Chapter 7: The Neighbor Feels Something Different

It was another stare off. Or it would have been if the brat in front him bothered to lift his fluf-messy, bird's nest, trashy bush of hair because Varia, and more importantly Xanxus, did not use words like fluffy.

Except maybe that new trash that had joined the Varia shortly before he came here. Xanxus refused to let his mind stroll down the path of memory lane to what he had seen in that other guy's floral printed scrapbook and found that the best way to do so was to focus on the shrimpy brat before him.

The shrimpy brat who had just called him majesty.

Without looking up, Xanxus could feel the beams of the old woman's laser like stare hitting him with all the force of Squalo's voice. He was adept at ignoring that too so as long as he didn't acknowledge it, it wouldn't irritate him. Too much. Maybe.

The brat was still bowing but trembling from the effort to remain balanced and Xanxus was wondering if he would actually have to say something before the child fell over from how far he was bowing and start crying.

Actually…that was a tempting thought, but with their current proximity, that would mean that Xanxus would get tears and snot all over his expensive leather boots. It just wasn't the same when it was coming from someone that he hadn't knocked down himself.

"Oi."

The bushy hair tilted up and Xanxus was greeted with huge caramel eyes. Huge sparkly wide caramel eyes that shone with a light that he had only ever received from those who acknowledged the hard fight he had put up to gain acknowledgement. It was Respect with a capital R. And it made Xanxus a bit uncomfortable to see it in this tiny piece of trash who shouldn't couldn't possibly know who or what he is, was, has been. The last few words were violently shoved away with his considerable mental discipline and he forced his attention to focus on the boy.

"What?" It was gruff and cold, but he couldn't care less, focused as he was on keeping calm.

Tsuna flinched at the King's harsh tone, but refused to look away.

"It's a gift, your Majesty."

The King narrowed his eyes and though Tsuna trembled, his resolve to properly welcome the other was still going strong.

"Why?"

"Be-because you're a King and it's what neighbors do?" The last bit came out as if Tsuna wasn't exactly sure himself.

"And what the hell makes you think I'm your neighbor trash?" Or a King?

"I saw you! With black cars lining the streets like paparazzi in the bushes, you came riding in on your Lima Bean and outran even the rising sun!"

The strangely poetic phrasing caused one dark brow to lift. Then two particular words registered in his head and caused the other to as well. He stared down at the bewildering, yet oddly eloquently speaking, child. No doubt about it. Trash was stupid and only bred more stupidity to infect to the masses.

"The fuc-"

"A~nnd," the boy soldiered on, intent on keeping his momentum. "You're different. You live in a castle and ride in Lima Beans. Only rich people can do that. And I saw a big chair being carried in. It was huuuuggeee-" He stretched his arms as wide as he could. "-and red and gold! It had to be a throne! And-and you have to be the King because you're different from everybody else."

"…" Lima Beans?

The trash was now pouting up at him in a determinedly (dare he think it?) cute way that said 'Please believe me' and 'I know I'm right and you can't change my mind'. Xanxus hadn't even known that such a thing was possible. He had seen others pouting before, but he had blocked those memories for a reason. Some people just didn't realize exactly how disturbing they were when they tried for 'cute'.

They ended up in another staring match, this one lasting for minutes with Xanxus searching for answers to unknown questions and the boy refusing to look away, at least until the sounds of several women calling for their children drifted from the park.

"Ah!" Tsuna jumped up and shoved the candy onto Xanxus' lap. "I have to go now! Bye your Majesty!"

He gave another deep bow, nearly tipping over again, and set off towards the park in what had to be the slowest, sorriest excuse for a run the Varia member had ever seen.

Xanxus watched him go, ignoring the old woman, and then looked down at the purple and silver wrapped stick. It looked like grapes were printed on it.

It seemed that even baby trash could still recognize that he was a step up above just about everyone else.

"Heh. King huh?" I've still got it.

Something light and warm, foreign in its lack of anger and hatred, welled up within him. It wasn't quite happiness and it wasn't quite pleasure either, but it wasn't bad. He wasn't sure if it was a good thing, but it was something different and anything was better than that emptiness.

With that, Xanxus picked up the candy and flipped off the old biddy without ever looking at her(never realizing that she didn't even see him in favor of watching Tsuna return to the park safely).

Feeling like he had had enough fresh air for the day, Xanxus made the trek back to his castle-house. House. Not castle. Goddammit. He had been infected by the stupid.

Don't worry Tsuna! He'll warm up to you soon enough. On the other hand, you can now claim to be one of the very few people ever to completely dominate a conversation with Xanxus and get away completely unscathed.

The candy Tsuna got is called Frutips. He got the small single roll with paper and foil wrapping instead of the big cardboard tube ones. Also known as Rowntree's Fruit Pastilles depending where you buy it. The Asian markets that I've been to seem to only have Frutips though.

Nana is the airheaded sort of parent in this fic. Not deliberately mean or anything, just sort of (very) neglectful, careless and oblivious at times.

And just for the heck of it guess which Varia member Xanxus has spent the majority of this chapter trying not to remember. You will find out what was in that floral printed scrapbook someday. I promise. You may wish you hadn't though.