A/N: Some things to note before we start:
1) There are multiple pairings in this fic including some people who are in open relationships.
2) It was supposed to be fluffy but it turned out quite angsty
3) no smutty scenes but still some minor physical action
4) This is written with 12 years later in mind, so most of them have established roles and jobs within Vongola
Breakfast at the Vongola manor start at eight in the morning. Sawada Tsunayoshi, Don of the Vongola Famiglia, twenty-seven, single and available, politely thanked the young lady who served him his cup of orange juice. She giggled a little and scuttled off. His right-hand man gave a loud tsk in irritation but didn't comment otherwise. As if sensing the storm's brewing bad mood, the ever calming rain decided to step in.
"Risa-chan can I get a refill too?" Yamamoto Takeshi waved the young maid over. Tsuna watched as she approached Takeshi with the pitcher of orange juice and bent low at the waist to serve him.
"That's perfect, Risa-chan." Takeshi gave her a wink. Tsuna watched as the young lady blushed, smiled, and left the table not before sliding a hand up Takeshi's arm in a seductive manner.
Tsuna would have choked and cough out loud but Reborn was sitting at the end of the table in full sight and Tsuna didn't dare act in a manner unfitting for a Don. He did notice, however, that Hayato become less irritated but still had a seemingly constipated look on his face while the rest of his guardians at the table ignored the strange scene.
Flirting. That's what happened. Tsuna recognised the signs. Tsuna knew he was slightly behind his peers in terms of romance and exploring relationships but that was because he was the head of this famiglia first and foremost, and needed to attend to his duties before everything else. Reborn had drilled that much into him. He knew subtlety flew over his head and he tended to be slightly oblivious to things going on around him.
But he wasn't blind. He saw the way Takeshi hung around Hayato, arms around the bomber's shoulder in a possessive manner rather than the friendly jibe it used to be. He knew about Mukuro and Kyouya hanging out and chatting amicably when they thought no one was watching, when in the past this scenario was totally unimaginable. He knew about Ryouhei, Takeshi, Hayato, and Mukuro drinking some nights in the kitchen, being the support each other needed, chatting about love and the future. He knew about Kyouya and his budding friendship with Chrome which was evident in the way he tolerated her better than he did others, and Chrome in return stood closer to Kyouya than she would the others baring Mukuro.
He knew his guardians were starting to form relationships with others around the manor too. Tsuna knew about how Irie and Spanner were particularly closer to Hayato. Once, he saw Kyouya resting in the gardens with Xanxus. He had also heard rumours about Takeshi taking some of the recruits out on dates. Ryouhei married, Chrome had a couple of boyfriends who Mukuro and Kyouya didn't approve of, and even Lambo had dated this girl in middle school.
Tsuna wanted that as well. Things in Vongola were stabilizing and he knew it was now or never. He was a grown man now and maybe it was time to try something new, time to look for more.
Maybe it was time for love.
It was late in the afternoon when he found time to seek out one of the mentors in his life. Maybe Dino could give him some advice. (Tsuna would never seek help from Reborn regarding such emotional, feel-y stuff. Reborn would murder him.)
"Hey Tsuna! What's up little bro?" Dino's cheery smile welcomed Tsuna into the Cavallone Don's office.
"Hello Dino. I just need some advice." Tsuna returned the smile and sat in the chair Dino gestured him to. "It's some deep stuff though."
"Go ahead! Today's been a little slow so I'm up for it." Dino encouraged.
Tsuna took breath and tried not to blush in embarrassment. "I just wanted to know… I was just thinking… I want to know how to flirt with people." Was what came out from his mess of thoughts.
He watched as Dino blinked a few times, blushed a little, and then cleared his throat. "Thank god you didn't ask Reborn for advice."
"He would have murdered me."
"He would have murdered you, made fun of you, and then showed you himself." Dino agreed.
"What?" huh?
Dino coughed. "Nothing." Dino straightened himself up and stared at Tsuna with seriousness in his eyes. "So, you want to learn how to flirt."
"Yeah. Do you have any tips?"
"Well, first off, there are many different ways to flirt. You have to find something that works for you and works for the one you're aiming for." Dino explained.
"What's your go-to method? Does it work? Have you tried it out?" Tsuna wanted to know everything!
Dino blushed and looked away. "Well, it has worked on a couple of people."
Tsuna just looked on expectantly.
Dino gave an awkward cough. "So, when you're trying to get the attention of someone romantically, you need to show your interest by giving them words of affirmation. Tell them how important they are, tell them that they're funny or good-looking or reliable. Tell them they're doing a good job! React to them, laugh at their jokes, and just give them all the positive feedback you can."
"Mmm hmm! I got it." Tsuna mentally took down all the notes he could. He's seen Dino in action before – Always telling Romario that he's doing a good job, giving words of encouragement to Tsuna. And Kyouya…
"Wait a minute. I've seen you laughing at things Kyouya says. Kyouya never jokes. He's never funny. I've always wondered what you were laughing about." Tsuna's eyes lit up in revelation.
"No Tsuna! No, you've got the wrong idea!"
"You've been flirting with Kyouya?!"
Dino was all sorts of red in the face by now. "No! We're just close because we've trained together previously!"
"Right…" His intuition was screaming at him that it was a lie. But what did he know about flirting?
"Go give it a try, Tsuna!' Dino practically pushed Tsuna out and shut the door behind the Vongola Don.
Well. It's worth a try.
Here goes nothing.
'`ooo~OOO~ooo'`
"Mukuro sent in a report about the location of a new drug production unit. I just need you to sign here to shut down the factory, and here to dispatch the Varia, and here to allow your crazy Carnivore to initiate discussions with the Padovano Famiglia about curbing the drug market in their territory."
"Hayato, have I told you lately that you're doing a good job?" Tsuna engaged his most stunning smile. He watched as Hayato's eyes caught his own then the bomber looked away quickly, seemingly flustered.
"Thank you, Tenth! You've been a constant encouragement to me!" Hayato blurted out nervously. Hmm. Time to take it up a notch.
"You're amazing you know? I've always appreciated you and what you've done for me." Tsuna encouraged, shifting a little to try to get Hayato to look at him but the bomber just wouldn't meet his eyes. This was frustrating.
"You're the amazing one, Tsuna-sama!"
"Hayato, please, I keep telling you to call me Tsuna. We're practically best friends! We've known each other for so long and I really trust you greatly. You're the best, Hayato." Cue million-watt-smile.
Hayato looked sick or something. Like he was going to explode. Or implode. He was awfully red.
"Yeah. I. uh. Um. I got to go. I'll. Yeah. BYE!" Tsuna watched his right hand man dash out room, slamming the heavy wooden door to Tsuna's office close. The bomber looked flustered, nervous, and awkward. Did Tsuna do something wrong? He sighed.
Mission flirt using words of affirmation – FAILED.
'`ooo~OOO~ooo'`'`ooo~OOO~ooo'`
"Then he ran out of the room. I think he was feeling uncomfortable with my forwardness." Tsuna sulked. Yuni sighed but Tsuna wasn't sure why she sounded so frustrated.
"Are you sure he left because he was rejecting you, Tsuna-kun?" The sky arcobaleno asked.
"Well, it sure wasn't a successful attempt."
"What exactly were you hoping for, Tsuna-kun?"
Huh. True. What did he hope the outcome of his flirting would be?
"Well, honestly, I know that my guardians do have relationships with each other and others around them. I just wished they would include me and accept me. Maybe treat me more like a casual friend than a distant boss." Tsuna sighed. He was feeling left out and just wanted someone to love him. "Maybe I'm still too dame."
"You're being silly Tsuna-kun!"
"I'm twenty-seven, Yuni! Even you've dated and you're years younger than I am, and you're a boss like me as well. I have no excuse for my sad dating life."
"Trust me, Tsuna-kun, I may have had a couple of relationships but they didn't go well." Yeah, everyone knew about Yuni's relationship with a couple of civilians. Rumour has it she was just trying to get the attention of some of her keepers but that was all just gossip.
Tsuna cleared his throat. "Anyway. Do you know how to flirt with people?"
