Returning the Favor - Katekyo Hitman Reborn - 5986

ONESHOT

Summary: Returning the favor is always the polite thing to do, but Gokudera was never really the polite type. So what happens when Haru falls sick and he owes her one? A GokuderaHaru/5086 fic

My lack of KHR knowledge might make some things untrue or some characters OOC and I guess I'll explain some stuff at the end of the chapter, just so I won't spoil things! XD

I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn because if I did, there would be a lot more Haru loving!

Please forgive any mistakes, both character-wise and grammatically wise. I don't really have time to re-read and edit things.

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Returning the Favor

HappyFace1886

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“Hahi, Gokudera-san is sick?” Haru asked incredulously, her eyes widening. She stopped in mid-bite of her snack and almost dropped her fork. When she had decided to stop by Tsuna-san’s house on her way home from school, she hadn’t expected to hear this.

“That’s what he told me this morning.” Tsuna said with a wince, remembering the apologies Gokudera had told him repeatedly over the phone in between coughs. He knew if it hadn’t been for Bianchi, Gokudera probably would have still attempted to come to school. “He’s going to miss school for a while.”

“Hey, we should go visit him then,” Yamamoto said with a grin. “I’m sure that’ll be enough to make him feel better by tomorrow.”

Haru clasped her hands together in excitement. “That’s a great idea Yamamoto-san! Friends are always the best medicine, after all!”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Tsuna said hesitantly. “He doesn’t seem like the type who likes it when other people go into his home. Actually, I don’t even know where he lives. Bianchi-san first told me he was sick before Gokudera called me himself.”

“But it’s better if he’s surrounded by people that cares for him while he’s sick than being alone by himself,” Haru protested.

“I know, but Gokudera never really liked being in other people’s company.” Tsuna murmured, remembering how hostile Gokudera was with people when he first met them. It was only because he became accustomed to their presence that he wasn’t throwing his dynamite sticks at all of them.

Haru stared at her cake with a frown before rising from her seat. “I’m going to get a glass of milk. Is there anything you want from the kitchen?”

The two shook their heads and Haru smiled cheerfully at them before leaving the room. The smile disappeared, replaced by one of determination, as she made her way towards the kitchen. Her pace quickened when she heard the sound of the familiar voice in the kitchen. Opening the door, Haru put on her best smile and clasped her hands before her.

“Bianchi-san, can you do me a favor?”

---

CRACK!

Gokudera growled as the arm he had punched on the wall exploded with pain. When he pulled his fist away, small pieces of the wall tumbled down. His face was flushed because of the fever, but it also had to do with his aggravation. He had followed the instructions of all the books about how to get rid of a friggin cold, but they hadn’t done anything for him. He was still sick!

“How am I supposed to protect Decimo from all those bastards if I’m stuck home because of a damn cold?” Gokudera yelled at the ceiling and was about to punch the wall again, when he remembered Bianchi’s chilling voice whispering how if he didn’t rest, she was going to force-feed him a new recipe of hers.

Almost against his will, his arms wrapped themselves around his shoulders as he shuddered. Just even the haunting memory of her made him feel sick to the stomach, quite literally. If it wasn’t for his blasted sister, he would be out with Decimo, cold or no cold!

A sudden burst of coughs attacked him, reminding him that the cold was no pushover and wasn’t going to deal with his insults. Gokudera shivered, but refused to put on his shirt. He had to make the fever go down somehow and since Bianchi had forbidden him from taking an ice bath, he was stuck with being shirtless.

“Stupid... cough... cold,” he grumbled angrily and felt his fingers twitch, wanting to light a cigarette. It had become a habit of his and the sudden ceasing of it was starting to make him fidgety. Once again, he mentally cursed Bianchi and her power over him. Gokudera rubbed his forehead when he started to feel dizzy.

Bed.

He needed to go to bed.

Gokudera turned around and blinked profusely when he realized that he now had three beds. He scowled darkly when he saw spots of black in his vision.

