Disclaimer – Don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn, Amano Akira's.

Yes, in the drawing of Elsa she was meant to appear like a tomboy, glad most of you realized that :)

I realized this fanfiction is turning melodramatic…oh and a lot of you wanted a jealous Dino, I'll keep that in mind.

Warning for Oocness, I try my best. Did not copy or plagiarize in any way.

Chapter 21

Lonely Swine Part 4

The night was quite relaxing, it was much easier to sleep without Poison Scorpion's superior self laying beside her. Elsa felt rejuvenated for once, not worn out or completely wasted, neither did she feel a need to worry. She peered at her oversized shirt; the sleeves passed her fingertips. Jun had thoughtfully allowed Elsa to sleep in his room despite the fact she had kept refusing his all too generous offer. She knew his apartment was small, and he might have been embarrassed by that, but to insist on letting her sleep on the bed he and his wife slept on – Elsa felt like an intruder. How Jun had convinced her, well, let's just say it was either the kids or his queen sized bed, and Elsa was afraid of another Lambo.

"Jun…um…are my clothes dry?" Elsa asked, sitting awkwardly at the dining table with a steaming omelet, dribbled with ketchup in front of her.

"Nope, still damp, you can borrow my wife's clothes."

"Damp is fine…don't worry about it…" Elsa said coyly.

Jun chuckled at her stiffness, he poured Elsa a glass of water and placed it beside her plate, "You know, you're more shy than I thought."

"No, I've always been a shy person," Elsa sighed, relaxing a bit and eating mouthful. She swallowed, and then raised her fork at Jun, "I've just mellowed down these passed two years…"

"Is it because…?"

Elsa smirked, "Whatever I am now is because of it, and I don't regret anything. It's taught me a valuable lesson."

"You should really tell your fiancé"

Elsa frowned a little. It was easy for a person to say that, but it was never easy for a person to understand why secrets were constantly being kept – especially traumatic ones.

It was in her nature to change, constantly change when something momentous happened, and because of this she did not know herself or her place. Her past was somewhat fragmented and limited to bits and pieces of whatever was left – none of it was good. What she had told the men yesterday were only the seeds in a fruit, tasteless. If she were to tell Dino, she was sure everything would come back in a damaging, barbarous rush. If she were to tell Dino, it was possible he'd find her a burden, or think of her as a whiny bitch…but then again it wasn't in Dino's character to think like that. Instead, he'd pity her, and as a prideful seventeen year old on the brink of becoming a young adult, pity was a direct insult to that pride. Furthermore, she assumed he still thought of her as a mercenary. This wasn't true anymore though, her feelings were genuine and delicate, but still, they were stupid. Thus she simply couldn't tell Dino of her harrowing, tormenting past, and the overall reason being she just didn't have guts or determination.

Elsa hesitated to take another mouthful, ignoring his comment she continued to eat at a slow pace. Jun realized her discomfort and he began folding his bartender's uniform in silence. When Elsa had finished her plate, she immediately rose from her chair, picked the plate up and headed toward the kitchen. Jun rushed to her side and took the job away from her, "You're the guest, this is for me to do, just make yourself at home."

"Thanks…" Elsa bit her lip. Acts of kindness always let off butterflies in her stomach, it seemed to be happening a lot ever since she came to Japan.

"Psssss…big sis" A childish voice whispered from behind. Elsa turned around, only to see two little girls with dark hair, gorgeous hair. They were adorable; their big round eyes gazed at Elsa with stunning innocence. One was clinging onto the other timidly, "Are you a mistress?"

"NO!"

"Mistress? What is this about?" A high, soprano voice chuckled. A woman came from the doorway and kneeled before the children, she pecked them both on the forehead. She was beautiful, dark hair spilling across her shoulders, her featured sharply defined, her slim body endowed shapely. The woman looked at her without a smile. Elsa felt intimidated. The woman stood up again, "Oh, who is this?"

