This one's a bit shorter, but it had to be a separate chapter since it doesn't fit with either the previous or the next chap. Enjoy! As always, comments and critique are encouraged and much appreciated.

Chapter 4: Selfish

There was no soothing warmth of the rising sun underground; no vivaciously chirping birds announcing the break of dawn he was used to being awoken to. At least there shouldn't have been; but Hibari Kyouya was not a man to be depleted of anything merely due to the fact that his residence was situated below ground zero. A faint orange light, something that could be called a simulated sunrise, slowly engulfed the room while an entirely-out-of-tune chirping filled the air with the melody of the Nami Middle Anthem – after all these years still the only song Hibird could manage to sing without entirely missing the melody.

The tenth generation Cavallone boss was no longer surprised at the remarkable simulation of the awakening of nature, yet he still marvelled at this invention of his cute little student, as he still liked to occasionally refer to his lover in his mind. Yet, the display of dawn break could never compare to what lied right next to him.

It was no longer a shock if the blonde awakened in the Cloud Guardian's bed; more than that, it became a habit, and anyone would cast cautious glances towards the unsociable and rather bad-tempered guardian if the Cavallone's residence during his stay in Japan was anywhere but Hibari's bed. To everyone in the Vongola, Dino's staying in Kyouya's bed was a sign of peaceful days when they were relieved of the fear of a furious Cloud venting out his wrath on innocent bystanders; but to Dino, it meant so much more – it meant his Skylark was willing to open up to him, allow him to invade his personal bubble uncontrolled; and he cherished the precious moments the pale beauty fell asleep in his arms, leaning against his chest with raven locks splashed against the tanned skin.

To him it was not the merry chirping, and certainly not the artificial sunrise, no matter how accurate approximation to the real thing it was, that made him smile in the morning; what did crease his lips into a blissfully happy smile was the strong yet lithe body curled against his chest, pretending to be still asleep because doing anything even remotely close to cuddling consciously and in a perfectly sober state would hurt his pride. The blonde ran his hand through the silky locks that seemed to capture the faint light and make it their own, shining with such strange radiance that he could not help but marvel.

He kept telling himself "just a little bit more", just like a child in the morning, woken up by his mother insisting he needs to wake up and eat his breakfast, otherwise he's going to be late for school. Just a little bit more... it was what he had always wanted, wasn't it? Every time he was supposed to return to Italy, he kept thinking 'just a little bit more, just a bit longer'... every time he reminded himself he should break up with Kyouya and find himself a woman, he told himself 'just a bit longer'...

But a bit was never enough, was it?

After the 'a bit longer' passed, he still wanted to stay just a bit longer. It was a repetitive like a never-ending story, a cycle he could not escape from.

No, he didn't want to leave. He wanted to stay with Kyouya... at all times... forever, if he would allow.

He wanted a one-way ticket to Kyouya-realm.

Is it really that wrong for him to want that?

The blonde sighed and slowly untangled himself from underneath the smaller male, gently placing him on the bed, careful not to spill the warmth they had generated and preserved under the covers – no matter what the raven said, he knew he disliked cold, and would – either subconsciously or pretending so – snuggle closer to the warmth.

There were probably better places to think with a clear mind than this room, still filled with the musky scent of the fortnight. But then again, this was not a decision his reason alone can make; moreover, if this was truly the last time they could be together, he would not leave his Skylark's side for even a second. Even if that meant getting bitten to death for crowding.

He made sure he didn't slide the linen sheets off the still-pretending-to-be-asleep guardian, and sat up.

For some reason, he felt he could understand Gokudera's craving for nicotine right now; he had tried smoking once, in high school, and took a dislike to it immediately – however, the heavy morning after sex somehow seemed the right moment to light up a cigarette and smoke it in long, lazy drags while contemplating in the faint light emanating from the orange shimmering globes. It almost felt like he was missing something between his fingers as he supported his chin with his hand; and he could almost smell the imaginary scent of tobacco.

To be honest, even if he had a cigarette with him, he wouldn't dare to smoke at all – the Skylark had a surprising good nose, and there was no lying to it – not to mention in Kyouya's room to top it all. He suppressed a chuckle as he imagined how the Cloud would look angered by something like that, and quickly decided it was not something to discover in reality.

Even though he didn't have a problem dealing with an upset, angry, or even bloodthirsty Kyouya, he'd rather not be the cause of his wrath. The raven might be cute when he's just a little upset at the Cavallone's clumsiness, or just slightly annoyed at his exhibits of affection, and he was magnificent like a deity of war when he unleashed his fury in battle; but as much as Dino was always impressed when watching him mercilessly striking down his enemies, it would tore him apart to have to face the same expression directed at him.

Who would've thought that behind his confidence, fighting prowess, laughter and possessiveness, the tenth generation Cavallone boss was still somewhat insecure...?

It wasn't even funny anymore... it was pathetic.

