While Harry took advantage of his temporary house arrest to write some long-overdue letters, Xanxus tried to convince his brother that Daniela and Fabio should stay in the mansion as well. Despite his surprisingly calm and polite reasoning, Massimo brushed off his youngest brother. Massimo wanted his children involved in the Mafia as little as possible and since his wife and youngest child – eighteen-month-old Antonella - had been assassinated while they were living at the Vongola mansion, Harry couldn't say he blamed him for not feeling safe there. When calm reasoning didn't work Xanxus resorted to more tried and true methods. After the almighty fit Xanxus threw- a whole wing of the house now had to be rebuilt – Enrico had gotten involved and managed to convince Massimo that ignoring danger didn't make it go away. Massimo had agreed to bodyguards and pulling the children out of school for the next two weeks, but still refused to stay in the mansion. Harry could see how edgy having the children out of his sight was making Xanxus, even though he wasn't even three years older than Daniela.
Massimo was not the only family member to provoke Xanxus' volatile temper. The morning after Massimo had conceded to the necessity of bodyguards, three days into the fourteen-day countdown, Nono pulled Xanxus into his office for a 'little chat'. Being as paranoid and unsettled as he was, Xanxus had brought Squalo and Harry along without informing his father, Enrico had been drawn by the raised voices and in short, things had become very loud, very quickly. Ten minutes after the meeting had started, Harry and Nono were the only ones left in the room and Harry was trying desperately not to punch Don Nono in his smug, patronising face. Xanxus had already lost the battle with his limited self-control, and Enrico had pulled him and Squalo out of the room to calm down.
"I had hoped that Squalo would ease his temper somewhat," Nono commented, sipping his tea. "The boy is perhaps not the ideal candidate for a Rain Guardian."
"He's the ideal Rain for Xanxus, and that's what's important," Harry said icily. "Maybe Xanxus lost his temper because you accused him of being paranoid, and told him you were shocked he gave a damn about anyone else at all, all in the same breath. Sir."
"Careful, boy," Nono said as the air in the room suddenly became harder to breathe. "As my son's Cloud you have a great deal of freedom, but that will only go so far."
"Of course." Harry stood up and turned to leave without being dismissed. "Despite it being a 'ridiculous overreaction'," he quoted the comment that had sent Xanxus into a fiery rage, "I'll be staying in the mansion for the next two weeks. I'll try not to get underfoot."
Harry left unsaid the fact that he only ever saw the Don when Enrico or Nono himself summoned him to translate for Xanxus. Harry had unintentionally found himself in the contradictory position of having a great deal of power but no official status, and Nono had no idea how to deal with him. So for now they just circled around each other, both uneasily accepting that the other had Xanxus' best interests at heart, and both vehemently disagreeing with how the other went about meeting those interests.
After all the drama, it turned out that two weeks weren't necessary. Ten days after Federico reported back that he couldn't find his lady-love, there was a kidnapping attempt on Clotilde Bianchi, Don Bianchi's eldest child. After that, it was as though the floodgates had been opened. Dino Cavallone was in hospital after a kidnap attempt was barely stopped. Three young Vongola Suns, two Lightnings and a Storm were taken before Nono gave the order that anyone Flame active be moved to the nearest secure place. The only ones that had been targeted were those who were still in training, so they had been moved to the main house, into their own separate wing. Xanxus only had to set fire to one overly curious Storm before they learned to stay in their own part of the house.
At Nono's insistence, Massimo finally moved into the mansion with Daniela and Fabio. Fabio treated it like a holiday, and roped Harry (and therefore Xanxus and Squalo) into games of hide-and-seek or tag that spanned the entire house, several hours and at least a dozen more people at the end than when they started. It was good to see Xanxus acting like the child he was, and hilarious to see how competitive Squalo was. Xanxus would occasionally let Fabio win; Squalo would rather cut off his own foot.
Daniela, on the other hand, knew that something was wrong. Massimo tried to keep her insulated from the threat, but even if Xanxus was interested in maintaining the pretence that everything was fine it was impossible to keep the tense atmosphere from her. She trailed after Xanxus like a grim little duckling of doom, following him to lessons, to dance practice, to the shooting range. It was this last one which caused the normally easy-going Massimo to lose his temper with his little brother.
"You have no right!" the thirty-two year old man shouted at the defiant twelve-year-old. "My daughter will not grow up to be a killer."
