I'm am sooooooo sorry to everyone who reviewed. I usually try to reply to everyone, even if you only dropped an 'update soon' in my review box. But I am moving right now and it was impossible to get another chapter out, and reply. I hope you understand, as soon as things settle down again I'll get back to my usual routine of replying to reviews.
Never think I don't appreciate the time you put into a review, even if it's one word. They make my life so happy. So please accept this apology.
Definition of Family
Four years old: Temper, temper with Mama Lal
Lal was not excited, not in the least. Of course not.
Colonello thought differently of course as he watched his fiancé all but fidget around the apartment. He chuckled under his breath as he finished buttoning his khaki shirt. His belt was still undone, and his bandana was around his neck, but he was more interested in watching Lal fiddle while getting her boots on and checking her watch one more time than usual.
"Lal, lil' Tune isn't going to go anywhere, Kora." He laughed as he moved behind Lal and wrapped his arms around her waist. "No need to get so excited, love."
He watched with a grin as Lal's face grew redder by the second, and when she began spluttering he could only chuckle again.
"Who's excited, you fool?!" She exclaimed "I'm not excited to see some brat."
Her face was still red though. "Mhmm, that's why you've missed a button on your shirt, kora." he hummed as he reached forward and fixed the buttons, much to Lal's embarrassment.
After he finished fixing his fiancé's mistake Colonello chuckled again and placed a chaste kiss on Lal's –still red, isn't she adorable –cheek before tightening his belt and grabbing the keys to their shared hummer.
"I'm off to train some brats, Lal. Give lil' Tune a big hug and a kiss from me; tell him Papa will see him on his next day off, kora."
As the door clicked close Lal sighed, she was still blushing and she knew it. But that didn't matter, she was going to be spending a day with her little boy and yes, damnit, she was looking forward to it.
So sighing under her breathe and grabbing the keys to the family car she also shared with Colonello –as well as two sports cars and three different motorcycles –she left her apartment to pick Tsunayoshi up from that stupid scientist's laboratory, where the boy had been for the past three days.
"Mama!" Lal didn't even bother to smother the smile that warmed her face when she spied her little boy running towards her.
She had just arrived at Verde's public laboratory and as soon as the steel doors had opened the little brunet had charged at his Mama with a giant grin on his face. "Hey there brat," Lal near enough cooed as she scooped the excited boy into her arms. "Were you a good boy for Verde?"
"Un! I was!" he grinned.
Lal smiled gently again before turning to said scientist who had just walked out from the room she assumed Tsuna had been in. He was smiling softly too, even if it didn't reach his face Lal could see it in Verde's eyes.
"Was he here alone this time?" She asked shifting as Tsuna cuddled into her hair. She had grown it out in the past few years and now it reached her mid-back.
"No, I have a few of the children from Bovino and Millfiore who are showing positive mechanical skills. Tsunayoshi wasn't alone this time." Verde's voice was as cold as usual, but there was that pleasing tilt to it when he spoke of Tsunayoshi and the other children he helped teach.
Deny it all he liked, Verde loved teaching children because they took an honest interest and learnt the fastest.
Lal nodded, happy to hear that. Tsunayoshi had been left alone a lot lately, and last time he was alone with Verde for more than a few hours he came back giggling about explosions and a really frustrated Verde; it was always better that Tsunayoshi have company more than a few robots and chemicals. Bad –'No mama, they're pretty!' –things happened when Tsunayoshi got a hold of chemicals and electronics.
"That's good." She hummed, shifting Tsuna a little, "Well I'll take off then, say goodbye to Verde, Tsuna."
"Bye Papa! See you 'ater." Verde smiled back and waved to Tsuna as the boy exited through the hydraulic doors, and Verde couldn't help but keep smiling all the way back into the 'classroom' set up for the other children.
Tsuna charged into Lal and Colonello's apartment as soon as Lal unlocked the door, his grin was huge as he entered the living room.
"I'm home, Papa!" he called out happily. But there was no reply.
Now, Tsuna did have hyper intuition, but at only four it hadn't yet manifested itself in a coherent way; instead Tsuna was able to 'feel' people he loved or who were safe, when they were around him. He grew sad when he realised that his papa wasn't anywhere in the house.
