36) Marco Polo

After visiting Shamal's clinic, Mira set out to meet Dino and Angelo. Despite its oddities, she had to admit, Namimori was such a cute little place. She was downtown on her way to the park when something caught her eye on one of the rooftops. She blinked again and a flash of black and white jumped from one roof to another. At first, Mira thought she was seeing things after getting beaten by some pale-ass kid, though she discarded the idea soon enough when she saw it again. Her heart thumped rapidly as she cut into an alley and climbed the nearest ladder to the roof. Move fast, girl.

Fear and excitement gripped her when she got closer. The image became as clear as day—a white-haired figure clad in black. Long, white hair.

After all these years, he didn't expect to find her here, of all places.

Knowing she'd seen him and that she'll follow, Squalo led her away, stopping behind a storage closet on some unknown rooftop. He peered from where he stood, waiting for her to turn up at any moment.

"Marco", came a familiar singsong voice.

"Wherever the hell you are, you need to get your ass somewhere I can see you", he barked, circling the perimeter of the closet in search for her.

At the sound of feet dropping behind him, he whirled around and found himself quickly in her embrace. Mira buried her face in his chest. "Jerk wad. Why didn't you say 'Polo'?" she whispered.

"I don't do hide-and-seek", he peeled her arms off him and looked at her straight in the face. "You should know that".

Squalo ran a full scan of her. He noted the bandages, but other than that, she seemed to be unchanged. Mira touched his face the way a mother would to her long-lost son. "I missed you", she said, resorting to pinching his sallow cheeks and gripping what she can of his bony shoulders. "Since when were you so damn skinny? Are they feeding you?"

"That's not the point right now". Impulsively, he grabbed her wrists and stared gravely at her. "Where the fuck have you been?"

Mira winced. "Look, I can explain…"

"Then do it now".

"Get your fucking hands off me first".

He released her, and she laughed ruefully. "Un-fucking-believable", she mused, walking over to the edge of the rooftop. Squalo followed. "I haven't seen you in forever, and this is the kind of welcome I get? What the hell is up with that?"

"You said you were gonna explain", he reminded.

"And I am", she gestured at the playground below them. "See any familiar faces?"

The Cavallone Boss stood out like a sore thumb in a sea of Japanese people. He quirked an eyebrow at the sight of Dino helping some dark-haired kid across the monkey bars. Even from the distance, the boy was clearly of European descent. Something about him seemed oddly familiar, though the swordsman couldn't put a finger on it. "Who's the kid?" he asked.

"That kid is my son".

He felt his jaw drop as he turned to look at her with a flabbergasted look on his face. "You—you're not fucking serious, are you?" He tried to imagine Mira pregnant, wearing maternity clothes, and then breast-feeding her newborn baby. The conjured picture was anything but motherly…it pretty much bordered around pornographic. He kept himself form blushing, thinking the whole time, you can't be, you can't be, you can't be…

Mira wasn't even looking at him as she continued. "His name is Angelo, and he's three. Finally she tore her gaze away from the playground and looked at him levelly. "And there's absolutely no way anyone will hear about this. Not even Xanxus. Do you understand?"

Of course. Like I can actually go up to that temperamental bastard and tell him that you have a fucking three-year-old son whose father is—The thought ended immediately and asked, "Who's the kid's father?"

Mira shook her head. "Not now, Squalo".

"What do you mean—"

Grabbing his arm, she towed him away from the edge. "You will not repeat this to anyone, alright? God knows how many secrets you've kept for Xanxus. Please, keep this one for me".

As it was before, it was hard saying no to that face. She's got someone else to live for, he thought. Not a bunch of crazy assassins or their angry boss. Grimly, he nodded, and she smiled gratefully at him, pulling him into yet another hug. "I trust you, Squalo. Please don't prove me wrong".

He smirked as he pulled away from her. "As long as you get your ass back to Varia, your secret's safe with me".

"You know I can't promise you anything". Again her gaze darted towards the playground.

"Then don't", he nodded towards the same direction. "Go. Take care of your little boy".

She turned on her heel and walked away, hopping down the back of the building.

Squlao stole a peek down at the playground. She probably ran since she got there so fast; now she held her son's hand. Dino was right next to her, looking rather worried at the sight of her bandages. He said something, and she laughed, laying her head on his shoulder. He then slung an arm around her, pulling her into his chest for a brief hug. Casting a quick glance at Angelo who was clearly spacing out, she turned back to Dino and brushed her lips against his.

Holy shit, the white-haired swordsman thought. I think I just found Daddy.

OMG, sorry it took so long to update...

...yes, I am trying to wrap this up.

so to all those who have kept on reading...THANK YOU!