This is horrible, I'm sorry! Okay, so I'm being dramatic, it's not horrible, I don't think, but it is pretty bad, at least the ending is, and Yamamoto is so OOC in the beginning, I can't imagine him angry like that, but at the time I thought it fit a later I couldn't change it so... I'm rambling now. Anyways, it's bad, I don't really like the ending, I actually wanted to do a lot more with this than I did and... I just don't like it! I'm only posting it because I haven't posted anything in a while! I haven't been feeling the need to write like usual so this is probably horrible because I'm out of practice! I'm so sorry! I'm going to go write something else now!

Also, the title has no meaning at all, I couldn't come up with something and I named it "Scout" in my documents to remember what this one was about. So I just tacked on a "The-" to make it sound planned and fancy...

The Scout

The breeze was strong, the air was heavy with that pre-rain storm feeling, but the sun was shining brightly through the fluffy white clouds.

The roof would probably be the most relaxing place in the entire school if it weren't for the fact that Hibari would occasionally be up there napping, in which case, you don't want to even get close to the roof and you whisper quietly even on the ground. Of course, though, Hibari's beauty sleep didn't matter to some people who, despite knowing they'd be bitten to death in seconds, really didn't show enough respect to the school's head prefect.

Hibari's eyes snapped open as he heard the slam of the giant metal door of the roof, squinting angrily up to the sky as he rolled onto his side and looked off the edge of the small roof of the staircase to see none other than Gokudera Hayato standing against the fence across from him, his green eyes staring out across the town venomously. About to stand and catch his attention, to make him aware of his approaching doom, he was stopped by the sound of the heavy metal door slamming shut again, another herbivore rushing up to Gokudera's side.

Yamamoto Takeshi, he immediately walked up to Gokudera, stopping in front of him with an expression that could closely resemble anger if it were not worn by him, because neither Hibari or Gokudera have ever seen an angry expression on that face, neither would be able to believe the bluff that he was actually angry, it must be just a misunderstanding of facial expressions. But then he spoke, and neither could deny that it was an angry expression and Yamamoto was angry… VERY angry.

"What the hell was that back there? Gokudera! Stop ignoring me!"

The silver haired teen still wasn't looking at him, instead reaching into his pocket to pull out his cigarettes and lighter, the moment they met the air, however, Yamamoto's hand shot out to smack them away, making green eyes widen in surprise as he watched them slide across the roof. He still didn't say anything though, instead turning away to walk over to them and pick them, trying to forget about the burning eyes against his back. About to open the pack to get what his body was begging him for, it was snatched from his hand, leaving him to watch as Yamamoto pitched it over the fence off the roof and… God knows where that would land.

Gritting his teeth, clenching his fists, he spun around to try and just leave the roof in this moment, only making a couple steps before a large, rough, hand clenched his arm tightly, almost painfully, and dragged him back, slamming him against the fence. He kept his sight down, away from the burning amber ones hovering over him, trying to ignore the heavy breathing he could feel against his forehead and hair, with long arms on both sides of him, he couldn't go anywhere at the moment.

"I said to stop ignoring me!" He didn't flinch when he heard the rise in volume in Yamamoto's voice, but that could just be because his mouth was only centimeters away from his forehead, but he still didn't look up, "Say something, would you? Why the hell would you do that? Do you even know what you just did? Do you have any idea what you just did?" His words were punctuated with a shake of the fence on either side of him, making Gokudera's body also shake with it, but that could have been because a whole different reason, actually.

Both were silent for a long moment, it just stretched out for what seemed forever, the only thing making him aware that time was still in motion was the sound of a bird in the distance and the sound of his own heart beating heavily in his ear drums. His head was still down, his eyes still staring straight at the ground between Yamamoto's feet, but his vision was shaking, and so were his arms below his elbow, and maybe even his legs, a little, so he just leaned more against the fence, clenched tighter to it behind him.

