Title: Serendipity

Author: sllebswap

Characters/Pairing: Miura Haru and Dino

Type: OneShot/Drabble Collection (InComplete)

Genre: Romance/General/Humor

Word Count: 3992

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. Multi-verse. D86.

Verse: You Belong with Me AU

Chapter Last Revised on: 18/12/17

I'll be the one if you want me to

After the entirely pressing fiasco with the other Famiglia had been resolved, Dino had returned his focus back to the most important thing at hand – intently wooing the young woman whom he had grown very interested in developing an actual relationship with, after his previous false courtship in which he had attempted to 'steal' her affections from her now ex-fiancé. She had remained stubbornly loyal despite his best efforts to charm her and win her over, and in the end, had even chosen to release Tsuna on her own…since that had been her original intention from the very get go.

Not surprisingly, she had also been exceedingly unamused when she learned of the ridiculous scheme that her Boss and the Cavallone had concocted to fool her, and had been understandably upset by the entirely unnecessary deception. Tsuna was still recovering from her retaliation and could not quite look her in the eye anymore without remembering that scorching kiss which she had planted on him in her anger, and as for Dino – well, she was actually more hurt by his direct involvement in this grand scheme of events than she was by Tsuna, since he had been the one to actively, deliberately, engage her feelings under false pretensions – even if it had been under the suggestion of the group of dumbasses she called Family.

Before Dino could find the proper opportunity to apologize as well as let her know that he hadn't entirely been falsely appealing to her feelings, one of their rival Famiglias just had to decide to launch an untimely surprise attack on the Cavallone, forcing him to direct his attention to quelling the unrest. Travelling down to Lazio to settle the problem and then back again had taken him an entire three days, and by the time he returned to the Vongola estates in the heart of Tuscany, he was further greeted by more bad news - his plans had been derailed even before he could actually get them on track.

"What do you mean, 'she's gone?'" Dino had demanded to know once he was told that Haru was no longer residing on the property.

Some of the Vongola Guardians had shook their heads in collective surprise and bemused disbelief when they discovered that the Cavallone Boss had grown infatuated with Haru.

"You know, Don Cavallone, when Boss asked you to 'fall in love' with the crazy woman, he hadn't expected you to really go ahead and actually do it." Hayato had uttered, though Takeshi appeared more sympathetic to his plight.

"Sorry, Dino-san. Haru, uh, declared that all men are useless and that she's temporarily giving up on love."

"That's not surprising, considering the unimpressive specimens that she has had to put up with so far," Romario commented, subtly needling his Boss at the same time. The retainer had turned into a staunch supporter of Haru after really getting to know her, and not to mention, he had already thought that their plan to trick her was an incredibly stupid and thoughtless one from the get go.

"If she's not here, then is she heading back to Japan? When did she leave?" Dino persisted, more intent on following up on his next course of action than taking issue with his right-hand man's faint rebuke. He did deserve the censure, after all.

The two Guardians exchanged a glance with each other, and then Takeshi replied, scratching his nose at the same time.

"No, she's not going back to Japan. A few days ago, she abruptly decided that she wanted to travel the world. …She's heading for…Antarctica…to see the penguins. And no, we have no idea why she's doing that, or when she's planning to come back."

Antarctica? Penguins? Romario silently mouthed in an incredulous manner. Dino did not seem too surprised though – at this point, there was little about Haru's whims and quirks that would give him pause anymore.

Hayato looked vaguely amused then, as if remembering something.

"No, wait. She did say why. Crazy woman mentioned something about less chances of running into someone trying to steal her heart at the end of the earth." The silver haired Storm Guardian smirked at the Cavallone Boss. "Care to prove her wrong, Cavallone Decimo?"

His Rain Guardian counterpart interjected before Dino could reply, briefly glancing at his wristwatch as he did so. "Actually, I don't think that Dino-san will need to pursue her all the way to the end of the earth to catch up to her. Her flight's not due to depart for a few more hours."

