A:/N: Hello guys~! Welcome back! This is a completely rewritten chapter. Just from 2,000 words I've managed to stretch the story to 9,183 words, which doesn't include this text here. I'm taking my time with this story, and I'm trying my very best to strenghten the plot, to make the story go much more smoother for you, my dear readers.
I hope I haven't made a mistake. I know I haven't uploaded for a damn long time, but, once I am certain that these old chapters are rewritten, polished, until then, no new chapters will be posted. I'll be writting next chapters, but I won't upload them until I know for sure these are good for reading.
I apologise for any mistakes. Please, enjoy. Oh and if you are an old fan, I advise reading the story again since I am changing some of the chapters from scratch. Thank you very much for opening my story. :) I love you all!
Main pairing: G27
Tsuna – 16 years old
Giotto – 21 years old
I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!.
"You should know Italy and later Japan stood along Germany's side during the World War II. against the Main Allied leaders that-..." The dark-haired history teacher's voice faded out as he continued lecturing the small group of students who were still dead set on listening.
Most had fallen asleep while the rest were daydreaming or on their phones, and then there was Tsuna, staring out of the window at the rustling trees as wind blew through their branches, not paying any attention to the man.
He sighed softly, listening to the deaf sounds of someone snoring behind him as his gaze watched multicolored leaves from yellow to brown drifting in front of the glass of his window to the playground on the other side of the street.
Tsuna's gaze softened as he noticed a group of little kids playing tag together, their parents sitting not that far away and chatting together over meaningless topics. The park looked a lot nicer today, some volunteers must've raked the dead leaves into large piles yesterday to make it look cleaner and more presentable.
Unfortunately for them, once the children found the piles, all work went down the drain.
A soft smile tugged on Tsuna's lips, brown eyes watching as the children dug their chubby hands into the piles and began throwing them up in the air and repeating the process. In just a matter of minutes, the park was full of dead leaves again.
Tsuna's content gaze trailed up to the sky. The weather was surprisingly nice for the season. Wind showed itself once in a while, and the sun was peeking through the clouds, warming up the small town.
Passers-by walked on the side walks, some laughing while the rest shook their heads at the childlish laughter drifting from the park. Couples huddled close for warmth. The usual traffic with it's booming noise.
An ordinary day it was.
Tsuna's attention returned to the kids and felt his curiousity spark up as one of the children, a boy, ran towards his parents, getting automatically lifted up by his father on his broad shoulders. His mother pinched the boy's nose, as if to scold him, but they ended up laughing in the end.
The warm scene made Tsuna's heart ache and upon realising it the brunet frowned. He tried rubbing the spot like he'd always done, but the uncomfortable ache didn't want to go away this time.
His brows knitted together, baffled by this comprehension. Why did that scene seem different to him? They hardly ever bothered him ever since he gave up on the hope of his parents changing.
So why? Why again today?
Was that sweet scene making Tsuna long for it? His gaze shifted back to the bench, only to find the couple gone.
His lips morphed into a frown. Maybe it was.
He always wanted a praise from his parents during the time of abuse, at least that; doing everything as they asked, hoping that the bit of affection would change them.
Especially when Iemitsu left for work. His bad influence on his mother fell off for at least a while and Tsuna could finally breath without his demanding authority circling and choking him.
He had a chance to possibly re-establish his relationship with his mother on a different stage. Except it never worked out in his favor...
For a moment he wanted to switch places with that lucky boy and that thought left Tsuna horrified and cold.
No innocent child would ever deserve to go through such hell. That was so selfish to think, unhuman even. Tsuna felt disgusted with himself. This was his problem and no one else's. His burden to carry, one that he will take care of.
A depressed sigh escaped his lips soon after. All rebelion ceased it's fire. Tsuna couldn't do anything. What was he thinking?
If only Iemitsu's visits decreased. If only they weren't so frequent these days, then maybe he still would have a chance to stop the abuse, make them a real family.
But Iemitsu always rips that little bit of hope from his grasps, tears it apart and then stomps at it for better measure.
"It's fun! We are just having fun, my Tuna-fish!"
Getting kicked and hit around doesn't clarify as fun in Tsuna's book. The sick smiles presented to him each time during the beatings are enough to start a panic attack. That nickname makes him nauseous.
He needed to stop. It wasn't healthy to think like this.
Resting his chin against his fist, Tsuna's eyes wandered back to the autumn colored leaves, slowly being lifted by the wind up to the vast Sky. It brought peace to his mind.
The beautiful sight alone made the teen smile.
Wham!
"HIEEE!" Tsuna shrieked, his heart going bersek at the loud slam of a book against table. The sound itself woke up all of his classmates, who were now eyeing them with caught breaths.
"What, exactly, are you doing Dame-Tsuna? No day dreaming is allowed in my class." The history teacher scolded, glaring down at the startled teen nervously fidgeting in seat.
"U-Uh... I-I'm... s-sorry..." Tsuna apologized softly after gulping a mouthful of air, dilated eyes trailing off to the side and refusing to meet the teacher's scolding gaze.
The man pushed his glasses up his nose while staring Tsuna down, at loss of words as to what to do with this failing student.
A minute later an audible sound of irritation rattled in his throat when the the brunet still refused to look up. Tsuna flinched in response and stared at his desk, legs clasped together and trembling, not wanting to anger the teacher more than he should.
"I've heard you've been caught like this three times since morning already, that number being the limit. Go visit your homeroom teacher after class. I'm not going to tolerate this." He declared before turning and walking back to the front of the classroom.
