Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn or any of its characters.
Title: Because I Could Not Stop For Death
Summary: A kiss can mean many different things. Fem!Tsuna
Rating: K+
Characters: Sawada Tsunayoshi and Vongola Tenth Generation with mentions of others
Warnings: None
Author's Notes: Hints of Fem!Tsuna x Guardians. This idea had been on my mind for some time and I just haven't had the time to put it all together. Yamamoto's part was inspired by the film Red where Helen Mirren and Brian Cox's characters have a dance and he keeps dancing with her even when the music stops. As for the bonus kiss, it is entirely up to you who it is. I left it ambiguous enough to be any guardian (or any other character).

Throughout the night, Yamamoto could only quietly watch as Tsuna was surrounded by chattering and eager mafia associates, seeking with an opportunity to speak with the Vongola Boss. All those men hounded after her like she was a prize to be won, eyeing her hungrily like she was their prey.

When he couldn't take it anymore, Yamamoto made his presence known, smiling sweetly at the gaping men, and seized Tsuna's hand, taking her with him. Tsuna shot him a look of protest but she voiced no complaints as he led her to the dance floor.

He could faintly hear Gokudera seething from the corner and Lambo whining for a turn too but he tuned them out. Because this was between her and him and he couldn't be sure when he would be able to selfishly steal another moment like this.

" Yamamoto-kun?"

The song had ended and Tsuna was inquisitively looking at him but he wasn't ready to let her go just yet.

Instead, he pressed a kiss to her hand, satisfied with what he was able to get. " Until next time," he whispered for her ears alone before disappearing back into the crowds.

~.~.~

It had been something Tsuna had not really paid much attention to. After all, Chrome had made a habit of kissing her on the cheek as a greeting whenever they had not seen each other for a long time.

It wasn't until Mukuro started doing it that she took notice.

He would do it slyly, switching with Chrome when Tsuna had her guard down and wasn't expecting him to materialize. It was a new game of his, to find different ways to appear and peck a kiss on her cheek. They could be alone in the hallways or surrounded by the rest of the Vongola family, never ceasing to cause her to turn crimson with embarrassment in front of everyone.

She told him off, of course, giving him a half-hearted warning. He would teasingly respond that it was customary for subordinates to greet their leaders like this. And gave her another kiss on the cheek while he was at it.

(Reborn and Gokudera confirming this didn't make Tsuna feel any better – not to mention the real reason why Mukuro would suddenly take an interest in such practices made her stomach squirm uncomfortably)

~.~.~

" Give me a kiss!" Lambo insisted, nearly climbing out of the blankets that she had carefully tucked him under. " A good night kiss!" he loudly spelled out just in case she didn't understand him.

Her Hyper Intuition murmured that he had less than chaste intentions but Tsuna, long used to his demanding behaviors and that he was only a child, would indulge him in a way an older sister would to her younger brother.

She had been prepared to kiss his forehead as she usually did, but she hadn't expected Lambo to pull out the Ten Year Bazooka out of his hair and fire it at himself.

Once again, her intuition barely had a chance to nudge a warning before she realized she had kissed the Future Lambo on the nose.

She froze and their eyes met and she was close enough to count each one of his black eyelashes and see the faint freckles dancing around his nose. It took her half a breath to comprehend that this Lambo was almost the same age as her and not so child-like anymore.

Then, time began again and she quickly backed away, stammering apologies. Despite his casual assurances that no harm was done, his dark eyes spoke of a different story – one of longing and wistfulness of something more – and she hastily tried to ignore her Hyper Intuition humming that she knew exactly what it meant.

~.~.~

" I don't know how your sister manages to do it," she sighed, watching as Gokudera was fixing the strap on her now damaged shoe. " I should ask her for tips."

If he could, he would have lyrically waxed on about how she lasted almost the entire evening wearing those heels with barely any noticeable wobbling or stumbling. Even if she managed to break the strap when she accidentally tripped over a troublesome stair.

Tsuna sighed as she wiggled her toes with on the carpet, relishing her brief freedom. " Sorry that you get stuck with this. You probably have better things to do."

