Jotaro was coming back from a long morning walk. It usually caused him to be in better spirits, so it was a habit that he could not break. He had been out very early, wanting to forget about his problems. By problems, he clearly meant his complicated relationship with his daughter. He wanted her to look at him with kinder eyes and less sarcasm. If there was one thing he lacked that held him back from achieving that, it was what he called "emotional intelligence". Ever since he decided to travel to Florida, he had dedicated himself to discovering the part that he was missing. He wouldn't consider himself to have succeeded yet.

He felt calm on the road, filling his lungs with the breeze of an old storm. He decided that he would start on the right foot. Yes, he would begin a better relationship with his daughter.

On the way to his temporary home, he only perceived the wind in his ears until he managed to hear a familiar voice.

"Pss! Mr. Jotaro," someone called him softly. He knew very well who it was, but he would not bother to turn around. He continued on his way.

"Dammit!" Anasui said, seeing him practically run away.

As Jotaro continued, he glimpsed his house. Suddenly, he heard a pair's laughter, causing him to quicken his pace. He walked faster, checking and confirming that it was indeed his daughter and Giorno together. Alone, they stared at one other.

It was an image that he definitely did not like. He remembered a particularly scene from the previous day of those two holding hands. It almost felt like an offense.

"Jolyne, Giorno, what are you doing here?" With much purpose, he deepened his voice, heading towards the blond in particular, whose laughter had stopped when he saw him. The boy didn't look scared, but he must know well how bad it could be for him. "Let's go inside. It's cold and I don't want either of you to get sick."

Without taking her eyes off, Jolyne got up, with Giorno following her.

"Of course, we wouldn't want the old man to get sick," his daughter said to him with a not very pleasant look. Deep inside, he couldn't help but lament about his plans for starting on the "right foot", which had gone to shit.

Mrs. Kujo, who had been listening at the front door, came out of the kitchen. Jolyne and Giorno arrived with a more serious than normal Jotaro.

"What's going on?" she asked the man, who just looked at her.

"Nothing. It's just that the old man is treating us like children," Jolyne replied, seeing that he would not answer her mom. She hated that sort of thing.

Mrs. Kujo knew about the frivolous and even rude attitude of her ex-husband, so she did not mind, though she was confused. A few minutes before, her daughter had been asking about her dad, but now she was witnissing how unkindly Jolyne was referring to him. Although, it was nothing out of the ordinary, really.

"Jolyne, respect your father..."

Jolyne just rolled her eyes, not so much as flinching.

Now that family and guests were both present, Mrs. Kujo no longer cared about the topic. Well, it was as perfect time as any.

"Jotaro, when are you going to tell them about the picnic?" she said, making everyone look at her, especially Jotaro, who was almost expressionless.

"Picnic?" he said with obvious bewilderment.

"Picnic?" Jolyne said with a slight gleam in her eyes.

"Yes! Don't tell me you already forgot." The brunette winked at Jotaro, who in turn managed to finally see her deceitful intentions. Hopelessly resigned, he suppressed a sigh.

"No, how could I forget."

It couldn't be helped now. Ever since Jolyne was a little girl, she had wanted a family outing to some beautiful place or a simple garden. But unfortunately, her parents were having very serious relationship problems and those kind of outings were not very convenient, even if it was to please their daughter. It was mainly Jotaro who avoided spending time with his family, especially when he began to no longer be as present inside the house.

With a smile, Mrs. Kujo anticipating her family's response, which of course included the blonde. Ever since Jotaro had made the decision to visit their daughter, she had secretly planned the outing. Knowing her ex-husband, if he found out, he would flatly refuse. She thought it would be better to do it by surprise.

Although Jolyne loved the idea, she didn't express it as she would have done years ago. She didn't know if it was a good idea if her father was involved, but when her mom decided to do something, no one would be able able to stop her.

"What do you say, Giorno?" Mrs. Kujo asked excitedly.

"I would love..."

"What does Giorno have to do with our picnic?" Jotaro asked almost unconsciously, notably offending the said man and the ladies present.

