Knock knock.

Looking up from the homework he had been grading, Dino smiled as the door to his office opened. He wasn't surprised when two heads of black entered his view, finding Kyouya and his uncle standing before him; it was nice to see that Mammon had done as she said she would and tell her boyfriend that Dino needed to talk to him.

"Hello." Gesturing to the seats before his desk, Dino made sure to be as welcoming as possible; he desperately needed to sort out his student's behaviour here and now before it got any worse and he couldn't convince Squalo to give out more chances. "I'm glad you could make it, Fon."

"It's no problem; I'm happy to be here if it will help Kyouya." The older male's gentle aura softened further at these words, the Chinese man's bond with his nephew strong. "Viper told me he has been misbehaving again and that his punishments will be far more severe if he doesn't stop it."

"Ah..." Rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, Dino nodded. "Kyouya... kind of beat up Squalo's kid, so... It's a miracle we're all still standing here talking, really..."

The oldest of the three, Fon, sighed before he looked at his nephew, Kyouya leaning against the far wall with his arms folded against his chest. "Kyouya, how many times have I told you not to fight like this? There is self-defence, friendly competition, and then there is just bullying. I've spoken to you numerous times about the latter, and I want it to stop."

Kyouya closed his eyes and turned his nose up in the air, a soft grunt filling the air. "..."

"I apologise sincerely; he has never been the same since his parents died..." Letting his eyes meet with Dino's, Fon allowed his emotion to be conveyed; it hurt him as much as it did Kyouya to think about these things, but if it would help people understand his nephew... "They died to a drunk driver; something completely avoidable had someone been responsible enough... Kyouya saw it all, and I guess from then on, he's taken rules and laws seriously – because he's seen what can happen if people don't follow them. In his own little way, I'm sure he's trying his hardest to make sure the same thing never happens again, whether or not to just him, or all the people around him."

"..." Dino bit his lip, having never heard about this before; it made sense that Kyouya obsessed with enforcing rules, and going through something traumatic would definitely have sent him a little loopy; could the entire reason be he was this way because someone had done the wrong thing and destroyed his life? He could understand that, and it certainly wasn't fair for Kyouya to have gone through what he had – no one should have to suffer through something so devastating, and knowing this only made Dino more determined to try and get his student to trust him.

The teacher truly wished he had been told this earlier, because perhaps he could have done something had he known instead of letting Kyouya's pain fester inside of him, locked away and hidden from the world.

"Don't pity me, Cavallone," Kyouya muttered, his eyes open and staring straight through Dino as if the other were made of glass. "I am not weak; I do not need pity. My past is in the past, and I am who I am. That is a fact that will never change, no matter what. Don't treat me as if I'm something fragile because I'm far from that."

"Kyouya..." Shaking his head, Dino knew that his student was right; the youngest had survived this far, and he would continue surviving; Kyouya was tenacious and there was no way he would lose to himself of all people. "...I am very sorry, Kyouya; forgive me. I know you're none of those things."

"Viper has filled me in on a lot of his recent troubles, so please forgive him; I have already had a long talk with him about it and I sincerely hope he will not bother anyone again." Fon was genuine as he spoke, but he could never be one-hundred per cent sure Kyouya would listen to him; even as his uncle, the teenager still rebelled against him at times. "I will take full responsibility if he mucks up again, but I do ask for you to give him another chance; he's a good kid – it's just hard for most people to see that."

"I know he is," Dino agreed without hesitation. "He's a great kid; he just... needs to listen..."

"I fully agree. Please contact me the second he gets out of hand; I will sort him out again for you." Before Dino could reply to these words, Fon changed the subject. "On the topic of Kyouya, could I ask you for a favour?"

"Sure."

"I'm going to be returning to China for a while to take care of some business, but I'm having trouble finding people willing to take care of Kyouya for me." Letting an amused smile slip onto his face, Fon clarified. "He has scared most everyone away, and though I am positive he would be fine by himself, I refuse to leave him alone for so long. I would very much appreciate it if you could offer your home to him in my absence; I will pay for all his expenses and if he causes any trouble, I will deal with it immediately upon my return."

Dino nodded, not even thinking this offer over; all he knew was that he would love to share his home with Kyouya and maybe get to know the younger on a more personal level; if they could create somewhat of a bond, then...

It may be possible that Dino could finally help his trouble student.

"I would love to look after Kyouya for you, Fon, but I'm not in any need of reimbursements or anything of the sort; I'm just happy that he'll be somewhere safe."

