Enjoy ;P

Gokudera's P.O.V.

We weren't allowed to meet with Basil at the CEDEF headquarters but he agreed to meet us in a cafe over in the next town. Luckily for us the oncoming storm kept most people inside their homes and safe in their beds, which made the cafe empty apart from us and an elderly couple on the other end of the cafe. We sat in the farthest corner where Basil had a perfect view of the cafe, Takeshi and I were across from with our backs toward everything which unsettled me greatly, despite Basil being on lookout.

"What was it that you wanted to see me about?" Basil asked his eyes straying over to the couple before going to the door and back to us.

"Tsuna was wondering if there was some information that you could give us." Takeshi said leaning back.

"I'm sorry but I still don't have any new information on the weapon smuggling or the Shi Famiglia." Basil said softly looking upset. "I've been looking nonstop for something on either subject and so far nothing has turned up."

"Actually this is something new." Takeshi said shrugging it off. "There was an incident, Hibari brought in four men and young boy in early this morning. They had kidnapped Tsuna's mother and brought her here to Italy. We need to know who they are and who they work for. Three of the men were in no shape to talk, the leader of them refused to talk and the youngest boy, his brother, told us what little he knew but it didn't help us much."

"You don't know their names?" he asked tilting his head. "I need a bit more to go by."

"Like he said the three weren't able to talk and the man that appeared to be their leader of sorts refused." I cut in pulling out the pictures of each of the five men. "And if the boy was questioned anymore he might have had a heart-attack. The girls are talking to him and will try to figure out more if they can but the boy doesn't seem to be a threat so Juudaime isn't too worried about him. Here are their pictures I'm afraid that's all we can give you." We needed to pick things up, we couldn't keep relying on Basil and the CEDEF for this but at the moment our resources are limited. But still there had to be more that we could do to make this easier on Basil at least.

"I don't know about the boy but I do recognize the faces of the four men." Basil said after a few seconds. "They were wanted for breaking and entering into a house about a month ago but the police were never able to find them. Their pictures were all over the news for awhile, they had posed in front of the camera, you had a clear view of who they were."

"That's pretty bold." Takeshi frowned looking over at me. "It's like they didn't care if they got caught."

"That or they knew they wouldn't." I said shaking my head. "What are their names?"

"The leader's name is Tatsumi Kujinko." Basil said handing me a paper. Kujinko's picture was in the top right. He's wanted by the police for breaking and entering and petty thievery. But according to that, he has never kidnapped before." Basil explained, pointing to the charges listed on the paper. "Him that's different from what he told us." I said with a sigh, either he lied to us or he hasn't been caught by the police for that yet. "Figures it wouldn't match up. Just out of curiosity though why did you have his file on you?"

"Master asked me to give the file to one of the guardians." Basil explained. "He said you needed the file, I didn't know you were asking for the same person Master was looking for."

"I see." I said going over the file, this guy didn't seem like anything special at all. But then again he was able to kidnap Juudaime's mother. But she didn't have any sort of protection, she doesn't even know her son is a mafia boss she just thinks he's running a big business. Well she acts like she doesn't know but I believe Mrs. Sawada knows more than she lets on. But still if she acts like she knows nothing about the Vongola family what would be the point in kidnapping her, she wouldn't know anything about the family, and even of she did know about the family I still find it hard to imagine that she would know anything about us. As far as I know Juudaime keeps all this from her to keep her out of as much danger as possible. But like that boy said the man that contacted them knew she was the mother of the Vongola and on the black market she could bring in a high price, if she knew anything about the family, but she doesn't so she wouldn't sell for much, which goes back to the point of why would he take her there. True Juudaime would pay anything to get her back, or course he would, no one in the family would second guess that and everyone admires that in him, but once Juudaime got her back he would raise hell and wouldn't think twice about it, he would have several mafia families backing him, that much power alone should be enough to scare off any threats like that. So why did he still try to take her?

"Hayato?" Takeshi said leaning closer to me. "Are you ok?"

"What?" I said snapping from my thoughts. I looked up and Takeshi and Basil were both staring at me.

"You were really quiet." Basil said. "Did you figure something out?"

"Yeah," I said pausing for a moment. "That none of this matches up. Tatsumi's brother says they've kidnapped before but always released the hostages. So why did they decided to do something different. Also according to Tatsumi's file he has never been accused of kidnapping before, now while that could be because the police might not be able to prove that he has kidnapped victims before, the file also says both of his parents both died from unknown reasons and that he has no next of kin, younger or older."

"So the kid is lying too." Takeshi said leaning back again looking puzzled. "But why would the kid lie to us?"

"You ask that about everyone." I said sending him a glare.

"No I mean, before we had a motive for him, now we don't, what if we have the wrong guy as the ringleader." Takeshi said rubbing his head.

"But then it still doesn't make sense." Basil cut in. "We have no clue who he is."

"No, but we know who he is not." I told them closing my eyes. "That may persuade him to give us the truth."

"Or to come up with another lie." Basil said. "What will you do?"

"Juudaime is kind." I told him. "And he has a great amount of patience. But in this situation I'm sure he will not stay patient long."

"I doubt he will either." Takeshi said quietly. "What will he do?"

"That will be up to him." I replied. "We'll just have to wait and see."

"Maybe the girls will have figured something out by the time we get back." Takeshi sighed. "But I don't believe the kid lied to us."

"You never want to believe that." I repeated rolling my eyes. "But they are just as capable of lying as what adults are."

