This idea just came to me and I had to type it up before it flew away. *sigh* such is the sorry state of my imagination these days. Still, I'm happy with the story even though it's set TYL which I don't write too much for. Hibari may be a little OOC too, but I think it came out okay. This story is specially dedicated to Juuchan Willionton and Amore Rei. Get well soon Juuchan! I hope you both like the story, but please write and let me know? Many thanks :)

DISCLAIMER: I do not own KHR or any of the characters and/or locations in this fan fiction story that you may recognise from the anime/manga. I am only responsible for the plot and nothing else.

Haru sighed looking through a special box of mementos she had kept at her parents' house. They had sent it over since she had wanted to make a scrap book of her friends. She had suddenly felt a little nostalgic and decided on it. She hadn't had much to do anyway since she was on work leave and besides Hibari who was working in another room she had nobody over for company. It wasn't really that she was miserable, but it did get a little lonely sometimes. Maybe she would go and spend some time with him later, she thought with a mischievous smile.

She found quite a few photos from her middle school days and was looking through them when something else caught her eye. There was a stack of books at the very bottom of the box. It was her old journals and diaries! She couldn't imagine how they had survived this long!

She picked up one of the older ones and flipped through the pages for the first time in more than fifteen years. She had started quite early, she mused with a wistful smile on her face. She flipped the pages to one she had marked specially with a special sticker. She remembered the day she had written that entry as clearly as if it was yesterday...

Her mother and father had come home after one very long trip and told her that they had come back specially to get her so they could all attend one of her cousins' wedding. Her cousin was somewhere in Namimori although she had only met him as a child and now she would get to attend his wedding. She only vaguely remembered that, but she was excited since she had never really been to a wedding before.

It had been magical. So said the entry in which she had described the day and the festivities in distinct detail. Even at the tender age of eight, she'd had the passion and talent to become a designer. She was living out her dreams now, right down to the man of her dreams, and she was as happy as she could be. The gleaming band on the fourth finger of her left hand was testament to that. Her smile widened slightly as she put aside the diary to look for more photos.

She picked up one of her, Kyoko, Hana and Chrome having lunch in a café down town. They had been so young...

But that reminded her that she hadn't begun to prepare lunch. Hibari did tend to get grouchy if she didn't get the meals ready in time. She giggled at the thought of him pouting again because his meal was late. Honestly, he could be so childish when he decided. If he hadn't confessed to her all those years ago, she probably would never have thought twice about him. He had been very adamant and hadn't taken no for an answer. He had been irritating and almost unbearable since then

But she loved him.

With another smile, she rose leaving everything as it was and went to clean up so she could prepare lunch. She could pick up from there when she got back. At least she hoped she would have the time. Kyoko and her son would be coming over in the evening to spend some time with them. Hibari had promised to behave while she and Tsuna were around at least. She couldn't wait to show then her project!

Humming to herself, she waltzed past Hibari's partly open door and on to the kitchen. Hibari watched her and raised an eyebrow. She seemed happier than usual that day. He wondered what could have made her so energetic all of a sudden. She had seemed keen on relaxing that morning and once she got it into her mind to do something, it was hard to change it.

Sighing, he rose and walked out the door deciding to investigate. Usually, whatever made her happy, he was happy to let her keep or have, but there tended to be some limits. Sometimes, it was utterly destructive, cost him a fortune or it was something from that damned illusionist sent just to push his buttons.

From the sounds he heard coming from downstairs, she was in the kitchen. No doubt lunch would be late. She had come from the only other room, in that direction, from his office – the storage room.

He walked up to the room and peered in meaning only to have a quick look around. He saw the open box and a few photos and a book. He would have overlooked it and turned back to his office if he hadn't caught sight of the sticker on the page. It was a butterfly in her favourite colour. This entry may be important. He wasn't nosy by any means at all, he was simply curious. He stepped into the room and took a closer look at the book. It seemed to be a diary.

He picked it up and read through the entry on the open page. It seemed that Haru even that many years ago had still been as energetic and hungry for life as she had been on the day they had met ten years before. His lips turned up in a smile imagining how she would tell the story of what had happened that day to whomever would listen. She was always so eager to share every bit of information with him. The best he could do was at least to try to keep up with her although when she was really excited, she tended to prattle.

Lately, he had noticed her looking at baby magazines and gotten the very obvious hint when she had brought up how cute Sawada Koukai, Tsuna's son, looked. He had already made a promise with himself to have a serious talk to her about it. His ties with the Mafia, and hers, would put them in danger at any moment. To have a family was a big responsibility and they both knew that.

"I know," she had said when he'd pointed that out while they were still engaged, "but papa will be there to protect mama and the children, nee?"

He smiled at that memory. She did have a way with words. He was about to replace the book when he saw the words printed in a different coloured marker on the margin:

"One day, I hope I can find a man like my cousin. He told me that he will love his new wife very much and he will tell her every single day just how much he loves her. That would be nice, nee?"

