Well, this literally took about two years to write. This first part with Fuuta took me about a week, but the one-shot I wrote to accompany this? Geez, that was the most difficult thing to write ever.

Anyway, as the summary stated, this deals with the aftermath of the Mukuro arc. If you enjoyed this one-shot, please don't forget to check out the sequel/companion fic to this involving Gokudera, called "Tenth."

(And don't forget to review, too!)


Tsuna-nii


It took a few days for everyone to come back home after the Kokuyo Incident.

Nana was ecstatic to see everyone walk in through the door, and barely batted an eyelash over the fact that mostly everyone was in bandages. She swept the three of them in her arms, Lambo and I-pin trailing at her feet, and the happy, unworried smile she beamed at them told Tsuna that Reborn had probably already fed her some sort of excuse about their absence.

"Oh, Tsu-kun, I'm so glad you were able to find Fuuta." Nana smiled happily at her son before taking Fuuta into her arms and giving him a tight hug. "We've been so worried about you! No more strolls through the forest without an adult, okay? Look at how you've all come home!" She laughed lightly, with very little reproach, before rushing everyone inside.

Tsuna welcomed the coddling. A few months ago, dinner would have been a quiet affair between him and his mom, with the occasional lecture about his grades between bites. Now, Tsuna hid a content smile as he fiddled with the bandages on his fingers for a bit before picking up his chopsticks and digging in. Fuuta smiled all throughout dinner while Lambo made a mess and stole I-pin's food. Tsuna had to protect his own plate not only from the five-year-old but also from Reborn, who mercilessly managed to steal from him anyway. Tsuna groaned and complained about it, but his heart wasn't really in it (not to mention Bianchi was giving him a threatening look for daring to protest against Reborn).

It's a typical evening in the Sawada household. Tsuna was happy to be home.

I can't believe it's finally over, Tsuna thought gladly for about the nth time as he walked into his room. He felt tired but at the same time alert. There was this excited buzzing running through him that he knew would give him a hard time falling asleep.

He blamed it on the relief. He had heard from Reborn that onii-san had finally been discharged from the hospital. Yamamoto never had that many injuries himself, and although Gokudera-kun did, Tsuna had no doubt that he would see the bomb-user in school tomorrow (or at his front door, more likely).

Ah, school… Tsuna grimaced at the thought of all the missing work he would have to make up for. But at least this was another clear sign that everything had finally returned to normal. Not to mention Tsuna would be able to see Kyoko-chan in school tomorrow as well. The reminder only left him feeling even more awake than before.

But somehow, Tsuna did end up falling asleep.

He had one of his most peaceful dreams, which of course included a vision of a future by Kyoko-chan's side, with absolutely no mafia-related business chasing at his back.

Which, of course, was promptly ruined by the fact the Reborn had somehow become their child and his kicks had only gotten harder.

Tsuna jolted into wakefulness.

"Tsuna-nii?"

Ah, this is why I've woken up, Tsuna thought assuredly to himself, already blocking out the horrifying image that he had seen in his dream. He rubbed his eyes tiredly and glanced to his right, frowning as he saw Fuuta's small figure looking timidly at the floor.

"Fuuta? What are you doing up at this hour?" Tsuna asked curiously as he pulled his covers back.

Fuuta made no response at first, merely staring quietly at his feet until his eyes slowly looked up to gaze at Tsuna's own. "I can't sleep…" the younger boy confessed in a whisper, looking so small and scared that it roused the last of Tsuna's sleep from him. Tsuna moved to sit up and glanced at the other with concern. "What's wrong?" he asked him, not quite sure what else to say; this was the first time any of the kids had come to him for things like this.

Fuuta stayed quiet for another while though. He bit his lip and clutched the blanket he had brought trailing with him, making himself look smaller as he hunched into himself. "Can I sleep with you tonight?" Fuuta finally asked in a small embarrassed mumble, looking completely miserable and vulnerable. The fact that he hadn't used the puppy eyes he knew would work on Tsuna told the fourteen-year-old exactly how serious the request was.

For a moment, Tsuna wondered why Fuuta had come to him at this hour instead of mom, but a second later, he was ushering the boy into his bed, with no small amount of awkwardness at his action. Tsuna couldn't remember the last time he slept with someone before—with his father gone, and the embarrassment over the idea of crawling into his mom's bed, Tsuna quickly learned to keep his misery to himself. But he could see Fuuta appreciated the effort.

