I need to get on with my other fics but every time I cry about a song I get an idea and I just have to write it out. Dammit I'm gonna start crying again!
This fic was inspired by and an 1827 video called Katekyo Hitman Reborn MAD - Mahou no Te...Damn it all to hell! :'( so sad!
Rated T because, well...it's tragic. Kind of fluffy/corny at first but then...tragic.
Disclaimer: I *sob* don't own *sob* ANYTHING! *cries in corner*
Tsuna wandered down the empty halls of an vacant school; it was just like him to forget his bag. He looked out the glass windows to see the now darkening sky, wishing he had given in to Gokudera's pestering to let him accompany him to school.
Oh well, it was too late now. Tsuna turned back to the hallway and it was then that he noticed an open door, more specifically, the door to the prefect's headquarters...which was almost never open. Hibari did like his privacy after all.
Tsuna walked over to the open door and peered inside; sitting there on a plain brown stool, holding a paintbrush was a truly beautiful sight. The paintbrush raced across the empty canvas and it was transformed, the brush rushed across the canvas again and once more the painting was transfigured into something even more beautiful than before. And the person creating that beauty was none other than an ebony haired, misty eyes prefect who was currently holding a paint pallet in one hand and a paint brush in the other, seemingly oblivious to the world around him. His back turned to Tsuna facing the now setting sun.
Tsuna's feet started moving of their own accord and before he knew it the brunet was standing behind Hibari with a broad smile on his face, looking at the intricate red, orange and yellow sunset that was beginning to form on the previously blank canvas. Hibari, being Hibari, immediately noticed the disturbance and turned around swiftly and suddenly, almost knocking the painting off it's stand.
Tsuna took a step back and being abruptly ripped out of his daydreaming, spluttered the first thing that came to mind.
"I-I love your painting."
Hibari looked taken aback. "...It's not that good...and it's not even finished," he said after sometime.
Tsuna was merely surprised that he didn't get bitten to death for saying...anything.
Then there was an awkward silence in which an idea soon began to form in Tsuna's head, it was a good way to get closer to Hibari -who was one of his most distant guardians- and it would be nice to be friends with Hibari rather than having the prefect try to bite him to death all the time.
"I think it's beautiful", Tsuna said with a sweet smile. "Say Hibari...will you teach me about art?"
"What? Why?" Hibari questioned.
"Well it's no secret that I'm horrible at everything, including creative subjects like art, but that doesn't mean I don't want to change. So Hibari will you please teach me about art?" Tsuna pleaded.
Hibari pondered for a moment before answering, "No."
"Please, I want to learn!" Tsuna insisted.
"Go hire yourself an art teacher I. Won't. Do. It," Hibari said.
"I want to learn from you Hibari, no one else, I'm begging you, please teach me how to paint and draw, to make magic with my hands!"
"Magic...?"
"Yes! It was magic your brush moved across the canvas and created something beautiful then it formed more and more I could start to seethe shining sunset, it was absolutely magical."
Hibari was silent for a long while and Tsuna began to give up when he heard Hibari quietly say, "...fine."
"What? So you'll teach me?" Tsuna asked excitedly.
"Yes," Hibari replied with a sigh.
Tsuna, not being one for common sense, ran up to Hibari and gave him a huge hug, thanking him all the while. At which point Tsuna was thrown to the ground and landed indignantly on his butt with a cry.
"Be here within three minutes of the last bell tomorrow or you shall forfeit all right to be taught by me and will be bitten to death," Hibari said, turning back to his painting so Tsuna couldn't see the blush that was forming on his cheeks.
"Thank you!" Tsuna exclaimed one last time before he ran off to find his bag, practically bouncing off the walls.
Tsuna charged against the oncoming crowd. He had to get to the prefect's office now or else...Tsuna didn't even want to think of any situation where 'or else' and Hibari were used in the same sentence.
"Excuse me!" Tsuna yelled as he pushed through a wall of people.
All of a sudden Tsuna was grabbed by the collar from behind, "dame-Tsuna, where do you think you're going? You just pushed past me like that, not even bothering to think of my safety. I could have been seriously hurt!" the leader of a group of thugs Tsuna had encountered multiple times said.
"Can we please do this another time I really have to go!" Tsuna exclaimed.
"Giving orders now Tsuna? Getting a bit full of ourselves aren't we?" one of the thug's friends taunted.
"Please, please, please just let me off this one time," Tsuna pleaded, struggling to escape his foe. He had to get to the disciplinary headquarters right now or he would be in big trouble.
"But if we let you off now then who says you won't ask again and again and we'll end up letting you off every time?" another one of the thugs wanna be gangster friends asked.
"Look I'm sorry but I have to go right now!" Tsuna shouted after looking down at his watch. He only had one minute left and he wasn't going to spend it being harassed by these delinquents.
A sudden chill swept through the hall and each and every person within range took a step back as if they could sense the danger the cold brought with it. "And what might you be doing?" an all too familiar voice asked. Sending shivers down the spines of all who could hear the fear inducing voice.
"We were just having a nice chat with Tsuna, let's go continue this talk elsewhere," the leader said shiftily, attempting to lead Tsuna away from the prefect.
