Disclaimer: I don't own KHR.

Nana was a strong woman, and that was something anyone in the neighborhood could testify for. From the moment she had first arrived to the house old man Katsuragi had lived in before moving with his grandchildren, luggage in hand and with a smile on her face for the tall man by her side, everyone who met them could see her strength of character and kind disposure.

She had everything one could hope for; a loving husband, a nice house, a baby on the way and all the life ahead of her. Before long she was on a first name basis with the people living there.

She was happy.

Even when her husband soon left in his search of oil or falling buildings or something of the like (no one was sure what, but they had learned not to ask after a while), and she had to take every challenge by herself, she did so without a complaint. As the months passed by, she began showing and it was increasingly difficult for her to do something as simple as going shopping. Yet she still refused the help, patting her stomach lovingly.

She loved her son. She loved her husband.

She went alone to the doctor, and called for a cab back home, engaging in easy conversation with the driver whenever she could. Sometimes instead of eating at home she went to the nice sushi place three blocks away from her house, and laughed with the pretty dark haired woman and their small child, fantasizing about their children's friendship. The couple at the restaurant chose to ignore the look of longing Nana could not fully hide sometimes.

She was lonely.

And then, he came barreling into her life. The lean, cool looking Italian with his rumpled suit and his permanent smirk, hiding his humanity behind a façade of superiority. And what an encounter it was.

It had been a sunny afternoon; Nana was already on her eighth month of pregnancy, busying herself in the backyard when she heard a crashing sound and looked up to see the crystal panes of the living room's window destroyed and a weird man towering over her.

She cried and tried to stand, but her legs failed her and she hit her head with the step. Dazed, all she could do was roll to the side to avoid the man's fist, but just as she did she felt a sharp pain in her mid-section. All coherent thoughts fled from her, and she shouted half from fear and half from pain not daring to move anymore, not thinking of anything but her cute unborn baby.

The man lifted his hand, and through her haze she was able to see the gleam of a gun pointed at her, and once again she fought to get back on her feet; this wouldn't do, not now, not like this. Her hand hit a solid object and she curled it around the garden scissors that lay forgotten by her side; with difficulty she struggled to sit but even that seemed out of her abilities; she put the garden tool in front of her, as if it could shield her, and the man cackled before pulling the trigger…

But the shot never came. She looked up to see the man bleeding profusely from the hand, cursing. Suddenly his eyes widened comically, looking at something behind her; before she could question it, however, a deep baritone voice resounded.

"Chaos."

The second bullet pierced right through the man's heart, and he fell lifeless to the floor. Nana mercifully closed her eyes, unable to see the man's, even this man's final moments. She didn't open her eyes until she felt the stranger turn around and crouch in front of her, hiding the scene from view. "Miss Sawada? How are you feeling?"

She tentatively peeked through half-closed eyelids, to come face to face with the darkest eyes she had ever seen, and just the tiniest bit of concern in them. Unable to understand what had happened and feeling a killer headache from where she fell before, she merely nodded quickly, and he wordlessly stood up, offering her a hand to stand. She took it but, as she was heaving herself up, she realized that there was blood under her. Her blood.

The pain was back tenfold, and where she had been afraid before, full-blown panic coursed now. "Hospital. Please, call the hospital." She squeaked with slightly hysterical tones; she couldn't lose him, not her son. She would not survive that. "Please, help me."

After a pause of a single heartbeat, the Italian was already phone in hand, quickly ordering the nurse on the other side, sounding confident and sure of himself. Nana clung to his voice as if it was a lifeline, trying to convince herself that everything would be right again. Her breathing sped up as they waited, and tears welled up in her eyes; she knew that she was losing too much blood, if they didn't do something soon… "Hey, don't worry, miss Sawada. The medics are here."

He scooped her in his arms as the paramedics finally arrived and quickly followed them into the ambulance, sitting in the corner to let the men do their work, his face unreadable, his eyes obscured by the elegant fedora. The woman kept looking at him, trying to listen to the doctors' orders, trying to absorb the calmness that just seemed to irradiate from the man.

"Don't worry, Sawada-san. You can do this." She was quickly wheeled inside, but the man didn't follow. The next hour passed in a blur of anxiety, nerves and panic, all kind of scenarios crossing her mind, each worse than the other. A nurse kept murmuring reassuring things that she didn't hear, someone said orders that she could barely follow. 'Is he okay?' was the only question replaying over and over in his mind and she couldn't even find the strength to say it.

With the blessed sound of a child's cries, she finally lost consciousness.

"-blood loss, but your wife should be alright. We do want her to stay a few days in observation though." The same doctor that she vaguely remembered was saying and she tried to focus her sleepy mind. Wife? Was Iemitsu here?

