Summary: When Sawada Nana is deemed an unfit parent by Child Protective Services, five-year-old Tsunayoshi is placed into a foster home, under the care of one Gokudera Lavina. This is his life growing up with his new foster family. No pairings. Fluff. Angst. One-shot.

Five-year-old Sawada Tsunayoshi looked through red-rimmed eyes at the pretty silver-haired lady that was kneeling in front of him, smiling at him and holding out a hand.

"I know you're probably really scared, Tsunayoshi-kun, but I promise not to hurt you, alright?"

Casting his gaze down shyly, Tsuna sniffed once more and nodded, but didn't take her hand.

Not at all deterred, Lavina retracted her hand, but stayed kneeling in front of the little brunet.

"Anyways, my name is Gokudera Lavina, and I'm your new foster mom. Although, you can call me baa-san if you want, since I know kaa-chan is what you call your real mother."

Tsuna didn't say anything because he was trying to choke back the sob that had been building up in his throat, his eyes stinging with unshed tears.

"W-what's a foster mom?" asked the little boy, looking up at him, "A-and why can't Tsu-kun g-g-go back to kaa-chan?"

Lavina bit her lip at this, as if not knowing what to say, before reaching out hesitantly, and pushing a lock of hair out of Tsuna's face.

Tsuna shied away from the somewhat intimate gesture, looking at Lavina slightly distrustfully.

Letting her hand fall back to her side, Lavina smiled reassuringly at him, saying, "Something happened, and your kaa-chan can't look after you for a little while, so she asked me to look after you, or in other words, to foster you."

"W-why can't okaa-chan look a-after me? And when can I go b-back to her?"

"Because she made a mistake, and now she needs to fix it. As for when you can see her again…I don't know," answered Lavina honestly; most in her position would have told him that he would be back with his mother soon, but she knew that probably wasn't what was going to happen, and there was no way she was going to lie to this child.

Tsunayoshi deserved to know the truth.

And there was no way Lavina would earn his trust if she didn't give it to him.

"Kaa-chan! You're back!"

Tsuna was startled when he heard the enthusiastic greeting he and his auntie were met with when they stepped into her home.

"I'm back, Hayato," said auntie Lavina kindly, bending down to hug a boy about Tsuna's age without letting go of Tsuna's hand.

When the other boy pulled away from Lavina's hug, he turned to look at Tsuna with curiosity and just the slightest hint of mistrust.

"Is this the kid that's going to be living with us from now on?" asked Hayato of his mother, and she nodded, bringing him to stand in front of Tsuna.

"Tsu-kun, this is my son, Hayato, and he will be like your big brother," said Lavina, introducing the boy. "Hayato, this is Tsunayoshi. You better take good care of him, alright?"

"Hai!" said Hayato immediately, enthusiastically, before turning to Tsuna with a wide grin on his face. "You wanna come play with my toys before piano practice?"

"…piano practice…?" asked Tsuna in a small voice, seeming greatly interested, and Hayato nodded.

"Kaa-san is teaching me to play the piano, and we have lessons every day at five o'clock!"

Tsuna turned to look at Lavina with wide, awed eyes just begging to be taught, and Lavina gave in with a laugh, asking, "Would you like me to teach you how to play, Tsu-kun?"

"Hai!"

"Okaa-san, please don't leave!" begged Tsuna, looking up at his mother with those large, doleful brown eyes of his, clinging tightly to her leg.

Feeling tears come to her eyes, Nana knelt down and wrapped her son in a fierce hug, raining kisses down on his face.

"I'm so sorry for this, Tsu-kun," she said, still clinging tightly to him, "Mama is trying her very best to get you back, but it might take a while. Just be a good boy, and behave for Lavina-baa-san, alright?"

And when she broke away from their embrace, Tsuna just nodded, trying to stop the tears that were flowing even harder down his face now as he clutched onto Lavina's skirt, burying his face in the fabric as Nana walked to her car and drove away.

Once the woman was out of sight, Lavina nudged Tsuna gently back into the house, saying, "Come along, Tsu-kun. Why don't we go make some pancakes together with Haya-kun, ne?"

