A/N: Shiromuku and montsuki are the traditional wedding attires the wife-to-be and husband-to-be wear for a traditional Japanese wedding.
Originally written on 09/07/2015.
As of 03/11/2016, this was edited from 2nd POV to 3rd POV due to the rule banning 2nd POV interactive stories.
Safe Haven
i. First Meetings
She's known Hibari since middle school. Though, it's not entirely hard to hear of him considering his reputation amongst the student body. He is known to be ruthless and cruel to those who do not abide the rules and will not hesitate to punish them in the most painful way. Years later, he remains the same way though perhaps the only difference is, he has mellowed down.
Back then, she has never personally paid attention to him since she has no relations with him. He doesn't pay her mind either, as long as she abides the rules.
The first time she has truly interacted with each other is when she dropped the stacks of papers one time when she was doing a favour for a teacher. He had been passing by, making his rounds around campus.
Quickly, as to not aggravate him, she gathers the scattered papers in her arms. She remembers blinking with confusion when she sees a pair of black shoes in her peripheral vision and then two hands gathering the remaining scattered paper. She looks up at him and meet his cold steel-coloured eyes. She feels her whole body going still, watching him wearily. He does not take out his tonfas, merely handing out the sheets of paper he had gathered himself to her.
Quietly and with a rather confused expression, she takes it from him and gives him a quiet murmur of thanks. He says nothing, simply regarding her with a silent gaze before walking away. She stands to her feet and watches as he walks away.
There are no words spoken between them two but it is at that very moment that she feels something akin to interest for the young man.
• • •
ii. Crushes
Teenagers always like to talk about love. They talk about dating, who they like, their significant other, or going to group dates.
She has personally never had interest in them, deeming her grades of more importance. But once in a while, the thought of attractive males cross her mind. There is that popular baseball player or even that cute biracial man who appears to be a delinquent who she admits are both attractive. But they never hold her attention for long, only a fleeting attraction that never stays.
But when she sees Hibari, even from close by or from faraway, she feels her heart skipping a beat and she realizes just what this emotion is.
• • •
iii. Sky
The weather today is nice and beautiful, she thinks.
It is quiet at the school rooftop today and she wonders why. Normally, it is full of students eating their packed lunches or school-bought food. But the air is not filled with the usual happy banters or laughter belonging to students such as herself, only silence and the faraway sounds of city life.
Her bento box lies empty beside her, her legs crossed on the ground and hands pressed below her.
There is a yellow bird that hovers above her, singing the familiar school anthem. She eyes it with curiosity, wondering where it had come from. It lands on her hand, its head tilting to the side as it watches her with what she perceives to be curiosity.
She smiles at the cute animal, patting its head with a finger and letting out a quiet laugh when it gives a happy chirp at the attention she gives it. She goes still when she hears the sounds of rustling of clothes. Shifting a bit, she looks to her side and is quite surprised at the sight of the prefect.
He appears to be sleeping, eyes closed and chest moving up and down in a slow, leisure pace. He has the most serene expression on his face and she finds herself staring.
The yellow bird chirps once again before soaring up in the wide, blue sky. She watches it silently, a small smile forming on her lips as she realizes something.
No wonder no one is around the school rooftop.
• • •
iv. Secret
The substitute English teacher is a handsome man and from what he claims, he is Italian. He is currently standing in front of her, a wide, knowing grin on his face.
She eyes him with confusion and voices out if he needs something from her.
"Ah, no. I was just curious about the girl Kyoya likes."
Her confusion only grows as her brows crinkle. The older man only laughs merrily at her reaction, ruffling her hair much to her chagrin.
"It's good to know that he at least is capable of caring."
It isn't until a few years later that she understands his words and realizes that he is talking about Kyoya Hibari.
• • •
v. Gardenia
It is graduation day.
She smiles and laughs with her friends as she congratulates themselves for successfully finishing middle school. Someone points out that high school is harder but no one pays them any mind. It is a day of celebration, of momentarily forgetting about homework, projects, and tests — so why think about such negative thoughts on this joyous day?
Her eyes catch a familiar person standing far away from the crowd. Surprisingly, he doesn't beat anyone for crowding, though he does send a warning glare to anyone who causes too much fuss.
Suddenly, his eyes land on hers and she finds herself unable to look away. She only looks away when a familiar yellow bird hovers above her, blinking curiously at the object it drops on her. She catches it with a hand, eyeing the white flower that now rests on her open palm.
She quickly looks back at the direction of the prefect but finds him nowhere.
Her friends call out to her, wondering if she is joining them for karaoke and perhaps dinner at a cheap restaurant afterwards. She tells them she is before looking at the bird that has found itself on her shoulder, brushing its head on her neck with affection before flying away. She has no time to react to this as her friends tell her to hurry up or they will leave her. Without any other thought, she jogs towards them, the white flower still on her hand.
Gardenia in flower language means 'You are lovely'.
• • •
vi. Safe
The stench of blood lingers in the air and it almost makes her blanch knowing that it is her own blood. It trickles down her wounded arm before leaving a tiny puddle on the pavement she stands on.
Her assailants watch her carefully, waiting if she is going to fight back. But she is merely a high school student with decent self-defence skills — she knows she won't last long against them.
She lets out a surprised gasp when her assailants drop down to the ground without any warning and she steps back when she sees a new but familiar person stepping in the fight. His cold eyes perceive her, as if checking if she is all right. He doesn't say anything or even offer any comforting words to her but the very sight of him assures her that she is safe and that is when she chooses to lose consciousness.
The last thing she remembers is a pair of warm arms holding her up and the soft murmur of her name.
