Giotto ended up not showing up again. Tsuna had found out later Iemitsu found out he was in town and immediately requested the two go out for drinks. It was affronting to say the least as Tsuna sat waiting for Giotto to come back or at least email him for almost two hours.
"He's not coming back." Reborn had said flatly once it hit the two hour mark. Tsuna didn't want to admit he was right but it was time to accept it.
"I know", Tsuna mumbled. He rubbed at his temple in frustration. He was used to this as people had bailed on him too many times to count. He was Dame-Tsuna after all. But by his own brother? Giotto seemed dedicated to rebuilding their relationship.
"Do you want to watch a movie?" Reborn asked. It was so sudden it made Tsuna recoil in surprise.
"What?" Tsuna asked. He thought he heard wrong. Reborn usually just ignored him when it got closer to nine at night. The sudden turn around was fishy.
"A movie. Do you want to watch one?" Reborn sat beside Tsuna on the couch. "I was given one to watch by Bianchi."
"Uh, yeah. Sure. Does Bianchi usually give you movies to watch?"
"Sometimes it"s porn, sometimes it's a movie so bad it's funny. She has varying taste and recommends the one she thinks I"ll like. I give her recipes she might like in return."
Tsuna choked a little bit at the first part. "I don"t need to hear about your habits, Reborn."
"Yet I still said them. It"s not something fun. Mainly it's just amusing. The movie she gave me this time is a dub of an English made movie. It isn't porn."
"I'd hope not!" Tsuna said bashfully. Most people never talked so openly about their life. Mainly it was dull things like what they had for supper he was privy to hearing.
Reborn set everything up and put the movie in, in a matter of minutes. Tsuna had been directed to make popcorn. Tsuna had managed to not burn it so it was salvageable when it was done. That was his accomplishment of the day if he was being honest.
The two settled on the couch. Tsuna was by the wall so he could charge his phone and Reborn was on the other end. The movie wasn't amazing but it was enjoyable in the sense of mind numbing action. Reborn looked indifferent the entire time as always but Tsuna was leaning forward, genuinely curious what would happen.
That"s why it startled him so much when his phone chimed. It was the sound for when he got an email and he fell away from his phone in shock. He landed sprawled across Reborn"s lap. He scrambled to get up but Reborn kept his face locked as he looked down at Tsuna.
"Who is it?" Reborn asked.
"Who"s..what?" Tsuna was trying to regain his thought. He was scared really easily still apparently.
"Your phone. Who emailed you?"
"Oh! Um," Tsuna picked up his phone and unlocked it again. "Mukuro. He emailed asking if I wanted to sleep over and have dinner."
"Aren't you two cute." Reborn said sarcastically. It was hard to tell if it was sarcastic though because of how monotone his voice was. "Are you going to go?"
"...Am I allowed?"
Reborn looked over, raising an eyebrow. "I"m not your parent. Just make sure you know what you"re getting into. But if I smell smoke off of you when you come home only then I will become your parent." Reborn shrugged. "It's your life to waste however you please."
"Oh" Tsuna muttered. He blinked but soon smiled lightly. It was good to know he could get away with sneaking out occasionally.
"So are you going?" Reborn asked again.
"I-I don't know. Chrome might want to sleep so I don't want to keep her up." Tsuna scratched his cheek thoughtfully.
"I can help you sneak out. Nobody asks questions if they see me walking around."
"Wait, really?"
"Yes. Luce made sure that the security left me alone if they saw me walking around on the cameras. They have cameras in the halls just in case anybody breaks in or tries to leave after hours. The staff is constantly on us not to do anything illegal. There are ways around the cameras obviously. I just don't want to have you screaming as you try to sneak around."
"What do you mean scream-" Tsuna started to ask but his phone chimed again with another email from Mukuro, asking if he was in.
"If you're going to go, answer him before the offer closes." Reborn paused the movie with the remote. He looked inquisitively at Tsuna. "Don't pass up a chance to hang out with your boyfriend because you're scared of something that might not even happen."
Tsuna breathed in and nodded. "Alright, yeah. I'm going. I'll be back sometime tomorrow then?"
