Hiya! Ai here! I didn't expect this to be so... liked, but I was really surprised when I looked at my email inbox the day after I posted up the first chapter! So now I'm gonna do my best to created an awesome fanfic! I'd also like to thank Jin Guan and Black7kitten for reviewing (thanks, you guys kinda made my day with te reviews). And I now have responses for their reviews as well!
To- Jin Guan: Thanks. ^.^ I'm can't say that Val looks like Mukuro... but then again, I can't ever tell who looks like who. If I can, I'll probably post up a pic of Val when I next update. But don't overestimate me. I suck at drawing... And I'll do my best to make the paragraphs smaller
To- Black7kitten: Ack! Sorry 'bout that! I'll try to find a way to make it easier for you to keep track of!
Okay~ That's 'bout it.
Here's chapter 2! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Katekyo Hitman Reborn belongs to Akira Amano
Forked Paths Chapter 2: Storm's jealousy and Sky's kiss
Tsuna had always thought he was straight, until he met Val. The purple haired mafioso made Tsuna's heart flutter whenever Tsuna saw him. It was the same feeling Tsuna had when he first fell for Kyoko. Light. Fluttery. Happy.
Tsuna admired Val as the two took a break in the park. Only minutes after Val successfully enrolled into Namimori Middle, Reborn shoed up and forced the two to perform tiring exercises in the park. Two thousand push-ups. Twenty laps around the park. Dodging bullets. When Reborn was satisfired, he abandoned the two boys, who collapsed on the park benches.
"It's been ferever since I last did dat." Val muttered, doing his best to catch his breath. "I think I'm going to die..." Tsuna muttered as well, struggling not to pass out. Val smiled. "Yer hair looks like chocolate. I'm hungry." he pushed himself off the bench. "T-try not to eat me..." Tsuna joked weakly, properly sitting down on the bench. "I'm gonna go buy a drink. Wait 'ere." Val walked off, looking for a vending machine. "Ah..." Tsuna sighed. He had forgotten to ask Val to buy him one as well. The Vongola decimo closed his eyes and breathed deeply. Kyoko... Tsuna wondered what she was doing. Perhaps she was helping Ryohei with his homework, since she was the smarter one. Or maybe she was chatting with Hana on the phone. Or possibly eating cake with Haru. The red-headed school idol had always been in Tsuna's mind, even in all his mafia battles. She had been his motivation, his encouragement... the reason why he fought. But now it was gone. Kyoko was his friend, and only his friend. They would never bee a couple. How depressing...
Tsuna was startled when he felt something cold touch his cheek. "Stop spacin' out like dat, or yer gonna get mugged." Val handed Tsuna a bottle of chilled chocolate milk. "Th-thanks." Tsuna accepted the drink gratefully, popping the cap and taking a sip. From the corner of his eye, he noticed that Val had taken his sweater off, revealing his black wifebeater which clung to his body. He admired how Val's muscles flexed slightly when he opened his own bottle. "U-um... Val!" Tsuna said, deciding to ask Val something that had been bothering him. "Hm?" Val sipped on his coffee. "Y-yesterday... d-do you have something against me being the Vongola decimo?" Tsuna asked nervously. "Nope." Val replied shortly. "Why? Ya wanna be mah bride." Tsuna blushed at Val's words. "N-no! It's just that..." he didn't finish, but Val knew what he was talking about. "The traditions of the Rifflessione famiglia bans me from being with anyone from another family." Val answered Tsuna's unsaid question. "Oh..." Tsuna whispered, slightly disappointed. "Eh. Doesn't mean I can't have contact with 'em." Val grinned and Tsuna imagined Val touching him in all the wrong places. He felt himself get hotter, and a slight bulge formed in his pants. "Anyways, let's go home. I'm exhausted." If Val had noticed Tsuna's bulged, he sure was good at keeping quiet about it.
