I have no idea what exactly I was trying to achieve with this story, but the plot bunny definitely hopped by and left this ficlet idea. But, at least my muse is up and running so that's good. The time really doesn't have any specially chosen meaning, but it worked out somehow. Hope you like it, but please let me know? Many thanks!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own KHR nor do I claim any rights to it or any of the characters and/or locations in this fan fiction story that you may recognise from the anime/manga. I am only responsible for the plot and nothing else.

Ten hours

That surgery had seemed to last forever. Shamal finally came out of the surgical room looking all the worse for wear. He walked up to the lone figure in the short hallway. Of course she wouldn't be waiting in the normal waiting room like everyone else. She would never admit it, he knew, but she was all heart.

"You know my ways bambina," he said with a wry grin as he pulled off his cap, "I only did this for you."

"Tch," she said wiping a tear that proved more rebellious than her will not to cry, "as if I would care about that stupid thoughtless jerk at all." Smiling, Shamal went down the hall to the waiting room where everyone else was gathered so they could hear the news.

Hayako walked into the room where Yamamoto lay on the hospital bed looking at least a little better than she had left him. He was cleaned up now and he had been bandaged. It wasn't as bad as she remembered. The nurse smiled at her and warned her that she couldn't stay for long. She barely heard her regarding Yamamoto's sleeping form.

It had been ten hours. In that time, she had thought both of loving and losing him forever. The idiot probably wouldn't fight for his own life. His stupid noble nature might get in the way. He had pushed her out of the way of danger and where she had only gotten a few scratches, he had been hanging on by a thread.

She touched his limp hand and was startled by the sob that tore from her. She was clearly more upset than she had let herself believe. Holding his hand with both of hers, she put her head down and wept. It wasn't out of fear though, she realised after a while. It was much more uplifting than that. What she felt now wasn't abject despair or deep-seated fear, but profound relief. The steady beep of the machine next to him was proof enough that he would be just fine.

He had kept his promise at least. He hadn't given up just because she was safe. There was no way the stupid baseball freak would confess his love to her, curl her toes with his earth shattering kiss and then die. That wasn't his style. She sniffed and wiped away a few more tears. He had promised her forever like they were in one of those sappy romantic novels Haru liked to read...

Besides, she hadn't given him her answer yet.

She had sworn to kill him if he died. Tsuna practically had to pry her away from him. It hadn't been pretty. In retrospect, she hadn't been thinking rationally. How could she when she had experienced more emotion than she ever had in her life in less than a day?

"You'd better get well you idiot. I'll kill you if you die..." she whispered.

The machine continued to beep and his chest rose and fell in a comforting rhythm. He was alive. He would get better. He wouldn't die. Hayako could have sworn, however, that she had happened to see a ghost of a smile grace his sleeping face.

She laughed at her own terrible joke.

Fifteen minutes

For three of the fifteen minutes she had given herself, she had simply been navigating the kitchen. She had never done this in her entire life, but in theory, she was pretty skilled. Let anyone say what they wanted, but she was going to make the very best pancake she ever could.

Haru had showed her how the day before and today she had insisted on doing this all by herself. Three minutes down and she had the pancake batter in just the right consistency. Now came the tricky part. She put the pan on the cooker and poured in a little oil, bit her lip and then poured the batter in. The batter hissed it's protest and she waited for it to get brown so she could flip it. It wasn't that hard. Why hadn't she ever tried this before anyway?

She beamed at her work when she was done.

Would he like it though?

She tipped her head to the side examining it. If there was one thing she was, it was precise, and she had followed the recipe exactly as she had been shown. She placed a fork on the side and took off her apron. Yamamoto was going to have her doing his laundry and running his bath next if she wasn't careful...

Before she could turn with the plate in her hands, a strong pair of arms wrapped themselves firmly around her waist and a chin rested on her shoulder.

"What are you up to?" he asked, his husky murmured voice not very far from her ear. She shivered slightly and fought down a blush as bravely as she could.

"Here. Breakfast."

She could see the doubt in his eyes, but he accepted the plate from her and cut into the pancake with his fork. He raised the piece to his lips, chewed and swallowed. Without a word, he finished the entire pancake then put down his fork.

"Well?" she asked getting a little nervous and wondering if she'd missed a vital ingredient or added maybe too much of another.

"That's the best pancake I've had in my life," he said with a slow smile. Somehow, he seemed to know just how to pull at all her heartstrings without really knowing how, a fact she kept to herself. But when he caught her chin between his finger and thumb and brought his lips to hers, she couldn't help thinking that maybe he already knew.

He probably did but he wouldn't tell her.

She smiled against his lips. Her fifteen minutes had paid off.

Twelve seconds

"No," she said desperately trying to get away from him.

"Yes," he said with a devilish grin.

"One of us has to work you idiot," she countered and turned to get back to her desk.

"Not necessarily," he said pulling her back to him, "they won't miss us."

He pushed her hair behind her ears and kissed her nose.

"You need a break," he said and bent to kiss her neck.

She paused for a moment but he knew she was giving in.

He grinned when she dropped her pen and moved to kiss him full on the lips.

She seemed just as hungry for him as he was for her.

With a sigh Hayako conceded that she was getting way too weak.

Her final coherent thought was that her resistance had only lasted about twelve seconds.

A/N: A little tidbit about the last bit. Did you notice I made it into twelve short sentences? Just a little literary thingy at the very end. Reviews are very welcome though so go ahead and click that button!