Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn and Harry Potter; the honour belongs to Amano Akira-san and Ms. JK Rowling respectively.

Chapter Three: Tres*

Skull knows something is going to happen; he can feel it in the air. The only question is: what is it?

He gets his answer that night in the form of a drunken Colonello.

Skull sighs, putting on his helmet as he readies himself to go out. Everyone else had gone out for the night, no longer bothering to eat dinner together, as Luce was the only reason they had done so. He is drawn out of his thoughts when something cold tugs at his jeans. He looks down.

"Yeah, Oodako?" His pet octopus lets out a whining sound, as if wanting attention. Again, Skull is struck with the similarities between Oodako and his beloved owl he had been forced to release, Hedwig. They both knew when he was upset and when they did, they tried their hardest to cheer him up. He grins.

"I'm fine, Oodako. Now, wanna go? The great Skull-sama needs to show off his amazing skills!" With that, he scoops up his octopus, strides to the entrance hall, puts his hand on the doorknob...

And nearly gets a facefull of door.

The door bangs open, nearly ripping the door off its hinges, and Skull leaps backwards, inwardly groaning.

Mammon is going to kill me for this!

"Who's there?!" The stuntman barks, slipping into a defense position, but falters slightly in confusion when he spots the person at the door.

It is Colonello, smelling strongly of alcohol.

"Senpai?" Skull whispers. He had never seen Colonello that drunk before. What on earth had happened?

"L-Lackey, kora?" The blond slurs., clearly not in a proper state of mind. Skull snaps himself out of his shocked daze.

"Hey, er...are you feeling okay? 'Cause you don't look really…great at the moment." Colonello stares at the purple-haired male, as if he was the one extremely drunk.

"Hey, you see these stars?"

"Of course 'm okay, kora! Never felt 'appier!" And Skull immediately knows that something is horribly wrong.

Colonello never stays awake after binge drinking (which he had clearly done) unless something extremely heavy is on his mind. The last time he had done so was right after they had been Cursed, and even then, he hadn't stayed awake for very long. The nearest bar was miles away - considering they live almost literally in the middle of nowhere -, and for Colonello to stay awake all this while?

Something very, very bad must have happened.

Something about the blonde's expression is off, too, Skull thinks, like he's stuck between wanting to laugh and cry at the same time. Skull wonders what exactly had happened, because, contrary to his actions, Colonello doesn't get very emotional easily.

"Sure," He says cautiously, not wanting to antagonize the drunken male like he often does with Reborn. An angered Colonello was bad. A drunken, angered Colonello was even worse. He waits for the blond to collapse on the couch, and when he heard snoring, quietly tiptoeed away. Colonello is strong enough (no matter how much Skull wants to deny it) to deal with his own problems, after all, he decides.

Or at least, that was what he was planning to do.

"They'll never change."

*Mutter*

Skull spins around, not sure if he is hearing things.

"Er, did you say something, Senpai?" He asks tentatively. Colonello looks up blearily, eyes glazed over from the alcohol.

"I said I 'ate this, kora." Skull stares (again, he mentally sighs. Hermione would have whacked him over the head for being so rude…) at the uncharacteristic scowl on Colonello's handsome face.

"...Senpai, what do you hate?" Skull is glad that the sniper is currently drunk, as he knows that a sober Colonello would have angrily brushed him off. After all, he muses, the Arcobaleno are team in everything but spirit.

Life is funny that way.

Colonello glances at the stuntman, as if he is thinking whether to tell him or not. Apparently, he is deemed trust-worthy, as the sniper begins to talk.

"'M life." At Skull's shocked look, he elaborates.

"So, if you have trouble with who you are at the moment,"

"I 'ean, how can you 'tand this, 'ora?!" He stands up angrily, ignoring Skull's concerned look his way when he almost loses his balance. "Ev'rything's changed! When I got 'urned into a 'aby, I thought, well, okay, 'cause I'd proba'ly be a 'aby 'or the 'est of my life, but then 'm suddenly an 'dult 'gain! What 'o I do now?! 'm 'eep finding 'yself 'eaching for stools to get to the sink, and 'ind 'yself doing 'hings I 'ould have done 'efore! I…" The disheveled blond whispered brokenly, eyes watering. "I…don't 'now what to do 'ow…"

Skull knows what Colonello is talking about. He had felt the same sense of vertigo the day they were given back their old bodies, after all. He had taken it all in stride, only because he is used to bizarre situations, thanks to his time in the Wizarding World. He guesses that the only reason the others seem to be taking it pretty well too is due to the fact that they hide their emotions better. Colonello has never had a reason to hide his emotions, so he does the only thing someone in his position can do: isolate himself until he could laugh again.

Obviously, he is failing. Spectacularly. Skull hesitates for a while, wondering what to say. Then he remembers something, and puts on his best smile, which isn't very good at all.

"Look up at the night sky."

"Hey." Colonello turns to look at him, still standing, mind too clouded with the effects of the alcohol to even wonder why Skull was so quiet.

"Come here." Skull takes the ex-COMBUSIN member by the hand, leading him to the roof, not noticing the shock, nor the blush, that erupts on the blond's face.

Once they get there, Skull lets go of Colonell's hand, and points upwards at the clear night sky, where uncountable stars brightly twinkle.

"And if you still have problems,"

"You see these stars?" Colonello nods, slightly confused. Skull smiled softly.

"They'll always stay the same, no matter what." He said. "So if you ever have problems like tonight again, all you have to do is look up at the night sky. And if you can't, just look for me. I'll be your anchor in this ever-changing world, because I'll never change. I promise, okay?"

Colonello gazes at the stars, then at Skull. He smiles, taking note of the shocked expression on the stuntman's face.

"Thanks, 'kull." Skull sighs exasperatedly, not noticing the use of his name.

"Silly, you'll won't even remember this in the morning. You're terribly drunk, you know?" But Colonello won't. He won't ever forget tonight. Even if he was old and senile and had most of his memory missing, he will never forget this day.

Never.

"Look for me."

"Now, let's go!" He hears Skull say. "It's freezing out here!" Colonello chuckles drunkenly. "Yeah… 'm cold…" He passes out soon after, but not before feeling warm arms catch him, and a fond "Silly…"

Skull smiles, goes back downstairs to grab a few thick blankets and pillows, and comes back up to cover Colonello and himself with the blankets. Laying his head on his pillow, he glances at the snoring blond, then gazes up at the sky.

"I'll be your anchor, because I'll never change. I'll always be with you."

"You're such a liar, George…", Skull murmurs brokenly, mouth curving into a sad smile.

"I promise."

*: Tres is 'three' in Spanish.

Writing drunken speech is harder than I thought.

I didn't have to change anything drastic here, but I still had to change quite a bit, hence the wait.

Questions, comments, answers. They're all accepted!