How long has it been again? I was planning to update this last month to tide it over my exams but editing took too long, and I was a bit distracted, but hey, most of my exams are over and edits are generally done. I hope you like, and sorry for the long wait.
"M.M, I want you to be my partner."
M.M froze. She stared blankly at Tsuna, her mouth half open as if she wanted to give an answer, but couldn't find the words. Tsuna seemed to worry, but she could hardly hear him through the pulsing in her ears. She closed her eyes, thinking, wondering, just why she was so floored by the request, and why she was so…disappointed. Had she expected more? What had she expected? She didn't know. Tsuna blinked, and a look came onto his face as if he suddenly understood something. His hands flew out in a placating manner, and his words fell out in a clumsy tumble.
"I-It's okay if you don't have an answer now! I… I just wanted to ask you first- It's no problem if you can't- I mean, no, well…" He finished off lamely, and M.M felt a warm flutter in her chest that made her almost crack a grin. She took a deep breath, and actually thought. If she joined hands with Tsuna, she could have a direct impact on the Vongola, and subsequently the mafia. But she would essentially be joining the Family that had murdered hers. Her blood ran cold.
"I…" Tsuna perked, his eyes peering curiously. "I need some time." He seemed to want to say something but stopped. He shook his head, a gentle smile on his face.
"No, it's fine. Take your time." He looked around briefly, before gesturing to the spread in front of them. "Why don't we finish up and go home? You have to be tired."
She looked at him, studied him, before nodding.
"Okay."
By the time they wandered back into the house, it was late. The night sky was lit up by city lights, and painted dark blue. But outside the city, where the Vongola mansion was, the sky was black, with dashes of stars that were tossed haphazardly about. The mansion loomed over her, as if hostile. She didn't feel safe- should she really help Tsuna if she felt this way about his Family?
She kept quiet even as they separated to their respective wings. The Vongola had separated Tsuna and his two dogs from the rest, placing them closer to the office that would eventually hold the brunet. It was empty now, what with Nono bedridden, but Tsuna had told her he would be working tomorrow, looking through past papers and talking to Nono's guardians for the experience. He was basically just 'filling in' for Nono while he was hospitalised.
She stuttered to a stop in front of her room. She had already seen it, and hated it with a passion. A 4-poster cushioned bed that had silk bedding and pillows made of real feathers, walls painted a gaudy yellow and expensive add-ons that had her frowning- she wondered just how much of it was paid using money they had taken from the unsuspecting?
Her skin bristled in disgust.
"M.M-chan?" She almost jumped, but quickly squashed the thought as Chrome stepped out of the shadows. Had she been there for long? "Why are you standing outside with that kind of face?"
M.M froze, before she scowled. "What does it have to do with you?" She almost spat it out, not knowing why she felt so resentful all of a sudden.
Chrome hesitated, before gulping and shifting herself to stand straight in front of M.M. Her voice was steady, but was still gentle. "I'm just worried…about you." The comment was tacked on, quiet and careful. Her big round eyes peered up at M.M, simultaneously firm and placidly probing.
M.M felt compelled to tell her about everything. Tsuna, the truth about her history with the Vongola, her dad, the proposal to lead the Vongola- she didn't know what to do, and a part of her wished for a third party to make her decision. Still.
M.M felt something stir inside her, something that curled and twisted, a bitter feeling that soured her chest, and she swallowed the feeling, and glared at the girl.
"You have nothing to be worried about."
With that she turned, placing her hand on the knob, when something Chrome said made her freeze.
"You're one of my friends, so I am still worried."
M.M faltered, and there was a discomfort in her core. She gave a sneer, and scoffed aloud. "You really need to choose who you want to be friends with."
Chrome gave a thin, wavering smile. "Boss once told me that I should give everyone a chance."
M.M snorted. Chrome continued.
"And I think you should too."
