Lito sat at his desk, staring hard at the pen as he tapped it against the page.

"So who is he?" Lito barked. "Who is this reprobate who thinks he can cut in on my business?"

Armando, ever the good henchman, shuffled his papers in order. "Torino, sir. First name, Giuseppe."

Lito grit his teeth and rolled his eyes. Of course. Of course he was Altadorian. There was always a thick sheen of slime glistening off the back of every Altadorian who crawled their way into Neovia- barring himself, naturally. So it was no wonder that this Torino character carried some lofty ideas about catering to certain markets.

"Right," Lito said, capping and uncapping his pen. "How long has he been playing this foolish little game of his?"

"Well sir." Armando cleared his throat. "His restaurant has been running for about three years now."

"Three-" Lito sputtered and fell into a coughing fit. He spat into his ashtray before beginning again. "How am I just now hearing about this?"

Again, Armando cleared his throat. His eyes were everywhere but on his boss. "Well, sir, I've given you a few reports. But with everything that's been going on- You've been very preoccupied with more pressing matters, sir. A-and understandably so!" He coughed harshly to cover his stutter. "I brought the matter to Gianna's attention a few months back and-"

Lito slammed his fist on the desk. "What did I tell you about bringing business to that woman? She has no hand in our affairs anymore! Didn't I ask you to keep my business and family affairs separate?"

Armando flinched back and the pages in his hand crinkled. "Yes, sir, you did request that. It's just- no. No excuses. I shouldn't have interfered."

Lito waved the offense off. He'd need to have a conversation with his wayward wife to make sure she hadn't vomited all of this information to all her party-going friends. Knowing her, the info was already leaked, and all of Neovia knew before Lito did. It wouldn't be the first time, and it certainly wouldn't be the last time.

Send Gianna on vacation, he scribbled into his notebook. Mystery Island? Somewhere far away.

"Nevermind all of that. Set up a meeting with this man. I want to see him face to face."

"Actually, sir?" Armando again cleared his throat. "He's requested a meeting with you, at his restaurant."

Lito rested his chin in his hand, and he felt the sting of his claws pressing into his cheek. "He's already got the drop on me? Fine. No one decided to tell me any of this was vital. Fine! I'll meet the man at his little restaurant. I want guards posted at every door and... form of egress. I want my men looking out for me!"

Armando nodded rapidly and scribbled the orders down.




The restaurant was as painfully kitschy as he expected. The whole place had clearly been closed down on his behalf, or it was so painfully subpar that no one deigned to visit at 7 pm. As Lito's eyes darted about, he saw familiar faces. A man posted at the door, in the alley, at the street corner. No matter what happened in there, he would be covered by the best muscle Neovia had on offer.

The door gave a cheerful chime as he pushed his way in. A man leaned against the counter, broad shouldered with thick arms crossed over his chest. His face was sour and morose, covered in a thick, black beard. But that sour expression quickly changed as their eyes met. Lito watched the man look him up and down, and then he erupted into an enormous smile. Immediately, he unfolded and beckoned Lito in, ushering him toward the only table still dressed.

"I'd imagine you're Mister Giordano?"

"I am," Lito said. "And you're Mister Torino?"

"The very same. But please, call me Giuseppe." Again, he looked Lito up and down, and that grin only grew. "I know that you're a very busy man, so I don't want to waste your time. Just a brief discussion between two distinguished gentlemen. Don't you agree?"

Lito couldn't help but drink the man in. He was modestly dressed, hidden behind a stained apron, but there was still plenty on offer. Broad chested, a strong jaw, and wonderfully dark eyes. If Lito didn't know any better, that smile almost looked sincere.




Giuseppe set down two plates of spaghetti bolognese then took his seat and dug in without ceremony.

"I think we got off on the wrong foot," he said, twirling noodles around his fork. "I never meant to intrude on anyone's business. See, I'm the kind of man who appreciates hard work, diligent work. I've been hearing a lot about you lately, and it sounds like you're the diligent sort of man." He flashed those deep, dark eyes up at Lito. "I respect that in a man. I really do."

