Fooled ya, Rikki, the pirates have the real fic! [DS, foodplay fun]
Title: Celebration
Pairings/Characters: TOO MANY TO REALLY NAME, but mostly Dino/Squalo - and lol, yes, you read that right.
Rating: T, with slightly mature themes?
Word Count: (+/-) 8379
Written by: Yours Truly plus a wonderful Prince, also known as sock_panda!
Summary: "Definitely not a bad turnout this year," he grinned, speaking more to himself than anyone else.
"Dino-san always throws such fun parties," Tsuna commented with a light smile directed at their host. "Happy Birthday, big brother."
Dino mock gasped and then laughed, throwing a companionable arm around the young Vongola's shoulders and bringing him into a one-armed hug. "I do believe that's the first time you've called me that, my adorable little brother." Tsuna pushed away, rolling his eyes. "Well, it is! Always so formal with your big brother! You gotta stop that." A scrunched up nose and another laugh later and Tsuna was walking back to Kyoko to ask her for another dance. Dino Cavallone grinned after his unofficial little brother, almost jumping out of his skin when someone tapped him on the shoulder because he was momentarily distracted. "A-Ah, Gokudera. Something I can do for you, Smoking Bomb … brat?" he teased weakly, already disliking the expression on that forever frowning face. "Look, I didn't do anything to Tsuna, so I don't know what -"
"Happy birthday." Dino's mouth was left hanging open for a matter of moments before it snapped shut with a small clack as teeth connected with teeth.
"What ... you just ... haha, not so much of a brat these days, then, I see." The Cavallone Boss sheepishly rubbed at the back of his neck, a little too speechless and at a loss for more words. "Anyway, enjoy the party." A sharp nod was the only answer before Gokudera was distracted by a sudden shout off to the side of, "Happy Birthday, Dino!" The blond looked over as well with wide eyes and barely dodged the outstretched arms of a certain baseball player who would have otherwise pulled him into a rough hug. He had experienced them more often than he cared to admit, and had become adept at avoiding that particular tactic these days. If Yamamoto Takeshi was good at one thing, it was an unexpected bear hug that could even rival his pitch - and that was a pitch straight to the gut at seventy-five miles per hour. His hug? That was more like one going eighty miles an hour and counting. "Woah there. What's the hurry, Takeshi?"
"Hahaha, I sort of have someone I need to get back to, so," he trailed off nervously, the dark haired man of now, of the future, staring off into the crowd of individuals as if looking for that someone. "I don't get see him often, but I can't just avoid the birthday boy, now can I?" He laughed loudly, clapping the Cavallone Boss on the back. "Happy birthday again, Dino. I can't wait to see the look on your face when you open up the gift our Family bought for you."
"Can't wait." Dino tried and failed to hide the wince as the clap on his back came once more, almost knocking him over this time with the force. There was a small 'whoops' and Dino was fairly sure it hadn't been on purpose. Then again, Takeshi wasn't above a good joke every now and again, so one could never tell. "Why don't you go greet that person then, silly? I'm not going anywhere," the blond reassured, gesturing for both the bomber and the other Guardian to head out and enjoy the party. "I have plenty of people to hara - Kidding, plenty of people to look after. Such a large turn-out this year!" A suspicious bomber dragged an annoyingly persistent baseball player away before any more could be said, the Boss breathing a thankful sigh of relief. Good, a million down, ten billion to go. If he could just avoid the Varia, maybe everything would turn out all right. He nodded, smiling a little to himself, and took one step forward - as if to approach the awaiting crowd of people - only to meet with a solid chest. Tilting his head upwards, he laughed, not knowing what else to do at the irony. "Hello, Squalo."
Steely platinum eyes glared down at the blond, hiding the brief flash of surprise that had just momentarily passed over the other man's face. Squalo stepped back, in a rare gesture of politeness and allowed Dino to squeeze past, golden wisps of hair just barely tickling the taller man's nose. As the Cavallone found a slightly less cramped spot to stand in, he turned to meet the silver eyes again.
"Voooooi! Watch where you're going, brat!" came the signature yell, causing several nearby people to simultaneously yelp in surprise and scuttle away, wine glasses hastily slopping expensive wine over their even more expensive clothing. There was now a comfortable (if not, very wide) space around the two. The silver-haired man ignored all the action around him, arms crossed in a rather annoyed fashion as he stared down at the blond.
"Er, what's up, Squalo?" He paused for another misplaced laugh out of nervousness and tucked a loose lock of hair behind his ear. "Well, besides you. Man, you're getting tall, aren't you?" It was a light jest to get things out of murky water. Stumbling into Squalo like that was bound to knock off bonus points for the night. "But without those boots you're not much," he added, lacing his fingers behind his neck and grinning up at the swordsman. It probably wasn't the wisest move to tease him about height, but he couldn't help it. It was something he had in common with Yamamoto, to be honest. They both loved a good joke here and there and especially couldn't pass up an opportunity to throw one out and about. Mouth opening to continue, he promptly gave up on speaking when one of those boots came crashing down onto his foot.
Someone approached them warily from behind no sooner than that and ruined their what-would-have-been alone time. "Boss wants to see you, Superbi, Cavallone." The distasteful utterance left a bitter mouth and Leviathan spun on his heel to disappear as soon as the message had been delivered. He expected them to follow without question, which they did - even if Dino was rather reluctant to see that particular person so soon. If it was a birthday greeting, what happened to delivering it in person rather than sending a lackey to bring the recipient instead? Of course, this is the Varia I'm talking about ... An assassination squad that, after all, had no decent respect for other people when it came to simple courtesy. As they maneuvered through the gathered crowd, he could have sworn he caught sight of a fedora, but it was gone as quick as it had appeared and he shook his head to clear it. Imagining his once tutor would come to the rescue was a whimsical idea that would have only held merit in the past.
"I hope your leader isn't going to take long." Dino stressed that one word for a meaning as he coyly glanced out of the corner of his eyes, grinning. "I was kind of hoping we could talk about tonight, you know? Are you staying here?" He tried in vain to hide his fidgeting once the question had been asked. It was the same every year. He would ask, Squalo would say no, and they'd go their separate ways until one of them was lonely - or more accurately, when Squalo was lonely. It never changed; the same old routine for the same old Squalo. "I don't mind housing a few strays." The grin wavered a bit. "And at least I'm not afraid to admit I like someon -" He was cut off a second time, but with a jab beneath the ribs - courtesy of a wayward elbow rather than a foot this time. "Ow, stop beating me up. It's my birthday," he half-whined, half-taunted. "Can't you be a bit nicer for once?"
The comment was waved off with a gloved hand, accompanied with a brief glare thrown over Squalo's shoulder. The glare was then turned on the rest of the crowd, his murderous eyes (and equally murderous reputation) managing to clear a decently maneuverable path through the packed throng of party-goers. A slight hush fell over the people as the swordsman stalked past, Dino trailing a few steps behind looking slightly nervous at the unwanted - and unneeded - attention. No more words were exchanged until they reached a corner of the lavishly decorated room, this particular one mercifully quieter than the remainder of the room, owing to the people who were currently occupying this space. The dark uniforms of the Varia were clearly distinguishable - a stark contrast to the bright colours and patterns worn by the rest of the room.
The expressions worn on the various members' faces were all somewhat impassive as they looked on the festivities, fingers closed around wine glasses in boredom. As the pair neared the group, Squalo couldn't help the small smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth as the ever-so-familiar voice of Lussuria assaulted their ears.
"Dino-kuuun! Here's the cute birthday boy!" and said 'birthday boy' was smothered in a flurry of feather boas.
Dino blindly tried to push the feathers and whatnot away from his face, spitting out stray ones that happened to take up residence in his mouth. "H-Hey, what did I tell you about calling me that?" He flushed and then added, "I think you've been spending too much time in Japan, Signor Lussuria." Looking to Squalo, he didn't expect much, but to his surprise it was exactly that swordsman that pulled him out of the fray of feather boas. With a quiet 'thanks', he slipped out from the grasp being held on his arm and ended up before the one person he had hoped he would never have to meet face-to-face again. "Ah ... Xanxus. Nice of you to ... come?" He attempted a half-hearted welcome out of courtesy and then spared fleeting glances to the other members of the Varia who warranted attention like no other group around. "Are you enjoying the party?"
"Mu, it's kind of dull, don't you think?" drawled a voice off to the side, skillful fingers spinning the stem of his wine glass out of boredom. "I should charge you a fee, Cavallone, for wasting my time with this silly thing."
Looking over the more adult version of the once baby, Dino still couldn't get use to seeing them grown up - not the Arcobalenco. "You didn't have to accept the invite," he pointed out quickly, crossing his arms. "I'm sure the Varia has better things to be doing, but of course I suppose it would be rude to turn down such a prestigious invite?" He quirked an eyebrow and then laughed, uncrossing his arms to sling a friendly arm around Squalo's slender shoulders. "Ah well, can't say I mind having you all. Thanks for coming. Really." With a grin he meant this time, he directed the next bit to Xanxus. "You surprised me, though. I thought you were going to pull another 'you're not part of Vongola, fuck you' stunt," he playfully teased before nervously laughing at his own wording. "Not that I'm not okay with that, though ..." He trailed off, falling silent, and Marmon picked up where he left off.
"Are you sure, boss, that I can't charge this guy a fee for wasting our time?" The hood was flipped back and the green eyes once hidden in shadow curiously observed their leader's own in question. "He has enough money to spare, does he not?"
Squalo, shrugging off the other man's arm turned his attention elsewhere, focusing on downing a glassful of some alcohol or other. Leaning against the wall closest to him, he surveyed the people in front of him. Noticing the absence of something - more specifically someone - he kept his thoughts to himself as he wondered slightly about the disappearance of a certain tiara-wearing brat.
