Rain and Snow. Ferris wheels and Maple leaves.

/G27-ONE-SHOT/

People crossing paths, fate, destiny… Giotto had never believed in any it. Happiness was something that was supposed to be obtained by one's hands and actions through one's aim.

He stood at the road, waiting for the traffic light to turn green. Once it did, he made his way towards the other side of the road, with the rest of the crowd.

It'd have been stupid to say that he had walked every path of life and understood the universe's truths because he hadn't, and he wasn't going to criticize someone else's ideals. There were good-looking people in the crowd; there were not so good-looking people in the crowd. Good-looking people got all the affection, and not good-looking people the opposite, life had become predictable. Life had become tasteless, almost like stale water. Sometimes Giotto found himself thinking strange thoughts, that he was tired of the mundane, everyday life. It was a cycle of repetitive events – work, eat and sleep.

Among all the people rushing home under the amber light of dusk, he felts that he was the loneliest person in the world. Everyone around him had a purpose, had something to look forward to, but Giotto felt that he didn't. He was returning to a cold, vacant, empty apartment, nothing to look forward to. No warm meals waiting for him, no one to wait at home for, to have something to feel hopeful for.

Sure, he was rich, but so what?

Aimlessly, he walked around the district, unsure of where he was going.

It took him a while to realize that he was lost. When he was concentrating on his thoughts, he must have lost track of where he was heading.

White light, a deep contrast to the darkness of the city splayed on to him.

A person riding a bicycle sped past him, almost crashing into him. It gave him quite a scare. The one riding it managed to swerve at the very last moment.

Giotto now found himself lost in the middle of nowhere. His phone didn't seem to be working, it showed no connection.

The streetlights were dim. The moon was high up in the sky, casting its eerie glow on the surface of the short street-houses. Most of the shops were closed; it seemed as if it would be impossible to ask for help or directions, so Giotto wandered around.

He felt acquainted with the night. That night, he felt everything would change. He was almost never wrong, so he wondered what would be in stall for him. As the light extinguished, he heard someone calling for him. Someone echoed his name…at the back of his head…?

Giotto shrugged it off as something as a figment of his imagination. There would be absolutely no room for the supernatural or overactive imagination because it would just make him jumpy and agitated. Placing both of his hands in his pockets, he continued to walk down the lane. Almost all of the shops had their 'closed' signs up, except one, which still had its lights on.

He hurried to that shop, in the hope that the shopkeeper would be able to direct him out of the maze of shops and houses, and return him back to the heart of the city. It was a small, modest shop on the corner, sandwiched between a bridal gown shop and a toy shop. He read off the time showing on his watch, and raised a brow. Most shops were usually closed at that hour.

The shop was brightly lit with lavender scented candles. The shop had almost nothing except a book, a table, and two seats facing each other. The shopkeeper was an old man, probably in his 80s, Giotto gauged, but that didn't matter.

He had his palm on the cover of the old book. It looked like more of a grimoire than any sort of book. Giotto made his way towards the old man, aiming to tap the shop keeper's shoulder to wake him.

"Take a seat please, Giotto," the shop keeper invited, gesturing to the chair opposite to him.

It was suspicious, of how the old man knew his name. He still had both of his eyes closed. Giotto, trusting his intuition, took a seat. The lavender scent permeating the air caused his nose to itch, but he made no comment about it. With a flick of the old man's fingers, all of the candles went out.

Did the old man do it out of consideration… or was it something else?

The awkward silence lingered until the man removed his hand from the cover of the book and a gust of wind flipped the book to page 98.

"You are the 98th customer," the man paused, when words started to appear onto the book.

"This is the shop of desires. You have been chosen by the shop to grant your wish, but once that wish is granted, everything will revert back to normal," the old man warned.

Giotto was at a loss for words, what had he stumbled upon? He knew that that night would be the turning point to his dull and monochrome life… but obtaining it via unorthodox methods did not cross his mind at all. Although he did not comprehend what and how it would work, there was no harm in trying. A short nod from Giotto followed after a few minutes of silence.

"Very well. Now tell me, what is your inner most desire?"

"…I want someone to love."

The man whispered a few words and the deed was sealed. The shop keeper rose up from his chair.

"The shop will vanish after this. Do not come back looking for it," the old man said.

"Wait, what is your name?" Giotto questioned, rising from his chair too.

"I am known as Talbot."

The next time Giotto brought his hand up to glance at his watch, it was already 11. Talbot did not give him any directions, and incidentally, he had forgotten to ask for them. Before he knew it, he was back at the cross-junction, the road on his way to his house. What had happened felt more like a dream than something real. He felt like nothing particular had happened.

It wasn't like in those types of movies or shows where once the caster cast the spell, something would glow and something flashy and magical would occur. So he shook it off like it was nothing.

The world was once again grey, colourless, cold and unfeeling. He hailed for a cab right after he spotted one, in hope of alighting one to arrive home faster. Unfortunately for him, none of the cabs stopped. So he journeyed back to his house under light rain, without any umbrella to shield him from the downpour.

Like a duckling, he waded through areas with huge puddles of water. When he was half-way through the road, his phone rang. It was a nuisance to him now, being irritating and made him lose focus while he was trying to cross the puddle.

He flipped open his phone to answer the call, also annoyed that he didn't have the time to change his phone to a regular smart phone. Sighing, he placed the phone to his ear. It was probably someone from work.

"You have a new job, Giotto. You'll need to move into Namimori tomorrow."

Giotto 'hn'-ed a reply to the recipient. It wasn't like he had anything to lose in Tokyo, where everything was just bland, regardless of the how the city looked on the surface – lively, vibrant and fun. With that, he snapped his phone to the anonymous caller, ready to take on the role of rebuilding a company in Namimori to its most glorious point in history.

Once he shoved his phone back into his pocket, he stomped on the ground with determination, forgetting that the puddle existed. The water rebounded and soaked his pants.

He growled in frustration. Nothing that night was working out for him. He already felt like visiting the shop was a scam, definitely, but whatever, it had been free. He continued to stomp down the street now, growling under his breath. A teen holding an orange umbrella bumped into the half-soaked Giotto.

