A/N: Hello again! I want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for all of your amazing reviews! They've really helped me in giving me encouragement and I felt like I especially needed it for this chapter because it was difficult for me to write. I'm saying this because I don't feel too confident in this chapter because this is the first time I have written the other characters of Hitman Reborn, so I hope that everyone isn't too out of character. Also, I apologize for nothing happening too much in this chapter since it's for the sake of setting up the plot but I promise the next chapter will have some interesting things go down! So please bear with me until then!
Also, since I'm on the note of next chapter, I thought I would just remind everyone that from the next chapter onward, this story will be rated M, so either put this story under alerts or search for it under the M or All story section if you wish to continue reading this. Thank you for your time everyone and I hope you can find some enjoyment in this chapter. =)
Part 2
The two boys stood outside the Sawada residence for a few short minutes, the air between them tense and uncomfortable, before the front door opened before them. Standing in the doorway was a medium sized feminine figure, the hallway light illuminating her image as she gave the two teens a welcoming smile.
"Oh my! If it isn't Gokudera-kun and Yamamoto-kun!" The middle-aged woman exclaimed happily, her short, chestnut brown hair bobbing as she looked back and forth between the two boys in front of her. "I keep forgetting how much you two have grown!"
It was here that Yamamoto broke the silence between him and his silver-haired companion by laughing at the older woman's statement. "Haha, you say that every time we come over, Sawada-san." The taller boy pointed out in amusement as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment at the woman's praise.
Instead of following the current conversation, Gokudera opted that, unlike the idiotic baseball player standing beside him, he would pay his respects to the keeper of the household instead. "It's nice to see you again, Sawada-san. I'm sorry for being late." The smaller teen spoke up kindly, acting very much unlike himself as he bowed in respect towards his boss's mother.
Sawada Nana giggled at her son's two best friends. It always amazed her how such two different people could be friends with each other but it made her happy nonetheless; after all, these two had become friends with her precious son and had helped him to become more outgoing and dependable. "Don't worry, you're actually right on time! I was about to set dinner out for the guests."
Gokudera straightened up from his bow at that, a look of horror evident on his face. If the Tenth's mother was already setting out the food then that meant… "Y-You mean we were the last to arrive?"
Nana looked a little taken aback by the Italian's outburst but replied. "Yes. Actually, the others have been here for a little while so I'm glad you two arrived. That one black-haired boy, what was his name? Hibari-kun? He seems to be getting antsy. Is he afraid to be around people?"
Yamamoto laughed nervously in response, feeling his companion's revulsion at the fact that Hibari had actually made it here before them, without having to look at the smaller teen. "Well, no, he just doesn't like crowds. I'm actually surprised he even came, haha!"
"Oh, I guess that explains things." Nana muttered out, giggling at the end of her words. Her eyes then widened in surprise as she gasped, one of her hand's coming up to her mouth in the process. "Oh my, what am I doing? Why don't you boys come in? It's getting rather cold out here."
With that, Nana moved to the side of the door and swept her arm out in a welcoming motion, slightly bowing in the process. The two shivering teens made their way into the warm house, thanking Tsuna's mom for her invitation. Nana quickly shut the door behind them to stop the cold winter air for traveling further into the house.
"May I take your jackets?" The older woman asked politely when she turned around and witnessed Yamamoto and Gokudera beginning to shed their winter outerwear.
With polite nods and after vocalizing their gratitude, the two guardians relinquished their coats and followed Nana down the hall. The brown-haired woman turned around to face her followers half-way down the hallway where she stopped in front of an open door. Smiling warmly, she showed the boys into the room, announcing their presence along the way. "Tsu-kun, Yamamoto-kun and Gokudera-kun are here!"
As the teens entered the room after Tsuna's mom, they were greeted by the presence of many familiar faces. They were all stationed in the living room, which had been converted into a dining area much like the one at Reborn's first birthday party back during their middle school days. A long, low, wooden table swept most of the expanse of the room with about two dozen or so sitting pillows lined up underneath all sides of the table.
After processing the layout of the room, the two guardians automatically made eye contact with the person on the farthest end of the table from them who looked back with warm and welcoming eyes much like his mother's. "I'm so glad you two finally made it!" The shorter teen with unruly spiky-brown-hair exclaimed, a grateful smile appearing on his face as he swept his arm out and offered for his two best-friends to sit down near him.
Instead of taking the smaller boy's offer, Gokudera ran up to his boss and fell to his knees, his hands and forehead slamming into the wooden floor with gusto as he did so. Tsuna could only blink in shock and confusion at his right-hand man's actions before the silver-haired teen started to apologize profusely.
"I'm so sorry we were late, Tenth! As your right-hand man, I humbly apologize for our rudeness and for making you wait!" The older boy exclaimed, his face only leaving its position in the floorboards to look up and glare menacingly towards an unsuspecting Yamamoto who was making his way towards them to the front of the table. "We wouldn't have been so late if somebody hadn't taken his sweet time with everything!"
Yamamoto laughed sheepishly as he stood above Gokudera and Tsuna now, figuring out the meaning behind his boyfriend's words. Gokudera was obviously angry with him for holding them up at the restaurant when they were closing and for the scarf incident. "Sorry, Tsuna. I got a bit distracted at the shop, haha!"
Tsuna just shook his head, an understanding smile present on his face. "Don't worry about it. I wasn't angry or anything and we haven't been waiting too long; just a couple minutes after the last person arrived before you."
Gokudera's eyes were overcome with emotion at his boss's words. He bowed before the younger boy again, his words thick with gratitude. "You are so great and understanding, Tenth! I don't deserve your kindness and the right-hand man position! In fact, I—"
Before Gokudera could finish his overemotional speech that would belittle himself even further, Yamamoto grabbed his shoulders and brought him back up into a standing position. "Now, now, Gokudera, there's no need for that." The taller teen explained as he started ushering the small Italian past Tsuna's right and to an open pillow. "Why don't we sit down like Tsuna asked so that we don't hold up the meeting further?"
The raven-haired teen's offer was met with protest as his companion started to flail at his boyfriend's pushing. "You bastard! You should be bowing to the Tenth and asking for forgiveness too! It's your fault we're late, after all!"
"Haha, I already apologized, Gokudera." The younger teen laughed as he forcefully sat his fiery companion down next to Tsuna's right. "There. Now sit down and enjoy Sawada-san's cooking."