Lito was taken aback. He was no stranger to threats, even those caged under the guise of civility. But the way Giuseppe gazed at him over the candlelit table, this was something else entirely. At an uncharacteristic loss for words, Lito partook in some of the food.

The pasta was cooked to textural perfection. The sauce was rich and tart, and had clearly simmered for hours to develop such a body of flavor. The dusting of parmesan gave a perfect salty touch to the dish, and Lito could not help but sigh in pleasure as he chewed his food. It was immaculate.

"Perhaps I've approached the situation too aggressively," he finally said.

Giuseppe laid his chin on his hand and grinned, and oh did he look good doing so. "I don't think we've gotta be enemies," he said, his voice low enough to almost be a whisper. "We've got the same goals, don't we?"

"We do," Lito agreed as he took a sip of his wine. "Did you cook this yourself?"

"All me. Started on this sauce at noon."

"You're looking to impress?"

"Of course," Giuseppe laughed. "I'm much more in the business of making friends than making enemies, Mister Giordano. I've heard plenty about you, and you seem the type of man I'd like to befriend."

"It's working," Lito admitted, and he dug back into his spaghetti. Such an immaculate bouquet of flavors. It wasn't so much food as it was art painted onto his plate. "So tell me," he said. "All pleasantries aside, what did you hope to achieve tonight?"

Giuseppe leaned in. "Frankly, I was hoping to propose an alliance between our respective business interests. I'd still like that. But," he batted those long lashes, "upon meeting you, I think I would like to propose a more intimate connection between us."

"Are you a married man, Mister Torino?"

"Not anymore." He gave Lito a knowing look. "I'm afraid my late husband disappeared quite mysteriously after he stepped out of the bounds of our marriage. It was a terribly tragic affair." He said all of this without a hint of emotion in his voice.

"Tragic indeed," Lito agreed.

"And yourself?"

Lito sighed. "By the letter of the law, I'm still married," he said reluctantly, "though hardly in spirit."

"I've heard about your wife," Giuseppe admitted. "She hardly seems like a match for you." At that, he reached out to lay his hand over Lito's. "A man like you needs a partner who's business-minded," he said, his voice low and sultry. "Someone who understands what it takes to manage a delicate operation."

Lito was being buttered up, and he knew it. But oh, Giuseppe was such a handsome man. He had deep brown eyes and long lashes, a carefully trimmed beard and immaculate fingernails. He knew all the right things to say.

And oh, could the man cook.

Long after Lito's plate was clean, they remained hand in hand. When the wine was gone, they still gazed longingly into each others' eyes. The world had gone dark and the candles burned low, but that only made Giuseppe's smile that much more beautiful.

The flame between them was smoldering. There was no sense in beating around the bush.

"Your place or mine?"




"I'm leaving you."

Lito blanched. "Leaving me!"

"I've found someone else." Gianna told him this with the same full-chested confidence she always used. "You're just not the man for me."

Lito stood from his chair and braced his hands on his desk. "How long?" he demanded.

"Long enough," she snapped. "He gives me everything you can't."

That wastrel! She always went right for the throat. Lito felt his claws digging into the wood of his poor, handsome desk.

"Well," he said, his voice like gravel, "you'll be on your way then, won't you?"

"I'll be on my way." Gianna smirked and waved her long-stemmed cigarette. "Rupert is whisking me off to live on Mystery Island. He has family there, see? Practically a local. Imagine all the sights he'll show me!" She brushed imaginary dust off her stole. "You never took me anywhere. Always so busy with work...!"

"I took you to Shenkuu!" Lito barked.

"Before Junior was born," she snapped back. "Don't play dumb Lito, you knew this was coming. We both knew! This marriage has been a sham longer than it was ever real!"

Lito let his head hang low, because she was right. They'd been keeping up appearances for much too long.

"Fine," he spat. "Go live your fun little life. I assume you'll be leaving your son here with me while you're off galavanting to more pleasant climates?"

"Oh, I'm certain we'll work custody out in the coming days," Gianna said. And then she turned and strode out of the room, heels clack-clacking all the while.

The absolute audacity of that woman.




"Heinous behavior," Giuseppe said. "What about your kid?"

