[fic] The Horse Chases After the Cloud | D18, PG
my first d18 fic! and it is ANGST! ^o^/
very worksafe. i'm only rating this PG because i have no idea how to rate stories about organized crime.
The Horse Chases After the Cloud
(you know you need a life if your diary entries for the last ten years have been all about your boss)
April 23, 20XX [Brussels, Belgium]
Yesterday, Crowne Plaza Hotel. Today, luncheon with the Geci. Tomorrow, dinner party by Grevia Alcomor. Inspection of new southern depots over the weekend.
Rest is required. Rescheduled shopping trip for Tuesday.
April 28, 20XX [Brussels, Belgium]
Shopping for fifty grown Italian men and women whose measurements you already have = not hard. Shopping for teenage Japanese boy who is not even present = near impossible.
Wish I could rely on some sort of data, not his memory. Sick of "Romario, don't you think this one's a little too large around the waist?"
Exhaustion. Also, excess baggage of around 50 kilos.
May 4, 20XX [plane to India]
Japan trip cancelled. He is not happy. India next stop.
Tasked to send gifts to Tokyo for stockpile until he could deliver them himself. He is clearly not too old for tantrums. Comforting thought :)
May 7, 20XX [Delhi, India]
India operations now stable, but additional safety nets necessary. Tense political situation not helping.
Formal refusal to strike deal with Singh perhaps cost us half of Gurgaon holdings. He says that with Singh's dubious alliances, plus blow already suffered by our Maharashtra real estate, benefits outweigh risks.
Believe this is good call. Also believe there will be Talk with Signori C and G upon return to Sicily.
May 9, 20XX [Naples, Italy]
Talk went fairly well. Signor C sympathetic. Signor G however has hinted that he may independently contact Singh in the coming days.
Boss says to watch them both.
Also says to prepare hot bath and book next flight to Tokyo.
May 15, 20XX [Salerno, Italy]
You've got to be kidding. After buying all those expensive gifts, he still wants to buy more expensive gifts??
Burning holes in the family pocket, suppose it's to be expected. Not that we're in trouble, exactly, but he hasn't even spent this much on his girlfriends!!
Hoping infamous Cavallone generosity doesn't drive the family to financial ruin again.
July 22, 20XX [Sicily, Italy]
School is out in Japan. He is in Namimori for two weeks - romping with next-generation Vongole, no doubt. Meanwhile, am stuck in Sicily dealing with loudmouthed aunts and thieving operatives :(
On the up side, I get to sit in the comfy chair!
Gervasio reported that after fourth day, he returned to limousine looking happier and more refreshed than he's been in days.
Also with black eye, slight limp and red mark suspiciously resembling hickey just above the collarbone.
August 7, 20XX [Sicily, Italy]
Now, smiling stupidly, saying he wants to add cloud to horse tattoo.
Considering psychiatric help.
August 23, 20XX [Naples, Italy]
Two weeks of work to offset two weeks of play. Signor G has contacted Singh and staked Gurgaon holdings in especially risky deals. Also, partners in Southeast Asia decided to be difficult all at once and refused to speak to anyone but the Cavallone head personally.
Needed to call in Doctor S last Friday. Just a day or so of rest, and he should be up and about.
Asked him if he still wants cloud tattoo. Was laughed at. The family would go ballistic if he pushed through with it, he said. He meant it as a joke, of course.
November 18, 20XX [New York, USA]
Trip to Japan cancelled. Again. Today's tantrum involved him throwing papers out of the New York headquarters' window.
And because these were very sensitive papers, fifty Italian men and women in expensive black suits scrambled on hands and knees all over the New York sidewalk to collect every single sheet.
This will be in the news tomorrow morning.
Yelled at him. He seemed genuinely sorry. Said he's just been stressed lately. And even with parties and surfing trips and family time - all things he used to enjoy - he's starting to feel caged in.
Not sure why I'm not surprised that the boy never replies to his invitations.
