So I figured I'd tune up my work bit by bit, starting with the less difficult ones like Playing With Fire and this is the edited version. Not much is changed, just the wording here and there and such, but I hope it'll clear up confusion for some of the readers who had trouble. Also, I have no idea what I wrote as an AN before but I think it was something like me doing really well in updating this for such a pathetic writer, but yeah. This entire chapter was made while listening to Bleach OP 15, HARUKAZE AKA Spring Wind.
Disclaimer: If I owned Reborn, so would everyone else because God knows you people would kill for ownership. XD
Warnings: 1827, fuwa fuwa fluff (lol), and just overall adorableness that will sure as hell not appear in the next chapter. *laughs at pun you won't understand yet* Now, on witht the story!
Tsuna woke up to the sound of dishes clattering and laughter, a sound that confused him greatly as opened his eyes blearily. Blinking, he tried to see through the hazy fog that accompanied his waking up and shook his head to shake away the last remnants of sleep. Sitting up, he rubbed the grit out of his eyes and took in his surroundings with great bafflement: a wooden desk and chair were right next to him and the walls were a soft cream color, a fan on the ceiling and covers around him beige, nothing like his room at home. (Wasn't his house, where was he, what was going on.) He slapped his cheeks to see if he was still dreaming and his eyes widened as the remnants of dream hit him like a tornado.
My blue!
Hastily throwing the blanket off of himself and slipping out of the bed with his arms and legs flailing, Tsuna stumbled when a wave of nausea hit him and grabbed the edge of the desk to stabilize himself as he took a deep breath, forcing the discomfort away. Breathing in and out slowly, he shook his head and felt it fade before he straightened and rushed towards the door, trying not to trip on the pants he'd been changed into that'd been just a little too long for his small legs. His thoughts were jumbled as he reached for the doorknob (have to find my blue, he's waiting for me, have to find him) and he opened it, the brightness from the lights blinding compared the cool darkness in the room he'd awoken up, shaking his head as he adjusted to the brightness.
He was in a hallway and there was a stairway leading below where the sounds of laughter had come from and he nearly ran down, feet thumping against the wood loudly as he flew down the stairs, grabbing the banister clumsily (almost there, he's right there) and breathing heavily as he reached the bottom to see Yamamoto Takeshi and his father teasing each other about something or another as they ate their dinner. They froze at the sight of him on the last step, cheeks flushed as he panted from excitement and eyes wide. He grinned widely and his eyes lit up with joy as he saw Takeshi, seeing the little blue flame flicker to life inside his chest when he looked at him. (His heart was pounding, found him, he did it.)
"Found my blue," Tsuna breathed before his hold on the banister slipped and his vision blacked out for a second. He heard chairs scrape against the floor and his name called out by a frantic and worried Takeshi, felt strong arms wrap themselves around him to break his fall and a gentle voice telling him he got him, to just breathe in and out, just like that (sort of like Papa's, kind and strong, made him feel safe). When his eyes opened again, they met concerned amber and elation filled him once more at sight, a stupid grin working its way across his face and the first words out of his mouth were, "Good m-morning, Takeshi-san."
(Because Yamamoto-san didn't seem right, it was too wrong, he was his blue.)
He laughed, relieved that nothing serious had happened to brunet and poked his cheek gently as the concern faded and a similar grin appeared on his tan face.
"Good morning, Tsuna."
Tsuna's face nearly hurt from how much he was smiling but he didn't care, slowly easing himself up with the help of Tsuyoshi, turning towards him gratefully.
"Th-thank you, Ts-Tsuyoshi-san," he said, caramel orbs sincere and his voice somewhat hoarse. Tsuyoshi laughed and shook his head.
"Don't worry about it, it was nothing. How are you feeling?"
"Better th-than I have in a w-while," he answered truthfully as Tsuyoshi checked his forehead for his temperature. "I d-don't think I h-have a f-fever," he added when Tsuyoshi withdrew his hand.
"Strangely enough, you don't," he replied, raising an eyebrow as he grinned. "I guess an angel visited you in your sleep and made you better," he joked, so similar to something Tsuna's Papa would have said that his grin grew wider and he giggled.
"I guess," he responded cheerily, remembering the wonderful person from his dream. Suddenly, he took in his surroundings and his nose scrunched up in confusion.