When the two opposing forces collided, they ricocheted and fell back into the pool of dirty water.

Giotto stood up, dusted himself and almost fell again. The brunet apologized, while he shared his umbrella with Giotto. Normally Giotto would have rejected the offer, but today, he didn't. He was lethargic from what had happened. All he wanted to do now was to go back to his apartment, shower and sleep.

The teen guided him back all the way to his apartment, holding the umbrella for the both of them, sheltering them from the incoming raindrops. There were no more careless slips, but there was the constant brush of shivering elbows, wet cloth pressing against cold skin.

On the way home, both of them were quiet. It was really awkward, but Giotto didn't want to speak. He was already grateful for the brunet being kind enough to share the umbrella between them, although he was partly the reason they were both so wet. At least he took responsibility.

They took the stairs to the 5th floor, since the lift was under maintenance. Giotto knew he shouldn't have read his horoscope this morning. Usually what they forecasted would occur to him, and normally, only bad things that they forecasted would happen. He felt incredibly sorry for the unlucky brunet who bumped into him. The boy was quivering under his thin layers of clothes.

When they reached Giotto's apartment, he sought to invite the teen in immediately.

"Would you like to stay for the night…or at least get a change of clothes?" Giotto asked, just when the brunet was about to leave.

Giotto stared at the brunet's lips, too tired to lift his head up to look at him properly.

"...I would be intruding, I'll just return home. Goodbye…Mister…?" the brunet chattered.

"Where are you staying at? Giotto, just call me Giotto," the blonde replied.

"Namimori…but I'll just stay at the nearby hotels-"

Giotto interrupted his sentence right away, after jamming the apartment key into his keyhole. He led the brunet to his apartment, placing the umbrella at the side of his walkway. They took off both of their shoes that were wet and stripped their socks off. Giotto threw his in the laundry bin whilst the brunet stuffed his back into his shoes.

The blonde made a mental note to clean the teen's stuff.

Once all their shoes were removed and Giotto threw all their coats and scarves into the washing machine, he felt like collapsing on the floor.

"Uh…" Giotto paused, thinking about what to call the teen, "I'll show you the bathroom. You can have my clothes."

"Tsunayoshi. Giotto-san, please call me Tsuna," the brunet whispered, trembling.

Giotto nodded, repeating the name in his head.

"Nice to meet you, Tsunayoshi," Giotto smiled for the first time.

Once Giotto was under the shower of warm water, he recalled what he had said earlier. It was ironic that he had said 'nice to meet you' under those circumstances, but Tsuna actually returned a smile to him. He wasn't really focused at looking at him because he was too tired to; he doubted that he would remember Tsuna anyway.

He turned off the water and dried himself shortly. Once he was dressed in comfortable sleeping wear-a plain old shirt and shorts, he cleaned his bed. He tossed aside all the clothing scattered on his bed. All of them went into the laundry bin soon after.

While Tsuna was still in the bathroom, he changed the bed sheets and got another blanket for Tsuna so they wouldn't have to compete for the warmth. Since his bed could comfortably fit for two, and he only had a bed in his small apartment, he figured that Tsuna wouldn't mind sleeping with him.

The actual reason was simple – he was too tired to care.

He had already placed his old clothes that were a size too small in the bathroom for him, and some clean underwear. Giotto had some disposable underwear that he bought awhile back, for whatever reason he couldn't seem to remember. Maybe it was a sale, but he didn't care.

Sometimes, Giotto stared randomly into space when he was too tired. He didn't daydream. He just stared.

By the time Tsuna's got out of the bathroom, all cleaned and scrubbed up, Giotto pointed to the portion of the bed on the right, and then pointed back to him.

He crawled back to the bed, and threw over his covers. Before he knew it, he was in dreamland.

Tsuna threw his clothes into the laundry bin, like how Giotto had. Giotto threatened him to throw him out of his apartment naked if he didn't do that, so he listened to him meekly. Like an obedient kitten, he crawled to the right side of the bed.

Although he was shy that it was a stranger he was sleeping with, he was sure it was going to be fine. He felt safe with Giotto…

The next morning, Giotto found the sun shining too brightly behind his white curtains that were fluttering up and down due to the wind. He cursed the curtains out loud, a habit which he had picked up a long time ago.

A migraine was building up at the lower back of his head. He hated mornings when he lacked sleep. Rolling to the other side of the bed, he felt warmth surfacing from the bed sheets. He lay there for a few more seconds before finally remembering Tsuna.

He jumped out of the bed and got out of his room at once. Surprisingly, he was welcomed with a full set of authentic Japanese cuisine, consisting of a bowl of miso soup, fish, natto and a bowl of white pearl rice. Giotto was at a loss for words.

"I took the liberty of preparing breakfast for you. I hope you don't mind," Tsuna said.

Giotto smiled.

"Thank you."

Everything looked good. He had bought the fish yesterday, hoping to prepare some Japanese cuisine from a cookbook, but since Tsuna used it, it was fine.

Once both of them settled down and had breakfast, Giotto asked a few questions to lighten the mood. Unlike yesterday, he did mind the awkwardness today. It was different from yesterday, where he was too tired to care.

"So…Tsuna, why did you come to Tokyo alone?" Giotto questioned, picking out the bones from the fish.

"I don't know if I should tell you," Tsuna answered, after he placed both of his chopsticks down.

"You can tell me if you don't mind."

"I ran away from home because I threw a tantrum… it was just a silly argument with Kaa-san about my future because… she wants me to plan…and I…" Tsuna paused, looking at his rice bowl, which was now half-full of rice.

Giotto chuckled. He had never experienced any problems with his parents, because he didn't have any. He wished he could be like Tsuna, having someone to care about him, about his future, and at times when he did anything wrongly, someone would be there to guide him.

"I'm sorry; you must think it's very silly of me to do this," Tsuna apologized, hands cupping his rice bowl.

"Yes, considering that I don't have a family. You should cherish your mother." Giotto stated, placing his chopsticks too on top of the rice bowl. He folded his arms and sat upright.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to remind you of bad memories. I learned my mistake the hard way. I got cheated of all my money when I just got off the train… then I wandered around Tokyo, trying to find a place to live with only 50 yen in my pocket. There was no place around here that accepted me as a guest, of course. I used the remaining money to buy a small piece of candy… then I called Kaa-san and realized how heartbroken I had made her…" Tsuna muttered.