"Thank you very much for your kindness; I do hate to have imposed on you like this, but even Viper would not help me out and there aren't many people I can trust Kyouya around. I know you are quite capable of looking after yourself, and I do not think I would really want to ask Squalo or Xanxus for… a multitude of reasons…"

"I understand." Looking over to the skylark who was standing so silently by the door, the blond could almost feel the anger wafting from Kyouya; it seemed that the teenager was nowhere near happy about his new arrangements, but hopefully that would be something that could be fixed in time; he couldn't expect for the other to be over the moon about things, after all. "When would you like for me to have him?"

"I am so sorry for the short notice, but is it possible to for you to take him today after school? I am happy to arrange his bags myself."

"That's fine." Dino smiled brightly, just glad to help out. "Bring his bags to reception and tell them to give them to me; they'll be safe in my office."

"Thank you very much; I will return the favour for you however you wish." Standing up from his chair, Fon bowed politely as he backed out of the room. Stopping only to smile at his nephew, he was quick to disappear; he was rather busy for the day, so he would have to hurry and organise things.

Dino was the first to break the uncomfortable silence, almost feeling intimidated by the killing intent he could sense from Kyouya. "Kyouya...? I understand if you're not happy, but – Kyouya!"

In the blink of an eye, the skylark had yanked the door open and stormed out of the office, leaving a stunned Dino behind. The man couldn't deny he felt a little hurt by the action, but he had to be understanding; putting himself in Kyouya's shoes, he would be very upset, too.

Hopefully the younger would find time to calm down soon.

~~XX~~

"Do you guys know anything about Kyouya?" Sifting through his bento, Dino understood that he was an unusual sight right now; he couldn't imagine many teachers purposely sought out students to sit and eat lunch with.

Tsunayoshi cocked his head to the side, his own bento on his lap. "Not really... Just that he's scary..."

"I don't think anyone really knows much about him," Takeshi explained. "I mean, I've never heard him talk about himself, and he's really distant from everyone, so I'm not sure."

"I doubt his uncle even knows all that much; he's so closed off." Lighting up a cigarette, Hayato tried to ignore his boyfriend clinging to him and licking at his cheek. "He's just a fucking asshole."

"Kyouya's cute~" Rubbing his cheek against Hayato's, Belphegor smiled placidly. He let out a dreamy sigh before he returned to his task of licking the younger's face, needing the stimulation; there was a lot of sensations he hated, but he quite enjoyed both the feeling and taste of skin against his tongue. "Do you think he masturbates to me? I do to him sometimes if Hayato-kun has been mean."

"Oi, you fucking traitor!" Hayato raised his fist in a threatening manner, uncaring as the other flinched and threw himself backwards, raising his arms over his face. Elbowing Belphegor in the stomach, he paid no attention to the other's whimper, just glad that no one was draping themselves around him like an oversized teddy bear now. "Fucking stop licking me and get the fuck off! You shouldn't even be thinking about others like that when you're with someone! Fuck, I don't even know why I haven't kicked your ass to the kerb yet!"

Belphegor's lips twisted before he slunk over to Takeshi, hiding behind the baseball lover. He sent his boyfriend a reproachful look before he started licking his friend's cheek next, his eyes fixed on Hayato lest the other come over and hurt him again; truth be told, he was a little frightened in this moment, not wanting to be hit again.

Takeshi laughed cheerfully, not bothered in the least by the warm tongue lapping at his cheek. "You can stay here with me, Bel; Gokudera's just in a bad mood again."

"You want him?" Gokudera sneered at the two, his fingers twitching as he took a deep puff of his cigarette. "You can keep him; I don't give a fuck – finally gets him off my damn back..."

"Gokudera..." The tallest of the trio frowned, hating how the silver-haired male could treat Belphegor so badly; the blond was so sweet, and it was heartbreaking to watch him cling to Hayato in confusion, not understanding why he was made to feel so sad.

Making a mental note to talk to Hayato about his treatment of the other student, Dino gathered everyone's attention back on him. "Kyouya's going to be staying with me for a while at my home."

Tsuna squeaked, not sure how he felt about these words; he himself would be too afraid to let the skylark anywhere near his home, knowing just how easily the other would beat him up over the littlest thing. "He'll kill you!"

"No, he won't; I've actually been thinking today..." Trying to verbalise his thoughts, the teacher sighed. "...Perhaps... Kyouya has been misunderstood by everyone..."

"What do you mean?" Takeshi was drawn in by these words, unaware of Belphegor fleeing the embrace he had just tried to put the blond in.

