He landed on a solid chest. Tsuna was about to thrash furiously and put all the self-defense training Reborn had drilled into his bones to use when he caught a whiff of a familiar rich musky fragrance combined with the pungent smell of coffee, nicotine, and something dangerous.

"Aren't you letting your guard down too much, stupid brat?" Tsuna's demon hissed, annoyance could be hinted at in his tone as he tightened his grip on the brunet's wrist which was surely bound to leave a mark later on considering how sensitive Tsuna's skin was.

"R-Reborn, what are you doing here?"

"Making sure you don't die stupidly," Reborn growled, anger evident in his tone as he released Tsuna and walked in the direction where the brunet came from, his trademark gun out. "Tsuna, close your eyes, and don't open it until I say so."

"Reborn?"

"Don't make me repeat myself, dame-Tsuna,"

Afraid to anger him further, Tsuna complied, his heart pounding against his chest loudly as he swallowed a lump.

He knew something was going on with Reborn these past few months; he wasn't always this protective of him but since he came home from one of his many dangerous activities, the demon seemed to always keep a close eye on him. But he brushed it off as Reborn simply doing his job as Tsuna's demon. Plus, he's never seen the demon this mad, at least not directed at him.

After a brief moment, he heard the sound of Reborn's dress shoes approaching and stopping right in front of him. Tsuna opened his eyes and glanced up, warm auburn orbs meeting Reborn's ocean-deep black, mild rage shimmering across it.

"Reborn, what's wrong?" Tsuna asked, his voice soft but his visage was completely marred with concern.

Reborn stayed still, his gaze fixed on the brunet's with great intensity, staring down at him until the brunet flushed crimson, all conscious.

Smirking, the demon raised a brow and huffed. "Nothing's wrong, dame-Tsuna. But something will go wrong if you continue to let your guard down like that," He uttered with a glint of something dangerous in his eyes, prompting a shiver to run up the length of his spine. "You'd best be grateful for our blood pact otherwise your soul would be a demon's food by now." Tsuna flinched when he saw Reborn's deep black onyx orbs flash yellow for a brief period and he'd also noted the tension in his jaw and the veins protruding from his neck as the wrath he'd seen Reborn display earlier flickered across his visage again.

"Wh-What are you talking about? I'm being targeted by your kind? But why?"

"Enough talking, we're going home. But don't think I'm going to let you off on this, dame-Tsuna," Reborn glared at him. "I'll say this just this once so you better drill it inside your skull, dame-Tsuna; you and your soul are mine to consume. And anyone who tries to steal what's mine will experience death worse than hell."

Tsuna froze, feeling both terrified and...delighted. He knew Reborn's possessiveness toward him stemmed from his desire to consume his soul whole; after all, Rebron is a demon, but being desired felt pleasantly delightful.

Tsuna watched Reborn's broad back as he marched away from him, his eyes filled with warmth despite the apparent venom in Reborn's words.

He'd been with the demon for as long as he could remember. Reborn had seen and accepted him in all of his worst and despite being a demon, he had always felt secure with him. Even when the other returned home with the stench of blood around his body or when he made several individuals cease to exist whenever someone attempted to seriously cause harm to the brunet, Reborn consistently treated him with respect and compassion, even if it was only due of the pact they formed.

So, loving Reborn came as naturally to him as breathing.

Tsuna was fourteen when he began to see the demon in an unfamiliar manner. The discovery was abrupt and horrible, and he did not wish to go through it again because the sight of Reborn devouring his homeroom teacher, who had come for an unscheduled home visit when the brunet was coincidentally out, made him retch.

For days, the brunet refused to show his face to the demon that Reborn had to force his way inside his room.

Fourteen was also the day when Tsuna made use of his second wish; "Reborn...don't touch anyone else like that ever again...that's a wish." It was irrational and selfish, but he was a teenager experiencing puberty...and he was shockingly in love, which Reborn hadn't quite realized yet since his mind-reading ability didn't appear to be working entirely on Tsuna for some unexplainable reason.

"Reborn," Tsuna called, watching the demon stop in his tracks but didn't turn to look at him. "You don't have to worry, nobody else may possess me or my soul if it isn't you, and that's a pledge that I am prepared to keep until the very end of my life."

"That goes without saying," He heard Reborn exclaimed. "Tsuna, we may have a pact, but if you allow another demon to touch you, I won't hesitate to kill you myself."

"Tsuna, over here!" a voice rang out from the front gate of the Sasagawa household, it was Yamamoto Takeshi, Tsuna's first-ever friend.

Tsuna beamed and sped up, leaving his companion behind to approach his best friend, tackling him into a big hug with Yamamoto laughing and supporting the brunet with his arm over Tsuna's waist to prevent them from tumbling. "Takeshi! It's been a while! How was your game in Kyoto? I'm sorry I couldn't come. I really wanted to but things had gotten busy at university," He drew away, a sullen look on his face.

