Jack of All Trades III

So soft... how did his bed get so soft all of a sudden...? And it was so warm... Perhaps he could stay in bed a little longer before going to deliver milk?

"Nnn..." Tsuna flopped himself over into a mushy pillow and tried to muffle the foreign banging sounds on his door. The pounding only grew more urgent as he ignored it and at last, the door gave way to the abuse, slamming into the floor.

"SAWADA! Time to wake up!" A booming voice blasted into his ears and he felt the covers whip off of his figure, leaving him at the mercy of the chilly morning. There was the sound of some fabric being pushed aside and then he winced as a bright light pierced his half open eyes.

Eh?

Where was this? This wasn't his bed... and no one in his house ever called him 'Sawada'...!

"Right then, since we're suddenly short on employees, I have to take care of the fields and the east side of the house to the extreme! Sawada, I leave all the meals and the west side to you! You should get dressed and make breakfast first. And don't forget to wake up Takeshi around nine! Hibari usually does it but he's out today. And usually when that happens, I do it. But I've got a lot of stuff on my hands today so, I'm counting on you, Sawada! To the EXTREEEEME!"

Tsuna steadily sat up from his bed, hair as messy as a bird's nest. He blinked as a trail of dust dispersed into the hall-evidence of the silver haired man having ever been there-and then, for a moment, stared silently at his open doorway.

"EHHH? Sasagawa-san? And, UWAH, THE DOOR!"

.:.

Sweet and salty, strong and fragrant. With another twirl of the silver ladle, Tsuna lifted the cooking utensil up and took a small sip of the steaming broth. It wasn't the best, but at least it didn't taste bad.

"Hmm... yeah, it's ready." The young man nodded to himself and covered the pot of soup. After turning off the gas, Tsuna crossed his arms over the starched white apron he was wearing to protect his uniform and studied the chicken noodle soup he had just finished making. "Hibari-san said fifty people, right...?"

Upon waking this morning, the young man had immediately recalled the dangerous butler's instructions and after dressing quickly, he had gone to prepare breakfast. But-and this had been on his mind ever since Hibari had said it-were there really fifty people who would be coming to eat his food? Even if there were the guards stationed outside who would want breakfast and the few maids left in the mansion who might want it, too... it still didn't add up to fifty people, right?

A sudden ping! came from the oven several feet away, cutting off any further thoughts he might have had, and the brunet hastily scurried across the granite floor, examining the contents. A smile fell over his lips as several warm and crispy brown loaves of bread sat under the yellow light of the oven, all round and puffed up and smiling back at him. Somehow the way they looked so sunny reminded him of Yamamoto.

Would... would Yamamoto like these...? Maybe it was too simple...

Speaking of Yamamoto, if he had heard correctly through his sleep muddled mind, Ryohei mentioned that he had to wake that guy up...

Tsuna gulped when he thought of the dark haired heir and he quickly pulled the oven door open, closing one eye as a wave of heat burst from inside. Why did he have to be the one to wake him up... wouldn't Yamamoto like being woken up by a maid more? Or couldn't he just get up by himself? The young man pouted and drew on his oven mittens, reaching into the furnace-like appliance to obtain the golden bread he had painstakingly made several minutes ago. It sure was nice being rich... not having to worry about waking up late and to rely on someone else to remind them.

Tsuna stared at his bread silently. Well... actually, it wasn't like he really minded going to wake Yamamoto up... after all, they were friends... He pulled off one glove and poked at one of the loaves experimentally. Even though he was just some poor guy who knew how to do random jobs; even though Yamamoto was an incredibly rich person who lived in a world completely different from his own... they had become friends.

The brunet slowly pushed the bread back in, adjusting the temperature to keep them warmed for a little longer. Then, his eyes darted towards the small clock hanging on one of the kitchen walls.

8:46.

A small smile flit across his lips.

Who knows... it might be kind of fun to see what kind of sleeping face the normally cheerful and energetic Yamamoto had. Tsuna pulled off his apron and when he finished scanning the kitchen over to make sure he hadn't left anything undone, he nodded in satisfaction and started making his way towards the large staircase, returning to that maze-like hall he had gone through the day before.

.:.

The last clock he had checked read, 9:13.

