Chapter 21: Realizations

Hesitantly, Lal placed a hand on the door. Then, she took a deep breath and pushed open the door.

'Well, here goes nothing...'

The door swung open before Lal as she cautiously peered in. In front of her was a hallway that seemed to lead to different rooms. She took a few steps in, closing the door behind her. On front of each door, there seemed to be some…hint that made her think of its owner.

For example, Room 1 had a stick of dynamite in front of it and was colored red. The room next to it (Room 2) had an oddly shaped knife and was also colored in red. Room 4 (Yeah, I know I skipped room 3), had Hibird perched next to the violet door. (Lolz, I'm practically squealing imagining Hibird perching next to a door :D)

After walking around a bit, she finally found Colonello's room. How did she know? Well, it helps when there was Colonello's bandana and Falco next to the blue door.

Lal placed her hand on the door, turning the knob and stepped in. The room was pitch black; so black that she couldn't even see her hand. Very faintly, she could make out a glow of a candle. Approaching it, she catches sight of more candles, leading her to another door.

Out of curiosity, she opened the door, only to reveal a really dashing Colonello in a white suit (with his bandana) sitting at a table. The room was brightly lit, contrasting the darkness from the outside hall. There was even a chandelier above the table.

Colonello, noticing a presence, turned around slowly, absorbing the sight in front of him. Lal looked beautiful in her pink dress. (Yeah, pink is not Lal's color but knowing Reborn, he would love to do this to her :P) The dress had a light blue sash in the middle and a red rose pinned on the left side.

Lal blushed, feeling awkward with Colonello looking at her. "W-Well? Stop staring Idiot!"

The blonde man grinned, standing up. He walked towards his wife and gently took her hand, guiding her to her seat. He took out her chair, letting Lal sit on it before pushing her in. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the head waiter appeared (*cough* Dino *cough*), and a waiter (*cough* Romario *cough) behind him.

"Here are your menus." He hands the couple two identical looking menus and waited for a few minutes as they each chose their pick. The head waiter quickly scribbles down what they ordered and bowed before walking away. The other waiter poured their drinks before leaving.

Once both waiters were out of earshot, Colonello leaned forward. "Doesn't he remind you of Dino?"

Lal scoffed. "He is Dino." She remarked. "No doubt Reborn sent him here." Lal sighed."Reborn is always meddling in to other people's affairs…"

"…Yeah but," Colonello's eye twinkled as he finished his sentence. "Reborn is the person who brought us together."

The blue-haired woman blushed, looking down at the table. Suddenly, a purple haired waiter clumsily came up to the couple, putting down the dishes with a 'thump'.

"Here you go Colonello-sempai, Lal-sempai." The waiter said, bowing down quickly before scurrying away. The couple just stared, watching him run away.

"That was Skull." He took a bite of his dinner, peeking at Lal as he chewed. She was also eating her dinner and by the looks of it, she seemed to be enjoying her meal.

"Is it good?" the blonde asked, eyeing her plate of food. Lal stopped chewing, just long enough to nod.

"Really?" Colonello opened his mouth a little, as if waiting for something to happen. The blue-haired woman stared for a minute, finally getting the hint. She cut a small piece of her dinner and fed her husband.

The blonde gave a small smile as he swallowed the sample. Then, he cut a piece of his dinner, sharing it with Lal…but it took a bit of coaxing for her to actually take the bite.

The rest of the dinner went on pretty smoothly. Colonello finished his dinner first, using the rest of his time to admire Lal.

Lal's eyebrow twitched, feeling pressured. "What is it?"

"Nothing…I was just thinking how gorgeous you look today." He said cunningly, combing a hand through his hair. His wife coughed, almost chocking on her food in surprise.

"S-shut up!" she yelled, trying to mask her embarrassment. She quickly gathers up her emotions, and finishes her dinner.

