Note: I wanted 'Chrysanthemum' to only last one chapter, but it became longer than I intended. Next part might be longer than this; I just need to iron it out. It should be up in a day or two or three... or soon™. Also, white flowers are my favourite!

chrysanthemum (white) – truth and usually used for funerals/graves
carnation (white) – sweet and lovely

Chapter 13: Chrysan—

For only five hours of sleep, Tsuna felt too energised. It was barely past seven and he was bent to his knees, gingerly watering the primroses. At the sound of soft knocking, he stood straight up and headed for the door, idly wondering who would visit him so early in the morning. "Tsuna-kun, it's me," a voice erupted as if hearing his thoughts.

"I didn't expect you to come here," said Tsuna, as Enma settled down on his bed. The lavenders' arrangement seemed to be disarrayed by his stand fan, much to his chagrin.

"You don't want to see me?" Enma threw a pillow towards Tsuna, who knew he didn't have to look back to know his friend was playfully pouting. As Tsuna moved to the morning glories, Enma threw another pillow and said, "I'll take care of those. Go shower."

Tsuna frowned. Last night he collapsed immediately after coming home and thus didn't manage to shower. Did he smell that bad for people to notice it? "You're wearing the same clothes as yesterday," offered Enma, then cheekily added, "yuck."

Tsuna threw the pillows back at him.

-x-

"Good morning, Luce-san. I'll be helping out today," said Enma as they entered the shop.

"Great timing, Enma-kun. I have to step out for a bit." Luce waved her hand as Tsuna creased his eyebrows, not having heard any news about this. "A dear friend of mine called this morning. It seems he has something urgent to tell me. I didn't want to leave Tsunayoshi-kun alone after what happened." He stared at the floor in embarrassment, regretting losing his composure yesterday. "If it's all right with you both, I'll leave now so I can come back earlier. I shouldn't be long, though, his house is not far."

The door chimed and Kyoko entered. Tsuna looked at Enma, asking him if he said anything. He received a shake of his head instead.

"Good morning," said Kyoko. "Sorry for coming, Tsuna-kun. I was very worried when I saw your message yesterday."

Luce turned to Tsuna who shook his head too. Smiling, she returned her attention to Kyoko. "Good morning, Kyoko-chan, I'm about to head out. I'll leave Tsunayoshi-kun in your hands."

Once Luce left, Kyoko directed a worried look to the two boys. Enma glanced at Tsuna, who exhaled slowly and nodded back at him. He idly listened as Enma recounted what happened yesterday. Kyoko nodded and shook her head at some parts without saying anything, lips curving to a frown at knowing Hibari and Mukuro's relationship.

The three were too focused on their conversation that Tsuna reacted late to the sound of the door chime. He whirled around and felt his legs almost give up on him, if it weren't for the newcomer's appearance.

"Mukuro," whispered Tsuna, "what happened to you?"

The bouquet of white chrysanthemuns should have given Mukuro a solemn ambience, but with his face covered in bruises – Tsuna winced at the long blue-green colour on his right cheek – his appearance was pitiful.

Tsuna scampered forward, ignoring Enma's light mutter of protest, and lifted one hand to brush Mukuro's fringe. There was also a bruise on his forehead which seemed to be untreated. "Did you even ice any of these? I have some in the back. Wait here."

He mindlessly grabbed a pack of ice in their fridge in the back room and wrapped it in a small towel. When he came back to the main room, Enma was standing beside Kyoko, hands clenched and staring fiercely at Mukuro. If it weren't for the situation right now, Tsuna would have laughed at how uncharacteristic Enma's cold eyes were.

No one spoke as Tsuna offered the ice pack to Mukuro, who gave a lopsided grin and raised the bouquet he was holding. "For you," he said quietly, an act too bizarre coming from the assertive man.

"Are you killing me, Mukuro?" He only stared at the white flowers and felt the coldness of the ice seep through him.

Mukuro chuckled and slightly shook the bouquet, prompting Tsuna to take it. "Spending time with you has diversified my knowledge in flowers, Tsunayoshi-kun."

Oh. Tsuna closed his eyes, reminding himself of the other meaning of a white chrysanthemum. Sure he had already decided on talking to Mukuro, but he didn't expect he would be the one to make the first step, and it was frightening to think they both thought of talking to each other at the same time.

He carefully took the flowers while Mukuro grabbed the ice pack and placed it on his cheek, exhaling slowly as the ice came into contact with his skin. Both were saved from saying anything at the moment as the door opened again.

Tsuna pinched the bridge of his nose at the second newcomer carrying a bouquet of white carnations.