M.M once again was caught off guard and saw Chrome's gaze on her, unshaken. It was a gaze that seemed to see right through her and the thought of it left her vulnerable and open. She looked away, and saw that her hands were shaking. Wordlessly, she pushed her way into her room.
The door closed on Chrome's face, her eyes still glowing with molten flame.
The click resounded in the empty room, and M.M dumped herself into the sheets with a storm in her head. She thought, an action that had become so ingrained in her routine that she had long realised that it mostly circled around one topic – Tsuna.
Her thoughts found the swell in her chest familiar, yet different. It was something like how she felt for…Mukuro.
It came crashing, a realisation so obvious that she wondered just how she didn't catch it before. Suddenly everything fell into place. She pushed herself up, and caught her face in her hands and her cheeks burned at the touch. Her voice was brittle as she said the confirming words. They felt heavy on her tongue, like it was being set in stone.
"I'm in love with Tsuna."
Her heart swelled like a flood, engulfing her in a bitter feeling that sprung angrily behind her eyes. She pulled her knees closer to herself, and tried to make herself smaller in the overly large darkness of the room.
Tsuna sneezed as he unlocked the door to the office. He sniffed, wondering if he was catching a cold. It wouldn't be surprising, seeing as everyone was still asleep. The sky was still dark, but after Reborn's Spartan training, it was hard not to wake up at 5 in the morning, even when said tutor wasn't there. Physically, at least. Tsuna knew him long enough to realise the bastard was always watching.
He stifled a yawn, and shifted his body. Slowly the drowsiness faded, and he walked into the office. Reborn had already given him the vague details of what he was supposed to do, before he flew off to whatever mission he had.
Tsuna wondered what it was, but waved it away dismissively.
He rifled through the mess of papers, and started to sort them out. Nono, surprisingly, was rather messy, and each type of form was haphazardly strewn about. About three quarters had hints of stress, a pen nib dug too far into the paper, handwriting almost illegibly scrawled on the lines. Tsuna even noticed that a few were torn, but carefully pasted back together such that the marks were hidden. He wondered just what kind of activity the Nono had to go through to be so stressed.
At the thought of his faux grandpa, Tsuna frowned. He thought back to their last conversation, about how he practically lost his cool, about the fact that the background beeping only seemed to get weaker and weaker. He clenched his teeth. He vaguely noticed as the room got a bit brighter, and red tinting the papers in front of him.
His thoughts, without interrupting his sorting, morphed into another topic, one he couldn't quite grasp. His fingers tingled. He found himself thinking vaguely, his mind floating far away into the thoughts of 'I want to protect her' and 'I want to see her smile again'. It didn't quite escape him that he was thinking of a sun-like grin and red, red hair-
"Jyuudaime?"
He looked up, without really stopping his fingers.
"Ah, Gokudera-kun, and," another person popped from behind the door frame, "Yamamoto. Good morning." He greeted, before frowning. "Why are you up so early?"
Gokudera frowned. "Jyuudaime, it's almost 10. We thought you were still asleep, and the attendants said you hadn't eaten your breakfast yet."
10? Tsuna gave a cursory glance at the clock. Gokudera was right, and it was then that Tsuna realised that the room had become much, much brighter than the lightless room he had walked into. Instead, the lamp he had turned on was hardly doing its job, and was at best, useless at this time.
He gave a sigh, wondering just what he was thinking so much about that he didn't see the time. Reborn would've shot him by now for not paying attention to his surroundings. He fought back a shudder.
"Tsuna, you coming to eat?" Yamamoto broke his train of thought. Tsuna opened his mouth to answer, but still took a while to answer.
"Oh, yeah." He set down the pen (was he still writing?) and followed his friends to the dining room. The last time he was there was the day before, when he sat at a long empty table and stared at the spread of food. While it was tasty, he felt a bit empty, back then. At least now he had his friends with him.
He walked a bit faster to catch up to the other two, who had lapsed into another argument. He felt lighted watching them, an unnoticed tension disappearing.
