Dear Okaa-sama in Heaven,
How's life treating you? Or maybe I should say "death?" Whatever, how are you? Anyway, I know you must be lonely up there in Heaven and I know I've talked to you about joining you sometime soon, but I'm afraid that that's probably not going to happen any time soon. I've found something worth living for here. You'll never guess what it is. I think… I've fallen in love.
"Gokudera-kun!" Ah, the voice of an angel. Gokudera opened his eyes and lifted his head a little and looked up towards the source of the lovely voice. The tiny brunette was leaning casually on the silverette's desk with a grin on his face.
"Ah, hi, Tenth, what's up?" Gokudera felt his face warm a little at the sight of his smaller boss.
"Guess what? I got my math test back and I got an 89%!" Tsuna said happily, grinning even wider. "Thanks so much for tutoring me the other day! It really helped me."
"No, no, of course, I would help you! I can't think of anything else I'd rather do," Gokudera said, straightening up instantly as his face darkened even more.
I've devoted my entire life to this person.
"As a thank you, I'd like to bring you out to town tomorrow since we have the day off before the long weekend," Tsuna said. "I'll take you out to lunch anywhere you'd like to do and then we can hang out and stuff."
I'd do anything for this person. They've completely turned my life around ever since I met him.
"Oh, Tenth, thank you for the offer, but you really don't have to," Gokudera said. "Your appreciation is thanks enough for me."
"No, no, I insist," Tsuna said.
"Really? Well, thank you, Tenth," Gokudera said happily.
"Cool," Tsuna straightened and clapped his hands jubilantly. "I'll see you later then."
I'd go to the ends of the earth for him.
The bomber watched the young boy go and the second the brunette was gone, Gokudera realized how perfect this was. He would finally be alone with his Tenth and then he'd finally have the chance.
Oh, yeah, I guess I forgot to mention something. It's a "him." Yeah, I know, I never thought it would end up this way either. Me being… gay. But the thing is, okaa-sama, that I don't really think of it as being gay. I feel nauseous whenever I think of being romantically involved with any of the other guys I hang around with. Its only him and I'm amazed at how much I care about him.
He'd finally have the perfect chance to let him know.
And it seems now that I have the perfect opportunity to let him know how much that really is.
He'd finally, finally have the chance to confess to the young Vongola.
I love him, Mom, so much. I just hope against hope that he doesn't reject me. Well, I guess that's unrealistic. He is another guy after all. I can't be going around thinking that he'd just be in love with me too. I just hope that if he does reject me, he can remain friends with me.
"How should I do it?" Gokudera found himself thinking over and over as he went home. "Should I just confess first thing tomorrow when I see him? No, because if he rejects me, it'll ruin the whole day. What about during lunch? Well, never mind the timing, how should I say it? 'I love you, Tenth?' Maybe I should just kiss him. Man, how I'd love to kiss him."
Gokudera found himself getting caught up in this thought. The Tenth was so small, he'd probably have to bend down to be able to kiss him. Or Tsuna would have to stand on his toes. The image was rather adorable and Hayato found himself blushing again.
I'm so nervous when I'm around him, but I hope that maybe confessing to him will change that. I just hope that I won't be so nervous that I chicken out. I really want to go through with this.
When Hayato got home, he could barely keep still, he was rushing all over the place, pacing back and forth, trying to make sure that nothing could go wrong the next day. He prepared his dynamite for any possibility of an attack, he decided not to bring cigarettes, as he knew that his excessive smoking wasn't one of Tsuna's favorite things. When he finally felt that all had been taken care of, he sat down on his couch and rested for a moment.
I don't know what tomorrow's going to be like, okaa-sama, but all I know is that something big is going to happen.
The young bomber knew what he was in for: a night of lying awake, tossing and turning, hardly being able to wait for the morning to come so he could finally be with his Tenth. He started to busy himself again without really noticing it, trying to think if there was anything else he should prepare. Should he bring an extra jacket in case Tsuna gets cold? An umbrella in case of a storm?
