AniManGa19930 I love that pairing too honestly, but I also like G/Giotto and lament the fact that nobody else seems to think the same. Maybe for next chapter...hehe ben4kevin so dedicated ;'D ShamelessDilettante Mostly awkward though, right!? ;D xryuchan27 Nope, he's just in a looooooong coma. Wow thanks, people usually don't say I'm funny ;D Hunter-Eve-Storm I KNOW RIGHT? Dramatic!Tsuna is so canon! your ch 4 review - I cracked up reading that ;D Guest Ahhh, the infamous Tuna sandwich? I'm getting to that dear anon - in the next chapter, hopefully! ;D WhiteAnxiety Explained to you your first review via PM ;D I know, I'm all for the fluff *w* nime 2 the Max Wow, you're so kind. Hibari's personality is the one of the hardest but funnest characters I write, because I usually customize him. So. Much. Thanks! n_n
Thanks to AnimeObssesed1116, rentamiya, lord of the scrys, and reviewers up above! I get stumped easily so I always go back and reread reviews to cheer myself up `^`
Sorry for any typos above, missing spell check on my school laptop - (this chapter will probably be edited)- Unbeta'd (for now)
(also, here's some love to CH 9 reviewers - some of my favorites are in there! ;D)
Sorry for taking so long to update! ;w; I do have fantastic ideas for this chapter and the next, so you won't be waiting too long for the next update for this story. Yes, I have taken note that it's been a while since I updated my other fics as well. I'll get to it ASAP, I've been really busy lately, sorry! I wanted to get the first half of this chapter (the more boring parts, in my opinion) out first so you wouldn't have to wait even longer for an update - I will extremely busy for the next few days (midterms, etcetc)
imitation - angel . blogspot . com
^ that's my fanfiction blog - I do frequently update my status on there, so you always know how my fics are coming along. Do check if if you're curious to see where I am! Also, thinking of adding a chatbox on it, but I'm not sure if anybody would want to talk to me ;w;
Notes: (will add to since I'm sure I forgot several things but I'm short on time! eek)
Si tu le dis, mon amour - if you say so, my love
Fermez la - shut it
Also, thanks to MeLoNnAiSE for "Kings!" I discovered this game through her fanfiction "Nami High" (which is fantastic btw)
Tsuna firmly believed that Giotto used his "Congratulations on getting the job!" celebration as an excuse to party. Really. His eye twitched. Why else would there be alcohol involved? He ducked when Reborn chucked another shot glass at him—his tutor seemed to be intent on getting him drunk. The karaoke room was packed—thankfully, with people that Tsuna was able to recognize, seeing that it was comprised of Vongola Café's staff. Unfortunately, he was on friendly terms with less than half of them (the rest were more or less strangers rather than acquaintances).
Unconsciously, his eyes sought out Hibari. The Skylark was resting against one of the numerous couches that were scattered across the room, his face pinched and his body tensed to attack.
"SAWADAAAAAA!" someone slurred as they threw an arm around his shoulder. Tsuna staggered a little from the weight before he found his balance again. After a cursory glance, he determined that it was Ryohei.
"Ryo—onii-san," Tsuna said, hastily using his body as support for the obviously inebriated man. "Why did you drink so much," he groaned as he wondered why the boxer was heavier than usual.
"Careful with that barrel," Lampo drawled beside Ryohei, but made no move to help. Tsuna almost choked when he saw the barrel of alcohol Ryohei was lugging around. No fucking wonder.
"Onii-san, you're not planning to drink all of that are you?" Tsuna said, looking appropriately aghast.
"Don't worry, Decimo. He always has a barrel or two whenever there's a party. Speaking of which, want to try some?" The green-haired male extended a bottle of Grey Goose towards him.
"Er...no thanks," Tsuna politely refused. Because if he got started, then Reborn would most likely pull him into a drinking match. And those never ended well.
"Suit yourself, brat," Lampo said almost affectionately before heading to the drink table to mix the vodka with a diluent.