“Shit.” He croaked before falling onto the ground, darkness enveloping him.

---

The moment consciousness gripped him, Gokudera became well aware of how sore his body was. All those injuries he received when fighting the enemy mafia family had nothing on what a cold could do to one’s body. Something cool pressed against his head and he heard a gentle whisper.

“Good, his fever’s going down,” when the hand disappeared, Gokudera almost called out in protest when he remembered that he was still ‘unconscious’ to this person. “Ooh, this baka. I just knew he was going to be in trouble if he was alone! He should just let his stupid pride go and ask for help when he needs it!”

What, this bi-!

“But Haru’s glad she was able to convince Bianchi-san into tell her where Gokudera-san lived. Who knows what would have happened if she hadn’t asked.”

...Haru?

“Ah, the porridge is done!” she chirped, unaware of how Gokudera had tensed up at the realization of just who his mysterious ‘savior’ was. When he heard the patter of her footsteps disappear, he allowed one eye to open. Sitting up, he remained motionless as the information began to process through his head.

SHIT!

How had that annoying woman found out where he lived? Gokudera mentally groaned, remembering how she had mentioned Bianchi. He really needed to find a way to become immune to Bianchi’s presence.

Anyways, what was Haru even doing here? She couldn’t be here just because she heard that he was sick! He was given no more time to dwell on it as he heard Haru’s footsteps reappearing. When the door knob turned, he immediately fell back on the bed and feigned sleep before mentally berating himself for doing so.

What was he so afraid of?

It was just the annoying woman! He could have revealed that he was awake and send her on her way! Why did he-?

“Gokudera-san has such a clean home,” Haru appraised, noticing how not a speck of dirt seemed to be in place anywhere. “But... it seems really lonely here...”

He unconsciously tensed up even more. What did she mean by that?

Haru sat before Gokudera’s bed, feeling a bit silly that she was talking to someone unconscious, but talking, even if it was about nothing, always had the strange ability of calming her nerves. “At Haru’s house, there are so many pictures of Haru. There are even some from when she was just a baby!”

Gokudera clenched his hands into fists, thankful that his hands were under the blanket. What was this woman rambling about now? He didn’t want to hear what she had in her house!

“I wonder... does Gokudera-san not want to remember about home?” Haru mused softly, looking at the bookcase crammed with books. At her father’s office, he kept at least a few pictures within his bookcase, even if it meant that some of the books would have to be stashed somewhere else. “Haru doesn’t really know since she’s sure Gokudera-san hasn’t told anyone, but... she wonders if something happened at home.”

He almost snapped that it was none of her business, but that meant he would reveal that he was awake. So instead, Gokudera gritted his teeth and tried to ignore the stupid woman’s ramblings. She was right. He didn’t want to remember and her talking was only making him remember unwanted memories!

“Haru knows that it’s none of her business, but it makes her sad... because even if Gokudera-san doesn’t think so, Haru thinks of him as her friend and... and friends shouldn’t leave other friends alone when they’re hurting.” Haru mumbled to herself, daring herself to glance at his face. She allowed herself a small amused smile when she saw how tensed his face was. “Haha, even in his sleep, Gokudera-san is always on guard.”

Gokudera, for once, felt his mind silent.

She thought of him as a friend? Even though they fought and argued all the time, even though he insulted her all the time, she still thought of him as a friend? Sure she argued back and insulted him too, but after all that, she’d still come up to him with a smile even though he’d scowl angrily at her.

Not to mention, she actually came to his home even though she knew he would have brusquely ordered her to leave. If their roles had been reversed, he knew he would have just dropped her without a bat of an eye, albeit now that he actually thought about it, he knew he would have felt a little guilt...

Wait, what?

Guilty?

Why would he have felt guilty?

He wasn’t this woman’s friend! Even if she thought of him as a friend, he wouldn’t regard her as his friend! His loyalty was only with the Decimo. The Decimo was the only person he needed to care about, not this silly woman.

“But I hope...”

