I have nothing to say in defence of this chapter. Long as it is, I have done my very best to include one or two other characters in it as well as convey the message I want to. I know I'm skipping ahead, but that's because I feel like the delicate balance of enough and too much is on the verge of tipping in the wrong direction. Well, here is the long awaited chapter seven. Let me know what you think? Thanks!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own KHR or any of the characters depicted here. I only own the plot of this fan fiction story and nothing else.
Miura Haru was going to prove difficult. Hibari seriously didn't have the time to chase her halfway through the Vongola house, but that was what she had resorted to doing. Twice already, she had gone to sleep in I-pin's room and Chrome's rooms respectively, once she had defied his orders and simply gone back to bed in her room again, needless to say he had carried her back to his room again, and three times, she had slept in different rooms on the third and fourth floors. It had become like a before bedtime game for them.
Of course the speculation about them continued and escalated even. Subtle hints and carefully worded jokes that had everyone giggling and Haru shifting uncomfortably and blushing whenever she met his gaze made the rounds. Tonight, she had gone missing again. At midnight, as usual, he had put on his robe and stepped out into the cold dark hallway. It was time to hunt his little herbivore down again, he thought with a smirk.
Earlier that night:
Yamamoto had gone back to his room exhausted. It had been a tiring day what with practice and helping Gokudera with some of the groundwork after that. He took a quick shower and changed into his sleeping pants as he wiped his hair. He was just heading towards the light switch when the knock came. It was late. Who on earth could it be?
He opened the door and was rather surprised to find Haru there.
"Oh good, you're not asleep yet," she said and pushed past him entering the room and closing the door. He stepped back in surprise.
"Haru, what are you doing here?"
"Hiding. He'll never find me here," she said with a grin. He frowned and reached for his shirt.
"Hiding? Who are you hiding from?" he asked pulling it on. Haru opened the door and peeped into the hallway. He gave her a puzzled look and peered out into the dark hallway over her shoulder hoping to see who she was afraid of or running from before she shut it abruptly and turned to meet with his broad chest. She blushed and brushed past him.
"Haru, what is it?" he asked. She reached for the door before he could and locked it with a resounding click. He raised an eyebrow.
"Haru, seriously," he said with uncharacteristic firmness.
"Can I sleep here tonight?" she said giving him the sweetest smile she could muster, her hands clasped in front of her.
"What do you mean sleep here? You're... you're hiding from Hibari..." he said his eyes lighting up with the realisation. She gave a small nod then grabbed his hand.
"Please Yamamoto, please? I'll make you an extra sandwich for breakfast... or I'll personally do your laundry for a month! Please let me stay here..." she pleaded and gave him a puppy-dog look. He sighed and rolled his eyes.
"I guess I'm taking the couch tonight," he sighed.
"Thank you!" she cried and threw her arms around his neck. She reached up and kissed his cheek then made her way to his bed. He stood there for a minute regarding her then he smiled and shook his head. Hibari would be more than irritated to find her in his room and she probably knew this as well as she knew her name. Their games were becoming something of a normality in the mansion and nobody found it so strange to have whispered arguments echoing in the hallways at night.
She was asleep by the time he was settled. He sighed and switched off the lamp beside his couch. Either way he looked at it, this was going to need one hell of an explanation and he hoped Haru had already come up with one. It wasn't that he wouldn't defend her so much as he'd rather not get involved. The only bright side he could see to this situation was that at least it promised to be interesting.
*.*.*.*.*.*.*
He mentally went over all the possibilities. She had been to Kyoko's, I-pin's and Chrome's rooms already, and so had he, just to be sure. None of them had seen her. He checked each of the upstairs rooms himself but still didn't find her.
She was getting clever with her hiding spots. He wouldn't put it past her to sleep on one of the sofas in the various meeting rooms and studies and offices in the mansion. She wasn't in any of them. Now he was just getting irritated. Where was she? She wasn't at Hana's either and he knew that for a fact because Hana had joined her family overseas for a while. Ryohei wouldn't shut up about how much he missed her (to the extreme!) so he ruled her out as well.
