Dino had been drinking. Not a problem, seeing as he was well over the legal limit, and by this point Hibari had even lost the ability to complain about when he drank around a minor, seeing as he was no longer a minor. Though it had used to annoy him when the man was intoxicated, he had long since learned to take it in stride. And Dino now knew him well enough to realize what would be considered unacceptable, even while thoroughly drunk. So it wasn't the drinking that annoyed Hibari, nor the intoxication—though he certainly wasn't eager to keep that part around—but instead, the thing that annoyed him was that Dino was being his usual self, smothering the skylark in affectionate kisses, but with an extreme amount of alcohol on his breath. Dino was so drunk, at this point, that the kisses he was forcing onto Hibari were making him light-headed.

"Your breath is intoxicating me, Chiavorone." He didn't bother putting any feeling behind the words—Dino, when drunk, had a habit of taking words spoken and applying whatever connotation he pleased to them, regardless of tone or body language to the contrary.

Such was true in this case, as well. "Ah, really? That has to be the most romantic thing you've ever said to me, Kyouya~" the man practically cooed, somehow twisting the completely unromantic words to suit his fancy, just as Hibari had suspected he would.

So of course, the only option was to say it differently, to be more blunt and hope that it couldn't be misinterpreted even by an intoxicated mind. "No, really, you're getting me drunk just by kissing me."

"Aww, you're love drunk?"

Well, that was the second failure. It was now starting to get on Hibari's nerves that Dino couldn't seem to get it. Letting out a low growl, he finally insisted harshly, "You are spreading your inebriation to me like an infectious disease by way of your saliva."

A blank, confused stare overtook Dino's features, until something seemed to click, and a look of comprehension dawned on him. "Ooh. Well, it can't hurt, you're legal now." The offhand way he said it, accompanied by a careless shrug, just served to further displease Hibari.

"I choose not to drink, Chiavorone."

Apparently this wasn't a problem. "Well then choose to start drinking. You don't have to worry, I'll be right here by your side from start to finish~"

"I'm not drinking."

– – –

Dino Chiavorone had always been a particularly stubborn man, especially in matters of Hibari Kyouya. Hibari Kyouya had always been stubborn to a fault, but he realized that sometimes it was easier to give Dino small allowances, rather than deal with the constant badgering. This was one of those cases. It couldn't hurt to drink a little, and of course he wouldn't allow Dino to get him legitimately drunk…In the end, it took just two months for Dino to finally be annoying enough for Hibari to 'give in.'

"I've planned to spend all day at Namimori in a few days, with no other business. The night before that, I suppose you can stop by and make an attempt to involve me in your idiocy. That's three days, Chiavorone. If you miss this opportunity, you will never get another one."

– – –

There were certainly other things he had to think about during those three days. As much as he wanted it, he couldn't visit Japan just to see his favorite skylark; he had official mafia business to take care of, he still had to help Tsuna on a regular basis, to make sure he didn't make any of the near-fatal mistakes Dino himself had made in his early days as a boss. These were important meetings he had to attend, and he couldn't brush them off to spend time with Hibari. He also had to pay attention. Going to meetings was one thing, but with such a momentous occasion on the horizon, he couldn't seem to keep his mind on the present.

At the moment, Tsuna was speaking with a minor family about skirmishes they had been having with another minor family, and overall it was an easy thing to deal with. Dino was pretty much there for moral support, so Tsuna could occasionally glance over nervously and be greeted by Dino's confident smile. No thinking required. This sort of thing was so dull, and there was so much else to think about…

For example, he was getting Hibari drunk. What kind of drunk would the wild-haired boy (technically a man now, but always a boy to Dino) turn out to be? Dino had seen a lot of people drunk, and he knew all the different types, but he was so used to seeing Hibari in his usual state that a drunken version just didn't seem possible. What if he drank and drank and drank and never got even a little intoxicated? The point was to get Hibari drunk, because everyone had to get drunk at least once in their life, and odds were that once Dino managed it once, he'd never see Hibari like that again. It was a unique opportunity that Dino planned to take full advantage of. He just had to be prepared. Hibari was often completely unpredictable, but his personality could never be disputed.

Perhaps Hibari would be one of those touchy-feely drunks, otherwise entirely like himself but leaning all over Dino and treating him as a piece of furniture—which didn't seem like a terrible prospect. It would be so cute, the self-proclaimed carnivore being cuddly. Ah, but this was Hibari, and 'lean on' was dangerously close to 'rely on' and similar herbivore-based things. Dino let out a soft sigh. There was no way that was it. Such a shame.

But maybe he would be a lot nicer when he was drunk, at the very least. After all, Hibari had something resembling a nice side to him, it was just next to impossible to bring out for any living creature other than Hibird. Maybe alcohol would ease that path, and Hibari would smile with cheer instead of sadism, maybe even laugh without the laughter being completely wry. To see Hibari happy when he wasn't killing something—not just content, but genuinely happy—would be quite the treat. And it did seem a little more plausible…

But, Dino thought with a sigh, it was much more likely that Hibari would simply become even more violent once under the influence of alcohol. It was a painful thought, to say the least, especially since Dino planned on being the only person nearby (Kusakabe and Romario didn't count, they were always nicely removed from anything that was going on) and if he was drunk himself he would have difficulty avoiding the bite of the skylark's tonfa.

