A/N: This is a sequel for "The Sky's Tears". Even though I really didn't plan to make a continuation, but I cannot leave an open question, right? ^_^ Thanks for everyone who reviewed and who will review in the future, after all I just posted that 2 days ago. Hahaha! Everything is still set on the past, but I assure you that this fiction will be different from the rest of the familial fictions between Primo and Decimo. I think the first ten chapters will be fluffy. I just hope I can make it. :)

THE AMIABLE FLAME

© Danielle Luna Soulhart

April 2012

First Flicker: Sweet Moments

Soft giggles were heard in the living room, accompanied with several incoherent and non-human languages uttered by the Vongola don, Giotto. He was currently on all smiles as he looked down and said sweet nothings to his newfound responsibility and joy, Tsunayoshi. He gave the baby a Japanese name simply because he was fascinated with Japanese culture ever since Asari became his friend. Thankfully, Asari helped him out in picking the best name for Tsuna, who in turn was more excited in naming the baby than Giotto does.

Giotto was really thankful that Tsuna came into his life, even though all the mystery still shrouded the child, especially his great resemblance to his adoptive father. Yes, Giotto decided to adopt the baby and even though it's against the hearts of Daemon, Lambo and sometimes G, he can't afford to leave the baby once again. With the help of Alaude and his connections to a law firm, he made the necessary documents and made Tsuna his legal son and probably, the next heir of Vongola Famiglia. Ever since Tsuna came, their life changed as well. Tsuna may not still capture everyone's hearts, but the mere fact that he was making everything lighter was enough proof of change. It sometimes thrilled Giotto whenever he was thinking of Tsuna's growth, and when the time he begins to have a mind of his own, he might easily get along with the people around him. His intuition told him that this child in front of him will become a great man in the near future. And he wanted to be there for his son when that happens. He hugged Tsuna, who in turn looked at him with curiosity.

…:[]:…

I don't know what they were talking about, but I am sure that they are very fond of me. I enjoy their company very much and they took care of me very well. I can't really well remember way back what happened, but for me, what's more important was I found the ones that will love me eternally, especially this bright haired man before me. I looked at him with utmost curiosity as he hugged me.

I am still young, but I can differentiate the degree of a hug coming from a friend, an acquaintance and a family. This man, whose name remains to be a tongue twister in my lips, seemed to be odd. I don't know for a particular reason but he doesn't feel like any father. But as he hugged me, I can feel his fatherly aura, and I really, really like it! So, does that mean he's my father? I touched his face with my two hands, and he looked like about to cry, and so, I laughed as I palmed his cheeks. He was kind of surprised as well, but he did not reject me and laughed along with me. He touched my forehead, my nose and pinched my cheeks, and I gave him a hearty laugh.

I knew it! He's my father! He's my Papa!

…:[]:…

"GIOTTO?" G called aloud around the house. The maids were always surprised at how G managed to raise an octave higher whenever things were pertaining to Giotto. It's quite a pity for their master to have such overprotective and strict friend like the storm guardian, they mustered. G seemed to not notice the stares that the maids were giving him. What's more important was Giotto. "Mataku, even at this times he gets missing in action…" He mumbled to himself and went a sharp turn to the living room.

To his surprise, he found Tsunayoshi actually sitting atop a lying Giotto on the carpet, enjoying himself on bouncing on his father's stomach.

G opened his mouth to scold Giotto again for leaving his office, but seeing the adorable sight can't bring him to even whisper a word to his best friend. Ever since Tsuna came (it's been two years already), the house became livelier, and as the Vongola Primo's best friend and right hand man, he knew and felt that something had changed inside Giotto. Yes, the don can still be considered as young and child-like in some situations, but seeing him like this made him jealous of the little kid. It's not that he's not fond of Tsuna (in fact, he was one of those whose heart quickly melts at just the soft touch of Tsuna, but quickly denied it) but the fact Tsuna, at the tender age of two, can immediately make people bow down to him (minus Daemon, Lambo and Alaude for obvious and various reasons). He can't deny that Tsuna was just so cute, and he was a splitting image of Giotto when he was younger. On another point, he felt jealous because of their relationship towards each other. He unconsciously let his head slide sideward, thinking of his own relationship with his slightly bratty charge.

