Tweekerz:

- I'm glad people seem to generally like this. R27 is my absolute favorite pairing, but I've been growing bored with the whole "adult!Reborn" thing. I find it much more angsty and awesome when there's an obstacle ahead, and that obstacle is infant!Reborn.

- I haven't written for KHR in a rather long time. My other KHR chapter story, And Then You Came Back, is on hiatus. Hah, however, this fic will be finished very soon.

- Thanks for the reviews!

He was soaking wet.

Rivulets of water poured down his face and collected within the indent formed between the base of his neck and his already drenched scarf. Droplets of water dripped from the jagged ends of his ear, and when he moved, his hair moved with him, water sloshing down his backside. Tsuna shivered as a numbing sensation stole across his body, his face nearly impervious to feeling.

Unfortunately, the weather had rounded upon him. Before he had time to even get to his destination, a local bookstore, Tsuna felt water pelting down from above, and he had realized with dread that it was pouring.

He had slushed his way through the rain with only a flimsy sweater and a scarf, and now the poor teen was eagerly looking up at the front of his house, his body shivering as the frigid cold took a hold of him.

"I made it," he whispered, grimacing when a gust of wind rattled across him. Shaking the sopping strands of his bangs to the side, Tsuna trudged up the pathway and stepped onto the patio. He tried the doorknob, but the lock was stuck fast, and with a heavy sigh, Tsuna rang the doorbell, an action that he had not wanted to take. He didn't want to alert Reborn of his return, after all.

In a matter of seconds, the door was yanked open and he was met with the smiling form of his mother, who took a second to inspect her son, a small frown capturing her lips.

"Tsu-kun, why are you all wet?" she asked timidly, cocking her head.

'Duh, it's raining,' Tsuna thought in irritation, rolling his eyes. Of course, he would never voice his thoughts aloud to her. No matter how naïve and foolish his mother could be sometimes, he still loved her very much and didn't want to hurt her feelings in any way.

"Come inside honey and change into some dry clothes!" she smiled and ushered him inside, immediately peeling the soaked scarf from around his neck. He watched her mill about the living room before traipsing into the kitchen, where she let the scarf plop into the sink. "I'll wring out your scarf in a bit. Dinner will be ready in about an hour, 'kay?"

"Um, is Reborn here by any chance?" Tsuna asked meekly.

"Hm, I'm sure he is, 'prolly somewhere around the house. Why sweetie?" his mother asked, plucking a knife from the dish rack. She placed the knife down on the counter and directed herself towards the fridge, rummaging through its contents for a roll of cabbage and various other vegetables.

"O-oh, nothing, just wondering," the teen replied quietly. "Thanks anyway mom, call me when the food's done." He heard her hum at him in response, before she turned from him and began chopping away. Breathing through his nose, Tsuna kicked off his soaked shoes and held them in his hands. He waddled across the living room, drops of water dripping softly behind him as he made his way across. Every time he moved, his jeans would chafe at his thighs and the sensation was wholly unpleasant. Eager to get to his room, Tsuna practically skipped all the way up the stairs and down the hallway, relief welling within him when he anchored his gaze on his bedroom door.

Once inside his room, Tsuna hastily shut the door and threw his shoes on a pile of dirty clothes. He immediately began to unzip his sweater, plucking the article of clothing away from his body and throwing it on top of his shoes. Once done with that, he hauled his T-shirt up and over his head and repeated the action until he was standing nearly naked in his boxers, water still traveling in little streams down his body. His boxers were soaking wet and clung to his hips and thighs rather unpleasantly. A shiver took hold of him, water droplets sliding down his exposed skin.

"Dame-Tsuna, you're all wet."

"HIEE!" Tsuna shrieked, spinning around. He nearly slammed into his drawer at the sight of Reborn sitting casually on the edge of his bed; the Arcobaleno's small little legs crossed one over the other. "R-Reborn."

Reborn merely tilted his head, onyx eyes glittering under the brim of his hat. Tsuna gawked and steadied himself by leaning against his desk drawer, placing his palms at the desk's edge. An uncomfortable silence seemed to permeate the atmosphere, leaving Tsuna shivering in his almost nudity and his mind rampant with all sorts of frantic, incoherent thoughts.

This was too fast, this was all too fast. He wasn't prepared to even face Reborn, and yet here he was, trembling in his boxers and at a loss of what to say. This was all kinds of awkward—Tsuna had royally screwed things up by becoming flustered and unsettled at Reborn at the café, and he had even hung up on his tutor for no reason other than he was nervous and it had been a knee-jerk reaction.

