haneumas

“ Well, I can’t really say I was doing anything out of the ordinary myself. “ Dino thought back to Vongola’s escapades with time traveling and even the involvement of their first Mist Guardian. He hadn’t been directly involved in it himself for the most part, but he had heard quite a bit about the events – though he obviously didn’t have anything like a time traveling bazooka close at hand. “ I might have some theories, but my best guess regarding this case would be something to do with my Ring, but I’m not sure. “ 

“There can even just be the simple polearm. Which is ironically what it is. Amazing, isn’t it? Blows your mind.”

A slight smirk pulled at the corner of Alaudi’s mouth as he moved over to the table, taking a seat in his usual spot before gesturing for the other male to take a seat too. “Well, I suppose we shall see, hm?” Almost as if calling the cavallone don’s bluff, but he would rather the ravenet sweat than say anything further. 

Alaudi placed the documents down near the edge of the table so that they would not get wet or dirtied, needing to look over them later once he had a free moment, or possibly even with Lorenzo as they too affected his famiglia along with the Vongola. Perhaps the other male would have some insight the cloud guardian could use as well, but that could be discussed after a bit of relaxation.

Lithe fingers carefully lifted the lid of the teapot so that loose leaf tea could be added to the water to steep. While that set, the Alouette’s gaze turned back onto Lorenzo, watching him silently take in the surroundings. It was a nice little spot that Alaudi liked to claim for himself, if not with Elena. Very few had actually laid eyes on the garden itself. 

“Being out here almost makes you forget you aren’t like every other normal human being.”

They will certainly see, that was for sure. he just prayed the tea wasn’t too offensive to his taste buds. really though he’s eaten worse tasting things for sure, he could definitely get through it. the quicker he drank it the less he had to taste it right ? he could just...treat it like a shot or something, yeah. 

still, even if he didn’t like tea, he could certainly appreciate the process of making tea. it was so serene, was all tea like this ? or was it only when alaudi did it ? ever since he’d laid eyes on the blonde he’d found he could make mundane tasks seem a lot more elegant, so maybe a tea prepared by him wouldn’t taste like hot water that someone decided to lump worlds most disgusting leaves into.

Giving a faint nod, the alouette turned on his heal as if motioning for the mafia don to follow him without actually saying the words. Alaudi needed more than just a moment to compose himself as they walked in silence. It was almost as if his nerves wouldn’t settle down. A bad omen, maybe? Or perhaps the lack of sleep from the previous nights were finally starting to catch up with the cloud guardian. 

Documents in hand, Alaudi pushed open the doors leading out into the garden, eyes closing for a brief moment as the blond took a moment to enjoy the slight breeze against his skin. It had been quite some time since he was last here to enjoy this scenery. Luckily for them, everything was already set up upon the outdoors table in advance like the alouette had requested.

“I wouldn’t have taken you as someone that likes tea, Cheval.”

without another word the don follows after alaudi, eyes taking in the hallway. truthfully he’d never been to this wing of the vongola estate -- usually keeping to giotto’s office or a meeting room should he visit. it wasn’t all that much different from the rest of the place, yet he still found himself taking the time to look, even if it was rather plain.

yet, when the cloud opened the doors he finds his eyes widening slightly. the first thing that hit him was the complete serenity of the garden; the slight breeze and the greenery was already doing wonders on the headache that always seemed to be pounding away in the background of his head. he doesn’t think he’s ever seen something as relaxing and pretty, well -- 

his attention is turned to the other, and then the mention of tea. he feels himself, sweating a bit -- which is perplexing. he takes a second before he answers because he wasn’t the biggest fan of tea, at all. it only just occured to him really that agreeing to have tea meant he would have to actually have tea.

Ah…this felt so awkward. Alaudi was definitely not used to this, even with Giotto and Elena telling him he needed to socialize more often. Who knew it would be with the Vongola’s number one ally. Both males seemed to be dancing around each other in an awkward tango, not quite sure what to say as well as what not to say.

Icy hues quickly snapped back to Lorenzo, ignoring and mentally pushing down the heat rising from his chest as the blond forced out the following words. Why was this so hard to say??

