Some fuzzy short chapter on a day after the last chapter, and I really mean short I'm sorry because I don't have as much confidence in writing as before. I don't know why, but that stupid thing call writer's block is really annoying. Sorry.
Thanks to all the people who have supported me so far, I love you all. This chapter is for you guys, and for myself.
Reader's POV
Epilogue Chapter I: Painting
It was a sunshine glorious summer Sunday afternoon, and naturally, the sun is vomiting all the stored up heat energy onto the earth surface, so much that one could even claim to see a mirage in the horizon and not be accused as mental because everyone would be off their bat if that was so. Meanwhile, in a seemingly small cottage hidden in the forest on the far end of the town, numerous men stuck between adulthood and childhood were bored and tired and hot and anything emotions negative related to the blazing heat trapping sweat between skin and clothes. A leisure Sunday spent lazing around could be perfect but-
''Why don't we do something today?'' Giotto clapped his hands together enthusiastically as he sprang to his feet, a large silly smile plastered on his face which was exactly like a sun in the dark cloudy night feel of the atmosphere in the peaceful cottage.
''Oh I never like the sound of that.'' G mumbled, his arms covering his lethargic eyes and his neck tilted backwards to rest on the headrest of the couch to gaze lazily through covered eyes at the ceiling with his hands slung lazily behind the couch.
''The previous time he did this, oh god I don't want to remember.'' Daemon dive his face into the soft velvet of the couch, groaning and stuck a palm out.
''He made us run around the whole goddamn swamp five times to chase down a lizard. A Goddamn lizard. Like seriously, a lizard? Because why? It was yellow colour, like his hair. And that's all. '' G snipped sharply, lurching forwards to fix Tsuna with an incredulous look, rolling his eyes and reiterating because it was absolutely necessary to bring across the point.
Tsuna burst into a high-pitched and endearing laughter, making the pits in Giotto's stomach bubbled with a fuzzy and warm sensation and he couldn't help but not feel apologetic for that little accident he made his guardians went through. And he wanted to get them back at the snide comment they made. They were chasing after a lizard, yes, but a big lizard.
''I was really sure I would become famous for discovering a new species.''
A crocodile. And crocodiles are definitely yellow.
Those cheeky brats.
''Let's paint the house.'' Giotto suggested calmly.
''Okay.'' Lampo responded almost immediately.
''WHAT.'' Was the only coherent response from the rest. Tsuna wasn't over his laughing fit yet, so let's rule him out.
''Ho?'' Giotto crossed his arms and a smirk crossed his face at Lampo's underlying challenge in his words.
''It's just painting isn't it?''
''Yeah?''
''Like…'' Giotto noticed the stark pause, he noticed it, and he noticed Lampo's eyes widen a little and his adam's apple bob up and down a little when he spoke. ''On a paper… with a thin brush like this…'' Lampo held up a thin strand of something red to show it to Giotto's scrutinizing eyes.
''What in actual hell?'' G pointed at the red hair and experimentally took a small bundle of his hair. ''How on damn. Urgh all this is so absurd I'm making absolutely bullshit.'' G looked over everyone, noticing the expressionless eyes he was getting and a pang of pain jabbed his heart. ''URGH OH GOD LEAVE ME ALONE.''G finished with an outburst and stomped off like the mini elephant he was with purposefully loud steps.
''Sorry not sorry.'' Lampo laughed and flicked off the thin strand of hair onto the floor and clapped invisible dusts off his hand as though the hair did contained thousands of germs and bacteria. ''He was always so protective of his hair, I just wanted revenge is all.''
''Plot twist: Lampo was always the one teasing G.'' Daemon slid in that comment out of nowhere which made everyone chuckle a little at how amusing G's princessly temper always was and how Lampo was really a manipulative genius.
The laughter died down a little afterwards, to which Giotto harrumphed to get everyone's excitement under control again.
''Let's repaint the entire house.''
''No way.'' The guardians waved him off and shrugged their shoulders, lazily strapping their limbs on the spacious couch, with the exception of Asari sharpening his blade and Alaude still reading a leather-backed novel with his back stork straight.
