A.N.: Feel free to read the footnotes before, during, or after the story. Or not at all, as they contribute little more than an insight into my disturbing mind. Thank you.
Oh. Fuck. This was the third thing Gokudera thought to himself during the "Incident". The first being, 'that hurts', and the second being, 'isn't Hibird still asleep on my head?' The "Incident", by the way, occurred on a Sunday…
Gokudera had finished everything he needed to do for the Tenth in the morning. He announced to his subordinates that as nothing else was urgent, he was going to go home and therefore they could have the afternoon off. By the way they had stared at him; he had distinctly got the impression that this course of action was unexpected. He decided to clear up any confusion by denying emphatically that it had nothing what-so-ever to do with the fact that Kyouya was due home today. Apparently that had not set their minds at ease. This was probably unsurprising due to the way his relationship with the other Guardian had been… uncovered. Anyway, Gokudera had gone home, eaten a proper lunch for once, and changed out of his expensive suit into his usual casual attire. Comfortable, he had settled down to do some light reading on the shape of the universe when Hibird had decided to nest in his hair. This had become a familiar occurrence, and Gokudera soon forgot the little bird's presence. Up until his cat(i) pounced on his head, that is.
Kyouya was not going to be pleased. The little yellow bird was currently making sad "pweet pweet" noises as Gokudera surveyed the damage done. There were definitely some feathers missing, and his left wing looked as if it might be broken. He did his best to bandage it, and told the now calmer bird that they'd see the vet tomorrow, it was going to be okay, and that Kyouya would be home soon. At the same time, Gokudera was fighting the rising waves of panic because Kyouya would be here soon. He had been away on whatever research project had recently taken his fancy for over a month. He had made Gokudera promise not to cause the oven to explode again, even though the half-Italian had sworn it was just one of those freak accidents that tended to happen while he was in the kitchen. Just a coincidence, like pretty much everything had been in the build up to their relationship. It was a miracle they had even got this far. Gokudera tried and failed to push away the thought that maybe his luck had run out.
"Kyou-san, we're here," Tetsuya nudged the still jet-lagged man tentatively. Sure, Hibari had mellowed a little from his high school days, but he still disliked being woken suddenly. Tetsuya spent the moment after his boss's eyes snapped open making sure he wasn't about to die, before repeating himself and giving Hibari space to get out of the car. He took the bags out of the boot and deposited them on the steps. They exchanged a short farewell that was customary for their strange but long standing friendship.
Hibari experienced a sense of foreboding as he unlocked the door, but shrugged it off as an unwelcome remnant of his long flight. He had never been the type to worry excessively, even if his partner was rather unpredictable at times. Hayato's thought process may have the external appearance of a train wreck, but Hibari knew him to a highly logical man. Even if Hayato's logic failed to work in the real world, well, that was just unfortunate. Hibari was sure Hayato was to blame for the way he had kept smirking inappropriately throughout his journey. He had kept thinking of that determined half scowl worn when that silver haired man refused to back down from an argument, the discussions they had that somehow ran late into the night, those distracting grey green eyes. Kept thinking of Hayato's many, many idiosyncrasies. He found himself glad to be back. "I'm home," he called.
Gokudera had shooed his disgruntled cat out after considering that Kyouya might end up hurting it. It was unlikely; Kyouya had always been surprisingly tolerant of children and animals(ii). Even so, he did tend to get carried away whenever something he cared about was threatened. It wasn't as if they had never expected this to happen, Gokudera's cat had proudly brought birds in for his master before. Gokudera had always made a show of telling him off, before disposing of the remains. However, Hibird was usually bright enough to roost out of reach. Just not this time.
It had been a source of amusement to certain members of the Family when they discovered that the seemingly stone-hearted Storm Guardian was a cat person. Of course, all traces of amusement were swiftly suppressed under the scrutiny of that glare. It was not, Gokudera reasoned, as if he had intentionally sought out a cat. He had discovered the stray kitten late one snowy winter. It had been barely half alive, and alone, unwanted. He had made a shelter for it and secretly brought it food every day. He had saved its life, and when it was strong enough, it had followed him home. He had just never got round to turning it out, that's all. Gokudera had been living on his own back then, before Kyouya was even an inexplicable fling. The company had been nice. He was startled out of his reminiscing by the unmistakable sound of the front door opening. The call of his awaited lover was too soon, and he froze, his mind blank.
