"That took you guys a while," Formaggio complained as they walked in the door.

"What took you so long?" Illuso prodded.

"It's none of your business, nosy bitch," Ghiaccio snapped as he walked through the doorway and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.

"We were starting to think you guys might need help," Prosciutto said as he sat at the island looking through files with Pesci.

"The job's done, so what the fuck do you guys care how long it took?" Ghiaccio took a long drink from the bottle and gasped after.

"You're in a pissy mood," Prosciutto remarked. He turned to Melone. "Everything go okay?"

"Yeah, the job was smooth. Never needed Babyface. Ghiaccio had it handled," Melone said evenly. Prosciutto was giving him a look that he couldn't quite decipher.

"I guess that's best since Don Giovanna doesn't like it when you use it," Risotto commented before Melone could give it more thought. Melone shrank into himself a bit. Giorno didn't like the excessive killing that Babyface did to its mothers. Truth was, Babyface didn't need to kill the mothers, it was only when there wasn't time to fully mature could a shortcut be taken when the children absorbed the mother. If there was enough time, the baby could grow with the mother and leave her unharmed which was something he'd tried to explain to Giorno with little understanding. Giorno didn't like Melone, but not many did to be honest. They thought he was creepy because he had no shame.

"No one died besides the target," Melone muttered.

"I bet you were bored out there. What's the fun if you're not breeding, am I right?" Formaggio spat sarcastically. Melone just scowled. Formaggio always made fun of him and usually Melone didn't let it bother him, but now he was trying not to feel so miserable and Formaggio's ridicule wasn't helping. Why did he feel so bad? He'd wanted to do this with Ghiaccio for so long, he should just be happy he got to live out the fantasy. But Ghiaccio wouldn't look at him.

"At least my stand is useful," He shot back. The team always bagged on Formaggio's stand for being useless but he'd never gotten it from Melone before. He was visibly shocked. Even Ghiaccio turned to observe.

"I've killed plenty of people with my stand, and I never have collateral!" Formaggio declared.

"I don't either if I have time to prepare!" Melone argued.

"If planning was your forte, you wouldn't have so many children," Formaggio shot back. Melone was particularly agitated, he'd never let Formaggio get under his skin like this before. He usually was the one that laughed things off while the others fought. The rest of the team noticed. The tension was palpable. He didn't even bother coming up with a comeback. He just turned and walked out of the room.

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

"Okay, what the fuck happened?" Prosciutto shot at Ghiaccio.

"Why are you looking at me?" He snapped. He had been just as surprised by Melone's reaction. Melone didn't get into fights. It was Ghiaccio that got into fights while Melone tried to placate him.

"You were with him. Something obviously happened," Prosciutto accused. Ghiaccio tensed, could they tell?

"Nothing happened," Ghiaccio said as he drained the bottle.

"Bullshit," Illuso chortled. "I've never seen Melone that pissed before."

"Yeah, what did you do, Blue?" Formaggio asked.

"Fuck off! I'm not his keeper. If he's upset, it's not my problem!" Ghiaccio seethed.

"Now that doesn't sound very honest..." He heard a voice from the doorway and saw Gelato standing there with Sorbet. After Giorno had defeated the Boss, he'd discovered his Gold Experience Requiem could manipulate time. Ghiaccio didn't understand it but they were told that many of them had died during the fight, but Giorno had been able to reset time, removing Diavolo from the timeline and leaving himself as Don of Passione. He wasn't sure how much of it was bullshit but it did explain how a sixteen year old was leading a criminal organization. It also explained the recurring nightmares he kept having about being stabbed in the throat. He knew it started with the two who had just walked into the room but he couldn't remember the details. Giorno seemed to want to keep it that way and as long as he kept getting paid well, Ghiaccio didn't give a fuck.

"Don't fuck with me, Gelato, or I'll freeze your balls off," warned Ghiaccio. The blonde had the ability to make anyone speak the truth while his lover could manipulate emotions. The pair were perfect for reconnaissance and could make the toughest person crack. He felt a calm come over his mind like a blanket.

"You should really chill," Sorbet joked while maintaining eye contact with Ghiaccio. Ghiaccio could not look away.

"Bless. We could all use a break from the yelling." Illuso clapped his hands together and bowed his head in reverence to Sorbet.

"Stop it," Ghiaccio said calmly.

"That's enough, Sorbet," Risotto ordered to Sorbet who broke his line of sight with Ghiaccio, lifting his hold. Risotto had a rule about them using stands on each other, which they didn't always follow, but was usually enforced in the presence of their capo.

"Fuck you," Ghiaccio snarled. He felt tired from the day's events and his patience was thin. "Don't bother me unless it's about a job." Ghiaccio walked out of the room as Formaggio laughed calling out stupid shit behind him.

Ghiaccio took a long shower as he thought about the day's events. Ghiaccio hadn't done much thinking earlier. All he knew was that Melone had earnestly offered sex with Ghiaccio and he'd jumped at the chance. He'd had fantasies about his partner before when he was horny.

Ghiaccio liked men which was part of the reason he was a gangster to begin with. His father kicked him out of the house when he'd found out and he'd lived on the streets for some time until Risotto found him. Melone wasn't the only member of his team he'd fantasized about, but it was the one he felt most guilty for. Melone was weird, a freak really, and Ghiaccio hated that he found him so attractive. If Melone just kept his mouth shut, it might be easier, but despite the lack of filter in his brain, there was something about Melone that Ghiaccio liked. Not just appearance. Melone always supported Ghiaccio's decisions even when no one else did. Even though Melone annoyed him sometimes, he was always the one that helped him to calm down when he was angry. He dealt with Ghiaccio's shit when no one else would. That was more than Ghiaccio could ask for from another human being.

