People were still talking about Tsuna and Mukuro as the week went on. It was surprising since most people got bored of the same few details being retold but the rumours were getting more and more outrageous from Reborn and his friends adding to them. Most believed the rumours which made it even better.

Somehow though the one rumour that was true was the most talked about: Tsuna and Reborn were dating.

A lot of people demanded to know if it was true but Reborn taught Tsuna some ways to divert the topic so they never got an answer. People scrambled to see if they could make Tsuna slip up and say they were/weren't dating. Some even went to Tsuna's friends, a couple went to Reborn himself. But all of them wouldn't say anything.

There was a very high amount of tension as people tried to get some good gossip because, damn it, nothing interesting really happened in Namimori! It was a small town so good gossip was few and far between.

In the middle of class, nearing the weekend, everybody was barely paying attention. People were chattering quietly while the teacher was showing them a video about Space. Tsuna honestly couldn't remember why they were doing this other than because it was last class on a Friday. Some of the more diligent students paid attention but the rest talked in undertones to their friends.

Tsuna hadn't joined in though. Gokudera and Yamamoto seemed to be talking to each other and Tsuna was only half listening. He didn't quite remember what happened the entire day in his classes and he had later figured out that he was dissociating. He had been doing it more and more in classes. He had a vague idea it was because when he was sitting still it reminded him of the anxiety he got when he was kept in the same place with Mukuro. When he felt that same clawing, gut wrenching fear was the point he started dissociating.

Somebody tapped Tsuna's shoulder, making him almost hit his head against the desk from how hard he jerked. Nobody paid attention to him as his teacher seemed too absorbed in the movie.

Tsuna turned around and saw Yamamoto and Gokudera behind him. Yamamoto had a grin on his face that made it obvious he was the one to tap Tsuna on the shoulder. Gokudera was scowling but it soon morphed a into worried stare at the look on Tsuna's face.

"Hey Tsuna, we were just talking about how we were going to get ice cream after class", Yamamoto said in a cheerful whisper. "Wanna come with?"

"N-No, I'm fine." Tsuna said a little too quickly.

"We'll bring you back something then." Gokudera said, giving Tsuna a thumbs up.

Tsuna nodded with a hesitant smile. "T-Thank you, then. You don't have to-"

"But we want to!" Yamamoto announced a little louder than necessary. There were multiple shushing sounds and Yamamoto laughed at Tsuna's mortified flush. He ruffled Tsuna's hair, lowering his voice. "It's not a problem! Vanilla as usual?"

"Y-Yeah", Tsuna peaked up at the two through his bangs with a brighter smile than usual. "Reborn said he would help me with my math and science homework; t-there's no point postponing it anymore; have to catch up."

His two friends gave each other looks and Tsuna caught the worry in it. It was the first time he mentioned anything having to do with Mukuro. It had been close to a month and nobody wanted to be the one to bring it up in the first place. It suited Tsuna just fine. There was nothing to talk about, he reasoned to himself. It had happened and Mukuro was going to go through the police system. Nobody believed him when he said he was fine but it was the truth.

When the bell rang, Tsuna was the first one out of the classroom. His two friends following him easily and keeping pace as the three talked.

"I say we should all go to the arcade!" Yamamoto proposed, looking enthusiastic just about the idea of going.

"It'll be crowded since it's the weekend so that's not the best idea, you know." Gokudera grumbled. He saw Tsuna's face before backtracking. "But if we hurry, we could miss the crowd."

"I thought you were going for ice cream?" Tsuna asked.

"You're right!" Yamamoto announced. "We'll go get ice cream after the arcade then."

"I-I have to meet up with Reborn-" Tsuna started to mutter but he bumped into somebody weaving their way through the crowd.

"What about meeting me?" Reborn asked as he pulled Tsuna off to the side of the hall. The four stood near the corner of a corridor so they didn't block the traffic as they filled Reborn in on the plans.

"But, of course, Tsuna wants to skip out on it." Reborn amended. "We can study tomorrow, Tsuna. I was coming to find you anyways. I have a doctor's appointment." Reborn grimaced when he said 'doctor's appointment' like it was a great inconvenience.

