Title: Memories in Rain
Disclaimer: Well, I will never own KHR~ But, I do own the plot of this fic. :D
Warning: AU! OOCness, Hayato's language
Beta'ed by Pure Red Crane
Rating: K+
Pairing: 8027
Summary: There is this transfer student who is always looking outside when it was raining. Something about him captivated my heart.
AN: This story is in Yamamoto Takeshi's POV!
Narration
Thinking
"Talking"
Flashback
So here it is!
Memories in Rain
"He's looking outside again."
The voice of my classmate rang through my ear. I looked up from my bento to face him, Gokudera Hayato. He was looking at something behind me, so I turned around to see what he was looking at.
There, at the last row of tables beside the window, sat Sawada Tsunayoshi, a transfer student who had just moved into my school, Namimori High School, two weeks ago. His spiky brunet hair stood up in any direction. His brown eyes complimented his brunet hair. His soft and relaxed expression was filled with sadness. And with his arm propped up against his head, he looked outside with longing gaze. Or something like that, I'm not sure.
"What's wrong with him?" I turned to face Hayato again. "Ever since he moved here, he rarely talks to anyone here. He's always busy with his phone. And when it is raining, he always looks outside." he said with an annoyed huff.
I grinned at him. "Maybe he's just shy." I said as I continued to eat my lunch.
Hayato raised his eyebrow as if my answer was some kind of nonsense, or so he usually said. "Nonsense." Ah, right? My answer is always nonsense to him. "Are you naive or dense? Or maybe stupid?" He glared at me angrily.
"Maa...It's not nice to insult someone, Hayato!" I grinned at him.
I could see a tick mark appear on his forehead. "I think you are all naive, dense and stupid!"
"Maa...I have already said...It's not nice to insult-"
"But you are!" he cut my sentence with his angry outburst. He clicked his tongue and then his face turned serious again. After stealing a glance at Sawada, Hayato looked at me again, sighing. "Don't you notice that every time those annoying pests try to talk to him, he only gives a few responses?"
"Don't call our classmates pests." I scratched my cheek. "Maybe he's just shy..."
Growling lowly, Hayato said again. "If he really is shy, why doesn't his expression change?"
"I don't know." I shrugged my shoulders carelessly.
Hayato banged the table with his hand at my blunt response, catching the attention of our classmates, who asked what happened. I just laughed it off, telling them it was nothing. Soon they were doing whatever they were doing before the commotion Hayato made. I turned to face Hayato again, but his narrowed eyes weren't on me. He was looking at the brunet behind me.
"He didn't even flinched or glance at us when I banged the table." Hayato said. "I wonder what's he's thinking about to never respond or pay attention to what's happening in class."
It was my turn to raise an eyebrow.
"What?" He hissed at my stare.
I blinked and said, "Why don't we ask him?"
"Huh? What?" Hayato's emerald eyes widened at my suggestion.
Without waiting for his answer, I collected my now empty lunch box and put it into my bag. Slowly, I stood up from my chair and walked towards the brunet.
"Oi! Are you serious?"
I didn't respond to Hayato's question. Instead, I raised my hand and called out to the transfer student cheerily. "Yo, Sawada!"
When the brunet looked at me, I was already in front of him. "Yamamoto?"
Oh! He remembers my name! I thought happily. Taking the empty chair in front of him, I sat on it with my arms crossed on the back of the chair. "I see that you always looking outside when it's raining."
His eyes widened slightly. The longing in his gaze has already gone when he looked at me. "So you noticed?"
I grinned at him. "Of course!" Well, it was Hayato who noticed it~
He didn't say anything. He just looked at me. I didn't know what was on his mind, but I thought he was thinking about why I approached him.
"You don't eat lunch?" I asked after a short moment of silence.
"I already finished it." he said with a monotone voice.
"Eh? Really? But I didn't see you eat anything." I looked at him, confused. I'm sure I didn't see him eat anything.
"Your back was turned to me."
My mouth made an O shape. "Oh, right!" Grinning at him, I said in embarrassment. "I sat in front of you and I was eating my own lunch."
His face was cold as usual, but I think there was a small hint of amusement dancing in his eyes.