"B-but...Hibari!" Tsuna stammered, trying to get away from the group of thugs.
"There is a flaw in your plan there, Mr. Hondo, Tsunayoshi is needed in the disciplinary office," Hibari said coolly. Ignoring the fact that he had actually just helped the weak herbivore Tsunayoshi.
"Sorry for disturbing you then!" the leader quickly said before escaping with the rest of his lackeys, their fear of the dark haired prefect plain for all to see.
Tsuna mentally sighed with relief; at least he had gotten those brutes off his back. Now all he had to do was get through a lesson with Hibari. It wouldn't be as bad as he was imagining it to be, right?
Tsuna was right it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. It was ten times worse. Hibari hadn't threatened him nor had he injured Tsuna in any way shape or form. The thing that unnerved Tsuna was the fact that Hibari was being nice to him...or something similar to that and it freaked him out.
Hibari had been helpful, instructive and corrected Tsuna whenever he made a mistake. He was polite...ish and hadn't called him stupid which was a word commonly used to describe Tsuna whilst he was being taught. And Tsuna had to admit Hibari was a good teacher and that frightened Tsuna all the more. Was Hibari seriously amazing at everything?
Hibari leaned over Tsuna further and pointed to a certain part of Tsuna's drawing, "this petal is out of proportion, erase it and draw it again."
"I've drawn that one ten times already," Tsuna complained.
"But you haven't drawn it right. Do it again," Hibari ordered in a tone that implied that he was not to be messed with.
"Yes Hibari."
Tsuna picked up the plain white eraser and rubbed out the flower petal yet again, mentally berating himself for even bothering to go against Hibari. The ebony haired prefect was right, it did need to be drawn again, considering the fact that the petal was much too big for the pencilled flower. But he didn't have to order Tsuna to do it. The Vongola boss wasn't blind he could see that his messily drawn flower had flaws; including the one Hibari had oh-so-delicately commanded he redraw.
Tsuna sketched the delicate petal for the eleventh time, trying to make sure it wasn't too big or too small and hoping that Hibari would approve. Though Tsuna thought it might be easier to get the petal spot on if Hibari wasn't breathing down his neck. It was hard enough drawing a simple flower with his skills without having a discerning presence right behind him.
Lifting his pencil from the page Tsuna looked down upon his flower. Now that he had drawn the petal right -or what looked to be right- the flower looked less like a demented octopus and more like a normal run of the mill flower.
"Now that you've drawn something that others may be able to identify as a flower it is time to begin shading," Hibari said in an instructive manner.
"But I don't know how to shade..." Tsuna said.
"What are you here to do?" Hibari asked.
"Learn?"
"And that's precisely why I've been teaching you" Hibari replied.
"Now..."
After a painstaking thirty-four minutes and 47 seconds, multiple screw ups and a few semi-irritated but helpful comments from Hibari the flower was done.
Tsuna was genuinely surprised about how much it looked like an actual flower. Sure it wasn't great however with Hibari's wonderful instruction Tsuna had managed to draw something that he should have been able to easily draw years ago.
"Thanks Hibari," Tsuna said happily, holding his picture up proudly.
"Yes, now get out, I have better things to do," Hibari proclaimed.
"Of course, see you tomorrow!" Tsuna replied cheerfully, folding over his new, black art book and placing it in his standard blue school bag.
The brunet then waved to Hibari as he left the prefects den, entirely immune to the glare Hibari was giving him.
When Tsuna had finally gone Hibari settled back into his big, black, commanding chair and sighed. Teaching Tsunayoshi was only going to get more and more irritating and time consuming. He shouldn't have allowed himself to be reeled in by those pleading eyes and earnest words. He blamed it on Tsunayoshi's some-what animalistic qualities that made him look a bit like a frisky rabbit, which in turn made Hibari drop his guard slightly because of his soft-spot for small, weak animals. That particular soft-spot had gotten him into more trouble than good.
Without wasting any time Hibari picked up a bunch of papers and set about the dull task of signing, stamping and filing them. If the prefect wanted to leave before dark he would have to do them quickly.
"Next time I'm making you help with this work, time-wasting herbivore," Hibari grumbled to himself.
Tsuna felt goose bumps form along his arms and legs as a sudden iciness swept over him. Rising from his bed Tsuna closed the window to block off any cold air before going to his bag to retrieve his drawing.
After retrieving said drawing Tsuna flipped his drawing book open to look at his first drawing with Hibari's instruction. It was rough here and there and it wasn't a great feat of artistic beauty but Tsuna had to say it was the best picture he had ever drawn.
Flopping back on the bed Tsuna and continued to stare at the flower, he didn't even think he was capable of drawing something that ended being what it was supposed to be and not a demented blob-like thing. His picture even had shading!
"Maybe Hibari isn't such a bad person after all," Tsuna mused quietly, a small smile gracing his lips.
Time passed, about a year or so. Many drawings were drawn, paintings were painted and mistakes were made. Hibari taught Tsuna the subject of art and Tsuna was forced to learn. Together they covered many styles and art technique, among other things and their friendship blossomed after a lot of work on Tsuna's part.
