Chapter Text
The weeks following Diavolo’s defeat are both vastly different from what he’s used to and strangely normal for Giorno. Once they’ve all returned to Naples Giorno becomes the new Don of the mafia. The process is smoother than he was anticipating. No one actually knowing the boss's true identity before everything happened undoubtedly helped with that.
The short timespan in which Giorno achieved everything he wanted is still somewhat astounding but Giorno is nothing if not adaptable. Giorno makes up for the schoolwork he missed quickly due to the fact the whole journey happened over only one week. As well as the fact it's almost the end of the school year and even in a fancy boarding school like the one he goes to both students and teachers alike have lost all motivation to do actual work.
His lack of school work couldn’t have come at a better time as the most difficult part of being the Don it turns out is all the paperwork. Even then it's not so bad because both Bucciarati and Fugo are there to help.
That's another change in Giorno’s life. He sort of has friends now. Before he saved that Mafioso other kids either bullied him or avoided him like the plague for fear of being bullied themselves. Afterward, his peers were undoubtedly kinder but it was never real, all of it was done out of fear.
As Giorno grew older he saw his silent protector less and less often but Giorno knew he was still there. When he was eleven he received an acceptance letter for a boarding school he most definitely didn’t apply for. Giorno, never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, readily accepted the opportunity to spend as little time at the house as possible. The punctual payments for his school soon became the only evidence of the man he’d saved.
His mother and stepfather seemed almost as eager for him to be away from the house as he was. Although the beatings had stopped the verbal beratings and neglect that composed his home life had continued throughout the years.
In his new environment away from his “parents” Giorno was able to adopt his more kind and charming persona that served him well through the rest of middle school and into high school. Especially with his only source of income, scamming tourists. Once he reached high school between his name and new hair, people stopped seeing him as a foreigner and Giorno found as a result were much more polite.
He makes acquaintances, people he can talk to in class and on rare occasions hang out with outside of school but it all still didn’t feel genuine to Giorno. He reaches fifteen without ever having truly connected with another person.
That is until he meets Bucciarati and his team, it’s strange how Giorno who has struggled his entire life to make friends is finally able to do so in a matter of a few days. Perhaps it was the constant near-death experiences and the fact they saved all of Italy together. Either way, he’s pretty sure he has friends now.
Outside of helping him with work Fugo often recommends books to him. Sometimes when they both find a book they both like they’ll get two copies and read it at the same time. Fugo has much more interesting analysis of stories and Giorno has much more interesting discussions with him than he was ever able to have in school with his classmates.
Trish takes him to get his nails done, they talk about fashion, and Trish tells him all about whatever drama is happening between celebrities at the moment. To be honest, Giorno doesn’t know half the people she talks about but he does his best to look interested. It's nice to see her so relaxed after such a clearly stressful time in her life. Giorno’s glad to see her settling in so well after everything that happened.
Mista and Narancia invite him to go out with them, it’s strange for Giorno to spend so long without being productive. It’s also strange how much he’s enjoying himself, they do all sorts of things that Giorno’s never done before they go to the mall, an amusement park, and most recently. Once the other two realize how little media he’s consumed. they’ve taken to just sitting around Bucciarati’s house watching TV. Giorno thought Mista was going to have an aneurysm when he mentioned he’s never seen, Pretty Woman.
Things with Abbacchio haven’t changed much. The man still gives him a death stare whenever they're in the same room. Apparently, despite Giorno saving his life Abbacchio still hates him. At least he’s more quiet about it now. Still, Giorno’s a little guilty about making the man so uncomfortable in his own house. He’d probably feel worse if he disappointed Narancia and Mista though so continues to go over.
Sometimes Giorno’s there late and Bucciarati will urge Giorno to stay for dinner. He would also insist that Giorno not assist with preparing or cleaning up dinner. Claiming that it would be rude to make a guest help, a couple of times Giorno’s able to pester his way into washing the dishes or wiping down the table but not much else. He also urges Giorno to let one of them drive him back to his dorm instead of walking. Giorno feels more than capable of getting there himself but to Bucciarati that was beside the point.
All around Giorno is doing well for himself, it’s the happiest he’s been in a while, maybe the happiest he’s ever been.
So of course that’s when everything goes wrong.
~~~
The summers he’s had to spend at his mother and stepfather’s house have all gone mostly the same. Giorno stays out almost all day, wandering the streets scamming dumb tourists, only really going back to the house to sleep. His mother and stepfather sleep most of the day away and would mainly go out at night. So despite living in the same house they mostly avoided any interaction.
Giorno doesn’t expect this summer to be much different. He’ll be busy with his new duties cleaning up the streets of Italy. His so-called guardians will be busy drinking themselves to death. Giorno imagines that they won’t be seeing much of each other.
Still, even the scarce few times he’s actually around them is enough to make Giorno long to be eighteen so he can get his own place. His mother's brief dismissive glances that seemed to look through him rather than at him. His stepfather's seething anger and vitriolic words. Once he is old enough getting a place for himself should be easy with all the money he has now. Maybe somewhere close to Bucciarati and the others.
It's a few days before the school year lets out when Giorno walks back into his stepfather's house for the first time in nine months. A few years ago while he’d been in school his mother and stepfather had apparently come so close to being evicted they’d sold his mattress. Giorno’s not entirely convinced they didn’t just run out of money to spend on booze. Every year after that Giorno had come back to the house early to check that everything he needs to move back in is there. The couple weeks he spent sleeping on the cold floor were enough of a lesson.