"So it's settled then! Tsuna can go with us", Yamamoto said, flinging an arm around Tsuna.

Reborn nodded. He started winding one of his curled sideburns around his finger casually. Tsuna narrowed his eyes; he had picked up that Reborn did that when he was stressed about something. It was a very rare occurrence he did it so it was easy to pick out. Tsuna opened his mouth to ask but Reborn turned steely eyes onto Tsuna, giving a slight shake of his head.

"You might want to drop your stuff off in somebody's room. Tsuna's is closest", Gokudera spoke up. Yamamoto nodded sagely.

"See you, Reborn", Yamamoto waved with a smile and Gokudera gave a slight nod. Tsuna tried to stay back to ask Reborn what was wrong but Reborn just signed, 'Later' before sweeping off.

The two didn't see each other for hours as Tsuna had left his phone in his bag accidentally. Tsuna was the only one to have Reborn's private email so he didn't want to ask his two friends to email Reborn. He didn't regret leaving his phone though as it was the first time he had actually been with his friends in a long time.

Mukuro got too possessive so the times he did spend with them were filled with anxiety and fear. Tsuna was more than happy to realize that it wasn't the case today as he was actually laughing more than he had in months.

By the time Tsuna got back, he was ready to go to sleep. He walked into his room and saw Reborn already on the bed though. That was all he needed to be more careful as he started trying to figure out a way to get into the bed without waking Reborn. He was ready to just sleep in Reborn's bed until he saw Reborn open his eyes, gently lifting the blanket for Tsuna to slip under.

"You know I was awake the whole time?" Reborn asked as Tsuna settled underneath the blanket. Tsuna made a small noise as he felt Reborn wrap his arms around his waist, burying his face in Tsuna's neck.

"Reborn?" Tsuna said hesitantly.

"Yes?" He asked. He sounded tired and Tsuna was tempted to just stop talking. "Tell me before i actually fall asleep, Tsuna."

"U-Um, well, I was just wondering...Are we dating?"

"...That's up to you." Reborn said after a moment. He gently took Tsuna's hand and smoothed his thumb over the knuckles. "I won't be upset if you aren't ready to date just yet. You have had your fair share with trauma and if dating isn't easy right now, we can hold off on dating."

"I-I'm sorry, I don't want to waste your time…" Tsuna mumbled thickly.

"You're not wasting my time. I'm here to help you as much as I can." Reborn shifted so he could pull Tsuna against his chest and peppered kisses down Tsuna's face making him let out a low shriek of laughter.

"I'm sorry", Tsuna said again.

Reborn didn't say anything as he placed his chin on top of Tsuna's head. He was quiet, almost like he was thinking, before saying, "We could be in a queerplatonic relationship."

"What's that?"

"It's not romantic but it's a relationship based on an emotional connection. It's up to the people involved to determine how sexual it is or could be. It doesn't fit the social norm of what a romantic/sexual relationship is."

"Oh...yeah, I like that. I-I don't think I'm ready for a relationship like dating or-or anything."

Reborn nodded, starting to run his hands through Tsuna's hair. "That's fine. And if you are later, we'll talk about dating then."

Tsuna smiled as he felt his eyes grow heavier. He fell asleep and for once, he stayed asleep.

A lot of people liked to go and check up on Tsuna to see if he was doing okay. Most of the time, he was stopped in the halls so Tsuna was used to being stopped now. The only person he refused to talk to was Bianchi since she was...very passionate about the rumour that Tsuna and Reborn were dating.

Tsuna made his way as fast as he could manage up the stairs when he saw her looking into empty classrooms. Bianchi was coming too close to him than he was comfortable with so he made the decision to disappear through the stairwell than wait for an elevator.

He busted through the door and ran into his dorm, seeing Reborn reading something out of his math book before he fell over. He had tripped over his pant leg and the step in the floor.

"Are you having an asthma attack?" Reborn asked casually. He continued flipping to another page in his textbook.

"'m fine. Just ran up stairs." Tsuna panted. He dragged himself up from the floor and flopped onto the couch. Reborn lifted his arms so Tsuna could crawl closer to him and Tsuna flopped against Reborn's chest.

