Disclaimers: Don't own KHR or its characters.

Warnings: fluff, SUPER FLUFF, non-graphic lemon, swearing, PTSD, violence.

UN-BETA'ed FOR NOW.

Namimori High School, 0.00am

It was midnight, and the sky was dark and starless. Gokudera leaned against the back walls of Nami High, arms crossed, silver hair blowing in the wind. Occasionally, he would check his phone for the time, counting down – waiting. The silence of the night was unnerving, but emerald eyes remained stern and focused as they scanned the streets for a certain person. The wait almost frustrated him – Gokudera wanted action and he wanted to move and start and go and be done with it already. The faster the better.

Any moment now.

"Kufufu..." There it was – the signature laugh Gokudera had been waiting for. Gokudera turned his head towards the sound and, sure enough, it was Rokudo Mukuro who appeared around the corner. The ex-Kokuyo student wore all-black with his infamous trident at his side and a playful smirk on his face. His grin widened as he got closer to Gokudera, "Why, when M.M. told me the Smoking Bomb of Dynamite wanted to use my services, I thought the world was coming to an end."

"You were the last resort," Gokudera mumbled, sticking his hands in his pockets.

"I see your conditions have improved," Mukuro nodded approvingly, "Yamamoto Takeshi must've taken good care of you, hm?"

"Can we just cut the crap and get to it already?" Gokudera said agitatedly. He needed everything to happen as quickly as possible. He needed things to happen now. If he allowed himself to dwell any further, Gokudera was certain he would really go insane.

Mukuro raised an eyebrow, "Someone's in a hurry."

"Shut it," Gokudera pulled out an envelope from his pocket, "I have what you asked for in here."

"Ahh," Mukuro smiled, "Information for information. I like it."

Gokudera glared at him, wishing the mismatched-eyed creepo would bloody hurry the hell up already. The silvernette's hands were getting sweaty with anticipation.

Mukuro, sensing his impatience, chuckled. "Kufufu... alright, Smoking Bomb, calm down. I have your information ready too. Check it, if you wish. Although I'm pretty sure I've completed your request flawlessly."

Mukuro and Gokudera exchanged envelopes and began inspecting the contents inside. The envelope Mukuro gave him was black and well-sealed. Inside, Gokudera saw a paper with an address, a map of the area, another detailed map of the target building with marked entrances and exits, a few photographs of the building, and finally, a profile of the person Gokudera abhorred.

Takumi.

Seeing the photo of his face made Gokudera nauseous, his heart beat accelerating unnaturally, his breaths becoming hitched. The silvernette quickly stuffed it back into the envelope and closed his eyes for a few seconds to calm his nerves.

He's not here. He can't touch you. Not now. And soon, he will never be able to.

"Magnificent," Gokudera heard Mukuro's voice from somewhere afar. "Everything's in here. Hm? You okay there, Smoking Bomb?"

"Yes," Gokudera replied immediately, opening his eyes. "I'm good."

"Hm..." Mukuro narrowed his eyes, "...Lancia does not know about this exchange, I presume?"

"No," Gokudera shook his head.

"And he doesn't know what you're planning, either?"

"No."

"What about the rest of Dynamite?"

"No."

Mukuro paused, "...what about Yamamoto Takeshi?"

"...no," Gokudera said quietly. Then his deep green eyes focused on Mukuro dangerously, "And you're not going to tell him, or anyone else, either. That's part of the deal."

"Of course," Mukuro winked, "My lips are sealed, kufufu."

Gokudera didn't trust Mukuro in the very least, but it was the best he could do. Besides M.M., Mukuro was the only decent information gatherer he knew – and because Gokudera could not let Dynamite know of his plans prior to the execution, Mukuro was his only choice. Sure, the ex-Kokuyo was annoying, insufferable, and full of lies – but he was, undoubtedly, extremely good at what he did.

And Gokudera was desperate.

"Well, good luck, Smoking Bomb," Mukuro said as he was taking his leave, spinning the trident casually in his hand. "Don't blow yourself up." Mukuro winked again.

Gokudera gave him the finger, but the ex-Kokuyo student just chuckled deeply as he disappeared off into the night. The silvernette was left there alone, gripping the envelope tight in his hands. He looked up into the moonless sky, thinking through what he was about to do and mentally preparing himself for it. Then, Gokudera looked down at the cartoon picture of Uri drawn on his left wrist and smiled as he thought of the person who drew it on him.

Tonight. Tonight and it will be all over.

Gokudera traced the cat with his fingers.

Tonight, Yamamoto.

Dino's Vacation House, 4.18am

"Kyouya... Kyouya, wake up."

"...hn?"

"Come with me."

Hibari was still trying to blink his eyes open when, all of a sudden, Dino scooped him off the bed and into his strong arms. Dino carried him so easily, effortlessly, without even needing Hibari to cling onto him at all. The warmth from Dino brought Hibari back to memories of yesterday's events, and he couldn't help but feel heat rise to his cheeks as he remembered the way he became a complete mess under Dino's ministrations.