"Your parents will be surely happy." Was said next, and the room erupted with taunting laughter. Angered by that, the teacher proceeded to quiet them down while Tsuna hunched his shoulders, trying to make himself as small as possible to get away from the humiliation.
Of course, of all other people that hadn't been paying attention, that were drooling on their desks with their faces vissibly plastered against the wood... only Tsuna got caught.
There was no doubt someone really hated him out there.
"If all of you've calmed down, then we will continue with the lecture. Flip to the next page and-..." The teacher continued where he left off once the class grew completely silent, blabbering about the same hundreds of years that affected their country just like every history teacher they'd had.
The lecture would be interesting if only the man didn't have such boring voice.
With the teacher's back facing the class, the students could throw nasty glares in Tsuna's direction since because of his stupidity, they now have to pay attention. They didn't get any satisfication out of this, however, because Tsuna refused to acknowledge them.
His head had turned back to the window, gaze shifting to the free, endless blue sky.
Even though the autumn enrolled in... the sky looked just like the one you would have on a sunny day during summer.
Beautiful, and absolutely breath taking... reminding him of one certain golden haired man. Tsuna blinked then frowned, wondering how could his train of thought travel to Vongola-san like that and quickly blushed.
The same happened on the three previous periods as well, since he had left the blonde's office actually, his mind kept returning to that moment whenever he spaced out.
Well, of course he was worrying since the man hadn't slept at all and looked very tired, but...
Something like that was still very strange. Considering the fact Tsuna was still unsure what to think of Giotto and he only reminisced about his horrid past just now. It didn't bode well for him.
The brunet stared at the flat surface of his desk, a light green pen carelessly twirling between his fingers. No matter how much information he absorbed from the man, he just couldn't figure the Italian out and Tsuna was good at that with his years of experience.
He's nice and only wants the best for him, so Tsuna doesn't need to worry about the blonde trying to hurt him. That's for sure and giving him some kind of relief.
But what else? The man's nature was confusing Tsuna. Giotto had called him a friend with such positive and earnest expression, it surprised Tsuna so much he had no time to inspect if it was a perfect lie or honest truth.
He believed it and in the moment of joy accepted his words as if they were a blessing from the Lord himself.
Such honesty doesn't exist however: it had been faked for years, and badly. Tsuna hadn't seen real honesty until meeting the Italian, so of course the logical part of the brunet told him the man was faking it as well.
Vongola-sensei is just very good at it, that's why it's hard for him to see through his lies. Tsuna couldn't afford to fall for it twice.
Teeth dragged across his bottom lip as Tsuna's hand clutched the pen, concentrating too much on the matter.
No one else would try to play it off that well if it was a lie, however... that had been bothering him ever since he'd met the man. Now what was he supposed to do? Was it right for him to believe in the blonde? Believe his words that one day Vongola-san will free him from his parents' grasp?
Tsuna's lips pressed tightly together into a thin line. That thought is absolutely irrational and impossible. Why would anyone try to help out the Dame-Tsuna?
He was so tired of this anxiety he had in trusting people.
It had been harder for him when he was a small child invissible in the society, hence kids have their own imaginary world which not even parents understand. Except the present Tsuna isn't that naive, little kid anymore, so why couldn't he just get over it and start over?
He scowled from the rising frustration and squeezed the pen in his hand, barely realising the stares he was getting from the back of the room.
Giotto proved himself and not just once, grinning and accepting him as a real being and not pointing out his shortcomings like everyone else. But there was this dangerous aura surrounding him everywhere he went, which the brunet was afraid of.
It could be comparable to bullies and delinquents and Tsuna took extra effort to stray away from those, only Giotto's was ten times worse if not even more.
Would... would it rise to surface if Tsuna made Giotto accidently mad? The brunet would rather not do that, and so far Giotto only got angry at his classmates for valid reasons.
The pen stopped and hang loosely in his hand as he pictured that moment. Vongola-san looked really terrifying with that scolding expression which send trembling even the toughest guys in school.
Tsuna smiled, feeling warmth pool in his chest as he remembered how Giotto stood up for him that one morning.
He could try to loosen up a little bit more, it wouldn't do any harm. Tsuna pondered that to himself at last, finally deciding to give in and his gaze trailed off to the clock hanging above the board.
Only five minutes left.
"Hey, it's only up to you, but if you ever wanted some company... I'll be here. Anytime."
Cheeks burning red, Tsuna bit his bottom lip to block out the squeak when that flashback hit him out of nowhere, seeing the sheepish smile Giotto wore as he had told him that on his way out. Only that man could make the brunet feel so flustered and frequently change the color of his skin like a chameleon.
The butterflies fluttering in his stomach were a nice addition, though. Tsuna liked the feeling as his palm settled on the area and his cheeks burned a shade darker.
Even in a moment like this, when Tsuna should be paying attention like a proper student that he sees himself as, the tall golden-haired, amber-eyed man invaded his mind once again.
Tsuna whimpered quietly, not quite sure if out of misery or longing when the bell rang and the teacher announced them to leave before they stink up the place.
Squeaking of chairs slidding against the floor filld the room as students stood up and gathered their books. Tsuna packed his own items silently, not noticing the growing footsteps coming from behind.
As two shadows loomed over his shoulders, Tsuna quickly paled and got roughly shoved to the ground without getting a chance to react, his bag falling beside him with its contents spilling all over the floor.
