Here again to bring something to the table for Reborn's birthday which shall commemorate the end of my forced hiatus. Actually, this one goes out to Tsuna, really, though this'll seem like mostly Reborn's.
Enjoy.
"I'm so tired…" Tsuna whined as he dragged his luggage home. He'd spent the last week at a study camp for extra credit. Alone.
Yamamoto and Gokudera-kun had offered to come too, but he'd felt horrible for even considering it. Baseball kept Yamamoto from being threatened with not graduating, and the less said about Gokudera's grades, the less stupid Tsuna felt. Neither needed the camp, and he couldn't force his best friends to come with him when he knew they didn't deserve to.
Unfortunately, that meant it was just him with the other slackers and, more importantly, the delinquents. All of whom could not stand being near him unless it involved his face and their fists. Thankfully, the threat of Gokudera finding out about him being harmed deterred them from doing much more than pushing him around, but nothing could be done about the outright avoidance.
It'd been a lonely week.
The brunette almost regretted having helped Reborn break his curse. While his tutor had been dismissed as a clingy child before, he was now constantly scrutinized if he so much as waited at the school gate for Tsuna. He even overheard the teachers talking once, wondering why "that well-dressed pedophile" keeps showing up.
(Tsuna wisely kept that nickname to himself. He'd already talked Reborn out of assassinating his math teacher, the baseball coach, and the principal. He wasn't going to push his luck.)
Needless to say, he convinced Reborn to stay home too–he personally thinks Reborn backed down way too easily, but was not about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
As the days went by, though, he couldn't help but miss everyone. They hadn't been separated this long since back when they were trapped in the future, and the lack of any real interaction with people the last few days had just made the loneliness worse.
'But,' he smiled as he saw the roof of his house come into view, 'it's over now.'
He hurried the rest of the way home, eager to be engulfed in the chaos once more. It really had been too long.
The short teen trotted up to the door, closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, preparing himself for the din of noise that so characterized his home.
Ch-chik.
...What. Big, bright eyes shot open, staring at the resistant knob. Locked? He felt the frown pull at his lips as he dug out his keys to unlock the door. Where could everyone be? It was the middle of the day, and worse yet, lunch time. No one missed an opportunity for his mom's cooking.
He dumped his bags by the dirty laundry and went to grab a drink, deciding that everyone must've gone out for lunch.
As he sipped at his apple juice, bright eyes idly scanned the kitchen, only to freeze on the calendar. Tsuna spat out his juice in surprise and wiped furiously as he started to freak out.
Right there, circled in red several times, was the number 13. Written above it, in his mother's delicate hand, was his metaphorical splash of cold water.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, REBORN-KUN! ^o^
No. No way, no way, no way he forgot! He couldn't!
As if to punish him for even attempting denial, his eyes slowly moved to the date he left for camp. One week exactly.
Tsuna slumped to the ground as he faced the facts. He'd forgotten his tutor's birthday, the first one to count since before he'd been cursed. He wanted to cry. 'I didn't even think to get a souvenir as a gift!'
He buried his face into his knees as he hurled insult after insult at himself. Dame-Tsuna strikes again.
Several minutes passed as he basked in his worthlessness before he decided to raise his head again. He looked dully at the clock, which showed it was just past twelve o'clock. At least he knew where everyone was now–out somewhere celebrating his tutor's big day. While he was here, wallowing in self-pity.
He frowned and got up, determination lighting his features. If he couldn't have a good time with Reborn, he could at least make sure to get the hit man a gift. With his mind set, he grabbed his wallet and headed out.
The tiny teen groaned as he looked at the price of yet another watch he thought his tutor would like. Seriously, was nothing that suited the picky man in his budget? He peered at the price tag once more.
Apparently.
He sighed as he left the pricey men's store and walked down the street, praying for a higher power to come to his aid. The only answer he got was his stomach growling, reminding him that he had not yet eaten lunch. A sweet smell wafted his way, luring him to a small cafe titled Bezzi's*.
His brow furrowed. Italian? He looked around him and realized he was near the hotel Dino-san and the others usually stayed at. Of course.
He cautiously entered the cafe and found his eyes almost immediately drawn to the dessert display. Artfully decorated cakes laid below fresh pies and glistening fruits placed alongside delicate-looking pastries. Tsuna's mouth watered at the sight of such masterpieces.
Someone nearby cleared her throat.
