Chapter VII: Vacca, vacca, vacca (Namimori/Current Day)
A/N: I know it's been ages, and I have to apologize. Life happens, and interrupts things. But this story has stayed with me and I am determined to finish it, no matter what. So I'm making a commitment to myself to put out at least one chapter a month for the next year, to finish this story arc, so that I can start the next.
Tsuna's relocation to his new subterranean apartment sparked interest in most of his friends over the next couple of days and each of them stopped by to take a look at his new home. The noted exceptions were Kyoya and Mukuro who both expressed a decided lack of interest in his housing or general location as long as he seemed to still be breathing. Even Bianchi had come by for a brief visit, ignoring Reborn but offering Tsuna a brief hug and an apology that confused the hell out of him, but that he'd accepted with grace and a tightening of his arms around her for a few seconds, trying to convey his love for her.
Reborn tolerated all of this to an extent, but quickly chased all guests out after their normal study session time in the evenings. After that, the apartment settled into a peaceful routine between the two of them, watching television or discussing the day before bed. Tsuna found that he enjoyed this time and took advantage of it, realizing that in future years they may not have this luxury. It allowed him to broach topics with Reborn that they would never get to when surrounded by Family day and night.
What Tsuna found troubling was Lambo's absolute rejection of the move, even with the promise of his own room. The boy was devastated and refused to discuss the situation with anyone, no matter how the others chose to approach him. When Tsuna showed up to walk the children home from school, Lambo refused to look at him or answer any questions about his day, letting the others respond instead. He'd even taken to skipping his training sessions with the others, only to be found wandering the neighborhood aimlessly.
Tsuna had known Lambo didn't like the idea when it came up. The boy had spent hours stealthily unpacking things and hiding them as Tsuna prepared for the move. He'd had tantrums and refused to hug him goodbye the day of the move itself. They'd expected that Lambo would protest, as he was very attached to Tsuna and Reborn, even though his way of expressing that love was difficult to say the least. He was a little shocked, however, to find out how much it stung to be rejected by the little boy he'd spend so much time with over the past several years. As much as he'd probably die before admitting it, even Lambo's outbursts were endearing in a way, reminding him of their early days together.
The Family decided at first to wait Lambo out, letting him sulk for a week while maintaining contact and offering affection as they normally would. Hayato continued to tease him and Takeshi dragged the boy out to play catch for hours. It stung even more for Tsuna to realize that Lambo went willingly with them, but refused to attend anything that involved Tsuna unless there was no way to escape it. Even Kyoya had taken a brief interest in the boy, taking him up to the Namimori shrine to look around a bit and play in the open areas. Tsuna lasted a week and a half before deciding to change his plan.
"Would it be okay with you if Lambo visited this weekend?" Tsuna asked Reborn that night, curled up on the couch sleepily after a long day of school, work and training. "It's not the same as the older Family being here, right? Lambo's still practically a baby."
"You're worried about him?" Reborn asked in return, turning away from the television to focus on Tsuna, frowning slightly at the unhappy look on his face. "He'll get over this eventually, Tsuna. He's had to learn to be without people before, you know."
Tsuna's soft growl in response startled Reborn, sharpening his focus. "Explain, Tsuna."
"Lambo's Family sent him here all alone when he was still a baby. They sent him away, like he wasn't important to them; like he was expendable. Lambo is not expendable. He's clever, sweet, loyal and brilliant in his own way. So what if he's different than most kids?" Tsuna tumbled himself verbally into a mini rant on the subject. "Lambo is mine now, not theirs, and I am not going to let him think that he doesn't matter to us. I want him to know he's Family, and that being Vongola means that you belong, and that your voice will be heard by the people you are loyal to. It's killing me, watching him try so hard not to just cry."
Reborn looked at him thoughtfully for a long moment before nodding. "You have to trust your instincts, Tsuna. If you feel like he needs something and that not handling it will damage him, then we'll need to do something about it." He paused and then sighed. "I'm used to resenting being treated like a child when I'm older than everyone around me. Maybe it's made me ignore the fact that Lambo is a child being treated as an adult, with expectations that he's just not mature enough or trained enough to meet."
It was rare for Reborn to ever admit that it might even be possible that he'd made a mistake. Tsuna pushed himself upright fully, focusing on the problem at hand. Knowing that Reborn was both understanding and supporting him in this reassured him.
"I'm going to invite him to spend the weekend with us," Tsuna decided. "We'll pick him up after school on Friday and take him to the arcade and out for dinner. We can walk him to school on Saturday and pick him up afterwards. Can we arrange for Basil or Lal to be on duty? Lambo likes them the best of the current security detail and they'll entertain him if an emergency comes up. Having them around won't make him feel like he needs to compete for attention."
"We'll speak with Mama in the morning then. If we make it a surprise and have someone pick up his stuff for the weekend while he's at school, he'll have no excuses for not coming with us." Reborn nodded his approval.
