Disclaimer: Katekyo Hitman Reborn and its characters do not belong to me, they belong to Amano Akira

-SPECIAL CHAPTER-

One Day Too Late

A brunette man in a crumpled suit sat at a large mahogany desk that dwarfed him in comparison. He was looking over documents spread over his desk, signing them periodically. When a pile finally diminished completely he raised his arms over his head for a long luxurious stretch. Afterwards, he stood for the first time in hours and strode over to a cabinet containing liquor which was used frequently when he had meetings for the special guests in his office.

Opening the doors to the cabinet Tsuna grabbed his current favorite, amaretto, though he was fine with anything but tequila. It reminded him far too much of Xanxus. Speaking of that devil, he remembered the video conference scheduled for tomorrow with the Varia. Squalo had tried to fix one up via Gokudera since he deals with the parts of security Kyoya didn't bother with, like training new recruits, but he had stopped taking calls from the Varia after Belphegor and Fran started to harass him when they were bored one day.

Yamamoto ended up getting the all streamlined to him and by then Squalo thought the issue was big enough to talk to Tsuna about. This worried him because the Varia never called him to report a problem. He usually only found out something had happened when the complaints found themselves on his desk.

Well, he thought as he tossed back the drink he'd poured himself, that wasn't his only problem. Tsuna had found himself involved in his very first mafia war since he took the Vongola Decimo title. A disgruntled famiglia who had never really been on Vongola's good side had decided to attack while Tsuna's place as head was still relatively new. Years after he took the crown people were still trying to get settled into the feeling of an outsider taking over. For some it didn't matter that he passed Vongola blood, he still hadn't been raised in the life and that somehow made him less. Though having had the world's self-proclaimed greatest hitman tutor him did earn him a fair amount of respect.

Sure, since Tsuna took over there had been assassination attempts, but never such a straightforward attack from a famiglia. Especially one as cowardly as this. Pouring some more amaretto into his glass the brunette turned to glance out the window which overlooked the garden. Thinking about that famiglia had him tightening his grip on the glass in his hand as his eyes roamed the moonlit garden. The image of Lambo covered in blood standing in front of Kyoko shot to the forefront of his mind. Gulping down his second glass of alcohol, he wiped his hand across his mouth.

Those cowards had kidnapped the 'weak links' in his famiglia, his youngest guardian and a woman who had no experience in fighting. Their first mistake was underestimating a Vongola guardian and their second was thinking Tsuna's retaliation wouldn't be severe. Hell fire had rained down on them as he showed his fury at such an attack on his famiglia. Within days anyone involved in the decision to attack was annihilated, which was most of the higher ups in the famiglia. He made sure he also gave the order for the don's mansion to be wrecked. The family wasn't completely destroyed as some of the men had a wife and children, he wouldn't kill off husbands and fathers to leave the families without when they hadn't directly done anything.

It had been a warning and having the mansion wrecked while they stood by, not being able to do anything, showed off Vongola's strength. Yet if the famiglia ever attacked again he wouldn't hesitate to wipe them out. Hibari and Mukuro were useful for things like that. Mukuro particularly liked trashing the place.

After Tsuna had that famiglia attacked, their allies had gotten in a tizzy and he'd been hearing rumors of possible vengeance being planned. More assassination attempts than usual have popped up and before an all-out war really broke out it needed to be fixed. Reborn thought flexing their muscles a little bit right before their eyes instead of seeing the aftermath of the other famiglia would work. So, the Arcobaleno had done something completely unnecessary and reckless. He tricked Hibari into going into the area by telling him that a gang in the area had an old Namimori student as a member. Tsuna doubted it was true, but it did get the skylark's feathers efficiently ruffled for what Reborn wanted.

Pouring himself what he told himself would be his final glass, though he took the bottle with him, the brunette walked back to the chair behind his desk. Twirling it around its wheels spun a bit and he sat down facing the famiglia picture hanging on the wall behind his desk. Sipping on his drink his thoughts drifted to his cloud guardian. It was hard to believe that ten years ago he would have laughed in someone's face if they told him his relationship with Hibari Kyoya would be as it is now.

Sure, the perfect was attractive in his own way. With those pretty grey eyes of his and hair that looked as soft as down. His features were rather delicate which is what made is viciousness such a contradiction. His viciousness is what made a relationship between them so impossible, there was nothing attractive about an attack dog. Plus there was the simple fact that at fourteen he 'wasn't gay.' At the time he was all about Kyoko. Though somehow he feel for the violent teenager. Still it wasn't like they started a romantic relationship consciously, it sort of just happened along the way. Hibari Kyoya was not the type to woo and Tsuna wasn't crazy enough to stick his hand in a blender to 'just see what happens.' No, their connection began at a more physically intimate level.

Which also happened on accident. In fact their whole relationship was more of a 'go with the flow' thing. Tsuna was actually starting to think that he may not even feel the way he thought he did about Hibari. The minute the relationship had become inconvenient he started to contemplate ending it. Plus this wasn't the first time he was thinking this way. Back in his high school days, after Kyoya had run off to do his own thing and was gone for a few years, Kyoko caught his eye again.