"Well... Maybe he's just trying to do as he sees right. Maybe..." Not wanting to reveal what Fon had told him, Dino was careful to dance around the subject, "...maybe there's a reason he's so adamant in making sure that people follow the rules. I mean... No one really knows anything about him, so... Anything could have shaped him this way."

Tsuna nodded in agreement, Takeshi in awe of the teacher's understanding of Kyouya. Hayato simply scoffed and stood up, brushing off his pants.

"I'm going to get some water, Tenth; I'll be back." Stepping past Takeshi and Belphegor, the silver-haired male was sure to kick his boyfriend in the process. He was remorseless as the older male flinched and cried out, his hypersensitivity intensifying what discomfort someone else would have felt into pain. His agitation grew further when it took just seconds for the blond to decide to follow him again, albeit in a very wary manner; it seemed that Belphegor knew that if he got too close, he would get hurt again. Turning around, Hayato closed the distance between them and shoved the skinnier male to the ground. "Fuck off, Bel! You follow me around enough as it is!"

Belphegor clenched his jaw, a soft noise of distress escaping him, but it didn't stop him from getting back up and trying to latch on to his boyfriend in a manner that was simply pitiful to the three watching them. Quickly learning that he had to keep his distance from the stronger male, he resorted to following behind in silence, unable to stop the pain in his heart from growing; he just wanted to be close to his boyfriend, so why was he always hurt when he tried to do so?

"I'm going to be having a long, serious talk with Hayato about treating Bel with a bit of respect..." It was rare for Dino to get mad, but he couldn't stand seeing the boy being treated like that; it was devastating that Belphegor could still hold love for Hayato, even though he never got it in return. The English teacher hated to admit it, but everyone knew the silver-haired male was only in the relationship for whatever sexual contact he could get out of Belphegor, and even then, there wasn't a lot the blond would do.

Tsuna looked to his lap, knowing he also should be saying something to his best friend, but Hayato was honestly scary, no matter how much Tsuna knew the other would never hurt him. Instead, shaking his head, he uttered, "...If Hibari-san is going to be staying with you, I think all you're going to be doing is discipline..."

"Yeah, I think you might be on to something, little bro..." Rubbing the back of his head, Dino sighed. "Wish me luck."

Somehow, Dino wasn't sure they would be able to give him all the luck he needed; this wasn't going to be an easy ride, after all.

~~XX~~

"This is my home." Closing the front door behind him, Dino watched his student carefully. Kyouya was tense as he stood in the entrance hall, looking around at his surroundings with a stoic expression. "Would you like for me to show you around?"

"No; I can work things out for myself." With that said, the skylark clutched his bag closer to him as he walked further into the house. Dino knew better than to follow him, so he entered the kitchen just off to his right, knowing a coffee would do him wonders right about now; he was tired, having exerted a lot of energy with his students.

Flicking the coffee machine on, Dino waited until Kyouya stepped into the room. "Kyouya, would you like a drink or anything?"

"…" His eyes staring into Dino's, Kyouya never broke eye contact. "Tea."

"I'll make it for you now. I'll leave it on the counter for when you're ready." Dino wasn't surprised when the other left again, but he didn't let it faze him; Kyouya was probably feeling very apprehensive about this, and would appreciate being left alone.

Dino would love for them to be able to sit together and just be content like that, but he knew it wasn't going to happen any time soon.

He just hoped that things wouldn't always be that way.

~~XX~~

Kyouya was a quiet guest, Dino had quickly discovered; he had soon found somewhere he could sit and do his homework in peace, and he hadn't bothered his host for anything; he was independent, and he didn't care if he came off as rude; he could get his own drinks and he wasn't going to ask for permission to eat. He would take what he needed for as long as he was here, because he would have been just fine looking after himself in his own home, but his uncle had insisted and treated him as a child.

Now, after dinner, he was as quiet as ever as he sat on the living room couch with a book open on his lap, his pet bird nestled in his locks. Dino sat beside him with a glass of wine in his hand, watching some sort of comedy that the student found utterly boring and ludicrous; how could someone stand watching these kinds of movies?

Feeling his eyelid twitch as Dino's phone rang from his pocket, Kyouya restrained the urge to take the phone and snap it in half; he had been raised with better manners than to destroy his host's property, even if he wasn't exactly thrilled about being here.

"Hey, Tsuna."

Kyouya glanced over at the adult, wondering why a teacher was talking to their student over a phone; wasn't there supposed to be some sort of rule against that for safety reasons?