"Answer me, Gokudera! Why?"

For the first time in his life, Gokudera actually wished he was enough of a coward to just pass-out in this situation. But, unfortunately, he doubted he would ever be that lucky. But, fortunately (or so it seemed at first), he was lucky enough to have someone to bail him out… sorta. Hibari finally stood from his spot on top of the staircase, looking down at the two other guardian's with narrowed icy eyes and a pissed-off scowl, "Fighting, smoking, throwing objects off the roof, and skipping class are all against school policy… Herbivores."

All three were completely silent for a few moments, Gokudera only looking up enough to see Hibari, before he shoved one of Yamamoto's arms away and began to stalk towards the door, "I'll report to the Disciplinary Office." The door slammed behind him, Yamamoto now staring after him with his fists and teeth clenched. Hibari jumped down and followed after the Storm Guardian, leaving the baseball player alone.

True to what he said, Gokudera wasn't just saying he'd be in Hibari's office to get away from Yamamoto, he really did go to his office. Said room was dead silent when Hibari finally walked in, spotting the silver-haired teen sitting on the couch, his arms crossed and glaring down at the table in front of him, Hibari turned away and began walking towards his desk, "Leave."

Scowling, Gokudera looked up in surprise at him, "The punishment?"

Hibari stopped in front of the window behind his desk, staring out at the darkened clouds in the distance being blown in slowly, "Do you want to be bitten to death, herbivore? From what I've heard, you already have detention for almost a month for attacking a visitor on school property."

Gokudera bit his lip, hard, and practically threw himself off the couch, leaving Hibari to glare at the door after he slammed it shut. But Gokudera really didn't care at the moment, with his hands shoved in his pockets, he began to head back to his class. He had a job to do, he was the Strom Guardian, he had to protect the Tenth, so he should just forget all about that stupid man and that stupid baseball freak and just get back to his job, he has to take care of the Tenth. Slamming the door to the classroom open, he ignored the teacher's annoying questions and the annoying whispers as he fell back into his seat and propped his feet up on the desk.

He could feel his eyes on the back of his head.

"Gokudera-"

"What?" He snapped at the teacher, loving the silence that fell over the entire room at that, then mad giggles and squealing could be heard in a hushed pressure, and the teacher just stumbled over the usual sarcastic, "Glad you could join us," before attempting to continue class. As usual, Gokudera wasn't paying attention though, but this time more because the gaze burning into the back of his skull was making him too uncomfortable. His posture was relaxed, he knew that, because there would be those stupid guy-obsessed girls whispering about it if he didn't seem normal, but it was so hard not to fidget under that gaze.

By the time class finally ended, he almost fell out of his seat in relief, standing immediately to grab the Tenth and just leave already. He was already there, though, standing besides the Tenth's desk and talking normally like nothing had ever happened. Which was good, to just pretend nothing happened and have everything go back to the way it was, back to normal. The walk home, he was silent, listening to just the Tenth and Yamamoto talk, flinching every time the subject of baseball came up no matter how hard he tried not to.

"How did the meeting with the scout go?" Tsuna's curiosity was good-natured, it always was, Gokudera still had to remind himself of that, though, feeling the pit in his stomach grow more uncomfortable.

Yamamoto nodded a bit and smiled awkwardly, "Um, it was okay, I guess. I don't think they will be accepting me to their school, though."

Tsuna's smiled turned down, his gaze becoming concerned, "What? But you're the best player Namimori has, why wouldn't they…" It was probably the Vongola's "sixth sense" that told him to just drop it, it could just be Gokudera who felt the heavy, suffocating air, but he doubted that. He doubted the Tenth would even need the Vongola instincts to be able to tell this wasn't a good subject for now.

When it came time to go their separate ways, he almost decided to walk the Tenth home but he insisted that he should go home, he wasn't aware that he seemed so pale. But he was sure he was quite pale, especially when Yamamoto volunteered to walk him home. Sure, he protested, but when the Tenth finally just asked him to let Yamamoto walk him home so he wouldn't have to worry about him… he couldn't fight him.

