Title: Redlight District
Rating: T (For Gokudera's language and themes)
Word Count: 1960
Pairings: YamaGoku/8059
Summary: All he wanted was to get there on time. Taking that shortcut though... Wasn't the best decision.
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Katekyo Hitman Reborn.
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Feet danced lightly over the pavement as the boy dashed through the crowded streets. Cigarette dangling haphazardly from his mouth, Gokudera cursed under his breath as he weaved his way through the busy streets. The sun was had almost completely set, its red-orange glow just visible over the horizon. While the sun sank, neon lights flickered and blinked as they lit up the darkening streets, a rainbow of assorted colours glowing brightly as they shouted out silently to the bustling streets below.
Weaving his way around the businessmen and women, the silver-haired boy cursed under his breath as he reached into his pocket, his many rings snagging briefly on the edge as he pulled out his phone. Quickly flipping it open, he checked the time, his frown deepening as he read the small illuminated numbers.
"Fuck. I'm gonna be late!" he cried not-so-quietly, earning him startled stares from nearby pedestrians as they hurried past. The Tenth's going to kill me! He thought, misinterpreting Tsuna's usual well-meaning concern for his friend as a boss's displeasure towards his (somewhat) failure of a right-hand man.
Their class was on a three-day midyear trip into the city, today being the second day. After a guided tour through some of the more well-known tourist attractions, the group of gleeful teenagers had been given three hours of free time to explore at their own pace with strict instructions to meet back at the restaurant beside the hotel they were staying at before half past six. Within the last hour or so, Gokudera had been separated from his usual group of 'friends,' distracted by a tiny, almost hidden gift shop ("I bet I could buy Tenth an awesome gift to as an apology for accidentally blowing up the tour bus just then!"). But after half an hour of perusing the items in the shop, he had found nothing of fancy and left the shop slightly disappointed. To his dismay, everyone had disappeared during his own absence and the green-eyed male was left to head back on his own accord.
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And so here he was, dashing full speed through the after-work hustle and bustle to make it to the restaurant before the set time. Ignoring yells and protests as he pushed through the thick crowd, Gokudera spotted the tall structure of the hotel, just barely visible behind the multitude of other high-rise buildings in his line of sight. Glancing to his left, he saw a wide strip of pavement that seemed (only slightly) less crowded than the one he was currently on. What made him turn into that street was the fact that it seemed to lead in an almost straight line to his destination.
Finally, a fucking shortcut. Maybe I won't be late after all.
Fifteen minutes left, after another brief check of his mobile.
Gokudera didn't notice the surprised looks that passing people gave him as he ran, oblivious into the redlight district.
"Oh my lord! But he's so young!" someone tittered, watching the foreign-looking schoolboy's back disappear into the distance.
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Neon illuminated the dim, wide street, cigarette smoke creating a hazy blanket in the air. Guilty-looking businessmen fumbled in their pockets for wallets, ready to spend their recently earned money as scantily-clad women sidled up to them. Stilettos briskly made their way across the dirty pavement, full lips pouting as they promised pleasure that the mens' wives or girlfriends could not provide. Gokudera kept his head down, fighting (rather desperately) to keep the blush that was slowly building up on his face as he weaved his way down the street, trying his best to ignore the wanton actions happening in his surroundings.
"Oh, aren't you just a cutie?" giggled a woman, stretched out provocatively on the doorstep of one of the many brothels Gokudera had just passed, one shoulder exposed as the thin fabric of her top sat lopsided, showing just enough pale skin to entice prospective customers. Fluttering her fake eyelashes while twisting a strand of her dark hair between chipped, painted nails, she unfolded herself, stretching long legs as she sauntered towards the teenager- who had now stopped dead in his tracks.
"What's wrong, hmm?" she whispered, pressing her lean frame unashamedly against the silver-haired boy. "Cat got your tongue? Speechless? Like what you see?"
What. The. Fuck.
He just had to pick this area to take a shortcut through.
Gokudera stood, rigid, as the prostitute kicked the words 'personal space' right out of his vocabulary. His brain had conveniently shut down as the damn woman teasingly, accidentally brushed her hand over that spot. And slowly the realization had dawned on him about where he was.
Oh shit.
"Name's Honey," she purred, breath ghosting over the shell of the bomber's ear, arms encircled around his neck, "Because I taste just as sweet."
Gokudera's mouth worked furiously as he tried to speak coherently. Y-you have the fucking wrong idea, woman! But try as he might, no words made it out of his mouth as the usually loudmouthed, badass (as he personally thought) explosives expert was reduced to a blushing, incoherent mess.
'Honey,' as she called herself giggled and traced a nail down the boy's jaw line, "For someone as cute as you, I could give you a… Discount." Ignoring the rather appalled look on her potential (but underage) customer's face, she turned- not before brushing a hand 'accidentally' against his backside and grabbed his hand, hips swaying as she lead the wide-eyed boy towards the welcoming doors of a brothel.
"Gokudera! What are you doing here?" came a clear, cheerful voice from behind them over the babble of the crowd. Snapping out of his daze, Gokudera spun around sharply, ignoring his female companion's sudden shriek of pain as she was almost dragged off her feet.
He quickly replaced his amazed expression with a heated glare as that baseball idiot's messy hair bobbed into view.