Hibari narrowed his eyes upon seeing Mukuro and stopped a foot away from him. The latter scowled at him, and Hibari smirked once he was given a full view of Mukuro's face and the ice pack he was holding.

"Oya, what an unpleasant surprise once more." Placing his free hand on his waist, Mukuro might have been trying to appear intimidating.

Ignoring him, Hibari strode to Tsuna's side and offered the bouquet he was holding. Tsuna felt like he was going to die from the amount of awkwardness in the room. He bit his lip and stared at the chrysanthemums he was holding, before deciding to shift his first bouquet in one arm and accept the one Hibari was offering. He noted how Hibari's shoulders relaxed as he took the flowers from him.

With one arm carrying his ex-lover's bouquet and the other one carrying his current suitor's bouquet in front of his best friends, Tsuna wanted to rub his face a the absurdity of what was occurring, and now everyone was looking at him as if they were expecting him to make the first move.

This wasn't fair. He hadn't been expecting any of this to happen.

"I hate you all," he finally hissed and stomped towards the back room to search for two old, spare vases.

-x-

Hibari blinked as Tsuna left the main room without another word. He watched as Enma and Kyoko looked at each other before the girl gave a small nod and left for the back room. With her absence, the room's atmosphere became heavier but he didn't care. This was one of the few times he was fine with Mukuro being in his presence, as long as he cleared things between him and Tsuna.

Enma straightened his back and raised his chin, an act which seemed to amuse Mukuro since he chuckled. "You've grown, Kozato-kun."

"What are you two planning? You've already caused Tsuna-kun so much trouble." Enma crossed his arms, refusing to be bothered by Mukuro's words.

Mukuro raised a hand. "I only came to talk. Once I'm done, I'll leave."

"Likewise," said Hibari.

Enma cocked his head. "At the same time?"

"Preferably not." Mukuro eyed Hibari with distaste. "I'd rather not be in the same space as him."

"Yet you go together to cafés?" Enma tapped his foot in a rhythm Hibari wished he'd stop. "Tsuna-kun told me everything, about you two going to the Dulcet Café together."

Mukuro blinked. "I'm surprised you know that place. It's hidden well from the public."

"Kyoko-san told us about it, but Tsuna-kun was only using the alley as a shortcut, and then..." Enma stopped, teeth gritted.

"Ah, of course she'd know that place. Out of the very few times I've been there, he sees us." Mukuro's eyes moved to Hibari. "So this is why you came to my house," he added absent-mindedly. Hibari resisted the urge to hit him again, feeling unsatisfied at the bruises he gave him yesterday. "Kufufu, worry not, Kozato-kun. This mongrel and I are not in any way friends."

"Then what are you?"

They turned around and saw Haru with one hand on her waist and the other carrying a paper bag full of books. "I was worried about Tsuna-san, and then I come to this." She raised an eyebrow, as if challenging them to answer.

Hibari released a long breath, utterly irritated at being associated with Mukuro in a friendly manner. He eyed Mukuro, who merely shrugged at him, unsure how to converse with Tsuna's friends. He finally said, "I needed to talk with Rokudo about something urgent."

"Urgent?" asked Enma, disbelief laced in his voice. "Do you chat happily when you're talking about something urgent?" Haru glanced at him, a questioning gaze clouding her eyes. She tilted her head, but he gave her a look that told her to wait.

At this, Mukuro snorted and Hibari gave him a sharp look. He didn't want to tell anyone why he wanted to speak with Mukuro. It was an action which he regretted now, as it not only placed him in his debt, but it also led them to this misunderstanding.

Before anyone could speak again, Enma mumbled, "Crap." The door opened again, and this time, it was a teenage boy, whom he assumed was in middle school. "Get behind the counter," he hissed at them as he walked towards the customer. They heard him welcome him professionally, and Hibari recalled seeing the redhead numerous times whenever he passed by either for work or simply to check up on Tsuna.

Haru smiled at her friend's back and directed a frown at the other two left. "I don't know the full story yet, but you two must have done something horrible to Tsuna-san if Enma-san is acting like this. You better have today free," she tapped Mukuro on the chest fiercely, "especially you. We have a lot to talk about."

"Kufufu, you haven't changed, Miura." In a lower voice, Mukuro added, "Same with Tsunayoshi-kun."

She responded with a pointed look. "And I hope you changed."

-x-

Tsuna heard the door open as he searched for any unused vases, confident it was one of his friends. While Hibari and Mukuro were assertive and confident men, they were aware of their limitations when it came to him. It was one of the things he liked about them, and it made him feel happy at realising how much he was treasured, to the point his comfort came before their selfishness.

"Tsuna-kun?" Kyoko's voice came after he door closed. "I thought you might need some help."