"Mind telling me why you're doing voluntary exercise?" Reborn asked, still reading.

"Bianchi was looking for me. Said something about a 'love rival'. Gokudera pushed me into the stairwell before she could see us."

Reborn felt his lip twitch in amusement. "Did she give you anything?"

"No, she was holding a plate of something. There was blue smoke coming from it though…"

"Don't eat whatever she gives you. She did that whenever she thought I was dating anybody else. We were together so long she gets a little protective."

"Can't imagine why", Tsuna mumbled.

"Why were you so late getting back here?"

"I was talking with Yamamoto and Gokudera. I-I asked if they even liked me."

"And what did they say?"

"They seemed shocked I had to ask", Tsuna admitted sheepishly. He sounded pleased though. "They reassured me that they wanted to be my friends still 'nd that they cared about me."

Reborn nodded, carding his fingers through Tsuna's hair gently. He went back to reading. Tsuna wasn't exactly sure why he was reading a math book but Reborn was a math nerd. Tsuna settled himself so he was lying comfortably against Reborn, feeling Reborn scratching lightly on his scalp.

The two were quiet as they laid there, Reborn reading and Tsuna dozing. After a while, Tsuna started shifting and becoming restless. Reborn looked down questioningly and gently shook Tsuna's shoulder.

For some reason, Tsuna felt absolutely terrified and screamed when he woke up, quickly shifting and moving so his back was to the other side of the couch. Reborn put the book down and held up his hands so Tsuna knew he had nothing to hurt him with but Tsuna still was wary. Mukuro had done that countless times before he hurt Tsuna with his hands.

A sob built up in Tsuna's throat, bursting out violently and making Tsuna shake. Reborn was quiet but offered his hand. Tsuna took it and sat there with his head buried in his knees.

"H-He did more than just hurt me." Tsuna said. His face was buried in his knees so his voice came out muffled.

"What do you mean, Tsuna?"

"M-Mukuro. He threatened everybody. He said he would kill you and Giotto and make me watch and then he would torture me to the brink of death before-before..." Tsuna started sobbing harder, his whole body shaking.

Reborn didn't prod any further and shift closer. Tsuna gripped his hand and didn't look up

"Have you ever gone something this traumatizing?"

"My full name's Renato Sinclair, Tsuna."

Tsuna looked up in shock, his thoughts lingering on Mukuro disappearing. There was a huge news story about a kid named Renato Sinclair and how a local camp was a disguise for a mafia family that operated with the name 'Happy Times Conversion Camp; Tsuna forgot a lot of the story but he had seen it floating around. When the news had broken, it blew up from what the family had done, according to Renato. Tsuna forgot the majority of what happened but remembered it was bad. Renato managed to break free, having hurt the two people that had been set to watch him while the family left. The only people witnesses were nearby hikers that had stopped to watch and saw Renato collapse in front of them on a trail. Renato was moved out of Italy to somewhere off the grid where nobody would know where he was. It helped that the news coverage only told the name of the kid and didn't share his face.

"W-What?" Tsuna didn't know what to say. He really didn't know what to say. Was this a joke? A prank?

"I'm not joking." He said firmly. He brought his phone out of his pocket and showed Tsuna a picture. It was of a child, looking about 12, with extremely long black hair and a small mark underneath their right eye. Tsuna looked up quickly at Reborn's face and saw the same mark.

Tsuna clamped a hand over his mouth, looking at the picture.

"You were only-"

"13, I know." Reborn sighed heavily, putting his phone back in his pocket. "I'm not allowed to bring it up but if you read any news article, you'll find out what I told the police had happened."

"I-I'd rather you tell me yourself wh-when you're ready." Tsuna muttered. He looked up at Reborn and gave a watery laugh. "We're both a little messed up."

Reborn smiled softly. "Yeah...Just a little bit."

That night, Tsuna started having nightmares again.

He had tried to insist that he wanted to sleep in his own room for once, that he wouldn't have nightmares anymore. Reborn didn't believe him.