Gokudera continued to glare at Yamamoto heatedly, his mouth slightly forming a pout as Yamamoto took a seat kitty-corner from him since they were at the edge of the table. The raven-haired teen continued to smile serenely at his boyfriend, feeling slightly smug that he had made Gokudera actually obey him in public as the rest of the people in the room laughed at the right-hand man's typical theatrics.
It was here that Nana returned from putting Yamamoto's and Gokudera's coats away, a big cooking pot now in her hands. "I hope all of you are hungry! We have plenty of food to go around!" She stated as Kyoko, Chrome and Haru came up behind her with big cooking pots in their hands as well.
"I hope everyone likes Oden!" Kyoko announced happily, as she put down the pot she was holding in front of Tsuna, the other women setting their offerings down along the table as well. At the sound of the word, everyone's eyes lit up as the different assortments of simmering foods were placed before them.
After everyone had dished up and began eating and breaking out into conversation, Yamamoto was finally able to take in everything around him, noticing everyone in the room for the first time.
Kyoko, Tsuna's girlfriend of one year was sitting to Tsuna's left and trying to feed the spikey-haired boy something from the oden pot with her chopsticks. Tsuna blushed in embarrassment at the action but took a bite from the offered food nonetheless.
Sitting adjacent from Kyoko and across from him was Haru. The brown-haired girl was in deep conversation with Bianchi who sat next to her, the magenta-haired woman, thankfully, wearing ski goggles. The two women were whispering in a conspicuous manner with each other and glancing in Gokudera's direction every once in a while, which Yamamoto couldn't help but feel concerned about. Quickly eyeing the teen sitting next to him, who was oblivious to everything around him at that point as he was shoveling Nana's delicious cooking into his mouth like a starving madman, Yamamoto only felt his concern grow. Did Gokudera forget to eat breakfast again?
Pushing the slight irritation he felt at his boyfriend's carelessness and forgetting Haru and Bianchi's suspicious actions for the moment, Yamamoto continued to look around and spotted Futa sitting next to Bianchi, who was currently trying to stop Lambo from throwing some of his food at Reborn who was sitting at the other end of the table. Yamamoto was quick to note that Futa had grown much taller since the last time he saw him. The young sandy-haired boy was almost a teenager now and had grown very tall for his age. He was about the same size as Tsuna was during middle school.
Lambo, Yamamoto also noted, had grown bigger as well since he was no longer considered a baby. The little nine-year-old was about the same size as Futa had been when he first appeared and continued to wear cow printed styled clothing while his once unruly afro had grown out into gentle black curls. The little cow was beginning to resemble his Adult Lambo form but, sadly, didn't seem to act like him yet if the little temper tantrum he was throwing was anything to go by.
Sitting next to the rambunctious Lambo, and who was also giving the slightly older kid disapproving sideways glances, was I-Pin. Her hair had grown out and was currently in a long braided ponytail, the hair band tied at the end of her hair, matching her formal red Chinese dress. Yamamoto could never understand how I-pin didn't have ears when she was a baby but now, when she was older, she did. It was one of those phenomena that Yamamoto had come to expect within the mafia world that he was certain he would never get an answer to.
To the lovely I-pin's left sat Chrome, who was blushing shyly as she talked to the Chinese girl next to her. It was here that Yamamoto noticed that Chrome had been growing her hair out too, the purple locks now reaching her shoulders but the top of her hair was still scrunched up to look like Mukuro's. Speaking of the pineapple haired illusionist, he was sitting to Chrome's left and was laughing creepily under his breath as he gave challengingly glances towards Hibari, who sat diagonally from him on Yamamoto's side of the table. The prefect, in turn, looked like he was trying his best to ignore the mist guardian but would occasionally send piercing glares towards the man who was disturbing his meal. Yamamoto was surprised that Hibari could stand being in the room with so many people around but guessed that that was the reason why Hibari was sitting at the edge of the table. His position made it so that he could be as far away from the others as possible.
Noticing that Mukuro's creeping stare had fallen onto him, Yamamoto quickly looked away towards the illusionist's left to notice Basil courageously sitting next to the blue-haired man. Yamamoto could feel the back of his neck prickle as he continued to feel Mukuro's mismatched eyes on him and was relieved when the illusionist chuckled and reverted back to his previous action of irritating Hibari. Basil seemed to be disturbed by Mukuro's actions as well as Yamamoto noticed the other rain-based user fidget nervously in his seat as he continued to eat his food. The black-haired teen began to wonder why Basil was even at Tsuna's house in the first place, that is, until he noticed Iemetsu sitting kitty-corner from the light brown-haired Italian at the opposite end of the table.
Iemetsu looked like he hadn't changed at all from the few times that Yamamoto had seen him. The older blonde-haired man was laughing heartily and drinking from a sake bottle with no care in the world as he continued his conversation with Reborn who was sitting next to him. Yamamoto was quick to assume that Iemetsu had come home for the holidays and had brought Basil with him since the younger teen was interested in Japanese culture and probably wanted to see how the Japanese celebrated Christmas.
The young raven-haired teen's eyes then fell on Reborn. The little baby hitman was sitting in the very center at the end of the table, completely opposite from Tsuna. The baby was intent on eating his supper it seemed but would occasionally reply to whatever Tsuna's dad was talking to him about, his big black eyes never leaving his plate.
To Reborn's left sat Nana, who would continue to pile food onto the baby's plate whenever it was getting low and gush happily whenever Iemetsu would blow her drunken kisses from the toddler's opposite side. Yamamoto wasn't sure if he could make it out over the din of everyone's conversations but he was sure he heard Tsuna's father whine loudly about how Reborn should switch him seats so that he could sit next to his lovely wife. He wasn't sure what Reborn had said in reply but by Iemetsu's pouting face and slouched form, it was easy to figure out the answer. Yamamoto wasn't surprised that Reborn turned down the offer since the little guy was a very imposing authority figure and he probably wanted to be seated across from Tsuna for some kind of mafia protocol that the black-haired baseball player couldn't still quite understand.
Feeling bad for Tsuna's father and his predicament, Yamamoto was about to call out to the older man and offer that Basil switch seats with his wife when he remembered that Mukuro was currently sitting next to the light-haired teen and didn't want Nana to befall such an uncomfortable fate. Instead, he focused on the people on his side of the table now, taking in the rest of their faces.