As soon as they arrived home, they were greet4ed by Lambo and Fuuta. "Baka-Tsuna! Val! Mama bought some chestnuts and candy, all for Lambo-san!" Lambo bragged. "Actually, they're not all for Lambo. He was supposed to share, but..." Fuuta sighed cutely. "Hey, Lambo! Don't hog all of it!" Tsuna grabbed Lambo's arm. "No! Baka-Tsuna gets none!" Lambo yelled. Tsuna looked up at Val for help, but noticed that Val had vanished. "Found it." Tsuna's attention turned to the person behind Lambo. Val was digging through the cow baby's afro, pulling out various foods, toys, and bombs. Oh, and don't forget the ten year bazooka. Lambo pouted and wailed, trying desperately to get the food items back from Val. When he couldn't do it, Lambo jumped inside the ten-year bazooka. There was a loud poof. 15-year old Lambo sat in the middle of Tsuna, Val, and Fuuta. "Yo, Young Vongola." He greeted Tsuna. "And Fuuta. And..." the 15-year old stopped to examine Val. "I know you. YOu're that... snobby rich mafioso..." "Da majority o' us are." Val sighed. "I dun like ya. Git back in da bazooka." He began to push Lambo back into the bazooka as Lambo struggled and tried to get Val away from him. Tsuna had decided to just let Fuuta walk off with the goods that had been stored in Lambo's afro. "V-Val, if you keep on doing that, he's only going to cry more..." Tsuna tried to subdue Val. "Oh." Val let go of Lambo. "Fine den. I'll go eat with Fuuta." Tsuna watched as the dark haired mafioso walked off. "What's with him?" Lambo asked, right before he was enveloped by a puff of smoke. Tsuna merely smiled at the five year old who took the teen's place.
The next day, Tsuna found himself sitting in his assigned classroom seat, staring at the two most beautiful people in the room to him. One was Kyoko, who had a bright smile on her face as she looked at the person in front of the room. The other was the person in front of the room, Val. Val was wearing his uniform in a less formal way than the rest of the class, indicating that he didn't care for rules. If his classmates weren't interested before, they were now.
Val's bad boy look was a chick magnet. During lunch break, girls swarmed his desk, Kyoko included. Tsuna noted how the rest of the girls stepped down whenever Kyoko spoke to Val. Kyoko was interested. As for Val, well... the shadow of his glasses hid his expression. "Tch. Damn bastard thinks he's such a hotshot." Gokudera snorted. "He seems like a nice guy." Yamamoto laughed. Tsuna kept silent. The three Vongola members sat together, enjoying lunch. "Judaime, you're living with him, right?" Gokudera asked. "Yeah..." Tsuna nodded. "Really? That's so cool!" Yamamoto glanced at Val. "He seems like someone to play sports with! Maybe I'll ask him after school." Tsuna felt Gokudera tense up next to him. "No." Gokudera said hastily. "Eh? Why not?" Yamamoto asked. "Just because." Gokudera muttered. "What?" Yamamoto asked. "B-because you're coming to my house!" Gokudera yelled. There was an awkward silence. Everyone in the class was looking at them. "T-to do homework tutoring!" Tsuna yelled loudly. Everyon laughed, and turned their attention back to what they were talking about earlier. "That was close!" Tsuna sighed out in relief. Gokudera and Yamamoto didn't say anything, no longer eating their food.
Silence. The three Vongolas and the one Rifflessione walked home quietly, not saying anything. Tsuna could feel the tension between Gokudera and Yamamoto. Val was calmly walking next to Tsuna. Tsuna wanted to say something to break the ice, but he was unsure about what to say. Yamamoto obviously wanted Gokudera to let him make a new friend. Gokudera wanted Yamamoto to stay away from Val. Val seemed oblivious to the delicate situation, and Tsuna wanted his friends to be their usual noisy selves again. "Hey, guys, let's go play basketball!" He suggested. "Good idea, Judaime!" Gokudera forced an excited smile. "Great!" Yamamoto smiled somewhat cheerfully. "Sounds fun." Val said, inching closer to Tsuna. "Da angry lovebirds might make up." he whispered. So Val wasn't exactly oblivious at all.
