Hey, it's been a while… I know! I know... I'm sorry!

Between the army service and a demanding relationship, to a new job that kept me away from home sometimes for almost a month at a time and a particularly pitiful mistake that deleted all the files regarding this story and other stuff I have written, I literally couldn't find not the time nor the motivation to keep this story updated. Then, a year away spent traveling followed by six months of intensive studies and here we are...

Sorry, but I recently figured that there will always be distractions to keep me from writing and that it's time to get some more proportions into life. Those proportions came to me the moment I heard a siren and had to go take cover in a bomb shelter, and then heard a rocket hit next to my house.

Life is too short to be taking it too seriously.

So now that the apologies and explanations are over, as far as I'm concerned, we could go on to the chapter :]

Enjoy.

Of Coincidences

As seemingly peaceful as the room might have appeared, with such silent tension regarding the dire situation they were in the midst of, all the residents were using their time of breakfast to come to terms with their current predicament. Some conversed about recent events, quietly, with whispers, while some, deciding not to voice their worries, kept to their own. All in all, the pressure of time added to the stress of uncertainty and the oppressing feeling that settled around the dining table could not be ignored by it's occupants.

Except by Tsunayoshi Sawada that is. Tsunayoshi Sawada was currently eating breakfast, a blank look on his face as he is silently engaged in a debate inside his own mind. Disconnected from reality and safely unaware of the levels of stress building out of his box of thoughts. Some people with the knowledge about recent events would guess he was distracted by the capture of two of his guardians, but that was not the case at the moment. While there is no doubt at all that the young Vongola was the one single person in the room most worried about the well being of his two close friends, his thoughts were forced to settle on a different matter entirely. That issue was related to a certain Varia leader, a person who took over the teen's thought process in his actions two night before that morning.

Speaking hypocritically, the man said, "Let go a bit," he looked down with something akin to sincerity in his eyes.

He could feel his cheeks burning as he remembered that look he was given, so honest it was painful, so consuming it left nothing of him hidden. Recalling the next thing Xanxus did, his blush deepened.

Coaxing Tsuna's head to look at him by a gentle upward push of his fingers, he said, "You were wrong when you said that when everyone else would become involved it wouldn't matter anything. If this is the only thing keeping you away, then fuck them! They are not the ones who matter to me, you are!"

The absolute power and harsh words got to him, under his skin, into his veins. Tsuna was young, and he truly didn't know how to deal with this situation. With nothing to give him any clue this was going to happen, he was pretty sure he could have dealt with such a proposition a lot better had he had any experience in the delicate art of relationships.

Since appearing in the future, they have been moving from one messed up situation to another. Surprises kept appearing as they run into obstacles and multiple hazardous circumstances.

And then there was Xanxus.

Out of nowhere, just showing up, the man's presence immediately caught the teen's attention. It was impossible for it not to. Not having to wait, fast enough, he even had the reasons for the man's constant gaze on him laid out for him, albeit in an unconventional way.

"You will never understand how difficult it is for me to stop myself from getting close to you. How difficult it was to do so all these years. And how impossible it is to do so now." a lick to his ear and a shiver later, it continued, "This is the only time for this, the last chance at this..."

At that time, he was honestly helpless. Hanging on to the body pressed on his, his attempts at movement desisting, he could do nothing but process the words being whispered so softly in his ear. For some reason, this man, a man Tsuna knows close to nothing about, managed to bring up emotions, attractions, he never knew himself capable of.

"This is the only time for this, the last chance at this..."

Only now, only here. That voice was pleading. And he felt himself pulled along to the sensation. This man is the future Xanxus, not the same one he first met and fought against. Maybe at some point in their life they were one and the same, but now, the difference is obvious. What could he have seen in this future to make him develop such strong feelings? This was a Xanxus that was not from his time, and therefore one that knew more about who the young leader would become than who he is at the moment. But still, he was asking for this chance, for the possibility to gain Tsuna's affection even through the possibility of losing him again soon after. The more thoughts rushed through his head, the more he concluded that none of this made any sense to him. What wa-

"-diot! Oi! Tsuna!" barely processing his moving surroundings as his head collided painfully in a loud bang with the dining room's floor, the teen forced himself to look up as he heard Reborn talking to him. "-eriously, what are you doing, spacing out after almost everyone left the room? We have training to get to, let's go!"

Without a word, he followed.

Sometimes, when certain separate incidents take place as one follows after the other, in an unstoppable chaotic sequence, we manage to witness the unique chronological succession, the one known in better terms as 'coincidence'. Coincidence, by definition, is an event that might have been arranged although it was really accidental. Therefore, while appearing as a set of predetermined occasions, the coincidence is in fact an unintended occurrence, leading mostly to a diverse series of reactions by the surrounding individuals.

