Title: Timeless

Pairing: R27 RebornXTsuna

Disclaimer: don't own and if I did then the whole world would be filled with yaoi

Tsuna is now 14 and Reborn is 22

A/N: Here's the next chapter for this, there's only 4 more chapters left then this will be placed in the complete section, got to keep going.

Also, ff has been screwing with me. If you notice parts in sentences where there should have been a '.' (period) in it and its missing the two words that's between it, please let me know. This makes the two sentences look combined and odd.

Beta'ed by WhiteAngel128

"We are each on our own journey. Each of usis on our very own adventure; encountering all kinds of challenges, and the choices we make on that adventure will shape us as we go; these choices will stretch us, test us and push us to our limit; and our adventure will make us stronger then we ever know we could be." by Aamnah Akram

Chapter 10: Year Ten

Tsuna sighed, staring at the board then to his group of friends. It was lunch time at the moment, but apparently due to the rush this morning for waking up late, he had forgotten his lunch. Of course, his friends had offered some of theirs, but he could only take so much without starting to feel bad. He didn't want to say anything, but the amount he received from them wasn't enough to fulfill his growling stomach. Normally, he could survive not having lunch until he got back home, but during his rush, all he had was a slice of toast and that was coming back to haunt him.

He groaned, trying to hide his hunger by putting on a poker face, but the growling was hard to hide. Tsuna didn't want to worry Gokudera and Yamamato anymore than needed when they were already eyeing him carefully, searching for signs that he was starving. It was hard since they were so attentive to him that it was scary at times.

Sometime during the lunch period, some students seemed to be rushing out, others wandering around to peek outside the door. This caught his attention as well, his curiosity of what could be drawing the students' attention like that rising. However, he remained in his seat, not willing to move. It probably wasn't even that important in the first place, he decided to himself. Tsuna simply guessed it was more likely one of the popular students of the school going down the hallway or someone making a fool of themselves, most likely the first since he didn't hear any laughter and the girls were looking like they were about to faint.

"Wonder what's going on…" Yamamoto asked out loud and tilted his head slightly when he heard a few of the girls squealing at something. His box of sushi, the usual he brought with him, was out in front on his desk with a pair of chopsticks in one hand. Leaning down, he plopped a piece into his mouth and chewed, still listening to his surroundings.

Gokudera just made a 'tch', completely ignoring the girls as they continued to swoon. He never liked them and never will, anyway, he had better things to do than wonder about what some idiotic women were looking at. Some were now running out which made the room less crowded, the sounds getting louder with each passing second. To him, girls were just annoyances and had some stalker fetishes since they enjoyed following him around.

Tsuna just leaned back towards the door, hoping to spot what was causing all the noise, but saw nothing. The amount of bodies that were surrounding the door blocked all view and he pulled back with a sigh. Still, it was odd that there was someone popular he wasn't aware of going around, normally the girls liked to stare at his two friends instead. Odd…But he didn't get to think far when a shadow suddenly came up behind him.

"Hey, Dame-Tsuna."

The brunet flinched at that and slowly twisted around with some paleness growing on his complexion. He could see his friends tensing at the sight of the person out of the corner of his eye and tilted his head further up to get a better look at the person who had bothered him. Tsuna almost let out a small squeak at the sight, but he held it in, Reborn's scolding still set in his mind.

It was one of his daily bullies that enjoyed stealing his money and had no fear of his friends who were sitting beside him. The bullies had stopped when he had befriended the two most popular students in school, but there were still a few braver ones that didn't care and would even try to get into a fight with Gokudera, Yamamoto rarely got involved, without a care. Those were the tougher ones to deal with and in Tsuna's opinion, more annoying. The brunet almost twitched, he was starting to think more and more like Reborn. 'I've been around him for almost nine years, I guess it's to be expected.'

"You've got some money with you, right? Hand it over, Dame-Tsuna. I forgot mine today." The bully smirked, holding out his hand in expectation.

