Ten O' Ten pt.2
Title: Ten O’ Ten, PART TWO
Author: Pain au Chocolat
Language: English, a sprinkle of Italian and Japanese.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters used in this fiction. Everything belongs to Akira Amano.
Rating & Warnings: Varies from K to M. AU, OOC, genderbending, cursing... and lotsa other stuff.
Summary: Ten drabbles.
Pairing: Yamamoto x fem!Tsuna (Tsune), 8027
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TEN O’ TEN
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1
The best way to remember your wife’s birthday is to forget it once.
- Joseph Cossman.
Takeshi couldn’t believe what a fool he was. No, really. He had messed up big time, and for once in his life he couldn’t just laugh and shrug it off. Sure, he could make excuses (important baseball matches and excessive training), but he knew that they’d just make things worse.
He had forgotten his wife’s birthday, after all.
Oh, Tsune didn’t blame him - Takeshi actually hoped that she would have said something so he could apologize but now it was only his guilt that kept chocking him. He had wondered for the whole day what the heck had been going on with the people around being so happy, as if they anticipated something. And the day after Gokudera had asked him what he had given to Tsune…
Well… the aftermath hadn’t been pretty.
Gokudera beat him up. And Takeshi let him, because he deserved it. He couldn’t believe how he could have forgotten it. 14th of October - it was a date even Hibari took a break in, for the sake of visiting the boss. And now Takeshi had gone and forgotten it. And Tsune was probably sad and upset, even though she never showed him those feelings outright.
“You’d deserve it if she left you,” Gokudera had said and the words alone filled Takeshi with such fear that he rushed home where Tsune was - a week long freedom being Reborn’s present to her. Sure, some might think that such reaction from just forgetting Tsune’s birthday was overdoing it a bit, but really… it was a matter of principles. For the husband to forget her birthday, after all what she had sacrificed…?
Even Tsune’s enemies would feel angry on her behalf.
The dark-haired man knew that at the slightest chance many men would do their damnest to seduce Tsune, and take her from him. And when he reached his home only to see Squalo talking to Tsue with a serious expression, Takeshi’s blood ran cold. Till Tsune spotted him and smiled like she always did.
She’d never leave him, Takeshi knew that.
But he’ll never forget her birthday again.
2
The law of life has not been logic, it has been experience.
- Oliver Wendell Jr. Holmes.
Yamamoto Takeshi was much smarter than people gave him credit for being. Sure, it wasn’t the sort of cleverness that would enable him to pass his exams like Gokudera did, or to be able to read people as well as Tsune did, but… it was more like the sort of cleverness that enabled him to understand himself very well.
In other words, Takeshi had never been confused regarding his own feelings before. Never.
He knew what he wanted, what he liked, and he knew what he had to do. But now… now he wasn’t sure, and the unfamiliar confusion threw him off. The feeling was always there whenever he was near Tsune. It was weird, since Takeshi really hadn’t felt like that in the beginning, when he had started to hang out with the girl.
But now…
For some reason, he sometimes really wished for Gokudera to leave them alone. And to not to be so close to the girl all the time. Just like he really wanted to tell Mukuro to just stop talking about the Tsune’s body in a manner that had nothing to do with taking over the Vongola.
Really, Takeshi didn’t know why, but sometimes he felt like having Tsune all to himself. Selfish, yes, and totally not the way he usually was. It just wasn’t logical. It didn’t add up. But he couldn’t help it. So he tried to find a reason for the confusion, watched Tsune with new eyes, saw her interacting with the other guys in her life… and in the end it was one comment from Sasagawa (“You have become EXTREMELY pretty, Sawada!”) for Takeshi to understand that the unpleasant feeling was commonly known as jealousy, and that he most probably had a crush on his female best friend.
Well shit.
No, seriously.
What was he supposed to do now!? Had they been normal students, he would have asked her out in an instant. But they weren’t. She was the next Vongola Boss, and he was just a Guardian. By all logic it should never happen. Then again, life was seldom logical.
“Takeshi-kun!” The dark-haired boy turned to the source of the voice, only to see the person who had been occupying his thoughts hurry towards him. Her slender, slightly curvy body. Pale skin, amber eyes, kind smile… Really, why had he even hesitated?
“Hey, Tsune… there’s something I’d like to tell you…”
3
Where the mind is past hope, the heart is past shame.
- John Lyly.
Yamamoto knows he ought to feel ashamed - and a part of him does. He’s doing something he never thought he’d do, and even though no one else but him knows, it doesn’t make him feel any less dirty. But he can’t help it. Every time he sees her, his body is suddenly alert and his blood singing and he’s so full of desire that he has to go to the closest secluded place to take care of some private business. Really, a man well past his thirties acting like a hormonal teenager with a permanent hard-on whenever his boss was around? Ridiculous!