Hibari read through them one more time and then replaced the book. If he kept thinking the way he was at the moment, his wife would have him acting like an herbivore in no time at all.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*

It had been one tiring evening and Haru was grateful to be able to climb into her warm bed ready to sleep. True to his word, Hibari had behaved himself all evening and had even made the effort to show up for twenty minutes before he went back into hiding.

Haru smiled when she felt the bed dip behind her. It seemed he was going to have an early night in after all. She loved it when he did. Then she could go to sleep with his arms around her, reminding her for the millionth time just how lucky she was to have him. She flipped over onto her back and watched him pull off his shirt.

"Nee, Hibari-san, I wanted to thank you for tonight. You know Koukai-kun admires you a lot. It meant a lot for you to come and be with us for a bit."

"Hn," came the reply.

"It made me happy too... hahi!"

Hibari had suddenly come up to her mere inches from her face. There was a clear smirk on his face and she flushed. They had been this close and closer before, but it still made her blush to think about. She still hadn't lost her girlish charm or her innocence and he couldn't complain.

"Is that right? Then I deserve a prize for making you happy, don't I?"

Haru sighed and smiled then leaned forward and kissed his cheek.

"I'm disappointed. My wife is really stingy with her gifts after all..." he said turning away from her. He was teasing and she knew he was teasing. She could hear the smug smile in his voice because he knew it worked. She giggled and covered her mouth.

"I can be really stingy if I want to you know. I can say that from now on, Kyoya will not get any more kisses from me." He sighed and looked down at her raising an eyebrow. So she was challenging him, was she? He sat on the bed facing her and put his hands on her sides. She shook her head vigorously from side to side although the mirth was already there in her eyes. He nodded and with a satisfied smile, he began to tickle her. She held out for only a few moments before her hands slipped from her mouth to stop him.

Taking the opportunity, he grabbed her wrists and held them on either side of her head on the mattress. Her laughter died down slowly as their eyes met. She really loved him. She had loved him for a long time. She always told him so. He did too, in his own way. She was happy with her marriage so it didn't matter.

"I love you," he said. She heard the words and smiled. He hadn't said it in a while, but she knew he did. Even so, it felt good to hear them. The husky timbre of his deep voice only served to make the whole situation that much better.

"I love you too," she whispered. He leaned forward then and brushed his lips against hers. She sighed and rose to meet his lips with hers. The kiss deepened and Haru smiled. He had her clinging to him in mere moments, not that she needed much encouragement. She always matched his passion, kiss for kiss and touch for touch.

His muscles leapt at the slightest brush of her fingers and her sighs were like music to his ears. She tasted even better than she did before. He could lose himself in her for days and never tire. Caring for and responding to someone this much had been a new experience for him and he savoured each moment he had with her.

He dragged his lips away from hers to her neck and nipped her there. He heard her gasp and smiled. He loved her. He had known it since the morning he'd felt a sudden stab at seeing her give special Valentine's chocolates to the herbivore boss of the Vongola. Maybe even before that.

He just hadn't admitted it to himself back for another month. When she hadn't received anything for White Day, it had taken all his will power not to thrash Tsuna to within an inch of his life. When he had meditated properly on the reason for his anger, he had come to the obvious conclusion that he was in love with her.

He hadn't been very tactful, or romantic for that matter, with his confession, that having been a very foreign concept in his life, but he'd had to have her. Now, he thought with another smirk, now she was his for life.

"I love you, Hibari Haru," he said with deliberate slowness this time. She smiled and held him closer as he kissed her neck again. She was going to reply when suddenly, he stopped and simply held her. She liked it when he did this too. No matter how ice cold he had seemed before, Hibari Kyoya was all warmth. She pressed her ear to his chest listening to the slightly erratic thud of his heartbeat. He held her a little longer than he usually did so she wondered if he had fallen asleep already. He must really be tired if that was the case.

"K... Kyo-kun?"

"I'll tell you every day," he said kissing her hair, "for the rest of your life."

She was confused at that but she couldn't help the little leap her heart gave at those words. They seemed a little familiar somehow though...

Her diary!

She looked up to meet his softened gaze. It had been hard to imagine the dark and brooding skylark, the demon prefect of Namimori Middle School and later of Namimori High School ever falling in love with her, much less marrying her. But now he was making silly promises as well!

"I thought that sounded familiar. You weren't meant to read that you know," she said with a smile. Even if she got mad at him, it couldn't be undone. Besides, other than being thoroughly embarrassing, the entry wasn't exactly a secret.

"Hn," he said raising her fingers to his lips and kissing each one.

"I hope you aren't teasing me again," she said in a haughty voice – or what she hoped passed for one. Even that simple action was already driving her to distraction. In response, Hibari kissed her soundly on the lips.

"A Hibari never breaks their word," he whispered. Haru smiled. Since the day they had first kissed, she had known he loved her deeply. He wasn't very romantic and he wasn't like other guys but she had been content with that. He loved her in his own special way, of that there was absolutely no doubt. To have him promise something so special and so against his own character was like a special gift for her.

She really did love him so much she felt her heart would burst. Wrapping her arms around him as he continued to kiss her, she couldn't help but feel that she was absolutely the luckiest woman in the world.