Pairings: Gen
Warnings: indirect Iemitsu-bashing, light child-neglect, parental!Reborn (?)
Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn. All characters rightfully belong to Amano Akira. (Maybe we can change that though...*smirk*)
So it took a really long time after Sextet for me to post something again. Sorry for that! I have exams coming up and my cousin just married last weekend so I was kind of busy. But I managed to do this! I'm not onehundred percent satisfied, but this is the best I could do, and I do hope you'll like it as well.
Now, without further ado, enjoy!
- o - 6 years old - o -
A small boy with gravity-defying hair slowly trudged home, his head hanging low, while parts of his face and arms were littered with bruises. Tears swam in the normally warm doe eyes, almost spilling, but the six years old tried his best to hold them back, not wanting to worry his mother when he finally got home. After all, he had to be strong for her for as long as his father was not home. He didn't want to see her cry... Like she always did whenever his father went away again.
He knew she cried, even if she only ever did when she thought he was asleep, when he wouldn't notice. But he did notice and it pained him way more than the wounds he got from his bullies ever could. He hated his father, for making his mother cry and hurting her, but at the same time, he couldn't help but love him, hope for him to come back soon and play with him. He missed him and it hurt.
Because as soon as he was back, it was like the hate had never been there, and then he'd disappear again, for years, and all they got during that time was the money and some postcards. That feeling of hatred would come back, stronger than before, even though he loved his father...
But he was never there when he needed him... when he wanted his help or advice, or simply his warmth by his side...
Lightly biting his lips and gripping his backpack's straps tighter, he approached his neighborhood and a moment later, he could see the house with the nameplate "Sawada". Breathing deeply once more and organizing his thoughts, he pushed open the gates to his front yard and tried his best to walk to the door without tripping or limping. Shortly after reaching and opening the door, he was not greeted by his mother like he had expected, but instead, he found himself in the strong arms of a tall blond man, who grinned at him stupidly and lifted him up off the ground. Pain coursed through his body, but the happiness he felt to see the person that had picked him up had negated all of that, even his dark thoughts from before. For now.
"Tou-san!", he exclaimed with joy and immediately snaked his small arms around his fathers neck. The man could only laugh and press his son closer to himself, not noticing his injuries at all. "Ah, little Tuna-fish, have you grown again? Daddy missed you!",said the blond then, before setting his son down on the ground again.
"Iemitsu, Tsu-kun! Dinner is ready.", called a brown-haired woman, her eyes the exact same as Tsunayoshi's, with a bright smile on her face. Instantly, Iemitsu's smile got even wider than before, and he moved towards his wife, shoving his son in front of him.
"Oh Nana, darling, your cooking is the best! I've missed you so much!", gushed Iemitsu and in the next moment he held his wife in his arms.
Tsuna, who watched the scene play out, gripped the straps on his backpack so hard his knuckles turned white. His happiness to see the blond man again was disappearing and the pain was coming back in it's stead.
Turning away from his parents to walk up the stairs, he turned once more to call out to his parents and tell them he was going to his room to change his clothes while they relished in each others presence. The shaking voice he used to do so went unnoticed by the two, seeing as they were too concentrated on each other to hear anything else.
- o - - o - - o - - o -
Within the next days that Iemitsu was home, Tsuna could somehow calm his inner conflict with the thought, and with the hope, of the blond man staying for a longer while, this time. Of not leaving them alone again.
He tried to shove those negative feelings to the edge of his consciousness, tried to forget them and to believe that everything was alright. That his father planned to go visit the amusement park and then go with him to a toy store helped him believe in that. That voice deep inside him, that told him something he wouldn't like at all would happen, went ignored. He was happier this way.
But that voice's words seemed to be confirmed throughout the day. From time to time, when his phone rang, Iemitsu would leave the small brunet alone, only to come back minutes later and drag him onto some scary ride that he didn't want to go on at all. But Tsuna was happy to spend some time with his father, so that, too, was shoved to the back of his mind.
"Tou-san! Look here!", called Tsuna excitedly while running up to his father, in his arms a small lion-plushy. Iemitsu knelt in front of his son with a wide grin.
