Pinkie's Part:

This one shot is dedicated to coffee pocky; for always keeping me on my toes. I appreciate all that you do, little one! :) So, like promised, here is a lovely R27 one shot. I hope you like it as much as I enjoyed writing it! It's a little long, and I apologize but at the same time, it's good right? :D

Enough of my rambles; onward to the story.

xx

Pinkie Out!

Introductions are Merely Benchmarks

The constant bump and jumble of heads was getting progressively annoying. Different variations of blacks and browns swung back and forth, insecent chattering and obnoxious laughter sounded off within the long, narrow carriage. Looking around, one could see the many different pale skins tinted with red, either from excitement; or from being near the one they liked.

Dreams were impossible to resurrect upon these noises, these irritating sounds. All that a certain person wanted, was to close these heavy eyes and remember sweet, long, lost memories of his childhood. Soft laughter and a warmth of acceptance pulling at his conciousness...

A soft sigh was nearly inaudiable as one person, clad in the same high school uniform turned their gaze out the window. Dark, narrowed eyes looked at the passing scenery with no interest. He wanted nothing more than this bus to stop, to exit and get this whole ordeal over with. He paused, moving his hand underneath the fedora he was allowed to wear, and scratched his head, before sighing once more in frustration.

"Ne, Reborn-kun?"

He lazily swiveled his head to look at the one who had spoken. He found the voice belonging to a small Chinese male, a warm smile on his face. The teen, Reborn, turned fully in his seat, his bored expression never lessening.

"What is it, Fong?" His voice drawled out as he tipped the fedora into his eyes. A few squeals sounded off, he sighed once more. He was getting tired of this fan club he had unknowingly started. He hadn't even let these girls see his face, and yet they were swooning at the sight of his profile and the shadaow of his eyes.

"If you keep brooding like that, you're popularity is going to skyrocket..." The way the voice slid from those lips, Reborn wondered how Fong had managed to get out of having his own fanclub. He lifted his hand and gently punched his friend in the arm. He had grumbled something along the lines of, I know and shut the hell up. He glanced around the bus, and spotted many pairs of leering eyes settling on him. He felt his eye twitch as he tried to distract himself.

Of course the school had decided to let the class take a trip. But to an amusement park? The week before Valentine's Day? Were they crazy?! Reborn could already see the insanity ensue as soon as the bus stopped. It was already a nightmare at school, the amount of chocolates stuffed into his footlocker, his gym locker, and left on his desk.. and now, an amusement park, where all the girls in his class had been plotting to steal him away and make him ride that ridiculous lovey-dovey swan ride... he shivered. He then felt anxiety bubbling up inside of him, he hated this. He clenched his fists and scrunched his nose.

There was no way in hell he would want to be cornered by all of those females. Sure, he knew he was attractive, and though he prided himself in this fact, he currently cursed it. He was a foreign exchange student, fresh from Italia, he dressed slighlty different and his accent was endearing to all he met, but that meant, in no place, not even in the fine print of his aquaintance agreement; tha he wanted to pair off with any of these troublesome women. The Italian teen squinted underneath his fedora as the bus passed through the gates to the parking lot. Fong squeazed his shoulder encouragingly, a small smile on his lips as the bus rolled to a stop.

The students all went silent as the teacher told them to try and stay in groups of two or more. Reborn glanced at Fong, who nodded, linking their arms. Reborn huffed at the sounds of disappointment that some of the girls released. His eye twitched and he placed his hand over her face, shaking his head slightly as he and Fong stood. The chinese teen slid out into the narrow aisle, and let Reborn walk before him. A tuft of gravity defying hair fell into place before the Italian teen, and that annoyed him.

The teen stood still, almost as if frightened, and was rooted to the spot. Reborn, feeling already slightly out of character, reached forward and nudged the small form in front of him. He felt like he needed to say something to appease the small frame. He stood shell shocked at the cute face when it had turned to face him.