But he really couldn’t help it.
Sawada Tsune is not only a gorgeous woman, but she has that something that makes her stand out regardless of her modest appearance and calm manners. Every time Yamamoto sees her dressed like a business woman, he wants to open her blouse, kiss her senseless and make her lose that composure and saint-like patience she’s become notorious of having.
But he never even tries. He can barely dream of it, but he knows that there’s no way that Tsune would ever return his feelings. His mind knows there’s no hope, and his heart is past shame regarding the dirty activities he does due to the lust he harbours for her.
So he sleeps with the picture of Sawada Tsune under his pillow.
The picture of his friend’s wife.
4
Death leaves a heartache no one can heal. Love leaves a memory no one can steal.
- Irish headstone.
Yamamoto Takeshi stood in front of the elegant coffin and felt that he could never smile again. And how could he? Tsune was dead. The woman he had loved, the leader he had followed, the friend he had trusted… the one who had meant everything to him was gone. There was a gaping hole in Yamamoto’s heart than no one could see, but he could feel all too well.
It was hard to believe that someone who had been so full of life was now lying in a closed coffin surrounded by white flowers. So unfair, so hard to believe, so… unacceptable.
“You’re here again,” a familiar voice said, and Yamamoto turned to see Gokudera walking closer, till the bomber stood next to him, staring at the coffin with the expression of a man whose only reason to live was to avenge a single death.
“I don’t want to leave her,” Yamamoto replied flatly.
“You know,” Gokudera sighed. “In the beginning I never thought you’d stay this long. Or that you’d be this loyal, even if you were her friend.”
“I know that,” the swordsman said. “And I know that for years you had trouble with accepting my presence.”
“That’s because I never knew why you stuck around.”
“She saved my life.”
“That sort of debt would have been paid after the Ring Conflict. Still you stayed.”
“Why did you stay by her side?” Yamamoto asked suddenly, and Gokudera lit up a cigarette.
“I was born to serve her,” the man said with utter conviction. “Your reason?” For the longest time, Yamamoto stayed silent, till Gokudera thought that the Rain Guardian wouldn’t answer. But as he turned to leave, the swordsman’s words froze him in his tracks. And when it dawned upon him what the other had just said… well, for the first time in his life Gokudera felt pity towards Yamamoto.
”I was in love with her.”
5
Strange how few, after all’s said and done, the things that are of moment.
- Edna st Vincent Millay
They lay together on the bed, her body beneath his. One could say they were cuddling, or just holding each other close in a rare moment of peace. Even though the two were always together, usually they had the others - Gokudera, Ryohei, Reborn, Haru and the rest - with them too. Private moments just for the two of them were scarce.
“Are you comfortable?” Yamamoto asked, and Tsune smiled tenderly.
“Mm-m. Enough so to almost fall asleep.”
“I’m not too heavy?”
“No,” the brunette said, looking up at her boyfriend with twinkle in her eyes. “Are you trying to find and excuse and escape?”
“Haha, like I’d move from here voluntarily,” Yamamoto laughed, and shifted to the side a bit. He was now supporting his weight by leaning on his left arm, his right one being thrown over Tsune’s waist. “If I had it my way, we’d stay like this forever.”
“How sweet,” Tsune giggled, and Yamamoto grinned in response. He then touched her cheek lightly, before leaning down and kissing her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and neither noticed the door opening, and quickly closing again, during their snogging session.
“I love you,” Yamamoto sighed contently, pulling away to breath, looking at his girlfriend and wondering how someone like Tsune was happy with someone like him. Yet there they were - together and in love.
6
All glory comes from daring to begin.
- Anonymous
The first time they kissed had happened during Haru’s birthday party. Tsune could still remember Yamamoto’s lips against hers, his hands on her hips and the toe-curling sensations he had made her feel. They were drunk, fumbling, blushing, but way too caught in the moment to stop. Eventually she had ended sitting on his lap, his hands under her shirt, still lip-locked. Luckily nothing else happened as the snogging seemed to take too much energy out of them, and they had fallen asleep.
Needless to say, the following few days were awkward between the two of them. Yamamoto, who was usually so dense about anything that didn’t have something to do with baseball or sushi suddenly couldn’t stop staring at Tsune. And whenever the blushing girl even glanced at him, he would feel the heat rising to his cheeks as his mind replayed the kiss again and again.
He’d dream of her soft, smooth body and wake up wishing for her to be there sharing his bed with him. He’d touch himself imagining her, remembering the scent of lotus that seemed to follow her everywhere and feeling indescribable lust that shook his very being. He couldn’t stop thinking of her for one damned minute. Of Tsune. His best friend.
He wondered what Gokudera would say.
