The next morning, Rosabella stood in the kitchen, three hours of sleep under her belt, making apple pancakes. She promised, although Hayato did not let her go right to sleep once they finished cleaning after dinner the night before. She had a cup of espresso in her hand as she flipped a pancake over. Sipping her coffee, she turned to a pan that had an apple compote going. She peered into the pan, stirring it. Everything was almost done, thankfully. She was exhausted! After breakfast, she still had to clean Hayato's laundry from the past few weeks, do some cleaning in their room, make lunch, call and check in with Fuuta, and do some physical therapy. Just the thought of her full day made her want to crawl into bed and hide for a week. She sighed, setting her coffee down, and brought the platter of pancakes out into the dining room. Setting them down, she went back for the rest of breakfast, which consisted of syrup, the apple compote, and bacon. Setting them all on a tray with milk, juice and coffee, she brought all that out into the dining room.
As she finished up, she heard the door open and people walking in, chatting. She smiled as she looked up, seeing most everyone coming in. Thankfully she made enough for everyone times two. Sitting down, Rosabella motioned to the table.
"Good morning. Breakfast is all ready." She said, pouring herself a new cup of coffee.
"Apple Pancakes! Lambo thanks Rosa!" Lambo exclaimed as he sat down digging in right away. She giggled as she sipped her coffee. There were exclamations on how good everything looked as the rest of the group got themselves some food.
"Aren't you going to eat?" Hayato asked as he sat down beside her. Shaking her head, Rosabella looked at him, raising her cup.
"I didn't get much sleep, so…coffee is my breakfast." She said with a yawn.
"Hopefully you don't have much to do and can get some rest." Tsuna said, sounding concerned. She waved away his concern as she sipped that dark, delicious liquid of the Gods.
"I have some things to do, but don't worry, I'll be fine." She said, setting the cup down. "How are the pancakes?" She asked, looking to Lambo. He looked at her, mouth full, green eyes blinking. He said something garbled by food, giving her a rather interesting smile, then continued to eat. Rosabella waited just a moment, glancing around the room, and seeing no one was going to say anything, she frowned and set her coffee cup down with a bit of force, a thud echoing. "That is not how a gentleman replies to a question bambino. Finish what is in your mouth, and try again properly. I swear, you act as though you were raised by wolves than by the Vongola Decimo." She ignored the eyes on her as she stared down Lambo. He swallowed his food, looked down at his plate, lip trembling.
"Lambo's sorry. It's very good. Thank you for making this for us." He said, voice shaking. She sighed, running a hand over her face.
"Lambo, bambino," She paused before she continued, and glanced around the table, everyone quickly going back to their plates. "Come, sit by Auntie Rosa." She said with a sigh, patting Haru's empty chair. He slowly made his way over to the seat and sat down. She cleared her throat, sipping her coffee.
"What are you doing?" Hayato asked, confused. She gave him a smile, and patted his cheek.
"I want to have a chat with Lambo without everyone hearing it." She replied. He simply nodded, sipping his coffee and giving everyone a glare over the cup.
"Just weird though. He's just a stupid cow."
"Is he?" She asked, kissing his cheek, before turning her attention back to Lambo."Lambo, you hold a very important place in the Vongola yes?" She asked, sipping her coffee, and moving her other hand, loading Lambo's plate with more of everything.
"Lambo is the Lightening Guardian." He said, this time with out a mouth full of food, puffing out his chest.
"Yes bambino," She said with a giggle. "And you do realize eyes are on you just as much as they are on the rest of the Guardians and Tsuna? The entire Mafia knows who you are."
"Of course I AM the Great Lambo!" She felt a headache coming on. She just hoped this route worked.
"So, don't you think they are watching you at big dinners and parties?" Rosabella asked, filling his glass with more juice.
"I guess?" He said, looking uncomfortable.
"The answer is yes. Absolutely. Now, don't you think poor manners like you just displayed would embarrass you and everyone else?" She went back to sipping her coffee, watching the teenager think it over. How childlike this poor soul still was.
