It had been three days. As long and as grueling as they'd been for both her and her family, Nana couldn't really complain too much. She had hated seeing everyone so sad, and hated that she was the cause of it. But the whole house had perked up after a phone call and the fluffy brunet who said he was her son had knelt down in front of her and told her that it was all only temporary. To say she was relieved was an understatement.
The next day, when she woke up in the unfamiliar bed and looked around in confusion, she decided to observe. Just in case they were wrong… she was hoping that learning about the chaotic goings on in this place would help her remember on her own.
She learned quite a few things in the past three days. She'd discovered that she automatically listened to her own intuition about people. Call it an inner voice, a woman's intuition, or simply an innate ability to read people; she learned quickly enough to rely on it. The people that her son considered friends and family were… eclectic to say the least. Why in the world had she allowed all these people around?
First was the baby that spoke with the authority of an adult. He had reintroduced himself as Reborn, Tsuna's home tutor. She had stared at him for a minute; surely she had heard wrong. But as she looked into his dark eyes, eyes that had no right being that serious, or compassionate in a one-year-old's face, she nodded. There was much more to him than a home tutor. But she could trust him. She was proven correct over the course of the day as she watched him. The boys all treated him with respect, and she watched and heard him rally them back up when they started to flag. He was no infant, that's for sure… but she trusted him.
The next group of chaos she observed were the three teenage boys that seemed to make it their job to take care of her. There was her son, Tsunayoshi ("Tsu-kun, kaasan, remember?"). He was such a gentle creature, and she could honestly tell herself that she was proud of that fact. He never yelled in anger, though a couple screams of fright and concern could be heard from one end of the house to the other. He was rarely without a smile on his face. But when he was serious… his eyes were cool and calm and his voice was soothing. When that soft, even tone came out, everyone in the house snapped to his bidding, no questions asked. She pondered that for a bit, but could come up with no logical reasoning behind it.
The silver-haired teen who introduced himself as Gokudera ("Maa, Dera… his name's Hayato, Sawada-san.") was another mystery. He was so… antagonistic with everyone but Tsuna, Reborn, and herself. She was a little put off by him at first, until she watched him yell at the taller boy for messing up the laundry. Despite his apparent anger, he didn't storm away. He called him a baseball idiot and took the clothes himself. But when the tall boy followed him, he didn't say a word; and his voice was almost calm as he explained (maybe a little too much) where the mistake was made. When he caught her watching them, he blushed a bit and shoved the basket at the raven-haired boy, stalking out; but not before she caught the ghost of a smile on his lips. He came off as grumpy and bellicose… but in his own way, he was a teacher and truly cared about the people around him – even if he didn't want them to know it.
The tall boy ("Yamamoto Takeshi, Sawada-san! It's nice to meet you… again! Ha ha.") was fairly easy to figure out. He seemed to make it his life's work to make things easier for everyone else. After watching him for a day, she ventured out of her own comfort zone to rest a hand on his arm and remind him quietly to take some time for himself too. He had looked down at her with a slightly dazed expression, his smile shrinking just a little. She took his hand, walked him outside and sat with him on the back porch. It didn't take long before his head was on her shoulder and he was shaking with silent tears. She wrapped her arms around him, stroking his back. A movement at her back drew her gaze and she saw Hayato and Tsuna standing there, watching silently. After a moment, the two nodded and turned away, though she watched Hayato turn back for a second before they disappeared into the house. When Takeshi's tears slowed and she handed him a handkerchief, he gave her a dazzling smile and kissed her cheek. She reminded herself to let Tsuna know that the gentle boy needed some sort of stress relief… it wasn't good to carry his own pain and everyone else's.
She also noticed that the three boys were almost inseparable. If Takeshi was in the kitchen cooking, Hayato was seated at the table with a pair of glasses perched on his nose, absorbed in Tsuna's laptop. Tsuna would generally be working on homework or studying as he sat across from the silver-haired boy. If Tsuna wandered to the living room after a meal, the other two were quick to follow, settling lanky limbs on the floor and starting a heated debate about what they should watch. And whenever Hayato walked outside for a cigarette (a habit Nana was very much so hoping to break him of), Takeshi and Tsuna would be right behind him, the taller boy complaining that Dera was poisoning himself with those things. The extent of their companionship didn't really hit her until she got up in the middle of the night and saw a light on downstairs. She started to make her way down, but leaned back in the shadows as a sleepy Hayato shuffled past her, not even noticing her presence. With silent footsteps (somehow, her body remembered where every creak in the floorboards was and she avoided them naturally), she followed, wondering what exactly was going on. They did have school in the morning…
"Oi, yakyuubaka, what're you doing up?" Hayato's voice was husky with sleep and an attempt to be quiet. Nana stood back in the shadows so she could observe without being seen.
Takeshi lifted his head from the table where'd he'd been absently staring at a glass of milk. "Couldn't sleep. Didn't wanna wake anyone." He gave a small smile and stretched.
"Idiot… First of all, sitting in a cold kitchen isn't gonna help anything…" He grabbed the milk from the table, not bothering to hide his shudder. "Ugh… and this isn't gonna help either."
