Chapter Text
Much to his own chagrin, Giacomo was not particularly happy when he was able to finally open his restaurant.
Don't get him wrong. He was proud over the fact that he had managed to open the pizzeria he had always wanted at all instead of abandoning what most people considered an unrealistic childhood dream for something more "realistic".
But regretfully, just like everything else in life, this came with its ups and downs.
First things first, the strange tower of a while back, was…not great for business.
Most people in the city disliked the idea of getting near it, obviously, and while Giacomo wasn't two steps away from it, it wasn't as if he strayed too far from where it had initially appeared either, sitting on the fringes of one of the neighbouring districts. This of course came with people considering that he was located in what was now considered the "shady" part of the city.
Which, fine. He could admit that it wasn't an inaccurate assessment. The people that wandered around a place where a massive, mysterious tower had suddenly popped up were not the most upstanding sort, that was true.
It didn't annoy him any less, regardless of how correct people were in some regards.
Anyway. The district where the tower had appeared had been left alone, at least for the most part. Giacomo had heard rumours that the mayor was planning on trying to rebuild there. Emphasis on the trying part, since nothing had come out of it, yet.
The surrounding districts like his had thankfully been repaired in just the first few months, with varying degrees of success.
The one he was in right now, had ended up looking as good as before, incredibly enough.
The buildings around here weren't as tall as in the heart of the city, and the streets were occupied by quite a bunch of local shops, where most of Giacomo's neighbours worked. The streets always had transit, on foot or by car, but they weren't crammed, unlike in the heart of the city. A beautiful park was located only a few streets away.
The whole area was a dream come true for some people to live in. If it wasn't for it's unfortunate placement, people would be able to call it a nice neighbourhood. Quaint, even.
But the renovations were a moot point, because with all the stupid rumours about beasts and demons coming out of the tower, even in the nicest parts of the district, further from Giacomo's own restaurant, people still feared for something to happen again.
It was all everyone would talk about, and honestly, Giacomo was getting a bit bored with it.
Any district near the initial catastrophe was now, despite the city's government to push for reconstruction, an almost lawless land because of all the weirdos that had started to sprout in the mysterious' event wake.
Rent had plummeted (which was nice, he would admit) but lots of mercenaries, thugs, and crooks had also made their appearance, searching for all those fairy-tales about magic creatures and what-not. It made good law abiding people, to be wary of everything and anything.
Or in fewer words: this place had become a hotpot of danger that just needed a little spark to make everything explode.
Giacomo was not looking forward to that.
All of these brewing problems made business here harder, the worst part for him. He could deal with threatening individuals well enough. A pizza offering was great at calming people down.
Empty tables because everyone was too scared to come here, were not so easy to deal with.
In Giacomo's opinion, the biggest jerk around here, was whoever had started all the damn rumours about the damn tower for some forsaken reason.
Demons. Santa Pazienza, people didn't even know what to invent anymore.
Regretfully, he couldn't do much about people distrusting the streets, least of all, when they did have a point to be wary. There had been…incidents thanks to the new influence of people.
Giacomo was lucky, all things considered.
He had already amassed a good amount of loyal customers that didn't care too much about all the rumours, and apart from that, he had also managed to secure a few new customers, mercenaries that sometimes frequented these parts of the city.
It was a complicated situation, and at times he wished that he hadn't opened his restaurant here, but beggars can't be choosers, after all. Glass half-full and all that.
Again. Could be worse.
Though that didn't make him feel any better about the current situation.
Frowning, Giacomo continued to stare at the street outside, feeling increasingly wary.
It was pretty late so naturally, everyone had already left to get home, the street outside dark and uninviting. The terrible weather, a frigid downpour, definitely didn't make you feel like taking a stroll around the neighbourhood, either.
And yet, despite the horrid night outside, Giacomo was currently staring at some weird kid dragging themselves through the street. And Giacomo may not have the sharpest eyesight, he was no hawk, but Jesus, the kid stood out like a sore thumb.
For one, he was wearing a gaudy trench coat, the same colour as a freshly picked tomato. It contrasted starkly against the dark street outside, even as drenched as he could already see it was.
He could also make out the kids hair colour from here, a ghostly white that gave him a phantasmagorical look, shining ominously in the dark, despite the minimal light coming from the streetlamps outside.
The kid was also sporting a pretty noticeable limp, at least for it to be seen from this far away, but despite that, he seemed to move as if it was merely an inconvenience, instead of the most likely broken bone that it probably was.
