Title: A Fallen, Dead Petal
Summary: It was a bright and sunny day when Tsuna coughed up a single bloody yellow daffodil.
Disclaimer: Katekyo Hitman Reborn! belongs to Akira Amano
Pairing: R27
Warning: Set post-canon, possible OoC-ness. Slight cursing, nothing too explicit.
Beta'd by Lightning515
A Fallen, Dead Petal
The universe, Sawada Tsunayoshi decided, truly hated him.
At twenty-one years old, two years after his official succession as the Vongola Decimo, Tsuna had finally wrangled decent control over the chaos that was his Famiglia (and his entire life, while he was at it).
On this beautiful day, birds were singing, flowers were blooming… on a day like this, Tsuna was enjoying some time alone in the massive garden on the Vongola estate after finally managing to dispatch all of his Guardians out on errands and/or missions. (Well, with the exception of his youngest, who was off to school instead.) Sitting on the edge of the fountain, basking in the warm sunlight, Tsuna felt nothing but peace and contentment.
And that was when a violent cough had him hunched over, clutching desperately at his chest. Tsuna immediately slammed a free hand over his mouth to muffle the sound as pain blossomed from his chest, burning through his lungs and up his throat. It was a few agonising minutes later before the coughs finally stopped and, with a pained grunt, Tsuna let himself slip from the edge of the fountain himself to sit somewhat upright against the fountain as he gasped for air. His senses slowly recovered with his breathing, and Tsuna was finally aware of something staining the hand that had been covering his mouth. He lifted the stained hand and—
"—...Ahh…."
It was a bright and sunny day when Tsuna coughed up a single bloody daffodil.
"Hanahaki disease."
Tsuna didn't know what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn't this—or so he would like to claim. There were hardly any disease that could make one cough up flowers, after all. Still...
"I thought that was a fictional disease." Tsuna denied weakly.
"Well sure. And you're definitely not coughing up flowers." Shamal replied dryly.
The doctor eyed the young Don Vongola, noting the weariness and denial behind the mask of nervousness and sheepishness. Quite honestly, Shamal was surprised that Tsuna had come to him, of all people—not that there were many doctors the young Vongola could have gone to. Their relationship over the years had been one of mutual respect at best, their own connection being one Gokudera Hayato. Shamal suspected that this indirect connection to Vongola and his prior knowledge of the brunet's body condition were the key.
"So." Shamal started, instantly getting his patient's attention again. "Since you've heard of the disease, I assume you know about it."
Tsuna looked away, falling silent. He was reluctant to answer. Answering meant that he was acknowledging it, and he didn't want to. Shamal waited patiently until Tsuna finally caved, "…A disease born from unrequited love. The patient throws up flower petals—or in some severe cases, entire flowers—until cured."
"Two ways of curing," Shamal continued. "One, you confess your love and have your feelings returned—"
"—Impossible." Tsuna interrupted.
"Or two, surgery to remove the infection." Shamal finished. The brunet looked at him, already waiting for the other shoe to drop. "Surgery can and will completely remove the infection… along with the feelings associated with it. You will never have romantic feelings for the one you love ever again."
"Surgery it is then." Tsuna concluded, instantly and without a single shred of hesitation.
Shamal nearly did a double-take at the immediate decision. "You're not even going to consider otherwise? We're talking about the complete and permanent removal of your feelings here!"
"All the more it should be done." Tsuna replied, his face perfectly calm and betraying nothing—his public Vongola Decimo face. It unnerved Shamal to see Tsuna speak about his feelings so mechanically when he was well-known as the one of the most empathic Don in the Mafia. Continuing in the same emotionless monotone, "I am Vongola Decimo, tenth head of one of the largest and most powerful Famiglia in Italy. I have more enemies than I can count and even more than I even know of. Having romantic feelings for someone is a clear and exploitable weakness for me and, by extension, the Vongola Famiglia." He looked down, clenching his fists in his lap. "If I have to choose between a one-sided love that will never be requited and the safety of my Family, then the answer is clear."
"Bullshit." Shamal snapped, slamming down the clipboard he was holding onto his desk. "I can't believe I'm saying this to you of all people, Vongola, but that is the shittiest excuse I've ever had the pleasure of hearing from you. That you'd give up without even trying is a first for you."
