Hayato groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. He felt like he was hit by the biggest truck ever. Last he remembered, he walked right into an ambush. There were no signs or anything to make anyone think it was a trap of any kind. When he finally was able to pry his eyes open, bright fluorescent lights nearly blinded him. He heard movement to his side and said the first thing that crossed his mind.
"Where the fuck am I?" He growled, his voice coming out hoarse. Suddenly, he felt someone grab his hand. He tensed before he heard a sob.
"Hayato? How are you feeling? Are you ok? I was so worried when Tsuna told me what happened…I…"
"Principessa?" He asked, opening his eyes all the way, taking in his surroundings. His eyes finally met her and he took in a breath. She had large dark circles under her eyes, was pale and her hair was a mess. Wait, was there red in it? "Did…you do something different to your hair?" He frowned a bit when he saw tears fall.
"I…did but that doesn't matter right now." She sniffled, and started full on crying. Hayato was helpless. He had no idea what to do. He tried sitting up and yelled out falling back down.
"Shit! That hurt!" He growled, then tugged on her hand. "Come here." When she obliged, he moved his arms around her, kissing the top of her head. "I am not going to leave you any time soon Rosa. I'm sorry I scared you. And as soon as I can get out of bed without excruciating pain I will make it up to you." He felt her shaking, her hands grasping his shirt. He felt completely useless right now, not an idea how to comfort her.
"You don't have to make it up to me" She said through her crying. Shit, he felt like a complete asshole. "You coming home alive is enough. I thought I lost you and I didn't know what to do… I was so lost…." He smoothed her hair lazily as he let her get it all out. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, and lifted her head. "I wonder if they'll let me move you to our room. I'd rather take care of you than have you stay in here."
"I guess that would depend on how bad it all is." He murmured. "I mean, I can't even sit up right now. So, I think I'm stuck for a while."
"I guess I'm stuck too." She murmured, brushing strands of hair off of his forehead.
"Ahaha! You two are too cute!" Hayato groaned and closed his eyes. He was not feeling up to Yamamoto right now.
"Yamamoto! When did you come in?" He heard Rosabella ask, her voice sounding rough. It made his heart ache that he unknowingly put her through that much. He closed his eyes, one of his conversations with DIno ringing in his head.
"I swear, if she gets hurt in any way because of you bringing her back into this…"
"I know." Hayato said, cutting him off. "It's my ass."
"That includes you getting hurt, or even dead. Think about how much that would hurt her. Use your head and don't act like the impulsive child we all know you can be." With that, he leaned down, kissing Rosabella's forehead, then heading out of the room.
That was just what he did. Crap he was in for knew he didn't act impulsive, but was in fact, less observational than he could have been. He was sure there were signs of that ambush. He opened his eyes, the conversation going on in front of him floating back to his ears.
"Just now. I didn't want to come in too soon. I know you wanted some time with him." He scratched the back of his head as he looked down at Hayato. "Tsuna asked me to peek in and make sure you were both ok. They're worried."
"They?" Hayato asked in a hushed tone.
"Ahaha…well, everybody." Yamamoto replied, sitting in a nearby chair. "We kinda like having you around Gokudera. Then there was Rosa to consider. She was a wreck from what Tsuna and Dino said."
"I…wasn't that bad…" Hayato could hear the pout in her voice. He tightened his grip on her ever so slightly. He saw Yamamoto give her a look, raising his brow. She sighed, her head laying on his shoulder, which was one of the few uninjured areas. "Ok…maybe I was…" He heard her mumble under her breath.
"Gokudera is taking a vacation." Tsuna stated, staring down Dino, Rosabella and Yamamoto, who were all called into his office. The only reason Hayato wasn't there, was because he was still stuck in a bed. It'd been a week since he returned, and he was begining to heal, but not nearly enough for the doctors to allow him out of that hospital room. Rosabella spent as much time possible in there, between her responsibilities in the mansion. She did end up sleeping there every night though.
"Vacation?" Rosabella asked, giving him a strange look. When he nodded, she continued. "This is sudden…." Tsuna cleared his throat, looking down at a file on his desk.
"Whether he remembers or not, he shows signs of torture among other things. And to this date, he hasn't ever taken time for himself aside from the random day off." He explained not looking at any of them.
"Are you saying he's working himself too hard?" Dino asked, looking slightly confused.
"Probably." Yamamoto said quietly, not a single hint of his usual good nature in his voice. "He never wanted to be too far from Tsuna just incase."
"Now, how he spends that time off is up to him, as well as who he takes with him. He might just want to go it alone, or he might want to take Rosa with him. But he needs time whether he knows it or not." He said quietly. "And I know he isn't going to want to talk about it if he remembers at all, just the way he is. I'm telling you three so you can keep an eye on him for the duration. And I know two of you can calm him if he needs it." He looked pointedly at Yamamoto and Rosabella.