The blonde man just smirked, allowing the silence to fill in the rest of the time. This allowed time for Lal to think for a bit, letting her enjoy the moment of peace. Suddenly, she paused…Something was off about Colonello.

"C-Colonello?" she walked up to him, putting her forehead against his. "Funny, you aren't sick. What's wrong with you today?"

Her husband looked at her, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well, for one, you aren't saying -kora at the end of your sentences." Noted Lal as she took a sip of her cider.

'So she did notice kora!' Colonello thought happily, giving off a small grin.

"Second of all, it's not like you to not make any contact with me." Lal blushed realizing what she said. "N-Not that I w-want you to or anything."

Colonello couldn't stop himself any longer. He smirked as he approached Lal, putting his face dangerously close to hers.

His breath tickled Lal's skin, making her shiver as he whispered tenderly. "Seems like you miss me, kora~" Colonello leaned in to kiss his wife but…

"S-Sorry for disturbing!" stammered Skull as he timidly entered the room, his face tinted red from the scene in front of him.

"H-Here's your dessert!" The ex-stuntman quickly puts down the dessert and flees.

"…" Lal pushes Colonello away, a murderous aura surrounding her. She takes her gun and follows out the door.

"Where you going, kora?"

"To kill a certain purple-haired stuntman." Snarled Lal. 'I'll make him see hell for embarrassing me!'

Colonello, sensing trouble brewing, quickly glances at the dessert set on the table. He takes one of the pocky sticks from the dessert and grabs Lal's waist.

"Let me –" started Lal but her voice was quickly muffled when the chocolate part of the stick entered her mouth, making it close. Colonello quickly takes the other end, taking three large bites to meet up with his wife's lips.

The kiss was short and sweet. He could taste the chocolate in her mouth and it tasted heavenly. Lal pushed her husband off again, slightly panting and cheeks red in both anger and embarrassment.

"What –" but she was cut off again as another pocky stick entered her mouth. 'Damn, Colonello is too fast!' Lal silently cursed herself as she slowly gave in to Colonello's affection. After finishing the pocky stick, she started to kiss back, hesitant at first. Lal gave a little moan as Colonello's tongue explored her mouth again, licking up some chocolate in the process.

They both finally broke apart when they finished all the pocky sticks (4 in total). Lal was flushed red and was panting, swallowing the crumbs in her mouth. Colonello was also slightly panting as he led Lal back to the table.

But before they could sit down and enjoy the rest of their dessert, the room suddenly dimmed. The couple tensed up in alarm, holding on to their weapons. But the room soon turned bright again, making them blink in confusion.

"…That was weird, kora!" The blonde said, sitting down on his seat.

"Mhmm." Lal rubbed her temples, a headache was coming on. She sighed and stood up (again), smacking her hands on the table. "Reborn, I know you're there! Come out!"

Colonello eyes widened in surprise before closing. Using his skills, he detected where Reborn was. Lal also found him and swiftly aimed a punch at him. The hitman dodged gracefully and smirked, landing three feet away from them.

"Ciaossu Colonello, Lal." He said smoothly as he approached the couple.

"What do you want now, Reborn?" growled Lal.

Reborn smiled deviously before opening his mouth.

"This."

He snapped his fingers, and the entire room plunged in to darkness. Lal quickly lit up her ring, giving off a blue glow. Colonello did the same as he walked towards his wife, ready to protect her.

As the blonde man looked around the room, Reborn approached Lal's right side. He reached out his hand, slipping a note in to her jacket's pocket. Lal tensed and whipped towards Reborn….

Only to meet up with his lips, again.

"…" Three seconds passed before Lal could process what was going on. She felt something soft, like lips. But, from the corner of her eyes, she could still see Colonello moving while this "thing" was still. It moved it bit, making Lal flinch. She felt a tongue going in to her mouth and her lady-like instincts kicked in to play.

Lal pushed the "thing" away, slapping it ten times before taking a few steps backwards in shock. She fell against Colonello, making him worried.

