There's no better medicine than love.
Acting as both Crimson's consigliere and bodyguard is a tough job. Alessio's main priority is keeping every fiber of Crimson's body out of harm's way. This means taking stabs, punches, bullets, etcetera for him. His body was covered in scars and old wounds from all of those times—none of them fatal, thankfully. True, as Crim's right-hand-shark, he enjoys certain privileges. He's trusted with issues and tasks the Don would never entrust anyone else with—such as health problems and 'emotional talks,' not to mention he gets to question Crim's decisions and keep his jaws inside his mouth.
In short, he's perhaps the closest thing Crimson has to a 'friend.'
Recently, Alessio's privileges included more 'administrative' tasks, AKA paperwork Crimson didn't want to deal with. One might see this as a punishment of sorts, but those in the Knolastname's inner circle know this isn't the case. Alessio had two children who depended on him, and—as Deathslinger once put it—'Crimson didn't want to deal with the guilt of making said children orphans'.
Still, given Alessio's skill with gunfire, sharp senses, and quick reflexes, he still accompanied Crimson to some 'meetings' alongside Jawns and the others. And sometimes, if things got nasty, he did get hurt every now and then.
….
Alessio winced as Dr. Priano, the Family doctor, stitched up his most recent wounds.
"Come on, Alessio. You should be used to this by now."
"It still doesn't make it less painful," Alessio growled at the stinging alcohol.
Once the stitching was done and the ointment applied to the bruises, Dr. Priano wrapped his chest, right shoulder, arm, and tail in clean bandages. "You know the drill, Alessio. Change the bandages once a day and dry the wounds well after showering.
Alessio grunted and dressed himself.
"Oh, and try not to overexert yourself unless you want your children to ask about the blood stains on your clothing."
Alessio sighed and slipped his coat on. "I know."
Over the years, Alessio learned to dissimulate and even hide the stinging in fresh wounds. He had to hide them from Mother and Cecilia in his first years working for the Knolastname, then he hid them from Bianca when she wasn't aware of what he did for a living, and now he had to conceal them from his children.
As long as nothing touched the injured parts of his body, no one could tell he was hurt.
Naturally, he didn't even flinch when Pietro and Giulia hugged him when he picked them up from Cecilia's place, despite the stinging stabs of pain in his upper torso. He kept the discomfort and aching under the wraps—no pun intended—as they went home and while he prepared dinner. He'd promised the children they could have ravioli and pasta on weekends if they ate their vegetables the rest of the week.
"What happened to your tail, papa?" Pietro inquired when he noticed his bandaged tail.
"Someone slammed a door shut on it unintentionally." Alessio lied.
It wasn't until he put the children to bed that he finally let some of the pain show, barely holding back grunts and hisses as he took a shower. As per the doctor's instructions, he carefully washed the stitched areas—which stung considerably as he touched them with a clean sponge—and then dried them well with a towel. Then came the tedious task of wrapping fresh bandages around them.
Once he finished the bandages, Alessio looked at his reflection in the mirror and sighed. He's done this many times throughout the years, but… He never quite got used to it. Bianca's hands were so gentle when she helped him when he required tending to wounds. Sometimes he'd joke that she had a magical touch.
He wasn't expecting Giulia to be at the door as he walked out of the bathroom shirtless, with the true extent of his wounds fully revealed. Alessio froze, stomach sinking as her eyes widened in shock and horror. Fuck!
"G-Giulia…" Before he knew it, she was clutching tightly into his leg. "It's alright, bambina. It's not as bad as it looks like." Alessio reached down to touch his daughter's head, but this time he could not stop himself from wincing. With a barely audible gasp, Giulia ran out of his bedroom. "Giula, wait!"
Giulia returned shortly after with the little med kit toy Amanda had gifted her for sinsmas. She grabbed his hand and led him back to bed, motioning him to lay back down. Alessio did as told, smiling a bit as his daughter began sticking colorful bandaids all over his bandages, not before kissing the spot. Just like he did whenever she got hurt.
"What would I do without you, bambina?" he laughed, ruffling her hair. "I do feel a bit better now. Maybe you should become a doctor."
"How did you get this hurt, daddy?" Giulia asked via hand-signs.
"As I said, I must keep Crimson out of harm's way. Sometimes, that I means I get hurt in his stead."
Giulia frowned. "Why can't Mr. Knolastname look after himself?"
Alessio sighed. "There are certain things that are hard for children to understand, Giulia. Crimson can look after himself most of the time, but sometimes he needs a… hand."
"What if you get hurt again?"
"It's part of the job, but I've gotten used to it. Don't worry, bambina, I can handle it."
That didn't seem to ease Giulia's nerves, as the little dolphin climbed unto his bed and hugged him. Alessio wrapped an arm around his daughter and kissed her head as a sob escaped her.
"Shh. It's okay, my little dolphin. Everything will be okay. I promise you I'll be more careful in the future, alright?
Alessio tenderly stroked Giulia's hair and hummed. Before long, Giulia fell asleep to the sound of his heartbeat. The sight brought a small smile to his face.