"Ha!" Kensuke Mochida stood tall and menacing in front of the terrified Tsuna, a big grin stretching across his face. "You can't go without properly saying goodbye to us, Dame-Tsuna! Soooo~ see ya next week!"
"Loooser!" The kendo captian chanted with his companion mockingly before bursting laughing. Not wanting any more trouble, Tsuna stayed on the ground, his head hanging low in defeat while listening to the two bullies walking away satisfied.
Once he was alone, Tsuna glanced at the scattered items surrounding him and released a tiresome sigh. Fortunately, that was his last class with Mochida and none of his things got broken or torn from the hard impact with the floor. That was some luck indeed.
Now Tsuna only needed to hope the guy will leave him alone for the rest of the day. It would be nice to get at least some peace when there's a hard weekend awaiting him.
That thought alone made Tsuna gloomy again, expression dejected as he reached for the closest book, only for his hand to flinch back as a larger hand came into the view and picked it up for him.
Startled, Tsuna's head shot up and the teen vissibly blushed at the sight of the smiling man crouching in front of him, the one that has been residenting his mind since today's morning.
His chest tightened momentarily, feeling how his heartbeat went erratic as if lighting struck him.
"Do you mind if I help you?" Giotto asked politely, once again wearing that charming smile of his that made all girls swoon. Unable to stop himself, all of the blood gathered in Tsuna's cheeks and he slowly shook his head. "N-Not a-at all... "
No more words were needed.
Comfortable silence settled between them as Giotto helped the brunet gather his items, both unconsciously moving closer and closer the less items were on the ground.
In a matter of minutes, only last book was left. Giotto and Tsuna reached for it at the same time, elbows brushing as their hands touched. Both froze, their breathing halting also once they noticed how close their bodies'd gotten.
Tsuna's face changed into an interesting shade of red, being the first to pull his hand back and waved both in front of the man.
"I-I'm s-sorry!" He quickly apologized, his blush deepening when Giotto chuckled at his frantic reaction.
"It's fine. Here," Giotto placed the book into the smaller hands gently without touching before it was placed into Tsuna's bag and zipped shut swiftly, noting the awkwardness surrounding them.
Tsuna found it hard to breath, feeling almost claustrophobic with the intense sensation of being choked and thankfully, he wasn't the only one. The teacher looked a bit skeptical himself, but didn't say a word about his blush, for which Tsuna was glad.
"Uh, I was on my to the headmaster's office when your history teacher came up to me and told me to be expecting you in my office." Giotto told Tsuna, breaking the silence as he looked the brunet in the eyes.
"Did something happen?" He asked next and the brunet's jaw tightened. Giotto looked honestly concerned.
"U-Uhhh..." Tsuna honestly didn't want to talk about the fact he had been daydreaming about his teacher of all other things, but he had to come up with some kind of an excuse to hide suspicion at the least.
Right...?
"I-I guess... I-I spaced o-out... a-a little...?" Tsuna didn't find that very convincing.
Giotto didn't raise any questions unexpectedly. "So I've heard. Your behaviour concerned other teachers that had lectured you and they informed me beforehand. Are you okay, Tsunayoshi-kun? Do you feel unwell? You looked okay during our talk." Giotto's voice was full of worry and axniety for the teen, his gaze mirroring his thoughts.
Tsuna wasn't sure what to make out of it, but, shame on him, he felt happy for the worry Giotto was presenting. He was a tad bit glad the teachers told him beforehand, although he knew they did so just to make him feel worse.
Taking his silence as a sign that there is actually something wrong with the teen, Giotto continued, his hand reaching to check the brunet's temperature. "If you don't feel well, I could drive you..."
Home?
He stopped himself just in time.
Giotto almost forgot that this boy's life doesn't contain happy parents loving their child, so that option had to be thrown out and never mentioned again.
The less time Tsuna spends there, the better. He couldn't stand seeing the brunet covered in white bandages hidding the dark wounds he has underneath. The thought alone made Giotto sick, wanting to do the same, even worse things to Tsunayoshi's parents.
"V... V-Vongola-san..." A meek voice whispered, snapping Giotto out of his thoughts to face a darkly blushing Tsuna, noticing that his hand had been on his forehead this whole time.
He immediately leaned back from the teen and gave a sheepish smile as blood rushed to his face this time, coloring it pink. "A-Ahaha... I, uh, sorry. Uhm," He lightly coughed into his hand, needing distraction with the situation being so damn awkward.
"I've been wondering if... it would be alright if we had lunch together?" Giotto asked, mentally cringing at how random that sounded. Yeah, make the situation even more awkward with a weird question that had nothing to do with it in the first place.
Oh my god. What is wrong with me? Giotto honestly wanted to know.
Surprisingly, Tsuna didn't seem bothered by the randomness of the question. His lips turned into a shy smile, another action Giotto wasn't expecting and nodded. "S-Sure... I-I h-have a... b-bento t-today."
Giotto detected more breathlessness in Tsuna's voice than what usually heard and, with worry getting the better of him, leaned into Tsuna's personal bubble again, wanting to examine something.
By that point Tsuna's entire face was burning bright red, his breath hitching as Giotto got even closer, his warm breath tickling the brunet's skin pleasently. Tsuna was slowly melting.
"You look fine to me. Could it be the change of weather? Some people are sensitive to that." Giotto mused aloud after taking a step back, looking Tsuna all over again and trying to figure out the situation at hand.