A chocolate head of hair flew up, eyes the color of honey widening in surprise and face red with embarrassment, clearly having not realized that he had reached the display and was pressing himself against it in awe. She couldn't help smiling. It wasn't often that someone became so enthralled with the fruits of her labor.
"What would you like, sweet thing?"
She cooed internally as the small boy's entire body erupted in scarlet. "A-Ah! I-I didn't mean to, um..." he tried to apologize.
The woman waved away his words and asked again what he wanted. When he seemed to be conflicted, she tried to help out by suggesting different things. "I have cookies if you're looking for something to share with others, or perhaps some savoiardi**? Cannoli are quite popular if you're in a hurry somewhere, and you can take it from me when I say that everyone loves my truffles."
At the overwhelmed look on his face, she changed tactics. "Do you like really sweet things, or do you like them more bitter? Or maybe a combination? I have both parfaits and cakes that taste like sweet coffee, and I can offer sa-"
"Coffee desserts?"
The surprised, yet hopeful light in those gentle eyes caught her off guard for a second before she recovered and went into a long, in-depth description of all the desserts she had that used coffee in the recipe. She trailed off when the excited look on the boy's face fell as he continued looking at the prices.
"I-I'm sorry. I can't afford stuff like this," he refused softly, looking both ashamed and almost heartbroken.
She asked if he was sure, to which he nodded sadly and clarified, "It's for someone important. I forgot his birthday was today, and I–being stupid as usual–tried to look for something today. But it looks like I just can't afford anything he'd like."
Her heart went out to the boy, and she offered to give him something small for free. He just shook his head, the hurt "it wouldn't really be from me then" clear in his face. She struggled to figure out a way help him. An idea began to blossom.
Tsuna rushed through the store, gathering the things from the list in his hand that he knew weren't at the house. The determined light was back in his eyes as he practically flew through check-out and hurried down the street, bags clenched in his fists.
It wasn't quite a gift, but hopefully it'd be enough to let Reborn know he cared about today too.
A flash of color made him slow down in his mad rush, drawing his attention to the display of a dubious-looking storefront. He stood in front of it, contemplating...
His eyes narrowed as he studied the recipe, stirring in the orange zest and eggs. After that, he added the last of the ingredients. Ugh, but his arms were killing him. He divided out the dough and put them in the oven to bake before turning towards his other project.
As he whisked the wine (he never thought he'd see the day he was grateful for his father being a drunk), sugar, and egg yolk, he slipped on the mess that he'd made of the floor and fell backwards, spilling the mix all over him. He groaned. Back to square one again.
He paused for a moment, looking around the kitchen and shivering when he noticed the various sharp objects left lying near potential fall areas. 'Maybe I should clean up some of this before I kill myself...'
He dropped everything when he remembered there had been no timer set and rushed to save his handwork from being burnt. He succeeded, at the cost of a bad burn along his palm that had him running to the sink to cool the heated skin. He wanted to whine and baby it, but one look at the clock sent him right back into his battle with the kitchen.
He put the final layer in the pan and slid it into the fridge with a relieved sigh. A quick check to the other pan, and he was putting it back in the oven. This time, he remembered the timer.
He went to sit down, only to feel something wet soak his already ruined jeans. A glance at the kitchen told him he wasn't done yet. 'Ugh...'
Before he started, though, he quickly changed clothes, leaving his soiled ones where he left them. He did not want to touch those things again.
As he was wiping the counter, the timer went off. Carefully this time, using oven mittens (he had a feeling Reborn would make a joke if he was here), he pulled out the pan and quickly placed it on a cooling rack. A thorough inspection proved he didn't ruin them at the very least.
A powerful yawn escaped his mouth. "Aaaah... I'm beat."
Ignoring the pile of dirty dishes in the sink and remembering to shut off the oven, Tsuna trudged into the living room. He slumped to his knees without an ounce of grace and nuzzled into the closest cushion he could reach. Within minutes, he was asleep.
The clock read a little after eight at night.
"Haha, I hope you had a great time, old man!"
Reborn growled at his one-time student. "The next time someone calls me that, I'm blowing their brains out." He ignored the following laugh mixed in with Ryohei's reprimands and Gokudera's mutterings, all aimed at him. He couldn't help overhearing them be offered and subsequently forced to take some of Bianchi's home cooking, though.
A malicious grin graced his features as Maman and the girls, oblivious to the boys' plight, call out their goodbyes as they all made their way home. Tsuna would probably scold him for it, but he enjoyed their suffering.
