School injections. I had them before my holidays, and it purely sucked. One in each arm. I had to sit for ages trying to contact my doctor while the (totally alienating) nurse next to me literally sat there brandishing her needle like some kind of throwing knife. I hate being such a wimp around medical stuff. D':

Anyway, urr. Hope you enjoy.

Don't own!

Is AU.

It was on days such as these that Tsuna wished that he wasn't such a pansy. Of course, the class had been forewarned about the oncoming injections, but despite the conversations on the topic that followed, Tsuna had made it very clear to his friends that he wanted to just forget about it and avoid panic before the actual day.

Now he regretted it. He could have asked Gokudera how on Earth he always managed to glare at the nurses hard enough for them to do their utmost to make the process fast, or even questioned Yamamoto on how he continued to laugh even when he had a freaking needle lodged in his arm, but…

Oh God, Tsuna thought, clutching his knees with shaking hands, I'm going to die. Either of panic or embarrassment, although they're both as bad as each other.

What made the whole thing worse was that for convenience reasons, the school had arranged for two classes to line up for the injections instead of just one. Unfortunately, this other class was one quite a way above Tsuna's; apparently, on their scheduled day, they had embarked on a trip instead. Obviously, watching the older boys fearlessly undergo the needle horror was quite a blow to Tsuna's self-confidence. If his own classmates didn't laugh at him should he freak out (which they obviously would), then the seniors would certainly do it for them.

Tsuna watched nervously as yet another name was called and a tall redhead approached one of the 'stations', literally dropping himself onto the assigned chair and looking almost bored as he began to answer the nurses' questions. Apparently, his long shirt sleeves didn't roll up high enough because he was made to remove the article of clothing before leaning his arm on the table and waiting for the nurse to prepare her needle. Multiple girls squealed at the sight, but the boy blatantly ignored them. Tsuna realised with a low sigh how people like that redhead were the exact ones he envied.

"Sasagawa Kyoko!"

As a result of there being an 'alphabetical order' rule, Kyoko had been seated beside the brunet boy the whole time while they waited. It wasn't that Tsuna had ignored her (of course not!) but he was afraid that should he start a conversation with her he'd begin to babble as a result of his nerves. There was no way that he wanted to look like a wimp in front of Kyoko!

"You'll be fine, Tsuna!" the amber-eyed girl said suddenly, nodding towards Tsuna with a gentle smile. Said boy blanched before blushing, returning the words with a nod of his own.

Crap. If she said that then she's obviously realised that I'm…

Then the girl had turned and began to walk confidently towards the nurse who had called her, responding to the smiling woman's greeting with a small wave and a giggle. Tsuna stared. Kyoko was completely…

"Sawada Tsunayoshi!"

F*** me sideways.

Tsuna stood shakily, trying to put on his most confident expression. "Good luck, Tsuna!"

It was Yamamoto who had called, seated some way down the line Tsuna was getting up from. Usually, Gokudera would be calling out to him too, but the silver-headed boy had already been sent back to class as a result of having finished long before his friends. Needless to say, he hadn't gone without vehemently protesting first.

The brunet gulped, wanting to tell Yamamoto that really those words were the reason that quite a large number of his classmates were now snickering at him in a mocking manner.

The nurse waiting for him at her table looked very kind, but Tsuna still couldn't bring himself to look at the equipment laid out before her. Holy crap, how many of those needles does she even-!

"Hello, Tsunayoshi. My name is Yuki. I'm a professional school nurse so there's absolutely no need for you to worry, OK? Would you like to sit down?"

Would I like to? Since when d-did I have a choice?

Tsuna sat down, perhaps somewhat rigidly. Yuki was obviously aware of this, since she sent him a gentle smile as she began to red through his file. "I can see that you're nervous. While I just check this, try your best to relax, alright?"

Tsuna just nodded. No stress. Really. Behind him, he vaguely picked up the sound of Kyoko's voice and that of the nurse she was with.

"Alright then, I just have a few questions for you. Routine, you know… I do apologise if they seem stupid, Kyoko."