Of course the poor girl never even knew that Tsuna and Hibari Kyoya had a thing going, no one really did back then, so she didn't reject his advances. Though he didn't think of his actions like that at the time he knew now that he'd been flirting like a woman on a corner, but Ryohei never said anything about it so at the time he had no idea how obvious he was being. Kyoko was actually the one who kissed him first. It was a light peak, nothing like Hibari's kisses. He'd been toeing the edge carefully, but right then he nearly fell head over heels for that girl. She was just so soft and sweet, so very different from that beast like man.

Shortly after that the unthinkable happened. Hibari Kyoya came back. Actually it was more like he stormed the school. All day he heard whispers going around about 'him' being back and seeing how scared everyone was he should have connected the dots but Reborn hadn't said anything about him coming back. Tsuna went about his day quite normally. By then it was near the end of the school day and he was in his classroom with his unusually well behaved classmates. His group of friends, probably the only people left in the whole school who didn't know, were behaving normally.

It was then that the door slid open and people started to tense up. He hadn't seen behavior like this since middle school and raising his eyes to see who it was he realized the why of it all. Hibari was standing in the doorway. Butterflies fluttered in his stomach as those grey eyes met his and then roamed over the rest of him. He gave the ex-perfect the same treatment, taking in the difference two years made. And it was freaking huge, he'd grown about three inches

After Tsuna's eyes finished their scan of his cloud guardian's rather memorable body he caught sight of Kyoko out of the corner of them and…his stomach dropped. He actually felt guilty and that didn't sit well with him. He never defined what sort of relationship he had with Kyoya and then the perfect left for. Two. Whole. Years. His…whatever Hibari was to him hadn't even been the one to tell him, Reborn had. So there was no obligation to be faithful for something that didn't exist.

At least that's what he was telling himself, but he still felt horrible. And when Hibari's voice broke the silence that had befallen the room he nearly melted. "Herbivore." There was no romance in this, they weren't together and he didn't want to be. Not with such a violent, unappreciative person. At least he should have the consideration to tell the person he had been regularly intimate that he was going to disappear for a while. Tsuna didn't even want to be near someone so…so…Hibari Kyoya-ish. "Come with me."

Now that was just plan arrogant after two years! He would never…damn it, he followed.

And that started the pattern of their relationship, though Tsuna never did 'cheat' again. Hibari brought him to the reception room that he had conquered earlier that day and proceeded to give him one of the top five sexual experiences of his young life. It took a while after that day for Kyoya to find out what he'd been up to while he was gone, probably since he didn't interact with others enough to easily discover it by accident, but Tsuna knew when he did. Tetsuya made sure to tell him, to warn him.

In the end that wasn't needed, for a while he was avoided and then when his cloud guardian decided to come back to him he simply told him that he didn't want to catch a disease so they were now exclusive. Tsuna went along with it and shortly after the ex-perfect left again.

Hibari had started their relationship out of convenience, taking a perfectly straight brunette and messing up everything he thought he knew about his orientation. He says he never would have done it if the other boy hadn't shot him the occasional 'look,' whatever the heck that meant. Tsuna would have been fine with that, a clear line drawn, because well he was a guy and he couldn't deny the sex was nine kinds of awesome. Plus it wasn't like he was getting it anywhere else, but then they started doing things that were…relationship like. He was just a middle school brat, he didn't know any better and stupidly he fell for the ever drifting cloud. Then Kyoya left and it took two years to stop his thoughts from wandering to the other teen.

So looking back on it all, Kyoko was a justified 'affair' as Kyoya now so lovingly called it. That was seven years back though and somehow in that time they had fell back into doing relationship like things along with their more physically intimate activities. Back then Hibari had labeled what they had a relationship before he left again, titles attacked and everything. Though it still felt a bit odd when the term boyfriend exited either of their mouths. Yet…he felt so unfulfilled. Kyoya was constantly on the move, unlike most of his guardians, and he felt he wanted more than his ever roaming cloud could give him.

Sighing, Tsuna guzzled down another glass of alcohol he poured himself, breaking his last glass promise. It was finally working its way through his system and he was feeling tipsy. He blamed his alcohol tolerance on Reborn forcing him to get to the point where he could drink nearly all other Mafiosi under the table. The only ones he had ever encountered who he had trouble with were Xanxus and Yamamoto. Both were allies which was the only reason that demon had let it go. Plus Xanxus drank pretty much all day long so it was impossible to beat his tolerance without becoming an alcoholic. Yamamoto on the other hand…he was still unsure if he just had great tolerance or if he was a really amazing faker. Either way when the brunette did decide to drink his liver hated Reborn.