To Nana's left was Hibari, like he had noticed before. The dark-haired prefect was sitting at the end of the table and still trying to eat his food in peace but with Mukuro still staring at him and with Dino, who was sitting to the prefect's right and continuously trying to talk to him, Hibari wasn't getting any reprieve. Yamamoto wondered why Hibari hadn't started beating people into submission as he usually would when he was annoyed (because it was obvious to see that Hibari was annoyed beyond reason; one of his eyes was beginning to twitch). Maybe Reborn or Dino had offered Hibari something if he behaved himself? After all, they were the only people Yamamoto knew of that could get Hibari to calm down.
Quickly glancing to Dino's right so that Hibari didn't feel the pity glances he was giving him, Yamamoto saw some people he really didn't expect to see. To the blond-haired don's right sat Giannini who was currently out of his flying portable space craft and happily devouring the hodgepodge of food set before him. To the large man's right sat Irie Shoichi who was in deep conversation with Spanner, the two robot enthusiasts examining some blueprints the curly-haired blonde mechanic was holding while they ate.
Yamamoto knew that Irie went to another school in Namimori so he wasn't all surprised the bespectacled boy was sitting in the living room. After all, he had just recently been getting in touch with Tsuna about the Vongola family after he had gotten over his initial fear of confronting them. Irie still felt uncomfortable for his actions during their time in the future about shooting everyone with the 10-year-bazooka, but after Tsuna got in touch with him again and accepted him into the family, the young nerdy boy had been hanging out with them recently.
As for Spanner, all Yamamoto knew was that Spanner was a transfer student attending a high school in one of the surrounding towns, so he was a little surprised that the blonde-haired mechanic was here but was certain that Tsuna had invited the boy as well since he was also considered part of the family because of his future-self's actions.
That brought Yamamoto to the last group of people at the table, who were sitting to Spanner's right and to his left. Hana and Ryohei were currently laughing about something as they ate their dinner next to each other, the white-haired boxer's laugh echoing loudly around the room for everyone to hear (Yamamoto could distinctly feel his ear drums vibrate ominously in pain at the loud decibel it was being succumbed to). Yamamoto was surprised to see Ryohei sitting next to him since the boxer was currently attending college in another town and the colleges didn't let their students out for holidays until later in the month. All the young baseball player could discern from this situation was that Ryohei must have travelled home for the weekend in order to make it to this meeting and that he was going back tonight. Either way, Hana seemed to be enjoying the little time that she had with her boyfriend of three years since she was still in high school and hardly got to see him. Yamamoto was so used to seeing the black-haired girl acting grouchy (much like his Gokudera) that it came as a surprise to him when he saw her laughing and smiling happily while she sat next to her boyfriend. The tall baseball player couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy that one of his classmates, no, three of his classmates if he counted Tsuna and Kyoko, could so openly display their affections towards their significant others in public.
Yamamoto turned to look at the silver-haired bomber sitting adjacent to him, his hazel eyes sad and longing as he stared at his companion who was too busy conversing with Tsuna now to notice. The raven-haired teen quickly looked back down at his plate of food, not feeling all that hungry anymore.
To the taller teen's surprise, there was a sharp tap to his shoulder a few minutes later. Yamamoto glanced towards his left to see Gokudera withdrawing his hand. The grey-haired teen's eyes were flashing with irritation as he glared at the dark-haired teen and down at his still full plate of food, unable to fully mask the concern behind his fiery eyes.
"Why the hell aren't you eating anything, Baseball Idiot?" Gokudera whispered out harshly.
Yamamoto was taken by surprise by this statement but decided to respond truthfully, nonetheless. "I just don't feel hungry." He replied simply, his caramel colored eyes becoming serious as he was reminded about his previous jealousy and his confusion towards what Gokudera actually thought of him.
Gokudera's jade-green eyes widened slightly at that but quickly narrowed as he noticed Yamamoto giving him attitude. That hardly ever happened. Not knowing how to handle the situation, Gokudera fell back on what he did best: giving attitude back.
"Don't lie to me you dipshit!" the smaller teen continued to whisper out, not wanting the Tenth or the other's to overhear their conversation. "We were busier than shit today at the shop and we hardly had any time to eat anything. You have to be starving!"
Yamamoto's eyes narrowed defensively as Gokudera's lecturing was beginning to worsen his mood. He knew his anger went beyond just feeling jealous of his other friends' freedom in showing their relationships and more towards his rocky relationship with the boy right next to him, but Gokudera didn't know that. The rain guardian felt kind of bad for acting this way towards Gokudera but another part of him didn't care because Gokudera always acted this way towards him, so why couldn't he do the same? Maybe the smaller boy would actually feel just as confused as he did! "Even if I am hungry, I just don't feel like eating. Is that a problem for you?"
The silver-haired Italian tried not to show his shock at his younger boyfriend's sudden hostility, unconsciously raising his voice above a whisper in the process. "Of course it's a problem for me! Not eating the food provided to you by a host is insulting to them! By not eating Sawada-san's food you insult her and insult the Tenth!"
Yamamoto felt a stab of pain at the small bomber's words. It was always about Tsuna. Always. "It's nothing against Tsuna or his mother. I just don't feel like eating anything at the moment." Yamamoto gruffly replied, his voice wavering with unwanted emotion.
Gokudera's breath hitched at Yamamoto's words, seeing the wounded look in the rain guardian's eyes. Before the storm guardian could begin to think on what he had done to hurt Yamamoto again, another voice interrupted them.
"It's alright Yamamoto. You don't have to eat anything if you don't want to." Tsuna acknowledged with a look of concern on his face. "Are you feeling sick?"
"A little upset, yeah." Yamamoto responded somewhat truthfully with a nervous chuckle, not expecting Tsuna to overhear the conversation. He was pretty certain at this point that Gokudera would be pissed at his behavior and cancel their agreement about staying over at the older boy's apartment tonight. Yamamoto felt disappointment begin to overcome him but he wondered if staying over at Gokudera's place would be a bad idea anyway. There was definitely a possibility that it would only cause him more confusion in the long run. Not wanting to talk anymore (which had to be a first for him), the taller teen focused on his untouched plate of food, moving the food around with his chopsticks as a means of distraction.