Clutching Dino's shirt with one hand, Hibari looked up at the blonde with sleepy annoyance, "Put me down... where are you taking me?"

"Wait," Dino kissed the top of his head, smiling, "You'll see."

Dino eventually put Hibari down when they came downstairs and reached his car. It was a different one from the one they drove here with. This one was a matte black Lamborghini, with darkened windows and all-black wheels – a fine picture of dirty money. Yet, Hibari could not stop thinking about how fetching the Italian looked next to and inside the car. It was in moments like these that Hibari remembered Dino's position in his famiglia, the power he had, and the weight he had to carry.

They drove away, just the two of them, under the still-dark sky. Hibari didn't know where they were going but as Dino reached over with his left hand and intertwined their fingers, Hibari realised that he didn't care. Dino could take him anywhere and it wouldn't matter one single bit. Dino may have become the new boss of a grand-scale mafia group, but to Hibari, Dino would always be the clumsy, dorky and goodhearted man who kept a pet turtle called Enzo and saw the world in a golden light. Dino would always be that strange blonde Italian in the nurse's office who smiled at Hibari with warm caramel eyes, gave him candy as though he was a child, and kissed Hibari as though he meant the world.

To Hibari, Dino would always be Dino. His Dino.

Hibari was done resisting. He was done pushing away. And he was done fooling himself into thinking that he could ever let this man go.

"We're here," Dino murmured gently as they pulled into an open-air, completely empty parking lot.

When Hibari got out of the car, he could hear the sound of waves crashing against the shore. They walked along side by side, until, surely enough, Hibari could see the ocean. The sky was just becoming lighter now and birds were awakening, chirping as they did so. Dino didn't speak and the two of them didn't stop walking until their shoes were off and both of their feet were in the water with the waves just lightly brushing over their ankles.

Hibari closed his eyes as the sand ran between his toes. It had been too long since he had last come to the beach.

"Look, Kyouya," Dino whispered beside his ears, motioning towards the sky. The sun was just appearing over the horizon, painting the sky with beautiful shades of yellows and oranges and reds and pinks and purples... The sea reflected the light as it rippled, and as the sun shone above them, Hibari glanced at Dino and saw that the man looked positively divine – golden, even.

Dino turned to him, their eyes meeting. For once, Hibari did not look away. Perhaps he was mesmerized by the Italian's honey-colored, shining eyes that looked at him as though in awe.

"Bello," Dino breathed, pressing a kiss to Hibari's forehead.

Hibari found it bizarre that such words came out of the man who was practically glowing like a god who had just fallen off his cloud onto earth. Falling off his clouds, tripping down from heaven like a klutz – yes, that sounds just like him. Hibari smiled at the corner of his lips with that thought. He leaned over and bit Dino's shoulders playfully.

"Ow, ow," Dino laughed, pinching Hibari's cheek. "Don't bite."

Hibari turned his face and bit Dino's fingers as well, his teeth actually sinking to Dino's bones.

"Ouch," Dino winced, although he was still smiling. "Are you trying to eat me?"

"I'm 'iting 'ou," Hibari spoke around his fingers.

"To death?" Dino grinned.

Hibari eyed him seriously, "...oo 'eath."

Dino chuckled amiably, "What did I do this time?"

Hibari finally released his fingers from his mouth, shrugging, "Just in case you disappear again."

Dino's smile softened. He took Hibari's hand in his own, "I won't."

Hibari shook his head. "Don't say that."

"Why?"

"Hn." Hibari looked down at their fingers, intertwined together. Dino's hands were bigger than his, as it always had been. Don't say it, because I'll believe you. And then, when you leave... it'll crush me. I can't deal with that. Not again. I can't let myself rise to such great heights when I will suffer that much greater of a fall. It's too much for me to handle.

"Kyouya..." Dino's fingers were on his face, and Hibari looked up at him. Dino kissed his cheek and whispered, "I will never leave you again. I swear."

Staring into those bright, golden eyes, Hibari suddenly realized how afraid he was that Dino would. To think that he would never see Dino's smile or hear his laugh again... Hibari raised a hand to grip Dino's wrist, "What about the mafia? You won't leave because of the same reason?"

"I'll protect you. My famiglia will protect you. None of the rival groups will ever dare lay a single finger on you," Dino's voice was firm.

"...one day you'll need to have a successor," Hibari said bitterly. He didn't know which would be worse – to see Dino with a woman or to never see Dino again. Or did it even matter? Hibari was sure he wouldn't be able to stand seeing either.

"My cousins can continue the family line, it doesn't matter," Dino locked eyes with him, "I don't want anyone – or anything – else but you."

Hibari gripped Dino's wrist harder, fearing how much he wanted that to be true. "Then what about Italy? You can't stay here forever."

This time, there was a moment of pause. And Hibari held his breath, scared of what Dino was about to say. Dino's eyes grew very serious when he eventually spoke, "Kyouya, I want you to listen very carefully."