"Ah, no, it's fine, honestly!"

"That's good. So, Kyoko… is there any possibility that you could be pregnant?"

Tsuna cleared his throat awkwardly. Was he going to get asked weird stuff like this? Obviously not to do with pregnancy, but… stuff like 'are you a virgin?' and other… anyway.

"No. Not at all."

"That's good, although… when did you last have your period?"

"Perhaps a week ago, I think."

Tsuna decided that then would be a good point to stop eavesdropping, and he realised with a mental groan that the blood had risen to his cheeks, staining them a bright red. Well, maybe there'd be none left in his arm then, so he wouldn't bleed if-

"Just a few questions for you now, Tsunayoshi. Are you on any medication right now?"

Tsuna shook his head in reply, watching the woman jot something down onto his file.

"Aha… Are you allergic to any medication? Penicillin, for example?"

Again, a short shake of the head.

"Alright, Tsunayoshi. I only have to give you one jab, which is good news. Could you please expose your upper arm for me?"

Tsuna bit his lip. Here goes. Pulling his jumper over his head, Tsuna realised with a start that, because he'd forgotten about the injections, he'd worn a long-sleeved shirt. Well, crap. Fortunately, the nurse didn't seem to care.

It took a while for Tsuna to remove his shirt due to just how shaky his fingers were on the tiny buttons. All the while Yuki waited patiently, having already prepared the needle. "Are you right-handed, Tsunayoshi?" she asked.

Tsuna nodded. "Yes." He said, realising it was the first thing he'd actually said to the woman since he had sat down. Yuki nodded approvingly.

"Well then, you're sitting the right way round. It could happen that you experience a feeling of numbness in your arm once you have had the injection, so it would be best if I didn't put the needle in your dominant arm." Tsuna jerked when the woman placed two slender fingers near his shoulder and pressed them onto his flesh, moving them apart so that skin between them was taut. "Just don't look."

Tsuna looked.

Involuntarily shifting sideways in his chair, Tsuna distanced himself from the extended needle with impressive speed, his chocolate-coloured eyes wide like saucers. Yuki gave a soft sigh, lowering the point back onto the table. "Tsuna… I promise that I'll be as quick as possible. It's only a very small prick, and it will be over in a second. I'm sure that's what all doctors say, though in this case it really is true."

"S-sorry!" Tsuna apologised frantically. "S-sorry! I just-"

"My goodness. You really are quite pale!"

Tsuna's head snapped around quickly, his gaze coming to land on the person who had just spoken. His first thought was that this boy certainly wasn't from his class; judging by his height and greater maturity in his features, Tsuna could tell that he was one of the seniors, and a quite good-looking one too. His hair reminded Tsuna strikingly of his own, only that his was brown and that the other boy's was a bright yellowy blond. Tsuna subconsciously wondered why the boy was away from his own class and talking to him in the first place.

The blond went onto one knee so that his azure eyes were level with Tsuna's, which were still wide with confusion. "Are you going to stare like that all day?"

Tsuna shook his head, freeing himself from his surprised state. "No. No, I'm not." He said, trying to sound indignant. Obviously, this boy had come to make fun of him. "W-what do you want?"

"Don't seem so annoyed; I wasn't mocking you. What's your name?"

Tsuna blinked. "I… I'm Tsuna." He replied, wondering where this conversation with a stranger was going.

"Tsunayoshi Sawada, right? I've heard your name before, although this should be my first time talking to you in person. I'm Giotto." Those words were accompanied by a smile that made an unexpected blush rise to Tsuna's face. "

"That… That's not a Japanese name." Tsuna noticed, causing Giotto to nod in agreement.

"It's not. It's Italian."

"You're Italian?" Tsuna's curiosity won over his manners. Giotto smiled yet again, releasing a small laugh to go along with it.

"Well, mostly." he admitted. "I was born there, but I moved to Japan last year. I've only been at Nami Middle for three months, so I'm still trying to get to know everyone... hence me speaking to you."

