A/N: Hi, everyone! Thanks for giving this fic a chance! This fic gonna take either two or three chaps (hopefully two) and I really, really wish that you'll read the second chap too, cause if you don't it'll be, err, incomplete. The first chap is about Tsuna's feelings while the second is Reborn's, so… yeah. It won't be fair for him if you don't read Reborn's POV in the second chap as well hehe. Anyway please read and enjoy! :)

Especially for: Ruka-Yuuya and all DadReborn fans!

Disclaimer: I don't own KHR

Summary: There were moments in Tsuna's life when she has to hold it in, craving for Reborn's presence. While for Reborn, the life of a professional hitman was never easy—especially when someone dear was waiting for you at home. But this Christmas, they only have one wish to grant. DadReborn & DaughterTsuna! Fem27! Two-shots (Tsuna's feelings, Reborn's feelings)

Warning: genderbend (Fem27), Adult Reborn, AU

Absence

"Some of the most important conversations I've ever had occurred at my family's dinner table."
- Bob Ehrlich

Tsunahime Sawada met him at three.

Strangely, she never saw her parents again after he came.

The man was named Reborn—a very strict and discipline man to her.

It took a few months until she can bare the fact that she does gonna live with him.

From her child vision, she trusted him.

He's already like a father figure to her; teaching and taking care of her.

But still, she couldn't understand the reason why he never showed that jolly-glue stuff like her blonde father.

Tsuna looked out from the creak of the door. The lights weren't out and she could hear his voice, presumably talking by the phone. It's already eleven at night, and of course, way passed her bedtime. She would've been punished heavily if he has known, but she just couldn't sleep, especially when she felt the space beside her is empty. So she could only hope that he's gonna drop the phone soon and went to their bedroom.

After about five minutes, her legs were already shaky and she let out a small yawn. Gosh he takes forever. Her eyelids felt heavier by the second, and his unchanging tone made her even sleepier. When she sat down, leaning on the thick door, she decided to take a small nap. The only thing she heard before it become black is his mutters of protecting some brat tomorrow… which she barely able to digest. She didn't know how long she's asleep when the door behind her suddenly moved backwards.

Tsuna let out a childish squeak in surprise as she fell on her back with a quiet thump and puffed her cheeks in annoyance. "G-geez, what-"

"It's me who should ask, Tsuna," she gulped at the voice. With a slow movement, she looked up as high as she could, considering their height difference. She bit her lips when she saw his face that says 'not again'. Tsuna kept looking in silence, sometimes her finger played with the hem of her pajamas. He sighed, "What are you doing here? You know what time it is."

Her eyebrows' furrowed, "B-but, I… I was waiting for you…"

With another sigh, he bent down and picked her up into his arms. Tsuna immediately glued herself to him, her tiny hands clutched his shirt as if not wanting to let go. Unfortunately, in his personal apartment, it only took a few good meters to reach the bedroom from where they were before. He put her down, almost with more effort than he usually do, and cover her with the thick covers. Tsuna looked at him with some expectation but unfortunately, he didn't slip under the covers like she hoped.

"Sleep. You gonna have a long day tomorrow," Reborn said. Tsuna pouted, of course, tomorrow's her first visit to her grandpa's mansion (aka Vongola HQ) after a month, but that didn't mean she should sleep without him. Her doe eyes reflect only sadness as she tried to cover herself more with the blanket.

"Nee, Reborn…" Tsuna whispered under the blanket. Fortunately Reborn was blessed with sharp ears and he 'hmm'-ed as a response. Tsuna observe him for a while, before she blinked and shook her head. She muttered, "… Nothing…"

Reborn closed his eyes and sighed softly from his nose, too silent for her to hear. He walked to the door and turned off the lamp. "… Good night, Tsuna. Don't wander around again."

She only nodded as an answer before he left and close the door behind him. Tsuna stayed in silence, staring at the darkness. She closed her eyes with furrowed eyebrows—how she wanted him to tell her a bed time story.

Time flew by…

And I'm floating.

She must be dreaming.

No, someone must have played tricks to her test.

Or maybe the teacher gave a wrong line when he wrote the score.