"No Papa?" Tsuna asked, looking up at Lal with sad eyes.
"No, your Papa is training the brats today. It's just you and me, kiddo." Lal smiled a little.
Tsuna looked at her for a moment before breaking out into a big, unrestrained smile, all teeth and giggles. "Just Mama and me!" He laughed.
"Yup. So what do you want to do?" Lal asked as she moved to put Tsuna's bags in his room. She noted in the back of her mind that she'd need to put a load of laundry on later, because Tsuna only had two days' worth of clean clothing left. "We are going to train later this afternoon before your Papa gets home, so it's your choice until then.
Tsuna's face broke into a huge grin and he attached himself to Lal's leg. "I wanna paint, and build a castle, and can you show me your gun again and can we-!"
Lal smiled as she listened to her little boy babble about everything he wanted to do. She smiled and nodded walking around the boy's room to pick up a few of the games he wanted to play. As she held the box of blocks that Colonello had made she grinned to herself, planning her own gift for Tsuna's birthday that was just around the corner.
"That's a lot of stuff to do this morning; you sure you can do it all, brat?"
"Of course, Mama! 'Cause I'm strong like Mama!"
Lal stretched as she stood from the floor, bending her arm back behind her as she did. "Alright, brat. It's time to clean up this mess, it's time for training."
"No." Tsuna started coolly, staring straight into Lal's blue eyes.
"What did you say, brat?"
"Said, no." Tsuna was adamant about this, he stomped his foot and tried to glare up at his mama. "I don't wanna brush my teeth or clean up my toys."
Approaching her ward, the woman crouched down, leveling her dark eyes with the child trying to figure out where the heck this had come from. "I thought you wanted to come train with me? The deal was that you had to clean up your toys and brush your teeth, Tsunayoshi." She explained, "Do you not want to come now?"
"I am coming with you, Mama. But I dun wanna do those things."
"Then you aren't coming."
"I wanna!" Tsunayoshi threw his fists to his sides and started to stamp his feet, repeating the childish mantra over and over again. Tears started to gather in his eyes and his wails became more demanding and less coherent as they did.
"Brat." Lal intoned a little harshly, "I'm not going to listen to you if you throw a tantrum."
"I dun wanna clean my toys. Can't make me!" he shouted, but Lal heard a suspicious tremor in his voice.
"Oh? Alright, then you can go sit in your room while I go to training." Lal stood to go get changed, hoping that Tsuna would get over whatever silly little thing made him bust out.
She was really worried though, because in all his four years Tsuna had never had an outburst before. He had some kind of demonic or saintly patience, he could work through problems other children would just scream at and throw themselves at the floor. Tsuna was always so controlled that for him to suddenly throw this kind of tantrum was an unnerving change that she had no prior warning to.
"NO!" suddenly Tsuna had charged at her legs, linking to them and tightening his arms until they were pinching the skin of her knee. "Don't leave. Don't leave. Please, don't leave."
He kept chanting, and suddenly Lal noticed the gut-clenching tremor in his voice; Tsuna was sobbing. It wasn't even the kind when he was surprised and couldn't control himself, nor was it the crocodile tears he occasionally let loose because he just didn't know what else to do.
These were god-damned injured tears. Lal knew damn well that Tsuna wasn't injured, so he was physically or emotionally in pain for some reason.
"Tsuna." Lal hummed as she picked the child up into arms. He clung to her immediately, with a strength that showed his training, but a desperation that made her chest hurt. "What's wrong? You don't usually act like this, Tsunayoshi; you aren't a brat."
Tsuna was still sobbing near hysterically, but as usual he kept his voice down; it was part of his training to learn to silence his emotions; but never ignore them. He squeezed Lal's neck, trying to synthesise himself with the woman it would seem.
"Tsunayoshi, you need to talk to me." She was beginning to worry now, her voice not even as usual.
"….leaving me!" he sobbed out. "Ev'ryone." he cried.
"What are you talking about?" Lal moved over to the couch where Colonello had left the blanket from their room. She wrapped it around herself and her son, hoping the familiar smell of both his parents would help.
Hoping.
"Ev'ryone is leaving me! Papa-Reborn, Papa-Xan, Mamma-Mammon; they were all too busy for me!" He sobbed, "Even Papa-Verde didn't want to look after me!"