Sipping on what was left of his drunk he gazed up at their famiglia portrait. Things really had changed a bunch since then. Gokudera finally (for the most part) accepted his relationship with Yamamoto and became a far more reserved right-hand man. His rain guardian smiled a little less. Chrome seems to have ended her relationship with Mukuro completely this time around. Mukuro was hanging around the mansion more than he used to and Ryohei had gotten married to Hana. Lambo went from being an energetic little kid to a lazy sloth like teenager.

Tsuna himself had grown even stronger as his experience with battles increased. Strength wise Kyoya became like an unmovable wall his resolve rivaling Tsuna's own. His fighting style was more stable now, not as hot headed as it used to be. He analyzed his prey, playing with them instead of finishing them off quickly. Tsuna was still unsure about how he felt about that. As a reckless teenager Hibari Kyoya was terrifying enough. As a calculating adult who toyed with his 'food'? It felt more sadistic, almost like…Mukuro.

A shiver shot down his spine at the thought of Kyoya finding out he even dared to think of that comparison. Though with the upmost seriousness he certainly did not want to feel like he was dating Mukuro. The guy was handsome enough, but his personality? Frankly….it reminded him of Daemon. Sometimes even looking at him jogged the memory of having to fight the Simon famiglia.

Don't get him wrong Tsuna knew that Mukuro would never betray the Vongola. Whether he admitted or not the bluenette cared too much about the people here. Chromed had friends here and if Mukuro ever did anything to them she would never forgive him. The Kyoya going had found their home and purpose. They weren't destroying the Mafia but they were changing it. And of course bashing heads of the opposing party along the way.

Looking down at the drained glass in his hand he sighed. He didn't know what to do about his failing relationship. It was just so frustrating…he was tired of it all. Tsuna didn't need constant attention, he wasn't a clingy lover at all. There was no getting Kyoya to be like that. He knew what he was getting into when he found himself falling in love with the perfect. He had a famiglia to run himself so he wasn't always available either. But...maybe a little softness would be nice. The little gestures of affection like they had at the start of their relationship, that's what he craved.

The way things were now made Tsuna realize just how long it had been since they had those moments of peace. Lately the only time he spent with his cloud guardian outside of meetings, were in the bedroom. All it was is sex, not even slow love making, it was like fast and anonymous sex. Kyoya was always in a hurry to get back to hunting box weapons. He never stayed more than there days in the mansion before rushing out like a bat out of hell. A very elegant, handsome bat.

Leaning back so his chair reclined a bit, he stared at the ceiling for a moment and then his eyelids slid down as an unwelcome but not unpleasant thought drifted into his mind. Besides that kiss with Koko all those years ago he'd never been intimate with a woman. He'd started his relationship with a man before he got the chance. It was something he had taken a strong interest in as of late. At times when he saw the three Vongola ladies he would end up fantasying.

The Vongola boss would never act on it though. Chrome had grown up nicely, any man would see and appreciate that. Yet when his eyes stopped at her face he felt nauseated for even thinking that way. Chrome was like a little sister to him…plus she'd once been Mukuro's vessel. Having seen her transform into him before, Tsuna would never be able to stop worrying about it happening again.

And Haru…she'd already had one major obsession over him, there was no need for another. Also she seems to have changed her target to Hayato. Maybe in a parallel universe his right-hand man could even have shared the same affection for her. Though since that wasn't the case here they were just best buds, which Hayato would never admit. Haru was probably the only person in the mansion who could follow his every word intelligently. Yamamoto on the other hand could listen to his ranting for hours without interrupting and ask a question at the end, prompting an in-depth explanation of yet another concept. Which, Tsuna was sure, Hayato loved. The man surely would have become a teacher in different circumstances.

The third Vongola lady who came and went as she pleased was Kyoko, still unmarried and available. Ryohei let it slide the first time around but if Tsuna hit on her again without it ending with a ring on her finger his sun guardian would probably chop off his dick and throw it in the deepest ocean. Even knowing this he still couldn't help but think about here. Whenever she dropped by he would always spend an unusual amount of time with her lately.

Sitting in his office now Tsuna's thoughts went towards the girl and wondered what would have happened between them if Hibari hadn't come back when he did. Would he have married his first love? Spent more time in Japan with the excuse of his wife being homesick? Reborn would never let him use that for himself or Kyoya for that matter.

'Hibari can take care of the Japan branch on his own, you don't need to bet here with him. Get back to work you Slacker.'

'But-'

'No buts, you can visit Japan another time.'

'Reb-'

'I said no buts.' Bang. Bang. Bang.

'HIYYAA, I didn't say but.'

Bang. Bang. 'You just did.'

'Damnit, Reborn!'

Ugh, thinking about it was starting to irritate him. At time he felt like a prisoner in his mansion. He wasn't allowed out of the country without Reborn's approval and there were occurrences where he wasn't even allowed off the mansion grounds. And all because Dino had set a precedent of escaping whenever he was overloaded with work. Just because one student did it doesn't mean the other will follow in their footsteps.

But what really upset Tsuna was that Hibari didn't seem to care about his lover's persistent absentees. His cloud guardian wasn't the type to hide his annoyance, if Hibari Kyoya was upset everyone knew about it. He found it herbivore-ish to hide his anger. So if he wasn't upset about not spending time with Tsuna…did he even love him? Did he care about him at all?

