A/N: I'm back! You wouldn't believe the work load they welcomed us with (actually maybe you would, if your professors are as sadistic as mine) Anyway, Happy New Year everyone! This was kind of hard to write (not because of the pairing, okay, maybe a bit) but because of the popcorn stuck between the keys because I kept throwing it whenever Daemon's face shows up (Rewatching the First Gen Arc) LOL. Hope you enjoy this.

A Simple Thank You

After making sure the date was still on, Haru dejectedly went home.

That...that...that jerk! How dare he steal her first kiss? She was saving it for Tsuna for their date tomorrow. And did he have to do it in front of Tsuna-san too? It had turned awkward after he left. How do you confirm a date with a guy when another guy just kissed you moments earlier without being awkward? She couldn't even look him in the eye.

She went back to her house then straight to her room, foregoing dinner. She just wasn't in the mood. Sleep, she thought. Sleep would help her forget. She opened the door to her room to find Belphegor lounged on her bed as if he belonged there.

She should've expected that.

"What do you think you're doing here? Y-You...you..." she struggled to find the right word. "You first-kiss-stealer!"

"Ushishishi...Really?" he asked, sounding delighted. "That was your first kiss?" That had been his too, actually. Although he knew how to do it a long time ago. He's been watching R-rated movies since he was eight.

"You don't have to sound so happy about it!" she snapped at him.

That just seemed to make his grin wider. By this time, Haru learned that the more...angry, she seemed to be with him, the more he seems to enjoy it. He loves getting a reaction out of her.

This guy would do well with Gokudera-san.

Haru's parents who was just about to retire on their own bedroom had heard the whole conversation. The turning of the knob alerted the pair to their entrance. Belphegor immediately started to look for some place to hide but before he could find a hiding place, Haru delivered a rather impressive roundhouse kick on his stomach, completely unexpected, that it sent him flying into the open bathroom door.

Haru turned innocently at the door, just as her dad was cautiously opening it.

"What's is it dad?" she asked.

"Uhh..." her dad scratched his head as her mom peered over his shoulder.

"Haru, do you have a boy in your room?" her mom asked. "We heard you talking to someone,"

"Eh?" she asked. "No! No! No! I-I was just...yeah! practicing my lines!" She pretended to lashed out at someone. "How dare you steal my first kiss? Y-you...you...first-kiss-stealer!" She turned on the other side and made her voice sound sly and mocking, a teenage boy's. "Really? That was your first kiss?" She turned to her parent's again. "It's just for a school play."

"Oh!" Her parents ate it up with a spoon. Just another school play. Their little girl was so involved with school activities. "Keep it down then," her mom told her, before closing the door after them. "And don't stay up too late."

"Sure," she nodded, waving them off with a smile. When the door closed, she collapsed on her bed, drained. Belphegor joined her a few seconds after.

"You're pretty strong," he commented, his voice sounding surprised. He made sure the tiara was still in place.

Haru glared at him.

"Yes! Haru is strong!" she told him. "And Haru won't hesitate to kick you again if you don't get out of her bed," They continued to stare at each other. "Now!" he flinched. No wonder Lussuria was afraid of women. They were so temperamental. Good thing the Varia didn't have them.

He went to the floor, and sat down in indian seat, legs crossed over each other. He rested his back on the footrest of the bed, and glanced at the clock. 9pm. Pretty soon, she would be asleep.

Then he'd climbed back in.

Tsuna lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Why was Haru with Belphegor? Why does Belphegor need to thank Haru? What did Haru do? And more importantly, why did Belphegor kissed Haru?

Maybe Belphegor just misunderstood, he thought to himself. He's from Italy, maybe he didn't quite understand Haru's Japanese.

"Don't kid yourself Dame-Tsuna," Reborn spoke up from his table making him jump. "The guy's a genius. Of course, he understood."

"Reborn!" he whined. "Stop reading my mind!"

The baby simply smirked, eyes gleaming. "Looks like you got yourself a rival," he told him.

"Rival?" he said. Of course not. "I'm not...I mean, Haru and I..." What is Haru to him really? Someone who has a crush on him? A precious friend? More than that?

"That's why you agreed on the date remember?" Reborn said. "So you could find out."

Tsuna agreed. It would be good to finally clear up his feelings. What did Haru really mean to him? Just a friend or—the scene earlier flashed in his mind—maybe more. "Yea..." he almost nodded, before he caught himself.

"Reborn! Stop reading my mind!"

Tsuna-san was just as she imagined him. He was wearing casual clothes, an orange t-shirt and a light green jacket, and was standing at the amusement park entrance waiting for her with that wobbly smile of his. He was just too cute!

He was just like how she imagined him yet, this was SO not turning out to be her dream date. And the reason is...

"Why are you here too-desu!" she hissed under her breath. She knew she had to look calm and in control. Cause getting her all riled up is exactly what he wants, but she can't help it. This was her first date with Tsuna-san, and he was ruining it.

Unaware (or maybe perfectly aware) of her murderous thoughts, Belphegor simply grinned at her. "The Prince is free and wants to go to the amusement park."

"But why with Haru?" she asked, exasperated. "Go alone." Go away, she wanted to say but was too polite.

"I don't want to," he simply said. He was really trying her patience. Well, she wouldn't lose.

"Fine-desu!" she said. "Do what you want," She started to run for the entrance, calling out to her date.

"Tsuna-san~~"

He had to admit, the girl was good.

After they met up with the brunette, she hadn't let go of the young Boss's arm even once. She was all smiles to him, the attentive girlfriend, and he could tell that even Sawada was proud to be seen with her.

