Part 1
A startled yelp caught everyone's attention as they sat companionably around the kitchen table, drinking tea and eating breakfast.
"Yuuniiiii!" Skull wailed from upstairs, followed by the thundering sound of the ex-stuntman rushing down the stairs of the large house.
He burst into the kitchen, dressed in a black t-shirt and purple drawstring pants, and his face was bare. Several vivid scars stood out on his face; one ran from the tip of his nose to his chin, while another slashed diagonally across an eye, and a burn scar spread in a fan across a cheekbone. Colonnello swore loudly, while the other ex-Arcobaleno merely looked surprised, or upset.
"Fuck Skull, the fuck happened, kora?!" the blonde demanded.
"I.. What?" Skull frowned at him in confusion.
Colonnello gestured towards Skull's head. "Your face!"
Skull frowned and raised a hand to his face, feeling the lack of make-up. He'd forgotten to cover his scars.
"...You know I was a stuntman before I got involved with the mafia, right?" he asked, eyeing the other Arcobaleno with a frown. "It is a rather dangerous profession, you know. Just because I survived all my stunt accidents, doesn't mean I came out of them unharmed." Colonnello whined lowly.
"The scars on your face might be from your stunts gone wrong, but those on your arms aren't, are they, lackey?" Reborn asked coolly, setting down his teacup just a tad bit too hard. Skull froze.
"Heh heh, I don't know what you mean, Reborn-senpai!" he said, laughing nervously and inching away from the glowering Sun. He yelped and scrambled back as Reborn lunged up out of his chair and grabbed Skull by the wrist, slamming Skull's arm down onto the table inner-side up.
The inside of Skull's arm from the wrist to about halfway to his elbow were covered in old, faded and barely noticeable scars. Skull's face was blank, his lips pressed into a thin line. His purple hair covered his eyes as he looked away.
"When I was twelve… my Words went grey," he finally admitted. "I didn't take it well." Skull winced when he heard the crack of china breaking, followed by Fon murmuring words of apology.
Then Skull lifted his head, half-turning to Yuni.
"But, Yuni, my Words aren't grey anymore! Why aren't they grey anymore?" he asked excitedly.
"They've been reborn," the young Sky said, smiling gently. "I can only theorise that the curse stopped the Words from appearing before now - because you're going to meet them in a couple of years and they're Tsuna's age."
Only Reborn saw Fon's hands clench, and pain flash in his eyes before his usual composure took over again.
this chapter's not what i imagined it like, but it's better than i'd hoped. i certainly wasn't expecting Colonnello to go all concerned big brother on Skull though.