It was the best part of his day doing little things like this for her. Their time spent together was now sparse, with her pulling the strings from behind her office and him acting as her right hand out in the field with his missions.

His head dipped down and brushed his lips against her ankle. His hand lingered on the softness of her skin, wishing he could do more to convey his earnest sincerity.

" No job is too low to do for my Decimo," he murmured.

~.~.~

Ryohei fought back a sigh as he washed his hands clean, trying not to let the tremor bother him. Despite the gunshot wounds now healed, Tsuna had still lost a lot of blood and his nerves (along with everyone else's) were still a bit frayed and worn out.

As he made his way back into the hospital room to check up on Tsuna, he was surprised to see that the others were gone. Reborn must have shooed the others away. They were all exhausted, stretched to the limit in their concern for their Decimo.

It was almost surreal to see Tsuna appear so vulnerable, lying there on the bed. They had survived through many harrowing and dangerous times with her always coming out stronger. But it was hard to remember she was only human and still a child in many ways.

She reminded him of his sister and yet, she wasn't. She was someone to be protected and sheltered but she was also someone to be feared and followed. How he tried to find a balance between seeing her as a little sister and as a leader (and maybe something a little more) but it only led to frustration and confusion on his part.

As a compromise, he stroked away some stray strands from her forehead and kissed her there, quietly allowing himself to believe it was chaste, innocent and entirely platonic.

~.~.~

She had slammed him against the wall, shattering a good portion of it, sending pieces of steel and metal flying in her wake. Her one hand burned with fire, poised to strike if necessary, and the other pressed across his tonfas, away from her striking arm.

What a beautiful beast for him to witness as she bared her fangs at him like this.

" Do you concede?" she softly asked.

The thought of conceding to anyone would have made his skin crawl unpleasantly but these past few months of sparring and training with her, feeling adrenaline and exhilaration pumping hard through their veins, their fights lasting late into the nights, nursing stinging bleeding cuts long after, perhaps changed his mind.

But still, he was not a man to bend his knee as easily so Sawada Tsuna must be bitten to death first.

Faster than she could react, he darted forward and brushed his mouth against the curve of her neck, just enough for his teeth to lightly nip into her skin.

In an instant, the golden flame was gone from her eyes and Tsuna immediately started stammering and backing away from him in flustering mortification.

His eye twitched and Hibari fought the urge to express his disappointment that the carnivore had returned to the spluttering, clumsy herbivore that she was before.

~.~.~

There was only one goal in mind. He stalked through the corridors, eyes glinting and mouth set. The others, having sense his looming, forbidding presence, made sure to steer clear. Better to let Tsuna deal with this, they thought. She was the very few people (if not the only one) who could tame and reign him in.

Tsuna at least was able to sense that something was off when he entered the room, surly and taut. " Yes?" she cautiously said, standing up from her chair.

Only for him to seal the distance between them with a few short steps.

Her eyes had widened in confusion and surprise the second before he pulled her chin up and their lips met, but to his relief, she did not move nor make a sound of protest. If anything, she leaned closer towards him so their bodies were pressed together, tilting her head to deepen the kiss.

It was almost everything he had not expected. She tasted like the sugary sweet maple syrup pancakes her mother had made earlier for breakfast, yet despite knowing the taste himself, he found it insatiably overwhelming on her mouth. He inhaled her scent, brushing his nose against her skin, wishing he could drown in it. His hands found their way to her hair, relishing in the silky smoothness, cradling her head, pulling her closer as if he never wanted to let go.

But nothing could have prepared them for the sound of an embarrassed squeak and the surprisingly loud creak of wood and as quickly as the kiss had started, they broke apart.

A subordinate stood awkwardly at the door he had left open in his haste. He spluttered incoherently, trying to avoid eye contact with either one of them.

Tsuna was blushing, stammering a tiny apology and looking like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar. He was scowling, his mouth slightly peppered with the pink of her lipstick and his patience running thin. He walked over to the subordinate who was now looking alarmed.

" Next time," he growled, towering over the quivering subordinate. " knock."

Before slamming the door shut.