Wide, honey hued doe eyes stared back at him. A round, pale face was their canvas. The pale, full set of lips were trembling and their hands were settled near the chest, clutching the school vest in a death like vice. Reborn pulled back, wide eyed as he shook his head. He had just though this person was attractive? His kindness was short lived as he pulled a sneer and pushed a little rougher.

"Start walking Dame-Tsuna.. you're holding up the rest of the bus."

Reborn ignored the disapproving tone in which his friend spoke in, chastising him for such a rude comment. The chinese teen spared a small smile at the petite brunette male, who turned, a regal red tipping off at his ears. His steps were small and calculating, something that annoyed the raven haired teen. Once they were relocated outside the bus, and the tickets were handed over, the teacher turned them all loose.

"Be back here by 6 on the dot. We will be returning to Nanimori then, and I won't hesitate to leave any of you. Now go, frolick and be merry." With a dismissing wave of that hand, chaos ensued. Reborn grabbed Fong and jetted off, not wanting to get caught up with the girls trying to pry their way into their group; and knowing how kind Fong was- it would happen.

(Transition)

"Jeez, Reborn... are you... trying to kill me?" Fong jested, hands on his knees, panting. Even for the martial artists; the amount of sprinting left them winded. As he stood fully and stretched, he glanced around the lively park. He tilted his head and then craned his neck, looking at his friend. Reborn was sprawled out in the grass near a bench. Fong shook his head and perched on to metal seat, waiting for his friend to come up with some sort of snarky response. To his surprise, the voice that left his mouth was soft, nearly nostalgic.

"Fong- you go on ahead. Partner up with some of those girls or something. I think I need to be alone."

The raven teen cocked his head, his braid falling over his shoulder. Hadn't he borrowed him as a partner in crime in order to avoid the lusty stares of the girls in his class? He blinked, before he smiled in understanding. Reborn must be thinking that if he was alone, he could disappear, thus avoiding the problem all together.

"I see, if you get lonely, you have my cell number. I wish you luck with your thoughts." Fong patted the bent knee before walking away, humming some off key tune he had stuck in head. It didn't take him long to attach himself to a group of girls, who were disappointed in not finding Reborn, but settled for the kind chinese student instead.

Reborn had stood and hid behind a tree, his fedora pressed down over his eyes as he waited for them to pass. Once the coast was clear, he began stalking his way back to the entrance gates. He and Fong had run into the center of the park in order to try and avoid any of the wandering students. Reborn cursed himself for it now, for all the faces he was seeing were similiar more or less. He turned, dodged and ran to keep away from the stares of the people around him.
He was feeling lucky, as he was able to avoid three groups of scary fangirls in a row. He silently celebrated, but soon cursed out loud. As he turned a corner, he came to that drasted love ride. Standing in a semi circle, being pumped up by their ring leader; were the main fan girl club of his school. He paused, paled and then turned.

By the sounds of "KYAH", he knew he was too late. He pulled his fedora down farther, keeping it in check as he dashed away, dashed away, quick. He heard the clicks of their shoes, shocked in all honesty that they were able to keep up in such a manner. He had trained for years before coming to Japan to keep his stamina up- just who the hell were these girls? Olympians?!

He darted to the side, and made a detour into a section of the park that looked like some sort of a new ride construction site. He skid to a halt and threw himself into one of the bathrooms. He slammed the door shut, not noticing the clink of screws falling from the door hinges. He slumped against the door, hearing the retreating footfalls and then he released the jagged breath he had been holding in. He stood to his feet, and made to open the door. His eye twitched when he touched the handle, only to notice that the door did not budge. His other eye twitched when he pulled, hard, and the handle snapped off.

" . Great." He tossed the handle down, hearing a satisying clink on the concrete before he dusted some dried leaves from the sink and jumped up onto the window ledge. He counted the stalls, taking in how some of them had hanging doors. He could barely see into each and everyone of them. He swept his gaze over them, and paused, his stomach dropping when he heard a soft rustle. He straightened, and then pulled his best poker face.