"Hm, what is it Tuna? You want this one?", he asked his son, ruffling trough his wild hair at the same time, and received a quick nod in return. Nodding to himself, the blond stood up again to pay for the plushy, which his son hugged to himself with a light blush on his cheeks. Just as they were leaving the store though, Iemitsu's cell phone rang, making him sigh and turn to Tsuna. "Okay, little Tuna-fishie, Daddy has to take this call quickly. Wait here for me, will you? It won't take long, I promise." His son studied him for a second before he nodded again and gave a weak smile. "Hai, Tsu-kun will wait here.", he said, pressing his lion, now called Natsu, even tighter against his chest as his father turned around the next corner with his ear against his cell phone. The smile on the brunets lips faded quickly as the bad feeling came back.
- o - - o - - o - - o -
Two hours. Tsuna stood in front of the store and waited for his fathers return for two hours now. He watched as people passed him by and regarded him with strange looks, as the sky darkened and the street-lights switched on. The mass of people dwindled more and more until there were only very few still walking by, even the stores had already closed now.
The tears that had gathered in the brunets eye quite a while ago finally fell, rolling down his cheeks and dropping to the ground. He sniffed a few times in a useless effort to hold them back before he stuffed his face into his new toy. "Tou-san... Did Tou-san forget Tsu-kun? Did Tsu-kun do something wrong...?", he murmured helplessly. His father had told him to wait, but he wasn't so sure anymore. Iemitsu wasn't back yet, even though he promised. Like he promised so many other things. Like coming back home soon... that he'd call them... that he'd be there for them... He kept none of those promises and now Tsuna stood alone on the streets, it was dark and he was cold.
The only things that were warm, hot even, were his tears and the growing disappointment in his father, which slowly warped into hate as he decided to stop waiting and go home, only to be told that Iemitsu had disappeared once again and that his mother had thought he was upstairs in his room all along. His father hadn't even noticed that he had forgotten his six year-old son. Said son tried to forget it too, but he couldn't.
- o - 16 years old - o -
"Mou, Reborn, really? That's way too much work!", exclaimed Tsuna, who sat in front of a huge pile of math problems that he was to solve. Since Reborn came into his life he had become able to deal with this subject more easily, but he'd never like it. Tsuna heard Reborn click off the safety of his gun and saw him tug his fedora deeper into his face as the gun was aimed at him. "Care to repeat that, Dame-Tsuna? I think I didn't get you clearly." The man in the suit was intimidating, even with his face partially covered. Tsuna flinched, but did his best to not look away.
"But we didn't do even half of this in school! I don't even get what it's about...",murmured the brunet before looking away, a bit ashamed to have whined again, even though he knew he was not in the wrong. He heard a sigh, no doubt from Reborn, who holstered his gun again and then started speaking. "You really stay true to your name, Dame-Tsuna. But whatever. Get ready for some tortu- I mean, tutoring."
Tsuna's lips twitched upwards, even with that nickname from the other and the knowledge of what would happen next, and then he peeked quickly towards the bed, with an almost empty look in his eyes, where a small lion sat. He shook his head to get rid if the resurfacing memories as they took a turn for the worse and then looked towards his tutor, waiting for him to start. Reborn gave his infamous smirk that usually meant Tsuna was in for a hell-ride. But there was no distaste or hate in the warm brown eyes of the brunet, only acceptance and love, even though he often asked himself why he still did this. No one needed to know he already had his answer.
- o - - o - - o - - o -
The raven sat silently on Tsuna's bed as he sipped on his espresso. They'd just finished their 'lesson' and now the brunet was solving – or at least trying to solve – a few problems on his paper. Reborn sipped from his cup again and petted Leon on the head. "Tsuna, I have news for you.", he said, breaking the silence that was only disturbed by the scratch of a pen on paper sometimes. Tsuna looked up from his place at the table questioningly and laid his pen down. His intuition was whispering, telling him that he wouldn't like whatever came out of his tutors mouth next. He still nodded at the man, silently giving him a go-ahead.
Reborn watched his student a moment longer, then he set down his now empty cup. "I won't beat around the bush. Iemitsu's coming back.", he stated solemnly. Anyone that tried hard enough could see that he disliked the fact a lot. But he wasn't the only one feeling that way. Tsuna tensed all over when he got the news. Now he was exhaling heavily and forcing himself to relax. "When?", was the only thing the teenager asked with a quiet voice, seemingly calm, his bangs shadowing his expression. But the Hitman knew that he was anything but calm in that moment.
The Hitman couldn't hold that against him, though, after all that he'd heard about the CEDEF boss. If things were going well, then that man came home once all three to four years. When he did, he'd stay for a week at most and then leave again. Not the best way to spend time with his family.