"What's wrong, kora?"

"I-" Lal took a deep breath. "I think I..."

"WHAT?" Colonello wrapped his arms around her, making Lal freeze in fear. They both heard another snap, and the lights flickered back on. Looking around, they both noticed Reborn gone.

"What did you say, kora?" Colonello asked again soothingly, stroking his hand through the locks of her blue hair.

"…" Lal looked away, ashamed. Colonello had heard his wife for the first time, but he wanted to confirm it.

Colonello sighed, tilting Lal's head and brought his lips down to hers. He made sure that this kiss was tender and long. He teased Lal's tongue as he fought for dominance and felt Lal relax in his arms. They broke away after three minutes, both panting.

The blonde man smirked. "Enjoy it, kora?"

Lal blushed red. "O-Of course not, idiot!" She punched Colonello in the stomach, trying to prove her point.

Colonello chuckled, pretending to wince in pain. In reality, Lal's punch was so much gentler than her usual punches that the hit felt like nothing. He took this opportunity to sweep Lal off her feet and carried her – bridal styled– out the restaurant, which made her protest all the way to their hotel.

Reborn shook his head, not believing what he just did. Ever since he had been kissed by Lal, (when she was drunk) he couldn't get her off his mind. He entered his house and headed straight towards his room.

Once inside, the hitman shook his head again, clearing his mind as he took off his fedora. He couldn't, he wouldn't, fall for Lal. He closed his eyes, only making himself think of today's kiss. Her lips were soft as marshmallows and a soft, delicate perfume scent still lingered on his clothes. Lal didn't look half-bad in the pink dress either.

Ever since Reborn had met Lal (when the strongest seven were assembled) to the time after the Arcobaleno curse was broken, he had only thought of Lal as a formidable ally, even as a friend! He knew Lal and Colonello well, well enough to know the feeling they held for each other. Of course, he supported them all the way, like what he did for his student (Tsuna and Kyoko).

Reborn smirked, remembering how long it took for the two love-birds to confess for each other, even if it was indirectly. It took even longer for Colonello to ask Lal's hand in marriage.

The paranoid hitman suddenly felt a pang in his heart. He mentally face-palmed, cursing himself for feeling this way. He had developed a…

small crush on Lal. (Just in case, I don't mean "crush" as in "smash things in to pieces.")

From their hotel room, Lal sneezed. 'Someone must be talking about me…' She thought as she unpacked the bag they brought from home.

She slipped in to her pajamas and crawled in bed, beside Colonello. He only had an undershirt on and his boxers. He looked up from the book he was reading and smiled at Lal. Putting down his book on the table-stand, Colonello huddled against Lal, putting his head next to her chest as he closed his eyes.

At times like these, Lal would secretly smile. She untied the bandana in her husband's hair, and placed it on the night stand. Then, Lal stroke Colonello's blonde hair, making him huddle closer to the source of warmth. Feeling his rhythmic heartbeat, she leaned her head against the pillow and closed her eyes, still stroking Colonello's hair. Little by little, she also slipped in to sleep with Colonello's arms around her.

Here you go :D Another long one~ Sorry for some of the OOC... I just finished this story in two days :P

Thanks for Carolily's, EK12's, and COLONELA's ideas!

Carolily - I extrememly enjoyed writing about the Pocky kiss :) I think that was the easiest one for me to write. I guess it came naturally for me :D

EK12 - Thank you for giving me ideas about the setting of the story. I actually had no idea where this should take place :P

COLONELA - Muhaha, let the chaos begin :D Epic battle between Colonello and Reborn shall BEGIN! (And you could imagine me as a mad author typing up the next story in extreme speed :P)

Thanks again to all who reviewed my stories~ It like an energy booster that will help me update my next chapter faster. Speaking of next chapter, I noticed that I fail at knowing when this story will end. So, I decided to type ahead of time. That way I would know when the last chapter is :)

Please review :)