"We're going to Namimori after breakfast," Giotto announced, picking up his chopsticks.

"What? I don't have any money-"

"I have. Now eat, we have to hurry back to Namimori to your mother." He stared at Tsuna until he picked his chopsticks up and started eating again.

The rest of breakfast was filled with another session of awkward silence.

The blonde bought their train tickets and boarded the train bound for Namimori soon after. Giotto had gathered all his items into a small travelling bag. There was nothing much to keep or take, he just didn't have many things or memories there.

Tsuna's shoulders were tensed, his hands balled into tiny fists.

"Relax; I'm not going to eat you up. You look like you're with the big bad wolf," Giotto teased.

Tsuna laughed. His laughter was contagious, and Giotto laughed too. He found that Tsuna had pretty big, brown orbs magically innocent and beautiful. It held some things that Giotto would never have. In some ways, Giotto was insanely jealous of Tsuna.

The train ride was about an hour long. Tsuna had told Giotto that he had wanted to walk home when he didn't have money in Tokyo. Giotto told Tsuna he was really silly.

The two of them remained in the cabin, watching the scenery fly away, creating a blur of images as the train swept past. It was the bullet train, after all, but sometimes, if you could capture what was outside the window, it would be marvellous. Giotto never had time to look at these sorts of things.

If he was alone in the train, he was sure he would be working, to fend off the loneliness buried deep down in his heart. The bright sun, the blue skies, the green grass and the grey roads… all of them made picturesque scenes.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Giotto asked.

Tsuna nodded, glancing at the passing scenery outside. By the time they reached Namimori, it was already dusk. The sun was at the brim of the horizon, ready to sink and let the whole of Namimori fall into darkness.

Orange, the sky was entirely amber-like, covering the roofs of the houses in Namimori. The view from the train station showed peaks of the houses gleaming like diamonds. The train station of Namimori was located on the top of a hill, where all of Namimori could be seen.

"Let's get you home."

Tsuna walked ahead of Giotto, leading the way. Giotto had noticed that Tsuna had purposely taken slow steps and long cuts towards his house so as to delay time. He was sure that it wasn't because of Giotto; it was because he didn't want to get home.

When the both of them reached Tsuna's doorstep, the sun had already set. The sky was purple in colour, dipped in shades of red-violet. The starless night was beautiful, with little or no clouds sailing through the clear skies.

"Thank you for sending me home. If you'd like, would you like to come in for a cup of tea?" Tsuna invited.

Giotto, seeing it as an excuse for Tsuna to not face his mother, rejected the offer graciously. Tsuna dragged Giotto in after that, saying that he needed to thank Giotto for his kindness. So there they were, in the Sawada residence's veranda.

Tsuna's mother wasn't home yet, so they sat down at the veranda, drinking tea. They sat there for about half an hour, discussing the weather and life in Namimori.

Soon after, Tsuna's mother returned home, and ushered both of them in for dinner. It was then at dinner that Tsuna apologized to his mother, who accepted it without much of a thought.

Giotto smiled at the thought.

After dinner, Tsuna went to take a shower and Giotto helped Tsuna's mother clean up the plates.

"Giotto-kun… Where are you going to live?"

"I'll stay in the hotels here nearby," Giotto answered, drying the dishes with a rag.

"Do you not have any relatives living around here?" Tsuna's mother queried.

"No. I'm an orphan."

Neither of them talked for a while, until she apologized. Giotto shrugged it off; he was already used to it.

"Please, if you'd like to, stay here."

The blonde shook his head. He would be imposing on them if he stayed here, and the family needed their space, he was sure. Although he would like to stay with the kid that he had a rather amiable talk with, it would be also inconvenient to stay.

"Please, call me Nana," she smiled. Giotto found that Tsuna had traces of his mother, like her warm smile and her big, round orbs.

"You know, you look like you could have been my child," Nana commented, gazing out at the sky.

Giotto had thought nothing of it, just like a vague comment, because he knew he looked like Nana, and could have been a split image of Tsuna.

"I would be honoured to be your child, Nana," Giotto joked, placing all the dishes back into the appropriate shelves.

Tsuna came out from the bathroom soon after, and the two of them went up to the rooftop to chat while Nana did some housework.

"Tsuna, how have you been coping with studies?" Giotto asked, gazing at the Byzantium sky. Tsuna gulped. Giotto guessed that he hadn't been doing well in his studies, but it was fine, since in middle school, his grades were the worse.

The numbers of F's in his report card were piling, but it was until he got a wakeup call, that no one would care for him if he kept failing, he had no other support so he had to work hard for a better job and a better future.

"You can tell me."

Tsuna reminded Giotto of the past him, they were so alike, in terms of looks, grades and perhaps the way of thinking. He knew there was something in Tsuna that caught his eye, something that kept him from wanting to know more about the boy, just something that he couldn't identify what. Maybe because when he was with Tsuna, he didn't feel so lonely anymore.

When he was with some client or boss or whoever, he felt like he was drowning in a sea of loneliness, a feeling so painful, he wanted to strangle himself and suffocate.

"Going to school is lonely. Everyone goes to school with their cliques; I'm the only one who is always left out, but it is still manageable. Every time the teacher drones on and on, there is an escape, because no one is listening, and in class, everyone's sitting away from each other, so I don't feel like I'm the only one who's lonely. Then there's lunch time, where everyone gets back together with their friends. I'm the only one who's eating alone…" Tsuna whispered in hushed tones, so his mother doing the laundry a level below them couldn't hear what he was saying.

"I could be your friend, and if you like, we can eat lunch together," Giotto grinned.

Tsuna's eyes lit up immediately, brown irises filled with so energy and vigour.

"Really? It wouldn't be too much of a trouble for you?"

Giotto shook his head. He had felt childish saying that line, but he couldn't help it. The emptiness was gone, he felt a lot better, a lot more cheerful.

It was like he could see the sun, see the light, see hope from despair.

