In full bloom

Never say goodbye

Lal Mirch X Male!Reader

Goodbyes are never easy. So hold them tight, and say "I love you" instead.

Fate must have never been on your side considering how when you were transferred to the CEDEF from the main headquarters. You are strong, no doubts were made about that. The only doubt that was made, was how quickly can you lose your patience.

You were never a guy to sit still and give the enemy a chance to attack. Your rule in battles, is that the one who lands the first hit, will have to advantage over others. This motto of yours, did you good, but caused numerous of your teammates in HQ to get hurt, thus your transfer over to the special group of the Vongola.

In the CEDEF, you were once again, unfortunately placed under the control of the spartan-like female arcobaleno. Lal Mirch. She was quite literally, you were pretty sure, a she-devil. Her trainings were hell, her long "talks" A.K.A, shouting were hell, not to say living under the same roof as her was utter hell. On the first day there, she had already shouted at you for getting in her way, in which you retaliated and shouted back at her. That was a bad move as a new CEDEF member seeing as to how she was in a bad mood that day already. It ended up with her making you run errands all over the base within a time limit.

There was many times, you'd still remember. On small scale missions where both you and the female arcobaleno were sent to the frontlines of the battlefield, her being the only one able to cover all your weak spots. Short and middle range fighting was your speciality. Over a short span of time, you easily mastered majority if the short and middle range weapons but chose to stick to a foldable bo staff. That would mean that your only weakness, if it is even revealed, was long range attacks like guns. She herself, being trained in both close combat, as well as long range fighting could cover you perfectly, making the other members of your team quote the both of you as the perfect pair or partners from the end of the very first mission you were assigned.

There has been a few close calls, where you rushed out into the open field to attack and almost got snipped by the enemy, only to have the she-devil's fingers being faster and shooting first. Of course, you were always reprimanded for that after the missions.

Thanks to her saving your ass from troubles like that, you were looked upon fairly well by the higher ups, and deemed by them to have potential to grow even more. Each and every mission gained you little and little more attention and soon, even the main family had their eyes set on you joining their forces. Not only the main headquarters had their eyes on you again, but even the Vongola assassination squad was interested in you. Never in your life, were you given so many options. Your instructor, of course, insisted that you remain here to continue training since you were still "not ready" but you were confused. You were perfectly ready to be sent on real missions. Shrugging it off as her trying to keep you under her and not on equal ranks as her, you kept the question on why, and continued with her training.

As you keep ignoring that, you soon realize that your promotion was postponed for nearly about an entire year due to Lal holding you back. Unhappy about the her methods, you skipped on asking for her opinions and went ahead to headquarters to request for your promotional mission. When words reached the failed arcobaleno's ears, she was outraged, but said and did nothing to you.

The promotion test would be a high ranking mission. That, and you would be placed as the leader of the team. There should not be any casualties, and the mission must be completed. The conditions were simple. You knew you had what it takes to rank up. The other teammates said so too. Well, with the exception of Lal, of course. Three days before the promotional mission, you were called on by Lal for an emergency mission but as you were prepping, a transmission came in for you to stay in base. Glancing at Lal's enraged face, she narrowed her eyes and merely nodded in acknowledgement. Once the transmission was cut off, you could sense a slight wave of sadness coming from her. That, however, was covered by her glare thrown towards you. Turning away, she started yelling at the other innocent members to quicken their pace.

Staring at her back as she stormed out of the base angrily, you softened your eyes slightly and gave a small smile. Lal Mirch, wasn't as strong as you thought she was. Throwing a tantrum when things won't go her way, just like a kid. Just like you, when you were back in the main headquarters in a mission and you were repetitively told off for rushing out in the open. Thoughts of when you were faced with countless challenges back then filled your mind. Of how it was only you against the world. Then, ever so slowly, scenes of when you were fighting with the CEDEF took over. How much fun you had with your teammates, how much confidence was boosted from each mission, how Lal was always behind you, supporting you, saving you and protecting you. Looking down at your hands that you brought up, you sighed. Perhaps you were indeed not ready just yet to take the test. Perhaps Lal was right.

Early in the morning on the day of the mission, you sighed softly as you stood outside a plain white door. In your left hand was a beautiful bouquet of pink azalea flowers and your right hand lingered on the shiny sliver doorknob. She might be right, but you had no where to back to now that you've personally accepted the test. You should have trusted her more, but it was a little too late.

Just as you were about to turn the handle, her voice was heard. "If you're attempting to hide, you might as well come in instead." Chuckling awkwardly, you cautiously entered her room. Laying there on the pristine white sheets was your trainer. From what you could see, bandages covered her hands and neck. Gently placing down the bouquet of flowers on her bedside table, she took a side glance at it before looking out to the windows, pretending not to care. Taking a deep breath, you smiled at her.

"This will be the last time we see each other if I pass the test." Not a single reaction was drawn out of her.

Disappointment was written all over your face as you gave a bitter smile. "If there is nothing else then I guess... this is goodbye."

Turning your back to her seemed like the toughest thing to do in the world right now. A stinging pain in your eyes threatened to bring the salty tears out. To you, she was already more than a mentor. She was someone who took your side when no one did. You couldn't say it out, or you'd really have zero chance of seeing her again. You loved her. You realized far too late to be able to do anything. Reopening the door to exit it, you took another deep breath. Taking the final step out, you could faintly hear her murmur five words. "Don't die out there, idiot." Closing the door behind you, a crystal tear rolled down your cheek as you smiled once again.

"I won't. For you."

Azalea flowers - This flower holds a meaning of telling a loved one to take care of themselves for their partner and it symbolizes womanhood, so they are also asking the woman to stay beautiful.