Eventually Hibari found a new form of punishment for when Tsuna was late or needed to be reprimand, so as to not destroy their friendship by beating Tsuna up every other day. The Vongola boss even got Hibari to start calling him Tsuna. But none of it could have prepared the brunet for what Hibari was about to ask him to do.
"Paint me," Hibari said.
"Eh?" was Tsuna's unintelligible answer.
"We're starting a unit on portraits and you will be painting me," Hibari informed Tsuna.
"B-but Hibari I can't do people, even my stick figures are wonky!" Tsuna exclaimed.
"That's what you said about every other thing we've drawn," Hibari said, rolling his eyes.
"What? That my stick figures are wonky?"
"No, that you can't draw it!" Hibari yelled exasperated.
"Oh, that!"
Hibari let out a sigh as Tsuna fretted about how in the hell he was going to draw Hibari, "please let me paint someone else if I have to paint a portrait."
"Why?" Hibari asked, a little jealous.
"I don't think I'd ever in a million years be able to capture you!" Tsuna shared.
"You'll do fine," Hibari said, ruffling Tsuna's hair in one of those rare, soft moments Tsuna shared with Hibari.
"A-alright...but you can't make fun of me if it's bad," Tsuna said quietly.
"When have I ever made fun of any of your artworks?" Hibari stated.
"Well there was that one time..."
"Do not bring that up again, Tsunayoshi," Hibari warned.
"I don't think I'll ever be able to let it go. I thought you'd gone mad, you were cackling insanely for almost an hour!" Tsuna exclaimed.
"If you hadn't gotten bear mixed up with bare I wouldn't have had to view your best attempt at drawing someone's ass, honestly," Hibari said with an overly exaggerated sigh.
Tsuna blushed as he retrieved his painting tools from his bag. It wasn't his fault; it was an easy mistake to make!
Thinking back on it Tsuna realized that it was the first time he had ever heard Hibari laugh freely. Though after their friendship grew Tsuna heard the prefect laugh many other times (though afterwards the prefect would act twice as unfriendly and vehemently deny that he had ever made a noise even slightly similar to a laugh).
"Tsuna, are you ready?" Hibari asked, pulling a stool across the room and placing it parallel to the easel Tsuna had set up in front of the prefect's cushy, green couch.
"Yeah, I s'pose," Tsuna answered.
"Well then let's commence," Hibari said, sitting on the stool.
"Yes!" Tsuna exclaimed, taking out his jumbo sized art book and starting.
Using plain, old black Tsuna painted the dark-haired prefect sitting in front of him. As for Hibari, he wasn't as bored as he thought he would be. The overly serious expression Tsuna was making was more than enough to keep him occupied and amused.
"Done," Tsuna acknowledged.
"Let me see," Hibari ordered.
Tsuna slowly turned his painting around, not daring to look at Hibari's face. He knew it was bad but he wasn't sure if it was bad enough to warrant a light hit with a pair of tonfa's.
Hibari snatched the painting out of Tsuna's hand. "Just who...is this?!" Hibari exclaimed. Pointing at the crooked black and white painting that looked like it had been drawn by someone in kindergarten, darkness radiating out of his very pores.
"You," Tsuna replied.
"Has everything I taught you gone out the window?!"
"..."
"Let me show you how you're supposed to paint!" Hibari exclaimed before turning the easel around and seizing the paint brush and pallet from Tsuna's grip.
"Stay," Hibari ordered, already connecting paintbrush to paper.
After several minutes and Tsuna fretting about whether a bad painting was enough for Hibari to cut off all ties to him Hibari announced, "I'm finished."
Tsuna cautiously got up from the couch to investigate the painting. What he saw did not live up to his expectation and he laughed loudly and lengthily.
"Ahahaha, who is that air-headed person?" Tsuna asked, tears in his eyes.
"You," Hibari replied flatly.
Tsuna's laughter immediately died down. "You know it was kind of funny when it happened to you but that's just cruel."
"Serves you right," Hibari replied.
"So, is this painting some sort of twisted revenge?" Tsuna questioned.
"No, that's what you look like," Hibari said bluntly.
"Ah, I feel kind of depressed now," Tsuna said, disheartened, taking on a discerning aura.
"Let's finish up for today then," Hibari announced.
"...Yeah," Tsuna replied, packing his things away and heading for the door.
But just as Tsuna was about to leave he felt a hand suddenly grab him from behind, "tut, tut, tut Tsunayoshi, thinking you could get out of that so easily."
"What?" Tsuna asked, feigning innocence.
"You were late this morning and you know what that means," Hibari said with a smirk.
"Oh god no, I'm still sore from the last time, no more!" Tsuna pleaded.
"There's no two ways about it Tsunayoshi, don't even bother resisting."
"Fine," Tsuna resigned, figuring there was no way Hibari would yield.
"Good boy."
Five minutes later Tsuna's arms were already sore. Who knew stamping paperwork could be so tiring?
"Ah~ I want to go home," Tsuna whined.
"If I'm going to go down I'm bringing you down with me," Hibari said evilly, the stacks of paper surrounding him making him look like a devil, stamping and filing the never-ending souls of the condemned.
Tsuna continued drying off his hair as he crossed the threshold of his room, it had been a tiring day and he just wanted to sleep now.