Tsuna made a small sound from the back of his throat, he had nothing on him. He just hoped that this one wouldn't cause a scene in class of all places. "B-But I don't have any. I didn't even bring my lunch with me today." Tsuna tried to tell the truth, hoping he would be let off today and that his words would be good enough to send the person off. Most backed off at that since there was no point in bothering someone that didn't have anything. But the bully didn't go away and those narrowing of those eyes that made the brunet flinch, he knew this one was going to fight back. 'Just my luck…'

"Hey, leave the Tenth alone!" Gokudera growled, slamming his fists down onto his desk, and stood up to show he was ready for anything. The chains on his clothes rattled at his movement and his bright green eyes were set into that usual glare.

The baseball player wasn't smiling anymore and was instead glaring, sending shivers down the classmates who were nearby. No one had really seen Yamamoto's glares, they were a rarity and those that got them were promised a swift and painful punishment. Though it wasn't well known among the school, some knew that Yamamoto is a skilled swordsman and his beating of Mokuki for bullying Tsuna earlier that year was still fresh in many minds.

Even with all the obvious threats, the bully still didn't back down and reached forward to grasp Tsuna's collar. "Don't give me that bullshit! You must have something! Do you take me as a fool?" He then yanked the brunet up, earning a sharp cry, and he gave a laugh of enjoyment. The bully shook the teen before him repeatedly, making the head bob back and forth painfully, and the brunet was desperately trying to get himself steady by grasping the sides of the desk or his seat. Just when Gokudera had gotten around to yank Tsuna away from the fool, the bully shoved the younger student back into the chair - hard.

The brunet let out another cry as his back slammed into the side of the desk, holding back tears that were threatening to fall from his tear ducts, and looked up now in fear. He hadn't expected the bully to react in such a way, and towards him so violently, too. Reaching behind, he rubbed the sore spot tenderly, feeling the place burn in sensation, and winced each time he massaged it. He needed to get blood to flow there quickly before bruising occurred or any swelling, something he had retained from Reborn's lectures at him. Regardless, it was painful and his neck was throbbing from being whiplashed repeatedly. And this was just a regular occurrence of bullying in Tsuna's life.

"Tenth!" Gokudera immediately turned his attention to the brunet, checking over the wounded area, and offered words of comfort. Yamamoto did the same, going around the desk, and rubbed the back of Tsuna's neck, hoping that would help. When the silver-haired teen found that Tsuna was in good hands, he turned back to the bully with a growl, ready to send a powerful fist into that smug face.

However, he was beaten when he saw a foot come out of nowhere and slammed straight into the bully's back. Gokudera watched as his classmate went flying across the room and slam into the wall there, just missing the windows that might have broken and send the bully tumbling from the third floor. He wished the idiot had, it would have made things much easier. However, with that attack, everyone's attention turned to the intruder, looking over him carefully, and Tsuna could only brighten up in happiness when he saw who it was.

The bully growled, immediately getting up to his feet, and glared at the person before him. "What the? Who the hell are you?!"

Yamamoto was the first to say something, he recognized those features and clothes anywhere. He couldn't help but smile at the man's appearance. "Hey, Reborn."

The tall man stood at the previous spot the bully had been at, one hand inside his pocket, the other holding something, and looked impending to anyone that saw him. The glare on his expression sent shivers down everyone's spine, except for Tsuna, no, the brunet was just smiling happily. Those onyx eyes peered at the bully as if daring him to try anything before pulling his hand out to fix his fedora that had slid over. Reborn turned away and tilted his head slightly, just enough to get the curls on the side of his face to bounce.

The female population that had sneaked in to watch squealed at the sight, heart-shaped eyes staring.

The bully didn't seem to deter from the sudden appearance of Reborn and tried to glare back. However, he wasn't able to match the intensity of what the other had shown. "Hey, who the hell are you? And what was that for?" He stalked forward for an answer, fists squeezed tightly for a fight, except Reborn simply rose one of his long legs up again and kicked the idiot away. This time he made sure to aim for the head, knocking the bully to the ground to see stars. Seeing as the bully was groaning on the floor, he rotated towards Tsuna and eased up his threatening aura.

The teen stared in shock, it wasn't often that he got to see Reborn get to fight with someone, but at the same time, he had never seen the other lose either. After all, he knew and believed from the bottom of his heart that Reborn was the best at everything. Still, despite knowing that, he always got surprised at such things. He couldn't help it, it was just in his nature. Suddenly, something hard dropped onto his desk and that sound drew his attention towards the area in front of him. There he saw a box, wrapped in an orange cloth, and recognized it as a bento. It was his…Tsuna's stomach growled loudly at the thought.

