Another 80Fem!59 from my very warped mind. I was thinking about how important the sense of smell is (though most people don't realise it) and this just popped into my head. I hope you like it but I should warn you about a bit of OOCness as far as Hayako may be concerned. Please let me know what you think? Many thanks :)
DISCLAIMER: I do not own KHR nor do I claim any right to it or any of the characters or locations depicted in this fan fiction story that you may recognise from the anime/manga. I am only responsible for the plot and nothing else.
Hayako glared at the mirror in distaste. Behind her, Bianchi smiled and patted her head.
"Don't worry, when I'm done nobody would be able to resist you. My little sister will finally be able to herself a boyfriend, nee?"
She pulled up Hayako's hair in a loose bun and covered it with a cloth.
"We'll use the vanilla shampoo later. Right now, your special bath. I hope you scrubbed like I asked."
"Of course I did. Would you leave me alone otherwise?" asked Hayako irritably.
"Nope. Now come on before it gets too cold." Bianchi pushed her sister into the bathroom where Hayako noticed that the tub was not filled with water as she expected, but a strange white liquid. She raised an eyebrow but had no time to complain when Bianchi snatched the towel from her and pushed her into the tub.
She was scowling as Bianchi explained the usefulness of a buttermilk bath and how good it would be for her skin. Hayako couldn't care less. Bianchi would use cow dung if she thought it would prevent wrinkles.
"How long do I have to sit here? Tenth will be leaving for the party in thirty minutes."
"He won't mind. Reborn is with him after all."
Hayako sniffed the milk she was soaking in hoping that she didn't develop anything nasty from the impromptu bath she was being made to take. At least Bianchi had worn gloves when handling the milk. This was the fifth strange bath that week and already she was getting tired of being made to do such frivolous things. Just last week, she had been made to wear heels twice! Her ankles were still sore from that.
If Hayako wanted a boyfriend, she would have gotten one already. She always had that sort of appeal to guys and many of them had asked her out. None of them ever got an answer in the affirmative since they didn't fit the bill in so many ways. How on earth was she supposed to choose one? She sighed and leaned back against the tub. Well, another day, more 'beauty therapy.' It was a small price to pay, she conceded with a defeated sigh.
*.*.*.*.*.*.*
Yamamoto Takeshi stood by the windows watching the guests of the Vongola mill about. He had not particularly wanted to miss this since it involved the Vongola and he was now one of Tsuna's proud guardians.
He caught sight of Gokudera-chan talking with Tsuna and laughing with him. She looked stunning today as usual in her dark red gown no doubt meant to contrast her very green eyes. Her allure was present, that was a fact. Every time she smiled at Tsuna, he caught a glimpse of that girl he believed was hidden somewhere deep inside her. He found himself wishing, more than once, that that smile would be turned to him.
He wasn't jealous per say. He couldn't be jealous of Tsuna. Tsuna was their boss and Hayako was simply doing her duty by making sure he was comfortable. That didn't stop the momentary irritation that she hadn't left his side once all evening. Deciding he would like to take a break from surveillance, he assigned another officer to take his shift and crossed the dining room to where Hayako and Tsuna now stood.
"Yo, Tsuna, Hayako-chan," he said pasting on his usual carefree smile.
"I told you not to call me that," said Hayako crossing her arms angrily. Her eyes flashed a mesmerising green and Yamamoto almost lost his train of thought... almost.
"Ah, Yamamoto. I'm glad you came. How was your game last week?" asked Tsuna. Yamamoto still played baseball although not professionally. He had the skill but he couldn't afford to be both a professional player, but he occasionally coached for the junior team of Namimori. He explained that it was going on well and when he glanced at Hayako, he saw that she was thoroughly irritated at him for taking Tsuna's attention from her.
He paused momentarily in his speech. As he turned his head, he'd caught a rather pleasant scent. There was something odd about this particular one... it was cleverly disguised with vanilla but it smelled almost... creamy. That couldn't be right, he thought, but with a bright smile that he hardly understood, he excused himself from Tsuna and asked Hayako to dance.
She looked fit to be tied, but Tsuna said it was a good idea. Hayako, having no choice in the matter, stepped onto the dance floor with him just as (wouldn't you know it) a slow song came on. She sighed. Somehow, she'd had a feeling this would happen. It was embarrassing as it was annoying and she couldn't wait to be able to step back into the sidelines and forget about all this.
She took a deep breath and sighed – then she paused.