Hibari felt his heart race, thumping hard like fists in his chest. What if Dino really had to leave? What if they can only see each other once a year? Oh god, what if today was the last day and that was why Dino brought him here? I'm not ready for this. I'm not ready to lose him. Feeling his heart lurch painfully, Hibari squeezed his eyes shut.

"...come to Italy with me."

Hibari's eyes flew open with that. The Skylark blinked rapidly, unsure if he had heard right. "What-"

"I know you're still in high school, and I- I know it's a lot to ask and a lot for you to consider," Dino looked nervous like Hibari had never seen him. He was fidgeting with his fingers, his hands clenching and unclenching sporadically, "But after you finish your senior year here, or even after you finish university... I- I really want you to come with me to Italy. Come stay with me. And not just in Italy, but here, too. I mean- I'll be coming to Japan a lot for work, and I've bought a house, so even if you can't go to Italy we'll still see each other. But I... I want you to stay- to live with me – both here and over there and... everywhere. Because, Kyouya, I've been apart from you once and it almost killed me. I can't take it. I want- I need to have you with me. I don't want to be away from you, I don't want to be parted from you. Not now and not ever. Do you understand?"

Dino's hands were shaking. Hibari didn't know since when did he stop breathing during that speech. His lungs seemed to have forgotten how to take in air altogether. His heart was beating uncontrollably in his chest, and he couldn't stop his voice from trembling as he spoke. "...what are you asking?"

I need to make sure, one last time.

Dino smiled, his eyes filled with passion as he looked at the Hibari. "...when you're older, I want to get on one knee and give you a ring and ask for your hand. I want to stay with you until my very last breath."

Dino inhaled deeply, as though trying to calm down the raging emotions within him. "You... you're everything, Kyouya, and I want to spend the rest of my life loving you."

Hibari never thought he was the type of person to shed tears when he was happy. He used to scoff at romantic movies. He would frown at the cliché, corny marriage proposals and roll his eyes at sentimental love confessions. Hibari used to think that people were so stupid to let themselves fall into a state so overcome with emotion. But for some reason, in this moment, the Skylark's eyes were wet. His throat was dry, and his heart ached deeply with every word that left Dino's lips.

His heart ached deeply for Dino.

I love him. Hibari finally allowed himself to admit. And the truth was that Hibari never stopped loving Dino and would most likely never love anyone else the way he did again. Dino was the one person, the first and the only one, who could make everything right in the Skylark's life.

"Dino..." Hibari wrapped his arms around Dino's neck, and without needing words, Dino understood Hibari's answer. Their lips came crashing together naturally like opposing magnetic poles, their hands holding onto each other like they would never let go, fingers trembling from the sheer intensity of emotions passing between them. Their hearts were beating fast and hard, so much that they could almost explode. And as Hibari moved his tongue against Dino's he knew without a doubt that if he never met this man, he would never have found true happiness – at least not in this tear-inducing, heartbreaking, soul-shattering way.

They kissed under the sunrise, standing amidst the sea until Hibari's knees buckled in on themselves and both were gasping for breath. Dino took Hibari's hand and they walked back to the car together, desire burning under their skins, electricity between their palms. The instant they were inside the Lamborghini, their lips sought each other out as though they were addicted. Hibari straddled Dino's lap as they kissed deeply, the chair bent back as far as it would go. There was a thought to drive back to the house, but neither of them could stand the wait. Their emotions were so tightly bound that the need to feel each other's flesh and be with the other just as closely was overbearing.

"Dino," Hibari's arms were shaking are they wrapped around Dino to bring him closer – desperate for Dino's heat, Dino's scent.

"Mm," Dino nuzzled his neck, feeling Hibari's heart thumping furiously beneath his own. "Mio Kyouya..."

It was a sense of overwhelming urgency, and yet they were both soothingly calm as they whispered in each other's ears and joined hands and shared breaths – a clash between the physical ardent desire to feel each other right there and then, and the knowledge that they have all the time in the world as from this day onwards, they would always be together.

Their hands were tangled and frustrated as they tried to strip the other down quickly, but still not fast enough for their boiling passion. Lips met time and time again, and when skin finally met skin Hibari sighed, at hearth as he was surrounded by Dino's warmth.

"Ah-"

The Skylark gasped and arched his back as Dino parted his legs and teased him softly open with long fingers, stretching him. Hibari's own fingers dug into Dino's shoulders and arms with every hitching breath, leaving red marks and tiny crescent moons in their wake.

Dino's lips were everywhere, suckling and licking and kissing, leaving marks all over his pale body. With tantalizing touches and sinful movements of his fingers, Dino teased and worked Hibari to the point where the Skylark had forgotten all about the pain and was trembling all over, clutching onto Dino and very nearly screaming to have Dino buried deep inside him. And just as Hibari thought he was going to lose his mind if Dino were to torture him a second longer, Dino entered him.

"Nngh-!" Hibari bit his lips.

