[donotlike#1]
"A-ah... Oh God, it's too much..."
--he walks back and forth back and forth to try and shake the seeping red, red red so bloody beautiful red on his hands. They were dripping on the floor profusely, red chandeliers crashing on the ground.
"It w-won't come off!"
Dino sighs and runs his hands through his hair. "Here, Tsuna, let me help --"
"Dino-san, I-I'll get you --"
dirty filthy filthy you were always so beautiful when you were incredibly dirty
"It's okay, Tsuna, it's just ... blood. Here, come near the sink, I'll help you wash it off."
"I-I tried already, Dino-san, and it wouldn't come off!" He's near tears now. "Who would've thought that old man has so much blood in him?"
"You're not washing it properly, that's why," Reborn says from afar, lounging on a grey couch. He's watching them with a blank face but there's a pleased infernal gleam on his eyes and Dino doesn't like it; it was too harsh, too feral, like the truth.
Tsuna's still shaking. "I'm pretty sure I rubbed and scrubbed and nearly skinned my hands trying to get it off, Reborn!"
"Here, let me help --" Dino takes his hands with his own and they walk slowly to the sink. Romario brings the towels with him, clean white and Tsuna nearly faints when he sees how clean they are.
Reborn looks at his prissy-clean hands and takes the dirt from under his nails quietly.
Dino puts his hands under scalding hot water and Tsuna screams, nearly screams anyway, but Dino silences him with a look and from afar, he hears Reborn say something like "don't you dare flinch". They soap his hands and rub it clean and all the pink and gritty stuff in his fingers, on the webs of his fingers, on the lines of his palms all go down the drain with a sick glubglub.
"Warm water gets rid of it better." Dino says softly. He takes the white towels from Romario and dries Tsuna's hands with them gently.
"A-ah." He's trying to calm down. Romario brings him some coffee. Brown was okay for Tsuna because it looks more like earth than dried blood. He's not looking at Reborn, who's looking at him intently while sipping red wine from a styrofoam cup.
Romario and Dino talk quietly and he misses what they talked about because he's staring at his hands -- they were white again like virgin snow and he nearly laughs out loud for thinking, good lord, I never knew that it could be that easy. He's about to cry, but he's not going to start anytime soon.
Mammon enters their little private room. "Boss wants to know if your boss is ready to have another meeting. If he is, he wants him to start fast, he has a headache."
"W-we'll be there," Tsuna says, voice slightly faltering. Reborn smirks at this and says nothing. He sets the styrofoam cup at the table and faces Mammon: "look here -- the wine's settled at the bottom of the cup and there's a perfect circle of red on it."
"What's so important about that? What do you get from that, Reborn?"
"You never knew how to appreciate art."
Outside, the rain starts to fall. Tsuna's not shaking as bad as he was before. Dino still holds his hands, still warming them. "Are you alright now, Tsuna?"
"Yeah. I'm fine." He tries to smile, manages to regurgitate a weak one on his face, tries to beat himself up for coming up with a smile so weak it doesn't feel like it belongs to him. "I'm sorry for bothering you, Dino-san."
"Don't mention it." Dino's smiling now. Tsuna wonders how long did he get used to doing that (there are no good guys in the mafia, after all) once he became a mafia boss, the smile looks so natural it's pleasant and cool.
Reborn and Mammon were still bantering. Tsuna looks at the window and doesn't recognize his face. "We'd better start the meeting," he says.
"I'll tell everyone, then. Your guardians are probably waiting for you already." Dino makes a couple of silent motions to Romario and Romario nods and leaves, he knows exactly how to do these things, seen a lot of them done.
Dino looks at Tsuna's hands, which were red and raw and clean. Tsuna caught him looking and smiles at him again. "They feel better now."
"It'll get better as you grow in the business."
"I kinda got that feeling, too."
Mammon leaves Reborn quietly fuming and empty-handed. He wanted some wine, but Reborn wouldn't share him his styrofoam cup, wouldn't share him anything without having him work for it.
Tsuna drinks the last of his coffee and looks at the residue on the bottom of the mug, a caramel halo on white porcelain. He sighs and puts it down and leaves, all of them leave the room following him outside. He's trying not to look at the too-many damned spots on the carpet, they were howling at him too much to both have mercy and bring back wasted corpsemeat from the dead.
