It was a relatively crisp early morning when Dino had returned from a scuffle that had happened when he was defending his territory. He had been up all night and was ready to go to bed, but he decided to go through some last minute paperwork, so he headed to his office instead. Instantly his guard went up as he found light flooding out from under the closed door.
'Did someone break in?' was Dino's first thought as he gritted his teeth while opening the door slowly.
Keeping his hand on his trusty whip – given to him by Reborn's chameleon, Leon – he edged through the doorway and up to his desk, where he found his seat facing towards the window. When he came closer to the chair, he could also hear a low, even breathing coming from it.
'Is there someone sitting in my seat…?' he thought with curiosity, getting a little caught off guard. 'And it sounds kind of like…' – he paused – '…is someone sleeping there?!'
Dino then slowly swung the chair around so he could see who was having a snooze in it. Was it one of his men? Or maybe it was a stranger. But it was actually…
"A woman?!" he exclaimed with shock while blushing, making her stir a little, so he continued in a hushed voice. "Why is there a woman in my chair?"
He was about to go looking for his right hand man, Romario, for an explanation when he noticed the woman's face and her long wavy reddish brown hair. As soon as he saw her he knew exactly who it was.
"Rosetta…" Dino uttered her name softly as a smile made its way to his face. "What Squalo told me was true. She did come back."
Immediately he recalled his inheritance ceremony in which Squalo had informed the new boss that Rosetta had visited with him and would be coming by to see Dino again soon. The Cavallone boss was happy to finally see her again, but he really wished that Rosetta would have been there at the ceremony. At any rate, she was here now…and sleeping soundly in his chair. Dino stood up straight and sighed as he scratched the back of his head.
"Hmm…How am I going to do this…?" he muttered, thinking of the best way to remove her without moving her too much and waking her up.
He then tried a few methods, moving this way and that, not really picking her up until he was absolutely sure. Finally he settled on picking her up and holding her bride style. She stirred a little at first, but then relaxed, resting her head against his chest, which took him by surprise. Blushing all the while, Dino then walked slowly to the plush couch set not too far away from the desk and laid her down gently. He then removed his favorite coat – a nice durable tan colored coat with a black faux fur trim around the hood – and draped it over her shoulders to keep her top half warm at least. He stood back and watched her for a moment before remembering what he came to his office for in the first place, so he set off to his desk to get to work.
A good couple of hours passed before Rosetta stirred and opened her eyes groggily, finding that she did not wake up where she had fallen asleep. She sat up slowly, discovering that she was lying on a couch with someone's coat draped over her upper body, but she had never left the room. She sat there for a few minutes as she pondered on these things until a young man's voice brought her back.
"Oh hey, you're awake." Rosetta heard his voice resound from behind her.
She didn't recognize the voice at first, but when she turned around to face the source, she was quite surprised at who she saw before her.
Standing behind his desk was an older and more mature Dino. Silently in her head Rosetta figured that if she was eighteen, he was at least twenty. He had gained more toned muscle, and he grew a foot taller than the last time they had seen each other, making him six feet tall. He also grew out his golden locks, the slightly spiked ends stopping just as the base of his neck, almost hiding a couple of small blue flame tattoos. Speaking of tattoos, he had quite a few running down his left arm. She could see a tattoo of a yellowish orange sun with a C in the middle and his surname on a scroll over the bottom of it, just peeking out from under his t-shirt. Right under his elbow was a tattoo of a black horse rearing on its hind legs with blue flames behind it. Barbed wire was inked around his forearm with the word "Baracca" tattooed on his wrist over them. Finally there were a couple more small blue flames tattooed on his hand. He was currently wearing a simple red t-shirt and blue jeans with light blue converse.
Even if he was dressed simply, Rosetta found herself even more attracted to the grown man before her.
"Um…S-So…" she finally said bashfully as she lifted her gaze away. "Wow it's been a long time… Congratulations on your becoming a boss. I'm sorry I couldn't be there but something came up at the last minute…"
"It's okay. I mean, even though I really wanted you to come." Dino stated in response. "Still, the message from Squalo was more than enough to let me know that we would meet again."
"You surely surprised me when I saw you." Rosetta said with a chuckle. "You never seemed like the type of person to get so many tattoos…"
The Cavallone boss took a look at his left arm and said in reply, "Oh yeah. Once I got my first, I just wanted to get a few more, so before I knew it, my whole arm had been inked."
His statement then faded as an awkward silence fell between the two. This went on for a few minutes before Rosetta decided to break the silence.
"…Well, it's getting late so I'm just going to go to my room to rest…" she stated hesitantly. "Um… You should probably get some too."
"Yeah I'll turn in for the night in a while." Dino agreed as he watched her turn and walk to the door. "Goodnight…Rosetta."
She flashed him a smile and wished him goodnight before opening the door and walking out. As she closed the door behind her, Rosetta rested her body against the wood and sighed.
