Some of you will say, damn about time xD

Also, sorry about the wrong update, was updating Family's new chapter on YH xD Sorry, so, to make you forgive me, an early update :3 There's a downside. You'll have to wait more for next chapter xP

DISCLAIMER: I don't own KHR's characters or plot, only the idea of this story and the actual writing (took me months, ya know!).

BoyishBlue: I'm glad you do :) But Reborn can't resist xD We'll see about Russia :3 Thank you! I'm always unsure about smut xD No, she wasn't :3 Ehehe :3 Thank you!

Lunary: Reborn stakes his claim, yes :3 No Lala in this :) Thank you!

Amnesiac Goldfish: Breathe! Ahaha! Thank you!

Thank you, everyone!

DICTIONARY (because I use romanized Japanese vocabulary a lot):

Yakuza: Japanese Syndicate;

Oyabun: bosses of smaller parts of Yakuza;

Gumi: turfs in which Japan is split, each led by an Oyabun;

Kumicho: Boss of Yakuza;

Saiko-komon: senior advisor of the Kumicho;

So-honbucho: headquarters' chief;

Ryuukaze: Dragon, Wind;

Ryuuken: Dragon, Sword;

Ryuunoiki: Breath of Dragon;

Kyodai: big brothers of the Yakuza, higher-placed than the Shatei;

Shatei: little brothers of the Yakuza, basically the new recruits;

Sageo: hanging cord of the sword;

Tsuka: handle of the sword.

WARNINGS (read if you want some spoilers):

- Ryouhei;

- gardens;

- puppies;

- Viper;

- Verde;

- Skull;

- dinner;

- public flirt;

- bonds;

- strange.

Words: 4694.

Enjoy!

25 – Reunion

According to what Nara had reported after dinner, his mother had yet to wake up and understanding the situation of the Vongola mansion was going to be a headache. Tsuna smiled at his brother from the couch he was sitting on, seeing how annoyed the raven was that he had to work even during something that could be considered a mild vacation. True, it was an Inheritance Ceremony, but they had nothing to do while Vongola settled down in its domain and organized everything. Thus, seeing his laziest brother pouting because he was the only one to go around searching for information was quite amusing.

The Vongola Sun passed past their door, screaming something, running as if he was in a marathon instead of being on the precious carpets of a mansion. Pricey carpet, too. Tsuna sighed, closing his book and putting it aside. Currently, he was just relaxing in the rooms assigned to Yakuza. More precisely, he was in a wide living room with Kagami looking out the window, Byakuran playing chess against Atsushi at his right and Nara laying on the couch in front of the Kumicho, using his phone to do his magic – with a pout. More than once, the device had fallen right on his face because he'd almost dozed off, eliciting many chuckles out of the Sky child.

Tsuna moved one hand along the book's spine, it was about Italian wildlife, and waited, eyes warmer. A certain someone was about to come back in a rush, someone that also had the right to some answers.

He heard the scream, of which the height he faintly remembered from his childhood, and coughed in one hand. Nara caught the message and stood up with a sigh. He pocketed his phone and went through a side door, instead of going to stand somewhere, which meant he had a lead. Good.

The Vongola Sun braked on the carpet, making it pool in front of the room, with his feet planted on it. He dashed inside, eyes blazing and fists in the air.

"Ryuunoiki! Extreeeemeeee!"

Well, he surely needed to speak with a lower voice. Tsuna made a show to flinch and Byakura, the small devil, shielded his ears with crocodile tears in his eyes. The Sun noticed all of this, blinking owlishly. Then, as if a bulb got lit in his head, he hit his palm with his fisted hand.

"Ah! I have to tone it down to the extreme!"

It was already progress. The Kumicho nodded with a smile. "Perhaps, so that Byakuran there can keep playing, right?"

The Sky nodded fast, returning to the chessboard, making Atsushi shake his head. Tsuna focused back on the silent Sun, that jumped over the couch and sat down on it, hands on his knees, eyes suddenly serious and determined.

It was another amusing sight. Vongola was proving to be like that. Even dinner, the evening before, had been… peculiar. Although his side of the table had kept good manners – he was secretly very proud of Byakuran's progress, because the child had been wild before Kagami's help –, the other one had been a warzone of food and fights. Ienari had been mortified, but not in a bad way. If he was accepting his Guardians for what they were, he had to either keep them like that or rein them in slowly. Tsuna hoped for the latter, dearly, also for the world's sake.

The Sun bowed, still sitting. "Thank you very much for Muyara! We get along extreeemely well!"

Muyara? Tsuna thought about it. Was he referring to the brown monkey? He smiled. "Good, how is she growing up?"

"Extreeeemeeely fast! Maybe it's because of the Sun Flames!"

Could very well be, so he nodded. "I suppose. Did you need something from me?"

"I have an extreeemeee feeling I've already seen you!"

… was he noticing only then? Had Tsuna really worried about his secret being unveiled by this young man? He held back a surprised chuckle.

"I've lived in your neighbourhood, many years ago. May we have met there, perhaps?"

The white-haired tilted his head, arms crossed, deeply in thought. "I don't know, to the extreeemeee…."

Tsuna arched a brow. "I lived where Ienari is living, in Namimori."

The other just hummed, still thinking. His face was becoming red. It was slightly worrying. Maybe he had to try the direct approach.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi?"

Again, that light bulb lit up and the man brightened. "Extreemeee! You're the cool guy surrounded by cats! The house of the kind woman! It felt so warm..! Why did you leave?!"

Tsuna's smile dropped, memories returning. He didn't answer immediately, and, strangely, the other didn't call him out on it. He just waited.

"… Family issues," he settled for, "it's a long story. I had to move."

"I'm exteeemely sorry for that! Are you ok now?!"

That made him smile again. "Of course, thank you, I have my family looking after me."

"That's perfect, to the extreeeemeee!"

Just like that, the Sun jumped in the air with a fisted hand punching the sky and dashed out of the room, going back to whatever he'd been doing. Tsuna arched a brow and took back his book, sighing.

"Ryuu-nii?"

He looked up to Byakuran, blinking at the frowning child. "Yes?"

"… You don't let us look after you, though." The Sky nodded to himself, then refocused on the chess game.

Tsuna pursed his lips. Had he just been reprimanded? Was he going soft? This was a bit… troublesome.

After two good hours of reading, Tsuna closed the book, left it on the couch and stood. Kagami, sitting on an armchair and still looking out of the window, did the same, about to follow him. He lifted one hand and made for him to not talk. He didn't want to wake Byakuran up, the child had fallen asleep not long prior. Atsushi looked at him with interest.

"I want to see the gardens. Stay here, I won't be alone."

His brothers nodded, trusting him but not at ease. The scars they had named Three Bullets was going to be nasty to deal with. He didn't regret his actions, but he knew he should have been more careful. This time, his Intuition wasn't exactly making him antsy, instead, it was urging him forward. Whatever was waiting for him in the gardens, that he truly wanted to see, was not a danger.

He waved the phone to them, making his brothers relax a bit, and left with a small smile. Several Flames attached to him – Storm, Cloud, a bit of Sky – and his smile grew. He was, probably, getting soft, but was it a bad thing? He didn't know. Tsuna pocketed the phone, hands in the pants' pockets. He wondered if Fon's idea of adding a coat to his usual suit was a good one. It would put a different atmosphere on him. It was something that he'd used, especially in cold weather, but, thinking about it, maybe it would give him a darker edge. With the 'golden-eyed demon' epithet following him like a cape, he admitted it was a good way to enforce the new rumour.

So, well, no softie remark for him, in the future. Though he would gladly hear it in bed.

Tsuna cleared his throat as he walked down the stairs, pushing away certain thoughts. Reborn had been very adamant in claiming Ryuunoiki's bedroom as his own and conquering the brunet's body in many ways during the night. His neck could show the proofs, beneath the collar of his white shirt. He was sure they would appear in places where he couldn't hide them soon. Reborn was that possessive.

And Tsuna loved it, no matter how dangerous or unadvisable it was. Having Reborn cherishing and loving and enjoying his body was too satisfying, too addicting.

He thanked the butlers bowing and opening the main door with a nod, carefully eyeing them to try and see what Ienari had talked about. The few menservants he had back at home were loyal to the core. Rigid, perfect, invisible, used to the mansion, relaxed in their duties. Tsuna went outside and noticed how tense they were. Being the Kumicho, he had not the same treatment they gave to Ienari, but he could guess that something was very wrong.

Holding back a sigh, the brunet eyed the main gravelled path that led to the black iron gate and took his right, looking around in curiosity. The front garden was something he would expect from a noble villa. There were low, squared-cut bushes that drew a peaceful labyrinth with many plants and flowers giving it colour. Benches and a few fountains broke the pattern and the water flowing did wonders to his never ending thoughts. Glancing to the side, he could tell that even the garden was symmetrical. Tsuna walked forward, appreciating the greenery he could see but not venturing himself through the simple maze.

No, he was more interested in the back garden. He'd seen some of it through the windows of his quarters, but Reborn had not let him truly observe better. He was not complaining.

The brunet played with the phone in his pocket, knowing he should address a certain issue. He was not sure he wanted to do it, but the future Vongola Sun's words and his own Intuition were convincing him it was the right thing to do. So, taking a deep breath, Tsuna held his phone and dialled the number he'd come to memorize thanks to his overthinking. While the beeping sound reached his right ear, he turned left, walking by the mansion's side, and checked that portion of the garden. Several cars were parked there, he didn't waste time recognizing them, none was eye-catching and he preferred his motorbike anyway.

Someone picked up the call on the other side, but a long silence followed. He had the time to reach the back garden and blink at the sight in front of him: puppies, puppies everywhere.

"I thought you wouldn't have called."

Tsuna quickly backstepped, hoping they had not sniffed or seen him yet. He was sure he needed to deal with the call before he could give them the right amount of attention. They were puppies, the ones he had brought with his brothers plus the ones gifted to the Vongola Guardians, so they wanted some kind of affection that Tsuna always gave them.

"I thought you wanted me to call."

Another long silence, Tsuna leaned against the wall of the mansion, looking up at the black iron gate surrounding the property. He observed the tall trees beyond it, wondering if he could just go out and explore on his own. He couldn't, least he gave his brothers a fright, no matter they could tell he was fine by his Flames, they still needed to see him safe.

"I did."

Unhelpful. "Why?" A shuffle on the other side, then Tsuna added: "why would you want me to?"

"Because… That thing you did with your Flames, was it… Was it an invitation?"

"Was your presence a request?" He didn't want to name it a stalking tendency, though it had been.

His eyes narrowed on a movement past the trees. He questioned his Intuition, that purred in expectation in the back of his mind. That meant it was nothing dangerous, but something he had to be ready for. He had told his brothers he would not be alone, but he'd thought Reborn would have joined him at some point. He was wrong, apparently. Someone else would accompany him, that afternoon.

"What if?"

Tsuna refocused on the conversation. One thing at a time. He knew whoever that shadow was would have waited for him to finish this, first.

"Don't you already have a Sky?"

"Xanxus is not my Sky, he is my contractor."

Colonnello and Fon had been right. "I think we should talk about this in person."

"Does that mean I have chances?"

Tsuna slowly blinked before a smile bloomed on his lips. "I don't remember chasing you away."

Another moment of silence, filled, if he felt it right, with surprise. "I'll drop by."

The brunet detached from the wall, tilting his head. "I'll wait. Have a good day."

"Yes… Thank you, likewise."

He ended the call and moved his gaze to the trees, pocketing his phone. He waited. Tsuna knew there was someone, hidden, observing. Back home, something like this would have been already reported to him, their borders were heavily guarded and Fon would have noticed something was wrong, along with Kagami. His brother was the best as sensing trespassers. But here, at Vongola mansion, something was wrong, the workers were not loyal as they should have been.

A shuffle, leaves stepped on, a twig snapping… and a man appeared in front of Ryuunoiki. He was very tall, dressed in brown pants, light green sweater over a white shirt, black shoes and a white medic coat unbuttoned on the front. A pair of thin, small glasses was on his nose, probably helping the eyes, green like his untamed and wild hair. His hands were in the coat's pockets in a stance that seemed rather relaxed but spoke of uncertainty. His shoulders were slightly hunched and closed in.

"Good morning, Ryuunoiki-sama."

Well, Tsuna had a weakness for those who showed politeness. "Good morning, Mr…?"

"Verde," he bowed, "my name is Verde, Lightning Arcobaleno."

The brunet nodded, "Lightning… And why are you here?"

He straightened and cleared his throat. "I would like to apply for a position in your Elements' ranks."

Very professional. Tsuna eyed him, one hand on his chin. He lifted the other, Sky Flames dancing in his palm. Verde followed the movement, Lightning Flames crackling around him.

"I have brought a present, but I'm not allowed to give it to you because of Reborn."

Tsuna arched a brow. "Reborn? What do you mean?"

The man didn't look away from his hand. "Your present is something he commissioned and I want to gift it to you, to… join you." He silently took a notebook from an inner pocket and started scribbling something. "Told me it was ok but to not give it to you yet. Not the right time."

Well. He trusted his fiancé, though he was curious. He played with his Flames some more before throwing a flicker of them towards Verde. The scientist dropped notebook and pen to catch it. Nice reaction. Tsuna smiled softly and took them from the floor, eyeing the scribbles as Verde marvelled at the Sky Flames circling his hands, touching the Lightning ones.

There were notes about characteristics he'd never thought about. Very interesting. He let the flicker dissipate through Verde's skin, that shivered in goose bumps, and offered the items back. He seemed a bit out of it, shocked and surprised.

"Would you accompany me?"

He only nodded once, making the two items disappear and beckoning forward a small… Crocodile? Alligator?

"He's Keiman."

Tsuna nodded, waving at the pet, and walked out of the hidden corner right to the alcove someone had prepared for the puppies. Some were sleeping, some were idly playing in the shade of the mansion. They noticed him, started wagging their tails or equally showing their enthusiasm, but thankfully didn't move from their spots. The burnet understood why when he noticed Skull snoring the afternoon away amidst them.

He covered his mouth, not wanting to wake him up, but he felt the need to. Tsuna interlaced his fingers with the Vongola Sun's brown monkey's tail and tilted his head to the sleeping Cloud. The awake puppies started slowly licking his face and pawing at him. Skull hummed and whined, but finally blinked his eyes open when the Vongola Cloud's bald eagle pecked his ear. He took his time to focus on his surroundings and sit up, stretching.

"'morning, Ryuunoiki…"

"Good afternoon, Skull. Slept well?"

He hummed in affirmation before noticing the addition. "Verde…?" His eyes instantly cleared of the sleepy fog and he jumped on his feet, enthusiastic. "Great! You've come! Viper's the only one left! Isn't that great, Ryuunoiki?!"

Tsuna humoured him with a chuckle. "Viper will come, don't worry. Now, would you mind checking where Nara has wondered off to? I haven't seen him for too many hours."

"Leave it to me!" Skull sent his Flames all over the place, then darted away to his left in a dash.

Verde hummed, "he's more enthusiastic than ever."

"Good."

Tsuna silently checked on the puppies. They seemed well cared for, the spot was also spacious and had all they needed, from food and water to sleeping arrangements. There also seemed to be some figures that frequently slept on the grass around. He wouldn't be surprised if those were the Vongola Guardians.

"Tell me something about yourself, Verde." Tsuna stood, stopping the petting of the Vongola Rain's fire fox and turning back to the mansion.

The Lightning pushed his glasses up his nose, observing and following the brunet. "I'm a scientist, I like experimenting and discovering new things. That's all I live for."

"I guess the word 'scientist' can comprehend many a profession," he commented, going to the other side of the building and mapping that, too.

He shrugged. "Botanist, doctor, physician, engineer, inventor, programmer…"

"And so on, and so forth."

Verde paused, pursing his lips. "People usually fear such knowledge."

Tsuna hummed, "I'm not people. You want to be my Element, right?" He turned to see the nod. "That knowledge you carry, that knowledge you have meticulously gathered, can only help me."

"… What if I'm not an ally?"

The brunet tilted his head with a small smile. "Unsafe of you to tell me that." He entered through the door held open by a butler. "But I trust my Intuition, you are not my enemy."

"What if I'm the enemy of Yakuza? Of Vongola?"

"You are not." Tsuna looked at him, eyes warmer. "Why do you insist?" He stopped on the stairs to the first floor, feeling someone else coming to join them. "Why do you want to be rejected?"

Verde flinched, teeth gritted. "I am always rejected, I'm just saving my time by understanding it soon."

"I won't reject you."

"You will."

The brunet pursed his lips, turning fully to the Lightning. Words were not going to work on him. He sighed, not liking what he was about to do, but knowing it was the right move. He lifted his hands, focusing a lump of Sky Flames between them. Verde immediately shielded himself when Tsuna threw it at him, but he didn't need to. The ball, almost invisible, powerful, descended on him like a delicate flower's petal, enveloping his body and coaxing out the Lightning Flames. They crackled, green sparks around the man, basking in the acceptance he was offering.

Satisfied by the shock on his face and the happiness shown by the Flames, Tsuna turned to accept Reborn's kiss and respond to it briefly, letting the man hold him in his arms. He chuckled at how irked the Sun Flames were at the display.

"Not good friends?"

"Sworn enemies," his lover confirmed with a sigh. "But we can manage, I guess."

Judging by Verde's blush and sudden shyness, Tsuna guessed he agreed. "Welcome to the family, Verde. Feel free to ask what you need to set up your laboratory, once we go back home."

The man softly nodded, short of words, nudging their almost formed bond. The burnet turned to Reborn, arching a brow.

"Do you need to tell me something?"

The hitman rolled his eyes and gave him another kiss. "At the right time, not now, consider it a surprise."

And why, oh, why couldn't Tsuna say no to this man anymore? He was doomed.

It wasn't until dinner, when Tsuna sat at the farthest chair from Vongola Guardians, right in front of Ienari, that he felt the shift.

His brothers were all around him, carefully sending everything thrown to their side of the room right back at their senders. Skull had found Nara sleeping on a tree branch near the mansion with all the info they needed used as a pillow. Tsuna had not been surprised. Kagami had eaten his dinner and excused himself sooner to go through the papers in a more peaceful room. Fon and Skull were entertaining Byakuran with tales of the Cloud's most dangerous stunts. He hoped the child didn't take an interest in those, he was not a stuntman neither immortal like Skull. Reborn was at his right, reading a newspaper and searching for something, most probably for any hints about arrivals for the Ceremony.

At his side, Velvet was playing with a clean bone while Yuki, Yasei and the three wolves were trying something like hide-and-seek around her. The children that claimed Ienari as their older brother were enraptured by the show and eating on the floor, right at his feet. It was strange to see small ones so at ease around him. Strange and… new. Yes, Lambo had kind of prepared him for the possibility, but it was strange nonetheless. He was supposed to be bad and children normally felt that kind of darkness, right? They instinctively knew who to steer off of, right?

Tsuna bit down on a fork of pasta and caught a flying glass reaching for Fuuta de la Stella in his hand, putting it down on the table. The child turned to him and gave a shy thank you, to which the brunet just nodded with a smile. He looked up only to find his lover staring. He arched a brow in a silent question.

Reborn straightened the newspaper in his hands and shrugged, returning to his read. "Nothing."

Something was beginning to stink.

Verde, at his left, cleared his throat. Highly telling. He settled for the wait. Whatever was coming, it was from Reborn, it couldn't be a… life-changing thing, right? … On hindsight, it could very well be, huh? Last time, this hitman proposed to him… He sighed, massaging his forehead. What was he planning, this time?

Atsushi stood, having finished his dinner, and left after a bow. He seemed rather tired, maybe things back in Japan were not being easy for him. The Hibari clan was giving him headaches. The Vongola Cloud, instead, didn't seem troubled at all, although he couldn't say for sure as the teen evaded having meals together like the plague.

He finished his plate and sipped his glass of white wine, appreciating the variation from meal to meal. This time, it was faintly fizzy, very good.

"Verdeca."

Tsuna eyed his lover. "It's good."

Reborn turned page, sending him a long stare. "You're better than wine."

Verde, at their side, coughed in his glass. Fon softly patted his back, shaking his head. "You should make yourself comfortable with his behaviour, he's always like that."

Tsuna couldn't hold back a smirk at that, so he hid it behind his glass of wine and sent Reborn a nudge of Sky Flames to irk him further. He absolutely couldn't help teasing him, really. Nara tch-ed and moved the empty plates in front of him to cross his arms on the table and settle down to sleep. Tsuna didn't mind, table manners while dining with Vongola were a waste, he'd discovered.