Tsuna and Gokudera watched as Yamamoto went about poking at his food with his chopsticks, their eyes filling with worry over the taller boy's actions. Tsuna was about to question Yamamoto again if he was feeling ok but was distracted as a wad of simmering meat hit him square in the face. This surprising action was met by annoying laughter as the thrower of the meat, Lambo, jumped onto the table and declared a food fight out of sheer boredom. Scared out of his mind at what could possibly happen, Tsuna lost no time in jumping from his seat and attempted to drag Lambo down from the table while the little kid failed to hit Reborn with a cooked ginger root and was in the process of being maliciously shot at in retaliation.
"Oooh, is this a dinner show?" Nana questioned in wonder as she watched the spectacle before her, not realizing the seriousness of the situation as the guest's started ducking and diving out of the range of fire.
Now normally, being the right-hand man that he was, Gokudera would have naturally tried to help his boss in quelling the mayhem that was taking place in front of them but while everyone was distracted by the whizzing bullets and food particles, Gokudera decided to, instead, grab a distracted Yamamoto who was watching the ensuing battle with slight interest and dragged him down below the table where they wouldn't be disturbed. The table was too low to the ground for Gokudera to fully drag the taller teen underneath it but he decided that getting their heads below the table would at least help them escape from any unwanted food or bullets to the head so that they could talk.
"You idiot! I don't know where this whiny, girly, attitude of yours came from all of a sudden but you need to at least eat something!" Gokudera ground out angrily, his pissed off face only inches from Yamamoto's.
Yamamoto winced at the uncomfortable angle Gokudera was putting his back in at the moment but returned the older boy's glare with force. "Do you really think I should listen to you when you decided that you didn't want to eat breakfast this morning? Again."
"T-That's completely different!" The silver-haired teen sputtered out. Gokudera wasn't going to be the one to tell Yamamoto that he had spent the last of his money for food on cigarettes. It shouldn't really matter when he was going to be getting his paycheck from Tsuyoshi in a couple days time anyway. "That doesn't stop the fact that you need to eat something!" Gokudera continued, a blush slowly forming on his face at his next words. "W-won't you need it for s-stamina later…or something…"
Yamamoto's eyes widened in shock as he took in Gokudera's words, the smaller teen quickly looking away from him. From the way the smoking bomber was acting…did that mean…"D-Does that mean you still want me to come over?" The black-haired rain guardian stuttered in surprise. "Even after the way I've been acting?"
"Che!" the silver-haired teen scoffed, still refusing to look at his companion. "I really shouldn't invite you over for acting like a sulking woman but it's not like you caused any suspicion…"
Yamamoto's eyes lit-up slightly with hope at the smaller teen's words but the confusion he felt towards the other didn't stop. He didn't want to be the one to point out that Gokudera had been the one sulking more than him recently so he decided on a different approach, his eyes looking upon Gokudera's with fake innocence. "Well, you have mood swings like a woman so does that make us even?"
Gokudera's face flushed redder than his storm flames not out of embarrassment but out of anger at the other's words. "What the fuck did you just say?" the silver-haired guardian exclaimed, not losing a second in jumping at Yamamoto and attempting to strangle him.
Surprisingly, this was what brought Yamamoto out of his funk because he started laughing, enjoying the struggle between him and his smaller companion as the other attempted to hurt him and he effectively held the other away at arm's length.
Eventually, the living room calmed down to the point that everyone could go back to their meals, each person slightly worn out but none the worse for wear. Even Lambo wasn't too bad off, although the little cow was sniffling pathetically to himself, remembering the scarring life and death situation that had happened to him moments prior with Reborn who had mercilessly shot at him with real bullets. Gokudera also felt worn out like everyone else as well. He was still grumpy over Yamamoto's last statement but was secretly happy that the taller teen was eating again (even though it pissed him off that he had that cocky idiotic smile on his face when he did so).
Noticing the other's grumpy state, Yamamoto couldn't help but feel guilty over his actions even though Gokudera had been the one to insult him first. It was here that an idea quickly came to the raven-haired teen's mind. "Sorry about what I said, Gokudera." The taller boy whispered gently as he stopped eating again for the moment. "How about I make a bargain with you? If you let me stay over at your place tonight then I will make you breakfast in the morning. Does that sound good or would you not like to eat breakfast with me?"
Gokudera tried and failed miserably in hiding the blush that swept over his cheeks at the other's offer. "I-I'll eat it if you're making it." The young Italian mumbled out in a barely audible whisper, hoping that the food he was munching on would muffle his words.
To Gokudera's misfortune, Yamamoto had exceptional hearing and was able to discern what the other had said. The smile on the black-haired teen's face grew to epic proportions at his companion's unusual praise. "Then I guess it's a date then!"
Gokudera almost choked on the food he had been trying to swallow. After a crazy coughing fit, the smaller teen choked out. "I-Idiot! D-Don't say that too loud!"
Thankfully, no one had heard what Yamamoto had said because Reborn had suddenly jumped onto the table, grabbing everyone's attention with his presence.
"Now that everyone has somewhat filled their stomachs, it's time to announce why Tsuna has invited all of you here tonight." The little baby in the fedora announced, his big, black eyes serious yet playful because of the smirk that accompanied it.
This finally caught Gokudera and Yamamoto's attention. Quickly looking away from each other and towards the little hitman standing on the table, the little arcoboleno continued with his speech.
"As you all know, Christmas is drawing near and that means it's time to celebrate an annual Vongola Christmas event that is only held once every five years." Reborn spoke up again, the smirk on his face slowly receding into a frown. "Sadly, after Tsuna decided to talk with the Ninth about this event, they decided to change the rules so that there wouldn't be any outcomes towards the winners or losers."
Everyone who had experienced the many different Vongola traditions were excited at this news but laughed nervously once they noticed Reborn's slightly discontent disposition. Anyone could tell that the little baby was disappointed that he couldn't dish out punishment.
"That aside," Reborn continued with a sigh. "The event still holds its meaning. So without further ado, it's time to hold the Vongola Secret Santa event!"
The whole room was filled with gasps from its occupants (except from Mukuro and Hibari who just decided to raise their eyebrows questioningly at the turn of events), some from excitement and others from dread. Reborn stayed where he was, bestowing his audience with his all-knowing smile.
"Tsuna, why don't you explain to our guests why we are holding this event?" Reborn stated as more of a command rather than a question.
"W-What? But Reborn—" Tsuna began to protest feebly at the other end of the table, his brown eyes shining with nervousness. Before the future 10th Vongola boss could finish his sentence, his face was met with the end of Reborn's foot. The little baby had easily jumped from one end of the table to the other so swiftly that no one knew what had happened until they saw Tsuna fall back in pain.