November 22, 20XX [Sicily, Italy]
Tea with Signora M today. She confirmed one of my suspicions. Apparently, late Don Cavallone was also like this when they were young. Normally charismatic and easygoing, he became unfocused and unreasonable when "distracted."
Signora M told me a story that has been in the Cavallone inner family for ten generations. Horses are very imaginative creatures, she said. Sometimes a wild horse changes demeanor and you see him running at full speed toward nothing in particular - but it isn't nothing at all. The horse has spotted a cloud, thought it saw something in it - perhaps his future, perhaps his heart's desire - and he runs.
He bends all his will to the task, convinced that once he gets to the horizon, he and the cloud will meet, all his efforts will be rewarded and he will be happy.
But it is the nature of clouds to vanish or change shape. When it happens, the wild horse just stands there, looking up. It takes him a while to rejoin his herd if he has gone very far, but he almost always does. Or else, he doesn't return - and according to Cavallone lore, this means he has found his cloud.
Every Cavallone man is entitled to one cloud, once in his life. Perhaps it is even his fate.
I said, I presume Don Cavallone went back to normal when you were married? She smiled sadly. No, she said; He went back to normal when he learned that the girl he loved had married another man.
Not comforting. Have more suspicions to confirm.
January 29, 20XX [Sicily, Italy]
Today he leaves for four-day vacation in Patmos. Would have extended it, but he refused, saying he needs to be back ASAP for family matters.
As always, he sent out an invitation. As always, no answer.
Sent Vito and Arevalo to Japan, to check out a tip from our contacts there.
Not looking forward to what they find out about our little Vongola boy, exactly.
February 3, 20XX [Sicily, Italy]
Not looking forward to telling him.
February 14, 20XX [Sicily, Italy]
Less than three minutes of discussion, a phone call not answered, and his whole day is ruined.
All appointments for the day cancelled.
March 26, 20XX [Lima, Peru]
Struck him across the face today. Didn't want to, but no one else could have done it.
He was about to stage a rubout of a small Albanian organization, for inconveniencing some of his Brussels operatives. All because the incident had forced him to cancel a vacation trip to Japan that he had been planning for months!
He looked at me with anger, but did not strike back or turn away. He knew it was better that I did it for him, than if his Vongola home tutor would come back and beat him senseless for putting his personal feelings before his work.
He has just turned 24. That means he's still so young.
April 8, 20XX [Sicily, Italy]
Phone bills are ridiculous. Expensive gifts I can deal with, but this number of overseas calls means he's not getting any sleep.
So he's found that his little Vongola is not exactly faithful. Not as if he's the world's most faithful lover, either. Reports from Patmos recall need for discretion. Wouldn't do for the Signori of Naples, especially, to find out.
In spite of Patmos, he is becoming thinner and more irritable. Might be time to call in Doctor S again.
May 3, 20XX [plane to Japan]
He's run away.
I need to find him.
May 5, 20XX [Namimori, Japan]
Another late-night long-distance call from halfway around the world won't matter, but I don't want anyone else to know just yet.
He's asleep on the bed. Have cleaned him up and fed him and assured him everything was going to be all right. Have also told him what I've been telling him all this time - that he's needed by his family, that he has to get his head back together, that he deserves better and that he should not put himself through this.
But he wasn't listening. And I've run out of things to say.
He couldn't find the boy, of course. He couldn't do much all on his own. But this is something I cannot help him with. The Vongola boy has always been difficult to track, but now it seems he has simply vanished. It was easier to find the tenth head of the Cavallone family running around drenched, lost and confused, in the pouring rain at night in Japan.
Must talk to the Vongola boy, eventually - if he cares enough to show his face. I am certain he is aware of the Cavallone's current state, but I am not certain if he could be asked to give a damn. I am never certain of anything about him. I wonder how this could be worthy of anyone's affections.
Patching an emergency call through to Doctor S. If Boss returns ill, people will worry. There's money to move and deals to settle and plans to see through.