Reborn smirked at that reaction, reaching over to pat the brunet on the head, ruffling those soft bouncy locks. "Nana told me when I woke up that you had forgotten to take your lunch to school today. So I simply offered to drop it off before heading to work today. And even if I didn't offer, Nana would simply ask me to do so and you know I can't say no to her. It's impossible." He huffed and folded his arms across his chest once he had pulled away from the brunet.

Reborn had risen up in the ranks of a company called Vongola, getting hired right after he had graduated from college. He had started off like any newly hired worker, but with his skills, mind, looks and sharpness, he was bumped up a rank. Then another, and another, until he finally made it to the role of Adviser to the CEO. And this all occurred within four months and now he was making more than enough money for someone his age, living in a fancy condo in the best part of town. Still, even with all those expensive things, Reborn seemed to enjoy staying over at the Sawada household more often than not and eating meals with them than heading to a five-star restaurant. Tsuna had a strong suspicion that if anything were to happen to the CEO, Reborn would more than likely be the next candidate for that job.

"O-Oh…Thanks, Reborn." The brunet smiled softly, looking down at his food, and then back up into those dark eyes with a slight tint on his cheeks. Even though it's been a year, he couldn't help but feel a little jiggery whenever the older man was around. He was much older now and more aware of his actions and the incident last year had finally worked its way back into his mind. Tsuna felt like a complete idiot for doing such a thing, and with Reborn of all people. Still, the other had allowed it to happen and never used it against the brunet and so the issue itself was buried. Well, somewhat.

He couldn't help but want to feel that odd tingling sensation on his lips from that time or that strange feeling he had felt in his body. And with that, he wanted to do it again. But he was never going to say that out loud, it was embarrassing after all. It was even worse when he first started realizing what he and Reborn had been doing from his constant questioning of what the classmates in his class were chattering about during their dates.

A grunt from the floor caught his attention and he pulled himself away from Reborn's face to look at the bully. His classmate was slowly getting back up, a stupid move in Tsuna's opinion, and managed to get back onto his feet. He was cursing Reborn out, which was completely idiotic, and Tsuna's honey-colored eyes turned to taller man. Reborn growled at the insults and took off his fedora, slamming it onto his friend's head.

The caramel-colored locks were squished into the confinement immediately and Tsuna couldn't help but think he looked a little funny with it on. His hair below was still coming out, wild in its natural self, and reached up to adjust it into a more pleasant spot. Yamamoto and Gokudera could only remain to the side, their eyes watching the scene with wonder and shock. The latter, of course, was cheering Reborn on when he realized what the other was up to.

"Be right back, Tsuna." The older man sneered, his dark aura back, and took a step forward towards the bully. With the sound of cracking knuckles, it was obvious as to what Reborn was planning on doing. As much as Tsuna wanted to stop him, he knew better and almost had a sense of satisfaction that his bully was about to get punished. His eyes went down towards his bento the moment the screaming and sounds of something being punched came. Unwrapping the cloth to the box, Tsuna opened the lid and smiled with hunger laced in his expression. It looked so good and his stomach growled once more in response. Offering a quick 'thanks', he dug right in.

He was about a quarter done when the screaming finally stopped, and he finally looked up. His eyes looked at the bully unconscious on the floor with numerous bruises here and there and then at Reborn, who was striding up to him. The older man looked the same as usual and didn't even have a bead of sweat running down his face. Tsuna snorted, that was just something normal with Reborn. Tilting his head down, he felt the fedora being lifted up off his head, his locks springing back out.

Automatically, Tsuna lifted up the chopsticks towards Reborn with a gentle beam. "Want some?"

Reborn raised an eyebrow at that, readjusting his fedora back onto his head, before nodding. "Sure." He took the offered pair of chopsticks from the brunet and picked up something within the box to eat. The older man took a seat on one of the desks, handing the utensils back so that Tsuna could get something. They quickly traded off each other with ease, unbothered by the sharing, well aware that they were getting looks from others in the room.

