100 themes challenge [2/100] / 97. Safety First
A/N: It's mentioned later on, but Haru's 18 in this story, making Dino 8 years older than her.
Haru flipped through a magazine beneath the counter of the register she was supposed to be manning, bored out of her mind. She definitely didn't envy her co-workers running the floor, having to deal with whining customers while cleaning their messes around the small department store. The half hour she had before quitting time seemed to be dragging on longer than usual, but she didn't mind. It's not like she had anywhere to be or anything to do when she got off of work anyway.
"Haru."
She jumped at the sound of her name and threw her magazine to the floor, assuming she was going to get scolded for not being alert on the job. She put her guard down when she noticed it was her co-worker who had called her out instead of her superior.
"Ah, Miho, I thought you were the manager," she said while picking her magazine back up from the floor. "What's up?"
"Nothing, but I think that guy over there has been looking at you," she nodded over to a tall and attractive dark-haired boy by the hoodies. He caught Haru's eye and looked away suddenly, a small grin on his face. "Cute, right?"
"He's okay," Haru sighed as she continued to go through her magazine. "But he's not the one I want."
"Who's the one you want then?"
Before Haru could answer, the boy walked up with a pullover sweatshirt in his hands and placed it on the counter. Miho winked at her and went on her way to straighten up around the store some more. Haru scanned in his jacket to the register without looking at him and waited for the price to show up on her computer screen.
"That'll be…¥2000," she said, looking up at him. She had to admit, he was actually quite handsome close-up. He paused for a moment, studying her. "Um…" she raised an eyebrow, "You do have money to pay for this, don't you?"
"Sorry about that," he said as he shook his head then took out his wallet to give her the money. "I was just wondering, do you want to go grab a meal with me sometime? Maybe after your shift is over?"
"Oh, sorry but I'm not interested," she said while passing him his change.
"That's a shame," the guy sighed as she bagged his jacket. "You're real cute," he waved at her and walked out, hanging his head.
"What is wrong with you? He was gorgeous!" Miho hissed as she scurried back to Haru. "Tell him to come back, I'll take him if you don't want him."
"You can have him, he's not the one I want anyways."
"Well then Miss Picky, who is the one you want?"
Haru paused and opened her phone, glancing at a group picture with all of her friends she set as her background. Everyone looked so happy with bright grins on their faces, but Haru knew that hers was fake. Tsuna was standing between her and Kyoko, his arm around Kyoko's shoulder. Haru sighed and shut the phone, turning back to Miho, "The one I want is dating my best friend."
Haru locked up the shop and was displeased to see that the streets weren't busy as she was hoping they would be; she hated walking home alone—especially at night. Once the store was secure and alarmed, she proceeded home with her headphones in her ears. It was a dangerous thing to do, but she felt she needed the music to keep her company instead of walking in silence. However, after seeming some shady-looking guys walk by on the other side of the street, she decided to only keep one in—just in case.
On the way, she thought about Miho bringing up the subject of the "one [she] wanted". Thinking about still wanting Tsuna caused pain to stir in her chest—pain she felt guilty and annoyed for having. She knew he wasn't interested in her in "that" way since she met him, but it didn't stop her from showing her affection toward him for a couple of years. Obviously she knew about his feelings for Kyoko, but she had never thought her best friend would one day feel the same way about him. On the day Kyoko revealed to Haru that Tsuna confessed to her, she told Haru she would lie and tell him she didn't return his affections for the sake of their friendship. Haru, knowing that it would be wrong to stand in the way of love, told Kyoko that she was okay and she would get over it. But it had been over a year since the pair began seeing each other seriously, and she was still as hurt as she was the moment Kyoko told her, "I think I like Tsuna too."
It wasn't an aching pain in her heart at this point, but more of a nipping feeling that emerged within her from time to time. She really was happy for them and didn't feel any grief when she spent time with the two of them, but as soon as they parted she would spend time imagining herself in Kyoko's place as Tsuna's girl. It was a passing thought, but one that kept coming back to bother her.
As much as she hated to admit it, the only way to stop this little nagging of "what if" between her and Tsuna was to move on. Maybe it was finally time for her to place her feelings in someone else. But who?
As she went over the list of available guys she knew in her head, a man spotted her walking alone and followed her in the shadows. Haru was too caught up in her thoughts and music to notice.
