A/N: I really don't have any excuses for the long delay (hiatus?) except for the fact that I am an extreme procrastinator. Not to mention lazy. But don't worry though, I really want to finish writing this fic so it definitely won't be discontinued.

Warning: AU-ish

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn. Only the plot is mine.

Summary: Hibari's heartbeat was slow paced. It was that of a sick man with no more will to keep on living. Tsuna's heartbeat was a bit happier but slightly empty. It was that of a teen who has yet to discover the hardships of life. Maybe, just maybe, by putting those two hearts together, it could create a miracle?

Previously on "Heartbeat":

Hibari Kyouya's chest rose gently with every breath he took and Tsuna was so mesmerized by it that he did not notice that he was slowly approaching the bed. Before he knew it, he was next to it and he just stared at the man's seemingly peaceful face.

Suddenly, icy blue eyes opened and stared at him.

Heartbeat

Tsuna let out a small yelp, eyes wide in surprise, not expecting the man to wake up. He took a step back, suddenly aware of the proximity between him and Hibari. All this time, Hibari merely continued to stare wordlessly.

Face slightly flushed from embarrassment, Tsuna hoped, quite uselessly, that Hibari didn't catch him staring. He cleared his throat before presenting himself.

"Hello, I am Sawada Tsunayoshi, volunteer sent by Namimori University. People call me Tsuna for short. It's a pleasure to meet you," the boy said with a small bow, willing the heat in his cheeks to cool down. Still bowing, he ventured a peek through his bangs, expecting some sort of acknowledgement. However, he received none.

He straightened up under his own accord, since Hibari didn't appear like he was going to tell him to do so anytime soon. Not one to give up easily, Tsuna continued, hoping that asking a question might force the older man to reply.

"Might I ask what your name is?"

The question itself was pretty useless: after all, the Decimo already knew that the man's name was Hibari Kyouya. It was mentioned when the teacher assigned to the students their patient and Tsuna does pay attention when he needs to.

Sadly, his effort proved to be fruitless, as the man appeared to be harder to crack than the brunet thought: Hibari just kept on staring, not uttering a single word.

Tsuna, who was getting increasingly uncomfortable under Hibari's cold scrutiny (those grey eyes seemed to stare right into him), was about to say something else when the man suddenly closed his eyes and turned around, back now facing him and quite effectively cutting him off. The boy was slightly surprised by the blunt rejection.

"Ummmm… Should I go?" No answer.

Tsuna sighed, feeling a small headache forming at the simple thought of taking care of the difficult man for God knows how long. He headed for the door but before closing it behind him on his way out, he thought it pertinent to add something out of politeness, something that he wasn't sure the man deserved.

"I'll be back later," he said to no one as Hibari seemed to be asleep. The brunet let out another sigh and closed the door.

As soon as the soft click of the closing door was heard, Hibari's eyes opened. He turned and stared at the door for a few seconds before closing his eyes again.

Tsuna let out a long sigh as he flopped down on his bed, with Gokudera and Yamamoto staring at him, one quite worriedly while the other was merely slightly curious.

"Tenth, is something wrong? If there is, you know that you can tell us right?" Gokudera asked, his voice thick with concern for his boss. Tsuna propped himself on his elbows and looked at his friends, a small smile on his face.

"Nothing's really bothering me. I just had a tough meeting with my patient, that's all," he admitted. "He doesn't seem to be the very open type: he even goes as far as to turn his back to me just to ignore what I'm saying. ARGH! Just thinking about him makes my head hurt!" At this, Tsuna grabbed his hair, tousling it, seemingly at loss at what he should do.

His two Guardians simply stared at each other, not really sure what they should do. Neither Yamamoto nor Gokudera were experts at dealing with these kinds of situations. Gokudera generally adopted a "If I like you, I'll be nice but don't count on it" or a "Fuck off" attitude while Yamamoto was more of an "I'll stick to you only if I like you". Neither of them ever had to try to make someone like them.

They stayed in an awkward silent after Tsuna's outburst, not sure if anyone should say something. The Storm and Rain Guardian kept on staring at their boss as the latter sank further down in his inner turmoil. Thankfully, it was Yamamoto who broke the silence, unable to take the tense atmosphere anymore.

"You know… You shouldn't worry too much, Tsuna. I'm sure that you'll be able to get this Hibari to warm up to you. After all, it's not for nothing that you are the holder of the sky flame," Yamamoto tried to cheer Tsuna up.