Yuni beamed back at him. "Sure! You have to do things for them! Show them you love them! Like for example, there was this young man who looked absolutely adorable. Actually, honestly, he did look a little like Gamma. But anyway! I found a job for him, helped him get rid of that crazy gang that always loitered around his home, gave him some body guards… Once, he told me Colonello scared him so I made Colonello wear civilian clothes every time he came around. Lal had to wear them as well! I'm sure he appreciated the things I did but in the end I think Gamma might have scared him away."
"Uhh… you must have been upset?" Tsuna wasn't quite sure what was going on.
"Nah. I met another guy a week later and I helped him with a bunch of stuff again and we got together! He was a lovely young boy." Yuni sighed wistfully.
"Let me guess. Gamma scared him away again? "
"Oh no! This time Byakuran actually threatened him. Apparently he was taking advantage of me or something." Yuni beamed, as if she was unaware. "I don't know what went wrong though. All I did was get him some stuff… The car didn't cost much and I had plenty of AK47s lying around so it wasn't too much of a hassle to pass him some…"
"Right." Tsuna wanted to get the hell out. Yuni was really creeping him out. Honestly, he never knew this side of the Sky Arcobaleno. He always thought she was a young, sweet girl. Byakuran must have rubbed off his manipulative personality on her.
"Yes! You can get someone to love you by doing acts of service for them, Tsuna-kun!"
"Right. Thanks Yuni. I think."
"Anytime Tsuna-kun!" She gave him a nice, warm hug before Tsuna left.
'`ooo~OOO~ooo'`
"Hey Hayato, let me help you with that." Tsuna reached out to help Hayato with the towering pile of paperwork the bomber was carrying.
"No it's alright! You don't have to trouble yourself." Hayato dodged away, still unable to meet his eyes.
"Please, Hayato. Let me help!" Tsuna rushed ahead to help Hayato with the door.
"No, Tenth! Please don't. I don't deserve this! Please just don't worry about me." Hayato looked so lost and flustered. Why wasn't this working?
"Alright…" Tsuna stopped following Hayato feeling a little dejected.
Hayato visibly wilted, looking as if he'd committed a grave sin. "No. Please. Tenth. Don't be upset."
"It's alright. I just wanted to help because I was concerned about you. You've been working so hard and I just wanted to do something little, whatever I can, for you." Tsuna gave himself a mental high-five for mixing it up and joining Dino's method with Yuni's method.
Hayato was really red again and seemed to be gaping like a fish.
"Please. Tsuna-sama. Don't do this to me." Hayato was practically crying. Next thing Tsuna knew, Hayato made a break for it with his crazy stack of paperwork, and disappeared around the corner.
What just happened?
Dammnit." Tsuna cursed out loud, and kicked at the nearest wall. Nothing was working. Urgh.
Maybe he should try it on another guardian instead. Hayato had always been a little unstable and maybe that's why his methods weren't working. Ryouhei was straight and married now so he was out. Lambo was in school, Kyouya was out of the country, and it wouldn't be easy to find Mukuro or Chrome.
Takeshi.
'`ooo~OOO~ooo'`
"Hey Takeshi I brought you some lunch!"
"Hey Tsuna!" Takeshi dismissed the recruits. "Everyone take five!"
"You've been working hard, Takeshi! Have some of this, it'll refresh you up!" Tsuna passed Takeshi an isotonic drink.
"Wow! Thanks Tsuna! I really appreciate it!" Takeshi's eyes shone with happiness and Tsuna couldn't help but flash his rain a super big smile. But for some reason, Takeshi flinched and redirected Tsuna away from the field. Wait, did he see one of the recruit faint or something? He was pretty sure he heard squealing as well but that can't be right. Tsuna thought he felt Takeshi's murderous aura for a moment but why would his calm rain be angry? That's strange…
"Here Takeshi, I brought you a towel. Pass me your used one and I'll drop it off at the laundry room on the way back to my office."
"Aww you're just too sweet Tsuna!" Takeshi's grin was something Tsuna had always been charmed by since they were in middle school. Yes! This seemed like it was working out well! Takeshi leaned in closer to ruffle his hair making Tsuna feel all fuzzy and warm inside.
"Hey Yamamoto Sir, we were wondering if we could get some food and drinks as well." One of the recruits approached them.
Tsuna flashed them a smile too. "Sure! I have a couple more drinks and bento boxes here!" Tsuna handed the food and drinks over. "Good job guys! You guys are doing well! This is the least I could do for you guys."
Tsuna noticed the recruits freeze and one even had a nose bleed. A couple blushed and another screamed out a 'Thank you, Boss!'.
Suddenly, Takeshi's murderous aura swept through the field again.
"I think it's time for you to go, Tsuna." Takeshi's grin was still plastered to his face but the coldness of his rain flames made Tsuna shiver. What went wrong?
"But Takeshi, I wanted to help you train the recruits. You've been working so diligently so I wanted to just take some time to relieve you." Tsuna pouted.
"Relieve me?" Takeshi's eyebrows were twitching for some reason and at the same time a couple more recruits fainted from nose bleeds.
"Yeah! You've been training the new recruits every day so I thought I'd help relieve you once in a while and get some stress off you." Tsuna tilted his head to the side, confused as to why Takeshi was getting agitated. Yuni's method was working so well at first! What went wrong?
"Yeah! You can take over Mr. Yamamoto anytime, Boss!" A recruit shouted. Any calm in Takeshi's rain flames totally disappeared. What? The once calming waves drew back as if a Tsunami were on its way. What happened? Why did Takeshi look so livid? Was Tsuna not good enough to teach the recruits? Was he overstepping his boundaries?
"No. No Tsuna. It's alright. I don't need your help in training the recruits. Thanks for the thought though. Now, if you'd excuse me, we have more training to do." Takeshi gave Tsuna a pat on the head, his usual smile was absent and in its place was Takashi's extremely deadly look. Tsuna was then shoved back indoors and the door shut in his face. His mind dissolved into a torrent of dispiritedness.
Tsuna left feeling dejected, a little disappointed, and really confused as to why everyone in the field was suddenly so quiet. The chill in Takeshi's flames left a slight pain in his chest. It would only be a couple of days later that Tsuna would realise the new recruits would forever never look in his direction ever again.
Mission flirt using acts of services – FAILED.
'`ooo~OOO~ooo'`'`ooo~OOO~ooo'`
"I swear it was working well! It worked on the new recruits as well! Like, I really felt as if some of them were attracted to me but all of a sudden the flirting stopped working on everyone at the same time! Takeshi was angry with my flirting, his rain flames went totally void and cold, and everyone sort of avoided me after that. Rejection really sucks." Tsuna groaned.
Byakuran burst out laughing. "What a possessive rain!"
"As in, he was possessive of his job and took me offering to relieve him badly?" Tsuna cocked his head to one side, confused.
"Sure. That's right!" Byakuran casually waved his question away and directed Tsuna to sit with him on the couch by the coffee table.
"Maybe I'm just not good at flirting."
"Hmm. Maybe you just haven't found your style – or one that suits your guardians."
Tsuna contemplated that statement. "How do you show your love to your Famiglia, Byakuran?"
The Don of the Millefiore Famiglia smirked. "I buy them lots of gifts."
"You use money to please them?" That didn't sound very genuine.
"Sure!" Byakuran shrugged. "Shou-chan and Spanner love it when I buy them the newest technology. Bluebell loves it when I buy her accessories. Kikyo indulges in eyeliners. Zakuro enjoys it when I buy him alcohol. I buy, I give, it keeps them happy."
"That's why you're always so happy when I give you marshmallows!"
"You're always sending wrong signals, Tsu-chan."
"Huh?"
"You'll figure it out." Byakuran shrugged and proceeded to take a nap on Tsuna's lap.
'`ooo~OOO~ooo'`
"Here you go, Lambo."
"Wow, Tsuna-nii! Thank you! This is the latest model of the iGrape phone series! Heh heh heh my friends are all going to be so envious!" Tsuna smiled and gave Lambo a pat on the head despite the teen being almost as tall as he was now.
