Rejection Can Heal in Time

A small one shot which revolves around Yamamoto confessing to a girl that he has fallen head over heels for, but is rejected. Tsuna finds out and is there to remind Yamamoto that everything is going to be okay even if there is a lot of pain. This story is not yaoi, but warnings are that everyone may be out of character (especially Yamamoto). Also, I'm saying this at the beginning and the end: I'm am sorry if I made Gokudera and Reborn look mean, it was not my intention!

I do not any of Katekyo Hitman Reborn, if I did it would still be going on right now. TT-TT. Hope you enjoy!

Watching his hands tremble continuously, Takeshi couldn't help but force a smile onto his face. Nervousness flickered throughout Takeshi's body and he couldn't help the uncertain question of what should be done. Letting out a sigh, the nervous baseball player closed his eyes and clenched his fists. He had yet to move from his classroom seat even though the bell had rang fifteen minutes ago. Murmurs were whispered throughout the classroom- wondering what was wrong with their favorite baseball star, but Takeshi heard nothing as butterflies continuously fluttered within his stomach.

Takeshi seemed to be completely asleep to the whole world until one voice seemed to wake him back up to reality, "Y-Yamamoto?" Dull brown eyes flashed and met honey, brown eyes. Yamamoto attempted flashing a bright smile towards his best friend, but only a weakly dulled grimace came out. Tsuna frowned softly as he tilted his head carefully towards his best friend, behind the brunette Gokudera sat a little ways away eyeing the pair wearily (only sitting away after promising the Tenth). "What's wrong? You seem…down…?" Tsuna winced as he did not want to sound so unsure of himself, but he wasn't sure if Yamamoto was really sad- just more like dazed so to speak.

Smiling lightly, Yamamoto gave a shake of his head, "Sorry Tsuna; I'm just…worried is all." Tsuna raised his eyebrow but his rain guardian continued without letting Tsuna speak, "And I thought I told you to call me Takeshi, in which case you had started calling me Takeshi. Neh, Tsuna?" Tsuna flushed lightly in embarrassment at the reminder. It hadn't just been his rain guardian, but all of his guardians who practically begged him to start calling them by their first name. It hadn't been a big deal until they entered high school, as a certain realization of how close they were seemed to dawn on them- it became fairly obvious after going back and forth to their school in Japan and work in Italy 24/7. The only thing that held down their sanity was being together, and the fact that Tsuna was still promptly embarrassed to call them by their first names so to speak was a bit much- and as Reborn says 'That's Dame-Tsuna for you.'

Tsuna sighed as he sent a small glare at the still-sullen looking raven and muttered softly, "Yeah, but it's still embarrassing." Takeshi gave a shake of his head before Tsuna frowned, "Anyways, what's the matter? Is something wrong with Yamamoto-san?"

Instantly, Takeshi shook his head and waved his hands in front of him, "No, no, nothing like that. I um, well, I have something, I'm uh, well…" He trailed off, only making Tsuna worry more. "Can I talk to you somewhere else more private?" Tsuna blinked and looked around realizing they were earning a lot of stares before nodding to tell Takeshi it was fine. Quickly standing up, Takeshi grabbed Tsuna's hand and began pulling him out of the room. Giving Hayato a small sign to stay put, Tsuna worriedly followed his friend down the hall, passing quite a few curious stares, making a left and a right-a-way right turn into a small janitor's closet. Normally, Tsuna would be wondering why Takeshi knew where this was at but briefly pushed it aside- especially considering all the hide-outs Reborn usually makes (though it was frightening how much his guardians were beginning to learn from his crazy, sadistic tutor).

"So…" Tsuna trailed off as he watched his rain guardian shut the door and turn on a small light with panic attributed to his every movement.

Tsuna jumped lightly as Takeshi spun to face him with the most serious eyes he had seen in a while. Though nervous, Tsuna waited patiently as Takeshi seemed to collect his thoughts and put them into careful words, "I…Well, I don't really know where to start, but um… Tsuna, do you remember Konami?" Tsuna blinked at the sudden outburst, but nodded nonetheless remembering the petite girl with long, blonde hair and beautiful auburn eyes.

