Author's notes: Triple upload!
Another day, another dollar. Tsuna woke to find himself warmly pressed between Snicker and the wall with their battery-powered alarm clock beeping softly in his ear. He absently smacked it to silence it before sitting up. He knew that he couldn't oversleep like he used to. If he did, then Snicker would and he'd lose his job. Their blanket was haphazardly tossed about them, but Snicker had managed to pile some of it up around his head for a pillow. He woke with the gentlest of shakes, snapping awake to defend himself like he was still living in his barrel instead of an attic. The moment he saw Tsuna, he smiled and relaxed in order to lightly doze while Tsuna got up to make their breakfast.
It was incredibly nice to have both breakfast and dinner every day. Tsuna took a lot of pleasure in knowing that he'd helped make it happen, too. Hot meals used to be a luxury, but they got it every day now. He knew that Snicker was still working harder than him, though. It was because of that reason that Tsuna optioned to do the morning cooking so that Snicker could rest a while longer. It didn't take long to make, though. Going over to their ice chest, he started pulling out the makings of their breakfast.
The half-carton of eggs that he'd bought the previous night at the store came out first. Those got scrambled in one of the pots in less than a minute and Tsuna shut off the propane flame the moment that they were cooked well enough to pass Snicker's inspection. Four slices of bread got pulled out of their supply, the staple that they'd started getting instead of rice. They ate a loaf a day between them, but that was perfectly fine since they were doing so well. The eggs got scraped out in order to make sandwiches and Tsuna made sure to get every last bit in the pot. They'd get a bit of meat for dinner, but they got fruit to go with breakfast. Tsuna got an orange today and Snicker took his normal banana.
"What time will Harold be here to get you?" Tsuna asked to make small talk.
"He's not coming today," Snicker answered around a bite of egg sandwich. "Got to take the bus today."
"You'll be cutting it close," Tsuna warned with a grimace, hurriedly finishing off his own sandwich so that he could set Snicker up with some water to bathe with.
"Boss is a good one," he replied with a small nod to himself. "I already warned him last night that I'd be taking the bus today and he said it was just fine with him. I got a feeling that Harold is getting tired of picking me up."
"I don't know why," Tsuna sighed as he got to work doling out the water. "It's on his way and you ride in the back. He never has to wait on you, either."
"Guess it's just the way of things," Snicker sighed. Tsuna nodded sadly, knowing it to be true. People didn't like giving handouts and no one wanted to do it on a regular basis. That was fine, though. Public transportation would get Snicker down to the factory within a few minutes of the start of his shift.
While Snicker cleaned up with the water and rag that Tsuna gave to him so that he wouldn't have to get up, he set to cleaning up after their breakfast. There wasn't much. The empty bread bag and the empty egg carton got put in the same sack that he'd used to bring it home in. The peelings from their fruit got tossed inside along with them. Both he and Snicker had stopped eating that part since Snicker had started worrying about pesticides on the skins.
Taking the bag outside, he tossed it into the dumpster. That done, he hid behind the dumpster long enough to urinate before retreating back up to their living space. He knew that it was far from legal, but no one would care as long as he wasn't caught. As it was, he knew that everyone in his particular building were still sleeping off hangovers. The rain would wash it away, too. He was used to it by now. Pissing in the alley was a hundred times better than forcing himself to go into a port-a-potty in the park when he had to go during the day. For the instances that he needed more than a few seconds to relieve himself, there was always the supermarket's bathrooms. They knew him enough by now that he'd been allowed to use their restroom several times.
By the time he got back upstairs, Snicker had already combed his hair back with water and had scrubbed his body clean. He was in the process of dressing in a new set of clothes for the day and Tsuna quietly snatched up the dirty set to be washed when they both ran out of clean sets. That wouldn't be until Friday, though. They always got washed on the same day that they got showers. Tsuna got to take a real shower at Gigi's before they went out and Snicker still went to Freddie's. For now, the clothes got folded neatly and placed in the stack of clothes that was next to their little dresser. Stacking them neatly kept even the dirty stuff in the room from seeming to be dirty.
