Title: Forty-Eight Days

By: Metamorcy

Pairing: RebornXTsuna

Summary: As Reborn stares into the sunset from his office, he gets visited by the person he loves so dearly but sadly, it's that same person that will send him down into that spiral of madness.

Disclaimer: Is this really necessary more? I don't own jack

N/A: This would probably, not exactly sure, occur in the future like ten years or after that. So that means everyone is older and Reborn is back to his normal size.

Ah… It's been so long since I've written anything like this. It feels nice to write in my original genre.

Reborn stared out the window, gazing at the empty world through his black eyes. A desk was behind him, the chair turned towards him - he had been sitting there sometime earlier in the day. There was a letter on the table written in red ink – blood - and the handwriting was neat and precise. The envelope that had Reborn's name written on the front was wrinkled and blemishes marred the whiteness of it, like it had been dropped and scratched multiple times. The paper that had been folded neatly inside was open, lying on the table and revealing that same red – bloody - handwriting. The sheet of paper itself was white, so clean, but if one looked closely at the words that were written, the red – blood - was slightly smeared, as if someone had placed their hand over it and rubbed.

The words 'I love you, Reborn' were repeated over and over again on the cursed sheet, etched deep into the paper ever so creepily.

"So how was your day, Reborn?" A voice asked from within the room. A body sat propped against the desk, pale hands stroking the expensive wood. Dark honey-colored eyes stared directly at the man behind the desk. They were so beautiful, Reborn reflected, those eyes that were tinted with hints of orange, reflecting the sun that was setting through the window. Lovely caramel-colored hair - silky to the touch, his mind whispered - reached from the man's head to his shoulders, spiking outwards in different directions.

"You shouldn't be here, Tsuna." Reborn answered, not even looking away from the window, watching as the sun continued to go further down. He hadn't heard the door open at all or any footsteps coming in. His arms were behind his back and his fedora was slanted forward to cover his eyes, a dark shadow covering half of his face. He was dressed in his usual black suit with a yellow dress shirt and he had weapons strapped on underneath his jacket.

"Oh?" Tsuna gave a smile, tilting his head. His hair shifted with the movement and there was a mischievous look in his eyes as he continued to stare at the hitman. "Why not?"

Reborn didn't answer and remained quiet, still watching the outside scenery.

The brunet sighed and then turned to the paper on the table. His long fingers grabbed a corner of it and lifted it up into the air, his eyes trailing over the words. Chuckling, his hands traced over the words, smearing more of the red ink, before dropping it, letting the paper drift back to the table. Strangely, it landed in the exact same position it was in before. If one were examining the brunet, they would see the palm of Tsuna's hands covered in red, darker at the tips of his fingers. "You got another message. How do you like it?"

"I don't." The taller man finally replied, still not budging from his spot. "Stop sending them."

"Aw…" Tsuna pouted, looking irresistibility cute, though if one looked closely, they would see his eyes narrowing. "Why not? I thought they were nice. You'll probably get another one tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that. I'll keep sending them to you until the day you die, Reborn."

There was a grunt from the other.

Grinning, the brunet pulled away from the desk and went around it, settling into the empty leather chair. He spun around, making the chair squeak, before stopping. He faced the opposite direction of Reborn, towards the front door. Slowly, he pointed to a certain drawer that had a lock on it, the only one. "You shouldn't play with me. I know you keep each one and seal them up in here." Tsuna tapped the drawer, the sound echoing in the quiet room. "How many do you have? Thirty-two or was it sixty-seven? I tend to lose count now days."

"It's been forty-eight days."

Tsuna adopted a tone of surprise when he next spoke but Reborn knew better; he was faking it. "Ah? Really now? I really did lose count. But look, you've been keeping up with the numbers. You'll tell me each day I visit you, right?"

Reborn sighed. "Do I have a choice?"

"No. Until the day you die, you're stuck with me and I will repeat the words each and every time I come to visit." Tsuna smiled and spun around again, letting out a laugh as he did so.

At long last, the taller man turned to eye the other, watching carefully. He could see his chair spinning and the person that was in his seat. He released another grunt. His shadow was stretched across the floor, the light still fading in the background. "What do you want? And stop pestering me every day."

"No can do. I'm stuck; trapped, one could say. I wonder why?" There was a sick smile on Tsuna's light red – bloody - lips as he peered up into black eyes.

"It's not my fault." It was a response that he had repeated for the last forty-eight days; the same conversation, the same words. However, each time, it diverged a little from the time before. It made him think that this might really be reality, but when Reborn stared at Tsuna, at the person he loved so dearly from the depths of his heart, he couldn't believe it. It was impossible.

The brunet tilted his head further back and touched a spot on his own chest. Tsuna flinched at that but persisted in pushing one slim finger into the hole that had existed there since forty-eight days ago. It was right in the middle of his chest, right above his heart. No blood had spilled, nothing came out, and when Tsuna pulled his finger back, dark honey-colored eyes peered curiously at the cleanliness of it. There was still some pain lingering from the wound, although it was nothing serious. "But it is. You were the one that pulled the trigger, after all."