Meanwhile, Xanxus had yet to make any acknowledgment of the blond standing in front of him. Legs crossed, elbows propped up on the arms of the large plush armchair in an uncaring manner. He was the only one in the group sitting, his current position reminiscent of a king surrounded by his court - a rather dysfunctional court at that. Red eyes were bored as the Varia leader threw a brief, careless glance at his Rain Guardian before returning his gaze to some spot on a far wall.
"Done with your fucking staring, Cavallone?"
Marmon sighed with the resignation it well-warranted after the all too clear dismissal of his wants. The fee had been a reasonable idea and yet it had still been shot down. "Mu, why does boss always do that?" It was muttered more to himself since no one else was really paying attention.
For his part, Dino could only grimace at the comment about staring and avert his eyes. "I'm not. And you would think you'd be a bit -" Nicer couldn't even be used in the same sentence with this man so he reverted to using something more vague. "- A bit less cold, on a birthday of all events. Are you like this with your own subordinates, too? When they celebrate something?" That was a rather obvious question and he could have kicked himself for even saying it. It had been a clear jest, but Dino wasn't sure Xanxus even knew what that was since he hardly ever smiled of all things. "Thanks for coming," he said one more time, turning to leave. "I have to get going, though. Other people to se -"
"Oi, boss isn't done talking to you." Levi blocked the way. "You leave when boss says you can leave."
A rather withering glare was sent in Levi's direction by Xanxus. He seemed displeased at something- even more than he usually was. Waving Levi off to one side, the dark-haired man leaned forwards, uncrossing his legs and turning his ever-present glare to Dino. A few seconds (of what seemed like internal struggling) later, the glare morphed into a grimace of distaste.
"Fucking Happy Birthday, trash," he managed to grit out, the customary greeting sounding more like a death threat than a well-wishing. Then he jerked his head at the other - more civil - crowd behind the blond in question. A surprised look was what he received in return before the Cavallone retreated back into the midst of people.
SMASH.
A gleaming wineglass was launched, for no apparent reason (apart from perhaps annoyance) at the nearest person. This 'unfortunate' person was conveniently Squalo, who reacted with a loud, impressive explosion of curses, hand clutching the abused spot on his head, trying to rake out the small shards tangled in his long hair in the process. His loud exclamation of "Voooi! What the fuck was that for, huh?!" was only met with a stony silence by his fellow Varia members who were all too used to scenes like this.
Wincing at the stream of curses that followed him into the crowd, Dino continued onwards in nothing short of a daze. It may have been forced, but Xanxus had just wished him - him of all people - a happy birthday. He was almost inclined to believe it had been an impostor, but that little follow-up act with the wineglass convinced him to the exact opposite. That was definitely the leader of the Varia. No one else could make Squalo curse that much and that frequently. Not in one go like Xanxus. Speaking of shouting, he winced again as he noticed that the yelling wasn't just coming from behind him now but from in front as well. It seemed his old tutor had finally found and perfectly provoked his so called rival if the explosion of noise was anything to go on.
"What do you mean I have to wish him a happy birthday, too, hey? Are you kidding me! What if I don't want? What are you going to do about it? Maul me, hey? Liked to see you try!" Dino dearly wished the nearest wall wasn't so far away. He would have loved to bash his head against it. Instead, he calmly stepped up to the rowdy Spartan blond and laid a friendly hand on his shoulder.
"Now, now," he lightly began with a smile, "no need to fight at a party, all right?" He gave Reborn a pointed look, one that was directed at the gun now held in expert hitman’s hands. "Colonello does not have to wish me a happy birthday, I won't get mad. It's not really importa -"
"A-Ah, Signor Cavallone! Buona Sera." Surprised, and more than a little caught off guard by the awkward use of Italian, Dino turned to greet the person in return and promptly felt his eyes widen and his jaw drop in slight disbelief as a Chinese girl brushed too soft lips against his cheek.
Nervously, he stumbled backwards and held out a hand, sweat rolling off him in waves. "No-Not necessary, Signora I-Pin. No need to -" People seemed to enjoy cutting him off today as the girl who had blossomed into quite the young woman captured him in an unmistakable hug and wished him the 'Happy Birthday' that Colonello refused to give. Then, with an ever present blush to her cheeks, she let go and shyly laughed. Dino was only thankful her ticking bomb of a forehead had long been sealed. "T-Thank you," was all he could work out, covering his face with one hand and heaving a sigh of mixed emotions. On one hand, he was glad the girl was growing up and opening up to a majority of people, and on the other ... "No er ... no need to greet so ... enthusiastically. A simple 'ciao’ will do just fine." He attempted a grin and then gave up, hand falling uselessly to his side. "Did you come with a date?" he asked simply, making conversation. The next song had started up. If there was no date, then a dance would definitely be in order.
As the blush spread, he couldn't help but laugh a quick, soft laugh. Apparently the answer was yes. That left him curious as to who until a young man about her age with a cow-printed shirt walked up and slung an all too familiar arm around her shoulders. "Lambo sort of asked me. We started dating last month."
Nodding to the explanation of sorts, Dino reached out and playfully ruffled the boy's hair with a joking, "You sly dog, you." Teenagers would be teenagers and that never changed. He was just happy they had both found someone special to them. Tsuna had struggled, continuously throughout the years to ensure that these two would have a future without strife or fear or even danger. While his 'little brother' may not have fully succeeded, these two no doubt had a long life - together - ahead of them. "Good luck. Save a dance for me, though, Signora I-Pin," he drawled with a small wink to the girl. Blush deepening if that were possible, Dino really did thank that girl's master for stowing away that dangerous gift of hers.
His attention was once again, for the umpteenth time, drawn away from the people he was currently conversing with. Colonello's yelling had stopped briefly during the Cavallone's talk with I-Pin and her new-found boyfriend - perhaps in an act of courtesy. When he turned around though, this assumption was clearly untrue as found himself staring at a scene that would definitely not look out of place in some sort of action movie. The loud-mouthed blond found he was unable to say another word, unable to react as a rather ominous click came from the gun currently pressed against the side of his head.
"Now, now, we wouldn't want to be rude to the birthday boy, would we?" came the smooth voice of Reborn, his signature smirk - unchanged even after his sudden physical aging - in place as he carelessly flicked off the safety catch of the firearm, indifferent to the people around him that were shying away at the sudden appearance of something so dangerous.
A slight tip of his fedora towards his former student and a few more whispered threats later, the black-haired man succeeded in pushing his fellow Arcobalenco - non-too-nicely - in front of himself, forcing both blonds to come face-to-face.
After grumbling out a quick, "Fuck you too, Reborn," Colonello reluctantly allowed the short, "Happy Birthday, hey." He didn't see why everyone was insistent on such a trivial greeting, but he figured it was better to say it than end up with his brains - or possibly other internal organs - blown out. Changing his mind quickly, though, he spun around before the trigger could be pulled and oh so very gently slapped Reborn with an open palm. It was more to be insulting than deal any real damage, but he scowled as he received nothing more than a smug little grin. I win, was what that face, those eyes, and that cocky stance of Reborn's meant. Storming away, the blond retired for the evening, having much better than things to do than stand around and turn into Reborn's play-toy.
Dino watched the explosive Spartan leave, blinking a little out of shock, and then directed a laugh to his tutor, asking rather bluntly, "You're in the doghouse tonight, then, aren't you?"
"E-Eh! Reborn! Are you okay?" Tsuna was rather fast to the scene, immediately in charge and asking the first vital question to make sure everyone was safe. Ruefully shaking his head, Dino couldn't help but admire the boss his little brother was slowly turning into. It was a change from the 'No Good Tsuna' of before, but he still caught glimpses of that person, was glad he caught those glimpses. It meant the real Tsuna was still in there somewhere and this lifestyle they had chosen hadn't completely swallowed him alive. Realizing he had spaced out for a moment, he focused back in on the conversation and was a bit thrown when Tsuna said, " - but Dino-san has a date tonight, doesn't he?" How this had gone from being about ‘one’s well being' to 'oh, gossip!' ... well, he really wasn't quite sure.
Scratching the back of his head slightly, the blond looked a tad clueless, having caught only the end of Tsuna's sentence - even though the meaning was clear enough. The Vongola's expectant eyes were focused on him, but fortunately another distraction arrived - this time announced with a light tap on the host's shoulder. A little apprehensive at the sudden lull in conversation in the vicinity, Dino glanced over his shoulder before turning to fully face the newest person to greet.
The hush was quite appropriate, as a single purple orb, framed with thick lashes, stared back at the Cavallone's own. Dark hair was piled elegantly on top her head, stray wisps escaping the clasp of a large ornamental hairpiece to hang around porcelain skin. A petite figure was shrouded in an elegant dress, shawl draped around slim shoulders - perhaps even a bit too formal for the occasion.
"H-Happy Birthday, Dino-san," came the shy voice of Dokuro Chrome, a light blush dusting her cheeks as she meekly avoided the eyes of all the other people staring. Thin fingers clutched the shawl tighter around her body as the Mist Guardian drew approving stares from many males in the crowd. Shuffling ever-so-slightly on the spot, she gave the blond a quick peck on the cheek before melting back into the mass of people with well-practiced ease.
Dino could have groaned. Since when did all the girls start this obsession with kissing a hello? Couldn't a simple sentence or word or so on alone do the trick? Of course not, that would have made life easy - and life was anything but. Shoulders slumped in defeat, he gave up on trying to get women to see reason and resigned himself to never being able to understand what it was that went through the more ... feminine mind. Maybe he'd ask Squalo later. The guy was practically a girl with that hair and that face and those - He grinned slightly to himself, thinking about the way the silver-haired swordsman always tended to lick his lips before they fought. That was what they called it, anyway. Because it was always more of a fight than anything else.
