Disclaimers: Don't own KHR or its characters.

Warnings: fluff, swearing, abuse, parental conflict.

Beta'ed by AmbiguousThoughts – thank you for dealing with me~! ;D

Namimori High School, 1.08pm

Watching the bus drive into the school was like watching their lives being transported back to reality. Okinawa was the dream – anything and everything was possible. Namimori, on the other hand, was the awakening truth of their situation. Even the Namimori High School itself symbolized a factor of this disillusionment.

School. Prefects.

This was reality.

Prefects. Head Prefect.

Hibari Kyouya.

The image of the school's Skylark was impossible to avoid whenever Namimori High School came into context – equally impossible as it was to escape from reality.

Gokudera observed Yamamoto – the baseball player was sleeping soundlessly, his head tilted to one side – and he wondered. He wondered what it was about this person that made him so special. Was it his athletic traits; his optimistic attitude; his bright, unwavering smile? Or was it his warmth, both in his body and in his heart, which had melted even the strongest, coldest ice bergs?

But then, Gokudera realized that no matter how great those characteristics of Yamamoto were, they did not fully contribute to Gokudera's feelings for him. It was, instead, the way Yamamoto allowed Gokudera to be who he was around him that strengthened their connection to beyond friendship.

Gokudera had never felt this way towards anybody before. It was a strange giddiness bubbling inside of him, making him both afraid and excited at the same time. This was a big risk he was taking, to allow someone to come so close to him – especially when he knew that this 'someone' was being shared.

Hibari Kyouya.

In certain aspects, Gokudera could understand why Yamamoto liked him. The Skylark was isolated and contained, yet fierce and striking. He had an air of beauty and grace about him that was so masculine yet feminine at the same time. That slim body of his held great strength – so much that he seemed unbreakable, leaving people wondering whether there was that untouchable vulnerable side to him at all.

Knowing Yamamoto, Gokudera figured that the baseball player had found that vulnerable side to the prefect.

Just like how he managed to reach my hidden weaknesses and crack them open.

Gokudera and Hibari – the two were similar in the way that they were both ice bergs that Yamamoto's sunlight had managed to melt.

"…Gokudera?" The soft voice of the baseball player called Gokudera's out from his own thoughts. Those dark brown eyes of his were looking at the silvernette both curiously and sleepily. "What are you thinking about?"

Gokudera leaned his head on Yamamoto's shoulder and mumbled, "I don't know."

"You do know. You're just not telling me," Yamamoto murmured, turning around to plant a soft kiss on the top of the silvernette's head.

"Fine, fine…" Gokudera rolled his eyes and crossed his arms before he muttered quietly, "…you."

"Hm?" Yamamoto tilted his head to the side to look at Gokudera's face.

"You," Gokudera repeated, and shrugged. "I was thinking about you, you baseball idiot."

Yamamoto smiled and chuckled lightly, "That's unexpected – not that I'm complaining. Why were you thinking about me all of a sudden?"

Gokudera shrugged again, "I don't know."

Yamamoto nudged him, "Come on…"

Gokudera sighed. "…it's just… I don't know. I was thinking about you…"

"Mm-hm." Yamamoto nodded.

"And me."

"Mm-hm." Yamamoto smiled.

"…and Hibari."

Silence fell.

The subject of the Skylark had been taboo up until now – but Gokudera decided that the topic would have to come up sooner or later, especially now that they were back in Namimori. It wasn't fair on anybody to just pretend as though nothing wrong was going on when something so obviously was.

"…how many days do we have until the juniors return from their expedition?" Gokudera broke the silence with a question.

"One more," Yamamoto mumbled quietly. The guilt was back, eating up at him once again. He was never the type of guy who played around with other people's feelings and he always avoided hurting others at all costs. But this time was different. He had choices but it was impossible to decide – and the more time he took, the more pain he would cause.

One more day, huh. One more day left of ignoring the truth.

Gokudera knew it was stupid of him to put up with this sort of… affair, for a lack of better word. Before, the silvernette would have thought of this act as moronic; labeled it as 'mentally retarded masochism' – but now he was beginning to understand why some girls were willing to go through with such idiocy.

Those emerald eyes glanced up at Yamamoto.

Because of him.

He is worth it. He is worth being a complete, utter fool for.

Yamamoto's expression was written all over with guilt – but not regret. Not anymore. Even so, Gokudera could tell that the baseball player was incredibly troubled by this situation.