"Um…yes?"
"Yes. So, you should always use good manners. That way when you need to, you don't have to think about it." She paused, waiting for him to show he understood. When he nodded, she thought for a moment. "Ooohh I got it. I'll make some desserts. And every day you use your manners as you should, I'll give you one. Just personally for you. Sound like a good deal?" When his face lit up and he smiled, nodding, she patted his head. "Very well. And if you have any questions come ask me ok?" When he nodded a final time, she gave him a warm smile. "Finish your breakfast and get ready for your day then bambino." She said, turning back to Hayato. He simply raised a brow, sitting back in his seat.
"I still…"
"Because can you imagine you're at say… the Chiavarone home for dinner and he pulled something like that?" She asked softly so only the two could hear. He simply paled, then nodded.
"Understood. But aren't you just putting more on your plate so to speak?" He asked, concern in his voice. She cleared her throat, setting the empty coffee cup down.
"Because as the girlfriend of the right hand man, I have to make sure proper manners are adhered to as not to embarrass the tenth." She said in her best Hayato Gokudera impersonation. He gave her his best deadpan look, then got up, grabbing some plates.
"I'm going to clean the kitchen so you don't have to." She sighed, watching him gather the empty dishes, then Yamamoto joining him. She glanced around the table, just realizing Kyoko and Haru were absent.
"Tsuna?" She asked, when he looked over at her, she waved a hand. "Where are Kyoko and Haru?" She asked, a slight frown playing at the corners of her mouth.
"Kyoko-chan isn't feeling well. I think she has a fever. And Haru…" He shrugged. "I haven't seen her yet."
"Hopefully she didn't catch Kyoko's cold." She said, gathering some lingering plates.
"Rosa?" She heard Tsuna say. She paused as she looked over. Everyone else was filing out of the room. "Thank you for working with Lambo the way you are." He sighed, standing, gathering a few plates nearby. "When he came into my life, I just realized I was to be this, and I was in middle school. Couldn't really teach him anything, no matter how hard I tried. Kyoko-chan and Haru coddle him. I know that, but that's not all he needs, and he seems to listen to you more. So… thank you." He ducked his head in a sort of a bow and handed her the dishes. She blinked a few times, slightly stunned as he turned and headed out of the room, leaving her alone.
Rosabella was still a bit stunned as she carried the left over dishes into the kitchen. The sight that greeted her, just stunned her even more. Hayato and Yamamoto were, both, wearing aprons and washing the dishes. Yamamoto smiled as she walked in.
"Just set them over on the counter with the rest!" He said cheerfully. "We'll get to them in a few."
"I can wash the dishes you know guys." She said, setting them where she was instructed.
"You've been doing enough." Yamamoto said, as he washed the dishes. "We aren't doing anything, we don't mind."
"Yeah, I'm shit at doing laundry and I know I have a huge pile, so trade off." Hayato said, as he rinsed. Rosabella sighed, then went over, kissing Yamamoto's cheek, which earned her a blush, then kissed Hayato's which earned her an arm around the waist. He pulled her closer and gave her a hard, lingering kiss, before letting her go, grinning. "I had to get a better one than that idiot." She simply laughed and headed out of the kitchen.
"Yamamoto, bring your laundry down and I'll wash that too then." She said as she headed out, towards her and Hayato's bedroom.
Later on that day, Rosabella was in the laundry room, laundry baskets all around her. She sat in front of a pile of clean clothes, folding them. Lambo and I-pin had come by earlier and decided to help her. She let the two fold Yamamoto's clothes, instructing that anything related to a suit must be on a hanger.
"Rosa?" She heard Lambo say. She looked over from one of Hayato's t-shirts, giving him a smile.
"Yes bambino?"
"We were wondering…." He began as he folded an article of clothing. "Well, me and I-Pin…."
"I-Pin and I." She corrected.
