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Chapter Text

Being working parents had become like second-nature to Bruno and Leone. Having four adopted sons all with different individual needs and interests meant that they were usually multi-tasking and strapped for time. It also didn’t help that the concept of self-care was all but lost Bruno.

From the moment he woke up each morning, to the second he fell asleep at night, he was needed by someone for something. And while Bruno adored his kids and wouldn’t trade in his role as their parent for anything in the world, he was still unimmune to experiencing burn-out from time to time.

This time in particular, Bruno felt as though he had no one else to blame but himself for the overload he was enduring. Maybe it was the fact that he agreed to help his paralegal aide review for her upcoming Bar Exam during his lunch breaks at home.

It also could have to do with being woken up in the middle of the night to deal with Pannacotta who had begun sleepwalking due to the stress of studying for his midterm exams.

Or maybe he shouldn’t have promised to take Mista to the fabric store after school when he already had to drop Narancia off at gymnastics and pick up Giorno and Pannacotta since their school let out later in the afternoon.

To top it off, Giorno started sneaking all kinds of bugs (namely ladybugs and grasshoppers) inside the house from the backyard to keep them sheltered from the long rainy spell they had been having.

Leone knew in his heart that Bruno was a better parent than he could ever hope to be, and it killed him to see his husband stretch himself so thin. He was used to hearing the excuse of, ‘Well, I work from home, so I have more time to get more things done’, but Leone knew it was total crap.

Bruno was a senior partner at his law firm and each day he was sent a barrage of emails and calls from associates and clients, needing him to sign off on proposals or delegate case files to his staff. It was by no means an easy task, but he managed to do it damn well. It became all too common for Leone to be waiting up for Bruno in their bed until one in the morning on weeknights, as it was impossible to complete every single task during normal working hours.  