His personal opinion of the blond idiot wasn't what you'd call... good, either.
He looked to Tsuna once more, then stood up with his empty cup in hand and ruffled through the gravity-defying hair. "Tomorrow. Your guardians and I will be there, too.", he added, for his standards amiably, and then left the room.
Only after the door closed behind the Hitman did the brunet let his tears fall.
- o - - o - - o - - o -
Tsuna was not in a good mood, not at all.
For starters, his father would be back today and his head was apparently trying to kill him with a headache. It wasn't even like all those years ago.
Back then, he'd waited for his father, longing for him to come back. Even when he'd developed a slight dislike against him, there had still been hope and happiness.
Now, things were different.
After everything that Tsuna went through, after everything that Iemitsu did... after finding out just what that man did for a living... he could do nothing but hate that man.
Maybe he was overdoing it a little, he asked himself that often, but when he found out that his father did have the chances to come home sometimes, that Timoteo even told him to visit his family and he refused to spend time with them and rather be with the Famiglia... that was when he realized that Iemitsu would never truly care for them the way he should.
And now that he was to be Decimo, he would see this man that held Famiglia over family a lot more often.
His childhood wish would not be fulfilled that way, though.
It would only serve to separate him from his mother, but he wouldn't let that happen. He'd be careful that when he took over, he wouldn't hold Famiglia over family, instead he'd care for them equally.
Because it was his family that gave his live joy, joy and happiness that a certain someone was not able to give him. Would not be able to give him anymore.
No, not anymore, because there was now another person that filled that space and cared for him... even though he wouldn't admit to it.
When Iemitsu stormed through the door and quickly wrapped his wife in a hug, Tsuna simply stood to the side with his guardians, friends, and family members, watching the spectacle unfold.
He didn't understand why his mother never said anything, never tried to find out more, never tried to make him stay, even though she missed him.
Although... back then he was like that too, he just wasn't that naive anymore.
Reborn, next to him, laid a hand on his shoulder, a gesture of comfort that he has been getting more familiar with over the last years. Showing him that the raven was there for him...
In the next second the blond idiot turned to Tsuna, a wide grin on his face, and made a move to come closer to Tsuna and hug him to his chest, too.
"Tuna-fishie! You got really big! And are that muscles that I see there? Oh my little Tuna-fish is growing up-", began Iemitsu as his attention shifted to his son. Said son dodged the blond and made him subsequently trip towards Reborn instead.
The others only kept watching as Iemitsu let a shocked expression cross his face, meanwhile the Raven smirked and used his foot to make the man trip.
The blonds face met the ground not a moment later; when he stood up he was rubbing his throbbing cheek and giving a venomous glare to the raven.
"Hey, Reborn! What was that? Am I not even allowed to hug my adorable son?" complained Iemitsu, but he promptly shut up and sighed when he went ignored by everyone.
His mood seemed to suddenly skyrocket again though and then he was standing in front of Nana, positively beaming at her and holding her hands in his.
"Nana, I have good news! What do you think about a short trip to Italy? Of course, the kids will come, too!", he exclaimed and received some surprised gasps from the others.
"Gyahaha! Lambo-san wants to go!", Lambo was almost immediately jumping up and down in his excitement.
"Lambo calm!", said I-pin in still broken Japanese, trying to calm the cow-child down.
Bianchi smiled at them from her place, while Tsuna, who had just turned to go back up to his room, suddenly froze in his movements, not knowing what he should think now.
Hayato and Takeshi next to him were throwing him worried looks.
"What do you mean to Italy?"
Tsuna couldn't suppress it, the question just tumbled out of his mouth.
But who could be mad at him for that, Italy was home to all mafiosi. And really...
His Italian was still not fluent and he seemed to have a terrible accent, according to Reborn. Well, at least until he was taught otherwise.
Iemitsu had obviously misinterpreted the tone of his sons voice, because he just chalked it up as curiosity and grinned.
"Just a small trip with our family to Messina. It's not bad to spend time together, right?", the blond then answered solemnly, not noticing the angry frown directed at him.
- o - - o - - o - - o -
"I can't believe he's trying something like that now...", mumbled an upset Tsuna as Hayato and Takeshi watched him silently.
The silver-haired teen was the first to speak.
