Lambo, Age 17, October

A few days later, news of Lambo's breakup had spread to Haru and Kyoko and they decided to drop by the Sawada Household to see how he was doing. They came knocking on the door just an hour after he had returned home from school.

The guardian opened the door and smiled lazily at the two older women, "Yare yare, I cannot break up without everyone finding out about it can I?"

Thankfully, Nana had gone out with her friends for tea time and that saved him from a very awkward situation. He just didn't know how to tell her that Akira and him weren't an item anymore. The only way Haru and Kyoko knew was probably because of Tsuna. His older brother must have let it slip to his girlfriend. It didn't really come as a surprise because he anticipated it.

Haru pouted, "We're really worried about you, desu!" she quickly waddled into the house and relaxed onto the sofa, letting out a huge breath as she patted her round belly.

Lambo wondered how she could carry all that weight when she was so petite in size. Haru had a condition known as polyhydramnios which basically meant that she had a lot of amniotic fluid surrounding the baby. The reason why her tummy was so massive was because her body had to produce a lot of fluid to keep her baby nice and snug. Haru was very heavily pregnant but she still insisted on being active and going out as much as she could before her baby was due. Even though she was about to pop any moment, she still chose to make the trip down to the Sawada Household just to see how Lambo was doing.

Kyoko held up a white box in her hand, "We bought some cake to cheer you up!" she grinned.

He had the best older sisters ever.

As Nana had taught him, he played the gracious host and put the kettle on the stove to make some tea while Haru and Kyoko made themselves comfortable on the sofa.

He brought the steaming hot mugs of tea over to the coffee table and sat cross-legged on the rug, "Alright, time to spill some tea," he winked.


A little while later, Tsuna and his tutor were barely through the front door when they heard Haru's outraged cry.

"What a jerk! Haru would totally kick the guy in the balls if he ever did that to me, desu!"

The brunette then launched into a tirade of angry rants about how unfair it was for Lambo and Akira was an outright douchebag.

"Now, now, Haru-chan," he could hear Kyoko trying to placate her friend.

"Oh, no, Haru is really angry! Tell me you gave him a piece of your mind," she harrumphed.

Now that piqued his interest, what could Akira have done to the guardian? It couldn't be good for a pregnant lady to be that upset. She was days away from her due date and could go into labour anytime soon. He could hear Kyoko coaching Haru through a breathing exercise. Tsuna had accidentally told his girlfriend about Lambo's situation when she had brought up Akira during one of their phone calls. In his defence, Tsuna was very sleepy that night and he wasn't exactly thinking straight, just focusing on the sound of her voice to help him drift off to sleep. When she commented that Lambo's boyfriend was absent all the time, he had blurted out that his younger brother and Akira were no longer together.

"Hey, Reborn," he whispered, "Why do you think Lambo didn't come to me about his problem? Am I not a reliable person to talk to? Do you think I'm being nosy if I want to find out why Akira and Lambo broke up?"

"Are you seriously asking me that question, Dame-Tsuna?"

"Huh? Is that a yes or a no- Hey, where are you going?"

"To my room, obviously."

With that, his tutor was gone and Tsuna was left staring out at the empty hallway. Reborn had a knack moving stealthily as demonstrated by how he managed to slip past the trio to go into the kitchen. Reborn had his own sound proof room down in the basement which was somehow even more ventilated than the entire house, thanks to Giannini.

As quietly as possible, Tsuna tiptoed up the stairs and headed to his room. He didn't want to eavesdrop on what was meant to be a private conversation. He plopped himself down onto his swivel chair and sighed. He took out his laptop from his bag, flexed his fingers and cracked his neck. He really needed help with drafting a letter to one of government officials in Italy but his tutor decided to abandon him on a whim. He fired a text off to Kyoko to let her know that he was back from the Vongola Headquarters and set to work. He could attempt to do a bit or risk getting his ass whooped by Reborn if he didn't at least try to write up a decent letter.


