Series: Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

Author: keitachi

Rating: M (for slightly sexual situations)

Pairing: 6927 (MukuTsuna)

Summary: Tsuna thinks about his life as the Tenth Boss of the Vongola and his relationship to Mukuro.

Comments: There's not much direct speech in it; I apologize for this very deeply XD.

Since I'm German and English isn't my native language, I bet there are lots of either spelling or grammar mistakes in this. If you find one, please tell me and I'll edit it! I'd very much appreciate that!

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Being the Tenth Boss of the Vongola wasn't always easy.

In fact, it was never easy.

Countless men and women came to you with their pleas of help, support or for patronage, thousands of things needed to get coordinated. People from all over the world wanted to talk to you over the phone or in person while you looked over the latest billing of your accountants. Hundreds of factories and housings needed to be looked after, while you, on the other hand, couldn't avoid disputes and quarrels with other Famiglias. Allies wanted to deepen the already secured ties, while other Famiglias wanted to become an ally and tried to marry their daughters off to you. New formed Famiglias came to you for advice, while you had to guarantee the safety of your own.

In short, being the Tenth Boss of the Vongola required your lifelong attention.

Tsunayoshi had known that being the Tenth Boss wouldn't be exactly easy.

When he took up the position in succession of the Ninth, he did it with the knowledge of not being able to live his private life like he did before. Things changed, some gradually, and some very fast, and in these 10 years which had passed since he became the leader of the most powerful Mafia Famiglia in the world, he had matured a lot.

He became taller, more slender and his fingers had grown more fragile. His face had become a touch more prominent, while his hair had become longer, framing that handsome face which had never forgotten how to smile from the very bottom of Tsunayoshi's heart.

His heart, he mused while he raised himself from the sheets on a calm autumn morning, sunlight filtering in through his windows, had also changed.

He wasn't the naive and clumsy boy he used to be and had grown with every experience he had made in his young life - be it good or bad. He had gradually learned to accept the duty and responsibility which came with his inherited title and grew into the role. He negotiated much more smoothly by now, handled things differently and easier than before.

And he had learned to protect and respect his own Famiglia.

Hayato never left his side, and probably never would. He was his right hand man, and a good one for sure, and Tsunayoshi was glad to have him around. Hayato was capricious and short-tempered, but nonetheless a reliable friend and a person who had owned Tsunayoshi's trust.

He chuckled when he thought about the younger Hayato, always wanting to make his life as comfortable as possible.

This, in fact, hadn't changed up until today.

Hayato had been beaming when Tsunayoshi asked him if he could call him by his first name. There wasn't anything Hayato wouldn't do for him to be comfortable, to take at least a small burden from the enormous weight which lasted on Tsunayoshi's shoulders, away from him.

Also Reborn hadn't changed. His home tutor had made it a habit to oversee Tsunayoshi's way of running the Famiglia and never actually resigned from his position as home tutor. He was a constant presence in Tsunayoshi's daily life, and he was glad about it. Reborn always offered valuable advice and showed Tsunayoshi just how much he still had to learn, helped him to keep both feet firmly on the ground, never losing focus of his goal to become yet a better boss for his Famiglia.

Tsunayoshi's fingers ran along the blanket and he held a hand in front of his eyes, the sunlight being too bright in his eyes.

He blinked, then sighed and finally looked on the other side of the double-sized bed in his sleeping room.

Then again, some things had changed.

Some things he wouldn't even have thought possible a few years ago.

He bend over the sleeping body lying beside him and gently ran his fingers through tousled blue hair.

Mukuro's face was relaxed, his breathing deep, signaling that he was still sleeping. A smile snuck onto Tsunayoshi's face, and he faintly caressed Mukuro's cheek before giving it a small kiss.

Mukuro stirred and slowly opened one of his eyes.

Ever since his stay in Vindice Prison his sleep had been light, partly because he was used to constant caution and awareness, and partly because if he slept too deeply nightmares would still hunt his dreams.

Tsunayoshi smiled again when he thought about how Mukuro had gradually dropped his guard when he was around Tsuna. It had taken Tsunayoshi quite some time to loosen him up, tell him that it was human to rely on one another and trust one another.

Trust.

Trust was a word Tsunayoshi initially didn't associate with this relationship.

They had had a rough start.

When Tsunayoshi had freed him from the Prison, he had taken Mukuro to his new home, the Vongola Famiglia mansion in Italy. Mukuro had been fragile, weak, a shadow of that once so charismatic yet terrifying man. Chrome made it her duty to watch over him, help him getting gradually stronger.

Of course, not once had Mukuro, even after he had regained most of his former strength, thanked Tsunayoshi for freeing him.

