His eyes traveled around the room, searching for chocolate colored irises in the midst of the chaos that was Arcobaleno Hotel main saloon that night.
His aunt had done a wonderful job this year too. The huge room was decorated elegantly, everything was impeccably color-coordinated and the buffet was rich enough to fill the stomach of half of Namimori citizens. The soft music in the background echoed through the room filled with every Vongola blood relative still alive. The amount of family friends present was incredibly large this year too… no, maybe even larger than the last time that one of their family birthday parties was held.
Giotto scanned the room hoping that the young lady talking to him wouldn't notice just how uninterested he was in her words. He was lucky that she was too flustered to look at him in the face.
Finally, after minutes of searching (that felt more like hours), amber eyes locked on the familiar brown mop of the person he had been eager to find.
Tsuna.
There he was. The birthday-boy was talking with his dearest friends near one of the numerous buffet tables with a brilliant smile on his face that made his heart skip a beat.
Tsuna, his cute little cousin, tonight protagonist, had no idea that he had been the constant starring role of his nights for years.
The girl was still talking, her muttering invaded his ears like the buzzing sound of an annoying fly, and yet, he smiled, turning around slightly while letting out a humming sound to give the impression that he was listening and wanted her to continue.
The girl raised her head a bit to take a peek at his expression and blushed darkly the moment she saw him looking at her sideways with a kind smile. A split second later, when the girl head and eyes dropped towards the floor again, his head snapped back towards the figure of his cousin and what he saw made him freeze on the spot.
Tsuna was still there in the same position he was in before, but now there was something different, a tanned arm was circling his shoulders, trapping the shorter boy in one of those half-hugs that boys gave to each over at times. He knew it was nothing to be jealous of, really, G hugged him a lot in that way too!
Still, seeing Yamamoto's arm around Tsuna shoulders in that protective way made his stomach twist and the hand holding his glass of champagne twitch in discomfort.
It hurt.
He liked Yamamoto.
Takeshi was a good kid, he knew it… but he was so… so affectionate with his Tsuna that every time he saw him wrap and arm around his cousin, that feeling of wanting to march up to him and swat that hand away coursed through his body like some kind of dangerous poison.
It was at time like those the his mind scared him.
G said that it was all because he had been bottling up his feelings: 'for too fucking long' to say it with his words, and all of those suppressed emotions were slowly driving him mad.
Elena and the others thought the same things as G and the girl had been trying to convince him for years to just stop being an idiot and confess once and for all.
But how could he? Tsuna was-
"If you keep on staring at him like that people will notice, you know?" whispered a familiar, amused voice near his ear.
Startled by the sudden change from the constant timid murmuring he had grown accustomed to, Giotto turned around only to find himself staring into the blue eyes of one of the two people he had briefly thought about just a moment ago.
"Elena…" muttered the blond man with wide eyes, strangely surprised of finding her at the party despite it being obvious that she would be there just like his other friends.
"Giotto" said her with a teasing but still kind smile on her face.
" Stop mocking me!" smiling, he tapped her head with two fingers in an affectionate way.
"Sorry but you are just sooo much fun to tease when you are staring at Tsuna-kun in that way".
"What way?" he grumbled feigning ignorance, despite really wanting to know just what type of look he had on when he looked at the brunet.
" Now, a look that screams: mine."
"And other times?" he asked gulping down his fifth glass of champagne. It was just him or the temperature was getting hotter?
"it depends" she answered mysteriously, keeping him on the edge for a bit before continuing: " at times you have this love-struck face and I swear, I have no idea how Tsuna-kun has not noticed your feelings yet. Either you are really good at hiding it when he looks at you, or he is incredibly oblivious". She chuckled and Giotto huffed, slightly red in the face. "other times instead, you look at him like you want to eat him…"
With a strangled cry, Giotto chocked slightly on his sixth glass of champagne making Elena laugh openly, far too amused by his attitude.
"Seriously though…" she said finding some seriousness again. "You should really just confess Giotto, it's not healthy to keep everything in like this".
"I know but…"
" But, what?!"
Giotto huffed again, gulping down the seventh glass of champagne of the night (he'll better stop soon, before the room started spinning).
"He is my cousin, Elena!"
"I know!" exclaimed the girl already knowing that he would say that. They had that conversation so many times that she could nearly predict what he would say next. "But where is the problem with that?! He is your cousin not your brother! It is even legal! Many people married with their cousins! Both in the past and now!" .
Okay, she wasn't very sure about the now part, but still, she didn't like how Giotto let the blood ties stop him from being happy.
"He isn't gay!" blurted out the blond man slamming the eight glass of champagne on the table behind them with a bit too much force; enough to have some of the guest turn around towards them, a certain brunet too.
" You don't know that…" murmured Elena putting a hand on his arm, trying to calm him down. Giotto had never been very good at handling alcohol and she had a feeling he had drank too much tonight.
Elena opened her mount again, ready to go on, but a brown mop of hair coming closer caught her attention and she closed it for a moment before muttering some parting words of advice to her best friend:
" Tell him".