It had been a week since Lambo had last seen Akira. He reckoned it had everything to do with the third years being drilled by mocks tests and exams. His ex boyfriend was smart by default but even the top students were anxious about their final exams. Tsuna had pointed out that he was getting back to his normal laid back self. For one, it might be because Akira had stopped pestering him and he was busy helping Nana to plan for the Tsuna's and Reborn's birthday party. He was in a very happy mood because he loved parties and it was almost therapeutic to see a party he planned out coming to life. The process was stressful but the end result was very satisfying and he was now witnessing the fruits of his labour as their guests sat around the table and chit chatted with one another while eating. Tsuna was sitting in a corner with Kyoko, the two of them seemingly lost in their own world talking and laughing away. He smiled to himself as he watched them, his older brother finally got a well deserved break and he was free to spend it with Kyoko for all he wanted.

They had to cut the cake soon but Reborn was no where in sight and even after bombarding his phone with calls and texts messages, the hitman hadn't replied to anyone. Lambo had half a mind to ask Tsuna to just cut the cake without his tutor, although that would probably be a horrible thing to do because it was Reborn's birthday that day.

"Akira-kun! You made it! Come on in!"

Oh, great.

Just when Lambo thought he was free from all the ex boyfriend drama, the boy himself shows up to his house. He watched as Nana went up to the senior and led him inside the house. She turned to him and gestured for him to come over while Akira smirked at him from where he was standing. Those who knew of the breakup looked back and forth between the two ex boyfriends and Lambo could feel eyes on him as he made his way inside.

"Hey, babe," the older teen moved in to kiss Lambo on the cheek but the teen turned his face away.

"I saw him at the mall earlier this afternoon and invited him to come. Isn't it great that he could make it?" Nana grinned.

The star football player of Namimori High School flashed his winning smile at Nana, stating he would not miss her cooking for anything. Lambo resisted the urge to roll his eyes. That smile he was once enamoured with was now getting on his nerves and he was very tempted to wipe that smarmy look off his face.

"Well, Akira can't stay long that's for sure," he said instead.

"And that's why I packed some food for him to bring back home," chirped Nana.

"Can't say no to free food can I?" Nana and the senior shared a little laugh, the former being unaware of Lambo's growing annoyance.

"Lambo, why don't you walk your boyfriend out. He tells me you've been too busy to hang out with him."

Akira swung his arm around the teen's shoulders, "Yeah, babe, come on. Let's take a little walk."

If looks could kill, his ex boyfriend would definitely be six feet under with all the assortment of glares he was receiving as they made their way out.

Lambo glanced back at Tsuna who gave him a reassuring nod.

The two exes silently strolled along the path side by side. Lambo had gotten out of his seniors grip and kept a respectful distance away from him. It was just a few more minutes to the bus stop and they would be going their own separate ways. Nothing ever comes too easy because the brunet suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.

"Lambo, let's talk."

With a sigh, the black haired teen paused in his steps and turned around slowly, "Yare yare, what now?"

"Come on, baby, you've been ignoring my calls and texts and the only time I ever get to meet you is after school."

"Have you ever considered the fact that I don't want to talk to you?" questioned the younger teen.

The answer was probably no, because his ex was now looking at him with a disappointed face. Lambo knew better than to fall for that. The senior can feign innocence for all he wanted to but the truth was clear as day.

"Just give me one more chance, babe. I was really drunk and I didn't know what I was doing."

"You know, that's the go to excuse most cheaters tell their significant other, right?"

"It really didn't mean anything!" the senior protested.

"Strike two." the teen mumbled under his breath.

He could feel his temper rising again. It was the same old excuses and he was getting tired of repeating himself over and over again. Lambo figured that he better leave before he blew a street lamp, or ten because of his temper.

"Your bus is coming soon. Just go. And stay away from my Mama."