"Stop being the no-good loser that you are and start acting like the boss." Reborn commanded again as he landed on the table next to Tsuna's dinner plate. The small brown-haired mafia boss in question, stood up on shaking feet, massaging his now very sore nose.
"Geez, Reborn!" The smaller teen exclaimed in a nasally voice as one of his hands covered his aching nose. He was amazed that the kick hadn't broken it. "You didn't have to kick me!"
"Then learn your place as the boss and give your subordinates an explanation." The little baby stated without glancing up at Tsuna as his back turned away from him and looked towards the guests in the living room.
"Ok, ok, fine!" Tsuna sighed in exasperation. He hated talking in front of crowds. It always made him so nervous. The spiky-haired teen took in the many faces surrounding the dining table, drawing courage from their presence as he began to speak. "Um, well…the Ninth and I decided that throwing a normal Secret Santa exchange would suffice for this year's annual Christmas event. We're all going to be starting new chapters in our lives soon and everyone's going to be working together with each other for years to come, so I thought that by holding this event we can all get to know each other better as members of a family."
Everyone in the room nodded their heads in understanding, some more reluctant than others in accepting the event. They continued to stare up at Tsuna expectantly until the smaller teen became nervous and said. "Um…that's it…" and sat back down in his seat and fidgeted with his hands. Seeing the boy sitting next to her was so nervous, Kyoko gave her boyfriend a comforting pat on the shoulder and a gentle smile, calming the smaller boy down somewhat.
It was here that Nana decided to stand up. She addressed the crowd with her usual bubbly smile, excitement flowing from her very being. "My baby boy has grown up so much! It makes me so happy!"
The only responses that Nana received from her ramblings were Iemetsu's boisterous laughter and Tsuna calling out to his mother in embarrassment.
Nana just giggled and continued to say what she truly wanted to say. "I don't know what's really going on but it makes me happy to see my son treat his friends like his own family. I hope this Secret Santa exchange will be fun for everyone involved!"
"You're so kind and thoughtful, Nana!" Iemetsu shouted out randomly, emotional tears cascading from his eyes and his cheeks rosy from the sake.
Nana gushed like a little school girl at her husband's appraisal, her cheeks blushing red from embarrassment while her hands waved at Iemetsu dismissively. "Oh Honey, stop! You're embarrassing me!" She squealed in joy.
Everyone could hear the embarrassed groan from the other side of the room as Tsuna slapped his hands over his face in horror.
Noticing that she was getting off track, Nana cleared her throat cutely and started again. "Anyways, what we are going to do is put everyone's name in Reborn's hat and go into the kitchen. There, we will call someone in to draw a name so that no one else will be able to see it. Then from there, you can decide if you want to stay here and visit for a bit or you can head home."
With a gracious smile, Nana then took her seat and Iemetsu took the stand, the rosy tint on his cheeks somehow vanishing as he addressed everyone in the room with his regular goofy smile. "After everyone draws their names, you must buy a gift for that person; a gift that you know that they will like. We will all meet back here on Christmas Eve night to give our presents away. For those of you that don't have any idea on what to give your Secret Santa, there will be a notepad out on the end table by our phone in the hallway for people to add what they want for Christmas."
As Iemetsu said this, Nana stood up again but this time with a regular notepad in her hands and a pencil. After doing her best showcasing impersonation, she headed out into the hallway to place her objects by the hallway phone.
"I suggest that everyone writes down what they want before they leave." Iemetsu continued, chuckling while he did so. "But try to not make it an expensive gift people, we're not all made of money."
"But…Sawada-sama?" Futa piped up from his seat next to Bianchi, not sure on how to address Tsuna's father since he hardly saw him. "What if we don't have any money?"
Before Iemetsu could respond, Nana walked back into the living room with an understanding smile on her face. "Since you kids don't have money, I will gladly provide some for you to help your Secret Santa!"
Futa smiled in relief at that while Lambo rejoiced next to him. I-pin yelled at the cow-like boy to not spend the money on candy but Lambo just continued to laugh joyfully like he never heard her.
"Now that we have everything out of the way…"Reborn spoke up again from his place on the table. "Maman and I will enter the kitchen now to prepare the names. We will call a person in when we are done and that person is free to choose someone else as soon as they are done drawing a name."
"And also, don't forget to write down your name and what you want on the notepad in the hallway before you leave." Nana reminded everyone again with a giddy smile as she picked up Reborn from the opposite end of the table and headed into the kitchen. As soon as the two left, the room burst into conversation as everyone discussed the event or continued to eat.
As he continued with his meal, Yamamoto wondered who he was going to be a Secret Santa for. He would love nothing more than to be Gokudera's Secret Santa but the chances of that were slim. Oh well, even if he didn't get his silver-haired lover, he would still buy him a Christmas gift. The young baseball player turned to his left, wondering if his companion was having the same thoughts as him and was met with the image of a very pumped up Gokudera. The smaller teen's eyebrows were knit together thoughtfully while one of his fists was clenched in front him in determination, his eyes burning with a righteous passion. All in all, it looked like the little Italian was giving himself an internal pep talk.
Yamamoto was certain that Gokudera was not thinking about him at all but about…
"You want to be Tsuna's Secret Santa, don't you?" The raven-haired teen asked knowingly, not surprised in the least when Gokudera got flustered at the question.
"O-Of course I do!" Gokudera confirmed with just as much determination as he had during his inner musings mere seconds ago. "I mean, I would give the Tenth a Christmas gift even if I wasn't his Secret Santa, but do you know how much easier it would be if I didn't have to shop for one of the other retards here?"
Yamamoto's brown orbs narrowed at that, wondering if he was part of that 'retard' category. Knowing Gokudera, he probably was, as much as that thought irked him. He didn't want to think that Gokudera thought he would be a hassle to shop for but he didn't understand what the silver-haired teen really thought of him. With the way the other was acting around him as of late, he wouldn't be surprised if Gokudera didn't buy him a Christmas gift at all.
Sensing the unusual depressing air emanating from his taller companion again, Gokudera was about to ask the other what was up with him tonight but a voice interrupted his thoughts. The silver-haired Italian immediately registered the voice as Reborn's, and as he saw Mukuro stand up and leave his seat, he was quick to assume that the arcoboleno had started the Secret Santa drawing.