"Extreme birthday party, Cavallone!" His thoughts, as pleasant as they had been, were bound to be interrupted. He just hadn't expected them to be interrupted by that person. "Are you having an extremely good time yourself, birthday bo -" Coughing slightly to interrupt, Dino still couldn't wrap his mind around why people insisted on calling him birthday 'boy'. He wasn't little any more and yet, always around this time of year, he felt so little, so small, and always so insecure. "Right, right! You're extremely more grown up than me, what am I saying?" A boisterous laugh sounded in the air and Dino politely excused himself from the others, wanting to retreat while he still could - before Ryohei decided he wanted to do something 'extreme' to celebrate the occasion. He wasn't sure he could handle that.
Doing exactly that, he retreated to the furtherest corner of the room and enjoyed a moment's reprieve from the party. He knew it wouldn't last long, but he could still have hope. The muted sounds from the party were relief to his ears, but the blond had one regret. Mentally berating himself for not grabbing a drink, any drink before retreating to this corner for some peace, he could only sigh into the empty space as he cast a slightly longing look at the fully-laden tables with their extravagant food arrangements and assortment of (very international) drinks. Greeting and mingling with so many guests and managing to play the gracious host to each and every one of them was much, much harder than it looked, and his throat was beginning to feel rather constricted having gone for what seemed like hours, talking and chatting to various people without so much as a sip of water.
A quiet rustling noise momentarily drew Dino's thoughts away from his possible dehydration. This corner had seemed unoccupied; from afar it looked the most uninviting - having a large portion of it thrown into shadow because of some convenient light placements. But it seemed that the mafia boss wasn't the only person who wanted to avoid the rest of the crowd. The rustling continued as a dark-haired man unfolded himself from the shadows, eyes narrowed at the sudden disturbance of his own peace. Had it been anyone but Dino - the birthday 'boy’ - that person would probably have immediately found themselves flat on the floor with a tonfa in their face as Hibari Kyoya made his silent entrance.
The Vongola Cloud hadn't changed much over the years, apart from shooting up in height, retaining his deadly reputation and was still held in awe (and fear) by many. Dressed in a fine-cut suit, he would have been quite popular with his looks - only if he didn't have the reputation (and attitude) to boot. Walking bang into the middle of Hibari's personal space was pretty much a death wish, so it was only natural for the Cavallone to feel uncomfortable - if not, scared - being on the receiving end of the skylark's deadly glare. Hibari's glower did not waver as he stepped out further from the darkness of the corner, eyes focused intently on Dino's own.
"Hibari ... you actually came, did you?" remarked the blond with an ill-concealed moment of surprise. Crowding had never been one of the Cloud Guardian's hobbies before, but then again, this particular corner screamed look at me, I'm vacant, don't fuck with me. Well, it was more the occupant in said corner implying the last part. Either way, Dino reluctantly took a step away from his attempt to hide in the shadows and asked instead, "Are you enjoying yourself?" As was expected of the polite host, after all, and he wouldn't want to disappoint. The typical response followed with a scoff and an eventual retaliation of sorts - if Ryohei hadn't gotten in his mind to disturb their would-have-been argument.
"You two are extremely friendly these days!" Dino figured the Vongola Sun Guardian was banking that on the sole fact he was still alive and in the same presence as Hibari Kyoya; which, more often than not, wasn't even remotely the case. Hibari tended to fight and then ask questions later if the person still happened to be alive - especially when his peace, his sleep, or anything of his at all was disturbed. "Anyway, I forgot to give you that extreme present of yours, Cavallone! Wait up!" Calling after him, though, would do no use because Dino hadn't moved yet. He made this apparent by clearing his throat and raising an eyebrow in the usual bemusement that always tagged along in the presence of this Guardian. "Hahahahaha, as I was saying!" The loudness of before didn't even think of going down an octave, or two or three. "Let's do something fun to the extreme! I was thinking - and this is just a thought, so I don't know if you'll like it, you know?" Dino smiled slightly and laughed, urging Ryohei to continue even if he did cast a glance over at Hibari in worry. The rambling wasn't bothering him, but he had a feeling it was grating on the black haired man nerve's just enough for the both of them. "So yeah, there's this extreme person I know who said we could JUMP OFF A BRIDGE TO THE EXTREME." The sudden explosion of even louder comments made the blond's eyes widen from the force behind them before laughing quietly again as he saw the expression on Hibari's face. Or rather, the lack of one because there was nothing there except the disgruntled frown that could have been from anything. That anything right now, though, was the boxer before them. And that person didn't seem to be going away any time soon.
Deciding to humor him, Dino attempted to find out why Ryohei seemed to think letting a person jump of a bridge for their birthday was an agreeable present of sorts. "Are you trying to kill me, then?" he joked. He had been offered far worse in his years, but this was the first time someone had come right out and said what they were going to do to him. Though, from the way it was phrased, he knew Ryohei wasn't going to hurt him. It was probably more of a 'bungee-jumping' event if he recalled things of that nature correctly. Then again, it could have been anything from free-falling into a river to parachuting down a mountain-side crevice. "I'm pretty sure dying isn't a ... good note to end on, Sasagawa!" Another bright laugh to prove he was joking. "But I can't say I wouldn't want to give it a try!" It would definitely be different from the usual gifts he always received this time of year, but the ... apparent extremeness of the event would no sooner kill him than he would accept it so formally. "Let's save it for later, okay? Maybe tomorrow?" He had nothing to do, nothing he was aware of at the moment, so it would work out if Ryohei still wished to give him such a gift.
A little disheartened, the younger man only nodded to appease other and Dino let out a relieved sigh nonetheless. The party would continue as he knew it would, but he had been afraid Ryohei wouldn't accept no for an answer. It didn't seem like a problem now, though, and the blond Cavallone heir could only admire how much this young man had grown up throughout the years, much like he admired the growth of his 'little brother'. They were maturing, these kids that he had once seen as nothing but that - kids. They were growing up into a world far from what any of them had expected, but they all had their own lights. Some brighter than others, but they all held onto them deeply and without regret. He knew who his light was and he wasn't going to let that person go- not any time soon.
"O-Onii-chan!" came a startled voice from somewhere quite far away. The three men paused in their conversation - or rather, the two that were actually speaking to one another - and turned their attention to the more crowded rest of the room, searching to locate the sudden call.
A few minutes and many squeals of "Oops, sorry!" later, two figures squeezed their way out of the masses of people, looking rather like two soldiers that had just made their way through a war of some description. Dresses were hastily dusted off and smoothed out, hair checked in small compacts to make themselves look decently presentable (in a girl's sense) for the host. A rather flustered-looking Miura Haru - still halfway through checking her reflection - was hastily dragged over to the small group by a worried-looking Kyoko.
"Onii-chan! Please … Don't be so loud. People are staring!" cried the Sun Guardian's younger sister (who had grown to become quite a stunning woman indeed) as she tugged lightly at his sleeve, glancing around the area nervously.
"Eh? Oh! Dino-san!" came Haru's cheerful voice from behind the other female. Next thing Dino knew, all his wind was knocked out as the dark-haired woman literally tackled him to the ground, as energetic as she was when she was younger. "Happy Birthday, Dino-san!" she cried gleefully, completely ignorant of the rather compromising position she was in on the floor with the birthday boy - straddling him with a not-so-floor-length dress.
Dazed and dizzy, the blond could only manage a small "A-Ah, thank you, Miura-san," barely audible over Ryohei's roaring laughter, "Always the one to give a slightly different greeting, hm?" The person in question's laughter joined everyone else's as she removed herself from the ground, offering a hand to Dino. Taking the proffered hand and dragging himself off the floor as well, Dino straightened his rumpled clothing. It was then that he noticed he and Haru weren't the only people on the floor. Turning his head slowly, he found to his horror that a certain Hibari Kyoya had also been brought to the ground by Haru's overly happy greeting.
"Now, now, Hibari," Dino was quick to warn, "no attacking the guests, either." He didn't comment further because no sooner had he finished both Hibari and Haru were on their feet and one dark-haired man to the woman's left looked remarkably annoyed. Haru, however, didn't seem fazed in the slightest that she had just tackled one of the most dangerous men around and strangely lived to tell the tale. "Hmm, I think it's about time to cut the cake, though, don't you agree?" he hastily commented, wanting more than he could possibly say for that cold glare of the Cloud Guardian's to disappear. Or at least leave him in peace, on his birthday of all days. Everyone seemed to agree that a distraction was in order and after a quick wave of his hand a few subordinates of his were off to instruct the chef of the evening to bring out the long-awaited dessert.
Mere moments later, the large double doors at one end of the room were flung open. The chef - one of, if not the best baker in Italy that was hired especially for this occasion, stepped into the room, beaming proudly while moving aside and waving a pudgy hand with a theatrical flourish. What followed this action was the wheeling of an absolutely massive cake on a large cart through the door, two kitchen-hands barely managing to push it into the center of the room without causing some sort of collision or disaster. As they slumped, panting with the effort of moving it, everyone else in the room had fallen into a hush, each and every eye focused on staring at the cake in awe. To have described it as 'amazing,' or 'fabulous' would not have done it any justice, seeing as it was quite literally: indescribable. Layer upon layer, tier upon tier of lavishly decorated chocolate cake, smothered in whipped cream stood proudly, as if gazing down on the room's occupants.
A dragon stood tall and proud atop the masterpiece, the bright red of the serpentine spirit enhanced only by the striking orange and yellow that outlined the rest of the body and the flames that arose from its mouth. There was a glitter of some sort, too, that caught the light when looked at and only further brought the realistic image of the dragon to life. A few people in the crowd whispered their astonishment at the dragon portrayal and the guests from Japan were seen grinning rather appropriately as they realized what Dino had done, why he had chosen a dragon of all things to adorn his cake. The cook himself was seen beaming at the praise he was getting left and right, bowing politely to some, kissing the hands of ladies who walked forward to compliment his artistic ability. Dino, laughing at his own family's reactions, walked towards the cake as well and gladly accepted the knife to cut the first piece. "All right, guys, dig in!"