Well….maybe not exactly…?

As he was about to leave, he felt something bumped the back of his knee and hugged tightly. He looked down and saw his most prized person – Gokudera Hayato. Minutes later, he felt the kid shivering, let alone felt his dress pants getting soaked with tears.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He asked as gently as possible. Gokudera Hayato was not his son, in fact they were first degree cousins; but due to unwanted circumstances, he decided to take the kid and became his legal guardian. He patted Hayato's head lightly, prompting for the little kid to look up to him.

"I'm scared…" Hayato replied with his small voice. His shivering died a little, but the tears flowing from his eyes did not stop.

"Scared of what?" G asked again, and he was answered when Hayato pointed his tiny index finger towards a menacing brown-furred cat sitting under the coffee table. G did his best to stifle his laugh, but he found it totally adorable that his little cousin was frightened over a cat. He patted Hayato's head once more and told him, "Don't be scared. It won't bite."

Hayato looked at him with such strong glares and pouted. "It does bite!" He exclaimed. "The cat did bit one of our maids on her hand and bled!"

'Mataku…Hayato can be so observant at times…' "The cat would naturally bite her because it's the maid's fault for handling it the wrong way. The cat doesn't want to be just held by the belly, you know." G explained.

"But still! It did bite the maid! I want it to go away!" And as if a threat, the cat advanced three steps towards Hayato. Hayato stiffened and hid behind his cousin's leg. "S-see! It's going t-to b-bite meee!"

"Calm down Hayato, it's not going to pounce on you until you do something to it!"

"Dakara~!" came a whiny retort from Hayato and small beads of tears formed at the corner of his eyes. He continued shivering as the cat advanced on.

Because of this, Giotto exited the living room along with Tsuna in his arms. Little Tsuna was resting on his adoptive father's shoulder and played with Giotto's bright, almost golden hair. Giotto made no rejection as he found out that children like bright colors and it helped them to adjust their eyesight more. Back to Giotto, he patted his best friend's shoulder and asked:

"What's going on, G?"

"THERE YOU ARE!" G let out a full-scale yell towards Giotto who closed his eyes but had a tremendous effect on little Tsuna. The brown-haired tyke looked he was about to cry, but his occasional hiccups told the two that the kid was trying to hold it in. Giotto looked at G with menacing glare and started to pat Tsuna's clothed back with his free hand, soothing fatherly words to him. It seemed to calm the baby down and G inwardly thanked for Giotto's innate fatherly gestures. "U-uhm…anyway, to answer your question, there's nothing going on."

Upon hearing that, a shriek of protest came from below, making G and Giotto turn to the teary eyed Hayato. "There is something wrong! There is…" Then he sniffed. He was really about to cry, "But big brother G doesn't see it."

"O-oi, Hayato," G intercepted, "It's not I don't, but I'm telling you that cats are harmless creatures until you provoke them."

"B-but…but…IT'S COMING!" Hayato shouted, and like a domino, it affected Tsuna so he screamed as well. Giotto and G looked down and it's true, the cat was charging forward! But since it was rather late, the cat had already scratched G's arm pretty deeply and blood gushed out from it. Out of reaction, G swatted away the cat with his arm, causing for it to run downstairs. G paled from that, but not for himself; it's for his little cousin.

"B-b-b-bl-blood…" Hayato stuttered and melted down the wall, soul stricken with fear. It's not the blood he feared but the cat in front of him. In truth, Hayato feared cats, and it's just a good thing that he doesn't have any heart complications or any panic attacks. His tears finally dropped and both of his hands closed into his face. He bawled. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

G wanted to comfort the little guy and tell him he's alright, but Giotto's hand suddenly stopped him and saw his head shaking in negation. He fully understood the situation: he needed to have his arm treated first before talking to Hayato. The little silver-haired guy was really upset, and to think that at his age he was just concerned about the welfare of his idiotic cousin. 'Yes…I'm an idiot…' G thought. He can't blame his baby cousin for what he felt and he was really sorry. With one last look, G excused himself.