The silver-haired man jumped at any opportunity to take over the tasks that Bruno might not have had time to complete during his busy days. He would be there to pick up the boys from their after-school activities, cook dinner, do laundry, and any other chore that needed to get done after he left the office. Though he did his best to shoulder the household responsibilities equally with his partner, Leone knew that Bruno took on more than he could handle, mostly because he was altruistic to a fault.

~~~

Bruno’s eyes reluctantly cracked open in response to his alarm on Thursday morning, stinging painfully from the lack of sleep he received overnight. He had been in his office until two in the morning the previous night reviewing his firm’s quarterly budget which he had gotten sidetracked from completing during the day.

He outstretched his hand and clumsily felt around for husband, letting out a soft groan when he realized he wasn’t there. He stayed still for a moment, ears perking up when he heard indistinct mumbling coming from the hallway.

After pushing himself out of bed and gaining steadiness on his feet, Bruno padded out of the master bedroom and into the hall, confirming that the source of the noise emanated from Pannacotta’s room.

He found Leone knelt beside the head of their son’s bed, gently petting the boy’s messy strawberry-blonde hair while murmuring soft encouragement for the boy to wake up. The sight made Bruno’s heart swell in adoration, especially considering the events that took place mere hours earlier.

The husbands caught Pannacotta sleepwalking in the kitchen at four in the morning, attempting to shove his school textbooks in the fridge, having knocked down cartons of milk and orange juice in the process. The sound of the cartons splattering on the floor was what roused the men from their already light sleep; both of them rushing to the kitchen to find the boy standing in a sticky mess.

It took the parents half an hour to get the boy cleaned up and coaxed back into his bed without waking him; the task being made much more difficult by the fact that Pannacotta was adamant that he needed to continue putting his books away. After managing to get him tucked back in bed, both men stayed with him for another half hour to ensure he fell back into his normally deep sleep.

A long, involuntary yawn brought Bruno out of his thoughts and back to the present where Leone had finally managed to get Pannacotta’s eyes to open. He stepped further into the room, placing a supportive hand on his husband’s shoulder. “Good morning, fellow night owls.”

“Yeah, let’s never do that again.” Leone snorted and turned his head towards his shoulder, placing a kiss on Bruno’s hand. “This one nearly gave me a heart attack; I shit you not.” He licked his thumb and used it to wipe a bit of dried drool from Pannacotta’s cheek.

“M’so tired.” Pannacotta’s voice came out hoarse from sleep, or lack thereof. He had no memory of his sleepwalking incident, so having both his fathers in his room to wake him up was slightly confusing.

“I know ‘Cotta, but we’ve gotta take on the day. C’mon.” Leone took the boy’s hands and pulled him into a sitting position. “Brush your teeth, comb your hair, wash your face.” He instructed and gave the boy’s back a few pats before grunting into a standing position and heading towards the door with Bruno.

“Don’t worry about waking GioGio, I got him up and he should already be in the kitchen with Mis and Nara. Coffee should be ready for you too.” He pressed a quick kiss to his husband’s lips.

“You’re a saint, Leone Abbacchio.” No part of Bruno was joking when he made the statement. He couldn’t imagine going through life without the man, even if he wasn’t parent.

“I’m definitely no saint, amore.” Leone gave a cheeky wink before striding back to the master bedroom to get himself ready for work.

Bruno smiled to himself as he descended the stairs, hearing their other three sons clattering around in the kitchen. Upon his entrance, Bruno was inundated with questions that it was undoubtably too early for him to answer.

“Pops, what happened to the milk? I thought we had a crap ton yesterday.”

“Yeah, and where’s my orange juice? Did someone throw it out?”

“Papa, there’s only one banana left but it’s too mushy and all the blueberries have little wrinkles on them.”

The short-haired man had to take a moment to absorb everything Mista, Narancia, and Giorno had said, but needed coffee before he attempted to formulate a response. He made a b-line for the coffee pot, grabbing the travel mug Leone left out for him, filling to close to the brim before taking a large swig. He winced as his mouth and throat burned from the liquid, but started to feel alert enough to address his kids’ concerns.

“Okay.” Bruno exhaled and turned to face the three expectant boys. “Mis and Nara, there was an incident that took place last night that caused the milk and orange juice to spill out. I’ll pick up some more during my lunch break, but for now you can use my almond milk and there should be some apple juice or something in there as well. And GioGio-bug, if the fruit doesn’t look good, you can just throw it out and have plain cereal today.” The man’s eyes flicked between his sons, hoping that was enough of an answer for them.

But of course, it wasn’t.

“I’m not drinking that stuff. It’s literally nut water. Disgusting.” Mista cringed and walked away from the fridge, opting to grab a handful of cereal directly from the box, shoving some of it in his mouth.

“Papa, the apple juice expired like a month ago. I’m pretty sure it’s like, fermenting or something.” Narancia pulled the juice jug out of the fridge, unscrewing the lid to smell the contents.

“Maybe we can make banana bread with the old banana. Papa, can we do that?” Giorno wrapped his arms around Bruno’s waist, leaning his head all the way back so he was looking up at the man.

“First off, its not nut water. Don’t be gross. Second, why does no one throw out stuff when they see it’s expired? It’s not hard. Just take it out of the fridge, and put it in the trash. Basta. And lastly, we don’t have time to make banana bread so if you don’t want plain cereal, you can make toast.” Bruno took another sip from his coffee before gently nudging Giorno towards the toaster. He heard footsteps approaching from the hall, hoping Leone was done getting ready and could help him with the boys.

However, when Pannacotta entered the kitchen, eyebrows drawn together and jaw clenched in agitation, Bruno felt his posture deflate even more than he thought possible. He knew that if the strawberry-blonde started off the day in a bad mood, it would require an immense amount of patience from everyone to ensure that he didn’t lash out; patience that Bruno wasn’t sure he had enough of at the moment. Nevertheless, he dug deep and attempted to start on a positive note with the boy.