Because this just wouldn't be Mukuro.

In fact, Mukuro even made it a habit of lurking in the shadows, surprising and distracting Tsuna in always the wrong moments and places.

There were many things that didn't work out like they were supposed to do, always because Mukuro was somehow interfering in the background.

Gradually, Tsunayoshi became frustrated.

He didn't like the fact that Rokudo Mukuro, one of his most powerful Guardians, opposed him openly and hindered him in his work.

Yet, he didn't want Mukuro to leave. Because Mukuro was, just like every other Guardian, family. And, Tsunayoshi admitted silently, because there was something about Mukuro, something about that cocky behavior, that arrogant attitude and that secretive smirk that Tsunayoshi found, somehow, alluring.

When he had confronted Mukuro about his behavior towards him and his Famiglia, Mukuro had only laughed and told him not to spoil all the fun of the game they had, because to him, that was all it was.

Tsunayoshi remembered getting angry, slamming a hand beside Mukuro's head against the wall, telling him to not be such a damn prick.

Mukuro, one figured, had been quite amused by Tsunayoshi's little outburst and had shoved him away, told him that it was these moments in which Tsunayoshi silently or, in this case, more noticeable lost his temper and got less careful towards Mukuro, that made this game worthwhile.

And so it continued.

Until Tsunayoshi noticed small changes.

He didn't know why Mukuro started changing his mind about what he called his little game.

He had the impression that it was partly because over the years in which Mukuro always outright refused to leave the mansion (although being told to fuck the hell off because he only hindered everyone else's hard work by Hayato multiple times a day), his Mist Guardian had slowly learned that, in fact, Tsunayoshi didn't like the mafia's bloody ways of achieving often too ambitious goals.

Tsunayoshi didn't murder for his goals, didn't get along at all with most of the other Famiglias' philosophies. Mukuro noticed that, to reduce it to one single word, Tsunayoshi only wanted to protect.

Protect his friends and Famiglia.

And also, perhaps, Mukuro noticed that Tsunayoshi never ever, even for only one instant, didn't count him in, didn't think of Mukuro as a part of his Famiglia.

Tsunayoshi knew that Mukuro didn't like the mafia and their doings.

And Tsunayoshi also knew, although Mukuro had never admitted it out loud, that Mukuro had protected his own small Kokuyo Famiglia that second time when they were trying to escape from Vindice Prison again, letting Ken and Chikusa go on without him.

Perhaps it was this, Tsunayoshi mused, combined with the fact that Mukuro saw each day just how much Tsuna did for his Famiglia, that made Mukuro finally stop sabotaging Tsuna's work.

At first, Mukuro casually offered to go on a small errand, telling Tsuna with that devious half-smirk everybody knew so well that he should trust him.

When Tsunayoshi finally did, everything went smoothly and Tsuna realized the great potential of having Mukuro as an ally.

Of course, Mukuro didn't help him for free. He soon demanded more of Tsunayoshi's attention, invited him over to his section of the mansion and gradually spent most of the day in Tsuna's proximity.

It was also around this time when Tsuna caught Mukuro watching him for a moment too long, smirking whenever their eyes met. He got the feeling that he was constantly watched by Mukuro and was somehow flattered by the thought of just how much attention he was getting from his Mist Guardian.

As his trust in Mukuro grew stronger, he gradually lowered his guard whenever Mukuro was around and started to see him with different eyes.

Now, he didn't see someone who didn't want to be protected, who always tried to interfere, anymore.

He saw a powerful ally, who fitted every single day a little bit more into his Famiglia, and who had become, after a few years out of prison, Tsuna realized, very handsome.

There had always been something that had fascinated him about Mukuro. Somehow, this "something" only grew when he got to know him better little by little.

He admired Mukuro. Mukuro didn't stray from the way he wanted to take in his life, and yet he somehow grew comfortable in a surrounding which didn't go well with his ideals and his beliefs about the mafia.

Whenever Tsunayoshi talked to him, he realized that Mukuro was a far more thoughtful person that Tsunayoshi had imagined.

They started talking more freely, exchanging opinions and views on certain topics.

Their conversations grew longer and deeper, much more intimate, and one time Tsuna had been quite surprised when he found himself waking up beside Mukuro in an armchair in Mukuro's room, while Mukuro had simply stared at him and chuckled.

Tsuna must have fallen asleep while talking to him.

But this hadn't been the only thing that had slowly changed.

Tsunayoshi noticed Mukuro's slender body, his hair framing that mysteriously alluring face, caught himself noticing just how low Mukuro's pants hung on his pretty hips.

