Disclaimer: I do NOT own KHR. In fact, I don't own anything.

Written for Almost Home's Creative Freedom Song Challenge.

Song Title: Best Thing I Never Had

Artist: Beyonce

Seventeen and clumsy, Sawada Tsunayoshi awoke from his slumber. It had been the best sleep he had had in awhile. There had been few attempts on his life as of late, and Reborn had even been more lenient, too. School had finally ended for them all. He had a part-time job at the local grocery store. Life was almost normal again.

He went to the bathroom to freshen up. He knew he had to hurry. Just because he doesn't have school, doesn't mean that his house ceased to be full of commotion. He hurried, for Lambo would cry if didn't get to brush his teeth right after breakfast.

Said eight year old could be heard cheering from the first floor of their two-story home. It wasn't unheard of for Lambo to be this happy in the morning, but it peaked Tsuna's interest. He spat his toothpaste out before heading downstairs.

He headed toward the kitchen. The scents of omelets and bacon danced in his nose. His mom was always cooking for them, and the meal never failed to be delicious. He became excited, and figured that's why Lambo was cheering.

Tsuna was in a rather good mood now. He walked into the kitchen and sung, "Good morning, everyone!" Then his eyes met with Lambo's excitement. And his day went from good to bad in two seconds flat.

"Morning, son." Iemitsu called from behind a newspaper. The brunet's face turned sour, rather quickly. Not just because he was ever-so-thrilled to see his father, but because he didn't seem like his usual self. He wasn't clad in his usual goofy attire but rather in a suit. Tsuna immediately knew this was a bad sign.

"Good Morning, Tsunayoshi-dono!" Basil said, from next to his father. He, too, was in a suit.

"Basil?" Tsuna was slightly confused. "What are you doing here?"

Before Basil could answer, Tsuna's mother gestured him to sit. "Good morning, Tsu-kun! Are you hungry?" Without waiting for his reply, she threw a large omelet on his plate, some bacon, and a stack of pancakes. She quickly poured him a tall glass of orange juice before heading back to the stove.

Tsuna raised an eyebrow. His mother was acting suspiciously. He glanced to his father, who continued to act nonchalantly while reading the newspaper.

This bugged him. The last time he saw his dad, his voice was high-pitched. The last time he saw his dad, the man was determined to kill him. And even after all that, he left him behind. He walked out of his life, never to be seen again.

Naturally, Tsuna was okay with this. He hated his dad. Iemitsu Sawada made his mother cry for a week after that ordeal. He left them alone for a majority of Tsuna's life. He made very few visits. He kept his mother in the dark about his true work and gave her blatant lies.

If he was No-Good-Tsuna, then Iemitsu was, undeniably, a no-good father.

Tsuna snapped his fork in half. I-pin and Lambo quit their bickering to see what was wrong. "Whoops," he laughed nervously. He got up and grabbed himself a new one. What was wrong with him? He never let his anger get the best of him like this.

As he ate his omelet, he wondered allowed, "Where's Reborn?"

"He went on a walk," Lambo answered as he noisily finished his cereal. "Mama, I'm done eating now!"

"Okay, Lambo. Go get ready for school." Nana Sawada patted the small child before heading back to her cooking.

Tsuna quickly finished his meal, too. He dropped his plate in the sink. "Thanks for breakfast, mom." He smiled down on his mother.

She smiled back. Tsuna had grown so much taller in these last couple of years. "My Tsu-kun, you sure have grown!" She caressed his face. He had become such a handsome young man. She turned to her husband. "Right, Iemitsu?" Tsuna cringed at his father's name. His mother noticed this, but ignored it.

Iemitsu finally closed his newspaper. "Yeah he has! Last time I remember, he was a pipsqueak. Times sure do fly by."

Yeah, times fly by when you haven't seen someone in two and a half years, Tsuna thought. He faked a smile. He really wanted to get out of there. He decided to take his leave now. He was half way out the kitchen when horrible news fell upon his ears.

