Dino was sure he wasn't the only person who could see how well a month of being in a relationship had done Kyouya; the teenager had calmed down, even towards other people – though he still hated being crowded and upheld his Prefect duties, he wasn't so cold towards everyone all the time. He was more open to Dino and Fon, at least, and though he still kept some things to himself, he didn't keep everything bottled up inside of him, instead talking about what he was comfortable sharing.

The blond just wished he had said something sooner; he could have made more progress with him otherwise.

Now, the two were walking through the mall together, Dino needing to get a few things before they went home for the day. Kyouya was relaxed for once as they walked together, soothed by his boyfriend's presence; he would never have been able to handle the mall at peak hour, otherwise.

"Would you like any lunch before we leave?" Looking down at the skylark, Dino smiled. "We can get whatever you want."

Shaking his head, Kyouya didn't feel very hungry. "I'm fine. Just hurry up; I can't stand crowding."

Dino nodded, ruffling black locks in an affectionate manner. He chuckled when the younger swatted his hands away, about to step onto the escalator. He opened his mouth to say how adorable his boyfriend was being, but he quickly yelped out as he toppled backwards, landing on the ground by Kyouya's feet.

"You are as clumsy as ever, herbivore." Kyouya stepped back, watching as the other picked himself back up. He glared around him as he heard people snicker and laugh, feeling agitated that people were finding amusement out of his boyfriend.

"Sorry, Kyouya." His cheeks red from embarrassment, Dino tackled the escalator once more, glad that Kyouya soon came back to his side; he hoped he hadn't humiliated the skylark, but knowing Kyouya, the teen would only have rolled his eyes. "I didn't mean to embarrass you."

Shaking his head, Kyouya simply said, "You only embarrassed yourself, Cavallone; I was not the one to have fallen off an escalator that had hardly moved since I stepped onto it."

Chuckling, the blond nodded, knowing his student was right. "Are you sure you're not hungry? I only need to grab a few things and then we can leave; we have plenty of time for lunch."

"I said I'm fine." Kyouya knew anyone else repeating themselves to him would annoy him, but he found he liked it when Dino doted on him; it was a huge change from what he was used to, and it made him feel warm inside. "If you want to eat, then we will eat. I, however, am not hungry, so it doesn't bother me either way."

"I love you, Kyouya."

"..."

Dino knew he might never have those words said back to him, but he didn't mind; he knew from Kyouya's actions that the skylark returned at least some of his feelings, and that was good enough for the blond; he couldn't expect his student to work everything out in just a month, after all. "Then after this, I think we should stop and get some lunch; I'm a little hungry myself."

Kyouya nodded. "Alright, herbivore."

Dino always felt bad whenever he dragged Kyouya through a crowd of people, but there were times he couldn't do anything to avoid it; like now, there were simply too many people in the one area for them to go around. Trying to make it through the horde without bumping into too many people, the blond stopped as he felt someone grab his shoulder. His first reaction was to turn around and apologise, assuming he had accidentally made contact with the other, but his eyes widened and he froze when he saw the barrel of a gun being pressed against Kyouya's temple.

"I've seen you two." Uncaring as people shrieked and backed away, the long-haired man sneered. His hair was filthy, his dark stands mattered. Dino would never have been able to guess why the other was pointing a gun at them if it weren't for the purple orbs glaring at them both; Belphegor also had beautiful violet hues, and it was then everything made sense; Belphegor's parents and brother had been apprehended by the police after what had happened, but there must have been another party involved; this man standing right before them. "The kid is another student at that little whore's school. You're his teacher, aren't you? I've seen you at that long-haired dumbass' house when I was visiting my nephew with my brother. You're friends with that cowardly piece of shit."

While Kyouya remained silent, unmoving as he studied the situation as carefully as he could, it was Dino who spoke next. "Whatever problems you have with us, leave Kyouya out of it; he has nothing to do with any of this – he doesn't even like Bel!"

A twisted smirk crossed the man's face at this, his finger caressing the trigger of the gun. In a taunting manner, he said, "Guilty by association~! How do I know he wasn't fucking the slutty thing up the ass before us? Hell, Bel's probably had the entire fucking school, students and faculty alike, humping the shit out of him!"

Dino knew now was not the time to let his anger get the better of him; he had to find a way to get Kyouya out of this safely, even if it meant getting hurt in the process; he couldn't allow any harm to befall his student, because he had promised everyone, especially Kyouya, that he wouldn't ever do anything to hurt the teenager. "..."

"Ah, but that long-haired fool you called a friend..." Sneering, the man spoke in a low, provoking tone. "I bet he's fucked Bel more times than one would be able to count; probably rapes him if he has to. Did he tell you about how he tried saving his own neck that night? He didn't care about Bel; he watched what we did to him, and he only fought back when my brother moved on to him, next."

"That's not true. I know that's not true. I know my friend."

"Do you really?" Licking his lips, the other leant in close enough for his hot breath to billow against Dino's ear. With a whisper, he said, "He sold you out, too. When Bel ran away because Siel took his eyes off him for two seconds, your friend told us Bel would be running to you. He was just about to tell us where you lived, but he ended up passing out before he could get much farther than the number of your home. It's thirteen, by the way."

Dino flinched, not wanting to believe that Squalo had indeed done what the other said he had, but how else would the man know what number he lived at? If they had actually found out where he lived, they would have attacked him in his own home already – not in a crowded area where they would most certainly end up going to jail.

Had Squalo really sold him and Bel out, or was thirteen just a lucky guess?

"I should wrap this up before someone arrives. Say goodbye to your student."