He started appreciating the fact that Mukuro's top two buttons of his shirt were always open, because Mukuro didn't like something rubbing at his neck after he had spent several years with a collar around it.

And, besides all this, he started appreciating Mukuro's glances in his direction, the way Tsunayoshi could sometimes easily catch all of Mukuro's attention by simply loosening the tie around his neck and unbuttoning the first button of his shirt.

He started appreciating the way Mukuro looked at him whenever they were alone, and how his eyes moved firmly over Tsunayoshi's body before looking him in the eyes and smirking.

Of course Mukuro also noticed the looks of appreciation he got from Tsunayoshi, and soon he chuckled whenever he caught Tsunayoshi staring at him, started smirking whenever Tsunayoshi blushed when Mukuro said his name just like that with a too deep voice and Tsuna had to lean closer to Mukuro in order to hear his Guardian's words.

At first, Tsunayoshi was scared of what was beginning to develop between them. He hated and loved it at the same time when Mukuro gave him his cocky attitude, telling him with every glance and every small touch that he exactly knew what Tsunayoshi was thinking about him.

And of course, Mukuro wouldn't be Mukuro if he didn't wait patiently in the dark like a snake who sensed the right moment to attack quickly and mercilessly.

For Tsuna, this moment had come when they were on a business trip together, alone for the first time (a fact which all of his other Guardians, even Hibari, hadn't liked at all).

Although they had had two different hotel suites, they somehow ended up talking in Mukuro's.

After having spent the evening at a celebration of an allied Famiglia where much alcohol had flown, they had collapsed into the two chairs in Mukuro's room.

Tsunayoshi's mind had been hazy, and even now he couldn't recall everything what happened that night.

He especially couldn't remember how Mukuro had been able to quickly stand up from his chair without Tsuna noticing, walk over to Tsunayoshi's and lean over him while smirking deviously.

Tsuna had blushed and had asked what the hell he thought he was doing, but Mukuro had only chuckled and had whispered into his ear to just damn take what was his right to take as the boss.

Tsunayoshi had shivered when Mukuro had grabbed his chin and had pulled him into a hungry kiss, and a small whimper had escaped his throat when Mukuro dug his other hand into Tsuna's hair, effectively preventing Tsunayoshi from drawing back.

What followed was a whirlwind of impressions, of emotions and of... Mukuro.

Mukuro how he kissed alongside Tsuna's neck, playfully biting him and slowly taking off Tsunayoshi's clothes.

Mukuro how he started teasing him, slowly conjuring up a passion which Tsunayoshi didn't think even possible.

Mukuro how he chuckled and smirked every time his touch on Tsunayoshi's skin drew a sharp intake of breath from the younger man.

Mukuro's skilled fingers and his mouth, which couldn't only tell him that Mukuro wanted him, but tease him for so long Tsuna finally begged for more, grabbing a handful of Mukuro's hair and forcing him to do it the hell properly.

Mukuro, who had a feral look in his eyes with every moan that left Tsunayoshi's mouth, Mukuro who told him he couldn't get enough of his pretty voice while he was having his way with his boss.

And finally Mukuro, who moved above him, slowly pushing himself deeper inside of him with every thrust.

Mukuro, on whose forehead he saw beads of sweat, whom he heard moaning quietly, whom he saw clenching his fists into the sheets while sending them both into completion.

His relationship with Mukuro wasn't easy and they both were quite aware of that.

Of course Hayato knew.

This was, for one thing, due to the fact that Tsunayoshi simply couldn't hide many things from his all-too-observant right hand man. For a person as attentive as his Storm Guardian, it had been pretty easy to notice the small changes that had taken their course between Mukuro and himself.

They were small changes first, a glance which lasted a split-second too long on the other, the softening of Tsunayoshi's features when he looked at Mukuro, the gradually changing behavior of his Mist Guardian towards him.

Later there were touches which shouldn't have been there, a hand lingering on the other's hand, Mukuro smirking and deliberately brushing over a spot on Tsunayoshi's hips where he'd grabbed him a little bit too rough the night before, while Tsunayoshi was blushing furiously.

These things were soon raising Gokudera's suspicion and after a while during which he spent most of his day watching the interaction between his boss and his Mist Guardian, he had cornered Tsunayoshi and had asked him.

When Tsunayoshi told him, he had been furious. Why would Tsuna even think of a relationship with this suspicious man, who had, in the past, been such a threat to the Famiglia?

Tsunayoshi himself was as surprised as Gokudera when he countered Gokudera's words sharply and told him that it was none of his business with whom his boss was involved.

He then had blinked and apologized, and explained that he knew the risks this relationship was bringing with it. In fact, he himself had also thought about it a lot.

