prompt – VI - 35, Tsuna/Kyoko - overcoming; "We'll climb the tallest tree above it all."
notes – Tsuna and Kyoko are wonderful to write in TYL form, but I attempted to write them as teenagers here because... idk, I haven't read or written much TYE!Tsuna/Kyoko.
an inclination to smash the stars
an instinct to recreate the sun
"In theory, you would be the first target," he told her cleanly.
He tried to sound serious and solemn, but midway through his sentence gave out to the sheer weight of worry and uncertainty, his eyes visibly anxious.
"I will be alright," Kyoko replied in an instant, reassuring him with a smile.
Dedication, strength, belief – those were real and tangible through the warmth of skin and the touch of fingers. Those were what she would trust and listen with all her resolve – not notions of presumably vile people who did not value the fragile mortality of life. She combed a distracted hand through her hair in an attempt to retain the slow tempo of her heart and the composure in her mind, sighing softly to herself.
She gazed briefly out the window of the classroom to see the sun setting on yet another day, orange rays clinging to the sills and spilling on the swept floor – and she vacantly wondered how long more she would be able to spend such peacefully quiet times with him. Gokudera was waiting faithfully outside in the corridor; though he had been hesitant to go when she had asked to speak with Tsuna alone. Of course, the male's usually steel-hard reluctance had lost the battle against his boss' pleading eyes in the end.
Kyoko smiled as she replayed the scene, thinking that they were still just silly boys despite all that had happened.
She had understood the idea the moment Tsuna revealed to her about the mafia, the moment he made her listen to his side of the story with those reliable, albeit unconfident eyes of his. He was essentially the same jittery person, his situation did not change who he was, but it did change the way he held himself. He tried to be braver, tried to stand up for what he believed in, it was a refreshing difference and it made her eyes linger on his shoulders.
His story sounded far worse than hers, the little foolish tale of her ignorance was a nursery rhyme compared to the unfinished novel that was his destiny. It made her think of dead bodies she did not want to assign faces to, it made her think of people getting hurt and seeing red– so many ugly things that she could not stand.
And yet she was drawn to him and all his misfortunes, some voice in her chest advising her to grab onto him and support him with all she could – Tsuna was a precious person. And somehow, there was no reason or way for her to disobey the persuasion of her heart.
She did not know if it was love, if it was even anything more than instinctive affection – she had never fallen in love before, never gotten the chance, never thought that it would be so devastatingly affecting until it finally faced her head on. And this, this was only the beginning of the whole ordeal. Tsuna was not even the boss of the Family yet.
"I will always be there for you, Tsuna-kun." Kyoko held her stance, straightening her back against the chair as she stared unblinkingly at the boy – yes, he was still just fifteen, maybe sixteen – who had placed so much weight onto the thinnest of lines just to protect her and Haru from their previous naivety. Back then, he had been just a humorous friend she waved to every day in school. Now, it was vastly different.
She failed to imagine a sunny day where she could not see his face – she could not without inevitably becoming worried, without feeling unsettled and compulsively concerned. She knew she was stepping into something dangerously thick – but Tsuna had been enduring this for even longer than her, and he was managing... marginally well.
"What if I can't protect you? What if you g-get hurt?" the boy mumbled as his cheeks heated a bright shade of red. The sheer thought he just described seeming to send him railing along a twisted nightmare in his mind. He began to shake profusely, his eyes flashing with urgency and his brow crumpling at the thought. There was a concern existent in his trembling voice that made her heart shiver as well – but the cause was a reason entirely shy of his.
Kyoko lowered her eyes and tried to hide an inappropriate smile, attempting to divert her thoughts to stop the flattered blood from boiling in her cheeks. In the process, she spotted Gokudera perched secretively at the square window of the door, peeking through with wide eyes behind his spectacles and a curious intent plastered on his face.
She couldn't help but let out a carefree laugh, breaking Tsuna's stammering with the metal of her own voice.
"But you're strong, Tsuna-kun," she informed him as she cupped her hand over her grinning lips, reminding him that he was so much more than what he strived to deny.
"... And I can be strong too." She leaned in with a soft whisper, divulging the secret to him with an absent smile on her face, a degree of poised determination in her tone.
The boy seemed to find it distressing, because his face became even more flushed. "No, no, it's not safe," he repeated, just as he had done so yesterday – and the week before last.
But she would not stop asking until he agreed.
"Tsuna-kun," she sighed, showing him a disappointed look. She saw the boy trying to fight with himself, between the unconfident side (the one she had first made friends with) and his real interior – like his box animal. She remembered that afternoon ten years in the future, on the plush of the grass with no one else but children flying kites; she recalled everything she did with him now.
The boy struggled to gain contact with her unmoving eyes, for she had pinned her assertion and decision onto his face for quite some time now. When the colour in his cheeks had finally returned to normal, he almost seemed exasperated.
"You don't understand how dangerous it is," he finally said, and with the courage he had gathered, he stared her straight in the eyes.
"I do," she deflected his words with flair, refusing to turn away from his hazel scrutiny.
She had seen Uni die, had seen the man with long silver hair with only one arm hanging from his body, and even witnessed the spectacle of blood pouring from the back of a tyrannical inhumane being. It was a good start– it had to account for something, or at least it could be a believable excuse.
"Then why-why do you still want to stay so near me? I'm so unlucky, I'm such a bad friend, I've always landed you into trouble," Tsuna huffed, by that point he was overcome with confusion at her answers, his soft-spoken side completely forgotten and neglected.
"Because..." Kyoko stopped speaking for the first time since their conversation, reluctance nipping at her just barely.
"– of you," she finished clearly, though this time with less agility, her eyes briefly flitting away from him.
The boy stopped panicking, stilling and descending into silence as his cheeks burned in unison with hers. They couldn't look each other in the eye for a few seconds, until Kyoko had finally mustered enough of her rationale and seriousness so that she could raise her head from the desk that separated their chairs.
"Are you sure?" Tsuna suddenly asked, just as she moved. Despite his question, his voice was already shedding his hopefulness, his handsome eyes reflecting happiness and acceptance she had not seen for a long time – not since the day she gave him the good luck charm.
She didn't know what to say (was he referring to her feelings or her decision?), she had to say something that would convince him, she couldn't barrel off on impulse now, she had to consider her words carefully. In the meantime, she placed her fingers over his, which had been resting motionless on the table.
It took Tsuna awhile to overcome the initial shock and take the hint, but he eventually held her, caressing her hands like she was some gentle porcelain maiden. Kyoko didn't understand how, but their hands slipped seamlessly together despite the boy's careless and clumsy movements, and she didn't actually mind the sweat on his palms. As if this situation was too good to be true, that it was too perfect and too flawless, it would be prone to breaking.
The classroom door jostled and shook for a moment, snapping her out of her tiny reverie, just enough for her to stare and wonder what had happened, enough for her to laugh with Tsuna and remember that sometimes, simplicity held the best explanation.
Maybe she was just in love.
The girl beamed, her answer appearing in the light of her eyes. They would take the plunge together here with the rest of their friends in the mafia; she was not going to be left out any longer. She could withstand so much more, and they would survive at the end.
There was no other option, and the idea suited her; it made her feel stronger in her choice. Tsuna gazed at her with a vacant look in his eyes, as if she was standing at a distance, or that he was looking at something beyond her hair and her eyes – like he was regarding her properly for the first time. She squeezed his fingers with her hands, and the boy retreated further into contented embarrassment.
And they would have a beautifully enchanting story to tell next time, conversationally to people over the dinner table – not brag, because they weren't the sort to do that.
"Always."