Hayato glared fiercely at the boy in front of him, feeling his blood boil.

"What. Are. You. Doing. To. TSUNA?" he asked with barely controlled fury, and the other boy quailed in fear.

"N-nothing!" said the bully defensively, "I'm not doing anything to Dame-Tsuna!"

Feeling a vein pop in his forehead, Hayato punched the boy as hard as he was able, shouting, "DON'T CALL HIM THAT! THAT'S NOT HIS NAME!"

"WAAH! I'm sorry!" wailed the bully, running away from the scene, and Hayato was about to give chase when he felt a small tug on his shirt.

Looking back, the silveret saw his younger brother looking up at him with wide, tearful eyes.

"D-don't go, Haya-nii," begged the boy in a pleading voice, and after just a moment's hesitation, Hayato conceded, instead plopping down onto the ground and helping Tsuna rebuild the block castle that had been destroyed.

"If he ever bothers you again, you better let me know," grumbled Hayato, not looking all too happy at having to let the bully get away.

In the end, though, Tsuna's beaming smile was definitely worth it as the brunet gave him a hug, saying, "Hai!"

Lavina was sitting on the sofa, reading a book, when suddenly she heard the patter of little footsteps, and one of her boys ran into the living room and jumped onto the seat next to hers.

Looking up, the silveret smiled at eight-year-old Tsuna sitting beside her with a wide grin on his face.

After three years of living with Lavina and her son, Tsuna had become practically a part of the family, and he was definitely a lot more relaxed and a lot happier than he had been when he had first come to live with them.

Of course, Tsuna still dreamed of being able to move back in with his mother, but with Nana having recently been diagnosed with depression, and in combination with a whole other set of complications, it looked like it would be quite a while before Tsuna would be able to return home.

Dropping a kiss onto Tsuna's temple, Lavina pulled him into her side so that he was leaning on her, and his small arms wrapped around her waist.

"Is there something wrong, honey?" asked Lavina, looking down at Tsuna who now had his eyes closed, and a small smile on his face.

Tsuna shook his head, remaining silent, and Lavina ruffled his hair before turning back to her book, not in the least bit concerned. Tsuna always had been a very affectionate boy, and ever since he had grown more relaxed around Lavina and Hayato, it wasn't all that rare for him to just come up to her once in a while for a cuddle.

After about ten minutes of comfortable silence, Tsuna finally spoke up, pulling Lavina's attention away from her book by asking, "Ne, Lavina-baa-san, you're half Italian, right?"

Lavina hummed in agreement, continuing to read her book.

"How do you say okaa-san in Italian?"

"Madre," replied Lavina, still focused more on her book.

"Can I call you madre?"

Lavina again hummed in agreement, not really thinking about what she'd just heard, before suddenly stopping and looking down at Tsuna with wide, shocked eyes.

"What was that, Tsu-kun?"

The child was looking bashfully down at his hands and fiddling nervously with the hem of his shirt.

"I-is it okay for me to call you madre? I really care for you because y-you always make me f-feel better when I'm sad be-because I can't see my okaa-san and you kiss me goodnight l-like my kaa-san used to s-so I-I u-um..." babbled Tsuna before trailing off, seemingly too flustered to continue.

Too choked up to answer, Lavina put her book aside and pulled Tsuna into her lap, wrapping him in a tight hug.

Once she was able to find her voice again, she said, "I would be honored if you called me madre, Tsu-kun."

Silently, Tsuna returned the hug, wrapping his arms around her and burrowing into the warmth of her embrace. The pleasant, subtle scent of sakuras and the lotion she always used tickled his nose – it was a scent that had, somewhere along the way, come to mean love and safety and comfort to him.

Lavina would never take his mother's place in his heart, but that was okay, because she had somehow carved out her own.

"I love you, madre," he whispered almost inaudibly, and as the tears gathered in Lavina's eyes and the corners of her lips tilted upwards in a gentle smile, she knew that becoming a foster mother had been one of the best decisions of her life.