"You just broke down an hour ago, Tsuna." He said. "You can't possibly think you'll be fine."

Tsuna crossed his arms tightly across his chest, looking at his feet. "I-I don't want to bother you. Y-You said you have trouble sleeping with other people since they shift around a lot and-" Tsuna cut himself off, ending it with a shrug.

Reborn sighed, gently tilting Tsuna's head up so they were looking at each other. "If you have a nightmare, don't try and stay in your room. Walk around. I'll hear you at least."

When Tsuna nodded breathlessly, Reborn walked off, shutting the door to his own room, and crawling into bed. Tsuna changed into his pyjamas as fast as possible and crawled into his own bed. He tried to make as little noise as possible, pushing his head underneath his pillow.

He had slept fine for the first few hours, which was a record for him. Usually he couldn't sleep more than an hour before he kept waking up. But after a while his dreams took an odd turn. His first dream felt like any other with Reborn helping him ice skate with roller blades. He would never be caught dead telling him that but it was relaxing as Reborn smiled the entire time. But it changed to where Reborn was Mukuro and he fell through the ice into the small little room underneath the pool.

He woke up in a cold sweat and close to tears as he panted. His chest was tight and it was hard to breathe. Tsuna didn't know what to do. He felt like he was having an asthma attack.

He groped around for his phone. He tried to unlock it but remembered he turned it off. Finally, he managed to text Reborn with, 'meet me in the living room'. He heard the tone go off and a muttered word in Italian.

Tsuna gathered his blanket around him and got out of bed, walking down the hall, pausing at Reborn's door when he heard it open. Reborn didn't say anything, just following Tsuna down the hall. The two slumped onto the couch and Tsuna gathered the blanket so Reborn was under it too. There was probably nothing good on TV but Reborn turned it on so there was a soft hum of voices.

Tsuna stared vacantly at the window at the end of the couch. Reborn was tracing random patterns into his skin as he waited for Tsuna to say anything. But he didn' of them sat in silence underneath the blanket. Tsuna had leaned back against Reborn and curled up into the fetal position against Reborn's chest.

It got slowly lighter in the room but Tsuna kept himself stubbornly uncomfortable so he wouldn't go back to sleep. He didn't want to be forced to think about Mukuro. Reborn had fallen back asleep easily though. Tsuna didn't mind; just his presence was enough to calm Tsuna slightly. And he got to see Reborn sleeping. It was a rare occasion that Tsuna was up longer than Reborn but Tsuna wouldn't complain about it. It gave him an idea of how Reborn could look if he was relaxed and the small snores and calm breathing were more than enough to make Tsuna's heart swell.

Reborn blinked awake two hours later. He shifted, ruffling his hair slightly. Tsuna moved, thinking Reborn needed to move.

"Where are you going?" Reborn asked. His voice was deeper and Tsuna was almost shocked.

"I-I thought you needed to move." Tsuna muttered. Reborn shrugged, getting up from the couch.

"Do you want tea, Tsuna?" He asked as he moved towards the kitchen. Tsuna leaned against the armrest, watching him through the hole in the wall.

"I'm fine", Tsuna replied.

"Suit yourself."

Tsuna let out a small snicker, stretching out a little more. Reborn came back with a mug and placed it on the coffee table in front of the couch. Tsuna waited for him to get comfortable before crawling back between his legs, balancing his head underneath Reborn's chin.

"Did you just boil water?" Tsuna asked. He felt Reborn shake slightly as he let out a laugh.

"I like drinking hot water. I don't put anything in it but the heat helps me instead of drinking coffee. I used to drink it with my mom."

"Do you talk to her much?"

"Even if I could, I wouldn't."

"Oh", Tsuna moved his head closer.

They sat in silence. Tsuna started falling asleep again but He kept moving slightly to wake himself up. Reborn let out a groan the seventh time it happened as he had almost fallen asleep.

"Tsuna, why do you keep moving?" He accused.

"Sorry, sorry I don't mean to keep you up", Tsuna said hurriedly. He started to sit up but Reborn shook his head.

"It's fine. Why are you moving constantly?"

