Waking up to an ungodly pain in the head was something Tsuna had already expected after impulsively chugging an entire bottle of wine, if only to escape his friends' prying and watchful gaze. But waking up to the smell of something toxic wafting around the entire house definitely wasn't on the list.

The stench was becoming too strong, even overriding his hangover, prompting him to jump up and race downstairs despite the aching pain all over his body, all while cursing himself for drinking too much.

"Reborn, are you cooking?" He asked from the living room, his voice gruff from sleep and dehydration.

When he didn't receive an answer, he headed directly into the kitchen, but what met him was an attractive woman stirring a strange-looking purplish stew while donning his orange apron.

Tsuna had to rub his eyes multiple times to ensure that he wasn't imagining things as a side effect of all the liquor he recklessly consumed the night before because, first, no one had previously been able to set foot inside the house, not even his friends. Second, he doesn't know anyone whose skills are so terrible at cooking that the dish looks more like a hazardous substance than an actual meal. But, alas, he wasn't hallucinating; the woman in front of him looked very real and was even glaring at him as if he'd just stolen something valuable from her.

"You're Sawada Tsunayoshi," Tsuna knew that wasn't a question, but he nodded nevertheless, his head tilting slightly as he peered at her with curiosity. "And you're the one who stole my beloved Reborn from the underworld..."

So he did steal something...or rather, someone—and apparently that someone was Reborn, hence why the other had been shooting daggers at him since their gazes had met. This woman turned out to be someone closely associated with Reborn, although Tsuna had already anticipated that; after all, his demon wouldn't let just anyone roam around their place openly.

Tsuna marched down to the woman and smiled before leaning over and reaching to the burner, turning off the ignition switch to prevent the seemingly forgotten hazardous dish from exploding and setting his house on fire. "Are you perhaps one of Reborn's friends?" He merely inquired, taking a few steps back to observe the woman's countenance shift from surprise to indifference.

"Friend is a weak word; what we have is something more special and anchored in love," The woman replied, coquettishly chuckling as she placed the heel of her hand on her cheek, studying the brunet's reaction. Tsuna, on the other hand, simply hummed while silently examining the soup in the pot, grimacing now and then after spotting the uncut vegetables—and is that a python's head?—that seemed to have been thoughtlessly thrown inside the pot.

"I see, then, um Miss?" Tsuna eyed her questioningly.

"Bianchi,"

"Right, then, Bianchi-san, how about taking a seat while I...cook instead? It would be impolite of me to let Reborn's guest do all the work,"

Bianchi raised a brow, her lips pulling into a frown. "Are you aware that you're talking to a demon right now?" She inquired gingerly, completely disbelieving at the burnet's boldness to communicate with her as if she were an average human being, even cringing at the notion. Tsuna simply nodded, his face still donning the same careless and oblivious expression as he moved the stew—if it can even be called one—that Bianchi made to the sink and strolled to the refrigerator to take out some stuff. "Then, I'm sure you're also aware of the reason a demon would appear in front of a human being they aren't under a contract with."

"To see Reborn?"

Looking at him incredulously, Bianchi growled, and it was clear that she was one step away from snapping, if not for the voice that sounded from the doorway of the kitchen. "Bianchi is here to kill you, dame-Tsuna,"

The two turned to gaze over right as they heard the extremely familiar deep baritone voice, with Bianchi sprinting over to Reborn with wide arms and shamelessly embracing him. Tsuna watched the two intently but remained mute, his gaze meeting Reborn's for a brief period before sighing and turning away from the sight to continue making their breakfast.

"Oh, is that so? Then I guess my contracted demon, who is supposed to be my knight in shining armor, hasn't been doing his job properly if you're merely allowing beings with malicious objectives to prowl around me," Tsuna bit out, his tone tinged with bitterness as he cracked the egg apart with his bare hands and let it plop onto the frying pan.

Hearing Reborn chuckle lowly infuriated the brunet even more, and he was about to snap at him as he rotated, only to pause at the sight of a child dressed in a cow onesie creeping behind his demon...with a rocket launcher in his hands. "Lambo-san has come! Reborn, prepare yourself!" Lambo, the child, laughed and was about to maneuver the trigger when Reborn drew out his trademark pistol and leveled it at him without even looking, causing the child to drop the rocket launcher.