Giacomo was not a heartless man. Some poor souls simply were unlucky and got dealt a bad hand at life, something he knew perfectly fine.
He had after all, other friendly…acquaintances let's call them, that were a bit more unlawful that what polite society would prefer, and yet Giacomo would put his hand over fire to say that they were good people at heart. He didn't doubt that the kid could be similar to them.
The problem here laid in the fact that these streets had become very risky, and he really, really didn't want to get involved in any weird stuff, be it something like shady gangs, or anything equally illegal. He would serve anyone as long it didn't bring him trouble.
That kid? Looked like tons of trouble. He could feel in his gut that it liked to follow where he went, down to the marrow of his bones.
(Looking at the stranger also made him shiver, his heart beating erratically in his chest. There also was something off, and it unnerved him quite a bit, if he was being honest)
He kept cleaning the counter, praying that Tomato-trench coat didn't decide to enter, and that he would be able to close the pizzeria without any problem. Of course, life enjoyed tormenting the hardworking people of this world, so his prayers went ignored.
Giacomo heard the door open.
He didn't immediately turn towards the newcomer, trying to first steel his nerves to try and keep his composure. Causing problems before they even started was not the way to go, that he knew.
He heard the kid talk.
"Hey…any chance the kitchen's still open?"
His voice surprised Giacomo. He had expected it to sound…younger. The figure outside had been drenched, making him look gangly and pitiful, like a sopping wet cat.
When he turned around, it turned obvious that the image he had thought he had seen was…inaccurate.
He was a young man, yes, but a bit older than Giacomo had initially thought, early twenty's most likely. Still a kid, in his honest opinion, but not as much as he had imagined.
He was slouching and still dripping wet, so he couldn't see that clearly, but beneath the layers of clothes, Giacomo noted that he also looked far more toned than what he would have initially imagined, and he was also a head or so taller than Giacomo. Definitely someone everybody would rather not cross.
His posture was…unworried. Which was particularly odd with the general uneasy and unsafe atmosphere of the district outside.
There didn't seem to be any kind of pain or tiredness in the kid's voice either, and after seeing him from afar, that would have been the obvious conclusion about how he ought to be feeling.
Overall, the picture in front of Giacomo was simply…puzzling.
Frowning, he assessed the other's face, who was giving a nonchalant once-over at the shop.
Now that the man was so close, Giacomo could also appreciate that he was carrying a guitar case on his back, bulky and from the looks of it quite heavy, but the red-clad man didn't seemed face by the weight.
He looked pretty thin. A bit too much considering his height. Giacomo mused on the out-of-place image in front of him, studying the stranger, who was currently looking at the silly bathroom signs showing a pepperoni pizza and a bunch of breadsticks.
(Honestly, they were so goofy. He still found them a tad ridiculous, but since quite a few customers had found them endearing for some reason, he would probably leave them alone. As long as they served their purpose Giacomo didn't mind them that much)
Along with the too thin face, his cheeks were hollow, combining with his notably sunken eyes, making his ghostly appearance more apparent.
It was a miserable image, even with the apparent ease the other carried himself.
Definitely a wet cat. A very sad wet cat.
"Uuh…"
The pizzaiolo pursed his lips. Maybe…
"Hello?"
Giacomo felt the clogs turn around in his brain. The kid tilted his head, looking at him with an arched eyebrow, hair swishing and allowing his fringe out of the way.
"So, are you already closed or…?"
Giacomo finally shook his head. No, this definitely wouldn't do.
The other looked puzzled at him for a moment.
Giacomo may want to avoid trouble, but a client was a client after all. And no client of his was going to leave looking like that.
Blinking his thoughts away, he finally shook his head again before answering, "Ah, yes! I'm really sorry, I was a bit distracted. We are still open, at least for a bit longer."
The other smiled at that. It made his face look less sharp, more welcoming in a way. Giacomo could see how it made it lose some of the most intimidating features with it, underlining the kid's young age.
"Sweet! You mind taking orders now then?"
Giacomo felt the last bits of his remaining defensiveness dissolve.
Kid didn't seen too bad.
He answered easily enough. "As long as you pay me kid, I don't really mind."
The other huffed, pushing out of his eyes some more of his hair.
" 'm not a kid, but whatever. Could I have…uh, wait, actually," he turned around for a moment, reaching for something in his back pocket.
Giacomo felt his anxiety spike for a single moment, but he pushed it away as to not immediately jump to any conclusions. The kid turned back again with a bunch of cash in hand.
