"Um, do you know him, Tsuna-kun?" Kyoko said, snapping the teen out of his thoughts.

Tsuna sank in his seat, making Hana raise a brow in question. He wished the ground would swallow him whole. "No…?"

There was already a growing crowd of students in the hallways. They whispered and pointed at Dino but the boy didn't seem to mind, accepting the attention with surprisingly mature grace. Although, when he took a step forward, he tripped over practically nothing and knocked into a desk.

That desk toppled over, knocking into the one behind it, and that one fell down too… Then another and another until students were yelling and leaping out of their seats. Tsuna saved his bento before his own desk fell. Kyoko and Haru giggled despite themselves but Hana didn't seem all that amused. Neither did the rest of his classmates.

"Who's the brat?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Hey, does anyone know him?"

"How'd he get in?"

Dino grunted as he managed to stand and dust off his preppy uniform with as much dignity as he could muster. He laughed sheepishly. "Sorry about that," he said with a charming smile. "Mama sometimes told me I was born with two left feet."

It worked on the girls—they caved in and cooed in an instant—but not so much with the guys. Sensing trouble, Tsuna quickly packed his bento and shoved it in his bag. "I'll explain later," he whispered when his friends gave him a look. "Can you get my homework for me?"

"I want lunch for a month," Hana said, ignoring Kyoko's miffed look.

"Deal."

Slinging his bag over his shoulder, Tsuna walked over to Dino, ignoring the boy's grin, and tugged his hand. "Come on," he said, leading him out the classroom.

"Thank you, Nee-chan!" Dino said, waving at some girls. They squealed, making Tsuna grimace. "I found him! Let's play again next time!"

As soon as they left the school building, avoiding the school monitors, Tsuna whirled around and hissed, "What are you doing here?"

Dino just smiled at him like nothing was wrong. "I came to find you. Romario told me where you went to school and I asked him to drive me here."

"Why? Shouldn't you be in school?"

"Romario called in sick for me so I'm fine. Oh, there's a nice"—Tsuna pulled Dino up by the collar before he tripped over air again—"café I like in Midori. We should go. They have nice hummingbird cakes. Have you ever tried one?"

Tsuna pursed his lips. "I'm not going with you anywhere. Where's…Romario?"

Dino pointed at a black car hidden by some trees across the school's baseball field. "Over there." He smiled. "You brought your bag with you. Are you planning on going anywhere else? Romario can drive you."

Okay, so Tsuna never really thought ahead when he grabbed his bag, but he had a feeling that Dino wasn't going to leave him alone any time soon so he had taken some precautionary measures. Still, Dino was slick and Tsuna knew when he was beat and cornered. Sighing, he headed for the field, making sure Dino didn't fall and break his neck. "Just this once," he said.

Dino grinned, his eyes sparkling with victory. "Yup!"

Tsuna ended up carrying Dino the rest of the way because dear God, the world was probably out to get the kid. He lost count of how many times Dino stumbled and tripped over nothing.

Culaccino was one of those cafés that seemed to require class and money. While Dino could easily blend in, Tsuna had neither of those things so he felt awkward sitting at a fancy round table in the back, his school uniform untucked and screaming commoner. The more native customers gave him curious but disapproving glances, thinking he was skipping school, which wasn't exactly wrong. There were also tourists and foreigners lounging about, more comfortable in the fancy Italian café.

After dismissing Romario, who was a bespectacled man with a hint of a beard, Dino settled down across Tsuna with a smile. "You can pick whatever you want," he said.

"I'm not hungry," Tsuna said. His stomach then thought it was the best time to betray him, making him flush.

Dino's eyes glowed with unashamed amusement. "You sure? They have nice cakes."

"Cakes…aren't a meal."

The boy pouted. "You sound like Romario. Cakes can be a meal."

He waved over a worker behind the counter, a blue-haired teenager who seemed a little older than Tsuna, and spoke with him in fast Italian. Tsuna didn't understand a word they were saying. The worker frowned at Dino, obviously unhappy that he wasn't in school, then shrugged sheepishly and gestured at a girl with long blue hair happily munching on some cakes a few tables away. She wore the same uniform as Dino but with a skirt instead of slacks.

They seemed like siblings. She perked up and waved her fork in the air. "Luca!"