"Juudaime, I'm sure you don't have to go. He can't make you go if you don't want to.",offered Hayato to his best friend and boss, trying to cheer him up.
Takeshi nodded in consent.
" 'Dera is right, Tsuna. It's up to you and I can totally understand that you're reacting this way. I don't know what I'd do if...",he began, but stopped himself and grinned apologetically. "Well, that's my opinion on things."
The brunet watched his friends silently for a moment before a small smile appeared on his lips.
"Thanks, guys. I know. It's just... after all these years...", sighing, Tsuna closed his eyes and then let himself slump backwards.
"I just don't understand. Ever since this whole Vongola Decimo thing started, I've seen him more often than any other time in my life. It shouldn't be that way.", he continued, his voice softer than before, but this time there was also an angry edge to it.
The door opened just as his two companions prepared to speak up and all three of them, sitting around the small table, turned to look at whoever was entering the room.
"Chaos. Gokudera, Yamamoto, I'd suggest you start packing, we're leaving tomorrow morning to Messina. Now go.",Reborn announced and nodded in the direction of the door.
Both quickly got up as Tsuna sat himself upright again.
"Well, seems like we have to go, Tsuna. See you tomorrow!",acknowledged Takeshi and dragged a protesting Hayato with him out of the room.
Hayato's thrown curses were getting more quiet the further the two were from the house.
Reborn gazed at his student and tugged his fedora deeper to shadow his face.
"The rest of your guardians will accompany us to Messina. By the looks of it, Nono wanted to call a meeting and he made Iemitsu come get you. Bakamitsu will probably tell you once you're there.", explained the raven when he noticed Tsuna's questioning look.
Tsuna's expression darkened a bit.
"So he's just using this trip as an excuse to get us to the meeting... Thank you, Reborn." Now the brunet was silent again, his bangs shadowing his eyes, as the Hitman nodded curtly and ruffled through his hair.
- o - - o - - o - - o -
The flight over to Italy had been exhausting, at least for Tsuna, who had to make sure his guardians and friends didn't destroy the plane. He was lucky, for it had been a private jet of Vongola and that way no civilian was in danger of being injured or otherwise harmed.
The brunet was also lucky that his mom had only had eyes for her husband and hadn't noticed anything.
But however chaotic it had been, it brought Tsuna a bit peace of mind, which quickly vanished when Iemitsu told his guardians and Reborn to go on ahead and check into their hotel, a five-star hotel owned by Vongola, and make themselves comfortable.
"You guys go on ahead, I want to spend some quality time with my darling wife and my little Tuna-fish." The blond grinned as he took Nana's hand in one of his and used his other hand to urge Tsuna forward before he could protest. And then they vanished in the crowd.
„Look darling, isn't this cute?",Nana asks her husband, walking past and stopping in front of yet another shop, their son just a few steps behind them.
Tsuna just watched his parents, how they talked and laughed. He himself had to smile a bit just from seeing his mother laugh so openly again. It didn't change anything of his fathers past behavior of neglecting his wife's needs though. He was sure that she would cry again as soon as he left, and however happy these moments were, they were just going to hurt until she managed to deny the pain again. He couldn't watch this any longer, he didn't want her to get hurt by him, even though she'd never regretted these moments. She would happily remember those memories instead. But Tsuna couldn't do that, he didn't want the memories of a happier family that could never truly be his. And he didn't want to stay here either, he's been hurt enough in the past.
He shook his head to clear his thoughts before speeding up and catching up to his parents.
"Kaa-san, Tou-san... You go on ahead, I'll just wait in that park over there. If that's okay with you."
Nana looked at her son and smiled at him. "Tsu-kun, you don't need to do that, we can-", she began bust was interrupted by Iemitsu.
"Nana dear, Tsuna's a big boy, he can wait for a while. It won't hurt to leave him for a moment to take a closer look at some of the shops, right?" The blond had a wide grin on his face as he talked.
Nana seemed to think for a moment, looking at her son in worry, but Tsuna gave her a reassuring smile to tell her she could go have some fun. She gave in with a sigh and a nod, smiling in thanks at Tsuna.
"Okay, but take care of yourself, Tsu-kun, we won't be gone long." Then she dragged Iemitsu off, with him just smiling and waving after them.
That smile soon fell when the two of them vanished into a shop, though. He then made his way over to the park on the other side of the street and sat down on a bench.
He knows that his parents won't take that long, but he can't help being somewhat restless. Especially now that the headache was back.