"What did you eat for lunch? I ate a bento prepared by my dad. His egg rolls are the best, you know! You gotta taste it!"
"I also ate a bento." he answered. But then, he added. "Your dad was the one who made it?"
"Yup! And he's the best sushi chef in Namimori!" I said proudly.
"Yamamoto...Tsuyoshi?" he asked unsurely.
"Hmm? You know my dad?"
He nodded slightly. "I sometimes eat at TakeSushi. I didn't know he was your father."
"Well...Yamamoto is a common surname. That's why you might not have noticed that he's my father."
He nodded. Then a silent moment followed. I felt a bit awkward because he was looking at me.
"So...what do you think of Namimori?" I asked to break the nervousness I felt because of his stare.
"It's nice..." He seemed to think about it, before adding, "...and safe."
I laughed. "Well, it's thanks to Hibari-senpai, who keeps the peace." With violence, I added in my mind.
He blinked many times before nodding slowly, unsure. Maybe he's thinking the same as me.
He tilted his head a little and I knew that his attention was not on me anymore. "Your friend, Gokudera. He's looking at us."
I turned to see Hayato, who was indeed looking at us questioningly. I waved at him to come where we were. When I saw him stand up and walk toward us, I asked Sawada. "Sawada, you remember our names?"
Nodding, he said softly. "Yamamoto Takeshi. And him..." He pointed at Hayato, who took a seat beside me, "Gokudera Hayato." He then looked at our classmates. With soft voice, he mentioned their names. Hayato looked amazed by the fact that Sawada memorised all of their names in just two weeks.
Sawada's eyes turned to window again. "It stopped."
Hayato and I looked outside too. The rain had stopped. I turned my gaze to Sawada. I could see the longing was back in his brown eyes. They seemed to shine with sadness. I wonder what he's thinking about right now to make him hold such an expression.
"Yamamoto?"
I blinked from my thought when Sawada's voice called me. I saw that he and Hayato were looking at me. I grinned in apology. "I'm sorry. I dozed off..."
Hayato rolled his eyes while Sawada looked at me indifferently. Silence once again enveloped us. This time, Hayato was the one who broke it.
"What were you talking about before you called me?" he asked.
"I was asking Sawada about his opinion on Namimori and Hibari-senpai, who 'keeps the peace'." I said with a quote. I began ranting, "At first, I was surprised when Hibari-senpai moved into Namimori Middle School. I thought he was a violent person who loved to fight, but after some time, I noticed that he was beating up the delinquents and bad guys like a hero..." Hayato snorted when I said that Hibari-senpai was like a hero. Grinning, I continued, "…and before I knew it, he gathered his underlings and he rebuilt the Disciplinary Committee."
I looked at Sawada, "You know, Sawada? Almost every day, he beats those who disagree with the Disciplinary Committee and brings those who vandalize to the Disciplinary Committee's room. Because of that, everyone in Namimori is afraid of him, except those delinquents and bad guys who always pick a fight with him."
"Only stupid people pick a fight with Hibari." Hayato snorted.
I grinned at him. "But, you also often pick a fight with him."
"It's because he annoys me!" Hayato growled. "He confiscated my cigarettes and dynamite!"
I laughed at him. "Do you mean those fireworks you always bring?"
He stood up abruptly and grabbed my shirt. "It's not fucking fireworks! It's dynamite, you fucktard!"
"Dynamite?"
I looked at Sawada. "It's not dynamite. It's only fireworks and Hayato is being hyper about it."
Hayato's grip on my shirt tightened. "How many fucking times do I have to say that it's fucking dynamite, you baseball-freak?!"
"You're making a commotion here."
Sawada's monotone voice caught our attention. It was clear that he didn't like it. Hayato clicked his tongue before pulling away from me while I only laughed like nothing was wrong. Which indeed nothing was wrong. It was a common sight to see Hayato shouting at me while I laughed him off. Our classmates didn't bother with it.
I then turned to Sawada. "Anyway, where do you live?" He told me his address. "Whoaaa! The three of us can walk home together halfway! Sawada, do you have any activities after class?"
He raised his eyebrow. And then shook his head.