The blonde needed no more evidence that his boss hated him.

"Of course, he's coming, Jotaro. Jolyne and I would very much like him to also join us. You did invite him over from Italy," she said with annoyance. Could he be any more cheeky?

Giorno, from his position next to the young woman, looked calm, but on the inside, he was already starting to quote Mista in his head. Jotaro was a pain in the ass.

...

Italy, Naples

Mista and Trish were out in a fancy bar in Naples that night. Both laughed through slight tipsiness, but they were sane enough to speak like "civilized" people.

"Haha! I knew Fugo was a crabby piece of shit! But breaking the guy's laptop because he took away the damn bookmark from his damn book? The dude's always on his man-period," he said vulgarly between laughter along with Trish.

"Not only that, Narancia was so upset that he sold all his underwear online." Trish giggled at everything her best friend, Narancia, had told her. "How about Giorno? Did you talk to him this afternoon?"

Mista stopped his laughter and calmed down to tell her excitedly.

"Yes, and let me tell you, I told him! I refused the trip invitation because I knew it wasn't a good idea. They barely just got to Florida and already Jotaro is making the journey unbearable." Mista paused, taking a sip of his drink. Trish looked at him, disoriented.

"Your boss? Impossible! He likes Giorno."

"Oh! Hold it, honey. Everything has a reason." He beckoned her to come closer as if they were whispering gossip. "It turns out that the gorilla has a daughter, and from how Giorno described her to me, it seems like she's quite a snack." As he said the last part, he imagined the aforementioned.

"Mista..."

"Sorry, let me continue." She just rolled her eyes at his shameless behavior. "I don't really know how it happened, but apparently, Giorno did something that upset the boss. Kissing that girl or holding her hand... What was her name? Oh yeah! Jolyne."

"He kissed her? That seems unbecoming of him. They may just be having some kind of rapprochement."

"Well, maybe I exaggerated, but there was a reason. Knowing Jotaro, I don't want to imagine him as a jealous dad." He took another sip of his liquor like Trish.

"That may all be true, but it's been so long since we visited Florida. This trip could be worth it. If I were you, I would have jumped at the chance."

"I know, Trish, I know. It was an interesting trip. Those were difficult times for Giorno, back when he learned that his father had abandoned him. Although, now that I think about it, I don't know, call me crazy, but... It's just that... Ah..." He stopped thinking about it, thinking it might be idiotic.

"It's just what?"

"Nothing, it's a feeling. It's silly."

"It's not weird to hear you say nonsense."

"Trish!"

"Ok, ok! Just say it."

Mista thought about it; maybe it was just supposition.

"It's for the better that Giorno went alone. This trip could be beneficial for him. I don't know, something just tells me."

"What are you talking about?"

"You know..." The young man scratched his head, having difficulty in expressing his idea. "Giorno has been very lonely."

Trish's eyes widened, understanding what he was referring to. It was true, her friend had been very "lonely" in that regard. But what did that trip have to do with it?

"Mista, Giorno can get whoever he wants, whether it's here or there, anywhere. If he wants to remain single, it's his decision. What are you really trying to say?"

"See? I told you it was stupid! Forget it, it was just a baseless hunch."

Mista evaded the subject by drinking until he finished what was in the glass. Trish followed him in the same way, finishing her drink, thinking about what the other had said. To be honest, she also wanted to see her friend happy with someone. No one said it, but there were times when they saw the blonde melancholic and absent-minded. She thought that Giorno was really sunk in solitude, in need of more intimate affection.

Trish watched Mista as he asked for more drinks. She hoped his supposed hunch was real.

...

United States, Florida

Jotaro cursed his ex-wife and Giorno under his breath, blaming them for the fact that Jolyne hated him. In a few moments, he would help his daughter's mother prepare and take out what they needed for the picnic. He felt cornered, being left with no option to refuse, but he would do it for Jolyne.

He was so immersed in his thoughts that he barely noticed when something hit him. Picking up the object, he saw that it appeared to be an acorn.