Switching off the light Tsuna lay in his bed and thought about things...like the mafia and his friends. However most of his thoughts ended up coming back to a particular friend who he had been spending exceedingly long periods of time with lately. It was not that Tsuna disliked spending so much time with said friend but sometimes Tsuna felt a little weird around him and he wasn't sure if it was a great idea to be spending that amount of time with this 'friend'.
With a sigh Tsuna rolled over onto his side, casting away the damp towel that had been resting on his head. It was a hot night so Tsuna didn't really need to get under the covers but he did anyway, feeling the need to hide the blush that was hot on his cheeks.
"Is it me or are you getting worse?" Hibari questioned.
"That's impossible!" Tsuna said, quickly taking back his messy painting.
"You do know this is the 43rd painting you have messed up and yet you show no sign of improvement!" Hibari said.
"What happened to the nice, helpful teacher I used to know?! Who wouldn't scold me, was always sort of nice and actually listened to me!" Tsuna exclaimed.
"You're portraying me and since I don't want to look like a slack-jawed blob that wouldn't make a six year old impressed I'm going to be damn critical," Hibari said firmly.
"So cruel," Tsuna said dejectedly.
"Why don't you try focusing less on my features and more on my essence," Hibari instructed.
"Essence? Well...I could try," Tsuna said, picking up his pallet and paintbrush once more.
Tsuna then let his mind drift as he looked at the ebony prefect. Hibari's essence...was hard to distinguish. Hibari was the drifting cloud; he was solitary by nature and didn't like noisy crowds. He liked to sleep on top of the room, where it was warmest and wouldn't let just anyone close to him. Hibari would rather be inside lying down quietly than outside playing. He reminded Tsuna of...
Tsuna let the paintbrush guide him; there was no need to think. He knew Hibari; he knew what he was capable of, his limits, his likes and dislikes, where to find him at any point in time, the days he liked to skip out on class and what he looked like when he was defenceless. If anyone was going to put the real Hibari onto paper it would be him.
Tsuna lifted the paintbrush off the page and beamed. He had done it; he had captured the elusive cloud!
"What are you smiling about?" Hibari asked suspiciously.
"Come look," Tsuna said, a goofy smile still plastered on his face.
"A cat?" Hibari questioned.
"It's you," Tsuna said happily, a hand resting on the now dry painting of a black cat.
Hibari stared at the painting. He hated to say it but it did remind the dark haired prefect of himself in an odd way, a way that only Tsuna could have managed to place. And from that painting Hibari recognized that Tsuna knew him. Tsuna knew his very soul and it had made him perversely happy.
Completely caught up the moment Hibari took Tsuna's hand and told him, "where those gentle, magical fingers touched, a world is beginning," before he kissed Tsuna's fingertips tenderly.
The two teens then knew that whatever thin barrier had been separating their affections from their friendship had been shattered in one instant. Hibari had just effectively ruined their friendship.
The dark-haired male immediately dropped Tsuna's hand as if it were cursed, a look resembling shock and horror making its way onto his face. Tsuna didn't fare much better though he did sport a small blush.
Hibari quickly turned away from Tsuna, his whole mannerism changing as he head for his desk. "I have work to do, it would be best if you leave," Hibari said, adopting an icy tone.
"A-alright," Tsuna stuttered, grabbing his bag and heading off as fast as his legs could take him.
As the brunet escaped from the prefects gaze the black haired cloud guardian crept from his desk; towards the easel, carefully folded up the portrait Tsuna had drawn of him and slipped the thick piece of paper into his coat pocket.
It was a week later when an awkward conversation was started between the two teens. Neither wanted to say what was weighing heavily on their minds yet neither wanted to talk about anything else, successfully ruining all words between them besides the single syllable, "hi."
"Ummm," Tsuna drawled, trying his hardest to think of a sentence that wasn't I think we need to talk.
"Tsuna."
"Y-yes!" the brunet exclaimed.
"Let's have this conversation to somewhere more...private," Hibari said, glaring at the other students passing through the gate.
"Ah...alright," the smaller male replied meekly, dreading the inevitably uncomfortable talk.
After Tsuna's confirmation the prefect took him by the wrist and led him to the back of the school, ignoring the curious and slightly frightened expressions from passersby.
"Now," Hibari stated blankly when they arrived before dropping Tsuna's wrist, "I think we need a 'deep and meaningful.'"
Tsuna would have laughed if Hibari had said that in any other situation but somehow he felt that now definitely wasn't the time for it. "Yeah...I think so," the brunet replied.
A silence built on anticipation began to form. Both occupants of the isolated area waiting for the other to talk as the quiet persisted.
It was Tsuna who gathered up enough courage to break the uneasy silence, just wishing for the awkwardness to end.
"...About...yesterday," Tsuna started uncomfortably, the blush he had obtained earlier spreading further across his soft cheeks.
"I shouldn't have done that, it was..." Hibari said, searching for the right word.
"Weird?" Tsuna supplied.
"No, it was just too sudden," the black haired prefect replied with a perplexed expression. "I mean, a year ago we weren't even friends now..."
