Category: Mild Romantic Fluff
Characters: Chrome Dokuro, Ken Joshima
Ken's eyes were lidded as he gazed disinterestedly out of the cracked window in the Kokuyo Land administrative building. He'd flipped a wooden chair around to sit on, leaning against the wicker back to stare out into the abandoned amusement park. Though it was only the beginning of December, the snow fell heavily, smothering the collapsed attractions and dilapidated building in a thick blanket of white. The winter chill seeped in through the small crevice to spread a numbing cold over his nose. He wrinkled it to stave off the deadening sensation creeping into his face, then groaned and pressed his cheek into his forearm. He bounced his legs incessantly, but the repetitive motions failed to channel the nervous energy sparking inside him like a roaring fire.
"Boooooored-byon!" he whined loudly. His voice bounced in the empty room to echo hollowly in his ears. He half expected Chikusa to come scold him for his troublesome loudness, but the bespectacled boy failed to take Ken's bait. Ken whined and licked at his fanged teeth, watching the snow continue to fall outside. He traced the fluttering paths of the snowflakes with dull brown-orange eyes.
Ken managed to occupy himself with that for about ten seconds until the agonizing boredom crept back in. Yowling angrily, he jumped up from the wooden chair and kicked it. The chair rattled a few inches to the left before becoming unbalanced and crashing onto its side. Ken grimaced as portions of the old, worn wicker fragmented onto the concrete floor. Old piece of garbage, he thought and shoved his hands into the pockets of his deep green uniform pants.
A certain pineapple-haired girl suddenly sprung into his mind.
"I wonder what Chrome's doing," he pondered aloud, rubbing his chin. Though she'd transferred to Namimori Middle School and spent a significant amount of time with the two girls who hung around the Vongola Family, Chrome still lived in the abandoned amusement part with Mukuro and the rest of his subordinates.
Her unconditional support for their boss was endearing but bordering on annoying, at least to Ken. She follows him around like a lost puppy-byon, he thought with a small growl. Sometimes it felt like she wanted nothing to do with Ken and Chikusa… Humph. Not that I care-byon! I don't need her, just Mukuro-sama and Kakipi! he thought haughtily. Ken told himself that, but it never erased the dull ache that bloomed inside him whenever he thought about the timid girl.
With another wolfish growl, he kicked the overturned chair again.
Ken whirled on his heel and stomped out of the room. He certainly wasn't going to find anything entertaining in there. Slouching with irritation, he trotted down to the lower level to see if he could find anyone to satiate his boredom for a little while.
He happened upon Chikusa after about five minutes of wandering the complex, stretched out on a ripped sofa while lazily flinging his yo-yo around. A wide window stretched across the wall's expanse, showing the snow-laden area surrounding the administrative building. "Kakipi!" Ken called as he trotted in. Chikusa leisurely rolled his head to blink lazily at Ken.
"Oh. Hey," Chikusa responded calmly. He continued to slowly swing his yo-yo in circles as he regarded the blond boy. Ken realized immediately that Chikusa would be useless in satiating his boredom, so he looked around interestedly.
"Where is she-byon?" Chikusa knew exactly who Ken was referring to. The boy exhaled as he pulled himself into a sitting position, finally stowing his yo-yo and looking at Ken with a slightly raised eyebrow.
"She went to Vongola's. She said that the girls- Haru and Kyoko- were throwing her a birthday party." Ken blinked blankly at Chikusa. A birthday party? "Chrome's birthday is today." Chikusa continued to throw the reeling Ken over the precipice of realization. When he finally fell over the edge, Ken's cheeks brightened with embarrassment, and he flailed his arms a little.
"B-birthday-byon? She never told me!" Ken complained angrily. Chikusa shrugged indifferently and rose to his feet.
"I'm pretty sure you were present when she mentioned it in conversation, but it's also likely that you weren't listening."
Ken scowled and pointed vexedly at Chikusa.
"That's mean-byon!" He refrained from agreeing that it was also probably true. With a huff, Ken slammed his hands back down into his pockets. That silly girl… Ken wasn't frustrated that she wandered off to hang out with the Vongola family; she did it frequently. For some reason, he was frustrated with himself for forgetting her birthday. Why should I care-byon? Loathe as he was to admit it, care he did. Snorting, he whirled on his heel. "I'm going out!" he announced to Chikusa before promptly making his exit.