By the time that Tsuna finished with that, Snicker was already standing in preparation to leave. Like always, he gave a long stretch the moment that he got to his feet in order to straighten out any kinks that he'd gotten during the night. As always, Tsuna took advantage of him raising his arms up to give him a quick hug of thanks for everything he did.
"Don't push yourself," Tsuna mumbled when Snicker lowered his arms back down. Tsuna grinned momentarily at the hand that ruffled his hair before letting Snicker go.
"Don't you go pushing yourself, either," he advised. Waiting for his nod of agreement, Snicker left with a smile in order to ensure that he got to the bus on time. As soon as he was gone, Tsuna set to doing his own preparation for the day. Pouring out the dregs of the water into the gutter outside the slow-moving ventilation fans, Tsuna quickly doled out his own in order to wash up. He made sure to get the cleanest parts first and slowly made his way to the dirtiest in order to ensure that he didn't just spread the worst part around on himself. After that, he used a bit of extra clean water to brush his teeth properly.
Then came the part that Tsuna hated, but knew that he had to do. He'd gotten the pinky again yesterday, so he had to work on his ring fingers today. Gigi had told him that Black X had been declared dead, but that didn't mean that bad things wouldn't happen if he was taken in by the police for some reason. The only way to ensure that he wasn't ever found was to destroy one of the only lingering piece of his old life that could be traced to him.
His fingerprints.
Pulling off the bandages of his ring fingers, he eyed the cuts from the previous week. Thankfully, they'd been deep enough this time. The time before last, it hadn't been and his print had come back just as clearly as before. He knew better now, though. It was better to suck it up and just cut deeply so that he'd be able to eventually stop cutting his fingers up. As it was, there were only a couple of scar lines on each of his fingers. He needed a lot more so that no one would ever be able to piece his old fingerprints out again.
In preparation, Tsuna took two of his painkillers along with some water. Then he pulled out his pocket knife and the small bottle of rubbing alcohol that Snicker had made him promise to use. A drop got put on his knife and a drop went on each of his fingers. It hurt. It hurt a lot the moment that the alcohol hit the cuts that were already there. It hurt so much that he started crying. It was okay to cry because he was alone and crying didn't stop him from doing what he knew that he had to do.
The moment that he finished, he slapped fresh band aids over them and laid down. He laid down for a good hour until the pain subsided in his hands. He always shook afterward, no matter how painless he made it for himself. He didn't really understand it, but he thought that he might have a phobia to blood. That thought always made him laugh, though. He could still remember what his future self had written in the summary reports of the things that he did. There was no way that he had a phobia to blood. It was just the pain. He had always run away from painful things before, so he was positive that the shaking had to be because he was forcing himself to go through pain.
As soon as he managed to stop crying and was able to ignore the pain again, he got back up to continue the day once more. There was no real rest for a guy like him. The first thing he did was to fold up his blanket so that the room wouldn't look as ragged. Then, pouring out the dirty water like he had Snicker's, he peeked out to see what the weather was like. It was sunny out today, which meant that he'd probably do well in the park. The rest of his preparation was done in a rush once he noticed that. He got dressed and pulled both his wool cap and a pair of tight work gloves into place instead of his fingerless ones. After that, he quickly crushed up a lump of charcoal to dust his face thoroughly with. Like always, he sneezed several times by the time he was done applying it. That was okay, though. A quick glance in the fragment of a mirror that he'd salvaged let him know that his face was covered well enough to suffice.
With a last glance around to ensure that everything was in order, he grabbed his satchel and headed out the door after ensuring that everything he needed for the day was inside. Like always, the hallways between the apartments in the building was empty. The one time that someone happened to pop out of their apartment, he gave a shy nod and a wave before continuing on his way.
