"Take off your shirt."

"E-Eh?! B-B-But there must be some of mistake!"

"Mmm, nope! The book doesn't lie—so off with your shirt!"

His fingers played with the hem of his shirt for a while, his face flushing while his friend stared at him with an awaiting grin. Tsuna audibly gulped as he nervously took off his shirt, and threw it to the growing pile of clothes in his room.

He blamed Reborn for all of this.

It was his fault that he was in this situation. He purposely invited Bianchi to his house yesterday when Gokudera was visitng, which led to him seeing his sister. That spawn of Satan was the reason why his right-hand man was now bedridden for half a week and unable to attend their weekly study session. He was the mastermind who planned for Nana to "win the lottery" and take the kids with her to a beach resort for the weekend. He was also the one who ordered them to play this ridiculous game while he went with his mom—and he knew for a fact that if he were to even think about not doing it and lying to the pseudo-baby, there would be hell to pay.

The game itself was not horrible, even though it was highly embarrassing: answer one question within five minutes. For every question you get wrong, you take off something you are wearing. The subject would be in his worst one, math. It certainly provided him with enough motivation to study vigorously in order to stay decent, and he can grudgingly admit that this was somewhat beneficial.

There was only one downfall to this entire system.

"Maa maa, looks like I got another question wrong again! Hmm, I guess my shirt has to go, too!"

Yamamoto was his study partner. Yamamoto, his friend who struggled in math as much, if not more so, as him. Yamamoto, who was currently sitting shirtless in his room, barely two feet away.

As in, the same Yamamoto he has been crushing on and dreaming about for weeks.

Reborn woke him up a few days ago from a rather interesting dream that involved said rain guardian, and since the baby said nothing at that time besides tell him to hurry up for school (although he had a mischievous glint in his eye that made him shiver) and never mentioned it the rest of the week, he thought he was safe for a while.

It was stupid of him to think that, because he was never safe when it came to Reborn. 'That devil was planning for this the whole time!'

"Tsuna?"

"H-Huh?"

"Ahaha, were you daydreaming? Well, it's your turn and I didn't want to time you yet since you weren't paying attention."

"Oh. T-Thanks." It was really hard not to stare at his exposed torso. Really hard. It was finely sculpted with slight bumps to indicate abdominal muscles and he had to fight back the extreme urge to run his fingers over his chest. God, why was his friend so damn attractive?

The fact that both of them were down to being shirtless at this point of the game was a testimony to how much studying they put into it—Tsuna initially started with half of every piece of clothing he had in closet (the other half going to Yamamoto, of course, so they played fairly) on his person, and close to three hours passed from that point. And sometimes, both of them answered some questions correctly after checking the answer booklet Reborn had left for them (and only after they answered the question or attempted to—it wouldn't do any of them good to cheat when the game was designed to benefit them, even if it also embarrassed them (Tsuna mostly)).

Maybe he was actually improving.

"Oh, that was off by one! That's another piece of clothing gone."

'Or maybe this really was Reborn trying to humiliate me in front of my crush and maybe right now he's laughing at the thought of my embarrassment, that Spartan baby.' He groused.

"So? What are you taking off this time?"

"Oh! Umm... I have a belt on, does that count?"

"I guess it does. That's pretty resourceful of you, Tsuna!"

"H-Haha, thanks, Yamamoto." In actuality, he didn't want the raven-haired boy to see him in his boxers, despite the fact that his friend may have already seen them because of the Dying Will bullets. He knew his mother meant well, but the boxers she bought tend to have weird designs on them (seriously, who puts a 27 on boxers? What does that even mean?).

He tried to make sure the buckle didn't make a sound as he removed the accessory since the baseball fan was focusing on his question. After gently placing it to the side, he took his time to admire the serious expression on the swordsman's face. Most of the time, he looked so carefree and happy, but when he gets serious, there was this glint in his narrowed eyes that was both dangerous and alluring, and it was as if his whole aura changed. That was something that attracted the small brunet. The shift in personality was only brought out by this great determination, and more often than not, it was directed towards protecting his friends, which is an ethic he admired a lot.

"Aww cool, I got it right this time!" He could never forget the cheerful smile that never failed to comfort him. A tranquil rain, indeed.

"Good job, Yamamoto!"

"Ha, it was a real doozy, too! I think this game is really helping. Maa, it's your turn Tsuna."

"R-Right..." He quickly glanced at his workbook, before taking another look incredulously. "Eh? A two part question?"

"Oh? Does that mean you have to take two pieces of clothing off if you get it wrong?"

"W-What?!"

His guardian peeked over his shoulder ('His bare chest is almost touching my back, oh god, oh god, oh god...') and then pointed to a part of the directions. "Ah, it does! Look, it's written next to the question."

"N-No way! What if I at least get one part of it right?"

"Hmm..." He continued to read until he reached another part. "Says down here you need both or it doesn't count."

'That Reborn! He planned this too!'

