Another fic with my favorite Katekyo Hitman Reborn pairing! I wrote this at eleven o'clock at night and it's also my first time writing in the present tense so please forgive any mistakes.
It's all set sometime in the fututre and Mukuro is out of Vendicare.

So, read and enjoy! :)

I don't own KHR, not matter how much I want to.

Bloodied Silence

The whole world falls silent. The battle is still on, but the noise has been muted, almost as if it had been edited out of a movie. They are shouting at him, screaming at him to hurry up and fight. He can't. His legs are glued to the spot as he stares at the man who is lying just a few feet away from him. And the man stares back. The man who had saved his life.

Silence.

Deafening silence.

It bores through him, slicing his skin like a knife. Why is it so silent? The battle around him seems to move in slow motion as the seemingly untouchable man lies in a pool of his own blood, coughing silently. Was it really silent though? He couldn't tell. The mismatched eyes of the dying man penetrate him, staring through him as if those eyes were looking into his soul. The fight around him had long since disappeared. It was just them. The Cloud and the Mist.

Hibari stared.

Slowly, his feet begin to move on their own accord as he approaches Mukuro, who looks more surprised than anything, as if he was experiencing pain for the first time. For a moment, one horribly silent moment, Hibari simply stands, taking in the bloodied form of the man who had actually saved his life. Why would he do that? Mukuro smiles amiably, despite the agonizing pain that he must be in. Hibari opens his mouth to speak, but no words come out. The silence is overwhelming. Why won't his ears work? His eyes are wide and his body feels rigid as he simply stares. Once again, his body moves on its own and he bends down. Mukuro's face is calm, but his eyes are dancing. They are dancing in amusement, in confusion. In pain. As if he was not in control of his own body (which he did not think he was) he slowly lifts Mukuro's torso and very uncharacteristically cradles him in his arms.

'Why?' So he did have a voice. He looks down at the illusionist, who smiles back at him. A trail of blood drips from Mukuro's mouth and down his chin as he looks upwards at the man whom he is considered to be a rival too.

'Why not?' he asks. Hibari's eyes narrow and wander down to Mukuro's abdomen, where a lance like javelin is protruding. The illusionist had taken that javelin for him. All he can remember was the gloved hands pressing sharply against his back and the rough push that sent him hurtling to his side. And so came the silence. His fingers flutter along the metallic weapon that had impaled his rival and he traces the unique design that it bore. Hibari wants this, doesn't he? He wants to see Mukuro dead.

He shuts his eyes with a scowl and resists the strong urge to simply yank out the offending weapon. 'You fool,' he barks at the injured man. 'You're an idiot, a total idiot!'

'Probably,' Mukuro replies, also shutting his eyes. Hibari growls and shakes him gently, forcing his lids open again. If his eyes close then his heart may stop.

But this is what Hibari wants. He wants the man who had humiliated him dead. So why was he holding him as gently as one would hold a lover? Why was he shaking the man to keep him awake? Why was he not taking this opportunity to watch his rival's demise? Almost desperately, Hibari looks around, searching for someone who could help until he hears Mukuro cough. Crimson blood spurts out of his mouth and covers his already blood drenched jacket. The reluctant worry in Hibari's body burns even brighter and spreads through his body like a disease as his grip on the young man's body tightens. He is not yet ready for this.

'You can't die here, herbivore,' he orders. 'This isn't like you. You don't die over something as weak as impalement!' The words that pour from his mouth make him feel foolish, but they seem to have their effect. Mukuro smiles and lets out a trademark chuckle. 'You can't die, you can't! I'm supposed to take your life, not some lowlife weakling that wasn't even aiming for you.'

Mukuro's smile stays the same as he regards Hibari's almost frantic face calmly. 'Impalement is not a weak as you believe, Kyoya,' he mutters slowly with a short laugh. His voice is soft and very faint, making Hibari come just a little bit closer to hear him. The illusionist moves his hands in a languid manner down towards the javelin and chuckles in disturbed amusement as his hands find Hibari's. It's a strange feeling, Hibari notes. He is holding his rival carefully, while said rival clutches to his free hand. It's odd, yes, but it also feels…right.