He was still thinking when he heard a gentle piano melody playing from the other room. His black cell phone was buzzing against the table from his school bag and the song continued to play until he rushed to answer it.
"Moshimoshi?" he answered the phone casually.
"Hey, Gokudera-kun, its me," Tsuna innocent voice traveled through the receiver.
"Hello, Tenth!" Gokudera instantly changed his tone to that of a cadet addressing his warden.
"So, I was just wondering where you'd like to meet tomorrow?" Tsuna said. Gokudera was trying to assemble an image of the young Vongola in his mind. He was lying on his stomach with his phone in his hand. He had a small stick of pocky in his other hand, licking the chocolate off of it casually.
"Gokudera-kun?" Hayato was snapped out of his trance by that angelic voice again.
"I'm terribly sorry, Tenth, I wasn't listening," Gokudera said, feeling his face redden slightly.
"Its okay," he heard Tsuna giggle a little on the other end. "I said 'why don't we meet near the fountain in town square?' Say, eleven o' clock?"
"No, because if I wait that long to be with you, I might explode," Gokudera thought.
"That's sounds great, Tenth!" is what he actually said.
"Awesome! Did you think of anywhere you might want to eat at?" Tsuna asked.
"No, because for last few hours I haven't thought of anything else except being with you," the silverette mused in his head.
"Um, no, I haven't. Sorry, Tenth," Gokudera said.
"Its okay, we can just find somewhere to eat tomorrow. As long as that's okay with you," Tsuna said. "It is your day after all," Tsuna said.
"Screw the food, all I want is to spend the day with you," Gokudera thought to himself.
"Yes, thank you so much, Tenth!"
"I'll see you tomorrow then! Bye!"
"I love you. Good bye."
"Goodbye, Tenth!"
Gokudera pressed the "End" button on his phone and promptly flung himself backward onto his bed and covered his face with a pillow. Why was it so easy to think of what he wanted to say, but when he had the chance to say them, he couldn't even imagine himself having the gall to say such things.
He was very much aware that everything the Tenth had just said sounded everything like a date, but the young Vongola probably had no intention of it sounding that way. In fact, the only one who saw it that way was probably Gokudera himself. But still, Gokudera was happy with whatever he got from the little brunette.
Hayato sighed as he realized that he had always tried to get the most he could out of every thing the Tenth did or said. He wanted everything that the Sky guardian had to offer, even if in reality it was very little.
What am I going to do, Okaa-sama? I'm really, really in love with him. So much so that I might not be able to think about anything else.
"Oh, why, why? Goddammit, why?" Gokudera thought worriedly as he sprinted down the street on his way to town. "How could I, today of all days, sleep in? I never sleep in! How could I sleep in today? This might just be the most important day of my life!"
As the young bomber continued to rant in his head, it started to become clear why exactly he had overslept. It was probably due to the fact that Gokudera had gotten little to no sleep at all the night before. He had been so excited for eleven o' clock the next morning to roll around, he'd forgotten to set his alarm clock and had spent the night tossing and turning while imagining wonderful yet staged scenes in which Gokudera would confess and Tsuna would lunge himself into the Storm guardian's arms and they'd live happily ever after and so on. Anyway, he had woken up at 10:47 exactly and he lived about twenty minutes away from the downtown area if he were to walk but he also had to get ready along with actually taking the time to get there.
So now, he was running for his life down the street of the small town of Namimori and prayed that the little Vongola wouldn't abandon him.
