-persona timida-

After a decent night's sleep, a good breakfast, and a quality cup of coffee, Sawada Tsunayoshi was more than prepared for work. Tsuna was seated behind his oak desk, coffee mug in one hand and ink pen in the other. Finally, he could get some work done. At least, work that didn't involve the murder case Dino and his precinct shoved at him four months ago. Okay, maybe that was a little harsh. Tsuna had offered his help of his own free will, of course. Though, he really hadn't expected this.

And then Chrome had all but begged him for a personal favor. His personal assistant had scared the life out of him with her near waterworks. He would have done anything for her to keep from crying, so when she asked him to save her brother, he jumped at the task. Never mind that he had no idea Chrome even had a brother. Not that it mattered, because the relieved smile Chrome gave him could have rivaled the sun. And then she opened the door and called her brother into the office. Tsuna blanched. God, what would she have done if he had even thought about saying no? He really didn't want to think about it.

And really, he didn't have to. When Chrome's brother stepped into the office, all of Tsuna's thoughts died. A tall, slender man stood before him. He could almost be Chrome's twin, if not for the height and darker, bluer tone of his hair. The brunette couldn't help but stare; the man, with his lithe frame and heterochromatic eyes, was entrancing. Idly, Tsuna wondered if Chrome's eyes would match, if she removed her eye patch. He'd never ask, though.

"You must be the 'Boss' I hear such fond words of." The brother smiled. It gave Tsuna goose bumps.

"Fond words?" Tsuna gave Chrome a sidelong glance. She fidgeted, smiling sheepishly. "I've apparently been a terrible 'boss' if my employees are talking fondly about me when I can't hear them."

Chrome covered her mouth, stifling a giggle.

"Really now?" the brother asked, tilting his head. "I find it hard to believe you're anything but, Boss."

"… Sawada Tsunayoshi." The brunette puffed his cheeks. "Tsuna, if you prefer. But please, anything but 'Boss'."

"Tsunayoshi, then. Mukuro." 'Mukuro' gave a theatric bow. Tsuna rolled his eyes – he thought he saw Chrome stifle another giggle.

"…Mukuro." Tsuna pursed his lips. "What exactly does Chrome want me to do for you?"

"Clear my name."

And that was when Tsuna's life spiraled into chaos.

-x-

"Good morning, Boss," a soft voice lilted into the office. The owner followed suit, a shy and frail-looking woman. "Did you sleep well?"

Tsuna nearly jumped at the sudden, unexpected intrustion. He smiled when he saw the woman's face. "Chrome, good morning. Yes, I did, thank you. The coffee is wonderful, by the way."

"I'm glad…" Chrome lingered by the entrance.

"You can come all the way in, you know." Tsuna leaned back in his seat, watching her with an arched eyebrow.

"I know, but…" Chrome shifted from one foot to the other. "But I don't wish to disturb Boss…"

"Chrome…" Tsuna sighed, putting his mug and pen down to rub at his temples. "You never disturb me, Chrome. Really, I think you're the reason I haven't thrown myself into traffic yet – you and your brother."

A giggle. Tsuna's lips quirked into a smile. "Boss is very dramatic this morning. Perhaps Brother is rubbing off on you?"

"I think he might be doing a bit more than tha—" Tsuna puffed his cheeks. "That isn't repeatable."

Chrome covered her mouth, stifling another giggle. Tsuna stumbled like that often, but never in such a manner. No one had suspected that Mukuro would command so much of Tsuna's attention. Tsuna attributed it to the urgency of the case. Others attributed it to attraction to the alleged criminal. Alleged.

Everyone in Tsuna's office was on Mukuro's side, to varying degrees. Tsuna did everything he could to help, willingly throwing himself into headache after headache. Gokudera, who had returned to Italy with Tsuna, grumbled and complained about having to help such a "creepy guy" but he did what he could, as well, though mostly for Tsuna's sake.