I wish he could forget about his cloud and come home soon.
very worksafe. i'm only rating this PG because i have no idea how to rate stories about organized crime.
The Horse Chases After the Cloud
(you know you need a life if your diary entries for the last ten years have been all about your boss)
April 23, 20XX [Brussels, Belgium]
Yesterday, Crowne Plaza Hotel. Today, luncheon with the Geci. Tomorrow, dinner party by Grevia Alcomor. Inspection of new southern depots over the weekend.
Rest is required. Rescheduled shopping trip for Tuesday.
April 28, 20XX [Brussels, Belgium]
Shopping for fifty grown Italian men and women whose measurements you already have = not hard. Shopping for teenage Japanese boy who is not even present = near impossible.
Wish I could rely on some sort of data, not his memory. Sick of "Romario, don't you think this one's a little too large around the waist?"
Exhaustion. Also, excess baggage of around 50 kilos.
May 4, 20XX [plane to India]
Japan trip cancelled. He is not happy. India next stop.
Tasked to send gifts to Tokyo for stockpile until he could deliver them himself. He is clearly not too old for tantrums. Comforting thought :)
May 7, 20XX [Delhi, India]
India operations now stable, but additional safety nets necessary. Tense political situation not helping.
Formal refusal to strike deal with Singh perhaps cost us half of Gurgaon holdings. He says that with Singh's dubious alliances, plus blow already suffered by our Maharashtra real estate, benefits outweigh risks.
Believe this is good call. Also believe there will be Talk with Signori C and G upon return to Sicily.
May 9, 20XX [Naples, Italy]
Talk went fairly well. Signor C sympathetic. Signor G however has hinted that he may independently contact Singh in the coming days.
Boss says to watch them both.
Also says to prepare hot bath and book next flight to Tokyo.
May 15, 20XX [Salerno, Italy]
You've got to be kidding. After buying all those expensive gifts, he still wants to buy more expensive gifts??
Burning holes in the family pocket, suppose it's to be expected. Not that we're in trouble, exactly, but he hasn't even spent this much on his girlfriends!!
Hoping infamous Cavallone generosity doesn't drive the family to financial ruin again.
July 22, 20XX [Sicily, Italy]
School is out in Japan. He is in Namimori for two weeks - romping with next-generation Vongole, no doubt. Meanwhile, am stuck in Sicily dealing with loudmouthed aunts and thieving operatives :(
On the up side, I get to sit in the comfy chair!
Gervasio reported that after fourth day, he returned to limousine looking happier and more refreshed than he's been in days.
Also with black eye, slight limp and red mark suspiciously resembling hickey just above the collarbone.
August 7, 20XX [Sicily, Italy]
Now, smiling stupidly, saying he wants to add cloud to horse tattoo.
Considering psychiatric help.
August 23, 20XX [Naples, Italy]
Two weeks of work to offset two weeks of play. Signor G has contacted Singh and staked Gurgaon holdings in especially risky deals. Also, partners in Southeast Asia decided to be difficult all at once and refused to speak to anyone but the Cavallone head personally.
Needed to call in Doctor S last Friday. Just a day or so of rest, and he should be up and about.
Asked him if he still wants cloud tattoo. Was laughed at. The family would go ballistic if he pushed through with it, he said. He meant it as a joke, of course.
November 18, 20XX [New York, USA]
Trip to Japan cancelled. Again. Today's tantrum involved him throwing papers out of the New York headquarters' window.
And because these were very sensitive papers, fifty Italian men and women in expensive black suits scrambled on hands and knees all over the New York sidewalk to collect every single sheet.
This will be in the news tomorrow morning.
Yelled at him. He seemed genuinely sorry. Said he's just been stressed lately. And even with parties and surfing trips and family time - all things he used to enjoy - he's starting to feel caged in.
Not sure why I'm not surprised that the boy never replies to his invitations.
