Tsuna groaned in pain as he flailed around helplessly on the ground. Really, Reborn didn't have to be that violent just because he was late for his party. Sighing, the young boy sat up and collected the ingredients he had bought from the store. At least nothing from his shopping bag had spilled or broke.
Ignoring the commotion that the group of people in the living room were creating, Tsuna went to the kitchen and started working on the dessert he had promised to make. He scoured the kitchen for an apron, coming up with only his mother's pink one. Sighing in defeat, he put it on, making sure it didn't catch in his hair, before tying it around the back. He could deal with humiliation, but he didn't want to deal with spills on his clothes. With that done, he went over to the counter where he had left all his ingredients. Mixing butter, flour, shortening, and everything else needed for the batter, Tsuna quickly put it all together before placing it in a buttered pan. With the oven pre-heated, Tsuna felt pretty proud of himself as he carefully placed the uncooked cake inside of it.
While he waited for it to bake, Tsuna decided to watch what was going on in the living room. Walking over to the doorway, the young teenager leaned on one side of it with his arms crossed. He watched as Takeshi and Hayato seemed to be having a one-sided fight and Bianchi seemed to be spinning some pizza dough. It looked like some sort of competition. "Dame-Tsuna." Looking at his tutor, Tsuna wondered if he would live long enough to finish the cake. "Where is my present?" A green gun was being polished nonchalantly in the baby's hands.
Blinking, Tsuna was suddenly glad that he thought to make the dessert for today, at least now he had a better chance of not being shot. "In the oven." He responded, yawning as the long day was starting to catch up with him. "Which reminds me, what's your favorite color?"
Coal black eyes stared at him from beneath the fedora. Reborn paused in polishing his weapon before answering, "Why don't you take a guess, Dame-Tsuna?" The brunette sighed at the issued challenge. He knew that if he were to decline he would be in for a world full of pain, so he simply nodded his head and went back into the kitchen.
Noticing that the cake only had about five minutes left, Tsuna decided to get to work on the icing. Tsuna set out all the necessary ingredients around a large mixing bowl. Taking out the cream cheese, the brunet hesitated, unsure of how to proceed. Oddly enough, the cake had been very easy, but he was stuck on the icing.
"First," A voice penetrated his eardrum. It was calm, gentle, patient, but held a demanding quality. "the cream cheese. Eight ounces." Tsuna's hands seemed to move on their own as he unwrapped the cream cheese and measured out the desired amount before putting it in the bowl.
"Next, the butter. Unsalted and half a cup." Tsuna followed the instructions like a madman, measuring out the yellow substance before placing it in the bowl as well. "Okay, now put in a teaspoon of vanilla." Shaky hands grabbed the bottle, struggling to twist it open before it finally gave away. To ensure that he didn't spill on the counter, he held the bottle over the sink before measuring out the necessary portion. "Excellent! Now, three and a half cups of sugar." Tsuna obliged the strange voice in his head, eager to get the icing done as per the instructions. His hands were no longer shaking, instead he felt a surge of pride at the praise given to him.
The voice halted as the brunette took a break, looking at the mixture he had created before reaching for the egg beater to his right. Silently, and with less enthusiasm, Tsuna started beating the icing together. Occasionally, he would stop and add cream, but otherwise continued until the icing had a consistent smooth texture. When he was satisfied, Tsuna reached over for the food coloring and added in two drops of yellow before mixing that in as well.
A beep echoed through the empty kitchen, indicating that the cake was ready. Oven mitts were jammed on his hands and the cake taken out before placed on the counter. Tsuna carefully removed the cake from it's mold once it had cooled down enough. He made sure to set it on their best cake stand (as he was sure Reborn wouldn't accept anything less), before checking it several times over. It wouldn't do to mess up the cake, especially since he knew that if he did mess it up he probably wouldn't survive the day.
Taking a spreading knife, Tsuna set to work on covering the cake with frosting. It was hard to get all the edges smoothed out, but since the cake was still warm, the icing melted to accommodate the circular shape. When that was finished, Tsuna hummed his appreciation before reaching for the bad of coconut shavings. As a finishing touch, the covered the cake in them. White shavings shined across the soft yellow of the icing, giving the appearance of scattered flower petals.
Happy with his creation, Tsuna lifted the cake platter before bringing it out into the living room. It looked like Lambo had just finished giving his gift to Reborn, receiving a pitiful one point. Worried, Tsuna pursed his lips before motioning for the crying Lambo to come over to his side. Putting the cake down on the living room table, Tsuna waited until the child dragged his feet over to him, he was obviously sulking.