"Let's see," she mumbled to herself. "Ryohei's with Hana—and he's Kyoko's brother anyways. It's a shame Yamamoto's married to baseball. Hm…well, there's always Gokudera," she stopped in her tracks then burst into laughter. "Right, that's the one I want. Sheesh, what a tool."
As soon as she took a step forward the man that had been following her placed his hand around her mouth and dragged her into a nearby alleyway. She tried to scream and even pushed her purse to him in an attempt to get him to let her go, but he only smirked and pushed her hard against the wall with enough pressure on her body to stop her from squirming too much.
"It's not your money I want sweetie," he hissed.
"HELP!" she screamed through his hand as he tried to undo the belt to his pants with one hand.
Fortunately, someone nearby heard her muffled cries. A whip wrapped around the man's neck and pulled him to the ground to choke him.. She could recognize that technique from anywhere; it could only belong to one person. Into the alley ran Dino of the Cavallone family with a vicious look Haru had never seen on him before.
"Those who pick on defenseless women like that are truly the scrum of the earth," he scoffed, kicking the guy in the stomach as he brought back his whip.
The attacker scrambled away from the scene as soon as he was on his feet, cursing under his breath. Haru sank down the wall and sat down with her knees pressed tightly against her chest; she had just processed what had happened and couldn't help but sob at the thought of what would've happened if Dino wasn't there.
"Hey, you okay?" he asked softly, crouching down to reach her level. She was crying too hard to answer. He placed a hand on her shoulder and used the other one to tilt her face up toward him. "You're safe now, alright? Everything is going to be okay."
Haru nodded and wiped her eyes. He stood up and helped her to her feet and took out a handkerchief from his pocket to give to her. She wiped her face, but a bit embarrassed that her makeup, snot, and tears were smeared on it when she pulled the fabric away.
"Sorry," she said while examining the cloth. "But who even carries handkerchiefs anymore anyways?"
"An old Italian habit," he shrugged. "I'm glad I told Romario I was going to step out of the bar for some air," he pointed to a small tavern across the street, "or else I would've never heard you struggling. I don't mean to sound like a nag, but a girl such as yourself really shouldn't be walking home all alone like that—especially with music blasting in your ears," he handed her headphones from the ground to her.
"'A girl such as myself'?" she repeated. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"You know, you're young, and attractive…" he looked off to the side as he scratched the back of his head. She could've sworn she saw his cheeks turn a bit pink under the dim street lights. "Anyways I'm going to tell Romario that I'm going to walk you home," he said quickly, grabbing her wrist to pull her with him to the bar.
"Ah, Dino you don't have to—"
"Don't fight me on this Haru," he wagged his finger in her face, "Now wait here, this'll only take a second."
Haru turned her back on him and waved, telling him, "I can really handle—"
Before she could finish her sentence, Dino grabbed her hand and spun her around to face him, pulling her close. He locked eyes with her with a stern but gentle expression on his face.
"You're coming with me, okay?" he said.
Haru nodded hesitantly, feeling her face flush. She placed her hand over her heart and felt it thumping hard inside her chest when he went inside to report to Romario. There was only one other time she could recall that she felt that feeling before—the time Tsuna saved her from drowning when she fell off that bridge.
"Could he be..?" she muttered.
"Alright Haru, let's go," he said with a grin as he stepped back out.
He started walking without her with his hands shoved in his pockets. When the nervous and excited sensation within her only became worse, she knew it wasn't just going to be a passing feeling.
"That's it, that's the one I want," she mumbled.
"What was that?" he looked back at her.
"N-nothing!" she ran to him and smiled. "Nothing at all."
Kyoko knew that look on Haru's face. It was the same one she used to get whenever she gushed about Tsuna back when she had her heart set on him. It was a bit strange to see that expression again, but at the same time refreshing. Kyoko was glad Haru had finally started moving forward from Tsuna, that way she didn't have to worry about looking like she was rubbing her relationship in her best friend's face anymore.
"So, who're you thinking about?" Kyoko teased as she played with the straw in her drink. They were sitting across from each other in a booth waiting for their food to arrive at a local café.
"No one," Haru sighed dreamily. "Just the man of my dreams."
"Man of your dreams?" Tsuna repeated, sitting down next to Kyoko; he had just gotten back from the restroom. "Who's that?"
