Daily Life Arc

Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn.

Warning for sensitive topics.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Ugh...

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Five more minutes...

Beep. Beep. Beep.

He groaned, not wanting to face the day and buried his face into his soft and warm pillow. The weight held against him stiffened and Tsuna frowned. Wait, had his pillow ever felt this heavy?

Something dug into his ribs uncomfortably and he adjusted his hold and sighed, content as to where he was.

He curled against his pillow and felt it stiffen again. Frowning, his hand slid up, brushing against cloth to touch something smooth and warm.

"Kya!" He was thrown off the bed at the sudden cry. Hitting his head against the floor, his eyes snapped wide open. A cold chill ran down his spine as a surge of memories came rushing back to him.

"Um," he said. "Hi…?"

Mia looked down at him from her bed, her arms wrapped around herself, her hair in a pretty tangled mess and her face an angry shade of red. They stared at each other before Mia's face twisted into a vicious snarl and Tsuna merely had seconds to react as she lunged at him with a lion's murderous intent. He rolled away just in time as she landed beside him. He scrambled on to his feet but was brought down again as Mia tackled him from behind and into the ground. He yelped as they went down.

He could not believe this was the same girl that was suffering alone at night in her sleep. Mia was completely different as she wrestled with him on the floor. Her strength surprised him as they rolled from side to side, knocking things off her tables and shelves. Eventually she managed to overpower him – something that he totally did not see coming – and pinned him down while straddling his waist.

He could have thrown her off if he wanted to but their current position paralyzed him from head to toe.

He would have had a bloody fit if Mia's face hadn't loomed into view.

Her face was a canvas of different emotions. The most he had seen all week. It amazed him how much she could convey with expressions alone. Some he could name, others were too quick for him to guess but the biggest one was fury. She struggled to compose herself and eventually succeeded. Her eyes glanced to an item on Tsuna's far left. He followed her gaze and saw that it was her pills.

"Um..."

"I've had insomnia since I was younger so I kept those for when I really need it," she explained, her voice low. He turned to look at her, she didn't meet his eyes. "Lately it's been more than just insomnia that keeps me up at night."

"I'm sorry," he blurted out. Mia met his eyes at last and stared at him for a long moment. He didn't break his gaze away. In a second, she wiped her expression clean, making it hard for him to guess what she was thinking.

"Why, pray tell," she started with that same low tone that had warning bells ringing in his head. "Were you with me in bed?"

Knowing that he was treading on the lands of Mordor, he tried to come up with a reasonable response. He felt her shift her weight and his thoughts were thrown into disarray.

"M-M-Mia, maybe you should get off me?" he stuttered out.

"No." Her blue eyes flashed. "I won't get off until you tell me."

In his panic, he blurted, "I wanted to sleep with you!"

Stunned, she froze on top of him. Then heat flooded her cheeks and she pulled her arm back, her fingers curling into a fist. Realizing what he just said, he frantically tried to amend himself by saying, "T-That's not what I meant! Y-You were having a nightmare so – " All color drained off her face and she got off him.

"Mia?" He slowly got off the floor, weary that she might attack him again.

"Go home Tsuna," she said, her voice barely a whisper. Her hands trembled.

"I can't just do that!" he exclaimed. He took a step closer to her. "I'm sorry for getting angry. You were just looking out for me, I know that now."

Mia didn't look at him. "You didn't have to worry. I'll get better."

"But you're not," he insisted.

"No," she agreed. She rubbed her face tiredly with her hands. "I wish you didn't have to see that," she whispered.

"Its nothing to be ashamed about." He scooted closer to her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Preferably no." Still not looking at him she pulled her knees to her chest. "Look, I'm sorry okay? I won't talk about the Vongola anymore just... just drop it okay Tsuna?"

It hurt that she was pushing him away. Wasn't he her best friend? But didn't he fail her too? She got kidnapped - twice - and was hurt both times. Mia always seemed to pick herself back up, always moving ahead, even if she got hurt. Not once did she blame him for getting her involved and she even comforted him every time. She'd hug him and give assurances.

Man he was such a jerk.

