middaeg | Intro Overflow: May

Then- Then you can't complain if I throw up on you.

[He's so damn serious, meeting Giorno's eyes with disproportionately earnest intensity.]

Okay? I'll share, but you can't complain! Okay?

[That.]

[Um.]

[Giorno blinks again, then looks over his shoulder as if expecting there to be someone else standing there. Surely this person is telling someone else he might throw up on them? Not him. No one would throw up on him.]

[But there isn't anyone else there. Just him. So, turning back to Mary and clearly still dumbfounded, he decides, fuck it, he can always get another drink, can't he?]

Okay. [Very solemn.] I won't complain if you throw up on me.

[He presses the drink into his companion's hand . . . and takes a hefty step backwards. These shoes are Gucci.]

[Mary trades the drink for his elaborate crepe. At least a drink, he assumes, is more like the blood that he's used to than full-on solid foods. It should go down easier. And, luckily for Giorno, he doesn't seem the least bit offended when the poor guy steps back. He's just happy that he won't be trying this alone.

One deep breath and a determined nod later, he takes an enormous gulp, puffing his cheeks like a damn chipmunk before swallowing.

Then he sits there, stock still, silent, for a full minute. He looks down at his surprisingly well-behaved stomach, then up at Giorno. He smiles wide.]

Nothing happened!

[. . . So weird.]

[Giorno finds himself perplexed. This shouldn't be endearing, but it kind of is? Never mind the relief he feels at not having to deal with mystery vomit — but the guy is so happy to have been able to drink a beverage that it's really difficult not to be happy with him.]

[After a moment of internal wrestling, Mary receives . . . a thumbs up.]

That's good. [It is, isn't it? That seems like a good thing.] I'm not sure why you were so worried, but . . . good. Did it taste good?

[This conversation is very weird. At least he has a crepe now. He takes a hefty bite out of it. Homf.]

Oh, that's right! I was so tense, I forgot to taste it.

[As if he doesn't have a real care in the world, he proceeds to take a more normal sip this time, savoring the flavor in his mouth before swallowing. His eyes widen in wonder with every passing second.]

It's so sweet! I've never tasted anything this sweet in my whole life! Not even Maria's blood!

[Welp. That little slip might help Giorno decipher why he's so excited about trying real food.]

[Well, that's. Significantly less cute.]

[There's a long moment when Giorno just stares at Mary. Like, wide-eyed, goggling staring, as though he's watching a car crash and just can't look away. He thinks he should probably . . . leave? But it's baffling to him how casually that came out.]

[Maybe it's rude to just assume. Maybe this is a dietary need that has nothing to do with being a vampire. That's completely improbable, but. Still.]

[Tentatively:] Were . . . you not able to eat non-blood. Things? [#nailedit]

[The assuming? That's not very rude at all. The staring? That's a tad bit uncomfortable, buddy. Mary meets Giorno's stupefied gawking with a rather indignant pout. Big eyes narrow questioningly, saying in no uncertain terms: "If you must stare in shock and horror, please do so in a mirror."]

I could drink tomato juice sometimes.

[Well, that's fair enough. Giorno's stare is an odd one at the best of times, which these are not. He presses his lips together in a thin line and glances sideways before schooling his expression into familiar neutrality.]

Then . . . I'm glad you can drink other things now. Tomato juice isn't very good. I can't speak for blood.

[Is that better? An attempt is being made. Tentatively, he offers Mary his crepe back, since he never actually got to try it. Truce?]

[The vastly differing flavors of blood are probably not a topic this guy wants to delve into. Honestly, Mary doesn't want to talk about it either. Only Maria's blood is worth mentioning anyway. Luckily for Giorno, that means the awkwardness is about to pass.

When he offers Mary the crepe again, he snags another quick gulp of Giorno's drink before trading it. Sharing is caring.]

Me too. I didn't know there were so many different things to eat out there! It'd be nice if I could try them all eventually. But I don't know how long this'll last...

[So he's just going to take a bite of that crepe now, while he still can.]

[Ask him in a few months and he'll have great personal interest in the subject. For now, though, probably best not. Besides, there's something more important to focus on now: the sight of someone trying a crepe for the first time. Giorno is a great food enthusiast, and now that he properly understands the issue at hand, he's happy to move past the awkwardness to the Feed Mary Lots Of Things portion of the program.]

[After an enthusiastic slurp of his drink, his brows draw together in confusion. What's this new thing now.]

Why wouldn't it last?

[Does he think he'll . . . re-vampire? That seems improbable, doesn't it? Ahaha.]

[It's... It's... So full of textures and flavor blends and magic! His eyes widen in tearful, childish delight, but sensory overload keeps him from finding his voice as the fruits and spreads melt in his mouth.

It takes an unfathomable amount of self control for him to finally swallow it down.]

Ah- Um... What?

[He looks up at Giorno, clearly dazed.

Rebooting... Rebooting...]

Oh! Well... We have to go back, don't we?

[. . . Ah.]

Of course.

[It's almost convincing. Except he doesn't know how, and no one else does either, do they? It seems quite apparent that Miss Nessie is as much in the dark as the rest of them, if not more. Nothing like this has ever happened before. The mirrors have never spit people out into the world before.]

[And his Gold Experience is gone. He can feel it missing, like a lost limb, or a lost half. That's not the same as being able to eat food again, to his mind. That's something stolen from him.]

[He smiles faintly. Yes. Of course they'll have to go back again. And it will be possible, and everything will be fine, and he'll be home before he knows it — yes. He definitely believes that.]

Well, you just have to try everything you can while you can, right? What else have you always wanted to try?

[Mary hasn't thought that far ahead. He tries not to think too much on a good day as it is. It's much better to look at things simply. He knows he has to go back, so he's going to go back. The how doesn't matter because it simply has to happen that way. The true gravity of the situation will hit him eventually, but for now... Well, he has crepes and drinks.]

Yeah. I wanna try something Japanese! Like sushi or soba. I always watched Maria eat them, but I couldn't.

Sushi or soba, hm.

[It's hard to stay in a bad mood in the face of that smile. Despite himself, the smile creeps into something more genuine.]

Those are very different. [Not that he's had either in a while, but—] I like sushi best, personally. But I've always enjoyed seafood.

Which one did Maria like best? Sushi or soba.

Um. I don't think he ever said. He's the type who won't eat anything he doesn't like but won't compliment any of it either.

[Mary can't believe he still has no idea what Maria's favorite food is. He never thought to ask, and now that he wants to, Maria isn't here! He frowns down at the crepe, disappointed. Suddenly, he can't seem to sustain his excitement.]

Intro Overflow: May

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