November 22, 20XX [Sicily, Italy]
Tea with Signora M today. She confirmed one of my suspicions. Apparently, late Don Cavallone was also like this when they were young. Normally charismatic and easygoing, he became unfocused and unreasonable when "distracted."
Signora M told me a story that has been in the Cavallone inner family for ten generations. Horses are very imaginative creatures, she said. Sometimes a wild horse changes demeanor and you see him running at full speed toward nothing in particular - but it isn't nothing at all. The horse has spotted a cloud, thought it saw something in it - perhaps his future, perhaps his heart's desire - and he runs.
He bends all his will to the task, convinced that once he gets to the horizon, he and the cloud will meet, all his efforts will be rewarded and he will be happy.
But it is the nature of clouds to vanish or change shape. When it happens, the wild horse just stands there, looking up. It takes him a while to rejoin his herd if he has gone very far, but he almost always does. Or else, he doesn't return - and according to Cavallone lore, this means he has found his cloud.
Every Cavallone man is entitled to one cloud, once in his life. Perhaps it is even his fate.
I said, I presume Don Cavallone went back to normal when you were married? She smiled sadly. No, she said; He went back to normal when he learned that the girl he loved had married another man.
Not comforting. Have more suspicions to confirm.
January 29, 20XX [Sicily, Italy]
Today he leaves for four-day vacation in Patmos. Would have extended it, but he refused, saying he needs to be back ASAP for family matters.
As always, he sent out an invitation. As always, no answer.
Sent Vito and Arevalo to Japan, to check out a tip from our contacts there.
Not looking forward to what they find out about our little Vongola boy, exactly.
February 3, 20XX [Sicily, Italy]
Not looking forward to telling him.
February 14, 20XX [Sicily, Italy]
Less than three minutes of discussion, a phone call not answered, and his whole day is ruined.
All appointments for the day cancelled.
March 26, 20XX [Lima, Peru]
Struck him across the face today. Didn't want to, but no one else could have done it.
He was about to stage a rubout of a small Albanian organization, for inconveniencing some of his Brussels operatives. All because the incident had forced him to cancel a vacation trip to Japan that he had been planning for months!
He looked at me with anger, but did not strike back or turn away. He knew it was better that I did it for him, than if his Vongola home tutor would come back and beat him senseless for putting his personal feelings before his work.
He has just turned 24. That means he's still so young.
April 8, 20XX [Sicily, Italy]
Phone bills are ridiculous. Expensive gifts I can deal with, but this number of overseas calls means he's not getting any sleep.
So he's found that his little Vongola is not exactly faithful. Not as if he's the world's most faithful lover, either. Reports from Patmos recall need for discretion. Wouldn't do for the Signori of Naples, especially, to find out.
In spite of Patmos, he is becoming thinner and more irritable. Might be time to call in Doctor S again.
May 3, 20XX [plane to Japan]
He's run away.
I need to find him.
May 5, 20XX [Namimori, Japan]
Another late-night long-distance call from halfway around the world won't matter, but I don't want anyone else to know just yet.
He's asleep on the bed. Have cleaned him up and fed him and assured him everything was going to be all right. Have also told him what I've been telling him all this time - that he's needed by his family, that he has to get his head back together, that he deserves better and that he should not put himself through this.
But he wasn't listening. And I've run out of things to say.
He couldn't find the boy, of course. He couldn't do much all on his own. But this is something I cannot help him with. The Vongola boy has always been difficult to track, but now it seems he has simply vanished. It was easier to find the tenth head of the Cavallone family running around drenched, lost and confused, in the pouring rain at night in Japan.
Must talk to the Vongola boy, eventually - if he cares enough to show his face. I am certain he is aware of the Cavallone's current state, but I am not certain if he could be asked to give a damn. I am never certain of anything about him. I wonder how this could be worthy of anyone's affections.
Patching an emergency call through to Doctor S. If Boss returns ill, people will worry. There's money to move and deals to settle and plans to see through.
I wish he could forget about his cloud and come home soon.