Today was a day when such a coincidence took place.

Similarly to that same morning, a group of people, both from the past and the future, sat down for their meal time in the dining room. While the situation had not changed, the long day of work took a lot out of the residents of the Vongola Underground Headquarters. Training, information gathering, patrolling, guarding... while every person had their own duties, they all spent their day serving Vongola, holding the resistance and keeping the hope for a better future burning still. The quiet at this time of the day was more natural, with simple tired talks around the large table. Even though the tension and worry never dissipated for a single moment, they all felt like they are making progress in their own fields, leaving them more relaxed knowing they are doing all they can for their ultimate purpose.

"Man, today was rough, going through all the files and confirming all those identities, looking at each and every one of those folders for eight hours without taking a break, I swear my eyes are going to fall out if I don't close them soon so they could rest." an unknown worker shared with his colleagues. His eyes red from fatigue and his voice exhausted. "I'm not going to complain because I know this kind of work is needed, but doing this every day without stopping to change the environment is tearing me slowly, I don't think I can stay in much longer."

The man to his left sent a sympathetic look at his friend, "I know what you mean, our department kept collecting records from all occupied areas, one of the guys decided he quit once we got orders to keep working through lunch time, we were getting close to finding some really good things for a breakthrough, but that guy was already at his limit when the news came." looking to the other side of the long table at a guy who's both hands were bandaged, he lowered his voice even more. "Said he couldn't take it anymore, broke all his own damned fingers, poor guy spent the rest of the day recovering while being scolded for his selfishness."

Looking up with everyone else when he heard the sound of the door being opened again, the man saw his Boss enter the room. He wasn't really his Boss, or he was but more correctly 'will be' is a better way of putting it. The kid was tough, training all day, every day, not complaining, barely even talking with his own companions. Seriously, compared to the Boss they all knew, the one the Family came to love and admire, this boy was a mystery. Not to say you couldn't see the potential already, since there was plenty just rolling off of him with every move he made. To think that this is how the beginning of the legend called Sawada Tsunayoshi looked like, amazing.

He was shorter than his future self and not as muscled. He was too self aware to look like a Boss yet, but you could feel the power he held when he walked by. His hair was shorter and a lot messier, face still too young, but what got to his future subordinates the most was his eyes. So naive those brown eyes were, the flames behind them dancing with pureness that was lost over the years in the mafia. This boy had not killed, had not lost life and had not given orders that could end with one or the other as a direct result.

The young man walked slowly, not showing weakness but weariness that was easily explained by the deep bruises and burns from his obvious intense physical training. On his shoulder, the faithful Hitman of Vongola, Reborn, looking content with the day's events.

And then it happened.

The worn out boy walked without notice of his surroundings, his eyes unseeing as he bumped into the guy whose fingers were broken at the same moment the man got up from his chair and tried unsuccessfully to hold his tray for disposal, food remnants splattered everywhere and the metal tray clanked loudly on the floor, attracting the attention of all those who weren't already following the young Boss' movements. The silence took over in a heartbeat as apologies were exchanged and the baby Hitman Reborn landed on the table next to the two idiots. Holding his hand out just for a green bat to appear, he showed no mercy for his already battered student for neglecting awareness and sent him flying...

… right into the Varia leader's arms.

The dark haired man, who just walked through the door, held his Tsuna tightly in his hands, helping him for just the right time for him to connect his brain to his legs once more. Sending a glare at the room, the licensed killer took his time to promise death to every person in the room, effectively freezing all that he set his eyes on.

Looking at the young one who didn't know yet he was already his, Xanxus leaned down in full view of everyone in the room, and pressed a kiss on his Boss' forehead.

"I'll prove it to you." was what he said, but only he seemed to know the meaning of his words. Even Reborn's face couldn't be described as anything but surprised, Leon back in his form holding onto his lowered hand.

But hearing that voice, as the same warm arms folded around him, put Tsuna's mind back on track again. It all happened so fast and those words flashed in his mind in a single, simple thought. Those words were what officially closed the incident of that day. The context was Tsuna's reluctance to accept Xanxus and the motives behind his actions. So at that moment, those words clearly appeared for a split second, the same second in which Xanxus' face grew even closer to his own while he was too shocked to retreat.