The worker smiled apologetically, inclining his head in a slight bow. After he took their menus and left for his sister, Dino turned to Tsuna with a bright smile again. "I ordered for you but I'm sure you'll like it! This place makes the best cakes. Oh." His brows furrowed. "I should've asked if you had any allergies." He laughed sheepishly. "Sorry, I got too excited."

"I have none," Tsuna said dryly, making the boy sag in relief. "Why did you bring me here, Dino?"

"I just wanted to get to know you," was the seemingly innocent response.

Tsuna suppressed a sigh. This situation was already bizarre as it was. He didn't need a headache trying to figure it out. He'd just…go with the flow and see where he ended up. "This isn't the way to get to know me."

Dino tilted his head. "Really? Romario said that people usually go out to eat food if they want to connect. Food makes people comfortable and when they're comfortable, they talk."

Tsuna could see where the issue was. "While Romario-san is right," he said carefully, "this isn't how you should've handled it. Most people would think it's rude."

Dino immediately paled when the word "rude" was brought up. "I—I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way. I just wanted to talk, really."

Keeping his growing pity at bay, Tsuna shrugged helplessly. "It's fine. Just…next time don't show up at my school like that. You made a big scene today."

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say. Dino went rigid before lowering his eyes. "I didn't mean to," he whispered.

Tsuna's mother-hen senses, as Hana had called them, immediately went haywire. "Mistakes happen," he said quickly. "It was your first time, well, our first time doing something like this. Just remember to contact me if you want to talk, okay? Really, it's no big deal." He smiled. "Besides, we're going to eat some good cakes, right? Which one did you order for me?"

A small misdirection did the trick though Tsuna was pretty sure Dino saw through him. Still, the boy's lips curled into a tentative smile. "Hummingbird cakes. Do you know why they call it the hummingbird cake?"

Tsuna crossed his arms on the table, leaning in to show he was interested. "No, tell me."

Dino perked up instantly. It was pretty cute actually. He was like a little puppy and Tsuna could imagine a wagging tail behind him if he could. "There's a lot but I think the best one is that the cake is sweet enough for hummingbirds to eat. I've seen them before, in San Diego. That's a city in California. Do you know where that is?"

"America."

Dino nodded. "Yeah, and did you know that the cake is from America, too? North Carolina—that's in the south. Have you ever tried the cake before?" Tsuna shook his head, which made the boy beam at having experienced something he hadn't. The teen supposed it was endearing. "I think you'll like it."

As if on cue, the counter boy returned with a brown tray and elegantly laid out two slices of cake in front of them along with a cup of warm milk. Tsuna smiled in thanks at him, who returned it graciously, before he left. Dino stared at him intently, trying to hide his excitement in the guise of boyish, well-mannered patience. The effort was cute, reminding Tsuna of how Giotto would do the same when Tsuna set the table.

"Alright, you said it was good," Tsuna teased, cutting into the brown cake. It had a moist banana and pineapple interior with white frosting and some pecan halves on top.

Dino nodded excitedly. "It is!"

When Tsuna took a bite, he chewed on it carefully, enjoying the spiced flavor and the fruits' sweetness. They mixed well together, and created a unique warm taste. Dino unconsciously leaned forward, waiting for his verdict. "How is it?" he said, his eyes curious but a tinged worried.

Tsuna smiled. "It's good, really good."

Dino grinned. "See? I was right."

They didn't stay at the café for too long, though classes were already finished by then. At the corner of his eye, Tsuna saw a very familiar black car roll up outside. He grimaced, which didn't go unnoticed by Dino who had a small milk mustache on his upper lip.

"He found you," he said, his eyes twinkling in good humor.

Tsuna sighed. Reaching out with a napkin, he gently wiped Dino's mouth, ignoring the boy's wide-eyed look, and grabbed his bookbag. "Thank you for this, Dino," he said, smiling. "I had a good time."

Dino flushed. "O—Oh, yeah. You're welcome." He peered from underneath his lashes shyly. "Can I see you again? I promise that I won't go to your school anymore!"

Tsuna laughed. Aside from his atrocious clumsiness and strange ways, Dino was a good kid. "We'll see." Unable to help himself, he ruffled Dino's hair, a habit he had with Giotto. "Don't miss school anymore, okay?"

Dino huffed but didn't seem to mind the gesture. "I won't."

