It started, as most things like this do, with a date. Of course he didn't phrase it as such, and the girl was sadly very oblivious to such gestures without her 'dates' being rather rude or coming on far too strong for her tastes, but in his mind it was a date.
Nothing fancy. Just a simple dinner and a light stroll in the park where a local band was attempting to make themselves known with a public appearance.
While the band was acceptable enough, and not overly offensive to the ears, it was highly doubtful they would make it big on their own merit. However she rather enjoyed it, which was good enough.
What started a quiet gesture to help the poor overworked girl to relax, without the stress of her Guardians around her or her adviser being his naturally chaotic self slowly developed into something more.
To be fair, it took her five dates before she cottoned on to the fact he was quietly courting her without anyone noticing it. When she did, she blushed so prettily it made him smile behind the sleeves of his robe.
It amazed him that no one else had tried to court her properly before...then again her Storm was rather rabid about who was allowed near her for prolonged periods, which was quite the deterrent for men within her age range.
"Is... are we on a date?" asked Nozomi, in a lost and confused tone. It was clear she had no idea how one was supposed to act on such things.
"I was wondering when you would pick up on that fact. It's ridiculous to keep a lovely young woman such as yourself trapped behind that dusty desk all day long doing paperwork because your Elements have no self-restraint or discretion. And Kyouya certainly isn't going to take the initiative, which is a pity," said Fon pleasantly.
Nozomi blushed at that, while her heart twinged a little at the reminder that the boy she had a crush on for years had little interest in her as a woman.
Fon gently took her right hand and kissed it firmly, which made her blush deepen. No one had ever bothered to treat her like an actual woman before, much less be as patient as Fon was.
Reborn certainly never bothered, and they had fallen into a pattern of a father who only doted on his daughter in private when no one else would see them. He was the solid rock she relied upon when the ocean around her was turned into a death trap by the storms that sought to crush her.
Besides, he tended to join Hayato's side when it came to chasing the 'unworthy' away.
Probably why Fon had to sneak her out of the mansion when Reborn and Hayato were on missions, and therefor unable to stop him.
"It's alright little princess. This will only go as far as you want it to go... I just couldn't stand watching you be crushed by all that paperwork because those children refuse to learn some restraint," said Fon.
Nozomi felt relief, and more than a little guilt because of that declaration. She loved her Guardians as brothers (or sister, in Chrome's case), but they could be a bit much for her to handle... which was often.
The goodnight kiss Fon gave her at the end of their date was gentle and somewhat chaste.
One month later...
Fon had to hide a smile at the skittish kitten in his arms. It took her only a moment or two to accept his arm lightly wrapped around her waist, or the light peck on the cheek when she wasn't expecting it.
Nozomi had never been courted properly as a lady before, but she felt comfortable enough to allow him small privileges like invading her personal space and holding her close.
He was pleasantly surprised at the fact she was the one to plant the chaste kiss on his cheek at the end of their date, rather than him. It meant the little Sky was taking initiative.
Reborn looked at the girl he had practically raised from a broken child into the strong leader she was today.
"What's this I hear about you sneaking out at night with a male?" he asked, one eyebrow pointedly raised.
Nozomi didn't shrink into herself...barely. Reborn would not be pleased if she had.
"It's not anyone's business, besides at least he's not all grabby like the creeps I keep getting stuck with for an uncomfortable date," said Nozomi.
"Is he a civilian?" asked Reborn pointedly.
"Hardly," she said with confidence. "He's well respected enough that even you would have heard of him and he has a relative that works fairly high up in the Vongola that he's rather fond of, so he's not a threat to us."
All completely true without going into details that would tip Reborn off who her mystery suitor was.
"I'm amazed Hayato hasn't ferreted out who he belongs with and a full background check if it's gotten to the point that the maids were the ones that tipped me off you have a boyfriend."
Nozomi avoided his eyes.