Giotto sighed. His best friend can be stupid at times, but looking down at Hayato, he hasn't seen G acted so much gentle and brotherly to anyone but him. G was always the hotheaded, suspicion-driven, impatient best friend yet industrious, reliable and responsible storm guardian and right hand man. When it's business, it will always be business; that's why G's been the one checking on him regarding his unfinished (most of time time) paperwork. Sometimes he silently prayed that someone would take over G's tempered life and tone it down a little, and thanking God nowadays because it happened. Hayato was an angel, and a copy of G's own personality and physicality. It wouldn't hurt if G would learn something from Hayato as his storm guardian taught his little charge about the gist in life. He crouched down, thanking that there was a nearby bean bag at the side of the opening of the living room and placed Tsuna there. He patted Hayato's head and said:

"You know, technically what your cousin told you is true," Giotto said, not quite sure why on earth he was helping his idiot friend. "Cats are friendly creatures unless you do something to them badly or even taunting them with eyes. It happened to me before, you know?" This revelation made Hayato look to him in interest.

"What happened to you then, uncle Giotto?" Hayato asked innocently as he cautiously looked towards Giotto. He sniffed away his distressed feeling and listened to the don.

'Really now? I'm just 22 and this kid calls me uncle?' Giotto smiled sheepishly. "Well, it's not something so desirable, Hayato. But I was stupid back then and your cousin was laughing at me. I was actually challenging a stray cat by the eye when I was younger. G was with me at the park back then. I did that because I was so curious why would G love cats and fascinated at how sparkly their eyes were. But, it seemed that the cat thought I was going to attack so it scratched and bit me. I ended up in the hospital later to get vaccinations." Then he laughed.

"That's not funny at all, uncle Giotto." Hayato said and frowned more.

"I know, but it's the truth." Giotto said. "We fully understand that you do not like cats, but they are also friendly, you know. Just don't do the same thing I did."

Hayato lowered his head and hummed in reply. Honestly, he doesn't understand what his uncle really wanted to tell him. He's been scared of cats ever since! He can still remember the time when he was at his old house and there were lots of cats! He shivered at that thought. But then, he felt something land on his lap, and it was little Tsuna's body. It's a good thing that the bean bag was also close to Hayato, or else, Tsuna could have hurt himself. Being a baby he was, Tsuna can't help but play around and always wanting to touch someone. It has been a trait that Giotto noticed a year ago. The Vongola Primo made no comment on Tsuna's prone position on Hayato's lap; in fact it was amusing to look at. He was waiting for Hayato's response.

…:[]:…

Uwah! It's so soft! I don't know its name but it's so soft. I kept on bouncing into this pillow-like thing and it amused me so much. But, I can feel sadness around me. I saw papa talking to a small boy, but bigger than me; and he was crying! I stopped bouncing and I wondered why he was crying. I tried to listen, but my underdeveloped ears cannot still understand most of the adult words. I feel envious of that boy beside me because they can understand them. Then, when papa talked, the boy mad a sad face. It made me more curious. I attempted to reach him, but it turned out I lost my balance and fell onto the boy's lap.

Uwah! It's much more comfortable that this pillow thing. I decided I like to sit on this one.

I noticed the sudden quietness between them, but I didn't mind because it was too soft! I wiggled as they both tried to calm me down. But I want to play! And this is so soft! I want to stay!

But, was this even a thing or a person? I don't know. But what I know was this was soft.

…:[]:…

Hayato doesn't know how to deal with a very wiggly Tsuna on his lap, basically because Hayato was scared that he might hurt little Tsuna. Even though he was 2 years old, Tsuna was still like a baby, with his chubby cheeks and brown hair protruding on all sides like his adoptive father. At first, Hayato thought Tsuna was so behaved, but it seemed that all failed his expectations. Tsuna was the playful type of a baby, nevertheless never cried if he fell on his own or when it's time for diaper change. But Hayato thought he was super cute.

Uhm, not with this time though. Tsuna was like swimming on his lap.

Giotto can't help but snort, fully amused as he tried to prevent Tsuna from wiggling too much onto Hayato's lap. Truly, Tsuna made wonders among people, and Hayato was one proof because he made the kid's mind divert from his fear from cats, probably afraid now of hurting Tsuna. 'Pfft, what a way to get attention now, huh, Tsuna?' He thought jovially.

