Welcome to Lambo's Corner!
Warning: Language, violence, mistakes everywhere, Mafia behavior, oc death.
Thank you, Grammarly for helping make this readable. I'll go over it again at a later time.
Without further ado, J is for...
"I'll see you tomorrow!"
Lambo waves to his classmate as he walks out of the school gate. He loosens his tie, still not used to the restricting feeling of his school uniform - then shoves his hands into his pants pockets as he begins his walk home.
The day had passed in a blur with Lambo feeling anxious - worried over something he wasn't aware of. He had looked at his phone several times throughout the day almost in anticipation - thinking he'd get some bad news but none came. The preteen knew better than to ignore his instincts and remained alert just in case.
Which is why he immediately notices the black sedan down the street. He stops walking, wondering if he should run away, call his brothers, or continue on his way. There is always the possibility it isn't there for him, after all.
As Lambo begins to walk once more, two men step out of the vehicle - both wearing nice suits. Mafiosi, he thinks. Once a little closer, Lambo notices the emblem and holds back a sigh. Not only are they mafiosi, but they're also Bovino.
"If this is about Timo's car getting egged, I know nothing about it." Lambo lazily states and is proud his voice sounds steady.
One of the men, the one with brown hair in a bun who Lambo will refer to as Idiot One, narrows his eyes but does not say anything. The other one, Idiot Two with blond locks, seems to be speaking for both of them.
"Lambo Bovino, your presence has been requested by -"
"I'm pretty sure the Tenth told you guys not to bother me anymore. Yare, yare, you should know better." The preteen interrupts as he picks his ear.
"Listen, kid. We don't want to be here either but we have to deliver a message."
"Oh? From the Don or Lady Bovino?"
"Neither. This is a message from Kensuke-sama."
Lambo stands a little straighter at the name. He hadn't heard it in over seven years so this can't be good. He'd always been close to his grandpa, probably closer than he had been with his parents but not even that had managed to keep them in contact with each other.
"Grandpa? What's the message?"
Idiot One steps forward, "He wishes to see you immediately. We are to drive you to the estate if it's ok with you. You can also notify Sawada-san and he's welcomed to join but we don't have much time and need to leave now."
Much time for what? There is obviously something going on but it can't be something to hurt him otherwise they wouldn't be allowing him to call Tsuna. His grandpa was always good to Lambo, even though he was a little strict. Although, he really hadn't been that strict since he would always give him candy and other treats behind his parent's back. Ok, so Grandpa spoiled him a lot. The last time the preteen saw the old man, Lambo had received his orders to kill Reborn. His grandpa hadn't been happy but he couldn't disagree with the Boss.
"What aren't you telling me?"
The men looked at each other, having a silent conversation. Lambo can feel the worry from earlier return in full force. "What's going on?"
Idiot One answers, "Kensuke-sama is ill, gravely ill. The reason we're here now is that he wants to say goodbye."
Lambo isn't sure how to reply. Gravely ill, that means he's dying, right? He hadn't even known his grandpa was sick. How long had he been sick for? He doesn't realize he voiced his last question out loud.
"Almost six months,"
Lambo looks towards the ground, trying to calm down. He can practically feel his blood boil as he begins to process the news. His grandpa had been sick and nobody in the damn Bovinos had bothered to let him know until was too late. "Why the hell didn't anybody tell me?"
"You can ask Timo-sama once we get there. We need to go now if you want to make it in time."
Lambo briskly leads the way to the car, pulling out his phone as he does. He slides into the back seat, buckling up as the voice answers.
"Hi, Lambo. Are you on your way home?"
Lambo is furious. How dare they keep something like this from him? They all knew Lambo and his grandpa were close. They knew Lambo would have wanted to know. How dare they?!
"Lambo, are you there?"
"Tsuna-nii, are you at home?" He asks in what he hopes is his normal voice. Of course, Tsuna can always tell something's up even when Lambo tries to hide it.
"Not at the moment. I'm with some of the others visiting Shoichi. Is everything ok?"
Great. That means they're across town and will take a while to join him at the Bovino Estate. It's fine. He'll see his grandpa and then kick Timo's ass for keeping him in the dark. He had never felt this furious to where fear was nowhere to be found.
"Lambo, what's wrong?"
"I'll explain everything later but I need you to pick me up at the Bovino Estate."
"At the Bovinos? Are you in trouble?"
No, but the Bovinos will be. "My grandpa asked to see me so I'm on my way. Idiots One and Two said to call and let you know to meet me there."
Lambo can feel the anger radiating from said idiots up front but he doesn't care. They know better than to hurt him especially when he's on the phone with Tsuna.
"I'm already leaving but I won't be there for another thirty or forty minutes. Can you wait until I get there?"
Lambo shakes his head, "I can't. They won't do anything against me, I just need to see my grandpa. I'll be fine, Tsuna-nii."
"We're here," Idiot Two says.