Lito sighed heavily. "Summer breaks, apparently," he said. "I'm supposed to take care of him all year, then ship him off to Mystery Island when neoschool lets out. She knows how he gets when he's in school! She only wants him when he's at his best behavior! And you know she's just going to set him loose to be a little demon while she's busy cavorting with her little boy toy... She does this on purpose, you know."

"Definitely on purpose," Giuseppe agreed. He gently brushed his knuckle over Lito's cheek.

Lito rolled over to wrap an arm across Giuseppe's broad chest. "She was right, though," he muttered. "The whole thing was a sham. We should've split years ago."

"As far as I'm concerned, it's never too late to cut out the dead wood," Giuseppe purred, stroking Lito's jaw. "Besides, you two were never a good pair, from all that I've heard."

"That obvious?"

"You wouldn't believe the things society has to say about you and her."

Lito swallowed the bile that tried to rise in his throat. "Well, nevermind all that. She's minding her own matters and I'm too busy with you to pay her any more of my attention."

Down the hall, a flurry of little fists echoed. It seemed that Lito Jr. was not so agreeable around Giuseppe's two children. But little Bella wasn't shy about giving as good as she got, so neither side was mismatched. It seemed in everyone's best interests to let the children sort things out for themselves, so neither man rose when shouting erupted from behind the heavy bedroom door.

Lito ran his fingers through Giuseppe's dense chest hair. "When your late husband disappeared, where did he disappear to?"

"The business-end of an industrial meat grinder."

Lito suspected as much. He lay his head on Mr. Torino's chest. "I'm a rather faithful man, really," he sighed.

"She just didn't appreciate you enough."









Name: Lito Giordano Sr.
Gender: Male
Species: Eyrie (anthro / humanoid)
Color: Pirate / Grey
Age: Adult, middle-aged
Nationality: Neovian (ethnically Altadorian)
Profession: "Legitimate business"
Birthday: 4th day of Hiding
Build: Tall, lanky
Personality: Arbitrary, cruel, ambitious




     _{(hover to change portrait)}



Lito Giordano is the head of the Giordano crime family, Neovia's dominant crime syndicate. His people have their hands in all the seedy goings-on in this neck of the Haunted Woods, from political bribery to underground boxing matches. Anyone who's thinking of running afoul of the law either needs to be in line with the family, or they need to get out of town, because Lito is not the sort of man who tolerates nonsense.

It's a point of pride for Lito that he built up the family business from a simple racketeering circuit under his father's leadership into the Neovian powerhouse that it is today. Lito makes a lot of people a lot of money, and he has more than a few local officials in his pocket. At this point, it's gonna take a lot more than a couple of cops to bring his organization down. Not that the Neovian Police seem particularly interested in interfering with his more lucrative operations.

Lito Jr has been acting out for whatever reason. The academy keeps sending letters home about his behavior and propensity for biting other pupils, but the doctor says he'll grow out of it. These days, Junior spends most of his time at home with various members of the household staff, since Lito Sr. has been so busy with the family business. Junior sees even less of his mother, since she's become more of a 'summers and holidays' kind of parent.
He'll probably be fine, though.

Gianna and Lito married young, against the advice of everybody in their respective lives. But their love was different and earth shattering, and they were determined to prove everyone wrong. As it turned out, that incredible passion also made for some incredible arguments. They stayed together much longer than they should have, mostly out of pride. But Gianna needed a man who would worship her, and Lito was not and would never be that man. The divorce was acrimonious.

Despite their rocky start, Mr Torino and Lito get on like a house on fire. Together, they make quite the formidable pair, and Torino's got an incredible eye for detail that was otherwise lacking in the Giordano family operations. While it's typically not a good idea to mix business with pleasure, these two seem to be managing just fine. Their children hate each other though. But that's a problem for another day.

Art Collection
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  Lito and his horrible son

  
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  Lito and Mr. Torino take a lovely stroll

  
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  A valentines-themed guild prompt featuring Lito and gobigobu's Hugh (NON-CANON PAIRING!!!!)

  

Links

<a href="/~LitoSr"><img src="http://shattered.world/neo/page/lito50.png"></a>

Art gallery coding cannibalized from Nex
Character, art, story, etc by me
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