Title: Serendipity

Author: sllebswap

Characters/Pairing: Miura Haru and Dino

Type: OneShot/Drabble Collection (InComplete)

Genre: Romance/General/Humor

Word Count: 2312

Rating: T (Contains content not suitable for children)

Disclaimer: Kateikyoushi Hitman Reborn belongs to Akira-san.

Summary: CEDEF Agent Miura Haru and Cavallone Boss Dino have known each other for a very long time, haven't they? Loosely interconnected one shot/drabble series. D86.

Verse: Marriage of Convenience AU

Chapter Last Revised on: 26/11/16

You're the cure

Being sick was the worst feeling in the world, Haru thought beleagueredly as she woozily worked her way through her second box of tissue paper, the skin over her nose already rubbed red from all the times she had to blow it. She could not stop shivering even though she was all bundled up under the blankets, her head was pounding relentlessly, her entire body ached, and her throat felt like there was something large and thorny stuck in there. It hurt to swallow – in fact, she hurt everywhere and was extremely miserable. She had already taken her meds under Romario's insistence, and was currently lying in bed and feeling awful just like every sick patient did.

The Cavallone retainer had already came and left earlier after trying to convince her to eat something but to no avail. Her usually robust appetite had left her and she was in no mood to do anything other than just be buried under all her blankets and wait for death to take her.

And therefore that was how Dino had found her that evening, when he returned after a routine check in on some of their more distantly located allies. She had fallen into a fitful slumber by then, her lithe limbs tangled up amongst the duvets, her breathing faintly labored, her face flushed from sickness, an unhappy frown unconsciously wrinkling her brow as she struggled to attain a more comfortable state of rest.

He entered her room and had to uncover her from the mound of blankets which she had somehow burrowed in, and his wife-in-name-only looked so miserable even in sleep that he felt sorry for her. She was usually healthy as a horse and just as high spirited, so she must have caught quite the superbug to be down for the count like this. He placed his hand over her forehead to check her temperature, and she seemed to calm a bit at his touch, tilting her face towards him, as if in appreciation of the cooling relief that his palm provided to her considerably warm skin. She sighed, dense, dark lashes fluttering momentarily against her cheeks before opening slowly, reluctantly. She squinted blearily at him.

"…Dino-nii…?"

Her voice was hoarse, raspy and almost inaudible, and her eyes were foggy from sleep and exhaustion.

"…Back? …Safe…?" Her drowsy mumble almost made no sense, but he knew exactly what her concern was. His gaze softened slightly.

"Yes. I'm home. Everything's fine. Go back to sleep, Jo-chan."

Her hand came up from beneath the blankets, fingers reaching over to brush tentatively against his, as if checking for herself that he was indeed really here and well. She petted him drowsily, and even though she was feverish, the tips of her fingers were icy. She leaned into his hand, satisfied with her groggy inspection. Her eyelids slid shut, unable to fight the heaviness any longer.

"…Mm…kay. Tired. …Okaeri…"

She settled more deeply into rest once more. That furrow between her brows slowly smoothed out.

He waited for a few moments longer until her breathing evened out as well, then he carefully extricated his hand and picked up her wrist, gently slipping the slender limb back beneath the sheets. Her bone structure was almost birdlike – exquisitely delicate and fragile – and he could encircle easily her wrist between his thumb and forefinger. He did not think he was ever going to get over wondering about that realization. He straightened the rumpled, haphazardly strewn duvets and tugged them all the up under her chin, making sure that she was properly tucked in. He stroked her hair unobtrusively, leaned down and brushed a kiss over her forehead. His voice was soft, tender.

"Get well soon, cara."

She woke up hours later, still groggy, disoriented, but at least she was starting to feel a little less like death warmed over, and Haru was also surprised to find that she was not alone in her bedroom like she would have assumed. Sitting on an armchair by the side of her bed was Dino, and he looked up from the papers which he had been perusing when he sensed her stirring, calmly watching her from behind the rims of the reading glasses he wore perched over the bridge of his aquiline nose. His voice was soft, pitched low in deference to her waking state.

"How are you feeling?"

She made a confused sound before she slowly pushed herself up on her elbows. Her hair was sticking up every which way and she was still all stuffed up, as evidenced by her muffled breathing. Her face was still a bit pink, and after a cursory study at her features, he took off his glasses, set his papers aside and stood up. She tilted her head back to look at him as he neared, and then continued to stare at him when he chose to sit beside her next.

"Dino-nii…? What are you doing here…?" She was honestly bewildered, and he lifted a sardonic brow.

"What do you mean, why? Should I be anywhere else right now?"

She nodded.