It sounded more like an order than an advice, and Giotto wanted to snap at her for her insistence, he really wanted to, but before he could say anything, his attention got caught by the pair of chocolate eyes that suddenly replaced Elena's light blue irises and were staring at him in worry.
Tsuna.
"Giotto, are you alright?"
Tsuna was there, in front of him.
" Ehm… yeah" he answered not sounding convincing even to himself.
Tsuna brows furrowed in worry and Giotto nearly wanted to hit himself for finding even that gesture incredibly cute.
Suddenly, a fresh hand swept aside his fringe, keeping it off his face, and a forehead meet his making him stiffen painfully.
"Mmmh… you don't have a fever…"
"Oh God." Thought Giotto panicking internally.
His face was so close.
Their eyes met for a moment and if Giotto had not been panicking so much he might have noticed the small blush that colored his cousin face once he noticed their closeness.
"So close" he thought for the hundredth time in the span of a couple of seconds, taking in everything he could.
Only in his dreams their face had ever been this close. All those dreams usually ended with them kissing or, far too many times, with Tsuna screaming his name in pleasure while he did unspeakable things to him.
All things he was sure he would never be able to do for real, so, every time they were closer than usual or touching, he always tried to take in every sensation he could and registered it in his memory.
This moment was no exception.
He lost himself while staring in those deep and kind chocolate irises which were hiding behind them that passionate fire he knew his cousin had in him and that he loved so much.
It was such a perfect moment that he would have not minded it going on forever. He didn't even remember anymore that they were not alone. All he knew in that moment were those fascinating eyes and the feeling of Tsuna's breath on his face, caressing the skin of his nose, of his lips.
As suddenly as they appeared, all those marvelous things were gone.
Tsuna had stepped back, his face as red as a tomato while he tried to form a phrase that made some sense.
"Don't worry, I'm fine!" he exclaimed suddenly, with a smile and a composed face that he had no idea how he had managed to make after that.
"O-oh… good…"
After a moment of awkward silence, Giotto decided to speak again.
" Do you want to get some fresh air?"
He did not know from where that question had come out from. Maybe he really was a bit drunk.
"S-sure".
While they walked towards the nearest window that would take them to the balcony, Giotto couldn't help but wonder why his cousin had the tendency of always stutter when he talked to him.
He had heard him talk with his friends and also with strangers; he never stuttered with them anymore (not after Reborn's magical spartan tutoring), however, when they were alone, he often stuttered like when he was fifteen.
Fresh hair hit his face and his head wobbled slightly. His mind suddenly felt lighter and he cursed under his breath. The alcohol was starting to take effect.
He was definitely drunk.
"Damn it" muttered Giotto passing a hand through his hair.
Drunk and alone with Tsuna, of all the people.
This wasn't very good.
"A-Are you angry?"
" uh-uh?!" what was he talking about?
"For before…" a small blush appeared again on Tsuna's cheeks, and for once, Giotto actually noticed it.
" Oh, no I'm not angry!"
"B-But… you said: damn it, just now…"
He had heard him?!
"It's not you…" since when were they conversations so awkward?! "It's just… I think I drank a bit too much alcohol" murmured Giotto passing a hand through his hair, not looking at Tsuna in the eyes.
After a short moment of silence, a chuckle filled the air and Giotto turned around to see his beloved cousin laughing, probably for his comment.
"The always composed Giotto, drunk?"
A small chuckle escaped Giotto's lips too. He had build a reputation in the family for his ability of always keeping his cool in every situation, which included knowing when to stop drinking, something he apparently was nearly unable to do when Tsuna was concerned.
"It's you" he muttered unconsciously, not realizing for a moment what he had just said and it's implications.
"…me?" muttered back Tsuna, stiffening against the wall he had leaned on the moment they stepped on the balcony.
Giotto took a couple of steps towards his cousin until he was in front of him with only some mere centimeters of space separating them.
" Yeah you…" his voice was low, if he weren't so close, Tsuna might not have been able to hear him.
" It's always you. Tsuna, Tsuna, Tsuna…" one of Giotto hands found his way to Tsuna's right cheek, a thumb caressing slightly it's surface, his face inching closer a bit more for each: Tsuna, he said.
"G-Giotto…"
Ah. The stutter was back.
Giotto's forehead met Tsuna's for the second time that night and he simply stayed there, head light as a feather, not fully aware of his actions, but for the first time much more aware of Tsuna's actions.
His cute little cousin was blushing, hard; before this moment he didn't know someone could actually reach that level of redness without some collateral damage.
"You are adorable" murmured Giotto placing a light kiss on that cute nose on Tsuna's face. His cousin seemed ready to faint from the embarrassment at any given moment but he couldn't care less.
The alcohol had gifted him with some freedom of mind that night. It had taken away all of the chains he had put on that little box where he had hidden his feelings for the younger boy in the last years, and now, they were flowing out uncontrollably.
