[Closed Log] A Little Lunch~

[sharkyassassin]

Who: Squalo and Dino
What: Dino takes Squalo out for lunch and things go...pretty much as expected.
When: February 16th, around lunchtime
Where: An Italian restaurant off campus
Rating: R (Mostly for Squalo's mouth.  And unfortunate topics of conversation)

Squalo had to admit, this meeting with Dino was the most exciting thing that had happened to him in the last couple of months. Between Boss being unusually quiet (not even requesting Squalo's presence to pour whiskey that the lazy ass refused to get himself) and everyone else barely making a splash, he was getting restless. Wreaking a little havoc on the place might have been the best idea he had had since he had arrived here.

He stopped in front of the restaurant Dino had recommended, taking a little sniff. It smelled like home and while he wasn't the most sentimental of men, he could appreciate a well cooked meal. With a grin, he stepped into the restaurant. Food first, with a little needling of Dino, before wreaking havoc. That was the best combination he could think of right now.

Dino was happily chattering about menial things as he walked towards the restaurant with Squalo. He was quite happy to spend the time together with his old friend, even if Squalo was still the same loud person with mouth that could not be cleaned even if it was washed with a bottle of soap.

When both of them entered the restaurant, followed by three of Dino's subordinates who were following them quite indiscreetly, they were immediately greeted by a waiter who led them to a table in the center of the restaurant. Dino took his seat and opened the book menu which was lying on the table, scanning it.

"Anything you want in peculiar, Squalo?"

Squalo gave a hum as he looked over the menu. His own favorite dish wasn't on there, so he wasn't really all that picky about it. He tossed the menu down before taking a quick glance around the place. It was small, cozy, intimate. Almost like some place that you took a date. He couldn't help but snicker at that thought. That might be something he would bring up to that brat that Dino had shacked up later, just to see if it bugged him.

"Why don't you surprise me and pick something, since you know what's good in this place?"

Dino raised his eyebrows when he heard Squalo's words. "Oh, alright. I will take no protest about what I have ordered later on, though!" he said seriously before turning his attention to the waiter, who was patiently waiting on their table, to put his order which was consisted of Pizzoccheris, Caponatas, two slice of Cassatas and a bottle of Marsala wine.

After the waiter had written down their order and walked away from the table, Dino turned his attention back at Squalo.

"So, how many chocolates did you get on Valentine Day?" he asked with a grin.

Squalo gave a nod of approval as he ordered. No matter what Dino had said, he still would have bitched if the food wasn't to his liking. After all, getting complicit would just be boring.

At the question, Squalo just snorted. "I've got a pile in my room that comes up to my chest. I'm picking out the good stuff and leaving the rest outside of my room for whoever wants it. Hell, you can take it if you want to."

He took a sip of his water, smirking a bit. "What about you? How big was your pile this year?"

"Well, well, I must say the courage our students have for that peculiar day always surprises me. To think they even dare giving you chocolates," Dino chuckled slightly before shrugging his shoulders. "Not that much, actually. I refuse most of them, since I'm already engaged with Kyouya and they all know that even from last year."

A soft sigh escaped from Dino's lips and he turned his face to the side, observing the people around them. "I do wonder what Kyouya's doing lately. I haven't seen him anywhere in the university."

Squalo rolled his eyes. Sometimes, Dino was a lot less fun than he used to be, and it was all the fault of that kid he was with. "You could still take them. It's not like you're planning on taking them out or fucking them, you know."

He gave a sigh of his own, leaning his cheek against his hand. "Have you thought about calling him or something? Talking to him in some way or another? Or maybe ask for a favor from someone to find out how he's doing?"

"I know, it still seems cruel, though. It almost feels like I'm giving them hope," Dino turned his attention back at Squalo to give the long-haired man a grin before he laughed softly. "Don't you think I've tried all of that, Squalo? You know me. Have I ever stop to think before I act, especially when it concerns people I love?" The blond haired man shook his head. "Of course I've done all that. He never answered my call, though, and even Tetsu, the only person closest to Kyouya, doesn't know where he is. So, all that I can do right now is just waiting, I guess."