"I guess so." Takeshi said looking out the window. "We should probably start heading back. The storm is going to get worse but the rain has stopped for now. But it most likely not for long. Basil anything else?" he said standing up.

"No but if I find out anything new I'll let Sawada-dono know." Basil said bowing to both of us. "I apologize for not being of more use."

"Are you kidding?" Takeshi laughed putting his hands behind his head. "You were a bunch of help. You should pop in for a visit sometimes. Whenever you're free."

"Maybe sometime soon I'll be able to stop in." he laughed. "Thank you. It was nice being able to talk to you both again."

"Maybe someday we'll be able to talk without business being involved." Takeshi bowed back. "Later."

"Good-bye Yamamoto-dono, Gokudera-dono." Basil said walking to the door with us. I nodded towards him and we separated, Takeshi and I heading around the back to our bikes and Basil across the street and out of sight.

Basil's P.O.V.

I flipped on the light as I walked into the quiet room. My body protested with every step or move I made as I closed the door behind me. Today had been such a long day. After speaking with Yamamoto-dono and Gokudera-dono I had ended up holing myself up in the library for the rest of the day staring at small print and bright computer screens in a setting where sound was almost nonexistent. I had searched threw multitudes of files both on paper and in the computer in search of any information on the people in those pictures. Unfortunately, apart from the few news reports, there was no more information on the group. But what really bother me was, Tatsumi Kujinko, the leader of this group, had no living family, and no matter how far I looked into his past, when his family was alive he still had no siblings. He was an only child, plus there were no adoption records so adoption was also out of the picture. And when I ran the picture of the brother through the computer there were no results, whoever this bot was, the face he wears now isn't his real one.

I dropped my bag onto the middle of the floor and looked around the dull room before staring at the only box on the desk among the piles of folders and notebooks filled with various notes of mafia families and dealings. I walked over and picked up the old burnt letter box, the only thing in this room that actually belonged to me. I lifted the lid and sat the box down to take out the old worn letters. Letters that at one time belonged to my mother, letters sent by my father when he went away on mafia business, not that I remember any of that. I never met my father or mother, I just know what the nurse told me as she raised me before I was put into Master Sawada's care. I learned about my parents from the nurse and then from these letters, at least I learned who my dad was, the letters from my mother disappeared with him. I walked over to my bed and sat down to read through them, something that had become a habit of late.

The love my father had for my mother was clear even through words wrote on fading paper. I had everyone of these letters memorized like most texts that were given to me to read. I'm sure my mother felt the same way since she kept these letters rather than tossing them, my father was a dedicated man to my mother, he always opened the letters describing her beauty and how much he desperately missed her warmth and comfort. He was strong and didn't show fear when things became difficult. And he never hid it from mom, he told her when things weren't going their way or when he had been injured. His letters where so honest, it was refreshing. To learn about my father through what he wrote, what he felt, made him seem more real than the stories from others ever did.

Though at the same time, I felt a sense of loneliness every time I read these. I didn't know if it was my father's loneliness or my own. Maybe, in a sense, it was both of ours. His loneliness of being separated from his wife and mine having no one to return to, no one to love.

"Now I sound like a high school girl." I muttered with a small life. I put the letters up and crossed over to the door leading to the bathroom. I turned on the hot water and stared at myself in the mirror. I don't know if I was happy with the way I looked or not, Master Sawada said I looked exactly like my mother when I asked him who looked more like. But did that really make me happy? Did that mean I looked really feminine? Squalo always calls me a girl, but he tends to make that remark to anyone. I guess my hair was a little longer than most male's hair, and I'm thinner than most since my muscles don't show up has much as the probably should, and my eyes are a light blue that reminds me of a girl's eyes. "Maybe I am a high school girl, I'm short too, I wonder if I dressed like a girl if I could pull it off." I hung my head at the thought before stripping and stepping into the hot shower wincing as the water began turning my skin red from the heat. I placed both hands in front of me and hung my head watching as the water dripped from my hair, every drop was clear as it fell before mixing in with the water on the shower floor. I straightened up and took the soapy rag before starting to wash my body wincing as the sponge scraped over open cuts from a few days ago. The light sting vanished as the water washed away the soap down my arm. I washed as the soap slid down my arm, starting out bubbly and white before the bubbles began to disappear. I raised my hands in a cup and watched as the water filled overflowed from my hands. I raised my arms and poured it one face closing my eyes as the warm water hit my face and into my hair.

After a few more minutes of just soaking in the hot water I turned of the water and stepped out of the shower. The water immediately began to pool around my feet as I grabbed my towel and wrapped it around my waist, through the sudden quietness in the bathroom I could hear the soft rumble of distant thunder. The quick change of the weather still left me slightly confused. Despite being the beginning of March the snow had given away to rain and thunder without the slightest hint of a transition between the two. I grabbed the second towel and began rubbing my hair dry shivering at the cold draft that flowed into the bathroom. Despite the rain it was still extremely cold and it made it uncomfortable to go outside since despite it being warm enough to it was also cold enough for the ice to remain and your breath to hang in the air. Normally I enjoyed trying to figure out why things did what they did, but at this point I didn't care why the weather was being the bipolar like this, I just wanted it to get itself straight and warm up.

I quickly dressed into loose white sweatpants and a gray tank-top before stepping back into my bedroom. I collapsed on my bed and let out a moan as my body relaxed against the soft mattress. I closed my eyes and listened to the rain pound against the window outside. I lifted my head up enough to turn it sideways to look out the window. It seemed like everything had suddenly turned upside down. Nothing in this world made sense anymore. Before, nothing was certain, but at least it made sense. Now, nothing is certain and nothing makes sense. I turned on my side and watched as the rain made small patterns against the window as lightening lit up the dark sky. I curled up and slowly fell asleep.

