Fanfic: Their Kisses (2796)

[nivek01]

Title: Their Kisses
Author: Nivek01
Rating: R
Pairings: TsunaxChrome; implied MukuroxM.M. and RyoheixHana
Warnings: Character death, OOCness depending on how you think the Tenth generation would deal with said death, and a sprinkle of language. 
Summary: (Takes place approx. 6YL!) They weren't exactly considered normal, even among their group of friends. But even if they aren't very open or outgoing, when the other needs it they are ready and willing to comfort each other the only way they know how.

They weren't exactly a normal couple. They were both quiet, shy, meek at times. Neither of them showed their support or loyalty in the same way as Gokudera or Ryohei; They were quiet and calm about it. And, probably most importantly to them, they weren't the best at expressing their emotions.

In fact, no one knew they were even in a relationship until Chrome asked M.M. to be her bridesmaid and Tsuna sent out the invitations. Said invitations were sent back with various responses of surprise and shock...except for the usual suspects who either ignored the invitation, sent multiple explosives back in response, or those who chose to visit Tsuna personally and teach him how stupid he was to try and marry the best student of the man who wanted to use his body as a new suit.

But, when it really comes down to things, Tsuna can put his foot down quite well.

After everyone got over the shock that Tsuna an Chrome had been in a relationship for a reported five years, they began to barrage them with questions, the most asked one being "How do the two of you get over your nerves to say embarrassing and romantic things to each other?"

The honest answer? They don't. At the time they developed feelings for each other, they were very much interested in other people. It wasn't a conscious thing for either of them. They didn't have any big turn arounds or shift in viewpoints. They just slowly started finding the more time they spent around the other, the happier they were. It took until about a year after the fight with the Shimon for the both of them to come to terms with their feelings. And then they just followed the logical steps.

But the important thing was that they really didn't change, they just noticed the other person, in their entirety. Which means they were still pretty clumsy when it came to expressing their feelings with words. Instead, they took a bit of a more romantic path.

They found that it was easier to get the other person to understand what they really wanted to say when they kissed instead of actually coming out and saying it. Whether it was because Tsuna would unconsciously hijack Chrome's link with Mukuro and read her mind, or Chrome somehow manipulating him into thinking what she wanted him to, or maybe they were really just soul mates, they didn't know. But it worked for them, so that's what they did. Throughout their whole relationship.

When she first met him and kissed his cheek, she was pledging her allegiance to him.

When he pecked her forehead on the way back from Shimon's island, it was because he wanted her to know it was all going to be okay.

When he arrived at Kokuyo Land, a battered Mukuro on his back, but free, the first things Chrome did when she got Tsuna alone was kiss him in thanks.

The kiss he put to her ear as she cried in the forest around Kokuyo wasn't him telling her not to cry, it was him telling her that he was going to stay with her until Ken, Chikusa, and Mukuro came back and apologized for abandoning her...it was also the only kiss that ever ended prematurely, as shortly after, he pulled away to punch a meek Ken in the face for ever making his Chrome think she wasn't wanted.

The day after she entered Namimori, she cornered him behind the school. He kissed her as she fumbled for words, letting her know he understood.

When she pulled Tsuna close and pressed her lips to his neck after Kyoko and Haru both confessed to him on the same day, it was her desperately trying to hold on to him. His response -kissing her scalp and holding her tightly- was his way of reassuring her that she was his one and only.

The only time they had ever gotten close to breaking up was when he went to visit her at Kokuyo only to find her in Ken's embrace, staring at him with a glittering eye and a blush across her cheeks. He walked in just as Ken began to lower his head. After gripping the doorframe so hard it cracked, he turned and fled, ignoring Chrome's pleas for him to come back. She had finally caught up to him when he tried to fly away and used illusions to drag him back before kissing him, his shy mist guardian using tongue for the first time to convince him that there was nothing between her and Ken.

When she walked into his house, having long since gotten a key, to find him leaning against a wall, tears slowly going down his face as he stared at a picture of Nana, the first things she did after dropping to her knees by his side and burying his face in her shoulder was kiss the back of his neck as he slowly began to hug her, the sobs escaping his throat like dirty secrets.

