"I hate you! I hate you so much!" she cried thumping his chest with her hands. He knew he had blown it that time. Their arguments were the worst in history but this time, he had crossed the line and he knew it. He had to do something about it too.
So he had taken her in his arms and she had turned her rage on him.
"Let go of me! You're a monster! Let me go!" she screamed. He shut his eyes but refused to let go of her. Eventually, tired and frustrated, she relented and rested her head on his chest sobbing in defeat. He wrapped his arms around her then and sighed. She clutched his shirt and wept soaking his shirt in the process.
He said nothing; just stood there holding her to him, feeling her shoulders heave with each heavy sob. He had done this to her. Usually, she would either storm off or go to Kyoko. She had burst into tears this time and let him see them before running away. He had never seen that expression on her face and he hoped he never would again. He had to admit that it was pretty stupid of him to mention her dead parents in that particular argument.
Her sobs slowly died down and he stroked her hair. He cupped her face and lifted it so he could look into her eyes. She shut them and turned away then took a step back. He took a step forward and grabbed her hand before she could leave.
"Wait, Haru..." he said. Her eyes were sore from all the crying even though they seemed devoid of sadness now. What replaced that was anger. She was very upset and he would have to fix it. The Tenth would want him to, was expecting it even, but for the first time in his life, Gokudera needed to patch things up with her for himself.
"What? What do you want from me now? I'm done crying. You've done your good deed so you can go to sleep easier tonight," she said and tried to take her hand back to leave.
"I can't. I haven't done anything..." he began.
"I think you've done enough," she replied, "Goodnight Gokudera-san." She glared at him, her tone of finality getting to him. He tightened his hold on her wrist and fisted his other hand to keep from squeezing hers.
"No, that's not enough," he said. She tried yanking her hand away again. "Will you at least listen to me?" he said trying for all he was worth to keep his temper in check.
"No. I will not listen and I have nothing more to say to you, you stupid octopus haired moron. I don't want to listen to anything you have to say, do you hear?" she said raising her voice, her own irritation having reached its peak, "now, for the last time, let me go!"
That was it. It was either kill her or get her to shut up. He grabbed her head and crashed his lips onto hers. The shock of the situation must have been what caused her slow reaction time. It wasn't the demanding kiss she had imagined it would be nor were his lips as vile as she thought. He was giving this time and not really hoping to get back. She'd been kissed before and knew what it should probably feel like to take. She almost smiled. Almost.
"I need you to listen to me," he said a little less passionately than before, when he pulled away, his own anger being expended as well. She said nothing so he took it as his cue.
"I want to apologise to you. I know I crossed the line mentioning your parents in that way..." she squirmed and he trapped her against the wall, his hands on either side of her, "you're not leaving until you hear what I have to say Haru."
She huffed and looked away angrily. He bowed his head with a sigh. Well, at least she wouldn't be leaving until he said his part. He took a deep breath and then another then raised his face to look at her.
"I'm sorry, alright?" he said gently. Too gently. She looked back to make sure he wasn't smirking. His face was turned away from her. She watched his expression carefully. If he was apologising to her, he was either very sorry or trying very seriously to win her favour for Tsuna's sake.
He looked up and his very green eyes met her brown ones. She looked right back at him trying to judge his sincerity. He looked serious as far as she could tell, but he was Mafia. They all were. He could probably lie very well.
"Stop looking at me like that. I'm serious damn it!" he said losing his temper at letting her see that side of him. He leaned away from the wall and pinched the bridge of his nose. He sighed again and met her gaze. She was smiling.
"I know," she said mischievously. He got angry then.
"You stupid woman! I'm here pouring my heart out to you and you know?"
"Now what kind of apology is that Hayato?" she crossed her arms glaring at him and he growled, the kiss forgotten, or so she thought. He grabbed her by the waist and didn't let go.
"If I didn't love you so much..." he didn't finish his sentence, just buried his face in her hair. Haru's eyes widened. What did he say? She was pretty much trapped in his hold and that confession surprised her voice clean away.
"What?" she whispered. He shut his eyes mentally berating himself for that impromptu confession, but now that she knew, he supposed he might as well face it.
"You heard me," he murmured into her ear.
"Hahi! You don't love Haru! You always fight with Haru and call her a stupid woman and..." she was trying to get out of his arms but he wouldn't let her.
"Because I don't know what to do with you. You annoy me, you anger me, you rile me up, but every time, I can't help... I can't help but think that..."
An awkward silence followed during which he let her go and began heading for the door.
"Whether you believe me or not doesn't matter. It's the truth." He reached for the handle and continued, "and I didn't come up here because the Tenth asked me to. I came because I wanted to."
And then he was gone and Haru was left alone in the room battling the swirling emotions warring in her head. He had apologised and confessed, two actions she had never even considered dreaming would be possible. Her fingers danced gracefully over her lips. He had kissed her too!
She smiled and pushed herself away from the wall. Gokudera Hayato was a strange man, of that she could be sure.
She had fallen in love with him a long time ago, she was sure of that too. Their ceaseless, senseless arguments always ended in anger, but when she realised how she felt about him, they took on a more sinister sting. His barbs dug deeper and his careless angry words words stung more than she could imagine and more often than not, she would ask herself why she decided her heart must go to the ignorant fool that she chose.
She had long ago given up the dream of marrying Tsuna when she realised his love for Kyoko; her best friend no less. Of course it had hurt her then, but that had died away with the realisation that her interests lay in Tsuna's right hand man. It was a discovery she had fought against until she wore herself out, but it was true. She was falling in love.
Now she knew and understood. And as every argument replayed in her mind, she understood him a little better. Gokudera Hayato, the hot-tempered Storm Guardian, was the man her heart had chosen and she wasn't sorry about it. Perhaps she should tell him, but then again, perhaps not. She smiled and pressed her hands to her blushing cheeks.