Title: Serendipity

Author: sllebswap

Characters/Pairing: Miura Haru and Dino

Type: OneShot/Drabble Collection (InComplete)

Genre: Romance/General/Humor

Word Count: 4130

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: Modern Day AU

Chapter Last Revised on: 07/12/16

Hey I just met you

The first time he met her, it was by the side of a winding road in the Italian countryside. He had been exercising one of the prized thoroughbred stallions that his Family was famous for breeding when he noticed the little Mini Cooper resting on the other side of the fence that encircled the massive Cavallone property. Like any Good Samaritan would, he had approached to see if there was a problem, ready to offer a helping hand if needed. The first impression he had of her was hearing the accented lilt of her voice muttering to herself as she struggled with all of her might to lift the spare tire from the trunk of her car, with limited success. That was not too surprising; she was a small woman from what he could see of her stature, waifish and petite.

It became quickly apparent that the car had just suffered a flat, and so, he dismounted, hitched his ride to one of the fence posts, and went over to see if he could help out.

"Ciao! You look like you're in trouble. Need some help?"

"Hahi?!"

She had squawked in surprise then, jumping straight up in startlement and promptly whacking the back of her head against the roof of her car with a loud thump. He winced. She had been so focused battling the spare tire that she had completely failed to register his approach.

"Are you alright?"

"Itta, itta… Haru is fine, desu. Haru was just surprised, desu."

Her strange manner of speech took some getting used to, and she spoke in halting Italian that very quickly made it obvious that she was foreign. She had also gone back to trying to pry the spare tire out from the depression at the back of the car, but still making little progress in actually doing so. After a moment of watching her, he stepped in, gently shouldered her aside and easily heaved the tire out of its compartment. He started to roll the thing over to the side of the Cooper where the flat tire was, intent on assisting in changing it out with the replacement, but then she was in front of him before he could even move more than a step in that direction.

"Haru can do the rest, desu! Thank you for helping; Haru mustn't trouble the kind mister anymore, desu!"

She was so determined not to trouble him that she was almost literally fighting him to regain possession of the spare tire. And she wasn't just doing that to be coy, he could tell, but with serious intent to complete this dirty, challenging task on her own. So he reluctantly let go and watched as she clumsily maneuvered the spare over to where the tire needed to be changed, and much to his bemusement, almost lost control of the cumbersome thing a couple of times, muttering under her breath the entire while, before she finally got the hang of moving it.

He started to wonder if she actually had any idea what she was doing. It was a legitimate concern since he did not see any sort of tools that were typically necessary to support a tire change sitting around, waiting to be utilized. Was she planning to hoist the car up on her own without a car jack?

Then, she pushed the tire to rest on its side on the road, proceeded to sit on it and whipped out her phone, and he was understandably confused by her peculiarly random action.

"Excuse me, Miss, are you sure that you don't need any help?"

"Hahi? Yes, desu." She waved her phone at him. "Luckily, Haru has bought a good data plan at the airport before coming out here, desu. Haru only needs to watch a few YouTube videos to figure out how to do this-"

'This' meaning the tire change, of course.

Dino just stared at the young woman in silent, flabbergasted disbelief, not that she was paying him any attention whatsoever. No; her instructional videos were way more engrossing than he was apparently. The blond had never experienced such casual disregard before, truth to be told. While he was not the bossiest or most domineering person that was out there, people still tended to find his presence commanding and assertive enough to automatically defer to his leadership – whenever it came to this kind of emergency situations, at the very least.

But then here was this woman appearing from out of nowhere, completely impervious to his subtle attempts to quickly help her out of her problematic circumstances.

To be more precise, it wasn't that she was being rude or anything - he just had not met anyone who behaved quite like her. The whole thing was really rather perplexing. Dino gamely made another offer of assistance.

"You know, I'll feel more comfortable if you let me help, Miss. I cannot with proper conscience leave you be like this when I can assist. I do believe I'll be a more reliable source of support than a couple of how-to videos."

She was scooting over to the back of the car once more to look for the toolkit and was just fishing the clunky bag out, distractedly watching the screen of her phone at the same time as she split her attention between him, her retrieval task at hand, and the video. She registered his concern and flashed him a bright smile. She was infectiously upbeat and sunny, even with a dirt streaked face and her white slacks smudged with engine oil. He wondered how she had gotten herself so disheveled already when she hadn't even started changing out the tire, yet. He also wondered how it was possible for anyone to look so disarmingly charming at the same time.