He checked his watch and swore colorfully in Italian when it told him that it was 11:07. He imagined the Tenth sitting alone on the edge of the fountain in the center of town, checking his watch and sighing dejectedly. He then imagined another girl coming over and chatting him up and then Tsuna would leave, forgetting completely about the tardy Storm guardian. Of course it was unrealistic for all of this to happen in seven minutes since the appointed meeting time, but love does crazy things to your head and Gokudera found himself praying that his imagination didn't become reality. That thought alone encouraged Hayato to quicken his pace and by 11:09 he was in town, doubled over and panting heavily. When he finally caught his breath, he straightened himself, used a few fingers to gather his silver bangs from his line of vision, and began to search anxiously for the small brunette.
He looked around, mostly for the head of lush, chocolate hair that the young Vongola was famous for and when he saw no sight of it, he became worried that his nightmares were coming true.
"Gokudera-kun!" the high-pitched voice called to him from behind and he whirled around to find Tsuna looking up at him, smiling. His spiky, brown hair was covered by an orange beanie that looked absolutely adorable on him.
"Tenth! My God, I'm so sorry I'm late! I overslept and then… then…" he trailed off as he watched the smaller boy shake his head, an understanding grin on his face.
"Its all right, Gokudera-kun I've probably kept you waiting a few times in the morning before school. Since I'm such a ditz and all," the young Vongola brushed the taller Italian's tardiness off like it was nothing and Gokudera wondered how anyone in the world could be so perfect as this angel. Who the hell would even think to call this boy Dame-Tsuna? To Gokudera, this child was absolutely flawless.
The silverette found himself blushing again and he shook his head to clear his thoughts before smiling down at Tsuna.
"Well, then, shall we get going?" Tsuna asked. He had placed his hands in the pockets of his black-and-orange striped sweatshirt and was looking at his right hand man with sparkling, mahogany eyes.
"Sure, Tenth, I'd love to," the silverette smiled, but at the same time he longed to hold one of those small, pale hands was saddened by lost chance.
It was a little later and they had found a small café in the middle of town and they found a table outside. It was October now and a cool, autumn air was setting, but the sun was still out and shining.
The waitress came and took orders for their drinks and they just sat in silence, not awkwardly, but they were both expecting something.
"Oh, yeah," Tsuna said, finally finding his voice. "I got you a little something since you helped me so much."
"Oh, Tenth! You didn't have to do that. You're already treating me to today, I-"
"No, no, I insist!" Tsuna reached into the pocket of his sweatshirt and from it he produced a small wrapped box. The paper around it was a deep red and it was wrapped in a pink bow.
"Sorry it looks so girly, but it was all I had around the house," Tsuna blushed a little, mistaking Gokudera's look of greed towards the present as one of uneasiness.
"No, no! Thank you, Tenth," he smiled brightly and took the present with a respectful bow of his head. He carefully unwrapped the present and opened the small box that was hidden behind the red paper. Gokudera's heart clenched as he looked down at his present: a black, woolen wristband that had a large skull and crossbones embroidered in white on it. The skull was shrouded in a dark, red flame, much like the flame that the young bomber was able to produce when in battle.
"Thank you so much, Tenth, I love it!" He picked it up carefully, as it if were porcelain, out of the box, and then pulled it onto his pale wrist. Just the feeling of the wool on his skin sent sparks through his body, mostly just because it was a present from his beloved Tenth.
"I saw it in a clothing store the other day and I instantly thought of you. I felt like I couldn't leave the store without getting it for you," the Tenth smiled and giggled a little and Hayato felt his heart jerk up out of his chest. The Tenth had been thinking about him when he wasn't around? He bought him a present out of nowhere? Alright, it was official now. This little brunette, the Tenth Vongola boss, was the most absolutely perfect being on the entire planet.
"T-Tenth, there's something I have to tell you!" he blurted out the words with such force that the brunette sent him a bewildered look from across the table that made the silverette recoil and blush. "S-Sorry, Tenth, I got a little carried away."
"Its alright, Gokudera-kun," Tsuna replaced his confused look with one of bright understanding and continued. "You can tell me anything."
Gokudera tensed. He never thought he'd make it to this point so easily and he was scared of how he should proceed. But when he looked up and saw those chocolate orbs sparkling with happiness and expectant innocence, all of his troubles melted away and he went for it.