The man probbaly wasn't aware of his actions when worried, which would explain Tsuna's more than enough close encounters with his chest wanting to explode from the rapid thudding of his heart. However, this realisation only proved that it was getting out of hand.
"I-I'm f-fine!" Tsuna squeaked out next when Giotto tried to unbutton few buttons on his shirt to allow some circulation as the blonde'd said, struggling to keep the man's hands away from him.
Giotto blinked, startled more or less, but pulled his hands back. "Okay... if you say so."
"Y-yeah..." Tsuna was nodding a bit more frantically than normal, shifting uneasily in place, "...w-we, uh... s-should get g-going..." He murmured.
Having Giotto so close was making Tsuna feel very, very faint. It didn't make sense actually, although he was sitting on the ground already, his legs were like jello, not wanting to move at all.
"Right," Giotto stood up with grace, not shaken at all by their proximity like Tsuna was, and even helped the younger male to his own woobly feet. "I heard the rooftop is a perfect place for lunch in this season. Would you like to go there?"
He didn't need to be so polite, but it was a part of his charming personality which Tsuna was liking more and more for a fact, shameful fact. Tsuna swallowed thickly as he eyed the Italian's ever elegant smile, silently pondering if he could take that.
The worst possible scenerio would be Tsuna falling flat on his face and slidding across the hall after trying to pull off an acrobatic piruette to escape his bullies they could stumble upon.
The possibility of that happening would be more than ten percent, and if Tsuna counted his clumssiness in, and Giotto's presence forcing his knees to buckle at any moment, it would rocket to sixty-five percent.
But no pain no gain as they say, so Tsuna gave a weak smile to the tall Italian as his head bobbed once. "S-Sure..."
Giotto returned the smile with his normal, brighter one, which beated the over blinding grin that had wanted to break to the surface, and turned, striding towards the door where he waited for the small brunet to join his side and let him walk through the door first like a good gentleman.
Tsuna didn't like that gesture very much, but appreciated it for what it was. He was no lady, not even female to who that gesture applied, and yet it made him blush as Giotto fell in step with him, and Tsuna could feel the raw excitement rolling in his stomach as their arms brushed.
Although Tsuna was excited for his officialy first lunch with the very attractive teacher, (the previous ones that had ended in a disaster don't count), he soon realised why was it such a bad idea to pick in the first place.
While walking through the crowdy hall, more and more students turned their way and stared, and stared and stared silently, before gossips broke loose that drew attention of the others.
In a matter of minutes, there were so many judging eyes watching them, trying to pierce them with their gaze, Tsuna was actually starting to believe he was literally getting cut apart, piece by piece, slowly.
It was as if Tsuna'd stepped on enemy's territory and just one wrong move would be enough to trigger horrible tragedy for his poor self as he stared at the floor, trying so hard, and at the same time hoping, his trembling was hidden.
Giotto's presence right next to him was comforting enough for him to succeed and keep relatively calm until they would reach their destination. Whether Giotto had scared them off or not, Tsuna wasn't sure, but there was much less students waiting for them at the stairs leading to the third and fourth floor, and lastly the roof.
The pair took their time as they ascended the stairs, muttering a thing or two about the weather when they finally reached te quiet place. Giotto even locked the door to keep any intruders out before sitting down next to Tsuna already holding his open bento on his laps.
Giotto gave Tsuna a warm smile when their gazes met, as per usual, before a golden eyebrow was raised once he saw the bento's contents. "Is that suhi?"
Tsuna nodded with glee. "Y-Yes... i-it's my f-favorite."
"That's nice," Giotto smiled although he didn't want to, but the boy's bright mood was infectous it seemed.
"I-I r-remember... " Tsuna stammered as he looked Giotto in the eye, "... y-you saying y-you... d-don't like s-sushi... w-why?"
Giotto knew it was a bit offending to the Japanese for him to not like their traditional meal, but he isn't the type to tell lies. He had tried it and the taste simply didn't appeal to him.
Giotto smiled sheepishly as he unwrapped his bacon toast with tomatoes after pulling it out of the leather bag. "I'm not a fan of raw fish to be honest. I'm sorry."
Tsuna's head bobbed to one side and his shoulders tensed, but his expression didn't tell he was offended. The brunet was more shocked by the combination Giotto chose for his lunch. "H-Have you t-tried them?"
"Yes, I have. I'm not that kind of person that will just plainly say he dislikes something without trying first." Giotto explained, then took a bite. Tsuna cringed a little at the cracking of the bread. It looked slightly burnt if one looked much closer and Tsuna knew better than anyone else. His teacher didn't seem to mind it, however.
"I-I see..." Tsuna finally got himself to look away and prodded at the salmon sushi roll just to keep himself distracted. Blurting something out about the choice of meal wouldn't do any good.
"I've gone to other restaurants as well, but it made no difference," Giotto continued after swallowing, then smiled at Tsuna when he stuffed the sushi into his face to keep his mouth shut, "I like home-made food better."
"I-It is b-better..." Tsuna agreed. He stared at his lunch box as Giotto continued to eat his sandwich or whatever it should be resembling in silence.
"U-Uh..." Tsuna fidgeted a little and glanced at the taller man next to him. Giotto made a small noise in his throat as he turned to Tsuna, chewing with grace.
Oh, the handsome Italian is only the grace, Tsuna's mind reminded him as he bit his bottom lip. He turned his body towards Giotto's and offered his bento to him, looking expremely nervous with his brows furrowed and hands trembling.
