Title: Sketching Summer
Rating: T
Warnings: MukuHiba, AU, OOCness
Note: Ficc exchange. Written for dearest Sora-kun ^-^ I hope this gives you a feel of what my Summer has been like so far, the good and the bad.
Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyoshi Hitman Reborn
xxx
Sketching Summer
When the moon is bright enough, you can see the clouds on a summer night sky.
Cold. The water is cold. He dipped his head into the pool which radiated off the same feel as a cold shower - refreshing. His skin tingled against the warm air filled with the songs of cicadas. If the day did come one day, Hibari thought to himself as he stretched his limbs across the water, he wouldn't mind, drowning in a pool of cold water. Not that he'd ever drown. He's nowhere near as measly as a incompetent herbivore, which is why he maintained his floating position.
The head of the Disciplinary Committee opened his eyes and gazed towards the summer night sky. It seemed as though the warmth of the summer night was painted across the sky, each star representing a direction for each heart to follow. He lifted a pale arm and stretched out towards the stars, grasping for something he knew he could not reach.
"Oya, oya, what do we have here?"
Surprised, Hibari reverted from his floating position and stood, his head automatically whipping towards the direction of the voice laced with mockery. He twitched, quite visibly when his eyes found their way towards a pineapple head with glasses.
"A drenched cat...in the middle of the night?"
Hibari's eyes narrowed. The eyesore was itching his irritation.
"Do you need something?" Hibari managed to choke out civilly as he watched the other squat beside the swimming pool.
"Shouldn't you be in your dorm, Hibari Kyoya? Even though it's school holidays, we do have a curfew you know" Mukuro smiled knowingly, there was no way the Disciplinary Head did not follow school rules. He adjusted his glasses, dismissing the fact that Hibari shouldn't even be on school grounds in the first place.
One of Hibari's eyebrows rose sceptically "And what are you doing out here?" he wasn't going to tell that loser he was suffering from jetlag and couldn't sleep. No way in hell.
"I'm the Head of the Dormitories, Rokudo Mukuro"
Hibari rolled his eyes at the other's actions, he was talking to a narcissist. And really, being Dorm Head doesn't mean you can bend the rules of curfew, not that he was in any position to talk about that, after all, staying at school during the Summer holidays without permission is listed under trespassing . Life really couldn't get any worse.
So maybe it could, Hibari thought to himself as Mukuro cradled his chin with that warm hand of his.
"You're very pretty" quipped Mukuro, as he ran his thumb across Hibari's cheek.
On top of being a nosy narcissist, the damn pineapple head was a pervert as well. There was no rule against the Disciplinary Head tormenting the Dorm Head right?
"Do you want to be bitten to death?" hissed Hibari who jerked back from the warm hand.
"Do you want to be magically moved to live in the same room as me?" Mukuro answered the other instantaneously, as if he were thoroughly amused by the other's actions.
With quick movements, Hibari swung his arm across the surface of the pool, splashing water on the Dorm Head before the Prefect extended his arm once more, though this time, to grasp another arm. And he yanked, pulling Rokudo Mukuro into the swimming pool with him.
"And here we have a drenched pervert in the middle of the night"
"Is that a yes?" Mukuro asked as he carded his soaked hair back and took his glasses off.
All of a sudden, the water didn't feel so cold anymore.
Pursing his lips, Hibari glared at the other "No" before silently hopping out of the pool.
xxx
Baby blue skies accompanied the softest of soft breezes, ruffling the leaves of trees. White fluffy clouds danced across the sky with no particular rhythm and only the songs of cicadas. Hibari Kyoya found himself looking at clouds, his body immersed in the cool water. It was dusk, the sunset gave the azure sky a tint of flaming orange and passionate red.
The Japanese boy frowned when his eyes settled on a large chunk of cloud that resembled a pineapple. He frowned, blinked and shook his head, but the pineapple was still there, white and fluffy, basking in the rays of the sunset. This curse is going to haunt him forever.
"Did you put on sunscreen?" a familiar voice interrupted Hibari's thoughts.
Hibari turned his attention towards the boy who had just hopped into the pool.
"You're going to get freckles" Mukuro moved closer to the other until they were about an arm away from each other.
"Just wondering" Hibari started as he looked at the other
Mukuro blinked, Hibari Kyoya the head of the Disciplinary Committee doesn't 'just wonder'.
"How much can you see without your glasses?"
"Enough"
"Frankly" Hibari moved closer to Mukuro "your glasses make you look even more like a pervert"
Giving the other a chuckle, Mukuro allowed Hibari to remove his glasses "Perhaps I am, glasses or not"
Hibari could feel the droplets of cold water trickle down his spine. He could hear his breath and questioned if it were in synch with his heart. He doubted it.
Hands warmer than the sun's rays held soft yet sharp shoulders.
The kiss on the cheek was uncalled for.
"You're not very Japanese" Hibari commented, referring to Mukuro's distinctly lack of manners and formalities.
Mukuro shrugged "I'm Italian" and it wasn't like Hibari had any manners anyway.
Hibari placed Mukuro's glasses back where they belonged and took a long look at the other.
His first kiss tasted like chlorine.
xxx
He couldn't hear anything but the pitter patter of the rain against the roof. It blocked out the roar of thunder and subdued the singing of cicadas, bringing out a sharp resounding knock in your head.
Mid-Summer's storm.
It wasn't soothing. It put him on the edge. Mukuro massaged his temples and groaned, he hated the rain when it was like this. It agitated him, it provoked him, that dull hammering sound in his head. It felt as though the mere repetitive sound of the rain could kill him, and if it didn't kill him, it most certainly did his brain in.