Suddenly one plus one became two as Tsuna's eyes widened, "Takeshi…"

"I really like her Tsuna. I…I…I think I'm going to confess to her today." Tsuna felt his mouth agape as he stared at Takeshi; the man he believed to have all the confidence in the world, looking more nervous than Tsuna had when confessing to Kyoko at the beginning of high school (and he had definitely been a wreck). He watched as the man's eyes darted away from him and looked nervously around the janitor closet as his fingers fumbled with each other, making Tsuna wonder why on earth Takeshi was so nervous about confessing to the girl.

Taking Takeshi's hands in his own, Tsuna nodded and smiled, "Then you have to make sure to follow through. And more than anything, relax Takeshi. Panicking won't do you any good- I learned that the hard way remember? I'm sure you'll be fine, you're a wonderful person and I see no reason why she wouldn't want to go out with you. You're not only popular and athletic, but you are also intelligent, good-looking, and incredibly sincere in everything you do. Just be yourself Takeshi and relax."

Takeshi blinked at his beloved sky and couldn't help the smile that crawled onto his face. As nervous as he was, Takeshi knew that he could always count on Tsuna to help him through things. He was incredibly thankful, all things considering- he seemed to rely on him 24/7.

Smiling he let out a small 'un' before standing with a straighter back and scratching the back of his neck, "Ahaha you're right Tsuna. Sorry for panicking on you, I'm just nervous. But you're right, there's no reason to be nervous. Thanks Tsuna!"

Tsuna chuckled at his best friend's trademark grin, "It's no problem. Are you planning on going now?" Takeshi nodded his head signaling yes, making Tsuna smile and nod. Just as the baseball star turned to leave, Tsuna's voice sounded again, "Takeshi," said person looked back at Tsuna over his shoulder with the door in his hand, "No matter what happens, we're always here for you." Takeshi blinked before smiling brightly, "Yeah, I know. Thanks Tsuna."


Tsuna stretched out and let out a small yawn as Gokudera walked through the now empty classroom, "Juudaime, are you ready to go home?" Tsuna frowned as he nodded softly while staring at Yamamoto's empty seat wearily. Even though Takeshi had left at lunch, the baseball star hadn't returned and even missed class. As worried as Tsuna was, the brunette refused to go look for Takeshi. He was certain that Takeshi was fine especially since he hadn't felt any kicks from his hyper intuition yet. Still as time went by, Tsuna became more and more worried and now that school ended- he was beginning to get extremely worried.

"Gokuder- I mean Hayato," Tsuna sweat-dropped as Hayato practically burst into happiness at the use of his first name before Tsuna continued, "Do you think Yam- Takeshi is okay? I mean I want to think he is alright, but…" The young boss watched as Hayato turned to stare at Takeshi's seat and frown slightly. Tsuna had briefly explained the situation though not with all the details Takeshi had told him, all he had told Hayato was that Takeshi was dealing with a confession- quite frankly he wasn't sure how much should be told since it wasn't his secret.

A snort woke Tsuna out of his daze and made the brunette turn back over to face Hayato, "Don't worry Juudaime, I'm sure the idiot is fine. He's probably busy running around doing who knows what and for who knows what reason. No need to worry Juudaime." Tsuna nodded his head, but still felt uncertain as they began walking out the door (though not without stopping by Takeshi's desk to pick up the baseball player's bags and books; Tsuna was worried about his best friend's things being locked from within the classroom).

