A/N: Another gift for my lovely Kit! This was a pick-me-up, as things seem to be hellish for her. Her happy place is 8059, so I wrote this up for her!
Disclaimer: Katekyo Hitman Reborn! Characters and Places belong to Akira Amano.
"I have to know, Gokudera. What have I ever done to make you hate me so much?"
Gokudera Hayato looked over at Yamamoto Takeshi, the tall dark haired light eyed baseball player Tsuna had befriended who ended up becoming part of the Vongola Family and even the Rain guardian, with a scowl. The slightly shorter, light haired and dark eyed Storm guardian of the Vongola Family had not wanted to walk with Yamamoto anywhere in the world, let alone to the fair that had stopped in town for no reason other than Namimori was a good place to stop. Yet the boys' mutual friend, Sawada Tsunayoshi, called Tsuna for short, had invited all of his friends to go to the fair with him. They had all agreed to meet at the front gate at noon, and Yamamoto had appeared in front of his building, grinning and asking if it was alright if he walked with him. Gokudera had only agreed because he knew that Tsuna liked Yamamoto as a friend.
Yamamoto looked over at Gokudera, catching his eye after a few minutes of silence. "Are you going to ignore me now? I thought you would've loved to tell me everything I've ever done wrong." He grinned, which was strange considering the topic of conversation. Gokudera snorted then, looking away. "That's more like it. So why do you hate me so much? I must've done something. I can't think of anything, but there has to be something."
"Sure there's a reason," Gokudera said then, taking out a pack of cigarettes and patting it, slipping a stick in between his lips. He patted his pockets for his lighter, finding it and lighting the cigarette. "Like hell I'm going to tell you, though."
"Aww, that's no fair Gokudera! The hated person should know why you hate them! It's only fair."
"No fucking chance," Gokudera muttered darkly around his cigarette, chewing on it in annoyance. He then looked up to see the front gate of the fair and a gaggle of people loitering around. "Tenth!" He called out cheerfully, grinning and waving. "Sorry we're late! Baseball-idiot had to go to the convenience store."
"I thought it was a good idea to have snacks so we wouldn't have to buy any overpriced food here," Yamamoto said, grinning as he held up a bag of canned drinks and some chocolate bars.
"That was nice of you, Yamamoto!" Tsuna said, smiling widely, honey eyes lighting up. The brunet then turned to look at Gokudera, smiling and laughing a little as the light haired teen bowed a greeting, grinning. "Hey, Gokudera-kun. You seem as energetic as usual."
"Just seeing you gives me strength, Tenth," Gokudera said, smirking. "I need to be at my best so I don't bring shame to your name or the Family."
"Ahahah, right, yeah…" Tsuna looked away nervously, before smiling. "Well then, let's go inside! I want to see what shows they're playing."
"Ohh, I wonder if they're selling any cute little souvenirs." Miura Haru looked at Sasagawa Kyoko with a hopeful look, which was shared with the light haired girl. The two clasped hands as they followed after Tsuna, Yamamoto and Gokudera, the rest of their group trailing behind them.
"Hey little guy," Yamamoto turned to look at Reborn as he sat on his shoulder, one of the baby's preferred sitting places. "Is there anything you want to do here?"
"Hm? Yeah. I want to try one of the games where you have to shoot moving ducks." Reborn smiled benignly as Yamamoto laughed, wondering how the baby would do in a game like that. Gokudera glanced over at the two of them, frowning as Yamamoto smiled lightly, glancing over at him with a raised eyebrow. The light haired bomber turned away, scowling and chewing on his cigarette in agitation.
He wondered if this was going to be a long day.
Yeah, it was going to be a long day.
Gokudera crossed his arms irately as Lambo ran around in front of him, chasing I-Pin as she once again mistook him for a 'broccoli monster'. Yamamoto was beside him, laughing at the two infants even as he tried to tell them to settle down before they hurt themselves. Reborn was sitting on Yamamoto's shoulder, as he always seemed to be, commenting how Yamamoto should leave idiots to be idiots. Gokudera scowled and turned away from the picture, rifling through his pockets for a smoke.