When she passionately kissed Tsuna over and over as she held the small velvet box in her hands, she was trying to dispel her dream, trying to find some way to prove that this wasn't happening, because there was no way he would choose her of all people. When he got off his knee and kissed her back, he brought her back to reality.

The kiss he gave Chrome as she scooted closer under the covers of their bed, in their new house, was his way of telling her that was wonderful...lets do it again.

When she burst open the doors on the meeting he was hosting between the allied families to throw her arms around his neck and kiss him with a passion she showed less of in public then Yamamoto displayed anger, he didn't have to see the pregnancy test in her hand to know what she wanted to say. We're going to be parents!

When Tsuna kissed her softly as she prepared to go on her last assassination -ever, if he had any say in it- he conveyed what his pride in her strength would never let him say, but what the hand that rubbed her slightly round stomach screamed. Please come back safely.

When he kissed his palm and placed it against his left cheek as he ran down the halls of Vongola HQ, Mukuro and Ryohei at his sides, the others restraining the bastard Vongola commanders that had dared to betray him -dared to set Chrome up- it was his way of praying for her safety.

When she lightly kissed his exposed neck and collar as he carried her broken, bent, bloody body out of the rubble that had used to be a five story mall, even as she whispered "Dame-Tsuna, don't put yourself in danger like that.", she was thanking him over and over for coming to her, for saving her.

When he kissed the hand that he held as she rested in the hospital bed, wrapped in bandages, he was trying to tell her all the happy plans that he had for the three of them -Tsuna, Chrome, and their child- that he couldn't force past the guilt and fear in his throat.

When she momentarily woke up and looked to her side to see him with his head resting against the wall, sleeping, she smiled sadly and kissed him on his lips, not wanting to wake him and have to tell him Thank you for everything.

And all that is why, as he stood in the bright sunny day, watching the coffin lid be closed on his beloved wife's face, then the whole box be lowered into the ground, he felt empty and cold. Because he hadn't had been able to say goodbye. His throat had seized up with pain and sadness, his heart had been gripped by the loneliness of losing your whole family, and he didn't have the strength to just lean into the coffin and give her his final farewell. He had just stood in front of her and cried like a little girl. He showed his weak side.

Behind him stood all of his friends. The Guardians had been her pallbearers, Bianchi had catered for the funeral (The one time her food isn't poison is the one time Tsuna would have begged it to be), Kyoko, Haru, and I-pin had all helped decorate the funeral home with Chrome's favorite skull and various goth-y decorations. The whole Kokuyo gang had turned out, telling stories about Chrome and all the times they had together. The leaders of the Foundation were there to pay their respects to the strongest woman they had ever met, and to make sure their boss didn't run off early. Iemetsu and Reborn had both shown up with Basil, all three of whom tried at some point to comfort Tsuna.

But he wouldn't have any of it. The people around him were his friends, bodyguards, fellow warriors. They were all close. But none of them ate more food in the sugar food group then all the others combined. None of them could have the saddest smile and the brightest eyes at the same time. None of them could comfort him simply by being there. He had never felt more alone in his whole life.

"We had everything picked out." Tsuna rasped, his voice hoarse from all the silent tears. You wouldn't have been able to hear it if you weren't listening for it, but some of the world's top hitmen were in the room. They quieted everyone else as Yamamoto spoke up. "What was that, Tsuna?" he asked, his voice containing a hint of emotion.

"We had everything picked out." he repeated, not bothering to raise his voice. "We had a room set up either way, whether it was going to be a boy or a girl. Two rooms, right next to each other. A blue and a pink one. Whichever one got used, the other would become a nursery and play room. We were already planning on having more then one anyway, so when we had our second, they would share a room until they were old enough to sleep on their own."
The little calm that had spread over the area shattered. Many people began crying. The hardened mafiosi in the room didn't, but they had to look away. They couldn't watch their once proud, tall boss be reduced to this small, wasted figure he was becoming.

"We had these little playful, teasing discussions over what we should decorate the rooms with. We never actually argued. Chrome had bet that the one she was carrying was a boy, and wanted to implement her own tastes into the decorations. I was betting that it was a girl, and wanted to go the fluffy teddy bear route. She won when she pulled out her deer look. It's this look she had, where she would bow her head slightly, looking you in the eye as hers began to sparkle, like a deer caught in your headlights. Almost like she had a little switch that she could flip whenever to make her eyes glow. God she was cute when she had that look going, especially if she smiled-"

"Please, Vongola." M.M. said. "Stop."

