Mia Tempesta

Summary: Reborn never liked being a (secondary) Sky, but he can't deny his nature forever, so one day he starts collecting his Elements. Except now there was a tiny Storm that packs quite a punch that he doesn't know what to do with. Denial leads to trouble, trouble leads to possessiveness, possessiveness leads to ... something else much more tender. Throw in Checkerface and the Arcobaleno Sky into the mix and things get quite complicated.

A few days later, Viper calls a meeting at the 'headquarters' again, so they can discuss the list of suspects and the probability of one of them being the person who had sold Reborn out. Lal couldn't come, since she had some overseas meeting for COMSUBIN, but Colonello was there and promised to tell her everything. Viper was even going to make bulletin notes for her about what was said for the meeting and would even only charge her ten Euros, which was a really cheap price when getting anything from Viper.

Everyone else could come, though, but the meeting proved to have little results where discovering the identity of the offender was concerned.

Viper had done a throughout check on all of Reborn's past lovers for the last two years, in the time frame when his Sky had started being a bit more active because he'd found compatible Elements and then bonded with them, thus making his Sky considerably more noticeable even underneath his overwhelming Sun than it had been before. Since a good quarter of his sex buddies were Non Flame Aware or Active civilians, that eliminated a lot of the names on the list but still left a lot more. A fifth of the remaining number were also Non Flame Active or Aware mafioso, men and women alike, so they were scratched out, too.

Reborn had to go through his vague memories of the nights he spent with every last one of them to eliminate quickies and one night stands, because those were the least likely due to how little time they would have spent together outside of fucking where people aren't exactly coherent enough to recognize that little flicker of orange beneath blazing yellow, which eliminated more than half of the remaining names. Then he had to try and recall if he'd been drinking around any of them at any point that he'd had interactions with them, be it sexual or not. That was a bit harder to recall, because one usually didn't track if one has a drink or two. He never gets himself sloshed and the only times he even allows himself to get halfway tipsy would be around his Guardians, which was a new experience altogether and only about a year old. Thankfully, he had Leon to help him recall, so they eliminated more names from their list.

That left them with about fifty names to double check, but Viper insisted they would do it on their own and then moved on to see if anyone else had suggestions of how else someone might have figured out Reborn was more than a Sun.

Fon suggested a doctor, Lal suggested his favorite barista - whom he hadn't seen since Fon moved into his flat, because Fon definitely made better coffee - Verde suggested his most frequent clients, Colonello suggested the doorman at his apartment building(s) and Skull suggested the servers at his favorite restaurants.

Viper looked ready to kill the Cloud when Reborn listed at least twenty of those and each restaurant had enough staff that it would take Viper at least two days to check them all out.

Fon's suggestion, thankfully, was easily dismissed as Reborn trusted only one doctor to patch him up if he was too tired or in no state to concentrate to patch himself up on his own and Shamal, who has only recently graduated from med school, has no freaking idea that Reborn is a dual Flame user.

Lal's, too, because his favorite barista was as civilian as they come and while she liked Reborn and blushed every time he walked into her cafe, she was intimidated by him and had never actually dared touch him, even accidentally.

Viper was okay with checking Reborn's clients, since they did that regularly these days because they were a protective and possessive Mist that had grown unusually attached to their weird Sky and their strange fellow Guardians and would rather keep them around because they made life interesting and often helped them out. So Vipe was already all but stalking their businesses to keep them safe all the time and no one protested, but instead often even thanked them for it. Viper had saved each of them from at least three bad jobs before.

Fon and Reborn had exchanged a sort of uneasy glance as they thought about Colonello's suggestion. Reborn had never touched any of the employees that worked in or around the buildings where he had his many condos, especially in the one building containing his true home. And Fon and Reborn had never come into the building together, either, so no one had seen them interacting as anything beyond two people who sometimes shared the elevator. As such, no one could have spotted any possible Sky-Element behaviors between them, so at least they still had their discretion in Reborn's true home. Reborn had just had to get Fon a copy of the key card that would grant him access to the elevator and a key for his apartment and no one was none the wiser that the Asian male that lived in the building was not a new resident of one of the previously empty apartments, but rather one that lived with one of the regular residents. Reborn had paid off and threatened the receptionist, the manager and the owner of the building to keep quiet about it, so, really, that was at least the one building he still didn't need to name, even to his Guardians.