At the same time that question slithered into his head, making his brows furrow, his office door started to swing open. He knew instantly who it was, there was only one who ever smelled so strongly of blood when coming to his office. Everyone else cleaned themselves before coming to him. Even Mukuro didn't seem to like to bathe in the blood of his enemies like Hibari did. Having blood on him didn't bother his cloud guardian, he'd once told Tsuna the blood felt like a layer of armor. No one dared approach a man already covered in the filth of other herbivores.

Slowing turning his head to look at his lover the brunette opened his eyes and stared right into the other man's steel colored ones. For a few seconds they just watched one another. Tsuna was the first to move, reaching out his hand towards Hibari whose eyes flickered down to glance at it. "Your report?"

An emotion briefly crossed the raven-haired man's face, but he covered it quickly and started walking forward. Usually the Vongola boss was quite effective at reading his guardian's faces, especially his lover's yet he couldn't decipher what Hibari had just thought. It made him feel as if there were a new, great, distance between them though the ex-perfect was coming closer to him. The folder came down slowly into his hand.

After it left his grasp Hibari abruptly turned and Tsuna nearly tried to stop him. Rarely did his cloud guardian come to Italy, most of the time he was off chasing down box weapons or resting in Japan. The only reason he was currently here was because of the looming threat of war. He'd called his strongest guardian here when he made his order to kill the people involved in Lambo and Kyoko's kidnapping…his first order to kill.

Sure he had killed people before, but that was when he couldn't help it. They were right in front of him and it needed to be done to save the people around him. A direct threat if you will. And yet even then he felt horrible about it. But this…this was deliberate, planned. He knew that it had to done just like every other time, but it felt more like a true mafia don's order than little old Sawada Tsunayoshi, Neo Vongola Primo's.

Although it was his lesser known title its premise is what he lived by, recreating Vongola to be what Giotto truly meant it to be. Was this how Primo felt when his creation took on a life of its own and became so monstrous he ran away from it? This was such a suffocating feeling, making it seem harder to breath. He was being grasped at, getting pulled under by the darkness, drowning in this despair he had created and Kyoya was just walking away! He wasn't a clingy lover but dammit he needed him right now!

Tsuna wanted to do something to keep Kyoya here. Reach out his hand for him, scream, shout, throw the biggest tantrum ever, kick up a fuss and just keep him here. But he sat still in his chair and let those feelings dissolve because he knew doing any of those things wouldn't keep the cloud by his side. Kyoya would be more likely to disappear faster if the petite brunette did that. He'd look at him with those cold steely eyes of his for a second and walk away as if it didn't concern him in the least.

Suddenly, Hibari's head turned and they locked eyes once again. The raven-haired man tensed and then in a blink of an eye he was tearing him out of his chair. He slammed Tsuna onto his desk so he was half sitting half laying on it. The brunette gasped as his legs hit against the side of the desk and his cloud guardian shoved himself between them. Then their lips met and he was being devoured. The hand at the back of his head held him in place while the one at his hip snaked around him and tightened its grip. His hips were pulled forward a bit to connect with the older man's and he moaned.

Tsuna hadn't experienced this sensation in weeks. Kyoya wasn't around to do this together with in the last month and as a man that certainly upset him. But he was still mad at him, he shouldn't let it slide just because he started to ravish him. Yet it felt so amazing to finally touch and be touched again that his mind started to slip away from him. The physical took over and he lost himself in the hair pulling, grinding of hips, biting of flesh and that glorious taste of Kyoya.

It was oranges and vanilla with a hint of a metallic he knew to be blood. The blood was always there when he kissed Kyoya and he didn't really want to know why but he wasn't sure if it was just in his mind or not. There were rumors at one time that people had seen him lick his tonfas after an especially exhilarating fight though he didn't believe them. The ex-perfect was a bit off but he didn't possess that level of madness, that was more Belphegor's scene.

Within minutes Tsuna was a puddle of lust, Hibari made sure the other man had no time to think during his siege. He knew he shouldn't be doing this, but he couldn't let things go on as they were. This relationship would not just end as if it meant nothing. Of course he'd known for a long time that this might happen, that the omnivore might try to wander off again. In recent months Hibari had seen that look appear in his lovers eyes, the same look from the time when he'd just come back to Namimori after a few years.

He had left the child alone for just two years and he'd betrayed him. Yet his own mother never even glanced at another man while his father was gone for even longer periods of time. After he found out what that look he had meant he'd finally admitted to himself that Tsuna was still straight or at least preferred a woman's body to a man's. That Sasagawa girl…he wanted to kill her back then along with the herbivore-ish boy. It would have been so simple to snap both their necks and now he knew he should have finished the girl off then.