Tsuna paused, then walked in a quarter circle so he could face M.M. and would still be looking at where Chrome's body would be. "She didn't use the look very often. And when she did, she almost always let me get what I wanted anyway. The only time she had seriously pulled out that look with every intention of destroying my logical argument was when we were trying to pick godparents. She was adamant about who it had to be. She insisted that you and Mukuro would be perfect for the job."

They both stiffened. Tsuna barreled on. "Chrome said that even if you guys didn't have the best parenting skills, you did have soft spots in your hearts and she was sure that you two, as her friends, would watch out for our child if anything happened to the two of us."

M.M. began to shake slightly. Mukuro closed his eyes. "I think that's enough Tsunayoshi." he said.

"She loved our house." Tsuna ignored the pleas aimed at him, continuing to talk as if it would somehow bring Chrome out from under all that dirt and that horrid box. "She would spend every second she could in the house. If she wasn't on a mission, she was in the library reading. If she wasn't training illusionists, she was watching a movie in the living room. If se wasn't with me at a meeting, she was practicing her cooking skills." Tsuna gained a wistful smile. "Of course she wanted me to do everything with her."

He smiled at a long passed memory. "She was a horrid cook, and it took her a while to realize it. I always swallowed down her food anyway, but dinner became considerably happier when we started taking cooking lessons. After we finished our meals, she would always sit at the table for a moment before deciding if she had passed her own test or not. When she found out she was pregnant, she insisted that I do all the cooking because she was afraid she would 'Poison our child'. She quickly took this back when I forced her to cook so she would have something to do and suddenly she couldn't get enough of the same food that three weeks earlier was turning our faces green."

"Tenth." whispered Gokudera, trying to keep his voice steady. "You...you need help. Please. Let's just, just find some help, okay?" he asked, his voice cracking at the last word.

Tsuna shook his head, giving a small smile to Gokudera, bottling up his emotions. "Through thick and thin, she stood by my side. Now she's cold and alone, having to protect our child all by herself. She needs to know I'm nearby, that I still care. She needs to know..." he trailed off, walking over and sitting by the headstone.

"Sawada, don't do this to the extreme." said Ryohei, a few tears escaping his eyes as he stared at the man he respected so much. Tsuna stared back at him blankly. He leaned slightly to look at Hana and the small child between them. Tsuna smiled. "Hello."

He looked back at Ryohei. "It must be nice, to be able to go home after a rough day to a loving wife and smiling child. What's it like to be able to hold the woman you love, or to be able to pick up your son and swing him around as he giggles happily? How lucky you are-"

"Sawada!" Yelled Ryohei, his tears now in free fall. "I'm sorry that Chrome died! I'm sorry that you lost your wife and child to people you trusted! I'm sorry that you had to watch as she was lowered out of your reach! But it's extremely NOT. MY. FAULT. So don't you DARE try and bring my family into this!" he shook with anger and sadness as his head lowered.

"C'mon, Vongola." Said Lambo, still in his new middle school uniform. "Let's go get some ice cream or something. You know, something Chrome would like. Yeah! Let's get our of this scary place, and go have some fun!" He looked at Tsuna, upbeat and hopeful, trying to bring the man who had been his older brother for most of his life out of his misery.

Tsuna shook his head. "I'm sure Kyoko or Haru will take you later anyway. I'd rather stay here." and so saying, he rested his head against the stone as his eyes went out of focus. Almost everyone was trying to get him up, calling to him, begging him to get up and go somewhere.

"Let's go, Tsuna!"

"C'mon, Tenth!"

"P-please, Tsuna-san."

"Tsu-kun...you're going to make things worse the longer you stay here."

"Why not go set up a shrine back at your house, Sawada?"

"Boss."

"Y-yeah, that's a good Idea Hana. Let's g-"

"WHO!" Tsuna shot off the ground, glaring at the stunned crowd. "Who would DARE tarnish her memory here?" He shouted, lightly growling at everyone.