"Lambo, can you do me a favor?" Sniffling, the young boy looked up at him questioningly, "If you can go and get everyone some dessert plates and forks, I will share whatever points I get with you. Just make sure not to break anything, okay?" Happy that he could be redeemed, Lambo went over to the kitchen to grab the utensils needed. Tsuna looked over at Reborn, who was studying him carefully, before waving a hand over the cake. "Here's your present."
Reborn's eyes narrowed at the cake before he hopped over to take a sniff. It was at that moment that Lambo appeared with a small stack of plates and a handful of forks. Tsuna smiled before thanking him, taking the plates and forks before setting them out in front of everyone who had gathered. Heading into the kitchen to procure a knife, Tsuna paused before opening a drawer to take out an unused birthday candle. Nodding in satisfaction, he also grabbed a pack of matches and a knife before heading into the living room. Placing the white candle in the center, Tsuna lit it going over to pull the curtains over the windows to block out the daylight.
Having done all of this on automatic while being in a slight hurry, Tsuna didn't notice the five pairs of eyes on him as he scurried around the room, cleaning up the mess made by the others as he came across it.
It wasn't until he had turned around, satisfied with the clean room and perfect setting for the lit birthday candle, that he noticed the stares. Wondering what was wrong, he looked at Reborn questioningly, but was promptly ignored by the hitman. Next, he looked over to Takeshi, who was now looking the other way with a hand scratching the back of his head and a light blush on his ears and nose. Huffing in annoyance, he looked over to Hayato, who had also averted his eyes to stare intently at his hands in his lap. Bianchi had proceeded to filing her nails, not that Tsuna expected her to be any help.
It wasn't until Lambo spoke up that he had an inkling as to why they were acting this way, "Tsuna-nii, you look like Maman!" He said excitedly, as he bounced up and down from his seat next to the cake. Tsuna looked down at himself before groaning. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he took deep breaths in an attempt to ignore the strange attitudes of his friends.
He had forgotten about the pink monstrosity his mother called an apron.
"Anyway, Reborn, isn't it time for you to blow out the candle?" Tsuna said as he took off the apron, folding it neatly and placing it to the side. Reborn, not wanting to take orders from anyone, instead shoots at Tsuna, letting the bullet graze the candlewick at the same time. The room was engulfed in darkness, causing the brunette to huff in annoyance while inwardly sweating at the bullet that had barely missed him.
Sighing, Tsuna got to work by opening one set of curtains for light and going over to cut the cake. The room had once again exploded into conversation from all sides, strangely leaving the brunette to his own inner peace and saving him from further embarrassment. He kneeled down in front of the cake before grabbing a knife, inwardly measuring out how much he would give to each person. As per any birthday tradition, he gave the first piece to Reborn before slicing more pieces for everyone else. "Tsuna-nii, Lambo-sama wants the biggest piece!" Shaking his head, Tsuna gave the cow child a piece fit for his size instead. After everyone was serve, the lazy teen waited as the room dug into their piece, expecting a sharp criticism from Reborn. Not that he cared much
"Wow, Tsuna, I didn't know you could bake~." Takeshi said as he took a bite. "What kind of cake is this?"
Glad for a little normalcy, Tsuna responded, "Italian cream cake with coconut frosting." At least someone liked it. Tsuna had no illusions about his cooking, he knew it was abysmal. But for some reason, baking came so much easier to him. This cake especially had been easy, he didn't even have to look in the recipe book.
"Tsuna-sama, this is really good!" Hayato chimed in, digging in with gusto. Tsuna nodded his head in thanks before looking at his own slice. All he could do was look as it as voices echoed in his head, a far-off memory evading him even as he reached for it.
Mouth dry and hand shaky, the brunette decided that this was enough. "Reborn, I don't feel well." Was all he said before he headed upstairs, ignoring everyone's stares and the few voices that asked if he was okay.
He made it to the bathroom just before he started dry-heaving, having not eaten anything that day. All that came from his stomach was bile, making him choke as it burned his throat. His head was dizzy, his body drenched in a cold sweat, but Tsuna didn't care. He drank from the sink before shakily walking to his bedroom.
Sleep, that was what he needed. He collapsed on his bed, shivering as there was no blanket over him. Groaning, a sharp pain went through his head. His mind continued to reach for whatever memory that eluded him, but the more he tried to remember, the more his body rejected the action. He felt sick all over again, now knowing what the cause was didn't help. Stubbornly gritting his teeth, Tsuna steeled himself in an attempt to remember what was lost. In reassurance, the whispered to himself the one thing he could remember,
"Nothing is true, everything is permitted."