Hibari frowned slightly at the lack of reply. It was not like Hayato to be so quiet, yet he could sense only one living person in the room. He entered, seeing his usually fiery lover looking as if he had been turned to ice. He was surprised, although he kept his face expressionless, to see guilt in those resplendent eyes. Hibari instantly rejected the first explanation his mind provided him. Hayato was fiercely; even scarily loyal to the people he cared about. Hibari's attention was drawn to his bird, and realised the source of Hayato's conscience. "How…" he began and stopped. He could feel the anger building up. How did he get hurt? It looked like the work of the cat. How could you let him get hurt? I trusted you to take care of what is mine when I'm not here to do it myself! He knew he was thinking irrationally, so he dealt with it by not dealing with it.
"Kyouya…" He didn't wait to hear the rest. Clutching the softly singing bird to his chest, he slammed the door behind him.
The night found Hibari lying on Testuya's couch. Not as planned. Sleeping anywhere near Hayato would have had only one inevitable consequence, and he was not ready to forgive yet. The bizarrely haired man had been surprised to see him, but had known him long enough not to question his presence. Hibari was grateful for this, although of course he never voiced it. Tetsuya knew, anyway. So he lay uncomfortably under a blanket, his head resting on flat pillows as he stared at the fan on the ceiling. It failed to provide any wisdom, and Hibari failed to fall asleep despite his exhaustion. He was not looking forward to tomorrow.
Gokudera awoke after barely an hours sleep. He was greeted by the memory of the look of betrayal on Kyouya's face. He forced himself to get out of bed with a groan. Monday was always busy, although Gokudera suspected today would never end. Maybe coffee would help.(iii) The first cup and he got ready for the gym. The second was when he got back and got ready for work. The third was handed to him wordlessly by his personal aide as he walked through the door to his office. It was already seven twenty-five. She knew the look on his face well enough to present the first report of the week and get the hell out of there. Five minutes later, Gokudera knocked on the door of the adjoining office and entered to greet the Tenth and start the business of the day.(iv) He was really going to need more coffee.
Hibari went into work early, as he had nothing else to do. He had left his bags at home, and his only other change of clothes was at work. It was peaceful in the wing dedicated solely to the use of his Disciplinary Committee. Hibari tried distracting himself with the notes he had made in Peru, but the look of rejection Hayato wore as he had turned away seemed to be imprinted on his brain. Keeping himself occupied was the key, he decided, and began writing the notes into a full report.
Hibari awoke with a start. Disorientated, he removed the paper stuck to his face. It was almost eight in the evening, and although he had no idea when he had fallen asleep, Hibari felt rested. Hayato would probably have left work by now, he caught himself thinking. Hibari had given up being annoyed after the vet had confirmed that no lasting damage had been done to his little yellow friend. He had no idea what to do now, however. Hibari was not one for apologies, and he had never argued, if that was even the right word, with Hayato like this before. He wondered if he could skip the apology and go straight to the making up. He smirked a bit and made the decision to go home.
"I'm home," Hibari called into the silent house. Then he heard the piano. Hayato only ever played for him. His heart was racing, and he would have cursed the emotion that was weakness, except there was nothing more beautiful than the sight and sound of Hayato in his element. He knew, because he had traveled the world and everything else paled into comparison. The song was poignant, although he did not know it by name. Hibari put his arms around the smaller man, and there was nothing to say because in that instant they both knew that everything was forgiven. Hibari brushed silver hair out of red-rimmed eyes as graceful hands ceased their movement and the last echoes faded to silence.
"How are you?" Hibari broke the silence.
"I had too much caffeine," Gokudera replied in all seriousness. Their faces drew ever so slowly closer.
"You'll be up all night," Hibari chided softly, before leaning in to meet the others lips.
The kiss held all the words they never spoke aloud.
i The cat isn't Uri because this is post the TYL arc, and Tsuna being Tsuna would have ordered the boxes destroyed or at least left in the other timeline. I think he would have probably made sure the inventors never got round to creating them in his own timeline, as that would be the most logical deterrent.
ii Gokudera groups these two together. As far as I can remember, the only child/animal Hibari's been interested in fighting would be Reborn, but I might be wrong.
iii He's not smoking because I imagine Tsuna would have forced him to quit at some point.
iv I see the relationship between Boss and Right Hand Man as that of the President of the US and his Chief of Staff. Why? Because I've been watching too much of The West Wing, that's why.