AN: I HAD TO REWRITE THIS FIVE TIMES! FIVE! I found out that trying to match the narrative voice of the first chapter is actually really, really hard. I kept adding scenes that didn't match the tone and so they had to be edited or outright deleted. I'm still not sure I like how this turned out but whatever, have at it.
Chapter 2: Fairydust, stone and mortar
They married in summer, in a simple ceremony at the civil registry. Renato wore his best suit and Nana a cheerful yellow sundress. A dozen or so close friends attended the wedding, including Nana's tearful boss and Renato's pompous but well-meaning department head.
The ceremony was short but beautiful, and more than one person had to dab at their eyes with a handkerchief. Even more people couldn't help the tears at the adoption following the wedding, when Renato took Tsunayoshi as his son.
Their honeymoon ended up being more of a family vacation to Mexico, where they alternated between exploring inside huge pyramids, not entirely legal but Renato knew a guy who knew a guy and got them past the security barriers with barely a blink, and lounging at beaches and swimming pools.
Before Tsuna was allowed into the sea, Renato taught him to swim in their hotel's swimming pool, smiling encouragement and holding his hands as he took his first steps into the water. Nana watched from the sidelines, smiling so hard her cheeks hurt.
"There are things only a father can do." She thought as Renato opened his arms wide and encouraged Tsuna to jump into the pool with him.
Only once Renato was satisfied with Tsuna's swimming skills did they brave the waves. Tsuna held tightly to his new father's hand as they slowly walked into the sea.
It took a while, and several mouthfuls of saltwater, but eventually Tsuna let go of Renato's hand, paddling around under his father's watchful eye.
They celebrated the occasion by gorging themselves with ice cream and Nana laughed at their brain freezes.
In the slower afternoons, all three of them napped while cuddled up in a hammock, enjoying the sea breeze.
They built sandcastles taller than Tsuna, watched fireworks in the evenings and, on one memorable occasion, trekked through the jungle with a handful of other tourists as Renato sarcastically corrected their tour guide under his breath, sending Tsuna and Nana into fits of giggles.
They ate delicious food and Renato got to show off his knowledge of Spanish before falling prey to Tsuna's awed puppy eye look and agreeing with an embarrassed blush to teach him a few phrases and, years later, he would recognize the Italian accent in Tsuna's Spanish and shake his head in amusement, remembering this moment.
-/-/-
Eventually they returned to Japan, tanned, bright eyed and eager to start their new life together.
Which began with the tiring business of moving into their new house.
The house had been chosen before the wedding, a bright, airy building with two floors, three bedrooms and a large backyard. It was in Namimori, a quiet suburb of Tokyo, safe, with good schools and a short commute to Sakura Tech.
Tsuna, a bundle of hyperactive joy, alternated between helping to carry the lighter things and dashing underfoot with a thousand questions that his parents answered with indulgent smiles.
"I get my own room?" asked Tsuna as he looked around their huge new house. Which was not that big, but to a boy used to a single bedroom apartment, it looked like a palace. Renato chuckled as he set down a box of bedding.
"Yes, mama and I are going to be on this room, you can choose between that one or that one." He indicated with a nod of his head.
"I can choose?!" exclaimed Tsuna and didn't wait for the answer as he torpedoed to one of the doors, opening it and letting a quiet wow escape him as he saw the bedroom with its huge front window and built-in closet.
Renato watched with a twitching smile as the boy looked around and curled his arm around Nana's shoulders as she came to lean against him.
"THIS ONE HAS A SKYLIGHT!" Tsuna's screech of sheer delight made them both flinch before they looked at each other in patient amusement.
"Are you sure? That one is smaller." Called Nana and they saw Tsuna's head poke out of the second bedroom.
"A skylight mama!" he repeated, filled with childish enthusiasm. Nana covered her giggle with a hand before turning to her husband. Renato simply shrugged and nodded back, if the boy wanted a skylight, who was he to deny him?
The trip to the furniture store, to replace anything that was too old, worn out or too small for the house was an adventure on itself. From having to convince Nana, who was already slightly horrified at the sheer amount of money Renato had already spent on their trip and their new house, to dragging Tsuna away from the more eye-catching, fanciful pieces to the more practical, sturdy ones.
It took most of a morning to narrow their choices down, and then, to Nana's relief, Renato proceeded to haggle with the sellers and managed to get some ridiculous discounts by virtue of being both charming and stubborn as a mule.