It’s 2:30pm on a Monday so Giorno expects that the current occupants of the house will still be sleeping off a hangover from the weekend. The house hasn't changed much, the peeling once beige wallpaper now yellowed by years of cigarette smoke. The furniture is old and scuffed. The trashcan and kitchen sink are both overflowing. And a fine layer of dirt and grime cover almost every surface.
Giorno makes his way towards his room silently, avoiding the floorboards he knows will make noise as well as the garbage, clothes, and of course, the many empty bottles that litter the floor. Giorno’s room is bare-bones, to say the least. Nothing more than a rickety nightstand where he keeps his food stash. A lamp that barely works on top of it. A dresser he thinks might be older than his mother. Along with the mattress, he was eventually able to purchase. Mattresses themselves are quite expensive on their own but for reasons Giorno still doesn't understand so are bed frames. As such Giorno’s threadbare mattress simply sits on the floor. His room is dusty but otherwise much cleaner than the rest of the house.
Giorno doesn’t have many personal positions, all he’ll be moving back into the room are his books and clothes. However, he’s the Don of the mafia now he can’t treat his new work like his summer homework and go do it at a cafe or a library out in public. So he’ll probably need a desk and a safe just in case his stepfather decides to go looking through his things. When he’d left for school he’d taken everything in his food stash with him so none of it would go bad. He’ll need to refill it, and he’ll also need to clean obviously but aside from that everything seems to be fine for him to move back in.
With that done Giorno turns to leave, he’s supposed to start Fist of the North Star with Mista and Narancia this afternoon apparently it’s the latter’s favorite show. Giorno almost jumps when he sees his stepfather standing in the doorway. His arms are crossed over his chest as he looks down at Giorno expectantly. They stare at each other for a moment before the older man breaks the silence.
“You too good to even say hello now brat?”
Giorno swallowed, taking a moment to formulate a response.
“Hello, I apologize I was just not expecting to see you there. I was just leaving.”
His stepfather's eyes narrow but he steps to the side so that Giorno can walk out.
This was strange, Giorno couldn’t remember the last time his stepfather had actively gone out of his way to speak to him for seemingly no reason. He even seemed more sober than usual. It was almost like he’d been waiting for Giorno to show up.
The thought alone is enough to send chills down Giorno’s spine. He forces himself to relax and continue out of his room and towards the front door.
He was almost there when a large hand wraps around his elbow and yanks him back. Giorno whips his head around to stare up at his stepfather.
What is he doing?
Giorno has always been on edge around the man but he hasn’t been scared of him like this in a long time. His stepfather hasn't laid a hand on him in years, so why is he doing so now?
“Y’know what I’ve realized?” His stepfather grunted, glaring down at Giorno.
Giorno knows better than to not answer a direct question.
“No. What is it?”
Luckily his voice doesn't waver and externally he’s sure his calm facade has held. Internally however is quite the opposite, Giorno feels like his heart is going to beat out of his chest. He’s barely able to keep his breathing steady. Part of him wants to break away from his stepfather and rush for the door but his feet feel frozen to the floor. All he can do is stand there and wait for the man towering over him to answer his question.
At his seeming lack of reaction, his stepfather tightens his grip on Giorno. He leans closer into Giorno’s space and spits out.
“I haven’t seen that Mafioso who used to come around here and bother us in a while now.” Giorno’s blood runs cold. His previously pounding heart freezes in his chest. His stepfather’s cold eyes rake him up and down in a gesture that Giorno recognizes. He’s Analyzing him, sizing Giorno up.
“Just something I’ve been thinking about.”
His stepfather's grip goes from a little painful to bruising for a second before loosening to let Giorno go.
“I’ll see you in a few days, right brat?”
Without waiting for an answer his stepfather turned around and walked back into his and Giorno’s mother’s bedroom.
Giorno remains frozen in place for another moment before finally moving back towards the front door. His hands are shaking he realizes as he reaches for the door handle.
He blinks and suddenly he’s down the street. He walks, he walks for a long time. He just needs to get away and think.
His stepfather put his hands on him.
His stepfather had basically threatened him.
His stepfather hurt him.
If he moves back in now would things go back to how they had been before? His stepfather had implied it. Giorno can feel where that man’s fingers have left marks on his skin. If that's what his stepfather meant then it wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been. He’d hurt him worse in the past. It’s not like he’d hit Giorno. It’s not like he’d pulled off his belt and-
Giorno comes to a stop by the closest bench and practically collapses onto it. He buries his head into his hands and just tries to breathe.
He doesn’t know how long he’s been sitting there when he finally starts to come back to himself. He does know that once he’s calmed down Giorno feels stupid.
He’s the don of Passione, he’s fought men far stronger than his stepfather. He needs to think rationally and pull himself together. He’s not four anymore, he’s stronger than some guy who to Giorno’s knowledge hasn’t spent more than 24 hours sober in the last eleven years. He doesn’t need anyone to protect him. If his stepfather did try to pull something then Giorno was more than capable of dealing with it himself. He really had no reason to be scared.
Giorno would not let things go back to how they were. Giorno was going to get up and head to Bucciarati’s place. He was going to go watch TV with his friends and in a couple of days he was going to move back into that house. He would defend himself if necessary. His summers would continue as they always had and in a few years he would get his own place and none of this would matter.
Giorno felt sure of it.