All thoughts of a hangover flew out of Tsuna's head in the morning when he felt Haru snuggle closer to him under the covers. He smiled and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. He remembered everything that happened and was incredibly happy she was still there in the morning. It hadn't been a dream; she was real and all his. He only hoped that she didn't regret what had happened between them since he didn't.
He spared a moment to hope that the room had mafia-grade soundproofing around it. Otherwise everyone in the house probably knew what he'd gotten for his birthday. He looked down at her, trying to suppress a grin at the thought and failing miserably.
Seeing her now, she didn't look like she had minded his actions, but he couldn't tell for sure. He thought he'd done alright for his first time, but he didn't have any experience to base it off of. He started to get worried about it, but thankfully Haru choose that time to wake. Her smile of delight when she opened her eyes and saw him washed away all of his fears in an instant.
"Good morning," he whispered softly, kissing her forehead. She snuggled against him with a cute little noise of contentment and smiled.
In the middle of returning the greeting, the sound of someone flying through the door made Tsuna react. Tsuna knocked back his covers and automatically reached for his Glock, which he had thankfully remembered to un-holster and place on the side table at some point. Pushing Haru behind him, he pointed it toward the intruder without hesitation, only barely stopping himself from firing when he recognized the moving target as Yamamoto.
For his part, Yamamoto was blushing brightly as he faltered to a stop, his eyes on the second person in Tsuna's bed instead of the gun aimed at his head. Tsuna turned red when he realized how obvious their current state of clothing was and managed to fumble the covers back up over his bedmate before Yamamoto got more than a glance. She ducked her head under the covers to hide in embarrassment.
"Don't you know how to knock?! You're lucky I didn't shoot." Tsuna yelled finally, trying to control his blushes while he put his gun back on the table with the safety on. Yamamoto scratched his head, unsure of what he should do while he tried to find somewhere, anywhere in the room to look other than Tsuna's bed. At least Tsuna knew the state of his room's soundproofing now.
"Um...eh..." Yamamoto mumbled. He obviously had a reason for coming in to get him, but he couldn't seem to remember what it was.
"What is it, Yamamoto?" Tsuna growled.
"Well, there's a few guys from Momokyo-kai here that want to pay their respects," Yamamoto finally said. Tsuna narrowed his eyes. He had hoped they wouldn't find out about his presence for at least a few days, but it looked like today wasn't going to be his day.
"Yakuza already," Tsuna muttered to himself in thought. "Do we have a conference room in this place?" He asked after a moment. Yamamoto nodded, relieved when Tsuna turned to business and let him ignore the girl still hiding under the covers beside him. "Have them wait there," Tsuna ordered. "If they don't want to wait, they can see themselves out."
Yamamoto nodded again and quickly let himself out. Tsuna peeked under the covers at Haru, giving her a look of apology. She was bright red, but there was still an incredibly large smile on her face. The Momokyo-kai could wait, he decided as he kissed her playfully on the tip of her red nose before pinning her to the bed with a passionate one on her lips.
He'd shown her how long and exhausting Information Gathering could be. Now he could show her has quick yet satisfying an Execution was. Momokyo-kai be damned.
Power has it perks at times.
The three men in black ski-masks at one end of the room grumbled quietly to themselves while Gokudera laid back in his chair, enjoying a manga with his feet on the long table covering sixty percent of the room. The Tenth sure was taking his time. He looked at the men again out of the corner of his eye. It must be for the insult of the masks, he decided with a smile.
Tsuna entered the room, smoothing down his beige suit as he walked calmly to the seat at the head of the conference table. Gokudera immediately flew to his feet while his boss openly ignored their guests and sat.
"How many times over should these guys be dead?" His boss asked him nonchalantly when Gokudera sat down beside him.
"Two times, Tenth?" He replied with a smile. The standing men stiffened in surprise.
"I'd say three," he corrected. He raised three fingers, lowering them as he enumerated the reasons. "Once for coming unannounced. Once for the insult of masking themselves before me. And once for their arrogance in general." He finally looked at the three men, pinning them in place with a single gaze before they could object. "Why are they still alive?" Gokudera immediately pulled out a stick of dynamite lazily and began flipping it through his fingers like a coin.
"I can fix that for you, Tenth," he offered. Tsuna leaned back in his chair, making it look like he was playing with the idea. The men didn't relaxed momentarily when he finally made his decision.
"No, I'm in a pretty good mood right now." He ignored the three and played with a hangnail with his thumb to test them. They were trained well, however, and waited for his permission before speaking. "So, what do you want?" He finally said.