When he pushed the glass doors of the administrative building open, the wind jumped forth, blasting snow flurries into the lobby. The skin of Ken's face prickled as little barbs of ice slammed into his flesh, so he hurriedly turned up the collar of his army-green uniform to shield at least the bottom half of his face from the gale. Absently, he hoped Chrome had decided to wear leggings. She always pranced around in that skirt, after all; if she stepped out like that in such inclement weather, her legs would be icicles before she even left the complex. Who gives a damn? Let her freeze if she's gonna be that stupid-byon! He thought gruffly to try and distract himself from the little beast of worry gnawing on his insides.
Ken trotted through the well-worn and disheveled concrete pathways meandering through the forgotten amusement park. The snow crunched loudly under the repeated plops of his boots into the calf-high snowdrifts, complimenting the wailing wind and rattling bare tree branches in a strange, ghostly harmony. He cursed as the hems of his pants legs grew sodden with ice-cold water and clung to his ankles and lower calves, siphoning his body heat away with frightening efficiency. "Soon it'll be my legs that're icicles," he grumped to himself.
As he came to the base of the inclined path and onto the road proper, which was thankfully plowed, he shook his legs vigorously to dislodge the clumps of snow and water droplets as much as he could. With a small sigh, he looked off into the distance, bitterly observing the cloud-choked, bleary gray sky and the snow piled on the horizon. Was he really about to hike to Namimori for that spacey, dopey girl?
Of course he was. Eyes lidded as he resolved himself to follow his incessantly nagging shred of human decency, he began tramping down the fringe of the road.
"Fuck, it's cold," Ken cursed through chattering teeth as he kicked the gate to Tsunayoshi Sawada's front yard open. As the black metal clanged harshly against the concrete wall outlining the quaint little home, clumps of snow slipped off the gate to plop into the drifts below. Ken was grateful that the stone pathway leading to the small porch had been cleaned because his socks and shoes were so soggy that he'd scream if they absorbed any more water.
Hands buried as deep into his pockets as they could go and collar snug against his face, he stiffly stomped up to the front door and rang the doorbell by hiking up his leg and planting his shoe against it. A chorus of surprised voices echoed in the small two-story homes as the pleasant chime rang through the rooms.
"Oh? Chrome, dear, were you expecting any more guests?" came an older woman's voice that Ken assumed belonged to the young Vongola Tenth's mother. Ken hunched a little further into his damp jacket when the woman opened the door, revealing a pleasant smile and a friendly face framed by orangey-brown hair. "Hello there! You must be one of the boys I've heard so much about. Ooooh, let me guess-" she interrupted before he could introduce himself, placing the pad of her index finger on his lips as she studied him with bright eyes. He jumped a little when she clapped her hands together. "Are you Ken?"
A faint blush deepened the already pink, wind-raw skin of his cheeks. He just nodded in affirmation, making the young mother trill and do a little dance of joy. "Ahaha, I guessed right! 3" By this time, Chrome had meandered out of whatever room she was hanging out with the Vongolas to peer curiously around the woman's form at the snow-sodden blond.
"Ken? What are you doing here?" she questioned innocently. Anger brought a blush to his cheeks this time, and as he stamped his foot hotly against the porch, a few blobs of wet snow shifted off the awning to join the white layer coating the yard.
"Why do ya think I'm here-byon?" he mocked arrogantly. Chrome's big purple eye blinked slowly and uncomprehendingly. Tsunayoshi's mother hummed puzzledly as she looked back and forth between the clueless Chrome and the irritated blond dripping water on her porch. Finally, she laughed good-naturedly and grabbed Ken by the shoulders to all but yank him over the threshold of the door.
"Now, now, no need to stand outside! Oh, look at you; you're covered head-to-toe in snow! How far did you walk to end up like this?" she tutted as she bundled him inside, unzipping and removing his windbreaker jacket before he could even comprehend what was happening. The rest of the Vongolas, attracted by the commotion, came traipsing out of the kitchen to behold the shivering, cold, blushing Ken with mixtures of surprise, amusement, and indifference (in Kyoya Hibari's case).
The strange turn of events fried Ken's brain, so all he could focus on is why the hell Kyoya was even there because he was an insufferable asshole with a stick constantly up his ass and didn't seem the type to attend parties. Meanwhile, Tsunayoshi's mother wandered off with his windbreaker in tow, humming a pleasant tune.
"Nn," Kyoya tutted and shoved a piece of hamburger steak in his mouth. "It's one of the Kokuyo brats. Did you come so I could bite you to death?" he asked in that aggravating flat tone of his and drew his tonfa out of his uniform jacket. Why the hell does he have that-byon?!