Lal's eyes widened as she listened to her child sob, because she knew that not one of those people disliked looking after Tsuna, but she understood that they were busy. Vongola was powerful and so were each one of Tsuna's parents, it was natural for them to not be able to care for Tsuna all the time.
Lal would have to have a word with them all if Tsuna was becoming this insecure.
"You know that's not true, Tsuna." She cooed, bouncing Tsuna a little. "We are all busy yes, but none of us. None. Of. Us. Are leaving you anytime soon. We all love you Tsuna. I love you."
"W'at about Haha and Chichi-ue?" Tsuna sniffled, couching out the names in a cold kind of indifference. "They say they love me and th'n they leave; they left again a while ago."
Lal startled a little, and then her arms tightened around Tsuna, bringing the blanket closer around the both of them as she tried to hide her fury.
Tsuna never. Never. Called them by their Japanese names, the only ones he called 'Haha' and 'Chichi-ue' were Iemitsu and Nana, and even then it was cold and emotionless; those names never held much love, and instead held a kind of confusion.
"They saw me before Papa-Verde, and they got mad when I didn't call them Oka-san an' Otou-san…but they aren't my Mama and Papa! They never visit me, and they're always leavin'!" Tsuna choked out as the tears started again. "If they's s'ppsed to be my Mama and Papa, that means all my Mamas and Papas are gonna leave too!"
Tsuna's sobs which had cooled themselves down as he was speaking, and once the blanket had wrapped him up comfortable began again as Tsuna worked himself up. Lal tightened her grip on Tsuna and rocked him, for once at a loss for words.
It took her much longer than she wanted to admit to calm herself enough to comfort her child.
"Iemitsu and Nana are your biological parents, Tsuna. They gave birth to you and they're right, they are your Oka-san and your Otou-san." Lal began, feeling a little sick at having to try and explain this. "But I am your Mama, and Colonello is your Papa. Reborn, Verde, even Xanxus; they're all your papa too."
"So….eve'yone's gonna to leave too? You too, Mama?!" Tsuna asked, pushing himself off Lal's chest to look into her eyes. "Otou-san said that Papas and Mamas are supposed to be there; but they aren't. I don't want you ta go Mama-Lal!"
Lal kissed Tsuna's cheek, and then kissed away the tears making tracks down his face. "I'm not going anywhere, sweetheart. I'm not going anywhere; your Papa isn't going anywhere. Even if all your other Mama and Papa's leave; Colonello and I won't."
"Promise?"
"I promise with all my heart." Lal smiled sadly, because she never would have imagined that she'd ever have to explain this to Tsuna, not with all the love he received.
"Love you, Mama." Tsuna finally sighed, exhausted from all the pent-up emotional stress. His eyes closed, but his arms never loosened from Lal's neck, and her steady heartbeat slowly sent him to sleep against Lal's chest.
Lal ignored the fact that it was still the afternoon and she had missed training. She ignored the fact that Tsuna hadn't napped in at least a year. She ignored the fact that her shirt was damp and that Tsuna had her hair in his clenched hands.
Rage was burning inside her; she could ignore everything else.
That bastard of a father had gone and hurt her child. That bitch of a mother wasn't any better.
Lal wanted to go beat some sense into the man; but another part of her wanted to leave it be, just in case the biological parents suddenly decided to take Tsunayoshi away from her. Lal wanted Tsuna happy, but Lal was selfish enough to know that she wouldn't cope too well if the boy suddenly disappeared to God-knows-where with his biological parents.
"Well damn." she sighed. "You've got me tied right around your little fingers, don't you Tsuna?"
When Colonello walked into his house the usual loud greeting died on his lips as he felt the flames diffused in the air. He wasn't a great tracker, and he wasn't usually able to sense the aura of someone's flames; only when those flames were extremely pure or the emotions within them were extremely strong.
Or when they were Tsunayoshi's.
So when he entered his home, happy that Tsunayoshi would be spending the week with them, he hadn't expected to be hit by a wall of distressed sky-flames, nor was he expecting his own core to jump erratically at the mere thought of his son being so upset by something. Damnit that was his son and he'd be damned is he let some bastard upset his baby.
