interstellar5555 | "In cento anni o cento mesi, l'acqua torna a' suoi paesi."

[Pity and disdain are apropos, honestly. Dino looks around the place, then at Squalo, and realizes he is drunk as fuck and probably couldn't punch someone even if he wanted to.

Again, though, he looks around as though considering every single person in the bar slash club slash whatever, he doesn't care anymore.

Finally he lands on Squalo again and smiles the most beautifully calm smile anyone could while being, well, drunk as fuck.]

You?

[Kidding or serious...? You be the judge.]

[ ????????????????????????? ]

[ Pipsqueak Dino what happened to you. Not that it's... still not pathetic or anything. God. What does he hope to achieve being... like this? Gesturing at his whole body etc etc. What a loser. ]

[ Squalo looks at him blankly for a few moments, as if he was actually caught by surprise for once, then suddenly breaks out laughing. Hope your eardrums can still take the volume. He's even punching the table, tears in his eyes and everything. It will take him a minute to calm down enough to respond. ]

I fucking knew it. There, was it that hard to admit? [ And there's that vicious grin again. ] You're gonna have to try MUCH harder than that to get anywhere near that. Have you fucking seen yourself?

[Dino is smiling until Squalo loses it laughing, at which point he looks away and runs a hand through his hair. Squalo is right. He's a loser. And everyone knows it. The loudmouth is louder than usual, and Dino actually starts to get up to leave or hide or something.]

I wasn't really that serious anyway. You're right! Look at me.

[ Hahaha nice try but nah. He'll grab the back of Dino's jacket/hoodie/coat/whatever and pull at it with enough force to plonk him right back into his seat. ]

Pussying out already? How the fuck do you expect to ever lead anything? No. [ He leans in a bit, grin growing wider. ] What you fucking need is practice.

[WELL THEN.

Dino flails a bit and slams his hand on the table to keep from hitting his head on Squalo's.]

I wouldn't be good at it, anyway. Look, it was a dumb thing to say. You can't just practice to be... whatever. A leader or something.

[ SHAKES HIM A LITTLE ]

If you keep fucking saying that, of course you won't. That's the goddamn mindset of a loser. And you're here because you want to change that, yeah? So you don't get to cry and piss off.

[IS SHAKEN.]

I just came here to get drunk.

[Maybe talk to people. Maybe meet fans. Maybe... something else. He's a confused guy. Everything in the world feels backwards sometimes. He looks at Squalo with some odd mixture of gratitude and apprehension.]

Fine. I can't let everyone else do everything for me forever. You want me to do something about it?

That's not what you said earlier.

[ Squalo has no idea why Dino acting like a scared little girl grates him as much as it does. There's just that overwhelming feeling of something being wrong, as if some kind of great, amazing progress was suddenly lost and he was stuck ten years in the past with nothing noteworthy about him. Him, or someone else. ]

Yeah. [ There's something devilish glinting in his eyes. ] I'd bet your family does, too.

You're making me nervous...

[Dino tugs at the collar of his shirt and unbuttons the top button, thereby looking a lot less lame. Something is entirely wrong, it's not okay for him to be like this. He feels like he's missed a memo somewhere. Then........

Family.]

You know my family's dead... [They're "not", but they are. He can't explain it. However, that's not what destroys Dino. It's the part where family makes him feel stronger, and he sits up a little straighter.] They need me to be strong, I guess. It's hard, but I just... I just... [He looks quite serious actually.] I have to. I'll fuck it all up eventually if I don't get a spine. That's what you're saying.

[ Frankly, Squalo looks smug about making him nervous. He'll also give that undone button an approving look. ]

[ He shakes his head. ]

I'm not talking about mom and dad, asswipe. You've called your band 'family' last time we spoke. Friends, too, I suppose, if you have any. Your real family are the people you choose.

But yes. That's what I'm saying.

[Dino bites at his lower lip and balls his hands into fists, letting them rest on the table.]

Yeah, they're all I have. I don't have friends or anything. I have my band.

[Doesn't sound quite right, though.]

Sometimes family chooses you. I feel like you and me were meant to meet. [Hands flail.] Not like anything weird. You just... make me feel something. Something weird. More than what I am. Can't explain it, sorry...

You know what they say. Blood makes you related, loyalty makes you family.