"Stupid squirrel," he said, not bothering to look for the aforementioned. Then, another object found its way to his head. He grabbed it and saw that it was a bunch of branches.

"Psss! Mr. Jotaro!"

Just like Jolyne had done before him, Jotaro closed his eyes, wishing it wasn't who he thought it was.

"Mr. Jotaro!" Anasui called in a low voice, wanting to get his attention, believing that he hadn't noticed yet.

It seemed to Jotaro that many things were raining on his head; branches, leaves, flowers, and even nuts. He was trying, really trying, to be patient and to ignore him.

Anasui threw a thousand things that he found near where he stood, even a bird's nest that had been lying in the grass. This was discarded when it hit Jotaro's neck. Did the boy really believe that he hadn't noticed him calling? It was obvious that he wanted to ignore him! But...

"Mister..."

"What do you want, you piece of shit!?" Jotaro exclaimed, enraged, unable to take it anymore.

"Mr. Jotaro!" He celebrated, seeing Jotaro's casual look of hatred towards him. "You don't know how happy I am to see you again."

"Get out of here, Anasui! Haven't I given you enough reasons to see you far from my house?"

"Oh come on, sir! You can't hide how happy you are to see me when you obviously missed hitting me," he said, wanting to appease him, but Jotaro took it as mockery.

"Anasui...!" He wanted to hit him and send him away.

"Just listen!"

"You're not marrying Jolyne, you asshole!"

"No, no!... Well, yes, but that's not what I want to propose to you. Listen to me first and then you can do all the horrible things you want to me. Okay?"

Jotaro calmed down a bit, envisioning a beautiful image of him kicking Anasui. Then seeing Anasui with folded hands waiting to be listened to, he consented.

"Okay, but you only have a minute." He crossed his arms too. In truth, he was a bit intrigued about what the boy had to say to him. Anasui wasn't usually like that with him. Except for the time he asked for his daughter's hand.

The young man also relaxed and considered for a second what he was going to say.

"Mr. Jotaro, you and I have something in common." The older man only raised an eyebrow. "And that is the happiness and well-being of our dear and beloved Jolyne." To his surprise, Jotaro did not reply to that. Although, inwardly, the man was guessing what stupid things Anasui was possibly going to say. "Well, what I mean is, I can't believe the kind of guy that fourth-grade French boy is, holding hands with Jolyne and everything!" He was beginning to get mad just remembering it.

Jotaro was somewhat confused. Fourth-grade French boy?

"You mean Giorno?"

"Giorno? Oh yeah, what a stupid name! That brat dared to say to me, 'So what if we hold hands? Are you something?'" He imitated with a childish and mocking voice.

"I-Is that what he said?"

To anyone else, Anasui would look really ridiculous complaining to Jolyne's dad as if he was tattling on Giorno to him. But listening to him while remembering that same morning, Jotaro pictured in his mind those two laughing and looking so animated; it turned his stomach. Now knowing that Giorno had faced Anasui despite the difference in sizes, a wave of jealousy washed over him. Giorno and Jolyne? He had cordially invite the boy to his home, yet this was how he repaid him? Stealing his family? His daughter!?

"Anasui!" he called loudly, making the aforementioned stand firm like a soldier. "First, Giorno is not French. You idiot, his accent is Italian. And second, did you come and throw random crap at me just to complain and invite me into some kind of ridiculous alliance to prevent Giorno and Jolyne from liking each other?" The boy processed it and nodded frantically. Jotaro had hit the nail on the head. But seeing the incredulous expression of the man who was usually expressionless scared him greatly, making him think that he was going to slowly send him to hell. "I would say that that's the silliest and most implausible idea someone has proposed to me, but..." He thought about it, not believing what he was about to say. "What do you have in mind?"

Thinking that the older man would attack him or something like that, Anasui was about to cover himself, but seeing the incredible acceptance that he had had in his proposal, his mouth widened into a malicious smile.

He could already imagine a humiliated Giorno in front of him, with a captivated Jolyne in his arms. Although, for Jotaro, it was a completely different desire. Having the love of his daughter instead of having to confront her as she defended the blonde.