Rich dark red.

Such a beautiful shade.

Mesmerizing. Alluring. Compelling.

It was their first similarity, their shared fondness for that particular color.

He, for one, liked the way it glistened thirstily when blood spilled freshly from torn skin, still pure and exciting, glimmering with the fading spark of life.

She, on the other hand, remembered how breathtakingly beautiful her beloved grandma had always looked in her red velvet dresses, hugging her regal frame like a second skin and attracting attention wherever she went, the center of everyone's focus in that captivating shade.

Along their way, the meaning behind their fondness shifted. Neither ever truly told the other, but words weren't necessary.

For him, it was the pleased way her rich and darkly painted red lips curled up in that tiny little honest smile when she looked at him, full of true love and unerring devotion – emotions, that despite his best attempts of pushing her away and dissuading her from what he then thought was nothing but a silly crush, she actually felt for him. Him, the cold-blooded murderer.

For her, it was that rich dark color his breathtakingly unique eyes darkened to when she entered the room, the oppressing possessiveness and near-desperate love burrowed in them which made her breathe catch when they unfailingly fixated on her – and it was only ever her, no matter how many more beautiful and more deserving woman and man basked in his presence, that he looked at like she was his entire world. Her, the ugly useless duckling.

It was strange, what love did to one's perception.

They found their first common ground in a shared fondness for that particular rich dark red. And from there, it went, as if scripted by a higher power. A similarity turned into two and two into three and three into many many more – until similarities and differences were balanced and being around each other was both excitingly challenging and lovingly soothing.

How strange, what a revelation while drunk out of their minds and bemoaning shitty fathers and incompetent older brothers could lead to.

Not that either would ever want it differently.

It was a whirlwind romance.

Absolutely breathtaking.

They went from enemies to friends with benefits to lovers to spouses in the span of a few months, barely half a year.

It was rage and love and desperation, it was home and pleasepleaseplease and mine.

Those who knew her, who had glimpsed beneath the rumors and condemnations, took it in stride, not caring either way but neither truly surprised by the kind of man she had chosen.

His friends and subordinates shuddered, until they met her. It took only an introduction, and a smile. Nothing else, for even the most stubborn to understand what exactly enticed those two to each other. Then, they simply cackled with glee.

Because if there was one thing that those two forces of nature had in spades, and only amplified in each other when they were together?

It was chaos.

And they relished in it.

… those two, they were nothing if not terrifying.

Tsunayuki di Vongola could eviscerate you with a smile on her lips.

It was something her husband adored with every fiber of his being, and that her blood family dreaded just as much. One would think that meant that her family was more likely to be on the receiving end of said evisceration – one would be wrong. She was actually very fair and let everyone feel her acid sweetness in equal.

The difference being that her husband took it with a manic grin and gave just as good as he got while her father, mother and brother would cower like the pathetic little fools they were.

And to believe that Iemitsu was the External Advisor of Vongola and Ieyasu the Vongola Decimo, both integral and central parts of the greatest Mafia Syndicate in the World.

… mhm …

There was a reason Tsuna always introduced herself as Tsunayuki di Vongola, wife of Xanxus di Vongola and not as Sawada Tsunayuki, sister of Sawada Ieyasu, the Vongola Decimo.

It would have been sad that Xanxus turned into her whole world so fucking easily, that he essentially replaced her family in her affections, if only one didn't know just how isolated and rejected she had been prior to meeting him.

She had been nothing.

All that mattered to those who should have loved both of them equally was always her older brother. From the moment she could remember, he was the center piece of their parents' universe. The handsome talented golden boy, splitting image of their father with a shining future ahead of him. He should have succeeded their father as External Advisor, but after the unexpected deaths of Grandpa Timoteo's oldest sons, Ieyasu had been proclaimed heir apparent to their Grandfather. And suddenly the tolerated if often forgotten daughter hadn't even been worth a fucking footnote in anyone's life.

Tsuna had turned completely invisible. Never spoken to, only at. Berated, mocked, insulted for being less, for being not enough.

For not being her brother.

She wasn't intelligent enough. Had no talent in any matters that interested her parents. Wasn't pretty enough to be married off – hell, she wasn't pretty at all in the eyes of her family. What could a girl like that have for a future ahead of her?

Her brother and his friends – his so-called guardians - termed her the ugly duckling, and called her that for years.

