A/N: It took me a bit to get back to this story. I had an OC story running through my mind and had to get that out first. But here you go. Another chapter. I really like the tension in this one. Ho ho ho ho ho.

~5~

Tsuna watched as their new teacher, the one who seemed as timid and shy as he himself had been in middle school, jumped over the school's surrounding wall like a well practiced delinquent. If Reborn saw the way his mouth was hanging open, he probably would have shot him. Maybe he should have known better than to judge a book by it's cover, but Harry just hadn't seemed like the type to be that impulsive.

His intuition was a funny thing when it came to knowing people. The way Reborn had explained it (over and over) was that it reacted to anything that could be dangerous to the user. The fact that it hadn't reacted to Harry only further proved he wasn't a threat. But still...what kind of athletic ability was he hiding that he could pull off a move like that so easily?

"Do I need to watch out for him, Juudaime?"

Tsuna jumped at Gokudera's question. Waving his hands around in a nervous habit, Tsuna shook his head vigorously.

"Oh, no no no no! He's not dangerous! There's probably just more to him than he lets on…" it was funny how his stutter disappeared when he talked to his friends. But that just proved how much he trusted them. "...but it's nothing my intuition picks up. People can be strong without being in the Mafia, you know."

Gokudera snorted in disbelief but didn't argue the point. "Still...I'll keep an eye on him. I don't trust him."

Tsuna pouted. "You don't trust anyone who gets too friendly with me."

Gokudera stuffed a hand into his slacks and threw his book bag over his shoulder as he looked away from Tsuna. Over the years he had gotten used to that response. Whenever Gokudera was embarrassed and couldn't argue a point, he'd clam up and look anywhere but at Tsuna's face. Mostly to hide the flush that was undoubtedly growing on his cheeks. Tsuna could see a bit of the red on the tips of his ears.

Tugging on the sleeve of Gokudera's jacket, Tsuna laughed as he tried to get the silverette to look at him again. "Come on, we should start heading back home."

Tsuna turned around to do just that only to spot Hibari stalking out of the school building. His eyes were scanning the school grounds as if he was looking for a particularly troublesome prey. Oh. That's why he ran. I understand now, Potter-sensei!

"Um...Hibari-san...are you looking for someone?"

Steel grey eyes glared at him with suspicious accusation. Tsuna felt a chill go down his spine. They may be in their last year of high school with an understanding of what the future held for all of them, but sometimes Hibari still managed to make him feel like he was back in middle school again. Back when just being looked at by Hibari made him freeze with fear.

"Where did he go?"

"Uhhh…" Tsuna didn't know how much he should interfere with whatever was going on with Hibari and Potter-sensei, but he knew Hibari pushing himself on Potter too much could only ruin things for his cloud guardian. "...maybe you should leave him alone for the rest of today...he uh...really seemed like he needed time to himself."

Gokudera was glaring at Hibari at the way he was treating the Juudaime. The two had long since stopped fighting over the littlest things, but Hibari still managed to push Gokudera's buttons when it came to Tsuna. "Oi, show the Juudaime some respect, bastard."

The cloud guardian sent Gokudera a dismissive glance (which was all it took to further piss the storm guardian off) before once again glaring at Tsuna. "You think you know him?" The '...better than me' was left unsaid, but Tsuna picked up on it.

"Well...um...maybe I don't know him that well, but I think we're pretty similar...Potter-sensei and I. And uh...I think he'll only dislike you more if you...try to push things too fast before he's comfortable."

Gokudera had been ready to throw sticks of dynamite at Hibari but was thrown off at the direction the conversation had taken. "Haah? Wait, what's going on? Hibari did something to that wimpy teacher?"

Hibari ignored Gokudera's questions as he stared Tsuna down. It seemed like he was considering Tsuna's stance before he let out a frustrated 'tch', turning around and stalking back into the school building. Tsuna let out a sigh of relief when he was no longer being glared down at by his cloud guardian.

"Wait wait wait, what the hell did I miss? Hibari and that wimpy teacher? Are they like…" Gokudera held his hand in a fist and stuck out his pinky. It was the Japanese sign for 'girlfriend'. "...you know?"

Blushing, Tsuna shrugged his shoulders and ruffled his hair. "Well um I don't really know, but uh...I might have caught Hibari doing...stuff...to Potter-sensei. It didn't seem like he would stop when Potter-sensei asked him to, so I stepped in and acted as a...buffer...kinda."

"Shit, no wonder that wimpy teacher ran off." Gokudera was staring intensely at the doorway Hibari had stalked off into. "Are you planning on bringing that teacher into the fold?"

The question threw Tsuna off; he hadn't considered that when helping Potter-sensei. But...there was something about him that piqued Tsuna's interest. Almost like a gravitational pull at his intuition that made him want to look out for him. Tsuna had grown from the wimpy kid that he was in middle school. Oh he still had his timid moments, but the older he got the surer his steps got. He tripped less, his posture relaxed, and his confidence grew. He was thinking more and more like a boss every day.

"I uh...I don't know. I don't know enough about him yet to make a decision like that. And that's only if he wants to. I won't try and force him."

Tsuna was reminded of the muffled conversation he had overheard between Hibari and Potter. Hibari may have cornered and trapped Potter, but the teacher had sounded quite determined to put up as much of a fight as possible.

"Plus, I have a feeling Potter-sensei would fight tooth and nail if he was forced to do anything he didn't want."

~5~

The morning came too soon for Harry's taste. It felt like as soon as he closed his eyes to sleep the sun was poking through his window with irritating persistence. He had crawled out of his bed, grumbled and cursed, but washing up and preparing his lunch was a routine he could do in his sleep. Straightening his tie as he waited for his morning cup of tea to steep, Harry slid on the business cardigan he usually wore over his dress shirt. Harry felt it made him look more approachable to his students.

