It was late in the day when Tsuna sighed, dragging a large black plastic bag outside. He'd only been living there one day and already something strange had happened. He hoped it was a freak accident, something that he would only have to put up with once or a warning that he should decline when Reborn invites him over for dinner. As he attempted to heave the heavy trash into the dumpster, he thought of how nice it would be to even become close enough with everyone to where they'd invite him over for dinner. He pulled at the trash bag once again. It was just too heavy!

After unpacking, they had lots of trash from boxes and one-use containers. The apartment was fairly small (a 1LDK), so they even decided to toss some stuff out just to make room for the essentials. Just as Tsuna was going to turn back and ask the sleeping Lambo for assistance, a man who lived two doors down came out of his home in athletic attire. Excited by his first spotting of a resident (that wasn't the kooky groundskeeper or his equally off-putting wife), Tsuna waited to see what the man was going to do next.

He was tall with a nice build and black hair. He stood outside his door and did a few stretches before starting his jog. As he was passing by, the man caught sight of Tsuna and stopped. He approached the surprised landlord.

"Need any help?" the man asked with a smile.

"Oh," Tsuna blurted nervously. "Uh, yeah, that'd be great…" He stared at the man as he easily picked up the heavy load and threw it into the dumpster. Something about his face was…

Tsuna's eyes went wide. "Yamamoto Takeshi!" he shouted.

Yamamoto brushed his hands off on his shorts. "Yep, that's me! See me on TV?"

Tsuna shook his head. "No, we went to high school together."

"Really?" Yamamoto asked, tilting his head. "Most people recognize me from the local games."

"Yeah! You were a captain of Namimori's baseball team senior year! That's why we always won. Then you went on to the minor leagues."

"Oh, you did go to my high school then. What's your name again?"

Tsuna pressed his hands onto his chest. "I'm Tsuna, Sawada Tsunayoshi."

The baseball player looked up in thought, then after a few short seconds, replied, "Sorry, I don't remember you. Maybe because it was so long ago?"

Tsuna's head hung low and he let out a deeper sigh than the one earlier. Well, I guess I'm not that memorable…

"Yamamoto!" A voice called from far away. The two men at the dumpster turned their heads to see a slender and fashionable silver-haired man leaning in his doorway which sat in between Tsuna's and Yamamoto's. "Are you going out for a jog?"

Yamamoto grinned. "Yeah, I am!"

"Buy me some more cigarettes while you're out."

"But, Gokudera, I told you, you shouldn't—"

"If you do it, you can come over for dinner."

Yamamoto paused for a second, face flushing which made Tsuna's expression twist with confusion.

"I'll do it then," Yamamoto said with a glint of determination in his eye. As he sprinted off, he called out, "See ya, new landlord!"

Upon hearing this, Gokudera scoffed, eyes scanning over Tsuna's body.

Awkwardly, without being entirely sure of what to do, Tsuna waved his hand. This only made Gokudera spit at the ground before stepping back inside and slamming his door. Tsuna flinched at the bang, puzzled as to what just happened.

He trotted back to the apartment door and knocked.

"What?" Gokudera shouted from inside.

"It's me, Sawada Tsunayoshi!" Tsuna exclaimed happily. "The new landlord. I haven't really met anybody yet so—"

Then interrupting him midsentence was the crescendo of piano keys. The music's noise sounded like a beautiful crash, something angry and organized, yet chaotic and calm. Tsuna knew little to nothing about notes or tunes, but he could tell when a wonderful piece of music was being played and though it was being used to drown out the sound of him talking, he still had a deep appreciation for it.

For about 45 minutes, the melodies went on non-stop, switching paces, pieces, composers, and tones like a child who couldn't choose which toy he wanted to play with. Eventually it died down and silence enveloped the apartment complex. What no one could hear was Gokudera's deep sigh of relief.

"Wow," Tsuna said to break the quiet. "That was all really good!"

The silver-haired man's jaw dropped.

"You're still here?" he yelled.

"Yeah, should I have left?"

Footsteps erupted from inside before the front door swung open.

"Come in," Gokudera said to Tsuna who looked up at the man from where he was curled up on the Welcome Mat.

Together the two men walked inside.

"I have to get that dinner for Yamamoto started. He'll probably be back within the next half hour," Gokudera stated as he pointed to a spot on the couch in the living space. "Do you want some too?"