By the end of the meeting, when Chinese takeout arrived and they were preparing to play Monopoly - which Reborn,Verde and Viper trounced the other in, though Viper ended up as the winner when all was said and done - Viper had over three hundred names to check out altogether and while they were not happy, they had only said an exasperated 'Good grief' in complaint.

Now, three days later as Reborn stopped at one of his usual haunts for lunch after a mission that had finished earlier than he expected, he wondered if he should have told Viper to check a certain big famiglia Sky as Vongola Nono boldly invited himself to his table without permission, two of his Guardians at his back and four more bodyguards at hand while Reborn was alone with Leon and his vongole fettuccini and really in no mood to deal with anyone's bullshit.

First, Lal was still gone on her COMSUBIN bullshit assignment so Reborn was left to deal with the insanity of his Guardians all on his own.

Second, Viper had dropped out of contact so they can get all the names checked out, which meant even less sanity than usual.

Third, Skull had managed to break exactly seventy two bones on his latest stunt just yesterday and Reborn was forced to play doctor to break and reset them all because the idiot had not told anyone and had just had his Cloud Flames try to repair the damage without checking if the bones were out of alignment for a proper recovery. And because the moron had another show scheduled for today, Reborn had to actually heal him because Skull could not sit still for two minutes the day before he has a stunt because he's always so excited.

(At least Verde and Colonello were behaving themselves, as far as he fucking knew.)

And fourth, Fon was out since yesterday on a two day mission. He should be returning sometime around dinner, but he had left too early yesterday morning for him to brew Reborn's coffee without it getting cold by the time the hitman woke up, which meant Reborn had been deprived of the most delicious coffee of his life and a night of proper sleep, so excuse him if he wasn't overly pleased to see Timoteo Vongola sitting across from him and casually ordering wine and a meal for himself, paying in advance both of their food as if doing Reborn a favor. Reborn didn't need a favor from him. Reborn earned more than enough damned money on his own to afford to eat at this five star restaurant every goddamned day for the rest of his life without feeling a dent in his wallet if he wanted to, but he now actually had someone at home to share meals with and he had found Fon and Lichi better company than just about everyone except the rest of his Elements.

But he couldn't tell the Don to fuck off, either, because that is just Not Done. Reborn may have made quite the name for himself, but he is still just a freelance hitman potentially pissing off the boss of the biggest, most influential mafia family in the world. Don Vongola could ruin him, not through his hitmen or anything, but through his influence. Reputation was everything. Reborn would need to become a monster that would attract the attention of Vindice if he wanted some peace and quiet - or more jobs - should Timoteo go that way.

Fucking bastards, famiglia Skies, the lot of them!

"Vongola Nono, what an unexpected surprise," Reborn said as he politely dabbed at his mouth with his napkin, eyeing the other warily. He was seriously contemplating why he hadn't thought to suggest Timoteo as a potential suspect because he had been more than close enough to see him and Lal spark - it had happened in the man's goddamned office, after all, with him sitting right there in front of them as he officially introduced them to each other - and to feel it, too, not to mention the rumored, infamous Vongola Hyper Intuition. Though why he would sell that information made no sense to the Sun/hiding Sky. Vongola had more than enough power to go after him on their own, even if he now had practically a full Guardian set, though it's questionable if they knew that. And besides, Viper had said it had been a freelance hitman that had been in contact with the family who knew and the general. Nono was no hitman and he definitely wasn't free, let alone freelance. "To what do I owe this ... questionable pleasure?"

"No need to be so formal with me, Reborn," the older man said with an easy smile that grated on Reborn's already fried nerves. Second-rate - compared to Fon's - espresso and the lack of sleep coupled with his Guardians' idiocy these days tended to do that. "I thought we were beyond such things. You did, after all, almost sign a contract with me, which would have made you an honorary part of my family."

The Guardian on the left, Nono's Sun, stiffened and barely held back a sneer he wished to direct at Reborn, clearly offended and threatened by the mere thought of the stronger Sun being part of his Sky's famiglia. Territorial bastard, was he? Good for him that Reborn had no intentions of joining their ranks. Not in any way, shape or form.

"There's every need for formality, Vongola Nono, as I have no plans of signing any contract except for a job. I am freelance. My loyalty goes to the highest paying client."

Not exactly true these days, since he was loyal to his Guardians/friends/family, but that was none of Timoteo's business.

Said Don lost his smile and even frowned slightly, as though confused why his natural Sky charisma wasn't working on the hitman. Possibly. Or he could just be confused why someone would turn down such a great opportunity and honor as to work for the Vongola famiglia. It was a dream come true to most freelance hitmen to be invited like that.