Fucking hell there better not be a ghost in here..

He plopped down from his sitting loaction, trying to make his landing as quiet as possible. He thanked the gods that he decided on leather shoes today instead of his squeaky tennis shoes. He neard the stall he had heard the soft rustles from. He stood in front of it, within the shadows and listened intently. When he heard a sniffle, he kicked the stall door open.

Reborn wasn't sure what surprised him more. The startled, girlish shreik that bounced off the walls in the run down toilet; or the person who had let it rip through their chest. He blinked, and then his eyes hardened.

"Tsunayoshi Sawada?"

Reborn swept his gaze up and down the form that was crouched on the toilet. One arm wrapped around a torn and bloodied leg, and the other clutching the stall wall for support as the other leg bent backwards towards the back of the toilet. There were fresh tears threatening to fall out of those doe eyes, and Reborn felt quite a bit of anger. Sure, he had picked on the small brunette before, but nothing physical ever came of it. A mean joke here and there, but he would never stoop so low as to hurt someone who didn't deserve it.

"Christ, what happened to you, you idiot?"

The petite brunette flinched visibly at the harshness of the tone, but pressed his lips further into an almost nonexistant line. He shook his head sadly, and Reborn knew that look. Even after what had happened to him, he would still protect their identities.

"Stupid." Reborn whispered, pulling at the hand that was wrapped around the injured leg. Tsuna stood slowly, taking care to not apply any weight to the injured leg, Reborn saw a light swelling around the ankle and he grit his teeth. He would eventually find out who bruised the small male this way, and he would be sure to set guidlines for what was acceptable teasing. This was assault.

He settled the petite brunette on the broken sink, rolling up the torn slacks, he tested the tap of a sink, and seeing that it worked, went on a search for paper towels. He resorted to rolled up toilet paper when he came up empty. He found that the first aid kit was empty save for some gauze and a small amount of antibacterial ointment.

He wet some of the paper, and began to clean the shallow scrapes on the smaller male's knee. He applied a miniscule amount of the ointment and wrapped the knee with some gauze. He gingerly touched the swelling ankle, and watched for facial changes in the brunette's expression. Seeing the face contort in pain, he wrapped the ankle in gauze, and made it tight to the point of restricting movement.

"When we get out of here, I'm going to have to carry you. You're lucky you're not fat, I'd have left you here."

Tsuna smiled softly at that, to which Reborn responded-

"You smile, that's cute. You think I'm kidding."

Tsuna immediately paled at the confession, and leaned away from the raven haired teen. Who in turn shrugged and pulled the brunette into a cradle of his arms. He pushed Tsuna against his chest, pulling him to the edge of the sink, sliding his arms under the slender legs and lifting. Tsuna, trying to maintain his balance, grasped the obsidian teen's neck, and clutched onto the surface tightly. He was terribly frightened of heights, and though it was a tangible distance from Reborn's arms to the ground, he'd rather not feel gravity betray him for the second time that day.

To his surprise, the raven haired teen dropped to his knees slowly, and settled on the floor, the brunette in his lap. Tsuna blinked and looked at Reborn, confusion evident in his eyes. Reborn glanced down at the other, a smirk on his mouth.

"If you tell this story to the girls, they'll eat you alive. I suggest you shut up and enjoy it. I'm feeling cuddly, indulge me."

Tsuna flushed and complied, tucking his head underneath the raven's chin. Reborn raised his arms and wrapped them loosely around the small frame. He began rocking back and forth slowly. He was too proud to say that the other looked like he needed an embrace, a sort of acceptance from someone he would never expect it from, so he decided to play predator and catch his prey in a web of a partial truth. Reborn could not deny that the soft heat from the brunette in his lap was comforting. He paused in his rocking, unwinding his arms,

"Tell me a little bit about yourself, Dame-Tsuna."