Lambo's P.O.V.

I stormed my way through the dark, muddy woods that were on the Vongola family land. The land that belonged the family that I was living with. The family that so graciously accepted me after my old boss died. The family I now belong to. The family Reborn had introduced me into, made a guardian for, the lightening guardian. He never complained then.

"So why now?!" I screamed into the thundering sky. "Why are you so against it now?! It was your own damn idea!" I picked up stone after stone and threw them into the distance as all my pent up anger and frustration overflowed until eventually I just collapsed to the muddy ground. I brought my knees up to my chest and buried my head into my hands.

Before, he never complained at least, I had gotten used to him ignoring me, hell, I could live with him ignoring me. But for him to outright say he made a mistake in choosing me...that was far more painful than him not noticing my presence. Most people say being hated is better than being ignored, I didn't understand them when they said that. Why would you wanted to hated by the person you love?

"Love?" I fell onto my back and looked up, blinking as the rain fell onto my face. "Where the hell had that come from?" I gave a bitter smile, so that's the reason huh, the reason I've been chasing after Reborn, it wasn't because I wanted to beat him as a hit-man or even to be his friend. "Hehehe...so not only have I realized I'm gay but I also managed to have fallen even further and fell in love with that damn, ruthless, womanizing bastard Reborn. Yare yare*, I'm really going to end up in hell should he find out." I said with a bitter laugh.

I stayed in the woods for a few more hours, maybe it was longer than that. When I had first entered the woods the start of the sunset had vanished to stormy clouds and a seemingly endless rainfall. Now the rain was only a light drizzle and the clouds moved away to reveal a breath taking beautiful star filled sky that appeared so clear and pure. I slowly stood up and flinched as my shirt and jeans hugged to my skin because of the mud and rain. Slowly I made my way back to the mansion my thoughts on repeat as kept going through my new revelation. I crept through the silent halls and into my room. I didn't bother turning on the lights and just went to my bed plopping on it not caring that I was still covered in mud and soaked to the bone. I turned onto my back and with my thoughts still jumbled as I fell into a restless sleep.

Yamamoto's P.O.V.

I propped myself up on my elbow and stared down at the silverette that was sound asleep next to me. He wore a peaceful look on his face as he laid curled up facing me. I reached out to brush the fringe of silver hair that looked like it had been kissed by moonlight out his eyes. I relished in the feel of his hair moving against my hand. It was silky and soft, as fair as it looked. He was really quite beautiful, alluring and exotic.

When I had first meet Gokudera I thought even then that he had looked so delicate and fragile, like fine blown glass that would shatter with the simplest touch. And it had nothing to do with weakness, he was a breathtaking creature in all his fairness, despite his bad mouth and anger issues.

I laughed quietly. "You'd kill me if you ever found out that's what I thought, especially before I actually started liking you," I whispered. I went quiet before touching his cheek. "When did I start falling for you?"

Sighing contently, I lightly trailed my fingertips over his eyelids. He had such long, silvery black lashes I had never really noticed before. The only times I've been so close to him is when we've been sleeping or... I blushed and shook my head as an erotic mess of images flooded my head. I looked back at his face, his pale lips were parted slightly and his breath was even and quiet. For once, he was sleeping rather peacefully. He stirred slightly when I brushed my fingers over his lips and I sighed, sitting up. I took one final glance at his angelic face before slipping out of bed and heading for the window.

I pulled the curtains and studied my reflection. I didn't have a bad body, at least I didn't think so. Between baseball and training with a sword, plus the occasional fight, I had a long and lean frame, my muscles clearly defined. My skin was slightly tanner than most since I wa always in the sun, but it was an even tan at least.

I pulled at my hair, running my hands through it and tousled it. I hadn't really changed the style of it, it was much easier to keep it this way. My eyes... I shook my head.

"Why am I suddenly so worried about my appearance?" I muttered, grimacing slightly. Forgetting myself, I focused on the sleeping body behind me. Then it dawned on me. I knew why I was suddenly so insecure. Hayato was the answer to that one. Though I couldn't figure out the answer to the other question. Just when did I fall in love with you, Hayato?

I leaned sideways against the window, wrapping my arms around my bare chest and shivered. My sweatpants tickled my bare feet.

"When did I fall in love with him?" I asked aloud, not really expecting an answer. I just thought that maybe voicing it, I'd find some idea.

"Fat droplets of rain fell in a heavy downpour outside and I found myself staring at it, losing myself in my troublesome thoughts.

I'm pretty sure I was never actually gay. And even now I feel no attraction to other men. Back in school I had dated quit a few girls over time. And I'll be honest, I thought then that I was pretty into them, but I was also a pretty hormonal teenage. The best way to explain it was that Hayato was special and even though he was a man, I couldn't imagine myself feeling drawn to another person the way I was to him.

"I don't know if there is an answer to that. Did I fall in love while I was the midst of having sex with you that day? Or have I always loved you and just never realized it until you kissed me..." I triled off and closed my eyes leaning my head against the window. I could feel the small vibrations of the rain pelting against the glass. When I opened my eyes I stared at my hand.

"I wish I was paler." I sighed.

I jumped slightly when a pale hand was placed on mine. I looked into the window and saw Hayato standing behind me, his eyes meeting mine in the reflection.

"Does it matter?" he asked me quietly but with the usual undertone he had when he thought I was I being stupid. I tried to smile but couldn't.