Tsuna swallowed the dry lump that had started to form in his throat as the seconds ticked by. Somewhere at the back of his mind, the phrase, 'Thirteen minutes late' rang ominously again and again. He kept getting the feeling that Hibari Kyouya would suddenly pop out from a room and beat the stuffing out of him or threaten a cut in pay.

But it wasn't really his fault that he couldn't get Yamamoto up at exactly nine o'clock in the morning...!

The young man held in a sigh as he came to another crossroads in the hall. Yes, it wasn't his fault. Whoever created this sort of bizarre mansion was to blame!

"And why is Yamamoto's room located in some random and obscure place like this anyway?" Tsuna murmured to himself, deciding to take a right turn and hope that a familiar doorway would appear soon. He paused in front of a room. "Eh?" After examining the door knob for another moment, the brunet's amber eyes lit up. This looked kind of like Yamamoto's door...!

Tsuna gripped the handle and quietly turned it, peering in just to make sure. When he recognized the layout of the room and a distinct scent of autumn and wood greeted him, he let out a breath of relief. If there was anything he could be proud of, it would have to be his oddly perceptive intuition.

Now that he had found the room, all that was left would be to wake the young heir up! Tsuna knocked on the door a few times testily. Hearing no signs of movement from inside, the brunet pushed the door further open and entered the room. From the doorway, he could already see the distinct figure of Yamamoto Takeshi lying peacefully in his bed, blankets scrunched around his body and edge pulled up to his chest, clutched loosely onto with large hands.

Tsuna shuffled across the floor and felt a bead of sweat roll down his neck as he watched the slumbering man.

So... how would he do this...?

Actually, now that he thought about it, he never did wake anyone up before... he was always off for work before anyone else needed to be up and active. The brunet tapped his cheek with a finger, eyebrows creased in thought.

"Hmm... I think Sasagawa-san woke me up by... mm..." Tsuna scratched his chin. Oh, right! The curtains...! The young man scurried to the large window and flung the curtains open, allowing bright rays of sunlight to fly into the room. "Yamamoto, wake up!" He chirped.

There was no reaction.

Tsuna frowned. Did it not work? He moved back beside the bed again. After staring at Yamamoto in deep contemplation, the brunet found his eyes drawn to the other man's face. Upon closer inspection, Tsuna noted in his mind how charming the dark haired man was. The way his hair fell over his closed eyes while he slept, his boyish nose and smooth skin; that well-shaped jaw and alluring lips... He leaned in closer to study the man's face. Yamamoto was really like a prince, wasn't he?

Tsuna blushed at his thoughts and shook his head violently. What was he doing...? He jerked backwards and hastily reorganized his mind. He was supposed to be waking Yamamoto up, not leaning over to watch his sleeping face...! What the hell was he doing anyway, checking out another guy's face?

Right, so what else had Sasagawa Ryohei done...? Opened the curtains and pulled the blankets off of him?

The brunet nodded to encourage himself and then he dug his fingers into the blanket Yamamoto was currently tucked into. He took in a deep breath and then started to yank the sheets off of the bed in one large swoop. But for some reason, the blankets weren't coming loose.

"Hnnrgh! Nrrrgh! Grrrrgh!"

Tsuna struggled to whip off the blankets, pulling with all his might. What the heck? The young man paused to pant for air, noticing that Yamamoto's fingers were tangled tightly in the sheets, unrelenting. Tsuna let go of the blankets in place of prying at the fingers futilely with his small hands. What was with this inhuman strength?

"Yamamoto!" He tried shouting. Finally, the man in the bed seemed to stir; he had turned his head and furrowed his eyebrows together. A smile shot across Tsuna's face and he tried again while grabbing at the fingers locked on the blanket, "Yamamoto, it's time to wake up!" Under Tsuna's persistent ministrations, Yamamoto cracked open an eye.

"Hnn...?"

"Wake up, Yamamoto, it's probably 9:30 already!" The brunet called and started pulling at the blankets again, missing the silly grin that was steadily spreading across the dark haired heir's face. "Time to wake up, Yamamo-!" Without warning, Tsuna suddenly found himself swooped up and enveloped in a mass of white sheets, easily lifted off from his feet and thrown into the bed. He didn't even have enough time to squeak as he felt two strong arms lock around him in a tight embrace.

"Caught you!" Yamamoto exclaimed gleefully and grinned into the sheets, eyes closed to the bright light flooding in from the windows. "HA! Take that, Hibari! Told you I'd finally catch you."