"I think that they know by now that you're off the market. You and Hibari have made that pretty clear." He watched him as he talked and then rolled his eyes. Really, sometimes Dino could be such an idiot. "You don't have to just sit there and take it you know. You could go out and find him."

“Ha ha, no, I don’t think I can, Squalo. Kyouya hates to be fussed about, you know?” Dino then shook his head slightly before resting his chin on his palm. “Anyway, let’s just talk about something else. How do you think of the students in the university, hm?”

There was a snort from Squalo and he rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair. “What that fuck do you think I think of them? Idiots, trash, all of them. Maybe they won’t be with some proper training, but really, I have no hopes for them.” He quirked an eyebrow at Dino. “I bet you love them all.”

“Why am I not surprised at all by your answer?” Dino sighed. “It’s … a little bit too much to say that I love them all, but, in general, I do believe that they are not so bad. True, most of them are still too spoiled, although I think with most of the professors in the university, the students will be forced to grow out of it soon.”

“Oh yeah, they definitely will. Some of them already have been.” Squalo took a sip of the wine, savoring the taste of it. “But you still tend to like them more than not. Is it because of that kid of yours that you’re shacking up with? You enjoy the abuse or something?”

Dino took his time before answering, following Squalo’s example and taking a sip from his glass before he rested his cheek on his palm. “Tell me, Squalo, what do you think I have to do so that people will actually believe that I am not a masochist?” he shot back in a drawl.

Before Squalo could answer, though, their conversation was interrupted by the waiter who had returned back to their table and brought their orders. The waiter put the foods on the table, arranging them so the plates and everything would fit nicely, before bowing politely and leaving the two of them alone once again.

The delicious smell of food made Dino’s stomach rumbled slightly and he eagerly took his silverware, intent to fill his quite empty stomach.

Squalo’s reply was put off for a few moments as he first tried, then fully enjoyed the food in front of him. Dino had been right for once when he had said this place was good, and his choice of food definitely showed that off. It was a rare bit of quiet for him as he ate the first few bites.

When he finally did answer, he was smirking. “You’re never going to convince people of that. You fell for Hibari Kyouya after he tried to kick the shit out of you a few dozen times. That, my friend, is a masochist.”

Dino let the blissful silence encompassed them for a while as he, also, enjoyed the food. He was glad Squalo approved of his orders -- else there would surely be loud protests from the long haired man, not a peaceful silence like this -- inwardly patting himself on the back for still quite remembering what his old friend would like.

Rolling his eyes, he decided to not comment on Squalo’s answer. He couldn’t actually find an argument that would be nice enough to fight that back, after all. “I’m sure Kyouya will return soon. Once he’s ready.”

“See, that’s your problem,” Squalo told the don as he pointed his fork at him, “You let him get away with too much shit. One of these days, your pretty skylark is going to fly away for the spring and never come home for the winter.” He paused in his observations for a moment to take a few more bites of his food because damn, it was pretty good. “I’m not saying you have to cage the little shit, but really, he needs to be reminded that he can’t always get his own way like any spoiled brat. And you giving in whenever he runs off is not going to teach him that.”

Reaching his hand out to grab his glass of wine, Dino took his time answering Squalo’s words. His hazel eyes gazed thoughtfully on the red liquid glinting under the light of the restaurant’s lamp. “From the very first time I realized my feeling to him, I’ve always known I wouldn’t be able to completely have him,” he started slowly, as if putting the words together as he spoke. “I know from the start that, despite of my status as his fiancé, I have no power to bind him to me.”

The blond man took a sip of his wine. “Besides, it’s not like I want to bind him. I love his freedom, Squalo. You may not understand this, but I love Kyouya for his freedom, his … carelessness of the world and other things except for his wishes. How can I ever take that freedom away from him when that’s one of the things which made me love him so?”

