A/N: This is a solo piece, by 'Gokudera'. =) It's an 8059 one-shot. It's my first official one-shot, so go easy when you review.
One Stormy Day
The rain fell down on the sidewalk, skidding off the pavement, flying in all different directions as the wind tossed the water droplets about. Overhead, the sky was gray, covered with thick storm clouds as lightning flashed and thunder rolled on the horizon. For now, the school had made an executive decision to prevent students from going home in the storm and so all students had to attend club activities, regardless of whether or not they had any in the first place.
Two boys were gathered in the hallway, one of them leaning against the wall, arms crossed across his chest. The windows on either side of him were closed, but the glass rattled as the water smashed against the solid material.
"Why do I have to be stuck here with you?" the wall-leaner growled.
His companion, a taller, black-haired teenager with an open face and a bright smile, just chuckled. "It's too bad Tsuna was sick today, ne?" he said.
The silver-haired boy rolled his eyes before standing up and making his way down the hall.
"Wait up, Gokudera!" the taller boy called out. He ran forward, his long legs allowing him to easily catch up to the shorter three-quarters Italian teenager.
"What do you want, Yakyu-baka?" Gokudera growled, turning around and glaring at "Yakyu-baka".
"Yamamoto-sempai! Gokudera-sempai!"
A gaggle of fan-girls poured into the hallway from one of the classrooms, pressing chocolates and other food items onto the two boys.
"I don't want it," Gokudera looked down at the brightly wrapped candy, refusing to accept it. The girls kept insisting and Gokudera finally took the presents as a way to get rid of them. Yamamoto had accepted his gifts graciously and was now opening the packages. Gokudera dropped his armful of candy in the nearest trash can.
"You're never going to get a girlfriend that way, Gokudera," Yamamoto laughed as he bit into one of the home-made chocolates. "These are actually really good!"
"Gokudera! Yamamoto! Why aren't you two in club activities?" a teacher had spotted the two of them in the hallway and was now walking down the corridor towards them, secretly happy to finally be able to get the delinquent in trouble.
Gokudera rolled his eyes as he kept walking, ignoring the shorter, fatter, balding man.
He slipped inside a classroom, with Yamamoto following him. They snapped close the door and turned around, expecting the room to be empty. In truth, it wasn't. The two of them had stumbled upon the Chess Club.
"Yamamoto Takeshi and Gokudera Hayato," a skinny, bespectacled boy with greasy black hair and serious acne problems came up to them, the fluorescent lights glinting eerily off his glasses. "Have you come to play chess?"
"No." Gokudera answered bluntly before walking out of the room. Something about the dark, gloomy day had made Gokudera more impatient than usual and he wanted to go to Jyuudaime's house and find out how Jyuudaime was doing. But, alas, he was stuck here with the Yakyu-baka.
"Gokudera, Gokudera!" Yamamoto had caught up, once more, with the silver-haired Storm Guardian. "Will you play the piano for me?" he asked suddenly.
Gokudera looked at Yamamoto, an expression of utter disbelief on his face. "Even you can't be that stupid," he said. "I won't play the piano for anybody." His voice became quieter as he continued speaking. "I haven't played piano since…" he trailed off, his dark green eyes seeming to drift away into the far-distant past. Yamamoto tilted his head to the side, extremely curious now. Gokudera turned abruptly, heading down the hall.
"Please Gokudera?" Yamamoto grabbed the boy's arm, holding him in place. "I really want to hear you play the piano…"
"I told you, no!" Gokudera snapped, tearing his arm free and running down the hall.
Yamamoto watched the figure run away from him, his expression unreadable.
Gokudera kept running, unsure of where he was going. When he stopped to catch his breath, after climbing what seemed to be a million flights of stairs and running through the maze that was known as Namimori Junior High, he looked up to see the classroom number that he had arrived at.
Coincidentally or not, he had arrived at one of the music rooms.
He looked down at the door handle, biting his lip. His hand reached out and he paused, staring down at his hand. Were those really his fingers? Those slender, pianist fingers, adorned by numerous rings? Were those really his?
