"Mista.." Giorno mumbled softly, playfully rubbing his face into the gunner's broad chest. "You smell nice today..."
Mista, whose eyes were glued to the tv screen airing Captain Tsubasa, suddenly turned to face the golden-haired boy wrapped snuggly in his arms. The two had decided to cuddle in bed together that night, adorned in their nightwear (or lack of nightwear on Mista's part, as he liked to sleep in his boxers, sans the hat) while Mista watched his favorite shows. Giorno, dressed in his expensive white Armani silk pyjamas, shifted his weight further into his companion's arms.
"Heh? Well that's a first," Mista replied, lightly squeezing his arm around Giorno's back.
Giorno chuckled softly in response, reacting to the hint of surprise laced in Mista's voice.
Though this was the first time he complimented the gunner's smell, it wasn't the first time they sought comfort in each others embraces. After the golden-haired boy defeated the old Boss of Passione, taking over the organization as the new Don, he spent most of his nights falling asleep in the arms of his appointed underboss.
The emotional scars they held from the loss of their three close friends, along with the rampant memories from the violent stand battles they endured together, made it difficult for them to sleep apart. Even when they were in the midst of chaotic missions, they found peaceful moments where they could hold onto each other affectionately in order to keep the other sane.
Though their occupations forced them to spend many hours throughout the day together, (from business meetings with other mafiosos-to various conferences held with Polnareff inside the cramped turtle) they both cherished these peaceful nights spent in the other's company. During these times, Giorno allowed Mista to address him informally, often reminding him that the bedroom was their safe haven.
"I think...I think.. it might be that cologne Trish got for me," Mista stammered, carefully considering the lack of change in his hygiene. "Yeah..umm that must be it. I thought I should try it on for today ya know, just to see what she was fussin' about and all..."
Giorno continued to rub his face against Mista's warm bare chest, murmuring a soft "I like it" as he took in the unfamiliar scent.
Mista smiled slightly at the boy's compliment. "Thanks buddy," he said, patting his superior on the shoulder. He turned his attention back to the tv, shouting angrily as one of his favorite characters failed to meet his expectations. "Oi! That's not how you fucking kick a ball you dumbass! Gaah this show is ridiculous sometimes I tell ya. Giorno are you looking?"
Giorno glanced over the at the tv and sighed. "Why do you even watch this if it gets you so upset?"
"Because it ain't no fun if everything is easy in a show," Mista replied, smacking Giorno playfully on the head. "Also I could ask you the same damn thing Gio, you're always reading those boring books by dead people like Macaroni.."
Giorno pulled away from Mista's embrace, yawning as he rubbed the spot where Mista's hand made contact. Sitting upright, he turned his gaze towards the underdressed shooter, flicking his eyes briefly from the barely concealing boxers his companion wore, to his muscular tanned physique. Giorno always thought Mista was attractive, especially in the way he presented himself confidently to the world, but never felt it necessary to voice these opinions out loud. Instead, Giorno admired the short-haired brunette from afar, taking in the sight of his beautifully toned abs.
For the most part, he knew that Mista considered Giorno to be a close friend, and Giorno didn't want to ruin these intimate moments they spent together by making the other feel uncomfortable. Though Giorno understood that he was attracted to Mista physically, he doubted Mista felt the same way about him...or at least that Mista didn't realize he had these kinds of feelings for Giorno yet... especially since the tanned boy was easy for the overtly-perceptive Giorno to read. In fact, Giorno loved the honesty Mista displayed in his actions-he felt it refreshing compared to the daily negotiations he deals with from dishonest mafiosos.
"His name is Machiavelli, and I know that you are being facetious," Giorno remarked, amusement audible in his voice. "You tried reading the Prince and then called it horse shit or something to that effect."
Mista grinned mischievously while his eyes were still fixated on the glowing television screen. "Well I mean there was some useful stuff in it, like I get that it was written for some big named Medici in the Renaissance or whatever, but like most of this shit we already know from being on the streets. Or at least I learned all my hustlin' from there."