Yamamoto and Gokudera had woken up from the stupor and quickly went back to eating, not hesitating to announce how impressed they were with Reborn. The black-haired man just shrugged it off with a smirk, not bothering to reply to those statements. When he had enough, he looked down at his watch, checking for the time to make sure he had enough to work with. All through that, he hadn't notice the slightly growing redness on Tsuna's cheeks, the teen being well aware that they were sharing the same pair of chopsticks. Though, they often did it like it was natural, Tsuna knew the hidden meaning to it.

"You know, Tsuna," Reborn suddenly spoke up, catching the brunet's attention. "I haven't done this much fighting in quite a while. Didn't think that getting to you would be a pain in the ass."

Tsuna blinked at that and tilted his head almost in an adorable fashion with the end of the chopsticks still in his mouth. He hummed to himself, chewing momentarily, and found those words odd. Reborn had come to his school often right? No, wait, this was the first time he had come to his middle school. Plucking the utensils out, he opened his mouth to question, "What do you mean?"

"When I came here, I kept getting stopped by the Disciplinary Committee. They kept demanding me to leave even when I explained what I was trying to do. I got tired of hearing them that I just forced my way through." Reborn huffed, stating those words as if it was nothing.

Tsuna, however, paled at that and yet found that attitude of Reborn's to be normal. He just hoped that the other hadn't gone up against Hibari of all people, the leader of the Committee.

Reborn continued to speak as if nothing was wrong in the world. "Soon after, I met their leader, Hibari."

'Ah, too late.'

Not seeing the expression Tsuna or was purposefully ignoring it, he smirked. "That one a lot tougher than the other idiots around him, but he wasn't that difficult to get through either."

At that, Tsuna dropped his chopsticks in shock, the expression of surprise clear on him. Everyone else that was listening in had the same face, some being that of horror. "W-Wait! You defeated Hibari! How?!" Tsuna cried out, he knew from the rumors of Hibari that had gone around that the skylark was one tough cookie. The brunet even had a few run-ins with the teen. Hibari was known for going against adults, even yakuza, and winning with ease. Was Reborn really that powerful?

"How? It was easy. He's not that strong, his cousin Fong is more of a challenge than him," Reborn folded his arms and leaned back before catching sight of the clock. "Oh, better get going. Don't want to be late for work."

With that, the black-haired man reached over, snatching a little bit more food, a roll of eggs to be specific, and chucked it into his mouth. He smirked and licked his fingers, well aware of the squeals from behind.

Tsuna just pouted and watched as Reborn gave a small wave at him as he made his way of the classroom. He sighed, feeling depressed that the other was gone. Oh, he so wanted Reborn to stay a little bit longer, he always felt happier when he did. He didn't understand why though, it was like how he wanted Reborn to kiss him again. It was just so confusing.

"Hey, Dame-Tsuna, who was that? Is he a friend of yours?"

"Come on, give us the details. That man was soooo hot!"

The brunet blinked at the sudden attention on him and leaned back to get away from the girls that had sprang on him. "W-Well, his name is Reborn."

His classmates lighted up at that, whispering among each other happily, and were still eyeing him for more.

Tsuna twitched and then looked back down at his bento. He didn't like the way those girls were asking about Reborn, it made him feel…he didn't know what it was. It was strange. And it was still about Reborn, too. That man just made him feel all bizarre. Biting his bottom lip, he looked back up at vultures to respond. "But he already has someone."

He knew he was lying and yet the sensation of feeling proud of doing such a thing didn't leave him. The girls immediately backed off, deflating in defeat, and some were whispering 'Of course he would be taken by now' under their breaths. Tsuna went back to staring at his bento, still confused over why he had lied in the first place. He knew better than anyone else that Reborn was still single. His shoulders slumped, still thinking to himself as he continued to try and eat.

Tsuna didn't want anyone to take Reborn from him, was it just him being selfish or was there something more? After all, he cared and loved the man too much to let him get out of his life, Reborn was his best friend, his older brother, someone that cared about him dearly.

The brunet decided that for the first time that if someone tried to take Reborn away from him, he wouldn't hesitate to fight back, forcefully so if necessary. Nodding to himself in satisfaction, he went back to eating.