A Pinch of Sugar | ( unita speciale x Fem!Reader)

15- More Than a Dinner, Less Than a Date

Dinner was interesting. There was nothing good to say about it, except that Tiziano paid, and there was nothing bad about it, also except that the entire thing was horribly awkward.

Least, to you it was. Picked up in some random dress you let your stand grab from the closet, you and Tiziano made your way over to a rather high-end restaurant, with him leading the conversation almost the whole time while you waited anxiously for the moment he blew up at you over what happened earlier, or revealed why he had gone out of his way to do this.

Now you sit at a small, though decently sized table, with just enough space for two plates, a candle, and the rest of the lighter necessities. As you sat, half-listening to what your teammate was saying, you couldn't help but let your senses practically go into override as each and every nerve was on high alert, anticipating something, anything.

Your dress would go from too tight to too itchy, your hands would insistently pick at its hem, and the clock on the wall, though it merely ticked, sounded like cannons going off. Everything was too much, though too little. The place was a bit empty, the sky missing stars and the streets barren of life. There was so much, yet not enough; and it drove you mad.

"Are you alright?" The direct question nearly made you jump out of your skin, doe eyes staring back at a concerned Tiziano through Bright pink lenses. "You don't look too well, dear."

"Ah, forgive me. I couldn't help but let the guilt from earlier get to me." Appealing to this side of him, whatever it was called (probably feeding into his ego), was the only way you can talk to Tiziano without him having the ability to take it wrongly in any way. It also made you look pathetic. "It became a distraction, I'm sorry."

"Please," He smiled, "It's not that much of a deal. Forgive and forget, yes?"

"Right, of course. I'll make sure it doesn't happen again."

"Good; It better not. For now, let's enjoy this makeup dinner between two friends."

The waiter came over with the wave of a hand, taking each order with a strange calmness that seemed to almost make their interactions robotic. But if they were the one bringing your food, you didn't much mind. Everyone's a little weird.

"I also have something to be sorry for, which I guess makes us even in a sense." 

You looked to him, anxiety both settling down and hyping up at the same time. "Please, there's been nothing you've done wrong."

"Oh, but there has. Squalo has been nothing but a wretch to you for a while, all I could do was just sit there and not say anything unless I wanted him thinking I was taking sides. I should've made you feel more welcome, as there's no choice for you to go elsewhere anyways."

"Is that what you're sorry for? It's honestly alright, Tiziano, I don't mind it too much. There's always going to be people that don't like me." You said. 

It was then that the atmosphere seemed to ease a bit, the fabric of your dress not bothering you as much, the clock on the wall dialing down. Maybe everything was ok. Or not, but, maybe ok enough that you felt a bit more comfortable.

"That's relieving to hear, it's been bothering me for a while... I'm sorry it took a dinner for me to say that." 

"Really, it's no bother. I couldn't even get you your tiny umbrella-sword-thing from the club, so it's me that should be sorry here."

"C'mon, you know I was joking. Speaking of which, how did the reunion with your friend go?"

That question led to a pooling amount of conversation, an intimate and relaxed one which you never thought you'd have with another person over some food. You talked about Ivy, your school, not releasing too much personal information of course, though just enough that it seemed you weren't hiding anything.

He seemed a tad interested, perhaps a bit too interested, though not to the extent it was alarming. It was then, after an hour of chatter and eating your food, you figured out why.

"Forgive me for this, but I couldn't help but think I knew you. From the moment you walked into our little base, I felt like I recognized you, and had the informant team do a bit of digging."

"Oh, wow, you had a background check run on me?"

"Again, no harm meant, but I found out why I felt like I knew you." He said, drinking from his glass. "Turns out we went to the same school together. I recognized that Ivy girl, too, so there was no mistaking it."

"Holy. Shit." You gaped, hands lightly smacking the table. "Are you shitting me right now?! But there's no way! You're that Tiziano!?"

"I admit I looked a bit different back then, I had more of a bob and was a bit darker because I hung out in the sun often, but I was definitely there. I watched your little fight that day too, miss popular. It was crazy that some kid could put up such a fight like that."

"Oh, come on, I had to do what I had to do! And you, the quiet kid! Don't pick on 'miss popular' for ending up in the mafia, 'cause you're here too!"

"Yeah, it's honestly kind of funny how that happened, isn't it?" 

Pulling himself from his seat, Tiziano helped you to your feet and led you to the door, waving at the staff as sort of a silent 'put it on my tab' farewell, the both of you continuing to chatter and laugh together like a pair of old friend-- which really, you kind of were. 

At the end of the night, you couldn't help but feel you both drew up a bit closer.