"Well, the thing is… Tenth, that I…. I… I lo-" But the young Italian was cut off by a loud ringing in his ears. He looked around for the source of the noise and he found it when his crush disappeared from across the table in a puff of pink smoke.
"Tenth! Tenth, are you alright?" Gokudera called out into the smoke, searching for any signs that told him that his boss was alright.
Wait, pink smoke like that only comes from the Ten-Year Bazooka! Gokudera thought, breathing a sigh of relief. That means that the Tenth is fine, and his ten-year-older self will be here for only a few minutes.
When the smoke finally cleared, Gokudera was surprised not to see the twenty-five-year old Tsuna, but in his place a small child probably no more than five. He had a full head of chocolate hair that spiked up in all directions in a messy yet adorable way. He had large brown crystals for eyes, which were swimming a little with bright tears. There was an unusual tint of pink that was sprinkled across the child's face that only added to his innocence. Hayato's breath hitched as he stared in awe at the five-year-old Sawada Tsunayoshi.
Okaa-sama…. It seems that everything just got a lot more complicated.
"W-What the hell?" Gokudera cried, staring down at the whimpering child in alarm.
Said child looked around frantically, moaning a little in fear as he realized that he had no idea where he was. He burst into tears and wailed loudly. "Mama! Papa! Where are you!"
Gokudera flinched and reached over towards the child. He held the baby underneath his arms and watched awkwardly as the baby continued to cry. Then, when he was at a loss for anything else to do, he brought the child to his chest and let him cry against his sweatshirt.
"Well, this doesn't exactly look good now, does it?" a high-pitched chirp came from behind them as the Yellow Arcobaleno walked up.
"Reborn-san, what's going on here?" Gokudera shouted. "Why is the Tenth a child?"
"Well, I'm afraid that this is the handiwork of another Giannini special," Reborn sighed, tipping the rim of his fedora towards the bawling Tsuna.
Just then, Gokudera heard the engineer's signature, syrupy laugh and took a precautionary step to the left as he came crashing down, missing both him and the Vongola completely. The young Tsuna looked up at the groaning Giannini and giggled cutely.
"I was in the middle of modifying the Ten-Year Bazooka so that it worked back in time and you switched places with yourself from the past," Giannini said simply.
"What purpose does that serve?" Gokudera asked irately.
"In case there is any business you need to take care of in the past," the engineer chuckled to himself. "But that's really pointless, because there can't be trouble in the past since the past already happened."
"Took the words right out of my mouth," Gokudera sighed. "So now we just have to wait for five minutes to pass, right?"
"Not quite," Reborn said, glaring at the young mechanic.
"You see, I said I was in the 'middle' of modifying the bazooka, so to speak," Giannini said nervously.
"And?"
"Well, something went wrong and now the person in question will stay switched with their other self until I can fix the weapon," Giannini said.
"What?" Gokudera cringed. The poor fifteen-year-old Tenth would have no way of telling what was happening. "How long will that take?"
"A day and a half, approximately," Giannini said matter-of-factly.
"Take care of this infant until then, Gokudera," Reborn said. "We wouldn't anything happening to the present Tsuna."
"What? That's completely…." He started to protest but then his glance lingered toward the young boy in his arms. He was sniffling but then he noticed Gokudera's gaze on him and looked up.
"Um… Is something wrong? Gray-haired onii-san?" the little Tsuna said.
"My name is Gokudera Hayato," he said flatly.
"Oh… then is something wrong, Hayato-niisan?"
Gokudera inhaled sharply as he saw the face of his best friend in this child, his cherubic features tainted with worry. Worry that was concentrated on someone that this child had just met and all of the reasons that Hayato loved Tsuna came rushing back to him all at once.
"Alright, I'll take care of him," Gokudera gave in, not taking his gaze away from the even-younger-than-the-usual-young Vongola.