One more day…

…oh, to hell with it.

All of a sudden, Gokudera surprised Yamamoto by pressing a soft kiss to his cheek. He turned around and stared at Gokudera in confusion.

Gokudera lightly pushed Yamamoto's head, "Idiot. Don't look so depressed. We have one more day…" The silvernette then leaned closer to Yamamoto and murmured, "…I'd rather we make the most of it."

Yamamoto sighed, leaning his head on Gokudera's own and intertwining his fingers with him. "…are you sure?"

Gokudera nodded, lacing their fingers tighter, "I don't want to be away from you." Not yet.

"Me neither," Yamamoto admitted, before he added, "…come over to my place later?"

The bus had entered Namimori High School and was coming to a stop.

Reality was here – but unaccepted. Not until tomorrow.

"You bet."

Because even though it would only make it hurt more afterwards – their limited time together was worth it.

No matter how short or pretentious that time had to be.

Namimori, 1.43pm

"I'm home," Gokudera mumbled as he slid out of his shoes – the phrase was more of a habit than anything else. This place was, officially, his house; but Gokudera didn't believe that it was his home to any extent. There was a very clear difference in the definitions of the two terms, and Gokudera felt it every single time he stepped into this place. As always, the house stank of alcohol of all sorts. It was just as the silvernette had expected – the same old wrecked habitat of an unemployed drunken alcoholic.

But what Gokudera didn't expect, was the presence of somebody else.

"Welcome home, Hayato-kun," the voice was low and raspy with an ever-mocking tone.

Gokudera immediately looked up, but the person who greeted him was not his father. Instead, it was a man in his twenties wearing loose torn jeans and a pale, screened t-shirt. His bleached blonde hair was sticking up all over the place and greasy with excess hair wax. His face was rough with stubbles of beard and metal studs that looked more or less corroded with rust.

"Takumi," Gokudera recognized him immediately as his father's usual alcohol supplier – he had run into him once or twice before in the past few years.

Takumi chuckled in his throat, "Oh wow, you actually remember me? How cute, Hayato-kun."

Gokudera frowned, "Where is he?"

"Who? Your dad?" Takumi questioned even though he already knew the answer, "Where do you think? The sofa. Chisato's trying out some pretty sick new shit right now – you wanna join?"

"Like hell I would," Gokudera muttered, walking past the guy.

However, Takumi grabbed his wrist and yanked him back, "Aw, what's the rush, Hayato-kun? Talk to me. Let's have a nice little chat. We haven't met in a while, have we?"

Gokudera peeled those rough fingers off him, "Don't touch me."

"You've grown quite a lot since the last time I've seen you…" Takumi chuckled, his hands creeping around Gokudera's shoulder. Those hands then dipped and slid effortlessly down Gokudera's slim waist, "I must say, you're so much cuter nowadays…"

The silvernette wriggled away from Takumi in disgust whilst the guy only continued to chuckle.

"Or shall I say…so much sexier?"Takumi smirked as he grabbed Gokudera's ass.

Gokudera instantly gripped Takumi's wrist and twisted his arm, causing the guy to wince and gasp slightly in pain – but it still didn't wipe the smirk off from his face.

"Touch me again and I'll fucking murder you," Gokudera growled, twisting Takumi's arm once more before he pushed the guy over to the ground. The silvernette then stepped over him and made his way into his room, leaving the alcohol supplier lying there in pain and chuckling. It was creepy.

SLAM.

Gokudera slammed the door shut behind him and shuddered. There was always something about that guy that was just so wrong. The way those filthy hands felt, the way those eyes roamed his body… Gokudera shuddered again in utter disgust.

"Meow~."

The soft mewling called Gokudera's attention to a certain cat who was lingering by the window.

"Uri…" Gokudera smiled lightly and walked over to the cat, picking it up and observing it left and right. "You're a bit thinner, huh? I'll find you some tuna or some shit after I finish packing, 'kay?"

Gokudera rested Uri down on the bed before he started unpacking his things and exchanged them with new clothes for the week. Once again, he planned to stay over at Lancia's for as long as he could – anywhere but his own house; anywhere as long as it kept him as far away from his father as possible.

BANG. BANG. BANG.

As if on cue, Chisato was banging harshly on his door as per usual. It was almost becoming some sort of routine – one that Gokudera would never adjust to.