"If anyone has to say sorry, its me." She didn't move. He laid a hand on head and started combing through her hair. "Some part of me just didn't want to acknowledge what you said. Its scary, I don't want anything to do with the Mafia. I don't like seeing my friends get dragged into this and I - I hate seeing you get hurt." It was why he trained, why everyday felt like he was being slowly boxed in with no escape. He didn't want to be reminded of that.

"I don't want to see you get hurt too," she confessed, finally looking at him. "You're my best friend Tsuna, I can't lose you."

Warmth blossomed in his chest. He swallowed. "You won't," he promised.

She gave him a small smile before looking away again. "Sorry for being so pathetic."

"You're not pathetic." She was one of the strongest people he knew. For someone like him who needed support to get where they are now, Mia had always stood on her own feet. She may have faltered in her steps but always finds a ways to keep on moving. He didn't doubt that she could get better – she could probably do it with time but he wanted to help her, the way she helped him to start walking his own path. Maybe those books she had lent him all those months ago inspired the poetic side of him. "And this doesn't make me think any less of you. If you want to talk I'm always here." Family, Reborn's voice came to mind and he added, "Just... remember you're not alone anymore okay? Its not just me that you got now too."

Her eyes were glassy as she stared at him.

Just a little more...

"If its too hard to be open at all, its okay. Just... if you ever do open up, I hope you'd pick me as the one person you're willing to appear weak for."

She broke into giggle and he had never been happier to hear it. "You're such a sap - did your Intuition tell you to say that?"

"Hmmm... maybe? Or maybe I'm just good with words."

She snorted but her smile remained and to his relief, it reached all the way to her eyes. "Cheater," she accused him. "I'm going to start hating on that Intuition of yours."

"That's fine with me," he told her rather smugly. In a fit of courage that he never knew he had, he added "As long as you're happy at the end, that's all that means to me."

She stared at him for a good long while until anxiety crept into his bones. Did I go too far? He thought with a touch of panic. He froze as she slipped away from him. His brain practically stopped functioning as she leaned in to kiss not one cheek but both, taking her sweet time for him to imprint the feel of her lips into his memory before wrapping him in a hug. It was an overload of sensations that shot his nerves to a crisp. He could practically feel his ears smoking.

"Thank you," she whispered into his ear. He thanked god for Reborn's self-control training. He didn't know what he would have done if he didn't have control over his body. He was being stupid, this was Mia goddamnit. He returned her hug a bit hesitantly, only because he was being weird but eventually loosened into it. If he had to be honest, he missed her and her hugs that always made him feel like things would be okay no matter what.

But unfortunately, the moment didn't last long as a frantic voice pierced through Mia's walls.

"Tenth!" Long and drawn out, Tsuna resisted the urge to face palm. Mia let go of him. They shared a glance before bolting out of her apartment. Luckily for them Gokudera had moved right next to Mia so it was easy to intercept him before the bomber blew a door off a poor neighbor's room. Tsuna was quick to catch his friend's wrist before he pulled out his dynamite. Gokudera was about to threaten him until he saw him.

"Tenth!" Gokudera said, relieved. Tsuna let go of his wrist and Mia joined them. "Mia-sama!"

Mia stared him down with a stern gaze. Gokudera guiltily looked down on his shoes. Tsuna never thought about it before but he recently noticed how Mia easily cowed his friends with a single brow. Now that was impressive and she wasn't even a hitman.

"This has been a rather eventful morning," she commented.

"Very," Tsuna said knowingly. Mia kicked him in the shins. He bit back a curse.

Gokudera looked at them, his green eyes wide. They jumped when he clapped his hands together, eyes sparkling unnaturally hopeful. "You're not fighting anymore? Tenth? Mia-sama?"

"No." Gokudera literally slipped into a state of happiness.

"I'm so glad!" To say they were freaked out was an understatement. Gokudera was acting so much out of character, that it weirded the both of them out.

"Breakfast?" Mia offered to them. Tsuna's stomach growled and he grinned at her. As if he would refuse.

