Summary: Once upon a time there was a mechanic called Spanner. One day he bumps into (kind of literally) a boy called Tsuna. What starts out as a simple thing quickly turns complex when they find neither of them is what they first appear to be. AU fic. Pairings: 4827

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Chapter Four

Spanner had no idea what to do.

As Tsuna fidgeted across from him, a mug of green tea held in his hands, Spanner tried to remember the advice Shoichi had often thrown at him.

1) Be friendly: Spanner had greeted the boy and offered him tea.

2) Be cleanly: Spanner had realized after his invitation that not only was his bed unmade and his floor covered in trash and schematics, but the Mosca was still wandering around. Which conflicted directly with rule

3) DON'T SHOW ANYONE THAT CREEPY ROBOT.

He'd instructed Tsuna to stay, and ambled over to the stairs. Out of sight, he had leapt up them, his mind delving for topics of conversation teenagers liked. What did they talk about? Clothes? School? Music? But his concept of clothing extended to shirts, jeans and the overalls he wore for work. He was a college dropout. He hadn't listened to music recreationally…ever.

As he stuffed papers and trash alike into his closet and under his bed, he reflected bitterly on his earlier melancholy. What had he been thinking, of course it would have been better if Tsuna had never come. Who cares if a bike looked lonely, of all things? Machines didn't have feelings! (At work, Shoichi felt the odd sensation of being vindicated for no reason.) Not having feelings would be an amazing thing; he wouldn't have to be doing this stupid last-minute cleaning and damn it, where was he going to hide the Mosca?!?

He scanned the room and the Mosca imitated him. No more space in the closet. It was too big to fit under the bed.

He spotted the door leading to the small bathroom that adjoined with the room.

Good enough for now.

"Get in there," Spanner whispered at the Mosca, even though the boy was well out of hearing range. The robot looked at him. If Spanner wasn't sure he hadn't programmed it to have feelings, he would have sworn it looked skeptical. Like it was saying "Are you kidding me?"

Tired of its non-existent sass, Spanner pushed it in himself, quite a feat since it weighed about the same as he did. He closed the bathroom door and took a last look at the room. It looked normal-ish. Maybe a little heavy on the tool and computer side with some bed and desk visible, but nothing that screamed "Introverted obsessive mecha-freak."

Tsuna was still standing where he had left him, confusion clear on his face. He looked up at Spanner.

"Uh…yeah, I'd like tea," he said. And so he sat on the bed, looking uncomfortable while Spanner fidgeted with the brewer.

Spanner poured the tea into a second mug for himself. "Your bike isn't completed yet," he said, sliding a glance over at the boy. "Sorry you came all this way for nothing."

"No, it's alright," said Tsuna. "From what I saw, it looked very nice, Mr. Spanner." The mechanic jolted at his name. He swirled the lollipop in his mouth in consternation - no one had ever called him a "mister" before. The boy continued to speak, a nervous lilt pitching his voice a bit.

"It's been a bit busy at home, so I haven't really had time to go out. Reborn doesn't like me to leave the house by myself, or even at all…I kind of had to sneak out to get here." Spanner looked down at the thick, aromatic liquid in his mug. So, coming here was that important.

"You can call me Spanner," he said around his lollipop. Tsuna looked up with a horrified expression and Spanner immediately berated himself for taking liberties.

The boy jumped up and flushed. "Oh my God, I didn't even introduce myself!" he exclaimed. "I'm Tsuna – err, Sawada Tsunayoshi." Glad the faux pas wasn't on his part, Spanner began to nod but stopped in panic when he realized Tsuna was walking over in an attempt to shake his hand.

It was like watching a catastrophe in slow motion. Spanner was caught between setting down his tea and taking off his gloves. Tsuna, seeing his dilemma, began to slow down and ended up tripping, his cup still in his hands. Spanner reached out to catch the boy, reacting before he thought it through. He managed to grab the boy before he fell, but in the process spilled both his and Tsuna's tea over them both.

They stayed in shocked silence for a few moments, warm tea soaking through the fabric of their clothing. Spanner had the vague thought that Tsuna was actually a bit heavier than what he would have expected from such a waiflike frame. The boy was solid, and comfortable, and disturbingly familiar to Spanner's hands.

The boy scrambled away, panic and embarrassment driving a red flush across his cheeks. Spanner stared up at him, his hands clutching at the air where soft flesh had once been. Tsuna's hands flew up to his head, pulling at his spiky brown hair.

"Argh! That was so dumb!" It was Spanner's turn to be a bit dumbfounded as the boy flailed around, making his hair even messier and little drops of tea splash around. "Jeez, this always happens!"

Spanner blinked in response.

"First, you get into a freaking car accident and then you're nice enough to fix my bike and get me tea and now I spill it all over!" The boy collapsed to the ground, holding his head in his hands.

"I'm really sorry," croaked Tsuna. Spanner stared.

This kid was…

"So cute," muttered Spanner, dropping his own face into his hand.

"What?" said the boy, peeking up.

Spanner reached out his other hand to ruffle Tsuna's hair, partly to comfort him and partly so he wouldn't be able to see his expression, replying with a louder "Nothing."

"There're some towels in the bathroom," Spanner continued. "Go ahead and get them so you can dry off." Tsuna nodded, his cheeks still red, and got up from the floor. When he turned away, Spanner tried desperately to school his expression, sure the broad smile on his face would scare Tsuna.

Then he realized what he had done.

"WAIT!" he yelled, jumping up to grab Tsuna, but the boy had already opened the door. Together they stared at the Mosca, who looked inquisitively from Tsuna to Spanner to back again. Tsuna closed the door, took several steps back and turned to crouch in front of Spanner.

His voice was shaking even though his face was carefully blank. "Mr. Spanner, I think there's a robot in your bathroom."

Shoichi would be so disappointed.