“Morning, Panna-Bear. Want some toast?”

“All my shoes have holes in them. I’m gonna get yelled at if I show up to rehearsals barefoot. I need a new pair by tonight.” Pannacotta spoke through almost gritted teeth. The boy opened his ballet bag, grabbing several pairs of worn out, tattered ballet shoes before forcefully shoving them in the trash can and going to open the fridge.

“Let’s try that again. Good morning, Pannacotta. Would you like some toast?” Bruno’s eyebrow was raised, signaling it was time for an attitude check. He remained sympathetic to the fact that Pannacotta was under increased stress studying for midterms coupled with the physical exhaustion that came with rehearsing for his ballet school’s winter production. The man also noticed how the boy’s eyes were slightly sunken in most assuredly due to his less-than-restful sleep the night before. But none of that excused the rude behavior he exhibited right out of the gate.

Pannacotta forced out an exhale and closed his eyes, counting down from ten in his head; a technique Leone had taught him to employ whenever he felt his anger begin to bubble. He let out one more breath, allowing his muscles to release any additional tension that wasn’t resolved during his mental countdown.

“Yes, please. Sorry, Papa.”

“It’s okay, miele.” Bruno set down his coffee mug before joining Giorno by the toaster, sliding extra slices of bread into the empty slots. “As far as ballet goes, I think you should take a break for tonight and catch up on some rest. It won’t do you any good to overexert yourself.” He couldn’t help but feel like a hypocrite after making that statement, as his mental to-do list continued to rack up new tasks:

-Get the kids to school

-Meetings until lunch

-Help Cristiana study for the Bar Exam during lunch

-Pick up milk, juice, and fruit from the store

-Buy new ballet shoes for Pannacotta

-Review junior associate case files

-Pick up Mista and Narancia from school

-Drop off Narancia at gymnastics

-Pick up Giorno and Pannacotta from school

-Drop off Giorno and Pannacotta at ballet rehearsal

-Take Mista to the fabric store

-Pick up Narancia from gymnastics

-Hope to God that Leone is on his way home from work

-Start laundry

-Pick up Giorno and Pannacotta from ballet rehearsal

-Respond to all new emails

-Help with homework

-Have dinner

-Do Giorno’s hair

-Make sure Narancia gets his eye drops

-Tuck the kids in

-Complete any unfinished work tasks

-Get at least five hours of sleep

“…pa.”

“…apa.”

“Papa!”

Bruno hadn’t even realized he spaced out going through his list, until he noticed Pannacotta waving his hand in front of his face to regain his attention. “Huh? Oh. Sorry, tesorino. Ripetere, per favore.” He shook his head quickly to bring himself more into the present even though his mind continued to buzz.

“I said I can’t skip tonight. My class got a new instructor from Russia and he’s a total hard-ass about attendance. That’s kind of why I’m so stressed about the shoes.” Pannacotta reached into the cabinet behind Bruno, grabbing himself a glass before going back to the fridge. “Anyone see where the milk went?”

Before Bruno could address the milk situation for what felt like the umpteenth time, Leone walked into the kitchen dressed for work, long silver hair slicked into a low ponytail. “Morning, rugrats.” He grabbed his travel mug and started fixing his coffee before turning to look at Bruno who presented like he hadn’t slept in a week; which he realized was a legitimate possibility.

“Bruno, c’mere for a sec.”

“Hold on, Leo.” Bruno had busied himself spreading butter and jam on several pieces of toast before setting the plate down on the kitchen table which caused the boys to bicker over who got which piece.

“Mamma, Nara took the one I wanted!”

“How was I supposed to know you wanted that one, GioGio? Just take another one.”

“Mista, you can’t take two of the best pieces! I’m not getting stuck with the end piece! Papa, tell him quit being a stronzo!”

“Shut up, Panna! You always waste food anyways, so it doesn’t matter.”

“Bruno,” Leone tried again, eyebrows drawn together in concern.

“Ragazzi, its literally toast! Just eat it and go get your shoes on. Andiamo!” Bruno clapped his hands loudly, hoping that it would somehow get them to speed up. He soon regretted the action when the sound caused the throbbing tension in his head to ramp up.

All four boys went silent and eyed Bruno in shock before quietly getting up from the table and filing out of the kitchen to the foyer.

“Bruno,” Leone kept his voice low while coming up behind his husband, placing his hands on waist to turn him around so they could face each other.

“Cristo, what? What is it, Leone?” Bruno didn’t mean to come off as agitated as he did, but whatever patience he started out with when he woke up was now completely depleted and he was ready to snap at the next person utter his name, whether it come out as ‘Bruno’, ‘Papa’, or ‘Mamma’. He had officially reached his limit.

“You need to stop.” Leone stared him dead in the eye, keeping a firm hold on his waist to make certain the younger man understood how serious he was.

“Stop? What the hell are you talking about? I’m trying to get them ready for sch- ”

“No, no, no. Ascoltami. You’re going to call off from work today and take the rest of the week off.” Leone spoke softly and slowly, positive that Bruno was already sporting a migraine by the way his normal bright eyes appeared dull and glazed over.

“Call off from work? No. I’m not sick, I’m fine. It’s gonna be a busy day, but I can handle it.” Bruno made quick work of folding his arms defensively, choosing not to meet his partner’s gaze because deep down he knew he was a mess.

“You say that like it’s an option. It’s not.” Leone took hold of Bruno’s now clammy hands, pressing a tender kiss to the back of them. “You need to take a break starting today.”

“Honey, it’s fine. I work from home, so I have plenty of time to-” Bruno tried to ignore how his throat tightened when Leone cut him off again.

“Stop it. I don’t want to hear that excuse anymore. It’s bullshit. I know for a fact that you haven’t used any PTO since we brought Pannacotta home. That’s over a year, Bruno. And it doesn’t matter if you work from home, because we have four kids. You cannot stand here and tell me that you’ve had more than ten minutes to take care of yourself during the day.” Leone felt bad for reaming his husband like this, but it came from a place of deep love and respect for someone he knew was doing too much.

“So what, I’m just a horrible parent, then? Is that what you’re saying?” Bruno averted his gaze to the ceiling, partially to avoid looking directly at Leone but also to keep the tears that blurred his vision from spilling out of his eyes. He knew that wasn’t at all what his husband was getting at, but he’d be damned if he didn’t try to pull every possible defense for himself.