Passing the cake to the first person who approached, he began to cut away at the layered cake before the chef scoffed and waved him off, mentioning how this was his job and it was absurd to have someone other than the chef himself doing such a thing. The blond accepted his own piece of cake and nodded his thanks, beginning to mingle with the rest of the crowd once more as he enjoyed his cake between pauses and bites. It was delightful, the taste, and he had expected no less from the bakery chef he had hired. It wasn't too sweet, nor too bitter, and the chocolate morsels inside practically melted in one's mouth. He knew, without a second thought to the contrary, that he would be sneaking a piece of this cake into his room for a midnight snack; Romario's pleas to watch his sugar intake be damned.
Seeing the cheerful smiles of everyone that surrounded him, Dino could only smile contentedly himself as he watched his guests enjoy themselves. The quiet clinking of delicate forks against fine china plates now accompanied their casual conversation, laughter weaving in and out of their small groups as they chatted. Gazing through the sea of people, he could clearly make out Tsuna's hairstyle, joined by the silver of Gokudera's; Haru and Kyoko standing close to them as they too enjoyed some amiable talk.
"Definitely not a bad turnout this year," he grinned, speaking more to himself than anyone else.
--
Spinning the fork leisurely in his mouth after finishing off the tasty treat, he finished licking the utensil clean before going back for a second bite, fork gliding through the confectionary sugar with ease. The midnight snack was a nice substitute for what could have been, what should have been. Being alone on a night like this, when someone should have been with him, it was nice indeed to have a distraction of sorts to keep his mind occupied. The cake was well-worth the money that had went into it and after that wonder display from Italy's finest baker he would be looking into keeping the man on-board with future endeavors of this kind. His mind was already running over ideas for what he could give Tsuna for his birthday, for an example of such endeavors, and the first thing that sprang to mind was the largest cake imaginable, even larger than the one currently being stored down in his kitchen.
A knock on his door startled him and he vaguely wondered who would be knocking at this hour. He didn't have to wait long to figure it out, though, because next thing he knew there was a loud, "Vooooi, get your ass out of bed, fucking midget, and answer this damn door!" That- well, it completely gave the person away. He couldn't stop the surprised smile from overwhelming him and contorting his expression from the blissfully unaware of before. He had expected Squalo to be gone by now, or at least have better things to do than drop by and say hi for a change. Slipping out from under the warm duvet, he placed his cake on the bedside table and then pulled on a robe to appear somewhat decent for his guest. The term was of course used loosely because Squalo's outrage at his slow pace was bound to escalate into further rude comments that no typical guest, in a sane state of mind, would deem worthy of mention.
Slightly apprehensive - even though he shouldn't have been - Dino reached for the door handle. Before he had even completely opened the door, it was kicked open, narrowly missing the blond by inches as he jumped back instinctively, stumbling and sprawling on the floor from the lack of a subordinate nearby.
"About fucking time, idiot," came the annoyed voice of the Varia Rain, strolling into the dimly lit room without sparing a glance at the fallen man. Boots stomped on the plush carpet before they were unceremoniously kicked off, landing haphazardly beside Dino's large, polished bedside stand. Seconds later, a foot came into contact sharply with the Cavallone's stomach, knocking the wind out of him for the second time that night, "Don't just fucking stay there. I actually decide to stay and all you can do is lie there like a fucking idiot?"
"This is ... unexpected," Dino managed with a wince, a little short on breath due to the blow but barely sparing it a second thought as he pushed himself back to his feet, robe slipping off one shoulder in the process. He didn't bother fixing it and instead walked over to where the boots had been discarded and kicked them aside. With a disappointed glare tossed over his shoulder at the swordsman, he picked his cake back up and flopped back down onto the bed with what he would have called a sulk but other people would have been inclined to call it a pout. "You almost knocked over my cake with your stupid boots, you know," he remarked dryly, taking a small bite of the cake as if to make a point. Then, with a sigh, he settled the fork back down onto the plate with a soft tinkling sound being heard as silverware connected with the finest dining-ware money had to offer. Straightening his robe back up finally, he urged Squalo closer with a crooked finger in the other man's direction and a feigned coy little smile, even adding a small whisper of, "Well, I imagine you came here for a reason then. How about you show me what it is you want?"
His offer seemed to have been ignored, as the swordsman turned away slightly, eyebrow raised as he focused on removing his Varia coat - not in reply to Dino's attempted seduction, mind you - and flung it carelessly in a random direction. This conveniently ended up being in the direction of the blond’s face.
Having his show so suddenly ruined, all Dino could do was struggle to tear the invading fabric off his face, arms flailing as he almost fell off the edge of the bed. Almost. While he was occupied, a sudden weight pushed him down flat onto the bed covers - saving him from another certain accident - and before he knew it, he found himself staring up at the familiar smirk of Squalo.
The first thing that came to mind was oh god is the cake, okay? And he was fairly sure that wasn't a normal response for a situation like this, but that didn't matter because his cake was about to meet an untimely fate with the floor if he didn't stop Squalo from whatever it was the other man had planned. "Not the cake! Anything but the cake," he dramatically - over dramatically if it was later asked - exclaimed. Protectively holding it, he pushed Squalo off with an otherwise unoccupied hand and then grinned down at his cake, saying calmly, "It's okay now. The big bad Varia man isn't going to hurt you -" He couldn't keep a straight face throughout the act, though, and collapsed into a fit of giggles - in, of course, a very manly sort of way. "Your face," he wheezed out, wiping tears away from his eyes from laughing so much. "Your face, Squalo."
Feeling playful, he scooped up some of the icing from the cake onto his finger and smeared it across the swordsman's cheek - who immediately objected at the treatment, as insulting as it was, and went to retaliate with the usual verbal insults if the blond didn't lean forward then and calmly clean up the mess. Dino pulled back a second later and cleaned off the icing from his own finger as well, pale eyelashes lowered as he lavished attention upon it. It was meant to be a quick act of cleaning up after one's self, but Squalo must have misinterpreted because there was growl and then a tight grip on his wrist, stilling his motions. Quirking an eyebrow, he asked almost smugly, "What, enjoying the show and sad you're not getting the same attention?" He paused, picked up the fork, and then tempted to have the other man take a bite of the sweet in a beckoning sort of way. "Awww, all you had to do was ask if you could have some."
"I never ask. I prefer to fucking take what I want, you brat," came the sharp reply before Squalo's hand shot out to grab for the fork. Having somewhat expected a reaction like that, Dino jerked the fork out of arm's reach with a small smirk at the short string of rather colourful language that followed the action. The silver-haired man's swearing was cut short though, as he felt a pair of lips on his own. Dino, catching him momentarily off guard, took the opportunity to smear more icing - this time down Squalo's other cheek.
"Tsk," remarked Dino when he finally broke the short kiss for air, "you need to learn some patience, my friend." Then, wasting not a moment more in the complete opposite of what he said, he let his tongue trail up the other's cheek to clear the icing away, licking his lips before kissing Squalo once more, parting the slightly reluctant lips with his sweet tainted tongue and slipping it in to explore the wet cavern inside. Their tongues danced in a battle for dominance, Dino for once not giving up and letting Squalo just have his way. The need for air, however, out-weighed the continued fight and he - still in that intoxicating control of the other's action - allowed them to break for air, a thin stretch of saliva connecting them for a moment longer before Dino wiped it away with a laugh. "That just won't do," he flippantly commented, eyes half-lidded while he took a moment to observe the mixed expression on that usually stoic face.
Swirling the fork between deft fingers, a grin slowly began to spread, lips parting in a small, "Do you really want some cake, hm?" Tapping the cake covered utensil against Squalo's nose, he delighted in the way the other wrinkled it in apparent distaste. "Awww, don't be like that, Squalo. Come on, tell me what you want."
Perhaps that had been a little too ... pushy. The (slightly) romantic mood was shattered, as he found himself with Squalo's sword pressed against his neck. Managing a small laugh that quickly turned into a gulp of fear at the suddenly serious expression on the Rain's face, all he could do was utter a nervous, "S-Sorry" as he stared rather pleadingly at the other man.
"Don’t you fucking presume anything about me, shithead,” he growled, barely suppressing the satisfied smirk that was threatening to break across his face at the Cavallone's wide-eyed, fearful look he received in return. It was a ploy though, obvious only to his self, as he stole the chance to lean forwards and take a bite at the fork. Too bad for him though, the person in front of him was Dino. Dino Cavallone, the clumsiest person on the face of the earth without his subordinates nearby. So it was only normal that something accidental (in Dino's eyes), or disastrous (in other peoples' opinions) would happen. This time the 'disaster' took form as a jab to Squalo's neck with the fork. And of course, it did not bode well.
"Vooooii! What the FUCK?"
"I'm so ... I'm so sorry, Squalo. Hold still, hold still! Let me see!" Dino fought with the swordsman for a few minutes until the man gave up and held out his hand for inspection. Four deep marks from the fork marred the skin of the only real hand Squalo possessed. Wincing in sympathy, he brought the hand to his lips and kissed the wounds, eyes fluttering shut as a tongue snaked out to clean away the blood just as he had done to the icing earlier. "I'm sorry," he said one last time, opening his eyes to show his apology was completely sincere and further tugging the Varia's Rain closer to him to place a light kiss to protesting lips. "Let me make it all better," he mumbled into the clumsy kiss, a change from the more experienced ones he had been giving. Squalo was pushing at his shoulders already, wishing to pin him down, but he smirked into the kiss as well this time and pushed back. "That just won't do. No, no, no." And with each 'no', he punctuated it with a feather-light press of lips to an exposed neck, already relishing in the control he was being giving once more, no matter how unwillingly.
