It felt so good… the cool blade across his skin, the well of hot red that slid along his wrist, the soft 'patpat' of the blood hitting the pale gray tiles. It calmed him on his bad days… days when his past would haunt him in the form of dreams, or memories, or when he'd be forced to deal with people he knew from before. He catered to his Boss' every need during the day, and Tsuna had long since given him the evenings after dinner to relax. If anyone ever found out what that meant…

But that's why each cut was so meticulous. He only ever cut over existing scars and always high enough that his sleeves covered them. No one ever suspected, for which he was eternally grateful. At least, he had to reason to believe anyone suspected.

So when his bathroom door flew open, he was shocked into stillness. Caught in the act, all he could do was stare at the tall form in the doorway. "Gokudera Hayato, what are you doing?"

"G-get the fuck out of here, teme!" He tried belatedly to hide the razor, to drop his sleeves… but it was far too late, and he knew it.

Long fingers wrapped around his arm, lifting his wrist for viewing. As the warm blood slid down his arm and stained his shirt, Hayato closed his eyes, unable to meet the heterochromatic gaze. As such, he missed the soft look of commiseration on the Mist's face.

Mukuro had seen all this before… both in the Storm's mind, and in Chikusa's. He'd finally gotten the quiet yo-yo wielder to turn to him, or Ken, when he was feeling destructive. He'd even gotten a couple of smiles from him, especially as he'd been cuddled with the mutt on the couch after a particularly bad day. But this…

"Why do you do this to yourself, puppy?" Mukuro kept his voice steady, almost cold even. He hadn't realized that the man was still following patterns from his youth. The amount of scar tissue almost made him ill. How could Tsunayoshi-kun's famous Hyper Intuition miss this? As much as he tried, Mukuro could get neither of them to pay as much attention to him as they paid to each other. It gave him a perverse sort of pleasure that he truly knew the volatile bomber better than the Sky.

"None of your fucking business…" Gokudera tried to pull his arm away, but the more powerful Mist simply tugged on his arm, pulling him against his chest. "Get the fuck offa me!"

"No." The short, simple word startled the Storm.

"What?"

"No, Hayato-kun. I will not get off of you, I will not let you go, I will not allow you to continue this." Mukuro lifted the silveret's arm and laid a soft kiss on one of the still bleeding cuts. A tiny, satisfied smile graced his face as he felt the smaller man still in his arms.

"W-what are you… doing?" Gokudera hated the tremor in his voice, but his emotions, fears and anxieties were already laid bare and bleeding in this room. He couldn't pretend here. Not with the blood still sliding down his arm, staining the purplenet's fingers… and lips. "Mukuro… stop…"

"No." Again, a simple answer that made the smaller man bite his lip. "This is what needs to stop, puppy-kun."

"St-stop calling me that." The defeat was evident in Gokudera's voice. Mukuro would tell the Tenth, and he'd be in trouble… or worse.

"I won't be telling Tsunayoshi-kun… or anyone else. " The soft voice interrupted the bomber's thoughts and made him look up. "But only if you find a way to stop this."

"I-I've tried. But… it's just too much. I don't… not all the time. The Povacci deal is just… I know them and…" He dropped his head, pissed at himself for not being able to talk properly and pissed at his situation. "They're a bunch of lechers and thieves, but I can't TELL anyone because they'd want to know how I know!" He finally exploded, almost succeeding in pulling his arm from the Mist's grasp.

Almost. Mukuro tightened his hold, wrapping an arm around the silveret's waist. "So tell me, Hayato-kun. No one would question where I got my information." He watched the war on the Storm's face between his pride and protecting his family. "Will you let Tsunayoshi-kun get hurt because of your fears, puppy?"

Gokudera shook his head before dropping it in defeat. He didn't even move away when it connected with Mukuro's chest, letting it support his forehead. "Tell him… just not about…"

"I swore that I wouldn't, Hayato-kun. But only if you promise to come to me. Even if you don't have information… come to me." He lifted Gokudera's chin with his free hand, pressing a soft kiss against the Storm's lips. "Please…"

Gokudera blushed, looking away. "F-fucking pineapple pervert…" The words lacked their typical bite, especially when directed at the Mist illusionist.

"I'll take that as a yes, Hay-a-to-kun."

It was almost two months before anyone could put their finger on the changes in the Storm and Mist Guardians. Some things were obvious… Gokudera spending time in the common room in the evenings, and taking fewer smoke breaks during the day. Mukuro spoke a bit more in the meetings he was required to attend, and had saved Tsuna a couple of times from making huge mistakes with the people he dealt with.

Nothing was really obvious until Tsuna and Yamamoto returned unexpectedly early from a trip to Namimori. As they walked into the common room, Tsuna stopped dead, grabbing the swordsman's arm to keep him quiet and still.

Sleeping in the fluffiest armchair in the common room was Mukuro. Sitting in Mukuro's lap, reading quietly as he ran a finger up and down the illusionist's arm was Gokudera. The silveret had his head tucked under the Mist's chin and as they watched, his eyes drifted shut and snapped back open a couple times before sliding shut completely, the book dropping to his chest. As the two watched in disbelief, their best friend curled even deep into the Mist's arms and dozed off.

When Tsuna started to open his mouth, Mukuro opened an eye and glared at him. From behind them; a hand clapped over each of their mouths and drug them back. "If you wake him, I'll send you both straight to hell."

Tsuna bit back his yelp, maintaining at least a little of his dignity in front of the illusion of Mukuro. "That's… new…," he tried weakly.

"No. It's not. And he didn't sleep at all last night, so I'll thank you both to go find something to do elsewhere." The illusion started to fade. "Oh… and welcome home."

It took a few minutes for the revelation of that to hit the Sky, which was just enough time for Yamamoto to have picked him up and moved him to his office. By the time the loud "HIIIIEEEEE!" came out, the door was closed and there was no fear of disturbing the sleeping couple.

AN: Because this pairing doesn't get enough love, and because I know it's one of my lovely PrincessxTheXRipper's current ships... here ya go. Enjoy... I guess. lol