• • •
vii. Man of few words
He is not one for words and she knows she will never get any semblance of confession from him. But she is fine with it, reveling in the fact that she is perhaps the only person he will tolerate to be around him nearly 24/7.
She smiles happily as he rests his head on her lap, napping under the warm gaze of the sun at the school rooftop.
• • •
viii. Jealousy
She feels something resembling guilt and pity as the man in front of her stumbles on his words, flustered as he professes his love for her. He seems to be a sweet young man and perhaps she might have returned his feelings but she knows at this point that it is impossible.
She opens her mouth to turn him down gently but someone beat her up to it as she sees fear form on his features.
"Don't crowd, herbivore."
The young man runs away without another word, leaving her with the older prefect.
Sighing, she turns to him and sees that although he appears nonchalant as usual, she can sense something akin to irritation in his features.
"I would've turned him down without your help, you know," she tells him as if to appease him. He says nothing as a reply, only regarding her silently with his eyes before leaving.
Once she is certain that he is far from hearing distance does she let out the restrained laugh she has been holding all this time.
Never in her life would she have thought that she would ever see Kyoya Hibari jealous.
• • •
ix. Proposition
It is a silent mutual understanding that she would join his family as soon as she graduates high school — and that is what exactly happens. It somehow happens with no explanation and nobody seems to question it. If ever, they have already foreseen for such arrangement to occur.
Kusakabe has helpfully filled her in about the family's activities considering how some of them are a little shady to her. At first, she thought that perhaps they are some kind of yakuza organization but he assures her that they are not.
She then learns of the Vongola, of the tenth generation's guardians (which Hibari is a part of, much to his displeasure), of flame rings and box weapons. All these information are a little daunting and confusing but she manages to understand the gist of it. She comes to a realization that this Vongola family is a mafia affiliation (and she vaguely wonders how that is any better than being a yakuza…).
As of the moment, she is having tea with the so-called Cloud guardian, donned in his traditional Japanese clothes. She herself is wearing a kimono he has given her and by the material and design, is a very expensive one.
Hibari is still his antisocial and secluded self even as it is just the two of them. Hibird is sitting atop his head, seemingly sleeping at the moment.
She watches the steam swirl in the air from the teacup, mind far from her surroundings. She blinks when she feels something being placed on her lap and looks up. She sees Hibari closer to her seated form than earlier, his eyes focused on her. Tilting her head to the side, she looks down and sees that there is a tiny black box perched on her lap.
She places her teacup down and takes the box in her hands, observing it. It is velvety and seemingly harmless. Flipping the cover open, she sees a simple white band inside it and it is then that she realizes just what the meaning of all of this is.
She smiles despite herself, having expected such proposal from this man. She feels his hand brushing against hers, as if urging her to give him the answer he is expecting. She takes his hand and pulls it to place it on her cheek while meeting his eyes with sincerity and happiness.
"Of course."
Something akin to a smile forms on his lips before he dips down and she meets him halfway as they exchange a silent kiss.
• • •
x. Marriage
If someone had told her that she would be marrying the Kyoya Hibari in a few years after high school, she would have laughed in their face and wonder if they had lost their mind. But as it is, three years later, she is proven wrong.
Three years later, she finds herself sitting beside the man, donned in your shiromuku as she holds the small drinking cup of sake to her lips. Her husband-to-be remains stoic and expressionless, not much different from his default facial expression he always has on his face. But he undoubtedly looks handsome in his montsuki.
His grey eyes suddenly meet hers and before she is even aware of it, a smile grows on her lips as she feels the subtle brush of his fingers on her hand and the faintest smiles that form on his lips.
She then realizes that this is no mistake — that she is willing to live all her life beside this man.
• • •
xi. Finale
A little boy by the age of two comes trotting to her awaiting arms. There is a wide smile on her face as she watches the toddler approaching her with stumbling feet but he manages to keep himself steady in spite of it.
There is undoubtedly a proud smile on her face as he finally reaches her and buries himself in her arms, making sounds that express his relief in being in her arms once again.
Kusakabe stands by the side, a slight smile on his face as he watches her stand up to her feet, carrying the young boy — who undoubtedly resembles his employer — in her arms with ease. She coos happily to the silent child, reveling at the slight smile on his face as she places a fond kiss on his one cheek. He holds onto her shoulder when a tuff of yellow animal comes flying to his direction, one hand reaching out as he calls for it with incoherent sounds. Her attention is away from the yellow bird, however, as she shifts slightly to face her husband who is just coming back from another mission.
"Ah, Kyoya. You're back," she greets as she approaches her significant other. He says nothing in return but he acknowledges her presence by a slight brush of his fingers to her cheek before falling to pat his son's dark hair.
The child blinks curiously at him, making no sound as if he is aware of his father's keenness of the silence.
Kusakabe approaches their family with silence and greets his employer but Hibari brushes him off, demanding that he is left alone with his family. He isn't offended by his employer's brusqueness and only excuses himself with a knowing smile on his face before leaving.
Once he is out of sight, she feels her husband pulling her into him, his forehead leaning on her shoulder as she hears him heaving out a sigh. The rare display of affection catches her off-guard but she has no qualms about it. She catches sight of her son patting his father's head, as if to console him for whatever had caused him such exhaustion.
She lets out a chuckle at the sight, brushing her free hand on the back of her husband's neck in an attempt to soothe.
"Welcome back, Kyoya."
He is quiet, reserved, and rarely ever told her that he loves her. But his actions say otherwise, and the fact that she bore a son whom he looks at with much warmth and gentleness as he does to her is proof enough that there is something between them two.
And that is enough to build up what she calls her own safe haven.
End.