He was late. That was the first thing wrong. He was late by ten minutes and fifty two seconds. The second was the fact for a dinner party, it was only three people (although right now two since a certain someone was late). It consisted of her, Timoteo, and what should have been his son.
His son which as of now was eleven minutes and twenty three seconds late.
The Vongola IX looked around, waiting for the boy to show. His eyes lingered on the girl sitting across and he offered a pleasant smile to which the response was the corner of her mouth twitching.
"He certainly likes to make an entrance for himself, hm?" he spoke, letting out a light hearted laugh. She nodded very slightly and the ninth again looked around, feeling slightly anxious. His eyes flickered to the clock. Twelve minutes and ten seconds. He chuckled, glancing at the meal that was surely growing cold. "He'll be here soon enough. I don't think he wants to be too rude."
The sound of the door opening made the ninth look to it and he smiled just a bit more. "Xanxus, it's nice of you to join us," he stated, looking back to the girl. Xanxus' eyes also looked to her but for different reasons; he didn't know her.
Her eyes were closed and her elbow was against the chair's arm while her fist propped her head up. He looked back to the ninth who made a motion to sit and, grudgingly, he did.
"Why don't you introduce yourself, dear?" Timoteo asked, smiling in a manner that was (to Xanxus) too good natured. She shifted a bit before opening her eyes, allowing her gaze to rest on Xanxus. He noted, instantly, they were a gray shade framed by heavy lashes.
"Carmela de Rosa. My father is part of the Vongola family," she stated in a quiet voice. He hated it almost instantly because it was feeble sounding.
"Xan-"
"Xanxus Vongola. I know."
His jaw clenched and he resisted the urge to break something simply because his father was in the room. Xanxus glared, willing 'prey' to be burned through the bangs sheltering her forehead. She was just another stupid candidate hoping to be boss. Probably. Certainly.
"You don't seem to remember, Carmela," the Ninth spoke, shaking his head like it was such a shame. "You two use to play together when you were children."
Xanxus narrowed his eyes just a bit more, looking to the Ninth in disbelief. He played with a girl? What type of joke was that? Especially one who had such a weak tone. He opened his mouth to comment only to be cut off by the girl talking.
"He use to tug my hair and push me down."
Xanxus smirked a bit at that, although the words did not trigger a memory of this brat. He continued to glare but she didn't seem phased.
"Ah yes, I remember that. I remember Xanxus almost broke your nose because you bit him so hard," the Ninth murmured. He wondered if maybe letting the two talk together was such a good idea. They didn't seem to be off to a good start. "It took two people to restrain you and three for Xanxus."
The smirk dropped as he remembered the incident.
"You're just a stupid girl!" he yelled, shoving the child down. She let out a soft squeak as she fell rough against the ground and Xanxus smirked like the brat he was. "You're so weak. Are you going to cry now?" he mocked, kicking her lightly in the shin. Her lip trembled but to his surprise, she shot to her feet and lunged at him, knocking him down.
"What the hell?" he cried as he scrambled to his feet, aiming to push her back. She again fell and he pointed, yelling out insults. She stood a bit more slowly and he readied himself for what was surely a fight. Carmela turned to leave. He grabbed her roughly by the shoulder. "You're so pathetic!"
She turned around and bit into his arm. Xanxus screamed, and slapped her head. She kept her teeth sunk in but finally let go. He stared at the blood on her lip and then looked her in the eyes. Cold and gray and hateful.
He kind of liked that look.
Anger bubbled and he curled his fingers into a tight fist, striking her in the face. She stumbled back and he smirked, confident she would turn around and cry. Instead she tackled him and slammed her own fist into his eye. Carmela was screaming at him and he struck out, catching her in the mouth.
Hands gripped him by the shoulders and he watched as a man grabbed her. She thrashed about like a caged animal and he made to go at her only to have an arm wrap around him. He jerked and broke free. Another arm grabbed him and soon he was being held back.
"Let me break her face!" he screamed and she screamed right back.
"Let me go! I want to make him cry!"
Another person grabbed her, restraining her. She was jerked up and they ensnared her legs. Xanxus was also lifted, someone gripping his arms and another person his legs. They were carried off in opposite directions.
His teeth grit as he looked at her. Carmela did not look like her seven year old self. Her hair had become much darker and she had grown older looking. Xanxus curled his hand into a fist, watching her with spite. He recalled that look she gave him.
Cold gray eyes hardened with hatred.
"It's been a bit since you've seen Carmela, hasn't it?" the Ninth mused, smiling in that all too good natured manner. Xanxus glared at the man.
