"I love you."

It was late. It was far too late for him to say these words. He knew that, he really knew that. But he just couldn't stop himself from saying it.

As he kneeled down behind the leaving man's figure, tears leaked from his eyes. Broken sobs of regret and sadness escaped his small lips. He should have done it from the first time they met. The first time they actually and officially met.

Reborn. The strongest hitman, his teacher, his savior.

If it weren't for the tall Italian, he wouldn't have all these friends crying with him, as they let the Arcobalenos go into the blinding light. To forever walk outside the time, to forever guard the world, the trinisette, and everything. He knew how crucial this role was; after all, they had experienced a world without them.

In this short time after they had destroyed Checkerface and all the Arcobalenos were returned to their original body, another price had to be paid. Because there was nobody to maintain the pacifier system anymore, the pacifier had fused themselves with their current holder, making them an eternal Arcobaleno.

Sure, they get to do it with their adult bodies. But…

They would go to an unknown timeline to sleep, so the pacifier could adjust with their new condition without fear of being destroyed.

In another words, it meant separation to all of them.

"Do you have to go?" His voice cracked as he said it. Overwhelming gratitude, sadness, grief, unwillingness, and most of all, regret, filled his small chest. He was on all fours, crying shamelessly.

"Don't be such a wimp, Tsuna."

The man turned back to his student and kneeled in front of him. He smacked the boy's head with his hand. "You're that coward enough to say that you loved me just because you don't want me to leave? I don't remember teaching you to be that kind of an idiot." Tsuna didn't care. He jumped up to the fedora wearer's neck and hugged him, burying his face on the man's shoulder.

Tsuna loved him. If it weren't for this man… he would have been nothing. Nothing at all.

"It's not love, it's gratitude." Reborn, unexpectedly, returned his hug with a light squeeze on his waist. "Don't go…!" Tsuna pleaded, his voice muffled by the fedora wearer's now wet suit. Reborn uncharacteristically looked sorrowful as he asked Tsuna to let go of him.

"I love you too, dame-Tsuna. You're my proud student, the son I never got to have." Tsuna teared up as Reborn turned his back on him, on all the members present and walked towards the light. "And I'm proud, dame-Tsuna." He raised his thumb, still not facing his student. "I'm proud that you are my student."

Tsuna stood up, shivering as regret took over his entire being.

When he was about to beg the hitman again, Reborn turned his face. "If I wake up in another timeline and it's the future, I will return to Vongola. And I sure damn expecting you and your guardians that I helped assembling were the boss." He was smiling. Reborn. Smiling. Sincerely.

The guardians wiped their tears and stood up straighter. "You can leave it to us, baby!" Takeshi Yamamoto tore the silence. "That's right, Reborn-san! We will continue to support Tenth with all our might!" Hayato Gokudera said as he blew his nose.

Everyone, even Hibari and Mukuro, agreed. Some of them seconded what Gokudera said and some of them only nod.

Reborn smirked, but his eyes then went to his stupid student. "See? They all agreed with me. But how about you, as their boss, what is your resolve?" Tsuna was instantly taken aback. It was just like that moment when he went through Reborn's Sun Trial. The fedora wearer had asked him if he had resolve or not.

Tsuna wiped his tears away and offered the man a shaky smile.

"I-I will wait for you, Reborn! I'll definitely create the Vongola you can return to!" Tsuna said, his voice trembling as it threatened to burst into sobs. Reborn nodded.

"That's what I expected, dame-Tsuna." Reborn stepped closer and closer into the light. As the light engulfed him, Tsuna braced himself not to run away.

But, the light blinded him anyways, so he closed his eyes. And when he opened them, Reborn was gone. Only leaving his fedora behind.

Tsuna stepped forward and took the man's fedora and wore it on top of his head.

"I'm waiting, Reborn."

A new recruit in the Vongola Famiglia ran as fast as his feet could take him. He was entrusted a message by the great Guardian of Storm to relay a message to their Boss. A message that had brought the Guardian of Rain and Guardian of Sun to tears. He was sure that his message would please their boss greatly.

"Boss!" He barged in, completely forgetting his manner.

The boss was in the middle of cleaning his guns. "Oh, it's you. What is it?" The boss twirled his fedora and wore it on his head. "The Guardian of Storm, Signor Gokudera has ordered me to tell you that-!"

"I believe that I forgot my hat, dame-Tsuna."

The new recruit cringed. Nobody, he repeated, nobody was allowed to call the Boss 'dame-Tsuna'. And as he expected the boss stood up abruptly, slamming his hands on his desk and shivered, possibly in anger.

He turned to see the man who dared to call the Boss with that name, and he was met with a horridly attractive tall man with spiky hair, jet black eyes, and curly sideburns.

The boss looked at the man with disbelief on his handsome feature. "No way…" He said, but then he burst into a relieved laughter and plopped back down to his seat.

The boss put his fedora on the table and turned his seat's back to face the other two men in the room.

"Welcome back," his voice cracked. "Reborn…"

He could see that the boss was crying with a wide smile plastered on his face.

There you go! This is my take on Reborn's ending. I got this idea after I watch Yu-Gi-Oh! anime. It occurs after the current Rainbow Arc.

And if you're a Yu-Gi-Oh! fan, please check my story ;D (shameless advertisement is shameless)