"Why was Tsuna crying?" Lal raised her eyebrow as her lover walked in with a frown on his lips and anger in his eyes. She was impressed though, because Colonello wasn't a tracker, but he was reading Tsuna's flames perfectly.
"Iemitsu opened his big mouth."Lal answered, the unasked 'when did he see Tsuna?' in Colonello's eyes had Lal sighing. "From what I can tell he was in the mansion last week."
Colonello nodded before sitting beside Lal and gently rubbing Tsuna's back in tender circles. "What did the bastard say this time; Tsuna wasn't this upset last time he arrived in the mansion."
"Pfft, that's because Tsuna was only two and a half, he wouldn't understand then." Lal scoffed, Iemitsu had been back since then but it wasn't really long enough to upset Tsuna because it was a pop-in-pop-out kind of visit. "He told Tsuna what a 'father' does and confused the poor brat.
"Confused him?"
"Tsuna was convinced that because Nana and Iemitsu are always coming and going that we would leave too; because we're always coming and going." Lal's tone was serious, and she was impressed and vindictively happy to see Colonello's harden and a sadistic gleam –which she knew had something to do with rubber bullets, his sniper rifle, and placed the sun don't shine –because it thrilled her to see him so protective of a child she wished with all her heart was actually, biologically, theirs.
"We need to have some words with Iemitsu then." Colonello snarled, reaching to hold Tsunayoshi close before he did something stupid and irrevocable.
"You're taking your sniper rifle?" Lal smiled softly, she shouldn't be so happy with her fiancé threatening bodily harm on her boss.
"You better fucking believe I am."
Later that evening when Tsuna woke up and both him and his parents were calmed down and had laughed, Lal sat Tsuna on her lap and looked directly into his eyes.
"Now really, Tsuna. Where did you learn that throwing a tantrum like that would get you anywhere? You know how your other Papas would react to that." Lal chastised.
Tsuna took on a light blush as he looked at his feet, "Some of the older kids that Papa-Verde was looking after weren't getting the attention they wanted…so they rolled on the ground an' screamed." Tsuna looked up, "But I didn't think that was right…but I didn't want you to leave."
Lal could see Tsuna try to hold back his tears, because he was not yet sure that Lal wasn't lying, he wasn't sure that all his Mamas and Papas wouldn't just up and leave him.
He was only four and he was doing the best he could.
"It's alright, Tune." Colonello placated, kissing Tsuna's cheek. "Sometimes you can't control your temper, that's normal."
"But," Lal started in a light reprimand, "you can always talk to us alright. You don't have to resort to throwing your temper around if you want our attention."
Tsuna looked up into the faces of his Mama and Papa and smiled his huge, light-up-the-room grin and nodded. His eyes were filled with love, and both Colonello and Lal had to smile softly at him when he hugged them both.
"Alright, I won't do to again. I love you Mama, Papa."
"We love you too, Tsuna."
Suddenly baby screaming echoed through the traditional, Chinese home. The only other occupant opened his eyes suddenly, having been in a state between sleep and awake, before making his way towards the back bedroom where the child was sleeping.
Kneeling before the low-railed crib, the man smiled gently at the crying baby and picked him up. "Now now, what has got you so upset, young one?"
Even within the man's grasp the child continued to cry, and a frown appeared on the man's delicate features. He stood and started to rock the baby, gently singing in the hopes it would calm the small child.
Reborn had said that it worked.
Just as the man become frustrated at himself for not being able to calm the child, a roar echoed through his house and the room lit up in a flash of light. Rain suddenly pelted the windows and the child let out another unhappy screaming cry.
Then the baby stopped crying and was looking up at him with curious, but happy eyes.
"Oh my, looks like you don't like the storm."
*grins* So…did you enjoy the little CoLal in the beginning? Aren't they adorable?!
Now you may not understand why Tsuna is so upset about Nana and Iemitsu appearing and leaving especially since –here –they didn't say or do anything out of line, but young children often confuse true intentions/meanings/actions because they are young and don't have the same logical thinking…that and I just wanted to get you guys ready for some biological-parent bashing later on!
So here's your clue for the next chapter: Six months old: Storms aren't always scary with…
I hope to see you next time, I hope you enjoyed and please do review,
~~Bleach-ed-Na-tsu :3