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It was a gorgeous morning when Giorno awoke.
The sun shone its warm rays onto the various plants nestled within the garden. Birds were chirping happily as they nestled onto the branches and bird feeders while various bugs such as ladybugs and bees delicately touched the flower petals. The smell of fresh dew and roses felt invigorating like fresh cups of coffee. Giorno felt his lips tug into a smile as he put on a nice dark-blue suit. As he styled his hair, Giorno saw Narancia silently tiptoe into the bathroom. Frowning curiously, Giorno tapped Narancia on the shoulder, to which the other boy jumped up in the air.
"Ah," Narancia yelped and turned on his heel. "Geez, Gio! Don't startle me like that!"
"My apologies, Narancia," Giorno replied. "But I couldn't help but notice that you're acting a bit oddly this morning. Is everything alright?"
"Oh, no, I'm fine," Narancia grinned. "I just remembered I forgot something in the bathroom! Go ahead without me for breakfast! I'll catch up later!"
"Alright." Giorno nodded hesitantly, walking towards the stairs.
He could hear Narancia close the door to the bathroom slowly, carefully. Two words that Narancia didn't indulge in at all usually. Something's up.
The kitchen was bustling with activity when Giorno descended down the staircase.
The rest of the team members were chatting with each other vivaciously, talking about anything that came to their minds. He quietly slipped into a seat and observed the food sprawled out in front of him. It looked appetizing, with the highlight being a stack of pancakes topped with chocolates and whipped cream. His sweet tooth was calling him, and he began to dig into a pancake. As he looked around his circle of team members, there's a noticeable member that was missing besides Narancia.
"Where's Bruno?"
"Bruno had to go to a meeting earlier with another capo." Abbacchio answered, not looking up from the newspaper.
"He went without me?" Giorno frowned.
"Yeah, it was a last-minute thing, apparently," Abbacchio replied without missing a beat. "And he didn't want to bother you early in the morning."
"I see. Well, I will have to thank him for the pancakes later." Giorno murmured, feeling guilty.
As he continued to eat the pancakes and ruminate on what should be done for the day, he thought in passing on the real reason for Bruno's action.
As he ascended the staircase, Giorno noticed Fugo closing the office door.
"Fugo, what are you doing?"
"Oh, good morning, Giorno," Fugo replied without a care in the world. "I just finished today's paperwork, so you aren't needed today."
"You finished today's paperwork," Giorno asked, raising an eyebrow incredulously. "As in today's paperwork? The paperwork set aside for today?"
"I thought you didn't like repeating yourself," Fugo teased. "But yes, I did. You can even check it yourself."
Giorno looked at Fugo, non-plussed, before heading into the office and checking the stack of papers meant for today. Giorno meticulously leafed through each and every paper, making sure that not an iota was out of place. Surprisingly, Fugo kept to his word and every file was completed. At this show of efficient quality, Giorno was honestly impressed. He never doubted Fugo's efficiency, but to see it on display was definitely a sight to see. Giorno turned to Fugo, who still looked impishly calm. Okay, Giorno now suspected that something was up.
"Well, thank you for this. I am most appreciative of this."
"You're welcome," Fugo nodded. "Now, take the day off. I have to go somewhere. Bruno requested me to do it."
"Can I come along?"
"Nope. You're to stay here until further notice. Bruno's orders."
Fugo then left, leaving a confused Giorno standing in the office with his thoughts. How come Bruno ordered him to stay home?
Giorno was pondering on what he should do when he saw Mista and Trish talking to each other.
Now, Giorno was not the jealous type despite what some would have you believe. Despite him earning the reputation of being cold and ruthless, he always believed in making his loved ones genuinely, truly happy. But when he saw Mista laugh with Trish, he felt something burn in his chest. No, it was not jealousy or envy burning at his insides. He just wanted to understand what was going on today. Clearing his throat, he got their attention.
"Oh, Gio," Trish spoke up, a little too hastily for his liking. "What a coincidence! We were just talking about you!"
"You were?" Giorno asked.