"Um, sure, thanks…" Tsuna said from his seat.

Gokudera wrapped a bandana around his head, tied an apron about his waist, and placed his last cigarette in his mouth. Before lighting it, he got out pots and pans from cabinets and set them aside for cooking.

"Timoteo-san also liked my playing," Gokudera admitted as he began his work on Sukiyaki. "There was a time when he would come in here to listen to me play as a way to blow off steam. It's a way of self-expression for me."

"So then you really love the piano, Gokudera-san?" Tsuna asked.

"No," Gokudera replied firmly as he sliced at a carrot with furrowed brows. "I hate it."

"Then why…"

"Why play it?"

"And so well too!"

"Because Timoteo-san liked it. Originally, my father forced me to against my will and it accidentally became the only thing I was good at. When Timoteo-san enjoyed it so much, it made me want to get better and right before I could actually go anywhere with my skills, he…" Gokudera stopped, choked up.

Tsuna was about to say something then paused. He gulped then spoke.

"You… you were close to my godfather, weren't you?" Tsuna asked.

"Probably the closest out of all the tenants," Gokudera said sadly. "The father I never had. I wanted to get better not because he wanted me to, but because I wanted him to love my songs even more. For him to come over even more."

Suddenly, the silver-haired beauty turned to Tsuna making the brunet jump back a bit.

"Are you worthy?" Gokudera questioned with a fierce look on his face.

"W-worthy of what?" Tsuna stuttered.

"To take Timoteo-san's place! Are you worthy?"

"Uh, um, ye-yes?"

Tsuna shook as Gokudera stared him down with enraged eyes. He could only give an awkward smile in the hopes that it might make Gokudera discontinue his glare. As Tsuna grinned, Gokudera let out a second scoff that night and turned back to making the food.

Not too long after that, the doorbell rang. Gokudera asked Tsuna to answer. He complied and trotted to the door, opening it to see Yamamoto with a few grocery store bags.

"Oh? Is the new landlord eating here as well, Gokudera?" Yamamoto inquired as he set the bags on a counter and approached the quarter Italian. "I was hoping it'd be just the two of us, alone!"

He wrapped his arms around Gokudera's stomach and nuzzled his chin into the shorter man's hair. This earned him a swift punch to the face.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He asked the tall brunet man. "And what's in those bags?"

Yamamoto answered while stroking his face which throbbed with pain. "Your cigarettes and a few sukiyaki ingredients I wasn't sure you had."

"Oh, thanks," Gokudera said. "You're surprisingly helpful sometimes."

They then went on to quarrel over one thing or another.

Tsuna watched the scene with a stunned expression. Even though they were kind of weird the two seemed to get along pretty well and overall have pleasant personalities once you looked past their insulting forgetfulness or cold exteriors. At first he had been afraid that he wouldn't be able to break the tenant-landlord relationship with the residents, but something within that moment made him feel as though he wouldn't have such a hard time making friends with them after all.

He let a big smile shine as he said to the bickering pair, "I can't wait to grow closer to you guys."

Yamamoto beamed back at him. "Same here, Tsuna-san!"

Gokudera couldn't reply, only stand there with red cheeks and fast-paced heartbeat.

"Hm? Gokudera?" Yamamoto uttered, waving a hand in front of Gokudera's eyes. "Are you alright?"

Gokudera could only mumble an inaudible phrase then go back to cooking.

For an unexplained reason, Gokudera gave Tsuna a lot more pork and more in his bowl in general. The brown-haired man thanked his newfound friend for the food then all three dug in. Gokudera chewed through the grueling food with a determined expression as Yamamoto munched on it happily. Tsuna fell over, nearly choking on the disgusting tastes.

"Sorry for not warning you," Gokudera said after swallowing his first bit. "But I learned how to cook from my sister, Bianchi. The pork should be good though the other parts might not be the most delicious in the world. I thought I've gotten better."

"I think whatever you make is yummy, Gokudera," Yamamoto said.

"Nobody cares," Gokudera retorted.

The night then continued with Gokudera fighting through the taste, Yamamoto enjoying the food without a care, Tsuna taking the almost inedible heap in one gulp, and Lambo sleeping peacefully.

Vongola Apartments Set-Up

?&? / ? / ? / ?

? / Yamamoto / Gokudera / Tsuna & Lambo … Reborn & Bianchi