A/N: Firstly, thank you for clicking this fic. Secondly, I have to apologize for making this separately from "Life's Gems" but here's the reason why:
OFFER/CHALLENGE/REQUEST(?):
Lately I've been reading especially lot of stories (either cannon or fanfics) about family stuff—which they're all so sweet and cute! So, I was making this chapter genuinely to say this to readers: Do any of you interested in making a story with those (family/friendship) themes? Especially Giotto and Tsuna ones (craving right now) haha. If you did, please tell me and I'll be honored to read it! Or oh, maybe we could just combine it? LOL just a suggestion anyway XD
Tell me what you think in PM/review/whatever you're going to use hehe. Thanks!
Disclaimer: I don't own KHR
Summary: Having a brother meant more than having a sibling—one that Tsuna has always treasured with his big brother, Giotto. A challenge/offer inside?
Warning: AU, jumping of age from scene to scene, too much ruffling! (LOL)
Fratello
"It snowed last year too: I made a snowman and my brother knocked it down and I knocked my brother down and then we have tea."
- Dylan Thomas
I have a brother; something that many people yearned for.
But what mostly people didn't know, it has its own annoying part.
The graduation day filled with excitement and exhilaration. Not excluding Tsuna of course. Sawada Tsunayoshi, or nicknamed Tsuna, was now going to be a middle school student! He was happy to leave elementary school and its bullies and became hopeful for the future school.
After all, it was the school that his brother attended to.
Today there's going to be someone who will speak the opening speech— something considered a high honor for its student of course. He was not surprised to see his brother walked on stage. He was, after all, a famous and talented student.
Tsuna heard the distinguished calls for his brother from the crowd. It was not strange either to see so many girls admired him. Sawada Ieyatsu, or Giotto (because he's born in Italy), was one big shot. G., his childhood friend was not so different, but with his scowl and seemingly unapproachable atmosphere, well, it took a few guts.
Tsuna beamed with happiness when Giotto announced how happy he was to have his little brother attended to the same school as he did. Of course, his brother always has a way to make someone's day bright. Tsuna clapped loudly as Giotto climbed down the stairs. After the ceremony ended, however, was a completely different story.
Just when Giotto about to approach him in the crowd, he was quickly swept away by the girls and other students. Well, that's not the problem since Giotto politely dismissed them. Tsuna was glowing with joy when he felt his brother's hand ruffled his brown locks; a big difference with his brother's blonde hair. His parents praised his speech which Tsuna gladly agreed to be fantastic.
But then they came; some parents from the neighborhood that also joined the school. They quickly walk over hand in hand with their small children; averagely at Tsuna's age. Tsuna knew they shared a few chitchats between adults before it started.
"Oh my, what a wonderful son you have, Nana, Iemitsu!" one of the woman said, looking at Giotto, who was five years senior than Tsuna. "It was such a wonderful speech!"
"Yes, yes, it was a marvelous speech," another one with the short hair said. "You have such a talent, Giotto. No wonder you're so famous!"
"I hope my son could grow to be just like you Giotto-kun," the third one finally said, beckoning to her son who looked at Tsuna smugly; as if he was higher than Tsuna. Tsuna glimpsed at Giotto who replied back with a smile and shrug slightly. Tsuna stifled a chuckle at this.
"Yes, at first we were confused what school Tsuna better took," Nana explained and Tsuna's head perked up at the mentioning of his name. "But Giotto said that Tsuna should join this school with him too. So we gladly took the offer."
Tsuna's eyes sparkled toward his bigger brother who winked back at him. Tsuna smiled brightly at the silent conversation.
"Aah, that's right," the three of the towering woman looked at Tsuna carefully—but not appraisingly. Suddenly he felt all wrong. The first one with the sharp eyes then commented with a fake smile, "Hopefully you'll be just like your brother, Tsunashi-kun."
It also created not only annoyance sometimes,
But also… confusion—but it's not bad.
Five-year-old Tsuna poked his head from the door, seeing his big brother working on some homework. Tsuna felt bad for disturbing his brother but he has no one else to play with since Gokudera and G.'s going off to Italy or something. Yamamoto and Asari Ugetsu, the latter his brother's friend, also has gone for a vacation with their father. So…
Tsuna knocked on the door which unfortunately, cloaked by the sound of the phone. Tsuna watched apprehensively as Giotto looked over his cell phone and answer it. Tsuna was all ears and wondered what and who he was talking to. His brother sounded surprised though at the end before they both hear a loud voice from outside the house.