Yamamoto had turned his gazed towards Mukuro when he had heard Reborn's voice as well. He was quick to notice Basil heave a sigh of relief once the creepy illusionist left his presence and couldn't help but feel sorry for the foreign boy. It had to be tough sitting next to Mukuro…or should he say interesting? Either way, it had to be a nerve wracking experience.
The rain guardian's thoughts of the illusionist came to an abrupt end once he heard a short feminine cry close to him a couple minutes later. The baseball player whipped his head around towards the source of the noise to see Mukuro holding onto a startled Kyoko's shoulder. Hadn't Mukuro just left?
Tsuna was quick to question what everyone was thinking. "M-Mukuro! When did you come back in?"
The blue-haired illusionist just laughed and shook his head at his supposed boss's stupidity. "Kufufu, you should honestly know this by now, Sawada Tsunayoshi. I'm an illusionist. I'm merely using an illusion of myself to save time in telling Sasagawa-san it's her time to draw."
"O-Oh…that was fast." Tsuna ended lamely, the illusion of Mukuro disappearing shortly after as Kyoko stood up beside him.
"Wish me luck, Tsuna-kun!" She exclaimed cheerfully, an excited smile illuminating her face.
Tsuna blushed and stuttered his good luck wishes to his girlfriend who left promptly after that, a skip to her step as she passed by Mukuro in the doorway as he re-entered the living room. The illusionist then made his way over to Chrome and whispered something in her ear. The shy girl nodded her head in understanding as her savior left her there in the living room and headed out towards the entree way, telling everyone who cared to listen that he was heading out for air.
It was a few minutes after this that Kyoko returned with a confused look on her face, the notepad from the hallway held in her hands. She walked over to Lambo first and told him it was his turn to go and draw and then made her way over to Tsuna, the little cow running from the room in a flurry of excitement.
"Um…Tsuna-kun?" Kyoko asked hesitantly, confusion still plastered all over her face. "Would you mind explaining what this means?"
Tsuna peered up at his girlfriend in confusion as she held out the notepad for him to see. The spiky-haired boy was quick to note the top of the list contained his mother's handwriting, the words, "Christmas Shopping List!" were written in extravagant letters across the top with doodles of mistletoe, Santa hats, and candy canes drawn next to them. Before Tsuna could mentally complain about his mother going overboard again, the young mafia boss to-be glanced down below the frilly print to see something he never expected.
"Hiieee?" Tsuna screamed shrilly in a rather un-masculine manner (which was an accomplishment since the boy's voice had finally dropped after hitting puberty last year), his eyes wide in shock and staring directly at the print below his mother's flashy title.
This, of course, grabbed Gokudera's attention. "What's wrong, Tenth?" The silver-haired bomber questioned frantically as he scooted closer to his boss and peered over the smaller boy's shoulder at the notepad held in front of them. The storm guardian was so shocked at what he discovered he almost didn't notice Yamamoto come up and stand behind him and Tsuna to find out what was causing all the commotion.
"Wow…" Yamamoto stated as he chuckled uncertainly at the words written on the paper and scratched his cheek absentmindedly in confusion. "Didn't expect to see that…"
There, written below Nana's flashy drawings and above Kyoko's cute handwriting that declared her want for some fluffy trimmed snow boots was Mukuro's Christmas wish, written in neat and tidy print.
'For Christmas, I want Sawada Tsunayoshi's body. (heart) Mukuro.'
Tsuna wasn't sure what he should be more terrified of: that Mukuro was still going on about his body, that the crazy illusionist had actually written it down for everyone to see, or that the crazy pineapple-haired man had drawn a heart before his name. A heart for crying out loud!
"I-I can't believe he wrote that!" The spiky-haired boy yelled after he finally found the words to speak. With a great flurry of motion he tore the notepad and pencil from Kyoko's hands and started to erase Mukuro's words frantically, all the while apologizing to his girlfriend for what she had seen. Kyoko just blinked in confusion as all of this went on, not really offended by Mukuro's statement (she had always picked up on the fact that the man was a bit weird) just curious as to what it meant.
Tsuna sighed in relief once the freakish Christmas wish was erased from the paper. He hoped that Mukuro wouldn't come back in and rewrite it. The soon to be mafia don was about to hand back the notepad and pencil to his girlfriend in order to return it to the hallway but before he could, another pair of hands swiped them away. Tsuna blinked in confusion as he felt the pad and pencil leave his fingers and turned to see Gokudera writing something down where Mukuro's writing had previously been.
"Sorry about that, Tenth!" Gokudera apologized, his gaze still on the paper as he continued to write. "I just thought of something that could replace that crazy bastard's wish!"
Tsuna wasn't sure if he liked the creepy smile that Gokudera was showing as he finished writing on the paper or the dangerous glint in the bomber's eyes. He was sure he wasn't going to like where this was going.
With a laugh of triumph Gokudera slammed the notepad and pencil down onto the table for his audience to see, crossing his arms across his chest in satisfaction as he mentally congratulated himself for his good work. Tsuna, Kyoko and Yamamoto glanced down to see the words that were written in place of Mukuro's previous wish.
'For Christmas, I would really like a therapist. (heart) Mukuro'
Tsuna stared at the writing with a deadpanned expression, Kyoko blinked in confusion and Yamamoto just laughed. "Haha, you draw really cute hearts, Gokudera!"
"What the fuck does that have to do with anything?" Gokudera screamed in embarrassment as he threw the pencil and notepad in Yamamoto's direction, trying and failing to cover up the blush spreading across his face. The baseball player caught the projectiles with ease and continued to laugh heartily at his secret boyfriend's expense.
Tsuna rubbed his temples in exasperation. "Just return that pad to the hallway, Yamamoto. Gods, I hope Mukuro doesn't see that…"
The tall baseball player finally stopped laughing and did as he was told, leaving the room where everyone was staring at him and his friends in confusion. As he was replacing the pad and pencil to their proper places in the hallway, he came across Lambo as the little boy made his way out of the kitchen.
"If you need to write down your Christmas wish, here you go!" The taller boy offered with a genuine smile as he stepped back from the table.
Lambo just nodded his head excitedly as he ran up to the notepad and began writing under Kyoko's cute print. Yamamoto was about to leave but stopped when he heard the little cow ask, "Hey Yamamoto-san? What's a therapist?"