"Our boss wanted us to pay his respect to you in his absence, Vongola the Tenth," the foremost man said with a low and respectful bow. As he rose, Tsuna pinned him in place with another dangerous look.
"I find it odd, I seem to remember wiping out the Momokyo-kai while I was still at Nami-chuu." Again the men tensed at his words.
"We've been rebuilding, Vongola the Tenth," the speaker for the group explained. Tsuna paused for a moment before he nodded in acceptance.
"I see. So your boss wants to know whether I plan to wipe you guys out again." Before the men could get any more tense, he gave them the information they'd come for. "Play nice and I won't bother. However," he added as his tone darkened seriously, "If you play in a way I don't like, you'll find me when you least expect it." The men bowed low, once again paying their respects although this time with gratitude. They seemed to take his words as a dismissal, but he stopped them with a single word.
"Wait," he ordered. The masked men paused uncertainly. Their boss hadn't given them orders on what to do for anything else.
"Is there something else, Vongola the Tenth?" The speaker asked hesitantly.
"Take off your mask," Tsuna ordered calmly, "Mochida." He could sense Gokudera stiffen in surprise, but he merely wanted to laugh. He'd seen through them the moment he'd walked in. The flames reflecting in his eyes weren't for nothing.
"The only reason the guards let you get past the front gates unannounced is probably because of the card I gave Mochida," he informed them lazily. "Since I doubt any of the girls would have handed it over to the yakuza. I also assume Ryohei saw that card when you came through the front door and decided to leave your fate to me." He looked at them, his lazy expression becoming a hard and dark one. "I don't think you know who you're dealing with anymore, Mochida," he stared at the man trying hard to hide behind the large spokesman.
"All of you, remove your masks," Tsuna ordered once more. "If you refuse, I'll take them off myself," he lit the flames in his gloves in warning and immediately three sets of hands flew up and pulled off the ski-masks. Tsuna nodded to himself when Mochida's sheepish and fearful face came into view. "Gokudera, see the other two out. Me and Mochida have some unfinished business."
Gokudera only hesitated a moment, not liking the idea of leaving his boss alone. Tsuna simply waited until he realized the futility of it on his own before he escorted the wary spokesman and the other guest through the door. Tsuna smiled and stood the moment the two of them were alone. Mochida looked like he wanted to wet himself when Tsuna slowly closed half the distance across the room. Before he could actually decide to do it, Tsuna hiked up a leg and sat on the table.
"So, you're with the Momokyo-kai, Mochida?" He prompted. He motioned the other man to sit. Mochida hesitantly did as Tsuna waited for him to calm himself enough to answer.
"Y-yes," Mochida answered. Sweat began forming on his forehead. "One of the other guys saw you give me the card, so I couldn't hide it from my boss."
"Do you want to tell me why you were so angry?" Tsuna asked. He lowered his inner flame and pulled back his aura of power. Mochida's shoulders sagged and he bowed his head when he realized Tsuna was being Tsuna and not the feared Vongola the Tenth.
"I was jealous," Mochida replied in a small voice. "I messed up a long time ago by thinking Kyoko was a prize and lost my chance." Tsuna couldn't hide the surprise on his face as Mochida continued. "You had her by your side for so long and no one else could really get close. Then you left..." He sighed and Tsuna overcame his surpris. His eyes filled with sadness. It was no different than how he had felt before Reborn had come to him; always thinking that there was no chance that Kyoko would look his way because Mochida had been always standing by her.
"I see," Tsuna said softly. Mochida looked up in surprise, finally seeing the understanding in Tsuna's eyes. "When I went away, you filled the hole I didn't mean to leave. And when I came back, you thought she'd automatically come running to me, so you got angry." Tsuna's shoulders sagged when it hit him once more that Kyoko was out of his reach. It was okay, he reminded himself, because he still had Haru. Haru, the one that could join him in the darkness and still shine. The one he didn't have to lie to.
"I made too many mistakes where Kyoko was concerned, Mochida. Make sure you don't make the same ones. Keep her smiling," he paused for a moment to let Mochida grasp his words. Mochida looked at him in surprise and shock at the implication. Tsuna wasn't going to try and take Kyoko from him. He didn't have to fight for her anymore. Tsuna snapped him out of his joy.
"If you make her cry," he said in warning as he flared the flames in his gloves again, "I will punish you." Mochida instantly started shaking his head in agreement. He wouldn't make her cry. Never. Tsuna smiled and let the flames in his glove go out. He stood and Mochida stood with him. "I hope we can still be friends, then, Mochida-sempai."
