#idk i'm just having zibeth feels

[hyllaarellano]

concept: annabeth seeing zia for the first time & having a "oh shit i'm gay" realization

[cheshiresense]

I guess the fandom has a thing for Ichigo redeeming the seemingly unredeemable? (I know I do.) Besides, Koyonagi is really interesting. I'm looking forward to more of him and Touma in your work :D (PS: would you ever be willing to expand on Hungry!Tsuna? I just keep thinking about what Reborn said about Fon and possessive storms and really, how could Fon dislike Tsuna? honestly I just want to see poor Tsuna taken care of, and the more possessive guardians the better xD )

OKAY. FON. FIRST MEETING. *cracks knuckles* actually no i hate that, eventhe sound of someone else doing it makes my hands itch and my inner pianistcringe so idk how about fancy stretches instead And more Reborn&Viper. Forsome reason I just keep going back to them.

Pinglist:@yoshifics @bewarethemandragora @runeofluna@selenedreamwalker @hypnos28 @verticallychallengedintrovert@fandommaniac2401 @lovingempress @cynthia-of-the-wallflowers@shadowsofmoonracer @pairp @warriorofbooks @charlottedabookworm @lyra689 @sheyrenawyrsabane @sora-the-empress @xadriannax @yumeniai @arrysa @lirial89-fanfiction @skysong246 @caiahat @grimreaper19 @arosethornbyanyothername @mtkiseki @kaminoko-x@nesskyru @tatarako @parklena42 @zibeth-a @aerdnanocte @timegrenades@healingmichiko @shiko-rae @soraofmelody @fandoms-make-the-world-go-round @north-peach @yannilicious @wolfsrainrules @anaissesteighart

Tsuna’s health has been good, getting better,especially after a tentative Guardian bond formed with Viper.

(”Don’t you have a contract with the Varia?”

“Arcobaleno business takes precedence. It’s even in the fineprint. Legal cause to resign, even if Vongola won’t like it. Don’t youhave a contract with the Nono?”

“…”

“Exactly. And both our resignations have clearly been lostin the mail. So quit trying to get rid of me.”)

But it’s not enough. Tsuna comes down with a fever on aMonday. It’s not a bad one, nothing like the spikes in temperature Reborn hadto deal with back when it was just him and Tsuna. As much as it… disgruntleshim to admit it, even just to himself, Viper’s presence helps.

But even a second Arcobaleno can’t fill the sheer amount ofFlames that Tsuna needs to live. And it probably doesn’t help that he refusesto eat as much of their Flames as Reborn and Viper are willing to offer, stillinsisting on going the catch-a-criminal-stranger route most of the time. It’s aconstant battle to get Tsuna to feed on them even just four times a week,although Reborn supposes even that’s a victory worth celebrating consideringback when they first decided on this method, Tsuna had pushed for once a fortnight.

(It doesn’t hurt as much these days, as it did the firsttime Reborn broke off a piece of his own Sun core. He’s wondered on occasion ifmaybe it’s just because he’s done it one too many times and has numbed himselfto it. He doesn’t think so - it’s not the kind of thing one can get usedto, as his experience with Luce can attest to - but this is new territory forall of them. All he knows is that the more time he spends with Tsuna, thestronger their bond becomes, which makes sense, obviously, but also, thestronger that bond becomes, the less it hurts when he offers Tsuna his ownFlames. Nowadays, it feels less like he’s breaking off a piece of his very souland more like… he’s exchanging it. When he gives his Sun Flames to Tsuna,it’s almost as if Tsuna’s own Flames automatically reach out to fill what heloses, and he recovers that much faster because of it.

He’s talked about it to Viper, who admits it’s nowhere nearas violating as it was with Luce, which they’d braced themselves for the firsttime they offered a terribly dismayed Tsuna their Flames. If the process hurtsthe illusionist at all, they haven’t said, and Reborn hasn’t seen any signs ofit.)

As it is, Tsuna might not be anywhere near as sick as hecould be, but Reborn still made the executive decision to pull him out ofschool and confine him to bedrest for the day. There’s no need to push theirluck.

On his part, Tsuna sleeps. He grumbled a little earlierabout overprotective mother hens, but he drifted off almost as soon as he wasushered back to bed. He doesn’t stir for most of the rest of the day, but thatalso means he doesn’t jerk awake vomiting black Flames so Reborn would cautiouslycall it a success.