"Yes but running an elaborate organization is quite similar to running a kingdom, so I found his advice highly useful," Giorno replied. "If we were talking about Plato and his idealism in running a utopian society, then I most certainly would agree with you Mista."
"Fuck Gio you know that's way too much thinking for me, I prefer to look at things simply," the gunner retorted. "Also I ain't got time for that kind of nonsense, I leave all the elaborate readings to you."
With eyes slightly hooded from exhaustion, Giorno smiled halfheartedly at his bedmate.
Mista decided to drop the conversation and opted to continue complaining loudly about this week's Captain Tsubasa.
"Fuck I am turning this shit off, I can't stand this mess right now," he said while reaching for the remote.
Quickly, he switched the television off and threw the remote onto the floor, all while mumbling something about Captain Tsubasa being too repetitive. He then fumbled around in the dark until he found the switch to the bedside lamp, turning the small source of light on.
Giorno instinctively crawled over to Mista's side of the mattress, placing his head on the gunner's bare chest once more, with his hair lightly tickling the other's chin. Mista, as if on command, wrapped an arm around Giorno's waist. In return, Giorno placed his own arm around Mista's shoulders, closing the small gap between their bodies. He playfully rubbed the nape of his subordinate's neck, feeling the other's muscles relax from the caring gesture.
Giorno relished in these casual intimate moments with his underboss. Honestly, he never felt more at peace with anyone in his short time alive. The lonely nights he spent as a child, abandoned in the dark as his mother left him to party, caused him to only seek comfort from himself for the longest time. Having someone like Mista, was completely a new feeling for Giorno.
As they both lay in bed together, arms and legs intertwined, Giorno listened contently to the gentle rhythm of Mista's beating heart. His biggest fear was that one day, his trusted underboss would leave his side for good-just as three of his companions did five months prior. He never wanted to spend a night where he couldn't listen to the gunner's heart humming against his ear. Though the pain from the loss of his three friends still resonated in Giorno's soul, he honestly did not know how he would cope if Mista were to die as well.
Lovingly, Giorno stroked a hand through his underboss' short dark hair, prompting a gentle sigh of satisfaction from the barely conscious man.
"You should wear that hat less in public," Giorno teased as he continued his rhythmic motions into Mista's hair.
"Never gonna happen," Mista said quietly, eyes closed. "Plus I love it when you mess with my hair like this just when we're alone, I dunno it's relaxing." His breathing steadied, he felt his body grow heavier as Giorno continued his gentle strokes.
"Somebody's tired," Giorno said, noting the change in Mista's body. "I'll join you shortly."
As Giorno continued to play with Mista's dark curls, he closed his own eyes, and ordered his brain to get ready for sleep. Like an automatic switch in response to Giorno's mental demands, uncomfortable flashes of distant memories occupied his mind as he remembered times where his mother left him for days as a toddler, alone and frightened. And then...images of his abusive stepfather suddenly sprang to life. Without realizing it, Giorno's panicked reaction to these intrusive memories caused him to dig his nails into Mista's scalp, as the pace of his breathing dangerously quickened.
Mista, who was just about ready to fall asleep, suddenly snapped his eyes open in reaction to the sharp pain. He didn't question the cause of this intrusion, for it wasn't the first time Giorno had a panic attack in bed. He knew that the best way to combat these episodes was to start idly chatting about nonsense until Giorno calmed down.
"Hey so, y'know how Trish is visiting us this weekend? After like not seeing us for three months since she got that crazy recording contract?" Mista whispered softly into Giorno's hair, fighting back a yawn.
He felt Giorno's breathing ease a bit, and the grip on his scalp slowly release.
"Yeah.." Giorno replied, nuzzling his face against Mista's chest.
"Well today, since you gave me the afternoon off to spend with her, she took me shopping..since like apparently she made a shit load of money and she wanted to repay me for all those sleepless nights we spent together crying and shit over...over..y'know.." Mista said hurriedly.
"Those were some difficult nights, yes," Giorno replied, nodding slightly.