“What? Bruno, I’m saying the exact opposite. You are an incredible father, husband, lawyer, mentor, and so on. But if you keep pushing yourself like this, I guarantee you will burn out and it won’t be good for anyone. I know you love the gremlins more than anything, but in order to take care of them, you need to take care of yourself.” At this point, Leone had enveloped Bruno in warm embrace, taking care to cradle his head against his chest and run his fingers gently through his black bob.

“You can’t be everything for everyone all the time, amore. It’s not humanly possible.”

After hearing this, Bruno let his final guard down and sobbed quietly into Leone’s chest. He wanted so badly to argue back, but he was just too tired. Being a serial overachiever meant that he always needed to be on top of every task set in front of him, taking on more whenever he thought he wasn’t doing enough to stay busy.

It was generally an advantageous life strategy for him, as it got him to the top of his class in law school, recruited to one of the country’s top law firms, and now a senior partner at said law firm. But now with four adopted kids, Bruno always felt like he was perpetually dead last in a marathon; doing anything he could just to stay in the race.

“W-what about the boys? I’m supposed to take Panna and GioGio to school after you leave with Mis and Nara.” Bruno had somewhat collected himself, wiping the tears from his now splotchy cheeks.

“I’m taking the rest of the week off as well, so I’ll handle everything with the kids. But I think it’d be best for you to pack a bag and go stay at your mom’s place for a couple nights, capito? Just to have a little peace and quiet.” Leone separated their hug to look at his husband, giving a sad smile as the man came to terms with his assignment.

“Vabbè.. I’ll call and let her know I’m coming over.” Bruno hummed reluctantly and tucked a lock of his hair behind his ear. He couldn’t help the feelings of guilt that arose from the relief of knowing that he would have a little time away from the kids to relax.

“Molto bene. Remember to call your assistant and let her know you’ll be out too.” Leone pressed a kiss to Bruno’s forehead and handed him the house phone before sending him off in the direction of the stairs.

“Abba, are we going?!” Narancia called out from the foyer, where all four boys were waiting to leave for the day.

“Raggazzi, go sit on the couch! We need to have a quick chat.” Leone called back and grabbed his coffee cup before heading to the living room, waiting for all the boys to take a seat.

“What’s going on? Are we still going to school?” Mista was hopeful that they would somehow get the day off so he could avoid taking a history test that he may or may not have studied for.

“Yes, but that’s not what this is about. Your Papa is going on sabbatical for the next few days, so I’ll be staying home and taking care of you myself.” Leone looked at each of the boys as they sat in silence, letting the message sink in.

“Papa’s leaving?” Giorno’s eyes swam with tears as he stood from the couch, ready to look for Bruno himself.

“No, no, no. Sit down, GioGio. Let me explain.” Leone was quick to redirect the boy back to the couch.  

“Wait… I thought Papa wasn’t religious. And Sunday is like… four days away.” Narancia had to pause to complete the mental math, his confused expression not wavering.

“He said sabbatical, not sabbath, idiota.” Pannacotta rolled his eyes and rested his chin on his palm.

“Funny, I don’t remember asking you, cazzone.” Narancia retaliated by giving a hard pinch to the back of Pannacotta’s arm.

“OW!” Pannacotta hissed and smacked the side of Narancia’s head with his palm.

“Senti! That’s exactly what’s not gonna happen while your Papa is away.” Leone barked at them, making Narancia switch seats with Mista to separate the bickering boys.

“Bruno works insanely hard to keep things running smoothly around here and he needs a break. He’ll be staying at Nonna Bucciarati’s house until Saturday, so I need all of you on your absolute best behavior, or else.” He wasn’t quite sure where he was going with that last statement, but he figured maintaining an air of authority was the most important thing at the moment.

“Or else what?” Mista snorted while flicking through his magazine. It wasn’t that he didn’t respect his Abba as a parent, but he discovered that it was much easier to get away with bad behavior in Bruno’s absence.

“Or else I’ll ground you, or whatever. It doesn’t matter. Just behave, is all I’m trying to say.” Leone waved his hand dismissively, getting irritated from the pushback. “Giorno, where are you going?” He stepped in front of the boy before he could leave the room.

“Bathroom.” Giorno avoided making eye contact while wringing his hands and bouncing his leg impatiently.

“Vabbè, but make it quick. We need to be out the door in five.” Leone hummed and moved aside, watching the boy sprint up the stairs. “The rest of you, get in the car. Mista, start it up for me, I’ll be out with Giorno in a minute.” He fished the keys out of his pocket and tossed them to his oldest.

“Shotgun!” Narancia shouted and raced Mista and Pannacotta out of the house to get to the car first.

Leone sighed and took a couple minutes to chug what was left of his now lukewarm coffee before jogging upstairs to check on Giorno.

“GioGio, hurry up. Mis and Nara are gonna be late.” The silver-haired man knocked on the door to the bathroom Giorno and Pannacotta shared, frowning when he didn’t get a response. “Giorno?” He cracked the door open, being met with darkness and an empty bathroom.

When he heard murmurs coming from the master bedroom, he briskly walked down the hall, already having an inkling as to what it was. As soon as he swung the door open and took in the scene in front of him, his stomach felt like it dropped to his feet. There was no way Mista and Narancia would get to school on time.

Leone saw Bruno’s suitcase sitting open atop the bed with several articles of clothing flung onto the floor where the short-haired man was sitting on his knees, looking under the bed and speaking softly.

“What’s going on? Where’s Giorno?” Leone stepped further into the room, placed a hand on Bruno’s shoulder to get his attention.

“Come see for yourself.” Bruno hummed, beckoning his partner to come down to his level.

Leone sighed when the realization struck him and lowered himself to his knees before bending his torso downward to look under the bed. As expected, a pair of watery green eyes stared back at him.

Already off to a great start.

Chapter Text

