A/N: I've been busy for a while so I haven't been able to update. Thankfully, the first part of a series of hellish exams is finally over and I'm able to be active in fanfiction again, at least for a while. I'm really grateful for the people who left me reviews. Reading their reviews helped me get through hell. :))

Anyway, this is the fifth installment of Canvas. Hope you enjoy reading~ :3

(By the way, I only just discovered the Traffic Stats button, and honestly, I got mixed emotions when I saw how many hits this story has :-\ )

Disclaimer: When the time comes that my dream of world domination is fulfilled, I will own KHR. *smiles*

Canvas

-Chapter 5-

There was movement in the room.

Tsuna could feel someone touching his wounded hand. He could feel the gentle hands touch his, applying some sort of ointment that felt cool on his skin. It felt really nice and he didn't find any reason to pull away. He relaxed on the hold and allowed the person to continue with whatever he was doing, whoever he was. Moments later, he felt something akin to cloth being wrapped around his open palm. What was it? Bandages?

He couldn't make sure of it. He turned his body a little, causing the gentle hands to stiffen slightly on its hold. The brunet tried to open his drowsy eyes, but then closed them again only a second later. He felt much too sleepy. He couldn't bring himself to completely break away from the inviting world of sleep just yet. As he was losing consciousness, he was vaguely aware of a pair of hands that covered his body with the warm comfy blanket and the color of onyx. In the background, he could faintly hear the echo of retreating footsteps.

::

The brunet huddled closer to his pillow and wrapped the blanket tighter around his body. He furrowed his brows and attempted to bury his face on the pillow. Why was it so bright? Seconds later, he finally conceded and slowly forced his eyes open, only to be greeted with the blinding light of the sun's morning rays creeping from behind the curtains. He blinked a few times before his eyes got used to the sudden brightness. Grudgingly, he pulled his body away from the comforts of bed and opted instead to sit cross-legged, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. The mattress dipped slightly in his weight. His spiky hair jutted out in every direction. He looked over his surroundings and took a moment to realize where he was. He let out a sigh as he thought back on the events that occurred the day before.

He doesn't know how he would face Fon-san.

Tsuna suddenly caught sight of his left hand. He was expecting to see a very much wounded body part covered in cuts and bluish-red colored bruises after having neglected treating it the night before. He was surprised to find his hand neatly wrapped in white bandages. He held it in his right hand and allowed his fingers to trace along the textured cloth. He was so sure he wasn't the one who treated his wounds. But then who did? Vague images of a pair of hands covering him with a blanket and beautiful onyx eyes entered his thoughts. He blinked long and hard. So that wasn't a dream?

He sighed once again and pulled at his messy brunet locks with his uninjured hand. Great. Not only did he cause trouble for Fon-san yesterday, the Chinese also had to treat his wounds for him because he fell asleep. Just great.

He took one more glance at his bandaged hand before he climbed off the bed and started making it as neatly as he can, fluffing the pillow, smoothening out the bed sheet, and tucking in the blanket. He turned to look at the small alarm clock on top of a wooden side table beside the bed. The time read 7:30. It was still much too early. If he was at home with his parents, he wouldn't wake up until noon if it was summer vacation.

He knelt down in front of his luggage and unzipped it open, rummaging through the articles of clothing inside, looking for something to change into. The rest of the morning, he busied himself with putting his new room in order.

::

Wide caramel eyes stared long and hard at the wooden door in front of him, his hand inching towards the doorknob ever so slowly. He gulped. It was now or never. The moment of truth.

He has stalled for far too long already. He avoided going out his room in the guise of unpacking his luggage and setting his room straight. Not that he didn't do those things, oh no, he really did do them. It's just that it wasn't really necessary for him to do everything at one time. He really just wanted to avoid seeing his Chinese guardian. But no matter how much his mind and body protested, he still has to go and thank Fon-san. It was the right thing to do, and he wasn't one without morals. He inhaled and exhaled slowly before pushing open his bedroom door. He moved his right leg forward and took his first step out of the room, out of his safe haven.

The door closed behind him with a click. Tsuna leant his whole weight on the wooden door and heaved a sigh.

So far so good.

His eyes landed on the door directly a few meters in front of him. He wondered if Fon-san was still sleeping, though he doubted it as it was already close to noon time. But still, it wouldn't hurt to make sure if the older man was still inside his room. The brunet slowly walked towards the door and readied himself for whatever he was getting himself into. He knocked a few times on the door.

"A-ano…F-fon-san?"

There was no answer so he tried knocking once more. Still, it was silent at the other side of the door. A sudden small burst of courage prompted him to try opening the door. He turned the doorknob and found the door unlocked. He pushed the door open just a crack and peered inside. There was no one there.

He hung his head low and just decided to give up. He slowly trudged towards the living room after shutting the door close. On one hand, he hoped that he would find the older man there; on the other, he dreaded the moment when he would have to engage in conversation and be in the same room as him.

Tsuna expected to find the Chinese sitting idly on the couch, so when he arrived at the room and saw no hint of any human presence, he felt a huge wave of both relief and disappointment. He walked towards the couch and sat on the exact same spot that he woke up in the day before. He ran his hand across the surface of the velvety furniture.

A single piece of paper on top of the coffee table immediately caught his attention. He leaned forward and picked it up between his fingers. He slowly turned it over and read its contents. The note was written in a hurried scribble, but it still looked elegant. He raised his brow at that.

Tsunayoshi,

I stepped out for a bit to buy groceries. I realized just now that I haven't gotten to stocking up on supplies yet. I would probably be back in a few hours at most. If you feel hungry, feel free to look in the kitchen.

Please look after the apartment for me while I'm gone.

Fon.