"You can be back sometime next week. If you miss out on school it's your own fault when I tutor you in my style." Reborn got up and put the bowl of popcorn in the kitchen to wash later. "Tell me when you're leaving so I can call Luce. She leaves a message to the security guard not to follow me and tell me to get back inside."
Tsuna nodded, excitedly messaging Mukuro back. He felt a little rebellious and extremely nervous as he wasn't used to being the rebellious teenager. Reborn seemed indifferent as he was cleaning up their dishes. Tsuna had hastily packed a couple changes of clothing just in case and was ready to go in a surprisingly short amount of time.
"U-Um, I'm ready to go." Tsuna muttered. He was playing with his sweater sleeve, picking at the worn down fabric.
Reborn didn't say anything but picked up his phone from where it was on the counter. He quickly typed in a number, Luce's number, Tsuna assumed. Reborn held his finger to his lips, indicating for Tsuna to be quiet as the phone rang.
"...Hello," Reborn said. "Is Luce there? This is Reborn calling...Yes, if you could leave a note to security. Thank you. Yes, you too." Reborn hung up and his voice, which had recently had a cheery undertone, turned flat once again. "Okay, we can leave now."
"That was fast." Tsuna commented. "Who were you talking to?"
"The secretary. Luce has to do paperwork and the secretary picked up. She knows why I need to walk around and has no problem excusing me. Let's go." Reborn said impatiently. He put an arm on Tsuna's shoulder and moved him forward.
Tsuna snorted softly and let him be lead. He knew where Mukuro's room was so it wouldn't be a hard walk. Reborn was just walking too fast down the hall when they actually did leave.
"Reborn, please." Tsuna had tried to say but Reborn's natural walking speed was too fast for Tsuna to even hold a candle to.
He had somehow managed to grab Reborn's hand. Only when Reborn halted and looked back in mild interest and curiosity did Tsuna realize what he just did. He dropped Reborn's hand immediately and started walking.
"What was that about?" Reborn asked. He put his hands into his pocket and leaned around Tsuna so the two were forced to look at each other.
"N-Nothing. Let's just forget about it." Tsuna muttered. He was trying to look down to avoid Reborn's eye but that wasn't exactly how Reborn rolled.
"Was I walking too fast? Were you mesmerized by my back? Did you want to know how soft my hands were?" Reborn was now walking backwards, taunting Tsuna.
"Please, Reborn." Tsuna began but he stopped when he had to hold back a screech. He had tripped over a chip in the tiling on the ground. Reborn caught him before he fell. It didn't help Tsuna's embarrassment that he was practically leaning all of his weight on Reborn.
There was a small throat clearing. The two looked behind Reborn and saw Mukuro standing in the doorway a little down the hall. He seemed to be keeping his face polite but Reborn couldn't help but narrow his eyes in suspicion.
"Hello there, Tsunayoshi. Reborn." Mukuro greeted. It was too smooth of a greeting for Reborn. "Might I ask what's happening here?"
Tsuna pushed away from Reborn, clumsily straightening up. His face was almost completely red as he answered. "I tripped." He laughed it off easily as he started walking forward. "What else is new?"
"Indeed." Mukuro purred. He stepped out and met Tsuna. He looked over at Reborn and smirked, seeming satisfied to say, "If I might, could I take Tsunayoshi away from you, Reborn?"
"Of course. Be careful with him." Reborn said evenly. He ruffled Tsuna's hair before continuing to walk down the hall. He was out so he might as well walk around. Nobody was going to stop him now.
Tsuna smiled sheepishly up at Mukuro. He seemed to smile cooly back.
"Please, Tsunayoshi. Come on in. I ordered something for us. Chrome has already had some and is in her room studying. She won't be coming out for the rest of the night, of course. So it'll just be the two of us."
Tsuna smiled easily and let Mukuro lead him into the dorm. It was nice enough. There were slight things like socks near a corner or dishes in the sink that made it messy but Tsuna couldn't mind. Reborn was the only reason it was always so clean in the open entrance part of their dorm. He couldn't blame Mukuro for wanting to keep things slightly messy.