"Oy, Hayato! Open the damn door…" Chisato's voice was not as slurred today, but Gokudera knew better than to think of it as an improvement. He knew full well that the reduced drunkenness was only the period when the alcohol was taking time to kick in.

"…what do you want?" Gokudera muttered, not bothering to move from his packing space.

"What? What the fuck did you just say? Speak up, brat!" Chisato banged on the door again.

Gokudera clenched his teeth and stood up, speaking at a louder volume, "What the hell do you want from me?"

The silvernette could almost feel his father's rage increasing on the other side of the door.

"You do not speak to me like that, you ungrateful little bastard…" Chisato growled.

Gokudera ignored him and continued to hurriedly finish off his packing, determined to get out of the house.

BANG.

"Hayato! You dipshit! Open the motherfucking door right now!" Chisato was becoming more angered by the second – and from the sounds of it, he was currently using a bottle of some sort to smash at the door. "Now! Hayato! Open it! "

BANG. BANG. BANG.

"Like hell I would," Gokudera mumbled, trying his best at ignoring the noises at all costs. If the time away from Namimori had taught him anything, it taught him that as long as his father couldn't reach him, he couldn't hurt him.

BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG – CRASH.

The sound of the glass bottle breaking was followed by many curses and swearwords from Chisato. Gokudera couldn't help but smirk – all this time, he had been stupid enough to open the door because he was afraid the only physical barrier between him and his father would break apart. But now he had realized that the door was tougher than he gave it credit for.

For once, Gokudera felt some sort of safety in his house.

But of course, Chisato ripped that away from him in the following seconds.

"Oh, so you think you're smart now? Not opening the door so I can't touch you, huh?" Chisato was talking right up close to the door, speaking in a voice that was not half as drunk as he usually was, but with much more threat in it than his typical roars and yells.

Gokudera paused the hand that was about to zip his bag close. This was somewhat new. Chisato never spoke to him with such calmness before – but instead of comforting Gokudera, it terrified him.

"Well let me tell you something, asshole, I won't even touch you. Not even if I can," there was a smug tone to Chisato's voice that made the content of his sentence suspicious. "Ya wanna know why?"

Gokudera remained still – he did not know what to expect from this man.

But even as he prepared himself for the worst, Gokudera was not ready to hear the following words that left his father's alcohol stained mouth.

"I'm selling your body."

Gokudera had stopped breathing altogether.

"You see, Takumi is a good friend of mine and he's been interested in you for a while – I don't fucking understand why, but he does. Your mother's money's been running low, so I agreed to sell your body to him per night. Isn't that great, Hayato? I've finally found some good use to your worthless life and, hell, you don't even have to do anything. I can't hit you now either 'cause Takumi wants you in your best condition. Isn't that just fucking fantastic? Eh, Hayato? Everything seems to be working out just fine for you, ain't it, fucktard?" Chisato was roaring with laughter now – the cause of his amusement a mystery.

Gokudera's mind was no longer functioning on thoughts – his brain had stopped registering information ever since his father informed him of his so-called 'use' to his life. The silvernette was now on autopilot, basing his actions on pure instinct – and every instinct in his body was shrieking at him to get the hell away from this place as soon as possible.

Hurriedly, Gokudera threw his luggage out through the window before he started climbing out as well. Uri mewled roughly at him, seating itself stubbornly down on his foot.

It took a moment of considering before Gokudera decided that he didn't want to leave his cat anywhere near this house, either. Thus, he picked Uri up and carried the cat through the window, jumped off the roof, and landed without harming himself or Uri.

Then, he picked up his large luggage and he was off once again – this time might as well being the last time he ever set his foot on his father's land.

Namimori, 2.59pm

"Gokudera…?"

Yamamoto stared at the silvernette who stood there fuming before him in front of his house, a large luggage bag on one shoulder with an orange-yellowish cat poking its head out of the zipper.

"You look…really, really angry. What happened?" Yamamoto wanted to reach towards Gokudera and hold him to calm him down, but part of him was afraid that Gokudera would just snap – that, and the possibility of him actually being the source of Gokudera's fury held Yamamoto back from embracing the silvernette.

Gokudera didn't reply, so Yamamoto tried again. "…you wanna come in and cool off a bit?"

To Yamamoto's relief, Gokudera responded to this offer with a curt nod.

As they walked into the house, Yamamoto felt like taking the luggage and cat off of Gokudera to rid him of some weight, but on second thoughts, he decided not to because he, of all people, knew that Gokudera particularly disliked being treated like a helpless dependant.