'Wow. Dino has definitely grown into a handsome young man…' she thought as a deep red blush rushed to her cheeks. 'No wonder he's the talk of the town with all the mafia women… I just hope I'm not too late…'
Rosetta then made her way to her room as she said she would do to get some much needed rest….
Days went by as usual and Rosetta and Antonio moved in temporarily, because the Mezzanotte Manor was still under reconstruction and Dino had insisted that they stay at his manor rather than a hotel. After that first night, they didn't get to see much of each other, as they both had their duties as mafia bosses. Well, Rosetta wasn't a boss quite yet, as she had told him it was only temporary until…
"Until what?" Dino asked curiously one day.
"I'm sorry Dino," Rosetta replied, immediately closing up on the matter as she took the halved ring in her grasp. "That's classified information…"
That's what she would usually do when the topic of her famiglia came up. He could tell that she hated to keep all these secrets from him, but he wasn't a Mezzanotte, so stay in the dark about these things he did.
Other times when conversations were about normal things, there was a somewhat tense awkwardness in the air around them. Dino thought it had always been like this, but then he realized it may have been the time they had spent away from each other and the changes in their lives that they had gone through. Despite knowing, he still felt a little tense around the now more beautiful Rosetta, and today he was the most tense of all.
Why? Because she had left to go meet the new principal of the school they attended together. And the new head of the school was none other than Emilio Alfieri of course. Sure Dino and he had become friends (somewhat), but their rivalry was still strong between them. After all, Dino wasn't the only male who had grown from a skinny boy into a handsome man worthy of Rosetta.
He was now as tall as Dino, still with the same hair and eye color, though his hair was a little more tamed and parted on the left side. He had ditched his glasses for contacts, and had a little more of a laid back attitude. He stayed with his casual classy look with his jeans and dress shirt but now wore a grey suit jacket over his shirt.
It was no wonder that the man had gained just as many female admirers as Dino, but just like the Cavallone boss, Emilio had reserved his heart for only one woman, and that's what he was worried about at this moment.
It was late afternoon when Rosetta returned to an anxious Dino who was waiting in his office for her.
As soon as she walked in through the doorway, Dino stood up quickly and asked, "So, how did your reunion with Emilio go?"
Rosetta sighed and took a seat at the couch before answering. "Well, he showed me around the school and I saw all of the new developments." She began before taking a breath and continuing hesitantly. "And then he took me by surprise…and proposed to me."
She then looked to Dino to see that his jaw had dropped a little and he was now sitting back down with a look of shock on his face.
After a few minutes he asked, "So…um…What was your answer?"
The next few moments felt like hours to the Cavallone boss as he waited on baited breath for his friend's answer.
Finally she said in reply, "I told him that it was all too soon and he was going too fast, especially with the fact that we hadn't seen each other in five years. He seemed to take it well, but I think I totally crushed his heart…"
Dino's heart soared at Rosetta's statement that proved that she was still single. He now had another chance to tell her how he really felt. But that chance would have to wait a while, considering the two didn't get many opportunities to have conversation that often. Therefore Dino could only watch the woman he admired from a distance, as he was doing right now through his office window.
"…oss…Boss." He heard the voice of his right hand man Romario say repeatedly, bringing him back to reality.
The Cavallone boss turned to Romario before waking from his daze.
Romario stood as tall as Dino with short spikey black hair with slightly bushy eyebrows and a bushy mustache. He is usually seen wearing a simple black suit and tie with a white button up shirt.
"Oh, sorry Romario." The Cavallone boss finally said while rubbing the back of his neck and noticing the papers in his right hand man's possession. "You wanted me to sign some papers?"
"Yes boss." Romario replied before noticing that his boss was watching Rosetta do her work outside for a change. "Were you watching Lady Rosetta again?"
"What?! Um…No…No I wasn't…" Dino answered, blushing a deep red.
He then noticed that Romario was giving him a stare that seemed to say, "I know that you know that I know what you were really doing," and he gazed back at Rosetta before answering.
"Yes…" Dino stated with a sigh, giving up. "What am I supposed to do, Romario if I can't tell her that I love her?"
"You'll never know whether she really returns your affections unless you do." His right hand man said in reply. "And if you don't you know what will happen…"
"Yeah, some other man will gain her love…" the Cavallone boss said what the both of them were thinking.
"You were lucky that Lady Rosetta refused Mr. Emilio's proposal." Romario continued before gathering some finished paperwork to file. "But you may not get a chance like this again, Boss." He then left Dino, who was now busy formulating a plan to finally confess his love for Rosetta.
And plan he did, but many of them either got scrapped or failed altogether. Either way, Dino never got to convey his feelings, but what he didn't know was that he didn't really need to do anything special. He would learn that the hard way, and this horrible rainy day was the day.
Ironically enough, this horrible overcast day also happened to be Valentine's Day; the same day five years ago when Dino had tried – and failed – to tell Rosetta how he felt about her the first time through letter. The same letter Dino was now looking for in his desk to give him some inspiration and confidence, but couldn't seem to find.
