Gokudera had been surprised by just how many enemies had invaded the Vongola Mansion; it seemed as if there had been never-ending waves of them coming from all directions, but the strength of the Vongola were not to be undermined; with minimal damage on their own ends, they had all survived the attacks.

Now, as Gokudera stood in the infirmary while one of the nurses wrapped a bandage around his arm, he glanced down at Yamamoto who was asleep in one of the beds; he had been caught off-guard, and though he had managed to cut through his own attackers, he had been injured badly.

"Gokudera-kun."

Looking instead over at the door, Gokudera stood up straight as his boss announced his presence. "Yes, Tenth?"

Tsuna was nursing a few cuts on his face, but he was otherwise okay. His eyes held a soft look as he seemingly searched the infirmary for someone, and when he didn't find who he was looking for, a smile graced his face. "I take it Belphegor is fine, then?"

"Huh?" Having completely forgotten about the young Varia, Gokudera shrugged. "No idea; I forgot he was here."

Tsuna frowned at this, shaking his head. Turning around, he gestured for the other to follow him. "I left him in your care, Gokudera-kun; you should have been looking after him. If anything's happened to him…"

Gokudera couldn't help but wince; he hated when Tsuna was mad at him, and if something had happened to Bel…

Tsuna was going to be very mad.

It was silent between the two as they hurried upstairs towards Gokudera's bedroom. They found the bedroom door was hanging open, spiking a bit of concern in the silver-haired man; he had shut the door when he had left this morning, so someone had gone through that threshold one way or another.

Entering the bedroom, Gokudera froze at the sight before them; blood was splashed all over the walls and the floor, specks of it even on the roof. Pinned to the wall by those familiar knives was Belphegor, the boy completely still as he seemingly hung limp.

"Belphegor!" Tsuna rushed forward, putting his hands on Bel's face. He leant in close, glad to hear slight breathing. Looking over his shoulder, he called for Gokudera. "Gokudera-kun, we've got to get him down! Be careful!"

Gokudera hesitated before he stepped forward, not sure why seeing this was affecting him so much; was it because he knew it was his fault, and that if Bel died, then…?

Gokudera should have just swallowed his pride and done what both Tsuna and Ryohei had told him to do, because if he had, this wouldn't be happening right now.

Once the knives had been removed from the thin body, Gokudera pulled Bel into his arms and carried him out of the room and towards the infirmary. The blond started stirring soon after leaving the bedroom, a loud moan of pain escaping his lips.

"Hayato…!" Bel curled in on himself, tears sliding down his cheeks. His head was lolling uselessly side-to-side, and Gokudera wasn't even sure he was coherent enough to know what was going on. "Hayato…!"

"Shh." Quickening his pace, Gokudera unconsciously pulled Bel closer against him. "Don't talk, stupid."

"Hayato, don't…" Letting out another loud moan, Bel's body spasmed in pain. "…D-don't… hate me… I'm sorry…"

"What are you talking about?" Not understanding why the other would apologise to him of all people, Gokudera frowned; they were supposed to hate each other, so why?

"I'm sorry!" Mewling in pain, Bel then fell unconscious once more.

"Let's hurry, Gokudera-kun." Tsuna ran ahead of his subordinate, intending on getting the infirmary ready as quickly as he could; Bel was badly hurt, even by Varia standards.

Gokudera nodded, not far behind the brunet. He wasn't sure why, but for some reason, seeing Bel like this concerned him. He didn't know exactly what he was feeling, but what he did know was that he just didn't want the younger to die.

~~XX~~

According to the nurses who worked for the Vongola, Gokudera had sat by Bel's bedside for six hours already. The blond hadn't woken back up, and the nurses didn't expect him to do so any time soon; he had lost a lot of blood, and his body was very weak; it was expected for him to remain unconscious for quite a while.

Gokudera wasn't sure how much longer he was going to stay; he was too busy thinking about Bel and the way the boy had acted in his arms; had Bel just been delusional? Or had he sincerely been distressed?

Gokudera didn't know what to think; all he knew was that when his Varia counterpart finally regained consciousness, he held his breath in anticipation; how was Bel going to act now…?

The boy let out a loud groan as he arched his back. A ragged cough escaped his mouth as he rolled onto his side, IV drips lifting the blanket slightly. "Hayato…kun…"

Gokudera was hardly aware of himself reaching out and grabbing the smaller hand in his. He squeezed it tight before he said, "I'm here."

As they had before, tears started streaming down Bel's face. He writhed for a few seconds before he whimpered out, "Hayato… Hurts…"

"I'll get the nurses." Standing up to get the boy help, Gokudera was surprised when the blond yelped and squeezed his hand with surprising strength in his condition.

"D-don't go…!" Shaking his head, Bel whimpered again. "No…! Hayato-kun…! Don't… leave me… Stay… Please… I like you…"

"Fuck, did they hit your head that hard?" Surprised by the younger's reaction, the silver-haired male sat back down, glad that Bel calmed at this; Bel supposedly liked being alone, so why had he acted like that? "You got brain damage or something?"

Bel didn't respond to these words; he simply pulled himself as close to the edge of the mattress as he could, using his other hand to grip Gokudera's sleeve. Beneath his long bangs, he allowed his eyes to close, his breathing harsh and laboured as he struggled to ignore the pain.

Gokudera pulled his phone from his pocket, sending a text to Tsuna asking him to send the nurses to Bel's side. He didn't know why he still sat there, watching as the younger was soon given more morphine; all he knew was that, once Bel had finally fallen asleep, Gokudera slept with him.