"Kyouya..." Dino breathed his name as though in worship and Hibari moaned quietly into his shoulders, his body clenching as Dino filled him completely.

"Nn- D-Dino..."

They moved together, slowly at first, before speeding up as their kisses became more heated and their gasps and sighs became low moans and groans in their throats.

Somewhere in the middle, Dino's arm would clumsily hit something, or the car would creak loudly somewhere, and one time the horn even sounded, jumping them both, and they would end up laughing breathlessly against each other. It may or may not have rained during the interim – they didn't care, they didn't notice, they didn't remember. Nothing could've bothered them in this moment. They were in love and they were invincible.

They held out as long as possible, never wanting the moment to end. At the peak of their desire, Dino was whispering words of affection and all sorts of sweetness in jumbled Italian and Japanese whilst Hibari was a mess of breaths and sighs, unable to utter anything else but Dino's name. They moaned, gasped, then collapsed together as searing pleasure shattered through them both and left them panting, exhausted.

The sun shone through the windows when it was over. With Dino's hand tangled in his hair and Dino's naked arms wrapped around his body, Hibari looked at the clear blue sky and wondered why it had never looked so beautiful. His dark eyes turned to the man lying beneath him.

With a hidden smile behind his lips, Hibari bit Dino's collar bone gently and murmured, "Miniera."

Dino smiled lovingly and pecked Hibari's kiss-swollen lips, "...you speaking Italian will be the end of me."

"Get used to it," Hibari whispered, "I'll learn the language when I'm there."

Dino chuckled and kissed him again, never having enough. Dino would probably never have enough of Hibari even if he had his whole life to kiss him. His warm eyes crinkled as they looked down at his Skylark. "I can't wait, Kyouya."

"Hn," Hibari hummed against Dino's chest, but they both knew it meant 'me too'.

As they fell asleep in each other's arms, the last thing Hibari's eyes saw were clouds floating in the sky. The Skylark then pondered in a dreamlike state that he was rather similar to a cloud. Clouds were like him in the way that they were uncontained and unrestrained by anyone – free to move by their own will. Hibari then thought that in a similar analogy, Yamamoto would be rain, momentarily relieving clouds of their pain and draining them of their heavy weight. But Dino – sweet, wonderful, clumsy, klutzy, perfect Dino – would be the sky...

...and ultimately, that was where clouds belonged.

Varia HQ, 2.26pm

"Five thousand yen... ten thousand yen... fifteen thousand yen..."

"Mammon-senpai, you do realize most men will find women who are this obsessed with money completely unattractive, right? Not that a lot of men will even recognize you as a woman anyway."

"Fran-chan~, that's not very nice! But, then again, I must agree, Mammon-chan, you might wanna work just a tad on your feminine-"

"Shut up, Lussuria, I'm trying to count. Fifteen thousand yen... twenty thousand yen..."

"Mou~, how meannnn~."

"Yeah, Gaylord-senpai is right. How meannnn. You're ignoring me. Is it because you're still jealous that I took your spot as moron-senpai's partner? Jealousy is an ugly trait, you know. I don't understand why you're even jealous anyway, that psycho freak-prince is a far cry from-"

"Shush, kid. Twenty thousand yen... twenty thousand and five hundred yen..."

"Where is our Bel-chan, anyways? It's a bit lonely without our little prince around, don't you think~?"

"Ah, yes. So lonely. I am almost writhing in pain with loneliness. I miss the idiotic fake-prince so much my heart is having a myocardial infarction and I am simply dying, dying, dying inside. Ow."

"Aw! Fran-chan, that is so adorable!"

"...I was being sarcastic, Gaylord-senpai."

"Oh. Well~, you talk in such a monotone, it's impossible to tell when you're joking. And I told you, Fran-chan, many, many times to call me 'Mama-Luss'."

"I'd rather die."

"Mou~, Fran-chan!"

"VOIII!" Attention from all the Varia members was immediately called upstairs when Squalo's unforgettable voice roared from above. Sure enough, their silver-haired second-in-command was standing at the top of the stairs, yelling with what seemed to be the maximum capacity of his lungs with his extreme volume. "All of you, shut the fuck up! Our boss is trying to sleep!"

Fran blinked up at him, both hands blocking his ears, "Speak for yourself, spiky-haired commander. You're the loudest of all. You're practically a walking megaphone."

"VOI! Are you trying to start a fight with me, brat?" Squalo shrieked back full-volume, waving a long metal bar around like a sword.

"There we go again," Fran mumbled in monotone, "Boss must really be into the 'screamer' types in bed..."

"AH? What was that?" Squalo raised his voice, "VOI! Speak up, you baby!"

Mammon, by this point, was fed up with all the noise and had up and left the room with her little box of money.

Lussuria raised a finger in a frighteningly motherly way, "Squa-chan~, if you keep on going at this rate, our dear Boss is gonna-"

SLAM.