"No, no; algebra's easy, Tsuna. What is Reborn trying to teach you so far?"

Kyouya relaxed at this, understanding it was a simple tutoring call; he wouldn't stand for anything more.

"Take some photos of your work and send them to me so I can have a look, please."

Turning back to his book, Kyouya flipped the page; he would allow this for now, but the second the phone call turned more than just educational, he would make sure Dino hung up; how dare the blond exchange numbers with his students in the first place.

To the skylark's relief, the call lasted for less than fifteen minutes, and it stayed on the subject of algebra. He looked at his teacher when Dino had slid the phone back into his pocket, his voice cold as he said, "Teachers are not meant to be contacting students outside of school hours."

"I know, but Tsuna's kind of like my little brother to me, so it's okay."

"You know his parents?" Kyouya grew harsher, not sure he wanted to accept this excuse; could he really make exceptions for such reasoning?

"Well… It's just hard to explain, you see? But we're really close."

"…" Deciding he would let this one go for now, Kyouya turned back to his book; he knew that Dino was truly harmless, so he didn't have to worry about the brunet herbivore suddenly going missing or anything of the sort.

"Anyway, are you almost ready for bed? I think I might head off soon." Rubbing the back of his head, Dino stifled a yawn. "It's been a long day for me. What time do you usually go to sleep?"

"By ten." The student couldn't keep the hostility out of his voice, not sure why being in this position with Dino was agitating him so much. "However, I will go to bed whenever I wish."

"That's fine, Kyouya; if you're going to be up late, please try not to make too much noise. You can have the room across from mine; it's already set up for guests."

"I'm taking the room next to yours; it looks far more comfortable and welcoming."

"Kyouya, I'm sorry, but you can't have that room because it's Bel's and he's going to get very upset if even I so much as walk in there."

"Don't tell him; what he doesn't know won't hurt him." Standing up from the couch, Kyouya took his book and started heading for the hallway, knowing there was nothing his teacher could say that would persuade him to take the other room; he felt extremely uncomfortable being here as it was, and the guest room was simply far too empty for him to settle into; he had never spent the night outside of his uncle's home before, and a room with just a bed and a wardrobe in it made him more uneasy than he already was.

At least if he took Belphegor's room, there was a setup that was close enough to what he was used to; it wouldn't be the same as his own bedroom, but it would be more familiar to him than something that was probably hardly ever used.

Opening the door to Belphegor's bedroom, Kyouya stepped in, glad that Dino hadn't followed him; he would appreciate not being disturbed when he was already feeling disconcerted about his situation.

Kicking the door shut behind him, Kyouya continued over to the bed. He climbed onto it and relaxed against the headboard, sliding beneath the thin sheet that would have no chance of keeping him warm; how was the blond herbivore expected to sleep like this?

As if to answer his question, Dino knocked on the door and waited for a response before he entered, a thick comforter in his arms. He smiled apologetically as he approached, saying, "The sheets on that bed are only very thin, so I thought you might want this."

Kyouya didn't reply; he just watched as the other tripped over the edge of the comforter that was dragging along the ground. He saw the embarrassment on his teacher's face, and he couldn't help but smirk; serves him right for thinking the younger needed his help in the first place.

Trying to brush off his fall, Dino said, "If you're going to use this room, please try and put everything back how you found it; I'll be the one dealing with another tantrum if Bel finds someone's been playing with his things."

Kyouya nodded, taking the comforter from his guardian. He spread it out on the bed, glad to find that it was much warmer than the single sheet he had almost believed he was going to have to sleep with.

"There are some more sheets in the container beneath the bed if you want them; I was going to fold them onto the end of the bed with Bel when he stays with me next; he likes to see the changes being made to his room." Offering his student a bright smile, Dino was hardly aware of his heart speeding up; he had never thought Kyouya would be in his home like this, but it made him happier than he had been in a while. "Please try and treat his belongings with respect. Anyway, I'll be in the room next door, so if you need anything, just wake me up. Goodnight, Kyouya."

Dino wasn't surprised when the other ignored him, but he tried not to let it get to him; he had to be patient and understanding.

Entering his own room, Dino closed his door quietly. He was quick to change into pyjamas and curl up in bed, but no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't seem to fall asleep. Turning the TV on, he found that he was slowly drifting off now that he wasn't so focused on his thoughts, and the last thing he remembered thinking before he fell asleep was that it would be much better if Kyouya were there for him to embrace and fall asleep with him in his arms.