Tsuna hid behind the door, as Giotto walked to the window by his bed. A smile crept on his face when he looked down from the window. "Oi, Giotto, wanna come with us? We gonna have a trip to the nearby town-"
"And don't worry we'll not only go for a trip but also a student council's meeting!" another voice interrupted.
"As if!" a female voice jokingly added. A round of laughter came after. Tsuna's eyebrows furrowed when he heard the familiar laughter from his brother. Oh no.
"Alright, but I'll have to skip some of the fun and return by evening," Giotto answered friendly.
"Geez, always the good example, Giotto," a new voice commented before they have a small laugh once again. Giotto told them to wait as he took his bag and jacket. Tsuna kept still on his ground even until Giotto about to open the door.
The blue eyes—which Giotto strangely inherited from one of their father's ancestor—looked down at him in surprise. "Tsuna? What are you doing here?"
"I'm… I'm…" Tsuna's eyes try to look away from his brother's gaze. "I just want to borrow a pencil. Mine's lost," Tsuna whispered hoarsely at the last word. Giotto stood silence for a while before he kneeled down. Tsuna was more than surprised to feel the soft ruffle on his head.
Tsuna's watery eyes lit up to see the warm smile from his brother, "Alright. Wait a minute."
Giotto then stood up and walked into his room once again, which drew a confused look from Tsuna; he wouldn't really take a pencil right? To Tsuna's surprise, Giotto opened the window and once again looked down. "Sorry guys! Looks like I can't go for today," he shouted, drawing shrieks of surprises.
Tsuna's eyes widen in disbelief as he continued to listen their argument before the group, despite feeling a bit disappointed, left. Tears starting to fall when he heard his brother's footsteps coming closer, "Now why were you crying Tsuna?"
"I'm… I'm sorry, nii-chan," Tsuna said between hiccups. Now he's feeling the most selfish brat in the world. The next moment, he found himself lifted by a pair of strong arms.
"What are you apologizing for Tsuna? You know that you always come first," Giotto smiled assuring the smaller brunette. Tsuna felt bad for stealing his brother's friends' time but he also felt glad that his brother prioritized him. He shot back a teary smile. But still… he did feel bad. Which one he should be feeling right now?
And not only confusion;
But at times envy, followed by regret.
Tsuna stared blankly at his paper test; the number zero was drawn big at the corner of the paper. Really, did the teacher have to draw it so big? His best friends, and perhaps, the only friends he got, keep trying to make him better. Yamamoto was alright because he shared almost the same poor number, but Gokudera was one thing because he received the perfect hundred on his test.
It shouldn't be that hard, if only he's not being constantly remembered and compared to his brother. His parents never point out their difference or try to make him be someone like Giotto, but… well… it did hard to find his good points.
Aah… what has he done that he received such karma.
Being a middle school student didn't make things better, if not worse. Now they have acknowledged his adult-coming age and things becoming even harder. His improvement, if there's one, was not visible enough for anyone to notice. His brother kept insisting that he should stay the way he is, but… should he listen from someone that has already got everything?
Just to add his frustration, just when he entered the kitchen, his mother acknowledged his presence before happily announced that Giotto has received a scholarship. Now, he used to be someone patient and he's already used with these stuff, but… the day he went through has been a lot, especially since his classmates and teachers has constantly demanded why such poor result from him.
Tsuna almost explode as he vent out his frustration, "ENOUGH ALREADY!"
The three pair of eyes watched him in surprise and even more when he abruptly left the kitchen; his heart in an absolute mess. He slammed his bedroom door and threw his bag from his hands. He let himself fell on the covers of his bed and shut his eyes as tight as it could be. Regret now took over. Why did he do that?
But being apart from all that…
Is that happier?
Today was the last day before Giotto going to go to Italy with G., Asari, and some of his other friends. They were going to continue university with scholarships, leaving Gokudera, Yamamoto, and the other siblings in Japan. Well, mostly they refused to follow their siblings to Italy.
Tsuna, however, was another case. It sunk his heart every time he saw Giotto restudied the materials for the university or every time he talked to G. on the phone about their departure. Sure Giotto always has time for him, but it was almost unbearable to see him pack on the last day.
Tsuna, just like he used to when he was small, watched silently from behind the door as Giotto took out his clothes and put it inside the bags. The room slowly becoming empty each day and the warmth slowly diminished. How wonderful it would be if Giotto didn't leave. Tsuna never knew that there would come a day his brother's leaving.
"Tsuna? What are you doing?" Giotto's question surprised the brunette. "It's late."