Either way, she couldn't stop blinking when she saw the big letter "A" in her test. It was probably her first—and last. But it is happening and she really got an "A" for the first time! Of course, it's all thanks to her devil tutor, but with this score, he'd be proud because she really gave her best.

It's been two years since she's enrolled in the somewhat mafia-elementary school. The students were of course, all boss-gonna-be, and so, she's one of them. For being the Vongola heir just made her the more special, though she barely know what it meant. She didn't know why children should learn how to use guns or how to protect themselves from bombs, but she did learn them and she got an "A" for gunnery!

Smile emerged on her face when she recalled how it was such a tough work to prepare and go for the test, and truthfully she has only been fortunate that luck's on her side that day and she could do all three tries perfectly. It was weeks since Reborn trained her to aim for the little circles and he'd punished her many times for failing.

She played her feet a little, trying to shake off the leaves from her feet but also because she's feeling so impatient. Waiting for her ride, aka Reborn, has never been so torturing. It's been almost five minutes and most of the other children have gone home with their rides. Now, Reborn has never been late and she's almost sure that he's the type that never comes late. But why, today of all day, he is?

When she thought like that, a black car emerged from the corners. Her lips formed a smile; she has seen that car many times— but the smile vanished when she realized just where she saw the car. It's not in front of Reborn's apartment, but rather…

"Yo, Tsuna, sorry that I'm late," a blonde grinned when the window rolled down. Tsuna tried to smile to her brother figure, Dino. But although she did her best, nobody will ever buy it. Especially people that has been close to her. So, Dino watched her closely when she skipped from where she's standing to the door that has been opened wide by one of his subordinates. She sighed when threw herself to the soft cushion. Dino frowned in worry, "Tsuna? Did something happen?"

Tsuna glanced from the corners of her eyes. She whispered, "I… I thought that Reborn's the one who'll pick me up."

"Well… he got a sudden mission or something," Dino shrugged. When he saw that it's not making his lil sister feel any better, he moved beside her. "Hey, what's wrong?"

She bit her lips, shutting her eyes. Something's tearing apart inside her chest but he didn't need to know about that. Her little fists crumpled the paper test. "N-nothing…"

Whatever happened, she promised not to let anyone see her cry.

Those happy jolly times…

Could never be ran down right?

Every time she thought about their birthdays, she always chuckled at some point of her thoughts.

It's funny that her birthday was just the next day after his. It was October, when the winds blow coolly and the leaves turned brown. A beautiful season, she always thought.

She's now ten years old, and she remembered that every year they'll open up their gifts at midnight—so it's kind of a double party. Of course she liked it best that way, since there are only two of them who have the party. Reborn refused when she told him to bring some of his friends to come over and truthfully she loved the moment of togetherness that only they both shared.

Last year she gave him a pair of shoes—which almost took all of her money— while he gave her a new vest that she wore almost every day whenever she could.

This year, she has decided to give him a tie. She has spied it every time she passed the store—it's a dark shade of blue with silver linings and she could just imagine him wearing one. She decided to get it first thing tomorrow (Saturday) since his birthday is on Sunday. So, it was completely unfortunate when she found herself sneezing and trying to keep herself warm with a few layers of blankets. Reborn has literally forced her to read her temperature and she cringed when Reborn dismissed her ill and has to stay home, resting and getting better.

As expected, however, she begged and pleaded him to let her go out for a quick thirty minutes. He only sighed and carried her to bed again. Before she could protest again, he's already there, with a glass of water and a tablet.

"Just sleep Tsuna," he told her as he handed her the glass carefully. Her head was spinning and in reality, she just lied to herself when she said she's alright. She's sweating and felt cold but when she covered herself with some blankets, she won't stop shivering although her mind protested about the heat.

With a heavy heart, she swallowed the pill down and gulped the water. As she slipped under the heavy covers, she scold herself for getting sick so untimely, and reminded herself that she at least has to be up tomorrow to congratulate his birthday. Her muscles weren't cooperating and she has to struggle to look at the clock—five p.m. She sighed, calculating the time she has to get up.

