This is for puruku, a fellow Xanxus/Tsuna shipper. Sorry this took a while. :D
TYL!Tsuna and TYL!Xanxus, established dubious friendship. Slightly OOC.
x
Leather shoes clicked on the mahogany parquet floorboards in a businesslike manner, ceasing to make further noise once they reached lush beige carpeting on the base floor of the Vongola Manor. Technically, it was now Vongola Decimo's, but Xanxus liked to think that he was just a temporary owner of the house he grew up in after being picked up by the Ninth – called Grandpa by Squalo during his younger days, and Old Man by Xanxus. Strangely, Timoteo never seemed to mind.
"Sir?" A man dressed in a full black suit looked him over expectantly. "Master Xanxus, did you arrange an appointment with the Tenth?"
Figuring that he was one of the Tenth's various hired men, Xanxus ignored him as he continued to walk while staring straight ahead, hands in the pockets of his fitting black slacks. Trash would always pop up no matter where he went. He'd finally mastered the art of pretending they were invisible thanks to that young upstart, Hibari. The Tenth seemed to respect trash like him, so Xanxus decided to take a leaf out of the Cloud Guardian's book.
A hand clapped on his shoulder made Xanxus whip around within a fraction of a second. The guard immediately dropped all weapons and raised both hands in a gesture of surrender with the aid of Xanxus' gun to his forehead.
"How would you like to die?" Xanxus asked as pleasantly as he could muster, something he had learned from hanging around that ex-Arcobaleno, Fon.
"By the Tenth's hands, obviously." The hired guard replied staunchly. His gray eyes held nothing but strong defiance and an unspoken question, as if he were saying 'Where do your loyalties lie?'
This one was a strange, refreshing change compared to the lily-livered men Tsuna used to hire in the past. Xanxus decided he liked him. He lowered his gun and turned on his heel, already pinpointing the location of Tsuna's whereabouts; the large room at the end of the hallway.
"The Tenth is occupied with an urgent business meeting at the moment. If you would care to wait for a few minutes, I'd be glad to assist you in letting him know of your arrival." The guard followed him, keeping up with his brisk pace.
"Guess what, you little shit? I don't care." Xanxus growled, slipping his gun back into his hip holsters.
A bullet nosed its way past his face and ricocheted off a glass lamp on the wall. How unexpected. Smirking, Xanxus stopped in his tracks.
"This way, if you please. Rest assured the Tenth will see you shortly." The young guard was already holding a door in the long hallway open, sheathing his gun within his smart jacket – a wrong move on Xanxus' count. "As I explained previously, the Tenth is having a very important meeting right now."
"You're persistent." He grunted, trying to keep his temper in check.
Perhaps the guard – barely eighteen at the most, from Xanxus' trained eye – reminded him of himself during his younger, pubescent days. Strangely, this kid reeked more of business than of adolescence. Xanxus found himself impressed, however slight. Tsuna must have trained the boy well; more so than Timoteo had done with him. His only consolation was that Tsuna was vastly different compared to the Ninth. Biting the inside of lower lip hard enough to draw blood, Xanxus turned away from the kid and walked on. There was a reason why he didn't like coming back to the Vongola estate. Walking the very halls brought unwanted memories to mind. They were hard to banish.
Hurried footsteps indicated the young guard was trying to match his pace in order to prevent him from bothering Tsuna. Xanxus flipped his gun out and shot the kid between the eyes. Better dead than never.
There was a lead-filled silence packing the hallway before a dozen doors burst open to reveal more bodyguards, most likely under the Tenth's obscure rule of thumb. Strangely, none of them made a sound save for the clicking of the lock on their guns. Xanxus offered them his best sneer, wondering why he was giving them a chance to live.
A door opened at the end of the hallway, and familiar amber eyes locked gazes with him. The silence stretched for a couple more minutes as both men debated their next move.
"I need my men alive, thank you." Tsuna said by way of greeting.
Xanxus turned his derisive sneer on him. "Worthless little shits don't deserve to live."
"Well, I used to be one of those little shits. I'm still kicking." Tsuna shrugged. "And I don't like the idea of blood decorating my hallway."
