This was supposed to be up sooner, but I just got Pokemon Omega Ruby and Super Smash Bros.

Xanxus repays his debt part three. He's muddling through the best he can, but it's Yamaguchi who's investing the most energy into this whole repaying Tsuna thing now.

The humor is going to slow down for the next few chapters as Tsuna and Xanxus adjust to their new relationship.

Chapter 15: The Neighbor Inadvertently Gives a Sign of Friendship

After the tenth time Tsuna had stopped eating his ice cream simply to admire the golden spoon he was using, the King asked him a question.

"Do you like the damn spoon that much?"

Tsuna blinked. He didn't know what 'damn' meant, but he was pretty sure it was one of those words only big people were allowed say. Well, the King was certainly much bigger than him so he guessed it was alright.

"Yes your majesty! It's very pretty and shiny and um-umm-" Tsuna struggled to think of other big people words but being five and terrible at academics it was quite a task. "-and beautiful!"

He hoped he used that word right. It was supposed to mean prettier than pretty right? And it was. The spoon had swirly leafy lines leading up to the tip of the handle where a large clam fanned outward. It looked almost like the clams Mama cooked for dinner the other day. She had even let him keep some of the shells.

The King didn't seem to think it was anything special though. Maybe because he used pretty things like this all the time? The smaller cup the King was drinking from seemed just as fancy as his ice cream bowl.

"You."

Tsuna perked up, then realized the King was talking to Butler-san.

"Sir?"

"When the brat's done, give him the spoon."

"Of course sir."

Tsuna's eyes widened.

"Re-really your majesy? I can have it?"

The King made a grunting noise and went back to staring at his glass.

Tsuna looked down at the spoon in awe. He had already been repaid with the ice cream but this was something else. Something worth more than just ice cream and candy.

Did this mean the King wanted to be Friends?

He whipped his wondering eyes back to the King and babbled back his thanks so quickly that it all came out in a jumbled mess.

Xanxus raised a brow.

Why the fuck had the brat gotten so excited just from being given a spoon, he had no idea. Or maybe he did. Hadn't he already established that the brat was an idiot?

Still, he was curious to see if the baby trash would actually have a seizure if he gave him something else. So he ordered the bowl to be cleaned and given to the boy as well after he was finished.

Sadly, no uncontrollable bouts of shaking or blacking out occurred. The brat did start spouting gibberish and swayed around a bit though. Tsuna practically sparkled as he beamed up his neighbor. A lot. Although the teen would never admit it, the sight was a little creepy yet adorable at the same time. But Varia did not use words like adorable nor did they understand fear and even if he was on probation for the unforeseeable future, Xanxus was still Varia dammit.

Dear God. What were those glittering lights in the background? Was this brat actually a budding illusionist?

*Sparkle*Sparkle*Sparkle*

"Will you fucking cut that out!"

"Ye-yes, your majesty!"

The brat managed to tone down the smile, but still continued to stare at him with unbelievably happy (cute) puppy dog eyes. Then they closed in joy as he took another bite of ice cream and Xanxus was blasted by a classic shoujo scene. Bubbles and pastel flowers seemed to float all around the brunet as he practically radiated bliss and love for the entire world. Or at least his ice cream.

It was horrifying.

Xanxus glanced at his bottle of wine and wondered if this was the sort of hallucinations normal trash went through when they drank. He chanced another glance at the brat.

A ray of light shone down on the smiling child and Xanxus could swear that he was hearing singing of some sort from an invisible (possibly angelic) choir.

Then he blinked again and it was all gone.

"…"

As much as he hated to admit it, maybe he should cut back on the drinking for a while.

Yamaguchi had internally panicked when his cellphone had gone off while he was closing the curtains (and thus blocking the beam of sunlight that was shining on young Tsunayoshi's face) but managed to discretely silence it before anyone could figure out where it came from.

Sorry Mother. I'll get back to you as soon as I can. In the meantime, please stop calling me during work hours.

It had been nearly two hours since the boss had kidnapped young Tsunayoshi.

Yamaguchi discreetly checked his phone which was showing a silent view of the Sawada household. The boy's mother had moved on from her phone call to doing laundry but still hadn't noticed that her child was gone.

While he was grateful for this new development, he did wonder. Shouldn't she have checked by now? Most people would be paranoid about what their kids were up to. Although Yamaguchi had no wife or children of his own, even he knew that long periods of silence from them was a thing to be suspicious of even if they seemed to be good little boys like young Tsunayoshi.