He could never really tell what Kyouya felt for him, if anything at all. Sure, there were moments when he was certain they shared the same feelings, moments when he believed actions spoke louder than words, and claimed that the mere fact that the Cloud had allowed him so close was proof enough... but then again, it was what he choose to believe, what he wanted to believe.

He could have just as well been fooling himself.

Kyouya, his Kyouya, could just as well have been playing with him... taking the best he can out of their relationship, just satisfying his corporeal needs and enjoying the attention.

Everything was possible; for, although the entire Vongola praised Dino as the only one who could tell and understand the Cloud guardian's thoughts, the truth was he couldn't tell at all. All he could do was guess and make assumptions based off the knowledge he had of his mind processes. His face, however, was just as unreadable to him as it had been when they first met, an enigma he felt he could never solve.

When they were younger, he used to wonder whether the array of his feelings was limited to annoyance, anger, hate, pride, blood thirst and sadistic thrill. He soon learned the opposite, and in a rather surprising way; he had been trembling for the life of a tiny yellow bird that dared to land on his student's head during their training when the teen suddenly smiled and gently stroked the bird's fluffy feathers. Dino could remember being shocked so much he almost fell nose-first to the ground; but it was that tiny display of affection that gave him hope.

Hope that his love might not be unrequited; the same hope he kept clinging to even today.

He had been arguing with the elders of the famiglia for nearly seven years now; he managed to hide their relationship during the first three years, but they probably saw it coming – he had always been a bad liar, and lying to those he considered his family was something he could hardly fathom doing at that time. He had been arguing on and on, fighting for their love – fighting for what he believed was love.

But, had he been fighting just for his own sake, so that his own feelings won't go to waste?

In ten years, Kyouya had never said to him anything even remotely close to 'I love you' or at least 'I like you' or even just 'I want you to stay with me'. Even though he knew well enough that expecting confessions of love from the Cloud would be foolish as well as fruitless, he just wanted a sign more than just silent approval of his actions or rather, just lack of disapproval.

His thoughts wandered to the events of last night... to the image of a slightly intoxicated Kyouya that marvellously contradicted his sober self. They say that the heart speaks out when you're drunk... that people that restrain themselves in sober state resign themselves to their wishes when drunk... should he believe that his lover's actions had been his desires, his true face he'd been hiding even from him...?

The napping raven shifted in bed, seeking comfort, and, still pretending to be asleep, snuggled closer to the warm sitting form of the Cavallone.

He knew he wasn't asleep.

Was it just the warmth he was seeking, the proximity of just any other human being ...or did he want to be close to him? Did it matter to him who it was, as long as he was warm, comfortable, and satiated?

He couldn't tell... he could never tell.

"Ne, Kyouya." He nudged the pretending-to-be sleeping form next to him gently, but didn't turn around to face the addressed.

There was no response, yet Dino was certain his Skylark was awake.

"Tell me... what am I to you?"

A heavy silence dawned on them, despite the fact that the question had been said lightly, airy even – Dino didn't want to alarm the other male, yet he did exactly that, for his voice could not have been more forced and strung with pain.

"Hn," grunted the addressed, annoyance permeating the syllable most frequently used in his limited spoken vocabulary.

"What kind of a question is that, Cavallone?" His voice sounded like a distant growl, muffled by the pillow from which he didn't bother to lift his face from.

"Just a question. Is it so hard to answer?"

He didn't bother to force his voice to sound light and airy anymore, being fully aware he had been found out. Nor could he manage his signature smile, or tease Kyouya about being so reluctant to answer a simple question as he surely would in the past. This was not a joking matter anymore; he was serious, probably more than during any of the meetings he held with the warring families, and it was a question to which the answer could just as well determine the rest of his life.

Kyouya was left silent, too silent to be normal.

He didn't move, not even twitch a bit, even his breathing seemed to die down to shallow inaudible breaths that hardly made his chest rise and fall.

He was thinking carefully, considering what to say – that much was evident to Dino. He wasn't sure, though, whether that was a good or a bad omen; all he knew right now that his heart was racing like an express train, threatening to tear his chest apart and deafen him with the loud thumping.

...

"You're mine.

That's all there is to it."

The words were silent, yet strong and determined. And while the wheat-haired mafia boss was still digesting the words, trying to decipher the meaning behind them, he added another sentence, sounding final and definite:

"And I don't let anyone take what belongs to me."

...

It took him a few moments to take in what had just happened; and when he turned around in surprise, he found his lover's face buried in the pillow that was supposed to hide the corners of the raven's mouth that kept tugging into a smile as well as the faintest shade of rose that sneaked up on his cheeks.

...and Dino knew that was the closest to a love confession that would ever leave his lover's lips.

"Kyouya..." he whispered almost inaudibly, before he lied back down next to his lover and brought him closer, almost smirking with incredulous satisfaction when he felt the lithe arms wrap around his torso.

For a moment, he was reminded of what he had come here to do;

he remembered the many deeds he had done in order to get his famiglia afloat again, the many days he had spent training and learning, the many days he had spent secluded in the Cavallone head office, and all the faces of the members of his family.

And he decided it was his turn to be a bit selfish.