"How long?" She asked, biting her lip. She knew that Hayato wasn't going to take kindly to a forced vacation. God knew he could use it though. She wondered if he was going to want her long or not?
"Two weeks. Enough to make sure he's fully healed physically and mentally." He gave her a smile, eyes flashing orange for a moment. Damn that Vongola Intuition. "Don't worry, I'm sure he won't be going alone." Tsuna, then, looked around at each one of them. "This goes no farther than this room, and make sure you don't tell Gokudera. He won't like it. Dismissed." Rosabella sighed as she stood, rubbing her neck. She had slept in the chair in Hayato's room the night before and was incredibly sore. She was just about to walk out with her brother and Yamamoto when she heard Tsuna's voice. "Rosa, a minute please?" She let the other two know she'd catch up, then turned back around to face Tsuna.
"What's up?" She asked, giving him a smile.
"You aren't sleeping in a bed if you are sleeping at all." He stated, folding his hands in front of him. " Kyoko-chan brought it to my attention the other day." He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. "I know you don't want to sleep in your bed while he's somewhere else hurt, but this isn't good for you. Especially since you're still doing your regular duties." He stood, stretching. "I wouldn't bring it up, but she's worried, as are Haru and Chrome. And when Crhome worries, Mukuro gets upset, which never ends up a good thing. I talked to Shamal, who said it was fine to move Gokudera to your room. Reborn assured him you've had some medical training just in case. He should be in there now. Take the rest of the day to yourself, and get some rest. We'll expect to see you at each meal from here out as well."
"Of course Tsuna." She said, nodding. She didn't even realize she was neglecting herself. Had she been forgetting to eat? She sighed softly as she turned to head out of the room.
"I understand you wanting to be by his side at all times, but you have to take care of yourself or you won't be able to be strong for either of you, never mind the kids." She nodded as he finished.
"I understand. I didn't even realize I was doing it…" She mumbled, biting her lip gently. She felt his hand on her shoulder.
"Don't be afraid to ask for help. You know Lambo and the others would be more than happy, as would Kyoko-chan, Haru, Chrome and Yamamoto." She looked over, nodding and he gave her a smile. "I understand you were taught to be strong, and to hold the man up from behind the scenes. Just…don't over do it. He wouldn't want that." He patted her shoulder and smiled a bit more. "Now go. Gokudera should have been moved by now."
"Thanks Tsuna." She said, as she turned, leaving the office, chewing on her lip as she headed for the room she shared with Hayato. She was working too hard apparently, splitting her time between her responsibilities and caring for Hayato. Once he had healed enough to move around a bit, she had banned the nurses from taking care of him while she was there, taking it upon herself. The only one she let near him was Shamal for obvious reasons.
Yawning, Rosabella finally made it to their room, and opened the door to see a nurse put a blanket over Hayato, who had his glasses on and a book in his hands. Glaring at the nurse, she entered the room. Hayato gave her that smile he reserved just for her while putting his book down.
"Out." She barked at the nurse, not even looking to make sure she followed the directions, and sat on the edge of the bed. "How are you feeling Amore?" She asked, readjusting the blanket.
"Better than I have been." She saw a frown pull at the corners of his mouth. "How are you? Reborn was telling me you weren't sleeping and missing meals again…" She watched him move, pushing a lock of hair from her face.
"Apparently I have been. Tsuna felt the need to talk to me about it. I…didn't even realize…" She bit her lip, taking his hand. "I was too caught up with everything else." She saw him scowl. Knowing this would happen, she gave his hand a squeeze.
"You need to take care of yourself above all else." He murmured, bringing her hand to his lips, kissing it lightly. "What if you got sick all because of this? Let the nurses do their job, get some rest and eat."
"I know, I know." She sighed, closing her eyes. "Tsuna already talked with me. I..just…" She sighed once more. "I'm sorry Hayato." There was a rustling of fabric, then she felt his lips press against hers.
"Don't be sorry. Just….do it" He whispered, craning up to kiss her forehead. She gave him a smile and nodded. "Now that I'm not in that hospital bed…" She watched as he laid back, getting comfortable. Once he was done shifting around, he held his arms out. "Time for you to rest. Come on." He left one arm out, and grabbed his phone with the other fiddling around with it.
"But…..Hayato…." Rosabella said, biting her lip gently. He smiled, setting his phone down.
"Don't worry about the boss. I just texted him to let him know if you miss a meal today is because I'm making you rest." He let his smile fall, getting impatient. "Now come here woman." She couldn't help but chuckle as she kicked off her shoes, and crawled into bed beside him.
A/N: I apologize about the shorter chapter. I feel like this was a good stopping point. Hope you guys enjoy it! Let me know what you think! I feel like comments/reviews are better than yummy Christmas cookies!