You guys are amazing. The reviews made my heart melt. Love you guys!
Again, in anybody else's POV apart from Tsuna's, Reborn is 'Renato'. Oh, and Reborn's mom is an OC. She's not what I would call important, but, yes, she has a few roles to play.
Enjoy!
Reborn's dark eyes stared at him with no little amount of contempt and suspicion; apart from the fact that it worried Tsuna, he found it plain hilarious.
Tsuna made it a point to not tell Reborn that, though, swallowing the pasta appreciatively, much to Fulvia's satisfaction. He glanced at Reborn, and so did Fulvia. The woman lightly admonished the twelve year old, telling him to stop dilly dallying and to eat properly.
"I am, mum," Reborn murmured softly, eyes still not leaving Tsuna. Tsuna grinned back, amused, and the twelve year old's grip around the fork tightened in obvious irritation.
A part of Tsuna did realize that instigating Reborn in any form or manner for his own amusement was not particularly healthy for the twelve-year-old and Tsuna half heartedly vowed to himself that he would stop. After a few days.
"What's your age?" Fulvia asked conversationally.
"Twenty two," Tsuna replied.
"So young! You work, I take it."
Tsuna nodded, swallowing, before replying, "A businessman," he lied.
Tsuna heard Reborn snort softly from beside Fulvia, and sent a small, playful grin at the twelve year old. Tsuna was hardly surprised when Reborn did not reciprocate the grin in any manner or form, face twisting in annoyance at the obvious cheer he had received from a stranger.
The rest of the evening passed by with idle chatter; questions were asked by Fulvia, and answers were told by Tsuna with as much honesty as he could tell them with, without revealing too much. He did not tell them about the Vongola for obvious reasons—even though the chances of normal people knowing about such a huge and bloody Criminal Empire were slim, Tsuna was still against revealing too much. For their sake, not his.
As they finished with the food, Fulvia stood up, taking her plate along with her.
"I will wash them, then. You can sit on the sofa with Renato to accompany you," she suggested, moving to take Tsuna's plate.
Tsuna stopped her by placing a light hand on her upper arm, "I'll help," he offered, getting up fluidly, "It's the least I can do after receiving so much hospitality."
"Oh no, it's alright, I can—" she tried protesting, only to be cut off at the blinding smile Tsuna unknowingly sent her.
"I insist."
Reluctantly, she let go of his plate, waiting for Tsuna till he picked it up. He followed her to the kitchen, vaguely noticing Reborn trailing after them with an unfinished plate, eyes still trained on Tsuna's existence. The twelve year old stayed standing by the kitchen door, body leaning against the door frame.
"Renato doesn't like me," Tsuna stated, watching from the corner of his eyes as Reborn tensed, dark eyes darting from Tsuna to Fulvia.
'Doesn't want to disappoint her, then,' Tsuna concluded, understanding. Before meeting the two-year old version of Reborn, Tsuna's situation had been pretty much the same; disappointing Nana had been (still was, truth to be told) something he had never wanted to do—the only difference being that Tsuna had been far too pathetic for his own liking.
Fulvia glanced at Tsuna, then back at Reborn, who was staring at her worriedly, evidently not wanting her to be disappointed. He relaxed the moment Fulvia laughed, though, an indication that she was alright with Reborn's feelings towards the brunette.
"It's alright," she told him, "He'll get used to you. He just doesn't like strangers."
"Neither do you," Tsuna whispered softly, his words inaudible.
He hummed as a response, instead, rinsing Fulvia's plate and then handing it to the woman. While she busied herself with drying it, Tsuna washed his own plate, pretending to ignore how Reborn watched every move he made. Intentionally, Tsuna casually moved closer to Fulvia while handing her the plate, sharp eyes trained on Reborn.
Reborn's reaction was immediate: his shoulders tensed, jaws gnashed up in order to prevent himself from doing something Tsuna had a feeling was probably illegal; his body, however, remained unmoving.
Being over protective towards one's mother was okay, yes, but the hostility was not something Tsuna wanted to see in a twelve year old, Reborn or no.
Once they had finished with the plates, and Fulvia had set them away, she turned to Reborn, "Finish it up quickly, Renato," she said, "I will have to wash it, you know."
"Yes, mum," Reborn replied, sounding dejected, and Tsuna failed to hold back a snicker.
Reborn glared and Fulvia glanced at him questioningly.