Hibari was so messed up. In his head, in his body, in his heart. Tsuna was making him strange. He was never...sappy or clumsy and so at a loss for words. He was Kyoya Hibari, a fearsome entity of raw power and will. A name that could only be said quietly, a phantom cloud fighting for discipline and strength.
So why was he being such a herbivore? Why didn't he just grab Tsuna and demand that he submit his entire being to him?
A small part of his mind traitorously whispered, because you love him and you wouldn't do anything that could ever hurt him.
"It's ok...I think. Everything's been really confusing for me to," Tsuna said.
Hibari almost scoffed. As if. Tsuna was used to dealing with emotions that were soft and weak. The only time Hibari even showed the slightest bit of compassion was when he was dealing with animals...or when it came to Tsuna. And Tsuna was the most puzzling, amazing, solid thing in his life. Tsuna was his world.
It was in that moment the prefect knew he had to sort his feelings out and get them out in the open. Hibari was sure Tsuna knew everything about him but he barely knew anything about his heart.
"It's infuriating. The way my heart races when you're close or how our hands accidently touch when we sort out papers, it's driving me mad," Hibari said.
Tsuna blushed even harder (if that was possible at this point). Hibari didn't sound at all embarrassed with his statement; it sounded more like...an accusation. Like Hibari was blaming Tsuna for making him love every little part of the brunet.
"And I get jealous, all the time. Especially when you spend all day with those brain dead idiots," Hibari let out a choking laugh and raised his head to the sky, "I even get jealous of classes because you're out of my sight for a mere forty five minutes."
Tsuna slowly, hesitantly took the older males hand.
"You're making me weak, Tsuna," the black haired prefect resigned.
"Hibari, look at me," Tsuna said.
The prefect did not shift his gaze from the pale blue sky and continued to follow the drifting clouds with his icy eyes.
"Hibari Kyoya, turn to me this instant," the brunet ordered.
The ebony haired cloud guardian slowly lolled his head to the side. An expression of puzzlement and annoyance dominating his features.
A soft grin enveloped Tsuna's face. "I feel the same way. I can hear my heart beat fast when I'm close to you, I can feel goose bumps begin to rise on my skin when I listen solely to the sound of your voice and I can only think of you, every moment of every day."
Hibari let himself smile from the bottom of his heart. They were both so stupid.
They'd been dancing around their feeling for each other since the start of the year and all it took was a single conversation to get it all out in the open.
"We're idiots," Hibari said.
"Huge idiots," Tsuna agreed.
"Come Tsuna, you are not going to class. Today we are going out into town," the black haired prefect said, getting up and offering his hand to the brunet.
Tsuna took the offering and the two started at a slow pace towards the school's entrance. "Hibari Kyoya, did you just ask me on a date?" the Vongola boss asked, blushing despite himself.
"It's an outing," Hibari replied stiffly.
"So it's not a date?" Tsuna questioned.
Hibari mumbled something unintelligible and Tsuna strained his ears to hear what was being said.
"What?" Tsuna exclaimed, not picking up what Hibari had said oh so loudly.
"It...may be a date," the older male said quietly, turning away so his blush was not visible to his little herbivore.
The front gate came up ahead and Hibari's henchman Kusakabe could be seen standing dutifully beside it like a lapdog.
Tsuna attempted to pull his hand from Hibari's but the prefect only held onto it tighter. Thoughts of being called a 'faggot' and a 'gay' rushed through Tsuna's mind. He didn't need more fuel on the bullying fire. The harassment had died down in recent years due to the fact he was seen with Hibari, who was feared all round, a lot of the time and that he was great friends with Yamamoto and Gokudera who were insanely popular. But if the school found out he was going out with a guy. Tsuna shivered.
"Hibari," Tsuna whimpered.
The prefect ignored him and continued to walk, half dragging the alarmed boy ahead. Soon the two would be out of the shadows and visible to anyone pouring in from the gate.
"Please Hibari, I'm really not ready for this!" Tsuna exclaimed as they got closer and closer to the entrance.
Sunlight hit the tips of the brunet's shoes.
"Kyoya!"
That stopped the black haired male's progress. "Kyoya." Tsuna repeated.
Hibari gazed down upon the stressed out boy beside him. "...Is that horrible to be seen with me?"
"No, it's just I'm really not prepared to come out like this. Later, okay?" Tsuna asked.
"Fine," Hibari said grudgingly, dropping the brunet's hand.
"Thank you," Tsuna said with a relieved smile.
"Hurry up, we haven't got all day," Hibari said, taking large, fast paced steps in the direction of the gate.
"Yes!" Tsuna exclaimed happily, running after his cloud guardian.
The brunet scooped another delicious mouthful of honeycomb ice cream into his mouth. Relishing in the coolness and sickly sweet flavour of the icy treat.
"You've got some..." Hibari said, leaning over to wipe some of the frozen confection from the side of Tsuna's lips.
The Vongola boss blushed covered his mouth as Hibari contemplated what to do with the dribbly mess on his finger.
"You know I got a cup ice cream so you couldn't get it everywhere, yet you still manage to smudge it all over your face," Hibari said, deciding to clean off the sticky ice cream covering his pointer with a white napkin.
"It was one drop!" Tsuna exclaimed.
"Well then what's that," Hibari said, pointing to the brunet's shirt.