Only Reborn wasn't like most freelance hitmen.

And it wasn't even because he was hiding the existence of his secondary Flames.

It was because he was motherfucking Reborn, the greatest hitman in the world, and he didn't need the Vongola's backing to make a goddamned name for himself, earn money or get exciting missions. Or backup. He had his own backup now.

"Except you have rejected every job offer I have sent your way since that first time and I don't understand why, when the prices I offer should be more than enough. Did I offend you somehow? Allow me to make amends if it is so-"

"You didn't offend me, Don Vongola. I simply didn't wish to take the missions, as is my right as a freelance hitman." This was why he didn't like Skies. Whether they realized it or not, when they found an unbound Element they want, they don't give up on it even when their attentions are unwanted. "There is no need for you to concern yourself with making amends. Had you earned my ire, you would have known of it, I'm sure."

The Guardian on the right, a Storm, growled and looked ready to snap at him but Nono raised a hand and he stopped like an obedient dog.

This was why he had always been hesitant to find his Storm.

This is why he had been so reluctant to accept Fon to begin with.

But Fon was not like this Storm. He was not a doormat.

(Reborn unexpectedly found himself really missing his Storm right now.)

"I see." He clearly didn't. If he had, he would have left by now. "I apologize for making presumptions."

Reborn shrugged and went back to his food when the waiter arrived with his unwanted lunch companion's order. Reborn staunchly ignored the expensive wine being opened and poured into both his and Nono's glasses on the table. He was not a woman that needs to be wined and dined for a roll in the sheets, damn it.

Besides, he would have preferred an espresso.

"You have yet to state your business here, Don Vongola," he pointed out as politely as he could be bothered to, intending to finish his meal and leave whether the Don agreed with that or not. Vongola Guardians or not, Reborn was still the best and Vongola Sky or not, not even Timoteo would be able to stop him.

"Ah, yes, do forgive me. Perhaps I am getting a bit old," he chuckled at his own joke. Reborn didn't find it funny. He kept an impassive, emotionless expression on his face and a wary eye on his surroundings. He didn't like this. Not at all. Not after finding out someone knew about his nature as a secondary Sky. "I heard what you've been up to as of late, Reborn, and I must express a slight worry. You say you are freelance, but you've been spotted with various people whose affiliations to other organizations are quite firm and clear."

Reborn shrugged. "Yeah, sure, Lal and 'Nello are unapologetically COMSUBIN, but I don't judge. They don't interfere in my business and I don't interfere in theirs. Besides, you're forgetting who else is in my company these days and Viper and Verde aren't exactly shy about caring only for the money for their own ends." None of them were hiding that they had some sort of working relationship at least anymore. Yes, it brought a lot more enemies knocking on their doors, but it also brought them a lot more protection because despite the new increase of attacks, they had each other's reputation to fall on as a defense, not to mention each other's resources and support.

The world knew them as the strongest seven already - yes, including Fon - so why try to hide it? Why not embrace it that they're a group that simply should not be messed with?

Besides, things are more fun this way, even the ever reasonable Lal and the always logical Verde agreed.

Viper still bitched about how much the repairs cost, but whatever. They were used to that.

Fon certainly liked it that he had a place to vent some of his pent up tensions on because he was not used to being so still all the time.

Skull didn't care either way. He just wanted to do his stunts and hang out with his friends. For a civilian, he's awfully adaptable to the craziness that is the mafia life. Good for him, good for him.

"And I heard that you even involved a civilian," the older man said and Reborn very carefully did not tense up. "That could have gotten you into some serious trouble." To say the least. Vindice was more than 'serious trouble'. "Reckless behavior like that is not like you, Reborn."

The hitman couldn't help but arch an eyebrow at that. "Skull has stopped being a civilian some time ago, even if he keeps his very-civilian day job because he's an adrenaline junkie. As for whether recklessness is in my character or not, you wouldn't exactly be qualified to say as much, seeing as you've only spoken to me once before, almost two years ago. No offense, Don Vongola, but get to the point. We are both busy men and time is money." One of Viper's favorite sayings, in fact.

It annoyed him that Timoteo didn't take that as a hint that Reborn was actually getting rather impatient, as the mafia boss sighed and took a bite of his own food, chewing it slowly and taking a sip of wine before he continued talking. Reborn was two bites away from being done with his meal and he wanted to get to the bottom of this conversation before he left because he needs to know if the Vongola will be a problem. They might just be a bite bigger than he and his Guardians can chew.

