This is a collaboration between me and Eskarina.


"So basically, she's been kidnapped and forcefully brought to a foreign country because your brother is batshit crazy, yet she managed to make Abba resort to using Moody to find her because she played you like a fool. I love her already. I can't wait to take her shopping." Trish was excited, mentally preparing the route. "We have to buy comfortable clothes, nice ones, a couple of swimsuits, makeup, and of course a ton of sexy underwear. She seems like the type of girl who enjoys lace."

"She does know I'm right here, doesn't she?" Jolyne asked Bruno before addressing Trish directly. "Why're you talking to him like I'm not standing right here?"

"She's poking fun at Giorno. Normally, we don't have many opportunities for it," Bruno explained.

Giorno regretted telling Trish about the attraction he felt for Jolyne every time he got close to her. He was sure the comment about the lingerie was going to hurt him. Mista was on a mission to Russia, but Giorno was sure he would have supported him. Fugo had been reasonably understanding while Trish had asked to see the other woman before starting to match them up.

"Enough about him. Now let's see the new, more interesting company." Trish turned to Jolyne and inspected her from head to toe. "You're pretty. Gorgeous, actually. Come on, girlie, let me show you Rome."

"I'm going to end up hating you," Abbacchio said to her, dressed in a more discreet way. He was a tall man with long hair that was almost pure white and he was adorned in all black, but it was more discreet than normal for him. Not that anyone could say that the two women were too.

"Come on, Abba, I haven't been to Sephora with you in almost a year. It's more fun when you scare the shop assistants and badmouth everything." She looked at Jolyne again. "Besides, you've already done her makeup twice. You can't deny her the experience of going shopping with you."

"Do you remember the plan?" Giorno asked her again.

"God, the old Passione leader was my papa. The new one doesn't have to act like one too," Trish complained. "But yes, Abba will come in case she tries to escape again. Narancia will be tracking the area. In case anything happens, we'll let you know, but we three and the seven elite bodyguards should be able to get the situation under control ourselves."

To Jolyne, she said, "My papa was Diavolo, the previous Don of Passione, but I bet you know what it's like to have a strange family."

"Well, my dad is a marine biologist. I don't think that counts."

"Didn't your papa kill a vampire and wipe out all his allies at the age of 17? I hear he's the president of the Speedwagon Foundation too," the pink-haired woman said.

"Yeah, I guess so, but for most of my life, I thought he was just a plain old marine biologist who traveled a lot." Jolyne's mood fell suddenly. "Will I at least be able to find out if he's recovered?"

"I think Dr. Kujo will soon call in person to give me death threats, so you don't have to worry about it," Giorno replied in a strange attempt to comfort her. "Where is Narancia? He's not usually late."

Narancia was not long in coming. Ever since he had come back to life, meeting new people gave him a little anxiety. He was afraid of them knowing what he really was or having them think he was a monster. Let alone meeting someone who was suffering because of the legacy of a vampire.

Despite his nerves, he managed to greet the newcomer with a huge smile, bumping fists with her.

"Just so you know, I'm not a child. I'm older than you!" he said, pointing accusingly at Jolyne. She only grinned and affirmed.

Five minutes later, the conversation steered toward a debate about whether it was scientifically correct to call him a zombie or if that would be classified as a slur.

"Since there's only three of you to begin with, instead of the term 'zombie,' why not just refer to yourselves by your names?" Jolyne suggested.

"Yeah, I like that!" Narancia said enthusiastically. "Except for Abbacchio. It's just too funny calling him a 'zombie', y'know, since he fits the vampire stereotype better than Giorno."

They burst into laughter as Abbachio folded his arms and turned away with a grunt, hiding his face.

The group eventually departed, wishing Giorno a peaceful and prosperous day at work. The blonde went to his office with a bitter sensation in his mouth. Jolyne had taken about five minutes to befriend everyone but only ever looked at him suspiciously whenever they made eye contact.

He understood her mistrust. That was part of why he was not interested in pursuing any kind of romantic relationship with her despite how much Trish tried to convince him otherwise. She had suggested that he try to calm his raging emotions by taking Jolyne as his lover, which was completely ridiculous; it's not like he couldn't control himself. Nevermind that his neck ached a bit from forcing himself to look at anyone else other than her when she was in the room.

She had seemed beautiful to him in the pitiful state he had first seen her in. Then he saw her in a new light after her escape attempt; she became stunning. The way she kept her eyes on him when he tried to intimidate her had his pulse thrumming loudly in his ears. Maybe he had gotten used to ruling for a long time without anyone standing up to him. Jolyne's charm might have been a problem even without him being drawn to her blood, but she was a temptation he couldn't fall into. It helped a lot that at the moment he was the only person in Italy who didn't like her.

