Giovanni has been away from the hideout for the couple of weeks that it took Petrel to grow the little goatee the first time, and when he sees it, it stops him in his tracks.

“Petrel, come here.”

“Sure, boss!” Petrel grins and it’s as sloppy as his salute as he stands at attention.

Giovanni looks him over. Scrutinizes him. Let’s Petrel know from his look that he’s being judged.

Petrel’s expression turns rictus, and that makes Giovanni smile..

“There’s something wrong with your face, Pet.”

Before Petrel can answer, the boss yanks him by the goatee into a kiss.

–

Giovanni pins Proton under him with his full body weight, feeling his scrawny executive squirm underneath him. Idly, he toys with the soft locks of Proton’s minty hair.

“You’re as bad as that persian of yours,” Proton huffs, twisting his neck to look up at him over his shoulder.

Giovanni grins and tugs his hair. “Like master, like pokemon, they say. Are you complaining, Proton?”

Proton snorts dismissively and looks away, making him tug his hair again. They both know that he enjoys it– the rough, rude affection that Giovanni hands out whenever he feels like it, like a persian.

–

Giovanni watches Ariana while she’s working, her shoulders hunched, her jaw set, her gaze focused. He loves that quiet intensity that simmers in her, when she’s not distracted.

But of course he also loves to distract her, and he swaggers up and puts his arms around her shoulders and pulls her to his chest, kissing up her tight jaw before she can register what is happening with more than annoyance.

For a moment he thinks she might hit him, and that would be funny, but the tension in her relaxes as she leans back, and he’s treated to her smile.

–

Giovanni holds Archer in his lap while they read, the room quiet except for the turning of pages and low classical music from a tape recorder nearby. Every now and then Giovanni rests his chin on Archer’s shoulder and sneaks a peak at where he is in his book.

That’s not really what he’s paying attention to, though. Giovanni is distracted by the soft smell of his subordinate– sharp cigarette smoke and sweet aftershave– and the warmth of his body against his own.

Eventually, Giovanni is going to be very distracted, but for now he lets Archer read another page.

–

It is a small room, and the five of them are arranged in a rude tangle of limbs on a pile of cushions and blankets. The smell of alcohol, and smoke and sex pervades the room in a drowsy atmosphere and Giovanni luxuriates in the moment, even as he thinks most of the rest of them are asleep.

One day they’ll have everything. They’ll live it up in a mansion fit for kings, and revel in the glory of their rise.

But for now, here, a cramped room, cheap booze and tangled limbs isn’t such a bad place to start.