Pairings/Characters: TOO MANY TO REALLY NAME, but mostly Dino/Squalo - and lol, yes, you read that right.
Rating: T, with slightly mature themes?
Word Count: (+/-) 8379
Written by: Yours Truly plus a wonderful Prince, also known as sock_panda!
Summary: "Definitely not a bad turnout this year," he grinned, speaking more to himself than anyone else.
"Dino-san always throws such fun parties," Tsuna commented with a light smile directed at their host. "Happy Birthday, big brother."
Dino mock gasped and then laughed, throwing a companionable arm around the young Vongola's shoulders and bringing him into a one-armed hug. "I do believe that's the first time you've called me that, my adorable little brother." Tsuna pushed away, rolling his eyes. "Well, it is! Always so formal with your big brother! You gotta stop that." A scrunched up nose and another laugh later and Tsuna was walking back to Kyoko to ask her for another dance. Dino Cavallone grinned after his unofficial little brother, almost jumping out of his skin when someone tapped him on the shoulder because he was momentarily distracted. "A-Ah, Gokudera. Something I can do for you, Smoking Bomb … brat?" he teased weakly, already disliking the expression on that forever frowning face. "Look, I didn't do anything to Tsuna, so I don't know what -"
"Happy birthday." Dino's mouth was left hanging open for a matter of moments before it snapped shut with a small clack as teeth connected with teeth.
"What ... you just ... haha, not so much of a brat these days, then, I see." The Cavallone Boss sheepishly rubbed at the back of his neck, a little too speechless and at a loss for more words. "Anyway, enjoy the party." A sharp nod was the only answer before Gokudera was distracted by a sudden shout off to the side of, "Happy Birthday, Dino!" The blond looked over as well with wide eyes and barely dodged the outstretched arms of a certain baseball player who would have otherwise pulled him into a rough hug. He had experienced them more often than he cared to admit, and had become adept at avoiding that particular tactic these days. If Yamamoto Takeshi was good at one thing, it was an unexpected bear hug that could even rival his pitch - and that was a pitch straight to the gut at seventy-five miles per hour. His hug? That was more like one going eighty miles an hour and counting. "Woah there. What's the hurry, Takeshi?"
"Hahaha, I sort of have someone I need to get back to, so," he trailed off nervously, the dark haired man of now, of the future, staring off into the crowd of individuals as if looking for that someone. "I don't get see him often, but I can't just avoid the birthday boy, now can I?" He laughed loudly, clapping the Cavallone Boss on the back. "Happy birthday again, Dino. I can't wait to see the look on your face when you open up the gift our Family bought for you."
"Can't wait." Dino tried and failed to hide the wince as the clap on his back came once more, almost knocking him over this time with the force. There was a small 'whoops' and Dino was fairly sure it hadn't been on purpose. Then again, Takeshi wasn't above a good joke every now and again, so one could never tell. "Why don't you go greet that person then, silly? I'm not going anywhere," the blond reassured, gesturing for both the bomber and the other Guardian to head out and enjoy the party. "I have plenty of people to hara - Kidding, plenty of people to look after. Such a large turn-out this year!" A suspicious bomber dragged an annoyingly persistent baseball player away before any more could be said, the Boss breathing a thankful sigh of relief. Good, a million down, ten billion to go. If he could just avoid the Varia, maybe everything would turn out all right. He nodded, smiling a little to himself, and took one step forward - as if to approach the awaiting crowd of people - only to meet with a solid chest. Tilting his head upwards, he laughed, not knowing what else to do at the irony. "Hello, Squalo."
Steely platinum eyes glared down at the blond, hiding the brief flash of surprise that had just momentarily passed over the other man's face. Squalo stepped back, in a rare gesture of politeness and allowed Dino to squeeze past, golden wisps of hair just barely tickling the taller man's nose. As the Cavallone found a slightly less cramped spot to stand in, he turned to meet the silver eyes again.
"Voooooi! Watch where you're going, brat!" came the signature yell, causing several nearby people to simultaneously yelp in surprise and scuttle away, wine glasses hastily slopping expensive wine over their even more expensive clothing. There was now a comfortable (if not, very wide) space around the two. The silver-haired man ignored all the action around him, arms crossed in a rather annoyed fashion as he stared down at the blond.
"Er, what's up, Squalo?" He paused for another misplaced laugh out of nervousness and tucked a loose lock of hair behind his ear. "Well, besides you. Man, you're getting tall, aren't you?" It was a light jest to get things out of murky water. Stumbling into Squalo like that was bound to knock off bonus points for the night. "But without those boots you're not much," he added, lacing his fingers behind his neck and grinning up at the swordsman. It probably wasn't the wisest move to tease him about height, but he couldn't help it. It was something he had in common with Yamamoto, to be honest. They both loved a good joke here and there and especially couldn't pass up an opportunity to throw one out and about. Mouth opening to continue, he promptly gave up on speaking when one of those boots came crashing down onto his foot.
Someone approached them warily from behind no sooner than that and ruined their what-would-have-been alone time. "Boss wants to see you, Superbi, Cavallone." The distasteful utterance left a bitter mouth and Leviathan spun on his heel to disappear as soon as the message had been delivered. He expected them to follow without question, which they did - even if Dino was rather reluctant to see that particular person so soon. If it was a birthday greeting, what happened to delivering it in person rather than sending a lackey to bring the recipient instead? Of course, this is the Varia I'm talking about ... An assassination squad that, after all, had no decent respect for other people when it came to simple courtesy. As they maneuvered through the gathered crowd, he could have sworn he caught sight of a fedora, but it was gone as quick as it had appeared and he shook his head to clear it. Imagining his once tutor would come to the rescue was a whimsical idea that would have only held merit in the past.
"I hope your leader isn't going to take long." Dino stressed that one word for a meaning as he coyly glanced out of the corner of his eyes, grinning. "I was kind of hoping we could talk about tonight, you know? Are you staying here?" He tried in vain to hide his fidgeting once the question had been asked. It was the same every year. He would ask, Squalo would say no, and they'd go their separate ways until one of them was lonely - or more accurately, when Squalo was lonely. It never changed; the same old routine for the same old Squalo. "I don't mind housing a few strays." The grin wavered a bit. "And at least I'm not afraid to admit I like someon -" He was cut off a second time, but with a jab beneath the ribs - courtesy of a wayward elbow rather than a foot this time. "Ow, stop beating me up. It's my birthday," he half-whined, half-taunted. "Can't you be a bit nicer for once?"
The comment was waved off with a gloved hand, accompanied with a brief glare thrown over Squalo's shoulder. The glare was then turned on the rest of the crowd, his murderous eyes (and equally murderous reputation) managing to clear a decently maneuverable path through the packed throng of party-goers. A slight hush fell over the people as the swordsman stalked past, Dino trailing a few steps behind looking slightly nervous at the unwanted - and unneeded - attention. No more words were exchanged until they reached a corner of the lavishly decorated room, this particular one mercifully quieter than the remainder of the room, owing to the people who were currently occupying this space. The dark uniforms of the Varia were clearly distinguishable - a stark contrast to the bright colours and patterns worn by the rest of the room.
The expressions worn on the various members' faces were all somewhat impassive as they looked on the festivities, fingers closed around wine glasses in boredom. As the pair neared the group, Squalo couldn't help the small smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth as the ever-so-familiar voice of Lussuria assaulted their ears.
"Dino-kuuun! Here's the cute birthday boy!" and said 'birthday boy' was smothered in a flurry of feather boas.
Dino blindly tried to push the feathers and whatnot away from his face, spitting out stray ones that happened to take up residence in his mouth. "H-Hey, what did I tell you about calling me that?" He flushed and then added, "I think you've been spending too much time in Japan, Signor Lussuria." Looking to Squalo, he didn't expect much, but to his surprise it was exactly that swordsman that pulled him out of the fray of feather boas. With a quiet 'thanks', he slipped out from the grasp being held on his arm and ended up before the one person he had hoped he would never have to meet face-to-face again. "Ah ... Xanxus. Nice of you to ... come?" He attempted a half-hearted welcome out of courtesy and then spared fleeting glances to the other members of the Varia who warranted attention like no other group around. "Are you enjoying the party?"
"Mu, it's kind of dull, don't you think?" drawled a voice off to the side, skillful fingers spinning the stem of his wine glass out of boredom. "I should charge you a fee, Cavallone, for wasting my time with this silly thing."
Looking over the more adult version of the once baby, Dino still couldn't get use to seeing them grown up - not the Arcobalenco. "You didn't have to accept the invite," he pointed out quickly, crossing his arms. "I'm sure the Varia has better things to be doing, but of course I suppose it would be rude to turn down such a prestigious invite?" He quirked an eyebrow and then laughed, uncrossing his arms to sling a friendly arm around Squalo's slender shoulders. "Ah well, can't say I mind having you all. Thanks for coming. Really." With a grin he meant this time, he directed the next bit to Xanxus. "You surprised me, though. I thought you were going to pull another 'you're not part of Vongola, fuck you' stunt," he playfully teased before nervously laughing at his own wording. "Not that I'm not okay with that, though ..." He trailed off, falling silent, and Marmon picked up where he left off.
"Are you sure, boss, that I can't charge this guy a fee for wasting our time?" The hood was flipped back and the green eyes once hidden in shadow curiously observed their leader's own in question. "He has enough money to spare, does he not?"
Squalo, shrugging off the other man's arm turned his attention elsewhere, focusing on downing a glassful of some alcohol or other. Leaning against the wall closest to him, he surveyed the people in front of him. Noticing the absence of something - more specifically someone - he kept his thoughts to himself as he wondered slightly about the disappearance of a certain tiara-wearing brat.