Gokudera’s thoughts stopped when he heard her wistfully speaking.

“I hope that someday Gokudera-san will smile and relax around me just as I am around him.” Haru said with a serene smile.

What?

“Haha, what am I saying?” Haru said, feeling her face flushed. “Stupid Haru! No saying weird stuff to people, especially when they’re unconscious!”

She felt safe with him?

“Uh... oh... look at the time!” Haru squeaked, abruptly standing from the chair. She released another squeak when the chair noisily tipped over. Latching onto it, she glanced at Gokudera to see if the noise had disturbed him and sighed in relief when she saw he hadn’t moved. “H-Haru will be going now Gokudera-san. Please eat the porridge and feel better. She hopes to see you tomorrow!”

He vaguely heard her running around the room, trying to gather her belongings before rushing out of the door.

She felt safe with him?

Him? The rowdy boy who’d glare at anything that dared to come near the Decimo? The guy who’d blow up a human being in a heart-beat if he was pissed off?

Gokudera opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling.

He couldn’t get the thought out of his mind. That damn woman actually felt safe around him when he hadn’t done anything to earn those feelings from her? She felt safe with him, even though the weapon he wielded had a high chance of backfiring on him if he wielded it incorrectly?

Growling, he tossed the blankets off of him and stormed off into the kitchen.

He’d eat that damn porridge she made, but only because she had gone through the trouble of helping him. And even though he hadn’t asked for it, the one thing Gokudera Hayato hated the most was being caught in someone’s debt.

“Stupid woman,” he grumbled.

---

(Next day)

“Achoo!” Haru sneezed before shivering, clutching onto her pink blanket. “Hahi... I can’t believe I’m sick! Sniff... this is all Gokudera-san’s fault! He gave me his cold!”

Okay, so it’s true that it’s not like Gokudera-san had sneezed on her or anything and just by being in the same room as him didn’t mean she’d get his cold, but that wasn’t the reason why she was blaming him. It was his fault because... because...

---

“Hahi! Gokudera-san!” Haru squeaked as the moment she opened the door to his bedroom, she saw him unconscious on the floor. She nearly stumbled while running towards him and quickly touched his shoulder only to retract her hand quickly. “Oh no, he’s burning up!”

She looked around frantically and saw his untouched his bed, but tons and tons of opened books on his desk. This baka! Did he spend the entire night trying to find remedies for his cold instead of sleeping?

“Gokudera-san needs to go to bed and fast!” Haru said grabbing his arm. Her face flushed as she became all too aware of how he wasn’t wearing a shirt. Biting her lip, she pulled his arm around her shoulder, the flush deepening as she saw how close they were. His chest was so built and... and... no, no, no, no, no, what was she thinking?

Be angry, Haru told herself. Be angry that he was being an idiot! Insult him, INSULT HIM!

“I should have known Gokudera-san would be all muscle...” she mumbled and then almost dropped him when she realized what she just said. “I-I-I mean, Gokudera-san must lose weight! He’s too heavy for Haru to c-c-carry!”

---

“I-If that baka hadn’t been unconscious on the floor, Haru wouldn’t have had to pick him up a-and she wouldn’t be sick right now.” Haru tightened the grip on the blanket, pulling it closer around her. “Yeah, it’s that baka’s fault!”

“Who’s the baka?” a familiar deep, tenured voice growled.

Haru squeaked and almost tumbled off her bed, but a hand steadied her. She looked up and her eyes widened at the sight of the emerald eyes. “G-Gokudera-san?”

Gokudera felt her eyes on him and he looked away, trying to force away the blush that threatened to appear. Damn it, he had more self-control than this. “Don’t think I’m here to thank you for yesterday. Decimo is stuck at school and wasn’t able to come visit you so he sent me to make sure you were alright.”

“O-Oh,” she should be disappointed that Tsuna-san wasn’t here, but her heart was still beating quickly to allow her to feel down. Gokudera-san being so close to her only reminded her of what had happened yesterday. She blushed, unable to stand looking at his face anymore, and trailed her gaze down. She squeaked when she realized that she was looking at his chest and so, slapped her hands over her eyes.

