Xanxus gets lonely and teeters between denial and outright delusion about it and Yamaguchi continues to deal.

This took some time because Ch 16 and 17 were almost done, but then I realized that they would be better suited for another varia member's development so I had to write a couple new chapters and debate about how I was going to rearrange my timeline.

Chapter 16: The Neighbor Isn't Done Repaying His Debt

The brat was gone and his debt was finally paid back.

So why couldn't Xanxus stop thinking about him? Or Squalo for that matter.

He was feeling things again and while that was a good thing, it was familiar in an unsettlingly uncomfortable way.

There was a word for this feeling, but like hell did it apply to him.

He wasn't lonely dammit. Just bored out of his fucking mind.

Back in Italy, he was used to Squalo barging in at all hours of the day, his usual megaphone level of shouting giving Xanxus ample time to prepare a weapon of choice (usually a wine bottle) to toss as soon as his pale head appeared though the doorway. There was also Levi ready to wait hand and foot, that greedy baby, the okama and a whole host of other people.

After all that noise, to have nothing but silence for so long was…unsettling.

Xanxus drummed his fingers against the lacquered armrest of his favorite chair. When he finally noticed what he was doing, he stood up and began to pace around his room like a caged tiger.

Thinking of Squalo would only serve to make him angry (lonelier) and he couldn't afford that right now so he turned his mind to the only other thing worth thinking about.

A few small tubes of Frutips were carefully tucked away in his pockets. A few more unopened boxes sat on the coffee table. Oddly, he didn't even feel like eating them. Just looking at them was enough to quell most of his annoyance. Maybe he was getting tired of them?

Xanxus popped a gummy into his mouth.

Nope. Still delicious.

But the taste brought back the memory of those wide caramel eyes, resolute in their desire to properly greet his neighbor. The worth of this gift was more than the brat could possibly know.

It's not a fucking excuse.

Xanxus consoled himself.

It's not a fucking excuse and I'm not fucking lonely.

That's right. This was the closest thing to a solution for his cuffs (no matter how temporary it might be) and it was worth more than a little ice cream and crystal bowl and golden spoon. He wasn't done repaying the brat yet. He might not be for a long time. The thought somehow doesn't piss him off as much as he expects it to.

The front double doors closed again and Yamaguchi slowly released his sigh once the moody teen was out of hearing range.

This was the start of the fourth day of the Boss's self-isolation. It was also the end of it and Yamaguchi suspected that he knew why.

"Poor Boss…" mutters the man wiping down the banisters of the main stairway. "He's so lovesick that he's lost his urge to drink. If this keeps up, we're going to be overstocked soon."

Another man nods while replacing the wilted flowers in the man-sized vases decorating the hall. "A mission should keep his mind off worse things though. Hopefully the fresh air will do him some good."

Yamaguchi makes a mental tally of all the medicine stocked in the building. Antacids, headache relievers, antihypertensives, and a whole host of herbal remedies that his mother had just sent him.

Thank you Mother. I love you more than you could ever possibly realize.

Yamaguchi had assured him that Castella was a dessert that most Japanese people, children and adults alike would know and enjoy and had ordered one from what was supposedly the best bakery in all of Namimori. It was such a simple looking sponge cake though and Xanxus eyed the cutely wrapped box he was holding with skepticism.

He'd eaten Japanese food before. He'd even had mochi with red bean paste and green tea and sushi and…really that was about it. He had always preferred the heavier dishes of Italy and usually stuck with European and Western meals.

In this sort of situation, Xanxus had no choice but to defer to the native man though. He was the one who had known what the brat would like the first time and if he said the brat would like this…Castella cake then Xanxus wasn't about to argue. If Yamaguchi was wrong and the brat didn't like it, Xanxus was going to kill him.

Now all he had to do was find the boy again.

Yamaguchi sneezed and did his best to stop the shudders spreading down his body. Someone was thinking about him and in a less than charitable way.

He checked his phone for the tenth time. According to the map, the little dot that was Xanxus was heading towards the closest park again. Unfortunately the best course of action (read: the least likely way to set Xanxus off) was to send the teen out with the cake and let him wander around until he found the child. If he failed to give it to young Tsunayoshi today, Yamaguchi was just going to have to order a fresh one each day until Xanxus eventually succeeded.

He shook his head and tucked the phone back into his pocket.

As the others continued to make bets about how Xanxus would carry out the next phase of his 'Woo the Neighbor Plan', Yamaguchi figured that he should clear up this misunderstanding before someone inevitably decided to say something within the boss's hearing range or worse, try to offer him advice.

"You idiots are all wrong. The boss was never after the Sawada woman. He only had business with her son."

"…"

It was so quiet that he could even hear a cricket chirping. (The same damned cricket that had somehow gotten into the house three days ago and yet still managed to elude a tiny castle's worth of professional assassins.)

"Her son?"

"The-the boss-"

"That's just-I had no idea."

Yamaguchi's bullshit radar was starting to give him a headache.

"What are you all on about now?"

"Yamaguchi!"

"Even though the boss may have…unconventional tastes, we as loyal members of the Varia will support him in all of his endeavors to woo Sawada Tsunayoshi!"

The urge to face palm was strong, but he managed to refrain from doing so. Barely.

"You imbeciles! Tsunayoshi-san was the one who gave the boss the candy that stops him from falling into a rage. He only did this to be polite, but the boss wanted to repay him for it."

"And that's when the boss fell for him right? Right?"

"Didn't you say that the kid is like an angel?"

"He's gotta be a real one. Remember how the boss looked the other day? I've never seen such a nice expression on his face before."

"I have. I saw it years ago when the boss was alone with Squalo. You know, before The Incident."

"You meet the kid's Mama yet? She's practically an angel herself."

"A family of angels?"

"So it's a love triangle now?"

"What's Commander Squalo going to think about his new rival?"

"Oh! Oh! I'm gonna open the bets in two hours after I finish my work. Everybody ready?"

The cheering became a wordless roar as everyone continued their tasks with renewed energy.

"…"

Yamaguchi regretted everything. Sometimes he was just so done with the peons.

Haha. No near heart attacks for Yamaguchi today, just headaches about the sheer stupidity of everyone around him. Look on the bright side Yamaguchi. At least they're not slacking off.

This isn't going to be a romantic X27 or XS fic. They're fun to hint at though and I have plans for Squalo's role in the 'Royal Family'.