Lightning. Flashes across the sky, some so far, some so close. Each flash illuminated a picture for those few seconds before disappearing again, only to reappear a short while after. It wasn't consistent. He liked and hated that at the same time, the inconsistency in life.
And he saw it. In those small flashes stood a boy, inside that swimming pool outside his window. If the swimming pool hadn't already drenched him enough, then the rain outside most certainly has. Instinctively, Mukuro reached out to grab his sketchpad, however, his brain started working again. It would be wrong, to sketch from afar, knowing that the boy outside could easily catch a cold or whatnot.
Sighing, Mukuro placed his sketchpad aside and instead took out his camera, hoping it was waterproof, he opened his window and took a quick snap before grabbing a half empty bottle of water and threw it out his window, knowing it'll hit the stupid boy in the pool.
And it did.
Mukuro smiled to himself, silently praising himself for his superb skills, even if in the dark.
He should have expected the bottle to come flying back at him though. Really, how many people did he know are THAT obsessed with 'waddling' in the swimming pool at the most outrageous of times? Only one. Rokudo Mukuro silently cursed the devil Disciplinary Head.
Picking up his water bottle, Mukuro sighed as he realised how damaged his floorboards could get if he did not close the window and stop the rain from rushing in. He sighed as he watched the shorter boy climb into his room through the window before promptly closing the windows.
Throwing a towel at the soaked boy, Mukuro motioned for Hibari to hop into the bathroom. He really didn't want to get the floor any more wet. And of course, being the thorn in his side, Hibari didn't even budge towards the bathroom.
"I never knew pineapples could draw" Hibari muttered as he wiped his face with the towel, obviously having noticed Mukuro's sketches across the room.
Mukuro groaned and stalked towards the wet Hibari Kyoya before placing his very own glasses on the Disciplinary Head. The boy with the mismatched eyes took this chance as the raven head was overcome with a split second of dizziness to push the said boy into the bathroom.
It seemed like such a chore sometimes. Truthfully though, Mukuro admitted silently to himself that at times like this, he really didn't mind treating the other boy as a young child, it was part of the fun teasing after all.
xxx
"You're here again?" Mukuro asked as he sat down next to the other boy, dipping his legs into the pool, kicking lightly, watching as the water droplets left chaotic ripples on the water's surface.
"You're here too" Hibari answered, attempting to knead his fingers against the water.
"It's the dead of the night" stated Mukuro, as if nothing were more obvious "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"
Hibari took a small glance at the other "I slept during the day"
Mukuro's laughter rang throughout the night "What are you? Nocturnal?"
Lightly punching the other on the arm, Hibari pouted "I could say the same to you"
"I'm an owl" Mukuro's tone was serious, but his smile only made it seem like a joke.
Hibari rolled his eyes, knowing that the giddy boy beside him was only teasing "And I'm a pineapple"
"True" nodded a smirking Mukuro, ignoring the glare Hibari gave him "you're all prickly and spiky on the outside but so sweet in the inside"
"Pineapples aren't sweet, they're sour" Hibari pointed out, feeling a tad smug.
Mukuro shook his head and chuckled "And I'm...Hibari Kyoya"
'What!?' Hibari's stare seemed to scream
"I'm secretly in love with Hibari Kyoya" Mukuro loved watching Hibari's thin eyebrows. They quirked and twitched a lot for such simple conversation.
"No you're not" Hibari crossed his arms with confidence "It's blatantly obvious!"
"That you're in love with me" Mukuro adamantly finished for Hibari, placing his hand on top of the Japanese's hand.
"Our Summer holiday is ending"
xxx
It didn't take long to notice that the Summer holidays were coming again, and it was awkward, the Prefect thought to himself as he wondered for probably the gazillionth time where the Dorm Head had disappeared to. He hadn't even noticed when he stopped seeing the grinning student on the grounds, it might've been weeks, months, even a whole semester or three seasons. Yet nothing has changed, the swimming pool is still there, the stars are the same, individually littering the night sky as Summer came rolling down.
It wasn't until later, when Hibari approached the new Dorm Head that he learnt Mukuro had left the school.
xxx
There was no need to say goodbye, after all, it's only temporary.
Hibari Kyoya opened the letter with care, who knows, something strange might just pop out of the thin paper envelope.
He pulled out a scrap like piece of parchment. It was a sketch of a starry night sky. He could almost smell Summer. The warmth of the breeze, the smell of the garden and the chill of the pool. Turning the sketch over, Hibari's finger ran over the only three words written; See you soon. His eyebrow rose at the small pineapple with glasses drawn on the corner.
Reaching into the small envelope once more, the Prefect pulled out a small piece of paper. It felt heavy, but he could not refrain himself from staring at the plane ticket.
Italy.
It was an unfamiliar feeling. He wanted to and didn't want to go at the same time. Biting his bottom lip, Hibari placed the ticket and the sketch on the dusty wooden desk.
Easily, the hasty student folded the envelope into a paper plane, he examined his handiwork and gave himself a small smile. Gently, he pushed opened the windows of the room, his room, watching as the spider webs broke and disappear. He looked out into the swimming pool. He could feel the warm season slowly infiltrate the room, it made him feel a little drowsy, as though he were in a dream. His arm moved and wrist bent swiftly as he let the plane soar out the window, watching as it dropped into the swimming pool, floating and soaking before the pool swallowed it whole as it sunk to the bottom of the pool.
A little jetlag won't be able to stop him. Hibari let out a breath, suddenly, it was so much easier to breathe.