Here's the first chapter as promised

He was cold, he was wet, and he was miserable. Not exactly a good remedy for a broken heart and pretty much a one way ticket to depression. Lambo was sure he was already half way there, lost as he was, figuratively and literally.

He peered through the thick rain and greenery, and thought he saw a flicker of orange glow from the corner of his left eye. Turning to have a better look, all he could see was densely packed trees, pretty much the same view that he had been seeing, ever since he was stupid enough to wander into the forest. So maybe getting off the bus and walking straight ahead in pure daze was not been his best idea, well it's neither his worst one, yet. That current spot was taken when he stupidly fired the Junian Bazooka on his enemy during his debut mission. That's pretty much the same as shooting an own goal(1) .

It'd have helped had the enemy been an old foggy; Hibari might have sulked if he only had a mummy to smash. But no; he had to summon that cocky brat who seems to think that playing Ultraman was the ultimate villain from whichever parallel world he came from. It certainly didn't help when the brat could summon a twin of the said overgrown mechanical man. It was a mistake that Hibari was happy to ratify, albeit rather zealously. But of course, they had to do fight right smack in the middle of a town that the Decimo has been trying to build, inadvertently destroying the half built town into a pile of rubber within that short span of five minutes.

Faced with Gokudera-shi and Tsuna's silent reproach; and Hibari long gone onto his next mission, Lambo was guilt into helping them rebuild the town. It took months to clear away the piles of rubber in the not so small piece of land and he was sure he almost squeezed himself dry from producing enough lightning to power Verde's machine. With Mukuro and Chrome's illusions, they manged to conjured up the town into a permanent reality overnight. Lambo had silently thought that they should have done this in the first place but seeing at the small bump beginning to show on Chrome's stomach, he kept out of the Mist Guardian's way whenever he thought his wife was over stressing herself. The petite would then quietly protest that she was only tow months into her term and not that easily tired yet.

Tired, aching with the slimy feeling of being groped by Verde's too inquisitive hands, he had returned to the small box he called home for the first time in months. Located comfortably between the Vongola's sprawling mansion and the market town, it was convenient enough that he didn't missed the bustling town while still within Tsuna's acceptable range of out of sight. Since the arrangement suited Lambo just fine for his ongoing bid of independence, he didn't miss the many luxurious amenities the mansion offered. It was a short enough walk that he could just pop over if he felt like swimming.

Had Lambo his way and money, he would've purchase the lovely oak and glass house at East End, just a day's walk from the mansion. Big, spacious and isolated, it was built by a lake and stood just in front of the tree line, right on the other side of the East Forest that he wouldn't have to worry about prying eyes when skinny dipping. But Tsuna put his foot down when he heard that, ranting about who knows what a thirteen year old could get up to in the middle of nowhere.

After much pleading, begging and working his butt off to prove how much of an adult he is now, Tsuna grudgingly agree; on the condition that he stayed in his current shack independently till he was twenty one; he'll sell the deed to Lambo. It didn't help Tsuna proved his point though; not when everyone dropped by every now and then, bringing food and daily necessities that lasted him through winter after winter. After being subjected to a terse and pointed warning glare from all the ladies, Tsuna wisely kept his opinions to himself.

When he saw his really small but cozy shack, Lambo cheered. Consisting of just one bedroom, while the living room, kitchen shared a space, there wasn't even room for the toilet that barely squeezed itself into the shack. It wasn't much but it was his. He thought of the quarter filled money jug he had buried carefully under the floorboards beneath his bed; slowly but surely, he'll have enough to purchase the house and maybe even some of the land surrounding it by the time he was of age.

About to open the worn out door, he paused, and leaned his ear against the thin wood. He frowned, wondering at the indistinct squeaks and creaks coming from within the shack, which can only be from his bedroom. Lambo slowly crept round the shack to the back, unconsciously lightening his footsteps. He sincerely hoped it wasn't rats that discovered his stash of chocolates. He quickly dismissed that thought. I-Pin would've have kept it for him. She probably cleaned the house too, judging by the state of the gleaming windows.

Round the back, the squeaks and creaks were clearer, almost but barely drowning out groans and muffled moans that were disturbingly familiar. a flutter of light green cloth indicated his window was opened. he took a final step and faced the opened window and felt his body burn with the rush of blood, them grew to a bone chilling cold. Wide-eyed, he watched the spiky black head of his lover pounded into the curvaceous redhead pinned beneath him, her cries muffled by his favorite cow print pillow while she gripped a hand of a unconscious lush blond covered with red marks, bites and discarded condoms.

Lambo jolted out of shock when a pair of heat smoldered black eyes met his, the hard line of thin lips eased itself a lazy smirk. A shiver ran down Lambo's spine; he took a step back then two, and fled.

In daze, Lambo vaguely remembered walking into the middle of the road, and was almost ran over by an incoming bus. The screeching horn pulled a little of his senses back. He gazed stupidly while the driver shouted vulgarities at him, and caught sight of the word forest; thinking that it was the East End Forest, he boarded the bus without a second thought.

Now stuck in a completely different forest, Lambo had long since given up trying to find the entrance from where he'd entered. He huddled to himself in the hollow of a tree, lying against the moss covered wall. The past months' exhaustion had finally caught up and his head throbbed in a rhythmic beat, reminding him of his lack of sleep. Dizzy, his chilled fingers were instantly warmed when he touched his forehead. A satisfied sign escaped him. Vaguely he knew that it was dangerous, but he couldn't bring himself to care anymore.

The soft patter of rain drew his eyelids lower and Lambo found himself nodding off. Uncomfortably cold to the point of shivering, Lambo thought back to the scene at his house and wondered what he ever saw in that arrogant cheating bastard. First love never comes true, as the old saying went. Ha, what do you know Reborn, you're just a stepping stone for me to find true love. He giggled, delirious from the fever. Before he passed out, he thought he saw a muddy pair of worn out boots.

(1) An own goal is when a player scores in their own team's net or scoring area, not the opposing team's, during sports games in which points-scored are referred to as "goals" (e.g., football). An own goal is usually accidental, but is counted as a regular goal.

To be continued...