Tsuna then pulled out some sake. "Here you go, Takeshi. Some Sake from Japan for you guys to enjoy when you drink together at night." He handed the huge bottle to Takeshi but looked away quickly, remembering Takeshi's anger from the other day.
"Thanks Tsuna! Wait, you know about our drinking sessions?" Takeshi looked wary. Tsuna sighed.
"Don't worry. There's nothing wrong about you guys chilling once in a while. Reborn won't mind either. No one's getting into trouble."
"That's not what I meant, Tsuna."
"It's fine." Tsuna waved Takeshi off with a smile knowing that maybe his Rain felt guilty about 'slacking off'. Tsuna moved on and handed Ryouhei a box of expensive caviar. "Ryouhei, this is for you and Hana."
"Thank you! Hana loves these especially with chawanmushi!" Ryouhei bellowed excitedly.
"And these are for you, Kyouya. Welcome home." Tsuna spun around to face the corner of the room where he knew Kyouya was. He knew Kyouya would appreciate the new model of watch Spanner had created, and the bag of bird seeds for Hibird. Kyouya had a small smirk hanging from the corner of his lips. The skylark took the gifts wordlessly and started to play with the watch with interested which was more than enough to show Tsuna his Cloud did like the gifts.
"It has the ability to sync up with your phone and keep track of what others are supposed to be doing at the moment. It has a smart function to update you about new events and movement of the people you choose to keep track of."
"Hnn." Kyouya smirked, then slowly paced off back to his corner in a daze while fiddling with the watch. That's good.
"For Hayato – new dynamites from Shouichi. He claims they make a bigger boom despite being in a smaller package. He told me to say it exactly in this way because you'd know what he meant." Tsuna excitedly passed the package over to his Storm, glad that he remembered the message.
"Tenth! Thank you so much! That red-headed idiot shouldn't have troubled you!" Hayato was blushing. Tsuna smiled, happy that his bomber was happy.
"And Chrome, this is for you." Tsuna handed over a little owl keychain he knew Chrome would like.
"This is so cute, Bossu! It's perfect!" Chrome gave a little peck to his cheek and disappeared into thin air presumably to show the other girls her new trinket. Tsuna blushed a little at the gesture and felt like it was a step forward.
"Lastly, Mukuro." Tsuna tossed a short string of metal chains up into the air knowing Mukuro was around. The metal disappeared with a 'Kufufufufu'.
"What was that, Tsuna?" Takeshi asked.
Tsuna grinned and shrugged at the same time. "Something I know he would want to get his hands on."
"By the way, why are you giving us gifts, little bro? What's up?" Ryouhei asked.
"Don't question the boss! He's just magnificent and kind and generous like that!" Hayato growled and the two proceeded to butt heads with each other.
"Is something wrong, Tsuna-nii? Is that why you're giving us these gifts? Are you going away?" Lambo asked with fear in his voice. Everyone stopped moving and heads shot to Tsuna in question.
"No, I'm not going anywhere, Lambo. I just wanted to show you guys how much I love you all by giving you things you would appreciate." Tsuna gave a fond smile to the younger boy. "Don't think too much into it."
"Shit. This is strange. Something is wrong. I feel it. What happened Tenth!? Is someone threatening you? Is something big going to happen? Are you not telling us something!?" Hayato was getting riled up.
"I CAN EXTREMELY FEEL THAT SOMETHING EXTREMELY BAD IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN." Ryouhei roared which brought Kyouya out of his daze. "Kyouya, Mukuro. I need you to go and search for information about any extreme attacks on Vongola and dispatch any rats."
"On it."
"Kufufufu, consider it done."
"No! Wait! That's not what's going on!" Tsuna realised he may have indirectly condemned a whole horde of people to death. "Ryouhei, call them back! That's not what's going on."
"Is this why you've been praising me the last couple of days, Tenth?" Hayato had a light bulb moment or something. "Is this the end?!"
"No!" Oh. My. Giotto. what was happening. "No. Hayato, calm down."
"He brought me refreshments the other day while I was training with the recruits." Takeshi added.
"I saw him visiting Dino, Yuni, and Byakuran." Ryouhei continued. "Something's not right."
"What are you hiding, Tsuna-nii? Please don't leave us!" Lambo was on the verge of crying and clinging onto him like a small child.
"Get Reborn." Hayato commanded.
"DO NOT GET REBORN." Tsuna screamed internally and externally. What. The. Fuck. If Reborn heard about this, it would be HELL. HELL! This was totally not going well. "Everyone sit back down and listen to me!"
"I've notified Reborn, Hayato-kun." Chrome appeared back in the room clutching her owl keychain to her chest as if it was the most important thing in the world. She looked fearful and worried.
"Fuck." Tsuna groaned and cradled his face in his palms. How did this happen? "I'm never giving you guys anything ever again."
"Tenth?"
"And you! I'm never saying anything nice ever again." Tsuna jabbed a finger towards Hayato who then looked like his soul left his body. "Don't make me favour your recruits more than you, Takeshi."
"Is that a threat, Tsuna?" Takeshi had his glacial smile on but Tsuna could see the sweat trailing down the side of the rain's temples.
"Yes it is. Chrome, call off Mukuro and Kyouya now. Ryouhei, take care of Hayato and I want him to write a report about this whole kerfuffle and submit it to Reborn." Tsuna's eyes were lighted up with sky flames as he tried to take control of the situation. "Now, if Reborn finds me, I will confiscate all of your gifts. This is a warning."
There was silence as Tsuna walked out of the room.
Mission flirt by giving gifts – TOTAL FAILURE.
'`ooo~OOO~ooo'`'`ooo~OOO~ooo'`
"I heard you had a huge bitch fight with your little bitches, Squirt."
"I'm not ready to talk about this, Xanxus. Go away."
"You moping, Scum?"
"Yes. Reborn spoke to me for 2 hours on the phone, lecturing me about crisis management. I hardly got any sleep last night because my guardians decided to be drama queens. Hayato actually tried to hide in my bathroom to watch over me through the night, while Takeshi sharpened his sword outside my office through the day. My insurance company called because Ryouhei notified them. Twelve famiglias sent warning letters threatening to break our bond because of unreasonable threats from my Cloud and Mist. Lambo and Chrome destroyed the kitchen trying to brew some ancient Mongolian medicine for me. Please go away, Xanxus. I'm totally not in the mood. I really, really need to wallow alone."
As expected, Xanxus didn't leave. The Varia leader plopped down on the long couch and kicked his legs up looking as though it was the Varia's fucking office.
"You're being too girly about this whole flirting thing."
Tsuna's head snapped up in surprise. "How did you know about the whole flirting thing?"
"Please." Tsuna felt the eye-roll from the other. "Your rain and storm had a huge argument about whatever shit methods you've been using and their bitching then involved my sun, which led to my mist collecting data and attempting to sell it to my lightning who actually bought it and told my rain who was cockblocking and the shark told me."
"Huh?" Tsuna didn't follow.
"I heard it from somewhere." Xanxus shrugged and let it go.
"Right."
There was silence for a while because Xanxus initiating a conversion on social issues was super awkward.
"You need to be more obvious to get your point across."
"I'm not going to take flirting advice from you, Xanxus."
"And why not? Varia is obviously more in sync than your little pussy team."
"Fuck you."
Xanxus roared with laughter. "Strong words from the little Vongola. Where'd you learn them from?"
"You."
"Got it right. Taught you some important things, didn't I?" 'So why not this?' went unspoken.
"Right." Tsuna sighed. Xanxus did help him out at important moments in his life. They held Vongola up together, after all. "Give me your best advice then."
"Like I've said, you need to be more obvious. You wanna fuck then? Then fuck them!"
"I don't exactly want to fuck them, Xanxus."
"Whatever. You know what I mean."
"No, actually, I don't."
Xanxus deadpanned and that made Tsuna feel like the most stupid person in the world.
"Physical touch is one of the most straightforward ways of flirting, you dumb shit."
"So you guys all touch each other in Varia?"
"Have you seen how obvious the stupid sun and lightning react?" 'Duh' wasn't heard but Xanxus definitely said it.
"Right. Touch. I can do that."