"And what the fuck are YOU doing here, you goddamn baseball idiot?" he snapped at Yamamoto as he approached. Said baseball idiot just laughed off the question, eyes suddenly glinting with recognition at the person standing behind his classmate, still clutching his hand with a pout on her face.
"Candy?" he exclaimed, "Do you know Gokudera?"
The bomber blanched. Candy? Who the hell is he talking about? And why is he talking to… Her?
The woman in question blushed slightly; her fake names revealed and turned on her heel. With a last bat of eyelashes followed by a quick "Bye, sweetie!" she disappeared into the throng of people to find herself a new customer that was more willing., leaving two confused males in her wake.
Gokudera shot another glare at Yamamoto, "You haven't answered my question yet, you idiot."
The other boy laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of his head, "Well, I met Candy when you guys left me at that giant sports shop. She said she had been cornered by some shady looking guys and broke one of her heels and ripped her skirt when she was running away from them. So I helped her get back here and she insisted that I wait so she could give me something in return…" he trailed off rather uncertainly at the thunderous look on the Smokin' Bomb's face.
At the moment, all Gokudera wanted to do was sink his fist into Yamamoto's face. To punch him so hard that he would resemble a toothless panda rather than a top-notch baseball player. How could he be that stupid as to miss all those hints she was dropping?!
Fuming, the shorter boy turned and proceeded to make his way down the street.
"Hey, hey!" called Yamamoto, quickening his pace to catch up, "Wait up!"
If Gokudera hadn't made a promise to Tsuna after accidentally disposing of the tour bus, he would have blown up the whole district by now.
"Why the hell do I have to wait for a baseball idiot like you?" he said, patience stretched to its limit, fingers itching to reach into his shirt for those trusty sticks of dynamite. The baseball player just blinked and grinned cheerily, unwittingly infuriating his friend even more, "Because we're both late and have to get to the same restaurant before teacher gets too worried?"
His companion's utter idiocy just snapped his patience. Ignoring the fact that both of them were close to fifteen minutes late and still not very close to their destination, Gokudera rounded on his follower and yelled out a string of mindless curses, making even the most dirty-mouthed men (and women) in the vicinity wince inwardly.
"Maa maa, Gokudera," said Yamamoto in a reasonable tone, "I know you're worried but if we don't start moving now, we're going to miss dinner." His eyes widened slightly, smile slipping from his face as he could almost see the steam coming out of his classmate's ears. The two teenagers had drawn quite a crowd, Gokudera's heated words echoing loudly in the night air. Yamamoto, quite flustered now did his best to pacify the younger boy. Grabbing his hand, the baseball player attempted to lead him down the street, to get away from all the unwanted attention. Unfortunately, he did not comply, still yelling at the top of his voice about 'clueless idiots' and 'fucking stupid women.'
"Aw, would you just kiss your boyfriend and shut the hell up?" yelled an irritated man in the background, annoyed that the time he had paid for was being disrupted.
Both the boys blanched. They didn't realise how much they had looked like a warring couple. Yamamoto gave a nervous laugh, letting go of Gokudera's hand quickly. The other boy's face was slack with something akin to shock. Not everyday that you saw him speechless twice in such a small amount of time.
Recovering quickly though, the silver haired bomber opened his mouth for another retort. Yamamoto, sensing another outburst took the opportunity to capture the shorter male's mouth with his, trying to hold back his smile as some members of the crowd whooped and began to disperse. Green eyes wide, Gokudera took a second to recover before pulling back sharply, fist finally connecting to the baseball idiot's face with a satisfying thwack. Turning away suddenly, he set off at a brisk pace, leaving a poor Yamamoto clutching the throbbing flesh on his cheek.
"That hurt…" whined the injured teen, staring at the other's retreating back.
"Shut up idiot. I didn't fucking give you permission to do that," Gokudera threw over his shoulder, hiding the traitorous blush that coloured his face. No, no! I didn't enjoy that. That stupid idiot.. He..
Growling in frustration, he turned slightly, slouching with hands in pockets. "If you don't hurry the hell up, you're going to be losing all your front teeth in the next few seconds."
Recovering quickly, the taller boy grinned as he saw the blush dusting the other boy's cheeks. Sticking his hands into his own pockets, all pain forgotten, he took long strides and closed the distance between them.
"I'm not going to lose any teeth if I keep your hands occupied am I?" he laughed, reaching for one of the bomber's hands.
Gokudera opened his mouth, retort already at the tip of his tongue but then stopped himself and thought better. The Tenth was probably furious at him now, and he wanted to hurry to apologise. He'd get back at this idiot later, because the right-hand man never went without a fight. After all, he was the one that had made both of them late.
Try as he might to convince his mind otherwise, that calloused hand gripping his own smaller one didn't feel that bad…
Dammit! Focus! It was all that whore's fault! She had gotten to him when his guard was down.
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-Panda's little corner-
Currently Playing: Redlight District- Porcelain and the Tramps ("Nine inch heels come marching in to please a black-tied, dirty old man. Staring, sweating, barely caring. Slurring,"break me in..")
Panda really loves that song to death. Highly recommend you to listen to it! C8
But in other news... -cringes- Panda is so, so very sorry for this sad attempt at writing 8059! My Yama forced me to post it... I was practicing writing different characters so ehehe.. -nervous giggle- Hope it didn't disappoint/wasn't too OOC!
Criticsm/reviews accepted! Looking forwards to seeing what you guys have to say!