Yay! Just like the old times 😀 I'd like a roomate AU scenario in which Giorno has just entered university and ends up sharing a room with an older student, Abbacchio. It's up to you wether Giorno tries to win him over, or decides to annoy him the entire school year 😁 I hope you'll enjoy the requests 👍
Aaaahh here we aaaare, really like good old days :,D And gooood I love bragging on uni, so I had so much fun writing for this request!! Thank you for sending it :3 and I hope you’ll like it!
Roommate AU: Leone Abbacchio and Giorno Giovanna as uni students
(Under the cut for length!)
It was exciting to be in a new city, and on his own. Giorno loved Naples, he really adored his, by now, home, but there was something fascinating and exciting in being a transferred student.
Well, not that it was something so unique. Many students like him moved from South Italy to North, in order to study in universities and academies, some of them with their parents, some alone. Giorno was particularly proud about his moving: he could do it thanks to a really good scholarship. Sometimes, he still had to read the mail again to be sure it was all real and not a dream. Finally he was far away from his parents and their abuses; he could start a new life, with new friends, new possibilities… it was all so incredible that sometimes it made him feel dizzy.
There was just a little inconvenience: the scholarship didn’t give him a house where he could stay, so he had to search for it. It was a bit annoying, but not a tragedy: a quick check to the university’s billboard was enough to see that there were a lot of students who were searching for a roommate to share rent and expenses with. One particular flat had catched his attention: it was really near to the university, in a quiet street and, by asking around, it seemed that the inhabitant, an older law student, was a quiet, even if grumpy, according to people who knew him, and diligent person. The kind of person Giorno was searching for.
Via Whatsapp, he arranged a home tour, to see his possible future home and to have some more information about the whole thing. As the photos he had seen had already told him, the flat was bright and clean; it was evident that the law student, Leone Abbacchio, took good care of it. He didn’t seem a talkative or cheery person; his longest speech was to explain Giorno how they would have shared rent and expenses. Giorno signed the contract that same day, and the next one he took in all his belongings, closed in three suitcases.
It was clear to Giorno, since day one, that Leone, or Abbacchio, as everyone, even his friends, called him, didn’t like him, and he just couldn’t understand why. He found himself talking about it to one of his new friends, who was also in Abbacchio’s group, during one of the rare real lunch breaks they could enjoy without having to steal a bite while the professor was explaining. Abbacchio too was enjoying his break, smoking a cigarette on the terrace, while talking with his best friend, who evidently really loved dots. Giorno’s lunch pal, a literature student whose name was Pannacotta -but he preferred to be called by his surname, Fugo-, shrugged, when Giorno stopped to talk.
“He’s like this with everyone, Giorno, don’t take it personal. Abbacchio is just… hard to impress, and he’s slow to adapt to new people or major issues. And, to be honest, you are a really major change in his life. Just… endure it. He’ll eventually warm up to you.” he said, taking a sip of his orange juice. Giorno mulled over Fugo’s words for few minutes, taking a bite of his sandwich. It wasn’t that easy, when your roommate seemed to hate you so much that he could come into your room at night to kill you.
“And how will I recognize it?” he asked, observing how his roommate seemed relaxed with his friend -Bruno, if he recalled correctly-, almost a totally different person than the one he was used to. Fugo chuckled, throwing the empty orange juice can in the trash bin, turning to his new friend.
“He won’t growl at you anymore. C’mon, coffee’s on me today.” he invited, heading inside again. Giorno sighed, picking up his bag and following Fugo to the coffee machines. Well… he could just hope it was true.
-
It was just thanks to his stubbornness that Giorno hadn’t packed his things and searched for a new flat after a couple of weeks.
No matter what he did, Abbacchio never seemed pleased. Even when he efficiently did his part of chores and, when dinner’s preparation was on him, he cooked something delicious, Abbacchio never gave him the satisfaction to tell him he had done a good job. Not even once.
He really didn’t know what he was doing wrong. He wasn’t noisy, and he never entered Abbacchio’s room when the owner wasn’t at home and, when he was, he always knocked and waited for his permission. He didn’t have any clue on what was wrong.
And still, he wasn’t giving up. Partly because the rent was the cheapest around, and he wanted to keep his scholarship money for textbooks and such, and partly because, now, it was a personal challenge. He wanted Abbacchio to like him, to think and say openly he was a good roommate. And, honestly, Giorno was not only a good roommate, but a perfect one.
Finally, out of the blue, Giorno saw that something was changing. He wasn’t feeling the same coldness as before from his roommate. He was even sure to have heard him mutter a “thanks” when Giorno put a mug of tea near him, but maybe he had hallucinated it because he was stressed due to an incoming exam. However, when it happened again, he wasn’t stressed or sleepy, and he was so surprised he almost tripped over. Fugo stifled a laugh, when Giorno told him what happened, careful not to be catched by their Anthropology professor.
“I’ve told you he would have warmed up, soon or later. You’re almost there.” he whispered, encouraging. Giorno sighed, scribbling down some notes. Fugo seemed so sure about it… well, he had known Abbacchio for much longer than him, so he knew what he was talking about. Maybe he was right…
He couldn’t keep his silent endurance up when, the next week, after a tiring Linguistic class, he found his roommate waiting for him in the corridor. In his hand, a plastic bag that he handed to him. Giorno recognized it immediately: it was the lunch he had forgotten on the kitchen table that morning. He took it, surprised, frowning a little. That was an unusually kind gesture from Abbacchio…
“Why?” he simply asked, confused. Abbacchio had given him the cold shoulder for so long that even a simple gesture like that seemed way too kinder. Abbacchio rolled his eyes, regaining a bit of the usual annoyance Giorno was used to see, but even now it didn’t seem as cold as before.
“You’re a tough kid and you showed it. None of my previous roommates endured this much… you’ve gained the flat, kid. I’m glad of it.” Giorno felt a bubble of pride swelling in his chest. He did it! He won! His stubbornness had, in the end, paid off!!
“Oh, stop with that satisfied face, kid. It’s not such a deal, and you’re late for your next class. Hurry up!” he prompted him, with his usual harsh tone, but, this time, Giorno didn’t feel attacked or startled. He had gained his right place in the flat, now, nothing could stop him!
“Yeah, yeah, I’m going! See you later!” he hopped on the stairs, running to his next class and, more than anything else, to find a seat and avoid the floor. Abbacchio watched him disappear in the crowd of loud students, with a huff and shaking his head, heading to his next class too. That Giovanna…
The toughest kid he had ever met. He might have been a little too harsh on him, sometimes… but at least he had gained a good roommate, way better than the previous ones.
Maybe they could even be friends, one day.