“Would you…care for some tea, then?” 

Before he had been interrupted by the other male Alaudi had been headed towards the garden to look over some documents and enjoy the peace and quiet alone.

the awkward tension was still there, but it was twinged with something else now. nervousness ? he didn’t know what he should be nervous about. it’s not like he hasn’t spent time with alaudi before, it’s definitely not the first time he’s drunk tea. still he feels something bubble somewhat uncomfortably in his stomach. maybe he’s getting sick  ?

A soft snort was given at Lorenzo’s remark, head shaking gently to show his disapproval of the Cavallone don’s thought process. For someone so important in his role, Lorenzo sure had a carefree way of looking at the world. Alaudi would refrain this time, knowing that going in circles with the ravenet was of no use, especially while in the middle of a deserted hallway within the Vongola estate.

Moving to brush pale locks out of his face, the cloud guardian gave the other male a blank stare for but a moment, gaze breaking away to look down the hallway as Alaudi cleared his throat quietly.

“….Do you have somewhere to be?” A simple question really, and yet the alouette had no idea where this was going.

Moving past the surprise of a conversation being continued, the don felt like everything was starting to lull -- as if neither knew quite what to say. in a world such as theirs where talking was everything, it felt almost comical that they were struggling to communicate so simply. When work is all you know, anything else is difficult.

Still that didn’t mean the don didn’t want to keep talking, or rather, spending time with the other. Lorenzo followed Alaudi’s stare for a moment, head tilting a bit at the question. between the two of them it almost felt like a different question was being asked.

The cloud guardian blinked rapidly at the other as he takes in the don’s visage, doing his best to swallow the sudden knot the was welling up in the alouette’s throat. He wasn’t quite sure why it was so hard to face the Cavallone for extended periods of time. Perhaps he was more antisocial than he first thought.

“That’s because you are being careless. Pay more attention to your surroundings, cheval.” He couldn’t die until after Alaudi had the privilege of arresting the other.

Lorenzo’s smile slips for a moment, in what would be a pout if he wasn’t so cool and charming. He was plenty aware of his surroundings, it was just that those surroundings either weren’t aware of him or -- more likely -- his surroundings changed at the drop of the hat and he really only had a split second to react.

It’s okay, Alaudi could totally do this. All people normally did this at some point in their lives. Even if small talk was something the cloud guardian absolutely loathed and did his best to avoid, it wouldn’t kill him to partake once in a blue moon for the benefit of the Vongola famiglia. 

“I wouldn’t push your luck, Cheval. Things can easily go flying regardless of where you are, even if supposedly a safe place.” 

Not that it was a threat. One might even think Alaudi actually cared with his warnings, but it was often hard to read him.

he clicks his tongue at that, one might expect it a threat -- in fact for a moment he did, but the way it was said made it seem almost like a warning to be careful, not a warning to prepare for an attack. it was the little things that made his heart beat. if he were another man, he’d lovesick sigh at that.

And yet somehow, the alouette still didn’t trust the other’s words. He was never on his best behavior….

“Busy….and only getting busier due to hindrances.” Sighs before forcing his expression to relax, icy hues shifting to meet the other’s gaze once more. He could make small talk if he really tried. Giotto better be damn proud of this attempt.

“No assassination attempts today?” A shocker, really.

Lorenzo can’t help but feel like the so called hindrance was directed to his person in particular, but he really expected that, so it was easy to brush aside. he knew if he really was wasting a lot of the other’s time then alaudi would have left by now.

still, he was definitely caught off guard by alaudi asking him a question. was he...trying to make....conversation ??? colour him surprised. though aside from his brows lifting for a moment he made no other acknowledgement to that, lest he push his luck.

“That is just a fancy version of one..” More points reduced. Bar raised on the idiot scale. “Your head is a disaster. On and inside.”

“ it’s not like you said it was a creativity contest anyway.” and were there really that many things that a trident looked like ? 

TOP OF HEAD: Sibling affection/parental affectionKNEE: "Don't worry, I'm here for you."WRIST: Fear of losing you

“As kind as that is, I am not very good with kindness. That will have to pass.”