"Well she said something about repaying you too, like she's real happy we pushed her away from all this gangster nonsense, since she has no business joining a gang, and if she didn't restart her life, I swear Buccellati's spirit would come back to somehow haunt me...rest in peace friend..and like encouraging her to go to school and shit and the like.." Mista hardly even understood what he was saying anymore, as his tiredness started to kick in.
Giorno chuckled appreciatively, "Are you sure this is what you want to tell me Mista?"
"Fuck you're right..umm uh.." Mista stammered. His tired brain was making it difficult for him to hold a coherent conversation.
While he tried to think of new interesting topics to discuss, he suddenly remembered something Trish forced him to realize today...
'Fuck..no not that...oh god' Mista thought to himself, 'I can't talk about this shit now with Giorno...and yet..for some reason I want to? ' His heart began to race, and his body tensed from nervousness. Giorno, who was clinging onto him for dear life, felt the sudden tightness in his muscles, and the rapid increase of the dark haired man's heartbeat.
Instead of commenting on the shift in his body language, Giorno glanced at Mista's face. Bathed in the dim fluorescent light from the bedside lamp...Giorno saw that he was blushing. This interested the perceptive boy instantly.
"I was gonna bring it up before you went out with Trish tomorrow I swear..I just well kind of wanted to distract myself a bit with nonsense on tv and shit.." Mista said hurriedly, noticing bright blue eyes examining his flushed face.
He had Giorno's full undivided attention now. Because he was so busy dealing with various meetings throughout the day, he assumed Mista was simply binge watching television to clear his mind from being overworked. Everyone needed a break through their hobbies, and Mista loved distracting himself with fleeting everyday pleasantries..so Giorno assumed that's what the gunner was doing when he marathoned all those episodes of Captain Tsubasa today. He never once considered that Mista was trying to distract himself so that Giorno wouldn't notice anything suspicious about his subordinate's behavior. How interesting.
"Go on," Giorno said calmly, playfully stroking his index finger from the middle of Mista's chest, down to his navel. He laughed quietly at the sudden jerk Mista's body gave in response to Giorno's teasing.
"Fuck Giorno, I ain't stupid I know that you know something is up now, I've known you for way too long and now you're messing with me," Mista said embarrassedly. "I hate how you just know things about other people...I mean okay it's damn useful when we're dealing with lowlife bastards on the daily...but like with me I can't hide shit from you."
Giorno smirked in response. "You know if you want me to stop, you just need to come clean."
Mista closed his eyes, cursing himself for letting his tired mind reveal the very thing he was trying to put off today. He cleared his throat loudly, preparing himself to give a long winded explanation.
"Alright..so ummm..so me and Trish got to talking…" he paused with a quick glance towards Giorno. The blonde boy nodded, indicating he was listening to Mista's nervous rambling.
"And we started talking about relationships and stuff…" he continued. "She said some old guy from the music industry kept hitting on her..and I said something like..you need me to off him for ya, cause I will shoot a piece of hot lead between that pervert's eyes if ya need me too..and like she said, 'I appreciate the sentiment Mista but that's not what I want to hear from you right now…' Mista trailed off doing a terrible high-pitched impression of Trish's voice. "So then I said to her, are ya sure cause I'll kill the fucker…"
Giorno sighed loudly, "Mista we don't have all night, unless, you enjoy my teasing that much," he added, poking at the dark haired man's chest again.
"Okay okay okay, I'm just fucking nervous Giorno, gimme a damn break," Mista said uncomfortably. He glanced over at Giorno, noticing the amusement latent in the boy's face. "Like I wasn't planning on talking about this shit tonight. In fact I was doing my damn best to try to hide it from you, though I s'pose my fucking stupid tired mind let that shit out all in the open now. But fine I'll get to the point..she said..she said she thinks I..I..well...that I...l-love you in y'know some kinda non-platonic way."
Giorno smiled as he felt a sudden surge of fondness towards Trish. He lifted his head off of Mista's chest to look him directly in the eye. "Well do you?"