"EXTREMEEEEE!" Ryohei rumbled before promptly passing out.
"Onii-san!" Tsuna said in mild distress. He pried the boxer's hand from the barrel clasp and hauled him to a vacant couch, carefully positioning him on his side to prevent him from choking on his own vomit if he woke up. After making a few minor adjustments to make sure the boxer would not roll back on his back, he stood up and sighed. He was far too used to this party scene then he'd like to admit—mostly because of Reborn's schemes to get him to "socialize." Unfortunately, because of that, he had escaped the label of "party animal" by a hair's breadth in the yearbook.
"Oi, Takeshi. Hand me a sharpie."
"Aye, captain," came Yamamoto's joking reply. Tsuna ducked to avoid the marker that made a perfect arc over his head. He turned around, already expecting the next scene, having been the brunt of it himself the first few times he had bitten off more than he could chew. Gokudera uncapped the sharpie with his teeth before drawing over Ryohei's face with a flourish. Tsuna averted his eyes covertly, not wanting to become a witness. In doing so, he accidentally made eye contact with his older brother. With haste he broke the connection, lest Giotto tried to do something to put him in the spotlight. To satisfy the blond with at least the facade that he was having fun, he picked up a remote and started flipping through songs on the karaoke station. One particular title caught his eye and he panned the screen over to the lyrics. Alouette. He quickly adjusted the volume so that only he could hear it before pressing play.
"Alouette, gentille alouette. Alouette, je te plumerai." Tsuna's eyes widened. He knew this melody. It was a popular children's song. "Je te plumerai la tête. Je te plumerai la tête. Et la tête! Et la tête! Alouette! Alouette!" Tsuna stopped the karaoke machine, brow deeply furrowed as he raked through his brain for the meaning of the song. Alouette...it was a French song concerning...a lark. Hibari meant skylark in Japanese. He knew for a fact that it wasn't the raven-haired male though, given that he was in the same stall as he was in when the rendezvous occurred. Two others with possibly the same surname were Alaude and Fon. However, he knew that Fon meant wind in Chinese—he used to know a girl named I-Pin who would give him Chinese lessons from time to time. Alaude, on the other hand...quickly, he flipped his phone open and googled it. In seconds, search results popped up—Alaude means "skylark" in Italian and French.
Tsuna searched for Alaude in the crowd, finally finding him seated next to Giotto with an unreadable expression, although his body language indicated that he was uncomfortable. Tsuna's eyes dropped down to survey his shoes, confirming his suspicions when he saw the silver clasp. The brunet cocked his head to the side, wondering why his brother and Alaude met secretly in a bathroom of all places. Unless there was more to the story he didn't know...it would be unwise to surmise. His eyes narrowed in deep concentration as he recollected the events that led up to finding himself in a stall with Hibari. Hibari had offered no explanation as to why he had been standing outside the employees-only door.
Deep into his musings as he was, when someone shoved a glass in his hand he absentmindedly took a sip to sate his thirst. The burn of alcohol going down his throat made him grimace and pulled him out of this thoughts as he recognized the taste. He made a face—whoever mixed the cocktail had added too much lime juice. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve. Judging by the burn going down, the tequila was cheap too.
"Oi, lackey. What kind of margarita is this?" A solo cup was chucked in Tsuna's direction, and he ducked to dodge a flying object. Again.
"W-What? How could this be? I followed the recipe exactly—Colonello-senpai!"
Said blond sniggered as Reborn glared at him. Tsuna winced at the volume of Skull's voice before setting his drink down at an abandoned table.
"Hey, kid—welcome to the Vongola frat house, kora!" Colonello shouted. A round of drunken clapping and cheering followed. Oh. So this was what the partying was about. "Congratulations on snagging the job too, kora!" the blond added in as an afterthought.