“I’m not exactly giving in whenever he runs off, since I still annoy him with my messages and phone calls at those times, at the very least, it’s just that I can’t even be mad at him once he finally returned home. Once I see his face … I forget almost everything, except for the gladness I feel because he’s safe. Safe and back in my arms again.”

Squalo sighed, shaking his head. “You’re a goddamn sentimental bastard, you know that? What if he runs off for years without any word, huh? Are you going to welcome back with open arms and not even punch him for abandoning you? How is that teaching him anything?”

“How mad will you be if I say yes, I’ll still welcome him back with open arms?” Dino raised his eyebrow, although his tone and eyes certainly told that he was serious with his answer. “What do you think I should teach to him, anyway, hm? About what it meant to be bind to someone else?”

“I’ll be pretty damn pissed, in all honesty.” Squalo rolled his eyes. “Yes, you fucking should teach him that. If you fucking choose to bind yourself to a person, then you better well know what that means. You don’t run off for months on end without any contact whatsoever, leaving your lover to worry about you. If you choose it, if you want it, then you don’t fucking do that to the other person. It’s as bad as betrayal.” Which is why he would never choose that path.

Dino allowed a small smile appeared on his face. He had always known that Squalo actually cared about him, but knowing that his friend was thinking of his happiness this made Dino remembered that deep inside Squalo’s rude behaviour, there was always a loyal friend who would look after him.

“For me, as long as he returns to me, then I won’t mind with anything else he does. I know despite everything, Kyouya will always choose me as his return place in the end and that’s enough to please me,” knowing Squalo would still be displeased with his answer, Dino added, “Let’s just agree to disagree in this matter, Squalo. Just like me who will never understand your loyalty to Xanxus, I think you will also never understand my relationship with Kyouya.”

Squalo snorted. “You’ve got that right. I have no fucking clue what you see in him. He’s a brat and an arrogant bastard. I mean, while I’m loyal to boss, at least I’m not fucking him, for Christ’s sake.”

The food Dino had just chewed almost went down on the wrong pipe. “Squalo! That’s certainly not an image I need to have at the moment!” he sputtered, taking a sip of his wine hastily. “Besides, I’m grateful you can’t see Kyouya the way I am. I don’t want to have unnecessary competitors.”

Squalo snorted. “Please. Like I would ever be fucking interested in him. I’d probably kill him first.” He took another bite of his food, chewing thoughtfully. “What do you see in him? Is he just a good fuck?”

“I can get a good fuck from a high-class escort, of course that’s not what I see in him,” Dino rolled his eyes. “It’s the little, less known side of him. His stubbornness, his determination, his twisted way of seeing the world … and his unexpected gentleness while he’s with small animals. He always intrigues me and I just can see he stands beside me for the rest of my life.”

With a sigh, he shook his head. “See, this is why I call you a sentimental bastard. Because no matter what you do, you see all this good shit about people who are not so good.” Like me, went unsaid.

Dino laughed. “Well, if I can’t do that, then what else would I see from the people around me, hm? I’m surrounded by ‘not so good’ people, if I can’t find something good about them, I won’t be able to form any relationship with anyone.”

“You’re a Don, you’re not supposed to be forming relationships with people. Shit like that can get you killed.” Squalo sighed and shook his head again, though he was smiling this time. “What the hell am I going to do about you?”

“If being a don means I can’t have any relationships, then I think I’d rather be a pope,” Dino answered with a straight face before his lips quirked into a grin. “What are you going to do about me? That’s obvious, isn’t it? Just keep being a supportive friend like you are, Squalo. I really appreciate that.”

Squalo groaned loudly, tempted to bang his head on the table. “Don’t fucking call me that in public, you dumbass. I have a reputation to protect and being a...whatever the hell you called me is definitely not part of it.”