"It was… an accident…" Reborn whispered those words to himself, repeating it like a mantra, as if it would make everything better. But it didn't, it only made what had happened, what he had done, all the more real to himself. He could still hear his gun going off and the cry of pain that still echoed hauntingly in his mind. There had been a deep dark red spilling out of the body before him, covering him and his hands with the death he had caused. The hitman's face twisted angrily as he screamed out to the world. "It was an accident, damnit! Leave me the fuck alone! Go away, Tsuna!"

"But I can't. I have to stay until I take you with me." Tsuna's face was neutral. He folded his legs beneath him, having stopped spinning long ago. His hands were placed on top of his legs and he peered at the other man; his eyes were looking into Reborn's soul, seeing everything that was hidden inside, all the emotions that were bubbling uncontrollably.

Those words made Reborn pause. He eyed the other carefully before backing up against the glass window, pressing himself against it. Slowly, Tsuna got up and strolled over until he stood right in front of Reborn. He was short, only coming up to the man's chest. The brunet smiled once more before reaching upward to unbutton Reborn's jacket and opening it up to reveal a pair of twin handlers, guns inside and fully loaded. Immediately, the taller man grabbed those pale hands, cold to the touch, stopping Tsuna from continuing whatever he was going to do.

Another smile appeared on Tsuna's lips and he stared at the hands that were wrapped around his own. "Am I cold to the touch? Or are my hands warm?"

Reborn squeezed his eyes shut, wanting to cut off his vision. "Cold…"

"I see… Well, that's too bad. I blame you for making me like this." Tsuna got onto his tippy toes to give a kiss onto Reborn's lips. It was a soft peck, meant to comfort.

The hitman released one of the hands to reach up to touch his lips. As he pulled back, he saw a little bit of blood on his fingertips.

Tsuna blinked and then chuckled. "Ah, my bad." His free hand roamed over the body in front him, well aware of the hiss he got from above. He slowly trailed over each of Reborn's ribs and his collarbone beneath the dress shirt, hearing a muffled groan from the man as he did so, before he finally stopped upon reaching the left gun. His white fingers wrapped around the end of the gun and pulled it out. Reborn stared as if mesmerized, unable to get his body to respond, until, at last, he managed to grab that same hand.

"What are you doing?" He huffed, glaring darkly. It didn't affect Tsuna at all; no, the other was far too used to such a thing for it to be effective.

Large eyes peered upward and blinked. He spoke as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Why, helping you, of course." He moved the gun easily, even with Reborn's hand on it, so that it was pointing directly at the taller man's skull. The end was digging into the spot right above his left ear and it was painful and cold. Still, he didn't sweat or flinch at the sudden change of position, not at the barrel of the gun pointing at his brain, one tug away from blowing it out. "As per usual, you always have your guns fully loaded. I wonder if this will be the last time you'll ever be handling one."

"Tsuna… Stop…" Reborn could feel Tsuna pressing down on the trigger. "Look, Tsuna, I really do love you so please just stop."

"Stop what?" This made the smaller man look confused before he smiled brightly. "I'm not the one with the finger on the trigger."

Reborn blinked and couldn't help but glance over from the corner of his eyes to peer at the gun. Tsuna's hand was resting on his arm, holding it up, but his hand was the one that was holding the gun, his finger was the one tugging at the trigger. Suddenly, Reborn found himself laughing. To think that this would happen to him of all people - it was finally happening; he was finally starting to go insane. He noticed that Tsuna had continued to watch him. He then sighed in defeat – it was already too late for him; there was no way he could back out of this anymore. It was over, he had lost to the person he loved. And that was how this was going to end, how he was going to end. "Alright, you win."

The once dark eyes brightened up greatly and Reborn couldn't help but release a soft caring smile. There was the Tsuna he loved and knew the best. He was back. "R-Really?"

"Yes. I surrender to you. I shall give up on winning our argument." The hitman softened his black eyes and chuckled at the happy look Tsuna was giving him. With the gun still against his head, he leaned over to press his lips against his lover's, well aware that his were getting dyed with blood. The coldness of Tsuna's lips was harsh against his warm skin, but strangely nice. As he stared into Tsuna's large eyes, he closed his own. "I guess… I'll be going with you after all."

Tsuna wrapped his arms around Reborn's waist, hugging him tightly. "Yay! Now I won't be alone anymore!"

"I didn't mean to leave you alone, you know."

"I know."

Reborn smiled, retracting a little so that he could put some distance between their bodies, and pulled the trigger.

A quieted bang echoed across the room and then a 'thump'.

Tsuna stood in his spot, still smiling, staring at Reborn's motionless corpse. The gun was still smoking in Reborn's hand though the lifeless grip was now loose. He wandered around the body, watching as blood oozed out of the skull, staining the beautiful Persian carpets below. Some of that liquid was trailing down the glass window, filtering a crimson light into the room. Carefully, his fingers reached into Reborn's pocket to pull out a key. He held it up, the orange sun lighting the metal and causing a reflected glow to bounce around the room.