'I don't understand,' Hibari exclaims. 'Why did you save me? I can handle myself! I didn't need your help!'

'Yes,' Mukuro agrees weakly, 'you can handle yourself.' He looks down at his abdomen with a rather intrigued expression on his face. 'I've landed myself in quite the predicament, haven't I?' If Mukuro fears death then he doesn't show it. It seems that he accepts his fate. His eyes wander back up to meet Hibari's. The silence was still there.

Hibari's head feels heavy and his throat feels dry and hoarse, but he still clings to Mukuro's dying form.

A heartbeat. All he hears is a heartbeat. It is either his or Mukuro's. The two stare into each other's eyes, both hearing the same thing. Thump…thump…thump. It echoes over the silence, banging in his ears like an ever beating drum. The pool of blood continues to flow out of the Mist Guardian, surrounding them both in an oval of crimson. The glimmer of mischief that seems to always adorn the beautiful duel colored eyes of Mukuro was slowly fading away. Silky indigo strands of hair were pushed away from his face by Hibari, only so he could get a better look at the other.

Hibari lowers his head until it is close enough to feel the illusionist's shallow breath on his skin before touching his lips against Mukuro's bloodied ones. He had no idea what possessed him to do it, but he does it anyway. It now all makes sense. He understands now why all of his thoughts went straight to Mukuro when his name was mentioned. He understands now why he concentrated only on the illusionist during a fight. It was all laughably simple. He just does not hate Mukuro anymore. In fact, it seems to be quite the opposite. His lips move against Mukuro's almost desperately, not caring whether blood was being transferred between them and not caring whether anyone saw them. Mukuro's hand rises and strokes Hibari's cheek as they slowly and softly kiss. It was nothing like either of them expects. In fact, it is completely different, not that Hibari would ever admit to thinking about kissing Mukuro. They thought that their first kiss would be passionate, demanding and possessive but instead they got a slow, sweet pressing of lips against lips.

They seize reluctantly, but their lips are still touching very slightly. 'That was unexpected,' Mukuro whispers feebly as he snakes his hand around Hibari's neck. Hibari glares and says nothing, only allowing himself to stare into his eyes. The only sound other than the silence is the heartbeat, which seems to grow louder and faster the more they stare at each other.

'Don't die.' It's more like an order than a request but Mukuro seems to understand.

'Oh? Kyoya,' he mutters fondly, 'you of all people should know how hard it is to kill me.' He finishes his statement by coughing up more blood. Hibari sighs and moves his gaze from Mukuro's face to the javelin that is still sticking out of his stomach.

'You're not immortal, Mukuro.'

Mukuro smiled weakly as more and more blood began flowing out. This, however, did not seem to bother him in the slightest. 'I can try to be,' he said with a painful sounding chuckle. Hibari glares at him for saying sometime stupid and resists the urge to hit the man in his arms. He sighs again and looks around, searching for someone with at least a little bit of a brain to help him with Mukuro's state. No one is nearby. They have all continued to the next point of the mission, believing that Hibari and Mukuro are either already there or following behind.

He looks down again as he feels Mukuro pull his hands to the javelin. 'Pull it out,' he said as he gazes up at Hibari.

'What?'

'Pull it out,' Mukuro repeated. 'If it's out I'll be able to continue.'

Hibari shook his head. 'You'll lose too much blood, you'll die,' he stresses. 'I've already told you, I don't want you dead yet. I'm not ready for you do die, herbivore.'

'Trust me, Kyoya,' Mukuro continues, smiling as if pulling out a javelin from one's stomach was an everyday occurrence. Hibari gives a hesitant glance to the pool of blood around him and briefly wonders why he is hesitating in the first place. He nods slightly and gently puts Mukuro back on the ground so he can grab the javelin more firmly.

'If you die, plant-eater I will personally storm my way into Hell and drag you back to the living so I can kill you again,' he promises. Mukuro takes this threat as a signal to get ready, so he braces himself. He grinds his teeth and claws at the dirt as he waits for Hibari to yank the thing out of him.

It was much more painful than expected.