There were food containers on the coffee table in front of the modest TV set up. There was a DVD/Blu-Ray player hooked up and a game console so it suited Tsuna just fine to be in this room.
"Are we going to be watching anything while we eat?" Tsuna asked.
Mukuro shrugged, smiling simply. "Depends if you want to. I"ve never looked through any of the movies here."
"Then let's look." Tsuna said. He grinned nervously, looking up at Mukuro to see if he was going to agree with it. When a slight nod came from Mukuro Tsuna felt his smile grow a little bit more genuine.
He sorted through the cases. Most of them were given by the school to promote healthy activities like in home exercise. Some were just children cartoons because there were people that liked to relive their childhood or found comfort in the light-hearted messages. Some were B grade horror movies that weren't exactly horror. Just so bad it was funny.
Finally, Tsuna settled on a two hour movie about ninjas. It was terribly animated and with a cheap premise but it would fill up the next to hours at least. Mukuro and him might even fall asleep before the movie even ended. It was close to ten at night. Most people went to bed at ten to eleven so the two were bound to nod off.
Tsuna popped the movie into the player. Mukuro seemed to be waiting patiently for Tsuna to be done and pulled Tsuna close to him when he walked over to the couch. It felt weird as Tsuna was only used to getting hurt from being so close to somebody.
His nervousness seemed to show. Mukuro didn't acknowledge how nervous Tsuna seemed. He just gently ran his hands along Tsuna's arms and down his back. The two easily relaxed into each other, letting the smell of the food and the underlying scent of musk calm them.
They were both asleep in no time. They had eaten some but when they were done they immediately curled back up together. Mukuro threw a blanket over them and let Tsuna lay on top of him.
Tsuna had woken up throughout the night as always but he felt more relaxed when he had woken up. There wasn't as much panic of being alone when he felt Mukuro"s breath glancing off of his neck. It was hard to describe once Tsuna thought about it but it was such a calming feeling.
The same calming feeling let Tsuna fall asleep easier. He had never felt so at ease with somebody. Even sleeping in the same bed as Reborn, there was always some sort of dangerous edge. Reborn was always strung tightly. He would never admit it himself, but he was on constant alert. Tsuna didn't know why but he wasn't one to ask Reborn about it. He didn't care that much. He hated when people asked about his past. He respected Reborn"s privacy.
Mukuro stirred underneath Tsuna, making him remember where he was. Tsuna tried to untangle himself from Mukuro but the arms around his waist tightened.
"You don't have to move." Mukuro said sleepily.
Tsuna couldn't help the smile taking his mouth as he looked down at Mukuro. His smile turned sheepish as he said, "I thought I was getting heavy."
Mukuro shook his head. He rolled over, making Tsuna fall onto the cushions. He let out a startled yelp as he made impact but the yelp was stifled in his shock as he felt Mukuro kiss his neck. It was tender and Tsuna never thought tender would ever be a word to describe Mukuro. But that's what he felt as the arms around him made him feel safe.
It took a solid two hours and prodding from Chrome to get the two to move.
"You can't lay here all day." She had reasoned. It was soft, but her voice still had resolve.
Tsuna smiled easily up at her. Mukuro still had his face buried in Tsuna's neck but they both knew he was listening.
"Don't worry, Chrome." Tsuna said easily. "We'll be up soon."
Chrome let out a soft simper and left the two to make something for breakfast for herself. She usually let Mukuro make his own.
Before they could help though, Tsuna's phone went off. It was the tone for an incoming call which made Tsuna want to ignore it. Only telemarketers called him. He never called anybody but when he picked it up it showed Reborn"s name. Or the name Reborn had set for himself when Tsuna asked for his email.
"Who's named, "best looking person alive" on your phone, Tsunayoshi?" Mukuro asked in suspicion.
Tsuna was trying to talk through his laughter as he answered. "That's...That's Reborn. He set-set his name as-as that."
Mukuro didn't seem convinced. "Why didn't you change it?"
"He said he'd," Tsuna burst into another peal of laughter. "He said he'd put instant hair dye in my shampoo."