"I don't want to go back to sleep…"

Reborn made a small noise and moved to run his hand to gently over Tsuna's shoulder. "If it helps," Reborn said, "I'll be here when you wake up."

He shrugged. He wasn't sure if it helped. Knowing he'd be there was comforting though. A lot of people had said they were there for him until he said something that hinted at him being upset. He wasn't inclined to believe Reborn just yet from previous experiences.

Somehow, Reborn and Tsuna slept in till noon. The reason they got up though was there was knocking on their door. Tsuna made Reborn go answer it, curling up even more as Reborn pulled on a sweater and went to answer the door. Reborn was surprised to find Luce standing there, looking a little angry but more concerned.

"Why are you here?" He asked. Luce was usually busy during the day and called his siblings to her office so they could talk there. Rarely was it that she visited the dorms on her own.

"I'm here because I kept calling you to my office but you didn't come." Luce said, crossing her arms and looking imploringly at him. "Mind telling me why that is?"

"I was asleep with my phone on silent."

"Well", Luce's brisk tone melted slightly "Get dressed so we can talk in my office then. I'll be waiting"

Reborn nodded wearily. He was still half asleep and was just glad he had a short window to wake up before going anywhere.

Tsuna had sprinted down back into his room when Reborn went to get the door, not wanting to be seen by anybody. Reborn looked into Tsuna's room as he passed, telling him where he was going.

"Alright", Tsuna said through a groan as he stretched. "I'll be here."

"No, you won't", Reborn said. "I better come back to dishes in the sink from your breakfast and you dressed in different clothes."

"What'll happen if I've done none of that?" Tsuna asked suspiciously.

"You'll find out."

Reborn quickly threw on some pants and a pullover sweater before dry swallowing his medication. He was in the process of putting his shoes on when Tsuna wandered out.

"Make sure you brush your teeth", Reborn said.

"Did you?" Tsuna retorted.

"Yes, I did. You were too out of it to remember." Reborn stood and Tsuna gave him a hug before he turned away.

"You're too tall",

Reborn couldn't help but laugh. "You're too short. You'll most likely grow soon. You're dad and brother are both tall."

Reborn ruffled Tsuna's hair and they both pulled away. Tsuna looked embarrassed he had hugged Reborn but he was perfectly fine with it.

"There's leftover pancake batter in the fridge if you want to make some", Reborn said. "I know I taught you how to make them."

"Whether I succeed is another question."

"I'll find out when i come back. I shouldn't be long."

Reborn left, pulling out his phone as he felt it vibrate. People were texting and emailing him as usual. His phone was almost never silent lately. Somehow, his phone number was told to most of the school, he had an idea as to who tipped people off, and he was forced to put his phone on silent during lessons and time he wanted to sleep. Tsuna never noticed as he was always absorbed in some sort of video game or asleep as well.

Luce was sitting at her desk, reading something. Reborn knew she was just waiting for him though as she immediately put the papers down.

"I just got a call from Sawada's brother. He said that Mukuro is being let off on bail; somebody paid it in full." Luce explained.

"Why isn't Tsuna the one hearing this?" Reborn said sharply.

"Because it concerns you first. Do you know who Mukuro worked for?" Luce gripped her hands together, looking like she was trying to stay together. Reborn narrowed his eyes before shaking his head.

"I wasn't aware he was working for anybody."

"Well, he worked for Angelo." Luce paused, letting it sink in.

Reborn had gone very still. Angelo had been the mafia family that had taken him under the guise of a conversion therapy camp. He sat up straighter, leaning forward. He thought they had all been killed off. He hadn't even thought that it was possible they still operated.

"Why have they suddenly resurfaced?" Reborn asked, looking up at Luce.

"I don't know. The note left on Chrome's bed you decoded has something to do with it. It said, 'be prepared for the worst' and Tsuna did say it was Mukuro's writing. We think he was released through Angelo's influence as they are a quickly rising mafia family. And before they could get to Chrome, Mukuro took her. This is just a theory but I'm telling you for two reasons: one) so you can inform Tsuna that he no longer has to testify and two) so you are prepared to leave Japan."

Don't forget to leave a review on the way out!

-Gate