"W-Would y-you l-like...?" His voice shook with each letter, this being the first time he offered his food to someone else other than his parents and he was clearly hoping his cooking will change the man's mind. But what if he won't like it either?
"Oh, sure, I would love to, thank you," Giotto had blinked, surprised but leaned to him closer, looking over each little roll for one that would fit before picking one at the far end: the piece being cucumber with tuna sushi roll.
Tsuna eyed Giotto's face for his expression as he put the roll into his mouth and slowly chewed. He almost broke into his panicking mode when Giotto looked to be taken aback by the taste, for a second worrying Giotto will spit it out, but the Italian actually reached for another and ate it with a pleased smile.
Tsuna's cheeks flared red as Giotto beamed at him this time. "These are really, really good! It's completely different from the restaurant food I've tried. What did you put into them?"
"I-It's Sawada's t-tradition..." Tsuna murmured, fidgeting as he encouraged Giotto to eat more of the sushi. The smile which brought the taste of his food, his food that his hands had made with love and joy, was warming Tsuna more than anything before.
Is this how accomplishment feels? It's so... nice... has Tsuna finally found his purpuse in this world?
"So you won't tell me?" Giotto actually pouted, which made Tsuna smile instead of making him panic, "I know it's a secret, but come on."
"I-I'm s-sorry..." Tsuna didn't look all that sorry, Giotto noted with his observant eyes, but didn't press further. Seeing the brunet being happy was enough, it was what he was going for with that whine in the first place.
"I'll find out, sooner or later, just so you know." Giotto declared and Tsuna just smiled at that before continuing to eat.
Once the lunchbreak was over, Giotto parted with Tsuna and headed to his office while the brunet went to attend the rest of his classes before going home without crossing paths since the lunch.
Giotto dragged himself into his office with a pale folder in hand after the school ended and locked himself inside. The folder was spread on the desktop before Giotto pulled himself down to it and began reading through the papers, containing Tsuna's and his parent's information he needed to see.
Knock, knock.
A squeak of a chair and few hurried steps.
The door was slid open and Giotto stood stunned on the doorstep as Tsunayoshi's mother, Nana Sawada, eyed him with calculating gaze and innocent looking smile that under no means could fool Giotto.
"Good afternoon," she greeted him when the man didn't, her big brown eyes looking directly into his shocked sunset ones, "you must be Wadasa-san, Tsu-kun's new homeroom teacher, correct?"
Well... this is surprising.
"...Yes, that is me. I'm also Tsunayoshi's math teacher for now," Giotto politely informed after a short silence, still a little stunned that she was there, and that she was calling him by his false name: Wadasa Ieyasu. Tsunayoshi didn't forget it seemed. No one was supposed to know him by his real name after all, other than the students and teachers in school and the principal - a strict rule set by the school itself. The only thing he liked about it.
Once his manners kicked in, he side stepped to let her through, "I aplogize. Tsunayoshi-kun hadn't told me his mother would pay me a visit. I wasn't expecting any parent to come today to see me either..."
"Oh, he must've forgotten. Tsu-kun gets easily distracted and tends to forget such things," she waved him off while her other hand adjusted the purple purse over her shoulder.
"It doesn't surprise me anymore!" Nana giggled next as she observed Giotto's office, then turned to meet his gaze when she heard him shift towards her.
She gave him the same smile again, but Giotto didn't return it. "You have a lovely office, Wadasa-san. Not many teachers get them."
Giotto crossed his arms over his strong chest as his feet dragged him over to the desk without giving her another glance, mindful of the teasing prod to his authority. "Thank you, but you may drop the ‚-san'. I am not that old to be called by that sufix."
"Ara, so I was right to assume you would be a young and naive teacher."
That caused a reversal in Giotto's neutral approach as he stopped. Turning a full ninety degree, Giotto faced Tsunayoshi's mother with a not as friendly scowl.
"Excuse me?" He almost barked.
The stare shook Nana to the bone, his abrut reaction startling her and her hand shot up to cover her mouth to look innocent. As if Giotto would fall for that sort of trick.
"Ara, forgive me. I haven't meant for it to sound rude."
"Well, it's alright." Giotto's tone sounded a bit harsher than it normally would, but he couldn't see himself stopping any time soon.
He, other than Tsunayoshi and his awful parents, now knew their deep, dark secret: the hostility came to him naturally.
Since he also has a similar person in his life that shares the same beliefs as Tsunayoshi's parents, wanting to control and have him as a puppet - thus the reason why Giotto can't do the same mistake he had done: he has to show Nana he doesn't like her right from the start, and that he's a dangerous threat.
Rounding the table at last, Giotto sat down in his creaky chair and crossed his hands over the desktop. He gestured to the seat in front of him and Nana obediently sat down - maybe it looked like it, but he could see the same hostility he had shown her in Nana's brown eyes: but those were Tsunayoshi's.
The hair and eyes color were all the same.
"What do you wish to talk about, Sawada-san?" Giotto put his attention to organising the papers he had yet to read, getting the needed opportunity to cover the papers with Nana's bio he had in the pile while the said woman's watching gaze observed him with disgust.
The negative emotion was quickly replaced by one of her sweet smiles when Giotto looked up.
"Oh, there's not much I want to ask. I've been wondering though... my little boy came home very late twice in one week. If I count the other times, then it'll be about four times in total. I do not like this and when I'd asked him about the matter, Tsu-kun told it had been you holding him up for private talks. May I know why?"
For a second Giotto detected anger in her voice during the speech, but she's proven herself good at keeping her true character hidden with the mask on the verge of breaking down.