"What are you trying to pull?" he bit, reaching out to grab the glass set in front of him.
"Why don't you ask Carmela?" the Ninth chuckled and Xanxus felt his anger boil further. He snapped his eyes over to the girl who straightened herself up.
"Well?"
To his annoyance, she smiled, although more in an amused way. She reached forward and grabbed her own glass, swishing the contents around. The brat was probably enjoying the annoyed expression staining his face.
"It's my birthday in a few days. I had one request," Carmela began, examining the glass. "I remember hearing a little street urchin had been discovered as the Ninth's son –" he clenched the glass tightly at such a name " – and I was very impressed. I wanted to meet him. And I did. Never once though did I witness the Vongola flame that you were supposedly capable of using. Even after our little tussle."
Xanxus smirked and stood up. Timoteo watched him cautiously, prepared in case he attempted to assault Carmela.
"Is that so? Do you want to see it, girl?" he spoke in a condescending tone, keeping the glass within his hand. She kept the insincere smile and nodded. Xanxus laughed hollowly and allowed his hand to be swallowed by the flame. The glass broke and he flung pieces out at her. Timoteo stood at that moment. Carmela laughed as well, and she pushed herself out of the seat, the shards hitting the wood.
"Very nice! You not only showed me the flame but tried to injure me as well! Very, very nice, Xanxus!" she laughed, clapping her hands together. The soft voice had been replaced with a much more confident one. His teeth grit however as she used his name like they were so very familiar and had not at some point attacked each other.
"I think you'll make a good Vongola boss," she stated, soft toned again but not feeble. More like thoughtful. His eyes narrowed a bit but he smirked. He would. Xanxus sat back down, crossing his legs and he watched as Carmela pushed the seat away and grabbed another, also sitting down. Timoteo followed the two and smiled.
He probably just did something he'd regret later.
"How old are you turning?" Xanxus inquired although she knew it wasn't to be friendly.
"Fourteen."
He did not expect that and Carmela could tell by the way his eyes widened just a bit and his lips parted just slightly. She looked more around his age than fourteen. She also did not behave very much like a fourteen year old. Weren't girls of that age suppose to be bubbly and stupid?
She was not acting bubbly and she did not seem stupid.
"Our dinner's getting quite cold. Why don't we eat?" Timoteo suggested, looking between the two. Maybe this was a bad idea introducing them in such a formal way. He stood a bit and grabbed a large spoon, smiling at the two. Carmela smiled back in a polite manner while Xanxus kept a bored expression, expecting to be served. The Ninth scooped up some pasta, setting it on Xanxus plate and followed shortly after with Carmela's and then his own.
"Let's enjoy dinner, then!" he laughed although his cheerful attitude did not seem to be shared by either of the two.
"So I'm pretty much a year older than you. Tch," Xanxus muttered, twirling the pasta around on a fork.
"That's right," Carmela responded, looking at the food carefully before starting to eat. She kept her eyes low while Xanxus would switch between looking at her (trying to make her uneasy) and also eating. The Ninth kept his eyes on both, wary of Xanxus' temper.
Dinner was surprisingly peaceful. There were no other assaults and to Timoteo's surprise, Xanxus kept his anger in relative check. He stood by his son, smiling at the girl who smiled, politely, back at the pair.
"Thank you for dinner," Carmela said, giving a small curtsy to be polite. The Ninth chuckled, patting her on the head.
"Do come visit on your birthday. I might have a present for the occasion," he stated, smiling warmly. His eyes flickered to Xanxus and he nudged the boy very lightly.
"Yeah. Nice seeing you I guess," he replied in disinterest, crossing his arms over his chest. He continued to glare and even a bit harder when that smile seemed to turn less-than-appealing. She stood on her tiptoes just a bit and put one hand on his arm, pressing a kiss to his cheek.
The best word to describe Xanxus at that moment was not disgusted but horrified. His dignity felt slapped because he knew there was a very faint red hue to his cheeks and he knew very well she did not mean it.
He pushed her away and Carmela smiled in that polite way again. "I missed your birthday. Please consider that my gift," she stated though both the Ninth and Xanxus knew quite well she was just making an excuse to make a tear at the boy's pride.
"It was nice meeting you both. I hope to come over on my actual birthday. Thank you again and bye," she said, again giving a curtsy. To her surprise, the Ninth pulled her into a hug, patting her on the back. Xanxus saw her tense.
"Such a sweet girl, Carmela. Xanxus will certainly pick out a good present for you," he stated, pulling away. Carmela nodded before turning.
"Bye Xanxus!"
His jaw clenched. Xanxus decided right there he most certainly did not like that girl and furthermore that brat.