Might, though he doubted it. Verde's been working on a robot army these days.

"And there are even rumors that you've stolen a Triads Storm!" The man shook his head and Reborn felt his jaw tick. If this was supposed to be a powerplay to show off the Vognola's information gathering capabilities, Reborn was far from impressed. It was practically public knowledge at this point, because Fon had been seen with each one of them at least a dozen times by now. And he lived with Viper, who seemed to be whipping out new information out of their ass every five seconds. Really not much to be impressed by here. "They will come after you, Reborn. The Triads don't take such things lightly. And no single man, even if it's you, can stand up to a whole organization all on your own."

"Let me guess," Reborn interrupted before the man could continue because he was seriously tired of this. He wanted to go home and take a nap, but he'll still have to wait for a good number of hours until he will actually be able to get some sleep since his bedbuddy was still not home. "You're offering me Vongola's protection and support. In exchange, of course, for my loyalty. Only one problem there, Timmy." The two Guardians at Nono's back bristled but Vongola himself kept a wary silence. "I'm motherfucking Reborn. I don't need it. And if I do end up needing backup, I have it."

"Two of them have firm affiliations with COMSUBIN, two of them have no sense of loyalty, one is a civilian with no true understanding of our world and one is a traitor," Timoteo listed, arching an almost condescending eyebrow before his face fell into a mask of sympathy. "Can you really trust them?"

'With my life,' he would have answered any of his Guardians had they been the one to ask such a question. To the Don, he only shrugged his shoulders. "I don't need to, since I won't need it. I'm freelance, I'm a loner, but I am Reborn and the Triads - or anyone else - will learn what that means should they try to attack me." Reborn's never quite used his full strength in his whole life so far. He'd tested his limits, once, and had needed Leon to take care of him for a few hours as he'd fallen unconscious after a Chaos Shot decimated a good chunk of a random desert in some military testing zone that actually started rumors of the US preparing for a nuclear war some years back. Somewhere in Nevada, probably. He actually doesn't remember much, but it caused quite an uproar. Reborn had walked it off as though nothing had happened.

He didn't need that much destructive power to deal with the idiots that would be stupid enough to attack him.

He was the world's best, strongest hitman.

Truly, only an idiot would attack him.

(No one said his Guardians were the sharpest bunch, given half of them had actually tried.)

"Being part of a family eliminates that necessity," the Vongola Storm Guardian sniffed, as though he thought Reborn was below him because he was unaffiliated.

"I'm a hitman, not a whore. You can buy my services, but not me."

"What did you just say?!" Hissed in demand the greatly offended Guardian and Leon was already in Reborn's hand as the Storm made a grab for him, Flames flickering to life on his Vongola Storm Ring, but unexpectedly, a dainty hand caught it before it could even reach for a weapon or inflict damage to the hitman. "Wha-"

Fon said nothing as Storm Flames danced over his whole hand, too, and sank into his fellow Storm's skin. Reborn expected to see said skin blister or peel off as the dissolving factor took effect, but instead, the Vongola Storm collapsed like a puppet whose strings have just been cut. The Sun lunged to help his comrade and Timoteo made a grab for his cane, Sky Flames already dancing at the tip but Reborn pointed his gun at him while Fon faced his fellow close range fighter, catching the Vongola's arm during an elaborate looking offensive move, twisting it so it cannot touch the younger man and then repeating the same trick from before, making the Vongola Sun Guardian collapse, too.

Timoteo's bodyguards took out their guns and shot at the Japanese Storm, but Fon made a series of too fast to track movements until they ran out of bullets. Fon lowered his hands from the defensive stance he'd taken, casually letting the bullets drop from between his fingers where he'd caught them before they could make contact. Reborn let out an impressed whistle while one of the bodyguards actually fainted because that was not something you usually see outside of movies and cartoons, fiction in general.

Verde will definitely want to run tests on that. That was not a normal skill.

Fon casually turned his back on the stunned and terrified bodyguards and came back over to their table, nonchalantly picking up a piece of food from Timoteo's plate as the older man stared incredulously at the both of them. "I don't appreciate it when my friends are cornered while having lunch, Vongola Timoteo-san," the Japanese male said as he walked over to stand behind Reborn's chair on his right side. A bold but silent statement that the other would most definitely catch on to ... If he was only aware that Reborn was a Sky.

