I-Pin/Lambo drabbles
Lambo/I-Pin Drabbles
Taken from 15 Photos
1. A day at the Beach
It was a rare day off for I-Pin. Summer vacation from school, the Ramen shop was closed for the day, and even Kawahira-jisan was on vacation. Her studying was done and there were no pressing matters she had to attend to immediately. So what better way to spend a day like this, than at the beach. It would be nice to relax in the sun for a day.
Seeing as it was the middle of summer, I-Pin wasn't surprised to find the beach crowded. Perhaps a bit disappointed, but it could be worked around. It didn't take her long to find a spot to set up her towel, and strip down to her bathing suit. The two piece was a tad more revealing than she would have bought herself, but Haru-neesan assured her that it brought out all her good assets, whatever that meant.
After making sure to put plenty of sunblock on, she stretched out across the towel and let her eyes drift shut. It really did feel great to just get away and relax for a day. No studying, no worrying about whether Kawahira-jisan's noodles would get soggy, just peace and quiet to herself. If she was lucky she wouldn't suddenly get sent back ten years. That was the only thing that could go wrong.
"I-Pin-chan, what an unexpected and pleasant surprise."
Well there was that too.
She opened one eye and glanced up to see cow print swim trunks. "Lambo-san?"
He closed one eye, mirroring her and smiled flirtatiously. "It's nice to see you out and not surrounded by a pile of books."
"Studying is very important." It was an automatic response, the one she usually gave him when he tried to pull her away from said studies. She might go more often, if he wasn't always trying to drag her out on group dates.
"Still, it's good to know that you know how to take a break. That looks nice on you by the way, the swim suit. It... suits you very well."
I-Pin could feel her face heat up at the implication of him staring at her exposed body. She knew this swimsuit was a bad idea. She sat up quickly, so as to hide as much of herself as possible, and barely kept herself from wrapping the towel around her. Lambo-san was giving her a knowing smile.
"Th-thanks... Haru-neesan helped me pick it out. I'm not too sure about it."
"It looks great on you." He ran a hand lazily through his hair and tilted his head to regard her. She was staring at the sand as if trying to count the individual grains.
"There's a frozen ice stand a little ways down the beach. Would you care to join me for one?"
I-Pin peeked up at him cautiously. She knew she should say no. But he was still giving her that warm, inviting smile. And she did find it difficult to resist that smile, even if she wouldn't admit it out loud.
"That sounds... good."
Lambo offered his hand which she took, also against her better judgement. If her balance had been any worse, when he helped her up she would have stumbled into him, but years of training kept her from doing so. It didn't stop her heart from racing though. I-Pin tried not to think about it as they walked along the beach. Of course that only made her think about it more. It was like Teacher always said. 'When you don't want to think about something is when you think about it most.' Lambo-san was often the subject of this.
They were nearly at the frozen ice stand when I-Pin's world came crashing down. They'd been walking in silence, until it was quite shrilly shattered.
"Laaaambo-kun~ There you are! Asuka-chan and I were wondering where you'd gotten off to."
Two girls, in bikini's more revealing than I-Pin's came running up. One of the girls had taken Lambo by the arm, smiling brightly. The other stopped short of them, and tossed her hair over her shoulder dramatically. The girl glanced briefly at I-Pin then turned her attention back on the cow.
"We were waiting to get some frozen ice with you. Who's this?" She, Asuka, threw the question out there like it was an afterthought. I-Pin twitched. She could knock the girl on her fanny faster than she could blink, but that wasn't right. She must remain calm.
Lambo cast her a sheepish smile. "Girls, this is an old friend of mine, I-Pin-chan. I-Pin-chan, this is Asuka-chan and Kirimi-chan.
'Old friend'. The words stung, but she bowed and offered her greetings to the girls all the same. This wasn't new. It was the kind of thing she'd come to expect around Lambo-san, no reason today should be any different.
"Oh wow, is she Chinese?" Kirimi studied her as if she might be some new species. I-Pin focused on her breathing.
"Awww, look how cute she is! She even knows our customs." Asuka chuckled darkly, and even if that stupid cow missed the tone, I-Pin hadn't. This girl was picking a fight. However I-Pin didn't fight anymore.
"I've been in Japan since I was five-years old Asuka-san."
Lambo threw an arm around her shoulders, causing her to tense up. Breathe in, breathe out. "I-Pin-chan and I grew up here together."
Asuka's eyes narrowed briefly before she replaced it with a bright smile. "Wow, who'd've thought. Hey, Lambo-kun, I really like your swim trunks. Cow print is definitely back in style this year."
Asuka continued talking, but I-Pin tuned her out. It was always about girls with Lambo-san, and I-Pin had learned that most girls didn't seem to like her, no matter how she tried to get along with them. They walked the rest of the way to the snack bar with the girls chattering endlessly at Lambo while I-Pin stayed silent.
"...should totally get a picture together." She caught the tail end of Kirimi's sentence and blinked over in their direction.
