Wow...it's been over two months...I hope y'all continue reading. Thank you if you do.
It was close to Tsuna's sixth birthday when Dino brought a girl home. It was the first time since he'd become Tsuna and Kyouya's guardian, a year ago now.
She was a good all-round girl; she was pretty, had good cooking skills, and was generally quite polite. She had one major problem though. She couldn't stand kids under the age of eleven. Especially boys.
When Dino brought her home, it was to a hallway littered with toys. The babysitter heard the door close and bolted out of the living room. "!" she yelled as she left, her face quite pale and her things clutched tight to her chest. Before Dino had left, she'd been rather cheerful and wouldn't even let go of Tsuna, because "he is too cute~!"
Yukiko, Dino's guest, watched the babysitter go. "Who was that?" she asked.
"The babysitter." Dino said, holding some money. "And she forgot to take her pay."
Yukiko frowned. "Babysitter? I thought you said your brothers were old enough to look after themselves?"
Dino grinned as he led the way to the living room. "They are but I don't often leave them home alone so I thought I'd better call someone in, just in case."
"How…old are they, exactly?" Yukiko asked.
"Tsuna's going to be six soon and Kyouya's going to be…nine in May." Dino said after some thought. He smiled. "Yup. Nine." They walked into the living room. Yukiko nearly had a heart attack.
The whole place was covered with toys. Toys on the floor. Toys on the couch. Toys on the table. Toys even on the TV. Half of those toys were broken. In the middle of the floor, Tsuna lay unconscious and Kyouya was sitting cross-legged on his back, taking apart a remote-controlled car.
"KYOUYA!" Dino yelled. "What did you do?"
Kyouya looked back. "He argued with me."
"So? That doesn't mean you can go and knock him out!" Dino pushed the child off and turned Tsuna around. "Tsuna! Oi, Tsuna! Wake up! Hey! Come on!"
"K-Kyou-Nii's…Kyou-Nii's…a demon," the brown-haired child murmured. There was a huge bump on his head.
Kyouya harrumphed and walked out, not sparing Yukiko even a glance. She drew to the side as he walked past, as if she might catch some disease.
"Wh-where's Chitose-Nee?" Tsuna asked, looking around. His eyes fell upon Yukiko and he frowned. "That's not Chitose Nee-chan."
Dino sighed. Kyouya probably scared Chitose away. Tsuna would never scare anybody. He turned back to Yukiko and smiled apologetically, "ah, sorry about this, Yukiko-chan."
She swallowed her discomfort and smiled a strained smile. "I-it's all right…"
Tsuna yawned and walked forward, only to trip over a toy and fall to the floor. "OW!"
Dino chuckled despite himself and bent down to help the child up. "You're such a klutz, Tsuna," he grinned.
Tsuna harrumphed. "Dino-Nii's not much better."
"Hey! I'm not clumsy!" Dino protested.
Tsuna harrumphed again. "Never mind." Dino said, standing up. "Have you guys had dinner yet? Yukiko-chan and I have already eaten. Oh, this is Yukiko, by the way."
Tsuna stared at the girl for a while and then looked down and muttered a polite, "G-good evening."
Yukiko tried to smile again, though it turned out as more of a grimace. "Good evening."
Tsuna looked up at Dino. "I haven't eaten."
"Ok then, I'll make dinner for you."
Dino led the way to the kitchen and set about making some pasta while Tsuna sat at the table. Yukiko stayed by Dino and chattered about the movie they'd gone to see. Dino listened to the avid comments and smiled and offered his own opinions when they were required. Yukiko almost forgot she was in a house with two kids…
…Until dinnertime arrived. Dino went to stand at the foot of the stairs and shouted, "Kyouya! Dinner!"
Kyouya came back down. He spied Yukiko sitting at the table. "That's my seat," he said.
She felt irritation flare. "Get another dam…I mean! S-sorry." she gave another strained smile and got up, her insides burning. She wanted to shove the little brat's head into the plate of hot pasta in front of him. This little mothe…monkey!
"Ah, sorry, Yukiko-chan. You can sit here." Dino said, freeing his seat.
She waved a hand. "That's okay! I don't mind standing. If it's all right, I'd just like to use the bathroom."
"Sure. It's the first door on the right up the stairs."