Mochida's jaw dropped, not only from the offer but the honorific. Tsuna smile reached his eyes and he waited for Mochida's gaping mouth to actually emit words. The other man smiled in return when he finally overcame his surprise.
"You really are a lot different than the 'No-Good' Tsuna I remember."
"We all change to do what we have to," Tsuna replied sadly while he led the way to the room's only entrance.
"I can understand that," Mochida replied, the same sadness filling his eyes. Tsuna wanted to ask, but he had a feeling he already knew. If Mochida was with the Momokyo-kai, he'd probably lost his blood innocence just like Tsuna had. It was a cruel world.
"Well, I'll leave a year's worth of catching up and your explanation of how you joined the yakuza to later. Your friends probably think you're dead by now." He smiled, the expression mirrored by Mochida. "For now, keep that card I gave you. You can be the liaison between me and your boss. It'll keep the authorities from getting suspicious since you're with Kyoko." Tsuna was proud he managed to say it without his heart clenching for once. Mochida nodded and Tsuna led him through to the front door. "But next time," he continued, "come alone or with her. You can leave the apes at home." Mochida chuckled and turned to Tsuna when they finally reached the estate's front entrance. It was Tsuna's turn to be surprised when Mochida raised a hand to shake.
"Friends?" He asked. Tsuna smiled and took the proffered hand.
"Ah," he affirmed. "We need all the ones we can get in this world."
His three Guardians walked up, openly curious. Tsuna threw off his beige blazer and loosened his tie, trying to cover his blushes. He tried to decide which thing they were curious about. Mochida or Haru.
"SO?" The three prompted. He blushed brighter, deciding to let them know about Mochida first since he didn't know if Yamamoto had said anything to the others.
"It's okay. Things are settled between me and Mochida. He'll do his best to make Kyoko happy." His hopes that they were satisfied were dashed in an instant as the three glared at him.
"Haru," Yamamoto prompted blandly. Tsuna's bright red face turned crimson and he couldn't suppress the sheepish grin that broke out.
"Um...eh..." He was momentarily relieved when the three traded their glares for large smiles but still his blush deepened. It seemed like he was making up for a years' lack of blushes all at once. Ryohei hung an arm around his neck, dragging him toward the bar.
"This deserves an extreme drink," he bellowed.
"You're not mad?" Tsuna gasped toward Ryohei, trying to get air around the arm that was unintentionally strangling him. Ryohei should be angry, not celebrating. He'd not only let Mochida have Kyoko, but he'd found someone else the same day. Ryohei let him go and Tsuna lost his balance before he fell on his back at the sudden lack of support. As he held himself up on his elbows, he looked up at his three Guardians. All three still had bright smiles as they hovered over him.
"Why should we be mad, Tsuna?" Yamamoto asked, crossing his arms.
"My little-bro's happy, we should celebrate!" Ryohei cheered.
"We all knew you'd end up with one of them, Tenth," Gokudera explained. "If you say you want one rather than the other, who are we to disagree?"
"And if you say Mochida will make Kyoko happy, I'll trust that to the limit," Ryohei added.
Tsuna continued to sit on the ground, flabbergasted at their trust and support for his choice. When had the triangle supporting him become so solid? Before he could wrap his mind around it, Haru came in the room cautiously. She seemed a bit perplexed by Tsuna being on the floor, surrounded by his three friends. Tsuna couldn't help but smile broadly at the fact she was wearing one of his button-down shirts and had belted on one of his pairs of pants to cover her lack of undergarments; he faintly remember ripping hers to shreds.
"Good morning," she said to the group, faintly flustered when everyone's attention focused on her. Tsuna's trio left him as he hurriedly tried to get back to his feet. Before he could manage to get standing, they had surrounded the bright red Haru. Before she could move, Ryohei pulled her into a bear hug while Yamamoto and Gokudera gave wide smiles.
"Welcome to the Family," the boxer howled.
"Ha-hi?!" Haru shrieked. She found herself lifted into the air and spun around until she was dizzy. Tsuna smiled when Ryohei let her go with a small shove in his direction. He caught her when she stumbled against his chest, then smiled again as she looked up at him in askance. He kissed her lightly on the cheek as he explained.
"Aren't you going to be a mafia boss' wife?"
The surprise and joy in her eyes at that moment made all the agony and bloodshed seem like a far-away dream.