On the other hand, Viper - not so much. Tsuna wasunderweight and plagued with exhaustion on and off since the illusionistarrived, but he’s gotten better since then, with Reborn as a crutch, and thenViper later on. This is the first time Viper’s seen Tsuna’s health take anosedive in a way Luce never did even at the end of her life.

“Would it help if he ate more?” Viper asks, and it’s onlybecause Reborn has known them for so long that he can hear the tension beneaththe clinical monotone.

Reborn checks Tsuna’s temperature again. “He’ll be fine.”

Viper glares. “That isn’t what I asked.”

Reborn reminds himself that he was probably just as out ofhis depth as Viper currently feels back when he was first learning how to takecare of Tsuna. That doesn’t prevent his answer from coming out just a touch toosharply, “He’s eating four proper meals a week; what do you think?”

“Then-”

“We’re not force-feeding him unless he’s on the brink ofdeath,” Reborn cuts him off. He slants an uncompromising look at Viper,ignoring the way the room seems to darken threateningly for a moment. “Tsunasaid no. We can argue about it, but we aren’t going to disregard his opinionanytime we please.” He reaches up and tilts his fedora down over his eyes. “Wearen’t Luce.”

He doesn’t need to see it to know Viper has to suppress aflinch back. “This is different.”

Reborn sighs, more tired than irritated now. “Not sodifferent.”

“It would be for his own good!” Viper hisses, and somethingin Reborn marvels at that. Even back when they didn’t know about Arcobaleno andthe Tri-Ni-Sette and Checkerface, when they didn’t know what Luce was luringthem into, Viper never concerned themselves with Luce’s wellbeing to thisextent. Maybe that was because Luce was never in this kind of situation, neversick when they still would’ve cared, but perhaps too it should’ve been a clue,a warning.

“And Luce did what she did because she believed it was forthe good of the world,” Reborn points out harshly, and this time Viper doesflinch. The silence that follows feels almost chastised.

I was here first, Reborn doesn’t say. I’ve beenwith him longest, even if that doesn’t mean much because he’s been alone somuch longer. But I was the one who saw him at his worst, not you. Do you thinkI don’t want him healthy and strong and not starving any less than youdo? Do you think I don’t want to shove as much of my Flames into him as ittakes to make him full for the first damn time in over half a decade?

But consent means something a little extra to himthese days, and when it comes down to it - Luce forced them to feed her topreserve herself and the world. Reborn won’t force Tsuna to eat just so theycan preserve Tsuna. Not unless there’s no other way. He’s selfish andpossessive enough to admit that. And at least for now, regular, propermeals - however few - seem to be helping enough to see some signs ofimprovement. Until that changes, drastically enough to require intervention,Reborn will respect Tsuna’s wishes.

Don’t you understand, you fool? I never want Tsuna tolook at me the way we all looked at Luce in the end.

He doesn’t say any of this out loud of course. It revealstoo much of himself, and he’s never been that close to the other Arcobaleno.

“Make yourself useful and pass me another ice pack,” Heorders instead.

Viper glowers, bristling at being told what to do. But inthe end, they look at Tsuna, paler than he’s been in a while, Flames flutteringunsteadily against their senses, and a moment later, the illusionist concedesand tosses Reborn an ice pack before busying themselves with opening the windowfor some fresh air but also tossing some Mist Flames around to keep the draft out.

Then they both settle down to wait.

The doorbell rings, just past four in the afternoon, butthey both know who it is. They eye each other for a moment before Viper clickstheir tongue in annoyance but capitulates and goes to get the door. Nana is outshopping, but even if she wasn’t, it isn’t as if she would’ve done anythingexcept let her visitor right on in.

Sometimes, Reborn wonders how she’s even still alive.

Downstairs, Viper opens the door and demands flatly, “What.”

Standing on the doorstep like there’s nowhere else he’drather be, Fon smiles. “Good afternoon, Viper.”

Viper stares woodenly at him and doesn’t budge. Fon’s smilewidens. His eyes remain as cold and calculating as Reborn’s at his worst.

“Colonello called me,” Fon continues, and Viper thinksuncharitably that they should’ve trapped the idiot in his worst nightmaresuntil he forgot he ever stumbled on them at Mafia Land.

They ignore the fact that if they were in Colonello’s oreven Fon’s place - and they were, a mere three months ago - they would’vewanted to know about all this too.

It’s different now. They’re Tsunayoshi’s Mist Guardian now,properly bonded in a way Viper never was with Luce. There was a bond there,yes, but there was also always a nagging sense of wrongness that Viperwas a fool for ignoring just because they’d finally found a Sky that seemedworth following and also wanted them. They’d dismissed their ownintuition, reasoning that the bond just needed more time to settle, and itwasn’t until it was far too late to back out that they realized why - a Flamebond forged on a foundation of lies is no real bond at all.

