Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one. Jane Howard (1935 - ).
Dino bounced nervously in place on the airstrip, waiting impatiently for his subordinates to collect the luggage from the private plane's hold so they could leave the airport. He hadn't seen his little cousin in over two years and could hardly wait to spend time with her again; he'd missed her terribly. His Elena had saved his life and, despite having repaid her in the eyes of the Mafia by handing over to her a number of lucrative businesses, Dino still felt indebted. Her parents were dead, her life upended and she'd been forced to bargain with the Vongola to maintain what freedom she had left, which wasn't all that much. The worst part however was that her contract with the Vongola had meant he couldn't visit her and hadn't even known where she was until he'd put together the fact that she was protecting the CEDEF leader's son and the knowledge that said son was the new heir Reborn was now training. As soon as he had confirmed that his old tutor was training Sawada Tsunayoshi in Namimori, Japan, Dino had called Reborn and begged to be able to visit. Reborn had agreed and told him to call Helene, as his cuginetta was the person responsible for maintaining order in Namimori.
Dino had been overjoyed to be able to tell his best friend that he was finally coming to visit and had immediately made plans to stay indefinitely, buying a large estate on the outskirts of the town for him and his immediate Famiglia to stay in and setting things up so he would not fall behind in business matters while he was in Japan. Now his father was dead Elena was the only person still living he considered close family and he wanted to have as much time as possible to catch up. Of course, he also wanted to get to know Reborn's new student, the prospective Vongola heir, so the longer he could remain in Namimori the better.
Of course, he was the Don of the Cavallone Famiglia now; had been in fact since his father died in hospital from the injuries incurred in the Carnevale Massacre. His father had barely lived long enough to assist Dino in choosing which businesses to give to Helene in thanks for saving the blond's life before handing over the reins of the Famiglia. On ascending to the position of tenth head of the Cavallone Famiglia Dino had discovered that, contrary to appearances, his father had not had a good head for business at all: despite being very good at dealing with people, the Cavallone Nono had been incapable of balancing a budget and had gotten the Famiglia severely into debt. Dino on the other hand was something of a maths wiz and had been given a lot of advice on financial management by Helene's late father, Hugo Marshal. Implementing those lessons, slimming down various family businesses and rearranging investments had enabled Dino to pull the family back into the black in just eighteen months after assuming control of the Famiglia and thereby cementing his position as the Mafia boss most admired and loved by his subordinates.
All these business obligations were part of what had prevented him from visiting his cousin any sooner, but Dino would have made the time for her regardless had been allowed to do more than just call her on her phone and email her. He hadn't even been allowed to send her birthday and Christmas presents, having to hand over the gifts to the CEDEF and trust them to deliver everything on time. This year however he intended to spend Helene's birthday with her and preferably Christmas as well and make up for his past absences by spending large amounts of his recently-acquired funds on her. Of course he knew he couldn't buy her friendship, but he did so love spending money on her: it was just so much fun!
As soon as the flashy car Romario had purchased to ferry Dino around in while they were in Japan stopped at the address Helene had given Dino shot out of the vehicle and up the front path. The house was set back from the road and screened from view by trees, a large garage with a motorbike outside slightly detached from the main building. The house was traditionally Japanese and on a single floor, if rather larger than the others on the street. Dino bounced up the path and rang the door bell, all but vibrating in eagerness to see his little cousin again.
The front door opened and Dino swept his cuginetta up into a fierce hug, stepping away from the front porch so he could swing her around a few times before setting her down on the ground again and kissing her.
"Elena! Cuginetta mia I've missed you so!" He announced, smiling goofily as he swept her off her feet again, held her tight and buried his face in the crook of her neck so he could drink in her unique scent of cedar, roses, apple and snow. She hugged him back just as fiercely, arms wrapping around his neck and face burrowing into his shoulder.
"Dino," she breathed, "what kept you?"
The tenth Cavallone boss chuckled and set his precious cousin back down on her front porch. "No-one would tell me where you'd gone, cara. Squalo wanted to, but apparently Nono forbade it."
"Damn contract," Helene muttered, hugging him again. "And damn Don Vongola, honouring the letter of the contract but not the spirit."
"Well I'm here now, aren't I?" Dino said brightly, stepping up onto the porch and slipping off his shoes.
"Yes, you are," his little cousin agreed with a radiant smile. "Come inside and sit down so we can catch up properly and you can introduce me to some of those new faces behind you who are looking after you for me."
Dino obeyed at once, not caring that some of his subordinates were chuckling at the sight of their boss being pulled into the building by a slender girl half a head shorter than he was. He'd missed his Elena terribly and honestly didn't care if he made a fool of himself so long as she was there. Family was precious, and despite having a truly massive Famiglia his Elena was the only person he considered a true relation rather than a responsibility.
Dino spent three whole days with Elena and Tito, who now went by Nasake and Eiiko. He also got to meet his cuginetta's ward Lambo, a five-year-old Bovino with a fondness for explosions and I-Pin, her four-year-old house-guest. Both children accepted that he was in Namimori to visit Reborn and was catching up with 'Nasake' because they used to go to school together. True, Lambo was a little jealous of his mamma spending time with someone other than him, but Helene solved the issue by having one or another of Dino's subordinates take the cow-themed boy to the park while she caught up with the Cavallone boss. However the time finally came for Dino to go and visit Reborn so the blond twenty-one-year-old kissed his little cousin goodbye as she left for school in the morning then let Romario drive him over to the Sawada household so he could spend the day catching up with his former tutor and meet the new Vongola heir.