"Tsuna, come over here!" Giotto called, signaling him to the massive circular table where most of them were seated at. The table's center was carved out, leaving its shape to be fairly reminiscent to a yen coin's. Obediently but hesitantly, Tsuna made his way over to where everyone else was assembling, almost jumping in shock when he saw Kyoko and Haru. A girl with a shade of amethyst hair sat between them.
"Kyoko-chan? Haru-san? What are you two doing here?" Tsuna asked, confused.
"Dame-Tsuna. You already forgot what I told you the first day?" Reborn snorted and took another drink from his glass.
A "Hi, Tsu-kun!" and "Hi, Tsuna-san!" came from Kyoko and Haru respectively. Yuni stepped in to explain their absences—Kyoko, Haru, and Chrome—the purple-haired one—all worked two jobs, alternating between the daycare and the café. The daycare had been swamped as of late, so Kyoko and Haru had taken momentary leave. Chrome had been out sick. Tsuna nodded his head at the clarification before introducing himself politely to Chrome. The timid girl shyly introduced herself in turn.
"Be nice to my adorable little sister, Sawada Tsunayoshi-kun. Kufufu." Tsuna blanched, failing to draw any connection between the two. One seemed introverted and quiet while the other was...perverse, to say the least.
"Sit in any seat. You'll move anyway," Giotto said. Tsuna took a seat next to Gokudera, who was sitting next to Yamamoto.
"Come on Hibari-kun, your brother's playing," he heard someone pout. After craning his neck a little, Tsuna saw that it was Elena.
Hibari gave her an are you even serious look. "Why would that matter," he deadpanned.
"...So is Tsuna," Elena added mischievously. Tsuna choked, accepting the glass of water frantically thrusted at him by Gokudera. What was she thinking?
Hibari glared at Daemon's fiancée for a second before replying. "Fine."
"Yay—"
"Is that what you thought I'd say?" Hibari cut in, rolling his eyes. "No."
"Reborn, help me out a little here," Elena whined petulantly.
"What game are we playing?" Yamamoto asked in the middle of their exchange as he drummed his fingers on the table.
"Kings," Asari answered helpfully.
Tsuna's eyes widened. He had played several variations of the game before. And whenever alcohol was involved... He smiled nervously at Elena. "Hibari shouldn't—doesn't need to play if he doesn't want to," he said, mentally smashing his head against a wall at his word choice. Hibari would probably see it as a challenge and rise up against it.
"Hibari. Play and I'll owe you a match," Reborn said suddenly, smirking deviously at Tsuna as he reveled in torturing his ex-student.
"Hn." Hibari mulled over his options for a few seconds before trudging over begrudgingly (in a dignified manner, of course). Tsuna sobbed in his mind. What was with Reborn being able to control everybody anyway?
Elena took the seat next a seat over from Tsuna, placing her purse in the empty seat beside her, managing to state her objective blatantly without ever opening her mouth: The only available seat was next to Tsuna.
Tsuna gulped nervously when Hibari grumpily sat down next to him, his mouth drying and futilely wishing that Giotto would excuse him from this game. Which he wouldn't. Duh. A flash of red in the corner of his eye caught his attention and he turned around, jaw dropping a little when he saw that it was Enma with his older brother and Basil. He hadn't heard from Enma since—oh. Tsuna's face flushed when he realized the reason why—he hadn't checked his phone ever since he...Hibari...bed—
Tsuna downed the rest of the water in a single gulp to keep himself from thinking about it. "Enma-kun, Basil-san. Cozart-san." He waved. He glanced around for some empty seats, finally realizing just how many people were crowded around the table. Giotto turned to see what was holding the party up, grinning widely when he smacked G on the back.
"Your lover's here!" Giotto said loudly.
G rolled his eyes and called Cozart over as Elena took her purse off the "taken" seat. Hibari snorted.
Since Tsuna was already sandwiched, Enma bravely chose to sit down next to Mukuro while Basil took the seat beside Enma.
"Everyone's finally here. Now let's get this party started, kora!"
