A/N: So Reborn! is win. And me, being the total anime junkie I am, after reading the manga, and getting all caught up to the anime, and finding only a few fanfics up to my taste (I'm not a huge fan of reading gay pairings, and 99 percent of all Reborn! fanfics are gay ; ;), decided to attack a NON-cracky, NON-gay, who-knows-what kind of story.

Genre: Romance & drama.

Pairing: TsunaKyoko at first, but mainly TsunaHaru.

Length: Not sure yet. Pretty long, I'm thinking.

This takes place after the future arc.

Enjoy!

1/20/08 : I EDITED THIS CHAPTER. A LOT. It's better now, I hope. :3

------

Chapter 1 : Lately.
It was a bright night. Moonlight shone on the top of the houses and buildings in the town. Its brightness revealed a figure standing on top of a fence. The figure had both hands out on her sides, balancing and walking the span of the fence.

She stopped in front of an average looking house, and jumped off the fence.

"Tsuna-san's house!", she said quietly, triumphantly. The young teenager climbed the tree growing in the front yard of the house, and shimmied across a high branch.

Good. His window was open. She looked at the ground. It was pretty far away. Oh well. She liked a bit of danger. Hanging from the branch, she swung herself and let go at the right time, managing to make it through the window and into the house.

She landed lightly, and brushed herself off. She looked over at the bed, and giggled. He was sleeping peacefully in his covers, with one leg dangling off his bed. She took a deep breath.

"TSUNA-SAN!" She leapt at his sleeping form, glomping the surprised boy.

"Mmph! B-burglar?!" Tsuna sat up abruptly, his eyes scanning the room quickly. They landed on a familiar looking girl. "A-ah, Haru, it's you! What are you doing?"

"Haru was taking a midnight stroll, and Haru remembered Tsuna-san's promise to take Haru to the amusement park after we got home from the future!" She answered, gleefully.

"O-oh! But why couldn't this wait till the morning?" Tsuna rubbed his eyes sleepily. He yawned, and looked at the excited looking girl for a response.

She jumped onto the bed, and bubbled, "Hahi! Haru had to know as soon as possible! Tsuna-san, let's go to the amusement park tomorrow!"

"Sorry Haru, but I can't! Kyoko-chan asked me to go with her to the movies tomorrow!" His blush told her what he felt.

A sudden change came over Haru. Her eyes revealed the hurt she felt, but she nodded. "I understand", Haru piped, "I understand…" she repeated softly.

Of course she understood. She knew ever since she saw them smiling at each other. Laughing with each other. She wished that he could laugh like that with her. Blush like that with her.

But then, wishes don't always come true, she knew. She had just wanted to make sure. She had to hear it for herself.

"Haru wants you two to be happy." In the darkness, she looked up at the face she loved, and smiled. She was happy for them. She'll become happy for them. They were the two most important people in her life.

"Haru…."

"Hai?"

"I'm really sorry I can't go tomorrow, Haru."

She laughed, and shook her head. "It's fine with Haru."

"How about I take you the day after?"

She shook her head. "It's okay! I didn't really want to go that badly anyways. Have fun with Kyoko-chan tomorrow!"

Her blurry vision had threatened to show Tsuna that she did care. That she had been looking forward to that day since he saved her from drowning that day.

Haru smiled and waved goodbye, stepping onto his windowsill. "Good night, Tsuna-san!" With that, she jumped skillfully out of the open window, and landed on her feet.

Shaking her head with determination now, Haru took a deep breath and smiled. She did really wish that Tsuna could love her. She did want Tsuna to take her to an amusement park.

But as she sat there on the fence in front of her house, pondering, she knew that friendship was more important to her. She was going to help Kyoko and Tsuna-san's relationship.

She'll get over it. She liked to compare herself to one of those super bouncy balls you can buy from a party shop: quick to rebound off anything.

Back in Tsuna's house, Reborn stirred.

"She's a unique girl, isn't she?" He said, laughter obvious in his baby voice.

Tsuna shrugged, with his hands behind his head. "You were awake, Reborn?"