Once again she'd become an obstacle to him, Tsuna was mesmerized by her no matter how much time passed by. After seeing what happened after leaving the wandering eyed herbivore alone too long he started to came back more frequently, only staying away a few weeks to a few months. Until recently the longest they'd been separated since he found out the brunette was capable of cheating was right after the incident. He needed distance between them to heal his wounds or he may have changed his mind and killed the bastard.

Yet it had been so long since Tsuna had shown interest in any woman let alone Kyoko that he felt safe in the man's love. Wish he'd known then that it was just an illusion. He left again to go finish what he started when he was gone for those two years. Back when Tsuna had entered high school Hibari realized they didn't have much time left before the boy was shot into the adult world. The adult mafia world if Reborn had anything to say about it.

When that time came he wanted the boy marked as his, branded with a symbol that screamed that he belonged to Hibari Kyoya, fuck with at your own risk. A ring wouldn't cut it, his lover wasn't a female herbivore. So he needed something better and he went to find it. Sky box weapons were rare, the strong ones even more difficult to find and customizing a box without damaging it took a while even for Shoichi. After two years with barely any sleep because he wanted to get done as quick as he could to be with Tsuna again, he came back.

Hibari had no idea when or how he could present the teen with the box. Should he wait for him to graduate or just do it now? He considered it for a while, and was even thinking about it while fiddling with the box in his jacket pocket when he heard those herbivores talking. He kissed Tsuna more forcefully even thinking about it. Ever since he came back to the town and took over both the middle and high schools there had been rumors of Tsuna and himself floating around.

Some herbivores passing by saw the self-declared perfect dragging Tsuna into the reception room and then started to hear the distinct sounds of sex coming from the room. Now everyone knew of their relationship besides the people closest to the little brunette. Hibari made sure to grab the first herbivore he heard speaking of it and bit him to death along with a warning that if Sawada ever found out about the rumors everyone would suffer, no matter if they were the one who let it slip or not. He quite liked how tense the herbivores were when the omnivore was around after that.

Hibari was sure his lover would have been embarrassed to know that people had heard them so even if he didn't much care if others knew, he did it anyway. He was protecting the other boys honor, after all he grew up in a tradition Japanese environment. Tsuna's reputation could be ruined if too many people found out he was no longer chaste. Herbivores still whispered the rumors when they weren't near the brunette though, like those females in front of him were doing at that time. They only talked so freely because they hadn't spotted him yet.

"Can you believe it? Hibari-san and Sawada? Together? And what about Sasagawa-chan?" Hibari already had his tonfa out to end the conversation when that last part popped his confusion and interest. These girls were speaking of the boxing herbivore's sister who Tsuna had a crush on years ago.

"I know! I have no idea who to feel more sorry for, Sawada who has to deal with that beast or poor Kyoko-chan who got cheated on." The muscles in his arm holding the tonfa over his head froze in place and his feet shuffled to a stop.

"I wouldn't say Sawada cheated on Sasagawa-chan so soon. What if that madman forced him? I don't think anyone would have the will to refuse him if he attacked. I'd be afraid he would kill me!"

Is that what he has been doing? Forcing the other boy? No, that was wrong even if he had been the one to initiate contact Tsuna would put up a fight if he didn't want it. He would have even screamed for Gokudera if need be. So, he was okay with being with Hibari but he let that woman touch him while he was gone. That herbivore betrayed him!

Hibari saw red, he was more enraged than he had ever been. Even more than when Mukuro had beaten him. This was more than simple humiliation, this was pain. His chest ached for the first time since he was a child and he wanted blood for this. He felt his arm fall lifelessly to his side, tonfa still in hand and glided forward. As he passed by the herbivore in front of him they flinched and started to apologize while begging for mercy. They quickly stopped though as he didn't pay them any mind.

The other herbivores Hibari went by as he headed towards Tsuna's classroom didn't push themselves closer to the wall like they usually did when they spotted him. This time they stopped moving, froze on the spot. Normally the perfect's rage was burning hot, but as he passed by with his head hanging, hair covering his eyes, it felt like a winter's breeze. So they froze and Hibari's shoulder bumped into another boy's. He kept walking without acknowledging it.

With his eyes aimed downwards, as they'd never been before, Hibari slammed right into someone's chest. A tall, blonde, annoying person's chest. Even without looking up he knew who it was just by the accented Japanese and a glimpse of that green jacket.

"Kyoya! Is something wrong, you don't look-"

The blonde was cut off as he was grabbed around his elbow and dragged backwards. "You're coming with me." He'd never heard that tone in Hibari's voice before so he didn't protest. He just righted himself quickly as Romario called out for him in worry. It'd been years since Romario was surprised by the teen's unpredictable actions and he never truly worried about his boss's safety with him, but the aura coming off that boy then…scared him.

That was the first and last time Hibari would be grateful for the bucking horse showing up without warning. He knew that if he hadn't run into Dino that day he would have killed Tsuna. There was no question about that, although an omnivore the brunette wouldn't have won. It wasn't possible for the boy to finish him with that pacifist manner. And that was a kill or be killed situation, he'd wouldn't have stopped until one of them was dead. That was actually the first time he obliterated Dino in a fight. After taking the blonde to the roof and releasing his rage he'd left him there bloody and broken. Romario even glared at him.

