Summary: As I-Pin grew older, she walked away from the mafia life; but there are some things she refuses to leave behind, and some things that wouldn't let her, even if she'd wanted to. Two-shot. LamPin. Written for the lovely Eded for the KHR Collab Exchange on tumblr!

SkyGem: Hello~ lovely people! Long time no see! As stated in the summary above, this cute little two-shot is written for the lovely Eded, and is meant to be somewhat of a companion to their fic "Time Bomb." I am so very very sorry for leaving this to the very last moment, but my life has been kinda crazy this past while with some family drama that I won't bore you guys with. I hope this fic was worth the wait though, hun!

I-Pin knew that she had to be very careful.

It had been a while since the broccoli monster had last shown up, and she knew the clever beast was due for a visit soon.

It always attacked just when she'd let her guard down, but she swore she would be prepared this time.

She would make her master and her Tsuna-nii proud, and she would protect everyone from the broccoli monster (even Lambo, who could be annoying sometimes, but was her best friend).

Suddenly, there was a shout from behind her, and she whirled around, her heart thumping frantically from the shock.

And there it stood, in all its horrible, fluffy glory.

She narrowed her eyes threateningly at it, reaching for one of her gyoza buns, and she noticed it flinch back slightly, then turn and start running away.

But she wouldn't let it get away this time.

Drawing on the countless hours she'd spent training under her master, she took off in hot pursuit.

She would protect her Family if it was the last thing she did.

I-Pin knew that she had to be very careful.

This particular maths formula always gave her troubles, and if she made even the slightest mistake, her answer would end up being wildly incorrect.

It was really important to her that she do well on her homework, because if she fell even the littlest bit behind her classmates, it would jeopardise her chances of getting into a good high school.

"I-Piiiiiin…"

She didn't look up at the sound of her best friend's whiny drawl. She was supposed to be concentrating on her homework.

A second later, he plopped down on the ground behind her at the kotatsu, his chest to her back and his head resting on her shoulder.

"I-Piiiin!" he whined again, more insistent this time.

Again, she didn't say anything. This time, she was too busy trying to ignore the tickle of his black curls against her neck, or his much longer legs stretched out on either side of hers. Fighting down the red flush that was creeping up her face, she had to consciously try not to set off her Super Explosion.

"I'm bored," he whined at her, hooking his chin over her shoulder to see what she was doing. A grimace crossed his features. "It's the first day of winter break," he whined. "Why are you doing your homework already?"

Closing her eyes, I-Pin took a deep breath.

"Lambo?" she asked in a surprisingly even voice.

She almost felt bad when Lambo perked up excitedly at the sound of his own name.

"Yes?" he asked, happy he wasn't being ignored anymore.

"Move," she told him curtly.

He noticeably drooped at the brusque order.

"But why?" he asked, and I-Pin sighed in frustration.

Despite having spent so much of his childhood in Japan, Lambo was still more attuned to the more physically affectionate ways of the Italians, and it wasn't uncommon for him to forget about personal boundaries.

"Too close," she told him through gritted teeth, and immediately felt him tense around her.

"Sorry!" he apologized quickly, scuttling backwards and a little to the side so that he could sit beside her.

"Better?" he asked, watching her with wide eyes.

He was still a little close, but he looked entirely too much like a kicked puppy, so I-Pin relented, saying, "Better," before going back to her homework.

She found herself unable to focus though, because Lambo kept watching silently for several minutes afterwards, expression somehow intense.

But he was quiet, so she didn't call him out on it, and for a while, the only sound in the room was the ticking of the clock and the scritch scratch of her pencil on her paper.

"I-pin…?" Lambo finally asked, several minutes later, but his voice was quiet this time, and it made her look up, one eyebrow raised in question.

"Yes?"

"Is tomorrow Saturday?" he asked, looking down as he fiddled with one of the buttons on the cuff of his shirt.

I-Pin canted her head to the side, expression drawing into one of confusion.

"No…?" she said, unsure of what to think. "Tomorrow's Friday. Why?"

Lambo looked down again, a dejected sigh passing his lips.

"Tsuna-nii is coming home on Saturday."

And suddenly, his restlessness made sense.

I-Pin loved her big brother, adored him in a way that made her heart hurt when she went too long without seeing him.

So she knew how much harder it must be for Lambo when their precious big brother and all his guardians were half a world away; when Lambo was the only guardian left so completely out of the loop.