The next day, Giotto went to work at one of Namimori's most prestigious offices in Namimori's highest building. He was shown his desk, which he would be situated at for about 3 months there. Although the company had one of the best views in the town, their finances were in shambles. Giotto calculated that there was embezzlement involved in it. One of the workers must have taken money and covered up the accounts with false transactions.

Work always kept him from being lonely. According to the female secretaries and co-workers, work also made him seem lifeless and unavailable. He was told that if he were to put more time investing in girls he would have found a girlfriend by now. Sure, he envied those who had girlfriends because he was lonely, but work was always his first priority.

Time passed fast when he was working, all he had to do was to immerse himself in the mountains of work provided.

The grandfather clock in Giotto's office, a favourite antique of Giotto's, struck 12. He got up and went to the carpark to fetch his car. All he had to do next was pick up Tsuna and take him to a restaurant he had made reservations for at Namimori.

It was a normal car, the kind which could be seen everywhere, since Giotto didn't like attention or to be flashy. He was still wearing his spectacles, because it made everything clearer.

It was raining lightly today, so Tsuna carried an umbrella out to the school gate. Once Tsuna entered his car, Giotto zoomed away to the restaurant. He hadn't told Tsuna where they were going, but he hoped that Tsuna would enjoy it.

"Giotto-san, where are we going?"

"A restaurant," Giotto said, listening into the sound of rain pattering onto his car.

"…Please stop. I don't want to go to a restaurant where you have to spend a lot of money for me. We can go to somewhere simple," the brunet squeaked.

Giotto stopped the car in the middle of the deserted road. There were no people around, so they weren't blocking the traffic.

"You don't have to waste your money on a simple meal with me…" Tsuna added, clutching his bag closer to him.

"I have already reserved it; we'll go to somewhere simple tomorrow, so if you would like to avoid wasting my money, then we'll go to the restaurant alright? You don't have to feel troubled over it," Giotto insisted, as he blazed passed the road.

Tsuna could only nod mildly, knowing that he couldn't convince Giotto out of it. Tsuna noted that Giotto was stubborn, wanted things to go his way, but thought of the best for Tsuna. He appreciated Giotto's good intentions.

The restaurant was located in some skyscraper in Namimori, to the opposite of Giotto's office in town. It was a really classy restaurant that Tsuna could never afford. He fidgeted nervously when the waiter came to their table.

"I'll have a set A," Giotto paused. "What about you, Tsuna?"

Tsuna looked at the menu nervously. All of them contained expensive items which he had never tried before.

"I'll take the same as you, Giotto-san," Tsuna blurted out after the waiter starting boring his eyes into Tsuna.

The waiter took both menus away and went to the kitchen. Tsuna felt a tad more relieved without the waiter hovering around him.

"Giotto-san, could we please have something simple at somewhere more discreet tomorrow?" Tsuna pleaded.

Giotto chuckled and agreed. Watching Tsuna 'hiiee' and act nervously was rather amusing and cute but he didn't want to make Tsuna nervous. Giotto resisted putting his hands over Tsuna's brown hair to feel what his hair felt like.

Lunch was delicious not to mention expensive, but Giotto could afford it. As for lunch the next day, Tsuna had suggested that they have Nana's bento, to which Giotto agreed. The day passed without anything eventful, but the both of them were grateful for the other's company.

The next week flew past without anything worth mentioning, with the both of them getting used to the routine of having lunch together.

It was a night where Giotto received free tickets for a theme park. He had two tickets for it, so he was free to invite anyone to go with him. The girls in his office were all hopeful that he would invite them, so they had purposely asked him about it.

To their despair, he invited none of them. Most of them pretended that his rejection had no impact on them, but it was funny to watch their faces after that.

It was a rigmarole process to invite any girls out, and he had plans for who he was going to invite. Tsuna had accepted his invitation with alacrity, which pleased him to no end. He didn't know why, but he liked spending time with Tsuna.

With the tickets safely tucked in his wallet and his wallet in his pocket, he closed the door to his apartment that he had rented near Tsuna's house.

After picking Tsuna up, they strolled to the amusement park, which was a 20 minute walk away from Tsuna's house.

The walk was enjoyable, not as awkward as before. They talked about Tsuna's father, who was working overseas. Once they got there, Giotto pulled out two tickets from his wallet and handed it to the assistant.

They were given entrance and had their tickets chopped to indicate their entrance. The first ride they rode was a roller coaster, to which Tsuna really had fun with, even though he was scared of heights, but he closed his eyes the entire time.

Giotto teased him about it later on when they had lunch. Before that, they had also enjoyed other rides like a water ride and a bungee jumper, to which both of them went green after they sat on.

It was a lot of fun and both of them had ice cream bought by Giotto, to celebrate their conquering of the scary ride.

Tsuna had some ice cream smeared on his cheek so Giotto used his handkerchief and wiped it clean. Tsuna blushed, taking the handkerchief to wipe it himself. He couldn't possibly let Giotto do it for him.

The most memorable ride there was probably the Ferris wheel. It was the last ride they took at 8pm, before the amusement park closed. The moon wasn't present, but the dark blue sky was lit up by a meteor of shooting stars.

The blonde took Tsuna's hands into his, as they stopped the Ferris wheel at the highest point.

"Make a wish, Tsuna."

Both parties placed their hands together and made a wish, silently.

'I wish Giotto-san will stay with me forever.'

'I hope that Tsuna will attain true happiness.'

Like a whish of a magical wand, the wish was made, and the magical moment cracked. The Ferris wheel started to move, and the cogs of time started turning again. They knew that whatever made on a wishing star would never happen, because wishes didn't just fall from the sky.

After they got out of the Ferris wheel cabin, it was like all the magic, fairy dust and glittering vanished and lost their effect. They headed home nevertheless, with both of them not speaking to one another.

Two weeks later, Giotto found himself falling into the routine of visiting the Sawada household for dinner weekly. Nana welcomed him to the household like he was her son, and Giotto had considered renting a room in their house for his two month and a week stay. Although they discussed about, they had yet to make any real plans to set his move concrete.

He spent his lunch times with Tsuna almost every day, and sometimes they had breakfast and dinner together too. It was peaceful like that, and Giotto liked it. It was autumn and it wasn't uncommon for Namimori to rain frequently.