He didn't waste any time in getting to the park. Setting himself up next to the main fountain, he gave a small wave to the other performers before starting. He had his satchel propped open with a hangar so that people could easily toss change inside. Like always, he started out by simply leaning on air and drinking a cup of imaginary coffee. There was no point in putting himself out until people started walking through. By the same token, he couldn't simply start when he saw them, either. He had to have some sort of starting point and drinking a cup of coffee was as good as any.
Thankfully, the rush started to come through before he'd been there more than ten minutes. He got a lot of curious looks at first, but he waited for the perfect chance to pass by. And she did. Grinning widely, Tsuna craned his neck downward to follow the trail of a buxom brunette that looked at him while she passed. When he leaned forward to get a better angle, he jerked like he'd hit something. Several people watched him curiously while he tested the invisible wall that he'd bumped against. Laying down his invisible drink on an invisible table, he continued the routine in order to get even more attention. After all, mimes were recognized immediately for the whole stuck-in-a-box act.
It was embarrassing and cliché, but he did it anyway. He did it because of the change that was tossed into his bag in appreciation. Making himself a door, he walked through it to get out of his box, receiving a lot of amused chuckles and even a little applause for those that had paused to watch him. By now, the park was teeming with people who were walking around or were enjoying a quick lunch outside of their offices. Those people were more than willing to toss the leftover change from their lunch to him in order to get entertained and he was more than willing to embarrass himself for it.
After the mime-in-a-box routine, he pulled out another that he'd taught himself from watching the mime across town for a day. Pulling out an invisible fishing pole, he tried to snag a passerby that kept glancing at him without stopping. Of course, the passerby didn't stop then, either, but it allowed Tsuna to pretend that he was getting dragged. He got another round of applause when he acted out his line breaking and everything. Fishing again snagged him a person that was willing to play along.
Expressive expressions got him what words probably couldn't have. He stared with wide eyes at the guy that had stopped when he noticed Tsuna being 'dragged' behind him. Tsuna reeled in his line quickly, once more pretending that it was taunt. Almost as if he was pulling in a big one. Of course, for him, it was a big one. If the guy was willing to stop and play along, he'd probably be willing to toss him a buck, too. Tsuna continued the play for several minutes until the man finally walked all the way up to him with laughter on his face. When he got there, Tsuna showed him off to the people watching like he was a prized catch.
The rain of coins made him giddy in happiness. Encouraged by his success, he decided to pull out another favorite. Miming that he had a rope, he handed one end to the 'prized catch' and walked a few feet away. Turning with a flourish, the man looked at him in confusion until Tsuna started tugging on the rope with a manner that suggested he was having a hard time. The man instantly got the picture and started playing invisible tug-of-war with him. Tsuna did everything he could. First he tried pulling hand-over-hand, but got yanked forward by a good tug from the guy. Then he tried pulling it over his shoulder and digging his feet in. He saw the guy tug again out of the corner of his eye and flew backward in order to get another round of applause. Pretending to spit on his hands, he grabbed the invisible rope and gave a good, hard yank.
The man playfully ran forward a few steps in his own attempt at miming. Tsuna ignored him, raising his arms in victory like he'd just won an award for winning. More dollars and coins rained down in appreciation before Tsuna turned to present his helper with an invisible gift in thanks. The man took it with a laugh and put it in his pocket before reaching into his pocket to pull out his own gift of appreciation for Tsuna's work. Tsuna took it, propping out his hip and making both shocked and grateful expressions until the man left with a small wave.
Continuing his act, Tsuna mimed everything he's seen the mime across town do. He also did a few of his own, such as following people around and imitating them when the crowd started to disperse. No matter what their reactions were to being followed, Tsuna had prepared reactions of his own to their reactions. Curious looks got considering looks. Startled looks got startled acts. Angry outbursts got tearful plays. Typically, even if the person that was being followed didn't toss him money, someone else who was watching did. It wasn't anything that he could get in trouble for, either, since he didn't leave the area around the fountain. It was only harassment if he kept doing it after being asked to stop.