Probably kill him for daring to touch Tsune. Gokudera was notorious for being protective and possessive when it was about the brunette. Yamamoto could honestly say that he didn’t feel comfortable with the idea of sharing Tsune’s attention either. The realization surprised him - he had never thought that he could be so selfish when it came to another person.
Bur he was a straightforward person who didn’t like thinking about unsolved issues without trying at least something. So he lied for the first time and told Gokudera that Shamal was looking for him. When the half-Italian boy left, Yamamoto kneeled next to Tsune who was blushing again.
“Guess what?” he grinned.
“Wh-what?” Tsune asked shyly.
“I think I have a crush on you.”
“…Wh-what!?”
“Ha ha, funny, isn’t it?” Yamamoto asked, but regardless of his words, his voice was strained and for a moment Tsune thought that her friend would shed tears. She leaned forward and touched his cheek gently.
“Ya… um… Takeshi-kun…” she started, unaware of the surge of desire Yamamoto felt when she said his name with such familiarity. What she might have babbled about next went unheard, when the baseball player’s resolve crumbled and he pulled her into a bruising kiss. Their second.
It was a moment and an eternity, and Tsune felt yet again the desired heat and passion they both had, but never showed. When they pulled apart Yamamoto grinned, but didn’t let go of her.
“Go out with me?” he asked, and she blushed, smiled and nodded.
“S-sure, Takeshi-kun.”
7
I married my husband for life, not for lunch.
- Anonymous
Mom is a boss of some mysterious company, and dad is one of her bodyguards. When I told my friends that mom is dad’s boss, they assumed that mom is, well, bossy. Which is pretty damn far from the truth. She’s the kindest, nicest mom ever. Even more so than Grandma Nana, who’s legendary. Then again, there was no reason for mom to be bossy, because it’s enough when she asks nicely. I don’t know anyone who’d say “no” to mom, except maybe Uncle Reborn. The others - even Uncle Mukuro and Uncle Kyouya - never refuse a request from my mom. They all care very much about her, but many seem to somewhat dislike dad.
”How she ended up choosing a baseball freak like you, I’ll never understand.”
Like Uncle Hayato who would bring the moon for mom if she asked. I still think that he’s at least a little bit in love with her, but when I tell dad to be careful when he leaves mom alone with Uncle Hayato, he just laughs. But seriously… it’s isn’t just your average employee’s admiration towards his boss. Uncle Hayato practically worships the ground mom walks on, and always calls her “Juudaime” or “Princess”.
”At the first given chance, Yamamoto-kun, I shall snag her away from you.”
But at least Uncle Hayato respected the fact that mom and dad are married, because Uncle Mukuro most certainly did not. He was one of the very few who could turn dad’s grin into a grimace within minutes. In fact, I remember that once dad and Uncle Mukuro actually fought each other at some point. Uncle had said something about dad and I being flaws in mom’s perfection. Auntie Haru then told me that that wasn’t the case, and that Uncle Mukuro had been wrong. Well, he can talk all he wants, he wasn’t the real threat…
”If you hurt her even once, Yamamoto Takeshi, I will bite you to death and take her myself.”
Uncle Kyouya didn’t talk often, and when he visited, he always made it perfectly clear that we was visiting mom and no one else. Dad told me once that Uncle Kyouya was different from everybody else, and I remember someone saying that dad almost lost mom to him.
It’s hard to imagine for anyone to come between mom and dad. They’re so obviously in love that it’s icky to watch. They’re meant to be with each other, forever. It’s like a life sentence, you know, not a lunch-break detention.
8
A gentleman does things no gentleman should do in a way only a gentleman can.
- Luigi Banzini
It wasn’t that Tsune didn’t know when Halloween was… she just didn’t expect for it to matter. Suddenly the streets were full of kids trick or treating, and Tsune knew that Lambo had set out to get candy from all over the town. Good for him, at least the house would be empty and peaceful. Or so she thought.
“Ciaossu.”
“WAH!” she shrieked, startled by the sudden appearance of her tutor. “Reborn! What do you want now?”
“Are you slacking again, dame-Tsune?”
“Slacking from what?” the girl exclaimed. “It’s holiday!”
“Mafiosi don’t have holidays,” Reborn stated with a smirk. “It’s your responsibility to go and ‘trick-or-treat’ at least one of your guardians.”
“That’s something you just now thought up, isn’t it?” the girl asked with a scowl, but cowered away when the baby lifted a gun. “FINE! I’ll go.“
“In a costume.”
“…excuse me, what??”
“I don’t like to repeat myself, dame-Tsune,” the baby stated. “But I was kind enough to arrange an outfit for you. Now get dressed and decide who’s going to be your victim.” The girl was almost crying as she lifted the dress to inspect it.