Tsuna wriggled about in the blankets and against the arms enclosed around him. What? Yamamoto was trying to catch Hibari?

"No! Yamamoto...! Wrong person!" Came the muffled shouts of the small brunet from the roll of blankets. He continued his weak struggle and Yamamoto's joyous expression slowly turned to one of confusion. The man finally opened his eyes and spotted the tufts of chestnut hair from the top of the blankets.

"Hm? Tsuna...?"

Tsuna managed to free his head from the sheets and he gasped breathlessly, "Ya-Yamamoto...!"

The said man's eyes lit up immediately at the sight, "Ehhh? Tsuna! What are you doing in there? Haha!"

"I was just here to wake you up! Can you let me out now? I can't move like this...!"

"Wake me up?" The black haired man blinked once, ignoring the other's request, "Hibari's giving you the job now?"

Tsuna tried to pull his arms out but found them pinned to his sides by the blankets and Yamamoto's arms around the outside. He sighed, resigning to his predicament, and then explained briefly, "Sasagawa-san told me Hibari-san is out today and Sasagawa-san was busy... so I was supposed to wake you up. Now, can you let me go...?"

"Ahh, I see. So he went out today, huh..." Yamamoto trailed off, eyes darting to the window. Then, a full blown smile appeared on his face again and his chocolate brown eyes focused back on Tsuna, who in turn felt his face grow hot when he caught the slightly mischievous glint in the man's eyes. Yamamoto squeezed Tsuna in the blankets teasingly and then sang out brightly, "Nope, I won't! You're my prisoner now so I can do whatever I want...!"

"Ehhh?" The brunet flushed bright red. The taller man started rolling about on the bed along with Tsuna in his arms, and Yamamoto laughed loudly as they tumbled around together over the mattress, back and forth, back and forth.

"UWAHHH! What are you doing?" Tsuna yelped, starting to feel dizzy from all the spinning added with the pleasant pressure he felt whenever Yamamoto rolled over him, "Yamamoto...! P-Please stop...!"

After one last tumble, the two slowed to a halt in the center of the bed. Yamamoto chuckled and gently unlocked his arms from the bundle of sheets and Tsuna. "Okay, fine. I'll let you off for now." He sent the brunet a cheeky grin and watched as the little brunet scrambled out from the sheets, looking like he was shedding a white cocoon. Then, Yamamoto sniffed the air lightly and leaned towards his new friend. "Hm? Tsuna, you smell pretty good today."

Tsuna's breath hitched at that comment and he blushed red again-he was doing that too much, dammit! But, really, how could Yamamoto say such embarrassing words so easily? He shied away from the bedside and then bowed his head down timidly, hands clasped together. "I-I just finished making breakfast... so..."

"Tsuna made breakfast today?" The dark haired man beamed and pushed the blankets aside, hopping off from the bed. He stretched his arms out and arched his back, sighing in relief as a light crack came from his body. After tilting his head left and right a few times, he grinned at the brunet and moved to his dresser. "I should get dressed then. I'm looking forward to it!"

Tsuna smiled nervously and moved towards the doorway as Yamamoto started pulling off his dark blue pajama shirt. "I'll wait outside then!" He mumbled and quickly left the room. The brunet closed the door behind him and leaned back against it gently.

Man, now that he thought about it, it was slightly strange to be working all day in one place. He was even living here, too... Usually, he'd be finished with his milk delivery and would be already working in the ramen restaurant or at the convenience store. But here he was, cooking breakfast and waking up Yamamoto Takeshi of all people! He felt the need to smile all of a sudden. How weird...

The door supporting him suddenly opened and before he could catch himself, Tsuna fell backwards with a gasp. He scrunched his eyes together, ready to hit the floor, but yelped instead when he felt himself caught against Yamamoto's chest.

"Haha, what are you doing, Tsuna?" The man grinned down at him, all dressed in a casual white T-shirt, blue jacket, and jean pants.

"N-Nothing..." He mumured and studied the other man's bare feet peeking out from under the jean pants. Eh? So rich people had normal clothes, too...? Realizing that he was still leaning against Yamamoto, the brunet jumped away and flailed his arms around in apology, eliciting a light laughter from the taller man.

"Pfft, you're so funny, Tsuna!"

Tsuna felt his cheeks grow pink and he averted his eyes to the floor. What was wrong with him? Spacing out so much... he was so uncool...

.:.