Why not play along with their game?
Giotto looked at her with one arched brow as he enclosed his palms together, pretending he didn't understand what was so wrong about that. "I'd called him because it came to my notice that Tsunayoshi-kun is being bullied in his class. I wanted his answer and I'd been given one."
The answer put Nana on the edge, her shoulders tensing up as Giotto continued with his amber eyes locked with hers. "Has Tsunayoshi ever mentioned bullying to you, Sawada-san?"
The satisfaction from Nana's expression was worth every lie he had told. Giotto was dead serious, but on the inside he was grinning from ear to ear as Nana fidgeted. "I... I don't remember Tsu-kun saying anything about bullying. W-What did he tell you?"
"He didn't need to tell me anything. I'd been observing him and his classmates from distance before confronting him." Giotto's eyes drifted back to the papers on his desk, knowing Nana was begining to understand him.
Only after a while did he look up, his eyes narrowed to glare. "Tsunayoshi didn't have a choice but to tell me the truth. I'm rather... observant of such problematic matters. I won't leave them alone."
"O-Oh..." Nana shifted uneasily. Giotto's head tilted to one side as he eyed her intently. "What about his home? If you don't mind me asking, Sawada-san, but is there some tension between you and your husband? Do you argue? It could have an impact on Tsunayoshi."
"A-Ara? N-no, not at all. Why are you asking?" Nana's complexion had gone paler with Giotto's intimating words. The Italian was clearly implying he knew more than he should and it left Nana sweating.
"Why? Because I know there's something more than the bullying," Giotto leaned his chin on his interwined hands as he confirmed Nana's suspicion without hesistance, "So?"
"O-Oh, p-please. T-Tsu-kun lives in a warm home with happy parents. Anyone would confirm you that. Tsu-kun is just the very anxious type that is sensitive-," Nana was smiling awkwardly when she was interrupted.
"I don't believe you." Giotto's disthrustful gaze shook her to the core. "Since I don't know anyone from this town, I can't trust anyone, Sawada-san. And I really don't, since I keep myself distant from the whole neighborhood."
"You shouldn't then. We don't bite, Namimory is full of wonderful and kind people only!"
"You should know I'm good at reading lies, and I would appreaciate if you stopped lying to me."
"I-I'm not telling you any lies, Wadasa-san." Nana faked being offended by his statement while Giotto continued staring at her, sunset eyes still very cold despite the warm color.
"Sawada-san, please stop taking my words lightly. I'm aware and well-informed that there is something going on between your son and you, the parents. I can only assume you're trying to tell me otherwise to fool me, but I see it." Giotto was stern and serious with his words because he meant them.
Nana fell silent. Satisfied, Giotto straightened in his seat and pulled a folder from the pile to sign before he reached for a pen on the far end of the desk. "I advise your leave now if there are no more questions you'd like to ask. It is getting quite late."
He heard her take a deep breath. "There is one more thing I'd like to know..."
"Yes?"
"Why are you trying to help my son? There are plenty of other students that have problems similar to his." There was no sweetness in her voice anymore, almost as if she turned into a completely different person.
One glance told him she wasn't mentally there. Everything she has heard forced her to do this.
The pen hovered above the line where he was supposed to sign as Giotto thought hard about the reason he didn't know himself. In the end, he chose one that seemed the best and not at all selfish.
"Because he's different."
Because he reminds me of me when I was a naive little brat believing world isn't such a dark place full of shit.
He simply wanted to become a part of Tsuna's life and never return to the past. And that was horribly selfish.
Tsuna was anxiously waiting for his mother to return back in their little house. The brunet sat in the living room with his books scattered across the table, from which he was studying quietly. He had done all chores Nana ordered to him to do until she would return, so without anything else fun to do Tsuna decided to do his homework, although he really didn't feel like it.
An hour of studying later just like that, the front door creaked as it was opened. Tsuna didn't dare to look up from his science book, but he listened to Nana's soft footsteps, which paused for a moment, assuming Nana put them off before continuing.
She passed the archway to the living room without a word, nor a glance and moved upstairs. Tsuna didn't get to see her expression since he wasn't looking, but he couldn't deny that he was cruious what happened.
He expected her to lash out at him or check if he had done his work correctly, but even after next fifteen minutes there was no sign of her. Deciding to believe that Kami-sama spared him for today, Tsuna returned to the book in his lap and continue where he left off.
Up the bedroom, Nana dialed some kind of number and put the speaker to her ear as she waited for the person to pick up.
After three rings, a grudgy voice grumbled. "Yes? This is-,"
"Iemitsu, you have to come back."
Back in the living room, Tsuna had no idea what was happening between Giotto and his parents.
The next day came back too quickly. Giotto hadn't slept much of the night, about five hours or so, but it was still better than the previous one without any.
He still felt like shit as his fingers rubbed his forehead, trying to ease the soft thudding in his head.
He was regretting everything he had said to Nana. Everything. It was so stupid of him, what was he exactly expecting out of that? That his parents will leave Tsunayoshi alone when some guy from Italy threatens them with few innuendos?
Oh god, that isn't the right word for it!
I'm such an idiot. Giotto groaned and pinched the tip of his nose to snap out of this exhaustion. Basically he had no control of this situation. Of Tsunayoshi's situation. He wasn't the one that lives with the boy in the same house, who he sees every morning and every evening before he gets to bed.
They were the criminals that had a vulnerable hostage in their hands, and Giotto was just a police officer who although had evidence, it was completely useless.