"I'm going to be in town for awhile." Iemitsu announced. "Do you guys mind if I take you all out for lunch today?"

Tsuna had to use all his will power to keep his jaw from dropping. Lunch? Really? He crossed his fingers praying that his mother would say no.

"Oh of course!" She smiled, clasping her hands together. "Tsu-kun, do you have work today?"

He turned around slowly, with a fake smile plastered to his face. "N-no, I'm not working today..."

"Then it's settled! The four of us will go out for lunch this afternoon. I'll make reservations at the best restaurant in town." He quickly pulled out his phone. "How many of us are there?"

Nana counted on her fingers. "Well, Lambo and I-pin can't come because they have school today. So that leaves four of us."

"What about Reborn?" Basil added.

"Oh yes, Reborn-kun! Then that would make five," Mama Sawada cheered. Iemitsu nodded before going back to his phone. Tsuna instantly knew that today was going to be a long, hard day.

One o'clock came a lot sooner than anticipated.

Tsuna was dreading this. He stood in the bathroom, playing with the collar of his shirt. He sighed. Why did he have to dress so nice just to go out to eat? Who is he trying to please, the waitress? He fiddled with his tie one more time before walking out of the bathroom. He was clad in a black suit, a light orange shirt, and a black tie.

He felt stiff. Whenever he and his mom went out, they ate cake outside the shop they served it in. He would pay for her, and she would smile happily. He could wear whatever he wanted. But here comes his dad, to upstage him by taking them to the nicest restaurant Namimori had to offer.

Once everyone was ready, they assembled at the front door. Tsuna looked at his mom. She seemed to happy with Iemitsu. He decided to behave, for her sake. He stepped into the limousine that awaited them outside.

His dad was supposed to be a construction worker. How did a construction worker afford these things? By lying his ass off to his wife and child, that's how, Tsuna thought. The brunet looked toward his mother, who seemed to be so engrossed in a conversation with her husband, that she didn't seem to notice.

The limo dropped them off in front of the restaurant. It was a quaint, elegant little bistro called, Piccolo e di Classe. Tsuna had taken enough Italian (one of the classes Reborn had forced him to, of course) to understand what that had meant: Small and Classy. How original.

They made their way inside the establishment. The walls were painted a deep shade of blue. The tables were dressed in black. The titled floor appeared to be emerald green. The room itself was heavily populated... with people on dates.

This just screamed awkward.

An usher led them to their seats. They were seated in a booth, by an obnoxious couple. The afternoon progressed slowly for Tsuna. Even with Reborn and Basil, he was uncomfortable. He didn't want his father to be there. As much as he tried to, he found it difficult to hide the fact that he didn't want to be around him.

"Did everyone enjoy their meal?" Iemitsu asked politely, while dabbing his face with a napkin. Everyone, besides the boss-to-be, cheered, thanking him. "Well, I have some news to share with you all." Tsuna was so busy swirling his finger around his glass that he seemed to miss what Iemitsu had to say. The older blond didn't take too kindly to this. "Tsuna, this is important for you especially."

"Hm?"

"I'm retiring."

"What?" Tsuna exclaimed, eyes widening. Basil's eyes were equally wide. "What do you mean you're retiring?"

"It's time that I passed on the baton, to Basil." Iemitsu looked over to the younger member of CEDEF. "And you, too, Tsuna need to join the family business."

Nana, who had been here the entire time, was confused. "What are you talking about dear?"

Tsuna was fear stricken. What was he to do? He didn't like lying to his mother. He looked to the Acrobaleno for support. It would seem that Reborn was speechless.

It didn't matter anyway. Iemitsu's next statement shocked them all. "Nana, it's time you heard the truth."

If it was possible, Tsuna's eyes grew wider. What did he just say? He's telling her the truth? After all these years, he's finally telling her everything. At a restaurant. Unbelievable.

He listened as Iemitsu told his mother everything. He clenched his fist under the table. His mother's face went from happy, to sad. He never wanted to see his mother so upset. He felt so sick inside. It was a lot that he has kept from her, that they had all kept from her.