"Yes." I said never taking my gaze from him. "It matters to me."

"Why?" he sighed linking his fingers between mine and resting his chin on my shoulder.

"Because I never what Gokudera is thinking... and it makes me feel... it makes me feel... uneasy. Like maybe you'd like someone that looked the same as you. Or that didn't look so much like me." I said my thought coming out jumbled.

Hayato scoffed. "Idiot... as if I'd do these thing with just anyone."

"But... how does Gokudera feel about me?" I pressed, I wanted to hear an answer from him. I had to. "Because... because I- I'm not sure about my feelings."

"What are you saying? That your feelings for me right now are fake?" he asked with a sudden tremor or anger entering his tone and a dangerous glint in his cold stare.

I spun around and grabbed his shoulder. The curtain fluttered shut and he glared at me, his aquatic green eyes boring a hole straight to my soul, like he could see right through me.

"No!" I said in a panic. "They're not fake, they were never fake! I just want to be able to tell you when I fell in love with you. Why I fell in love with you. And I want to know why you fell for me. I need answers so that I can know that what we have is real."

He rolled his shoulders angrily so that my hands fell limp at my sides. Then with a slight click of his tongue against the roof of his mouth, he gabbed my wrist and laid his left palm flat against mine. His hand felt so small in mine.

He stared at our hands before slowly bending his fingers between mine. I watched as he kept his tired eyes fixated on our hands. They widened slightly when I bent my fingers between his as well. He kept his head bent but looked up at through the fringe that cascaded over his eyes. Drawing in a breath and biting his lip, he began to speak.

"I love how tan your skin is. I love how the sun has kissed you in a way it has never kissed mine. And in a way I can never kiss yours. I love how calloused your hands are from the years you dedicated to baseball then forced to dedicate to the sword. I love the feel of your hair when I fun my fingers through it." He slid his free hand through my hair for emphasis.

"I love your eyes and how honest they are and I love your lips because there is always a smile on them." he moved his hand to the side of my face and ran his thumb along the seam of my lower lip. The gesture made me smile. It was rare for Hayato to honest like this and though I had so many unanswered questions running through my mind, I remained quest. Despite not fulling believing him I wasn't going to ruin this moment.

"I love the sound of your voice, especially when you call out my name and the you touch me. Rough when I need it and gentle when I don't, it's like you know my body better than I do." he sighed, running his hand down my chest, following the movement with his eyes.

He was silent for a second, seemingly pondering something before he let out the cutest chuckle. I even lover your innocent stupidity." he said, looking up at me with a smirk playing on his plush lips.

"I love the way you take such good care of your father and your mother, the way you take care of the Tenth and everyone else around you. When we need you, you are always there, putting us before yourself. You are innocent and selfless, kind and caring. And when push comes to shove, you're a force to be reckoned with. I love that about you, Takeshi, did you know that?" He fell silent for another second and I thought maybe he wanted an answer. And I opened my mouth to tell him no, that I didn't know anything about that because Hayato never told me anything like. But before I could utter a sound, he spoke again.

"But you want to know something? I have no clue when I fell for you either."

He leaned in close, so close I could feel our breaths combine on our hands as he brought them to his lips and flipped them, placing a fluttering kiss to the back of my hand. He let them drop and he snaked his now free arm around my neck, cupping the back of my head and bringing me closer so that our lips brushed against each other. I felt the movement in the as he said what he had to say next.

I don't care about the past, or when you fell in love with me. I care about now and the way you love me. I don't care about how you look, you are you. I can't possible imagine you looking any other way. You're different, and I love it. Your eyes are special, they're rare amongst your race and I love that. Your skin shows you hard work, your dedication to your passion and family. The way your hair feels amazing between my fingers-"

As much as I Was enjoying this, the uneasy feeling I had stirred in the pit of my stomach and words came out of my mouth like verbal vomit. "Hayato,you say all that now, but how can I know? How can I know that what you say is for real, and not just something to shut me up?"

"Che... idiot. You worry too much, and an idiot like you shouldn't. You don't have the mental capacity for it," he said turning away. He seemed a little annoyed but I couldn't let it go.

"See that... that is what I'm talking about. How can you say all that and then insult me? It sends me mixed messages and I get confused."

Hayato snapped his head back to glare at me. "That's because you're stupid. Only an idiot would take my prior confession and ruin it with stupidity. I've always treated you like this, and yes maybe at first it was because I really hated you. But as if I could say all these things to you and not mean them!" His face flared red and he scowled. "I said you worry too much and you shouldn't, and I meant it. I wouldn't be here if I didn't mean what I said."

My intentions were never to anger him, I just couldn't help feeling insecure and confused. What was it that he did like about me, honestly, if he could insult me so easily?

"I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that Hayato. I don't want to upset you. I just wanted to feel...somehow, secure in our relationship.

Hayato's features softened and he sighed. "That's why I said you shouldn't worry. Besides, if we can't talk to each other like this, are we really going to work out?"

I moved in closer and smiled. "Mm, you have a point... So then, tell me... What do you worry about?" I whispered playfully, trying to kiss him but he kept moving his head and giving me a teasing smile.

"All sorts of things," he said quietly, and the smirk faded from his face and was replaced by a somber smile. Before I could read more into his expression, he stood on his toes and tilted his head up and quickly kissed me before pulling away again.

"Like?" I pressed, trying to follow him as he walked away. He turned and stopped me, attacking my collarbone with his teeth and following it with the heat of his tongue. "Hayato stop teasing me," I whined.

He smirked and shook his head. "Like what?" he asked, playing dumb as he grabbed my hands again.