Before Lussuria could finish his sentence, the man of the moment himself slammed open the door behind Squalo. Dark circles were present beneath his burning amber eyes. The boss of Varia was definitely not in a good mood today. Not only was his premium steak overcooked at lunch – which, by itself, was an outrage – but Xanxus had been preoccupied over the last few days with a surprise visit from his step-father from Italy. The old man persisted to 'hang out' with his son throughout his entire trip in Japan and only went back to Italy yesterday night. This thus resulted to Xanxus suffering many hours of ridiculous, endless 'old-times' chatter; Xanxus losing many hours of quality sleeping; and most importantly, Xanxus missing many nights he could've spent making a certain silver-haired shark scream beneath him.

"Trash," Xanxus growled, "You were supposed to shut the rest of the scum up. Why the hell were you walking around screeching like a fucking prostitute in heat?"

"Boss-" Squalo swung around abruptly, very nearly smacking Xanxus in the face with the metal bar he was holding.

Xanxus gritted his teeth and gripped Squalo's wrist harshly, pulling the silvernette towards himself, so close that their lips were inches apart from each other. Xanxus' deep red eyes glowed in hunger, "Damn noisy shark trash..."

"Oi, Boss! Let go-" Squalo squirmed but Xanxus only pressed him closer, gripping his hair violently with one hand. Squalo winced in pain, "Xanxus!"

"Anddd... that's my queue to leave," Fran quickly found his escape into another room – no one wanted to be around when Squalo and Xanxus had one of their 'fights'. Well, perhaps with exception of Lussuria and Levi. Fran mentally rolled his eyes. Voyeurs.

It was good that Fran had an excuse to leave the common room anyway, since it was about time for him to report back to Dynamite on the situation of Varia. Fran had been snooping around, gathering information on Varia's weapon diversity, strengths and weaknesses, fighting strategies, sources for trade, and their income. On several occasions, Fran was almost caught. Mammon, being the observant money-obsessed bitch that she was, had been suspicious of Fran's interest in Varia's expenses. It had been a close one, but fortunately, Fran managed to pull it off as genuine curiosity. He knew not to mess with Mammon again, though. The girl was the most untrusting of the lot. Maybe it was a gender thing, Fran didn't know.

That being said, the one in Varia that was both the easiest and the hardest to fool was Prince the Ripper – Belphegor – also known to Fran as 'moronic idiotic fake-prince'. He was easy, because the prince could be so careless in giving away information, throwing away top secret details freely as though they were insignificant; but difficult, because – for some reason – Bel seemed to be able to tell right away whether Fran was lying or telling the truth. The prince's instincts were that of a genius'. He would be able to click information and clues together in a snap of a finger – if Fran were to slip up once in front of him, that would be it. Bel was also especially dangerous because the prince was the one who spent most time with Fran, and thus, most likely to catch him out.

It also didn't help that the two of them had a peculiar relationship going on, their intimacy and weird understanding of each other acting as a double-edged sword for Fran. Bel trusted him, but at the same time, he also knew Fran far too well. Fran had no idea how much of him Bel can really see through. When they kissed or when Bel touched him, Fran would subconsciously expose a bit more of himself. And when Bel snickered, or smiled like a young child, Bel would evoke in him strange feelings... feelings that Fran had never experienced and didn't know how to deal with – flutters in his chest, knots in his stomach. They were becoming troublesome, too.

But a job was a job, and no matter what those feelings were, Fran couldn't let them affect him.

Sighing internally, Fran dialed a number on his phone.

On the other side of the house, Belphegor had just returned from his trip to the candy store down the street. The prince was snickering gleefully as he thought about the frog-shaped gummies in his bag. He couldn't wait to see how Fran would react when he gave them to him – everybody knew Fran hated Bel's nickname for him with a passion. Bel could already imagine his Froggy rolling his eyes and throwing malicious insults at him with that unnervingly neutral expression.

"Ushishi~, the royal prince has arrived!" Bel announced grandly as he slammed the front door to the Varia's headquarters open. The prince then frowned when he noticed that the common room was empty, a very rare occurrence. Then, his eyes widened behind his bangs when Bel saw the scene going on upstairs. The boss of Varia had Squalo pressed to the wall and was kissing him vigorously, Xanxus' hands all over him as Squalo arched against his body. Bel gaped, "Whoa."

"Ah-!" Squalo yelped as he sprung away from Xanxus so quickly that he almost fell down the stairs.

"Watch it, scum," Xanxus had gripped his collar and dragged him back up in time, just before the fall. The boss then turned to look at Bel, who still had his mouth hanging open, "Fuck off, prince trash."

"...feels like seeing your parents making out," Bel said slowly, before he broke into a grin and snickered, "Ushishi~, why, the prince always knew Boss and Squalo were going at it!"

"Bel," Squalo grumbled, red-faced and panting. "Piss off."

"Ahh, alright then, the prince will leave you two to go back to sucking each other's face off!" Belphegor chimed cheerfully, "Bye-bii~!"