The feeling faded slightly when he heard that M.M had already eaten, and was going out with Chrome and Mukuro to get a feel of town. He hoped she wasn't avoiding him.
Ryohei cheerfully greeted him a 'GOOD EXTREME MORNING!' and Lambo merely laughed at him even as the cow child just about stuffed the dishes into his mouth. Hibari was so far away from them Tsuna could hardly see him, but he saw the Cloud Guardian lift up his head in acknowledgement (as far as Hibari would). He sat between Gokudera and Yamamoto, and, deep in thought, began to eat.
"Hey Tsuna." Yamamoto ignored Gokudera's chiding to 'not talk with your mouth full, it's disrespectful to Jyuudaime'. His voice was vaguely muffled, but the question was all too clear. "Is she the one?"
There was a pause.
"W-What?"
Yamamoto laughed and he wiggled his eyebrows jokingly, but the look on his face was definitely not laid-back. "Maa, I mean, I don't think you realised, but throughout breakfast you had been sending glances at the other side." Tsuna blinked, before turning to Gokudera for confirmation.
The bomber reluctantly nodded his head. Yamamoto only added, "Also you looked really sad when we were told she already left. You also went out with her, and only came back around 11. Also…"
Gokudera cut in, his face serious, "Jyuudaime also gets that face when that woman's involved."
Tsuna opened his mouth to protest, but nothing came out. Yamamoto stared at him gravely. His voice dropped into a whisper. "She's the one you're gonna tell the elders about right?"
Tsuna gaped, his face involuntarily flushing. "I…" His eyes flickered away from his friend's prying eyes, before he stood. "Maybe…" He risked a glance at Hibari, who was glaring at him, probably for the noise. He gave a nervous chuckle that sounded almost hysterical. "I think we should talk in the office." With that he excused himself from the table and walked away.
Gokudera followed immediately, but Yamamoto took a while, his face thoughtful. He looked like he wanted to say something, but sighed and followed after his two best friends.
Tsuna gestured vaguely to the couches, asking them to sit as he poured them tea. It seemed the maids had filtered in during breakfast, and through some information he'd rather not think too much about, had made some tea. The scent confirmed that it was his favourite type. He didn't bother wondering how they knew that, it was the Vongola.
He shifted back to his friends, setting their glasses (Gokudera mumbled something about how he should have helped) on the desk, and looked anywhere but Yamamoto. Didn't stop the baseball player from staring though, and Tsuna could feel the intensity of it without even looking up.
What did Reborn say? Oh right, natural hitman.
Tsuna swallowed, wondering just what to say. How about everything? A voice that sounded familiar said. Tell them everything.
So he did.
"Ten years ago, the Vongola killed M.M's family."
And he explained everything, not really watching his friends' faces. He told them about how Nono acted purely on rumours alone, how he attacked a family (while not allied to the Vongola, they were never particularly hostile either) without a shred of evidence, how he simply swept it under the rug and left it there for dust to settle.
They were silent, and Yamamoto's face became slightly fixed. Tsuna felt a hint of worry for his friend, but stayed silent, letting it sink in. After a few moments of silence, he continued.
"You guys know that I want to change the Vongola." There was a silent agreement. "Reborn told me that the Vongola people…" He paused, wondering if the room could have been wired, but he couldn't feel anything. "And you know they said that if I got a lover, someone who could stand at my side while I lead, and who could be a leader where I'm not, they would approve of the direction the Vongola would take."
He was almost choking in the tense atmosphere. Everything was too edgy, stretched too thin that he was afraid it might be doing something to them right now. Yamamoto's shoulders were scrunched tight, and Gokudera looked vaguely disconcerted. He forced a smile.
"I thought M.M would be the best choice, but before I knew it… I fell in love with her." His smile turned more genuine, gentler at the curve of his lips. A warm feeling settled in his chest, like a flame spreading to the tips of his fingers and toes. To say it aloud was exhilarating, and lightened the load on his chest. That's right. There was no more 'I think' about his feelings. He was in love with M.M. And now…
"Now all I want is for her to feel the same."
