Title: Tempest

Rating: T

Genre(s): Friendship/Angst/Tragedy/Hurt/Comfort

Summary: (Very, very light x-over with xxxHOLiC. Warnings/Pairings inside. Post-manga.) For Gokudera Hayato, this is the easiest decision he has ever made. Without any hesitation, he accepts the consequences, all for a chance to change something and everything; and also for a chance to apologize, apologize for what he hadn't done.

Warnings: Swearing, homo/heterosexuality, violence, character death, time travel, angst, spoilers, the works. Un-beta-ed.

Pairings: 8059, All59 friendship, 2795, 1869, XS; more to come.

~oOo~

The next morning, after making sure the injuries aren't visible, the bandages covering them mostly hidden from view, Gokudera stands outside Tsuna's house, waiting for him to come out.

"Ah, hey, Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna calls, spotting him from his bedroom, and Gokudera tilts his head upward.

"Good morning, Tenth!" he replies cheerily.

"I'll be right down, okay?" Tsuna shouts from his bedroom, shutting the window and Gokudera can imagine that his future boss is throwing his clothes on in a hurry before running downstairs. He also hears a muffled "Mom, let Gokudera-kun in okay?"

The door opens not a minute later, and Nana Sawada appears, smiling warmly. "Ah, I remember you, Gokudera-kun, come inside!"

She ushers him into the house, setting a plate of food in front of him before he can say anything, humming cheerfully before going back into the kitchen. Across the table is Reborn, his Chameleon familiar perched on his fedora as usual.

"You didn't tell me how the Guardians and their allies died," Reborn says conversationally after Gokudera finishes, as if he were merely discussing the weather.

Gokudera clenches a fist, letting the sharp pain of his nails digging into his palm keep him from slipping from a panic attack—focus… breath in, breath out.

"It's not that I don't want to—I just… I just can't."

He feels Reborn's dark gaze studying him calmly, and Gokudera can't bring himself to look Reborn in the eye.

"Ah, Reborn! Are you bullying Gokudera-kun as well?" Tsuna huffs, and Gokudera turns to him before smiling brightly to pretend that he hadn't been on the verge of bursting into tears, throwing up, or both.

"Are you implying that I bully people? And more than one?" Reborn asks dangerously, cocking his Leon gun.

"N-no Reborn!" Tsuna squeaks before taking a seat as Nana sets another plate in front of Tsuna.

"Hurry up, Tsu-kun," Nana chides. "Or you and Gokudera-kun will be late for school!"

Tsuna, upon hearing this, immediately wolfs down his food before dragging Gokudera with him, snatching up his backpack. "Thanks for reminding me, Mom!" They head out the door, Tsuna's hand still attached to Gokudera's arm.

"Now really, Gokudera-kun," Tsuna says, stopping abruptly and turning to him. "Are you okay? Did Reborn say something to you?"

Gokudera blinks rapidly for a moment before replying, "Certainly, Tenth. I'm fine."

Tsuna narrows his eyes slightly but doesn't say anything more. "…If you say so. But, Gokudera-kun, if you have any problems, come to me okay? That's what friends do."

If anybody asks, Gokudera will deny the lump in his throat vehemently, and the wetness in his eyes. "…Thank you," he murmurs as a reply.

~oOo~

It becomes a routine, of sorts.

Gokudera arrives at Tsuna's house, Nana lets him in, Reborn tries (in his own sadistic way) to get him to get over the deaths, and Tsuna asks him what's wrong.

It happens for a week, and that's enough for Gokudera to consider "routine", and he assumes it'll keep happening.

And then he realizes he's really low on dynamite.

"Ah, Tenth," Gokudera tells him on Tuesday. "I'm low on dynamite and explosives and the such…"

"Eh? What do you need those for?" Tsuna asks, and then Gokudera has to remind himself that Tsuna doesn't know what weapon he uses, not in this timeline.

"Ah, they're my normal weaponry," Gokudera explains. "And last week, I used up a lot on the guys who apparently thought they could mug me."

Tsuna blinks worriedly. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," Gokudera answers cheerfully. "I'll be fine. So I'll be gone for the day. Sorry for the inconvenience, Tenth!"

"Ah, it's not a problem!" Tsuna replies hastily. "Don't get hurt, okay?"

No promises. "Alright."

If there's one thing he hates about himself right now, it's his ability to lie to Tsuna.

~oOo~

"Ah, good morning, Tenth!" Gokudera calls exuberantly. "Sorry for being away for a week!"

Tsuna pokes his head out of the window sleepily, blinking down at him for a moment before recognizing him. "Ah! Gokudera-kun! You're back! Mom, let him in!"

The door opens, and Gokudera heads towards it. Nana smiles warmly at him. "Ah, Gokudera-kun, it's been a while! I hope you enjoyed your break!"