"Yeah."

"She's definitely weird." Tsuna replied, leaned back onto his pillow, and fell asleep.

Reborn smiled. Haru had always had Reborn's special interest, though she didn't realize it. This girl had the makings of a hitman.

-------------

Their date had been going well, until a scary looking man, who claimed to want to kill the 10th Vongola boss to prove his own family's worthiness as a mafia gang, attacked Tsuna.

And again Kyoko was able to witness the change in Tsuna when he swallowed a little red pill. When she looked at his eyes, she realized that he had matured immensely. He had an aura of calmness, and quite opposite to his usual nature, he was brimming with confidence.

She blushed. "Tsuna-kun! Be careful!"

"Kyoko-chan, stay back. I'll deal with this." His calm voice differed from the intensity lighting his eyes. He jumped into the fight.

Later, when he woke up, he was on a hospital bed. He had won, but didn't escape the skirmish with no injuries. Wincing, he sat up slowly, and heard a sob. He looked around, and noticed that Kyoko was sitting on a chair next to his bed. She was crying.

His heart hurt. Tsuna reached out to catch a tear with a finger.

"Don't cry, Kyoko-chan." He said, softly.

She looked at his figure, covered with bruises and scratches, and cried, "You're hurt! I…I don't like it when you fight!" Kyoko covered her face.

He looked at her, and said, seriously, "I swear I'll never make you cry again, Kyoko-chan." He pulled her towards him, and hugged her tightly.

Kyoko nodded against his shirt.

-----------------

"Neh, Tsu-kun?"

"…Kyoko?" the 10th Vongola boss murmured, lids still drowsy with sleep. He tightened his arm around his girlfriend's waist.

"I just noticed that it's been 10 years since we came back from the future. So, we're living in the same time period as that time when you and everybody fought. We're living the future that you altered."

"Mmmm…" He shifted, suddenly aware of the fact. Has it? Life had seemed to go by so fast since Kyoko told him that she loved him.

It was true though. After he defeated Millefiore Family in the future and came back to his time, there hadn't been anymore huge mafia wars.

Still, Reborn had kept up his forceful and tedious training. Tsuna knew that he had improved immensely the past 10 years, and had perfected his Dying Will fire.

He smiled contently. The happiest thing in his life, however, was Kyoko-chan.

His sunlight.

"I'm glad, though", she continued, "Because we altered the future, you're not d-dead, and I'm here with you now." Kyoko looked at the man next to her, who was falling back into the clutches of sleep.

She giggled and snuggled into the warmth of the covers and into Tsuna's arms.

--------------

'An earthquake?' Haru thought. Her body seemed to be bouncing up and down.

No, not an earthquake. She opened her eyes, and adjusted her eyes to the sunlight shining through her window. She sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Uwaahh..… Lambo-chan! How many times have I told you to stop jumping on my bed when I'm sleeping?"

The guilty one grinned, with one eye casually closed.

"I couldn't help it! It's an old habit I can't change."

"You're not five anymore, honey. You're fifteen! Stop coming into my room!" she sternly reprimanded.

Lambo smiled charmingly, and all of her stern-ness vanished. Lambo-chan would forever be the five-year old cutie with the adorable cow print jammies in her head.

Haru smiled against her own will, and climbed out of bed. "I guess you'll be wanting breakfast, huh? I'll have to go prepare it for everyone. Now get out, Haru is going to change!"

She shooed Lambo-chan out of her room, and crawled back into her blankets.

Winter was cold this year. She wiggled her toes, and stared at the bottom of the bunk bed on top of hers. It used to be Kyoko's bed, but Kyoko had moved into Tsuna's room.

Haru felt a little sad. She missed talking and laughing deep into the night with her friend. She rubbed her face, and sat up again, lifting the bed covers off of her protesting body.

"All right! Time for Haru to get up!"

She walked into the girl's bathroom, and washed up.

Ten years since they've gotten back from the future, huh? The young woman examined her reflection in the mirror.

Same face. Same hairstyle. Same attitude. Everything looked the same, but there seemed to be something different. She glared at herself.