The weather was getting cooler since it was mid-autumn, and the leaves of the cherry blossom tree started to wither again. The trees brought up an awful memory, a memory which left a bitter taste in his mouth.

He knew that it was pathetic of him to dwell on the past too much, and he didn't want to. He could still remember the silhouette of his parents, waving goodbye to him. What was left of them in his memories were just shadows, just black shadows of them. However, their words still resonated in his mind clearly. He could still remember her voice, as clear as day.

'Stay here, I'll be back soon.'

She never was back soon. Or back at all, for that matter. It had been a lie. Giotto chose not to believe it as a lie, but under the beautiful pink cherry blossoms, he knew. He knew his mother was going to abandon him there, but he didn't chase after her, because he was unwanted.

His mother didn't want him.

Tsuna arrived in a hurry, bringing two bento boxes. The blonde aided him in carrying both boxes, since Tsuna was carrying his school bag already. Giotto was sure that the day had been a tiring one for him with plenty of lessons; his bag looked like it was going to explode any moment from the amount of books it contained.

They sat down under the cherry blossom tree. Giotto didn't tell Tsuna it brought back bad memories. He wanted no one to know that he was unwanted. No, he was afraid that Tsuna would do the same thing to him, but of course Tsuna wouldn't, because that would make no sense.

He didn't want any pity, either. While Tsuna was babbling about his school life, probably about his friends, Gokudera and Yamamoto, he felt a burning jealousy, rise out of the pits of his heart.

Tsuna had his mother… he wasn't unwanted.

Why didn't he cherish it? In frustration, he stood up and walked away from the cherry blossom tree, without a word.

"Giotto-san…?"

"Please… I need a moment to cool down, leave me alone, Tsuna," the blonde muttered, hiding his eyes under his bangs.

Tsuna glanced at Giotto, and then nodded slowly.

Tsuna left Giotto alone after both of them finish their meals. Giotto stared at the floating cherry blossom petals. He kicked the cherry blossom tree. Cherry blossom petals fluttered down. Maybe one day he could burn the tree down.

He walked away from the tree and bought a bottle of beer and some cigarettes. He needed a drink and some cigarettes to cool him down. Some tobacco ought to cheer him up although it was bad for his health and he had never liked smoking or the smell of it.

For now, it acted as something to reduce stress. Blowing out puffs of white smoke reduces stress. It sounded stupid already. Giotto crushed his cigarette and threw it in the bin. He took the bus for a change, waited it to circulate the whole route before finally getting off near his apartment. He just wanted to be alone; he needed no one's company.

He bolted back to his apartment and headed for the bathroom. He let the water pelt him without removing his clothes. His clothes clung on to him like a second skin. He was all sticky and wet. He was probably going to catch be sick, but he didn't really care.

Nobody gave a fuck about him.

Tsuna wouldn't care about him either, if he happened to die and rot in his apartment. They were just friends, what could he expect? Nothing… he couldn't believe he felt something for the teen, a burning rage, jealousy… and then… maybe a slight crush.

He was jealous of his crush. He thinks he thought sick in the mind.

Leaning against the wall of the white cemented walls in the bathroom, and slids down gradually, until he reached the floor. He touched the mouldy pipes of the bathroom, and he felt like pulling all of the pipes out.

Every single piece of dirt out of his apartment, just like what he felt he wanted to do to his heart.

The icy cold water was helping, because he was cooling down and able to calm down. Silently, he stood up, turned the knob of the shower dispenser and peeled off all of his clothes.

He waltzed around naked in his house and gathered all the clothes he intended to wear. Finally, he took a long, hot bath, one that cleared his mind of everything.

He should apologize to Tsuna tomorrow. He felt bad for being such a jerk and he should also apologize to Nana the next day for skipping dinner without notifying her.

Two weeks later, because Tsuna went to Kyoto with his class for a class outing, he wasn't home for a few days. Giotto had dinner with Nana to accompany her. It was a simple dinner – curry and rice.

It tasted similar to what he had eaten years ago, but Giotto chose not to say nothing.

"Nana, were you already married to your husband 10 years ago?" the blonde asked.

A few days ago, when Tsuna had left for Kyoto for his school trip, Giotto had begun to suspect that Nana was his mother, but that was only a guess. Someone from the orphanage called to tell him that he had been found somewhere in Namimori, and had lived in Namimori when he went back to investigate about his mother. It was strange though, Nana looked too young to be his mother.

Nana scooped up another serving of her delicious curry onto Giotto's plate, along with another serving of rice.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. What prompted you to ask that? I've been married to my husband for as long as I can remember, but I think that was about 25 years ago," Nana said, stacking the dirty plates together.

Giotto narrowed his eyes, but continued to act as if nothing had happened. He scooped another spoonful of curry onto his rice.

He spooned another mouthful of curry and rice in his mouth, enjoying the soft and mellow taste of the rice.

"Did you have a son before Tsuna?"

He mixed the curry with the rice, turning what was in the bowl into a brown concoction that didn't look quite so appealing. Nana remained silent for a very long time.

"Why do you ask that, Giotto-kun? I didn't have one."

Giotto nodded, unsurprised as he scooped another spoonful into his mouth. He knew Nana would lie, but it might not have been her, because there were so many families in Namimori, it could be any of them. But he couldn't knock on every door in Namimori.

Perceiving that Nana had some difficulties in her private life too, he decided not to pry.

"Giotto-kun, aren't you a curious one?" Nana smiled, as she sat down beside Giotto.

"What did you put in this curry? It tastes delicious." Giotto stated. He went to the sink to clean up his own plate.

"I'll tell you, Giotto-kun, if you promise not to tell others," Nana said in a pleased voice, as Giotto lined the plates up in order. Giotto smiled at her.

"I always keep my promises, Nana."

"It's apple and yogurt, something I invented a day… many years ago."

Apple and yogurt? His mother had also used apple and yogurt when she cooked curry when he was young. There was another flashback, where his mother was serving him curry. The very same taste he tasted earlier…

He didn't want to believe that Nana would lie, and honestly he wasn't even curious about his heritage, but as he got closer to Tsuna, it had become something that he had to find out, no matter what.