"Now, now, don't act like that, Hibari!" Takeshi laughed pleasantly. "He's Chrome's friend; I'm sure he came to wish her happy birthday."
"Yeah? Why didn't he just do it before she left?" Hayato grumped, slouching with his hands in his cargo pants pockets as he regarded Ken distrustfully. Ken's face took on a bright pink hue from forehead to chin, and he swallowed the shameful admission that he'd not had any clue it was Chrome's birthday at all. Thankfully, the girl refrained from outing him, continuing to stare inquisitively.
"Humph. Why the interrogation-byon?" he snapped, turning up his nose disdainfully at the collection of young mafioso. "I just happened to be nearby! Do you really think I'd march all the way here for some lame birthday party?" The group collectively looked at the darkened fabric of his uniform pants, making him bristle. "Oi! The snow's just deep! Stop staring-byon!"
"Ken-kuuuuun~" Ken stiffened as the older woman's voice floated down the stairs, ears reddening further as she so casually trilled his first name. "Here! I brought some of Tsuna's clothes for you," she announced brightly as she hopped down the steps carrying a few light garments.
"Mom! Why?" Tsunayoshi protested loudly. She just tutted scoldingly and flashed him a disapproving look as she dropped the clothes into Ken's arms.
"Now, Tsuna! He is a guest just as much as anyone else. He trekked all the way here in the snow to come see Chrome! Why, it's almost romantic~" she sighed and pressed her hand to her cheek with a girlish giggle. Ken choked on his breath and squeezed the garments to his chest, face turning an ugly purple-red color. Romantic-byon?! What's with this lady? There's nothing romantic about it! Nothing! I just-! I just wanted-!
Ken's gaze slid to Chrome, watching her purple eyes sparkle, and her cheeks flush with a carnation-pink hue. Huffing, he buried his face into the white shirt the woman had loaned him, sensitive nose flooding with the aroma of floral laundry detergent. "Ahaha! Anyway, Ken, dear, you should go upstairs and take a bath, hmm?" Tsunayoshi's mother hummed as she pushed his upper back to propel him towards the stairs. "Tsuna, be a dear and show him where it is."
"What? Now he's using our bath, too?!" the small-statured boy complained. Ken peered sourly at him, orange-brown eyes flashing just above the cloth of the shorts smooshed against his face, and Tsunayoshi squealed. "Okay, okay, okay! Fine, follow me," he sighed in defeat and began tromping up the steps. Ken followed stiffly after him, ignoring Hayato's comment that he should bathe because he smelled like a wet dog. Ken smiled slightly when the loud girl, Haru, slapped him upside the side of the head and called him rude.
"Here we are," Tsunayoshi said unenthusiastically as he stopped in front of the door to the bathroom. Ken continued to sulk at the unintended turn of events as he stared blankly at the door, waiting for the spiky-haired boy to retreat before entering. Tsunayoshi went to return down the stairs, then paused and looked up at Ken uncomfortably. "I, um… I know we aren't exactly friends or anything, but…" he trailed off with a blush, twiddling his thumbs together as he fumbled over his words. "B-but I know aren't a bad guy or anything, so you're free to, you know, hang out as much as you want."
Tsunayoshi released a small "eep!" as Ken's orange-brown eyes critically examined him for any distrust. I don't think he's even capable of tricking someone, Ken then thought with a small snort.
Tsunayoshi hurriedly scampered to the stairs, so Ken huffed and opened the bathroom door. He paused when Tsunayoshi came bounding up the steps again to breathlessly add, "B-by the way, Chrome is really happy you came to wish her a happy birthday!" Ken's face flushed red, and he gawked at Tsunayoshi with wide eyes before looking down at his snow-soaked shoes.
"Get lost-byon. I wanna shower." Tsunayoshi blinked at him, but then smiled pleasantly. Ken's blush darkened as the boy chimed something about seeing him downstairs before hurrying down to the first floor.
Ken purposely avoided looking at his reflection as he shambled into the bathroom and set the clothes on the counter. He shrugged out of his shirt, grimacing at the way the cold fabric clung to his skin, and threw it into the corner. It landed against the tile with a wet slap. Before he shimmied out of his cargo pants, he carefully retrieved a small wrapped package from one of the deep pockets. He set it on the counter beside his change of clothes.
He'd hate for her present to get crushed, after all.