After that day Hibari made sure to stay away from Tsuna, fearing that with just one look at his face the suffocating painful rage would consume him again. While he was doing that he had time to think. Every time he thought of what the herbivore did, betraying him like that, he bumped into an obstacle in his thought process. Tsuna just wasn't the type to be unfaithful, the boy was an annoyingly good guy. So as he went over and over it in his brain the solution to the contradiction dawned on him. And it was far more painful than betrayal.

The only way Tsuna would have been able to get passed his high morals and cheat was if he hadn't thought of it as cheating. That meant that he didn't see himself as in a relationship. So what the hell were they then?!

Sure Hibari had never said the words and neither did the herbivore but he thought it was implied. Worse than before, he felt humiliated. He'd left his beloved Namimori to go and find the perfect proposal gift for the herbivore, to move forward in their relationship and show everyone how serious they were. To show that no matter what anyone thought about it Tsuna was his! Yet he was acting on and believing in something all on his own the whole time.

They weren't even in a relationship? Did that herbivore really think Hibari would let just anyone touch him as intimately as the brunette did? Let anyone else play with his hair as Tsuna loved to do? That he would ever be okay with his presence being demanded on a whim by someone other than that boy? If so did that mean all those things the brunette did that he thought were only for him, weren't? Did the herbivore play with that woman's hair, give her that look of utter contentment he was sure was reserved for him? Kami, his chest hurt so much.

As Hibari sat on the couch in the reception room that day rubbing his chest, Tetsuya walked in. Feeling as he did right then the perfect actually asked him right-hand man for advice. For the rest of his life he would remember what Tetsuya said to him. "Well, if what you say is true Kyoya-san, then Sawada isn't in a relationship with that girl yet either. Snatch him up and make him yours officially."

He had thought he'd done that but now here he was again in that same position, watching the man slip through his fingers.

It had been many years since Hibari returned to Namimori with that box weapon he had planned to finalize their relationship with. So many that the brunette now had a very similar one, just without the custom markings on the box itself. Since he wanted to claim Tsuna in every way and felt the herbivore would be more receptive to it now then he was in high school, h rushed to find another box weapon. Like when he left for two straight years he came back as often as he could with the excuse of missions. Though it really was only every few months.

Again Hibari found the perfect gift and it was getting customized right at that moment. Yet lately Tsuna was looking disinteresting, had been for months now and it was just getting worse. He tried to come back more often but the CEDEF was getting bombarded with work which he couldn't leave to others. So when he did find the time to come back he spent all of it in bed with Tsuna, trying to remind him of the part of their relationship they never had trouble with.

Nothing changed though, in fact the man seemed to be withdrawing more. He even found his lover appraising the Sasagawa girl a few times while searching for the omnivore right after getting back. And tonight when he came to give the brunette his report and watched him roll his head to look at him those emotionless eyes of his had him tensing up. But then…Tsuna reached out his arm towards him, in a wanting gesture and made him think, hope, that what he wanted was him. That wasn't the case. It hurt a lot looking at those eyes.

After giving the Vongola don the report Hibari turned away, walking towards the door. He wanted out of there as quick as possible so he wouldn't have to see those damn eyes. He didn't know why he did it, maybe just to be sure that Tsuna was really looking at him like that, but he turned his head just enough to see behind him. And he hadn't imagined it, the man was really looking at him with life-less eyes.

Seeing it again didn't make him feel hurt, this time he felt rage. Burning hot rage directed at his lover. Why did he even stay with him this long if this is how it would end?! Why did he make him love him like this if he was just going to leave him all alone again?! How could he show him heaven and then release his hand to shove him back down to hell so carelessly?! No, he wouldn't let this happen. He'd show him, he'd show him how great they were together.

That led Hibari here, touching Tsuna on every visible inch of skin. It was always this way with them, no matter how upset they were with each other when they connected physically it was amazing. Their bodies and desires were very compatible with one another. The brunette was submission which was wonderful but he had just the right amount of feistiness to make it the perfect sexual mix that drove Hibari crazy. This was the part of their relationship he knew he could rely on. Underneath him as their lips met in a harsh kiss and he pulled the smaller man's head back by his hair, the omnivore moaned, arching his back.

Tsuna loved it when the other man got a bit rough with him, it felt amazing to be pinned down as his hair was pulled and his kin was bitten. If Hibari did any of that to him almost always they'd end up going all the way. So it felt perfectly natural to be let go as his lover's hands moved down to his belt to take it off and gain full access to the rest of his body. As he did that Tsuna made the mistake of opening his eyes form the lustful slits they were to watch him.

With nothing stimulating him anymore to keep him in a haze the brown-eyed man took in Hibari's near frantic appearance. Immediately it chilled his desire. That wasn't a loving look, not even a sex-crazed one, it was one of tolerance and duty. And that pissed him of like nothing else could. Suddenly his hands were pushing the raven-haired man's away from half undone belt. Steel grey eyes looked up from they'd previously been and stared at him in question.

