Within the days that had passed, no one seemed to have heard again from Hibari. Tsuna could respect this, believing the skylark just wanted to be alone for a while until his injuries healed and he could reflect more on what had happened. It hurt him to know that the Prefect was alone now, but he could only hope the older male would have started trusting him enough to eventually come back to his home, if only for a few minutes – Hibari deserved all the love and comfort he could get after everything he had been put through.
"Gah, you stupid fucking – back the fuck off!"
"Now, now, Gokudera."
Tsuna, who had been looking at his phone as he walked with his friends, looked up at Gokudera's outburst and Yamamoto's attempt to soothe him. He wasn't sure what had happened, but everyone seemed to have stopped walking. Mukuro had his usual playful smirk on his face as his heterochromatic eyes shone with amusement, Gokudera was getting in his face as he pulled the older male closer by the front of his shirt, and Yamamoto was trying to pull them apart.
"Guys, what happened?" Tsuna looked down as he felt a tiny hand slip itself into his; Fran was watching the scene with an emotionless gaze, his head cocked slightly to the side.
"This stupid pineapple bastard –"
"Excuse me?" Mukuro narrowed his eyes, annoyance crossing his features.
"- poked me!" As if he were absolutely outraged that someone could poke him, Gokudera turned to growl at the blue-haired teenager. "Don't touch me again, you asshole!"
Tsuna frowned as he rubbed at his head, knowing that Gokudera was another guardian the illusionist didn't get along with; it seemed Mukuro had a habit of annoying those he knew he could get a bite out of. "Mukuro-san… Gokudera-kun gets upset easily, so please don't antagonise him; he didn't do anything to you today, did he?"
"Oya oya." Mukuro's smile widened as he shook his head. "Hayato is subtle in the way he treats me; it seems he doesn't want to be near me as if he believes I carry a most horrible disease – he refuses to come near me at all. I thought that maybe I should share my 'disease' with him and see how he likes it."
"Mukuro doesn't have diseases, Gokudera!" Yamamoto laughed, patting the illusionist on the shoulder as if to prove his point. "I touch him all the time, so he's fine."
Tsuna heard Gokudera mutter something under his breath that sounded a lot like a discriminatory slur. However, instead of pulling the Storm Guardian up on it, he instead stuck to defending Mukuro; Yamamoto couldn't have taken offence to something he didn't understand, after all.
"Gokudera-kun, while Mukuro-san is with us, please show him more respect; he's our friend, and deserves to be treated as one."
Mukuro blinked in surprise, having never heard the brunet to refer to him as a 'friend' before. He had believed that was what they were, but part of him was almost too afraid to ask if that was the case; he didn't think he would be able to handle it if Tsuna denied it – despite the uncaring façade the illusionist hid behind, he was easily hurt by others' actions, and he didn't want to feel as if his trust had been betrayed once again; that was one of the most painful things one could experience.
"Yeah, we're friends, Gokudera." Yamamoto was as sweet as ever.
Tsuna didn't like the uneasy look on Gokudera's face; he knew the taller male didn't trust easily, and there was, of course, bad blood between he and Mukuro – the brunet would most definitely have to try and explain to his friend that Mukuro needed them to be kind to him and to teach the illusionist how to socialise properly; it was no secret the Mist Guardian really didn't know how to be around others.
Mukuro chewed at his lip as he stepped forward, gently prying Fran's hand from Tsuna's. He grabbed the boy beneath the arms, lifting him from the ground in order to carry him away from the group.
"Mukuro-san?" Tsuna worried he may have accidentally upset the older male, or crossed a line he hadn't known existed; it was almost scary to see the illusionist walking off, his hair blowing softly with the breeze. "Where are you going?"
The tallest male turned to look over his shoulder as Fran wrapped his arms around his neck. "We're going to get lunch. I'm sure Fran is hungry. We'll meet you there later."
Tsuna wondered if that truly was the other's intention; they had been planning to spend the day together, and lunch had already been discussed – so why was Mukuro suddenly leaving the group like this? Was he going to come back?
