Title: Tales of Maroon
Fandom: Katekyo Hitman Reborn!
Main Characters: GokuderaxHaru
Song: "Daylight" from "Overexposed"
Standard Disclaimer Applied
A/N: Hello there! Gosh, I used to write a lot on this site. But I suddenly stopped, mostly due to the lack of motivation. But suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, an urge to write 5986 fanfiction hit me. But before I could do that, I needed to fix up some of the old things I had written. Which is why all chapters of "Tales of Maroon" have been updated! Now, I haven't written a fiction story in awhile, so please pardon my rusty story telling skills.
I'm going to be using the song "Daylight" for this chapter. It's from Maroon 5's fourth studio album, "Overexposed", and you might have heard it already since it was released as a single. Enjoy!
Here I am waiting
I'll have to leave soon
Why am I holding on?
We knew this day would come
We knew it all along
How did it come so fast?
This is our last night but it's late
And I'm trying not to sleep
Cause I know, when I wake, I will have to slip away
And when the daylight comes I'll have to go
But tonight I'm gonna hold you so close
Cause in the daylight we'll be on our own
But tonight I need to hold you so close
Oh-whoa, oh-whoa, oh-whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-whoa, oh-whoa, oh-whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Here I am staring at your perfection
In my arms, so beautiful
The sky is getting bright, the stars are burning out
Somebody slow it down
This is way too hard, cause I know
When the sun comes up, I will leave
This is my last glance that will soon be memory
And when the daylight comes I'll have to go
But tonight I'm gonna hold you so close
Cause in the daylight we'll be on our own
But tonight I need to hold you so close
Oh-whoa, oh-whoa, oh-whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-whoa, oh-whoa, oh-whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
I never want it to stop
Because I don't wanna start all over
Start all over
I was afraid of the dark
But now it's all that I want
All that I want, all that I want
And when the daylight comes I'll have to go
But tonight I'm gonna hold you so close
Cause in the daylight we'll be on our own
But tonight I need to hold you so close
And when the daylight comes I'll have to go
But tonight I'm gonna hold you so close
Cause in the daylight we'll be on our own
But tonight I need to hold you so close
Oh-whoa, oh-whoa, oh-whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-whoa, oh-whoa, oh-whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-whoa (yeah), oh-whoa (yeah), oh-whoa (yeah), oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh (yeah)
Oh-whoa (yeah), oh-whoa (yeah), oh-whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
The door opened with little resistance, and lavender was the first thing Gokudera smelled as he stepped into his home. The soft scent nearly overwhelmed him, not because it was a wretched smell, but rather because it had been so long since he last breathed it in. In fact, it had been nearly three months since he walked through that door, and nearly 91 days since he had last seen his wife.
"Gokudera?" a voice called from the dining room. He followed the sound, and when he made it to the room, he saw Haru sitting at the large table. Papers were strewn all around, and Haru's hand was poised over a checkbook. She didn't get up to greet him, but instead set her pen down and smiled brightly at him.
"It's time to pay the bills, I see," he said as he kissed her forehead and sat down beside her. His hand reaching out to hold hers. "You really shouldn't leave the door unlocked you know."
She gripped his hand tightly. "I don't have to worry about anyone breaking in, stupid. All those thugs know that there would be hell to pay if they so much as looked at the front door."
"That's true," he said while looking down at their joined hands. "It's still the thought of knowing that you'd be safe, I guess."
She laughed. "Hayato, that's silly. But, if it makes you feel better, I guess I can start making it a habit."
A comfortable silence followed her promise, and the two sat together for that precious and rare moment. Eventually, Haru was the one to speak up. "How was the trip?" she asked.
He sighed, at last letting go of her hand so that he could stand up. He answered her as he walked to the kitchen in search of a cup of coffee. "Fine, I guess. The other family didn't put up much of a fight physically, but they were fucking pricks when it came to negotiations." He scoffed. "By the way they acted, you would think that they had all of the power."
