#giocetta

Sometimes, Giorno gave Pancetta the illusion of choice, and asked him what he wanted, or if he was okay. They both knew, though, that what Pancetta wanted wasn't what mattered here. This was a business transaction, and their agreement stated that Giorno got to have his way with him. Pancetta didn't want to risk losing his end of the bargain. His parents were so pleased with what their new partnership with Passione was doing for them.

Or: Pancetta Fugo, desperate not to meet his older brother's fate, is willing to do a lot of things for his family's status.

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I generally headcanon (Pannacotta) Fugo as an only child. He does not really act like someone who grew up with siblings (speaking from experience). However, there are some specific conditions in which I think it could still work, and Pancetta fills those specific conditions. The conditions mostly add up to that there needs to be enough of an age gap that they didn't really grow up as peers, and (Pannacotta) Fugo still basically had all the weight of expectations on his shoulders. Then, as I worked out the details of Pancetta, I got very attached.

Pancetta is seven years younger than Fugo, and when Fugo was still around I think they got on well enough, but Fugo spent most of his time studying and didn't have time to play. Pancetta's childhood had less crushing pressure attached to it because Fugo was the eldest and their parents didn't really think they'd need a plan B in that sense (in my mind, their father runs some sort of nebulous company that I have not worked out the details to yet). Pancetta is still rather young when Fugo goes off to college, and then when he leaves.

His actual memories of his brother are mostly positive, with maybe some thrown in of Fugo snapping at him sometimes. The thing is, I doubt their parents told Pancetta the full story. So, in Pancetta's mind, for quite some years, he thinks Fugo ran away, and basically stuck him with all the pressure of being the heir et cetera.

Resentment stews in that period of time, where Pancetta has to deal with what Fugo did to a lesser degree (they learn a bit from their mistakes, and socialize him better, and don't send him to college at age thirteen). As he gets older, he does put more of the pieces together that his parents were more willing in Fugo's disappearance than they say they are, and that it's weird that they're brushing his entire existence under the rug and acting like they've only ever had one child.

So as an adult, Pancetta has rather complicated feelings on his estranged, possibly dead, brother. He grew up more normally, but not without his own issues. He does care a lot about living up to his parents' expectations, because the unspoken threat of his brother disappearing still hangs over his head. He values responsibility in a similar sense to how Fugo values logic, and is more socially adept than book-smart.

Cut to fifteen years post-canon. Pancetta is 23, and working to inherit the company his family owns one day. The Fugos are probably not running a completely above-the-board business, and Passione has a lot of power, so he shows up to a meeting of some sort- and why the fuck is there someone named Fugo there. He puts the pieces together pretty quickly, and so does (Pannacotta) Fugo. They don't say anything initially, moreso out of shock than anything else.

Pancetta being there isn't a one-time occurrence, however, so they do get the chance to reconnect, albeit awkwardly. They have different worldviews but in the way that parallel lines have the same slope. They can't exactly just pick up where they left off, but along with having history, they aren't so fundamentally different that they can't get to know and care about each other now too. All in all one of the better endings to my many sets of estranged siblings.

They catch up, and Fugo learns what happened to the kid brother he left behind. It's a weird contrast, because Pancetta has always been frozen in time in his mind, and now he's grown up, and has a personality that maybe Fugo would've seen coming if he's spent less time studying as a kid. Fugo doesn't regret things, especially because his parents made it pretty clear he was unwanted there- besides, Pancetta is like the son they always wanted and he doesn't even experience murderous thoughts. Pancetta is still a bit jealous that Fugo got to, in some capacity, choose what he wanted to do. He also finds it disrespectful that Fugo goes by their surname, especially after leaving their family (for Fugo, it's the point, but this post isn't about my Fugo headcanons.)

I suppose I should talk about the dubiously consensual workplace relationship (below the cut if dubiously consensual workplace relationships do not appeal to you)