Sadly, he got a few of those, too.
By the time that lunch rush was over and the park had died down to only the other performers and a few random people, Tsuna figured that he still had plenty of time to go dumpster diving before his other job. For that, though, he needed to go back toward the residential side of town. Not the down-scale residential side, either. He needed to go to the upscale side where people didn't know worth if it bit them on the ass. Most of those places had their dumpsters in fenced-in areas that were only accessible to the residents, but there were a few places that he knew that didn't.
Since he didn't have a bus pass, he walked three blocks to the nearest subway station and used a bit of his change to get on. His charcoal-covered face got a lot of strange looks, but he ignored them. A lot stranger things were seen in the city at times. Along the way, he reached in and counted his money out under the cover of his bag. He grimaced a bit at the outcome, but it was still better than what he'd made begging. Seven dollars and thirty two cents, not including the bus token that he hadn't noticed before. Oh well. He could use the token for getting back home.
Two stops later, he jumped off onto the platform behind a man in a business suit and a woman with more makeup on than a clown. He sometimes found it amazing what people wasted money on now. The woman would look a hundred times better with her natural face and the man's suit looked like it had more starch on it than Tsuna had eaten in a month. Ignoring them, he headed for the stairs that led back up to topside. The moment that he reached daylight, he ducked into an alley. This was very close to the rich and snotty part of town. The part of town where people like him were questioned regularly by cops.
As long as he stayed in the alleys, though, the cops wouldn't see him. Those guys tended to stay in their cars and go along the main roads. As long as Tsuna wasn't in plain sight, he'd be safe. Well, from them at least. Taking the alley road meant that he had to be more careful about the other dangers. Dangers such as those worse off than himself. There were a few that stuck to this side of town predominately and they didn't take it lightly when they caught someone going through what was theirs.
Which was why Tsuna hid in the first dumpster he came across. Jumping inside after ensuring that the coast was clear, he hid himself in one of the front corners. For once, his small size did him a favor since he was completely out of view that way. He still had to keep an ear out for anyone sneaking up, but he could search for salvageable treasures in near safety. Dumping out a bag that wasn't full of rotten food, he started grabbing every can that he saw while he picked through in hopes of finding something of value. Bags that were obviously full of kitchen discards was left alone and tossed into the corner away from him. The other bags got picked through in curiosity for what he could find.
He was nearly dancing in place in joy when he found a stack of outdated video games. While the idiot that had tossed them out probably thought they were worthless, he knew better. The cartridges all got tossed into his satchel without a second thought, followed by the controller that was bagged up with them. Then he found the reason that the games had been tossed. The console to play them was in pieces. From the looks of it, someone's parent or significant other had taken a bat to it. Since the console had been destroyed, the games had lost value in the eyes of the owner. They were useless without a console.
Idiots.
Tsuna could care less. Someone else's loss was his gain and he'd just gained over twenty bucks worth of goods. Then he found a leather jacket that looked to be in near new condition. The zipper was busted, but that was the only thing wrong with it. Tsuna tied that one around his waist with full intent to clean it and use it for himself when the weather got cold again. It was a little big, but not so much that it would make him look silly. He didn't even have to roll up the sleeves on it.
Then Tsuna came to a bag of what looked to be broken and discarded toys. Seeing that told him that he'd been lucky enough to come upon the remains of someone's Spring cleaning. The bag got grabbed in entirety, but not as something that he planned to sell. Instead, he planned to hand it over to Gigi. Gigi would know where the poor kids went to get toys. Even if one of the action figures was missing an arm or a doll didn't have clothes, it was still more than most of them got. Their parents would be too prideful to accept it as charity, but they were more than willing to buy it for a nickel or a dime. The only problem was that thrift stores that had toys usually didn't have much in the way of toys. People bought new most of the time if they had money and turned it to trash when it wasn't any good anymore.