''Why not?'' Tsuna's small voice made its grand entrance and suddenly he could feel all eyes trained on him with that meek comment. ''I have always wanted to do painting… I…can't?'' Tsuna hesitated and his self-confidence faded into oblivion as the guardians stared at him incredulously. Tsuna's loveable, irresistible, irritable, annoyingly cute, moeish teenager, or rather a child, hormones began to ooze out of his young face and seeped into everyone's heart and made it ache for being so rejecting of a young little boy (Though Tsuna's the oldest)'s little wish. Yes, even Alaude's stone hard heart was softening, cracking, whatever.
''Ok.''
''Thank you Tsuna.'' Giotto beamed his perfect rows of white teeth shining and he snuggled his face into Tsuna's soft brown locks and petting a small kiss on the scalp while breathing in deeply the flowery scent of Tsuna's shampoo. Giotto found it hard to get sick of Tsuna's natural fragrance that was so unlike other teenagers.
Tsuna's face steamed up and completely turned molten red, even Giotto could feel the heat burning up and he slot his arms underneath Tsuna's armpits to slide them casually around Tsuna's thin waist as though they were always meant to be there.
''S-stop it.'' Tsuna stuttered nervously, stealing a few meek glances up at the guardians who had gotten used to the light petting they do in the house for the past few days when Tsuna suddenly appeared like he did five years ago.
''Oh no, stop flirting in front of us already. I will go and buy the paint.'' G suddenly magically appears again and was covering his eyes with his long sleeves.
''I will buy the brushes.'' Alaude said abruptly, slamming his book shut and slotting it carefully in his pocket. ''Is there a problem?'' He asked with his steely grey eyes scanning over the Vongola Guardians.
''No nothing…'' They sweat dropped a little at glint in his dark cloudy eyes, not so willing to argue their point on how rare the mighty standoffish Alaude actually joined in AND volunteered to do something.
Giotto's smirk grew as large as his ego at managing to budge the large boulder known as Alaude, a feat not only the Sun guardian can perform.
''Come on, let's go to work!''
One hour later,
''Here.'' Lampo whined at his sore muscles and tossed the bucket of orange paint carelessly, almost toppling it if not for Giotto's lightning fast reflex.
They laid the flooring of the cottage with starched parches of unwanted yellow paper and newspapers, deciding firmly that they will only paint the first floor and the outside of the cottage.
And the fun begins.
Half an hour into the task when everyone was covered in sweat and speckles of paint, the doorbell rang.
Giotto got to the door first in the dog race with Lampo and G, smiling triumphantly before opening the door with a full paint bucket in his hand.
''Surprise!'' A bunch of red hair burst into Giotto's vision and engulfed it entirely. No the red wasn't something soft, it was wet and dripping and between the splotches of scarlet rain he could see a mischievous smirk.
''COZART.'' The fists by Giotto's side trembled a little before abruptly jerking up and splashed a mop of red hair somewhere in his vision.
''AHAHA YOU MISSED GIOTTO YOU MISSED.'' Cozart laughed and ran out of the house and slammed the door neatly shut.
''COZART COME BACK HERE.'' Giotto screamed, jerking the door open in under one milliseconds and lunging at Cozart's waist to catch him but the slippery weasel him wasn't going to be such an easy catch.
''Oopsy.'' G smirked when he tripped Giotto over.
''Hey! Mmmphf!'' Lampo cried out when G overturned a pail in a wild goose chase initiated Giotto around the inner of the house, what with G constantly ducking under low-hanging stuff or jumping over tables or doing some monkey acrobatics far too graceful and absurd to be considered normal in a cottage full of people painting. Lampo was half covered in a mixture of gooey yellow and dark green mixture and that set him off.
''Oh, the little brat is after me now too?''
All hell broke loose in the peaceful little cottage as bird twittered cheerful summer songs in the woods and bird were gliding along slowly in the cooler summer winds, unaware of the highly destructive war raging on hidden behind the walls of the cottage half coloured in pastel and gothic themes.
Grand Finale: Everyone was covered in gory paint in their entire painful glory.
o0o
The guardians were teasing Giotto. They were meant to be on this task where they have to catch this big alligator which had covered its entire body in fallen yellow autumn leaves to camouflage while waiting for preys to fall into the trap. Thus the yellow crocodile.