Tsuna made a pyramid out of his three (empty, for now) shot glasses. There. Now they didn't look so intimidating next to the bottle of Barcadi—one of the higher profs that guaranteed a drunken stupor and a bitch of a hangover in the morning if too much was consumed too soon. The four underaged girls were given bottles of the soda of their choice instead.
Daemon took his station at the hole in the center, his role being the dealer and cocktail mixer. He shuffled a pack of cards expertly (Tsuna shivered when he remembered their game of Foltern).
"Stop showing off already and deal out the cards," Elena piped up cheekily. Daemon rolled his eyes and sighed.
"Si tu le dis, mon amour."
"Fermez la," Elena muttered with the slight beginnings of a blush.
Tsuna took a sip of his Skyy cocktail to determine what it was exactly—he hadn't really clarified when he flippantly asked for "Anything with Skyy in it." Giotto must have tipped Daemon off on what Tsuna liked, because it was a Bellagio—he always did like sweet drinks—or rather, sugar in general.
He bit his lip nervously when Daemon started handing out the cards. The rules were fairly simple (although altered, as Tsuna expected). Twos meant you gave someone a drink. Threes meant you take a drink. The Jack made up the "round rule." The sole King in the game was the power card, and the Jokers were under its whim. Twenty seven cards made up the altered deck—one king, two jokers, one jack, twenty twos, and three threes.
Tsuna flipped his card over when it landed facedown on his spot—two. He breathed in relief. Hibari took a drink beside him—he had gotten a two as well. Tsuna refrained from staring at the pale skin of Hibari's neck, finding himself terribly curious about what type of alcohol the Skylark liked. No matter, it wasn't any of his business anyway, he chided himself as he took a drink.
Fon held his king in between his fingers. "Jokers?" he asked serenely.
"Aw, shit." Colonello turned in his joker. "Who's the other one, kora?"
"It's me," Cozart said. Even Reborn had to chuckle at the mismatched couple.
Everyone waited in anticipation for Fon's order—G especially.
"...Switch seats."
"You suck, Fon," Colonello whined. The martial artist shrugged. Sadism really wasn't his strong point...although he could only promise that when he was sober. Cozart shrugged at G before moving to sit next to Lal and Reborn. Asari received the Jack—ordering for everyone in a red shirt to drink up. G, Gokudera, Fon, and Cozart drank. Knuckle, Chrome, and Elena received the three threes—giving the drinks to Lampo, Haru, and Mukuro respectively.
"I thought you'd be easier on me, kufufu." Mukuro took another drink from his glass.
Elena's eye twitched. "It'd be the exact opposite."
"Your words wound me," Mukuro said, feigning hurt as Daemon gathered up the cards again to shuffle them. Elena sorely wished that Mukuro sat closer. She would've kicked him under the table, foul play or not.
The next round of cards was dealt out.
"I have the King," Kyoko announced cheerfully.
"Hahi! Not fair!" Haru placed her two down on the table and took a swig out of her soda can.
Tsuna flipped his card over. Joker. Damn...although he doubted Kyoko would think of suggesting a hardcore dare. Who was the other joker?
"Looks like Hibari got the other EXTREME joker!" Knuckle said, who thankfully, unlike his brother, seemed to have a volume cap. Tsuna paled.
"You better not have rigged the fucking cards Daemon," Giotto said maliciously as he pointed an empty bottle of Skyy vodka towards the dealer. Daemon held his hands up in surrender.
"I did nothing, I swear."
"Just listen to what the King has to say," Lampo drawled. "Peasants."
"Oi, you get a couple drinks in you and then you think you're all high and mighty? Come over here you little fuck, I'll teach you a lesson—" Giotto clamped a hand over his best friend's mouth.
"Watch your mouth, G."
"Are you just going to let him go like that?" G said, teeth clenching in frustration. "Little brat needs to be taught a lesson."
"And a lesson he'll be taught...later." Giotto smirked. G snorted but relented.
"Oh, I got it. Switch drinks with each other!" Kyoko ordered cheerfully.
