5986 & All SHORT-STORY ~ ICE-SKATING DAY

"Ah, Haru! Wait! We're com… Gyaah!" BAM. "10th! Are you alright?!" "Haha, Tsuna, do you like the ground so much? Well it's refreshing for sure, after all this skating!" "Yamamoto, don't lie on the ice as if we were at the beach…" "Tsuna-kun…" "Ah, Kyoko-chan!" "I'm sorry, Tsuna-kun. Oniisan and I both took off our skate shoes already, so…"

Kyoko glances with a guilty and sorry expression at Haru, still standing on one leg in the middle of the ice rink with a broken skate in her hands.

"Ah, of course Kyoko-chan! Leave it to m… gyaah!" BAM. "10th!" "Sorry, Gokudera-kun…" "Tsk, Baseball Nut, instead of lying there like an idiot, can't you…?!" "Got it, got it! But I don't have my skates anymore either, you know." "Y-Yamamoto?! G-gets out fast before the guard notices! If he sees someone with plain shoes on the rink, he will…!"

"KORA! You the tall brat with the blue parka!"

"Uwaaah, I knew it…!" "Haha, looks like he's mad…! Ah, Tsuna, wasn't it you who gave the warrant phone number?" "Tsuna-kun, I think the concierge wants us all out now, what to do?" "Sounds like we need to follow him to the extreme…" "Ah, 10th, please go ahead. I'll make sure to bring back this damn Stupid Woman in your stead!" "Th-thank you, Gokudera-kun."

And Tsuna soon joins the bench outside the rink, just in time to get dragged with everyone by the concierge to the supervisor room for a long session of lecturing.

"Oy, Stupid Woman! Don't you dare move a damn inch until I come and get you!" "As if Haru could move at all, Aho!" "Damn it, always a bunch of trouble, tsk… Let's see, to get past the inner circle of skaters, I suppose I should go with the flow… The 10th forbade me to force my way in before, tsk…" "Gokudera-san, the other direction, counter-clock-desu!" "Just shut up! Who do you think I'm bothering with for?!" "Ahiii?! Haru wanted Tsuna-san to come and rescue me! Not some violent ungracious aho like you!" "What ungracious?! As if I cared, damn it! And what rescue?! Don't make it sound like it's a big deal, tsk… Breaking the skate and standing there like an idiot, so annoying…" "Ahiii?! Haru didn't do that on purpose!" "You'd better not! Already bothering the 10th and messing up with the damn fees too, tsk… Can't even stay quiet either…!"

Haru swallows back with irritation, feeling seriously aggravated at not being able to retort anything.

It's not like she asked for the skate to break, messing up the once-in-a-lifetime chance she had to show off in front of Tsuna-san with her ice-skating techniques… Falling in front of everyone was already shameful, but having to wait still in the centre of the rink where usually only pros venture feels only worse… And even if the rink assistant is already busy elsewhere and the others were already packing, even if Tsuna-san hasn't really the level to join the inner circle yet, just why is her only ray of hope out of this shameful abyss this violent swearing Aho…

Haru noms her lower lip with conflicting feelings as the silhouette in a black vest skids to come to a stop in front of her, having skilfully passed all the high-level skaters of the inner circle although today is his first day ice-skating.

"Oy!" "A-Ahiii…?!" "Don't ahiii me, damn it! I asked if you could put back this damn skate even if only for pretence…" "H… Haru is… not sure…" "Oy, what's wrong with you, all of a sudden? Damn, you're right… With the heel cup broken like that, you'd cut your feet, I guess… damn… So let's… OY!"

GRAB. Gokudera's hand lifts Haru by the arm just as she was about to collapse. His usual frown turns into a wince as he notices her leg trembling.

Not like someone could stay that long in equilibrium on one skate without breaking down at some point…

"Why didn't you call before if you're already that exhausted, damn it…" "H-Haru didn't want to… look bad… in front of Tsuna-san…" "Tsk, as if the 10th is the type to worry about that over the safety of his Family! Don't mess with me!" "S… sorry…" "Oy…?! D-don't start crying, damn…!" "It… it's just that…" "Tsk, fine! No need to explain, let's just go, sigh…"

TILT. Haru's eyes widen of surprise when Gokudera pulls on her arm to haul her onto him, and she can't help but freezes with a blush when his hand slides under her thigh to lift her both legs over his in a pose close to a sentada (tango step where the woman sits on the man's lap, both her bended legs on the same side on his hip and none of her feet touching ground anymore).

"Here, gotcha…" Gokudera's voice reaching her ears at a lower volume due to their pose pulls Haru out of her shocked languor.

She watches silently as he lifts her knees one after another to bring her two bare feet – now that he has pulled off the other skate from her second foot – onto his own skate shoes, letting them rest there to avoid touching the ice.

"Just hang on. I'll bring you back to the 10th." His voice is a mixture of self-confidence and forsaken irritation as he stares deep in her eyes, his free hand holding her firm behind her back to make sure she doesn't stray away from him, while the other hand is holding onto her pair of skate shoes.

As Gokudera's feet move slowly, gradually, into backwards motion before turning effortlessly to face forward again, he lowers his eyes often, to make sure the toes on top of his shoes stay in place along their owner in his arms.

On her side, her face buried in a red sweat-shirt and not daring to raise her eyes, Haru has just forgotten how to breathe, clenching despite herself to his vest while wondering if she's having a nightmare or a dream.

All these people around them, all these pros who didn't even stop to help her out previously, aren't they all stopping now to let the both of them pass…

All these people at some distance, all these children and other people in the debutant circle, aren't they pointing at them and whistling knowingly…

And out of all people, why isn't he minding at all... why is he just looking at her, just minding her, just taking care of her until she's sitting safely on the bench...

Ahiii… Haru has never been so grateful NOT to see Tsuna-san around, or she would never have been able to face him… So-embarrassing-desu…