Diclaimer: I don't own the characters or the series. Amano Akira does. I'm just playing with them for a bit.

A/N: Sequel to Blood-stained Feathers, Clipped Wings, Death of the Skylark, and Expectations on the Entertainment Value.

Falling Sky

Chapter 1

"I can't believe they are actually that idiotic." Kyouya's steps hurrying down the hallway were remarkably full of rage. The usually so lively mansion seemed suddenly completely devoid of life as every last man scurried off to avoid becoming the target of his wrath. They learned fast. The ones who didn't never survived.

"You've been saying that ever since you first met them, Kyouya." Dino sighed, keeping up pace with his lover. "They're a bunch of old men who basically get paid to know everything better than everyone else. Of course they're idiotic."

"Then fire them." He could almost swear Kyouya was visibly fuming. He was definitely seeing a faint aura of flames about his ring. Great. An irate and destructive lover, just what he needed for a relaxed evening. "It's not like you can't. You're the boss."

"It's not that simple, Kyouya," he reminded. "They're the Cavallone advisors. They've been around since my father's time."

"Oh, really," Kyouya said dryly. "And pray tell me, what was the condition of this family when it fell into your hands?"

Ouch. Low blow. "That doesn't have anything to do with this!" he protested. He noticed he needed to pick up his pace to stay close enough to Kyouya to continue the conversation without shouting. "The fact remains, they're a trusted circle of family advisors that's been around for ages. I cannot just suddenly disregard them simply because you disagree with something they said."

Kyouya came to a very sudden, very sharp halt, turning around to glare at him. "…I cannot help but notice a very distinct lack of first person in that comment, Bucking Horse."

"Don't be like that, Kyouya." Dino sighed again, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm not saying that I agree with what they said, just that you might like to consider that maybe, just maybe, your reaction isn't entirely warranted."

"They told you that you need to find a proper wife and get yourself an heir," Kyouya growled, his eyes practically blazing with anger. "They spelled it out very clearly right in front of me. You tell me how I'm supposed to react."

"You know it's just their opinion, Kyouya. It's not like I'm obligated to follow their suggestions."

"Oh, I know that perfectly well." Kyouya mimicked his pose. Dino had to admit it had quite an effect when someone was looking down at him like that as though he were a child to be scolded. "I also know that they have made this argument several times. Every time before, you have cut them off before the idea gets far enough that I would be forced to kill them. This time, you didn't say a word."

"I didn't get a word in sideways is why," Dino snapped in his own defense. "You know perfectly well how they can be when they get started."

"Oh, I don't know. There was a rather clearly available moment of awkward silence when one of them actually stepped forward and pointed out that I do not in fact possess the necessary organs to pop out little foals for their amusement." Kyouya glared at him viciously enough Dino was almost tempted to step back. "You did not disagree. Which I can only take as a sign that you are starting to agree."

"I'm just tired of all the fighting, that's all," Dino sighed. "You know I wouldn't do such a thing to you. I love you, Kyouya. I should think I've made it clear enough."

"Then why is it apparently impossible for you to make those idiots shut up?" his lover spat. "It's been almost two years since I took your name. If you haven't convinced them by now that it is not just some weird phase, I don't think you're really trying all that much."

"I've told them over and over that I will neither leave nor cheat on you," Dino assured him. "I can't exactly help that they don't think it counts unless we are actually married." Oh, he would have loved to marry Kyouya in front of law and God and people. Too bad his home country didn't exactly agree with his ideas of a perfect life.

"I'm perfectly aware we are not actually married, Cavallone. At the moment, that fact is the only thing standing between you and a messy divorce."

Now, Dino had to admit he was actually taken aback by Kyouya's words. "You wouldn't leave me over something like that," he breathed. "…Would you?" Given Kyouya's antisocial tendencies, he had a creeping suspicion that yes, yes, he indeed would.

"…I don't even know." Kyouya shook his head. "I'm angry at both you and those idiotic herbivores. I'm rational enough to recognize that might lead to some unfortunate decisions I may or may not regret later. Just in the unlikely case I might find some kind of a use for you later, I will give myself a moment to calm down." He paused. "I give no guarantee as to what I will do after that."

"…I understand." Even if the knowledge felt like a gun held to his head. One wrong move, and his life would be over. At least the part of it that made it worth living. "I do love you, Kyouya."

"So you keep telling me." Kyouya turned his back to him. "Maybe one of these days, you will show it in a way that will actually matter."

"I would never leave you, not because of anyone," Dino murmured, not sure if Kyouya heard or even listened as he marched right off. "It hurt badly enough when I lost you the first time around."