For a moment, Dino just stared at these two, golden brow twitching.

"You couldn't just have told me that earlier, really?"

Hayato remained unrepentant, and shrugged cheerfully.

"Hey, you're the one who actually went full steam ahead and fell for a crazy woman – I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume that you're masochistic."

"…You're not wrong about that, young man," Romario deadpanned, much to Dino's chagrin. Takeshi masked his laugh behind a cough.

"I think you better get going, Dino-san. You have an important flight to stop, no?"

Haru sat at the waiting lounge of Rome's Fiumicino Airport, determinedly trying to read the mystery novel in her hand but making little headway into the storyline, much to her frustration. The young woman had been trying her best to quell the restless thoughts occupying her head by distracting herself with other tasks but to no avail.

Hahi! Think of the penguins which you're going to see, desu! Stop thinking about anything unnecessary, stupid!

But she could not even do something as simple as that.

Her heart was aching something fierce, and her chest was burning with a strange mixture of unhappiness and…longing. She was still reeling from the sting of betrayal, not just from Tsuna and the others, but also from Dino as well. She had felt horribly toyed with the very moment she understood that the whole plot of the Cavallone Boss showering his attention and affection on her all this time had been nothing but an elaborate ruse, and unexpectedly enough, that had hurt more than the knowledge that Tsuna's love for her was not the romantic love which her fourteen year old self had envisioned for the last six years or so, though maybe the lesser impact was also due to the fact that Haru had always suspected that the Vongola Boss had never felt that way for her, even though that had never stopped her from hoping otherwise all the same.

Coming to Italy to find him after all these years had been her way of trying to figure out if her childhood crush was just that – or more – and in his own way, Dino's involvement had given her that final push to bring this matter to a close once and for all.

The blond had been charming, and gentle, and so, so, so kind. He paid attention to her and indulged her whims. He didn't think that she was ridiculous, or foolish, or childish. And he had a way of looking at her with that soft, warm light in his eyes, and he was incredibly comfortable and fuzzy and safe to her and she was attracted to him. Everything that she was weak for, he was all that and more. Her heart was shaken by him despite her resolve to abide to her affection for the object of her girlhood affections, but in hindsight, Haru supposed that she should have known that something was up when everything was too good to be true.

It was all an elaborate deception, and the moment the cat was out of the bag, everything was over.

She had been very angry with Tsuna, but her friend had apologized and she could never stay mad at him, no matter what. So she had extracted her payback in the form of that kiss – he owed her at least that much for all the years she had spent pining for him, dang it! – and then she had proceeded to forgive him. It still hurt a bit to think that he had apparently felt that he was unable to come clean with her, but Haru resolved not to let this turn her bitter, and to get past it. And she would, with some time and space.

The idea to get away, to travel, had come to her just days after the fallout, and the more she thought about it, the better she liked the notion.

It wasn't as if she had anything here holding her back anymore. Tsuna was like a sorry puppy these days and she found it impossible to deal with his guilt. And Dino- Dino had left almost right away once the truth came out. And why would he stay? His role in this entire play had been fulfilled. He had performed his part all too well, and now that his job was done, of course he had departed. Haru was torn between resentment…and just silently missing, aching, for his companionship. It wasn't like he had seduced her or led her on with romantic intentions – their interactions weren't like that at all – but it was that simple understanding and easy comfort that he provided, that made her feel so at ease and cozy and happy…and she missed it, missed him, even when he was not for her to miss in the first place. Was he even real? Or just a character that had been painstakingly created and acted out just to pull wool over her eyes? He hadn't even said goodbye when he left abruptly with his men, and she had felt abandoned and lost, not even worthy of an explanation…or an apology.

Haru scowled to herself and clapped her book shut, giving it up for a lost cause. Here she was again, foolishly mooning over another man. Why was she so pathetic? When was she ever going to learn? Why was she always attracted to all the men who would never want her?