"...And I came back today to finally tell you, Nana. I came back to also tell our son that the Vongola Nono is terminally ill. He's not coming out of this one. The doctors say he has one week left at best. It's time for you to take over."

"No." All eyes looked over Nana Sawada, who was shaking. Tears were rolling down her face. "You can't do this!" He voice was barely audible. "You can't come back into my life and take my son away from me! You can't tell me that you're throwing him into harms way and expect me to be okay with it!"

"Nana-"

Iemitsu was silenced by his wife. Her eyes stared into his. "All these years... you lied to me, didn't you? You... you've been hiding this from me, all this time..." She stormed out of the bistro. The brunet got a quick glance at his mother's face. Never had he seen it contorted with such despair or frustration. No matter how bad he had done in school, she never showed him that face.

He had done it now! Tsuna came into this, saying that he would behave, because it would make his mother happy. But now his mother was no longer here. And the reason she wasn't here was because of him...

His father.

"You!" Tsuna yelled across the table. He was causing a scene. He pulled his father by the collar of his shirt. "You did this! You crushed her!"

His father was perfectly calm, even under these situations. This was another thing that pissed Tsuna off. "I had to tell her."

"You're right. She deserved it. You owed it to her. But here? You tell her in a restaurant, embarrassing her like this?"

"Tsuna, I-"

"I don't want to hear it!" Tsuna cried. "You've never been there for us! You abandoned us, fed us lies, came back and did it all again! Now you have the nerve to come back, and break my mom? You have got to be kidding me! You're the worst! You can't do that to her, to me, to US!" He shoved his father back into his seat. He was done with this man. He knew that there was no getting through to him. And now with his chest cleared, he too, stormed the restaurant.

When Tsuna arrived at home, he wanted to comfort his mother. As he figured, she was hiding in her room. He decided to leave her alone for the moment, because he was still steaming from the restaurant.

He sat in his room for awhile, alone. Before he knew it, Reborn had entered. "Baka-Tsuna."

"Reborn." Tsuna smiled wryly. "I don't think I'm in the mood for one of your lectures at the moment."

"Idiot. I'm not here to lecture you." The Acrobaleno sat next to his pupil.

"Oh?" Tsuna chuckled. "What are you here for then? To congratulate me? I'm going to be Vongola Decimo next week. And you won't ever have to see me again."

For the first time, Tsuna swore he saw the hitman's face look confused. "You think I don't want to see you again?"

"I don't know... I just figured..."

"Baka-Tsuna. You haven't grown up at all." Reborn hit him on the head with a Leon-Mallet. "I guess I still have to be your tutor some more."

Tsuna rubbed his head. "Ow! Reborn!"

The hitman smiled. "Cheer up, Tsuna. You're going to be a boss soon. Don't you have to call your guardians?"

"Yeah, but... My mom..." Tsuna looked toward the door. He frowned. His mother was so upset, and he didn't know what to say to her.

"Let Iemitsu clean up his own mess. He is a man after all." Reborn could see that his student was distressed over this. "Call your guardians. Have fun with them tomorrow. In fact, take all your friends. Don't worry about your mom, she's going to be okay."

"You sure?"

The eager look on Tsuna's face warmed the Acrobaleno's heart. "Positive."

Tsuna smiled. He wanted friends, and Reborn had helped him find some. He wanted to get stronger, and Reborn helped him get stronger. And Tsuna had always a father. Iemitsu turned out to be the world's worst father, so Tsuna never counted him as that.

But Reborn... Reborn had been there for him, even though Iemitsu never was.

Iemitsu walking out of Tsuna's life was the best thing he had ever done for Tsuna. And in that sense, he was the best thing he had never had.

-end-

Okay, I'm going to make this clear, I don't hate Iemitsu. And I realized that this basically became me bashing on him... but that's how the song went!

Anyways, there's more to come~! So if you liked it, Review! Reviews are always welcome. :3