Wild Horses

Epilogue

Lira felt a strong presence enter her shop and looked up to see... Haruno?

She hadn't seen the kid the years. She didn't exactly know him well in school - he was several grades below her. She remembered chasing off a couple of racist school kids who had been bullying him. He gave her a Japanese Pokémon card as a token of his appreciation. At the time, Lira thought the card was the coolest thing ever. She was pretty sure he had been whisked into an expensive private school just after that.

There's no way that's Haruno... Lira thought as the customer walked towards her. Not every Japanese boy is Haruno Shiobana, you idiot, she mentally scolded herself.

The boy set a navy suit jacket as well as a pink one on the table in front of Lira and tucked his shaggy black hair behind his ears. "Excuse me, miss? I have an alteration request for these two jackets. If you have the time right now, I'd love to discuss it with you."

Wow, this kid is so damn polite!

"It would be my pleasure, Signorino..." Lira trailed off to get his name.

"Giovanna. Giorno Giovanna."

Lira raised her eyebrows and blinked at the oddly muscular teenager. It sounds so much like Shiobana. Weird.

"Signorino Giovanna, how may I help you?"

The polite teen pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and showed Lira a drawing of what he wanted done to the jackets. It was a design she knew well.

"Oh! What inspired you to want your jackets cut like this?" she asked.

"Ah, well, honestly, I saw a man walk in here with a jacket kind of like this. I assumed you made it."

"I did, indeed," Lira cheesed.

"If it's not too much trouble, I'd love to pay you to alter my jackets the same way."

"My shop is closing in a couple weeks, but I can squeeze this in," Lira grinned. She was giddy that this boy wanted his jackets altered like Bucciarati. Giorno's heart design was a little more rounded than Bruno's, but they were undeniably similar. She couldn't wait to tell the guys that Bruno had a fashion fan. "This will take a while, though, so give me a week and it'll be ready. These are major alterations, and cutting into the lapel like this isn't easy, so, let's say $110 for both of them."

"Deal. That's a very fair price, Signorina Lira. I'll be back in a week, then. Ciao." Giorno twinkled his fingers as he waved goodbye and walked out the door, flashing an unforgettable smile.

"Mama mia," Lira blushed and muttered once he had gone.

*~*~*

A week had passed, and the enigmatic Giorno Giovanna was back to pick up his altered jackets. "Signorina Lira," he said with a smile as he walked in. This kid had an undeniable charm, that was for sure.

"Signorino Giovanna," Lira welcomed him. She helped him try on his jackets with the newly altered heart-shaped lapels. He put the navy one on first and admired himself in the mirror.

"I love it," he said as his fingers traced the collar.

"You look very handsome, Signorino!" Lira blushed. Well, of course you should compliment your customers when they're wearing your handiwork. But he did look good.

Next, Giorno tried on the pink jacket.

"Oh my... Mama mia," Lira smiled. "That pink heart jacket is a whole look!" The two of them laughed. The boy had such a cute laugh.

"Pink makes me stand out, don't you think?" he asked.

Lira hummed and nodded. "I would certainly be able to spot you in a crowd."

The young man slid the jacket off and returned it to its hanger.

"All right, let's settle up so you can get on your way and enjoy your new jackets," Lira said. "It's $110."

"Of course," Giorno said as he pulled his wallet out. Lira blinked, and in the split second that her eyes were closed, it seemed Giorno Giovanna had pulled a large bouquet of flowers out of his wallet. "For you, Signorina."

The bouquet obscured her vision as he thrust it into her arms. The next second, Lira heard heavy footsteps and the front door closing. It all happened so fast. She quickly tossed the flowers on the table and saw that Giorno Giovanna had run out, taking the jackets with him.

"That punk stiffed me!" she said and ran out the door after him. He was nowhere to be seen. She ran down the sidewalk a bit in the direction she figured he would have gone, but she found nothing. Lira balled her fists and muttered "stronzo" as she walked back inside.

A/n Thanks for reading, everyone! It's crazy to think about how much time has
passed while working on this. I feel like it's a good time to bring this book to a close. With that said, I'm working on a part 2 😬

As Arnold once said,
I'll be back