The morning speeds by as Tsuna finishes preparing for the trip, and before he knows it, there is a knock on his front door. Setting down his bags he was bringing downstairs, the brunet opens the door to reveal Haru and Lambo with suitcases sitting behind them. Both of them looked exhausted, but excited.
"Good morning, Sawada-san. I hope you had a good rest last night," Haru says, grinning at the man. Before he can respond, she places a hand on Lambo's head. "Since my son was asleep last night, you two didn't get to know each other. Lambo, this is Sawada-san. Sawada-san, this is Lambo."
Tsuna nods in greeting to the small child. There was better lighting now, and Tsuna could take a guess about the boy's age. He figured he was about five or six years old. "It's nice to meet you, Lambo-kun." Admittedly, Tsuna has never been around that many children, aside from when he was a child as well. So the interaction felt awkward for him.
"It's nice to meet you too, Sawada-oji-san!" Lambo exclaims, throwing his hands in the air. "I'm so excited to visit China. I've been learning Chinese since I was two."
Tsuna's eyebrows lift in surprise at this. "You know Chinese already? It took me years to learn it, but I finally became fluent in it a year ago."
Haru smiles proudly at her son and ruffles his hair. "My little Lambo is very bright. He's already fluent in Japanese, English, and Chinese. His Kindergarten teacher thinks he'll be able to skip some grades in the future." Suddenly the woman attacks the boy with a hug and rubs her cheek on his. "I have the best son in the whole world." The said boy blushes at this and looks away silently.
Tsuna chuckles. "That is truly impressive, Lambo-kun." He was a little jealous of the child for being smart, since he had struggled academically his life, but he couldn't help feeling proud too. The child was obviously motivated to learn everything he can and that was admirable. "Would you two like to come in so I can quickly give the rundown on the trip?" They nod and enter the home, leaving their suitcases and shoes at the door and taking a seat on the sofa.
The mother and son glance around the room, taking in the sight. The room was neat, unlike Tsuna's bedroom. But they didn't know that. He takes a seat in a chair across from them and places a paper on the coffee table between them. "My plan is the stay in Hong Kong for a couple weeks, possibly more depending on the circumstances." He looks away, and then back at the paper. "I already booked the hotel. You two will have your own room and I should be next door."
Haru nods. "I really appreciate this beyond words, Sawada-kun. China has always been a dream of mine to visit. I learned the language as soon as I could and eventually taught it to Lambo." She starts shake with excitement. "I'm so happy for this. Thank you so much."
"You're welcome. And that is something we have in common. I've always wanted to visit China too. I feel like there are many opportunities there that I must try out." Tsuna was happy to hear somebody desire the same thing as him so much. This trip is going to be spectacular.
Looking at the time, Tsuna stands up and grabs his bags off the floor. "Our plane will be boarding in a couple hours. Would you like to grab something to eat at the airport before we leave?"
"Sure! That sounds like a great plan." With that, they slip on their shoes, grab their luggage, and pile into Tsuna's car to head to the airport.
Inside the Namimori International Airport, the small group enters a restaurant and takes a seat at a table. After having their orders taken, they proceed to talk more. This time, Tsuna was trying to get to know Lambo more.
"Is there anything special you would like to do in China, Lambo-kun?" Tsuna asks, sipping on his coffee.
Lambo begins to bounce in his seat, his eye sparkling as he responds. "I want to visit as many landmarks as possible and speak with the people there. Learning from them sounds like it'll prove to be a great time!"
It would be a lie if Tsuna said he wasn't impressed with the way Lambo spoke. He spoke maturely and seemed to combine learning with fun. The young adult wishes that he could have been a child just like Lambo. He was truly a sight to be seen.
"Oh!" Lambo exclaims and starts to dig through his backpack. Tsuna looks at him curiously as the boy pulls out stuffed black cow from the bag. It looked quite fierce. "I almost forgot that I wanted to show you this, Sawada-oji-san. This is Gyuudon. My dad had moved out about a month ago and gave me him as a gift. I love my dad so much." As Lambo hugs the cow tightly with love, Tsuna notices that Haru is looking down with sadness.
He hadn't ever thought of why Haru wanted to go to China aside from her life-long desire to go, but her reaction at the mention of her ex said it all. She wanted to get away from the memory of him, just as Tsuna wanted to get away from all that is Kyoko for a little bit. He and Haru were truly alike.
The conversation picks up again and they eat their breakfast, savoring it before they leave for the biggest trip they've ever been on.
The plane descends at the airport in Hong Kong and the three look out their windows in amazement. The city looks incredible to them from their height and there are knots in their stomachs as they imagine all the fun they will end up having. This will truly be an adventure they won't forget.
They quickly exit the airplane, and soon the airport also. The outside of the place was bustling with people in a rush and people welcoming or leaving loved ones. It made their hearts race in excitement. They hail a taxi and quickly are taken to a very nice hotel they'll be staying in for a couple weeks.
The hotel staff is very kind as they take the entire luggage to the respected rooms. It had been decided by Tsuna that he will have his own room right beside Haru and Lambo, which Haru appreciated greatly. How did she find such a kind soul? The man hasn't even asked her to pay for any of the travel fees nor the hotel bill.
Inside Haru and Lambo's room, Lambo is jumping up and down on their bed. "Mama, I'm so happy we're in China! What are we going to do today?"
Haru shrugs as she puts away their clothes in the dressers. "I'm sure Sawada-san would like to rest today. He probably spent a good chunk of his night booking everything so we could arrive today." The last thing she wanted to do was stress the man out. She already owes him more than she could ever give.