"Hahi? Haru thought that Dino-nii has a meeting to go to today. …And Haru also feels less sick now," she added in afterthought, recalling his initial question posed to her. So last night hadn't been a feverish dream - he had really been here.

And just like last evening, he reached over and placed his palm over her forehead.

"You're still feverish," he noted, turning over to the bedside and picking up the glass of water sitting there. He handed it to her, together with her prescribed medication. "You need to take your meds and get more rest.

"Did you cancel your appointment because of Haru?" she asked him before she accepted his offering and obediently popped the pills into her mouth, then washed them down with a deep drink of water. "Haru will be fine," she insisted, nudging him in the arm and encouraging him to keep his appointment. "Haru is very resilient, desu. Dino-nii don't have to worry…"

Instead of being successful in her endeavor of placating him, her husband simply gave her a look that was…very disappointed. He looked so disappointed that for a moment there, he resembled a disapproving golden retriever. Haru did not know how it had happened but suddenly it felt like she was being guilt tripped, though she had no idea what she was being guilt tripped for.

"…Dino…nii…?"

He sighed, deeply and exaggeratedly. Then, he took her glass for her and set it back on the bedside table.

"Haru." He spoke at last, and his eyes watched her carefully. "Who am I?"

This again? She wondered where he was going with this now.

"Dino-nii is Dino-nii, desu? Haru did not have fever high enough to forget Dino-nii, desu…"

He shook his head, briefly amused by her reply.

"No. I mean, who am I in relation to you?"

Her brow furrowed slightly, and she thought "Dino-nii is Famiglia. Dino-nii is Haru's Boss, Haru's friend, Haru's Family. Dino-nii is a very important and respected person to Haru, desu."

That was really nice and all, but the blond looked like he wanted to face palm.

"Is that all?"

She tipped her head, hard pressed to keep confusion from creeping onto her features.

"...Yes, desu?"

The Cavallone Decimo really did plant his face in one hand then. Haru was visibly startled by his dismay.

"Hahi?"

"...Husband. I'm also your husband, Jo-chan."

There was a pause, and then, that 'oh, right' moment that dawned on her face was almost unreal.

This was most definitely some sort of spectacularly special failure on his part, that his wife had actually managed to forget that she had a husband. This would be hilarious if it wasn't so damn pathetic.

He looked at her in chagrin.

"You do know that I'm a man, right?"

She looked genuinely puzzled by his question, and by now Dino was seriously hoping that she was just playing along with him.

"Hahi, of course Haru is aware of Dino-nii's gender!" The brunette was quick to assure him. But then, she also continued.

"But what does Dino-nii's gender got to do with anything...?"

Dino groaned.

"In other words, you register my gender but it doesn't really matter to you either way, huh."

She was starting to look lost. This was obviously not the right time or place to have this conversation, and he exhaled, letting the matter go. For now, at least.

"Dino-nii…?"

He reached out and patted her head, flashing her a wry smile instead. Dino knew what Reborn would say if he was here right now. That his wife was failing to acknowledge him as a proper husband was the result of no one's fault but his…and like it or not, Dino was inclined to agree.

"Don't worry about it, Jo-chan. Like I said, I'm your husband, okay? That means I want to be here for you. I want you to depend on me more. You never act spoiled around me, why is that so?"

"E-Eh?" She blinked at his question. "Haru cannot do that! Dino-nii already has so many people depending on him and Haru must not trouble Dino-nii unnecessarily!"

"I want you to trouble me unnecessarily. Bother me more, Jo-chan. I mean it. I won't ever be busy enough to not have time for you. It was quite alarming today, you know, to have to hear from one of the men that you suddenly collapsed this afternoon."

She bit her lip at his gentle admonishment. She looked down at her hands, contrite.

"Haru is very sorry for the trouble, desu…"

His fingers drifted across her cheek, down the line of her jaw, before settling beneath her chin, gently tilting her face back up so that she would look at him. Their gazes met, and he made sure that she could see his sincerity. Then, he slowly leaned in and brushed a kiss over her forehead.

She started to look vaguely dazed, at least until he reached a hand over and lightly tweaked her nose. She yelped.

"Dino-nii!"

"That's your punishment," he retorted.

She rubbed her nose ruefully. He was always doing things like that to her; not fair! And what was that kiss earlier about…?!

"For getting sick, desu?"

"No. For not depending on me more."

She was silent for a while. And then…

"Is it really okay…desu? Can Haru really depend on Dino-nii?"

The Cavallone Boss's brow twitched once at her wondering tone.

"Hey, that's really insulting, especially coming from my own wife," he muttered, but there was no heat in his tone. "But yes. That's what I want."

