"Thank you again, Mr. Giovanna. I don't know what I would do without you. Your fruits are one of the few things I can afford, and the best tasting things I can afford by far."
Giorno smiled. "You're welcome! It's nice to know I could help. Have a nice day, Mrs. Smith."
"And a nice day to you as well," the old lady replied, wandering off down the street.
Once she was out of sight, a frown formed on Giorno's face. It had been a week since Dio had first appeared to pick up his fruit, and the boy had come every day before dark without fail. Every day he came over with a small bag, ready to load in however much he felt like taking home.
But it was almost 11PM, and Dio had yet to show. The sun had long since set.
It wasn't as though Dio had run out of food, and stopped coming because he didn't have the money to buy more. His crate still had enough for at least one last pick-up. But Dio hadn't shown.
A terrible feeling grew in Giorno's stomach. Had he been wrong when he didn't follow Dario home? Had he made a mistake he couldn't recover from?
The only reason he was still out at 11 was that he was waiting for Dio. Perhaps the boy just wasn't able to get to the stall during the day, and that was why he didn't come. After all, Giorno had told him that his stall was open "as long as the sun is up," so maybe Dio thought Giorno would be closed down as soon as the sun dipped over the horizon, meaning a trip over would be pointless.
But Giorno couldn't convince himself that was true. No matter what stories he conjured up, none stuck with him more than the one nagging at him from the back of his head that his presence had somehow lead to Dio d….
He didn't want to admit it. He wouldn't let himself admit it. So, Giorno packed up the remains of his goods and walked back to his apartment.
His mind raced with the possibilities of what could have happened to Dio while he walked home, leading to Giorno turning down the wrong street and not noticing until he'd walked a considerable distance. He at least knew where he was, though, so he continued weaving through the streets to find his way home, even if it wasn't his usual route.
While walking he noticed a small lump outside the door of one particularly run down place, shivering slightly. It was too small to be an adult, and Giorno couldn't help but feel bad for the kid. He couldn't help every person he met, though. Living in London for the past few weeks had taught him that. So, he took a pear from his bag and put it down in front of the lump, crouching so he could set it on the ground.
When he did he saw blond hair. No, not just blond. Gold.
"Dio!?" Giorno gasped, going stiff.
"Dio!" He exclaimed again, shaking the boy and praying he was okay.
"Mmmm. What the…? Giorno? What are you doing here!?" Dio shot back against the wall, eyes wide and hands clenching the sack he was using as a blanket so tightly his knuckles had gone white.
"I'm walking home, and took a wrong turn. But what about you? It's freezing out here. I've been able to see my breath for a few hours, and the temperature is only dropping. Don't you have a place to stay?" Giorno breathed a sigh of relief, beyond happy to see that Dio was alive. The fact that he was sleeping outside in such weather angered the older blond, but given what he'd seen and heard of Dario, it wasn't surprising.
Dio glance at the door he was sitting by, with a dark expression. "Normally I do but tonight… I…" he trailed off.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. But I don't like the idea of you freezing to death out there. Do you want to come over to my place? I don't have a couch, so we'd either have to share a bed or I'd have to sleep on the floor, but I'll make it work," Giorno explained.
"That…" Dio looked down, sending one last glance at the door. "That sounds like a good idea. I'll follow you, then."
"Of course."
The two walked silently back to Giorno's apartment, with Giorno throwing small glances over to Dio every minute or so. He was so small. Giorno's fruit had to make up at least half of what he was eating at that point.
When they were about a minute away, Dio stumbled and fell. Gold Experience reacted to Giorno's shock and caught the boy before he could fall, Giorno bringing Dio into his arms a moment later. He was momentarily worried that Dio would have questions about the invisible being that stopped his fall, but when Giorno grabbed the boy he found his eyes to be closed. Bringing a hand to Dio's forehead, Giorno discovered he was running a fever and cursed under his breath.