"Why don't the three of us go home together?"
He looked at me. "Sounds good to me." he said.
"It's decided then!" I said happily.
"Don't I have a say?" I looked to my side. Hayato was looking at me, completely upset.
"Why?"
"I have club activity today, you know."
"Oh, right. I forgot." Then after some thought, I added, "You can skip it, right?"
He looked at me with wide eyes. "Are you stupid? Today, we're hunting the UMA in Namimori forest!"
"UMA?" It was Sawada who asked. He didn't know about Hayato's interest in UMAs.
"Hayato is in the Occult Club and is veeeeeryyyy interested in UMAs. If you see his bookshelves, you'll find nothing but books and magazines about UMA. He even has a thick book that contains many kinds of UMAs."
"Oh."
Then the bell rang, telling them that lunch break was over. Every student moved to their seat. As Hayato and I stood up, I asked Sawada again. "So the two of us will go home together, right, Sawada?"
He nodded.
We were about to walk to our seats when Sawada said. "Tsuna." We looked back at him questioningly. "My name. Tsuna."
I grinned widely. "Then, call me Takeshi. And he, Hayato."
Nodding, he said. "Of course. Takeshi, Hayato."
"Jaa, Tsuna!" I said as we walked to our chair in front
!
Holding my light blue umbrella, I walked beside Tsuna. He held a soft orange umbrella. It was a bit weird for a guy to use such a bright colour. But somehow, I thought that the colour suited Tsuna the best.
We were currently on our way home. I didn't know to say. For once, I was speechless. Then, I saw Tsuna stop. He was looking at a bunch of purple ajisai. I decided to ask him. "Do you like it?"
Tsuna nodded without looking at me. Then he began to walk again. I asked him. "Tsuna, you often look at the rain. Do you like it too?"
Tsuna looked at me, still walking. "Not sure."
I looked at him, confused. "Huh?"
Tsuna raised his hand with his palm upside. He let the rain drop on his pale hand. Soon, the drops had washed his palm. "Rain used to give me a soothing feeling. It used to calm me. I...loved it."
I raised my eyebrow in confusion as Tsuna said 'loved'. He doesn't like it anymore?
Pulling back his hand, he said. "...But since some years ago, rain only brought bad memories to me. I don't think I can love it as much as I used to."
The longing gaze was back in his eyes, accompanied with the sad expression. I was not sure how to respond. But there was one thing I was sure about, I don't want to see that sad expression on his face. I want to make him happy. Surprised by my own thought, I looked at Tsuna again. This is the first time I've ever felt like doing anything to make someone happy. And this someone is Tsuna, the transfer student in my class that I only met two weeks ago. And we've only just started talking this afternoon. I didn't know or understand what I was feeling. But now, the only important thing to me was how to make Tsuna happy. "Then, let's cover the bad memories with fun memories!"
Tsuna looked surprised by my sudden suggestion. He didn't say anything, which made me think I said something weird. Then, his lips made a small smile which soon grew wide, and then Tsuna began to laugh softly.
I was mesmerized by the sight in front of me and the soft melodic sound that sang from his lips. Tsuna is smiling, and laughing. I'm the one who made him smile. And I'm the one to see his expression change for the first time. That thought brought a sudden euphoric feeling in my heart. Without any thought, I began to smile and laugh too.
!
The next day, I walked toward the school with much enthusiasm and a wide smile. The weather was sunny that morning, though the weather forecast said it would be raining by noon. Then my eyes caught sight of Hayato. I ran towards him and slung my arm over his shoulders. "Yo, Hayato!"
He turned and glared at me. "What?" he growled.
Noticing his foul mood, I pulled away from him as I scratched the back of my head. "Did...something happen?"
The corner of Hayato's eyes twitched a little. "That bastard..." Hayato growled lowly and dangerously as if he were ready to kill someone.
"Bastard?" I thought for a while on whom Hayato was talking about. It was hard to find that particular name because Hayato always called everyone a bastard if they annoyed him. But from all of those names, there was only one that Hayato would call with such killing intent. Hibari. "Do you mean Hibari-senpai?"
"Who else?" he growled again.
I shrugged my shoulders and then asked him. "What did he do?"