Smirking, he stood up and made his way over to the desk, putting the letter into the envelope neatly so that it looked like it had not been opened before. Before doing so, he placed a final kiss on the bloody words and ran his tongue over the seal. He then went towards the drawer he had pointed out earlier, unlocking it with the key, and pulling it open. Peering inside, he eyed the multiple envelopes, all with Reborn's name written neatly on top in scarlet ink, and smiled. Placing the forty-eighth one inside, he patted the top of the pile and eventually shut the drawer, locking everything back up. Still holding the key, he spun it around his fingers, well aware that they were now covered and dripping with blood.

He suddenly dropped the key into the pool of blood, hearing it splatter, droplets of blood splashing everywhere. Some managed to land on Reborn's pale face and he leaned down to plant a loving kiss on those slowly cooling lips. "I'll see you later Reborn and, before long, we'll finally be together." His fingers pushed back a couple of dark bangs, the fedora on the floor, and smiled softly once more. "I love you, Reborn, forever and always."

Then Tsuna was gone.

Gokudera sighed, his cigarette burning before his lips but not being able to find it in himself to take a breath of the smoke. He stared down at the coffin that held Reborn's dead corpse and sighed, again. Yamamoto stood beside him, looking as glum and depressed as everyone else.

"To think he would kill himself…" The rain guardian spoke softly, eyes closed tightly. "I guess he still felt guilty about the incident and couldn't handle it anymore."

"Yeah." Gokudera nodded to that and glanced around the funeral. Many faces were familiar to him but he didn't bother going near them, keeping to himself. "I don't really blame him though. I mean, he killed the boss, his own lover."

"Yeah…" Yamamoto could only repeat under his breath. There was some crying and screaming around them but it went ignored. "A stray bullet, his stray bullet, hits Tsuna near his heart. Think of the irony: he raises Tsuna up only to accidently kill him. How heartbroken Reborn must have felt."

There came the sound of some footsteps and then a voice called out to them, but they hardly registered it. Then there was someone tugging on their sleeves, catching their attention. The two guardians peered at the lightning guardian, who was carrying a large bag. He looked out of breath and somewhat frightened. "Hey, guys, I found something in Reborn's drawer. The one he always kept locked." He motioned to the bag and upended its contents onto the ground, a distance away from the crowd of people. Some people peered at them curiously since the guardians were still in sight, others ignored them. A couple of the other guardians gathered around the pile of envelopes that had fallen from the bag; even Mukuro reached down to open one.

"This is Tsuna's handwriting." Yamamoto stared at the cover and glanced at the document in Gokudera's hands. "These are all in Tsuna's handwriting. But how? I mean Tsuna has been dead for over a month and a half. Were these written before he died?"

"Oya, I don't think so." Mukuro whispered as he eyed one of the letters, reading the first few crimson lines. "These look like they were written after his death, if that's even possible… It's says right here 'It's a pity that I died before you. I always thought it was going to be you first, honestly, so I was surprised, but to think that I would die by your hand… What a laughable situation, but I'm okay with that. I'll still love you forever and always'." The illusionist couldn't get himself to make his usual laugh, glued to the papers.

Yamamoto nodded to that and lifted the one he was currently holding up higher. "Here's another one – 'It's sad that I'm still around after dying, stranger that I can still write these to you. How funny. You'll have to excuse the blood - it was the only thing that would appear on the paper. There wasn't much I could do'. This is weird." The rain guardian stared at the words as if they were going to come to life and eat him. It was so odd, the way that these letters sounded so much like Tsuna and yet, at the same time, didn't.

"Yeah, there are even numbers written on them, ending at forty-eight." Lambo shivered, not liking this at all. They were creepy and as the number got higher, the words became different and more twisted. He was currently staring at the last one, the words 'I love you, Reborn' being the only thing on the entire letter, repeated over and over from the start to the finish.

"That's extremely weird! Didn't Reborn die forty-eight days after Sawada's death?" Ryohei suddenly announced.

A silence fell over the guardians, each looking at one another. A dark shiver ran down their spines, none of them liking how this was going. Eventually, Gokudera reached down to gather all the papers into a small pile. Everyone watched him quietly, wondering what the storm guardian was going to do next. The silver-haired man pulled out his lighter and slowly set everything ablaze, tossing his cigarette on top of the pile. "These were from the boss to Reborn, we have no right to look at them. Let those two rest in peace now, perhaps the boss will able to pass onto the afterlife at long last."

No one made a retort to that, eyes watching as the white and red papers turned into ashes. Smoke floated upwards into the sky, the flames reflected in their eyes as they sat there outside the funeral home.

Going unnoticed by the crowd, two blurry forms stood beside a stained-glass window, a small smile on their lips.

There came the sound of two faint chuckles before they faded out of existence.

How do you like that? If you have any questions, I'll answer them. Though there are some I won't answer mainly because it was supposed to be left like that but I'll let you know on that.

Hope you've enjoyed it.