'They're all the same, aren't they. Terrible fathers… I'm so sorry, Dio. I'm sorry I let this continue. I'm sorry I couldn't do more. But you won't have to suffer much longer.'
Giorno carried Dio back to his apartment, using Gold Experience to unlock and open the door. He set Dio down on his bed, swaddling the child in blankets before moving to start a fire in his fireplace. The boy needed a good meal. Giorno got out a pot and filled it with water, adding in chicken and a few instantly-grown vegetables. Soup was one of the best cures for a fever, at least one of the best available, so Giorno wasn't going to wait on making it. He hung the pot over the fire, having Gold Experience watch it while he went back over to Dio.
Even in the mass of blankets he was covered in, Dio still shivered. Now out of the freezing outdoor air, sweat was able to form on the boy's forehead, dampening his hair. Giorno grabbed a spare ribbon from one of his drawers and tied it out of the way. That would hopefully make Dio a little more comfortable.
Giorno stayed there for a few minutes, simply petting Dio's head and whispering to the boy to tell him he was safe, and that he'd be okay. But eventually Gold Experience sent back a signal that meant the soup was ready, and Giorno rose to get it.
A shaking hand gripped his fingers before he could walk away though, holding him in place.
"...don't go…"
Giorno choked up at the two words. He knelt back down. "Don't worry Dio, I'm not leaving you. I'm just grabbing some soup, and then I'll be back in a moment. Wait for me until then, and I promise I'll be back."
He slowly slipped his hand away, setting Dio's back on the covers before hurrying to grab a bowl and bring it back. Gold Experience handed him one once he reached the pot, Giorno quickly filling it and grabbing a spoon on his way back.
He knelt back at Dio's bedside, softly shaking the boy awake.
"Dio," he started, watching the boy's eyes lazily open, "open up. You've got a fever, and fighting it on an empty stomach isn't going to help at all. I have some soup here. Do you want me to feed you, or can you do it yourself?"
In all honesty, Giorno would rather spoon the soup to Dio than have the boy attempt to balance both it and the bowl. But he didn't want to press too fast and make Dio uncomfortable. He would work at whatever pace Dio wanted.
Dio took a deep breath. "...I'll do it. Thank you."
"You're welcome. Just concentrate on getting better," Giorno responded, handing Dio the bowl.
Dio put it in his lap, shifting slightly so his back was against the headboard. Slowly, he ate the bits of chicken, celery, and other things in the soup, lifting the bowl to his lips to drink the rest of the broth when he was done. His face was flushed when he brought it back down, handing it to Giorno.
"Thank you," he repeated, sliding back down under the covers.
"You're welcome once again," Giorno said back.
He left for a moment to finish what remained of the soup in the pot, cleaning it up afterwards. Then Giorno grabbed the spare pillow he kept on a chair near the door, as well as the blanket that stayed under the foot of the bed. He set them on the floor and got on the ground to sleep when he heard Dio's voice once again.
"You don't have to sleep on the floor. Dio told him, "You can sleep up here, if you want. I'll allow it." His voice was slightly muffled by the pillow he had in front of his face.
Giorno then rose, grabbing the pillow and putting the blanket back where he found it. "You'll allow it, huh? You're so kind as to let me sleep in my own bed?"
"Exactly," Dio responded, voice slightly slurred and much quieter.
"Well, who would I be to pass up such an offer from the great Dio Brando." Giorno climbed into bed. Settling under the blankets. "Good night, Dio."
"Good night, Giorno."
With that, the two went to sleep.
When Giorno woke up in the morning, it was to find that Dio had turned in his sleep, wrapping his arms around Giorno's chest. The sun was starting to peak over the horizon, if the soft rays coming through Giorno's window meant anything, indicating it was time for him to get up and set out for another day of fruit sales. But Dio was still fast asleep, and Giorno wasn't going to disturb him. So, he summoned Gold Experience and had it close the curtains, turning back to face Dio.
The boy felt cooler than the night before, though Giorno could tell he wasn't back to perfect condition yet. Still, it was a welcome improvement. And much better than anything sleeping on the street would have done for the boy.