Therefore, instead, Yamamoto led Gokudera into the kitchen and poured him some water. Gokudera silently took a small sip before he rested the glass down on the table and didn't touch it again. Yamamoto stood awkwardly beside Gokudera, not knowing what to do – whether he should attempt conversation, touch him, or just stand there in the unnerving quiet.

Fortunately for Yamamoto, he didn't have to ponder for long. Tsuyoshi, Yamamoto's father, came walking into the kitchen, whistling a lighthearted tune, both hands holding bags of groceries.

"Ah, Gokudera-kun, you're here earlier than I expected," Tsuyoshi greeted the silvernette who gave him a quiet, polite bow in return. Tsuyoshi smiled, "I'm making you kids something especially good for dinner today – expedition must have been tiring, eh?"

Yamamoto thanked his dad, whilst Gokudera noticed once again how obviously similar the two Yamamoto's were. Apart from the physical features, Tsuyoshi also had that goodhearted optimism that was thoroughly passed onto his son. Seeing this, Gokudera couldn't help but wonder whether there were any traits of his father in him – if one existed, he would make it disappear without a single ounce of hesitation.

"Ah, pop, we're gonna head upstairs to my room, 'kay?" Yamamoto told his dad, needing some alone time with Gokudera – who still had his fist clenched tightly on his luggage with teeth occasionally gritted. It was as though there was an active volcano boiling inside of him, on the verge of eruption.

Tsuyoshi nodded and patted his son's back, "Alright. I'll call you when dinner's ready."

With that, Gokudera headed straight to Yamamoto's bedroom, the baseball player following shortly behind. As soon as the silvernette was in the room he sat down on the bed and plopped his luggage to his side, releasing Uri out of the bag and setting it down on the floor. The cat mewled as if to complain about being stuffed in the bag for so long, before it stretched itself and curled on the floor. Yamamoto closed the door behind him and carefully made his way over to the bed and sat next to Gokudera.

It took a long moment of silence and a lot of courage gathering before Yamamoto spoke up. "Hey… What's wrong?"

Gokudera clenched his fists.

Everything. Everything is fucking wrong with my fucked up life right now. Every bloody thing.

Yamamoto noticed, and gently rested his hand on top of Gokudera's, speaking calmly, "…you know you can tell me about it. I'm here for you."

Yamamoto squeezed his hand softly as if to emphasize his point, and Gokudera could feel Yamamoto's warmth right through his hand. Slowly, he unclenched his fist, and Yamamoto took this opportunity to lace his fingers through Gokudera's.

Gokudera stared at their interlinked hands, Yamamoto's on top of his own.

Warm.

So warm, careful and gentle – so unlike every other thing I've grown used to; unlike every other thing that has gone wrong.

Yamamoto…

Yamamoto noticed Gokudera trembling slightly, and he knew what he had to do. He looked at Gokudera, "Come here."

Gokudera could feel his heart quaver and in a sudden rush of emotion, he threw his arms around Yamamoto's shoulders and hugged him as tightly as he could. Yamamoto wrapped his arms around Gokudera immediately, pulling the silvernette onto his lap and holding that petite form close to him. Gokudera clung to him like a child, his fingers almost digging into Yamamoto's flesh.

They were so close that they could feel each other's heart beat – Gokudera's agitated, frantic thumps against Yamamoto's calm, soothing rhythm.

Gokudera could feel his emerald eyes burning, and he closed them as he leaned his head on Yamamoto's neck, inhaling deeply, relaxing in Yamamoto's hold. Like magic, Gokudera's pent up anger melted away as though Yamamoto had sucked out all of the bitter poison from him.

Yamamoto gently held Gokudera's head as he kissed the back of Gokudera's neck at the roots of his hair. Gokudera sighed contentedly. Yamamoto smiled, "…better?"

"Mm. Much better," Gokudera murmured before he opened his eyes – his eyelashes slightly dampened with traces of tears – tears of anger, frustration and fear. But all that seemed to have dissolved away in Yamamoto's arms.

"You wanna talk about it or…?" The way that Yamamoto asked that question was strangely not intruding at all. It wasn't a question asked out of mere curiosity, but it was an offer which allowed Gokudera to choose whether he wanted to express his emotions or not.

The silvernette shook his head, "I just want to forget about it."

