You're here early, were the first words Ghiaccio held up on his notepad when Melone entered.

"Yeah, didn't want to leave you here alone longer than I had to," Melone said. He wasn't smiling.

You look like shit, Ghiaccio wrote.

"Oh Ghiaccio, ever the eloquent one." Melone half-smiled. "I didn't sleep much last night." Melone looked perturbed. Ghiaccio just stared at him waiting for more. "It's... too quiet. The base is... too big."

Ghiaccio nodded gravely. He couldn't imagine what it must be like at home. Melone had been alone for, what, a week?

He held up the pad. Have you been by yourself all this time?

"Well, I was in the hospital for about three days, but once I was out I came here pretty much every day, so I haven't been alone that much," Melone explained.

Wait, what? he thought. Ghiaccio couldn't believe it. Every day? He began to write again:

You visited every day? He underlined it three times to make his point.

"Of course. I wanted to be there when you woke up. Even though they weren't sure if you would wake up." He shrugged and continued, "so I stayed until they kicked me out."

How have you been holding up?

After everything that happened yesterday, he hadn't even thought to ask. But now he noticed how exhausted Melone looked. He really must not have been able to sleep properly. Ghiaccio wrote more and then turned the pad around: You look tired.

"I'm fine, Ghiaccio. I'm better now that I know you're okay." Melone smiled, more genuinely this time.

Ghiaccio slid over and patted the bed next to him. Melone cocked his head and puckered his lips in a smirk. Rolling his eyes, Ghiaccio then screwed up his face and waved him over. He patted the bed harder to get his point across. Melone crawled up onto the bed and laid down beside him. The bed had been propped up earlier so Ghiaccio could eat. There wasn't much room, so Melone laid on his side to face him.

"Is this what you wanted?" Melone asked. Ghiaccio nodded and began to write on his notepad. Melone leaned against his shoulder and watched as he wrote.

If you can't sleep at the base, might as well get some rest here.

"I came to visit you, I don't want to leave you alone."

I'm not alone, dumbass. You're literally laying on me. Melone chuckled before he'd even finished writing.

"I know, but that seems shitty to sleep while you're awake. Besides, I just got here," Melone argued.

Quit fucking arguing and just rest, okay? I'll still be here when you wake up.

"Fine. Guess there's no point in arguing with you. Is there?"

Damn right.

Melone grabbed his bag he'd brought with him off the chair and rifled through it. "By the way, I brought your notebook—I know you like to write. Thought it might occupy you while you're here." Melone pulled the journal out and handed it to him. Ghiaccio nodded and mouthed the words "thank you."

"You're welcome, Ghia." Melone settled back in as Ghiaccio opened the notebook and looked back over some of what he'd written. It was half journal, half-written ideas for stories. He had to be careful about which pages he turned while Melone rested there watching. He didn't want him reading some of the more personal pages. He'd assumed Melone hadn't read them already or he would have addressed it by now. Or made fun of him for it. There were a few rambling entries about his partner and a longing for something more.

Ghiaccio didn't have to wait long before Melone closed his eyes and his breathing changed. The weight and warmth on his side were a comfort to Ghiaccio. He put a hand on Melone's arm, and when he didn't stir to acknowledge it, Ghiaccio opened his notebook to a fresh page and began to write about everything that had happened. Ghiaccio leaned his head against Melone's sleeping one as words flowed from his pen.

I don't know how I got so lucky. He's alive, even though I heard his screams on the phone. I thought he was dead. Thank god for the poor fucker that found him. I owe that person everything. Melone's all I have left and I can't even vocalize how much his promise to stay with me means. Doc says I probably won't get my voice back. I'm not sure I've even grasped the ramifications of that yet. It all just feels surreal.

I'm so scared I'll never get to tell him how much he means to me. I thought I'd have time enough, but fear held me back. I waited too long. Even though nearly dying makes me wanna tell him even more, I'm fucking terrified. What if I tell him and he decides not to go with me like he promised?

The squad is all I have. Melone is the last of my family, and no matter what happens with Giorno or the mafia, I won't leave him. But what if he leaves me? I hope Giorno lets us stay.

Melone suddenly twitched against his arm causing Ghiaccio's pencil to draw a line across the bottom of the paper. The twitching continued until he noticed it was more than that, like a spasm or a tremor. He closed the book and watched, unsure whether or not to wake him. His face was still smoothed over in sleep, seemingly undisturbed by his body's spasming. Good, at least he isn't having a nightmare.

Ghiaccio was about to shake him awake when he suddenly stopped. Did Melone usually tremble like that in his sleep? Had this been happening often? Ghiaccio didn't know, but he thought he'd ask him about it when Melone woke up. He opened the book again and revisited an idea he'd been working on before learning of Trish's existence.

************************

"You have a lot of interesting ideas." Ghiaccio jumped at the sudden sound of his partner's voice. Melone lifted his head slightly off Ghiaccio's shoulder to look at him. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

I thought you were still sleeping. He wrote, still flustered.

"Have you ever finished a story?" Melone asked. Ghiaccio shook his head. "Why not?"

