"You look more cheerful than usual," Kurokawa notes, eyebrow raised.
"Huh? Oh, I have a date when I get to Italy," you chimes, still smiling at your text. You reply with the emoticon of a rabbit skipping across a field of flowers.
"Ooh..." Haru coos, leaning in conspiraciously, "Who's the lucky lady? ...Or is it a gentleman?"
"Why don't you take a guess? It's someone you all know." It's not everyday that you get to conduct the Vongola gossip train, this could be amusing.
"It's not the shark, is it?" Hayato walks pass, coffee in hand, grimacing at the thought with disapproval. Hayato disapproves of most things.
"Nope. He does have white hair though."
"What? No! Stop looking at me! We're not dating. Besides, I'm right here!" Gokudera scowles, melodramatically.
"The only other person we know that have white hair is... Uh... Well it's not my husband."
"What about Byakuran-kun?" Kyoko suggests, helpfully. The room freezes.
Bingo. You winks at Kyoko, picking up your files (negotiation with the Monroe family) and heads towards the door.
"Oh look, time for me to go, got a plane to catch!" You waved, enjoying Hayato's mortified face as you passed by.
You're at an amusement park. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and Byakuran greets you with a hug and air kisses. The helium balloons in his hands bops against your head gently as you hug him back.
"Long time no see, Takeshi! How's Tsunayoshi-kun and the team?" He laces his fingers around yours, they're a bit cold, but comfortably so.
"They're doing well. Tsuna says hi."
You ask about Uni and Gamma, and is glad to hear they're doing well also. You watches as he launch into an animated storytelling session, and answers with stories of your own little family.
"Have you gotten to visit Squalo, by the way?" He ask, with innocent curiosity. You smiles, the fond little half-smile Byakuran curiously dubbed as being reserved for mentions of Squalo.
"Yeah, he's the same old. Angry, mostly. Busy, occupied."
One track mind, like a fish. That's how you would describe someone like Squalo.
Choose. He'd tell you. Baseball or sword? And you'd laugh, because you don't have to give up either of them. The two are both important, and not mutually exclusive. You're a person who compartmentalize. Family will always take priority, but it doesn't mean you have to give up every other good thing in life. You can't explain that to Squalo. He's not like that.
To Squalo, baseball and sword ARE mutually exclusive. To the assassin, everything is either a priority or a distraction. Xanxus is a priority, Varia is a priority, the sword is a priority. All his priorities fits neatly together, leaving no room for distractions.
You understand, Gokudera's like that too. That singular devotion is what you like about them.
Squalo lives in a world of priorities and distractions, and you live in a world of priorities and indulgences.
So when Squalo told you, in plain words, that you've became a distraction, you understands.
You're at the game booths, carrying a giant dog plushie which Byakuran have just won at the ring-tossing booth. Byakuran's luck, as always, have been infallible. "It looks like Jirou!" He claimed, pushing the plushie into your arms.
"How's Irie-kun doing?" He asks, with a little bounce in his steps.
"He's doing well, keeping himself busy with research. He still haven't finish reading your research paper," Byakuran and Irie are collaborating on a project for clean energy. 'Saving the world,' as Byakuran likes to put it, he thinks it's poetic.
"Oh, he told me to give these to you," you fished out a photo of white lilies along with a photo of daffodils*. Flower language, you noticed a while back, is their special method of communication.
"What does it mean?" You ask, seeing the surprised delight on Byakuran's face. He look like a kid who's just opened his birthday present.
"I'll tell you later," he pockets the photos and smirks with a hint of conspiracy. It's terribly endearing.
"Pine branches with delphinium. Everlasting youth, possibilities. Hyacinth, playfulness." The technician commented on the white bouquets on your desk.
You stared at Irie Shouichi like he's a wizard, you always knew that Irie knows everything, but "I didn't think you'd be the type to read flowers." Moreover, you didn't know flowers have so many meanings. You knew roses meant love and white lilies are for funerals, but that was as far as your flower knowledge goes.
"It's this from Byakuran-san?" There was puzzlement in his voice as he stared at you oddly.
"Ah, yes?"