"It's really alright, desu! Haru can manage on her own!"

And surprisingly enough, she did. There were a few hairy moments where things threatened to go south, but she always managed to correct herself before he could step in to prevent the catastrophe. In the end, he only had to help fit the flat tire back into the compartment at the back of the Mini Cooper, and she was so ridiculously pleased with her own success that he had to bite back a grin at her glowing features. Apparently a considerate and civic-minded individual as well, she also started to clean up after herself, briskly picking up every piece of trash that she could see and storing them in a trash bag that she had quite literally pulled out of nowhere. She even went some ways up and then down the roadside in her individualized effort to save the environment, much to his rising bemusement. Then she trotted back, and he reached out his hand to take the full bag which she was lugging clumsily with her, but she promptly mistook his intention and grabbed his hand in her own instead.

She shook his hand in three brisk pumps before releasing him, grinning brightly, face still streaked with car oil.

"Thank you for stopping by to see if Haru needed help, desu! Haru is very grateful for the kind mister's concern, desu!"

He really hadn't helped much at all, to be honest, but she didn't really let him have a word in edgewise, and had an energy about her that was like a chaotic, miniature whirlwind, and before he knew it, she was already in her car cheerily waving goodbye and he was left standing there by the Italian countryside completely confused and holding a bunch of bananas which she had pushed at him since it was the only thing that she had with her that was apparently an acceptable thank you gift.

He was still wondering about the bananas a few days later.

Well, at least his horse enjoyed the plaintains. He did too, to be honest.

…and this is crazy

The second time he met her, it was in town and she was once again in trouble.

Like the first time, he heard her distinctive voice rising above the crowds even before he actually saw her.

He really didn't know how she kept ending up in this sort of situations but the woman was actually in the midst of being robbed by a snatch thief. Most people in their right frame of mind would have immediately surrendered to the perpetrator whatever they wanted in order to appease a potentially life threatening situation, but not her. No, he came upon the woman fighting determinedly to keep her purse with her, gamely throwing all of her strength into a dangerous tug-of-war, and then she also started clobbering her swearing assailant with the umbrella she held in her other hand.

"Hahi! What do you think you're doing to Haru, you…you son of a musty potato! Stop it right now! Your mama will be very ashamed of you, desu! Think about your family more, desu!"

She was lecturing her robber while in the middle of being mugged, not that said robber was very interested in hearing her lessons on morals. She was promptly sworn at in coarse language that made her gasp and turn red in indignation, and then he pulled out a switchblade.

"Jesus." He stopped staring in disbelief and started to run towards the altercation instead. The small, foreign woman was still determinedly trying her best to win this faceoff with the armed snatch thief, and instead of conceding her bag, she pulled harder at the straps, throwing her entire weight backwards and tangling the man's attacking arm with the thin lines, somehow constricting his arm movements even as she nimbly dodged under the incoming blade thrust and head butted the guy right in the chin, still going full steam ahead with self-righteous indignation. The man swore and let go, opting to grab at his face instead, noisily cursing still, now angry and in pain. The brunette pulled away, hurriedly sidestepping and backing away, clutching her purse to her chest.

"Hahi! Haru already said to think about what you're doing more! Cool your head, desu!"

She reversed right into her would be savior, and she looked rather surprised to see him.

"Eh?"

Dino slipped between her and the pickpocket, but there was not much else that he needed to do. Realizing that his opportunity had already slipped by him, the offender cut his losses and quickly fled. The Cavallone watched the other disappear into the distance before turning back to his companion, concern etched on his handsome features.

"Are you alright?"

Her eyes widened with recognition.

"Ah! Haru remembers the kind mister!" She smiled sunnily at him, as if completely unfazed and unshaken by her little misadventure that had just occurred. "Haru is being helped again!"

The blond really did not know what she was talking about.

"That was really dangerous, Miss. Please don't do that again."

She tipped her head slightly to the side, as if she did not quite understand what he was referring to. She ended up flashing him another smile instead, and he was starting to think that she was deliberately being distracting.

"Haru is fine, desu! And that guy is gone so there's no more danger!" She looked briefly thoughtful. "Though maybe it may have been better if he stuck around so that you can teach him how to be a good and decent person, desu."