Average looks, average body, average everything.

She splashed cold water on her face.

That woke her up completely.

Haru shook her head, and tied her shoulder-length hair back into a ponytail with a yellow ribbon.

After she finished getting washed up and brushed her teeth, she walked down the empty halls of Tsuna's base.

Tsuna's base, huh? Haru wasn't sure when she started living here. Reborn had come up to her a few years back and told her that since she was an important friend to a mafia boss, she could be in danger living at her own house.

Friend. She was glad he still thought of her as a friend. She thought of him as a friend now. No more pretending to be a "future Mafioso's wife".

Haru was used to living here, however. Those months of living in the future in the same base helped. Yet it felt different this time around.

Ipin and Lambo were old enough to look after themselves.

It seemed lonelier. It was lonelier.

She missed walking on fences at night every day, which was something she did habitually before. Sometimes she sneaked out just to sit on a fence and feel at peace, protected by the darkness, quietness of the night.

During the day, she chatted to Kyoko when Tsuna was off training or settling important Vongola family business. She made three meals a day, and did cleaned the base when it got grubby.

Haru smiled, and sighed.

Back to work. She turned to the door, and stepped back into those cold, lonely corridors.

Like a robot, she walked to the kitchen and turned on the lights. No one there yet. She bet that Lambo was back curled up on his warm bed.

Well, someone has to do something about breakfast.

She rolled up her sleeves.

"What should I make today?" The refrigerator needed to be restocked. She made a mental grocery list, and browsed the contents of the fridge.

She shivered. The cold air surrounded her, and she wrapped her arms around herself, still thinking about what she could make.

"How about omelets? We have lots of eggs."

Haru jumped, and turned around. Seeing a familiar face, she responded, "Hahi, Bianchi! You scared me." She paused, and counted the eggs.

"Hai, I think that omelets would be a good idea."

"I'll help."

"Okay, arigato!"

While Haru was whipping the eggs, the older woman asked, "I noticed that Kyoko-chan doesn't help you make breakfast anymore."

The sound of whipping got faster. "Haru doesn't mind. Kyoko-chan is busy with Tsuna-san and all. Since he's so busy all the time, I know every minute together for them counts, so I want to help them." She grinned at her friend.

"Oh, I see.." Bianchi turned back to the stove and flipped an omelet over. They worked in silence for a while, with Haru beating the eggs and Bianchi making the omelets.

"Didn't Haru used to like Tsuna though?" Bianchi continued, "I had always thought that Haru would make a good wife for Tsuna."

Haru laughed. "I was young then. I didn't even know what love really was. It was just my silly imagination and daydreams. Haru thinks that Tsuna and Kyoko are better suited for each other, so I won't interfere."

"Hn."

"Bianchi-san! Watch the pan! It's going to burn!" She pointed at the burnt omelet, and laughed. "Let's be more careful from now on."

They heard voices coming towards the kitchen, and looked at each other. The hungry Vongola family would want breakfast soon.

"Augh, what is that smell?" Gokudera growled. Lambo, Yamamoto, and Ipin followed him into the room. He sniffed the air. "Smells like something is burning." Then the holder of the ring of Storm noticed the presence of his sister, and fell to the floor groaning.

"Ohhh, omelets! Yay!" Yamamoto exclaimed after peeking over Bianchi's shoulder, and, grinning his usual grin, sat down at his spot on the table.

"Hai!" Haru carried the plate stacked with the finished omelets to the table.

"Thank you." Ipin said, in her small polite voice.

Yamamoto picked up a fork happily. "Boy, I'm starving. Itadakimasu!" He took a deep breath, and shoveled food into his open mouth.

Haru laughed.

"Hope you guys like it."

She loved all her friends. These were the people she was most comfortable with. If she didn't have them, she probably wouldn't be able to stand living underground. If they didn't rely on her to clean up after them and make food for them, she might have long ago exploded from this slow-paced life.

"Ciaosu."

A/N: This is probably the most serious fanfic I've ever written.

I'm such a dorkkk.

Would appreciate comments & reviews. :