Hibari was a bit surprised when Tsuna shoved away his hands but it wasn't all that rare. The omnivore usually stopped him to tease him or make a demand, like changing their location. In this case he thought it might be that, the desk would be a little uncomfortable and there was a couch not too far away. His eyes moved up to glance at Tsuna's face once the man didn't say or do anything right away. What he saw there shocked him, it was pure and simple anger. The quiet kind that his lover was a master of when he was truly upset.

"I'm so sick of this. Get off me. Now." Hibari nearly flinched backwards but he held the urge at bay and slowly brought himself fully to his feet. Tsuna sat up on the desk forcing him to take a few steps back. "I can't stand this anymore, being with you." Those bangs of his were covering his eyes again like Hibari had seen happen so many times right before the brunette took down his enemies. It made him warry of what he would say next. "I'm done with you, Hibari. I'm ending our relationship." Just like he thought, the man had cut him down instantly.

Hibari's anger roared up to meet the Vongola Decimo's head on and he growled out in agreement, "Okay, Herbivore." As if it didn't matter to him at all that their seven year relationship was dissolved so easily. He fixed his clothing easily as he walked to the door, but by the time he reached it all that was left in the wake of his anger was a deep regret. His hand reached for the handle as he looked back and threw his pride away once more for this infuriating omnivore. "…No, we will talk about this when I get aback form my next mission. Calm down while I'm gone." And with that he was gone.

Tsuna was left standing there disheveled, but a lot less angry. His lover looked regretful for the first time since he'd met him and it wasn't for the start of their relationship as far as he could tell. It was for the end, so much so that the proud Hibari Kyoya lowered his pride just a bit to keep their relationship alive a little longer. He knew he shouldn't forget about that look of tolerance, but right now he was just too full of hope to pay it any mind. It was probably a misunderstanding and although it felt like grasping at straws to say that he would try to think that way. Tomorrow he would attempt to figure out what that look really meant. There was time tomorrow for that.

In the following week he sent his mist guardians a quick mission to check up on all the known famiglias that were rebellious against the Vongola to see if they had anything to do with what Squalo told them about in their conference call. It seemed quite a few of their foot soldiers were going missing regularly. That in itself was highly unusual since the only people to last long enough in the Varia to become an active foot soldier were intensely loyal. They wouldn't just abandon their post. The last straw that made Squalo feel it was important enough to bother telling Tsuna directly was when they started to find the bodies of those men. All of them had strange wounds, like a cross between a fire and an electrical burn.

Tsuna didn't think any of the famiglia rebellious to the Vongola or not had anything to do with this. It was an organized attack, far too complex for any of the current famiglia in the area. Still he sent Mukuro and Chrome to check it out. They should have been back four days ago, but he wasn't all the worried. His mist guardian have done this before, going out to play after a mission. Although he hadn't thought Chrome would be willing to indulge Mukuro the way things were between them at the moment. Chrome called it quits again and this time she was really sticking to it. He was really happy for her to finally be getting out of that toxic relationship no one else could pull her out of.

Tsuna was sure thinking about Chrome as he drifted off to sleep that night was the reason for the start of the dream.

He was sitting at his desk right after he finished briefing the mist guardians on their newest mission. He'd sent them off and while Mukuro left obediently Chrome stuck around. When he noticed her still in the room he looked up from his paperwork to concentrate on her. "Chrome?"

"Bossu…"

Slowly he stood up from his chair, alarmed at her strange behavior. "Yes?"

"…I was hoping the amount of missions I get sent on with Mukuro…could be reduced?"

At that moment Tsuna felt like an insensitive boar. Even after having heard of their most recent, longest, split he'd kept assigning them missions together. Normally he would send them out together, even if two illusionists weren't needed, so they could spend more time with one another. That practice was initially a request from Mukuro since he refused to waste all his time at the mansion when he wasn't on a mission. It had become such a routine thing to do that he never even thought about it anymore. Yet here Chrome was, asking for the exact opposite of what Mukuro did so long ago.

"Yes I can do that. I'll make sure to lessen the amount of missions you have with him."

"Then about this one…"

"Ah, sorry I can't take you off this one. It's crucial we get this information quickly. Two illusionists are necessary for this mission. Tomorrow I'll start changing all the paperwork for the missions lined up for you."

Chrome was nowhere near as weak as she was back in middle school when she needed others help to survive, but she was still quiet, never talking back. That's why Tsuna was so surprised when he heard her mutter, "It is always tomorrow with you."

"What?"

"No, nothing." She bowed quickly. "I'll see you when we get back, Bossu." Then she vanished into mist.

Tomorrow…tomorrow will be too late.

The scene changed but he was still in his office. He was sitting at his desk trying to rub the exhaustion off his face. There was a knock on the door and he quickly dropped his hands away from his face, picking up a pen. "Come in." Since they were being polite it was either a worker, Yamamoto, Gokudera, or Chrome. Maybe Lambo if I-pin was with him. The door swung open and Yamamoto's smile greeted him.