"I thought you would. Good choice, Gokudera. We'll check in with you later," Reborn said. He and Giannini left (well, Giannini floated away) and the Italian teenager was left with the little boy who was now squirming uncomfortably in Hayato's arms. However, the silverette just stared into space and didn't notice the little one's discomfort until he whimpered a little.
"Oh, what's the problem?" Hayato said.
"Um, well…. I don't really understand what's going on right now…," the child said. "Do you know where my mommy is?"
"Um, no… well, actually, yeah, kind of, but…." He sighed, not having any idea what to say to the little one. What's more, the older boy's stuttering frightened the little boy and he was starting to whimper again.
"U-Um, actually, your mom and dad are both out today and they wanted me to watch you. But don't worry I'll take good care of you," he put the little boy down and looked down at him, astonished by how small he was.
"B-But Mommy didn't say anything about me spending the day with anyone and I don't think I've ever met Hayato-niisan before and-"
Hayato bent down and put his hands on the little boy's shoulders. His hands were so big that Tsuna's small shoulders couldn't support them and the edges of them fell off of them.
"Look, I know we never met before and I know this seems strange to you because its never happened before. But I can promise you beyond a shadow of a doubt that I will protect you from anything. Okay?" Hayato said and he blushed when he realized how lame it sounded.
The little one observed the Storm guardian for a minute and then he spoke, "Promise?" He held out a tiny pinky finger.
The Italian was thrown off a little by the question. But he quickly regained himself and looked seriously at the smaller Tsuna. "Promise." Gokudera took up the finger and twisted his own pinky around the child Sky guardian's. He felt the boy squeeze the older boy's tightly and Gokudera was surprised at how dependent the infant boss was.
"Alright, then, let's go to my house then, okay?" Gokudera said.
"O-Okay," Tsuna said. They started walking down the street in the direction in which Gokudera had been coming no more than thirty minutes ago. They walked in silence, of course, because what kind of conversation could a fifteen-year-old have with the five-year old version of the boy he was in love with? "Hi, there, kid… I wanna make out with the you from the future"? That would go swimmingly. But still, the little boy seemed so uncomfortable being so quiet and confused. Hayato almost felt obligated to say something to the child.
"Um, so…" But as the taller boy started to say something, the tiny Vongola lifted his hand and placed it into the bigger, longer hand of the silverette. The both boys looked at each other, the teen looking confused at the child, the child looking for any sign of approval or at least acceptance from the older boy. Gokudera didn't know what to do or say but he steadily felt his face redden as he smiled at the younger boy. The child responded by smiling a wide grin from ear-to-ear and squeeze the older boy's hand tighter.
"Hayato-niisan, where is your house?" Tsuna asked.
Hayato eyed him carefully and Tsuna recoiled, wondering if he'd been too bold.
"My house is only about ten minutes up here. Would you like me to… carry you?" Hayato's face darkened again, not from what he had said, but who he had said it to, regardless of how old he was.
"No, its alright. I wouldn't want to bother you," the little Tsuna said, smiling his innocent smile up at the silverette. Gokudera easily saw the side of his boss that he knew so well in this child – the side that didn't want to cause anyone trouble. What this child didn't know was that Gokudera would be more than happy to fulfill any wish that the Vongola had. So without another word, he reached down and scooped up the little boy and carried him down the street with him.
"Hayato-niisan, I already said you didn't need too," Tsuna's entire face was pink and it was obvious that he felt that he'd made Gokudera feel guilty or feel that he needed to carry him. "Why are you carrying me?"
"Because I want to," Gokudera said flatly. "And also because you remind me of someone very important to me."
"Really?" Tsuna asked, his initial guilt gone and now replaced with childish curiosity. "Who is it?"