Tsuna quickly answered the phone before it went to voicemail. Mukuro pulled him back onto the couch as the line connected.
"Hello?" Tsuna answered.
"What took you so long." Reborn demanded flatly.
"M-Mukuro asked why your name was what it was in my phone." Tsuna tried to hold back his laughter thinking about the name again. "Why are you calling, Reborn?"
"Giotto's here. He's asking for you because he wants to take you somewhere. I didn't care after he kept insisting since he blew you off last night. Wants to make up for it. Should I tell him what I've been saying for ten minutes now?"
"Which is?"
"That you're with your boyfriend and don't want to be disturbed because you're probably getting-"
"I'm stopping you right there, Reborn." Tsuna interrupted. "I-I guess I could meet him sometime near twelve? Ask him if that's alright."
"I"m not your messenger, Tsuna. Call him yourself and figure out a time."
"I don"t have his phone number." Tsuna mumbled. "So just ask him."
"You're lucky you're over the phone. You shouldn't get used to bossing me around, Tsuna." Reborn pulled the phone away from his ear and said something to Giotto. Tsuna was able to hear the murmur of their voices but nothing distinct.
Reborn came back with a mildly annoyed, "Eleven. He"s meeting your dad again before they both go back to Italy."
"Wait, he"s going back to Italy?" Tsuna shot upright in his surprise. Mukuro made a small sound in annoyance.
"I presume you didn't know from that tone." Reborn said easily.
"Of course I didn"t know. Nobody tells me anythings." Tsuna sighed bitterly. "Alright. What time is it?"
"I"m not your clock, Tsuna. Check your phone."
"It"s almost ten." Mukuro supplied gently. He kissed underneath Tsuna's jaw gently and made Tsuna grin.
"Mukuro says it"s ten. So I guess I have to get ready and meet Giotto at our dorm?" Tsuna said into the phone.
Reborn seemed bored and repressed a sigh as he said, "I don't care. If you think it'll work then do it."
Tsuna nodded. "Alright I guess I might as well go back to our dorm now. I'll be there soon. Bye."
Reborn hung up without saying anything. Tsuna wasn't bothered as Mukuro immediately pressed kisses to Tsuna's face. He felt his face flame as Mukuro kept kissing him. He'd never been subjected to somebody this gentle and felt his stomach flip around.
"Mukuro, please. I have to get ready." Tsuna said fondly. Mukuro let out a low keen, meant to be playful.
"But I don't want you to leave." Mukuro said into Tsuna's throat. "Why not cancel."
"I can"t. I just made the plans. I"ll come back tonight though, How about that?" Tsuna placated. He sat up, shifting so he was more comfortable on Mukuro"s lap. "I"ll come back and we can watch a movie in your room this time so we can fall asleep in an actual bed. How does that sound?"
Mukuro smirked mirthfully and nodded. He let Tsuna climb off his lap and stood up to walk Tsuna back.
"Why are you walking me back? You don't have to." Tsuna tried to protest.
"It's the least I can do." Mukuro reasoned. He rested a hand on the small of Tsuna's back as they two started walking off.
Since it was a Saturday, most people weren't milling around just yet. There were a couple people that gave skeptical and shrewd looks at the two but Mukuro glared straight back. Tsuna just kept his head down and shook off Mukuro's hand. He didn't want to go through the constant bullying he would go through if people found out he was anything but straight.
"Tsuna, there's no need to be afraid." Mukuro whispered.
"Yes, there is." Tsuna mumbled. "You wouldn't understand. Nevermind."
"Tsunayoshi, there isn't much you can"t tell me."
Tsuna shrugged. The rest of the walk was quiet and Mukuro seemed mad. It made Tsuna nervous but he didn't address it.
When they got to his dorm, Mukuro bent down and kissed Tsuna as gently as he had been treating Tsuna before. Tsuna happily closed his eyes, grabbing Mukuro"s hands as something to hold onto. When they pulled away, Mukuro gave one last peck to Tsuna's lips before leaving. Tsuna frowned, at least wanting a goodbye. But he wasn't going to complain as he walked in.