The two were back on each other even before Bel could exit the room. The prince could not stop himself from snickering like a little child who's seen something he shouldn't have. "Ushishi, I can't wait to tell Froggy!"

Belphegor had no idea when or how his thoughts became so caught up on Fran. Even now, the prince still did not realize how much attention he paid to his kouhai. Without noticing, Bel's days had become all about annoying his 'Froggy', pissing him off, and looking forward to kissing the life out of him. Fran had a hold on Bel which was a lot stronger than either of them knew, and the strange bond they shared was deeper than either of them understood.

Whistling a creepy tune as he traipsed around the house, Bel finally found his Frog in the storage room of Varia. Fran was hiding behind a pillar, and Bel decided he would give the little kouhai a bit of a spook. Grinning widely in anticipation of his plan, Bel sneaked up behind Fran, slowly, quietly.

Fran was talking to someone on the phone and did not even notice his presence. His voice was as monotone as usual, "Yes. I have. They've been stocking up again, recently. Prince the Ripper had just bought a whole set of new knives and wires-"

Bel raised an eyebrow, freezing in his stance. Why was Froggy talking about him to someone else? Who was this person?

"I told you already, I can't get near their information about money. Mammon's been watching me like a bloody viper," Fran shook his head. "No. No- I just said- wow. M.M., are you deaf or something?"

Bel narrowed his eyes. 'M.M.' That was a name he heard before. It wasn't common, so Bel could picture the girl almost immediately, remembering how he thought her name sounded like a chocolate candy he enjoyed. Bright purple eyes, slick bright red bob, with a too-short mini-skirt and a red scarf tied to her thigh. Red scarf. Bel's brain was rapidly snapping and associating the information together. She's in Dynamite. Yes. That's where I've seen her.

Why does Froggy know her? Bel rolled in his lips. More importantly, why is he telling information about Varia to a Dynamite member?

In reality, Belphegor knew the second he heard Fran call M.M.'s name what exactly was going on. The prince, for all his immature acts, was incredibly intelligent. It didn't even require an ounce of his brainpower to realize what Fran was, and had been, all this time. Yes. Bel knew. But a part of the prince didn't believe it. Bel didn't want to believe it.

M.M. is the main information gatherer of Dynamite. Bel remembered Squalo had told him that. Of course. Every piece of information seemed to fit together like a bright neon jigsaw that blared in the prince's face what Bel didn't want to acknowledge.

'Bel-senpai, why do you need wires when you already use knives? What do you even use the wires for?'

'Ne, ne, moron-senpai. When does our boss fight? Can he even fight? All I see is him being angry and yelling at the spiky-haired commander.'

'Ahh. So Levi-senpai does have a use after all. I thought he was just here to stalk our mad-tempered boss. Where did you say he got the supplies again? I wasn't really listening, sorry Bel-senpai. Most of the time you talk nonsense so I spaced out.'

It all made sense now – Fran's curious questions, those green eyes that observed everything with such detail. The way Fran's eyes flickered suspiciously whenever Bel asked him why he wanted to join Varia. That monotone voice that was so good at hiding emotion – that neutral face, so plain and emotionless as though it was trained to be a mask. A mask. All along, Bel sensed there was something a little off about Fran. Bel had seen all the signs but the prince had decided to ignore them, playing them off as Fran's many strange quirks. Thinking about that now, Bel could not believe he had let it go on for this long. How could Bel not have linked this together sooner? How could Bel not have known until now?

Fran was a spy.

Acting instantly, Bel strode up to Fran and quickly locked his slim arms behind his back, pressing a knife to Fran's throat. Fran stiffened, dropping his phone. Bel stepped on it, uncaringly crushing it under his feet.

"Bel-senpai," Fran breathed, recognizing Bel's scent.

"Stay still," the prince hissed through gritted teeth. "Or the prince will cut you."

Fran was nervous, but he didn't show it. Swallowing against the cool blade on his neck, Fran spoke in monotone, "Idiot-senpai, what are you playing at this time?"

"Shut it, Frog," Bel pressed the blade in just enough to make Fran bleed. The sting of the wound immediately let Fran know that the prince wasn't joking around.

Thoughts of Bel fighting against members of other gangs came to Fran's mind. He remembered Bel's wide smile, his creepy snicker as he toyed with his opponent and cut them like they were lifeless dummies. Not enough to kill them, no. But enough to make them bleed red and cover their whole body with blood. Bel had told him with a giggle that he especially liked breaking a wound near the eyebrow region because the blood would drip into the victim's eyes and make them see Bel tinted red as well.

Belphegor wasn't called Prince the Ripper for nothing. The prince was scary, and Fran was only beginning to realize that now that he was under the Ripper's blade himself.

"The prince had never seen you look so rattled, Froggy," Bel whispered behind his ear, "Ah, wait. I have seen it. Yes, I do like seeing you get all nervous when I stick my tongue down your throat. Tell me, Frog, was that all part of the plan as well?"