Waste.
The city was full of wasteful people. The world was full of wasteful people. That was fine, though. Wasteful people meant that he had more opportunities to make money. Peeking out of the dumpster, he ensured that he was still alone before lifting himself out. Months of doing that very thing had strengthened his arms enough that he could get himself in and out unaided. The moment he was back on the ground, he grabbed up his spoils and headed back for the subway. He'd gotten lucky today by finding something of worth in the first dumpster. Normally, he had to go through three or four before finding anything. The two dozen cans that he'd gotten would be enough to make Kaleb happy, too.
He got several funny looks on his train ride, but he ignored them. People brought things that were a lot scarier than trash with them. The ride only took five minutes, after which Tsuna jumped off. Going up the exit stairs, he quickly walked down the sidewalk while glancing down alleyways for his friend. Six blocks later, he saw Kaleb digging through a trashcan next to a supermarket in hopes that a case of sodas had burst. Kaleb looked up with his normal, wild-eye stare that softened only slightly when he saw that it was Tsuna approaching. Not a word was spoken as Tsuna handed over the bag of cans he'd collected. Kaleb accepted them, giving only a shrug to say that he'd not found anything of worth today.
That done, Tsuna headed back down the street in order to drop off the toys with Gigi before stopping in at his and Snicker's place to wash his face clean. He'd tried working at the airport without washing his mime mask off, but several people had been openly scared at his approach. It was better to have a clean face with a band aid on it than have a dirty complexion. He could make much more innocent expressions, too, which made him more approachable when people needed help.
In no time at all, he was exiting back out of his home after drinking two large cups of water to sustain him. There were signs of activity going on in the apartments as he passed through the hall between them, but no one was really coming out yet. He knew that by the time he finished his stint at the airport and returned, they'd be crossing between each other's apartments like it was a huge dormitory. Everyone in his apartment building knew each other. Him and Snicker were the only exception to the building being rented out in completion to Mike's girls. Considering that Mike took a cut of their profits for setting their dates up, it was in his best interest to protect his assets by giving them a cheap and safe place to live, too.
By the time he got to the airport, the five o'clock jet from Paris was just landing. Hurriedly, he checked to see what time tomorrow had any international flights before heading back out to take up his post by the already waiting cabs. Waving to Felmir, he leaned against the guy's cab to talk and lit a cigarette while he waited for people to start exiting the station.
"Any live ones today?" He asked curiously.
"You have no idea," Felmir replied instantly, sipping on a cup of hot coffee that he had in his cup-holder. "I had this lady earlier that just had me drive in circles while she told me a sob story about her fucking boyfriend that dumped her for a pair of twins. I told her, 'Lady, I hate to tell you, but I'd take twins over a single girl any day'. She looked at me like I'd just slapped her like I was supposed to tell her that he was a bastard. She got pissed and said that she'd call my boss, but I told her 'Lady. Go ahead and call him. He'll just tell you the same fucking thing. I don't mind chit-chat, but I don't get paid to be a councilor. You want someone to tell you that it'll be alright, then go hire a therapist.'"
"Ouch," Tsuna grimaced, taking a long drag off of his first cigarette for the day. Taking a moment to enjoy it, he propelled himself off of Felmir's cab at the first sign of people coming out of the airport. His deal with the cab drivers was simple. Get the people in their cars rather than the rival service. Most people were moving too quickly and were darting for cabs on their own, so there was nothing that Tsuna could do about them. What he focused on was the slow-moving people who looked somewhat disoriented.