She seemed to truly think well of him, and he just stared at her. She dusted herself off and was ready to bustle off to continue the rest of her shopping errands when she abruptly stopped once again.

"Hahi, Haru must show her thanks!"

Her hands grabbed his and he was momentarily transfixed by the warmth and vibrant vitality that he could sense exuding from her…and that was how, less than a minute later when he came back to his senses, he found himself with an entire sack of sweet potatoes and watching the back end of the cheerful woman disappear on him for the second time.

He caught himself idly wondering why she was always leaving him random produce and thought that he would have preferred it better if she had left him her number instead.

…but here's my number

The third time he met her, Dino was starting to think that maybe there was some mysterious cosmic influence out there that kept throwing them both in one another's paths, though the why remained a mystery to the blond man. Maybe he was being taken pitied on and given extra opportunities to attempt to impress the female, which he was admittedly having trouble with, since she remained completely oblivious to his acts at chivalry. Then, Dino had to wonder to himself just why that was even important in the first place; the young woman was admittedly pretty in that sweet-looking manner, but she was also rather quirky and feisty and…refreshing…in the way she was so carefree and unselfconscious, if that was the correct word to describe her.

Alright, so perhaps he was somewhat intrigued by her, though he had not expected to see her again. What would that sort of odds be, for a pair of strangers to meet for the third time?

But maybe third time's the charm, right?

And again, he came upon the woman just when she was in trouble. It made Dino wonder just how often she got herself into these messes in first place, but then again, she seemed to just as inevitably get herself out of them…

She was lost this time, having decided to go out into the neighboring woods for a walk in the middle of a thunderstorm for whatever reason – why do tourists always do such incomprehensible things? He supposed that was why his work was so important and appreciated at times like this…

Being fished out of gale force winds and near hurricane weather condition had not been part of Haru's To-Do List when she set out for a nice hike that morning. The weather had been pretty great too; warm and sunny and it was the perfect day to go out for a hike, really. She had heard great things about the popular trail at the outskirts of town where her new home was located and had wanted to experience the spectacular views herself, and how was she to know that the deceptively mild weather would turn hideously bad in the blink of an eye? It was a good thing that she had informed her landlady about her whereabouts, for she had gotten herself hopelessly lost thirty minutes into the storm and this time, even her phone had chosen to crap out on her.

The loud whup whup whup sounds of an encroaching rescue helicopter had been music to her ears when she first heard it. It was close to dusk by then and she was cold, soaked to the bone, and starting to become concerned for her own safety all alone out in the dark woods. Haru had ran straight for the largest clearing she could find and had started jumping up and down waving her hands to and fro at the aircraft overhead like some deranged monkey, and it was a good thing that they were searching for her specifically and therefore it wasn't long before the powerful floodlights landed on her person. Haru was so relieved when the helicopter drew closer and a small packet was dropped out of the cabin door by one of the rescue personnel.

It was a walkie talkie, Haru found out as she hurried over to collect the package, and the helicopter briefly picked up altitude again so that the deafening sounds of the rotor blades would not interfere with their attempts to establish communication with her.

"Hahi, Haru is fine, desu. Haru is n-not physically distressed or impaired in any way," the brunette shouted into the radio transmitter, her nerves frazzled. "Haru is only lost, c-c-cold, and also quite hungry, desu!"

The voice that crackled back over the speaker was nigglingly familiar to Haru, and she was instructed to standby and keep to the edge of the clearing while the helicopter attempted to make a landing to collect her. She did as told, and the rest of the operation went smoothly. The aircraft landed successfully on the field despite the fierce crosswinds threatening to blow it off course, and then the cabin door slid open and a member of the Italian Coast Guard came out in full rescue gear, running towards her to assess her situation and quickly guide her back towards the waiting chopper.

The rest of the trip back to civilization occurred in a blur. She waved away an attempt to put her on drip because she wasn't that dehydrated yet, so the medic just gave her some water as well as a heavily insulated thermal blanket to keep her warm. She was actually in quite good spirits by the time they arrived back on the airbase, and was happily chatting with her caretaker and telling him that this was her first experience onboard a helicopter and it had been quite a pleasant one, all considering. She was also full of praise for the Coast Guards, and made the bemused man promise to stop by her café so that she could treat him to a meal in gratitude for having saved her from what would have been a thoroughly miserable night.