Tsunayoshi is different from Luce in every conceivable way.And if Fon is here to give him any kind of trouble, even just to sate his ownmorbid curiosity instead of staying away, especially today, he’ll haveto deal with Viper first.

“-about the Sky Arcobaleno,” Fon is saying. “And how he’s…different. Since I was in the area, I thought I would drop by and see formyself.”

Viper scoffs. “He’s unavailable at the moment. Come againlater.”

Fon’s smile doesn’t falter but it does thin a little.“Viper.”

“Fon.” Viper echoes flatly, and neither of them gives aninch.

Fon shakes his head, and for the first time, his smileslides off his face, and a flicker of something that teeters betweenfrustration and challenge slips past that iron-clad control of his. “I’m theStorm Arcobaleno, I have the right to see him.”

“And I’m his Mist Guardian,” Viper counters, and apart of them revels in the spark of pride that that title brings. “You’ll seehim when he wants to see you, and I have no qualms about enforcing that.”

They stare at each other for a moment. Something in Fon’s expressionspeaks of genuine surprise, like he didn’t expect Viper to put up this much ofa fuss, even though Colonello almost certainly sensed their Flame bonds andthen told the others.

“And Sawada-san does not wish to see me?” Fonenquires after a moment.

Viper gives nothing away. “He’s busy.”

Fon stares at them some more, and then stares past them atthe stairs leading up to the second floor.

This close, Viper wonders if he can sense the disturbance inTsunayoshi’s Flames.

Fon looks at them again, and for just a second, it looksalmost like he’s willing to try and force his way past Viper. But only for asecond, and then his genial expression returns. He takes a step back, inclineshis head, and says, “Another time then. I have some work to do nearby anyway.My private number is the same.” He smiles even as his eyes narrow in warning.“Do remember to call me when Sawada-san is available again, Viper. Good day toyou.”

Viper watches him go, not shutting the door until they can’tsense the Storm in the vicinity anymore.

Reborn says nothing when they return, but Viper supposes -somewhat sardonically - that’s a compliment in itself.

Not that Viper needs Reborn’s approval. But at least thisway, the hitman doesn’t open his mouth or open fire and very likelyannoy Viper enough to retaliate.

Their Sky needs all the rest he can get after all.

Tsuna recovers in a few days and agrees to meet Fon over theweekend.

At Takesushi.

With Reborn and Viper at the other end of the restaurant, andthat only because they refused to wait outside or let Tsuna go alone.

“Are you sure about this?” Reborn grumbles. They’d shown upearly and settled themselves at the bar table where Reborn has taken todisassembling and reassembling one of his handguns under the faintly alarmedeye of the sushi chef. Tsuna has no idea why the guy hasn’t called the cops onthem yet or even remarked about toddlers playing with “toy” firearms, but he’salso spent the past six-plus years living with the fact that nobody in thistown is capable of noticing anything out of the ordinary, and even if they are,they certainly can’t be bothered to say anything about it, so really, this ispar for the course.

Besides, Tsuna has faith in Reborn’s ability to talk himselfout of any trouble he might get into.

“I’m sure,” He says instead. “If he’s come all this way tosee me, I think I should at least meet him, right?”

“Don’t say that like it was much of a hardship for him,”Reborn scoffs. “Besides, he has family in town.”

Tsuna blinks. “What, really?”

“The Hibari family,” Viper says from where they’re perusingthe menu. “You know one of them, don’t you?”

Tsuna blanches a little. “H- Hibari-san is Fon-san’srelative?”

Hibari Kyouya has never paid much attention to Tsuna, asblind as the rest of this town to his oddities, but everyone knows aboutthe prefect’s violent proclivities in the name of discipline.

“Yes,” Reborn answers. “A great-nephew, I think. To be fair,Fon has rarely visited since he became an Arcobaleno. But Namimori isn’t new tohim.”

Tsuna digests this silently and wonders if Fon will be likeHibari Kyouya, easy to anger, quick to strike. Viper did say Fon was polite,when Tsuna asked what the Storm Arcobaleno was like, but the way they said itmade Tsuna think they actually meant it as an insult.

On the other hand, Viper says almost everything like it’s aninsult.