He tried to remember the last time he had touched a piano. So, he had lied a little to the Yakyu-baka. He had been playing piano, but never for anybody. He hadn't played for anybody in a long time. He didn't even know if he could.
His shoulders sagged as he turned the door handle, sliding open the door and slipping inside. It was dark in this particular classroom, as it was one of the older classrooms. It was too cramped to accommodate the students who took music classes.
But there was still a piano in the corner, a grand piano too large to be moved. It was covered by a black cloth, to prevent mice and other harmful animals from getting at the dark wood of the instrument. Gokudera walked over to the corner where the piano was, not even bothering to turn on the light.
He knew the keyboard by heart, knew where every note was. He removed the protective covering almost violently, whipping it off the piano. A miniature dust storm was created as a result of the wind.
He flipped open the piano lid, running his fingers over the keys, pressing down softly on the black F sharp.
The clear, sweet note rang out through the empty room. Gokudera sat down on the bench, closing his eyes as his fingers began to dance over the keys. It was a song he had spent days on end composing, to present to Jyuudaime as a birthday present.
Yamamoto followed Gokudera, keeping the silver-haired teenager in his sight as he ran down the hallway, ducking around other students and avoiding teachers. When he turned a corner and spotted Gokudera standing in front of the spare music room, his hand on the door handle, Yamamoto doubled back and pressed himself against the wall, hoping that Gokudera hadn't spotted him.
He waited there for a long time, risking a peek. The door to the music room was open and Gokudera had vanished. He crept down the hallway, his heart pounding in his throat.
Why was he doing this?
What compelled him to follow Gokudera in such a way?
What was it about that fiery Storm Guardian that intrigued him so?
The only thing he could see in his mind's eye was that boy's silver hair, that boy's flashing dark green eyes, the way his face changed and the way his body tensed when he prepared to fight to protect the ones he loved, especially Tsuna.
Suddenly, music flowed through the hallway, out from the spare music room.
Piano music.
"Liar…" Yamamoto whispered, when he realized he didn't recognize the song that Gokudera (it had to be Gokudera; Yamamoto had seen nobody else in the hallway) was playing.
The room was dark, the only light filtering in from the dusty windows. This light was dim, for the storm was still going strong.
Yamamoto slipped into the room, keeping to the darkest corners, as the song continued. He closed his eyes, letting the music wash over him. This song…it seemed to have captured the very essence of Gokudera.
There were parts of it that reminded Yamamoto of the way Gokudera fought, in that fierce, almost never-stopping fury that was so characteristic of the Storm Guardian.
Yet, there were also parts that reminded Yamamoto of the way Gokudera was in real life, with a soft, gentle side that he rarely showed, a secret, hidden Gokudera that Yamamoto wanted to dig out.
The song ended with a single, sweet, high and clear note, sustained because Gokudera kept his foot on the pedal.
Gokudera sensed someone else in the room and he snapped close the piano lid, stepping out from behind the instrument. Of course. There was the Yakyu-baka. "What do you want?" he snapped, although his voice was softer than usual.
Yamamoto approached Gokudera, his dark eyes seeming to reflect Gokudera's image back at him. "That was beautiful…" Yamamoto said, keeping his voice soft as well.
Gokudera's face suddenly became annoyed. Nobody else was supposed to have heard it. It was for Jyuudaime's ears only! He glared at Yamamoto, suddenly unsure how he should reprimand the taller boy.
There was something about Yamamoto's expression that made him stop and think.
"Gokudera…" Yamamoto kept his voice quiet, soft as he reached out with both hands and grabbed Gokudera's wrists.
Gokudera stared down at the point of contact between their hands, although he didn't try to break free of Yamamoto's grasp. "What?" he asked, his voice expressionless.
Yamamoto pulled Gokudera towards him, surprising the shorter boy by hugging him and whispering in his ear, "I love you."
------x
Eheheh...How was that?
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