"You do that. They would freak the fuck out, but the message would be clear."
"You never know with my guardians."
"You're right. Your guys are all stupid as fuck."
Right. Ok. It was worth a try.
'`ooo~OOO~ooo'`
"Hey Hayato, wait up!" Tsuna hurried to catch up with the Bomber.
"Juudaime! I'm just heading out to pick Lambo up. Was there anything you wanted?" Hayato asked, flustered at the unexpected encounter. The storm slowed down to accommodate his boss. Since the gift giving incident, Hayato seemed a little unsure about Tsuna's advances so Tsuna wanted to make it very clear to his friend that he was sincerely interested to form a more intimate relationship with the other.
Tsuna caught Hayato's gaze and purposefully slid his hand along Hayato's bicep and gently clutched the other's arm. "It's alright, I just want to walk with you."
Hayato, unsurprisingly, choked on a cough and the storm's entire body started shaking. Was Hayato sick? Why was his body reacting so strangely?
"You must be really busy, Juudaime. You don't have to trouble yourself!"
Tsuna dropped his signature beaming smile. "Let me have this, Hayato." Tsuna hooked his arm with the Bomber's and started forwards. He relished in the warmth of Hayato's body and the hardness of the Storm's strong arm. Hayato continued to shake and seemed to be gaping at Tsuna's actions. Maybe he needed an excuse to touch the other more forwardly.
"Are you alright, Hayato? You're shaking really badly!" Tsuna started to fret over his storm guardian. Tsuna's right hand went to the Bomber's neck to feel how clammy it was, then trailed up the side of Hayato's cheek and then past the ear to swipe away some sweat that had gathered on the other's temple. Hayato let out a strangled wheeze. Maybe Hayato was sick for real! This wasn't supposed to happen! Tsuna started to panic. Was Hayato dying?!
"Hayato! Stay with me! Are you alright?" Tsuna used both hands to cup Hayato's face and then placed a ear above Hayato's chest where he could hear a thundering beat. Should hearts be beating that rapidly?! Tsuna held in his hyperventilation, truly worried for his friend, adrenaline kicking in.
"HAYATO! Answer me! Do I need to give you CPR? Lie down! You need to lie down!" Tsuna gently supported the storm and tilted the other over to lay him on the ground. Hayato's breathing seemed to have stopped or something. He positioned himself over Hayato, both knees on either side of the Bomber's hips so that he could bend over to listen to Hayato's breathing better. He wasn't aligned well with Hayato's mouth so Tsuna shifted his position down a little, squirming backwards until his butt sat comfortably over Hayato's groin area.
Hayato let out a groan mixed with a terrified squeak. The Bomber's body seemed to have been petrified. Tsuna held Hayato's cheeks firmly in the palm of his hands and looked into Hayato's dilated eyes. Fuck. What did Reborn say about dilated eyes?! Was it high-blood pressure? Was it a stroke?! FUCK HAYATO WAS DEFINITELY DYING!
"Juudaime… Please…" Hayato choked out a little cry.
"Tell me what you need, Hayato. Anything, Hayato." The Bomber's eyes seemed to have rolled to the back of his head after Tsuna's statement. SHIT! IT WAS GETTING WORSE. Tsuna's mind ran at a thousand miles per hour. Shit what did he need to do in this situation?! First aid. What did Reborn say about first aid?! Ok Hayato is conscious and breathing… kind of… what could he do to relieve Hayato's symptoms? It seemed like Hayato was finding it hard to breathe. Was it because his shirt was too tight? Tsuna had to try!
Tsuna started to unbutton Hayato's shirt starting from the top. Each button removed seemed to have relieved the Bomber a little because Hayato was groaning and letting out little moans of air with every button removed. Tsuna confirmed that Hayato was indeed suffering from breathlessness because of the tight shirt.
When the buttons were undone, Tsuna traced his palms along Hayato's heated chest to feel for the right place where he could listen to the Bomber's heart. He noticed that the fine hairs on Hayato's chest started to stand, and little goose bumps littered Hayato's body. The Bomber's nipples were hard perhaps because of the cool air. Maybe Tsuna should keep them warm while Hayato got his breathing back in order?
Without a second thought, Tsuna settled his warm palms over Hayato's cold nipples to warm them up.
Hayato took one sharp gasping breath, and promptly fell unconscious.
What the fuck? Did he just kill Hayato?!
FUCKKKK.
In his panicked state, Tsuna released his Sky flames hoping someone would respond to it. He felt sun flames around the corner and prayed in that split second that it wasn't Reborn.
Please, please don't let it be Reborn.
"Tsu-chan? What's wrong? What happened?" the Varia's sun popped up from the corner and hurried over to them. Thank God. Tsuna turned tear-filled eyes to Lussuria for help.
"He fell unconscious. He had trouble breathing all of a sudden. I don't know what happened, Luss-nee. Help." Tsuna was on the verge of a full on melt down.
"Oh! You weren't having sex in the middle of the corridor? I was peeking from around the corner and didn't want to intrude." Lussuria used a hand to block his mouth while he chuckled. "I thought you decided to jump the poor boy in the middle of the corridor. You look like you were dominating him so deliciously!"
"What?" Tsuna couldn't comprehend, the fog of worry clouding his mind. "Please just help him!"
Lussuria waved a hand dismissively. "Calm down, Tsu-chan. He's fine. I've done a scan already. Now! Let's get him back to my room and we can both calm down, alright? Let me give you a massage. That's sure to help you calm down!" the Sun cheered.
Tsuna nodded, a little less worried now but still upset that his touch would trigger such a reaction from his Storm. Maybe he wasn't doing it right? Maybe it was too shocking for Hayato? Maybe he needed something more sensual? Maybe there was a skill to touching someone that he was unaware off…
"Hey, Luss-nee, can you teach me something?"
"Anything you need, little Vongola. Step into my room, I'll teach you everything..."
'`ooo~OOO~ooo'`
Tsuna found Kyouya in the Cloud's office. Target set.
"Hey Kyouya, finally taking a break huh?" his hands immediately went to touch Kyouya's long neck and trailed gently to the cloud's shoulders.
"What the fuck are you doing, herbivore?" Kyouya had flinched away but didn't stop him.
"Giving you a massage?" Tsuna tilted his head in an innocent manner hoping his cloud wouldn't pick up on what he was up to. Tsuna continued to knead the Skylark's shoulders and even infused some of his sky flames to make Kyouya more relaxed just like Lussuria had taught him. He really just needed another chance after that last flop with Hayato.
"And why are you giving me a massage?" Kyouya continued to question, full of suspicion, but the Cloud's body was slowly sagging in relief and comfort.
"Because you're tired?"
"Oh? And why haven't you done so in the past?"
"Why are you asking so many questions, Kyouya?"
"Hnn…" Kyouya was on to him. For sure. Nevertheless, Kyouya relaxed and Tsuna took his chance to try and show his cloud some love.
He made sure to slow inch further, reach deeper, knead harder. His technique firmer, more confident after the last try with his Storm. Kyouya sank further into the chair and the skylark's breathing started to even out. Yes! Tsuna was feeling thrilled to be shown such trust. The older man's skin felt smooth and warm under his hands. Kyouya's neck had a few kinks in it and Tsuna persistently tried to knead them out. Soon enough, he needed to unbutton Kyouya's top button if he wanted to massage more areas. Expertly, he flicked Kyouya's top button open and shifted a warm hand under the Skylark's shirt just like he had practiced.
Kyouya's left hand shot out to stop him while the other hand reached out to grab Tsuna's collar and pull him close. The cloud's eyes showed a turbulent swirl of anger, lust and confusion.
"You're testing my patience. What do you think you're doing, Herbivore?" Kyouya's voice definitely cracked a little and Tsuna heard the other's breathing getting heavier.
"Giving you a massage?"
"A massage, you call this?"
"Yes?" Tsuna replied warily, afraid to say the wrong thing and have Kyouya stop all his hard work. Tsuna was definitely almost building this up to something wonderful so why was Kyouya was being so uptight when Tsuna was trying to get him to relax.
Maybe his touch disgusted Kyouya?