Of course Enma wanted to be the one to keep an eye on the other two. Tsuna couldn't fight off the smile curving his lips. His friend really was protective about him. Walking to his side, Kyoko offered her hand and Tsuna unhesitantly placed the bouquet of chrysanthemums on it. Kyoko had smiled before looking for a vase. Like Enma, the girls had spent a lot of time helping around the shop, although the past month had been too hectic for them to come by regularly.

He became aware that Kyoko was smiling at what his action had signified.

He chose Hibari.

But Hibari chose to betray him.

Instinctively, he tightened his hold on the carnations and breathed deeply. No, he wasn't going back to that train of thought. He would talk to them both; that was the plan all along. Kyoko's voice made him snap out of his thinking.

"There's one here. It's the vase Enma-kun dropped." Tsuna hovered to her side and chuckled at the memory. It was during one of the first few times he helped in the shop. Although the vase only had a small slab fly off from its body, the clumsy redhead had apologised continuously to Luce for a week, promising to replace it. In turn, Luce said he didn't have to and that she'll ban him from the shop if he tried replacing it.

"There's another one here," he said, seeing the vase the shelf to Kyoko's left. He was about to place the carnations in it but stopped, thinking Enma might sulk if a vase full of memories with him was fused with Mukuro's flowers. Enma had been furious when he found out Mukuro had been cheating on him; he honestly didn't want a repetition of that, as much as Mukuro deserved it. "I'll put the carnations in the broken vase."

"Won't Hibari-san think you're being biased towards Mukuro?" asked Kyoko.

Tsuna huffed. "I don't care and it'll stay here anyway. Besides, Enma-kun's feelings are more important."

"So you're saying Hibari-san's feelings are also important."

He sputtered, warmth spreading to his cheeks. "I didn't say that!" Hoping for a distraction, he grabbed the broken vase and arranged the carnations inside, reminding himself to get it again before the shop closes.

Kyoko lightly shook her head and handed Tsuna the other bouquet, waiting for him to finish arranging the chrysanthemums. "Haru-chan said she thinks we can trust him. I do too and I think it's the same with Enma-kun, even with the way he's acting now."

He stilled. "After all the things he's hidden, where is this confidence coming from?"

"He called you strong," was the prompt and proud reply.

Tsuna sarcastically laughed and only stopped when Kyoko flicked him on the forehead, a frown ruining her angelic features. "There are other ways to be strong."

His expression changed to that of confusion.

"Those were Hibari-san's words, not mine. Why don't you ask him what he meant?"

"All of my questions yielded no answer, Kyoko-chan. You think I'll get one if I ask this?"

"Stop contradicting yourself, Tsuna-kun," she scolded. "You're always so unsure when it comes to yourself. Enma-kun said you already decided to talk to him. Don't back out now."

Tsuna slumped his shoulders, painfully aware of how inconsistent he was being. "I won't, really. I'm just scared."

"You have us." Kyoko softly smiled.

"I know." He returned the smile. "Thanks, Kyoko-chan, for everything. We should go back now."

With a deep breath, Tsuna walked back to the main room with Kyoko following closely behind. Upon seeing Enma interact with the customer, he felt guilty that he was bringing personal things into his professional area. He shifted his eyes to the right and almost snorted at seeing the other three compressed behind the counter, with Haru sitting between the two standing men. They only had two chairs: one for the customer on the other side of the counter and the one Haru was using on the employee side.

Deciding to wait for Enma, Kyoko went to stand beside Mukuro, who was on the end near the back room's door, with Tsuna walking towards Enma's directions. Spending time with Tsuna had made his friends become immensely knowledgeable about flowers, especially Enma who had worked part-time with them before landing his job of a kindergarten teacher. But difficult questions they couldn't answer and arranging flowers were ultimately left to Tsuna, as it was too complicated for them.

However, his help wasn't needed as the customer decided on a ready-made bouquet of white and red roses. He heard Enma ask, "Would you like a card to go along with it?"

The boy shook his head, face becoming flushed as he answered, "I already made one myself. My girlfriend likes poems, so I wrote one and it's kind of... embarrassing. It's my first time doing it."

Enma was grinning widely and Tsuna, as much as he also wanted to grin at the sappiness, thought he should stop the boy from exploding at seeing the amount of blushing he was doing.

"You can pay at the counter," said Tsuna.

The boy seemed relieved at the change of topic. He followed Tsuna and widened his eyes at the four people behind the counter. Tsuna grimaced at his reaction and glared at the others, willing them to stay quiet.

"Oh, my gosh. I-it's Sasagawa Kyoko. I can't believe this," the boy choked out.

