A/N:
Gift for the lovely Shivani, based on her awesome story 'Welkin'.
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Xanxus grinned behind the safety of his glass as he languidly observed Dino Cavallone launch thinly-veiled barbs at the retired External Advisor.
Iemitsu's angry, outraged flush was slowly creeping up his neck and Xanxus was gleefully enjoying the show.
Really, Xanxus thought as he took a sip of his wine to quell the chuckle that wanted to spring free of his throat, the idiot deserves it. Though the kid was probably better off without him. Trash should have protected his fucking family―not like he didn't have the agents or the power to do a hell of a lot more than he fucking did. How hard would it have been to put some retirees in that shit ass town? Or to use an allied yakuza syndicate to keep an eye out? I know there was at least one Vongola-sympathetic syndicate with enough power to do such a thing back then, especially with what a Vongola alliance could open up for them in foreign markets. Che, dumbass. And he wonders why the Decimo fired his ass.
In the decade since the Ring Battles Xanxus had calmed down quite a bit. Truthfully he was quite pleased with how things were and his lot in life. The Decimo was a fair man who could hold his own, but still allowed the Varia to clean house.
Xanxus appreciated that. Especially now that he had grown up, gotten over himself a whole hell of a lot, and could see things though a calmer, more balanced lens.
Part of what made him so unreasonably furious with Nono was the man's refusal to commit to action. Sure, the Estraneo had been wiped out after the Decimo's mother had been murdered, but as the Varia Boss, Xanxus had fucking proof that the mess could have been avoided had Sawada and Nono done their fucking jobs. Granted, hindsight was always 20/20, but between Sawada's delusions of grandeur―and that was fucking rich coming from Xanxus, of all people―and Nono's policy of vacillating between pacification and strong-arming, the Vongola had been a fucking mess.
The Decimo, however, was fair and consistent. He gave out far more second chances than Xanxus would, but the brat made them work. The Decimo also did not take shit from anyone, especially those involved in shady things such as human trafficking or drug running. In those cases the Decimo set the Varia loose and allowed Xanxus free reign over the situation.
Sure, there were always stupid people who thought they could outsmart the Vongola, but Xanxus and his men took great pleasure in crushing those fools.
So, Xanxus was actually pretty content with the Decimo's rule and not really looking forward to when the littler brat took over.
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Tsuna, frozen to stillness over the main course for the evening, gave Daemon an utterly bewildered look. "Come again?"
Daemon grinned rather predatorily and repeated himself, more so for the benefit of the others gathered around the dinner table, waiting for Tsuna to finish off the garnishing of the main course. "I said―" He purred so entirely gleefully it transcended into creepy as he sauntered closer to his still childish-looking, but no longer chibi-fied, boss. "―that Xanxus wants to know if Tsunayoshi is in need of enforcers or extra bodyguards for whatever he is currently engaged in."
"Yes, I heard that," Tsuna replied plaintively as he rather robotically moved the finished dish to the table, sat it down, and took his seat. He absently ruffled Lambo's hair as he passed the energetic young teen, who had won the honor of sitting on his left this week in the weekly ranking paintball tournament. "But why?"
"Apparently he is none too happy with the Undicesimo and how things are going," Daemon informed him far too cheerfully for Tsuna's state of mental health as the elder man claimed his permanent seat to Tsuna's right and the sounds of everyone tucking into dinner filled the room. "In the past year your half-brother has been taking more and more advice from that man, and Xanxus is uninterested in watching the Vongola decline. However, with some creative interpretation, Xanxus can switch to serving you without betraying his loyalties."
"Great," Tsuna muttered moodily as he stabbed his fork into his side salad. "I had hoped that Xanxus' fanatic loyalty to the Vongola would prevent something like this."
"You did make sweets for whenever you called him to the Fort for meetings," Reborn put forth with a wicked grin. "You should have known what would happen as a result."
Tsuna's exaggerated groan of misery was met with delighted laughter from his Family.
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