"And the child?" Her hopes were crashed when she heard the deep voice from the unknown man. However the answer to the question was far more important than anything else at the moment.

"… It is difficult to say at this stage. He was delivered several weeks before it was due and in extremely harsh conditions. In the worst case scenario he could have severe brain damage or respiratory problems. However, all signs point to him being a very healthy baby; I'm afraid we will have to monitor him until he grows up a bit, but there should not be many causes for concern." At her soft gasp, the men finally seemed to notice her awake, and the doctor's gaze immediately softened. "I would have preferred to tell you this in a better situation, but congratulations, Sawada-san. You had a very handsome young man."

"Can I… Can I see him?" She squeaked, feeling her throat dry.

The doctor sighed. "We are finishing the last tests but if all is in order, I will personally bring him to you as soon as we are done." With a last nod to them, he turned and left the room.

Nana spied at the other occupant of the room, feeling slightly awkward. But even so… "Thank you. Thank you so much, ah…"

"Reborn. You are welcome, miss Sawada." He shortly answered, seemingly uninterested.

"How do you know my name?" She finally asked after a few seconds of silence. He seemed surprised, but then he smirked. "I know that moron of a husband of yours."

"Well, it sure was good luck that you came when you did. I wonder why that burglar chose to come to my house. I mean, we are not really rich or anything… maybe I should warn the neighbors?" The man gave her an incredulous look that thankfully she didn't notice. "If you don't mind me asking… why were you carrying a… you know…"

"A gun? For safety." The half-truth fell easily from his lips; it was enough that a slip in CEDEF's security had the wife of the fearless leader revealed and open to attacks, but he wouldn't be the one to involve her more deeply in the mafia and destroy her innocence. No, Iemitsu was doing a great job of it all by himself.

They never talked again until the doctor came back, carrying a little bundle in his arms. Feeling the tears roll down her cheeks, Nana looked in awe at the mini human in her arms, squirming in discomfort until she brought him close to her. Feeling the warmth of his mother's body, the baby opened his big brown eyes to curiously stare at her, not quite focusing his gaze yet. She looked up worriedly, but the doctor assured her that that was something to be expected. "What name should I put in the records, Sawada-san?"

"Tsunayoshi. His name is Sawada Tsunayoshi." She beamed proudly, missing the look of amazement of the dark haired man, so used to death but not to its opposite, but still remaining stoic in his post. When the doctor left however, Leon the pet chameleon was quick to jump into the bed and approach the little family, curiously licking the boy's face. With a startled gasp, the boy looked around and extended his hands towards the funny animal, making strange sounds that almost sounded like laughing.

Nana cooed and giggled, before looking at the hitman. "Do you want to meet Tsuna, Reborn? I'm sure you will get along great."

Eyes slightly widening, the fedora man had to struggle to not back away; recovering his poise (he was the best after all; it wouldn't do to show fear to a nineteen inches bundle of pee and tears) he slowly walked towards them. Tentatively, he poked the baby's cheek with one long finger, honestly puzzled about the doctor's statement; where did those people see anything remotely alluring in it?

The baby gurgled and tried to swat his hand away, before yawning and snuggling close to his mother again. She let out a soft laugh again. "See? He already likes you."

Quirking an eyebrow, Reborn simply straightened and took an expensive looking phone from his pocket. "Speaking of which, somewhat should tell the moron that he is a father now. I supposed you'd like to be awake when he was called."

To his surprise, Nana almost looked afraid at his words. She opened her eyes and finally asked, "so, are you leaving Reborn-san?" She didn't want to be alone again.

To his even greater surprise, he found himself shaking his head. "I have some free time. Might as well spend it here." His words seemed to soothe her, and looking away he quickly searched the number listed under 'idiota' in his phone. After three dialing tones, a cranky leader answered.

"What do you want? I don't have time for you right now." The voice at the other side said. Reborn's eye twitched; just who did the blond think he was?

"Just thought you'd want to hear from your wife, daddy~" He answered with just a bit of sarcasm and killing intent, winking at Nana playfully.

"I am very busy to… wait, what? You are with my lovely Nana? You bastard, where the hell have you hidden her… wait, what?" snorting, Reborn passed the phone to the expectant woman, that accommodated the baby on one arm as if she had been doing this for years instead of a few minutes. "Hi, dear." She said.

"Nana! Where are you? Are you alright? Did that bas… Reborn do anything to you? Don't believe anything he says about me! Are you alright?" she chuckled at her husband's antics.