"And you give all your massages like that?" Kyouya gritted his teeth and Tsuna instinctively felt like he was on the verge of being bitten to death. This wasn't going the way he wanted it to.
"Well, this is my second try. I've only ever massaged Lussuria for practice and he was the one who taught me." Tsuna shared honestly.
"And how exactly did he teach you?" Tsuna started to feel a heavy pressure in the room. Clearly Kyouya was getting agitated but Tsuna didn't understand why! It was going so well and Tsuna was sure that his technique was good since Lussuria enjoyed it so much! Was it because instead of doing his work, Tsuna went to learn massaging techniques? Was Kyouya upset that Tsuna was skiving off? Or was it because Kyouya simply didn't like Tsuna that way?
That was an upsetting thought considering Kyouya seemed ok with touches from Mukuro and the two of them couldn't even stand to be in the same room most days.
"He showed me first, and then asked me to practice on him. Is it not working, Kyouya? Lussuria seemed to really enjoy it though. Here! He really liked this!" Tsuna proceeded to knead down the front of Kyouya's chest, making sure to sweep across the nipples once in awhile. Lussuria really liked it and Tsuna really hoped that this would improve Kyouya's mood.
Instead, Kyouya grabbed his wrist in a bruising hold, looking like he was ready to kill someone. Did Tsuna do something wrong? Why why why wasn't this working?! Tsuna was guaranteed that this would one hundred percent work!
Kyouya was clearly enraged. "I'm going to fucking bite that Okama to death!" the Cloud roared and stalked out of the room, tonfas at the ready.
What the hell? Tsuna stood on the spot, unsure what just happened. Did Tsuna do it wrongly? Luss told him that the frontal massage would make his intensions clear for sure!
Tsuna felt greatly upset and frustrated. Maybe massaging was too subtle. Maybe he needed to be more forward.
What was it Xanxus had said? If Tsuna wanted to fuck them then he should just fuck them.
Right.
Maybe he'd start off with something smaller first.
A kiss? A kiss with someone not as volatile as Kyouya. Takeshi was a good option! But… what if he did it wrongly again and Takeshi got angry? What if Takeshi pushed him away like Kyouya did? Perhaps if Tsuna could learn how to kiss the way Takeshi liked…
Right. Tsuna needed to find one of those recruits that Takeshi had a fling with. Surely, they would know how Takeshi liked to be physical!
With that plan, Tsuna set out to find someone who could help him prepare for his attempt with Takeshi.
'`ooo~OOO~ooo'`
"Okay so first I have to approach closely like this."
"Uh huh." The taller male was around the same height as Takeshi but had blond hair like Collonello.
"And then I need to cup his jaw and stroke his chin like this. Takeshi has facial hair so it would feel much rougher than your face."
"Uh huh."
"Then to increase the anticipation, I have to press the rest of my body against him like this."
"That's good. C-closer, please."
"Much closer!" cheered one of the several guys standing by the side. The group had 5 guys who had agreed to help Tsuna with this matter. They were all part of Takeshi's second squad and apparently, one of them had made out with Takeshi before and that man was currently passing on the knowledge to Tsuna.
"Oh! Okay. Is this better?" Tsuna shuffled closer until he could feel the other's heat from chest to thigh.
"Oh yeah… Much, really, really good. Better." The recruit moaned.
"Alright. Then I'm supposed to look at his eyes, then his lips. Make my intentions clear. Like this?"
"Yes, Vongola… That's good…"
"Then I have to move my lips really close to his like this. Until he feels my breath puffing against his lips, right?"
"So… close… Mmnn yes that's right yes…"
"Should I use my tongue to lick his lips? To tease? Is that necessary?"
"How about you give it a try, Vongola?" the recruit growled and shifted his face just a little closer…
"GET OFF HIM! ARE YOU ASKING FOR A DEATH SENTENCE?" Suddenly, Tsuna's practice partner was shoved away and he was tossed backwards against a hard body. Looking back, he recognised the afro and smell of his youngest guardian. Fuuta stood in front of him while Ipin shook the recruit by the collar.
"I don't even need to check my book to know who the most fucking stupid people on the planet are at this point in time." Fuuta snarled. Tsuna had never seen the other so aggressive before. Lambo, uncharacteristically, hadn't said a single word and held onto Tsuna tightly. Instead, Ipin did the talking for him:
"You're lucky we were the ones who stumbled onto the bunch of you. If it were anyone else, LITERALLY ANY ONE ELSE, you would all be dead right now! DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE DONE? DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE SEVERITY OF YOUR ACTIONS?"
"Fuck off. Now. Before I fucking lose it." Lambo snarled and the recruits tumbled over one another to get away from the Vongola Lightening Guardian who was currently sparking uncontrollably.
When it was just the four of them left, Ipin and Fuuta hurried over to swamp Tsuna.
"Are you alright, Tsuna-nii?"
"Did they do anything?"
"What happened?"
"Why didn't you fight back?"
"What should we do with them?"
"Do you want us to call Reborn?"
Tsuna finally reacted. "Oh my god. Please, no, don't call Reborn. Calm down everyone!"
"Please tell me you didn't approach them to do this on your own accord, Tsuna-nii." Lambo finally asked, eyes full of concern and… jealousy?
"Well, I just wanted to ask them some questions." Tsuna tried explaining.
"And you couldn't ask one of us?" Ahhhh Tsuna hated it whenever Lambo sounded hurt.
"It's a little awkward to ask you three because you're still kids to me, Lambo. Please understand."
"What about the others? Hayato-nii? Takeshi-nii? Ryouhei-nii?"
"Well… it's hard to explain."
"Well, try." Lambo placed some distance between Tsuna and crossed his arms. "Explain to me, Tsuna-nii, please."
"Lambo… I can't. It's nothing. It's silly."
"I'm not a child anymore. Why can't you tell me?" Ipin rested a hand on Lambo's shoulder to calm him down while Fuuta held Lambo's hand.
Tsuna was embarrassed to explain his plan to seduce all the guardians and it wasn't like he could explain to Lambo that he was feeling left out and unloved, right?
"Sorry Lambo, please understand that I can't really explain it."
Lambo glared, frowned, and then finally looked away, angry. "Whatever. Fine. First you won't tell us what's wrong and why you're giving us gifts as if you're going to die. Now you won't even tell me something you're willing to share with even the low ranked recruits. Fine. If we're that unreliable to you, then I sincerely hope you can find someone to share your troubles with, Vongola." Then Lambo proceeded to storm away. Ipin immediately chased after him but Fuuta stayed behind a moment longer.
"Tsuna-nii. Please get your act together. You're hurting your famiglia with these half-hearted, uncharacteristic actions of yours." Fuuta reprimanded and walked away leaving Tsuna feeling really hurt and lost.
What did he do wrong now?
He really just wanted to show his family that he loved them.
Why did things turn out this way?
Fuck.
Tsuna stood in the empty hallway for awhile, feeling useless and dame all over again.
Fuck.
"My little Vongola."
Tsuna's head shot up, face tear-streaked, eyes meeting the golden ones of his ancestor.
"Primo…"
"Come along, follow me. Seems that we have some things to discuss."
Wiping away snort and tears, Tsuna picked himself up and stumbled forward following the apparition. Maybe this time he would get some better advice.
Mission flirt through physical touch – Major failure, send help please.
'`ooo~OOO~ooo'`'`ooo~OOO~ooo'`
"I didn't mean to push Lambo away. I just really didn't know how to explain it in a way that would make me seem like a total useless, dumb, incompetent person." Tsuna sniffed a little while Primo continued to pat his back. "I tried it on Hayato first and he almost died from shock, then I practiced and tried it on Kyouya but he just became angry, and finally Lambo happened and I'm just a big pile of disappointment." He tried to hold back a sob but more tears spilled from his eyes.
Damn it. Why was he always so useless?
"Stop berating yourself, little Vongola. Maybe you haven't found the right way to show your love."
"That's what everyone else said! Dino suggested words of affirmation, Yuni suggested giving gifts, Byakuran suggested acts of services, Xanxus suggested physical touch. None of those worked! What else can I do? Maybe it's too late for me to show love to them. Maybe, I'm just a boss to them now and there's no way we can close that gap." Fuck he felt like such a failure.