“Giorno, uscire da lì sotto. We need to get going.” Leone attempted to stretch his arm out for him, but the golden-haired boy was too far under the bed to be reached.

Giorno stayed quiet and stared back at Leone, only letting out tiny sniffles while chewing on his thumb nail.

Leone sighed and sat up to look at Bruno. “I’m assuming he made the mess of clothes in here?” He picked up a few pairs of shirts and pants off the floor, placing them back on top of the bed.

“Sì. He dumped everything out of my suitcase, and crawled under the bed.” Bruno rubbed his forehead and bent down to look at the boy again. “GioGio-bug, can you please come out so we can talk?”

Giorno’s eyes flicked back to Bruno, instantly filling with fresh tears. “Please stay. I promise I won’t bother you.” Despite his staunch opposition to every part of the situation, it was unmistakable that Bruno was enervated and Giorno was prepared to do whatever necessary to help relieve some of the burden, so long as it meant he would remain home.

The pit in his stomach deepened at his son’s plea. “I’m not leaving forever, baby. I’ll only be at Nonna’s for three sleeps, and you won’t be alone. You’ve got your Abba and big brothers to look out for you until I come home.” Bruno kept his hand extended towards the boy, though not making any movements to reach for him just yet.

“Tell Nonna to come stay here with us. She can stay in my room and I can share with Panna.” Giorno continued to glance anxiously between his fathers, the skin on the side of his thumb now irritated and raw from his teeth incessantly scraping against it.

Leone could see the gears turning in Bruno’s head; trying to find any way to make the situation work while having the least impact on the boys. Every part of him felt guilty for pressing his husband to take time off on such short notice since it only seemed to cause more undo stress.

Having fixated too heavily on providing respite for Bruno, he overlooked how much their children, particularly Giorno, would be affected by the sudden change in routine.

“Alright, hold on. Let’s just take a second to regroup.” Leone took hold of Bruno’s hands, gently bringing him to a standing position. “I might’ve jumped the gun on the whole sabbatical thing.”

“Oh, you think?” Bruno feigned a dumbfounded expression with his head to the side. Deep down he knew Leone meant well, but the bull-headed ways in which he went about solving problems was starting to get under his skin; made worse by his lack of adequate sleep.

“I’m an idiot, I know.” He sighed, massaging the crease that had formed between his eyebrows with his fingertips while formulating an alternative plan.

“Okay. How about you stay home for now and catch up on some sleep while I take everyone to school and run errands. Then when you wake up, you can pack and by that time the boys should be home to see you off.” Leone waited with baited breath, inwardly praying that the younger man would be amenable to the suggestion.

After what felt like an eternity of tense staring, Bruno supplied and curt nod along with a barely audible ‘vabbè,’ which allowed Leone to let out a sigh of relief. They got to work coaxing Giorno out from under the bed, this time with the assurance that Bruno would still be home after everyone finished their activities. The entire process took about five minutes, but soon enough, the boy’s golden curls popped out from under the bed frame.

Hugs and kisses were exchanged quickly before Leone rushed Giorno out of the house and into the car where it seemed all hell had broken loose in the almost ten minutes of his absence.

Upon opening the back door of the car, Leone was met with muffled screams from Narancia who was shielding his head with his arms as Pannacotta repeatedly hit him full force with his backpack. Mista was turned around on his knees in the front seat yelling threats about what would happen if they ever touched his belongings again.

“HEY!”

All three boys halted their actions and looked towards Leone; Pannacotta and Narancia taking heaving breaths after the sudden interruption of their bout with each other. Like clockwork, Mista, Narancia, and Pannacotta began presenting their arguments all at once:

“The little shithead stole a marker out of my bag!”

“It’s for a temporary tattoo, stronzo! Panna freaked out for no reason and tried to take the marker from me, then got mad when it left ink on him!”

“You did it on purpose, testa di cazzo! And the fumes from the stupid marker were gonna make us all pass out!”

“Falla finita!” Their tardiness aside, Leone’s irritation certainly wasn’t helped by the constant squabbling of his two middle children. Nine months separated the two in age which for some inscrutable reason, sparked an unspoken attitude of competitiveness between them. That, plus the fact that Narancia and Pannacotta possessed starkly opposing personalities meant that getting at each other’s throats was a habitual occurrence.

Unfortunately for Leone, neither time nor patience were on his side, and he needed to tighten the reigns on the situation so he could at the very least get behind the wheel. “Pannacotta, get your bag, and move to the very back seat. Giorno, you take his place. Not another word out of anyone.” Though his voice came across steady and authoritative, Leone was internally clinging to the last shred of composure left in his being.

“Non è giusto! So, he can put ink all over my hand and I’m the one that has to move?!” Pannacotta practically saw red, ready to start a full-blown debate with Leone if it meant he would come out in the right.

“No. You’re moving because you decided that beating your brother with a backpack was a suitable response to the situation.” The acting-single parent took the liberty of picking up the boy’s ballet and school bags, giving them a lazy toss into the seat behind him to speed along the process.

With white knuckles and red ears, Pannacotta stared Leone down for a few moments, knowing his father had a point. Was there a part of him that wanted to react differently? Sure. But the stress that had built up from obsessing over mid-terms and rehearsing more frequently after school made it even more challenging to control his emotions.

After deciding it wasn’t a situation worth fighting over further, Pannacotta complied and climbed into the back of the car, making sure to ‘accidentally’ jab Narancia’s shoulder with his elbow on the way. The wild-haired boy’s smirk of triumph never left his face, even after Panncotta’s subtle payback.

“Vabbè, let’s get going.” Leone gave the back door a curt shut and went around to get in the driver’s seat, not before taking a few grounding breaths. Getting into the driver’s seat with a slight grumble, he backed out of the driveway and began their trek to Mista and Narancia’s school.

