I simply could not resist putting this chapter in here. It's a little random and veers away from the main story a tiny bit, but I wanted to include a few of the other characters too. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it and please let me know what you think? Many thanks!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own KHR nor do I claim any rights to it or any of the characters or locations in this fan fiction story. I am only responsible for the plot and nothing else.

Bright green eyes met purple ones and her breath hitched. She had been in this position before a number of times, but it had always felt new and exciting.

The boss' right hand man was hard and a little ruthless, but he was fair. He had been behind the boss on countless missions and he had always been the one keeping the others in check. She had never thought of him with anything other than respect. His job was a hard and demanding one, but he was still human so she supposed it was bound to happen...

Why with her? Well, who knew?

Gokudera Hayato was a handsome man and a very intelligent one as well. He was more determined than anyone she knew. He smelled delightfully of musk which she rather liked. He sometimes had a smile on his face which made him look infinitely better than normal. She had counted all these feelings as appreciation for who he was, never anything more...

Until the day she had gone into the store room to get some books she would need and he had come in behind her looking for some books as well. He was an avid reader, she knew that much. She had often found him in the library with his glasses perched on his nose, his brow slightly furrowed and his mind probably a million miles away.

Admiration was what she had felt then.

Then those boxes behind her had threatened to crush her and he had saved her. Right then, though, with both of them covered from head to toe in dust and with his arm around her waist and his gaze boring into hers, Chrome couldn't help noticing the sudden rapid thump of her heart as she began to acknowledge a part of her heart she had thought had died a very long time ago.

Her fate had been sealed from that moment on. Nobody knew of their relationship as far as they were concerned and nobody bothered to find out. They were too different for each other, as she had also thought at first, but he warmed her some place she didn't know had been frozen shut.

Even now, as his lips claimed hers in a stolen kiss in the darkened hallway closet, one of many kisses they had shared before, she felt herself warm up again in that special place in her heart. It felt good to have someone. She couldn't tell anybody though. It was to their mutual benefit, they had decided that they should keep it a secret from everyone else. They would decide when to come out in the open.

The thrill of being a secret couple appealed to her and she loved the time she could spend with him, no matter how little...

A noise outside the door made them both stop, his lips now planted on her neck.

"Nee Takeshi-san, do you know what's happening with Hibari?" came Ryohei's voice from the other side of the door.

"Why would you think anything was wrong Sempai?" came Yamamoto's voice. Gokudera silently cursed and turned so Chrome would be covered if either idiot decided to come into the closet. It was a rather spacious place and she could hide easily. Also, she was an illusionist. There was little they had to worry about. Yamamoto may notice it though, having trained with illusions, so they had to be careful. They remained as silent as they could and listened on.

"I thought he had confessed to Haru already, so why are they acting like they've never met before?" Yamamoto's easy laugh followed this comment.

"Ah, Sempai. I already told you that he didn't confess. They aren't a couple yet. And anyway, your sister's getting married so Haru has her hands full. She should be busy helping with the preparations for the wedding as well..."

"That's true Sawada had better take care of her to the extreme!"

"Hahaha, calm down Sempai. Tsuna is going to take very good care of her. He loves her, nee?"

"Of course, to the extreme! I wouldn't accept him otherwise!"

"Speaking of relationships, what about you and Hana? When are you going to get married?"

"Er... well, I don't know. I have thought about it and I will ask her one day, but she's always so busy! I have my missions too so I don't know when I'll have the time... It's all so extremely confusing!"

"Well, you'll sort it out. I think Haru said these boxes go in the closet, right?"

Gokudera looked a bit irritated. They were going to be found out! Chrome was ready with her illusions. They could breeze past them without either of the parties knowing they were there, if she was good enough... and she probably was.

"Yamamoto-kun!" came Haru's call. Chrome and Gokudera sighed with relief as she called them away. Their secret was still safe, but they would need a better way of going about these things. Leaning down, Gokudera gave her one last kiss.

"I'll go first and make sure there's nobody there. We'll find a new hiding place later," he said in a deep murmur. She blushed and nodded. She watched him leave then sighed as she sagged against the wall of the small room. That had been a close one!

She thought back to the conversation that Ryohei and Yamamoto had been having outside. Hibari liked Haru? Well, it seemed a little obvious now that she thought about it. She had heard about Haru spending several nights in Hibari's bed. Chrome herself had seen Haru head down to Hibari's room once or twice. It had begun to seem like a normal occurrence. Haru never admitted this to anyone. Come to think of it, she hadn't even really said she liked him.

Chrome supposed that was normal too. It was rather hard to understand Kumo-san. It took a special kind of understanding really. Maybe Haru felt the same? She blushed enough times at the mention of Hibari's name. It had taken all of her effort for Chrome not to show her own blush when she heard Gokudera mentioned or saw him in the hall these days. It seemed they both had a lot more in common than they each cared to admit.

Still, her reaction when Chrome had asked her if she was okay with the wedding was a little unsettling. Why had she blushed that hard and changed the subject? Maybe she was undecided about who she loved? Chrome was not very well-versed in the wonders and workings of love, but she knew this couldn't be good. Poor Kumo-san...

Her biggest problem right then though, was getting out of the closet. A light blush stained her cheeks when she thought about where she was. She was acting different and she felt different. She was liking this new side of herself. Maybe she should show it a little more often... She would think about it. Two gentle taps on the door indicated that Gokudera was on the other side and the coast was clear.

Smiling to herself, she picked up a random item and opened the door. She smiled as she met his gaze again.

"I found what I was looking for, Arashi-san. Thank you for your help," she said and moved past him. It was a ritual they had come to have. Nobody ever actually caught them or they would wonder why Chrome had so many things 'stored' in the closet. It didn't hurt to be prepared for any such eventuality.

"Any time," he said meaningfully, shut the door behind him and went down the hallway in the opposite direction.