Title: Twiddle
Fandom: Katekyo Hitman Reborn
Characters: Gokudera, Haru
Prompt: My ever-so-beloved blankey, who is so special, he is a he, with his red and black squares, and I have had him since I was about four... That's a very long time!
A/N: I don't like it when people tell you what happens in a story before a person even reads it. I'm not sure where that came from, but I felt like saying it.
Haru Gokudera had always kept a blanket at the foot of their marriage bed, nicely folded up and placed carefully on her side of the bed. It clashed a bit with the rich, chocolate brown comforter, what with its red and black square patches. It was certainly loved though, which could be seen upon close examination. It had numerous holes, seams coming loose, and pieces of yarn that looked as if they would break off at any moment. These threads though played an important part in keeping the blanket together. It was a very special blanket, and when asked by her husband, Hayato Gokudera, why she had such an old thing on their bed she would respond simply with, "Because it's special, silly!"
This blanket also came with some very strict rules, rules that Haru insisted on maintaining. Rule number one: no touching the blanket, with the only exception meaning you are either dead, or sick. Rule number two: The blanket would not be washed often, only ten times a year, and must be hung out to dry to get the smell of fresh air. Occasional non-wash airing was aloud, but only if it had rained the night or day before. Rule number three: Never, ever, ever... in a million years, mess with the string on the blanket. That was Haru's property, and was also behind a deep-rooted habit.
From the time when she first gotten the blanket at the age of six, she would always twiddle the string in-between her pointing finger and thumb. It was a habit she did with all blankets, but the special blanket always got the worse of it. New strings would be added around every three months, and the blanket was always being taken care of in some form or another, much to Gokudera's displeasure.
They had been laying in bed one night, both entertaining their minds with something; Gokudera, a report on some uprising mafia family, and Haru, a recipy book she had found at a flea market. The blanket was spread across Haru's lap, and her left hand twiddled the strings mindlessly. Gokudera was completely engrossed by what was written the papers when Haru suddenly let out a gasp.
He turned his head to look at her, and her face could have been described as comical. Her eyes bugged out, her mouth hung open, and she stared, dazed, at the broken piece of string in her hand. It had seemed that the trustworthy 'Blanky' was once again shedding. He grimaced at the hysteria he would have to placate once Haru came out of her trance, and set his papers down on his bedside table. Slowly, but surly, Haru began to form words.
"Hayato..."
"Yes, Haru?"
"Blankey... His string just broke..." she told him, looking up at him with her brown puppy dog-saucer eyes.
"I see that," he said, nodding his head as he looked at her blanket.
"You don't get it, Hayato!" she shouted, tossing a bit of the fabric of the blanket into the air. "Blankey is falling apart. Pretty soon he won't be here anymore!"
"Haru, you've had him for years. It's lasted this long, so what's another few lifetimes?"
Haru stared at him for a moment, looking completely shocked, "You called him 'It'. Is Blankey an 'It' to you, Hayato?"
" Ah... Sort of... It's- He's not my baby blanket... Or anything special to me," he answered, knowing he was crossing into dangerous territory.
"Blankey should be special to you, because he's special to me!" Haru responded. With her cutest glare, she looked at Gokudera, who was stuck on whether he should pinch her cheeks or flinch.
"He is special, don't get me wrong or anything. It's just Blankey isn't my blanket..."
"You're just jealous because Blankey gets more action then you." Haru told him with a huff.
"What?" Gokudera fumbled. "Really? The strings on your blanket brakes and you get pissy at me?" he said irritably. She looked at him, her outer lip sticking out so that they were breaking some major 'She's-just-so-goddamn-cute' limits in his internal sensors. This sensor was almost as strong as his 'Bianchi-is-around-so-I-gotta-hurl' sense.
"Fine, I take it back," she murmured, turning her eyes back to her beloved blanket.
"I'm sorry, what did you say? I couldn't hear you over that stupid mumble," he snorted, picking up the report he had set down.
"I said..." she let out a sigh. "I'm sorry., she said, her clear voice ringing in his ears.
"Mhm," was the sound he made and he nodded his head as if to tell her to continue on.
Haru seemed to understand, so she moved her legs and leaned forward. With a little pout, she kissed him on his cheek.
"I'm sorry, Hayato." she said with big, round eyes. Gokudera's own eyes crinkled from a smile.
"Apology accepted."
"But, what about blankey?"
"I guess you'll just have to fix it so that our kids can have it in the future." he told her, not even looking up from his report. From the corner of his eye though, he saw Haru grin.
"I like that sound of that."