"Bwahahaha—AHH!"
Gokudera looked back at Lambo and I-Pin to see Lambo rubbing his nose in front of a tough looking high school student. It seemed as if Lambo had run into the teen and bonked his nose on his knee; the teen did not look very happy to have been bumped into.
"Hey, brat, watch where the hell you're going," the taller male growled, moving his foot back to kick at Lambo. From the corner of his eye Gokudera saw Yamamoto start to move, yet he was faster. He rushed forward, scooped Lambo into one arm and tossed the infant over to Yamamoto, who easily caught him due to years of playing baseball. Gokudera then stood lazily in front of the high school student, hands shoved into his pockets and cigarette dangling from his lips. "Who the hell are you?"
"A pain in the ass," Gokudera said, grinning around his cigarette. "The only one allowed to beat up that dumb cow is me. So you can just go piss off."
The high school student looked like he wanted to say something, but just as he opened his mouth to say something he saw Gokudera remove his cigarette from his mouth with one hand while simultaneously pulling out what looked like a stick of dynamite from his back pocket with the other. Thinking that it wouldn't be wise to talk to a person with a stick of dynamite, the teen just snorted and jerked his head in indication for those following him to just leave the area. The small group of older kids turned around then and walked away, leaving the smaller group of younger kids to stand idle, watching them until they disappeared. Gokudera then 'ch'ed and put his dynamite back into his pocket, taking a drag from his cigarette and exhaling a puff of smoke.
"Pansies," he muttered, scowling before turning to see Yamamoto staring at him with wide eyes, holding Lambo in his hands even as the child started to wriggle trying to get out so that he could play on the ground. "What's with the stupid look, baseball-idiot?"
"Hm? Oh, I was just impressed with that. I didn't think you cared about Lambo so much." Yamamoto grinned when Gokudera gave him an incredulous look, putting the boy down and watching as he ran towards I-Pin, making monster noises as the small girl mistook him for a broccoli monster again. "You acted like a big brother then or something."
"Are you on something?" Gokudera asked then after a moment of stupid silence. "Why the hell would you think I would give a rat's ass about that stupid thing?" He jerked with his thumb at Lambo who, at that moment, decided to pause and look at a shell he had found on the ground, before deciding it should be housed in his nose. Yamamoto laughed good-naturedly, kneeling down and getting Lambo to take the shell out of his nose before he hurt himself. "He shoves whatever he finds in his nose, he doesn't know one shit's worth of anything. It's like I told those fucking pansies; the stupid cow is my punching bag, not anyone else's. Except for Reborn's," he nodded respectfully to the baby who now sat on the ledge of a wall, having moved when Yamamoto had taken charge of Lambo.
Yamamoto looked back up at Gokudera, grinning as he explained himself. "All right, whatever you say Gokudera. Still, I thought you looked pretty cool defending Lambo like that, even if you were just defending your right to beat him up as you say." Gokudera was about to say that he was not just saying anything when Yamamoto looked over his shoulder, grinning. "Hey Tsuna! How was the show?"
"Tenth!" Gokudera turned around smiling and waving, pushing away any negative thoughts from his mind for the moment. He fell into step beside Tsuna as the brunet smiled and started to tell Yamamoto about the show he and the girls had just seen performed by some run-of-the-mill Buskers. He tuned out the conversation after a while, chewing on his cigarette thoughtfully as he shoved his hands into his pockets. Why had he jumped in like that when Lambo was about to be kicked? Usually he just let whatever happen to the dumb cow as he seemed to be able to handle any sort of lesser damage handed to him. Yet he had thoughtlessly stepped in between Lambo and the bigger high school students. It wasn't like he couldn't handle them or anything—once someone saw his dynamite they usually fled unless they had something better—yet it didn't make any sense.
He thought back to the situation, trying to remember when he had jumped in, gnawing his cigarette irritably. His eyes widened as he realized the exact moment he had jumped in.