"Jeez, you guys are impatient-byon," Ken whined loudly as someone knocked timidly on the door. He jumped up to tug the waistband of the pants around his hips before yanking up the zipper and clasping the button. Tsunayoshi was slightly shorter than him, so the pants' hem rose above his ankles, but beggars couldn't be choosers. It wasn't until Ken had sunk into the steaming warm bath water that he'd realized just how cold he was, and he had no care to slip back into his ice-cold clothes.
Ken refrained from putting on a shirt to unlock the door instead. Tendrils of steam tickled his bare chest and droplets of water vapor exploded over his slightly heat-flushed skin as he did so. "What?" he asked bluntly as he swung the door open.
He blushed as red as a tomato as Chrome unabashedly looked him up and down. Her big purple eyes blinked once before she looked up at his bright red face.
"A blizzard," she said simply. It took a few seconds for Ken to articulate the word, simple as it was.
"A blizzard?" he echoed dumbly. Chrome nodded lightly and pointed a slim, dainty finger at the hallway window for good measure. Ken's wide, orange-gold eyes followed the invisible line to the frosted glass pane. He then gasped and barreled past Chrome to adhere himself to the cold surface, too shocked to register the chill seeping into his exposed skin. "What the hell-byon?!"
The wind shrieked voraciously beyond the thin clear panel. Snow flurries billowed in wild swirls through the neighborhood, darkened by the thick layer of stormy gray clouds choking the sky and blotting out the light. The snow piled up in giant plumes, burying cars and lawn ornaments deep beneath its thick white sheets and spilling over the fences to encroach upon the doorsteps.
Ken felt his stomach plummet to his feet. There was no way that Tsunayoshi's mother would let him leave the house with such inclement weather. To be quite honest, Ken absolutely did not want to trek back to the abandoned amusement park in the raging blizzard anyway.
Ken peeled himself away from the window with a frustrated sigh while running his hand through his dampened blond hair. Great, he thought bitterly. When he turned around, he believed that Chrome would have descended back to the party; instead, she remained in the hallway, staring at him with those big violet eyes. Ken jumped.
"Damn it-byon! Don't sneak up on me like that."
"I've been here the whole time."
Ken growled under his breath and scratched at the back of his neck. His gaze slid to the bathroom, and then beyond to his wet pants still draped over the bathroom counter dripping icy water onto the floor- and then to the small white wrapped in simple blue yarn. A flush blazed across his cheeks. Chrome finally seemed to think that Ken did not want to hold a conversation; out of the corners of his eyes, he saw her twirl on her toes to head for the stairs.
"W-wait!" he called before he could stop himself. Chrome turned around with her head cocked inquisitively. She regarded him with those big owlish eyes that he thought so unnerving but so damn cute too. Grumbling and alternating his arm positions to try and nonchalantly cover parts of his chest when he realized he was still shirtless, he gestured lamely at the little box she'd failed to notice. "P-present," he offered sheepishly.
Chrome continued to turn on the cloth pads of her socks until her violet eyes settled on the unassuming little package situated on the counter. With a small gasp of wonder, she padded into the small space to gingerly retrieve it. She tossed him a slight glance, almost as if asking permission to open it. "J-just don't look at it, dumbass! Open it up-byon!"
Perhaps it was the wisps of hot steam still curling throughout the room, but Ken noticed her cheeks turn slightly pink as she looked back to the small gift box and slowly pulled the string.
Ken held his breath as she opened it with so much care that it was painful. Damn, did she want to kill him with anticipation? Why the hell did he care, anyway? His fingers twiddled anxiously by his thighs as he watched her flip the lid off. He couldn't help but smirk satisfactorily as a delighted little gasp slipped past her lips.
"Malt chocolate candy…" Chrome whispered. Once more, she turned that intense yet innocent gaze upon him, and a strange, warm sensation bubbled up inside of him. Happiness sparkled inside those amethyst eyes. It spread the warmth from the tips of his toes up to the crown of his head.
"It's your favorite. I remembered-byon," Ken shrugged dispassionately, trying to belie the giddy lilt attempting to seep into his voice. "... Happy birthday," he added after a few moments of silence. Heat began to creep into his face, and he rubbed compulsively at the wispy hairs hugging the back of his neck. Chrome hugged the package of chocolate to her chest and flashed him a rare, elated smile.
"Thank you, Ken."