"Thank you." She hurried out the room, away from the two little boys who were making a mess of their food or stuffing it down with speed. She felt ill just being there. How could Dino stand this? He was a nice guy and she didn't want to ditch him based on his home circumstances alone but…but…KIDS! Venomous little creatures that whinged and whined all day long without a care for others! It was awful being near them! They came with so much baggage! All the toys littering the floor in this house were getting on her nerves!
The bathroom was relatively clean. There were yellow rubber ducks in the bathtub, though, along with little boats and other bath time toys. They annoyed her. She had to keep the brats away without Dino getting suspicious. She could hardly have a peaceful evening with this perfect, rich, foreign guy if two noisy kids were in the picture!
Bed time! She gasped. That was it! After dinner, she'd put those two brats to bed and then settle down for a quiet evening! Never mind how she was going to coerce them into listening to her…but things work out!
When she went back downstairs a good few minutes later (having taken as long as possible in the bathroom), it was to the sounds of arguing. "…messing around! You're getting it all over the place! Tsuna!"
Wow, Dino could actually shout. She'd never heard him raise his voice like this before.
"B-but…!"
"No buts! Go get cleaned up and then go to your room!"
Looked like she wouldn't need to do anything. She smiled.
"Dino-Nii's mean!"
Yukiko peered around the kitchen doorframe. The table was a mess. Pasta sauce was all over the place. Tsuna's hands were covered in it and so was his face. Dino was massaging his temple. "Go."
With his bottom lip quivering, Tsuna slid off his seat and walked out the door. Yukiko jumped out of the way as he walked past, her lips curled in disgust. She went into the kitchen. Dino sighed. "Sorry about that, Yukiko-chan."
She waved a dismissive hand. "Not at all. Children should be disciplined."
He frowned at her haughty tone. She hurried amended, "ah…I-I mean…how about we watch a movie? What kind of movies do you have?"
He smiled. "I'll just clean up a little and then we'll watch, all right?"
"Sure thing."
Dino looked at Kyouya, who was still eating. "Kyouya, that's your fifth plate. Hurry up."
"Why?"
"Because I said so." Dino took the dishes to the sink. Yukiko offered to wash up for him and he went to clean the table. Between them, it didn't take long for the place to be sparkling.
"I'll go check on Tsuna." Dino said, wiping his hands on a towel. "I'll be right back. Kyouya, hurry up."
Kyouya stared at Yukiko. She stared back. He smirked and got up and left. She glared after him. Stupid kids.
There was a thump from upstairs, followed by wailing, and then a shout. "Tsuna! Hey, you okay? Kyouya, what are you doing here! Go to your own room!"
She sighed. This would be a long night. As soon as the kids were in bed, she could begin her plans to further her relationship with Dino, the hot perfect guy that all the girls at university drooled over. How lucky was she to have actually landed a date with him? This was great!
He came back down a few minutes later, looking tired but he pulled on a charming smile when he saw her. "I'm really sorry about all this. I guess this wasn't what you were expecting when you came, right?"
She chuckled. "It's…it's all right. Are they in bed?"
"Yeah, they should be. So, should we watch that movie?"
"Sure thing."
"Here, I'll show you what we've got. You can pick." In the living room, Dino tried to clear up the toys as best he could and showed her their collection of DVDs. To her dismay, most of them were for kids. There were a few scary ones, though. She chose one that looked especially dark. She didn't like scary movies but, if she was watching one with Dino, would he comfort her? Cue the imaginary noblewoman laugh.
She put it in the DVD player and went to sit beside Dino. Dino was sitting with his arm slung over the backrest. Would he wrap that arm about her shoulders as the movie progressed? She blushed.
The light had already been turned out so the TV screen stood out. The movie started. The living room door was open. Around the doorframe, Kyouya and Tsuna peered in.
"What're they doing?" Tsuna mumbled.
"Watch." Kyouya said quietly. His eyes narrowed when Yukiko attempted to move closer to Dino, ever so slightly. This girl was annoying. It would be unbearable if she continued to come around here. It was no fun getting on Dino's nerves when he wanted to get rid of the two of them to go to that stupid girl. So they had to get rid of her and made sure she never wanted to come back. Ever again.