"Told you." Was something he heard immediately when he saw Reborn.
"I can't believe it!" Giotto exclaimed.
"Told who what?" Tsuna asked.
"I called Mukuro was going to kiss you passionately before he left. Giotto bet money on it." Reborn looked up from his book opened in his lap and over at Giotto. "You owe me money."
Tsuna wasn't sure if he should be mad over that fact. He decided to let it go and to just get ready. Giotto was still trying to argue with Reborn when Tsuna walked back out into the living room too. Reborn wasn't relenting.
"Deal's a deal, Giotto. You owe me money so hand it over today or tomorrow or there will be interest." Reborn was saying. "Of course, you could just give it to Tsuna to give to me since you are going back to Italy."
Giotto sighed in defeat. "I see. Well, I shall give it to Tsuna for you then. Please excuse us."
"Tsuna," Reborn called. Tsuna looked back in surprise and saw Reborn holding out his inhaler. "Don"t forget this, Idiot-Tsuna."
He blinked, before laughing. "It"s been awhile since anybody"s called me that."
"That isn't something to laugh over." Reborn muttered underneath his breath. Tsuna didn't hear it and left with Giotto.
"So, Tsuna, where do you recommend we eat?" Giotto asked as they walked down into the front hall.
Tsuna shrugged. "We could go get to a restaurant. You know the layout better, Giotto." Tsuna didn't see how Giotto stiffened when he said that.
"We should probably ask everyone else what they want first, they're always different." Giotto said thoughtfully.
"What do you mean, everybody else?" Tsuna asked warily.
Giotto pointed to the steadily approaching front door where a group of people were standing.
"Everybody else as in all of my other friends. Don't worry, Tsuna. They'll like you." Giotto walked over to the group and said, "Hey guys. What do you guys want to eat." And as a side note, added, "This is Tsuna, my brother that I"ve told you about."
"Hey, Tsuna." G. greeted, leaning against the trunk of the tree.
Tsuna gave a hesitant smile, waving a little at G. His family had moved to Japan after his dad had a bad accident and was fast friends with Giotto. G. was always around the house so it was a familiar face within the group. A man that looked like Yamamoto waved to Tsuna as well with a smile. He made Tsuna do a double take in surprise to make sure Yamamoto wasn't actually hanging out with his brother..
"We were just saying how we should get something to eat. Anybody have any preferences right now in what you want?" Giotto asked.
"There's a nice sushi restaurant a few blocks from here we can go to." The only girl in the group spoke up. She smiled at Tsuna, making him look down at the ground. "I"m Elena by the way."
"Hello, Ms. Elena." Tsuna said, flicking his eyes up momentarily before looking back down.
Are they opened yet, Tsuna?" Giotto asked as the group started off.
"Yeah, Tsuyoshi-san opens it at 9:30. It's eleven-thirty right now so we'll beat the lunch rush if we're lucky." Tsuna said. He was trying to keep up and keep his breathing even as he talked.
"Let's go then. We can introduce you to everybody once we're eating." Giotto said, looking back to make sure everyone was following.
Tsuna nodded easily. Everybody was friendly enough and they made polite conversation with Tsuna. Well, almost everybody. Tsuna was glad that the one that reminded him of Hibari Kyoya was as cold and distant. He seemed annoyed that there were so many people. Asari and G. were the only ones being friendly to Tsuna. Asari was currently asking about Tsuna"s speech therapy.
"Do you have to go any more now that you"ve got your voice back?" Asari had asked.
"Yes; they"re teaching me how to make my throat relax too. And I can"t speak very loudly so I have to work up to it.
"Boring..." Lampo, a twenty something with green straggly hair, mumbled.
Tsuna's shoulders tensed automatically but tried not to be bothered by it. He'd been called and told worse by worse people. That didn't stop G. from smacking Lampo across the head and angrily saying, "Shut it, Brat. Nobody's telling you to listen."
"It's the only conversation going on." Lampo muttered.
"Like I caret." G. said irritably. He pulled out his package of cigarettes and put one in his mouth.