Reborn followed his students around school. He was very pleased that the two had made up. To be fair, Tsuna was a sad sight without Mia and vice versa. Watching the two banter, it reminded Reborn of a different life - a life that he barely remembered. Mia was just like someone he knew a long time ago, it was nostalgic though they couldn't be more different.

For as smart as Mia was, she could be an idiot from time to time. Tsuna feared danger while Mia embraced it like it was family. He sighed, such a troublesome girl.

But their fight did bring some things to his notice. For one, Tsuna had a shift of perspective regarding his position of boss. He hadn't denied it lately but he didn't accept it entirely either. Second, was that Tsuna had begun to develop some 'particular' feelings towards his best friend. It was obvious by now how smitten he was although if he started kissing the ground Mia walked on like his father does - Reborn wouldn't hesitate to beat that out of him. He could just foresee how annoying it would be if Tsuna were to become anything like his parents. It was already annoying when it was just Sasagawa Kyoko.

Speaking of her… Reborn turned his sights to the younger sister of Sasagawa Ryohei.

The girl was about to ask Tsuna to go out with her the other day. Then Hibari came in and crushed her chances. Well, if she wanted to go after Tsuna then Reborn won't stop her. It was funnier that way. Mia may not have realized her feelings entirely yet – although it was hard for him to decipher her considering that the girl guarded her emotions well – but when she does…

A hundred scenarios came into mind, one much more amusing than the last. He devilishly grinned and watched as Tsuna jump five feet in the air as he was wrecked with shivers. Huh, it looks like Tsuna's range for sensing malicious intent grew. He was ten feet away from the building, hiding in a tree. That was the last thing that Reborn noticed. Tsuna's awareness was steadily progressing. Soon, he would have to help the young don to master his Hyper Intuition. Tsuna kept on sneaking paranoid glances around him.

Reborn smirked and dropped down from the branch he was on.

Well, as fun as the foreseeable future would be he had to address some pressing matters first. Like Mia and a curious letter from the Ninth that just came in.

After school, he had Tsuna's pubescent Famiglia gather in his room. When they arrived, they found him calmly sipping his espresso. He inwardly smirked when they looked at each other nervously. Even Ryohei looked uncomfortable. Tsuna was the only one who looked undisturbed although he shot a frown towards his tutor.

"Where's Mia?" Reborn inquired. Only the boys were in Tsuna's room. He was aware that the girls were downstairs.

"She's helping Mom with the snacks." Tsuna eyed him suspiciously. Reborn grunted.

"We can't start without her." Tsuna's eyebrows shot to his hairline.

"Why?" Reborn ignored him.

"Gokudera, can you bring her up?" he ordered the teenager. Gokudera stood up uncertainly.

"Mia-sama… isn't in trouble or anything like that right Reborn-san?" he carefully asked the hitman. A twinge of interest made Reborn eye the bomber a bit more closely. Well, Gokudera never showed an attraction to Mia but then again he was more concerned of being the Right Hand man. Still, teenagers are hilarious when flustered.

"No. I just want her input of what I'm about to speak to all of you." Gokudera nodded, relieved and went down to fetch Mia. Yamamoto propped himself against the desk while Ryohei relaxed across him on the floor and Tsuna sat down on his bed. He was still eyeing his tutor. Reborn inwardly scoffed. He wasn't planning anything today… except maybe a bit of chaos.

Minutes later, Gokudera came back with Mia in tow. Her hair was tied and clipped back, Reborn wondered if her current mood changed with her hairstyle. Her blue eyes were sharp when they met his. They took their seats and Reborn began.

"I've received a letter from the Ninth."

"What did he say?" Tsuna asked, a tint of genuine curiosity in his tone.

"First of, he says that the Mukuro affair was handled well." Tsuna's face turned pink at the praise. Gokudera and Yamamoto beamed while Ryohei looked at them, confused.

"Who extremely is the Ninth?"

Gokudera's smile froze in place. A second after that he rounded on the boxer viciously. "How can you not know the Ninth turf top?!"

Affronted, Ryohei retorted "As if I would extremely know someone I haven't met!"

"He's Tsuna's grandpa on his dad's side," Mia answered. Everybody turned to her in surprise then at Tsuna to confirm if it was true.