The Vongola boss swiftly looked down to his shirt, "Where!-?" he cried, desperately trying to find the stain.
The prefect chuckled softly. Tsuna was easy to tease and he looked so adorable when he was all flustered.
"I don't..." Tsuna started, seeing the smirk Hibari had adopted, "asshole," he said with a sneer.
"You're so cute," the prefect said, his eyes softening as Tsuna's blush resurfaced.
"Flattery will get you nowhere," Tsuna said mockingly.
Hibari fought a smile as the brunet finished off the last of his ice cream.
"Where to next?" the Vongola boss asked.
"Where ever, as long as I'm with you," Hibari replied.
+++ Six Years Later (In case you're wondering Hibari is 21 and Tsuna's 20) +++
"Kyoya!" Tsuna cried, rushing onto the battlefield. Seeing only his cloud guardian and no one else. Not the bodies strewn about the floor, not his other famiglia trailing behind him. At that moment Kyoya was his world.
"Hello Tsuna," Hibari said.
"What were you thinking!-?" the brunet exclaimed, "you can't take on that many people alone!"
"You're right," the black haired male replied with a tight smile.
Then his world crumbled.
Tsuna hurried forward, dropping down to his knees. "Kyoya," he said quietly.
Hibari reached up to stroke his lover's face, his other hand reaching into his coat pocket to pull out a folded bit of paper.
"Here," Hibari said, offering the pale square to the Vongola boss.
The brunet slowly grabbed the piece of paper and placed it in his pocket. His eyes widening as a crimson flower grew from the place that Hibari had produced the paper from.
"Kyoya!" Tsuna cried in terror, indicating to the rest of the Vongola that there was something seriously wrong and Hibari hadn't just passed out from exhaustion.
"Quick, fetch Ryohei or Shamal," Tsuna said in a panic as the older male's hand dropped from its position on the brunet's face.
"Yes Boss!" the brunet vaguely heard Gokudera call.
"It's going to be okay," Tsuna said in an attempt to soothe his ailing cloud guardian.
Hibari smiled and beckoned Tsuna closer. The brunet obeyed and brought his face inches from the black hairs own.
"Tsuna, you're my treasure. I wouldn't give you up for mountains of gold or clothes of the greatest finery. I'd die for you and if you ordered me to kill thousands I'd do it. All for you," Hibari shakily whispered, his breath growing shorter and shorter with each word.
"I love you, we've never felt the need to say it but I love you," his cloud guardian said.
"I love you too," Tsuna replied quietly, "so hold on."
"I'll try, for you, I'll try," Hibari said, laying his tired head down and closing his eyes.
"I'm extremely here!" Ryohei shouted, running forward.
"Ryohei," Tsuna said, relieved.
"Don't worry Tsuna, Hibari's gonna be fine," Ryohei said with a crooked grin, igniting his flames and moving to heal the fallen cloud guardian.
+++ Two Weeks Later +++
Yamamoto slid into his boss's office, a smile upon his scarred face.
"Yamamoto! You're back," Tsuna said, beaming happily.
"Hey Tsuna," Yamamoto responded, "how are you?"
The brunet seemed to think for a moment before replying, "Alright I suppose."
"Sit, sit," Tsuna insisted, "tell me how your mission was."
The black haired rain guardian slowly glided towards one of the unoccupied chairs, as if his presence would disrupt the very fabric of the room. Assessing Tsuna's every move with his eyes.
"It when well, the Bueno family signed the treaty peacefully," the rain guardian recounted.
"And how's Hibari? Did he return to his room already?" Tsuna asked.
"Yeah, he's fine, said something about taking a nap then left," Yamamoto said with a huge grin.
"That's wonderful," Tsuna said, a serene smile gracing his lips.
"Well, I've got to go visit Gokudera, see you later," Yamamoto said, swiftly leaving the room.
"Bye, tell Gokudera I said hi! I haven't seen him in a while..." the brunet called after him.
When the rain guardian was far away from his boss's office he curled into a ball and tried to stop the chills that were wracking his body.
It was haunting.
Tsuna looked thin, he looked tired and he looked so...different.
It was scary. To think that death did that to him.
Yamamoto felt a comforting hand on his back. "It's hard seeing it for the first time...and the next time...and actually the time after that," Chrome said.
"I...I've only been away for a few weeks...so much has changed," the rain guardian said, rubbing a tense hand over his mouth in an attempt to settle himself.
"I know," Chrome replied.
"I feel so...useless," Yamamoto said, his frustration evident.
Chrome sent a sympathetic look his way. "We all feel like that. There's absolutely nothing we can do for him and it's hurting all of us. Especially Gokudera. He won't even look at bossu anymore. He says he can't bear to see him like that and I can understand why."
"Why did Hibari's passing hurt him this much? Kami knows I was sad when Kyoya died but...why?" Yamamoto said, perplexed.
"No one knows why, that's the problem. I mean Hibari and bossu got a lot closer in middle school however they were never best friends a-and Hibari wouldn't ever let anyone get to close to him. So...why!-?" Chrome said, her annoyance at her worthlessness surfacing again.