But finally, he decided that he couldn't let go of Mukuro, remembering just how much he loved it when Mukuro's features relaxed slightly whenever Tsunayoshi was around, the way he was when they were alone, Mukuro's totally different behavior towards him in contrast to his never-changing cocky attitude towards his other Guardians.

Tsunayoshi loved the way how Mukuro made him feel when he was clinging to the sheets underneath him, desperately trying to not beg and be a respectable boss, and always, always failing deliciously when Mukuro smirked above him and touched Tsuna's body in just the right places to put him on fire, letting him forget completely in these few moments of absolute bliss all about duty and responsibility.

It somehow was grotesque, but Mukuro was the place he could return to when he needed a break, a place where he could lose himself, give himself completely to his Mist Guardian and never regret even one second of it.

Keeping such a secret from the other Guardians besides Hayato had been, and for that matter still was, a thing that Tsunayoshi didn't fancy. He knew he shouldn't keep his most trusted friends in the dark, but he also knew that his Guardians didn't really think of Mukuro as family.

Dropping the argument whether he should be welcome in the Famiglia or not and really accepting him to be a part of it were two totally different things.

Tsunayoshi knew that his Guardians didn't have a problem with the first anymore, but thinking about the latter and the reactions of his Guardians, particularly Hibari's, still made his head hurt.

Chrome, of course, had been eager to welcome Mukuro. But she had been the only one who didn't eye him suspiciously on that day Tsunayoshi had freed him from the Vindice Prison.

He remembered very well Mukuro's fragile body on that stretcher and recalled how he reproached himself about not having been able to free him earlier.

Later, when Mukuro had been conscious, he had asked him if he was happy about being released, but Mukuro only chuckled and hat told him that he still was as naive as he'd always been.

Perhaps it had been this naivety which had Mukuro pulled towards him.

He noticed that it were these small gestures of kindness and his naivety which later on brought one of those rare real smiles on Mukuro's face. He had caught Mukuro watching him intently with that half-smile of his once, had blushed and looked away. Some time later, Mukuro had ruffled through his hair and had called him adorable.

When Mukuro slowly opened the other eye, still laying beside him, and gazed up sleepily at Tsunayoshi, he smiled and smoothed Mukuro's hair back from his forehead.

Mukuro then laughed quietly, turned around and murmured an amused and cocky "Go to work and let me sleep some more".

Tsunayoshi chuckled and sighed, then pulled his hand away from Mukuro and got up.

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When he stepped into the big dining room, cheers erupted everywhere around him, and the first thing which came to his sight was a beaming Hayato, who wished Juudaime all the best for his birthday today and, like every year, asked excitedly whether the surprise was a success or not.

Tsunayoshi, like every year, nodded politely and laughed when he saw Gokudera's face brighten.

Of course he had known that Hayato was planning something like this. Partly because Hayato ALWAYS planned a big party for his birthday, conveniently arranging any appointment Tsuna had for this day to be moved to another day, and partly because in the last few days he and Takeshi had abruptly stopped talking whenever Tsunayoshi got near them.

The party itself was a big success.

All of his friends had made it to the party, and even his parents flew all the way over to Italy to celebrate his birthday together with him.

He spent the day gliding from conversation to conversation, laughing over stories about things which had happened in the past.

It was great to watch, he mused, his Famiglia celebrating the Tenth's birthday. But it was also great to see his friends celebrating Tsuna's birthday, receiving personal presents and gifts from the people he shared his daily life with.

But the greatest birthday present waited for him in his room, far away from his other Guardians, Kyoko, Haru, his other advisers, the Cavallone Famiglia and all other allies, his business partners and possible wives who were swooning over him.

The greatest present of which he would never let go his entire life waited leaning against the doorway, his long hair falling over his shoulders and bare chest, his trousers running low on his hips, and his gaze never wavering when Tsunayoshi looked into his mismatched eyes, his smooth and deep voice asking if he had spent a nice day celebrating with his friends.

Tsunayoshi nodded.

The greatest present was Mukuro, who then grinned mischievously and waited for Tsunayoshi to come to him, which he always freely had done, did, and would do in the future; Mukuro, who sneaked both hands onto Tsunayoshi's hips and pulled him towards him; Mukuro, who gently put a hand on his chin, pulling him into a soft kiss, and whispering quiet words of affection into Tsunayoshi's ear.

And he felt that the greatest birthday present was the feeling of coming home, finally finding the place he belonged to; a place in which he never thought it even possible to feel as comfortable as he did, in just this exact moment when he started kissing back, showing Mukuro just how much he'd missed him the entire day.