I really hope we didn't offend him when we said he was our friend… Shaking his head, Tsuna could only trust that the other would come back.
"Why are we leaving, Master?" Further down the street, Fran rested his apple illusion against Mukuro's chest, having been rather content staying with the other group. "Are we really going to have lunch?"
"No, Fran." Shaking his head, Mukuro started explaining. "I just… need to clear my thoughts before I go back."
"Why? Because they said you're their friend?" Tiny fingers patted a pale cheek as emerald orbs stared into heterochromatic ones. "Master must be stupid if he needs to clear his mind over that."
Mukuro frowned at the boy, hating how snarky he could be. "Why do you say that…?"
"Because friends are supposed to be a good thing. Master has Ken and Chikusa, so why are you being stupid because of a few more?"
"You wouldn't get it even if I explained it, Fran."
"Master is scared of being alone, I know that. You just don't trust people very much. Master needs all the friends he can get." Nodding to himself, Fran made himself more comfortable in the teenager's arms. "Then maybe Master will stop crying at night."
"…" With a sigh, Mukuro resigned himself to the fact that he had taken in a brat that was far too perceptive for a seven-year-old. He really had his work cut out for him.
~~XX~~
It had been a few hours since Mukuro had disappeared, and Tsuna worried about him; he really wanted the illusionist to join them so that the older male could learn to trust them and have fun, but instead, the other had left for seemingly no reason.
I really hope we didn't offend him… Running his fingers through his brunet locks, Tsuna sighed to himself. I just… don't see how we could have offended him by saying he was our friend…
"Tsunayoshi…"
Tsuna looked up at Mukuro's voice, finding the teenager standing behind him. He smiled brightly as he patted the grass next to him, inviting the older to sit down. "Mukuro-san, you did come back."
Mukuro sat, nursing Fran in his lap as the boy slept peacefully. He shrugged. "Yes, Tsunayoshi. Where are the other two?"
Tsuna pointed over to the baseball nets ahead, Yamamoto's unmistakable figure swinging at balls that looked to be travelling at a very fast pace. "Yamamoto wanted to do a bit of baseball, and Gokudera-kun went off to find a drink stand for us."
Mukuro nodded, patting Fran's apple illusion. He shifted closer to the younger, their arms brushing against each other slightly. "I see."
"I didn't… offend you or anything, did I…?" A look of concern crossed Tsuna's face as he reached out, putting a gentle hand on the taller male's shoulder. "Calling you our friend… That didn't upset you, did it…?"
The illusionist shook his head. "It was just a tad confronting is all, Tsunayoshi; I am not used to having… friends… Ken and Chikusa… We were together right from the start… We went through the same things, so… I guess we never needed to talk about our bonds before… It's something we've never thought about; we just… knew, I guess."
"I can get that." Tsuna wished his friend didn't have to suffer as much as he had, but there was nothing he could do to change the past; he could only try and help as best he could.
It was silent between them for a few minutes as the two watched Yamamoto's progress in the batting cage. Neither of them needed to speak; just soaking in the warmth of comfort.
It was Mukuro who made the first move.
Tsuna had been daydreaming pleasantly, only to be snapped out of his thoughts as he felt an arm wrap around his side. He blinked, finding that Mukuro was leaning close to him, slowly embracing the younger in what seemed to be a wary manner.
"Mukuro-san…?" Tsuna didn't move, respecting the fact that he may startle the other if he did. "What's wrong?"
The Mist Guardian bit his lip, stilling in his movements. "I just… wanted to see what it felt like to hug you… I apologise; I should have asked, Tsunayoshi."
Tsuna reached out, stopping his friend when Mukuro tried to pull away. He smiled as he shook his head, returning the arms back around his sides. "Don't apologise, Mukuro-san; you can hug me if you want – I don't mind."
