Estoy Enamorada de mi Hermano

(I'm in love with my brother)

Yey! Yey! I'll update while I can! I'm fast, aren't I? I'm so fast! *Lenore dances*

Cha-daaaaaaan! Due to KitsuneNaru-san's suggestion (wanna thank you for it, love *hugs*), which the author judged as plausibly correct, this story will now use the original names of the characters to avoid confusion. But of course, the change will not affect the story at all. ( *^.^ *)

A/N: Tsuna refers to Reborn as Mano all the time. The speaker is Tsuna. Whole sentences or dialogues in Italics means that the characters are speaking in Spanish. Single words in Italics denote emphasis or foreign words. Reborn's original name in this fic is Miguel, Lucas is Colonello. Words inside parentheses in Italics denote Tsuna's musings. Same words in parentheses not in Italics indicate the author's notes.

III. CAPITULO TRES: Masoquista Réal

"So, how old are you, Tsuna-kun?"

I smiled a little at his question. "Diez y ocho (Eighteen)." Deducing from his actions, his words and the expression on his face, was he…trying to flirt? He couldn't be serious. But looking now at his ruddy cheeks and groggy movements, I surmised he was a little drunk, a fact I did not see earlier when I allowed my jealousy to get the better of me.

"Oh, you're quite young, mi hombre bonito (my pretty guy)—hey!" Lucas did not get to finish what he had to say for mano had placed a cold pan on his head. "Miguel! I thought you were in the kitchen!"

"I was," mano said nonchalantly, "but I realized how unfortunate it would be not to have enjoyed my handsome cousin's delightful cooking. But say, you quit calling me Miguel or I'll fry you, bonito (there is a fish called bonito)."

Lucas hummed upon hearing the name my father had given my mano. "Reborn. It doesn't sound like Japanese to me."

Mano chuckled. "Siempre, it's English. "

"Ah...then you should call me Colonello from now on."

Mano frowned. "That's not a name."

Lucas, este, Colonello smiled sadly. "That's the nickname my wife gave me."I thought, perhaps mano too, that he was only kidding until he took from his wallet the picture of a lovely woman with Southern Asian features. "She is Lal Mirch. She is an Indian national. Beautiful, isn't she?" My chest constricted a little upon seeing the faraway look in his eyes. I thought that perhaps his relationship with that woman was rather painful. I was right.

"We met in Italy three years ago where I was assigned for intelligence work and she was attending classes in a university for her doctoral studies. She was teaching economics at the same time. We, well, we fell in love and got married and she got pregnant and," he stopped and bit his lip before continuing, "and she miscarried. It was supposed to be our first baby. She never got over it. She kept blaming me for it and that's why she…that's why…that's why she…"

It seemed like Colonello was about to cry but through a lot of effort, he managed not to. He did not utter the details and he didn't need to. We understood, mano and I. "But well," he continued, "I don't want us to separate yet so I didn't sign the divorce papers. She kept pressuring me. Although I thought frequently of pleasing her by killing myself, I'm still a Catholic and I don't want my soul to go to hell. I couldn't think of any other solution at all that was why I decided to come to Japan."

Mano looked at him thoughtfully. "Why did you not tell me anything at the airport then?"Colonello looked at the floor and said nothing. I glanced at mano and he understood what I meant. "You can stay here as long as you like. I'll take care of your papers. But what do you propose I should do if ever your wife comes here and asks for you?"

Colonello stared at mano wide-eyed, the tears he struggled to keep were now flowing freely on his cheeks. "But I won't sign the divorce papers no matter what! I won't, Miguel, I really won't!"

"Yes, yes, you won't," mano said placatingly, forgiving Colonello's slip. "No one will ever force you to sign anything as long as you are with us, Lucas."

Colonello rubbed his face and waved my brother off with a shaking hand. He was really drunk. "I told you to call me 'Colonello'. It will be as though Lal is still with me."I winced at that. The guy was pretty masochistic.

From that night on and until he recovers, that was the length of time mano and I decided that his cousin should stay with us. He would now occupy one of the two vacant rooms downstairs. Mano went to sleep then but I was awake the entire night. I thought for a long time about Colonello and his wife, how he kept on refusing to part with her although she had obviously rejected him. Perhaps his feelings for her were so deep he could not see that his pride was already being trampled upon. Perhaps being in love meant forgetting one's pride for the sake of one's most cherished one. I frowned. In my opinion, that kind of thinking was way too masochistic.

I glanced at mano on the other side of the bed. Our situation was different since he did not even know about my feelings to begin with. And here I was sharing a bed with him doing nothing when I could have done a lot of other things with him. This kind of inaction would make me appear as though I was more masochistic than Colonello. I scowled. Perhaps I should start expressing my feelings right now. Perhaps I should tie both of mano's hands and feet on the bedposts and rip off his bedclothes and – hey there stop!

I sat up, sweating. Oh damn, I was already hard! As quick as lightning, I ran to the bathroom and shut myself like crazy. The sound of the door slamming woke mano and he knocked. Damn! Damn!

"Tsuna? What happened? Are you alright? Open the door."

Shucks! There was no way I would open the door! I tried to calm myself as much as possible, swallowed hard, and replied, "I'm fine, mano. I'm just feeling hot. I'm taking a bath."

"Oh, alright. I'm going back to bed then."

The statement boggled my head all the more for my brain was filled with images of him lying sprawled on the bed and – oh, stop it! Just stop it, for heaven's sake!

