Today was the day. Dino was going to make a move so obvious that not even Harmony, who seemed rather oblivious when it came to someone liking her as a woman, could mistake for anything else.
Romario watched the whole thing with amusement. As Dino's right hand man (and the one who had practically raised the poor kid), he was rather happy for his boss. Dino's interest in the ranch owner was good for him. He was in a better mood overall and things seemed a lot brighter for his boss after he got to see her.
The fact that Harmony somehow managed to gain the approval of Reborn of all people with a single meeting spoke volumes about her. Though Romario was a bit baffled as to what could have happened to put an actual spring in Reborn's step when he left.
Dino definitely perked up when they reached the ranch, causing Romario to hide a chuckle.
And he was lucky enough to catch the moment on camera to share with his fellow Guardians. While the kiss had been brief, the way her face lit up a bright red and the fact she didn't immediately slap him for it spoke well of Dino's chances.
Especially since she didn't object to an actual date later in the week. Though apparently she would have to go shopping, as she didn't really have anything fancy to wear outside of her usual clothes, which were generally jeans, second-hand t-shirts, or farm wear.
In fact outside of going to town to get supplies, she almost never left the ranch, a fact Romario found puzzling.
Even so, he was happy for his boss. Dino seemed honestly happy around her.
A week later...
Harmony didn't get dolled up, especially after the disaster of fourth year when her efforts went entirely unappreciated because her "date", and she was very loathe to call that pig such, had been more interested in sulking over Hermione than looking at her.
And afterwards she had been too disgusted with the sudden shift in attitude and obvious leering at her breasts and ass to care about such things.
Dino, at least, kept his eyes firmly above the chest and waist line. Though she knew he did cast a full body glance at her for a few seconds, but that was what she wanted. The fact he didn't do it a second time and kept his hands firmly in 'safe zones' meant he was already leagues above the mere boys she had dealt with in school.
Though there was a reason she didn't go into bars or out on the town. The amount of idiots trying to hit on her pissed her off immensely.
"I have to admit, this is the first time I've been on anything that even remotely qualified as a 'date'," she said, looking over the selections. It wasn't bad, and she really hadn't tried out any Italian dishes before. She generally cooked her own food.
Dino gave her an odd look.
"Really?"
"Most of the idiots I had to deal with were 'boys' rather than 'men'. They thought I would be interested in fools who stared at my chest or ass for several minutes, or who openly bragged about doing the looser girls in my school. And the one time we held a dance at my school, the only one who bothered to ask me was too busy staring at a girl I consider my sister and complaining that she had chosen to dance with someone from a different school rather than him. The only reason he asked me was because no one else would give him the time of day and I didn't have a date at the time," said Harmony sourly.
That had thoroughly killed any desire to be with Ron.
It was bad enough the jerk had actually sulked about the fact Hermione had agreed to be Krum's date that night, but the fact he hadn't even registered she had TRIED to get dolled up with help from Lavender and Parvati had pissed her off. It was like he didn't register her as a girl at all, or realize that he was insulting his 'date'.
After the dance was finally over, Hermione had agreed that while they could be friends with Ron, the idea of dating him was never going to work out. Not after the way he snubbed Harmony so thoroughly without even giving an iota of regard for her feelings. And the way he had growled whenever one of the other boys tried to dance with her resulted in Harmony being considered a total wallflower.
The entire ball had been a complete disaster in her opinion.
Dino winced with sympathy.
"How about you?"
"The usual, girls only want me for my looks, my position, the fact I managed to rebuild my family's empire almost from the ground up after some nasty gambling habits left it crippled, or simply because of my family name," said Dino.
"God I hate those idiots," said Harmony with complete empathy.
"You too?"
"Long story short I'm the heiress to two ancient and noble families that have large bank accounts and I'm rather famous in certain circles," she said in open disgust. "That plus the society I was living in at the time has this thing about pushing girls into political marriages and popping out as many heirs as possible... well, you can see why I was very happy to leave."
"I bet," said Dino, relaxing a bit. "Wait, ancient and noble?"
She rolled her eyes.
"I know have a manor in Wolverhampton, a townhouse in London, and some old property somewhere in Scotland that I've been told is an actual castle, never mind the old titles that aren't even used anymore except by people trying to sound more important than they really are on old victories by people long dead. I think, but I've never bothered to confirm that there's a baroness or marquis title attributed to one of my family names. Like I said, I never bothered with it."
Dino blinked. To be honest he didn't really see much point in big manors or castles either, and he heard rumors that what the Vongola alone paid for their big castle was a veritable tax nightmare. One thing did stick in his mind though...
"You're from the UK?"
"England, to be exact, though I spent a lot of time in Scotland so I picked up a slight accent," she replied.
"Italy must have been a big change."
"I love the anonymity, and the weather is fantastic. It's so dreary in England, especially the weather! And don't get me started on the boring fashions I had to deal with at my school!" she laughed. Dino grinned. "Though I haven't really had a chance to explore Italian foods. I've been mostly making my own."
Dino seized on his chance. He knew for a fact she wasn't a vegetarian (though he would only find out later most of the meat was for the Thestrals and the odd guard dog she owned), but Harmony was rather open to trying anything... except horse meat.
"Wait, so one idiot managed to get past your screening test and turned out to be a member of a group that actually eats horses?"
Harmony looked rather disgusted by the idea, though he could understand why.