"Really Tsuna?" Yamamoto asked.

Tsuna panicked. Reborn decided to save him. "Yup, technically they're distantly related but as an elder family member, Tsuna refers to him as a 'grandpa'."

A troubled frown made its way to Tsuna's lips as if something just occurred to him. He glanced at Mia but she wasn't looking at him, opting instead to stare intensely outside the window. While the others continued to bicker about Tsuna's family, Reborn watched as Tsuna's frown morphed into a pout. Mia sat close to his feet so he decided to nudge her with his foot. With enough nudging, Mia looked up at him. Their exchange was silent. Reborn, who was a master of reading people, interpreted it easily enough.

'You're ignoring me.'

'Stop being such a baby.'

'You put me in that position!'

'You can thank me later.' Tsuna scowled and looked away. Mia stifled a giggle at his childish behavior and rested her head against his knee. The scowl melted to be replaced by a soft quirk of the lips. Reborn didn't need skill to know he let this one slide.

"The Ninth also says he wants to personally dine with all of you." Silence befell them. Only Mia remained where she was. Her eyes were closed. "Oh, and he'll be here next week."

His brain shut down.

The Ninth boss was coming to Japan. To dine with them. With them. It was like a King coming over to go for pizza with peasants. While Gokudera went on how honored he was, Tsuna just wondered if he'll be able to keep his head because you know… the Godfather was coming to his home turf. Hopefully he won't bust a cap on his lanky ass. Damn, Mia was really starting to rub off on him with her references to pop culture.

Speaking of Mia, she had gone rather silent and merely watched as the boys lost their heads over the Ninth's visit. Without meaning to, he placed a hand on her head. She didn't shake it off or anything and he took that as a good sign.

"Something on your mind?" he asked.

"Wait for it," she told him. When the excitement died down, Reborn pointedly looked at her.

"Mia." She lolled her head to glance at the hitman.

"I swear, I didn't do anything," she said firmly.

"That's not what we're going to talk about." Mia sat up straighter and exchanged looks with him. Tsuna shrugged.

"Okay," she said uncertainly. "So what is it about?"

"You're becoming dead weight," Reborn told her bluntly.

"Reborn!" Tsuna snapped at his tutor. Before he could shout or reprimand him, Mia patted his knee soothingly. "And how could you be so calm about this?" he rounded her.

She shrugged tiredly. "I've been expecting it for a while now. I've thought a lot about it and you were right. I miei problemi non va via per una notte," she said ("My problems won't go away overnight.").

Then switching to Japanese she said, "I - I'm honestly not sure what to do." She confessed, not looking at any of them in the eye. She's trying, really trying.

"How was this dealt before?" Reborn asked her, in a gentle tone that was uncommon to the hitman.

Mia squirmed under their gazes and buried her face into Tsuna's leg. "Therapy... medication... I - I don't remember most of it."

"Panic attacks?" She shook her head.

"Ano…" Yamamoto interrupted, scratching his cheek. "I'm not sure what we're talking about here."

"Mia sounds like she's extremely sick! Shall we take you to the doctor?" Ryohei practically shoved his face into her personal space. Keeping a polite smile on her face, she leaned more into Tsuna's leg and waved him off.

"Nah… I'm good."

"We musn't take chances with our health! We only live extremely once!"

"YOLO am I right?" Mia joked. "But seriously, I'm not dying or anything like that."

Ryohei was replaced when Gokudera shoved his face away. "Are you sure Mia-sama?"

Her face softened. "Yeah." Tsuna squirmed uncomfortably at their exchange. They were too close to each other. Luckily for him, Ryohei smashed foreheads with Gokudera.

"What did you think you were doing Octopus-head?"

"I was checking on Mia-sama you airheaded turf top!"

"You didn't have to push me like that!"

"Your face was in the way!"

Mia giggled, relieved.

"Maa maa Gokudera, Senpai, aren't we off topic?" Yamamoto said.

"He's right," Reborn huffed. The two teenagers grumbled as they took their seats again. Reborn faced Mia. "I can only conclude so far that one method has worked for you."