Lambo looks out the window and feels a bit of dread at seeing the estate. Unfortunately for the Bovinos, he feels more anger than fear. That doesn't mean he's not worried things may take a turn for the worst. Timo will hopefully not do anything stupid to upset Lambo more than he already is.
"Tsuna-nii, I gotta go. We just got here,"
"Be careful, we'll be there as soon as possible."
"I will. Bye,"
"Wait, let me talk to one of the idiots before you go."
Lambo gets out of the car when Idiot One, the bun guy, opens the door for him. "The Tenth wants to speak with you."
Idiot One answers the phone with trepidation. Lambo can't hear what Tsuna is saying but judging but how quickly Idiot One loses color, the preteen is sure a threat has been given. Lambo reaches the doors quickly but stops when Idiot One calls out to him to return the phone.
The doors open and a maid offers a bow, "Bovino-sama, I'm to lead you to your grandfather's room."
Without wasting more time, Lambo follows. They reach the third floor then walk down a familiar hallway. Lambo can see several men standing outside a room and knows that's where his grandpa is staying. One of them knocks on the door to announce his arrival.
By the time Lambo reaches the door, Timo steps out with a smile. "Welcome home, Little Lambo. Hope the drive was to your liking."
It takes all the courage he has and anger he feels not to show any fear to his cousin. "I'm here for my grandpa."
Timo motions towards the door using his head, "He's in there."
Lambo pushes through, ignoring Timo who follows behind him. He feels his heartbreak at the sight of his beloved grandpa laying in bed. The man who once stood tall and proud without fear of anything now lays with a deathly gray pallor. He looks thin and weak, nothing like before. He's wearing an oxygen mask and an IV which makes him look that much worse. Lambo can't believe this is his grandpa.
He reaches the man's side and gently picks up the wrinkled hand before putting it up to his face. "Grandpa, it's Lambo. I'm-" His throat tightens. "I'm home."
The man makes a noise which Lambo isn't sure is all too good. It sounds like his grandpa is struggling to breathe which hurts Lambo's soul.
"He's trying to talk to you. How weird, I didn't think he'd still be alive by the time you got here, to be honest."
Lambo will deal with Timo later. He ignores his cousin's words and focuses on his grandpa. "I'm sorry for not coming sooner but I'm here now." Oh, how he wants to tell his grandpa he'd just found out but he doesn't want him to go feeling upset.
"La-Lambo,"
Lambo feels like something is squeezing his heart at the raspy voice. "Don't talk, Grandpa, it's ok. I'm here,"
"I'm...sorry,"
Lambo can feel his eyes water. "You have nothing to apologize for, Grandpa. I'm sorry I couldn't be stronger for you. I'm sorry for not being here when you needed me the most but I want you to know I'm happy. There's so much I want to tell you, Grandpa. The most important thing is I have a lot of big brothers and sisters now who look out for me and they love me a lot. I'm happy, grandpa. I'm really happy," He manages to say between tears.
Lambo continues to speak to him for almost twenty minutes. He tells him about his siblings, his mama, and a quick summary of his adventures. He begins to tell him more but that's when he realizes his grandpa has stopped breathing.
"Grandpa?"
Hold it in. Please, just hold it in…
Lambo gently places his grandpa's hand back to his side. The preteen then leans over his grandpa and gives the only Bovino who ever cared for him a kiss on the forehead. He tries to say he loves him, he really does but his throat is completely closed. Lambo hopes his grandpa knew how much the preteen loved him.
After a minute of standing over his grandpa, Lambo bows then heads to the door. His grandpa is gone. Kensuke Bovino is dead.
Lambo walks past Timo without a word, he walks down the hall without looking at the men but not once does he lower his head. He reaches the top of the stairs but stops at his name being called. He doesn't bother turning around.
"Thanks for showing up. The old man kept asking for you so I'm glad he got his last wish to see you come true."
Lambo knows he should just walk away. The last thing he wants is to cause trouble with his grandpa down the hall but he's too angry to think too much about it.
"You're a piece of shit," He says turning to glare at Timo. For the first time in a long time, Lambo doesn't feel fear towards Timo. He only feels hatred; raw hatred. He wants to hurt Timo, wants to make him beg for his life for not having given Lambo more time with his grandpa.
"Jae and Lucas told me you were mad because I didn't tell you sooner. Honestly, what do you care anyway? You hadn't seen him in over seven years. I didn't think you even remembered him."
"That's bullshit and you know it!"
"If it's any consolation, he never forgot you. No matter how bad his Alzheimer's got, every now and then he'd call for you. It was always Lambo this or Lambo that. The old man couldn't let you go even though you were already gone."
"Alzheimer's? Why didn't you tell me?"
Timo chuckles, "It's not like you would have been allowed to see him. You know Lady Bovino would never have allowed it. The only reason you're here now is thanks to Uncle. He took Auntie on a shopping trip just so you could come to say goodbye. I guess he pitied the old man."
"You should have told me,"
"You both got what you wanted, closure. The one good thing I got out of this is that now I'll stop hearing your fucking name all the time. 'Where's Lambo? I remember when Lambo this and that.' Every fucking day! I'm glad he's finally dead."
