Summary: Reborn comes home to a very stressed Tsuna. R27 One-shot. Soulmate + University!AU For WaiiKitsune.

Notes: telepathy+mirror injury!soulmate AU (soulmates can communicate through their minds and if one of them gets injured the other will feel the pain, but the injures don't show physically)

Unbeta'd

Dedicated to WaiiKitsune

Disclaimer: Akira Amano owns Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Reborn sighed in front of his apartment, exhausted from a long day at the local coffee shop. He didn't want to take the job at first, but Tsuna recommended it to him after he offhandedly mentioned wanting to make a little more spare money. The raven was hired almost immediately and he found that he enjoyed brewing various recipes for customers. The generous tips were an added bonus and he liked the fact that he could come in to make himself a cup of espresso before his shift started.

It was the weekend and the raven wanted nothing more than to relax on the sofa after a full day shift.

However, Reborn knew that he had more important things to tend to. Tsuna hadn't contacted Reborn since he left for work, not even telepathically. Usually this wasn't too abnormal; the brunet had an exam in two days and usually avoided contacting the raven through their telepathic link while studying.

But an hour before his shift ended, Reborn noticed a dull ache from his right wrist. It didn't interfere with his job and the pain could easily be ignored. Still, he attempted to contact Tsuna and see what had happened, only to find Tsuna had blocked off their connection. Try as he might, he couldn't get anything out of the brunet. The only thing he could sense from their connection was a dull feeling of self-deprecation and gloom, which left him worried.

The raven rushed home right after his shift ended and was currently standing with one hand on the door knob. The closer proximity should have made it easier to contact Tsuna through their mental link, but Reborn still couldn't sense anything other than the gloom from earlier. Bracing himself, he opened the door.

Papers were haphazardly strewn across the dining room table, books open and stacked on top of each other without a care for their condition. More papers and pens also littered the floor, which Reborn carefully made his way through to peer into the living room. Blankets and pillows were all over the place; some were covering the TV and some were thrown on top of the coffee table in the center.

The raven pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath before making his way to the bedroom. The door was just slightly ajar, enough for Reborn to notice that all the lights were turned off. He prodded once more through their mental link and knocked on the door before slowly pushing it open.

Sunlight peeking through the blinds kept the room from being completely dark but it was still difficult to see in the room. Reborn could make out his and Tsuna's desks, which were facing the left and right walls of the room respectively. He frowned as he noticed that Tsuna's desk was in a similar state to the dining room outside, with papers covering the whole desk and lacking any sort of organization. Tsuna was generally a very organized person, even taking the time to recopy his notes from lecture with various colored pens and highlighters. Located on the far side of the room was their bed, where he could make out a bundle of blankets that moved ever so slightly. Quietly, he made his way over to the foot of the bed and sat down, making sure to leave some distance between himself and the lump of blankets.

"Hey."

"…"

"Not going to say 'welcome home'?"

"…"

"Yamamoto came in during my shift today. He tried to order something new to drink but ended up ordering one of our more bitter drinks. You should have seen the look on his face."

"…"

Reborn pursed his lips but made no more attempts at conversation. Instead, the raven pat the blankets roughly where he thought Tsuna's head was and left the room, leaving the door slightly ajar behind him.

Tsuna bit back a sob as he heard Reborn leave the room. He curled up even tighter, arms wrapped tightly around his legs and blankets covering his whole body.

It had only been a matter of time anyways. Even though they were soulmates, he never expected Reborn to confess that he wanted Tsuna as his boyfriend. He had always assumed that his soulmate relationship would be platonic. There was nothing special about him: he wasn't the smartest, the most handsome, the richest, or anything similar. He was… ordinary.

And now it seemed that Reborn was finally fed up with him. Why else had he walked out of the room so quickly, only a few minutes after he entered? The brunet sobbed, tears creating new rivers down his cheeks.

He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he didn't realize the blanket covering his head was lifted until he felt a hand running through his hair.

He tensed mid-sob, confused since he didn't hear Reborn enter the room. Instead of stopping, the hand continued stroking his hair. The repetitive motion felt calming to the brunet and he found himself drawn away from his depressing thoughts, focusing instead on the gentle tug on his hair with each stroke.

After a while the hand stopped, choosing instead to rest on his head. "Feeling better?" Reborn asked. Tsuna chose not to answer, and instead shifted the blankets a little so his face was revealed. The brunet was handed a tissue, which he took and used to clean up his face.

While Tsuna was cleaning up his face, he noticed all of his notes from various locations in the house were carefully stacked and paper-clipped together on the center of his desk. There were also two steaming hot mugs, located on the side close to the edge of the bed. Reborn followed his gaze over to the desk and smiled.

"Would you like some hot chocolate?" Tsuna hesitated, then nodded.

Reborn removed his hand from Tsuna's head and reached over to grab a mug and hand it to the brunet, before grabbing his own. Tsuna found the hot liquid in his hands comforting and delicious, making sure to take small sips in order to avoid burning his tongue. With each sip, the warmth spread throughout his body and drove away the cold thoughts that had filled his mind.

Tsuna nearly jumped when he heard a quiet humming, a song that sounded somewhat familiar and yet not. As he took another sip to calm his slightly rattled nerves, he realized that Reborn wasn't humming aloud, but rather through their mental link. It didn't bother the brunet as much as it should have (he figured the barrier dropped while he was preoccupied with the hot chocolate) and he found himself enjoying the quiet tune immensely.

As the melody came to an end, Tsuna found himself calm and slightly embarrassed, vastly different than the emotional wreck he was earlier. He cradled the now empty mug in his hands, not sure how to go about thanking Reborn.

Reborn glanced at Tsuna and decided to spare him from his inner struggle by speaking first. "I'm taking tomorrow off." Tsuna looked up, turning to face Reborn with a confused expression.

"Why?"

"I'll tutor you for the exam. I took the class last year, so it shouldn't be too difficult for me to teach it to you."

"B-but-"

Reborn turned to face the brunet. "No buts. I already called the manager earlier. I rather help relieve some of your stress by tutoring you than make a bit of extra money." Tsuna turned away from Reborn to stare at his mug.

"You are always doing things for me… I feel like I never do anything for you in return," he frowned. The brunet watched as Reborn reached over to clasp his hand.

"You don't need to do anything. You are Tsuna, and that is already enough. Is it not?" Tsuna opened his mouth to protest, but then he felt it. The emotions in the other side of the mental link they shared: worry, concern, compassion, wanting to help. Tsuna frowned slightly, still uncertain about the truth to those words.

'Tsuna.'

The brunet squeaked as he was pulled into a hug. The emotions flooding through the mental link and filling his mind were warm and comforting. Arms held him gently and protectively as Reborn rested his chin on top of Tsuna's head, humming the melody from before. Tsuna's eyes widened at the sudden display of protectiveness and love as the truth finally began to sink in. He tilted his head down, allowing his bangs to cover his reddening expression as a small smile tugged at his lips.

"… Yea. I guess maybe it is."

A/N: This was a very very late fic for the amazing Waiikitsune! I… am sorry this somehow became so angsty... But at least we still get that happy ending? Hopefully they weren't too OoC!

Ciao ciao~

Pikachu

16 September 2016