"It'll be fine, Tsuna. I believe in you. Look, you even have ten minutes to solve it!" The taller boy placed a hand on his shoulder reassuringly, and Tsuna can't help but respond to his optimism.

"T-Thanks Yamamoto. I think you're right. Hopefully, both parts are easy so it counts as one big question that's right up my alley."

"That's the spirit!" Yamamoto started the timer.

'There was no mercy... None at all. Reborn, even when you're not here, you're still torturing me!'

Yamamoto's cheeks were, oddly enough, tinted pink, and his eyes never stayed on his bare figure for too long. "W-Well, look at the bright side! You don't have to worry about losing any more clothes." 'The fact that I don't have any clothes at all is worrying me!'

Tsuna was currently curled into a ball to hide his nudity, as his face turned a boiled lobster red. For some reason, he couldn't shake off the coincidence that the minute he had only two clothes on, he was asked an insanely hard two part question that costed him two clothes... was even this moment planned?

It wouldn't surprise him, really.

"Oh, it looks like I'm on a lucky streak right now! I got this one right too." It wouldn't surprise him either if the other had a bunch of easy questions that coincided with his difficult ones. "You ready for the next one?"

"Yeah, it shouldn't be too hard..." It was only a question on linear equations, so it couldn't be that bad, right?

"..."

"Ooh, so close! You mixed up two numbers, according to the book."

"B-But what does this mean? I already lost all my clothes." Tsuna carefully moved (there was no way he was going to flash one of his best friends/crush!) to his desk where he placed the instructions he received this morning. The front contained a message explaining his absence and listed the rules of the game. He checked the back and noticed a small note on the corner. He balked before reading it to a confused Yamamoto.

"I-It says, 'If a person were to answer incorrectly, and already have fully stripped down, then the other would be able to do whatever they want to the person.'"

"Really?" Tsuna meekly nodded before slowly making his way back to his seat at the low table. "So I guess it's up to me what happens to you." Again, Tsuna nodded again, and his cheeks reddened (oh, he can think of a couple of things the swordsman can do to him). Said swordsman faintly hummed, "Hmm," as he pondered his next action. Finally, it seemed he was happy with his choice because his face lit up before he turned to face the petite brunet. He gestured for Tsuna to scoot closer to him, which he complied, and raised his hand to pet his hair, causing the recipient to tense up before his body slowly relaxed. After a few seconds of patting his head, the hand was removed. The athlete bashfully grinned as he lightly scratched his cheek. "Haha, I've always wanted to see how soft your hair was."

"T-That's fine, a-a-although... I wouldn't mind if you do it whenever." The last part was barely audible, but the raven-haired boy picked up on it, and Tsuna thought he saw a light pink hue on his cheeks as he smiled again.

"Hey, it's the last question!"

"Oh thank God!"

The rest of the packet took the duo well into the evening, and at one point Yamamoto phoned his father to tell him he'll be sleeping over Tsuna's house (who refrained from jumping for joy that he could spend the night with his friend, and then almost had a mini freak out when he tried to figure out how his heart won't explode with the noiret so close to him tonight). At this stage, both of them are naked—about an hour ago, Yamamoto received an arduous two-part question that forced him to remove both his pants and boxers ('Would you like at that, it was the exactly same situation as mine...' Tsuna noted as he used all of his willpower to not look down). At that point, the pair had to come up with "punishments" innocent enough to not embarrass the other; although, Yamamoto had the brunet suffer through a brief tickle attack after the former realized the latter was ticklish from a previous "punishment" that involved poking his sides. The most they ever did to each was a one-armed hug (thank God that Yamamoto was smart enough to at least realize that an actual hug would be way too awkward for them to attempt naked) and both resorted to patting each other's head multiple times. Even weirder, the last time Tsuna got something wrong, Yamamoto said he couldn't figure out what he wanted the sky guardian to do, so he asked him if he could do it later. Of course, Tsuna was a little confused about the request, but he knew it wouldn't be bad if he let his friend do this one thing. But that was far from the first thing in his head because there was only one question left!

Now, the torture was almost over! But not quite...

"H-H-Hieee!? It's a challenge question?"

"Oh, really? Hmm, it seems you're right! I have the exact same one right here!" Yamamoto pointed to the page in his packet, the large, bold print exclaiming "Challenger!"

What was Reborn planning this time?!

"Eh? Hey Tsuna, it looks like there's a special punishment if we get this wrong." Tsuna quickly scans the instructions, and pales as the small print states, "If you fail to answer this correctly, you will have to confess that you have dreams about—" He slapped both his hands on the paper, deterring Yamamoto from reading the rest as he peeked over his shoulder.

'T-T-T-There's no way I can tell Yamamoto that! Stupid Reborn, I knew it was too suspicious when you didn't do anything a week ago!' "A-Ah, Yamamoto? Does your question ask you to tell a secret, too?"

"It does!"He faltered.