"Tsuna-nii?" Fuuta's voice was a timid whisper that broke him out of his thoughts once more.

Tsuna made an encouraging noise in his throat as he fiddled with his blanket and wondered what he was supposed to say in this kind of situation; he looked up to where Reborn was for a second, hoping that the other would be able to help him somehow, but predictably, the baby was deeply asleep and Tsuna inwardly bemoaned as he noticed Fuuta had curled up at his side and was trembling.

"What's wrong, Fuuta?" Tsuna asked him anxiously, his hands hovering over the young brunette before finally settling down to awkwardly pat his head. He felt so lost and inexperienced, because while Tsuna had been babysitting the kids for a long while now, he had never had to deal with any of them in an emotional level.

"I'm scared…" Fuuta confessed into Tsuna's stomach before becoming rigidly tightlipped, in a manner than Tsuna found entirely too familiar.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Tsuna prompted the other quietly, in what he hoped was a soothing voice. Fuuta nodded slightly and swallowed loudly but didn't say another word.

Tsuna bit his lip nervously. "Do… you want to talk about it?" he asked him hesitantly and nearly flinched at the shudder he got in response. "Y-you don't have to if you don't want to!" He sought to reassure him and did his best not to flail helplessly. Tsuna was glad the room was dark then, because his panicked expression surely wouldn't help the situation at all.

"I…" Fuuta made a frustrated noise at Tsuna's side and tightened his hold on the covers. "I'm scared, Tsuna-nii," Fuuta whispered softly once again, each word a struggle to pronounce. "I… I still remember how it felt… It was horrible, and every time I close my eyes I feel him and I hate it!" Fuuta finally confessed in a rush, making Tsuna understand what was wrong, and Tsuna inwardly thought that he really should've expected it to be about this; (Reborn would likely call him Dame-Tsuna for being so slow to pick up on it).

"Fuuta…" Tsuna tried to comfort the Italian boy in his arms but he was more used to dealing with Lambo's loud wails as opposed to this quiet suffering. He tightened his arms around the other and the room stayed quiet as Tsuna's tongue tried to fumble for the right words to say.

(What was one supposed to say to a person who's been possessed anyway?)

"I'm sorry," Fuuta continued in a smaller whisper then, staring at his hands as if there was something there that only he could see; which made Tsuna realize that there's a whole other issue to this as well—but this, at least, he knew how to deal with.

"Fuuta," Tsuna's voice became a little firmer than before, his forehead wrinkling as his lips tugged down into a frown. "It wasn't your fault, Fuuta. I told you that, remember?" Tsuna told him soothingly, although he actually did wonder if the other remembered that exchange. Everything had happened so fast, and Tsuna had no clue what being possessed did to one's psyche.

Fuuta nodded hesitantly into Tsuna's stomach once more however, and slowly began to loosen his tight hold on the covers. Tsuna inwardly sighed in relief at this action, and it served to strengthen his resolve to reassure the small boy.

"Mukuro's gone and isn't coming back, okay? And even if he ever does, I promise not to let anything happen to you. Okay?" Tsuna promised, putting a hand on the other's head comfortingly and giving him an equally promising smile.

It seemed to work. Fuuta glanced up at him and bit his lip slightly. "Promise?" he asked Tsuna softly, and his eyes turned big and watery then, in the way that Fuuta knew Tsuna couldn't resist. Not that he ever planned to anyway.

"I promise." Tsuna smiled at him, glad to note that the other had finally begun to relax again. Fuuta smiled back and the haunted look that had been plaguing the corner of his eyes finally left him. He merely looked exhausted now.

"Let's go back to sleep, alright? No more nightmares," Tsuna instructed the other with a small teasing grin before they settled down to sleep once more.

"Tsuna-nii?" Fuuta called out after a minute of silence; his voice was unsurprisingly already thick with exhaustion.

"Hmm?" Tsuna smiled slightly at the suffix, because he actually felt like he had sort of earned it this time.

"Thank you," Fuuta murmured happily, hiding his sleepy grin into his pillow. "Tsuna-nii really ranks number one at comforting people," he mumbled softly, mostly to himself, before yawning. It was not long after that he was fast asleep.

Tsuna's cheeks burned red with embarrassment at this high praise, speechless upon noticing that nothing was currently floating in his room. The realization served to merely increase the happy flush at his cheeks.

"Any time, Fuuta," he whispered quietly to the sleeping boy, unable to hide his own pleased grin. And then he too closed his eyes and soon fell back to sleep.