Today was different.

Today, the sky was a brilliant shade of blue. Though this may sound mundane to the normal person, seeing as yesterday, the sky had managed to produce a particular shade of a subtle mauve; blue was something out of the ordinary. There wasn't even a single cloud in the sky, he noted with a smile.

Today, he had a guest sitting at his table, smiling softly from beside a cup of untouched tea, looking around at the world that the illusionist had made with wonder-filled eyes. The light breeze carried flower petals along with it, and the grass beneath their feet looked softer than any cloud.

"It's beautiful," Tsuna smiled and his eyes lit up, and Mukuro couldn't help but give a smile in return.

He reached a hand across the table and gently squeezed Tsuna's. "And so are you," he said in all seriousness, but couldn't help but laugh when the brunette blushed.

Tsuna looked around a few more times marveling at the landscape, before frowning a little. Mukuro's coy smile faltered, he had never seen the little Vongola ever have that expression on his face. Tsuna looked directly into Murkuro's heterochromatic ones. "It's perfect."

"I know." Looking down, Mukuro gently traced circles with his thumb on the back of Tsuna's hand.

"You need to wake up."

"I refuse." Mukuro's ministrations stopped, and his gaze darted back to Tsuna's. "This world is perfect."

"Is it really?" Although it was just a mutter, the question stung hard.

"Here, I don't have to return to my prison!" Mukuro's voice rose. "Here, I can open my eyes, and see! Here, I can feel the wind on my skin!"

"Here, is not real, Mukuro."

Mukuro calmed down, and in a soft voice, barely a whisper, said. "If I'm here, I have you."

"You're wrong" And suddenly the world around them seemed to fade, and all of the colors from the scenery began to bleed out from the places.

With a gasp (was that air?), Mukuro jerked awake, and shivered at the cold that came with his water drenched clothes. With trembling hands, he lifted himself into a sitting position, and felt his face. His own touch felt clammy on his skin, and suddenly he knew this wasn't a dream. He tried to open his eyes, and one managed to flutter open, but his vision was blurry from disuse. The other, was taped shut.

Desperate to open his other eye, he lifted a hand to rip the damned tape off of it, but was startled when he felt a warm hand on his cheek. The soft touch gently removed the tape, and the sensation of pain didn't register. Slowly, his other eye, his red eye opened, and the first thing that he saw was amber.

"You're wrong. You have me next to you already, don't you?"