"Goodness it's late, isn't it? The party lasted much longer than I expected," Tsuna's mother remarked as she carried a sleeping cow and I-pin in her arms. Bianchi gave an agreeing grunt as she adjusted her piggy-back grip on Fuuta. Reborn lead the way to the door, still happy to have been the one with the last laugh.
The grin turned from malicious to pleased when he noticed that the front door was unlocked. "Ah, looks like Dame-Tsuna made it home before us."
Both women made sounds of happiness at this as they entered the house. After putting the kids down for bed, they checked Reborn and Tsuna's room, only to not find Tsuna there. As they made their way back downstairs, Bianchi glanced into the living room and chuckled, bringing the adults' attention to her.
"It looks like he fell asleep in here waiting for us," she explained.
Reborn watched as the two went over to Tsuna to wake him up, but frowned at their confused expressions. "Is something wrong?" he asked worriedly.
The brunette started. "Ah! Well... it's just that Tsu-kun's dirty." At his raised eyebrow, she continued, "He's covered in stuff you would find in the kitchen, like flour and eggs."
At that, he glided across the room to crouch by his student only to see that Maman had been correct. Batter was smeared across one cheek and clung to an ear whilst cocoa smudged along his nose and flour littered his hair. His hands were even messier. His clothes were clean, though, so he must've changed at some point.
The suit-clad man called Tsuna's name in order to wake him, only for the teen to remain unresponsive. He called louder, Maman joining in, but the fluffy-haired boss-in-training just snuggled deeper into the cushion.
THWAP! "Dame-Tsuna!"
"OW, Reborn! What the heck?!" Tsuna jerked upwards, clutched at his head in pain. It took a second for it to register for the brunette what just happened, but when it did, he immediately dropped his hands in favor of looking up at Reborn with bright, happy eyes. "Reborn!"
The man smirked. "Chaos, Dame-Tsuna."
Tsuna's mother chimed in too, "Hey, Tsu-kun."
The boy smiled at his mother and then rubbed his eyes, looking for all the world like a small child. "Ugh, how long have I been asleep?"
Reborn responded quickly, "Too long. When did you get here?"
"A little after twelve, I think. Didn't fall asleep until around nine, though."
"Then, you've slept for about three or so hours, 'cause it's after eleven now." The older man frowned. "What'd you do with all that free time, laze around the house?"
His student opened his mouth to retort only to freeze, red starting to creep up his cheeks. Reborn's brow furrowed as the teen began to stutter, only to be cut off by an exclamation in the kitchen.
He and Maman surged to their feet and hurried to the kitchen, ignoring Tsuna's cries to stop.
In the middle of the kitchen stood an amazed Bianchi, holding in one hand a pan and in the other a tray of... biscotti? The previously cursed man and his landlady/psuedo-mother stared in confusion.
The Poison Scorpion ignored them in favor of looking past them. "Tsuna, did you make all this?"
The two looked over their shoulder and saw, to their astonishment, his student sporting a full-body blush and stuttering out how it wasn't a big deal, and someone gave him the recipes, and he just wanted to do it for today.
He was floored. What on earth had gotten into the boy that caused him to make biscotti and... "Hey, what's that other thing?" he asked former admirer, pointing to the pan.
And apparently determined to continue surprising him, the honey-eyed teen answered for her. "I-It's tiramisu. It's a famous Italian dessert a-and I thought you might l-like it..." Tsuna trailed off before taking a deep breath and looking Reborn straight in the eyes, "Happy Birthday, Reborn."
The hit man gaped at him. The brunette took it the wrong way and hurried to say that he still had a birthday gift for him, but he'd already gotten the recipes and he figured he might as well make them anyways and besides...
"I... I wanted to make up for not getting to spend your first real birthday in years with you..." He stared demurely at the floor, hands clasped tight behind his back and face still mottled red.
Maman squealed and smothered her son in a hug that he himself wasn't sure he'd have managed to escape. Bianchi merely chuckled as she set the desserts on the table, a mysterious look of quiet understanding on her face.
Reborn just stared at his student in contemplative silence, even after the older woman had released her son, causing him to fidget under his intense gaze. After another few moments of silence, he sauntered over to the brunette and dragged him to the table, plopping them both into their usual seats beside each other. Two forks already laid next to the desserts.
"Feed me your hard work, and I'll judge whether it's worth you not being there," he commanded, ignoring Maman's giggle and Bianchi's amused hum. He folded his arms as he waited for his student to catch up with current events. He almost literally saw the light bulb click on when Tsuna's eyes widened in realization.