"Nii-san…" he whispered. Now he's already fifteen year old and has stopped calling Giotto with 'nii-chan'—which sounded a little bit too childish although he knew that Giotto never minded that. "Do you need some help?"
"It's okay; I'm almost finished anyway," Giotto said and as if to prove his point, he closed the suitcase on his hand. "There, all done."
"…" Tsuna tried to put up a smile but the muscles not cooperating so well and he's trying so hard. There was silence as neither moved. Giotto, already knowing his little brother too well, knew that at these times it was better to wait. The brunette must've a lot in his mind. Tsuna finally exhaled loudly, "When are you coming back nii-san?"
"I'll be coming back on holidays of course. And I'll try my best to be here at some weekends," Giotto said and a sad smile crept on his face when he saw Tsuna's face fell. He said softly, "Hey Tsuna, don't look like that; it's not like I'm gone forever."
"… It'll be lonely here…" Tsuna muttered, a little bit embarrassed at his confession. Giotto walked to the shorter teen and ruffled his hair playfully. Tsuna paused and shot a questioning look to Giotto. In Tsuna's mind, he wanted to protest to his big bro out loud; didn't he read the atmosphere just now?
"Don't worry; I'm not gone for long," Giotto said suddenly, keeping an even look. "And if you need my help, you can always call me and I'll fly back here as soon as you did. I won't miss anything."
"Really?" Tsuna asked doubtfully.
"Yeah, I promise."
"…" Tsuna looked up at his brother before his arms leaped forward around the older teen's body. "I'll miss you, nii-san," Tsuna whispered with his eyes closed. His holds tightened as if didn't want to let go.
Giotto smiled down a teary smile as he put his arms around his smaller brother. A familiar feeling—not unlike what Tsuna felt— grew on his chest.
"I'll miss you too, Tsuna…"
And yet again and again I remembered; there's always happiness…
Something that could only gained from a brother…
Looking back now…
The night was frighteningly dark and loud. Tsuna hid himself under the blanket and tried to ignore the maddening lightning and thunders. 'I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid…' he chanted to himself mentally, as if trying to self-hypnotize but shrieked when a thunder roared in distance, as if shaking the whole ground.
It went on for a couple of minutes to the point he could bear no more. Tsuna couldn't close his eyes to sleep for a minute and he's not sure he could handle it until morning. Going downstairs to his parents' room was out of option; it was dark and he wouldn't want to trip at the stairs. His brother-
"HIII!" Tsuna shrieked once again when the lightning struck. A-anyway, he should find a company, quick!
Little Tsuna slowly dragged himself from the bed, all the while trying to maintain the blanket covering his body. He tried to find the floor with his little foot but being clumsy as he was, he slipped from the bed and about to fell, losing his balance. He let out a shriek that was not long-lasted as a pair of arms he was familiar with grabbed his body.
Tsuna was breathless in shock and surprise. It was only added when he felt the soft breath brushed his locks as he was lifted higher from the land, "Phew, luckily I made it on time."
"N-nii-chan?" Tsuna squeaked. Without warning, another lightning strike and Tsuna hid his face on the teen's clothes. Tsuna completely forgot to ask why Giotto's in his room in the middle of the night. Giotto moved his arms so he could carry Tsuna better when he felt the brunette latched on him tighter.
"It's okay Tsuna," Giotto patted Tsuna's small back softly, trying to comfort him. Then he felt a pair of small arms around his neck. Giotto let out an understanding sigh as a smile pursed on his lips, "How about we sleep together for tonight?"
Hearing the offer, Tsuna's eyes looked up; the big caramel orbs look up hopefully. "Can we?"
"Yup," Giotto answered, feeling comforted seeing his baby brother lit up. "Because we'll protect each other; even the lightning and thunders won't stand a chance against two," Giotto said to the seven-year-old who genuinely believed in his words.
"R-really?"
"Yeah," Giotto's grip tightened, wrapping Tsuna with warmth that he missed all night. "Really."
Tsuna nodded slowly and felt Giotto walked to Tsuna's bed, lifting the hem of the blanket as he slipped in; all the while Tsuna in his embrace. In the midst of the darkness under the blanket covers, Tsuna snuggled contently. He felt safe and warm. He heard his brother's soft voice as his eyelids slowly closed, "Good night Tsunayoshi."
Thank you, brother…
A/N: Not really satisfied… but maybe I'll edit it later… hehe, anyway thank you for reading! Hope you enjoy XD mind to leave a word or two?