Title: Secrets
Character / Pairing: Yamamoto, Hibari, Gokudera / 8018
Word Count: +/- 935
Rating: PG

If anyone asked him when or why or how it had started, he wouldn't be able to say anything. He'd think for a moment before laughing and shrugging it off, changing the subject to something less personal like school or the weather or how many people have been watching the recent baseball games. There were few who actually realized something was going on, and even fewer who had figured out just who the center-fielder was sneaking around with. Others just thought the batsman was sneaking out of class to sleep in the shade of a tree or behind one of the buildings or in the locker room, away from the prying eyes of teachers. No one seemed to notice the shadow that followed him.

Gokudera had been the first to find out. He had only followed that baseball idiot because his beloved Tenth was getting worried about his Rain Guardian and wouldn't stop talking about him. He had followed at a distance after school one day, while the swordsman was on his way to school practice, sticking to the shadows to watch. He hadn't been able to keep his mouth shut, either, when he saw what he did, his lower jaw dropping as he watched a calloused hand run through black hair, faces shadowed as lips met in a gentle kiss, small whispers exchanged as they parted in near silence. If he hadn't been frozen in shock, maybe he could've avoided being spotted by that dark glare from glazed eyes, the silver tonfa appearing as a silent warning.

Tell anyone, herbivore, and I'll bite you to death.

Gokudera was never one to take Hibari Kyoya's threats lightly, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to just let things lie. No, that just wouldn't be like him at all. Instead, after class the next day, he grabbed Yamamoto by the scruff of his shirt and tugged him into the nearest empty classroom, locking the door behind them. Maybe if he had kept his voice down, things wouldn't have gone so badly, but he was Hayato, known for his short fuse and ability to blow up at every little thing that he did not agree with. He only got louder and more annoyed as the swordsman just laughed the whole ordeal off, staring out the window with a lazy grin, and Gokudera finally gave up when he accepted the fact that this was Yamamoto Takeshi and he never changed his mind on something that made him smile. Hand fisted in the front of the taller boys shirt, he tugged the boy closer, glaring at him before shoving him back and storming out of the room, taking no notice of the large group of students parting to let him out, too busy mentally scolding the baseball idiot.

Why him? I don't care whether that idiot likes guys or not, but why does he like him?

It took Yamamoto a few minutes to realize that he was receiving odd looks from everyone he walked past as he wandered the halls the next day with Gokudera and Tsuna beside him. He quietly wondered why people were pointedly avoiding him, walking to the other side of the hallway to get around him, and wished he could hear what those hushed voices were whispering. He ducked into the sports locker room to drop off his baseball gear, taking note of how stand-offish everyone was being and how people refused to meet his gaze. When he finally managed to catch someone's gaze, he opened his mouth to ask what was going on, but stopped when he noticed something in the other boy's eyes and watched him quickly turn and leave the room with everyone else, leaving Yamamoto to be the last one in the locker room. Sighing dejectedly, he pulled open his locker and stared in confusion at the notes and letters and screwed up pieces of paper that had piled up inside it on top of his small pile of school books. Figuring that whatever was written on the paper would explain why everyone was acting so strangely, he picked up a ball of paper from the top of the pile and smoothed it open. Reading it, his eyes went wide and the hand holding his baseball bag went limp, dropping his training gear onto the ground as he let the paper go and stumbled backwards into the wall behind him. He slid down the wall to the ground, staring up at his still open locker with wet, hurt eyes.

Get out of here, you freak, and take your sicko boyfriend with you. We don't want your kind around here.

Nothing happened within Namimori Middle without Hibari knowing about it, so when one Yamamoto Takeshi became the subject of everyone's hushed conversations, he demanded to know why. He had gotten an answer straight away from the first person he had asked - as expected because everyone knew that not giving Hibari what he wanted when he wanted would guarantee a world of hurt - and had had to resist the urge to tonfa the boy to death out of annoyance. Instead, he just walked away in search of the center-fielder, frowning as he found the dark-haired teenager leaning over the railing of one of the school buildings. Slowly, he approached the boy and tugged at the back of his shirt, smiling sadly up at him as the Rain Guardian looked back over his shoulder. For a moment, they just looked at each other in silence before Hibari tip-toed and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek.

Herbivores like them just don't understand.