“Oh, alright. I will make sure no one else knows how very caring and protective you really are,” Dino nodded solemnly. “So, enough with this talk. What are you planning to do to … ah, make things interesting at the university, hm?”

“I was thinking we could play a little game.” Squalo smirked at him. “How many students do you think would be scared shitless to see a shark in the air about to chomp them down?”

The look Dino threw at Squalo certainly showed how insane he thought his friend was at the moment. “... I’d say quite a lot,” he started slowly. “How are you going to do it, though? Randomly letting your animal box weapon out whenever you see students gathering around?”

Squalo gave a shrug. “Why not? They’re always walking around in big groups and shit. It’d get the maximum effect and maybe they won’t hang around so much.”

“Of course, they won’t actually be chomped by that shark, right?” Dino really should make sure of this.

“Well, that might be fun...” Squalo smirked at that, before chuckling. “Nah. It’s not worth the fallout. Anyone who knows anything about me would know I did it, and you already said we couldn’t do anything to actually disrupt things.”

Glad to know Squalo would still follow the rules. “Then I agree. It might be good to see if they have learned anything at all. … Perhaps you should let the shark has a little bit of fun. After all, if they can’t dodge it, then it really is their fault, right?”

“I’m glad that you see it my way~” Squalo grinned at Dino before taking another bite of his food. “You could even let out your horse. That might give them a fright too.”

Dino snorted. “What part of Scuderia is scary? He’s a white-horse which can turn into a pegasus. If anything, he’ll only remind the girl students about a prince’s horse. I think I’ll pass. It might be funnier if I put on a trap using my whip to trip students.”

Squalo laughed. “You do that and you’ll probably end up tripping yourself or something. Poke out your eye and then I’ll have to listen to the bitching that we have a one eyed don.”

The image of losing his eyes made Dino winced. “How could someone poke out their eye just from tripping over something? That’s ridiculous.” He scoffed.

“I don’t know how, but you would find a way to do it. You just have luck like that, always have.”

“I won’t!” Dino protested indignantly. “If I really have luck like that, I wouldn’t be alive now, would I?”

“Yeah, I guess that’s true. Still, you’d definitely trip over your whip, because that’s just what you do.” Squalo snickered. “I remember all the times you fell on your face, your ass, and various other body parts.”

A light blush made Dino’s face felt warm. “Oh, per Dio, you will always remember those embarrassing moments, won’t you? I remember correctly that you always laughed so loud whenever you saw me tripped over something.”

“Of course I did. It was fucking hilarious, the way you flailed about, trying to save yourself. I’ve never seen such an uncoordinated bastard before.”

In order to hide his embarrassment, Dino took a sip of his wine again. Certainly uncaring that the red liquid in his glass was half empty already. “I’d like to tell you that I am not a bastard, thank you. My madre and padre were married before they had me.”

Squalo rolled his eyes at that. “And I’m not the son of a bitch, but people still call me that. It’s just a phrase, dumbass. I’m well aware that your parents were married before they had you.”

“Hmm, I wonder why people are calling you son of a bitch. I’d thought they’d call you the bitch itself more often than not.” Teasing back, now.

He hid a smirk behind his glass. Good, it was about time Bucking Horse got into the banter. “Actually, I always thought that was your position with your little brat.”

“Whatever gave you that idea?” Dino raised his eyebrow, keeping his tone light in the banter. “I am a believer of fair play, Squalo.”

“Well, with the way that you act with him sometimes, I’ve got to wonder. Does he say come and you say how hard?” Okay, maybe that was too much innuendo for their little meeting, but Squalo had never been known to hold back in any fashion before.

Squalo’s vulgar words actually made Dino laughed this time. “Nah, I still get the dominant role in bed. Actually, it was usually him who would obey when I said come,” the blond haired man grinned. “Don’t tell Kyouya I told you that, though!”

Squalo grinned. “Oh, I don’t believe you. You were always the one who listened to me when I said it,” he purred, smirking.