Surprise was always the initial reaction when he approached someone. He worked quickly, though. A bright smile and keeping his hands where the target could see them allowed him to get their ear for the time it took to find out if he could help them. A few people brushed him off instantly, thinking he was simply looking for a handout. The ones that allowed him to help were surprised when he turned down offers of gratitude money. French seemed to be the language of the day. Almost all of the people that he was able to approach knew English, but it was a surprising comfort for them to get to speak their native language in America. A few people wanted to continue speaking English and Tsuna spoke it with them as they wanted, giving small corrections that wouldn't get people upset.
For every person that he escorted to one of 'his' cab cars, the driver handed him a five before driving off. In a lot of cases, the five wasn't just for getting the people in their car. It was for loading their luggage, translating addresses, and other random pieces of aid. Considering how long it took to help one person, he was only able to help five in the course of an hour. In Tsuna's eyes, though, it wasn't that bad. Twenty dollars for an hour of work wasn't bad at all. Of course, on days like today, five was a good amount. Especially considering that some days didn't have a single international flight scheduled to land. On those days, Tsuna didn't even bother coming since there was less chance for his particular skills to come into play. Such was the problem with a city big enough to boast two airports.
Checking the time on one of the clocks on the front of the airport, Tsuna grimaced in realization that he'd ran over his normal time again. He hurriedly helped out a sixth person in order to accept his last five and wave goodbye. He'd have to run to make it to Georgie on time.
He ran, not wanting to explain to Snicker about why they'd missed out on free food again. Georgie was already packing up by the time he got there with the sun setting down the street. Georgie raised an eyebrow at him, but smiled in understanding over Tsuna's look of apology.
"No worries, Suoh," Georgie laughed. "The rush lasted a bit longer today. I was just starting to head out."
"I know," he grimaced. "But I know that you like us here early so that you know that we're coming."
"Is Snicker coming today?" He asked curiously as he put the lid on the leftover chili in his cart. Tsuna shook his head, knowing that if Snicker wasn't there before him then he was probably too tired from work to come.
"He probably won't be able to make it anymore," Tsuna explained while he quickly covered and stowed the toppings for the hotdogs. "He got a job down at the refrigerator factory. He's usually getting off right about now, so he heads home if he's too tired. I hope it's okay if I come alone."
"No problem," Georgie soothed when Tsuna let his worry show. "You work pretty fast on your own and I understand if Snicker's pulling shifts down there. I'm glad that he was able to find a place."
"He had to call in a few favors," Tsuna replied, lowering the umbrella on the stand while Georgie started releasing the brakes on the cart's wheels. "Right now, he's only on trial. They said that if he works hard enough, his position will be confirmed in three months. He can't join a union or get insurance until then, but they're still paying him really good."
"That's good to hear," Georgie sighed. Tsuna smiled at him for a moment in appreciation for his kind words before taking over on pushing the cart toward the parking garage. He wasn't able to go as fast as Snicker could since he didn't have anyone making sure that it didn't tip on one side, but they still made it in good time. Georgie didn't seem displeased with the speed, but that might have just been because he didn't have to push it. Either way, he seemed more than willing to hand over a small bag of his leftovers before driving off.
Tucking the bag into his satchel for safe-keeping, Tsuna headed out of the garage and toward a nearby market. It was one that had kicked them out previously, but Tsuna had weaseled into letting him back in. The first thing he did upon reaching it was to use their bathroom since he'd been in too big of a hurry to use the airport's. After that, he grabbed a basket and made the same route around the place that he made every day. First, to get the fruit for the morning and a bag of pre-mixed salad for dinner. Deciding on a box of macaroni and cheese instead of chili, he headed there next. After that, he grabbed up a loaf of whole wheat bread and then a half gallon of milk to go with dinner. The half-carton of eggs for breakfast was the last thing he grabbed before heading toward the front to pay for it all.
"No chili tonight?" Becca asked with a wrinkled smile.
"I figured that we could use a change of pace," Tsuna replied easily. "And we haven't had anything cheesy in a while, so Snicker might like macaroni."
"You're such a dear with how you think about your friend like that," she chuckled while she continued ringing up his supplies. "Do you need another bag of ice?"