He finished his shower, dried off, and got dressed again. He walked out and headed to his room but paused by Melone's closed door. He listened closely for any sound but heard nothing, only typing. He wondered if he made Melone mad by not talking to him on the way back, but Ghiaccio couldn't think of anything to say in the car that wouldn't make shit more awkward, so he opted for silence.

He wanted to knock on the door but decided not to. He continued on to his room and tossed his bag on the desk. He didn't want to think anymore, he wanted a nap more than anything. Ghiaccio kicked off his shoes and flopped onto the bed. He took his glasses off and set them on the nightstand. He turned onto his side and breathed in, releasing a loud sigh as he burrowed into the pillow.

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

Melone sat in his room browsing IRC chat rooms; he was discussing coding and hacking techniques with other similarly tech-minded individuals. It was a way to take his mind off things. He knew if he dwelled on it too much, he might cry. He didn't understand why it mattered to him so much. This had happened with so many other people before, so why did it matter that it was Ghiaccio? He supposed it was different because he considered Ghiaccio his closest friend even if the feeling wasn't mutual. He felt completely comfortable around Ghiaccio which is why he would be so physical with him. It wasn't uncommon to find Melone with his legs stretched out over Ghiaccio or leaning his head against him. His boundaries were wide but they were particularly so with Ghiaccio.

He opened another window to bring up a series of live feeds from all over the house. He saw Formaggio in the kitchen laughing it up with Illuso while Prosciutto and Pesci talked to Gelato. There was no sound so he didn't know what any of them said. He clicked through other areas of the house. He didn't have cameras in the bathrooms so he assumed that was where Sorbet was since he was nowhere to be found. He switched to the upstairs hallway and saw Ghiaccio standing outside his door.

Melone looked up, heart racing. Should he wait? Should he open the door? Ghiaccio would probably find that weird if he suddenly opened the door. Just wait for him to knock. Come on. Knock.

KNOCK!

He heard a slight creak on the floor outside as he saw Ghiaccio, with some lag in the feed, walk away to his own room. That ice from earlier filled his chest and weighed down his heart. He changed the feed to watch Ghiaccio pause in his own room after tossing his bag. Then he flopped onto his bed and set his glasses on the nightstand. He continued to watch him as he curled up atop the covers. The video quality wasn't great but he could still see the tension leaving his face. This wasn't the first time Melone had watched Ghiaccio sleep. Sometimes he'd check in on him when his mind was racing and sleep wouldn't find him. He at least respected his privacy. He didn't tune in the day he'd heard Ghiaccio jerking off, even though he desperately wanted to.

There was a knock at the door. Melone scrambled to switch the feeds to outside the hallway again. Gelato stood outside with a hand on his hip. He closed the feed and opened up his IRC chats again before answering.

"Come in," He answered and Gelato opened the door.

"Hey, are you okay? The others said you were pretty pissed." Gelato closed the door behind him.

"I'm fine," he lied. "It's been a long day."

"I don't have to use my stand to know that's not true." Gelato sat at the edge of the bed. Gelato was the other person on the team with whom he felt close. Perhaps because he also had a very deviant nature and didn't judge.

"I had an incident with Ghiaccio, but it's not a big deal," Melone said as he typed into the chat window replying to three separate conversations.

"Mel, what did Blue do that has you so uptight?" Gelato leaned his head against his shoulder. They both had loose boundaries and were similarly disliked in the group. If it wasn't for Ghiaccio, Gelato would probably be his best friend. However, unlike Ghiaccio, he believed that sentiment was mutual.

"We fucked," Melone sighed.

"About time," Gelato said. "Old Blue Balls was getting truly unbearable."

"He didn't say a word to me afterwards."

"Maybe he felt embarrassed about it. Closeted guys act fucking weird sometimes."

"I'm not his first guy."

"Hmm, well, that's surprising," mused Gelato. They sat in silence while Melone read more of the chat. Two of the people were in an argument about how to properly code something. The argument was getting heated and it was amusing to watch as it was breaking down quickly into a childish name-calling fight.

"Wasn't he kicked out? He lived on the streets for a while, right?" Gelato finally asked. Melone just nodded. "Yeah, well, that probably left him pretty paranoid about it."

"He doesn't want the rest of the team to know. Fine with me, I've been with all kinds, many of which weren't interested in more than quickies," Melone said and Gelato sat up.

"Haven't we all?" He smirked. Melone didn't laugh and joke the way he would have and Gelato's face softened as he noticed it. "Hey, so what if he doesn't want anyone to know? He's coming to you now, right? Isn't that what you wanted?" Melone nodded.

"I just hope he'll talk to me again." Melone sighed. "You and Ghia are the only ones here that like me."

"That's not true. They like you, they just suck at showing it," said Gelato smirking. "It won't be long til Grouchy is talking to you again. He can't stay quiet for more than like a minute before he's bitching about something."

"Yeah, you're right," Melone conceded.

"I'm always right, bitch. Remember that." He snapped his fingers. "I'm going to find Sorbet. We'll be in our room the rest of the night if you need me. But try not to need me." Gelato stood up and winked at him.

"Have fun you dirty slut," Melone cooed. Gelato stuck out his tongue as he left the room.

Melone sighed once the door was closed again. He hoped Gelato was right. He pulled up the camera again to see Ghiaccio still unconscious. He really hoped this wouldn't be like all the other times. He wanted Ghiaccio more than the others, not just his body, but his affection.

He realized then that he loved Ghiaccio.

He drowned out the sorrow of that revelation with porn until he passed out in front of his computer.