"That's…special… someone used to make that for me all the time. Thank you for dinner tonight, I have to go back early tonight because I have a meeting tomorrow morning."

"Thank you for coming over, Giotto-kun."

"Good night."

After Nana sent Giotto out, Giotto headed home and called his private investigator. He didn't want to pry, but the best way of finding things out was to hire someone.

"I want you to give me a full detailed report of Sawada Nana, especially on what happened to her 22 years ago."

The orange leaves of the maple trees were falling off again. They fell onto Giotto's verandah again. It was tough to clean them up again and again, but Giotto liked the rustic sight of the tree. It reminded him of a story that his mother had read to him, long ago.

He still had the rough idea of the story. It was a story of a man and a tree.

The doorbell rang. It was a clear chime that Giotto had set as the tone. With a smile plastered on his face, Giotto opened the door and invited Tsuna into his house. He had just cleaned up his whole apartment, so everything looked sparkly clean.

He was sure that there was not a speck of dust on the glass table… but Tsuna always proved him wrong.

"Giotto-san, I see a layer of dust here," Tsuna pointed at the cabinet right in the corner.

The blonde thought that Tsuna would never have noticed it. Giotto sighed as he resigned to his fate and went to get a wet cloth to wipe away the dust.

With the help of Tsuna, both of them were finally done with their chores.

Giotto threw Tsuna a can of melon soda, and both of them sat down on the mats on the veranda. It was nice, having the cool wind blow over them.

"Nice day out there, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Tsuna agreed, sipping the cool melon soda.

"Someone once told me a story about a maple tree, just like this one," Giotto paused, taking a long sip of the soda, "Do you want to hear?"

Tsuna nodded.

"Once there was an old man. He lived by a big, maple tree. The tree was withering every day. The man tried to help the tree by watering it every day, fertilizing it, but it was no use. The maple tree was special to him, because it was his friend. He spent most of his childhood, adulthood, and finally when he grew old there. It was a special tree. He didn't know what to do, so he consulted a witch, hoping that she could save the tree. But the witch only said that she could not reverse time for the tree, but she could give life to the tree, on the expense of the man's blood. So the old man agreed, and slit his wrists every day to nourish the tree. The tree stopped withering away, but the old man was weak. He was dying, but he was happy to be at that very same spot, where that tree resided. When the old man died, the tree took in his body, and they became one. The end," Giotto chuckled, looking at Tsuna's dumbfounded expression.

"What was the point of the story?"

"Nothing… it was just entertainment," Giotto uttered, crushing his can of finished soda.

"Giotto-san!"

"What? You believed my story?" Giotto teased.

"…I-I! I hate you!" Tsuna pouted.

It was followed by the sounds of laughter of the both of them. Giotto really cherished Tsuna as a friend… and right then, he was more than happy to spend time with his crush.

It was a sunny day out, with the sky clear of clouds and the sun high up in the sky. It was considered rather hot for mid-autumn, when it was supposed to be breezy and cool. The two decided to spend time on the hill of the Namimori, where it was renowned for its beautiful view at the hilltop.

The day began with breakfast at the Sawada household. Lunch would be packed bentos made by Nana, and dinner would be eaten at the restaurant at the foot of the hill. The track to the hill was properly paved, so there would be no worries about them hiking.

They had their lunch when the sun was high up and finally got to the top of the hill by sunset. It was a beautiful view, so Giotto captured it with his camera he took with him. He troubled a stranger to take a photo of them together, with the sunset as the background. He would print two copies of the picture out later and share it with Tsuna.

"You know, Tsuna, I think I might be in love with you. Strange isn't it?" Giotto confessed.

He had planned to tell him sometime, before he leaves Namimori, of course, and there are still a few weeks till he's going to leave Namimori now. Tsuna blushed.

"I don't expect an answer, don't worry about it. I just thought it would be good to let you know, so I could clear my heart you know. I'm a selfish man, I know that. I can't lie to you saying that I don't have feelings for you and claim that I don't fantasize about you. The truth is, I know you are never going to like or even love me that way, but we might never see each other again after I leave Namimori. I don't know what will happen in the future…" Giotto cupped Tsuna's cheek.

"But would you at least allow me to give you a kiss on your cheek?"

Tsuna nodded after the sun is directly on the horizon.

As Giotto said, he gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Thank you. You made me really happy," Giotto said. They waited for the sun to finally sink down. That was when Tsuna's stomach growled and both of them decided to get dinner.

Tsuna smiled, and they went down the hill to get dinner.

Dinner was delicious and simple. It was a family restaurant ran by a couple. It was an unforgettable memory that day… but it was also the start to all of his troubles. After Giotto sent Tsuna home, he got a missed call from his private investigator.

Everything must have come to light.

His private investigator had left a voice message behind.

"Turns out that she's your mother after all…let's meet up for a cup of tea and we'll discuss it, alright?"

Giotto had just received a report from the private investigator. It was a full report and there was no mistake about it. He had forgotten about Talbot when he moved to Namimori, when that night he met Tsuna he was too tired to care. The meeting with Talbot felt like a dream, like nothing had ever happened.

Giotto didn't want this to happen. This had happened too soon… too soon.

He knocked on the Sawada's household with the document given by his private investigator in hand.

Nana opened the door as usual, with a quaint smile on her face.

Giotto greeted her with respect. When Nana invited him in, he rejected it. It was unusual for him to do so – he didn't usually stop by without eating. Today he had gone for the lone business of talking.

"I'm afraid I have to deny…mother," he uttered the words softly.

"Mother…? I don't know what you're saying, Giotto-kun, stop joking around," Nana laughed.

"You left me by the cherry blossom tree years ago. I was beginning to suspect that you were my mother the first time Tsuna brought me here," Giotto stated.

"The only son I had was Tsuna, what are you talking about, Giotto-kun?"

"Ieyatsu. You named me that. That was my original name, but I discarded that name after I knew my mother didn't want me," Giotto explained, handing Nana the folder of papers.

He spun around and prepared to leave the Sawada household.

"…You're Ieyatsu…? I have been looking for you so long… Ieyatsu…" Nana gasped.