"Reborn, just what are you pointing to a child?!" Tsuna panicked, shutting off the burner before rushing over to the visibly terrified and stupefied Lambo, gently shoving both demons to the side as he scooped the small child into his arms. "Oh dear, are you okay?" He enquired frantically as he examined the child for any sign of injuries, and when he observed none, he sprang up with the child in his arms, glaring fiercely at Reborn. "He's a child..."

Reborn sighed and moved away from Bianchi, rolling his eyes at his charge's naivety. "And a demon,"

"This is a child, demon or no demon! How could you point out something that dangerous to a child? Are you out of your mind?!" He snapped, inadvertently raising his voice as he protectively pulled Lambo close to his chest, pain clear in his warm auburn orbs that burned orange for a split second.

Tsuna was well aware of Reborn's real nature; he was a demon right down to his core, not some sort of saint. He also knew that if Reborn hadn't been enamored with Tsuna's soul and presented him with a contractual offer when he was a child, he would have done exactly what the demon had done to Lambo. After all, his soul was the only thing that mattered to Reborn.

"How did you even get here, stupid cow?" Bianchi interrupted beside Reborn as she watched Tsuna position Lambo down on the chair and bend down to wipe the other's tears.

Tsuna and Lambo both gazed up at her, the latter stifling a hiccup with his thumb in his mouth. "L-Lambo-san...Lambo-san followed Bianchi and H-Hayato and sneaked into the portal because Lambo-san was bored and I-Pin and F-Fuuta were not around," He explained almost incoherently due to his incessant hiccups before returning his attention to the brunet who was looking at him kindly. "You're a kind person, Lambo-san likes you..."

Tsuna smiled, softly chuckling as he stroked the boy's afro. "Lambo, right?" He confirmed, and when Lambo nodded, Tsuna's demeanor became solemn. "Would you mind telling me why you have that thing with you?"

Lambo simply inclined his head, an innocent expression on his face. "That was my nii-chan's gift and one of my favorites, too! I also have grenades and a bazooka back at home,"

'What kind of brother would give a child weapons?! Is he preparing Lambo for wars or what?'

"Demons are constantly at war, dame-Tsuna. You shouldn't be astonished by such insignificant details. That stupid cow may be a child in body and mind, but he's a demon reared for wars and bloodbaths, and his thirst for blood strongly exceeds even that of the underworld's mid-ranking demons." Reborn stated as he sauntered to his usual seat in the center and seated himself.

"But..."

"What a naive kid," Bianchi scoffed behind Reborn. "I changed my mind; I doubt that killing you would be all that fascinating. It would have been more fun to witness Reborn killing and consuming you himself."

"Right, whatever..." Tsuna stood up and rolled his eyes too hard it reached the back of his head, too worn out to voice his disapproval.


"Aren't you curious about me and Bianchi?" Tsuna ignored the sound of a voice behind him and continued working on his thesis. "What, you're still not done sulking?" He heard the click of Reborn's dress shoes as the other strutted onto his bed, plopping down with his legs crossed and his fedora on top of his face.

Tsuna grumbled, flinging his head to the side to glare a hole in Reborn's head, clearly furious. "I'm not sulking! I just can't believe you'd do that to a child..." he trailed off.

"As annoying as that dumb cow is, my bullets couldn't have hurt him; else, his familiar would have gone on the rampage,"

"Familiar? Like Leon?" Tsuna mused. "Didn't you say only mid and high-ranking demons get to have familiars?"

"That stupid cow is a mid-ranking demon and his brother is also one of the seven rulers of the underworld," Reborn paused and slid his fedora to the side to get a better look at his charge, his brow raised. "But that's beside the point, dame-Tsuna. Why do you seem more concerned with that stupid cow demon than with Bianchi killing you?"

"Weren't you the one who already staked a claim on my soul? I doubt you would have let your woman lay a finger on me," Tsuna's lips curved lusciously as warm auburn eyes tinted with orange locked with deep black ones, prompting the demon to smirk before chuckling huskily.

Tsuna observed as Reborn removed his fedora from his face and rose from his bed. He approached Tsuna and tilted his chin upwards, bending in close to his face, the amused smirk on his features never faltering. "You can relax, dame-Tsuna. Before anyone can even touch a single strand of your hair, I'll make sure to devour you whole," The sight of Reborn wetting his lips stirred something within Tsuna, and the need to throw away every ounce of shame he had and just beg the man to take him right here and right now grew stronger with each passing second, it was getting unbearable.

"S-Stop saying misleading things! Anyway, I need to finish my thesis today, so please leave!" Tsuna hissed, moving away from Reborn's touch with a heated face.