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Acknowledging Change	By : SuziQ Category: +G to L > Katekyo Hitman Reborn Views: 3137 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Katekyo Hitman Reborn, and the characters therein, belong to Amano Akira. I make no profit in their use.

Chapter List
- 1-Beginnings
- 2-Home
- 3-Insides
- 4-Blue
- 5-Who?
- 6-Middles
- 7-Months
- 8-Storm
- 9-Food
- 7
- 8
- 9
Title: Acknowledging Change
Chapter: 07 - Storm
Fandom: Katekyo Hitman Reborn
Pairing(s): Reborn/Lambo
Author: Athame (a.k.a. Ghost of a Rose/Morrigan Moonwater/Nephthys Snape/Soundbreaker)
Disclaimer: Katekyo Hitman Reborn, and the characters therein, belong to Amano Akira. I make no profit in their use.
Summary: Lambo is late, and Reborn is agitated.
Rating: G
Words: 2426
Author�s Note(s): From Reborn�s perspective this time round. Warning for mentions of death and a car accident. I hadn�t planned on why Lambo was late, but when it came to me, it took me a while to decide just what happened. As usual, not beta read.

***

Reborn stared out the window of his room with a deep scowl, hiding his worry with anger, even from himself. The stupid cow was late, and as bad as the storm was, anything could have happened to the still unconfident driver. Damn him if he cost Tsuna a Thunder Guardian who was so useful, moldable. It didn�t help the boy was having to drive on the opposite side of the road than he was use to. For most of them, it wouldn�t make a difference, but Lambo was jittery enough on roads he was use to. It was only his third attempt to drive since they�d come to Japan, usually them walking or Reborn driving.

They had been in Japan for nearly three weeks, and it was a wonder he hadn�t killed the boy yet. Lambo still acted so unsure of himself, and Reborn was smart enough to realize a lot of the teen�s problem was him.

Observing him unnoticed, Reborn had seen him confidently and easily handle various social situations. He had even done a fair job of gathering intelligence a few days before. The older hitman didn�t understand why Tsuna had sent him along. Lambo would have been fine on his own.

A point he had argued, he realized. Maybe there were even still lessons to be taught cranky old tutors; not that Reborn would ever admit it, or the fact Lambo impressed him. Had he known some silly superstition about a rock would do the boy this much good, he would have done so sooner. Truth was, it was the fact the boy had already impressed him that he gave him that little nudge.

Glancing at the time, his frown deepened. Lambo should have been back an hour before, storm or no storm. He was admittedly becoming worried, not just angry. With a sigh, the tutor turned to pull on his hat and jacket. Just as he was holstering his gun, he saw light barely cutting through the mist and rain that had made the night darker still than most. Two strides carried him to the window, and he saw headlights click off, plunging the world outside back into murky darkness.

The older hitman stayed by the window, waiting. Seconds turned into minutes, and he thought for a moment some other fool was out in the weather besides Lambo. Then, the drenched cow pushed the door open and entered the room, coming in no further than a few feet.

Wet didn�t� seem quite appropriate for his appearance. Waterlogged seemed more accurate. He was leaving a large puddle, no longer than he�d been inside, and Reborn knew there was no way he could have gotten that wet just from walking inside from the car. Reborn curled his lip in displeasure. �Baka-cow, you got the seat wet, didn�t you?� As wet as he was, there was no way it would be dry the next day, if even the day after that.

It was as Lambo looked up at him, he noticed the young man was more than simply wet. He�d been crying as well. A crying Lambo was not that unusual, though less so recently, but Reborn could think of nothing that could be the cause of it. Knowing he�d regret it, he heard himself asking, �What have you been crying about?� The question could have been gentler, but he�d been worried, dammit.

Lambo gave a sniff and didn�t move or respond for the moment, and the older man knew not to push, or it�d take even longer. Not to mention the extra crying he didn�t want to have to handle. Finally, the young man wiped his face off, but he still didn�t answer the older hitman. �Lambo,� Reborn said, impatiently.

All the boy had been sent to do was some reconnaissance. With the storm, obviously he wouldn�t have been able to; surly that wasn�t what was wrong. He knew the teen wished very hard to prove himself, but it wasn�t something to get so upset over.