"Um, wh-where am I? And w-why are you guys h-here?" he asked, just realizing once again that this wasn't his house and he should still be in the alley surrounded by glass. Eyes momentarily darkening in sadness, he shook it off and looked to Takeshi for an answer. Surprised by the look of askance from Tsuna even though his father was the adult and knew more than he did, he answered his questions.
"You're at my house," he said, glancing at his father for a moment before continuing. "You were really sick. You collapsed in front of my house and I found you and brought you in. My Pops changed you and we let you rest in the spare room we have. We just started eating dinner and then you showed up."
"Oh," Tsuna said dumbly. "C-Can I h-have some?"
This was followed by a loud rumble from his stomach and he flushed, Tsuyoshi and Takeshi laughing with identical grins on their faces as they grabbed an arm each and gently pulled him to his feet, leading the brunet to the table and pulling out a chair for him.
"I hope you like chicken udon," Tsuyoshi said cheerfully as he pulled out a bowl from a cabinet and Takeshi handed him a pair of chopsticks. Tsuna brightened and nodded, his legs swinging under the table.
"Pops makes a mean beef udon," Takeshi informed him from beside him, "but he makes an even better chicken udon because it was mom's favorite and he wanted to impress her."
"R-Really?" Tsuna asked, curious about the fabled star of the Yamamoto household, Yamamoto Nadeshiko.
"Uh-huh," he nodded, pouring some udon into Tsuna's bowl carefully. "Apparently, the first time he tried, he actually burnt the noodles."
"B-Burnt them?" Tsuna asked incredulously. "You cook n-noodles in w-water, the worst that can h-happen is them becoming soggy. H-How did he burn th-them?"
"He forgot the water," Takeshi winked and Tsuna's jaw dropped, Tsuyoshi laughing as he took a seat across the table.
"Yup," he grinned, taking a mouthful of udon. "I've come a long way from then, huh?"
"Uh-huh," Tsuna agreed before realizing what he'd said and flushing embarrassedly, ducking his head. "S-Sorry."
(Please don't hate me, I didn't mean it like that, I'm sorry)
Tsuyoshi laughed and shook his head. "No, you were right. Besides, you were only agreeing to what I said, right?"
Tsuna smiled shyly and nodded, (thank you, thank you, thank you) peering at him from behind his bangs. "Right."
"Now then, eat your udon," Tsuyoshi said satisfactorily, beaming when Tsuna took a bite and grinned with delight.
"It's delicious!"
"I told you," Takeshi said matter-of-factly, hiding his grin behind his bowl as he shared a look with his father. Tsuna hadn't stuttered at all when he said that. Taking that as a silent victory, he suddenly remembered something and turned to Tsuna confusedly.
"Hey, Tsuna, I know you know my name, but how did you know oyaji's?"
"Hmmm?" he gulped the udon in his mouth before answering. "I r-really like the sushi h-here and when Mama or Nari feel like having s-sushi we order from here. It's the best sushi I've ever h-had."
Takeshi swelled with pride at this, his eyes twinkling as Tsuna's stutters lessened. "Yeah, oyaji's got the best sushi in all of Namimori!"
"Yeah," Tsuna agreed solemnly. Tsuyoshi burst into laughter at how seriously he had said that, chuckling as poured more udon into Tsuna's bowl.
"Come on then, eat up. You look like you haven't eaten in a week," he said, eyes narrowing as Tsuna squeaked at that and flushed a dark red. Hmmm. So he knew he wasn't eating right.
"Yes, sir," he managed. His attention then turned to the younger Yamamoto when he mentioned something about not knowing how to solve a certain problem their teacher had been teaching them and how he'd gone over it lots of times but he'd still failed the test because he hadn't understood it at all.
"I can h-help you," he said, startling both the males as they looked at him and he flushed again. "I-I mean, I know h-how to solve it, i-if you need help w-with it. P-papa helped m-me out with it wh-when he came a while a-ago."
"Seriously?" Takeshi asked, beaming at the brunet. "That'd be great!"
"R-Really?" Tsuna asked unsurely, his voice bashful. (He doesn't hate me for being better? He really wants me to help him?)
"Un!"
"Takeshi," Tsuyoshi scolded, "he has to go home soon. I know he was sick and it wouldn't have been right to leave him hungry, but we do have to contact his parents. They should know where he is. I bet they're worried out of their minds. I wasn't able to contact them earlier because I don't know where they live or their phone number and I didn't want to rush Tsuna earlier after just getting rid of a fever, but we really do have to call them and most probably take him home. I can only imagine what they're going through."