The response was a huff, and a grumble about someone sure knowing how to ruin a moment. Reborn had chuckled softly, the vibrations from his chest causing the other to shiver; being able to feel the tangible proximity.

"Well, lots of people don't know this, but I'm half Italian.."

Reborn cocked his head to the side. Interesting. He grunted his approval, thus signifying the other to continue. Reborn let the brunette spew about his life. His upbringing, but what caught Reborn's train of thought was the mention of the petite male's father. Iemietsu.. he knew that name. His grandfather, Timoteo, had mentioned something about an old playmate of his. It then clicked.

"Ne, Tsu?"

The brunette pulled away from the raven, and tilted his head childishly to the side,

"N-nani?"

Tsuna was blushing furiously, he blinked at the Italian foreign exchange student, his face growing warmer and warmer. He watched as a slightly tanned hand came into contact with the fedora. The hand pulled away some black ribbon, a brilliant yellow beginning to peak out. Tsuna paled slightly. He knew that color..that warmth... The fedora slowly came off, tuffs of inky hair coming out in all directions as the raven opened his obsidian eyes. Glancing down at the brunette.

"It's been a while.. you doe eyed, innocent little weirdo."

Tsuna felt tears welling up. His old friend, the one whose name had escaped him due to the many years of absence. It had been years since he had been to Italy. He reached up, touching the curling side burns that bounced with the raven's hesitant movements. When the inital contact came, Reborn leaned into the touch. He felt the fingertips surpass his hair and land on his cheek. He smiled, his hand pushing bangs out of the way. The emotion of the facial expression slighlty soured now,

"Sorry, I guess I didn't keep that promise.. ya know... where I said I'd watch over you.."

Tsuna shook his head, tears shamelessly falling now. His first friend, was here. Nothing else mattered. He pushed his face into the crook of Reborn's neck. His muffled sobs, causing the raven to awkwardly pat his back. Soothing circles pausing in rotations only to follow the same pattern in the opposite direction. Tsuna eventually stopped crying and peered up at the raven haired Italian. Who in turn tilted his head.

Tsuna took the initiative, feeling vulnerable and leaned forward. A quick brushing across those partially parted lips. Reborn tensed, grabbing the floating wrist. He glanced down at those honey hued eyes.

"I-i'm sorry.. even if it had been a while..I'm still useless..and weak.." The pain that laced that voice made Reborn's heart ache. He was new to these types of emotions, not wanting anything to go any further, but knowing that the only way to heal the distance the two of them had unwillingly created, was to do only that.

His expression was solemn as he pulled the other male closer. His onyx eyes blazing, a fire that told tales of nothing but the embodiment of truth. He held fast and refused to relinquish any part of his current hold. His very logic slipping from him as he watched every confused, and anguished tear fall from those sun kissed honey eyes.

"I...I've always loved you.. remember that."

Tsuna turned, shock rippling though his face. He had never thought to hear those words from Reborn. He had to admit, they felt good, sinking into his heart, he closed his eyes, trying to even his hiccuped breathing, and he felt those searing lips touch his skin. As the soft skin parted from one another, between each contact and release, the deep voice spoke of only encouragement, being gentle as to not disturb the harmed leg of the petite brunette.

"Even if your brain can make no sense of your words- at least you felt them with your heart. Don't let anyone tell you that those words you spoke were in the wrong. You've already proven your strength, as well as your worth. To me, as well as everyone else around you."

He had leaned the smaller male beneath him. His lips making contact with his skin, first the undercarriage of his throat, and then his adam's apple, to his colloar bone. A warm hand worked its way under Tsuna's shirt, his back arching into the touch. A shameless pant squeazing from his lips. Reborn trapped that pout with his own, and nipped the lower lip. When he was granted permission to explore that space, he found the taste one of the most delicate things he had sampled. No matter how many girls he had kissed this way, not one of them had been this delcious. He allowed his tongue to introduce itself to the smaller brunette's. Almost as if bowing in recognition, the two muscles began to dance within the hot cavern. The back and forth of pulling between the two sealed mouths allowed only a small amount of air to proceed within. A sensation of a cooling breeze graced the kiss, as the two pulled away, Reborn latching onto the collar bone of Tsuna, as his hands worked the vest and the shirt open. Tsuna was breathless, accepting this turn of events, the taste of strong coffee and bon bons lingering on his lips.