"Yes, I did, thank you, Sawada-san," Gokudera replies, giving her a small smile in return as she all but forces him into a seat and shoves a platter of food onto his plate.

Then Lambo tumbles down the stairs, and Gokudera vehemently denies that he's missed the stupid cow and shoves the emotions into a tiny box.

"Who is that, Reborn-san?" Gokudera asks, pretending not to recognize him, and Reborn knows what he's playing at.

"Who's who? I don't see anyone other than you, me, or Maman here," Reborn replies calmly.

"Ah… if you say so," Gokudera says warily.

"Don't ignore me, Reborn!" Lambo shouts.

"I think I heard a fly buzzing," Reborn muses. "Kill it for me?"

"I don't think I can," Gokudera answers. "It's too big."

Tsuna nearly trips down the stairs, waving happily at Gokudera. "Hey! I missed you, Gokudera-kun!"

He takes a seat next to him. "Ah, I missed you too, Tenth!

"Did you sleep badly or something?" Gokudera inquires, noticing the bags under Tsuna's eyes.

"Yeah… Lambo was kind of crying overnight…"

"Ah, I hope it wasn't too bad, Tenth! Maybe you should try giving him warm milk. It's a great comfort thing, unless he's lactose intolerant." And Gokudera does remember instances where Lambo couldn't sleep, and would crawl out of bed begging him to warm some milk for him, and despite the swearing-ridden complaints, he'd do it.

Tsuna tilts his head, considering it. "I'll try it. Thanks."

After eating, they head out, bidding Nana a goodbye. And then Yamamoto shows up, laughing cheerfully and smiling brightly, and Gokudera suddenly can't breathe.

Because that idiot, when he died, he smiled. Laughed, even. And maybe, Gokudera might have been able to believe the fact that he was okay, that he'd make it home alive, if it weren't for the fact that there's blood everywhere, and that there's no humanly way anybody can survive those injuries.

And then that… that… bastard had the audacity to go off and throw himself off that cliff, and drowned himself, and Ryohei's there, restraining him from following him to that fate because apparently, to Yamamoto, dying was preferable to letting those fucking bastards who're less than shit get to the rest of his precious, oh so precious, Famiglia—not just the Famiglia, though. His family.

The irony isn't even funny, because even if the fall doesn't kill him, he would've drowned.

And what's pathetic is that there was no body to bury.

He doesn't cry at the funeral, but as soon as he reaches the confines of his room, he completely shatters.

Because Yamamoto, kind, strong, stupid, idiotic Yamamoto didn't deserve death, never mind a pathetic one like that, and certainly not so soon after Tsuna's.

But an inner voice asks him:

If Yamamoto's pathetic, then what are you?

Gokudera had no words—still has no words—to describe himself, because there's nothing that's been created that can describe exactly how despicable a person he is.

He awakens with a start, sitting up and breathing heavily.

"Ah, Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna's voice is full of relief and worry. "You're awake."

"I… I'm sorry for making you worry," Gokudera mumbles, feeling ashamed.

Tsuna shakes his head frantically. "No, no. It's not your fault. Are you okay?"

He feels a shaky sob crawl up his throat and it takes him a while to answer, forcing it down. "Honestly? No."

Tsuna stays silent for a moment before Gokudera feels the bed dip slightly, and realizes that Tsuna is sitting with his back against his. They don't say anything for a while, and Gokudera realizes it's kind of… nice.

It seems that Tsuna is regretful when he breaks the silence. "We're in my bedroom, if you didn't realize," he mutters awkwardly.

"What happened?"

"Well, as soon as you saw Yamamoto, you kind of froze up, and collapsed," Tsuna mumbles. "We brought you back here, and Yamamoto went to school to inform the teachers the three of us wouldn't be coming; he's talking to Reborn downstairs right now. You've been out for about four hours."

"Sorry for the trouble," Gokudera answers in a quiet and timid voice.

Tsuna sighs before shifting, wrapping his arms around Gokudera's shoulders and pulling him closer for a hug.

"You don't need to apologize for anything," Tsuna replies, sounding fondly exasperated. "I already said it's not your fault."

Gokudera lets out a shaky breath, feeling the corners of his eyes stinging again and swallows with some difficulty.

"If you need to, you can cry," Tsuna tells him fiercely, turning him around so Gokudera has no choice but to face him. "There's nothing wrong with it, and keeping your emotions like this isn't healthy." He smiles slightly at him.

Like water in a dam, the pressure of the past five years pushes behind his eyes and they spill over, and he's sobbing, trying to keep the noise level down and utterly fails, and for a while, they stay like that, until it's all reduced to pathetic whimpers and jerky twitches.

Even after he's done, Tsuna refuses to let him go, and they stay like that for a while, letting him bask in the afterglow of a long overdue cry. It's quite nice, actually.

~oOo~

a/n: 2759 friendship fluff for you all and more angst for you to eat. Reviews are appreciated.