In all honesty, he was also worried about the bowl and spoon the boss had given to the child. More likely than not, they'd be getting a visit soon. Most people wouldn't allow their children to be given such expensive things from veritable strangers and he was busy plotting out possible damage control scenarios when Xanxus got wind that the mother was trying to return her son's new gifts. He understood the boss meant well, but…

Yamaguchi sighed. Looks like it would be up to him to divert this potential crisis too.

At least everything was nearly over and the gold spoon and crystal bowl were cleaned and packed into a padded Styrofoam box which was then placed in a small backpack that one of the staff had managed to miraculously whip up ten minutes ago. Hopefully this would be enough to keep everything from breaking if they were dropped.

He stepped out of the elevator and was about knock on the door to let Xanxus know that he was back when he heard Tsunayoshi's distinctive childish lilt echoing down the hallway. If he was out there then that would mean that he wasn't in here and he was most likely with the boss at…the…stairs…

Yamaguchi ran faster than he had ever had before. He was just in time to experience a terrible sense of déjà vu as the child tumbled off the top of the staircase.

"Hiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

Xanxus continued to make his way down at a leisurely pace with his hands in his pockets as Yamaguchi practically flew past him to make sure that the boy was still alive.

He was and was sitting up and trying to reassure Yamaguchi even though he wasn't the one who had just rolled down an entire flight of stairs. Again.

"Don't worry Butler-san. It's okay. I fall down the stairs all the time. This one just goes straight down. The one at home has turns."

Yamaguchi was struck by a sense of profound pity again. Whether for Tsunayoshi or his own blood pressure he quite wasn't sure but as he had staunchly refused to ever pity himself he concluded that it was for their hapless guest.

Just to be on the safe side, maybe he should escort the boy home.

Rosebud was gone from the front gate, having been picked up by an apologetic owner according to the gardeners, and so Tsuna went home cheerfully waving goodbye to the still befuddled but enthusiastically (almost creepily so) welcoming servants and the stoic King.

Xanxus spent a long moment watching him disappear around the corner of the fence before retiring to his room after the little boy was out of sight, apparently no longer interested now that he had fulfilled his obligation.

Yamaguchi sighed to himself. The whole situation had turned out surprisingly well. No explosions. No destruction. No dead bodies or trauma (excluding the one done to Yamaguchi himself). No flying wine bottles or chairs or anything really.

It was an absolute miracle just like the peculiarly fearless child himself. But what was Boss going to do now that he no longer had a purpose to distract him from his…ill-fated situation?

Yamaguchi glanced out the second story window to where Tsuna was stepping into the house. As if he could tell that he was being watched, the brunet turned, then waved to Yamaguchi happily when he noticed him.

Yamaguchi's lips quirked up and he lifted his hand in reply. Ah well. Despite all the anxiety attacks (and possible ulcers) he had caused, the kid was still pretty cute. Even the boss seemed to tolerate him (amazingly well).

He seriously hoped that Xanxus was done with his quest to repay young Tsunayoshi though. He'd prefer it if all the law enforcement deflection training the staff went through was not about to be put to use because concerned civilians were (rightfully) worried about a thug-like teen watching their precious prepubescent children all the time.

Behold! The Spoon and Bowl of Friendship. These items will be very important very soon.

Oh Yamaguchi, the things you must put up with and now that Tsuna's in the mix, you have no idea what sort of gates have just been opened.

I have this headcanon that Tsuna went through a ton of weird crap when he was very young and as he grew older, he forgot about the incidents themselves, but still associated fear with certain things which is why he's so scared of just about everything by the time he meets Reborn. Nana of course never notices or brushes it off. Here, a lot of those phobias won't be able to start due to growing up with the Varia. Or if they do, they'll be ruthlessly beaten down. Of course, it's not a one way street. The Varia will get involved in the shenanigans of Tsuna's 'normal' life too. Luckily they're insane enough to sail through it all and stay relative fine...possibly.

Yamaguchi's near heart attack counts:

1: Xanxus kidnaps Tsuna

2: Tsuna falls down the stairs

3,4,5,6: Every time Tsuna trips while following Xanxus to his room

7: Tsuna offers Xanxus his ice cream

8: Tsuna offers Yamaguchi his ice cream

9: Yamaguchi sees Xanxus laughing

10: Mama Yamaguchi calls during work hours

11: Tsuna falls down the stairs again