Men are all disappointing, she reminded herself grumpily, in a distinctly un-Haru-like manner. Haru is better off depending on herself, desu.

And maybe penguins. Surely penguins would be less disappointing than men.

Now, if only her bruised and wounded heart would pick up the memo already, and stop this foolish longing.

After waiting for another half an hour, the PA system finally announced her flight number, an impeccably polite voice reminding the passengers that the aircraft was ready for boarding and would be departing shortly thereafter. Finally!

Haru stood up and hefted her bag over her shoulder, heading briskly for the boarding gate. The walk took quite a while since the gate was situated at the furthest end of the airport, but Haru did not even notice, lost in thoughts and feeling miserable as she was. She was perhaps fifty meters or so from the boarding gate entrance when a familiar baritone called out her name from some ways behind her.

"Haru! Wait!"

She froze briefly, and then turned around, disbelief very apparent in every fiber of her being. Her eyes widened when she saw a tall, lithe golden-haired man closing in quickly from the distance, impeded only by the sea of people that existed between them. He was impossibly handsome and put together as always, though his hair appeared just a bit more mussed and windswept than usual, and his expression was…worried?

Haru gaped stupidly.

Dino. Dino- He was here? What was he doing here?

And even though he was still quite far away, she would be blind not to detect that air of intensity and purposeful determination swirling around him, and he was charging towards her with all that intention. Stunned, she took an instinctive step back.

He's coming. …Why is he coming here? Never mind that, desu, he's coming! Hahi!

Like a doe being hunted, Haru jumped into action. Faced with all that implacable resolve coming at her in the form of a six-foot-tall Italian Mafia Boss - she turned back and ran the other way, literally sprinting away from heartache and tears.

Heartache and Tears continued to pursue her hopelessly fleeing form, though, stubbornly persistent.

"Haru! Stop right there!"

She skidded to a stop, alright, but right before the attendants manning the booth at the mouth of the boarding gate. She frantically shoved her ticket and passport at the bemused pair, willing them to work faster as they accepted her documents and started to process them.

"Please let me pass, quickly, desu!"

She watched them and then turned anxiously to track Dino's progress. Amazingly enough, he had already crossed three quarters of the distance between them, in the few seconds' span when she wasn't watching. Had he always been able to move so quickly and so gracefully?! What happened to being inherently clumsy?! Haru squeaked in rising panic.

"Welcome onboard, Miss Miura."

Haru hurriedly thanked the attendants, grabbed her passport and other papers, and slipped through the gate. Oh gods oh gods oh gods. She knew that she was being irresponsible and unfair but she did not think that she would survive an encounter with Dino right now. Her heart was still bruised and wounded, she needed more time to forget! Sorry sorry, Haru is so sorry, she silently repeated in her mind, her eyes already started to grow moist with distress. There was one thing that was the most important to her right now; she only wanted to leave Italy without incurring any more heartache.

She was making her way down the aerobridge when Dino finally reached the boarding gate, and there he was prevented from going any further by the barrier and the airport security. His voice still reached her loud and clear, though.

"Are you really going to leave me like that? Are you really that cruel, little one?"

What was he talking about, she wondered incredulously to herself. Who was the cruel one here? Her heart trembled. Still calling her 'little one' like he did, coming all the way here to torment her like this! Head bowed down, she continued to walk forward, determined to ignore him, determined to cut things off right there and then.

But of course he wasn't intending to let her go so easily.

"Don't you think that you ought to take some responsibility, for what you have done?"

Haru stopped dead in her tracks, her back still turned to him, but now, there was the funniest look creeping over her face. Her eyelid twitched, her hands starting to curl into fists by her side. She whipped around, unable to stay silent any longer - which was, in hindsight, probably what he had been angling for the whole time, but Haru was just too indignant to care anymore. At least her outrage was overriding her need to get away, high spots of color riding on her cheeks as she glowered faintly at him. From a safe distance. Ten meters away.