The teen quickly grabbed a fork and scooped up some of the tiramisu, only for his expression to cloud. "Aw man, it didn't set long enough in the fridge," he whined.
"That's your fault, Dame-Tsuna. Be more vigilant and make sure that the next one doesn't end up the same."
"Hey, how was I supposed to know Bianchi would take it out? I can't control that!"
"Excuses. It's a boss's responsibility to ensure that his desserts turn out perfectly, regardless of other influences."
"You're making that up, you lying- Hie!" Tsuna shrieked as the older man chomped down on the still aloft forkful of sweetness.
He stared, first in shock then in trepidation, as the other slowly chewed the dessert, tasting it fully. After several intense moments in which the other three held their breath, the man finally swallowed and smacked his lips.
"Not bad, Tsuna. Not bad. But I don't know if this is worthy enough of you skipping out on my party. Let's hope your biscotti does better, shall we?" He smirked, enjoying the almost scandalized look on the teen's face before his attention was brought to two cups of caffè macchiato placed on the table. He looked up to see Maman smiling at the two of them.
"Maa, I know you two shouldn't be drinking this so late at night, but I know you wouldn't take any tea, Reborn-kun," she explained cheerfully.
He nodded amusedly in agreement before sliding one to his student and snagging a biscotti from the tray and dunking it in his coffee. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Tsuna slowly grabbed one for himself and began to swirl his around in his own drink. He glanced up, meeting Reborn's gaze and holding it.
At the same time, they both took a bite.
His world rocked on its axis as he tasted Tsuna's biscotti, his eyes falling shut in divine pleasure. 'Oh mio dio!' The spice of the cinnamon with the citrus of the orange and the bittersweet chocolate tasted like heaven steeped in sin. The tiramisu was a decent first attempt, but this...
"You are making me these for the rest of your life," he growled at Tsuna, whom seemed just as taken with the biscotti as he was. Who knew chocolate and orange could taste like this?
After they bid the women good night, they munched on a few more before stopping, wanting to save some for the morning. Tsuna carefully set the tiramisu back in the fridge while Reborn placed the tin now full of his student's biscotti at the back of the highest cabinet. Like hell was he sharing with the stupid cow.
He felt in his pocket for the present he'd been waiting to give the brunette, making sure it was still there. Taking a breath, he brought it out and tossed it to the no-good boy, chuckling while he scrambled to catch it. When Tsuna finally got a look at it, he stared, first at it, then at the giver. He opened his mouth to refuse, but the hit man cut him off.
"Just accept it, Tsuna. I didn't like you going off alone where I wasn't "allowed" to come, and this way, it's not a problem anymore."
"Reborn," he whined pathetically, "I don't need a cell phone."
The older man scowled at him, silently calling that bull shit but only saying out loud, "Look, think of it as a way to keep in touch with everyone if this comes up again. I know you were lonely while you were there." He glanced up at the clock and smiled.
"Besides, it's your birthday. Be happy."
Honey-colored eyes blinked at him as the owner shut his mouth. After a moment, he smiled warmly at his tutor and hummed in agreement, slipping the orange cell phone into his pocket.
"Ah! I almost forgot." Tsuna trotted over to the far corner of the kitchen and picked up a bag advertising some obscure store name. He reached inside and pulled something out, handing it to the other man almost smugly. "Here's your actual gift."
It was a deep maroon tie with neon purple chameleons all over, and metallic gold for their horns. Reborn loved it.
The besotted grin must've not just been in his head (or Tsuna was getting even better at reading him), because the fluffy-haired teen chuckled, sounding pleased.
"It was the biggest crime to color coordination I'd ever seen. I knew it was perfect for you."
Reborn just told him he had no sense of fashion, and then they headed to bed.
When morning came, Tsuna was putting everyone's numbers into his new phone, Reborn was wearing his new tie with pride, and both of them leisurely ate the orange and chocolate chip biscotti.
"Nyahaha! Lambo-san will be taking all the biscotti!"
"Wait, Reborn, don't shoot him!"
Mood kill, Lambo does it!
But seriously, a little R 'n' R would be nice. Let me know what you think, okay? Have I lost my touch, was the humor too hard/forced, did I screw up the characterization?
Also, I have a tumblr now, for those who care. It's alternative27angel.
*Bezzi actually is an Italian surname, more common in the north than the south.
**Savoiardi are what a lot of us know as lady fingers.