The walk was silent, and he wasn't entirely sure that was a good thing, although, if Yamamoto was yelling like he had been before, he would still feel the same as he did now. Either way, just being next to him now was what was making him nervous, uncomfortable, and guilty, not to mention how he couldn't make his hands stop trembling in his pockets. They were almost to his apartment, though, and he suddenly became aware of the fact that Yamamoto had never been there before, making him, somehow, even more nervous.

… Did he remember to clean up after breakfast this morning?

Not that it mattered! It wasn't like he was going to invite him in or anything! He had his key out of his pocket the moment he could see his door, on the second floor of his apartment building, he practically ran up the metal stairs before he stopped at the top to tell the other that he was fine and he could go home now, but… Yamamoto had followed him up, standing just behind him and staring down at him with the intense burning gaze that made him want to fidget, an uncharacteristic frown on his face. He immediately stumbled back a couple steps to reestablish his comfortable distance, then spun around and stalked to his door, jamming the key in the lock and opening it.

He stepped inside and shouted behind himself, not daring to take another glance at him, "Go home."

"Invite me in."

He froze in his spot for a moment, just a moment, hopefully not long enough to be noticeable, then turned around, back to staring at the ground between Yamamoto's feet. He gripped the edge of the door and made to close it quickly, "No, go home."

He stopped it with his hand, making him push harder, and soon they were pushing against the door, fighting over it, Yamamoto ultimately winning because… well, he was stronger from all that stupid baseball and sword practice, not that Gokudera would ever admit that. He slipped and let Gokudera stumble over himself a bit as he suddenly slammed the door shut behind him. Yamamoto didn't waste time in grabbing his arms and pushing him against the wall of the hall way though, making Gokudera wince more from the situation than anything else. It was just like back at school; accept the only thing that could save him now was maybe the neighbors calling the police if they got too loud.

He could feel Yamamoto staring at him again, but he focused straight down, his own carpet between his feet, listening to his heart pounding in his ears, and, "Why did you hit the scout." It wasn't a question, it was a demand, but not like the ones before, he wasn't as angry anymore, that just made him feel guiltier, though, "You knew I wanted to go to that school. So why did you…"

He was shaking again, and he knew Yamamoto knew it, he knew Yamamoto would be able to feel his arms shaking, probably notice how his knees were trembling, and he released him, letting the shorter teen slide down the wall to bring his knees up and hide his face, wrapping his arms around himself as if to pretend this really wasn't happening. He swore he'd never tell him, it just wasn't something he could do, and that idiot would probably just laugh it off as a joke in the end, and… that would hurt even more, wouldn't it?

"Gokudera?"

"I didn't want you to go." He whispered it, but it didn't really matter if he heard it, as long as he just left soon.

"Why?"

"Because you wouldn't be here anymore, you idiot! That's why, what did you think?" Maybe if he had stood and yelled that in his face it wouldn't have sounded so pathetic to him, but yelling it from a fetal position wasn't that bad… Okay, never mind, it was as pathetic as he thought it was.

"I would have still hung out with you and Tsuna-"

"Dumbass, that school is two towns over! You would've had to live there, you'd never be here anymore! I'd never see you outside of work for Vongola, hang-out my ass!"

"You…" Gokudera tensed suddenly as he felt those words were closer, clenching his hands to himself tighter, his heart was so fucking loud, he could barely hear himself, never mind Yamamoto, "Do you like me, Gokudera?"

He heard that.

"Go home."

"Wait, I asked-"

He jumped up, pushing the baseball player back forcefully towards the door, "Go home! Leave! Get out of my fucking house!"

Yamamoto grabbed his shoulders, pushing back so not to be shoved away, "Just tell me, Gokudera, I asked you if you liked me."

