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Five Times

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Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! in any way or fashion.

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Summary: The five times Haru approached Gokudera because she liked him and the one time he approached her because he liked her back.

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(A/N: This was one of the harder chapters to write. I really struggled but I hope you enjoy it.)

V. Now That I Know the Truth

Hayato always takes the words Tsuna says to heart, even though most times he shouldn't. So when the idea of Haru liking him is stuck inside his head, suddenly it's all he can think about as the two shop for the things to make tonight's dinner with. He had picked Haru up after school and the two are now currently strolling through Namimori's local market.

As discreetly as possible, he watches the pretty girl's every movement. She looks through the pile of cabbage and picks up one with care. Turning it over a few times, Haru shakes her head and puts it back before picking another. She does the same thing before nodding in approval. "Look Gokudera-san!" She calls out to him. He doesn't move from where he's standing but his eyes flicker at her. Walking forward with the cabbage held out in her hand, she smirks. "Doesn't this cabbage look like it's the one?"

He raises a thin brow at her. "The one?"

Haru nods her head before placing the vegetable in the basket that Hayato is carrying. "Yeah, the one perfect for dinner. So delicious." Laughing a bit, Haru looks dreamily at the cabbage. The Storm Guardian has to hold in his laughter at the drool that's beginning to form on her lips. She seems more excited about tonight's dinner than he does.

"You got a little something right here." He tells her, motioning to the corner of her mouth. Haru snaps out of dream state before furiously wiping at her mouth.

"Oh my gosh." She whispers, her face turning a pretty shade of red. "That's so embarrassing." Hayato cracks a smile at her before throwing his free arm around her. Much to his amusement, Haru's red cheeks turn into a very pretty shade of pink as she sucks in a deep breath.

"...she likes you, doesn't she?"

He quickly lets go of her and steps away. He notices that Haru's demeanor saddens, if only for a bit before she brightly looks up at him. His heart squeezes at the sight of her before she goes off to check out the mushrooms, Hayato following closely behind her. Now that the idea of her liking him is stuck in his head, he is unsure of how to act beside Haru.

'Shit.' He thinks to himself, damning his predicament. If he were to be completely honest with himself, he would have liked to have not known about her possible feelings for him. It's making him feel awkward and he's afraid he'll look like an idiot. 'But what if they're wrong?' He wonders, though it seems unlikely. After thinking about it all day, all the times he spent with Haru and remembering the way she acts around him, it's confirming his suspicions of her.

Hayato's not stupid. Maybe he's a little slow to the romance stuff, but he's not completely oblivious to it. He knows he's an attractive guy. His intelligence is also a major plus, thus the line of people wanting to receive his love is a very long. It's just... Haru?

Why?

And how?

More importantly, when?

Haru is one of those few people who didn't like him for any of that stuff. In fact, at first she hated him. She didn't care for his blessed good looks, she disliked the fact that he's a smudge bit smarter than her, and she was always arguing with him. She's the only one in the world who argued with him and talked back, if he were being honest. And it was something he wasn't used to.

But he enjoyed it.

He'd like to think she did too. It's because they argued so much that this past year, they came to an understanding of one another. And that's when they became friends.

But when did it become more for her?

Tapping his foot nervously, Hayato feels anxiety seep into his veins. At this moment in time, as the two shop together, he's beginning to feel awful. They've been doing such cute, domestic everyday things for a while and he's scared her feelings will ruin it for them. Especially since he's not sure how he feels about her romantically. The thought of him possibly hurting her in that way weighs heavy on his heart.

"Gokudera-san!" Haru calls for him again, shaking a bag of mushrooms in the air. "I found another 'the one!'" She snickers at her own joke before plopping the bag in the basket. Haru brings her phone out and goes to her lists. "Let's see..." Humming a sweet tune, she's oblivious to internal pain that the teenage boy is currently going through. "We also need for tonight... Tofu. You don't have tofu at home so we'll need that for dinner. And then that should be it, we bought the meat a couple of days ago. Oh man, tonight's dinner is going to be so good. Eh hehehe..." Clasping her hands with joy, she leads Hayato down a different aisle.

Her cheery attitude is enough to put his heart at ease, if just for a moment.

"Those two are so cute together, huh?" A voice says out loud that it catches the boy's attention. Looking around, he see's a small group of three middle school aged girls just down the aisle. They're huddled close together and giggle once they noticed his gaze on them. "Oh, he's so handsome!" Says one of them, the prettier of the three.