“What am I, a Lolita?” she muttered, while thinking of her Guardians. Well, Mukuro was out of question, and so was Hibari. Ryohei would say and do something extreme, and Tsune didn’t want to know what. Gokudera would… well, she didn’t know what his reaction would be. Lambo was nowhere in sight, and Yamamoto…
…
Yamamoto would surely just take everything as a new game! And he was a gentleman, really. More so than many others. Suely he wouldn’t think anything of this… Perfect! The brunette smiled as she put on the tiny top-hat and attached it with pins. Then she hurried - a bit unsteadily because of the high-heeled shoes - towards Yamamoto’s house. When she finally reached it, Tsune didn’t hesitate with ringing the doorbell. Luckily it was Yamamoto and not his father who opened the door.
“Tsune!” he exclaimed, staring at the girl he considered to be his best friend with mixed feelings. She looked good. Really good, and had more effect on his… ahem… body than any of the naked women in his dirty magazines. Which confused him quite a bit. “What’s up?”
“Um… W-well,” the girl stuttered and blushed, completely unaware of how desirable she looked to her friend. “Trick or treat?” The words sent a surge of desire through Yamamoto’s body, and he smiled, leaning away from the door.
“A treat,” he said, voice rather low and hoarse for reasons Tsune couldn’t have guessed. “A treat… indoors. Do come in, Tsune… my dad isn’t home and I can show you this new game that has lots of treating and… say, aren’t you hot in those clothes?”
9
Imagination is the eye of the soul
- Joseph Joubert
Takeshi was what one could call a late bloomer. In other words, he really hadn’t much paid attention to girls in that sense, since he was too much involved with baseball and that ‘mafia game’ he had going on. But he knew, he had listened to the other boys comparing girls and their particular body-parts. He knew what sorts of girls were generally liked and he knew that everyone considered Kyoko to be the number one beauty in Namimori. Yet it wasn’t Kyoko whom he had started to think about.
A bit shorter than the Sasagawa girl, yet with a face equally pretty. Defiant brown eyes, gentle smile… For months Takeshi had dreamt of her voice, smiles and everything that the average puppy-loves included. It was innocent and even thought of kissing her cheek or holding her hand felt like something heart-stopping to him. Due time, however, he grew to be more at ease with his secret feelings, and he dared to dream more, to imagine more, to desire more.
First he noticed her lips, and how he’d like to kiss her. Maybe he’d let his hands rest on her hips, before slowly going further down and---
Then he noticed her legs. They were pale and thin and he sometimes thought he’d love to spend his days just watching her walk. Watching those legs and their owner. He especially liked it when Tsune would sit, since she had the habit of crossing her legs. The right one above the left one, and if the skirt that was a part of the school uniform was just a little bit shorter then he could---
After that he became fascinated with her neck. And throat. So pale and thin and even the simplest of necklaces looked like royal jewellery on her. Sometimes, when he felt daring, he imagined how he’d kiss that soft skin, bite it unlike how Hibari would do, and leave his marks on her. Then he’d open her shirt a few buttons more and kiss further down and---
What he noticed next was… well, what other boys usually noticed first. Tsune’s breasts. Yamamoto and Gokudera had been sitting around her table - as usual - and she had crossed her arms beneath her breasts, and somehow Takeshi couldn’t stop stealing glances. He knew that the girl was most probably unaware of how her arms pushed her breasts up just enough for the raven-haired boy to notice, but her ignorance made it all the more noticeable and harder to ignore. Because if she wasn’t aware, then she wouldn’t know where he was looking and he could look and go home with more to fantasize about.
And it went on, this secret crush of his that seemed to be more than just a simple crush. He grew, she grew, and his feelings and desires grew too. He knew what he wanted, what he needed from her, but he never dared to ask for it. Not now. Perhaps never. But by now he knew one thing.
He might never have her, but he’d always have his dreams.
10
Most of us retain enough of the theological attitude to think that we are little gods.
- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
Yamamoto Tsuyoshi had always respected that brunette who had started hanging out with Takeshi starting from their time in Namimori Junior High. She had always been respectful towards him and acted so humble regardless of the attention and adoration her friends gave her.
He had told Takeshi, back then, that that girl would be a good one to keep around.
Takeshi hadn’t much paid attention, the idiot boy.
Luckily he had, eventually, woken up to realize that aside from baseball and fencing, some other important things existed as well. And with the subtlety of a man who never quite understood what the big deal about confessing to someone their love was, Takeshi had called Tsune and told her about his newest realization.
The aftermath was a bit unclear to Tsuyoshi, but he knew that there had been quite a lot of fighting involved, before a grinning Takeshi had dragged the blushing brunette for a proper introduction.
Ah, young people in love. Tsuyoshi approved.
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A/N: Er... so about that 'before Easter' deal...