Tsuna smiled.
It wasn't required for once. It was wanted.
Over a late breakfast, Tsuna talked Haru into moving into the estate. He knew when, not if, word got out about their relationship, she'd be targeted. He tried to get that across to her, but even if she didn't understand that part it was okay. She gave agreement the moment he asked. Her repeated energetic 'yes' still resounded in his head making him smile every time he thought about it. There was something to be said about open affection. Something very nice to be said about it.
After she left with Yamamoto as an escort, Tsuna took the time to look through the rest of the two story estate before the moving vans started arriving. Iemitsu had shown up after breakfast and, after receiving the shocking revelation that his son suddenly had a live-in girlfriend, he informed them about the status of the rest of the Family. Everyone had agreed to move into the estate. Tsuna's mother had been a little upset at first, since it meant leaving the house they'd had for years, but Iemitsu had talked her into it. Tsuna was glad. He didn't want his Family outside of his protection if he could help it, even if he would only been here a month or so at a time.
There was actually three main wings to the estate. One wing was where the conference room was, along with Tsuna's overly-large private office and other public-related facilities. Tsuna was a bit surprised to find a banquet hall outfitted with a low, formal table in the traditional Japanese style instead of the Western-style he'd used while growing up. There was also a parlor for after-party drinks and cigars. Everything that Tsuna would possibly need in dealing with people outside the Family was there.
The next wing was that of the rooms and areas for the Family. He found rooms already prepared for Lambo, I-Pin, Fuuta, Bianchi, and a very large one for his mother and father on the second floor. The first floor held empty rooms for any guests or future additions to the Family and he was relieve to see that each had their own private bathrooms attached. This area also held entertaining rooms and public rooms for people of all ages instead of the adult parlor he'd seen in the previous wing. The deck outside this one held a large and lavish hot spring along with a water slide for the kids. This wing was also the one that held the Family's kitchen and dining area. While the dining room wasn't quite as big as the banquet hall, it could easily hold twenty people.
The final wing was Tsuna and the Guardian's wing when they weren't with the others. The first floor held a parlor for them to be able to drink and entertain without worrying about whether they'd be interrupted by outsiders. Tsuna recognized it as the very one they'd taken over the previous night. Looking out the deck attached, he was grateful when he saw a private entrance with a hidden path so that they could come and go without interfering or being seen by the rest of the house. He hoped the day never came when one of them had to return home with blood on them, but it was better to be prepared.
Curious about what else the deck held, he walked down a side-path and found a smaller, quieter version of the main hot spring. From the way the foliage around it was set up, Tsuna felt the need to blush at the implied intention behind it. Definitely intended for 'private' parties. Going back inside, he saw this wing's first floor also held three suites of rooms. One for Chrome and her two companions who had stayed behind in Italy. One for Hibari that Tsuna doubted would ever find a use. The last one was obviously intended for Lambo once he came of age. Going upstairs, he saw the second floor held rooms for his core trio as well as his own suite.
Tsuna went into his own room, curious to look at it when he wasn't either rushed or drunk. It wasn't much different than his room in Italy. There was a control panel next the door, familiar except additional intercom switches going to each of the Guardian's rooms. The dresser and private bar covered the wall next to the entrance to his private bath. The sitting area was set up exactly as he remembered from Italy. There was a balcony overlooking a meticulous sand garden instead of the maze that Italy had. Other than that, everything seemed to be the same.
Except one thing. Instead of the Vongola tapestry hiding a secret passage next to his bed, it held an elevator. Tsuna assumed it was his private access to the lower floors as well as being a panic room. The panel inside proved his theory correct once he placed his hand on the scanner. After choosing a floor, he was whisked downward where he inspected the staff's housing, the training facilities, the weapons storehouses, and other secret areas of the estate.
All was well, he thought to himself as he reemerged above-ground. He looked out the window where moving vans were starting to pull up. His father was playing up to his road-worker disguise by directing them with his arms. Tsuna wanted to laugh as he repeated to himself:
All was well.
"Tsuna!" Lambo yelled happily, running up and tackling his target. Tsuna couldn't help but be rocked backward when the boy plunged into his waist. Lambo had gotten much bigger over the past year. His chubby cheeks had begun to thin out and his curly mess of hair was now starting to resemble that of adult-Lambo. He hadn't matured any though; Tsuna could tell that when he immediately started looking for Reborn with a grenade in his hand.