"What do you think about?' I asked once more, trying to free my other but he wouldn't let me. He kept my hands firmly tangled together evenly between our chests. I pulled him back towards the direction we had started in. Something about the soft drumming of the rain on the windowpane eased my mind, it helped calm the anxious feeling tying knots in my gut that I couldn't shake.

"Move away from the window." he growled, yanking me sideways so that we were next to the window instead of in front of it.

Hayato sure does get paranoid easily, but he also has a far better understanding of the mafia than I do, and he knows how narrow minded they can be.

He looked up at me daringly and that playful smirk was back. "I think about everything, all at once." he said, pushing me up against the wall and pressing himself against me.

I could feel every curve and contour of his slender powerful body. I felt every quiver of muscled as he moved his body. And for a moment I though that his body worked the way his mind worked. Frenzied and feeling and thinking, all at once. It was like gears to a clock that never stopped moving, and I thought I finally understood some part of him, yet still, I pried for more.

"What are they?" I asked, stilling. Heat seared through my body and my heart raced. I never thought a man, let alone Hayato, would ever be able to cause my body to react in this way.

"Mm, depends..." he said, kissing my collarbone again. "Family business, dynamite... the usual." he trailed off and hummed against my chest.

"What about right now?" I asked, leaning my against the wall as he continued to plant light kissing against my skin.

"Hmm..." he hummed again before pulling back and allowing his eyes to rake over my body.

"Various...things." he said then sighed after I remained quiet, waiting for him to continue. When he didn't, I urged desperately.

"Right now, Hayato. What are thinking about right this very moment?"

"I want you..." he said, pressing his lips against mine. Except the kiss felt off, false and hesitant.

"Liar." I said, leaning against him, my sudden body weight caused his knees to buckle under and him and send both of us tumbling to the floor. I placed both my hands on either side of his head and my knees on either side of his hips. He stared up at me, his eyes showing ever emotion but desire. His silver hair fanned out like a halo. He raised both arms and c ircled them above his head, surrendering himself completely.

"I'm not lying, you bastard." Though he said this light he only continued to stare at me with empty eyes.

Confused I stared back down at him. What had happened to him? He wasn't acting like the man I had fallen for. He's been acting different for awhile now and I couldn't figure it out, couldn't put my finger on what could have changed in his behavior. Perhaps I was the one being paranoid, but his attitude seemed almost deceptive and distant.

Was I forcing him into this relationship? No that couldn't be...we hadn't been dating long. And if he wanted out all he had to do was say so, he's stronger than I am so there really would be no way for me to stop him. Was it because Chrome found out? No, she even said she thought we had been dating much longer than we had been and he seemed fine with it after the initial shock.

"Takeshi?" he said bring his arms down slowly and looking at me. "You look like you're in pain? What's wrong?"

"That what I want to know." I sighed climbing off of him and sitting down. I brought my knees to my chest and folded my arms. Blinking back the sting of tears and reeling from the realization that maybe he didn't want me at all, I reached out and placed my hand on the floor to steady myself. I looked over at him with a bitter smile.

"What went wrong? I thought I would be able to figure you out, but...it seems like all I've done is push you further away and I don't know why. I feel like there are times when you're normal, snappy and angry, but there are other times...especially when you're with me. You...whenever we're together you always look so far away, like we're not even sharing the same space. Like you don't even recognize that I'm in the same room as you." I bit my lip hard to keep the bile I felt creeping up my throat and out of my mouth. The thought of him not wanting to be with churned my stomach, made my insides freeze and my heart slow to a near stop. "Hayato...it's like...it's like you don't even want to be with me."

"Wait...Takeshi..." he began sitting up. "That's...it's...it's not..." He stopped and appeared to be struggling to find the right words before sighing and casting his eyes to the floor. "it's not like that...it has nothing to do with you exactly."

"Then why?" I asked looking out the window. Lightening flashed across the sky and light up the dark room, casting angry shadows across the room. "If you don't want this relationship then say so. I'm not going to force you into one."

"That's not it, dammit!" he yelled, pounding his fist down on the floor in anger. He glared at me, his eyes flaring with an intense fire I have never seen directed towards me. He took a deep breath and averted his eyes back towards the ground. "I-I don't know why ok?! I don't know why I'm acting like this. I just feel wrong, like I've done something horrible to you. Something I shouldn't have."

"I-I don't know why." he muttered clutching at his hair. "I...I feel like I've done something terrible, something I can never undo. And I can't."

My heart was pounding and an uneasy feeling swallowed my stomach. Blood pounded in my ears and the room tilted under me. "W-what do you mean? W-what did you d-do?" The panic I felt intensified as he looked at me strangely before leaning back in startled realization.

"N-nothing like that!" he shouted, his eyes wide with panic. "I-I'm not sure what you're thinking but it's nothing bad, I didn't cheat on you or massacre your family or anything geez." he let out a frustrated sigh just as I let out a sigh of relief. I may not know what he's talking about but there for a minute he sounded almost like the Hayato from before.

"Being...being with another man isn't acceptable in this world. I've done something selfish by dragging you down into an even darker world than before. I made you be with me in a way you'd sooner or later regret. We can't ever be open about what we share, Takeshi. They'll use it against us, against the Tenth...it'll give the Vongola family a tainted reputation that won't ever become clean. People will try to exploit us and our problems will grow bigger than they are now. And they'll try to use you to get to me. I-I don't know what I would do if that happened...what I'd have to do. How could I do that to you?"