The depowered helicopter slowly taxied down the landing strip and came to an eventual stop. Haru was helped out of the cabin, none too worse for wear despite her ordeal, and so she cheerily insisted on sticking around to personally thank the pilots as well for gallantly coming to her rescue. The first officer was a pleasant and large, barrel chested man with a ruddy complexion and a loud, booming laugh that reminded her of Santa Claus. He spoke in a thick Italian accent that Haru had trouble deciphering but managed to glean enough that he would gladly take her up on her offer one day. Smiling and nodding in agreement, she all but tripped over her words as she clumsily replied in this country's native language that he was welcome to drop by for many meals, all on the house.

Turning to the final crew member whom she had yet to meet, Haru was promptly stopped short by a familiar baritone, drifting over from the cockpit of the helicopter where the Captain sat.

"Miss, if you're going to insist on feeding me every time we meet, then I'm also going to insist that you at least allow me to return the favor by taking you out for dinner first."

Her eyes landed on the man, and they very quickly lit up with recognition the moment he emerged from the aircraft and removed his flight helmet with the aviator shades, shaking out his tousled gold hair before slanting her a faint smile.

"Ah! You are-" She was so busy being surprised by this unexpected meeting that she did not even notice the way the man's copilot as well as medic teammate were both goggling and doing double takes at his nonchalantly smooth pickup line.

It was just all too unfortunate, however, that his exceedingly rare attempt promptly flew right over the oblivious head of the intended recipient, and proceeded to crash and burn in a sad ditch behind the young woman. Thankfully, his flying skill as a Search and Rescue pilot was nowhere near as catastrophic as his attempts at launching pickup lines.

Haru smiled brightly at her thrice-savior and had not even appeared to register his comment, much to his ever increasing chagrin.

"Hahi! Haru remembers you! Haru has been helped by the kind mister for the third time now, desu!" She looked at him rather wondrously, eyes sparkling earnestly. "Haru is really lucky, to be saved by the same person so many times!"

He looked at her bemusedly, as if not quite sure what to make of her. It was a feeling that he was beginning to associate with her more and more. Not in the bad way, though – more like she was surprising him a lot and he did not quite know what to anticipate from her. It was fascinating. She was fascinating.

So, Dino tried again, ignoring the mirthful looks that his teammates were sporting in the background.

"…My name is Dino. Would you mind going on a date with me? I'd like to get to know you better."

This time, he was stating his intention so clearly that there was just no way that she could accidentally mistake it for anything else. She stared at him in a startled manner, eyes slowly growing wide like dinner plates.

"…Eh? Eh?!" She looked confusedly between the blond and then his colleagues, the latter two trying their hardest not to snicker at the gobsmacked look on her face. "B-B-But-"

She was rapidly turning pink and stuttering like a dying motor, and she looked endearingly charming like that, even when bedraggled and all wrapped up in a shapeless and bulky eyesore of a thermal blanket. Dino just watched her, eyes gleaming with interest. His attention only served to make her even more tongue tied. This tall, blond, ridiculously handsome god of a man was asking her…out on a date?!

Was this a prank?!

Much to her relief, the first officer came to the rescue, laughing and cutting in before she could turn purple in the face from stress.

"Pegasus, let the poor lass be properly looked over by the Medical Corps first before you unleash your devastating charm on her. If you're going to make her swoon, at least make sure that it's not because of overexposure to the elements!"

Dino had the grace to appear chagrinned by the amused rebuke. This time around, he had been so determined to establish some sort of lasting impression that everything else had been shunted to the background. Haru looked as if she had been struck on the head as she watched the taller male rub the back of his head in boyish embarrassment. He wasn't exactly being very smooth and suave right now, but there was something about his candid and honest demeanor that really appealed to her. She blushed, harder. Oh, goodness.

"Hahi…Haru…H-Haru thinks that she would like to get to know Dino-san more as well, desu, if Dino-san really means it about the d-date." It took all of her will to maintain eye contact. But then, he just had to smile at her, and she was momentarily blindsided by his brilliance. Her face suffused with color. She squeaked and quickly bowed down low, retreating behind basic manners in an effort to regain her frayed composure. "Haru is Haru, desu! Please call Haru by name from now on, Dino-san."

