He Flies With Clouds

Skull has survived Bermuda's attack and is now recovering in the hospital. He enjoys the temporary pampering from all the arcobaleno's and even Tsuna from Vongola pays a visit. Skull takes notice of Colonello and Reborn's attitudes and can't help but feel suspicious.

- Warning: Contains very brief malemale relationship content -

Written by: Dante

He Flies With Clouds

(Some events in KHR have been altered to fixate properly with the story. )

Voices. Voices echoing through his mind. His head throbbed with a searing pain. White hot pain. Skull moaned out to the dark air only to have it catch in his throat. A hand touched his cheek and mumbled something unintelligible. He slipped back into a colourless void.

Fon's irises wavered in the slightest when Skull awoke. He was in a hospital bed. Soiled bandages lay in a trashcan not to far from him and he felt bile rise up in his throat. Fon noted this and silently helped him drink a glass of fresh water. It didn't help for he could still feel the tingle of vomit in his nostrils.

"It's a miracle. You've been out for days." Fon's voice lulled his aching head.

Days? Skull blinked wearily and stared intently at the fellow arcobaleno. He hoped that Fon would get the message. Apparently he did.

"Bermuda. He attacked you, remember? Took out your team and stole the rainbow wristwatches."

Skull stared at the smooth ceiling. He did remember. Everything up to the point where his helmet was smashed and then the blood. Blood everywhere. In his mouth and pooling around, all over his face as it leaked. Trying to hold on a little longer. Skull squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to make it all go away. It didn't.

Time goes by painfully slow. The other arcobaleno's come to visit. Some, like Lal, only poke there heads in to check up. Others like Fon, and to his astonishment Reborn, stay for a few hours to keep him entertained. By the end of the first week, Skull is propped up on a few pillows and watches the television. Everyone had been ridiculously nice to him, he supposed almost dying did that to people. Skull counted off everyone that visited him and his brows furrowed together in a moment of distress. Uni would have been the first to see him. He consoled himself that she was watching from above.

His thoughts flitted from Uni, in her late time, and what sort of lines he'd say when he went back to beat up Bermuda. Skull smirked silently to himself in the afternoon light when the door was kicked open. Literally. Skull still couldn't fathom why it didn't fall off the hinges.

Colonello. The bright blue eyes bore into his one eye, his other being covered in bandages from the shards of glass.

"Colonello Senpai? … " He piped.

"Sup Lackey?" Colonello laughed and walked towards his bed with ease.

The dirty look Colonello received didn't deter the large grin on his face. Skull wasn't a lackey! He was Reborn Senpai's lac- HE WASN'T ANYONE'S LACKEY! Skull puffed his cheeks out and managed a fair attempt to shoot him a rude gesture. The blonde just ruffled Skull's hair but stopped when the bedraggled winced. Colonello plopped down on a stool that Fon had left out.

"So how's Lackey Skull?" His bright teeth grinned down at him.

Skull huffed, "I'm not a lackey, and I'm doing fine, thank you very much."

Colonello merely chuckled at his indigent claim. Skull didn't take note of the close proximity when Colonello built a house of cards on his stomach. The concentration etched into his face, nor the way how his fingers brushed against his knuckled. Which were by his sides and no where near the cards. When the card house fell Skull started to laugh and couldn't help but tease his fellow arcobaleno, and oblivious to the way Colonello stared intently when he did.

The day came to an end when Reborn arrived for a short visit, in tow was Tsuna and a squirming Lambo. Colonello quietly excused himself and Skull saw the odd look Reborn gave the blonde on his way out. Skull pondered this for a moment but was distracted by Lambo as he stepped on his leg.

Skull stared blankly at the little kid in the cow costume. "Lambo-Sans turn to step on you!"

Skull enjoys the company of Reborn and watches with a grin as Tsuna tries to keep Lambo from squishing his feet. When he begins to doze off in mid-conversation Reborn pulls them along and leaves the stuntman to rest. It's only when he wakes up that he realizes he had a visitor in the night. A small bouquet of purple roses lay on his night stand, when he picks up the card that is delicately planted in them he blushes, quite deeply.

Messy writing is inked, strangely enough, on a skull shaped card. The message is what startles him the most. 'Get better soon Skull Senpai .. '

Skull's dream consists of cloud 9.