"Lambo!" Tsuna yelled, taking the dangerous weapon away from the kid. He broke into a cold sweat at the item. Tsuna wasn't the naive boy that had left Namimori anymore. He knew what a grenade could do if it went off at the wrong time. How Lambo had managed to survive so long was a mystery and a miracle. "No more grenades until you're older! You could get hurt," Tsuna told him seriously.
"Tsuna's an idiot," Lambo said, stuffing a finger deep into his nose. "Everyone knows that Lambo is invincible." Tsuna gritted his teeth. He knew that Lambo was arrogant, but someone had to put an end to it.
"Lambo," Tsuna said carefully, "If you touch another grenade, I'll have to punish you. I said no more."
"Like baka-Tsuna could punish the great me!" Lambo replied, sticking out his tongue. Tsuna smiled evilly in return.
"I don't know. I'm sure at the request of Vongola the Tenth, the market could sell something other than grape soda."
"You wouldn't," Lambo gasped in horror. Tsuna's evil smile got wider.
"No more grenades until you're older," he repeated. Tears started welling up in Lambo's eyes when Tsuna disarmed him and handed the weapons off to Gokudera to stash in the weapon's storehouse below. Tsuna ignored the fat tears. Lambo might hate him now, but it was better than seeing an arm blown off or worse. "And don't let me find out that you sent off to the Bovino's for more," Tsuna admonished.
"Gotta-Keep-Calm," Lambo started bawling as he ran down the hall. Tsuna sighed. One day Lambo would be powerful, he knew that much from seeing the effect of a double-shot of the bazooka during the Ring Battles so long ago. But right now, Lambo needed to be a kid. There would be enough explosions and injuries when he was older. Plus, the lack of explosives might help him better grasp his own abilities.
Tsuna turned to the rest of the arriving party. Fuuta was already settling into his room after ranking it number one out of all rooms Tsuna could have given him. Bianchi was still in Italy, although she was due to arrive within another day. She had said there was some things she had to do before joining them. All that left was I-Pin and his mother.
"Hello, mom," he said with a hug. He put a hand on I-pin's head, "Hello, I-Pin. Long time no see." Nana's eyes were looking around the place, surprised at how big their new estate was.
"Tsu-kun, how did you afford this?!" She asked in awe. Tsuna smiled sadly.
"I've been working hard, mom. Here, Ryohei can show you around. Him and the other guys will be living with us now." She looked at him in surprise before smiling widely. The more the merrier in his mother's eyes. "I've got to talk to I-Pin," he explained, "so I'll see you again for dinner. Just let one of the guys know if you need anything." He smiled reassuringly and Ryohei offered his arm gentleman-like to escort her. After seeing her off, he turned to I-Pin.
Like Lambo, I-Pin had matured. Her long pony-tail seemed to be longer and her eyes were wide and bright instead of squinting. Tsuna assumed it was due to finally getting used to her contact lens. He smiled at her reassuringly when she openly began to get nervous. "Don't worry, I-Pin. I just wanted to show you a special feature in your room." He led the way to where her room was, hoping that her time-bomb didn't start. She was starting that age where girls got strange. The age where guys can never tell what would set them off. But his father had predicted that and shown him a feature in I-Pin's room while the moving vans had been unloading.
"You just press this," he said, pressing a big red button on the wall, "and voila!" A door opened up out of a plain-looking wall. Inside was a steel-lined room with holes in the ceiling and walls. When I-Pin looked at him curiously, he explained. "It's in case your time-bomb starts counting down. This room is set up to withstand it, so you can go off without ruining the house." He wanted to run when the time-bomb countdown started on her forehead when she blushed in embarrassment, but instead he ushered her into the room before it got down to six. He stepped back after he showed her the button to close the hatch and it slid shut. Six seconds later, there was a faint pop and the door opened back up. Tsuna's shoulders sagged with relief. Testing complete.
"Thank you," she said in Chinese. For once, Tsuna understood her, since it was one of the five languages he knew now.
"You're welcome," he replied in the same language, bringing another blush to her face. As the door on the bunker slid shut again with her inside, Tsuna figured it would probably be a good time to retreat. Who knows how many times she would go off if he stuck around. She was definitely at that age.
Tsuna smiled again to himself as he headed for his room. His Family was finally all under the same roof. One, in particular, he wanted to see again before he surprised his mother with her. He wondered how Haru was liking his suite. Their suite. He couldn't help it as he opened the door to his room and called, "Honey, I'm home!" And as Haru jumped into his arms, he couldn't help the other cliche thought that flashed through his mind:
Home Sweet Home