Normally, Ken would snap something snarky and shut her down, push her away before she could come too close. But not this time. Basking in the honey-glow of that serene smile pervaded down to his soul, Ken allowed her in, enabled her to see just a glimmer of the feelings he tried so desperately to suppress.
"You're welcome, Chrome."
The softness in his voice surprised them both. Their eyes simultaneously blew wide, and their gazes snapped away at the same time. Chrome covered his mouth as his entire face burned pink. Why did I say it like that-byon? I can't believe myself; dumbass…! As Ken reeled in his stupidity, he paid no attention to Chrome. That is until he was forced to- when she scampered up to him with the open package of malt chocolate candy.
"Here. Have some."
Ken jerked at her soft voice suddenly sounding at his shoulder. He glanced wildly from her face down to the candy, struggling to process the turn of events.
"That's yours," Ken finally sputtered. Chrome's purple eyebrows twitched, the only flicker of emotion on her once-again blank slate of a face.
"I want to share it. It's my present; I can decide what I want to do with it, and I have decided to share." Her infallible logic obliterated any chance Ken had of refusing. Frowning, he dropped his hand from his still-burning face to break a piece of the chocolate away and pop it into his mouth. It was okay; Ken didn't know why the girl adored the stuff so much.
But, when she slipped her piece of chocolate past her lips, and her face immediately softened into bliss, Ken felt the hot rush of pride flush through his system. He put that expression on her face.
"See?" Ken blinked when she interrupted his silent gloating. "Isn't it good?"
"Yeah." Not really a lie, but not really a truth; Ken just wanted to keep that smile on her face. Chrome giggled, and the sound almost made Ken faint.
Ken never could understand how Rokudo could rope such an angelic, pure girl into his devious little network of pawns. Chrome was so pure that it almost burned Ken's eyes to ash every time he looked at her. Angelic, sweet, innocent… Everything Ken definitely did not deserve.
As he was reminded of that fact, the bitterness seeped into his features, poisoning whatever happy expression that had appeared on his face.
"I have to put finish getting dressed," he grunted as a lame way to excuse himself from the discussion. Chrome blinked curiously at him as he shouldered past her to walk back to the bathroom. He was fully intent on closing the door behind him, but limber Chrome had planted herself in the threshold sooner than he could even grab the wooden door. He scowled but decided it was not worth arguing. He instead grabbed the graphic tee patterned with some dorky anime character and slipped it over his head.
"Ken?"
"What?" he sighed, popping his head through the hole in the shirt to glare exasperatedly at her. Chrome's dark lashes fluttered before she continued.
"Thank you for coming all the way here."
Ken thought she would leave it at that, and so opened his mouth to gripe some abrasive response. Whatever he had intended to say died an ember in his throat when she leaned forward to place a feather-light kiss on his cheek. The flesh instantly flooded with blood, spreading fire through the tissue and making his nerves spark into overdrive. He gawked stupidly at her as she retreated with a coquettish smile.
"I do hope you'll come join us downstairs. Maman made dinner. She's an excellent cook." Without waiting for an answer, she whirled on her feet and descended rapidly down the stairs. He could hear her munching on the chocolate as she plonked down the steps. She paused halfway down and looked up at him blankly. "You should come with me more often. Maman's favorite guests are the unexpected ones." He watched her go with a mixture of feelings swirling around inside of him, robotically slipping his arms through the sleeves of the tee-shirt.
A smile spread wide across his face. His heart fluttered in his chest like a baby bird fumbling into its first flight. As he walked out of the bathroom, he glanced back at the window and the blizzard raging beyond.
"Unexpected guests," he scoffed with a dopey smile. "Yeah, okay…"
Ken followed after Chrome, tromping down the steps two at a time. Who was he, an acknowledged guest, to say no to a free dinner? Besides… He wanted to make sure those yahoos of the Vongola family didn't ruin Chrome's special day, too.
After all, he'd come here to make sure it was the best one possible… Regardless of whether he was ready to admit that to Chrome yet or not.
The blizzard yowled faintly at him as he passed the front door, but Ken didn't mind it. The storm whirling inside him had dimmed considerably, and the winds all but died as Chrome smiled prettily at him from her seat at the kitchen table. He stopped just out of sight for one brief second to savor the expression that was just for him.
Unexpected guest, huh? Sure beats hanging out at that old dump all the time. Next time, at least I won't have to hike the whole way alone.
Smiling, Ken strolled into the room and was instantly greeted with many loud voices and Chrome's sweet, quiet one.