Maybe she had decided to spend the night with one of the guardians? For some reason, the thought disturbed him more than he thought she would. He had to find her, but where? Now he was running purely on anger. She had probably sought one of them out in the hopes that they would give her a safe haven.
The least likely choice was Gokudera. It would take too much effort on Haru's part to convince him to let her stay in his room. It would be even more of a bother if he woke him up looking for her and those were lengths he wasn't willing to go to. He was annoyed enough as it was. The next choice was Ryohei, but he was watching over the house he shared with Hana while she was away so he was out of the question. He had checked the boxer's room anyway in case she got clever and decided to sleep there.
Tsuna had been the reason for Haru's coming into Hibari's room to begin with. She had been heartbroken that he had chosen Kyoko over her, so he doubted she would choose him to spend the night with. Kyoko would hardly take that kindly either and the friendship they shared was too strong for Haru to seek out the Vongola Sky Guardian even if she was desperate to avoid Hibari at all costs. That was not a risk she would take.
Of course, she could have chosen Lambo, but that was unlikely. Lambo was the annoying guardian of the family and having already fought and lost once with Hibari, Lambo wouldn't harbour her knowing that he would probably have to go through the unpleasant situation of having a taste of one of Hibari's deadly tonfas. Granted he had improved tremendously since their beginning years, but Hibari was ten years older and as many times more skilled in the art of fighting. Lambo gave a whole new meaning to the word herbivore.
That left Yamamoto.
If she wasn't there, he would go to sleep and ask for her in the morning. She couldn't hide forever. He had her things in his room after all. He went up to the door, knocked and waited patiently, his temper rising with every passing second. She had better be there.
*.*.*.*.*.*.*
Yamamoto heard the knock and sighed. That was fast. It was probably Hibari coming to look for Haru. He pushed aside the covers and scratched his head rubbing his eyes as he headed for the door. If the curt knock was any indication, it was just a matter of seconds before the door opened of its own accord.
Still, he spared a moment to go and see if she was awake. She was fast asleep. He was surprised she could sleep so soundly. Smiling down at her, he pressed a kiss to her forehead and she wrinkled her face in her sleep and moved away. He chuckled and patted her head.
"Forgive me Haru," he whispered and went to the door. He opened it and gave Hibari a sleepy grin.
"Trouble in paradise?" he asked with a friendly chuckle at Hibari's scowl.
"Where is she?" he asked disgruntled. Yamamoto smiled and opened the door wider letting Hibari in. He knew Haru would probably see it as betrayal, but she really had to learn to fight her battles for herself. He knew which ones to get involved in and which ones not to and this time, he was not to interfere.
Hibari walked in wordlessly and headed for the bed. Pushing them aside gently, he reached for Haru and picked her up. She stirred but didn't wake. He headed back out the door with her and nodded at Yamamoto on his way out. Yamamoto nodded back and closed the door behind them. They could sort it out in the morning.
*.*.*.*.*.*.*
Hibari placed her on his bed under the covers and she settled in almost immediately. For one who avoided his bed so much, she didn't seem to have any qualms about it. He smirked and got under the covers with her. He would get another night of proper rest at last.
Haru woke up in the middle of the night and looked around. She wasn't in Yamamoto's bed, or in his room for that matter. She spied her bracelet on the ebony bedside table gleaming faintly in the shafts of moonlight coming in.
Ebony bedside tables. She groaned and turned. Only one room in the whole Vongola mansion had ebony bedside tables, and she had checked! Yamamoto, that traitor! The heavy arm wrapped around her middle didn't move. She supposed she should get used to this. She couldn't avoid him forever. He had a comfortable bed besides and none of the others she had slept in that week seemed to hold any appeal for her any more.
She sighed giving in to the inevitable. She might as well get comfortable. She was going to be there a while. Snuggling up to him, she went back to sleep breathing in the fresh scent of male musk and pine...
A/N: Well, here's another chappie, but I will be taking a teeny break from 'Bedmates' to update 'Break Even.' I'm sure you're all dying to know what will happen next there too. As I said before, I'm working on both at once. Hopefully, everything will turn out alright! Don't forget to review!