The Search for a Dance Partner

Day After the Dance

Narancia struggled to sleep when he went home after the dance, thinking about the kiss Giorno and Fugo shared. When they were in the hallway, Narancia watched as they made out, feeling left out. He hugged himself, imagined it was them hugging and giving him warmth and fell asleep.

The next day, Narancia woke up alone in bed. Since it was a Sunday, he had no school but needed tutoring. Before he got dressed, he heard raindrops pattering against the roof. He sighed, gazing through the window and watching the gray clouds. There was no time to waste. Narancia quickly brushed his teeth, got his things, and headed to the restaurant.

When Narancia arrived, Mista was the only one there.

"Hey, buddy!" He waved and pulled a seat out for him. "Come on and sit."

"Where are the others?" He sat down and brought out a sheet of math homework. "Aren't they usually here?"

"Not sure. How are you, by the way?"

"I've...been better."

"Rainy days, huh? Don't worry. I hear it's going to get sunny later on today."

"That's not it."

"Then what is it?"

"It's—" He sighed, resting his frowned face on his hand. "Nothing."

"I've never seen you this down before. Come on. Tell me."

"How are you not jealous?"

"Huh? Jealous?"

Narancia blushed, remembering what happened in Venice. "Come on. I saw everything."

"Wait, are you talking about when Giorno and I had to fight that guy in the helicopter? We stood close to each other, but that's because we had to stop the helicopter with a tree."

"Huh? What?"

"Wait, that's right. You were in the turtle. Were you talking about when we had to go to the port? No, wait! You thought I liked Giorno because I spent more time with him."

"Yeah." Not really.

"I spent more time with you guys than I have with Giorno. Honestly, I'm jealous of Abbacchio. I'd love to get closer to Bucciarati."

"Why don't you ask Bucciarati out?"

Mista blushed. "What? Are you crazy? Abbacchio would kill me!"

"Would he? Why not ask him if he doesn't mind sharing?"

"I guess I could. That reminds me, Narancia, you're close to Fugo. Are you jealous of Giorno? I remember last night at the dance, you looked upset. Did you catch them kissing?"

"Yeah, I saw them kissing, but I don't know if jealous is the right word. I'm jealous of Giorno and Fugo. I wanted to be with them."

"Why not ask them out?"

"Fugo is dating Giorno, and I don't know if Giorno likes me that well or if he wants to share."

"He has to like you! You've been in each other's bodies."

"We have nothing in common, though!"

"Fugo once approached me, wondering what you thought about him." Mista laughed. "I told him I didn't know."

"What? And you didn't tell me?"

"He didn't want me to tell you. He was nervous you'd reject him because he thought you and him had nothing in common. Maybe it's not too late to ask him out."

Before Narancia could reply, they heard two people enter the restaurant. It was Fugo and Giorno, and their clothes were dirty and wet. Both of them sat at the table, and Fugo sat next to Narancia while Giorno sat next to Mista.

"What happened to you two?" asked Mista.

"A group of drug dealers jumped us," Giorno answered. "Fugo finished them off, but the last guy was slippery." He then looked at Narancia's paper. "Oh, want us to help you?"

"Yeah. Ugh, classes tomorrow are going to suck," Narancia complained. "I need a break from all this!"

"It's raining. Nobody's able to do much today," Fugo reminded him. "You're improving with multiplications. You might be able to do long-division questions. Just in case, let's do a review. What does 16 times 55 equal to?"

"Um"—he wrote the question and the answer on the paper—"is it this?" He wrote 880.

Fugo smiled. "You did it. Excellent!"

"Nice work," Giorno commented, patting him on the head.

Narancia blushed. "You two are the greatest. I love—I mean, thanks!"

Giorno looked at the boy, knowing what he was about to say but was unsure if he meant it. "Fugo, I need to discuss something with you. Excuse me. We'll be back."

He got up with Fugo and went somewhere far from Narancia's ears.

"Do you think Narancia has a crush on us?" Giorno asked.

"I don't know," Fugo answered. "I asked Mista if Narancia liked me, but he said he didn't know. Why, do you think?"

"I heard him interrupt himself before he thanked us."

"I thought so too, but I ignored it. Besides, you and I are together."

"So, you have no feelings for Narancia?"

"If you didn't join the gang, I would've asked him out."

"We could both date him. Better now than never, right?"

Fugo looked at Narancia, who waved and smiled at them. He smiled and waved back. "Yeah, but let's wait til Mista leaves. It feels awkward with him around."

The blonds returned to the table.

"Well, I feel like I should be going," Mista said. "This rain is making me drowsy."

He got up and left, leaving the three of them alone. Giorno took Mista's seat, making Narancia wedged between the two blonds.

"Hey, Narancia," Giorno spoke, "are you interested in both of us?"

"Um, what?" The boy's cheeks reddened.

Fugo scooted closer to him. "Were you about to say you loved us when we praised you?"

He tried to look away from them. "M-maybe. Why?"

"Because we love you too," Giorno answered.

Before the boy could question anymore, the two blonds kissed his cheeks.

"No way? Is this real?" Narancia touched the spots where the two of them kissed. "Did I die and go to heaven?"

"No, you're here."

"Could you guys hug me, please?"

The two hugged him, holding him tightly.

"Narancia, I missed you," Fugo said. "When you got on that boat, I thought you would've died."

I almost died, he wanted to say, but now wasn't the time for him to say things like that. "I missed you, too, Panna. I'll study hard for both of you."