"My boss… and my best friend," Gokudera would never be so audacious as to tell Tsuna himself (at least his fifteen-year-old self) that he thought of him as his best friend. The bomber always felt that there needed to be a certain distance between boss and lackey. Despite that, Gokudera realized, he had been trying to get very close to the brunette earlier. But this time, he wasn't really ashamed; he just wanted to hold the Tenth close to him.
At that moment, it also occurred to the Storm guardian that he probably couldn't call this child "Tenth", he'd be so confused that it just wouldn't be fair. But he would have to call him by his name. Gokudera had never done so before and he felt uncomfortable with it – the same "boss-and-minion" relationship barrier had come up again. So how should he say it? "Tsuna-kun?" No, that was too familiar. Not that familiarity was bad. Maybe he could go with that. "Tsuna-chan?" Hayato blushed yet again. What if he were to actually call the present Tsuna that when he returned? He would never be able to look the Tenth in the face again. "Tsuna-san?" None of these names felt right. Hayato sighed, defeated, and finally decided.
"Tsuna, we're here now," he said, gently putting the boy down. "I live on the third floor."
He stood behind the small boy and watched as he walked clumsily up the stairs towards the next corridor. He stumbled and almost fell once, but was quickly saved when Gokudera caught him and held his hand all the way up to the third floor.
"Stay here while I get my key, okay?" he told the boy as he started to search his pockets for the small, gold key. When he finally found it he looked down to find the child still there, his big eyes watching his "babysitter" in wonder. He was happy that the boy stayed by his side and didn't run away like other children would.
He opened the door, disappointed by returning home so quickly as it felt like his initial goal had not been accomplished. He felt incomplete. But he snapped back to the present when he noticed that the little boy hadn't followed him into the house and was still standing out on the corridor outside.
"Hey, aren't you going to come in? Its cold out there," Gokudera said, looking over at the doorway and the miniscule brunette that stood in it.
"Um… okay," the little boy shuffled in nervously, afraid of being scolded despite his being invited into the house.
"Are you alright?" he didn't know what else he could say to the obviously distraught boy.
"Um, well, it feels like I'm intruding on your house," the tiny Tsuna looked up at Hayato with a reddened face. Hayato was taken aback by this kid's conscience. Where did he learn these kids of manners at this age?
"Its quite alright, you're my guest," he felt awkward speaking this way to a child, but he seemed polite and understanding beyond his years, much like his own self ten years later.
At that moment, the little one's stomach growled loudly and his pale complexion disappeared under a ruby red blush once again. "I-I'm sorry," he muttered quietly.
"Its fine, its fine, don't apologize so much, okay?" he said as he knelt down next to Tsuna but he was caught by his own words. Where had he heard these very words spoken before? From the mouth of this child, only ten years later. Whenever Gokudera felt that he'd done something wrong, he'd apologize over and over until he was either forgiven or felt that he'd either a) beaten himself up enough to count towards an acceptable punishment, or b) given himself slight brain damage. But Tsuna had always said the same thing.
"Don't apologize so much, okay? I forgive you." He'd always forgiven him no matter what he'd done (however most of the time he hadn't done anything wrong at all.) He felt the irony of giving advice to the very person who'd said these words to him and felt a little hypocritical.
"I'll make you something to eat. You can just sit in the other room, okay?" he said gently. The little boy nodded and walked away.
Okaa-sama, I don't really know what to do about this. The silverette started searching through his kitchen for something the little one would want to eat. I still love him no matter what, but it hurts.
He finally found something: instant ramen. It wasn't much, but living by himself had its disadvantages, one of which being when he had unexpected guests. He usually bought his food as he needed to and as a result there were times when he had very little around the house to share with others. He poured water into the pot and while he waited for it to boil, he glanced down towards the black wristband that encircled his pale wrist.
It hurts to now know what's going on with him while this is going on. Is he alright? Is he worried or confused? I would be. Okaa-sama, all I want is to know where that he's okay. I-I can't stop thinking about him.