Clicking his tongue loudly, Hayato told me. "Last night, when he was patrolling, he caught sight of us and confiscated our tools, forcing us to go back."
"O-Oh..."
"Then what about you?"
"Eh?" I looked at Hayato confusedly.
"You look freaking happy. It's annoying." He sent me a weird glance.
"Do I?" I grinned as I saw him roll his eyes. "Well, you know...Tsuna was smiling and laughing yesterday."
Suddenly, Hayato's eyes widened. "What?"
Smiling wider, I told him again. "Tsuna was smiling and laughing yesterday."
"I can't believe it."
"Well, just wait and see when you meet him."
~Flashback~
I smiled widely as Tsuna beamed warmly.
"Tsuna, you should smile and talk more." I said after a while.
"Uh...well...I can't..." Tsuna looked at the ground.
"Eh? Why?"
"Umm...It's..." Tsuna looked uneasy. And there was redness in his cheeks.
Then realization dawned upon me, "Tsuna...Can it be that you're... shy?"
Tsuna flinched slightly before nodding.
"Ahahaha!"
"Takeshi!" he shouted with a blushing face. "Mou..."
"Sorry. It's just...I don't expect my guesses to be right." I grinned at him.
"Guess?"
"Well, before I approached you, Hayato and I had a little talk about why you don't speak much. I guessed that you might be shy, who knew that I was right."
"You..."
"Well, anyway, you should talk and smile more. The others are worried about you, you know."
"Worried?" He looked at me with a questioning gaze, clearly not believing what I said.
"Yup! They're worried that they might scare you or you're not comfortable with them."
"But, I don't..."
"I know...That's why I told you to talk and smile more."
Tsuna nodded. And after that, we walked together in a comfortable silence before we parted ways toward our houses.
~End of Flashback~
"So...that's what happened..." Hayato said a bit thoughtful.
"Yup! And I was right, Hayato. He's shy."
"Che. Whatever." he said, walking off toward the school building.
"Oi! Wait!"
!
Since that day, Tsuna had opened up towards our classmates. He began to talk and smile more. Even though he was still a bit shy, everything went well.
That should have brought happiness to me. I should be happy. But, I felt weird. I was glad that Tsuna now had opened up to everyone, but something tugged my heart when I saw him too close to someone. It's like I'm...jealous…but It's impossible, right? Tsuna is my friend. But the thought of Tsuna being only a friend to me tightened the knot on my heart. I wanted more.
Then, there were those times when Tsuna looked outside to watch the rain with a longing yet sad and hurt gaze. I knew that Tsuna looked sad and hurt because of the bad memories. But, why did he feel longing? What was he longing for? Those thoughts never left my mind. So, out of curiosity, I once tried ask Tsuna about it. But, it didn't go well.
~Flashback~
"Tsuna, you said that rain brings you bad memories. What are those memories...?"
Tsuna looked away. Sadness and hurt filled his eyes. I didn't like that look on his face. So, immediately, I said. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to-"
"Someone." Tsuna cut off my speech with his one word. I could see a glint of wetness in his eyes.
"Tsuna?" His eyes widened as he realized that tears were now welling up in the corner of his eyes. He turned around and walked away.
~End of Flashback~
After that, Tsuna never mentioned our conversation again. He acted distant, as if that conversation never happened. And I didn't want to hurt him, so I never talked about it again. I left the matter alone and tried not to think about it.
I shook my head from the bad memories, and then looked outside the window in my room. It was raining hard. And because today was Sunday, there was no school today. I sighed as I watched the rain hit the pavement in front of my house. I wanted to meet Tsuna. But something kept me from asking to meet him. So, instead, I called Hayato.
The phone rang six times before Hayato finally answered. "What?" he said, annoyed.
"Are you busy?" I asked.
"Yes. What do you want?" he grumbled.
Silence. I didn't say anything. Or to be exact, I didn't know what I should say. I didn't even know why I called Hayato.
"Oi! If you don't answer now, I'll cut the line."
"Wa-Wait! Well...actually, I just want to talk..."