Setting her pencil on the table, I-Pin leant back with a sigh.

"The homework is really boring," she said, grabbing Lambo's attention. "I think it's time for me to take a break."

Lambo's resulting smile squirmed its way into her heart and threatened to bring the flush back to her face.

"Let's go to the shopping district then!" Lambo suggested excitedly, grabbing her hand and pulling her to her feet.

I-Pin knew that she had to be very careful.

She peeked through the doorway to the Vongola HQ living room, and saw that true to the plan, Lambo was sitting with his back to her, talking excitedly with Takeshi.

She couldn't quite hear what he was saying, but he was making lots of big hand gestures, and was bouncing in his seat.

Takeshi was listening intently, occasionally giving his own input and very dutifully not looking anywhere but at the twenty-one year old in front of him.

I-Pin tried to step forwards, but found she couldn't move.

Despite talking to him every night on skype, this was the first time she was seeing her boyfriend in person in nearly a year, and she was feeling suddenly very shy.

She watched him quietly for a moment, taking in everything difference she could see in him.

His hair was starting to get a bit long, and she wondered when Reborn would start getting on his ass about getting it cut.

He was also taller than she remembered, already almost as tall as Tsuna-nii, as far as she could tell.

But the most obvious change of all was something she'd been noticing for a few years now.

He was absolutely glowing with confidence, in a way he never had while he'd been in Japan.

He had all the powerful, understated grace of a predator. No longer was there any of that awkward, fake bravado, that desperation to catch up to where his big brothers were, that fear of being left behind.

In its place was a surety that he was exactly where he needed to be, that he was important, and needed, and wanted.

And a part of I-Pin was bitter, that her boyfriend could fit so completely into a world that she herself had run away from.

Suddenly, she felt a hand on the small of her back, and she looked up to see Tsuna standing beside her, smiling sweetly down at her.

"I understand how stunningly handsome he is," whispered Tsuna, a teasing light in his eyes, "But Takeshi can't keep him distracted for much longer."

I-Pin's face flushed an embarrassed red at the words, and she only remembered at the last second that she wasn't supposed to be making any noise.

She slapped a hand to her mouth, casting her gaze to the ground.

She could feel from his hand still on her back that Tsuna-nii was shaking in silent laughter.

"Come, bella," he whispered, nudging her slowly forwards.

She had no choice but to follow him with stuttering steps.

She tip-toed forwards on silent feet, trying not to alert Lambo to their presence.

When they were only a few steps away from the pair on the sofa, Tsuna left her side to go stand next to Takeshi and smile obnoxiously at him.

"Oh Romeo-" he began, dramatically, only to cut himself off with a snicker as Lambo flinched violently back from him, a reflex from all the years he'd spent running from Bianchi, screeching that very name at him.

Tsuna's empty hands were currently behind his back, as if hiding something there, and he smiled widely as he told Lambo, "I have with me a birthday present from your sweet Juliet."

Lambo startled again, only this time it was out of excitement, rather than fear.

"From I-Pin?" he asked, leaning forward eagerly. "What is it? Can I see?"

"Of course," replied Tsuna, a Cheshire grin stealing across his features as he brought his empty hands out from behind his back, and his gaze travelled very deliberately and very obviously up to look at I-Pin.

Lambo turned to follow his gaze, expression curious, and froze upon seeing I-Pin standing there, only a few feet away.

"Happy Birthday, Lambo," she said, smiling shyly up at him.

That seemed to unfreeze him.

He gasped delightedly, and jumped to his feet, nearly bowling her over as he crashed into her with a warm hug.

"I-Pin!" he exclaimed, showering her face with kisses, somehow embodying all the innocent delight of an excited puppy as he fussed over her, asking when she'd gotten there and how long she was staying and why she hadn't told him sooner that she'd be coming to Italy for a visit.

I-Pin leaned closer into him, ignoring her Tsuna-nii cooing excitedly in the background about how cute they were.

She hid her face in Lambo's shoulder, which she absently noticed was broader than she was used to.

Yes, I-Pin had to be very careful indeed, lest she lose this precious something she had with her best friend.

SkyGem: The end! For this chapter at least. Liked it? Hated it? Please do leave a review letting me know what you thought! Once again, so very sorry this took so long! I do hope you can forgive me! And now, I really ought to go to sleep XD I have a skills assessment test tomorrow afternoon for college, and I need to be up at a decent time so that I can get ready and get there on time XD Good night guys, and I will see you next time!