Bloody Golden Butterfly [JJBA Fanfiction] (Giorno x Jolyne)

15. Decode

Her two teachers were fantastic, and under the tutelage of both, she made a lot of progress. If she had ever considered Bruno only a simple, organized fellow with a useful Stand before, her perspective had changed. This man was dangerous, and every day for the next two weeks, she collapsed in her bed, completely spent.

She still didn't approve of Giorno organizing things on her behalf without asking, but she was happy with the way her classes were going. Over the following weeks, as her body noticeably became more toned, she also searched for more ingenious ways to maximize her Stand's ability. Bruno had suggested that she could perhaps develop her ability to a point where she could turn others into strings too, not just herself; it was only a matter of trying.

Trish no longer insisted on taking her out shopping, but a couple of days a week, she would stop by to see her. Sometimes she would stay for dinner and they would watch a movie together.

Narancia had offered to help her train one day, but it ended with her using her Stand to stitch a gunshot wound moments before Giorno barged into the gym and fully healed her. They had both received scolding, but especially Narancia.

She and Fugo rarely talked. When she asked him about his Stand once, he almost seemed offended. Since he always seemed insulted or annoyed, Jolyne decided she wasn't even going to try to converse with him. If she really wanted to hang around someone with a permanent scowl, Abbacchio was a thousand times better.

She hadn't interacted much with Giorno since that night in the garden. They would greet each other politely when passing by but little else. Hence, she was surprised when he sought her out to inform her that he needed to take a short trip to Nápoles. When she was about to wish him a safe journey, he told her to pack for one night.

It was a strange request, but after being cooped up at the palazzo for so long, she wasn't one to turn him down.

Having become accustomed to the big, high-end but relatively ordinary cars they'd used to get around town, she shouldn't have been impressed by the Maseratti. She only closed her gaping mouth when she espied Giorno watching her from the corner of her eye.

She hadn't been out a lot, but she quickly came to realize that Italians had a special way of driving. A way that she liked to call "fast and without respect for the lives of others or their own." Giorno completely shined in this regard.

"I know your Stand can heal and also bring back the dead, but I'd rather we not go down that road," Jolyne told him, gripping onto her seatbelt like a lifeline after seeing him pass someone at twice the speed limit.

"I'm not going that fast," he tried to tell her, but even he knew he was lying. "Bene, I suppose I can slow down a bit."

As he decelerated the car, she took the time to marvel at how comfortable he looked sitting in a seat that was clearly too small for him. The car itself was also pretty low. It was lucky that the vehicle was designed with the comfort of all kinds of drivers in mind. His seat was pushed back, with his long legs stretched out before him as his foot switched between the foot pedals.

The music did nothing to ease the uncomfortable silence. As Jolyne stared out at the passing unfamiliar buildings and occasionally strange Italian architecture, wondering why he refused to tell her about his business in Nápoles, Giorno spoke up. "Do you mind showing me how your Italian lessons are coming along?"

"Sure..."

She had been under the impression that she didn't have much of a vocabulary to carry on a conversation, but it was amazing how well she managed. After making a joke about Twilight, she learned a surprising fact about Giorno.