"Yeah, the baseball idiot's right, Tenth," Gokudera piped in. "I'm sure that you'll be able to do it! If ever this Hibari person dares hurt you, just give the word and I'll beat him up for you!"

Tsuna sweat dropped. That was… nice of Gokudera. Suddenly, he didn't want to think about Hibari anymore so he decided to shift the conversation.

"Enough about me," Tsuna commanded, "and more about you guys. How was your day? I trust that everything went well." There was a hint of warning to his words.

"Yes sir!" his self-proclaimed right hand man automatically snapped to attention. "Everyone in the company that I was sent to was an incompetent snob but I firmly believe that with the right amount of training and time, I will be able to change them into something more acceptable." At this, Gokudera's eyes sparkled. "You should have seen their so-called 'extremely advanced research facilities'. It's a joke compared to the Vongola Headquarters," Gokudera scoffed.

"Haha, your day seemed pretty interesting! All I did was plant rice. The leeches were particularly annoying though: I had about ten of them stuck on each calf," Yamamoto said with an easygoing laugh.

"Trust Yamamoto to laugh about anything and Gokudera to imagine that everything is an occasion to train new recruits to add to the Vongola Family." Of course, none of it was spoken aloud.

Somehow, something Yamamoto said pissed Gokudera off again so Tsuna just smiled as he witnessed yet another argument between them.

"What would I do without them by my side?"

Tsuna took a few seconds to collect himself and when he felt ready, he quietly knocked.

No response.

"I should've expected as much." He sighed and decided to give up on politeness and just open the door. What he found didn't surprise him one bit.

Hibari was sleeping peacefully, the white curtains fluttering with the wind. He was in the exact same position Tsuna found him in the previous day. It was yesterday all over again.

The Decimo walked over carefully, feeling like he was threading on eggshells. He quietly set the apples that he brought down on the nightstand and turned to look at his patient once again. The man was still sleeping and Tsuna couldn't help but wish that he could stay asleep. Again, like yesterday, the university student found himself staring at Hibari's face. He looked so innocent and peaceful that Tsuna almost felt like the person he met yesterday was only a figment of his imagination.

Sadly, he was brutally pulled back to reality when the man in question opened his eyes suddenly, staring silently at Tsuna's face with those piercing grey eyes of his. Tsuna yelped.

"God, it feels as if I just went back through time." Instead of saying that out loud, he settled on giving Hibari a cross look.

"Honestly, can you please stop waking up abruptly like that and give us normal people a warning? Like stretching or yawning," Tsuna said, feeling his erratic heartbeat calming down.

The boy scanned the room for a chair, found one, pulled it next to the bed and settled into it. He then proceeded to rummage through the bag he brought, take out a peeler and chose an apple to peel. All the while, he could feel Hibari's piercing gaze following his every movement.

Tsuna finished peeling the apple and then cut it in slices to put on a plate. He handed the plate to the silent man, eyes staring right back. Hibari looked at the plate for a few seconds before letting out a sigh and turning around, ignoring the plate and its holder completely, instead choosing to sleep.

Tsuna stared, mouth agape, unable to believe the nerves of the man to just ignore his offer. Getting increasingly angry, he put the plate down on the table harshly, settled comfortably into the chair and crossed his arms in, legs folded, eyes staring at the back of the skylark's head.

"Okay now, listen here. I may be patient but patience isn't the only thing that I am known for: I am also incredibly stubborn. So mister, we can do this the hard way or the easy way, you choose. Either way, I'll be here everyday and nothing you can or could do could shake me off so you should just stop being such an ass and just accept the fact that you are going to have a visitor everyday like the grown man that I know you are."

Tsuna was so annoyed that he didn't notice (or simply doesn't care) about his impolite language. No way in hell was he going to let this stubborn prick get the best of him. He was going to win this (somewhat one-sided) battle if it's the last thing he did.

The game was on.

Important: I used icy blue and grey to discribe Hibari's eyes. It was done purposefully as both seem to be the case. Just to clear things up a bit.

A/N: And that's a wrap for chapter two! It's a lot shorter than chapter one but I didn't want to make it too long. Also, if I added more, it would be impossible for me to finish today and god knows when I'll decide to start writing again. Please excuse the typos: I don't have any beta and there's only so much one pair of eyes can do. However if someone wants to volunteer as a beta, I would gladly accept. Please review!