"About?" he asked impatiently. It seemed he wanted to do something. Or was in the middle of doing something. "Oi! Say something! I can't read your mind. And I have experiments to do."
"Ah…sorry...well…I don't know..." I said finally.
This time, it was Hayato's turn to be silent. "Something wrong?" he asked, now with a calmer tone.
"Eh?" How does he know that...?
"If you're wondering why I know, it's because your tone earlier was a bit different."
"Is it that obvious?" I asked.
"Not really. But I've known you since elementary school." He replied with a concern tone, which was very rare. "So, what's wrong?"
I didn't say anything for a while. I wasn't sure whether I should tell Hayato about my uneasiness or not. But Hayato was my childhood friend, so maybe it was alright. "Well, there is this weird feeling I've been having recently." He hummed softly, urging me to continue. "When I'm with that someone, I feel like being with that person and staying with that person. I feel happy when I see that person's smile and that I'm the one who makes that person happy. When I see that person too close to another person, I feel my heart tighten and I want to shove the other person away."
"And...?"
"I want that person to be happy. I want to keep that person safe. I want that person to only think about me and no one else. I want to monopolize him..." I stopped there. I feel like I'm becoming a possessive boyfriend.
"Isn't it obvious?" Hayato said, uncaring. By his tone, I didn't need to see his face to know that he was rolling his eyes.
"What do you mean?"
Hayato sighed. "Are you stupid or what…? Wait. Scratch that. You are INDEED stupid, naive and dense."
"O-Oi!" How could he insult me like that? I've been his best friend since elementary school.
"Whatever. Anyway, the answer is definitely you LOVE that person!" Hayato's answer struck me like a sharp blade.
"What?" It's impossible!
"I said you LOVE that person! Isn't it obvious? Not to mention possessive too." Hayato snorted the last one.
!
"Umm...Tsuna?"
Tsuna looked up from his lunch to my face. "Yes?"
"Errr...there's something I want to tell you..." I scratched my cheek. I could feel it heating slightly.
"What is it?" Tsuna asked, curiously.
I peeked at Hayato, who smirked at me. Looking back at Tsuna again, I said nervously. "Can we...Can we talk somewhere else?"
Tsuna looked confused for a while, but he shrugged it off. "Sure." He closed his lunch box and stood up from his chair.
Soon, I followed his example and stood up. Hayato patted my back as he continued to eat his bread while glancing at the rain outside. And with Tsuna, I walked outside. As we walked to someplace else, I remembered my conversation with Hayato yesterday.
~Flashback~
"Are you sure that I love that person?" I asked, unsure. Well, 'love' somehow fitted the situation and the feeling. But, really?
"Of course! Who do you think I am?" he said, annoyed.
"Well...what should I do now?" I couldn't just shrug it off like it was nothing.
Hayato seemed to think for a while. "Who is that person?" he asked.
"Ummm..." I wasn't sure whether or not I should tell him. But I told him, anyway. "It's Tsuna."
"Tsuna?!" Hayato's voice sounded shocked, but somehow I could feel excitement and interest in his voice.
"Yes."
"Then it's simple. Confess to him."
My eyes widened at his suggestion. Confess? "Are you sure? Won't it be weird? Besides, what if Tsuna rejects me? Our friendship will-"
"Don't worry!" Hayato cut my negative thoughts with a confident voice. "I think he will accept you."
"EH? Why will he accept me?"
"AAARRRGGGHHHH! You're so dense!" he shouted. "It's obvious that he loves you too!"
"Tsuna...loves me?"
"You're so stupid! I wonder how you manage to get into high school."
"Hey! I'm serious, you know."
"Do you think I'm not?"
"Well, you don't sound like you're joking...But how do you know that Tsuna loves me? Did he tell you?"
~End of Flashback~
Hayato said that Tsuna always blushed when he was with me. I disagreed with him, saying that it was because Tsuna was shy. But he insisted that he was right. And he told me to confess to him, which was what I was about to do.
I stopped in the empty hallway. I knew that no one would come here because the hallway only led to storage rooms. Slowly, I turned around to face Tsuna. His face was indifferent. His soft brown eyes were looking at me straight.
Gulping the lump in my throat, I peeked outside the window. The heavy rain had turned into a light drizzle.