"Hahi, what are you talking about, desu?! What does Haru have to take responsibility for, desu?" she demanded to know, starting to bristle with displeasure. Come to think of it, she had never gotten mad at him before, not even when she had found out about his role in tricking her feelings – she had felt more hurt instead – but now it was as if all of her repressed emotions were unraveling and she hated hated hated that she was going to lose control because of him.

He, on the other hand, just wanted to walk right up to her, pull her into his arms, and never let go. His dark golden gaze pinned hers, silently willing her to come back to him.

"You made me fall for you, Miura Haru. So take some responsibility."

She stiffened, looking like she could not believe her ears. Then she turned a dull red. What nonsense was he spewing out of his mouth? And how was he saying this sort of shameless thing in public without even batting an eye?!

"No, d-desu! Haru did no such thing!" she sputtered. They were starting to attract the attention of everyone in the vicinity now – as if Dino's ridiculously attractive appearance wasn't already drawing stares on its own. She took a step back, and was about to take another one when his gaze on her intensified. She stilled again, like a petrified rabbit caught under the paralyzing stare of a wolf.

…Why was he glaring at her now?

"Yes, you did," he insisted firmly, and now that he had her locked in place, stalling her imminent retreat, his glittering gaze gentled, his tone became more deliberate, almost cajoling, hypnotizing. "Come back over here. Please. We're not done yet."

She was tempted to obey his request when he had worded them like that. When he was looking at her like that. But she paused and caught herself, then slowly shook her head, balking.

"Hahi, Haru already knows that Dino was just p-pretending to be infatuated with Haru all along. H-Haru already knows, d-desu." Her voice trembled with hurt, her eyes large and tremulous, becoming watery. "Isn't that already e-enough? W-Why are y-you still doing this to Haru?"

He looked like he had been punched in the gut – the face of her despair made him feel like the lowest scum of the earth. He had made this mistake, and she was paying for it. The need to touch her now, to imprint his apology on every inch of her skin, was so overwhelming to him it was almost physically agonizing.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Haru. But I'm not playing games with you, I swear. Please, just trust me this one more time," he coaxed, a pained look on his face. She was so close, but yet so far. "Haru. Little one. Jo-chan."

She trembled at his gently beseeching words, the apology in every caress of the names he had for her. Despite her conviction to remain unmoved, they still touched her heart, making her ache even more, making her yearn for him. He was terrifying, this effortless power he seemed to hold over her. She wanted to run right into his arms, but she also knew that option would surely lead straight down the path of ruin. If it had hurt being denied by Tsuna, then surely being abandoned by Dino was going to be an experience she did not ever want to chance.

So maybe it would be better if they stopped here.

She shook her head again, stubbornly. His eyes turned grim with resolve at her refusal. Just as she was refusing to yield to this…thing between them, he was also refusing to let her pull away completely from him. They had barely just begun – he would not let them end like this.

"I'll keep chasing after you, you know," he told her pointblank. "No matter where you go. I'll woo you again and again, and keep courting you until you forgive me."

She did not want that, obviously. Should not want that. A feeling like panic rose in her throat, because she knew that she had no protection against him and if he was determinedly sieging her defenses like that, then she would surely succumb. She did not know if the frantic beating in her heart was due to rising anxiety…or hesitant anticipation. She shook her head again, furiously and getting agitated.

"No, desu! Haru does not want that! Haru does not like Dino that way, Haru does not want-"

"Prove it, then," His voice remained level, but subtly challenging. His eyes never left hers. She looked at him sharply. "Prove that you really don't want anything to do with me, and I shall stop."

Why did it feel like all the air was being sucked right out of her lungs?

"Hahi…? How?" she croaked out. Her eyes were starting to overflow with saline, and she haphazardly brushed them away with the back of her hand. She was crying already, and a strong sense of conflicted helplessness rose within him at the wretched scene. He had never known how much he hated the sight of her tears until now. But at the same time, he was never more aware of the stakes that hung in balance, as well as his resolve to do right by her.