"As always," he answered with a nod. Taking a deep breathe over the price for it all, Tsuna handed over the money out of his day's earnings. Then, with a small nod of appreciation over how she'd bagged everything together so that nothing would get smashed, he grabbed a bag of ice out of the freezer at the front before leaving. Using the bus token that he'd gotten with his mime earnings, he jumped on a bus to save his already-abused legs from even more walking. He only got to sit for ten minutes, though, before his stop came up and he had to walk another two blocks to make it home. In all honesty, he could have probably walked it faster since the traffic was crazy, but sitting down for once felt nice.
Dashing up the steps, he avoided appreciative and playful grabs at him where he could. The girls were crossing between apartments like it was a dormitory and very few bothered to put on more than undergarments first. A few didn't even bother with that. It was the same gauntlet that he ran every night, though, and one that made the wearisome nature of the day instantly disappear. He was stopped numerous times for the girls to use him to blot their lipstick instead of toilet paper. There were several grabs of invitation, as well, that Tsuna knew he wouldn't be able to take. He'd have to come earlier than now if he wanted to satisfy those kinds of cravings.
Then he caught sight of Autumn, one of the few to already be fully dressed. All it took was a glimpse to make all the perverted thoughts in his head come to an abrupt stop. He still couldn't forget what he'd done to her. He'd forced a kiss on her and she probably despised him now. He didn't have the right to talk to her. To look at her. To even breathe the same air as her. Before she could come out and see what the growing chaos was all about, he extricated himself so that he could retreat up to their attic living space. Several of the girls seemed disappointed, but they quickly returned to what they'd been doing before he even got the stairwell door closed behind him.
Quickly hurrying up the stairs, he grimaced when he saw that Snicker had already fallen asleep. He tended to do that when Tsuna took too long. Tsuna let him sleep and quietly set down the groceries. Grabbing up the ice chest, he retreated back down the stairs in order to borrow Cassandra's sink. It was only a minute's work and the cost of a kiss to empty out the melted ice before he was allowed to go back up into the attic again. Once there, he set to emptying the ice into the chest and storing breakfast away inside.
As soon as he finished with that and had the milk on ice, as well, he pulled off his gloves and stowed his satchel next to the dresser. It only took another moment to pull off his sweaty shirt and pants in order to pile it with the rest of his dirty clothes. Snicker wasn't perverted and he didn't plan to go out again until morning. That meant that he could cook dinner without being overwhelmed by the heat in the place.
The macaroni got made first, after which Tsuna pulled out the free hotdogs that they'd gotten and cut them up to add to the pot. He figured that Snicker would appreciate being able to eat it all at once and the hot dogs would get reheated from the hot macaroni. Once it was done being mixed, he pulled out the bread and salad mix. Holding back four pieces, he pulled out the milk from the chest before laying the rest out on top of the ice chest. Sliding the whole thing over next to where Snicker was sleeping, he grabbed up their pots and put them on the floor before reaching over to shake Snicker awake.
"Come on, Snicker," he urged gently. "You've got to eat before you sleep."
"Hunch?" Snicker murmured, lurching wide awake in an instant. "Suoh?"
"It's me," he soothed with a soft smile. "I made dinner."
"I must have nodded off again. Is that macaroni I smell?" He asked, rubbing his eyes while Tsuna helped him sit up. Tsuna nodded and handed him his pot so that he knew that he didn't have to get up. He took it willingly, using the blanket to keep himself from getting burned. "Is that milk?" He asked curiously while he scooped up a bite with a slice of bread.
"It sure is," Tsuna confirmed, handing the whole jug over. "I got salad, too. I know how you are about us having the green stuff."
"Arogito," Snicker replied with a wide grin.
"Arigato," Tsuna corrected with a chuckle in return. "You're getting better, though. You didn't try to say 'I'll kick your ass' this time."