With his lunch of leftover curry stashed safely in his sports briefcase (a wonderful over the shoulder backpack that managed to look business casual) and a thermos of English tea, Harry slid his shoes on at the entryway before walking outside. He kept his gaze on the door as he locked it behind him, so he didn't notice Hibari before it was already too late.

The man was waiting just a few feet away and it made him jump in fright. "Bloody hell!" His hand rose to clutch at the spot over his heart. "Don't scare me like that!"

Hibari just stared at him as he reclined against a support column lining the first floor of the apartment building. It was a pretty affordable place even though the rooms were quite small. It may have been old and a bit run down, but the lady who owned it was a sweet little thing who didn't mind a foreigner renting from her. It only had two floors of rooms in a single stretch of building, but it was the most common form of affordable housing. Harry lived on the bottom floor and the main road was only a few steps away.

"Wait…" Harry sent a suspicious glare at Hibari "...what are you doing here?"

The man (student, he's a student) walked closer and Harry tensed up as he prepared to defend himself. When nothing happened however, Harry relaxed his stance and stared at the prefect with suspicion. Hibari was staring down at him with a furrowed brow and a frown. Like he was trying to figure something out about the teacher that irritated him. Harry was just about to ask him what was wrong before he scoffed and started to walk towards the street.

"Let's go."

"...huh?" Hibari sent a glare over his shoulder and Harry hesitated before walking after him. The prefect waited until he was beside him before walking again. Harry had no idea what was going on. Why had Hibari come to his apartment? To walk him to school? He didn't get how the man's brain worked. Did he think he'd get on Harry's good side by doing this?

Side-eyeing the man in question, Harry took in the profile of his face. How was this a high school student? Even if he was a third year. Everything from his height to his jawline screamed mature. There was no baby fat on those cheeks and Harry was pretty sure his shoulders were wider than Harry's own. Anyone would have mistaken him for an adult without that school uniform.

Steel grey eyes slid to stare into his own, and Harry swallowed as he quickly tore his gaze away. Irritated at his own perusal (and interest) of Hibari's looks, Harry frowned before shooting a glare at those steel grey eyes.

"What's the point of this? This isn't going to convince me to let you touch me, I hope you know."

Hibari was silent for a moment before answering. "It was suggested." As they were walking down the street, Harry was dumbfounded when a small yellow canary landed on the man's head. Hibari paid it no attention as he continued. "You are not comfortable around me. That isn't acceptable."

Harry didn't know whether to be more surprised by the canary still on Hibari's head or at the attempt the man was making to be more considerate. Tsunayoshi's words rang in his head again as Harry debated how he should respond to Hibari. The brunette had said Hibari was a good man at heart and Harry reluctantly admitted he was probably right. But that didn't mean he would stand for being messed around with.

"I want an apology." Harry saw the way the man's eyes narrowed in irritation. "In fact, I want an apology and a promise that you won't touch me without my consent." Harry could practically feel the quiet fury radiating off of the man. However the fury disappeared when it was replaced with quiet contemplation.

"So, if you give consent, you'll allow me to touch you?"

"Don't forget the apology!" Harry looked like an angry kitten with the way he practically hissed. "And as if I'd give in that easily!"

Hibari suddenly changed direction and Harry backpedaled as he was forced to walk back into a tree lining the road. Harry was nervous, but he was determined to fight back the moment Hibari touched him. If he tried to feel him up in any way, Harry would start throwing hands.

However that never happened. Instead, Harry found himself holding his breath as Hibari caged him in with a hand on the tree trunk beside his head. Hibari's lips were near his ear and Harry shivered as the man's breath brushed sensually against it. It made him gasp and he instantly regretted the action as it made him take in a lungful of the man's scent.

It was warm and spicy and reminded him too strongly of how it felt to have the man's hands on him.

"I don't have to touch you to make you yearn for me."

God, it should be illegal for a high school student to have a voice that deep and sensual. Harry squeezed his eyes shut and he swallowed as he tried to will the man's presence away.

"I'll apologize as soon as you admit that you want me."

Harry's eyes snapped open. How dare he?! The nerve! As if Harry would ever do such a thing. "Well then I guess you'll never be touching me ever again!" Shoving at Hibari's chest to give him some room, Harry felt an unwanted bolt of something when Hibari didn't budge. This was not the time for his body to be betraying him!

Feeling a blush growing on his face at the realization that he may actually like Hibari hovering over him like this, Harry avoided looking him in the eye as he continued to shove at his chest, albeit with a bit less force.

"L-Let me go. Y-You want me to be c-comfortable with you right? W-Well...I'm not comfortable r-right now."

He almost didn't think Hibari would move, but when he finally did Harry was unprepared for how cold it suddenly felt without his body heat. Missing the warmth but too stubborn to admit that he even liked it in the first place, Harry grabbed the strap of his bag with a tight grip before stomping off.

Harry could feel his face burning as he kept his eyes on the sidewalk. Damn his body for betraying him. Damn Hibari for messing with his senses like that. How was he supposed to think when he was so close to him? Just his scent sent his mind into a frenzy. He was embarrassed and ashamed. He was supposed to be above this, he was a teacher for god's sake.

Ignoring the presence walking behind him but still keenly aware of it, Harry tried to repress the shivers that crawled up and down his spine. He could feel those eyes on him and just the thought of what type of look was in those steel eyes sent pleasant tingles down to his toes. He shouldn't be feeling this way, but he did, and Harry felt tears of frustration bead at the corner of his eyes.

How was he going to get through the day with those eyes looking at him?

~5~

A/N: *Evil laughter*