"No! Get the fuck out-" His mouth was shoved against a chest, effectively making him go quiet for the time being, entire body stiff with the two long tanned arms wrapped around him.

"Not until you tell me if you like me." He suppressed a shudder from the way he could feel Yamamoto's chest rumble from the words resonating in his body, squeezing his eyes shut, he moved his head to the side to breath, his lips parting themselves as he felt the words beginning to rise from his throat without permission.

"I…" A crack of thunder caused them both to jolt and blink at the sound of pouring rain that suddenly picked up outside. Gokudera pushed himself away suddenly, making the baseball player look down at him in surprise, but, once again, the green eyes he was waiting to see were averted down, "Stay on the couch until the rain stops-then go home."

He immediately spun around and stormed through a single door from the living room, leaving Yamamoto to stand silently in the living room. He slammed the door shut behind him, looking around the small bathroom before pulling back the curtain of the shower and climbing in the tub, breathing slowly to himself as he listened to his heart gradually begin to calm. He let his eyes slide open again to stare at the plain ceiling, biting his lip in irritation as he glared at the ceiling. He was hiding from that idiot in his bathroom… That's a new level of pathetic for him.

Glancing around, Yamamoto noticed the door way that was next to the spot where he had pushed Gokudera against the wall, peering inside to see a small kitchenette type area, and then walked past it to see the living room. A couch, a dresser, a coffee table and a TV was all that was in there, the gray carpet stretched across the entire room, some faint stains and burn marks across it making Yamamoto raise an eyebrow, wondering if their owners were from previous tenants or Gokudera…

Well, the burn marks were likely Gokudera, but the stains would seem a little too messy for him. Sighing to himself, he glanced at the door Gokudera had walked through, figuring that was his bedroom, most likely… or bathroom, because he just noticed the he hadn't seen one yet. But it was likely a bedroom, but-then again-what apartment didn't come with a bathroom? Maybe it was one of those ones with a tenant bathroom down the hall or something? Or maybe there was a bathroom connected to the bedroom?

… Gokudera would wait in the bathroom to hide from him… Would he? But that would mean he didn't have a bedroom. Did he sleep on the couch? There was a dresser in this room, after all… The couch didn't look like a fold out… He quickly walked up to the door, planning to quell his curiosity, he knocked softly and heard the familiar sharp "What?" from the other side.

"Gokudera? Where is the bathroom?"

The other was silent for a moment, making an amused grin appear on the baseball player's expression despite the situation, "Who-Who said you could use the bathroom anyway? Baseball idiot!"

"Please, Gokudera? I can't go home now in this rain!"

The other side was quiet for what seemed like minutes before the door suddenly was flung open and Yamamoto saw Gokudera storming out of the bathroom, he quickly reached out and latched onto the other's wrist though, making the bomber jerk to a stop, "Let me go, I'm letting you use the damn bathroom, alright?"

"Were you really hiding from me?"

Gokudera's eyes flickered up once, but snapped back down immediately, wincing at the saddened expression on the other's face, "So what if I was? Like I want to spend however long it takes for this damn rain to stop with you, dumbass!"

He was pulled into a hug again, making his eyes squeeze shut tightly again as he felt his face turning hot, almost rolling his eyes when he realized he was actually feeling a bit proud that he wasn't trembling this time. Yamamoto's arms tightened around the other teen, letting his nose bury itself in his silver hair, he blinked slowly and sighed, "That school is as important as you are. If you… really don't want me to go, I can stay here."

"Idiot! So you're really going to give up what you want just like that?"

"Ah! I'm not giving it up, I'm just saying that if-"

"That you wouldn't go if I didn't want you to! You sound even dumber than usual, damn idiot!"

"But I thought-"

"You never think!"

"Then I'll go!" The room was instantly silent as they stood still in the hug, Gokudera having brought his hands up to hold onto the taller one's shoulders comfortably, his teeth digging into his lip before he felt the vibrations of Yamamoto's voice run through his body again, "Is that what you wanted to hear?"