The whole Vongola was frustrated and stressed at the current point in time. No one could settle down and think normally when they knew that behind his office door their boss was wilting away. It was constantly in the back of their minds, eating away at their patience and sanity.
"We've tried, Yamamoto. One time we all got together, not as the Vongola boss and his guardians, but as friends, and tried to talk to him but he just won't see reason," Chrome said gloomily.
"So, how long has he been like that?" the black haired rain guardian asked.
"On the day of Hibari's death he seemed...well I wouldn't say he was all right but he was coping. That night Tsuna went up to bed, next morning he awoke, energetic and happy. It didn't make any sense," the indigo haired girl recounted.
"So, he's created this...delusion for himself?" Yamamoto questioned.
"Yeah, but I'm not sure it's going to hold up. Reborn said that anything could break it and now that you're back with 'Hibari' his fantasy world could tumble down all too quickly," Chrome said.
"I'm...I'm going to go see Gokudera," Yamamoto said, getting up and leaving on his unsteady legs.
"And I'll go check on bossu...again."
+++With Tsuna+++
The brunet let a sigh escape his pale lips. Work was so tiring. He could even remember the last time he had eaten.
"Maybe I should go to the kitchen for a quick snack," he mused to himself, "and I can visit Hibari along the way."
The brunet rose from his comfortable, black chair and head for the door. Leisurely opening the brass doorhandle just as a petite figure appeared in the doorway.
"Chrome!" he exclaimed.
"Hehehe," Chrome laughed nervously, "sorry bossu, I didn't mean to get in your way."
"It's fine," Tsuna replied.
"Where are you going?" Chrome asked.
"I was just on my way to visit Hibari before getting a snack," the brunet said.
Chrome sized up her boss. His hair was even messier than usual; it looked greasy and even had spots of dandruff in it. His suit was crumpled and Chrome didn't doubt that he'd been wearing it for far too long. He was shrouded in cologne however there was the faint smell of something unsavoury and dark bags rested beneath his bloodshot eyes. If Chrome saw him on the street she would think he was slightly mental. Not the boss of the Vongola and a man surrounded by many friends who loved him deeply.
"Bossu, when was the last time you had a shower?" Chrome inquired.
"Eto...ah...good point, I really should wash before I do anything else," Tsuna responded with a smile.
"See you later," he said, waving for a brief moment before turning to leave.
"Bye," Chrome replied, reciprocating the wave as Tsuna made his way towards his room.
"...I'm so worried about him," Chrome said to a shadowy figure.
"There's plenty of reason to worry, but even more to not," Mukuro said, taking Chrome's hand in a gesture of affection.
"I can't help it," she said, tears pooling in her purple eyes.
The two then stood there in silence as Chrome quietly wept for the man who had given her a real home and a real family.
"Squeaky clean," Tsuna said, staring at himself in the mirror, ignoring the dark rings that surrounded his eyes and slightly creepy paleness he had acquired.
"Kyoya, here I come!" he exclaimed with a huge grin.
It would be the first time he's seen his cloud guardian in two and a half weeks and he was really looking forward to it.
First they'd meet, exchanging useless pleasantries, then they'd part and later Hibari would sneak up to his room and...
Tsuna blushed a cute shade of crimson. The redness of his cheeks a stark contrast to the whiteness of his flesh.
It was embarrassing to even think about it. Sure, they'd done that sort of thing plenty of times before but it was always just the right amount of awkward and uncomfortable.
Distracting himself from other thoughts he slicked back his damp hair in an attempt to tame it (and failing mind you) before deeming himself ready to meet up with his boyfriend.
+++Approximately 45 minutes earlier+++
"Mukuro...what do think will happen when bossu realizes Hibari's really gone?" Chrome asked.
"Move on I suppose," he answered, adjusting their linked fingers and moving closer to the timid mist guardian.
"But..." Chrome said slowly.
She'd been worrying for a while now about what would happen when Tsuna 'met up' with Hibari. How would he react? Would he be devastated? Cry? Shut himself off from the world?
Judging from his current self any of those things could really happen and it made Chrome feel extremely agitated. It was so unusual to see Tsuna sad. It just wasn't Tsuna. But the thing was...she knew that the current situation couldn't continue however a defective boss was better than one broken beyond repair.
"Ne, do you think it's a good idea to let bossu's dream world die?" the indigo haired girl questioned.
Mukuro sighed. "I really don't know, Chrome," he replied.
"What...what if he tries to..." the mist guardian nervously drawled. Thoughts of blood and depression clouding her mind.
"That won't happen," Mukuro said firmly.
Chrome freed her hand from the other mist guardian's palm and used it to grab onto his tie, forcing him to look upon her troubled face.
"But what if he really does make that decision!-?" she exclaimed, "The famiglia will fall apart, the Vongola will be no more and every single guardian will blame themselves in some way for what happened."
"You're speaking as if he's already a dead man," Mukuro said intensely.
"He might as well be!" she shouted.
"Chrome," Mukuro said in a low, warning voice.
"Tsuna's practically deceased now," she said, all the things that had been keeping her up at night coming out in a huge wave of bitter words, "he's a shell of his former self and right now nothing's going to change that. Seeing the fact Hibari's truly gone isn't going to miraculously transform him back into his older self like Reborn thinks. If anything it'll break him more! You don't want that and neither do I..."