Dino spluttered. “D-don’t say anything about that, Squalo! I-it was different, anyway! I was still inexperienced back then!”

“Doesn’t change the fact that you still listened to me~ I bet your little brat appreciates all the little tricks I taught you~” Squalo did love to fluster Dino. That never changed.

The red hue on Dino’s cheeks darkened and he groaned before hiding his flushed face behind his hands. “Squalo! Honestly, we shouldn’t talk about things like that here! In fact, we shouldn’t talk about it at all!”

“Why not?” He took a sip of his wine. “It’s not like it’s this big secret, since I’m sure the brat knows about it. Everyone knows that you’re into men since you’re marrying one, and I’ve never hid what I’ve done in the past. It’s not like we’re ever going to fuck again, so what’s the big deal?”

“I was bisexual, actually, and now I think I’m Kyouya-sexual. Not really into men, as you so delicately put it,” Dino murmured before sighing. “The deal is that it’s quite awkward for friends to talk about their past sexual relationship when one of them has been engaged!”

“God, you are such an idiot. The only one it seems awkward for is you, and that’s never been a problem before. You’ve gotten to be such a prude since you got with the brat.”

“I’m not a prude!” Dino protested indignantly. “It just seems weird talking about that with you, especially in public place like this.”

The shark rolled his eyes. “How the hell is it weird? It’s me we’re talking about, it’s not like I give into all those stupid social conventions.”

“That’s too damn true,” Dino sighed. “Well, I guess I should be glad you’re not talking about the details with Kyouya. It’d be disaster if you two start to talk about those kind of things about me.” He finished with a shudder.

“Oh, and why is that~? Afraid I might tell him all of your weak spots, Cavallone~?” Squalo smirked at him. This really was turning into a fun little lunch.

“Kyouya doesn’t need your advise to find my weak spots,” Really, why and when did the conversation turn into this? “I just don’t want to be teased by you and him. Especially not about my … activity in bed.”

“Oh, we won’t tease you. Too badly at least. We’re probably just going to drive each other nuts by telling each other what we’ve done to you.” Squalo smirked. Let Dino figure out if he was lying or telling the truth.

“For my own sanity, I’d hope you were not being honest in that statement, Squalo.” Dino drank his wine until none was left in the glass. At least the alcohol could make him felt less mortified by the topic of conversation.

Squalo chuckled. “I guess you’ll never know~ It’s not like I’d actually talk about it with you around.”

“You’re not actually planning to tell Kyouya anything about that, right?!” Dino couldn’t hide his mortification at the thought. This time, he was actually glad Kyouya was not in the university.

“I guess we’ll see how it goes. It’s not like I go out of my way to find the brat.” Squalo pushed away his now empty plate, taking another sip of his wine. “Actually, the less I see of him, the better in my opinion.”

It’d be better for Dino too. He couldn’t even imagine what Kyouya and Squalo would do once they met. Either they would kill each other or telling embarrassing things about Dino before killing each other. “I guess it’ll be too much for me to expect you two getting along, huh?”

Squalo just snorted at that. “Yeah, it really would. I don’t like him, he doesn’t like me. We have two things in common - we like to fight and we’re somehow stuck to you. Other than that? We’ll probably hate each other’s guts until the end of time.”

Dino’s eyebrow rose in surprise from Squalo’s words. “Stuck to me? The both of you?”

“Thought you figured it out by now.” Squalo finished his wine and put the glass aside. “I haven’t abandoned you, have I? I’m still here, listening to your whining. The brat keeps coming back to you after everything. So yeah, we’re both stuck to you.”

The blond haired man was silent for a moment before his lips curled into a smile. “Well, I’d say I’m flattered. Then again, I’m not sure having two violent people stuck to me is good.” He chuckled.

“Hey, you were the one who picked us. You should have realized your mistake after the first time with me.” Squalo smirked a little. “This is the only time I’m ever saying this, by the way, so you might want to remember it.”