"Yes, I am great. We are at the hospital… no, I'm not hurt! Dear… no listen!" She sighed as her husband tried to say a hundred things as she talked. "Tsuna is here!" Disappointed by the lack of reaction, Nana continued. "Our son is… here. We are parents, Iemitsu!"

She heard a crash on the other side, as if the phone had fell down his fingers, and shaking her head she waited patiently until someone took it. A stern, feminine voice greeted her after a while. "Damn, Reborn! What the hell did you do to the boss this time?"

"Ah… I'm sorry… I'm Nana, Iemitsu's wife. What happened?"

"Nana? One moment." The woman said, and Nana heard something that sounded suspiciously like a kick and a reproach followed by a man's whine. Several maim threats later, her husband was back on the line. "Are you sure honey? Why didn't you tell me it was going to be now?"

Slightly annoyed, she shifted Tsuna's weight slightly before answering. "Yes, I am quite sure. And of course I didn't know it was going to be now. Actually it was…" she hesitated. "He came a little earlier than expected."

"That's my boy! Papa is so proud of you both!" That made her smile.

"Are you coming home soon?" She said hopefully; he had promised to ask for a few weeks off once the baby was born.

"Well you see… this is so unexpected, I don't think I can get out of work now… I thought we had almost two months before he was born. I am so, so sorry, honey! I'll try to be there as soon as things around here have calmed down a bit."

"Oh… I see…" Seeing Nana's crestfallen expression, Reborn felt the urge to shoot the blond into oblivion. Not that he didn't understand where he was coming from; the inside threat had to be found and exterminated. But it seemed like Nono's talks about family and responsibility had also gone right over his head. "Well… yes, fine then. You know where we will be! Ah… yes…" She got off the phone, handing it back to its owner. "He wants to speak to you."

"What?"

"I still haven't forgiven you! You should have told me right away! What-"

"Tell me what you want or I will hang up."

The man at the other side stopped his whining and sobered up. "Turegano is still looking for the culprit, and Lal and Colonello are doing damage control. I can't spare any men right now to protect my adorable wife from more assassins."

"I'll charge a supplement."

"Who are you, Viper!? Agh, you know what, fine. Just make sure she is okay until I can get there."

Reborn hung up without another word, knowing full well that it would irk the other to no end. Pocketing the phone, he turned to the mother. "Since it seems I'll stay here for a while, I'll crash at your house." He said, leaving no room for argument. The woman blinked, dumbfounded, before breaking into a happy grin. Reborn was taken aback; it was the happiest she had seen her since she first held her baby in her arms.

"Of course! We have more than enough rooms for guests! I hope you are a heavy sleeper or Tsu-kun will wake you up though." He smirked; 'Tsu-kun' would probably be the last of his problems. Not that he expected for any hitman wannabe to actually pose a threat to him.

It wasn't until two weeks later than she was discharged from the hospital. In that time, Reborn had finished off five different threats ranging from a sniper to two suspicious-looking nurses, and scared senseless a bunch of Yakuza who were now under his every beck and call.

Not that Nana knew that, of course. For her he was only a recurrent visitor, always cool and aloof. In that time however she learned to push some of his buttons, and Reborn found that he could not be as mad at the moron as he would like; he wouldn't be caught dead admitting it, but he enjoyed the little family's company.

He took the baby in his arms, still slightly awkward around him as if the boy was going to break if he pressed too hard, while Nana opened the door and skipped inside. "Come on in, Reborn!" She said, having convinced him to drop the formal suffix the day before. "I'll prepare a room for you right away."

He didn't miss the way her eyes flickered to the backyard, though there wasn't a trace left of what had happened there two weeks prior, before she eagerly went up the stairs, happy because she was finally able to walk away from that dreadful hospital bed. When she was out of sight, he turned back to the little bundle in his arms. "This is going to be interesting, don't you think?"

Another three weeks passed by, and that particular morning found Reborn drinking an espresso from a new coffee machine that he had bought a few days after moving in, complaining about 'brats who won't shut up' (that earned him a whack from Nana) and 'numbskulls who don't know when to stop', though that particular remark had stopped about a week and a half ago.

Soon after, Nana also came into the kitchen and Reborn, ever the gentleman, quickly stood up to relieve her from the weight of a rapidly growing Tsuna, casually putting him in his lap. As always, Tsuna giggled and extended his hands towards Leon, who still sore from his last encounter with the child, climbed further into Reborn's fedora. Tsuna pouted, gurgling, and would have fallen down if Reborn hadn't steadied him with his free hand. "Easy there, boy."

He looked up when a couple of toasts were placed in front of him a bit forcefully, to find Nana stand there with her hands on her hips in full mother-hen mode. "You tried to skip breakfast again, didn't you? I keep telling you, it's not good for your health." She looked at him slyly. "I understand that you worry about your figure, model-san, but it won't do any good if you faint."

