Okay! I told myself that I would finish this chapter, and I did. I SWORE IT. Recently it's been getting harder and harder to write…I ran into a lot of problems during the school year, and I apologize deeply for taking so long to write another chapter ;A; Thankfully my drive is (sort of) back, so I fully expect to finish this story in one go. Ughhhhhh. Dying. Please enjoy.

Disclaimer: I. Own. NOTHING. Katekyo Hitman Reborn is property of its creator. I'm only borrowing it for a little bit~. Any events, characters, or situation related anyone or anything past or present, fictional or non-fictional, is entirely coincidental.

Europe, Late 1800's

The street bustled with life in the warmth of the evening sun. Tsuna sat at the dock, surrounded by a group of chattering people. The cute brunette peered around his easel at the man sitting on the stool set up in front of him. After a brief glance, his hands immediately went back to work, sketching out the man's rough beard and top hat with the piece of charcoal in his hand. Tsuna's eyes narrowed as he focused on the last part of his drawing. Finishing with a few smooth strokes, Tsuna scrawled a quick signature at the bottom of the paper and handed it to the man.

"Here you go, sir." The young artist said brightly, wiping his hands on the flimsy apron tied around his waist. The crowd leaned in appreciatively, admiring Tsuna's artwork. Comments flew back and forth between them.

"It's beautiful."

"Outstanding!"

"What a genius."

Tsuna smiled at the pleased look on the man's face, and then dropped several coins into the small tray on the dock, tipped his hat to the brunette, and left. Immediately, others began clambering forwards, requesting their portraits to be drawn. Tsuna laughed a little, scratching his head in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, everybody, I've got to pack it in for the day. I'll be here tomorrow morning, though. You're welcome to come back then."

The crowd murmured again, mostly in disappointment, and then dispersed. Tsuna rolled up his papers, then carefully collapsed his easel. He tipped the coins into a small pouch, weighing it carefully in his hand. It should help cover this week's living expenses, Tsuna thought, carefully stowing it away in his coat. He was packing away his charcoal and brushes when he heard him speak.

"Tsuna."

Tsuna jumped a little, startled, but relaxed when he saw who it was.

"Mr. Hibari!" Tsuna said happily, bowing to the dark-haired man standing on the dock. "I didn't expect to see you today." He beamed at his longtime customer. Hibari had been coming to watch Tsuna paint on the docks for a while now, calmly sitting by the brunette while he sketched, but relaxing only when there were few people around them. Hibari didn't take well to being in crowds at all, especially loud, noisy ones, no matter how innocent of happy the group of people was.

"They remind me of war zones." He'd responded when Tsuna asked him why he disliked noise. "It makes me uneasy."

Tsuna shuffled a little. "I packed up for the day already, since it's late…" Hibari chuckled, reaching out to ruffle the shorter one's fluffy locks. "That's fine. I'll be back tomorrow." Tsuna blushed, but smiled warmly up at the normally stoic and cold man.

"I look forward to it!"

"Kyoya, sweetie?"

Hibari stiffened a little and turned around. Tsuna felt his breath hitch. Standing nearby was a young woman with long, curly blonde hair dressed in a beautiful red silk dress and holding a decorated purse in a glove-encased hand. She was Elizabeth Vance, the daughter of the infamous Lord Vance, rumored to be one of the Queen's most favoured noblemen. She was also Hibari's fiancée.

Hibari turned without a smile, his features clouded slightly. "Miss Vance, what are you doing here?" Elizabeth pouted and walked forward, slightly unsteady on the uneven wooden planks on the dock in the tiny, high-heeled shoes. "I offered you a ride back to your mansion in my carriage. Why are you here in this unsanitary place?"

A vein twitched in Hibari's temple. "I came to see a friend of mine." He said shortly, making Tsuna's heart ache a little. Friend. Between the three of them, they all knew that Hibari's feelings for Tsuna had long extended beyond the meaning of friendship. Elizabeth looked a Tsuna with a cold, superior look that she often reserved for the brunette.

"Oh, hello, Sawada. I didn't see you there."

Tsuna bowed to her; Hibari making a disgruntled noise in the back of his throat. He obviously disapproved of Tsuna being so polite to Elizabeth when she was far from offering the same simple act of courtesy to him.

"Good evening, Miss Vance."

Elizabeth sidled up to Hibari, now pretending Tsuna wasn't there anymore. "I know I asked before, Kyoya, but I think you were distracted." A nasty look in Tsuna's direction. "Would you like to come over for dinner? Father invited a chef from France over tonight. I hear the food is even better than the ones served in the palace."

Hibari glowered slightly. "I told you that I had business to attend to. Please say hello to your father for me. I'm busy right now. Please excuse us." Elizabeth deflated a little, attempting to look hurt.

"Very well then, Kyoya dear. I'll see you tomorrow."

Tsuna looked away as she pressed a quick kiss to the unmoving Hibari's cheek, threw him one last contemptuous look, and flounced off to the carriage waiting for her on the street. There was an awkward moment, which was broken by Hibari wiping his cheek with a disgusted look on his face, and Tsuna burst out into giggles.