The kiss was short, as bold and lasting as it was, in a matter of seconds it was over. Practical, imprinting and claiming. And it wasn't over yet. Sneaking through Tsuna's abandoned defenses, Xanxus drew much closer, now completely wrapping himself around the teen. Repeating his actions as he had done the day before, he attached his lips to the younger Vongola's ear and spoke softly, so this would be the only ear that would receive those words from him.

"I told you I don't care to involve them, let them watch." enjoying the feeling a soft gasp from the teen gave him, he smirked "I already know you are mine, and the only question right now is..."

"Do you?" he asked, loud enough for everyone to hear and wonder as he pulled his head up and returned to full height, loosening his tight grip over the small body.

With one last look around the room and a satisfied expression engraved on his face, he proudly walked out, carrying himself with awe inspiring dignity and aristocracy few had managed to be associated with.

Xanxus kept walking, with these minutes being his last time before the next period of fighting started, he was content with his show. Sawada Tsunayoshi was his, and now everyone else knew. He could leave now without regrets, knowing the statement was made and the young Boss would be forced into constantly thinking about him by countless inquiries by his associates. To think the boy would just fall in to his arms the second he stepped into the room, what a coincidence.

It might be some time until he gets to see him again, but after today, he had more hope for getting his own piece of the sky Vongola.

Tsuna couldn't believe what just happened. Standing with his back to the room, he stared at the now closed door with glazed eyes as he distanced himself from the outside world once again. As the whispers grew into loud conversations, the teen closed his eyes and concentrated on keeping his reaction to himself. It was bad enough this happened, it would be a lot worse when they get to see his tomato red face and emotional eyes.

Anger. What was his most unused emotion so far took over on behalf of his freshly revived sense of pride. Vongola the Tenth almost couldn't forgive the guy for putting him in this humiliating situation, almost, because his damn intuition wouldn't let him forget it was something he brought on himself as he unknowingly 'challenged' Xanxus to prove his resolve to him.

While Objectively looking at the situation, the calm and more dominant side of the Vongola Boss had to admit it was a good move on Xanxus' part. Still, it didn't mean he had to accept it, no, definitely not, no way in any sor-

"-na!" he vaguely heard as he was forcefully wrenched from his thoughts. Opening his eyes to look at the current attacker shaking him to consciousness. It was Ryohei.

"Hey, little bro, what was that all about?" the energetic sun guardian was in his face, unblinking as he turned the unfortunate Boss to face the rest of the room. "That guy kissed you to the EXTREME!"

Tsuna's cheeks turned red, his embarrassment feeding the anger that lingered in the back of his mind as it called for retribution. His mouth wouldn't open.

More faces kept interrupting his vision as he came back to his body. He didn't want to deal with them. He turned around and started marching.

Sawada Tsunayoshi had something to do.

Vongola the Tenth was walking through the corridors fast. For all his recent history of hesitation, his were now focused forward, set on continuing his road of conviction to retaliate and give his own answer to the one-sided resolution which was forced on him just moments before. The new Sawada Tsunayoshi didn't do anything halfway, that was what he decided just then.

This new kind of emotion he couldn't describe with much success overflowed his rational judgment as his feet carried him flawlessly to his destination, set by his intuition. The closest he came to decipher and interpret this overpowering feeling he was experiencing was that it must have been a combination of anger and intrigue. Both of which have rarely been used to describe the young Boss. As he wasn't used to it, he succumbed to the consuming feelings when they swept him through the corridors and brought him to his objective.

Arriving just in time to see the group of assassins stand up to leave the base, the brunette stepped into the nicely furnished room through the unlocked entrance with little courage and not much plan to rely on. Given to the Varia as some sort of lounge, the room was large enough to host the violent group, but not too large for the determined Tsuna to find his normally intimidating target looking at him with plain surprise.

With confidence he never imagined he could have, the Vongola walked the straight line until he came face to face with Xanxus. Tilting his head up, one memory took over and rose above all thougts in his mind.

"This is the only time for this, the last chance at this..."

With his head already tilted up, Tsuna laid both of his hands on the taller man's shoulders, locking his eyes with the darker set he pulled himself slowly up, and pressed his lips to the other silent ones. It was not a long kiss, and it was definitely less intimate than the first one he got, it was just lips on lips, but it was enough.

Enough for the teen to feel the smile pressed against his.

End of 3\6.

I know it's short, and without much conversation, but I was serious when I wrote I lost all notes relating to the story. Which means the bases of all chapters I wrote before I even uploaded it. This was written from nothing long after the loss of the original, but I have to say that I feel so much more satisfied with the way this one will be going. Version two of 'Empires' is definitely the better one I thought of.

I can't promise an update too soon, but it will be less than a month until the next chapter and less than two months for the story to be completed. It's a promise.