#ghiaggio

Saved from damnation chapter 1. (a La squadra x reader fanfic. Any errors shall be duely noted and hopefully corrected!)

Risotto had told you not to leave. That was what you were going to do. He asked that you stay safe because he wanted at least a fraction of the old team to be able to move on. He said that to you before he left to go and fight the boss so you stayed in the hideout waiting on that string of hope that maybe one of them would return.

You laid down on the sofa. Quietly refreshing the message page, waiting for one of them to say something, anything. Just to prove to you that they might just come back. This place was normally humming with Fromaggio’s silly little jokes and Illusio’s snarky comebacks. It felt like a ghost town. You placed the laptop on the coffee table opposite you.

You let out a deep sigh as you snuggled into one of Illu’s spare jacket that you were using as a blanket, pulling it tighter around your shoulders. You really miss them. As you hug the stuffed fish you borrowed off of Pecsi to use as a cushion. You were going to have to apologise for borrowing their stuff without their permission. You had borrowed one thing off of everybody. You were wearing one of Risotto’s hats, he had actually gotten you one of your own but it was just nicer to feel like he was there. You had figured out that Prosci had copies of his necklace clearly just in case his current one got damaged was your best guess. You also borrowed Melone’s laptop to check up on updates on the board the guys where using. The leftover ice cream Giha had made was gone you loved it as always. You had you had a football game on quietly in the background because it reminded you of Froma. You slowly let your eyes close as you fell asleep feeling safe, warm, and like they were all there.

You missed all of them so much.

It was a massive blow when Sorbet and Gelato died, they were the first ones to openly care about you or call you a friend and over the years you knew the pair of them you had never had a bad experience with either. They were the kind, gay uncles you would never replace for the world. One time they were all going to go out on the town for the evening as was very normal for them on weekends because they work stressful jobs that are break-neck not only metaphorically but also quite literally. They live every moment to the fullest as they should. However, at the time you were still only 13 and that meant you had to stay back at home and you insisted that it would be fine. But Sor and Lat decided that they didn’t feel like going out that night. They stayed behind to take care of you. It was a fun evening full of studio Ghibli movies and junk food. Needless to say, these where more of common occurrence between the three of you that started to drag the rest of them in until it was a tradition they all did together, almost as a family. They haven’t done them since.

Not much time had really passed before Fromaggio died. This hit hard as well because he was like your brother. His puns where always the funniest shit to you, especially thinking back to them at 2 am. You absolutely loved watching him get passionate about football because he would talk on and on and you’d listen to all of it. It was fascinating to you in a way it never was before. It made you wonder what had changed in the weeks you’d known him at that point. Maybe it was because you became more open in general. No threat of violence against you was ever actually followed through on and you felt the safest you’d ever felt. It was lovely. You also love to hang out with his cats. They were always so pleasant critters to be around and you often asked to just play with his cats with him. Hoe told you that it was unusual to him. They were always happy around you which he couldn’t say was true for him, because they would scratch and yell when he’s trying to hug them. He said that you, “Have the gift. You can pet the fuzzy babies without them trying to claw your eyes out.”

Then Illusio disappeared. You two weren’t as close but there was still a mutual enjoyment of each-others presence. He seemed to really enjoy doing your hair which was good because you really liked being the test subject for his hairstyle ideas. Seeing new things done with your hair gave you a feeling of warm contentment. Listening to him spreading rumours about his friends, never serious and always rather funny, another highlight was. He could, and would, roast absolutely anyone and everyone. He wasn’t quiet when he disapproved of something, and you’d hear about that too.

Then Pros’ and Pecsi’s remains were found…

Pros’ death hit like a train. It was an odd coincidence because of what you were told about his final moments. You felt like you were being slowly torn apart by the news of your friend’s, no, family’s deaths. Each man fallen left a deep wound on you. By the end of the long week, you had no more tears left as you sat on your bed staring blankly at the faded world around you. You saw him as like your second dad. He may have been snarky and harsh, but it never got to the point where it wasn’t legit criticism. He seemed to know all the best words to keep you going. Pushing the limits of your abilities, to run that extra minute, to do those extra reps. You were driven to near-breaking, but never over. There was always an end, and with him helping you, it became easier to use and control the abilities you seemed to have gained. He called a part of your Stand which Riso had recently explained to you was a manifestation of your spirit and subconscious. Every week you trained the abilities became refined, it eventually got to the point that she occasionally showed herself.

Pecsi was like your older younger brother. His confidence issues had him constantly stumbling over basic interactions that you tried to help to varying degrees of success. You were also very affectionate because it made him become a blushing mess and you found it to be quite funny. He got used to it eventually and it became just another odd thing that you just, did. When you were watching a movie that was even a little scary you two clung to each-other, shaking like leaves. This led to most of the group joking about you two being a thing, earning them a very flustered Pineapple, and scowls that could have murdered from you. The number of times you had to be pulled off the lad because you where petrified by the movie, was higher than the number of times Pecsi had doubted himself. On those nights he insisted on sleeping in your room, because the pair of you were normally too afraid of being on your own. It got so common that you actually asked if you could get a convertible sofa in your room, so he didn’t have to sleep on the floor. It wasn’t too great of an expense so your request was granted. Having him near gave you a certain solace. He was big and he was also rather strong, but he was such a huge teddy bear that he was about as threatening as a kitten. It was comforting, you felt safe.

When Melone and Gihaggio were sent on the suicide mission to go and kidnap Trish. you had tried to beg for the both of them to not go. Both responded that they didn’t have a choice and they had to at least try. Safe to say neither of them came back…

Melo was your favourite teacher because he was funny and always willing to help with anything he could. That ranged from helping you learn more complex Italian that you otherwise wouldn’t have ever gotten, to homework that was otherwise neglected. He also seemed to absolutely adore helping you with the schoolwork that was sent to you, well a post office near you, from a long distance schooling initiative that was set up to help kids like you. Those who couldn’t go to a real school for their own safety. His patience was saintly, and his enthusiasm, seemingly boundless. He never got angry at you for not understanding straight away, and was willing to re-explain everything to you. He also seemed so much happier every second he was with you. You felt appreciated.

Gihaggio was never your favourite person. That was because he was only ever in a bad mood. He was told to help with your education when Melo wasn’t there, this led to quite the tally of near scares. His lashing out was a terror to you, because your father and sister would get like that. When he saw you flinch at his raised fist and yelling, he would redirect and be forced to apologise later by one of the others. It very rarely got to blind rage, and never escalated to violence against you. This was simply due to him knowing that it would be a death sentence from how protective Melone was over her. When forced to apologise he tended to make ice-cream because he: “Has a hard time using his words” as Melone put it.

As Risotto walked out of the door, you couldn’t help but feel as though you were being abandoned. He was the last real member of your family that you had, and he was walking out into a guaranteed death. There was nothing you could do. He was the one who found you; it took a few days to trust him at all. It was a delicate process that took at least four days for you to accept food directly given from him, he had to put it on a tray and step back a few steps. He spoke some pretty all right English so you and him would have fairly regular chats. When you were finally allowed out of the room he helped with translation.

They were your family at the end of the day.