Lambo lets himself fall on his butt on the bed and sends a pout towards his mother. "But Mama. I want to do something, even if it's simple. I'm sure Sawada-oji-san wouldn't mind. He wants to see China as much as we do." The boy has always been good at reading people, so Haru sighs as she closes the last drawer.
"Okay, I'll ask him," she says, smiling over at her son. "How does the park sound?"
Lambo nods furiously, a smile bright on his face. "That sounds like a great idea, Mama! You're so smart!" She blushes at this and exits the room. Her son is going to be such a charmer when he grows up.
The walk isn't far, since their rooms were right beside each other. Haru takes a deep breath as she knocks on the door, hoping he would agree to going on a walk. Honestly, the woman was a little nervous about navigating the city by herself with Lambo. She wanted to have Tsuna with her.
She doesn't wait long as Tsuna opens the door, looking at her in surprise. "Hello, Miura-san. What's up?"
Haru puts her hands behind her back and grins at the man in front of her. "Lambo and I wanted to know if you would like to join us on a stroll. I noticed a park nearby on the way here, and we figured it would be nice to do something simple on our first day here."
Tsuna nods slightly in acknowledgement and thinks over the proposal a little. Then, with a huge smile on his face, he says, "Sure. I think a stroll would be a wonderful idea. Should we meet in the lobby and go?" As Haru agrees to the meet-up, the two reenter their rooms and prepare to go on the walk.
The park ends up being a more beautiful sight than they expected. The trees were a lush green and the walkways were perfectly paved. The three were taken aback by the whole thing, but it certainly made them happy. Lambo begins to skip in front of the adults, singing a Chinese song that Haru had taught him when he was younger.
With a little more privacy, Tsuna looks over at Haru. "We didn't really get to know each other before this trip, so I was wondering if we could ask each other about ourselves. I must admit it's a little weird to not know very much about you."
Haru nods in agreement. "Sorry I pushed myself and Lambo into your trip, but I'm really grateful for what you've done for us."
He waves it away and twiddles his fingers. "I know this is really straightforward, but I was wondering what happened with your ex."
Haru looks away, her body language screaming sadness. Tsuna instantly feels regret for mentioning it and is about to tell her to forget it, but Haru answers. "A few months ago, my ex told me he wasn't in love with me anymore and wanted a divorce. I was really against it at first, but eventually something in me just gave up once he moved out. I couldn't hold on to the love we once had. So the divorce went through quickly and he let me have custody of Lambo."
"At least you have Lambo," Tsuna tries to say encouragingly, looking over at the happy boy in front of them.
She smiles with a few tears in her eyes. "Yes, I'm so glad I have him. It's a miracle to have him in my life." Just then, Lambo halts in front of them, looking over to the left. They also stop, looking in the same direction. There, on a bench, sat a small girl. She wore a white tank top, white shorts, and black sandals. Her black hair was cropped short. Her appearance was quite plain, but as she stared at some kids playing together, it felt as if there was something truly special about her.
Haru gets this smirk on her face as she leans down to Lambo's level. "Would you like to go play with her, Lambo?" The boy looks to his mother and nods excitedly before running over to her, probably to ask her if she wants to play. Slowly the adults make their way over to join the children.
The little girl is staring at Lambo in embarrassment, but nods a little and Lambo grins in response. She gets up from the bench and they are about to go play, but the arrival of Tsuna and Haru stops them from going.
"Hello there," Haru says, in perfect Chinese. "Are you Lambo's new friend?"
The little girl nods and Lambo looks proudly at the little girl. "I-Pin, I would like to introduce you to my mother, Haru, and Sawada-oji-san. I came from Japan with them. Mama and Sawada-oji-san, this is I-Pin."
They all look at each other in acknowledgement and I-Pin smirks at them. "Are you two a couple or something? You certainly look like one."
Tsuna and Haru shake their heads at this, cheeks as red as roses. "No, no. We're not a couple, I-Pin-chan!" Haru exclaims, covering her face with her hands.
The little girl giggles at this. "I know. I'm just teasing." Taking Lambo's hand, she starts to running towards an empty area. "Come on, Lambo. Let's go!" With that, the kids were off, leaving the two adults to take I-Pin's spot on the bench and look away from each other in embarrassment.
It is silent for a little bit before Haru decides to break it. "I'm not really interested in dating right now. It's still too early."
Tsuna nods and looks out to the children playing. "I'm still into the girl I mentioned before anyways." Suddenly there is a pang in his heart and he holds back the emotions that try to pour out. This isn't the place to cry about it.
"I just wanted to make sure you knew." With that, they both stare at Lambo and I-Pin, basking in their happiness.
After a while, the two had started to talk again until Lambo runs up, alone. Haru looks at her son in confusion. "Where is I-Pin-chan?"
"She said she had to leave and ran off. I figured it was probably getting late and we should head back to the hotel and have dinner." At this, Haru rubs the top of her son's head, ruffling his curls.
"I have such a bright son." With that, they get up and start to make their way out of the park.
As they go, Tsuna breathes in the park air and a light feeling fills him, as if telling him something. But for now he disregards it, happy with this moment right now.
I wasn't originally planning to have a Haru "POV", but it worked out quite well! Also, last chapter I forgot to mention Hayako is a combination of Hayato and Kyoko. I also want to thank you all for all reviews, follows, and favorites. They make me happy. The two reviews cracked me up. XD One person was surprised to find a story that isn't yaoi and the other person was taking a break from yaoi. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
-Ashley(dolphinherovamp5)