“So… Papa promised to take me to the fabric store today for my project. Is that still happening?” Mista was the first to break the tense silence that had overtaken the car for the first five minutes of the drive.

“I dunno. Just tell me what color you need and I’ll get it while I run errands today.” With the hope for a quiet car ride now out the window, Leone rested his elbow on the armrest and leaned back against his seat, keeping the wheel steady with one hand. The silence returned after his response as Mista took to staring at him incredulously, like the man had just spit in his face.

“You’re kidding, right? I can’t just tell you the color and expect you to get the right one. I also need a specific texture and pattern so I should be the one looking for it.” If there was ever a bad time for Bruno to be away, this was it.

It wasn’t so much that Mista didn’t like Leone’s style input, but the man was a shameless goth and would easily wear all-black apparel every day if Mista didn’t step in to add some pops of color here and there. It was more so that Bruno had a similarly eclectic taste in fashion as himself and having the ability to bounce ideas off each other did wonders to fuel his creativity.

“Okay, fine. I’ll take you after we drop off Narancia at the gym.” Leone glanced over at his oldest, hoping this would satiate him, but was soon brought back to reality by a voice from the very back of the car.

“But Papa picks us up from school after Nara goes to gymnastics. If you take Mista to the store, we’ll be late for ballet.” Pannacotta wasn’t normally as uptight about their family’s weekday routine, but then again, he had never seen Bruno take a day off, let alone three.

Though he would never admit it, the short-haired man’s sudden absence felt like a security blanket had been snatched away, and with his nerves already rattled from his own busy schedule, he felt an overwhelming need for everything to go according to plan.

“You can just drop me off at the store, then get Panna and GioGio. I’ll be fine.” The idea of shopping alone became much more appealing to Mista than having Leone suggest every black fabric in the store.

“No. I’m not leaving you alone at a store.” The quizzical expression that found its way onto Leone’s face earned an indignant scoff from Mista. Despite their turbulent history of trust with Mista, both parents were able to reach a point at which they felt comfortable loosening the reigns and letting their oldest son have more freedom.

However, that did nothing to change the fact that Mista used to be well-known on the streets and a chance encounter with someone he knew prior to adoption could easily derail all the progress he made in the past year. That, coupled with the fact that Bruno would kill him made the decision a no-brainer.

“I’m sixteen. I can manage on my own for two hours without dying, thanks.” Mista knew Leone’s hesitation stemmed from his past drug use, and while he couldn’t really blame the man for worrying, he didn’t appreciate having his self-control being called into question. There wasn’t a drug in the world that a dealer could offer him to make him throw away the second chance at life he gained with Bruno and Leone.

Leone had to think quick, as Mista and Narancia’s school appeared in the distance. “Mis, I trust you. I don’t trust other people. It’s purely an issue of safety and isn’t a negative reflection on you at all.” He knew Mista would never think of touching drugs again, but that rarely stopped the unpredictable actions of strangers. There was no way he could live with himself if something happened without him being there to protect his kid.

“I know how to handle people. I’m not just gonna magically turn into a junkie again if a dealer comes up to me.” Mista gathered his satchel into his lap and unclicked his seatbelt in a huff, planning to get out of the car as soon as Leone drove up to the kiss and ride line.

“Mista, please. Let’s not start today on a sour note.” Leaning his elbow against the window ledge, Leone smoothed the crease between his eyebrows with his fingertips. “With your father being away the next few days, I just need to know that everyone is under some form of supervision, that’s all.” Making the turn into the school entrance, he drove up to the drop-off line before glancing back at Narancia. “You got your stuff, Nara?”

“Yeah, I think so. Is it cool if I leave my gym bag in here? I’ll forget it if I bring it to my locker.” Narancia undid his seatbelt and got out of the car, slinging his backpack over his shoulder which gave Pannacotta the opportunity to climb forward and take his seat, tossing his ballet bag on top of his brother’s gymnastics bag.

“Certo, just please be ready when it’s time for pick-up.” It was all too common for Narancia to be late to gymnastics solely because he chattered around with his friends as either parent waited for him to get in the car. “Oh, and Mis, good luck on your history test.”

“Thanks, Dad.” Despite knowing that Leone only meant well by insisting on going to the fabric store with him, Mista couldn’t shake the nagging sense of annoyance from not being allowed a small bit of freedom. Calling the man ‘Dad’ was a guaranteed way to let him know he was pissed off.

“Um, no. Don’t call me that.” Just hearing his son refer to him by that name was enough to make Leone’s skin crawl. Obviously, he cherished being a father and loved watching his kids grow, but the actual word ‘Dad’ made him feel old. The word also conjured an image of a what he believed was a ‘typical’ dad, and he most certainly didn’t fill that standard, so he came up with ‘Abba’ as an alternative that felt the most natural to him.

“Sorry, Dad. Won’t happen again, Dad.” Standing by the car door with is arms folded, Mista stared back at Leone, putting extra attitude into it this time around.

“Whatever.” Leone couldn’t stop himself from rolling his eyes which he figured played into the reaction Mista wanted from him, but he was too stressed out to care. “If your teachers give you shit for being late, just have them call me.”

“Kay, bye!” Narancia slammed his door closed which he knew would annoy Pannacotta, and chuckled when the younger boy gave him a middle finger from the window. Mista followed suit and slammed his door shut as well, sauntering up the front steps the school.

Leone was about to put the car in drive when he heard muffled shouts from outside the car. Upon looking up, he noticed Narancia standing in the doorway of the school, holding the door open with his foot. His hands were cupped by his mouth as he yelled something in the direction of the car.

The man rolled down the passenger side window and leaned over the center console to better hear what his kid was saying. “What?” He called out, internally panicking, thinking the boy saw something wrong with the car.

“Don’t forget my O.J.!”