And then there was always the opposite of becoming more violent. The possibility Dino had been pointedly avoiding thinking about, because it was oh so very much just wishful thinking. What if, once he had gotten a little intoxicated, Hibari turned into one of those lustful drunks? Dino had seen it so many times, a normally-shy person turning shameless, practically attacking the object of their affection with sloppy kisses, sometimes even going so far as to start tugging at clothes while still in public. That sort of drunken escapade only had one ending, and—No, it really was too much to hope for. That was even more unlikely than any of the other possibilities. Unless…

Unless violence was added into the equation. Hibari could be passionate in his own way, so long as there was violence involved, so if he were to get drunk, then that sort of thing might be entirely possible, in fact it seemed the most likely of all the possibilities so far, and…Dino took a deep breath. The room suddenly seemed a few degrees warmer. He shifted uncomfortably, eager to be out of the dull meeting in the overly-warm room. Three days was such a long time, he was a man after all, but Hibari had set that date and it wasn't going to change; the skylark was a stickler for getting his way, and of course he was ridiculously good at it.

"Ah, Dino-san, are you feeling alright?"

Suddenly forced to focus on the world around him instead of the night that wasn't here yet, Dino snapped back into reality and gave Tsuna an apologetic look. "Sorry, I kind of got lost in thought."

"A-ah, don't worry, things went smoothly enough. I think I'm finally getting the hang of this!"

"That's great, Tsuna! Does that mean you don't need my help anymore?"

"A-actually, Reborn-san says that he wants you to stay with me for the next few days…If that's alright with you?"

Though he kept his smile outwardly, Dino was groaning with exasperation inside. Three days was entirely too long a time.

– – –

Finally, finally, it was time. After three torturous days of pointless meetings and his own impossible thoughts, Dino was sitting in Hibari's home, and the skylark himself had a small glass of alcohol in hand. He looked reluctant, and he stared at the glass while not actually taking a drink. He glanced over at Dino, and a sour look passed over his features at the way the man was staring.

"Did you drug this or something?"

"Come on, stop being paranoid and just drink it!"

Without further stalling except to roll his eyes at Dino's enthusiasm, Hibari upended the glass, emptying it of its contents in one go. Dino stared blankly for a moment, then was forced to stifle an amused chuckle at the look of disgust and slight surprise that crossed Hibari's face. The look turned to a slight glare at the now empty glass. "It tastes terrible."

Unable to it hold back, Dino's soft chuckle slipped through, causing the glare to turn to him. "Sorry, Kyouya," he said on instinct, though really the look on the skylark's face just amused him more. As he reached towards the alcohol to pour another glass, he had a sort of premonition, and tried to pull his hand back, but this just proved to make the situation worse, and the bottle tipped over as if he had been trying to cover Kyouya in the intoxicating liquid. Luckily, most of the alcohol spread over the table, and the small bit that did get on Hibari apparently wasn't enough to make him break out the tonfas—at the very least, he hadn't done so yet, and the stare he offered the spill was surprisingly tame. Still, Dino wasted no time getting out, "Ah, I'm so sorry, just a sec, I'll grab a towel and clean it up!"

When Dino returned with the towel, he forced down the ridiculous grin that threatened to spread over his features at the sight that greeted him. Hibird was apparently making an attempt at checking out the mysterious spill himself, but Hibari scooped him up before he could actually take in any alcohol, and the skylark now held the small bird in his hand, and was apparently conversing with his long-time companion, whispering slowly but otherwise seeming completely normal. When Dino didn't move from the doorway, Hibari's dull gaze shifted from the bird to the man, the former taking off lightly and flying out the nearby window, singing its signature song all the while.

Hibari didn't say anything, but Hibird's takeoff spurred Dino back into action, and he immediately knelt down next to Hibari and started cleaning the alcohol off his leg, moving the kimono he wore aside slightly to get it all. Dino paused, glancing up at Hibari tentatively—there were a lot of places they could go to from this position, and Dino was already getting warmer from the possibility; he had always had a particular love for Hibari's legs, so smooth and perfect—but before he could be allowed to make any further move, he was snapped out of his near-trance by an exasperated sigh, and the simple reminder of, "The table." Ah. Right. Damn.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Dino regrettably had to go about the business of cleaning up the mess he had inadvertently made. Once he was finished, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Hibari was now leaning with his elbows propped on the table, an almost bored look on his face, and Dino couldn't help but think that maybe that meant he would be open to making things a bit more exciting…He turned around to get rid of the alcohol-covered towel, and turned back with a smile, opening his mouth to say something—but his words caught in his throat, and his smile fell short.

Hibari was asleep.