Giorno looked at Dio for a little while longer, before hugging the boy back and letting his mind wander, drifting off to sleep himself.
After that, whenever Dio found himself kicked out of Dario's, he'd wander over to Giorno's apartment, knocking in such a way Giorno knew who it was without even looking.
The crate was refilled, and if Dio noticed (which he surely did), he made no comment. The two of them didn't speak much about Dio's home life, Giorno's background, or that first night Dio went home with Giorno, but they got along well.
Dio still turned up with fresh bruises much more often that Giorno was comfortable with, but pressing would only drive the boy away. One day, though, he showed up to Giorno's apartment in the middle of the night, limping terribly and holding his side far tighter than someone with a simple cramp did.
"Dio!? What happened?"
Giorno unlocked his door and watched as Dio limped in, practically collapsing into the chair by the fireplace.
"He sold it." Dio's voice was barely a whisper, unshed tears shining in his eyes. "He sold the last thing I had of her."
Dio brought a hand up to his face, flinching as it made contact with the cheek that was developing what appeared to be a heavy bruise.
Giorno lit a fire moving back over to the boy.
"What did he sell?"
"Her dress," Dio choked out. "That bastard sold mother's dress. It was all I had left of her. It was my last piece!" His voice filled with rage, and Dio punched the arm of the chair, the tears finally slipping out.
"..." Giorno didn't know what to say. "I'm so sorry. Is there anything I can do to help? Here, let me look you over. You're hurt, and I don't want you getting an infection."
Giorno picked up the leg opposite the one Dio had been leaning on, looking it over. Sure enough, he had a sprained ankle. Not to mention the bruises that peppered it from the knee down.
Next Giorno looked at the spot on his side that Dio had been holding, lifting the boy's shirt slightly so he could see what the problem was. And there was a problem: embedded in Dio's skin was a large shard of glass. There were small pieces surrounding it as well, colored the same. Dario must have hit the boy with a bottle.
"Dio…" Giorno whispered, feeling bad when the boy flinched. "Listen Dio, I can help fix your side and your leg right now. But it's going to hurt. Do you want me to fix it now, or do you want to do it the long way? The long way will just be natural healing, and I'm sure you've been through that before. It hurts, but probably not as bad as this will. Which would you prefer."
"Fast." Dio didn't hesitate in his response.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. It's not like I haven't been hurt before. This will be nothing."
"...I'll be right back."
Giorno moved toward the kitchen, reaching into the cabinet as if he was grabbing something. Instead, he used Gold Experience to grow a new plant, one with numbing effects. It wasn't perfect, and Giorno didn't want to risk giving Dio too much and hurting him worse, but it would dull the pain at least a little.
He went back over to Dio, handing him a few leaves. "Eat this. It'll help numb you so it won't sting as bad. Then, in a few minutes, I'll get to work."
Dio nodded, slowly tasting one of the leaves before quickly eating the rest.
Five minutes later he was on Giorno's bed, looking in the other direction.
Five more minutes later he was asleep, ankle completely healed, and side healed as well as Giorno could manage without getting himself hunted down for performing "magic." It was far better treatment than Dio would have received in any hospital he could go to, and as long as the boy didn't do anything strenuous, he would be fine.
With that Giorno out on his coat and shoes, leaving to hit up every pawn shop and clothing store he could find.
It took him three nights, but eventually Giorno found the pink dress that Dario had sold three nights before. The one that must have belonged to Dio's mother.
Dio hadn't left Giorno's apartment since he came in with heavy injuries, so when Giorno walked in with the dress, Dio saw right away. Tears once again rose in his eyes, a quiet "thank you" just barely leaving his lips.
When Dario Brando was found dead in his room the next day, no one said a thing. When Giorno Giovanna and Dio Brando disappeared three days later, the only comments made were "Good for the kid, getting away from that damn drunkard," and "Oh, but his prices were so good! Where am I going to find a fruit seller like that again!"