Disclaimer ~ I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn
In reality, the whole situation only took a few seconds. To Skull it felt like an eternity. It was supposed to be an easy mission. Just gather some information on a new famiglia that had moved to the city. So why did it end up like this?
Skull and Reborn were paired up, searching the west side of the city. Lal and Colonello were in the East. Viper and Fon had the North. Lastly, Verde and Luche had the South side. Of course, with Skull's luck, he and Reborn stumbled upon the Famiglia first. It wasn't a fun encounter.
Skull stayed out of the fight, watching as Reborn effortlessly tore through the attackers. It was only thanks to this that Skull noticed one of the fallen bodies wasn't unconscious like the rest. Reborn didn't see him, too busy fighting the last few goons. Skull didn't think. There wasn't any time. He grabbed a gun that had fallen nearby and shot the man. Reborn whirled around at the sound, just in time to see the body hit the ground. Dead.
Skull was frozen. It wasn't the first time Skull had ever fired a gun. Lal, Reborn, and Colonello had taught him so he could defend himself if needed, and a gun was the easiest weapon to learn to use on short notice. Skull also was no stranger to death. He's seen countless bodies in the past few months he's been a part of the underworld. He's watched his friends kill without even batting an eye. God that made him sound heartless didn't it? Like it was fine for people to die as long as he didn't kill them himself. But that's not true. Skull wished nobody had to die. However given the choice, them or me, he would rather they die instead of his friends. It's just…there was no way to prepare him for the difference of shooting a paper target and a human being for the first time.
The gun fell out of his shaking hands, hitting the ground mere seconds before Skull fell to his knees. Reborn was there in an instant, pulling the cloud to his chest and blocking Skull's view of the body. Skull grabbed ahold of his suit in a death grip. His whole body was trembling furiously.
"H-he was going to k-kill you," Skull gasped out. "I-I couldn't let h-him." Reborn just pulled him closer and shh'd him lightly. Skull felt the other's hand come to rest in his hair while the other one rubbed soothing circles on his back.
"It's okay Skull. Everything is going to be fine," Reborn whispered, his voice more gentle than Skull had ever heard it before. "I'm right here. You saved me."
They spent the next several minutes like that. With Reborn whispering comforting words to Skull as he tried to calm the younger down. But they couldn't stay there forever. Sooner or later, the other members of the famiglia would show up to find out why none of their men were responding. Reborn needed to make sure Skull was far away when that happened.
"Come on. Let's get back to the others," Reborn said, gently untangling Skull's hands from his suit. Skull only let go long enough for them to stand, then he was grabbing onto Reborn's arm. That was fine. If it comforted Skull while allowing them to keep moving then Reborn could handle the loss of circulation he was beginning to feel. Using his free hand, Reborn sent a quick text to the others. They would be back at the hotel before he arrived with Skull.
And Reborn wasn't disappointed. The second he opened the door he found Fon, Viper, and Luche arranging a pile of pillows and blankets on the floor. Too many to have been from the hotel, which meant someone had bought them on their way back. Smart. The furniture of the room was being pushed against the walls by Colonello and Verde, while Lal was putting a movie in the DVD player.
It only took one look at Skull before everyone was stopping what they were doing. Viper wasted no time in grabbing Skull and dragging him to the pillow pile. Reborn was dragged along as well, since Skull still hadn't let go of him. The mist wrapped Skull in the fluffiest blanket they had before settling down on Skull's left. Reborn made himself comfortable on Skull's right. Fon sat in the space behind Skull and Viper, Colonello next to him. Lal sat next to Colonello. Verde claimed the space next to Reborn while Luche sat on Viper's other side. All of the settled down into one big pile, offering Skull as much silent comfort as they could. If he wanted to talk, then seven pairs of ears were ready to listen. If he didn't? Well they would still be there for him anyway.
DONE! And I still have a few hours before work, so I'm going to try and get another chapter out before I have to get ready. Wish me luck!
This chapter was originally supposed to go at the end of the Seeking Comfort series, as a little bonus chapter once I got through all the characters. Obviously that didn't happen. I actually really like this chapter so I wanted to work on it before the others. Hence why it has now become Chapter 2. It's probably my favorite of this miniseries. I still like them all, but there's something about a full Arcobaleno cuddle pile that catches my attention.
I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! Please Review, Follow, and Favorite! I'll see you all on the next update!