Title: Le Mystérieux Printemps
Author: leriko
Rating: T
Spoiler: None. This is a sequel to Mistero Del Pianista. Approximately seven months after the previous story.
Character: Gokudera/Haru (I'm getting obsessed with this pairing)
Genre: Drama/Romance
Summary: He was a mystery to her. But little did she know that she was a mystery to him too. Sequel for Mistero del Pianista.
Disclaimer: I never had the crazy thought of owning this great series, for Heaven's sake! Why would I when Akira Amano has already done a great job confusing all of us with the time travel thingy!
He sat there, under the sakura tree, watching her and her group of friends chattering and enjoying the beauty of the spring. He was enjoying it too, but it was another kind of spring.
He was enjoying his own version of spring. His girlfriend's glowing face was beautiful enough for him to watch rather than the pink sakura petals.
Her laughter filled his ears and it triggered the memories of when she giggled in his ears after he told her he liked her short hair, of when she whispered his name over and over again as he danced with her on Christmas Eve's party, of when she blew away the snowflakes covering his ears after the snowball fight at the end of the year, of when she cried on his shoulder after she saw him covered in blood, his and his enemy's, on her apartment's door just a month ago, and of when she shouted at him to stop offering himself to the God of Death without thinking a bit about how she would've felt if he died.
Hearing her voice was just like hearing the spring birds chirping and singing all over the place when the season has changed from chilly winter to warm spring.
She glanced at him and gave him a bright smile. He smiled back, even though it's just a small twitch of the corner of his lips. He noticed the baseball-idiot's smirk when he saw his small smile. The baseball-idiot sat just a couple of feet from him and he could've just let Uri out to maim that idiot, but he didn't. His girlfriend's smile was more important than the sword-freak's early funeral.
Her dark eyes always glittered when she smiled. Seeing her bright face reminded him of when she had told him that she liked him the very first time. It reminded him of when she had given him a big box filled with countless piano scores as his 20th birthday present. It reminded him of when she scowled at his animal box weapon the very first time he showed her. Uri had clawed her left hand when she tried to cuddle the kitten like animal box weapon. It reminded him of when she blushed as he kissed her in front of all their friends and colleagues at the New Year's Eve party. It reminded him of when she ignored him the last time they argue, which was not a long time ago.
Seeing her was just like seeing the many colors of spring. It was so colorful yet mysterious; it triggered his curiosity to find out what other expressions she has.
The kids, Lambo and I-pin, were running around them. Lambo, running with his head turned back, suddenly fell flat on his face, when he crashed into a sakura tree. The impact made the sakura petals fsll faster than they should. The petals covered his head, shoulders and legs. Gokudera stood up and scowled deeply at Lambo.
But before he could shoot some nasty words at the young Bovino, his girlfriend has dashed over to him to where the kid was crying. When she walked passed him, his nose caught the familiar lavender perfume scent. He could recognize the scent even when she was covered in sakura petals.
It's because the perfume's scent always lingered on his body whenever he embraced her. It's because he always smelled the scent whenever he kissed her neck or shoulders. It's because he always smelled the scent whenever she show off her new gymnastic moves for him to see. It's because he always had the tendency to sniff at her whenever he was stressed out. He knows that lavender has the aromatherapic effect to ease stress.
Her flowery scent was just like the early spring flowers' scent that had been circulating their town atmosphere. It was so refreshing and relaxing.
She pulled Lambo up and patted the twelve years old's head. She told the kid to calm down and that he'll be alright and asked him whether he wants to eat the sushi they have brought for their snack. Lambo stopped crying and nodded.
He swept all the flower petals off his body before sitting down again. The baseball-idiot offered him the box of sushi and told him to eat. He growled at the sword-freak and told him to leave him alone. That was when she grabbed a bit of ootoro from the box and shoved it into his mouth. She told him not to be such an asshole and just eat the damn sushi. Her delicate fingers accidentally touched his lips and it made him hold his breath for a while. He gulped down the ootoro.
If he had to describe her like an ice cream, he would have to choose the mix of vanilla, green tea and lemon. She always tasted like vanilla flavored ice cream whenever he kissed her. She touched soothingly and bitterly just like the green tea flavored ice cream whenever he came to her apartment to rest after some grueling mission. Whenever he touched her or she touched him, he always felt the twinge of surprises just like the taste of lemon flavored ice cream.
Her entity was still a complete mystery for him even after the full seven months of going out with her. He had seen her many quirks, expressions, and antics. He had felt her touch, tasted her lips, neck and shoulder. He had smelled her scent, perfume and natural. He had seen her angry, sad, happy, confused. But he wondered, is that all? Is there nothing more he could see of her?
As she glared at him, he decided to eat the sushi the baseball-idiot had brought. If not, he'd probably have to face his sister's Poison Cooking sushi. He better choose the lesser hell, right? She nodded when he finished the box of sushi. After she returned the box to the sword-freak, she settled herself beside him. She wiped the small bits of food off his mouth and giggled. "You're such a mess," she said.
When the sushi was all eaten, they continued their own activities. The Tenth had gone off with Kyoko somewhere. The baseball-idiot had taken Lambo and I-pin together with Fuuta to some wider part of the park to play catch, while lawn-head started shadow-boxing with one of the sakura tree not far away from them. Hibari (he wondered why the hell Hibari joined them when he hated crowd so much), sat side by side with Reborn-san (a cup of espresso in hand) and his sister, feeding his pet bird. Chrome was nowhere to be seen.
And both of them just sat there, under the sakura tree, side by side. She rested her head on his shoulder while he fondled with her fingers.
"Are you okay?" she asked him.
"What do you mean by that?" he asked back.
"Your wounds."