Anyway, if anyone wants to keep watch on my updates, feel free to check the twitter account: http://twitter.com/fevesdecacao
Author: Pain au Chocolat
Language: English, a sprinkle of Italian and Japanese.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters used in this fiction. Everything belongs to Akira Amano.
Rating & Warnings: Varies from K to M. AU, OOC, genderbending, cursing... and lotsa other stuff.
Summary: Ten drabbles.
Pairing: Yamamoto x fem!Tsuna (Tsune), 8027
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TEN O’ TEN
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1
The best way to remember your wife’s birthday is to forget it once.
- Joseph Cossman.
Takeshi couldn’t believe what a fool he was. No, really. He had messed up big time, and for once in his life he couldn’t just laugh and shrug it off. Sure, he could make excuses (important baseball matches and excessive training), but he knew that they’d just make things worse.
He had forgotten his wife’s birthday, after all.
Oh, Tsune didn’t blame him - Takeshi actually hoped that she would have said something so he could apologize but now it was only his guilt that kept chocking him. He had wondered for the whole day what the heck had been going on with the people around being so happy, as if they anticipated something. And the day after Gokudera had asked him what he had given to Tsune…
Well… the aftermath hadn’t been pretty.
Gokudera beat him up. And Takeshi let him, because he deserved it. He couldn’t believe how he could have forgotten it. 14th of October - it was a date even Hibari took a break in, for the sake of visiting the boss. And now Takeshi had gone and forgotten it. And Tsune was probably sad and upset, even though she never showed him those feelings outright.
“You’d deserve it if she left you,” Gokudera had said and the words alone filled Takeshi with such fear that he rushed home where Tsune was - a week long freedom being Reborn’s present to her. Sure, some might think that such reaction from just forgetting Tsune’s birthday was overdoing it a bit, but really… it was a matter of principles. For the husband to forget her birthday, after all what she had sacrificed…?
Even Tsune’s enemies would feel angry on her behalf.
The dark-haired man knew that at the slightest chance many men would do their damnest to seduce Tsune, and take her from him. And when he reached his home only to see Squalo talking to Tsue with a serious expression, Takeshi’s blood ran cold. Till Tsune spotted him and smiled like she always did.
She’d never leave him, Takeshi knew that.
But he’ll never forget her birthday again.
2
The law of life has not been logic, it has been experience.
- Oliver Wendell Jr. Holmes.
Yamamoto Takeshi was much smarter than people gave him credit for being. Sure, it wasn’t the sort of cleverness that would enable him to pass his exams like Gokudera did, or to be able to read people as well as Tsune did, but… it was more like the sort of cleverness that enabled him to understand himself very well.
In other words, Takeshi had never been confused regarding his own feelings before. Never.
He knew what he wanted, what he liked, and he knew what he had to do. But now… now he wasn’t sure, and the unfamiliar confusion threw him off. The feeling was always there whenever he was near Tsune. It was weird, since Takeshi really hadn’t felt like that in the beginning, when he had started to hang out with the girl.
But now…
For some reason, he sometimes really wished for Gokudera to leave them alone. And to not to be so close to the girl all the time. Just like he really wanted to tell Mukuro to just stop talking about the Tsune’s body in a manner that had nothing to do with taking over the Vongola.
Really, Takeshi didn’t know why, but sometimes he felt like having Tsune all to himself. Selfish, yes, and totally not the way he usually was. It just wasn’t logical. It didn’t add up. But he couldn’t help it. So he tried to find a reason for the confusion, watched Tsune with new eyes, saw her interacting with the other guys in her life… and in the end it was one comment from Sasagawa (“You have become EXTREMELY pretty, Sawada!”) for Takeshi to understand that the unpleasant feeling was commonly known as jealousy, and that he most probably had a crush on his female best friend.
Well shit.
No, seriously.
What was he supposed to do now!? Had they been normal students, he would have asked her out in an instant. But they weren’t. She was the next Vongola Boss, and he was just a Guardian. By all logic it should never happen. Then again, life was seldom logical.
“Takeshi-kun!” The dark-haired boy turned to the source of the voice, only to see the person who had been occupying his thoughts hurry towards him. Her slender, slightly curvy body. Pale skin, amber eyes, kind smile… Really, why had he even hesitated?
“Hey, Tsune… there’s something I’d like to tell you…”
3
Where the mind is past hope, the heart is past shame.
- John Lyly.
Yamamoto knows he ought to feel ashamed - and a part of him does. He’s doing something he never thought he’d do, and even though no one else but him knows, it doesn’t make him feel any less dirty. But he can’t help it. Every time he sees her, his body is suddenly alert and his blood singing and he’s so full of desire that he has to go to the closest secluded place to take care of some private business. Really, a man well past his thirties acting like a hormonal teenager with a permanent hard-on whenever his boss was around? Ridiculous!