Privately, Tsuna contemplates the odds of Fon being morelike Reborn or more like Viper. Reborn, who refused to run and stubbornlypowered through even the worst of Tsuna’s episodes and was the first to chooseto give up a part of himself just to ease Tsuna’s hunger? Or Viper, who neverslept in the same house for the first two months and looked at Tsuna like theycouldn’t decide whether to attack or flee but still came back every single daylike they couldn’t help themselves until they learned to trust him?

Or maybe Fon would be neither, more like Colonello instead,so terribly, horrifyingly afraid, more than a little confused, and - unlikeReborn and Viper both - with enough self-preservation and sense to actuallystay away.

The latter, he hopes, and ignores those tiny parts of himthat are somehow still capable of hoping for something else entirely.

(Five and empty and tripping over everything, six andhurting and tired, eight and desperate, ten and starving, thirteen and aloneand standing on a bridge, wondering if death might be better.)

It would be selfish. More than Tsuna deserves. And he’salready dragged two people into this. He can’t do anything about Reborn andViper anymore, and he knows that the two of them are split between a possessivesort of satisfaction that Colonello hasn’t come after them and contemptuousdisdain for the same reason.

Fon though…

The door of the restaurant slides open. Viper stiffens andhalf-turns. Reborn doesn’t but the last piece of the gun he’s been handlingsnaps ominously into place just as Fon walks in.

“Promise you won’t eavesdrop?” Tsuna checks.

Reborn rolls his eyes while Viper sighs.

“You never spoke to me privately,” The illusionistcomplains.

Yeah, and look how that turned out, Tsuna doesn’tsay.

“You were too scared to speak to him privately,” Rebornpoints out because at heart, he is a troll. Viper tries to stab him with theirchopsticks.

It’s Tsuna’s turn rolls his eyes. He glances quickly at Fon,who’s caught sight of them and looks about ready to come over and join them.The Storm… really does look quite a bit like a miniature Hibari. He’s wearing ared Pacifier, and his hair’s tied back in a braid, but the biggest differencewould probably be the fact that he doesn’t look ready to beat up everybody inthe vicinity for breathing the wrong way.

“Guys,” Tsuna insists, and this time, Reborn and Viper heavetwin sighs even as they get up to leave.

“Fine,” Reborn says, clearly displeased as he pins Fon withan unblinking stare. He still has his gun out. “We’ll be at that booth. Screamif you need help.”

“I will not scream,” Tsuna mumbles sullenly. Justbecause his voice hasn’t broken yet, and he had the misfortune of beingstartled by one of Reborn’s cockroach spies in the house the other day. A lot ofpeople are scared of cockroaches. Not all, but that doesn’t mean the rest wantto cuddle them either.

He watches them take up residence in the corner booth,smiles weakly at the sushi chef who’s raised an eyebrow at them but doesn’tcomment, and then takes a deep breath and turns to greet Fon.

Fon hops up onto the bar table, murmurs a polite thanks whenone of the waiters comes by with a fresh cup of green tea, and then settles downcross-legged before turning all his focus on Sawada Tsunayoshi.

So, this is the new Sky Arcobaleno. To be honest, he doesn’tseem very impressive. The first time Fon met Luce, her Flames - gentle but strongin a way that couldn’t be ignored - tugged at him like the summer tide on theshore, playful and welcoming. Tsunayoshi’s Flames… well, Fon can barely feelthem. Which is strange because Colonello said he could sense the Guardian bondsthat the Sky Arcobaleno has with both Reborn and Viper. Fon thinks he can feelthem, when he concentrates, but they’re like wisps of smoke, nothing like thepowerful, stable connections Colonello talked about.

If Fon didn’t have a name and facial description to go by,he would’ve walked right past this boy without sensing anything out of theordinary about him. He has almost no presence, his features aren’t particularlystriking (and in fact there’s a tired gauntness about his face that suggests hemight be recovering from an illness), and he’s fidgeting nervously under Fon’sgaze even though Fon made sure he was at his most disarming best before he evenentered the restaurant.

Definitely civilian born and bred, although it is curious -one would think if the boy was anxious about meeting him, he would want Rebornand Viper with him.

“So, hi,” Tsunayoshi finally blurts out. “I’m SawadaTsunayoshi. Nice to meet you.”

Fon inclines his head. “I am Fon. Thank you for taking thetime to meet me.”

“Oh, I- There’s no need to thank me for that,” The boyhurries out. “I was- I was a bit sick earlier; that’s why Viper turned youaway. But I would’ve met you then if I could’ve.” He pauses uncertainly for amoment. “I’m not really sure why you’d wanna meet me though? Did you havequestions?”