“I won’t, now get your ass in the building, gremlin!”

“Love you too, Abba!”

With that, Mista and Narancia disappeared into the school and Leone began the drive to the middle school. Bruno was normally the one to take Pannacotta and Giorno to school, so Leone wasn’t sure if he should have expected complete silence from the two youngest. Neither of them were as extroverted as their older siblings, so he felt responsible for initiating some sort of conversation.

“So, are you guys excited for rehearsals tonight? You should be getting your costume measurements taken, right?” He made a point to avoid mentioning that Bruno relayed this information to him as he didn’t want to set off a crying episode from Giorno. The fact that his youngest son had kept his thumb planted securely in his mouth from the moment he sat down in the car was not lost on Leone.

“I guess, but… They have to, like, touch you a lot when they do that, right?” Pannacotta twisted and pulled on the friendship bracelet his friend from ballet made for him, making the skin on his wrist turn red.

Shit. Switching parental gears quickly, Leone took a more serious tone to drive home his point. “No. No one is allowed to touch you unless you give permission, Panna. If you don’t feel comfortable having someone else take your measurements, then you can ask to do them yourself.”

Surprisingly enough, this was one of several times Leone had to remind Pannacotta about setting personal boundaries. Though the boy was extremely academically gifted, he needed more guidance when it came to navigating his emotions and interactions with others.

“What if I need help with something?” Bringing a fidgeting hand to his head, Pannacotta began twirling a lock of hair at the nape of his neck between his fingers. It was less common now for him to feel ashamed for not knowing how to handle certain situations, as the advice his adoptive parents gave him always seemed to make things work out for the best.

“Could you ask one of your friends to read out the measurements to you?” Leone didn’t even need to look in the rearview to know that his son was overwhelmed with all the changes happening to his routine. The best thing for him to do was maintain a level head, and address each concern as they came.

“Um… Yeah, I think so.” Taking a moment to think over the possible scenario in his head, Pannacotta gave a satisfactory nod and relaxed in his seat a little.

“Molto bene. No need to worry, okay?” Now that there was a lull in the conversation, Leone took the opportunity to try and coax Giorno into talking. “What about you, GioGio? Are you excited for ballet?”

After a few seconds of silence, the man glanced in the rearview mirror to see that Giorno’s thumb hadn’t budged from his mouth, but he did manage to shake his head ‘no’ in response.

“Ti togli il pollice dalla bocca. Tell me why not.” Having learned that even some of the most benign sounding language could come across as judgmental to a child, Leone did his best to avoid drawing too much negative attention to the undesired action.

With a hesitant sigh, Giorno pulled his hand away from his mouth, lightly flapping it in front of himself to air dry his thumb. “Non vengo stasera. Can you just take me home after school so I can see Papa?” To him, it didn’t make any sense to miss out on his last opportunity to spend time with Bruno before he went to Nonna’s house.

“I really don’t think I can, kid. I’m taking Mista to the fabric store after your rehearsal starts, and then we’re going straight to the gym to get Narancia after that. But I know for a fact that Papa wouldn’t want you to miss out on class tonight. In ogni caso, he’ll still be home after ballet to say bye to everyone.” Even if it were possible to get Giorno home, the silver-haired man didn’t want Bruno to have to worry about comforting the child when he was supposed to focus on relaxing.

“Okay.” Letting out a shaking breath, Giorno brought the heels of his hands to his face to rub at his eyes, as if to prevent any unshed tears from falling out. The logical part of his brain knew that Bruno would only be gone for a few days and return home safely as promised. But the part of him that had routinely been abandoned and neglected had him convinced that he would never see the man again.

“He’s not going anywhere without giving you all hugs and kisses first, posso promettere che.” Trying to lighten the atmosphere proved much harder than expected without Mista or Narancia. Another few minutes of somewhat tense silence passed before he put the car in park in a spot on the side of the middle school and turned in his seat to look the boys. “Okay, lets have a good day. Panna, good luck on your midterms. GioGio, keep your thumb away from your mouth at school, got it? No one’s getting sick on my watch.”

Having received a tepid, ‘Okay’ and ‘Thanks, Abba.’ from both boys, Leone released a soft sigh as they exited the car. Now he finally had the time to plan out the logistics of the rest of the day.

-Stop by the grocery store to pick up orange juice

-Go home and start cleaning around the house while Bruno sleeps

-Pick up Mista and Narancia from school

-Take Narancia to gymnastics

-Pick up Pannacotta and Giorno from school

Take Pannacotta and Giorno to ballet

-Take Mista to the fabric store

-Pick up Narancia

-Pick up Pannacotta and Giorno

-Make dinner

-Help with homework

-Give Narancia his eye drops

-Do Giorno’s hair

-Put everyone to bed

-Maybe sneak in a quick cigarette by the backdoor

“…ba.”

“Abba.”

“Huh? What?” Snapping out of his mental list making, Leone focused his attention on Pannacotta who was still standing by the open back door, fiddling with the string that hung from his backpack.

“I don’t know if Papa told you, but I need new ballet shoes before rehearsals tonight. Like, three pairs.” For whatever reason, Pannacotta felt weird having to ask Leone to buy him ballet shoes. Picturing his extremely goth father sauntering through a ballet shop full of pink, frilly dance attire set his nerves on edge.

“Vabbè, what size do you need?” Wanting to conceal his disdain for the ever-growing list of tasks, Leone fished a pen out of his pocket, holding the ball-point to his palm as he awaited his son’s request.

“Nine and a half. All of them need to be light tan from DeVallet.”

“Oh, and we need milk too. No one knows what happened, but it was all gone this morning.”

Though Leone knew exactly what Giorno was talking about, he decided not to bring up Pannacotta’s sleepwalking adventure from the night before, and nodded while jotting everything down on his hand. “Got it. Alright, requests are officially closed. Don’t ask me for anything else today. Ti amo, ciao.” Only half-joking in his statement, he gave a small wave to both boys before they made their way into the school together.