But he really couldn’t help it.
Sawada Tsune is not only a gorgeous woman, but she has that something that makes her stand out regardless of her modest appearance and calm manners. Every time Yamamoto sees her dressed like a business woman, he wants to open her blouse, kiss her senseless and make her lose that composure and saint-like patience she’s become notorious of having.
But he never even tries. He can barely dream of it, but he knows that there’s no way that Tsune would ever return his feelings. His mind knows there’s no hope, and his heart is past shame regarding the dirty activities he does due to the lust he harbours for her.
So he sleeps with the picture of Sawada Tsune under his pillow.
The picture of his friend’s wife.
4
Death leaves a heartache no one can heal. Love leaves a memory no one can steal.
- Irish headstone.
Yamamoto Takeshi stood in front of the elegant coffin and felt that he could never smile again. And how could he? Tsune was dead. The woman he had loved, the leader he had followed, the friend he had trusted… the one who had meant everything to him was gone. There was a gaping hole in Yamamoto’s heart than no one could see, but he could feel all too well.
It was hard to believe that someone who had been so full of life was now lying in a closed coffin surrounded by white flowers. So unfair, so hard to believe, so… unacceptable.
“You’re here again,” a familiar voice said, and Yamamoto turned to see Gokudera walking closer, till the bomber stood next to him, staring at the coffin with the expression of a man whose only reason to live was to avenge a single death.
“I don’t want to leave her,” Yamamoto replied flatly.
“You know,” Gokudera sighed. “In the beginning I never thought you’d stay this long. Or that you’d be this loyal, even if you were her friend.”
“I know that,” the swordsman said. “And I know that for years you had trouble with accepting my presence.”
“That’s because I never knew why you stuck around.”
“She saved my life.”
“That sort of debt would have been paid after the Ring Conflict. Still you stayed.”
“Why did you stay by her side?” Yamamoto asked suddenly, and Gokudera lit up a cigarette.
“I was born to serve her,” the man said with utter conviction. “Your reason?” For the longest time, Yamamoto stayed silent, till Gokudera thought that the Rain Guardian wouldn’t answer. But as he turned to leave, the swordsman’s words froze him in his tracks. And when it dawned upon him what the other had just said… well, for the first time in his life Gokudera felt pity towards Yamamoto.
”I was in love with her.”
5
Strange how few, after all’s said and done, the things that are of moment.
- Edna st Vincent Millay
They lay together on the bed, her body beneath his. One could say they were cuddling, or just holding each other close in a rare moment of peace. Even though the two were always together, usually they had the others - Gokudera, Ryohei, Reborn, Haru and the rest - with them too. Private moments just for the two of them were scarce.
“Are you comfortable?” Yamamoto asked, and Tsune smiled tenderly.
“Mm-m. Enough so to almost fall asleep.”
“I’m not too heavy?”
“No,” the brunette said, looking up at her boyfriend with twinkle in her eyes. “Are you trying to find and excuse and escape?”
“Haha, like I’d move from here voluntarily,” Yamamoto laughed, and shifted to the side a bit. He was now supporting his weight by leaning on his left arm, his right one being thrown over Tsune’s waist. “If I had it my way, we’d stay like this forever.”
“How sweet,” Tsune giggled, and Yamamoto grinned in response. He then touched her cheek lightly, before leaning down and kissing her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and neither noticed the door opening, and quickly closing again, during their snogging session.
“I love you,” Yamamoto sighed contently, pulling away to breath, looking at his girlfriend and wondering how someone like Tsune was happy with someone like him. Yet there they were - together and in love.
6
All glory comes from daring to begin.
- Anonymous
The first time they kissed had happened during Haru’s birthday party. Tsune could still remember Yamamoto’s lips against hers, his hands on her hips and the toe-curling sensations he had made her feel. They were drunk, fumbling, blushing, but way too caught in the moment to stop. Eventually she had ended sitting on his lap, his hands under her shirt, still lip-locked. Luckily nothing else happened as the snogging seemed to take too much energy out of them, and they had fallen asleep.
Needless to say, the following few days were awkward between the two of them. Yamamoto, who was usually so dense about anything that didn’t have something to do with baseball or sushi suddenly couldn’t stop staring at Tsune. And whenever the blushing girl even glanced at him, he would feel the heat rising to his cheeks as his mind replayed the kiss again and again.
He’d dream of her soft, smooth body and wake up wishing for her to be there sharing his bed with him. He’d touch himself imagining her, remembering the scent of lotus that seemed to follow her everywhere and feeling indescribable lust that shook his very being. He couldn’t stop thinking of her for one damned minute. Of Tsune. His best friend.
He wondered what Gokudera would say.
