Rating: T
Pairing: 8059
Genre: Drama
Summary: Even after they went through so much trouble to alter the future, not everything is perfect. So Gokudera in the future decides to change the course himself.

Future Exchange

G-Gokudera-?

Shut up. The buttons pop off of Yamamoto's shirt as the Ten Years Later Gokudera rips it open.

Is something wrong with La-Lambo's Bazooka again?

Hold still and shut up, idiot. Gokudera pulls out a large needle with a mysterious blue fluid.

What're you-

Roughly. You... get sick... In the future.

Yamamoto can only reach up to touch the other's face.Are you okay?

I tell you you- you're sick and you're worried about me?

Tsuna was worried. And not his typical, panicky, "Oh no, we're going to die" worried. No, this was "Something is really wrong with my friend - now what?" worried. Or even, "One of my best friends just died and I think my other one is about to follow him - willingly" worried. He suspected he might be feeling something similar to what Gokudera must have felt when he died in the other timeline (really, how strange was it to have two sets of memories when one of them "never happened"?).

The situation remained that even after... the things... Gokudera insisted on the Vongola doctors solving the mystery and curing Yamamoto. Even if Yamamoto wasn't exactly around to be cured anymore.

Gokudera had stopped answering his cell phone, even for "the Tenth's" calls, two weeks ago when Yamamoto's condition reached a critical point. As it stood, Tsuna was still unable to reach his Right Hand Man by phone. However, that didn't pose too much of a problem, as Gokudera could always be found sitting in the awkward plastic chairs in the medical wing of the base. In his weaker moments, Tsuna hoped that his doctors never found a cure because he was sure that if they did and then Yamamoto didn't miraculously spring from the ground that Gokudera would... spring into it, so to speak.

But...

When the doctors did finally develop a cure, he didn't find a cold or depressed Right Hand Man, but an annoyed-looking sixteen year-old Gokudera complaining about why was he sitting in the medical wing if no one was injured and, really, what was wrong with his older self?

Five minutes later, Tsuna found himself with a new set of (traumatizing) memories.

When Gokudera poofed back into his own timeline, over a heavily-breathing, half-naked Yamamoto, he did the only logical thing: blow everything in sight up. Once the dust cleared, he realized the baseball idiot, his baseball idiot, had been uncharacteristically caught in the blast (the cockroach always managed to evade the blast zone) and was now clearly unconscious with an emerging red welt over his heart that didn't have the earmarks of explosive damage. Slightly confused (this was only acceptable as the idiot was out cold and couldn't see his expression), he picked his way over to Yamamoto and with a frown proceeded to drag him to that perverted Dr. Shamal.

Ten minutes to find the doctor and twenty more to convince him to treat a male, and then Gokudera looked down at Yamamoto's chest only to see the red welt now had purple, spidery lines radiating out from the center. Shamal's shrug when he pointed it out hadn't been the least bit reassuring, but blowing up facility only meant the idiot was going to sustain more damage so he let it pass with a grumble about how useless not-invented-yet healing boxes were.

He wasn't watching over his "boyfriend" because he and Yamamoto weren't like that. No, he was guarding one of the Tenth's trusted Guardians in his moment of weakness. After Romario's more thorough examination (Didn't that stupid Cavallone and his subordinates have work to do in Italy?) Gokudera was confident the idiot would be up and spouting useless baseball tidbits in no time. At least, as long as the red welt (which was now a nasty purple-brown color) didn't adversely affect the idiot, that is.

All in all, it left Gokudera wondering what the hell had happened between the idiot and his older self. (It never occurred to him that his position now was oh-so similar to where he'd found himself during the five minutes he most recently spent in the future.)

A full week after his encounter with the ten years older Gokudera, Yamamoto woke up. The red welt and spidery lines had darkened to a black pattern that Gokudera's critical eye thought might make a good epicenter for a yakuza tattoo. Calm as the summer rain, he opened his eyes and leaned up in the hospital bed.

In return, Gokudera shot up from his chair and shoved the idiot bodily back onto the bed. "What are you doing, stupid?" He suspiciously watched Yamamoto's hand rise up to touch his cheek. "You've been-"

"Hey Gokudera." When he received only a glare in answer, he leaned up and gave Gokudera a lingering kiss. "I'll be all right, now."

Sputtering and yelling about stupid baseball idiots that didn't know the meaning of the word discretion and how he was never going to kiss the idiot again after this, Gokudera stalked out of the room roughly gesturing the nurse into the room as he left.

Under the duress of the Tenth being threatened with torture Gokudera might possibly admit that the best part of his so-called relationship with Yamamoto was that the idiot was somehow a damn amazing kisser. If he didn't have to take care of the Tenth, Gokudera could spend all day making out with Yamamoto. And given the week-long lack of certain activities, Gokudera's nerves were all but on fire with pleasurable sensations. Life was good. Or it was. Until that stupid, moronic- "Just what the fuck do you think you're doing? Get your hands out of my shirt! Who said you could touch me?" (At least that's what he tried to say, Yamamoto's tongue got in the way for most of it.)

"Na, Gokudera," (And there was that smile, the one that always made Gokudera want to punch the idiot's teeth in) "you got to see my chest the other day, it's only-"

"What are you talking about, moron! You were injured! That's different! Get off me you pervert! I knew I should have punished you for seducing my older self. Che."