If anything, he surely only made things worse for the brunet and Giotto exactly didn't want that to happen. Yet it happened. He fucked up, big-time.
If Tsunayoshi doesn't show up, or if he doesn't hear a single thing from him for twenty-four hours he will go to the-.
And then the door to his office was slid open. By the brunet who he cares for way too much. Giotto's arms rested against his desk as his lips curled into a genuine smile upon seeing the teen healthy and well. He could see how Tsuna's cheeks burned a nice shade of red.
"G-Good m-morning... s-sensei."
"Good morning to you too," Giottto returned the greeting before gesturing to the seats, trying oh so very much to not look like he wanted to squeeze the life out of Tsuna for being alive and well. "Would you like some tea?"
"N-No... t-thank you..." Tsuna shook his head once as he sat down. Strange, the blonde hadn't asked him that one before. The brunet wondered why, but then realised Giotto probably missed breakfast and made some in his office.
"Your mother paid me a visit." Giotto said once he got himself a ceramic cup for the tea, it had cute coffee beans on it Tsuna noticed. The blonde usually drinks coffee in the morning, but because of his throbbing headache, he had no choice but to find some calming herbal tea.
"I-I know..." Tsuna nodded after tearing his gaze away. "S-She l-looked..."
"Angry?" Giotto looked alarmed, but Tsuna's head moved side to side in a negative.
"N-No... just... d-deep i-in thought..."
"I see." He nodded, reassured by the response and watched the spoon swirl in the warm liquid. His brows furrowed. "I think I lost control. I said too much."
Tsuna blinked and Giotto looked up to meet his eyes. "It doesn't feel right, Tsunayoshi. To keep quiet about the abuse. It's dangerous, you know?"
"I-I know... " Tsuna fisted his hands against his laps as he frowned, not liking the tone the man used. He wasn't stupid. Of course it's dangerous, but there was nothing he could do to change it.
"I told her that you're getting bullied," Giotto admited next and watched how no change occured in the boy's expression: that wasn't right either. "I said I observed you during the last few weeks before confronting you and forcing you to admit it. She wasn't expecting that at all."
He took a quick gulp of the tea while Tsuna pictured the moment. "I think I threatened her and that made her give in. She was serious for a minute before bringing up that act again."
"S-She's... l-like that..." Tsuna agreed with a small nod. Nana was never good at lying, so it wasn't surprising. Iemitsu was a natural on the other hand from the start. It's still freaky how well he can lie in stressful situations.
"I don't doubt that. You have it hard, Tsunayoshi. I'm astonished how well you take that." Giotto smiled as blush spread across Tsuna's cheeks at yet another praise from the man. Those always caught him off guard.
"T-Thank you..." Tsuna looked down at his laps and curled his fingers into the soft cloth of his school pants, trying so hard to hide his reddening face. Why was he so comfortable in Giotto's presence in the first place? He still doubts the teacher is helping him out of his own will, so why?
The room felt a bit hotter than before as Giotto sipped his drink silently, his free hand flipping through some document which label Tsuna couldn't read. It was too far, but Giotto was close. Much closer to him than when they first met.
It felt right actually. He has finally found someone who wants to be with him.
"Ah, I almost forgot. Could I ask you to lend me your hand for few tasks after you're done with classes? It shouldn't take too long." The tall Italian asked with a smile, hope glinting in his amber irises which Tsuna couldn't bring himself to reject.
Getting away from that hell hole his home has changed to sounded pretty good, so Tsuna accepted.
Mochida was marked absent today, which allowed Tsuna to breathe freely as his group of loyal dogs decided to go bother the female students instead of him. Everything was going smoothly, until the science lesson came around.
The female substitute teacher decided to divide them into four groups before giving each a piece of real pig heart they were supposed to observe and prod around in, note down what they've noticed and give her the final result.
Tsuna ended up in Kyoko-chan's group, which was good and all, she tolerated him more than anyone else and was really smart. She's done the most work with her best friend Hana, but Tsuna noticed something weird...
He didn't react in her presence the way he usually did. Blush and stutter and all.
Well, he kept stuttering when she asked him something, but there was no warmness in his cheeks. He didn't feel giddy in her presence anymore and that baffled him.
He knows that overtime you lose romantic feelings towards your crush, but... is it really that easy to forget them? He had liked her since kindergarden and it vanishes just like that?
He should feel a little sad, but didn't. As if he never loved her in the first place.
Tsuna sighed, cheek pressed against his fist as he looked over the notes Kyoko-chan had made. He didn't understand half of it, but he wasn't paying much attention to the words anyway.
When the substitute teacher read over them, she praised their group with a sweet red smile. Tsuna could only guess the other three groups slacked off their work and therefore they were given individual homework.
Lunchbreak was ordinary and same as usual. Tsuna sat by himself and poked the food he wasn't allowed to eat, which sucked a lot considering he was hungry and no bullies were there to stole it from him so it would stop distracting him.
The last three periods were spent by doing nothing, basically. Tsuna was daydreaming actually until the last ringing of the school bell went off. Instead of jumping out of his seat and running off as fast as he could so he wouldn't get an earful from Nana, Tsuna grabbed his bag and headed to Giotto's office.
There he was greeted by the same warm smile the man possesses before he was told what to do. Giotto only needed help with organising his folders and Tsuna happily did so.
It turned into fun, although... he almost got the teacher's papers soaked by the hot coffee he'd made, also almost broke the glass on one of the cabinets if Giotto wasn't there watching his every move, aware of his clumsy nature.