Gokudera narrowed his eyes, nearly glaring at the Rain Guardian's jacket, "… No."

"So-"

"But what I want doesn't matter! You dumbass, you shouldn't just give up any of those idiotic dreams of yours just because someone says they want you to! I thought you had some kind of resolve in you!"

"It's not just anyone, it's you!" Yamamoto gulped heavily, feeling the tips of his ears turn a little hot as his heart began to pick up a little speed, "… So why did you punch the scout, then?" Gokudera's lip was going to split if he kept biting it like this, but he ignored that fact and let his eyes squeeze shut again, leaving Yamamoto's question unanswered. The baseball player let a relaxed smile spread across his face again, "So you do like me, don't you?"

No answer.

"You like me, you didn't want me to leave, so you ruined my chances of getting into the school."

No answer.

"Hey, Gokudera… I like you, too, okay?"

"Idiot!" Yamamoto chuckled a bit at that and looked down to see Gokudera glaring up at him, despite a dark blush overtaking his entire face, "Your grades suck, you don't know shit, the only thing you're good at is baseball, fighting, and making sushi, and you're an over-all dumbass! How come you could figure that out but couldn't figure out how to do your History assignment last week?"

Yamamoto blinked and then laughed, "Ah, because I knew I'd get to spend all afternoon with you helping me with it if I kept 'forgetting' everything…"

"You're not as dumb as you look…" Gokudera muttered, "I think you're dumber than that."

"Aww, that's just mean! C'mon, is that anyway to talk to your boyfriend!"

Gokudera sputtered and looked up at the other in shock, "What? When did-"

"Now." Yamamoto let his lips softly press to the silver-haired one's forehead, slowly moving down to the tip of his nose before pressing against the corner of his lips. Gokudera's head snapped away, suddenly, making Yamamoto look over to him in surprise, smiling at the deep flush still present on his face.

"Idiot, I'm not a girl!"

"You're blushing like one."

"Sh-Shut-up!"

Yamamoto's face suddenly lit up, "So does that mean I'm top?"

Gokudera raised an eyebrow in disbelief, "What the hell are you talking about? I never agreed to be your boyfriend!"

Yamamoto chuckled again and leaned down, resting his forehead against the others to watch the emotions run through his eyes so rapidly with amusement, "Alright, so… Gokudera, will you be my boyfriend?"

Gokudera blushed again, a fierce scowl immediately jumping to his face as he looked away, "I-Idiot… J-Just don't make me regret it!"

Yamamoto smiled warmly again, giving a slow nod before moving forward to press their lips together gently, imagining the quickening heart beat in his ears was the Storm Guardian's.

Yamamoto yawned as he slid open the door to his father's sushi restaurant, walking over to the mailbox next to the door and pulling out the bills and such, taking a quick glance through them as he walked back into the shop, his eye caught on a particular one as he fell into a seat at the counter. It was from the same school that scout a couple weeks ago came from, so he turned it around to tear it open, figuring it would be a rejection…

Gokudera had attacked the guy just before he was going to leave as a threat to not accept him, after all, and most teachers are scared of Gokudera like some kind of instinctive feature that was pre-programmed into them, so…

Yamamoto glanced up as his father walked in, tearing the letter open as his father looked at the envelope questioningly, "Ah, is that from that school you wanted to go to?"

"Yeah, but…" He had been about to say that he'd been rejected when his eyes actually fell on the first words of the letter, making him pause for a moment and leave his father staring at him curiously.

"Well? You were accepted, right? Of course you would be, you're the best on the team! How much is the intuition supposed to be again?"

"Ah, no, actually, I think I want to stay here."

"Hm, you sure? You're giving up a lot of chances…" He nodded slowly, smiling as he leaned over the counter to drop the letter and envelope in the trash.

"Yeah, what I want isn't over there."