"You know, I had the same problem with my famiglia when I was your age." Primo added wistfully. "With the size of our famiglia and our influence growing, I didn't have the time to invest into everyone. I felt like I was slowly drifting away, excluded from the little daily things."
Tsuna nodded in understanding. "What did you do then?"
Primo chuckled. "I didn't do anything. I wish I had more time to spend with each one of my guardians, my friends, my family. I ran out of time in the end. Don't fall into the same mistakes I've made, Tsuna. Spend quality time with each one of them. Be by their side. Do the things they like to do."
That seemed like a good idea. The guys have been spending more time with each other be it having meals, drinking sessions in the night, smoke breaks… Where was Tsuna when all these activities were going on?
He needed to prioritise spending time with his family over doing his stupid paperwork all the time. Reborn would understand the necessity.
Alright. Time to give it one last try.
'`ooo~OOO~ooo'`
He caught Kyouya and Mukoro smoking under the big tree behind the kitchen.
Right. He needed to spend quality time with them doing the things they liked to do. Tsuna pulled out a box of cigarettes he stole off Hayato. He'd never tried smoking before but now is as good a time as any. Feeling prepared, he exited through the back door of the kitchen and headed towards the pair.
"-not sure if he's dying." Tsuna caught the end of Kyouya's deep voice.
"You'd think he would tell us if he was." Mukuro's frown was sincere.
"It is our job to find out. You know how he's like."
"It's hilarious because it's actually easier to get you to share your feelings with me, than it is for me to get an honest truth out of him these days."
"Hnn."
This was the first time he'd ever seen Kyouya look so relaxed and unguarded. Mukuro had lost the usual smirk on his face. He had his eyes closed and a neutral expression – as if he didn't need to put up any pretences.
All that disappeared the moment Tsuna crossed a certain line. Ahh… the Mist had placed a barrier and Tsuna was dumb enough to trip it.
Damn.
Immediately, Kyouya sat up, body taut and ready to attack. Mukuro's eyes flared purple and his smirk came back up after seeing Tsuna walking up to them.
"Oh ho? What's the little Vongola doing out here today?" Mukuro's sing-song tone shot through Tsuna's heart and made him feel like crying just a little. Why did they feel like they needed to pretend in front of him? Weren't they over all that already?
Tsuna needed to press on.
"Hey, I'm just here to take a break. Can I join you guys?" Tsuna pulled out his pack of sticks and waved it at the two. Kyouya actually stopped breathing for a few moments while Mukuro blinked a few times in shock.
"Are those… cigarettes, Tsunayoshi?" Mukuro's voice was reaching near hysterics. If Tsuna wasn't feeling so down, he might have laughed.
"Yes…?"
"Where the FUCK did you get those!?" Mukuro wheezed out. Kyouya was still stunned and unmoving.
Tsuna shrugged. "I have my own sources." And proceeded to pull out a stick. Was he supposed to light it first? Or put it into his mouth then light it? How did Hayato do it? Should he hold it with his index and middle fingers? Or between his thumb and index?
Tsuna swore he heard a "Kyouya, what the fuck stop him!" whispered by Mukuro before Kyouya suddenly materialised in front of him to knock the pack of sticks away.
"Herbivores like you shouldn't be smoking." Kyouya hissed and glared.
Tsuna stood there, stunned for a moment, then outright sobbed. What was he thinking trying to join them as if he was on the same level as them? Of course he was still a 'herbivore' in their eyes.
"You fucking Tsundere look what you did." Mukuro whispered-snarled, smacking Kyouya in the shoulder and surprisingly the Skylark didn't retaliate. Kyouya did however, shot back a glare and the two started arguing as usual but Tsuna wasn't present enough to listen to them.
Maybe starting off with Kyouya and Mukuro was the wrong decision. Maybe their relationship was already too irreparable.
Fuck.
Tsuna turned to leave as fast as he could.
'`ooo~OOO~ooo'`
Tsuna hid in his office for the rest of the afternoon and locked his door to reject all visitations. Not even Mukuro and his appearing act was able to penetrate the wards around his office. Tsuna didn't turn up for dinner either but by midnight, he was feeling slightly better and ready to give it another try.
Just one more try, because Reborn didn't raise him to be a quitter.
This time, he decided to try joining the drinking group that Kyouya didn't attend because he still wasn't ready to face the Cloud after the humiliation earlier. The private, smaller kitchen was on the second floor of the west wing, quite a distance away from Tsuna's own office. Soft voices were engaged in heated discussion while Tsuna took his time outside to prepare himself to join the group.
"I'm pretty sure he's not dying because if he were, Reborn would know." Takesh's voice wafted from inside.
"I can't believe we're relying on Reborn's reactions. We'll be murdered if he ever finds out that we're basing our boss's health on his mood." Hayato sighed.
"My scans tell me that he isn't in any danger. But with Tsuna-bro you never know." Ryouhei added.
"He brought smokes to join Kyouya and I for our break today. Who the fuck gave him smokes?!" Mukuro growled.
"I think he stole them from me." Hayato raised a hand sheepishly. "Remember that day when I blacked out in the hallway? I think he took it then."
"You mean the one where you claimed that Tsuna tried to strip you then ride you?" Ryouhei teased.
"Dude. It happened. I swear."
"Whatever. You better keep your smokes under lock-and-key, Bomber. The next time Kyouya catches you, you're dead." Mukuro warned. "That fucking Tsundere made the boss cry though."
"I don't care how emotionally constipated Kyouya is, you tell him to explain and apologise to Tsuna-bro, got it?" Ryouhei warned and Mukuro just chuckled in response.
"By the way did you guys hear about the fucking recruits that Lambo caught?" Takeshi started and Tsuna took it as his cue to join in because eavesdropping was rude.
"Hey guys." Tsuna smiled cautiously and entered the kitchen causing most of them to sit up straight and guarded.
"Yo Tsuna!"
"Hey Tsuna-bro!"
"Tenth!"
"Kufufufufufu."
Right. He could do this. "Can I join you guys?"
They exchanged looks. "Sure! You got a moment off paperwork or something, Tsuna?" Takeshi was the one to reply for the group.
"Yeah I just need a break from all of it." Tsuna took a seat between Takeshi and Ryouhei and smiled politely at everyone. "Are you feeling better, Hayato? I hope I didn't cause any harm or inconvenience to you."
"No! Tsuna-sama! Everything is fine there's nothing to worry about!"
"Glad to hear that." Tsuna scratched his head awkwardly, all manners of being a boss thrown out the window in front of these people who were supposed to be his family. "Oh and I'm sorry for intruding on your time with Kyouya today, Mukuro."
"The stupid birdie should have explained himself clearer. It's not your fault, Tsunayoshi-kun." Mukuro shrugged. "But on that note, maybe you should give those cigarettes back to Hayato. They aren't healthy for you, ya know?"
"Oh. Sorry. Here you go, Hayato. I'm sorry for taking them from you. I just wanted to try spending some time with Mukuro and Kyouya and I thought what better time to do it than during their smoke break, so I decided I needed to join in for me to join in you know? But it didn't work out so here's your cigarettes back. I'm sorry." Tsuna rambled.
"What?" Mukuro looked confused and exchanged looks with the others. "You wanted to join in?"
"Maybe you should start from the beginning, Tsuna? What has been going on?" Takeshi poured a glass of whiskey for Tsuna after clearance from Ryouhei. Hayato gave them the 'are you fucking kidding me you aren't gonna feed our boss alcohol!' look but Mukuro gave a kick to the bomber's shin to shut him up.
"Alright." Tsuna sighed. Maybe he should have listened to Lambo and come clean on every insecurity he's been feeling. He was supposed to trust his famiglia after all. Downing the glass of whiskey to give him courage, he started:
"I was feeling left out that everyone seemed to be getting along and all I had was more and more paperwork piling up." The whiskey burned a path down into his stomach and all of a sudden he was feeling more woozy than he thought he would be after a cup of alcohol.
Oh. This was stronger than the typical wines he was used to.