Soon enough both boys headed out the door, walking through the hallways before beginning to leave school grounds. Tsuna blinked noting that they were probably the only two besides Hibari who were still on school grounds, making him shiver. Better hurry before we're found by Hibari-san, that would be a painful experience. Deciding to voice out his thoughts, Tsuna told Hayato, "We should probably hurry before Hibari-san finds us." He watched as his right-hand man turned around and raised an eyebrow in amusement. In return, Tsuna tilted his head in confusement for a few minutes before realizing with a blush what Hayato wanted. "I-I mean K-K-K-… DO I HAVE TO SAY IT?" Hayato simply nodded, clearly amused. Tsuna grumbled before trying again, "I meant we should hurry before K-K-Kyoya finds us." Hayato chuckled at the slight pink which tumbled over Tsuna's face as Tsuna quietly sent Hayato small glares. Deciding to be childish, Tsuna turned away from Hayato with a pout as they passed under the gate when something suddenly caught Tsuna's eye. Instantly, Tsuna froze in place and paled hoping that wasn't who he thinks he's seeing. Hayato, noticing his boss's sudden actions, also stops and looks over to where Tsuna is staring at; eyes wide with surprise.

Tsuna quickly took off with a sprint back in the school ground ignoring Hayato's small mumbles of "Isn't that-?" The young mafia boss continued running back towards the side of the building and stopped just as he came up to the corner of the building, and suddenly Tsuna felt his heart drop into his stomach as his mouth quietly questioned, "Takeshi?"

The said boy looked up in surprise and blinked as he saw Tsuna. He quickly tried to plaster on a fake smile but failed as tears continued falling. A muffled cry escaped Takeshi's lips before he yelped, "Tsuna-!" Quickly moving forward, Tsuna dropped all of their materials onto the ground and wrapped his arms around Takeshi; pulling the boy in close to him. He felt Takeshi jerk in his arms before letting out all his muffled cries and tears into Tsuna's chest. Tsuna felt his heart break at the sight of his best friend as they fell onto their knees. An image of the petite girl named Konami ran through his head, and Tsuna could hardly believe such a sweet girl could reduce his best friend to such a state. Tsuna closed his eyes tightly before opening them and tightening his grip around his best friend.

Smiling sadly, Tsuna quietly asked, "Takeshi do you want to sleep over at my place or yours?" He felt Takeshi freeze for a moment before snuggling closer to Tsuna, hearing a muffled, "yours." Nodding, Tsuna pulled Takeshi into a standing position before pondering how he was going to walk while holding onto Takeshi like this. Before Tsuna could say anything, he heard a small explosion near the schools of the gate. Tsuna looked over in surprise to see Hayato battling with a furious Kyoya, and continued watching as Hayato lured the prefect away from the gates. Receiving Hayato's message and mentally thanking him inside his head, Tsuna carefully pushed his broken friend a couple inches apart to be able to talk while looking in the other boy's eyes, "Takeshi, we need to go right now. I'm afraid Kyoya is a bit peeved off at us staying this late." Carefully, Tsuna picked up his and Takeshi's stuff while still keeping an arm wound around Takeshi tightly. Tsuna smiled weakly at his best friend, "We'll have to walk to my house right now, but that doesn't mean you need to let go okay?" Watching his friend nod sullenly, Tsuna adjusted his arm to make Takeshi more comfortable as the boy clung closer to Tsuna before the two began making their way towards the Sawada residence.


The walk back to Tsuna's house seemed to last forever to the two boys and they couldn't be happier as they entered the house. Both boys had been completely silent the whole trek back, with the exception of sniffles occasionally coming from Takeshi. Though as they entered, Tsuna seemed to register the fact that Takeshi was still a bit of a mess at the present moment even if he had calmed down quite a bit compared to earlier. I'll have to find a way to sneak Takeshi past Mama and the kids without them noticing. Right now, Lambo and I-pin might manage to get on Takeshi's nerves in his present state. As for Mama, I don't think he wants that attention right now from her… Though past the door, Tsuna stopped Takeshi silently before peeking around the doorway. Seeing that everyone was busy, Tsuna looked back at his still silent friend who was waiting for Tsuna to give the signal to run. Tsuna gave a nod and the two burst up the stairs, surprising everyone. I'm sure Reborn knows what happened, I'll leave the excuses to him.