"Say your farewell properly. Kiss me goodbye," he told her, expression unreadable. "If you can do that, I'll let you walk away. I shall never bother you again."

She looked at him like he was asking for the impossible.

"A kiss? Why does it have to be a kiss, desu? We never even-" She broke off abruptly, flushing. They had never even kissed before! And their first kiss was going to be a goodbye kiss?

"You're so cruel," she breathed.

He was merciless.

"Come here," he coaxed, one hand outstretched towards her, with a ruthlessly controlled calmness that belied his actual feelings. He could not afford to spook her, now. "Come to me, Haru."

She did not want to go. Why was he doing this? Where he was…what he was offering…was everything she had ever wanted. And how was he expecting her to walk away after…after…

She took one small step forward. Bit her lip.

Then took another.

And another.

One foot after the other, they brought her closer and closer back to him.

She stopped again, mere paces away. She looked at him with those pristine, limpid eyes of hers. Searching. Seeking.

For what?

"Will Dino…will you…really let Haru go, after this?"

His jaw muscle jumped at her question. His gaze burned into hers.

"…Yes," he promised after a long, long pause, his voice low, nearly inaudible. "If that's what you truly want."

Her heart ached sharply again, seeing the pain reflected in his eyes. Maybe, she thought, maybe she wasn't the only one hurting right now. And scared.

And hopeful.

She slowly stepped forward again, emerging from the entrance of the boarding gate, coming to a stop right before him. She tipped her head back, just a bit, to look at him. She looked at him for the longest time.

He was so beautiful and dazzling, it was painful to watch him. And the way he was watching her in return. Silently, waiting. And with such softness, she could barely breathe. It took all of her courage to lift her arms, and to reach out for him. Her hands shook finely. Her mouth trembled, whispering.

"Haru…has only ever wanted to be loved, desu…"

Her raw, vulnerable confession settled over his chest like a tiny, timid cat, a bit jumpy, a bit ill at ease. But yet, he had never met anyone more courageous.

His arms curled around her waist, drawing her up against him, and he finally had her engulfed in his embrace. She was soft, warm, and felt to him like she had always belonged. Slowly lowering his head, their gazes remained locked, until she closed her eyes, dense lashes brushing against the slopes of her cheeks. He closed the rest of the distance between them, and finally stole a taste of her lips for the very first time. So sweet. He could not get enough. Pressing in, his mouth slanted over hers again and again, increasingly hungry, desperate to show her how wanted she was.

She clung to the front of his suit, knees going weak, overwhelmed by his scorching ardor. The heat of his desire blew her doubts away – she could barely think, let alone figure out a way to escape his warm, dizzying embrace. He kissed her for what seemed like the longest time. He kissed her until they were both out of breath. Until her lips were rosy and swollen and her doe eyes were foggy with need – and then he thought of all the intimate things he ached to do to her. His gaze darkened, and he nipped the corner of her soft mouth.

She mewled his name shakily.

"Little braveheart," he murmured huskily. "For you, anything."

::owari::

Questions That I Would Like To Answer Before You Ask:

As promised, an update for the You Belong with Me!verse! I have never written a dramatic airport departure scene before so I really wanted to try my hand at it, haha.

Hope you guys enjoyed!

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For those who are a bit confused, this chapter occurred after Dino and Tsuna's deception had been revealed…and yes, some of you will be asking what happened to the middle part of this verse and why I'm suddenly jumping straight to the end – FYI I will be skipping all over the timeline posting bits and pieces of the story…in between all the other verses currently existing in Serendipity.

The main reason is because I don't have a lot of time lately to sit down and plot/write out whole AUs anymore the way I want to due to IRL commitments, so I felt that this was the next best thing to do – loosely connected one shots all randomly scattered in the same universe.

That said, if you have any confusion or queries regarding the chapters or various AUs, do feel free to shoot me a message and I'll be happy to reply!

Thank you all for reading and supporting this fic and crack pair, as always!

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

-sllebswap