"Hahi…" Haru thought very hard about what she could ask of Dino-nii. There weren't much, to be honest. She was already quite used to getting things done on her own so… An idea eventually occurred to her, and she perked up visibly. "Haru wants riding lessons, desu! Will Dino-nii teach Haru? After Haru is feeling better?"

Dino did not hesitate.

"If that's what you wish, consider it done." The Cavallone House was well known for breeding some of the most excellent thoroughbreds in the entirety of Italy, after all, and the region of Lazio where they were based in was a beautiful terrain well suited for horse riding. Perhaps he should also look into getting her a mount of her own as well, since she had professed an interest in equestrianism…

Haru perked up visibly, and she flashed him a huge, earnest smile, her eyes starting to sparkle with anticipation.

"Haru will look forward to it, desu! And and and! Halloween is around the corner – can we throw a costume party to celebrate? Maybe also send out invitations to some of the other Famiglia as well? Haru thinks that it will be fun to gather everyone, desu."

He looked bemusedly at her.

"You're the Lady of the House. You don't have to ask permission from me for this sort of things. If you feel up to planning a party of that scale, then feel free to go ahead. But I do not want you to overexert yourself, so let the men know if you need help. Or better yet, let me know; you know that I'd love to help."

"Hahi, Dino-nii will be happy to help even if Haru wants him to blow party balloons all day?" she asked, trying not to smile at the thought.

He nodded.

"If you want me to, of course. Manually inflating balloons all day should still be less of a chore than having to mediate between two clans raring to kill each other."

She snickered, all but glowing at his offer.

"Okay, desu. Haru will really depend on Dino-nii more. We will throw the best costume party, ever! Hahi, maybe we should even have an inter-House Best Costume competition and Haru will do her best to design the most amazing outfits for everyone in the Famiglia! Should we have a group theme? Hmm…"

She was getting excited now, her mood lifting, and it really did not take much to please her, he thought. Dino shook his head inwardly; this wasn't exactly what he had expected when he had told her to 'depend on him more,' but at least it was a step in the right direction.

"Aren't you getting a bit too excited there, little lady? You're still sick, remember," he admonished, and she shrugged happily at him.

"Haru is already feeling better now that Dino-nii is here," she chirped- or rather attempted to do so even though her voice was still hoarse.

His brow lifted at her carefree reply.

"So it's good that I'm around?" he asked. She nodded profusely.

"Yes, desu!"

"So, I don't suppose you'd have any complaints if I stick around more from hereon then, hm?"

Haru was about to nod again when she registered his question.

"Hahi?"

::owari::

Questions That I Would Like To Answer Before You Ask:

Again, this installment belongs to the marriage of convenience!AU. I find myself really enjoying writing random Dino/Haru moments. They are a very lovely pair and just so comfortable with each other, these two. It's just so nice to work with them. :)

FYI, TYL!Dino is thirty three, and TYL!Haru is twenty-five.

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Okaeri translates to 'welcome home' in Japanese language.

Cara is a term of affection in Italian. It means 'dear,' or 'beloved.'

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Personal headcanon:

The Cavallone Famiglia has always watched over the Italian territory of Lazio for as long as this House has been established. Directly north of this region is the Vongola/Varia protected territory of Tuscany, so this ties in nicely with the Vongola-Cavallone alliance and partially explains the close relationship that two Families share geographically and traditionally.

Lazio is the second most populated region of Italy, and its capital is Rome. It is mainly flat and hilly there, with small mountainous areas in the eastern and southern districts. Agriculture, crafts, animal husbandry and fishery are the main traditional sources of income in this area. Hence, as already mentioned in earlier chapters, the sprawling Cavallone Villa is located right smack in the middle of the countryside, way outside of the congested city zones of Rome, and surrounded by lush vineyards, fruit and olive orchards all bearing the crest of the Cavallone. The expansive, gently rolling terrain of Lazio is also perfect for the breeding and training of superior horseflesh for different branches of equestrianism and therefore the Cavallone stables has also thrived here for generations. Every single Boss of the Cavallone is familiar in the traditional ways of training and handling broncos, and the current Decimo is no exception. Case in point; even the bullwhip that is his signature weapon is a tool that is conventionally used for working with livestock. Even his box weapon Scuderia is a Sky Horse.

Last but not least, Cavallone also almost literally translates to horse, knight, chivalry, gallantry, and that is also how I choose to interpret and portray my version of Dino. The golden knight on a white horse, symbolizing chivalry, valor, loyalty and nobility. Tell me that Dino is not all that and more~

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Your reviews make me update faster; so please leave a comment if you like this fic!

-sllebswap