"How much for all this? I don't have anything else on me right now, but I kind of need to eat so…" The kid trailed off at that.
Giacomo eyed the other, who was still offering him the crumpled cash, unmoving, waiting for him to take it. With the kid so close, he could see that he looked…a bit banged up. Unsurprising, because he was after all still sporting a (probably) broken ankle.
Giacomo leaned a hand against the counter, while the other reached for the bundle of cash, "You are a mercenary kid?"
The other blinked, caught of guard by the sudden question, before his face closed off.
"Why do you ask?"
Giacomo looked down on the other side of the counter, where the stranger was standing. Looked up, directly into the other's piercing blue eyes.
"Because you are leaving a mess on the floor." He deadpanned.
The kid looked down on his feet.
They both looked at where the man in red was standing, where the floor was on the way of becoming a small swamp, courtesy of the still dripping kid who Giacomo could see was also muddying his floor. If his eyes didn't deceive him, he was pretty sure that there was also a bit of red mixed in there. If the way he had been limping outside meant anything…
The other finally snapped out of his bafflement, jumping a bit.
"Shoot! Sorry, I didn't notice that it was so bad." He rubbed his head, grinning sheepishly.
Giacomo didn't answer. The other fidgeted for a moment, avoiding his eyes, before answering his previous question, sighing a bit.
"Yeah, I'm…a mercenary of sorts. I do some odd-jobs here and there." The kid however lifted his head to look at him, continuing, "But if you are worried about getting involved in, let's say, unsavoury business, you don't have to worry. I am pretty picky with my jobs." He waved his hand, unconcerned, "I honestly don't need to add more problems to my already busy schedule." He grinned at that, cocky and slightly overconfident, as if everything was just a fun challenge for him.
Giacomo didn't think that he would lose much without one client like this kid right here. It really was looking that he was right about trouble following him.
But, well, his mother had instilled in him the duty of not allowing people to go hungry, and impressively, the kid looked genuinely sincere about not wanting problems. A bit unexpected, with that troublemaker look he had.
So, Giacomo looked at the money that now was resting on the counter, at the fidgety young man in front of him, and without further ado, announced in a practised voice:
"That would allow you to get three large pizzas. From one to three toppings of your choice. You can look at the options in the menu in that table over there. Try not to stall too much please. It's not long before I close the kitchen for today."
Technically, the kitchen had been already closed, but, eh. Not the first time someone came after-hours.
Honestly, this occasion, as strange as it is, is far from the worse he has ever dealt with.
He saw the kid light up at that, as if he had just said that Christmas had come early.
"Can I get three large pepperoni pizzas?"
"Just pepperoni? Mio Dio, don't you at least want something to go with it? Mushrooms, olives…?"
"Blegh. Olives on pizza are a crime."
Giacomo couldn't help but genuinely laugh at that, looking at the appalled face his new client was making.
"Hah, most people would disagree with you, but alright! Three pepperoni, nothing else."
The kid was, definitely strange. There was something sketchy about him, that was for granted.
But…honestly?
He was here only to get some food, and clearly would rather avoid causing problems that could get in the way of that. A respectable stance, alright.
Before he went into the kitchen, Giacomo turned his head to glance back at the other, who was now staring around once again, distracted, apparently done with paying attention.
"By the way, what's you name? I enjoy knowing who am I serving, and I would rather not be stuck with referring to you as just 'kid'." he let out an amused laugh, "And next time I'll also know that you are the oddball who for some reasons doesn't like olives." He gave him a friendly smile, trying to put the other at ease.
He saw him freeze for a moment, before his eyes stared right at Giacomo.
They looked a bit unnerving. Very shiny.
Finally, the kid responded, showing him a crooked smile.
"The name's Dante."
Giacomo nodded, internally patting himself on the back for getting the kid to answer.
"Nice to meet you then, Dante. Hope you and I can get along from now on." he huffed, a bit amused still, "Even if you can't appreciate how good olives can be."
"Don't worry, as long as you got pizza, I'm sure we'll get along fabulously. Even if you insist that olives are good. Everyone has their faults." Dante answered cheekily.
Giacomo guffawed.
It would be fine. As long as he didn't ask for something like a kiwi pizza, Giacomo didn't mind dealing with an olive denier.
(Giacomo only noticed when he had already closed the pizzeria, but Dante had left carrying the three pizzas without trouble.
There had been no sign of limping on his walk)
What a strange customer indeed.