"I don't think it'd be best if you lit that, G..." Tsuna said before G. could move to strike a .
"And why is that, short stack?" G. asked.
"I have asthma and one of my triggers is smoke." Tsuna mumbled. It was barely audible but Giotto heard him.
"So if people smoke in front of you, you'll have an asthma attack?" Giotto asked. Tsuna gave a slight nod.
G made a noise in the back of his throat before putting the pack of cigarettes back into his pocket. Tsuna gave him a slim and grateful smile before his head was shoved down by a hand, affectionately ruffling his hair.
The entire way, the group was rowdy and rambunctious. Tsuna was pushed to the side a little as the eight all talked. Soon even Asari and G. were wrapped up in other conversations. They were all friends and Tsuna was pushed to the side. It was basically the story of his life.
He was saved the pity party of one by his phone ringing. Tsuna was sure that this was a telemarketer but people were looking at him so he had to answer it. The number wasn't one he recognized though. The only thing he did know was the area code.
"Hello?" Tsuna said.
"Is this Sawada Tsunayoshi?"
Tsuna stopped walking, sidling to the right of the sidewalk. Immediately he felt his hands going clammy in fear as he said, "Yes, this is Sawada. Can I ask who this is?"
"I was told to call this number by your friend, Yamamoto Takeshi?" The man said. Tsuna heard sirens through the phone and around him.
"Why are you calling? Did something happen?" Tsuna asked. He saw Giotto approaching him and he held up a slightly shaking hand to stop him.
"Yes, there was a car crash. Yamamoto Takeshi was taken to Namimori hospital for treatment along with a girl named", There was a slight pause, like the guy looked down at something. "A girl named Chrome. Can I expect to meet you there?" The man asked.
"Yes, yes I'll be right there. How bad are their injuries?"
"I"d rather not discuss this over the phone. Is there a parent I can call?"
"Y-Yes. His dad owns TakeSushi. You could easily call the restaurant and his dad will pick up."
"Ah, his dad is Tsuyoshi? I know his father. He makes a mean batch of uramaki." The guy let out a hearty chuckled that Tsuna returned shakily. "Alright. I can say your friend will be just fine. Please try not to worry."
The paramedic hung up and Tsuna couldn't help but staring at the phone before shoving it back into his pocket. He turned to Giotto with an anxious twist to his features.
"Can you tell me what happened?" Giotto asked.
"My friend, Yamamoto, was taken to the hospital. I-I have to go meet him." Tsuna said. His voice had a nervous shake to it and Giotto stepped forward. He went to take Tsuna's hand but Tsuna flinched back.
"Do you want to go back to the school and have Reborn or Mukuro take you?" Giotto asked. He ignored Tsuna"s flinch.
"Y-Yeah. It'd be easier to tell everybody at once. They most likely already know as not many people don"t gossip in this town." Tsuna answered.
"Tell me something I don't know." Giotto answered with caustic humour. Tsuna let out a derisive laugh. "Do you want to walk back on your own?"
"Y-Yeah. I don't want to ruin your day with your friends. You said you barely get together anymore." Tsuna waved off Giotto"s look and made a weak attempt at a joke they had. "Just save me something?"
It was an ongoing joke that when they cancelled on each other to say to save them something. It was mainly Giotto being saved some dinner Nana had made. This was before Tsuna gave up on his school work and was studying late in the night. Giotto would stumble in and there would be food for him to eat and they'd always end up talking to each other.
Giotto smiled and pulled Tsuna in for a hug before he left. Tsuna watched Giotto explain to his friends Tsuna had to go do something before they left. None looked back so that was Tsuna's cue to leave as he tried not to run down the sidewalk.
It wasn't a long walk so it was easy for him to keep on track and not let his mind wander to the worst. He let his feet carry him and looked at the sidewalk, tracking the lines and muttering, "I'll be closer after I pass this light pole. I'm almost there once I get to the corner. One more corner to go until I get to the school."