He stopped fondling her fingers and glanced at her. She moved her head from his shoulder to meet his eyes. Both of them frowned at each other.
"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm alright?" he demanded of her.
"And how many times do I have to tell you that you are not?!" she retorted back. Her short hair flailed her own face as she shook her head. "You shouldn't have to be such a stubborn idiot, Hayato!"
He sighed. Here she goes again, he thought. They had been arguing about the same topic for how many weeks now? He knew she was worried about his condition, but he knew his own body's limit.
"Cut it off, Haru!" he told her. "Don't be such a worry whiny like my sister."
She glared at him with a deep scowl. He looked deeply into her dark eyes. Those dark orbs always mystified him (even though now it was filled with annoyance at him). He wondered how she saw the world behind those eyes.
"I have every right to be worried!" she poked his bandaged chest with her forefinger. "I don't want to see you came to my apartment covered in blood again!"
He winced when she poked harder. It was just a minor wound but it still hadn't healed completely.
"It hurts, right?" she pulled a smug face as she noticed his wincing. "And here you're saying you're alright!"
She stopped poking and then touched the skin above the bandage softly. He winced again. This time not because it was hurt but rather because he tried to shove away the weird sensation her touch does to him.
"I can't take anymore of those heart attacking surprises when I see you wounded," she said softly. She warped her hands around his neck and snuggled up his chest. He pulled her into a tight embrace and breathed in the faint scent of lavender in her hair.
"I'm sorry," he muttered. He gave a chaste kiss on her cheek and pulled away. "It's part of my job to be wherever the Boss is."
"I don't think Tsuna-san will agree with you if he knew that you still haven't recovered completely."
"Don't worry too much, Haru," he said soothingly, stroking her cheek. "I can take care of myself."
She gave him the oh-no-you-can't look. She pouted and scowled. Her dark orbs pierced his own green eyes. He always liked it whenever she did that, but hated it whenever the piercing gaze was accompanied by the deep scowl. Before she could say anything more, he pulled her into an embrace again and kissed her forehead, eye, cheek and finally, her lips.
Her flushed cheeks, her faint moan, her flowery scent, her vanilla flavored kiss, and her electrifying lips made him felt grateful that he had decided to accept her feelings back then. Even though somehow or another, it was actually his Boss and the sword-freak the ones who had shoved every information, or rather, promoting the quirky girl he once called stupid woman to him. In other words, they wanted to match him up with her.
He found it odd at that time. He had wondered whether to be impressed by their efforts or astounded by their stupidity. He chose the latter and wondered again whether they were blind enough to not see how he always fought and bickered with the annoying 'hahi!' girl (as he once called her too). But it was because of his Boss' and self-proclaimed best friend's interference that he had finally seen her other side.
She's just like what her name represents. Haru … Spring … Amazingly beautiful, mysteriously colorful, and flirtatiously addicting. He was amazed by her beauty, mystified by her many expressions and addicted to her whole flirtatious quirks. He could never describe how much stronger his feeling had developed for her over the past months of their relationship.
The kiss went on for a couple of minutes until a small cough made them broke off.
"I'm sorry to interrupt but … we're leaving, Gokudera," Yamamoto said with a sheepish grin.
"If you're not standing up immediately, I will bite you to death." Hibari hissed pulling out his tonfas.
"We're going to leave you if you don't EXTREMELY hurry up, octopus-head!" Ryohei shouted from the far end of the park.
"The plane's not going to wait for us, Haru-chan!" Kyoko said with a smile.
"Gokudera-shi, please be quick! Maman will be waiting for us in Namimori!" Lambo shouted and tripped again as he ran towards the exit.
"I don't think Chrome could hold her illusions anymore, Gokudera-kun. We better hurry and leave Sicily before the last flight to Japan leaves us," Tsuna said while checking his cell phone. Reborn had already left for the exit with Bianchi, Fuuta and I-pin.
After that, all the sakura trees started to disappear, revealing the stony wall of the Vongola spring vacation house in Sicily. Chrome appeared at the far end of the room, panting slightly and sweating all over.
He grunted and let his 'spring' out of his embrace. Apparently their sakura hanami in Sicily was over. The plane which would take them back to Japan would be leaving in an hour. But, he said to himself as he pulled her up and held her hand, walking to where the Tenth was waiting, his hanami will never be over as long as she stayed by his side.
Author's Note:
That's it, people! The mystery is over! I'm getting a head-ache writing this romance thingy (then why are you writing this in the first place?). That's why the ending's a bit off again. Have I said that I have some weakness in writing endings for one-shot fics?
Le Mystérieux Printemps: French for 'Mysterious Spring'. (I can't help it! Blame my over curiosity about the many languages in the world.)
Gokudera's description about Haru: He described her using his five senses and compared her to the spring itself.
The ending: They're actually vacationing in Italy for their spring holiday. And then Hibari got the idea of sakura hanami in the Vongola spring vacation house. You know how Hibari tends to force his requests right? And so, Chrome was left to do the hard work of producing the illusions of a park filled with blossoming sakura trees.
Lambo's Age: I almost had a heart attack when my beta-reader pointed out that I've written Lambo's age to be ten when he supposed to be twelve. His age differences with Gokudera is eight years right?
I'm writing this sequel because I think it will not be fair if I only write about Haru's curiosity about Gokudera. I think I have to write his curiosity about her too. It's kind of about what they think about each other.
Well that's all, I think. Tell me what you think about this sequel. Maybe about the story line, the plot, the characterization, the writing, the ending, and heck, even about the hell loads of mistakes I've done! Just tell me what you think, kay? If not, don't blame me if Hibari attacks you with his tonfas or Mukuro sends his hellhounds to chase you or Uri clawing your hands for being so lazy as to not write some review for me.
See you in other one-shots!