Hibari looked at him, mollified. "What's so funny?"

Tsuna beamed radiantly at him. "No, it's just, you're normally so serious and stiff sometimes, it's funny to see you wipe Miss Vance's kiss off your cheek like a five year old rejecting his grandmother's smooches."

Hibari's eye twitched again, but this time he smiled slightly with amusement and suddenly stepped forward, catching Tsuna in a huge hug, making the brunette squeak a little and cling onto the nobleman's neck. Hibari leaned in, gently tapping his forehead against Tsuna's (which happened to have a smudge of charcoal on it) and sighed.

"If only…I could be with you…instead of that…vulture…" Tsuna collapsed into a heap of giggles at Hibari's description of Elizabeth Vance again. "We could be happy together…you can paint every day…I can leave this miserable city behind…and nothing, nothing, will stop us."

Tsuna smiled at Hibari, raising a small hand to touch the raven's cheek. "I wish we could do that too. I get this feeling when I'm with you…like…we're just meant to be." Hibari sighed. "But it seems like we're never going to get the chance, right?"

Tsuna shook his head. "I don't know what this 'feeling' is, but I know that I'm not giving you up. Especially not to that Miss Vance." Tsuna made a face at the name, and Hibari actually laughed, pulling Tsuna close to him again.

The two of them wandered around after sunset, admiring the streets bathed in a warm, orange glow from the streetlights above. Hibari walked Tsuna home, and gently kissed him on the forehead before the brunette walked upstairs into his room. Unknown to either of them, a pair of cold blue eyes followed their moments, boiling with jealousy.

The next morning, Tsuna was back at the docks again, sketching away. The usual crowd had come by again, requesting their portraits to be drawn. Tsuna happily complied, this time using watercolours, his personal favourite. He brought a delicious doughnut at the bakery down the road, and spent most of the afternoon and evening painting the boats passing by the dock and sailing out of the harbor.

When the sun began setting and the crowd began dispersing once again, Tsuna rinsed out his brushed and quickly stored everything away. The seagulls crowed loudly as the wind blew in. Tsuna lifted his head, smiling at the beautiful view of the clear waters and landscape. Footsteps drew the brunette's attention from the image before him, but something wasn't right. The steps were far too light to be Hibari's…and there was a strange clicking sound with every stride.

The sound of a high heeled shoe.

Tsuna spun around, and his breath caught in his throat as he came face to face with Elizabeth Vance holding a small, black pistol straight at him. Tsuna stood very still, looking right into the livid woman's face.

"Miss Vance?" he asked cautiously, even though his heart was beating very, very fast.

"It's all your fault, you know." She sneered, her hand shaking slightly. "It's your fault Kyoya won't marry me. Not voluntarily, anyway." She laughed a little, curls bouncing around her thin face. Tsuna wanted to run, but the thing in Elizabeth's hand was still aimed at him.

"Kyoya doesn't deserve some pathetic street runt like you. He needs someone young, sweet, and caring for him, he needs a wife. And you're none of that, Sawada. He needs me. I can take care of him. But while you're still around, Kyoya won't even look at me."

Tsuna frowned. He didn't take insults well, especially from people like Elizabeth, but it was her ridiculous conception of Hibari that really got to him. "You say that you'll take good care of Mr. Hibari." Tsuna challenged. "You think of yourself as a perfect lady, a wonderful fiancée, and eventually, a treasured wife. But because you think that way, you're blinded by your greed and want for someone as noble and honest as Mr. Hibari. Maybe there's a reason why he doesn't like you. And maybe it's not because of me. Maybe it's because you're so self-centered, and because you're plain horrible!"

Her mouth was moving soundlessly like a fish, having never been insulted so badly before in her life. Tsuna's chest was heaving, and he broke into a run, pushing right past her, ignoring her shriek for him to stop, to take back those words, but he'll never do so, never, how could she think Hibari would be low and stupid enough to buy her act?

"Tsuna!"

The brunette looked up to see a raven-haired man running down the street towards him, an unmistakable look of anger and fear etched upon his face. Tsuna opened his mouth to shout Hibari's name, to tell him to turn around because—

Bang.

—because she had a gun. Tsuna's knees jerked, a slow, burning pain filling his chest as he stumbled and fell on the cobblestones, coughing a little. He felt cold all over. Footsteps halted next to him, and he felt arms pulling him up. It was warm.

"Tsuna, Tsuna, can you hear me? Damn it, Tsuna, don't die, don't die now, please—"

Was that Hibari? Tsuna's fingers sought out the raven's hand, and through numb fingers, he felt the other's hand close around his own.

"Tsuna, god, don't do this, listen to me, wake up, wake up, please…"

Were those tears? Tsuna couldn't be sure. He tried to speak, but the only words that came out were soft, pained whispers. "I…I love..."

The world slowly darkened, and then there was no more.

So. Some of you guys didn't like seeing Hibari dying, so I changed it around a little, and its Tsuna's turn! Not that killing our adorable dame-Tsuna was any fun for me, anyway TT^TT

Once again, I apologize for taking so long to update…life just doesn't give the time, haha. Thank you very much for reading. Comments will always, always be appreciated.

-Star