And so he stood there, his mouth hanging open as he tried to get a firm hold on his thoughts. Why wasn't Reborn saying anything, why wasn't the hitman doing anything, because by all means, the tutor should have had a gun out by now, the barrel staring Tsuna in the face? The teen felt as if his throat had dried up and he wondered if he would ever be able to speak again.

"Close your mouth, idiot."

Tsuna yipped and promptly shut his mouth. Trust Reborn to break the silence. Tsuna gulped and shifted awkwardly on his feet, staring up at his tutor through the dripping wet curtain of his bangs.

"You've been out of sorts," Reborn continued, that bizarre smile quirked across his lips. "I've taught you better, Baka-Tsuna."

Tsuna flinched at the insult, his honey-colored eyes averting to the floor. Why didn't Reborn ever just call him by his name? Was that too much to ask? It was rather simple, all the hitman had to do was either call him Tsuna or Sawada; either would do perfectly fine. Was his name even registered in Reborn's vocabulary anyway? And so what if Tsuna had been out of sorts lately—it didn't affect him any in his training, he still had power, he still had his dying will, and he sure as heck still had the safety of his family.

Why was Reborn always making this so hard?

Tsuna felt the recognizable flame of fury and frustration licking at his insides, fueling the haze he was currently lost within. He felt like lashing out at his tutor who was sitting so nonchalantly in front of him, as if the hitman hadn't a care in the world. Tsuna felt like spewing all sorts of insults and protest at him, complaints, Tsuna realized. So then, why weren't they coming out? Why did his lips refuse to part?

Oh, right, Tsuna was in…l-love with the hitman. No matter how many times Reborn spat insults at the teen, Tsuna would never reciprocate. His heart would ache too much if he did that.

Tsuna made the difficult decision to turn away. He could feel his insides practically bursting at the seams, could feel all those unspoken words nearly dart out his mouth, however he cast all those emotions aside until they had subsided enough for him to get a grip.

He leaned forward against his desk and opened up one of the drawers, shuffling through its contents for a fresh pair of boxers and a cotton nightshirt. Once drawing the articles of clothing into his arms, Tsuna briefly let his gaze linger on Reborn's, before he slowly trotted across the room towards his door. He placed his hand on the knob, hesitated for a split second, then opened it and stepped out into the hall. He thanked whatever God out there that Reborn hadn't decided to shoot him on the spot.

He trudged through the corridor, hugging the dry set of clothes to his chest. He was mentally collapsing. He couldn't believe he had just done that, he couldn't believe he had just turned away from Reborn. He had dismissed himself, and in such a spontaneous fashion! It had been an impulsive action, something he was starting to regret as he got closer to his destination: the bathroom. He could practically feel Reborn's stare stabbing into his back, cutting so deep that he could feel his insides sting. His teeth were chattering and his eyes were darting back and forth—oh yes, he was surely a dead man.

Please God, make my death quick and painless.

He shuffled into the bathroom and shut the door behind him, immediately setting to work on his drenched boxers. Once shimmying the soaked undergarments off, he quickly pulled on the dry set of boxers and hauled the white nightshirt over his head. His hair was still wet, but not as damp as it had been when he had been downstairs. The soaked, layered strands were starting to fluff, but the ends were still wet enough to make the strands clump together. Tsuna ran a shaky hand through his hair and sighed. He knelt down and picked up his wet boxers and threw them into the bathtub—he'd worry about them later, either that, or his mother would discover them soon enough and do away with them.

Breathing deeply, Tsuna opened the bathroom door and warily stepped out into the hall. He looked both directions, coasting the premise until he deemed it safe enough to continue forward. He knew Reborn was a stealthy person, the kind of person that could easily sneak up on you if you weren't paying attention.

And suddenly, he was seeing stars. A horrendous ache throbbed in the back of his skull and he was sent crashing to the floor, landing face first into the carpet. Shrieking, Tsuna clutched at his head and flopped over, writhing and rolling along the carpet all the while nursing his head.

"There's a wet spot in your room, clean it up, Dame-Tsuna."

Reborn disappeared down the stairs, and Tsuna sobbed miserably on the ground.

-Short, I know. Reborn only communicates using violence. Hah! Please leave a review!

-Sorry if I may come off as dissing Nana. She really annoys me- no one could be that stupid, but then again, this is all an anime and totally fictional. Okay, I'm cool now.