"See, there's this place in me where your fingerprints still rest, your kisses still linger, and your whispers softly echo. It's the place where a part of you will forever be a part of me."
~Gretchen Kemp
"Gokudera, it's time to go."
The silver-haired man simply remained in his chair, his eyes staring at the ground. He hadn't moved a muscle in the past few hours.
Tsuna was worried. Once the Italian had heard the news, he had frozen. He was completely catatonic.
The Tenth Vongola Boss clenched his fingers a little tighter over the trinket that might break Gokudera out of his state. He leaned over gently and pressed them into the limp hand.
Gokudera's emerald eyes blinked slowly, and they shifted their gaze to the item Tsuna had pressed in his palm.
It was the pendant that Yamamoto wore.
The Vongola Rain Gear lay in Gokudera's hand. Encased inside were Yamamoto's beloved animals, Jirou and Kojirou.
Tears began falling from emerald eyes as he closed his fingers over the necklace and pressed it to his chest.
He remembered one time when they were making love, and that very pendant had cut a line down his back. Gokudera had yelled at Yamamoto for keeping the necklace on during sex, and had refused to let the Rain Guardian touch him for a month afterwards.
He regretted it now.
A soft keening sound escaped his throat as he clutched at the necklace. It was his lifeline, the one thing keeping him tethered to the ground.
"It's the only thing that survived the fire." Tsuna whispered.
How painful it must have been, Gokudera mused, to burn to death.
I would trade places with him in a heartbeat.
Their shared apartment had burned to the ground. Gokudera had been away on a mission, but he had returned to nothing.
All of his belongings, save for the ones he had, had with him, were gone.
The person he had loved was gone.
All reminders of that person were gone.
Save for the pendant he had clutched in his hands.
Shakily, Gokudera slid the necklace over his head, allowing the unfamiliar weight to rest on his collarbone.
That necklace would never come off, for the rest of his life.
Just as for the rest of his life, his love for the fallen Rain Guardian would never face.