Well that answered his question. Tsuna carefully placed the piece of paper back on the coffee table and paid it no more heed. He sighed and turned his attention to the beautiful paintings mounted on the wall. He traced the painted pictures with his eyes and looked as if he was committing the images to memory. The painting of the park caught his interest once more, and he wondered if something so pretty could be found in small country Japan.

Only a few minutes have passed and yet Tsuna's already bored as hell. He has been studying the paintings to keep himself occupied but the constant ticking of the clock and the sickening silence of the room unnerved him to no end. He allowed himself to fall on his back onto the comfortable couch. He raised his arm and covered his eyes with it to shield his vision from the light. In his mind, he tried rehearsing his lines for when he has to talk to Fon-san.

His eyes fluttered open and immediately sat up into a sitting position. Tentatively, he cast a quick glance to the wall clock and found that he has fallen asleep for a good hour or so. That explained why he felt so hungry. He hasn't eaten anything since breakfast the day before. His stomach rumbled at the thought and he wondered how he has gotten through the morning fixing his room without having anything to eat. Sighing, he picked himself up and walked towards the kitchen. Hopefully, he'll be able to find something to fix himself a meal with.

The front door opened and in came a man dressed in red long-sleeved traditional Chinese clothing. He shut the door behind him and carried the heavy groceries into the room. He blew at his bangs. That was the last time he'll ever go grocery shopping on a big sale day. Women are frightening in the face of cheaper goods. He shivered at the thought.

Fon scanned the living room and found that no one was there. Either the brunet probably hasn't woken up yet or has holed himself up in his room. His lips pressed into a thin line. He wondered how he should go about in conversing with the child. With what he has seen yesterday, the boy was not someone keen on having anyone near him. His thoughts wandered to the phone conversation he had with Reborn only a few days ago.

You'll probably come to like him. He's a good boy, if not a bit timid. He'll have to get used to you anyway.

He mentally cursed Reborn in his head. The Italian never said that the extent of his timidity was bordering anthropophobia. That didn't make it any easier for him. Reborn really meant what he said literally. He just hopes that sooner or later, Tsunayoshi would start feeling comfortable around him.

Fon smiled to himself. Really, he's already taken quite a bit of liking to the boy. He'll just have to be patient and wait for the brunet to open up to him.

He tossed his house keys onto the coffee table and walked over towards the kitchen to deposit the groceries he has bought. He raised his brow at the faint noises in the background, sounding like something akin to clattering of metal. When he reached the entryway to the kitchen, his narrow eyes widened a fraction at the sight he was greeted with. He unceremoniously dropped the heavy groceries to the tiled floor and sprinted forward.

Tsunayoshi!

::

Tsuna looked up to find that all the cooking ware was placed at the topmost portion of the kitchen cabinet. This is one of the times that he openly cursed his vertically challenged self. What he would give just to grow a few inches taller. Sighing in frustration, he pulled over a chair and climbed on top of it. Good. Just a few more centimeters and he'll reach the pans. He fumbled through the wares in search for what he would need, a good sized wok and a few others. He winced at the loud clattering of metal.

Just as he was about to pull out the wok, the chair wobbled underneath him and toppled over. He shut his eyes tightly and braced himself for the impact of the fall as he fell over backwards.

He heard the chair crash on the floor and expected himself to follow suit. Yet the pain never came. Huh? He opened an eye and peeked out to his surroundings. Soft. Why was the ground soft? He came face to face with a pair of onyx eyes looking at him worriedly. Fon-san had his arms wrapped around him protectively and had cushioned his fall.

His face paled instantly at the close proximity. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead and his breathing became labored.

"Tsunayoshi! Are you alright? That was some fall."

He was getting nauseous. His stomach lurched forward.

"Tsunayoshi?"

The next thing he did made his eyes widen in utter mortification and scramble away from the Chinese man.

He vomited.

Fon held his clothing underneath the running water flowing from the sink. He made sure to clean out any mess so as to avoid staining later on.

He chuckled lightly to himself. Well, that was mighty unexpected. It's not everyday someone throws up on you and faints shortly right after the deed. He walked out of the bathroom and brought out a change of clothing from his wardrobe. He settled with the purple one, still cut in the same style as the one he wore before, only with a different design.

When he arrived back at the kitchen, he didn't expect to see the brunet up and about. He stood underneath the doorway in silence and watched as the petite brunet went about preparing dishes.

Tsuna stopped in the middle of placing a plate of food down on the dining table as he caught sight of the older man. He fidgeted at the gaze directed at him and hung his head low to avoid eye contact.

"Um…P-please have a seat."

Fon smiled warmly at the younger boy. At least he wasn't going to be ignored as he first thought he would be. He walked over towards the table and took a seat. A plate was placed in front of him and soon after, Tsuna too sat down with his own plate, at the other end of the table.

The Chinese held a look of amusement before he started eating. His eyes widened, and then he turned towards the brunet. "You made these?" It was a rhetorical question, but he couldn't help but ask. Tsuna slowly nodded an affirmative.

Fon smiled brightly at him. "It tastes delicious. I must say, you are one amazing cook."

The brunet colored a deep red at the compliment. Silence hung around the room before Tsuna spoke up.

"F-fon-san?"

"Hmm?"

"…"

"T-thank you…for l-last night."

Fon raised his head in time to see the brunet turn away, a light tinge of pink still brushed lightly across his face. He closed his eyes and smiled one of the widest he had in days.

"You're welcome."

A/N: How was it? :3 I hope people would tell me how they feel about this story. Only a few really does, so I don't know how most people find it. Is it good? Is it bad? Do you find it revolting? Hopefully not, but I still do wish to know about you're thoughts. ^^ And if anybody has any idea of how they want the story to progress, I'm open to suggestions. :D I really do want everybody to enjoy reading this. ^^