Meanwhile, Xanxus had yet to make any acknowledgment of the blond standing in front of him. Legs crossed, elbows propped up on the arms of the large plush armchair in an uncaring manner. He was the only one in the group sitting, his current position reminiscent of a king surrounded by his court - a rather dysfunctional court at that. Red eyes were bored as the Varia leader threw a brief, careless glance at his Rain Guardian before returning his gaze to some spot on a far wall.
"Done with your fucking staring, Cavallone?"
Marmon sighed with the resignation it well-warranted after the all too clear dismissal of his wants. The fee had been a reasonable idea and yet it had still been shot down. "Mu, why does boss always do that?" It was muttered more to himself since no one else was really paying attention.
For his part, Dino could only grimace at the comment about staring and avert his eyes. "I'm not. And you would think you'd be a bit -" Nicer couldn't even be used in the same sentence with this man so he reverted to using something more vague. "- A bit less cold, on a birthday of all events. Are you like this with your own subordinates, too? When they celebrate something?" That was a rather obvious question and he could have kicked himself for even saying it. It had been a clear jest, but Dino wasn't sure Xanxus even knew what that was since he hardly ever smiled of all things. "Thanks for coming," he said one more time, turning to leave. "I have to get going, though. Other people to se -"
"Oi, boss isn't done talking to you." Levi blocked the way. "You leave when boss says you can leave."
A rather withering glare was sent in Levi's direction by Xanxus. He seemed displeased at something- even more than he usually was. Waving Levi off to one side, the dark-haired man leaned forwards, uncrossing his legs and turning his ever-present glare to Dino. A few seconds (of what seemed like internal struggling) later, the glare morphed into a grimace of distaste.
"Fucking Happy Birthday, trash," he managed to grit out, the customary greeting sounding more like a death threat than a well-wishing. Then he jerked his head at the other - more civil - crowd behind the blond in question. A surprised look was what he received in return before the Cavallone retreated back into the midst of people.
SMASH.
A gleaming wineglass was launched, for no apparent reason (apart from perhaps annoyance) at the nearest person. This 'unfortunate' person was conveniently Squalo, who reacted with a loud, impressive explosion of curses, hand clutching the abused spot on his head, trying to rake out the small shards tangled in his long hair in the process. His loud exclamation of "Voooi! What the fuck was that for, huh?!" was only met with a stony silence by his fellow Varia members who were all too used to scenes like this.
Wincing at the stream of curses that followed him into the crowd, Dino continued onwards in nothing short of a daze. It may have been forced, but Xanxus had just wished him - him of all people - a happy birthday. He was almost inclined to believe it had been an impostor, but that little follow-up act with the wineglass convinced him to the exact opposite. That was definitely the leader of the Varia. No one else could make Squalo curse that much and that frequently. Not in one go like Xanxus. Speaking of shouting, he winced again as he noticed that the yelling wasn't just coming from behind him now but from in front as well. It seemed his old tutor had finally found and perfectly provoked his so called rival if the explosion of noise was anything to go on.
"What do you mean I have to wish him a happy birthday, too, hey? Are you kidding me! What if I don't want? What are you going to do about it? Maul me, hey? Liked to see you try!" Dino dearly wished the nearest wall wasn't so far away. He would have loved to bash his head against it. Instead, he calmly stepped up to the rowdy Spartan blond and laid a friendly hand on his shoulder.
"Now, now," he lightly began with a smile, "no need to fight at a party, all right?" He gave Reborn a pointed look, one that was directed at the gun now held in expert hitman’s hands. "Colonello does not have to wish me a happy birthday, I won't get mad. It's not really importa -"
"A-Ah, Signor Cavallone! Buona Sera." Surprised, and more than a little caught off guard by the awkward use of Italian, Dino turned to greet the person in return and promptly felt his eyes widen and his jaw drop in slight disbelief as a Chinese girl brushed too soft lips against his cheek.
Nervously, he stumbled backwards and held out a hand, sweat rolling off him in waves. "No-Not necessary, Signora I-Pin. No need to -" People seemed to enjoy cutting him off today as the girl who had blossomed into quite the young woman captured him in an unmistakable hug and wished him the 'Happy Birthday' that Colonello refused to give. Then, with an ever present blush to her cheeks, she let go and shyly laughed. Dino was only thankful her ticking bomb of a forehead had long been sealed. "T-Thank you," was all he could work out, covering his face with one hand and heaving a sigh of mixed emotions. On one hand, he was glad the girl was growing up and opening up to a majority of people, and on the other ... "No er ... no need to greet so ... enthusiastically. A simple 'ciao’ will do just fine." He attempted a grin and then gave up, hand falling uselessly to his side. "Did you come with a date?" he asked simply, making conversation. The next song had started up. If there was no date, then a dance would definitely be in order.
As the blush spread, he couldn't help but laugh a quick, soft laugh. Apparently the answer was yes. That left him curious as to who until a young man about her age with a cow-printed shirt walked up and slung an all too familiar arm around her shoulders. "Lambo sort of asked me. We started dating last month."
Nodding to the explanation of sorts, Dino reached out and playfully ruffled the boy's hair with a joking, "You sly dog, you." Teenagers would be teenagers and that never changed. He was just happy they had both found someone special to them. Tsuna had struggled, continuously throughout the years to ensure that these two would have a future without strife or fear or even danger. While his 'little brother' may not have fully succeeded, these two no doubt had a long life - together - ahead of them. "Good luck. Save a dance for me, though, Signora I-Pin," he drawled with a small wink to the girl. Blush deepening if that were possible, Dino really did thank that girl's master for stowing away that dangerous gift of hers.
His attention was once again, for the umpteenth time, drawn away from the people he was currently conversing with. Colonello's yelling had stopped briefly during the Cavallone's talk with I-Pin and her new-found boyfriend - perhaps in an act of courtesy. When he turned around though, this assumption was clearly untrue as found himself staring at a scene that would definitely not look out of place in some sort of action movie. The loud-mouthed blond found he was unable to say another word, unable to react as a rather ominous click came from the gun currently pressed against the side of his head.
"Now, now, we wouldn't want to be rude to the birthday boy, would we?" came the smooth voice of Reborn, his signature smirk - unchanged even after his sudden physical aging - in place as he carelessly flicked off the safety catch of the firearm, indifferent to the people around him that were shying away at the sudden appearance of something so dangerous.
A slight tip of his fedora towards his former student and a few more whispered threats later, the black-haired man succeeded in pushing his fellow Arcobalenco - non-too-nicely - in front of himself, forcing both blonds to come face-to-face.
After grumbling out a quick, "Fuck you too, Reborn," Colonello reluctantly allowed the short, "Happy Birthday, hey." He didn't see why everyone was insistent on such a trivial greeting, but he figured it was better to say it than end up with his brains - or possibly other internal organs - blown out. Changing his mind quickly, though, he spun around before the trigger could be pulled and oh so very gently slapped Reborn with an open palm. It was more to be insulting than deal any real damage, but he scowled as he received nothing more than a smug little grin. I win, was what that face, those eyes, and that cocky stance of Reborn's meant. Storming away, the blond retired for the evening, having much better than things to do than stand around and turn into Reborn's play-toy.
Dino watched the explosive Spartan leave, blinking a little out of shock, and then directed a laugh to his tutor, asking rather bluntly, "You're in the doghouse tonight, then, aren't you?"
"E-Eh! Reborn! Are you okay?" Tsuna was rather fast to the scene, immediately in charge and asking the first vital question to make sure everyone was safe. Ruefully shaking his head, Dino couldn't help but admire the boss his little brother was slowly turning into. It was a change from the 'No Good Tsuna' of before, but he still caught glimpses of that person, was glad he caught those glimpses. It meant the real Tsuna was still in there somewhere and this lifestyle they had chosen hadn't completely swallowed him alive. Realizing he had spaced out for a moment, he focused back in on the conversation and was a bit thrown when Tsuna said, " - but Dino-san has a date tonight, doesn't he?" How this had gone from being about ‘one’s well being' to 'oh, gossip!' ... well, he really wasn't quite sure.
Scratching the back of his head slightly, the blond looked a tad clueless, having caught only the end of Tsuna's sentence - even though the meaning was clear enough. The Vongola's expectant eyes were focused on him, but fortunately another distraction arrived - this time announced with a light tap on the host's shoulder. A little apprehensive at the sudden lull in conversation in the vicinity, Dino glanced over his shoulder before turning to fully face the newest person to greet.
The hush was quite appropriate, as a single purple orb, framed with thick lashes, stared back at the Cavallone's own. Dark hair was piled elegantly on top her head, stray wisps escaping the clasp of a large ornamental hairpiece to hang around porcelain skin. A petite figure was shrouded in an elegant dress, shawl draped around slim shoulders - perhaps even a bit too formal for the occasion.
"H-Happy Birthday, Dino-san," came the shy voice of Dokuro Chrome, a light blush dusting her cheeks as she meekly avoided the eyes of all the other people staring. Thin fingers clutched the shawl tighter around her body as the Mist Guardian drew approving stares from many males in the crowd. Shuffling ever-so-slightly on the spot, she gave the blond a quick peck on the cheek before melting back into the mass of people with well-practiced ease.
Dino could have groaned. Since when did all the girls start this obsession with kissing a hello? Couldn't a simple sentence or word or so on alone do the trick? Of course not, that would have made life easy - and life was anything but. Shoulders slumped in defeat, he gave up on trying to get women to see reason and resigned himself to never being able to understand what it was that went through the more ... feminine mind. Maybe he'd ask Squalo later. The guy was practically a girl with that hair and that face and those - He grinned slightly to himself, thinking about the way the silver-haired swordsman always tended to lick his lips before they fought. That was what they called it, anyway. Because it was always more of a fight than anything else.