"You're home" Jun came out and greeted the woman with open arms. She stood up and embraced him, her forehead buried against his chest. And in that fleeting moment, Elsa felt envious of them. They began to kiss affectionately, and Elsa turned away from the adoring moment with a blush.

They parted, but still held onto each others hand.

"Haruka, this is Elsa." Jun said, waving for Elsa to come over.

Elsa came over nervously and bowed her head, "T-Thank you for…err…letting me stay…I'll be gone before twelve so…"

"So you're the one with the mafia boss. I've been wanting to meet you!" Haruka chimed, "A criminal life must be so exciting!"

"Huh? Ehh…well not really…"

"And don't you worry, you stay here as long as you like!"

"N-No I couldn't…"

"The police are tracking you down aren't they? Well we'll be your alibi's!"

"Actually I'm just here on a holiday…kind of…"

"Dear, she got lost on her way back last night…" Jun said.

"Oh. Well that's boring." Haruka sighed, "Make yourself at home anyway"

"I really should be getting back now…"

Dino's probably having the time of his life with Yano.

"Well then I'll take you there, where are you staying?" Haruka asked.

"With a woman called Nana Sawada and her son Tsunayoshi Sawada"

"Hmm…I don't know them…"

"Maaa, you promised us play time!" The two little girls tugged onto Haruka's coat.

"Elsa, these are my kids. Tomoya and Tomoko, they're twins." Jun said, walking over to pet their heads, "Say hi to big sis"

"You don't look like any of us?" They questioned, examining Elsa's foreign features.

"I'm from Italy"

"Elsa, I'll drive you around the area at twelve, we've still got time so why don't you spend some time with us!" Haruka suggested rather excitedly. Elsa had no choice but to accept their generosity. Besides, Dino wasn't coming.

xxxx

"Luciano any information?" Dino asked with fraught.

Luciano shook his head regretfully, "No sign of her boss…"

"Tch…how far could she have gone…?"

"Boss! There's been a sighting of Miss Luca!"

"Well then get the car ready!"

Dino had been searching for his troublemaking fiancée all night and hadn't an ounce or wink of sleep. He knew he shouldn't have left that girl alone, knowing her knack for trouble.

Before he'd hired a personal jet and rushed his way to Namimori, it took a good thirty minutes to convince Yano to stay put and that he'd come back after things were settled with Elsa. He didn't understand why Elsa was so infuriated with him, in fact he never did whenever she was. Her unpredictable nature was as always, and as a consequence he was always worrying about her, she was like a younger sister to him and because of that, he felt it was his duty to keep her safe. But he always felt there was a barrier between the two of them, they rarely talked about each other whenever they were together.

Dino arrived with his men at a familiar district, he stood in front of a shady pub with the pink, flickering neon lights. He burst in with his men swarming around the tables. Ah, now he remembered, this was the place Elsa had gotten drunk!

"HEY you can't just burst in like that, the bar's closed!" Brawny hollered.

Dino eyed him menacingly and Brawny retreated back, however, upon realizing who Dino was, he jabbed a finger at the foreigner in mid air, "You—you're Elsa's fiancé! The one in the mafia!"

"Where is she?" Dino pulled out a whip.

"Hey, leave him alone! It's your fault Elsa was upset last night, not him!"

"She was here?" Dino turned to the plump man seated at an interrupted game of poker.

"Yea she was here, but what's it to you? You don't need her or nothing!"

Dino had no flippin' idea what these people were talking about. Instead, he growled at Brawny while tightening his whip, "I'm warning you, if you've done something to her..."

"Heh, I would never do something to the poor girl."

"Poor girl?"

"Elsa's been through so much and yet you don't give a damn about her!"

"What are you all talking about?"

"Ask her yourself."

"Look, I don't want to hurt any of you. I just want to find Elsa. Deal?"

Suddenly, the door swung open, a man in a bartender's uniform came in with a bag over his shoulder, "Hey guys I'm—what's all this about?"