Yamamoto, who also came to Italy with Tsuna, genuinely liked Mukuro, and wanted him to stay around – he made Tsuna smile, and he was a great drinking buddy. So that was why he helped. He also sort of served as security for the brunette, so whatever he could do to ease Tsuna's headaches, he did, much like Gokudera.

Dino, not part of Tsuna's office, was fond of the bluette typically because it was fairly easy to get a reaction out of him. Also, he wanted to clear Mukuro's name because he knew an innocent guy when he saw one. And while Mukuro's morals weren't exactly innocent, the man himself was. At least, innocent of any violent crime. Hibari, Dino's partner, hated the man. They were constantly at odds, so he never visited Tsuna's office-slash-estate unless he absolutely had to, but he also knew an innocent man when he saw one.

Mukuro, it seemed, was really the only one who questioned his own innocence. Night after night of endless nightmares in gory detail of each murder committed started to take its toll on him. He stopped denying his guilt, and Tsuna was left to tell him, almost daily, "You didn't do any of it."

Tsuna sighed heavily, rubbing his temple with one hand, and marking up a document with the other.

"Boss…?" Chrome asked, hesitating.

Tsuna blinked, looking up at the woman from his desk. "Yes, Chrome?"

"…Is something wrong…?"

"No," Tsuna smiled and shook his head. "I'm okay, Chrome, thank you. I'm just… Worried."

"… I'm sorry, Boss…" Chrome shifted nervously. "Because of me…"

"Don't be, Chrome." Tsuna offered her another smile. "I would do anything for you – you and your brother. You've taken fantastic care of me and the rest of my staff. Helping your brother is the least I can do, Chrome, and I'll do whatever I can. I just hope it's enough. I'm an editor, not an investigator. Not like Dino-san and Hibari-san. I'm still not entirely sure why Dino-san requested my help."

Chrome bit her lip, eye darting from her boss to the door she came in from. "… Boss?"

"Oh, sorry," Tsuna apologized, smiling sheepishly. "I didn't mean to go on like that. I'm sorry – I will do everything I can for Mukuro, I promise you that."

Chrome smiled, nodded. "I understand, but please, please… Take care of yourself, Boss. Brother told you, you can't take care of him – of us – if you don't take care of yourself."

Tsuna's smile softened and warmed. Chrome was a godsend to him. She was really the one that held him together – all of them, really. Despite her timid nature, she could be firm when necessary, almost parental. Helping clear Mukuro's name was the least he could do for everything that she's done for him.

The brunette closed his eyes and lowered his head. "I'm sorry for making you worry, Chrome. Ah—do you have anything for me?"

He gestured to the leather folio clutched against Chrome's chest. He prayed it was some kind of breakthrough – for the case, or at the very least, for the client he was working for.

"Oh, uhm." Chrome shifted, tiptoeing toward Tsuna's desk. "Your client sent in a revised draft and requested that you verify his research. A-And H-Hibari stopped by with a case file."

Tsuna groaned at the mention of Hibari's name. The man got a kick out of making Chrome jump. He probably snuck up on her. "Another?"

"Y-yes, he…" Chrome handed Tsuna the folio. "He said to call him if you found anything. Then he left."

"I really wish he would come see me instead of terrorizing you and my staff." Tsuna pinched the bridge of his nose. "There isn't much I can do about him, Chrome, I'm sorry. I can tell Dino-san about his latest scare, if you like?"

"N-No, it's okay." Chrome shook her head, smiling sheepishly. "I… Expect it from him."

"And yet he still manages to sneak up on you." Tsuna paused, eyeing his assistant. "…You let him do it, don't you?"

Chrome shrugged, looking anywhere but at Tsuna. He sighed, smiling. "You can be a terrifying woman, Chrome."

A sheepish smile graced her lips, but she still didn't meet his gaze. He, on the other hand, had distracted himself with the files that Chrome brought him.

AN: And here is where I leave you.

I'm sorry this took so long. I found myself swamped with end-of-semester assignments. I'm still trying to make my way through the sludge of college finals hhhh

I hope you've enjoyed. uvu

As always, your reviews, favorites, ecc. all mean a lot to me c: