noun: comfort, peace

Tsuna walks back home alone again, Reborn having stayed behind with the Ninth this time too. To talk about what, he still doesn't know. Maybe Reborn will call out his bluff to the Ninth—not to compromise him, but so the Ninth and him will be on even ground. Tsuna wouldn't even be mad if that is the case, maybe would even feel relieved by it.

Tsuna can't think about it, can't think of anything, walking alone in the streets. The night is already well settled, the streetlamps turned on, but it's not that. Tsuna feels nauseous, anxious, a knot in his stomach that terrifies him, but he feels all of it from far away only, and for now can breathe through it. He's sent a message to Hayato, who assured him he'd check on everyone else before getting back to him, and that he had answered at all has loosened the knot in his stomach, even if only a little.

Enma stands in front of him, the streetlight behind him wrapping his figure in shadows, and he appears even more threatening that he's made sure he already is. Tsuna's hyper intuition settles at his sight, but it only makes him swallow thickly past the lump in his throat.

"What did you tell Vongola Ninth?"

"I said I'd go to the ceremony."

"Of course," Enma says, his voice quiet and poised as usual, apathetic. It ripples with such fierce anger all the same, and it sounds nothing like him, but Tsuna's learning it's as much part of Enma as the kind boy underneath his shell of indifference. The bitter betrayal is new, but rolls off his tongue with practiced ease, and it really sinks in for the first time that he doesn't know Enma in any way that matters at all. "You're more than worthy of your blood, then. Good for you, Tsuna-kun."

It's a low blow that hurts deep, because Enma is the only one he let him in about how much he hates that blood of his everyone wants to shackle him with, but he doesn't even think to react to it, not when Hayato has yet to get back to him. Not when Enma stands in front of him, and it calms his hyper intuition somehow, but he stands in front of him alone, and his hyper intuition is still stretching taut, and he's terrified of it snapping. "My friends—your family, where are they? Your family, what—where—" Tsuna bites his tongue, making sense of his words in his head so he can speak them clearly. "Are my friends okay, Enma-kun? Are they? Is everyone?"

"They are," Enma says after a long, purposeful beat, and Tsuna hears his threat loud and clear in his silence.

"Enma-kun, let me explain." He sounds desperate, stepping forwards, panic clawing at his guts, even as he has no idea what's happening. He hasn't, and surely it's a good sign, surely it means he can still salvage whatever this horrible misunderstanding seems to be. "Whatever this is, whatever you think I did to deserve this—Enma-kun, please. Let's talk about it first, let me explain."

"I don't think anything, I know what you did. I know who you are," he spits out.

Tsuna flinches, tears welling up in his eyes, and he hates, hates, hates that blood of his he knows will always stain him in other people's eyes. "I'm Tsuna, just Tsuna. And I've never lied to you, Enma-kun, not—not about anything that matters, not about anything that would hurt you like this." Enma falters, flinching back too. "And I've never meant to hurt you, but I'm sorry if I did. I—Enma-kun, please, I—just let me explain, talk to me."

"Why should I? I already know everything I need to know."

"Why are you here, then? Isn't it that you wanted to hear me out, to give me the chance to explain myself?"

Enma stalks forwards, fully under the nearest streetlight, and he's grounding his teeth together, his fists shaking at his sides. "I don't know, Tsuna-kun. Maybe I thought you might be honest with me for once."

Tsuna bites the inside of his cheek, letting the blow go through him as he gathers his bearing again. He stands his ground, straightening his back to stand to his full height like Enma, looking back at him straight in the eye too. "Then… if you're so sure already nothing I'll say will sway you, what do you have to lose hearing me out?" Enma says nothing. Tsuna steps forwards, more than within Enma's range for anything he might try, but he still lets his guard fully open. "You said you know what I did, but I don't. I really don't, I swear, so… Won't you explain the situation to me, at the very least? And won't you hear me out after?"

"I'm hearing you out right now."

Tsuna bites his lip, faltering for a moment. "If—if it's the only thing you'll give me, but… Won't you come to my house with me? Let's talk there. Let us talk, before you go through with whatever this is. Enma-kun, please, just—let me try to fix this. Let's talk."

Enma says nothing for a long moment again, and Tsuna sees the moment he almost ends their relationship right there and then. But then he steps back without a word, moving to the side to clear his way.

Tsuna breathes in deeply, closing his eyes, then slowly exhales a shaky breath. He doesn't push his luck thanking him out loud, but he's sure his face says it loudly enough for him. He steps forwards, taking the cue to lead the way, rubbing his eyes dry as he walks past Enma.

The walk to his home is silent and tense, Enma walking behind him out of sight, but his gaze burning his back. Tsuna leads them straight to his room once they arrive, his body only a little less tense than before as Hayato has gotten back in touch with him with nothing alarming.

Tsuna walks past his desk to his bed, not knowing what he'll do once he gets there, having no idea of where to go from there.

"You threw—" Enma's voice strikes out harshly, and cuts off just as abruptly.

Tsuna startles, whipping around. Enma purses his lips, looking straight ahead but not at him, his fists shaking at his sides again. His anger has flared again, but it doesn't hide the frustration on his face from the words he clearly didn't mean to say, doesn't hide the hurt on it.

Threw? Threw what?

Tsuna takes in his desk, then walks around Enma to stand in front of his trashcan. It was cleared out yesterday, and the letter with his name written on it catches his eye immediately.

Tsuna picks it up with a shaking hand, his heart picking up his pace. Will he be able to salvage whatever is written on it?

Enma says nothing as he opens the letter, says nothing as he reads it, doesn't turn back to him. The more Tsuna reads the letter, and the more his heart clenches, the more his grip on the letter tightens.

A plea of help. A show of trust. And Tsuna hadn't answered to it.

"I didn't see it," he says quietly. "It must already had fallen in the trashcan when I woke up. Maybe Reborn, or my siblings…" he trails off, because it doesn't matter anymore.

"I'll never know for sure," Enma says, his voice stronger but emotionless.

"I would have come if I had. I would have. I would have."

"I'll never know for sure." Tsuna walks around Enma again to sit at the low table, the letter heavy in his hands. He splays it flat on the table, and smooths the creases on it with gentle strokes of his fingers. "You think this is funny?"

Tsuna's smile vanishes from his lips. He looks up at Enma, and then smiles again, but this time it's all bitterness. "I really don't. But I can't help holding onto the silver lining this letter is, you know?" He looks down at it, and softness slips into his smile again. "Because you writing this means that at some point you saw me as a friend too." His smile falls again, and he catches Enma's eye. "But then again, we're friends, but we aren't, are we, Enma-kun? We've never been friends, have we?"

Enma looks down at the letter, and Tsuna wonders if the way they could have been if not for that unfortunate turn of circumstances pains him too. "We're done here, aren't we? You explained yourself."

Tsuna shakes his head. "Not quite. Listen, Enma-kun—Won't you sit down?" Enma's obviously reluctant, but he sits down across from him, crossed-legged, holding himself straight, unlike the hunched over figure Tsuna's used to, his legs pulled up against his knees. "It's true I said to the Ninth I'd go to the ceremony, but…"

Tsuna takes a moment to steady himself, and then the words are flowing out of his mouth almost despite himself. He tells him everything, starts as far back as when Reborn first showed up in his life, thinks better of it and goes even further back, telling him who his dad is and how it started everything. He goes forwards from there, tells him about Mukuro, about the Varia, tells him about the future, his voice breaking and weakening, but he pushes through.

He gets back to the Ninth and the ceremony, and still keeps talking, lays it all bare despite how risky it is, but he doesn't believe it is, and is ready to do what it'll take if he's wrong.

Enma listens to it all without a word, never straying his eyes away from him. He doesn't let himself take anything he says at face value, holds on his anger and his hostility through it all, but Tsuna sees them weaken all the same. He even sees bated hope when he talks about the ceremony that almost pulls the kind boy Tsuna's used to the most back to the surface again.

Tsuna eventually says all he has to say, and the silence lingers between them. Enma's less tensed than before, looks less harsh than before, but there's still wariness on his face, distrust. There's conflict too, and Tsuna holds onto that.

"Why would you tell me all that? Now of all times too? That's incredibly dangerous for you and your friends."

Tsuna smiles briefly. "I guess… I guess it's my own show of trust to you. Because I do trust you, even now. I've let you down even if I didn't mean to, so I'm hoping going the extra mile reaching out to you in turn will make it up a little for it."

"It's a huge risk," Enma says again. "What if it backfires? Would you fight us?"

"I would."

"Would you hesitate?"

"I wouldn't." Tsuna's heart clenches for the Tsuna who wouldn't have answered so readily, but it's even more reasons for him to make sure the both of them don't stray further away from each other. "Are my friends safe, Enma-kun?"

"They are."

"Will they stay safe?"

To Tsuna's relief, Enma doesn't hesitate. "They will."

Tsuna takes a moment to let his relief wash over him. "What if… what if you left this room still thinking I was your enemy? Would you have fought us?"

"I would."

"Would you have hesitated?"

"I wouldn't."

They smile at each other, something small and—not approving per se, but understanding, supportive. It's the first time they really see eye to eye, the first time Enma is truly honest with him, and how ironic it is that it's through the duty they both have to their respective family.

Enma lets the last of his tension seeps away from his body, a slight frown settling between his brows. "I can't speak for my family though. Can't speak for them before I've spoken about it with them first."

Tsuna nods. "Of course."

Enma nods back. "They will still be distrustful anyway. Ah, maybe—maybe distrustful isn't really the word, but…" He shrugs. "We've just been taught better than to let ourselves trust easily, to let ourselves rely on other people beside ourselves. You'll need to prove yourself."

"Anything. And you already know exactly what you want me to do, don't you?" Enma widens his eyes, surprised, and Tsuna doesn't comment on it except for a brief, little smile. "Just tell me, I'll do it happily. As long as it doesn't endanger any of us."

"Are you sure you should be saying that? I could—"

"I don't think you will," Tsuna cuts him off. "I don't think you're that type of person."

Enma huffs, averting his eyes, but there's the faintest blush on his cheeks. He looks at the letter Tsuna's still keeping flat on the table, and his blush deepens. "This is really embarrassing now. You—you're not going to keep it, are you?"

Tsuna laughs, protectively holding the letter against his chest. "No, I will. How could I throw it away?"

Enma ducks his head, blushing to the tip of his ears. He hunches over himself, pulling his knees up against his chest, then wraps his arms around them. Tsuna beams. "Hey, Tsuna-kun?"

"Yeah?"

Enma peers up at him, searches his face. "You're really decided on your plan."

Tsuna sobers up, looking down, but his voice stays strong. "Yes, I am."

"And you won't be swayed."

"I won't."

Enma misses a beat. "What about… doing the right thing the bad way we talked about? Are you okay with that now?"

Tsuna shakes his head, a humorless smile pulling at his lips. "I wouldn't say I'm okay with that. I'm not, but it has to be done. I'll bear it." He looks up, catching Enma's eye. "Better that burden than the one I'm bound to end up bearing if I don't do anything."

Enma nods, not approving once again, but understanding, supportive. "Can I ask something else?"

"Sure."

"Why would you have cared so much if our relationship fell out today, you tried so hard to mend it back together? We've literally just met."

"We're friends," Tsuna says easily. "You're my friend," he corrects. "You've been my friend all this time even if you've never seen me as one back, and I value my friendships. I—I guess it isn't as obvious now, because I've been blessed enough to be surrounded by all these wonderful people now, but it hasn't always been like this. Far from it even, so." He shrugs, smiling. "Even if I don't know you for as long as I know the others, I want to do my best to cherish and protect my friendship with you too. Won't you be my friend, Enma-kun?"

Enma looks away again, and he sounds doubtful. "Even now, you still want me to be? After what I could have almost done?"

"Especially now," Tsuna says, putting the letter on the floor so he can lean on the table without damaging it. "You're going through something, and I want to help. Even if it's just by lending you my ear the way you've been doing for me. I want to help you. I want us to be on the same side." He reaches his hand out, open in an invitation, and Enma snaps his eyes to it, keeps them on it. "Let's be friends, Enma-kun. Let us help each other. I'd like that a lot."

Enma uncurls his body slowly, looking up to catch his eye. He keeps his hands flat against the table as they stare at each other, but then reaches back to his hand, gently wrapping his fingers around it, and Tsuna squeezes his hand back firmly, gratefully. "I'd like that too," he says, a soft and shy smile on his lips.

