Blood Ties

[buon_giorno]

Giorno had saved his business for the council meeting that evening for last. Everything had gone more or less now he’d expected after that.

Chilchuck had questions. While he didn’t raise an objection of any kind, he had spent the rest of the meeting watching Giorno’s face.

Zelda had questions but they were all centered around the technicalities and how she could assist.

Evandor kept it simple, as always. “Giorno has never lead anyone astray.” He said nothing more.

And Juli…she was supportive but he knew she had questions of her own. He offered to walk the scenic route with her back to her room.

“We may not see each other much over the next week.” There was an apology and a lament in there.

Comments

[buon_giorno]

Giorno felt a pang of guilt when he realized he couldn't say the same thing back, but...

"Good. Now, let's go. I'll walk you back."

[youre_the_sunflower]

~~

"...What were you talking about earlier?"

Caesar looked to Joseph who had made himself comfortable on what was to be his bed. Caesar didn't care about the other man making use of his things like he once did--he was too busy pacing the length of the room. And it was a lovely enough room. Though, even if there were familiar elements mixed in with the unfamiliar--Roman architecture blended with strange technology that lit the room that produced no heat--it only made things more surreal.

He desperately needed another cigarette.

"The 'pull.'"

[nohardwork]

"I don't know," Joseph admitted. "It was different from anything I felt before."

[youre_the_sunflower]

Caesar paused his pacing to think. He had put his trust in Joseph to get them out of the desert for them to be lead all this way…

“…It was uncanny.” Caesar took out his box of cigarettes just to look at it. He’d need to ration what was left carefully. “That kid…I felt like I was talking to a camorrista.”

[nohardwork]

"Camorrista?" Joseph's Italian was pretty good, but he wasn't fluent enough to be familiar with the term.

[youre_the_sunflower]

Caesar opened the carton and counted how many were left. “A gangster.”

[nohardwork]

Joseph let out a long ohhhh.

"You know a lot of gangsters?" he teased.

[youre_the_sunflower]

Caesar rolled his eyes. “You could say that…and before you ask, no, I wasn’t. Call it a mutual enmity.”

That’s why it was so hard for him to believe Giorno wasn’t about to hold it over Joseph’s head no matter what he said—you didn’t get something for nothing. That was just the way of the world. He was clearly after something. And if that something was just an answer to whatever gravity they both felt…

“Mi voglio rovinare!” Caesar fell into a sit on the bed with a harsh sigh and ruffled Joseph’s hair. “You’re not allowed to die here, understand!?”

[nohardwork]

Joseph let out a devious laugh. "Do I look like the kind of guy who's going to lay down dying?"

[youre_the_sunflower]

Caesar’s hand stilled in his hair. “Of course not. But yelling at you is all I can do.”

[nohardwork]

"Really? You can't think of one thing you'd do instead?"

Joseph attempted to look stern, disappointed, but his smile was breaking through.

[youre_the_sunflower]

Without hesitation, Caesar offered his carton of smokes to Joseph to partake. He really was going to break at this rate.

[nohardwork]

Granny Erina wasn't going to be happy about this, but...

He took one of the cigarettes from the carton, then held it out to Caesar. "Light me."

[youre_the_sunflower]

Caesar flicked open his favorite lighter and lit the end of Joseph’s cigarette.

Then, instead of bringing the lighter to his own lips, he leaned into press the end of his smoke to Joseph’s.

[nohardwork]

Caesar looked very cool smoking.

Joseph, on the other hand, began coughing as if choking on his last breath of air, then rolled over on the comforter, nearly catching the fabric with the end of his lit cigarette.

[youre_the_sunflower]

Caesar patiently patted Joseph’s back and helped him juggle the fire hazard as he recovered from his coughing fit.

“You can have the rest when you’re back. I don’t want to be the one to kill you before anyone else gets the chance.”

[nohardwork]

"I'd rather have another kiss than a cigarette," Joseph said, reaching up for Caesar's face.

[youre_the_sunflower]

Caesar just stared at him, not fully processing his remark—until he felt those fingers on his cheek. Ba-dump.

“Yeah, right. If you’re feeling good enough to joke I know you’ll be okay.”

[nohardwork]

Joseph gave Caesar's face a few soft pats as a growing smirk pulled itself across his face.

"Who said I was joking?"

[youre_the_sunflower]

Joseph’s finger brushed against his bottom lip and Caesar could barely take it. “Or you’ve lost your senses after one puff cut off the oxygen to your brain.”

[nohardwork]

"Do you really think that?" Joseph's grin widened. "Would you say the same thing to a bella donna?"

[youre_the_sunflower]

'You're no bella donna!' Caesar screamed in his head. 'You're Jojo.'

If Joseph was a bella donna, he would have asked if this was her first kiss. If Joseph were a bella donna he would have leaned in to kiss her tenderly. But he wasn't--they weren't--and maybe the day was too overwhelming and he was too desperate but his composure crumbled and desire was hitting him like a kick to the stomach.

He gave Joseph what he asked for and kissed him--hard.

[nohardwork]

Joseph grinned against the kiss as he pulled Caesar close to his chest. He wrapped his arms around him. Did Caesar always feel this small?

[youre_the_sunflower]

Caesar broke apart from him with a small gasp — he was on top of him now. He hasn’t even remembered how he got that way.

“Are you…really doing this now? You have to leave any moment.” As if Caesar wasn’t doing it too.

[nohardwork]

"Do you want to stop?"