Just then, Tsuna stopped and looked at Hayato's strained eyes squarely. It had been five seconds before drawing the two guys into a surprise; also, enough to bring G (who just finished bandaging) into his wildest ideas. Tsuna practically tried to sit on Hayato's lap (with the help for his death grip onto Hayato's clothes) and hugged him. With a babyish giggle, he cuddled Hayato like some stuff toy that was given to him. Giotto and G can't both help to laugh heartily, and in this case brought Giotto to notice his best friend. In Hayato's case, he can't help but blush on the brightest shade of red. The cuddling continued, and it seemed Tsuna was overjoyed at being laughed at because of his little act of embarrassing Hayato, but he lost his grip, causing him to stumble backwards and effectively shutting the laughter off.

It's a good thing that G taught Hayato with reflexes at an early age. Hayato was quick to hold Tsuna.

And he was embracing the baby.

…:[]:…

Kyaaaah! I knew it was a person! He was a boy like me. I heard papa saying the word 'boy' whenever he's praising me. But never mind that. What' more important was that I'm hugging this boy. I was really worried because he was so sad, and it somehow scared me. I don't want people being sad. So, I tried sitting by myself and hugged him tight. Then, I heard laughter because of what I did and I laughed at them too. But, I lost my balance. I thought I'm going to die, but the boy in front of me saved me. And he hugged me back! Kyaaaaah! I am so happy! I want to know this boy but, well, I can't speak yet.

Oh well, I'll try harder! I want to speak soon and move on my own. It's because I want to be at papa's side forever. I want to speak his name countless times. And I want to touch, hug and play with him without even stumbling back. I looked back at the kid who saved me, and gave him a full blown giggle as I touched his cheeks in gratitude. Hey, did his cheeks go red? Was he sick? Oh no! But, I still heard laughter, so, it's okay, right? He's okay too.

I want to grow fast, so that I can play with them.

…:[]:…

"You're his savior, Hayato," G commented with a loving smile. He wanted to use this opportunity to talk to his cousin and apologize. "You've become a big boy."

Hayato's eyes shone at that praise, "Really? I did?"

"Yep! Because of that, Giotto is proud of you as well. Even Tsuna approves of you! See?"

Hayato was blushing red when Tsuna held him preciously. His fears have subsided and the praise made him convinced that he was a good and brave boy. He looked at Giotto and G, both earning a nod and then hugged Tsuna brotherly. He said, "You know, this is the tenth time I tried to avoid you because I thought I will hurt you." This made Tsuna looked up to him, "But since I am four years old and I'm strong enough, I know I can protect you instead! From now on, I'll call you Juudaime!"

'Oh brother, both cousins are alike.' Giotto thought as he face-palmed, 'G must have rubbed off on Hayato. Looks like my son won't have a peaceful life from now on." Then he sighed.

'Keh. So full of himself…' G thought simultaneously with Giotto, 'The kid has the guts to say that. But he's still a kid. A kid!" Then he snorted. Even though he has every knack of teasing Hayato, he can't deny himself that he's proud of him.

The hugging session continued, apparently because Tsuna doesn't want to let go of Hayato, and Hayato was glaring daggers at his cousin for trying to separate him and little Tsuna. Giotto, in turn, kept sighing, knowing that Hayato's 'right hand man' days were going to start. He was going to become like G in such unfashionable way, and he doesn't want to think about it. Tsuna, on the other hand, was babyishly oblivious to the situation and just giggled all the way, continuing hugging Hayato at the same time.

At one corner, a kid with black hair peeked shyly. He wanted to join the fun, but he was a newcomer. He wanted also to touch that cute little baby that attracted him. 'Hayaku, otou-san…' he thought, clutching his yukata.

A/N: I so seriously wanted to have this over 10 pages. But if I did, I will not be able to stop myself. XD Oh well, I bet you guys can thoroughly guess who'd be next to show. I don't know if I am able to do justice on the fluff thing, but I hope you like it! By the way, Hayaku means hurry in Japanese. Also, sorry of the slight delay! Review! :)