"We should." Asuka agreed. "Hey I-Pin-chan, do you think you could take our picture with Lambo-kun?" She gave her the most sweet face smile I-Pin had ever seen, and held out her cell phone.
"S-sure..."
She took the phone and studied it to figure out how to work it. The two girls plastered themselves to Lambo's side, and he put an arm around each of their waists. He closed one eye as I-Pin raised the camera to get them in the shot. He must have noticed the look on her face though, because before she could actually snap the picture, he pulled away.
"I-Pin-chan should be in the picture too." He came and took the phone from her, pressing hand onto her back to push her forward towards the girls. She tried to protest, but he just waved her off and found someone else to take the picture of them.
Once it was over, he went about sending it to all of their phones. In the photo, the two girls were in the same position they'd originally been in, their arms wrapped around each one of Lambos. I-Pin was kneeling in front of him, and he had his hands resting on her shoulders. He and Kirimi were the only ones smiling genuinely. Asuka wore a strained smile, and I-Pin an unsure one.
Not long after that, having listened to the girls chatter incessantly, I-Pin would have found a reason to excuse herself. "I should probably get back to studying. I know it's still vacation, but I have a large Japanese test not long after the term starts."
Lambo's mouth turned down slightlly. "Are you sure?"
She tried to smile reassuringly at him. "I had fun today though!"
"Do you want me to walk you home?"
"I think I'll be okay, there hasn't been anything dangerous lately, and I can handle anything that might come along."
He studied her for a long moment before nodding. "Okay. Good luck with your studies."
She ignored the feeling of her heart sinking a little. "Thank you Lambo-san." She bowed, "It was nice meeting you two. Bye!"
Breathe in, breathe out. She'd left a little faster than she'd intended, and she was sure Lambo-san had noticed. He was more observant than he appeared.
The rest of the night for I-Pin was filled with books and notes on the finer details of Japanese literature.
3. A Family Gathering
I-Pin was a bit nervous. She wasn't much of one for crowds or gatherings. She usually ate alone at school, and most of her friends were far older than her. But the Vongola were having a little get together, which normally wouldn't be a problem considering most of the Vongola consisted of those friends. She'd just rather stay home, and was planning on letting Kyoko-neesan know that she wouldn't be able to attend. Then Lambo-san had to go and ask her to accompany him.
She'd been inclined to say no. The last thing she wanted was to sit and watch him flirt with every girl who came is direction. There were likely to be Italian girls there as well. I-Pin unfortunately knew that Lambo had a particular weakness for Italian girls. She should have said no, instead she hesitantly agreed. Perhaps she could find Chrome-san, and talk with her about the places she'd traveled to recently.
It didn't help that Haru-neesan had taken her out dress shopping for the event. 'Mafia gatherings,' she had told her, 'have a specific dress code. Somewhere between formal, and drop dead gorgeous!' So I-Pin was dressed in a form-fitting, knee length, low cut dress that brought out the curves she was starting to grow into. She would have preferred something in a more Chinese style, but Haru insisted that Western was a must. Her hair was in it's usual braids, that were piled atop her head in two buns.
She was pacing the floor in front of the door to her small dorm waiting for him to show up. Knowing him he'd probably be late. He was just as lazy as he'd always been, he just hid it behind being suave. Likely he'd be sleeping up until the moment he had to leave, then he would just roll out of bed, looking the way he did, and come pick her up. It was almost ridiculous to think about, when I-Pin remembered what a monstrous child he had been.
There was a knocking on the door. Somehow even his knocking managed to sound lazy. She pulled the door open and sighed. His suit jacket was unbuttoned, and his cow print shirt was half unbuttoned. He didn't wear a tie. She was pretty sure Lambo didn't believe in ties. His hair was just as messy as always, and she was still pretty sure he'd rolled right out of bed.
"Ready to go Mon Cherie."
She nodded and he led her out to the car that was going to drive them. The car ride was mostly silent. He attempted to bestow compliments and she deflected them with easy banter. He continued to try and speak French, even though she informed him she didn't know a single word of the language except the word 'yes'. If she was going to learn another language it was going to be Italian, not French.
The location of the party was extravagant. I-Pin hadn't ever been in such a building before and she kept looking around at the decor and grand architecture wonderously. She missed Lambo watching her. The ballroom, the main room of the party was the grandest yet. By itself it was probably the size of one of I-Pin's school buildings. There were tables with all kinds of fancy food linign the walls, an orchestra played in one corner, and the people were well dressed and scattered about. Some were dancing, some where conversing, and some were wall flowering. Haur-neesan had not lied about the fashion.
It didn't take the Vongola Decimo long to find and greet them, which a huge grin on his face. "Hey Lambo, I-Pin. Glad you guys could make it!"
"Sawada-san!" I-Pin dipped her head. Despite being the most influential mafia boss, Sawada-san, was still Sawada-san. "Thank you for inviting me."