While Renato haggled and Tsuna distracted himself in the outdoor section, which had a set of wooden swings he was "testing to see if they work", Nana's eye caught on a crib. The wood was naked but for a coat of varnish and there was a set of pastel colored bears dancing on the headboard. She ran her fingers along the smooth wood and sighed, when Tsuna was a baby, she hadn't been able to give him something like this, but perhaps…
"Mama, we are leaving!" she snapped out of her thoughts and turned to see her son waving next to his father, whose gentle look made her blush.
-/-/-
Nana paused in the middle of carefully unwrapping the elaborate glassware, "venetian glass" Renato called it, and listened with a smile as her husband and son had a serious discussion about the positioning of the swing they were hanging from the tree in the backyard.
She got up and after throwing a look at her distracted family, she started walking around the house.
The new furniture had arrived and been placed more or less where it should be, but the little details needed work still. There were unpacked boxes on the hallways, the walls were rather bare and the smell of paint and new wood permeated the house.
Still, there were signs that the house was on its way to becoming a home.
She looked around the kitchen.
"We will dine in the best restaurants in the world." She had been promised, but she found the sight of the trio of unwashed cups in the sink more appealing.
There was Tsu-kun's large dinosaur cup, next to it was Renato's white one with colorful letters spelling "My best friend" that Tsu-kun had given him last Christmas. Nana had to pretend not to notice Renato's shiny eyes and choked out voice that time. Her own was similar, only with suns and flowers instead of writing and she got it when Tsu-kun and his classmates made Mother's Day presents in first grade.
She walked to the living room, the couches still had their plastic wrapping, but on her old rocking chair rested Tsu-kun's favorite stuffed lion, Renato's ever present fedora was hanging from the corner of a shelve and the contents of her purse were half spilt on a side table.
"We will get a bungalow on the beach." Nana shook her head at the fanciful voice inside her head and continued her tour of the house.
The office was mostly empty shelves and half opened boxes. But on one of the shelves, Tsu-kun's textbooks leaned to the side, just about to fall. Renato's huge world map was propped against a wall, waiting to be hung up and her grandfather's Victorian lamp was on top of the desk, still unplugged.
"We will scale mountains, canoe across rivers, zip line over old forests." Nana threw a last look to the map and turned back, a smile flickering across her lips.
In Tsu-kun's new room, the bed was still naked and the walls had a new layer of paint, but the closet was a mess of clothes that had been thrown in without care and the box of toys had fallen on its side, spilling its contents on the floor. Her eyes landed on the toy car collection Renato had given Tsu-kun.
"We will have a car, a convertible, only the wind would be faster." She picked them up one by one, smiling at the careful finishing touches on the paint, at the little wheels and lights, before putting them back in the box.
Her bedroom was a well-lived-in mess as well, the bed unmade, Tsu-kun's pajamas scrunched up on the floor, her robe thrown carelessly over the pillows, Renato's slippers one on each side of the room and a suitcase filled with souvenirs from their trip propped against a corner.
Her eyes flickered to the open closet, half of it occupied by dresses and blouses, the other half by dark suits and shirts. She reached for a shirt sleeve and brought it to her nose.
"We will cuddle, just the two of us, in a cabin on the Alps."
The now familiar scent of Renato's cologne combined with the soap she used to wash the clothes assaulted her nose and made her smile.
The sound of laughter reached her from the open window and she went to take a look, smiling warmly as she watched her husband and son. Renato was teaching Tsu-kun how to climb the tree, and the boy was currently sitting on a low branch, laughing and exclaiming over how high he was.
"The world will be our backyard."
Renato seemed to sense her and he turned around to wave at her with a sheepish smile, Tsu-kun also looked up and waved happily in her direction. She laughed and waved back.
-/-/-
When they were finally, finally done, and Tsu-kun had gone to sleep in his new bedroom. Nana and Renato sat on the dining room, drinking a calming tea after the hectic days they had.
"What will you do now?" he asked and Nana thought about it.
Renato earned enough to support all three of them and so, for the first time in many years, Nana saw her future as full of possibilities.
"I'm not sure yet, I would like to return to school and earn a degree." That is what she had been thinking about doing when Iemitsu entered her life. "But at the same time I want to try being a normal housewife for once." Tsu-kun deserved a full-time mother, now that she actually had the possibility of being there for him. "Besides, I'm afraid that I have forgotten how to study." She added with a self-deprecating laugh.
Renato chuckled and lifted his hand to push a few strands behind her ear. She leaned into his touch, his hands were calloused, but his touch was ever so gentle. Iemitsu had been intense, passionate. Renato was passionate too, but it was tempered by experience and a better sense of timing.