Tsuna waved his hand dismissively, replying, "Sorry, I just remembered something."
"And what might that be?" Fulvia asked politely.
Tsuna thought for a while before replying, "Well, I know someone. He's a lot like Renato."
Fulvia raised a brow, walking up to Reborn to take the still unfinished plate from him. When Reborn refused, hunching protectively over his plate, Fulvia simply took the fork out of his hand, twirled it around the pasta and said:
"Open your mouth, Renato."
Reborn reddened at that, peeking cautiously at Tsuna. It was obvious that he wanted Tsuna to leave right now, but Tsuna refused to budge. Reborn tried protesting, "I can eat on my own, mum!"
"Renato," Fulvia smiled in fond exasperation.
Reborn tried giving a half hearted glare but eventually parted his mouth when Fulvia looked meaningfully at him. Fulvia's smile widened as she fed him, and Tsuna had to look away from the duo to hide a smile of his own.
"I don't like him," was the first thing Renato said the moment his mother shut the door behind her after waving Tsuna goodbye.
"Why?" she asked, perplexed.
Renato's reply was immediate, "Because he is annoying."
His mother gave him a contemplating look, lightly amused, "What did he do to you?"
"He was following me, mum. I was telling him to go away, but he wouldn't budge!" Renato complained.
"I like him," Fulvia mentioned, smiling, "He's a nice person."
Renato bristled, gritting his teeth. This was one of the many reasons why he did not like Tsuna; the effect the stranger had on his mother was downright infuriating. Their past, her past, had made her wary of strangers, had made her conscious of everything people said or did.
People. None had good experiences with them either, not in this Hell-hole of a place, that is.
"I don't think he is nice," Renato mentioned.
"You don't think anyone's nice, Renato," she pointed out.
"You should know why," he reminded.
Instantly regretting his words the moment his mother lost the smile she had on her face, the brightness in her eyes dimming, Renato suddenly wished for the floor to swallow him up whole. He looked at the floor guiltily, feeling his ears turning red.
"I'm sorry mum, I didn't mean—" he tried, swallowing thickly.
She shut her eyes and shook her head, "It's my fault, Renato," she whispered, "I know."
He wanted to tell her otherwise, wanted to beg her to stop saying that over and over again like that, but he knew that her belief in that little stupid of a lie would never waver. It was a sudden, inexplicable but minute need, but Renato wished for Tsuna to be with them. The man had made his mother laugh despite having met her for less than a few minutes—Renato had been trying that for over ten years, succeeding in that endeavor yet not quite.
But, then again, that was also one of the reasons why he did not like the man.
Tsuna left the house, sighing a little to himself.
Whatever doubt he had had about Renato being Reborn had vanished the moment he had heard the name 'Fulvia'; the Reborn from his time had told him that his mother's name was Fulvia. His Reborn was never particularly tight lipped when talking of his past, but he usually didn't say much, either. Sometimes Tsuna wondered why, and the few times he had brought up the topic, Reborn had simply shrugged in a it's-not-really-important manner, and Tsuna had always left it at that.
"I don't like him."
"Why?"
"Because he is annoying."
Tsuna shook his head and smiled. Well, this Reborn was certainly amusing to irritate.
He looked at the streets, and then around the building which housed the apartment, making sure that there were no prying eyes as he slipped the mittens on yet again. He leaned against the railing, letting his body fall, soaring up gracefully, pulling himself from the ground the moment he was inches away from it. He grinned to himself. No matter how many times he did this, flying was something he knew he would be incapable of ever forsaking.
Seeing that it was still evening, the sun barely peeking out from the horizon, Tsuna decided to fly around a little, get himself used to the outline of the city he was currently at. People were still milling about in the streets, their clothes bright and colorful—Tsuna wasn't surprised at the sudden display of colors, given that he had read almost everything about Italy's history, including its fashion. But he had to admit, the clothes hurt his eyes.
Shops were open, Tsuna observed, reminding himself to buy something for breakfast—provided that, of course, he did not return back to his own time by tomorrow.
A few hours later had Tsuna ensconcing himself comfortably on a tree branch. The sky was dark—the reason for which the city was lighted currently.
"Like dots," Tsuna mused, appreciating the beauty of the expanse around him.
If anything, Renato really hadn't expected to bump into Tsuna here of all places.
His reaction was immediate: he stepped back, glared and snarled, "What are you doing here?"