"He makes sure to only show up when Hayato and you are far from the mansion, because he doesn't want to deal with either of you."
"I thought you said he wasn't a threat?" said Reborn, smirking like a shark.
"No, he's just aware of how...protective... you two are when it comes to me and wants to keep you from annoying him," said Nozomi. "Did you really think I was that oblivious to the fact Hayato has a rather annoying habit of chasing off anyone interested in me, or if they get past him that they generally get scared off by you?"
Reborn smirked at that, though it did bring up the question who was brazen enough to date his student and manage to hide it from him for this long. Whoever Nozomi was dating had to be very good indeed.
Perhaps a more hands off approach to ferret out who his student's suitor was would work. If he was smart enough to avoid Reborn and Hayato, then a new face might be able to spot them and point them in the right direction.
Fortunately Fon was available and was more than quick enough to catch whoever the soon-to-be interrogated fool was.
(Reborn would end up kicking himself for not figuring it out sooner.)
It was all Fon could do not to smirk when Reborn asked him to help 'find' Nozomi's mystery boyfriend so they could inter...question... him about his intentions with the girl.
Nozomi certainly had issues keeping a straight face throughout the evening.
"How long do you think we could keep this up?" asked Nozomi, quietly.
Fon smiled, though you could see the mischievous glint in his eyes at the thought of trolling Reborn for a change.
"You mean how long do you think we could have Reborn paying for our dates without knowing it?" he asked lightly, though you could hear the amusement in his voice.
She nodded.
"I would say about a month, or until you decide to make everything a bit more official...at least among your trusted allies. Or we could let them figure it out."
Nozomi rarely had a chance to do something this fun, and to be honest her original feelings for Kyouya had easily switched over to Fon, who she found much easier to be around. While there was still that edge of an untamed storm lurking in him, Fon's passion was tempered by experience and patience.
Kyouya was a good guardian, but she had come to realize that as a boyfriend he required a certain touch that she didn't have.
Since they were supposed to be drawing out Nozomi's mystery boyfriend, Fon decided to be a little more overt about their date and took her out dancing.
It was a lot of fun, and she almost didn't want the night to end, except her feet were killing her.
Fon's eyes glinted as he picked her up, princess style, and took her back to the car.
"We should go dancing more often, if you enjoyed it that much," he said with amusement. Nozomi perked up a bit hearing that, but was rather tired. All that movement had worn her out, and the alcohol wasn't helping at all.
Reborn looked at Nozomi's tired state and gave Fon a Look.
"I took her to a nearby dance hall... perhaps it would be wise to get her into dancing lessons as a hobby and away from that desk for a bit. At the very least it would be a good distraction from her job and give her a useful skill at the balls the Vongola holds," commented Fon.
Reborn made a note of the suggestion. He had noticed Nozomi slacking off just a bit in her training because she was too busy cleaning up after her Guardians. And for the life of him he couldn't think of a single hobby she actually enjoyed that she hadn't had to drop since becoming Decimo. Or had quit long before he came because of the fact she was harassed by her peers or got tired of trying to improve herself.
"Any luck finding out who she's been dating?"
"If he was there, he was laying low. I saw no one watching her or me with any particular interest all night. He might not be in the area at the moment," said Fon with a mostly honest answer.
"How long are you in the area?"
"I can clear my schedule for a month, possibly a bit longer," said Fon. "It's something of a slow period."
"Three days from now, we're going to try again... Hayato has a mission," said Reborn.
Fon inclined his head, and rather enjoyed the fact that he was getting one over Reborn for a change.
Actually, he wondered if Viper and the others would like to get in on this prank. He might be able to get enough to buy a nice present for Nozomi if he played his cards right.
In the Varia...
"You're what?" said Viper incredulous. Their jaw was openly dropped at what Fon just said.
"I'm trolling Reborn and want to know if you want to be the one holding all the bets on how long it takes him to figure out what's really going on. It's an open thing so long as he doesn't catch wind before he figures it out himself," repeated Fon.