"Oh?" Mia said, looking interested. Reborn smirked and Tsuna had a feeling that he wouldn't like where this was going.

"Apparently, you need someone to sleep with you." Oh that little… no he did not! Reborn flashed him a cheeky smirk. He tried very hard to control his facial expressions and to not, you know, try and kill Reborn because that's just stupid.

"Reborn - oh you did not!" she spluttered.

"Are you suggesting what I think you are suggesting?" she said, more angry than embarrassed.

"Did I stutter?" There it was. The hellish tutor.

"No."

"I'm sure you're aware that – "

"No."

"You can't rely on medication."

"I – "

"Don't be a child. You're more reasonable than that."

Mia crossed her arms. "And this is ridiculous! No way, nuh-uh."

"You can talk if you want." Reborn offered.

"No." Her answer was flat.

"Can't or won't?" he shot back at her, his tone finally taking on his normal strictness. "You're bound to crash and burn if you keep this up. Since you won't talk about it, it's best if you had somebody around you. Living alone right now isn't healthy for you."

Mia frowned. "What do you suggest then?"

Reborn unexpectedly turned to Gokudera. "Gokudera, move in with her."

Eh? Did he hear that correctly? Gokudera move in with Mia? That was really funny, he thought as his smile froze in its place. His fingers itched as he fought the urge to hurl a fistful of flames at his tutor's face.

Something in him growled at the idea, couldn't stand the thought of it. He was faintly aware of how every single guy in the room practically scrambled away from him.

Gokudera was shaking his head frantically, seriously scared for his life as he threw a panicked look at Tsuna. "I could never do that Reborn-san!"

"Reborn!" Mia hissed. "That's not funny!"

"Yes well, I can't very well have Tsuna stay with you either." Mia flushed.

Reborn snorted. "Relax you two, I wasn't really serious about it."

Tsuna didn't relax and neither did Mia.

"I could stay with Mia-nee," a soft young voice called out. They all turned towards the door. Fuuta was peeking at them through a crack from the opened door. When he saw that he got everybody's attention, he stepped inside and shut the door. He looked back at them then down to his hands which he fiddled with.

"Fuuta…" Mia slowly stood up.

"I heard that you weren't feeling right lately Mia-nee." He didn't look up at her. "It's my fault right? If only I was more careful you wouldn't…" he sniffed. Mia gathered him into her arms and stroked his head.

"Non è colpa tua," she said to him ("It's not your fault."). "Don't cry. It's just a bunch of nightmares – I'll get through it." She assured him. Tsuna watched as she brushed Fuuta's tears from his cheeks.

"But…"

"I told you it wasn't your fault right Fuuta? See? Mia agrees with me." Mia nodded at him.

"That's right! If there's anyone to blame, it's that Mukuro bastard!" Gokudera added.

"See Fuuta? No one here blames you at all," Yamamoto told the young boy.

"I don't extremely get it but it's not your extreme fault!" Ryohei punched the air with his fist.

"Even so, I want to help Mia-nee. Besides, I can't sleep either. Maybe we can help each other?" Fuuta hopefully looked up at her.

Oh boy. Mia and Tsuna exchanged a look.

Did you know about this?

Tsuna subtly shook his head. First time I've heard of it. But now that he thought of it, Fuuta hadn't been himself lately.

What do we do?

Reborn may not have been serious about it but it wasn't a bad idea. He looked back at her and she gave him the tiniest nods.

Mia was putting it in his hands and he wasn't going to disappoint.

"Is that alright Reborn?" He turned towards his tutor.

"It wouldn't be a bother to you right Gokudera? In addition to Mia's safety, you'll be looking after Fuuta as well," Reborn said.

"Never Reborn-san! I'd be happy to." He looked more relieved than happy.

"Then it's settled."

After that, Reborn dismissed them saying that he'll gather them up on another day to discuss their meal with the Ninth. As the others filtered out of the room, Tsuna and Reborn were left inside.

