Five days, that’s how long Giovanni spent consecutively at Tate’s. He not only got to avoid cameras and questions, but he also got to lay around again like they used to on weekends back in high school. Whenever it seemed like things had calmed down finally, he left to attempt to get his life back on track. However, rather than going to school or football practice, Gio began to throw himself into working on Tate’s and Tana’s new suits.
What was only meant to take him a few days wound up taking him nearly four weeks. Even after he took their measurements, he would start to polish everything up and scrap it to start all over. He wanted it to be perfect, to offer optimal protection while still being light enough for them to move around freely. He finished the suits once he finally decided on a design and material, but giving them other equipment was going to take more time. It would be lots of trial and error, along with making sure they knew how to use them. They’d need a place to train, and even though Tate had just started to get back out on patrols he was going to need a place to see exactly how far he could push himself after his surgery. The last thing Gio wanted was someone else he cared about going down.
Isaiah had begun showing signs of improvement, but was ultimately still in a coma. Gio went to go check on him every day he could, but for the last week he’d shut himself away into what his parents called his laboratory. His inner sanctum; where he worked diligently on his own equipment and gadgets to be sure he could handle everything anyone threw at him. He’d hardly come out for anything, even food or water. His communication had nearly ceased completely, and it left people like Tate, Nia, and Tana worried about him.
The last thing Giovanni was expecting had to be a social visit from anyone. Though he hadn’t counted on his friends getting worried enough to all show up at his building. His parents were just as shocked, buzzing the three up and telling the guards to let them inside. Tate nor Tana had seen Alessandro or Francesca in a few years. The married couple stood staring at the two now-adult Crawford children in what seemed to be awe. Francesa wrapped her arms around them both, giving them a hug as she told Alessandro how handsome and beautiful they both were in Italian. It was strange seeing their insanely rich surrogate parents, and to be doted over the way both of them always loved to do. Not much had changed, except the Capitanis had certainly gotten richer and moved up in the world.
Nia bypassed the cooing and made her way to the door she knew Gio was sitting behind. Probably hunched over a desk with tiny little tools, staring intently through a magnifying glass as he worked on soldering things together. She knocked a few times and then waited, hearing the scurrying around inside that came after a loud thump. The door slid open, revealing Gio with intense stubble and his hair a complete mess as he rubbed at his knee. He looked up, grumbling, to look directly at the large afro and frown. He was bad about looking over Nia due to her short stature, but she was over a whole foot shorter than him.
“Man, you look like shit!” Nia laughed while crossing her arms over her chest.
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Gio continued to grumble quietly, pulling on his wrinkled t-shirt to try and make it look more presentable. It didn’t work. “Why are you here, Nia?” He rubbed at his eyes, blinking hard afterwards.
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“We got worried about you, fool. You just ghosted everyone for the last week. We know how that head of yours works.” Even though she continued to talk, Gio hardly heard any of it. As soon as she’d said ‘we’ he’d honed in, trying to figure out what she meant. He walked down the short hallway, turning the corner to see Tate and Tana both standing with his parents.
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They still hadn’t made it out of the entryway, but were probably close to being offered food. Francesca was poking at Tate’s arms, saying something about how he was muscular but still too skinny. Typical Italian mother things. Nia was still talking as she followed behind Gio, and every single word was falling on deaf ears as he stood there for a moment staring at Tate. He saw as he laughed, Alessandro had said something he found funny. A big grin that exposed teeth and gums alike. His eyes squinted and his nose scrunched up, as his shoulders shook slightly before he waved a dismissive hand. It almost caused Gio’s heart to skip a beat. He didn’t even realize that he’d reached up and was clutching at his own chest.
Taking off at a large stride, he quickly made it across the large open space and bypassed his parents completely. Crashing into Tate and wrapping his arms around him. He nearly knocked Tate off balance, but he regained his footing quickly and reached up to pat Gio’s back. He buried his face into the shorter man’s hair, taking in a deep breath before pulling back. Cupping Tate’s face and squeezing his cheeks together before realizing that everyone was staring at both of them, including Gio’s parents. He quickly pulled his hands back and away from Tate, turning to look at the rest of the group while rubbing the back of his neck.
“This, um… it’s nice to see all… of… you.” Gio tried to play off what had just happened, but the shocked looks on both of his parents’ faces said that he’d failed at that. Tana had a smug look on her face that just said she knew, and looking back at Nia revealed she had her eyebrows raised but quickly smirked as she mouthed “knew it”. Tate, on the other hand, looked the most unfazed.
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“They… were very worried for you, mio caro.” Francesca was the first to speak, her thick Italian accent causing her tongue to roll over certain English words strangely. “You have been working very long.” She looked over at Alessandro, who was still quietly staring at both Tate and his son. “We are glad they came.”