His phone buzzed when he got to the corner, making Tsuna jumped ten feet in the air. He hurriedly took it out, almost dropping it in the process, and laughed shakily. Mukuro had just told him a joke to make him laugh, (Why is a river rich? Because it has two banks).
The email helped release some tension in his chest. His lungs were flaring and making every breath like needles but it was a dull ache Tsuna could ignore by now. Only sometimes during the night or early in the morning did it flare to unbearable pain but the days where it was hard to move were getting less and less.
He made it to his dorm in record time for the pace he had set. Reborn was, yet again, doing some sort of exercise on the floor. Tsuna stopped dead in surprise but Reborn didn't seem bothered. His undershirt was damp and stuck to parts on his chest and Tsuna looked away awkwardly, clearing his throat.
"R-Reborn…" Tsuna called. He looked back over but again averted his gaze. "Reborn could you put a better shirt on? I need you to take me to the hospital."
That caught his attention. Reborn hoisted himself up and wiped his face. He looked over at Tsuna, raking his eyes up and down Tsuna"s haggard body. He was panting more than he probably should and Tsuna had a small hunch as he tried to regain his breath. Tsuna's eyes looked tired and had slightly darker bags forming underneath.
"Why do you need to go to the hospital?" Reborn asked steadily. He chugged the rest of his water and disappeared down the hall. Tsuna followed so he could still talk where Reborn could hear him.
"Yamamoto and Chrome both were taken to the hospital. I don't think Mukuro knows about Chrome either." Tsuna recounted.
Reborn swung out and easily buttoned up his shirt. Tsuna felt his face pinch slightly.
"Are you really wearing that?" Tsuna asked.
"Yes, is there a problem with Hawaiian shirts?" Reborn asked as he flattened the collar.
"Well, no. It's just really...bright."
Reborn resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He motioned for Tsuna to follow him and the two left. They went door to door, letting all the friends know. Tsuna never really realized how many people he actually knew that liked Yamamoto. Of course Gokudera and Ryohei were the first on board. Somewhere along the line, Gokudera and Tsuna had built a tentative friendship. It wasn't very strong yet because Gokudera had trust issues but Tsuna didn't mind.
Mukuro was the last one to be told. Everybody let Tsuna be the one to tell him and they went on ahead to wait for the two outside the school gates. Tsuna nervously knocked on the door. Mukuro answered it almost immediately, making Tsuna step back in surprise. Once he knew who it was, Mukuro smiled down at Tsuna. It sent chills down Tsuna's spine, the smile, but he ignored it.
"Hello, Tsunayoshi. Might I ask why you're back so soon?" Mukuro asked. He was as coldly polite as ever.
"C-Chrome. It"s about Chrome." Tsuna managed to stutter out. Mukuro narrowed his eyes and Tsuna hurried on. "Yamamoto and her both got into an accident. I-I don't know if it is but it could be bad."
Mukuro nodded. He disappeared into the dorm and emerged in minutes with his jacket. "I guess we're going to the hospital then?"
Tsuna muttered a small, "I guess", before he let Mukuro usher him down the hall.
Everybody was waiting by the gates as promised but they were joined by Fon and a blond haired teenager. Reborn and the blond were butting heads, literally. Everybody seemed in shock as if they didn"t know how to break it up. Fon was saying something placating to all of them as Mukuro and Tsuna approached.
"-Is normal for us." Fon was saying. He say Tsuna and smiled gently at him. Tsuna felt his lips tilt up in response but there was nothing behind the smile.
"Should we go then?" Kyoko said. She had somehow joined the group with Bianchi and Haru. Gokudera edged his way beside Tsuna, looking sick, and it suddenly made sense as to why Gokudera looked like that.
Everybody made a general sound of consensus and they all set off to the hospital. It was quiet, or as quiet as it got with their group. Ryohei was yelling, running ahead of them in his excitement; Gokudera was yelling at him to calm down; Kyoko and Haru were both laughing at Ryohei"s antics; and Colonnello was provoking Reborn again.
They arrived and Tsuyoshi was already in the waiting room. Mukuro immediately walked to the front desk and asked what was going on with Chrome. Tsuyoshi saw the group and seemed overtaken by surprise. He walked up to Tsuna.