"But at least you weren't hurt," she said, returning to the bills in front of her. "That's better than the last time you had to leave for something like this."
Gokudera grunted in agreement, rubbing the rib that had been broken the last time he had been away. "But those other shitheads at least had enough sense to know that they were beat after we handed their asses to them." His attention was drawn to a pot of coffee on the counter, already hot and ready. He smiled at how prepared Haru was.
He heard Haru laugh in the other room, and the sound made his smile even broader. "Did anything interesting happen?" she asked.
"If you count Hibari leaving because a nest of Hibirds were hatching as interesting, then I guess so," he said. He returned with a steaming cup of coffee in a large mug, which he placed carefully down on top of the table.
Haru smiled as she signed another bill. "That's actually very sweet, and you know it."
Gokudera scoffed. "Sure. Except he got the call in the middle of the meeting and just left. The asshole didn't even ask the Tenth if he could leave."
"But were the birdies alright?"
Gokudera rolled his eyes. "Yes, they're fine. Those things wouldn't have the guts to not be okay, considering who Hibari is."
They sat there in the dining room for some time, each taking their time to tell the other all the things that had happened in the last three months. Haru informed Gokudera that I-Pin was moving in so that she would be closer to her school, and that Lambo demanded that he too be allowed live with Haru.
"Dumb cow better not break anything, or so help me," Gokudera mumbled. Haru grinned as she pushed away the papers around her then stretched her arms high above her head. Gokudera eyed her with a raised eyebrow, which sent Haru into a small fit of giggles.
"Stop looking at me, you weirdo," she said breathed, looking at him with an impish grin.
"You know, I haven't had the chance to look at a pretty lady in three months," Gokudera teased.
"So you've been looking at other women, huh?" Haru wrinkled her nose, then shook her head in mock disappointment.
Gokudera lightly kicked Haru's foot below the table. When she reached out to hit him on the shoulder in retaliation, Gokudera grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer. He looked at her intensely, and the look in his eyes caused Haru to blush lightly. However, Gokudera broke the moment by wiggling his eyebrows at her, which caused her to laugh yet again. When she at last managed to keep the laughter at bay, she looked at him, but this time she looked at him seriously.
"So, when do you have to leave again?" she asked.
Gokudera sighed. "Tomorrow." Haru's face fell. "We need to get things back to normal at Headquarters," he explained, all the while knowing that no explanation would make it any easier.
Haru was silent, her gaze unable to look at Gokudera.
"Hey," he said softly. "It's going to be alright. I won't be gone as long, and when I come back, I'll get to stay for awhile longer."
"You mean it," she asked, perking up slightly.
"Of course," he said, leaning forward to lightly peck her noise. He smiled at her, and eventually she smiled back.
"Well," she began as she stood up and began walking out of the dining room. "Since we don't have much time… Do you want to go upstairs?"
Gokudera looked out of the bedroom window and saw the first light of dawn peeking through the shades. Sitting up in bed, he slowly smoked the cigarette that hung from his lips. He lazily took one last breath of the cancer stick, then put it out in the ashtray he kept beside his bed.
He looked beside him where Haru lay, her sleeping form causing the sheets to rise and fall with each breath. She had snuggled close to his side before falling asleep, and her head rested lightly on his rib cage. His turned so that he now lay on his side, and with one arm wrapped around her, he gently combed his fingers through her hair.
He took in the sight of her beside him. Her hair fanned out against his arm, and her pert nose was pressed into his chest. Her eyelids would twitch as she dreamed, and her mouth hung open just in the slightest. She held her arms close to her chest in her sleep, but her legs were stretched out so that they tangled with his. She wasn't exactly the most of graceful sleeper, but then again, who actually looked good while they slept?
It was seeing her like this that broke his heart, even though he was almost positive that she was drooling on him. Leaving her behind whenever the family needed him made him almost hate his job sometimes. Even with the knowledge that the Tenth was having him do something important, and even while knowing that there were people whose lives depended on him, Gokudera had moments when he wanted to leave the Vongola.