Mukuro bites back a sharp gasp and immediately clamps his hands over his gaping wound as the javelin is pulled out. The pain surges through him, causing him to shudder violently as tears prick at his eyes. Even so, he manages to keep his playful smirk spread across his face. Hibari quickly pulls off his jacket and presses it against the javelin induced hole in Mukuro's abdomen, putting pressure on the injury and hoping for the best. The faint sounds of battle thundered in the distance, making both of the men look towards it, shocked at that fact that they can once again hear something more than the heartbeat and the silence.

Seething in pain, Mukuro tries to sit up, only to be pressed back down by Hibari. His shirt is torn from him, revealing the hideous, bloodied gap in Mukuro's stomach.

'That doesn't look to good,' Mukuro says as Hibari stares disapprovingly. He rips his expensive Italian jacket up and uses it as a makeshift bandage, working quickly so he would not lose the man who was so close to dying. Surprisingly, Mukuro is taking it all in his stride. He keeps his playfully carefree, slightly manic grin on his face, despite that pain that he is in. In fact, the illusionist found the whole painful situation very amusing. Maybe because it is Hibari taking care of him as he dies. That is the thing though. Mukuro is completely determined not to die. He has already gone through plenty of lives that had ended at a young age and he is not planning to end this one at the age of twenty five. In fact, Mukuro isn't entirely sure if he has ever lived past thirty seven. The thought alone causes another chuckle to rise in his throat as Hibari tightened the knot on the makeshift bandage.

Hibari sighs. He has done all he can know. All he needs to do is take Mukuro to someone who can heal him. With such gentleness that Hibari didn't even know he had, he wraps his arms around Mukuro and carefully hoists him up to his feet. The Mist Guardian cringes in pain and stares at the small man with a certain gaze in his eye.

'Thank you,' he says quietly and leans his back against a nearby wall.

Hibari stays quiet, but instead brings his hand up to Mukuro's face and swipes his thumb along the illusionist's lips to take away some of the blood that was there. Slowly, as if he had been doing it for years, he leans his head upwards and once again presses his lips against Mukuro's, wiping away the last of the blood. Mukuro was all too eager to respond and he deepened the kiss, parting Hibari's lips with his tongue. This time, as opposed to their first kiss, it is very in character. Their tongues battle with one another, despite Mukuro's heavy injury, and their hands clutch to each other's arms.

Mukuro's figure tenses dramatically and he quickly pushes Hibari away before he collapses to his hands and knees, coughing out too much blood. Oh yes, Hibari had forgotten about that. With a calm expression on his face and as if nothing had happened, Hibari bends down and pulls Mukuro back up, supporting the taller man with his shoulder.

'Come on,' he orders in an uncharacteristically soft voice. Mukuro's eyelids feel heavy and are drooping dangerously as he continues to lose blood. The Cloud Guardian ambles along, pressing the makeshift bandage harder into Mukuro's abdomen all the while looking for someone who can help. His eyes wander towards the quickly fading illusionist.

Reluctant worry etches its way into his head as his companion's head keeps dropping and rising as he begins falling in and out of consciousness. The blood is leaking through the jacket now and spilling onto Hibari's hand. He is regretting pulling out the javelin. He is sure that he and Mukuro had more sense than that. Everyone knows that you should not pull out something that has impaled you; it just makes the blood gush out faster. Hibari knows that and Mukuro knows that. So why on Earth did he pull it out? Putting the javelin back in won't help either.

'Stay awake, herbivore,' Hibari orders as Mukuro's eyes shut and he falls limp. 'Wake up, you bastard!' Mukuro stays in blissful unconsciousness as he unwittingly leans against Hibari. 'I told you to wake up!' Nothing happens. Hibari clutches the man to his chest, glaring at him while trying to shuffle along with him in his arm and yelling at him to wake up. As expected nothing happened.

And then there was silence.

It's completely up to you whether you believe Mukuro dies or not. I did try writing more about him surviving, but I thought it kind of ruined the flow of the story. Anyway, like I wrote in the begining; please excuse any mistakes as I wrote this when I was half-asleep!

Please review and tell me what you think!