"Tsuna!"

Setting his pen down, he couldn't help but smile back at his giant rain guardian. "Hello, Takeshi." His brown eyes drifted to the bag slung over his friend's shoulder with the ends of a few bats sticking out of it. His own smile faded a bit as he took a look at the clock and Yamamoto's turned into more of a grimace. "Was…the game today?"

"Oh…yeah." His friend's eyes did as sweep of his desk and took in all the papers mashed accused it. "It's okay though, I know you've been busy lately. With Reborn shoving all those alliance strengthening things your way I bet it gets quite tiring."

It's true, he has been very busy. The paperwork was overflowing and he had to keep meeting with other famiglias, but that was no excuse. Yamamoto was one of his best friends who'd given up everything to follow him to Italy. The least he could do was show up at his games to support him. He wouldn't miss another game!

"I'm sorry, I got distracted. I'll surely come to the next one. When is it again?"

Yamamoto scratched his head, eyes downcast. "Well, today was the last one for the season. The weather is getting kind of tough for the other guys to handle. Anyway, Hayato wanted me to give you this." The black haired man dug in to the bag over his shoulder and pulled out a file. "It's the report on our west side walls on the edge of the property that were recently damaged. Also he said 'tell that damn bird bastard to do his own job.' Haha I think he means Hibari."

"Umm…why didn't he bring this himself?"

"I forced him to go lay down on the condition that I brought this to you. A ball flew out of the field today and clunked him on the head." He turned towards the door but before he could leave Tsuna spoke up.

"Takeshi, I'll definitely be at your next game no matter when it is." It took a beat too long for him to feel good about it as the other man turned and smiled at him.

"Sure, Tsuna."

After Yamamoto left, Tsuna leaned back in his chair, covered his eyes and groaned. A whole season. He'd missed a whole season of Yamamoto's games. He couldn't help but remember when the other man first joined that team of mostly old office workers. Although it was a shitty little set up he'd been ecstatic, always hopping around in joy. He may have lost the chance to play in the majors but he could still play.

It was just a local team that played against other locals when they found the time because Yamamoto couldn't find the time to play regularly. Sometimes a mission would come out of nowhere that he had to take. There were other, better, teams around that operated like that but he couldn't even join them. No one wanted to play with a known mafia member. Ironically enough it was only those old men that had the balls to accept him as one of their own. That was the type of thing his rain guardian went through just to play in those games and here Tsuna missed every one of them.

Always one day too late.

Tsuna went spiraling through his dream again and landed in his bedroom. He had his phone up to his ear and was speaking with someone. "I'm so sorry, Mom. I hate that I couldn't make it back for your birthday."

"Oh, don't you worry, Tsu-kun. There is always the next one. I have a few more years in me yet."

But what if I don't, Mom. What if there isn't a next time. Can you forgive me for being too damn late?

He felt his eyes tear in his sleep and as he rolled over in bed the scene changed again.

"Hey, Reborn. I haven't seen you in a while. You should come visit…Lambo's been asking about you. Next time you're in town you should see everyone. Just…just answer your phone I need to talk to you."

Again.

"Yo, Tsuna it's your big brother Dino. I know you were too busy to meet me today, but next time we're free we should totally meet up. It feels like I haven't really talked to you in years."

Again.

"Tenth! Let's have lunch together today. Oh…you have too much paperwork? Okay, maybe tomorrow."

Again.

"You haven't been bothering me as much as you used to Tsunayoshi. You need to entertain me more or I just might attack you."

Again.

"Sawada, you should come box with me extremely the next time you get a chance."

Again.

And then there was Lambo, over and over again, begging for attention.

"Tsuna-nii, come play basketball with me!"

"I can't I'm doing my homework. Maybe tomorrow."

"Tsuna-nii, can you train with me?"

"I don't have time today, maybe tomorrow."

"Tsuna-nii, wanna see the new move I just came up with?"

"Maybe tomorrow, Lambo."

And then Lambo peeking into his office an already defeated look on his face. "Tsuna-nii, my teacher wants to meet our guardians tomorrow. Can you come?"

"Ah, Lambo I don't really have time for that. Can a butler go in my place?"

"…Yeah, but can you sign the paper?"

"Sure." He signed it and then handed it back without ever looking at the boy. Lambo looked at it then back to him for a second and then quietly left.

Tsuna rolled in his sleep, trying to get away from the dream. Sometimes there isn't a tomorrow or next time to look forward to.

Suddenly something else slithered through his dream.

It's coming and it's approaching quickly…

It's been awhile! This is the first special chapter but probably not the last. After this story is finished I might end up starting one that shows the beginning of Tsuna's and Hibari's relationship that progresses to the start of this story. A Dozen Roses is actually based on two songs from Skillet, One Day Too Late and Lucy. This chapter comes from the first one and the whole story is generally formed on the second.