Giving him a smile, Tsuna left first, waving at the blue-haired teen at the counter, and stepping out of the café. A small bell tinkled for his departure. Aldo was already out of the car and opened the backdoor for him. Tsuna didn't know how he knew where he was but didn't ask. When he slipped inside, he blinked when he saw Squalo sitting by the window, scowling at the black leather.

"Hi, Squalo," Tsuna said, more out of politeness than desire to initiate a conversation. The boy wouldn't give him one anyways.

"We'll be heading to the manor briefly," Aldo said, entering the driver's seat. Tsuna was a bit grateful that he didn't ask about his little meeting with Dino. "Do you have everything with you, lad?"

"I'm good," Tsuna said, buckling his seatbelt. "Thank you. How was your day, Aldo-san?"

"Same as every other day. Pleasant but uneventful. And you, lad?"

Tsuna remembered the brief, violent clash between Squalo and his mother and grimaced. If that was considered uneventful, he didn't want to know what was. "It was good," he found himself saying, surprised that he actually meant it. Although Hana would give him an earful later, he didn't really mind it too much as he had thought. Dino seemed…lonely. "I enjoyed it."

"That's good to hear," Aldo said, and they left it at that.

Tsuna glanced out the window to see that they were just arriving in Kokuyo. Fishing out his phone from his pocket, he quickly sent his thanks to Kyoko in the group chat for getting his homework and a promise for telling them everything tomorrow—well, as much as he could. He still had to think about what to tell them and what to leave out. Sighing under his breath, Tsuna sent a text to Giotto telling him to not wait for him to pick him up from G's house. He still had to think about what to say to Alberta about quitting.

It's okay, Tsuna-nii. I'll see you at home~

Giotto's response brought a smile to Tsuna's face. His little brother practically deserved the world at this point.

"Don't."

Tsuna blinked before looking up from his phone. Squalo's gaze was on his hands that were balled into tiny fists on his lap. "I'm sorry?" Tsuna said, confused. "Did you say something, Squalo…?"

The boy inhaled sharply. He didn't say anything for a moment, leading Tsuna to believe that he was hearing things. Still, he didn't look away.

"Don't leave," Squalo muttered again in Japanese. Wait no, flawless Japanese.

Tsuna gaped at him for a few minutes, making the boy fidget slightly. A rush of blood entered Tsuna's head. "You can speak Japanese?" was the only thing he could manage to say.

Squalo clicked his tongue but didn't curse or retort viciously like he usually did. He stayed quiet, almost eerily so, and Tsuna was appalled that he was starting to miss Squalo's violent tendencies. Quiet just didn't suit him.

Finally, Tsuna sighed. He couldn't believe he was actually going to do this, cave in for a boy with serious anger issues and a wild nature. But grudgingly, he had a heart and he knew that Squalo was just misguided. Vaguely, Tsuna wondered what kind of father he'd become in the future.

"Well," he said slowly, "now that we got that out of the way, we're going to have to start over." At Squalo's perplexed look, Tsuna stuck out a hand. "Hey, my name is Sawada Tsunayoshi but you can call me Tsuna."

Squalo's eyes flickered down to his hand, baffled, and didn't move for a long moment. Tsuna's arm began to strain but he didn't lower it. He smiled crookedly. "The least you could do is show me that you have some good manners in you." It was a gentle tease not meant to do real harm.

Eventually, Squalo shook Tsuna's hand, albeit tentatively. "Squalo," he grumbled. "Squalo Superbi." Then he quickly pulled his hand away and crossed his arms over his chest.

Tsuna nodded, not minding the brisk action. "Blank slate. We're starting fresh." He raised a brow when Squalo didn't answer.

The boy sighed loudly. "Fine. Whatever."

Satisfied, Tsuna turned away and left Squalo to his own thoughts, knowing that he took a step in the right direction. He turned to the window again, watching other cars and shop building pass by.

He didn't notice Aldo's faint smile in the rearview mirror.

A/N Dino's a cutie, I'll give him that. Hope you enjoyed the fluff!

"Culaccino" is Italian for "the water mark left on a table by a cold glass". And I also never had hummingbird cakes before. :'^)

Thank you so much for reading! I hope to see you again in the next chapter.

Happy New Year~

Little Miss Bunny