Friday afternoon, Tsuna was lounging outside the gates of Lambo's school, tucked neatly out of sight until Lambo and I-pin cleared the gate. Stepping up behind them, he tucked a hand in Lambo's collar, grasping it firmly before pulling both children into a hug. He couldn't help but laugh as they jumped in surprise. I-pin's warm smile and cheerful greeting had Tsuna smiling in response, even as he held tightly onto Lambo to keep him from running for it.
"I-pin, can you walk home with Fuuta and the others today? I'm going to borrow Lambo for a bit," he asked her, giving her another affectionate squeeze.
"Okay," she chirped at him cheerfully before patting Lambo's curls affectionately and bouncing off to join Fuuta.
"Lemme go!" Lambo wailed as he flailed against the hold Tsuna had on him. "I don't want to go anywhere with you, stupid Tsuna!" It took a quick bend of the elbow to avoid taking a bite to his arm before Tsuna managed to pull Lambo snugly against his side again.
"We're going to go to the arcade," Tsuna said, looking down at him and smiling. "Then we're going to go out for dinner, go back to my apartment and we're going to watch movies while we do your homework. Reborn's going to help. After school tomorrow, we're going to go on an adventure together."
Lambo froze, and Tsuna watched with quiet amusement as the boy struggled with everything in him to avoid exploding in excitement so that Lambo could give him a suspicious look from under his bangs. "Promise?"
"I promise. And I always keep my promises to you, don't I?" Tsuna asked him, risking a bite to ruffle Lambo's hair with his free hand. "Besides, my days aren't as fun anymore without you to play with. Reborn gets too competitive when we play video games."
"That's because Reborn's lame," Lambo replied, huffing and crossing his arms all while leaning a little more snugly against Tsuna's leg. "A real man can take a loss."
"I've been a real man longer than your Bovino Family's been around," Reborn said, hopping down off the wall to join them. "I was invited to your old boss's baptism."
Lambo stared at Reborn for a long moment, before snickering. "So really, you're just a cranky old man, then?"
Tsuna had to admire Lambo's reflexes. He was running before Reborn processed the statement and launched himself at the boy. Sighing, he started walking towards his apartment as the two chased each other around his legs the entire way, thinking to himself as he walked. Reborn's indirect statement about the length of his life gnawed at Tsuna mentally and he ended up locking it away for now, with the many other puzzle pieces floating in his head regarding the Arcobaleno curse.
The arcade was a huge success in the end. Tsuna kicked himself mentally for not realizing that it might be something Reborn would enjoy just as much as he or Lambo would. After all, his mentor was both insanely arrogant and extremely competitive. For the first time in months, Tsuna let himself fully relax and enjoy the afternoon with two of the people he loved the most, cheering them on against each other and teasing the loser. Over the next two hours they played their way through every game that caught their attention, only stopping when the growling of all of their stomachs became too loud to ignore.
Fast food seemed the best option for dinner but there was something surreal in sitting with both of them in a McDonald's watching them stuff themselves on burgers, fries and soda. On the other hand, Tsuna couldn't complain, being in the middle of a growth spurt himself at the moment, he was constantly hungry. He certainly contributed his fair share to the pile of wrappers on the table once they'd finished eating.
"Tsuna-nii?" Lambo glanced up at him from beneath his lashes, "I don't have my pajamas, or clothes for tomorrow." There was an undertone to what he was saying that Tsuna couldn't quite grasp.
"Reborn picked up everything from Mom this morning after classes started," Tsuna replied, reaching out to ruffle Lambo's curls affectionately. "I called her last night so she had everything packed up for you. It's at the apartment already."
"Really?" Lambo's cheeks were bright pink now and he was trembling slightly, but his eyes stayed completely focused on Tsuna's face. Between one breath and the next, it clicked for Tsuna and he understood what Lambo was really asking him.
"Lambo," Tsuna reached over and tugged the boy into his lap and sliding his arms around him. "You are never, will never be, a person I only think about at the last minute. You're important to me." With every word, Tsuna could feel Lambo relax into him slightly, snuggling closer into his warmth. "I wanted you to spend the weekend with us because I miss you, and I wanted to make you smile and laugh again. I don't want you to ever think I'm leaving you behind."
"Do you promise?" A small hand grasped his shirt tightly and Tsuna could feel the dampness seeping into the fabric from Lambo's face where it pressed snugly against his chest.
"I promise," Tsuna replied, pulling him even closer. "There are going to be times when you and I can't be in the same place at the same time. But that will never mean that I'm not thinking about you, or that I don't want you by my side." Sliding gentle fingers through Lambo's curls, he relaxed as he felt the boy relax as well. "You're mine, Lambo, and I will never let you go."
Tsuna stood, holding Lambo close. Basil slipped over silently and grabbed their school bags to take back to the apartment with a small smile at Tsuna. It was a silent walk back to the apartment, broken only with the soft sounds Lambo made as he cried himself out on Tsuna's shoulder.
*Title translates to: Cow, cow, cow.