Yamamoto did want to know who or what had managed to anger Gokudera so much, but if Gokudera insisted to let the subject drop, he is willing to drop it – or at the very least, put it to rest.

"You have some crazy shit going on in you, you know?" Gokudera mumbled, still in Yamamoto's embrace.

Yamamoto raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

Gokudera shrugged, "Dunno. It's just this thing about you. Makes people at ease. It's kinda weird – like mad voodoo magic or some crap."

"Isn't that a good thing? I mean, making people at ease." Yamamoto smiled, pressing a kiss to Gokudera's head.

Gokudera lifted his head off from Yamamoto's neck and looked into Yamamoto's eyes – those warm chocolate eyes – murmuring, "Yeah. Yeah, it is."

Without any warning, Yamamoto leaned in and kissed Gokudera's lips. It was meant to be a short, soothing little act, but as Gokudera responded to it, the gentleness grew into passion that deepened the kiss. Wet lips moved in time with each other, their warm breaths merging, and before either of them knew it, they were lying on top of one another on the bed. However, they were unbothered – breaking away from the kiss shortly only to breathe in some air.

The two were lost in their connection – the emotionally vulnerable Gokudera easily sinking into Yamamoto's soft kisses and embrace. They forgot about time and surroundings altogether, the need to take in air gradually becoming a nuisance.

That was, until a certain feline figure interrupted them.

"Meow~," Uri mewled loudly as it made its way up onto Yamamoto's back.

Yamamoto paused to pull back from Gokudera's lips. The silvernette was panting faintly, his cheeks dusted with a light blush.

"Ah, Uri…" Gokudera reached his arms out to pick the cat off from Yamamoto whilst the baseball player rolled off of him.

Yamamoto smiled, "Never knew you had a pet cat."

Gokudera scratched Uri's head, "Yeah… Well, Uri's not technically my 'pet'. It's a stray. But it always comes around to my house so I feed it and stuff."

Yamamoto reached out to smooth the little animal's fur, and Uri stretched its body, mewling in satisfaction. Yamamoto smiled, "It's cute."

"Huh. You should see it when it's mad – the thing is a little bitch when it's pissed off," Gokudera said, poking the cat in the cheeks. Uri tried to slap his hands in response but Gokudera dodged the attacks, "Ha. I'm too fast for you."

The baseball player tilted his head to one side and observed Gokudera and the irritated Uri with a smile. There was something very appealing about the way Gokudera handled animals, especially when the animal was a cat. Yamamoto felt as though Gokudera was with his own kind – a stray cat and another stray cat, toying and teasing one another.

Gokudera stopped fighting with Uri by holding it at arms' length before he turned to Yamamoto. He raised his brow, "What are you smiling like an idiot about?"

Yamamoto chuckled, "Nothing."

Unconvinced, but not bothered enough to dwell on it, Gokudera plopped Uri onto Yamamoto's torso. "There. You take Uri."

Yamamoto easily settled the cat in his arms before he asked, "So what's up with bringing Uri here? And all that luggage?"

"Oh. That. Yeah… Well I'm staying over for quite some time at Lancia's with the Dynamites and I didn't want to leave the cat alone," Gokudera said.

"You stay over at Lancia's a lot don't you?" Yamamoto noticed.

Gokudera nodded slowly, closing his eyes, "Yeah, most of us go there frequently so it's always packed. It's nice." That's right. It's nice not having to see that man's face for some time.

Gokudera wasn't lying, but he knew he wasn't telling Yamamoto everything he could – and probably should. Not now. Later. I will tell him later.

"Hmm…" Yamamoto looked at the ceiling as he thought, before he rolled over to face Gokudera, "What do you think of staying over tonight, then?"

Gokudera reopened his eyes and raised his eyebrows, "What? You mean here?"

"Yeah. You know, since you've packed your stuff anyways – and I'm sure Dad wouldn't mind," Yamamoto smiled warmly as he reached over to brush a strand of silver hair away from Gokudera's face, "So… Stay with me?"

With a hint of a smile, Gokudera replied, "Sure."

If it means stretching out the time I have with you… Sure.

"Yamamoto…"

"Hm…?"

"…nothing."

So we can keep on obliviously pretending that there's only the two of us for just a moment more.

Fujiyoshida, 4.18pm

Hibari stood apart from the crowd of Nami High juniors as they all waited for their bus to arrive to bring them back to Namimori. A clear frown was present on the Skylark's face – dark circles beneath his eyes emphasizing his moody atmosphere. Even Kusakabe, his closest person, kept his distance.