"...no," Fran answered honestly. Kissing you was never part of the plan. It was a slip up. It was never supposed to happen. It made me expose too much of myself.

"Liar," the prince hissed. "Liar, liar, pants on fire. You were planning to distract me from the beginning, weren't you? The prince would've noticed this much sooner if it weren't for your slutty ways."

Fran closed his eyes. There was nothing he could've said, no excuses he could've made. Bel had caught him, the prince now saw him as a traitor. No matter what he said, Bel wouldn't believe him.

"You're a smart one, aren't you, Frog?" Bel murmured, "Luring me in, making me trust you. I told you all my knife secrets, all my wire tricks. You must've taken the prince for such a fool."

It was in that moment that Bel felt a little tug in his chest. An ache. It was a feeling Bel was unused to – and Bel was appalled to discover that he felt betrayed. Upset. Even – ridiculous as it was – hurt by Fran's actions.

How dare you, Froggy?

Clenching his hands and trying to shake the emotions away, Bel dug the knife deeper into Fran's flesh, dragging the tip of his blade down to Fran's collar bone.

"Senpai-" Fran mumbled tonelessly, grabbing Bel's wrist. "Hurts."

"Shut up. I don't give a damn."

How dare you make the prince feel this way?

In spite, Bel latched his lips onto the back of Fran's neck and sucked him hard. Fran gasped quietly in surprised, and Bel bit him, sinking his teeth into Fran's skin. Fran writhed in his hold but Bel held him firm, not releasing him even when the coppery taste of blood filled his mouth. The prince had bitten Fran so hard that the blood trickled out of the corner of his lips. Fran desperately twisted his body, trying to escape but only causing the knife in Bel's hand to cut into his shoulders.

"Bel-senpai..." Fran whimpered, although his voice still miraculously managed to remain in monotone. Fran's pale hands were trembling as Bel's teeth sunk deeper into him. It felt as if Bel was going to bite his flesh off, eat him whole. He shuddered.

Good. Bel thought, sensing Fran's fear. Yes, Froggy, suffer. You deserve it. You deserve it all for doing this to the prince.

When Bel finally released his mouth off Fran, his lips were painted bloody and Fran's face was blanched white. The prince thought the bleeding bite mark looked pretty on Fran's pale skin. To punish him further, Bel dug a finger into the wound and watched as Fran's eyes widened in pain.

But instead of feeling satisfied, Bel just felt bitter. Instead of feeling excited at the taste of blood on his tongue, the prince just felt sick. And Belphegor was frustrated because he couldn't understand why.

What the hell...?

What have you done, Froggy?

What the fuck have you done to me?

Clasping Fran's chin in his hand like a metal grip, Bel twisted Fran's face to look at him. Those emerald eyes were quivering, looking at the prince as though he was a complete stranger. As if they never shared as many breath-baiting kisses as they did, as if they've never fought side by side, as if Fran had never slept curled up in Bel's arms, as if they didn't understand each other in that almost psychologically linked way that was unique to them and them alone. It was as though Fran was yet another unfortunate victim who only saw Belphegor as Prince the Ripper and not his impossible senpai. And Bel found that there was nothing he hated more than seeing Fran look at him that way.

You ruined it. You're the one who ruined it, Froggy, so don't you fucking look at me like that.

"You will pay, Frog," Bel murmured threateningly, tapping the tip of his knife down Fran's sternum. "And don't you even think about escaping from the prince until he's satisfied."

Fran shivered, avoiding looking at Bel's eyes under those blonde bangs. Who knew what the limits were to the prince's satisfaction?

"As for Dynamite..." Bel's lips stretched into a wicked, malicious grin, "They'll regret ever messing with Varia."

4.08pm

Yamamoto was casually strolling along the streets of his neighborhood as he returned home from a much-missed baseball practice. He didn't even realize how much he missed it until he was back on the field, feeling his adrenaline pump through his veins as he swung the bat, threw the ball, and heard the satisfying clump as the ball hit his gloves in a perfect catch.

Gokudera was right. Yamamoto smiled as he thought of the emerald-eyed silvernette.

'You're a baseball-idiot. You're supposed to go play fucking baseball.' Gokudera had told him as he tried to convince Yamamoto to return to his daily school life. 'I'm not going to suddenly up and die just because you're not here, moron. Stop being so damn paranoid and go live your own life for a change. I don't want to be the cause when you shrivel up and die from baseball-deprivation.'

Gokudera had made Yamamoto promise not to go visit him today, and instead, find some time for himself. Yamamoto had been reluctant at first, but now he felt like he wanted to thank Gokudera. He hadn't felt this refreshed in ages. Gokudera really did know Yamamoto so well to see how much he missed being on the fields even though Yamamoto couldn't see it himself. And yes, Yamamoto did miss Gokudera. After spending so many days being with him almost 24/7, it was only natural. But the separation was nice for a change. Yamamoto had been so focused on Gokudera and so – in Gokudera's words – 'paranoid' about the silvernette's health and wellbeing that he hadn't been able to spend any time with Tsuna and the others recently. It felt good to hang around after school, catching up with what everyone had been up to. That being said, Yamamoto still did wish Gokudera could've been there with the rest of them as well.