I was at a loss for words. I knew Hayato always thought about various things throughout the process of one day. But I had no idea something like that would cross his mind. Had he really been shouldering all this burden by himself?

"Hayato..." I started but he quickly interrupted me.

"I was always an ass to you." he mumbled, almost as if to himself. "Yet you continued to remain my friend. It confused me, I didn't know if you were trying to be my friend because of the family or if you truly found something in me that you liked. I kept thinking about and in the end it just made me angry. And when I couldn't find a way to release that anger I took out on you. And eventually you angry with me. And you were right, I didn't deserve to be the right hand man, but now that I am, there's so much more at steak, so much more to lose. I'm a selfish man, Takeshi. I want so much of you even though I know it's not right. Even though I know I can't be the way you want me to be, I still want you to love me."

"I...I think that's just stupid." I said angrily.

He looked up at me again, eyes blown wide in surprise. "What?!"

"Yeah, that's right. I said that's stupid." I knew I was blushing from saying what I was but I had to get it across to him. This wasn't just his problem, it was mine too. "Instead of worrying about this by yourself, shouldn't you have asked me how I felt?"

"But I-"

"No...you're right, I don't know much about anything, especially this world. I know I'm not as smart as you, I get that. And I haven't been part of the mafia as long as you." I fumed staring at him. "And yeah, maybe sometimes I do regret us be-"

"You see?!" Hayato spat venomously. "I told you that you'd regret this! Oh I knew this would happen, I hate myself, why couldn't I use my self-control at that time."

"Hayato...will you let me finish." I asked sounding as exhausted as I felt. He glared at me but shut his mouth abruptly though his eyes swam with what had remained unsaid.

I continued. "To hold this all in...and not ask how I'd feel about all this, yes...you are selfish. But...I also understand why. I know you put the family first, you always have I accepted that a long time ago. And I think...I think I'm beginning to understand that behind those insults, you were only trying to push me away so that neither of us would end up hurt. Physically and emotionally."

He looked away from me then, his ivory cheeks dusted rose. That blush was all the validation I needed. Sighing, I crawled towards him and knelt in front of him, taking his head in my hands and tilting it up so that I could look into his vibrant green eyes. They widened and his face flushed vermilion as I spoke.

"You are selfish, but don't you see that in you selfishness, you are completely selfless. Maybe more so than you claim me to be. You see, I've been selfish too. While you do this to protect me I ignore it, make you like you have be selfish just so I can keep you attention on me. I demand that you love me openly, I demand so much from you and I'm too stupid to see what it's done to you. You're so busy with protecting this family, worrying about everyone else and now I've made you worry about me, when I should be here to support you. I'm sorry, Hayato. We may not have been dating long but we've already enough mistakes in those few days to last a lifetime. I'm truly sorry."

I don't think his face could get any redder than it was right now and he pulled his face out of my hands. "Idiot...don't apologize. I should apologize, because I made you be with me."

Wrapping my fingers around his jaw and chin, I turned his head to face me again, gazing at him with all the love I could find in me. "I wonder Hayato, if you and I are thinking about the same night, I confessed to you, I ask you to date me, not the other way around. Hayato...I'm here because I want to be. I would follow you to the ends of the earth, but because I want to. I would do it, because I love you."

Hayato became flustered and stuttered so much as his mind went back to the first night we shared together. To save him the embarrassment I wasted no more time on this stupid argument and shut him up by smashing my lips against his in a heated kiss. No matter what we say now there will never be complete trust in this relationship, some moments will real and other moments will be a forced fake. A constant battle against want and desire. Neither of us will be whole but we will continue to cling to each other in hopes of finding some solid ground to end the endless falling.

I pushed him down to the floor, our tongues battling for dominance against each other, I gave him and allowed him win as I slid my hand between us to the edge of his shirt and slipped it under. I ran my fingertips against the lower part of his stomach and he shivered, letting out a soft moan. I pulled away from him, his eyes stared at him as they began to glaze over in lust. I slowly pulled his shirt off and leaned down to kiss the soft skin above his waist. He twitched a little and let out a heavy breath. I kissed my way up and licked one of nipples as I played with the other. He arched up under me and covered his mouth with the back of his hand as he let out a hiss. I let out a small laugh as I continued to lick and bite at his chest. Every time he arched up I could feel his erection against me stomach and I felt myself shake as I noticed.

"T-Takeshi..." he moaned breathlessly, looking at me with half-lidded eyes. "Please, no more...st-stop teasing me." he tossed his head to the sigh and brought his knees up and shifted trying to find some sort of comfort. He let out another moan and his face flushed red. I sat up and stared at him, his skin had a red tint to it.. A light sweat had formed and his chest rose with every heavy breath he took. I leaned over him and whispered in his ear.

"You look beautiful." I breathed into his ear. "Like an angel right out of a story." I licked the edge of his ear before kissing down his neck his collarbone.

"Sh-shut up...n-no body asked y-you." he tried to get his breathing under control and I sighed,

"I enjoy complementing the man I'm having sex with." I said it easily but my face flushed and he widened his eyes as I spoke. I licked his collarbone and gently nipped at it.

"D-don't do t-that." he stuttered and I bite down harder he let out a hiss. His hands shot up and clutched at my shoulder blades as I sucked on his skin. I let go and licked the mark I made before turning my hand to face his neck and let in a deep breath. He smelled very much like the cigarettes he smokes, but now it was a comforting smell, one I loved.

