Title: Winning the Losing Battle, Part 1

Characters: Gokudera x Yamamoto, light Gokudera -Tsuna

Word Count: 1,124

Rating: PG

Summary: Sequel to 'Washing Up'. Gokudera figures out his issues about Yamamoto.

Author's Notes: This has just taken a life of it's own and I thought it would be best to split this part up into two as it looks like it'll be well over 2,000 words. Not to mention I'm a slow writer so it will be a while before I finish it all and I don't want to leave people waiting forever for the next update and there is a good stopping point in what I'm expecting to be about midway. But as I'm posting this without the entire thing done this isn't going to be the actual finished version of this part. I probably won't change much at the end but once it's all done I'll go through and it'll get a revision where needed to make sure it's all on track with the still to be written second half.

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Gokudera was never more thankful for showers than he was now. Showers were not baths and had no special customs in Japan that would allow someone to wash your back for you. Especially if that someone was a classmate that was making Gokudera question his feelings for said classmate.

Not that he had any special feelings for the baseball freak, besides wanting to best him to prove he was the better right hand man for the Tenth. The recent string of dreams, which all starred Yamamoto, and the fact he was having trouble getting thoughts about the other boy out of his head was in no way related to any special feelings of any sort. It was probably just some rare disease of stupid he caught from being so close to Yamamoto a few days ago. If he wasn't so scarred from dealing with the man when he was a kid he would ask Dr. Shamal about it. So until then he would just have to live with it and hope it would pass quickly like a kidney stone or something.

That was much easier said then done as he made the mistake of letting his guard down for a moment and the memory of a soft and warm breath on his ear passes through his mind making his heart pound a little faster. He quickly turned the knob of the tap from hot to cold and vanquished all thoughts of that memory, as he had to yet again begin another morning with a freezing shower.

He got through the rest of the process of getting ready for school in a semi-autopilot mode, not really thinking at all in fear of those thoughts sneaking into the out of bounds area of his mind. Overall the tactic was quite successful until not long after he began his trek to school, passing Tsuna's house along the way of course, a familiar friendly voice called out to him.

The Italian youth cursed himself several times over in his mind for forgetting that his way to Tsuna's and school overlapped with Yamamoto's and not readying himself for facing the other teen. While he was doing so the taller boy closed the distance between them and slung an arm around the grey haired youth in his usual friendly way. A sensation akin to a jolt of electricity shot through his body at the touch. He had not shielded himself from the effect that Yamamoto's touch had on him ever since that day so it took awhile for his senses to return and for him to pry himself loose of the taller teen's grasp. "D-don't treat me like we're soulmates or something," Gokudera sputtered, too frazzled to really think about what he was saying. He hurried his pace to put some distance between him and the other boy as he continued his way to school, "I don't like you in that way at all."

Yamamoto looked at the silver teen puzzled for a while as he walked behind the hunched figure. A smile eventually crossed his lips in understanding. He wouldn't let Gokudera know though as he knew the Italian youth needed time to cool down when he got too wound up about something. And he had learned that patience was just as important in life as it was in baseball. So with that thought in mind he followed Gokudera all the way to school in patient silence.

XXX

"Yamamoto, do you know what's wrong with Gokudera?" Tsuna asked his classmate as they put away the soccer balls they had been using for P.E. Gokudera had also promised to help the young mafia boss but when Yamamoto also volunteered to help he took it upon himself to get the ones that had landed on the school shed roof by himself. Tsuna normally wouldn't bother with getting into the personal lives of his friends as the all tended to become strange and part of Reborn's plan to make him into a mafia boss. Yet Gokudera was acting very odd even for him and while the bomb expert could be a bit too much for Tsuna to handle at times he did consider him one of his few friends. "Reborn isn't putting him through any new 'special training', is he?"

The taller teen paused for a moment not sure if he should tell Tsuna about the dish washing training he did with Gokudera a couple of days ago. He then remembered the silver haired youth's threat to never tell Tsuna about it or face painful death. Yamamoto had laughed at how silly it was to want to keep washing dishes a secret. But Gokudera seemed rather sincere in not wanting their friend to know so the baseball player decided to hold his tongue. He just smiled his usual good-natured smile and answered, "Not that I know of."

Tsuna frowned a little before he questioned his friend again, "Would you know if there could be anything else that would make him act strangely? I mean he hasn't seemed to be quite himself these past couple of days."

Yamamoto just laughed in a friendly manner and tried to set his friend's mind at ease. "Isn't it just like Gokudera to be moody like that? I'm sure you're just worrying too much, Tsuna," he reassured the brown haired boy emphasized with a good friendly slap on the back that almost sends the much smaller boy face first into the ground. The taller boy felt a little guilty about lying to his friend. He had noticed Gokudera acting out of sorts and he had an idea that it involved him. He was not certain how but the way the other boy was avoiding him like the plague Yamamoto had to wonder if it was because of his comment about Japanese baths. It was understandable as a foreigner that Gokudera would be shy about communal bathing. And it was just like the Italian born teen to try to mask his discomfort with a brave front, even though he was not very successful at it.

Seeing that Tsuna still looked worried Yamamoto suggested, "If you want I can talk to him just in case I'm missing something."

Tsuna's expression finally changed from worry to relief at those words and he smiled at his friend. "I'd appreciate that. I don't think he'd ever tell me what's wrong. Thanks, Yamamoto."

The dark haired teen just smiled and nodded his head. He did not like it when his friends worried and was glad there was something he could do to help. And if all it was that Gokudera was too shy about public bathing than Yamamoto was sure he could help him out just as well as he did with dish washing.