Teams were easily decided. Val had literally forced Tsuna into his arms. The fighting couple relunctantly paired up. Yamamoto had randomly pulled a basketball out of his bag. Val instantly stole the ball and made a shot, putting Tsuna's team in the lead. "Catch, Tsuna!" Val called, tossing the ball to Tsuna. Tsuna clumsily caught it. He looked to his right. Yamamoto was running at him to steal the orange ball. Tsuna looked in the other direction. Gokudera was hesitantly standing there, not wanting to go for his boss. Tsuna instantly took off, doing his best to dribble. After a few dribbles, he threw the basketball at Val. Yamamoto got in Val's way, and caught the ball. Val advanced to take the ball, but stopped. He simply let Yamamoto make the shot. But as soon as the ball went through the hoop, it was back in Val's hands. This time, Gokudera charged to get the ball. Val grinned and stayed in the same place, calmly dribbling. Tsuna noticed Yamamoto going for the ball from the other direction. Val moved back just in time, sending Gokudera and Yamamoto crasing into each other. "Aw, 'ow sweet..." Val smiled and laughed softly. He stepped next to Tsuna. Tsuna admnired Val's handiwork. The couple was sprawled in the middle of the basketball court, Gokudera resting on top of Yamamoto. Yamamoto was laughing, and Gokudera was shyly pressing his hands to Yamamoto's chest. "Let's leave 'em." Val picked up his bag off the ground and set the basketball down next to Yamamot's bag. Tsuna followed the suit, and the two mafia bosses left the park.
The basketball game made Gokudera warm up to Val. Once again, Tsuna found himself walking ahead of his friends as they laughed and talked behind him. Again, he wasn't needed. "Tsunayoshi." Tsuna turned back in surprise when he heard Val call for him. Val made a hand guesture, telling Tsuna to return by his side. "Join us." Val ordered. Tsuna complied, smiling happily as he started a conversation with his friends.
Tsuna realized that Gokudera used to dislike Val because Gokudera was jealous. Tsuna found himself in a similar predicament. Kyoko and Val had gotten quite friendly. Tsuna would enviously look at the two as they chatted. He disliked how happy they both looked. Tsuna knew he was jealous, but who was he envious of? Kyoko or Val? He liked both of them. Did that mean he was jealous of both of them?
Tsuna didn't understand himself anymore. As he did his homework, he had the urge to train, something he never wanted to do. He wondered where Reborn had gone off to; the baby only came home late at night these days. The house was unusually silent. Tsuna's mother had taken the kids out shopping. Bianchi was rarely home, ever since she signed up for some kind of club... and what about Val? Tsuna hadn't seen Val at all since they got hom from school. Concerned that something might have happened to Val, Tsuna went to search for him. He found the Rifflessione minutes later, sleeping on the couch in the living room. "Hey, Val." Tsuna lightly nudged the sleeping boy. No response. "Tsuna observed Val's sleeping figure. Val's glasses were pushed up, slightly messing up his long silky bangs. Long lashes cast shadows over Vals' closed eyes. His pale rose colored lips were slightly open, and Tsuna could hear the sound of his quiet breathing. In a way, Val was... almost... cute.
He didn';t know what oevercame him. He didn't know why their lips were just millimeters apart. Tsuna was so tempted, yet so afraid. But Val wasn't awake, so it wouldn't hurt, would it? Just one, small kiss...
"Gotcha."
What happened next went way too fast for Tsuna to take in. He was forcefully pushed down onto the couch, switching places with Val. Val hovered over the Vongola, a devious smile on his face. "You...!" Tsuna finally realized that Val had pretended to be asleep. "But I didn't do anyding. Ya advanced on yer own, didn't ya?" Val asked mischeviously. Tsuna couldn't deny that. Without warning, Val kissed Tsuna. It started out gentle, tender. Tsuna opened his mouth to let out a moan. Val took the opportunity to invade Tsuna's mouth with his tongue. Tsuna's hands unconciously reached up and brought Val closer to his. Their tongues fought for dominance as the two teens tasted each other. "Val..." Tsuna moaned between kisses. Val simply continued to kiss Tsuna, occassionally biting Tsuna's lip. Tsuna reached for the buttons on Val's shirt, struggling to undo the uniform. "Stop." Val suddenly let go of Tsuna. "H-huh?" Tsuna looked up at Val, taken back by Val's sudden command. "Sorreh. I got too carred away." Val got off the couch. "W-wait, what do you mean?" Tsuna asked in confusion. "... Nothin'. Just ferget it, Tsunayoshi." Val quickly walked away, leaving Tsuna confused, hurt, and upset. "Why did you kiss me then, Val?"
