring that scary woman with him!"

Reborn then turns to Fon with a frown because that was a bit much for a first, unprepared meeting.

"Oh my," Fon sighs sadly. "He seems to think this is a game. How disappointed you must be."

Fon is maybe still upset about how the fight turned out.

"Stop that," Reborn snaps. "We don't do any of those things. It's just. A part-time Sky set. I don't want you involved in my business and we don't do group missions because we don't need money because we are not a proper set!"

"If you aren't a proper set, then you're a lone Sky, and you won't last long no matter how many you add to your body count," Fon cautions. "Yes, I am deliberately messing with the Cloud but we do need to sort these things out eventually."

Skull opens the door and sheepishly takes his seat again. "Colonnello is coming, he'll be twenty minutes." Skull turns to Reborn. "I thought we were protected because we bonded?"

"We'll stay together when they drag us into a famiglia," Reborn corrects. "Or they'll kill us both, or they'll kill only you and I'll be broken."

"What do you mean 'broken'?" Skull winces. "Like, why would they torture you and then have you lead a famiglia?"

"Maybe they don't want me to lead," Reborn points out. "Maybe they want an heir from me, or just have a trophy, or to sell to someone else." Reborn pours himself some of Fon's tea because he really should stop with the wine if they're having this conversation. "And I'll be broken because if you or Colonnello die, I will feel the bond rip and I'll be ripped apart with it."

"Die-!" Skull grips Reborn's elbow tightly and leans in. "What? Sorry, what? Is that what a bond is? A giant goddamned weakness that comes with handcuffs and a short fucking chain to share that bullshit around?"

"Yep," Reborn drawls but he does reach out and pet Skull's head because the stuntman honestly seems to be freaking out about this, which is a bit odd because of how easily Skull rolls with the other Mafia stuff.

Skull is thinking about himself dying in yet another stupid accident and leaving Reborn to get the backlash of the bond alone and oh fuck he doesn't want to do this to Reborn.

Fon is frowning. "A bond is a risk. You could be a hundred times stronger as a set, or you could destroy each other. Bonding is not a split-second decision you make, it's a delicate balance of everyone working together. It's being soulmates for a lifetime."

Skull grabs the wine bottle.

Reborn sighs. "Hey, Fon, you want to know how long I waited before I bonded to Skull?"

"I would rather not know," Fon admits very seriously. "I thought you had met him before me. That you had years together."

"I knew Colonnello for a month," Reborn laughs carelessly. "And I knew I was fucking it up but I was dying and I didn't care anymore."

Fon's eyebrows furrow because he didn't know Reborn had been, what, sick?

Skull coughs at the burn of alcohol and shoves the wine bottle back into the ice bucket. "Okay. Okay, that was a surprise. But I don't regret what I did and I'd fucking do it again." Skull claps his hands together. "Let's plan!"

Verde opens the door, holding up a flat metal and glass screen that shows a live recording of the room. "No, you will sit there, and I will plan with Reborn." Verde takes out the earpiece he was using to listen to them and calls out to a passing waiter. "Get me a chair."

"The Lightning," Fon muses.

Reborn hums. "I met him while also running away from you."

Once Verde gets going, he really only ends up discussing with Fon because Reborn keeps rejecting all the ideas and Skull is very intently learning as he goes. Verde had planned out most things already and has been keeping track of Reborn's business just out of stalking tendencies.

Verde also brings up contacting the Triads on behalf of Reborn to negotiate Fon's work, plus setting a rule in place that Fon will immediately be kicked out as soon as he so much as bruises Reborn ever again.

"Outside of a spar," Reborn says quietly.

Verde frowns. "Outside of a spar, but still not over a reasonable degree."

"But what if we need to decide who's stronger in an all-out battle?" Reborn brings up. "How about we just make it 'malicious damage' towards any one of us?"

"I don't want you to be hurt at all," Verde argues. "Which is also why I made you this." Verde lifts a thick bracelet out of his pocket. "I'll be able to find you at all times while also being able to monitor your oxygen levels and heart rate-"

Reborn slaps the bracelet onto the floor. "That's not allowed! I'm making it a rule - none of that shit."

There's a polite knock on the door and then Lal abruptly shoves it open, Colonnello left in the entryway, fist still raised.

"I said not to bring her," Reborn protests. "But God, I miss you, Nello. It's been like twenty minutes on this topic and I already hate all of these people."

Skull rears back. "Even me?"

"You keep kicking me under the table!"

"I-I fidget when I get nervous..."

Fon clears his throat. "I have been well behaved today."

Lal frowns and tries to place this man with the stories Colonnello has told her. Probably the Storm. "You also attacked Reborn before, so it cancels out."

Reborn rolls his eyes. "She says, like a hypocrite."

"Technically," Fon begins. "All of us have attacked Reborn at one point or another, and truly it was a misunderstanding, so I feel no need to continue to bring this matter up."

"I haven't attacked him," Colonnello says smugly.

Verde scoffs. "You haven't known each other for very long, it's only a matter of time at this point."