HOT PANTS • MULTAVIA ╱ diego ◞
suspicion was gone upon hearing that much. her words barely managing to draw out a reaction from the blond. a subtle rose of his eyebrows as he listened & nodded. truth was, not even he knew where to go from here. after constantly pushing boundaries, breaking piece by piece the barrier that she had constructed to surround herself, dio was left unsure of what to do or say. it was not that he had little faith on getting this far but… now that the option was there, he was unsure whether to take it or not. he had entered this competition to up his status & establish his name across the border as the emperor he became. his pride fuelling his every move, & taking him further than anyone who knew him as a child deemed possible. the steel ball race was about victory, with the holy corpse’s part granting him the opportunity to obtain more. the power, the money & the fame, being the only things in dio’s path thus far.
…or at least, it was until he met her. the promise of tracking the man he once called his ‘father’ , as well as the thirst for revenge that he had, was what made their comradely possible in the first place. he had always been a man to do everything on his own, but through the past days spent fighting along hot pants, dio was beginning to come to terms with the fact that he didn’t have to be alone. he had let enough of his guard to be here, sharing a bath with her, after all. her words resonating in his mind before only a hum is emitted & by getting closer to the edge & pressing both hands against the ground, he was able to pull his entire body out of the water as silver bullet came by, covering him from view.
“—we should get going before it gets too late.” his lack of initial response could’ve been considered as dismissive. his eyes, no longer looking at her as he gathered his clothes to put back on after drying up with a handkerchief that he carried among his belongings. one that was offered to hot pants as he knelt near the edge of the lake. “when all this is over… i want you to come with me to meet him.”
❛ you’re right... we may have have wasted more time then originally planned. ❜ she speaks with honesty, even as eyes drift away from his gaze, the sound of splashing water the final indicator of his departure. she herself had gotten too preoccupied with their conversation, and with how her feelings began to stray away with her moral obligation, it was better that she focused her mind back on the task at hand... even if such things seemed further and further away from her grasp. was that something she minded? it was best not to look too deeply into that hesitance, for she’d risked life and limb to get to this point, and it was better to believe there was no going back from the path she’d forged herself. was that truly the woman’s resolve? was that what it had lead up to all this time? peace, and then death. or maybe, death and then, the inevitable.
as thoughts raced through her mind, expression remains firm, calling for Gets Up with a sharp whistle instead of letting that confliction envelop her completely. however, as her horse arrives, so does the handkerchief that comes into view, much to hot pant’s surprise. diego’s father... a vile man who deserved nothing but the fate now instore for him. though it had been used as a bargaining point, she couldn’t help but feel ACHE towards his situation, and a personal need to be there when it happened... this had definitely strayed from her original plan, but instead of that bothering her, she finds it only fuels a deeper connection between the two. hot pants had found terrible similarities between herself and that man, so much to the point that it began to haunt her, and yet another reminder to her horrific actions of the past. time had passed since then, that night like a faraway dream that stayed close at heart but never ushered aloud, and it’s because of that night she can confidentially nod her head in understanding.
when this is all over... if they succeeded, if they survived... it was a reassuring thought. she wanted to live. she wanted to be there when diego met his father. that right now was enough to keep her going, without the holy corpse parts or her past to carry her down the endless road she walked. it was hopeful.
❛ of course I will. I owe you that much. ❜ she pauses once she takes the handkerchief from his grasp, pulling herself from the water just enough that she remains appropriately covered. ❛ if we make it… and we track him down, then... come with me next. ❜ if she felt nervous saying it, it’s hidden within her expression. one that hides itself from his eyes and focuses on gathering her clothing from behind Gets Up. ❛ I’d like to visit my home town, once we gather the corpse parts. ❜ if.