The tension lightened, and it was only Gokudera who seemed to have the decency to blush at Tsuna's bluntness. Yamamoto stared at him, before relaxing and letting out a bark of laughter. He swung his arm over Tsuna's shoulders, and grinned.
"Well then. That's settles it then! I'll support you guys." Tsuna looked at him, before letting out a quieter laugh. He grinned, happiness shining through.
Gokudera watched them with a quiet snort. Unbeknownst to him, his own mouth was quirked upwards in a smile.
Reborn walked through the building with quiet steps, hiding from view just by acting he was meant to be there. Nobody even looked at him, despite the fact he was (physically speaking) a child walking through a half-mafia headquarters. Sliding to the right, he smoothly jumped and slipped into a vent that Leon had helped open. He crawled through the vent and found the room he wanted with a sharp grin. With a clink, he pulled away the vent cover.
Reborn scoffed at the lack of security, but decided to save it for another time. He had a mission, and he was the best, and obviously wouldn't fail.
He slid down into the office, and kicked Iemitsu in the face.
The blond sputtered as he fell off the seat in an extravagant manner, while Reborn simply landed elegantly on his desk. He stared down at Iemitsu, a patented look of disgust already etched onto his infant face.
"Reborn?" Iemitsu asked dumbly, one hand cradling the back of his thick skull. Reborn merely clicked his tongue. "What the hell did I do this time?"
Reborn regarded the fellow with prying eyes, feeling uncharacteristically bitter about the man. He knew the sacrifices that he had made, that everyone in the Vongola and the CEDEF, and yet, it still left a bitter taste in his mouth. (It wasn't even the good kind, like espresso.)
"It's Tsuna."
Iemitsu straightened, eyes widening as he stumbled forward to face Reborn.
"What? What happened? Was it that girl? I knew she'd do something! Dammit, I had the evidence and yet-!" Iemitsu stumbled around the desk, shuffling about and pulling out his computer. Reborn narrowed his eyes as audio filtered through the scratched and worn equipment.
"I wanted to trick you into letting Mukuro take over your body."
Reborn barely reacted, and Iemitsu didn't really expect him to.
"I knew that she was trouble, and now Tsuna's hurt and I didn't do anything to protect him, and-,"
"Tsuna's not hurt you idiot."
Reborn stepped closer to Iemitsu, and even as an infant he looked menacing. But then again it's Reborn, so…
"Look Iemitsu… I will say this once, and only once."
Iemitsu managed to not cower at the low tone Reborn had adopted.
"Trust your son. He isn't that kid you left behind in Japan anymore. He's grown up, changed, and he's the Vongola Decimo. Whether M.M has any more ill intentions, he will deal with it with his Dying Will. If you don't trust him…" Reborn tipped his fedora. "You will lose any chance of ever forming a proper relationship with him."
Iemitsu stuttered, before he slumped, gaping at Reborn. If it was possible, Reborn's face turned slightly gentle, just a tiny hint. He gave a sigh. "He's not thirteen anymore, Iemitsu. You don't need to hover over him. If you continue, Dame-Tsuna would feel suffocated, and only hate you more. Wake up, and realise that."
Iemitsu stared, wide eyed, as he turned his gaze stiffly to the photo frame hidden in his drawer. Reborn had seen it so many times that he knew it was one of the family. Tsuna held between his mother and father, a picture of the ideal family. You wouldn't have thought of two of them being in the mafia.
Reborn felt a little sorry for the man, but didn't say a thing. Instead he mindlessly patted Leon on his forehead and looked at Iemitsu. His voice was curt as he added one last thing.
"Think about it."
He turned and left without turning back.
Please take the time to review if you can. We'd always love constructive criticisms, fangirling episodes, and general comments like 'update pls'. (nah I'm joking. We'd genuinely love if you guys reviewed)
Thanks for the 39 (whoa) reviews for this story so far, I hope you had enjoyed the chapter.