"Yeah," Mista grinned. "We just wanted to get your permission on going to the mall today!"
"Why do you need my permission," Giorno further inquired. "You can go whenever you want too."
"Well, you know, with the missions and everything, we don't know whether it's one of those days." Mista replied.
"...We don't have any missions today, not that I recall," Giorno answered. "So, your schedule is free for today."
"Great, thanks GioGio!" Trish beamed as she pushed Mista out the door, leaving Giorno all by himself, confused and concerned.
Since there was nothing that was to be done for today, Giorno decided to change out of his suit and back into his pajamas.
He sighed as he tried to rely the events of the day so far in his head. Narancia was acting unusual, Bruno left without telling him, Fugo did all of his work, and Mista and Trish were also acting secretive. Something was wrong. Giorno was not one to panic, but he couldn't discern the reason behind these unusual behaviors. At least, not without assuming that it was the work of an enemy stand. And Gold Experience had not detected unusual life forms in or around the villa. As he decided to head to the kitchen for a drink, he heard voices coming from the threshold.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Fugo asked, crossing his arms.
"I'm sure. After all, this is for Giorno's own good." Mista answered with a shrug.
"But this seems a bit too harsh." Trish replied.
"Don't worry about it, Trish," Narancia scoffed. "After all, we got Bruno's approval to do this."
Giorno blinked, not sure what to make of that conversation. As he turned back to his bedroom, his thoughts were jumbled beyond comprehension.
tick
tock
tick
tock
whataremythoughts
whydoiwanttocrysomuchrightnow
"Hey"
whataremyfriendsdoingrightnow
dotheyevenlikeme
ihopetheydonthateme
"Wake up"
waitsomeoneiscallingme
"Giorno!"
He opened his eyes to see Abbacchio looking down at him, scowling.
"Abbacchio," Giorno yawned. "What happened?"
"I assume you fell asleep," Abbacchio answered. "Here. Something came up. You gotta come with me."
"Really," Giorno raised an eyebrow again. "I'm assuming this isn't just another lie that they made you tell?"
"Oh. So you knew?"
"I overheard them talking about it. Apparently, Bruno approved of it."
"Well, it was for a good reason-"
"A reason that they couldn't divulge with me?" Giorno retorted.
"Look, I get it," Abbacchio waved his hand. "I wouldn't feel good about it either. But I think that if you just follow me, then you'll get the answers you need."
"Why should I trust you?"
"Would I lie to you?"
"...Point taken."
Giorno followed Abbacchio to the kitchen, hoping that he would get the answers to the questions that were burning in him all day.
"SURPRISE!"
Giorno was taken aback by the decorations in the kitchen along with a wonderful feast prepared on the kitchen table. Everyone was there, smiling. Was this a dream? He pinched himself just to be sure. No, definitely not a dream. He was just standing there, nonplussed, wondering what they were up to.
"What is this," Giorno asked. "What's going on?"
"It's your birthday party!" Narancia explained.
"Birthday party??"
"Yeah, today's April 16th," Trish added. "Which means it's your birthday!"
"Wait, April 16th was today?!" He had completely forgotten!
"Yep, and we planned this for a whole week," Mista grinned. "We had to make sure that you were completely surprised!"
"Oh, you all did this for me...?" Giorno blinked.
"Yeah," Fugo frowned as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Why?"
"I've...I've actually never had something like this before..." Giorno explained as a slow smile crossed his face. "This is amazing!"
"Of course, Giorno," Bruno smiled as he pulled the teenager into a one-armed hug. "Actually, we also have something that you might enjoy."
Giorno turned to see Narancia hold a black little fuzzball in two hands. He tilted his head slightly, wondering what it was. However, as he got closer, his eyes widened in realization. Now, Giorno was the pinnacle of stoicism and poise. He was supposed to be mature and regal no matter what. However, nothing could contain the childlike joy that he felt when he found two sweet green eyes looking right at him.
"Mew!"
"You guys got me a kitten!" Giorno squealed with joy.