As Lambo turned to leave, he felt a strong grip on his forearm. Some people just cannot take the hint, "Let go."

"No! You won't listen to me and keep jumping to conclusions-"

"I said, let me go."

"-all on your own! I keep coming back don't I? If I don't care why would I bother?"

"Seriously, Akira, let me go!"

Trying to wrestle his way out of an athlete's grip was proving to be way more difficult than he thought it would be. Perhaps, he should have paid more attention to Gokudera during physical training. Times like this he wished he was somewhere more deserted so he could zap the living daylights out of his ex. The asshole was still ranting and his raised voice was starting to draw the attention of a few passerby. A little shock probably wouldn't hurt, he thought. Except that seemed to aggravate the senior even more. Damn it, the grip on his arm was getting more painful as he struggled.

Time to crank up the voltage.

"Lambo-nii, is this big brother giving you any trouble?"

Just as he was about to become a human taser, a familiar voice stopped him. Did all that pent up electricity fry his brain over the years or did the strongest hitman in the world just call him Lambo-nii?

"Oh, it's Fedora Boy! Don't worry your little head, kiddo. I'm just talking to your big brother over here."

While the young guardian was still reeling in from the shock, Akira had used the opportunity to sneak his arm around the teen's waist and kept him firmly in place by his side.

"Mama wants him back so we can cut the cake," said Reborn.

"Oh, it's your birthday too, isn't it. Happy birthday, kid! I got no presents but I hope you grow up to be as handsome as your brother here. Looking at you now, you might already be popular with girls at school though," the senior winked at the former Arcobaleno.

Akira had no idea. The hitman was forever turning heads of teenage girls and getting compliments from all the aunties. It was pretty hilarious because the hitman was probably used to more mature lovers and if older women actually noticed him, they would coo instead. Of course he was treated differently by those who knew of his mafia status.

If Lambo thought Reborn was glaring before back when he first met Akira at the barbeque party, he was definitely staring daggers at the brunet now.

"Right, go on babe, I'll see you tomorrow," Akira planted a peck on Lambo's cheek and let go of the black haired teen. With a small wave and shit eating grin, the senior jogged to bus stop and was just in time to catch the bus.

The two of them were left standing on the sidewalk as the bus drove off. Lambo eventually came back to his senses and and the first thing he did was to rub his cheek, wiping the feeling of his ex's kiss away.

"Stupid Cow, when are you going to stop fooling around," what was phrased like a question came out as a statement as the tutor turned on his heel and stalked down the road.

"For your information, I wasn't fooling around," the guardian pouted, "Hey, wait up!"

Lambo had to jog a bit to keep up with the brisk pace of the hitman. He tried to thank the hitman but was met with stony silence. The only one who acknowledged his presence was the chameleon perched on top of Reborn's shoulder. He sulked at Leon who was facing him and the reptile stuck his tongue out as if to say 'I know'.

As the two of them rounded the corner of the street, Lambo was pretty surprised to see I-Pin and Skull jogging up to them.

"Lambo! We were about to come get you!"

"Eh, Reborn-senpai! What are you doing here?"

Lambo gathered his friends into a tight hug. As he was taller than the both of them it was quite comical to see the shorter teens trying to get out the his grip.

"Oi, Lambo!"

"Don't mess up my hair!" Skull complained.

The guardian snorted, "What difference does it make? You already have a bad case of helmet hair!"

"Let's go, Leon, before we are associated with a bunch of idiots," he heard Reborn say as he left the three of them and went ahead.

The teen smiled at Reborn's retreating back, to think he even thought of cutting the cake without the hitman and the birthday boy himself had come to Lambo's rescue.

When Lambo and his friends rejoined the party, he did receive some worried glances from his older sisters and brothers but he flashed a bright smile their way and two thumbs up. He did not want a silly little problem to put a damper on their mood on such a joyous occasion. With good food and great cake courtesy of Nana, Haru and Kyoko, the party guests left in good spirits as the celebrations came to an end.