She looked up at Yamamoto and found him gazing intently at her. She coloured immediately and turned her face away. He was using a new cologne today and whatever it was, it definitely didn't lack in appeal. She cleared her throat trying not to let the very pleasant smell distract her from the fact that he was the one wearing it. That proved to be more difficult than she had imagined.
"Did you do something different with your hair?" he asked trying to break the silence.
"Bianchi,"she replied. That answered everything, in her opinion.
"I like it," he continued as he twirled her. She could only have imagined the slight increase in pressure at her waist. It made her sigh instead of grunt in a very unladylike fashion with disgust. "Hayako-chan looks pretty tonight."
"I told you to stop calling me that," she snapped, not noticing that the hand meant to be on his shoulder was now gripping his jacket collar. She tried to make her face as expressionless as possible but she was sure she was bright red so that didn't do much. The compliment had completely disarmed her.
"What perfume are you wearing?" he asked near her ear. When had he gotten that close to her? More to the point, she couldn't actually tell him that 'Midnight Temptress' was her sister's choice of perfume this evening. It was mainly exotic spice to compliment the vanilla in her hair and the smell of the milk she had bathed in. She'd had to admit that she did like the scent, but what it took to have it was not a process she would like to repeat.
"Just something I picked up. I forget what it's called," she lied. She noted, in the ensuing silence, that they seemed to be dancing closer than they had initially been meant to. His arms held her close and hers did the same. What was worse was that she didn't seem to mind.
The song ended and she reluctantly pulled away. She met his gaze, her face colouring again. She should make her excuses and leave. Tenth would be needing her. She opened her mouth to do so, but she barely got a word in before he pulled her towards the open balcony doors.
Yamamoto had breathed her scent as they danced and was more than convinced that the immensely pleasant scent had come from her. Coupled with the fact that he'd had a sort of crush on her for weeks, he couldn't take much more. This time was do or die and he would rather he had no regrets in life. She would be very upset if he kissed her there in the middle of the dance floor, which was what he meant to do, so the balcony would have to do.
When they were safely away from the crowd in the hall, he pulled her towards him and planted his lips firmly on hers. He had meant it to be a brief kiss, only enough to taste and be satisfied but that didn't seem to be enough. The lip gloss that she'd had on was also vanilla and he found himself tasting that as well and seemed unable to pull away.
Hayako was stunned for the first few moments of the kiss and fully expected to retaliate when he was done. Nobody stole a kiss from her and got away with it after all... Then he had licked her closed lips and she had sighed. Then she had melted and begun to pull him close.
When they had finally come up for air, she had caught the gleam in his eyes and the tentative smile on his face. He expected her to lash out at him and she would have if her bones didn't feel like they'd turned into custard. No doubt it was an after-effect of using the butter-milk. She wondered if this particularly changed anything between them.
Yamamoto was handsome, that she couldn't deny. Given the circumstances of their meeting, in another place and another time, maybe they could have been something to each other... but would she even have given him the time of day? He was different from all the other guys who came to her wanting to date her, but she couldn't have imagined that he felt this way at all. She frowned a little. What exactly did she feel about it?
"I want... I want you to know that I don't regret kissing you Haya-chan," he said touching her cheek. Obviously he had misconstrued her silence but she let him go on. "You can hate me if you want but I also want you to know that... I like you." he whispered.
She blinked up at him. Impossible!
But that gleam was there. It was the same one that Haru constantly held for Hibari. The same one that Tsuna gave to Kyoko. It was also decidedly similar to the one she'd caught Reborn once or twice giving her sister. He truly liked her!
"Don't tell me right away. You can think about it and tell me," he said placing a hand on her lips when she was going to speak. He thought she might reject him but he also wanted her to think about it. Lifting his hand to hers with a cheeky grin, seeking in a way to lessen the tension of the situation, he kissed it and then led her back to the hall.
"What cologne are you using today?" she asked trying to sound as blasé as she possibly could.
"Oh, it's called Summer Storm. Bianchi gave it to me for my birthday. Do you like it?" he asked. Hayako flushed. It all made sense now.
Almost five weeks before, Hayako had casually mentioned the importance of smell in a relationship. If a person's scent was attractive to the other, a relationship was more likely to form between the two. She had been trying to get Uri to like her and so far, it had seemed to be working. Bianchi might have then decided to give Yamamoto a scent that would no doubt please Hayako and made her bathe in milk since that was his favourite drink in a bid to get them together.
Bianchi never showed any favouritism, but in this case, it was as plain as the nose on her face. She could not believe it!
She did squeeze Yamamoto's hand, warm and firm around hers.
Thinking about it properly, maybe he wasn't such a bad choice after all.