"You guys are all growing up while I'm being left behind. I've seen you guys, you know? Takeshi making out with all the recruits…"
"Oh come on Tsuna don't make me sound like such a player-"
"Hayato with Shouichi and Spanner…"
"Tenth! It't not what it looks like!"
"Nii-san has Hana-san. They're happily married and going into the next stage of life."
"Yeah well I'm extremely happy with Hana!"
"Wait what about me, Tsunayoshi?"
"I honestly don't really want to know what creepy things you get up to, Mukuro, but I know your relationships with the others have grown so much as well and you're comfortable to spend time with them. Even Kyouya has been getting on well with Chrome. On the other hand, I'm just drifting further apart from everyone all by my lonesome."
"That's not true, Tsuna! We're still here for you." Takeshi tried.
"You know you can come to us if you have any problems, Tsuna-bro." Ryouhei encouraged.
Tsuna shook his head, trying to clear up the foggy feeling that the alcohol was starting to build up. "You don't understand. I want to be able to get close to you guys with my own efforts. I don't want to be close just because I'm your boss. I want have what Hayato and Takeshi have. I want to have what Kyouya and Chrome have. That easy going relationship and comfort…"
"Once again, what about me, Tsunayoshi?" Mukuro pouted but everyone ignored him.
"I don't know how to say this in a nice manner, Tsuna, but since you mentioned you wanted to have what Hayato and I have… You know that we fuck right?" Takeshi raised a brow in challenge.
"Language…"
"OI YOU IDIOT SWORD FREAK MIND WATCH WHAT YOU SAY! TENTH DOESN'T NEED TO KNOW THAT!"
"This is exactly what I mean. Hayato… What's wrong with me knowing about you guys having sex? I'm part of your Famiglia too, aren't I?" Tsuna looked downwards, sadden at the distance between his guardians and himself.
"Hey Tsuna-bro. Please continue telling us what's going on." Ryouhei gave him arm a pat in encouragement.
Tsuna nodded. "I asked Dino for advice and he told me about how he was flirting with Kyouya and I thought I could try out the same method. All that happened was Hayato freaking out on me and running off from my advances."
"Me?! What?!-"
"What the heck, Bomber? How could you?!" Mukuro accused.
"Shut the fuck up, asshole! You know Reborn would kill us if we did anything to Tenth!"
"It's never been explicitly said though. We're just to quote, 'Herbivores' about it." Mukuro used his fingers to air quote the Cloud.
"So then Yuni told me to do nice things for you guys. Hayato ran away again and Takeshi got pissed off at me when I brought him food because I was intruding on his training time with the recruits."
"Hold on, Tsuna, that's not what happened." Takeshi tried to explain.
"God you're such a coward, Hayato." Ryouhei scoffed.
"Oh shut up, you stupid grass-head!"
"Why would you get pissed off at Tsunayoshi?" Mukuro asked Takeshi and Tsuna took the chance to down another glass full.
"Fuck, you should have seen the way the recruits were eyeing Tsuna up." Takeshi's flames started to freeze the room. "You wouldn't have tolerated it either, Mukuro."
"Oi. Mind your language in front of Tsuna, Takeshi." Ryouhei scolded again and Takeshi sighed and apologised.
Tsuna was getting really, really, lightheaded and the tears started flowing slowly. "After that I tried giving you all gifts and I took really, really long to think about what you guys wanted and in the end I screwed it up because you guys thought I was dying and did it really seem like I wouldn't even think of giving you guys anything unless I was on the verge of death? Can't I just love you guys without any stipulations of something bad happening?"
"Wait a moment, Tsuna-"
"We were just really concerned, Tenth!"
"Tsuna-bro, noooo. We enjoyed the gifts!"
"Tsunayoshi, come on, you know we appreciated the gifts! Where else would I have gotten a Vindice chain?"
"You called Reborn on me." Tsuna full out sobbed now. "I wasn't dying, and you guys felt anxious enough to call Reborn!"
"Oh no Vongola..."
"Fuck! Tenth is crying! He's crying! Call Reborn!" Hayato's hands moved back and forth, scared to touch the crying Tsuna but wanting to at the same time.
"Dude, what the fuck? He just said he was upset we called Reborn!" Takeshi pushed Hayato back into his seat, hoping to calm the other down.
"Takeshi, I told you to watch your language it's not helping the situation at all!" Ryouhei finally moved over to give Tsuna a hug but it only made Tsuna cry harder because he was so happy that someone was finally giving him some positive contact.
"Ryouhei, shut up. It's not the time to scold Takeshi. TENTH IS FUCKING CRYING! DO SOMETHING YOU'RE JUST MAKING IT WORSE."
"Mukuro get back here where the heck do you think you're phasing off to?!" Takeshi held on to Mukuro's hand as the other tried to escape the room.
"Was gonna go get Reborn, Kufufufu?" Mukuro was obviously panicking as well.
Tsuna continued. "And then after that Xanxus told me to fuck you guys if I wanna fuck you guys…"
Silence and confusion for a moment then:
"Wait what?"
"You wanted to fuck us?!"
"Not me I hope, I'm married."
"Why didn't you just say you wanna fuck, Vongola?!"
"-So I touched Hayato and he went straight into shock.-"
"I TOLD YOU HE WAS TRYING TO STRIP ME AND RIDE ME!" Hayato threw his hands up.
"Not now, Hayato." Ryouhei sighed.
"-Then after that Luss taught me how to give a good massage so I gave Kyouya everything I had and he freaked out and became more agitated instead. After that I really didn't want to make any more mistakes so I got some help but all that happened was me pissing Lambo off. LAMBO GOT PISSED OFF AT ME! ME!"
"Wait was that the one where you tried to get the recruits to teach you how to kiss?" Takeshi's voice dropped a tone lower.
"I'M SORRY TAKESHI. I JUST REALLY WANTED TO GET IT RIGHT." Tsuna cried and Ryouhei could do nothing more than pat his back. "They showed me how to do it though, do you want to review it?" Tsuna reached out to hold Takeshi's hand. "I'll try to do it the best I can. I'll do it real good."
"Oh fuck." Hayato choked.
"Yup, you guys handle this, I'm going to find those recruits and fucking slaughter them." Mukuro got up to leave again only to be yanked down by Ryouhei this time.
"No one's leaving until Tsuna-bro stops crying." Ryouhei glared and Tsuna couldn't believe it when Mukuro actually sat back down and listed to the Sun.
"You were willing to kiss the recruits and not me. Why Takeshi, why?" Tsuna pouted and sucked in a sob, eyes watery as he looked to Takeshi for answers.
"Tsuna, please, don't look at me like that I can't handle it." Takeshi's will slowly dissolved.
"WHY CAN'T YOU HANDLE IT? WHY CAN'T YOU HANDLE ME, TAKESHI, AM I NOT WORTH IT?!"
"FUCK."
"Oh my god okay someone call Reborn." Ryouhei finally gave in and Mukuro did something with his flames. "Takeshi. Clarify yourself right now."
"No, Tsuna, no. You can't look at me like that because then I just want to snuggle you for the rest of your life and hide you away from everyone else. I'm a really selfish person, Tsuna, and I really want to keep you for myself and I'm pretty sure everyone else wouldn't like that." Takeshi tried to explain, scratching the back .
"You want to keep me?" Tsuna's broken voice shone with a ray of hope. "But I'm not good at kissing and I can't even bring you food without you getting angry."
"Nonono you got it all wrong, Tsuna. I wasn't angry at you, I was angry at the recruits for even breathing the same air as you. I put them through such a brutal training session for daring to even look at you, Tsuna."
"Wow, way not to sound like a psychopath, Takeshi, and that's coming from me." Mukuro taunted.
"Seriously? Not now you stupid pineapple!" Hayato snarled back.
"You should have come to me, Tsunayoshi. I would have given you all the loving you need." Mukuro continued, ignoring the Bomber.
"Really? You would?" Tsuna asked, sliding out of Ryouhei's embrace and settling onto Mukuro's lap. The Mist's arms immediately wrapped around Tsuna's smaller frame.
