Tweekerz Says:
- Uhhhh.

"Won't you come on over? Stop making a fool out of me." - Amy Winehouse, Valerie.

Tsuna sat at the far end of the dinner table, his hand gently pressing a cold compress to the back of his head. After spending some time in the freezer, the once gelatinous bag felt firm and hard against his head, but in a couple of hours it would eventually melt and turn slack. His mother had wrapped some paper towels around the compress, acting as a shield to keep the freezing packet from numbing his fingers.

Since he didn't particularly feel like eating with chopsticks this time around, he picked up a fork with his free hand and began poking around his plate, prodding at the neat pile of steamed vegetables that huddled around a mountain of white rice. He realized he was grumbling under his breath, uttering a plethora of muttered curses and a slew of scathing phrases, however, he was too much of a coward to say them aloud, especially when Reborn was sitting at the opposite end of the table.

The infantile hitman wasn't paying attention to him. He hadn't even looked at Tsuna when the teen came trudging down the staircase, all the while letting pathetic whines and moans seep from his throat. At the time, his head felt like it had split in two. A sweltering ache laced across the back of his head and stretched to his eyes, but now it only seemed to throb, the cold compress having done wonders. The ache had drastically lessened, and at least now he could sit up straight without pain bursting behind his eyes.

He had to admit, Reborn's kick had definitely laid a number on him. Never had the Arcobaleno's kicks to the head hurt this much, and Tsuna was beginning to wonder if his skull was already at its limit.

Digging his fork through his plate, he hastily stabbed at a sliver of meat and dunked it into a small saucer of Ponzu* sauce. He then brought it to his mouth and chewed, his eyes fluttering as the citrus tang of the sauce slid down his throat. He continued to prod around his plate half heartedly, occasionally wincing when he pressed a little too hard at his head.

"Mmm, mama, this is good!" Lambo shouted, smashing his face into his paper plate. Sticky white rice grains stuck to his hair and cow suit, making him look like he had just rolled around in a giant vat of packaging foam. Tsuna grimaced at the sight, while his mother only giggled and went about finishing her meal.

"Hey, where's I-Pin?" Tsuna queried, sticking a carrot into his mouth. He was starting to wonder why the dinner table lacked a certain amount of energy, something the little egg-head always seemed to exude.

"She's at Haru's spending the night!" Nana replied happily. Well, that explained Haru's presence this morning. Sort of.

"So, Tsuuuu~na!" his mother continued, swiping her mouth with a napkin. "How was your day today?"

Tsuna nearly choked on his piece of meat. He quickly swallowed down the chewed food and set his fork down, wiping his fingers on the place mat underneath his plate.

"Uhh, it was good," he lied, adding pressure to the compress at his head. He just had to lie to her, that's all. He couldn't tell her the truth, not when Reborn was sitting just a couple of feet away, casually bringing a pair of toddler-sized chopsticks to his mouth. Maybe if Tsuna just put this whole dilemma behind him, he could avoid it and pretend it never happened. He wouldn't be able to completely vanquish his feelings for Reborn, but he could at least push them aside, right?

"You stayed out for quite some time, where did you go?" his mother inquired, bringing a piece of brocoli to her lips.

"He went to a cafe."

Tsuna jerked his head and gaped across the table. Reborn was busy sipping at a steaming cup of coffee, setting the cup down gently beside his plate. Tsuna mentally scowled; Reborn was smiling at him. That jerk, the nerve of- oh wait, he always smiled like that...nevermind.

"Oh, a cafe! That trendy one close by?" Nana queried, tilting her head. "They have the most delicious chocolate espresso there!"

Tsuna was too busy gaping at Reborn to contribute to the conversation. The Arcobaleno was pointedly not meeting his gaze, the hitman's onyx eyes trained on Nana. Reborn was ignoring him!

Tsuna felt his left eye twitch, either out of agitation or nervousness, he didn't know which. He felt a fiery burning sensation in his chest, as if about to hiccup, but it was merely the adrenaline coursing through his veins. If Reborn wanted to play that way, then so be it.

'I can't believe I'm gonna' do this, oh God, oh God,' Tsuna mentally shrieked, his fingers gouging into the still frozen surface of the compress. 'Here it goes.'

He took a deep breath. Oh no, maybe he shouldn't do this. Maybe he should just- .

"Y-yeah, it was a nice place," Tsuna quipped, schooling his voice. He tried to sound as cheerful as possible, and his mother might have bought the charade, but he knew Reborn didn't. "I might go again tomorrow."

This seemed to get Reborn's attention. The hitman's head tilted just slightly, beady eyes momentarily hidden from view beneath the brim of his fedora.

"That's lovely dear!" Nana sing-songed. "Will you be going with your friends?"

This was it- this was the make or break moment. He had to say it, he just had to. He had to get back at Reborn, not only for the physical abuse, but for messing with his already muddled feelings. But what if everything went horribly wrong? He shouldn't be doing this- playing Reborn at his own game. The hitman was violent and never considered sympathy a quality for success, let alone life. Did Reborn even have sympathy? Tsuna would guess that no, maybe the Arcobaleno didn't, because after all, he was a hitman right? So what was Tsuna doing sitting at the dinner table about to make the situation ten times worse? Reborn's gonna' murder me, he thought frantically, his body trembling at the implications. I'm gonna' be waking up to a barrage of bullets instead of my alarm clock. Hieeee!

He should stop now while he still had the chance! His lips felt like they were on auto pilot though, moving, or in this instance, flapping of their own accord, and then there it was: the dreaded word vomit.