"Bah," he scoffed. "I shouldn't be trying to learn how to speak Japanese anyway. How was your day?"
"The usual," he sighed.
"Still no sign of those guys?" Snicker asked with a raised eyebrow, not needing to specify who he was speaking about since it was something that they both knew. 'Those guys' meant both the people that Tsuna was running from and the underground fighter that Tsuna had beat.
"Nope," he answered, digging into his own meal with a suddenly ravenous appetite. "Everything was still all-clear. After I paid for dinner, I think I made a total of fifteen dollars today. I'll add it to our savings before we go to bed."
"You know that you don't have to work. Right, Suoh?" Snicker commented quietly. "You just being here is enough for me and the factory is paying enough that we'll be in an apartment as soon as I get my first check."
"I know," he lied with a smile for Snicker's nightly assurances. "But it makes me feel better if I'm helping out, too. I know that we still have enough savings to last until your first check, but there's no reason to spend it if we don't have to. I'd rather pay for our meals than be a burden while you're working so hard. Plus, the more extra money that I make now, the faster that we can start having luxuries like other people. You should be able to come home and take a hot shower and relax on a nice mattress after working so hard. If I help out, then we can have those things faster."
"I won't argue," he sighed around a bite of cheese-covered salad sandwich. "A hot shower and a mattress sounds like heaven. You know, I would never have let myself dream of such things six months ago. It's nice to have you around, Suoh. You make me hopeful again."
"It's not hope," he corrected firmly. "It's a promise. As long as we keep working together, we don't ever have to go back out on the streets, Snicker. We'll have a home. A real one instead of a borrowed one."
"You're too good to me," he mumbled with a grin. Tsuna shrugged shyly and set to cleaning his pot with his last piece of bread, leaving Snicker to do the same to his own. The moment that they were clean, he put them back on the propane-powered camp stove. Then, leaving Snicker to finish off the salad, he took liberties in finishing off the milk while he pulled the ice chest back over to its normal spot against the wall. Gathering up the trash, he stowed it away in the bag that he'd the groceries brought home in and put the bag to the side to be taken down to the dumpster with the breakfast trash. Once that was done, he helped Snicker with his boots and the other items of clothing that he didn't sleep in. His socks and shirt both got folded up to be placed with the rest of their dirty clothes while he kept his pants on for propriety.
His chores for the night complete, Tsuna sat with Snicker and chatted for a bit about his work at the factory while they smoked an after-dinner cigarette together. Like always, the butt was put out and stowed to be recycled into a new one when they ran out. Leaning over, Tsuna pulled out his earnings from the day and counted it out before supplying the exact number to Snicker. That got put in with the baggie of cash that was stowed and hidden behind the bottom drawer of their dresser. Put together with their savings from his lucky punch and his savings from a full weekend of working as Black X, they almost had fifteen hundred dollars saved up. Plenty of money for a down payment on an apartment once Snicker had the money for the rent.
Satisfied that they were making progress, Tsuna smiled in the knowledge that the weekend wasn't that far ahead. Another weekend of impersonation could put them even farther ahead. Far enough ahead that they could think about the down payment on getting electricity. Putting the money back in hiding, he replaced the drawer before crawling up into his normal spot on their small mattress next to Snicker. True night had fallen while they'd eaten, but they were both used to seeing merely by the small amount of moonlight that came through the ventilation fan at the end of the attic.
Snicker didn't even notice his presence as he crawled between him and the wall, having already passed back out while Tsuna was dealing with the cash. Nuzzling his gold pillow, he smiled widely at the feeling of Snicker automatically cuddling up against his back. Snicker would probably berate himself if he knew that he did that every night, but Tsuna didn't mind. He wasn't doing it out of lust. He was doing it because it felt nice to not be alone. They didn't have to be romantic together to appreciate that and take comfort in the fact that they had each other.
Completely content, Tsuna drifted off to sleep in hopes that his dreams would be full of steaks and gold.