Like this, without that understanding, it is only a show of support as comrades.

Perhaps that was for the best, for now.

"Well, thank you for the lunch, Timmy, but we'll be taking our leave now," Reborn said casually, gun still aimed at Nono's head as he stood up. "Hope to hear from you never."

"Reborn, think this through very carefully," the Don said, but he didn't exactly sound as confident as he would have liked. He was trying to keep an eye on the gun and on both of the very skilled, very deadly assassins that he's clearly annoyed, if not outright pissed off. It's sometimes hard to tell, Reborn knew, between his neutral facade and Fon's serene smiles.

"I already have, Timmy. My answer hasn't changed." He walked past the Vongola boss, smirk in place as he saw just how close to pissing themselves the bodyguards were as he walked closer and closer to them on his way to the exit. "Don't bother me again."

Fon followed after him but stopped by the Don's side. "Oh, you might want to run to the bathroom and expel all you've got in your stomach. There's quite a strong poison lacing your food and it should start having effect in about ten minutes. You should probably go to the hospital, too. I don't think this is your normal case of food poisoning. It tastes a bit like," he said a weird word that sounded almost primitively guttural so Reborn couldn't exactly discern which language it was from but Timoteo paled.

"But you ate it and don't seem bothered!"

Fon gave him an almost pitying look and Reborn had to tip his fedora over his face so he can hide his amusement. He knew Fon's response even before the boy said it. "I am a Storm, formerly of the Triads. If simple poison could kill me, I never would have made it out of China." He paused, glancing at the two Guardians still on the ground. "Don't worry too much about them, either. They will be back up again soon enough. I simply used my Flames' dissolving factor to drain them of energy, so when they regain enough of it, they will wake up. I suggest giving them a lot of fluids and sugar once they do." And with that, and a serene smile, he continued walking, quickly catching up to the older man.

As they left, they could hear the scrambling of footsteps as Nono no doubt rushed to try and pump out his stomach so as to get rid of the poisoned food. Curious, Reborn couldn't help but ask. "Was it really poisoned or are you messing with him?"

Fon gave him a serene smile. "The management needs to do a more thorough background check into their staff. That Albanian is new and yet they let him serve Don Vongola? Sloppy."

"How do you know that?" The hitman asked, frowning in suspicion. "How did you even know where I was in the first place? And weren't you supposed to be home only later tonight, for that matter?" Not that he minded, exactly ...

"I fought him. He's a talented boxer and a rather skilled, successful assassin but isn't very subtle. He needs to work better on his make-up skills because that facial tattoo was still visible. Maybe the perspiration due to nerves ruined it. He needs better quality products." When Reborn continued staring suspiciously at him, Fon actually rolled his eyes at him. At him! (Definitely the best Storm he could have ever found.) "I finished my mission early and was going to go to the store to get some groceries for dinner when I felt something like unease that definitely did not belong to me. Viper reached into my mind moments later and told me your location so I ran here. They believed you might need assistance, just in case."

The bond was already acting up? It wasn't even a proper bond! Just the leftover potential for it from the sparking! This had not happened with any of his other Elements until after they had fully bonded!

From what he understands, this either means he and Fon are more compatible than he had thought or it was happening because he had a full Guardian circle otherwise with just one member missing and since they were all accepting of him, it was acting like a catalyst for the remaining unfinished bond.

At this rate, when Fon and Reborn finally do bond, it will probably be rather unsettling for them to be apart for a few days.

"Viper and the others want to know what was going on and I promised I'd call them later," Fon continued, unaware of Reborn's inner ... turmoil, of sorts? It didn't feel troubling. Not when he already knew Fon wouldn't mind, that he still wanted to be his Storm. He really was surprisingly okay with all of this, given how, not all that long ago, he had all but despised his own secondary Flames. "What did Vongola Timoteo even want?" He asked worriedly but Reborn waved him off.

"Just the usual, selfish, greedy famiglia Sky stuff that he was once already denied before. Kudos for effort and everything, he spewed some really stupid bullshit, but I am not his and I never will be. I have my own little family and I belong only to myself, Leon and my Guardians." He pointed a threatening finger under Fon's nose, half joking, half dead serious. "Don't you dare tell the others I said that. Got it?"

Fon just smiled, clearly amused and much more relaxed now that they were well away from Vongola. "They won't hear it from me."

That settled, the two walked home and caught up on the last two days' happenings.

Life went on as usual.