This was really embarrassing. Haru wondered if she was being too forward – back in Japan, calling one another by first names were only reserved for individuals in very close relationships, but then again, this was Italy…they ran by a different set of rules here, so it should be acceptable, right? Haru was working herself into a lather with her mind going in frazzled circles, and therefore she was all too happy when the medic technician started to usher her to follow him to the medical bay to be seen by the doctor stationed at the base.

"Wait. Lend me your hand for a bit, Haru."

She looked puzzled, but obliged his request. Having him call her by name just like that was an extremely distracting experience. Having him hold her hand in his larger one was even more so, and she watched as he pulled out a pen that was clipped onto the front of his flight suit and quickly scribbled something over the back of her palm.

"My number," Dino commented by way of explanation, slow to release her even when he was done. His tone was regretful as he continued. "Unfortunately, we still have mission debrief, and then there's also the rest of the shift to wait out so we'll be parting here…for now. Remember to call me later, okay?"

She nodded obediently, and was still in a daze as she followed the medic back to the medical bay whereas the two pilots went another way to the command center to check in. She looked down at her hand – there was indeed Dino-san's number there…as well as a very quick doodle of what appeared to be a cartoon profile of himself. Chibi!Dino even had a speech bubble over his head as he waved at her. "Be careful on the way home- don't get lost again!"

She snorted.

A heady warmth filled her insides, and Haru could not help but sport a silly, giddy smile for the rest of the evening.

She was already looking forward to their date.

…so call me, maybe? :)

::owari::

Questions That I Would Like To Answer Before You Ask:

First of all, this is the beginning of yet another AU – a modern day verse, to be precise. FYI, this setting is completely separate from that of the CEDEF!Haru verse as well as the Marriage of Convenience verse.

To further clarify, in this one, none of our main leads are affiliated to any triad or mafia group – they are simply normal, regular individuals working normal, regular jobs and living normal, regular lives. So, no special powers or Dying Will Flames or dangerous, magical babies running around. No assorted, random, super-powered crazies to deal with either. Just the normal, regular ones. Still equally random, though.

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Some basic backstory to further flesh out this plot, in case it isn't too clear in the chapter proper:

The Cavallone Family are prominent breeders of superior horseflesh in the region, though the heir apparent, Dino, is currently serving a tour of duty with the Italian Coast Guard (aka Guardia costiera) as a Search and Rescue (SAR) pilot. He flies the AgustaWestland AW139, a 15-seat twin-engine military helicopter that is part of the air fleet of the Guardia costiera, and yes, his official military callsign is Pegasus, for rather obvious reasons. His rank is capitano di corvetta (aka Corvette Captain), and it is the direct equivalent of a Lieutenant Commander in the US Navy, so basically mid to senior officer level in the hierarchy of the Italian Navy ranking.

On the other hand, Haru is obviously new to the country, and in this one, she is a pastry chef/patissier, which partially explains all the random produce that she keeps handing Dino for whatever Haru-centric reason during their encounters. Not only is she in Italy to learn more about the cuisine of the country, but she is also temporarily putting down her roots here for now, working and at the same time exploring the country and its rich food culture. She is pretty good at what she does, though she is also known to create some really…questionable desserts as well, all in the name of creativity…and originality. They actually taste quite delicious, after one gets over the mental trauma of having to put her more…unique creations in their mouths.

I really don't know what's going to happen with these two down the road, but it will be fun to find out, heh. Honestly, this whole plot idea originated just because I was randomly thinking about Dino in aviator glasses and then became stupidly determined to make it come true in some form or another.

…Haru is not complaining, though, hoho.

Who wants to see Dino in a full military dress uniform next?

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I'm really happy with this AU's version of Haru. Like canon!Haru, she's used to getting things done on her own, and as you can see, it's not like she's badass/fiercely independent and always knows how to get things done – but it's the fact that she's still doing her best even when she has no idea about something that's what I love most about her character. It can be daunting when one is lacking knowledge or not knowing where to start, but Haru has never quite let that sort of speed bump bring her down or bother her and I think that's a type of strength and courage that people easily underestimate and/or take for granted. She's also always so upbeat and carefree and optimistic, and gah, I love this precious little cinnamon roll so much I almost don't want to share her with Dino, ahhaa.

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Last but not least, I didn't really intend to title this chapter after Carly Rae Jepsen's 'Call Me Maybe.' All my chapters are usually already written out before I even start looking to title them, so it just turned out that this one kindaish fit the song, haha.

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

-sllebswap