"Jun! Elsa's fiancé is here to take her back!"

Dino looked at him strangely, the two met eye to eye. Jun's expression turned stiff and rather angry, "You – you left Elsa sitting in the rain waiting for you while you stayed with another girl."

Everyone seemed to be misunderstanding poor Dino lately. He lowered his whip and took a few steps forward, "I left her with trusted people, and I came here as fast as I could!"

"And you stayed with another girl!"

"She's a good friend of mine that came to visit!"

"What kind of trusted people let a girl roam around these districts and lose her way back? She was hoping you'd come for her!"

"You know where she is?"

"By chance I saved her, but I'm not telling you where she is."

Dino's head was spinning. He hadn't a clue why these people were so snappy toward him, was it because Elsa really hated being forced into the Cavallone family? He had so much to ask her and none of these people were being helpful on telling him where she was. Luciano observed with much fascination, what he could determine from this protest against his boss was that Elsa had finally fallen head over heels for Dino. This was great news, for Luciano at least.

"Could you please just tell me where she is?" Dino sighed resignedly.

"I'll tell you if you give me a good reason to."

"She's a very important person to me."

"Explain."

"Jeez, she's my fiancée! She's like a little sister to me!"

Jun's expression dropped, and so did all the others – including Dino's men. Luciano let out a long, solemn sigh. What kind of person considers their own fiancée like a little sister? Dino apparently.

"Dino?" A husky, familiar female voice suddenly called from behind. Dion recognized that voice from anywhere, he turned around. Elsa, holding a bag of her damp clothes, wearing a pair of jeans too long for her, was staring blankly at the blonde, "You actually came?"

"ELS?" Dino sprinted from his position and grabbed onto Elsa's arm, she flinched at his rough grip and took a stumbled back, "Are you alright? What happened on the phone? What were you doing last night? Where have you been?"

"S-Shut up you ask too many questions…I'm still alive aren't I?" Elsa turned away from him and grimaced. She didn't think he'd really come thousands of miles away just to check up on her, men like him just didn't exist, there had to be a flaw.

"Are you still mad at me? You can come back to Italy if you really hate it here"

"What goes on in that head of yours? I wasn't mad at you because I hated it here. I was mad because…" Elsa looked at the people around her, it was like a live show for them, "Dino can we talk about it somewhere else?"

"Yea…" Dino was worn out. He motioned for his men to head out, and soon the pub had emptied to its original state.

"Thanks for letting me stay and all...I'll go and say goodbye to Haruka on my way out" Elsa thanked Jun sincerely, whom had not stopped glaring at Dino standing behind her.

"It's alright Elsa, Haruka likes you and so do the kids. You should visit us as well as the pub regularly, I work afternoon and night shifts."

"Yea…" Elsa smiled faintly, but gratefully, "I need to return these clothes your wife lent to me anyway."

Jun stuck out his hand and Elsa took it, assuming he wanted a mutual handshake. Instead, he drew his arms around her, gently pressing her head against his shoulder. Elsa's eyes widened with revelation. Dino flinched. The pub men around them gasped.

"Elsa, I may not be much older than you…" He spoke softly, but loud enough for her to hear. He drew her in closer, "…but if you ever need a father figure, or a mother figure, visit us. You've been through alot"

Elsa bit her lip. She really didn't want to bother his family any more than she did. She nodded slightly, "Okay…"

He released her, and she hurried outside where Jun's car was waiting. She stuck her head inside the car, "Haruka, my fi—I mean Dino is here, thanks for everything."

"Oh, this is sudden! Is it that man behind you?"

Dino who had followed her smiled courteously at Haruka. She blushed and gave him a nod back. She then leaned forward to whisper in Elsa's ear, "Handsome one isn't he?"

Elsa retreated back, she waved to the children at the back seat.