"Oops," he said, rubbing the back of his neck apologetically. "Sorry, oyaji, I just got a bit carried away."
"Tsuna," Tsuyoshi said, standing up and gathering the bowls and cups they'd used, "why don't you go use the phone in the kitchen, huh? I'm sure your parents are out of their minds wondering where you are."
Tsuna nodded, his previous cheer gone.
"I-If they even n-noticed," he muttered, eyes downcast as he slipped off the chair and wobbled a little bit, shooting a reassuring look to an alarmed Takeshi. (Why was he so worried, he got hurt all the time, it would have been nothing even if he did fall.)
"Did you say something?" Tsuyoshi asked, brows furrowed as he looked at the brunet.
"No," he answered, stretching a plastic-like smile across his face that hurt his face. (They don't need to know, it's not that serious, I'm fine, everything's fine, I don't want them to hate me)
Ignoring the strange looks he was sent for the unsettling face he had made, Tsuna walked to the kitchen only to pout at how high the phone was. Even though it was lower than normal ones, it was still about a foot higher than him and out of his reach. Huffing, he tried to drag a chair to it only to trip on his pants and flop on the floor. Pouting again, he rubbed his bottom before trying again, unaware of the laughing amber eyes watching him struggle.
"Should we tell him there's a stool in the corner for that?" Takeshi whispered amusedly as he watched Tsuna slip on the hem of his pants again only to trip on them when he tried to stand up again, glaring at the chair adorably.
"Nope," his father answered, chuckling and shaking his head when his grip on the chair slipped and he once again hit the floor. "His butt's going to be really sore, though."
Takeshi snickered behind his hand, having to bite his hand to hold in his laughter at the look on Tsuna's face when he finally managed to push the chair under the phone, the triumph on his cherubic face too cute for words.
"He's too cute," Takeshi gasped, trying not to laugh as he turned the other way, unable to look at Tsuna anymore without bursting into laughter.
"That he is," his father agreed, grinning when Tsuna saw the stool not two feet away and threw his hands in the air and seemed to scold himself for a minute before sighing in resignation, the picture of an exasperated mother after their child did something foolish.
Smiling, the two left him alone to call home in case he wanted some privacy, unaware that is was an unnecessary action and missing the despondent look on his face as he spoke to the person on the other side.
Tsuna waited nervously when he finished dialing his house number, fiddling with the wire as he heard the beep.
"Hello, Sawada residence! Nana here! Who is this?"
"Ma-Mama?"
"Excuse me?"
Gathering his courage, he cleared his throat and stuttered, "I-It's Tsu-kun, m-mama."
"Tsu-kun?"
He felt his heart almost shatter at the confusion in his voice, his previous courage gone.
"Oh, Tsu-kun! What are you doing calling me, silly! You could have just come downstairs, you know. How did you get a phone anyways? Did you use the emergency phone papa gave you? You know you're not supposed to use it."
He fought back against the tears burning in his eyes and mentally kicked himself. What had he been expecting? (Stupid, stupid, didn't even notice, why did he think she would notice)
"A-Actually Mama, I-I'm at a fr-friend's house," he said, scrunching his eyes and taking a deep breath. "They l-let me u-use their ph-phone to call y-you. D-Do you th-think I could s-sleepover?"
"You're at a friend's?"
Nearly laughing at loud at the surprise in her voice (like someone like me could have a friend), he nodded to himself as he replied, his voice cracking.
"Y-Yeah, a f-friend's."
"That's great, Tsu-kun! Of course you can sleepover, have fun! Make sure not to sleep too late though. I'm making pancakes tomorrow because of how well you did on that math test the other day. It was in your pants when I did the laundry yesterday. You're so silly sometimes Tsu-kun, why would you want to hide that? I'm so proud of you! Anyways, I even bought strawberries and whipped cream, so don't be late, ne?"
Surprised, he accidentally let a tear fall through and his eyes widened at the sincere happiness and pride in her voice. She hadn't spoken to him like that in a long time.
"U-Un," he nodded, hope and joy swelling in his chest. (She does care, she does remember, she's proud of me)
"A-Arigato, Mama," he whispered, his tears now ones of happiness and not of anguish.