Her only defense had been her sharp tongue and even sharper wit, but even that hadn't been enough and only flared the flames against her, igniting comments of how unladylike and ungrateful she was to her poor parents, who didn't deserve all the pain she burrowed them with by being herself. Those poor kind people had already been settled with someone so obvious lacking. Couldn't she at least pretend to suffice in any way?

At some point, not even her resolve was enough. When you are backed in a corner and can't speak up, when you know that the silver lining that you once crawled towards was dimming more and more, there comes just that one moment when you can't drown out the voices screaming why.

Why are you here?

Why do you insist?

Why do you fight?

Why do you force yourself?

Why do you not just stop?

Why – Why are you alive?

Who wants you here?

And when the only answer to that last question is ' no one ', then ... well ...

Just stop. Let go.

And sad as it was, Tsuna had been there.

She had been on the edge of letting everything go when Xanxus had literally been shoved into her life – both of them irritated beyond believe by it.

Tsuna had been readying herself to end it all, but suddenly there was that ill-tempered bastard challenging and demeaning her at every turn. It was at the time the confirmation of all her fears and – while nevertheless, it sparked something in her, a fire, a wild untamed thing that just wanted to show that bastard were to shove it.

Xanxus, she now knew, hadn't been much better off at the time. Life had been hell for him during the months prior to meeting her. He was met with suspicion everywhere he went, even some of his minions believing that he had instrumented the death of his older brother Federico – which pushed him into a terrible rage, because fuck that shit, if Xanxus had ever loved any of his brothers, it had been Federico, and too be accused of his gruesome murder … Xanxus had been ready to explode before he got the damn job of babysitting the Decimo's baby sister, simply because the girl's fool of a father and equally as oafish brother had compromised her safety – a safety which should have been guaranteed halfway around the world, cut off from anything resembling the Mafia. Didn't mean he had to make it any easier for either of them once he got there.

Honestly, he had been ready to make her life just as much hell as his had been.

If he had to suffer, so she would.

But all that changed the night that he found her with a blade to her skin, starring emotionlessly down at her arms as rivulets of dark rich red cascaded down white scarred skin.

Neither remembered much but a lot of screaming and accusations thrown at each other, their families and life in general, until they ended up on the poach, Tsuna hastily and badly bandaged and packed up in a blanket, Xanxus exhausted and deep down guilty as fuck, sharing more than one bottle of sake and quite a few stories about their fucked-up families while drinking themselves into a mindless stupor.

He didn't remember who remarked about it first, her or him.

But it was their fondness for that rich dark red which just hours ago had painted her pale skin that led them to a truce.

A truce that blossomed into something as near to perfection as love could be.

That had been over two years ago.

They had been married for 18 months now.

18 fucking fantastic months.

… there was just on blip on the radar they couldn't circumspect.

And tonight, it was once more time suffer and endure. Fun.

It was the day of their obligatory monthly family dinner at Vongola headquarters.

… joy.

The sky was darkening.

It was getting late.

Honestly, Tsunayuki couldn't be bothered to feel guilty about not being on time. She wasn't exactly in any hurry to see her loving family – that would mean spending more time than absolutely necessary with them.

Fuck, no.

Sighing, she settled on their bed, wearing nothing but a black satin robe that left more skin to be seen than it covered.

What she wouldn't give to simply stay home tonight, just spending the evening with Xanxus.

But, well. If wishes were horses …

The door opened.

Xanxus strode in, clad in his Varia uniform, those long powerful legs and strong wide shoulders encased in black durable cloth that just begged to be tested against her nails, begged her to once more attempt to tear it apart while they made love.

Tsuna felt heat rush to her face as she blushed, thinking of the night before.

Her husband didn't stop until he was directly in front of her, and she didn't wait for him to speak, simply slowly opening her legs, inviting him to stand between them.

Not that he needed an invitation. Xanxus took what he wanted, and he never apologized for it.

It was a trait she loved him for all the more.

Reaching up she loosened the sash around her waist and let the robe fall open, exposing herself.

She smirked at the hungry look that overtook his scarred face, those beautiful red eyes sharpening even more, roaming over the expanse of white skin she bared for his pleasure.

The ultimate predator.

Tsuna bit back a moan as his hands gripped her hips and she threw her head back, baring her pale slender throat for his pleasure. Her eyes closed as his hot breath ghosted over the sensitive skin, making her shiver in desperate anticipation as teeth scrapped over her pulse point.

" Not yet, wife", his throaty voice growled. " We still have the shitty trashes to get through."

She blinked and, once his words actually registered, pouted up at him, more than just a bit peeved at the damn tease.

