[Atem doesn't smile back. His brows draw up, instead, recognizing the way Giorno's treating something very heavy as something very light, to make the weight easier to bear. He doesn't comment, doesn't say sorry, because that won't help; he just nods, understanding, recognizing the source of the discomfort that's been shared with him.

He doesn't know much about Giorno's family, does he? That's not unusual: he doesn't know much about Steve's family, or Lust's, or plenty of other people, but a mass-murdering vampire father...sounds like a real piece of work.

(Green eyes in a dark-haired, bowl-cut face look up at him in a memory, someone silent, even under beatings, because he believed nothing could be done. Are they...?)

Nope. No. That's none of Atem's business, unless Giorno chooses to talk about it. Instead, Atem takes hold of the blood-drawing supplies, and crosses to the sitting-area.]

Then, let's get started. Do you want to do the venipuncture, or should I? I've got practice, but I've never done it to myself before...

[Atem comes to the clinic, during the blood drives, to volunteer for an institution that's helped him and his friends and which he supports, and also to get good at blood draws. He really is practiced, but will doing it to himself be different?]