"I've learned that some stakes are pointless to attempt, Dr. Shamal. I cannot afford the luxury of my youth anymore." Tsuna defended, his voice slowly rising in volume to emphasize his point. "To try something that I know will fail is—"
"—It's Reborn, isn't it." Shamal interrupted.
[…eone…]
"What…" Tsuna froze, his composure cracking for a split second before snapping back into place.
"Your unrequited love. It's Reborn." Shamal repeated matter-of-factly.
[Someone… s… utside…]
"Reborn is my tutor. My mentor. My dear friend—"
"—and you are in love with him." Shamal cut in.
"I… he…" Tsuna stuttered. He glanced down at the bloody daffodils in his hand—the physical proof of his affections. "…why… now." Tsuna finally muttered, tired and defeated. Two weeks of hiding his increasingly severe coughs had him exhausted, and now, being forced to confront feelings he thought he'd long buried had taken the rest of his strength from him. "Why now, after three ye—"
[Someone is outside..!]
Tsuna stopped abruptly as his Hyper Intuition finally cut through his preoccupied mind. He slipped into Hyper Dying Will mode, crushing the petals in his hand in the process as he rushed towards Shamal's closed office door, yanking it open violently whilst his free hand lit with flames… only for the flames the die away when he saw who he was.
"Re… born…"
Tsuna promptly slammed the door back shut.
…Or at least, he attempted to.
It was a testament of the hitman's training and resilience that Reborn didn't even bat an eyelash when the door slammed into his extended foot. Slowly and gently, as though he was afraid of startling a high-strung creature, Reborn carefully pried his student's hand off the door, stepped into the office, and shut the door quietly behind him, effectively blocking the only exit from the room.
Throughout the entire time, Tsuna looked frustrated and defeated all at the same time, while Shamal simply looked thoughtful. Reborn decided to ignore the good doctor (as he always did) and, after a quick survey to check that there was no possible escape route for his rather flighty student, spoke.
"What is going on here?"
A long moment of answering silence ensued.
Reborn resisted the urge to sigh. "Shamal?"
"Vongola is, as you've guessed, ill." The doctor answered promptly. "It's—"
"—No. No!" Tsuna cut in, eyes blazing golden though with no visible flames in sight. "You're not supposed to be here! You're not even supposed to be in Italy!" He screamed, already in near hysterics. "I'm fine! I'm perfectly fi—"
And then, of course, because the universe hated him, Tsuna starts coughing violently right there and then.
The pain was much more explosive this time, compared to when it first started two weeks ago, and it had Tsuna collapsing to the ground in sheer agony. It was as if his entire respiratory system had decided to rebel against him. Every breath Tsuna took was simply swallowed up by the flowers sprouting within him. His lungs were clogged, his airway was blocked…
Tsuna was drowning without water and it burned.
Flowers poured from his lips, spilling from the sides of the hand covering his mouth in vain. A couple of acacia and cyclamen flowers along with daffodils—all tinged red with blood. His vision was a blur through his own pained tears, and his mind had all but shut down—not even the incessant blear of his Hyper Intuition could cut the agony burning through him. Tsuna didn't know how much time had passed before his senses began working again, but when it finally did, the first thing he registered had him freezing.
An even, steady heartbeat.
Slowly but surely, Tsuna was increasingly aware of several things. The first was, of course, the heartbeat pressed up against his right ear. The next was the warmth wrapped around him. The third was the fact that sometime in possibly the last few minutes, his eyes had fallen shut. He slowly opened them, and became are of the last, and most important thing: the hand pressed flushed to his chest, lit with a bright and sparkling yellow flame that Tsuna, when he focused on it, could feel gently burning away the flowers sprouting within him.
Tsuna breathed several shuddering breaths, gulping greedily for air. In the precious air he was so depraved of in the last few minutes, the familiar scent of gunpowder and espresso lingered and right there and then, Tsuna knew it was over.
"Hanahaki…" The words rumbled against his ear and Tsuna shuddered once more. "So that's the reason for the sudden influx of missions, I presume?"
"To be fair…" Tsuna murmured hoarsely. "Those were all valid missions... I did plan for those investigations… I just… moved the timeline up… a lot more…" He was hit with a sudden urge to cry, but Tsuna forcefully swallowed the lump in his throat. "I… wanted to deal with this… before you had a chance to find out… before anyone had a chance to find out…"
Reborn's laugh was short and bitter. "You weren't even going to tell me."