“It’s your fault for being interesting back then,” Dino shrugged his shoulder lightly before the grin returned on his face. “Oh, don’t worry. I assure you I will always remember this conversation.”

The assassin groaned at that, rubbing a hand over his face. “You’re never going to let me forget this, are you?”

“Nope, not at all!” Dino confirmed with a laugh. “I’ve always known that deep inside you care about me, but it’s nice to hear you actually say it out loud.”

“I never said I care about you, I said I was stuck to you. Big fucking difference.” It really wasn’t, but Squalo wasn’t going to actually say he cared about him either. His reputation would never live that down.

“You will not bother to listen my whining if you don’t care about me. The fact that you’re still here even after all the whining I did before is a solid proof that you care, Squalo, no matter how hard you deny it.” Dino was glad he had his turn to tease his long haired friend back.

“You can think whatever you want, I know what the truth. I just used you to get a free meal this time.” He was grumbling now, arms crossed in front of his chest. Squalo knew that there was absolutely no way he was getting out of it.

“Well, I won’t be opposed in giving you free meals again, later.” Dino decided to agree with his friend for now. Being stabbed by Squalo’s sword was not fun, after all, and the long haired man could surely inflict pain without actually killing Dino. “I think it’s about time we return back, though. Are you done?”

“Yeah, I’m done. You ready to go back and face all those brats?”

“Actually, my classes for today are over, so I won’t need to face the students until tomorrow. I’m a lucky bastard, I know,” Dino grinned before calling the waiter and asking for the bill.

Squalo chuckled. “I’m done with my classes too. I don’t have to deal with the little shits anymore for the rest of the day.”

“Thank God for that. I won’t want those students to have the misfortune of having you as their teacher on the last class of the day.” Dino returned with a laugh. The blond haired man then took the bill which was brought by a waiter, perused them and put on some amount of money on the table -- enough to pay for their food and quite generous tip for the waiter.

Squalo stood and chuckled. “Hey, it’d wear them out at the very least. Come on, let’s get back. I want to get some training in before the end of the day.”

Dino shook his head in amusement even as he stood up and started to walk out from the restaurant. “I’d say they are quite worn down already. The professors in the university are so strict, after all.”

“Like they should be.” Squalo followed him out. “If we weren’t strict, these kids would get killed off the first week they got into our world, and you know it.”

“I know, but it never hurts to cut them some slacks, right?”

“Yeah it will. Did Reborn ever let up on you?”

“Point,” Dino conceded with a shiver as he remembered the terrors he had to face when Reborn was tutoring him. “Sometimes I am still amazed by the fact that I’m still alive until now.”

“You wouldn’t have been any use to him dead,” Squalo pointed out. “And you had to have been good for Reborn to actually tutor you.”

Dino snorted. He absolutely doubted that. Reborn had surely acted like he worth nothing when they first met. It was not possible that the legendary hitman had came only to fulfill his father’s desperate wish.

“Well, either way, it’s been nice having this lunch with you, Squalo. We should do it some time later.”

“Sure, I wouldn’t mind that.” Squalo gave Dino a little nudge. “Better to share a meal than eat alone, right?”

“That, and it’s actually nice chatting with you. You’ve been so very busy with Varia lately, It’s been a long time since we last have a good long conversation like that,” Dino grinned. “I’d appreciate it if there’d be no sex talk on our next meeting, though!”

Squalo laughed. “I can’t guarantee that. I happen to like sex talk~”

Dino rolled his eyes. “You really are helpless, Squalo.” His tone was warm and fond as he said that, though.

“Yeah, but you still like me~” Squalo kept walking, reaching out to give him a little push. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t put up with me still.”

“I can say the same to you and stop pushing me!”

Squalo laughed and gave him another push. “Nope, not going to happen.”

Frowning, Dino returned the push. “Gee, I think I might have to reconsider my offer for lunch next time.”