Way to ruin the mood.

Xanxus merely chuckled darkly and released her hips, before reaching down and getting something from under their bed.

There was a red box in his hands – and it looked like it belonged to her favorite shoe designer, Marcello Lombardi.

Tsuna barely swallowed her squeal, eyes glowing happily as they flittered from the box to Xanxus face. Her husband wore a smug smirk, the self-satisfaction clearly dripping from him.

" Open it."

And she did.

A gasp escaped her unwillingly as she greedily took in her present.

Beautiful.

Only her darling husband could find a perfect treasure such like that – one, which met her tastes to the T. The shoes would complement quite a few pieces of her wardrobe and at the same time …. were just as wearable without any clothes on.

Maybe even more so.

Tsuna's eyes glowed.

It was a pair of elegant pointed high heels, at least five inches tall, with an orange to black fading color gradient, made out of gleaming polished leather. Tsuna sighed dreamily as she let her right pointer finger gently trace over the expensive, well-treated material.

Wordlessly, he took them out of the box and kneeled down before her, carefully reaching forward and grasping her left foot before he gently slipped the shoe on, eyes intensely focused on her face as his fingers trailed over her ankles. Tsuna broke out into a smile as it fit perfect, and she couldn't suppress the delighted smile that turned up her rich dark red lips as her eyes drunk in the sight of how perfectly the shoe sat on her small foot.

She let her other foot swing forward and trace his chest, blushing as he turned his face and pressed a kiss to the skin before gently slipping the other shoe on.

" Dress, wife, the sooner we get there the sooner we can leave", he murmured throatily.

Tsuna groaned in reply and stood up gracefully, letting the black robe slip fully from her shoulders and slid to the ground as she slipped around him naked as the day she was born, except for her beautiful new heels, and to her walk-in closet, reaching in to quickly select her evening dress robe.

Xanxus was right. The sooner they got this over with the better.

Slipping into black lace lingerie that hugged all her curves perfectly, she tugged on a semitransparent black blouse over the black lace bra, leaving the first three buttons open to show a healthy amount of cleavage, and settled the tight black satin skirt high on her waist so that it stopped at barely mid-thigh. Complementing her outfit with small golden earrings and a slender golden chain with a mandarin-garnet in teardrop form, she paused and looked in the mirror.

While she adhered to her Japanese roots with her tiny height and in itself dainty frame, her generous curves courtesy of her Italian roots and lifestyle were just perfect for her body, giving Xanxus something to grip and tease, and her clothes a chance to be shown off the right way - daringly. Reaching up she brushed a hand through her wild brown curls, messing them up even more. Xanxus loved it when she did that. He always took it as a challenge to make her even more 'just shagged'-looking than she already was.

Turning around to walk out she stopped short against a broad strong chest and craned her neck up to lock at her husband, whose gaze was smoldering her.

Her smile brightened even more as she leaned up, hooking her arms behind his head and pressed a kiss against his lips, moaning as he immediately moved, deepening their kiss and demanding entrance into her mouth. She obeyed without a thought, her hands crawling into his hair and gripping it tightly as she pressed herself against him.

They came up for air a minute later, burning eyes meeting.

" Thank you for the gift", she breathed out.

" Always", he groaned back, his hands gripping her hips bruisingly.

Oh, how she loved his dominating grasp, the decisiveness he displayed when he took her, knowing exactly how to make her submit without even trying.

It felt so good to be wanted instead of to be found wanting – but, above feeling wanted, was the incredible feeling of being wanted by someone she loved with all her heart.

No matter who else would pay her attention, the childish need for acceptance from people who didn't matter, the desire to be acknowledged and praised by her family – it was gone ... well, nearly.

She still desired, desperately so, to be wanted, accepted, acknowledged and praised, but the only person she needed that from was here, now, with her, holding her possessively and not even needing words to make his intent apparent.

Xanxus was her everything.

To Tsuna, her husband was lover, friend, family and so much more, all in one.

And she really really couldn't wait for dinner to be over so she could show him how much she appreciated the little thoughtful gestures he brought forth.

Show him with everything she had.

Tsuna flushed once more, face hidden against her husband's chest as she felt her body react.

Well, damn, that would be a fun dinner, indeed.

… she would be quite uncomfortable with her slip nearly soaked through during the dinner …

… that was completely Xanxus fault.

That kind of thing was always his fault.

And she wouldn't have it any other way.

~ The End. ~