Too many ideas, and not enough patience to finish what I've started.

"Can I read something you've written?" Melone asked. Ghiaccio hesitated a moment. He really didn't want to just hand over his journal. If Melone started flipping pages and Ghiaccio put up a fight about it, that would only pique Melone's curiosity to investigate.

It's not good. It needs to go through a lot of revision first, he wrote.

"Then I get to see the raw Ghiaccio." Something about that statement unsettled him, made him feel vulnerable like Melone was about to see him naked. Yet, he kind of wanted Melone to know him. He wanted to open himself up. He'd nearly died, so what did a little embarrassment mean in face of that? He slowly relinquished the journal to his partner's waiting hands. He sat quietly waiting as Melone read his words on the page. It irked Ghiaccio how slowly Melone read. He cracked his knuckles and then his neck. He took off his glasses and attempted to clean the specks that weren't there. He put them back on and glanced at Melone who was still reading. Ghiaccio picked at his fingers while he waited. At last, Melone looked up and smiled.

"I never thought you'd be into sci-fi," he mused as he handed the notebook back to Ghiaccio. He took the book still eyeing Melone. He was waiting to hear his opinion; he'd never shared his writing with anyone before. "It's a cool idea, I think you should finish it. I wanna know what happens. I also like the girl a lot. She seems like a take-no-shit kinda person. I wanna read more."

Ghiaccio nodded his head and then smiled. He tried to keep the smile small but as he looked back down at the journal in hand, he found the grin widening. He opened to another idea he had and had started dabbling with that was interested to see what Melone thought. The afternoon passed much the same with Ghiaccio sharing his story ideas, while Melone praised them. Ghiaccio felt excited and ideas surged through his mind with each one Melone commented on. His feedback was better than he'd expected. He felt mild irritation that he couldn't just voice his thoughts and was slowed by the need to write them out.

"Ghiaccio, you had better finish one of these! I mean it! You can't show me all these good ideas and then leave me hanging on what happens!" Melone playfully shoved him and Ghiaccio chuckled.

"Hold on. You laughed!" Melone's face sobered. "That's a good sign, right? I mean, you made a sound!"

Ghiaccio wrote: sounds are different from actual words. People who are mute can still make grunts and cries. I wouldn't get too excited just yet.

"I don't know—try saying something!" Melone leaned forward on his knees to look at him. Ghiaccio felt unsure but Melone's face was so eager that he couldn't refuse.

He opened his mouth and breathed in only to breathe out sounds in a whisper as he tried to formulate words, "a-h...a-h..." To call them words were generous. It was merely the sound one makes when releasing air, nothing more. He gave up merely shaking his head. Melone's shoulders slumped as he sat back on his heels.

"Well, give it time. I'm sure it will come back." Melone smiled but Ghiaccio just shrugged. He didn't have nearly as much confidence as his partner. It all just felt hopeless. Their futures were so uncertain, but just talking with Melone put his mind at ease. For just this brief space of time, he could forget. Pretend the world wasn't going to hell around him, that everything he ever knew had already gone up in flames. There was comfort in Melone's smile, peace in his laughter, joy in his eyes. The anxiety bled away from Ghiaccio's body as Melone talked about the smallest things of the last four days. From the annoying dog that lived down the road, to the cute woman they had all discussed during her daily runs who had wiped out on their road the other day. Melone filled him in on every meaningless detail, and it was the world to Ghiaccio.

The time came at last when Melone noticed the clock on the wall. "Ah, shit. It's already time. The nurse is gonna throw me out any minute. Might as well make it easier on her." He got up and stood next to the bed, picking up his bag off the chair. "I'll see ya tomorrow, Ghi."

Ghiaccio grabbed his arm as he turned away. For some reason, the anxiety came back. What if he didn't see him again tomorrow? He certainly hadn't expected him to die during the mission. He opened his mouth to speak, "a-h, ah...I—" It was only a whisper and Melone stopped him.

"Hey, don't tire yourself out. Just take it easy. They're releasing you tomorrow and I'll be here to take you home. So just rest, okay Ghia?" Melone stood a moment just looking at him and then he leaned back in and hugged him. "I'm really glad you're okay," he whispered. Ghiaccio wrapped his arms around Melone and hugged him back. He didn't want to let go but he knew he had to for the time being. It would be okay. He would see Melone tomorrow just like he said. Before pulling away, he murmured, "Bye, Ghia," and kissed him on the head. He pulled away and left the room.

Ghiaccio's heart pounded in his chest. Melone had always been way more affectionate than most people but so was Formaggio. He'd seen Formaggio grab Illuso in a headlock and kiss him on the head when he was drunk. It was clearly supposed to be brotherly, friendly, but with Melone, he couldn't be sure. Everything Melone did was odd, he was touchy and disregarded boundaries regularly. Everything was a weird game to Melone, yet this felt different to Ghiaccio. It felt sincere. Honest. Things he wasn't used to seeing from Melone. We've all been changed, haven't we?

Ghiaccio rested his head back against the pillow and turned on the TV in the room to drown out his thoughts.