"Aww, Dera, c'mon… don't waste it." Takeshi reached out a hand to take the glass back, but for once, Hayato was quicker than him.
"Che, it should go to waste… nasty crap." As he was talking, he dumped the glass of milk into a small saucepan and added more milk in. After adding a little bit of sugar and cinnamon, he turned the heat on and stirred carefully.
Tsuna slipped past Nana, saying nothing though they exchanged a quick glance. He walked into the kitchen and settled opposite of Takeshi, yawning slightly. "I got the cards." He handed the pack to Takeshi, who deftly started shuffling them. Hayato came over a few minutes later, carrying three mugs. Straight warm milk for Takeshi and hot chocolate for himself and Tsuna. He looked at Takeshi and motioned to the cards. "You gonna deal or play by yourself?"
"Ha ha, yeah…" Nimble fingers quickly dealt out poker hands and the boys entertained themselves for a while, until Takeshi leaned his head on his hand, eyelids drifting shut.
"Hayato, help him back to bed. I'll clean up." Nana hid farther back in the shadows, letting the boys pass without seeing her. A few minutes later, Tsuna's voice called out quietly. "You can come in, you know. It's your kitchen, after all." His voice, though tired, was amused.
Nana walked in, watching him rinse out the mugs and pick the cards up. "Do you do this often?"
"Eh, not 'often' per se. Often enough that we have 'roles' I guess… Hayato has bad insomnia… he used to 'cure' it by sleeping outside my window, until I caught him. I called Takeshi over that night and we played cards until it was time to get ready for school." He chuckled softly, embarrassed. "You sure were surprised to see them 'at the door' so early… I don't think you realized that they literally just walked from the back door to the front." He plopped back down at the table and she followed suit, tilting her head. "Takeshi doesn't have issues often, but generally it's nightmares for him. He always tries to just pass them off, but…" He shrugged, resting his head on his hand. "I've known about them for a while. Whenever I thought they might be a problem, Hayato and I would stay over at his place, or I'd have him stay here. Tonight was a Takeshi night." Tsuna sighed and scratched the back of his head.
"What about you, Tsun… Tsu-kun?" She couldn't help the smile that spread across her face in response to the bright grin that dawned on his. "What happens when you can't sleep?"
He blushed brightly, ducking his head. She could tell he was really hoping she wouldn't ask that… it was kinda weird, but… "They… we kinda end up sleeping together." He stole a glance at her, taking a deep, calming breath at the lack of judgment on her face. "I know it's kinda strange, but… well… It's hard to explain, but… I guess I've gotten used to them being around, and to people in general being around… so it doesn't feel weird for them to stay with me." He sighed again. "Having them here all the time… I thought it would wear everyone out, ya know? Hayato's always bickering with everyone and Takeshi doesn't ever seem to take anything seriously… but I haven't felt so comfortable." He stood, pulling her to her feet. "C'mon… it's late and you should be resting."
"Tsu-kun… are you in trouble?" She could feel the heaviness in his step, and he'd shared probably more than he'd intended to. She wrapped an arm around his waist as they walked back upstairs.
"Ie, not in trouble. Just worried. About you, about Yamamoto-san… even about Iemitsu unfortunately. As pissed as I am at him and as out of line as he was… I probably could have done things differently." He let his head rest on her shoulder, and she enjoyed the companionable quiet between them. Bianchi had already informed her about what had happened, and she knew that her gentle son would eventually regret the violence he'd met his father with. Her arm tightened around his waist. Despite her lack of real memories, it was almost instinctual to comfort all of the children who ran amok in her home.
"Tsu-kun, you did what you thought needed done. Sometimes mistakes are made in the heat of the moment, but if we spend our time looking backwards, we'll miss all the wonderful things happening right in front of us." She kissed his forehead, smiling at him. "The present is what matters, Tsu-kun. The past is over and the future will sort itself out. Live for the now, and enjoy the time that you have with your loved ones."
He nodded, smiling brightly and giving her a hug. "You're right, Kaa-san. Anyway, get back to bed. You shouldn't be worrying about me right now." He kissed her cheek with a laugh and a gentle push towards her room.
As she slid back into bed, she smiled herself. When he really smiled, it was beautiful. She had no idea that his smile was one of the best things he'd gotten from her.
Tsuyoshi sat back to admire his work and nodded. The sushi trays were ready to go in the basket right before he left in the morning, the wine was chilling and the wicker basket was packed with all the non-perishable snacks and the place settings. A thick blanket sat in easy reach. All that was left to do was grab the flowers in the morning and pick Nana up. He was excited, and nervous, and couldn't believe that his palms were sweating like a 16 year old taking out his first date.
This would be amazing. He was sure of it. Everything was planned, everything was ready… he walked up to his room, flopped on the bed….. and stared at the ceiling until the sun's rays peeked in his window.
AN: SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG! *hearts* To clarify, Bianchi told her a 'non-mafia' version of what happened, sans Flames. Nana doesn't know anything about the Flames, so she wouldn't think it strange. :) Hope you enjoy, and as always, reviews = love. :D