"She'll grow up to be Vongola! She's Family! Why the hell do you think I'd leave her weak and helpless? Not knowing how to protect yourself makes you a fucking target. No one's going to look at her and say, 'she doesn't have a fucking clue which end of a gun is which, we'll leave her alone'. I don't know what fucking fantasy world you live in, asshole, but unless you want Daniela to end up with a bullet in her head - if she's lucky enough to meet someone who'll kill her quickly - then you'll let her fucking learn!" Xanxus screamed back at him.
Harry stepped in, as was his role. Massimo looked shell shocked, and Xanxus looked hurt, although Harry would be surprised if anyone else could see it.
"Miss Daniela hasn't done any shooting as yet. Of course she would need your permission for that. All she's learned is gun safety, and how to assemble and disassemble a weapon, which a useful skill to have. Learning how to shoot didn't make Young Master Xanxus a murderer." The formality was complete bullshit, of course. Massimo knew full well that had Daniela had conferred on Harry the right to call her Dani, and Xanxus was likely to punch Harry in the face and then drag him to Legolas to be checked for illusions and other Mist-tricks.
"I have the right to control my daughter's education. Not her playmate and not a servant." With that Massimo stormed off, leaving Xanxus looking heart-broken. He was trying to protect his niece the best way he knew how, and to have his brother essentially disown him for it - reduce him to Daniela's playmate - hurt. For the first time since the war ended, Harry wished he had his wand so that he could do physical harm to someone.
Massimo apologised the next day, but Daniela wasn't allowed back to Xanxus's lessons. Relations between the brothers were strained, and although Harry could see the regret on Massimo's face, he didn't think Xanxus would be forgiving or forgetting any time soon. Harry honestly believed that if Massimo wasn't the gatekeeper to the children Xanxus had adopted as his own, the twelve-year-old would be quite happy never speaking to his older brother again. Trust, respect and affection weren't things that Xanxus handed out based solely on a little thing like blood
That confrontation ignited Xanxus' temper, and it didn't seem like anything could make it simmer down again. He broke Squalo's wrist during dance practice, almost dislocated Enrico's kneecap when his brother fetched him for a meeting with his father, and terrorised most of the teenage Flame trainees in the house. Soon he was stalking over to their wing specifically to pick a fight which many of the teens, themselves cooped up in an unfamiliar place, far from home and family, where happy to give him.
"Xanxus!" Harry called, hoping that the pre-teen would actually listen to him today. They had all been confined to the mansion for over a month, and cabin fever was taking its toll. Enrico had tasked Harry with bringing Xanxus back to the main part of the house before he could set fire to anything. Or anyone.
"The fuck do you want?" Xanxus yelled, his voice muffled.
Harry followed the sound, trying to track down his wayward ward. Hearing the sound of splintering wood, he sighed. So it was one of those days. He wasn't surprised. Nono had pulled Xanxus into his office for a 'little chat' that morning, and Harry hadn't seen him since. Squalo was busy with his tutors which meant that Xanxus would have spent the entire day stewing.
"For you to get something to eat! And maybe come and talk so we don't have to shout at each other!" Harry called down the hall.
Xanxus came storming down the corridor. Curious teenagers who had poked their heads out to see what all the noise was about scurried away. "I'm not a fucking kid, and you're not my parent. I don't need you to tell me when to eat," he snarled.
Harry's own temper, which he had been desperately trying to keep under wraps, finally burst loose. "I'm so sorry for overstepping, young master," he drawled sarcastically.
That seemed to be the last straw for Xanxus. He slammed his fist into Harry's chest. Harry knew that Xanxus was violent, but the boy had never raised a hand to him, so he wasn't expecting things to escalate into a physical fight. He definitely wasn't prepared for the force of the blow which sent him careening into a bookshelf.
"Shit! Harry, I'm sorry. Get up, I'll get a doctor - where's the fucking medic!"
Harry could hear Xanxus panicking, but he couldn't find the breath to reassure him. His chest was on fire, and so was his back. He would be lucky if his ribs were only bruised, and he knew something was broken. He had heard the crack. He tuned out the world and focused on taking slow, shallow breaths.
Reluctantly, he opened his eyes as someone tapped his face. A teenager stared back at him. Harry was transfixed by his hair. It was bright blue and candyfloss pink. He looked like a male Tonks, or a grown-up Teddy. Teddy was still a baby, right? Andromeda hadn't let him see him in years, but three was still a baby.
The teenager wasn't a baby, and he wouldn't stop talking. Harry did his best to track the boy's finger, but he didn't think he did too well. He could feel Xanxus' warm, dry hand clutching his own and squeezed it, trying to reassure him. As the medics came and he was loaded onto a stretcher, movement sending starbursts of agony racing through him, he kept hold of that hand.