Reborn answered with a smirk of his own. "Not even close."

Nana sighed before pocking at her own breakfast. It had become part of their morning routine, for her to try and guess Reborn's job, since he refused to reveal anything about himself. Yesterday had been a spy, and the day before that a private detective. He was still waiting for the 'astronaut' guess, or something equally impossible. 'Assassin' and 'Mafioso' had never even come close to the list, and maybe it was for the best.

"So maman, what do we have planned for today?" Nana blushed at the nickname Reborn insisted on calling her, even if inwardly she felt ridiculously happy at the reminder.

"Well… I saw a really cute outfit for Tsuna in the add for that new shopping centre. He doesn't really need it, and it'll probably still be too big for him but…"

"Shall we go then? They might even have some decent coffee as well." He clicked his tongue, but Nana only rolled her eyes. The man had expensive tastes, and never seemed satisfied when his daily brew was involved. When she was ready, the hitman opened the door with a mocking bow and she curtsied before stepping outside.

Tsuna was observing everything from the stroller with his brown eyes wide open, and Nana pushed it happily along the streets, with Reborn a step behind her. A little nagging voice inside of her said that she should not be this happy about these simple moments; that the man by her side could not, would not be anything more than a friend. But a friend was enough.

For now. She ignored the treacherous longing in her heart. Iemitsu would be home soon.

And just how long will he stay this time? But Reborn would leave too, sooner or later. He was only doing a favor for a friend, she knew it.

What if…? It was dangerous to think like that.

By her side, Reborn lowered his head, his eyes hidden by his ever present fedora. This had been going for too long; things had calmed down and there was no reason for still being here. It would be dangerous to stay for much longer, or he would fall again under the spell.

The best hitman in the world could not lose to it. That would not do.

Plastering a fake smile in his face, he resisted the urge to come an inch closer to her hand. Leon stuck his tongue at him reproachfully. It can't be helped.

He ignored the last message in a long string of them, coming ever since the day before. For better or worse, today would be the last day. The files had been destroyed, the mole captured and all assassins dispatched. Everything was fine for her once again, and it was time for the shadows to take over once more. If only…

But as the hours passed by the awkwardness of the moment faded as always. After a couple of matching T-shirts for Nana and Tsuna that had the woman gushing over how perfect they were for over twenty minutes, a new set of filters for the coffee machine and a guiltily eaten strawberry shortcake, they finally made their way back home, falling into an easy, contented silence.

When they arrived at the house, the front door was open and the light of the hallway was lit. The faintest of shadows crossed Nana's eyes before she called her husband's name, who came running as soon as he heard her, already melting in praises for her and their son. Reborn ignored the twinge of jealousy that had no place in the scene, and proceeded to mercilessly taunt the leader until he was fuming.

Seeing them there, hand in hand, he knew it was time to let go, and he patted Tsuna's head before turning to the couple. "I've already lost too much time here. We'll talk later, Iemitsu." The blond shivered, knowing that the hitman's idea of talk would be in par with Lal's.

"You… are welcome back anytime, Reborn. Tsuna would love to see you again." She said, looking at him with an intense look that only lasted for half of a second. He didn't miss the sadness in her eyes, but he also noticed the guilt in them.

"Sure. Goodbye then."

He tried to promise himself that he would never step inside that house again. And for a while, it worked.

Another four months went by, and the warm days of spring were already beginning. Keeping a careful eye on Tsuna, Nana was preparing the iron in one corner of the living room when the phone started ringing. Quickly disconnecting the device, she walked into the room, smiling when her son looked up from his stuffed toy. Waving at him, she took the phone, wondering who could it be.

"Hello?"

"…" No one answered on the line, but she could hear a faint breathing. Slightly spooked, she said again, with a trembling voice. "Hello?"

"… Maman…" She gasped at the voice that had become so familiar to her in such a short amount of time. He sounded so regretful, burdened by something dark and poisonous. Somewhere inside, she realized that this was one of those 'make or break' moments in life.

"Reborn!" She cheerfully said, planning to act normal and talk as if she hadn't noticed his tone. But she changed her mind and her next words came in a low voice, "how are you feeling?"

A faint chuckle was heard, and the ominous feeling lifted a bit. "It'll pass."

"Do you have some free time next week?" She asked suddenly. The hitman blinked at the loneliness in her voice. It was something he was not used to hear, but it was not hard to guess the motive of her sadness. "Not before the end of the month."

"… The end of the month would be perfect." The woman said, relieved.

"… I'll see you then."