He didn't dare tell this to anyone, especially Haru. Everyone was always under the impression that Gokudera would die for the Vongola famigilia, die for the Tenth. That might have even been true in the pase, but now he had someone who waited at home for him. Someone who managed to love him despite all of his shortcomings and fears.
He cut his musing shorts when he felt Haru move beside him. He looked at her as she took in a deep breath and stretched. Slowly she opened her eyes, blinking a few times until her vision cleared. She looked ahead to the window, then looked at him.
"Good morning," he said quietly.
She stretched her arms out so that she could wrap her arms around his waist. "Good morning".
They lay there together for a moment, for Haru was still busy trying to wake up and Gokudera wanted to give her all of the time that she needed.
"What time is it?" she asked him, moving so that she was closer to him.
Gokudera craned his head to see that the clock read 5:30. He told Haru, who made a dissatisfied noise. "I don't want you to leave," she murmured, her warm breath tickling Gokudera's skin.
He chuckled, squeezing her tightly against him. "I don't want to go either."
"Did you get much sleep last night?"
"Hm, not really."
"Why not?" she asked, pushing herself up with her elbows so that she could get a better look at him. Gokudera reached out his hand so that he could cradle her face within his hand.
"I don't get see you as often as I would like to, Haru. I'll have to leave soon, and sleeping is something I can do on a plane. I can't look at you when I'm flying."
"You could always call me," she suggested while she lay back down.
"You know I can't do that," he said quietly. "When I'm away, I need to stay focused on what's going on around me. Walking away from something for a minute to call you could result in someone dying, Haru. You know I can't take that risk."
"But you'll be at the Vongola headquarters. Why can't you call then?"
Gokudera was quiet, wondering why he had hadn't realized that sooner. The lack of sleep just might be affecting him after all. "That's a good point." Haru sat up again.
"How about Skype? Could we Skype?" she asked enthusiastically.
Gokudera pulled her back down to him. "Yes. We can Skype."
They talked to each other in soft whispers until the room was completely bathed in early morning light, but both ignored the fact that it was almost time for Gokudera to leave. But when the alarm from the clock went off, they could no longer hide from the fact that the sun had now risen.
"I should get up," he said.
"I would agree with that."
"I can't get up if you won't let go of me."
She snorted. "The same things applies to you."
"How about this… On the count of three, we both let go," Gokudera suggested.
"I could agree with that."
"Alright then," he said. He counted out 1, 2, and 3 out, but when he reached three, neither had moved. "Well, that didn't work out."
"No, it didn't," Haru chuckled. She took a deep breath, then pulled herself away from Gokudera. She moved until she sat at the edge of the bed, then looked at him.
"I'll go make a quick breakfast. You get ready, okay?"
Gokudera reached towards her, but she avoided him. Laying back down onto the bed with a huff he said, "Fine."
"Remember. You said that you at least would call," Haru said as she adjusted Gokudera's tie. "I can live without a Skype, but you have to call me. Are we clear?"
"Understood," he agreed, bending down so that he could kiss her cheek. "Let me know how the I-Pin and Lambo thing works out, won't you?"
Haru rolled her eyes. "Of course. Geesh, you'd think I was tightlipped with the way you treat me."
"I don't have any trouble getting you to open your moth," he teased. Haru swatted at him.
"Are you sure you want to fly in a suite? It looks awfully uncomfortable."
"Haru, I'll be fine. If I end up changing my mind, I'll get something from my suitcase."
Haru sighed, examining the bags the Gokudera had quickly packed. "I guess you're ready to go then."
"Not yet," he said, bending down so that he lifted her up in his arms. He hugged her tightly, and she tightly squeezed him. "It'll just be a month. Then I'll come back, and we can be settle into a routine for awhile. I promise."
Gokudera set Haru down, and she smiled at him. "I'll look forward to that."
After giving her one last kiss, Gokudera gathered all of his luggage. Haru opened the door, and without looking back, Gokudera walked out the door. She stood there and watched him leave until he had got in his car and drove away into the daylight.