"Yeah, I-Pin and I… well, you're such a great person. You're so nice, pretty, and smart, why are you going with Stupi-…I mean Gokudera? He's so mean, easily angry, and well…" She sighed softly, knowing sooner or later she would have to answer that particular question.
"Well, let's see…." She picked up another shirt folding it as she thought it over. "Let's see…he's the sweetest man I've ever come across, a perfect gentleman…" Seeing their uncertain looks, she shrugged. "To me atleast. Anyway, I like being around him, he's easy to talk to, and I love him, feeling as though I've known him all my life." She shrugged as she continued to fold. "Now, if you want to help, let's finish this. I still need to finish today's dessert." She said, yawning.
"Rosa, you look really tired. It's ok if…" She shook her head cutting Lambo off.
"It's fine. A promise is a promise. And I always keep my promises." She said, nodding to herself, giving them a smile. "And I appreciate the help. I feel like this would have taken me all day."
"We don't mind helping you, Kyoko-nee and Haru-nee out." Lambo replied, blushing faintly. All three of them looked over as they heard someone clear their throat. Hayato stood there with Yamamoto. There was a faint blush on Hayato's cheeks. He crossed his arms, leaning on the door frame. Yamamoto finally spoke up, looking slightly embarrassed. How long had they been standing there?
"If you're done, I can take my laundry back to my room." He said, walking into the room.
"Just finished!" I-Pin announced, smiling brightly. Rosabella looked at the two teenagers, giving them a smile as she finished up.
"Why don't the two of you help Yamamoto? There's plenty for all three of you to carry." She suggested, putting the last onto one of Hayato's piles.
"Didn't I tell you to call me Takeshi?" Yamamoto said, grabbing most of his clothes, but letting the other two help.
"Hayato gets this jealous glint in his eye when I mention it. So, I'll stick with Yamamoto." She said laughing. He simply laughed as he walked out.
"Ahahaha I can see that!" He said, leaving, the two following him. Hayato finally stepped fully into the laundry room, still blushing.
" Did you have to tell him all that?" He asked, walking over to her.
"Well, I figured that was the best way to get him off of my back without hurting any feelings." She said, standing with a stack of clothes. She felt his arms wrap around her waist, pulling her close.
"I suppose." He murmured, kissing her ear. "C'mon. Let's get this stuff put away, or at least in the room. Then you can take a nice long nap." She sighed, leaning back against him.
"But…I have so much I need to do still…" She said quietly, then yawned loudly.
"Do it later." He mumbled, tightening his hold a bit. "You've done so much already. Time for a break. You'll burn yourself out." She sighed softly, nodding.
"Yeah, yeah. Ok." She turned in his arms, giving him a smile. "You have to let me go first though." She giggled seeing him scowl, reluctantly letting her go.
"Fine." He sighed, sounding much more put out than he actually was. She laughed, and picked up a stack of laundry.
"If you want to grab the rest, we can get going." She said, heading for the door. She heard him sigh again as she headed out and towards the room they shared.
A few hours later, Hayato was laying in bed next to Rosabella. She had fallen asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. He sighed softly, brushing some hair from her face. She was working herself way too hard. He thought that taking care of everyone here was a full time job. Along with that, she had her book store, and had taken it upon herself to teach Lambo to be a functional member of society. He wondered how he could help lessen some of the workload from her.
He chewed his thumb in thought, but not coming up with anything. He considered calling Dino and asking, but lately Dino would rather kill him than help. Maybe Tsuna? He sighed, as he pulled her closer to him. That one was right out. Tsuna would be concerned, but also knew that was her choice and didn't want to force her into giving up anything.
When Rosabella snuggled into him, he smiled softly down at her, smoothing her hair with a hand. He was sure he'd think of something sooner or later. Yawning, he closed his eyes, feeling sleep take over.
A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed it! I have an overall plan, just some things are getting away from me though! I try to stick to 2500 words or less per chapter, trying to usually shoot for 2500 as a goal. A few end up less, one I just had to trim down from over 3000 :/ Let me know what you think with comments/reviews!
