Third chapter is here! Now we have a glimpse into Dino and Alessia's lives ^_^
Special thanks to my reviewers mAsaaRi'N'hElL, redangel12, Maverick no Knight, and xAngelic! And xAngelic, it's from personal experience haha!
Disclaimer: I do not own KHR, it is owned by Akira Amano. Enjoy!
"Oh, how-cute-are-you! Oh, how-cute-you-are?" Dino chuckled as Alessia tossed the Italian-to-English dictionary back onto the coffee table in frustration. She sent a death glare his way, and moved away from him on the couch. Another chuckle, and Dino scooted towards her so he could wrap his arms around her. Alessia slapped his arm away.
"Hey, I'm sorry," Dino held his hands up in surrender. "but you're making a big deal out of nothing! You speak enough Japanese, so you don't have to learn English to be able to understand them. I think that Dokuro speaks Italian anyway."
"And the other two girls? Sasagawa-san and Miura-san?" Alessia said, looking at their pictures again. "English is not a neutral language for them?" Dino shook his head, and Alessia sighed. "Alright, I'll stop."
The day had barely begun, but Alessia was always up early, as though an alarm was permanently set in her mind. She had already made breakfast before 5, spoke to her boss over video chat until 7, met with the wedding planner at 8, sorted out the bridal registry with the company at 9, and made it home before 10, just as Dino was straggling out to the bathroom, blonde hair a mess and flattened on one side.
"Yes! Now, can we get on with the other plans? I am meeting Romario - or should I say, papà - for lunch so we could discuss an upcoming mission," Dino whined.
Alessia grabbed one of the folders off of the table and lightly smacked him with it. "The wedding planner said that she would take care of business with the caterers, florists, and all that, but she wants the bridesmaids and groomsmen couples to be matched by next week. This way, we can also start rehearsal for the waltz routine by next Wednesday."
"Okay," Dino agreed. "First, the maid of honor should be paired with the best man, correct? So, the first pair will be my otouto and Constanzia." He looked at Alessia in surprise. "Now, Constanzia, she's a bit shallow... she won't be troubled because Tsunayoshi is just 14 years old?"
"Yeah, yeah, Connie won't care," Alessia said, half listening. "What difference does four or five years make?" She continued to flip through the pictures in the folder, scanning. "But wouldn't Tsunayoshi look so cute with one of your bridesmaids? See, this one with the red hair - which one was she?" Dino opened his mouth to give his opinion, but Alessia cut him off. "Wait, the best man should be with the maid of honor... actually, I like how your brunette bridesmaid's hair is in the same color family as ..."
O
Finally, after several cross outs, erasers tearing through the paper, and "oh no, he's too short for her"s, Dino and Alessia had completed the final list of couples. "Read it back to me," Dino said, leaning back with his hands behind his head. He closed his eyes in triumph.
"Here goes," Alessia said, clearing her throat. "Tsunayoshi with Connie, Lorenzo with Kyoko, Paolo with Haru, Filippo with Chrome, Victor with Gaia, Eiji with Lia, and Filippo with Sonia. Is that good?"
Dino thought it through, but then sat up. "You said Filippo twice?" Confused, Alessia glanced at the list again and groaned.
"Dannazione, we almost had it," Alessia rubbed her temples. Anxious, she toyed with one of the leftover scones before nibbling on it. "Which groomsman are we missing?"
"Otouto's right hand man, Gokudera," Dino concluded, as he reached under the coffee table. "His picture fell out of the folder when you hit me!"
Alessia rolled her eyes and finished off the scone. "Who will be his partner, then?" She asked, dabbing her mouth with a napkin. "Sonia?"
"Wouldn't it help Filippo, though? He had a thing for her at university, remember?" Dino added. In one hand he held Filippo's picture, and in the other he held Gokudera's.
"Yes, and I don't think he ever got over it," Alessia said thoughtfully. "Anyway, at least he and Sonia are the same age. Both of them 24, could you imagine them dancing with 14 year olds?" She laughed a little as she placed their pictures next to each other. "And that leaves Dokuro-san and Gokudera, the Mist and Storm Guardians."
"I don't think it will be a problem," Dino said, shrugging. Alessia grinned.
"Alright then, we have our last two couples! Filippo and Sonia, and..." Alessia moved two pictures together. "Dokuro-san and Gokudera." She checked the list over again, and smiled wider. "Tomorrow I'll have a girls' day with your three bridesmaids, so I can get to know them better." Dino kissed her forehead before standing up, preparing to leave for the lunch meeting.
"Hey, how about every night this week, we invite over each of the couples for dinner? Then we can truly test if they're compatible," Dino suggested, pulling on his coat.
"Sure," Alessia said while she washed the breakfast dishes in the sink. "I'll invite Dokuro-san and Gokudera over tonight first because of all the 'trouble' we went to, matching them."
"Great! I'm leaving, see you at dinner. Ti amo," Dino called as he opened the door.
"Ti amo anch'io," Alessia replied. "Give my regards to Padre." She dried her hands and picked up the cordless phone, dialing the first number.
It was one of those rare days when all three of them were home for lunch at the same time, and Chrome wanted to make it special - at least, as special as her illusions could make the kitchen at Kokuyo land. The kitchen was actually an extension of the once employee lounge, complete with a broken refrigerator, a dirty stove/oven set, an old dishwasher, and a brand-new microwave that Ken had purchased for his instant cup ramen. Chrome swept the floor and wiped down the counters as best as she could, but the refrigerator would require a mechanic, and the stove's grease burned her eyes with just a look. It would take too long to fix, Chrome decided, so she simply used her illusions to create a sparkling refrigerator and stove set. However, the food illusions she created lacked taste, so she prepared the meal herself - also, the frozen food aisle prices were very tempting.
Ken, Chikusa, and Chrome sat around the counter, munching on shrimp tempura and rice in silence. Chrome took an uncomfortable gulp of tea, then rose to check on the taiyaki she was heating in the oven for dessert. At that moment, her cell phone rang, and Chikusa casually glanced at the caller ID.
"'Dino (house)'?" Chikusa read, eyebrows raised. Chrome placed the tray on the stovetop and took off her oven mitts. She took her phone from Chikusa and turned her back to the two boys. Ken looked questioningly at Chikusa, but he only shrugged and continued to eat.
"Ah, Alessia-san?" Chrome drifted to the next room to continue her conversation.
O
Gokudera hung up the phone and began pacing the floor of his apartment's kitchen. He was about to eat his lunch, but after the call, it sat untouched on the table. I have to participate in a traditional waltz routine? It shouldn't be hard, I did take ballroom dancing class when I was 7... but escorting Dokuro down the aisle and being her dance partner? Tch. And now I have to cancel on Jyuudaime's meeting to have dinner at the stupid Bucking Horse's house...
dannazione - damn
ti amo - I love you
ti amo anch'io - I love you too