"What are you doing that you can troll him without him picking up on the fact and coming after you?"
"You know the rumors of Nozomi's mystery suitor?" he asked.
"It's one of the main gossip points in the Varia for the past three weeks," said Viper. "Everyone is trying to figure out who has the balls to sneak around Reborn and actually not get caught."
Fon smirked. Viper put two and two together.
"...You?" they tentatively asked.
"I wasn't about to let Nozomi's life waste away behind that desk. We've mostly been going on small dates to see how things go until this happened. It's not like any normal mafioso would stand a chance in hell against Reborn, even if they do manage to get past her Storm."
"True. At least it wasn't Byakuran," said Viper, once they got over their shock. Their eyes glinted behind their hood. "How long do you think you can keep it up?"
"A month at least, or until Nozomi decides to go from a few discreet dates to something more official," said Fon. "I might be the one getting her away from that mansion for a few hours, but I've been letting her dictate the pace. We haven't really gotten past a few light kisses."
Viper made several quick calculations, before a gleam appeared in their eyes. They could make a lot of money off of this and trollthat ass Reborn.
"Two questions... how far are you planning to go and do you mind if I bring someone in on this prank?"
"Depending on whether or not Nozomi wants to move past first base, it could easily go all the way if she wants. And if you want to bring someone in, that's fine but they have to be discreet."
"I was mostly planning to sick Lussuria on Nozomi for a few days so she can have a minor upgrade to her wardrobe. I doubt she has any experience in properly dressing up for a date," said Viper.
Fon perked up at that. It would be nice to see Nozomi actually act like a proper girl for a change.
Nozomi squeaked when Lussuria basically kidnapped her several hours before the scheduled date with Fon.
"We are going to make you look fabulous darling~! And perhaps that mysterious boyfriend of yours will show up and try to duel Fon when he sees how gorgeous you're going to look."
From the glint in Lussuria's sunglasses, Nozomi barely held in her snort.
"Who else knows?"
"Just me, Boss and Viper. Fon gave our little Mist a chance to make an open ended bet how long it would take for your mystery boyfriend to make himself known with Mammon acting as the bookie. Meanwhile I get to make you my own personal dress up doll until Reborn figures it out," admitted Lussuria without a hint of shame.
"...There are several things about that statement that I feel I should be offended by, but I have a great deal of trouble honestly giving a damn about. That being said I want in on the action, if only to help drive up the stakes for my part of the cut," said Nozomi after a moment.
Lussuria blinked.
"Decoys. I plan to use decoys to make it last a bit longer in case Reborn catches on too soon. The longer it takes the more money Mammon can make, right?"
Lussuria was already texting Mammon on what they wanted to do. It was of very little surprise that the Mist immediately latched onto Nozomi's agreement to throw off the betting rings by using decoy boyfriends in order to throw Reborn off the scent.
Later that night...
"You're not mad at me for bringing in Lussuria and Viper are you?" asked Fon.
"Not really, but this way we get to really troll Reborn and the others until they figure out it's you. Besides, I've never had the chance to be 'flirty' before," admitted Nozomi. She smiled at him, before adding "Never mind the fact that he's almost certain to figure it out if we ever went past kissing and light touches."
Fon's brain openly stalled at that, because he could tell what she was implying with that statement immediately. Nozomi had to resist the urge to giggle at the look on his face.
She made sure no one was watching when she held Fon's hand.
"You're one of the few I would trust in that way, so I have no problems with the idea. Just not yet...especially not when we could have a lot of fun getting back at certain people for getting on our nerves with their behavior and chaotic natures," she said smiling.
Fon's smile shifted to something far softer...and very anticipatory.
He lightly kissed the back of her hand, causing her to blush just a little, as she had started to get used to such gestures from him.
"When you're ready, I promise to make it well worth the wait," he said.