When Squalo's eyes next opened, he found himself laying in a hospital bed with a morphine drip in his arm. Dino was sitting by his side, the blond looking more distressed than he had in a while. Blinking a few times, Squalo tried to clear the haze from his mind.

"How do you feel, Squalo?" Taking hold of the younger's hand, Dino offered a smile laced with emotional agony; so Squalo hadn't been the only one in pain over everything…

Forcing his shoulders into a weak shrug, Squalo shook his head. "What happened…?"

"Well…" Brushing back silver hair from the smaller male's face, Dino wasn't sure how to approach the subject; did he tell Squalo the truth, or did he tell the other what he wanted to hear…? "…Levi's dead… He died before the ambulance got there…"

"And what of Xanxus…?"

Leaning down to kiss Squalo's forehead, Dino shook his head; he had to tell his lover something. "…I don't know… The ambulance took him away. That's all I know."

"Can you find out…?" The pain in that whispered request broke Dino's heart; Squalo just wanted to be able to rest easy at night, and yet…

But if Dino were to tell him that, as far as he knew, Xanxus was still out there… Would Squalo go back to how he had been before…? All he wanted was to help Squalo relax for once! Was it… so bad that he was willing to hide the truth just to help him feel more at ease…?

Nodding, the blond cupped pale cheeks and rested their foreheads together. "I'll try, Squalo."

"Where's everyone else…?"

"They're busy at the moment, but they'll come and see you when they can. Hayato had his leg broken, so he's in hospital, too."

Squalo frowned. He rolled onto his back, staring up at the roof. Thoughts ran rampart through his mind, and he had no idea how to stop them.

"Things aren't looking too good…" Looking down at his lap, Dino sighed. "The police… will be talking to you soon… Who knows what's going to happen now…"

"I acted in self-defence, and you know it." Hissing at his boyfriend, Squalo narrowed his eyes. "How is it fucking fair that I have cops on my ass for –"

"- Squalo." Grabbing both of his boyfriend's hands in his, Dino held them against his chest. "Squalo, we don't know what the police want to talk to you about. We already gave them all our statements and we told them exactly what had happened; you were pushed to your breaking point. You may get lucky; you've been through enough… You've been through enough, Squalo…"

The addressed male swallowed as he looked away, not used to seeing his best friend on the verge of crying. Leaving it at that, the two fell into silence, each lost in their own thoughts; what was going to happen now…?

~~XX~~

While Squalo spoke to the police a few hours later, Dino left them in peace so that he could see Tsuna and check on things. He found Tsuna and Takeshi in Hayato's room, the three seemingly calm despite everything.

"Hey, bro." Closing the door behind him, Dino approached the younger group.

"Dino." Tsuna smiled at his friend, glad to see the other. "How's Squalo?"

"He's talking to the police. I think that no matter what, he's going to have to go to court at the very least…" Dragging his fingers through his hair, Dino sighed. "I hope it's not going to be too much for him…"

"If he does have to go to court, and Xanxus is there…" Takeshi wished he knew what to do, but everything just seemed so hard; how was he supposed to help…?

"I don't want him to know Xanxus is alive; I want him to get as much peace for as long as he possibly can."

"Xanxus knows where you guys live. He knows where Lussuria lives, too." Shaking his head, Tsuna didn't know what to do. "It's not like you can just magically move again…"

"We'll think of something, Tsuna. I won't let him get hurt again."

Tsuna knew that Dino would do his best to keep Squalo safe; the blond loved the other too much to let him get hurt.