Giotto merely narrowed his eyes at her.

"Looking for me? You threw me there and never came back for me. I waited at there for days, until I fainted of hunger someone took me to the hospital… then I knew that you weren't coming back for me," Giotto said scathingly.

"I…Ieyatsu… you must listen to me!"

Giotto continued storming away, ignoring the woman known as his mother. He would break all ties with them, well, he should, but he just didn't want to do that. All those feelings he had gotten from spending time with the brunet and Nana… wasn't all just fake.

"I guess this is goodbye. Thank you for what you've done for me these past months, but I haven't forgiven you, and I don't think I will be able to. I gave you a chance, but you denied my existence," Giotto murmured.

He'd end it all soon. He'd leave Tsuna without telling him anything. He'd avoid them. He was simply… just too overcome with rage that he couldn't tell the difference between what was right or wrong.

He had to tell Tsuna that he was going to leave him, or he'd go berserk – he wouldn't be able to touch him, interact normally with him anymore – all because of the darned truth and maybe the spell cast by Talbot.

The work at the Namimori office had been completed. The company had been revamped and reconstructed earlier than expected. It's back to its powerful self, all thanks to Giotto. He had received a handsome sum of money from the job, but he wasn't happy at all.

The employees there who had stayed when the company's was in bad shape and the one who hired Giotto threw him a party to thank him before his departure. The party was heartfelt, but Giotto had no lingering feelings for the company simply because it wasn't his. He wasn't the one who had planted the seed.

His job was to pluck the weeds, fertilize the plant and water the plant. That was all he could do.

The wallpaper on his apartment which he initially planned for permanent stay was scratched and torn down by his own hands. All that was left were several pieces of scrapped wallpaper and bits and pieces of litter on the ground. The maple tree by his apartment had completely withered, and he knew that it was fruitless.

A letter written by Giotto was left at the centre of the whole apartment, and on the centre of the envelope was Tsuna's full name.

He knew Tsuna would go to his place eventually. If he didn't, then maybe Nana would tell him the truth. If not, Giotto would rather let Tsuna assume that Giotto left for good. The truth was that they weren't meant to be, as heart-breaking as it was.

He was tormented by his decision for nights, racking over his mind for an answer. There were just more questions instead of answers. It just wasn't right. Tsuna had always treated him as a friend and to anyone walking on the street; they looked more like brothers than lovers.

Every time they hung out in public, people would assume that they were siblings, and that was the truth, there was no changing it.

Tsuna had shown no signs of being in love with him either. It was fruitless. He had made a stupid decision in going to Namimori, of accepting Talbot's proposal.

He was just being plain foolish. That was all.

Once all of the things he considered important were packed and all the rest were thrown away, he carried his light suitcase and departed. Inside the letter was enclosed a photo that they had taken together on the day when they went up the hill.

Giotto gave the apartment one last sad smile, and closed the door with a creak.

The door to the apartment was shut. He handed the key back to the landlady, who looked at him fondly.

He drove to the train station and parked his car there. It was a rented car, so he didn't have any attachments to it. There was nothing, maybe except the memories of Tsuna and him in it, nothing else then.

The train station was on another hill, a hill opposite to the hilltop where both of them had created beautiful memories the last time. Determinedly, Giotto clutched tighter to his suitcase. He would just resume the life he had before he met Tsuna.

It wasn't as if he wasn't used to solitude. Now that he thought about it, it probably wasn't so bad because he could still talk to G, his assistant, for some solace.

Everything would be fine.

He waited for the train, clearing his mind of all the nonsense. He tried to look at the vibrant colours of the posters used in the train station. It wasn't working.

The train arrived exactly on time.

Just as he was about to board the train, someone hugged him from behind.

"Giotto-san… I saw your letter. Could you…at least stay for a day before you go back to Tokyo? I'm being selfish again, aren't I? But I would like to hear your voice, for one last day before you leave."

Giotto grimaced and removed Tsuna's hands that were wrapped around his waist.

The offer was tempting, but he would have to refuse it.

"No. I'm sorry." Giotto placed Tsuna's hands down and boarded the train. Just a little more and he'd have given in to Tsuna's demands. He would have loved to stay with Tsuna one more day, but it would only make him more reluctant to leave.

Once he settled down on the train seat, he requested for a cup of earl grey tea from the attendant walking pas. He really needed it to soothe his nerves.

"Excuse me; can I take a seat here?"

"Sure, go ahead," Giotto nodded without thinking before stiffly turning his head.

"Tsuna-?" Giotto gasped. Tsuna settled down on the seat opposite to Giotto's. It was like the trip back to Namimori, except they were going in the opposite direction.

"What are you doing here? Return home or your mother will be worried," Giotto chided, narrowing his sea blue orbs.

"I'm running away from home again. Giotto-san, if you don't put me up at your place, then I'll have to wander the streets like a lost kitten again," Tsuna muttered.

Giotto knew what Tsuna was planning. He wasn't going to go along with it.

"How did you buy the train ticket?"

"I spent all of my allowance on it. Giotto-san, you must understand that I am a very stubborn person… and I don't listen to what you say at all. Right now, I just want to spend time with you," Tsuna said.

Tsuna's mischievous chocolate brown orbs that held so much innocence… the look in his eyes was mesmerizing. Giotto smirked at what he had to say. Really, what a nasty little brother he had.

For now, he cast aside all problems.

"Spend time with me?" Giotto gave Tsuna a coy grin.

Tsuna nodded.

"Apparently, you are still underage for that sort of activity, Tsuna. Now go back home, or I'll make you eat your words," Giotto teased.

Tsuna frowned, and stared sternly at Giotto.

The train set on its journey away from Namimori, Giotto reasoned with Tsuna about returning home. They were never meant to be, after all, so why bother trying to defy it?

Both of them arrived at the very same apartment where they first met. It caused Giotto quite a headache for Tsuna to be staying there. Looking at the cheeky grin, he smirked.

Giotto dropped his suit down on the floor, and pulled Tsuna to him.

"You know, you're in a dangerous predicament right now. If you say stop, I'll stop and send you home," Giotto muttered.

