the wind's hymn | paused

Chapter 7 ✔

"Wha? Wha's going on?" Alec fumbles onto his side, folding his pillow over his exposed ear before forcing his heavy eyelids apart.

"Ciaossu," Reborn chirps as if his One Ton Mallet isn't hovering over his pillow above his ringing ear.

"Good morning to you too," the blond rolls away, kicking out his covers and staggers onto his weak feet, "Don't wake me up like tha--"

A quick burst of air entangles the rippled cover with Alec's legs--"Oi! N--" Reborn's eyes gleam when the blond's chin hits the floor with a dull thunk, replacing his objection with a stifled groan.

"You're both bullies," Alec grunts, carefully holding his chin as he rolls onto his back, sandy blond hair flopping on his face.

"Should dye my roots soon or would you rather I wait?" He lifts his head, picking apart Reborn's poker face.

"It would look nicer to leave it mixed," the hitman answers honestly after a moment of thought.

"Ahhh, it would actually. I think Mammon suggested it, must've slipped my mind."

"Do you want this in your face?" Reborn lifts the hammer in a threatening manner.

"Alright! I'll get up! Thanks!" Alec kicks the covers back on the futon and slips out room. "Fire should already be downstairs right?" he pauses, craning his head through the doorway. "And did you see the coffee I brought over? Venti standard--your favourite."

"Hurry up." Reborn's stare sharpens.

"'kay," the blonde darts away, shaking his head at how Leon transformed into spider on the brim of Reborn's hat.

He's got bad memories with spiders.

"I still don't understand how you failed," Tsuna whispers to Alec, glancing at the teacher behind the podium in front of the classroom. "I almost passed because of you."

"I didn't practice enough of the Japanese methods. Then I blanked and you can see my confusion on the paper," Alec clarifies, leaning slightly towards the right in his chair. He sweeps his gaze over Yamamoto to the few pupils around them, tightening his grip on the sheet of questions placed on his desk less than a minute ago.

"This sheet is your homework for tomorrow," tells the teacher, staring pointedly at some pitiful soul Alec can't remember the name of at the moment, "if you don't get all of it correct, you'll fail."

"Now, we will end," she adds, giving them a once-over.

"Aw shit," Alec mumbles, slumping in his seat with a groan, "Gokudera's our only hope."

"That's right!" Tsuna exclaims, whipping his gaze to Yamamoto. "We'll finish it faster with Gokudera-kun!"

"Where do you want to do it, then?" Alec leans forward with his arms folded against his desk, subtly glancing away to smile at Reborn.

"Do it at home," the hitman pipes up, passing Alec a packaged ice lolly, holding his own in his hand.

"Hey! Why do you get to decide?" Tsuna demands indignantly, gripping the back of his seat.

"Because I'm your home tutor."

"Hey!--" Tsuna hisses, mortified at what the baseball player would think of the reveal.

"Haha! I see!" The black-haired teen laughs, holding Reborn in the air. "Tsuna, you have a good home tutor!"

"You think it's a joke again," Tsuna mutters under his own breath.

"Don't underestimate Sunshine," Alec gets up to pat the brunet's shoulder in a gesture of comfort and reassurance. "I couldn't choose a better place. The questions shouldn't be above 1st-year junior high level questions anyways so Gokudera's more than enough. That boy's mathematical skills are sky-high above his peers."