His eyes darted around until he saw the glowing mist ring. "Mukuro, you BASTARD! Did you think you would get me to move by trying to impersonate Chrome?" Mukuro looked at him with a genuinely shocked face. "What are you talking about, Tsunayoshi?"

I'm talking about you using mist illusions to fool me, that's what!" Tsuna pointed angrily at the mist ring as it flared, a fireball shooting over his shoulder before quickly slamming into the ground.

Everyone would have been very angry at Mukuro for trying to attack Tsuna...if they didn't see the fireball get back up before changing shape. All the Guardians had seen this phenomenon before in middle school, and it had started happening again recently, now that they were closer in age to the First generation. But everyone was still shocked to their core by the sight.

Tsuna stiffened as he felt a familiar presence. "No...it's impossible." He whispered even as he felt a familiar hand intertwine with his. "Is it really?" said a sad, bell like voice behind him. "All the previous generations can do it..." The voice got closer to Tsuna as Chrome rested her head on his shoulder.

"...Why can't we?"

In a flash Tsuna spun, pulling her in. "I don't have long Boss." She said, hugging him back. "I'm still pretty weak, and this is going to burn a lot of energy."

She looked up at him, smiling even as her eye began to water. "We're going to have to make this quick." She whispered.

Tsuna nodded. "Why-" he asked, getting the one word out as fast as he could before his throat closed up again, cutting off the rest of the question.

"Because you never got to say goodbye." She whispered. Her eye almost closed as she fought the tears. "So..." she said, looking at him. "Go...good...b-bye." She choked out.

Tsuna pulled her closer, feeling his eyes begin to sting painfully as new tears prepared to flow. "Bye." he whispered back.

Chrome broke their embrace, taking a step back. "There...there's someone else you have to say by to. She was so impatient to meet you, she grew quite a lot. But I think you'll recognize her anyway." she said.

She looked down over her shoulder and said "you can come out now, honey."

Tsuna's eyes looked down around Chrome's legs as an orange and indigo ball of flame quickly appeared and disappeared. He stopped breathing and his eyes widened to a painful size as a small toddler peaked our around Chrome's leg, holding onto it for support as she stared at Tsuna with an orange eye, chocolate brown hair slightly blocking it.

The little figure quickly ran around Chrome's leg, tripping over it's own feet halfway to Tsuna. She fell, but quickly got back up and ran to Tsuna, hugging his leg tightly.

Tsuna looked from the toddler clinging to him up to Chrome, who turned the edges of her lips upwards as she bit her bottom lip, a single tear going down her red face. "Well...pick her up." She said. Tsuna looked back down and picked up the child, placing his hand's under her armpits and bringing her up to eye level.

She had Chrome's face, rounder with her young age. In fact, she was the spitting image of Chrome, with three exceptions. Her hair was a messy chocolate brown. Her eyes were too big for her face. And they were orange.

"G-goodbye daddy." THe girl in his hands said, giving him the same deer look Chrome always did, only without the smile.

Tsuna nodded, dazed. "Goodbye...honey." He said, the tears finally falling again, in full force.

The girl looked down, before turning her head to look at Chrome, who walked over to take the young girl...to take their child.

Chrome pulled the girl close as she asked "Why can't we stay longer, Mommy?"

Chrome began to cry again as she tried to explain. "W-well...we don't belong here anymore. We have to go back."

The girl looked at her, panic in her eyes. "B-but I haven't spent any time here! I didn't talk to any of daddy's friends, or seem my room, or meet friends, or go to school, or-"

Now even Reborn was pulling down the rim of his hat and biting his bottom lip at having to listen to this. At having to watch his former student and now boss's face contort in agony as he and his wife listened to their unborn child's pleas.

Chrome shook her head. "I'm sorry. But, we can't stay. We have to go soon. I-i'm so...so sorry." Chrome closed her eye as she hiccuped, trying to keep the sobs in. She was a mom. She shouldn't be displaying such weakness.

The little girl understood that nothing was alright, and that they had to go back.

"When do we leave?" she asked sadly.

"Now." was the cold reply from next to Mukuro. Everyone turned and looked at the man who could be Mukuro's twin brother. The only difference between them was their choice of clothes; one dressed in a black mourning suit, the other as a sixteenth century soldier.