Tsuna briefly felt a flash of alarm before pushing it away. There was no way Kyoko would've known about his earlier curiosity about Hibari's drink. He pushed his drink towards Hibari. The elder swapped it out with his glass before reciprocating the gesture.
"Drink up!" Kyoko encouraged.
Tsuna eyed the glass in front of him. The mixture was clear with bubbles and a slice of lime. It was easy enough to guess what it was, but the taste on the other hand... He licked his lips once nervously before taking a sip. Immediately, he set the drink down, his action coinciding with Hibari's as they both shot each other a look. Hibari's drink was a classic—gin and tonic. The Tanqueray and Schwepps combination was not odd in itself, but just the amount of each ingredient used resulted in a drink more bitter than he would've liked. In contrast, he could tell that his drink was too sweet for Hibari.
"Can we switch back?" Tsuna suggested, acting on both of their best interests.
"Hmm," Kyoko hummed. "Now that you asked, no."
"..."
Tsuna was beginning to see wisps of a devil incarnate.
Alaude, Giotto, and G all received the threes of the round. The trio gave Hibari the drinks with sniggers (mostly Giotto and G). Hibari glared at them before taking drinks out of the too-sweet concoction. Mammon received the Jack, and he/she (Tsuna still hadn't figured out) tonelessly ordered for everyone in the Arcobaleno section to drink up. Reborn, Colonello, Lal, Fon, Skull, and Verde drank.
Daemon dealt the next round.
Giotto, who was well on his way on working through his second drink placed his King down triumphantly. "Time to play this game right. Two jokers make out for at least ten seconds. Make it hot."
"I always knew you were into voyeurism," Daemon said.
"I'll be a voyeur to your murder," Giotto muttered.
Fon turned in his Joker with a wince. His eyes widened slightly in surprise when he saw Mammon follow suit beside him.
"Oh, one of the jokers is actually a girl. Not bad considering the ratio," G commented. He got a particularly nasty glare from Mammon for revealing her gender in front of everyone—well, only the Decimo section were kept in the dark anyway.
Tsuna blinked. Oh. So she was a girl.
"...I'm not getting paid enough to do this," she complained. She eyed the high prof Bacardi bottle before facing her acquaintance/sometimes friend/always rival (in her mind anyway).
"How should we go about this..." Fon trailed off when Mammon moved to straddle his lap.
"Get it over with as fast as possible. After all, time is money." And with that, the Arcobaleno pressed her lips against Fon's and went straight for tongue.
"Tsuna, shield your eyes!" Giotto said pointlessly.
"You are such a hypocrite sometimes." G rolled his eyes.
Although Mammon was in the power position, Fon was surprisingly adept at wresting the control from her. With her arms entangled around his neck, he was free to move his own as he wished—and he took full advantage of that, running his thumbs along her sensitive sides. Mammon reacted instantly as he knew she would, and she pressed against him firmly as he sucked lightly on her tongue.
"Get a room," Skull jeered when the ten seconds were up. Mammon immediately tore away from Fon, regretting the decision even though she knew she shouldn't.
"Don't forget your place," Mammon growled and smacked Skull against the head.
"O-Ow! O-Of course not Vip—Mammon-senpai!" Skull earned another smack for his slip up on Mammon's name.
"Good show," Giotto commented, his smile light although he briefly wondered if there was anything going on between the two. Only time would tell—and they had plenty of it tonight.
Basil, who received the Jack and was smiling tipsily, was about to give the rule before promptly passing out. Enma grimaced but had an amused smile playing on his lips when he went to drag the intoxicated lightweight out. Skull, Lal, and Yamamoto received the threes—the first giving it to Reborn, the latter two opting for Verde.
"You'll regret that choice, lackey," Reborn said sinisterly. Skull gulped.
Cutting this in half for aforementioned reasons. Please drop a review in the section below if you have time, that's typically my motivation TT^TT
/this fic isn't that popular lately, but I have so many good ideas fkslfjlaga