"Well," Haru leaned in. "He's suave, strong, sophisticated, gentle, kind, and just…perfect…" she gushed, wrapping her arms around her body. "Haru thinks she's in love!"
"Oh come on Haru, you have to tell us who it is!" Kyoko said excitedly. "Do we know him?"
"I think you might," she said with a melodic tone.
"Well come on now, spill it!"
"Alright," Haru leaned in, prompting the couple to lean in as well. "It's Dino."
"D-Dino!?" they both stammered, giving each other a worried look.
"Isn't he a bit…older than you?" Kyoko asked carefully.
"He's only twenty-six, that's just eight years my senior, big deal. Besides he's so dreamy! Who cares how old he is?"
"Haru…are you sure you want to place all of your feelings into Dino?" Tsuna asked skeptically. "I mean, he's a mafia boss! And he's always in danger, and traveling, and—"
"Well you're a mafia boss that's always in danger and always traveling," Haru said with a narrow-eyed glare at him. "So how is me liking Dino any different than Kyoko liking you?" Kyoko and Tsuna exchanged glances again and Haru laughed sarcastically. "Oh I see what's going on here, neither one of you wants me to be happy."
"Haru that's not the case at all!" Kyoko defended.
"We just don't want you to get hurt, that's all," Tsuna said with concern. "Especially because Dino has no sense about wome—"
"Haru doesn't want to hear it," she shook her head and took out her wallet. "Here's the money for Haru's food, you two can split it amongst yourselves. Good day, friends."
She placed the money on the table before them and stormed out of the eating establishment. Tsuna sighed and rested his head on his hand. "She's doing it again, talking in the third person. It's been a while since I've heard that."
"I know," Kyoko patted his back. "Let's let her be in love Tsuna, she hasn't been this happy in a while, after all."
Haru furiously folded clothes as she mumbled words of hatred about her two good friends under her breath. Miho had kept her mouth shut long enough until she finally asked Haru, "What's wrong?"
"Oh nothing, just that my two best friends want to see me miserable and alone for the rest of my life, that's all," she sneered. "I expected this kind of thing from Tsuna, but Kyoko too? I just can't believe those two. I mean—"
"Ah, Haru there's another handsome boy in the store again!" Miho swooned.
"Not interested," Haru grumbled, keeping her eyes on the pairs of pants she was folding.
"But Haru, this one—"
"I said I'm not—"
"Haru?" a familiar voice said.
She looked up and froze at the sight of him. "D-Dino?" she stammered, feeling her face get hot. "What're you um, doing here?" she asked nervously as she fumbled with the clothes.
"Why is it that the hot ones are always here for you?" Miho groaned as she left them alone.
"I sort of ripped my jeans," Dino pointed to his knee. "And I need a new pair."
"But that's the style, isn't it?" she said nervously. "Ripped jeans, they're all the rage with men and women. I know it's a young kind of thing to do, but you pull it off well—but I don't mean that like I'm surprised or anything, not that I'm implying you're old, but um…please say something so I can stop talking…"
"You sure are funny, Haru," Dino laughed then paused when he got a good look at her face. "Hey, you don't look so good. You have a fever or something?"
"N-n-no I'm okay…Har—I mean, I just…I'll be at the register if you need me!" she rushed past him back to her register post.
I'm such an idiot she thought as she mentally kicked herself. I probably looked like a total fool to him. He's so cool, why do I have to be so awkward and lame!? Making conversation about ripped jeans? Stupid, stupid, stupid!
"I think I'll take these," Dino said, placing a pair of pants on the counter.
"That'll be ¥2500," Haru quickly said.
Dino nodded and took out his money, but hesitated when handing it to her. "You still look hot."
"H-hot you say?" she stammered, feeling her cheeks burn more against her will.
"Yeah," Dino leaned over the counter to examine her. Haru prayed he couldn't hear the sound of her heart thumping in her chest. "It still looks like you have a fever or something. You sure you're not sick?"
"I'm fine," she mumbled as she bagged his things. Suddenly it came to her, a brilliant idea to get where she wanted to be with him. "Well, actually I'm not all that fine…I still feel a bit unsafe from the other day when I was ambushed," she said innocently. "Can you walk me home again Dino?"
Haru was only partially lying; she did feel a bit uneasy walking alone now, but she had bought a can of pepper spray and a whistle to blow if she ever got into trouble again. She definitely wasn't as helpless as she was pretending to be.