"I sort of met someone there today," Tsuna blurted. He widened his eyes and mentally shot himself. The teen avoided looking across at Reborn. Oh, how he wanted to gauge the reaction on the infant's face, but he was too frightened to.

Nana blushed and grinned knowingly behind her hand, staring at her son with imploring hazel eyes. "Ohhh, is this a special someone Tsu-kun?"

A lengthy pause took place, and he answered with a firm, "Yes."

"Was this person cute?" she asked hastily, nearly leering over the table.

"V-very cute," Tsuna choked. Finally, Tsuna broke his mother's gaze and glimpsed across the table. "Hot, even."

Tsuna nearly melted in his seat. Reborn was staring directly at him, charcoal eyes nearly stabbing into him. For once, and Tsuna nearly cried out in alarm at the observation; there was a small lilt to Reborn's smile, as though it were terribly forced.

Not noticing the thickening tension, Nana nearly squealed in her seat, her face flushing red. She sprang from her chair and pranced dramatically over to her blushing son, wrapping an arm around him.

"Oh my Tsu-kun, you're becoming a man!" she gushed, placing a kiss at his temple. She cupped his face with her hand, squeezing his cheeks. Her eyes were sparkling. "I thoroughly approve of this meeting! If only your father were here!"

Nana twirled away from him and began stacking empty cups and serving plates. She skipped towards the kitchen, a wobbly stack of kitchen-ware swaying dangerously in her arms.

"I expect to have grandchildren by this time tomorrow!" she sung from the kitchen.

Tsuna sputtered on his water.

"Just kidding Tsu-kun!" she finished with a small laugh.

Tsuna regained his breath and dabbed at his mouth with a napkin. Turning his head, he nearly gasped when he found Lambo staring at him with wide eyes from his booster seat, his little nose quivering.

"Uhh, what?" Tsuna questioned.

"Tsuna has a boyfran' now?" Lambo shrieked, slapping the palm of his hand into a saucer of Ponzu sauce. He continued to slap away, all the while gazing at Tsuna creepily.

Meanwhile, Tsuna nearly facetabled. His face flushed to a whole new shade of red and the teen was left opening and closing his mouth like a blubbering fish. Was...was Lambo that perceptive? Impossible! The child was a complete moron! And why boyfriend?

"Ack!" Tsuna groaned when a bit of sauce splattered along his cheek. Lambo halted and stared at the stain on the teen's face- he laughed and continued splashing away. Tsuna scooted his chair as far away as he could, wiping at his face with his arm. His wrist came away sticky and wet and he stealthily wiped it off on the table cloth. Not knowing what else to do, Tsuna picked at the leftover pieces of seared meat that were spread sporadically about his plate.

The tension was incredibly thick, so thick you could practically slice into it. Tsuna felt completely awkward just fidgeting in his seat while he poked and prodded at his food, Lambo's shrieks of delight acting as white noise in the background. Once or twice he caught a glimpse at Reborn, who was casually bringing a cup of coffee to his lips, not even making a sound as he leisurely sipped at the hot beverage.

Tsuna wished he could be as collected as the hitman was. Tsuna had always been a skiddish little thing since he was small, the type of child who was afraid of his own shadow and always acted outrageously shy towards strangers, his grandparents included. He would even cry at those people who dressed up as beloved cartoon characters at amusement parks, the ones with the vibrant outfits and furry suits.

Why couldn't he be one of those ordinary, outgoing kids that laughed without reserve and willingly hugged life-sized Doraemons, Domo-kuns, and Mickey Mice? He was born shy and skiddish, and had grown up to be roughly the same, though there was one major difference: he was the 10th Vongola Don of a mafia family hailing from Italy. What the heck? Who does that?

Apparently I do, he thought morosely.

'Argh, this sucks, this sucks, this sucks,' he whined, stabbing his fork into a piece of broccoli. Why did things have to be so awkward? Why did he have to dig himself into an even deeper hole? And why did he have to have these stupid, stupid feelings for that...that stupid hitman sitting across the table?

"We're playing a game tomorrow."

Tsuna dropped his fork and flinched, peering through the still wet strands of his bangs. Even the mention of Reborn's ridiculously violent games sent shivers running down his spine. He wasn't expecting Reborn to even speak to him.

"I wasn't...a-aware of that," Tsuna whispered, fiddling with the triangular tip of his napkin. He averted his eyes and stared at Lambo instead. Lambo stared back at him with his mouth open, snot dripping from his nose. Gross...

"It's a recent development," Reborn quipped, setting his cup on the table. Tsuna widened his eyes, indignation rising within him. So does that mean it was last-minute? Spontaneous? Did any of this have to do with the fact that Tsuna had mentioned going out tomorrow? He frowned and immediately shot from his seat.

"That's not fair- !"

At the click of a gun, Tsuna immediately left the protest dying on his tongue and plopped to his chair. He was staring down the barrel of a pistol. Reborn continued to deftly sip at his coffee with his other hand, clearly disinterested at Tsuna's instant change of face.

"Be ready and dressed by ten tomorrow morning," the hitman added, lowering his gun. Taking one last biteful of rice, Reborn set his chopsticks on his paper plate. At that exact moment, Nana came rushing in, all smiles and blushes, and quickly gathered up the remaining dishes. When she passed by Tsuna, she winked at him and turned on her heels, humming a merry little tune under her breath.

When Tsuna looked back across the table, Reborn had vanished.

Tweekerz Says:
- Make him jealous Tsuna! With your dying will!

*Ponzu sauce is REALLY DELICIOUS. Holy crap. It might even beat my love for A1 Steak Sauce.

- Review! Rapido, rapido, review! That's what my neighbor says to her children!
- ...not the review part...