Mukuro shifted the ice pack slightly down, and Tsuna noted there was barely any ice left in it. "Oya, don't you already have the recipient of that bouquet, boy?"

Haru intervened. "You're one to talk." Mukuro faltered but returned his composure as soon as it was gone.

"I'd appreciate if you keep my visit here a secret." Kyoko smiled at the boy. Not wanting paparazzi to swarm the flower shop, Tsuna hoped the boy would follow what she said. "I can give you an autograph, but no pictures please."

Hibari smirked. "Why don't you take a picture of Rokudo? Shouldn't let his lovely face go to waste."

"Kufufu, I've always found you lovely, too, Kyouya," said Mukuro, an edgy tone knotted to his voice.

"Oh!" The boy snapped his fingers using his free hand. "Rokudo Mukuro and Hibari Kyouya. You two are also famous. I don't know much, but I heard you two are rich, scary guys."

Enma spat, "You forgot the word deceitful."

The boy's face warped to that of bewilderment. He switched his gaze from each person, and Tsuna was beginning to panic at the sudden turn of events. This was not the place to bring personal issues in, and now a customer was being unnecessarily dragged in his problems.

Hesitantly, amidst the frowns being exchanged between the five, the boy asked, "Should I ask what's going on?"

"No," a stern female voice boomed from behind them. "I should be the one asking that."

Tsuna hid his face behind his hands. He was definitely going to be fired.

Luce walked towards the counter and directed an unhappy look at them. She shifted her attention to the boy. "I'm sorry for the trouble. Is there anything more I can help you with regarding the flowers? Rest assured this is not a daily occurrence. I'll be glad to give you a discount for the inconvenience my employee must have caused you."

"It's fine. No trouble at all." He goofily smiled at Kyoko. "I'm meeting up with my girlfriend soon. Thanks for everything!"

As means of calming the tense air, Kyoko said, "Enjoy your Sunday date!" He almost tripped at her words and finally managed to exit the shop.

At this, Tsuna lowered his hands, revealing his pale face. He was in trouble; he was sure of it.

"Tsunayoshi-kun," started Luce.

Enma words came tumbling out. "I'm sorry. This wasn't Tsuna-kun's fault. Really it wasn't –"

"I'm afraid I was speaking to Tsunayoshi-kun, Enma-kun." She spoke in a tone which gave no leeway for defiance. "Tsunayoshi-kun," she repeated grimly. "I'm aware you are facing personal issues right now, but the shop isn't a venue for this. This isn't a place where you can bring your friends over and then involve customers."

Tsuna whispered, "S-sorry, I –"

But Luce raised a hand. "I'm not done yet. It's still early in the morning, but what if we were in rush hour, or if it's a holiday? What if the customer wasn't as understanding as that boy? We are a professional place, Tsunayoshi-kun, and what you exhibited is highly unprofessional. Do you understand?"

Tsuna wished he never had to experience being on the receiving end of Luce's fierce gaze. He found himself nodding then looking at the floor in shame.

"You may leave now."

Fired. That was the definite outcome for this. "T-thank you for everything and s-sorry. I'm really sorry. It was f-fun and I enjoyed working here." He wanted to cry. He already had other issues snarling at his feet and now he had unemployment to back it up, not to mention he was fired in front of his friends. He felt humiliated, depressed, and disconcerted.

"Wait." Tsuna's head snapped up at Hibari's voice. "This is not Tsunayoshi's fault. I take full responsibility for everything. There is no need to fire him."

"We didn't know everyone was coming here." Kyoko chimed in. "I'm sorry for causing trouble. I also take responsibility."

Haru vigorously nodded. "Same here. I promise this won't happen again."

Enma bit his lip. "I'm so sorry, Luce-san."

Mukuro calmly added, "I have already troubled Tsunayoshi-kun enough. I don't wish to add more to the list."

To their surprise, Luce's face turned mild and she began laughing. "I appreciate the sentiment, but it's not needed. I'm not firing Tsunayoshi-kun."

Tsuna's eyes widened. "Why not?"

"We all learn from mistakes, and the customers will be lonely if they know you're gone." Luce smiled. "What I meant is that you go out and talk about your problem. That's what everyone is here for, isn't it?" She placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. "You're like a son to me, Tsunayoshi-kun, so it also troubles me when I see something bothering you."

Unable to muster any coherent words, he could only nod numbly. There were two beats of silence before he managed to stutter, "B-but work."

"This old woman will be fine for a day. Now shoo."

"Where should we go?" asked Enma to no one in particular.

Luce tilted her head and smiled sweetly.

"How about Hibari-kun's place?"