"Well, I guess I can do that," Dino nodded, grabbing his things. "Here let me give you my email." They exchanged numbers and Dino left the store with a wave and a bright grin on his face. "Just message me when you're off your shift and I'll stop by the store—oh, and I'm bringing you some soup too because I still think you're a bit under the weather. See ya!"
Haru waved to him and looked at her phone with his number in it, sighing happily as she held it against her chest. Miho, who had witnessed the whole exchange from start to finish, walked up to her and shook her head. "I hate you so much right now, Haru."
For the rest of the week Haru kept pleading for Dino to walk her home, still pretending to be afraid of walking alone. Being a gentleman due to his position in the mafia, Dino was of course was at her beckoned call and was happy to feel needed. However, because of his carefree and rather clueless nature, he saw their time together as simple, friendly walking and talking—unlike Haru who interpreted their time together as a blossoming romance between them.
On Friday evening, Dino began packing his bags with Romario after they went out to eat with some of the Cavallone family members that had accompanied him to Japan. Although the night was still young, he was hoping to spend some time in the hotel relaxing before his flight the next day. He gave up packing halfway through and laid back on some of his rumpled clothes.
"Man I sure love visiting Namimori," he told his trusted subordinate. "But I sure can't wait to get home and sleep in my own bed," he yawned and stretched out.
"I hear you," Romario chuckled. He heard Dino's phone vibrating beneath the clothes his boss was laying by and reached in to grab it. "Sir I think you're getting a call from Miss Miura," he said, handing the device to him.
Dino mouthed the word "Thanks," then answered the call: "Hey Haru, what's up? Still don't feel safe huh? Well I already ate, but I could always have more food—Japan has great cooking after all. Sounds good, I'll be there to escort you in about an hour or so. Ciao."
Dino hung up and continued to fold his clothes, but noticed Romario looking at him with a concerned look on his face. "Have something to say, Romario?"
"I thought you wanted to stay in tonight."
"Well…I did, but it sounds like Haru needs me. It's no chore, she's a nice kid to hang around."
"Boss…don't you think you might be leading this young girl on?"
"Leading her on? How so?"
"Well, she's been calling for you to spend a good amount of time with her, and now it sounds like you're going out for what sounds like a dinner date with her."
"What, are you saying she's interested in me?" Dino paused, then broke into laughter. "Romario stop fueling my vanity. We're just friends."
"If you say so sir," he sighed. "I just hope you two are on the same page, for her sake."
"Don't worry Romario, I'm positive we are."
"Man dinner was great," Dino sighed happily as he patted his full stomach from his second dinner of the night. He was walking Haru back home from the restaurant, though she hadn't said much since they met for dinner. "Japan sure is amazing at preparing noodles," he continued, "Just like Italy, but in a different way."
"Yeah, thanks for treating me again," Haru said quietly.
"Hm, Haru you've been less energetic than usual tonight. Are you feeling sick again? We can stop by and get some medicine at a nearby convenience store if you want."
"No…it's not that."
They made it to her house shortly after and climbed her porch steps together. Haru rummaged through her purse and found her key, but didn't put it in the door just yet. Instead she faced Dino with a shy grin on her face.
"Thanks for walking me home, again," she said. "You've been there for me all week."
"No problem," he smiled back, taking a step down. "Well, I'll see you around Ha—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Haru leaned forward and planed a kiss on his lips. Although he was shocked for the first few seconds, he found himself kissing her back soon after. He stepped back up to her level, lips still locked, and held her head to run his fingers through her silky, dark hair. The moment, however, was broken when Dino realized what he had just done with her.
"Wh-what am I doing?" he stammered. "I-I shouldn't—I mean, we…" he fumbled over his words as his face turned red. "We just…" his fingertips tapped his lips then sighed. "Haru…I—"
"Dino, I love you."
"L-love!?"
The shock of those words were enough to trigger Dino's clumsiness and he fell down her stairs to the ground. She ran after him and kneeled down to him with a panicked look on her face. "Are you okay!?"
"Yeah I'm fine, I've fallen down more stairs than those plenty of times," he groaned, rubbing the back of his neck. "Listen, I don't think you love me Haru," he said, standing up. He helped her to her feet as well and walked up the steps again with her. "I think you meant to say that you 'like' me, because love takes a lot of time." Dino paused and avoided her eyes, feeling guilt in his chest. "I didn't mean to lead you on like that…I just thought you were asking me to walk with you because you were afraid of being alone. And I thought dinner was just…I didn't think it was going to be…I didn't think you were going to see it as a date. I'm sorry Haru, I feel horrible."