It was a few minutes later that Lambo and Yamamoto re-entered the living room after the tall baseball player had patiently tried to explain what a therapist was to the intrigued little cow. Naturally, the conversation didn't really go anywhere because not even a minute into the explanation where Yamamoto mainly used sound effects to get his point across, Lambo had stopped listening anyway out of disinterest, feeling his time was much rather spent picking his nose.
As the two made their way towards the end of the table where Tsuna and Gokudera sat, Lambo ran ahead and tapped I-pin playfully on the shoulder, rousing the little girl from her conversation with Futa and Chrome. "Tag! You're it!" Lambo giggled madly as he ran in the direction of Tsuna, expecting his friend to give chase.
I-pin just stared at her childhood friend's retreating back in confusion, unable to decide if Lambo just wanted to play with her or if he had chosen her to go draw a name. Sighing in exasperation, the little Chinese girl decided to ignore her friend at the moment and started off towards the kitchen. Once Lambo realized I-pin wasn't chasing after him, he pouted grumpily and ran up to Yamamoto who had finally made it to the end of the table as well.
"Hey, Yamamoto-san!" Lambo called out as he ran over to the taller boy and hugged his legs, stopping the baseball player in his tracks. "Play with me!"
Yamamoto just looked down at the pesky cow in confusion as the little boy gave him his command. "Um…maybe later?" The raven-haired teen answered uncertainly, trying to give the little boy his best encouraging smile. He really didn't want to play around at the moment; not with Lambo anyway.
The little boy frowned up at the taller teen and stuck his tongue out. "Bleh! You're boring!" he shouted out as he let go of the other's leg and went to go bother Futa instead.
Normally, Lambo's childish remarks would never affect him but Yamamoto couldn't help but feel a little sting from those words. Was he boring? Is that why Gokudera was acting distant around him lately? Was the other losing interest in him because of that? As the millions of worries erupted in his head, Yamamoto sat back down in his designated seat, his brows furrowed in deep contemplation.
Gokudera took notice of the other's expression, breaking off his conversation with Tsuna for the moment to give his boyfriend some crap. Really, what was up with Yamamoto tonight? The other boy's mood seemed to constantly be heading towards depression at every given instance, which was very unlike him. Of course, Gokudera would never admit to himself that he was worried for Yamamoto but he felt obliged to try and lighten the mood a little bit, after all, Yamamoto had seemed to be feeling happier when he had left to return the notepad.
Slightly blushing at the reminder of the heart comment, Gokudera continued on with his plan. "Hey Yamamoto, don't think too hard. You're brain might implode if you overwork it too much." The grey-haired bomber playfully sneered, hoping to get a positive reaction from the taller boy.
Sadly, Gokudera didn't get his wish. Yamamoto continued to look like he was deep in thought until he asked the question he was previously thinking about to his feisty companion, his eyes focused on the table in front of him. "Hey, Gokudera? Do you think I'm boring?"
Gokudera spluttered at that, wondering why the other would be asking such a question. Noticing how serious the other looked and how Yamamoto was refusing to meet his eyes, Gokudera knew that he had to answer this question right or the taller boy would continue to be depressed. Of course, Gokudera already knew the answer to the question. It was rather easy to say that everything about Yamamoto was not boring. In fact, everything about Yamamoto actually excited him.
The little Italian's face grew so red at that thought he wondered if he was going to pass out from the rapid accumulation of blood to his head. He was actually beginning to feel lightheaded! As the fiery bomber tried to get his tongue to work to convey his message (he was just going to say 'no', he was definitely not going to tell the idiot that he excited him!) another person beat him to the chase.
With a loud booming laugh that could wake even the dead, Ryohei wrapped his arm around Yamamoto's shoulder and gave the rain guardian a playful punch in the shoulder with his other fist. "Haha, what kind of question was that Yamamoto? I think you're an extremely fun guy!"
Yamamoto laughed nervously at his senpai's boisterous attitude, rubbing his now sore arm in the process. "Um…thank you, Senpai."
"No problem!" Ryohei exclaimed in jubilation, giving his other jock friend a mighty pat on the back that would have sent a less muscular person face first into the table.
Gokudera felt his blood begin to boil as the idiotic Lawn Head took his spotlight. No longer feeling up to saying anything to Yamamoto anymore (the idiot had gotten his answer anyway), Gokudera just scoffed and turned away. He had to make a mental note to throw some dynamite at the stupid boxer the next time he got a chance.
Of course, this only served in depressing Yamamoto further because he didn't want to know what Ryohei thought, he wanted to know what Gokudera thought of him. Noticing that the smaller teen was ignoring him, Yamamoto didn't bother to bring up the conversation again. Gokudera's silence was answer enough.
Not being the one to always be kept down, Yamamoto made a vow to himself in that moment. If Gokudera thought he was boring then that meant he only had to liven things up a bit. With renewed determination, Yamamoto began planning his next course of action in order to get the smaller teen interested in him again.
He would make his plan effective tonight.
After a couple people had come and gone from the living room, it was finally Gokudera's turn to go and draw a name. As the storm guardian made his way to the kitchen, he crossed his fingers and repeated his mantra of the Tenth's name in his head. He really hoped he would draw the Tenth's name so that he could prove himself as a right-hand man and not have to bother buying anything for the other idiots in the family.
When Gokudera finally entered the kitchen, Reborn and Nana were waiting for him. Nana held out the little fedora hat in her hands in offering while Reborn told Gokudera to draw a name from the hat, his unruly hair sticking up in all directions in a comical fashion.
Before the silver-haired bomber drew the dreaded name, he closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, preparing himself for what fate had in store for him. Not a second after he thought this, the silver-haired storm guardian clapped his hands together a couple times and brought his head down in a bowing motion, his hands flat together in prayer.
Nana gawked at her son's friend in confusion. "What are you doing, Gokudera-kun?" she asked politely, trying to suppress a giggle that bubbled up from her chest at the sight of the teen praying before the hat.
"I'm praying to the god's of luck." Was Gokudera's short yet serious reply, his brows furrowing together in concentration upon the interruption. He had to do this right or his fate for the name drawing would be doomed! Before the young bomber could finish his task though, a foot swiftly met with the side of the boy's head.
"Just pick a name already!" Reborn commanded, leaving no room for arguments as he jumped back to his previous position on the kitchen table.