The night was still young and it found Lambo and his two friends down at a fast food restaurant where they could discuss the latest incident involving The Ex Boyfriend™.

Skull slurped his drink and burped out loud, earning disgusted looks from I-Pin. Lambo knew his sister was pretty wary of Skull because of his associations with the Carcassa famiglia. Tsuna too had warned him not to get too close to him because of the drug dealing side business the Carcassa were engaged in. Lambo was also banned from going clubbing till he was officially 18 which sucked, but his 18th birthday was just seven months away. He was a tiny bit disappointed because he wouldn't get to see the purple haired teen as often. Their friendship progressed to the point of texting buddies where they mostly complain about Reborn or send each other stupid memes. Skull also liked to give him updates of Akira if he happened to spot him at the clubs or bars.

Even though I-Pin seemed to have warmed up to the idea of Lambo and the former Cloud Arcobaleno being friends, she wasn't particularly comfortable. The purple haired teen was too much of a wild child for her and twice as annoying as Lambo. He hoped they could get along because he was starting to grow fond of the younger teen and if his best friend in the whole wide world didn't like him, he wouldn't know what to do.

"isn't your skin immune to electricity? How did it get bruised from someone holding your arm?" I-Pin asked as she inspected his bruised arm.

The teen pouted his best friend, "I don't literally have thick skin okay. Verde tried to explain it but my brain switched off. Besides, it was a really painful grip, you know. I zapped him but he got angrier instead," the guardian explained.

"The fucker has serious anger issues," stated Skull.

I-Pin hummed in agreement, she insisted that Akira was getting more bold with actions and Lambo should just put an end to it. The young guardian claimed that it was easier said than done because he just couldn't seem to push his ex away but he didn't want him back either. Maybe some part of him wanted the senior back but he didn't know if he still had feelings for him or if he simply missed the idea of them being a couple. He had so much fun with Akira, the senior had opened up many doors to him and helped him to discover himself. He was bloody well attracted to the senior and that was beyond his control.

Damn, teenage hormones.

"That stronzo does not deserve ya back! Unless ya do want him back and if that's the case, che cavolo!"

The non-Italian of the trio started giggling, "Did you just say 'what cabbage'?" .

"Don't mind him, l-Pin. He's really vulgar."

"Not as bad as you. After all that mess with Reborn-senpai, how the hell are ya still alive?"

Mentioning the former Sun Arcobaleno prompted the two to ask Lambo why he was walking back home with the hitman. They were baffled to hear that Reborn actually bothered to help Lambo and then wondered how he ended up near the bus stop in the first place. The teen had no idea why he was there but was grateful that Reborn had appeared.

"Maybe he decided to be nice cause it was his birthday," the guardian mused.


Back at home, while I-Pin went up to her room, Lambo decided to head to the kitchen instead. He had the habit of hanging out in the kitchen whenever he couldn't sleep. Even though it wasn't ideal to eat just before going to bed, he found that a warm cup of milk and a little snack usually helped whenever he was feeling restless. He rummaged the cupboards and loaded the toaster with the poptarts he found. While waiting, he sat by the dining table and stared out the window to watch the clouds go by. It wasn't long before his mind wandered back to the incident that happened earlier.

Tsuna used to describe Reborn as 'A wingless angel'. When Lambo was younger he used to think that Reborn and 'angel' in the same sentence was the most ridiculous thing he ever heard. 'More like the devil' he would counter back. His opinion of Reborn being a selfish, arrogant asshole was cemented since the day he met the hitman at the bar when he was five years old. The Bovino boss had told his five year old self about a super baby named Reborn. He sang praises and revered him with much respect. One day, Augusto had brought him along to one of his meetings with a promise of being able to meet this legendary Reborn. Lambo was determined to make the most powerful hitman in the world his friend but alas, the universe had very different plans and thus began the one sided rivalry between him and Reborn. When it came down to it, all Lambo wanted was the hitman to be his friend and even that seemed impossible even after 14 years.