Reborn hung up with a sigh, not looking back at the bloody scene behind him. He was getting soft, it seemed. He couldn't help but curse himself for not being just a little bit quicker; however since when an assassin should be concerned about the ones lost in the crossfire? Since when would he care about saving lives, even innocent ones?

Calling had been a mistake. Never before had his regrets taken hold of him like that, in the middle of the assignment and without even a bottle of brandy by his side, but seeing the young woman in the ground, his mind had not been able to erase her frightened expression on that day. What could have been. He had caved to the whim of at least hear her, to reassure himself that she was alright.

Why had he agreed to go see her again? It would bring nothing but pain for both of them, in the long term. He knew it. But it would be just one visit… it couldn't hurt, could it?

He didn't know it yet, but from that day the spider web closed definitely around them both.

The evening of the last day of March, the Italian took a taxi in the airport cursing at his latest employer for being a two-timing weasel (he knew there was a reason why he stuck with Timoteo most of the time). He had gotten off with a couple of scratches, but as the saying goes, you should have seen the other guy. No, what truly annoyed him was that the incident had caused him to almost break his promise. And the best hitman in the world did not break his promises.

Forty minutes is what took the terrified driver to drop him off a few blocks away from the Sawada residence; it would not do to be irresponsible now. He growled quietly at the setting sun, willing it to stay put until he reached his destination. When he reached the house, there weren't any lights on, except on the kitchen. Wishing he could break someone's nose again, the hitman decided to slip in through the window; despite his physic, he was actually quite good at sneaking around and entering undetected. He found the 'break' part of infiltrating a building to be amateurish and undignified.

What he saw however, made him forget about his anger against the world and instead direct it to a blond idiot; Nana was sitting with Tsuna in front of her, and in the middle there was a small cake with a candle on top, just blown. Even though he couldn't see her face, her shoulders were trembling.

"Chaos." He said, closing the window to stand casually against the counter, as if he had stood there the whole time. She turned around quickly, her eyes moist and surprised, and he chuckled. "What, you thought I forgot?"

The woman didn't answer; instead she wordlessly got up and hesitantly hugged him. After a moment of doubt, he put his arms around her as well, holding her as she quietly sobbed in his suit. After she calmed down, he accompanied her to a chair and she finally hiccupped, "he sent flowers."

He snorted. For someone so 'utterly, completely, really, really in love', he had met few people more insensitive and accidentally cruel than the blond. Couldn't he see how Nana was breaking? That she deserved something more than empty words? Why don't you fill that role? Listening to that voice inside… maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

"You are acting weird, Reborn." The woman in a ridiculously big hat said, poking at him with one finger.

"Am not." He answered without looking at her, twirling the gun-Leon in his hand as they waited for the target. Apart from the Vongola, the Giglio Nero was one of the very few families Reborn had no qualms working with, and their boss was by far the one person most familiar with the man.

"Yes, you are! You keep disappearing to who knows where, and you get this lost-in-thougth looks when you think no one is looking. And I caught you, smiling! Oh, my God! The world is ending, isn't it?"

"Like you wouldn't know that." He begrudgingly admitted. About two years had passed since his first visit, and the hitman found it increasingly hard to stay away from the household. It started with short calls, little more than asking how were they doing and how was Tsuna growing up.

Every now and then, Nana would open her mail to find a postcard from different places, each with little more than a signature on the back. Then he started visiting more often, never giving a reason why; he would just suddenly appear and stay for a few hours, maybe a couple of days. Staying away had become even more difficult now that the baby was beginning to talk and greet him happily.

"You should act like you have a heart." Reborn merely lifted an eyebrow in her direction, but she swatted his forearm. "I know you know what I'm talking about! Geez Reborn, I was trying to sound profound there, you know." She whined.

"Did you see something?" He asked, giving in as he always did when Luce acted childish like that. She hadn't seemed to outgrow that, even after becoming a mother herself.

"Actually, no I didn't. But you just admitted it! What is it? It's a girl, isn't it? Aw, am I auntie Luce now?" She asked happily; just then Reborn saw movement in the warehouse they had been spying and he motioned for Luce to prepare herself. She sighed, regretting losing the opportunity to get some juicy information on the stone-faced assassin.

"It's not that simple." He murmured just before she was out of earshot, as they moved to intercept the illegal cargo. Luce stared at his back for a moment, before moving in as well; she would let it be for now, but soon, Reborn would be spilling.

I don't think I've ever read a fic with this pairing, so here it is! Originally it was supposed to be a two-shot, but I might expand it to a three-shot, depending on how it goes ^^. Thank you for reading, and please leave a review if you have the time!