"You know..." I shifted slightly so I could lightly grind against him. He arched up with a moan, pushing himself against me. "I love touching every part of your body." I ran my hand over his chest and used my other hand to hold his hips still. "From here...all the way...to here." I said sliding my hand from his chest to the inner part of his thighs. He whimpered as I unbuttoned his pants and slide them off. I rubbed my hand against his erection and kissed his stomach again. He moaned and arched again. Every inch of my body was aching for him. Even if I couldn't convince him with words that I loved him maybe...just maybe I could get him to understand by giving him my body and soul.

Hibari's P.O.V.

The small desk light gave off little light so the small figure lying in the large bed was not disturbed as I sat at the work desk pouring over the information those two idiots brought back after their meeting as well as what the Foundation had managed to dig up for me. Despite the fact the Foundation was created for Box Weapon research we had been switching over more and more to finding information on the recent happenings.

I had been hoping they would have handed more information than they did, between their information and Basil's it had only taken me a mere four hours to go over all the information the first time. Now that I had gone through the information not only twice but a dozen more times and still finding nothing new I decided to start looking for connections or anything that might mean something else entirely. Cross-referencing to incidents that have happened from now to the time where the Vongola Primo was in charge. Yet despite all that I still have yet to come up with any kind of information that would lead to a suspect. And the information on the boys were of no use either. They all had a same old boring record that any normal thief would have. The only interesting one was the youngest boy that claimed to be Tatsumi's younger brother. If he wasn't then who was he, I've listed the Foundation to do a DNA scan but that will take awhile before they could find anything. And on top of that Basil reported that are no records of this kid, and even if he did have surgery done to change his features could it really be done so well that there is no way anyone would be to find a hint of recognition in meeting him? Why would he go that far?

I was so lost in my thoughts that I had failed to hear the soft footsteps behind me and I tensed as thin arms wrapped around my shoulders and a small head rested itself on my shoulder as the Decimo Boss looked down at the papers that littered the desk.

"You must be really focused to have not heard me sneak up on you." Tsuna whispered gently. "I wasn't even trying to sneak."

"You were asleep so I didn't think I had to worry about you trying to sneak up on me." I told him, closing the files.

"Is that something you normally worry about?" he asked and I let out a soft laugh.

"You aren't exactly good at sneaking so you can't get a jump on anyone." I told him with a shrug.

He let out a groan and I saw him begin to pout out of the corner of my eye. I smiled a little and tightened his arms around me. I turned my head slightly to look at him. He continued staring down at the desk and sighed.

"You should go to sleep now Kyoya." he said lightly. "Right now we can't do anything else but wait for morning to question that boy."

"We need information now." I told him. "We've gone too long without knowing what has been going on it in our own territory. If we wait for the information much longer any damage done will be irreversible."

"What damage do you predict will happen?" he asked curiously. Like he didn't know the trouble this could all cause. If something went wrong the Vongola would be the one to blame. More specifically Tsuna would be the one they blame and that would put his life in even more danger.

"Everything will be fine." he whispered squeezing me again. "Don't push yourself. I understand what all is at stake right now, but rushing won't get us anywhere either."

"Damn it Tsuna will you be worried about this for once!" I yelled standing up. How can he say that with such confidence, does he truly understand like he thinks he does! He's going to get himself killed, and then what?! What's supposed to happen then if he dies? We have no heir, no one in line to be an heir. By the time we do find a suitable boss there very well could be no Vongola left! Yet he stands here all calm.

Tsuna jumped back slightly at my outburst and Natsu let out a small whimper from where he been curled up sleeping on the corner of bed only minutes before. Roll jumped up and looked at me trembling.

"Kyoya..." Tsuna said softly staring at me with sad eyes. I felt a small pang of regret for yelling at him but I didn't back down.

"You're the Tenth Generation boss and you're know for being too easy going and timid." I told him harshly. "Don't you get it, you can't be that way. You need to make a stand and stop what's happening now before it gets worse."

"And how do you expect me to do that Hibari." he said looking away from and towards the bed. I tried to ignore the use of my last name but looked down slightly before looking back at him. Before I would've had no problem yelling at him and making him sad, but now that things between us have changed...I almost feel like I'm fighting with him in a different way. "Do you want me to become ruthless, kill people who make me upset...people who piss me off?" This time I flinched noticeably from his choice of words that I had never heard him speak before. "Do you want me to arrest some random person on the street and accuse them of smuggling weapons through my land without proof that they did so? If that's what you want then say so, I'll gladly become like the other mafia bosses that are feared for being ruthless killers, men that are no better than your common murders."

"..." I remained silent as he looked at me. He was expressionless but his body was tense, he held my gaze for a short period before walking over and petting both Natsu and Roll who had taken refuge under the blankets at the sudden mood change in the room. I let out a sigh and moved to stand behind him wrapping my arms around him and burying my face in his hair. Slowly he began to relax and we stood like that in the silence.

"No that's not what I want Tsuna." I told him gently. "I don't want you to be like that."

"I want this to end." he whispered picking the animals up. "I want to stop the person behind this before someone gets hurt. I know what the other families are saying and to be honest I'm not concerned about that, but I want to stop all these issues before someone in the Vongola family gets killed. I want to trust the new family, accept their alliance...but I can't because I don't know if I can trust them. Everyday I want for another family to attack us or the news that one of my guardians has fallen. Believe me, I'm worried, but what am I supposed to do? Speed the process up? I've been trying to, but every new piece of information leads to another dead end and we have to start all over again. I'm trying, but I don't know what else to do."

"I know, I know you're trying." I told him, I didn't know that's what was always on his mind though I should have guessed it would be something like that. Accusing him of not caring was incorrect, he cared, he worried about what might happen to the family. "I was wrong, you're the boss, you're not allowed to get carried away with your emotions."