"No…" she leaned against her door. "I'm sorry for putting you in this position," she sighed. "I've just been so annoyed with myself about thinking of Tsuna and Kyoko and I've been trying to bring myself to move on, and you came along so suddenly, and well…well you're perfect!"
"I'm definitely not perfect," he chuckled. "I'm just a nice guy…who's completely oblivious when it comes to women and their feelings…but don't get me wrong, I'm flattered—even though you're just using me as a way to get over Tsuna…"
Haru sighed and opened the door to her house, still feeling embarrassed about creating an awkward strain between what appeared to be a nice relationship between the two of them. "I'm sorry, I'd understand if you never want to see me again." She turned her back on him and began to enter her home until he grabbed her hand.
"Whoa let's not go to extremes," he said as she turned to him. "Listen Haru, I know I'm kind of older than you, but I like you."
"You do?"
"Yeah," he nodded and let go of her hand. "You're funny, sweet, cute, and all around great to be around. I'm leaving back to Italy tomorrow morning, but you know I visit Japan a lot for business, so if you want we can go on a real date together when I'm in town so we can maybe see where things go—if you still like me by then of course," he winked.
"That sounds great, actually," she smiled.
"But…" he continued, "I'd also encourage that you give other guys a chance while I'm gone so you're not waiting around for me. You don't have to fall in love with them, but letting a guy who's interested in you take you out once and a while wouldn't hurt. Maybe you can even take them on double dates with Tsuna and Kyoko, that way you can do some kind of…dang what's it called when you do something that makes you uncomfortable in order to eventually get over it?"
"Exposure therapy."
"That's another reason why you're great Haru, you're smart. But yeah, like I said, just give me a call when I'm in town and we can spend more time together. If you thought I was a gentleman now, just wait until you see me when I'm in romance mode," he chuckled then leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you around, Haru."
"Goodbye," she waved.
"Oh, I forgot one more thing," he said as he turned back around to her. "If you ever feel like there's some kind of danger looming around you or if anything happens to you that shakes you, just call me and I'll be there."
"But you'll be in Italy…"
"Haru, a girl like you is worth traveling across the world for," he grinned then went on his way. "Later!"
She watched him walk away until he was out of sight and traced her fingertips against her smiling lips. "Thanks for everything, Dino."
Haru flipped through her magazine at work as she worked the register at the department store, bored out of her mind as usual. She glanced over at the sound of her phone going off and saw it was a message from Kyoko:
sorry i can't make it to dinner for girls night, tsuna gave me his awful cold! :(
Haru had apologized for being so snippy with her and Tsuna a few days earlier and had been looking forward to spending some one-on-one time with her best friend. Now that Kyoko couldn't make it, her schedule was free again. With a disappointed sigh, she texted back:
that's alright, feel better soon!
Just as she finished typing, Miho rushed to her from the sweaters she was laying out on display. Haru already had a feeling she knew what it was about.
"Another cute one," Miho swooned longingly.
"Why don't you go talk to him then?"
"Can't, I'm seeing someone now—it's that cute guy that bought the hoodie the other day that originally asked you out."
"You're ridiculous," Haru rolled her eyes.
The guy in the store Miho had pointed out to her was soon enough at the register, ready to make his purchase. Haru took his money and gave him his change with a friendly smile that he returned. Halfway to the door, he turned around back to her and said, "Hey, if you don't have plans tonight, do you wanna catch a movie with me or something? My name's Shota Yamada, by the way."
"Um…" Haru glanced down next to her magazine at the handkerchief from Dino that she never returned, remembering the advice he had given her. "Yeah, that sounds great. My name is Haru Miura, nice to meet you."
A/N: I know it's pretty unpopular, but I just think Haru and Dino would look and be so cute together! Honestly Haru's great with anyone though. Thanks to this little one-shot now I want to write a little 86D romance fic with a couple of chapters or so, but I have other projects I should probably work on before that. Also, "Miho" is basically as boy crazy as me, so she was a fun mini OC to write. 98 more one-shots to go. (Doing them all as separate stories instead of one long document since there's so many different pairings, characters, themes, and ratings going on.)
Remember to review, ciao!