Fon smiles, but that just seems to make Tsunayoshiuncomfortable. “Not particularly. I simply wished to meet you. It is not sostrange, is it? For a Guardian to meet their Sky?”

That gets a bigger reaction. Tsunayoshi jerks back as ifstung, and out of the corner of his eye, Fon sees a very deliberate flash of amuzzle pointing his way. He ignores it.

“But you’re not!” Tsunayoshi bursts out, and he actuallylooks faintly disturbed. “We just met! And I know that’s not how itworks, Reborn explained it to me, I don’t- I don’t inherit you from-from Luce-san.” His hand goes to the Pacifier around his neck, tapping absentlyat it for a moment. “So, I guess what I’m saying is, you don’t have to stay oranything.”

Fon considers him for a second, then nods over his shoulder.“But you don’t mind Reborn or Viper staying?”

Tsunayoshi’s expression twists into something resigned and distraughtand somehow angrily happy all at the same time. “I don’t think I had much of achoice,” He mumbles, fiddling with the napkin in front of him now. “Reborn wasreally angry with me the one time I tried to kick him out. And Viper sort ofinserted themself into my life before I really noticed.”

He straightens and seems to shake his odd mood off. “Butanyway, they- Reborn and Viper, they chose to stay, but that doesn’t meananybody else has to too, just because I’m the Sky Arcobaleno. I mean, things aren’teven that interesting in Namimori. And my life is especially boring. All I dois go to school and go home and train a bit with Reborn and Viper on the side.I’m not even eligible for Vongola Decimo anymore, obviously, so there’s notreally any point in hanging around.”

He trails off, and his expression shifts into somethingexpectant, like he half-thinks Fon is going to turn and march out the door,just like that.

Fon arches an eyebrow. But, well, this is interesting too.And half the reason he came here at all, isn’t it?

“And if I also choose to stay?” He enquires.

Tsunayoshi’s shoulders go tight. “I- Well, I mean, you can,of course.” His legs kick against the barstool. “Are- Are you going to?”

Fon hums noncommittally. “Perhaps. If nothing else, it willbe a chance to catch up with old friends.”

“Oh,” Tsunayoshi murmurs, and everything about him suddenlygoes still, down to his hands and the napkin he’s been wringing between them.

Fon tenses, just a little, but he continues smiling, keepinghis expression mild. “There’s no need to sound so disappointed, Sawada-san. Youwon’t even give me a chance?”

Tsunayoshi stares for a moment longer at the table, afaraway look in his eyes, and then he glances back at Fon with a weak smile.“That’s not it. Like I said, of course you’re welcome to stay if you want. Areyou staying at a hotel? Or- Or with your family? Reborn and Viper mentioned them. Or youcan come visit my place-”

Fon listens to the boy ramble on, and when it happens, well,it happens so slowly he doesn’t even notice until-

There are Flames, he realizes abruptly, rippling like aheatwave in the air between them, and when he looks sharply up at Tsunayoshiagain, the darkness in those brown eyes makes him jerk back.

Because he’s seen that look before - hungry and relentlesslike the gaping maw of a slavering beast - and Fon is its helpless prey, pinneddown and unable to do anything but take it.

He scrambles to his feet, uncharacteristic panic making himclumsy. He didn’t even know when he lowered his guard enough to be taken off-guard.But then, Luce was unassuming as well. In this, Tsunayoshi is apparently thesame, just in a different way, and Fon should be better than this.

In a flash, even as his breath feels like it’s stalling inhis lungs, his mind jumps between every exit he marked when he first came in -front door, back door, two windows, easily broken - but he also knows there’snowhere he can run.

He knew, from the start, that it was foolish to come here.When he got the call from Colonello, every sensible instinct in him told him toget as far away from Japan as physically possible. But he also heard aboutReborn and Viper and genuine Guardian bonds, and neither of them were stupid,they would never fall for the same tricks again, especially Reborn. Yetthey’d taken their Sky to an amusement park, for all intents and purposes justa fun day out, and then by the sounds of it even treating him to dinner. Viperwas even going to pay for a hotel, for a trip detour that certainly wasn’tnecessary.

And they’d been protective, Colonello had said, protectiveof their Sky even against a fellow Arcobaleno, and indulgent in a way thatspoke of real affection.

And Fon - as much as he was tempted to simply hang up anddisappear - stayed on the phone and questioned Colonello twice about everyaspect and observation of the short encounter, and by the end of it, a thoughthad trickled in, unbidden - was it just Reborn and Viper, bonded with the newSky Arcobaleno? Or did he have others already?