Probably kill him for daring to touch Tsune. Gokudera was notorious for being protective and possessive when it was about the brunette. Yamamoto could honestly say that he didn’t feel comfortable with the idea of sharing Tsune’s attention either. The realization surprised him - he had never thought that he could be so selfish when it came to another person.
Bur he was a straightforward person who didn’t like thinking about unsolved issues without trying at least something. So he lied for the first time and told Gokudera that Shamal was looking for him. When the half-Italian boy left, Yamamoto kneeled next to Tsune who was blushing again.
“Guess what?” he grinned.
“Wh-what?” Tsune asked shyly.
“I think I have a crush on you.”
“…Wh-what!?”
“Ha ha, funny, isn’t it?” Yamamoto asked, but regardless of his words, his voice was strained and for a moment Tsune thought that her friend would shed tears. She leaned forward and touched his cheek gently.
“Ya… um… Takeshi-kun…” she started, unaware of the surge of desire Yamamoto felt when she said his name with such familiarity. What she might have babbled about next went unheard, when the baseball player’s resolve crumbled and he pulled her into a bruising kiss. Their second.
It was a moment and an eternity, and Tsune felt yet again the desired heat and passion they both had, but never showed. When they pulled apart Yamamoto grinned, but didn’t let go of her.
“Go out with me?” he asked, and she blushed, smiled and nodded.
“S-sure, Takeshi-kun.”
7
I married my husband for life, not for lunch.
- Anonymous
Mom is a boss of some mysterious company, and dad is one of her bodyguards. When I told my friends that mom is dad’s boss, they assumed that mom is, well, bossy. Which is pretty damn far from the truth. She’s the kindest, nicest mom ever. Even more so than Grandma Nana, who’s legendary. Then again, there was no reason for mom to be bossy, because it’s enough when she asks nicely. I don’t know anyone who’d say “no” to mom, except maybe Uncle Reborn. The others - even Uncle Mukuro and Uncle Kyouya - never refuse a request from my mom. They all care very much about her, but many seem to somewhat dislike dad.
”How she ended up choosing a baseball freak like you, I’ll never understand.”
Like Uncle Hayato who would bring the moon for mom if she asked. I still think that he’s at least a little bit in love with her, but when I tell dad to be careful when he leaves mom alone with Uncle Hayato, he just laughs. But seriously… it’s isn’t just your average employee’s admiration towards his boss. Uncle Hayato practically worships the ground mom walks on, and always calls her “Juudaime” or “Princess”.
”At the first given chance, Yamamoto-kun, I shall snag her away from you.”
But at least Uncle Hayato respected the fact that mom and dad are married, because Uncle Mukuro most certainly did not. He was one of the very few who could turn dad’s grin into a grimace within minutes. In fact, I remember that once dad and Uncle Mukuro actually fought each other at some point. Uncle had said something about dad and I being flaws in mom’s perfection. Auntie Haru then told me that that wasn’t the case, and that Uncle Mukuro had been wrong. Well, he can talk all he wants, he wasn’t the real threat…
”If you hurt her even once, Yamamoto Takeshi, I will bite you to death and take her myself.”
Uncle Kyouya didn’t talk often, and when he visited, he always made it perfectly clear that we was visiting mom and no one else. Dad told me once that Uncle Kyouya was different from everybody else, and I remember someone saying that dad almost lost mom to him.
It’s hard to imagine for anyone to come between mom and dad. They’re so obviously in love that it’s icky to watch. They’re meant to be with each other, forever. It’s like a life sentence, you know, not a lunch-break detention.
8
A gentleman does things no gentleman should do in a way only a gentleman can.
- Luigi Banzini
It wasn’t that Tsune didn’t know when Halloween was… she just didn’t expect for it to matter. Suddenly the streets were full of kids trick or treating, and Tsune knew that Lambo had set out to get candy from all over the town. Good for him, at least the house would be empty and peaceful. Or so she thought.
“Ciaossu.”
“WAH!” she shrieked, startled by the sudden appearance of her tutor. “Reborn! What do you want now?”
“Are you slacking again, dame-Tsune?”
“Slacking from what?” the girl exclaimed. “It’s holiday!”
“Mafiosi don’t have holidays,” Reborn stated with a smirk. “It’s your responsibility to go and ‘trick-or-treat’ at least one of your guardians.”
“That’s something you just now thought up, isn’t it?” the girl asked with a scowl, but cowered away when the baby lifted a gun. “FINE! I’ll go.“
“In a costume.”
“…excuse me, what??”
“I don’t like to repeat myself, dame-Tsune,” the baby stated. “But I was kind enough to arrange an outfit for you. Now get dressed and decide who’s going to be your victim.” The girl was almost crying as she lifted the dress to inspect it.