Dino didn't hesitate to push Kyouya out of the way and put himself between his student and the gun; he had been so focused on getting his boyfriend to safety, he barely noticed the resounding gunshot, his body instantly going into shock as a bullet pierced his hip and embedded itself deep inside his body. Looking over his shoulder at Kyouya, Dino tried to say something, only to fall to his knees as he put a shaking hand over his wound, watching as blood gushed over his fingers.

Kyouya, however, had never felt so angry before; no one hurt what was his, much less shoot them; feeling consciousness slip away; he allowed himself to be so taken by rage, he blacked out, returning to normal an uncertain amount of time later to find himself standing over a beaten and bloody body, his tonfa in his hands as sticky red fluid dripped off the metal and onto the ground. His own body shaking from anger, the skylark took no notice of the gunshot wound in his shoulder; instead dropping his own weapons to the floor as he walked back to Dino.

"Cavallone." Nudging the blond's shoe with his own, Kyouya let out a sigh of relief he didn't know he had been holding when the man slowly lifted his head to look up at him. Kneeling down next to his teacher, Kyouya put pressure on the wound, trying to stop the bleeding. "Why would you put yourself between me and a gun? I could have handled it on my own; I didn't need your help."

Offering a pained smile, Dino shook his head. "I did it... because I love you, Kyouya... I told you... I wouldn't let you get hurt..."

"I don't need your protection, Cavallone; it's you who needs mine. Now shut up before you make the bleeding worse."

Dino chuckled, feeling calm now that he knew Kyouya was safe. Reaching out, he took his boyfriend's hand, not caring who saw it; he loved the younger too much, and wanted to hold him close, hoping an ambulance would get here soon; he wasn't going to leave Kyouya, not after what the other had just done for him.

Pushing himself forward in a weak manner, Dino kissed his student's cheek before dropping his face against the teenager's shoulder, wrapping his arms around him; what he wouldn't give to have a bit of privacy with Kyouya.

~~XX~~

At the hospital, Dino smiled at his visitors, Kyouya's hand held tight in his; he had had the bullet removed from his hip and had been given some morphine, and all that was left was to monitor his situation to make sure no complications arose.

Takeshi and Tsuna both looked stressed, while Hayato stood in the doorway with his arms folded against his chest, uncomfortable with the situation. It was the dark-haired male who broke the silence.

"Who shot you?" Takeshi's caramel eyes looked so sad, it made Dino want to reach out and hug him tight.

Not wanting to reveal the truth behind the attack lest it cause more unrest between everyone, Dino just shook his head, wanting to bring comfort to the younger ones. "I think it was just random, Takeshi. Everyone's okay, so let's not worry about it."

Takeshi nodded, knowing his friend was right. "I'm glad you're okay, Dino. When will you get out of the hospital?"

"Not long." Patting the younger's shoulder, Dino was glad he had such good students; they really made his job worth going to.

"Will you need any help when you go home?" Tsuna came closer to the bed, a soft expression on his face. "We can come around and help you if you need it."

Without giving his boyfriend a chance to reply, Kyouya stood up, pushing the younger two away from the bed. "I will be the one helping Cavallone recover; you two herbivores can go back to whatever it is you do outside of school."

Dino chuckled, reaching out to pull Kyouya into a one-armed embrace. "I love you, Kyouya, but don't scare my friends off, okay? They just want to help."

"You're my boyfriend, so I will be the one helping you."

Takeshi and Tsuna laughed quietly, knowing that Kyouya was more than happy with his relationship – he wouldn't have done what he did if he weren't, after all. "Okay, Hibari-san; we'll leave it up to you."

Nodding, Kyouya sat on the edge of the bed, allowing Dino to hold his waist. He fell silent at this, listening carefully to the others; he wouldn't let any inappropriate talk go unpunished, after all – not when Dino so clearly needed him to look after him.

"Does Squalo know yet?" Knowing that the long-haired man was currently out of town with Belphegor due to knowing another attack was imminent on them, Tsuna found it reasonable that Squalo wouldn't know about this.

"No; he has enough on his plate to deal with; he doesn't need to know just yet." Not sure he wanted to talk to Squalo so soon after what he had been told the other had done, Dino fought back his frown; he didn't need to worry anyone else by telling them what were probably lies anyway; he knew Squalo better than that – at least, he was pretty sure he did, anyway.

Tsuna nodded, knowing that was fair; Belphegor was a real handful as it was, and he would be more difficult now that he was in unfamiliar surroundings with no real warning they were leaving Namimori. "Make sure he's in a good mood when you tell him, Dino-san…"

"Of course." Pulling Kyouya closer to him, Dino nuzzled his nose against the other's neck. "I think I should get a bit of sleep, guys. You can all stay if you want; make yourselves comfortable."

"Oh, we'll leave, Dino-san." Patting the blond's arm, Tsuna smiled. He flinched when Kyouya started moving, automatically expecting for the other to hit him, but he couldn't help but smile when the skylark instead moved to lie next to Dino; so the man's affections were returned, after all. "Have a good sleep."

"I'll see you three later." Hugging Kyouya tight, Dino pulled the blanket over them. "Enjoy your nap, Kyouya."

Humming in response, the Prefect let out a yawn before closing his eyes, allowing himself to drift off into sleep; never before had napping come as easily as it did now that he had Dino to keep him company.

Kyouya knew he might not ever admit it, but he certainly hoped that Dino could see it through his actions; maybe he wasn't in love like the blond was, but he had worked through his feelings enough for him to know that he did indeed love Dino back.

Maybe one day Kyouya would be able to tell him that at least once; Dino told him it all the time, after all.