"Always…?"

Fon nodded with a serious frown. "He can get worse."

Reborn glared at them from over the newspaper. "My business."

"Then keep it in the privacy of a room, idiot."

"Last time I checked, I wasn't even touching him," Reborn mocked.

Tsuna cleared his throat, putting an end to the embarrassing exchange. "Although I understand the novelty of this situation, the fact that we are engaged doesn't change." He showed his ring on the ring finger. "I apologize if it troubles you, but Reborn has been flirting with me since first meeting me, I don't think he will stop anytime soon."

"Never," he confirmed through a toothy smirk.

Verde soundly sighed while nursing his forehead. "As long as I have the littlest to do with you."

"The feeling is mutual."

Tsuna mentally noted to keep them away from each other. He left the glass on the table and turned to his right, drumming his left hand's fingers on the white tablecloth. The shift had been so small he had almost missed it. For this mansion to be Vongola's, there sure were many trespassers. That change in manservants was imperative.

He nodded in answer to the curt bow, recognizing the dark violet cape and hood. "Viper, good evening."

"Ryuunoiki…" He looked around at the room, lips curling in disgust at the food battle happening on the other side, and stopped on his colleagues. "… Colonnello?"

"Taking a nap with the pups," Reborn answered, turning another page. "Took you long enough, had to be called."

Tsuna felt more tension and understood he had to work on the bonds between his Sun and his newly found Lightning and Mist, soon – and Rain, while he was at it. "It doesn't matter. Have you had dinner yet?"

Viper turned to him, but didn't answer. Instead, he lifted his hands and pushed a soft cloud of Mist Flames on Tsuna. He let it be, Viper hadn't struck him for one that beat around the bush. This was a rather direct way to ask for a bond.

"My present is all I have, all I have earned during my life."

Tsuna didn't need to look to know the other Arcobaleno's were stomped. He smiled, fully aware of how attached to money brokers could be. Viper was said to be the worst.

"I accept, at one condition," he lifted his right index, letting the Mist Flames touch his Sky Flames and readying another of his lumps to be sent the man's way. Viper gulped, but didn't move, visibly tense. "What you want to give me, you will have to freely manage it as you see fit. I won't rip you of that freedom, it's yours and you will choose how to use it."

Suddenly, the Mist Flames closed in on him, dissipating through his skin, merging in his core, asking for permission, pleading to be accepted. At the same time, a Lightning spark jolted his insides, doing the same exact thing. Tsuna focused on his Sky Flames, feeling the bonds knead themselves deep in his core, and sent them to his two new Elements, finalizing what they wanted, what they needed.

They were suddenly clearer to feel in the room, they felt like his.

"Welcome to the family," he smiled, testing the bonds with his Flames. "I guess we have the entire assembly for the Inheritance Ceremony, now."

Verde and Viper were panting, Lightning gripping the tablecloth and Mist kneeling on the floor. Tsuna didn't remember forming bonds to be that stressing, but having three bullets in his body and still forming so many had made him faint. Colonnello was also not new, they had tested the waters for days before settling the bond.

"Tsuna…."

He looked at his lover with an innocent smile, "yes?"

Reborn shook his head and returned to the newspaper. Fon helped Verde and Skull took care of Viper, guiding them to their quarters for a needed rest. He turned to the children, that were fortunately still distracted by the playing puppies. Byakuran stood from his chair and approached him, tugging at his sleeve.

"Is something the matter?"

The small Sky signalled him to lean down so he could whisper in his ear. Tsuna did it, blinking.

"Do you think I can play with them?"

He took a deep breath, preying to not become a damn softie, before smiling down at Byakuran and messing up his hair. "Of course you can, maybe you should ask them first, right?"

Tsuna nudged him forward and observed as the Sky asked, was accepted and started showing off what Aniryuu, his newly named white wolf, could do. He turned away, knowing they would get along, and found Reborn staring again.

"What's wrong with you tonight?"

His lover cleared his throat, straightening his newspaper again, and shook his head, "nothing."

Tsuna refused to believe the blatant lie.

Let me know what you think! See ya!