It is his innocence, Dino thought as he watched Yamamoto from his car.
With a goofy grin and naïve laughter, the boy stood in a circle with his friends, reminiscing while saying things to reminisce about later.
"Bye!" The brunette called out to his buddies before jogging to the car. He hopped into the passenger seat while Dino shifted the car into drive. "Sorry," Yamamoto said. "We were joking about a teacher. Today was really funny."
Dino smiled. He loved these simple stories. The forgetful hilarity encased in a childish memory. He saw in the young boy beside him, a blurred existence he wished he could recall, hold onto. A past he wished he could pull out of his pocket and look at when he had his gun in the other hand.
"And then Gokudera whipped out some firecrackers," Yamamoto laughed, tear leaking from his eye. He wiped it away. "It was so ridiculous!"
Dino chuckled, half at the story, half at the fact that Yamamoto still called them "firecrackers."
"So, you had fun today?" Dino asked, one hand on the wheel, the other supporting his head as his elbow sat propped up by the window.
"Every day is fun," Yamamoto said, staring out his open window, letting the wind take control of his hair and making his happiness resemble the obsession a dog has for a car ride.
Dino chuckled a bit more. "School is still school. Shouldn't you be studying?"
Yamamoto frowned and looked to the blond man. "I didn't expect that from you."
"Oh?"
"I would expect you to say something more like 'what do you need school for, you have the Vongola. Instead, you should spend your time with…'" Towards the end Yamamoto's voice got quieter, softer, until it dropped into silence. There was a bit of a pause.
"Oh yeah," Dino said. "Well, we don't want a numbskull for a Rain Guardian."
Yamamoto scoffed, giving Dino a playful shove. "I'm not dumb!"
Dino laughed lightly as they came to a red light. He used this time to look at Yamamoto, deeply, clearly thinking.
Yamamoto had been staring at the window, eventually feeling Dino's gaze, he turned to the man. "What?" he asked, his cheeks tinting red.
"What do you need school for?" Dino asked, leaning close to the boy. "You have the Vongola." He put his hand to Yamamoto's chin. Like the rest of his face, it was letting off a soft warmth. The boy leaned a bit closer. "Instead, you should spend your time with me…" He planted a solid kiss on Yamamoto and after letting himself get over the slight nervousness and embarrassment he was experiencing, Yamamoto kissed back. Then, as Dino put his hand on Yamamoto's neck, pulling him closer, turning the kiss deeper, hotter, making Yamamoto pant, moan his name,
A loud honk erupted from behind them. Dino pulled away with a jolt, foot hurrying to the accelerator. A disapproving growl rumbled from the innards of the car.
"I-it's in park, Dino-san. Y-you moved th-the thing in p-park," Yamamoto stuttered, face as utterly red as it could be, possibly the most red it's ever been in his life.
Clumsily, with slippery, nervous fingers, Dino switched shifts and started off.
The rest of the ride was a bit quiet. Yamamoto pushed the buton that caused hiswindow to roll up. The wind beside his ear sounded louder after the kiss, as though life had been upgraded into HD and surround sound. The sky became a more pure blue and the hum of the car was more musical. He barely noticed when the car slowed to a stop in front of his house.
"I think this is where you get off," Dino said jokingly, regretting his choice of words directly afterwards.
Yamamoto chuckled slightly in reply. He put his hand on the door handle, but was stopped by Dino's hand on his.
"Wait," the man said almost desperately. "I…"
"Dino-san…" Yamamoto muttered after pausing, wishing Dino would complete his sentence.
"I…" Dino gave Yamamoto a peck on the cheek. "I like you a lot, Takeshi-kun."
"I know and I like you too, Dino-san, but…"
"I understand. I won't do it again… bye."
"Sorry…" Yamamoto slid out or the car whispering a sad "Bye…" as he closed the car door.
Dino sighed, watching the boy walk away and out of sight. It is his innocence, Dino thought. If I take it, then maybe when that gun is slipping from my fingers, when blood that isn't mine is splattered on the walls and my chest, when I feel the stench of death ravaging my nostrils and remember the striking weakness that pierced my pupils when my enemy begged for mercy, maybe when I'm emerged in that moral pain, I can take a little of that stolen innocence from my pocket and remember what a smile feels like.