Rubbing his now very sore head, Gokudera hastily complied and closed his eyes as he placed his hand in the hat. Feeling around for a second, the silver-haired bomber grabbed a single piece of paper and brought it up to his face. With a nervous sweat beginning to break out on his forehead, Gokudera hesitantly opened his eyes and prayed that he had gotten the name he wanted.
The slip of paper read: Sasagawa Ryohei.
A tense silence filled the room as Gokudera stared at the slip of paper unbelievingly. Reborn smiled knowingly at Gokudera's reaction in a smug manner, while Nana wondered if she should ask the silver-haired boy if he was alright. Feeling an uncontrollable anger begin to rise within him, Gokudera promptly left the kitchen before he would regrettably swear in front of the Tenth's mother, bypassing the Christmas notepad in a huff (he didn't know what he wanted for Christmas anyway) as he made his way back into the living room and let his frustrations out.
"FUCK!"
"I take it that you didn't get Tsuna." Yamamoto stated confidently as he peered over at a now sitting Gokudera. The silver-haired teen in question had his chin resting on the table and was staring morosely off into space. Yamamoto knew that he should never be angry with Tsuna over Gokudera's subordinate infatuation with him but he would be lying if he said he wasn't happy with this turn of events.
The black-haired baseball player began to worry when he noticed that Gokudera hadn't responded to him but was relieved once the smaller teen finally looked in his direction and open his mouth to speak. "What do you think of a joint present?"
Yamamoto's only response was to blink in confusion, wondering where that question had suddenly come from.
Gokudera gave a ragged sigh at his companion's stupidity and leaned in closer to whisper in the taller boy's ear. He didn't want anybody to over hear them. "A joint present you idiot! You know, a present that both of us buy together or share money on? I was wondering if you wanted to do a joint present with me for the Tenth."
The rain guardian's mouth formed an 'oh' as he finally understood where his boyfriend was going. Yamamoto couldn't help but smile at the offer as he whispered back, "Sure! That sounds cool. Are you saving your money up to buy something expensive for your Secret Santa?"
The storm guardian scoffed at that idea. "Are you kidding? Why would I spend more money on my Secret Santa then I would on the Tenth?
"So I take it that you're not the little guy's Secret Santa either?" Yamamoto stated confidently again, knowing that the little arcoboleno was a tough person to please and didn't like low quality gifts. Of course, Yamamoto was already certain that Gokudera was Ryohei's Secret Santa. The smaller teen had made it too obvious with his entrance. After the silver-haired boy had entered the living room and screamed out his expletive of choice (earning an earful from Haru who reprimanded Gokudera for swearing in front of the children) the smaller teen had glared murderous daggers towards Ryohei as he made his way across the living room back to his spot.
Yeah, Yamamoto was certain that everyone knew who Gokudera was the Secret Santa of except for maybe Ryohei himself. The white-haired boxer was extremely dense, after all.
Yamamoto was broken out of his train of thought by Gokudera's response. "Hey! We're not supposed to tell others about our Secret Santa's so back off, Baseball Idiot! I thought you were the one that always told me to save my money so I don't end up always starving at the end of the month!" The silver-haired teen growled out a little louder than he expected. He would never tell Yamamoto that he purposely spent most of his money so that the baseball idiot would have a reason to come over and eat with him. He hated to be reminded of how much he actually cared for the taller boy.
The aforementioned baseball idiot brought up his hands in a placating manner, his smile growing wider as he realized Gokudera was finally taking his words to heart (after how many months now?). "Now, now, Gokudera, there's no need to get riled up. I understand, ok?"
Before Gokudera could say anything in return, both boys heard Yamamoto's name being called from the kitchen. The raven-haired teen gave his boyfriend an apologetic smile before he got up and went to go draw a name. The silver-haired teen watched him go, secretly glad that the other seemed to be smiling more now but also feeling guilty as his fears resurfaced to the forefront of his mind.
Gokudera felt at a loss on what to do.
It didn't take Yamamoto too long to reach the kitchen where he was met with the same image as Gokudera; Nana holding out the fedora hat and Reborn standing on the table. As the arcoboleno told Yamamoto to step forward and draw from the hat, the taller teen took a deep breath and, unlike his boyfriend before him, he reached in immediately and drew out a name.
The rain guardian was nervous to open the slip of paper and see who he drew but he reminded himself that no matter who he got, he was still going to find something for Gokudera (and Tsuna and his dad too. It was going to take two of his paychecks to cover this shopping spree of his, much to his discomfort). With renewed vigor, Yamamoto opened the slip of paper and was met with the name of: Gokudera Hayato.
Yamamoto stared at the slip of paper in shock for a moment before joyous laughter burst from his mouth, relief washing over him like a warm blanket.
"Did you get someone you were hoping for?" Reborn asked, his all knowing eyes not matching his questioning tone.
"Haha, yeah." Yamamoto replied after he had calmed down from his laughing fit. "I honestly wasn't expecting to get them. Lucky me, I guess!"
"Good job, Yamamoto-kun!" Nana congratulated on the rain guardian's lucky strike. "I hope you have fun when you go shopping for them!"
The tanned baseball player thanked Tsuna's mom in gratitude before he slipped the piece of paper into his pants pocket and made his way out of the kitchen and towards the living room again. Yamamoto was so elated that he was Gokudera's Secret Santa that he almost forgot one little problem.
What on earth was he going to get him?
A/N: Well there you go. I hope that everyone found some enjoyment out of this chapter! I do have to say that I did actually enjoy writing portions of it (the one's were Gokudera was being silly and Mukuro of course lol) so hopefully everyone enjoyed those too.
I also wanted to bring up a question for you guys. For everyone whose read Washing Rain, do you guys remember the Yamamoto and Gokudera Sim story that I wrote about in one of the author's notes? The one about their first date? Would you guys like for me to add little Sim stories at the ends of my chapters? I'm asking this because I'm afraid that if I do that the chapters would get too long (I will try to condense the stories as much as possible, they will probably be as long as the sim story in Washing Rain, if not shorter) but I feel that the next couple chapters are going to get rather depressing in parts and I wanted to add some light and funny stories that wouldn't mess with my plot (I can't stand things getting too depressing anyway, lol)
Other than that question, I hope you guys enjoyed this and I plan on getting the next chapter up by late October at the latest (College is actually starting up for me again next week, so let's see how close I can stick to this schedule without failing lol).
Until later!