Title: Boundary
Authoress: Ankaris123
Start Date: April 14, 2009
End Date: April 14, 2009
Summary: "D-don't cross the line! Whatever you do, don't, okay? Please." Tsuna isn't a smart person and he can't begin to fathom the intentions of Hibari. Not that it matters.
Notes: Implied 1827. Possible OOCness. Kind of clichéd.
A/Ns: I'm sorry. I'll be getting back to DID soon. I'm heading towards the last two months of school and the teachers are going to load it on to prepare us for the exams which means I'm going to be dying to death in no time. There's no telling if I'll survive and when I'll be able to update but here's something to chew on during the wait.
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"D-don't cross the line! Whatever you do, don't, okay? Please."
That was all Tsuna had the gumption to blurt out before silence befell them.
Somehow one way or another Tsuna managed to get himself trapped on a small isle off the coast of the beach with no way back (until the tide went down anyways). The distance between wasn't too far and he could swim pretty decently now (courtesy of many hours of humiliating practice coached by his friends and Reborn) but the low temperature of the late-autumn seawater was nothing to take lightly.
He sighed deeply and wished he could do something other than sit curled up on the barren shore and gaze forlornly at the lights of civilization on the mainland. A walk would've been a good idea (and the light exercise would surely bring some warmth to his thin unclothed limbs) if not for one crucial detail.
Hibari was also here.
He sighed again, his breath almost visible before his eyes as it raised towards the star-speckled indigo night sky. Digging his bare heels into the cool sand, he drew his inadequate jacket vest closer to his trembling body. He spared a hesitant glance to his left only to meet stony blue eyes and quickly looked away again.
Maybe the boundary line was a little too over-the-top, but…
"Until
you figure out where Hibari stands in your family, don't approach
him. You've already gotten all the hints you need," said the
little Mafioso, lounging on the sill of the open window; a steaming
cup of espresso in hand. "Oh, come on! Why can't you just
tell me?" the brunet demanded, peeved by the usual
find-out-on-your-own lecture. Why couldn't he ever get a straight
answer from him? Or from anyone for that matter? And what did it
matter if he "You asked me why I, why we chose Hibari as one of
your guardians, but that's something you should inherently know.
This decision was carefully instigated solely for your sake. If you
don't know already, there's no meaning if I tell you outright,"
he replied, taking a sip of the hot bitter liquid. He jumped down
onto the work desk, leaving a shoeprint on the corner of Tsuna's
math work notebook. "Right, right," Tsuna said resignedly,
closing the window against the chilly wind. "It's within
your ability, Tsuna. After all,' Reborn grinned sagely, fixing his
black fedora habitually, 'you are my student."
Tsuna could laugh right now in dry sarcasm but he didn't dare. He could only guess at how Hibari would react to it. He didn't want to tempt fate especially after his outburst.
"Like I said, don't approach him and think about it yourself. I'll know if you cheated," Reborn added. "And, well, I won't say anything more."
The ominous ending and coy smirk didn't bode well for Tsuna.
Remembering this fact the moment he realized he was stuck in close proximity with Hibari for an unknown length of time was what provoked him to hastily draw a line across the beach from the small forest to the edge of the receding water and then to boldly declare his side of the land in his panic.
Thinking back right now, Tsuna was quite shocked at his audacity and felt his heart rate increase as the panicked feeling came back to him.
He shuffled his feet again and looked up at the stars to take his mind off the shenanigans of his daily life. The periodic splashes calmed his nerves and he was beginning to forget where he was, until:
"You're cold," Hibari stated matter-of-factly but it was true; Tsuna was cold.
He suppressed a shiver and smiled meekly back.
"I-I'm fine. Please don't worry about me."
"You're shivering." Hibari's placid expression did not change as he remained reclining casually on the sand. He seemed perfectly fine despite the weather. His trademark gakuran jacket flapped in the mild breeze.
"No, no. I'm fine by myself. Really, I am." Hoping that killed the conversation, Tsuna turned to stare at the shimmer of lights across the water. He had to admit that he wished he could continue talking. The sound of nature made him feel lonely after it had been interrupted by the sound of human speech.
Beside him, he heard shuffling and muffled footsteps leading away.
"W-wha, where are you going?" he called out after the Prefect involuntarily but the older teen was already disappear into the darkness around the corner.
" …I…I'm sorry…please come back! Don't…don't leave me by myself…"
But no one reemerged from around the bend.
"I…I lied about not being cold, okay, but I'm fine! Really! Just…just don't leave me alone…please…I…"
He bit back a sob and buried his face in his arms. The skin on his forearms felt even colder in contrast to his red face. He was such a loser. What was he crying for? He deserved to be left alone after being so rude. Hibari was being considerate (so it seemed) and Tsuna lied to protect himself from the wrath of Reborn who logically should have no means to find out that he was interacting with Hibari (or cheating as Reborn had called it). No wonder no one could stand him. No wonder he had no friends.
Just then something fluttered down and landed on his shoulders. The stiff collar of the gakuran jacket pressed against his cheek as he turned his head to see Hibari drop down to sit next to him.
"Uh, um-" He wanted to ask if Hibari was cold without his jacket but the words died on his lips at Hibari's next words.
"I didn't cross the line," he said and proceeded to gaze into the distance listlessly.
Tsuna gaped for a moment speechless and then, with a burning face, averted his attention to the sea as well. They sat in companionable silence.
"Um…"
"No student of Namimori is going to die and tarnish the reputation of the school on my watch."
Silence came again, leaving Tsuna swathed in his thoughts.
If only he wasn't so cowardly then he could at least apologize for his earlier behaviour and say thank you.
If only he wasn't so stupid then he could've avoided the whole incident in the first place.
If only he wasn't so blind then he could've figured out the answer to his question. Yet he still hasn't deciphered the hints. Was the answer simpler than he was making it out to be?
He didn't know that but he did know one thing.
The jacket around his shoulders was very warm.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
A/Ns: Clichéd, eh? Thought so.
Meru's Beta Note: Clichés become clichés for a reason. People tend to like them. C: -Snuggles Tsuna and Hibari.-
Thank you for reading!