There was a short silence followed by the small sound of Chrome delicately releasing Mukuro's crumpled tie and setting herself back down on the couch.
Everything was wrong. The mood, the interactions between guardians, the tension. The Vongola was cracked and the only person who could fix it was just as broken.
"That's why we need to do something," Chrome said, an idea forming in her head.
"What do you mean?" Mukuro asked suspiciously.
"Boss doesn't need to know that Hibari's...dead," Chrome explained, "perhaps if we both use our power, we-we can fool him."
"Chrome, that's just...I'm not sure it's the greatest idea..." Mukuro drawled.
"Please!" Chrome begged.
Mukuro sighed. When she got like this there was absolutely nothing he or anyone else could do to change her mind. "Fine, but when the death threats come around - and they will - I'm telling them it was all you," the heterochromatic eyed male said.
Chrome leaned up and pressed a soft kiss against his cheek. "Thank you," she said with a small smile.
Mukuro grumbled to himself before stalking off in the direction of Hibari's 'lair'. "Hurry up!" he barked at Chrome.
"Coming!" she exclaimed, dashing off after him.
+++And back with Tsuna 'bout 45 minutes later+++
The brunet straightened himself out once more. He wanted to look...well, handsome, for his lover. He'd be ashamed if after all that time that had passed he was as dirty and dishevelled as the last time they met up. Provided last time was on a mission and there had been a bit of a 'disagreement'.
He smiled to himself as he reached the sliding doors that worked as the entrance to the ebony haired male's place. Tsuna then slid the door to Hibari's abode open, sneaking inside.
"Pardon the intrusion," he said quietly, taking off his shoes and leaving them at the entrance before creeping onto the raised tatami mat flooring, heading towards the room he knew his lover would be in.
Tsuna didn't bother to announce his presence as he entered the room and sat beside Hibari. "Welcome back," he said.
"I'm back," Kyoya replied, turning to Tsuna.
In the exact instant their eyes met the brunet knew that Kyoya wasn't real. Everything was a lie.
He raised himself from the floor - quivering - covering his mouth in an attempt to not be sick as the memories came crashing down on him. Kyoya's dead, lifeless body laying in a pool of blood. The countless bodies that we littered around his fallen lover, their blood mixing with his. The crooked expression he forced himself to fix whenever he looked in the mirror. Every little detail he'd pretended to miss over the past few weeks.
Tsuna moved his hand away, feeling a warm wetness dribble down onto it as his guardians and several others appeared around him, all dawning miserable, worried expressions.
The brunet felt his legs give way. "I'm sorry Kyoya, I'm sorry for forcing myself to forget, I'm...I'm sorry for not letting anyone know...I-I'm sorry," he sobbed.
Through his tears he saw the illusion of Hibari disperse and a very concerned Chrome look down upon him. "Know what?" she asked gently.
Tsuna couldn't talk, he felt his throat close up as he continued to cried silently. The brunet felt a gentle hand on his shoulder, finding that it belonged to Reborn, as he attempted to talk again.
"I-I'm so sorry," he wept pitifully, "on that f-first day we...we should have walked out h-holding hands and I...I should have told everyone and...we could have gone anywhere w-we wanted together w-without a-anyone asking us why. I-I wanted us to stay together forever..."
Tsuna screwed his eyes shut, placing his head in his hands, rocking back and forth as he cried loudly. He didn't feel embarrassed, it was impossible to feel that way when all he could think of was the half of his heart that Kyoya took with him when he died. It felt as if his heart was collapsing and Tsuna almost wished it was because then he would finally be reunited with his lover. But he knew that he could let the others feel the same way he felt right now. It was an awful, gut-wrenching, painful feeling and the only way he could express even a fraction of it was through his tears.
So he wept. For hours. As his guardians took turns trying to comfort him. Though none of them succeeded in making him feel any better.
Then when his eyes were red and puffy, his throat dry and his tears all dried up he let his famiglia take him up to his room and lie him down as he settled into a haunted half sleep from which he constantly woke from, crying out and struggling to fight away the demons that were trying to drown him.
+++Three months later+++
Tsuna let out a frustrated sigh, tearing away yet another failed painting of Hibari. No matter what he just couldn't paint him.
He reached into his pocket, pulling out a well worn piece of paper. The brunet then placed the painting of a little, black cat on the edge of his canvas, picking up his brush and pallet yet again and pressing paintbrush to canvas.
When he was done he pulled away, smiling gently at the black cat on his page. "Hey, Kyoya, looks like I can paint you after all," Tsuna said, picking up a another brush and dipping it into a different colour.
Again he put his brush on the canvas. Pulling away once more when it was done.
"The sky needs the cloud just as much as the cloud needs the sky," Tsuna said, gently running the tips of his fingers over the now complete painting of a black cat and a brown, side by side, just as they were always meant to be.
jfeijihrmfhuuv I don't have words right now. I just...can't even.
Anyyywwhhoo I seriously wish that all of ya'll like this and all because I was up till 2 AM finishing it. That's also part of the reason some bits are really shit but meh. Way to tired to fix them.
Night night for now~