"It's good to see you, Sawada." Tsuyoshi announced. Tsuna gave a weak beam.
"Hello to you, Mr. Yamamoto." Tsuna muttered. "I"m guessing you were called?"
"Yes. Thank you for telling them to call me. I never knew Takeshi had so many friends." Tsuyoshi exclaimed.
"Y-Yeah. He makes friends easily."
Tsuyoshi smiled, winking. There was a nurse that called his name and he waved to the group as he went over to see what was happening. The entire group found seats throughout the slightly bigger waiting room. Reborn sat next to Tsuna while everybody else settled down the row. Gokudera refused to sit near his sister though and joined Tsuna.
Mukuro walked over a bit later and sat down on the floor between Tsuna"s feet, leaning his head against Tsuna's inner-knee.
"You do know that you can sit on a chair, right?" Tsuna said, running a hand over Mukuro"s hair.
"Yes, but I'm comfortable like this." Mukuro said, playing with the bottom of Tsuna's pants.
Tsuna didn't feel like answering as he continued running his hands through Mukuro"s hair. He leaned his head against the wall behind him as he stared at the ceiling. Everything around him was background noise. People were talking around him but he didn't hear anything intelligible as he thought.
He hated hospitals. He was sickly as a kid so he was always seeing some sort of doctor fairly often. He got suckers and other candy from it but it wasn't fun getting needles. After his most recent stay, he disliked hospitals even more. He felt the sanitary, white fluorescent walls were too much. It was harder to think about being here more and more. But Tsuna couldn't just leave. His friends could end up dying and he had bailed because he couldn't handle his emotions for a few hours.
Something cold landed against Tsuna's shoulder, making him jump away, clamping a hand over his mouth so he wouldn"t scream like before. Old habits die hard they say. Mukuro had, somehow, disappeared without Tsuna knowing and the waiting room was considerably less empty of his friends. Reborn, Fon, Colonnello, Gokudera, and Kyoko were the only ones left. Reborn had dropped a can of juice onto his shoulder. He held the can up and looked up at Reborn in confusion.
"You haven't had anything all day." Reborn said flatly. "It's better that than nothing at all. And you blanked out for over an hour."
Tsuna blinked a bit dumbly but nodded. "Thanks."
Reborn shrugged and settled into the chair beside Tsuna easily. He perched on the edge and Tsuna was almost tempted to ask why Reborn always did that. And it was as if Reborn read his mind as Reborn suddenly sat farther back in the chair and relaxed his form. He gave a quick look over at Tsuna before staring straight ahead again.
"Where"s Ieyasu?" Tsuna asked after a brief moment of silence. Tsuna"s leg shook constantly and it didn't help from the constant looks people were shooting him. He didn't have a sweater on so people could see his arms.
Everybody left but Reborn gave confused looks to Tsuna as he realized what he said. "Giotto, I mean. Where"s Giotto?"
"He"s at the police station. He's a cop so he"s obviously trying to figure out what's happening." Reborn answered.
"What? No he isn"t." Tsuna disagreed.
Reborn gave Tsuna an unimpressed look. "He lived in my own town when I lived in Italy He used to be a lowly beat cop but he"s an investigator now."
"H-How do you know him? He said he was backpacking through Europe not even four years ago."
"He said that so he wouldn"t worry your mom." Reborn didn't mention how Tsuna's face tightened. "He studied online and took the exam in person when he got to Italy. He had the best grade in the class."
"Wouldn't you be twelve when you lived in Italy?" Tsuna asked. When Reborn nodded slightly, Tsuna continued. "How do you remember this then?"
"I just do." Reborn said shortly. "If you really want to know, but me coffee when we're on our way back to the school."
"That"s your price? Coffee?"
"Now I want coffee and something to eat. Keep questioning it, Tsuna." Reborn gave a slightly sadistic smirk to Tsuna, who blanched.
"Alright. If I just buy you coffee-"
i f inally finished editing this one. im gonna try to edit more frequently so i can finish and start posting the rest of the story omg
reviews are always nice!
-Gate