"Yeah, of course! Hey, you guys have a good time, I have to go talk to Signor Petrelli a moment. I'll come find you later though." He waved and hurried off.
"He's really busy, isn't he?" Lambo commented, watching his boss run off.
"Well he has to be. Being the head of the Vongola." I-Pin smacked him lightly in the shoulder, he rubbed at the spot all the same. "Shouldn't you be more busy, being a Vongola guardian?"
"Hey, hey now. I have plenty to do as the Vongola Lightning Guardian. I'm still young though after all."
She was giving him a teasing smile now. "Uh-huh, sure."
"I do! Tsuna-nii asks me to do things all the time!"
"I'll bet."
"Do you want me to prove it to you? I can do that!"
"No, no Lambo-san, I believe you."
"No, I'll prove it!"
I-Pin grabbed his arm before he could march off and find Reborn or something and ruin the party. "Prove it some other time then. Look, there's Gokudera-san and Yamamoto-san, we should go say hi."
She watched Lambo's expression slack again as he eyed the two older guardians. He shook his head closing one eye. "No. Would you care to dance with me instead?"
"I..." She blushed and shook her head vehemantly. "I can't dance! It was never a part of my training."
"Nonsense." He smiled and took her by the hand to lead her out onto the floor.
It was by some miracle that she managed not to step on his feet, the entire time. She'd only done so once, and noticed him wince, but he didn't say anything about it. Afterwards Haru and Kyoko had found her and dragged her away for girl time with Chrome where Haru proceeded to talk about boys and when Tsuna and Kyoyo were going to get it together already, and look at she and Hayato two years and going strong. She also tried to pin Chrome and Hibari together which made the Mist Guardian turn bright red and stutter to explain that nothing was going on between them. I-Pin was enjoying all the talk until Haru-neesan suddenly turned on her.
"And what about you and Lambo-kun, have you two finally hooked up. I see he brought you here."
"Whaaat!? Lambo-san and I...? No, uh-uh." she held up her hands defensively. "He's got plenty of other things to do. We're just... childhood rivals."
"Don't say that." Kyoko-neesan smiled reassuringly, "I've seen the way he looks at you sometimes. You've definitely got a chance."
"Don't let yourself be put down because of him." Chrome added with a small, knowing smile.
"There's really nothing going on between us."
Haru-neesan was giving her that look that told I-Pin she was about to go and set something up herself, because obviously these people were incapable of it. Luckily for the younger girl, she was interrupted by Yamamoto coming to tell them they were taking a Family picture.
Everyone was gathered around, family, extended family, and allies. Tsuna and his guardians were in the picture as well as Kyoko and Haru. The boss had an arm around Kyoko's shoulders, and his right-hand man was being clung to by Haru and looking aproppriately grumpy about it. Even Sasagawa-san's fiance was standing next to her best friend, smiling at the camera. The Photographer started counting from three getting ready to snap the picture, when Tsuna stopped him.
"Wait, not everyone's in here yet. I-Pin, c'mon."
"Huh, me!? But I'm not... Isn't this family?"
Sawada-san grinned at her. "Well yeah. You're family right? I-Pin's family, right guys?"
There was a chorus of agreement, some more loudly than others and I-Pin hesitantly stepped forward. She wasn't quite sure where to place herself however. All of the other girls in the photo with the exception of Chrome were involved with one of guardians in some way. She was trying to figure out where her placing would be best, when Lambo-san reached out and took her by the elbow, pulling her into his side. She was about to protest when the photographer started counting down again, and instead plastered a shy smile on her face.
Once finished Tsuna announced that everyone would be getting copies of this as soon as it was ready. The party continued and I-Pin found herself seperated from her not!date once again. It seemed he'd been distracted by someone of the female persuasion this time and she stalked over to the tables for some food. It really didn't come as a surprise. What did come as a surprise was when the girl whispered something into his ear, and instead of nodding and leading her out of the room he pulled away and pointed in I-Pin's direction. She dropped her glass of juice, but caught it before it spilled.
A few moments later he was approaching, one eye closed. "I'm ready to leave this place whenever you are. The adults are getting to the boring stuff."
She glanced around. Sure enough, Sawada-san could be found with Gokudera and Yamamoto taking seriously with an older gentlemen. It was time for business now, and I-Pin had little to do with actual Vongola business. Leaving sounded like a good idea. She had work in the morning anyway.
"I think that would be a good idea."
He'd led her out, one hand on the small of her back. The dress was as low backed as it was low-necked and she felt goosebumps across her skin. The car ride home was filled with Lambo talking about this and that. It seemed as if he'd had a bit more than juice to drink tonight. Thankfully he hadn't mentioned any of the pretty women he had talked to.
He dropped her off at her apartment with a dramatic farewell and a kiss to the back of her hand, making her blush. She told him to not be so ridiculous and he laughed and waved. When she had the door shut behind her she sank against it feeling her heart pound. Sometimes she really hated that dumb cow.