[ He's not sure why, but that feels especially true to him. ]

[ ...and congratulations Dino, he's just going to blankface at you. That is so fucking gay and your 'not like that' explanation only makes it worse. A moment and, since he knows no shame, there's an unfriendly grin spreading on his face. ]

I can make you feel more things, if you'd like.

Sometimes... sometimes...

[It dies on his lips, and he hangs his head before settling his now open hands on the table. He doesn't see much of that grin, but he feels an aura of ill intent and oppressive wickedness.

Well, that's a hell of an offer. To feel. He's felt some things lately, but not... you know. Physically. If that's what's being offered, why the fuck not?]

Yeah. Okay. [Oh, Squalo. Look at those big brown eyes and say you want to hurt Dino. Can you?]

[ Oh hell yes. Actually the big brown eyes make it easier. It makes him think back to some little brat whose throat he'd gladly rip out. ]

Alright then --

[ The grin spreads wider and he turns, getting up from his chair -- ]

[ AND DECKS DINO ACROSS THE FACE ]

[Dino recoils, looking shocked for a minute before he sets his jaw and rubs his head. Standing up straight, though slowly, he puts his hand low behind his back, then looks wildly at it like something is missing. Something is missing. He's supposed to have a whip...?]

You've got to be fucking kidding me. I saved your life and you're giving me this.

Stay down, you --

[ What did he just say. ]

[ JUST. THE MOST ????? FACE EVER. He's actually staring at him wide-eyed and everything. Saved his life? What the fuck? They've only just met -- ]

[ But wait. No. He remembers. A hospital bed. This guy's annoyingly concerned face when he comes to -- ]

What did you just say?

[ For once, his voice is actually quiet. ]

Stay down? Why? So you can kick me around? I grew out of that! I'm not--

[He holds his head, suddenly aching inexplicably. A hospital bed. A question. Concern. Gratitude. Fear.

Why?

Go with it, Cavallone.]

I paid you back. I'll never understand you at all.

[Hell, it's like someone else is speaking. He feels like someone else. Someone who broke.

Dino leans on the table.] Don't be someone's puppet. Don't.

[Right. He is getting the fuck out of there, fumbling with his wallet so he can pay and fucking flee.]

[ You've changed. What did you see in him? And all he can think of is, maybe you didn't know me as well as you thought you have -- ]

[ You should've left me there. That would have been better for everyone, right? ]

[ He fights the urge to pull on his own hair, but keeps upright, facing Dino, as more and more little pieces flood in. Of course. That's why he thought he knew him -- he did, and -- ]

Paid me back for what? I never did anything for you out of kindness, you know.

[ But that last bit stirs anger inside him, both past and present, and he grits his teeth, reaching out to grip Dino's arm with his metal hand, hard. You're not going anywhere. ]

I'M NOT ANYONE'S PAWN!!

[ Ah, if only you knew. ]

I'e always tried to give you the benefit of the doubt when it comes to him, but I don't want you to die!

[Dino is as confused as Squalo, perhaps more so, and he stops to look at him with all the hurt and bafflement of a lost child. Paid him back for what? He doesn't know. At all. It's confusing and he wants it to stop. His head hurts. His everything hurts, like he's been kicked, and punched, and beaten.

He turns to leave again, but he's stopped by the grip of that too-familiar hand, the one he remembers feeling sick to his stomach about all those years ago. It wasn't very long, he tells himself, but where that voice comes from is unclear.

Instead, he slams his wallet on the table and grabs Squalo by the lapels, hand grasping so hard his knuckles turn white. There's a comeback ready on his tongue, he's prepared to poison this whole thing, but he doesn't. He smiles. It's full of sadness and regret already.]

Then why did you always help me, if not for kindness?

[He shakes him, and pulls him closer.]

Answer that one.

Edited 2016-04-03 12:58 (UTC)

If he'll be the end of me, that's how I want to go.

[ What the fuck. What the fuck, it's like they're both in a play. He's saying things so naturally, even if at least half of them are still foggy as shit and he's not sure where it's coming from. But he knows it's true. ]

[ But he's actually taken aback some when Dino grabs him. He would have been surprised then, and he's surprised now. (Wait, what? What the hell's "then"?!) He just stares back at him for a moment. ]

[ Because he was the first one to look beyond his reputation and his background. Because they actually had fun, because they were friends, because despite all that patheticness, Dino might've been a little cute, and then he'd actually grow into someone worth of respect, someone he wouldn't be ashamed to call an ally, someone inspiring... ]

[ He never said it then, and he doesn't say it now. ]

For fun. Always thought it'd be hilarious to have a pet don. And I was right, wasn't I? You'd wag your tail as soon as I threw you a bone.