Kyouya took a hold of the back of Tsuna's pyjama top and dragged him towards the stairs. Tsuna choked. "K-Kyou-Nii…"
Back upstairs, Kyouya let the younger boy go. "All right, here's what you do…"
The movie was getting to a scary part. Yukiko screwed her eyes shut, leaning closer towards Dino. He rolled his eyes. What a childish girl. If she was easily scared, why'd she pick this movie? It wasn't all bad; he decided he liked her childishness. He thought it was quite cute. He was about to put an arm around her when he heard wailing from upstairs. With a scoff, he got up. "Sorry, I'll just go see what's wrong."
She looked disappointed. "Ok."
Upstairs, Dino went into Tsuna's room. Tsuna had tripped over a toy in the darkness. Dino turned the light on. "What are you doing, Tsuna?" Dino said, going over to the child. He picked him up.
Tsuna wiped at his eyes. "I-I was…I was going to go to the bathroom."
"But you went before."
"I needed to go again."
"All right. I'll take you."
"I-it's all right. I can go by myself."
"Right. When you're done, get back to bed, ok?"
"Ok. Good night, Dino-Nii."
"Night."
Dino went back downstairs. Yukiko resumed the movie when he sat down. A few minutes later, they were getting comfortable. Dino had wrapped an arm around her shoulders and she was leaning into his side. After this movie was over, maybe they could go up to Dino's room and…
Thud!
Dino groaned and stood up. "Sorry. I'll be two seconds."
She nodded, looking away so he didn't see the dark expression flitting across her face.
When Dino got to the foot of the stairs, he could hear faint protests from up there.
"Hey, kids! What's going on?" He got to the landing upstairs and saw that Kyouya's door was open and the light was on. He went over.
Tsuna was tied to the bed. Kyouya was dressed in a lab coat and in his gloved hands, he held some implements to cut. He wore a mask over the lower part of his face. Tsuna looked faint.
"Kyouya! What are you doing?" Dino cried.
Kyouya looked up at him. He shrugged. "I wanted to see what his innards look like. I'm thinking of becoming a surgeon when I grow up."
"That's all well and good but this is bedtime! Get to sleep!"
"Don't give me orders."
Dino walked into the room and untied Tsuna. The little boy clung to him. "K-Kyou-Nii's a demon…" he croaked. Dino sighed and patted his fluffy brown head. "It's all right. What're you doing in here anyway? You should be sleeping."
"Sorry, Dino-Nii."
He took the child back to his own room and put him to bed. "Now, go to sleep, all right? I'll see you later."
"Good night, Dino-Nii." Tsuna smiled. Dino ruffled his hair and left. "Night, Tsuna."
He went back down. He had a feeling this wasn't the last time he'd do this while Yukiko was here. In the living room, he sat down. "Sorry."
She wordlessly played the movie. Once again, a few minutes later, they were getting to a scary part and both were involuntarily leaning towards one another.
A high-pitched scream rang out.
It wasn't from the movie.
Dino bolted upright, heart juddering. "What the hell?" He ran out. "Hey! What's going on?" he called out as he ascended the stairs once again.
The source of the disturbance was Kyouya's room, again. Dino went in. He stared, aghast. "Wh-wh-what're you doing, Kyouya?"
Kyouya was holding a hammer and a few nails, standing at his bed. Tsuna was tied up again. He was sobbing, though there were no physical signs of harm. "D-Dino…Nii!"
Dino went to free the little boy. He frowned at the older of the two boys. "Kyouya, can I ask what you think you're doing?"
Kyouya shrugged again. "I decided that being a surgeon wasn't a good profession for me."
"And?"
"I thought I'd make a better torturer."
"He's a monster!" Tsuna wailed, clinging onto Dino like a leech.
"That works too." Kyouya agreed.
Dino rolled his eyes. "Stop terrorising Tsuna, all right? He isn't your toy." He left and went to put Tsuna to bed. "Now, don't leave your room, okay? No matter what."
"B-but…K-Kyou-Nii s-said that…" Tsuna began, "K-Kyou-Nii said that…I should stop you."
"Stop me? From what?"
"Th-that girl downstairs…isn't very nice."
Dino chuckled. "What're you talking about, Tsuna? Yukiko's one of the nicest girls I've ever met." He ruffled Tsuna's hair and stood up. "All right, get to sleep now."
In the hallway, he went to Kyouya's room again. The door was still open. "Hey, I don't know what's wrong with you but, come on, don't interrupt my date, all right?"