Next to her, a girl with glasses shoves her a little bit. "Shh! His girlfriend will hear you!"

Hayato feels his heart jump at the statement while a hot blush crawl up his neck, reaching all the way to his ears. Feeling shy and somewhat embarrassed, Hayato clears his throat and looks away from them. 'Is that what we look like?' He thinks, his face feeling hot. 'Do we really look like a couple?' Suddenly, the memories of Tsuna and Takeshi asking him if he and Haru were dating didn't seem too far-fetched anymore. Especially if strangers are making those same assumptions about them.

He turns his attention back on Haru. She's insanely focused on a tofu package. Raising a brow, he waves a hand before her eyes. "Haru?" He asks in a low voice. She doesn't budge and instead, furrows her brows at the tofu. Her pink lips are pursed tightly together and to his surprise, she's blushing. 'She must have heard those girls too.' Sighing, he lightly grabs the tofu package out of Haru's hands, ignores her questioning look, and places it in the basket.

"U-Umm..." She begins, grabbing the tofu back out. "That's not the one." Murmurs Haru under her breath.

"But it's just tofu." States Hayato. Haru sticks her tongue out at him.

"And the cabbage was just cabbage and the mushrooms were just mushrooms but they were the one. This tofu is not." Huffing cutely, she puts it back before looking back at the products.

"You've been saying that the whole time we've been here." He tells her. When he sees Haru reaching out to grab another tofu pack, he stops her by grabbing her hand. A light gasp escapes her lips and Hayato tries not to notice how warm and soft her hand is. "What makes choosing these things different from all the other ones?"

Haru pouts slightly before answering him in a soft voice. "They're just different, that's all. Not like the rest." Hayato narrows his eyes a bit at that. For some reason, he feels like there's a hidden message in her words. Before he can inquire for more, he's startled by the sudden intensity that takes over Haru's eyes. "Lately, I've been thinking of choosing what I want with extra care."

"Huh?" Hayato asks, confused.

"I'm saying that they're not for me. They're just not it." Explains Haru as she reaches with her free hand for another tofu. Looking over it carefully, she nods her head once before showing it off. With a satisfied smile, she puts it closer to his face. "See? This tofu is the one for dinner tonight. I just know it." Giggling, she places it in the basket.

Hayato frowns at the older girl's lack of explanation. He's missing something, he can feel it. "I...don't think I understand. What you're trying to say?" Wanting to know more, he presses further on.

For a moment, he can see Haru look uneasy. Her body shifts a bit, and it feels like she's about to run away from this subject. Unconsciously, Hayato gives a little squeeze to their conjoined hands. Silver eyes flicker over to them before Haru sighs a bit, looking a little resigned. She musters a smile then, small, pure, but meaningful and just a hint of shy. "Just...umm, it's not just food that's the one for me." Explains the older girl, placing a strand of loose black hair behind her ear. "I-I want the things in my life to be the one for me too. That's why I want to be careful and more sure about what I want. Especially when it's choosing the person I...like." At her own words, Haru blushes once more. This time, more quickly and fiercer than usual.

However, Hayato is taken aback by the depths of which her eyes speak. They look at him, filled with adoration and something else. Something deep and warm and so soft that it burns.

He lets go of her hand.

"Oh." It's all he can say.

He can tell now.

Haru really, really, really likes him. So much that he's just it for her.

His heart thumps loudly at that. All at once, Hayato feels warm and scorched, dizzy and clear headed, joyful and guilty. He's so overcome with so many emotions, he is rendered absolutely speechless. Not knowing how to react, he stiffens and takes a step back from her. That's all it takes for the girl before him to crumble. In less than 2 seconds, she has lost all of her confidence in her feelings and instantly looks to regret her words.

It's silent between them.

Uncomfortably so.

'Say something.' Scolds Hayato to himself, his grip on the shopping basket tightening. A lump has settled in the back of his throat so large and painful, words don't come out. 'Say something. Anything!' Haru sucks in a little breath and his heart tightens at the glassy look that shines over her eyes. With her lower lip trembling, Haru does her best to smile for him.

She looks like she'll cry instead.

He doesn't have sukiyaki that night.

(A/N: Angst. Also, I don't know if tofu even comes in a package. I probably should have looked that up. Lol. It does in this story! Aaaaand! I apologize for not updating on Monday. I was busy, graduation parties, I twisted my ankle, and my birthday, yay! So I was actually drunk. Looool, to make it up to ya'll, I'll be updating the last chapter this Thursday.)