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The silence that fell over them after that was awkward and deafening. It made Gio squirm because he could tell his father was processing and judging. He wasn’t afraid of them not accepting him because he was sure they eventually would no matter what, but he was afraid of disappointing them. Even if their disappointment was only brief. “Actually, uh, yanno what? Now that we see he’s alive, how about you show me that cake you were talking about, Francesca?” Tana finally spoke up. “I know Tate needs to talk to Gio privately about, uh, things and stuff. Involving dad.” Gio’s parents had no clue that Tate and Tana were Conduit and Spitfire, but they definitely knew that Walter was Leviathan. She’d just made that up off the top of her head, hoping it would pull at their heartstrings enough to give them privacy.
Francesca’s deepening frown said that it had done precisely what Tana wanted it to do. She spoke to Alessandro in Italian, telling him to follow along, and Gio quietly thanked Tana. Nia gave him an eyebrow waggle before she fell in line right behind the Capitanis and Tana. After they were all a decent distance away, Gio grabbed Tate’s hand and tugged him off towards the hallway he’d emerged from before the conversation.
He opened the door to his lab and tugged Tate inside, shutting the door behind them before letting out a massive sigh. He hadn’t realized he’d been practically holding his breath the entire time, but it was a relief to be away from the judging gaze of his parents. Immediately he turned back to Tate and gave him a small, apologetic smile.
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“I was just really happy to see you.” He tried to offer an explanation. “I didn’t mean to just disappear like I did, I got so caught up in my work that I just-”
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Gio had begun talking with his hands as he started to explain his reasonings for ghosting everyone. As quickly as his words had started to pour out they died in his throat. Tate had reached up and grabbed his face, crashing their lips together similarly to how Gio had crashed their bodies together. It caught the taller man off guard, but it didn’t take long for him to melt into it. His shoulders relaxed as he leaned heavier into Tate’s hands.
He tasted like clove tobacco and sweet mint, clearly trying to cover up the fact he’d probably smoked a cigarette before coming over. But Gio found it strangely comforting. It was a taste that was just uniquely Tate. Even though he personally hated cigarettes, he found himself enjoying every chance he was given to taste it. Maybe it was just as addicting as nicotine was, kissing Tate. Almost as addicting as the little smile he had on his face once he pulled back, looking over Gio’s face for a moment until he rubbed over the stubble that would soon be the beginning of a thick beard if he wasn’t careful. He really needed to shave.
“I’m happy to see you, too, idiot.” Tate scritched under Gio’s chin, raising an eyebrow. “You smell like sweat and deodorant at the same time, that’s impressive.” He chuckled, dropping his hand.
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Gio looked mortified, quickly raising his arm to sniff. “I haven’t showered yet today.” He made a disgusted face and shook his head. “Actually, I don’t remember the last time I took a shower. That’s so gross.” And for someone who had very germaphobic tendencies, it was extremely disgusting to Gio. He felt completely grossed out by himself, but Tate patted him on the shoulder.
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“I bet you haven’t brushed your teeth, either.” He bursted out laughing at the face Gio made next, catching his hand when he tried to put it up to his mouth to do a smell test. “I’m joking! G, I swear, I’ve already kissed you. Your breath didn’t stink.” He nearly snorted from laughing so hard, letting go of Gio’s hand and turning around to look at the large worktable in the middle of the room.
He carefully examined everything, running his fingers over the material of the suit that was clearly meant to be his. “So this is what you’ve been working on, huh?” Tate glanced back for a moment. “This is really impressive. Way better than the stitchwork I did on the original.”
Gio took a few steps and stood behind Tate, looking over his shoulder. He let out a small hum as a reply and wrapped his arms gently around Tate’s torso. He wanted to be careful over the places that he’d been shot — that had required surgery. Though when Tate’s instant response was to slide both of his hands along Gio’s arms and just squeeze tightly, Gio also gave a slight squeeze. He buried his face into the nook of Tate’s neck and planted a kiss there. When Tate shied away from it, chuckling as he reached up to poke Gio in the forehead, he pulled back. “Alright, you look great with stubble, but that shit is itchy on my neck.”
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“What, you mean if I just rub my face right here, it’s annoying?” Gio asked, not even giving Tate a chance to answer before doing exactly that. It didn’t take long for Tate to get twisted around in Gio’s grasp and shove his head back, but there was a wide grin on his face that said he wasn’t upset about what had just happened. “Fine, I’ll quit!” Gio laughed, pushing his face against Tate’s hand and hardly budging it. “I’m almost done with what I was working on. I’m just going to need the two people that are meant to use it to test it out for me. Think you’d both be up for that?” The way Tate’s face lit up was enough of an answer on its own. “You should both take your suits today, though. I’d rather you be wearing yours, since it’ll help stop bullets now.”
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Even though Tate hadn’t been out of the hospital for very long, he was determined to get back to using his powers at their full capacity. He’d soon enough push himself even further than he already had, and Giovanni knew it. The Crawford siblings were going to have plenty of new toys to play with, though, thanks to the genius mind of our resident Sentinel!
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