"Where is it?!" he asked himself while digging through one of the drawers in his desk. "I could've sworn I left it in here!" – he pulled out the box that had the necklace in it – "Here's the necklace, but where's the letter?"
He continued to search frantically before he eventually gave up and decided to wing it. Before he knew it, Dino found himself grasping for the right words to say in front of Rosetta's room. Once he was sure of the words he would use, he knocked on the door hesitantly.
He heard a "Come in," and opened the door, walking in. As soon as he saw Rosetta's back facing towards him, he lost his confession, and couldn't find the words that he had practiced at the doorway. Silence fell between them and the only thing they heard was the rain pouring down on the roof outside the whole time.
Finally Rosetta spoke.
"You know, you could've told me Dino." She stated simply before turning to face him.
At first, Dino was confused at what she had said, but then he noticed the folded white paper in her hand and knew. Rosetta had somehow found his letter and read it. Immediately the Cavallone boss' cheeks became a beet red before Rosetta had decided to continue.
"I found it in the upper right drawer of your desk while I was looking for a paper clip. It had my name on it, so I took it here and read it." She said with a hurt expression apparent on her face. "I saw the date on the top. You meant to tell me five years ago before I left so why didn't you tell me?"
Dino calmed down and sighed while scratching his head. "What would it really do if I did tell you?" he replied with his question. "You still would have left me with unanswered questions."
"Yes, but I would have returned sooner, Dino." Rosetta stated as she walked up to him so they were standing only inches apart. "Because…" – she paused while blushing – "Ti amo troppo (1), Dino…"
The Cavallone boss froze in a state of shock, blushing again. He almost couldn't believe what she was saying to him. Finally his emotions got the better of him and he took Rosetta up in a tight but gentle hug.
"You have no idea how happy this makes me, Rosetta. I've been in love with you for so long…I-I don't know what I would do if you didn't love me back…" He whispered with a smile.
"Me too, Dino." She said in response, a little tense at first, but then she relaxed and returned the hug, finally holding his strong form in her arms. The two of them stayed like that for a moment longer, and then parted hesitantly.
"So…What do we do now?" Dino asked uncertainly.
"Well, seeing as it's raining outside…" Rosetta replied before a loud boom of thunder sounded from above, making the both of them jump and she ran into his arms just as the lights went off. "Oh, sorry. The thunder scares me a little…"
"We'd better find a flashlight to get the lights back on first…" Dino commented seriously. "Then we can hang out for a while."
He then held onto her and the two of them slowly made their way out into the dark hallways to bring light back to the manor…
"After that we became even closer, and a year later, he proposed to me, then we waited until Valentine's the next year to get married." Rosetta finished her story with a smile. "And what a fun reception it was! Reborn married us, and even Squalo agreed to be Dino's best man."
"Eh?! Really?" Tsuna exclaimed with surprise.
Rosetta nodded before continuing with, "Yes, Lussuria and Belphagor were even there, but they left pretty soon. Squalo stuck around for a while longer though."
"Yes he surely was the loudest at the party." Reborn stated simply.
At that point Nana poked her head through the doorway and said, "Dinner is ready everyone! Tsuna, your friends can stay for dinner, and Dino and Rosetta, you're welcome to stay during your time here in Japan."
"That would be great." Dino stated in reply. "Thanks mama (2)."
"Will your Uncle be okay staying at the hotel, Rosetta?" Reborn asked casually.
"Actually he's staying with a friend of the family, so he should be fine." She answered before following everyone into the dining area.
…Omake…
"Well, seeing as it's raining outside…" Rosetta replied before a loud boom of thunder sounded from above, making the both of them jump and she ran into his arms just as the lights went off. "Oh, sorry. The thunder scares me a little…"
Dino took one look out the window and said with fear, "I don't think that was thunder, Rosetta…"
She looked at him with a questioning look, then followed his gaze to the window and saw a huge amber eye peeping in through it!
She gave a little scream before asking, "D-Dino! Who's eye does that belong to?!"
"Actually…" he said with a sigh. "That's Enzio, my turtle. Reborn gave him to me and when he soaks up water he gets big…"
"What?!" Rosetta shouted with fear before the gigantic turtle let out a roar and chomped at the wall, breaking it in its mighty jaws. "Well if it's your turtle, Dino, round it up!"
(1) Ti amo troppo – means "I love you too" in Italian
(2) Mama – pretty much what Nana wants everyone who has stayed in her home and Tsuna's friends to call her.
Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I actually finished this a couple weeks ago, but decided to hold it until today to submit. I hope you feel the love today and enjoy it with someone special.
By the way, I recently submitted a pic of Emilio (both past and present) to deviant art. If you would like to see it, then head on over to my DA profile through my profile here on fan fiction and you can see it in either my Katekyo Hitman Reborn! folder or my Sketches and Doodles folder. Hope you enjoyed!