"You're welcome! I'm just glad you made a good friend. Make sure to introduce them sometime, okay? In fact, you could even bring them over tomorrow!"
"Okay," he replied, wiping away his tears away sloppily with his sleeve and grinning. "S-See you tomorrow."
"Oyasumi, Tsu-kun. Love you."
His breath hitched and he scrubbed his face as another onslaught of tears ran down. "Y-Yeah, love you t-too."
There was a click and he stood there for a moment, simply holding the phone in his hands and blinking away his tears before he laughed. It was a bright, clear sound, full of childish joy and both Tsuyoshi and Takeshi stopped what they were doing for a moment to relish it, smiling to themselves softly.
Hibari Kyouya was stuck. Not in a bog, or mud, or any other earth-related disaster kind of stuck, but stuck figuratively. How damn hard was it to say, "I want you to be with me on my birthday" to someone without sounding like a girl? Apparently, it was fairly difficult. Scowling, he glared at the nearest passerby, a high school girl who promptly squeaked and dashed off. Rolling his eyes at the weak herbivores in his town, he continued to patrol Namimori as he always did while thinking of ways to invite the fluffy haired herbivore whose presence he'd come to enjoy without sounding like a herbivore himself, resisting the urge to vent his anger out on innocent citizens that walked past him.
Sighing internally, his worries were forgotten as he spotted the familiar sushi shop he frequented, having a good relationship with the owner because of some favor his father had done a long time ago. Upon closer inspection, the sign on the door said it was closed but he knew the sushi maker wouldn't mind, especially since on normal nights it stayed open for an hour longer. He was used to catering Kyoya on late nights when he patrolled, 'a gift of gratitude for keeping Namimori safe' he'd say often.
Tucking his tonfas away, he opened the door and stepped through the threshold as the bell above him rang, looking for the familiar black hair and cheerful smile. Sure enough, Tsuyoshi walked in through the kitchen doorway a few moments later, drying his hands on a towel and greeting him.
"Hello, Kyouya-san."
He nodded to show acknowledgement before choosing a seat at the counter and handing him the money for his sushi. This was another reason he frequented Takesushi. While his smiling and cheerful demeanor irked Kyouya sometimes, he respected the man and in turn Tsuyoshi respected him, acknowledging that he was not a normal child and treating him as such. There was also the grace and finesse the older man had when he wielded the knife around his kitchen, but that was different.
"The usual?" Tsuyoshi asked with a grin as he put the money away and Kyouya nodded, glancing at the sign on the door and raising an eyebrow at the man.
"Oh, that? No, it's nothing like what you're thinking. Besides, don't you think I can take care of myself?" Tsuyoshi teased, preparing the fish for his sushi. Personally, the Hibari thought the man could defend himself against his own father sometimes when he watched him waving that knife around like it was child's play. Instead, he simply raised the other eyebrow, a silent inquiry.
"One of my son's classmates collapsed from fever in front of our house. We brought him in and I figured I might as well close shop early. He just finished calling his mother and explained everything to her. She said he could sleepover so Takeshi's giving him a pair of pajamas to wear because the clothes I changed him into got really sweaty."
He accepted this and pondered over his words. His son? He was sure he was in the same class as Sawada, but thought nothing of it. There was no way it could possibly be him. Suddenly, there was a torrent of footsteps from the second floor and loud laughter.
"Come on, you look adorable!"
"I-I'm a guy, I'm not s-supposed to look adorable!"
Kyouya looked up to see what the commotion was only to freeze as two boys appeared in the doorway, panting and wearing pajamas, one of them a blushing, gravity-defying brunet. His eyes widened and he felt an unbidden blush come over him as he took in the sight of the cute boy wearing pajamas three sizes too large for him and causing it to slip off his shoulder, exposing nearly all of him for the whole wide world to see as he tried not to trip on the long pants.
"Look oyaji, isn't he cute?" Takeshi asked, turning towards his father with a bright grin. Tsuyoshi chuckled and nodded, ruffling sienna hair playfully.
"Positively adorable."
Tsuna pouted and he was about to reply when he noticed the raven haired boy sitting on the counter and his eyes widened.
"Hibari-san!"
Unable to help himself, he raised an eyebrow at his apparel, inwardly relishing the blush that came upon the boy's face before pondering why that made him feel so gleeful.