Edited 2016-04-04 10:09 (UTC)

He doesn't need you!

[God damn, he really doesn't know what he's saying anymore, it's not his words, it's not like he needs anyone--it's not like he has anyone but his band, anyway--and he certainly doesn't need a near-stranger.

This isn't the Dino he knows here, to be certain. This is an angry, desperate, lonely man with everything falling apart because he can't remember what the hell he's doing or saying or supposed to be. Part of him cares for Squalo more than he understands, and that part is scaring him. This is just some guy from another band. They had lunch. They're going to have a competition. They're not even friends or anything.

Squalo fought for him. Squalo almost killed for him. He never knew why and he still doesn't know. Except he speaks, and it's like the whole world shuts down.

He doesn't understand the last part at all. The hell was a "don" anyway? He doesn't even know. There's so much about this that's confusing. He turns his back on it, proverbially. On the whole thing. Actually, he hauls back and punches Squalo in the goddamn face like he's not a wimp before he actually turns his back on it.

When he finally speaks, hopefully while Squalo is still in shock, it's cold, dead, and distant.]

Forget it. I thought you were--[A friend? Dino's head hurts. It hurts a lot. And he's drunk and while he didn't feel it for a minute there, he does now. Wavering, he collapses back into a chair. It's like his head is made of bright white lights and he can't get through it.]

Edited 2016-04-04 11:55 (UTC)

He needs me more than you ever would!

[ ...he can feel a headache setting in. Before he can properly register what the fuck he's just said and why, though, he's FUCKING PUNCHED IN THE FACE and that, for once, does leave him speechless. ]

[ 1) Dino is a hippie pussy and he doesn't punch people. 2) Weird Vision Dino is also a hippie pussy and doesn't punch people... most of the time. 3) What the FUCK. ]

[ He actually falls back from the impact, crashing partly into a table and partly into someone's chair, and just stays there for a moment, half-sitting, eyes trained on Dino almost as if trying to see right through him, something dark in them. Slowly, he raises his good hand to touch his face and make sure everything's still in place, then just bares teeth at him as always. ]

How embarrassing for you.

I needed you and you were there until he came along.

[Dino gets to his feet rather more quickly than he ever has (here), eyes only glancing down to check for cuts before he advances on Squalo again. It's with a calm, cool demeanor now, but there's still deadly intent very barely veiled. Like someone you don't want to mess with. Someone with everything to lose.

He knows that look in Squalo's eyes, too, and maybe there's a flicker of hurt as he prepares himself for retaliation. Leaning in, he gets within mere inches of the birthday boy. Yeah, by the way? Happy birthday.

His head hurts. He feels sick. He can barely see for the anger and pain and sadness(?). It's like he's been hollowed out.

They've just caused a scene but there's an undeniable and inexplicable urge to do something so counter to the violence. He reaches out to touch Squalo's cheek, wondering if he'll be rebuffed.]

I'm sorry. That was stupid of me.

He was better!!

[ He watches Dino approach like a cat eyeing a dove. And then he makes the mistake of leaning in too close -- ]

[ HAVE A HEADBUTT. ]

[ And more bared teeth, except now he seems to be mostly back into his half-brainwashed self. And he's sitting up and cracking his knuckles. ]

Is that my type, then? Assholes who punch me in the face?

[ Yeah haha have we mentioned that his first returning memory of Xanxus included being bashed into a table by him. Except right now he's starting to wonder if maybe the wifebeater was this guy and he's just projected it on the one that looked the part. ]

Edited 2016-04-05 11:11 (UTC)

[Dino looks stunned, and takes the blow poorly, falling backwards onto the floor and hitting his head on another chair.

He stays down this time.

He wants to leave. He wants to be sober. He wants his family.

His arm hurts. His left arm feels like it's burning from the inside out and he doesn't really get it, but he's too stunned to really think about it. Maybe this'll just stop because it's a bad dream. It's just like in school. He can't defend himself for five seconds. He shouldn't.]

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ow i hurt myself

hurts u more

iyan

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