Tsuna grins, and Enma's smile grows wider, more certain.

His ring lights up again, its orange glow shining through his clothes. A similar orange glow shines underneath Enma's clothes too, and Tsuna had been scared the first time it happened, his ring lighting on his own, the something pulling his flames to it.

It isn't scary now, only feels natural to let his ring shines, to surrender to the pull to Enma's ring, even if he hadn't known Enma has one too.

A black swirls appears in the air next to them, the temperature in the room turning ice-cold, and all his senses scream danger.

Enma and him jump to their feet as the Vindice appears out of the black swirl, back against his bed, their ring defensively shining fiercer. They take a fighting stance next to each other, their body tensed.

Tsuna can't let a fight break out in his room, not when his family is downstairs. And Reborn who isn't even there, how—

"I must say," the baby-like Vindice speaks up, and both their flames flare, "I was hoping you'd take the roundabout way to get to this point. It gets boring quickly in my beloved prison."

"Why are you here?" Enma asks. The black swirl disappeared, and there's only two of them, the baby sitting on the shoulder of the taller one.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to fight, or to drag you in Vindice. But you've said the words, Vongola Decimo, Sawada Tsunayoshi, and Shimon Decimo, Enma Kozato. Your friendship oath has been witnessed, and now I must uphold the mafia law." Tsuna widens his eyes in surprise, and though Enma looks much the same, there's wariness on his face too. Tsuna winces. It figures mafia oaths are something to be wary of. "You've earned to learn the truth about the history between your two families."

Enma inhales sharply, confusion flickering across his face, but then his flames burn through his clothes to shine bright and tall and fierce, anger harshly twisting his features as he curls his hands into fists.

Tsuna gently holds onto his sleeve, and nods when Enma glances at him.

They need to buy time before the Vindice can walk them through whatever this mafia oath entails, because he needs for Reborn to be there so he'll be able to fight too if it comes to that. He only hopes Enma will let him play his hand.

It might be the only time he can play it too, because just to be on the safe side, he can't afford to do it with Reborn around.

"Wait, Vindice-san." Their faces are wrapped in bandages, but he has the distinct impression they're displeased by his interruption, and a chill runs down his spine. He walks forwards, stops short of bumping against the low table, keeping his eyes on the baby-like Vindice. "I've been thinking about how I could get in contact with you but had yet to come up with anything, so allow me to take this chance while you're here."

The baby-like Vindice flies down from his buddy's shoulder, and stops across the low table at eye level with him. "Is there something Vongola Decimo needs from us?"

"There's someone in your prison that isn't yours to keep, and you've kept him in there long enough." Tsuna reaches for his necklace under his clothes, purposefully lets it in their sight before he wraps his hand around the Mist ring. The Flame on his ring shines brighter, stronger, and absentmindedly he feels the Flame on his forehead lights up too. "Give him back."

A/N: I guess while Enma and Tsuna sort their things out, the rest of the VTG is under some sort of hostage situation by the rest of the Shimon? The Shimon are definitely keeping an eye on them under the guise of hanging out, waiting for Enma's cue to either back off, or, well, you know. Getting rash and ending up stabbing someone almost half to death. Or whatever, I just really needed that threat hanging above Tsuna's head to set up their talk and the stakes of it, the details of it aren't really important.

And I might have reached out a bit far with that friendship oath, but look, I just needed the Vindice to spill the beans to at the very least placate the Shimon enough they'll play nice at the ceremony. And also to actually show up in front of Tsuna, because how else would he have gotten a hold of them? ? I mean, I'm sure I could have come up with something, but now I don't need to lol.

Also I'm starting to wonder if I don't let too much of the story happens off-screen? I mean it's very purposeful so I can build the tension and suspense, and also because I think it'd be fun for you to fill in the blanks yourselves however you might want to, but also, like. You're obviously supposed to still have a decent grasp of what's going on, and as the writer it's hard to tell if I'm holding on too much from you. Let me know if you think I do? And on that note if you have any questions about the story, please drop them in the comments, I would love to answer them! (As long as it won't spoil you that is. ;))

Also there's only THREE chapters more to go, my God. I'm starting to become nervous ngl zsdfdfdds, but also very excited to get to the last chapter.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Any and all review are appreciated.

Thank you for reading!

- Hope