See A/N at the bottom!

They could have left him alone in that putrid dark alley,

to blend into the lowest rank of society,

to be lost and rejected,

but they didn't.

Instead, like a ray of sunshine on a wintry day, they stretched out their hand and took him in.

There was hope, he thought. Not all was lost, even with that sliver of doubt hanging ominously over him. Then again, he was never really all that lucky.

He felt the disapproving looks weighing down on his small frame, sinking him with each passing day and he knew he couldn't go on like this. He would –no, needed to leave.

So he did.

With a token of goodbye, he left in the dead of the night, in the middle of a storm, running as far and fast as a child could. The weather befitted the turmoil of emotions whirling inside him, and as he trembled with tears streaming down his pale cheeks, he stopped.

There was no point in existing anymore.

…Tsuna!…

The thought of being a street rat was something his little mind could not fathom; he knew he wouldn't survive such a life. He had no place in this cruel world.

Footsteps came splashing towards him through puddles and he found himself bundled tightly in a coat with a hint of washed out cologne. As he was pressed against a damp, firm chest with arms wrapped round his frail malnourished body, an inexplicable warmth coursed through him.

He felt safe. He was safe.

The next thing he knew, he found himself back at their home, dry and tucked in comfortably.

Don't worry, you'll melt their frozen hearts. I know you can, because that is what you were destined to do.

Looking back, she was right. This was where he could call home. This was his family, no matter how eccentric or insane they could be.

He vowed to protect them, and many others for as long as he could because he knew there was a place in the world for everyone, no matter how insignificant they saw themselves to be.

This was where he belonged. With his family, the Arcobaleno.

Oh hi, I can't believe it's been more than a year since I updated and 3 years since I started this story... I just thought I apologise for the incredibly long wait (and this isn't even a proper chapter wtf me) and I still stick to what I've said before about not dropping this fic. Life's been really hectic and I just start uni so there barely any free time for me to write and even if I do, it's just really short drabbles. I just started writing the next chapter but it's definitely going to take a while though! Thank you so much to those who reviewed and still stuck around, I honestly feel so bad for leaving this hanging!

My attention's been a lot more on KnB and Haikyuu recently so I probably have to refresh myself with some KHR love pfft. If you want to find me on AO3 or my personal tumblr blog (drawings/writings), my user is tokinya and my main blog (99.9% reblogs) is tokiwa69. I actually posted this drabble this a while back on my tumblr and now I just remembered it so I made a few changes _(:3_/ Anyway see y'all soon! Maybe.