“O-Oi, what are you doing?” Gokudera demanded.

“N-Nothing, it’s nothing!” Haru squeaked. “H-How did Gokudera-san know that it was H-Haru that came to visit you yesterday?”

“Fool,” he grumbled, finally releasing her and sitting down on a nearby chair. “Bianchi can’t cook anything edible and she told me that you came to my house.”

“O-Oh,” Haru mumbled before bowing as low as she could while sitting on the bed. “I’m sorry for intruding into your house and using your stuff without asking you!”

“Stop apologizing you stupid woman!” Gokudera snapped.

“Hahi, don’t call Haru stupid!” Haru yelled back.

“Then stop doing stupid things!”

“Ooh, baka Gokudera-san!” Haru threw the pillow at him before freezing, immediately covering her mouth as coughs racked her body. Gokudera caught the pillow and ran up to her in concern.

“Are you alright?” he asked before he could stop himself. What the hell? Why was he asking if this stupid woman was alright? He was only here because Decimo asked him. It wasn’t because of what happened yesterday. That definitely wasn’t the reason why!

“H-Haru’s fine,” Haru managed to say. “C-Can you call H-Haru’s Okaasan for her?”

“Your mother just went out to get something at the grocery,” he said with a frown.

“Oh, I see,” she said, breathing deeply to sigh in relief when the coughs finally desisted. “W-Well, thank you for coming over Gokudera-san. C-Can you tell Tsuna-san I said thank you?”

“Where are you going?” Gokudera asked when he saw her crawling off the bed.

“Haru needs to eat something if she wants this cold to go away,” she explained and was getting ready to head out the door when a hand stopped her. “G-Gokudera-san?”

“You’re in no condition to be moving around.” He growled. “Get back in bed.”

“B-B-B-!”

“Get back in bed,” he ordered his time, narrowing his eyes in an attempt to intimidate her. Haru glared back at him, but reluctantly got back into bed when he turned her around and led her back. “...and if you tell anyone about this, I’ll make sure you regret it.”

“Hahi?” she looked at him, confused.

“The kitchen is downstairs, right?” he asked, dropping his backpack next to her desk, tossing his school jacket while he was at it. Haru blinked at him, unsure of what to say other than to nod. “Okay, I’ll be back soon.”

“W-Wait, Gokudera-san, what are you doing?” Haru asked in a panic.

“...I’m just fulfilling a debt, that’s all, so don’t think anything weird out of this!” he yelled briefly before rushing out the door, unable to handle the redness spreading through his cheeks.

That stupid, stupid woman!

He wasn’t doing this because he cared about her!

It wasn’t anything like that!

Really...

But even though he continued to utter those words in his head, a smile lingered on his face as he prepped the kitchen ready to make her the rice porridge.

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::owari::

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AN: Uhh, I have no idea if Gokudera calls Bianchi neesan or not so I just made him call her Bianchi. If anyone knows what he calls her, tell me please and I'll change it! (07-16-09: Changed it! Thank you dragonlayer!) Also, my formatting has changed a bit. I'm stuck between the one I used for this chapter or the one I used in the previous chapter. This chapter has labeling and stuff, like AN and the chapter title before the chapter starts, while the previous one doesn't.

This chapter occurs before TYL and before Mukuro appears and is kinda like the turning point of Gokudera's affection towards Haru, basically from viewing her as a stranger he didn't really care much about to someone he acknowledges and considers as sort of a friend... maybe even more. I dunno, despite how emotional Gokudera appears to be, to me, it seem as though that's one of the hardest shells to crack. Because he appears so emotion at times, it's hard to tell if he's really hiding what he feels... like, does he really trust anyone else besides Tsuna? Does he regard anyone else as a friend or comrade?

Anyways, I know something like this most likely never happened or anything, but I guess this is one of the joys of fanfictions! XD

Review Please!!!