- o - - o - - o - - o -
Three hours.
That's how long Tsuna had sat in the park and waited for his parents.
He could see the shop that they had entered on the other side of the street, but he hadn't seen them leave yet. Or maybe they had and he'd just not noticed it? His chest tightened at that thought.
This situation was very familiar to him, only that this time, it was him that had offered to wait and from the looks of it, his mother had forgotten him as well, today.
To make matters worse, he'd also left his cell phone at the hotel and couldn't inform the rest of his Family.
A heavy sigh left his lips as he laid down on the bench to look up at the sky, which was slowly turning a shade of orange and red thanks to the dusk. His eyes were only half-open now, mirroring the sadness he felt welling up inside him.
Why was he always left alone by his parents?
Was it really that easy to forget your own son?
To not care about him?
„Somehow, it's really pathetic...", he mused, now closing his eyes completely.
But he had to jump up only a few seconds after that, feeling something rush towards him. His eyes opened to see a ten-ton-mallet slam onto the bench, held by none other than Reborn.
He felt annoyed at being bothered by him, but he was also glad to see a familiar face, so he sat down on the bench again, his tutor next to him with his fedora pulled down to shadow his eyes.
"What do you want, Reborn?", the brunet inquired quietly while crossing his arms in front of himself.
The raven didn't look at him and let his gaze wander around instead.
"The others were worried when you didn't come back. It was a pain to keep them from looking for you themselves. So what are you doing here?" Now his gaze focused on his student, watching his reaction to that.
A small smile managed to lift Tsuna's lips at those words, but a frown soon slipped onto his face in confusion instead.
Or more like a dawning understanding, instead of confusion.
„What are you saying? I told Kaa-san and... father that I'd wait here. It's them that didn't come back..." The pain and disappointment in those last words was impossible to overhear, making Reborn growl low in his throat.
"Damn Bakamitsu ...He came back with Nana and didn't notice you weren't there until Gokudera pointed it out. The idiot said not to worry, that you were back already and they'd just missed it, even though Nana wasn't so sure.", the older one explains calmly. Though, calm couldn't be the right word, seeing how Leon kept changing in his grip.
Tsuna had by now tilted his head back and a dejected look on his face.
"Ne, Reborn... Is it really that easy to forget your own son? To act like nothing is wrong?", the soon-to-be Vongola Decimo asks in a small but clear voice. Reborn slaps him over the head for that question, making Tsuna flinch and emit a squawk, before letting his hand rest in the gravity-defying hair.
Tsuna was surprised to have the hand lay on his head and took the chance to peek up at the man to see Reborn scrutinize him with a close look.
„Dame-Tsuna, stop it with the idiocy. Your parents are worried. They won't forget you that easily.", he replies, earning a humorless laugh from the brunet.
"But this isn't the first time that my father forgot me. It's almost like back then! Even though a father is supposed to be there for his son and care for him...", counters Tsuna, making Reborn sigh exasperatedly.
"Tsuna, Iemitsu's stupidity is not curable. We all know he's a bad father, it's no use to dwell on it. You still have your Family. And me. As your tutor, I will stay with you for a long time, especially with how you still behave. Roger that?"
Onyx eyes locked with orange ones, which had widened upon those words and were now softening into a caramel brown again.
„Maybe you're right, Reborn. So you'll stay and not leave any time soon, huh?", Tsuna smiled, suddenly feeling much better than before.
Reborn just rolled his eyes. "Stop stating the obvious, Dame-Tsuna."
The brunet laughed openly at this and dared to lay his head on the older mans shoulder.
"You know, Reborn...", Tsuna began quietly while closing his eyes, getting a grunt from Reborn, signaling that he was still listening.
Leon had scampered up the ravens arm to rest on the fedora some time ago and was content to just watch things unfold.
„... It's strange, really. If I could choose a father, then I'd pick you. Any time. You're strict and sadistic and often times very annoying... But you're always there when I need you. You take care of me and help me grow. I think that's the most important.", the brunet mumbled, a small smile on his lips.
Reborn observed his student a moment longer before ruffling through his wild hair with a hand.
The corners of his mouth threatened to lift into a smile, but he fought it down.
The following words that left Reborns lips were so faint, he was sure Tsuna would not be able to perceive them. That the teens smile seemed to widen suddenly went ignored. For now.
"I would be proud to have a son like you."