He spent most of the day in a state of a strange, paranoid fear. He wasn't sure whether his life was about to fall apart around him, and he couldn't really do anything to help the matter either way. Finally, well into the afternoon, he found himself wandering about the garden, trying to distract himself from the fact he currently didn't know where Kyouya was or whether he would be back. However, apparently it was finally his time to catch a break, as the first question was answered quite simply as he spotted the younger man in a far corner of the garden.

"…I remember, you know." Kyouya wasn't looking at him, though obviously he had been noticed. The Cloud was leaning against a three instead, looking up into its foliage. There was something eerily beautiful about the way he stood in the shade, thick lashes half covering his eyes. But then, Dino always found him beautiful.

"Remember what?" Dino asked quietly, walking close but not too close. He knew better than to get too close to his lover so soon after a fight. He'd had the broken bones to show just why it was such a bad idea.

"I remember… before." He still didn't get even a glance. "Not most of it, thankfully, just… bits and pieces. I remember walk here, sometimes. This was the furthest I could go without stopping to rest."

"I remember that too," Dino murmured. "You liked it here. You always came here when you were upset." He couldn't even begin to count all the times he had gone looking for Kyouya only to find him here, peaceful in the solitude of the rarely disturbed area.

"…Birds often sing at this spot." Kyouya closed his eyes, leaning his head against the tree trunk. "I'd walk all the way here and then sit down because I was so exhausted… I'd hear them sing and I'd feel a little bit easier even though I didn't know why. I tried to sing with them sometimes but I never could manage to sound the same."

"Kyouya…" Dino swallowed. He wasn't sure what to say. There was a reason they rarely discussed the… incident. It was enough they were reminded of it every day, in the ever more complicated patchwork of scars covering Kyouya's lean body, in the way his fingers would never again be as limber as they had been before, in the aches and pains he would never admit to but which allowed Dino to hold him close at night.

"Sometimes I almost wonder if it wouldn't be easier to go back," Kyouya murmured. "Go back to the me who didn't know anything, didn't know to be hurt or offended or enraged by anything. It was… simple. As long as I had some peace and quiet and could find you when I was sleepy, I was more or less happy."

"That wasn't you, though," Dino said quietly. "That was merely a ghost. A ghost of who and what you are. I'm glad you came back."

"…It was because of you, though." Kyouya gave him a brief glance before opening his eyes again. "You brought me back."

"No, Kyouya. You brought yourself back," Dino said firmly. "I was only there to make sure nobody tried to interfere."

"…Hm." Kyouya shook his head slowly. "But without you, I wouldn't have had anything to return to."

"…Kyouya." Dino swallowed. "If – if you have stayed with me out of gratitude or something –" He'd have to go for a bit to find the most dignified way of hanging himself.

"Do you honestly believe I would be capable of something that idiotic?" Kyouya's lips twitched just a bit at the corners. "I do value myself more than that, broken or not."

"…I know." He had never actually believed it might be true. But, he had indeed feared. "Kyouya… I'm sorry. I should have spoken up and I realize that. Trust me, I will make it very clear to them that it just won't happen. I just… I just wish you would understand I have no interest in sleeping with anyone else, for any reason. It's the only thing I wouldn't do even for the sake of the Cavallone name."

"I… wonder." Kyouya shook his head. "I'll let you live for now."

"And live with me, too, right?" Dino inched closer. "I just don't know what I'd do if I lost Kyouya…" Though he suspected it just might involve some very unmanly tears.

"I know plenty of people who would probably throw a party," Kyouya said, finally giving him a proper gaze instead of all the glances and glares. "I also know you aren't smart enough to do that, so I'll settle for not having to find out for a little while longer."

"…Thank you." A small smile touched Dino's lips as he leant closer to his lover.

Just as they were about to kiss, he heard someone clearing their throat behind him. Springing apart, he turned to glare at his closest man. Kyouya, however, appeared rather calm. "Romario," he said. "What is it?"

"Some bad news, I'm afraid." Romario looked even more harassed than usual. That was enough to make Dino worried, too.

"What is it?" he asked, frowning. "Did someone die or something?"

"…Several someones, I am afraid, boss." Romario shook his head. "At least four of our men were killed and a few more injured in a firefight with another family."

"Who was it?" Dino stood up straight, his eyes narrowing. Nobody was allowed to harm his family in any way or manner. Beside him, he felt more than saw Kyouya adjusting his position, too.

"According to eyewitnesses…" Romario sighed more deeply than Dino could remember him ever doing before. "…It was Vongola."