"I.." Mista said slightly panicked. "I..it's just..I never thought of it like that before y'know?" His cheeks completely reddened from embarrassment. "And then she had to go and bring it up, talking about how even the closest of friends don't cuddle with each other like that sometimes, and reminding me of that one time where I got mad at her for even touching ya.."
"Well.." Giorno said, moving slightly closer, his face now only inches away from Mista's.."We hold each other like lovers almost all the time, certainly you've noticed that?"
"Jesus Giorno...you're gonna give me a heart attack," Mista said in a hushed voice. "Like I said..I never thought about it like that before. I'm a casual guy, I don't got much issues with personal space.. and then she had to go and make me get these feelings all in a span of a few god damned hours.."
"Feelings?" Giorno responded.
"Like.. romantic..love.." Mista said, silently praying for Giorno to just disappear so he could lament over how embarrassed he felt.
"I highly doubt you can suddenly gain those kinds of feelings in just a few hours Guido," Giorno said, trying to rationalize Mista's words.
"I mean I didn't..it's more like..I never realized?" Mista said, unsure of his own crazed emotions. "Like, I am so much of a live for the day kind of guy sometimes these things go unnoticed. I'm just so used to your presence Giorno, that it really didn't matter to me whether or not if it was romantic love, platonic love, whatever.."
"Hmm that is true," Giorno spoke softly.
"Ya don't have to tell me right now how you feel," Mista said, remembering suddenly how close Giorno's face was to his own.
"Oh?" Giorno remarked, striking that asymmetric smile Mista adored. He leaned in closer, whispering in Mista's ear, "you know I'm slightly upset that you tried to hide this from me all day." It's true, Giorno really was a bit angry, but not as much as he was making Mista think he was. Here he was, lamenting over Mista's barely clothed attractive body, thinking that his subordinate felt no interest in him whatsoever for all this time….and Mista dared to hide his mutual feelings of romance from him?
"I was gonna tell ya eventually I swear," Mista said, feeling slightly frustrated. "Like I said I can't keep things from you...and I only told you tonight because..subconsciously..I'm sure this is why too..my heart and my mind knew it would make you the happiest..to know this right now because honestly Giorno it kills me when you panic. I wish I could take all those bad memories away from you, like if there was a stand out there that forced me to inflict them onto myself I'd do it in a heartbeat."
A moment of silence passed as Giorno tried to fully comprehend the weight of Mista's words. Giorno's heart raced-he felt angry at himself for lashing out at the one person, even though it was largely in jest, who cared for him the most. He decided that in this situation, he should be honest with the man who dedicated his entire life to Giorno's cause.
"Mista.." Giorno responded softly. "I love you too, I always have, I think since after those first few nights I spent shaking in your arms from the aftermath of all those impromptu funerals." He suddenly cupped Mista's face into his own hands. He felt it best to stop playing with Mista's heart. "I don't mean to upset you, you're the only one who truly makes me feel at peace when I am alone. I internalized these feelings, fully knowing what they meant, because I figured you weren't interested in me in that way, so I was content with us as just deeply connected partners."
"I mean..you were kinda right, my fucking stupid brain couldn't differentiate it," Mista said, his heart pounding so hard that he could feel it pulsating through his ears. "Though...I..fuck..Giorno I never knew..you're way too good at hiding your feelings…"
Dark eyes met bright blues. The dim fluorescent light reflected onto Giorno's golden hair, making him look like an angel sent straight from heaven to Mista.
"I just..I just can't believe you love me that much," Mista said, slightly in awe of the beautiful boy in front of him.
"Are you really that surprised?" Giorno asked softly.
"Maybe..I don't know.." Mista muttered in response. He swallowed hard, then felt a sudden surge in confidence. "Giorno, I want you...you should... uhh..just kiss me."
Giorno smiled in response to the order, chuckling over the irony of him receiving this directly from his underboss. "Are you sure? I may not be good at it."