Tsuna frowned, collapsing on to the floor with the blonde. It was meant to be something to scare him, but it didn't work, so Giotto carried Tsuna up bridal style and placed him on the bed.

"Any last words?"

"If you're doing this to scare me, it's not working. We can have sex." Tsuna mumbled, blushing.

"…What?" Giotto ran his hand through his hair. It was unnerving that Tsuna had said that. Giotto narrowed his eyes. If Tsuna wanted that, fine. If it'd take that to scare him, then fine, he'd do that.

Giotto unbuttoned the buttons on his dress shirt one by one, taking his time to make it look as sensual as possible to Tsuna. He could concentrate on Tsuna, glancing at the sweat trickling down his back. He was intimidated, good. He had to keep up the façade. The truth was Giotto didn't want to do it, but his inner desires were bursting out of control, and it was so hard to keep it hidden once it started to come out.

He could feel all the heat in his crotch.

His heart whispered to him that falling to his desires once wouldn't hurt.

He threw his blue dress shirt aside. Tsuna stared wordlessly at Giotto's chest.

"Didn't you say you don't mind? Take off your clothes now," Giotto said in a monotone voice.

Tsuna bit his lip and did what he was told. He pulled over his '27' t-shirt slowly. Giotto had already taken off his pants and belt. What was left on his body was only a pair of pale blue boxers.

It was clear by then how much Giotto wanted Tsuna.

"I…Giotto-san …wait," Tsuna whispered.

"No, I'm not waiting," Giotto replied, kicking his clothes away to the side of a room. Giotto pinned Tsuna down as soon as he was somewhere near the bed.

"You're not running away, Tsuna, I won't let you say no now."

Tsuna swallowed. Giotto hooked a finger into Tsuna's stretchable pants and Tsuna's pants were thrown off the bed in an instant.

"Giotto-san…you're scaring me…" Tsuna whimpered when Giotto ran his hands over the brunet's pale body.

"That way you'll learn. You'll go home; you'll run away from me and never come back. This is wrong, you know?" Giotto mused, cupping Tsuna's cheeks.

A chaste kiss was placed on Tsuna's lips. To prove that Tsuna wasn't totally unwilling, he returned Giotto the simple gesture of the kiss on his lips. Giotto snaked one of his hands around Tsuna's neck and pulled them closer, as they rubbed their bodies together.

Giotto rounded up another hand on Tsuna's waist to support him.

Tsuna was initially confused as to how he felt about Giotto, but when Giotto left, he was pretty sure he had never felt that way towards someone before. Someone special, like Giotto, who made him excited to see them every day, made him make sure he was well-groomed and neat to see Giotto every time. He was someone who was very far away, very different from Tsuna.

Yet Tsuna wanted to chase after him. He was so far ahead…and he was here now.

"Giotto-san…please let me stay with you…"

In a hurry, both of their undergarments were tossed to the ground with a light thud. The only sound in this room was the sound of their breathing and heartbeats, nothing else.

As Giotto smoothed his fingers over Tsuna's milky skin, Tsuna trembled.

The blush on Tsuna's face adorned him like a flower, only endearing him further.

Giotto couldn't imagine how many times he had imagined the moment and coming from it. And this time it seemed it was actually real. The blonde took a bottle of lube from the drawers and applied it to his fingers liberally.

A finger was inserted in Tsuna's tight hole.

Tsuna squeaked a little when he did it. Giotto tried to be as gentle as possible to his brother, only slipping in another finger when he was sure that Tsuna was ready. He whispered sweet nothings to Tsuna, to relieve him of the ache and assure him that he was going to be fine. When Giotto garnered that he was ready, he slipped his almost hard cock inside Tsuna.

Just the sight of Tsuna made Giotto more aroused.

"Gio…tto-san…" Tsuna moaned.

The blonde gazed at Tsuna lovingly and thrust into him. Tsuna was different. He really was.

What Talbot said about Tsuna wasn't true, because Tsuna was there with him. Giotto thrust into Tsuna slowly so that Tsuna could cope. With every moan, groan and whimper that emit from Tsuna, Giotto kissed him to soothe the pain away.

Flashes of their past flashed through Giotto's mind with each and every thrust, and he remembered how cute and loving the teen was.

He was perfect in Giotto's eyes.

When both of them climaxed and the blonde pulled out of the brunet, he wasn't sure how much time had passed.

It had been a mistake.

It had been a mistake he hadn't regretted to make. He'd have gained custody of Tsuna from his parents, but he couldn't bear to. Tsuna should grow up with his parents. He couldn't possibly deprive Tsuna of that.

Yet his parents would be troublesome to deal with.

Nana would never approve of them in a relationship.

Giotto decided then, basking in the glow of their sex.

"Tsuna… you should go back to Nana's."

Tiny snowflakes floated down the sky, but quickly turned to water droplets as the heat from the train condensed them. A year and three weeks had passed since that incident, since Tsuna had returned to Nana's.

The weather was cold and he breathed out in puffs. Everything was just white and black again. Not even the orbs in his mirror reflection showed any colour.

He tried writing letters, but ended up scrapping then every time he reached the mailbox.

The next morning, he quit his job and decided to go travelling. It wasn't a sudden decision, but he read from a newspaper column that travelling would help to clear his mind. It was worth a shot. He could always return to his job if he wanted, and he had enough money for several lifetimes.

There was nothing to worry about.

Again, there was nothing much to bring. He had already bought tickets bound for Kyoto. Tomorrow would be a brand new start.

The train arrived, causing everything to swoosh in all directions. Giotto smelt the familiar scent of the coal and felt the heat from the train.

"Giotto-san," he could hear someone calling him. He was sure it was just someone echoing in the bits of his mind, nothing more.

"Giotto-san… let's elope…"

Giotto could feel his lips curving into a bitter smile, as the snow continued to pile onto the train.

E/N:

I finally got it posted! After so long... how many months has it been? I'm sorry for the late post and the... kind of bad story. This is uhm, dedicated to all my dear readers, thank you so much, guys!

Either an X27 one-shot or R27 one-shot next. Reviews/Favs would be appreciated. Tell me how you feel about this story.

Beta'd by eclipsed flower. Credits to WhiteAngel128 for the summary.