Tsuna's hands grasped the hair that was within his line of sight. he paused, feeling a tongue slide across his sternal notch, and he moaned. He blushed at the embarassing sound releasing from his mouth. He placed his hands strategically on the pale skin, allowing the coolness to be entirely encompassed by the heat of his hand, he allowed his hand to slide down, feather light until he came to the clasp of the smaller male's slacks. Without hesitating, he removed the barrier, and allowed his fingers to dance lower and lower. His mouth latched on to the other collar bone. He wanted to taste every inch of the milky white skin, the taste was something he could very well become accustomed 's head thrashed from side to side, trying to take in all the sensations he was graced with.

When he felt a searing amount of heat on his lower region he gasped. Teeth then grazed his throat, and he felt his skin being pulled into Reborn's mouth. He felt his neck grow hot, and his eyes became lazily half lidded. He let his body do the talking, as he let his hands leave Reborn's hair, and mimick the minstrations.

After some surprisingly well manuvering, Tsuna was nestled between Reborn's legs, one bent upwards, and the other straight, making a make shift cradle, both males having slid sideways in their battle of tongues. Their hands buried within the other's trousers. Their lips locked and only allowing the occasional pant to escape their fused prison. Reborn, after feeling himself grow closer and closer to his edge, decided to take things to the next level. His hand abandoned the current discovery, and slowly worked the other's slacks lower, his hand rested on the pale skin that curved just right under his hand, he pulled, and the other rolled on top of him. His legs tangling in the loose fabric. Reborn gently inserted one, and then two of his slender digits. The hiss of disapproval from the other silenced by a chaste kiss. The rotation of his wrist, eventually coaxing a slight moan from the other.

The continued, until the other deemed himself ready, and lowered himself onto Reborn's awaiting lap. He teased the other, his nude flesh barely touching, before the other smirked. His dark eyes masked by his equally dark lashes as he lifted his hips, in tune to Tsuna's teasing. He dropped gently, meeting the rising hips, sliding in slowly. Tsuna closed one eye, the intrusion slightly painful, he breathed slowly through his nose, his lips occupied by none other than Reborn. The gentle rocking allowed the other to start moving. The soft slaps of skin agaisnt skin almost a melody of two heart beating in unison.

It was not long before the two were spent. The heavy pants and averted gazes from the two as they let what had just happened settle into their conciousness. Tsuna began to redress himself, stealing glances at the other. His blush prominent as he asked,

"How are we going to get out of here?"

Reborn blinked, and then cursed himself, he had his cell phone the entire time. He blinked, and then pulled it from his slacks. He pulled it open, and sent a rapid fire text message. He knew the receiving party would arrive shortly after getting it.

Reborn paused, leaning down to assist the other male with readjusting his vest. He had dressed without incident, and couldn't help but smile gently at the struggling male. He sealed the deal, letting the other know that this situation was no fluke, as he drop of series of soft kisses upon the parted pout. Tsuna blushed and stammered before giving in and tightening his fingers in the vest of the other.

Sure enough, a knock and then a slam richoeitched from the wall. A blush on Fong's face as he took in the scene before him. He made to help the brunette up, but paused and hid his smile when Reborn bent ond picked the other up, bridal style mind you; and then began to strut out of the bathroom. He muttered his thanks, and then began to laugh. He felt light and airy, and seeing as he had been at an amusement park all day; he figured the one ride he had gone on was more than enough. He would visit his new found attraction alot more.

After all, introductions were just benchmarks to new relationships.