Oh yeah. It was going to be a fucking long day.
"Lambo-san wants to ride THAT!"
The group looked up at the large Ferris wheel that stood before them, turning slowly and ominously before them. Gokudera stared at it for a moment, decided that it looked about as safe as one of his half-sister's toxic meals, and started searching for his fifth cigarette of the day.
"Are you sure, Lambo?" Tsuna asked, looking at the child by his leg. The afro-headed child nodded with a stupid grin, looking at the large wheel with a slightly insane sort of glee. Tsuna sighed in resignation, looking at the others in the group. "Alright…does anyone else want to ride?"
"Definitely! It looks totally EXTREME!" Sasagawa Ryohei said loudly, grinning and holding a fist up in the air for apparently no reason. Kyoko smiled indulgently to her brother before turning to Tsuna with a smile.
"It looks like fun. Right, Hana-chan?"
"Mmhm!" Hana agreed, smiling with her usual lazy look. I-Pin nodded from her place in the girl's arms and Fuuta looked at it with intrigue, nodding slowly. Tsuna looked around as generally everyone agreed to ride the Ferris wheel before smiling. "Alright, I suppose we should set up pairs to ride, then."
"Haru will watch the children for Tsuna-san!" Haru volunteered, smiling brightly as she held up her hand. "It's only fair, as Tsuna-san is always watching over the children! And it will be good practice for my future as your wi—"
Tsuna covered Haru's mouth before she said anything else, laughing nervously. "Alright…thank you, Haru."
"Well, if Haru's going to watch over the little ones, I don't mind riding with my brother," Kyoko said, smiling lightly. "Besides, it looks like Fuuta really wants to ride with you, Tsuna!" She giggled a little as Tsuna looked down to see Fuuta standing next to him suddenly grinning.
"Tsuna-nii! Please? Can I?"
"Uhh…Well, okay…"
"Yaay!"
"Well," Tsuna said once Fuuta let go of his arm that he had hugged in his glee. "It looks like that leaves Yamamoto and Gokudera-kun to ride together. You guys okay with that?"
"Sure thing, Tsuna!" Yamamoto said with a smile, crossing his arms behind his head. "It'll be good for some quality bonding."
"If the Tenth says so, then I'll go along with it," Gokudera said, lighting his cigarette after having found it. Tsuna smiled thankfully to his two friends, before the group herded towards the Ferris wheel, getting into the relatively short line. They got into their respective carts as they slowly wheeled passed, Haru situation the three infants around her and securing them, Tsuna making sure Fuuta was safely seated and Kyoko telling her brother that he was not allowed to lean over the safety bar in case they tipped over and fell. As their cart pulled forward, Yamamoto glanced at Gokudera and smiled lightly. "What the hell are you staring for, baseball-idiot?"
"Oh, nothing really," Yamamoto said with a shrug, before indicating for Gokudera to get in. The light haired youth did after a moment's hesitation, sliding in and crossing his arms as Yamamoto slid in, helping the worker of the wheel set the safety bar over their knees. He waved at them as they went up before helping the next pair into their cart, and Yamamoto grinned down at them before leaning forward on the handlebars. "So, Gokudera…why do you hate me so much?"
Gokudera nearly spat out his cigarette. "That again? I thought I fucking told you, I'm not going to tell you why!"
"Well, it's not like we have anything else to do up here, and I'm sure you'd ignore me if I just tried to talk to you. I thought that this would be a good opportunity to talk about that." He turned and grinned at Gokudera, cocking his head to the side and staring at him with light eyes. "So?"
"I don't want to fucking talk about it," Gokudera growled, turning away from the Rain guardian and staring off at the fairgrounds, watching as people screamed on the small coaster and went into funhouses with warped mirrors, moving floors and smoke.
"All right then, I'll guess why." Gokudera looked at Yamamoto with an incredulous look, making the baseball fanatic shrug. "It's better than sitting in silence. Hmmm…Is it because I'm taller than you?"