The music weaving through the air around them was cheerful and upbeat, flowing effortlessly from two small pairs of hands as Tsuna and Hayato performed for their enraptured audience.

Both boys were sporting wide smiles, sneaking glances at each other every once in a while to share their joy, and when the song finally reached its end, they were met with enthusiastic response from their little audience of three.

"Absolutely wonderful!" exclaimed Gokudera Isabella once the clapping had quieted, and gathered her two grandsons in a hug. Her husband, Kaoru, ruffled the brothers' hair, praising their talent as the two giggled at the attention they were getting.

Lavina and her two boys were in Italy for the week, visiting her parents, and the young mother was pleased to see just how quickly her parents had taken to Tsuna.

Their meeting had been off to a bit of a shaky start, with Tsuna hiding behind Lavina's skirt at the airport while Hayato ran and threw himself into his grandfather's arms, excited to see his grandparents again.

The ride back to Lavina's childhood home had been rather quiet, but once they arrived, Tsuna's shyness had disappeared as the boy became completely enchanted with the little fairy tale house, with ivy crawling up its walls and clutches of violently blooming flowers growing all over the place. The baby blue curtains hanging in the windows and the little stone chimney completed the picture.

Lavina smiled a private little smile; her parents' home was absolutely gorgeous in the summer, and she had known that Tsuna would fall in love with it.

It was an entirely different kind of beautiful in the winter, and Lavina had promised herself she would bring Tsuna back some time to let him experience it.

The two boys had spent hours exploring all the rooms and amusing themselves in the backyard, and by the time dinner had rolled around, Tsuna had come completely out of his shell.

The conversation at the dinner table had been loud and constant, with Lavina's parents asking Tsuna and Hayato all kinds of questions, and the boys blabbering on and on and on without tiring.

Once the dishes had been cleared, Tsuna and Hayato had been invited to play a piece on the piano, and the two had eagerly accepted, excited to show off what their mother had taught them.

The two ended up playing song after song after song, late into the night, having the time of their lives.

And once they had finally grown tired, they had retired to their shared bedroom, snuggling together on the double bed.

Tsuna sat in the passenger seat of his mother's car, watching his home of the last six years slowly shrink behind him.

Hayato stared forlornly at him from Lavina's side, tears in those bright, sea-green eyes as he watched his brother leave his life.

Nana was chattering happily from the driver's seat, telling Tsuna all about the new house she'd bought for the two of them, in the tiny little town of Namimori.

It was one of those quiet towns where everyone knew each other – completely different from the bustling city of Tokyo, where eleven-year-old Tsuna had spent the majority of his short life.

He should be happy, he supposed, that he was finally reunited with his mother for good.

And he was happy.

Immeasurably so.

But there was also a part of him that was mourning the loss of his brother and his madre.

For the second time now, he'd had his entire life uprooted, and it was no easier this time around.

That was hardly his mother's fault, though, and she was so excited to have her little Tsu-kun back; he didn't want to ruin this moment for her, so he tried his best to match her enthusiasm, and she remained blissfully oblivious to his internal struggle.

The drive to their new home was filled with happy, superficial chatter, and it wasn't too long before the two Sawadas were finally at their destination.

As they stood looking up at the cozy little house, Nana suddenly turned to look at her little boy, who'd gone and grown up without her.

Tsuna turned to look at her, tilting his head to the side questioningly, and she pulled him into a tight hug,.

Startled, it took Tsuna a moment before he was able to return the hug, wrapping his arms around her and resting her head on her shoulder.

She smelt of oranges and warm milk, and Tsuna took a moment to enjoy the familiarity of the scent – it hadn't changed a bit from his childhood, and just like Lavina's scent, it brought comfort to him.

And finally, finally, he was able to let himself cry.

He cried for the mother he'd just regained, and the also the mother he'd just lost.

And of course, he cried for the brother whose loss already felt like a missing limb.

SkyGem: THE END. I hope you enjoyed :3 Maybe I'll make a sequel to this, but only if you all ask very politely :P Anyways, please do leave a review and let me know what you thought, ne?