Meanwhile, he was starting to fall back, not wanting to be seen as a third wheel. Besides, she was just too happy that he didn't want to ruin the fun. He'd mess with her later tonight.

When they turned left to go into the love tunnel, he turned right to the mirror house.

Haru looked back over her shoulder, then stopped when she didn't find Belphegor.

"Haru?" Tsuna asked the dark-haired girl, wondering why she stopped. She turned back to him distracted. "What is it?"

"I-I was just wondering where Princ—Belphegor went," she said.

"Oh, he went into the mirror house," he told her. He saw him enter it in his peripheral vision. "Why?"

"Nothing-desu!" she shook her head. "Let's continue on our date!" she smiled as she lead them away.

But she still couldn't stop looking over her shoulder.

"Byebye Tsuna-san!" she waved at him as he walked away. The brunette waved back until he disappeared into the curve. She released a dreamy sigh as she looked after him. Tsuna-san had walked her home after their date. Their date went perfectly. Well, Tsuna-san didn't win her a stuffed animal and they didn't kiss in the Ferris wheel during the sunset like she dreamed to. But other than that, it was as perfect as can be...especially when the blond left, although she had to keep checking over her shoulder to see if he really wasn't following them.

He turned out to be unexpectedly considerate.

She went back to her room, expecting to find the blond teenager on her bed like always. She was getting used to it now. She opened the door...and there he was.

"Belphegor-san!" she said as she flopped down on the bed, beside him. "Hey!"

"Ushishishi...someone's in a good mood," he told her. She suspected that his eyes must be gleaming mischievously behind those bangs.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" she said as she tackled him, hugging him with one arm. "Thank you!"

Belphegor looked a little disoriented, not used to body contact especially one that didn't involve lots of blood and a gun pointed at you point-blank. A maniacal grin unconsciously spread on his face. "A simple Thank You would do. I didn't know you wanted me so much to leave you alone."

Haru refused to release him.

"Or you could just thank me by mouth," he said, smirking. Haru's arms promptly dropped to her sides, blush coloring her cheeks.

"I still haven't forgiven you for that you know," she stood up and picked her bag that she just dumped on the floor. She rummaged inside it, until she found what she's looking for. She presented it to Belphegor. "Here," she said. "I got this for you,"

His eyes widened behind his bangs. Ever since he met this girl he's had a series of firsts. First kiss, first hug (Lussuria's didn't count), his first (sincere) Thank You...and now, a gift. She really was different. She knew (or suspected) what he was, yet she was still able to treat him like this. She was more than interesting to him now, she was fascinating.

She sat back down on the bed and handed it to him. "I thought of you when I saw it," It was a keychain, with "Prince" written in fancy lettering. Not good enough for the Prince, but since it's from her he would accept it.

"Haru won it," she said proudly.

He turned the keychain around before putting it into his pocket. He was almost sorry he left them alone on their date. Something good must've happened for her to be this happy. "Did the Sawada brat kissed you?" he asked impulsively.

Haru's face turned the color of his flame. "O-Of course not! T-Tsuna-san is a gentleman, so he wouldn't..." she continued to fidget.

Good, he thought. But if that wasn't it, then what is?

For the second time this week, Tsuna lay in his bed...thinking of Haru. The girl had explained everything to him during their date, and he commends her on her bravery and kindness. Yet he was also annoyed...no, angry at her. What if she picked the wrong person to help? She could've been hurt. Also, it was dangerous to get involved on matters like this. What if she was also targeted by them? And lastly, how could she let a complete stranger stay in the same room with her? Alone?

"That last one was especially protective," Reborn commented.

He only sighed and didn't even bother complaining to his tutor anymore. What's the use?

"Admit it Dame-Tsuna," the Arcobaleno said. "You're jealous,"

"Jealous?" he asked incredulously. No way... he wasn't... Why would he be? Haru was still inlove with him, right? Sure, he felt that Haru's sweetness turned down a notch when Belphegor left them alone, and that she wasn't as attentive as before. In fact, she seemed distracted on their whole date, always looking over her shoulder, always looking for him.

She also worked hard to win that keychain and he knew who she would give it to. The Vongola Intuition does not lie. She seems eager to get home, excited to see him.

He tried to convince himself that he was NOT jealous but their date kept rewinding on his head. Haru arriving with Belphegor, looking like they're perfectly suited for each other, Haru looking behind them, Haru hugging him excitedly when she won the keychain, and then that kiss. He kept seeing it on his mind as if on replay, and each time it was just as...irritating.

"Of course not," he muttered in the darkness, but it lacked conviction. He knew Reborn didn't believe it. He didn't even believe it himself anymore. You're losing her Tsuna, he thought.

And he realized he didn't want that.

Two guys watched Haru from a car parked across her school. There was no mistake about it, she was the girl they saw with Belphegor by chance at the amusement park last Saturday. Judging from her attitude, she seems to be on good terms with the blonde assassin, talking casually with him as if they were friends. Ha! Friends...

"Do we really have to do this?" the one on the back seat asked, his voice dull. "This is so troublesome."

"It can't be help, the Captain said to bring her in," the one on the driver's seat replied. He checked his reflection on the rearview mirror.

"She's not even in the mafia," the younger one protested. "If he finds out, he's sure to come after us,"

The driver grinned.

"Good, we want him to."

A/N: Sorry for the overuse plot, I know the practicing-the-lines-for-a-part is like the oldest trick in the book, but it was fun to write anyway. This is just a four chapter fic including the epilogue of some sort, (actually the plot is finished in my mind, I'm just filling in the gaps, flooding it with details etc.) My mind is still high from all the sugar (it helps keep me up at night) so tell me how I did. R&R please!