"Are you sure…?" There was doubt in heterochromatic eyes, and the brunet could only wonder if there was self-loathing in Mukuro's mind – it would certainly explain a lot, after all.
"Of course, Mukuro-san." As if to prove his point, Tsuna wrapped his own arms around Mukuro, holding the older close to him. He felt the skinny body in his arms freeze for a few seconds before it relaxed ever-so-slightly, tense as the illusionist returned the embrace.
The Mist Guardian had never felt so warm before. He felt safe in this hug, as if everything he had ever been through had no power over him in this moment. He dropped his cheek onto the top of the brunet's head, closing his eyes as he relaxed a bit more. "Tsunayoshi…"
Neither of them moved, both greatly enjoying this moment in time. In fact, they were both so occupied, neither of them noticed the footsteps approaching them.
"Tenth, I got you a – Tenth!"
The two Vongola guardians broke apart as if they had been burned, spinning around to look at Gokudera. The Storm Guardian had a horrified look on his face before it slowly changed to anger, the silver-haired male moving to stand in between them as he shielded the brunet from Mukuro's touch.
"How dare you defile the Tenth with your filthy hands, you bastard!" Gokudera roared, dropping the cans he had been carrying over in favour of reaching for some of his bombs. "The Tenth should never be touched by someone as disgusting as you!"
"Gokudera-kun, that's enough!" Tsuna found himself ordering; as much as he loved his puppy-like friend, he wasn't going to stand by and let him treat Mukuro as if he were vermin who had no right being within one-hundred feet of the brunet. "I know you don't like Mukuro-san, and I respect that! I don't ask anything more from you except to treat him with some decency, but you can't even listen to me, Gokudera-kun! Mukuro-san has just as much right to be this close to me as you, or any of the others do! Just because you don't like it, doesn't give you the right to talk to him like this!"
Mukuro just stared in shocked silence, having never had someone stand up for him like this. He wrapped an arm around Fran's waist as the boy stirred at the commotion, emerald eyes blinking in confusion.
"Master…?"
Mukuro raised a finger to the boy's lip, silencing him. "Shh…"
Gokudera was also surprised, dropping his head in shame; he had only wanted to look out for his beloved boss, but… it seemed that today, Tsuna hadn't appreciated his effort.
Dropping himself to his hands and knees in sorry, Gokudera whispered, "Sincerest apologies, Tenth…"
Tsuna offered a small smile as he shook his head, speaking in a soft tone. "Don't apologise to me, Gokudera-kun; apologise to Mukuro-san."
Gokudera bit his lip as he looked at the older male with hard eyes, wanting nothing more than to hit the illusionist – but if Tsuna had said to…
"…S-sorry, you fucking bastard…"
"Gokudera-kun…"
"…I'm sorry…"
Mukuro dropped his head as he let his eyes slip closed. He sighed. "It's okay, Hayato…"
"Thank you, Gokudera-kun." Picking up the two cans his friend had dropped, Tsuna asked, "Will you go get another can for Mukuro-san and Yamamoto?"
The Storm Guardian looked as if he wanted to deny the request, but he nodded and got up anyway. Mukuro patted Fran's back as he dropped his head to Tsuna's shoulder.
"You didn't have to do that, you know…" Mukuro was tired, sick of being treated so badly wherever he went.
"Of course I did; you're my friend, and I wasn't going to let anyone talk to you like that." The brunet played with blue strands of hair.
"If he reacted so badly to a simple hug, I'd hate to see what he does if he ever finds out we've kissed. Kufufu~"
"That's why I don't want to tell him about that just yet." Tsuna laughed softly to himself. "He really has a temper."
Mukuro nodded, feeling Fran curl back in against him and return to his slumber. "Tsunayoshi… I'm tired of being treated like that…"
"I know you would be…" Tsuna leant down, pressing his lips against Mukuro's. "I know…"
Tsuna knew it wouldn't have been easy for the other to admit what he just had, so it made him feel warm inside to know that the illusionist was starting to trust him bit-by-bit with each passing day.