“What am I, a Lolita?” she muttered, while thinking of her Guardians. Well, Mukuro was out of question, and so was Hibari. Ryohei would say and do something extreme, and Tsune didn’t want to know what. Gokudera would… well, she didn’t know what his reaction would be. Lambo was nowhere in sight, and Yamamoto…
…
Yamamoto would surely just take everything as a new game! And he was a gentleman, really. More so than many others. Suely he wouldn’t think anything of this… Perfect! The brunette smiled as she put on the tiny top-hat and attached it with pins. Then she hurried - a bit unsteadily because of the high-heeled shoes - towards Yamamoto’s house. When she finally reached it, Tsune didn’t hesitate with ringing the doorbell. Luckily it was Yamamoto and not his father who opened the door.
“Tsune!” he exclaimed, staring at the girl he considered to be his best friend with mixed feelings. She looked good. Really good, and had more effect on his… ahem… body than any of the naked women in his dirty magazines. Which confused him quite a bit. “What’s up?”
“Um… W-well,” the girl stuttered and blushed, completely unaware of how desirable she looked to her friend. “Trick or treat?” The words sent a surge of desire through Yamamoto’s body, and he smiled, leaning away from the door.
“A treat,” he said, voice rather low and hoarse for reasons Tsune couldn’t have guessed. “A treat… indoors. Do come in, Tsune… my dad isn’t home and I can show you this new game that has lots of treating and… say, aren’t you hot in those clothes?”
9
Imagination is the eye of the soul
- Joseph Joubert
Takeshi was what one could call a late bloomer. In other words, he really hadn’t much paid attention to girls in that sense, since he was too much involved with baseball and that ‘mafia game’ he had going on. But he knew, he had listened to the other boys comparing girls and their particular body-parts. He knew what sorts of girls were generally liked and he knew that everyone considered Kyoko to be the number one beauty in Namimori. Yet it wasn’t Kyoko whom he had started to think about.
A bit shorter than the Sasagawa girl, yet with a face equally pretty. Defiant brown eyes, gentle smile… For months Takeshi had dreamt of her voice, smiles and everything that the average puppy-loves included. It was innocent and even thought of kissing her cheek or holding her hand felt like something heart-stopping to him. Due time, however, he grew to be more at ease with his secret feelings, and he dared to dream more, to imagine more, to desire more.
First he noticed her lips, and how he’d like to kiss her. Maybe he’d let his hands rest on her hips, before slowly going further down and---
Then he noticed her legs. They were pale and thin and he sometimes thought he’d love to spend his days just watching her walk. Watching those legs and their owner. He especially liked it when Tsune would sit, since she had the habit of crossing her legs. The right one above the left one, and if the skirt that was a part of the school uniform was just a little bit shorter then he could---
After that he became fascinated with her neck. And throat. So pale and thin and even the simplest of necklaces looked like royal jewellery on her. Sometimes, when he felt daring, he imagined how he’d kiss that soft skin, bite it unlike how Hibari would do, and leave his marks on her. Then he’d open her shirt a few buttons more and kiss further down and---
What he noticed next was… well, what other boys usually noticed first. Tsune’s breasts. Yamamoto and Gokudera had been sitting around her table - as usual - and she had crossed her arms beneath her breasts, and somehow Takeshi couldn’t stop stealing glances. He knew that the girl was most probably unaware of how her arms pushed her breasts up just enough for the raven-haired boy to notice, but her ignorance made it all the more noticeable and harder to ignore. Because if she wasn’t aware, then she wouldn’t know where he was looking and he could look and go home with more to fantasize about.
And it went on, this secret crush of his that seemed to be more than just a simple crush. He grew, she grew, and his feelings and desires grew too. He knew what he wanted, what he needed from her, but he never dared to ask for it. Not now. Perhaps never. But by now he knew one thing.
He might never have her, but he’d always have his dreams.
10
Most of us retain enough of the theological attitude to think that we are little gods.
- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
Yamamoto Tsuyoshi had always respected that brunette who had started hanging out with Takeshi starting from their time in Namimori Junior High. She had always been respectful towards him and acted so humble regardless of the attention and adoration her friends gave her.
He had told Takeshi, back then, that that girl would be a good one to keep around.
Takeshi hadn’t much paid attention, the idiot boy.
Luckily he had, eventually, woken up to realize that aside from baseball and fencing, some other important things existed as well. And with the subtlety of a man who never quite understood what the big deal about confessing to someone their love was, Takeshi had called Tsune and told her about his newest realization.
The aftermath was a bit unclear to Tsuyoshi, but he knew that there had been quite a lot of fighting involved, before a grinning Takeshi had dragged the blushing brunette for a proper introduction.
Ah, young people in love. Tsuyoshi approved.
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A/N: Er... so about that 'before Easter' deal...
Anyway, if anyone wants to keep watch on my updates, feel free to check the twitter account: http://twitter.com/fevesdecacao