As they entered the room, Tsuna quietly set their stuff and Takeshi crashed onto Tsuna's bed. Smiling sadly, the future boss moved over to Takeshi and placed a hand on the other boy's back. Tsuna watched as Takeshi slowly sat up and tears began making their way past the other's eyes. Instantly Tsuna wrapped his arms around his best friend and held him tightly.

"It's okay Takeshi. You're okay now. Do you want to talk about what happen? I'll understand it if you don't though." He felt Takeshi nod yes into his shirt before sitting up with tears still running down his face. Though both boys were sitting, they promptly refused to remove their one hand which remained on each others' backs as a sign of comfort.

Slowly Takeshi began opening his mouth to explain what happened, Tsuna could see the quievering of the other boy's lips and could only smile sadly while listening to what had happened, "I-I,,Well, I honestly don't know where to start Tsuna."

A sniffle escaped Takeshi and Tsuna nodded lightly scooting closer to the other boy, the realization that this was the first time Takeshi had spoken after they found each other (besides when Takeshi had said his name) but pushed the realization away as he spoke quietly, "It's okay Takeshi, just relax and take your time. Why don't you start from what happened after you left the janitor's room." Takeshi opened his mouth to start again when a loud knock hit Tsuna's door. Already knowing who it was, Tsuna turned to Takeshi asking, "Is it alright if Reborn and H-H-Hayoto listen too? Reborn will be hard to get rid of and we owe H-Hayato for distracting Hibari-san." Takeshi nodded, but scooted closer to Tsuna out of embarrassement. Crying his heart out to Tsuna was one thing, after all they were best friends, but Reborn and Hayato were another thing altogether. He was still a man, and it was embarrassing to be caught crying. A man shouldn't cry, that's what he's always been taught. He watched as Tsuna looked to the door and quietly called out, "Come in."

Takeshi continued watching as both Reborn and Hayato made their way in while closing the door behind them and winced seeing the bruises and cuts which were marked all over Hayato- no doubt from Hibari.

Reborn nodded in Takeshi's direction and told him (more like ordered), "Go ahead and start your story now."

Takeshi nodded slowly and opened his mouth to begin explaining what happened, "W-well after I left Tsuna, I went to go see K-K-Ko-Ko…"

The baseball star trailed off weakly and Tsuna smiled sadly and quietly finished the girl's name, "Konami."

Takeshi gave a grateful nod thanks before continuing, "Y-yeah. Anyways, I went to see her and asked her if she would come with me to the rooftop. N-naturally, she agreed and we both made our way up there. Once up there, we stood and talked about how beautiful the sky was for a little while first." All three of the other occupants in the room sweat-dropped easily being able to see Takeshi doing that. "And then the words sort of slipped out of my mouth, 'You're beautiful too K-K-Konami." Tsuna smiled as Takeshi was able to say her name properly this time. "She seemed really stunned and stared at me shock, it was only then I registered what I had said. I felt like sort of an idiot, so I just chuckled nervously while scratching the back of my head. I had turned to her completely and tried explaining myself, 'Actually, K-K-Konami, I came up here to um well tell you that I really like you and think you're really beautiful. I-I was just wondering if you be my girlfriend please! And I made sure to bow for g-good measure too."

Suddenly a snort was heard and everyone turned their center of attention to Hayato, "You actually said please? Who does that?"

"Hayato." The said bomber turned nervously to Tsuna and nodded lightly at the look in his boss's eyes; knowing that Tsuna wasn't exactly happy whenever their first names were said so easily.

Turning lightly back to Takeshi, the baseball star got the hint and continued, "W-well afterwards, she kept looking at me s-stunned. And then when she finally s-snapped out of it, she t-told me, 'I-I'm sorry Y-Yamamoto-san. B-But I'm afraid, I-I'm just not interested in y-you that way. Y-You're so different f-from me, always so p-popular and s-smiling. I-I want a more d-down to earth guy… After that s-s-she left." Tsuna felt his rage boil slightly but remained silent so that Takeshi could finish. "I-I stayed up there for the r-rest of the school day. I-I tried going to b-baseball practice but just c-couldn't do it. That's why I was i-in the corner of the s-school where you f-found me." Takeshi choked as another sob formed and he began letting some more tears spill from his eyes.