It was the truth. Close to twenty four, Tsuna had gone through some major changes. Xanxus couldn't really see him as trash anymore. Fingering the hilt of his gun, Xanxus responded with a challenging stare, to which Tsuna diplomatically met with a welcoming smile.
"What brings you here, Xanxus?"
As if bade by an unspoken command, all of Tsuna's men lowered their weapons and disappeared into the many doors they had erupted from like an army of obedient ants. Xanxus found himself grudgingly impressed.
"I heard you were in Italy." His shoes made little impatient thuds on the floor.
Cocking his head to the angel on his left shoulder, Tsuna offered him a knowing smile. "News does travel fast on the grapevine. I just flew in last night."
"To celebrate your birthday here." Xanxus attempted correcting his statement into a question, but failed.
"Did Takeshi tell you that?" Tsuna laughed, the soft sound falling pleasantly on Xanxus' ears. "It's true, in a way. Of course, other pressing matters also required my presence."
Tsuna led him into the room at the end of the hallway – which Xanxus clearly discerned as Timoteo's old study, which used to be dark and dimly lit, but was now quite the opposite – and gestured to a row of bottles on the serving table.
Xanxus swiped an unopened bottle of vodka before sinking into one of the comfortable armchairs and allowed the bottle cap to meet his teeth.
"It's strange seeing you here. I figured you hated this place as much as I did when I was first thrown into..." Tsuna caught himself before he said something he would regret. "Well, everything, really."
Xanxus ignored him in favour of savouring his drink. He couldn't wrap his mind around how a clumsy weakling like Tsuna had turned into a quiet, graceful adult in the span of ten years. Maybe it had something to do with that calculating baby who seemed hell bent on wearing a fedora, even indoors. Not that he was one to talk. He used to wear leather everywhere in his younger days. He'd stopped once he'd acquired an insane rash on his torso thanks to wearing a full leather outfit on the beach.
Never again.
"Now that we're comfortable, I think you can tell me what's on your mind." Sipping at his own glass of vodka, Tsuna trained his amber eyes on Xanxus' dark red ones.
"Happy birthday." Xanxus grunted into his half-empty glass.
"It's the thirteenth, Xanxus, you're early." Tsuna hid a smile as he walked over to his desk, rummaging inside a drawer. "I got you your present, though, even if it's three days late. I hope you like it."
Xanxus blinked at the small gift-wrapped box Tsuna dropped into his lap. It was wrapped with precise folds and neat cuts of cellophane tape. The first thing that entered his mind was scorn. Then Xanxus tamped the offensive thread of thought down with one crushing movement of his boot.
"I made it on the plane ride over." Tsuna beamed at him, losing all traces of being an adult.
"What is it?" Xanxus made himself ask out of politeness' sake.
Seating himself on the arm of Xanxus' chair, Tsuna nudged him to open it. "You'll see."
Looking at the gift, Xanxus suppressed a snort with a barely concealed effort. A small keychain no bigger than his pinky finger lay within the soft wrapping cloth and torn paper. Well, at least it looked like a keychain. Xanxus realized he actually had no idea what it was.
"I like it." He forced out through ground teeth. "I don't think I've had ... something like this before. What is it?"
Disappointed, Tsuna pouted at him, succeeding in melting the remnants of ice around Xanxus' dubiously thudding heart. "It's a lucky charm!"
Oh.
Gingerly, the Varia leader picked it up out of its wrappings, trying to figure out what to say. "Thanks."
Tsuna's pout deepened. "You don't like it, huh."
Valiantly, Xanxus resisted the urge to snicker. "I'll be honest. I've never had a lucky charm before."
"Good, there's always a time for firsts. You can treat me to dinner tomorrow." Beaming, Tsuna leaned in close to kiss him on the cheek. "Happy belated thirty-fourth."
The younger man had probably thought it to be a cheeky move.
Xanxus caught his chin before he could pull away and tilted his head upward to reward him with an answering kiss.
"Are you asking me on a date?"
Watching Tsuna turn a nice shade of merlot, Xanxus took that as a yes.
x
Okay, I'm very bad at fluff. The idea of Tsuna on a dinner date with Xanxus makes me laugh. Think of all the catastrophic endings! And the amazing sex. :D