I took long, deep breaths while collecting my courage. Come on, Yamamoto Takeshi! Are you really a coward that can't confess your feelings to him? Shaking out of my thoughts, I gazed at Tsuna. Tsuna was taken aback by my serious expression.
"I love you." I said seriously while looking straight into his soft, warm brown eyes. I felt happiness when I saw his cheeks tint with red. But as fast as the happiness came, it withered when Tsuna looked away.
He bit his lips. His mouth moved without any sound coming out from it. "...one." I heard the soft whisper.
"Eh? Can you repeat that? I couldn't hear it." I said softly.
He looked up at me. The blush on his cheeks kept my heart from breaking. But the hurt and sad look on his face scared me. What if he rejects me? What if he loves someone else? The scary thought filled my head. But I tried to focus my mind and listen to Tsuna's words.
"I love you too."
Those four words, which were rolled out from Tsuna's mouth, hit me with happiness. I smiled at his embarrassed face. But, the sadness that was still on his face held me from taking him into my embrace.
He looked down at the ground again. "But...there is...this someone I loved so dearly." That confession stabbed my heart painfully. But the use of past tense eased my heart. I still have a chance. He continued, "I used to love that person so much that it was hard for me to forget the times when we were still together. That person is my first love."
I stood still with my eyes trained on his feature. Softly, I asked him. "So, when you said that rain brings bad memories about someone...you mean this person you once loved…?"
Tsuna nodded sadly, still looking at the ground. Placing my palms on his cheeks, I raised his head gently, making him look at me. Tears had already welled up in his sad eyes. Bending forward slowly, I closed the space between us. I fluttered my eyes closed when my lips brushed against his soft warm lips. Slowly, I moved my lips against his. Much to my sadness and disappointment, Tsuna didn't respond at all. I was about to pull back when he started to respond. He tilted his head and pressed his lips against mine. Opening my eyes slightly, I could see his loving gaze. Smiling into the kiss, I continued to kiss him. We closed our eyes as we enjoyed the small moment.
After a minute, we pulled away. Tsuna was blushing deep red. And the fact that I had just kissed him made me blush too. It was a bit awkward between us. Especially after Tsuna's confession about that person Tsuna once loved.
I collected him into my embrace and hugged him tightly. "Tsuna, I don't care if you once loved someone dearly or that you still remember that person. The most important matter right now is that I want to be by your side. I want to make you happy. I want you to smile and laugh with happiness. I...I love you."
I could feel Tsuna's hand slowly sneak its way to my back. "You don't care about it?"
Placing my chin on his fluffy hair, I answered softly. "No."
Tsuna grabbed my shirt tightly. "Y-You don't mind that I...I still remember someone I loved?"
I hugged him tighter. "No, not at all. First love is hard to be forgotten, right?"
I could feel Tsuna's tears wet my shirt. "You won't force me to forget it?" I hugged his now trembling body even tighter as I heard his soft muffled sobs.
Rubbing soothing circles on his back, I whispered my answer. "Your past and memories are what make you the You I know now. I won't force you to forget it. Besides, I promised you that we'll make a lot of fun memories, right?" I kissed his head softly.
He nodded his head, still sobbing. Pulling away from him, I could see his tear stained face. With my thumb, I wiped the tears away. Smiling as a blush adorned his face again.
"I'm sorry. I wet your shirt." he said apologetically.
"If letting you wet my shirt with your tears will bring you to me, I don't mind if I was drenched with them." I kissed his eyelids.
Tsuna smiled warmly with love shining through his eyes. I really loved it when he smiled like that. It seemed like he had no trouble besides all the happiness and love he felt. Smiling softly, I bent forward to catch his lips again.
"I Love You."
Outside, the rain had stopped. The once dark grey sky turned into a clear blue sky with white fluffy clouds floating in it. Vividly, a beautiful arc consisting of seven different colours decorated the peaceful sky who witnessed the beginning of our love. My first love.
THE END!
So how is it? :3
This is to answer prompt challenge from 9CatLives :3 with "Rain" as the prompt...I'm not sure this is good enough or not. But I hope you will enjoy and love this one!