~~~

By the grace of some higher power, Leone managed to run all the family errands and make it back home by lunch, which he was planning on cooking for himself and Bruno. Quietly cursing as he all but stumbled into the house with bags under each arm, he deposited the items onto the kitchen table.

Once everything was put away, he ascended the stairs to check on Bruno and possibly see what he wanted for lunch, so long as he was awake. Stepping lightly into the master bedroom, Leone looked upon his husband sound asleep on the bed in nothing but his boxer shorts with his face partially buried into his plush pillow and black hair laying in a curtain over his face.

“Così prezioso.”

Leone’s previously tall, correct posture slumped lazily as he gazed upon his partner in a lovestruck stupor. Toeing off his shoes and shedding his jacket onto the floor, he crawled onto the bed next to Bruno, taking in the sweet scent that wafted from his warm skin, assuming he had showered not long ago. Bringing a feather-light hand up to his husband’s face, Leone gently brushed his jet-black hair to the side before tucking it behind his ear.

The way Bruno’s nose scrunched at the slight tickle from his hair being swept across his face practically sent Leone to the moon in adoration. Curtains of dark eyelashes fluttered before parting to reveal piercing sapphire irises. A low hum vibrated through his chest as he shifted his body in the direction of the new source of warmth next to him.

“Back so soon?” Bruno’s voice came out strained and raspy as he stretched his arms above his head. Despite not even being close to getting the amount of rest his body needed, he still felt eons better than he did earlier that morning.

“Soon? It’s a little passed lunch. That means you’ve been out for four hours, caro.” As he jokingly tutted at his partner, Leone could feel Bruno’s arms snaking around his waist to pull him in closer.

“Don’t mind me, then. I guess I’m still delirious.” Taking care to nudge Leone’s shirt collar to the side with his cheek, Bruno started planting chaste kisses starting at his jaw line and working down to his collar bone. The feeling of goosebumps rising underneath his touch only served as further encouragement to continue.

Shivers worked their way down Leone’s spine before he relaxed under his husband’s touch. “Feeling a little more awake?” His hand made its way to Bruno’s side where it rested and occasionally squeezed his hip.

“Un po’,” Bruno breathed out between kisses that continued lower and lower down Leone’s chest, pulling his shirt open as he went. “I’ll miss you, you know.”

“Yeah? How much, exactly?” With a smug smirk, Leone was pushed to lay on his back before Bruno straddled his waist, leaning down to initiate a heated kiss.