Since morning, Hibari had been in a foul mood. Crowding with the other juniors already annoyed him enough – he didn't need the added frustration of not being able to stop thinking about a certain Italian man.

'Kyouya, I… I still-'

The words repeated themselves over and over in his mind – the look on Dino's face haunting him. Hibari couldn't stop wondering what Dino wanted to say, and the potential of what could've been said stressed him even further. It also didn't help that memories of his ex-lover wouldn't leave him alone. Every now and again, his mind would travel back to the times they spent together – and Hibari hated the fact that they still affected him.

The Skylark thought that it was all over – his relationship and all of the feelings he had with Dino. He had been relieved that he could finally move on. But apparently, it wasn't over. That was clear enough to him when only seeing Dino's face and hearing Dino's voice affected him to this extent – and more than anything, Hibari was frustrated with himself for not being able to let it all go.

I need to stop thinking about him. It's been a year.

But even as Hibari thought that, he couldn't help but still wonder. There were so many things left unanswered – their relationship ended all too suddenly without the very much needed explanation.

Closure. That's what I need. Then, I'll finally be able to forget about him.

The theory sounded good enough. However, the thought of facing Dino was still too much for Hibari to handle. He knew he couldn't talk to Dino without his emotions running wild – the way he reacted last night was evident enough.

No, I'm not ready. I need to get away from here – away from him.

The bus seemed to be taking forever to get to the resort, and a sickening gut feeling inside Hibari was getting more and more agitated. His instincts were warning him that if he stayed here any longer, he would have to face something that he wasn't at all prepared to.

And as usual, his instincts were right.

"Kyouya."

As soon as he heard the voice, the Skylark started walking away. Hibari didn't even need to turn around to know that it was Dino walking up behind him.

"Kyouya, wait."

No. Don't talk to me. Don't follow me.

Hibari sped up – and so did Dino.

Stop it. Stop trying to make me fall back to you.

I don't want to. I can't afford to.

"Kyouya," Soon enough, Dino caught up with him, grabbing one of his wrists.

Hibari immediately turned around and jerked his arm away. "Stop following me."

"I need to talk to you," Dino tried to touch his shoulder but Hibari moved away before he could.

"I have nothing to say to you," the Skylark stated before he turned to walk away.

However, Dino stopped him in his tracks and stood in front of him. "Kyouya, please. Listen to me."

"No." Why should I? Why should I give you such privilege after all you did to me?

Despite Hibari's response, Dino still tried. "Look, Kyouya, I know I hurt you, but you need to know that I left you not because I didn't love you. I did. You know I did. Even now, I still-"

"Enough." Hibari hissed, raising his tonfas against Dino. His heart was beating so hard it was hurting him. "I don't want to hear it."

Dino's face was written all over with hurt and guilt, pleading Hibari to listen, wrapping his hands around the younger's wrist. "Kyouya-"

"I said enough," the Skylark spoke through gritted teeth, pressing his tonfas right up to Dino's chin, glaring at him with an intensity that could kill. "Stop bothering me. I want nothing to do with you."

I can't afford to be in that pain again. Once was more than enough.

"…why?" Dino's voice was softer this time, almost a faint whisper. "Do you…do you have someone else?"

Hibari clenched his fists around his tonfas before he replied, "…yes."

With that, Dino let go of him. Then, he just stood there and looked at him – the expression on his face filled with disbelief and pain.

Hibari couldn't face him – couldn't look him in the eyes. The prefect turned around and forced himself to walk away.

It's over. It's finally over.

But even so, the violent burn in his chest was impossible to ignore.

Fujiyoshida, 4.29pm

From afar, Kusakabe observed the scene between his young master and his ex-lover – immediately recognizing the look on Hibari's face.

It was the look he had when Dino first left him – the only difference being that this time it was Hibari who did the walking away.

And yet, the pain on his young master's face was just as clear and strong as the very first time – that particular sort of pain that neither bandages nor years of time could fully heal.

Heartbreak.

A/N: I am so sorry! This update was unforgivably and inexcusably late D: I went through a horrible writer's block and I just couldn't get the words out right until now… it's still not ideal, but hopefully what I did here is enough to satisfy you all ^^''

As always, your support is HUGELY appreciated! Look forward to more 8059, 8018 and D18 drama to come in the upcoming chapters! :D