"But he's right here with you now," his mind said to him and he knew that, but… It was all just so confusing. The one he loved was right here with him, but he was also years and years away. No, that wasn't right. The Tenth he loved wasn't here. At least not yet. The Tenth he loved was still a decade in the past. This Tenth wasn't the Tenth he knew… yet. He rubbed his head. He was giving himself a headache.
"Hayato-niisan, Hayato-niisan, look!" Tsuna came running out of Hayato's bedroom, looking very excited.
"What is it?" Gokudera knelt down to see what the little one had.
"I found some candles! Why do you keep them in your room?" he held up one of the orange dynamite sticks that were ever present around this particular household.
"Um, because they're very special candles. They help me, uh… sleep at night," Hayato knew it was a pretty lame excuse but he couldn't very well tell Tsuna that he kept dynamite around the house. He could tell anyone, but if he were to tell this Tsuna and it changed the present Tsuna, he might… no, he'd definitely be afraid of him when he came back.
"Oh," the small brunette said, examining the dynamite in his hand curiously. "Okay." And with that, he walked away. Gokudera watched the little boy go and sighed. He was so angelic this way, but he something about this whole situation seemed… wrong. He was becoming flustered over a child. But of course it was his Tenth so… he had no idea what to think anymore.
He then remembered that he was making lunch and turned back to the stove to find the water boiling so he put the noodles in and, having nothing better to do, sat down at his kitchen table.
He sat and before he knew it he was daydreaming again. He wondered what the Vongola was doing right now. Had he appeared in the past out of nowhere? Oh, shit, his parents were probably wondering where their son was. He was only five, they would never be able to tell that the Tsuna that had appeared in his place was really their fifteen-year-old son. Actually, the two Tsuna's looked almost identical save the height and obvious puberty-related differences. But regardless, they'd never believe such a ridiculous idea.
He sighed again and placed his chin in his hand, looking at nothing in particular in the distance. He was only made aware of his surroundings when he heard a sound he knew so well that he almost didn't notice it. The sound of an ignited dynamite fuse. Gokudera started, looking around for the source of the sound. Then he was struck with a horrible idea and bolted into his room where his suspicions were confirmed.
The five-year-old Sky guardian was sitting on the floor of Hayato's room, holding a lit stick of dynamite and the fuse was getting close to its end.. Without thinking twice about it, the Storm guardian grabbed the stick of dynamite and ran to the window, prying it open and throwing it out the window, all in one swift movement. Tsuna had run behind him, wondering why his "candle" had been taken from him and watched in awe as it flew through the air and while it flew, the fuse finally ran out and Gokudera grabbed the small Vongola and turned his back to the window as the dynamite exploded, shielding Tsuna.
Tsuna cried out in surprise and fear as the deafening sound rattled their eardrums and shook the entire apartment complex.
Gokudera silently cursed himself for getting those special dynamite made. It was unrealistic to believe that he'd have a cigarette ready to light his dynamite with him at all times, so he had ordered custom-made dynamite that when held a certain way, lit on their own. Tsuna was both impressed and terrified that his young boss had learned to make them light so quickly.
Speaking of his boss, he glanced down at the little boy in his arms, who was now weeping softly.
"What's wrong, Ten-… Tsuna?" Gokudera asked, his boss's given name still not feeling quite right on his tongue.
"I-I don't know. I just lit that candle and Hayato-niisan got all upset and then…" he blubbered some more things that Hayato couldn't comprehend and watched silently as the child rubbed his eyes as he sobbed. "I don't know exactly what I did, but I know it was wrong and I'm sorry" the brunette concluded before he broke down into more sobs.
Gokudera's heart strings pulled so hard that they almost felt like they'd be pulled right out of his chest and he held the little one closer to his chest.
"Its okay, Tsuna, its okay," Gokudera said as the boy turned around and threw himself into the Italian's arms.
Okaa-sama, I don't really know for sure but… I think I'm falling in love with him all over again.