Tsuna felt his eyes soften. He really liked her a lot. I always had a feeling, but I never realized how much…until today. "She really said she wanted a more down-to-earth guy?" Tsuna eyed Reborn at the question before looking back at Takeshi who nodded. Tsuna gritted his teeth at the nod, but just as he opened his mouth to say something he heard laughter burst in his room.

He looked at Hayato completely shocked at the uncontrollable laughter coming from his right-hand man, beside him Takeshi stiffened, "What does that even mean down-to-earth? Maybe she means you're too spacey baseball-idiot!" He continued laughing making Tsuna bristle slightly.

Reborn cut in as Hayato continued to laugh, "Sounds like a pretty dumb answer to me. Anyways stop crying Yamamoto. A man shouldn't cry and especially not for such a dumb reason, even more so being a mafioso."

Tsuna could feel Takeshi tense up beside him and mumbled a small, "Y-yeah, I guess."

However Tsuna was already pushed past his limits, "No, Takeshi don't listen to them. Hang on a minute." Takeshi watched as Tsuna stood up, silencing the laughter originating from Hayato and surprising Reborn. Grabbing Hayato by his collar, the Vongola boss opened his door and easily pushed Hayato out who let a yelp of surprise. Turning around and facing Reborn, the baby found himself freeze in surprise at how angry his student had become and briefly realized he probably shouldn't struggle- though he could handle Tsuna, he would rather not battle him at the moment. And so, Reborn was also grabbed by Tsuna and tossed outside while yelling at them, "I'm locking my door and window! YOU TWO STAY DOWNSTAIRS AND BEHAVE OR ELSE!" And the door was slammed on their faces, leaving them a little shocked and a little ashamed before heading downstairs.

However, they were not the only two surprised as Takeshi stared at Tsuna with just as much shock. Tsuna, on the other hand, made his way back to Takeshi and sat beside him. Placing a hand on Takeshi's hand, Tsuna took a deep breath and looked Takeshi straight in the eyes as he told him, "Yamamoto Takeshi, it is perfectly fine for ANYONE to cry in a situation like this, and don't you EVER let anyone else tell you otherwise, understand?" Takeshi nodded lightly and Tsuna softened his eyes slightly, "Good. They didn't mean to sound so mean either Takeshi; both of them are just as shocked as you and I are, the only difference is they have no clue how to handle the situation. But Takeshi, I'm going to lay it out straight for you, especially since I know how much you liked Konami." Takeshi wearily continued staring into Tsuna's eyes and nodded slowly, "I know that your like was on the border of loving her, Takeshi. And no matter how much you may try to deny it, she hurt you maybe not physically or mentally but she hurt you right here." Tsuna used the other hand which wasn't resting on Takeshi's hand to point carefully at Takeshi's heart. "She hurt your heart Takeshi, and I'm sorry to say but it's going to hurt for a long time." Takeshi looked down sullenly but Tsuna continued, "But Takeshi that doesn't mean your life is over; not even close." Takeshi lifted his head back up and met Tsuna's eyes again. "It's what you do after that counts. It's okay to cry Takeshi because that's how you release some of the pain from within your heart. I should know. Do you remember when I confessed to Kyoko at the beginning of high school?" Takeshi began to nod, when he froze and his eyes widened in realization. "I-I was hurt so bad when she rejected me. I think I cried for a couple weeks, maybe even a month since I'm such a crybaby. But that doesn't mean I sat and sulked in my room. The same day I was rejected by Kyoko, you came and found me Takeshi. And when you started comforting me I realized that, even though my chest constricted every time I thought of Kyoko and tears threated to burst at the sight of her, I could still move on… I could still move on with life even though it hurt so badly, I still had you guys with me even if she wasn't. I still feel my chest constrict whenever I think about her or see her, but I'm still able to continue forward and laugh Takeshi. And that's because of you, Hayato, Reborn, and everyone else. No matter what happens, we are a family Takeshi and no one is going to be left behind. When one of us hurt, so will the others (at least emotionally). That's why, Takeshi, it's okay to cry now and why it's okay to feel the pain and hurt which resonates from your heart. We'll always be here and hold you up until you're able to stand on your own two feet once again and properly walk beside us again." By now Takeshi, had completely burst into tears and was allowing his body to shudder with every sob. Smiling sadly, Tsuna rubbed the other boy's back, "It'll be okay Takeshi. It will take a long time, I can already tell you that from experience, but the pain will heal because every wound can heal no matter what kind it is."