Kyouya was sitting at his desk with his back to the door. "Hn. Don't bring stinky girls home. It shames me to think of you as my guardian."
What was this kid's problem? Dino turned away. It wasn't really any of their business if he brought anyone home, right? They were the ones being looked after, not the other way around, and Dino had already sacrificed much of his social life to look after these two. Couldn't they just let him finish his date in peace? "Whatever. Just don't do anything to Tsuna."
"Or what?" the faint response came.
Dino continued on downstairs. In the living room, the movie had been paused once again. "I'm really, really sorry about this." he said. "It's tough, looking after kids." Especially when one of them is a demon, he thought.
She tried to smile. Dino didn't try to put his arm around her this time. It felt kind of awkward. She wasn't even paying attention to the TV screen. Dino couldn't concentrate on what was in front of him eiher. He kept looking up to the ceiling, expecting to hear more disrupting noises. As long as Tsuna was awake, Kyouya might terrorise him. It wasn't that uncommon for Kyouya to get bored and pick on Tsuna to pass the time.
Upstairs, Kyouya was indeed in Tsuna's room. "Let's get on with the next bit."
Tsuna stared at his brother unhappily. "Do we have to? Dino-Nii likes her."
"Doesn't matter. She's not welcome here." Kyouya's face was a blank mask. Beneath that, he felt ire. This girl came into their home and acted as if they were vermin. She couldn't continue to do as she pleased. Kyouya hated it when people put up pretences; this girl wasn't the lovely, perfect beauty she made herself out to be. They didn't need a person like that in their home.
Downstairs, Dino sat up straight as he heard another thump, followed by pained screaming, and finally, something breaking. He bolted up. Yukiko was shaking. She held onto his wrist. "Don't go." she said.
He frowned. "I have to. I have to make sure nothing happens to them." his tone was a little apologetic as he extracted his arm.
"Then what about me?" she asked. She got to her feet. "Don't you care about me at all?" Indignation was starting to creep into her voice.
He turned to the door. He couldn't waste time here; god only knew what Kyouya might have done now. "I'm sorry. I like you, I really do, but I didn't know you'd be so averse to my little brothers being here. They're a part of my life so if someone wants to be involved with me, they have to accept them." He paused in the doorway. "Would you accept them?"
He'd realised that it wasn't the kids who were standing in the way of his social life. As much as he did wish that he had some more time to himself occasionally, it had now become ingrained in him to worry about the welfare of his brothers. He couldn't help it. They were his biggest priority.
Yukiko was shaking, her head bowed. She couldn't believe this! Just because of a couple of kids, she was going to lose this perfect guy! "I can't but…can't we still continue? I don't…have to come here, right?"
He gave her a rueful smile. "I don't think that would work. You wouldn't believe how many accidents Tsuna gets in. Even in the middle of seminars, I have to leave, to make sure he's okay. Sometimes, he has nightmares that are so bad it takes him hours to calm down, and I'd have to take the day off university. I don't think you'd be happy if I kept putting them before you, would you?"
She bowed her head. Of course she wouldn't be happy with that. Damn these kids! She brushed past him. "Then…goodbye."
"I'm sorry."
"No need for you to be."
The screaming upstairs had stopped. Dino walked Yukiko outside. She bid him a subdued goodbye and left. "Hey, would you like me to walk you home?" he asked at the gate.
She didn't even look back. "That's all right. I'll manage."
Dino watched her walk down the street until she disappeared from his view. He sighed. This was for the best. Probably. But damn! His first date in a while and it had been ruined completely!
On the landing upstairs, Kyouya and Tsuna watched on. Kyouya smirked and, just to show his joy a little, he clocked Tsuna on the head. Tsuna started to wail. After a while, Dino came back. He looked up at the two children from the bottom of the stairs. "What are you guys doing?"
"Rejoicing at our victory." Kyouya deadpanned as he stood up. He went back to his room. Dino climbed the stairs and picked Tsuna up. "It's all right. Let's go to bed, all right? For real, this time."
Tsuna wiped at his eyes. "Ok." He wrapped his little arms around Dino's neck and held on tight. Dino chuckled and ruffled his fluffy brown hair. Maybe he could think about other relationships when Tsuna could look after himself. Until then, being a good big brother was his top priority. No big deal. He hoped.