"Byakuran use to send me loads of them, in the other future, that is. For someone working on world domination, Byakuran was, surprisingly, a romantic. Flower language was one of his common modes of communication."
"Oh? You guys were-" Ouch.
"Don't get the wrong idea," Irie corrected, a beat too fast, "we weren't like that."
"It didn't mean all that much to him," he smiled wryly, it looked more like a grimace, "it was just an indulgence."
You nodded and returned a sympathetic smile. You didn't tell him, to some people, indulgences could mean the world.
"Be careful," he warns. He doesn't stop you, or tries to meddle.
"I will," you nods appreciatively. Irie is a good friend.
"Hey, if he ever send you a room full of anemone, it's probably time to break up."
"Oh yeah? What does that one mean?"
"Expectations," Irie chuckled, looking more sagely than you've ever seen him.
You walk out of the haunted house, holding Byakuran close as he clings onto you and plushie Jirou with more glee than terror. You both screamed at all the right places, admiring the amount of work placed within the exhibition.
"Would you lovebirds like your photos?" The ghoul offers you a print-out of your reaction, caught in a moment of surprise, no doubt. You studies the mild surprise on your own face, and the manic glee on Byakuran's.
Byakuran buys a copy for himself. He's rather fond of photos, they keep his memories in check.
You really wouldn't call yourselves lovers. Truth be told, you have very little common language with one another. But it's not to say you don't enjoy one another's company. Quite the contrary, Byakuran displays a keen interest in everyone, and you, like most people, enjoys his magnetic personality.
You've visited the aquarium once. Byakuran can name all the fish, he's very smart. You've been to ball games together, you both cheered with the crowds and you would amuse him with tidbits of baseball trivia to keep him engaged. A few other times, you snuggled in blankets at his apartment, marathoning b-movies through the night.
Sometimes you talk about Squalo. Sometimes he talks about his other partners with you. It's always so easy when you're with one another. There's no pressure to chose, to give up what you are. You've grown accustomed to affection without expectations.
"This Byakuran felt... Refreshing," you've explained to Gokudera, he didn't understand.
Byakuran lives in a world of indulgence. You can understand that too.
The little boy stares longingly at the cotton candy stand, then turns his pleading eyes to his parents. The mother, unaffected by her son's antics, ushers the child away with a stern "no."
"Something the matter, Takeshi?"
"No," you chuckled, attention drifting back to your date, "I was just thinking, if I were his parents, I'd buy it for him. The amusement park is not an everyday experience, after all."
"Then you should buy me cotton candy. To fulfill that little need in your heart," your date offeres benevolently. It's a good idea, you decides, and did exactly that.
"Must be nice, settling down," you muse, "when I was small, I use to wonder what it's like, having a family, raising a child of my own with a special someone. I still think about it sometimes."
He listens to you with that little knowing smile of his. You think he picked it up from Yuni, or maybe it's just a Sky type attribute.
"Don't be ridiculous," Byakuran laughs as he spoke, light and soft, as he strokes your hair and smothers you with kisses. He taste like cotton candy. Sweet and indulgent.
Fin
Extra
The ferris wheel compartment the two of you occupy climbs higher and higher. Perhaps Prague is more beautiful than you gave it credit for.
"Neh, Takeshi, do you know what day is it today?"
You pause to think about this, It's not your birthday, nor is it his. Well. It could some niche little holiday somewhere in the world, Byakuran is known to observe various international holidays, like international cat day, or pie day.
You shrug. If you've forgotten something, it's not like Byakuran to take offence.
"It's the day Tsuna defeated me in the other future," he says, eyes looking out the window. The sunset paints his face in a soft orange.
"Hard to believe, eh? It's been 10 years," you laughs, and let him continue.
"I'm happy. Both me and Uni-chan are still alive. Tsunayoshi-kun too," a small, hesitant smile came across his face, "we've made it."
You remember that day, almost ten years ago, when you met this Byakuran for the first time, on the hospital bed. You can only say that you're happy too.
"White lilies, funeral, daffodil, rebirth," he explained.
Your compartment reaches it's peak, and begins it's decent to earth.
"Happy re-birthday, Byakuran."
Fin.
Thanks for reading! Any comments or 10080 headcanons welcome!