"Wow… y-your Japanese is very good." Tsuna complimented, and Giotto averted his gaze in an almost coy manner after hearing the compliment.

"The fact that you say that is quite relieving." He said gently. "My friends tell me that my accent is atrocious."

"I don't hear an accent." Tsuna defended his point truthfully, and Giotto finally looked back up at him with shining eyes.

"Vongola Giotto!"

"That'll be me, then." Giotto stood up, once again reminding Tsuna of his real height. He brushed his fringe from his eyes with an extended figure and bowed shortly at the younger figure before beginning to walk away. However, he only went about two metres before he paused and turned, catching Tsuna's attention with his amused expression. "By the way…" Giotto said slowly, "I have to say that you're really brave."

"… What?" Tsuna looked totally baffled. It was only when Yuki finished writing something next to him and sent him a secretive grin did he realise what had just happened.

"Wha-! When did you-!"

"I hope to speak to you again, Tsuna." Giotto was laughing softly as he took his leave, and Tsuna, who was still completely shell-shocked as a result of what had just happened, was just snapped out of his trance by the giggling Yuki.

"Here, put this on the puncture spot." She ordered, handing Tsuna a small ball of cotton. Tsuna took it and glanced down at his arm, strangely unconcerned by seeing the small spot of blood turn into a drop and trickle down his skin. The needle was out of his sight, so all was well.

"Distraction always was the best numbing material." The nurse commented, putting away Tsuna's file. "How nice of Vongola-san to help you like that."

"Yeah..." Tsuna agreed, watching Giotto reach his own table as he shrugged on his shirt.

"Alright, then. Just take these home and you're done!" Tsuna took the papers being offered to him and shot the nurse a questioning look. "It holds information about the injection; you should give it to your parents for their inspection. If they have any questions, they can contact the school or ring the number at the top of the front letter sheet. Otherwise, that is all."

"Thanks." Tsuna smiled, feeling suddenly quite happy with himself. Yuki returned his smile, pulling out a new file.

"Bye, Tsuna."

"Bye, Yuki-san."

As Tsuna made his way over to the door, having put back on his shirt and retrieved his bag, he was met with the sorry sight of Giotto pressing a ball of cotton to one arm while the other remained bare with a small spot of blood on it where a needle had obviously pierced his skin. Tsuna started, realisation hitting him like a well-aimed brick. "Oh, God!" he exclaimed.

Giotto glanced upwards, and his mouth curled into an appreciative grin as he saw Tsuna standing there. "And we meet again…"

"You had two?" Tsuna completely ignored the blond boy's words. "Why didn't you say! I could have… uh…" it then dawned on him that he had assumed Giotto to be just like him in what he didn't like. Tsuna averted his gaze with slight embarrassment, although Giotto didn't seem to mind.

"Needles don't bother me, Tsuna." he explained offhandedly, reaching for his papers.

"Yare, yare, Giotto. We nearly got kicked out of here waiting for your slow self." Someone yelled, and before Tsuna could respond, Giotto had been pulled into a headlock by the same redhead the brunet had seen having his injection earlier. However, the one who had spoken was somewhat shorter with curly green hair. Tsuna watched in slight horror how Giotto struggled against the taller boy holding him; somehow, the scene caused the cool view Tsuna had held of the kind blond to shatter to pieces within a second.

"G! G, let go! What on Earth are-" Giotto cut himself off as a new presence entered the hall; Tsuna could do no more than shriek silently while G froze in place alongside the loud green-haired boy who now looked just about ready to do his pants in.

"… Herbivores." A smooth voice sounded, alerting the group of their imminent demise. "You're crowding, and in a doorway no less." Clack. "I will bite you to death."

It was in that moment that Tsuna realised that really, there were worse things than injections.

I was was going to end this at Giotto telling Tsuna that he was brave. Then a particularly annoying plot bunny raided my brain and was all like 'Wheee! Let's throw in some Hibari!' :D

Giving reviews is up to you, but I won't deny loving them. ^^

~ Zaskaea