Did he have a Storm?

And something in him snarled at the very idea of anyoneencroaching on what was essentially his territory. It seemed likesomething Reborn might do too, if that protective streak of his reared its headtoo much - dig up some other elements with strong potential and train them uphimself instead of waiting for the other Arcobaleno, whom the hitman would knowfull well might never come at all and would probably run in the oppositedirection if confronted with the very notion of bonding with the SkyArcobaleno.

And before Fon knew it, he was on a flight to Japan. Heexperienced firsthand Viper’s bristling defensiveness, and even if he didn’tsee Reborn until now, he also sensed the hitman like one would an aggressiveneon-bright warning sign in the background, and even if neither of those things puthim entirely at ease, they were still points in favour of Sawada Tsunayoshi.

Besides, Colonello swore up and down that the new Sky nevereven tried to eat his Flames, that Reborn and Viper’s Flames weren’t theravaged mess Luce consistently left them in either when she fed on them.

Fon still should’ve known better. But he was curious, andfoolish, and no matter the calm he likes to portray to the world, he’s still aStorm, and a Hibari to boot, with all the jealously guarded covetous instinctsof each.

(Because he thought, just for a moment - maybe this one’sdifferent. And in the end, such a pathetic hope was what drove him hereafter all.

Checkerface knew exactly the kind of people to prey on,didn’t he?)

He looks at the Sky Arcobaleno once more, at that yawninghunger that Luce wore so well, and he backs away, preparing to leap to thefloor and out the nearest window as quickly as he can, shattered glass bedamned, even as he braces for the nauseous sensation of an insatiable Skytearing away at his Flames once more.

He takes a step-

-and stops.

Tsunayoshi is still watching him. He’s sitting there andwatching him with Sky-stained eyes that burn with a bottomless appetite,and Fon should be running, out of this restaurant, this town, this country,anywhere but in the direct line of sight of the Sky Arcobaleno, and yet-

Civilian, born and bred, and so Fon catches it, just aglimpse, lurking underneath the ravaging hunger - guilt. It’s there, inthe lines of his face and the pinch of his mouth, determination and regrettwined together and running just as deep as his hunger, and that is whatmakes Fon stop.

Because in all the time he knew her, Luce never regrettedwhat she did to them.

And he thinks: Reborn and Viper stayed - why?

He turns back, faces the greedy rush of Flames bearing downon him with a terrifying weight only he can feel, and even as his heart poundsin his chest and remembered revulsion rises in his throat, he doesn’t move.

They brush against his Flames, grasping fingers full of adesperate sort of want, but then - abruptly - it’s as if they slam intoan invisible wall, and between one breath and the next, they’re yanked back like the snap of a rubber band.

Tsunayoshi falls off his chair, and Fon gets a singlewide-eyed look of shocked disbelief before the boy crashes to the ground andFon suddenly has a gun at his head and a cold tendril of Mist curling aroundhis neck like a noose.

“What did you do?” Reborn demands, and his infantilevoice resonates for just a moment with the deeper near-forgotten timbre of theman he once was.

People are turning to look. Viper - on the floor and helpingTsunayoshi up - waves an irritated hand, and the civilians lose interestimmediately.

“Tsunayoshi? Are you alright? What happened?” Their eyes arestill hooded, but when their head lifts in Fon’s direction, Fon can sense thechill in them. Their Mist Flames remain a threat around his neck, and Reborn’sgun doesn’t waver.

But Fon only has eyes for the boy pushing himself up into asitting position, three shades paler, hands shaking, and Flames - good godhis Flames - like a whole forest of plum blossoms in full bloom, all beauty andcolour, deceptively delicate but fierce and resolute in the dead of winter, andabsolutely unwavering in the way they thread themselves with Reborn’s Sun andViper’s Mist.

Fon finds his voice, and it comes out hoarser than heexpects but he doesn’t care. “Did you just try to frighten me intoleaving?”

Tsunayoshi flinches.

Fon huffs an almost unsteady laugh, feeling light-headed andthrown off balance for the first time in decades.

“I think,” He muses, casually disintegrating Viper’s Mistnoose with a spark of his own Flames and stepping lightly away from Reborn’sgun and dawning realization. “I would very much like to stay after all,Tsunayoshi-san.”

Tsunayoshi makes an incoherent sound of despair, and Fonthinks he knows why now. He’ll have to apologize though; he won’t be going anywhereanytime soon. Not when this Sky Arcobaleno’s first instinct when it came to Fon was to protect.