Takeshi's sobs grew louder as he threw himself onto Tsuna and cried into his best friend's shoulder. In return, Tsuna wrapped his arms tightly around Takeshi and rubbed his back softly letting the other boy get it all out. Tsuna closed his eyes and continued holding onto the other boy, knowing that everything would be okay and Takeshi knew it just as much as he did. The two sat there for hours before Takeshi could even begin to settle down. They both laid in Tsuna's bed quietly as Takeshi continued clinging to Tsuna, though much more relaxed.

Tsuna could feel themselves silently falling asleep when he heard a small, "Tsuna…" Tsuna turned his head to look over at Takeshi in question, "thank you for always being here for me."

Tsuna felt his lips twitch upward as he silently told Takeshi, "Don't be such an idiot, Takeshi. There's no reason to thank me. I will always be here for you no matter what, just as you guys are constantly there for me. Don't ever hesitate to come to me when your feelings have too much of a lid on them."

Takeshi nodded lightly and smiled as he whispered back, "I won't hesitate. And Tsuna? Thank you for coming into my life to be my best friend and to be my brother who won't hesitate to giving me a shoulder to cry onto…"


OMAKE:

Tsuna stood before his couch glaring down at Reborn and Hayato (who had spent the night). It was early morning the next day and Takeshi was still fast asleep in Tsuna's room, so the brunette decided to take the chance to have a little chat with his "tutor" and "right-hand man" who he was still insanely upset with. "I understand that neither of you are really capable of dealing with these things, but you can't just come in with your half-sensed logic and start spouting random things! You two should know better honestly!" Nana walked into the room before heading to the kitchen and sweat-dropped at the scene before her. Tsuna stood in front of the couch with arms crossed and an impatient foot tapping up and down as Hayato sat looking very guilty with his puppy ears laid down across his head and his tail tucked under him and Reborn sat down actually gaping at his student who was lecturing him. Giggling she continued into the kitchen, mentioning something about how grown up her son looks. "Now, you two understood never to do that again right?" Both of them nodded. "Good then you guys are off the hook, for now." Hayato flinched at the drawn-out 'for now' part as Reborn simply smirked.

"Well well Dame-Tsuna, look at you grow a backbone." Tsuna looked at Reborn curiously with a small 'eh?' Suddenly, Tsuna seemed to completely pale as he realized just what he did to Reborn both last night and this morning. He gulped lightly and smiled uneasily at his tutor. "I'll let you go off this time since the two of us we're in the wrong. And we'll also make sure to apologize properly to Yamamoto when he wakes up. Now why don't you head back upstairs otherwise Yamamoto might worry if you aren't there when he wakes up." Tsuna nodded hastily and began hurrying back upstairs when he heard Reborn add, "Oh and I can't wait for training later Dame-Tsuna." Tsuna paled even more so at that and began screaming in his head, NOOOOOOOOO!

Sooo, I apologize if they were all super out of character but this is what I pictured happening. The only difference being that Takeshi would try to hide his hurt better, but since I made him like Konami so much I figured it would be a bigger reaction. Also for Hayato and Reborn, I hope that they didn't look mean (it wasn't my intention I promise!)- I just honestly see them handling these situations like this. Let's face it, they aren't used to dealing with break-ups (and I don't blame them with their looks and skills). Anyways I hope everyone enjoys please leave a comment of what you thought about it. Until next time!