One mild concussion, two cracked ribs and severe bruising. He had gotten worse from playing Quidditch, but Xanxus acted as though he had been crippled. He and Squalo, as well as Daniela, Fabio and the teen - a Sun named Luca - were dedicated to the cause of making sure that Harry didn't do anything ever. They fetched his food, did his work for him (although Harry was fairly sure that Daniela and Fabio trying to do laundry made more work for the staff, not less) and made sure he was accompanied at all times, should he be permitted to leave the sofa.
It gave him time to get to know the little Family that Xanxus was building for himself. He and Luca had Harmonised while fussing over Harry. Enrico was not impressed, and Nono even less so. Luca was openly, flamboyantly homosexual, a fighter rather than a healer – they both believed that Xanxus didn't need any more violent influences - had a degenerative eye condition and damage to his knee that made it unlikely he would ever master his beloved Mui Thai. In short, he was the last person anyone would expect to claim the prestigious position of Sun Guardian.
But he was also thoughtful, being the one who enabled them all to exist in close quarters. He backed Harry's mission to make everyone wear gloves and scarves, goddammit, and made sure that Xanxus and Squalo actually did their homework. He sourced winter clothes, and food that everyone was willing to eat, and orange glitter pens for Fabio. In short, he was a treasure.
For the first few days, Xanxus seemed an entirely different child. He was teary and clingy, not letting anyone out of his sight. He waited on Harry hand and foot, diligently did homework, and was polite and respectful whenever Enrico dropped by. It was heart-breaking. Slowly, as Harry continued treating him normally, he relaxed a little, but there was no roughhousing with Squalo, no sparring with Luca. Harry had accepted the apology that Xanxus had offered so frantically when he had realised what he'd done, but there was nothing but time that could convince him of that.
Xanxus' guilt over hurting Harry was not the only drama going on in their little family.
"Why does he want me to be a leader?" Daniela asked plaintively after another afternoon when Massimo had dragged her and Fabio away for some 'family bonding'.
"How do you mean?" Harry asked, sipping the hot chocolate Luca had handed to him.
"Daddy says Dani should have her own friends, not just follow Uncle Xan," Fabio piped up. "He says that Dani is never going to be proper Sky if she doesn't know how to lead."
"It's not fair!" Daniela yelled, throwing herself into a chair. Luca cooed at her, passing her the lime green panda mug.
"I'm Uncle Xan's Cloud. I'm not a Sky! But he and Grandpa both say I can't be your Cloud! Grandpa says I'm making it up!" She turned to Xanxus with a scowl on her face and tears in her eyes.
"Shitty old man-" Xanxus began, before Harry cut him off.
"Actually, I think that one might be my fault." All eyes turned to him. "I'd almost forgotten. I think that Don Nono thinks I'm your Cloud Guardian."
Xanxus stared at him, mouth gaping open. Squalo burst out laughing. "He - you - Cloud - oh my God!" he choked. Luca clucked and passed him a handkerchief to wipe up the hot chocolate that had spilled down his chin.
"You're not my Cloud. You're not any Guardian. If we were going to Harmonize, we would have by now," Xanxus said bluntly.
"I know that, and you know that. But your family seems to get a bit strange about it. Sorry Dani," Harry said.
Daniela contemplated for a moment, and then haughtily nodded her forgiveness. Fabio broke the tension by demanding that Squalo teach him how to squirt hot chocolate out of his nose.
It was expected, after Daniela had revealed her father's expectations for her, that Massimo would object to her spending so much time with her Uncle. It still came as a shock when Fabio came running into Xanxus' rooms one morning and hurled himself at Harry, who tried not to scream at the sharp flare of agony in his ribs.
"Daddy sent Dani away! He says she's going to stay with Aunt Chiara, but I didn't get a chance to say goodbye." The boy started sobbing, and Harry stroked his hair, taking shallow breaths.
There was a crash from the doorway. Harry couldn't turn enough to see, but from the smell of burning, he knew that Xanxus was furious. He concentrated on soothing the child in his arms and smiled gratefully when Luca came in, offering sugary cereal to tempt Fabio over to the small coffee table and away from Harry, so he could take some much-needed painkillers.
Harry had expected Xanxus to come by with news, or with a scowling report of an absence of news. He hadn't expected a grim-faced Enrico at two o'clock in the afternoon.
"Daniela never made it to her Aunts. Her guards are dead, the car is a wreck and she's missing."
Fabio broke into a fresh storm of tears.