The hitman never allowed anybody to get close to him except maybe Tsuna, but even the Vongola boss was sometimes kept at an arm's length.

The sound of the coffee machine starting up snapped Lambo back to reality. Speak of the devil and he appears. Standing with his back facing the guardian was Reborn himself.

"Oi, Reborn, what are you doing up?" he asked.

The hitman took his cup of coffee to the table and sat a few chairs away from the lightning guardian on the opposite side and scrolled through his phone.

"I'm making some poptarts to eat. Do you want some?"

More silence. Was it 'Ignore Lambo Day' or something?

"Listen, about today I just-"

"Save your breath, Stupid Cow. You should get your act together before you trouble Tsuna and the rest of the guardians."

Always straight to the point, Lambo thought.

Before the awkward silence took over again, Lambo decided to ask the hitman a question, "Hey, Reborn, what's the best way of getting rid of someone in your life besides the mafia way?"

The hitman slowly turned to look at him, "If I knew, you wouldn't be around right now," he deadpanned.

"Ouch," he exclaimed, in a mock-scandalized manner, "I just wanted a poptart and I am honestly feeling so attacked right now."

The teen felt a sense of accomplishment when Reborn sported a slightly amused smirk on his face. He couldn't help his own lips curling up into a smile. They didn't speak afterwards, with Reborn going back to using his phone. Lambo went back to staring out the window after he retrieved his poptarts from the toaster.

"If you're going to shake your leg, at least do it quietly."

Huh?

Oh, he hadn't even noticed. His rapid movements came to a halt. Now that he was consciously holding himself back from jiggling his leg, it seemed to put him on the edge even more. He crossed and uncrossed his legs, turned to the side and stretched them out, and even tried different positions to rest his legs comfortably.

"What," he heard the hitman say, "are you doing?"

He wish he knew as well, "Beats me, I'm trying to figure it out too."

He wondered if he could confide in the hitman in front of him. Reborn did good advice from time to time, so maybe he could help him out a little. The man had four girlfriends before, he was bound to know something useful.

"You probably don't care but since you helped me out tonight I guess I could tell you about some stuff."

The hitman's eyes shifted over to him, and Lambo took it as a signal to continue.

He started by telling the hitman about the incident that led to their breakup. They had gone out clubbing one night during the summer break when Lambo had ended work at the Vongola Headquarters. He actually didn't want to go but Akira insisted they go to relieve some stress. He happened to run into Skull and they had a little catch up session while Akira was off dancing with his friends. They had ended up discussing his cold war with Aunt Ottavia and that was when his boyfriend had staggered over to the where they were standing and kept urging Lambo to dance. He was clearly tipsy and high.

The one thing the teen learnt during his relationship was that his boyfriend really loved to party, especially if alcohol was involved. And when he did drink, he got more handsy and generous with public displays of affection.

"He was getting pretty touchy feely," the teen remembered the strong, pungent smell of alcohol in his boyfriend's breath.

"With Skull watching, I felt super embarrassed. I kept telling him to stop but he wouldn't listen. I accidentally used too much force to push him away and he stumbled backwards, almost losing his balance," Lambo could still picture the shock on his boyfriend's face slowly morphing into rage.

Lambo glanced at the hitman to see if he was still following what he was saying. Reborn was staring intently at him. The teen started to think that he had fallen asleep but then hitman blinked, indicating consciousness. The next part was difficult to say out loud because he couldn't believe it had happened either. His knee had started to bounce again.

"He started shouting at me about how his own boyfriend wouldn't kiss him and all," it was his first time witnessing Akira losing his temper.

He had heard the rumours here and there about the senior blowing his top off during football practice or friendly matches with other schools but never saw it for himself.

"I was scared shitless, okay, like who is this person was he possessed or something?"