Again, Lambo ran his wet sleeve across his face, trying to hide the tears or just wipe them away. Reborn reached forward and grabbed his wrist, noticing the faint red color to the spotted material. �What happened?� He demanded, looking him over thoroughly for any sign of injury, refusing to acknowledge the way his heart seized illogically.

The boy seemed unscathed. He was just immobile and mute. Seeing no alternative, Reborn took the younger man by the arm and led him toward the bathroom, off their suite. Lambo moved easily enough, and that bothered the hitman. Something obviously had traumatized the younger man, and with all the things he�d seen� The warehouse slaughter not that long ago, while hard on the Thunder Guardian, hadn�t been like this. He didn�t know what could have put the teen into such a state.

Taking matters into his own hands, Reborn pulled the soggy material from Lambo�s body. The teen was starting to shiver; his skin pale and clammy. Grabbing a towel, he rubbed the soft plush along the Thunder Guardian�s flesh to warm him. Ruffling the younger man�s wild hair dry seemed to draw some attention, as Lambo suddenly jerked away and blushed, the color bright against his pallid complexion.

�Stop it,� Reborn commanded, reaching out again to dry and warm the Thunder Guardian. Reluctantly, if the way he swallowed and shuffled his feet was any indication, Lambo stood still.

It took a little while, but Reborn was eventually satisfied. He led Lambo out of the bathroom and to his bed. �In,� was all he said, and the boy quickly complied, no doubt for the warmth and the cover it would give his nakedness. �Now,� the hitman walked over to pour Lambo, and himself, small amounts of bourbon. �What happened?� He asked as he handed over the rich amber liquid.

Lambo stared at the alcohol, and it seemed like he wasn�t going to take it for a while. Just when Reborn was about to force him to drink it, he took the tumbler with a shaking hand and swallowed it in one drink, barely giving a wince as it burned its way down. He hesitated again before looking up at Reborn with pained eyes; the expression enough to make Reborn wish to wipe away whatever it was that caused it. Only Tsuna and Yuni had ever made him feel so much with a glance.

Sighing silently, Reborn sat on the edge of the bed and set his hat on the table between their beds. �You left here to investigate some one of our targets. The weather wouldn�t allow for that, so you should have returned straight back here.� He watched the other, seeing a small nod to affirm that is what Lambo had done. �Something happened on your way back to the hotel.�

The Thunder Guardian stared at his empty glass. He was silent, but Reborn could tell Lambo was ready to talk. The hitman waited patiently, taking the tumbler and standing to refill it for the teen. (He was of the opinion if the boy was old enough to do what he had to do for the family; he was old enough for a couple drinks.) As he handed it back, Lambo looked up and met his eyes.

�They were just kids,� he whispered. The statement obviously came from the middle of the story, but Reborn didn�t comment. Lambo needed to get it out in his own way, in his own time. Usually demanding, that didn�t mean the tutor didn�t know when to sit back and wait.

The boy took a shaky breath then began his story. �I�d barely turned around when the storm had gotten really bad. Couldn�t really see well, so I was going slow, and I knew my phone wouldn�t work. Otherwise, I�d have pulled over to wait it out.� He turned the glass in his hand but made no move to drink the alcohol, which was probably best. Even though he needed it to calm him, Reborn didn�t want him to get too calmed before the tale was told. He could already tell the story wasn�t going to be eloquent, and he might have to make some assumptions for lack of detail.

�About five miles from here, I came across� well, saw,/i>, an accident. A car was speeding and out of control� I don�t know if they even tried to stop� The other car didn�t stand a chance.� He gave a dry �heh� type laugh. �I barely got stopped before getting caught up in it.� His face was haunted as he looked back to the glass in his trembling hands.

Reborn reached out and took the drink away, lest Lambo spill it all over himself and the bed. Then, he waited, watching. The boy closed and opened his hands several times before fisting them in the covers over his knees. Physical comfort would probably speed things along, but Reborn didn�t know just how to do that, beyond the physical mechanics.