"Of course, Tsunayoshi. I'm always ready for fucking any time." Mukuro smirked.
A deep voice cut through their conversation "What the fuck did you just say?"
Everyone froze, except Tsuna who was really inebriated and practically nipping little kisses into Mukuro's neck.
"Oh. Fuck. Reborn." Hayato whispered out and Mukuro finally managed to pull his brain together and phased out of the room. Tsuna was left hanging and started to cry again.
"Mukuro, you know you can't run. I'll find you." Reborn called out. The hitman stood tall at the doorway, fedora missing and in his yellow pyjamas. It was obvious to anyone that Reborn had rushed over and was woken up from sleep.
"Oh fuck." Takeshi agreed, stepped back next to Hayato, away from Tsuna, and looked downwards to avoid Reborn's gaze.
Ryouhei sighed. "This is the reason why all of you are always walking on eggshells around Tsuna. Reborn, please settle this with Tsuna and talk to the rest of the guardians. You're all hurting Tsuna-bro."
"Ryouhei, don't think you can tell me what I should and should not be doing." Reborn growled but Tsuna's Sun guardian didn't back down.
"You know I'm right. Just make things clear, Reborn." Ryouhei folded his arms and stood his ground.
"Hmph." Reborn conceded and looked to Tsuna who was collapsed onto the table and still sniffling a little. "Tsuna, come."
"Reborn?" Tsuna's eyes met Reborn's tough gaze and felt a sense of familiarity like an unchanging, reliable foundation. Also, what the heck? His head was all sorts of woozy and what was going on?
"Yes, you idiot. Come on." Reborn opened his arms and that was as good a signal as any for Tsuna to stumble out of his chair into Reborn's arms. He could always rely on Reborn in times like these.
Reborn hefted Tsuna into a bridal carry which Tsuna didn't oppose. Hayato and Takeshi made sure to look away and refrain from commenting. As they turned to leave, Reborn called out to the guardians in the room:
"Tomorrow, I want all of you to get your fucking act together and stop sending mixed signals. You are his famiglia and if your boss needs physical support from you, you'd better fucking well give him all the fucking the physical support he needs. I'll speak to him about this matter as soon as he's awake. If I catch any of you stepping out of line or hurting him again…" The threat was left hanging as Reborn left with Tsuna in his arms, the Don of Vongola comfortably snuggled into the hitman's embrace.
There was a collective sigh of relief in the room.
"Well, fuck."
"Wow, watch your language, Ryo-nii." Takeshi joked and everyone could only roll their eyes in reply.
'`ooo~OOO~ooo'`'`ooo~OOO~ooo'`
Tsuna woke up on an unfamiliar bed with a throbbing headache. His senses, however, sharpened immediately from all the training and suffering it had been conditioned to withstand. He knew what was going on instantly.
"Reborn."
"Ciaosu, Baka-Tsuna." Came Reborn's drawl from the sofa next to the bed. The hitman's feet were kicked up onto the bed, just in reach to shove Tsuna's body off should the need arise.
Last night's shenanigans came to the front of his mind immediately.
"I was drunk." Tsuna evaluated.
"Yes, you were." Reborn was polishing his gun, waiting patiently (as patiently as Reborn usually is) for Tsuna to come to a conclusion.
"Oh my god I cried, didn't I?"
"Yes, you did."
"Did they freak out?"
"They called me. What do you think?" Reborn gave him a stare that needed no explanation. "This is the second time I've been called to manage a crisis regarding you and your guardians, Tsuna. This cannot go on. It is unbefitting of a Don."
Tsuna sighed. "I know Reborn. I just… I wanted to make things better."
"Tell me."
And so Tsuna did. He repeated everything that happened, this time with clarity and details.
Reborn's first response was to sigh, followed by a sharp kick to shove Tsuna off the bed.
"Baka. You actually almost gave your first kiss to a recruit?"
His intuition told him that Reborn was seething despite the calm tone the Hitman was using.
"I… I didn't think of it that way. It wasn't important to me and I was focusing on making sure I succeeded with Takeshi." He tried to explain.
"And you allowed the Varia's Sun to touch you?"
"Luss-nee did teach me something useful…"
"You mean to tell me that another fucking Sun touched you?" Reborn's stare was scorching and so intense, Tsuna felt like he had missed something very important.
"I mean… He was teaching me something and it was inevitable that there would be some contact since he was teaching me how to give a good massage after all…" His intuition was going crazy. RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN it said.
"You…" Reborn held whatever curse he was gonna say back and sighed instead. "You should have come to me, Baka-Tsuna. You know you should have come to me."
"I know you don't like to be trouble by emotional matters, Reborn."
"You're right. And I should have known how much of an idiot you can be. I should have noticed the tension going on between you and your guardians as well. I've been neglecting your training in this area, Tsuna. I can't believe you…" Reborn ended with a glare and his intuition told him that the biggest mistake had been going to Lussuria of all people.
"I'm sorry?" Tsuna tried but Reborn continued to lock that same intense stare on him. Was he sweating? Damn it what was this feeling. He felt like he was burning and everything felt too intense. He cleared his throat to get rid of some of the tension.
"What should I do, Reborn?" Tsuna wringed his fingers together, peeking at Reborn through his fringe.
Reborn stared at him for a while more before Tsuna suddenly felt the heat dissipate.
"Baka-Tsuna, if you want to save your relationships, you needed to do it with your dying will."
Huh. That sounded familiar. Like every lesson with Reborn, it started with reminding Tsuna to do things with all his heart, with clarity, and with his dying will. Why had Tsuna forgotten his most important lesson?
Maybe if he had put in all his effort into making things clear- into giving sincere, relevant words of affirmation to Hayato; focusing on providing acts of services to Takeshi alone rather than extending it to the recruits as well; buying things for his guardians and explaining his reasons for each gift and why now; consulting his heart when showing physical affections to Kyouya and Hayato to make things less staged and more real; and putting in more effort into spending quality time with everyone, finding things that they enjoyed that Tsuna enjoyed as well. Maybe then he would have been successful in getting his point across.
Reborn must have seen the clarity blooming in his eyes. The hitman continued the lesson:
"Tsuna, what you need to understand is that people love differently. What might work for someone might not work for another. It's not about what your love language is, but what the other person's own love language is. You know your famiglia best, and you should know how to speak to them in a way that they can understand.
"Let's take it slow in a way you can understand, Baka-Tsuna. The cow– what can you do for him that you think he would appreciate the most?"
Tsuna gave it a quick thought. "Words of affirmation. Lambo feels like we don't trust him enough because of his age. Also, maybe if I could take some time off to spend with him, hang out with him, and help him, he would appreciate it."
Reborn nodded. "That's right. You need to do it sincerely and consistently. Now, you just need to think it through and figure out how to show the rest of your famiglia your love in a manner that matters to them. Don't half-ass it, Baka."
Alright. That made sense. It did make sense that he needed to show love to Kyouya differently from someone like Takeshi. And that Mukuro, who has owned nothing his entire life, would probably enjoy gifts. He'll have to give it a good thought.
"Thank you, Reborn. I needed that."
Reborn hummed in affirmation and gave Tsuna's fluffy hair a good ruffle. "And don't do that for just your Guardians. Make sure to give the same affection to others in your Famiglia as well."
Feeling cheeky, Tsuna decided to test the waters. "Oh? Does that include you as well?"
Reborn scoffed and turned a serious, smouldering look towards him. The intensity of the stare earlier came back full force and Tsuna felt as if nothing else could hold his attention other than the Sun in front of him.
"When I want something, Tsuna, I will take it. You will know when that happens. I do not allow the things I want to just slip away so easily from me Tsuna. You should know that by now. What is mine, is mine."
Tsuna felt shivers going down his spine at Reborn's declaration, not too sure if it was from fear or anticipation. Whatever it was, Tsuna knew he wasn't ready to find out and decided to slowly back off.
He needed time to process.
"Alright. Okay. Uhh… Thanks for the advice, Reborn. I'll get going now."
"Tsuna?"
Tsuna froze.
"Report back to me when you're done."
Tsuna nodded, then ran out of there, Reborn's intense stare following him out the door.