She didn't remember what her final conclusion was, only that it's already eleven at night by the time she opened her eyes again. Her body ached and she only caught a glimpse of the clock in the dark room and felt someone pull the blanket over her until it completely covered her body. The warmth was completely needed by her body and she accepted it gratefully. She had felt his presence in the room and she sighed in content before drifted off again.

She didn't know how long she's been out, but she's been up and drifted off for more than several times. Her mind barely registered the time and along that period, she didn't even check the calendar. By the time she got better and her mind has mostly cleared off, she heard Reborn called her homeroom teacher to tell that she's gonna stay for the day. The question crossed her mind about why Reborn called her homeroom teacher instead of the Ninth-

Then she remembered and rushed to the calendar—it's Monday.

Maybe they'll grant me,

My one selfish wish…

Finally, it's that time of the year.

It's Christmas, and amongst all, perhaps it's one of the best time of the year.

There's no school which meant no homework and even Reborn was home and not on his missions.

Well, the previous years that is.

Right now she's waiting anxiously for his return.

It's Christmas Eve and he's not home. She had called him and he said that he'll be home soon. But that's almost six hours ago and she just wanted to slam her head on the clock.

The next time she looked at the clock, it's already eleven at night. Great, so she's been waiting for almost eight hours. She has even spent some of her time restudying math because she didn't have anything better to do. She has called the Ninth to ask what's Reborn's mission this time and he told her a few of the details. She almost tear up when she heard him said that the mission gonna take at least two weeks and Reborn just started a few days ago.

When she hung up the phone, she couldn't help but look at their Christmas tree. Yes, no one would ever imagine the great Reborn has a Christmas tree in his apartment. The truth is, she has asked it for her present and surprisingly she came home one day and found the little tree by the corner of their living room. It's very short, perhaps only a slight taller than her knees, but it made the whole living room different.

She sighed and counted the times he's been out. Last year the Ninth has given him fewer long missions than usual, but this year's certainly the opposite. She didn't mind since she has known and accepted it since the beginning, but she really wished he's here when there were special occasions like this. Sometimes it's her that has school events and sometimes it's him who has to go out to do his job.

She sat down on the kitchen chair. Okay, so he's late that's all. Worst case was him late and only arrived by New Year's countdown. She tried to force a smile, 'So what? At least the gifts are under the tree.'

After a few seconds of super awkwardness, her staring at the little box by the tree, she sighed in defeat. She knew more than anyone that she lied to herself. Cause it's not really the presents that mattered—it's the moments itself. She remembered last year went so wonderful, just like the other years, he gonna tell her a few advices while she told him her hopes and wishes for him. And it's truly one of the moments that she really felt him as a father.

The clock's ticking making her even more anxious that it almost broke her heart.

It's almost midnight, and she wondered where he is right now. Maybe he's just a few hours from home or maybe he's somewhere in the other half of the planet. She couldn't hope too much can't she? But neither can she stop wishing.

A heavy sigh escaped her lips. The real big day was tomorrow, so maybe he'll be there in the morning. She didn't even mind if he arrived at night tomorrow. She dragged herself toward the bedroom and decided to go to sleep, rather than waiting anxiously, draining her own life and spirit.

She closed her eyes with a simple wish. If only he's here…

…To be continued…

A/N: Okay, I know that this make Reborn look so bad but I can promise you that he's not what he looked like here. He's the type that hid his most, deepest sensitive feelings (in my opinion) instead of expressing it so easily and I honestly think that deep inside his heart he cared and loved Tsuna, which you'll see more in the next chap because the next chap gonna talk from his POV hehe. It's kinda unfair to see only from one side… LOL why am I the one who's ranting about this? Well, because I LOVE seeing DadReborn! So I have to apologize to all fellow fans if he looked really bad in the first chap

P.s. just to make clear, since there's no Q&A section, Tsuna's around four-five in the first scene, seven in the next, ten in the third, and twelve in the last. Reborn's, well, I didn't really thought about his age when writing this, maybe late twenties until early thirties (since I don't want him to be too old hahaha)

Thank you for reading!
And, good luck to all that will do the final tests! :D