"It's too big for me," he muttered, glancing at him shyly. He snorted at the obviousness of that remark before sliding off the seat and making his way towards Tsuna. Ignoring the splutters from said boy, he lifted the shirt and buttoned it all the way to the top before tucking it into his pants. He then folded the bottoms of the pants, Tsuna putting a hand on his shoulder as he lifted his leg so that he wasn't stepping on the fabric. (So close, so close, he could feel his breath on his skin, oh god)
Stepping back and taking a look, he was satisfied with what he saw and nodded to himself before returning to his seat and calmly eating the sushi he'd ordered, forcing his palpitating heart to calm down. (Why was it beating so fast, this wasn't normal, stop doing that)
Tsuna stood there, fidgeting and blushing darkly as Tsuyoshi and Takeshi stared at him in wonder before blurting, "He's my friend."
"I can see that," Tsuyoshi said amusedly, glancing at the tonfa wielding boy and then back to Tsuna as realization hit him. "In fact, I'd say he's a really good friend."
Tsuna looked at him confusedly before nodding and the older Yamamoto laughed, ruffling his hair once again before turning to look at an astounded Takeshi looking at Tsuna with awe.
"Wow, Tsuna," he breathed before grinning and winking at Tsuna. "I'm glad you have such a manly influence on your life."
Tsuna's face seemed to be on fire as he spluttered and flailed, making the two Yamamoto men laugh as his words failed him.
Kyouya watched amusedly from his seat, smirking when the herbivore turned to him pleadingly, his big brown eyes doe-like before shaking his head the slightest bit at him. Tsuna pouted and crossed his arms, the flush on his face still deep as he tried to scowl at them. Swallowing his last bite of sushi, he stood up and walked to the front door before stopping and turning around.
"I expect to see you at the Hibari residence on May the 5th," he stated, smirking at the flabbergasted expression on the herbivore's face.
"I-Isn't that your-"
"Yes."
And with that he took off, feeling a sense of accomplishment as he breathed in the night air. Bringing out his tonfas once more, he was just about to return to patrolling the town when his name was called out by a familiar voice. Confused, he turned to see Tsuna running towards him, stopping in front of him breathlessly.
"Herbivore?" he asked, lowering his tonfas.
"I didn't get to say goodbye," Tsuna said, throwing him a bright smile that made his lips twitch as he straightened.
"Well then?" he drawled, smirking as Tsuna blushed.
"Goodbye," he said. He rocked back on his forth on his heels for a moment before inhaling deeply, Kyouya wondering what he was up to only to receive his answer a second later when Tsuna tip-toed and kissed his forehead softly.
"A good luck charm," he muttered embarrassedly before turning and running towards Takesushi, beet red and heart pounding as he tried not to look back. (So embarrassing, just wanted to wish him good luck with the patrol, stupid, stupid)
Kyouya stood there, frozen, millions of thoughts running through his head as he processed what Tsuna had done. Suddenly, he smirked and tried to crush the elation bursting in his chest before closing his eyes for a moment and remembering the swift peck on his forehead, an unknown emotion filling him. Feeling rather satisfied with this night's occurrences, he set off once more on his patrol, now significantly more light and smug. Humming the school anthem to himself, he smirked ferociously when he saw a couple of gansters trying to steal money from a woman ahead, raising his tonfas for the upcoming slaughter.
Later, when he looked back at this day, he'd come to realize that the unknown emotion he'd felt that night was almost exactly the same as the one he felt every Thursday.
I'm going to make it a point here; I cut Nana some slack in this chapter because it honest to God boggles my mind how a woman could not care about her own fucking child. I literally cannot stress this enough. What the fuck kind of a person are you to completely disregard, belittle, and FORGET your son?! I can't even begin to comprehend it. It just makes me want to beat the shit out of something because I'm fourteen, and yeah I don't exactly have a kid, but I have a nephew who means the world to me. I am typing this BY HIS SIDE right now as I watch Digimon with him and believe me when I say I would anything if it meant he could be happy for the rest of his life and protected from all the shit in this world.
There will be grave Nana-bashing however, and I will make Iemitsu the better parent in this fic (as best as I possibly can), but I just wanted this to be let known. And I'm telling you, you don't have to give birth to be a mother.
Anyways, enjoy this fluffy feely stuff before the angst appears! Opinions, thoughts, questions and anything else will be answered as soon as I possibly can.
~ForeverBlackSun
Updated: 8/16/2014