"Gio you're good at everything," Mista said quickly. "If there was a sport out there for extraordinary people like you, I'm sure you'd be overqualified."
Giorno's face turned slightly pink from the compliment. "I'm not that great Mista, really.."
Mista shook his head in response, gazing at the boy before him with deep care. "I watched you take over an entire network with a burning passion. In just a month, you somehow convinced most of the other families in Italy to kneel before your presence, and they didn't even know you existed until you forced them to recognize you! I mean at 15, you were playing hardball with a bunch of old fatsos in suits. Giorno, you are a force of nature."
"Mista…." Giorno whispered, blue eyes widening with love and affection. "You really think that highly of me?"
Mista groaned impatiently. "For the love of God, yes Giorno I do. I swear we have this conversation every damn night."
"Sometimes..I just need to be reminded," Giorno said quietly. He then added, "I truly am lucky to have you."
"Well ya ain't wrong about that," Mista said, donning his signature carefree smile, causing Giorno's heart to flutter. "I mean you may be lucky and all but let's not forget that my awesomeness helped you get there too okay."
"Yes," Giorno replied softly, "our teamwork is the true testament to our strength."
"Now… ummm...getting back on topic... I think I told you to kiss me, right?" Mista said, taking in a deep breath.
Giorno tilted his head and smiled. "Yes, I think you did."
"Well, get to it!" Mista said, face burning brightly red. "We ain't got all night."
Giorno chuckled lightly, as he felt his fondness towards Mista explode in his chest.
"As you wish, boss," he said jokingly.
Giorno leaned in close, with strands of loose blonde hair tickling Mista's face, and paused for dramatic effect. Mista almost cursed aloud, wishing that Giorno stopped teasing him like this. Seeing the slightly frustrated reaction on his subordinate's face, Giorno laughed quietly. He decided to put the gunner out of his misery, finally lowering himself to Mista's full lips, kissing him intensely, with hands still cupping his face.
Mista eagerly responded to Giorno's kiss, thinking to himself, 'It's about damn time.' He moved a hand his arms around the boy's neck, pulling him deeper into the kiss, moving his mouth over Giorno's. His hands traveled slowly down the smaller boy's back, relishing in the smooth texture of the expensive silk shirt adorned on his superior's body. Giorno's back arched slightly in response to Mista's touch, giving a deep sigh of satisfaction into Mista's mouth.
They broke apart only to breathe, then resumed, lips hungering for the other's in a way that truly felt like the most natural thing in the world for them to do. Giorno moaned as he slipped his tongue into Mista's mouth, gliding past his teeth and wrestling the other's excitedly.
Mista could hardly believe that they were finally doing something like this, as he eagerly responded to Giorno's kisses. He only just realized his feelings for the boy earlier today!
They broke apart once more, catching their breaths.
Giorno resumed the kisses by placing them on Mista's neck, playfully nipping at his skin with his teeth.
Mista huffed in response, groaning the boy's name softly with each kiss, lick, and bite Giorno laid onto his neck. "Giorno.."
He responded by taking Mista's mouth again, kissing him deeply, then breaking away in order to pepper smaller kisses onto his face.
"Fuck," Mista said, breaking away from another deep kiss on the mouth Giorno gave him. "I swear, you're gonna end me."
Giorno quickly pecked Mista's lips once more, and then added with a yawn, "Perhaps, but not tonight."
Mista swore under his breath, but understood that Giorno was tired. In fact, he felt very tired himself, but wished there was some way to keep this going all night. He pulled Giorno back into his arms and kissed his forehead lightly.
"Mista," Giorno whispered softly, "we have all the time in the world to do this..and..I'm just happy to finally be doing this with you."
"Yeah," he responded, placing another kiss on the boy's forehead, "we do..and honest to God I'm just fucking glad that Trish forced me to realize this shit now."
"I'll have to thank her for you tomorrow," Giorno said with a slight chuckle and an added yawn. "But for now let's rest..the rest we can figure out later on."
And with that, Giorno closed his eyes and drifted to sleep, with Mista, as usual, following shortly after.