Lambo glares at Timo, barely able to restrain himself. "You were jealous,"
"Ha, me? Jealous of you? Don't make me laugh. Now, leave before I decide to kick your ass."
"You never liked how close Grandpa and I were. You know if it had been up to him, I would have stayed as Bovino heir. He didn't think I was weak, he knew I could have made this damn family better. He never liked you and everyone knows why."
"Leave, Little Lambo. I won't tell you again."
"Because you're a worthless piece of shit who will one day ruin the Bovino name,"
Lambo knows the punch to the face is coming but he still doesn't block it even though he could have. Once Timo's fist collides with his face, Lambo uses all Hibari's taught him to pin his cousin to the ground. Lambo may only be twelve but Hibari's training is harsh and unforgiving which has made him quite strong.
He lands a couple of punches to Timo's face along with a few kicks to the stomach when he hears the click of several guns. He stops moving, the only sound heard is the footsteps of more men coming and Lambo's own hard breathing. He looks up at the men who are all pointing their guns towards him and smiles.
"Law of Mafia, he hit me first so I had the right to defend myself."
Timo pushes the younger boy away and quickly stands up. "You idiot!" He says kicking Lambo who hadn't managed to stand up. The young Vongola falls back with a grunt.
"I'll kill you for this," Timo growls.
"Careful, Timo. Your jealousy is showing," Lambo can't help but throw at his cousin whose face is bright red with fury.
Timo approaches Lambo once more but doesn't get very far.
"I'm sure there's a very good reason for my brother being on the floor with blood on his face but I don't care to hear it. Get away from him. Now."
Lambo looks back to see his brothers reaching the top of the stairs; Tsuna, Yamamoto, Gokudera, and Ryohei. None looking pleased. The adrenaline rush seems to leave as fast as it came, leaving Lambo feeling exhausted. He wants to curl into a ball and fall asleep - forget everything that's happened today but his brothers seem to have other ideas.
Ryohei helps him stand then gives him a quick once over. "I'll treat the wounds in the car. Tsuna, I'll take him now."
At Tsuna's nod, Ryohei and Yamamoto help him down the stairs and out the door. Once inside the car, Ryohei continues his questioning while Yamamoto pulls out the first aid kit. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"
With a nod, Lambo grabs at his shirt over his heart. "It hurts here,"
Ryohei wraps his little brother in a tight embrace. "I'm sorry, I can't make that go away with any medication no matter how much I want to."
"I'm sorry, Lambo. The maid told us about your grandpa when we arrived," Yamamoto says while handing the kit to Ryohei.
Lambo nods to let them know he heard but doesn't feel much like talking. A couple of minutes later, Tsuna and Gokudera begin their walk down the steps outside the estate.
Lambo watches as Tsuna calls out to one of the Bovino men standing nearby. Lambo realizes it's Idiot One, the man-bun sporting jerk. He sees Idiot One nod then without any hesitation, Tsuna punches him hard across the face, sending the man flying back.
Once Tsuna and Gokudera reach the car, Lambo needs to ask, "Why did you hit him? What did he say?"
Tsuna buckles up next to him while Ryohei sits on the other side; Gokudera drives with Yamamoto on the passenger side.
"I asked him if he was the one I spoke with on the phone and he said yes,"
Lambo waits for the rest but Tsuna is busy applying some ointment to their youngest's cheek. "Tsuna-nii, why did you hit him?"
With a smirk, Tsuna replies, "When I spoke with him, I told him to wait for me by the front steps so I'd know who he was. I then informed him that if you were returned with so much as a scratch, he'd pay for it."
Lambo laughs. His brother could be a little overprotective.
"I'm sorry about your grandpa,"
Lambo nods, feeling his throat tighten again, his eyes beginning to water as well. Tsuna wraps an arm around his little brother's shoulders.
"We'll talk once we get home and you can tell me everything that happened over a cup of hot chocolate. Then we'll plan on how to make Timo pay for laying his hands on my little brother."
"He was jealous, Tsuna-nii. He hates me because he is jealous,"
"He has every right to be jealous. That damn piece of shit knows you're better than he'll ever be." Gokudera says from up front.
"Haha, we all know that. If Timo didn't know that already then I'm sure he will after he sees the black eye and busted lip Lambo gave him."
"You have an extreme right hook!"
"You handled yourself great, little brother,"
Lambo feels the love of his brothers fill him with warmth. He really is happy where he's at.
"See, Grandpa? I am more than happy. I'm loved just like you always wanted for me. Hey, Grandpa, I hope you saw how easily I beat Timo up."
Um, ta-da? I hope you liked reading this even though it was kinda sad. Working with seniors I see a lot of families saying goodbye to their loved ones and it never gets easier. I work in the memory care unit so I think that makes everything a little worse.
Thank you for the continued support even though I take forever to update. As long as I have you guys in my life, I'll continue to share my little world of bromance. Thank you in advance for reviewing!
See you next time in Lambo's Corner!