'I love you'. Ever since Gokudera had told him, Yamamoto had been on Cloud Nine and attached to Gokudera even more than before. Gokudera had to roll his eyes and push him away on several occasions, but Yamamoto knew the silvernette didn't really mind. In a way, Yammaoto sort of always knew this was how Gokudera felt. After all, Gokudera did endure so much just to be with him. And there was always a little spark in those emerald eyes when Gokudera looked at him – so Yamamoto sort of knew all along. But no way in hell did Yamamoto ever expect to hear the words from Gokudera's lips.

The words had cleared Yamamoto's mind like a big sweeper that blew all the mess into place. His feelings for Gokudera were distinct and the immature jealousy Yamamoto had felt when he talked on the phone with Hibari had dissipated. Of course, Yamamoto was still upset that Hibari was with another man. But it was a different sort of emotion. Yamamoto was no longer a child throwing a tantrum because his favorite toy was taken from him, but he was a man who was hurt that someone he loved might just not love him back.

However, the pain wasn't too bad when a large part of Yamamoto's heart soared when Gokudera laughed, and warmed when Gokudera curled up against him. Yes, Yamamoto loved Hibari, but he also loved Gokudera – a fact that was blindsided by his raging jealousy not too long ago. But Yamamoto's head was clear now. And the more time he spent with the silvernette, the more numbed out the throb from thinking about Hibari became – and the heart that was once halved perfectly into two was maybe becoming just a little heavier on one side.

Someone said that if you try to fix something broken, you will only get your hands cut. For Yamamoto, the cut was quite literal – the gash on his arm still in the process of healing. But it was worth it. Gokudera was so worth every wound and heartache and argument and frustration. Yamamoto would not hesitate to go through it all again if it meant he would have Gokudera by his side. Just thinking about the way those emerald eyes shone every time Gokudera woke up and saw Yamamoto's face had Yamamoto grinning like an idiot.

Yamamoto whistled happily as he continued to walk back home before, all of a sudden, he came to a halt, the Namimori High School's anthem cut short mid-song. The front door of his house was blocked by a car. Since Yamamoto's house was also a sushi restaurant, having cars parked in front of the gate was not unusual. What was unusual was that this car was not any typical family car. It was an all-black Lamborghini with darkly filmed windows. It looked bizarrely out of place in such a simple neighborhood, like someone had cut out a picture from a showroom's brochure and stuck it on a child's coloring book. Furthermore, as if the car alone wasn't suspicious enough, two large-bodied smartly-dressed men were guarding it. The mothers from neighboring houses were poking their heads out of the windows to not-so-subtly stare.

As Yamamoto cautiously approached his house, one of the guards spotted him and mumbled something into his earpiece. Yamamoto momentarily panicked, thinking that he was about to be kidnapped and sold off for his organs. But just as he was about to pull out his baseball bat and get ready to whack, the door of the car swung open.

And Yamamoto's heart sunk as he saw the person he least expected to see that day.

"Hibari..." Yamamoto breathed, not really sure what to think or how to act. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to see Hibari. The whole thing with Hibari being with another man was still settling on him and Yamamoto didn't have enough time to organize his feelings yet. He didn't understand what was going on. Why was Hibari here? Weren't they on a 'break'? And why in the world did Hibari come out of a car that looked like it belonged to the mafia?

"Yamamoto Takeshi," Hibari's eyes were as dark and sharp as Yamamoto remembered. But something was definitely... different about him. The air around him was lighter, almost. Yamamoto didn't know whether that was a good or bad sign. But Hibari was using his full name, so Yamamoto knew the Skylark wasn't playing around.

"Can I come in?" Hibari asked, but Yamamoto knew he didn't really have a choice. The question was more of a polite gesture; the look in Hibari's eyes already dictated the answer.

And Yamamoto knew that it meant either a storm was coming, or the clouds that loomed over him were finally breaking away for good.

"...sure."

A/N: Yay for cliffhanger! :D For Gokudera AND Fran AND Yamamoto. It's a triple cliffie! Weee.

Many of you guys wanted Varia to make their appearance. Finally, they have made their return! :D Too bad it all went downhill with Bel and Fran. Hopefully the little XS snippet compensates?

And oh, you guys have been brilliant on reviewing the last chapter! :D Thank you so much for your comments! I love reading all of your reviews. *cuddles* (Seems like my 'no reviews = no updates' system have caused some panic, haha.) And oh look! What's this I have here in my hands? CHAPTER 25 – all complete! But unless you review, chapter 25 will be locked in its tower like freaking Rapunzel until the Evil Witch (aka: ME) is satisfied.

Got it? PLEASE REVIEW! ;)

Ps. Happy New Year, all you wonderful people! :D xx