"Che. No."
"Hmmm….Is it because I'm always asking you for help in homework?"
"No,"
"How about the fact that the girls are nicer to me?"
"No at a fucking chance,"
"Is it because the kids like me?"
"Big deal,"
"Am I getting close, at least?"
"Way off the mark, idiot." Gokudera sighed then, flicking his cigarette off of the Ferris wheel, glancing to make sure it didn't land on anyone. "Why don't you just give up?"
"It's bothering me."
The Storm guardian paused in his next statement, looking at Yamamoto to see one of the teen's rare serious looks on his face. He was staring off into space, fingers laced together as he frowned lightly.
"I mean, I understand why some of the kids don't like me in school, since I'm really good at baseball and other sports. Yet you're good at sports, too. You're smarter than me in academics. You seem to understand everything around you without even needing to think about it. You're overall better than me, yet you still hate me. Is it because I'm not as smart as you or because I don't understand things as well as you do? Is it because I never take anything seriously or is it something else? Do you hate me for the sake of hating me?"
Gokudera frowned, glancing away from the raven haired boy next to him. Gritting his teeth, he sighed tiredly and wiped a hand down his face, scowling.
"IhateyoubecauseIlikeyou."
"….What?" Yamamoto asked, looking at Gokudera oddly. "I did not catch any of that Gokudera."
"I said," Gokudera grounded out, closing his eyes irately. "I hate you…because I like you."
"…" Gokudera opened his dark eyes to see a confused Yamamoto. "…I don't get it."
"Good god, man," Gokudera knocked his forehead against the safety bar, feeling a blush start to creep up his neck. "I hate you because I fucking like you, alright? And when I say 'like' I mean as in I fucking have a crush on you. You're such a fucking idiot and you never take anything seriously, especially dangerous situations. You think everything's a game. Someone challenges you to a fight? That sounds like fun. You get beat half to death? You just need to train a little more, and you're still alive right? But no, you fucking ass, that's not right. And you worry people like that. You worry the Tenth; you worry that fucking lawn head and the girls and maybe the brats and Reborn, too. But you also fucking worry me, since I'm standing there wondering, 'Will that baseball-idiot die this time?' and when I think of you dying I don't like it. It's like I'm looking Bianchi straight in the eye; my stomach goes in knots and I feel bile in my throat and I feel like collapsing. Because fuck if you were gone…I don't even fucking know. So that makes me hate you. Because I like you so much that I don't even understand it." He closed his eyes, sure he was a bright red now and hating it almost as much as he hated these damned feelings for Yamamoto.
There was silence around them, blocking out the shrieks and laughter of the fair around them. After a few moments, Gokudera opened his eyes and sighed. "…Well, whatever. Now you know. So could you fucking drop it?"
When Yamamoto didn't answer him, Gokudera glanced over at him. Yet just as he turned over the taller boy leaned forward and touched his lips to the light haired teen's. Gokudera's eyes widened to the size of dish plates, and he could feel his blush increasing tenfold. It took him a moment, yet once he realized what was happening he closed his eyes and kissed Yamamoto back, lifting a hand to thread in his hair. He felt an arm wrap around his waist, basically pulling him onto the Rain guardian's lap, and he helped situate himself so he was straddling him, resting his other hand on Yamamoto's chest while the baseball fanatic touched the bomber's cheek with a gentleness Gokudera hadn't ever felt before.
They pulled back once the instinct to breathe became too intense, foreheads touching as they almost breathed through each other's mouths, Gokudera's eyes closed, Yamamoto's half opened. The light haired teen could almost feel Yamamoto's smile.
"So that's the reason…" he murmured then, trailing callused fingers down a slightly rough skinned cheek, tips resting on Gokudera's pulsing heart. "I always wondered…"
"Che," Gokudera muttered, opening his eyes and frowning slightly at the other. "I told you I had a reason to hate you."
"Heh, so you did." Yamamoto smiled softly then, leaning up and kissing Gokudera again. Gokudera kissed him back.