"You're… you." Tsuna said simply.
"Idoita." Reborn sighed, a tinge of exasperated fondness in his voice. "You've been my student for five years now, and still you don't seem to understand I prefer actions over words." The healing Sun flames died away, but his hand remained where it was. "That, and… I never do things conventionally."
"That's… no… you're lying…" Even as he uttered the words, Tsuna knew otherwise. But he couldn't bring himself to believe it. "You're—"
"If I were truly lying, Tsuna, this wouldn't have worked." Reborn answered, eyes flickering down to the hand still pressed to the brunet's chest. "Hanahaki is a disease born of feelings. It cannot be lied to, or tricked out of. Only a truthful answer or cold, hard surgery can cure it." The hitman was stating the truth, and Tsuna knew it—his Hyper Intuition would have told him so—but Reborn could still see the hesitation in the warm brown eyes and he sighed. "I'm going to say this once, so listen closely."
"I love you, Tsuna, and I've suspected you felt the same. I've not explicitly mentioned it because I don't like words. We are Mafia; words are lies and deceit more so than they are truths; I am not ashamed to admit I have used words in my own line of work, and I have, in fact, taught you the same. Actions are real; they mean something and have a tangible effect. You've once put everything on the line, defying me directly and risking your life to save me. That day, Tsuna, your actions gave me something I've lost a long time ago—hope."
Tsuna was quiet the entire time, but a faint tremble beneath his fingers had Reborn glancing down. Onyx eyes softened, and a soft sigh escaped his lips. "Silly idiota." He murmured, lifting the arm wrapped around the brunet to gently wipe the tears falling from chocolate brown eyes. After a moment of hesitation, Reborn used the same hand to tilt Tsuna's head up to face him properly, and then, very slowly, leaned his own head down.
Tsuna's eyes were wide and shone with wetness, and it was all Reborn could see; just as all Tsuna could see were the deep abyss of Reborn's eyes. Their breaths mingled, their lips only mere inches apart, but Reborn refused to close the final distance, allowing Tsuna to make the final move.
And move he did, albeit after a full minute of considerations.
Their lips met with little fanfare. There were no metaphorical fireworks exploding in the background. Tsuna's heart didn't race—not as much as he thought it would. It was soft, it was gentle, and it felt as though they've done this countless times. The naturalness, the lovingness of it all was what finally made it sink firmly in Tsuna's head—he was in love with Reborn, three years and counting, and it was reciprocated.
"I..." Tsuna breathed as they broke apart. "I love you, Reborn. And… I…" He glanced away, ashamed. "I'm sorry I hid it from you. And that… I tried to remove them instead of facing it."
"We will have a nice long discussion on that, trust me." Reborn replied flatly. "For now… We should probably get that perverted doctor back in to check on you."
Tsuna blinked. "Where did Dr. Shamal…?"
"I kicked him out." Reborn answered, as if ejecting a doctor from his own office was nothing out of the ordinary. "I've not had a chance to properly look it up, but as far as I'm aware, it'll take a little while longer to completely remove the flowers and its roots from your system. I'll get Gokudera to clear your schedule for the rest of the week; after Shamal clears you, we're going somewhere."
"Wait. For the rest of the week?" Tsuna echoed dumbly.
"Your respiratory system took quite a bit of damage from the disease. Even after the roots are removed, it'll take some time for your system to recover back to normal." Reborn explained. "Don't worry. Your Guardians are more competent than they look; Vongola won't fall just because you have to rest for a few days."
Tsuna nodded slowly, and while Reborn called for the doctor, the brunet let his sight fall to the pile of flowers scattered around in front of him. Most of the flowers were daffodils, and there were acacias and cyclamens mixed in, but one of the flowers was new. Though tinged red with blood, Tsuna could still see the yellow, tube-shapes leaves peaking from beneath.
"Jonquil… It seems your body knew even before you did, Tsuna." Reborn remarked.
"With a disease born from feelings, I'm not surprised."
Daffodil — Unrequited Love
Acacia (yellow) — Secret Love
Cyclamen — Resignation and Good-bye
Jonquil — Affection returned
A/N: A couple of months ago, I went on a Hanahaki disease fic reading spree and then this happened. *cough* Thanks to my awesome beta, Lightning515, for, well, beta'ing as always, and thanks for reading~ Ciao ciao~