Memories are a funny thing… they stay in the background, unused and faded for years. But all it takes is a smell, a soft touch, a sound, and suddenly they're brought to the front, as if they happened yesterday. Giotto smiled slightly as he surveyed the view in front of him, remembering all-too-well a rainy summer day ten years ago.

It was a well-known fact that Giotto could never say no to his Guardians. It was also a well-known fact that he was a sucker for the offspring of said Guardians, spoiling them almost as badly as he spoiled his own precious Tsunayoshi. So really... it was no surprise that he found himself in this predicament.

The living room was totally trashed, and Giotto had just barely rescued a precious family picture from disaster. The beautiful crystal vase G had given him for his birthday was gone, but he didn't really feel guilty... If G hadn't given Hayato those mini-bombs, it would have been perfectly fine. Tsuna was crying, Chrome was crying, Mukuro and Kyoya were STILL chasing each other around the room. Takeshi thought they were playing tag and kept trying to run after the older boys, laughing, while Ryohei and Hayato continued to yell at each other. How in the WORLD had this happened? He'd been gone for five minutes...

Oh yeah... his Guardians ALL had something they had to do today and he'd been asked to babysit. Babysitting always started out well for him, he adored the kids and never minded seeing them. He was beginning to think that seeing them all at once was the bad idea.

Kyoya, upon arrival to the Vongola leader's home, had promptly grabbed Tsuna's arm, dragging him to a corner. The five year old brunet had simply smiled as the quiet raven plopped his head on his lap and closed his eyes. Tsuna preferred the sedate corner to the loud road at the center of the room; this was a fairly constant habit anytime Alaude needed his help.

Takeshi and Ryohei had arrived together, since Asari and Knuckle were both Japan-bound. After running over and glomping Tsuna, earning a growl from the almost sleeping Kyoya, they bounded off and pulled out the brunet's blocks, chattering loudly to each other and laughing as they tried to outdo each other. Giotto was pretty sure the game was who could build the largest tower, but frankly, it seemed like they were competing over everything, except who could be loudest. Ryohei always won that game.

Hayato ran into the living room while Giotto was still dealing with G's apologies for having to leave him at such short notice. So the Vongola boss had no idea how his living room had suddenly become a mini base of operations. All he knew when he walked back in was that Takeshi and Ryohei had taken the blocks and created a wall around Tsuna and Kyoya, and were now awaiting the flurry of orders Hayato was giving them. He caught just the tail end of the marching orders, as the silveret reminded them that they only had so long before 'that pineapple jerkhead' showed up, so they had to 'prepare'. The blonde was pretty sure the other two had no idea what Hayato was talking about, but were simply playing along with the new game.

He just shook his head and chuckled, walking over and crouching down next to Tsuna and Kyoya. "Tsuna, what do you want for lunch, hmm?" As soon as the brunet looked down at the boy in his lap, Giotto knew what the answer would be.

"Hamburgers, please, tou-san!" The bright caramel eyes looked up at his father, dancing in the afternoon light. His son was never happier than when everyone was around him.

"All right, coming up then!" The doorbell made him look up. "And there's Chrome and Mukuro. Full house today, eh, Tsuna?"

"Hai!" Tsuna grinned, his hand sliding through Kyoya's hair again. It entertained Giotto to see the normally grumpy boy relaxed in his son's lap.

A few minutes later, Chrome had joined the two, resting her back against Tsuna's shoulder. The little girl had been born blind in one eye, and was painfully shy even around people she knew. She almost never spoke and was almost always seen in the presence of either her older brother or Tsuna and Kyoya. Giotto and Alaude had already spoken about holding Tsuna, Hayato, and Takeshi back a year so they could attend the same grade; no one felt comfortable letting her go to a class by herself. He couldn't help the smile as Tsuna wrapped his arm around her waist, tucking her comfortingly into his side and resting his head on hers.

Mukuro sauntered in after his father left, and Giotto could almost see the calculating look in his eyes. Daemon had had far too great an influence on the boy… he'd seen that same look right before the adult Mist had destroyed a peaceful meal or wreaked havoc in a meeting. Against his better judgment, he walked into the kitchen to start lunch, telling the kids to behave as he went.

He laughed to himself, returning to the present. The rain on the window and the group of gangly teenagers lazing about his living room had him wandering down memory lane like an old man.

Tsuna was sitting in a corner of the couch, with Kyoya's head in his lap as he played in his hair gently. Chrome was curled up against his side, her hand lightly on Kyoya's shoulder. Tsuna's hand had slid, almost possessively, around her waist as he kept her comfortable on the couch. When Kyoya's hand slipped up to twine his fingers with hers, Giotto knew there'd been another altercation at school. The two boys were only this possessive with her after they'd had to scare off her bullies.

Hayato was leaning on the back of the couch, watching the room with a restless eye. He reminded the blonde leader of G, his gaze never stopping on one person for long, but making sure they were all in the right places, doing the right things. Takeshi and Ryohei were flopped on the floor, playfully arguing about whether baseball or boxing was the better sport… it had degenerated into a name-calling match when Tsuna held up a hand. Immediately, the bickering stopped, Hayato straightened, and Mukuro walked in from the hallway, taking the other free chair elegantly.

It wasn't often the Giotto was surprised… but the look on his son's face both shocked him and filled him with pride. The boy looked back at his father with a calm air… so different from the sobbing child in Giotto's memories. "It's time, isn't it?"

The blonde nodded and Tsuna sighed softly. Chrome's head fell to his shoulder and his hand settled on top of her and Kyoya's. "We're ready."

And once again, Giotto was surprised to see his son's eyes change from the warm caramel orbs to a mirror of his orange. What caught him even more off-guard was that each of the children clenched a fist, and suddenly the room was filled with a rainbow of colors. Where had they learned…?

Tsuna smiled slightly, answering his unasked question. "We've been practicing. I've known for a while now… Flames weren't the only thing I inherited." Then he laughed, shaking his head. "Tousan… your face…" His Guardians smirked around him, Chrome actually giggling softly as their flames vanished. Tsuna's eyes were the color of warm caramel again and he doubled over, careful to avoid Kyoya as he continued to laugh.

Giotto joined in, unable to help himself. He was so proud of his son… so proud of all of them. This would be another day that lived in his memory forever.

AN: For Hamano Chiaki, because she made a lovely S96 fic for me. *hearts* Arigatou, I hope you liked it!