"Extreme birthday party, Cavallone!" His thoughts, as pleasant as they had been, were bound to be interrupted. He just hadn't expected them to be interrupted by that person. "Are you having an extremely good time yourself, birthday bo -" Coughing slightly to interrupt, Dino still couldn't wrap his mind around why people insisted on calling him birthday 'boy'. He wasn't little any more and yet, always around this time of year, he felt so little, so small, and always so insecure. "Right, right! You're extremely more grown up than me, what am I saying?" A boisterous laugh sounded in the air and Dino politely excused himself from the others, wanting to retreat while he still could - before Ryohei decided he wanted to do something 'extreme' to celebrate the occasion. He wasn't sure he could handle that.
Doing exactly that, he retreated to the furtherest corner of the room and enjoyed a moment's reprieve from the party. He knew it wouldn't last long, but he could still have hope. The muted sounds from the party were relief to his ears, but the blond had one regret. Mentally berating himself for not grabbing a drink, any drink before retreating to this corner for some peace, he could only sigh into the empty space as he cast a slightly longing look at the fully-laden tables with their extravagant food arrangements and assortment of (very international) drinks. Greeting and mingling with so many guests and managing to play the gracious host to each and every one of them was much, much harder than it looked, and his throat was beginning to feel rather constricted having gone for what seemed like hours, talking and chatting to various people without so much as a sip of water.
A quiet rustling noise momentarily drew Dino's thoughts away from his possible dehydration. This corner had seemed unoccupied; from afar it looked the most uninviting - having a large portion of it thrown into shadow because of some convenient light placements. But it seemed that the mafia boss wasn't the only person who wanted to avoid the rest of the crowd. The rustling continued as a dark-haired man unfolded himself from the shadows, eyes narrowed at the sudden disturbance of his own peace. Had it been anyone but Dino - the birthday 'boy’ - that person would probably have immediately found themselves flat on the floor with a tonfa in their face as Hibari Kyoya made his silent entrance.
The Vongola Cloud hadn't changed much over the years, apart from shooting up in height, retaining his deadly reputation and was still held in awe (and fear) by many. Dressed in a fine-cut suit, he would have been quite popular with his looks - only if he didn't have the reputation (and attitude) to boot. Walking bang into the middle of Hibari's personal space was pretty much a death wish, so it was only natural for the Cavallone to feel uncomfortable - if not, scared - being on the receiving end of the skylark's deadly glare. Hibari's glower did not waver as he stepped out further from the darkness of the corner, eyes focused intently on Dino's own.
"Hibari ... you actually came, did you?" remarked the blond with an ill-concealed moment of surprise. Crowding had never been one of the Cloud Guardian's hobbies before, but then again, this particular corner screamed look at me, I'm vacant, don't fuck with me. Well, it was more the occupant in said corner implying the last part. Either way, Dino reluctantly took a step away from his attempt to hide in the shadows and asked instead, "Are you enjoying yourself?" As was expected of the polite host, after all, and he wouldn't want to disappoint. The typical response followed with a scoff and an eventual retaliation of sorts - if Ryohei hadn't gotten in his mind to disturb their would-have-been argument.
"You two are extremely friendly these days!" Dino figured the Vongola Sun Guardian was banking that on the sole fact he was still alive and in the same presence as Hibari Kyoya; which, more often than not, wasn't even remotely the case. Hibari tended to fight and then ask questions later if the person still happened to be alive - especially when his peace, his sleep, or anything of his at all was disturbed. "Anyway, I forgot to give you that extreme present of yours, Cavallone! Wait up!" Calling after him, though, would do no use because Dino hadn't moved yet. He made this apparent by clearing his throat and raising an eyebrow in the usual bemusement that always tagged along in the presence of this Guardian. "Hahahahaha, as I was saying!" The loudness of before didn't even think of going down an octave, or two or three. "Let's do something fun to the extreme! I was thinking - and this is just a thought, so I don't know if you'll like it, you know?" Dino smiled slightly and laughed, urging Ryohei to continue even if he did cast a glance over at Hibari in worry. The rambling wasn't bothering him, but he had a feeling it was grating on the black haired man nerve's just enough for the both of them. "So yeah, there's this extreme person I know who said we could JUMP OFF A BRIDGE TO THE EXTREME." The sudden explosion of even louder comments made the blond's eyes widen from the force behind them before laughing quietly again as he saw the expression on Hibari's face. Or rather, the lack of one because there was nothing there except the disgruntled frown that could have been from anything. That anything right now, though, was the boxer before them. And that person didn't seem to be going away any time soon.
Deciding to humor him, Dino attempted to find out why Ryohei seemed to think letting a person jump of a bridge for their birthday was an agreeable present of sorts. "Are you trying to kill me, then?" he joked. He had been offered far worse in his years, but this was the first time someone had come right out and said what they were going to do to him. Though, from the way it was phrased, he knew Ryohei wasn't going to hurt him. It was probably more of a 'bungee-jumping' event if he recalled things of that nature correctly. Then again, it could have been anything from free-falling into a river to parachuting down a mountain-side crevice. "I'm pretty sure dying isn't a ... good note to end on, Sasagawa!" Another bright laugh to prove he was joking. "But I can't say I wouldn't want to give it a try!" It would definitely be different from the usual gifts he always received this time of year, but the ... apparent extremeness of the event would no sooner kill him than he would accept it so formally. "Let's save it for later, okay? Maybe tomorrow?" He had nothing to do, nothing he was aware of at the moment, so it would work out if Ryohei still wished to give him such a gift.
A little disheartened, the younger man only nodded to appease other and Dino let out a relieved sigh nonetheless. The party would continue as he knew it would, but he had been afraid Ryohei wouldn't accept no for an answer. It didn't seem like a problem now, though, and the blond Cavallone heir could only admire how much this young man had grown up throughout the years, much like he admired the growth of his 'little brother'. They were maturing, these kids that he had once seen as nothing but that - kids. They were growing up into a world far from what any of them had expected, but they all had their own lights. Some brighter than others, but they all held onto them deeply and without regret. He knew who his light was and he wasn't going to let that person go- not any time soon.
"O-Onii-chan!" came a startled voice from somewhere quite far away. The three men paused in their conversation - or rather, the two that were actually speaking to one another - and turned their attention to the more crowded rest of the room, searching to locate the sudden call.
A few minutes and many squeals of "Oops, sorry!" later, two figures squeezed their way out of the masses of people, looking rather like two soldiers that had just made their way through a war of some description. Dresses were hastily dusted off and smoothed out, hair checked in small compacts to make themselves look decently presentable (in a girl's sense) for the host. A rather flustered-looking Miura Haru - still halfway through checking her reflection - was hastily dragged over to the small group by a worried-looking Kyoko.
"Onii-chan! Please … Don't be so loud. People are staring!" cried the Sun Guardian's younger sister (who had grown to become quite a stunning woman indeed) as she tugged lightly at his sleeve, glancing around the area nervously.
"Eh? Oh! Dino-san!" came Haru's cheerful voice from behind the other female. Next thing Dino knew, all his wind was knocked out as the dark-haired woman literally tackled him to the ground, as energetic as she was when she was younger. "Happy Birthday, Dino-san!" she cried gleefully, completely ignorant of the rather compromising position she was in on the floor with the birthday boy - straddling him with a not-so-floor-length dress.
Dazed and dizzy, the blond could only manage a small "A-Ah, thank you, Miura-san," barely audible over Ryohei's roaring laughter, "Always the one to give a slightly different greeting, hm?" The person in question's laughter joined everyone else's as she removed herself from the ground, offering a hand to Dino. Taking the proffered hand and dragging himself off the floor as well, Dino straightened his rumpled clothing. It was then that he noticed he and Haru weren't the only people on the floor. Turning his head slowly, he found to his horror that a certain Hibari Kyoya had also been brought to the ground by Haru's overly happy greeting.
"Now, now, Hibari," Dino was quick to warn, "no attacking the guests, either." He didn't comment further because no sooner had he finished both Hibari and Haru were on their feet and one dark-haired man to the woman's left looked remarkably annoyed. Haru, however, didn't seem fazed in the slightest that she had just tackled one of the most dangerous men around and strangely lived to tell the tale. "Hmm, I think it's about time to cut the cake, though, don't you agree?" he hastily commented, wanting more than he could possibly say for that cold glare of the Cloud Guardian's to disappear. Or at least leave him in peace, on his birthday of all days. Everyone seemed to agree that a distraction was in order and after a quick wave of his hand a few subordinates of his were off to instruct the chef of the evening to bring out the long-awaited dessert.
Mere moments later, the large double doors at one end of the room were flung open. The chef - one of, if not the best baker in Italy that was hired especially for this occasion, stepped into the room, beaming proudly while moving aside and waving a pudgy hand with a theatrical flourish. What followed this action was the wheeling of an absolutely massive cake on a large cart through the door, two kitchen-hands barely managing to push it into the center of the room without causing some sort of collision or disaster. As they slumped, panting with the effort of moving it, everyone else in the room had fallen into a hush, each and every eye focused on staring at the cake in awe. To have described it as 'amazing,' or 'fabulous' would not have done it any justice, seeing as it was quite literally: indescribable. Layer upon layer, tier upon tier of lavishly decorated chocolate cake, smothered in whipped cream stood proudly, as if gazing down on the room's occupants.
A dragon stood tall and proud atop the masterpiece, the bright red of the serpentine spirit enhanced only by the striking orange and yellow that outlined the rest of the body and the flames that arose from its mouth. There was a glitter of some sort, too, that caught the light when looked at and only further brought the realistic image of the dragon to life. A few people in the crowd whispered their astonishment at the dragon portrayal and the guests from Japan were seen grinning rather appropriately as they realized what Dino had done, why he had chosen a dragon of all things to adorn his cake. The cook himself was seen beaming at the praise he was getting left and right, bowing politely to some, kissing the hands of ladies who walked forward to compliment his artistic ability. Dino, laughing at his own family's reactions, walked towards the cake as well and gladly accepted the knife to cut the first piece. "All right, guys, dig in!"