They had started to attract a crowd and Lambo attempted to calm the senior down but the teen had aggressively shoved him off. He would have fell if Skull hadn't caught him. Akira must have realized what he had done because he suddenly looked remorseful.

"He was about to come back me, I was so sure of it but then this random fucker-" he cut himself off, already feeling the rush of emotions taking over.

He swallowed a lump in his throat, "I mean this random guy goes up to him and was all like 'I'd kiss you' and my boyfriend," Lambo pointed at himself, "starts making out with this complete stranger right in front of my very eyes.

"I was completely stunned and I couldn't bring myself to look away. People started catcalling and eventually Skull was the one who dragged me out." he let out a shaky breath.

It was all too much to remember and he closed his eyelids, willing himself to calm down. Just picturing it brought him back to that moment when he felt so betrayed and heartbroken.

"I remember squatting down and crying outside. I think one of Akira's friends came up to me but I was just too gone to give a fuck, you know.

So much for composure, the teen thought. A steady stream of tears was making their way down his face. He rubbed his eyes but it did not seem to stop the tears from flowing, "Just a while later," he sniffed, "I saw Akira and the stranger hail a cab and they left together."

The worst part of it all was that Akira had initiated the kiss and he clearly enjoyed it, moaning and feeling the guy up. He also denied sleeping with the guy but Lambo didn't buy it.

"Oi, get a grip before you cause a power outage."

Lambo looked directly above him to see the light had gone out. That was the fourth one the past month. It was a miracle Nana didn't question anyone about all the lightbulbs she had to replace. Something warm brushed against his hand and he felt something soft being slipped into his palm. Reborn had just given him a tissue. He wiped his face and blew his nose rather loudly. The guardian looked up and almost snickered at the sight of Reborn's disgusted face. Lambo knew he was not a pretty picture at that moment, with snot and tears.

The hitman spoke up after a brief moment of silence, "You like to avoid conflict and run crying as soon as something bad happens."

The guardian sulked, "You don't say," he grumbled under his breath.

He wanted relationship advice, not an analysis of his character and personality.

He was ignored as Reborn continued on, "He's getting impatient, he might turn violent and you should stop being a pushover. You have the balls to tell me to fuck off so tell that to him too."

The guardian blinked several times before he burst out laughing, "Are you going to remember that forever? You're so petty," he snorted.

"Lambo… And Reborn?"

That little episode with the light going out must have woken up his older brother. Tsuna had always been sensitive to the feelings of his guardians and their powers. Tsuna peered at at the two of them curiously as he drew near. It was a bit dark and probably a bit hard to see with just one light but his older brother managed to spot that he had been crying.

"What's going on? Why are you crying? Is everything alright? Reborn, you didn't bully Lambo did you?" Tsuna frowned at his tutor.

"Nothing of that sort. We were just talking," Lambo got up from his chair and and scooped his brother into a big hug, "Happy birthday, Tsuna-nii. I got a bomb ass present for you. Well, not bombs in a literal sense."

"Tch, I am going to bed. Good night."

"Hey, wait! Tanti auguri to you too, Reborn!" Lambo called out after the retreating hitman.

He could tell Tsuna was still puzzled about the bizarre situation he woke up to. Luckily for him, his older brother didn't comment on it because he was too busy being embarrassed from being hugged for so long. And when he finally went up to his room, he laid wide awake on his bed and thought about the hitman's words. It was basically the same thing I-Pin and Skull had advised him to do. Although he dreaded meeting him again, the next time they do cross paths, he wasn't going to back down easily. Reborn was right, if he had the balls to tell the strongest hitman in the world to fuck off, he could do it to a common football playing jock.


A/N: Finally! An interaction between Reborn and Lambo. Though it was mostly Lambo talking about his ex. What do you think?

Che cavolo - What the heck (Literally, what cabbage.)

Stronzo - Asshole

Tanti auguri - Best wishes