The raven laughed in his usual carefree manner and patted Tsuna's shoulder, grinning ever widely at him in assurance. "That's fine, don't mind it, Tsuna. There's always a next time!"

"That's right, I'm sure you'll bag more golds and make it to the Olympics swiftly! If it's Takeshi, I'm sure you'll do just that," Tsuna remarked with a smile, only for it to falter somewhat when he noticed his friend flinch, Takeshi's smile appearing more feigned by the second. "Takeshi? Are you okay?" The brunet inquired, his brows puckered as he observed his friend, who appeared to have been shaken out of his trance.

"Y-Yeah, I'm totally fine, Tsuna. By the way, you seem to have someone with you,"

Tsuna jerked and looked behind him as if recalling his companion's presence, where he beheld his demon quietly and elegantly waiting for him with hands tucked inside his pockets.

That's right, Reborn had surprisingly agreed to come with him to Ryohei's party. Tsuna wasn't expecting that, to be honest; he was convinced that the demon would simply dismiss him with his no-nonsense expression as if he were asking the stupidest favor, which he certainly was because really? Inviting a demon to a party? Do they even know how to party?

"Ah, right...Takeshi, this is Reborn, my...uh..." Tsuna trailed, looking unprepared to identify his relationship with the demon, something he'd been thinking about since they arrived home yesterday, causing him to lose sleep, only to get zero response.

"I'm Tsuna's tutor and an old family friend, so I've been caring for him during their absence," Reborn cut in, moving alongside the brunet and placing a possessive arm around Tsuna's waist, drawing him close.

"You're the guardian Tsuna has been talking about! No wonder he couldn't stop babbling about you, you seem to take good care of him," Tsuna shot his friend a death-threatening glare, but it was as if the baseball star hadn't seen it, simply smiling obliviously.

Reborn smirked in amusement as his grip on his charge tightened, causing Tsuna to tense and burn scarlet. "Oh, is that so?"

"Anyway! Enough chit-chatting and let's go inside, shall we? We shouldn't keep Ryohei-san waiting," Tsuna intervened, his face burning as he drew away from Reborn and pulled Takeshi inside the Sasagawa household, cocking his head lightly to glare - in his case, pout - at Reborn. "Reborn, too, come on!"

The demon simply hummed and followed them inside, feeling pleased and smug, but it didn't show on his face and no one noticed it, save for the baseball star who had been watching him closely since they arrived.

Of course, Reborn noticed it, and felt amused; 'This Yamamoto Takeshi has great awareness, I'll give him that. But it appeared that he, too, had been marked, and by that hot-tempered child no less.'

Given the mark sitting on his nape that had been hidden by his collared shirt, it was no surprise he'd seen flashes of uncertainty from the baseball star. It seemed that he'd formed a pact with a mid-ranking demon, granting him some knowledge about Reborn. Reborn was only able to notice since he possessed the ability to detect demons in close proximity as well as the mark they placed on their contractors.

Reborn sighed as he watched his charge stagger, trying to keep up with the demon's pace through his inebriation. The brunet was even cussing out Reborn's long legs incoherently as he struggled on. "Reborn, you meanie, why do you have to have such long legs?! It's unfair...God has favoritism," Tsuna pouted, leaning against the lamp to support his weight.

"I'm a demon, Tsuna," Reborn rolled his eyes.

"Oh, right, silly me," the brunet giggled and hiccuped, then sneezing as the cold wind breeze brushed against his skin. "Doesn't matter, Reborn's better than God!"He exclaimed once more, peals of laughter spilling from his lips, and anybody could see that Tsuna was about to collapse, so Reborn made the most sensible choice and walked toward Tsuna, his arms encircling the brunet's back and knees, heaving him up with ease.

Tsuna gasped in surprise, his arms reaching out to wrap themselves around Reborn's neck, their gaze locked. "You're a terrible drinker, dame-Tsuna," he heard his demon sigh before maneuvering down the street with a grown man in his arms.

Tsuna simply smiled his face tranquil as he relaxed in his demon's clutches and snuggled into Reborn's neck, feeling fully secure and...warm. Warm? How is a demon like him so warm, he wonders, but he liked it.

He liked it when Reborn cared for him.

He liked it when Reborn held him.

He liked it when Reborn protected him.

He liked Reborn...he wished his time with him wouldn't ever end, but of course, it was a wishful thought.

If there's one thing Tsuna wasn't, it was selfish. He knew that there would come a day when he would eventually have to let go of his life with Reborn; it was only a matter of time.

"Stop thinking, and sleep," The vibrations he felt in his chest as Reborn spoke those words gave Tsuna the reassurance he needed. That's right...he still had Reborn by his side, and he's going to cherish it until the end.

Tsuna nodded, letting the sound of Reborn's dress shoes clinking on the rough surface and the crickets chirping about lull him to sleep.

"Bianchi, I know you're there," Reborn called after making sure that his charge was fast asleep.