After my ordeal, I was already breathing normally (and had cleaned myself up after my release). So that mano would not suspect me of lying, I took a bath just as I had told him (well, given the situation, I really would take a bath). Hours later, I was back in bed as though nothing happened. Geez, perhaps my situation was much worse than Colonello's. Perhaps I was more masochistic than him. Oh well, who cares. As long as mano does not suspect anything, there would be nothing to worry about.

When I woke up, it was already two in the afternoon. I shrieked. Mano would kill me! Panicking, I ran down the stairs. Unfortunately, I slipped and rolled down as shamefully as I had been rolling down the same stairs for years owing to my negligence. As I winced, I was greeted by a loud, hearty "Congratulations!" It was not my mano or Colonello and there were many voices so I looked up to bash the face of whoever the bastard was –and lo! There were my high school friends grinning at me.

"Oh, hi," I said lamely.

I screamed upon feeling a kick on my side. It was mano. "Get up, Mr. Topnotcher or I will kick you again. It will be for real the next time."

I stood up hastily, still sleepy, sat on the sofa and yawned. And slowly, my brain registered what my friends were tickling me about. "I passed?"

"Passed? You are top one on the passers list, Tsuna," Yamamoto said smilingly.

"Which means that Juudaime is really incredible," said Gokudera with a nod. The guy was one of my childhood bullies who was converted by mano's fists into a loyal friend. After his recovery from the fatal beating he received from my brothers expert hands, he had called me Juudaime (Tenth Generation Boss) ever since. What prompted him to call me that, I didn't know.

Colonello arrived carrying a tray of pastillas de leche and arroz valenciana for my guests who ooh-ed and aah-ed at the dishes quite exotic to them. Mano arrived with the drinks which he placed on the table beside the food. My friends munched heartily but I looked up at my brother who was wearing his customary formal attire but without the coat. "Don't you have a court hearing, mano?"

"It ended early today. Anyway, I can just excuse myself anytime." He took a beer-in-can, pressed it on my forehead, and grinned. "I didn't know you studied that hard, Tsuna. Well, congratulations."

Still disoriented, I couldn't believe what I just heard. Although I did a little effort for the exams, it was still Tokyo University (one of the most prestigious universities in Japan) I was applying for. I took a can, opened and drank unceremoniously. Looking around, I spotted the picture (I noticed it was already framed) of Colonello's wife on the side table. I glanced nervously at the man looking for signs of him breaking down but found none. In fact, he seemed to enjoy being tortured by the presence of the woman's image right in front of him. He truly loved being tortured. He was a true masoquista. I shook my head dolefully and drank more.

I turned my attention to my friends and noticed that Hibari was absent. I asked them and Mukuro had a ready reply. "Ah, Kyouya, he is busy entertaining his blond gaijin (foreigner) although he is being constantly ignored, poor guy. I think he is becoming a masochist. How tragic."

I winced. Lots of people were becoming masochists nowadays. It was addling my brain. I hate masochists, I wanted to say, but I was also a masochist. I stared at my mano laughing with my friends over something, with Colonello (who couldn't understand a word of Japanese) who was patiently waiting for him to interpret it in Spanish. (Ah, what a masochistic guy.) I paused for a while to study my brother carefully.

Mano was an Español from head to toe. His crisp black hair, aquiline nose, white skin and virile build was an image of an authentic Hispanic male and his rounded black eyes edged in thick curling lashes emphasized his Latin looks. Although he had shared my Japanese surname for a long time since his adoption and naturalization, most of my acquaintances who have met him for the first time would take another look at him, study him carefully and ask whether he was really my brother. Of course, mano always answered that we were true brothers and eyed the nosy person afterwards with his intimidating stare.I sighed. The part of his face I liked the most were his lips, full, moist and rosy. I was wondering how it would taste like if I plunged my tongue inside – hey, stop, you!

I hastily drank my beer and gulped all of it pretty fast. Afterwards, I regretted what I did for the action seemed to have made my cheeks a little hotter than normal. No way! I was getting drunk! Of all phobias in the world, what I feared the most was what I might do when I fall into the state of intoxication. Since mano and I shared the same bed, I feared I might do something abnormal. Think now! If I topped the entrance exams, there was no way my brain would fail me in devising a quick solution to my current situation. At least that was what I hoped.

Nearing hysteria while pretending to laugh at Yamamoto's joke, a light bulb came into my head and I saw my ultimate deliverance. Of course, how could I have forgotten my cousin Enma? He was the one person in the world who knew of my sad predicament with regards to my mano but I needed not to worry about any information leak for Enma was like a vault in a bank where you could keep your treasures safe. He was not present right now due to his shyness in public.

After my friends had gone and all utensils washed, I took some of the leftover food, wrapped it in aluminum foil and put it in cellophane. I excused myself, reasoning I would be staying at Enma's house for the night. I was excused. Because the house was just next to ours, I arrived pretty fast and knocked. A grumpy "Coming" answered. The door was opened and I was greeted by my cousin's tired face and his equally tired "Hey, what's up?"

I simply grinned, entered the living room and stretched myself on the floor. It made me comfortable especially now that I posed no peril anymore to my beautiful mano. "Enma," I drawled.

"What?"

"I think I'm becoming a masochist."

Bleeh…that's quite a long one, Lenore.

So reviews? Please? *puppy eyes, puppy eyes*

*Lenore flies*