“You know you won’t, because you kind of like the pushing.” And there’s another push for Dino.

“I so not going to comment on that!” Even so, the blond man was laughing openly. “Keep this up and we won’t ever get back to the university, you crazy shark.”

“I’m not seeing a problem with this. The longer we stay away, the longer we don’t have to go back to all of those...” Squalo shuddered. “Kids.”

“Yes, but if we don’t go back, we may get in trouble with Reborn and I really don’t want that.” Dino took out his cell phone before dialing Romario’s number, asking his right hand man to pick them up. The restaurant was withing walking distance from the university, true, but he was too lazy to walk back right now.

“Like I care what that psycho tutor thinks. He’s just annoying, like all of those bratty Arcobaleno.” His time with Mammon had definitely ruined any fascination he may have had as a kid.

“Well, you might not care about it, but I certainly do! I don’t want to revisiting the Hell Reborn gave to me when I was still his student,” Dino replied once he had ended the phone call with Romario. “Romario will be here soon to pick us up.” He informed his friend.

“I can’t believe you still take that shit after all of these years. Do you just freeze up or some shit against him?” Squalo wasn’t stupid though. He wouldn’t go against any of those Arcobaleno on his own, even if he wouldn’t admit it out loud. After a moment, he nodded. “Good. I’m not really in the mood to walk all the way back right now.”

Dino rolled his eyes. “You have no idea what I’ve been put through by him. Besides, I know I still have very little chance to win against him and I don’t want to put my life on a line like that.”

“Alright, I can see your point. Still, don’t you ever stand up to him? I mean, you’re strong enough on your own. You should be able to handle him sometimes.”

“Hmm,” Dino tilted his head aside slightly. “Well, once he had acknowledged me as Cavallone Boss, Reborn very rarely ordered me to do something I don’t want to. Besides, perhaps it’s because I’ve known his way of teaching by now, every time he told me to do something impossible, my mind immediately supplied reasons why he did it. He would only tell me things that will make me stronger, that’s why I never questioned him.”

Squalo was quiet for a moment as he processed that. “I guess that makes sense. I still think it’s fucking stupid for letting him put you through that shit, but it could be worse, I suppose. At least he doesn’t fling your head into a table because the cook didn’t get his meat exactly right.”

“Yeah. So, all in all, I guess Reborn is not that bad,” Dino agreed with a grin. “He’s not as difficult to please as Xanxus, at the very least!”

“I don’t think anyone is as difficult to please as Xanxus,” Squalo replied with a snort. “I swear, the man makes it his mission to be difficult.”

Dino laughed out loud and was about to comment on that when a car stopped before them. Romario stepped out from the front passenger seat and opened the door for them.

Squalo climbed into the car, giving a nod to the other man. He did respect what the second in command did for his boss, having gone through similar things himself for his own boss.

Dino would surely object it if he could read Squalo’s mind. After all, Dino would never smashed Romario’s head with an empty wine bottle! As it was, though, the blond haired man simply followed his friend after murmuring his thank to his right hand man.

Romario closed the door once they had gotten into the car and took his place back at the front passenger seat. The car then drove almost silently, bringing them all back to the university.

Squalo was fairly quiet on the ride back, having been pretty much talked out at the lunch.

Dino, also, was quiet. The delicious meal he had eaten made his eyes heavy with sleep. The slight lull in the car’s movement might also contributed to the short time it took for the blond haired man to fall into the dreamland. As he fell deeper in his sleep, Dino’s head relaxed until it rested on Squalo’s shoulder.

Squalo gave a sigh when he felt Dino’s head against his shoulder. It seemed that Dino still hadn’t gotten out of the habit. Instead of waking him up like he would have with anyone else (except for Boss, if he had lowered himself to do such a thing), he shifted so Dino could be more comfortable. His arm wrapped around him and his hand started to run his fingers carefully through his hair. It wasn’t long until the quiet lulled him into a light doze as well.