Passing the cake to the first person who approached, he began to cut away at the layered cake before the chef scoffed and waved him off, mentioning how this was his job and it was absurd to have someone other than the chef himself doing such a thing. The blond accepted his own piece of cake and nodded his thanks, beginning to mingle with the rest of the crowd once more as he enjoyed his cake between pauses and bites. It was delightful, the taste, and he had expected no less from the bakery chef he had hired. It wasn't too sweet, nor too bitter, and the chocolate morsels inside practically melted in one's mouth. He knew, without a second thought to the contrary, that he would be sneaking a piece of this cake into his room for a midnight snack; Romario's pleas to watch his sugar intake be damned.
Seeing the cheerful smiles of everyone that surrounded him, Dino could only smile contentedly himself as he watched his guests enjoy themselves. The quiet clinking of delicate forks against fine china plates now accompanied their casual conversation, laughter weaving in and out of their small groups as they chatted. Gazing through the sea of people, he could clearly make out Tsuna's hairstyle, joined by the silver of Gokudera's; Haru and Kyoko standing close to them as they too enjoyed some amiable talk.
"Definitely not a bad turnout this year," he grinned, speaking more to himself than anyone else.
--
Spinning the fork leisurely in his mouth after finishing off the tasty treat, he finished licking the utensil clean before going back for a second bite, fork gliding through the confectionary sugar with ease. The midnight snack was a nice substitute for what could have been, what should have been. Being alone on a night like this, when someone should have been with him, it was nice indeed to have a distraction of sorts to keep his mind occupied. The cake was well-worth the money that had went into it and after that wonder display from Italy's finest baker he would be looking into keeping the man on-board with future endeavors of this kind. His mind was already running over ideas for what he could give Tsuna for his birthday, for an example of such endeavors, and the first thing that sprang to mind was the largest cake imaginable, even larger than the one currently being stored down in his kitchen.
A knock on his door startled him and he vaguely wondered who would be knocking at this hour. He didn't have to wait long to figure it out, though, because next thing he knew there was a loud, "Vooooi, get your ass out of bed, fucking midget, and answer this damn door!" That- well, it completely gave the person away. He couldn't stop the surprised smile from overwhelming him and contorting his expression from the blissfully unaware of before. He had expected Squalo to be gone by now, or at least have better things to do than drop by and say hi for a change. Slipping out from under the warm duvet, he placed his cake on the bedside table and then pulled on a robe to appear somewhat decent for his guest. The term was of course used loosely because Squalo's outrage at his slow pace was bound to escalate into further rude comments that no typical guest, in a sane state of mind, would deem worthy of mention.
Slightly apprehensive - even though he shouldn't have been - Dino reached for the door handle. Before he had even completely opened the door, it was kicked open, narrowly missing the blond by inches as he jumped back instinctively, stumbling and sprawling on the floor from the lack of a subordinate nearby.
"About fucking time, idiot," came the annoyed voice of the Varia Rain, strolling into the dimly lit room without sparing a glance at the fallen man. Boots stomped on the plush carpet before they were unceremoniously kicked off, landing haphazardly beside Dino's large, polished bedside stand. Seconds later, a foot came into contact sharply with the Cavallone's stomach, knocking the wind out of him for the second time that night, "Don't just fucking stay there. I actually decide to stay and all you can do is lie there like a fucking idiot?"
"This is ... unexpected," Dino managed with a wince, a little short on breath due to the blow but barely sparing it a second thought as he pushed himself back to his feet, robe slipping off one shoulder in the process. He didn't bother fixing it and instead walked over to where the boots had been discarded and kicked them aside. With a disappointed glare tossed over his shoulder at the swordsman, he picked his cake back up and flopped back down onto the bed with what he would have called a sulk but other people would have been inclined to call it a pout. "You almost knocked over my cake with your stupid boots, you know," he remarked dryly, taking a small bite of the cake as if to make a point. Then, with a sigh, he settled the fork back down onto the plate with a soft tinkling sound being heard as silverware connected with the finest dining-ware money had to offer. Straightening his robe back up finally, he urged Squalo closer with a crooked finger in the other man's direction and a feigned coy little smile, even adding a small whisper of, "Well, I imagine you came here for a reason then. How about you show me what it is you want?"
His offer seemed to have been ignored, as the swordsman turned away slightly, eyebrow raised as he focused on removing his Varia coat - not in reply to Dino's attempted seduction, mind you - and flung it carelessly in a random direction. This conveniently ended up being in the direction of the blond’s face.
Having his show so suddenly ruined, all Dino could do was struggle to tear the invading fabric off his face, arms flailing as he almost fell off the edge of the bed. Almost. While he was occupied, a sudden weight pushed him down flat onto the bed covers - saving him from another certain accident - and before he knew it, he found himself staring up at the familiar smirk of Squalo.
The first thing that came to mind was oh god is the cake, okay? And he was fairly sure that wasn't a normal response for a situation like this, but that didn't matter because his cake was about to meet an untimely fate with the floor if he didn't stop Squalo from whatever it was the other man had planned. "Not the cake! Anything but the cake," he dramatically - over dramatically if it was later asked - exclaimed. Protectively holding it, he pushed Squalo off with an otherwise unoccupied hand and then grinned down at his cake, saying calmly, "It's okay now. The big bad Varia man isn't going to hurt you -" He couldn't keep a straight face throughout the act, though, and collapsed into a fit of giggles - in, of course, a very manly sort of way. "Your face," he wheezed out, wiping tears away from his eyes from laughing so much. "Your face, Squalo."
Feeling playful, he scooped up some of the icing from the cake onto his finger and smeared it across the swordsman's cheek - who immediately objected at the treatment, as insulting as it was, and went to retaliate with the usual verbal insults if the blond didn't lean forward then and calmly clean up the mess. Dino pulled back a second later and cleaned off the icing from his own finger as well, pale eyelashes lowered as he lavished attention upon it. It was meant to be a quick act of cleaning up after one's self, but Squalo must have misinterpreted because there was growl and then a tight grip on his wrist, stilling his motions. Quirking an eyebrow, he asked almost smugly, "What, enjoying the show and sad you're not getting the same attention?" He paused, picked up the fork, and then tempted to have the other man take a bite of the sweet in a beckoning sort of way. "Awww, all you had to do was ask if you could have some."
"I never ask. I prefer to fucking take what I want, you brat," came the sharp reply before Squalo's hand shot out to grab for the fork. Having somewhat expected a reaction like that, Dino jerked the fork out of arm's reach with a small smirk at the short string of rather colourful language that followed the action. The silver-haired man's swearing was cut short though, as he felt a pair of lips on his own. Dino, catching him momentarily off guard, took the opportunity to smear more icing - this time down Squalo's other cheek.
"Tsk," remarked Dino when he finally broke the short kiss for air, "you need to learn some patience, my friend." Then, wasting not a moment more in the complete opposite of what he said, he let his tongue trail up the other's cheek to clear the icing away, licking his lips before kissing Squalo once more, parting the slightly reluctant lips with his sweet tainted tongue and slipping it in to explore the wet cavern inside. Their tongues danced in a battle for dominance, Dino for once not giving up and letting Squalo just have his way. The need for air, however, out-weighed the continued fight and he - still in that intoxicating control of the other's action - allowed them to break for air, a thin stretch of saliva connecting them for a moment longer before Dino wiped it away with a laugh. "That just won't do," he flippantly commented, eyes half-lidded while he took a moment to observe the mixed expression on that usually stoic face.
Swirling the fork between deft fingers, a grin slowly began to spread, lips parting in a small, "Do you really want some cake, hm?" Tapping the cake covered utensil against Squalo's nose, he delighted in the way the other wrinkled it in apparent distaste. "Awww, don't be like that, Squalo. Come on, tell me what you want."
Perhaps that had been a little too ... pushy. The (slightly) romantic mood was shattered, as he found himself with Squalo's sword pressed against his neck. Managing a small laugh that quickly turned into a gulp of fear at the suddenly serious expression on the Rain's face, all he could do was utter a nervous, "S-Sorry" as he stared rather pleadingly at the other man.
"Don’t you fucking presume anything about me, shithead,” he growled, barely suppressing the satisfied smirk that was threatening to break across his face at the Cavallone's wide-eyed, fearful look he received in return. It was a ploy though, obvious only to his self, as he stole the chance to lean forwards and take a bite at the fork. Too bad for him though, the person in front of him was Dino. Dino Cavallone, the clumsiest person on the face of the earth without his subordinates nearby. So it was only normal that something accidental (in Dino's eyes), or disastrous (in other peoples' opinions) would happen. This time the 'disaster' took form as a jab to Squalo's neck with the fork. And of course, it did not bode well.
"Vooooii! What the FUCK?"
"I'm so ... I'm so sorry, Squalo. Hold still, hold still! Let me see!" Dino fought with the swordsman for a few minutes until the man gave up and held out his hand for inspection. Four deep marks from the fork marred the skin of the only real hand Squalo possessed. Wincing in sympathy, he brought the hand to his lips and kissed the wounds, eyes fluttering shut as a tongue snaked out to clean away the blood just as he had done to the icing earlier. "I'm sorry," he said one last time, opening his eyes to show his apology was completely sincere and further tugging the Varia's Rain closer to him to place a light kiss to protesting lips. "Let me make it all better," he mumbled into the clumsy kiss, a change from the more experienced ones he had been giving. Squalo was pushing at his shoulders already, wishing to pin him down, but he smirked into the kiss as well this time and pushed back. "That just won't do. No, no, no." And with each 'no', he punctuated it with a feather-light press of lips to an exposed neck, already relishing in the control he was being giving once more, no matter how unwillingly.