He called the bank to notify them in advance that the purchases from the group's shopping were being made in his name. He knew what Trish was like when she had a blank check and Abbacchio was probably going to advise Jolyne to buy a bunch of absurdly expensive things to take out her anger a bit. In all fairness, she had no reason to be angry with him. He had saved her and was treating her like a VIP guest without sparing any expense, yet she had repaid him with a bad attitude and almost caused him to lose an entire night's sleep with that foolish escape attempt.

Thinking back to the previous night, the worst part wasn't even the rush of panic he felt at her near escape or the frantic search for her. He knew it would irritate Abbacchio, but he still pulled him away from the comforts of his bedroom and his lover's arms to help because of his closer connection to her. Upon catching up to her, Abbacchio had reasoned with her and managed to convince her to return inside. Giorno was sure that if he had come alone, the outcome could have been more disastrous.

As she ambled past the palazzo doors, Giorno had felt a desperate urge to pull her into his room. It took all his will power to tell them that he was tired and that it would be much worse for everyone if this matter were to repeat. As his speech was released, his instincts screamed at him to kiss her and bite her, claiming her as his. Abbacchio was right; he had to learn to flirt with women better, then go out and seduce someone even for one night before he ended up doing something he would regret.

"Ciao Giorno, I'll be going to the meeting with Capo Antonella. Do you need anything?" asked Bruno, suddenly entering. Giorno was so distracted that he had not heard the sound of the zipper. Bruno did not understand too much about the concept of privacy as if he were his real father. "What's with that face? If you couldn't sleep last night, you should take a nap. The paperwork will still be waiting for you when you wake up. Or if it's too much for you, I can take some along with me for the road..."

"No need, but thank you. I just need to clear my mind a bit."

Bruno moved one of the chairs closer to the desk, forgetting any hint of haste he might have had and sat in a posture that indicated to Passione's boss that he should give way to Bruno, the group's advisor for all kinds of personal matters. Bruno almost had to say 'let's gossip'.

"Wasn't Antonella waiting for you?" Giorno asked, knowing that when Bruno took that position, he was just as ruthless as in combat.

"You know she adores me. She'll forgive me for any delay if I claim I was doing something for Leone. You know she's like a super fan of ours." He was right, the terrible boss treated them as if they were her children and she loved a good story (or at least the parts she could know). If one day they married and she was not the godmother, she would surely get angry. "If it's not a nightmare, tell me what's wrong. Are you worried about Donatello? You're aware he hasn't been able to leave the country; it's an ocean away. And the Speedwagon Foundation is taking care of Pucci."

"It's not Donatello or Pucci that I'm worried about right now... You wouldn't understand."

"You've got the hots for Jolyne like never before for anyone else, and you feel bad because it's triggered by all those vampire instincts? Come on Giogio, I communicate with my boyfriend, and I know you like very few people do." He gave him a kind smile. "And I've got to admit, it's kind of funny that the more you desperately try to pretend that you don't pay attention to her, the more it shows."

"Are you going to tell me the same thing as Trish?"

"I don't know what Trish told you, but she's intelligent in her own right. Great minds think alike. I know that the girl attracts you because of her blood, but she's a charming and strong woman too. Perhaps you could really like her."

"Drinking the blood of your partner is not exactly a commendable activity. You always forget the part where it's not only sexual arousal. I could harm her too." There was silence between the two. Giorno's tone was much less controlled than normal. "Antonella is waiting for you, you shouldn't keep her waiting."

Bruno nodded and left. He knew when someone needed to be alone. It wasn't for nothing that he had been in a relationship with someone with a special character for so many years.

Having only tied up the top of his hair, he was almost grateful for it, because after digging his fingers into his scalp, it had become disheveled and he had to loosen his hair.

Talking to Bucciarati had helped him put into words and say aloud what had been lingering in the back of his mind, things he had been too scared to even think about.

He could lose control and hurt her. It wasn't even just a problem of biting her. He had noticed that his will would not matter to him when he desired her and her body. He was terrified because while he felt his blood boil in his veins, he felt that he could take her. He was more powerful than her. He didn't need her permission.

The very idea of taking someone by force made him want to vomit, and he felt that he had a monster inside him that told him that the world was his and he could do whatever he wanted with whomever he wanted. He hated that monster.

Breaking Jolyne, raping her, keeping her locked forever, these were things the monster would enjoy. He wanted to kill that monster and he had to find a way.


Jolyne to Narancia: "There are only three of you anyway."

Giorno: starts sweating