This is a Secret Santa story for Lightning515! I wish you a blessed Christmas time and an awesome New Year! Hope you like your gift :)


"Mou... when he'll be back?..." grumbled the brown haired male, wrapping the blanket around two small sleeping forms more securely. "He promised that he'd be early for them, since it's their first Christmas in a real family... but nooo, of course, a hit was more important..."

On and on went the grumbling, as the male settled down next to the sleeping children, letting them unconsciously snuggle into him. What to do?... everything was ready, the only person missing was his ex-tutor, long time partner and, as of two years now, husband. He knew that his love was quite busy even during holidays, but this time... this time, he PROMISED.

"Juudaime?..." the man glanced up, smiling slightly at the sight of his best friend and most steadfast supporter – and right hand. "He ain't back yet?..."

"No, Gokudera-kun... not yet. Something must've happened..." the silver haired man scoffed and walked closer, hands tucked in the pockets of his jeans.

"And here he promised to be back... tch... the kids were probably quite upset..." Green eyes glanced at the sleeping twins with unusual softness in them. The fierce Storm only acted like this in the presence of his beloved Boss and his family.

"Well, they understood, but it doesn't mean they liked it..." was the reply, followed by a sigh. The twins were adopted by them around half a year ago, after he found them in the ruins of a destroyed orphanage. It was just his luck that some blood tests showed that they were actually from Primo's line, one that was thought lost. So the issue of inheritance was solved, and he and his partner gained a pair of wonderful children.

"Don't worry, Juudaime, Reborn-san never breaks his word! He's the best in the world, after all..."

"Aah... that's true..."

"Hayato! Here you are!" A cheerful voice cut in their conversation, as their other friend, a tall, black haired man with warm brown eyes and a small scar on his chin joined them in the lounge. "Ah, Tsuna, still waiting?" He threw a smile to both of them.

"Che! What are you doing here, you sword freak?" Gokudera growled, glaring at the swordsman. The man only laughed and waved his hands.

"Maa, maa, you were supposed to help me cleaning up after Hibari's and Mukuro's latest brawl, remember? Although why they couldn't do it, I don't know..."

"They would just cause more trouble..." Tsunayoshi sighed softly, remembering the conflict. As always, it was started because of a tiny, stupid issue...

"Hrmpf. Always causing trouble for Juudaime, these two..." Hayato grumbled and mussed up his hair. "Anyway, seems that I have to go already. Don't stay up for too long, please?" There was almost begging in his green eyes.

"A-ah, okay... I'll try..." the brown haired boss smiled and waved his two friends and guardians away. Lambo was long asleep, good thing, one less troublemaker to watch; Ryohei was away, visiting his sister and her husband with his own wife... the mansion was sure calm and quiet today. Tomorrow it will change, and once again he will question his decision of throwing the party in the main mansion. Oh well, he'll panic tomorrow... now, he had to make sure the children would sleep peacefully. They were quite stubborn to wait for their other father right there...

"Reborn... you better have a good explanation of that, otherwise they'll be very cross with you..." he muttered, yawning slightly. Uh... what time was it?... almost 9PM. And still no sign of Reborn... oh well, when he's finally back, Tsuna would have words with him about keeping promises...


Some time later he startled awake because of a prod from his hyper intuition. Huh?... he nodded off as well?... no wonder, all the preparation for the coming celebrations were very taxing, in addition to his normal workload and children needs as well... but what woke him up, exactly?

Ah, there was one more person in the room. And, judging from the feeling...

"Look who's finally back..." Tsuna grumbled, sitting up and gently petting one of the twins so the child wouldn't wake up.

A small, dark chuckle was his answer. Typical...

"You know they stayed up way after their normal time, because you promised to be back before the evening?" Caramel eyes sent an accusing glare at the dark silhouette, moving through the shadows in the lounge.

"Not my fault the brats are stubborn..." came the reply. Tsuna twitched and scoffed.

"As if... I swear, you already corrupted them beyond recognition... and they were so obedient and calm before..." he sighed when a pair of strong arms slid down his shoulders, pressing him to the sofa's backrest, closing him in a tight, yet warm embrace. A chiseled chin rested down on his head.

"You spoil them too much, so no wonder they're getting worse every day..." onyx black eyes glanced down at the sleeping children with fondness nobody else would witness in the hitman.

"You don't seem to be doing anything else..." Tsuna grumbled, closing his eyes slowly. "But, anyway... why are you so late? You promised..."

"Aah... the contractor thought he could be cheeky since he got my services. I had to teach him a lesson... and, of course, I had to pick up gifts for you three. Santa can't forget anyone, now can he?..."

"… yeah. Sure. Blame it on the Santa, why not..."

"Now how old were you before you finally stopped believing in him?"

"Oi! That's not the matter here!"

"Ooh? Really?"

"Yeah! You broke your promise to them, and they won't forget that easily..."

"Pah. They love me too much, it won't be an issue..."

"Yeah, sure, I'll enjoy watching you getting their silent treatment..." that earned him a flick on the forehead, making him yelp quietly. "Stop it, you'll wake them up!"

"That's the idea... they need to go to their beds. You need to get to our bed as well, Dame-Tsuna..."

"Rebooorn! You promised not to call me that!"

"Hn. Really? Well, seems that I'm very bad at keeping promises, then..." Tsuna could swear Reborn was smirking in that cheeky, sexy way that was so like him. So he just sighed and nodded gently.

"Fine, fine, I'll let you win this one. Oh... right. Welcome home, love. And..." he glanced at the clock. Ten past midnight. "… Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, caro..." and in that moment, like that, everything was just perfect.