"Why don't you do both? You don't need to be a full-time student, take a course or two, and ease yourself into it, see if you can find something you really like. There's no need to jump into the deep end, you have more than enough time."
His words made sense, Tsu-kun would be going back to school soon, and there would be little to do in the house when both of her boys were away, but then, there was also her other dream.
"And what about...?" she trailed off, Renato hummed softly and kissed her hand, his dark eyes intent on her face. She blushed, feeling like a little girl under the smoldering look of her husband.
"If it happens it happens, if it doesn't…" he shrugged and collected their cups to rinse them. She sighed and felt her heart return to its normal rhythm, the things that man did to her! When he was done he smiled at her and offered his hand.
"Let us hope the mighty beast has not claimed our bed, fair princess." Nana couldn't help but laugh and take his hand, letting him pull her towards the stairs. Tsu-kun had taken to sneaking into their bed in the middle of the night, which was as endearing as it was exasperating.
"Mighty indeed, all one-twenty-five of him." Renato threw her a look over his shoulder.
"He kicks hard." He did not whine, though he discretely rubbed his ribs, making Nana cover her mouth with a hand to muffle her giggles.
"That he does." She agreed. "Since before he was born even." Being pregnant and alone had not been fun.
"You poor, poor woman." His twitching smile made her giggle again.
"I did the best I could." She said as she puffed out her chest, his eyes softened and he pulled her into a hug.
"That you did, and what a wonderful child you raised cara mia." He whispered before kissing her softly on the lips. Nana closed her eyes and sighed happily into it. Renato was an amazing kisser, giving and taking in equal amounts, making sure she enjoyed herself, and far better than Iemitsu had ever been.
-/-/-
Renato woke up with a startle as he felt a heavy weight over his legs, he looked down and blinked as a patch of brown fluff started to wiggle his way over the bed. Renato took a look at the alarm, the bright green one-thirty am making him squint in the darkness.
He groaned and rubbed his face to wake up a bit more. He should've known.
"Tsunayoshi." He said in a warning tone and the little boy stopped half-way up the bed, turning to look at his father with wide eyes that reflected the alarm's light. "We have talked about this."
Tsuna pouted and crossed his arms stubbornly. He looked adorable, but Renato had decided he had to be stern, or Tsuna would never learn.
"Don't give me that look, go back to your bed." Added Renato with a sigh, Tsuna's lip started to quiver.
"But it's dark and I'm all alone there." Renato could feel his resolve start to crumble and he really couldn't afford to let it crumble, it was for Tsuna's own good.
"Tsu-kun?" Nana turned to blink sleepily at them and Tsuna took advantage of Renato's momentary distraction to wiggle his way up the rest of the bed and plop himself right in between them.
"Tsunayoshi, big boys sleep in their own beds." He explained patiently, for what felt like the hundred time, but Tsuna only gave him an unimpressed look.
"Why don't you sleep on your own bed then?" Renato felt a flicker of irritation, especially as he saw Nana cover her mouth and her shoulders shake with suppressed giggles.
"Well, he's not wrong." Said Nana once she recovered herself and Renato groaned as he buried his face on the pillow, that traitor, he should've known she would take Tsuna's side. "Maybe we should buy a night light for him?" she added as she reached over to brush their son's hair out of his sleepy face.
"If it makes him sleep on his own bed, I'll buy him whatever he wants." He grumbled even as he tugged his already sleeping son onto a more comfortable position, this boy was going to be the death of him. Nana smiled and kissed his cheek.
"You're such a good dad, Renato." She said, followed by another giggle. "Even if you spoil him rotten sometimes."
Correction, his son and his wife were going to be the death of him.
-/-/-
It turned out, they didn't need a night light for Tsuna to stay put. It only took a trip to the local shelter and the adoption of what Renato called "the ugliest cat in the entire city" to Tsuna's, Nana's and said cat's consternation.
The cat was big, tall and strong, with long hair that was black as sin and with a single yellow eye, the other one lost in a street fight. Tsuna named her Halloween, though it was soon shortened to Ween, and when he hugged her she purred so loudly that they could see Tsuna's arms vibrate with the sound.
The cat also made its nest right next to Tsuna on the boy's bed, and kept him company when he woke up in the middle of the night, thus ending his midnight trips to his parents' room.
Which led to three months later, to Tsuna sitting in between his parents as they told him that, in a few months, he would become a big brother.