But the blonde never complained and never scolded him harshly.
It was just: "Please be more careful with the coffee," or, "H-Hey! I'll take that from here if you don't mind," or, "Watch out, there's a slight bump in the flooring there," and that was it.
No curses or bad words to make him hate himself for accepting the offer when he already knew he will screw up everything in the first place.
Giotto di Vongola was either different, or an alien from another planet. That thought crossed the brunet's mind again numerous times during the time spent labelling the folders.
But Giotto must've miscalculatedthe amount of papers that needed to be seperated equally, because the sky was being painted from yellow to purple by the time all folders were labbeled, seperated and put in their rightful cabinets.
However, Tsuna didn't mind as he watched Giotto rub the back of his neck, soothing away the pain from hours of crouching in front of the student info cards.
"Well... I didn't expect for it to take that long." Giotto muttered, looking up at the only clock in the room. "It's so late."
"Y-Yes..." Tsuna nodded, surprised himself how quickly the time has passed.
"Your mother won't be very happy..." Giotto realised next, cringing a little when Tsuna flinched at that and curled his hands to his chest. So being late is out of question, and now Giotto definitely doesn't want the brunet to return home to a furious abusive mother.
"Uh, I wouldn't mind if you stayed over at my place." Giotto suggested with a smile, his hand falling on other's shoulder when a flash of fear appeared in the brown orbs. "Don't worry about your parents, I'll explain this to them."
"B-But... p-please, don't m-make... N-Nana-san a-angry again..." Tsuna asked of the man, knowing Giotto will listen to him. When he smiled to assure him he won't, Tsuna couldn't stop the tiny blush from appearing on his cheeks. He shouldn't feel giddy about that, but he still did and it felt good for once.
Giotto walked past the blushing brunet to gather their bags, not saying anything as their shoulders brushed softly. It was just a simple touch, but Tsuna's face burned from it, his hands cluthing the front of his shirt tightly over his erratic heart.
He swallowed heavily and turned at the sound of two items clattering. Giotto grinned at him from his spot, holding his and Tsuna's bags in both hands, the latter hanging higher for Tsuna to take.
Tsuna somehow managed to pull himself together fast enough to take his property from the other man without getting their hands to touch. Giotto noticed that he was being awfully quiet, but didn't try mentioning it.
At last, Giotto gestured with his hand to follow him outside, wearing that still goddamn smile which made Tsuna's knees weak and lightheaded, as if some kind of sickness was slowly devouring him.
.
.
.
.
.
Love.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"So..."
"..."
"...?"
"Tsunayoshi?" Giotto glanced at the silent brunet sitting in the passanger seat.
They were currently waiting in front of a new café for the traffic light to turn red for a total of ten minutes already in complete silence. Safe for the running engine of the car, but the soft hum was just too subdued and failing in making him comfortable.
The sky was black without any twinkling stars, there were no other cars in sight, the interior of the café was blinding bright and stuffed with impatient customers. The chatting noise was kept inside by the thick glass mirroring the diners.
And why Tsunayoshi hasn't said anything yet!?
Giotto turned his head this time and smiled a soft smile when he noticed the brunet struggling to keep awake. His eyelids were dropping every minute, too heavy to hold up, but Tsuna was a fighter. He wouldn't give in that easy.
Giotto found that mesmerising and a pang of jealousy hit him, which like lighting followed guilt. It was partly his fault he kept the boy up so late. He's responsible for him and his health, but Tsunayoshi could've rejected the offer too. He could have left any time.
The teenager stayed.
There was absolutely no reason to be jealous. Yet he felt that way.
This is ridiculous. He gripped the wheel tighter, brows knitted together as his gaze paid attention back to the road. I don't get jealous for such minor things.
Tsuna's head dropped to his chest from the corner of his eye and Giotto once more looked at him, both getting startled by their movement. Giotto chuckled while blush spread across Tsuna's cheeks, his brown eyes wide almost in mortification at being caught.
"You can take a nap, you know," Giotto said, amused by his current state which was downright adorable. "It's about a twenty minutes ride. I will wake you up once we get there."
"A-Ah... n-no t-thank you..." Tsuna turned his offer down as politely as he could and looked out the car window to break the eye-contact. Falling asleep in his teacher's car sounded far too humiliating for him. Children do that and he's anything but a little child.
Even though the seat was rather snug and the car's interior had just the right temperature and Tsuna's body felt so tired...
No! Tsuna shook his head. He was not going to fall for that. It's only twenty minutes. He can take that!
"Well if you say so." Was heard from his side. Giotto's reflection was smiling gorgerously in the glass and Tsuna felt his face growing hot, his heart skipping a beat. Ashamed, his shaking hands clutched the seat belt for the life of him, hoping Giotto didn't notice the color in his cheeks.
He acted like some girl on her first ride with her crush, which is exactly what he shouldn't be doing!
He swallowed the lump of uneasiness forming in his throat and felt relief wash over his body when the car finally moved and continued their little journey.
It was too much, to be seated beside this man labbeled as the hottest teacher in Namimory High in a tight room where Tsuna breathed with every inhale the rich cologne he wore.
It was a whole new experience for Sawada Tsunayoshi. Strangely enough, it wasn't as bad as he believed it to be. The unfamiliar yet soothing scent of the car and Giotto slowly lulled him to sleep.
At least he thought so, but in Giotto's memory Tsuna fell asleep two minutes after the light switched to green.