'How can he say that so calmly?!'

"Maa maa, I guess this means we have to get really serious. The question looks really hard, but there's a 15 minute time limit this time! Maybe if we try hard enough, we can get close to an answer!" Yamamoto's optimism knows no bounds.

"Even if we both failed and had to tell our secrets, I'm sure it will strengthen our friendship." 'Now that's too optimistic!'

"O-Okay... I just want to finish this..." Yamamoto offered another one of his calming smiles, before he reached over for the timer. He set it at 15 minutes and placed it facing away from the two of them so they don't feel pressured by the countdown. His hand was hovering over the button, and the rain guardian checked to see if his friend was ready. The brunet audibly gulped before he sighed and nodded his head.

Tsuna slumped over the low table, his eyes dead and his soul leaving his body.

'"Line B, seen in the picture, is the greatest possible distance a hitman can fire a bullet from a building of 70 meters. For enemy mafioso who appear within this circumference of the bullet's range, explain the attack options using this range. Show your work." Godammit, that should not count as a math question!'

"Ahaha, it looks like we both got it wrong!" Once again, Yamamoto can be a bit too happy.

"D-Do you want to... h-hold up a piece of paper that says our s-secret? That way, we won't be too embarrassed compared to saying it out loud." The baseball player contemplated the idea, before nodding his head in agreement. The boss-in-training reached for the black marker on the edge of his desk, and carefully wrote on the back of the packet—ah, and the swordsman was kind enough to turn his back when he started writing, not that it would make that much of a difference in a minute or two—before tapping the utensil on his friend's back to indicate he was done. He smiled in gratitude before writing as well, and Tsuna turned his back to give him the same courtesy.

He heard the marker being placed on the table, and he turned to see Yamamoto showing the front of his paper in his hands with his trademark grin, although it looks a bit more sheepish than usual. Tsuna copied his pose and the two silently stared at each other for a while.

"One..."

"T-Two..."

"THREE!" The duo quickly turned their papers, and both of them gasped.

"I like Yamamoto/Tsuna as more than a friend."

"...!"

"I-I-Is that true?"

"Ahaha, it sure is. And yours?" The brunet offered a small nod. "Well, this works out great! Ne, does this count as a confession?" The brunet blushed and stammered a bit before he reluctantly agreed to the notion. The noiret smiled gently. "Does this mean you want to start dating?"

"I-I u-uh... do you want to d-date me?" He looked down at his lap, his hands clenching tightly into fists atop his knees. And Yamamoto was all too aware of his crush's (boyfriend's) low self-esteem, and it hurt to see the person he admired so much doubt himself. He gradually gathered the brunet into his arms, ignoring their lack of clothing, and placed him on his lap. He chuckled when the tips of the smaller boy's ears reddened at the intimate contact before resting his head atop the other's.

"Of course I do, Tsuna. I wouldn't ask if I didn't want too, you know? And I did confess that I like you a lot too," He felt the tinier body shift a bit and removed his head from its comfy perch to look into the chocolate eyes he came to adore. "So don't look down on yourself, okay? You're a great person, Tsuna." And just like that, the tenth-in-line deflated and dropped his forehead to meet Yamamoto's chest, sighing in defeat. The rain guardian chuckled again—because the teen was just so cute—and they stayed in each other's embrace for a few more minutes. Eventually, the hugger let go of the hug-ee to gaze into his eyes once more, and grinned. "So... is that a yes?"

"Wha—I thought that was clear!"

"Well, I want to hear you say it, of course!" He felt puny fists weakly hitting his chest, and laughed.

"It's a y-y-yes. Yes." And he was so elated he hugged him again and didn't loosen his grip even once when he heard the muffled, feeble protests. Then an idea popped into his head and there was a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Hey, can I use that one 'punishment' from before?" Tsuna must have picked up something from his tone, because he finally broke away from the embrace (but he was still in his arms, Yamamoto observed cheerfully) to look at him suspiciously.

"W-What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to kiss me!" And as expected, Tsuna's face erupted into a deep crimson blush. The taller teen threw his head back with a loud laugh, and it was at that moment that Tsuna rose up to kiss his cheek. Now it was his turn to blush, but it was only a faint pink.

"Y-You never said where."

"Aww, that's not fair! I meant my lips—I want you to kiss me on the lips."

"You already used your last request!"

"Well, I guess that means I have to do it!"

"Wai—mmph!"

And that's a wrap.

Thought there was going to be some steamy action, huh? Ohoho, that was my intention starting this, but 8027 is just too... innocent. I can't do that to them... yet. Kufufu...

This was just something that popped into my head at one point while I was in a dry spell for my other stories (also, go to my profile and check to poll to see which story you want me to update first!) and I always wanted to write about my favorite ship, so there!

Okay then, it's goodbye for now. I might drop by with another 8027 (maybe an actual M-rated one), but only time will tell. Well, I'm off!

—The Doctor