"Quest looked very much like he wanted to punt that idiot out of the ranch, though it took an hour before I finally figured out what he really wanted. The second I busted his purpose in my ranch to buy 'all organic' horse meat to try, I almost gelded him before I sent him packing with my rifle."
Dino snickered.
"I would have paid to see the look on his face when you broke that out."
(She later showed it to him, and he was right in that it was hilarious to see.)
Dinner was spent sharing jokes and funny stories, though Dino would openly admit Harmony had him beat. The fact she allowed him to make small kisses on the cheek or even hold her hand was a big tell that their date went well.
The fact his good mood persisted for over a week (thus increasing his productivity considerably) was a major bonus.
Dino cringed.
"Voi! I heard you were seeing someone, but I didn't think it would turn you into this much of a sap!" said Squalo loudly.
"Why are you here again?"
"I need to get away from the assholes I work with, and you don't annoy me when drunk," deadpanned Squalo.
Considering Squalo was holding the Varia together with Xanxus MIA, Dino could understand that. He wasn't here to socialize...he just wanted a drinking buddy who didn't piss him off and he could relax around.
A sudden idea occurred to him, and he pulled out his phone.
"Voi! Who are you texting?"
"Harmony. I was asking her if she wanted to meet an old school buddy of mine, since she's very tight lipped about the idiots she suffered with for five years. She doesn't really get out much."
Harmony sounded amused, even if it was a text. Though he would need to pick her up first...she generally rode one of her horses into town rather than get a license. All the food was generally put in a wagon she brought, though most chocked her ability to carry so much as extremely good organization skills and stronger than normal horses.
The meeting between Harmony and Squalo was bizarre, even for Dino's standards. The two just hit it off, though how or why he would never be able to fully understand.
Harmony took one look at Squalo and something seemed to pass between them. Not romantic interest (thank god for small mercies!) but more akin to professional respect.
"Harmony," she said, holding out her right hand.
"Squalo," he said, firmly shaking it with enough force to make people wince. She didn't even bat an eye.
"Am I missing something here?" asked Dino with some concern.
"Nothing. So, I heard drinking and possible blackmail opportunities. Who wants to see a bunch of grown men get drunk under the table by a girl half their size?"
Squalo grinned. A chance to bet without Mammon taking most of his cut!
A few hours later...
Dino stared at the number of shot glasses, then at Harmony who only seemed a little tipsy.
Squalo looked almost gleeful, though that could be attributed to the large amount of cash he had made betting on Harmony's ability to drink straight whiskey.
"I think that's enough mass humiliation for one night. Now if we don't start bringing out the good stuff I might not be able to feel a proper buzz," said Harmony cheerfully.
Squalo was openly snickering. Though he did note that she seemed to lean on Dino a bit when the alcohol made it's way through her system. The fact she had the sense to eat something to absorb it made him look at her with approval.
Dino had found a real catch with her. And he barely knew anything about the girl!
As the night dragged on, Harmony got a little information about Squalo and the people he worked with. The second he mentioned the fact his boss was put on ice (though he didn't mention how literal the ice was) because his old man didn't have the balls to tell him something very important before it blew up in his face, her drunkeness gave way to genuine empathy and sympathy.
For Xanxus that is.
"Ugh. I swear old geezers with too much inherent power are all idiots. I'm guessing the old bastard is in charge, but doesn't have the balls to hand over the reigns to his kids despite the fact they were almost certainly old enough to handle the job?"
"Voi. Better believe it. The bastard already lost two of his sons and with how Stupid his third one is acting it's only a matter of time before he goes too," said Squalo, more than a little drunk at this point. He was vague, but anyone in their line of work knew he meant the Vongola simply because of who Squalo was.
Harmony actually put a hand on his shoulder, a look of deep sympathy and honest understanding on her face.
"When your boss is let go, give me a call. He sounds like he could use someone who will listen to him bitch about the idiot who locked him up and not have it get back to said bastard in the first place. And I always carry good booze," she said patting him on the shoulder. She even gave Squalo her phone number. "God knows I've got far too much experience with manipulative old bastards who should have died to clear the way for people with actual common bloody sense."
Squalo threw back another shot, though for some reason he would remember her offer when Xanxus returned to them.
"Sounds like a story behind it."
"Too public and I'm not nearly drunk enough to retell even half of it. But I can say this... I can appreciate the sort of genuine loyalty you have for your boss. The fact you're holding everything together despite all the crap that's been thrown at you and having to deal with the sheer insanity of your coworkers says a lot."
Squalo looked her dead in the eye, a sort of clarity in his face despite the fact he was half-way drunk.
"And what does it say about me?" he asked bluntly.
"That regardless of what opinion the old guard has of you, that you are a better man than most of them likely are. Only a real friend would stick around to keep things together when everything goes to hell and you have no idea if your boss would ever return, much less intact," she said with absolute sincerity and no deceit. "Your boss is a lucky bastard, having someone like you around."
Squalo stared at her. He could tell she was being absolutely honest about what she said and she meant every word.
"Voi. If you don't marry this woman, then I might have to poach her for myself," said Squalo to Dino, dead serious.
Dino groaned.
"You're the second person to say that to me," he said, waving for another drink.
Squalo blinked.
"Who was the first?"
"Some fake toddler with a yellow pacifier and too old eyes," said Harmony flippantly, and Squalo choked on his scotch.
The fact remained though, that Dino's girlfriend made one major impression on the Varia Rain, and it was better than most "civilians" ever could have.