Daemon Spade looked at Chrome the way Alaude would. No compassion. No care. Just the cold facts. "You're time is up, Dokuro."

Chrome nodded. The girl in her arms however, wasn't as calm. "NO! I...I don't wanna go near that scary man...I don't want mommy to...I want to stay with daddy..." the girl began to sob.

"I'm sorry, but that can't happen." Said a slightly more caring voice from next to Tsuna. He didn't even register the orange fireball forming into his great great grandfather, nor the sad look that was cast his way from behind golden locks of hair. He wanted to memorize every detail of his wife and child while he could.

Giotto sighed, and walked to Chrome. "She is of my blood." He said. "So she may stay with me, if you wish it."

Chrome thought about it. She nodded, handing her daughter to Giotto "Wai- Mommy, wait, come too!" the girl cried.

"I can't sweety." Chrome said. "But you can come visit me whenever you want, okay?" The little girl nodded, sniffling.

"It's time we all left then." Said Giotto, looking at Spade and Chrome, the latter walking towards the former. He looked at Tsuna. "Decimo...I'm so sorry." was all he said, unable to meet his heir's eyes. He turned and became flame, taking Tsuna's daughter with him.

Spade sighed, putting his hand on Chrome's shoulder. "It's our turn then-"

Chrome broke from his grasp, running back to Tsuna and wrapping herself around him, kissing him passionately.

Until then, Tsuna had thought Chrome was being unbelievably strong. He thought she had accepted her fate and let it all go. But she felt the same as her daughter. She didn't want to go. She wanted to dig up her body and somehow possess it. She wanted to go back to the house she loved so much, give birth to their daughter, and grow old with the man she loved. She didn't want to go back to the ring, watching him from a distance as he grew old, cold, alone. She didn't want to watch him possibly fall in love with someone else. As much as she could never say it, she didn't want him to move on.

This time it was Tsuna who broke away, pulling her tight against them as they both began to sob. They stayed like that for close to ten seconds before Spade sighed. "I'm sorry but I have to do this." was all he said before he snapped his fingers.

He disappeared instantly. Chrome didn't. She slowly faded. Even with his eyes closed, Tsuna knew she was leaving. He could feel the circle his arms made get looser and looser around her body before, with a last "Boss...", Nagi Sawada left the world.

Tsuna fell to his knees, openly sobbing. He didn't react to anything. Not the similar noises going on all around him. Not the pair of sleek shiny dress shoes that moved till they were right in front of him.

Until he decided to look up and finally noticed that the shoes belonged to none other then Hibari Kyoya, who was currently Taking deep breaths as a few tears streaked his cheeks. "Stand up carnivore." he said.

Tsuna shook his head.

"Stand up carnivore. Your daughter is watching you from that ring on your finger. Are you going to disappoint her?" he asked, his voice momentarily shaking at the memory of that tiny child hiding behind Chrome's legs.

Tsuna looked at Hibari again. "I...I can't." he gasped.

Hibari nodded. "And that's where we come in." he said, squatting and wrapping his hands around Tsuna's chest. He stood up again while holding Tsuna, bringing the shorter man to his full height. But Tsuna's knees still couldn't support his weight, so Ryohei go on his other side and grabbed an arm, and then Tsuna was being walked toward the exit by his two most athletic Guardians. Then Yamamoto and Gokudera walked in front of them, each picking up a leg and putting it on one of their shoulders. Then Lambo and Mukuro came up in between the two groups and supported Tsuna's back.

The same positions they'd had for carrying Chrome into the cemetery, they carried Tsuna out.

Tsuna thought about what Chrome had told him. All the previous generations could do it...why can't we? He looked at the mist ring on Mukuro's finger. Unwrapping the arm that was around Hibari's head, he took the mist ring off Mukuro's finger. He lifted and folded his legs, gracefully falling onto his feet and straightening up.

Looking at the ring in his hand, he softly kissed it before handing it back to Mukuro. No one really understood why he did it.

Except for a consciousness deep in the ring that had just begun to reawaken after using up all of it's power earlier.

Chrome smiled from the depths of the ring. She knew what it meant.

I will come back to you eventually...my one and only.

For how else could these two express something as embarrassing as undying love through anything...but a kiss?