The waved back, "Bye sis, it was fun playing games with you!"

xxxx

Elsa was back in Dino's luxurious, crimson, sports vehicle, sitting beside him in the passenger seat. She hadn't thought about what would happen next and whether she'd be going back to Italy or not. She wanted to stay – that was a fact – but she also wanted to follow Dino. Neither of them said a word, but Elsa could feel the fed-up mood Dino was in, well, he didn't show it but considering Elsa's actions it was likely. She knew she had been selfish by forcing Dino to come back, and this made her want to repent. She made a bet that if he came back for her she would tell him everything, but now she was hesitating, and because of that it was hurting her pride even more.

Dino's face looked too serious for her liking. Elsa glanced at one of the side mirrors, only to see none of his men were following them. The car suddenly came to a halt on a curb, the engine stopped as Dino turned the ignition. Elsa was frightened, for the first time in her life she was frightened of him. He leaned back against his seat and closed his eyes, sighing exasperatedly, "Talk."

"I forgot what I was saying."

"You were explaining to me why you were so mad over the phone"

"…" No point trying to avoid it.

"Well, why were you mad at me?"

"Because I was…err…" Jealous? Envious? Resentful? Like hell I can say that.

Dino waited with his arms crossed.

"Drunk." She stated blatantly.

"How many did you drink this time?"

"Eight…ten…I'm not sure haha…" She lied.

"Elsa, you shouldn't drink anymore, I'm not going to stop you but it worries me every time you do!"

"Y-Yeah…I'll try not to…"

Dino found it weird she wasn't rebelling, "Is that all you had to say?"

"Yes." More lies.

"You had me worried sick…I think you should follow me back to Italy."

"Okay" She said simply.

He went silent for a moment, then spoke again, "By the way. Who was that man?"

"Err…Jun? I stayed at his place for the night…"

"What?"

"With his wife and kids."

"Jeez, don't scare me like that…"

"I always scare you. Don't I?" Elsa chuckled at this truth, "You idiot."

Dino looked at her in the strangest way. It was the first time he'd heard her laugh so naturally and timidly. He liked it.

"And why was he hugging you?"

"…a goodbye hug." More lies.

"I see."

"How is…err…Yano?" Elsa couldn't believe she was asking about her. But if it could change the subject then it was worth it.

Dino didn't respond. He went awfully quiet, and this made Elsa panic. What had Yano done this time? If Elsa could deduce correctly, it was most likely something stupid like her dragging Dino out to shop. Elsa hoped Dino wouldn't take what she'd yelled at him yesterday, over the phone, seriously…

"She confessed to me the moment we met." Dino said, blushing faintly.

…what?

Elsa froze. She shifted her eyes down, "Confess as in…?"

"Els…she told me she's loved me for years!"

Oh god no. She expected flirting, but not THIS.

"What…did you say?"

Dino brushed his golden tresses back and slumped in his seat, "I told her to wait."

"…I see" Pierce.

He sighed, "The truth is, I did use to like her"

Gunfire. That was all she could hear in her head. His words were like gremlins plucking at the flesh in her heart bit by bit, deteriorating it to nothing but a bloody mess, and eventually her death. Okay, she was being dramatic, but it hurt. It was like everything she felt from her past was being rejuvenated. Please, she begged, let this all be a mistake. She knew loving this man was a sick joke, she knew it. If only someone had stopped her and beaten some sense into her naive head. Elsa cringed. It was too late now, it hurt. Was he deliberately throwing daggers into her chest? One thing after another, what more could he say?

"Oh." A composed response from Elsa.

"And that's why when you told me I should have just gone with her in the first place, I did consider it before…" Dino flashed his trademark smile at Elsa, "But if I had done that, I would have never met you!"

This was killing her. She had ought to say it now before she regretted it, "I—"

"You're like a little sister to me Els!"

Canon ball. And at that very moment, Elsa wished desperately that this was all a bad dream, and that she could return to day one, before she was born. If so, then maybe life wouldn't have been as hard and painful to live.