--he walks back and forth back and forth to try and shake the seeping red, red red so bloody beautiful red on his hands. They were dripping on the floor profusely, red chandeliers crashing on the ground.
"It w-won't come off!"
Dino sighs and runs his hands through his hair. "Here, Tsuna, let me help --"
"Dino-san, I-I'll get you --"
dirty filthy filthy you were always so beautiful when you were incredibly dirty
"It's okay, Tsuna, it's just ... blood. Here, come near the sink, I'll help you wash it off."
"I-I tried already, Dino-san, and it wouldn't come off!" He's near tears now. "Who would've thought that old man has so much blood in him?"
"You're not washing it properly, that's why," Reborn says from afar, lounging on a grey couch. He's watching them with a blank face but there's a pleased infernal gleam on his eyes and Dino doesn't like it; it was too harsh, too feral, like the truth.
Tsuna's still shaking. "I'm pretty sure I rubbed and scrubbed and nearly skinned my hands trying to get it off, Reborn!"
"Here, let me help --" Dino takes his hands with his own and they walk slowly to the sink. Romario brings the towels with him, clean white and Tsuna nearly faints when he sees how clean they are.
Reborn looks at his prissy-clean hands and takes the dirt from under his nails quietly.
Dino puts his hands under scalding hot water and Tsuna screams, nearly screams anyway, but Dino silences him with a look and from afar, he hears Reborn say something like "don't you dare flinch". They soap his hands and rub it clean and all the pink and gritty stuff in his fingers, on the webs of his fingers, on the lines of his palms all go down the drain with a sick glubglub.
"Warm water gets rid of it better." Dino says softly. He takes the white towels from Romario and dries Tsuna's hands with them gently.
"A-ah." He's trying to calm down. Romario brings him some coffee. Brown was okay for Tsuna because it looks more like earth than dried blood. He's not looking at Reborn, who's looking at him intently while sipping red wine from a styrofoam cup.
Romario and Dino talk quietly and he misses what they talked about because he's staring at his hands -- they were white again like virgin snow and he nearly laughs out loud for thinking, good lord, I never knew that it could be that easy. He's about to cry, but he's not going to start anytime soon.
Mammon enters their little private room. "Boss wants to know if your boss is ready to have another meeting. If he is, he wants him to start fast, he has a headache."
"W-we'll be there," Tsuna says, voice slightly faltering. Reborn smirks at this and says nothing. He sets the styrofoam cup at the table and faces Mammon: "look here -- the wine's settled at the bottom of the cup and there's a perfect circle of red on it."
"What's so important about that? What do you get from that, Reborn?"
"You never knew how to appreciate art."
Outside, the rain starts to fall. Tsuna's not shaking as bad as he was before. Dino still holds his hands, still warming them. "Are you alright now, Tsuna?"
"Yeah. I'm fine." He tries to smile, manages to regurgitate a weak one on his face, tries to beat himself up for coming up with a smile so weak it doesn't feel like it belongs to him. "I'm sorry for bothering you, Dino-san."
"Don't mention it." Dino's smiling now. Tsuna wonders how long did he get used to doing that (there are no good guys in the mafia, after all) once he became a mafia boss, the smile looks so natural it's pleasant and cool.
Reborn and Mammon were still bantering. Tsuna looks at the window and doesn't recognize his face. "We'd better start the meeting," he says.
"I'll tell everyone, then. Your guardians are probably waiting for you already." Dino makes a couple of silent motions to Romario and Romario nods and leaves, he knows exactly how to do these things, seen a lot of them done.
Dino looks at Tsuna's hands, which were red and raw and clean. Tsuna caught him looking and smiles at him again. "They feel better now."
"It'll get better as you grow in the business."
"I kinda got that feeling, too."
Mammon leaves Reborn quietly fuming and empty-handed. He wanted some wine, but Reborn wouldn't share him his styrofoam cup, wouldn't share him anything without having him work for it.
Tsuna drinks the last of his coffee and looks at the residue on the bottom of the mug, a caramel halo on white porcelain. He sighs and puts it down and leaves, all of them leave the room following him outside. He's trying not to look at the too-many damned spots on the carpet, they were howling at him too much to both have mercy and bring back wasted corpsemeat from the dead.