Tsuna gave him a largely confused, innocent look. If Renato hadn't known that Tsuna was apparently 'waiting' for something and had stalker-like tendencies, he would have believed that their second meeting was coincidental.
"What," he snarled again, voice rising involuntarily, "are you doing here?!"
The volume of his voice had the civilians staring at him disapprovingly. His mother tensed at their gazes like she always did, and though that reaction would have usually made Renato glare at the people who were staring at his mother like that, for once, he was too preoccupied with the man in front of him.
"Renato stop that—"
"Tell him to stop following us!"
It was then that Fulvia took notice of Tsuna. And when she did, her face broke into a large smile, evidently pleased to see Tsuna again.
Reborn couldn't quite squash the jealousy he felt.
"Fulvia!" Tsuna exclaimed, "What a coincidence!"
Renato snorted. 'Yeah, right.'
This time, though, Renato glared at the people who were giving Tsuna odd looks at speaking exuberantly with Fulvia. He wasn't sure whether Tsuna noticed that, but he was genuinely thankful when the brunette began walking instead of standing at one spot and rambling on.
"Hello," Fulvia greeted. She paused, adding, "You have a few leaves stuck to your hair."
Renato looked at the ridiculous mass of gravity-defying hair, grimacing at how messed up it was.
(He largely ignored the fact that, despite the pathetic condition of the man's hair, he hardly looked untidy.)
"I'm sorry," Tsuna murmured, ruffled, hastily trying to pluck the leaves from his hair, "I was sleeping on a tree and—"
"You were sleeping on a tree?" Renato interrupted.
"A branch, more specifically," Tsuna corrected, ruffling his hair, "Are the leaves gone now?"
Fulvia nodded, giggling, "Why a tree?"
"Nature lover," Tsuna said simply, grinning, "Besides, due to a certain someone I have been, frankly, spending more time in the forest wrestling bears or pythons than spending precious moments of my life in my home."
"That must have been fun," Fulvia said.
Tsuna nodded, "It was—still is, actually, as much as I hate to admit it. My tutor is insane."
"You wrestle with bears." Renato deadpanned.
"Yep."
"And pythons."
"Yes."
"You're a liar, and also a pathetic one if I may say so."
Fulvia's gaze was admonishing, slightly panicked. She started apologizing on Renato's behalf immediately, "I am so sorry, of course he did not mean anything by that—"
Much to Renato's and Fulvia's surprise, Tsuna simply waved his hand dismissively, smiling genuinely, "It's alright."
It was a simple act, but it made Renato blink. Tsuna wasn't masking his annoyance, like most adults did whenever Renato tended to be overly… straightforward. By the look on his mother's face, she had realized the same thing, too, and Renato shifted, uncomfortable. He, like his mother, wasn't used to such honesty.
"So, then, what are you guys buying?" Tsuna digressed.
"Um," Fulvia started, "We're thinking of buying some vegetables and…"
Renato looked at the empty bag he had been holding for the past half an hour in one hand, and then at his mother. Today was one of the unlucky days, apparently. Most of the other shops were out of stock, since this was the later part of the morning. His mother always insisted on shopping late. Though she never said it out loudly, it was obvious that the stares bothered her more than she admitted they did.
Renato wasn't sure what the empty bag meant to Tsuna apart from the fact that they had to scout for vegetables a little longer, but for some reason he looked angry, rage shimmering under his eyes. When he caught Renato looking up at him in confusion, his face brightened almost immediately.
"Y'know what? I have bought some things recently," he mentioned, pointing at the bag he was holding in one hand, stuffed with vegetables and fruits and possibly some meat, "and, I want to thank you for yesterday. Why don't I cook something up for you guys, hm?"
"We don't want your food," Renato snapped instinctively, "Why can't you stop bothering us?"
Fulvia gave him a quick admonishing stare. Turning to Tsuna, she declined politely, "It's alright, Tsuna—"
"I insist," Tsuna pressed gently, "After everything, I'd feel bad for not returning the favor. And I have been known for my culinary skills, so, don't worry, I won't feed you charcoal."
Renato gaped incredulously as his mother caved, yet again, at the million dollar smile Tsuna gave her.
I have to admit, making Reborn all flustered is very enjoyable.
And a belated Merry Christmas and an advanced Happy New Year to all!
Please leave a review on your way out!