Lambo gave a meek sniff and wiped his arm across his face, not that it helped all that much. �I�ve never heard anything like that. It was deafening, like the storm went silent, like the world was on hold�. Then the screams�� He drew his knees up and wrapped his arms around them tightly. �I tried to help; did what I could��

The Bovino had been so brash and fearless as a small child, laughing at the horrors of the mafia world because he knew no better. He�d cared about little beyond himself, as long as his family was there to give him attention and love him. In ways, Reborn missed the five-year-old assassin, or at least his bravado. Sometimes it was hard to believe the child and the seventeen-year-old were the same person.

Oh, they were both weepy, if not as much now. But� Lambo now seemed more innocent, even compared to the Lambo they�d met so many times when he�d been small. The guardians, and Tsuna especially, had tried so hard to teach him to be a guardian without him having to face a lot of the reality around him. He knew about most things, but to experience it, prepared by training or not, was completely different.

And this� He�d never been prepared for this; not the �natural� or �normal� horrors of the world. Reborn didn�t know what to say. Most things would only make it worse. Those eyes, staring at him, pleading at him to make it better� angered him.

Standing suddenly, Reborn walked away, pacing to the window and staring out into the murky darkness. He placed his hands together behind his back and frowned. He didn�t know why he was mad, but it wasn�t fair to Lambo. The boy would only thing he�d done something wrong. Yet, all Reborn could do was glare at the glass and the darkness beyond.

�Reborn-sama?� The timid voice behind him made him tense even more. He heard a shift of covers and then other material before there was a click of the bathroom door. The boy probably thought he was disappointed, he realized when Lambo was in there for quite some time.

Tugging at his sideburn, he contemplated, honestly finding himself thinking about what Tsuna would do. He even considered telling the boy to call the Don, or even Gokudera or Yamamoto. Finally, though, he decided against it and walked over to knock on the bathroom door. �Lambo?�

There were a few sniff and then the sound of the sink before the door cracked open. �Reborn-sama?� His voice was as timid as before; his eyes as pleading, only wetter and redder now, defeated in a way.

�You need to get some rest.� He stood and waited for the boy, who slowly left the bathroom and returned to his bed. He laid down, pulling the blankets up to his chin. Notably, his back was to the hitman.

First impulse was to let the teen rest, but in the long run, it would make things worse. Reborn walked over and sat by Lambo�s knees. �Who was screaming?� The direct approach was going to have to work if he wanted the whole story. Maybe if Lambo felt he had to talk, he�d do so more easily, and with less sniffling.

Startled eyes met his, and Reborn schooled his features into an emotionless mask; his dark eyes gazing back expectantly. Lambo looked away. �The children� I tried to save them, but� He was so young.� If it weren�t for the hitman sitting at his knees, he would have curled up into as much of a ball as possible. �He was pinned, blood everywhere. I tried to help. I wanted to save him. The others got free.�

Reborn put his hand on Lambo�s shoulder. �You did what you could, right? Then you couldn�t save him. Not everyone can be saved.�

Those sad, pleading eyes looked up at him again, hardened now and with a measure of pity. �You�re such a cold man, Reborn-sama,� the boy spoke softly, sounding hurt and disappointed. �He was just a baby. I had his blood on my hands. You want me to just walk way, forget it happened?�

�Yes.� The answer was simple enough. �Death is the byproduct of life. Will you cry for every child that dies horribly every day? You did what you could. More than anyone else was able to do for him. You tried, and you failed. You can�t change that by crying about it.� Harsh, perhaps, but the teen needed a reality check. He was in the mafia. Death was his job, at times, and as unfortunate as it was for a young life to be snuffed out, he�d done what he could. Reborn wondered if he was too far gone himself, if he couldn�t find more than a little sorrow in his heart for the lost life.

He wondered, too, if he�d just lost any respect Lambo had for him as horrified eyes stared up at him before the boy successfully pushed him away in an attempt to roll away from him. �Just leave me alone, Reborn-sama.� The voice was soft, broken� devastated.

Reborn stood and walked away from the bed again. This time� This time he didn�t look back or give it another thought as left the room and made his way down to the bar on the ground floor of the small hotel. He was a killer, not a counselor. Yet, deep down, he felt like he�d failed, too; failed Tsuna, and most of all, failed Lambo.

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Acknowledging Change