"Dame-Tsuna, these are really nice pictures you know that?" he flashed several photos in the air. Each and every single one of them had him and Mia together in the bed. He turned as hot as the sun. One picture showed his hand slipping underneath her shirt. "Oh wait, this is my personal favorite." The last one made him snap and he lunged at his tutor. Reborn easily dodged him but Tsuna was going to get that picture even if it killed him. Because that last one held his reaction when Mia kissed his cheeks, if she ever saw that… he didn't even want to know what she would think.

Reborn jumped out of the window and stuffed the pictures into his hat. Tsuna – who was clearly out of his senses at that moment – followed and launched himself out of the window. He grabbed on to the branch where Reborn stood and with all his strength, swung himself on top of it. But he underestimated the branch's ability to hold his weight and with a sickening crack, it gave way and he fell.

"Ah!" He yelped when he hit the ground.

"Heh, since you're so insistent, I'll give this one to you." Reborn peered down at him from the tree. Tsuna blinked as something fluttered to his chest and with a groan, picked up the picture. It was the last one. He stared at his expression then furiously stuffed it into his pocket, heart thudding loudly. Several voices suddenly called out to him and he stood up, dusting his jeans as he did so.

"Tsuna-kun, what happened to you?"

"Tsuna-san, are you alright?" Haru and Kyoko hovered over him. His friends came along after that. While each of them asked what happened, he saw Mia standing in the back. She looked at him, then at the branch and then at the window. Seeming to get the idea, she snorted and belted a laugh he hadn't heard from her in a while. She staggered back inside, still laughing while he was red-faced outside. He sighed, smiling faintly.

He was fine with this. The picture in his pocket weighed heavily. He was fine with her thinking of him as an idiot from time to time because he really was an idiot right now.

As he listened to her peals of laughter, a warmth settled in his chest. It was... different but to be honest? He liked these feelings.

Mia had no idea how to explain to her father that a nine-year old child was now living with them. Not that she minded, having Fuuta around was like having a younger brother and for someone who's an only child; she embraced him with open arms. Besides, he was a sweetheart. After moving in with her, Fuuta did his best to help around the place and when they went to bed, she read him stories. Admittedly, Reborn's idea wasn't that bad. It helped that she wasn't alone and it gave her something to think about.

Well, it didn't start all that great. Fuuta was frightened out of his nine-year old mind on the first night but he understood what she went through and tried to do what he can for her. Like talk - which was not her thing when it came to her feelings.

Somehow her promise with Tsuna kept coming into mind. She wasn't ready to talk about anything yet but if she had to, she wanted it to be Tsuna.

Instead, they talked about Fuuta instead. He didn't mind. He told her that he didn't have parents while growing up and coming to Japan and meeting everyone was a dream come true. They talked about the things he liked so far, the food he tried and wanted to try, the games he played with the other kids and how fun it was to be with them. Sometimes, they talked late into the night.

Her nightmares were still there but having Fuuta around was surprisingly nice and it gave her something to look forward to coming home to her quiet apartment.

Four days before the Ninth's arrival, a letter arrived from her Grandfather in England. When she opened it, it was a letter requesting for her and her father to attend a family gathering. An event was going to be held to honor the World War II veterans there. She checked the date, it wasn't until summer. How many years since she's seen her Nonnino? It must have been before she went to America. She missed him dearly. Nonnino always took her seriously when she was a child. When her father comes back, she'll make sure to talk to him about it.

"Mia-nee, what's that?" Fuuta asked her. He came out of the kitchen holding a glass of milk.

"Hmmnn? It's a letter from Hogwarts," she told him. Fuuta scrunched his expression up and she laughed. She just found his confused reactions to be cute.

"Mia-nee, you're so weird sometimes."

"I know right?" she chortled. He smiled fondly at her.

"No wonder Tsuna-nii loves you so much."

She froze. Eh? Eh? EHHHHHHHHHHH?

Then the kid calmly sipped his drink as if he didn't just drop a huge teenage bomb on her and went into their room. She didn't know how long she stood there. Fuuta's innocent sentence was replaying in her mind like a broken record. Fuuta must have been joking right? RIGHT? He's nine!

She sank in her couch to stare at the ceiling in a sort of trance.

When Fuuta stepped out of the room and saw her, he shook his head, exasperated. "Somebody had to do it," he muttered to himself.