"W-What…" Tsuna was panicking more than ever, face so red that if they were on a cartoon, steam would be coming out of it.
Cute.
Sometimes he thought that it was really absurd how Tsuna always looked so lovely to him in every situation.
When crying, laughing, embarrassed, screaming in anger or just staring into space… Tsuna was always beautiful to him.
His face got another bit closer, their noses brushing one against the other, lips only mere centimeters apart, so close that their breaths meddled together easily.
It was only then that he noticed how irregular Tsuna's breath had become. Heavier and faster than his.
He had probably realized what he wanted to do since he had put that hand on his cheek, but surprisingly, he did not try to get away.
"Tsuna…" his name left Giotto lips for the what felt like the hundredth time on that night, and in a shocking move, Tsuna himself closed the space between them, locking their lips together in a chaste, close mouthed kiss.
Some moments later, Tsuna pulled away and Giotto stared at him with eyes large as saucers, suddenly looking a bit more lucid than before, not believing what just happened.
Tsuna kissed him. Tsuna!
The silence was starting to become heavy and Tsuna was growing worried with each passing moment, wondering if he did something wrong or completely misunderstood the situation.
"G-Giotto…"
No answer.
" Giotto, are you… did I… say something alrea-" a pair of lips suddenly crashed on his and everything he had been thinking of saying flew out of his head leaving no trace behind.
Something wet touched Tsuna's lips and the boy released a small surprised squeak that allowed Giotto's tongue to slip inside his mouth without waiting for a real permission to enter.
Giotto smiled slightly in the kiss. He could feel Tsuna rigid form slowly relax against him and he nearly sighed in relief. Pressing their lips closer, the younger boy wrapped his arms around the older man neck tentatively, like he wasn't very sure about what to do with them.
"Cute". Thought Giotto tightening his hold on Tsuna's hips, grinding their bodies together with an hand while the other found it's place on the back of the boy head, brushing through those spiky but weirdly soft hair.
Finally.
He had been restraining himself for so fucking long. His fears had blocked him for years from even trying to see if Tsuna was in any way romantically interested in him, and now he discovered that all he needed was just to not get distracted by his own raging feelings, to actually notice the way Tsuna reacted around him, and lastly: to just try, and see what would have happened.
It was a pity that he had to get drunk for realizing all of this.
A small moan left Tsuna's mouth and a shiver crawled up Giotto's spine leaving a thrilling sensation behind that invaded every corner of the blond man body and mind.
Something tugged his sleeve while Tsuna made another noise, this time different from the one he released before, more urgent, and Giotto realized that they both needed to get some air in their lungs.
He pulled away slightly, letting their foreheads touch once again. He was starting to like that position.
"I love you". He said looking straight into those honey eyes; not a trace of embarrassment could be heard in his voice. He had screamed those three words in his head for years every time he saw his cousin but never dared to let them out… and now that he did, he felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his soul. Free.
Tsuna on the other end, sucked in a sharp breath, and ducked his head slightly, suddenly unable to look at him in the eyes.
Giotto frowned slightly before taking the boy chin in his hands and raising his head so that they were face to face once again.
"Tsuna…"
Embarrassed honey eyes found amber orbs again and Tsuna gulped. That crimson shade seemed stuck on his face and Giotto chuckled much to his cousin dismay.
"I-I…" the brunet frowned, angry at himself for his stuttering. "I love you too!"exclaimed the boy with a voice an octave higher than normal.
Giotto stared at him shocked, like he didn't expect those words to come out of Tsuna mouth, before a big goofy smile appeared on his face.
"Really?"
Tsuna nodded shyly and Giotto placed a fast kiss on the boy forehead.
"Can you say it again? You looked so cute trying to say it without stuttering!"
The brunet blush came back full force and he pouted, shoving the blond lightly on the chest.
"Idiot…"
Giotto laughed and Tsuna huffed.
"Come on, I want to hear it again".
For a moment Tsuna didn't say anything and the blond started poking him on a cheek.
"Come oooon" without warning, Tsuna suddenly raised his head and gave Giotto a fast kiss on the lips. Taking advantage of the older man shock, the brunet got out of his arms and reached the french doors.
Before stepping back into the saloon, Tsuna turned around and with a smile he said the three magic words again: "I love you".
Giotto watched Tsuna figure enter the hotel room with a sweet smile on his face. Before some minutes ago, he never thought that one day he would be able to confess, much less for his feelings to be returned.
Entering once again the crowded saloon he started searching for the sly brunet head that managed to escape his clutches a couple of moments ago. If he thought he could escape so easily he was wrong.
Oh so very wrong.
- Foramen corner:
Happy new year readers! :3
This is the first one-shot I've ever wrote!
I'm usually a long-fic maker but I wanted to try and do something that ended in one chapter for once xD
So much fluffiness and cuteness *3*
I'm sorry for eventual errors ç_ç
**(for those that are reading my other G27 fanfiction: "Like a bullet to your brain", don't worry! Chapter 3 is coming! This one-shot is also a way to apologize for being so late at updating ;_;)**