"You're right though." he mumbled. "I do have to do something I just don't know what..."

"We'll figure it out step by step." I told him running my hands down his arms. He remained lost in thought as Natsu purred against his chest and Roll licked gently at his arm. His arms felt chilled against my hands despite the warmth that filled the room. But the more I thought about Tsuna's skin always seemed slightly colder than others', something I found strange for the warm heart he had in him.

"Maybe all your warmth goes to your heart." I whispered to myself, unknowingly saying it out loud.

"What?" he asked twisting his head to stare at me with his warm honey-golden eyes.

"Nothing." I said looking away and fighting down the blush that threatened to show on my stoic face.

"I'm going to give my decision to the Shi family tomorrow." he said suddenly and I looked at him quickly.

"Are you sure that's wise?" I asked quickly. I know I just told him to make a move but really, is that one the best move. "What do you plan to say to them."

"I'm going to decline their offer to be allies." he replied putting the box-weapons down and looking at me. "I'll tell them the truth, I have my attention full of happenings on my own land and I can't trust them until it's over. The coincidences are too great, the smuggling happened the same time they announced themselves, until I know for a fact that they have nothing to do with the smuggling I cannot become allies with them. If they're willing to wait for that and work to prove themselves innocent then I will gladly accept their offer then if it proves that they are not involved. If they wish to go to war after my answer then so be it, I'll begin preparations for war then, we'll go into a state of alert and do what we have to from there."

"I doubt Reborn will go for that." I told him dropping my hands. "He won't like that plan."

"No he won't." Tsuna nodded sitting down on the bed with a small bounce and smiled up at me. "And I will undoubtedly put him in a bad mood for the next five years, but this is my decision I won't change it. While I respect Reborn I am still the boss, this time he'll have to listen to me."

"What of the rest of the family?" I pressed staring down at him, what will he tell them? Though it doesn't matter, the majority will agree with him because they like and trust him. I'm not sure that pineapple bastard will though. But if he doesn't agree I'd more than willing to bite him to death. That would bring me a lot of pleasure.

"You have an evil smirk growing on your face Kyoya." Tsuna gave a simple laugh and tilted his head and gazed over at the wall. "I'm sure Takeshi and Hayato will trust my judgment on this, Ryohei will definitely agree since this is what he thought we should do from the start. Lambo though, I'm not sure how he'll respond I find it hard to read him anymore. Sometimes I swear I have him figured out and then he'll respond in a way I never predicted. Mukuro won't agree just so he can disagree and cause a commotion. Chrome will be ok with either chose I think, she's pretty easy going no matter the decision."

"And if they decide to go to war?" I asked. Even if he had the family figured out there was still the matter of war. How do you prepare to fight against a family you knew nothing about.

"Well no matter what we'll be going in blind and that will give us a huge disadvantage." Tsuna nodded looking back to the wall. "I'll have to come up with some kind of deal with Varia to get them to help us, that will prove challenging but will help boost our chances of winning. I have no doubt we'll win, but I fear the amount of casualties will be on a fast rise from the time the battle begins to the time it ends."

"Is this all something you've just come up with or has this been going through your head for awhile now?" I asked him and he laughed pulling himself back to folded his legs onto the bed looking pleased.

"Both." he laughed. "I've thought about it between the paperwork but this is the first time I've said it out loud and in such depth."

"It seems like it's pretty solid." I told him. "I agree with your decision, that bastard family will be easy to take out. But getting the others to agree might prove challenging."

"Perhaps so but there's no helping that." he nodded. "Whatever has to be done has to be done. Only time will be able to tell if it was worth any price that must be paid."

"We've done it before we'll do it again." I agreed. He smiled still looking at the wall before slowly looking at me.

"Kyoya...I love you." he said with a straight face.

"I love you too." I said looking at him cautiously.

"There's a spider on that wall behind you." he pointed towards a small black spot moving down the wall.

"You're kidding right?"

Decisions: a conclusion or resolution reached after consideration.

Me: IT'S DONE! IT'S FINALLY DONE! THIS PAIN IN THE ASS CHAPTER IS OVER AND DONE! I hope you all enjoyed reading it.

Me: Omg...I can't believe I haven't updated this story in a YEAR! Seriously, I know I'm a slow updater but this is ridiculous even by my standards. Busy has it's limits. However this chapter is over and there for we can now move on to the next one, me writing it and you as the readers waiting (again sorry) for the next chapter to the story. But man so much drama, with arguments and poor Lambo getting all bothered by Reborn. XD it's horrible for someone to put Lambo through that. (hehehe).

Me: I have some people to thank for this though. RubyFiamma for helping me write this story, especially the fight scene between Hayato and Takeshi. And Nicholai8059Lover for asking me about this story every time we talked and pushing me to finish this. Also a thanks to Red-chan and Hayato-chan and Adara-chan (even though we just started talking XD) for keeping me motivated to write this chapter. Thanks ladies you've helped me a lot!

Hayato: Was all that really necessary for this chapter? It's only your third one.

Me: It was a large accomplishment for me thank you very much.

Hayato: Yeah well you were an ass to us and why the hell did you go make me all girlie in front of that damn baseball idiot!

Me: Save it for the next chapter Gokudera-kun, it's only going to get harder for everyone from here on out.

Hayato :( what the hell are you planning to do to the boss?

Me: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, hopefully I'll see you again in Chapter 4.

Hayato: HEY DON'T IGNORE ME!

Later ;P